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Ultimatum: Chapter 10

Mei Ling had just served breakfast to her three guests when a frantic knocking suddenly came at the door. Before anybody could even look up, Crane and Mantis appeared in the doorway, both flustered.

"Crane, what's the matter?" asked the rabbit.

"Tai Lung, did you and Miles go somewhere you didn't tell us about?" asked Mantis.

"No," replied the kitsune quite suddenly. "Why do you ask?"

Crane shook his head. "Wang Dun came to the palace today with claw marks on his face," said the avian quickly.

Cream visibly stiffened at this, Tai Lung raising a brow in curiousity. "Who, that petty advisor of that emperor?" he asked. "I would never think of doing such a thing."

"Well, I dunno how to explain why he was crying for your murder, then," replied Mantis. "I think you saw him."

"No matter what, though, this is bad," said Crane, shaking his head. "He knows you're here now and won't stop at anything."

Mei Ling shook her head as she looked on the breakfast she had just prepared. "Oh, dear..." she said. "We need to think of something. And fast."

"Wait a minute..." said Cream, finger resting at the edge of her lip. "Tan Tao gets claw marks on his face and leaves us alone after that... And then Wang Dun comes in with clawmarks on his face. Did you notice anything wierd about the cuts?"

There was a brief silence as both members of the Furious Five thought about this. "Now that you mention it, there was..." replied Mantis before Crane could speak. "I dunno how to describe it. It was like they were unnatural. The cuts weren't straight. It was like they had been..."

The insect's eyes went wide with shock as he suddenly realized what Cream was getting at. Curious, everybody looked at him with anticipation on their faces as Cream shook her head.

"No wonder he left us alone last night!" said Cream suddenly. "He had other plans!"

"Cream, what are you suggesting?" asked Miles uncertainly.

The rabbit shook her head. "Wang Dun and Tan Tao are one and the same," she said. "Think about it; we slash Tan Tao in the face, and similar marks appear on Wang Dun."

"But it doesn't account for the species difference!" replied Tai Lung suddenly. "They are... Wait. Oh no..."

Tai Lung shook his head. "I think we're dealing with a chi mage here..." he said.

"A chi mage?" asked Miles uncertainly. "What's that?"

Mei Ling looked over her shoulder. "You know what chi is?" she asked.

"No," the kitsune replied, shaking his head.

"Chi is the energy of the earth," she said, her arms crossed in front of her. "Some kung fu warriors can harness this chi to do things."

"Oh, so it's sort of like a wizard!" said Cream, pointing this out to Miles.

The fox shrugged. "Sounds like one," he said.

Crane shook his head. "This is very, very bad," he said. "We've gotta get out of here."

"What, under the cover of broad daylight with guards around the gate?" asked Tai Lung. "That's not going to happen!"

"But you could always pretend to take Cream and Miles hostage and we could get you out like that," suggested Mei Ling.

Tai Lung shook his head. "The guards would get me as soon as I got to the gate," he replied. "We need something more reliable."

At this, a knock suddenly sounded from the doorway into Mei Ling's house. Suddenly, everybody went stock still, listening closely to the silence. Without a word, Tai Lung grabbed Miles and Cream and darted into the dojo without so much as a second look back at the room he had just been in. Crane and Mantis followed after some extra beckoning by Mei Ling, the two of them going into the dojo after the snow leopard.

Rubbing her face with her hands, Mei Ling came forward, putting the best smile she could manage when she looked at the doorway. There, she saw a rather aged snow leopard standing with her hands in front of her like she was praying. The woman smiled when Mei Ling came into view, her eyes ligthing up in happiness.

"Oh, good morning," said Mei Ling with a polite bow. "How may I help you?"

"Are you Mei Ling?" asked the woman in a surprisingly resolute voice.

"Yes," replied the kung fu warrior with a smile. "What do you need?"

The elderly woman smiled, the small wrinkles on her face folding in reply. "I see..." she said. "So Cream made it safely here last night?"

Mei Ling's fur literally jumped to stand on end, her tail stiffening behind her. "Wha-- How did you--- wha...?" she asked futiley, unable to understand what the snow leopardess was saying.

"She is something of a friend of mine," said the woman as she entered. "I wish to help her escape from Beijing."

Mei Ling looked back to where her friends had been standing mere seconds before. Shrugging, the mountain lion stepped aside.

"Come in," said Mei Ling.

The snow leopardess stepped into Mei Ling's house, the younger female tracking her every move with light beige eyes. The older woman strode into where Cream had been moments before, looking into the dojo.

"Cream?" she asked, a strange kind of determination in her aged voice.

The rabbit then popped her head out from where she had been hiding by the doorway. When her eyes set on the woman, the rabbit jumped up, a smile splayed on her mouth.

"Tai Xue!" she proclaimed merrily.

"Oh, Cream!" said the motherly woman as Tai Lung, Miles, and the two members of the Furious Five came out of their hiding places. "You are all right after all."

"They did come for me last night!" said the rabbit as Miles came over to the doorway.

"I noticed," replied Tai Xue as the kitsune entered the room, recognizing the woman's face.

As Tai Lung entered, the kitsune eyed the woman. "You weren't asleep at all last night, were you?" he asked.

Tai Xue shook her head with a motherly smile on her face. "It is a secondary trait that some whores learn," replied the older woman. "We are able to fake our sleep at night. I saw everything from where I hid."

As Crane and Mantis entered the room, Miles gave her an uncertain glare. "Then who are you, and what's your relation to Cream?" he asked.

"I am Tai Xue," replied the snow leopard as she bowed gracefully. "Tan Tao's favorite whore, and a friend of Cream's."

Miles nodded, rubbing his chin as he thought.

"And what brings you here?" asked Crane.

"I've come to tell you that I can lead you to a secret passage out of Beijing," she said. Before anybody could interrupt, she continued. "Tan Tao built a secret passageway within one of the buildings he owns so that his scouts could get in and out of Beijing without being spotted by villagers. I am one of the few people he trusts with its secret. I can take you there so that you can escape and that Cream can escape her fate should Tan Tao attempt to find her."

All heads in the room nodded as Tai Lung looked around. "Okay, looks like we're going with the original plan then," he said, smirking deviously. "So I'll take you and Cream hostage, and then I'll go wherever you make me go..."

"Just a moment," said Tai Xue, approaching the male snow leopard slowly. "Let me see your face."

Before Tai Lung could refuse, he felt Tai Xue's hand touch his cheek. Sighing in defeat, he looked down, keeping his eyes open for the woman to look at. The older woman took a good look a Tai Lung's face, absorbing every feature in his face and smiling.

"It's been so long..." she said suddenly.

Baffled, the leopard raised an eyebrow. "But I only just met you," he pointed out.

"Thirty-six years, to be precise," continued Tai Xue softly. "That was the last I saw of you before I left you at the Jade Palace all those years ago... You look just like your father... You took after my species, though..."

All eyes in the room widened as the meaning of these words sunk in. Tai Lung simply blinked in shocked, his jaw hanging open.

"... Mother...?" he asked uncertainly. "You're my mother?"

Tai Xue nodded. "I wish I could have raised you by myself..." she said, regret coming prominently from her voice. "But I had no choice. Tan Tao would have killed you if he had found out I had given birth to you. I also did not want my son to grow up like him. So, I left you in a better place, where you could be loved by at least one person without any kind of anger..."

Tai Lung simply stood there, dazzled by this revelation. A full minute of silence passed, the younger snow leopard not sure what to make of this new revelation. Looking around at the ground in front of him, he tried forming words in his mouth, all of which died on his tongue very quickly. One predominating thought seemed to prevail, and then he tried to bring voice to this.

"Then who's my father?" he asked. "My real father, before you ask."

Tai Xue looked at the ground guiltily as she thought about this. She looked back up after a brief pause, determination in her eyes as she looked Tai Lung in the eye.

"Tan Tao," she said simply.

In the shocked silence that followed, Tai Xue continued. "He loved me so much back then that he took too many concessions with me. He made me sell myself later than any of his other whores. He was at his most gentle when he was in bed with me. But he said he never wanted children. And I ended up bearing him two." She looked to Tai Lung. "You were the first to be born," she said sadly. "Tan Tao was on vacation at that time, so I was able to spend a week with you before I had to give you up. So I spent that week travelling to the Jade Palace. I had given you a name, and I wrote it on a card that I left in the basket I left you in. I looked at you right up to the moment the red panda who finally answered the door took you in as his son."

Tai Lung was still silent at this, but by now the shock had worn off, and he was left looking at Tai Xue wth an unreadable look on his face. He edged closer to his mother, surprised.

"I had always wondered..." he said. "I always wondered who my real parents were. Shifu... that was the panda's name... he told me I had been left at the doorstep. I always assumed I had been abandoned by my family. That they didn't want me. It had always made me a little bitter inside, to think that. But now..."

And then Tai Xue was suddenly surprised as she felt Tai Lung wrap his arms around her. A tear was seen in the male leopard's eye as he hugged his mother.

"I'm glad to know that at least you wanted the best for me," he said, trying not to cry. "Mother, even if I became one of China's most infamous criminals... I think you made the right choice. I would never have met Shifu or Miles or anybody else if it wasn't for you. And I wouldn't be one of China's best warriors, either. Thanks, mother. Just... I wish you could've found me sooner. Before I had gone on that rampage in the Valley of Peace..."

And here, the elderly cat's heart melted as she felt the embrace of her son. Slowly, they parted as Tai Lung thought about something else.

"And the second child?" he asked. "What happened to him?"

"Her," corrected Tai Xue. "I was not so lucky with her. I did not even get to name her; Tan Tao was returning from a drug settlement, and I had given birth to a daughter that day. I told the midwife to run away with the baby somewhere and give her up to someone. She came back a few days later and told me that she had left her at the Bao Gu orphanage. From what she told me, she took after her father's species, even if her fur was orange instead of white..."

At this, Crane and Mantis both gawked. "What the hell?" asked the insect. "Tigress and Tai Lung are siblings?"

"Tigress..." said Tai Xue. "That was the name they gave her?"

Nervously, Crane nodded. "Man, it feels so awkward to know that Tigress and Tai Lung are related by blood..."

"I can't say I blame you," said Miles uncertainly. "These past few minutes have been so surreal I barely believe any of it myself."

"Yeah," said Cream, clicking her heels together nervously. "Should we leave before the emperor gets suspicious?"

"Oh, yes!" said Tai Lung, suddenly grabbing Cream and Tai Xue in a fake choke hold with both of his arms.

Mei Ling smiled. "So I guess my original suggestion is valid."

"It is," replied Tai Lung. "Mother, I'll be looking around frantically when I try to escape. If I'm facing the right direction, tap my arm with your thumbs and I'll know to head that way. Mei Ling, Crane, Mantis, I want you to take Miles with you and chase me all the way to the passage to keep up appearances. Once we get out of Beijing, we should find the Dragon Warrior and the other three of the Five and tell them everything. Then we'll come back and take down Tan Tao's empire!"

"Okay, sounds like a plan," said Mei Ling. "What do we do then?"

"Well, we shouldn't take Tai Xue out at all," said Crane. "So Mei Ling, I hope you don't mind being left behind to look after her."

"Not at all," she said with a smile. "It would be my pleasure, actually. And once you come back, well, just bring me up to date and I'll try to help you take this Tan Tao guy down!"

"Okay," said Miles. "So we know what we need to do. Now let's go!"

Tai Lung nodded, and before anybody could say anything, he had jumped through Mei Ling's wall, Tai Xue and Cream in his hold as they assumed frightened faces.

When Tai Lung barged out, he found himself in the middle of a rather small crowd. As soon as he was out, however, the small crowd reeled back in terror, eyes on the snow leopard. Keeping up appearances, he began to look around the area, eyes scanning over the buildings for the way to the secret passage. He faced a direction slightly to the right from where he had gone the night before. When Tai Xue tapped her thumbs against his arm, he looked over.

However, it was at this point that Mei Ling jumped out of the house, attempting a palm strike that Tai Lung dodged. Playing along, Tai Lung sent a kick at the owner of the dojo, sending her towards the edge of the crowd. Before Crane or Mantis could run out of the house after him, he had jumped onto the rooftops and was making his way in the direction Tai Xue had indicated, jumping over the rooftops.

Not to be outdone, Crane flew after Tai Lung as Mantis jumped on the rooftops. Before Mei Ling could be left behind, Miles helped her up to her feet, and without even mentioning anything flew off after Tai Lung, a frown on his face as he dropped Mei Ling onto the roof.

The crowd that lingered there watched the group, whispering amongst themselves what they figured was happening as Tai Lung's figure disappeared into the distance.

---

A short time later, Tai Lung was still leaping over buildings when suddenly she felt Tai Xue's thumb press into him on the top of a particular rooftop.

"Get to the basement of this building," she whispered right as he paused to listen to her.

Nodding, Tai Lung looked down, jumping off of the top of the building onto a window a short distance down. Roughly, he thrust Cream and Tai Xue into the room so he could grab the windowsill with his hands. He saw Mei Ling jump down on a similarly elevated window across the street from him, and he knew that she had taken the hint. As the mountain lion jumped across the street to him, Tai Lung kicked her, then propelling himself into the room he had just been in as Mei Ling braced against the building she had been kicked into.

Grabbing Cream and Tai Xue as his feet landed on the door, he then barged straight through the door, the silk tearing as he worked his way down to the bottom of the building. He passed all manner of maids as he moved down the narrow hallway, and the clatter of porcelain breaking on the floor rung throughout as Tai Lung disappeared down a flight of steps. Without missing a beat, Mei Ling followed, with Mantis, Crane, and Miles all following very closely behind.

When Tai Lung reached the very bottom of the stairwell, he stopped as soon as he was out of sight of the staircase, going deeper into a very dark cavern lit only by a few candles. As soon as the four people chasing him had followed him in, they dropped their battle faces and smiled at Tai Lung.

"Well, there we go," said Mei Ling. "Now, where's the passage itself?"

Tai Xue pointed to where a couple of large candles were splayed prominently, revealing a large hole in the wall that led into a tunnel made of dirt. The group came forward, looking at the passage as they saw how dark it was in there.

"Simply follow the passageway to the end," she said. "It should take you right to the Devil's Mouth."

Cream nodded at this and turned to the older woman. "Thank you so much for everything," Cream said.

"It will always be my pleasure," replied Tai Xue gracefully. "Now go. Go before anybody sees you here!"

Without any further hesitation, Tai Lung grabbed one of the candles from the beginning of the passageway. Nodding to his companions, he, Miles, Cream, Mantis, and Crane all entered the passage, Mei Ling and Tai Xue looking on as the light of the candle rather quickly faded away the further the small group got into the passage. As soon as the candle completely went out, Mei Ling nodded to Tai Xue. Faking an injury, the whore balanced herself against the kung fu master, the two of them walking back to the stairwell in an attempt to get upstairs.

A full minute after everyone had left the building, however, a great light was seen in there, followed by the appearance of a tiger and a series of eleven scouts all dressed in colors of deepest night. Looking to where the candles were, the leader came to the other large candle, looking into the passageway.

"Damn it," said the voice of Tan Tao, angrily. "We're too late."

"But milord, it's not that big an issue, right?" asked one of the scouts. "I mean, this passage only goes one way, so if we follow it we should find them eventually. And they won't be too far for us to catch them, either."

The leader of this small group nodded.

"Should we go after the ones that went into the passage?" he asked.

"Yes," replied Tan Tao. "I want that rabbit brought to me alive. As for Tai Lung; bring him to the emperor when you capture him. If you kill him, I will kill you in turn. If there is anybody else with them, kill them. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" said the bird.

And with this, most of the eyes in the cave moved towards the secret passage, Tan Tao waiting for them all to disappear.

"And to think Tai Xue would be the one to betray me," he said shaking his head in disappointment. "I truly thought she cared for me..."

Here, the crime lord's expression softened. "I should punish her, but I can't bring myself to do it..." he said. "Even in old age she is still the loveliest blossom in all of China..."

Shaking his head and closing his eyes, he shook his head. "No," he said. "I won't punish her. Nor her friend. Even if her crime is great, I love her too much for that. I hope her friend considers herself lucky that I will be leaving them alone..."

And with this, a rather bright light shone in the basement for a split second before he disappeared.

---

Quite some time later, Tai Lung saw a light at the end of the tunnel. Also of note was that the air was beginning to get a little damp like it was in the Devil's Mouth. Smiling at this, Tai Lung looked ahead of him and walked a little faster. Seeing this, the rest of the group followed along as Tai Lung held the candle in his hands.

They then stepped out of the tunnel, finding themselves back in the familiar mist-covered woodlands of the Devil's Mouth. Smiling, Tai Lung looked around as Miles, Cream, Mantis, and Crane all came to stand by his side. Slowly, Tai Lung blew the candle out, the flame flickering before being blown out altogether.

"We're here," said Mantis.

"All right, good," said Cream, sighing in relief. "I'm just glad I won't have to go back to that place..."

Crane chuckled at this. "I know what you mean," said the avian. "I'd be scared in your position too."

Tai Lung shook his head, realizing the grim reality of the situation layed out before them. "We should find them before it's too late," he said quickly.

"Okay then," said Miles. "Let's go."

Tai Lung turned around briefly to discard the candle into the tunnel, and then the five of them moved quickly into the woods, searching for any trace of the Dragon Warrior and his friends.

They moved quickly throughout the Devil's mouth, shouting their heads off into the mist as they progressed. Crane was moving around quickly, attempting to scout the area around them as Tai Lung looked into the fog with his piercing eyes. However, their efforts were to no avail, and they had barely even found the Five when they took their break that day.

Shaking his head, Miles looked at the rest of his group as Crane came to land by where Cream stood.

"I don't know," he said. "What're we in such a big hurry for, anyway?"

"You tell me," replied Mantis as he rested on Tai Lung's head. "I guess we're just so eager to find them that... well..."

Cream shrugged. "Well, if the fact that we were shouting says anything, they're not anywhere near us..."

"And I haven't found anybody while flying around," added Crane. "Maybe they're just too far away from us."

"Ah, well, it's not like anybody's going to die later," shrugged Mantis insightfully. "We've got time."

And then, Cream suddenly remembered Shifu's words to her. Someone was going to die on the fourth day.

It had been four days since she had been told that. Thinking of this, she stood rigid as a plank. Miles noticed this, and then put an arm over Cream's shoulders.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

Cream shook her head. "Shifu told me someone would die today," she said. "I don't know who, but this death would change a lot in China..."

Mantis shook his head, his pincers twitching slightly. "Let's hope it doesn't happen," he said.

At this, Tai Lung's ears perked up, and then he gestured for quiet as he listened in. A few seconds of near-silence followed, but when Miles heard the crunch of leaves under a foot, his fur stood on end.

"I think we were being followed," said Tai Lung nervously.

Almost as soon as the leopard had said this, a group of about eleven birds had jumped out from behind the trees. There was one goose and ten cranes, the leader being a crane with a rather prominent red mark on the top of his black clothing. They had restrained Miles and Cream almost immediately, but Tai Lung was ready for them.

He had leapt in the air to dodge the initial tackle, Mantis and Crane following suit to dodge the birds that were dressed in black. The first thing that came to Tai Lung's mind was to attempt a nerve touch on the slender birds. Thus, right when he landed, he swiped his hand out, hoping to hit the birds in the nerve points that would disable them.

However, the scouts were too nimble for that, and the one he had tried to attack dodged this. Another two scouts then grabbed Tai Lung's outstretched paw, and pulled forward so that he would run right into a tree. Reacting quicky, the cat did a front flip so that his feet were on the tree, and he jumped of, performing a jump kick at another black-suited lackey.

What they did next greatly surprised Tai Lung. Right when Crane and Mantis landed, the two masters of the Furious Five had jumped straight for the scouts. The scouts, instead of blocking with their fists, however, rose their hands. Suddenly, the leaves on the trees were roughly pulled off, and then to block the blows a shield made of leaves was created.

"Oh, mother of fortune," cursed Mantis under his breath as he jumped down.

Before Mantis knew what had happened, the scout in front of him suddenly sent his leaf shield wrapping around the insect, trapping him in a ball that continuously swirled around for a few seconds. When this ball was let loose, the wing of the scout suddenly darted out and caught the insect, who was nearly out of breath from the wild disorientation.

Crane was faring no better. He was still attacking the lackeys with Tai Lung's help, but no matter what the leaf shield seemed to defend them from everything. The scouts even manipulated the leaves so a few would fly out at the two kung fu fighters at random. Dodging was all Tai Lung or Crane could do against this.

And then, after a full minute of this kind of exchange, the chi mages had enough. They first sent a leaf string around Crane's legs, binding them together so that he could not kick. When this was done, three of the birds leapt onto the member of the Furious Five, trapping his wings from moving at all. They got a secure hold as Tai Lung tried to get in a few blows without the leaf shield guarding them. However, this proved futile when one of the scouts suddenly brought the leaf rope from Crane when he was finally held secure. The leaf rope was then wound tightly around Tai Lung by the goose, trapping his arms next to him as the wing motions came to a pause. Trying to move his arms, Tai Lung found himself unable to move.

It was such that the scouts had captured Tai Lung and all four of his friends.

With what could only be described as a sly smile, one of the scouts came over to Tai Lung. There was a sword strapped to his back, which everybody eyed nervously as the scout looked at the rest of the group.

"So I see you declined his proposal, then," he said.

"Sir, there are things I will do to get what I want," said Tai Lung assertively. "Betraying a friend is not one of them! You think my honor is gone?"

"Yeah!" said Miles as he struggled against the hold of the two birds by his side. "You should've gone with him when you first freed him!"

"Silence!" barked the bird. "I will not be told how to do my job by a freak!"

"Tails is not a freak!" cried Cream quickly to counter this. "He may have two tails, but I don't see him killing anybody because he wants to!"

Miles' frown simply hardened at this as the bird began to look at Crane and Mantis.

"And two of the Furious Five were involved in this too, eh?" he asked. "I never would have guessed."

"Fuck off, windbag!" cried Mantis angrily. "Cream was in trouble, and he volunteered to help us!"

The scout simply chuckled. "Now, now," he said. "There's no need to be so uncouth to your captors. Am I right?"

All of the other lackeys nodded their heads. At this, the scout closed his eyes and began walking around them.

"Now, Tan Tao gave me specific orders on what to do with all of you," began the small bird simply. "He said I was to take Cream and Tai Lung back, and to make sure they were alive. So you two are safe."

"But Tan Tao's gonna kill him anyway, so why wait?" pointed out the kitsune.

The scout shook his head, chuckling. "Tan Tao's orders are not to be disobeyed, for his wrath is great," he said. "Anyways, he gave us free reign to kill anybody else."

When the scout drew his sword from behind him, Cream tensed, sensing the time had come for the person to die. When he looked around, his eyes rested on the kitsune.

"I'll start with Tai Lung's friend here," he proclaimed. "Bring him forward!"

The two birds holding Miles came forward, a fear-stricken look suddenly taking the kitsune as he was roughly laid on the ground, hands and tails bound behind him by the two scouts as the head honcho walked over.

"I'll kill you first as a sign to whoever defies Tan Tao," said the scout. "Is there anything you'd like to say?"

Miles shook his head, hot, angry tears spilling from his eyes. "Fuck you..." he said. "Fuck you, and fuck Tan Tao too!"

The scout shook his head. "Bad decision of last words," he said, holding the sword in his wings. "You will be dead tonight, I can tell you that much."

With this, Miles felt the cold steel of the blade touch the hairs on the back of his neck, the tears spilling out. He did not want to die. He had wanted to for the longest time, but ever since the epiphany had come from Oogway he knew he wanted to see his friends at least once more before his death. As Cream let out a shrill scream of fright, Miles screwed his eyes shut, waiting for the blade to come down and end his life.

He waited for nothing. For then, out of the trees a figure quickly came out. He managed to kick Tan Tao's scout hard, seperating the blades from the wing. The figure then jumped up, grabbed the blade, and then drove it into the ground with as much force as he could muster.

"He will not be dead if I have anything to say for that!"

It had all gone by so quickly that when the voice of Shifu had rung out in the small clearing, Cream was shocked.

"Master Shifu!" she exclaimed suddenly, the red panda's gaze hard on the scouts detaining Cream, Miles, and his students.

The bird growled, bringing his wings into a fighting stance as Tai Lung struggled even more fervently against his bindings.

Without warning, the scout jumped at Shifu, the older kung fu master jumping up in reply. Before anybody could figure out what had happened, Shifu came soaring at the earth, a foot stretched out to hit the bird. This the avian blocked with great expertise. However, he was not lucky in blocking the blow to the face that the panda had prepared. Thus, Shifu managed to get the bird reeling back.

The red panda capitalized on this distraction with great speed; he then nerve-touched the scout holding Mantis so that the bird fell over limp. The insect simply breathed in and out as the panda then nerve touched the two birds holding Miles to the ground.

This was all the red panda was able to do before the scout came back at Shifu, trying to hit him over the head with a hand strike. Shifu blocked this, and then the two of them exchanged blows for quite some time as the other scouts simply held the other two prisoners there. Mantis pulled Miles over to the side, looking around and jumping at the other scouts holding his friends.

The two fights went on for quite a while, Shifu exchanging quick blows with the main scout. The kung fu fighters showed no signs of slowing down at all, even as Mantis engaged the one chi mage that was keeping Tai Lung tied with the leaf rope. The two fights went on simultaneously, with neither side really making significant errors.

However, after a fairly extensive period of time everyone seemed to notice that despite his agility Shifu was beginning to tire out. The blows that were being rained down on him seemed to be more lazily blocked by the red panda, and it seemed he was slowly losing the touch that had once made him so great.

Quite suddenly, the scout managed to land a blow to Shifu's stomach, sending the panda reeling back a little. The bird he was fighting then quickly jumped towards the kung fu master, however, and then Shifu felt himself get kicked into a tree. Without wasting any time, the bird lunged for the sword that was buried in the ground, pulling it out quickly as he watched Shifu bound back to him from where he had been hit against. A kick sent the bird flying back, but not far enough for him to be able to jump back at Shifu, the sword raised in the air.

In response to this, Shifu rolled to the side when the blade stabbed out in his direction, the blade barely grazing Shifu's fur as the keeper of the Jade Palace ducked to avoid the slash that came afterwards. The kung fu master then jumped at the scout.

The bird was quicker, however. In a move that caught many people off guard the bird grabbed Shifu's foot, flinging him back like a ragdoll before pinning him to a tree by the neck.

And just as Mantis had knocked out the chi mage keeping Tai Lung captive, the scout bird had twirled the blade in his wing once.

It was at this moment that Cream realized who Shifu was referring to!

"No! Master Shifu!"

But it was too late. For Shifu was then pinned against the tree, not by the wing of the head scout, but by the blade that was embedded in his body.

"Shifu!" cried Tai Lung, looking on in shock as the leaves fell from his arms and dropped harmlessly to the side.

But Shifu could scarcely speak, as the wound had penetrated him such that he was only able to get out a groan, the pain in his eyes apparent.

Seeing this sight as the blade was removed and Shifu fell to the ground stirred something in Tai Lung. It stirred a feeling of most righteous rage as he glared at the head scout. His nostrils began flaring as he breathed in and out harshly, Miles able to tell what was going to happen next.

Without warning, the head of Tan Tao's men was suddenly picked up by Tai Lung. The bird was wrung by the neck by the leopard's paws as he was then sent against the tree.

"You... you...!" said Tai Lung, unable to form an insult.

The leopard then proceeded to punch the poor scout over and over again, screaming in rage as he did. The other scouts dared not move as they saw this brutal beating of their leader. The beating came to the point that Tai Lung was punching him so fast blood was beginning to fly every which way from the head of the scout. Seeing this, the birds holding Cream suddenly let the kitsune go, and they stumbled backwards in sheer fright.

After half a minute, Tai Lung grabbed the bird, throwing him into the center of the clearing, mangled face showing to everybody there. The avian was dead, if the fact that he was unmoving a few seconds after he hit the ground had anything to say. All of the other scouts gulped in fright, and without Tai Lung even having to say anything they all dropped whatever remaining prisoners there were in their grasp and ran away. Tai Lung looked at the nerve touched geese, and snarling he picked them up and chucked them at the retreating scouts.

"And take your friends with you, too!" cried the snow leopard, shaking his head in anger.

Tai Lung stood for a very brief period of time, breathing in and out very harshly.

"M... Master Shifu..."

Cream's voice broke the snow leopard's fury, and then he turned to look at them. The sight of Cream kneeling next to his old master was enough to cause Tai Lung's rage to disappear.

"It..." said Cream, choking on tears. "It was your own death you had seen coming, wasn't it?"

Shifu nodded. "It was..." he said.

The rabbit shook her head, not bothering to ask why she hid it. Crane and Mantis were by Shifu's side in an instant, however.

"But... but Master Shifu... you can't die..." said Mantis, standing by the red panda's ear as Miles grabbed his pack and began looking through it to find the bandages.

"Our time must come eventually, Mantis..." replied Shifu, looking to his two students.

"But... but it didn't have to come so soon!" replied Crane, sniffling as he spoke.

Miles came forward with the bandages, quickly examining Shifu to see what could be done. However, after a few seconds, he shook his head.

"Damn it," said the kitsune. "He's losing too much blood too quickly."

"So...?" asked Mantis.

Miles shook his head, frowning and letting out a yell of rage as he threw the roll of bandages to the side. Shaking his head, he turned to the rest of his friends.

"I'm sorry," he said. "At this stage, there's nothing I can do to save him."

The words seemed to sting something in everybody that was in the vicinity. Shifu simply smiled softly.

"Then destiny has run its course, exactly as I saw it..." he said. "I leave the rest... to you."

Tai Lung looked at Shifu, his eyes registering some kind of faint shock.

It was then that the leopard came towards the red panda. Sensing his distress, everybody else walked away from the dying kung fu master. The leopard's eyes registered a strange kind of sadness that Shifu had not seen in Tai Lung in a long time.

"Shifu..." Tai Lung said quickly, kneeling down to where the red panda's body had been discarded by Tan Tao's men.

"T... Tai Lung..." said the kung fu master slowly, his breath ragged as he held the gaping hole in his body. "You... I didn't... think... there was still..."

The snow leopard shook his head, closing his eyes as tears threatened to overflow. "Shifu... Father..." he said, his voice cracking as he held back the tears he desperately did not want to cry. "Forgive me... I... I..." The cat sniffled as he took Shifu's tiny hand in his own. "I shouldn't have done what I did all those years ago... I'm sorry, Shifu... I'm a failure as a son... I did all I ever did... to make you proud... I should've realized... that... that... what I did... it would've made you angry... I... I'm... I'm so sorry..." Tai Lung could scarcely continue as a solitary tear fell down his cheek. He sniffled again, and was rendered speechless as he simply held his father's hand against his nose.

Shifu was stunned for a few seconds, not expecting Tai Lung to say something like this. But then, he smiled, slowly, the smile of a man at peace.

"T...Tai Lung..." said Shifu weakly. "You... You're not... a failure... as a son..." Hearing this, the cat looked down on Shifu, eyes shining brightly with tears he was failing at holding back. "What... what you just... s-said... That... That is more... than what I could... ask for... as a father... You... You've made me... proud... saving... Cream... from her... fate... Tai Lung... I'm... I'm sorry... for not... giving... you a second... chance..."

Tai Lung shook his head as Shifu looked up. The cat sniffled again as he felt almost all of his strength leave him. This could not be happening. It was not happening. And yet, he was holding the small hand of his adoptive father as he lay bleeding to death with a gaping wound from a sword. This revelation was very powerful and very upsetting for the mighty snow leopard.

"Father..." said Tai Lung softly.

"Tai Lung..." said Shifu, his breath coming more and more slowly by the second. "I... I forgive you..."

The snow leopard had taken enough. Without any further hesitation, the tears he had been holding back came flowing freely down his cheeks, Tai Lung closing his eyes and whimpering loudly as he cried over his dying master.

"Father..." he said, choking on his words. "I love you... I'm so sorry..."

Shifu smiled one last time. "I love you... too... my son..." he said softly as he felt the last of his energy expend itself.

The snow leopard was crying so hard he barely noticed when the red panda's breathing had slowed to a complete stop. But when he did, he paused briefly in his sobbing to look upon the peaceful body of his master. The way his eyes were closed, the smile that curved on his mouth, the way the hand that wasn't being held by him stood completely motionless by his side.

But perhaps the thing that wormed its way into Tai Lung's heart was not the way Shifu looked in his final seconds, but by what he did. He had thought himself beyond redemption. Beyond hope. Unsaveable. And yet, Shifu had found it in his heart to forgive his adopted son. This was the most shocking thing about Shifu's death; that somehow, in his final moments, he had seen it fit to forgive someone who thought he was above redemption... above forgiveness... above the love a father could give to a son.

It was too much for even Tai Lung to take.

"N... no..." he muttered.

Shaking his head and gathering Shifu in his arms, Tai Lung only cried harder, the tears streaming down his face freely now. For a brief second, he threw his head back, eyes wide open and staring at the blaring sun above him.

"Shiiiifuuuuuu!" Tai Lung cried out into the heavens, his voice projecting out across the landscape.

He collapsed into himself very soon after, weeping profusely as he cradled the dead body of Xang Li Shifu in his arms. Mantis, Cream, Crane, and Miles all stayed to the side, Cream and Mantis both in tears as Miles looked on, Crane giving a very disturbed and troubled glance at Shifu's body before patting Cream's back.

The kitsune simply walked forward, wrapping his arms around Tai Lung's body as the cat sobbed over the death of his father and his master. Without much protest, Tai Lung kept one arm under Shifu's body and pulled Miles in close with his free arm, crying into the kitsune's forehead as he kept Shifu as close as he could to him. Miles simply sat there, letting the tears soak into his fur as he simply patted Tai Lung's back comfortingly.