Author's Note: Okay. This is pretty much the second Kung Fu Panda fanfic I've ever uploaded, so be nice with flamers and such.
The deal with this story is that in Secrets of the Furious Five, the makers only actually gave explanations as to how Monkey and Tigress came to be at the Jade Palace. The others were left unexplained, so I thought I'd explain it in a fanfic.
So here's the prologue. Enjoy! (And yes, Po does not make an appearance in this story until quite later on. The main protagonists are the Furious Five.)
Okay, right, in this story, the currency of Ancient China is Renminbi dollars, the currency of china currently. It's just convenient for me, okay?
Furious
Prologue:
The thick and dense undergrowth of the jungle obscured everything from view: even the sky. The river curved and meandered through the place. Sailing on the river was the only way of getting the forest- it was not possible to just walk through it. You'd be lost within seconds. Besides, unimaginable dangers lurked the jungle floor. It was safer to go by boat. But hardly anyone travelled through the jungle anyway. There was nothing on the other side except marshland.
Or so it was thought.
Suddenly, ripples appeared on the surface of the river, and a hundred gleaming eyes staring from the sides of the banks turned to look. A small rowing boat appeared, being driven forth by only one person. He was also the only person aboard. As the boat neared, you could see that it was a male panther, with a quiver slashed over his back. He wasn't exactly muscled or huge- in fact, he was quite the opposite. He had a small and wiry frame, with amber eyes that darted from left to right uneasily, searching for an unknown attacker that was preparing to strike. He may not have been big, but there was something about him that was threatening. Perhaps it was the unnerving length of his sharp white claws, or how his pointed fangs glistened in the late afternoon sunlight.
Either way, his face beheld a determined expression, but he also seemed confused. As if he wasn't sure of his purpose in the jungle.
The panther glanced up at the sky, and seeing that night was drawing in, suddenly began to row with a little more pace. He had been travelling through the jungle for several days now, setting up base at ally tribes along the way. He had had little to eat, and even less sleep, so it was no wonder that his eye lids drooped with exhaustion. The message that had summoned him had been very vague. It had simply asked him to make the journey from his camp in Xioadan City, through the biggest jungle in China, and into the deep marshlands beyond.
Considering the length of the journey, and the generous promised reward (to say the least!) of over a thousand Renminbi dollars, the black panther had decided to make the long and daunting journey.
Suddenly, there was a loud rustle. The panther had heard many different feral animals making noises in the bush in the jungle through the past few days, but this one made his ears prick. It was louder than the others, and suggested a larger and more dangerous creature. It was followed by the sound of splashing water, which alerted the panther to the apparent danger even more. Faster than lightning, he picked up an arched bow from seemingly nowhere, and pushed an arrow into place with unnerving speed. He held the weapon with ease and with confidence: it was clear that the panther was an expert with the bow.
His amber eyes were fixed firmly upon the water. They never left the silent surface for a second. The river had returned to it's usual un-moving state, but the panther could tell that there was something there. Something in the water. Something dangerous.
And then the whole river exploded.
Out of the water, there emerged an absolutely massive crocodile. It must've been at least eight foot long, with teeth so huge either one of them could've easily punctured a hole in the panther's boat. Most people would be absolutely mincemeat in seconds if they were attacked by such a huge and dangerous animal.
But the panther was not, "most people".
With breathtaking speed, the panther leaped into the air, performing several impressive turns while airborne, before landing exactly on top of the back of the crocodile, taking it by surprise. Instinctively, the reptile snapped it's deadly jaws together with a sickening crunch, trying to sink it's teeth into the panther that it had thought was going to be his next meal. It then rolled over in the water, trying to dunk the panther into the water. But the panther wasn't going to be fooled by such simple charade. He hopped lightly into the air, and snorted as the animal began thrashing around madly. Now, he was standing upon the monster's stomach. It's neck was exposed.
Without hesitation, the panther let his arrow fly, straight into the croc's neck. It howled in agony, but the noise was quickly followed by the sound of splattering blood. The panther didn't take any pity upon the poor thing. He removed two, three, four more arrows from his quiver, and buried them into the scales of the animal. He noticed the crocodile's pathetic thrashing growing weaker. Water was rising onto his paws. He was beginning to sink with the crocodile.
The panther decided to end the struggle quickly. He leaned forward and grabbed all of his previously fired arrows, yanking them out of the creature; the action was followed by even more gushing blood. He shoved the bloodstained arrows back into his quiver, then jumped off the croc, and back onto the wooden side of his rowing boat. The panther panted a little, before turning around and facing his dying victim. There was a terrible silence, where the only thing that could be heard was the sound of blood bubbling to the surface of the river, before there was a final plop. The crocodile's corpse disappeared into the shadowy depths of the river, never to be seen again.
'Hmmm…' A voice said, echoing from the thick jungle. 'Well, that was rather impressive.'
Instantly, the black panther spun round and readied his bow once more. His amber eyes searched the dark green bushes, and he sniffed the air currents, before snorting in annoyance. The combined scents of the jungle meant that he couldn't just detect a single smell. 'Who's there?' He shouted. The panther's voice was deep and gravelly.
The voice came again. 'You know,' it began. 'At first, I wasn't really sure whether my employer really made the correct choice in sending for you, but after that, I'm beginning to reconsider.'
The panther's eyes narrowed down to slits. Now, he could make out that the voice was distinctly feminine. It was silky and smooth (for some reason, he was reminded of curdled milk): but there was something in the sarcastic tone that set his teeth on edge. 'Show yourself now.' He ordered.
He heard a tinkly laugh. 'Alright. No need to get your tail in a knot.'
And then from the shadows of a tree on the left bank, outstepped an attractive female clouded leopard. Her hands were held upon her hips, and her tail was kinked over her back. The panther quickly began analysing the female, looking for any signs of weakness. He couldn't see her as well as he might've wished, for she was several metres away, and he was in the middle of the river, but even from there he could out make out the distinctive glow of a blue eye. He realised with a shock that her other eye was amber, like his own.
'Who are you, and what do you want?" He spat gruffly, hoping that he would be able to get straight down to the point with the leopard.
Quickly, the leopard smirked, and shook her head. Her tail curved round until it was in front of her body. 'Oh no, boy.' She replied sweetly. The panther recognised the almost flirtatious element entering her voice. The female then took a run up and made a jump, equally impressive in style to his own to the crocodile a few minutes earlier, onto his boat. 'I think I'm the one in charge here.'
He stared incredulously at the female- finding that he suddenly uncomfortable with her being so close. 'In case you didn't notice, ' he said, letting out a feral growl. I'm the one holding a bar and arrow here?'
Again, his snide comment was replied by the leopard with a smirk. But then she did something the panther hadn't exactly been expecting. Her tail, (which he also noticed seemed to mirror her mood) began to shake seductively. She walked forward, and it entwined smoothly around the metal tip of his bloodstained arrow. Unfortunately, the female had been made to rotate her body round- exposing areas he wasn't sure he wanted to see- a little to complete the movement. He wondered if it had been purposeful.
Her face came inches away from his. 'So rude.' She murmured, before jutting out her hips even more. 'But also handsome…'
Just as the leopard was about to venture onto his face, the panther quickly drew away and removed his arrow from her snaking tail. To be perfectly honest, in a normal situation, he wouldn't have had any problem with going further with such an attractive female, but he had business here: important business involving lots and lots of money.
'Please stop messing around.' He snapped, before moving into a hostile pose. 'I know that you're here on business as well. You mentioned you're employer, and how he's intending to hire me as well. Explain.'
The leopard dropped the seductive act after just a moment's hesitation, but the smirk remained fixed upon her face. 'Ohhh, you're no fun.' She said, disappointedly. 'But I admit you must have pretty good self control to resist this kind of a-'
He stamped his foot down on the wood of the boat, showing his growing impatience with the fellow feline. 'This if your idea of getting to the point?' He asked, through gritted teeth.
'Fine! Fine!' She almost shouted, before shaking her head and regaining the mood she had previously been in. 'Yes. I am on business. I've been following you for several days now. '
Many people would've been surprised ad exclamation of this time, but the panther was not. All of the time through his travels, he had noticed the strong presence of another cat. At first, he shrugged it off, believing it to just be another animal, but when he realised that it was the same scent every time, he had got used to the idea that someone was trailing him. 'Why?' He asked.
'You didn't seriously think the boss would try to hire you without being extra sure you weren't going to pull off some kind of plan?' She asked. Ignoring whatever the panther had said, the leopard dropped into yet another seductive pose, emphasising her hindquarters. 'And like I said, now that I've made sure you're no dangerous, we can get down to business.'
Man, she doesn't give up does she? He thought grumpily. But hey, at least where I'm going I know theres going to be some hot girls. 'Alright,' he said after a moments silence. The female's eyes brightened, and the panther suddenly realised he had answered the wrong thing. But before he could take back what he had said, the female had already moved forward, and pushed him down onto the side of the boat. He grumbled when she sat down on his lap, and started grooming his ears, purring.
Deciding that he could probably drop the serious act for the moment, the panther let go of his bow, already finding the female's soft licks quite soothing. 'Who is your employer?' He whispered into her ear.
The panther's eyes widened a little when he heard what the leopard said next.
'Master Yingtai.'