I am free

[Tai Lung's POV]

Chroh-Gom prison.

It was a stronghold carved right out of the most inaccessible peak of the Tavan Bogd Mountains at 3,000 feet deep, located in the frigid outskirts of Mongolia. 

It was the most formidable prison ever made and was designed with only one entrance and one exit.

It was built with elaborate traps and deathly, self-destructive mechanisms that should prevent anyone from escaping.

This fortress was built with the sole purpose of holding one prisoner.

Me.

It might seem like too much effort to hold one prisoner at first, but that would be wrong. In fact, it was not enough to hold me in the canon timeline.

I was kept in the deepest part of the cavern and both my arms were chained up as huge boulders weighed at the end of my chains. 

My hands were also cuffed with eight-point acupuncture cuffs that not only tightened more as I struggled, it also stopped my chi and made me unable to move my fingers, as even my claws were forever retracted.

On my back was a huge restraining turtle shell, made by Oogway himself as thick pins were inserted in the acupuncture points on my back, effectively stopping me from moving a single muscle while also blocking my chi.

My restraints were so good that I could not even breathe as I wanted, only being able to take in just enough air to not die.

A part of me even forgot how to move my body and I wonder whether I would remember how to move once I was free. I might lose all my motor skills.

It was a cruel punishment, it would be better to kill someone than keep them like this. It was like being in an eternal coma - conscious yet not living.

I hated them for this. They refused to kill me due to their self-righteousness and would instead opt for this kind of imprisonment so that they could feel good and be void of guilt.

Dying was mercy compared to this. 

I have not even eaten or drank in 20 years. The only reason I was alive was due to my body being in a state of complete immobility and because of my strong chi. It was like a hibernation if that made sense.

Other than my tail - due to many nerve endings - , my eyes, and my lungs, I could not even feel other parts of my body. 

I wonder how much longer I will be in this state.

...

The sound of the wooden platform hitting the ground and bridging the space between my rock island and the guard post woke me up from my reverie.

The disturbing sound was followed by the familiar voice of the commander of the prison.

"Crossbows, at the ready!!!" He said and I could feel multiple crossbows aiming at me, ready to kill at a moment's notice.

My warrior's instincts screamed at me to move, my mind was extremely uncomfortable being in this state of gun point, it was repulsed at the idea of my safety being in another person's hand.

Yet I was powerless.

.

.

But not for long

'Oh, it's here. It is time.' I thought to myself as I heard the laughter and heavy footfalls of the commander.

He was the commander of the Anvil of Heaven, an elite warrior of 1000 rhinos who were posted in the Chorh-Gom prison to guard me.

A thousand soldiers to guard one prisoner.

"Hahahaha, hey tough guy, have you heard?" Vachir, the commander came up to me and said with a condescending tone in his voice.

He was showing absolute disrespect to me, again, like he had done for the past two decades. 

"Oogway is finally going to give the dragon scroll to someone and it's not gonna be you." He said as the torch he was carrying gave me a much-needed warmth in the frigid cave since my body was restrained to the point I could not even produce proper body heat.

"What are you doing!! Don't get him mad!!" said a duck in a half whisper half shouting. If memory serves me right, it was the duck that was supposed to deliver a message from Shifu.

The message was to double the defense and guards of Chroh-Gom prison.

"What's he gonna do? He is completely immobilized." Vachir said while walking around me. He even stepped on my tail to prove his point.

I held back a growl as I allowed myself to stay calm and quiet.

"Oh~ Did I step on your tail kitty cat? hahahaha" Vachir laughed, not realizing that his actions were the same as digging a grave for himself.

"Okay, that's good. I have seen enough, I will make sure to tell Master Shifu that everything is okay." said the duck with evident fear in his voice as he stumbled to leave.

Vachir followed him as well and they left me alone. But right when I heard the wooden door closing, I opened my eyes.

My yellow eyes pierced through the darkness and I looked at the ground to see a single feather of the duck.

I smiled and moved my tail to grab the feather. The fact that Vachir had stepped on my tail turned out to be a great thing as it woke up the nerves in my tail and allowed me to control it with perfect dexterity.

Without wasting any time, I picked up the feather with my tail and inserted it in the keyhole of the turtle shell fitted on my back.

My tail moved like it had a mind of its own as it started using the light feather to pick the lock of the shell that was restraining me.

I have thought of this moment and dreamed this moment for a long time. I have memories of reading how this lock worked, plus it was not the first time I had tried picking the lock.

Therefore, in no time, I was able to crack open the shell of restraint on my back.

*Psoooowsh*

The shell loosened and I finally took a full breath in two decades.

"Haaaaa~"

It was amazing how one full breath could rejuvenate my strength. I felt the oxygen fill my lungs before it got passed to my blood and my muscles fed on that oxygen like hungry beasts.

"Finally~," I said as I sucked in the air, causing small hurricanes to form near my nose.

With that being said, I flexed the muscles on my back and forcefully pushed out the needles inserted into my back. They shot out like bullets and with a final shift, the shell broke completely.

*Crack!!!*

I felt untold strength surged back to me as my muscles popped and worked for the first time in 20 years.

My nerves fired up and I finally got back full possession over my body which was born to kill and trained for war.

I felt intoxicated with my own power as the sudden shift from being completely helpless to being capable of destroying mountains was too sudden.

I let out a roar.

*ROAR!!!*

.

.

.

I am free.

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