I really didn't want to be doing two fics at once, but I couldn't help myself. This idea came into my head and I just HAD to write it. So my plan right now is to go back and forth between this and No More Turnabout for the time being, and winter break gives me a convenient chance to handle that.

Anyway, I know most people would expect my next Kung Fu Panda story to be my sequel to The Art of Assassination and I'm still planning to do that eventually, but not right now. I don't want to just be "the Wu Sisters guy", and I'm too much of that guy already. So instead, I decided to write about Masters Ox and Croc, two other characters that have barely anything on this site. However, this story DOES take place in the same universe as my Wu Sisters stories, but why that matters won't be immediately apparent.

Enjoy.


Chapter 1: Great Turmoil

Gongmen City had long been one of the largest and most popular cities in all of China. With its rich commerce, beautiful architecture, and the invention of fireworks, it was a glowing symbol of peace and prosperity.

The keyword being was.

Gongmen City now was quite a different story. Most of the rich commerce died down as citizens left in droves during Lord Shen's conquest. The beautiful architecture had been greatly damaged, especially the city's former capital, the Tower of Sacred Flame, which now sat in a pile of rubble. As for fireworks...that pastime in general became a lot less popular after their power was nearly used to conquer China.

Needless to say, Gongmen City was not in the best of states. It was times like this that required great leadership to bring the people together and restore the city to its former glory. Unfortunately, that too had been impacted. Master Thundering Rhino, leader of the kung fu council, was dead. The peacock clan, the city's traditional leaders, were also dead. That left the city's future entirely in the hands of two people: Master Rhino's students, Ox and Croc.

It wasn't that these two weren't capable. Indeed, they were both formidable kung fu masters and they had been a great help to their master as members of the council. It was just that the city's current problems far outweighed what they alone were equipped to handle.

And now, it was about to get a whole lot worse.


Masters Ox and Croc were currently in the middle of a spar in what was formerly the grounds in front of the Tower of Sacred Flame. The remains of the tower were a depressing sight, but this was still the best place in the city for them to train. In addition to all of the equipment they kept here, it was also a secluded spot that no one but their personal messengers were allowed to enter during their training. That gave them some much needed reprieve from the stresses of running the city, as did the training itself.

Master Storming Ox charged forward and brought down his large battle axe towards his opponent. Master Croc used his twin dao swords to block the axe, then spun around to swing his spike-studded tail back at Ox. He rarely let himself be hit by the appendage, but he had to jump back to avoid it, giving Croc the distance he wanted. While Ox tried to regain his balance, Croc went on the offensive, striking quickly with his swords. Ox was slowly being driven back towards the edge of their sparring platform, which would mean an instant loss if he fell off. Right before he went over, he pushed back with all his might, shoving Croc back a little. But it was not enough as Croc leapt over his next attack and delivered a spinning kick to his face, knocking him off the platform.

"Ha ha! I win again!" Croc boasted. "I believe that is 156-154 now."

"You just got lucky," Ox said, though he clearly meant it in jest.

"Hmph. You said that the other one hundred fifty-five times as well."

The two warriors had been sparring like this for a long time, before they even settled into Gongmen City. Master Thundering Rhino had laid out the perfect sparring schedule for them and they were able to emulate their normal routine to the letter. The only thing missing was Master Rhino himself.

Almost subconsciously, they both looked to the front of the sparring platform, where their master's cloud hammer was embedded in the ground. Lord Shen had used this hammer as a symbol of his conquest when he killed their master and took control of the city, but they couldn't bring themselves to remove it. They turned it into a memorial instead. What better place was there to have one?

Turning away from the hammer, Ox shoved the sorrow out of his mind and climbed back onto the platform. "Whatever, I want a rematch!"

Croc readied his dao swords and stared him down. "If you insist."

"Masters! Masters!"

They were stopped as a small antelope messenger ran into the area. "Figures..." Ox muttered.

The antelope finally reached them and paused to catch his breath for a few seconds before speaking again. "It's the Soothsayer! She wants to speak to you at once!"

They looked at each other worriedly. No news was good news, and the Soothsayer's news was never good.


Ox and Croc followed the messenger to the city's former kung fu academy/ former prison. It wasn't the most ideal place to establish their new capital, but it would have to do for the foreseeable future. They simply didn't have the time and resources needed to rebuild the Tower of Sacred Flame anytime soon.

They found the Soothsayer in the center of the room, staring down at the bowl in front of her. She glanced up to acknowledge them as they entered.

"...What is it?" Croc managed to ask after several seconds of silence. Already, they were both dreading what she would tell them.

The Soothsayer looked back down at her bowl, her face grim. "I have had a vision," she said. "I did not see much, but I know it was not good. Please...I would like to do another reading."

They nodded and came closer. The Soothsayer occasionally got brief glimpses of the future, but they usually didn't tell her much. For that, she needed to read the future of a particular person, or two. And since the future of Ox and Croc was the future of Gongmen City, they made the best candidates. Ox pulled a few strands of fur from his arm and dropped them into the Soothsayer's bowl. Croc had a more difficult and painful time ripping off one of his scales, but he managed it and dropped it into the bowl as Soothsayer motioned for them to step back and threw some powder into the bowl. The powder created a small burst of flame upon hitting the fur and scale and blue smoke started to rise out of the bowl. The smoke quickly filled a good portion of the room and the three watched as images began to form in it.

The first image to appear was that of several shadowy figures running across the smoke on all fours. They were unmistakably familiar. "Wolves," the Soothsayer spoke. "I see wolves attacking Gongmen City."

The wolves faded away into the smoke, replaced by a new image. This one was what looked like a tall cylinder on two large wheels standing straight up. The cylinder fell onto its side and a black ball shot out of it. This too, was instantly recognizable. "They will claim the weapons used by Lord Shen, and once they do...".

The final image was the most disturbing of all. At first, it seemed to just be Gongmen City as seen from a distance, surrounded by the smoke from the bowl. Then they realized that the smoke was meant to be a part of the image here. The city was in flames. "...Gongmen City will suffer great turmoil."

After those final words, the smoke receded back into the bowl and the air cleared. Ox and Croc just stood there, gaping in horror for several moments. The Soothsayer, while still grim, didn't seem nearly as frightened. She was used to this kind of thing after all.

Finally, Ox found some words and they were pure denial. "No, no, no, we just had great turmoil. We're in great turmoil. We aren't ready for more!"

The old goat just smiled at him softly. "Whether you are ready for it or not, it will come."

Ox and Croc stood there for a few seconds more, then Ox whirled around and pointed behind him. "You!"

The antelope messenger who had bore witness to all of this yelped and shuddered under the master's stern glare. "M-Me, sir?"

"Yes, you! Deliver a message to Grandmaster Shifu of the Jade Palace at once! Tell him everything that the Soothsayer has foreseen. We must get the help of the Jade Palace at once!"

"Yes, sir!" the antelope rushed out of the room without another word.

"Do you think they can help?" Croc asked nervously.

"Of course they can. They helped us save the city before and they can do it again," Ox responded. He sounded like he was trying to reassure himself more than his companion.

Not that he didn't need reassuring. "O-Oh, yes. Of course they can help."

Neither of them noticed the Soothsayer looking away and sighing. There was one more part of the vision that she saw, but it was best if they found that part out for themselves.