Hey guys! It's me again! Since my previous story, Kung Fu Panda 3: Sage's Siege, was such a big success, I have decided to make a sequel to it. I know that some if not most sequels are pretty bad, but I assure you that this one will be almost if not the same style of writing that I used in the previous story. If you haven't read my previous story, GO READ IT NOW. If you don't and read the story anyway, you might be a bit lost in some parts. Remember to leave a review with your thoughts! Enjoy the first chapter of Kung Fu Panda 4: Gauntlet of Criminals.
A large dragon snapped his eyes open.
He looked around the dark cavern at his fellow minions, all busy doing their tasks. Only a handful of torches illuminated the area, making it tough to see if one wasn't used to this surrounding.
"S—Sir?" One of his henchmen asked nervously.
"What is it?" He growled in a deep, thundering tone.
The rat looked up at his master.
The dragon was at least eight feet tall, all grey, had massive wings, sharp claws, razor teeth, and eyes the color of fire.
"We just…um…received word th—that Warlord Sage has been defeated." The rodent sputtered.
"WHAT?" The dragon yelled, shaking the whole cave. "BY WHO?"
The minion flinched and stumbled back. "By the…Dragon Warrior and… the Furious Five…"
"Again…?" The dragon said, sitting back down. "That is the third of my best warriors that they have defeated. I'm tired of their meddling and thrashing of my plans. Set Operation Thunderbird into motion. Also, call my secret advisor. I have issues that I wish to discuss with him…"
"Yes, Grandmaster Feng. Right away!" The rat said, scurrying off.
"Where my students have failed me, I will triumph." The grandmaster murmured.
*Four years later*
"Welcome, students. Today's sparring matches will be as followed: Tigress vs. Crane, Po vs. Monkey, and Mantis vs. Viper" Master Shifu said.
"And…?" Kiro said.
"The winner of the match between Tigress and Crane will face Kiro." Shifu said.
"That's right!" Kiro said excitedly.
"Be careful with my guy." Viper whispered to Tigress as she walked out to face Crane.
"No promises." Came the reply.
"READY!" Shifu yelled.
The two warriors got into their fighting stances.
"BEGIN!"
Tigress lunged at Crane with surprising speed.
"Yipe!" Crane whispered.
Crane moved his wings with equal speed, blocking her savage attacks. He spun around, whacking Tigress in the face with his talons, sending her flying across the mat.
"This is getting gooooood." Po said.
"Go Crane!" Viper cheered.
"Come on, Ti! Cat's prey on birds like him!" Kiro jeered.
"Hey!" Crane said, turning to Kiro.
"No offense!" Kiro replied, putting his paws in the air.
Tigress lunged at Crane's feet, but the bird flipped over her and summoned a ball of air and smashing it into the tiger.
Tigress flew across the room and smacked into the palace wall.
"TIME!" Shifu yelled. "Crane wins!"
"Yeah!"
"Whooooo!"
"Good job, Crane!" Viper yelled.
"Nice job, but I was off my game." Tigress said.
"You're never off your game, though." Crane replied.
"This time I was." She said, smiling.
"Uh huh. I get to face Kiro now!" Crane said triumphantly.
Once Tigress and Crane got off the mat, Viper and Mantis hopped up onto the platform.
Viper grinned, looking at Mantis.
"Don't eat me!" He said.
"No promises…" Came the reply.
"Master!" Mantis yelled, "She's not allowed to eat me right?"
"BEGIN!" Master Shifu yelled.
"RIGHT? MASTER?" Mantis shouted.
Viper slithered toward Mantis and flipped him in the air. She came down upon the bug with lightening speed and flung him to the mat. She picked up the dazed Mantis with her tail and held him in front of her. She smiled and whipped him into the air and batted him down. The bug crashed to the mast and got up, swaying from side to side.
She opened her jaws and lunged at Mantis, but stopped before he fell into her mouth.
"Huuuu…" Mantis mumbled before he passed out on the mat.
Everyone in the room roared with laughter after witnessing Mantis' reaction. Even Master Shifu chuckled a little.
"Viper," Shifu snickered, "Would you please take Mantis off of the mat when you come down."
"Sure!" Viper said.
Once they were off the mat, Po and Monkey climbed on.
"Promise not to use your belly this time?" Monkey asked.
"Sure thing, buddy." Po responded.
"BEGIN!" The red panda yelled.
Monkey leaped at Po, arms raised and ready to grab the panda, but Po grabbed Monkey's arms and threw him to the ground. The primate barrel rolled to his left and jumped on the back of the panda head and started beating him on the back and head. The Dragon Warrior grabbed the chimp and flipped him over. Monkey landed n his feet and turned to face his comrade again. He lunged at Po with his arms outstretched, but the panda grabbed Monkey, whirled him around and threw him to the mat.
Then, Po sat on him.
The master of monkey style's eyes popped, as he gasped for air.
Monkey tapped the mat three times, signaling that he was defeated.
Po got off of his breathless friend.
"That…is…not…f…air!" He gasped.
"Hey, I didn't use my stomach, like you asked." Po said.
"Bu… oh…never…min…d." Monkey said, taking in big gulps of air.
"Finally, Kiro vs. Crane!" Master Shifu announced.
"REMATCH BABY!" Kiro yelled.
"You're going down, again." Crane jeered.
"As I recall, the first and last time that we ever fought, it came out as a tie." Kiro responded.
Kiro took out his Di staffs and spun them around, sending red sparks everywhere.
"Kiro, I have allowed you to train with your staffs, but you may NOT use them when sparring. One must learn how to defend themselves without the use of weapons." Master Shifu said.
"Bu…wha…HUH?" Kiro sputtered.
"Hand 'em over!" Tigress called.
Kiro tossed his staffs off of the platform.
"This'll be over quickly." Crane said.
"I bet…" Kiro muttered to himself. "Don't be so sure!" He called out.
"BEGIN!" Shifu yelled.
Crane summoned a gust of wind, sending the white tiger flying into a wooden beam.
"ARRGH! AUGH! Geez, Crane! At least give me a chance to charge!" Kiro called.
"SORRY!" Came the reply.
"Let's see how you like being sent into a beam." Kiro whispered.
The tiger lunged at Crane, grabbing the bird's feet, and slamming him into a similar beam that Kiro had hit.
"How do you like it?" Kiro said, smiling sinisterly.
The tiger threw Crane into the air, but the bird regained his focus and spun around, creating a small whirlwind around him.
"Oh that is SO not f—AAAAAAHHHHHH!" Kiro shouted as he was spun around and thrown to the ground, getting the air knocked out of him.
Crane landed on the defeated Kiro in his fighting stance.
"YEAH CRANE!"
"AWESOME!"
"NICE JOB!"
"Good… umph…fight… man…" Kiro mumbled.
*A few hours later*
Kiro sat on the rooftop of the Jade Palace, looking out over the valley.
I got whipped today! Shifu's right, I do rely on these staffs too much, but these are the only things that I have ever fought with! They had never left my side in a fight! Crane made me look like a fool! Without my staffs, I'm powerless…
"Hey." A voice said.
Kiro turned to see Viper slithering up to him.
"Hey. What's going on?" Kiro said, disinterested in anything that she had to say.
He just wanted to be left alone.
"Not much. You've been up here for a while now. Sorry for the way Crane acted today. He normally isn't that competitive." Viper said, a little worried.
"No! It's fine! He opened my eyes today! I'm useless without my staffs! And…" Kiro's voice trailed off, trying to decide if he should say what he was going to say.
"And…?" Viper asked.
Kiro stared out at the slowly setting sun, thinking about what had happened today and if he was truly wanted here anymore. Was he really welcome here? He didn't think so. To him, he was the outcast of the group. Someone who would never fit it. The white tiger had already made up his mind.
"And I don't belong here anymore. I'm not good enough to be in the Jade Palace. I'm going to train in the village from now on. I can't leave here due to the Emperor's orders. That, and it would also break Song's heart." Kiro explained.
"Kiro, you're great! You're better than most of us here! You—"
"I AM BETTER BECAUSE OF THESE!" Kiro roared, gripping his staffs.
Viper slithered back, frightened.
She had never seen him like this before.
"Here," the white tiger said, tossing his Di staffs to Viper, "I don't want these anymore. Tell the other's I said 'bye', and that 'I'm sorry that it didn't work out.'"
Kiro leaped off of the roof and ran out of the palace area, leaving his things, his former master, and his friends, behind.
That's the end of the first chapter! Hope you liked it! What do YOU think will become of Kiro? What do you think will happen next? Most of all, what do you think of the story so far? Leave a review with your thoughts! Always appreciated! I will try to get the second chapter up ASAP. More to come…