Kung Fu Panda and its original cast belong to DreamWorks. I do not own.
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The wind howled over high mountain peaks above. Every outcrop was sharp with ice and caked with snow. The village of Cha Gung Pass stood tucked away from the brunt of the weather; huts puffing faint smoke trails, warm light, and the promise of salvation from the impending dusk.
Zhong Zan sighed, emitting a great cloud of steam into the snow-laden air. As long as the blizzard kept up, but Fisi Clan couldn't attack the village. It was welcome respite from the long weeks of battle, but the fact remained that they were losing ground. Even his Master wouldn't be able to hold off such a great number for much longer.
Looking far below, he could see enemy fires blazing against the wind that ravaged the pass. Cackling, humorless laughter rose faintly to the rhino's ears. With deepest hatred, he hoped they would freeze to death.
Growling, he forced his attention back to finishing his last round. The only road into the village was steep, sloping sharply into the pass hundreds of feet below, carved into the mountain face by his recent ancestors. Neither paw nor tail was seen on the road. He huffed with satisfaction.
But the clattering of loose rocks caught his attention, coming from the sheer crags on the open side of the path. Immediately on alert, Zhong Zan readied his spear at the ledge.
"Who goes?" his voice boomed, swallowed up by the buffeting flurries.
A tiny, dark hand grasped at the ragged edge, slipped a little, left smears of blood in the soft layer of snow clinging to the edge. Zhong Zan didn't move; if it was another of those damned spy pups, they'd get steel between their eyes. Doubt cinched in his massive chest when the stranger continued to struggle. So he knelt down to look over the edge, spear still aimed.
He gasped, dropping his weapon. His arm shot out over the ledge, his whole body tensing with unsure panic. He grabbed the red panda by the collar just as he lost his grip, hoisting him onto the snow bank. That panic blossomed in Zhong Zan as the climber collapsed bonelessly into the snow. There wasn't a single rhino in the village who didn't know who this man was.
"Master Shifu!" he squeaked, carefully turning him over. The youngest kung fu master in all China was covered in blood, his eyes glazed, and his body trembling even beneath his thick coverings and winter fur. With unsteady fingers, the rhino searched for the source of the injury. In the blue hues of dusk, vivid crimson stained the side of Shifu's dull robes. He had been struck by a Fisi weapon. With a racing heart and a string of curses, Zhong Zan carefully picked him up and sprinted into the village, yelling for help at the top of his lungs.
Master Shifu was going to die.
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A/N: Greetings. I'm indulging my obsession with Shifu and exploring what sorts of adventures he may have experienced in his younger years. My end notes will always have information about the names I use, and any other pertinent info I feel the reader should know. As always, please R any feedback is duly appreciated. I live for constructive criticism, and very much like to be notified if any grammar mistakes are found. Now for the names:
Zhong Zan can mean "loyal support", depending on the Chinese characters used to spell the name.
Fisi is "hyena" in Swahili.
Cha Gung pass was originally supposed to be Chor-Ghom Pass, but my great (sarcastic) sense of hearing butchered the pronunciation when I was watching the film. I decided to leave it as Cha Gung to further separate it from the original film. Otherwise, the name has no intentional meaning.