This work contains elements from LOA, shorts and the trilogy. It doesn't take anything from LOA besides the characters they introduced and some of his lore. It also contains a good level of violence, blood and a low level of romance. There aren't offensive elements such as language, but later on, in the story, you may find an oc who does. It will still be a low level, nothing excessive.

In this work there's a "special thing" that you'll discover from the first page already. A lot of people don't like the idea but I encourage you to reach AT LEAST the end of fourth page to decide if you want to keep going or not. Please put your trust in me and if you'll decide to stop I'll know you tried. Thanks for reading and enjoy the story.

Legend of the Otherworld - Prologue 1 - A legend come true

On Earth, there is no heaven. However, there are pieces of it. If you would spare a moment, we will take a peek at a rather special place.

The rays of light fluttered and danced as they make their way to the land below. The blazing sun shined brightly upon this town, so comfortably nestled among such tall intimidating mountains, and built upon a fertile valley. The residents who moved between the buildings, from the smallest of mice to the heftiest of rhinos, seem to radiate with abundant energy. Everywhere we look, fragile cubs giggle and coo, mischievous little ones laugh and play, diligent grown-up animals shout and work, and the wise elderly share their many tales of life.

It's quite easy to see how this town earned its name, the Valley of Peace. As this flow of serenity flourishes around us, it really is difficult to imagine the destruction that took place not too long ago. This destruction still affects the town to this day, but still, the residents cope, taking on an image of peace.

Several months have passed since the defeat of the latest threat to the Valley of Peace. A spirit warrior by the name of Kai tore his way through the valley with his personal army of jade in search of power and vengeance. With the combined might and wit of the town's protectors, the menace was led away and defeated, and with him, an end was put to the spirit warrior's schemes.

However, his defeat did not immediately usher in peace for all. Ornate towers and humble stores were equally gifted with chipped stones and split wood. While they had been mostly spared, the renowned Jade Palace, the valley's greatest structure, was unrecognizable.

Polished jade shattered, aged wood was burnt, and forged metal was twisted. The innumerable scrolls and artifacts stored within were not spared either, leading to many centuries' worth of knowledge being lost.

The once historic building, which served as a temple, a school, and a home for the students and masters who resided within, was devastated.

When greeted with such a sight, the Dragon Warrior, the Furious Five, and Grandmaster Shifu vowed to resurrect their home. Soon they were joined by craft workers from all walks of life who worked alongside each other, and the masters, to rebuild and restore the Jade Palace to its former glory. It truly was a moving sight to behold.

Within this period of hustle and bustle, and to the shock of them all, Shifu spoke out his wish of retiring to his students. Whenever asked for a reason, the old Grandmaster would simply fold his ears back and say, "It was time." Nevertheless, Shifu, after retiring from teaching, often spent the day meditating.

Po, now grand master of the Jade Palace, dedicated himself fully to the training of the Furious Five that usually ended in the afternoon. The trend followed to this day.

"And that's all you need to know for today," wearily stated the panda. "You're all free to go now." The teacher and students bowed respectfully to one another before Po quietly walked outside.

The Five exited the training hall at a slower pace and prepared to go on with their separate agendas for the remainder of the day. However, with troubled thoughts on her mind, Viper brushed against Tigress. The gesture caught the tiger's attention and slowed the pair even further.

"There's something I need to tell you" Viper said, worry evident in her voice.

This made the tiger's ears perk in interest at the sullen tone of the normally optimistic reptile. "Is something wrong?"

"It's about Po…" She sucked in a deep breath before continuing. "Did you see his face? He's so tired; I don't know how much more he can take of this lifestyle."

"He's just taking his duty seriously. It's normal to be tired with all the effort he's putting in," Tigress stated with a tinge of pride in her tone. She truly was proud of the Po's resolve and effort to become an acceptable teacher for his comrades. Though she would not admit it, the panda's ingenuity would change even the dullest of lessons into intriguing challenges.

"Don't you think it's too much?" Viper's tone hardened. "He has to teach, take care of his dads and protect the valley! He's pushing himself so hard… One person can only handle so much."

Tigress mused over her statement for a moment. She admitted to herself that, over the months, the panda had done so much for the valley: battling Kai in a realm beyond their own, assisting the builders in every way possible, and even establishing a safe trading route from the pandas' mountainous village to the Valley of Peace. Whenever a memory popped up, Po was somehow intertwined. With a nod of acknowledgement, she replied, "You're right... but we shouldn't interfere. He has to understand this alone."

"I get what you mean, but would be nice to offer him a little push towards it." Viper motioned towards the feline with her tail, "Talk to him about it, maybe not directly if you think that's not fair to decide for him."

"Me?" She questioned, surprised, "I thought you were going to do it."

"We both know who the closest one is." A smile followed soon after the sentence left Viper's lips, "I'm sure only you can help him right now!"

Tigress blinked at her, "What is that supposed to mean? Am I different in his eyes?"

Viper giggled, "Yeah, I wonder how many times he shouted at us that you're his favorite, role model and inspiration for his Kung-Fu passion." Viper whipped away before the tiger could answer. Not that she could, considering the panda was rarely ever discreet with his care, especially around the Five.

Tigress wandered into the hallway in search of Po when she nearly bumped into Master Shifu, deep in thought of what Viper asked her to do earlier.

"Forgive me, Master. I was lost in thought," she apologized and made an attempt at a quick retreat.

Shifu easily noticed something was troubling her and couldn't stop the question from escaping his mouth. "Is something wrong, Tigress?"

"No, I'm just looking for Po. There's something I must tell him, but I don't know where is he." Her ears twitched uneasily as she tried to not confess the entire truth.

"Whatever the problem is, you should tell me," Shifu stated reassuringly.

"I feel like Po's getting consumed by the weight of his duties." She relented.

Shifu understood, "Do you think he's overloading himself?"

Tigress didn't know what to say. Despite knowing the events of previous months tolling on the panda, she couldn't say he was faltering in any of his responsibilities. "I'm conflicted. If he wants to commit to his duties, who am I to stop him?"

"Tigress…" The red panda smiled, noticing how much she cared for him, "I can teach again if Po is not able to do so." Shifu affirmed. "I understand the increasing pressure he's been bearing for far too long, but I cannot make decisions for him. Asking for help is often a hard lesson to remember."

Shifu grinned as he shared his wisdom with her daughter and then he walked away.

Continuing her search for Po, she found her paws carrying her to the Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom. With steps as quiet as a whisper, she was just able to stop a chuckle at the sight in front of her.

She moved closer and asked, "Po, what are you doing?"

"Eh, uh, wha…?" Po mumbled before shifting around. "N-Nothing! Why are you asking?" he added with an awkward noise.

Tigress came close enough to see that Po was just rousing himself from his nap against the tree with a few slobbered peaches in his mouth. She had to try rather hard to smother her smile.

"Everyone knows that you come here only for eating… and stress-relieving," Tigress added without mentioning both activities were basically one and the same.

"What? Everyone?!" he all but yelled. "But only Oogway saw me… and Shifu." His words trailed off as embarrassment started to sink in.

"It's not so hard to imagine." Tigress sat next to him.

Po felt the awkward silence and made an attempt at alleviating it. He tapped his claws together and began to speak, drawing out his mutterings. "So, umm—–"

"I've wanted to ask you something," she interrupted. A serious glint entered her green eyes.

"Sure?" Po's head tilted at the statement, wondering what the feline could want.

"How do you feel?"

"I-I don't understand… What do you mean?" As his head tilted further, it became obvious he didn't expect a question like that.

"In the past you didn't have so many duties to attend to. You had some space for yourself, time to relax and breathe, but now you're being crushed by your responsibilities, trying to meet everyone's expectations", Tigress stated, her gaze locked on Po, "How do you feel about this? Is that alright?"

A twitch barely crossed Po's features before it faded, but Tigress' eyes caught the movement. She too had to smother her own burning ire at the subject. During the months rebuilding the Valley of Peace, incidents of raiding had increased dramatically. Apparently, plenty of bandits got the notion of thinking that the protectors of the Valley were not doing their jobs right, and were overly eager to capitalize on the opportunity. They were slowly but surely realizing just how wrong they were.

"I'm not bothered. I'm happy to help the people I love, like you." Po smiled, but even so, the feline's keen eyes could pick out the bags under his eyes that weren't present before. The black patches of fur around Po's eyes were even darker than usual. Anyone else besides the Five and Shifu probably would not be able to notice, but Tigress knew Po. His appearance looked miserable.

"I knew you would say that," Tigress muttered. Her tail lashed behind her as her voice rose, growing harsher until the end. "You can't care only about the others. You can't help others if you don't take care of yourself!" Finally, Po would notice Tigress was worried about his health.

"I'm fine, Tigress! I was born ready to do this!" His voice rose, trying his best to appear fine. Whether trying to reassure her or himself even he didn't know.

"Po…" She didn't need to say more while she watched Po deflate before her.

The panda felt like she was staring deep inside his soul, as if she would read him like an open book and all of his lies just crumbled one after another. He felt powerless, incapable of holding up his charade, "I… well… it's not like… " Po stopped and sighed, "I suppose you're right, but everyone counts on me and I don't want to let them down you know, I won't let them down."

Knowing she could do little to advance the conversation or alleviate her friend's worries, Tigress remembered her earlier talk with Shifu. "Shifu told me he can teach again," revealed as she moved to stand over the downtrodden panda. Maybe the thought of shifting teachers would help him.

"Really? Did he say that to you? Why?" He widened his jade eyes in confusion, "I don't understand I believe he didn't want to do it anymore."

She smiled, seeing a bright light of hope in his eyes, "I don't know anything. Stand up and go to him, I'm sure he will understand you." Tigress stood up, satisfied of her good job, "Don't hesitate to open up to us, we want the best for you, just like you want the same for us."

In another part of the temple grounds, Shifu was meditating inside his room. The soft mantra whispered from his mouth halted when a familiar voice from nowhere called out to him.

"Shifu…" The voice echoed in the little room he was in. "Can you hear me?"

The red panda became startled when the voice became clearer. "It can't be…" He mumbled to himself, "Master Oogway, is that you?" he asked, clearing his throat.

"It's been a while… my friend." His voice seemed to ring out everywhere around him.

"It's such an honor to see, I mean, talk to you again." Shifu was a little disoriented to talk with a voice that seemed to be everywhere. "Wait... Is something dangerous coming?" He rose an eyebrow, Oogway always carried bad news with him.

Oogway chuckled from that sentence, trying to calm his old friend. "There is no need to worry."

"Forgive my arrogance, Master, but I don't believe you would callout to me from the Spirit Realm, just to ask me how I'm doing."

"That is, indeed, a good guess Shifu." He replied with his slow pace, "It is such a delight to talk with you again old friend, I actually missed your pithy remarks."

A nostalgic vibe filled the area, "What's the reason of your visit then?"

"I lost count of how many legends I told you back in the day, but there is one in particular that your mind must remember right now", He paused for a bit, "Legend of the Otherworld."

Mixed feelings awakened in him, "It… wasn't just a silly story you told me?" The huge amount of information that simple sentence caused him to generate almost froze him in place.

"With time, ancient histories become legends… But that does not mean every single grain of truth is necessarily lost," replied the wise tortoise.

"Why am I not surprised on how casually you're telling me this?" Shifu muttered, exhausted, "What should I do? Please, Master, I need your advice." He humbly bowed, knowing that he, more than everyone else, had an idea of what the next move should've been.

"I must apologize, Shifu. This is all I can do." The tortoise's voice grew fainter throughout the sentence, "I've been breaking the rules for so long that I can't do more than this…"

"I… will do my best, Master." He replied with an accent of sadness for the departure of his long lost friend.

"I believe in you and in your students. I trust that you will be able to prevent a disaster." Before the voice disappeared, something soft brushed against the red panda's cheek. As he reached out, a small pink petal landed delicately in his paw.

Without a moment to spare, Shifu heard someone knocking at his door, "Shifu! You in there?"

"Yes, Po. You can co-"

"SHIFU!" He yelled, barging in, worry was written all over his face.

Shifu stared at him perplexed, "Did something happen? You look horrible…"

"I've been calling you for minutes now, you weren't replying and the door wasn't opening so I was-"

The red panda, overwhelmed by his monologue, raised his paw and waited until he calmed down.

"Yes, ok. I think I understand what's going on. There is no need to worry though. As you can see I'm completely fine, nothing happened to me."

"That's a relief…" The panda breathed out, "Can we talk? I must confess something."

"Confess?" He repeated, thinking about the worst case scenario, "What did you break this time?"

"Wha- no, I wasn't referring to that kind of confession! I didn't touch anything…"

"That's good to hear. Before you start rambling about whatever the problem is I need you to do something for me first."

"Oh, alright…"

"Please gather everyone at the scroll room, I have an important matter going on and you and the Five must listen to it." After saying that he slowly walked out, "I'll meet you there."

Po did as Shifu asked. Everyone seemed confused by the unusual call when he did.

"What's the problem?" Mantis asked from his perch atop Monkey.

"Did Po quit from teaching?" the simian added.

Mantis' tone grew worried. "Damn it! I can't lose that bet."

"What?! What bet!?" interjected Viper, upset to hear something like that.

"Mantis, it's not that hard to keep your mouth shut," Monkey scolded.

"Oops, my mouth moved on its own."

"Enough! Now, I need your help." Shifu commanded their attention with his tone. "Oogway used to keep here a lot of secrets… Some of them are hidden from me too. What I want to ask you is to unleash your chi through the entire room."

"It's an odd request," Tigress commented, attempting to find an explanation. "Will doing this generate a reaction?"

Shifu nodded. "That is what I'm hoping for."

The six of them did what Shifu requested. Between the huge piles of scrolls, one of them started to shine. Crane flew towards it, grabbed it, and dropped it in Shifu's hands.

"Interesting," Shifu exclaimed. Opening the scroll to a blank page, he turned the hidden contents of the scroll visible with his own Chi. "Normally, this scroll is blank."

Po couldn't help but be excited at the prospect of hidden Kung Fu lore. "This is so cool! Can I touch it?! Read it?! Smell it?!"

"Why is this scroll so important to you?" Tigress questioned her master, worried about the content.

"We will find out soon." Shifu turned and began to read the scroll aloud: "Long time ago our ancestors discovered the existence of countless worlds and dimensions unknown to them. They studied a method to break the natural order and allow themselves to travel back and forth as they pleased.

They discovered the Void. A place that connected these dimensions to one another. It was an empty place filled with nothing but darkness, their dream seemed to be closer than ever. When they succeeded a terrible curse unleashed upon them, swallowing everything in its way. They gave up on their lives and used them to fix their mistake.

The natural order is not stable anymore, their sacrifice wasn't enough and one day it will collapse once again. One world in particular will crack first; it is filled with a lone sentient species called human and the results of this will be unpredictable.

It is said that the ones who can endure the curse are special and hide a powerful secret inside within. These survivors will be thrown inside our world and it is our mission to protect them, train them and then fix what the ancestors couldn't do hundreds of years ago once and for all."

"What about the curse? Does it say what it does?" Po asked, peeking on the scroll.

"No, it doesn't. The scroll is vague and we didn't learn much." Shifu sighed, closing it.

"Perfect. Now we know everything about the end of the world but we don't know when and how!" Mantis commented sarcastically.

"Is that everything? I feel like it's incomplete. What about these humans the scroll talks about? What are they?" Viper asked questions none of them could answer yet.

Skimming through the text, Shifu found a diagram sketched inside the scroll. The diagram itself was small but drawn with incredible care. Its familiar shape jumped out at the old master when he made the discovery. "There is a hidden room inside the training hall?!" he exclaimed, surprised.

"More secrets to find out! This is so awesome!" Po cried out before sprinting out of sight towards the training hall.

Everyone else followed Po towards the training room. Immediately, the large panda began looking and running around the entire room, trying to find the hidden door. He looked everywhere, but he couldn't find anything.

"Po, you will not find anything searching like that," Shifu called him back. "You must use your chi," he reminded the overly-eager pupil. The assembled masters then fanned out in their search.

Before long, Mantis called from the other side of the room to get everyone's attention. "I think I found something here!"

"This is a trapdoor!" Viper exclaimed excitedly. "I'll grab a lantern!" A flick of her body sent her away. She quickly returned with said lantern already lit and curled around her tail.

"These stairs will lead us to the secret room. Give me the lantern, I'll light the way." Shifu picked up the lantern and ventured forward. The somewhat cramped stairway made the taller masters hunch down to make their way.

"I hate stairs…" Po sighed. "Why are the coolest things always related to stairs?!"

"Excuse me, but what things are related to stairs?" Crane asked curiously.

"Well, think about it; the huge stairs between the Jade Palace and the rest of the village... The staircase in the Tower of Flame... You don't know how lucky you are that you can fly! It's got to be the most comfortable thing in the world!"

They arrived at the end of the hallway only to find a small empty room blanketed in a veil of dust. The only things inside was a mirror propped against a wall and a scroll beside it. The emptiness of what was supposedly an important room made most of the masters tense in preparation of a trap… the key word being "most."

As soon as Po saw the mirror, he picked it up and inspected it.

"Po, what are you doing?! Put it down!" Tigress scolded, chastising him for touching everything without thinking first.

"It's just a normal mirror, Tigress! There's nothing special about it." He swiped off some dust from it and tossed it to Monkey obliviously, dislodging the rest of the dust right into the simian's nose.

"Hey! Watch where you put that thing!" Monkey snapped, clutching the mirror and doing his best to hold back a sneeze.

Shifu picked up the second scroll and started to read this one too. "'Shifu, I hid this mirror within this secret room because it's extremely important—-'"

When Po heard these words, he finally understood how precious it was even if he didn't know for what purpose. With its reflective gleam and dull frame, it truly looked like any other mirror. The mirror was then reexamined with a more critical eye while Shifu continued to read:

"'—–It will help the falling humans and lead them to you. When the time comes, inject your chi inside of it.'"

"When will the right moment be?!" Mantis asked, stressed. "Why can't anybody clearly say when something important is going to happen?! We can't predict how and when!"

"When the time comes," Shifu voiced calmly as he motioned Monkey for the mirror. "I'll continue to meditate with the mirror close by. When I sense anything, we'll have to be prepared."

Heading for the exit of the room, the older master was followed closely by Po, who seemed to be finally ready to tell Shifu the truth. However, he was hesitant, shown by the wringing of his paws as he worried over what his master's reaction would be. "Shifu, I need to tell you something about the teacher stuff..."

"Oh… yes. About that, Po, you will be relieved of your teaching duties."

"I can't—–" Po was about to speak, then realized he just heard the same thing he was about to announce, causing his heart to skip a beat. "What? I mean, why?"

"I know you are doing rather well, but right now this situation is far more important. All of you get some sleep and restore your energy. If you must train, do so with moderation." After that, Shifu left that room and, most likely, would return to his meditation.

"Wait… This means I lost the bet?!" Monkey screamed.

Mantis excitedly exclaimed, "Po didn't quit, so I won! You owe me some yuan!"

"I can't believe it… I was so sure about that," he dejectedly sighed while they all made their way back upstairs.