When the two recently united lovers had walked back leisurely to the palace in the night, they spotted a massive crowd of citizens at the entrance of the palace. They looked enraged, and Mei Ling couldnʼt blame them. The Imperial army had attacked the Valley brutally. Why they did not continue, Mei Ling was unsure. Sharing a look, Mei Ling held on to Craneʼs feet as he flew over the crowd, landing next to the other Masters confronted by the angry mob.
"You people need to leave!"
"You guys can barely protect yourselves, let alone the Valley!"
"If this is what Kung Fu can only do, I want to be taken over by the Emperor!"
The angry crowd hurled insults and jeers at the masters. All remained calm, except for one certain Dragon Warrior. Po stepped forth, ready to abuse the crowd. But then something odd happened. When Po took the step, the villagers took a step back. Upon realizing this, Po sighed. Even though they may have looked angry, they were still afraid of what the Masters could do. This reminded him of Tai Lung, and he immediately stepped down, feeling ashamed.
"Why do we need to leave?" Mei Ling asked confusedly, looking around the crowd "The Anvil of Heaven will arrive tomorrow and…"
"And the Imperial Army will still be here!" cried out Feng, an elder of the Valley "They surrounded the Valley, turning back traders and farmers looking to sell their crops!"
"We have no farmers here, and how long will we last until we perish from starvation, huh?" yelled out a particularly rude pig, "As long as youʼre still here, they will keep the blockade going, until we force you out!"
"Leave!" screamed an elderly goat, "LEAVE NOW!"
The Masters looked at each other. They would never harm one of the citizens of the Valley of Peace, but could they really leave their home behind, only to get caught by the Imperial Army? Shifu had realized now, why only such a small force had entered the valley. The Thread of Hope is the only access point to the Valley, and to cross an army across the thread-like bridge would have been impossible.
Then…thought Shifu, All this time since the attack….
"We need to leave, now." whispered the elderly Master looking dejected "Go towards the Scared Pool of Tears."
Shifu and Feng had shared a glance together, a hidden conversation between the twoʼs eyes.
The masters looked at him questioningly, but trusted the elderʼs judgment. The master looked back with pained expressions in their eyes. Never did they expect to be shunned by the very people that adored them moments before. They all sped towards the sacred rendezvous point, leaving behind the citizens of the Valley.
"Well, our plan had worked." A male bunny stepped besides Fung "Now we just need to hide the children…"
"Another force sent by the Emperor will kill us all. I hope we have chased them out of the Valley." Feng let a tear out "After all these years of protecting us, they deserve to have been protected by us lowly villagers at least once."
"Fui, send them food and water. Do not tell them that it is from us." Feng croaked "And by no means tell them that this hurts us as much as it hurts them."
"Hopefully the Anvil of Heaven can protect them from the Emperor." Shifu had sat, dejected "We will leave after we rest here for the night."
The elderly master looked worn down, his face showing signs of age and his posture was weak. He had seen through the Valleyʼs citizens, and knew he could do nothing. They had sacrificed themselves to help the survival of something bigger than all of them, a timeless art that had helped millions of the innocent from the oppression of the evil; the art of Kung Fu.
Mantis had been murmuring obscenities as he raked the ground with his mantis forelimbs. Monkey sat in his lotus position; face twitching as he tried to chorale himself from the worry that had gripped his heart. Viper coiled up as she looked at the pool, the light of the moon and stars reflected off the pool into her eyes, creating a beautiful color. Mei Ling and Crane had sat together, Crane roosting as Mei Ling curled up around his leg as she fell asleep. Tigress sat far away where the land ended and the sky was infinite, her eyes shut as she drowned herself in the cold air and stars of the night. Po had been in his own little world away from everyone else, tinkering with something small.
"They look adorable together", said Viper sleepily as she stared at Crane and Mei Ling resting together.
"Mmmm." agreed the praying Mantis, "Iʼm hungry, too."
Viper hissed at the insect and smacked the back of his head with her tail, annoyed at his truth. None of them had eaten for some time, and Viper was getting thirsty; however, she would never drink from the scared pool before her. She stared back at the newly found couple, and a thought passed through her mind. She glanced quickly at Po, then at Tigress. She sighed, and retired back into her coil.
"Aha!" Po yelled victoriously, "I got it!"
The startled masters looked at Po. Po had quickly winced and whispered an apology. He tiptoed his way to the ledge that Tigress had seated herself upon. As he plopped down next to Tigress, the feline master had opened one eye and raised her eyebrow at him.
"Hey, Ti." Po had used her nickname affectionately.
Tigress had opened both her eyes and stared coolly at the jade eyes that had seemed to be able open her inner walls when no one else had.
"Look, I know youʼre still hurt over the palace." Po had said and quickly added when she had looked down, "But, but look! I looked around a bit, and I remembered the story you told me about before you came to the Jade Palace. I want you to keep this, if you like it."
Po and taken her hand and gently placed the small item in her paws. Tigress had opened her paws to find something she would have never expected.
It was a tile. The tiles that Shifu had taught her to use, that taught her how to use her strength and gave her friends at the orphanage. The tile had been the start of her happy memories in the orphanage, finally able to play with the other children after she had shown them she was no harm and could control her temper. It was just cheap wood, but it represented so much more than that. It was a slightly blackened at a corner, and had a hole with a small rope through it. She ran her paws slowly over the small rope, the tile, her little piece of memories. Po had turned it into a necklace.
"Um, I know that it was precious to you and um…I really sorry that I put a hole in it. I just thought that, yʼknow, you might want to wear it- if you want to wear it, no one is really telling you to and-"
"Po, I love it." Tigress flashed him a small smile, but it dropped when her eyes rested on his hands "What happened to your hands?"
"What, oh nothing, nothing at all. I good! Really!" He quickly hid his paws behind his back.
She grabbed his arms and lifted them up to meet her gaze underneath the light of the moon and stars. Poʼs paws had been severely burned in multiple places, cuts and grazes covered his paws, and some claws were missing from both hands. He had hurt himself to bring small comfort to her, and she suddenly felt guilty. She had forgotten that Po had looked through burning hot wood and metal for this tiny trinket... She got up and walked to the pool, gathering water in a flask. After clearing out his wounds on his hands, she had gently dried them with her silk pants. Her eyes softened, as she gently placed his hand on her lap, and proceeded to take the bindings off her ankles. Then she carefully wrapped her bindings around his hands. She was still staring at the bandaged paws, softly massaging them as her mind wandered to think about Po.
"Um. Tigress?"
Her head shot up, eyes wide, and realized she had been softly massaging his hands still. She shoved his hands away and looked back at the stars.
"Donʼt be a little girl."
Po had shot her an amused grin, and scooted closer to her.
"Yʼknow, underneath all that hardcore tiger Kung Fu mastery, inside is just a warm, soft, lovable, cuddly kitty!" Po poked her every time he had hit an adjective.
"Care to test that out, Dragon Warrior?" she hissed playfully, coiling up on all fours ready to pounce.
"Ready." Po smirked, imitating the feline when they were sailing to Gongmen.
Tigress leapt on top of Po, and began rolling around wrestling for dominance. As they were rolling around, they managed to roll down the path towards the Scared Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom. Tigress was hissing, clawing and batting playfully as Po growled. They rolled around in a playful manner, forgetting about the dead, the blood, the fear, just focusing on each other in the moment. They had managed to roll uphill and stopped just beneath the peach tree. It was blooming time for the tree, as the sweet cool air had seduced the petals to fall from their branches, creating a glorious swarm of petals around the two. The moon shined as brightly as it could dare, and the stars shined with equal vigor. It felt as if the very earth approved of the two warriorsʼ love for each other, though neither confessed it yet.
They stopped their tussling, Tigress beneath Po, both of them laughing together. Then Tigress did something unexplainable. Tigress had looked at the charming, cute panda and lifted her head to meet his cheek. Then, she gave Po a small lick on the cheek before setting her head back on the grass, looking at him with admiration and adoration. Poʼs eyes went wide with surprise, as he slowly looked down into Tigressʼs eyes. She had a small smile on her face, her blush dominating the shade of color on her face. Her gentle features were lit by the moon and the beautiful eyes matched the heavenly stars themselves. Poʼs heart melted when he could see total love and trust in her eyes, and Po leaned down. At the same time, Tigress had leaned up to meet his lips. What felt for hours were only a matter of seconds. The two separated, breathing harshly as they sat together against the peach tree. Tigress closed her eyes peacefully as she rested her head against Poʼs shoulder. No confessions
were needed at that point, the twoʼs souls and hearts were in matching frequencies.
"I know we shouldnʼt be feeling like this….We should be getting ready for the coming storm", Tigress looked up into Poʼs eyes "But…I….love you, and I need you."
"Yʼknow, a wise man once told me that yesterday is history, and tomorrow is a mystery", Po smiled shyly as her gaze never left his "But today is a gift, and thatʼs why itʼs called the present."
His paws were grabbed gently by Tigressʼs. He hadnʼt noticed till now that she had worn the necklace he had given her, the precious tile protected underneath her red silk vest. She smiled, and felt at peace for once in her life. The raging storm that was her life had been calmed and quenched by an unbreakable heart, so warm it was foreign to her own. It had melted herʼs to the very core, and his only seemed to grow.
The couple had not been aware that the entire group had watched the two from far away, smirks and silent giggling filling the group. Shifu himself couldnʼt help but smile lightly; this new young love had warmed his tired old heart. Viper wiped a tear from her eyes and silently wished congratulations to her sister. Monkey and Mantis shared a look and the same thought: They would never let Po and Tigress live this down. Mei Ling and Crane had been reminded of their recent moment, and were lost in each otherʼs eyes.
It had been a long night. Hao, the royal adviser had been fighting off the bureaucracy for His Majesty and been sending orders to generals all across China. The pheasant was wearing the highest grade silk robes, green and blue, for only gold was allowed on the Emperorʼs skin. His body had never gave off that he was exhausted; oh no, the royal adviser must be strict in posture, in dialect, in everything. He represented the Emperor, and he must be represented properly. His every movement radiated wealth, knowledge, and gracefulness. He walked into the royal court of His Majesty, a massive room with riches adorned on the wall, pillars of dragons snaking around it, and at the center of the room on the ceiling: a massive image of the Son of Heaven himself. The passage to him was guided by two straight lines of massive rhinoceros guards, fearsome face-masks on their face, concealing their identity. Their armor were sparkling and in impeccable condition.
As he approached the massive throne, he knelt as low as he could.
"Your Majesty, your loyal servant approaches with the most humble intentions."
"Rise" His entire body was covered with a shroud, only revealing part of the massive throne.
"Your Majesty has asked for his humble servant?"
"Yes, Hao, we need to discuss some things." The figure shifted slightly before continuing "How are the battles across Chinaʼs borders going?"
"General Huāngmò still leads the attack against the barbarians of the desert in the west. General Shin has completely dominated the southern lands and islands and is traveling back to the Forbidden City to meet with Your Majesty. General Zhao has stopped the eastern island barbarians and contained the resistance of the peninsula east of China; he waits for further command."
"I see. Send some others to lead the armies. Send the Imperial Three to me. Are the Kung Fu masters still resisting?"
"….Yes, Your Majesty. They seemed to have gone to hiding and are engaging in guerrilla warfare with General Croc at the moment. Only Lee Da, Gongmen, Wu Shao, and Shi Long are completely eradicated. Some more will undoubtedly be destroyed. The masters have seemed to be very well organized, by the hands of the Grandmaster of the Jade Palace, Shifu."
"Give the order…. The Imperial Three may not rest till all of Kung Fu is destroyed."
The figure had begun to spasm, and the Emperor cried out in pain.
"Your Majesty! Is it your illness again?"
"I….I am fine. Get me my medicine. GO NOW! BEFORE I RIP OUT YOUR TONGUE!"
"Ye-yes, Your Highness!"
The Emperor sat back in his throne. His body racked with pain, as he shivered. He was always weak, especially when he was a child. The doctor he had killed had diagnosed him with a mental illness. It was impossible for the Son of Heaven himself to be insane; no, he wouldnʼt allow it. Any doctor that diagnose him with an illness would get killed, their corpse to rot in Mongolia for the pitiful wolves to eat. The once stable, peace-loving emperor had turned into a ravage, war-hungry monster.
"Now, Oogway, old friend….Let us see who was right. Is Kung Fu the way to peace and order? Weʼll see old friend..."
Original A/N
"Mad Hatter: "Why is a raven like a writing-desk?"
"Have you guessed the riddle yet?" the Hatter said, turning to Alice again.
"No, I give it up," Alice replied: "Whatʼs the answer?"
"I havenʼt the slightest idea," said the Hatter" - Lewis Carroll...insanity at its finest.
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Everyone seems to be falling in love, am I right? I hope you guys can see the foreshadowing on how the Imperial Three act, based on what they did so far described by Hao. Love scene inspired by a Disney movie, not gonna say which. Please leave some encouraging constructive criticism, after all I aim to please.
Reviews would be an amazing-but-extremely-late Christmas miracle!
Till Next Time, Audience