Chapter Thirteen- Family
After introductions took place, Narrisa and Destiny finally got a good idea of what they were dealing with.
"I swear if I ever see Dai again, I'm gonna toss him in a pot of boiling wax." Narrisa growled.
"Focus." Destiny said. "We're going to need a lot more power than we have."
"What do you mean?" Kiki asked. The flower Kivu had given her was tucked behind her ear.
"Well, to resurrect a mortal is one thing." Destiny said.
"But to resurrect two people and one of them a spirit, that's another." Narrisa frowned.
"So, what can we do?" Daiyu asked.
"We'll need your help." Destiny said, gesturing to Daiyu and Lin. The two dragons exchanged looks and nodded.
"Kiki, stand back." Daiyu ordered. The cheetah cub moved a safe distance away, next to Kivu and Shinjitsu.
"Alright." Narrisa said. "Daiyu, Lin, you must do exactly as I say." The dragons nodded as Narrisa took out a knife and carved a large Yin-Yang symbol in the dirt. Narrisa stood back and inspected her work for a minute before nodding with approval. "Daiyu put Lang on the left side." Daiyu obeyed, placing the large wolf on the side that was supposedly Yin. "Good. Now for the fun part. Lin, Daiyu, trace the lines of the symbol with your fire." Daiyu and Lin did so. Meanwhile, Narrisa and Destiny each stood inside the symbol; Destiny one the Yin side, Narrisa on the Yang. Daiyu and Lin stood with Kivu, Kiki, and Shinjitsu once they were done with the fire. The five of them watched with awe as the flames rose higher and higher while Narrisa and Destiny spoke in what seemed like a combination of African and Chinese. The flames raised to ten feet, twenty feet, thirty, and so on until they were over a hundred feet high. The group stood back to avoid the heat.
Then, there was a howl.
The flames suddenly disappeared, along with the symbol.
Standing beside Destiny was Lang, glowing in his white aura.
Standing beside Narrisa was Shifu, rubbing his sore head.
"It worked!" Kiki breathed.
"Baba!" Lin cried, tackling Shifu. The old red panda managed to keep his footing and held Lin close.
"What in Heaven's name were you thinking?" Shifu scolded "You could've been killed."
"But I'm Yin." Lin said. "Of the Yin-Yang Long."
"I know." Shifu said. He smiled at Kivu. "A friend of mine told me that. But I was still worried."
"It's good to have you back." Daiyu said. Kiki rushed to hug her grandfather.
"Ugh." Narrisa gagged. "Could we stop? I don't know how much more of this lovey-dovey stuff I can take." Everyone laughed.
"So what now?" Kiki asked.
"Well, I suggest we get to the palace and inform everyone that you're not dead." Shinjitsu said. Everyone agreed and the journeyed off. They went around the village to not cause a riot. They arrived at the palace and found Po, Mei, Tai Lung, and the Furious Five training with Chen, Zhan shi, and Yi Fu watching. They immediately stopped and nearly shouted with joy at the sight of their master. They ran to the group and everyone went outside to talk. After the story was told, Po sighed in amazement.
"I can't believe I missed that!" he exclaimed. "Although I doubt being in Dai's mouth was very fun." Lin shivered and made a face.
"Tell me about it." She agreed. "Belch."
"So, what happens now?" Chen asked. Everyone stared at him. "Well….I mean…..Shifu's not the werewolf spirit anymore, so does that mean he's not a werewolf?" Everyone stared at Shifu now. The old master concentrated hard.
Turns out, he did transform. But instead of matching Lang, Shifu was reddish-brown. His eyes were normal again, both being cobalt blue.
"Well, that's good." Tigress said. "I think."
"But what about Lang and the rest of you?" Viper asked. She pointed to Kivu, Shinjitsu, Lang, Destiny, Narrisa, Daiyu, and Lin. "If you're supposed to be like powerful gods, what are you going to do?" Everyone went silent.
"Well, Destiny and I will be going back to our normal lives." Narrisa said. "And that starts with our vacation that Shinjitsu ever so rudely interrupted." The nymph punched Narrisa's arm.
"Shut up."
"What'll you do?" Lin asked the nymph.
"Well, the spell on the house is broken." Shinjitsu said. "I am free to go back to my mother, Nemesis."
"And I have a request for Nemesis." Kivu said. "About marrying her daughter." Shinjitsu blushed, smiling warmly. "And Lang?"
"I will be leaving to be a god in Heaven." Lang said. "As guardian to all werewolves."
"I'll be sure to inform the pack." Zhan shi said.
"What about Daiyu?" Kiki asked. She was sitting in her father's lap, her mother holding her hand.
"The prophecy has been fulfilled." Daiyu said. "Yin and I must go and become the guardians of Heaven."
"So…..you're leaving?" Kiki asked. Daiyu nodded sadly. Kiki broke away from her parents and hugged Daiyu around the neck. "You can't leave." She cried. "I love you." Daiyu nuzzled Kiki gently. Shifu stared at Lin.
"You'll be leaving, too?" he asked.
"I have to." Lin said. "Fate brought us together; it will never tear us apart. I'll watch over you. Always."
"As will I." Daiyu promised Kiki. The little cheetah cub smiled, wiping the tears from her eyes.
And then, they group said their farewells.
Zhan shi, Yi fu, and Chen left to tell the werewolf pack about Lang. Lang thanked Shifu for becoming the Werewolf Spirit and said a tearful goodbye to the red panda. Shifu's eyes were a bit glassy as well. Then, Lang disappeared. Destiny and Narrisa said goodbye to everyone and disappeared in a puff of smoke, Narrisa still complaining about Shinjitsu interfering with their vacation. Shinjitsu apologized to Po for making him witness his parents' murder.
"It's alright." Po assured. "I needed to see it."
Shinjitsu smiled and gave Po an apologetic rose. Kivu received many 'thank yous' for his help. Lin hugged him around the neck, thanking him greatly for saving Shifu's life. Then, the nymph and zebra lovers disappeared to announce their marriage to Shinjitsu's mother. Lin and Daiyu were the last to leave, and their goodbye was the most tearful. Kiki, Tai Lung, and Mei told her they'd miss her dearly. Tai Lung's eyes were glassy from tears he refused to show. Lin said goodbye to everyone, and they all nearly cried.
"Goodbye Tiga…..uh…..Master Tigress." Lin told the tiger master. Tigress scooped up the little dragon and held her close.
"Call me Tiga anytime you want." She said. Lin nuzzled her adoptive mother. Then, she moved on to Shifu. The old master was on the verge of tears. Lin leaped into his arms.
"Do you have to go?" he whispered.
"I'll be watching you." She said softly. "I'll always be with you." Lin nuzzled him and gave him the tiniest dragon kiss. "I love you." Lin reluctantly jumped down and went to her full size, standing next to her sister. The two dragons gave a farewell roar and flew into the sky, disappearing in a flash of light. Shifu stared at the spot that used to occupy the two dragons, a single tear running down his face. He wiped them away when Tigress stood beside them.
"She's still with us." She said. Shifu smiled.
"Yeah." He said.
The rest of the evening was peaceful……sort of.
Po cooked dinner, as usual. Monkey and Mantis cracked jokes to make everyone laugh. Everything went pretty well until Po noticed Shifu not there. Curious, the Dragon Warrior journeyed thru the palace to find his master. He found the old master in the Sacred Hall of Warriors, staring into the Moon Pool. Po smiled and stood next to him.
"What's up?" he asked good-heartedly.
"Not much." Shifu muttered. He still looked sad by Lin leaving. Po sighed.
"You she's with you." Po said.
"Yeah." Shifu said, smiling a little. "But I didn't think I'd hurt this much."
"Can I ask you something?" Po asked. Shifu nodded. "When Shinjitsu showed me my parents getting murdered, my dad told you to raise me. How'd I end up with the goose?"
Shifu chuckled. "I had already messed up with Tai Lung. I knew your father very well, and he even made me your godfather when you were born." Po stared at him with shock. "Tai Lung met you as well; he thought of you as a brother. Your father did want me to raise you and train you. But…..I couldn't. You were such a good kid…..I didn't want you to turn into something like Tai Lung. But Oogway convinced me to keep you. But the werewolves came back, and I had to fight them to get you back. But I lost you." Shifu sighed. "You were in a basket and you fell off a cliff and into the river. I spent months, even a few years, searching for you; hoping….praying….that you were alright. But I never found you. I was completely broken-hearted, and I lived for years with two weights on my shoulders: making Tai Lung a monster, and losing you after I promised to keep you safe. Then, you arrived at the tournament for the Dragon Warrior." Shifu smiled. "I was overjoyed and relieved. I still didn't think you could be the Dragon Warrior, though. Apart from that, I remembered my promise to keep you safe, and I thought for sure you'd die if you fought Tai Lung."
"So, you attempted to kick me out of the palace because one, you didn't believe in me, and two, you were worried about me?" Po rephrased.
"Yep." Shifu said.
Po was shocked silent. "You almost used to Wuxi Finger Hold on me! And you didn't want me dead?!"
Shifu laughed. "You could say that." Po groaned and rolled his eyes. Shifu went back to staring into the Moon Pool. Po smiled softly and took out a scroll.
"You know, I thought you might want this." He said, giving the scroll to Shifu. "Don't be too long; your dinner's getting cold." Po walked off, leaving his master with the scroll. Shifu unrolled it and stared at it.
Inside was a picture of three people. The first was Tigress, standing tall with her arms folded and smiling proudly. The second was Shifu, holding his bamboo flute and smirking. His eyes were multi-colored; one blood red and the other bright blue. The third person was Lin, still a little dragon hatchling. She was draped across Shifu's shoulders, smiling broadly. At the bottom of the picture was, in Lin's scratchy handwriting, the words, Tiga, Baba, and Me. Wo ai ni, Baba. Wo ai ni, Tiga.
Shifu smiled warmly.
"Thank you, Lin." He said. "I love you, too."
A/N: DONE! Hope you all enjoyed! I'll be finishing OC Heroes and Villains next.