A/N: Wow! I have no other words. Just wow… Thank you so much for all the reviews! It means really much to me!
Merry Christmas! I know it's a little late and we actually hold Christmas on December 24 in Denmark, not 25. But anyway, Christmas is Christmas!
Of course I don't own Kung Fu Panda.
Behind The Golden Eyes, The Wake Up Dream
"Stealth mode!" Po muttered under his breath. The mission was simple; get out of the Jade Palace without getting notice, deliver the secret package, then sneak back without anyone found out that he had been gone. Easy.
Actually so easy, that there only went one minute before he walked directly into Monkey and Mantis.
"Uhm, hi guys. What are you doing out here?" He asked nervously, holding his secret thing behind his back.
Monkey stared at him. "We are on our way to bed like Master Shifu told us to. What are you doing?"
"I… I am just taking a little walk outside to enjoy the nice weather."
"It's raining." Mantis replied flatly from Monkey's shoulder. It was clear that their panda friend was lying.
Even tough, Po's nervous smile didn't disappear. "Exactly. Rain is nice. Actually it is so nice that I have to go now for not missing it." The panda walked around them with his belly in front so they couldn't see the package. And in a flash, he disappeared around the corner.
Mantis and Monkey stared at each other for a moment wondering what just happened. "So do you think that Po has gone crazy or is he just hiding something?" Monkey asked.
"Haven't he always been crazy? But it is clear that he is having a secret." Mantis told him with a smile.
"Should we tell Master?"
"Tell Master what?"
The two boys nearly jumped of surprise when they heard Viper's voice. Behind her came Crane, both of them wanted to know what had happened.
"That Po is hiding something." Monkey told them.
Viper slithered closer. "Hiding what?"
"Well, we don't know." Mantis said from his Monkey's shoulder.
"Wait, did he go outside with it?" Crane asked, catching Viper's eyes. They were starting to have an idea of what the panda was doing.
"Yeah, he talked about enjoying the rain, if that's even possible." Mantis wasn't exactly a fan of the wet weather. When you were so small like him, then raindrops could make a lot of damage.
"He couldn't have… Could he?"
Viper nodded to Crane. "I think so. But I am not going to stop him. What about you?"
"I don't think so."
Monkey joined them. "It can't bring so many troubles, can it?"
"Let's just pretend like we didn't saw it. Come on boys, it's time to sleep." They all went to their room, well, all except one.
Mantis was standing alone on the hall, trying to figure out what happened. When it didn't worked, he yelled, "Could someone explain me what you are talking about!"
"You look beautiful, Master Tigress." Lu Chu said as she gently brushed the tiger's fur. It was tonight the festival was hold and the maid had spent a lot of time making Tigress ready.
The tiger herself wasn't excited for the night. "Thanks." She muttered quietly, mostly just to be polite. She still hadn't forgotten her fight with Mei-Hua. Though, her master had acted like she used to the last couple of days, but Tigress still couldn't relax when she was around.
And as a symbol for her lost fight, Tigress was now wearing the dress. She felt like she was someone else, a stranger she didn't know. If there was something that Tigress knew, then it was the fact that she was a kung fu warrior. And in her world, kung fu warriors didn't wear dresses.
But here she was, following her master's orders. And she could do it. She just needed to relax. Relax…
"Are you okay, Master Tigress? You seem pretty nervous."
"I'm just tired, Lu Chu." Tigress told her maid. And actually, it wasn't a lie.
Lu Chu didn't seem surprised. It wasn't the first time that Tigress was tired in her company. "Nightmares again?" She asked.
Tigress just nodded. She hadn't slept well in long time now. She couldn't really remember the nightmares; she always just woke up shaking and panting, like she had been running from something.
She and Enlai had spent a lot of time together since they had apologized to each other. Though, he still had a sharp tongue when he wanted. And you could say the same about Tigress. But both of them enjoyed their new friendship. Tigress hoped he would be at the festival tonight. Or maybe not, when she thought about it. Him seeing her in a dress wasn't something she wished to happen.
"And we are finished." Lu Chu declared and lay down the brush. Tigress stood up and let her maid have a full view of her. Lu Chu was proud of her work and smiled calming to the tiger. But as Tigress looked at herself in the mirror, she didn't saw a kung fu warrior, only a tiger she didn't know.
Tigress sought towards one of the many torches that were lightning up the Dragon-City. It was now late on the night and the cold was not to ignore anymore. As Tigress held her paws close to the fire, she suddenly thought that were something about the flames that seemed familiar. She couldn't really tell exactly what it was, but a part of her mind told her that it was important.
But before she could think more about it, she saw Chu Lu running towards her. "Master Tigress! I just saw him! He is in the northern part of the city!"
Tigress didn't need further information. She knew who her maid was talking about. The mountain cat and the tiger had been looking for Enlai the whole evening. Tigress wasn't really enjoying the party for her and was sure that the gardener could help her mood.
"Thanks, Lu Chu." She said before walking as fast as she could towards the place where her missing friends were. Tigress sighed again; she could have been there a lot faster if she could run, but this dress didn't allow her legs to move so much. Another reason to why she didn't enjoy wearing it.
But Tigress was only halfway when she was stopped again. Master Mei-Hua and Master Bear were suddenly in front of her, and Tigress could see on their faces that they wanted to talk. Forcing herself not to sigh loudly, Tigress tried to find a way out of the talk as fast as possible.
"Are you enjoying the festival so far, Master Tigress?" With examining eyes, Master Bear looked her over.
Tigress bowed for them both and nodded. "The town is beautiful tonight." She said honestly. The citizens had made sure that the city was full of decorations and the torches were everywhere to make the darkness to disappear.
"You must also be feeling home in the Dragon Palace now. How long time have she actually been here?" The bear asked, glancing at Mei-Hua.
The older tiger smiled. "Nearly four months now. And you still don't seem to regret me being you master." She said, still smiling.
"Of course not, Master Mei-Hua."
Master Bear chuckled. "I think there will go some time before Master Shifu forgives you for stealing his student, Master Mei-Hua. But at least he still has the Dragon Warrior."
When Tigress heard the word she froze. Dragon Warrior. She was sure that she had heard it before. But no matter how much she thought about it she just couldn't remember. The only thing that she got was some jade green eyes staring at her. But what could that mean?
When Tigress finally came out of her thoughts, she noticed that Mei-Hua was staring at her, noticing her every reaction. Tigress quickly put up her normal face so she wouldn't make her master suspicious. "Please excuse me, but I have to go now." She quickly said, and walked away from the two masters. But by doing that, she didn't saw the satisfied smile Master Mei-Hua was showing.
Resisting the urge to call his name, Tigress continued her way through the crowd. Children were laughing and people were talking so he probably wouldn't have heard him anyway. With her golden eyes searching for him, she finally spotted him by one of the city's gates.
The striped cat was already out of the town, ready to disappear in the forest that surrounded the city. His ears caught Tigress' yell and he turned around.
"Enlai!" Tigress needed to know where he was going and why he was leaving. But she was stopped by two guards that were standing by the gate. "Let me pass." She sneered as they hold their spears in front of her, making her stop.
"Please forgive us, Master Tigress, but we cannot let you leave." One of the gorillas said.
Before Tigress could answer, Enlai was there. "Of course you have to do your job, boys. But you see, Master Tigress is not going to leave. She just wants to talk with me and I believe that you don't have the orders to stop her from doing that. So if you please could give us some privacy." He said to the now stunned guards. The two gorillas glanced at each other, then removing their spears.
Tigress walked past them, and followed Enlai to the edge of the forest where the guards still could see them. The male tiger was the first to talk. "Well, this is something I probably not am going to see again." He chuckled.
"One word about my dress and you are going to regret it!" Tigress sneered, trying to cover the much hated clothes with her arms.
"So if it isn't about the dress, then what is it that you will talk about?" The male tiger asked, smiling teasingly to her.
"Where are you going?" Tigress asked quickly.
Enlai sighed and showed her his leather bag. "I have to collect herbs to Master Fox. It's a part of my job, you know."
"How long will you be gone?"
"Probably two weeks." Enlai told her, rubbing his neck.
"Two weeks?" Tigress said with a little voice. After what happened with her and Mei-Hua, Tigress didn't really trust her master anymore. She was happy for the new friends in the Dragon Palace; without them she didn't know what to do. But now, hearing that one of her best friends was going to leave her in a while, was something that could make her life in the palace a lot harder.
"Some of the herbs a hard to get, and I have to travel a long way. But I am sure that the great Master Tigress can handle herself while I'm gone."
"But what about you? Can you really handle be alone in the big, dark forest?" She gave back.
"I thought you knew me better, Master Tigress." Enlai chuckled, but then stopped like he just remembered something. His right paw disappeared into his bag and brought up a little figure. He laid it in Tigress' paws so she could look closer at it.
It was one more of his tree figures. Tigress carefully touched it, admiring the details.
"It's Master Tigress of the Jade Palace." Enlai said even though Tigress already had understood that it was herself, well, a much smaller version of herself she was holding in her paws.
Tigress glanced at him, her eyes suspicious. "How much time have you spent spying on me?"
Enlai just laughed and Tigress was somehow satisfied with that answer.
"Do me a favor and make sure that Master Mei-Hua doesn't see it. I don't think that the Dragon Queen would like that a gardener have been making sculptures of her student without her permission." Enlai said, tossing his bag over his shoulder again.
"The Dragon Queen?" Tigress asked. She had had heard many people call her master 'Highness', but never 'Dragon Queen'. Was Master Mei-Hua really a queen?
Enlai's eyes widened when he realized what he had said. "I have to go now. Take care of yourself." With that he turned around and leaved before Tigress could react.
"Enlai!" Tigress called when she finally realized what had happened. But the gardener was gone. Sighing, she went back to the city with the guards' eyes in her back.
Fire. Fire everywhere! Flames taken away everything she had ever known. But Tigress didn't react. It was long time since she had found out that she couldn't do anything against the flames. She was not able to touch anything; she was like a ghost trapped in a world where she didn't belong.
The flames didn't hurt her, though. She couldn't feel at all. She couldn't feel the warmth and she couldn't feel the sorrow of losing everything. Tigress was completely numb.
As she watched the conflagration around her, Tigress noticed there was a change in the burning world. In the orange flames was there staring to be a new color; a gray mist.
Unable to move, she just stood there, waiting for the fire to disappear completely and for the mist to take over. There didn't go long time before she was surrounded by the gray color. Preparing herself for what will happen, Tigress stared into the mist. But still, she couldn't help but be shocked when she heard the voices.
"Tigress. I'm Shifu. I am-"
"Afraid?"
The scene was showed in the mist; a red panda standing in front of a closed door and a little tiger sitting in the corner of a destroyed room. Tigress tried not to gasp when she realized that the little tiger was herself.
"This game requires discipline, precision, a still hand and a steady heart."
She saw herself placing the last domino in the symbol of Yin and Yang, it all created by the little pieces of wood.
"Come. Let us go home."
The little tiger glanced surprised at the red panda, then following him out of the orphanage, ready to see her new home.
Then the scene faded, but was soon replaced by one more. The tiger, now at little bigger, was punching some strange looking trees. A shout of pain sounded, when the paw hit the iron hard wood. Tears were formed in the tiger's golden eyes, but there didn't go long time before she tried and punched it again.
She was now in a training hall, but not alone. A snake, a crane, a mantis and a monkey were joining her. An old turtle and the red panda were watching the students, satisfied with their new warriors.
Now, she was back at the iron trees, now much older. Again, she hit the tree, but there was no pain this time. No pain, no feeling. She had reached her goal, but Tigress couldn't see proudness on her own face. Not even a tiny smile. She just repeated with she just had did.
"Master, are you pointing at me?" But instead of her, the turtle turns his claw towards a fat panda that just had landed in front of her, falling from the sky. Trying to understand why she wasn't the chosen one, a disappointed look came on her face.
"This is what you trained me for." She looked back at her home, then leaping forward, ready to defeat the enemy, to prove herself worthy.
"Master." Tigress saw herself bowing to the panda, showing him her respect. He was the chosen one and she had finally accepted it.
"No!" Tigress flinched when she heard herself screaming, as she was trying to reach the panda. But she too late, she had failed and she could never forgive herself for that.
"That was pretty hardcore." She offered the panda her paw, pulling him out of the cold water. He had won again and she was admiring his skills. But deeply inside she was scolding herself for not being stronger, for not helping him enough.
"Tigress, do you want to be my student?" She was looking into the face of an older tiger, a master she just had met. But she said yes, for a part of her had decided to follow this tiger master.
"Tigress, this is your home! Why isn't it good enough for you? Why aren't we good enough?" The snake was begging her to stay and the rest of her friends' eyes did the same. But she had to leave. She had already said yes to the older tiger and she just couldn't break that promise.
"Good luck, Tigress." The red panda bowed to her, saying goodbye to his student. Taken one more glance over her shoulder, Tigress leaved them, her master and friends.
Then there was silence. The only thing left was the mist. Tigress tried to keep herself from shaking; this had just been too much.
"I see your memories have returned, Tigress."
Tigress bowed, recognizing the soft voice. "Master Oogway, I… How can you be here?" She forgot to be polite, the curiosity had taken over.
The old turtle walked out of the mist, showing himself. "I sensed you needed my help."
"Yes, I… Thank you, Master Oogway." Tigress said, having a hard time with finding the right words.
"I believe that you know what to do now?" Oogway watched as the tiger nodded. "Then I'll have to leave again. Don't lose your hope, Tigress. The hope is the most important thing you have now."
Before Tigress could answer was Oogway gone along with the mist.
Tigress woke up in her bed, panting. Not because of a nightmare, but because she could remember it all know. She knew exactly who she was. Enlai had actually told her it a week ago when he had leaved. She was Master Tigress of the Jade Palace.