More than a Dragon Warrior

[Tai Lung's POV]

"Ahh, shit." I cursed when I felt his body stills and I could literally feel life leave his body in the form of his Chi dissipating.

How wasteful.

Such talent, such power, such a great living being. And now he was no more.

I didn't feel good at all. It felt wrong to rob the world of such a soul.

I said it before, I was not an evil villain, never was. I did not revel in taking the life of my opponents. But he left me no choice, even if he were to survive this fight his life force and body would be destroyed to the point that he would be lucky to live for another month.

Yet I still felt like I did something wrong by killing him.

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't bat an eye or feel this much guilt if it was the death of a normal kung fu practitioner or those incompetent soldiers in the Anvil of Heaven.

But this person under me was a kung fu master, wielding techniques that impressed even the likes of me. He was more valuable than them and his life was worth that of the whole city.

And now he lay dead. For what? To reclaim his father's honour? Because of his traumatic hate for me which he cherished since childhood?

How stupid.

But then again, it was an honour he died at my hands.

What better way to go than from fighting Tai Lung himself?

I pulled out my bloody arm from his limp maw and his body fell on the ground with a thud. His corpse was constantly shirking in size and smoke dissipated from his body.

This went on until his body shrivelled up into a small corpse. A hollow vessel that used to host a powerful soul.

Again, how unfortunate.

I moved my eyes from his body and scanned the surroundings. The broken buildings and the traumatized lands filled my view.

The once glorious city was almost razed to the ground. The urban city was so tightly packed that one building caused the destruction of many others.

The sun was still up in the sky but its bright light was slowly shadowed by the dark clouds. A storm was coming, and from the black clouds, it would be quite the storm.

The chilly wind brushed against my fur and that forced my attention to my body.

It hurts.

I had no serious injuries but I did not come out of the battle unscathed. My forearms hurt from continuously blocking swings that could shatter mountains.

My paws hurt due to the overexertion of my claws. My ribs and back were aching due to the constant rag dolling.

"Definitely gonna feel worse in the morning" I said with a sigh.

Tomorrow, never come.

I walked away from the corpse of my opponent and made my way to the gate of the city. The citizens of the city were too afraid to even show themselves in my line of sight as they all hid from me.

I wondered if anyone died during our fight. The buildings in Mielin City were made from wood and paper precisely because the Grizzly were known for their Berserk Kung Fu which can cause lots of collateral damage. It is made of light materials to not hurt civilians even if they fell.

And if Wubao had come to me, knowing for sure we were going to fight and he might need to use such a dangerous technique, he should have the intelligence to tell people to evacuate first before coming to me.

Nevertheless, it was not my responsibility. 

The responsibility falls on Wubao as the sworn protector of the city. But instead of protecting them, he risked their lives for his revenge. Their deaths - if there are any - were entirely in his hands, it was his sin to bear.

That's how it works here, in this world. So I pushed the bubbling guilt that came form my experience in another world.

I looked at the citizens hiding between the rubbles and said, "It was a duel."

"He asked for it."

"He threw the first attack."

"And he was the one who went on a mindless rampage."

I tried to explain myself and when I saw them cower even lower, I just sighed.

"Forget it."

Let it be known that Tai Lung destroyed the City of Mielin and killed the Master in cold blood. Fucking fantastic, my reputation couldn't get lower anyways.

I picked up a jar of honey from a broken shop and left the city. This fight would surely slow down my journey, but not by much.

This was but one obstacle in my journey towards home.

---__---__---__---__---__---__---__---

[3rd POV]

"Tai Lung went into Mielin City. His wrath and hatred had consumed him and he couldn't help himself anymore. But he was only halfway to the Valley of Peace, so he needed a target, a victim he could direct his anger to." A travelling crane said to the audience of the tavern who listened in rapt attention.

"He went into the City with malicious intent. The warm welcome of the city was but an annoyance to him. His cold eyes flashed in madness chained for 20 years. He started wreaking havoc on the city." He said and the audience gasped in horror,

They imagined the scene in their head and couldn't help but feel a chill down their spine. How could someone be so ruthless as to destroy people's lives just because of anger and thirst for revenge?

"Master Wubao, the mighty bear and the leader of the Grizzly Clan fought against Tai Lung. Their battle shook the city and made the heavens themselves silent. Master Bear fought with honour and valor against the evil that was Tat Lung."

"His father's honour rang in his heart, and the desire to protect became his strength. But the enemy proved to be too powerful. Even after years of imprisonment, Tai Lung who practised his evil martial arts only became stronger. But Master Bear never gave up. He fought with every inch of his body, the body the people found was said to be only bones. That was how hard he fought to protect his people. Until his body was reduced to mere bones." The crane said and there were people who cried hearing it.

Oh, brave Master Wubao. How admirable to fight until the very end.

"In the end, Tai Lung fought not with honour but evil. After failing to penetrate the impenetrable iron hide of Master Wubao, Tai Lung stuck his arms down his throat and tore his softer inside." The crane said, imitating the action with his legs.

"Then at the heart of the city where Master Wubao gallantly stood, Tai Ling patiently waited as he drowed the protector of Moelim City in his own blood." 

Silence descended the tavern.

"But with the final struggle of Master Wubao, Tai Lung's wrath was satisfied, and his hatred quenched. To give respect to the protector of Mielin City, he leaves without taking the life of a single citizen." The crane finished the story.

"He might have lost the battle but he won the war. His people remained unhurt as he gave his life for them. A small price to pay, he thought in his heart."

"For even in death, he protected the City."

The audience cheered loudly, tears falling from their face as they cheered praise and admiration for Master Wubao.

Although the story told was a bit further from the truth, it was spread fast by travellers and the aerial citizens of Mielin City. 

The story had become increasingly heroic and heart-touching as it spread from person to person. The end was what we heard just now.

It was natural for stories to be exaggerated and tweaked when it was passed on. Be it intentional or simply a product of storytellers wanting to captivate their listeners.

Ever wondered how the game 'Chainese Whisper' got its name?

Well, now you know.

"How heroic. Master Wubao stood his ground until the very end." Viper said to her fellow Furious Five as they all sat at a table in the corner, listening to the story.

"Yeah and to bypass Master Wubao's impenetrable hide like that? Tai Lung is not only skilled in Kung Fu but his mind is evil and will not hesitate to use any means to win." Monkey commented. His style of Kung Fu was unpredictability and using any means to win so he could understand what Tai Lung did on a deeper level. 

"We have to stop him." Tigress suddenly said in a serious voice, "Fast."

All of them looked at her. Her voice echoed into their heart as they had never heard such a grave and serious tone from Tigress.

"Even as we speak, he is making his way towards the Valley of Peace, ready to lay waste to the village just because of spite," She said.

"I wouldn't allow him to do what he did in Meilin City to my home." She said and quickly finished the food on the table.

The others followed her example and quickly finished their food before continuing their journey.

It had been one night since they had decided to stop Tai Lung before he reached the Valley of Peace. They leave with their Masters instruction to be stationed at the Mountain Pass to slow down Tai Lung until the Dragon Warrior is ready to face him.

Now that Oogway, the main reason they were at ease was gone, they had to take matters into their own hands and stop Tai Lung themselves. They were not going to simply slow down Tai Lung and leave him the safety of the Valley to the Panda.

They ran and traversed the landscape as quickly as they could. Their main goal was to reach the Mountain Pass before Tai Lung could cross the Thread of Hope, a bridge connecting the northern lands and the west.

They would stop or at least hold off the evil known as Tai Lung there.

*ROAR!!*

Tigress let out a roar and quickened her speed. The others try to catch up behind her.

She will do it.

She will stop him.

Even if she has to die while doing it.

.

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[IMAGE]

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