Chapter 9: Save Da-Xia.
Author's note: Hello everybody! I am soooooo sorry it has taken me so long to update this story. It has been a combination of life, work, other stories in progress and a major case of writer's block for this story. I would like to say thank you so much to those of you who kept reminding me to update, and I would like to assure all of you that I have no intention of giving this story up. It's just taking me a lot longer to finish than originally thought.
Here is chapter nine, I hope you enjoy reading it.
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Tigress raced to where her nieces and nephews were sleeping. Master Bunny's students were busy evacuating the Valley and Tigress had to ensure her family was safe.
Opening the door, she quickly roused the children.
"Wake up, everybody!' She said loudly, shaking Cheng when he protested. "We have to evacuate!"
Doing a quick head count as the cubs got up, Tigress realized one was missing.
"Where's Da-Xia?" Tigress asked slowly.
"I heard her walk past me a while ago," Maylin spoke up through a yawn. "I thought she was just getting water or something."
Tigress spotted the water jug near the window, still full, and realized that couldn't be it.
"Maybe she's in the training hall?" Wei suggested as he helped Lian pack up her bag. "She was saying how she couldn't wait for the training session in the morning."
Tigress froze, if Da-Xia had been in the hall…
Herding the cubs out quickly, she led them over to a group led by Wen that were heading out of the Valley.
"You go with Wen," Tigress told them firmly, "I'll find your sister."
"Where's dad?" Wei asked, looking around for his father.
"He's…helping to protect the Valley," Tigress answered, not wanting to worry the cub.
But Wei was clever, and his eyes narrowed.
"What's wrong, aunty Lin?" He asked. "Where's our father and sister?"
Tigress took a breath.
"I told you: your father's helping us protect the Valley. I don't know where Da-Xia is, but I'll find her. In the meantime," Tigress placed a hand on Wei's shoulder seriously, "I need you to take care of the rest of our family while we evacuate the Valley."
"But why are we evacuating?" Wei pressed.
"We're going to be attacked, and we don't want anyone getting hurt," Tigress felt she owed her nephew something truthful. "Now, take care of your brother and sisters," she ordered. "I'll go find Da-Xia."
Turning, Tigress raced to the training hall, climbing the walls to perch on the roof.
Scanning the Valley below, Tigress seriously hoped she was wrong.
For if Da-Xia had been in the training hall, then she would have heard about what had happened to Li.
"Please tell me she didn't…"
Tigress' prayer trailed off as, amongst the villagers emerging from their homes, bleary eyed and carrying supplies, Tigress could see a small figure running across the rooftops.
"Oh, no."
Without hesitation, Tigress jumped down into the valley below.
The Furious Five were racing down the Jade Palace stairs as Tigress dropped past them.
"Tigress!" Crane called as he moved to fly alongside her.
"Da-Xia's heading towards Long's camp!" Tigress told him. Focusing, she landed on a rooftop and began running towards the edge of the Valley, with the other Five following.
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Da-Xia jumped off the last house to land at the edge of the Valley. In the dark of night, the glow of the campfires would easily be seen in the distance.
Determinedly, Da-Xia crept forward until she could see the groups of tigers sitting motionless around the flickering flames.
And in the centre, by the biggest fire, sitting alone was her father.
And even from this distance, Da-Xia's keen sight could see the blackness of his eyes.
Covering her mouth in horror, Da-Xia huddled behind the long grass, out of sight.
Her father had told her stories of the Dragon Long, of course, but she had always thought they were just stories. And now, hearing that the great Sorcerer had existed, and was now getting ready to attack the Valley with an army of mind-controlled tigers, Da-Xia was forced to change her mind set.
And now, the villain from her childhood nightmares had taken control of the most powerful tiger she knew.
Da-Xia gritted her teeth with determination.
Well, she couldn't let that happen.
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Tigress and the Five arrived at the edge of the Valley, and crept forward as quietly as possible.
"What could Da-Xia be thinking?" Viper whispered worriedly as they carefully approached the camp.
"Trying to save her father, most likely," Crane answered slowly.
"From being possessed by a legendary evil sorcerer?" Mantis asked skeptically and Tigress gave him a look.
"Do we have a plan?" Po asked, concerned as he tried to make his body as small as possible. "I mean, going to face a legendary sorcerer and all: we should have a plan."
"The plan is: to stop Da-Xia from getting close to Long in the first place," Tigress answered tersely.
"Too late," Monkey whispered, pointing.
Up ahead, the tigers had all leapt to their feet to surround a young cub who had entered into their midst.
"Da-Xia!" Tigress hissed as she pulled ahead of the others.
"Tigress, wait!" Po tried to caution his friend. "Long could roast you!"
"Come on," Viper slithered in Tigress' wake. "She'll need back up."
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Da-Xia held herself proudly as she cast her eyes over the dozens of other tigers surrounding her. She'd never seen so many tigers in one place before.
"Well, well," a familiar voice said and Da-Xia felt her heart ache as what looked like her father came to stand before her. "Look who we have here: Da-Xia."
Da-Xia had never known her father's voice to sound so chilling, but the fact that Long knew her name told Da-Xia that her father was still alive, somewhere, trapped in his own mind.
"Let my father go," she told the sorcerer firmly, to which he burst out laughing, with his zombie-like army copying.
"Oh, so this is a rescue mission, is it?" Long put to the young tigress. "Well, young one, you'll find that it's not as simple as that. You see, I need your father."
"So does his family," Da-Xia shot back.
Long smiled as he slowly began to circle the cub, who simply turned with him, keeping her gaze fixed on the being disguised as her father, unafraid.
"I'm sure you, Wen, Maylin, Lian and Cheng will need your father," Long smiled and Da-Xia felt her blood grow colder at the mention of her siblings. "Unfortunately," he continued. "The only way to free your father is to force my spirit out of his body, and trap it before it moves to another host. As I no longer have my own body, I'm a bit of a parasite really."
"So you need someone else to infest," Da-Xia commented, her mind racing until it landed on the only solution she saw to free her father.
"Take me, instead."
A ripple seemed to travel through the tigers surrounding her.
"You?" Long repeated slowly, before beginning to chuckle. "Your father is screaming in his mind Da-Xia. He wants you to leave him and run."
"My family needs my father more than me," Da-Xia said as she stepped forward. "Families protect each other. I am a first born tiger, and I will protect my family."
Long smiled.
"Such courage, young one," he whispered. "You would indeed make a lovely addition to my collection. And who knows?" He continued. "Your father is strong, but he will age, as mortals do. Perhaps I will make you his successor."
"So you'll let him go?" Da-Xia pressed.
"Oh, I didn't say that," Long answered. "You are young, yes, but not as experienced or as powerful as your father, yet. You will need to wait your turn for the honor of being my host."
Da-Xia froze as Long reached for her.
"But I will give you a place amongst my army." He told her in what was apparently meant to be a soothing voice. "Such courage…"
"Oh, not you don't!"
Long turned as The Dragon warrior and the Furious Five burst on the scene, sending tigers soldiers flying.
"Get away from her!" Tigress snarled as she leapt towards Long. Smiling, Long simply raised a column of earth to block her attack, but Tigress' fury was enough to break the rock.
"Run, Da-Xia!" Tigress told her niece as she aimed a kick at Long's head.
"Lin don't!" Da-Xia begged in a panic. "That's my dad!"
"Yes Lin," Long caught Tigress' kick easily in Li's powerful grip. "Would you hurt your own brother?"
"You're not my brother," Tigress growled. "You've kidnapped him!"
Freeing her leg, Tigress dealt out a second blow, which actually connected with Long's chest, sending him stumbling back slightly. And while he recovered quickly, it gave Tigress the time she needed to grab Da-Xia.
"Get Da-Xia out of here!" Po called out as a tiger's attack simply bounced off his plushy panda body. "We'll cover you!"
Tigress grabbed her niece and began leading her away, fighting off Long's soldiers as her friends helped to clear a path back into the Valley.
"No!" Da-Xia got out of Tigress' grip. "We have to save my dad!"
"We will, Da-Xia," Tigress said determinedly. "But trading your body for your father's is not a plan!"
"So what is?" Da-Xia demanded, venting her frustration on a tiger-soldier who tried to grab her from behind. Her fiery anger giving her attacks more power. "Yin and yang? What the heck is that?"
Sighing in frustration, Tigress checked to see if her friends needed any help, and saw that they were holding their own, but the sheer number of the tigers attacking meant they couldn't last for much longer.
It was while her eyes scanned the scene before, that she suddenly noticed something.
While all five of her friends were using their Kung-Fu admirably, Po appeared to have tigers practically bouncing off him.
"Feel the thunder of the Dragon Warrior!" He called out as he moved like a whirling, soft tornado that simply absorbed any attack directed at it. A tiger would attack Po and appear to bounce off, their attack hitting those of its comrades instead.
In a flash, Tigress saw a montage in her mind.
Being in a lesson with master Oogway as a cub: "You are powerful, young Tigress," he said. "But you cannot win a battle using power alone. Sometimes, you need to be gentle, to better your opponent."
Sparring on the ferry with Po on their way to Gong Man City: "I don't think Hard Style is your thing" She had told him. Then later: "We're warriors!" Po argued. "Nerves of steel. Souls of Platinum- Like you! So 'Hard Core' you don't feel anything!"
Sparring in Li's training area and being defeated repeatedly. "You are Powerful, Master Tigress, as tigers naturally are...It's only when you combine it with its opposite element, water, that it can truly create amazing things, both varied and useful." He had told her.
Watching the pandas defeating the masked bandits easily while travelling to the Valley: "Well, I'm not sure if you've noticed from sparring Po," Nuan began, "but 'hard core' doesn't have much impact on pandas."
"Now Tai Chi, on the other hand," she continued, "is absolutely perfect…Pandas are naturals at it."
From hearing the Legend earlier: Oogway intervened and sent the tiger flying, barely seeming to touch him… Long's power, while great, was limited… And that power, Oogway said, was also his greatest weakness, for he could never achieve the balance required to truly achieve excellence of self.
"Get to the Valley!" She called out to her friends. "Quickly!"
As their group ran, evading the soldiers as best as they could while also dodging the balls of fire Long was now directing at them, Tigress was able to get to speaking distance with the others.
"I think I've got an idea on what Oogway meant by 'Yin and Yang'," she told them.
She looked Po in the eye.
"We're going to need the help of the Panda village."
When Long saw the group running, he called his soldiers back. 'Let them stay up all night planning', he thought. 'You don't conquer a Valley by simply running in. That's how you get trapped.' He felt a tiger's growl rise in him and relished the sensation. There had only been one person in history who had ever trapped him. And for that, he wanted to make sure that Oogway's legacy crumbled along with his precious Kung Fu.
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Back in the Jade Palace, Tigress tried to deliver Da-Xia back to her siblings, only to be met with stubborn defiance, as the eldest of Li's children defended her right to fight to free her father. Eventually, realizing she didn't have time to argue, Tigress agreed, as long as Da-Xia stayed with her at all times.
Meanwhile, as per Tigress' instructions, Po and The Five gathered the panda village together at the Jade Palace.
"So, Tigress," Crane began, a little confused. "Care to explain your theory?"
Tigress took a breath.
"Do you remember when we were travelling here from the mountains, and the village was attacked by bandits? Tigers?" She began. "The pandas fought back, and they were able to defeat them easily."
"I remember," Nuan nodded.
"Not to mention the amount of times Po's been hit in the head and he's shaken it off." Mantis added with a slight smile.
"A panda's natural ability to absorb attacks is beneficial in this case, Master Tigress," Shifu granted, ignoring Mantis' comment, "but why do you think this is the answer to Oogway's Yin and Yang riddle?"
"Because," Tigress answered. "Long believed that pure strength, pure power, was the key to overcoming your opponent. That's why he favors tigers for his army. But Oogway understood that pure strength doesn't always work. It's limited. Tigers are fast and powerful, but if you know how to counter that with its opposite, that power is neutralized. Tigers are fast. A tortoise is slow. Tigers are aggressive. A tortoise is gentle."
"So is a panda." Yue-Yan whispered, seeing Tigress' reasoning.
"Interesting," Shifu mused.
"It's the same with his ability to control the elements," Tigress continued. "Long can only control a pure element, because that's what he thinks is the most powerful. He doesn't see the power in a mixed element, like clay, he sees it as contaminated. Which is why Oogway made Long's prison from clay."
"I think I can see where we're going with this," Po was beginning to feel exhilarated from the anticipation of dishing out some justice.
Shifu nodded before turning to Xi-Wong.
"Xi-Wong, our home is in danger," Shifu began. "Will you and your village help us to defeat the Sorcerer Long once and for all?"
Xi-Wong smiled at Shifu before raising his eyes to view his newfound son. Nuan and Jia standing proudly behind him.
"It would be our honour, Master Shifu," he answered.
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Author's note: So what did you think? I know it's a bit short. I had originally titled this chapter 'Battle over the Valley' as I wanted to enter the final battle scene in this chapter, but I felt we should end it here, so as to help give an idea of the plan, and have the battle in the next chapter.
The name Da-Xia means 'big hero', according to the site where I found my character names, so I felt that Da-Xia should have a role in trying to save her father. But, being a headstrong teenage tiger, not to mention a firstborn, I could see her going in without much thought of a plan at first.
What do you think of my Yin and Yang idea? Yin and Yang can have many interpretations, and in this story, Yin and Yang represent, not just personal balance, but neutralization in battle. Tortoises/Pandas are Yin (calm, gentle, soft) and Tigers are Yang (energetic, aggressive and hard), as it were.
This is Kung Fu PANDA after all, so I had always felt that the pandas should have a key role in the 'climactic battle scene' and I was inspired by Po's fight with Tai Lung in the first movie, where Tai Lung uses all the most powerful moves he can, only to have them bounce off Po's plushy body, such as the nerve attack not working. Not to mention watching Po 'absorb and deflect' Lord Shen's cannonballs at the end of the second movie.
Once again, I'm so sorry this has taken so long, and I will endeavor to keep writing this story until it has come to the end, no matter how long it takes to do!
Please read and review.