The Lion and the Leopard

Forgiveness

"You have learned to forgive, Tai Lung. It seems Leo Lung's time here is finished." Oogway said, a smile on his round head.

The wind picked up, and peach blossoms began to surround the brothers. Tai Lung, realizing what Oogway's words meant, began to panic,

"Leo! No! Don't leave me, please!" Tai Lung begged, clutching Leo in a tight embrace, "We can live here! Train as much as we want!"

But the lion was silent. He hugged the leopard tightly, feeling the petals swirl around him. His body began to feel light.

"Tai Lung, look at me," Leo instructed quietly. The leopard let him go and looked at him. Leo smiled sadly as his body began to fade. He spoke quietly, "We will see each other again soon. One day." The lion quietly assured his brother. The snow leopard sobbed and clutched Leo's mane as the lion faded away in a flurry of petals.

"One day..."

.

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The Mortal Realm

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Po and Shifu sat by Leo's body. They had been sitting vigil for just over thirty minutes. Golden and red light shined through the broken doors of the Hall of Warriors. Dusk had arrived.

Po had given up trying to revive the dead lion, and he had simply settled for running his paw through Leo's mane. It was stiff and sticky with blood. Po was tempted to grab a brush and groom the lion's mane.

Shifu had one paw laid on Leo's muzzle, idly rubbing circles into the short fur. Leo's body had already grown cold, and Shifu wanted to desperately warm up the lion. He had no qualms about sitting in the pool of blood, if it meant trying to keep his son warm. Had he ever called Leo his son? The red panda despaired at the thought. Leo had called him 'Father' many times, especially when he was a young cub. But Shifu could not remember if he ever called Leo his child. His throat tightened, and he gritted his teeth.

"Master, what are we going to do now?" Po broke the silence. The panda looked at Shifu sadly. Shifu shut his eyes tightly to try and prevent any tears from falling. Shifu opened his mouth to answer, but he was cut off by a heart-wrenching scream.

Tigress stood in the doorway. Her hands were covering her mouth in pure horror, and her eyes were wide as she surveyed the room. The rest of the Five ran up behind her. Horrified expressions painted their faces as they saw the Lion Master dead on the floor.

"Master Leo!" Viper cried, slithering quickly over to Shifu, Po, and Leo. The rest of the Five quickly followed suit. The five animals gathered around Leo's body, hastily searching for any signs of life.

Tigress' eyes began to water as she held Leo's head in her large paws. She gently began to stroke his bloody mane and touch his crooked whiskers. Tigress spoke softly, "He's dead..He's dead."

The brother that she had looked up to all her life was gone. The lion that had been her favorite mentor, her brother, and her best friend was killed. The lion that had saved her from being kidnapped, encouraged her to form and lead the Five, and taught her that it's ok to be nervous. He was dead.

She cradled Leo's body, and began to sob freely. The other members of the Five, Shifu, and Po watched sorrowfully as Tigress mourned her brother's death. The tiger's face was wet with tears.

As time went on, the sun began to set and the golden-red light of the setting sun turned to pale moonlight. Viper, Crane, Monkey, and Mantis had paid their respects and left for their room. That left only Shifu, Po, and Tigress, the three closest animals to Leo.

The three animals did not say anything. They sat around Leo, gazing sadly at his body, wondering what they could have done to save him. They thought about what he was doing now, and where he was. Was he with Oogway? Was he reborn into someone else's body? Shifu shifted his gaze to the floor as these thoughts ran rampant in his mind.

When midnight neared, Shifu stood up and looked at Po and Tigress. His voice was hoarse when he spoke, "You two should go off to bed. We shall not train tomorrow. We will bury Leo tomorrow, at the Peach Tree, at sunrise."

The two animals nodded in solemn unison. Each of the three animals said farewell to Leo, and they stood to leave. Doctors waited outside to collect the lion's body and prepare it for burial.

However, as Shifu, Tigress, and Po began to leave, the wind picked up. Peach blossoms swirled into the building. Shifu glanced upward, confusion on his face. He remembered the flurry of petals that had carried Oogway up to the heavens. Was this Oogway paying his respects to the fallen lion?

The flower petals swirled around Leo's body. More and more peach petals swirled around the lion's body. There were so many petals that one could not even see Leo. They swirled faster and faster until it was a blur of pink surrounding Leo.

At this point, Shifu, Tigress, and Po knew something was going on, but they did not know what. Was Oogway carrying Leo's body to the heavens? Was he saying goodbye as well? The trio did not know.

Suddenly the wind slowed down. The flower petals fell to the ground, surrounding Leo's body. Shifu stood still, an expectant look on his face. Tigress and Po looked equally confused. What were the petals for?

A heartbeat resounded throughout the building. It was slow, and very quiet. If one did not listen, they could not hear it. Shifu's head cocked to the side. Was that heartbeat-?

Shifu rushed over to the lion, Tigress and Po quick on his tail. Shifu reached Leo's body and held out a tentative paw to the lion's muzzle. Shifu touched Leo's nose.

It was warm.

"My Gods..." Shifu uttered, his eyes impossibly wide.

The lion stirred. His whiskers twitched. His tail flicked. Tigress, Shifu and Po all held their breath. Was Leo coming back to life? Leo slowly groaned and opened his soft, golden eyes.

Shifu felt his cheeks getting wet from tears.

"M-Master..?" Leo croaked, his voice ragged and hoarse. Tigress and Po stood frozen from shock at the sight in front of them. Shifu nodded, tears flowing freely down his face,

"Yes, it's me. I'm here." Shifu said, wrapping his paws around Leo's muzzle in a hug, "I'm here, my child."

Tigress and Po finally came to their senses and hugged the lion from all sides. Leo smiled, returning their embrace.

(Unbeknownst to Leo, Shifu, Tigress, and Po- when Tai Lung hit Leo's head against the marble floor, it had caused a massive hemorrhage in his brain. Leo would not have remembered anything if he came back on his own. So, in the flurry of flower petals, Oogway had healed this injury, so he could remember everything and everyone.)

Leo beamed. Tai Lung was in the Spirit Realm. The two brothers had no bad blood between them. Leo was back in the mortal realm, free to live out his life with Shifu, Tigress, Po, and everyone else. Leo was finally happy.

He was home.