A/N: Back again! Sorry for the late chap, there has been problem with my internet… *sighs*why can't anything just work? And then I've been lazy… Why can't I just work?
Oh, and this chapter is probably a shocker… I am just so evil! Well, I needed to wake you up from the slumber you got while waiting on me.
Oh, and one more thing; Try and read 'Tigress and Master Proelio' by Krisipiiqen. She's a friend of mine who just started fanfiction so it would be nice if you could check it out ;)
Nope, I don't own Kung Fu Panda.
Behind The Golden Eyes, The Dragons' Revenge
"No." Tigress muttered. "No."
This wasn't supposed to happen! Mei-Hua should have arrived in Jiao-Long's house while she was on her way to the Jade Palace. They shouldn't have met each other. But somehow Mei-Hua had taken the same way that Tigress had chosen.
"Tigress?" The older tiger slowly took a step closer to her as if she was scared of that she suddenly would disappear. Mei-Hua held her arms out, but Tigress backed away, sneering.
"Tigress, I…"
"Don't go closer!" Tigress snarled, warning her mother. The younger tiger had taken her fighting stance, while Mei-Hua remained calm.
"I am not here to fight, Tigress." She said, her eyes digging into Tigress'. "If you knew how much I've been looking for you." Her voice was now even softer and nearly broke. "It's time to go home now."
Tigress snorted. "Where? The Dragon Palace? I am not going back and you know it."
"Tigress… Tigress, please listen."
"You didn't tell me. None of you told me…" Tigress's voice was bitter and her eyes hard. Why not just let her mother know that it wasn't a secret anymore?
"No, I didn't." Mei-Hua kept standing where she was, not daring to go any closer. "I wouldn't risk losing you. Not again…"
"You are just like him." Tigress moved her eyes away from the older tiger. "You didn't want me, you never wanted me." She sneered.
"If you just would listen…"
"Why? Tell me one reason to why I shouldn't just leave now." Gold met gold when Tigress stared into Mei-Hua's eyes.
"Because I am your mother!" It came out as a hoarse whisper, almost a sob.
Tigress wanted to say that it was a lie; that Mei-Hua never had been a real mother for her. She wanted to say how much she had hurt her. She wanted to tell her how she felt. But she couldn't. Her body was frozen, but Tigress knew that this time it wasn't Mei-Hua's power. It was the words that Mei-Hua just had said.
"I know I have done things wrong. But if you just could give me a chance…"
For the first time Tigress noticed how broken Mei-Hua looked. Her body was still showing proudness, but her eyes… They seemed so deep as if she was searching for something.
"You had it all planned, didn't you? Master Shifu could take care of me until you actually needed your daughter, and then you would just easily convince me to follow you. It was you who did that I couldn't remember anything before you arrived, so you could make sure that I wouldn't leave your little palace." Tigress said quietly.
"I should have known that you would be strong enough to fight my powers." Mei-Hua said softly, looking her daughter over. "After all you are the next Dragon Queen."
"You're wrong!" Tigress hissed. "I will never be a queen."
"Tigress, that isn't something you can choose. You were born to follow my footsteps."
"Then what about my father? Shouldn't I do like him and become the leader of the Shadow Warriors?"
"Tigress…"
"I can't and won't be any of those things!"
"Tigress, listen to me!" The younger tiger fell quiet by her mother's yell. "I understand that you are angry, but could you please let me speak? When I brought you to the Dragon Palace I thought I had gotten a new student that could secure my position as the Dragon Queen. I didn't believe that my feelings could be a problem, but now I understand that you are my daughter and nothing can change that. Nothing." Silent tears streamed down of her cheeks, but Mei-Hua didn't seem to notice it.
"You're lying." Tigress whispered. She wanted to believe Mei-Hua; the older tiger's words were so enticing. But she couldn't handle another disappointment; she wasn't strong enough. Tears were blurring her own vision as well, no matter how much she tried to stop it.
As she closed her eyes, a tear rolled down. "Go back to the Dragon Palace and live your life as the Dragon Queen. I am going to the Jade Palace and you can't stop me from doing that."
"Tigress…"
But the younger tiger was already gone. Tigress ran, sobs shaking her body. The talk with her mother had been harder than she wanted it to be. She had just broken the last bond with her mother, and honestly she didn't expect to see her father again. Tigress could just as well be an orphan again.
Tigress stopped shortly and leaned her back against a tree. There was no sound of footsteps that revealed that Mei-Hua had run after her. With the back of her paw she brushed the tears away. She growled quietly as she realized that she was heading the wrong way. Mei-Hua had been blocking the way that she should have taken and if she continued walking she would end up being back at her father's house. Now she had to get pass Mei-Hua without getting noticed, and that meant that she had to take a longer road.
Knowing that it was her only choice, Tigress chose the direction that she thought was the safest and started running again.
Jiao-Long knew that she would come before he heard the door open with a slam. And sure enough, there she stood with hard eyes and a trail of tears down of her cheeks. A second later Yuan arrived, the loud noise alarming him. He looked at his master, unsure if he should greet the guest or kick her out.
"Yuan, I think you could need some fresh air. What about a walk in the nice weather?" Jiao-Long said, eyes not leaving Mei-Hua.
"But…"
"A walk, Yuan."
The raccoon scowled, but did was he was told. While grabbing his cloak, he sent Mei-Hua a glance that told her that all this was her fault. The female tiger returned the glance with ice cold eyes. After the servant left, there was silence.
None of them dared to speak, but then Jiao-Long turned and walked into a new room. Mei-Hua just followed him without any sounds escaping her lips. He gestured her to sit down and she took place in one of the two chairs. Jiao-Long disappeared for a moment and came back with two cups of tea that he placed on the table. Mei-Hua gladly received it; after her trip in the cold she needed something to thaw her up.
"Please don't say that you are inviting me on dinner." She said with the slightest track of mocking in her voice.
"I can't believe that the great Dragon Queen would travel all this way just to get some food." Jiao-Long sat down on the other side of table, studying the female tiger. "I am not good at meaningless talk, so why don't you just tell me why you are here?"
"Is it that hard to see?" Mei-Hua took a sip of her tea. "How long time was she here?"
Jiao-Long folded his paws. "A couple of days. Not that she liked the thought of staying here that long."
"And now she is heading towards the Jade Palace." Mei-Hua sighed.
"You met her?" Jiao-Long was answered with a short nod. "And you let her go?"
"Would could I do? Grab her by the arm and drag her all the way back to the Dragon City?" Mei-Hua snorted at the thought.
"She believes so."
"Of course she won't trust me. She won't even listen! I tried, I really did…"
"You scared her away." Jiao-Long concluded.
Mei-Hua nodded. "I guess you can say so."
"Power and a short temper isn't a good combination. Unfortunately, you have both things." Jiao-Long told her.
"You're so awful right." Mei-Hua answered. Even though the both were acting calm, they were keeping a close eye on each other. Of course they weren't fighting; they were both great kung fu masters, and both could get what they wanted with talking. "She reminds me of myself on that way. Both so sure on what we want. I should have known that it would go wrong."
"You shouldn't have tried to become of part of her life."
Mei-Hua rose from her chair just like Tigress had done when she had talked with the male tiger. "Are you even hearing your own words, Jiao-Long? Of course I am a part of her life; I am her mother!"
"For her you are not."
"You have to realize that no matter how much you refuse to understand it, then she still is our daughter!"
"She doesn't want us to be her parents."
Mei-Hua was nearly glowing of rage, snarling and eyes full of lightning. "You haven't even tried being a father for her!"
And that was when it became too much for Jiao-Long. Also he stood up now, his eyes were daggers. The two felines stared at each other, the rage filling the air in the room. For nearly anyone else just one of them would be a terrifying sight, but none of the kung fu masters showed sign of fear.
"No, I haven't. You tried and look what happened!" He slammed his fist into the wall. "If you opened your eyes you would see that she isn't a little cub any more. She doesn't need you."
"She needs a parent. She grew up without a family because of us, Jiao-Long."
"And that was enough reason to try and take away her old life?" The male tiger asked, removing his glance from the wall.
Mei-Hua stared at him, stunned. "What…?"
"Stealing her memories? Don't you think that you crossed the line there?"
"I could give her a better life. I could give her what she wished if she just had let me do it. If she couldn't remember her old life, then she wouldn't be haunted by it. I was her new master and she has already gotten new friends. She doesn't need her old ones or Shifu…"
"What did he do to deserve your anger?" Jiao-Long asked, sitting down again.
Mei-Hua followed his example. "Excuse me?" It was obliviously that she was confused.
"First you take away his student and now you have imprisoned him in his own palace. I am just curious."
The female tiger sighed. "Tigress isn't his daughter."
"She told me that Shifu had done more for her than me. Than us. You know that it is true."
Mei-Hua closed her eyes, but Jiao-Long continued. "You were gone for twenty-five years. It's too late now." Jiao-Long watched as the female tiger swallowed a sob. Mei-Hua slowly shook her head while one single tear slid down of her cheek.
Jiao-Long sighed and leaned over the table to get closer to her. "Go back to the Dragon City and make sure that your guards will leave the Valley of Peace. Let her go home, Mei-Hua." Her name was strange in his mouth, unused in all those years that had gone by.
She slowly opened her eyes and took a deep breath. "I can't just abandon her again."
"Give her time. Let her stay in the Jade Palace and then one day you can try again. But you will have to wait for her to be ready."
Mei-Hua nodded, lost in her own thoughts. Finally, she pulled herself together. "You are right." She paused before adding, "Again." She buried her head in her paws as the thoughts became too heavy for her.
Jiao-Long watched her closely without her noticing it. There she was, older of course after all those years, but still the same. He hadn't seen her once since the separation; it was only the Shadow Warriors who entered the Dragon City and himself as the leader stayed at his mountain to lay the new plans.
He had waited patiently for her to return and finally she was here. She was just like he remembered her; powerful, strong, dangerous, always arguing with him for then finally saying that he was right. Nothing new under the sun.
After some time, Mei-Hua looked up from her paws. If you looked closely you could see that they were wet of tears. Though, her face was not sad; more like a thing between weak happiness and determination. "So this is where you have been hiding?" She asked, her eyes glancing around in the room.
"You have already revealed yourself." Jiao-Long said, causing a frown on Mei-Hua's face. "If you didn't know where I was then you wouldn't be here now." Mei-Hua didn't say anything so he had to ask her a question. "So why first coming here now? Why not tell your servants that call themselves 'masters' that I was here?"
But Mei-Hua only answered with another question. "You knew where I was. Why not gathering all your warriors and attack me instead of your little distractions?"
"It is not you I am fighting against."
Mei-Hua widened her eyes. "Would you then please explain why you have been attacking my palace? Was it just for fun? Did the mountain become too boring?" She snarled, poison in every word.
"After what I know then you aren't the one who takes the decisions in the Dragon Palace." Jiao-Long made sure that he put extra weight on the word.
But his sentence only made Mei-Hua's mood worse. A growl escaped her throat, telling him that he had said the wrong thing. "How dare you?" She hissed, eyes daggering him.
Jiao-Long leaned back in his chair, his face amused.
"How dare you imply that I am not the one with the power?" Mei-Hua hissed again.
"So it was your own choice when you abandoned you daughter?"
The female tiger immediately fell quiet. She looked at him as if she had never seen him before. Like he was a stranger. Finally, she managed to get a hoarse whisper out. "That… That wasn't a choice." She did her best to keep her voice steady.
"I see. Then who forced you to do it?" Jiao-Long had her exactly where he wanted, and now she was on the way to reveal herself again. He weakest ghost of a smile appeared; how he loved being right.
"You don't…"
"Was it the same beast who ordered you not to see me again?"
In a flash he was pinned to the wall by the paws of a very furious tiger. "You haven't changed at all! Still no respect for anyone else than yourself!"
To make it all worse, he just laughed. "But that's one of the things of why you love me." His eyes became serious again as he watched her reactions.
First her golden eyes widened, then they turned into slits. "You…"
Jiao-Long gave her a challenging glance, encouraging her to continue. But the only thing he got was a shove on his chest. Mei-Hua walked some meters away from him before stopping, her back against him. "I wasn't the only one who could have done things differently." She said quietly. "We could have talked sooner. We could have found a solution."
"What? Me joining your groups of servants?"
"It's not…" Mei-Hua sighed, before talking again. "It wouldn't have been like that."
"You are their servant, Mei-Hua, and you know it."
"I am not…" She started but was caught off by his lifted eyebrow. "You don't know how powerful they are."
"I have been fighting them in over twenty-five years, and you are saying that I don't know their power? They are controlling you, Mei-Hua. Isn't that a worthy proof of how powerful they are?"
He walked closer to her, and she didn't move. Mei-Hua knew what he wanted and she shook her head. "Jiao-Long, they won't allow it."
"I am not scared of them." He walked even closer, their bodies touched each other.
Mei-Hua met his eyes. "They will kill us." She whispered, telling him the hard truth.
"As I said; I am not scared."
The female tiger sighed and rested her head against his chest. "Twenty-five years is long time." She murmured softly. In over twenty-five years she had been alone. It was twenty-five years since he had left her, taking their daughter with him. In all those years she had told herself that she wasn't able to bring them back, and she had learned to live her lonely life as the Dragon Queen. That was until she met Tigress.
Tigress, the daughter that she had tried to forget, was suddenly living with her. She had needed her, yes; the dragons had told her to bring the young tiger. The other masters in the Dragon Palace had been satisfied, and she was safe. But Tigress was still there. Every day she would see her child, reminding her of the family she could have had. She would see her and Jiao-Long's child, and Tigress would remind her of him. She had her stubbornness, no doubts about that.
But that had been one of those things of why it had ended up wrong. As the Dragon Queen, she was used to that everything happened the way she wanted it. But here was a tiger that wouldn't let anyone control her, much like her father. That had caused her anger, and when anger met anger things could only go wrong. Tigress had left after finding out the truth, that her new master that she feared actually was the mother who had left her.
She had been searching for her, and for each moment her daughter was gone the anger and the worry grew bigger. Tigress was her daughter, and she belonged with her. No one had the right to keep her daughter away from her. And when she wasn't in the Jade Palace, then there was only one place she else could be; with her father. She knew that Tigress wanted to find out more about her past; since the moment when she had met her in the Jade Palace she could see that she would do anything to find out who she was. But the thing that Tigress hadn't known was that the person from her past had been just in front of her.
She had found the missing daughter on her way to Jiao-Long. Tigress had said her final goodbye, telling her that she didn't want her in her life. She understood it; after first leaving her, then scaring her off, she couldn't expect being forgiven. Seeing her daughter leaving, she couldn't resist the urge to see the tiger she had loved. 'Had' was maybe the wrong thing to say. Honestly, she didn't really know her feelings. Since he had left her, she hadn't loved anybody else. She knew that much. But still, she knew it was the wrong thing to see him again. He was the leader of the Shadow Warriors and she was the Dragon Queen. It would just be wrong.
But she had ignored all the warning that her brain had told her, and had knocked on his door. He had opened and he had talked. Nothing had gone wrong. Yet.
Were the feelings she was having now wrong? Should she go now and save both his and her own life? She knew that if anything happened they would come, and they wouldn't hesitate with destroying them. Together they were a threat, and the dragons didn't allow anything that could be a danger for them.
But right now, looking into his deep eyes, the fear disappeared. Didn't she deserve being loved? Didn't she deserve being able to love?
Jiao-Long knew the consequences, and he wasn't scared. He just waited for her to take her decision. Twenty-five years…
And suddenly without thinking, she pressed her lips against his. He returned the kiss, and she didn't pull away. When they finally let go, Mei-Hua's eyes were shining with hope. She was done being a coward, and then they could punish her as much as they want; she didn't care.
"They are coming." She told him mostly just to let him know what would happen. But he didn't seem to care either. In the same moment a furious roar, almost like thunder, made the ground shake. The two tigers were still in each other's arms when the stone began to fall from the ceiling.
Tigress was in her way down of the mountain when the earth started to shake. She had just heard the thunder, but there had been no lightning. As a try to protect herself from falling, she went down on all fours, her claws trying to dig into the frozen earth and rock.
Just as the earth stood still again, Tigress' ears caught a new sound. Turning her head, her eyes widened as she saw big boulders rolling towards her. The rocks must have loosened themselves from a cliff, but Tigress didn't think further about it as she realized that she had to move or she would be killed.
Snapping out of her trance, Tigress started to run as fast as she could. Avoiding the few, little trees that were in her way, her golden eyes searched for an escape. Finally, she spotted a cliff high enough to get her to safety. Jumping, her paws grabbed the edge and she pulled herself up, just as the boulders continued their way under her.
Panting, wide-eyed and with snow covering her fur, Tigress backed away from the edge. Unfortunately, the stone under her paws crumbled, and Tigress found herself falling down in a crack in the cliff. The fall was short, but the sharp edges of the rocks managed to cut her skin and fur. Just as her body met the ground, Tigress felt a pain in her head and her vision became dark.
Tigress found herself in the front of the door that led to her father's house. But something was wrong. Where the door should have been there was instead a bunch of rocks, making it impossible to come inside. Everything was silent and Tigress got the feeling that it was worse inside than outside. Her father…
Before Tigress could do anything the furious roar sounded again. But this time the tiger could see who the sound belonged to. A long serpentine creature was crawling down of the mountain towards her. Its four legs were equipped with sharp claws and as it sneered, Tigress could see its fangs.
"Peoples says that they are living in another world, but sometimes they visit ours, but only when it necessary." Enlai's words were like an echo as Tigress realized that the creature was a dragon. To be more precisely; a furious-looking dragon.
Just as the dragon leaped towards her, Tigress turned her back to it as a try to protect herself from its claws. Before her world turned black she felt a hot pain on her shoulder.
Tigress opened her eyes, but could only see darkness. After some seconds she understood that it was night, and that she was lying on some rocks after the fall from the cliff. Her head was pounding after its meeting with a rock, but she could handle it. Tigress slowly stood up, but fell back on her knees as she felt a sharp pain. Eyes widened, she touched her left shoulder, and when she brought her paw back in front of her face she could see that her palm was covered in blood.
A/N: Finally done! This had been the hardest chapter to write! I wanted to show you a new side of my OCs, but I didn't want them to be out of their character… Hope, I did it well. Oh, and if you are confused about what happened in the end of the chapter, then I can say that you will get an explanation in the next chaps.