A/N: I'm back ladies and gentlemen! I had so much fun and interest making this recent update. It's one of the longer updates I've had in a while. It's nearing 13k words! And it felt like writing it took forever. Looking back at some of the previous chapters I hit a peak of roughly 50k words in the span of THREE chapters! I think it was like chapters V,VI,VII...something like that. How in the world did I manage that?! Anyways enough of my jabbering, that's not what you guys are here for. No one cares about me. They just want to read the story haha. Well then, buckle up and grab the popcorn, and enjoy the show! This one's a banger!
As always, Read & Enjoy. Maybe drop a review if you're feeling generous ;)
Disclaimer:I don't own Dream Works or Kung Fu Panda. I only own this specific plot and my OCs.
CH XIV: Choices Define Us
Valley of Peace
The aged grandmaster stealthily made his way through the once peaceful town. Some buildings were burning, others were simply destroyed. It wasn't a pretty sight. Criminals were around every corner, like roaches. If only ridding them would've been as simple as a can of bug spray. The once prosperous bustling market, was almost empty. Only the bravest of villagers dared to venture far from holes they lived in now. Shifu looked in despair at the chaos and destruction that'd befallen the Valley. Was he too late?
The deeper into the valley he traversed, the more he worried. If there was this much criminal activity and chaos, then surely the Five and the Dragon Warrior would've put a stop to it?
Slinking along the shadows of the early morning darkness, the red panda had little difficulty in avoiding bandits and criminal sentries. It was almost comical at how easily he avoided the mindless morons that patrolled the town, looking for people or things to rob.
As much as he wanted to defeat all the scoundrels and send them packing, he knew that there were times to fight and there were times to retreat. This was a time to abide by the latter. He had no idea who or what he was up against. What the current situation was. Or info on the Five and Dragon Warrior. He needed to get to the Jade Palace...assuming it was still standing.
After leaving behind the urbanized south of the town, Shifu speedily made his way towards and up the one thousand steps. Within a few short minutes, the grandmaster arrived at the entrance to the palace. To his relief it was standing and seemingly untouched. To his dismay, he noted the locked gate doors. The gate was never shut, unless a festival or major event was occurring, and he doubted that was the case.
"Pfhhhhhh. Shifu," a voice whispered from the shadows of the overhang.
Shifu spun towards the voice, prepared to face off against his identifier. However, he was relieved to see a friendly face. Crouching next to the closed gate was Saber. The white tiger had a finger to his lips in a hushing motion as he made a 'come over' motion with his other paw.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Shifu quickly yet silently zipped over to join the feline under the overhang.
"Saber what's happened here?" he questioned in a serious whisper.
Saber gave him a solemn look, "Daemon's overtaken the palace and captured the Five. They're in the dungeons. I barely managed to escape," he spoke with a sigh.
Shifu cursed silently. That was what he'd been afraid of. This is exactly what he'd envisioned. Now it was a reality.
"I'm glad you're here. The chances of busting out the Five are a lot higher with you present," Saber let out in relief.
Shifu gave the Siberian tiger a curt nod, "Yes. There's no time to waste. The longer we wait, the higher the chance of us getting caught," the red panda said, turning his attention to the dark horizon. It was still dark, but his aged eyes could make out the barely visible line of light that would no doubt grow into the rising sun, should they wait too much longer. He estimated there was approximately ten minutes before their cover of shadows and darkness was banished away by the golden orb.
Saber nodded with a firm set jaw, "Lead the way master," he prompted, motioning towards the palace walls.
Shifu gave the younger man a nod with a confident smile before skipping up the wall and onto the rooftop of one of the palace's buildings. He was soon followed by Saber, as the tiger landed quietly beside him.
The two began to traverse the buildings, rooftop to rooftop, avoiding guards and the sentries that patrolled the grounds below. Finally, they arrived near the dungeon entrance. It was a simple stone block structure with a steel bar door. The entrance, was followed by several hundred steps down to the dungeon rooms. It was an eerie setup to say the least.
At the moment, the grandmaster and Saber were perched on the branch of one of the palace's pine trees. It also happened to extend over the dungeon entrance. The only slight difficulty they had to deal with was the duo of guards that stood in front of the steel bar door.
"I'll take left, you go right," Shifu ordered in a whisper.
Saber simply nodded, staring down at the figures of the two enemies below.
"Now."
Jumping down from the tree, Saber and Shifu both landed on their intended targets. The force of Saber's land no doubt snapping his guard's spine, while Shifu settled on ramming his guards head into the stone floor, given his weight disadvantage. Leaving the two criminals, Shifu and Saber quietly opened the steel door and slipped into the dungeon entrance.
The dimly lit stone staircase barely phased the grandmaster as he quickly made his way towards the cavity of the dungeons below. Saber followed in behind, no saying a word.
"It's good to see you Saber. Seeing a friendly face has been a scarcity these past several weeks," Shifu admitted not bothering to turn around as they both hurried towards the dungeons below.
"It's good to see you too old friend," the tiger returned. If only the grandmaster could've turned to see the dangerous smirk across the feline's face.
Arriving at the dungeons, Shifu opened another steel bar door before entering the chamber area. It took no time for him to identify the five imprisoned figures on the opposite side of the chambers. Hurrying over, the grandmaster came to halt just a meter outside their cell.
"Students!" he let out in worry as he saw their defeated forms, shackled by chains.
Looking up, the Five gave him looks of horror as if he was a ghost back from the dead.
"Shifu? What are you doing? Get out of here!" let out Monkey as he stood up on his wobbly legs.
"Not without you!" Shifu returned heatedly.
Tigress was about to crawl over before she spotted the white tiger behind the grandmaster.
"What are you doing with him?" she hissed in confusion and anger, pointing a shaking clawed finger towards Saber.
Shifu looked at her in question.
"It's Saber what's wrong with-" his eyes widened in realization. It all made sense. Saber being the only one to escape. The white tiger knowing exactly where the Five were and how to avoid the criminal guards and sentries. Somehow being in the perfect time and place to greet the older master. It was a setup! He was so caught up in relief of having an apparent 'ally' and worry about his students, that he hadn't even taken time to think about all these suspicious factors.
However, Shifu's epiphany was a fraction of a second too late. Snapping his head around, he was met with a flying kick to the face. The red panda was sent flying back into the stone wall across the dungeon by the force of the traitor's kick.
Grumbling in pain, Shifu rose to his feet, shaking off the dizziness from the attack before sending a death glare towards the white tiger.
"Dumb bitch always has to open her mouth and ruin everything," Saber complained with a dramatic sigh.
Tigress growled at him. He simply looked over and blew the feline a kiss. This prompted a more violent reaction from the female, but thankfully for Saber, she was virtually powerless at the moment.
Shifu took the chance to charge towards Saber, executing a series of combos and techniques that were well above the mercenary's pay grade. Although, the white tiger held out for a while, the older master was always the clear victor. Sending the traitorous feline tumbling backwards across the stone floor, Shifu looked at him in anger and scorn.
"I can't believe you would betray your friends and me in such a heinous way!" he growled at the tiger, grabbing him and flinging him across the room.
"And you'd be a fool to think you could best me in combat! You couldn't even defeat me if I was ninety!" the red panda let out in anger with a hint of swagger.
"Really? I thought you were ninety?" the tiger let out with a pained laugh. Shifu was unamused. The grandmaster sent him into the wall with a powerful kick, returning the favor from earlier.
After sliding to the ground, the white tiger rose to his knees dusting off the dirt with a wince.
"I know I can't defeat you Shifu. But he can," Saber let out with a pained smirk, gesturing his thumb towards the dungeon entrance.
Within seconds, the sound of heavy footsteps reverberated through the stone floor. Moments after, the intimidating form of Daemon emerged from around the corner.
"Took you long enough," Saber grumbled nursing his shoulder, possibly dislocated.
"I was drinking tea," was the hulking tiger's response.
Shifu's face fell as he saw his former friend and enemy turn his attention towards him. Shifu knew he wasn't winning this fight. Him and the other masters couldn't beat Daemon years ago in their primes. Now, he was alone and...older than he'd like to admit. The best thing he could do now was escape. Unobtrusively, the aged master eyed the exit to the dungeon behind Daemon. Even as subtle as he was Daemon read his action instantly. Giving the red panda almost a scold-like smile, the tiger reached behind and shut the steel door before locking it with a key. Handing the key to Saber, Daemon turned back around towards the grandmaster.
Walking towards the aged master, Daemon let out with a tired sigh, "Good to see you Shifu. It's been a while."
Shifu was left unnerved by the classy and collected manner of the tiger. Last they'd met years ago, the tiger had been a crazy, power hungry...maniac. We're talking so bad that he made Tai Lung look like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum.
"I see age has treated you nicely," the red panda returned curtly, he couldn't help the slight begrudging tone that was included.
Daemon let out a sigh, although a small grin managed to emerge.
"You should talk. You're rather spry for...how long has it been...my it's been years hasn't it? We both must be pushing seventy if I'm doing my math right," the tiger let out with a thoughtful expression.
"No worries though Shifu, you don't look a day over sixty," Daemon continued with a slight smile.
Shifu gave his former brother in arms a deadpan look, "Well, you still look thirty...I can't say I'm not a little envious."
The villain shrugged, "The Elixir of Immortals has been kind to me. What can I say?"
Shifu narrowed his eyes at the tiger. He seemed so different. Then again, it'd been nearly thirty years.
"As much as I'd like to chat some more. That isn't what you're here for...is it Daemon?" the aged grandmaster spat.
The tiger sighed, "No. I'm afraid it isn't."
Within the blink of an eye, both warriors were upon each other. Interchanging blows left and right. It was clearly evident who the victor would be the second they began. Shifu had always been renowned for his speed and agility. Daemon despite his size, was faster and more agile. Every blow Shifu executed, Daemon blocked and returned with half a dozen. It wasn't even fair. Even with a combination of Chi attacks from the grandmaster, it still wasn't nearly enough. It would've taken a master of Chi at full potential to even think about hindering the tiger. All Shifu's attempts of chi strikes did nothing but annoy the seemingly unbeatable warrior at best.
Exhausted and aching, Shifu finally had bit off more than he could chew. Daemon within an instant seized the red panda by the neck and hoisted him off the ground.
"Master!" cried the Five from inside their cells. They could only watch in horror as the fight progressed. There was nothing they could do but hope and pray.
Shifu struggled in the tiger's grip, gasping for air. Daemon looked at his former friend in pity.
"Saber hand me the keys! And set the chi regulators to level five," he ordered the younger tiger.
Without missing a beat, Saber tossed over the keys before withdrawing the regulator remote and turning the dial to five.
Unlocking the chamber, Daemon strode over to one of the open sets of shackles before restraining the nearly unconscious red panda in them. He then withdrew another chi regulator from his pants pocket and clasped it around Shifu's neck.
Exiting the cell, Daemon relocked the door and tossed the keys to Saber.
"You can turn off the regulator now."
Saber nodded before turning the dial to zero.
Able to breathe again, the five all heaved in and out, shooting the two evil incarnations outside their cell death glares.
Daemon simply ignored them, heading towards the chamber exit, his task seemingly finished. Saber quickly followed his boss, but not without turning back around to stick his tongue out at the prisoners before disappearing from view.
"I still can't believe you slept with that d-bag," Mantis let out with a whistle.
Tigress simply growled, her attention and anger divided between the white tiger out of sight and the green bug out of reach.
"It was...a lapse in judgement," she let out in anger, albeit having the decency to look ashamed.
Monkey snorted from a few meters away, "Lapse in judgement that lasted for over a week."
Tigress's glare was enough to shut up the ape as he decided that angering the feline wasn't the smartest option at the moment.
"You what!?"
All members of the five cringed at the sound of the grandmaster's yell. Turning to see the red panda, he was bruised, beaten, and had welts is several places, but that still didn't make the master any less intimidating.
"You mean to tell me that you let that buffoon...that mockery of a warrior...BED YOU?!" the grandmaster bellowed in horror turning his attention to a shrinking Tigress.
"B-but Baba.." let out the nervous feline.
"Don't 'But Baba' me! Have you completely lost it? And why wasn't Po keeping an eye on you?" he yelled, scolding his daughter.
Everyone looked down in shame and sadness at Shifu's last sentence. They didn't need a reminder of that...
"He's the master in charge when I'm not here! He's supposed to make sure there are no... inappropriate activities while I'm gone! Or at least when they're concerned with people I disapprove of!" he continued before quieting down as he observed the reactions from his students.
None of them could meet his eyes as he looked around the room.
"Where...where is Po?" he asked finally noticing the absence of one of his best pupils.
Their silence was already enough of an answer but he didn't want to believe it. Tigress began to tear up before covering her face in her hands, ashamed of the hot tears that threatened to spill. Monkey and Mantis were quiet, not willing to speak up, despite their normally talkative personas. Crane just looked on in sorrow. Viper was finally the one to break the silence.
"He...he's not with us anymore master," she mumbled her eyes finally looking up to meet the grandmaster's.
At this, Shifu fell slack against his chains, his eyes wide in horror and disbelief. His vision wasn't a warning of something yet to come...or something that could happen. It was something that did happen. Po was dead...gone.
"China is doomed."
"You are literally the worst!"
Kiara wasn't having it. You'd think that the mighty Dragon Warrior, a Kung Fu master, weapons expert, master of ten thousand or whatever number of fighting styles, and all that other jargon that she didn't care for, could do something as simple as teach someone (mainly her) in swordsmanship. Why was it called that anyways? It's not like only men used swords. Women could use swords too y'know!
As of the moment, she was really regretting asking the panda to train her. The princess was ninety percent sure that he was just screwing with her. Given how much he seemed to enjoy torturing the lioness, she would've bet her castle on it.
Balancing on one leg, the princess was doing as the bear had instructed...shoving a stick into a tree hole. And no that wasn't a metaphor...she'd already asked him.
Initially, when he'd first accepted to training her, Kiara was ecstatic. Finally, she'd learn how to fight! From the best warrior in China...maybe even the world!
Turns out, her joy was short lived. After waking her up the next morning, the bear led her to a tree near the edge of the lake and handed her an armlength stick. The tree was quite thick around, possibly a meter. Po had then proceeded to carve holes and lines across the trunk. There were about half a dozen or so holes scattered across the side of the tree she faced. Each hole was roughly wide enough to fit the end of a stick. Then there were a number of lines that were splayed across the front, left, and right side of the trunk. They were deep and wide enough to fit the girth of the stick she was using. Po had then numbered the holes and lines one through twenty-four. Kiara was confused at first before Po explained in simple fashion. Shove the stick into the holes and hold the stick horizontally at different angles so that it fit snugly into the craved lines. Basically, it was like a complex puzzle pattern.
The first day was tedious enough. Kiara hated tests. And she hated memorizing. Naturally, Po decided to make her memorize which hole and carved line corresponded with which number. After that, he then told her to go through the action of continually fitting the stick into the holes and lines. This continued for several weeks.
Kiara was hoping Tai Lung would return soon, so that she could learn from him instead. Po said that the snow leopard would take a month or so to scout out the area and surrounding towns. She really hoped the older feline would return soon, anything to save her from this awful tedious disaster that she'd talked herself into.
And it just kept getting worse. First, it was do the patterns 1-24. Then, it was do it backwards. After that, was evens first, odds second and vice versa. Next, was balance on her left leg. Then, her right. Then kneeling. Then crouching. Then jumping after every pattern. Then BLINDFOLDED! And so on. To make matters worse, after the first couple days Po began to attach and hang stones with vines all across her body. At first it wasn't so bad...only a few light skipping stones. Nothing too serious. However, each day just got worse and worse. More stones hanging from her arms. More on her legs. Her back. Her torso. Her damn tail! Heavier stones! By the time he's done with her she'd look like a damn wind chime.
Po was currently sitting in a bamboo lounge chair reading a newspaper and sipping on some herb tea. He hadn't been this relaxed and entertained since...well...since ever.
"What? You don't trust my teaching methods?" he asked in mock hurt.
Kiara huffed, even with the blindfold on she could almost guarantee the bear had that stupid smirk across his stupid face. This was the most painful and embarrassing thing she'd experienced to date. The only thing he hadn't asked her to do during this stick exercise was to strip naked. Not that she wouldn't put it past him. That was probably tomorrow's variation of the same stupid lesson.
"It's the same stupid thing! Shove the stick in the hole! Swipe it against the line! Rinse and repeat on a dozen different holes and lines! I haven't even touched my sword even though these are supposed to be sword lessons!" Kiara let out in frustration.
This was the sickest joke ever. It wasn't even funny. Well, maybe it was to him. But it wasn't to her!
"What? Do you want a different stick? I could get you a heavier one if you want-" Po was cut off by the yell from the lioness.
"Agggggh!" she let out in frustration.
The lioness the began to continue doing the stick patterns at a progressing speed. Up and down, left and right, sideways and diagonal, in and out. Her form became a near blur. Before she finally stopped and broke the stick in half across the tree trunk. Reaching up, she ripped off the blind fold and turned towards the bear with an irritated expression on her attractive face. Po looked up from his newspaper with a raised eyebrow.
"I've done this stupid drill frontwards, backwards, every which way! I must've done it over ten-thousand times!" Kiara growled at him stamping her foot.
Folding the newspaper, Po took one last swig of his tea before setting the empty mug down. Stretching, the bear folded his arms behind his head.
"It's probably closer to a hundred thousand but yeah," Po let out with a yawn.
The princess let out a sound of displeasure before stomping over to the relaxing bear. She sounded like a wind chime mixed with an avalanche due to the hanging stones clanking around her, much to her chagrin.
Stopping an armlength away from the bear, Kiara stood there, arms crossed. Po didn't seem to notice despite the cacophonous noise coming from her makeshift stone wind chime. He just lay there, eyes closed, relaxing in the sun.
After almost a minute without being acknowledged, Kiara cleared her throat.
*Ahem*
Po opened his eyes and almost fell out of his lounge chair.
"My gosh! Don't sneak up on a guy like that!" he let out in fright, lined with sarcasm.
Rolling her eyes, the princess felt like throttling the infuriating bear.
"What is your problem? Does tormenting me somehow make you feel better about your sad, miserable life?" she let out in annoyance.
Po smirked back at her, "It does, 100%"
"Arrrrrg" she growled in annoyance before taking off all the stone weights. In her haste to do so some of the vines tangled around her legs, tripping her.
Tumbling to the ground, Kiara screamed in frustration before ripping off the rest of the vines and stones.
"You're a fraud! And you suck as a teacher!" Kiara let out in embarrassment and slight hurt, shakily rising to her feet before beginning to make her way towards the cabin trail.
Sighing, Po rose from his seat and grabbed his cane and the princess's sheathed sword. Making his way after the retreating princess he let out, "Hey!"
Kiara ignored him, picking up her pace. Exasperated as the princess drew farther and farther away, Po finally caved.
"Kiara!" he yelled out.
The princess halted in her tracks after hearing the bear address her by name for the first time since they'd met. Turning around, she let the bear catch up to her.
"Y'know it's not ladylike to outrun a cripple," he stated with a huff, finally stopping in front of her.
"Listen Po, I can't do it anymore. It's too much," she let out with a sigh.
Po tilted his head, analyzing the princess.
"Get into your starting stance," Po ordered calmly.
Kiara gave him a questioning look.
"But...the tree isn't here," she said in confusion.
"I'll be the tree," Po returned evenly.
Kiara was still confused, but followed his order. Setting her feet in a medium stance, she balanced on the balls of her feet, and leaned forward slightly.
"Wait, I don't have my stick," she remarked.
"Here," Po let out. Reaching to his back, her unstrapped her sword and unsheathed it. The golden silver blade gleamed in the sunlight. Spinning the blade around, Po offered it to her handle first.
Hesitantly taking it, Kiara admired the blade before realizing something. It was as light as a feather. Whereas before the metal weapon strained heavily against her wrist, she barely noticed the weight now.
'That's odd,' she pondered before being brought out of her thoughts by Po.
"Now. Position 4,' he stated calmly.
Kiara looked at him in hesitation. Four? That was sticking the stick...err...sword towards the middle left of the tree...but Po was the tree.
"But you'll be stabbed," she countered in confusion.
Po rolled his eyes.
"Position 4," he repeated, this time a little more forcefully.
Shrugging, Kiara looked up towards the bear meeting his gaze. She then half-heatedly stabbed the sword forward. Po scoffed in irritation, backhanding the sword aside.
"You're not trying!" he stated in annoyance.
Kiara looked at him in disbelief. Was this guy suicidal? He didn't have a shield! Or even any type of weapon!
"It's unfair to you!" she argued.
"Life's unfair princess," the bear returned in an exasperated sigh.
"I refuse to fight you on these terms," she said in stubbornness.
Po's eye twitched. Why did everyone want to disobey him when he was teaching? He thought he was a pretty good teacher...sort of.
"You're not the boss. I am! And I say stab me!" Po all but ordered the nuisance of a feline.
Kiara simply shook her head at him, refusing to continue. Holding her nose up, the princess crossed her arms. With a slight pouty face, she resembled that of a five-year-old.
Po grumbled at the lioness's attitude. If he wasn't so annoyed by her care for his well-being he would've been slightly insulted by her lack of faith in his ability. Sure, he'd gained a few pounds of weight but that didn't mean he was inept at combat.
'You mean a few dozen pounds,' Red guffawed.
Po wasn't amused by this. Sick of the voice inside his head and of the princess's reluctance to try and hurt him, the panda grumbled under his breath, "Ok then, we do it the hard way."
Crack!
"Ow!" exclaimed the lioness in pain, gripping the top of her head where Po had just struck her with his cane. The hard wood semi-formidable weapon wasn't one to scoff at.
"What the hell was that for?" she growled at him, massaging the welt that was now forming.
"Getting you angry! Fight me like you hate me!" Po encouraged, almost giddy at the prospect of being skewered by the feline.
"I don't hate you! And although it's tempting, killing you isn't the best idea," she returned with huff.
"Sure, you do! I just haven't pissed you off enough!" Po returned with a small smirk.
This jest was followed by another strike of his cane. Although Kiara was aware and tried to dodge this time, it didn't make much of a difference.
Crack!
"Will you cut that out!" Kiara moaned in pain; her head even more tender after the second strike.
"Not unless her highness starts acting like a grown up and less like a baby kitty," Po replied with a raised eye brow.
"Do NOT call me that!" she replied sharply before she could stop herself. It'd been a pet name that her mom had used to call her. She was still rather snappy when it came to the subject.
Po internally smirked. So 'Kitty' was off limits. Funnily enough, Tigress hated being called 'Kitten' by anyone. The panda had never understood why. And now with Kiara he had another example.
'Maybe it's a feline thing?' he shrugged.
"What's wrong? You don't like being called...Kitty?" he prodded with a smirk.
Kiara's growl was enough to answer without her saying a word. Po had found a thread. Now it was time to yank it and yank it hard.
"That's funny. Should I call you Kiara the Kitty from now on?" he laughed.
"Shut up!" Kiara snarled before bounding forward and jabbing her sword at the bear with fatal speed and precision.
Po smiled. Finally! Before stopping the blade between his palms. It took a substantial effort as well. A small shockwave emitted from the duo as Kiara's sword and body came to a halt. Before the moment was broken, Po continued.
"Position 8!"
Instinctively, Kiara's body moved on its own accord as she elegantly withdrew the blade and performed a flawless horizontal slice towards the bear's lower abdomen.
Impressed, Po deflected the blade with little effort. They were far from done however.
"12!"
Kiara once again, brought the blade back and slashed in a downwards arc at the bear's neck. Ducking, Po let out a genuine smile.
'Oh yeah. I'm good,' he thought in satisfaction.
"20!"
Front hand slash!
"2!"
Jab left!
"5!"
Jab right!
"23!"
Back hand slash!
Po continued to list off numbers in random order. Kiara to her own surprise, was able to not only execute each strike to nigh perfection, but was fluidly transitioning from one strike combo to the next. Slash! Jab! Up! Down! Left! Right! Front hand! Back hand! Whatever.
Even as the bear began to speed up the numbers, Kiara's limbs and body managed to keep up, her mind seemingly going into auto pilot. After nearly ten minutes, Po was listing off multiple numbers every second and the princess didn't even break a sweat.
Finally, seeing enough, Po listed off a final position number before disarming the lioness in a split second, twisting her arm and using her momentum from her last slash to carry her past him. Tripping over his extended cane, Kiara tumbled over in a heap.
"Not bad rookie. All the movements are solid. Some of the strikes need a little touching up, but that's about it," Po listed off with a raised eyebrow.
Kiara's eyes were wide in awe. She couldn't believe she just did that. How?
"W-what?" She let out in disbelief.
Seeing the princess's shock, Po smirked, "Your about on par with a sword expert now. Just don't go challenging any masters in the meanwhile. Even I can't train someone mastery over a weapon in only a month."
Turning around, Po dusted off his cane before heading towards the lodge. He was thirsty after all of that. A big glass of water sounded good.
'Buuuuut a big cold glass of beer sounds even better!' Red exclaimed in a knowing tone.
Po couldn't really argue with that. Red was occasionally right. This was simply one of those rare occasions.
"Maybe if I'm feeling up to it. We can work on blocking and unarmed combat later," he called back.
Kiara, dumbfound, shook her head to snap herself out of her trance before chasing after the bear. Finally catching up to him, she put up her hands to halt the bear.
"How did I do that? I haven't touched a sword all month! And I was doing combos and slashes and jabs and-" Kiara rambled before being cut off by the former Dragon Warrior.
"It isn't fire work science princess. Muscle memory. The patterns on the tree were just sword positions and strikes," Po explained to the lioness.
Kiara opened and closed her mouth, trying to process the information.
"Perform several strikes in succession and it's a combo. Honestly, after doing the motions thousands of times I'd be shocked if you hadn't picked it up," Po finished, stepping to the side and continuing his trek back to the lodge.
Rushing after the bear, the lioness continued to pepper him with questions.
"The jumping, kneeling, and balancing on one leg?" she questioned.
"Helps coordination and your ability to work with angles," Po replied evenly.
"The stone weights?"
"Strength resistance training."
"The blind fold?"
"Hones other senses other than sight."
Kiara looked over at the bear in amazement. She had truly thought he'd been screwing with her. But in reality, Po had honed her skills to that of an expert in just shy of a month. She would've called it ludicrous if she hadn't experienced the painful, harsh, yet effective training first hand.
"Is there anything you did that doesn't have an explanation?" she asked in curiosity, with a small grin.
Po scratched his chin with a shrug.
"Well, I was going to have you train in nothing but your underwear and bra...still thinking up an excuse for that one though," Po mused in a sarcastic tone.
Much to his surprise, instead of an embarrassed blush or angry growl, the princess looked unabashed, even going as far as to return a playful smirk towards the bear.
"Oh, I'm sure you'll think of something," she reassured him with a wink before heading off towards the cabin, leaving the panda in her dust.
Po was left rooted to the spot in a disconcerted trance. The bear couldn't help the slight reddening that tinted his face after that. It'd been a while since he'd blushed. Shaking off his embarrassment, he composed himself before continuing his walk. The princess was long gone, most likely already at the cabin.
'Ohoho she's dangerous,' Red let out with a chuckle.
"You're telling me," Po mumbled in return.
It was nighttime in the city of Nia-Hun, most of its occupants would usually be either enjoying night-time festivities or having supper. The moon glowed overhead like a giant street-side lamp in the pitch-black sky. Atop one of the taller buildings, possibly a dozen or so stories tall, stood a threatening figure. He also happened to be a master of a thousand scrolls of Kung Fu but that's another story. At the moment, the snow leopard was busy extracting information from a stubborn informant. Well...not informant per say...more like criminal he'd overheard talking about plans leaked from Daemon and his goons at the Jade Palace.
"I'm telling you man I don't know anything!" the wolf quavered as he dangled over the ledge head first. Dozens of stories up, the chances of survival were nonexistent if the leopard decided to let go.
"Really? I don't believe you," Tai Lung let out in a bored tone as he held the wolf out over the building ledge. It'd been a long night and this annoyingly stubborn wolf wasn't really putting him in the best mood. His extended right arm seemingly unfazed by holding the weight load of an entire person. His iron grip was encircled around the lower thigh of the bandit's leg.
Releasing his grip on the wolf's leg, the criminal nearly had a heart attack.
"Ahhh!"
Tai Lung's hand caught him a fraction of a second afterwards, now on his calf, a few inches below the bandit's knee cap.
"You sure you don't know anything?" the feline drawled in an irritated tone.
The wolf was on the verge of cardiac arrest at this point. In one hand, he didn't want to tell this stranger about his boss's plans. On the other, he really didn't want to die. Maybe this leopard was just bluffing? The bandit's thought process was a little fuzzy, even more so than usual, no doubt a result of the blood rush to his head from being hung upside down like a bat.
However, Tai Lung made his decision for him. After several moments of silence, the leopard grew impatient.
"I'll take the silence as a no," he informed before dropping the wolf once more.
This time, the leopard caught the bandit by the ankle half a second later. The wolf was basically quivering at this point.
"You're running out of leg bud," Tai Lung mocked, his rough voice sending shivers down the frightened criminal's spine.
"Alright! Alright! I'll spill!" the wolf acquiesced in a rambling tone.
Tai Lung smirked. He still had it. Bringing his arm back toward himself, the leopard tossed the bandit back onto the safety of the rooftop. Tumbling to a stop, the wolf was never more grateful for being on solid ground. Looking back behind him, he saw the towering snow leopard approach him with a smirk.
"Ok. It's story time," Tai Lung ordered with a slight smirk.
*Minutes Later*
Leaving the paralyzed criminal in a heap, the snow leopard jumped down from the building's rooftop onto another roof across the street, a few stories below.
The pressure points would leave the wolf paralyzed for a few hours. With luck, the wolf would have temporary...hopefully permanent amnesia after Tai Lung had mashed his head into the stone tile roof. Not that it really mattered. The snow leopard was presumed to be dead by all of China, hardly anyone would recognize him unless he plastered his face and name on a bill board.
His area scouting was basically done for now. He'd gotten some vital information from that bandit that he'd probably have to relay to Oogway and Po, not that the panda would really care. Po had made it quite clear that he was done fighting the good fight. The leopard honestly couldn't blame him. The Dragon Warrior had lost more in his relatively short life than anyone else the feline had ever met. It was no wonder Po had finally cracked. Hell, he had cracked when he wasn't awarded the dragon scroll all those years ago. And losing the dragon scroll wasn't even remotely close to all that the panda had lost.
'All that idiocy over a blank scroll,' Tai Lung thought in dry humor.
Looking back now the leopard couldn't believe how utterly ridiculous the whole situation had been. He'd ruined his life. Turned his back on any friends and family. Leveled an entire village. Nearly killed the five and Shifu. All for a blank scroll. Then promptly was humiliated by an overweight panda who'd been training for about a month. It was almost funny. Oogway still managed to mock him from the grave. That turtle always seemed to be a dozen steps ahead of everyone, no matter how bleak a situation seemed. He had chosen the Dragon Warrior in an apparent accident. Growing up, Tai Lung had always been told that he'd be the Dragon Warrior, that he'd be the best. He was labeled by many as a prodigy. Ironically, if anyone was the prodigy, it was the overweight panda himself.
After his defeat, Tai Lung had trained himself and studied the past and present of the Dragon Warrior and watched his progress, along with Oogway. And he was absolutely astounded to say the least. The panda had an unnatural affinity to Kung Fu and combat in general. He'd mastered an entirely new style of fighting, the bear style, within a month. The bear had defeated him in abrupt fashion, something the Furious Five and Shifu couldn't do even with decades of experience more. He reverse engineered the Wuxi finger hold after a brief mention about it from Shifu. Time skip several months, and the bear mastered inner peace within a few short weeks after a couple attempts, a technique that took Shifu decades to perfect, and something even the snow leopard still couldn't do. Fast forward another year, and the bear mastered Chi manipulation with minimal effort, albeit with help from the panda village. If that wasn't enough months after, Po had all but mastered each and every one of the Furious Five's fighting styles; allowing him to utilize each style's strengths, while limiting their weaknesses. Then when he was bored, the Dragon Warrior decided to read and memorize every single one of the two thousand, five hundred and something scrolls in the Jade Palace in a little over a month. Po had mastered and perfected self-teaching to an insane level. One that seemingly even rivaled Oogways. And that wasn't the scariest thing of all. No. The scariest thing was that while Oogway had peaked and had no more room to grow, Po's potential was barely scratched. He was only twenty-three for heaven sakes! He had endless amounts of potential!
Tai Lung sighed it realization. Po used to have endless potential. Daemon had stripped it from him. The tiger had taken his inner peace, his chi, and his leg. It was a shame that one of, if not the greatest prodigy the world had ever seen was reduced to a crippled drunk.
Bringing himself out of his thoughts, Tai Lung huffed as he leaped from rooftop to rooftop across the city. He'd been gone from the cabin for several weeks now. The scouting had taken a little longer than he'd first imagined.
Grimacing, the leopard could only hope and pray that nothing terrible had happened back at the cabin. After all, the Princess and Dragon Warrior weren't the most compatible people in the world. Last time he'd been there, the two mixed about as well as water and oil.
'I just hope the lodge is still standing when I get back,' Tai Lung mused wearily.
It'd just been another night. Another peaceful night in fact. Kiara was sitting by the cabin fire, warming herself with a cup of cocoa in her grasp. It'd been a hard, but enjoyable day of training for the lioness.
After Po had finally revealed the truth about his training, it'd been a lot easier to endure. And now she was consistently practicing with the sword under the bear's tutelage. She had learned quite quickly, especially considering she'd never even touched a sword before obtaining the khopesh one from the Egyptian blacksmith. Much to her delight, Po had called her a 'natural'. The compliment had accidently slipped out of the panda's mouth earlier during the training lesson much to his chagrin. Kiara had relentlessly teased him throughout the rest of the session with a Cheshire cat-like grin. Not just to stroke her ego, but to revel in the bear's reddened features. His blushes were few and far between.
Said bear was currently seated in one of the arm chairs across the room. In front of him was a pyramid of stacked cards. Po had been intently stacking the cards for almost an hour now. He was only a few cards away from topping off the creation.
Shrugging, the lioness rose from her seated position and ventured over to the concentrated warrior.
Unfortunately, as per usual, delicacy wasn't one of Po's strengths. Accidently, setting a card too forcefully, the entire structure collapsed into a heap of the paper cards.
"Fuck!" Po let out in irritation, an hour of his life down the drain.
Kiara held in a laugh before playfully crossing her arms as she walked up to the frustrated bear.
"Y'know it's not fitting to cuss in front of a lady," she scolded in an amused tone.
Po simply snorted, picking up a card and throwing it like a ninja star across the room. Stupid cards.
"I'll keep that in mind when there's one present," he returned sarcastically.
Kiara huffed at that. If she was any other princess...or woman for that matter, the bear would've earned himself a slap across the face, after an earful from said lady. However, she was accustomed to the warrior's attitude by now, for the better or worse. Changing the subject, the princess motioned over to the cards.
"You were stacking them wrong. Everyone knows that you're supposed to stack in a triangular pattern," she let out knowingly.
Po scoffed, "Like you could do any better," he remarked with a wave of his hand.
Irritated, the princess sat down in the chair and shoved the panda off. It was more of a metaphorical action than a literal one. They both knew that she wouldn't be able to budge him if he didn't want to go anywhere. Po grunted as he left the seat and stood to her right, arms crossed.
"I can and I will. Watch and learn one-leg," she snarked, looking down at the cards with a fierce expression.
Po simply shrugged and watched as the princess began to set the cards.
*Half an hour later*
"SON OF A BITCH!"
Kiara was fuming as the nearly completed pyramid of cards toppled over. It'd been only a couple cards away from being finished. The striking lioness haphazardly swept the cards off the table before crossing her arms in a very adult-like pout. Po tried to remain calm, but couldn't help the amused expression stretch across his features.
"I thought you said to mind our language?" he prodded with a smirk.
"Shut up," the princess mumbled with a pout.
Po thought it was a rather attractive look on the feline. Then again, any expression on the lioness seemed to be alluring. Po snorted at the thought. Probably a 'royal person' thing.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd-" the bear was cut off as a small cylindrical device crashed through the cabin window onto the floor. Only just a few feet away from the duo, it rolled to a stop. A small flame burned as the sparks reached the end of the device's fuse.
'Ah shit. White powder. Looks like a distortion explosive.'
Eyes widening in realization, Po quickly grabbed the bed mattress and threw it on top of the bewildered princess, covering her under its layers of cloth and padding.
BANG!
The device erupted, sending an eardrum rupturing noise throughout the cabin, along with a blindly bright flash. It was like staring into the sun, except ten times worse.
Distorted, Po felt the vibrations from several attackers as they smashed through the windows. Hesitating, Po gripped his cane before lashing out behind him. He felt the one of the foe's windpipes collapse from the strike. Bringing the cane back for stabilization, Po used his good leg to hammer a kick into the knee of an assailant in front of him. He heard the satisfying yet muffled crunch of the knee cap along with a distorted yelp of pain. However, it didn't take long before he was taken down. Being out of shape, blinded, deafened, and outnumbered would do that to a guy. Several members grabbed each arm as another few surrounded him front his front and back, causing the bear to topple to the ground. His vision finally returning, Po was met with the faces of several wolfs and a few bulls. He also noted in anger that they were wearing Daemon's symbol. Lovely.
"Dammit! Quick! Get the collar on him!" one of the struggling bandits growled.
The others quickly agreed.
"Yes!"
"Where is it?"
"It's turned on, right?"
"Common! Holding this fatty down isn't easy!"
Another criminal came from behind the others with said device in hand. The bull eyed the collar with hesitation.
"But this one's a new model! Prototype! What if it doesn't work?" he returned in question.
One of the wolfs growled in irritation, snatching the device from his comrade.
"We won't know if we don't test it!" he responded with a snarl.
Although he tried to resist, Po's efforts were futile as he was simply outmuscled by the sheer numbers of foes holding him down. The wolf strode forward before encircling the glowing collar around his neck. After a small click. His expression went blank and his tensed muscles relaxed. Sighing in relief, the bandits released their hold, rising to their feet. Looking down at the panda, the bandits prodded his frozen form.
"Looks like it's working to me," one said.
The others nodded in agreement before their attention was drawn to the shaking mattress across the room. After a few seconds, the mattress toppled over revealing a lioness with a shocked look on her face. Her shock soon turned to rage as she spotted the downed panda.
"What did you do!" she screamed, rising to her feet. Her magenta eyes burning holes into the bandits' skulls.
"Uh...we used an illusory chi collar. New design! It basically puts the user in an inescapable imaginary state of temptation and pure bliss, unless said collar is remo-" one of the rookie bandits let out before being elbowed sharply by another criminal next to him.
"Shut it, Lance!"
"I was only trying to be helpful."
"We're criminals! Helpful isn't what we do!"
Kiara turned her attention from the bandits back to Po. Her eyes slowing looked over to her sword, which was leaning against the wall across the room. Attempting to take advantage of the bandits' distraction, she raced over towards the weapon.
"Get her!" the leader ordered before several of the group members surrounded and pinned the lioness. Tying her up, the criminals dragged her to her feet and brought her over to the head bandit.
"What do we have here?" he drawled with a toothy grin.
Kiara nearly rolled her eyes at the statement. She must've heard it a million times before from a million different bandits. Was it a necessary quip that all criminals had to start with? Because it was getting really old, really quick.
Taking the feline's silence as her answer, the wolf shrugged in indifference. The search party had been scouting around for the base of operations of a certain vigilante/hero...whatever. Tracking some trails and evidence, it'd led to this cabin deep the forest. The wanted figure had been described as a muscled male snow leopard, not a lithe female lioness. Rumors had also been spread around that the Dragon Warrior was still alive. Turns out those rumors were true. Although they hadn't caught the supposed snow leopard, the Dragon Warrior wasn't a bad catch at all. The wolf couldn't wait to see the look on Daemon's face when they brought back the supposedly dead panda.
"Well missy. We need the Dragon Warrior alive to bring back to the boss...but we don't need you," he let out with a dark chuckle.
Kiara refrained from showing any emotion on the outside. However, inside, she was swelling up with fear. This couldn't be it. She hadn't come all this way just to be killed by a bunch of low-grade bandits. Unfortunately, she didn't have much choice in the matter.
"There's a lake a li or so south of the cabin. We'll dispose of her there," one of the bandits settled, the others shrugging in agreement.
Several of the bulls took hold of the Dragon Warrior, chained him, and hoisted him up onto their shoulders. Kiara struggled fiercely as the other bandits dragged her along.
Exiting the cabin, the group of criminals trudged towards the lake through the darkness of the night. Every step they led Kiara closer and closer to her death. Her internal panic was now external, as she wildly struggled against her captors and screamed out into the night.
"HELP! PLEASE! SOMEONE!" she wailed loudly.
An elbow in the side shut her up after a few minutes.
"Give it up blondie. There ain't anyone around for dozens of li. We made sure of it," he grunted with a solemn face.
Kiara gulped as she frantically looked around. Finally, giving up on that approach, she let out a shaky breath. Subsequently, the bandits came to a stop...they were here. Shoving Kiara to the ground, the bandits began to reinforce her chains. The bull criminals also set Po down, his expression frozen, not moving a muscle.
Looking at the lake before her, the princess thought back to all the times the past few weeks where it'd been a warm and welcoming spot. The crystal blue waters sparkling in the warm sunlight. Now the deep, dark, foreboding waters in front of her sent chills down the lioness's spine.
The bandits quickly proceeded to tighten her chains and loop them around her body. The finishing touch was them chaining a heavy rock to the chain end. It was the size of a small boulder, weighing in at around three or four hundred pounds. And although Po had been training her with progressive weighted stones, she couldn't hope to so much as budge this thing. Kiara could already guess what they were planning. And although she was about to drown, her throat went dry.
A bandit reached down and dipped his hand into the dark lake's shore before retracting it with a slight shiver.
"She'll drown if she don't freeze to death first," he let out with a cackle.
The others began to argue whether or not the lioness would freeze or drown first. Exchanges of bets and odds were made as the felons came to an agreement.
While they were distracted, Kiara crawled as close to Po as she could get before the chain grew taunt from the weight of the rock.
"Po!" she let out in a hushed voice.
The panda made no sign of having heard her. He simply stared off into space with a blank expression. In fact, his lips were slightly upturned from whatever vision or trance he was in.
"Po please! I need you!" Kiara begged in a hushed tone. The princess couldn't remember the last time she had to implore —royalty didn't beg —but right now she could care less about her regality...not that she cared much about it in the first place.
"He can't hear you girl. And even if he can, he wouldn't care. He's in a state of pure bliss. No one gets out of it," a bandit remarked with a laugh. Kiara stubbornly refused to acknowledge this. Lunging with all her might, the princess managed to drag the stone a meter or so, allowing her to grasp the panda's hand. Looking into the blank jade orbs that were Po's eyes, Kiara couldn't find any trace of emotion, nothing.
Before she could do anything else, several bandits began to drag Kiara towards the dark waters.
"No! Please! Po!" she screamed as the bandits' grips tightened.
Struggling violently against her captors, Kiara wildly thrashed about.
"PO! HELP ME! POOOOOOOO!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.
A large ox bandit strode over and hoisted the stone attached to her chains above his head. In that moment Kiara realized it was over. She'd come to the end of the line, the end of her journey. She'd never see her dad again. Never make up with him and apologize. She wouldn't get to defeat Akua. Her life had been an empty sum. In her brief final moments, she realized something.
No...her life hadn't been pointless. She may be die, but that doesn't disqualify the great things she'd done and amazing people she'd met. She wasn't some basic, boring, snotty princess! She'd journeyed across the seas! She voyaged across beautiful new lands and exotic places. Met amazing people like Carol...Stan and his crew...friendly travelers...Tai Lung...Po! She'd outwitted and outsmarted the likes of bandits...pirates...criminals that could and should have killed her...but she prevailed! She even outsmarted her own royal guard! She learned how to sword fight from the best warrior in the land! Maybe she hadn't seen or done it all...but it was enough for her...more than she could've ever imagined. And she was grateful for it...
A small look of acceptance emerged on her features. Seconds away from the freezing water, the lioness made her final statement.
"Thank you for everything Po...And I'm sorry we didn't get to know each other better. I consider you a friend...I hope you considered me one as well," Kiara let out in a more controlled manner directed at the bear, a tear gently rolling down her cheek.
She closed her eyes as the ox bandit tossed the heavy rock out several meters into the lake. The lake had a fairly steep drop off point. Attached to the rock, the chained princess sunk into the freezing water. Darkness surrounded the lioness as she sunk deeper and deeper into the depths below.
Po sat on the shore, unmoving, along with the bandits as they watched the waters intently. The lioness's death guaranteed, the only difference was how she died, rather than if.
*Dreamscape*
It was almost too good to be true. Considering everything he'd been through; Po wasn't as naïve as he used to be. Looking around, it was as if the world was flawless. It was almost too perfect, aside from the fact that his head ached a little. The bear didn't even know how he'd gotten here. One moment everything was dark and quiet and the next he was in the middle of a bustling party.
It was his father's noodle shop, but bigger and fancier. Almost as is Mr. Ping had hired the Jade Palace contractors to work on it. The shop still maintained a cozy feeling, yet it was bigger and better than ever. Elegant tables and chairs replaced the old worn wooden ones. The formerly tarnished cobblestone floors were replaced by smooth marble, similar to the Jade Palace courtyards. The walls were plastered over with new layers and colored a beautiful aqua. Looking over, Po saw the formerly shabby counter area had been replaced by a luxurious one that extended into a U-shaped bar where many party goers were hanging out. To the left of that was a lounge and spa area. Girls in bikinis and guys in swim trunks filled the area, sipping on their drinks provided by the bar. Off to the far right of the shop was a dance area where many villagers young and old were dancing to the music being played by the band atop the polished wooden stage. Po looked around in amazement, his eyes falling on the sign at the front on the entrance. It read, 'Mr. Ping's Restaurant, Recreation, & Relaxation'.
Po smiled at that; his Dad always had talked about expanding. This was his dream. The familiar sounds of laughter brought him out of his thoughts. Turning around he came to see the faces of Dim and Sum.
"Hey! What's up cuz!" the duo exclaimed, one slapping him on the back, while the other gave him a noogie.
"Uh...aren't you guys dead?" Po let out in half confusion, half shock.
The two pandas looked at him before looking at each other. After a few moments of silence, they broke out into laughter. Po just stood there awkwardly.
"Aw! Little cuz, you're always so funny!" Dim let out with a chuckle.
"We better get going, don't party too hard ya party animal," added Sum with a grin before the two pandas disappeared into the crowd. Po was utterly baffled at this point. Maybe he'd hit his head. Yeah...that must be it!
"You ok there son?" came a deep familiar voice.
Po's eyes widened before spinning around to meet a pair of familiar light green jade eyes. It was his dad...biological one and his adoptive one.
Li Shan and Mr. Ping stood side by side. Their expressions a mix of curiosity and worry. Po pinched himself. No response. No wake up. Was this real?
"Uh...yeah I think I must've hit my head or something," the bear mumbled, massaging his head.
The two fathers looked at each other in worry.
"Po, I hope nothing's wrong. We tried to make everything perfect," Mr. Ping rambled.
"After all, you only turn 23 once!" Li added with a small smile.
Po froze at this. That couldn't be right. He'd already celebrated his 23rd birthday...by himself...in the rain...with nothing but a small cake.
"It's...my birthday?" he asked in confusion.
"Ok. Maybe you should sit down," Li added with a worried smile.
Po obliged, taking a seat in a rather comfortable cushioned lounge chair. Mr. Ping looked fuming.
"That stupid baker! I told him not to add sesame seeds to the cake! I told him Po was allergic!" Mr. Ping cursed, storming off to find the baker.
Li looked off in worry, "I hope he doesn't do anything too drastic."
Li's eyes turned back to Po before his gaze settled on someone behind his son.
"Honey!" he exclaimed before walking to greet the person. Turning around, Po was met with a sight that nearly stopped his heart. Even with slight greying of her hairs and a few age lines, he knew exactly who the female panda was. His mom! But...how?
After finishing her hug with Li her eyes lit up when they landed on Po.
"Oh dear! My big boy's all grown up!" Jiao said in joy, bringing Po in a bone crushing hug. After, a few seconds she let go and gave her son a huge smile.
"So handsome and strong! I'm sure all the girls can't keep their hands off you!" she stated proudly.
"B-but the wolf raid...Shen?" Po muttered.
Jiao put on a pouty face as she heard her son. He could never let that go, could he?
"Sweety. It's ok. I know it's hard, especially since you were so young. Shen's raid was stopped by the imperial army. And thank god for that. Are you alright?" she said in a worried tone.
"Mr. Ping thinks that the baker put sesame seeds in the cake," Li added helpfully.
Jiao's face morphed into one of pure anger as she huffed.
"I told that buffoon several times, so did Ping! When I get my hands on that lousy-" she exclaimed in anger, her voice being drowned out by the crowds as she strode away towards the kitchen area.
"I better go make sure the baker's still alive. Have fun son," Li said with a smile, giving his son a clap on the back before chasing after his wife.
Po sat there in contemplation. Was this all a dream? Or were all those terrible things just nightmares that he'd just imagined. If that wasn't enough to send his head reeling he didn't know what would.
"Hey Po!"
Looking up, he met the gazes of the Furious Five, a mixture of teasing and fun glimmered in their eyes. They all stood there. Friendly, happy, just like it should be.
"You want to come watch me smoke Tigress in a shot taking contest?" Monkey bragged puffing out his chest. The others laughed at this. It was as if nothing had ever changed.
Tigress let out a playful growl, "You wish, I'll drink you under the table."
Monkey scoffed at her, "Oh yeah? Says who?"
Tigress simply looked smug; it was quite a good look on her.
Gesturing with her thumb towards Tai Lung, who was in the corner chatting with Shifu, "I was taught by the best!" she stated in a factual tone.
Po's eyes almost bugged out of their sockets as he watched Tai Lung and Shifu chat and laugh like lifetime buddies. Currently, the two were seated at a small table playing a game of mahjong. "What about the Dragon Scroll? Tai Lung wanted to be the Dragon Warrior!" Po let out in confusion.
The others gave him weird looks. It was as if he'd grown another head.
"Well, duh. We all did. You were just better than all of us," Viper shrugged.
"But wasn't he...angry? Maybe attack the village?" Po hinted, trying to pry for information.
Mantis snorted, "Angry? More like whined like a baby. He wouldn't come out of his room for weeks! Haha-"
Thwap!
"Ow!"
Viper gave the bug a withering look, scolding him.
"Well Tai is a numbskull. But even he wouldn't attack the village over some scroll," Tigress stated with a humorous tone.
"I see you are enjoying the party young ones," a wise voice stated with a chuckle.
The group looked over to see a smiling Master Oogway, staff in hand.
"Master," they stated in unison, bowing.
Po was so confused at this point he didn't even try to understand it. He just decided to go along.
Oogway looked over to the Dragon Warrior in interest before turning his gaze back to the five.
"Well I for one, would like to see this drinking contest," he let out in humor.
The Five grinned before racing over to the bar, Tigress and Monkey taunting each other the entire way. Looking back to the panda, the wise turtle tilted his head.
"I believe you wanted to ask me something Dragon Warrior?" he stated in a knowing tone.
Po didn't even care how the turtle knew that. What he wanted was an answer to all of this.
"Master Oogway...is all this real?" he asked in curiosity.
Oogway simply hummed in thought.
"Real...not real. You can't ever be sure. If you want to be technical, nothing is ever real," Oogway let out with a small smile.
Po wanted to bang his head on the ground. Oogway was only making this worse.
"How can nothing be real? That doesn't even make any sense!" Po let out in frustration.
Oogway smiled at the younger warrior. He'd been like that once. So curious, so desperate for answers. Sometimes the best way to get an answer is by not trying so hard.
"Young Po, try and be more linquint," the old turtle stated calmly.
"Linquint...linquint? That's a made-up word!" Po replied in annoyance.
Oogway simply chuckled, "All words are made-up," he stated with a shrug before turning around and heading towards the bar; most likely going to watch the spectacle of Tigress winning a drinking contest and Monkey getting alcohol poisoning.
Po couldn't believe this. No matter what realm or galaxy or reality he was in, all Oogway ever gave him was riddles. Lovely.
"Stressing isn't good for you. It'll give you wrinkles," came a soft amused voice.
Po froze, he knew that voice. This was too much. He couldn't bring himself to turn around. He couldn't.
"Hey! Earth to Po!" the feminine voice teased as the feline circled around the bear and waved her hand in his face.
"K-kenli?" Po stammered out.
Kenli snorted in amusement, "Yep! That's my name don't wear it out."
Po's brain short circuited as the beautiful magenta orbs sparkled in the sunlight. It really was her. Tears began to well up in the bear's eyes.
Realizing what was happening, Kenli gave the bear a smile, though it was laced with a hint of sadness.
"Why don't we go for a walk. I wanna go watch the sunset from the town side," Kenli said, grabbing the panda's paw in her own and dragging the stunned warrior after her.
It took a while but the duo managed to find the perfect spot. Sitting atop a grassy hill, Po and Kenli watched the sunset. The orange circle's slow descent towards the darkening horizon was beautiful. Colors of magenta, red, violet, and pink lit up the sky. It was a perfect setting. And so, they caught up. Talking about their past, what had happened. Stories. Jokes. Everything that you could imagine. After hours of talking, the two finally settled on comfortable silence. That was until Po broke it.
"This...this isn't real is it?" Po finally let out with a sigh.
Kenli gave him a sad smile. A single tear streamed down her cheek.
"No. This world. This beautiful world...it's what could've been," she lamented, cupping the bear's cheek in her paw.
"I wish it was real," Po mumbled in sadness.
Kenli sighed, reaching over and enveloping the bear in a tight hug, "So do I Po."
After a minute of the embrace, Po gently pushed her off.
"Kenli...I'm so sorry. I became a drunk. I'm not a good man...I-I failed you," Po sniffled.
Before he could say another word, Kenli slapped him across the cheek.
Slap!
A tear streamed down Po's face as he tried to keep it together. He really had let her down.
"I deserved that," he admitted.
Fire burning in her magenta orbs, Kenli gripped the panda's head and forced him to look her in the eyes. Expecting to see her gaze filled with disgust and resentment, he was surprised by what he saw. When he met her gaze, her eyes burned with anger, but mixed in was endearment and tenderness.
"Po Ping. Don't you dare think that you could ever let me down," she growled, tears threatening to spill from her fiery eyes.
"You've gone through a rough patch. But I know you Po. You always bounce back. That's why I fell in love with you," Kenli confided, blinking away her tears.
Po smiled back at her and held her in an embrace.
Half an hour later, the duo were walking back to Mr. Ping's restaurant. It was a peaceful walk, though for some reason Po subconsciously dreaded it.
Finally arriving at the entrance, Po looked inside to see the everyone he'd ever loved having the time of their lives. The pandas. Tai Lung. Shifu. Li and Mr. Ping. His mom. The Furious Five.
"Well, this is my stop," Kenli murmured.
"Can I visit again?" Po asked with a small laugh.
Kenli quieted at this. The bear didn't take that as a good sign. The feline was never quiet, especially when involving these types of situations.
"Po, this reality, vision, whatever you call it. I could only do this once," she revealed sadly.
Po froze at this, "What? But...why?"
Kenli gave the bear a sad smile, "I pulled a lot of strings to be able to see you again. I-I made a deal with the afterlife," she admitted.
Po gripped her hands in his own, "What was the deal?"
She let out a slight chuckle, "I get to see you and spend a day with you. In return, my soul is released from the afterlife."
Po didn't know if he liked the sound of that, "Wh-what does that mean?"
Kenli sighed, "It means if you leave. This is the last time you'll see me."
Po looked at her in confusion. His eyes revealing his heartbreak. He couldn't let her go...not when he'd just got her back! He wanted to stay with her! With everyone here! This was his perfect life!
"But-but-" the panda was cut off by the mountain cat.
"I did this because I wanted to see you one last time Po. But more importantly to urge you to move on," she explained with tears in her eyes.
"I-I can't Kenli," Po uttered.
"Yes, you can because you're the strongest person I've ever met," she urged.
Po shook his head, trying to remain collected. But inside, he was confused, devastated, and hurt. Kenli read his thoughts in a heartbeat. She'd loved him...she still did, but their time had come to an end. And they both knew it.
"I've lived my life Po...it's time for you to live yours," she lamented.
Po looked defeated, "What now?"
Kenli gave him a sad smile, "That's for you to decide."
Po looked at her in confusion as the mountain cat pointed towards the restaurant, "Forget about your troubles. Join us. Live a perfect life with me."
Kenli then motioned down the street pointing to a lioness who was sitting on the road side, looking miserable and alone. Po identified the attractive figure as the princess, Kiara. The lioness sat there, occasionally looking up to see if anyone would join her. Her dejected gaze became more and more prominent when she realized no one seemed to care.
"Or...go comfort her. It will be hard; you may endure pain. It's not a perfect life...not even close. But I'm sure she would appreciate it," Kenli finished.
Po glanced over towards the dejected lioness before trailing his gaze back to Kenli and the perfect life that it entailed.
All his life he'd made decisions for the betterment of others. He'd suffered and endured and then suffered some more. But the importance of this decision eclipsed all others. Sighing, Po came to a decision.
Surging forward, he locked lips with Kenli. The mountain cat was shocked at first before returning the kiss with fervor. The embrace lasted for almost an entire minute before the two separated.
"I guess I have my answer," Kenli let out with a light chuckle.
Her emotions were mixed. Although she was filled with joy that Po had decided to stay. She couldn't but help feel guilty and disappointed. The world needed him. And he was being selfish...they were both being selfish. She felt conflicted. Looking up, to meet his eyes, her magenta orbs locked with his deep jade ones. Po looked down at her, giving his first love a small sad smile before turning around and walking away; towards a life of imperfection. A life that would prove to be awful yet gratifying in its own right. A new life. Letting go of the past and embracing the future. It'd been a goodbye kiss and Kenli would cherish it forever.
Kenli stood there touching her lips that were still searing from the panda's kiss before a faint smile overtook her features. Po had made his choice...and she couldn't be prouder of him.
"That's my panda," Kenli smiled before heading inside the restaurant. Seconds after, Kenli, the restaurant, and 'everything that could've been' faded away leaving behind this reality for good.
Po continued his slow trek towards the lioness who sat alone. Before he knew what happened, his right leg gave out and he tumbled to the ground. Groaning in discomfort, Po picked himself up. Looking ahead, he saw his cane on the street a few meters in front of him. Sighing, the bear awkwardly limped over to the walking aid before picking it up. He then noticed his breathing was a little labored. After a quick look over, he noticed that he'd gained all his weight back.
"Should've seen that one coming," Po mumbled before continuing his walk towards the princess.
After coming to a halt next to the lioness, Po looked down at her. Kiara didn't notice Po until she glanced to her side and saw his shadow cast from the moonlight.
Looking up at him, she looked between a mixture of shocked and relieved. Scooting over so that he could sit next to her, the princess looked at the bear expectantly.
Po hobbled over and took a seat next to the Egyptian beauty. They both sat in silence as the faint sounds of the night soothed their souls.
Now, the Dragon Warrior wasn't usually one to expect gratitude or rewards for doing something selfless but what the princess said next wasn't something he expected.
"You're an idiot."
Po looked over, meeting Kiara's gaze, her magenta orbs identical to those of Kenli's. Her fiery attitude also something noteworthy in resemblance to the mountain cat.
"Not the most eloquent 'thanks' I've ever heard, but I guess beggars can't be choosers," Po let out with a sigh.
Kiara snorted before crossing her arms, "You had her! A perfect life! Everything you ever wanted! Yet you threw it away! For someone you just met! Why?"
Po finally turned on her and exploded, "I could've chosen her! In fact, I really REALLY wanted to! But I couldn't! Not when you're here!"
Kiara's expression morphed to livid, but a look hurt flashed across her features before she covered it.
"Well I'm sorry that I'm such a burden to you!" Kiara let out heatedly.
Po wanted to strangle the lioness for being such a pain in the neck. Why did women always misinterpret everything he said?
"After all! Why would you care about some mangy lioness when you could have someone as perfect as her," the princess mumbled bitterly.
Po'd had enough, he needed to get through to the lioness one way or another.
"You want to know why I chose this life?" he asked in a controlled tone.
Kiara opened her mouth to retort, but Po beat her to it.
"Because you still have a chance!" he continued.
Kiara's irritated and bitter expression dropped in an instant. It was replaced by a timid look.
"If I'd chosen to her...it would've been a perfect life. That wasn't real. None of it would be," he admitted.
Looking to her, Po gave her an honest look, "I've lost nearly everything and everyone that has ever been important to me...no fantasy reality will change that."
Shifting closer to the princess, the bear set his hand on her shoulder to ease her.
"But you haven't...you still have hope. And I can't take away that...otherwise I'd be no better than the people who took away mine," he finished with a sigh.
Kiara looked at Po in utter shock. Without hesitation, the lioness jumped forward and enveloped the bear in a hug.
Po's eyes widened in discomfort before trying to ease out of this hug. Kiara simply tightened her hold, so the bear sighed before returning it.
"You may be an idiot...but you're a noble idiot," she whispered with a laugh.
Po rolled his eyes before closing them and enjoying the warm feeling that came from the embrace.
*End of Dreamscape*
A/N: Oooh that's not the worst cliffhanger I've ever left you all on...but it's definitely not a settling finish either. Oh well! Guess you'll have to wait until next time. I had so many emotions bouncing around this chapter! Humor, Angst, Action, Drama! What a crazy chapter this was. Bet you guys can't wait for the next update! Hope you guys enjoyed this latest installment. Stay tuned for the next chapter! Does Kiara die? How does Po deal with this? What about the Five and Shifu? Oogways role? There's so much more to explore and so much more to unveil!
Find out next time on KFP: ODT...
Frost2001 Out.