//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: The Reunion and Final Battle // Story: Multiverse Hearts Volume 1: EG/EB World: Kung Fu Girls // by RainbowRaptorDash1 //------------------------------// At the top of the stairs outside the Hall of Warriors, Shifu looked upon the valley, awaiting his fate, as he saw the lights from the evacuation make their way out of the valley below. In a blink of Shifu's eyes, after lightning flashed, Tai Lung appeared before him. "I have come home, Master." Tai Lung said. "This is no longer your home. And I am no longer your master." Shifu responded. "Yes. You have new favorites. So where are these... Po and girls? Did I scare them off?" Tai Lung mocked with a chuckle. "This battle is between you and me." Shifu told his former student. "So... That is how it's going to be?" Tai Lung asked, turning his back on Shifu. "That is how it must be." Shifu clarified, putting himself into a kung-fu stance, making Tai Lung look back at him... then attacked the red panda beastman, beginning the battle. Tai Lung punched Shifu clean through the doors of the Jade Palace as the red panda recovered himself quickly and faced his former student, while Tai Lung entered, with his face filled of pure fury. "I rotted in jail for twenty years because of your and the other masters' weaknesses!" Tai Lung shouted in anger. "Obeying your master is not weakness!" Shifu countered. "You knew I was the Dragon Warrior! You, Luna and other kung-fu masters always knew..." Tai Lung said, as he remembered that day, when in the Hall of Warriors, Shifu, Celestia, Luna and the other Kung-Fu masters presented Tai Lung to Master Oogway, with them looking expectant, but Oogway gave a look, leaving them dismayed. "But when Oogway said otherwise, what did you do? What did all of you do?!" Tai Lung asked in rage as he remembered looking at his masters back then, who averted their eyes. "NOTHING!" "You were not meant to be the Dragon Warrior! That was not my fault, or anyone's for that matter!" Shifu told Tai Lung, making the Snow Leopard beastman more angry. "NOT YOUR FAULT?!" Tai Lung repeated, feeling enraged as he knocked over the kung fu artifacts and threw them at Shifu. "WHO FILLED MY HEAD WITH DREAMS?! WHO DROVE ME TO TRAIN UNTIL MY BONES CRACKED?! WHO DENIED ME MY DESTINY?!" Tai Lung asked in absolute rage as Shifu dodged each attack, before the former student kicked a sword at him, and Shifu countered it, redirecting it into the floor. "It was never my decision to make!" Shifu answered, making Tai Lung growled, leaping for the next artifact, but paused as he recognized Oogway's staff. Realizing what this meant, he picked it up and faced Shifu with it in hand. "It is now." Tai Lung said, angering Shifu, who finally decided to go on the offensive, fighting the Snow Leopard Beastman, before getting pinned down by him with the staff by the throat. "Give... me... the scroll!" "I would rather die!" Shifu responded, making Tai Lung growl as they struggled for a few seconds, until the staff snapped in half. Shifu looked back at the pieces and a flutter of peach tree petals flew by, allowing himself to drop his guard and get kicked by Tai Lung into the wall. Shifu pushed him away and leaped from column to column, pursued by Tai lung, before eventually jumping to the rafters, with Tai Lung sending them both crashing through the roof. Lightning flashed as they were grappling in mid-air, with Shifu briefly getting the upper hand before Tai Lung got his paws around Shifu's throat as they crashed back through the roof, before the leopard beastman kicked each other apart. Shifu crashed into a column, letting him fall to the floor and landed hard as Tai Lung bounced off the wall, knocking a lantern to the floor, spreading blue flames everywhere. Tai Lung's arms were lit aflame as he charged at Shifu with a roar, who struggled to block his punches. "All I ever did, I did to make you proud! Tell me how proud you are, Shifu! Tell me! TELL ME!" Tai Lung ordered as *THOOM!* he attacked with a fiery punch, sending Shifu skidding across the floor and crashing against the reflecting pool. The flames extinguished and Tai Lung stalked forward as Shifu weakly lifted himself slightly. "I... have always been proud of you. From the first moment, I've been... proud of you. Even... Celestia... Luna... and the other masters." Shifu weakly started, making Tai Lung stop in his tracks. "And it was our pride... that blinded us. I loved you too much to see what you were becoming. What I... we... were turning you into... I'm... I'm sorry." Shifu apologized, making Tai Lung hesitate as the red panda beastman waited. After a long moment, Tai Lung's expression grew cold as he grabbed Shifu by the throat. "I don't want your apology... I want my scrolls!" Tai Lung said as he lifted Shifu up to the ceiling, before looking up towards the scrolls, finally seeing that they're missing. "What? WHERE ARE THEY?!" Tai Lung ordered as he slammed Shifu to the floor with enough force to crack the stone. "Dragon Warrior and Warriors of Harmony haven taken the scrolls halfway across the country by... now." Shifu strangled as he coughed. "You will never see those scrolls, Tai Lung." Shifu said, making Tai Lung unsheathe his claws as he tightened his grip on the beastman's neck. "Never! N-never..." Shifu wheezed as he started to pass out, making Tai Lung snarl, ready to end Shifu. "Hey!" A voice called out, catching Tai Lung's attention, who turned around to find Po standing in the doorway, gasping for breath, as Sunset Shimmer, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie caught up with him, followed by the rest of their friends and families. "Huff... huff... huff... Stairs... huff..." Po huffed, out of breath. "Who are all of you?" Tai Lung asked. "Buddy... I... am the Dragon Warrior! Huhhh..." Po said as he gave out a hard exhale. "And me, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie are the Warriors of Harmony!" Sunset added, leaving Tai Lung is in amused disbelief. "You all?! Them?!" Tai Lung asked the unconscious Shifu as he casted him aside. "He's a panda and the girls are humans." Tai Lung uttered to himself before turning back to Po and the others. "You're a panda. You six girls are only human. And what are you gonna do, big guy? Sit on me?" Tai Lung mocked in amusement. "Don't tempt me. Haha. No. We're gonna use these!" Po said as he held out the Dragon Scroll, the same being said with the HuMane 6 holding their six Scrolls of Harmony. "You want it? Come and get it." But from out of nowhere, Tai Lung punched Po across the room, grabbing the scroll knocked from Po's paws. "Po!" Sunset and her friends, excluding Swampsuke, gasped. "Finally..." Tai Lung said in anticipation as Po bounced off a nearby pillar and slammed back into Tai Lung. "AH!" Tai Lung yelled out as he was sent flying into a pillar, before recovering, astonished. Surprised that he had actually landed a blow, Po put on a brave face and strikes a pose as Tai Lung charged at him on all fours, making Po turn to run. "(Slow-mo) Oh... WOW!" Po yelped as Tai Lung quickly caught up to him and both of them bounced down the palace steps. "Po!" The CH students gasped. "Come on! We gotta help him!" Sunset urged as her friends agreed, all of them running down the staircase to the valley. As Po and Tai Lung fought each other while bouncing down the palace steps, with Po clung to the scroll before Tai Lung delivered a punch, sending him crashing onto the arena rooftops below and bouncing off into a tree, while the students caught up with the panda beastman. Tai Lung roared and pounced at them, only for the heroes to get an idea, speeding up Po's progress to roll off the tree, using the flora to whip back, smashing Tai Lung, briefly skidding across the rooftop and came right back at Po and the others. He knocked heroes down the long flight of stairs and chased after them. "Those scrolls are mine!" Tai Lung declared as they grappled for the scrolls, while Po was oblivious to the effects of crashing down stairs and in slow motion, his voluminous butt pressed down on Tai Lung's head, making some of the CH students feel a bit nauseous from seeing that. Then they crashed through the gateway to the village, knocking the scrolls loose. Po and the others were separated from Tai Lung and crashed into a noodle cart, giving Po an idea. Tai Lung went for the scrolls but Po, Rarity and Fluttershy snatched them away using noodle lassoes, making the scrolls fly towards him and bounce off his head. Tai Lung leapt for it, but Applejack, Sunset, Swampsuke and Po grabbed his tail and pulled him back down onto a cart which see-sawed Po and the CH students into the air, while the panda beastman slurped the noodles in mid-air. Up and over the rooftops, Po and the CH students landed in a grove of bamboo trees and into a nearby wok shop, while the scrolls landed inside lanterns, before tumbling out and roll to a stop in the street. As Tai Lung makes his move on the scroll, Po sent a wok into his face, and alongside Rainbow Dash, Raptor, Pinkie Pie, Makoto and Soulfire, turned the array of overturned woks into a shell game, sliding and moving them around at top speed to hide the scrolls. "Lightning! Whoo!" Po, Rainbow Dash, Raptor, Makoto and Pinkie whooped, making Tai Lung growl as he knocked the woks away and exposed the scrolls. "Ahhh!" Po gasped as he used his bamboo stilts to block Tai Lung, who tried to grab the scrolls. The leopard swiped stilts out of the way and grabbed the scrolls... bringing Po down on top of him with the CH students grabbing him as the scrolls were knocked out his paws and rolled down the street. Tai Lung threw the heroes into a fireworks booth as he chased down the scrolls. When all of a sudden... "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHA!!!" Po laughed as he and the CH students came speeding up on the cart, propelled by a motherlode of fireworks, slamming through Tai Lung and grabbing the scrolls, only to crash into a rock wall. The scrolls flied out of their hands and the Dragon Scroll landed in the mouth of an ornamental rooftop dragon while the other six scrolls landed on top of the dragon. Po and the CH students looked back at Tai Lung, who saw where the scroll has landed and restarted his pursuit. Envisioning the Dragon Scroll as a cookie, Po effortlessly scaled the building, alongside the other kung-fu students, who weren't breaking a sweat thanks to determination, leaving Tai Lung shocked. "The scrolls have given them power! NO!" Tai Lung raged as he took a giant leap and kicked the wall of the building, causing it to crumble. Po and the others struggled to reach the scrolls as they were chased by Tai lung, though managed to keep the leopard at bay by kicking dozens of roof tiles into his face. Amazingly, Po and the others skipped across the falling roof tiles to reach the scroll in mid-air and grabbed them, just as Tai Lung leapt up behind them and unleashes a punishing blow that sent the heroes smashing into the ground outside Mr Ping's noodle shop, with Tai Lung finishing the fight at the landing, delivering a final devastating punch, sending up a huge mushroom cloud. As the dust settled, Tai Lung was looming over the stunned heroes in the impact crater, as he picked up the scrolls, relishing at having the secrets to limitless power in his grasp at last. "Finally... oh yes... the power of the Dragon Scroll... and the Harmony Scrolls... are... MINE!" Tai Lung declared as he opened the Dragon Scroll, only for his triumph to turn to horror, staring at the blank surface, same with opening the six Scrolls of Harmony. "They're NOTHING!!" He dreaded as Po and the CH students slowly got to their feet, wincing. "It's okay. I didn't get it the first time either." Po said. "None of us did." Sunset agreed. "What?" Tai Lung asked in disbelief. "There is no secret ingredient." Po told Tai Lung, making him toss down the scrolls in anger, as Po and the others looked down at the scrolls and gazed at their reflections. "It's just you." Sunset added as Tai Lung looked at the scrolls, snarling and lunged at Po. "RRRAAAH!" Tai Lung roared. "AAAAGGGHH!" Po screamed as Tai Lung struck his nerve points in a last effort borne out of frustration, making panda beastman collapse to the ground, before he started giggling. Tai Lung looked down at his paw in confusion and struck Po again, and again, and again, but it seemed Po's body fat is keeping Tai Lung's nerve attack from having any effect except to tickle him. "Stop! Stop it! I'm gonna pee! Don't! Don't!" Po giggled, frustrating Tai lung as he delivered a double-fisted punch to Po's belly. The shockwave rippled through Po's entire body, making his arms come back and strike Tai Lung, sending the leopard crashing back into the noodle shop. Po looked at his paws, amazed at what he just did, with the CH students simply in awe at what Po pulled off. Tai Lung rose from the rubble and ran at Po again, only for the panda beastman to strike back, using an unorthodox panda-style technique, even getting Tai Lung to chomp down on his own tail. While Tai Lung was off his guard, the CH students started to fight him at once. "Let's see how you like this, kitty boy!" Raptor taunted as he and Rainbow Dash did a perfect counter, quickly dodging Tai Lung and struck him. "Gotcha!" Rainbow Dash said. "Sharingan!" Swampsuke called out as he blinked his eyes, turning his eyes into his clan's signature Dōjutsu, the Sharingan. Raptor, Soulfire and Swampsuke went into the beast forms as the HuMane 6 glowed brightly, gaining their pony ears, tails and wings (Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy). "Here comes a surprise!" Pinkie yelled as she jumped around Tai Lung and hit him with a punch, then a kick. Tai Lung recovered from that attack and noticed Rarity, charging at her. "I don't think so, you cur." Rarity denied as she blocked Tai Lung's fist with her palm and threw the Leopard Beastman over her shoulder. "Take this!" Soulfire and Makoto shouted as they punched Tai Lung form both sides. "Hope yer ready, partner, 'cause this is gonna hurt!" Applejack taunted as she attack Tai Lung's front with a Tiger Claw Strike. "You leave our friends alone!" Fluttershy shouted as she struck Tai Ling with a Snake Fist. "It's time to use your kung-fu style for the right reason!" Sunset declared as Swampsuke's Sharingan eyes studied and copied Tai Lung's techniques, followed by him and Sunset attacking Tai Lung with a Leopard fist. Then everyone attacked Tai Lung at once. Po attacked with a butt bump, while the HuMane 6 jump-kicked Tai Lung. "Chidori!" Swampsuke called out as he struck Tai Lung with his left hand covered in electricity, causing a bird screech from the blow. "Dragon Claw!" Raptor cried out as he attacked Tai Lung with his left arm-wing. "Force Palm!" Soulfire yelled as he thrusted his palm into Tai Lung. "Big Bang... SMASH!" Makoto shouted as she punched the air, making a giant electrical arm punch Tai Lung. All of those simultaneous attacks sent Tai Lung crashing into a building, who then emerged, now looking really mad, as he attempted one more lunge at Po and the others. But they prepared themselves, and when Tai Lung was in front of them, the CH students uppercutted him at the same time Tai Lung was swiftly met by Po's IRON BELLY, launching him into the air! After Tai Lung disappeared into the clouds, the heroes waited, and waited, until finally, Tai Lung reappeared in the sky and crashed into the ground. Tai Lung climbed out a leopard shaped hole, battered, but still defiant, as he staggered toward Po and the others. "All... of you... can't defeat me... you... you six are just pathetic... little... girls... and you... you're just a big... fat... panda!" Tai Lung defied as he lunged towards them one more time, *SCHWING!* only for Po and the HuMane 6 to grab his finger, making Tai Lung's eyes go wide. "I'm not a big, fat panda... I'm THE big, fat panda!" Po declared. "And we're not pathetic, little girls... We're THE pathetic, little girls!" Sunset added with her friends giving a nod in agreement, as Po and the HuMane 6's pinkies popped up, making Tai Lung gasp. "The Wuxi Finger Hold!" Tai Lung realized. "Oh, you know this hold?" Po asked, quoting Shifu's first encounter with him. "You're bluffing... you're bluffing! Shifu didn't teach any of you that!" Tai Lung said. "He didn't." Rainbow Dash responded, making Tai Lung look hopeful. "We figured it out." Sunset finished, making Tai Lung's eyes widen. "Skadoosh!" Po and the HuMane 6 simply said as they flexed their pinkies, causing an explosion of golden, rippling energy flow throughout the Valley of Peace, sweeping past the Furious Five, Celestia, Luna, Canterlot High students and the fleeing villagers, astonishing them as they looked toward the village in the distance. Sometime later, everyone returned to the village, which had been engulfed in a cloud of golden dust, before one of the pig beastman villagers spotted figures in the distance. "Look! The Dragon Warrior and the Warriors of Harmony." Approaching the crowd was an obscured figure who looked very much like the warrior from Po's dream, followed by other unknown figures. It was revealed to be Po, having his hat as an upside down wok and his scarf as a torn apron, followed by the HuMane 6, Swampsuke, Raptor, Soulfire, and Makoto. Po coughed and removed the apron, as everyone stared at Po and the others for a moment, then cheered the Warriors, before Po's father emerged from the crowd while the villagers tried and failed to lift Po on their shoulders. "That's my boy! That big, lovely kung fu warrior is my son!" Mr. Ping cheered as he and Po ran toward each other and hugged. "Thanks, Dad." Po said in gratitude as the wok fell off his head and rolled on the ground until Mantis stopped it, with the Celestia, Luna, Dragalchimaru and the rest of the Five are with him. The Five were no longer staring at the panda beastman with disdain, making Po and the other heroes take notice. "Hey, guys." Po greeted as Tigress stepped forward. "Masters." Tigress simply said as she bowed in respect, smiling at Po and the CH students who defeated Tai Lung, everyone else following. "Master." "Master?" Po and the other heroes wondered, feeling modest, but secretly pleased, before remembering something important. "Master Shifu!" They realized as they raced past the villagers and toward the Jade Palace, climbing the steps, then more steps, before arriving breathless at the Jade Palace, seeing Shifu still lying in the scroll room, his eyes closed, making the heroes rush to his side. "Master! Shifu! Shifu! Are you okay?" Po asked in concern as Shifu weakly opened his eyes. "Po... Everyone... you're alive... or we're all dead." Shifu said darkly. "We didn't die, Master Shifu. We defeated Tai Lung!" Sunset told Shifu. "You did?" Shifu asked in astonishment, answered the heroes nodding with smiles, as he smiled himself as Shifu became filled with inner peace. "Wow... It is as Oogway... foretold. You are... the Dragon Warrior. You have brought peace... to this Valley... and... and to me. Thank you... thank you, Po... thank you... thank you... thank..." Shifu trailed off as he closed his eyes and became still. Po stared at him for a long moment and started freaking out. "No... Master! No, no, no! Don't die, Shifu, please..." Po was cut off when Shifu snapped his eyes open. "I'm not dying, you idio... ah... Dragon Warrior." Shifu responded as he closed his eyes once more, smiling serenely. "I'm simply... at peace. Finally." That relieved Po, although the CH students knew that. "Oh... So, um, I should... stop talking?" Po asked. "If you can." Shifu answered. Po lay down and started meditating next to Shifu, master and pupil lying next to each other. Then Po started fidgeting and tried to keep himself from saying something to Shifu, but found it difficult, opening his mouth like he's about to say something, but he stopped himself. He fidgeted for a moment before eventually... "You wanna get something to eat?" Po asked, making Shifu open his eyes and sigh deeply. For a long moment he said nothing, and then... "Yeah." Shifu simply answered, making the CH students laugh at the moment. "Come on, you two, let's get back down to the valley." Sunset said as everyone in the Jade Palace started heading back to the Valley of Peace. To be continued...