[Tai Lung's POV]
His face scrunched up to display a stern and serious expression as he opened his eyes.
His eyes shook and I could see his emotions bubbling up in their depth, yet his expression remained hard and stoic.
"You've aged, Shifu." I said as I carefully observed his white hair and the wrinkles on his face. It has been 20 years but his face seemed to age twice that.
"I can't say the same. You look exactly as you did that day." Shifu said, his voice was laced with too many emotions and a poorly disguised aloofness. I couldn't figure out what he was feeling.
"Indeed. Whatever Oogway did to keep me at bay had stopped my body from moving and even ageing." I said with a chuckle.
"Speaking of which, I heard Oogway had passed. Did you cry for him? Or did you remain stoic like when they took me away?"
"What do you want Tai Lung?"
"What do you mean Master?" I asked and spread my hand, "I am home."
"This is not your home and I am not your master." He said in a stern voice, seemingly void of emotion but that was because he was feeling too much that he didn't know which emotion to respond to.
Why would you say that? I know you don't mean it.
"Really? Is that how it's going to be?" I asked.
"That is how it must be." He said and got into a stance.
Responsibility and duty. They were chains that held him back from showing his true self.
Oogway gave him a huge responsibility on his shoulders and he had a duty as the master of the Jade Palace.
He couldn't even show his true feelings and was wearing a mask.
'That's how it must be huh?' Don't worry, I will break those chains of yours Shifu. I will force your real feelings out.
After all, it is the real Shifu that I wanted to talk to. Not this old Red Panda bound by duty. Not the master of the Jade Palace.
I want to see my father.
"So be it." I said and took to the sky. A modern Snow Leopard can jump as high as 20 feet in the air, now imagine how high I could jump.
I spun in the sky and quickly descended like a meteorite with a hammer kick. Shifu was nimble and had seen my attack coming from miles away.
*BOOOM!!*
The steps cracked and were completely demolished under my kick. I stomped on the ground as a huge boulder was forced off the ground. I gave a sidekick and sent the boulder flying towards Shifu.
"Haaa!!" Shifu yelled and with a Chi-infused attack, he broke the boulder 10 times his size with a green flash.
I knew he was going to do that because behind him was the Jade Palace. Shifu would rather die than see the Jade Palace destroyed. Therefore, instead of easily dodging with his speed, he decided to break the boulder.
I used the rubble as a cover and I suddenly appeared in front of him. I held back most of my strength and launched a kick at him. He managed to block my kick but the force behind my attack sent him flying inside the Jade Palace. His small body broke the closed door in the process.
*BOOOM!!*
"Everything I did was to make you proud!!" I screamed while runninrunning on all fours toward him. I punched at him but he was so fast that he literally disappeared from my eyes and hit me on my abdomen.
I took a step back but no damage. My hide was thick enough to ignore every attack his small body could throw at me. He specializes in speed and knowledge, after all, he was not suited to fight someone like me.
Shifu utilized his insane speed to get behind me and aimed for the back of my neck but I already anticipated his move. I quickly turned around and grabbed his leg before slamming him on the floor. A web-like crack formed as he gritted his teeth in pain.
He was weaker than me and was way out of his prime. Fighting me was suicide. I knew that and he knew even better.
"Yet you betrayed me!!" I screamed as I felt real anger briefly bubble up inside me. I let my claws free and swiped at him but he moved away. My claws leave a slashing wound on the marble floor.
Shifu collected his breath and took out a dagger from one of the collection in the Jade Palace. Then we blurred from our position, and we met in a clash of claws and blade. A spark of friction dictated a draw so we moved again only to meet at a different place
I tried my best to keep up with Shifu's speed as he used the pillars of the Palace as a foothold to shoot from one place to another.
We continued our calsh as we ended in a draw each time. Not because we were equal in strength but because both of us were holding back. We did not even aim at each other but at our weapons.
Actions speak louder than words, especially for people like us who dedicate ourselves to Kung Fu.
His eyes shook when he realised that I was not aggressive. My attacks held no real anger much less the dark hatred that he was hoping for.
He looked at me, his eyes round and pitiful. He showed an opening in his realization and my trained body took that opening by instinct as I kicked him in his stomach like a football.
His small body was sent crashing through the roof as he flew into the dark, thundering sky. I landed on the ground and with a leap that destroyed the marble floor like glass I shot up like a missile.
When I reached Shifu, I slammed him with a powerful punch that synced with the thunder. A huge shockwave silences the sky as Shifu's small body flew higher.
I kicked the air as hard as I could and the shockwave propelled me upwards again. We were both shooing up the sky and when we finally ran out of momentum, I positioned myself above Shifu and kicked him down from the sky.
His body quickly fell from the sky and he crashed through the roof of the Jade Palace and hit the marble floor.
I propelled myself and fell down twice as fast to the Jade Palace. The air whipped around me as I let out a roar and pulled back my arm to deliver the finishing blow.
"Hyaaaarh!!!" I yelled as Shifu lay on the marble floor, closing his eyes and a smile on his face.
He accepted his death.
*BOOOOOOOM!!!!!*
A shockwave shook the entire foundation of the Jade Palace and the shockwave tore the outer part of the pillars.
A huge crater of five feet was carved out of the marble floor as my fist was plated firmly right beside Shifu's head.
"Haaa...haaa...haaa..." I caught my breath as he looked up at me. His eyes were that of confusion and they were shaking.
"You leave me to rot in jail for 20 years." I accused him as his jaw trembled, too stunned to speak.
He had lost, his duty as the master of the Jade Palace was fulfilled so now he allowed his real feelings to show on his face.
The once stoic mask made way for raw emotions as his face morphed into that of sadness and regret.
I saw my father.
And he was heartbroken.
"I- I have always been proud of you," Shifu said in a heartbreaking voice of whisper.
"I loved you too much to see what you were becoming. Truly, I am sorry." He said and as his heavy voice filled the empty space of the Jade Palace, I felt my heart break.
"No. I don't want your apology. Not for that reason." I said as I looked into his eyes. I allowed my vulnerability to surface but only briefly.
"You gave up on me." I declared as his eyes went wide. I let the silence help him process my words.
After a while, his eyes went wide and his pupils dilated as they gaze upon me. Giant droplets of tears started pouring out of his eyes.
He realized.
I pulled my hand out of the crater and stood up, tall and powerful as I took a step back.
I allowed him to finally look at me after all these years. It was his first time seeing me again.
People see what they want to see instead of the real thing sometimes. That was the case for Shifu who only saw me as a villain and a mistake after what Oogway told him.
But now, he finally saw me.
He saw not only someone with darkness in his heart, not someone who had gone down the wrong path, and not his mistake.
He saw me, Tai Lung. In all that I am.
I was more than just a mistake, more than a villain, more than a dark obsession.
He saw his son.
"When Oogway said he saw darkness in me, I was hoping you'd tell him he was wrong. I thought at least you would take my side and try to save me from whatever it was that Oogway saw but you did nothing."
"At this point, I am not angry nor do I hate you for your actions. But your inaction has hurt me to this day. You stopped believing in me the moment Oogway told you otherwise, does it ever occur to you that I might just need someone to talk to? Someone to teach me? Someone to show me better?" I said as he lowered his head, closing his eyes as tears continued streaming down his cheek.
"You had no faith in me. You believed everything Oogway tells you and you thought I was beyond saving, that you have made a mistake and that's it. Instead of helping me, you abandoned me to a dungeon and let silence and isolation teach me."
"The reason why that cuts me so deep is because I thought of you as a father," I said and my voice became a little shaky, losing its firmness. "What father gives up on his own son?"
That was what had hurt me to this day. I was not like how I used to be, I have gained knowledge and wisdom of a different life. I was capable of analysing the situation as it was, from an outsiders perspective.
He was not wrong.
But I was also his son as much as I was an outsider. And from a son's perspective, I felt my heart bleed at his betrayal.
It was not only my dream but Shifu's that I become the Dragon Warrior. I wanted to be the Dragon Warrior, the hero who saves the world and a source of pride for my father.
And he was always so proud of me, telling me how great I was. He promised me that I was destined to do great things, he pushed me to my limits and I did the same.
Yet when Oogway rejected me, he was not there to console me or explain things to me. As my proud chest fell and my ambition was denied, he did not stay with me and followed Oogway.
It was a dream we both shared, yet when that was broken, he left me on a sinking ship, abandoning me to make do with the broken pieces of a dissolving dream.
I looked at him for guidance and direction when Oogway named me a villain, but he turned his back on me.
'It's the end, Tai Lung. It was my mistake. You can't be saved.' He never believed in me.
My father gave me up for a prophecy.
And that kills me.
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He did not belive Po to be the Dragon Warrior since the beginning but be never gave up and in the end, he was able to change.
'You believed in Po.' I wanted to say.
"No..No." Shifu whispered as he put his head on the ground.
Why did you give up on me? Even when I was locked away in the depths of Choch Gom Prison, I waited for him.
My wrath disappeared after the first week of my imprisonment as I waited, waited and waited. Years passed yet he never came.
I thought for sure he'd forgotten me, like a distant dream, a blurry nightmare.
I thought, what kind of father forgets his own son? Only after 20 years and meeting him again did I realise the answer.
I looked at his fragile body. He was small and had red and white furs. My arms came into view as I looked at both myself and him.
The difference was clear. We are nothing alike.
"I realized, I was not your son." The moment those words left my lips, I felt tears fall down from one eye.
I let my feelings go. It was calming.
My heart aches but the end promises rest and respite.
I closed my eyes and felt all of the emotions in my heart. I did not reject them nor did I run away. I embraced them and the moment for all it's worth.
Somewhere, someway. we went wrong as a father and son. Although I said all of that to him, I knew he was not the only one who had done wrong.
I did as well.
And what I have now is the product of our actions.
A broken son and a broken father.
The silence silences.
..
..
..
That was until Shifu spoke up. For all his weakness and inaction, he decided to speak up at the last moment.
"You will always be my son." He said as he slowly stood up and limped towards me. His eyes were sad and wet.
"From the moment I found you and even to this day. You are my son." He said and looked up at me, a brittle smile made its way on his aged face.
"I realize now, that I was never worthy to be your father. I got a better son than I could ever hope for." He said, "Perhaps you no longer see me as your father but for all my worth, you will always be my son."
He closed his eyes as tears streamed down his face. He opened his arm for a hug.
"I am sorry it took me this long but, welcome home."
I crouched down and took his hug. I felt that warm embrace made me a little bit better, it heals.
We stayed like that for a long time until Shifu eventually passed out in my arms. All of the stress and worrying about me had made him weary, and our fight and the emotional outburst were the final straw.
I gently laid him down on the ground with a smile on my face.
I felt a lot lighter than I did coming home.
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[IMAGE!!]
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Author : Good job guys. Stand proud, you saved yourself from the cliff.
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[Tai Lung's POV]
Hopefully, that's the end of it. I feel a lot better than I did before and I was relieved to finally come to terms with whatever issue was between us.
I was really not good with these emotional things, I'd rather punch some evil villain or train until my bones cracked.
In the end, I had already come to terms with everything and I have accepted myself when I attained Inner Peace. What happened was simply a manifestation of my emotions.
Hopefully, Shifu find his inner peace too. I did not know if he achieved such a thing in the movies but I could help him this time around.
I left the passed-out Shifu lying near the pond in the Jade Palace as I made my way outside. The Palace was mostly destroyed and absolutely wrecked, with a giant crater in the middle.
That would take some time to fix but it can definitely be restored so I was not worried.
I went out of the Jade Palace and stood at the top of the steps as I stretched my body. There really was no place like home as I felt my soul at peace.
I looked at the horizon and my eyes took in the magnificence of the clear sky. The dark clouds have dispersed and the storm had retreated, as if to represent the end of the emotional turmoil I was in not too long ago.
I stayed like that, enjoying the first rays of the rising sun until my peace was disturbed by the sound of rough breathing.
I opened my eyes and looked down at the steps and I could see a Panda crawling up the stairs. He was already halfway the thousand steps but he still had a long way to go.
I couldn't help but crack a smile as I watched him face his greatest adversary in his words, stairs.
It was amusing, to say the least.
"Haa.....Huaaaaaa...Hiiiii...." He breathes heavily and his needy gasps sounds like a fish trying to breathe in a desert.
"Huaaa..Huaaaa..Haaaahh!" And now he was choking on air. I never knew it was possible to choke on air so points to the Panda for teaching me something new.
"Hey!! Panda!!~" I called out and he turned his head up as his exhausted eyes looked at me lazily. Seriously? How do you get your eyes tired from climbing up steps?
"Ahhhh Wha!" He suddenly realised who I was and he nearly lost his footing and fell back down to the beginning of the stairs. Luckily, he managed to catch himself.
"You don't have to hurry!! I will wait for you!!" I said as a giant smile split my face. I gave him a thumbs up which he returned.
"Okay!! Thank you sir!!" He yelled back, waving his hands at me before he flopped down on the steps like a dead meat.
I thought for sure that he'd be much better and would even be able to climb the stairs properly considering he had more time to train, but it seemed stairs were his kryptonite. Something which he could never overcome.
"You can do it Dragon Warrior." I cheered and laughed while I watched Po slowly drag himself up the final steps.
At last, he was able to bring his body to the top of the stairs and he immediately laid down, exhausted and with his tongue rolling out. He panted like a dog for a while until eventually, he stood up.
"So, you must be Po. I have heard a lot about you." I said while taking a few steps toward him.
"Yes, I am." Po said before he paused, "Wait you've heard about me? Where? I mean, all good things I hope? No?" He said the last part unsure and insecure.
It was truly amusing seeing him like this and it made me realize just how much of a character development he went through during the three movies.
Who'd have thought that this Panda would become one of the most powerful Kung Fu masters that ever lived, rivalling the likes of Oogway himself?
It was equally amusing and frustrating.
"Enough about that. I think you have something I want." I said as my eyes narrowed at him. My carefree attitude disappeared in an instant and my face morphed into something cold and serious.
"Oh, right." Po said and he took something from the back of his pants. It was the Dragon Scroll, in all it's glory.
I decided to not question where he hid that.
"You want it? Come and-WHAAA!!" He screamed as I moved with lightning speed and punched him, sending his body flying like a ragdoll while I stole the scroll from his hand.
*Boing~*
His body flew away and fell on the stairs. His body started bouncing like a ball as he fell down, crashing one at a time on the stairs.
Did I feel a sick sense of amusement when I saw him fall down on all the steps he climbs so hard? Maybe.
Did I also revel in seeing all of his effort going to waste as he found himself at the bottom of the stairs? Just like how all my efforts to be the Dragon Warrior went to waste?
I won't speak until I meet my lawyer.
"Uhhhh!!" "Ahhhhh!! "Ahhahaha!!" "Ouuuh!!" "Ouch!!!" I watched as Po fell down the stairs comically until he stopped in the market at the end of the stairs.
I looked at the Dragon Scroll in my hand and although I knew it was blank, it held an important place in my life. So I decided to keep it.
Besides that, no one else in the world other than us knew it was blank so it could be useful to distract an enemy or use it to trade for something more precious someday.
But for now, let's keep those thoughts away cause I have more important things of interest.
"What the fuck was that?" I asked myself and looked at the hand with which I punched Po.
I knew how to punch, I knew it so well that it was like breathing to me at this point. So I knew my punch landed on the Panda.
Yet I also knew my punch did not hit him.
It was strange. It reminded me of my childhood when I used to hit a certain dummy made of rubber.
As I grew, I made it a tradition to destroy a dummy or training material in a way they were meant to be used. It was a show that I have mastered the thing I was training. For example, if it was wooden dummy made to train kicks, I would destroy it with a powerful kick, and if it was a ball of iron to train my claws, I would cut it with my claws.
Yet that dummy was the only thing I could not destroy. Shifu used to joke that Oogway made it to train his very first student after he invented Kung Fu. Yet even after a thousand years, it had never required a repair once.
Now how is that related to Po's body? Why did it remind me if that dummy?
There must be some interesting thing about him that makes him tick. He was supposed to be one of the strongest, after all, there must be a reason besides just plot armour.
'Well, let's find out.' I thought with an evil smile as I felt my obsession with Kung Fu begging me to learn everything.
I threw the Dragon Scroll at the roof of the Jade Palace before I cracked my neck and put a huge amount of strength into my legs.
*BOOOOOM!!!*
With a loud explosion of force that devasted the ground where I stood before, I shot into the sky. I did a flip to control the trajectory I was falling and aimed right at the market where Po was standing.
I used my limbs to guide me when I started free-falling to the ground. The air rushed pass my fur as I enjoyed the feeling of freedom right before landing on the ground.
*PHEWWW~*
*BOOOM!!*
I did a superhero landing as a controlled shockwave welcomed me. I stood up and nodded in satisfaction when I saw the admiration on Po's face.
"Whaoooo! Awesome." He said, almost fanboying before he collected himself.
"So, Dragon Warrior. Let us fight to decide the fate of the Valley. If I win, I will destroy all and everything you love." I said to him and I saw his face get serious, good.
"And what if you lose?" He asked me and I looked at him like an idot.
There are no such thing.
"Do you accept?"
"I won't let you destroy the Valley Tai Lung. No matter how cool you are, I will protect my home as the Dragon Warrior." He said and got into his famous stance.
"Good." I said and a savage grin spread my face as I raised my fist.
"Our battle will be Legendary!!"
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[IMAGE]
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Author : I did the meme, therefore I deserve stones.
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