The sun was about to set. The light as it lowered into the horizon was of an orangish hue, which reflected on the water of the lake as Tai Lung looked down at it. He saw the ripples on the water as the boat him and the panda were in was towed through the lake all the way in direction to the center.
He felt shivers as he saw those ripples into the water, but he tried to focus on them as not to look up and around and take in that he was on the center of the biggest frigging lake in China, surrounded by water from all sides.
He'd rather look down and try to focus on his own reflection than to look up and remember that there was water all around him while he and the panda shared a relatively small boat, which the people of the village gave them in return to "the panda's" act of heroism.
Completely ignoring how Tai Lung played a part on it...
"You guys sure I don't need to pay for the boat?" Po asked to the villagers as they prepared the boat. "I mean, I have money. Not much, but I have."
"Please, Dragon Warrior." Said Duan, now back into the water as he looked at the panda from there. "This is the very least we can do for the heroism you showed in saving all of us, myself included. I will even tow you and your companion myself to the center of the lake to show my appreciation. It is my honor to do it for such a kind and noble hero."
"Wow... you are too nice." The panda said, blushing as he rubbed the back of his neck.
All the while, Tai Lung was at a certain distance, watching it all with crossed arms.
He watched as the panda was complimented by everyone. As everyone told him what a great hero he was and how they would be giving him a boat, food and even a lift in exchange for nothing just for being a hero.
And those same people would look at him with mistrust and walk away as soon as the leopard came near them.
As if he was an even worse monster than their very leader was less than an hour ago.
That difference on how they treated him and Po was not lost to Tai Lung, and it was enough to make the feline's blood boil as he glared at the panda.
All because he is the one with the Dragon Warrior title. Tai Lung thought bitterly as he looked at the panda. That could be me being praised and admired by all. That should be me. That will be me by the time this is all over.
Tai Lung continued to glare at the panda with bitter eyes, while Po was too busy asking questions about the boat and accepting the kelpie-based food he was being offered, most of which he ate without a second thought.
No wonder he was so fat... and yet it seemed that everything came so easily for that stupid flabby bastard...
"He is not weak."
"What?" Tai Lung turned to look at the person who suddenly talked to him, diverging his attention from the panda. He was greeted with Xu Ya, the manta ray's wife, glaring at him the same way he assumed he was glaring at the fat panda.
"Valuing life is not a weakness." The sow said to the leopard, her expression serious. "And dismissing it is not a strength."
Tai Lung looked at her, and then he sighed.
"Alright, alright, I get it." He said to her, sounding annoyed. "He saved your husband, so he is the hero. I wanted to kill him, so I am the scumbag. You are making your point well. But let me tell you something..."
He walked closer to her. She didn't shy away like everyone else. Not even as he leaned forward and lifted a finger to her.
"If the panda was not around to turn him back to normal, he would have continued to destroy your village until someone came and stopped him." Tai Lung was looking at her dead in the eye as he said that. "So, you have to ask yourself: if someone came and put an end to your husband to save the village, would they be the scumbag, or the hero?"
She said nothing, and only glared back at him.
"Everyone speaks of how the greatest heroes save people, but they forget about the other part of being a hero. The part where the hero has to punish the bad guys." Tai Lung said to her. "Yes, because if no one does it, they will just come back to cause more trouble. So, someone needs to do it. Someone needs to stop those villains and monsters from doing as they please. And, sometimes, the only way to do it is by..."
And Tai Lung passed a finger through his neck.
"You get me?"
Xu Ya looked at him for a few more seconds, before asking:
"Is this what you think being a hero resumes itself to?"
"Well, that's what being a warrior is." Tai Lung said back to her, straightening himself. "To do what has to be done and ending your enemies."
"By 'enemies', you mean anyone who displeases you?"
"Don't give me that, you know what I mean." Tai Lung said to her. "You cannot just be nice to everyone. You need to be firm and do what must be done when the moment asks for it. And that is the kind of thing that requires strength."
"It is not the only kind of strength." Xu Ya was looking at him as she spoke that. "There are other ways of showing strength."
"There may be." The leopard was looking back at her. "But, depending on the situation, a certain type of strength might be the only solution, if you want to save people."
"So, it is all about strength to you?" Xu Ya asked.
"Why wouldn't it be?"
She glared at him, and then scoffed.
"You are a fool."
"Watch it, sow." Tai Lung said to her.
"Or what? Will you use your strength to make me take back my words?" She was defiant as she asked that question. "Will you threaten to hurt me, or actually hurt me until I beg for your forgiveness? Is that how you solve your problems? With your strength?"
She gave a step forward, nearly as if intentionally deifying him.
"Is that how you planned to solve everything had you been made Dragon Warrior?"
"No." Tai Lung said as he glared at her.
"Well, I find it hard to believe, considering how you reacted when you were denied the title."
Tai Lung snarled as he was told that, and the sow, once more, seemed unimpressed.
"And now you bare your fangs hoping to scare me into submission." She spoke. "Intimidation through threat of violence, that seems to be all you are capable of, just like any other lowlife thug."
"You say that a warrior does what it has to do? Well, let me tell you that this might be enough to be a warrior, but when it comes to being a hero, there is much more than that."
Tai Lung looked at her with a raised eyebrow, and she could only look back at him, seeing how he seemed to not even understand what she was trying to say. That was when she decided she was just wasting her time talking to him, and that she should just end this now.
"That panda might not be as much of a warrior as you." She spoke. "But you are nowhere near the hero he is. And we all can only thank all the Immortals that he is the Dragon Warrior and not you."
With that said, the sow turned around and walked away, leaving the leopard to look at her, still gritting his teeth and clenching his fists. However, as he reflected about what she just said, he could not help but lower his head, as he was in deep thought.
"Tai Lung!" Po's voice snapped the leopard back to reality. "They got out boat ready! Duan says that if we go now, we can get there while there's still daylight!"
That was around one hour ago, and the words of the sow still resonated on his head, echoing as he tried to decipher the meaning on what she said.
Was being a warrior really that different from being a hero? But shouldn't both be the same?
Weren't heroes those who fought and defeated the enemies who no one else could? Were they not the ones who brought down evildoers and made sure they never hurt anyone again? Weren't heroes the ones who smashed anyone who threated the order on their territory and threatened those who lived in it?
Wasn't it what being a hero was about? At least, that was what Tai Lung always got from the stories he heard. In that case, only being the strongest of them all should be enough to be the greatest hero of all, worthy of being the Dragon Warrior.
There was more to being a hero?
Tai Lung looked up as he thought about it, and regretted it instantly, as he was reminded of how much water was around him.
He could only look down again, as he tried to force himself to remain focused on something else, like his own breathing, all to avoid thinking about all the water in that lake.
Way more than the water on the one lake back on the Valley of Peace.
And, as fate would have it, that was one of the occasions where Po showed that he was more perceptive than most people, including Tai Lung, gave him credit for. He noticed that Tai Lung was feeling uncomfortable and decided to try and talk to him.
"Hey, Tai Lung?"
"What?" The snow leopard sounded like he had no patience for whatever foolishness Po was even trying to talk with him. However, the panda either didn't notice the veiled "don't talk to me for something stupid" on the feline's voice or didn't minded it too much.
"You okay?"
Tai Lung scoffed, turning his head away and seeming like he was starting to sulk even harder. Po took that as a "no".
"Right." He said, "So, anything I can do to help?"
"You can pass your Dragon Warrior title to me so I can finally fulfil my destiny." Tai Lung spoke with no humor on his voice. Po looked at him, before saying:
"Well, I can do something else if you want."
"What are you even doing?" Tai Lung said to him, turning to look the panda in the eyes. "Why are you even caring if I feel okay or not?"
"Because we are..." Po was about to say "friends", but he realized that Tai Lung himself didn't believed that. So, the panda instead said:
"We are allies in saving the Tien Spring. We are a team. Of course, I will care if a teammate of mine is troubled. I would do the same if it was one of the Five, or if it was one of my students."
"Well, I am neither." Tai Lung was still hostile. "So, you have no reason to worry about me."
"But you really seem troubled with something." Po insisted. "Are you sure there is nothing that I can do to help you? Would you like one of the kelpie snacks? I ate most of them, but there are a few left. Maybe you will feel better if you have something in your stomach. I always feel better after eating-"
"Just because you are a poor fat fool who gets as happy as a little brat when you eat anything doesn't means I am the same." Tai Lung snapped at the panda, caused him to recoil. Tai Lung snarled at him.
"Just look at you. All worried about me as if I have been your friend since forever when I literally tried to kill you in the past." He said, glaring at the panda. "You put your guard down completely right after I saved you. Just like you did back with the spider. You would be a corpse being slurped by her if I had not jumped to save your sorry, fat neck."
Po flinched more with each word that came out of the leopard's mouth, while Tai Lung only continued to glare at him.
"I already knew you were an idiot, panda." The leopard said to him. "But you still manage to surprise me with how much of a gullible fool you are. Maybe it's because you are way too nice. You drop your guard way too easily and just put your trust in other people as if everyone is as kind and childish as you. Maybe that's why you don't have the stomach to do what needs to be done and end your enemies. And I still think you should fix that if you want to have any hope of stopping Jiao Din from getting to the Tien Spring, because if you don't, then the whole world ending will be on you."
Without saying another word or waiting to see if Po had anything to say back to him, Tai Lung turned and walked to the other end of the boat, and he just sat in there and went back to looking at his own reflection on the rippling water, while Po looked back at him, before looking down himself.
He was deep in thought at what the leopard just said to him.
It still sounded insightfully harsh.
"Am..." The panda said, looking at his reflection. "Am I really... too nice?"
"Well, that depends on what 'too nice' means."
Po had not been expecting this answer, and he looked in surprise forward, at the manta who was pulling the boat along.
"Sorry, really couldn't help but overhear." Duan apologized to the panda. "You know, this is a small boat, and you kind of have a loud voice most of the time."
Po said to him it was okay. However, he once more asked Duan if he thought that he was too nice to people, and if Tai Lung was right. The manta chose his words carefully as he spoke next:
"Well, you know, that really is a tricky question. By one side, you did save me instead of killing me, and I am very thankful for that, just like everyone on my village, including my wife."
Po knew that there was a "but" coming ahead.
"By the other, however, there is the fact that, if you could not have changed me back to normal, I would have continued to attack and put everyone on the village in danger. And, if that happened, then I think I would have preferred if you had offed me to save everyone rather than trying to spare me and cost the lives of many people I know and love."
Po looked down as the manta said that to him.
"Now, don't take me wrong. Being nice is not a bad thing, not at all." Duan said, wanting to make sure that the panda was not misunderstanding him. "But, sometimes, you have to know when there is no other option. You need to know when someone before you cannot be saved, and to accept that you will need to do what it must be done to keep them from hurting anyone else. That is part of life, sadly, and, as far as I can tell, it is part of being a warrior."
Po reflected on what Duan said to him.
He then remembered something else, memories of a few days ago.
The memories of the time he fought those bandits and ended up letting them escape. He remembered how he allowed his guard to drop when he was confronted with the possibility of taking the life of their leader. How that sheep admonished him for having let them escape. And the same bandits ended up coming back to threaten the valley, this time as monsters. Po, once more, realized that it would not have happened if he had not allowed himself to be shaken in the first time they arrived.
Po also remembered what Shifu told him on that night. About how balance was important.
Of how both good and bad parts of oneself were needed to make one a balanced person.
Could this be what Shifu had meant back then?
That Po was too nice to people. That he was being too nice to the bad guys?
Po always considered being kind a good thing. I mean, everyone told kids to be nice to people, and even as adults you are expected to be kind to the people around you, from the neighbors to the strangers.
But, if the people in question are attacking you and the ones you love, then is it a mistake to be kind to them?
Did it really make Po weak? All because he was too kind to his enemies?
It did seem like what Shifu had told him. Of the whole balance thing. Po was kind, and everyone around him told him that. But maybe that had become a bad thing in excess? Could it be that Po needed to start applying some unkindness on his life to become a better warrior? A warrior that would "do what he had to" when the moment called for it?
Would that make him stronger?
Would that make him a better Dragon Warrior?
Would that make him truly worthy?
"Okay, guys! We are almost there!" Duan said to the two passengers of the boat he was towing, and this made the two of them look up and ahead, and soon they could see it, coming closer and closer as they approached it.
Just as they were told, it was a big rocky formation on the center of the lake. A great island that was like a big rock formation, all made by solid dark stone, which projected outwards in curious angles and formations and nearly seemed like a curious sculpture that someone had placed right on the center of the to be a little something for the eyes for those who ventured so far into it.
It was nice to look at, to say the truth.
"Woah..." That was all Po could say as they approached the island and Duan started to circle it with the boat, allowing the two warriors to look at it from all sides.
"As you can see, it is the island you seek." Duan said to the two as they passed by a side of the island. As they did, the two could see, right on the stone wall on the side of said island, the same symbol of the cave, carved into the solid rock.
"Right, so the next clue is here." Po said, looking at the island. "So, do we have to keep looking until we see something?"
Tai Lung, on his end, just tilted his head to the side slightly.
"I think that might be it." The leopard was pointing to something on the island. Po followed his hand, and he saw that there was a great slab of dark stone on the tip of one of the stone cliffs that projected out of the island like petals from a lotus flower. It was smooth and of a much darker color than the rest of the rock that formed the island, making one assume that it was not a natural part of the island, but had, instead, been placed there intentionally.
"Right!" Po said, "Duan, can you drop us on it, please?"
"Right away." Duan said, and he started approaching the rocky shore of the small island. As they did, however, there was something lurking around them.
Something that Tai Lung noticed with his sharp senses.
"So, you think this one might be a more direct clue?" Po asked, not noticing what Tai Lung had. "Like, go to 'that direction' or 'that place' and look for 'the big face in the mountain' or 'the biggest tree of the region' or something like that?"
"Shh!"
"I mean, it would be nice if this was something easy to understand. After all, we need to get to the Spring before Jiao Din makes it there, so it would be better if we had some easy-to-follow instructions, no? Maybe even some shortcut."
"Stop talking!" Tai Lung growled, as he noticed yet another sound around him. This time a splashing sound like the surface of the water being disturbed. He could also hear the distant sound of... wings flapping?
"Dude, I am just making a commentary!" Po said, "Look, I know you don't like me and stuff for the whole Dragon Warrior stuff, but you could at least not be so aggressive all the time! Serious, chill out a little!"
"Will you just shut up!?" Tai Lung snapped. "I'm trying to listen!"
Just as he said those words, something emerged from the water.
The two looked in surprise as the thing emerged from the water. With a huge body enveloped in a shell with barbed edges, small horns protruding from his head, and a huge mouth opened and with a beak so sharp it might as well be part of an actual weapon.
The two of them had only a split-second to react as they both jumped back just as the monster that jumped out of the water with the jaws outstretched and long claws ready to tear to shred literally dove mouth-first into their boat.
They avoided a grizzly fate by jumping out of the boat right as the monsters closed his jaws on it, crushing it to smithereens as water splashed to all directions.
Po and Tai Lung flew into the air, propelled by the sheer power with which the monster collided with the boat and water. They both were unable to do anything as they spun into the air and then started falling.
Luckily, Duan was there, and he propelled himself out of the water and caught them on his back and hoovered over the water as the two warriors, especially Tai Lung, held on to his "wings" hard. So hard, in fact, that the manta had to tell the snow leopard to mind his claws.
"Was that a tortoise!?" Po said as re recovered from the shock. One hand firmly gripping the Staff of Wisdom while the other one was holding onto Duan's wing. "Guys, was that an actual tortoise? I mean, it looked like a tortoise, but one that Jiao Din did something with... wait, you can fly!?" Po was asking that to Duan. "I mean, you can actually fly!? I thought that was a strange power that Jiao Din gave you when he transformed you!"
"Hold on!" Duan said, and then he made a sudden spinning flip to the side, as he had to move out of the way to dodge a stream of water.
From the lake, the tortoise poked his head out of the lake and propelled a stream of water from his mouth with such force that, when Duan moved out of the way to dodge it, the stream cut clean through one of the cliffs of rock of the island, causing it to drop into the lake and sink out of sight.
"We definitely don't want to be hit by that!" Duan spoke as he continued to fly, the tortoise on the water still swimming after them, spitting water on their direction at any chance he got.
"Wait a minute, how can he swin!?" Po said, "I mean, he is a tortoise! They should not be able to swim, right!?"
"Is that seriously what you are worried with right now!?" Tai Lung demanded of the panda, as another stream of water came dangerously close to the three travelers, prompting Duan to make a spin to avoid it.
"This is not going to work!" Duan said, "Look, I will drop you two into the island and then I will dive back into the water! Maybe I can make that thing leave you alone by distracting it!"
"No, that's too dangerous!" Po said, but Tai Lung said:
"I am in favor of that plan!"
He just wanted to get to firm and dry ground instead of being hoovering so precariously over the water.
However, fate had never been kind like that to Tai Lung, and it seemed not to have any intention to start now.
"BUK-BUK-KAKAW!"
This one loud sound made Tai Lung and Po look above, just in time to see a big purple shadow falling over them. Wings outstretched and talons ready to attack them.
"Oh, come on!" Was all Tai Lung had time to say before Duan had to make a mortal spin to dodge. However, this figure still managed to hit them by spinning around and jamming its taloned foot on the side of the manta's body, causing Duan to be tossed around like a ragdoll.
The two mammals on his back were flung across the air, with Po landing and rolling around, the Staff of Wisdom ending trapped into a crevice on the rock. Meanwhile, Tai Lung ended up sinking his claws into one of the rock formations in order to avoid being flung right into the lake and falling into the cold, salty water.
Duan, meanwhile, landed on the rocky side of the island, and the event knocked the wind out of him. He was trying to get up, when suddenly two figures came at him, one of them jumping out of the water and the other one diving from the sky in his direction.
The tortoise slammed a clawed hand on one of his wings, while the flying feathered monster that looked like a giant purple chicken pinned the other one with its taloned feet.
"H-hey!" Duan said, squirming as he felt his wings being pressed so hard against the solid rock of the island that it bruised them.
"L-let me go!" Duan said, squirming around, trying to hit his assailants with his stinger, buy having no success. "Let me go now!"
"We are not, Duan!" The tortoise said, with a distorted voice. "We don't take orders from you anymore!"
"I said let me go!" Duan demanded, squirming. "How do you know my name!?"
"What?" The chicken-like monster was the one who spoke now, with a voice as distorted as the tortoise's. "Don't tell me you can no longer recognize your old friends, Duan? Or being made the leader made you forget we even exist?"
The manta blinked, looking at the two, and then he suddenly recognized the two, his eyes widening.
"Lai!?" Duan said, looking at the chicken, and the at the tortoise, "Shao!? Is that you two!?"
"Yes! That's right!" The tortoise said to the manta, snarling at him as he pressed him down onto the stone. "We are the two guys who first welcomed you into our village when you came here from the-Immortals-know-where with nothing to your name, you flat fish!"
"We were the ones who helped you get settled!" Lai said to the manta, "We were the ones who gave you a place on our village! We took pity on you after that whole 'I have nowhere to go, please, help me leave my bad past behind!'" He said that with the same exact voice as Duan. "It was so pitiful it convinced us to help you!" he said that
"And you thanked us by making us look like fools in front of everyone!" Shao snarled at him. "You won the entire village with your skills and before we knew it, everyone loved you!"
"Everyone was like 'it is so cool that he can both fly and swim too' or 'he can go and get the best kelpies on the center of the lake and also go visit the nearby villages' and you were all 'that's right, I am awesome guys' it was sickening!" The chicken said, imitating different voices as he quoted, ending with Duan's own voice at the end.
"And in the end, when the previous leader was to resign, it should be one of us taking his place! We were his apprentices, after all! We spent years kissing up to him!" Shao said, now practically foaming from the mouth. "You stole what was rightfully ours! All because you could both swim and fly, while we could do neither!"
"But not anymore! Now Shao can swim faster than you ever could, and I can fly higher than you can ever hope to!" Lai yelled at the manta. "So, do you think you deserve to be a leader more than us!? Do you!? Look in our eyes and tell us if you do!"
And with that, the chicken stretched his wings, causing his feathers to stand straight, and they shone like blades on the final lights of the day.
Duan squirmed, trying to free himself, but he was unable to, and the two of them were about to attack, when Po came out of nowhere, crying like a madman and slamming into the tortoise right on the face with a powerful belly-flop. This caused the tortoise to let go of the manta as he slammed into the chicken due to being thrown off-balance by the impact of the panda slamming on his face.
"Are you okay?" Po asked to Duan once the two attackers had been knocked down, to what the manta cried out in pain as he tried to move, saying that his wings were both bruised. Po was, naturally, soon on to helping him move, but that was when the bad guys recovered and, with furious cries, tried to attack both the panda and that manta.
Tai Lung then jumped into action, delivering a kick right to the tortoise's face and causing him to stumble back. Then, using the momentum, he gave a mortal backflip and landed with both feet on the chicken's head, before giving a spinning kick to his face that made spit fly off his beak.
This was enough to push them both back enough that Po was able to help Duan move away from the scene, making sure he was okay before rushing to Tai Lung's side and joining him in battle.
And it was quite the battle. I mean, the two warriors were fighting two monsters a lot bigger than themselves. Although they had done it a few times already since the beginning of the adventure, and they were not about to fear some big guys now. They already knew how to fight them anyways.
So, as they both stepped forward, they both did the exact same thing at the exact same time, with Tai Lung creating blue fire between his hands while Po created golden, and they both propelled them forward as streams of flaming chi by thrusting their fists forward.
This time, however, their attacks were ineffective.
The tortoise, reacting immediately, shrunk into his shell, as it spun with its curved side turned to the warriors. As their streams of flames hit the hardened purple surface, they spread out and caused no effect whatsoever.
Neither Tai Lung's blue flames nor Po's golden ones produced any visible effect, as the chicken safely hide behind the shell of the tortoise until the streams stopped.
"That... was unexpected." Po said as he looked at the shell. Then, the chicken jumped on top of it and, with a loud "BUK-KAW!" shot his feathers forward in direction to them, prompting the two to bend their bodies and stumble backwards to avoid the feathers, sharp like deadly metal blades, from hitting them and possibly slicing them to bits.
"Now what?"
"Now we fight the traditional way!" Tai Lung said.
"What's traditional about any of the fights we had so far!?"
"Just shut up and start punching them!"
And Po did. He and Tai Lung went on offensive, but they quickly found out it was hard to fight those two, as the chicken would resort to hiding behind the tortoise, whose shell, as they found out, was impervious to chi and nigh indestructible, and then would strike at them with his sharpened feathers. This did make the battle quite unbalanced for the two of them, as Po realized once a swipe from the wings of the chicken grazed him so close that it made him lose some of his fur, albeit it produced no real damage.
"Okay, I think this is not working!" Po said to the snow leopard. "We need a plan! Like, right now!"
"Do you have any ideas?" Tai Lung said, as he kicked a spiked rock that was on the side, sending it hurling to the chicken, who simply ducked under the tortoise and let the rock shatter against the shell the reptile was hiding inside.
That was when an idea hit Po.
"Hey! What if we tried to attack the tortoise through one of the openings of the shell?" The panda offered, and Tai Lung looked at him with surprise.
"That's... actually a good idea. Let's do this!" The leopard then ignited his hands with blue chi.
"Right, you go ahead, I'll join you soon!"
"Wait, what? Wait a minute! Where are you going!?"
"To get my staff back!" Po said, as he started to make his way to where the Staff of Wisdom was stuck. "You hold them back for me! I will be back lickety-split!"
"Wha- are you kidding me!?" Tai Lung said as he watched the panda move away, before growling.
"Fine! Whatever! I don't need that buffoon's help anyways!"
And with that, the snow leopard went into attack once more. And this time, he made a jump right as the chicken was hiding behind the tortoise anyways. However, instead of attacking the shell, like he did, Tai Lung's jump propelled him above them, and then, as he saw his chance, he thrust both of his paws forward and shot two balls of fire.
One of them hit the chicken on the face. The other one went through one of the shell's openings and hit the tortoise, also right on the face.
The two of them screeched and were soon rubbing their faces free of the searing blue flames, and that was when Tai Lung used this chance to attack, as he slammed both of his feet on the chicken's head so hard it slammed into the ground, and then he jumped off him and into the tortoise, and started to squeeze his neck.
While Po was currently holding on to the staff of wisdom, trying with all his strength to pull it free, the snow leopard was currently squeezing the tortoise's neck. It seemed he was trying to suffocate him, but the way he was looking like he was trying to make the neck twist also gave the impression that he was trying to literally snap that shelled reptile's neck.
Just imagine he is Oogway... Tai Lung said to himself as he tried to put as much strength as he could into his arms and finish off that lizard before the chicken recovered and came to help him. Even as the tortoise tried to reach with his hands and pull him out, Tai Lung would just kick his hands off and continue what he was doing. Even when he the tortoise tried to retreat his head into his shell, Tai Lung would plant his feet into the rims to keep him from recoiling and just continue squeezing his neck.
The neck proved too tough to be snapped, but Tai Lung was still chocking him, as the tortoise was desperately trying to draw a breath as the snow leopard continued to squeeze. As the tortoise went to his hand and knees, Tai Lung thought that he was about to take out one of his opponents.
Then, however, the tortoise made a mad dash and jumped into the water. Seeing this happening, Tai Lung panicked and quickly let go of the neck and jumped off the tortoise and into the rocky island.
As the tortoise splashed into the water, Tai Lung sank his claws into the island as he skidded to a stop right at the edge of the lake, and quickly scrambled back into the land, the fur on his entire body standing on end.
What a close call...
He was panting as he got back to his feet, and then, behind him, the tortoise pushed his head out of the water, and then opened his mouth to spill a stream of water that missed Tai Lung by just a few inches, severely damaging the rocks right behind the snow leopard.
As he realized the danger he was into now, Tai Lung had to jump and stumble out of the way, while the tortoise still tried to hit him with a stream of water under so much pressure that it sliced through solid rock like a hot knife through butter. And, as Tai Lung jumped to avoid the stream, it cut through the island like crazy, causing Duan to recoil and crawl out of the way to avoid debris, and it came very close to hitting Po as he was still trying to pull the Staff of Wisdom out of the crevice it got stuck into.
Luckily, as the stream of water cut through the rock projection Po was in, not only it knocked the panda back, but it also caused the staff to finally come lose from where it was stuck. So, as Po laid with his back on the rock, with the staff on his hand, he smiled.
"Yes!"
Meanwhile, Tai Lung had to continue to jump out of the way to avoid stream. Luckily, it was starting to become weaker. So, when Tai Lung slipped on the water left on the moss-covered stony ground and lost his footing for a moment, the stream of water that hit him was not strong enough to rip him apart, but it was still strong enough to push him back with the strong of a firehose and push him against the rock wall, and was soaked and panting by the time the stream ended, falling to his hands and knees while the tortoise jumped out of the water.
Tai Lung was getting up, when the turtle wrapped his hand around his waist, holding him as it brought him closer to his mouth. Tai Lung looked up and saw those jaws stretching open, ready to take a huge bite out of him.
Luckily, that was when Po came in crashing into the tortoise's face again, slamming in it hard enough to cause the big shelled reptile to stumble back, while the panda landed on his feet, spinning the staff on his hand and causing it to light up with golden color, and the panda started spinning it.
As he did, Tai Lung freed himself by slamming both his fists on the hand holding him, shocking its owner enough that the tortoise let go of him, and he jumped back to the ground, landing on all fours. Right at this moment, Po swung the staff a final time, releasing a great dragon of golden chi that flew in direction to the tortoise.
Seeing the golden being flying in his direction, the tortoise retreated into his shell, turning the curved part to the dragon flying his way, hoping it would just collide with the shell and cause it no harm.
However, he was not prepared to the skill of that panda.
With a swing of the staff, Po made the dragon move forward. Then, with a downwards movement, he caused the dragon to dive down, right in direction to the opening of the tortoise's shell, and the reptile hiding inside looking with wide eyes.
The dragon sank into the opening, and the entire shell shook and then shone in a bright golden light, which caused both Tai Lung and Po to cover their eyes. By the time the light subsided, they looked to see the shell, now of the normal size, spinning in the ground until it stopped while upside-down, and then the head and limbs of the tortoise inside came out, showing that he was normal now, and groaning weakly as he laid on his back.
"Well, I guess that does it, huh?" Po said with a smirk. Tai Lung, on his end, turned to look at the panda.
"How did you figured how to do that?" Tai Lung asked, "The scroll cannot have taught it, I still have it."
"Oh, the dragon thingy? I figured it out myself." Po said to Tai Lung. "I figured how to do that when I was trying to do that big dragon energy thing back when I fought Kai, but I guess it works different on the Mortal Realm, because I can only create those small dragons, and I can only do it if I have the staff."
"Oh... that's... actually quite impressive." Tai Lung begrudgingly admitted. Then he turned his attention back to the tortoise.
"So, I guess there is one more to go... where is he!?"
Tai Lung had turned to look at the chicken, only to see that he was gone. Po looked back too, and soon the two of them were back to back, both ready to use their chi as soon as they saw the enemy coming to them.
They had both forgotten that this chicken, unlike other of his kind, could fly.
The loud bukacking came from above just as two pairs of taloned feet came and grasped the two. Po and Tai Lung were dizzy as they were holstered in the air, and then slammed on top of the island, causing the wind to be knocked out of them, as the chicken stood above the two of them.
"You two..." The chicken cawed right on their faces, "You are just as arrogant and full of yourselves as that stupid manta! You, panda, with your 'I am the Dragon Warrior, I am the best and all of that!', and you with your 'I am the strongest of them all and I can face two giant monsters no problem!'!"
"Man, how can you make voices so well?" Po said, looking up at him. "Is it a natural skill, like Duan's flying? Because if it is, you could make a killing at parties!"
"Shut up!" The chicken yelled back at the panda. "I will peck your limbs and internal organs out one by one, and then I will take your heads to Jiao Din! Once I do, he will let me stay like this forever! I will be the king of the skies! BUK-KAW-KAW!"
The chicken let out a huge cry to the skies above, which echoed all around. Po and Tai Lung could not help but share a look at this, before the chicken turned his attention back at the two.
"Now! Enough stalling! Let's get this over with!"
And he then started pecking.
Even pinned down by his talons, Po and Tai Lung could move enough to get their arms and heads out of the way, the impacts of the beak on the rock leaving holes in it and causing the entire island to shake. Duan felt it from where he was hiding and, on the corner where the big slab of stone that was the next clue shook and moved ever so slightly closer to the edge.
The chicken let out a furious cry, as he was tired of not being able to just put an end to those two. Tai Lung and Po shared a look, and they knew only by looking at each other that they needed to do something now or it would be too late.
They both then put their fists together in front of their chests, focusing their chi and causing it to ignite in golden and blue balls.
Just as the chicken dove in direction to the two of the with his beak agape, the two of them fired the balls at the same time.
The balls met and merged as they entered the beak, which closed around the merged ball. The chicken's eyes widened as he instinctively swallowed.
For a few moments, it was as if the whole scene had frozen in place, with the chicken looking at the two of them with wide eyes, while they stared back. Then, a loud grumbling was heard coming from within the big avian, and then, the chicken started looking sick.
Then, the chicken's beak opened as he let out a huge belch right on the two warrior's faces, which could be heard all the way to the shores of the lake.
"Ewwwwww." Po said as he felt the smell of that belch, and Tai Lung also looked positively sickened by this.
Then, the chicken let out a huge cry to the heavens, flapping his wings and flailing his legs, causing the two warriors to be tossed away into one of the rock formations of the island. The chicken continued to caw hard, as a light shone inside of him, emitting beams of golden and blue light coming from deep within.
Then, with a huge flash, visible from miles away, and which caused Jiao Din, many miles away, to stop on his tracks and look back in attention, the chicken reverted to normal.
"Bu-kaaaaaaaaaawwww..." The chicken groaned as he laid on his back with his legs in the air. Meanwhile, Po was getting up, still dizzy from what happened.
What just happened? The panda caught himself thinking. However, as he looked to the side, he forgot about it, as he saw that the slab with the clue was right on the edge of its rocky formation, and very precariously, as said rocky formation was broke at that area and crumbling.
It was going to fall into the water!
"Oh, shoot!" Po said, getting up and getting ready to go, when he suddenly heard:
"Help!"
Po stopped and looked at a corner, and he saw Tai Lung in there. The snow leopard had nearly been tossed over the edge, and he was now desperately holding on the to the rock as he hanged above the lake's water.
"Help!" The snow leopard cried out. "Help me, please!"
"Tai Lung? What are you doing?"
"Well, I am not enjoying myself, that's for sure!" The leopard snapped at the panda. "Help me here!"
"What, you can't climb up yourself?"
"This thing is covered in moss! I can't get a grip!" Tai Lung's hand slipped as he said this, and he desperately tried to sink his claws into the rock, but even that was only enough to barely give him a grip. "Stop wasting time and help me out!"
Po looked at him, and then at the side, to see more of the rock formation crumbling down, and the slab was starting to tilt over and about to fall.
"I have to save the clue!" Po said, pointing at the slab. "I'll be back in a moment!"
"No! You have to help me! I can't hold on!"
"We can't lose the clue!"
"Help me!"
"I'll only take two minutes!"
"I can't hold for two minutes! Please! Save me!"
"Save you? Look, don't you think you are being a little dramatic with that fear of water?"
"You don't understand!" Tai Lung sounded positively desperate.
"Look, it is not that big of a deal!" Po sounded a bit exasperated. "It is not that big of a drop! You can make it! So what if you will get a little wet? You can just make it back to the island yourself!"
"No, I can't!"
"Of course, you can! You just have to get in position to dive and then you swim back to-"
At that point, Tai Lung screamed on top of his lungs:
"I DON'T KNOW HOW TO SWIIIIIIIIM!"
As he said that, his paws slipped off the edge, and he cried out as he fell all the way into the lake with a splash.
Meanwhile, the panda was left frozen in place, looking down as his brain processed what he just heard.
"... what?"
He continued to look down, and he saw as bubbles came out of the spot where the leopard splashed, but no sign of the leopard. After nearly five seconds, Po finally snapped out of it.
"Hang on!" The panda said, as he stopped thinking about anything else and just jumped into the lake, looking to save Tai Lung.
Just as the panda jumped after the snow leopard, the slab of stone also fell from the stone formation, one of them hitting the water right after the other. The slab of stone sank about as fast as one would expect, but the panda didn't notice, because he was too busy swimming in direction to the snow leopard who was also sinking alarmingly fast, all the while flailing and struggling but failing to reduce his descent even a little.
That warrior, who normally was stoic and knew exactly what to do in a moment of distress, found himself so overcame with panic that he could not stop and orient himself as he continued to sink, flailing his limbs wildly as he was overcome with flashbacks.
Of the last time he dropped into a lake just like that. Of how cold the water felt. Of how he could not stop himself from sinking, as he looked up and saw the figure of Master Shifu desperately swimming after him to rescue him before it was too late.
He was in the same situation now, complete with looking up and seeing a figure frantically swimming in his direction.
But it was not exactly the same.
And, just as Tai Lung's vision was darkening as his lungs expelled the stale air they had been holding, all he could think was that the one swimming towards him was not Shifu...
Tai Lung's eyes snapped open as he gasped. He was laying somewhere, blinked and looked around in shock, before taking another, much deeper and drawn out gasp for breath as he jolted in a sitting position.
He looked around, seeing, for sure, that he was no longer into the lake.
The lake didn't have floating pieces of rock into the air, some of them with cherry and peach blossoms in full bloom and spreading petals everywhere.
He was back in the Spirit World.
Tai Lung blinked, taking in where he was, and what it meant for him to be there again.
And then frustration started to grow on him.
"Are you kidding me!?" The leopard growled to himself, as his anger started to grow.
This was not how it was supposed to go!
This was not what that stupid turtle promised him!
"Hello, Tai Lung."
The voice made the snow leopard turn around immediately.
"You!"
Oogway was not fazed by this outburst from the leopard. He only took another sip of his tea, looking at the snow leopard with a calm expression.
"Nice of you to come back so soon." The turtle said to him. "Care for some tea?" He offered the cup to Tai Lung, but the snow leopard only snapped at him.
"You and your stupid tea! You lied to me!" The snow leopard got up on his feet and walked to him, each step cracking the stone under his feet with how hard the snow leopard stomped.
"You told me I would get to become the next Dragon Warrior! That I would live in the Mortal Realm again and have the title I always deserved!" He was roaring at the turtle, but Oogway seemed unfazed still. "You tricked me you dirty lying turtle!"
"I never lie, Tai Lung." Oogway said to the leopard with a serene expression and a smile. "And I never tricked you."
"You never told me I would have to go into a giant lake!" The snow leopard shot back. "You knew I never learned to swim! You should have told me!"
"If I did, then you would have been less inclined to go." Oogway's answer was simple, and it caused the snow leopard to snarl at him in frustration, while the turtle only continued to sip from his tea.
"Was all of this just a sham!?" Tai Lung demanded. "Was all of it just for the stupid panda to have some company!? Was that why you sent me back!? Just so I could drown in a stupid lake!?"
"No." Oogway said to him. "I sent you because the universe had plans for you."
"Yeah! Drowning me into a salty lake!" Tai Lung roared back, and then he turned around walking to a boulder and shattering it with a single punch.
"I was supposed to make a comeback and fulfill my destiny!" Tai Lung said. "Instead I ended up back here! This was not how it was supposed to go!"
"Is that so?" Oogway asked, and then Tai Lung turned back at him.
"Why are you so calm!? With me here the panda now has no help to defeat Jiao Din! He cannot save the Tien Spring without my help! You said that yourself! Or was that another lie you told me just so you could see me fall flat on my face and see my dreams shattered again!? Do you enjoy seeing me suffering!?"
"I don't take joy on anyone's suffering, Tai Lung." Oogway said with a serious expression, looking back at the snow leopard. "I never took any joy on what happened to you. None of it."
The leopard looked back at him with an angry expression, before turning away from him.
"Is this my fate?" Tai Lung asked, "To have my hopes raised only to have them destroyed? To think that my dream is right in front of me just to have it taken away?"
Tai Lung was looking at the distance.
"Was I really never meant to become the Dragon Warrior at all?"
He was asking that to himself more than to Oogway. However, Oogway's answer surprised him:
"You were meant to, at one point."
He blinked, and then he looked back at the turtle.
"What."
"There was a moment in the past when I could see a future where you became the Dragon Warrior." Oogway said, "Back when Shifu was training you." He looked at the snow leopard. "And you could have been a very good one."
Tai Lung continued to look at him.
"I... Wha... what are you on about!?" Tai Lung was confused. "If that's the case, then why you told me I was not!? Why you told me that I had darkness in my heart and could not become a Dragon Warrior!? That was what you said to me and Shifu back then! That I had darkness in me!"
"Everyone has." Oogway said simply. "Tai Lung, all living beings have both light and darkness in them. Even me. Even Po, believe it or not. Of course, you had darkness in your heart, as much as everyone else. You could still have become the Dragon Warrior, though."
"Then why you didn't just give me the title!?" Tai Lung demanded. "You just told me I was not the Dragon Warrior! You knew how much it meant to me, and you just told me I could not have the title! And you even kept looking at me while you said that right to my face! Ugh, I still remember the look on your face, and it still pisses me off! It was the same look you had whenever..."
Tai Lung trailed, and he was silent for a few moments, before looking down.
"Whenever you were giving me a lesson... and wanted me to... to figure out what you were trying to teach me..."
As he said that to himself, Tai Lung suddenly had an epiphany. An enlightenment about what happened decades ago. As this realization dawned on him, his eyes widened.
"That... that was test?"
He looked at Oogway, who looked back at him with that same serene expression.
"Telling me I was not the Dragon Warrior... was a test... to see if I was the Dragon Warrior!?"
Tai Lung could hardly believe it. That was just...too ludicrous! But the look on Oogway's face told him it was, and then his words confirmed it.
"If you had darkness in your heart was not the matter, Tai Lung." Oogway put his cup down and got up as he looked at Tai Lung. "The matter was if you were able to manage your darkness or not."
Tai Lung blinked.
"If you had taken what I said to you with serenity, if you had understood words and my decision, and accepted the designs of the universe for you and the future, then I would have handed the Dragon Scroll to you myself and presented you to China as my successor." Oogway spoke those words with uncanny naturality. "But, when you failed to accept it, when you allowed your darkness to take hold of you and took out your frustration and anger on the innocent villagers, the universe decided you were not worthy. At that moment, the future where you were the Dragon Warrior vanished from my sight."
Tai Lung stared at the turtle, his mind reeling as it tried to process everything he just heard.
Then, as it did, he started to shake. His teeth gritted as he looked at that turtle.
That turtle who just told him just three minutes ago that he never lied, and just admitted having lied straight to his face. That turtle who knew he could have become the Dragon Warrior and decided to deny him that by putting him through a completely arbitrary test just because he decided it was a good idea.
He could have become the Dragon Warrior back there! But because of Oogway's "test" he was instead sent to Chor Gom for twenty years, and then after that he spent over a decade in the Spirit Realm eating himself away in frustration and rage and cursing that panda who gained the title without ever having to go through any kind of test, just because that blasted turtle decided so!
At that moment, more than ever, Tai Lung felt that he had been cheated out of his destiny.
"You... senile turtle..." Tai Lung growled, as he gave slow steps in direction to Oogway. "You conniving old sod..." His claws unsheathed, as he towered over Oogway, who only continued to look at him with that same expression, as if nothing in the universe could shake him up.
That only made Tai Lung even more furious.
"YOU SONOVA-"
Just as Tai Lung tried to lunge at Oogway, aiming to get his claws on him and tear him apart, he was held back by a sudden, powerful gust of wind, that made him stumble back.
"What the-!?" Tai Lung looked at his own claws, and then back at Oogway, how was still looking back at him. He then tried to lunge at him again, only for the gust of wind to come back, and push him even further away from the turtle.
"How are you doing this!?" Tai Lung demanded, to what Oogway simply said he was doing nothing. Then another gust of wind came, and Tai Lung was pushed even further back.
"Your mission is not over yet, Tai Lung." Oogway said, pointing at Tai Lung's chest, where his crest was still emitting a soft golden light, as he walked in direction to the snow leopard, who was still pushed back by sudden gusts of wind, which carried a strange, salty smell. "You still have a duty to fulfill. You have to help Po and earn your redemption for your past misdeeds. This is a chance many would do anything to have, and it would be very sad to see you waste it out of petty pride and ambition. So, continue your path, help Po save the Tien Spring, and find out what you lacked all those years."
Tai Lung had stopped right on the edge of the floating island he was into with Oogway, his toes on the very edge as he struggled to balance himself. Oogway was just a foot away from him, and he said:
"Do this, and you will finally have the one thing you always wanted, and it will bring you as much joy as you always thought it would."
Tai Lung looked at the turtle, who then leaned forward.
And blew at him.
Just as he blew, another powerful gust of wind, the strongest of them all, came and swept Tai Lung with the force of a hurricane. The snow leopard cried out as he was blown across the air of the Spirit Realm, everything fading into the distance...
Once more, Tai Lung's eyes snapped open as he woke up with a jolt. A coughing fit hit him as his lung expelled the water that filled them, and then he desperately took deep breaths of fresh air.
"Tai Lung!" Po's voice said, causing the coughing and spluttering leopard to look up, at the panda looking at him with a relieved look on his eyes.
"You are alive! Man, I am so glad! I thought you were a goner... again!"
Tai Lung looked at the panda, and he took a while to understand what happened. The panda had saved his life.
"You lost the clue..." The snow leopard said to the panda as he still spluttered and spat some water.
"We can figure out something else." Po said to him, as he held the snow leopard on his arms. "I am just glad you are okay."
Tai Lung looked at the panda as he held him like that. This caused him to look away, as this reminded him of a time when Shifu also held him like that after saving him from drowning, just like that panda just did.
This was just like back on that day. Except for...
"What is this taste in my mouth?" Tai Lung asked himself, and Po then said:
"Oh, that's the kelpie."
"What? Did I swallowed those while I was drowning?"
"No, that's from the snacks I ate."
Tai Lung looked at Po after he said that, blinking.
"Excuse me?"
"Well, I pulled you out of the water, but then I realized you were not breathing, so I had to do that resuscitation thing on you." Po admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "You know... mouth-to-mouth?"
Tai Lung looked at the panda, his brain getting a grip on what the panda just said as his tongue clicked on his own mouth, feeling that strong salty flavor.
Then the feline shoved the panda roughly, scrambled all the way to the edge of the rocky island and started throwing up into the lake.
So, here it is. This one was a chapter I was looking forward to, and I am glad I finished it.
So, I once saw a video on YouTube where the person dissected elements of Kung Fu Panda, and they rose the question of how Oogway's refusal to make Tai Lung the Dragon Warrior was, in fact, a test to see if he was worthy. And the idea just seemed interesting, so I decided to apply it to my story.
And yes, in this story Tai Lung doesn't knows how to swim. We never saw him near a body of water on the franchise, so there is nothing that canonically says he knows how to swim or not. I added it to give some interesting depths to the story.
Anyways, hope you have enjoyed this chapter, and that you are enjoying the story so far. See yah in the next chapters.