A New Servant

Tigress rested comfortably in her bed with her husband, Po. A full quiet year for the married couple was really welcomed. In fact, it was the first time the Valley of Peace was actually peaceful. Crime rates were virtually zero; Monkey and Mantis opened up an organization that carefully took care of the disabled, senior citizens, and the poor; Ulaghai had married Crane and Jia about five weeks before. It was very blissful.

It wasn't heaven, though. For the first month, Tigress kept getting nightmares about Po's death. She would tightly hold on to his hand as if he were about to leave or go. "She's very worried Master," Po would say to the Master about the situation.

"Tell her," He would say for the hundredth time but never getting tired of comforting her, "That I will never go back on my promises. I will protect both of you."

There was also another thing that concerned everyone: Ulaghai's disciples. After Po's talk, they had changed their attitude about the people, but there were still some things that they were...ignorant about. Some of them were too strict or liberal when it came to the Master's intended lifestyle for people. Po, finally said it like this, "The Master does not force his laws upon us but his laws must not be ignored." There were two disciples that especially taught Po about patience. That means they got on his nerve. Gun-Ho and Roho Moto. Roho Moto, or Fiery Rem as Po calls him, is the exact meaning of his name. Roho Moto means 'fire spirit' and this young lion represented that very well. He was always short-tempered and always ready to argue. But he was still teachable, and Po learned that his eager fiery spirit also wanted to learn much about the Master. Gun-Ho had a similar problem but he wasn't as hot-headed as Rem. Gun-Ho needed to learn to stop putting his foot in his mouth. He rarely thought before he spoke or acted. In fact, it was him that asked Ulaghai the question about why Po died at the funeral; the one that made everyone angry at him. Po could relate to Gun-Ho a little more than the other lion followers. These two caused Ulaghai to rub his head in weariness. "These lions make me feel so weak and weary sometimes," He honestly said to Po.

"Then let the Master be your strength," Po encouraged. Po knew the hyena didn't hate the lions. They just tried his and everyone else's patience sometimes.

Other than those small things, Po and Tigress's relationship blossomed and everyone seemed to be blessed by their marriage. Now in their master bedroom having finished from a long day of training (Which they still did on a regular basis), Tigress's eyes drifted to sleep. Suddenly, her eyes popped opened to see a bright light coming from the hall. It seemed to be a ball of light behind the silk panel door. Tigress sat up. She looked over to Po, who was still sound asleep. Instead of waking him up to tell him what was going on, Tigress decided to see what it was herself. She gently got out of bed but realized her strength was gone. She plopped to the floor. It was like her body was made of lead, and she couldn't get up. She struggled to get up from the floor but she couldn't. The ball of light still shone, like it was waiting for her. Tigress looked over. She saw Po's jade staff, took it, and used it to help herself up. As soon as she touched the staff, she felt lighter. In fact, she felt like she was hovering a bit. She looked down to see if she was actually touching the ground and indeed she was. As she walked towards the ball of light, leaning on the staff, the ball of light slowly hovered away from the door and out the barracks. Tigress followed it outside. The ball of light hovered in front of Tigress. As she got closer and closer, the ball shot up into the night sky, disappearing with the stars. "Tigress?"

Tigress looked all around, using the staff as a weapon now. She scanned the area and could see no visible threat. "Tigress?"

"Who's there?" Tigress asked. "Who are you?"

"I am the Master." Tigress turned upward at the night sky. Could she really be hearing the Master? She was skeptical.

"Which Master are you?" Tigress asked.

"I am the Master of Po, of Oogway, of the Universe," The Master replied. Tigress's eyes widened. She instantly fell to the ground and bowed her head.

"What do you want with me?" Tigress asked. Truthfully, she was frightened. This was the Master who brought down Shin-Go, Bol-Lat, healed the sick, raised the dead, and controlled everything in the cosmos. Though it was something she hadn't felt in a while, the fear in her body made her shake tremendously. Even with Po's constant lessons on the Master's love and care, she was still afraid. The Master knew this.

"Do not be afraid, Tigress. I want you to be my servant. Like Po, I will become your strength and when you are weary, I will carry you," The Master said in a voice warmer than Shifu's, warmer than Oogway's, warmer than Po's.

"Why?" Tigress asked. In that one question, there were many questions Tigress was asking the Master. Why would he want her to be his servant? Why not Po? Why didn't the Master ask her earlier? Why now? Why did nearly all the things that happened to Po have to involve her? Why was she so important? The main question she asked was why her? The Master answered.

"From the very beginning you chose to support Po, I was working on your heart. Sometimes you didn't know what I was doing but you trusted me for Po's sake. Other times you trusted in me more than Po did. And I know that you've been searching for a higher purpose than fighting. From the very beginning, I chose you to do this. I had to wait for you before you were ready. It was through Po that I taught you about me. Now you will learn more about me for yourself," The Master said. Tigress breathed in and sighed.

"What is it that you want me to do, Master?" She asked, having complete faith in him.

"Go to the land of Qiángdù, take Roho Moto, Gun-Go, and Monkey with you. I shall tell you what to do from there," The Master said. "Be at peace, Tigress. I will be with you, even to the end of time." With that, Tigress heard silence. She dropped the jade staff. Now she could stand on her own. Picking up the staff again, Tigress went back inside. The sun was rising, and Tigress had a lot to tell the others, especially Ulaghai and Po.

"AWESOME!" Po said so excitedly, Ulaghai's highly sensitive ears winced a bit. "Tigress is finally a servant of the Master just like me!"

"You're not a bit upset?" Tigress asked cautiously.

"Why would I be?" Po asked, still amazed.

"Well, I thought you would be a little upset that the Master picked me and... not you to go to Qiángdù." Po looked shocked.

"You thought I would be jealous? Of course not," Po said, easing Tigress's fears. He gently placed a hand on her cheek. "I love you, Tigress. Anything that's good for you I'm more than willing to do. Even if I don't necessarily have to do it with you." Tigress gave a small smile, but then Po frowned a bit. "I am a little worried that he didn't want me to go with you." Tigress seemed confused.

"Why?"

"Well... it's just that-"

"He wants to make sure you're safe and doesn't think that Roho Moto, Gun-Ho, and Monkey can do the job," Ulaghai said bluntly.

"Ulaghai!" Po exclaimed embarrassed. He looked back to see Tigress smirking and sighed. "Okay, yes, that is true. I'm... worried about your safety. I know that you can handle things for yourself, but I-"

"The same Master that protected you from all those rulers and empires will protect me," Tigress said comfortingly. Po sighed as Tigress kissed him on the cheek. "Hopefully, I'll see you shortly."

"Please be safe," Po practically pleaded. Tigress smiled.

"I'm with the Master. I'm always safe," Tigress replied. With that, she, Monkey, Rem, and Gun-Ho left for Qiángdù. Po looked long at the group as they disappeared down the mountain. He went back inside into his room. Ulaghai knocked on the door.

"May I speak with you?" Ulaghai asked.

"You don't have to be so formal, Ulaghai," Po replied as he sat on the bed.

"I'm concerned with Tigress leading Roho Moto and Gun-Ho," Ulaghai said. Po was confused.

"Why?"

"The culture from which I come from frowns upon woman leaders. Those two may cause Tigress to lose her patience," Ulaghai answered. Po thought about it.

"It did cross my mind as a little strange that the Master choose them to go with her, especially Rem. Even though she's grown out of it, Tigress is still hot-headed from time to time," Po said.

"Do you think she'll be capable of doing this mission?" Ulaghai asked. Before Po could reply, the Master spoke.

"I decide who is capable of doing this mission." Now both the panda and hyena felt ashamed. "Neither of you thought you were ready when you became my servants. Tigress is feeling the same way even though she does not show it. Trust that I will do my work through her."

"Yes, Master," Po and Ulaghai replied. The hyena sighed with a smile.

"Well, this is going to be fun," He joked. Po sighed as well.

Tigress walked over the plains that led to Qiándù. The village was probably bigger than the Valley of Peace village, but there was something off about it. A tall mountain cast a grim shadow over one part of the valley. Surprisingly, the village seemed to be made like this. So the village seemed to be like a crescent trying to avoid the mountain's shadow, which was weird because the part of the village that was under the shadow seemed like a ghost town. Tigress looked over to Monkey with a vague but questioning look. Monkey had the same look. "Teacher," said Rem, respectfully, "Are you sure this is where the Master has sent us?"

"I've heard Ulaghai say he's taken you guys worse places. This should not be a surprise to you," Tigress replied. However, she did share Rem's concerns. As the four descended into the village, it was obvious that they didn't belong there. Eyes from all the people around stared at them. Then, Monkey realized something.

"They're staring at you, Tigress," Monkey stated. Tigress soon realized he was right. The eyes of the village bypassed the two lions and the monkey and gazed right at the tiger. Suddenly, an old goat approached Tigress.

"Why are you here?" He asked bluntly.

"We've been sent by the Master," Tigress replied.

"Which Master?" He asked.

"The Master of Po, of Oogway, of the universe," Tigress answered. This caused the people to murmur. The old goat examined Tigress closely, walking around her. He was trying to find something, but no one knew what. He finally looked her in the eye. He cried out in a loud voice.

"SHE IS CLEAN!" With that, the villagers seemed to go about their day calmly and quietly. "Come with me. I will explain everything." Tigress and the others followed the old goat back to his house. It was a big house for one goat. There seemed to be two of everything. Two beds, two dressers. Something was very off about this place. "I apologize for embarrassing you like that."

"All is forgiven, but why did you examine me?" Tigress asked.

"More importantly, why is everyone so afraid of her?" Monkey asked.

"They're not afraid of her. They don't know if she has the disease," The old goat said.

"What disease?" Gun-Ho asked. The old goat sighed.

"I use to be just a servant of a great man here. A man named Qiang, who use to be the leader of this place. You see, this place used to be filled with tigers," The old goat said. "But, about 20 years ago, a terrible disease swept through our village. It made every tiger go insane. They became...savage." The four sat there in silence. Tigress was the first to stand up.

"I understand what I'm to do here," Tigress said. "Where do you keep them?" The old goat pointed to the mountain's shadow.

"Where the shadow ends is where the gate is."

"Have the people come to the gate," Tigress instructed. The old goat looked at her.

"Why?"

"Everyone will see the power the Master has," Tigress said.

continued...