"What is going on, Master?" Viper said, concerned as she slithered toward her master. Behind her was the rest of the Furious Five (minus Tigress).
The four warriors waited for an answer but all they could hear was the whistling wind coming from outside. The door of the Hall of Warriors was hanging slightly open as the wind tried to enter.
The red panda sat atop the staff Master Oogway had given him. He seemed to be in deep thought as he did not answer Viper's question.
"Where is the panda?" Master Shifu inquired, suddenly, "And where is Tigress?"
As if rehearsed in advance, a black and white ball of fur rolled into the room at top speed, knocking down the four warriors like a bunch of bowling pins. Master Shifu swiftly moved out of the way and grimaced at the pile of animals at his feet.
"Oh my god! I'm so sorry, guys!" The panda apologized, standing up, "Wait...where's Mantis?"
"Umph eer!" A muffled voice shouted from under the panda's foot.
The Five stood up and Po lifted his foot. The praying mantis quickly jumped out of the way.
Tigress quietly entered the Hall and took her place next to Crane.
Master Shifu sighed and shook his head, looking sternly at his students' curious faces.
"I have received a message from a village not far from here," Master Shifu announced, "A group of bandits have been terrorizing and kidnapping innocent people who decided to travel there. The leader of the village has noticed that a few of them are wolves. She suspects that they are the remainder of Shen's army. However, these bandits are highly trained and even the village's best warriors cannot defeat them. And so, he has asked us to gather information and annihilate them."
"This village known as the Village of Forgotten Souls is about a three-day journey south so you have to leave as soon as possible."
The Five turned away to leave but Po stood there with a smile creeping up his face. Master Shifu's frown deepened.
"What is it, panda?"
Po snapped out of his thoughts but a grin was still on his face.
"We get to save all of China, again! SWEET!"
Master Shifu raised an eyebrow.
"This isn't really-"
But the panda had already ran out of the Hall, shouting for the Five to wait for him. Once he was outside, he tripped over Mantis and-
"OW! OUCH! YAAAAAAAA~"
The panda flew down the stairs and the Five burst out laughing. A small smile appeared on Tigress' face as she and the rest of the Five walked down the stairs.
The tiger sat in the center of the dark room. Her legs were crossed and her hands were clasped on her knees. A faint red glow emitted from her as she meditated.
This was her position for more than a decade.
The woman's clothing was a ragged black gown. Her dark red eyes looked straight ahead as she focused. She did not dare to blink as if, any second now, someone would appear in front of her.
But no one dared to bother her. Not one.
But this moment was different. A young, female tiger dressed in a fine white qipao entered the room, silently. The young tiger sat down behind the elder but the two did not dare to speak.
"Milady..." Said the younger tiger after a few moments of awkward silence.
The bright red aura around the meditating tiger faded and she blinked. A smile crept up her lips and she spoke.
"Dawn...it has been a while..." She said standing up and turning around.
Dawn kept her head down as the tiger stepped toward her. But she felt something try and pull her head. Dawn tried her best to resist. What was this weird feeling?
Despite her efforts, Dawn found herself looking up at the tiger. Dawn's amber eyes filled with sorrow as she saw the evil grin on the young woman's face. Dawn shook the feeling away and grasped a more serious expression.
"You look so much like your father," Said the older tiger, with a teasing smile, as she turned away and walked throughout the room, "It makes me almost miss him."
Dawn growled and the older tiger chuckled. Dawn stood up and followed the woman to the window which was concealed by a pitch black curtain.
"You didn't change one bit," Dawn retorted, "I almost thought you weren't an old woman."
The old tiger chuckled once more as she pulled the curtains apart revealing a very beautiful sunrise. But Dawn closed her eyes and looked away. The houses outside were destroyed and there was nothing but rubble. The sandy streets were empty.
The older tiger frowned.
"No one dared to return after what you did," Dawn explained, harshly, "You were -and still are- a wicked woman."
"Fear is an incredible enemy," The tiger said, turning away from the window to look at Dawn but she was still turned away, "It was what kept me here for so long. It was what kept my own children away. Even Lei didn't-"
"Lei doesn't know you."
"What?" Burning anger was in the tiger's voice but Dawn continued.
"Bao-zhi and I hid her away that night. We ran away from the village and took her to..."
Dawn took that moment to turn toward the other tiger with a mighty grin on her face.
"We took her to an orphanage. But, Bao-zhi found her, two days ago. We found out she has been trained to be a Kung fu master and she was adopted by a red panda known as Master Shifu. Bao-zhi decided to go out and search for her. And so, here I am, telling you all this. Milady...I believe you wanted her all these years. And I was wondering...why?"
The older tiger turned away to look out the window once more. Her eyes were sparkling with joy.
"Tell me, Dawn," The tiger said, "Did you know that only one of my children share a similar power as I do?"
"So..." Dawn raised her eyebrow, still not getting the point, "Lei is...the only child...with...uh..."
The older tiger grinned evilly and Dawn felt a chill go up her spine.
"No..." Dawn thought, "I hope I haven't done something wrong..."
But Dawn couldn't undo all the thing she said and did so she stayed.
"Tell me, Dawn," The older tiger said, "Have you kept contacted with that insane peacock named Shen?"
"No, Milady," Dawn said, "But he and his army have been killed by the Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five, a group of five warriors that I believe Lei is part of. Not all of the army of course but a inordinate amount. The living ones are stuck in Gongmen Prison."
"I believe you should gather them and a few of your most trust worthy men," The older tiger said, "I have a plan...and I hope it ends in victory. If you fail...death will be upon you in a heartbeat."
Dawn cringed but bowed, saying, "Yes, milady." She turned around to walk away but the older tiger stopped her.
"One more thing," The older tiger smiled.
"Yes?"
"Don't call me 'milady'. Call me...mother..."