Chapter 12 : We are One

*Cough... cough...*

"Oh great," a voice said lazily. "You're up."

Prince Yuan Sheng opened his eyes and saw a wet Tigress sitting beside him. "What happened?" he asked weakly and coughed again, spraying the floor with more water.

"You don't remember? You almost drowned."

"I did?" the prince looked around him. They were still in the same boat in the Chojiang River. He looked at himself and realized he was totally drenched.

"What kind of prince are you," Tigress scoffed. "You can't defend yourself, you don't know Kung Fu, you don't even know how to swim."

"Hey!" he exclaimed as he shot up, offended. Sure, Tigress hadn't known the reason to why he was so defendless. And the reason to his determination to take her back to Darknest Land as well. He then felt a wave of nausea and decided to lie back down, groaning in pain. "How long was I unconscious?"

Tigress expression was one of complete boredom. "Almost two hours. I thought you wouldn't wake up anymore."

"I don't understand," he said as he rubbed his forehead. "You tried to kill me by pushing me into the river... then you saved me."

"Don't be silly. Yes, I still hate you. But I can't watch a hopeless one die right before my eyes. Anyway, I'm not a murderer."

"Oh," the prince looked at Tigress, and the two maintained the eye contact for a few moments. Tigress was slightly unnerved.

"What?"

"You..." he pointed at Tigress. "You're so different to your predecessor."

"Of course."

"I'm sure you've never thought of hurting people or ruling others."

"Who says? I like hurting you and I enjoy it very much."

"Then why didn't you just let me drown? You know, you could've returned to your valley and got rid of me."

"I'm a warrior. My duty is protecting and helping people."

"Including those you hate? Surely not. Admit it, you regret saving me."

Tigress growled. "I didn't. I'm just doing my job."

"Your job as a warrior? You aren't even a warrior anymore."

Tigress raised an eyebrow, prompting him to continue.

"You've just lost everything you need to be a warrior: a palace, a master, comrades, your people."

Tigress opened her mouth, intending to argue. She then closed it, realizing that although she hated what he was saying, she had to admit that it was the truth.

"Clearly, you're nothing now," The prince continued. "You have nothing except for your destiny to fulfill."

"Shut up."

"Admit it."

"Okay. Fine. You're right. I'm nothing. I was a great warrior who was living happily in her own world. Now, I am the one who's hated and unwanted even by someone whom I thought a father of mine. Everything that has happened so far started ever since you entered my life. Now, are you satisfied?!"

Prince Yuan Sheng acted as if he didn't bother or care, but deep down, he was ecstatic.

Tigress glanced at him. "I see you're happy."

"Yep, you can say that. I'm pleased you are finally seeing the truth."

Tigress snorted. She turned away.

"Hey. Come on," The prince said softly. "Let me help with whatever that's bothering you."

"Why should I tell you my problems?"

"Why? Haven't you realized? We're the same. You and me, we're both tigers. Tigers stick together. At the moment, I'm the only one who cares for you."

Tigress let out a deep sigh. Although it was supposed to be true that the prince cares for her, she still didn't trust him.

She will never trust anyone. Not anymore.

There was silence for a moment.

"Well," the prince forced himself to stand, ignoring the persistent pain in his stomach. "Now I see you're becoming soft."

Tigress gave him a pitiless stare. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. No more punches or kicks you used to do to me."

"You're just lucky. I'm not in the mood to fight anyone." Besides, she didn't have the strength to attack even if she wanted to. She was too weak.

"Okay. But at least you're starting to understand more. I think maybe we should get to know each other better."

"No thanks."

"How about this, don't think about anything I've ever said or anything that has happened between us. We can be friends, just like what all other tigers are. From now on, you won't need anything else other than me and the other tigers in Darknest Land."

Tigress remained silent.

"You don't have a place to stay, I can give you one. You don't have any friends, I can be your friend. You don't have a family, we are family. I can even give you all the riches you want."

Riches? She didn't and never wanted it. Having friends and family? She didn't believe in any of them anymore. A place to stay? Maybe she did need one, but she chose not to say anything to the prince.

"Don't worry. The tigers in Darknest Land will never betray you. They have been waiting for your arrival into this world since a long time ago. It's different from the people in the Valley of Peace. I mean — what did they do? You gave your life to protect them, but how did they repay you? When they are aware of your true destiny, they wanted you to leave. Although you've known each other for years, are they really fit to be called 'friends'? I don't think so."

Again, the prince was right.

"Then what makes you think that you and your people won't disappoint me? What makes you think that you are better than 'them'?" Tigress asked him.

"We are one. All tigers live and endure ups and downs together. We will be always there for you because we're your family and will never hurt you."

We are one. We will always be together. That was the oath that she and others had sworn when Master Shifu had banded them together as The Furious Five. It now seemed like everything was just an act, a formality that was never the truth.

"Believe me I've heard that before. My master once told me the same thing, that he will always be there for me."

"Your master is too weak. He's more afraid of the pressure around him. That's what made him forget his promise."

Tigress thought back to the moment when Shifu slapped her. The slap was painful, but what really hurt her the most was when she found out that her master had fully intended to banish her.

"Listen," Prince Yuan Sheng said. "It's time for you to forget the past. We're heading home. A place where you belong."

"And the next thing you'll ask me to do is to help you rule the whole of China."

The prince palmed his face. "I said don't think about that. In actual fact, I don't care anymore. In the end, it's up to you to choose your own path."

"Then why did you want to take me back so badly?"

"Because of my father and my people. Every prince has his own destiny. Mine isn't about leading a war or becoming the next ruler. I'll do anything for my people's happiness, and what they want is to have you back with us. My job is only to take you home, nothing else."

"You didn't mention that to me!"

"I know. You must have thought that I was an authority loving prince. But the truth is, I and my family are just trying to protect you from being killed by The Dragon Warrior. That's why my father wants you back before the enemy finds you."

"The Dragon Warrior you're speaking of will never harm me."

"Oh yeah? While his destiny says otherwise?"

"You said that only because I'm valuable to you. If only I was just another tiger, you won't be saying the same."

"Not true. I'm kind and fair to everyone. Even to a commoner. There's a lot about me that you don't know."

"Oh, but that's not what I saw judging by how you talked to my comra—" She was about to say 'comrades', but she remembered that The Furious Five wasn't her comrades. Not anymore, especially after the way they treated her recently.

"Yes, I was a bit rude to them. But that's because they're not my people. If you knew the sufferings that we tigers have endured throughout the years, you would hate everyone else too."

The prince smiled at her for the first time, but Tigress just ignored him.

"It seems like you've lost the desire to return to the Valley of Peace."

Valley of Peace? Come on. Everybody in there hated her. She had decided to leave and there was no reason to turn back.

But she didn't want to accept the offer from the tiger beside her, even though it was a very tempting one.

"You're right," she didn't want to see their faces.

"So, you accept my offer?"

"No."

The prince scratched his head in frustration. He had almost given up trying to convince Tigress, but he knew he had to try his best not show any anger. For now, he had to act soft, kind and gentle. Maybe 'those' would soften her eventually.

He took a deep breath.

"Think about where you'll be staying. You really need it now. I'm sure that someone like you isn't used to sleeping on the open ground."

"I can find another place."

"Maybe. But for now, you should stay at a place nearest to you."

Tigress frowned. "Nearest?"

Prince Yuan Sheng nodded. "We're here," he looked into the near distance. There was land, and there was sunlight shining on it. "Welcome back, to Darknest Land."

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~0~0~TLoTDaTT~0~0~

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The Jade Palace,

Shifu stood pensively at the top of the thousand stairs. In a few minutes time, his students would be leaving.

The five bowed in front of their master. A bag was slung over Po's shoulder. His father had packed him food and supplies. Mr. Ping was initially surprised when Po told him that he would be leaving, but he gave him his blessings when he found out that Po was leaving to find Tigress. He knew that there was no way he could stop him even if he wanted to. Truth be told, he would have done the same if he was Po.

"We'll be back, Master." Po said.

"You must."

Po and rest of The Furious Five had started down the stairs when Master Shifu suddenly called them back.

"Wait."

They stopped and turned, but Po had tripped on his own feet and lost his balance. Unable to find his footing, he started rolling and bouncing down the stairs. "Ouch...ouch...ouch..."

"What is it, Master?" Crane asked. Any thoughts of helping Po was nonexistent.

"You must remember that this mission has two objectives. The first is to bring Tigress back. The second is to come back alive."

Their students shared a glance at each other.

"We will."

"Good," Master Shifu looked at Po who was still rolling and bouncing down the stairs. "And please look after that panda."

After giving him a last look, the rest of The Furious Five went off after Po. Crane must used his talons to grab Po and stop him from rolling.