Chapter 6: Confrontations
Shifu's POV:
"Inner peace... Inner peace... Inner..." I was in the sanctuary at the Jade Palace, trying to do my meditating but I found it hard with some noises in the background. My ear twitched at the noise. I turned around, starting to get annoyed.
"Would whoever is making that flapping sound quiet down?!" I shouted. I tried to go back to my meditation but was interrupted by the sound again. I turned around again to notice Zeng the messenger in front of me. I was relieved to see him, but my relief was short-lived with the news he was about to deliver to me.
"Oh, Zeng. Excellent. I could use some good news right now." I said. Zeng had a nervous look on his face. When he revealed to me that Tai Lung had escaped prison, I immediately ran to Oogway. I feared for my daughter's safety knowing she would be the one in danger because Tai Lung would target her. That's why I had tried to push her away from the Jade Palace. To keep her safe.
"Master! Master!" I cried as I ran up to him.
"Hmm?" Oogway said, turning his attention to me.
I stopped to catch my breath for a minute before I started speaking again. "I have... It's... It's very bad news."
"Ah, Shifu. There is just news. There is no good or bad." Oogway said.
"Master, your vision. Your vision was right. Tai Lung has broken out of prison. He's on his way." I said frantically. Oogway's expression went from peaceful to worried.
"That is bad news..." Oogway said. "If you do not believe that the Dragon Warriors can stop him."
"The Panda? My daughter? Master, that Panda is not the Dragon Warrior. He wasn't meant to be here! It was an accident! And I forbid Lana to fight Tai Lung! It is too dangerous for her!" I shouted.
"There are no accidents. And trust Lana. She seems strong and independent." Oogway said.
I sighed heavily. "Yes, I know. You've said that already. Twice." I said.
"Well, that was no accident, either," Oogway said. I twitched my head in annoyance. "My old friend, the panda, and Lana will never fulfill their destiny, nor yours, until you let go of the illusion of control."
"Illusion?" I said, confused.
"Yes. Look at this tree, Shifu." Oogway said. I turned my attention to the tree he pointed to. "I cannot make it blossom when it suits me, nor make it bear fruit before its time."
"But there are things we can control," I said, hitting the tree to make the fruit fall. "I can control when the fruit will fall," I grunted when one hit my head. I picked up a fruit next to me. I jumped up and kicked it, then planted the seed on the ground. "And I can control... where to plant the seed. That is no illusion, Master." I said.
"Ah, yes. But no matter what you do that seed will grow to be a peach tree. You may wish for an apple or an orange, but you will get a peach." Oogway said.
"But a peach cannot defeat Tai Lung!" I yelled.
"Maybe it can. If you are willing to guide it. To nurture it. To believe in it." Oogway said.
"But how? How? I need your help, Master." I begged him. I had fear in my eyes as I was begging for my master's help.
"No, you just need to believe. Promise me, Shifu. Promise me you will believe." Oogway said. I could see the pain in his eyes. My expression softened a bit.
"I will try," I promised him.
"Good," Oogway said and smiled. Flower petals gathered around Oogway. "My time has come. You must continue your journey without me."
Oogway gives me his staff. I accepted his gift. But my expression turned to worry when more petals gathered around him.
"What are you...? Wait! Master!" I cried. I began to panic while I watched him disappear into the petals. I don't want him to die. Not now when Tai Lung is on his way here. Oogway spoke his last words to me when he made his final descent.
"You must believe," Oogway said.
"Master!" I cried. I continued to watch him disappear into the petals until he was gone. Oogway has passed on. Realization hit me. I am on my own now. And since I am on my own, I figured now is the best time to tell Lana the truth about her past.
Lana's POV:
I woke up the next day feeling on edge. My anxiety has reached its peak ever since Tigress told me the truth about my past and Tai Lung. I tried to hide my anxiety, but my dad had noticed.
"Lana, are you okay?" Po asked me.
"Yeah Dad, I'm fine," I said, giving him a fake smile. Po didn't seem convinced. I debated on whether or not I should tell the rest of the Five and Po what Tigress had told me. I wondered if the rest of the Five knew about it too. Later that night I sat down with the Five, sitting next to Tigress and Money. Po was in the kitchen making dinner. I tuned out most of their conversations, watching videos on my iPad.
I was watching some YouTubers called the Spy ninjas. They are my favorite because they do kung fu fighting. Their mission was to take down a group of hackers to save YouTube before the leader destroyed it. I was really engaged with the videos. It was good for me because I needed something to distract me since I had been having high anxiety all day since Tigress told me the truth. It was a lot to take in.
A while into their conversation, I didn't realize they were trying to get my attention when Tigress nudged my shoulder.
"Huh?" I said, taking off my headphones.
"Lana, are you okay? You've been really quiet lately." Viper said.
"I'm fine," I said. I was a little bit annoyed that people kept asking me if I was okay. This was like the 100th time someone had asked me this question. I don't need people babying me every second of the day. Like Po, everyone else didn't seem convinced. Tigress looked at me with a serious look on her face, then she turned her attention back to the rest of the Five.
I figured if everyone else is going to keep pushing me to tell them, then I guess I should tell them what I had learned about my past.
"I... I know about my past. And how you adopted me, Dad." I said, looking at Po. Po had a concerned look on his face.
"You know?" Po asked me.
"Yes. Why didn't you tell me?" I asked.
"Because... I didn't want you to spend the rest of your life worrying. And our dad told me not to tell you, too. I just wanted you to be happy." Po said. I was disappointed but I can't be mad at him because he and Mr. Ping spent most of their life caring for me. But I am really mad at Shifu because he didn't bother to take care of me when Tai Lung was dangerous. He just abandoned me. And didn't bother to tell me the truth. I had to hear it from my sister instead of him.
"I guess I understand, Dad. But I'm angry at Shifu for abandoning me." I said. Tigress just sighed.
"He didn't abandon you, Lana. He just wanted what's best for you." Tigress said. I didn't believe her. I had to confront Shifu about this.
"I don't care!" I shouted, slamming my hands on the table which startled some people. Tigress put her hand on my shoulder. I looked at everyone.
"Did you guys know about this too?" I asked.
"Well, we know some of it, but we don't exactly know the whole thing," Viper said.
"Yeah, and Shifu doesn't want us to talk about Tai Lung, so we had to keep some of it to ourselves," Crane said. I sighed. I knew I had to confront Shifu about my past, but I don't know when. The silence was broken when Po broke the silence.
"Don't worry, Lana. I'm sure things will work out. I think you'll feel better when you have something to eat." Po said. Po hands us all bowls of noodles except for Tigress. She had something different.
"Order up! Hope you like it." Po said, handing the plates to us. I, along with the rest of the Five begin eating dinner. Mantis was the first to take his bite.
"This is really good!" Mantis said.
"No, come on. Try my dad's Secret Ingredient Soup. He actually knows the secret ingredient." Po said.
"What are you talking about this is amazing!" Viper said.
"Wow, you're a good cook," Crane said.
"I wish my mouth was bigger. Tigress, you've got to try this." Mantis said. Tigress didn't seem too interested though.
"It is amazing that the Dragon Warrior can survive for months on nothing but the dew of a single ginkgo leaf and the energy of the universe," Tigress said while taking a bite of her food.
"I guess my body doesn't know it's the Dragon Warrior yet. I'm gonna need a lot more than dew and universe juice." Po said. Po takes a sip of the news. I snorted a laugh when I saw a piece of noodle stuck on his face. Everyone else laughed too.
"What?" Po said, looking at us.
"Oh, nothing," I said and smiled.
"Master Shifu," Mantis said. Everyone laughed again. Po stands up and starts imitating Shifu.
"You'll never be the Dragon Warrior unless you lose 500 pounds and brush your teeth," Po said as he made hand gestures. I continued to laugh with everyone.
"What is that noise you're making? Laughter? I've never heard of it! Work hard Panda and Lana, and maybe someday you will have ears like me." Po said. Po grabs two bowls and pretends to have ears like Shifu.
"That's good," Po said. We stop laughing when we saw Master Shifu standing at the door behind Po.
"Um, Dad?" I said. Po didn't seem to hear me and continued imitating Shifu.
"Ears? It's not working for you. I thought they were pretty good." Po said.
"It's Shifu!" Monkey tried to warn him, but Po still wouldn't listen.
"Of course! What do you think I'm doing?" Po said. Crane's mouth dropped open. Honestly, I wasn't too happy to see Shifu right now. Po's eyes widened when he realized Master Shifu was behind him.
"Ooh! Master Shifu!" Po cried. Po at the noodle and stuck the bowls to his chest. I kept laughing with my friends, not caring that Shifu was right in front of us. Shifu was angry and begins scolding us.
"You think this is funny? Tai Lung has escaped and you're acting like children!" Shifu yelled.
"What?" Po said.
"He is coming for the Dragon Scroll, he has a target painted on Lana's back! and you are the only one who can stop him." Shifu said, pointing to Po. The bowls fell off of Po's chest.
"And here I am, saying you got no sense of humor. I'm gonna stop Tai Lung." Po stops when he realizes he actually has to face Tai Lung. I realized I had to face Tai Lung too since I am the Dragon Warrior too. "What? You're serious? And I have to... Master Oogway will stop him, he did it before he'll do it again."
"Oogway cannot! Not anymore." Shifu said sadly while looking down at his staff. Everyone gasped. Was Shifu saying that Oogway had died? I can't believe it...
"Wait, are you saying that Oogway died?" I asked.
"Yes. Our only hope is the Dragon Warriors." Shifu said.
"The Panda? And Lana?" Tigress said, a bit annoyed.
"Yes, the Panda! I don't know about Lana." Shifu said. I slammed my fist angrily on the table.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?! Oogway chose me and Po, didn't he?! So it's our job to stop him!" I yelled. Tigress stood up from her chair, pushing the table.
"Master, let us stop Tai Lung. This is what you've trained us for!" Tigress shouted. I tapped my finger impatiently on the table.
"No! It is not your destiny to defeat Tai Lung, it is his!" Shifu yelled, pointing to Po but Po was gone.
"Where did he go?" Shifu said. Are you fucking kidding me? How could he leave me at a time like this? I stood up from my chair and stormed out of the room. I ran after Po, trying to stop him. Shifu was faster than Po so he quickly jumped in front of him before we could go any further.
"You two cannot leave! A real warrior never quits." Shifu said.
"Watch me," Po said. Po made another attempt to leave. Shifu stopped him.
"Dad, I get that you're scared. I am too but you can't just leave." I said. Po sighed and looked at Shifu.
"Come on! How is Lana and I supposed to beat Tai Lung? I can't even beat you to the stairs." Po said.
"You and maybe Lana will beat him because you guys are the Dragon Warriors!" Shifu shouted as he poked Po with his stick.
"Ow! You don't believe that! Oh!" Po shouted. Po yelled in pain when Shifu poked him again. I kept glaring at Shifu. "You never believed that!" Po said. Shifu smacks Po's face with the stick.
"From the moment Lana and I got here, you've been trying to get rid of us!" Po yelled.
"Yes, I was! But now I ask you two to trust in your master as I have come to trust in mine." Shifu said. I couldn't help but laugh at his words.
"TRUST YOU? Do you really think I would trust you after all the secrets you have kept from me?" I shouted.
"What are you talking about?" Shifu demanded.
"You kept a secret from me. A big one. You took me in as a baby. Tai Lung attacked me when he was rejected the Dragon Scroll. And then you just abandoned me." I said angrily.
"I did what I had to do to keep you safe! I couldn't lose you like I lost Tai Lung. That's why I kept trying to push you away. Just please, trust me on this as your master." Shifu said.
"You're no master to me." I spat.
"Lana's right. You're not our master. And I'm not the Dragon Warrior." Po said.
"Then why didn't you guys quit?! You guys knew I was trying to get rid of you, yet you guys stayed!" Shifu yelled.
"Yeah, we stayed. We stayed because every time you threw a brick at our head, or said I smelled, it hurt! But it could never hurt more than every day of my life just being me. We stayed because it thought if anyone could change us... could make us... not us... it was you. The greatest kung fu master in all of China." Po said.
"But I can change you guys! I can turn you guys into the Dragon Warrior. And I will!" Shifu shouted.
"Come on! Tai Lung is on his way here right now. Even if it takes him a hundred years to get here, how are you... gonna change this into the Dragon Warrior? How?" Po demanded. I stayed silent and let Po do the talking after I confronted Shifu because I did not trust Shifu right now. I know I said that before, but it's true. Shifu stayed silent too.
"How... How?!" Po yelled, growing impatient.
"I don't know!" Shifu yelled. Shifu's expression softened. "I don't know." He said quietly.
"That's what I thought," Po said angrily. When Shifu walked away, I began to cry. Not because of the argument but because everything has been overwhelming for me. Po pulled me into a hug as I continued sobbing into his fur. Po wrapped his arms around me.
"It's okay, Lana. Everything's going to be okay." Po assured me. Po took my hand. "Come on, let's go back inside."
I wiped some tears from my eyes and started following Po. Something caught my attention. I turned my head to see Tigress standing on top of the roof. I walked away from Po and followed her. I climbed up the roof where she was.
"Tigress? What are you doing?" I asked.
"I'm gonna stop Tai Lung." She answered.
"Well, I'm coming with you," I said.
Tigress sighed. "Fine. But stay close to me and don't tell anyone." Tigress said firmly. I nodded.
Without hesitation, I followed her, leaping up into the air.
Tigress and I were going to stop Tai Lung before he could get to the Dragon Scroll. We landed on a building. I stopped when she stopped. Tigress looked at the Jade Palace that was behind her.
"This is what you trained me for," Tigress said. I followed after her when Tigress started running again. We leaped from building to building. I turned my head when I thought I heard some movements behind me. I was shocked when I saw the rest of the Five behind me.
"Tigress! Lana!" Viper shouted from behind.
"Viper?" I called.
"Don't try and stop us!" Tigress shouted.
"We're not trying to stop you!" Viper said.
"What?" Tigress said.
"We're coming with you!" Viper said. Tigress and I looked at Viper then the rest of the Five. Monkey gave us a thumbs up. I know my dad is going to be worried, but I have to do this. For the Vally and for myself. With the Five by my side, we leaped into the moonlight and continued our journey.
A/N:
Hello Readers!
Sorry I was absent from this story for a while, I'm doing a reboot for my Harry Potter fanfiction, so I wanted to work on that for a bit and also I've been busy. Anyways I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and please leave a review. Thank you everyone who left a review in my previous chapter. I'm planning on posting the next chapter sometime next week so stay tuned for the next chapter!
That's all for now, have a good day everyone.
- Rosebuds722