Kung Fu Panda: The Spirit Rifts

Spiritual Rekindling

As Tai Lung and Shen finished pulling Kai through from the Spirit Realm into the Mortal Realm following Po's gracious and humble act to return them to their rightful realm of peace, Shen immediately swung at Kai with spite smearing his beak.

"What in the name of China's Emperor are you doing? Your time in the Mortal Realm is over, you've already been back... TWICE!" Shen was infuriated, all the while Tai Lung folded his arms with his right eyebrow sharply raised, curious to see where this altercation would lead the two.

"Before you swing at me again, chicken wing, let me make one thing absolutely clear. The next words that are about to leave my mouth are completely serious and not to be joked about, is that clear?" Kai let off his trademark grunt as Lord Shen and Tai Lung both gazed at him in confusion, the pair wondering what Kai's serious attitude was truly about.

"Are you finally confessing to wanting Oogway's staff up your backdoor?" Tai Lung let off a cackle alongside Lord Shen, the pair of them laughing it up once more before they eventually fell silent, seeing how Kai wasn't reacting. "Oh, this is serious, isn't it?"

"My days of reconquest of the Mortal Realm have since passed and those days in which I attempted to redeem old glory alongside fame by rewriting my spot inside of history send shudders down my spine. Therefore, with your arrogant jokes out of the way, let me say that I saw someone who passed into the Spirit Realm 30 years ago ambush the Spiritual Leader and the new Dragon Warrior-"

"AND YOU BEAT AROUND THE BUSH WITH YOUR OWN SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS BEFORE TELLING US THAT? YOU IDIOT!" As Shen snapped in an attempt to swing at Kai again, the yak simply dodged Shen's attack before tackling his weak body down to the floor; drawing everyone's attention within their spiritual coffee shop.

"Heh, how can we say that old age isn't hindering your eyesight?" Tai Lung attempted to maintain some humour, yet deep down, he was beginning to worry to an extreme depth about what Kai mentioned and was hoping to Oogway himself that these words weren't true.

"Because, if you've forgotten, I was the Chi Collector. I was the Hunter of everyone and anyone who stepped into this Spirit Realm. It was feared, a punishment that only the most disciplined who could survive as they knew I would eventually capture them at one point in another. I have expertise in sensing Spirit Warrior Chi more than any other being that has stepped into this eternal realm. Her name is Qianzhi, and she supposedly perished in a rebellion aimed at the emperor thirty years ago-"

"So, you just memorise everyone's history when you capture them?"

"CAN YOU TAKE ME SERIOUSLY FOR ONCE!" Kai blew up in front of Tai Lung's face as the trio stormed out of the coffee shop, with Kai attempting to save face by not seeming as red-faced as he truly was. "I couldn't see much as I was the last to depart to the Spirit Realm, but I sense that our connection to Po within the Jade Staff has been severed, meaning that someone else now has taken control over it... Before you ask, how would I know that? Let me remind you, I was the original Spirit Warrior; the ruler of the Spirit Realm that broke free into the Mortal Realm. This Qianzhi is deluded, she wants to rule over China and now holds the portal to the Spirit Realm in her hands. At least I have some decency to use my jombies to secure my leverage over my foes, but this woman? No, she's going to try and open up rifts into the Spirit Realm to pull every venerated warrior into the Mortal Realm to defeat Po; and do you wish to know the consequence of that?"

"...If they perish in the Mortal Realm as a Spirit Warrior, they are sent to oblivion, meaning they will never be awarded peace and the ability to reflect like I have," Shen's understanding of the situation complimented Kai's explanation, but it wasn't the answer he was looking for.

"I see that Po doesn't concern your mind as a friend as much as he does a foe. If these Spirit Warriors flood the Mortal Realm, it could endanger the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace. Without the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace and the Dragon Warrior, Kung Fu loses its flame, with the flame of Kung Fu extinguished... Well, the bandits of the northern ridges take advantage of China's weakened state; which would eradicate the history of the empire we all share in common as well as endanger our neighbours," Upon explaining the situation, both Shen and Tai Lung felt their hearts drop with the weight of the situation filling up their conscience.

"So, what do we do? It's not like we can kindly ask the enforcers to go back to the Mortal Realm, especially you, Kai! You've been there twice already!" An atmosphere of confusion surrounded the trio as Kai felt a lightbulb spark to life within his mind, albeit shrouded with the fog of embarrassment as well as begrudging humiliation that would come thanks to it. "You've got an idea, don't you?"

"Oh, don't tell me it involves any more awkward reunions," Shen rolled his eyes as he pulled out another Guan Dao from the sleeves of his robe as both Tai Lung and Kai's eyes widened in surprise. "What? I just gave Po the one I fought him with, I've still got others... You fools really think I'd just roam around the Spirit Realm unarmed?"

"I thought you were offering him peace but you'd be right about awkward reunions. There's a Chi Lake not too far from here, unlike many of the other Chi Lakes that are constantly syphoned for their power, this one in particular is ruled and guarded by the one and only Master Oogway... My former best friend and warrior in combat. I've spent five hundred years here at some point, even ruled over him; I think it's about time I learned what forgiveness was considering I've been able to truly see what Oogway has done. He turned a warring nation into one mostly filled with peace, with your necessary spices of evil still stirring the pot behind the scenes."

"Wow, you can really tell Kai's nervous because he's using food metaphors; I thought that was more or less Po's thing?" Tai Lung questioned the open air as Kai sighed, with Lord Shen growing slightly impatient regarding Tai Lung's comedic antics. "Alright, shell-kissing aside, I think I know what you're implying. Do you want to do this alone, big boy? Or do you need an escort?"

"As insulting as that is, I think all three of us going together would be a good idea. Tai Lung, you are the failure that broke Master Shifu's heart, one of Master Oogway's finest apprentices. Shen, you steered destiny within his favour when it came to appointing the Dragon Warrior, with him evolving into the Spiritual Leader that he's known for today... Whilst him and I? We share way too much history for me to bother to list, but it ended in betrayal; at least, that's what I thought. I betrayed myself, I betrayed what I stood for in the name of acquiring power and that race to be the most powerful Warlord inside of China alongside the Spirit Realm once I passed has fuelled my soul for too long. It's time for a change, it's time for us to prove that we're redeemable; at least temporarily," Kai began mysteriously walking off into the distance, with him uttering the words "Are you coming or are you wimping out?" before Tai Lung and Shen soon started trailing behind him.

"So, your great plan is to just waltz into Oogway's Chi Lake and attempt to convince him that you're redeemable- WE'RE redeemable, when you've despised him for twenty generations and have brought two of his successor's greatest rivals to his doorstep? How do you think this is going to go? With tea and friendly introductions?" Shen was practically on the verge of dying from laughter as they began walking through a forest of peach trees on their inevitable way to Oogway's peaceful Chi Lake of Wisdom.

"Shen, you don't know Oogway like myself and Tai do. I'm pretty sure you only heard about him in legends or even hearsay in the streets that he was senile and that he should've kicked the bucket already. If there's anyone capable of forgiveness, it's going to be Master Oogway. He isn't considered the grandfather of Kung Fu for nothing," As much as Shen felt a sour taste in his mouth knowing how much shell-kissing Kai was doing in Oogway's name, he did appreciate Kai's respect for the venerated tortoise master as he was unsure of whether or not that was something Kai was able to even demonstrate.

"And this second part of this plan of yours? This redemption? What's your sales pitch there?" Tai Lung nudged Kai, with the latter growing impatient regarding everyone's inability to have faith in him.

"I'm hoping that I can convince Master Oogway that we're worthy of returning to the Mortal Realm temporarily to combat the menace that is Qianzhi. I'm sure Master Oogway will understand that in spite of his wishes to keep everything in the present, there's a time where the future becomes one to save and well... Why have the lessons from history inside of a scroll when you can teach the present in the form of living history itself?"

"Huh, I never thought about it like that. But I imagine this Oogway fellow isn't going to be very comfortable with the idea of two great Chinese rulers and one failed student just being allowed to run free in the Mortal Realm again; especially with this whole narrative of this Qianzhi character being able to- what's she able to do again? Did you ever explain that?"

"Ugh," Kai facepalmed as he knew that this journey through Oogway's prosperous peach tree paradise surrounding his Chi Lake would be an awkward affair. "Po's Jade Staff of Wisdom allows him to open up portals between the Spirit Realm and the Mortal Realm at will. He doesn't do this because it interferes with the stability of the two realms, yet the power is still there as even destiny itself must be in the Spiritual Leader's hands. Now that Qianzhi has the staff and has defeated the Chameleon, very unoriginal name if you ask me; she holds this ability to pull warriors from the Spirit Realm to the Mortal Realm to strengthen what appears to be an army made up of Spirit Warriors mostly from thirty years ago, during the Mieshi Dynasty's grand rebellion against the emperor. Now, I am not explaining this again, so keep this information inside of your dense skulls before I turn you into an amulet... Again," Kai's reminder of who everyone inside of the Mortal Realm were dealing with was effective enough to get Shen and Tai Lung to fall in line alongside put on their game faces at long last.

"Just making it clear that I'm not a failure, I found peace eventually and I'm very proud of myself," Tai Lung boasted in an attempt to seem enlightened to the other two warriors he was walking with.

"Good for you, but you didn't rule over a grand portion of China," Shen retorted arrogantly.

"Or the entirety of China," Kai pridefully smirked as he wandered past the clearing of the peach tree forest, leading him to a view of a singular elderly peach tree; yet with Master Oogway seemingly absent. "Hm, where is he? Usually he's seen meditating over here-"

"Kai! Old friend!" The trio of warriors heard Oogway's reverberating alongside wise voice echo across the Chi Lake, yet no sign of Oogway could be found. "It's good to see you!"

"I would say the same if I could see you!" Kai answered back, turning around as well as looking up and down.

"You can see me! I'm right here!"

"AAH!" The trio of warriors exclaimed in shock as Oogway giggled, himself appearing in the blink of an eye with his jade alongside gold staff in hand.

"Hehe, nothing like playing a prank on an old friend and two of my successor's greatest adversaries," Oogway was much more energetic than Tai Lung and even Kai remembered him, almost as if Kai's absence allowed him to regain his life force. "Every peach seed blossoms in a unique way, yet all of your branches have led you here. Come, have some jasmine tea!"

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Lord Shen's earlier comment about a tea party and friendly introductions was coming back to bite him in his tail as Master Oogway summoned a bridge made out of rock alongside a wooden table with four chairs circling it to sit atop his singular peach tree island.

"Told you, I knew who Oogway was," Kai couldn't resist slipping a smirk across his face as he followed his brother in arms across the rocky bridge, with each former warrior reaching a table before they took a seat as well as a sip of tea.

"Kai," Oogway smiled joyously, almost as if there was no negative history between the two.

"Oogway..." Kai raised his eyebrow whilst his gaze remained fixated on the wise tortoise's mannerisms.

"Your branches have brought you here, where is here? Where you started almost five hundred years ago! Humility has troubled you, but you got the hang of it in the end, am I right?" As cryptically as Oogway's words were weaved, Kai could interpret them with ease.

"I know, it took me five hundred years and a grand total of two defeats to put me in my place before I'd end up here once again, under your watchful gaze. Irony sure has a twisted way of wrapping itself around its victims," Kai answered back, with Oogway's slight and gentle smile never breaking as both Tai Lung and Shen watched on intensely.

"This realm is no longer a punishment for you, am I correct?" For the first time, Oogway wasn't speaking in his usual cryptic tone, but in a more direct way to seemingly accommodate his albino guest.

"Since I pieced myself back together and realised I had gone too far, no. This place has been a harbour of peace and serenity since my downfall, even I have accepted that I'm no longer the 'Chi Collector' that I once nicknamed myself as."

"Then the answer you seek remains in your spirit, Kai," Nevermind, Oogway was back to his regular cryptic ways. "What do you seek?"

"...To protect the Spirit Realm, to protect the Mortal Realm, to protect your successor. Oogway, brother.. Your successor is in trouble, a great sorceress has taken the Jade Staff that you gifted him and is using its powers to communicate with the Spirit Realm against those in the Mortal Realm. I wish I could continue with your patient games but I will shamefully admit that there's an ulterior motive as to why I'm here," Kai bowed his head in shame, Master Oogway's smile turning to an expression of mild concern.

"But you are here. You once had the Spirit Realm in the palm of your fingers... Why do you think you are here? Why do you think the Spirit Realm was so empty five hundred years ago?" Now that Kai thought about it, he did find it awfully suspicious that the realm was filled with just himself and his anger for a while.

"Because I assumed it was my punishment..?"

"It was your realm. I knew you couldn't go without power forever, Kai. Instead of tearing something you were skilled at away from you, a realm was created for you to learn a lesson of humility. Hehe, it only took you five hundred years but, here you are!" Master Oogway's short yet sweet statements were perplexing for Kai, yet some sense began to come out of Oogway's usually cryptic shenanigans.

"Are you saying... You created the Spirit Realm to punish me?" Kai was in deep shock as Oogway shook his head. "You didn't?"

"Not everything is a punishment, old friend. Look around you, what do you see? Peach trees, a golden aura, your old friend and two new friends you've made as you share your struggles against my successor in common. You were created as the sole ruler of the Spirit Realm, everyone once answered to you, but you sacrificed that power. Not willingly, yet you've never made an effort to regain it. Instead sitting here in front of me, even bringing your friends with you. This situation with this threat is not mine to fight, it is yours. You must make the right decision as the ruler of the Spirit Realm."

"I thought... You were the ruler of the Spirit Realm because you created it for me?"

"I am a creator, not a ruler, Kai. I may have created Kung Fu, but did I ever exert my power anywhere? No. Respect, dignity, sacrifice and defence earned my rule, yet even so, it was never official. When you defeated me, you defeated the creator of your realm, which set you free. However, when you freed yourself, did it satisfy you?" Master Oogway quizzed Kai as he let off a defeated sigh.

"No. It led me back here, and I accepted my fate."

"Ah, like a true ruler would. You may have ruled over the Spirit Realm with an iron fist for five hundred years, but those five hundred years wore down the very things that motivated you. A tale of redemption turned to one of pity, with one lesson you forgot that has been uncovered today. The Spirit Realm belongs to you, Kai. You are the ruler of the Spirit Realm, yet you have shown a great amount of humility by consulting me first."

"But I never told you who- or what-"

"My successor is in danger, Kai. You know that and I know that. I cannot go back to the Mortal Realm because I do not desire to, unlike you. It is your choice whether to disrupt the present, or act as destiny," Oogway finished sipping down his tea as Tai Lung spoke up at long last, slightly irritated but accepting of Oogway's wisdom.

"Wait, act as destiny? Are you saying that- you never saw me as worthy? It wasn't destiny that saw me as unfit to be the Dragon Warrior all of those years ago?" Tai Lung's mild confusion mixed in with his slight rage did raise Shen's eyebrows, who was passively watching the conversation at the time.

"You were worthy and a great warrior, Tai Lung. I am very proud of you and what you have accomplished, I am proud of all of you for forgiving yourselves, redeeming yourselves and wishing to move forward to lead positive afterlives within the Spirit Realm. However, Tai Lung, destiny is arbitrary, it is unfair, everybody knows that life is and it can't be unfair. Yet, the path chosen for you has left you here and I see no anger, rage or dissatisfaction. I see three warriors who are ready to redeem themselves. An apple tree cannot bear fruit if the soil is mistreated, but once that soil is gifted a great store of compost and fertility, that seed of life eventually blossoms into an apple tree worthy of bearing fruit and influencing the next generation," Once again, after several moments of weirdly concise conversation, Oogway was once back to his cryptic and metaphor-filled self. "Kai, destiny is your apple tree. Will it bear fruit or collapse before it does so... It is now in your hands to decide," Master Oogway pulled Kai's chains from his sides as the tortoise levitated into the air, fusing the chains together as he turned them jade as well as the blades gold before dramatically handing Kai's weaponry back to him with a proud smile on his face.

"You are destiny, Kai. I gave you this realm in the hopes that you would rule well. After five hundred years of attempting to bear fruit in the wrong soil, you finally moved the seed of your apple tree to somewhere in which it will bear fruit! I look forward to wishing upon destiny, hopefully it brings us together for more tea! Now, my successor is in trouble alongside the stability of the Spirit Realm and as the intermediary between the Mortal Realm and the Spirit Realm, it is your responsibility to tend to those matters. Allow the universe to guide you, Kai, like myself and this realm has guided you," Kai couldn't resist his emotions any longer, hearing the fact that Oogway was proud of him sent the first tear down his cheeks, then the reforming of his weapons the second before eventually Oogway's comment about Kai being destiny and holding such a responsibility sent him into a burst of gracious tears.

"Thank you... For believing in me," Kai warmly embraced his former brother in arms, with Oogway gently patting his back as even someone as stone cold as Shen shed a tear in appreciation for the spiritual rekindling and reunion of these two former friends. "I don't expect forgiveness, but I thank you for even talking to me and envy your patience for everything I have done."

"I forgive you and heh, soon enough, my old friend, you will be achieving my levels of patience with ease! You remained in the Spirit Realm for five hundred years before breaking free, that's a level of patience not many warriors hold," Eventually, Oogway and Kai broke free from their emotional embrace, bowing in respect for one another as Oogway turned his attention to the other Kung Fu masters Kai had brought with him. "Lord Shen, the whispers around this realm have always uttered your name as the weak tree that would never prosper. Although your fruit soured, you still blossomed and myself as well as Po have seen how sweet your fruit shall be. Tai Lung, as your years have gone by, you've had the ability to blossom in many different places; bearing fruit of promise and potential, but never success... According to everyone else. You have always been successful, just overshadowed by a much larger peach tree. Now it is your time to step out of the shade and into the great sunshine... It is time for you to blossom into a wondrous peach tree that bears the sweetest fruit!" Just like Kai, Tai Lung emotionally embraced Master Oogway, who was getting used to his former students alongside friends breaking down in his arms seeking forgiveness, a feeling that left him feeling appreciated amidst a world where he was constantly underestimated.

"I have one question, Grandmaster Oogway," Lord Shen spoke up from the background as Oogway warmly smiled at him, charming as ever. "Why did you pick the panda as the Dragon Warrior? What was the reasoning behind that? Was it an accident, fate, destiny, a calculated decision?"

"Po represents me if I ever had a child. Humble, ambitious, balanced, overshadowed yet talented once he's given time for his fruit to sprout. When he descended from the sky in a ball of fire, that was the only time where I felt like I was no longer in control of destiny, but that destiny was sending a message through the universe to fulfil my legacy. I had days left before my ascension, I would've left without a successor and Shifu would've appointed Master Tigress as the Dragon Warrior. This event told me that the universe had something special and considering the peril that China alongside the world currently faces from Qianzhi, I am very proud to admit that I lost control of destiny and allowed it to bring me the very warrior that holds the tools to protect us all; with some help, of course," Master Oogway cheerfully winked whilst all three of the warriors surrounding him had their jaws agape.

"I don't ever recall mentioning her name, do you?" Both Shen and Kai shook their heads in response to Tai Lung's inquiry.

"The universe works in mysterious ways," Master Oogway playfully chuckled as he started walking away as mysteriously as he had appeared.

"Grandmaster Oogway! Wait! Now what?" Kai called out, sounding eerily lost for someone who had a focused objective for so long.

"Now, you control destiny," And with that, Master Oogway faded into the surroundings of his Chi Lake once again, leaving just Tai Lung, Shen alongside Kai perplexed as Kai was swinging around his newly refurbished blades.

"Oh, Oogway. This is the most concise I've heard you speak since we met and you've still found a way to remain cryptically confusing! The Spirit Realm belongs to me? My Jade Blades of Widowmaking can now open up a portal between the Spirit Realm and the Mortal Realm- I'm suddenly in charge of all of that? Since when?"

"Like Oogway said, you've been in charge of all of this from the start. This was never a punishment for you, Kai; this was a promotion for you," Tai Lung attempted to make sense of the situation as Kai continued to stare at his rejoined blades, baffled by the situation.

"But why would he promote me to rule a realm of my own that he created if I did so many selfish things in the past?"

"Because he's your friend, and friends will always believe in you... Even I know that despite not having many when I was ruling over Gongmen City," Shen offered a wing of insight to Kai, who was still trying to comprehend the situation at hand. "Nobody could have predicted what he saw in you five hundred years ago or even how he saw it, but here you are. You hold the key back to the Mortal Realm, and although I plan on ensuring our trip remains short for the sake of returning back to a state of peace with you three; I sure am looking forward to going on one more redemption run, what about the rest of you?"

"I already feel redeemed, but I know the Spiritual Leader would want me to protect him, Tigress and the rest of the Furious Five would want me to protect them. China needs me back, not permanently, but temporarily to serve as the hero it desperately desires. What about you, Kai? Are you looking forward to this trip?" As much as Tai Lung remained optimistic, it was clear that Kai was still hesitant to swing his blades together; his instincts telling him that this was the way to open up a rift between realms.

"...What if I mess up again? What if I get too lost with power and go on a rampage inside of the Mortal Realm? Unlike you two, I have an obligation to now protect this realm and to isolate its access to those that ascend naturally instead of allowing sorceresses to manipulate its powers to bring Spirit Warriors back from the dead inside of the Mortal Realm. I've gotten carried away with power twice, what if it happens a third time?" Both Tai Lung and Shen looked at one another before letting loose a wheeze.

"You really don't see the answer? Us! We'll always keep you in check, Kai," Tai Lung offered more comforting wisdom for Kai.

"And belittle you if you act like a power hungry fool. Now, make a good decision with your newfound powers and send us back to the Mortal Realm!" Whilst Shen offered more brutal, yet honest wisdom to the former Chi Collector.

"You're right. I've come this far, I've already redeemed myself. Mortal Realm! Kai, Tai and Shen are back! Not as forces for heroes to fear, but as forces for villains to bow to!" With one powerful swing of his blades, a jade rift opened up in front of them, seemingly leading them to plains that surrounded the distant silhouette of Juniper City. "Hah, now you two are the children soiling their underwear. Come on through, it won't be as nasty as the first time," Kai encouraged the pair of them as he grabbed both Shen's wing as well as Tai Lung's paw, forcing both of them into the stormy reality of the Mortal Realm.

Although this place looked unfamiliar to all three, a desperate panda calling upon all of his friends would soon discover the relief that he needed; albeit through some disagreements and lessons in forgiveness.