Chapter 11: Attack on the Jade Palace
"Any word from Leo and Mikey?" April asked Donnie and Raph as they, Tigress, Monkey, and Viper met up with Shifu at the top of the stairs just outside of the Hall of Heroes.
Donnie shook his head as he scrolled through the texts on his T-Phone. "Not yet." He replied. "But then again, Li Shan did say that the secret village was somewhere in the mountains so maybe they're not able to get a signal. Besides, I think they can handle themselves."
"Well, let's hope so." Viper said.
As the others talked, Tigress and Shifu watched them off to the side, simply listening in to their conversation.
"I suppose it was a good thing Leonardo and Michelangelo went to the panda village as well." Shifu said to his adopted daughter. "Otherwise I would fear that Po would do something… well, 'incautious'."
Tigress turned to Shifu with a slightly incredulous look. "You don't think Po can take care of himself?"
"No." Shifu quickly said, "I know he can, it's just that with how he is, I can't help but feel some concern."
Tigress looked out to the horizon, her face softening and her ears folding. "I understand, Master." She said in some sadness. "I too am worried about him, even if he does have Leo and Mikey with him. But, I believe in Po's abilities, as well as those of his guardians." She then smiled slightly. "Besides, I doubt they would stop to eat dumplings while we're here worrying about an imminent threat." She lightly joked, actually getting a chuckle out of Shifu.
As he watched her, Shifu couldn't help but smile a bit as well. That panda truly had changed her hadn't he? The way he saw her smile was more joyful than he had seen in over a decade.
Shifu's smile then slowly faded as he thought back years ago to when Tigress was a young teenager who tried her best to imitate him, desperate to gain his approval, but he was too blinded by his anger to see it and in a way, he hurt her. It was only when she and the Five defeated Boar did he let his stoic facade break, if only for a moment, as he told her how proud he was of her. The brightness that filled his daughter's amber eyes as she smiled almost as bright as the sun, and it was that day that Shifu had been convinced that was perhaps the happiest moment of her life.
That was, until another memory flowed.
He remembered many more years ago coming to the Bao Gu Orphanage, hearing rumors about a terrifying monster that was there. A monster that possessed such terrifying strength that it scared the other children stiff. A beast so frightening and easily angered that she was forced to be locked up in her room.
The room was dark and dingy when he entered it, looking more like a prison cell than an actual room, the bed torn up and claw marks on the walls. And sitting in the corner of the room was a small tiger cub curled up by herself.
Inwardly, he was disgusted that the caretakers would treat a child like this, but remained cold and steely, reminding himself that the caretakers simply didn't know better.
"Tigress," He spoke, calmly announcing his presence as the tiger cub turned her head towards him, her eyes slightly red from no doubt crying. "I am Shifu, I am-"
"Afraid?" The tiger cub asked bitterly.
Shifu was somewhat surprised at the amount of hostility and malice in this cub's voice but maintained his composure as he closed the door behind him. "No." He said.
The tiger cub fully turned to him, her fiery amber eyes piercing the darkness of the room. "Well you should! I am Tigress, Tigress the monster!" She said. But just like a burst of fire, her anger was instantly extinguished as her inner despair took over. "A monster no-one wants." She croaked out, her lips trembling and tears streaking from her eyes as she turned back towards the wall.
While he did not show it, Shifu's heart broke for the little tiger cub. She was alone, demonized by the very people meant to care for her. "You are not a monster," He gently replied, "you are just a little girl."
Young Tigress' head snapped to him as she silently gasped, her amber eyes filled with a variety of emotions. Most notably shock, uncertainty, confusion… and just the tiniest sliver of hope.
Shifu remembered the next few days that later turned into weeks and in turn turned to months as he taught the young Tigress the art of self-control until the day she was finally accepted by the other children at the orphanage. But despite all of that, none of the adults wanted her.
Shifu remembered the look on young Tigress' face as the joy seemed to be sucked out of her, polluting the orphanage with a feeling of devastation. And as he watched the caretaker escort her inside, he swore to himself that he would never let that look cross her face again and that he would give her the family she deserved.
He stood by the doorway as he watched the young Tigress sitting on a bench looking dejected as she glumly placed a wooden domino on the table, her hope completely diminished.
Shifu had already informed the caretaker of his decision to adopt her, but had insisted on informing the cub himself.
Quietly, Shifu walked over to the table Tigress was sitting at and placed another wooden domino down next to her's.
"Shifu!" Tigress exclaimed happily, sitting up as a joyful smile wormed its way onto her face, that was until Shifu said the words that would change her life forever.
"Come, let us go home."
Staring at him with eyes wide in complete disbelief, Tigress darted her head to see the caretaker nodding in confirmation.
Tears of absolute joy began to well up in Tigress' eyes as a massive smile plastered itself across her face.
In a quick motion, Tigress flipped over the table and dashed towards her newly adopted father until she was right beside him. And seeing Shifu's eyes, his steely blue orbs filled with warmth and care, Tigress hugged her father tightly, tears of pure happiness running down her cheeks as she looked up at him with a wide grateful smile on her lips.
Shifu smiled back, albeit much more reserved, and gently placed a hand on her head, giving her an affectionate rub before they continued on their way back to the Jade Palace. Back to Tigress' new home as Shifu recalled his vow.
A vow that had long since been forgotten as the years passed.
Shifu had never seen Tigress happier than that day. He hadn't realized how much he had let her down over the years until recently. It was only after Oogway's passing that he realized the error of his ways and as such, remembered the vow that he had broken so long ago.
Since then, Shifu had been trying to mend his relationship with his adopted daughter, occasionally spending some quality father-daughter time with her, which Tigress seemed to appreciate as she gladly spent this time with him. However, Shifu quickly noticed that Tigress enjoyed herself more when she was around a certain other person… Po.
"You and Po have been getting rather close, haven't you?" Shifu said with a light smirk.
Tigress' eyes widened in surprise as a light blush came to her cheeks, just hidden under her fur. "I suppose so." She admitted before Shifu gave her a look. "Okay, fine. Over this past year, Po and I have been much closer and I… I appreciate his company." She admitted shyly.
Shifu gently placed his hand on her paw. "Tigress," He said, his voice authoritative yet gentle. "You don't have to hide from me. Not anymore."
Tigress stared at her adopted father before she gazed out past the others towards the mountains far away with a wistfully warm smile, her eyes filled with a reserved glee.
"I love him." She softly admitted before she looked slightly downward. "But… I don't know if I'm ready to tell him." She sighed longingly. "I talked with Viper and April about it, and they're saying I should tell Po next time I see him. But… I don't know if I can."
"You want to trust him with your heart, but you can't find the strength to do it yet?" Shifu asked.
Tigress slowly nodded, causing Shifu's guilt to bleed through once more as his ears folded and his eyes looked downcast.
"I'm sorry." He blurted out.
Tigress snapped her head towards Shifu, her ears perking up as she struggled to believe if she had heard him correctly as she gazed at him with concern.
"I have truly been a… horrible father." Shifu sighed, Tigress' concerned look turning to one of shock. "I knew that you felt alone… unloved… unwanted… and yet, I was still so… cold to you. And you never deserved to be treated like that, Tigress. It's because of me that you have so much trouble trusting your feelings… and I am truly ashamed of myself."
Tigress' shocked expression turned more melancholic as Shifu continued.
"I completely understand if you haven't forgiven me for hurting you like this." Shifu said. "You entrusted your heart to me, doing everything to make me proud, and I barely gave you any notice. I hurt you, and I didn't even care. I was still so… distraught from Tai Lung's imprisonment that I forgot to care for you." He breathed in a shuddering breath as tears threatened to escape from his eyes. "But please know that I have been proud of you since the beginning and that my love for you has never faltered, my dear sweet daughter."
Tigress stared at her father with the same melancholic expression as she was stunned silent at seeing her adopted father in such an emotional wreck before she then reached her arms out to him, wrapping him in a gentle hug.
Shifu's eyes snapped open in shock as he felt the tiger master hold him tightly yet gently. "Don't cry." Tigress softly whispered. "I know that you were suffering back then and I've already forgiven you. You took me in when no-one else would… you cared for me when no-one else would…" She then held him a little tighter. "I have never stopped loving you, Baba." She broke the embrace, smiling sadly as Shifu turned to face her. "And that will never change."
With that, Tigress stood up and lightly walked over to join the others in their conversation while Shifu simply stood there. "Baba…" He murmured quietly.
As the others talked, they heard a faint whooshing sound coming from the distance. They all looked up to see a small arrow with a sheet of paper attached to it heading their way.
"I got it!" Monkey said, already leaping up onto the roof of the Hall of Heroes to catch the arrow…
… only for Donnie to jump up and deflect the arrow with his bo staff, catching the arrow in his hand.
"Aw, I wanted to catch that." Monkey said in disappointment as they came back to the ground.
Donnie shot him a gap-toothed grin as he sheathed his staff. "Sorry, buddy. You snooze, you lose." His face then turned slightly serious as he glanced at the paper on the arrow. "Another message," He reported, handing the arrow to Shifu, "looks like this one's from the Eastern Province."
Snapping out of his earlier stupor, Shifu took the arrow as they all gathered around a series of arrows that had arrived much earlier than this one. His face turned grim as he unraveled the paper and read the message.
"Master Lizard, Master Ox, Master Eagle, all of them." He said gravely, snapping the arrow in half in frustration. "In every village from the sea to here, every master in China… has vanished."
"Well that's not good." Raph stated bluntly.
"Maybe they are all at a party?" Monkey suggested.
"Monkey…" Viper lightly chided him.
"I didn't get invited either." Monkey said.
"Kai has taken their chi." Shifu stated. "We are all that stand between him and the knowledge Oogway left in our care."
"Not to mention Po, Leo, and Mikey are still out there." Donnie pointed out. "Which means Kai will most likely be coming here next."
"Then we'd better be ready for him." Raph said, punching his fist into his palm.
"Indeed." Shifu agreed. "The villagers. Evacuated?"
"Done, Master." Tigress replied as they all headed down the steps into the Master's Garden.
"Crane, Mantis?" Shifu asked.
"Still nothing." Tigress answered.
"Nothing from Casey either." April added, checking her T-Phone only to find nothing. "This doesn't look good, guys. Maybe-" She was cut off mid-sentence as she placed a paw on her forehead, groaning as her head rang with the familiar throb of her powers.
"April? April! What's wrong?" Donnie asked in immediate concern as the others turned to the red-haired lioness with worried looks.
While the others tried to figure out what was wrong with April, Viper momentarily glanced towards the sky and gasped at what she saw. "Wait, it's them!" She exclaimed. "Crane, Mantis, and Casey!"
Drawing their attention away from April, the group looked to the skies above the Jade Palace, spotting three figures in the air circling around the Palace.
And Viper was right, it was Crane, Mantis, and Casey…
… but their bodies were covered completely in the jade.
"No!" Shifu gasped.
Before any of them could question what was happening, the jombified Crane swooped down, forcing the group to duck as he flew over their heads, leaving a trail of jade mist in his wake.
The jombified Crane, Mantis, and Casey landed in the middle of the Master's Garden, all three of them taking combative stances.
What caught the others attention was that while Crane and Mantis looked exactly the same as jombies as they did as they would normally, Casey, meanwhile, looked more like he did in his human form, only his body was completely covered in jade like the other jombies.
April's eyes then suddenly snapped open, wide with panic. "He's here!" She exclaimed.
And as she said that, out from the green mist that had begun to form from behind the jombies came the tall gray yak himself, slowly twirling his blades as he let them scrape the ground.
"Kai." Shifu growled as the others scowled at the fallen general, Raph pulling his sais out of his belt while Donnie unsheathed his bo staff and April pulled out her tessen and tanto.
Kai stepped out in front of the three jombies, momentarily gazing at the group before gazing up at the large statue of Oogway that sat at the end in the Master's Garden.
"Nice." He mused. "Very tacky."
The group simply glared at the bull while Shifu gripped Oogway's staff tightly.
"How dare you set foot on these grounds!" The red panda yelled angrily.
"Look at you pathetic fools," Kai said mockingly, "groveling at the feet of Oogway the 'magnificent'."
Tigress frowned. "You are not fit to speak his name." She growled.
"I am not fit, little kitten?" Kai taunted with a confident smirk, wrapping the chains attached to his swords around his wrists as he caught the handles.
Tigress let out a snarl as she and the others took defensive ready positions. No-one called her kitten.
"I fought by his side." Kai said, pointing his blade at the statue of Oogway. "I loved him like a brother! And he… betrayed me." He was silent for a moment before he sighed. "Well…" He finally spoke. "Now I will destroy… everything he has created!" He yelled, twirling his jade chain swords before throwing them at the group.
"Go!" Shifu yelled before the group quickly scattered out of the way of Kai's blades.
Monkey was the first to rush in as he leapt onto a ledge and jumped down, attempting to land a kick on Kai's head, but the bull knocked him away with his blades.
Tigress and Raph were next as they both leapt at the yak, Tigress aimed a kick at Kai's head but missed, so she instead tried to sweep his legs out from under him while Raph swung his sais at Kai's face. The fallen general sidestepped the feline's sweep before parrying the red clad turtle's attack.
Donnie and April came in next as the purple clad turtle extended his bo staff into a naginata blade and attempted to stab it into Kai's back. The blade ended up having no effect, much to Donnie's shock, before Kai grabbed the smart turtle by the leg and threw him away. April threw her tessen at Kai, only for the fallen general to bat it away with one of his swords. She then attempted to land a flying kick, only for Kai to knock her away.
He then threw one his chain at Viper, who slithered along the chain and attempted to snap her tail like a whip at Kai, who quickly blocked her attack. This distracted Kai long enough for Tigress to lunge at the bull, only for Kai to duck as the tiger master hit nothing but air.
Tigress landed on the ground, using her claws to stop herself before she and Raph rushed in again, only for Kai to kick Tigress in the chest and knock her into Raph, knocking the wind out of both of them.
Monkey and Shifu both attempted to kick Kai, only for the fallen general to block their attacks with his blades before twirling them so fast they were almost a blur and forcing Shifu and Monkey to back away.
Kai then turned and raised his jade chain swords to block several shuriken and kunai thrown at him by Donnie before swinging his sword at the purple clad turtle. Donnie quickly tucked his legs in, flipping over the blade mid-air before landing on the ground and drawing his staff. He then spun around, attempting to swat at Kai with his staff, but the fallen general knocked him away with his chains.
Kai then threw his chain swords at Tigress, forcing her to duck before she leapt up into the air. She let out a snarl as she came down, putting all of her strength into one hard kick towards his Kai.
Kai quickly raised his swords to block the kick, and as soon as Tigress' foot made contact with the jade blade, it sent a shockwave of golden chi across the air and caused Kai to stumble back.
Tigress landed on her feet, taking a combative stance. "How's that for a little kitten?" She smirked.
Kai fell to his knees, surprised at the feline's strength before he growled, raising his head as his eyes began to glow a jade green.
Just then, the jombified Crane, Casey, and Mantis' eyes all glowed a bright green before they sprung into action, attacking the group.
The jombie Crane swooped in, kicking Tigress away and taking their fight elsewhere while the jombie Casey engaged both April and Raph.
While the jombie Crane took Tigress away, Donnie and Viper were barely able to dodge out of the way. But that didn't mean they were out of danger as up above, the jombie Mantis dislodged the blade off of the statue of Master Gorilla, throwing the stone blade down at them.
Donnie and Viper quickly noticed this and jumped out of the way, Viper using her tail to smash the stone blade into pieces. Viper gasped in horror as the jombie Mantis came at them again while Donnie readied his staff.
Meanwhile, Shifu fully engaged Kai as the two exchanged blows, Shifu delivering a kick to the yak's face and avoiding his blades, at one point grabbing one of Kai's blades and pinning it to the ground.
"I will not let you destroy Oogway's memory!" Shifu growled.
"Why not?" Kai sneered. "He destroyed mine!"
Tigress and Viper both engaged the jombified Crane as Tigress threw several punches and kicks at her former comrade while Viper lashed out at him with her tail, however all of their attacks were blocked by the jombie Crane's wings as he lashed out at them with the talons on his feet, forcing them both on the defensive.
Raph slashed his sai at the jombie Casey's gut while his jombified best friend swung his hockey stick at him. Both attacks missed as Raph ducked under Casey's swing while Casey stepped away from Raph's slash. Casey then attempted to bring down his hockey stick on Raph's head, forcing the red clad turtle to move out of the way, throwing a backhand stab that was quickly blocked by Casey.
The two went back and forth, both seeming to be equally matched before April jumped in with tessen and tanto.
Raph then clashed his sais against the jombie Casey's hockey stick while April clashed against his baseball bat.
"Casey, snap out of it, man!" Raph pleaded to his best friend even though he knew it was probably futile.
The jombie Casey did not respond as he proceeded to push Raph away before jabbing his taser into April's stomach.
April let out a shriek as green electricity streaked along her body, her screams immediately getting Donnie's attention.
"April!" Donnie cried, breaking off from his fight with Mantis to run over and drop-kick the jombie Casey away.
With the jombie Mantis unoccupied, Monkey quickly made a grab for his jombified friend. "Mantis! It is me! Your bestie!" He yelled, trying to get through to his friend as he opened his hands a bit and peeked an eye in.
He was then kicked several times in the cheek before the jombified bug flipped him around relentlessly. Monkey struggled to keep Mantis down, even placing four of his paws on Mantis, but this did not help matters as the jombie Mantis sent Monkey flying at the others.
"Sorry, Tigress!" Monkey cried as he was rammed into the tiger master. "Sorry! Sorry!" He yelled as he was flung around by Mantis, hitting the others and knocking them back before hitting Tigress, Raph, Donnie, and April, sending them crashing against the statue of Oogway in a pile of limbs.
Shifu, meanwhile, continued to dodge and deflect each of Kai's attacks before jumping onto one of the bull's chains and leaping into the air to deliver the final blow…
… that was until he saw the jade pendant of Oogway around Kai's neck. And because of that, he faltered.
A big mistake on his part as Kai knocked him out of the air, sending Shifu flying back towards the statue of Oogway where Tigress, Raph, Donnie, and April were.
"Shifu!" Tigress cried, she and the others immediately coming to her downed father's side.
Kai then raised his hand as it glowed with the power of chi. "Bring them to me." He commanded.
Within an instant, Mantis dragged Monkey towards Kai while Crane did the same with Viper, the two of them screaming in terror as their chi was absorbed by the fallen general, leaving them as two more jade pendants on his belt.
"No!" Raph yelled while the others could only watch in horror.
Kai laughed maniacally at absorbing his latest victims before turning his gaze to remainders of the group.
Tigress, Raph, Donnie, and April all scowled as they took combative stances, ready to go back in and fight again when Shifu got up and grabbed Tigress' sleeve.
"No!" Shifu told them. "You must warn Po and your brothers."
"Master… Father, please!" Tigress begged him with pleading eyes.
"We are not leaving you!" Raph stated firmly, and from the looks of it, Donnie and April were in agreement.
Suddenly, one of Kai's blades hit the ground right in the middle of them, sending Tigress, Raph, and Donnie tumbling down the hills and out of sight while April was sent crashing against the base of Oogway's statue and Shifu was knocked back further away.
April groaned as she held her aching head, gasping as she saw Kai slowly approaching her. Without a second thought, she blasted a psychic wave at the bull in an attempt to blow him back.
But to her shock, the blast had no effect as Kai continued to approach her, only briefly stopping in surprise at her power. "It seems that you have special gifts, girl." He mused as he got closer and closer to her. "Gifts that will be useful to me."
April threw out her hands, doing everything in her power to push Kai back, but nothing. And to make things worse, it seemed to amuse the yak as he laughed.
"Why… can't I… move you?!" April strained as Kai was now directly in front of her.
Kai chuckled as he raised his hands. "Because I am of the Spirit Realm, child. Your power does not affect me." He said, his hands glowing a jade green.
April didn't even get a chance to scream as Kai took her chi, turning her into another one of the jade pendants on his belt.
With another's chi stolen, Kai then pulled out his blades and wrapped them around the statue of Oogway.
"I will show you the true power of chi, brother!" Kai sneered at the statue. And with all his strength and the power of chi, Kai ripped the statue from the ground.
"No!" Shifu whispered as all he could do was watch as Kai hurled the statue in a long wide circle before he threw the statue into the Jade Palace, utterly destroying it as bits of wood and metal were thrown everywhere before the Oogway statue was thrown down the thousand steps where it crumbled to pieces at the very bottom, leaving only the head intact.
Shifu could only stare at the wrecked remains of the Palace, mouth agape in horror as hundreds of parchments and scrolls containing such wisdom and power all scattered around the grounds either in pieces or completely destroyed.
"Oogway… forgive me." Shifu murmured to himself.
Kai chuckled as he lifted the jade pendant of Oogway. "Hmm? What do you say, Oogway? Do you forgive him?" He asked mockingly.
Shifu glared murderously up at the fallen general. "You may have destroyed the Jade Palace, but you will never succeed." He said defiantly. "There will always be someone to stop you."
"Who? The panda? And those turtles?" Kai smirked with a laugh. "Hmm, their chi is strong, but… it won't be enough." He then bent down on one knee to Shifu's level. "They will meet the same fate as you." He whispered ominously.
"No…" Shifu wheezed.
"And so will every panda in that village." Kai added, raising his hands as they began to glow green, already beginning to absorb Shifu's chi.
Meanwhile down the hill, Tigress, Raph, and Donnie could only watch from behind a large rock as Kai absorbed Shifu's chi, turning him into a jade pendant like the others.
"Yes!" Kai grinned, griping Shifu's pendant like it was some sort of trophy.
Tigress, Raph, and Donnie panted heavily, their bodies covered in dirt, cuts, and bruises while the armor on Raph and Donnie's shoulders and shins were cracked and chipped in some places.
Raph gripped his sais tightly as he scowled, looking like he was getting ready to go back and fight when both Tigress and Donnie stopped him.
"What are you doing? None of us are in any condition to fight, that includes you, Raph." Donnie hissed at his hot-headed brother, making sure to keep his voice down so that Kai wouldn't hear them.
"Donnie's right." Tigress agreed, pulling Raph back behind the rock. "We have to warn the others."
Raph struggled against their grip before he relented. "Fine. But we gotta move, and fast."
Tigress and Donnie both nodded as the feline bent down and grabbed the jade scroll that contained Oogway's history with Kai and his discovery of chi.
"Po, Leo, Mikey… I hope you're all ready." Tigress whispered to herself.
She attempted to walk, but quickly felt her legs give out on her. Thankfully, Raph and Donnie were there to catch her and help her stand.
"So how are we supposed to find them?" Raph questioned as the three of them quietly snuck away, making their way down the thousand steps. "The Secret Panda Village ain't called 'secret' for nothing."
"I know Po's scent, as well as Leo and Mikey's." Tigress replied. "We should be able to follow it to them."
Donnie nodded while he used his bo staff as a walking stick to support himself and the others. "Well then, we'd better hurry."
Minor note, the little beginning moment with Tigress and Shifu was mainly inspired from a scene in this other story called Kung Fu Panda 4: Fragile Hearts by S.T. Necro. I highly recommend it, it's really good. (Please no flames, though)
