Before we begin, I need to make this notation: As "awesome" as the battle scene in the last chapter was, I can't take full credit for it. The whole sequence is the brainchild of Nievelion who, in his own fic "A Different Lesson" features a totally awesome battle in an upcoming chapter that shows Tai Lung bringing down a mountain on the heads of really bad baddies (only in his version, Tai's more bad-ass than I could ever make him; lets face it, in my last chapter, the kid got damn lucky). The battle scene I wrote was inspired by him and his endless fountain of ideas. Seriously, go read it; "Different Lesson" is to "Memoirs" as "Dracula" is to "Twilight"—there is no equal; one is clearly greater than the other.

Hope you all enjoy this, this took a while to write (a month, all told) so please be kind!

Disclaimer: Don't own Kung Fu Panda. Shifu's past is purely my own invention.

Memoirs of a Master

Chapter 20

Viper yawned widely as she gazed bleary-eyed out the window at the rising sun. Sighing tiredly, she groaned, "Day fifteen…minus Shifu..."

"C'mon, guys, we gotta stay awake to get through these last three…" Po cajoled. "There's plenty of food."

"Not enough tea to keep us up though," Crane blinked. The bird's head had dipped a few times, but he straightened himself immediately once he was aware of his impending slumber. Mantis had long ago fallen asleep after ingesting two bowls of noodles. Tigress' chin rested on her chest, her eyes closed in an apparent attempt at meditation. She intended to gain focus, but only succeeded in finding slumber, not enlightenment.

It was Monkey who got them all awake again. The primate had fallen asleep with his cheek resting in his palm. He wasn't even aware he had fallen asleep until his head slipped out of his hand and hit the tabletop with a loud thud.

This shocked everyone awake immediately. Tigress growled and stood, "That's it, we're breaking out the heavy-duty tea."

"The chai?" Viper asked.

"No, the oolong."

The other members of the Five gasped in horror. Po gave them a curious look. "What's the deal with the oolong?"

"Its Shifu's oolong," Mantis whispered. "No one is allowed to drink it but him…"

Tigress tore the cupboard door open and pulled out a small tea tin and a special cast iron teapot. The Five stared at it like it was a lit firecracker ready to go off in her hand. Yet Tigress looked oddly nonchalant about the whole thing. "Oh please, like he's going to miss a teaspoon. He hasn't touched this since last Summer!"

"But he'll know, he'll just know!" Viper hissed. "The scrolls are one thing, but that's his tea!"

"And he's not going to miss a teaspoon—that's all we'll need."

Po was impressed by how ballsy the tiger had become. Less than two weeks ago, she was aghast at the thought of entering her master's private quarters. Now, she was drinking his tea without batting an eyelash! "So what's the big deal with this tea?" he asked. "Is it rare? Special blend?"

Tigress set the tin down and poured boiling water into the cast-iron pot. Carefully measuring out the dried tea leaves, she placed the strainer on the top and replaced the lid to allow it to steep. "You've had black teas before, right?"

Po nodded.

"And you know oolong teas are good for aiding digestion and fighting back hunger…"

"Okay, I need to go on a diet, I get it," he rolled his eyes.

"Let me finish," she snapped irritably. Rubbing the inside corners of her eyes, she continued. "This tea is a mix of leaves from the mountains in the north, valleys of the south of China, India and Tibet. One cup will keep you awake twice as long as three cups of black tea will. In short, as Mantis put it once," she smirked, "This 'will knock you on your ass'."

The panda should have been appalled by the horrid language pouring from her mouth. Then he remembered who she was quoting: "It'll knock me on my ass, huh?" He had to admit, he was secretly proud of her. In the past two weeks, she had opened up more to him than either thought possible. Moreover, she seemed to generally be warming up to him, a theory that was confirmed when he was the first one she offered the tea to.

Tigress poured him a cup, one that was as small as one of his fingers, and handed it to him. Po eyed her cautiously, "Don't I need something bigger?"

"Trust me, that's all you'll need."

Po stared at the tiny cup in his hand and threw it back like a shot before Tigress could warn him. His hands began to shake and tremble violently, and very suddenly, his fur stood on end, the electric nerves surging with—

"YEOW!!!" Po yelped, falling onto his back as if he'd been punched. The Five stared at him in alarm; Tigress got up and knelt next to him, "Po? PO! Po, talk to me, open your eyes…"

Po forced his eyes open…then his body jolted upright, still twitching uncontrollably. "Wow…hello, caffeine…"

"I tried to warn you…" she scolded, but with a relieved smile.

"Well, you were right, that did knock me on my ass."

"You were supposed to sip it."

"I'll log that for future reference, thanks."

Monkey reached for the teapot and poured himself a cup. "Alright, whose turn is it?"

"Can it wait until we have caffeine surging through our systems first?" Mantis groaned, exhaustively eyeing the basket of scrolls.

Crane picked up the next scroll and unrolled it, "I'll do it. Someone just give me the damn tea before I pass out…"

Borte and I returned to the Jade Palace as quietly as possible. We avoided the direct route through the village, as we didn't want to be kept by the villagers' endless questions about the battle. I think the fair majority of them were surprised to see me walking outside the palace's walls, after so many years being a veritable prisoner of the place I'd called home since I was four.

"I'm surprised you didn't go with the army to the capital," Borte said to me as we neared Jade Mountain.

I shook my head, "I've seen far too much bloodshed. I'd be happy to avoid it altogether. You were right in calling me a coward."

"I only called you a coward because you didn't put your son first. This time, you did, and now he's off becoming the man he was always meant to be. Boys cannot become men, Shifu, until they are given the opportunity." She held out her wing to block my way. "Let me fly us the rest of the way. The sooner we're there, the sooner we can rest."

I was too tired to argue, and I would not have argued if I'd had the energy. When we made it to the Jade Palace, Oogway met us at the door. He was smiling.

"So," he started. "It sounds like it went well."

For the first time in years, I smiled hopefully. "It did."

"I don't see Tai Lung. Is he well?"

"He's just fine, Master."

"He performed well, I take it?"

"He did. Oh, he also wanted me to bring this back," I said, pulling out the Sword of Heroes. "He is traveling to the capital with the Anvil of Heaven to bring down Rong Lang. He assured me he didn't need it."

"Didn't need it, or feared you would kill him if he lost it?"

"Probably both."

Oogway chuckled, nodding, "Good. Set it back in the Hall of Warriors, would you? Oh, and please keep me informed about the goings-on in the capital, Lady Borte. I am loathe to miss it, but my interest is not waned."

Borte smiled knowingly and spread her wings. "As you wish," she said just before she took off.

"You have mail," Oogway said to me a week later. He set a scroll on the table before me while we were eating breakfast. Borte had just returned from the Imperial Palace with the letter and glanced in my direction as I unrolled the scroll and scanned it. It was from Tai Lung, dated just three days ago:

Master,

I'm writing to you from the Imperial Palace today to inform you that we are victorious. The Anvil of Heaven, Master Flying Rhino and I have successfully ousted Rong Lang from power—

I whooped loud and proud, sharing the news with Borte and Oogway. Borte was ecstatic, and I couldn't remember the last time I had seen Oogway so happy.

"Well, what else does he have to say?" my master asked.

I read aloud:

We were surprised to find upon arrival that Rong Lang's army was ready to surrender. We had no idea why until we entered the palace and found the wolf dead in his bed. I'll spare you the details; it was not a pleasant sight.

Rong Lang is dead, assassinated. It took twenty years, but someone was brave enough to do so. No one knows for certain who is responsible, but whispers around the palace from servants still loyal to Emperor Yi have told me they suspect a fellow named Xue Shan…

The room was dead silent. Borte and Oogway looked as shocked as I felt. Xue Shan…was still alive? How? I had slit his throat during our duel, he was bleeding out on the floor…how could he survive that? Oogway took the scroll and continued to read:

There is very little else to say. Those still loyal to Rong have been rounded up and imprisoned, and political prisoners of Rong Lang have all been freed, with very few exceptions to the more violent offenders. Prince Xin is as compassionate as he is honest. There were so many prisoners, Master; I can not say how I felt as I watched the wretches step out into the light for the first time in years.

Vachir tells me that we're going to be here a while to help restore the palace, the city and the country to their former glory, though even he is not sure how long that will take. I wished I'd had more of a chance to fight, to show my skills and prove my worth as a warrior, but I suppose I should be grateful the Cataclysm is finally over.

Prince Xin is soon to be crowned Emperor, and is requesting your presence or Master Oogway's in the Imperial City. There is much to be done, he says, for order to be restored. He requests an immediate response. Until I hear from you,

Your Student,

Tai Lung

Oogway just smiled at me and handed me the scroll. "Well," he said. "I think it's been some time since I've been on a road trip. And if I recall correctly, the capital is rather lovely this time of year…" he laid his hand on my shoulder, "Besides, it would do you some good to go as well."

He didn't need to elaborate, I knew what he meant. He wanted me to go with him, if for no other reason, to provide closure to the most precious thing I had ever lost.

We didn't arrive until ten days later, traveling quite fast for an aging red panda and thousand year old tortoise. But when we did arrive, the entire capital was set in a festival mood despite the years of worry and fear that gripped its residents. I assumed that this jovial atmosphere had been completely nonexistent during Rong's reign, but with the presence of the army of rhinos, and of course, Prince Xin, they had quite a bit to celebrate.

The gates to the Imperial palace were guarded by two of Ochir's men, who grinned when they saw us, bowed low and opened the doors wide to allow us entry.

I hardly recognized the place, and not in a good way. Two decades of rule under that damned wolf had reduced a once crowning glory to ruin. The walls had graffiti all over them, the flagstones of the courtyards completely smashed, with weeds growing in between the cracks. Paint was peeling from the walls, and ominous stains were patched here and there. I could tell Oogway wasn't too happy with what he was seeing either.

As soon as we entered the main hall, we were escorted to the throne room, which, to no one's surprise, was absolutely gilded with all the gold, silver and precious jewels that Rong undoubtedly believed he was entitled to. The doors to the throne room, however, had been stripped of that gold and were being smashed for firewood. Other servants and civilian volunteers were working hard to strip the gold and jewels from the walls to melt down for currency; all that gold and silver was desperately needed in circulation in order for the economy to improve.

Through the open doorway, we saw two very familiar faces, pouring over scrolls on a table. Both were dressed in exquisite red silk clothes, with symbols for Honor, Loyalty and Peace embroidered along the hems.

When one of them looked up, he straightened and bowed, "Welcome, Master Shifu, Master Oogway…"

I gaped, hardly recognizing the person before me. "…Tai Lung?" I had never seen him wearing something so rich, so decadent. He usually wore just cotton training pants and bindings around his feet. Yet here he was, freshly bathed and groomed, looking refreshed and dignified in a way I had never seen before. I was struck by how…grown up he looked. I suppose a part of me always saw the cub in him, and now that I saw this man before me, I didn't know what to say.

Prince Xin smiled at me, clearly seeing my shock at my student's apparel. "I hope you don't mind, I thought he'd need something a little more appropriate for staying in the Imperial Palace…"

"Is that silk?" I stared in amazement.

Tai Lung smirked, smoothing the fabric over his chest, "It is rather nice, isn't it? Prince Xin insisted on it, and who am I to complain, or deny the Emperor-to-be?"

I smiled back. He had a point, and though I should have scolded him for pride, truth was, I was proud for him as he was for himself.

"I actually wished to speak with you, Master Shifu," Xin asked me. "…In private?"

I could only nod mutely as I followed the young tiger behind closed doors. Tai Lung looked concerned for a moment, but busied himself informing Master Oogway about whatever it was he had been going over when we arrived. He would continue to boastfully explain how they had overpowered the army of the late "emperor" and came to victory, but that was all I heard as we left the throne room.

In a smaller chamber, Xin closed the doors and sighed. "I never expected how hard this would be. The abbot told me that things worth having are never easy to attain."

"He's right," I said. "And you should know, Your Highness, that—"

"Please don't call me that," he begged. "I'm not crowned yet, but there is something I wished to ask of you…"

"Go on."

"I…" he trailed off, then steeled his nerve to ask, "May I have your permission for Tai Lung to stay here?"

I blinked in confusion. I knew that Xin admired my student and was very impressed with what he had seen, and perhaps wanted to learn more from him. "You mean," I started, "As your teacher?"

"He is a master, isn't he?" he asked. "And if he isn't, I could learn so much from him anyway. I mean, he's amazing," the tiger launched into excited exaltations of my student's abilities. "That power, that strength…He's only just started to believe me when I told him he has no equal! The truth of the matter is, I can learn so much from Tai Lung, if he is willing to teach me, and if you are willing to let him do so. Master Shifu, I need to confess…when it comes to kung fu…I suck."

I drew back in shock. "…What? How is that possible? You said you were trained…"

He took a deep breath and looked to the closed doors of the small room and sighed. "I know I said I had studied kung fu with those monks, but the honest truth is, I lied. I wanted to gain acceptance, especially respect, from those warriors. I mean, who would follow me if they knew I had been raised to be a weakling? I have no experience with running an army, no experience being a leader; I have always been a follower…"

"You mustn't be so hard on yourself," I assured him, though I was just as angry for this deceit as I'm sure anyone else would be.

"I can't help it. I'm not bred for a position like this," he sighed dejectedly. "I wasn't even meant to assume the throne. The most I could have ever hoped for as the great-nephew of the emperor was a place in his army, or as a magistrate in some obscure county. I have never had true peers when I was living as a peasant, and now I have no peers at all! Who is the peer of the Emperor? Master Shifu," he pleaded, "I don't think I can do this."

"This empire needs you," I said firmly. Now I could see why Prince Xin was begging for Tai Lung to stay. The tiger saw my student as the pinnacle of strength and honor, something the Emperor-to-be would sorely need.

"I can't stand on my own," he continued. "Once they know what a fraud I am…"

"You are not a fraud," I said pointedly. "You are miles above Rong Lang, and he was the greatest fraud of all. Trust me, your goodness and your honesty will mark you as one of the greatest emperors in history."

"But I still don't know how to run an army."

"Master Flying Rhino, I'm sure, would be more than happy to advise you…"

Xin actually smirked. "You hit the nail on the head. He's resigning as commander of the Anvil of Heaven."

"You're kidding," I gaped. "I mean, surely you jest…"

Xin shrugged, "I said the same thing. But he just said, 'I may have only worn that armor once, but I don't think I'll need it again if we're bringing in a time of great peace'. So, as far as I know, he's going into…what did he call it? 'Semi-retirement'? He wants to help teach me to run the Imperial army. Vachir will take over as Commander."

I smiled. "That's wonderful. I hope Master Flying Rhino is not alone."

The tiger shook his head. "Not at all, in fact, he was urged to become Minister of Defense. You wouldn't believe, but once we got here, we found two warriors who promised to help. Turns out they had been helping our cause since before the Cataclysm even began."

I had already heard the rumors about Xue Shan, and now I was concerned that he was one of those warriors. "Who?" I asked.

Xin's answer nearly gave me a heart attack:

"They're called Jian Ren and Dong Li; they said they knew you."

Ren and Li were no longer at the Imperial City. They had apparently heard the rumor of who had killed Rong Lang and immediately set out to see if the allegations were true. Ochir had heard the whisperings as well, and was just as concerned as I.

"Didn't you kill him?" he asked me later, tugging on the sleeve of his new green robes. We were walking through one of the damaged gardens on the grounds. Prince Xin sought to give us new clothes to wear while we were visiting. We had refused at first, but if Tai Lung felt no problem with it, and Prince Xin insisted, we felt we needed to. After all, who were we to deny the Emperor? The entire Anvil of Heaven was treated this way, as were the Xian family loyalists. Talk had spread throughout the empire that a Golden Age was about to begin, and we were to have integral parts in the reconstruction.

I shook my head, crossing my arms over my blue silk-clad chest. "Sometimes, I wonder if I actually did."

"Shifu, you slit his throat. I don't care who you are, you can't come back from that."

"I know, but Shan was nothing if not stubborn."

"He's a cat, man, you know this."

"Of course I know it; I was married…to…one…" I trailed off. We fell into an uncomfortable silence. This was the one subject we had never discussed in twenty years. I had talked to Oogway about it, and Borte eventually inveigled responses from me. Aside from that, none of my friends had ever mentioned Yeying.

I felt Ochir's heavy hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry."

I closed my eyes and sighed wearily. "You'd think," I started, "that twenty years later, it wouldn't hurt as much. Does it surprise you that the wound is still open after all these years?"

"Not at all," he confessed. "I feel that way about my Pops, and I've wondered what could have been, regretted the things I said to him at the tournament, before we lost contact. I wished I had more time with him, or at least tried to rebuild that bridge. Borte still feels the same way about Khan. And, you know, I think she may have loved him, too."

I didn't know how to answer to that. "Does that bother you? I mean, you two are married now."

"It did, I'm not going to lie. But she'd known him since she was a chick, and he had always treated her with respect. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how much I owe to Khan because he helped Borte become the strong woman she is today. And how can I regret that?"

He stopped suddenly, then ushered me aside, onto the inner walkway around the garden and behind a door. Before I had the chance to ask what we were doing, I heard two voices as their owners entered the garden: Tai Lung and Vachir.

"…a lot of pressure," my student was saying as they strolled along. "I'm honored, of course, but he knows kung fu already."

"I'd take him up on his offer," Vachir said. "Being a kung fu master to the emperor is something to be proud of."

"I know, but wouldn't it be better if I were the Dragon Warrior first? Or at least be named a master?"

"After that trick you pulled back there, with the cliff? Why Oogway would not make you a master is a mystery."

"I know. I'm so close, yet so far away."

"Please, you got, what, ten scrolls left to master? After that, you're a shoe-in for the title…Think about it: 'Tai Lung, the Master of the Thousand Scrolls'…"

Tai Lung paused, the formed the words carefully, "Tai Lung, the Master of the Thousand Scrolls…it does sound nice, doesn't it? But I've spent my entire life training to attain the Dragon Scroll. I fit the profile of the Dragon Warrior; don't you think it's more impressive to introduce myself as 'The Dragon Warrior Tai Lung'?"

"I still think 'Master of the Thousand Scrolls' is pretty badass."

"Perhaps," he sounded unconvinced. "But I promised myself to become the Dragon Warrior, for the same reason I got into kung fu in the first place…"

Tai Lung must have told Vachir his reasons for learning the martial arts; the rhino's answer said that much.

"So what? Your master's safe now, and no one's going to hurt him," Vachir said to him. "So why keep training? You said you got into it to protect him…"

Tai Lung shrugged. "I keep training. I need to. I don't know anything else."

"You know you've got a place with me and the Anvil," Vachir offered.

"I know, and I thank you for the offer, but…" he sighed. "I didn't realize until I met Xin that there was something missing from my life, and now that I know what it is…it makes the Dragon Scroll look meaningless."

"What could be so big that you'd give up that dream?"

"A family."

There was a long, awkward pause between them before Vachir said, "But you already got a family. Shifu and Oogway. Shifu's your father—"

"He is not my father," Tai Lung bristled, then added bitterly with a heavy sigh, "He is my master."

It hurt to hear him say that, and with such an edge in his voice, too.

"He raised you, didn't he?" Vachir curiously asked.

"It's not the same and I don't expect you to understand. You know who your ancestors were; I have no bleeding clue who mine were. I guess…if there's one thing I want that maybe the Dragon Scroll can give me, it's the power to know where I came from, who I really am…"

"You know who you really are—you're the best kung fu warrior in Chinese history. Hell, you even have the distinction of training the emperor himself! That's a shitload of honor!" Vachir pointed out.

"You're missing the point. I had a family, somewhere, at some time, but I don't know who they are. How can I be a filial son if I don't know how to honor my ancestors? I don't even have a family name."

Vachir walked in silence for a while before asking, "And you think the Dragon Scroll will solve that?"

Tai Lung shrugged, "Well, if I'm supposed to be able to hear a butterfly's wing beat, and if I will have the secret to limitless power…maybe that will give me the ability to see into the past like Master Oogway can see into the future?"

Vachir shrugged, "It's a possibility, but I wouldn't ride all my hopes on that." Then his body straightened, his face lighting up. "I just got a brainstorm. Xin!"

"What?"

"Talk to Xian Xin! Tell him about this. He's so grateful for your help that he offered you anything you wanted, anything at all, right?"

"Well, yes, but…"

"Look, you don't want treasure or power or prestige, you just want to know your family. Well, you don't know what your family name is, but who else can give you a name but the Emperor?"

I bit my lip. It was brilliant. And Tai Lung seemed to agree. Immediately, his entire countenance changed, his voice rising with excitement. "Vachir, you're a bloody genius! I'll go ask him, right now; he said he'd grant me anything I desired, and he's bound to keep his word, right?"

"Even if he weren't, this is still Xin we're talking about," the rhino said. "He wouldn't back out on his word."

No sooner had both of them left the garden did Ochir finally say something. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

"What do you mean?" I asked. "This is great; this is something more than I could ever give him!"

"Shifu, the boy is your son. He's inherited your family name just as surely as if he were your own blood. Unless you did something stupid like renounce him as your son and forced him to call you his master."

I swallowed hard, feeling a sinking weight in my gut. My silence told my old friend everything he needed to know. He groaned and ran his hands down his face. "You're such a fucking idiot…who the fuck told you to—"

"Miao Li," I growled.

Ochir froze. "What?" Shaking himself out of it, he pressed, "WHY? Has losing her daughter made her lose her mind?!"

"Ochir, she told me to stop referring to Tai Lung as my son in order to protect him. Rong's men could have easily gotten to me through him, and I wasn't going to risk his getting hurt."

"This isn't about him, Shifu," he snapped. "This is the most selfish thing you could have done! You denied that boy the right to have a family—to have a father—because you were more afraid for your own hide than his!"

"That's not true!" I growled. "I've always put him first! Do you really think I would have come to meet you in battle if I didn't have his best interests at heart? I was trying to protect him!"

"Shifu, he's twenty years old," he shook his head pityingly. "That boy doesn't need you to protect him—you're about ten years too late."

I fell silent, so angry I couldn't respond. But a part of me wanted to agree with him, especially when he said,

"Shifu, I'm just saying, I don't like what I'm hearing. I haven't liked what I've heard from him the minute he joined us. I don't like his attitude. He's too cocky for someone who's only been in one battle. He even seems to believe he's already the Dragon Warrior."

"He might as well be," I stated.

"Not with that attitude, he isn't." Ochir picked me up to make sure I was looking him in the eye when he said, "You keep a close eye on him for the next few days. I've already seen Master Oogway watching him, and he clearly doesn't like what he sees. If you don't check your student, there's going to be worse than humiliation in your future."

"Tai Lung is a danger to no one. If you're so convinced he's got a problem, why don't you do something about it?"

"Because I'm not his master; that's not my job," he said coldly. "If you know what's good for you, what's good for the both of you, you'll take that boy with you when you return to the valley. The longer he stays here, the easier it'll be to corrupt him."

"He's not Shan," I glared. "He is not. Oogway and I raised him to be humble…"

"Not from where I'm standing. Mark my words," he set me down. "You need to give him a reality check before it does any damage. He may not be Shan, but I remember all too well the fierce tempers cats can have."

"He's not like that," I said. "I can count the number of times he's been truly angry on one hand."

"You could say the same about 'Ying and Shan."

He was right. Yeying and Xue Shan didn't anger easily. Their tempers were like boiling water: it took a while to heat up, but once it did, it would splash over the sides of the pot and douse the fire, and scald the cook. Tai Lung took a while to get truly angry, but he let a lot of things bother him until it built up inside. All it took was one little annoyance, and it would set him off.

Yet despite the danger and truth behind Ochir's words, I refused to believe that my student—my son—was truly capable of something as horrific as what Xue Shan had done. If I could have predicted what would happen a year later, I would have done more to check my student's quickly growing arrogance and pride before it consumed us and destroyed the Valley of Peace.

The day before the coronation, Tai Lung approached me in my temporary quarters, holding something wrapped in white cloth. "Master Shifu?"

I had been meditating, but had heard his footsteps long before he reached the door. The softness of his tone told me that he'd been overcome by some kind of intense emotion, but I couldn't identify it. I turned round to look at him…and it looked like he was fighting the urge to cry.

"Tai Lung, what is it?"

He paused, then slowly, reverently, approached me, laying the wrapped object at my feet. He didn't say anything, just staring at the white-clad object. I took the cue and unwrapped it.

My heart sunk into my stomach. I recognized it immediately.

It was the blade of the pudao Yeying had the night the Cataclysm began. The pole had long ago been obliterated, snapped off, and deep scratches were left on the rusted blade. It looked like it had aged ten thousand years in just two decades. It had been the weapon of one of the Tenshu warriors, and beaten up as it had been the day my wife had first held it, the way it looked now told me the rest of the story. The fighting that night had been brutal, especially after she had gone back for…whoever it was.

"Master Flying Rhino told me they found this in…in a mass grave," he choked. He swallowed hard and continued, "He said you might want this," my student said quietly. Now I knew why he looked so emotional. Here was the undeniable proof that the woman I loved, and the mother he had never known, had existed, and had died… violently.

My eyes welled with tears and I fought the urge to break down. I sniffed, and my voice croaked. "Th-thank you. You are dismissed."

As he left the room, I heard him pause in the doorway. I knew he wanted to ask, he wanted to know everything about that night, but I couldn't tell him. Not only would it have hurt him to hear the story, it would have nearly killed me again to relive it. I had relived that night thousands of times in my dreams and nightmares, and in my waking hours it plagued my meditations. That last "I love you" rang in my ears as loudly as it had twenty years earlier.

I'll be right behind you. I'll come back to you.

But she wasn't. She had never come back. I had not seen her name on the list of traitors, or on the list of the dead. But I knew that, as long as the list of the dead was, there was a postscript that stated that hundreds more unidentified souls had perished as well. So even in death, my beloved wife never received the recognition she deserved.

For the first time in twenty years, I cried over her death, one last time.

We left for the Valley immediately after Prince Xin was crowned Emperor Xian Xin. Tai Lung had begged to stay for the festivities, but Oogway refused, stating that he needed to complete his training.

"After all," my master told him, "I know of the conditions the Emperor gave you before he would grant your request. It is sound advice and a wise choice on his part. Besides, would it not be a greater honor to be named a master, then bestowed a family name after?"

Tai Lung grudgingly accepted it. It appeared that when he had accepted Xin's proposal, the young emperor had to convey that, though Tai Lung was a great warrior, it would be prudent to wait a year until Tai Lung became a master; besides that, it gave Xin a year to think of a suitable name for Tai Lung to have, one that was worthy of such a great warrior. Legitimate the reason may have been, but he was disappointed, I know. But he would hold the Emperor to that promise.

There was more to it than that, I found out later. Xin had indeed promised Tai Lung a name, but only after he became the Dragon Warrior. I doubt Xin ever knew that the Dragon Scroll was never an absolute, and not the Emperor's to give, nor decree to give to another. Tai Lung, I'm sure, knew that. He knew that it wasn't my choice or his choice, but Oogway's choice, and no one pushed Oogway to do something he didn't want to. Xin may have had nothing but respect for my master, but as far as knowledge of kung fu was concerned, there was a lot he clearly didn't understand.

That's not to say he didn't know anything at all. Tai Lung had taught him a few moves before we left, and Xin, it seemed, was not lying about his abilities at all. He just lacked confidence. Tai Lung was quick to tell him that he was very gifted, to which the young prince would deny, deny, deny. "I will be just the Emperor," the tiger had said, "but you, Tai Lung, will be the Dragon Warrior. The Dragon Warrior with a family name worthy of your greatness. In a year, you will have attained this, I'm sure of it. And when you have, I will give you your name. That I promise you."

Kind his words may have been, but who could have guessed how Xin's promise and ignorance could have contributed to the most violent time in the Valley's history?

When we were half of the way home, we stayed the night in an inn near a fishing village. My student and I shared a room, while Oogway was given one of his own. He pulled me aside after Tai Lung had fallen asleep and confessed to me,

"I would not have let him stay another day in the Imperial City, especially at the palace. I have been around a long time, and I know all too well the secrets and evils that haunt those halls."

"Why is everyone convinced that Tai Lung and Xue Shan are one and the same?" I snapped. "Ochir seems to believe it, you seem to believe it…"

"I do not believe it, my friend. My greatest worry is that Tai Lung would be blinded by the glory, blinded by the glittering baubles and useless riches. He needs to complete his training, remember all the lessons we have instilled. I do not doubt his physical strength, but his conduct amongst the Anvil of Heaven has concerned me. He is too boastful."

"But doesn't he have good reason to be?" I reasoned. "He's accomplished things that masters thrice his age can only dream of!"

"No Shifu, you don't understand," my master shook his head. "It is the culture of the army that has me worried. Those males are young, impressionable, brash and boastful. Tai Lung has never had the opportunity to spend much time with others his own age. He finds communion with these males, but it is only through immodest portrayals of his abilities that he gains access to their world. He needs to spend time with others who are more humble."

"Is that why we left so abruptly?" I asked.

"It is only one of the reasons. My next concern was the time he spent being idolized by Xian Xin. It does no good to him to have him worshipped as a higher being than the Emperor himself."

Well, that I had to agree with. Tai Lung certainly would have had his ego stoked that way, and who wouldn't? How many emperors in our history had been trained in kung fu? Oogway only knew of two. Well, three, now. Being the kung fu master of the Emperor of China was to put such a man a step above the most powerful man in the world. If that happened to Tai Lung, he would hold sway over the Son of Heaven, which ran the danger of the tiger being controlled and manipulated.

And the more I thought about it, the more I saw that Oogway was right. Tai Lung had become more boastful of late, believed he was capable of things that were nearly impossible, and believed himself to be above and beyond the abilities of most men. Ochir, I grudgingly admit, had been right. If we did not check him, Tai Lung would have not only humiliated us, his masters, but also himself. Especially himself.

I sighed and relented, "So he needs to complete his training on the scrolls, and we need to work on his outlook…"

"And keep him as far from the influence of the Imperial Palace as possible," Oogway warned. "I have no doubts to Emperor Xian Xin's integrity; it is the others that I fear. You are right, I do fear a reprisal of the past; I do fear that if we are not careful, Tai Lung will follow the path Xue Shan forged, but that is why we need to act now, before it is much too late."

I knew the conversation was over. I bowed and wished my master a good night's rest before retreating to the room Tai Lung and I shared. He was asleep on the floor, which surprised me, as there were two beds. Frowning, I tapped his shoulder, then realized his breathing was irregular. He was still awake.

"How much did you hear?" I asked.

He paused before he answered, "Everything."

"Is that why you're sleeping on the floor? To remind yourself of your place?"

"Partly…mostly…yes," he murmured. He paused again before continuing, "I know you're doing this for my own good, but I still feel disrespected."

"You, disrespected?" I scoffed. "Perhaps you do need to be reminded of your place. Despite what Xin believes, and what Vachir believes, you are not a master; you are still a student, and do not deserve the respect that a master receives. I am disappointed in you."

"Why?" he demanded, sitting up. "Because I'm finally realizing my true worth? My true potential?"

"For believing you are something you are not!" I snapped.

I could see him staring hard at me. Not quite a glare, but it held too much anger than I was comfortable with. "You believe I am the Dragon Warrior," he stated, raising his voice in anger. "Perhaps I'm not the only one who needs to be reminded—"

I don't know why I did it, but it didn't occur to me what I had done until after I had slapped him. He stared at me in utter shock and dismay, his hand rising up to gingerly touch the spot on his cheek where my hand had made contact.

"I have heard enough," I growled. "You are on probation as soon as we get home. You will have to earn that respect, young man. Now go to sleep. We have a long day ahead."

A growl suddenly ripped through his throat, "I know why you're doing this!" He glared at me, furious, "And I've got news for you, Shifu: I am NOT Xue Shan! And I will prove it to you even if it kills me!"

With that, he got up and stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

Apparently Ochir, or Oogway—maybe both—had told him about Xue Shan. Meaning Tai Lung was fully aware of the similarities, and the differences. He was crossly silent the rest of the way home, avoiding contact with me whenever possible. He answered Oogway's direct questions, but never mine unless absolutely necessary. Oogway obviously knew what words had been exchanged, but he said nothing about it. He never mentioned it, actually.

When we got home, Tai Lung didn't even bother to drop his things off in his room. He went straight to the Sacred Hall of Warriors, sat at his desk and pulled out Scroll 992 and began studying. Oogway and I let him be.

"He is like a teapot," Oogway stated as we walked to the bunkhouse. "He's just a little steamed, but he will cool down if we do not touch it for a while."

"How do we know he's not harboring that anger?"

"He'll release it in the same way he always has," he sagely said. "I'd prepare the work order for a full repair of the Training Hall in advance, if I were you."

Sure enough, within the next two days, the Training Hall's training equipment had been smashed to splinters. It was the most expensive repair I've ever had to pay for. Miraculously, it seemed to do his mood a lot of good. The day after he completely trashed the facility, Tai Lung actually bothered to apologize to me for his conduct. I forgave him, and we continued as normal…except, we no longer had that same connection we had enjoyed as master and student before I had rebuked him in the tavern.

A few weeks later, we received an unlikely visit from Commander Vachir. He came alone, with news from the capital, and a large package to deliver; he also, of course, came to see his newest friend.

"So where is he?" he asked me. "Still training?"

"He's either in the training hall or in the Hall of Warriors." I looked up at the rhino and smirked at the package he had delivered. "By the way, the stand is ready for you to place the armor on."

He nodded and patted the crate, lifting it effortlessly onto his shoulder. I followed him, curious as to my student's progress as well as the gift Ochir had sent.

The tale of the Battle against the Warriors of Guangdong had reached all across China, and because of the success of the battle (and Ochir's semi-retirement), he had gifted his armor (used only once, I might add) to be housed in the Sacred Hall of Warriors. Besides that, "it would've only gathered dust in the back of my closet anyway", he'd told me in the letter he sent with it.

Vachir spotted my student as soon as he entered the hall. The rhino dropped the crate and strolled over to Tai Lung, who was so engrossed in his reading that he didn't even know we were there until Vachir slapped his hand onto the feline's back. Tai Lung's fur stood on end as he yowled in surprise. Vachir only laughed, "Jeez, kid, take a breather. You're really jumpy for some guy who grew up in the boondocks."

Tai Lung chuckled, smoothing his fur down. "Look who's talking Mister 'Outer Mongolia'."

"Hey, don't you be dissin' my hometown."

"Wouldn't dream of it," he said as they embraced. "When did you get here? I didn't even know you were coming."

"'Bout an hour ago. Master Flying Rhino sent his armor along, and I thought I'd drop in to see how my ole war buddy's doing."

Tai Lung sighed and shook his head, rubbing his stiff neck. "I'm…I'm fine."

"What's with the pause?"

"What pause?" my student asked, "There's no pause."

"Did you hear a pause?" Vachir asked me.

"Pause," I concurred.

Tai Lung groaned, "I'm fine, really. I'm just a little tired."

"Been workin' your tail off, huh?" Vachir asked with an arched brow.

"I need to finish these scrolls," the snow leopard murmured, as if entranced, hypnotized. "I'm so close…"

"Tai," Vachir asked, "when was the last time you got a good night's sleep?"

"Last night." He faltered under his friend's expression. "I…dozed, a little. A catnap."

"How long?"

"Two hours. I slept at my desk."

Vachir sighed raggedly, shaking his head at my student's obstinacy, "Look, kitty—"

"Don't call me kitty!" Tai Lung viciously snarled.

Vachir backed off, "Whoa, okay, someone's a little testy…"

Tai Lung took a deep breath and let it out, rubbing his tired eyes. I couldn't believe myself; how and why did it take me so long to notice the dark circles and bags under his eyes? How long had he had that blank, tired expression? When was the last time he actually slept?

"Sorry," he apologized. "I haven't been sleeping well lately."

"Have you thought of taking a break?"

Tai Lung's eyes flicked over to me before looking back at his friend. I sighed; he wasn't going to say anything with me there, though it looked like he wanted to complain, and loudly. "I'm so close…" he repeated.

I rolled my eyes, "Tai Lung, why don't you be a gracious host and welcome our guest? Your studies will be here when you return, after the Commander has left for the Imperial City again. Both of you, go catch up, and Tai Lung, I expect a full night's sleep tonight, straight after dinner. Commander, can I trust you to ensure my orders are carried out?"

Vachir nodded and bowed, "Yes, Master Shifu."

"Good." As they walked—well, plodded, in Tai Lung's case—out of the Hall of Warriors, I heard Vachir offer, "Let's go down to the village, getcha something to take the edge off…"

"I don't drink, you know that."

"Only when Shifu's around, and he won't be down there. C'mon, what're a few drinks between friends?"

"It's not a good idea."

"The hell it isn't. A couple drinks'll help you sleep."

"And my master would kill me if I did."

Vachir laughed, "I need to tell you what my master told me about Shifu at the Dragon Boat Festival!"

I cursed quietly. Ochir had apparently told his student about that one year at the Dragon Boat Festival when I got so inebriated—mostly Li and Shan's fault at insisting we play that awful drinking game—that I…well, I'll spare you the details. I was eighteen; needless to say, Yeying had not forgiven me for kissing…how many girls had it been? Shan swore I'd kissed a few men too, and gotten into some compromising positions with quite a few members of both sexes, but I figured he was lying. At least I hope he was. And now that Tai Lung would know about it, I knew he'd never let me live it down.

The two of them didn't get back until just before dinner. I was shocked to see both of them with wide grins, but with one major difference: Vachir could hold his alcohol, but Tai Lung…not so much. It wasn't his fault; he had never been much of a drinker. Though I suspected that while Vachir was expert at knowing how many drinks a rhino could take, perhaps he wasn't aware that felines weren't so hardy.

It amazed both Oogway and I that my student actually ate a full meal that night, tipsy as he was. Though actually, even Oogway admitted that he wasn't sure if my student's tired expression was insomnia or alcohol-induced. Vachir's plan worked, though. Tai Lung had not slept a full eighteen hours since he was a baby.

"Are you concerned about him?" I asked my master later that evening.

"Not now," he smiled. "Vachir has been a much-needed respite for him. Keeping him around for a few days will do a world of good. I was more concerned with how hard your student is pushing himself: five days on only two hours of sleep is not healthy for anyone."

"I know you were concerned of Tai Lung's boastfulness amongst the Anvil of Heaven…"

"I was, but I do not get that same feeling from Vachir. He seems much more like his master. He is brash, but what youth isn't? In time, both he and Tai Lung will mature and calm. Until then, we must continue to monitor him." He said nothing further for the rest of the night, which gave me a bad feeling.

Somehow, he knew that I had struck my student in a fit of anger, I just knew it. Oogway had been unusually distant to me since we returned, and spent more time with Tai Lung. I wasn't a fool, but I did feel slightly betrayed. I realize now that I had been completely out of line. Oogway had never struck me, no matter how disrespectful I was to him. Yet at the time I still believed myself to be correct, to be justified; now that I know the damage it caused, I know better.

Vachir stayed for a week then returned to the Imperial City. He promised a visit again, with the rest of the Anvil, to catch up, which I was probably more grateful for than Tai Lung was. In only a week, my student looked better rested and more relaxed than I had ever seen him. I should have allowed him more time for friends. I had forgotten how much joy it had brought me to have so many people to count on. Now, it was just me, Oogway and Tai Lung again…and he felt he only had himself to count on.

Two weeks later, as I lay asleep late at night, I was rudely roused from slumber. Someone set a lantern on my bedside table and when I opened my eyes, I saw Tai Lung standing above me. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Master," he said to me, kneeling next to my bed. I saw in the low light that he looked just as tired as before Vachir's visit. The dark circles were even more pronounced, his sagging shoulders telling me that he was so hell-bent on mastering all the scrolls before the end of the year that he was willing to give up eating and sleeping in order to accomplish it. But I also noted something had…changed. He looked…happy, yet slightly nervous.

"Tai Lung, what is it?"

He bit his lip and handed me one of the scrolls.

"Ah, you need help with something?" I asked, throwing the covers off. "Can't this wait until morning?"

"Just open it."

Confused, and slightly offended at the order from my own student, I opened the scroll…and gaped at the number.

"Scroll One Thousand…" I gaped at him, staring in astonishment. Then it hit me. "This is…this is the one thousandth scroll, isn't it? You mastered it, didn't you?"

He finally smiled and nodded. When I didn't react right away, he looked a little worried, "…Are you happy?"

I finally whooped and jumped up out of bed and laughed joyously, wrapping my arms around his neck. "Am I?! You bet your sorry spotted hide I'm happy! Ha! You did it! I'll be damned—my student, the first ever to master the Thousand Scrolls of Kung Fu…and he's MY STUDENT! HOT DAMN!"

He grinned and laughed, hugging me back in celebration. The frantic scurrying of servants outside the room was the only indication that we had aroused any sort of reaction by our jubilance. When I finally came down from my ecstatic high, I grasped my student's shoulders, "Go, get to the bathhouse, wash up, your best clothes, now—it's time I presented you to Master Oogway."

The next day, Tai Lung was called to the Sacred Hall of Warriors at high noon. Both Tai Lung and I stood proudly. Today was the day. A day fifteen years in the making, fifteen long, arduous years of intense training, bone-breaking labor and thousands of hours studying all one thousand scrolls of kung fu.

Oogway faced my student, studying his face, then lifted his hand. Tai Lung sent me a look, unsure of what was happening; I knew that it was Oogway's way of measuring a person's chi. That was how the Dragon Warrior was chosen—he, or she, would have a specific energy, an unmistakable aura that marked them as the Chosen One. Tai Lung smiled proudly, nervous and excited at the same time, but also looking quite tired. He had mastered eight scrolls in three weeks, with as little as three hours of sleep a week, barely a meal a day, working hard until he was sure he had perfected every last detail. As far as I was concerned, he practically deserved the Dragon Scroll after all that hard work.

After a long, quiet moment, Oogway lowered his arm and opened his eyes. Tai Lung puffed out his chest, waiting for the verdict while I waited with bated breath for the announcement that would make me the proudest father in China…

"I'm sorry. He is not the one."

My face fell. Sorry? Sorry for…then my heart shattered. He couldn't be serious. He couldn't…

He was.

Oogway was not going to make Tai Lung the Dragon Warrior.

I was stunned. How? Had he not proven himself? Had Oogway not heard all of the things my student had accomplished? All of the lives he'd saved, the innocent people he protected, the cities that were still standing…Tai Lung even restored the gods-damned dynasty for Hell's sake! Did all of that mean nothing?!

As my master turned his back on us, I looked up at Tai Lung, who looked just as devastated as I felt. I could see his heart breaking, and it killed me to watch, second by second, how his calm, confident exterior degenerated into a disconsolate stare, then a pleading expression, silently begging, 'What are you doing? Talk to him! Tell him he's wrong!'

"Shifu…" my student finally croaked, his face paling. "Shifu…" he pleaded again.

I dropped eye contact with him. How could I look him in the eye? I had failed him. I had given him such hope; I knew he was the Dragon Warrior, I knew it. Hadn't all the signs been there? The Dragon Warrior had to know kung fu, he had to be humble, gracious, kind and patient; he had to have a pure soul, and hadn't Tai Lung had the purest intentions in becoming the Dragon Warrior?

I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. Tai Lung had turned his back and was storming out of the Hall. I followed after him, "Tai Lung."

"What did I do?" he snapped when we were outside. "What did I do?! Everything I've done…does it all mean nothing to him?!"

"Tai Lung, I understand you're upset…" I started; he was overreacting, but he was overtired, I understood that. Who wouldn't be short-tempered after so little sleep?

"Upset?!" he interrupted. "No, screwing up on a move I worked for weeks to perfect makes me upset. This—this, right now—this is not upset—this is furious!"

"You need to calm down," I said. "Take some deep breaths…"

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"What?"

"Back there, why didn't you stand up for me? Why didn't you tell him he was wrong?"

"Because the Great Oogway is never wrong," I answered instinctively.

A cloud suddenly passed over the sun and that summer day at high noon became unnaturally chilly. Tai Lung turned his back, and when he looked over his shoulder to look at me, I couldn't identify the look I saw in his eye. I had never seen it before, and it bothered me a great deal. Suddenly, he whispered, "You're right—he's never wrong…"

He walked away, never looking back, not even once.

"Are you sure he's not the Dragon Warrior?" I asked my master immediately after.

"Do you have so little faith in your master?" he asked me.

"But I don't understand…" I finally told him. "You said that you would someday give someone the Dragon Scroll…"

"I did say that," my master said. "And Tai Lung was not the one."

"How…how can you say that? After all he's done, after all I've done?! How can you deny—"

"Shifu," he tersely said; I was silenced immediately. "Shifu," he continued, a bit softer in tone. "All suffering is caused by desire. Tai Lung desired the Dragon Scroll. He did not receive it. Thus, he suffers."

"Of course he desired the scroll! What kung fu warrior in our history has not desired it?!"

"Indeed, and what warrior would not feel anger at such a rejection? But Tai Lung should see that—Dragon Warrior or not—he is still the greatest warrior in kung fu history…in Chinese history…perhaps in world history. He's pushed himself very hard since we returned from the Imperial City; he's overtired, overworked, and the stress is making it difficult for him to see that he is already a hero. You have trained your student well, Shifu. Both of you should be proud of what he has accomplished in just twenty years. In fact, when he calms down and comes back, I fully intend to make him a master today." He chuckled at my shocked expression. "Like I'm going to ignore a feat as impressive as mastering the Thousand Scrolls of Kung Fu? You should know me better than that by now. Hmm, 'Tai Lung, Master of the Thousand Scrolls'…has a nice ring, don't you think?"

But becoming a master wasn't good enough. Tai Lung believed he needed to be the Dragon Warrior in order to have the only thing he truly wanted: a family name. I argued, "I made him believe…but if he's not the one, who?"

"I don't know. He—or she—will make themselves known someday. Maybe not during my lifetime, or even yours, or Tai Lung's, or his children's, or…well, you get it. We may never know who the Dragon Warrior is. But it is not for us to decree what is Heaven's Will. If Heaven does not wish us to know peace just yet, then it is not how it will be. What will be, will be. There is no sense in fighting our destiny."

"But it was his destiny! How could you deny…"

He held up a hand to silence me. When I fell quiet, he answered, "He has too much darkness in his heart. He is not pure."

"How is that possible? He wanted to be the Dragon Warrior…"

"And for a very noble reason, I admit; I remember his resolve when he was a small child, and his reasons for being the best of the best. He loves you, and wanted to protect you. But his conduct in battle concerns me. He was willing to kill, and his heart of late has not been pure, bogged down by too much pride and too little humility—that is not the mark of the Dragon Warrior."

"He would kill for me, for anyone he loved and respected! Master, how does that alone qualify for darkness in his heart?"

"It is not in the nature of a pure soul to want to inflict pain on another. Were he unwilling to fight because he did not want to kill another, that is entirely different."

"But…" I sighed, "He worked so hard…"

"And it shows. He worked very hard, harder than any other warrior I have ever seen or heard of. It is no small task to master all of these scrolls in a lifetime, especially as young as he is. As I see it, the Dragon Warrior is meant to bring peace to this Valley, and to China…"

"But the fighting is not over," I argued. "There's still a need. The Emperor, Xian Xin, he wants to fight side-by-side with Tai Lung to bring peace."

"And you think the only way to bring peace is with a sword? No, my friend, that is not the way. Violence breeds fear, fear breeds contempt. I admire that Prince Xin survived the Cataclysm and the massacre of his family, which proves his strong convictions and even stronger will, but truthfully, it is his willingness to bring peace through diplomacy, not death, that marks him as being a likelier candidate than your student."

"This is a mistake."

"Again, do you have so little faith in me? Or too much faith in him?"

Before I could answer, a palace servant burst in, breathless and in a wild panic. "Master Oogway! Master—it's Tai Lung!"

Oogway looked back at the pig, and suddenly his face paled, "What is it, Hu?"

"Masters…Tai Lung is attacking the village."

I staggered on my feet. "That can't be possible…I was just talking to him!"

"Sir," Hu approached me, "I saw it with my own eyes. He's snapped! He killed—"

I didn't hear who the unfortunate soul was. I couldn't wrap my mind around the concept. My student—my son—killing in cold blood? It couldn't be possible. I knew he was angry, but to take it out on the villagers? It didn't make sense; I'm sure he was provoked. The next thing he said sent chills through my soul.

"Master Shifu, he's coming for the Dragon Scroll, and he doesn't care who tries to stop him."

I turned to look back at Oogway; his face had hardened in a way I had seen only once, and my heart fell. The minute he heard the news of Tai Lung's rampage, that he had killed innocent people, was the last straw…there was no way my son could be forgiven. He had completely given in to the darkness inside him. A darkness I had not seen. A darkness I had somehow created.

And I needed to stop him. It was the only way.

"Bar the doors," Oogway ordered. "Get the others to safety, but leave as many obstacles in place as you can to slow him down. He will come for the Dragon Scroll, try to take it by force, and we will be here to stop him."

"But…" Hu stammered; it hurt to see a former student of mine so terrified for his life, and because of my son. But Heaven bless his soul, he was more concerned for us than for himself. "What if he kills you, too?"

"It is a risk we are willing to take to protect this valley," my master said. After a pause, he dismissed my former student, "Go, get to safety, and for Heaven's sake, be out of here before he comes."

Hu nodded, bowed and ran to do his bidding. It was the last time I saw him alive.

It took very little time for Tai Lung to make it up the mountain. My sensitive hearing had picked up the horrified screams and wails below in the valley long before we heard his roars. Smashing wood and cracking stone told us he had just stormed through the gates to the Arena. The lack of screams at first told us that the servants had obeyed Oogway's order to evacuate. As it turned out, none of them had the chance to scream before they were cut down.

We only heard one curdled scream from a servant who had not heeded the warning, then abrupt silence. Oogway and I shared a look and I stepped forward. The silence was paralyzing…then suddenly the Hall's doors smashed open with a spray of splinters and shattered wood. First was the spray of debris, then Tai Lung's fist, and finally his face, contorted into a vicious expression of fury and rage.

He bounded across the floor, hell-bent on taking the scroll…and I could see from the look in his eyes that he didn't care who he cut down in order to get it.

I wouldn't have another chance. I raced forward, leapt into the air to deliver the first blow of battle. I needed to stop him, if I didn't…

But I couldn't. The moment before my foot collided, I didn't see the monster I had somehow created—I saw the cub, the innocent little cub who called me "Baba" and took his first steps on the same day, arms held out to me, begging to be held. I had to stop him from attaining the only thing he had ever truly wanted…but how could I?

I hesitated, and it was a near-fatal mistake.

I had expected mercy from him; I didn't get it. He swiped his hand out, colliding with my right hip. I heard a loud crunching crack, and pain shot up the entire right side of my body. He punched me hard enough to send me back twenty yards, hitting the floor with another series of cracked bones. I watched helplessly as he pounced with a mighty roar, straight for the scroll…

And Oogway had jumped as well, striking him in the bottom of the throat with his staff, freezing him in mid-air. My master hit him four times at various points on his chest; I heard Tai Lung gasp, then watched as he fell to the floor in a crumpled heap, out cold.

It happened so fast I had a hard time processing what I'd seen. But as the shock wore off and reality set in, I felt the heartache coming back to me. How had this happened? What had set him off? Was it desperation? Was it the need to know where he had come from? Was it his pride, his fervent belief that if he didn't deserve the Dragon Scroll, no one did? No…it had been my pride that was his downfall. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't forget that I had raised him as a son. I couldn't forget that he was my son.

Though intense agony ripped through my body, enough to knock me out, I dragged myself—broken hip, cracked ribs, broken leg and all—towards the unconscious snow leopard. I reached my hand out, feeling the need to touch him, but I stopped myself. How could I? How could I condone what happened? Touching him, smoothing the fur on his head, tenderly like a father to his cub…that's what it would mean. I would be defending him…and I couldn't do that. In the days to come, as I learned of the atrocities, the body count, the orphaned children, I couldn't defend him any longer.

It had taken twenty years, but I finally cut the ties that bound us as father and son.

The nerve attack wasn't lifted on him until three days later, so that he could eat and drink, and in Oogway's presence, for safety's sake. As soon as he was done, the nerve attack was reapplied. I was still recovering from my injuries, but even if I could walk, I wouldn't have been able to face him. Oogway came to me, five days after the rampage, and told me the news.

"The magistrate is out for his blood—the villagers are demanding retribution." He paused, looking as if a great weight had fallen upon him. "They are calling for his immediate execution."

I felt sick.

"…I have refused their orders."

"What?"

He sighed. "Despite his sins, Tai Lung does not deserve death. The laws of the Jade Palace are different from the laws of the Valley. He is not a citizen of the Valley and never has been—he is subject to my word, my Law, and I decree that he is to be imprisoned…for life."

The sick feeling was still there, but it was lessened. Though I was aghast at his numerous crimes—including the deaths of three palace servants, Hu among them as he tried vainly to stand in Tai Lung's way to protect us—watching as my son was executed would have certainly killed me, and cut me deeper than even imagining the horrible end my wife Yeying must have suffered.

"No mere prison can hold him," I said quietly. "He would break through the walls, break off any chains, defy the guards, perhaps harm them too."

"I thought of that. Fortunately, I have found a solution. He will leave China to be incarcerated."

I looked up at him from my bed. "Where?"

"Outer Mongolia. Lady Borte arrived last night—Master Flying Rhino has offered his services. He and his students, the Anvil of Heaven, have a school, carved out of solid rock inside a great mountain, built as strong as any fortress. As long as Tai Lung exists outside China, far from civilization where he can do harm, the Valley—and China—will be safe."

"He could still break out…"

"I have also thought of that."

The next time I saw my son was also the last time. A week later, a servant who had survived the rampage helped walk me with a crutch under my arm, down to the cellar, where Tai Lung was being held. When I got down there, Ochir was standing by the door to the locked cell, keys and rolled parchment in hand. A single yellow lantern provided the only light in that basement, far below the Jade Palace. Ochir sighed when he saw me and helped me into a seat.

"I thought you might want to see how we'll hold him," he said judiciously. I'm glad he kept my feelings in mind. "I know he meant a lot to you. Oogway and I planned this so that it's as humane as possible. The school's been reformatted as a full-fledged fortress: one way in, one way out, all other entrances and exits blocked. There are four to five levels, patrolled around the clock, with a changing of the guard every two hours…Tai Lung will be on the lowest level."

In the deepest circle of Hell, I thought.

"There's a natural formation, a stalagmite, which we carved down to serve as a flat, low platform. His wrists are going to be bound spread-eagled, chained to two identical boulders. We anticipated that he'd easily be able to lift them, strong as he is…so Oogway designed this."

He opened up the parchment, laid it flat on the wall for me to see. It was an intricately designed contraption, shaped like a tortoise shell, which multiple holes in the back. Specifically designed poles of jade were to be inserted into these holes, and one at the back of the neck was to lock the mechanism in place.

"What are the poles for?" I asked.

"They'll press against different pressure points in his back, keeping him immobilized," he explained. "Oogway's fitting him with it right now, while he's still unconscious. Once he's done, we'll be able to escort him to the prison from here."

I sighed, "He's very creative." I meant that he would somehow, some way, find a way to escape.

"We know," my old friend said. "The thing that would unlock it is delicate enough that no ordinary key can open it—if he tried opening it with anything bigger than, say, a quill, the lock would break and there would be nothing he or anyone else could do to get that thing off of him…unless, of course, if he died."

"It sounds like you thought of everything."

He nodded solemnly. "We did our best for him," he said, gently patting my back. "He was a good kid…" Was, I heard silently emphasized. "…but he's still just a kid, you know? I hate to see him suffer any more than you do."

"Will you stay there?"

He shook his head. "Borte and I are moving closer to the capital—I'm leaving Vachir in charge there. He and the Anvil of Heaven will be his guards."

One thousand guards for one prisoner may sound excessive, but we need to remember that this was Tai Lung we were talking about. He was no ordinary prisoner. And it tore at my heart to think of Vachir…poor Vachir. He and Tai Lung had been so close and as true as friends could be, but how could the Commander possibly guard over the one he had called a brother in arms? I could hear him, through the door, berating Tai Lung, saying words like "betrayal", "disgrace", "dishonor", and spitting out the word "liar" like it was poison.

I sighed heavily. Vachir had truly believed Tai Lung had the best intentions. Now that Tai Lung had betrayed that trust and killed innocent people, there was no way the commander could ever forgive him. Had I not heard his exact words, I would have guessed his fury at this betrayal from his tone. "I trusted you! I don't care what kind of past we have, I will never forgive you for what you did! Death's too good for you, so I hope you're happy!"

Ochir just shook his head, feeling as sorry for Vachir as I did. Though I could see some recognition there; he must have felt and said the same things after Xue Shan's betrayal. But I could also tell that despite his anger at our old friend's conduct…he had eventually forgiven him. He knew that harboring hate for too long would only breed contempt and corrupt the soul. Unfortunately, I never quite learned that lesson.

"We'll be leaving shortly, if you wanted to say goodbye," Ochir said quietly.

I nodded, feeling numb, but that could have been the opium given to me to kill the pain. Ochir helped me over to the door, which opened to allow Oogway and Vachir to exit, and me to enter. Two rhinos followed them, allowing me one last chance to speak with my student alone.

I could see his eyes shining in the darkness, and the look in them chilled me. I had never seen such hatred before, such disdain, and it made my blood run cold.

"What happened to you?" I asked. "You had it all, and you threw it all away, why?"

"I didn't have it all," he hissed. "I almost did, but it was stolen from me."

"If you were not meant to have the scroll, you were not meant for it." I sighed, leaning heavily on my crutch. "Tai Lung, you killed scores of innocent people, and for what? For glory?"

"I did it to protect you."

"Don't you dare," I snapped. "I've been safe ever since Rong Lang was assassinated—this was for purely selfish reasons."

He was silent for a long while, then said with derision, "Fine, I don't expect you to understand. I can't change your mind, so what's the fucking point?"

I stepped back in alarm. In his whole life, I had never heard him curse like that. But, if he had soiled his soul, why should his tongue be immune?

"So you're going to lock me away and throw away the key, even though I was fully within my rights…"

"Did nothing Oogway teach you get through your head?" I asked. "I don't care who you think you are—no one has the right to take another's life."

"Theft is the most unforgivable crime of all," he chuckled darkly. "Oh, I remember now. And so what? That senile old man doesn't have the guts to kill me, so he might as well forget about me."

I set my jaw, and for the first time, I hardened my heart: "And so shall I. Good bye, Tai Lung."

With that parting shot, I limped out, hoping never to see him again. That was, of course, a vain hope.

After he was taken away—for I was not even there to watch the procession of guards carting him away in a cage and chains—I tried to do as was suggested: to forget. It was difficult, however. Once my broken bones healed, the doctors and I found that the fractures had not been correctly set; I would walk with a limp for the rest of my life.

I couldn't bear to walk to his room, but six weeks after he left, I walked in and started removing various things. His books, old kung fu memorabilia, and other possessions I gave away to the servants to sell. I let them keep the profits, to do with however they pleased. Many of them donated it all to the families of Tai Lung's victims.

I did keep one thing, however. Nestled away, in a place, perhaps, he hoped no one would ever find, I found his treasured stuffed bear, Tai Ping. I discovered the hiding spot, behind his bed, under a floorboard he had pried loose. There were many treasures down there, including his copy of The Art of War that Miao Li had given him.

It tore at me to imagine what she'd think of what he had done, but I received a small miracle in the form of a short letter from one of my former in-laws. The oldest son wrote to tell me that his Honored Father passed away from a stroke not long after the battle. Miao Li followed soon after, some believe she died of a broken heart. I saw a silver lining: both of them went to their graves never knowing the fate of their favored grandson.

I took these treasures of his, and as much as I wanted to toss them away to the refuse pile—for I was still angry with him—I couldn't bring myself to do it. Instead, I took a cue from him, and took all my own treasures from out of storage. The fingerless gloves and scroll painting that had been wedding gifts, gifts and honors from the Late Emperor Yi, various trinkets from my childhood, heirlooms I inherited after my family's passing, and now the reminders of my son's happy childhood. I found a floorboard in my quarters and jimmied it loose, luckily finding the perfect space to hide these things away. When I was done, I set the board back, and nailed it back into place, intending never to see them again.

As soon as I was done, I began my twenty-year journey to find inner peace. I started with meditation, but eventually opted for spending my days playing on my grandfather's flute. I had hoped now that I had removed all the painful memories from my sight that I would finally find the peace I had craved ever since the Cataclysm. As it turned out, I would not find peace until I was well into my autumn years, when finally, the Dragon Warrior was chosen.

Crane set the scroll aside and reached for the next one. He jumped when Viper's tail whipped out and wrapped around his talon. "Please don't, not yet, okay?"

"Why not?" he asked. "If we don't finish these soon…"

"She's got a point, Crane," Po said. "I really think we should meditate on what we just heard."

"I'll keep that in mind, Shifu," Crane snapped. Po frowned, crossing his arms; Tigress narrowed her eyes dangerously at the bird. Crane sighed and rubbed the back of his long neck, "Okay, that was uncalled for, I'm sorry. But I just refuse to believe that Tai Lung killed because he didn't get a name. I mean, that's incredibly selfish…"

"No its not," Tigress said. The other five warriors—except Monkey—stared at her, wondering what she could have possibly meant. Tigress pushed the cast iron teapot, long gone cold, to the middle of the table and sighed, "A family is everything. You all knew who your parents were, you knew who your ancestors were…he never did. I wish I could say he was selfish, but truthfully, I can't fault him."

"Why not?!" Mantis gaped at her. "He tried to kill you!"

"He wanted the scroll because he wanted an identity!" she snapped back. "I can at least sympathize!"

"Even though it may never have happened if Shifu had just given Tai Lung his family name," Po said.

The room went silent, and five pairs of eyes turned to look at him. The panda squirmed a little, "What?"

After a long pause, Monkey said, "…You're right. If Shifu had not renounced Tai Lung as his son…"

"Tai Lung would have had a family, and ancestors," Viper continued.

"And would've had no reason to desire the scroll as much as he did," Crane finished.

"But Master Oogway was going to name him a master anyway," Tigress said, studying the wood grain on the table. "The rampage…if Tai Lung had known he would still be a master anyway…would that have stopped him?"

"Surely Emperor Xian Xin would have given him a name anyway, if Shifu hadn't done it sooner!" Viper reasoned.

"I don't think it occurred to him to do that," Po said glumly. "I mean, you read it, you heard it. Ochir—er, Master Flying Rhino told him that Tai Lung had always had Shifu's family name to fall back on…"

"Talk about cruel irony," Mantis nodded.

Tigress sighed and reached for the next scroll, unrolling it just a little to peek at the next topic. She decided to give it some time to sink in, allow everyone their time to reflect on the events leading up to Tai Lung's downfall.

She expected this scroll to be all about how Po became the Dragon Warrior. To her astonishment, it wasn't. She read the title of the next scroll aloud, as if by uttering the words they would sink in faster:

"The Advent of the Furious Five, and how Master Tigress became my daughter..."

Muchas gracias to Nievelion for betaing this chapter for me. You're the best! Luckily for all you readers out there in teh intarwebs, I have the last few chapters already completed and are ready for posting on my traditional weekly basis. Please leave a review, and thanks for reading!