Chapter 18

Moment of Truth

Master Shifu walked next to the Peach Tree of Wisdom. Tai Lung picked up his head once he made it up the mountain that the tree was planted on.

The snow leopard gasped, as he saw the Peach Tree wasn't down. It should have been gone, because he thought that that wolf; the one Tai Lung had just defeated: Skyler, chopped it down. "What-"

"Song and Thailaan are both gone, Tai Lung." Shifu interrupted, not letting Tai Lung plead for another soon to be answered question.

Tai Lung twitched his head over to Shifu. "What? How could they be?" He looked down at his paws, as he saw Skyler's green wristband was still on him. Thinking, he brought his head up, to his concluding thought. "The volcano killed them." Misery took his heart, as a clump formed in his throat.

"No, it did not." Shifu slowly trudged over to Tai Lung, as he looked into his eyes. "They are gone."

"What, what do you mean, gone?!" Tai Lung clenched his fists. "They just can't disappear, master, they... they either die or... or, leave!" He started to lose his voice.

"I know... I know, you will go through a hard time after this, but they were apart of Skyler, they had the same heart as him." Shifu tried to keep his emotions in tact, as he attempted to keep TaiLung with him. "They disappeared, just as I almost did when this tree was chopped down." He looked at the peach tree.

Tai Lung was speechless, as a revelations of emotions swept over him. "But... but what about Song? She had nothing to do with him! She hated him! Master, how would you even know about her?"

"She was apart of Sky's rage, even though her heart no longer wanted to be in any part of it."

"How? What did she do, Master Shifu?" Tai Lung begged.

Shifu looked out among China in thought. "It was... a very, long time ago..."

"...I think it's time I tell you a story, that you have long forgotten about..."

"What do you want me to do with him? He has no use to me." Skyler growled at Song, as she pushed him to the side with her dirty hands.

"Don't worry! I have everything you will need. He also seeks the place of the Dragon Warrior, only he is a bit knocked out from a defeat some panda gave him when he tried to go for it. Once he gets his mind back in place, he will know what his main goal was." Song chuckled.

"I will make him remember!" Sky nearly darted off, before Song caught him by the ear.

"No, no!" She pulled him back, as he growled at her in great anger. "I will tell him everything. Once he kills his so called 'Master', who is taking care of him now, you can take him out and make him team up with you to take over the Jade Palace. But don't do it tonight! I will write a letter to his master before he gets killed. I made a pill that Tai Lung will take, to knock him out for a couple months."

"Months?! Song! I want to get this done now! I want my power!"

"You will have to wait!" Song grunted, as she pointed at his face. "He will regain back his strength and power, and will come back to the Jade Palace. There, you can do the same. You guys talk, and do your business!" She looked at her hands. She noticed they were dirty from the rust she cleaned off of a sword she made years ago. "I must wash my hands, now..." She slowly walked off, leaving Sky in an angry, stressful manner.

...

Sky squinted, as he bolted his head over to the house Tai Lung was staying in. Song said that Tai Lung hit head on something... making him lose all of his memory. He has changed, but he will change back... Sky knew it! And, he will make him change back! Sky smiled, as he rushed over to the house the snow leopard was staying in.

...

Sky took another punch at the afraid snow leopard, as he blocked it, again. "Don't you remember about wanting to be the Dragon Warrior? Your master, Master Shifu, trained you! You have to-" Sky stopped, as he twitched at oncoming footsteps. Growling, he punched Tai Lung hard in the nose, knocking him out, as he jumped off of him, and ran off.

Song reached the knocked out snow leopard. "Tai Lung..." She sighed, as she attempted to drag him back inside her house.

Sky hid in the forest behind the house. "Damn it, Song!" He squinted, as he looked around. "Fine, I will wait. You better not screw this up..." He jumped off, as he ran back to his cave in which he stayed in, with his fellow team mates: Kuwon, Sorus, Miraji, Thailaan, and now, Song.

Shifu blinked, as he stopped talking.

"You're saying... she was with him that whole time?" He looked at Shifu with begging eyes.

"Yes, ever since he saw you fall out of the sky, from your recent defeat, by Po." Shifu replied.

"I... no, I landed in the forest! I didn't land in a town!"

"Wait, Tai Lung, let me explain. You were defeated by the panda, and because of his hold, you were blown away into a town. You were knocked out, as all your memory drained because of the blow, from hitting the ground. I gave you the pill that Song made for you, and set you in the forest, making you think you were blown away into the forest." He breathed.

"...I lost all of my memory..." Tai Lung looked down.

"Yes, and you regained it all because-"

"Because of that traitor, Song..."

"No, Tai Lung, no one can completely be a traitor. She still loved you, and once she saw you turn different when you were banned from this palace just four years ago, she changed. You came back to her, and she wanted to start over, as she tried to keep that wolf away from you and her. She didn't tell you anything, because she didn't want you to be too confused or frustrated that Sky was still out there."

Tai Lung looked away. "Not like I'm confused now..." His eyes began to fill with tears. "So... Song is just, gone, along with her friend, Thailaan?"

Shifu smiled, as he looked down.

"Why are you smiling?" The snow leopard questioned.

"Thailaan... Thailaan..." He shook his head.

Tai Lung looked confused. "What? What is it?"

"Have you ever noticed how your names are basically the same? Tai Lung, Thailaan. And you two are also the same species?"

"What is this supposed to mean?"

Shifu looked into the snow leopard's eyes. "I knew your mother, Tai Lung. You and Thailaan are siblings."

Tai Lung blinked. "Wh... what? We are?" Thoughts and questions filled his head, as he stared at his master with confused eyes.

"Yes... and unfortunately..." He sighed greatly, as he hated informing someone, that one of their loved ones were now dead, or gone. He breathed in, as he picked his head up. "Unfortunately... Thailaan is gone, also."

"Why don't you just say that she is dead?" Tai Lung pushed.

"No one can truly be 'dead'. Only the ones who cannot be forgiven are dead." Shifu explained.

"Oh..." Tai Lung looked out to China. "Then I forgive you, Song and Thailaan." Thinking, he turned back to Shifu. "Did it work?"

Shifu just shook his head. "It doesn't work like that, Tai Lung. When I was saying 'those who cannot be forgiven', I mean the lost ones; the ones who cannot be brought back to life by life itself. Life is a unique thing, and if you mistreat it in a way some animals would call 'unforgivable', you can't live it well again. It's legend, and tradition that we honor those we wish gone. But of course, you know this." He sat. "Those who mistreat whom they must honor, become more and more leveled out, and soon enough, darkness strikes. That is what happened to Song, as she couldn't hide from it. Although she changed much, she still had darkness in her heart."

The snow leopard was in deep thought. "What about what me, and what happened four years ago? When I teamed up with him to attempt to defeat you? Wasn't I 'unforgivable'?"

"From the very beginning, you did not want to be involved with any of it. True?"

Tai Lung just nodded, as he looked away.

"This means you do not have darkness in your heart."

"Master, I've had darkness in my heart ever since Oogway foretold!"

"No, Tai Lung! You are clean! Master Oogway was many things, but you know he could never control what your destiny could have been, and is! He predicted that you will be breaking out of your prison at first, and that is why he needed another Dragon Warrior, to stop yourself from becoming who he knew you were going to be! Po succeeded in defeating you, and right about that time, I had a vision from Master Oogway saying that you were going to be the savior of us all, the one who will defeat the next seeker of the Dragon Scroll, and that was Skyler! He predicted that you will be the next Dragon Warrior, because he knew..." Shifu paused, as he sighed, and closed his eyes.

"Because... because he knew what?"

Shifu hesitated, as he put his two hands together, as his long sleeves covered them. He opened his eyes, breathed out very slowly, and looked up at Tai Lung, once again. "Because... he knew, that Po would have died by the time you came along." He shook his head in distress, as he continued. "He didn't know how he could have been slain, for all he knew, was that you were going to be the next Dragon Warrior. We are all... very sorry for his loss..."

Tai Lung's breath was taken, as he clenched his stomach in great, emotional pain. "I... I had so much to tell him... Can't I bring him back to life?"

"No, you cannot. You used his power to revive all that was lost: the townsfolk, us, and most importantly, The Peach Tree."

Tai Lung gasped. "What a horrible thing I have done..."

Shifu walked over to the snow leopard, to comfort him. "No, Tai Lung. Po went out in honor, and we all know it. He was a great friend, and a great Dragon Warrior. But now..." He hesitated. "Now, we must choose a new Dragon Warrior." Shifu stared at Tai Lung for seconds, before breaking the locked gaze. He slowly lowered his shoulders, as he brought his hands behind him. "A celebration will be held this afternoon. I will choose who will be the next Dragon Warrior." He looked away, as he made his way down the mountain.

Tigress looked at the snow leopard with her searching eyes. "I was expecting you to be the next Dragon Warrior. I didn't expect Master Shifu to hold a whole choosing ceremony." She folded her arms, as Tai Lung walked over to a boiling pot which held soup. He wasn't the best cooker, but he remembered Song teaching him how to cook a bit.

"As did I think, but I guess Shifu has to hold a proper celebration before just jumping right to that. Maybe he will, but who knows?" Tai Lung smiled.

Tigress smiled back, as she got up to look at what he was cooking. "What are you cooking?" She asked eagerly.

Tai Lung grinned, as he softly pushed her away. "A real chef does not tell what he is cooking until his guests finish it." He laughed, as he tried to intimidate Master Shifu. He turned to look at Tigress, as her smile slowly faded. "What's... wrong, Tigress?"

The tigress looked deep into his eyes. "It's Po... I still can't believe... after all of those years... all that time..." She struggled for words, as she sat down on a chair behind her, looking down.

Tai Lung looked at her in pity. Deeply thinking, he slowly walked over to her, as thoughts filled his head. Kneeling down, he took her paw, and stroked it ever so slowly. He didn't know much on how to comfort animals, but he could try.

Jaw set, he looked up at her now somewhat red-tainted face. "I am also suffering from his loss. We all are." He saw she was still looking away, as she tried to hold in her tears.

He squinted, as he went to touch her chin, as he directed it over to himself. "Tigress, he went out in honor. I'm sure he is still thinking of us, after all of that. He has sacrificed much, and we, all, will miss him terribly." He hesitated. "But Tigress," He looked into her sorrow-filled eyes. "We're still here. The town is back, and most of all, Kung Fu is back. Po repaired all that Sky has destroyed. He redeemed you, Tigress! It was either reviving you, or letting all of Kung Fu go to waste..."

Tigress looked at him, as she went to hug him.

Tai Lung held Tigress, as he felt a little shocked that his words helped her a little. He slowly brought his hands to her back, so that he was fully embracing her. A thought popped up in his head, as he slowly lowered his chin on her right shoulder. "I... I still love you."

He could hear whimpers coming from the strong warrior. It struck him hard in the heart, as he slowly felt much strong feeling for her. Hugging her tighter, he closed his eyes.

"Thank you, Tai Lung." Tigress spoke.

Seconds of beautiful silence filled the room, as the snow leopard thought. "What for?" He replied.

Tigress hesitated. "For coming back." She smiled, as tears filled her already red eyes. "You are... forgiven."

Tai Lung was deeply shocked by her words.

You are forgiven, Tai Lung.

Blinking, Tai Lung finally pulled away, as he gave a smile. "May I have a smile? It would make my day." He gave her an innocent stare. A real, innocent stare.

Tigress slowly made her lips into an apathetic grin, as she got up, along with Tai Lung.

"Oh, come on! That's no smile!" He took her hands, as she nearly blushed. The tigress looked away, as she tried to hide her emotions. Tai Lung hesitated. "Please... Tigress?" He had her turn her head back to him.

Tigress slowly smiled, showing her perfectly white, sharp teeth, as she stared at him.

"Now, laugh."

"What?"

"Just, laugh! Even when you're in the worst of situations, laugh!" He chuckled, as he felt he had a change of heart.

Tigress could tell Tai Lung has changed much, but in a good way. She slowly shook her head, as she slowly chuckled.

Impatient, Tai Lung laughed loudly.

Tigress stared at him with a confused face.

"Okay, I'm taking matters into my own hands!" He took his paws, and tickled her sides.

She smiled, as she tried to hold back her laughter. "A master trains her nerves so that they... are..." She closed her eyes, as she clenched her fists from holding back her laughter.

Shooting her eyes open, she began to burst into a loud laugh, as Tai Lung did the same. "Tai Lung! Tai Lung.. hahahah... you..." She looked behind him, and saw the pot, which was now beginning to burn. "Tai Lung! Tai!"

"No, I will not stop!" He laughed greatly, as he kept his hands on the sides of her stomach.

"No, no, Tai Lung! The pot... it's burning!" She laughed some more, as Tai Lung kept tickling her.

"That's not going to work on me, Tigress!"

Tigress finally focused, and opened her eyes. She made up her mind, still laughing like a mad-woman, and took his cheek. Pulling him forward, she shoved his lips to hers.

In awe, Tai Lung stopped, as he dropped his arms.

Tigress pulled away, as she pointed behind him. "The pot!"

Tai Lung finally turned around, to find the pot was now flaming. Gasping, he bolted over to the burning hot pot, as he took his fist and touched it. Burning his fist, the fire stopped. He quickly pulled his hand away from the pot. "Owww! Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch..."

Tigress laughed greatly, as she almost fell to the floor. "And you say you can take anything?" She finally collapsed to the floor in laughter.

"Well... I lied!" He said in anger at the laughing tigress. His emotions changed, as his frown slowly turned to a smile. He began to laugh along with his friend, as he also nearly fell to the ground in laughter.

Master Shifu held the newly made staff with his two hands. At the end of the staff, was the Dragon Scroll he saw in Tai Lung's hand once he appeared in the now repaired Jade Palace. He looked up at the Dragon who's mouth was empty, due to the taking of its scroll. That Dragon... it represented the spirit of Kung Fu, just as the Volcano represented the body, and the Tree represented the mind.

The Dragon was the very birth of Kung Fu, as it was the first founded animal that was once practicing it. That is where the White and Black Dragon came from: the Twin Dragons; the founders of Kung Fu, as they both represented the good and the evil, the redeemed and the damned, the forgiven and the forgotten; the T'ai Chi Tou. It is the symbol of Kung Fu, and it will stay the symbol until Kung Fu is no more, just as Master Oogway said.

And it will, live forever.

Shifu nodded once slowly, as he breathed out. He began. Swinging the staff around his body, he stepped forward, as he spun it above him. The Dragon Scroll fell from the staff's grasp, as it flew up. Shifu breathed hard, as he ordered the Peach Tree petals up. They slowly drifted up, as they took the ragged Dragon Scroll. Slowly drifting up, the Dragon Scroll rested in the Dragon's mouth. The beat-up scroll quickly flashed light all over the room, as everything went white.

Gasping, Shifu began to back away, covering his eyes. He blinked, as he saw the white was gone. He removed his arm, as he looked up at it. It was back in perfect condition. He smiled, as he walked back out of the legendary hall. "It will come, no worries, the Dragon Warrior will be chosen." He closed the doors with a gentle slam.

Later that afternoon...

The host of the celebration and choosing, stepped forth. "Let the tournament, begin!" He rang a gong that soon qued the Furious Five, and Tai Lung, to begin their work.

Crane was the first up. He has improved much in many things, along with the others, giving him an easy shot in defeating the thousand tongues of fire.

Next up, Viper, defeating the triple-fang, dragons.

After Viper, Mantis, Monkey, and Tigress were all up, Tai Lung stepped in. The crowd looked a bit stunned by his appearance, but they quickly went back to their cheering.

Once Tai Lung was about to fight, Shifu stepped up. "The Dragon Warrior..." He closed his eyes, as he walked. "Is among us, my friends!" He blinked, as he remembered Master Oogway saying the same thing, just four years ago.

The Furious Five, along with Tai Lung, got into their places, as Master Shifu walked around them, inspecting them and letting Kung Fu to chose for him. The crowd settled down, as Shifu finally got in front of the six. Looking at them, he slowly grinned. He made his way over to Tigress, as he squinted at her. Fireworks seemed to go off above him. Weird.

No...

He walked over to Tai Lung, who was standing proud and tall. He looked up at him, and smiled. He removed his hand from behind him and...

"...aaaAAAAAAAAHHH!!" Something came falling in, as it collapsed right in the middle of Shifu and Tai Lung. Shifu didn't bring up his finger. He looked at the animal who was just now getting up.

"Oh... oh... sorry... I just wanted to see who the new Dragon Warrior would be!" An odd-looking zebra looked up, as he adjusted his now broken glasses.

Shifu smiled, as he looked up at the others. They all laughed greatly. They recalled this happening with Po... it brought back so many memories...

"What, Master, I'm the new Dragon Warrior??" The zebra tried to take Shifu's hand, as he made it point to him.

"No, zebra." Shifu brought back his hand, noticing no gong gonged.

Making up his mind, he finally agreed. He cleared his throat, as he looked out among the crowd. "The Dragon Warrior is... no one."

Everybody gasped, except Tai Lung.

"Awwh..." Disappointed, he zebra trotted off.

"There can be no Dragon Warrior, for there is nothing special about getting something as special as the Dragon Scroll." He turned to the six. "You all know that the scroll is just blank. Do you know why?" He got up on the steps, as he peered out among the crowd, and his students. "Because, it doesn't give you the power to do anything, for it is just yourself who is doing all the work. You must believe in what you want to do, and it will come true. And I promise you, it will... come true." He smiled, as his students did the same. A great emotion of happiness swept over him, as he closed his eyes. He now knew, Peace has finally come... "The Dragon Warrior, is all of you, for you are you, and no matter what, you can't change who you really are. You can jump, you can fly, you can do all of these things, if you keep your mind where your actions are and remember everything you once dreamed about, keep your trust in those you wish to honor, or even hate, and always, always know that you can't change for anything, for you can do anything you want, if you just... simply..." He opened his eyes.

Believe.

End Part 3

This story ties into A Hidden Secret by me, if you would like to learn more about how this whole story.

-Skyy.