A/N: Hi pandom. I've been wanting to do this AU project for a long time. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kung Fu Panda, I'm borrowing the characters and universe for writing practice.

生肖戰士

Riddle of Realms

Chapter 1

"We began thousands of years ago, you and I, and we begin again today."

She heard him coming even all the way from the barracks. His scent was unfamiliar, but he smelled of seasonings, cooking fire, and there was a tinge of aura in him that she recognized from the valley market.

Valley people don't just come up here.

Which was why she was going to see what this guest was up to.

She got up from her bed, changed from her sleeping robe, and then slid her bed aside and opened a secret hatch on the floor she had found the first time she came to the palace. After making sure that her bedroom door was locked, Tigress jumped into the secret hatch.

Under her bedroom was a part of secret tunnels and rooms that goes underground all over the estate. Having traveled almost all the path, she knew the tunnels like the back of her paw and often venture in it for hours during her free time. It became her sanctuary. The best thing was her brother didn't know about it.

From under her bedroom floor, she would walk for about a few meters before the tunnel separated into different paths. The first path on the right will lead to the training grounds. The second to the kitchen area and further into the servant's quarters, the third to the gardens, and the last, the one she took, will take her to the tunnel system under the library, artifact room, and Sacred Hall of Warriors.

The floor and the walls were surprisingly smooth unlike one of a cave. There were a few glowing gems on the walls of the tunnels as sources of light, but she didn't really need them. Her night vision came to aid her better from time to time.

One sharp turn to the left, then another to the right, and a short climb to a cylinder space; she made it into one of the pillars in the Sacred Hall of Warriors. There was a small hole there on the relief plugged with a small wood painted gold. Unplugging it, she saw Zeng coming with Master Shifu and Master Oogway. Her adoptive father and his master greeted the valley goose dressed in red, who in turn, bowed in full respect. But what was he doing here?

Tigress began tuning out her own thoughts, and instead, tuning into the four men's for a quick eavesdrop before they started talking.

Zeng was complaining about being tired. She also heard him thinking about the morning tasks.

Master Shifu only sounded to be slightly irritated, as expected. But from his slightly buzzing mind, which usually means he was tired, Tigress knew he hadn't gone to sleep yet. She didn't find any signs that he was expecting the goose.

Master Oogway's thought didn't provide anything either. Contrary to Master Shifu's though, his mind was collected and calm. She could feel a slight aura of happiness in him, actually. Was this goose an old friend?

When she tuned into the goose's mind, it was chaotic. He was worried, she could tell. He seemed to have brought something round and large covered in black and white fur beside him. Unfortunately she couldn't see clearly what it was, another pillar was blocking her view. She considered moving to another pillar across the room but wouldn't risk missing anything they said.

After further listening, she found out he kept thinking of someone named 'Po' she assumed to be either his brother or his son. So that must be why he was here.

Civilians only came to the Jade Palace for three reasons. One was educative purposes. Every now and then the school would arrange a little field trip with Oogway to the Sacred Hall of Warriors. She often spied on the tour groups too. The closest thing to school she had was training and study sessions from Soothsayer.

Another was political reasons. Master Shifu was the valley's defender and one of the members in the leader council while Master Oogway was the head of the council itself, for he was the valley's spiritual leader. Since the goose's mind was revolved around a single person, she concluded he was here because of the third reason:

Supernatural.

She switched into their conversation.

"Masters, I apologize for coming at such time without notice."

"There's no need to worry, Mr. Ping," said Master Shifu. "What can we help you with?"

It was then that Tigress saw the black and white object moving. It had shivered, taking the attention of not only her but also the four men.

"Good evening, Po."

"Good evening, Master Oogway."

Mr. Ping had moved back slightly to place a caring wing on the black and white large thing that turned out to be a panda. The sight of him made her gasp. Tigress had never seen a real panda before. All she'd seen were pictures in scrolls. Honestly, she didn't know they still exist.

Plus, if he was there all along, why didn't she hear his mind? He must've thought about something. Judging from his voice, he was still a kid, barely a year or two younger than her.

"My son is in great need of your help." Oh, Tigress thought. "He has been plagued with nightmares and visions."

"Clairvoyance?" Shifu inquired, stepping forward to examine Po. The panda shrunk under his gaze and smiled awkwardly.

"I'm afraid to say," Mr. Ping confessed. "But it might be true."

"What's your evidence?"

Mr. Ping twiddled the edge of his wings, growing unsure. But one look at his son's tired eyes gave him enough power to burst through his doubts. "A few days ago Xiao Po told me not to cross the main bridge. At first, I thought he was being silly. I am a frequent at the spice market across the river, and we were running out of supplies. But Po was insistent, he was so scared." Tigress saw Po look away. "So I closed the shop for a few days and relaxed until Po will let me. And then yesterday…"

"The bridge collapsed," finished the two masters.

Dozens of people were injured. Two people who were passing under the bridge by boat died of drowning after being knocked out by falling heavy debris. The following morning Shifu and Oogway were supposed to go down to the valley and conduct a funeral ceremony. Even Zeng gulped uncomfortably at the horrible memory. He was down at the spice market when the incident happened, and had been the one to alert the Jade Palace masters.

Oogway now moved forward, settling in front of the boy just slightly shorter than him. Mr. Ping slid to the side so his son won't be too crowded, but still close enough if he needed him.

"I'm sorry I only told my dad. I was being selfish… and now all those people are hurt because I didn't do anything to stop it," said Po, sniffling.

"What could you have done?" Oogway told him. "Would people have believed you if you had warned them?"

At this, Tigress shook her head firmly. She knew first hand how people sometimes treat the gifted.

But Po wouldn't hear it. "At least I should've tried."

Upon hearing this, Oogway was proud despite not knowing the boy personally. He will never refuse people who needed help, especially those who cared about others. There were always priceless little things in children's mind that never failed to impress him.

"I need to see how strong your power is," Oogway proclaimed softly. Po didn't give a respond until he saw his dad nodding in approval, "Okay."

The answer automatically triggered a procedure. Shifu and Zeng stepped away to give the master some room. Mr. Ping, although a bit reluctant, eventually followed.

The panda soon found himself in a large space alone with Master Oogway, who had his eyes closed in deep concentration. His fingers and palm then started moving slowly in a weird sequence, like how spider's feet move when walking in its web. Imagining it made him sick. Maybe he shouldn't have sneaked a couple of dumplings before coming up here.

Suddenly Master Oogway's fingers stopped all together. Now his arms were stretched forward, like a jiangshi, and began a sequence of movements similar to tai chi. Since Po was naturally curious, he copied the master's movement with his own furry arms.

Shifu raised one interested eyebrow at the sight. Usually when Oogway was reading children's gift strength, they either stood in silence or looked around in confusion. Seeing Po and his master moving together in sync was definitely a first. Moreover, both looked so serene as if they've done this thousands of times before.

It wasn't long until the two were engulfed by golden dusts that moved around them. The number grew larger by each second, until it formed a small tunnel of twisting energy that swiveled upwards and upwards, reaching the ceiling, completely obscuring the other's view of the panda and tortoise trapped inside.

Tigress had only seen this procession once, when she met Oogway for the first time and needed to be tested. But there was nothing for her to do except sit and wait in silence as Master Oogway read her chi.

So when Po suddenly screamed, the shock ricocheted all over the room.

The tunnel of energy exploded and crumbled. It revealed Po and Master Oogway, whose eyes were both glowing light blue, both looked equally horrified. Just after a strong gust of wind slammed the giant twin doors open, blowing away the fallen dusts of energy, their eyes returned to normal and right there in front of their eyes, Po, without any warning, disappeared in a flash along with the remaining glow of Oogway's chi.

Everyone was frozen in place, agape, while Zeng had flinched in surprise with a light shriek.

"Master!" Shifu ran to Oogway's side and helped the fallen master up. The tortoise was gasping for air, seemingly dazed and horrified at the same time. "Master, what did you see?"

"Something extraordinary. The boy…" his fingers pointed to the spot where Po should have been.

"Master?" Shifu asked worriedly.

Oogway shook his head to rid the last of his immense headache and brushed Shifu off. "Why had he disappeared?"

All eyes now turned to Mr. Ping. He came forward with his head slightly down, confessing, "My son can… make himself invisible."

"How interesting," Oogway muttered ambiguously, his smile returning. With a soft grunt, Oogway forced his body to turn the other way and started walking, limping slightly towards the Moon Pool without an explanation against Shifu's immense concern and confusion. He knew that his student would ask all the nonesense questions for him. As he passed by Zeng, he asked the palace servant to prepare a pot of tea for their guests.

"And wake Soothsayer. I need to speak with her."

The urgency in his tone didn't go unnoticed by the goose. "Right away, Master," bowed Zeng before flying to the kitchen.

Shifu was still thoroughly surprised. Not so much because of Po's powers now, but rather where he came from. People from the valley were simple folks and Shifu have never heard of a gifted that came from the Valley of Peace. Although, on second thought, considering Mr. Ping and Po's relationship, he was sure Po came from somewhere far away. "Can he control it?"

"No. He just disappears whenever he's afraid or upset. That's why I need your help, Master Shifu."

Shifu nodded without a doubt. "I'd be honored, Mr. Ping. It is my duty to guide young gifted."

"And I was hoping I could ask one more favor, actually. I heard Lu Zhao had retired. So if you'd let me, I'd like to work here as your chef."

Shifu raised his eyebrows. From his occasional observation to the valley, Mr. Ping was a somewhat a very work-oriented man. Although he used to be alone, he always welcomed customers with open arms as if they were distant relatives visiting. He always tried new things to promote his restaurant, some were even downright a little silly, but if Shifu had to guess, folks loved his quirkiness and his slight temper regarding profits. Even he had heard the story of how Mr. Ping inherited the shop from his father, who had also inherited the shop from his father who won it in a game of mahjong. The noodle shop was the prized treasure of the Ping family. "But what about your shop?"

Mr. Ping's smile was simple when the goose answered, "I wish to stay here as long as Po is under your tuition. He needs me. Please, Shifu, from father to father."

Something in Mr. Ping's voice got to him. For a short moment Shifu saw himself with his son and daughter, and imagined having to part from them. Whether it could be called empathy or not, the important point was that he understood deeply the need to always be close to his children.

"I wouldn't dare separating a son in need from his father."

Mr. Ping expressed his gratitude with his famous energetic flare, overwhelming Shifu a bit, causing a degree of Po's invisible frown was lifted.

Sadly, this part of the conversation was unheard on Tigress' part. She was busy with her own thoughts.

She'd came down to the valley a couple of times, but she never saw a panda walking the streets. This fact intrigued her because she instantly felt sympathy towards him. Sure there was Tai Lung, but she never saw any Bengal tigers around. Sometimes to the point she thought she was the last one alive.

The most intriguing part, however, was the fact that everyone else was somewhat shocked, saying that Po disappeared, while she could clearly see him leaning on the pillar across from her with his knees tucked under his chin. He had jade green eyes, and Tigress regretted the fact that she had to see them for the first time under such distress. She had a feeling they could have been the liveliest eyes ever. Like his father.

"It'll be okay, Po," she thought as she promised herself that she would greet him before anyone does when morning comes. Secretly she was excited. The only students at the palace were her and her brother, and Tai Lung was ten years older, a gap too big for them to be playmates. Tai Lung was always busy training, anyway. This time if all goes well, she will have a new friend by breakfast.

She was about to plug back the peeky hole when she heard his terrified voice echoing inside her head, "Who said that?"

Po grew wary. It was a girl's voice. His eyes widened and his body froze on the floor at the thought of ghosts. Silently looking around, curling himself into a giant ball, he whispered a couple of "Hello?" and "Who's there?" as he tried to calm his panic breathing. He should be okay, Master Shifu and his dad was just around the corner. A kung fu master and his dad's energy could probably beat up a ghost. Shifu could easily earthbend the ghosts into oblivion and his dad was surprisingly good at knife throwing.

But what if it was an army of ghosts? Oh man, what if the ghosts could see him? He raised his arms in front of him to check whether he'd turned normal, but he still could see the marble floor through them.

And then he heard it again. A young, friendly, curious voice in his head, "Why would a ghost be afraid of another ghost?"

It took him a little while to digest the meaning, but his eyes lit up in an instant once he did. Someone else was here. Someone like him!

Now with his fear slowly fading away, Po scanned his surroundings once again. Something, he didn't know what, pulled his attention to the pillar across from him. It looked absolutely identical to the others, yet that something urged him to investigate.

Without getting up, Po shifted closer.

"Can you hear me?" the voice said again, a little louder now. The voice brought his attention to a small spot of amber on the golden relief. It blinked, causing him to give a little yelp, and the voice repeated, "Can you hear me?"

He nodded slowly. "Yeah," he thought. Jade met amber. He didn't know why he was hopeful all of the sudden. "Can you see me?"

The amber spot, which he had figured to be an eye, blinked again as she said without the slightest of doubt, an answer nobody else ever gave him, "Yes."

A/N: Jiangshi is a hopping ghost from Chinese legend. Or maybe you've seen LoA episode Po Who Cried Ghost (was it? I forgot the title)?

Thank you so much for reading. RnR?

Up next: You've seen Tigress and Po's powers. What about the other Furious Five?