Twin Dragons
This Immortal Coil
Both leopard and panda had already made camp and had finished up their meals at the campfire. At this point, there was no more tension between the two and Po felt more comfortable in talking with Tai Lung.
"Hey Tai Lung," Po asked. "What do you know about Wudang?"
"Well, I don't know much about the recent schism," Tai Lung admitted. "But I do know a little about their leadership back when it was unified. Just keep in mind that some of what I tell you might be outdated since I was dead for a long time."
"Any info will help," Po continued.
"One of their grandmasters is of course Pai Mei," Tai Lung told Po. "I never fought him myself but I've heard legends of how he's capable of defeating entire armies by himself and achieved an unstoppable power capable of overthrowing an entire nation."
"That sounds awesome," Po nodded. "In a villainous way of course."
"Over the years, there have also been rumors that he made some sort of deal with a demon in order to achieve eternal life," Tai Lung went on. "Of course, that could just be conjecture and I might be wrong."
"Who else is there to know about in Wudang?" asked Po.
"Well, there's another head Grandmaster there who goes by the name of Shengqi," Tai Lung informed the panda. "He's a swordmaster without equal and comparatively much more benevolent compared to Pai Mei."
"It sounds more like Shengqi is the guy we want to see," Po rubbed his chin. "If we want to get Pai Mei to stop hunting us."
"I wouldn't worry about it," Tai Lung told the panda. "Fenghuang probably told us that just to spook us. Besides, she was beaten. And if there's one thing I've learned is that there are people who, even in defeat, can't stop trash talking. That owl is one of those people."
Po gave Tai Lung a side eye. At first, Tai Lung didn't know what Po meant by it but soon came to realize that he wasn't just describing Fenghuang but also himself.
"Okay, and maybe I was one of those people too," Tai Lung admitted. "After my defeat at your hands, I couldn't accept being beaten either."
"You know, I never knew what happened to you after I sent you to the Spirit Realm," Po pointed out. "Just what did you do there anyways?"
Tai Lung looked at the campfire.
"Better make yourself comfortable, Po," Tai Lung told the panda. "It's an interesting story."
Inside the Spirit Realm, the flow of time felt a lot different. While Tai Lung still felt he had a physical body, he felt different and lighter than before, as if a great burden had finally been thrown off his shoulders.
He wasn't sure how long he had been in this realm where reality seemed distorted and everything was different. Perhaps it had been a few months or even years. Either ways, he wasn't entirely sure.
However, enough time had gone by that he no longer felt so attached to the title of being the Dragon Warrior. There was no love lost between him and the Jade Palace but even that was growing distant to him.
Day in and day out, he would practice on his own and meditate. There were other denizens of the Spirit Realm but Tai Lung preferred to keep to his own retreat in the mountains, hardly ever interacting with the other kung fu masters.
Finally, descending the mountain, Tai Lung walked towards his favorite river that ran through the realm.
He looked down at his own reflection, noting the glow that his body now had.
"Just another day gone by," Tai Lung whispered. "Or has it been a week already?"
Soon, Tai Lung heard footsteps.
"Who's there?" the snow leopard demanded.
"Help! I need help!"
"Who are you?" Tai Lung's eyes narrowed at the newcomer.
It was a small pug. He was dressed in a kung fu uniform which looked slightly torn, as if it had been slashed open by some knife or sword.
"My name is Wei and my master is under attack!" the pug announced.
"Master?" Tai Lung looked confused. "Aren't you supposed to be a Master yourself?"
"Well, you see it's like this," Wei explained. "I'm actually a kung fu student who studied under Master Gaur. He and I went on a lot of adventures together before the two of us defended a town from an invading army. Both of us lost our lives in that confrontation but because of my devotion to my master, I was allowed to accompany him to this Spirit Realm. At least I think that's the reason I was allowed here. I never really got any kind of specific spiritual answer for why I'm here…"
"That's interesting and all," Tai Lung glared at the pug. "But what does it have to do with me?"
"Well, my master and I were practicing together in this afterlife peacefully until a new arrival came," Wei told him. "He's some kind of warlord who wants to conquer this realm and my master and I were the first ones he attacked to try to conscript us!"
"So what?" Tai Lung sneered. "Why don't you ask Oogway to go handle it?"
"Because we don't see Oogway anywhere here!" Wei pointed out. "I think he's ascended to an even higher plane in this realm."
Tai Lung sighed. "You realize I'm no hero, right? That I've been locked up for attacking a village out of rage over being rejected for the title of Dragon Warrior?"
"Look, I'm desperate and I don't know who else to turn to," Wei insisted. "My master wasn't doing so hot against this new spirit warrior and I'm afraid he'll be defeated soon and enslaved. I'm not asking for perfection. I'm just asking for your help!"
Tai Lung took a step back and remembered his relationship to Shifu back in better days, when the two enjoyed each other's company. Back then, there was a time he would have done anything for Shifu, even though those days were now long gone.
"Very well then," Tai Lung shook his head. "Take me there."
"Thank you!" Wei told him.
Both pug and snow leopard left the river and ran until they reached the scene of the battle.
In the heat of the battle were both a gaur and an albino peacock locked in battle. The gaur had a spear which he used to thrust at the peacock but the bird was too fast, dodging all the blows and chipping away at the bovine's defenses with his blades.
"There he is, Master Gaur," Pei told Tai Lung.
"I see," Tai Lung nodded.
Finally, Master Gaur thrust his spear at the peacock only for the albino to pin the attack to the ground with both blades and kick Master Gaur to the floor.
"Are you ready to end this farce of a battle and obey orders?" the peacock demanded.
Already Tai Lung did not like the peacock's demanding, nobleman's attitude.
"I will not be part of your army," Master Gaur told him.
"Then let's test my hypothesis on whether or not a spirit can die a second death!" Shen raised his blade.
"That's enough of that," Tai Lung finally stepped forth.
"What's this?" the peacock glared at the leopard.
"I don't know what you did in the previous life," Tai Lung told him. "But it's high time you accepted that you're dead and settle down."
"Hmm," the peacock looked at the leopard. "You seem like you'd make a fine addition to a new army I'm building, one that will sweep across this realm."
"I think not," Tai Lung told him. "You see, I like having my peace and quiet down here and you're disturbing that peace… just who are you again?"
"The name is Shen," the peacock told him. "But from henceforth, you shall know me as Lord Shen."
"That's funny," Tai Lung sneered. "Because I don't call anyone Lord… unless they have the power to make me."
"Then we shall have to see about that, won't we?" Shen pointed both his weapons at Tai Lung who growled and extended his claws.
"Whoa!" Po gasped. "You mean to tell me you encountered Shen in the afterlife?!"
"Yes, how did you get to know him anyways?" asked Tai Lung.
"Well, he and I fought before and I kinda destroyed his army," Po scratched his head. "After that, I offered him a chance to stop what he was doing but he just tried to kill me again and accidentally killed himself after cutting some ropes that were holding his cannon, which fell on him."
"Hmm," Tai Lung realized. "Then I must have met him shortly after he died in battle with you."
"The timelines do add up," Po told him.
"Anyways, that's enough interruptions," Tai Lung got back on track. "Let me get back to this story…"
The battle had been fierce and unrelenting. But soon, it was apparent who the superior warrior really was.
Tai Lung stood steadily in the battlefield, having sustained a cut across his left arm and side.
Shen, on the other hand, was heavily injured and breathing heavily. While he had skill as a fighter, he was not used to digging down deep to draw out extra reserves and his stamina issues were now coming to the forefront. In the past, he usually had his army of wolves and gorillas to back him up in case he was in a tight spot and now, all of them were gone. The peacock managed to do some damage to Tai Lung but not enough to seriously slow him down and the damage Tai Lung inflicted upon him was even greater.
In a sole one on one battle, he was beginning to discover his limitations and finding out for himself that there were indeed fighters out there he couldn't overwhelm with an initial flurry of feathers and blades. And those opponents were not like Po, whom he could play mind games with. And Tai Lung certainly wasn't interested in trying to talk him into surrendering or seeing the error of his ways.
"This can't be happening," Shen began to break down emotionally. "I won't fall to the likes of you!"
"Then don't," Tai Lung told him plainly.
In a rage, Shen attacked him again, slashing at the leopard multiple times with his twin blades.
The snow leopard avoided the slashes skillfully and kicked one of the blades out of Shen's wings.
Shen then revealed a hidden chain, hurling it at Tai Lung who caught the weapon around his wrist, wrapping it up. Using the momentum, Shen flew towards Tai Lung and slashed at him, only for the snow leopard to catch his wrist before the blade could make contact.
"Got you now!" Shen smiled.
The peacock revealed a hidden blade under his unarmed sleeve and grabbed onto it, slashing the weapon towards Tai Lung's face.
To Shen's horror, Tai Lung immediately caught the blade in between his teeth before it could strike the leopard's face, biting down and holding the weapon in place.
"What?!" Shen cried.
Instantly, Tai Lung bit down harder and broke the blade, shattering it.
"No!" Shen cried.
Tai Lung immediately drove his fist into Shen's side, simultaneously collapsing Shen's lungs and breaking the peacock's ribs in a single powerful blow.
"Agh!" Shen screamed, falling down and coughing violently.
"Had enough?" Tai Lung demanded.
"Not hardly!" Shen tried to get up.
As Shen tried to hurl the remaining blade in his hand, Tai Lung spun around and struck Shen in both the neck and stomach, sending him flying into a boulder and imprinting the peacock's body into it.
"This guy is good," Wei said in awe as his master nodded in agreement.
"This won't happen!" Shen raged. "I won't allow you to destroy the realm I wish to create!"
With his last remaining strength, Shen hurled his remaining blade at Tai Lung. Reacting quickly, Tai Lung grabbed Master Gaur's spear and spun the weapon around, knocking Shen's blade aside. Returning fire, Tai Lung hurled the spear at Shen, hitting his mark and impaling Shen against the boulder.
"Aaaaaahhhhh!" Shen screamed.
Now, the peacock was out of weapons and was rendered completely helpless. Screaming in agony, the peacock attempted to free himself from the spear but to no avail.
"I think I'll just leave you there until you've learned your lesson," Tai Lung told the bird calmly.
"Thank you for helping us," Master Gaur told Tai Lung. "So… do you really want to leave him like that?"
"Why not?" Tai Lung crossed his arms. "He's already dead so it's not like being impaled will kill him. Besides, wasn't he attacking you earlier?"
"He is already defeated," Master Gaur told Tai Lung. "Perhaps there can be a better way than this?"
"Well, if you really feel that way, feel free to do what you want with him," Tai Lung told Gaur. "I've already given my assistance and completed what your pupil requested of me."
Before Master Gaur or Wei could say anything, Tai Lung turned his back to them and walked off, leaving behind master, apprentice, and a former warlord who had recently left the world of the living.
"You fought Shen down in the Spirit Realm?" asked Po, interrupting the story again.
"Yes, I imagine you didn't humble him enough," Tai Lung told the panda. "So I had to do your job for you."
"Well, I was sorta trying to offer him a hand to try to redeem himself," Po admitted. "Guess he didn't take that well."
Tai Lung shook his head. "See? That's your problem, Po. One day you're going to run into an opponent who's not me, the peacock, or the Chameleon. And you won't be so lucky once you let your guard down again."
"Well, I gotta give people a chance, right?" Po asked. "Whether or not they accept is up to them."
Tai Lung frowned. "Keep thinking that if it makes you feel better. Anyways, back to my story…"
A long time had gone by and Tai Lung wasn't sure how many days or even years had passed. In all this time, he hadn't seen Oogway or anyone worth seeing. But truthfully, he was alright with that. He preferred his solitude and quiet.
"Help!" a voice rang out.
Tai Lung turned around. At the road leading to his mountain retreat in the Spirit Realm were Shen and Wei, both panting like they were running from some terrible monster.
Tai Lung got up. "What's this now?"
"Master Gaur and the others," Wei told the snow leopard. "He's got them!"
"Who's got them?" demanded Tai Lung.
"He came out of nowhere," Shen said in a panicked voice. "Nobody could stop him! He's a monster!"
Tai Lung heard swinging chains in the distance.
"I'll be the judge of that," Tai Lung growled.
Soon, a giant yak appeared from the mists, swinging his weapons.
"Aaaahhh!" Shen cried as he was enveloped in a green chi and transformed into a jade amulet.
"What?!" Tai Lung looked on in bewilderment.
"It's so nice to meet you," the giant yak smiled. "You see, I'm on a quest. A quest for revenge against my old friend Oogway."
"You knew Oogway once?" Tai Lung looked confused. "I don't recall him ever talking to me about a yak."
"You may call me General Kai," the yak responded. "And he and I knew each other before your time. Oogway's lived the span of several people's lifetimes… so don't be surprised if there are things about his past you don't know about."
"I suppose it doesn't matter," Tai Lung growled. "All I see is some horned bandit who thinks he can take what he wants without consequence. I'll be the first to disabuse you of that notion!"
"Very well then, little kitten," Kai smiled. "Let's see what you're capable of."
"Whoa… you met Kai as well?" asked Po.
"Well, yes," Tai Lung stated plainly. "It was hard to miss him when he was on a mission to steal the chi of every last master in the afterlife."
"This must have been before he confronted Oogway," Po realized.
"In all likelihood yes," Tai Lung admitted. "It must've taken him a while to find every master though since the Spirit Realm is a big place."
"Anyways, sorry for interrupting," Po told him. "Keep going and tell me about the totally awesome battle you two had."
"I'm afraid this is where things don't go in my favor," Tai Lung grimaced.
Tai Lung dodged a chain and kicked Kai in the chest, eliciting a grunt from Kai as he took a step back.
Kai swung at the snow leopard with his other jade sword but Tai Lung ducked underneath it and began striking Kai with every punch, palm strike, and chi blocking blow he could think of.
Over and over, Tai Lung hit Kai in every point on his body, hoping to find a weakness.
Kai merely raised his fists up and slammed them down on Tai Lung's back, knocking the snow leopard down.
"Agh!" Tai Lung cried as he fell.
Instantly, Kai kicked him into the side of the mountain.
Getting up, Tai Lung realized he was in immense danger as Kai charged him, Kai punched at Tai Lung who rolled away but Kai's blow shattered the small mountain behind Tai Lung.
"You… you are a monster," Tai Lung admitted.
"That's right," Kai smiled. "Put some respect on my name."
"But I'm not about to give up," Tai Lung charged.
In an instant, a powerful back hand from Kai knocked Tai Lung to the floor as the snow leopard realized he couldn't take too many more blows of this caliber.
Getting up, Tai Lung looked up at his opponent who stood before him triumphantly.
"It's been fun but I really need to get back to looking for Oogway now," Kai told him.
Tai Lung felt a green chi energy envelope him and realized he was being transformed into one of those jade amulets Kai had on his belt.
"Oh wow, guess things didn't go so smooth after that," Po told him.
"Well, what did I expect?" Tai Lung sighed. "Kai was a peer to Oogway so there probably wasn't any chance of victory for me against such a foe."
"Yeah, Kai was probably my toughest foe to date," Po admitted. "The only way I even beat him was being empowered by the chi of everybody at the Panda Village. I haven't fought an opponent like him since then."
"I believe I was freed after you defeated Kai," Tai Lung pointed out. "Though I didn't immediately become conscious until a little later, after you exited the Spirit Realm."
"Yeah, it's too bad we didn't have a reunion down there at the time," Po admitted.
Time in the Spirit Realm was much more different than what it was in the mortal realm. Tai Lung still wasn't sure how much time had passed but he had an idea that possibly a few years had passed.
Since that fateful day he fought Kai and was defeated, he finally broke out of his shell a little and even felt some twinge of gratitude towards Po for having freed him. Day by day, he was doing a little more than just practicing kung fu or meditating on his mountain.
Tai Lung walked towards the forest area where Master Gaur and Wei lived.
"Tai Lung!" Wei the pug walked up to him. "We haven't seen you for a while!"
"Are the prisoners still in check?" asked Tai Lung.
"Of course," Wei confirmed. "Shen has voluntarily turned himself in after his defeat at your hands and as for Kai… let's just say that after Po defeated him and dispersed all his stolen chi, he got brought back down to size."
Tai Lung followed the pug as he led him to the newly created prison in the Spirit Realm. For a moment, Tai Lung flashed back to his own time being imprisoned at Chorh-Gom Prison.
He saw a mountain prison for those kung fu warriors who, in life, were conquerors and killers. And judging from how they were locked up, they still hadn't given up on their ambitions even in the afterlife.
First, Tai Lung walked past Kai's cell.
"You were lucky Po rescued you," Kai said to Tai Lung, glaring at the leopard from his cell.
Tai Lung ignored him and walked towards Master Gaur who sat in a seat in front of Shen's cell. The two of them were playing a game of Weiqi. From the looks of it, Shen had just won.
"Hmm, guess I lost again," Master Gaur shook his head. "I suppose my kung fu experience doesn't make up for having military experience."
"Are the prisoners giving you any trouble?" asked Tai Lung.
"Not at all," Master Gaur confirmed. "This one has been showing some improvement."
"No, no problems here at all," Shen said and then quietly took a sip of tea.
Shen didn't look Tai Lung in the eyes. Instead, he was focused on the game and getting through the day. Judging from the looks of it, the fact that Shen lost everything in the mortal world and then suffered even more severe defeats at the hands of Tai Lung and later on, Kai, really had a profound humbling effect on the peacock.
"I see then," Tai Lung told Master Gaur. "By all means, carry on. I'll be at my mountain if you need me."
"That was some adventure," Po told Tai Lung.
"That was the most interesting thing I'd gone through in the Spirit Realm," Tai Lung confirmed. "Other than that, it was mostly just training and meditation every day. I learned to let go when I was there."
"So will I go to the Spirit Realm when it's my time?" asked Po.
"I don't see why not," Tai Lung told him. "If you're a kung fu master, you should end up there."
Suddenly, a rustling was heard in the bushes.
"What was that?" Po grabbed his staff.
"Get ready!" Tai Lung leaped up in a fighting stance.
However, rather than an enemy appearing, a familiar sight greeted both leopard and panda.
"Son!"
Both Li Shan and Mr. Ping stumbled from the bushes and fell on top of one another.
"Dads?!" Po's mouth opened wide in shock as Tai Lung face-palmed in exasperation, shaking his head.
To be continued.