This story's origins trace back to the first Kung Fu Panda movie. I haven't seen the third one, but I don't believe the first two negate this in any way. So please enjoy, and leave a nice review if you'd like. I would like it, too! :D
Monkey stared at the pendant dangling from his hand. The emerald jewel and the gold and silver pattern surrounding it sparkled in the sunlight. Set around the emerald was a curling, dragon-like figure surrounded by stars.
"Damn it, Po," he growled. "Why does it have to be yours? I never would have taken it!"
He swallowed nervously, acute fear wriggling through him. If Master Shifu found out that he was a thief...
"Ohhhh..." Monkey groaned softly, his insides quivering.
The very thought of what would happen to him made him want to start running as far away as he could.
"Are you all right, Master Monkey?"
Monkey spun around, hiding the pendant behind his back. He sighed when he saw it was only a servant goose.
"Yes. I'm fine. Just thinking about...things."
"Anything I could help you with?"
"No. Just go on with what you were doing before."
"All right. Call if you need anything."
Monkey watched as the goose scurried away then began to hurry to the bunkhouse, anxiety making him whimper. He wouldn't have stolen if he could help it...and therein lay the problem. He couldn't help it. It was a deep-seated urge that refused to be ignored.
He had been raised in a street gang, and stealing was a part of life. He hadn't known life outside the gang. They had bought him from a woman who needed the money more than her only son. Even before he could walk, he was a thief. They were overjoyed at how good he was at it, and the games they taught him only made him craftier, more skilled. He had been the best in the gang, and was given honor and praise daily.
But…Monkey had grown tired of his life. He had grown tired of the blood, the gore, the death that followed in each footstep. So he had run away. The gang was probably still hunting him down. They wanted what was theirs. Because they owned him. The only way to not be theirs was for somebody to purchase him.
Though Monkey had plenty of money now, he couldn't purchase himself. It wasn't allowed in the code. And to reveal to his friends about just how shameful his past was? Reveal that he had lied to them about his past just to shut them up and shut them out? Reveal that he couldn't stop stealing? No. He couldn't. They would shun him, despise him, reject him! And I couldn't bear that, he thought miserably as he closed the door to his room.
Which brought him back to Po's family heirloom. It was ancient, passed down from father to son for twenty generations. And he had stolen it the night before. He was so ashamed, so frightened. Oh, he had stolen several things from the villagers. But to steal a treasure of one of his best friends? He had been so excited about stealing for the first time in months that he hadn't registered where he was, so he had broken into Ping's and stolen it. Po came back up to the palace after a quick visit and told the tale of a mysterious theft, and Monkey knew if he was caught, Shifu would murder him. And he also knew that he deserved it.
Monkey began to cry as he stared at the jeweled pendant. He missed Oogway dearly. Oogway understood him. After saving his life and straightening him out, the turtle had kept in touch before recommending him to Shifu a year later. Shifu had eagerly trained him, seeing great potential in the young simian. But there was still the thieving problem.
He had never learned to control the urge. He hadn't ever felt the need to. Even once Oogway had turned him good, he still stole regularly. But when Oogway had caught him, looking shocked and a little hurt, Monkey finally felt shame at what he was trained to do. He had burst into tears, sobbing hard. Oogway had comforted him until he was shaking and whimpering.
"Why do you do this?" he had asked him
"Because," Monkey replied, "I have to."
They had discussed it in depth, and Oogway had determined that Monkey felt like he had to because of his conditioning. He had stated that it was unacceptable for Monkey to steal from most everybody, but that it was okay to steal from him. He marked several items that Monkey could steal, promising to make it difficult for him. And he delivered. But Monkey was never caught while he was doing it, which greatly impressed the turtle.
But…now he was gone. The items had all been stolen, and there was nothing left to do, nobody to put them back into place and set more traps. Monkey had staved off the urge for five months before it became unbearable. Then he had to go and steal the wrong thing. What was he to do?
Monkey swallowed, hiding the pendant under the floorboards that held his other thefts. He would have to wait it out. Maybe after an attack he could claim he got it from one of them? Maybe. He would just have to wait.