Cloudless Authors

Chapter b

Tai Lung heard a small yell from within the Jade Palace and twitched his ear to better hear what was happening. He didn't hear much, but but the angry noise sounded like Shifu's voice so he assumed that Shifu and Tigress had found out he had vanished. Tai Lung hesitated on the stairs for a moment before continuing on his way down. He soon reached the bottom and turned to head into the woods, only to hear Master Shifu's voice suddenly ring out from the very top of the Jade Palace, "STOP RIGHT THERE!"

The snow leopard glanced up at the faint noise. A small white and green blob could be seen on top of the gate of the Jade Palace, clearly Shifu to the knowing eye. Tai Lung smirked and proceeded to climb up one of the nearby trees. He was tempted to keep shouting back and forth with his former master, but he didn't want to wake up the entire valley. Plus Shifu was already in a bad mood from Tigress' silence on his whereabouts and he didn't feel like angering him further. 

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!" the grandmaster demanded. 

Tai Lung couldn't help but smirk to himself as he climbed up to the top of the branches. When he finally reached the top, he spun himself around and perched on the flimsy trunk with ease. "I see you haven't changed much, Shifu!" he shouted to the now-mostly-at-eye-level-Shifu. "You even run at the same speed! Seriously! I think it took you less than two minutes to find me!"I wasn't finished with you!" Shifu yelled sternly. "You know better than to leave without being dismissed! Though considering your previous behavior, I suppose I shouldn't be that surprised!"

"I didn't come back to cause trouble!" Tai Lung promised. "I just wanted to talk to you! Mend the bridges I burned! I only wanted to redeem myself!" 

"And yet you went to Tigress instead of coming to me!" 

"She seemed spooked! And we're not on the greatest of terms since I accidentally knocked her off the bridge at the Thread of Hope! I was only checking on her!"

"You know, you're lucky!" Shifu informed him. "Had I known about this earlier, you'd be in prison by now! Or Wuxi Fingered if it came down to it!" 

"Actually, with all due respect, I'd prefer neither of those options! That prison you stuck me in was a nightmare and I don't think my chi can handle another Wuxi Finger!"

"That's the point! You'd know that if you had learned my lesson the first time!" 

Tai Lung raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to say I still want the Dragon Scroll, or are you referring to my initial imprisonment?" he questioned. "Or the Wuxi Finger? You know, I think this taking-over-for-Oogway thing is really doing a number on your head."

Angered, Shifu whipped his head around behind him and started muttering something. Tai Lung immediately began scampering down the tree and started visualizing various routes that could help him make a quick getaway. His hearing wasn't nearly as good as Shifu's, but he had heard enough to know that in a few short moments, all of the masters from the Jade Palace were going to be on his tail. He made it to the bottom of the tree trunk and dashed through a few open bushes. He then zig-zagged through the trees, leaped over a few bushes, and carefully went down a slope just a little ways past the village. 

Where am I going to go? Tai Lung thought to himself as trees, clearings, and the beginning of a large cliff soon passed him by. I can't stay around here or else I might get Wuxi Fingered. But I haven't really been out any farther than the Valley of Peace. I don't know what else is out there.

The snow leopard finally stopped and took a few moments to catch his breath and think. He tried to think of other places to hide out in, places he had seen on his way on his way to the valley. However there weren't too many that he could think of and the ones that came to mind were either a three week journey away or too close by to consider hiding in. 

Though maybe it might be a good idea to just hide out in the woods for a while, the snow leopard thought to himself. That way no one can say for certain where I'm hiding out and I can monitor things nearby to see when it might be a good time to try this again. 

Tai Lung leaned against the cliff and sighed as he caught his breath. He glanced around at his surroundings, taking in every detail in order to figure out where exactly he was. Judging from the cliff and the thinning of the forest, he was approaching the Thread of Hope. It was a two day journey away, but there was a mountain range close by that he was pretty familiar with. Plus there were so few passers-

BAM!!!!

Tai Lung barely managed to duck out of the way as an all-too-familiar foot came flying at his face. The snow leopard crash-landed roughly onto the ground with a million questions running through his mind. However, the most prominent one tugging at him was: how on earth did I not hear them coming?!

"I don't know what it is with you, Tai Lung," came Shifu's voice. 

Tai Lung turned and spotted him walking out of the woods with the other masters. They looked ready to pounce, though Po was clearly going to be the preferred candidate. 

"Every time you decide to out for a run, storm out, or just go for a stroll, you seem to always gravitate toward mountain regions," the grandmaster continued. "I don't understand it personally, but it makes it so much easier to find you."

Well, that answers one question. "And I suppose you're going to have your new favorite Wuxi Finger me?" Tai Lung guessed, eyeing Po carefully. 

"No," came the reply, much to Tai Lung's surprise. "And only because I don't believe death-inducing kung fu moves should be used unless absolutely necessary."

"Hey, wait a minute!" Po called out, slightly annoyed. "Does that mean that you were bluffing when you were threatening me with that hold on my first day?!" 

"No, Dragon Warrior. I was actually threatening you." 

"You know, you have a funny definition of the term absolutely necessary." 

Tai Lung had slowly begun to back away, only to to get knocked over by one of the kung fu masters. 

"You're not going anywhere," Monkey threatened. "We're sending you right back to Chorh Gom." 

"No thanks," came the snow leopard's reply. He got to his feet only to be confronted by Po. He blocked the first few punches and kicks and quickly went on the offensive, letting loose some of his own powerful kung fu moves. Po caught onto him though and belly-bumped him into the cliff. Before he could even get to his feet, Po grabbed him by the tail and pulled him back. Tai Lung had no time to react as he was repeatedly bumped into the cliff, kicked in the head, knocked to the ground, sat on, and then sent brutally flying across the ground. He groaned and weakly looked up, trying to desperately think of a plan. The first thing he saw was  Crane and almost immediately his mind flashed back to his original jail break. In a blur, he used the last of his strength to leap at the bird, causing cries of alarm to ring out and himself to get a painful force on his head which caused him to black out. 

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三- Tai Lung escapes Chorh Gom prison

四- Tai Lung doesn't escape Chorh Gom prison