It was dark, total dark everywhere! The roaring clouds that were thundering over the valley a few moments ago were now mourning over the dead and shedding all their tears! At first, it was just drizzling but soon, the drizzle changed into intensive pouring, drenching every little big thing left!
With time, the mist of dust, that had the whole valley covered so much that not a thing could be seen, was now settling down gently, clearly showing how much destruction had actually took place. What reflected in those murderous eyes was nothing! Completely nothing! All that the eye could perceive was enormous wreckage and rubble, limitless bloodshed and death covering the ground across a distance! Those diamond-sharp claws were fully drenched in the rose-red blood dripping down. Those eyes would feel neither pity for the dead ones nor regrets for the sins as he stood there with all his pride, having his head held high, with a smirk on the face showing that he was so proud on his doing, showing that he finally succeeded! Now, nothing mattered to him... nothing at all!
Apart from that beast alive would be lying the dead bodies, as a result of that extreme shockwave, brutally torn apart; with limbs here, head over there, and the chest far over there staining the wall. It was all a one-sided slaughter!
The rain was now taking all the rose-red blood, spreading it everywhere in the ground. Now, the grounds where once the tiny blades of grass would dance around with the whistling breeze and the stiff jungle of bamboos would be playing some soothing music as the same breeze would pass through, the grounds where once the children of the valley would cheer while playing hide-and-seek, and where there existed many houses and shops filled with cheerful and joyous people around who'd spend almost the whole day at Ping's noodle's shop, and then would happily return at home for the night, those ground existed no more! The last thing that could be seen was blood, red as rose, covering every last corner! It was gone... all gone! The fate of the whole valley had finally been sealed, and there remained no one to unseal it again!
Among those roars and those claps were some continuous, suppressed pants that appeared very exhausted. Those giant steps would splash into the muddy puddles and sometimes, he would even fall into one as well, getting himself all muddy! But no matter how many times he fell, he would get up again, and again, and over again. It was the anxiety, the fear that kept him sprinting on that twisted leg, neglecting all the pain that the poor guy was suffering from! It was the fear that his neighborhood was gone, the fear that his friends were gone forever, and fear that his family was gone forever! But in that little, mended heart that had gone through so many tragedies, he still had a dying hope that there might be someone alive.
It could be no one else but the panda himself, having his body totally drenched in mud, struggling against those constant slaps of the rushing rain. There was still a certain distance left for him to reach to the valley. From far away in a distance, those eyes so worried could only see the clouds of dust disappearing, revealing wreckage behind where once stood a happy and prosperous valley. Watching such a horrific view, Po could do nothing more than speeding up his paces a little more. That muddy face was a clear projection of the negative thoughts rushing through his mind. On the inside, the poor panda was constantly praying for everyone's luck, especially for his dads.
It took a while for him but as he reached, the very first thing that hit those eyes was the ground painted red! It was a solid ground no more, but a sort of a stream of blood flowing constantly, reaching his ankles. Watching such a dreadful view, the panda was so shocked that he almost shattered on the ground. In those jade eyes was reflecting nothing more than the same flowing blood taking those dead bodies with itself.
With those scenes around, almost all his mind was in paralyses! He could think nothing. Everything was blur and hazy. Those broken steps took him home. In the way, those dead eyes watched many bodies, some floating around while some lying aside, so badly injured that those were not even recognizable! A few hands would be there, peeking from the rubble while the rest of the body would be under the wreckage. Those dead eyes and that paralyzed mind watched so many deaths, and all of them had now taken over him, making him lose all his consciousness!
While the dead panda, who had his soul cruelly ripped apart, was walking to his home, on the way, he found Tigress' action figure peeking from a pile, stained with blood; the same one given by Po to the little, cute Lei Lei. Stopping by, the heart-broken panda picked it up, and with it also came out the red ribbon belong to the panda who's ribbon dance was famous across the valley. Yes, it was Mei Mei's!
Watching those things stained with blood, Po figured out already that both Mei Mei and little Lei Lei were gone as well, facing a very cruel death! Also, there was lying aside that little hat that the adorable panda Bao used to wear. Along with the mud, it too was covered in blood! Those things were carved in his mind. He could do nothing more but put those things back and walk again to his house.
There was a hole, a very giant hole in his chest that could not be seen, but only be felt. He had become hollow with no emotions, a zombie with no feelings but walking dead. The grief-filled panda, after watching so many deaths, so much bloodshed, limitless destruction, finally reached home. Home was what he expected, but there was no home! The smell of those tasty noodles, dumplings, tofu, and bean buns that would bring everyone to life, it was no more there. Those tables and chairs waiting for the customers to sit on, those were no more there. The posters of the dragon warrior, the bamboo tree with the wall, the kitchen, everything, gone!
Those giant steps slowly entered in the broken walls. Nobody could be seen there. The paralyzed panda, walking a few steps, scattered on the floor, finding something out of that wreckage, perhaps his dads that were inside the kitchen at the very moment when the fate turned black. The boiling soup was all mixing in the mud, and the noodles spilled over on the ground. Many dumplings and bean buns were crashed by the steps of the customers who saw the death coming from above. Along with these, all of the utensils were scattered around, and not only that but the rest of the households were there as well, scattered over everywhere in pieces.
Everything was there, though cracked and broken, but the one that those material belonged to, he was not there at all! For a few minutes, the wonder-stricken panda kept his search on, removing one block and then the other that after a while, as he removed that giant block with such a difficulty, what he found only shocked him even more and at once, he fell on his knees for Po could no longer get hold of himself.
Furious thunder struck, spreading across the dark sky as he saw both his dads lying to each other, dead! Watching their bodies, he was even more shocked as he, in regret, bowed down to earth for their bodies were totally unrecognizable, unlike the rest! There was no such thing as a 'Whole body' left! It was...
It was so cruel! So cruel that it couldn't be even seen! The bodies had their heads ripped apart violently with the skin being taken off, and then kept beside those bodies. Even fiercer, all of the limbs were sliced into many tiny pieces with the hands first pulled out, and with the claws were slashed their stomachs, ripping all of the insides out!
The heart of the one could not take that much at once! The heartbeats from those dying one, suddenly rose, turning into the unstable, rushing throbbing! Added to that, he started taking sudden heavy breaths as those eyes of his kept on widening! Again and over again was that furious scene reflecting in his eyes, and more and more was he losing consciousness! In the cold rain started sweating his body with the increase of the tremor! His veins were bursting with pressure! He had now totally lost control of himself!
Among those falling thunders of the cloud mourning over the dead, there raised a cry... a cry breaking out suddenly, spreading across the dark ocean above! The cry, filled with enormous pain and grief, belonged to no one else but the poor panda who had lost his everything; his master, his friends, his neighbors, his best friend Tigress, and even his two fathers!
Now, the poor panda that was the legendary master of Kung Fu, descendant of Oogway, the master that had fame greater than any other master known, was left with nothing... nothing at all! All he could do was mourn over... cry over the death of his beloveds.
Shattered on the ground with his face in the mud, crying his heart out, never before that poor guy had ever been so broken, so hurt! He was crying... crying on and on and on... No matter how much he cried, how many tears that panda shed, there was just no end to that misery and distress of his! Only the torso of his both dads was what he held tightly to his heart and cried his eyes out! In the heart where once dwelt warmth and love, was now pain and woe.
Hours passed on. The sky thundered, roared, mourned, and cried, and Po... he too, just like the sky filled with bleakness all over, remained there, now sobbing, like drizzles. By now, not only his face but that whole fury body was drenched in the mud. His eyes turned puffy and red clearly indicating the sorrow he had at the moment. No one came to help the helpless as he was left there to die on his own... to die a pathetic death.
From nowhere appeared that guy, the warrior of death, the murderer, the chaotic one; Tai Lung, looking at the panda with a pathetic look. "How sad. Everything is gone! Shifu, the Furious Five, the Valley of Peace, and even the whole Panda village! And above all, the Dragon Warrior itself… all of that is wiped out!"
After falling twice, the heartbroken hardly panda got up, asking in the broken voice, "Why…? Why did you do all of this? What had they done to you? Those poor lives… what were they responsible for?"
"Well, the answer to all of these questions is pretty obvious! When you killed me, you had a back, a very strong back up that is your family, your friends, this whole valley, even Shifu! So, this time, all I did was break that support; the backbone that held you upright! And now, look at you! So pathetic, so weak! You can do nothing! In fact, YOU ARE NOTHING."
Po could do nothing more but hear those harsh realities that penetrated like needles through him while he remained stagnant.
"by the way, you know what?" added the white leopard. "After such a horrible destruction, they both made it alive! I just couldn't tolerate it so first; I killed that goose dad of yours! That big, fat panda was making such a mess, trying to protect him so that's why; I had to remove him off as well."
Those cruel words were hitting straight into the panda's broken heart and again, a few twinkling tears slipped down his cheeks. "Why Shifu…? He was your father then... why?"
"Father?! FATHER?!" the leopard covered in black turned terrible! "He was not my father! He never gave me the love I deserved! He never cared about what was important for me… but Oogway!"
"You… have no idea how much broken he was after sending you to the prison. He loved you more than anything in the world."
"The past is in the past! I no longer care what happened back!" After a while, among that rage-filled mood appeared a devilish smirk! "Now is the time but before you get killed… let's have some fun! Let us fight one last duel!"
Wiping those tears away, the panda, now recovered to some extent, asked," A duel, huh? How about… we fight with some rules?"
"Pretty interesting that you still have the will to speak this much! If you say so… what sort of rules?"
"If I defeat you right here, right now… you'll give me back the Revival Stone and we will then banish you to the Spirit Realm forever."
A point so impossible for that damaged panda to obtain, it surely made Tai Lung laugh out louder and also his pack of those greedy hyenas encircling both of them. It all seemed rather such a foolish request, but Tai Lung wanted to have fun in Po's last moments. "Firstly, it seems very impossible for the Dragon Warrior who's everything is stolen from him… but if that is what you ask for, your wish will be granted! If you defeated me, I'll give you the stone back, and then I'll be banished to the Spirit Realm forever."
The panda gave him a glare. So, the rules were now set! The winner was not only going to win but also will have everything returned back what was taken! Now, the two fates, black and white, were going to clash, and the end result…?!
After a few seconds of glaring, the battle started with Po lunging at the leopard with an outburst! But before the panda could land a blow, Tai Lung hit him just below the jaw, with that stone-hard fist of his that hurled him away! After getting up, Po, with that twisted leg, jumped at him, but that devil delivered a kick in the face, throwing the poor guy again. His lips started bleeding. Poor panda got up again, limping towards the dark warrior, but again thrown away with some other trick!
Po would not give up! He'd get up again and over again no matter how many times was he thrown, and word attack again with those damaged limbs. For him, it was of no use at all. Every attack of his went in vain. Soon, his exhausting struggles lead him to bleeding and panting while he was still standing, though broken, but standing. Again, he charged, trying to hit one way or the other but Tai Lung was wit-minded that he could see through his move and would dodge it quite easily while giggling. It appeared as if he was playing with the panda. "Huh! You can't even touch me, can you? These efforts are all useless! Give up and accept your death." but no words could stop that rigid will!
Being annoyed with the useless effort, a sharp blow directly hit Po in the throat, suffocating for a while! He was taking his time, regaining the strength that out of nowhere the warrior of death appeared and started multiple hits in the stomach, with the knees so strong that kept Po in the air for a while! As he fell on the knees again, another violent strike came right in the face, hurling him far I the distance, throwing at a cracked wall on the verge of shattering.
Once again Po got up that annoyed Tai Lung even more. "You... are not the one to give up easily, huh?!" and with the blink of an eye, that cruel leopard appeared again, delivering multiple and combo punches in the stomach without any pause at all! Poor Po could neither avoid nor stop any of those punches. His insides were severely damaged, resulting in loads of blood gushing out of his mouth! After some 300 hundred punches in a few seconds, the dark warrior grabbed his head with his own legs, smack the severely injured panda on the ground that ended up in rose-red blood oozing out of the deep injury on the head!
Barely alive; almost on the death bed, the poor panda could hardly now handle his weight on those two legs. Many times he coughed blood, excessive blood! Now, his vision turned blurry as well because of those severe injuries and excess loss of blood! It was the unbreakable will that still kept him lasting on his legs. He'd stagger, going to fall the next moment but the burning desire of winning kept him awake and alive! He had one chance and he was not going to let that go in vain!
While the panda was standing, the bloodthirsty leopard walked again, standing in all his pride, with a devilish smirk on his face indicating how much pity he was showing for his enemy; the panda. Po could do nothing more than land a very slow, weak, and broken blow that barely even touched Tai Lung's chest, and then slipped down. All of his strength was drained in that duel. Those barely-opened eyes of his were a clear indication. He could now do nothing more besides standing there as he remained unconscious.
At once, a shooting, sharp blow hit the face again, throwing him badly on the ground. Po, poorly lying there, was all drenched in blood now, slowly breathing as his last breathes. "What happened, panda?" asked that wicked man. "Can't fight me anymore? Yes. It is because you are weak, powerless, and hopeless. You could protect no one, you could save no one! That is why they all died. I was not the one who killed them all but YOU! Just like the rest, you are now going to die a pathetic death! Now, the Dragon Warrior remains the Dragon Warrior no more."
"He's right." said Po within. "I'm responsible for their deaths… for all of this. It's all because I'm weak… so weak that I can't even protect myself." The harsh realities lingering in his mind again brought him to the edge of grief and sorrow. Those tears that hardly stopped after hours started rushing again! His inner voice was crying out! "HE'S RIGHT! HE'S RIGHT! I'M RESPONSIBLE! I'M THE ONE WHO SHOULD'VE DIED IN THE FIRST PLACE!" and then his inner cries remained inner cries no more.
Again, he cried… cried as much as he could, letting out his limitless pain. Poor panda, who had no one to hold up to… to share the pain with, was left all alone to himself, covering himself with his own hands as he shed those tears, lying on the ground pathetically. The rest of the world was laughing upon his weakness, making a mockery out of him, throwing jokes! Tai Lung giggled pitifully, "Poor panda! Crying for yourself for being so weak? How pathetic. How miserable."
None could understand his pain! What he lost, none valued that at all. That poor guy was indeed crying on his weakness, thinking that whatever happened was his weakness, his fault.
"I thought I could save everyone! It was MY fault that turned me blind! I'm no powerful! I'm not the Dragon Warrior! I'm nothing… nothing! Someone help me! Please! ANYONE!" and with those puffy eyes were asking for help from everyone around, but how come any of those hyenas would help the poor? Those were the ones to snatch from the poor ones.
Tai Lung, after a smirk, got up and started walking along with his pack, leaving the panda on his own. He wasn't planning on killing him. Perhaps he took pity and let him live. Meanwhile, Po was wondering, "Why…? Just why am I giving up so easily?! My friends, my family, Master Shifu, the whole valley, they didn't die so that I can give up! Their deaths, I won't let them go to waste! Not at all! I'll bring them back… I'll bring them back again!" and a sudden click of Tigress' image in his mind, "And Her… I'll bring her back as well!" A sudden change occurred as the bud turned into the flower whose fragrance spread everywhere!
The white leopard might have taken a few steps that I thundering voice stopped him. As he turned around with surprise, it was Po standing bravely, strongly, like a warrior after fighting thousands of battles and winning each and everyone. For Po, his battle was against despair that he won! In those jade eyes was flashing the dark warrior frozen in surprise.
"Come back… and fight me! I'm not giving up! Not yet!"
The gold-eyed warrior snorted, "Are you kidding me?! Moments ago you were there, pathetically crying! And now, you tell me to fight you?! You have already lost this battle! What else is there for you to do now?! Against my overwhelming power, you can't even lift a finger!"
"Beats me! I just figured it out that all of them never died for me to die here so pathetically! There's just no way I'm giving up here! I will fight you! I'll bring everyone back!" The panda that was broken, damaged both physically and emotionally, was now standing to fight for what was right… what was his! Finally, the darkness of despair was gone!
Tai Lung could not help but had his eyes popping out because of wonderment! "His eyes," he spoke inwardly, "Those don't belong to someone wishing to die! He has no fear in them… but hope! He still believes he can win?! Just what is he?!" Getting annoyed from the entire scene, Tai Lung started walking again with a sigh, "I won't get my hands dirty on you! You're not even worth fighting. Get lost!" but why would the panda just give up and sit down?! There was a burning fire of hope that was not letting him give up!
While Tai Lung kept moving, ignoring the panda, Po cried again, "Stop there! Come back and fight me! FIGHT ME! TAI LUNG!" but no one knew that the flower that just bloomed would be crumpled so easily… so soon! While Po was trying to stop his enemy, out of nowhere came a silver blade gleaming white that suddenly went through his chest from behind, piercing his heart! For a while, Po himself did not know what happened for his voice was stuck in his throat! But as a sudden wave of extreme pain ran through his body, the gleaming blade reflected in his eyes as he fell on the knees!
Just how…?! And who…?! Tai Lung's band of hyenas was standing in front of his eyes, while Tai Lung, twitching back at Po. The blade was violently removed again, and a stream of blood gushed out from the heart! All his blood was dripping on the floor, spreading everywhere! Panda, so poor, was still lost in astonishment!
The blade that was pierced now reflected again in his eyes, coming forth, covered in his own blood. And the wielder of that blade… it was astonishing enough to kill Po at the spot! From love to hatred, from trust to betrayal, from hope to despair! Those orange eyes reflected in those jade eyes, and so did the face, the whole figure! He was no mistaken, and yet he could not believe! It was her; his very best friend killed by the hands of Tai Lung. IT WAS TIGRESS! IT ACTUALLY WAS TIGRESS!
Her face that had bravery, hope, love, pain in it, was now blank, totally cold, stoned, and forever solemn! "Master Tai Lung," she spoke in a very solemn tone. "It's done as you asked for." Even the voice was the same! Pitiable Po! That guy was thunder-struck! He couldn't accept the reality!
From behind came Tai Lung. "You did a great job, Tigress!" and then bowed for Po, whispering, "I know that you have many questions being repeated over and over again: 'How did all this happen? Why is Tigress here? Why did she betray you?' Accept it or not but the fact is that she is Tigress; the one I killed with my own hands. After sending you to the Jade Palace, I revived her and altered her memories with acupuncture, telling her that you killed his family and now, she avenged them. Now, she works for me. Remember, I told you that your death will be a betrayal! That's what I meant!" After that, Tai Lung crushed the Revival Stone in front of his eyes, turning that to dust. "Take this stone and bring everyone back."
Every word of reality would surprise Po even more! By the time he knew the whole story, most of his blood had been spilled on the ground, and now, he was losing consciousness. The blood-wrapped blade and its wielder now seemed blurred and darker. The time had finally arrived for Po to leave behind his everything as he fell on his own blood.
Tai Lung got up and moved again, saying, "Good Luck, Dragon Warrior! Hope you'll meet your family… in HELL!" and then ordered the rest of his inferiors, "Shred him to the tinniest pieces! I don't even want his body to exist!" and at once, the whole pack of those greedy hyenas lunged at Po and started tearing him apart!
Watching Po's extended hand towards herself as if begging for help, a single tear unexpectedly escaped her eye. Wondering why that happened, Tigress wiped that single tear and turned back, following Tai Lung's steps! She did not care at all! Even his best friend did not matter to her at all!
Watching her best friend leave him like that while being slashed alive, Po said within, "I thought death would be painful… very painful… but death by your hands… it's beautiful. The only thing that pains me the most is that I can't save you. Wish I could live a few moments more to bring you back, and then die. I think it's the good bye, both for you… and for me… Good bye, Tigress… Good bye." Soon, his vision turned completely dark. The last thing he saw was Tigress going… and soon… it was nothing! Those few tears left in the eyes, trickled down his cheek, adding into the blood, but in the end, he left the world with a smile on his face and with that, Po was dead.
Love was what brought him till that point, and love was what destroyed him! The final flame of hope died as well and from that moment on, the world was sunk in complete despair!
