Tigress' Deep Memory
Chapter Prologue
Beginning of the Valley of Echo
Years ago, to the past
The Valley of Echo…
Flames are seen certain area in the village called "The Valley of Echo", with mountains surrounding the village that cause the echo, giving its name. Crates and baskets, between alley ways, are also in flames to the fire on the houses, burning whatever inside as well. Soon, tons of wolves and gorillas are rambling through the valley, causing chaos or searching from the order they were ordered by their leader.
The several wolves are searching through not burnt houses, luring villagers out fast who were struggling to escape with their belongings. Half of the gorillas frightened the villagers to the corner while the other are seen destroying the shops and houses to lure out who they are searching for. The villagers cried seeing their homes are being destroyed before their eyes, along with the children witnessing it, too.
A single window creek opened so quietly and slowly to see the wolves search the house couple down from where it is. Two white tigers, a male and a female are seen observing the chaos, not affected to the chaos itself and villains out there. They knew they are looking for them and who sent them to search for them and causing the destruction in the village.
A enlarge basket, large enough to put a size of an infant inside, found with ropes tied to be wear on the back and a cloth sealing the opening by the entry of the room. The two tigers headed to the window to the back with the basket in the paw of the male's. The window opened widely for them to jump, landing male with the basket and the female with graceful prose as they gave a so silence thump.
The basket, however, gave a gasp, causing the two to glance over, listening to a small cry with a meow. The cloth began to be remove to whoever inside, wanting to see what is going on and to escape the darkness and cramp inside. The male chuckled shaking his head while the female walked over to open and peek inside a smile on her face.
"Quiet, little one. You need to stay silence." She told the infant giving a small and gentle scratch before retracting and sealing the open once again.
The two white tigers peaked for any wolves or gorillas before running to the forest outside of the valley, the Forest of Sight. They avoided the wolves and gorillas, but pitied the villagers who have been caught, but not so successfully as they were easily spotted by the leader who they are mainly trying to avoid. They have entered the Forest of Sight, seeing endless and beautiful scene of the forest with so many bamboos everywhere, increasing their speeds to run even faster to get out the forest to not be spotted.
The clouds started to emerge, darkening in the sky, with thunderstorms are heard in the distance. The infant can hear the thunder, peaking through the small hole to see the forest has gone dark to the cloud. The rain hasn't started yet, but the lightnings has flashes every five seconds or so, lighting the forest to see their surroundings.
What the infant couldn't see, the two white tigers sensed a dark chi and turned their heads to widen in shock and stop sliding on the ground. They span around in the slide to come face to face a dark figure in the distance from them, like twenty meters. In the darkness, there's no telling of the clothing, just has appearance of a tiger, but the flashes from the lightning, the figure is the male south China tiger.
His eyes glowed of dark amber eyes that are full of rages and betrayal toward the two white tigers who just expressed rages and fears in their eyes. They have a glare down, refusing to make a move till one did, which the male passed the basket to the female, which both didn't leave their sights off him. The south China tiger noticed the basket, building more rages within, as he roared unsheathing his claws before charging toward them.
The male slid in front the female and charged forward, colliding with him and the thunder bang in the background. The female took this chance to escape with the basket when she stopped to see the south China tiger suddenly in front of her. The male was on the ground after he was kicked colliding to the tree to knock the air out of him. She fought him while protecting the basket from being reached, blocking and evading punches and kicks.
The male has regained his breathe and joined in the fight, assisting to hold off the fight till she can escaped out the forest with basket. The south China tiger noticed this is getting no where for him to get to the basket and the two, the siblings they are to him, are in his way. He gathered all this strength and chi to punch the male to his left and knock the basket out the female's grasp, sending her to his right with a round kick.
The basket floated in the air before falling back to earth to be slashed in half. Both siblings slid on the ground to stop themselves then looked widening their eyes to have their fear granted right before their eyes. Just as both end of the basket hit the ground, the south China tiger held an infant cub, same specie as him, in his paw, examining it with his own eyes.
The rain has begun to pour, making the ground wet and muddy and little over filling the streams nearby. The cub looked exactly like him, same fur, eyes, and figures, just has one different… the cub is a female. She cried wiggling around in the paw she doesn't know while feeling uncomfortable to his grip on her fur. She looked up and stared into his eyes, uncertain what is going on or why he has rages in his eyes. He noticed she isn't showing fear toward him, despite all children he came across showed fears to him and his eyes.
"Don' you dare hurt her!" The female white tiger shouted warning the south China tiger not to harm the cub, showing she is the mother to the cub.
The cub heard her mother's voice and looked around to end up finding her, calling out with joys to see her and a wave of her paws. The south China tiger growled glaring darky, which she turned to him to stare for a moment before she glared growling back exactly like him. Both white tigers gasped in fear for what she did, not realizing what she is doing, challenging the tiger who she didn't know who he is to her.
The two leaped in throwing punches and kicks to be block and deflect so easily. The rage is giving him strength, so much that he sent them flying again, opposite to each other once more. He gripped his right paw on the cub's fur, who flinched to the pain with loud squeaky growls. She lifted hear head glaring to him gripping her too tight, feeling rage for the first time that she raised her left paw and stroke him with no hesitation.
Both white tigers widened their eyes, couldn't believe that she will strike him with no fear in her, hearing the roar of pain becoming from him. The south China tiger stumbled around, still holding her, as he covered his right eye growling in pain with little blood between his fingers. He removed his paw to reveal four lines, luckily it didn't blind hi eyes, just enrage to the point of killing the infant.
The cub gave her own roar, curling into a ball with her claws reflexing in and out while challenging him. The two white tigers predicted something bad is going to happen and rushed forward with little luck they have to save the cub. The south China tiger noticed his blood on her claws then glared back to raise his own claws in the air, leaving the two siblings to widen their eyes to witness they are too late save her.
They heard the cub's roar of pain, echoing in the Forest of Sight, which reached to two grandmasters who have increased their speeds. The cub curled into a ball, but shaking to the pain just as blood is pouring from her side. Her blood is seen on the tiger who showed no mercy and hesitate to kill children, still holding her in his paw that fill his enjoyment inside of him.
The male white tiger panted quietly filling the shock to rage, clutching his paws that his knuckles slowly crack in the air. The female white tiger gasped covering her mouth that the south China tiger will harm the cub for challenging him, his own daughter. The brother roared grabbing his attention, forgetting about the two siblings, to be tackle muddy ground, releasing his grip on her to end up letting her go.
The female caught her daughter before she could hit the ground, later wrapping a very long cloth around her body to stop the bleeding. She listened to her cries, how painful of the impact of being catch and wrap around her wound. She held her close to her chest so gentle as she looked up watching the bloody and vicious battle before her eyes.
Her brother fought without holding his restrict on his strength, now afraid of killing the tiger who harmed his niece. Tears poured down her eyes, knowing his holding him back so he can give her enough time to escape with her daughter. She made a run through the forest, knowing her brother will still be alive and return to her once she is out the forest.
The female saw she is almost out the forest when she stopped to be reunited with her master and fellow student. Oogway and Shifu stood before her looking surprise to see her when they heard a familiar roar behind her. They turned to the roar for a moment then back to each other, discussing the solution with her and her brother and the valley at the mountains.
Shifu then noticed the cub in her arms, couldn't believe he is meeting her daughter, but turned to be injured in their first meeting. The female told what the south China tiger has done, clutching her unconscious daughter in her arms more. Oogway nodded understanding the solution, telling her to go right now so she has a chance to escape with her daughter.
The female nodded and took off leaving Oogway and Shifu to head where her brother is. She has arrived to the road, outside the forest, but sensed the dark chi in the air, knowing he is almost near. Doesn't know what to do, she saw two familiar geese escaping the chaos in the valley with their belonging and wagon. She stopped and asked them for assistance, taking her daughter with them to whatever valley they are heading to. She wanted them to seek a healer to treat her daughter's wound as quickly as possible.
The couple turned to the cub and saw the bloods slipping through the surface just a bit. They nodded agreeing to help, seeing a long relief in her eyes. They were also told when they saw she is completely healed, she wanted them to take her to any orphanage to keep her hidden as long as possible. She doesn't want to endanger them anymore what is happening in the Valley of Echo.
The rain started pouring harder and blinding the horizon, which you couldn't who is out there or coming their way. The female gently placed the still unconscious cub in the made shift bed in the crate, giving her last and long kiss on the forehead before closing the open with a straw hat. The couple cried seeing the cub will lose her mother after tonight, knowing she will not make it in the end and be reunited again.
The couple lifted the wagon and began pulling as hard they could to escape whatever await in the forest. The female stood where she is, watching them vanishing in the air as she prayed for their safter as well as her daughter survivor and better life. She returned to the battlefield, running through the forest to see they haven't gotten close, which gave her much luck that her cub will be safe.
The south China tiger appeared kicking her on the side as he landed on the muddy ground and her slid stopping few feet away. Both glared and growled with so much hatred and rage toward each other, mostly the female for harming her daughter. He is seen, to the flashes of lightning, covered in injuries head to toes, knowing he will be cover in scar.
"Where… is… she?" The south China tiger asked very slowly and demanded to know where the cub is right now.
The female white tiger growled narrowing her eyes while glaring as she stroked being block and evaded to be chock in the end. She was lifted off the ground, struggling to breathe while trying to escape his grip. He knew she won't reveal where her daughter is but have another reason to end her life… betrayal. He unsheathed his claws out more, going for the killing blow, which she saw and knew she will die knowing she has protected her daughter from her evil father.
The male white tiger, Oogway, and Shifu quickly rushed to where they are, leaving the male to be cover in wounds. They can see them from lightning flashes to only come to dismay of their arriver. They watched the south China tiger stab his right claws deep into the female's chest just as the lightning flashes every five seconds with thunders in the background.
The male white tiger widened his eyes so wide, witnessing the female white tiger… his own sister... death. Just the rages and hatred a building from within, he struck the murderer with a single punch that sent him flying… into three trees… before collapsing to the ground. Her body floated in the air for a moment till she fallen and caught limbing in the arms of her only living family.
The south China tiger struggled to get up, spitting out blood from the punch, when Oogway appeared and quickly chi blocker behind him. The grandmaster watched him fall to the ground unconscious, easily for him and Shifu to take him to prison for his crime. He sighed heavily, so heavy, that he has lost one of his students to the sacrifice to stop a crime.
Oogway turned around watching the male white tiger clutching his sister's body with Shifu comforting him for his lost. Shifu placed his tiny paw on the male's arm who nuzzled his head against her while crying heavily. Knowing this have to be a great sacrifice to stop the evil and protect the weak, he also knew that his niece will be safe for the time being with her father rotting in prison… till his escaped again.
A year has passed, and the male white tiger stood over the grave, on the cliff outside of the Forest of Sight with a coupler of lily flowers on the grave. He just placed them down, remembering how his sister loved this flower when she was alive. He began searching for his niece and those who helped her escaped, promising to his siter that he will find and protect her when she will meet her father in the future.
"I swear to you that I will find her and give all strength and live to protect her when he'll make his escape to seek revenge and rule all over China. I promise." He made his vow just as the wind blew and picked a single pedal off the lily, soaring through the wind wherever it went.
That is the end of the Chapter and wait for Chapter I 'Nightmare Return'.