AN: Another chapter in a week! What can I say? I am in the best of moods and I've got ample time to read, study, and write. By the way, do you guys remember that I had to write a 20 pages essay on the theory of power? I got a 100% on it! :D Something I have never achieved so far in university. It's very rewarding.

As for the story, I am not sure how you guys are feeling about Tai Lung's dark nature, but I am actually enjoying it. He's a very fun character to write up. Great for stress release, I think. Anyhow, I am going to to try to write you guys a long chapter this time. Enjoy! And please don't forget to review at the end! Cheers! :)

When Tigress's golden eyes flew open from her sleep, only loud huffs of air escaped from her black lips as beads of sweat were bleeding from her forehead and her back. She knew that it wasn't due to the long summer's heat as when she sat up, she could already tell that the sun hadn't raised her beautiful face from her own sleep as it's rich, golden rays were not trying to peep between the slits of the bamboo blinds from the single window which hung directly across her bed. So no, she could not put blame on the sun. It was that damned nightmare.

Her breathing had calmed down to a slower rhythm, but a sigh still escaped from her lips.

Normally, when the others were around her, she would never show them her vulnerable side, but she was afraid. She was afraid of that dream. A cursed dream which has been haunting her sleep since she stopped visiting Tai Lung. Another sigh. She could kick herself for thinking about him again. No longer feeling scared, she felt irate as she could still feel that agonising squeeze chocking her chest, no, her heart. It hurt and she really did not want to feel this pain. It hurt because her soul felt very conflicted. There was a side of her that still wished to bolt out of bed, go running out the entrance with a loud slam against the heavy doors, to fly, to run, to join the screeching winds through the thick forest, across the wet and slippery meadows until she could see the jagged, wintry prison where he remained bolted. However, just like his static state, her short-lived desire was also chained to another painful stop by her logical mind and by all the memories trapped in her mind. In anger, she cocooned herself within her silky blankets, wanting to forget everything and sleep.

Memories. She cherished them, but also wished to burn them to cinders as if they were autumn leaves which were crumpled, aged, and burnt by the sun and then tossed throughout the streets to be blown and scattered away by the bitter winds themselves. However, that wouldn't be possible for if that were to happen, Tigress knew that she would immediately be filled with regret, nostalgia and sadness. Not to mention the fact that whenever she closed her eyes to shield herself from the cruel reality, memories would once again tore open through her like a violent torrent, as if reality was laughing at her for her foolish wish as they both knew that it was going to be a ruthless cycle, one that would never cease. It happened again! As she had her eyes closed, from the darkness, she could still see that blinding sun from yesterday's dream. The sky was cloudless and as blue as sapphire with few of the messenger birds flying above in order to replace those missing, white puffs of clouds... it was so peaceful that morning... as if were a terrible lie for them to believe in that morning. No! Enough! Tigress leapt from her bed which in turn caused the silver, silken linen to flutter gently in the air. Despite her jolted movements, her blanket just pooled across the cracked, wooden floor without a care in the world. Tigress frowned at the sight as she knew that she was no longer able to rest in peace and thus, she quietly folded the soft linen and placed it onto her bed next to her white pillow.

The door of her room creaked it's aged voice in the dim corridor as she stepped out from her room. It was another harsh morning. The corridor, the rooms, no, the entire palace felt so empty since the day he was dragged out in a stupor. Holding back the third sigh, she coldly walked into the main hallway where she found Xiao Li wiping the thin layers of dust from the antic vases which were patterned remarkably by craftsmen with the rich colours of white, blue and black. When he had first come, his feathers were deep shades of black and oiled to make them shimmer under the flickering candle lights and his back was arched perfectly like a bow to cradle his strong wings, a handsome, young goose that was fit to serve under the Jade Palace, but just like the others, Xiao Li also appeared to have aged greatly by the haunting of Tai Lung. His black feathers had changed from the beautiful black to a ghastly shade of grey, the transformation itself didn't look as if natural enchanted its magic onto them, instead, they looked as if they had turned grey due to the sadness of the hollow palace as sadness itself painted them with melancholy. There were also his back and his wings as they sagged and drooped as they were completing the same task over and over again.

Ugh. Tigress was sicked with this kind of sight, not Xiao Li himself, but the effects of emotions that dragged the palace down. She knew that it was also affecting her, but she wanted to pretend throughout the day that it wasn't.

"Good morning, Xiao Li," she called gently with a small smile fluttering on her lips.

The goose turned his grey head and his eyes appeared to be grateful to see a smile still lingering within the walls of Jade Palace. He answered back, "Good morning, Master Tigress. Should I go fetch Ms. Wang Fang to prepare you breakfast?"

Tigress could genuinely smile at the mention of Ms. Wang Fang. She had been hired nearly half a year ago and Tigress couldn't have been more grateful for her arrival for she was a lovely, middle-aged sow who breathed some breath of life back into Jade Palace. Her voice boomed loudly when she spoke, a few could have scared off by the great boom of her voice, but everyone knew that she was very gentle, motherly in fact. Even though, Tigress knew nothing about cooking, whenever she felt hungry, she would quietly step into the steamy kitchen in search for a snack, but find Ms. Wang Fang's plump arms cooking with much gusto as she stirred the boiling soups, pounded the rice with great ferocity, chopped the vegetables rapidly with loud chopping noises filling the air like music, and salted the fresh stock of fish one after another while her chubby legs graciously glided across the polished tiles as if she were dancing with the rich aromas in the air. Tigress would admit that she at first felt shy around this woman, but her hesitation was washed away with Ms. Wang Fang's kindness, as the sow would whip her face around and find Tigress standing embarrassed as her tummy growled loudly, reacting to the smell, the sight, and the sound of food being prepared. Ms. Wang Fang would guffaw while her rosy cheeks jiggled throughout her laughter and then force Tigress to sit down onto a round stool while she brought over a hot, steaming bowl of chicken soup, pickled vegetables and a large bowl of white, puffy rice. It was more than enough food to stifle her hunger! When she first hesitated, Tigress could still remember what the lady had said.

Ms. Wang Fang loudly said through the steam, "A growing girl should eat her fill! I heard about you from my own village, you know! People gossip a lot amongst themselves when there is food in front of them. They would do that at my old restaurant. They said that Master Shifu was training another student, but that you were a girl! And bless my heart, was I ever so happy to hear that!"

Tigress stared at the sow's back as the lady kept on working throughout her kitchen. "Happy?" she muttered, confused. Why would this lady be happy for her when they didn't even know each other?

Ms. Wang Fang replied as if she didn't hear her word as a question, "Oh very much so, my dear. I don't think I have seen many girls practising martial arts, at least to the extent to become a Kung Fu Master. You know, when I was your age, I said I was going to be a professional chef. You have no idea how many people laughed at me. They said, a woman! Becoming a professional chef? How stupid! A woman should simply be at home, working there and raising the children. Men should be out working and labouring while honing his skills. But look at me now! Here I am, working at Jade Palace! Jade Palace!"

Tigress cringed silently. She had also heard similar rebukes and she knew that Master Shifu had been targeted publicly by many onlookers. They chided him for Tai Lung as it was his boy that wrecked havoc and then got imprisoned by his own godfather, Master Oogway. Now they were laughing at him for continuing to train Tigress, a girl who was younger than Tai Lung. One who didn't have as much potential as Tai Lung. According to them, she was nothing but a little pet for Tai Lung who only fancied her like other men fancy women and that she, due to his attention, had just as become arrogant and full of herself as it was Tigress who now wanted to become a Kung Fu Master. She nearly lost her appetite from the thought. As if Ms. Wang Fang noticed the change, she turned around her heel and chided, "You should eat before the food gets cold! You're going to train, aren't you? You can't train with an empty belly. Now eat, and go work hard to achieve her own dream."

Somehow watching the lady work hard with sweat dripping onto her red apron brought back her appetite, it rekindled something within her. Perhaps it was her desire to prove everybody wrong or perhaps it was something more serious, like her desire to live her life to the fullest. Even though Ms. Wang Fang often rebuked her, then and onward, the lady had always made her a bit happier with the brightness of her smile and her booming voice as it always made her wonder if this was what a mother was to be like.

Even though Tigress could have droned on and on about her memories of Ms. Wang Fang, she knew that she wasn't born to be dreaming forever. Tigress replied, "I will eat after my morning training. Has Master Shifu eaten his yet?" She didn't ask about Master Oogway as the old man no longer ate breakfast, but mediated throughout the entire mornings.

The small twinkled from Xiao Li's brown eyes faded once more and shook his head as he said, "No, Master Shifu has not gotten out of his chambers yet."

The two of them could have sighed, but they couldn't at the same time because of each other's presence. Everyone knew that Master Shifu had also changed. He had become much more distant, cold and critical over the past year and a half. He avoided people for most of the time, unless he had to go serve his times to protect others... it made her sad to know that he now also avoided orphanages as the man could no longer stand the sight of children as they broke his heart.

Tigress just nodded her head and left the hallway with her striped tail dragged behind her with her hidden shadow. When she arrived at the entrance door, the stark difference haunted her again... the door was closed and locked. In the past, it was always open and even if it wasn't open, the door itself was never locked. She secretly grimaced, it was as if the door was an actual metaphor of everyone's heart. Closed and locked, so nobody could hurt them again. A loud and heavy, metallic thunk echoed as Tigress pushed against the heaviness of the door, as if she was fighting against the heaviness within her heart. She could finally feel some small amount of comfort as the first golden ray was peeking over the rolling hills, at the edge of sleeping village. It was comforting to know that the sun existed to rise day after day, but each sunrise signed a new day. It gave her a sense that she was the master of her life, with each sunrise, it was she who got to determine what kind of a day she would lead for that specific day.

However, today she had that dream. When her eyes gazed towards the golden warmness, it reminded her the burning, and rather cruel, golden eyes of Tai Lung. His gaze towards life had changed that day and despite her young age, she also noticed it, but back then... she didn't truly comprehend its significance. Yes, unlike this morning, everything felt dense and heavy as if a great storm was looming over them, despite the sun's golden beams radiating over the hills. Tigress winced, that dream, no, memory was surfacing again...

Tigress yawned and rubbed her eyes as she exited the Jade Palace with Master Shifu and Master Oogway. Tai Lung was silently waiting for them at the top of the stairs. Today was his first competition as Master Tai Lung. She was expecting him to be more excited, but he was absolutely silent as his steeled eyes glared down towards the town. It wasn't natural for him to be stoic and it wasn't certain if the two adults noticed how tense Tai Lung was. However, in seeing how nobody was touching this subject, Tigress decided to leave it alone as well.

While they were walking towards the competition, which was being held at the centre of the city, Tigress also noted other differences. Master Shifu's brows were furrowed and knitted together as he silently muttered under his breath. It was obvious that he was upset about something. Then there was the fact that Master Oogway's stern, green eyes were fixated on the snow leopard's sinewy back. The silence was suffocating, but once they got closer to the heart of the city, the humming of the leather drums could be heard: dum, dum, dum.

Just like the shift from night to day, life began to stir across the dirt streets. Wind blew forward to build them a clear path. The red and white flags were blowing triumphantly against the wind. The drumming became louder and louder. Uncountable sets of eyes. Excited crowds. Musicians. Scrumptious scents of food. Different dojos belonging to different kung fu masters along their sets of followers. Loud chatters here and there. And eyes. They were all looking towards them. Tigress peaked at Tai Lung and his face and even his golden eyes were cold. There wasn't a smile on his face. Tai Lung always had worn a proud smile when entering his competitions, but today, there was nothing on his visage, but steely focus.

From the swelling number of attendees, Tigress also witnessed the icy glare of the adults. The other Kung Fu Masters wore the same mask as Tai Lung... Even Master Shifu. But Master Oogway's eyes remained sealed while only his visage remained calm. Tigress froze as she saw that boy! Her body automatically trembled as the boy also stared back at her and then stared blankly at the ground. It was the boy from that night! The one Tai Lung permitted to escape. Her eyes snapped back at Tai Lung as there was a silent, deep rumbling, a threatening growl from the pit of Tai Lung's throat. His black lips were slightly curled back to reveal his glinting fangs. They bore intent to harm, no to punish the one behind the boy.

Tigress's heart quivered with fear as in the distance, they saw a wolf standing at least two meters tall. The man's upper-torso brandished several scars. There was one which marred his flesh from his his left shoulder all the way to the centre of his stomach. There was another scar along his right rib-cage. However, the one which was the most frightening was the slash mark that ran horizontally across the wolf's face. His silver eyes gleamed dangerously as the man sneered knowingly. How she wanted to shrink away from those glaring eyes! Before she could take a step backwards in order to retreat, Tai Lung's back shielded her. She could finally breathe again.

Master Shifu grumbled, "So it was Master Láng, was it?"

That moment should have already marked the transforming sequences of history as Tai Lung's eyes laid sight on Master Láng. Tigress witnessed Tai Lung's fighting style shift.

Match 1.

The dirt particles flew wildly in the air. The spectators' jaws remained ajar as the saw a young leopard's powerful paw tightened its grip around the thick scaled neck of an alligator warrior. The boy's brute strength overwhelmed his opponent as the alligator's entire body was slammed upwards into the air, the powerful tail flailing uselessly, spit escaping from the long snout, before it got railed deeply into the soil like a rag doll. Master Alligator chocked while remaining pressed against the ground.

Tai Lung spoke in a deep, authoritative voice as he ordered, "Give up and I will relent."

His opponent croaked, "I give up, you win Master Tai Lung."

Match 2.

Tai Lung's opponent was a wildebeest, a kung fu master who was well-known for his sharp and powerful attacks. He had one of the best skills when it came to punches and slashes. The match began with Master Tai Lung and Master Jiǎo mǎ standing in their stances. The moment the referee snapped his arms to start the match, the audience were awed as Master Jiǎo mǎ immediately blocked the powerful kick which was aiming for his neck.

Tigress held her breath. Even though she wasn't a practitioner of Kung Fu, she knew that Tai Lung was testing his opponent. It was a quick snap that her sensitive ears could hear as his leg cut through the air pressure. However, since she was able to see his movement, she knew that it wasn't his quickest attack.

Before she could exhale her held breath, there was a flash of brown and grey in the air. Crunch! A groan escaped from Master Jiǎo mǎ's thick lips. The wildebeest's right elbow was blocking his right side which was trembling slightly from the impact. Tigress knew that Tai Lung must have landed two jabbing punches. Master Jiǎo mǎ was faintly wheezing while keeping his eyes on the snow leopard.

She smiled as she knew what Tai Lung's true strengths were when it came to fighting. He had explained to her often that his fighting style dominantly relied on speed in order to enforce the strength. Once he knew his opponent's weaknesses, he would only attack in angles while generally using the ridge of his palms and the edges of his paw to strike.

Before everyone's eyes, although they weren't able to see how the ongoing scene occurred, Master Jiǎo mǎ had lost his balance as he was tilting backwards.

Master Shifu, who was standing next to Tigress, whispered, "That boy exceeds in hooking his opponent with his legs." There was a proud and smug smile on his face. "Now that he's falling, he can only defend."

Like his prediction, they began to watch Tai Lung focus solely in exhausting Master Jiǎo mǎ. The referee came bolting to stop Tai Lung as he was continuing to strike and rake over the defeated opponent's chest, rib, groin and stomach until blood began to spurt from the gaping lips.

Tigress knew from watching Tai Lung spar and practice that once he managed to disarm his opponent, his attacks would be relentless until the opponent could no longer move. That was normal, however, speed and accuracy were the key elements about Tai Lung's fighting style, however, even Tigress could observe that Tai Lung was now enforcing force and power to disarm and subjugate his opponent.

Then there was the next announcement: "Next is the semi-final battle between Master Láng and Master Tai Lung!"

Although everybody was cheering for the next battle, there was a sickening feeling that flooded Tigress's guts as Tai Lung rose after beating Master Jiǎo mǎ and growled loudly at the wolf.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and if you did, please review! Now I am having to prepare for my courses to begin next week. Cheers.

-IB