Chapter Fifteen- Is It Over?

Shifu gently set Chao's still hand on the ground. He pulled back his hands and found them covered in Chao's blood. Shifu closed his eyes in pain. He felt like his entire body had gone cold. Junjie was beside Chao again. He put an ear to Chao's mouth and then his chest. But there was only stillness.

"Coward…." Junjie growled. He stood to face Jiao-long. "How dare you take his life when he wasn't expecting it?"

Jiao-long scoffed. "And that's supposed to be my problem? I'm glad he's gone; one less pest to worry about." Jiao-long twirled his sword. "One down, three to go."

Suddenly, the front of the metal box flew off and hit the other side of the room. Everyone stared inside. The box's contents simply consisted of a few lanterns, a large pillow, and a human girl, who was meditating. The girl stood up and turned to face them, her braid swinging around.

"Siren…" Shifu whispered.

Siren turned and her eyes widened at the sight of her father. She ran forward and knelt beside Chao, lifting his head in her hands.

"Dad?" She whispered. "Baba? Baba, please wake up."

Shifu wanted to lay a hand on her knee, to comfort her, but his hands were still covered in blood. He could only sigh. "I'm sorry, Siren."

Siren looked up and saw Shifu's bloodied hands. She turned and saw that same blood coating Jiao-long's sword. Siren growled in her throat, something a human was not expected to do. She gently set Chao down and stood, facing Jiao-long.

"You'll pay for that." She snarled. "We had an agreement: touch my father and I kill you."

"Siren, now listen to me." Jiao-long was afraid now. "It was his fault; he jumped at me and my sword just happened to-"

"Shut up!" Siren screamed.

Suddenly, Siren's eyes glowed white. She launched one of her strongest chi attacks. Jiao-long was blasted backwards and slammed into the wall.

"You have done enough damage!" Siren shouted. But her voice was different, as though there were a hundred of her speaking at once. "The one that decides the victor of this war is me! And I decide that you will die!" She shot out hand, and a column of fire went spiraling in Jiao-long's direction. Jiao-long glared and shot out his hand.

A shield formed around him, blocking the fire.

Everyone stared as Jiao-long laughed.

"What you failed to realize is that holding chamber didn't just give power to my machine." Jiao-long laughed. "It also gave me power. I am now and powerful as you are!"

"No." Siren growled. "I am stronger." She shot lightning from her fingertips. Fenghuang and Junjie stepped back to where Shifu was, safe behind Siren.

Siren and Jiao-long fired everything they could at each other. Siren would create fire from her hands and shoot it, but Jiao-long would telekinetically lift the broken box door and shield himself before launching it at Siren. Water was made from thin air, but frozen before it could hit. Then that frozen water would be made into shards of ice that were melted before impact. It seemed like a never ending battle of the elements until Jiao-long finally aimed for something else: Shifu, Junjie, and Fenghuang. Jiao-long bent the metal above him into a giant ball and hurled it at them. Siren instinctively jumped in front of them.

Jiao-long winced slightly on impact and laughed at his supposed victory. Then, he jumped into the air. In mid-jump, his body grew and lengthened until he was a large, pitch-black Chinese dragon with glowing red eyes. Jiao-long flew off and landed on the mountain above his castle, roaring to the sky.

Below, the two battling armies stared with shock.

"That's a big lizard." Po squeaked.

"What do we do?" Monkey asked worriedly.

"Retreat?" Crane suggested.

"We can't do that!" Tigress snapped. "We can do this!"

"Tigress, we're losing, badly." Crane protested. "If we don't retreat now, we may not get another chance." Tigress glared at the black dragon above her.

Inside Jiao-long's machine, the giant ball of metal was still. Then, it turned red and melted, dripping down the trapdoor. Siren lowered her hand, having just done the amazing feat. Junjie, Shifu, and Fenghuang were safe and alive. Siren glared up at the hole, where she could clearly see Jiao-long. She was about to go after him when Shifu suddenly grabbed her hand.

"Siren, wait!" he ordered.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Siren shouted. "I'm going to tear that scaly freak in half for what he did!"

"You can't just jump into battle like that!" Shifu snapped. "I thought Chao taught you better!"

Siren suddenly turned and slapped Shifu. Apart from a quick flinch, Shifu didn't move, or let go of Siren's hand. "You will not speak of my father." Siren hissed. "He is a great warrior and teacher."

"Then you must be a bad student." Shifu said. Siren's eyes glowed brighter, her face contorted with fury.

"Uh, Shifu, I'd watch what you say." Fenghuang warned.

Shifu ignored her. "You know why your powers affect what happens around you? Why your room changed depending on your feelings? It's because you can't control yourself or your powers. They are your gifts to control and you cannot let them control you!" He gestured towards Chao. "Your father taught you control, yes? Then use it! Your powers should obey you and bend to your command. If you don't control yourself, you'll lose! And then we'll all lose! If the prophecy is true, and you are our only hope, then you must learn control!"

Siren looked ready to kill Shifu. She thrust her free hand to Shifu's throat, lifting him into the air. "What would you know about my father and what he taught me?"

Shifu gasped a bit, but stayed strong. "Because I trained with him and you; I know what he taught you. You have to think about what he would say right now. You have to think about what your mother would say!"

Siren's eyes widened at the mention of her mother. Shifu reached into his collar and pulled out the locket for Siren to see. She stared for a moment and slowly set Shifu down, releasing her grip on his neck. Shifu took a few breaths and removed the locket, holding it out for Siren. The girl took the necklace and opened it. She stared at her mother's picture. Tears sprouted from her glowing eyes.

"I miss her." Siren's voice had returned to normal.

Shifu nodded. "I know. I miss her, too."

Siren fell to her knees. She pulled Shifu into a bone-crushing hug. This time, Shifu didn't mind; he returned the hug, trying to comfort the girl. Siren let go after a moment and rubbed her eyes. They weren't glowing anymore, but her irises stayed white. Siren turned to look at her father. He looked so peaceful, like he was asleep.

Jiao-long roared above them.

Siren's eyes hardened. She stood up and walked over to kneel next to her father. Shifu was close behind her. Siren looked into her locket once more and nodded determinedly. She placed her free hand over Chao's wound.

Junjie knew what she was doing. "Siren, don't. It's too late. You can't bring back the dead."

Siren stared at him with her snow-white eyes. "Watch me."

She concentrated hard. All she had to do was picture what she wanted. All through her mind ran memories of her time with her father: when they had gone into the market for her birthday; practicing her kung fu; sparring with her Bo staff; visiting Junjie; meditating with Master Oogway. The last memory that passed was one that she encountered many times: Chao kissing her goodnight, always letting her know that he loved her.

Siren's eyes and hand glowed. Junjie, Shifu, and Fenghuang watched in amazement as the blood disappeared. Even the blood stains on Shifu's hands went away. After a moment, Siren's hand stopped glowing. But her eyes remained the same as she sat upright and sighed. The wound had disappeared completely. Everyone waited with baited breath.

Nothing happened.