True Strength: Never Give up
The massive mountain stood tall and silent. Its peak covered in a blanket of gray. It could be seen from three miles away, silhouetted against the graying sky. The wolf gazed at it, sighing in his throat. Years went by in his head, but a hand on his shoulder drew him back to the present. "We'll keep going tomorrow. Right now, we need to sleep," Tigress said. Lion nodded and walked back to the camp they set up. Just then, the team heard a loud snap. "Who's there?!"
Snap!
"OWW!"
"It's Po," The team muttered as the panda finally cleared the forest.
"Don't sound so excited," Po huffed.
"Sorry Po. We're just a little... tense," Viper said. The camp fell into silence around the fire. Lion looked straight at Po.
"You went to see him, huh?"
"What?"
"Sho? You went to see him?"
"What?! I uh..."
"Po, there's no one else there other than that big lug," Lion pointed out. The panda sighed. "Don't worry, I don't blame you. In a lot of ways, he's still my big brother. Just like Tigress saw me as her second baba."
"Why second baba?" Monkey asked.
Lion rose his eyebrow with a smirk. "Because her first one is the one who helped birthed her?"
"No, I mean why is that your nickname?"
"When she was a baby, Tigress started calling for her mom and dad, but for some reason she took one look at me and called me baba," Lion chuckled and shrugged. "I guess her mind thought every male was baba and every woman was mama. Makes sense."
"I guess," Monkey murmured.
"Lion, why were you silent the whole time?" Viper spoke up after a long pause. "If you could talk, we could've avoided this whole mess."
Lion sighed, "I've learned that words are really useless sometimes and impactful other times. And I could never figure out which is when. I decided to let my actions talk. And... after Platon betrayed us..." The wolf stared into the fire before wiping his eyes. "I'm sorry... a lot has happened since then."
"I'm so sorry for your loss. We all know that pain," Viper sighed.
"But why were you so okay with the cleaning stuff?" Mantis asked. "I mean, what's up with that?"
"When you're dealing with trauma or your past, you often need a way to process it. For me, it's cleaning... and when you're in a cold dark cell with nothing but Mr. Four's snoring and Mr. Three's stories about the old days on Jai-Yin, you'll find something to prevent you from getting stir crazy."
"I'm sure Zeng really appreciates that," Tigress smirked. "But what do you mean processing?"
Lion sighed, "What I went through... there are several ways to process it. Either talk through it, which is what most people do. The more you talk, the more your mind seems to make sense of the situation. But you have to be physical too. Physically doing something helps to let the mind just take in things quietly. But... at some point, you have to talk about it. Time helps, but you have to talk about it at some point. Otherwise, you'll be a bigger slave to it as it starts to affect other things in your life."
"Like figuring out you're adopted?" Po smiled.
"Or fighting your student," Shifu sighed.
A silence hung over the camp. No one moved for a while. The cracking fire quietly disturbed the silence.
"The sun's about to go down and we haven't seen any activity from the camp. We should get some rest. We'll need it," Tigress said. Everyone agreed. Tigress glanced at Po before fixing her eyes on the ground. Po hurried himself to his tent.
"Is something wrong between you and Po?" Lion asked as the others left.
"What? No, no. Just... thinking... and I'm... worried... about... not having what it takes."
"Why does this keep coming up?" Lion asked. "You've never had this issue before from the sound of it."
"But Platon is much stronger than any of us."
"We're not here to stop Platon. We're here to stop the Emperor from hurting anyone," Lion looked around the camp to make sure everyone was gone. "Don't tell anyone this, but I'm sure that once we take care of the Emperor, Platon will stand down. He has no reason to fight after that."
"So we just have to stop the Emperor." Lion nodded. "But we'll have to get through Platon."
"Why are you really worried about this?" Lion asked, smirking a bit. "It almost sounds like you want to test your strength."
"I'm not trying to win some contest," Tigress remarked. "But... it's just that... Po's pushed himself so far, past what I ever thought he could and I... I feel left behind."
"People left behind usually have a slingshot attached to them," Lion replied.
"What?"
"Think about it. The further back you pull a slingshot, the further it will fly right?" Tigress nodded. Lion smiled widely, "Don't worry about it, Lily. I mean Tigress. I know we'll... you'll overcome this." The wolf stood up and headed to his tent, but Tigress stopped him.
"Crane said that strength has a mental component. Is that true?"
Lion stood for a moment. "What do you think pushes Po?"
"Protecting other people?"
"And why does he never stop?"
"Because... he never gives up."
"That," Lion said, "Is the best strength to have. Your mind can either hold you back or push you ahead. You choose which one to believe." The wolf crept into his tent, leaving Tigress sitting on the ground next to the dwindling fire.
Meanwhile, Yueding hurriedly collected his things and tried his best to sneak out of the palace grounds. "Going somewhere, little one?" The deer flinched. He knew that voice. He turned around, looking at his guardian gorillas. They had their arms crossed, staring at the little deer. Yueding took a deep breath, saying,
"I'm going to Jai-Yin Mountain."
"Your father gave us orders to protect you," Yanshi bellowed lowly.
"And if I don't stop him, he'll destroy countless people." Yanshi narrowed his eyes.
"What are you talking about?"
Yueding sighed, "Po and I... I know that you're a part of the Jai-Yin, Yanshi. And I know why you hate Platon."
"I'm sorry, the what?" Shang asked.
"Pay attention next time, young 'un," Yanshi lightly chided. "If you know, then you probably know that the army is heading there."
"And I have to stop my father. He said he managed to grab the most powerful weapon from the mountain that could wipe out all of the Jai-Yin, probably all of China!" The gorillas snapped their heads at each other.
"Impossible. There's nothing on that mountain that contains that much power."
"He said that the Jai-Yin didn't know about its power or the location. I don't know what it is exactly, but... Shang, Yanshi. Please help me. I... I don't know what to do and I..." The deer gripped his antlers. "I don't know what to do and I'm... I'm scared! I might have to go against my father and I don't know if-"
Yanshi gently ran his hand over the deer's head and tucked him into his arms. "Shh, shhh, shhh. It's going to be okay. It's going to be okay. We'll get you to the battlefield. Just take us with you."
"Hehe, I was hoping you would come with me," Yueding chuckled a bit, wiping his tears.
"Welp," Shang grunted, cracked his back, and sighed. "Time to get the chair."
"No time." Yanshi helped Yueding up, onto his shoulders. "You think you can hang on?"
"Y-Yeah."
"Wait, we could have carried him like that the whole time!"
"Come on you big softie," Yanshi laughed at Shang. The two gorillas stormed out of the palace and charged south to the great mountain.
********FF*****
The sun slowly rose over the mountain's back, casting its long shadow into the plains below. "Alright," Lion said as everyone readied themselves at the edge of the open plain of military tents. "Here's what we'll do. We'll split up."
"NO!" Everyone shouted.
The wolf flinched. "Ooookay, why not?"
"Wol- Lion, it's obviously a trap. You can't see one person in there, right? And Crane just flew overhead. No one is there. Why would we need to split up?" Po asked.
"If it is a trap, then we could spring it and see if there're stragglers," Lion rationalized. "And the rest of the army is hiding somewhere. If we look around, we might be able to pick off some of them."
"This is a bad idea," Tigress said.
"Alright, alright. I get it. Strategy isn't my thing. How about this? Crane and Viper, Shifu and me, Mantis and Monkey, and you and Po go in groups. How does that sound?"
"Uhhh," Tigress and Po stuttered.
"That's a better idea," Shifu agreed as did the others.
"Great, break, and let's meet back here. Remember to shout if you need help," Lion said. The team ran to different parts of the camp, leaving Po and Tigress gawking at each other.
"Hehehe, so uh... should we get started?" Po grinned. Tigress gave a curtly nod. The two walked down the hill and into the plains. The field of tents stood in a lowland. Muddy patches dotted the camp. There was no sound. They made their way to the middle of the camp, where the Emperor's royal tent still stood. "You ready?" Tigress nodded.
"HIYA!"
They burst through the tent flap and found no one. Nothing but some discarded maps and scrolls "Whew, he's not here." Po made a beeline to the small desk. "Come on, come on, there's got to be something here."
"What are you looking for?" Tigress asked.
"Lion and Platon don't know what the Emperor's looking for, but I bet he left something around here." Po shifted through papers but found nothing. He slammed his fist on the table. "DAH! Where is it?"
"Wait, slam the table again?"
Po did so. Tigress looked underneath and saw a small chest at one of the desk's legs. She pulled it out and presented it to Po. "Great, it's locked. All we need is-"
"HIYA!"
The chest was smashed into a pile of scrolls and broken wood by the tiger's hand. "Or... just do that."
"It's easier."
"Right, right," Po shook his head and unfurled the scrolls. "Says here there's something called the Emerald of Jai-Yin."
"What is that?"
"It's something that the... founder of the Jai-Yin had. The thing that makes Jai-Yin strong! There's a note here that says that getting this emerald would give power to the holder so they could be the strongest in the world." Po looked around the scroll. "It's torn. I wonder what else was on this."
"The Emperor is trying to use the Emerald of Jai-Yin to defeat his enemies," Tigress said.
"Yeah, but on who?"
"Everyone he sees as an enemy, which could be anyone. Even the Kung Fu masters," Tigress gritted her teeth as she crushed the remaining pieces of wood into dust in her hand. "He wants to be ruler without anyone to stop him."
"Which the other Kung Fu masters could, but with the emerald-"
"He'd be unstoppable," Tigress finished. They looked at each other. Horror pulled their jaws to the floor. They threw the things away and stepped out of the tent. The gray clouds from the mountain seemed to hover closer.
"Well, if that's so, then where is the Emperor?" Po asked as they headed towards an open clear plain nearest to the mountain's feet. "Po shrugged. "Maybe we scared him away?"
"Why would he be scared?" Tigress asked.
"Have you seen your strength? You just crushed a box!"
Tigress smirked, "It's nothing compared to yours."
"Yeah, but I think under the right conditions, you could knock down this mountain if you wanted to," Po smiled brightly. Tigress smiled back at his infectious smile.
Suddenly, a figure jumped out from the clouds above. It landed right in front of Po and struck him in the chest. "GAH!"
"PO!" The panda fell flat on his face. His eyes stood unblinking as the shadowy figure started walking away.
"I'm sorry, but you've become a threat to this mission. I can not let you go any further," The figure said in a low tone. Tigress rushed to Po's side, pulling him over to his back. She placed her ear to his chest.
Nothing.
Her eyes narrowed on the masked figure. The red mask was all too familiar. "Tai Yang! What did you do to him?!"
"I stopped his heart. I suggest you turn back now before more die like him," The masked figure grumbled. "I'm sorry. I did what I had to. You don't know the power and stakes involved." Tigress looked at Po's still body in her arms. "If it were different, the situation wouldn't be this dire, but as it stands, you're just... not strong enough."
Every word fell on her eyes like a bag of sand.
But other words echoed in her mind.
Then WE get stronger, together.
No holding back.
Maybe a part of this whole strength thing is in the mind.
Your mind can either hold you back or push you ahead. You choose which one to believe.
Because he never gives up.
Tigress rested Po onto the grass and stood up, clutching her fists as her growls tumbled out of her mouth. "I. Don't. CARE!" She rammed her fist at Yai Tang, who caught it with his hand.
"Please, don't-" Tigress drew her arm back and rammed her fist and his hand across his face. Tai Yang tumbled all the way into the rocky incline, making a crater in its wake. "Ow, okay. That's new." The masked man felt the parts of his broken mask spill onto the ground.
The tiger growled her presence to every living thing around. Her eyes were on fire both with tears and rage. "You'll pay for what you did, Platon."
"So you knew?"
"We all knew," Tigress growled. She darted quicker than Platon could move and punched him right in the gut. The lion flew through the first two tents and into the nearby forest.
"DAHH! How are you this strong?" Platon groaned, getting up to his feet. "Who are you?"
The tiger glared with amber eyes piercing into the very heart racing in Platon's chest. "I am Tigress. Master of Strength, member of the Jai-Yin, Daughter of the Tiger warrior Li!" Platon's eyes went wide as his heart sank. "And you're going to pay for what you did to my panda."
"Ooohhhh shi-"
"GRAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
Tigress roar echoed around the plain, signaling Shifu and Po. "Did you hear that?" Shifu asked.
"The dead heard it. It's Tigress, come on!" Lion shouted. The two rushed over to the commotion to see Tigress wailing into Platon. The lion quickly tried bracing for her attacks, but her kicks and blows sent him tumbling over the dirt. The wolf saw Po lying motionless on the ground. "Oh no, he used his heart-stopping trick. That's why Tigress is fighting him." Lion fell to Po's side and started pressing onto his chest. "I hate it when he does this."
"Platon's stopped a person's heart before?" Shifu asked incredulously.
"Oh yeah, it's a neat party trick," Lion said casually. "It's not actually a heart-stopping trick. What it does is slow the heart down enough to the point it stops momentarily. He usually uses it to scare people away. Still cool trick."
Shifu blinked several times before the gusts from Tigress's fight caught his attention. The tiger dropped her foot down from above onto Platon's crossed arms, making a large crater in the ground underneath his feet. Tigress spun her body around and kicked Platon's side, forcing him back onto the mountainside. The lion grunted among gravel and rock, pulling his face up only to roll out of the way of Tigress's crushing punch. The mountain shook as Tigress's glaring eyes focused on her target.
"Come on, come on, why isn't this working," Lion grunted, pushing harder and harder on Po's chest. He pressed his ear to the panda's heart. "Oh! He paralyzed him too."
"How do you know that?" Shifu asked.
"Well, usually a person jumps up when I do this, but I can hear Po's heart beating. Platon must have paralyzed him for good measure hold on."
"I thought Po was immune to nerve attacks."
"His body fat and muscles provide an extra layer of protection, but if you punch hard enough, say as hard as Tigress is punching Platon, you can get to it," Lion explained. The wolf pressed a nerve hard on the panda's chest, and the panda gasped upright.
"Tigress!"
"She's alright. It's okay, Po," Lion soothed, pushing him back down. "You're okay. Rest. the paralyzing effect takes a lot out of a person."
"Tigress, argh," Po gripped his chest in pain. "Where's Tigress? She needs help fighting Platon."
"Um... I don't think she needs help," Lion pointed to the fight. Po saw the tiger growling and ramming her fists and feet into Platon's body. The lion braced as much as he could, but the tiger's quick and hard punches started to wane on him. Platon jumped out of the way of another blow.
"This ends now, Platon."
"Yeah! Tigress!" Po shouted. Tigress look back and saw the panda throwing his thumb up. She smiled, relieving the tension in her body.
Suddenly, Platon struck her shoulder, dislocating her arm. "ARGH!" Tigress fell to her knees, gripping her arm.
"Dang it," Lion grumbled.
"You're making this more difficult than it has to be," Platon said. He marched forward, but Lion slid to Tigress's side and wrapped his arms around her, shouting,
"DEMONS!"
A low but growing hum suddenly rose from the earth. Its hum echoed around, and Shifu covered his ears again.
But Tigress noticed the hum sounded... familiar. It wasn't a hum. It was a buzz. Suddenly a mass of buzzing blackness covered Platon. The lion tumbled back and grabbed his sword, furiously fanning the cloud of flashing little lights. "Go away you little bugs!" Platon shouted.
In the dark, Tigress couldn't figure out exactly what the mass was. Now she could.
"Lightning bugs?" Tigress panted. "That's what your demons were?"
"They're small, easy to hide, and when used inside, can scare people limp," Lion smiled as he relocated her arm.
"That's why Mantis and Shifu heard it," Tigress replied. She looked at her hand, clenching and unclenching it. She stood back up with Lion at her side. "Is Po okay?"
"Yes, he just needs rest. That attack takes a lot out of someone."
"GRAAAAAAAHHHH!" Platon roared, sending the bugs scattering out. Suddenly, the bugs flew out of the way and another sound rang out. A whistle. A growing whistle. Platon looked up. "Oh no you don't," He said, getting his sword ready.
"What is that?" Lion asked.
"It's Crane and Viper!"
The gray clouds above broke and the bird and snake barreled down on the lion. Gritting his teeth, Platon readied his sword. Just as Crane came close, he swerved out of Platon's swing and slashed right through Platon's armor underneath his cloak. Viper whipped her body around Platon's arms and held his arms wide out. Tigress and Lion lept over Crane and rammed their fists right into Platon's gut, sending the lion tumbling across the grass.
The fight traveled to the back of the mountain, where the sea crashed against a small strip of sand and grass. Forests stood on either side of the small beach. The lion slid down the slope, but jumped up and wrung Viper off of him. Crane ran up and caught her in his wings. Platon marched toward him, but Lion and Tigress blocked him, pushing him back. Platon charged after Tigress, who jumped out of his sword. She dodged left, letting Crane fly up and cut a hair-thin blow into Platon's face.
But the lion grabbed Crane's leg and flung him onto the gravel and rock. "GAH! My wing!"
"That's not good," Lion muttered.
"For you?" The wolf turned and blocked Platon's sword with his dagger.
"Actually," He grunted, "It's not good for you."
Suddenly, Lion shivered and whimpered. Before Platon could even wonder, a wide-open mouth launched at him, and he tumbled back. He found his throat constricted by a strong scaly rope.
Viper squeezed hard around his neck. "You're gonna pay for what you did to Crane!"
"I don't know which is scarier to see," Lion yelped to Tigress. "Crane pissed off, Viper miffed, or you completely losing it. I can't wait to see when someone hurts you and Po's angry."
"GRAAAHHHH!" Platon struck the sides of his neck hard, causing the snake's hold to relax as she threw up; he had hit her kidneys. The lion grabbed her and tossed her over to the wounded Crane.
Platon dusted himself off. "You can't seriously hope to fight me," he sighed, seemingly unphased by their efforts. Lion and Tigress faced him, poised to attack. "Even with this newfound strength you've found, you're out of your class. This fight is nonsense! Even if you defeat me, you'll be traitors of the Chinese Empire! Wanted warriors! Would you give everything up for this!"
"Would you SHUT UP!"
CLANG!
The earth erupted. Platon jumped out of the way of something metal, huge, and fast. He saw a familiar flint of a large bear etched into a metal hammer.
Hammer?
"Sho?" Platon whispered.
"Quiet old man. I'm not here for you," The bear grinned, marching over to the other team. "I'm here for the panda and his friends. Can't have him dying without a rematch."
Lion nodded with a smirk. "Good to have you back, brother."
"Hehe, haven't heard that in a while."
"Crane, Viper. Stay back with Shifu. Get better, okay?" Tigress ordered them. Viper loosely slithered around Crane's neck.
"Can you fly?"
"Not a breakneck speed, but I'll manage," Crane smiled as the two flew to the other side of the mountain.
"Why are we even fighting?" Platon grunted. "You all know you can't defeat me."
"Says the cat getting whipped by Li's daughter a moment ago. And she hasn't even been trained to use her strength yet," Sho laughed.
"You know that the Emperor will take all of you in if you're captured!" The lion shouted. "I don't want to see anyone else locked away in a cold dungeon." The wolf growled under his muzzle. "Lion, I'm sorry for everything, but this must end. You know even with our combined strength that we won't stay safe for long."
"Freedom is always fought for," Lion remarked.
"This is foolishness, son!"
"YOU DON'T GET TO CALL ME THAT ANYMORE!" Lion barked, pulling his dagger out. The clouds darkened overhead as the wind whistled through the plain. The sea's waves stilled for a brief moment as if they knew what happened. Lion panted and snarled. Tears dripped down his dark cheeks onto his ripped vest. "You don't get to call me son anymore! You took everything away from us, from me! You completely abandoned me! Without my parents, you were my only father and you left me alone! ALONE TO FIGHT MY OWN DEMONS!"
Crash!
Rain started pouring down from the dark clouds above. The wolf's muzzle snarled into fierce lines laden with enough old rage to kill a horse. His red eyes narrowed but still brimmed with tears. His hand shook, shaking the dagger he held. Slowly, his breathing returned and his shoulders relaxed. Lion took a long breath. "And yet," He said in a lower tone. "I don't regret it. Because it was fighting my demons that I learned I was never alone. If you never betrayed us, I wouldn't have gotten stronger. And I wouldn't have experienced what I did. It was by fighting my demons that I learned to accept them." He smiled rebelliously. "And that's made me stronger."
Platon stood still, staring with two single tears dripping down his face. He pulled out his sword and stood ready. "We don't need to fight," He said desperately.
"Of course we do," Sho smirked, bulking up the spirit and winking at Tigress. "Even though the tiger hasn't trained with us, she already knows the main lesson you taught us."
"What's that?" Platon asked.
"Never give up," Tigress took her stand and readied for the fight ahead.
Continued...
