Truth in Punishment

By: PointyEdgesofaSign

A/N: I own nothing. Done to sedate Vachir and his wish that the truth be told. I did not write this, I merely was the conduit for his words. Review if you think he should continue, and please say more than just 'yes' or 'no'.

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I stood at the front of the mess hall, impatiently awaiting the messenger from the Jade Palace. I had no idea who it would be, and while part of me wished it would be my Zeng, another prayed it wouldn't be, so I would not have to face my fears of rejection a second time. Once was enough for me.

The red doors slammed open and my heart nearly stopped beating.

The ivory wings, the electric blue eyes, the strange hat…

It was Zeng.

"Sir," one of my men spat with the utmost disdain and I wondered, vaguely, if he, too, had been denied by the bird. "Zeng, here, has brought a message from the Jade Palace!"

Our eyes met and, for a split second, I could have sworn I saw a wavering, weak apology hanging onto his lips for dear life, wanting to leap to my ears, and yet it was afraid it would not be heard.

And then it was gone.

I listened to him speak the requests of Master Shifu with barely contained anger, a silent agreement passing between us that the events of the past would not be spoken of before my men, and when he was finished speaking, I spat, "Double the guards? Your prison may not be adequate?"

You must realize, now, where I was coming from. I had spent a year building and perfecting the most powerful, inescapable prison ever known to Asia, and there was the one it was built for, telling me it wasn't good enough. Never mind that the words were not his own, that he was simply the messenger, it was his monument, carved in the eternal mountains of Mongolia, and it wasn't good enough!

"What?" I shouted, watching the small goose cower in fear of my men and me. It was a bittersweet moment, his fear stirring emotions I hadn't felt in so long. I wanted to reach out to him, assure him that everything was alright, he didn't need to fear. I wouldn't hurt him. Yet, at the same time, I wanted to scream, 'See? Do you see what you've done? All of this, everything I did, it was all for you! Everything for you, and it's not enough? Why? What must I do to please you?'

"Well, I don't think that… Master Shifu does," he squeaked, cowering away from us, shivering in fear.

My better nature got a hold of me before I could wrap my hands around his neck for all the pain he'd caused me, and instead remembered I'd never really shown him the prison. The show off in me decided then was the perfect time, and I led him out of the room.

I watched Zeng look around, dazed, like a young child seeing a palace for the first time, and it warmed my ice-ridden heart. I wasn't sure what I should say, and so I spoke of the prison.

"One way in, one way out, one thousand guards, and one prisoner," I bragged, chest puffing out in pride as Zeng's eyes widened in shock. "Impressive, isn't it?" I asked, slapping him hard on the back.

He stumbled forward, a small gasp escaping his beak before he whispered, nodding vigorously, "Very impressive. Very, very impressive."

I smiled, leading him down into the bowels of Chor Gom. I wanted to show him how much I had done for him, how much I loved him, and how much he had hurt me.

"Take us down, boys!" I shouted, and the elevator we were in descended to Tai Lung's level.

We reached the floor, the sound of the wood door smacking stone echoing in the silence of my hell. Zeng was nervous, and, recalling what Tai Lung had promised to do, I felt he had reason, but I reassured him nonetheless, and we strode up to the bound snow leopard.

"Hey, tough guy!" I shouted, watching Zeng shiver. How I wished to scream, to cry, to shout at him, 'What more can I do? What must I do to make you love me?'

I contained myself, though, as I walked around the felon, telling him of the Dragon Warrior as Zeng hissed not to make him mad.

I told the goose there was nothing to worry about, he was perfectly harmless.

Big mistake.

I saw a glint in the snow leopard's eyes as though a fire had been light deep within him, and was searching for a way to escape. His tail twitched toward Zeng and I brought my foot down on it, a reminder that he was not in charge of the prison, I was.

Zeng gasped and I knew he was frightened, so I made something up, mocking the feline warrior with cooed words.

"Aww, did I step on the wittie kitty's tail?" I taunted.

I received no response, and decided it was a good idea to get out of there as an indescribable, unexplainable fear coated my bones in its chilling grasp.

I ushered Zeng away from the convict and back into the elevator. The fear had not gone away, but instead changed to the light-headed sensation when you stand on the edge of somewhere very, very high and look down.

It was the calm before the storm.