Be A Dragon- Part 2

Tai Lung embraces his passions as he faces off against a new, powerful foe. Enjoy, all!

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Tai Lung stood at his full height, breathing deeply. The snow leopard's impressive chest tightened and inflated, his arms tensed and the thickly corded muscles flexed until his spots warped. He measured his breath, focused on his chi, then his eyes opened. With a subtle growl, he took in his opponent. A rhino. Before he had become blessed with the power of a dragon, he would have been a formidable foe— but the size gap between him and these thick-headed hornheads had shrunk significantly.

Tai Lung circled the rhino, daring him to take the first attack; a vain hope this slow, dim-witted thug could be any sort of challenge. He made his move, and Tai Lung even let the hit blow, as the rhino hammered him with a mace. It bruised his dense muscles, but only stung otherwise, causing Tai Lung to snarl softly. "Is that your best? Pity."

The snow leopard lunged, striking faster than his brawny build would suggest. His tensed arm struck at a pressure point, combined with a kick that hit like a battering ram; and the rhino was knocked out cold. Tai Lung snarled as he loomed over the unconscious rhino, and spat. "Pathetic."

One of the villagers that had been watching poked their heads over the wall they had hidden behind. "The Wanderer has defeated the bandit Kao Ming! We're saved!"

Dozens of other villagers poured out, cheering for Tai Lung. An elderly rabbit tottered forward, offering Tai Lung a coin purse. "Please, please sir, accept this— it's all we can offer."

The snow leopard sneered, batting the coin purse away. "I don't want your money, old woman!"

"Oh!" Another villager swooned. "He's so generous! What a hero!"

"Agh! Away, away, all of you!" Tai Lung snarled. He cut a path through the villagers, even as they continued to lavish praise upon him. He only just kept himself from punching his way out of the village; he didn't even offer to help them or make any ridiculous claim he would bring the bandit to justice— he only demanded Kao Ming face him to give him a real battle.

He reached the bamboo grove at the edge of the village and sighed. Tai Lung looked over his thickly corded muscles, the raw power brimming inside him intoxicating— but had there been a cost? The dragon that had given him this supernatural strength, had he secretly cursed him, to never know a real battle again?

As if answering his thoughts, a chill wind blew in from the north, cold and damp. Tai Lung's ears perked up, his tail swishing— he recognized the dragon's scent. Overhead, a long, serpentine figure darted across the sky, and despite his enormity, the dragon Long Shanfei landed before Tai Lung as gently as a cloud.

"Tai Lung." The dragon bowed his head in greeting.

"Great dragon." Tai Lung bowed in return; whatever his suspicions, he wasn't stupid enough to disrespect a dragon out of turn.

"I see you've been making a name for yourself— the Lone Wandered, the White Terror, the Leopard With No Name; I think I like that one the best. A bit wordy, but poetic."

"Hmph." Tai Lung waved it off. "They can call me what they like. I only wish they could challenge me."

The dragon rumbled; it took Tai Lung a moment to realize his shifting white scales and hearty, chuffing growls were actually a laugh. "Then I will make you a very happy man indeed. I have come to collect my debt, Tai Lung— you were given a portion of my power in exchange for aiding me, and I find myself in need of a warrior of exceptional skill."

Tai Lung's brow arched with interest. "Indeed?"

"A thief has snuck into my treasure hoard, and stolen an enchanted staff. It has made him uncommonly arrogant; he has declared himself the King of all Monkeys, and the Great Sage Under Heaven. Go, reclaim my property, and crush him for his hubris."

The snow leopard folded his thick arms. "I don't understand. A monkey and mere thief? Can a great dragon like yourself not handle such a common miscreant?"

Long Shanfei huffed. "The staff has made him unnaturally strong, and he has learned how to repel the powers of me and my brethren— not even the four dragon kings could break through the wards he has placed to protect his ill-gained treasure. But you, Tai Lung, are no dragon— he will not anticipate you."

Tai Lung scoffed. "Then I suppose I must go and take care of this monkey— the staff will be returned to you shortly."

The powerfully built snow leopard made his way to the monkey thief's home, on Flower Fruit Mountain. Despite the icy cold winds that blew across the mountains, the ground beneath his heavy footfalls was warm, like springtime. He came into a cleft between two peaks, forming a sheltered plateau. There were green and flowering trees here, with a fog clinging to the ground— no, not fog, but steam. His nose caught a clean, mineral scent, that of a hot spring. He also smelled—

"A visitor!"

"A trespasser?"

"A spy!"

Monkeys.

"Ugh." Tai Lung rolled his eyes as three of them dropped from their hiding places amongst the branches. One clung to his arm as if it were another branch, another dropped atop his shoulders, and one dropped in front of his path, crossing his arms.

"Who are you, to trespass in the territory of the Monkey King, the Great Sage Under Heaven?" he demanded.

Tai Lung's brow arched. The monkey came up to his waist, if that, and one of his thighs was thicker around than his entire body. Had this self-proclaimed King made them so bold? "I am Tai Lung, and I have business with your King. I will not be detained."

"Yeah? And what's your business with Sun Wukong?"

"Sun Wukong." Tai Lung nodded, smiling toothily. "So that is his name. Our battle will be legendary— ow!"

Just as Tai Lung shook off one monkey and pushed aside another, one of them whacked him atop the head— with a staff. Snarling, he reared his head, throwing the monkey left off his shoulders and then snatching him out of the air by the neck. He was left looking at a smarmy looking little thing; the monkey had bright, fiery fur, a glimmer in his eye, and a cocky, toothy smile. He wore a fancy silk scarf and heavily ornamented armor, and in his hand, a finely lacquered staff, gilded at both ends.

"You? You're the Monkey King?"

"Why? Who were you expecting, the Dragon Warrior?" Sun Wukong quipped.

"The Dragon—" Tai Lung stopped, narrowing his eyes. "And why would you say that?"

"Oh, I know who you are, Tai Lung. What, couldn't handle a fat panda, so you wanted to pick on some monkeys?" the Monkey King said, his smirk widening.

Tai Lung snarled, throwing Sun Wukong down. "Prepare yourself, Monkey King! Surrender your purloined staff, and I will leave. Refuse…" He flexed his fingers, showing his claws. "I will take it."

Sun Wukong whirled the staff overhead, and struck the ground, taking a defensive stance. "Sorry— I'm not big on giving up."

"Oh, I was hoping you'd say that." Tai Lung roared, and charged after Sun Wukong. The monkey dodged his first strike, the force of which cracked the ground when Tai Lung's fist connected.

"All that new muscle slowing you down?" Sun Wukong quipped. "You know, I bet Po would've gotten me that first time."

"Shut it!" Tai Lung roared, claws tearing the trees around him asunder. Several of Sun Wukong's monkeys hooted and hollered, scattering out of the way as the fight moved into the woods. "Give me the staff!"

"You want this staff?" Sun Wukong mocked. "This one right here?"

"Yes! Let me have it!"

"Alright!" the Monkey King chuckled. "You heard him, boys! I'm gonna let him have it!"

Tai Lung couldn't see what was coming next; just as he moved to hit Sun Wukong, the staff suddenly exploded in size, as large as a column— it hit him with all the force of a hurricane, the snow leopard sent flying. He tumbled clear out of the Monkey King's realm, and off the side of the mountain. He was left reeling, his claws scrambling to find purchase on the rock cliff. When he finally caught himself, the snow leopard was left gasping for breath. Defeat tasted just as bitter a second time; but then he growled, clenching his teeth. No, defeat wasn't absolute until he admitted it— Po had beaten him. This ridiculous monkey, however, had not yet beaten him.

"I must admit, I am… disappointed." Long Shanfei growled. He had come to meet with Tai Lung in a cave, near the monkey's hidden valley. "I had thought you were capable with all that I have given you"

"You neglected to tell me what the staff was capable of," Tai Lung replied with a barely hidden snarl.

The dragon looked down with a baleful gaze. "Careful. Now is not the time to be candid with me. Remember, you still owe me a favor— and if you cannot perform that favor, I'll have to… withdraw my gifts."

Tai Lung shuddered for a moment; the dragon breathed in as if he were trying to suck up the air around him, and he felt his body weaken, his muscles begin to shrink. "N-no! No. That… won't be necessary."

The dragon stopped, and the weakness faded. Tai Lung breathed a sigh of relief. "Good." Long Shanfei nodded. "But it is clear we need a change in tactics."

"Perhaps you could give me some more of your power?" Tai Lung offered. "Perhaps only temporary."

"Mm. No. No… feeding a flame with more flame is not quite the way to make a fire burn. I have lit the flame— you must feed it on your own."

Tai Lung arched his brow. "What do you mean? More training, more bulking?"

"Not quite— we don't have time for that. No, you must fuel it with your emotions. Your passions." Long Shanfei explained. "You've not had a passion— not since your defeat at the hands of the Dragon Warrior have you really recognized what your passion is."

The dragon's words struck a chord with the snow leopard. "No… I suppose I haven't."

"Meditate on that, Tai Lung— and the rest should fall into place."

The snow leopard watched as the dragon snaked away, taking to the skies. He looked down, huffing softly. Just as Shifu taught him, Tai Lung put himself in a meditative stance. What was his passion? To be the Dragon Warrior? No. That was Shifu's plan for him. Victory? No. Victory came easily to him, and the taste fell limp and ashen on his tongue. No… it was the fighting itself. The thrill and joy of battle, that was his passion. The back and forth, the crossing of arms and the heart-pounding exertion, the thrill of matching strength to strength… he may not be the Dragon Warrior, but in his soul, Tai Lung would always be a warrior.

The snow leopard's eyes flicked open. He growled, feeling a growing heat billowing up from inside. Filled with a fiery intensity, the snow leopard's entire body began to spread out, heavy muscle rippling under his spotted fur. Arms were lifted by spreading lats as the feline's swollen biceps pressed back against those heaving flanks. Throwing his head back he let

out a savage roar, chest surging out and pushing up against his muzzle. His thoroughly breeches still clinging to his swollen form was doing nothing to obscure his massive thighs as

they forced each other apart, looking thicker than his waist just a few minutes prior as Tai Lung

shifted his stance, the claws of his feet looking longer, sharper, the icy ground being scarred by

the talon-like extensions. Traps framed the beast's head before it whipped around, fangs bared as a fist the size of a small boulder slammed into the cave wall, shattering it. His eyes glowed with an inner fire, and he could feel flames licking at his fangs. He felt more like a dragon now than he ever had before.

"I'm ready." He rumbled.

With how his powerful legs sent him propelling in the air, and his arms like thunderbolts, he may as well have been flying as he scaled the mountain and tore through the snow. He returned to the Monkey's Glade. Stopping before the trees, Tai Lung put his hands to his mouth, even as his chest rose up to press against his strong chin. "Sun Wukong! I demand you face me in battle— the stakes are your honor and the staff!"

The monkeys came out in force; twirling his prize in his hand, Sun Wukong chuckled. "You really are a glutton for punishment, aren't you Tai Lung?" The monkey leapt down, but frowned as he sized up the snow leopard. "You're… bigger."

It was Tai Lung's turn to laugh. "Your powers of perception aren't failing you, at least. Come then— I'm just a bigger target this way, aren't I?" Tai Lung smirked, curling his powerful arms. His biceps leapt to the occasion, swelling like great, white boulders that pressed against his clenched knuckles, outsizing his head.

"Self-aware, good. That'll make the loss easier to bear," Sun Wukong grinned, and charged into the fray. His strikes barely registered on Tai Lung's rippling brawn, his muscle as hard as scales beneath his thick fur.

The snow leopard was moving slower with the hundreds of pounds of extra muscle packed onto his dense frame— but he only needed to strike once. He hit Sun Wukong like a battering ram, and sent the Monkey King hurling through the air and into  a snowbank, which left the monkeys laughing at him.

Sun Wukong's smile slipped, and he gripped his staff hard. "Alright, I see you need a reminder." He activated the staff's magic as it expanded in size— he would just smash Tai Lung like a fly. As the staff, now tall and thick around as a tree, came hurtling down on the snow leopard, he braced himself, his teardrop quadriceps tensing, thigh muscles rippling, the tapestry of back muscle rippling and his arms locking in place. He caught the staff, and although the ground cracked beneath his feet, Tai Lung held it in place. With gritted teeth, the snow leopard looked to Sun Wukong, the monkey in complete shock.

With a primal roar, Tai Lung through all his strength to knocking the staff out of Sun Wukong's hand. The hulking beast of a snow leopard stood tall, pushing it away and then holding out his hand to the monkey, gesturing for him to strike again. "Come on, then! See if you can win this staff back like a real warrior." He smiled as Sun Wukong charged for him; with limitless strength like his, legendary battles like this were what he lived for.