The Lion and the Leopard

Level Zero

(Tai Lung is going to escape, don't worry! But back to the Valley of Peace, where Po was just chosen as Dragon Warrior! He is in for a world of pain..)

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The crowd was still cheering. Leo Lung, Tigress, and the other Furious Five members watched in disbelief as the panda was hauled away by the pigs. Shifu followed them slowly towards the Hall of Warriors. Leo's whiskers twitched in disbelief,

"I don't believe it." He said.

"This is ridiculous!" Tigress hissed, glaring daggers at her paws, "He probably does not even know kung fu!"

"Why don't we go train? Training always helps blow off steam." Leo suggested.

Tigress stomped off towards the Training Hall, her tail lashing in anger. Viper, Monkey, Crane and Mantis followed. Leo hesitated for a second, glancing at the cheering crowds, before trailing after the five animals.

As the Furious Five made their way back to the Training Hall, Leo tapped Tigress light on the shoulder. She flicked her ear in his direction. The lion gently pulled her aside, "Tigress, I know this can be hard. I went through the very same thing you did." Leo said, his voice lowered so the rest of the Five did not hear. They were ahead of them, already on their way to the Hall.

"Did you get humiliated in front of the entire village? Did you watch helplessly as a fat panda was chosen over you?" Tigress growled at him, the fury clear in her eyes.

"No. I did not. I watched helplessly as neither me or my brother was chosen. I felt so ashamed, as you probably do. But you know what I did?" Leo asked as they arrived at the Training Hall. Mantis, Viper, Crane and Monkey entered and began starting up the equipment. They began training while the lion spoke with the tiger above the courtyard.

"What.." Tigress said, "what did you do, Leo?" She asked, staring at her feet.

"I moved on. I got over myself. Tai Lung, on the other hand, did not get over it. He let his rage take over. He took it out on everyone and everything in sight. And, well, he paid the price." Leo said, his voice soft over the shouts of the training animals. He remembered the terror of his brother paralyzing him. Leo winced, flicking his head to shake the memory.

Tigress considered this. Her tail swished and she looked at the Swinging Clubs that hung over the Spinning Serpent Logs. It was spinning, waiting for an animal to traverse across it. Leo followed her gaze before glancing back at her. His confidence growing, he smirked a toothy grin at her,

"I challenge you to a spar, Master Tigress." Leo said boldly.

She looked surprised for a moment, then smiled, her eyes narrowing, "You are on, Master Leo Lung!"

The two cats ran on to two separate Serpent Logs. As they started spinning, Tigress threw the first punch- leaping onto Leo's spinning log and roundhouse kicking his muzzle. Leo took the hit, shrugged it off with a twitch of his whiskers, and swept his legs under her, sweeping her legs out from under her.

Tigress quickly caught herself and landed on her front paws. Just as she was about to get up, a large swinging club swung past her. If she had come up any past her, she would have been hit with a blunt wooden club right on the back of her head. Leo narrowly dodged the swinging club as well, leaping onto a nearby Serpent Log.

The Kung Fu Masters sparred for the next several minutes, dodging the swinging, spiked clubs and leaping to and fro on the Serpent Logs. Tigress' muscles rippled underneath her striped fur. Leo's mane bushed and his tail lashed as he faced his opponent. As the spar continued, Leo and Tigress found it was fairly easy to dodge the swinging clubs. They were so invested in their training that they did not even notice as Shifu pushed open the doors as he and the panda walked into the Hall.