China - approximately 7000 BC; one week after Oogway's death

Master Shifu sat quietly by the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom. The sun was starting to set; his students' Kung Fu practice schedule was almost done for the day, so he decided to spend the few silent minutes left by the tree that his former Master planted there a thousand years ago.

Grandmaster Oogway had lived longer and seen more than anyone. Shifu had been his earliest student, he'd been trained by him for almost 50 years, which seemed to be nothing compared to the turtle's age. Had Oogway had the time to instruct everything he knew? Had Shifu learnt enough? Shifu did not know. The responsibility that was left on his hands was so huge and complex that he could not simply judge it.

Shifu's mind was brought back to reality when he spotted a tiny plant next to the Peach Tree. It was twice taller than the grass around it. Shifu walked towards that fragile little thing and, as he moved closer, he remembered the reason why it was there. A misture of sorrow, happiness and nostalgy immediately invaded his spirit while he recalled the night of Oogway's departure. You must believe were the last words uttered by him.

You were right once again, Master. Shifu thought.

Shifu had taken Oogway's words to heart. He had indeed guided, nurtured and believed in Po. It was quite difficult, he couldn't deny… but it worked! Po had defeated Tai Lung and both warriors fulfilled their own destiny. Remembering that recent victory allowed a small smile to light up his face. That clumsy panda had taught everyone one of the wisest lessons that there could be. They all learnt not to discriminate. Shifu himself had been a victim of prejudice when he was younger due to his tiny semblance. It seemed that Tai Lung's betrayal had clouded his counciousness more than he had presumed. The only one who managed to remain lucid after Tai Lung's rampage was Oogway. It was always Oogway. Now that Shifu was by himself, what should he do? He closed his eyes.

"PO! WHERE ARE MY ALMOND COOKIES?" Shifu lithely recognized Monkey's angry voice which came from somewhere in the palace. Certainly the kitchen.

(in the kitchen)

There was a series of cracking sounds, followed by a thump and finally the typical thud from when Po falls on his belly to the ground.

"Argh… that hurt..." Po moaned. Then he lifted his head and saw Monkey right in front of him, holding up his stick.

"OW! OW! OW! Stop, Monkey! I ate only half the jar! The other half was Mantis' job!"

Monkey stopped.

"What?"

"Hey! What about our deal?" Shouted Mantis as he abruptly inserted the last acupuncture needle into Viper's scaly body.

"Ow, Mantis! That one hurt!" Viper cried.

"Uhh... Guys, could you please speak a little lower, I am trying to paint here..." Crane tried to sound as friendly as he could, but his friends' reactions were nothing like what he expected – or wanted – them to be. Gathering all six Masters together to small talk while each of them did their daily business hadn't been a wise idea that day.

The bird heard the four pissed off Masters inbreathe, which made him protect his ears instantly. He knew that all of them would burst out speaking their justifications at once, like always. Why couldn't they ever change?

(back to the Sacred Peach Tree)

Shifu flicked his ears as his students began to argue endlessly. Perhaps he should take a look at them in order to try and calm down their nerves. He slowly opened his eyes, looked up and stared at the red clouds that floated peacefully up in the sky. He heard the young Masters' quarrel become louder, and after some seconds... It faded! No one was speaking anymore, at least that he could hear from such distance. Shifu began to worry about them and felt like frowning, but the feeling vanished as soon as he became concerned about the sudden occurrence. He knew what had happened.

After a silent moment, Po's voice could be heard far away.

"But, Tigress, I was going to-"

Then there was silence again.

If there was a Master who had fully understood the meaning of discipline, it was Tigress. Shifu chucked as he thought about that and imagined the young Masters' reactions before Tigress' show. He then noticed how he had felt a warm feeling grow inside his chest when he heard the voice of his students. They might not have been sharing a friendly chat at that moment, but that could only mean they were perfectly healthy and full of energy; they were just fine. He sighed heavily for he had noticed how long it had been since he allowed in such a fatherly insight.

Suddenly, Shifu's eyes widened in surprise: the sun hadn't completely set when he heard Po's moaning. Shouldn't all Masters be training then?

.

The kitchen's doors were opened roughly. They collided with the walls adjacent to them, producing a noise that sounded more like a thunder.

The six Master's reactions were immediate. Literally jumping to their usual fighting stances, they turned their heads towards the door. They untensed their muscles as they realized the one standing there was no one but Master Shifu.

"I have taken it easy on you lately. It's time to bring training up-to-date."


September 3rd, 2100 AD – Somewhere at the Security Council, Cabinet Research Offices – Tokio, Japan

"Are you sure you want to join this project, and… And-"

"And be the company's guinea pig – Yes, I'm sure." A concerned female voice answered.

"Fine. Well, now all you have to do is to persuade the director." Said the man who walked next to her.

"Oh." She answered, her voice almost lacking the previous concerned aspect.

Both humans were walking on an overly clean and tidy corridor which led to a large door. On its top there was a sign where the words "Director's Office" could be read.

.

The director was sitting behind a table on which a thick amount of papers was placed right in the center.

The room was very organized at first sight. There was a lampshade on one of the edges of the table, and a pencil case on the other one. There was a laptop bag leaning against the wall on one of the corners of the room, it was stuffed so there could be a laptop inside.

As for the director, he was a short old man whose looks would give anyone a wretched first impression about him. His worn out face probably meant that he had already seen and lived too much; his hands would tremble slightly now and then and his tiny eyes seemed to never quiet down as he glanced at anything in the office but the anxious young woman standing in front of him. Uncontent thoughts coursed through the back of her mind.

"Please introduce yourself."

Her trail of thought was quickly interrupted after he spoke. His voice didn't match with his looks at all. It was a clean, stern and determined voice that would most likely belong to someone at least thirty years younger than that sir.

Then she blurted out her speech.

"My name is Hayley, I am twenty-seven years old, I have no family and lost contact with all my friends. I love dancing. I have attended to Russian ballet classes for fifteen years; Aerial Contortion for ten years; a Brazilian martial art called Capoeira for five years and varied modern dances lessons for ten years. At the age of twenty, I dropped all dance classes in order to become a cop. This happened after… after an accident killed all my relatives and my best friend. I've been a loner since then. I decided to devote my life to helping the world be a better place. I have lived in Japan since last year. I have worked for Japan's SWAT for nine months. Oh, before I moved to Japan, I've been a cop in Brazil for two years and in the US for three years. You may consult my accomplishments by calling my former superiors. I would really like to serve the Japanese Security Council and that's why I want to be the new Research Department Spy."

The shabby man didn't move. Instead, he simply spoke.

"Is Hayley your real name, young girl?"

"No, sir. But the rest of the information is true." She answered, trying to hide her hesitation. The old man tilted his head slightly.

"Hm."

After a brief moment, his gaze went from the girl's face to the papers that were lying on the table. She sighed softly in relief; it seemed she had done something right.

There was an awkward pause before he spoke again.

"And what does all your dancing has to do with this job?"

The young woman held back an urge to frown. Why was he asking such a thing? As the Security Council Director, he should know the answer for that. Perhaps he wanted to listen to the girl's deductions.

"If I find myself in danger, I can rely on something other than the weapons and fixtures that I have on me."

The silence that trailed right after her answer felt a hundred times more uncomfortable than the previous one. After what seemed like ages, he spoke.

"Alright. If you could indeed become a cop at such a young age, I am going to assume you're quite something. I'm going to get every information about you checked; we'll investigate every detail about your life. If all of the uncovered data about your existence coincide with your speech, you may start on Monday."

He finished the sentence with a small smile on his face. The young woman's formal mask fell down as she nodded at his words sheepishly and left the room kind of noisily with an ear-to-ear grin lighting up her face. She closed the door with a thump and as soon as she found herself completely alone, she started jumping frantically, hands shaking about as if she had been hit by an electric shock, her eyes were wide open and she was gasping/laughing as quietly as she could; trying to make as less noise as possible.

"What are you doing?"

She froze.

That voice was too close so it certainly could not have been directed to someone else. The young woman turned slowly towards the source of the voice. A tall mid-aged Japanese woman was staring at her with the weirdest frown on her face.

"Uhh…"

- Author's Note -

Okay, this was very much longer than the prologue, eh? ^^

The epic encounter will take around 2 or 3 chapters max to happen. I've gotta build the whole scenery first!

Oh and I've been very influenced by all stories that I've read in this website, so if you find any reference to any story out there, I'm SORRY! It wasn't on purpose! I always try to be as original as I can; but you never know!

Anyway hope you guys like it :D

R&R Please!

- End of Author's Note –