Journey of the Xing
Part 1
The New World
A Kung Fu Panda FanFic
Hey all! August Trinity here, collecting the entire journey onto one story: Journey of the Xing. This first leg I wrote way back in the seventh grade, so its quality is a bit behind. But, if you will pull through and read on, you'll see my writing quality slowly improve and you'll see me evolve into the writer I am today. So please, enjoy, Review how you thought I was back then, and read on! This is the story that made me who I am today!
Chapter 1
It was a horrible time in Beijing. My people tried pointlessly to fight against the creatures. They were coming from everywhere. Cracks in the floor, holes in the walls. Their forces were endless. But no matter how hard we tried, we couldn't stop them. Our most powerful warriors, the Xing Warriors(Sh-ing warriors.) I was in training to be one, mastering every form of martial arts known to man, including the American MMA. As I was surrounded, my family's dead bodies lay in front of me. The only weapon I had was my Xing Mentors Xing War Staff. Knowing that fighting was pointless, I took off running.
The beasts we were fighting were shadow phantoms, unbeatable by any normal weapon. They must be defeated by Xing, who possess special abilities they can activate through their weapons. I wasn't yet fully trained, needing to only master one last art. Kung Fu, the study of animal fighting style. The last art I learned was Pai Shua, the study of animal spirits. I learned to unleash my spirit, but I can only do it once. I possess the White Tiger spirit, same as the Zodiac year I was born. My name is Sky, as for my swift motion and balance with the universe.
As I ran through the forest, I noticed a cave, where I could easily hide. I decided to go for it and ran harder. Once inside, I waited for the beasts to run by me, and then took my staff at hand. The staff was formed specifically for me by my mentor. Made completely of Xing energy, it is indestructible, and lighter than bamboo. It as colored blue, and was decorated with symbols that stood for the Xing code. Strength, Mercy, Honor, Unity, Balance, and another symbol I never translated. I used the staff to activate my Xing Power, and trace the symbol for a portal to a different dimension. Mentor told me to use this symbol if the Phantom beasts ever attacked, and seek out the one called Shifu.
Once the portal opened, I jumped in, and my vision blacked out. When I woke up, I felt warmer than usual and soft…literally. My skin was covered in some soft substance, and my Xing Robes had changed to a blue silk vest and black silk pants. My staff was tied to my back, and suddenly my memory came flooding back. My people killed, I jumped through a portal to seek out Shifu. When I closer inspected myself, I realized that the soft stuff was fur…white fur. I'd somehow been turned into an animal.
"Mister? Hello? Earth to tiger!" I heard
I then noticed a kid…a bunny to be exact, trying to get my attention.
"Hey, are you ok? You appeared in this alley in a flash of light!" the bunny exclaimed
"Yeah, I'm fine kid. Where am I?" I asked
"The valley of piece, outside Mr. Pings Noodle Shop" he replied
I then looked around and noticed that the entire town was old style china, not the current 21st century. There were no cars, or anything.
"Where can I find Shifu?" I asked
"Up at the jade palace, but good luck. Nobody gets past the furious 5. Anybody who enters uninvited gets there butts kicked" he replied
"I can handle myself. Thanks kid!" I said as I stood up and began running towards the big mountain the bunny pointed to.
When I got to the base of the 3,000,000 stairs, I began a steady jog up them. It took almost a half hour, but I finally made it to the top, breathing partially hard. When I looked around, I saw a BIG gate, already opened, so I walked in.
"Hello? Anybody here?" I called out
Suddenly, I was knocked to the ground from behind, and a female voice behind me began speaking.
"Tai Lung, how did you escape? You better start talking or I'll snap your neck" she said
Out of pure instinct, I used my legs to spin around, using the tork o throw her off and get to my feet. When I looked, I saw an amazingly strong looking tiger, standing in a fighting position meant completely for offence. She then lunged, her left fist hurling at my face, but I easily deflected by grabbing her wrist and throwing her behind me. Suddenly, 4 more warriors jumped out of various places, surrounding me. There was a Crain, a Viper, a Monkey, and a Praying Mantis. They all entered defensive positions, and began moving towards me.
"Tai Lung, you won't escape this time. We are ending you!" said the viper
"WHO IS TAI LUNG?! I'm here looking for a master named Shifu" I said, trying to stop them from attacking. I wasn't afraid, but as a Xing I'm not supposed to fight when I can do other things to prevent it.
They all dropped their stances and looked at me funny. Guess the realized I'm not who they thought I was. Voice must've been higher. I'm only 14 years old, but I'm tall and well-built so I guess it's an easy mistake.
"This isn't Tai Lung. Sounds like a cub to me" said the viper as she slithered towards me.
"What's your name, and what's your business here?" the viper asked in a female voice
"Sky is my name. I'm here on behalf of my people. Our town was destroyed by Phantom Beasts, dark creatures. I was sent by my master to seek Shifu to continue my mastery of Kung Fu. I fear time is short. The beasts could've fallowed me" I explained
"Well if you want to continue your training with Shifu as your master, you'll need to pass a test. Choose one of us to fight. If you last 60 seconds, you may talk to Shifu" said the monkey
"First, may I learn your names?" I asked
"Master Tigress" said the tiger
"Master Viper" said the viper
"Master Monkey" said the monkey
"Master Crain" said the Crain
"And Master Mantis" said the mantis
"Very distinct names, aren't they?" I asked sarcastically
"Choose your opponent" they all said at once
After a little while of thinking, I decided on Tigress. I needed to study the tiger style, so this was a good start. I old them my choice, and they looked at me like I was crazy as Tigress stepped forward. She readied her stance, and I took my staff off my back and set it aside, then got into my own stance. Then she lunged, so I countered with a kick, hitting her in the side. She stepped back to retaliate, but I didn't give her the chance. I jumped into the air, a good 10 feet, and called to my animal spirit.
"TO THE SKY AND ABOVE, WHITE TIGER!" I yelled, unleashing a spirit tiger that knocked Tigress off her feet.
She fell to the ground, clenching her ribs in pain. I was worried I overdid it and rushed to her side.
"Oh god, I'm sorry! I think I overdid it! Don't move, I may have caused some damage" I commanded
She listened as I felt around her rib cage for anything out of the ordinary. I didn't find anything, so I guessed she was just bruised. I wasn't going to take the chance, though.
"Is there a medical room anywhere?" I asked
"Yeah, fallow me!" said Monkey
Since I didn't want Tigress getting hurt, I picked her up and carried her.
"What are you doing?" she asked
"You shouldn't walk until we know how bad it is" I answered
She was quiet after that, and I fallowed Monkey into what I assumed was the infirmary. While there I asked Monkey to get something to wrap her ribs in. he jumped onto a shelf to get it while I set Tigress on the cot.
"Don't take this the wrong way, but I need you to take your shirt off for a minute" I said
"Are you sure? You couldn't just wrap around my vest?" she asked, clearly being nervous
"No. don't worry, I won't touch anything, and I won't stare" I assured her
She hesitated, but undid the straps to her vest and removed it, revealing an uncomfortable looking chest wrap. I then took the wrapping from Monkey, who instantly averted his gaze. I started at the center of her stomach, then wrapped it around her entire chest, then a couple times around her shoulder, before tying it off and cutting the remainder away with one of my new claws.
"Ok, you're all good!" I said
She put her vest back on and stood up, looking at me with slight irritation.
"You weren't supposed to beat me, you were supposed to last 60 seconds" she said
"I know. I shouldn't have used that move. I haven't quite mastered it yet" I said, then added "if you'd like to get me back, I'll take the blow with honor"
She looked as if she was considering it, then gave me a small punch to the chest. I barely even felt it, but tigress had a grin on her face.
"There, we're even. I'll go fetch Shifu" she said and walked off
When I looked over at monkey, his eyes were wide and his mouth was hanging open. I smiled at the sight.
"What's up with you?" I asked
"Y-You got T-Tigress to smile! How did you do that? She never smiles!" he said
"I don't know. She kinda reminds me of my sister. But she was killed by the Phantom Beasts" I stated growing sad at the thought
"I'm sorry to hear that. Let's go to the training hall. Shifu will meet us there" he said
I nodded and we began walking.
"So where do you come from?" he asked
"Yeah!" said Mantis who suddenly landed on Monkeys shoulder
"I'm from Beijing. Or what used to be Beijing anyway. There isn't anything left of it" I answered
"What about these phantom beasts?" Mantis asked
"They come from a dark place. Where all people who haven't lived a good life go when they die. And if these people are strong enough, they break free as phantom beasts, and they only seek to destroy. The only way to defeat them is by using Xing Power, and a Xing Warriors weapon-CRAP!" I yelled, realizing my staff was back at the gate
I took off running with monkey unable to keep up. I ran back to the gate, where a small animal was holding my staff.
"No!" I yelled as I flew through the air, going for a kick
"Tai Lung!" the animal yelled as he countered my kick by hitting pressure points all over my body, stunning me. I fell to the ground, and somehow the impact broke me free of my paralysis. I then got up and looked at the animal in amazement. Not even my Mentor mastered that move! This must be Shifu.
"Master Shifu?" I asked
"Yes! You're definitely not Tai Lung. Who are you?" he asked
I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could I saw Tigress running to us. Before she made it, she tripped and landed on her side, then screamed in pain.
"Tigress!" I yelled, then ran to her, grabbing my staff from Shifu as I passed.
I put it back on my back before arriving at Tigress's side, kneeling down next to her. She was clenching her ribs again, and this time I knew she broke one.
"I told you to be careful! Let's get you-oof!" I was kicked away from her by Shifu, who got by her and asked her what happened
"I happened. They said that before I could meet you, I had to last 60 seconds in a fight with a warrior of my choice. I chose Tigress and used a reckless move that almost broke her ribs. They were bruised pretty bad, but I know she broke one now. I can help if you let me" I said while walking back over to them
Without waiting for any answer from Shifu, I picked Tigress up and walked over to the Infirmary, where I took off her vest and all wrappings she had on, including the chest wrappings that covered her breasts. I didn't pay any attention to them, since I had to set a broken rib. It was easy to find. There was a bump on the side of her chest that showed where the rib was.
"Ok, this is gonna hurt, a lot. I'm gonna count to 3, then I'm gonna push it into place, ok?" I asked
She nodded, so I began to count.
"One!" without making it any further, I pushed it into place, and she screamed in pain. When she finally stopped, she said "what was that?! You said three!"
"I know I did. That's why I counted to one" I clarified
"Well that hurt! Now wrap me up" she commanded
Without waiting, I wrapped her up the same way as before, then picked her up and walked out of the room.
"Where is the place you sleep? You need to rest until that heals" I said
"Up those stairs. My room is the one at the end of the hall" she replied
I nodded and walked up the stairs toward what she called the barracks. It was a small building, consisting of only bedrooms. I walked to the one at the end of the hall and pushed the door open, walking in and laying Tigress on her cot.
"Why are you doing all this?" she asked
"All of what?" I asked in return
"When you first got here I thought you would be an enemy, and now you're caring for me like I'm your little sister" she said
"That's because you remind me of my sister. She was killed by the Phantom Beasts" I said, again growing sad
"Funny. You remind me of someone who was like a brother to me. He went missing one night at the orphanage I used to live at" she replied
"You were an orphan?"
"Yeah. Nobody wanted me because I couldn't control my anger or my strength, so they treated me like a monster. Then Shifu came along and helped me gain control, then adopted me and brought me here. He's like my father, but not my father" she said
"I see. Well rest up! I'm gonna go talk to him" I said
"OK. Goodnight!" she replied
I then walked out, closing the door behind me. I was about to walk out of the barracks, when I heard Shifus voice behind me.
"I've never seen a staff like this before" he said
I turned around and saw him holding my Xing Staff, and I instantly started checking my back. Not there. How did he pull that off?
"It's very special. Used by Xing Warriors like my grandfather and my old master to kill phantom beasts. I was sent here to find you after they destroyed my home town and killed my family" I replied
"Well I do expect an explanation about all this in the morning. For now let me ask you why you and Tigress seem to be so close to each other so soon" he said
"From what she tells me I remind her of a friend she used to have, and she reminds me of my sister. So I guess we just got close based on that" I said
"Well then since we have no spare rooms, you'll spend the night with her. Don't try anything funny" he warned, then tossed me my staff
I caught it and said "Thank you master" before walking back into Tigresses room
"Back so soon?" she asked
"Shifu says I should spend the night in here, since we somehow are acting like siblings" I replied
"Well then get comfy. Goodnight" she said again before rolling over
"Goodnight" I replied then lay down and quickly fell asleep
