A/N : Special thanks to The Dragon Chronicle for being my beta reader.

Chapter 46 : The Fallen Soldiers

What was in front of them was neither a beautiful sight, nor was it something they had ever expected to witness. As well experienced warriors of China, they were used to being involved in wars, their eyes had grown accustomed to seeing murder and blood.

What they hadn't been used to, was to see their own friend sprawled across the dirt, covered in blood.

Mantis was shocked. "Oh, Gods…" he murmured.

Not only Mantis, but the others were no less astounded as they saw Tigress dying before them; time seemed to stop. Po wished the tiger in front of him was not Tigress. But the facts proved him wrong - it was really her. He could never mistake her for another tiger. Even with her body facing down, Po still knew her like the back of his hand. He recognized the red vest she wore, her uniquely striped fur… the shape of her body.

General Luo smiled with satisfaction. Watching the warriors mourn over their moribund friend was a pleasure to him. He inserted his sword back to its place hanging on his belt after using it to pierce Tigress' back.

The five soldiers were ready to attack the warriors, but Luo stopped them.

"No. Don't!" he commanded. "Our duty here is done."

"But, Sir, what about The Warrior of Black and White?"

Luo stared at Po and considered the situation at hand.

He should've known that Tigress lied. Yes, she's great at leading an army but not with slaying her enemy, unlike her past life. She didn't kill The Warrior of Black and White. Or maybe, she thought she did but failed, like usual. Either way, The Emperor would not like to hear about this.

The panda knelt down. With shaky hands, he reached for Tigress. Her body was cold as ice. Wrapping his hands around her limp body, he pulled her close to his chest, hugging her. Letting her head rest on his shoulder, he was holding her, and he would never let her go anymore. Never.

"Tigress," he whispered, hoping to see those beautiful amber eyes again. "Please, wake up."

He waited for a few seconds.

No response. No amber eyes.

Po closed his eyes as an attempt to hide his tears and put his forehead on hers. "Please." He didn't ask anything else aside from his friend to come back to him.

A hand on his shoulder. Monkey, Crane, Viper and Mantis surrounded him. Their gazes indicated that their feeling was mutual.

They huddled together, deep in sorrow. They didn't care about Tigress' blood staining their clothes. What they wanted right now was to stay like this for who knows how long.

In contrast to the warriors, Luo snickered.

"Just leave them here," he told his soldiers. "They're no threat to us."

As the tigers walked past the grieving warriors, someone blocked their way. Luo was stunned.

For twenty-seven years he had been watching Yuan Sheng growing up in the palace, but never before had he seen him this angry before.

One of the soldiers was immediately ready with his sword. And again, Luo stopped him.

"You can't fight me, Your Majesty," Luo said coldly. Even as his nobility as the prince had been revoked, the general still respected him and addressed him 'Your Majesty'. "And I don't want to hurt you."

"Listen!" the banished prince said with his trembling voice. Eyes showing deep resentment towards the general. "I will never forget this, General. And I will never forgive you. Never!"

"I won't ask forgiveness from a prince who has just been disowned by his own father."

"You –"

Luo gripped Yuan Sheng by the shoulder and pushed him slightly aside, resuming his journey back to the Jade Palace like nothing had happened.

Yuan Sheng clenched his fist, teeth chattering with anger. There was no use to run after Luo.

He turned his gaze on Po and the others. How he wanted to come there and see Tigress, but he knew he didn't deserve to be among them.

He was not part of the warriors.

He was not part of Darknest Land either.

He was... no one.

.

.

.

Tigress felt someone holding her. A very familiar touch and a soothing hug. She heard her name, but was unable to answer.

Then she felt more presences. A pair of flabby arms around her; one supporting her injured back and another one wrapped around her waist. A pair of wings and a hand with long fingers on each of her arms. Something long covered with scales snuggling against her cheek and something tiny and light perching onto her head.

Why does it feel so comfortable?

She fought hard to open her eyes.

A sad face of a panda was the first thing she saw.

'Po?'

Oh, right. She must be dead by now and she was in nirvana with him. This explained everything.

But… why did her body still feel pain?

"She's awake!" Viper exclaimed.

'Oh, so I'm not dead. Yet. But soon…'

There was a speck of hope on Po's face. "Tigress!" he called, louder this time. "C-can you hear me?"

'Po?' Tigress began to wonder. 'But I ... Shifu said that you were ... ' Through the corner of her eyes, she caught a sight of something red on Po's belly. A deep scar that was created from their recent battle.

Tigress almost cried in happiness.

'That's Po! It's really him! It's Po! He's not dead! He's still alive! Thanks Goodness! He's safe! I didn't kill him!'

Another voice she knew spoke. It was Mantis, sounding panic. "She's fatally wounded, she's not gonna make it…"

"We must take her to a healer!" she heard Monkey say.

"We don't have much time." It was Crane's voice.

So, this was how it went. She was dying in front of her friends. That's if they still thought of her as a friend.

Po grasped her hand gently. "Hold on, Tigress. Please." He couldn't lose her. Not anymore.

Tigress knew her time was about to come. She just knew it. On her death's door, the Gods must be giving her a chance to apologize to Po before she left this world forever. She took a deep breath, struggling to open her mouth.

Po seemed to understand what Tigress was attempting to do. "Don't force yourself."

'No. I have to say it and you must hear it. This could be the only time.'

"Po…," her voice sounded hoarse, she was out of breath. There was soreness every time she made a word. " I…"

"No, Tigress. Please …"

"… am s-so...sorry… please… f-forgive… m-me…"

Po placed his hand on Tigress' cheek, for seconds they made eye contacts with their watery eyes. Nobody talked and there were no words needed to tell that Po had forgiven Tigress long ago. He never blamed her.

The four took steps backwards, giving personal space for the panda and the tiger as they sensed that Tigress just wanted to be with Po, and they both needed a last moment just for both of them.

Using his thumb, the panda wiped a tear forming in the corner of Tigress' eye and brushed her cheek gently. Tigress was strong, even the strongest of them all. It would take more than a sword to kill her. And by the looks of it, Luo must had planted a poison in her body and now it might have reached her heart.

He couldn't watch her suffer like this. He must do something to end her pain.

"Tigress," Po talked again with a sad voice. "Let me… help you."

'You don't understand. There's not much time, Po. It's too late.'

The hand on her cheek slid down and stopped on her neck. Suddenly, she felt something sharp, a claw of the panda, pressing her skin, piercing it until it bled.

Po was tearing her neck, just like in her dream the day she found out that she was Khan's incarnation. In her dream, she had begged Po not to kill her. But today, when that dream finally became real, she just closed her eyes in anguish and embraced it.

'This is it… this is my destiny… my last destiny… felled by the Dragon Warrior's arm, just as Fang Zi had warned me.'

Then everything went black.

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~0~0~TLoTDaTT~0~0~

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The situation in the Jade Palace was getting worse.

Of course, worse for Emperor Tiger.

Hundreds of his soldiers were fighting furiously, facing another professional army brought in from Gongmen City. Yells of battle cries, moans of pain from injured soldiers and sounds of clinking from weapons made of metal filled the air. Blood everywhere. One by one, the tigers fell.

The emperor let out the sound of growl. "Keep fighting!" he shouted hysterically.

Only, almost no one was able to hear him in the midst of ongoing riots, except for ten soldiers behind him, who were on duty to keep the emperor safe.

One of them whispered. "Your Majesty. We must take you away from here."

"Silence!" the emperor snapped with burning eyes full of wrath. "I am not going anywhere!"

"But, Your Majesty," the soldier looked worried. "This place is too dangerous. If something happens to you –"

"Nothing is going happen to me! Where's Luo?!"

"General Luo hasn't returned yet, Your Majesty."

Emperor Tiger roared angrily. Where was his reliable general when he needed him the most?

An arrow shot towards the emperor. One of the soldiers blocked it swiftly.

"Please, Your Majesty," the soldier begged.

The emperor still wanted to stay, but his soldiers were right. It was simply too dangerous here.

With a grunt of indignation, the emperor turned and stormed into the Hall of Warriors. Outside, his remaining soldiers watched how the number of their army was decreasing and now there was only no more than half of them who were still fighting while their strikes to the opposing forces didn't give any significant blow.

Their chance of winning was very slim. Maybe impossible.

But as an army, they had taken an oath to die for their kingdom.

With steady determination and a pride pictured in their faces, the remaining soldiers raised up their swords simultaneously.

"For the emperor!" the soldier in the middle, the leader, shouted.

"For the emperor!" the others followed.

And they jumped down, joining in the war riot… accepting their own deaths. But there was nothing to regret for a soldier to die on a battlefield, right?

.

.

.

The emperor paced back and forth inside the Hall of Warriors. For the first time, he lost control of himself.

"Argh!" he sprang into a rage and slammed some valuable artifacts to pieces like a deranged wild animal. Master Flying Rhino's armor, the Urn of Whispering Warriors that just got repaired and Swords of Heroes were not spared from his anger.

How could this happen?

For hundred years he and his ancestors had been waiting for this moment; a moment to finally rule the whole of China as revenge for the death of their first emperor, Khan. For decades since he was crowned the emperor, he had mapped out a plan to invade China. And when Yuan Sheng brought Tigress back to the palace, he believed that was the time to make his dream come true and no reason to postpone it. He had done everything for Tigress to lead his armada even though it cost him with the life of his own wife.

That girl was his lucky charm.

As the Great Valley and The Valley of Peace were finally in his power, he was confident that victory was in his hand. And when the Warrior of Black and White, the one from the prophecy who was predicted to stop them, had been killed by Tigress, that's when he decided that he didn't need her anymore. Especially since he'd discovered her betrayal for trying to free Shifu from the dungeon when he had ordered her to kill him.

There was no way he would let his ambition stop here, not until China paid for what it did to Tiger Clan hundreds of years ago.

The double door was slammed open behind him. Emperor Tiger turned around and saw Shifu standing there with fury in his eyes.

Shifu's body was much smaller than his, but the emperor knew, inside that small body, was hidden a very powerful strength that could destroy an enormous building just with a single blow.

"Surrender!" the red panda yelled. "You have lost!"

It was then that the emperor realized with horror that the sound of riots outside had become quieter than before, as many of his soldiers died in the battle.

He was nothing, and vulnerable without his army.

Shifu stepped forward. The emperor stepped backward to preserve the distance between them. A fear was on his face, which he tried to conceal in vain.

That gaze... clearly it was not a look of friendship nor was it a gaze of anger. No. It was more than that.

It was a gaze full of hatred and animosity.

"Stop right there!" the emperor ordered, trying to make an impression that he was still in charge.

No matter what he ordered, Shifu would never obey.

The red panda picked up the sword laying near his feet and shot it at the emperor like he was throwing a shuriken. The emperor dodged, but the sword still managed to rip his sleeves, along with the skin under it. The emperor hissed.

Shifu didn't stop. He leaped towards the emperor, who was running away, with one leg stretched out forward. His kick caused the tiger to get thrown until he slammed onto a pillar, leaving a crack on it.

The emperor hurriedly got to his feet. With his now limp legs and blurry vision, he desperately tried to run away.

Only to feel another fierce kick on his back, sending him away and to land near Moon Pool.

A pain in his chest. The emperor coughed. "S-stop!"

Shifu didn't listen.

For years, he had attained inner peace, but it was useless now.

How could he be at peace when he found out that not only had this tiger manipulated Tigress, he also cruelly killed her? It was unforgivable.

The only thing on Shifu's mind in that moment was to hurt this tiger. Making sure it hurts and he suffers until he begged to die, just like what he did to Tigress.

His daughter had died... and it was this man's fault.

And the emperor still made a fruitless effort to escape.

Shifu didn't let him go. He punched a pillar near him. A crack had appeared, it was getting bigger and bigger, causing the pillar to fracture, shattering to the floor and hit the emperor, pressing his leg.

The emperor groaned in pain. His leg was broken. If he was not getting out of this wreckage, he would certainly die.

And Shifu didn't seem interested in helping him. He went closer to the helpless emperor. Two pairs of eyes met. One filled with ferocity, another with desperation.

Shifu raised his arm, ready to give one last blow right in the throat that would paralyze the emperor's respiratory organs. He was so ready to do it.

Or... was he?

He paused for a few seconds.

'Is this right? Is this what I must do?'

'Just finish him,' another voice in his head spoke. 'and you'll prevent him from conquering China. And remember! He killed Tigress. No reason to show mercy on him.'

"Well, what are you waiting for?!" the emperor shouted. "Too afraid to kill me?"

Shifu stared at the reflection of himself through the eyes of the emperor and for the first time, realized how terrible and malicious he looked. If he killed the emperor, didn't it make no difference between him and this evil tiger?

A brief feeling of wrath returned and urged him to finish Emperor Tiger. A second later, he refrained.

Nothing would change if he killed the emperor. Tigress had died and nothing could bring her back.

He lowered his arm slowly. His desire to kill the emperor began to fade, so did his wrath.

"I knew it," the emperor scoffed. "You're scared. Coward. Just like Tigress."

Shifu fought back his anger. "No, this is wrong," he said slowly. "Believe me, my hands are itching to snap your neck but killing you out of hatred will only create another hatred from your people on China."

The emperor laughed tauntingly. "Liar! I can see in your eyes how much you want to kill me."

Shifu gave him a sharp gaze. "If you have enough energy to laugh, you better save it to return to Darknest Land. This is my last warning; take your remaining soldiers away from here and never return."

The emperor replied with a sneaky grin. Before Shifu realized it, something sharp and cold stabbed him in the back. The red panda gasped in surprise, his eyes went wide, not ready with the sudden attack.

"Well, well, well," the emperor said in a sing song voice, "I was wondering when you were going to show up, General."

Luo pulled back his bloodstained sword. Shifu collapsed. The general struggled to lift up the debris that was pressing the emperor; once the rubble was removed, he helped him stand.

Only to fall back to the floor.

His leg was broken. And from all appearance, it was beyond repair. Amputation might be the only solution to prevent infection.

"Your Majesty, I am afraid we have to go back to Darknest Land and regroup our forces."

The emperor seemed unhappy. "Stop talking nonsense, Luo!" he snarled.

"There's no way. We must treat your injury first. Your leg... it's..."

"It can be fixed!"

"Please, Your Majesty..."

"We've come this far. There's no way I'll start from nothing again or wait for the next Khan's incarnation to be reborn!"

"But Your Majesty, we've lost many soldiers."

"I won't give up!"

There was a silence. Nothing left of the tiger army save for the injured ones who were not able to raise their weapon anymore. Sooner or later, the Gongmen City army would come and find them here. If they didn't hurry...

Luo dropped his sword, taking off his helmet and his armor, leaving him clothed only in his ordinary clothes. "Tiger," he called.

"How dare you call me..."

"By taking off my armor, I am not your soldier anymore. If you won't listen to me as your subordinate, then listen to me as a friend."

With that, Luo lifted up his childhood friend and carried him on his back, ignoring constant protest from the emperor and held him firmly everytime the noble tiger kicked and wriggled to get loose.

Vaguely, Shifu, who was being ignored at the moment, regained his consciousness. The wound on his back sure would feel hurt much if he was not a kung fu master who had experienced more painful wounds than a small cut caused by an ordinary sword.

There was a gasp.

"Master Shifu!" Fang Zi rushed toward the red panda and checked on his body. "Your back..." she covered her mouth. "Oh, Gods."

"I am okay." He was just lucky that sword didn't cause any damage to his internal organs. "I am fine, Mrs. Fang Zi. No. Seriously. Don't get worried too much."

"The emperor," the old tigress mumbled. "He escaped?"

"No," Shifu replied calmly. "I let him go." He struggled to stand on his feet with the help of Fang Zi. "Besides..." he trailed off.

Fang Zi raised an eyebrow in wonder. "Besides?"

"No." Shifu shook his head after a few seconds of thinking. "I assume they have nowhere to go."

He didn't need to tell Fang Zi since that old tigress herself already knew that most of the emperor's soldiers had died and the ones who still lived had been injured and had surrendered. The soldiers from Gongmen City had besieged the Jade Palace to capture the emperor.

As general Luo carrying the emperor on his back was spotted running away through the terrace of Hall of Warriors, the soldiers of Gongmen City shot their arrows to both tigers.

Whoosh...

Whoosh...

Whoosh...

Luo and Emperor Tiger moaned in agony as tens of arrows stuck into their unprotected bodies. But Luo didn't stop as he had vowed to protect the emperor. With pain all over his body, he kept running, jumping over a parapet wall and disappearing into the dark of the night.

Master Ox raised his arm to a soldier who was about to run after them. "Stop!" he ordered. "There's no use to chase dying tigers."

And he was right.