Chapter 6 : Unfulfilled Dream

Tigress was sitting beneath peach tree. She wasn't smiling, but she wasn't angry either. She was just gazing into the distance, deep in thought.

'Reincarnation of Khan?'

She remembered clearly what her master had just told them. She didn't know what to feel. Millions of different feelings were battling for control. Surprise? Maybe. Shock? Probably. Despair? Most likely. Any word that could be used to describe her feeling wouldn't be a good one.

Tigress tried to recall the night twenty five years ago when Master Shifu told her about the legend.

Flashback,

"Sleep, Tigress," Master Shifu said as he yawned tiredly. He was trying to lull the little tiger to sleep. "You have to up early in the morning to begin your very first training."

"But I cannot sleep, Master," the little tiger told him on her bed. Her eyes showed that she wasn't at ease with her new room.

"Are you feeling uncomfortable with this new place?" her master asked. Tigress nodded.

Shifu sighed. He had forgotten how to deal with children who have trouble sleeping ever since Tai Lung was imprisoned.

"Master?" the little girl called him nervously.

Shifu turned his attention to her. "Yes?"

"Can you tell me a story?"

"A story?" Master Shifu frowned. He wasn't the storytelling type. "I don't know any stories."

"Make one up."

Shifu sighed again. He knew many stories but none of them was fit to be told to a five year old girl. But who knows, maybe one of them could make her sleep.

"After I tell you a story, will you sleep?"

The little tiger nodded again.

"Hm… okay…," Shifu sat down at the edge of the bed, looking up at the ceiling and considering which story he should tell. "Have you ever heard of the legend about the battle between Long and Khan? Not yet? Well—I got this story from Master Oogway when I was still a boy."

"What happened to Long and Khan?" Tigress asked curiously.

"A thousand years ago, China was ruled by a dragon named Long and a tiger named Khan."

"A dragon and a tiger?" said Tigress in excitement.

"Yes. But then Khan turned bad. He wanted to rule the whole China for himself by subjugating the people and conquering one village after another. He wanted all of China to bow at his feet."

"Oh…" Tigress gasped as she widened her amber eyes. She was a tiger, she wouldn't turn bad.

"Long, the dragon, didn't let that happen for long. He fought Khan and won."

Tigress paid attention and listened to her master with a serious look on her little tiger face, as if it was her first time in her life to hear such a story.

"But Khan didn't let himself get defeated as easily as that," Shifu continued the story . "He swore that someday, he would be reborn as another tiger to continue his domination."

"Oh no…" a frightened look appeared in Tigress' face. She pulled her blanket closer and wrapped herself tighter.

Shifu smiled to see Tigress acting that way. "Don't worry, Tigress. Long promised that a warrior called The Dragon Warrior would come to defeat the reincarnation of Khan when he appears. China will be safe."

"Yay." Tigress cheered full of joy. She jumped off the bed slightly.

Master Shifu caressed the little tiger's head gently. "Now get some sleep."

"Yes, Master Shifu." She didn't know why, but she felt sleepy after hearing the story. Perhaps it was right that a bedtime story is an effective method to make children go to sleep. She laid down on her back while Shifu covered her with the blanket.

"Good night." Shifu said softly. He turned and began walking towards the door.

"Master Shifu?" Tigress called him again.

Shifu stopped short. "What is it?"

"Master. Can I be The Dragon Warrior?"

The red panda turned to that little tiger with raised eyebrows. "Why would you want to be The Dragon Warrior?"

"I want to defeat the reincarnation of Khan. I want to save China. Not all tigers are bad."

Master Shifu looked Tigress. She had an innocent and adorable face, just like any other kid. But when he heard her talking about being a Dragon Warrior, for a split second, he saw Tai Lung's face in that little tiger's.

He didn't want Tigress to have the same fate as his first adopted son had.

"You will be one day," Shifu replied. "I promise I'll make you one. Master Oogway will choose you when you're old enough."

"Thank you, Master Shifu." little Tigress smiled sweetly. She closed her eyes and fell asleep.

'The reincarnation of Khan.'

She was the reincarnation of Khan. She wasn't The Dragon Warrior.

Those words kept haunting her. In all of her life, she had never expected or thought that one day, she would be the enemy.

'Is it true that Po will defeat and kill me?'

Very funny.

She crossed her legs in lotus position to begin one of her favourite activity beside training. Meditating. She thought that by meditating, she could clear her mind again.

The tiger master closed her eyes and made herself comfortable. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She did it repeatedly until unknowingly, she mentally entered another world. She fell asleep with her back against the tree.

Her mind brought her to that unfamiliar place again. But this time, she didn't see the dragon, only the male tiger. The tiger was wearing a silver armour with a matching helmet that covering almost all of his head except his face. He was holding onto a sword.

Tigress watched the tiger that was standing right before her. She had a feeling that this tiger was Khan. Slowly, the leader of tiger clan from a thousand years ago presented his sword to her.

"Take the sword and continue your destiny," he said with a heavy voice.

Tigress just stared at the sword without touching it at all. She wasn't interested in granting the old tiger's wish.

"I won't."

"Take the sword and continue your destiny," Khan repeated.

"Never."

Khan titled his head. "You can't avoid the duty that has been written in your destiny. All tigers count on you."

"Get away from me!" Tigress said angrily.

"I am you and I will always be with you to guide your path."

"I don't need you. Now go! I warn you!"

"I'm staying."

Tigress was annoyed. She rushed to Khan and strangled him. "Leave!"

A sound of cough was heard. Khan struggled to free himself from Tigress. "Let go off me."

Tigress didn't let Khan free. She kept strangling him with no mercy and with all the anger and frustration pent up in her heart.

"Please…let go..off me." Khan's heavy voice changed. Tigress was confused as of why his voice changed. And his expression wasn't like his initial expression.

"HELP!"

The situation changed rapidly. Her surroundings changed to peach tree hill, back to normal again. When she looked at Khan again, as fast as lightning, the tiger's face transformed into another tiger.

"You?!" Tigress quickly released her grip before she suffocated that tiger.

Prince Yuan Sheng coughed. He flailed his hands, gasping for air.

"You*pant*almost *pant* killed*pant* the future emperor. You *pant* could've been *pant* in prison."

"What do you want here?!" Tigress snapped unfriendly.

The prince took a deep breath again. Once he caught his breath, he began talking in his normal tone.

"I'm looking for you."

"Looking for me?" Tigress asked, surprised. "What for?"

"What For? You mean you don't know my purpose in coming to this valley?"

Tigress shook her head.

"Your master just told you about you and your panda's fate, right?"

"Wait a minute. How did you know that?" Tigress examined Prince Yuan Sheng. "And who are you exactly?"

"Oh, so you don't know me yet? I thought your master has told you everything. I'm Prince Yuan Sheng, Son of Emperor Tiger from Khan's Palace in Darknest Land."

"A prince? From… Khan's Palace?"

"It's true."

"Did you just mentioned 'Khan?'"

"You didn't mishear. My father is the thirteenth generation of the leader of Tiger clan from a thousand years ago. You must have been heard about it. I mean—about Khan."

"I absolutely have."

"Well, so everything is clear. You know who I am and I'm sure you know who you are. I've come to take you home, to Darknest Land. You don't belong here."

"Oh yeah?" Tigress crossed her arms. "Who says I don't belong here?"

"Your fate, of course. We tigers have been living in Darknest Land since that battle. My place is there and if you think that you're a tiger, it means that yours is there too."

Tigress chuckled a little. "So you're wandering out of your safety zone just to find me? You think I will come with you?"

"Hah?! Don't tell you're staying here."

"I said it. Don't ever hope that I will leave this valley. You think I want to become a monster? Please..."

"You can't say that. Listen to me. You belong to Darknest Land and must devote your life to the prosperity for Darknest Land. You are more than you think you are. There's no reason for you to remain here."

"Foolish Tiger," Tigress said that word to Prince Yuan Sheng. "Don't you know that your words mean nothing to me? Keep trying to get me out of here and you'll find yourself out of here even faster than you can blink."

"Excuse me? Did you just called me a foolish tiger? Remember that I am a prince. If you are in my palace, I can have you hanged for it."

"But this is not your palace and I can do anything I want." she said, giving him a very hard kick to prove her point.

"Ouch…." The prince winced in pain. He wanted fight back but he couldn't do Kung Fu.

"It's you who's the foolish tiger," Prince Yuan Sheng retorted. "Really stupid. I'm surprise that you aren't even didn't curious about your biological family."

"What do you mean?"

"I could've told you all about your family, about your parents. You will never find out about them in here. Why choose to live here only to be a warrior while you could be rich and renowned in my palace. When your time comes, you will even be honoured to lead the war to conquer China."

"And then be killed by the Dragon Warrior?"

"We have a strategy for it. You won't be killed. We have a way to win the war and defeat the Dragon Warrior."

Tigress kept watching at Yuan Sheng. Travelling across China just to find her without taking any guard to protect him while he never learnt martial art to keep himself safe from bandits. He sure was a pathetic tiger. "You're insane. Go away. It's you that don't belong in here. Go and don't ever return. Tell all tigers out there that the person they waited since the long time ago refuses to join them."

Prince Yuan Sheng ran out of words. Suddenly, he grabbed Tigress' wrist and forcefully pulled her so their faces merely centimetres apart. The prince looked straight into her eyes. "You are really—"

*SMACK*

Tigress slapped The Prince using her free hand. Prince Yuan Sheng cried in pain. With her feet, Tigress kicked his stomach.

The prince was lying on the ground. He saw Tigress' angry face lean towards him.

"I'm warning you again for the last time. If I see you again, you will regret ever touching me that way."

After saying that, Tigress walked away from the male tiger, making sure to step on the prince's tail as she left, eliciting a muffled shout from its owner.

"If I can't convince you to leave, I'll make all people here convince you to do so." The Prince said after Tigress was gone.