AN: Wow, last chapter got a much better reception than I'd dared hope for! Thank you guys so much for your kind words! This is the most-reviewed chapter so far!

RenkonNairu: I hope I can come close to that last chapter in the future! I admit I felt like I rushed that chapter out, a lot of the observations I hoped to have brought up in this story I've noticed others picked up on. I wanted to be first to at least point out the Tai/Po parallels.

randomficreader101: I looked for Tai during the credits too (I didn't see him, except in the recreation of his fight with Shifu and the part where the training dummy landed on him, did you?), and I really want to see if they bring him back in a sequel. Obviously he wasn't killed, but that doubt that flickered on his face while Shifu apologised to him really pulled at me. Ha ha, actually, that was a more subtle thing with Mr. Ping... who's to say Oogway didn't find out about the 'secret ingredient' and decide to craft the dragon scroll based off of it? XD Awfully convenient that Mr. Ping just happens to have the answer that the scroll is supposed to represent!

Kelev: Oh darn, I'd hoped it wasn't going to be annoyingly obvious! You're absolutely right, though. This story is definitely an interlocking series of searches.

jlasnoopy: You definitely caught on to what I was doing with Mr. Ping and the secret ingredient/dragon scroll! The poetry was originally just going to be a throwaway gag, but I thought of a way that it could be something more and I'm pretty tickled with the notion that Oogway would hide his memories and observations in plain sight. Just like Po had to think outside the box to get the importance of the Dragon Scroll, Tigress had to be looking at the words from a different angle than she would have earlier in her life to see what all those lines of text really were. After all, literal-minded Shifu didn't catch on! As for Po... we'll catch up to him in a bit.

--

Chapter 16: What Lies Beyond the Surface

Lian slid cautiously down the unfamiliar sparkling hallway, neck craning as she tried to take in everything at once with wide green eyes. So this was the real Jade Palace! Gilded detail work gleamed from the walls, and the jade-inlaid floor practically glowed beneath her. She'd lived on these grounds for almost twelve years, ever since she'd journeyed here to study under the greatest masters of the art of kung fu.. but she'd never been past those huge double doors, covered in coiled dragons and firey clouds.

It seemed like a lifetime ago. It had been a lifetime ago in some ways. She was certainly not the loud, flamboyant creature.. not as much so, anyway; that she had been when she'd amused Master Oogway by rushing forward to the unfamiliar, unknown figure and excitedly asking him if he knew where "that zany old guy who does the kung fu teaching" was.

She'd meant the individual she knew of only in myth and rumor as 'Master Oogway', of course, but had not realised she was addressing the venerable old tortoise himself. Not until she caught sight of a nervous-dispositioned palace goose in bright yellow gaping at her audacity, that is. But the old one had chuckled, and pointed an age-trembled claw at the unamused figure of Master Shifu, advising her that "That's him right over there."

Shifu had glared pointedly, and informed them both that he was not taking on any students, "zany" or otherwise before stiffly limping away to be indignant about it.

Master Shifu hadn't cut a very impressive figure, honestly. She'd heard of him too, of course. The kung fu master who'd trained the monster, the unspeakable creature that only the bravest of the village elders had dared to call "Tai Lung". The master was tainted with the association almost as strongly as the student had been marked for his deeds. None save Oogway spoke to Shifu directly. And he spoke to no one else, if he could get out of it.

Lian had wanted to learn kung fu, wishing to make herself stronger. Wishing to protect herself from the uniquely omnipresent threats that creatures without limbs faced every day. She had desired to be taught by the great master Oogway himself, but as he'd told her as they'd sat on the steps of the magnificent palace, he'd stopped taking on students long ago.

Instead, it seemed that he'd taken up whittling, as he'd been occupied crafting a flute for almost their whole conversation. True to his species, he worked at it slowly but surely, experimentally blowing a few notes now and then and nodding in satisfaction at its' tone. The few notes he produced hung effortlessly in the air like the mist that clung to the mountains in the early-morning sunlight.

Oogway had pointed to Shifu, who was sparring relentlessly with a freestanding training dummy just inside the open door of the training room, and nodded. Lian had watched, intently, as the still-injured red panda battled the inanimate object again and again. It seemed personal somehow, as though the silly thing had somehow betrayed or offended him.

It was an intimidating experience, seeing such a small creature full of so much rage. He over-estimated the amount of weight he could put on his tightly-bandaged leg finally, and instead of delivering a sound roundhouse kick to the dummy, he fell into a heap in the floor with a barely-contained cry of pain.

"I can't learn from him, Master Oogway," she'd reasoned. "He scares me a little."

The aged tortoise had chuckled, and gave her a friendly wink. "Shifu is lost in the pain of his own heart, still. He pushes himself too hard. He expects too much of himself. He's determined to prove the healers wrong, you know. A very messy series of fractures, a very poor job he's let it do mending these past years. And still he's convinced that if he just keeps pushing it hard enough, that he'll be able to force his body back to the point where he once was. It is almost as if he is trying to push back time itself."

Lian watched as the red panda refused the aid of the anxious palace geese, swatting them away. How could someone as wise and apparently good-humored as Master Oogway think that she could learn anything from an embittered, vicious creator of monsters such as this? She turned back to the tortoise in question, and noted the sad but fond look in his eyes as he watched Shifu struggle to stand.

It probably served him right in some ways, she couldn't help but think, to bear a physical sign of the disaster and dishonor that he'd brought upon himself. She shook her head then, pushing the thought away. That was not the way that she had been raised, she would not bear ill will like that. As her mother had often reminded her, ill will was a poison that fouled even the purest vessel. In other words, she would only be harming herself.

And besides, despite his reputation, Master Shifu was still apparently welcome here. At least, if Master Oogway was any indication as he watched and remininsced - whether to her or to himself, she did not know - about his favorite but most stubborn student. She wasn't certain what the old tortoise saw in the angry red panda, but since he did see it, then undoubtably she was missing something.

The ancient kung fu master let out a grunt of familiar annoyance, and arose from where he'd been watching the proceedings with Lian. Leaning on his gnarled peachwood staff, he crossed the yard at a leisurely pace and stood over his apprentice. The smaller animal refused to lift his gaze from where he was staring at his bandaged limb as if he'd almost like nothing better than to cut it and everything it represented off of his person.

"It seems to me, Shifu, that you are having trouble."

The red panda did not answer, in words, but his large, expressive ears sank low on his head in acknowledgement.

The tortoise shook his head, and carefully knelt next to his student. "You know, you are like this instrument, Shifu." He held the piece of bamboo he'd been carving up in front of his face, examining it carefully. "It may appear fragile, and it seems some careless person has damaged it," he ran a claw over the small holes he had carved. "But bamboo is a much stronger material than casual observation might give it credit for."

Shifu did not raise his head as Oogway spoke, opting instead to close his eyes. The tortoise pretended not to notice, and continued presenting his handiwork. And look," he blew a few notes experimentally and smiled at the effect. "While the wood might be damaged, it has taken on new dimension. It still has great strength, but now if it can be taught to rely on wind or breath to fill the void inside itself, it can produce beautiful music."

His student shook his head, despondent. He knew that there was a lesson here, he simply couldn't see the logic in it. "Master.. I can't go on like this. Surely you realize that."

The red panda gave a startled yelp as his teacher rapped him lightly on the head with the bamboo flute, which fell into the startled Shifu's hands.

"Of course I know, Shifu," Oogway agreed, smiling in that mysterious way that he had long ago perfected. His expression held either infinite wisdom or foggy senility, wrapped in a mysterious, knowing grin. "That's why you'll need a walking stick. You are pushing that leg much too hard."

Shifu's expression pulled rapidly back and forth between incredulousness and shock. "Walking...? A walking stick? I thought it was a flute, master?"

Oogway shrugged easily, allowing his head to nod in lazy indifference. "Where did you get that idea? It is only a piece of bamboo, my friend. It can become nothing more unless one's mind allows it to take on aspects of new things. Without the wind to fill it, or a hand to guide it, it is just a hollow piece of wood. It must adapt. It must change, because left to its' own devices now, it will simply fade away."

He paused, looking back down at his student with piercing green eyes that were suddenly bright and clear. "Do you understand, Shifu?"

From her perch on the palace steps, Lian craned her head; attempting to overhear more of the conversation that was taking place just inside the training hall door. She couldn't tell exactly what was happening, but she couldn't fight the feeling that it was somehow tremendously significant. And somehow, it concerned her.

But that made no sense. Master Oogway was just giving Master Shifu a flute!

Wasn't he?

Master Shifu finally got to his feet, aided by the tortoise and the uniquely multitalented walking stick that he had fashioned. His eyes, which still looked clouded with uncertainty, turned towards her, and she found herself holding her breath as the short master of kung fu hobbled back towards her, obviously still heavily favoring one leg. The two of them regarded each other, sizing each other up. Finally, he spoke.

"You wish to learn kung fu." It was a statement, not a question. She bowed her head respectfully.

"Yes."

"Why do you wish to learn?"

"I wish to protect myself, and those around me." He didn't reply, so she found herself expanding on her explanation. Maybe a little joke to break the proverbial ice?

"Life is hard at times when you can't stand up, you know." She hazarded a quick grin at him. He didn't return it.

"I lost my family because I couldn't protect them." A brief but brilliant flash of sorrow seized the snake's face. "To honor their memory, I want to become strong. I cannot bring my mother or my brother back, but if I can save someone else that pain, then maybe.."

She fell silent, feeling foolish.

"You're a..." he stopped himself, then spoke again. "You're barely more than a child."

She looked up at the pensive tone in his voice, feeling newborn hope surging through her blood. They were still discussing it. He hadn't said no yet.

"I'm almost eleven sir, and I've been living on my own for several years now." She raised her head with pride, daring him to challenge her ability to take care of herself. He didn't, he merely squinted at her as though he'd never seen anything like her. Frankly, she doubted he had, either. Her request probably sounded more ridiculous to him than it had to anyone else she'd told it to. And most of them had thought she was crazy.

"I get by. I'd like to do more with my life than just get by, though."

They stared each other down. The prospective student and the reluctant master. Finally, Shifu tightened his grip on the bamboo flute and nodded slightly. "I see. What's your name, then?"

Lian's spring green eyes flashed in triumph. "I'm called Lian, Master."

The red panda favored her with an oddly sharp look, and shook his head. "No, as long as you are my student, you shall be Viper."

And so she had been. And so she was. She paused, taking in her reflection in the shining floor. She had accomplished what she had set out to do, she'd become a truly formidable kung fu master. She'd even helped prod Master Shifu back into teaching again, with Master Oogway's assistance.

She'd wondered many a time in the early, formulative days of her training why Oogway apparently approved of her when the rumor around the palace had it that he'd turned away dozens who had still sought out the Jade Palace even after the disaster that was Tai Lung. At first she'd thought it was somehow in spite of her species, but later she'd come to see that it was because of it.

The difficulty in recreating the basic forms and positions as she was had frustrated her immensely, she even began to wonder if she'd been taken on as a student as a twisted joke. Her effervescent determination had eroded away steadily, and finally one day she'd given up during the middle of a lesson.

"I can't do it, Master! Let's just face facts, there is no way for one such as I to produce that position! It's impossible! I don't have arms to guard with, or legs to carry the stance! This was all a stupid idea!"

Master Shifu glared her frustration down, shouting right back at her. "The exact position is not important! Stop being a slave to the notion that you have to do it perfectly, it is a combination of the form and the effect that gives the move power! Do you think in battle that every move will be scroll-perfect? Do you think that an opponent is going to attack in the exact same pattern that you have practiced?"

His sharp eyes cut into her like a knife as he paced to the middle of the floor. "The form, the fluidity, the function, the flow, they all work together as one. THAT is what gives kung fu power. THAT is what creates its' strength."

He moved into a ready stance himself, and illustrated for her. "Your positioning is key, of course. But the way you carry your weight is to compensate for weakness. Mine compensates for an injury but!" He signalled her to attack, and she obediently sprang forward, lashing out with her tail and feigning a strike with her fangs and whipping back around to try and knock him over.

He effortlessly deflected that blow, and the one after as she coiled back around from behind. He easily drove her back before signalling her to stop, annoyance still apparent in his posture and face.

"But it is still completely effective because it has.." His eyes suddenly raised towards the door, a look of abrupt comprehension dawning on his face. Viper turned her own eyes to the door, just in time to see Master Oogway's back as he retreated from watching them. When she turned back to Shifu, she could see something new in his bright blue eyes.

"You have an entire body full of strength, if you'd simply appreciate the opportunities it gives you instead of bemoaning the chances that it does not, then we both might just accomplish something with your training."

It was then that she understood why Master Oogway had chosen her. Just like her, Shifu had limitations that he was forcing on himself. Not because they actually held him back, but because he was dedicated to a narrow view of how things should work.

"It is not a stupid idea to improve yourself, Viper," he'd told her, and for the first time since she'd arrived at the palace, she'd seen a flicker of genuine compassion in him. She quickly resumed her stance, testing how her coils bore her weight and the stability of her position.

"Let's go again, Master." she prompted, experimentally using her tail to mimick the salute that she'd seen Master Shifu give Master Oogway when they practiced together. She could feel new optimism rushing through her like adrenaline, and suddenly she was certain that this was what she was meant to do. The red panda's expression softened a little, and he'd given her a small, approving nod. The first that she'd seen out of him since they had begun training.

"So be it, Viper."

Lian shook her head, dispelling the memory. Reminiscing wasn't helping her find Master Shifu, nor Tigress or Po. She took another look around the ornate hallway, more focused on her mission now than on appreciating the aesthetics of the setting. The faint sound of motion drew her further down the hallway to her right, and she cautiously slithered forward and peered around the corner.

A series of doors stood impassively waiting for her. The closest of which was standing partially open. Soft mumbling could be heard coming from behind the ajar portal, and Viper eased closer to investigate. She peeked through the opening, and was startled to see that she'd found Lady Tao-hua, apparently in her own room.

The viper-style master lingered awkwardly outside of the door, unsure of what she should do. She shouldn't be here, past the heavy doors to the interior palace, to begin with. She definitely shouldn't be spying, for that matter. But the tanuki's actions were puzzling. She was sorting through items, first taking them out of her baggage, then putting them back in. All the while, she was mumbling softly to herself.

Viper shifted her position slightly, grumbling a bit about her poor view, and accidentally jostled the door. Lady Tao startled at the movement, and something flew through the air. Viper cried out in surprise, dodging deftly to the side before her conscious mind even registered that she was moving.

The door abruptly slammed open, and a wide-eyed Lady Tao stood over her, another hefty scroll clutched tightly in her left hand, and her ever-present laquerware fan held awkwardly before her in her right. Viper noted for the first time the thickness of the metal, and the gleaming edge that shone out where the coating had been scratched away by time and use.

It might not just be a decoration, she found herself thinking as her combat-honed mind analyzed the way Lady Tao held the item before her. The viper-style master could tell from the way the lady gripped the device that she'd practiced with it many times, but only had to try and actually fight with it once or twice. That shaky, overly-tight grip spoke volumes.

They froze like that, staring at each other in shock. Finally, Lian managed a nervous laugh. "Now I know why it's supposed to be bad luck to greet someone in your bedroom.."