Kung Fu Panda: The Final Fate
By Mitchicus
Chapter 7: Turned
A/N: Due to Tigerboy101's major co-writing, and the responses from readers (and I mean MAJOR co-writing), I have decided to continue the story until the end. Please enjoy, and review.
Two days later at Pantelis's fortress…..
"How is she responding to the potion?" Pantelis asked.
"Her body is replying very well my lord, and I think she has finally succumbed to the effects," Lord Shen replied. Pantelis grinned with satisfaction at this. "Good, I have plans for that tigress once she has turned."
He sat up from his throne, and then walked over to the middle of the room to Fenghuang, his loyal owl sentry.
"You have done well Feng; that white tiger will not be expecting to see his own wife turn against him." Pantelis stated, pacing slowly back and forth in his throne room, hands behind his back. "But I have to be sure that Mitchicus does not find any means of saving her life, only then will he have no hope."
"Very cunning plan my lord, but what should we do about Mitchicus?" Shen asked him curiously. "He is still a threat to our plans as long as he is alive."
"The white tiger and his army of fools can wait, but for now, we have more important matters to deal with." Pantelis growled.
"But how do we find them?" Shen asked.
"I have no knowledge of their location," Pantelis admitted, "But I believe I know who does….."
Suddenly, Pantelis flung himself around, tossing a dagger straight into a dot on his map, which hung on a wooden wall. "Hattori Hanzo."
Shen gasped at the mention of the name. "You don't mean Hanzo of the Dark Brotherhood?"
"Yes, do you have any complaints about it, peacock?" Pantelis growled, leaning forward towards Shen.
Shen backed away uneasily. "N- No my lord," Lord Shen stammered nervously, "But you are aware of what the Dark Brotherhood is, aren't you?" Shen asked.
Pantelis looked away, glaring at the map on his wall. "Yes I am aware that they are a group of deadly assassins, but the reason I need them is not for allies, but for their leader's knowledge of poison alchemy." Pantelis explained.
"Excuse me?" Shen asked confusingly.
"Their leader is the only person who knows the cure for my potion. And as long as he lives, our operation will be at risk." Pantelis explained. "The white tiger may not know about him now, but they will seek his help later, and will likely succeed."
"Ah I see, but how do you intend to get this recipe from him my lord?" Shen asked again.
"I don't, which is why we are going to assault the Dark brotherhood, right at their own fortress," Pantelis said with a grin.
"Smart plan my lord, but we will have to be careful during this attack. Foot soldiers will not be much against the shadowy group of assassins. I think you would find my cannons much more useful against them." Shen insisted.
"We will discuss the battle plan later," Pantelis interrupted, "But I want to see each and every one of my troops in the courtyard by the time I get back!"
"And where exactly will you be going sir?" Lord Shen called after him as he started toward the dungeon.
"To the dungeon, I need to pay our prisoner a little visit," Pantelis replied.
The Amur leopard walked down the hallway filled with torches until he reached the small stairway leading to the dungeon, blocked by two komodo guards, who moved their pikes out of the way as he continued down the stairs. The groans and moans of his many prisoners filled the air as he continued through the dark, dim tunnel. Pantelis stopped at the cell at the end of the tunnel, taking a peek inside. Tigress was sitting against the wall of her cell, her eyes closed, and her breathing faint.
He chuckled at the sight. "Even the strong of heart cannot resist it."
Pantelis reached toward the door knob slowly. "Should I risk it?" He found himself wondering. Lord Shen had told him that she was showing signs that the potion had taken effect, but had it?
Pantelis finally unlocked all the many different locks on the door, and then slowly opened it. Tigress still laid still, her eyes unopened. He walked into the room casually, until he reached Tigress, crouching down next to her. Pantelis knew that once she awoke, her allegiance would be sworn to him, permanently. But he had other plans for her as well….
He finally found the courage to reach his hand out to stroke her fur.
Suddenly, his neck was grabbed by Tigress, who shot awake, her eyes blazing. But that's when he noticed her eye color had changed; it was now yellow, not amber red as it usually was. His eye went wide with shock as he started to chock. "I command that you release me!" He growled through the chocking grip.
But she continued her hold on his neck. This time, he tried it calmer.
"Let. Me. Go," he commanded slightly softer, but firmly.
Her eyes darted around the room for a moment, as her grip started to soften on his neck until she finally released Pantelis.
"I apologize master," Tigress' said, her voice deeper than usual.
Pantelis grinned with satisfaction, now knowing that she was under his control.
"It is alright my dear, I know that you were just…. Being a little rough," Pantelis lied.
"What are your orders master?" Tigress asked, her yellow eyes gleaming as she stared at him.
He knew that was the eyes of the potion that possessed her, yet he felt that he that she was so harmless…. And so attractive.
"I want you to follow me and stay at my side at all costs. You are now my personal guard. If anyone threatens me or attacks me, then you have permission to end their life, is that clear?" Pantelis told her firmly.
"Yes master, as you wish." Tigress replied with a nod of her head. "I will do anything to satisfy your wishes."
Pantelis' fur lied flat, now realizing that he didn't have to be so firm with her. He knew it was clear that she was his now.
He stroked her fur on her face lightly with one paw admiringly, gazing at her affectionately.
"Such a pretty face," Pantelis said with an evil grin."Thank you master," She replied simply. "You do not need to call me that. We are lovers now, you and I." Pantelis insisted softly. "As you wish, my love," Tigress replied, but with slight affection this time, as she gave him a kiss on the mouth.
Pantelis grinned with satisfaction. He had been waiting a long time for this, the time when Tigress would submit to his affections without struggle.
"Follow me my sweet; we have much to do before we start our conquest of the Jade palace together."
Pantelis gestured for her to follow him, as they started out of the cell together. The two guards blocking the entrance to the fortress readied their swords alarmingly when they noticed Tigress was out of her cell.
"She is on our side now," Pantelis informed them, making them relax, as they stepped aside for them to pass by.
He and Tigress then made their way to the end of the fortress, until he reached the courtyard doors, where Fenghuang, Lord Shen, and his second in command Fernando waited patiently for him.
"Is every able bodied troop in the courtyard as we speak?" Pantelis asked Fernando.
"Yes sir, they are all waiting for you outside," Fernando replied with a grin.
"Very good, follow me," Pantelis ordered.
Two komodo guards opened the doors to the outside, as the five made their way onto the wooden platform. There were thousands of wolf and komodo soldiers cheering wildly below them, all armed to the teeth, and waiting patiently for their leader to speak.
"SILENCE!" He roared above the noise, causing the large crowd of soldiers to go quiet, one group after another. Once they were all quiet, he walked up to the edge of the platform silently.
"Now, listen up you fools! Lord Shen and I have been devising a plan to help with our conquest of China and the Jade Palace, but there is ONE obstacle in the way, The Dark Brotherhood." Pantelis announced aloud, making some uneasy whispers drift around the crowd.
"But we have a new ally to help us deal with them, Master Tigress." Pantelis gestured to the Kun Fu master, as she stepped onto the platform, gazing down at the many soldiers with her yellow eyes. They gasped with shock at the sight, as more uneasy whispers drifted around the area.
"SHUT UP!" Pantelis roared at his soldiers, making a few wolves whimper in fear, as they all fell silent again.
"If you would all stop acting like a bunch of slack jawed cowards, then maybe we would have conquered China by now! Now be quiet, unless you want to spend the rest of your life in my torture chambers!" Pantelis threatened. "Any other complaints?"
Dead silence meant in reply, as he grinned at this. "That's what I thought."
"Now as I was saying, we are attacking the Dark Brotherhood, with Master Tigress, and we are going to do it without any complaints," Pantelis said through gritted teeth firmly, as he picked up on of his wolf soldiers by the scruff of his neck. "Right?" Pantelis leaned in closer to him, as the wolf whimpered, letting out a loud gulp, before nodding swiftly.
Pantelis dropped him back into the crowd at the sight of the nod. "Now get some rest! We attack tonight, at the Full Moon!" He shouted, turning to Fernando with a nod, before disappearing inside in fortress, followed by Tigress.
"You are all dismissed! Get out of here!" Fernando ordered loudly, pointing to the barracks, as the crowd of soldiers started to slowly make their way to their living quarters.
"Fernando! Follow me!" Pantelis ordered firmly, as he started back through the doorway. "We have a few preparations to make for the attack tonight…."
The Jade Palace…..
Po tumbled around on his side in his sleep, leaning on the edge of the bed.
Images flashed through his head, as he heard the distant sound of snarling wolves, watching the black, furry figures rush past him, at an unseen foe. The sounds of blades slashing through skin echoed in his ears, followed by the pained screeches of wolves.
That's when Pantelis appeared on top of a hill coated with blood, his sword pointed towards a large castle in the distance.
"ATTACK!" He roared as a horn sounded behind him, just as thousands of wolves and Komodo warriors charged at the fortress, blades and weapons unsheathed. That's when his view of the scene changed. Po soon found himself looking into a very dark, and black room. He could see many wolves around the room, and a hooded tiger, crawling desperately for a nearby dagger, as blood dripped from his mouth. Pantelis walked toward the figure with his sword, which was dripping with bright red blood, as he picked up the figure from the ground by the neck.
"I will not ask you again, where is Hattori Hanzo?" Pantelis growled, as he readied his sword on the mysterious figure.
He simply spat blood in Pantelis' face, making him flinch with anger.
"I will die before I give up my leader to a scum like you….." He wheezed angrily.
"That can be arranged," Pantelis said with an evil grin, as an orange figure walked into the room, Tigress.
"Do your worst," The figure growled through gritted teeth.
Suddenly, Tigress grabbed him by the neck, and with one swift movement of her paw, his head cracked sideways, as his limp body fell to the ground.
Pantelis turned around to face his group of fellow soldiers. "FIND HIM! Hanzo cannot escape alive!"
That was when Po swiftly sat up from his sleep, gasping frantically for air, as he remembered the horrifying dream he had.
What had it all meant? Was it real?
These were all questions that had, but he knew immediately who he had to tell about it.
Shifu.
Po knew that he must know what to make of it, he usually always did. Morning light streamed in through the window, as Po swiftly sat up from his bed with a stretch. He really didn't want to get up now, but he knew that this was too important and disturbing for him to let it slip his mind.
Po made his way through the front door, as he walked down the wooden hallways until he had reached the kitchen. He didn't catch sight of Shifu, or any of the other masters.
This time, he continued through the Palace until he had reached the training room, instead finding Mitchicus there. He was training on a few armored dummies, delivering swift and brutal blows to them, sending smoke into the air as sweat appeared on his ruffled fur. His shoulders heaved with exhaustion, and the outsides of his eyes were black, because of his lack of sleep. This gave Po a change of plans.
He knew that Mitch had to know about it. Tigress was important to him too. But his eyes were drawn to the white tiger's chest. His vest was not on him as it usually was, and Po saw something very…peculiar…on his back. A red mark, easily visible, despite the fur of the tiger, lay there. But before he could investigate, the tiger turned, nodding to him, and putting his vest back on.
"Hey Mitch," Po said awkwardly, the white tiger giving him his full attention.
"You're up early," He remarked drowsily. "Are you alright Po?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. But I have something to tell you, something that you are going to want to hear," Po started uneasily.
He didn't know how he was going to explain to him what he saw Tigress do in his dreams. He knew Mitch would probably never believe him if he knew….
"What is it?" Mitchicus asked impatiently. He was eager for any news about Tigress, after all, she was his wife.
Po explained the whole story about his dream/vision, about Pantelis attacking the fortress, about Tigress killing an unarmed opponent at his side, and about what Pantelis had been asking for.
"So you are telling me…that my wife is fighting alongside that monster?" Mitchicus growled with anger. "I don't believe a word of it, this can't be true!" His voice was full of pain, and despair, but he knew that Po was right, as he turned away from him.
"I didn't believe it at first either Mitch, but I know what I saw," Po replied gravely.
Mitchicus sat down on the ground, putting his head into his paws briefly. Po sat down beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder to comfort him.
"I want her back just as much as you do, you know that. And we will get her back Mitch I promise!" Po told him, trying to sound confident.
Suddenly, the white tiger sat up from the ground swiftly.
"You're darn right we are," He growled as he started into the palace boldly.
"Where are you going?" Po asked worryingly as he darted beside Mitchicus.
"To talk to Shifu, he has to know about what you saw," Mitch replied firmly.
"C'mon Mitch, we can't be too rash!" Po insisted as he stepped in front of him.
He was starting to regret telling him about the vision in the first place, because now he had gotten him all worked up about Tigress again!
"You just gave me very important news," Mitchicus pointed out as he stormed through Po, "if anyone else needs to know, it is Shifu himself."
They had soon reached the Pool of Sacred Tears, were they found Master Shifu on the ground next to it, meditating. Mitchicus didn't waste a moment to spare, as he approached Shifu swiftly. Shifu' ears twitched at the sound of his presence, while he kept meditating.
"I sense something troubles you Master Mitchicus," Shifu remarked without turning his head.
"Indeed Master, Po has something to tell you," Mitch replied swiftly, glancing to the panda. Po shifted his gaze around the room nervously, trying to figure out how to explain what he had seen.
"Master, I have been having these troubling dreams lately…." Po started uneasily. "But these aren't any ordinary dreams, I think they might be trying to tell me something."
"Really? What makes you sure that they are trying to tell you something?" Shifu asked quietly.
Po sighed with frustration, knowing that he had to get to the point now.
"Because I saw Tigress," Po blurted out, making Shifu immediately open his eyes in surprise. He sat up from the ground quietly, turning his now troubled gaze to both of the masters.
"Tigress? Are you sure?" Shifu asked swiftly.
"Yes master," Po replied bluntly, lowering his head. "But you won't want to hear what she has done," he added gravely.
"What? What did you see her do?" Shifu asked with worry.
Po gazed back up at Shifu, knowing what his Master's reaction would be.
"I saw her kill an unarmed man," Po reluctantly replied. Shifu gazed back at him in disbelief. "What?"
"And I saw her fighting alongside Pantelis," He added.
"Against who?" Shifu demanded.
"I don't know….. I saw this hooded tiger on the ground that Tigress had killed. Pantelis sat by the whole scene while she did this, didn't even try to attack or make a move on her. And her eyes….." Po trailed off, remembering her changed of eye color.
He knew for a fact that her eyes were amber red, not yellow, as he had seen them in his dreams. So could this have meant that Pantelis has done something to her?
"What about her eyes?" Shifu asked impatiently.
"They were yellow," Po replied, "It was like there was some kind of energy coming from them…. Like it wasn't her that was doing it."
It took a minute for Shifu to take everything in, as his eyes darted around the room for a minute, before he finally replied.
"This can only mean one thing," He told them darkly, a grave expression on his face. "Pantelis has done something to twist Tigress' mind. If I know Tigress at all, she would never kill anyone without a good reason, let alone for Pantelis." Shifu insisted firmly.
"So she's brainwashed otherwise?" Po asked with disbelief. "I am afraid so," Shifu replied, looking down at the Pool with grief.
"Well, can't we save her somehow? There has to be a way Master, isn't there?" Mitchicus asked, frantic with concern for his love.
Shifu didn't look up from the pool. "I will do everything I can to find a cure, but until then, all we can do is wait," He said shamefully.
Mitchicus sighed with frustration, his eyes clouded with worry as he lowered his head.
"I am sorry Mitchicus," Shifu told him softly.
But Mitch stormed off in reply, clearly not in the mood for talking anymore.
"Could you please put his mind at ease?" Shifu asked Po, while not taking his eyes off the ground.
"I will do what I can Master," Po replied, bowing with respect, before turning to leave.
Once he was gone, Shifu knelt down beside the Pool with grief. "Oogway, please help us," He whispered to the heavens above him.