Cloudless Authors

Chapter 十五

Within a few seconds, Tai Lung heard the words of the fate he had dreaded: The Wuxi Finger. He had hoped to avoid it by means of Shifu or anyone besides Po. But perhaps this was something he was never to avoid. Exhausted and battered, Tai Lung winced and and braced himself for the incoming pain. 

"WAIT STOP!" came the voice of one of the Five. 

Po paused mid-Wuxi Finger and turned towards the source of the noise. The other masters followed suit. 

"Instead of killing him," Viper suggested. "Why not put him in prison? Or better yet, just ask him why he's here?!"

"You do recall the terrible things he's done, Master Viper, yes?"Shifu stated. "Not to mention the outcome of the fight at the Thread of Hope?" 

"Yes, I remember. I also remember our Code of Honor, which clearly states to take one's word unless proven guilty. Have you asked for it?"

"The fact that he was pre-engaged in fighting Tigress speaks volumes, not to mention his eagerness to fight Po again."

"I'm not-" Tai Lung started to mumble, but Shifu cut him off and gave Po the order once more to Wuxi Finger the snow leopard. Viper once again tried to protest, but this time it was too late. Within a golden flash and a wind so strong it knocked Shifu over, Tai Lung was gone. The room was dead silent for only a moment before a few sighs of relief went around. Viper looked less than amused. 

"Do you want us to tidy up the training hall really quick?" Crane asked, noticing that the weapons and some training equipment were out of place or partially damaged. 

"That would be appreciated, thank you," Shifu agreed. 

The students silently then began to clean up the mess, trying to fix any minor damage that was done during the fighting. Weapons were put back in their original spot against the wall. The Jade Tortoise was moved back into its originally position. Some loose floor boards were fixed up. When all was finished, it was pretty late into the night and everyone was considerably tired. (Everyone except Tigress and Shifu actually, but that wasn't much of a surprise).

"I don't know about you guys," Po yawned. "But I'm sleeping in tomorrow." 

"No you're not," Shifu told him. "You'll get up early and train as we do everyday." 

"Aw, come on, Shifu! I think an exhausting night of fighting badguys deserves some extra shut-eye. What do you think, Viper?"

The master refused to answer him and simply slithered away to the doors with an obvious sulk. 

"Viper, come on! You don't have to be so upset over it. I think Tai Lung made it more than perfectly clear that he was out to get us." 

Viper turned around and flashed such a dirty look that Po involuntarily shielded his heart with his paw. You know, just in case actual daggers came flying out of her eyes. "I think he made it more than perfectly clear," she seethed venomously. "That he wanted to talk things out. YOU insisted on fighting!" 

"Why didn't you say anything then?" Monkey piped up. "You could have tried to talk us out of it."

"Oh yes, a swell idea. Ask a bunch of masters who bottle up their emotions on a daily basis and will only speak when sparring calmly talk out their problems over a cup of tea!!!"

Silence.

"I figured you'd all fight and calm down enough to get a decent conversation out. But oh no. You people don't seem to know when enough is enough! And you-!"   She now was staring Po down.  "You seemed to be in a better place mentally. We've openly talked, we've laughed and shared thoughts. But now?! Now your mind is molded to be like them. Like that way of acting is okay, like it's okay to act all stoic and never talk about how you feel. You call Tai Lung the monster but NONE of you ARE ANY BETTER!!!!!!"

She then proceeded to storm out of the training hall, leaving her master and friends in a stunned silence. It took them a moment to regain their composure before simply heading off to bed. Tigress hung back to talk with Monkey who was the only person who hadn't moved. She waved her paws in front of his face, trying to break his concentration, and even snapped her fingers. She finally resorted to shaking his shoulders to bring him back in the real world. 

"I've never heard her yell like that!" was the first thing he said. 

"Me neither," Tigress admitted. "Kind of hypocritical if you ask me." 

"Not really though. She does have a point, unfortunately. Most of us need a quick spar before getting anything clear enough to talk about." 

"Crane and Mantis don't do that.

"True, but they're still pretty quiet about stuff." 

Tigress sighed and glanced at the door with some worry etched on her face.

"Don't worry," Monkey assured her, patting her shoulder. "She'll calm down. This is Viper we're talking about. The woman couldn't hold a grudge let alone stay mad at us." 

"True. It just stings a little more when she's the one who's mad." 

"Yeah. Heaven hath no rage than Viper when she's mad," Monkey joked. He cuffed the bottom of the aster's chin, only to have it firmly grabbed and yanked away.

"What did I say about acting cute?" Tigress warned. 

"Of course I'll go on a date with you, Monkey," the master recited with a grin. "But if you start throwing pies at my face, I'll set you up on a date with the hospital." 

"I still can't believe you left," Tai Lung noted as he passed out the other bowl of soup he had poured out. 

Viper, having left almost a year ago to do her own thing, gladly accepted the nourishment. "I got tired of living with people who punch first and ask questions later," she grumbled. "Like Tigress over there deliberately withholding information."

Tai Lung sat besides her and started on his own soup. He chuckled. "I'm surprised you decided to stick with me," he admitted. "The bruised and weak fallen master who was nearly killed twice on account of being an evil being." 

"You're not a terrible person anymore," Viper reminded him. "Plus, you have no problem with chit-chatting with your opponents before knocking their lights out." 

"Well, you have to know something about who you're facing before you charge headfirst," Tai Lung admitted. He stroked a finger over the master's cheek, causing her to blush. She leaned over and kissed the snow leopard behind his war where a small scar quietly lay. It was new from the most recent Po encounter. The two then resumed their dinner and talked about the next place to explore on their list: Bhutan.

THE END

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