KUNG FU PANDA: Kung Fu White Tiger.

Chapter Four: Hows and Vows


Jade Palace: Dining Quarters

When Lotus arrived to the Dining Quarters, Pin was cooking some Secret Ingredient Soup for the Five, three extra bowls waiting for Lotus, Shifu and Oogway, and Pin was telling the Five one of of his tales when he worked at his old restaurant before he started work as the Jade Palace Chef. He smiled when he noticed her in the doorway.

"Ah! Lotus! I knew you'd come! The moment you smelt my Secret Ingredient Soup, you came running, didn't you?" he gushed, turning to fill her bowl. Lotus smirked behind his back.

"Oh, yes Pin. I know the taste of your soup so well, that I came running from the Peach Tree." she said in a mock marveling voice. The others smiled to themselves, but Pin took no notice of the mocking tone. If anything it made him blush even more.

"Here you go!" He handed her a bowl and she sat down. Pretty far from Tiger. She was still a bit conflicted about her current feelings towards him.

"And as I was saying, I was thinking 'you may be the most scariest bandit in Haijin Province, but your nothing but a someone that was too lazy to make a living for yourself, that you resort to crime'." oh boy. He's talking about the time someone wanted to steal some money from his old restaurant before Oogway revealed himself as a costumer and taught him a lesson. The restaurant was a bit damaged, but a job offer that he couldn't refuse made up for that.

"Anyway, I hope you enjoy!"

Monkey smiled, "Don't mind if I do!" then began drinking out of the whole bowl. When he lowered it, the group, minus Tiger, burst into giggles. He looked confused. "What?"

"Oh, nothing." Mantis assures, before smirking, "Master Shifu." he bowed, before he and everyone else started to laugh at the set of noodles on his face that resembled Shifu's mustache. He smirked, getting an idea.

"'You will never be the Dragon Warrior, unless you do a thousand sit ups and brush your teeth.'" he said in his best Shifu impression. The table bursted into little giggles. The only one not laughing were Tiger and Pin. Pin because he wasn't taking well to his noodles being played with in such a way. And Tiger because he was too distracted by Lotus's laughter. It sounded like a harmony of a thousand angels, smooth and silky like buttermilk.

"'What is that noise your making? Laughter? I've never heard of it!'" Monkey exclaimed, still doing his Shifu impression, before grabbing two empty bowls. "'Work hard, students, and maybe someday... you'll have ears like mine!'" he then positioned the bowls on the sides of his head, making very believable ears.

The others began laughing even harder, before they noticed someone behind him and stopped.

"Ears. Not working? I thought they were good." Monkey continued as Shifu stood a second behind him, a steady glare on his face. And something Lotus noticed, he was holding Oogway's staff.

"It's Shifu!" Mantis tried to warn him, but he didn't take notice.

"Yes, it's Shifu, what do you think I'm doing?"

Lotus pointed behind him, and he finally looked around to see him. "Oh, Master Shifu! Uh..." he trailed off, not knowing a good excuse, before he slurped the noodle on his face, holding the bowl against his chest as the others struggled to hold in their laughter. Even Pin couldn't hide his mirth.

"You think this is funny?! Tai Lung has escaped from prison, and you're acting like children!" Shifu yelled in anger, making everyone freeze in their tracks. Tai Lung was free!?

"What?!" Lotus and Tiger said, shocked by what the Red Panda said.

"He is coming for the Dragon Scroll, and you are the only one that can stop him!" he directed to Lotus. The bowls fell off Monkey's chest and onto the floor. Pin dropped his tray of beverages and began cleaning. Lotus dropped her spoon into her soup.

Then Pin started to laugh nervously. "And here I was, Master, thinking you had no sense of humor. Lotus has to stop... Tai Lung..." the goose trailed off as he got a good look at Shifu's face. He was dead serious.

"You're not kidding, are you?"

"I'm afraid not, Pin."

"But Lotus can't fight Tai Lung! He's a savage! He hurt you. What makes you think he won't hurt Lotus? He'll tear her to pieces!" Pin yelled, trying to convince him that it was crazy.

"It's the only way, Pin."

"No it's not. Talk to Oogway! He'll stop Tai Lung! He did it before. He can do it again!"

"Oogway can not! Not anymore." he yelled, before his voice went quiet as he looked at the staff with a sad look. Lotus got up from her seat and looked at him.

"What are you talking about?" Shifu slowly looked up to her, his eyes held a sad look.

"I'm sorry."

Lotus took a few steps back, unwilling to believe what Shifu was saying. She shook her head. He couldn't be... he can't be... She rushed out of the room in break neck speed on her fours. She had to see for herself.

Shifu sighed, "Our only hope is the Dragon Warrior."

Tiger protested, "I don't think that's wise." Shifu immediately grew defensive.

"That is not your decision!"

"Master, please!" Tiger yelled, pushing the table as he stood. He didn't want Lotus to face Tai Lung. Pin was right. Tai Lung had no remorse when he almost killed Shifu and nearly destroyed the Valley. Nothing would stop him from hurting Lotus, maybe even kill her. "Let me fight Tai Lung! This is what you trained me for!"

"No!" Shifu yelled "It is not your destiny to defeat Tai Lung. That destiny is Lotus's! Wither you like it or not!" he then stomped off to find Lotus.

Tiger clenched his fists and roared as he hammered one into the table, breaking it in half.

He can't let Lotus get killed. He just can't.


Lotus

Lotus was looking at all the places Oogway loved to dwell in, but couldn't find him anywhere. The Moon Pool, the Master's Garden, the Peach Tree, nowhere. He really was gone. As much as Lotus wanted to deny it, her grandfather was dead. And he wasn't coming back.

Lotus fell to her knees by the Moon Pool, tears coming to her eyes and falling into the Pool. She still couldn't believe that he was really gone! The one that raised her, guided her, taught her everything she knew! Gone! Just like that! It was like a incredibly horrid dream she couldn't wake up from.

She then heard footsteps coming from behind, followed by the stomp of a piece of wood so familiar, yet different at the same time. She turned to see Shifu, looking like he wanted to comfort her somehow, anyhow, but didn't know how.

Lotus slowly stood up, and went toward the palace doors. Shifu watched after her, confusion plastered on his features.

"What are you doing?"

"Leaving." of course she was leaving. There was not much for her to be here anymore. Her grandfather is gone, Tiger wasn't her friend, at least she didn't think he was anymore, and the Valley of Peace was stuck with a Physician as a Dragon Warrior. And now that her grandfather was gone, she was basically an orphan now. She was alone again. It seemed she was destined to be alone, no matter what circumstance. No family, no friends, not even enemies.

She had just got on the second flight of stairs when Shifu suddenly landed in front of her, making her jump a step back.

"You cannot leave! A real warrior never quits!"

"Good thing I'm not a real warrior then." she snarked, making to go around, but he maneuvered her towards the palace. "See?! How am I supposed to fight Tai Lung when I can't even get down the stairs?"

"You can beat him because you are the Dragon Warrior!" Shifu told her, poking her stomach with Oogway's staff, and she felt angry all over again. Who gave him permission to use her grandfather's staff in such a manner?! Oogway always only used the staff for defense and magical healing and peaceful meditation, never once to physically assault a student or an ally.

"You don't believe that! You never believed that! The moment I was given the title, you've been trying to get rid of me!" she tried to go around him again, but this time, he trip her over onto her back.

"Yes, I was! But now I ask you to trust in your master, as I have come to trust in mine."

Lotus grunted. Was he serious? Now he wants to train her in Kung Fu? Fat chance of that. In fact, he lost his chance a long time ago.

"You're not my master." she told him, gently poking the staff away. No way was she damaging one of Oogway's memory. "And I'm not the Dragon Warrior."

"Then why didn't you quit!? You knew I was trying to let you drop the title, yet you stayed." Shifu said. Inside, he was actually quiet curious. She tried her hand in Kung Fu at least six times, but stopped all together when Tai Lung went bad, she dropped out of training and went to herbs and medicine instead. He always thought of it as laziness or something. But the phrase 'Never Judge a Book by it's Cover' crossed his mind, and he decided to for once listen and try to understand.

"Yeah, I stayed." she groaned as she stood up from the ground, but kept a steady glare on the Red Panda. "Because every time you belittled me, or called my way irresponsible, sure it hurt. But nothing scared me more, then the thought of Kung Fu changing me, and not for the better, for the worse. But I made a promise to try and I did. So I thought, if there was anyone that can change me for the better, it was you. The greatest Kung Fu teacher in all of China."

Shifu was almost shocked to silence. Lotus was afraid of Kung Fu? He supposed it made sense. When great masters like Tai Lung or Fenghuang got exposed to great power, it corrupted them completely for the worst. Shifu tried fixing that by training the Five with only what they needed to know. But Lotus must of noticed something. And it scared her. But if he can train the Five, he could train Lotus.

"I can change you! I can turn you into the Dragon Warrior! And I will!" Lotus laughed sarcastically.

"Come on! Tai Lung is on his way right now! And even if it takes him a thousand years to get here, how are you going to change someone like me, into something like the Dragon Warrior?" she asked, but Shifu didn't know how to answer.

"How?"

He remained silent. He tried coming up with some words that could back him up, but couldn't come up with any.

"How?"

Still no words. He just didn't... he didn't...

"How?!" she yelled, eyes turning golden for a split second.

"I don't know!" he finally yelled, admitting what he truly felt about this. He just didn't know. "I don't know."

Lotus was a little surprised by his response. But found it understandable. After all, how can someone like her, just become the Dragon Warrior in one night?

"I thought so." she whispered rather profoundly, before turning around to the Student Quarters. There's was no way she could actually leave this place. This was her home, and she had nowhere else to go.

The two didn't notice that they were being spied on by a curtain tiger with burnt orange eyes. Tiger was watching the whole exchange, and felt incredibly saddened by Lotus's lack of faith in herself. But he couldn't allow her to get hurt either. Turning away, he took a deep breathe, before leaping into the sky, the full moon turning his silhouette into shadow.

He flipped himself around, preparing to land on one of the villages rooftops, biding his time, before landing, sliding a bit on the roof, before leaping once more, landing gracefully on another roof. Breathing deep, tail flicking, he gazed at the many mountains shrouded with mist. He was certain that was where Tai Lung would emerge from, if someone didn't stop him.

He looked to Jade Palace, before sighing. "Sorry Master. But I made a vow. And nothing you order is going to break it." and then, he took off.

Not noticing some shadows following him.

He barely made it halfway across town, when a voice called out to him. "Tiger!" it was Viper! And the rest of the Five following him! Had they come to try and take him back to the palace? He was not about to let that happen. They kept following her across the roofs and through the buildings railings, but it didn't stop him from running.

"Don't try and stop me!" that wasn't just a warning. It was a threat. He was stronger and trained longer then any of them. He could easily take them all on and win. He flipped over another roof and continued towards the mountains.

"We're not trying to stop you!" Viper yelled, making his original thoughts stop in their tracks. "What?" if they weren't here to change his mind, then why-

"We're coming with you!" Crane told him as he flew beside the viper stylist.

"You think your the only one who doesn't want to see Lotus hurt?" Monkey called, Mantis right after him.

"He's right. If Tai Lung even thinks of hurting her, he as to get through all of us to do it!"

Tiger smiled, as he maneuvered closer to his team. His friends. They were all here and they were all going to face Tai Lung for one purpose. One purpose that seemed reason enough to risk their lives.

"For Lotus." Tiger vowed, and the Five smiled, before leaping into the air, chanting two words.

"FOR LOTUS!"


This chapter seemed a lot longer in my head. Sorry if your a bit disappointed, but I promise to try and do better. And please, if your gonna use criticism, do it gently. I've had enough to last me a life time in my opinion and it's really getting me down.

Hope to see you soon. A little early, but have a nice Easter:)