Hello everyone, it's been a while. I honestly want to say that I am sorry I have not been able to update my stories for a while. Unfortunately, due to a series of incidents in my personal life, I've been forced into basically dropping any sense of a personal life in order to take up a second job. With working 14 hour days now for the next few weeks, I've just been too physically and mentally exhausted to write more than perhaps half an hour a night. I apologize again, but there is nothing I can do. Unfortunately… I am out of options. I need to work in order to help those I care about in my personal life.

I also care about you my readers too. After all, you guys are the reason I write publicly. Honestly, If I could turn writing KFP fanfics into a job, then I would spend all day everyday writing for you guys. But somehow, I doubt that's in the cards. Oh well, wishful least I got one day a week where I can spend some time writing.

I will not stop writing. I can't. So I hope you can understand, truly. I'll post this Author's note on my other stories as I update them.

Again, thank you for your patience, it really means a lot to me. Enjoy the read.


Chapter 3

Just another day of Peace

One month later…

The sun was shining high in the sky that day, as the Valley of Peace was enjoying yet another beautiful afternoon. Ever since the defeat of Lord Shen, a relative peace had been blessed upon not only the Valley, but seemingly all of China itself, and thanks to the efforts of the Masters of the Jade Palace, along with the infamous Dragon Warrior, that peace was also able to be maintained over the past few months since their return from Gongmen City. However… unfortunately there were always those who wished at attempting to disturb the peace won by the legendary Kung Fu Masters, and like them, there were also those who sought to protect it.

Deep within the Village market place, sounds of a battle could be heard down and throughout the streets, as a small group of boar bandits were engaging the Masters of the Jade Palace in battle, and the tide was not turning in their favor. A lone boar let out a strong battle cry as he swung his sword down in in a mighty slash aimed for a Golden Snub-nosed Monkey, who quickly back flipped off of the cart he had been standing on and landed on the ground in the signature fighting stance known for Monkey Style.

As the Boar lifted his sword once again, he quickly rushed the Monkey and swung his sword around, aiming for the Monkey's midsection. This time, the Monkey leaned back and watched as the blade soared over top of him, while he was able to briefly catch a glimpse of his own reflection within the blade as it passed by. Once it did, the Monkey quickly leaned back on his hands and pushed forward, landing both of his feet straight up from underneath the boars chin, stunning the Bandit briefly.

Not skipping a beat, the Monkey righted himself up with a quick flip and leaped into the air, launching a powerful spin kick while shouting, "KYAHH!" as the Monkey's Foot landed in the center of the boar's chest, the Bandit was launched back a small distance where he crashed into a few waste barrels near another vendor's stand. But as soon as he tried to right himself, the world around him began spinning and soon the boar collapsed in a heap where he stood, as the Monkey called out, "Better luck next time."

It was then the Monkey heard a familiar voice call over to him, "Hey Monkey, quit messing around and lets hurry it up already!" Monkey looked over to see his comrade Mantis was finishing up dealing with two more boars, as he quickly leaped up to their faces and literally bounced between their heads, striking out at each boar once before leaping over to the next at a blinding speed, repeating the Process about 7 times in the span of maybe only 3 seconds.

As Mantis went to deliver his final attack, he extended two of his leg out forward and kicked with a fierce "Hyah!" landing his kick right between the eyes of the second of the two boars he was facing, sending the poor sap rolling a ways away, only to smack the back of his head on a stray cooking wok that was in the street, thus rendering the sucker unconscious along with his partners in crime.

As Mantis landed in the street ready to take on the next bandit who approached him, Monkey replied, "Relax Mantis-" at this point, Monkey delivered an open palm strike to one Boar's face while following up with a low sweep kick and finished, "-we got plenty of time, it's not like they're going to start anytime soon!" Mantis just scoffed as he leaped back from a boar's axe and delivered a series of nerve attacks to the Boar's sternum, rendering the fool immobile as the boar gave a final "Gyack !?" before he could no longer speak or even move for that matter.

Mantis then pushed him over as the bandit landed with a low thud while he turned on Monkey once again and shouted, "You idiot, they could start at ANY time, and I for one don't want to miss it! I already missed the last session because you couldn't leave your precious cookies behind in the Kitchen!" Monkey looked absolutely offended as he retorted while kicking another Bandit in the face, "Oh, sure blame it all on me. As if having to wait for you to tear yourself away from your scrolls wasn't reason enough!" "Would you two knock it off already and pay attention!"

Both Monkey and Mantis looked up to see it was their friend Crane who had shouted down at them as he was flying overhead. The Crane then shouted, "On your right!" Both Monkey and Mantis looked to see 3 Boars now had crossbows aimed directly at the two Masters as Monkey swallowed and said, "Whoops." While Mantis shouted, "Look out!" But before the two could do anything, Crane shouted, "Disc of Destruction!" as he then used his talons to grab his new straw hat, which was fitted with a bladed edge all around, and threw the hat in the direction of the 3 boars.

As it neared, the Boars looked up from their crossbows and watched as the hat soared high overhead and appeared like it was about to miss them, but as they followed the hat, their eyes widened in realization as the saw that they were standing directly underneath a hanging flower garden, which was being held up by two ropes.

"Ah crud." The one Bandit mumbled as he watched the hat slice through the ropes nice and clean, stopping only to be wedged into a nearby building. Crane, Mantis, and Monkey watched as the garden came crashing down on top of the three bandits, as they all now laid off to the side of the street in a pile of broken pots and dirt. Monkey then cringed a bit as he said, "Oooooh…a bruise on the head and dirt in their pants. That's gonna be fun to wake up to."

With the last of the bandits dealt with, the Villagers quickly came out of hiding and began cheering for their heroes, which Monkey and Mantis bowed to the people, while Crane flew off to retrieve his hat that was still wedged into the building. When he flew down to stand next to his comrades, Crane then mused, "Hard to believe this thing actually works." as he placed the hat back on top of his head, the bladed edges just reflecting in the sunlight while Mantis quipped, "I just can't believe you actually kept the name Po came up with for it. I mean, Disc of Destruction? Dude, you cut a few ropes with it. Not exactly a crazy technique."

Monkey then began tying up the Bandits as he said over his shoulder, "If you guys are through, we need to finish up with these bandits and get back to the Palace, pronto!" Crane just shook his head saying, "Calm down Monkey. Viper promised she'd contact us if we missed it. And since she isn't here-" it was then Mantis hopped up onto the Primate's shoulder and finished for the bird, "Then we haven't missed anything yet! So let's just finish up here and get going!" Monkey then glared at Mantis as he pointed out, "Hey, weren't you the one who was in a hurry just a few minutes ago!?" Mantis just exasperated as he waved his claw about and said, "Who needs details? Let's just finish up here and go!"

And with that, the three Masters finished up gathering the Bandits and left them with the Rhino guards to take them away to Chor Gohm Prison. After accepting a few "thank you's" from the Villagers, Monkey, Mantis and Crane quickly began making their way back up the Thousand Steps to the Jade Palace, Home to Grand Master Shifu, the Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five, protectors of the Valley of Peace and Heroic Warriors of China.

As they ran, or in Crane's case flew, up the stairs, Mantis asked his two companions, "Is it me, or are the Bandits around here just getting more and more pathetic?" Crane nodded his head as he flapped his wings and said, "No, I've noticed it too. But honestly, I'm not complaining." Monkey then added, "What do you expect? Ever since Po defeated Shen, most of the baddies tend to steer clear of the Valley up till now, afraid that they could unleash the Awesomeness of the Dragon Warrior." as Monkey finished his sentence with his best Po imitation, causing the other two Masters to chuckle in amusement.

Crane then said, "At any rate, with Tigress away from the Valley on that political Mission, I'm just glad the usual low-lives have high tailed it. Not having to have all of us go down into the Village to deal with a problem has been kind of nice for a change, and Shifu's been able to send us to the neighboring areas outside the Valley more freely. We've been able to help a lot more people now because of our lower crime rate."

Monkey nodded in agreement but before he could comment, Mantis called out to each of his Comrades, "Alright less talking and more running! I don't want to miss it again!" and with that, Monkey chuckled, and the three Masters continued sprinting up the Thousand Steps leading to the Jade Palace.


It didn't take them long to reach the Palace Gates and once they did, the three Masters immediately made for the Mountain path behind the Jade Palace leading up to Wu Dang Mountain. Although it took them some time, the Masters did finally reach the top of the mountain and spotted the person they were looking for.

Sitting all coiled up on top of a nearby boulder a decent ways away from the legendary Pool of Sacred tears, sat there friend and fellow Kung Fu Warrior, Master Viper. As the three males approached her from behind, Viper sensed their approach and quickly turned her head and warned the warriors, "Shhh, they'll hear you if you aren't quiet." Crane and Monkey took their places behind the boulder on either side of Viper while Mantis hopped up on top and sat next to her as he asked excitedly, "Did we miss it? Is it over?"

Viper merely shook her head as she whispered, "No, not yet. They haven't even started." Monkey looked shocked as he asked in a hushed tone, "Seriously? How long have they been out there already?" Viper nodded as she looked forward and said "Almost 3 hours now. Now hush, I think they're going to begin soon." Crane then asked a she tilted his head to the side asking, "What makes you say that?" but Viper remained silent as she and the other Masters all looked forward and watched the reason for their presence there.

There standing out almost a hundred yards away from where the Masters were "Hiding" stood two figures across from each other in identical stances, completely motionless, both with their eyes closed completely. On the right stood an older Red Panda, in his usual Brown Master's Robe, while his Legendary staff, once owned by his own Master and creator of Kung Fu, the Great Master Oogway, sat idly by the water's edge, with his Jade green Grandmaster's robe folded nice and neat beside it. His name was Master Shifu, Master to each member of the Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior, as well as Grandmaster of the Magnificent Jade Palace.

Across from the small master, stood a creature of far greater size by comparison. It was a Giant Panda wearing patchwork shorts and no shirt, with brown shoes and leg wrappings. His name was Po Ping and he was the Dragon Warrior, Protector of the Valley of Peace and now recently a newly proclaimed Hero of China. It was Po who was now mirroring the small Master's current stance with his eyes also closed. A stance known only to the two and others like and before them, who have managed to achieve something that only they have managed to obtain. The stance, for Inner Peace.

The Two stood motionless for a few moments more, until a gentle breeze seemed to blow past the two and as if that single breeze was the signal for them to begin, Shifu dashed from his spot and was now heading straight for the Panda at a blinding speed. While the other Masters gasped at the sudden motion. As soon as Shifu made the first move, Mantis whispered excitedly, "Here we go!" And the others just watched in silence.

Shifu quickly made a beeline for the Panda who had yet to make so much as a single movement. When Shifu was nearly upon him however, the Old Master seemingly vanished into the Mist surrounding them and was now no longer able to be seen. Monkey then whispered, "Where did he go?" Crane shook his head no as he replied, "No idea." when Viper shushed them both with a, "Seriously, do you both want to be caught!? Just watch and pay attention!" and with that, the Masters continued to watch, as they stared at the only figure they could actually still see, the Giant Panda, who to their complete surprise had yet to move so much as a muscle and who's eyes were still closed.

Silence was all that engulfed the mountain top as all who were present watched the Panda focus. He had still yet to drop his stance and it appeared like he wasn't going to, right until his right ear twitched and the Panda quickly brought his left arm up to block a kick, that seemed to come out of nowhere. Looking over, the Masters saw that it was Master Shifu who had delivered the kick, but what had their mouths hanging open was the fact that neither he, nor Po had their eyes open. This wasn't a typical sparring match between Master and Student. This was a battle of Inner Peace.

Shifu immediately twirled to the right and delivered another kick towards the Panda's head, but while allowing himself to become one with the Universe around him, Po was able to sense the incoming attack and quickly spun to the right while Shifu landed onto the ground with a thud. The instant Shifu landed, Po had dropped low and delivered a low sweep kick, to which Shifu was also warned of thanks to the universe, and immediately back flipped over the Panda's incoming leg, and twirled in the air to face the Panda.

As he landed, Shifu charged immediately and delivered a quick palm thrust, which Po quickly brought his arms up and pushed the tiny Master's attack off to the side before Shifu's palm found it's mark, while Po stepped to the side and created some distance. The two once again now standing still while facing each other with their eyes closed, but now with slight smirks on both of their faces.

It wasn't long before the two clashed again and the fight resumed. Viper, Crane Mantis and Monkey watched on in awe as Po and Shifu traded blows, both seeming to know exactly where the other was going to strike, while they allowed the Universe to guided their motions, as only they could. Their motions so perfect and precise, that one could easily view the spectacle as a dance of sorts. The Masters were in awe as Viper asked, "Do you know how rare it is to get the opportunity to see two Masters whom have both Mastered Inner Peace, to spar in this way?" Crane nodded as he answered, "About as rare as it is for someone as young as Po is to have mastered it at all."

Mantis then noted, "But Shifu and Master Oogway never spared like this." While Monkey pointed out, "Duh, because Master Shifu never achieved Inner Peace until after Po came to the Palace. Master Shifu and Master Oogway never got the chance to have this kind of sparring session." Suddenly Crane began to get nervous as he said, "Guys…I'm starting to think this was a bad idea; like we really shouldn't be here." Monkey was about to agree when Mantis said, "Check it out."

As the Master's looked over to where the two Pandas were sparing, they all gapped at what they saw. Po had literally just bent backwards to avoid one of Shifu's high jump kicks and just as Shifu was about to pass over him, Po twisted himself around and brought his right leg up in a kick of his own. Realizing Shifu had nowhere to go, Shifu simply brought his arms up and blocked the kick, as the force of Po's kick sent him skidding across the pool of sacred tears a small ways.

The Master's all gaped at the Panda's display of strength as Mantis was about to say something, when Shifu stood up in the shallow waters of the pool and although he still had his eyes closed, it was easy to see on his face that he was not amused. Po on the other hand was still calm and steady as he waited for Shifu to make the next move. Slowly, Shifu walked a few paces away until he could leap up onto a lone boulder that was sticking up out of the water. How he was able to know where he was going without opening his eyes was beyond the hiding Masters. But once he was positioned, he began to take several deep, calming breaths.

Po however had re-entered his Inner Peace stance, with both his paws now to his right, his paws positioned as if they were trying to hold a ball of sorts, exactly the way he was positioned during the Battle of Gongmen Harbor, when Po used his Inner Peace to repel Shen's weapons. It didn't take a genius to figure out something big was coming.

Shifu slowly brought his right foot around in a half circular motion, now placing his right foot behind him, as he brought both his hands around to mirror the stance Po was now in. but a few seconds after Shifu entered the stance, he quickly placed his palms together and with a short breath, he spun around once and thrusted both of his palms forward in a lightning quick motion, causing a gust of wind to shoot forward as a result.

The force of his blow was so powerful that the water that was in front of Shifu, immediately was pushed forward by the force and was now being hurled towards Po at an alarming speed. Viper was wide eyed as she nearly cried out, "He's using the Water!?" but she was quickly silence by Crane who muttered, "Oh boy." as the other Masters returned their attention to the battle.

Po had remained motionless as he waited for the Jetstream of water to approach him. As it neared, a slight smile slowly spread across not only his own face, but that of his Master's too, as Po waited until the precise moment, allowing the Universe to be his guide.

In the last instant, Po reached forward with his right paw and just like he had done back in Gongmen harbor, he literally caught the water in his paw and quickly spun around on his heels in a single rotation, his right arm now completely extended behind him as he redirected the water and allowed it to flow behind him.

The Four Masters watched in awe at the display of Inner Peace, when Mantis was the first to realize the situation they were now in and muttered, "Awe, crud." And immediately the 4 Masters were drenched in the water that Po had just tossed aside as Viper and Monkey nearly shouted, "Hey!?" but immediately closed their mouths, realizing they might have just given their position away. "We are so done for." Crane muttered as he began shaking his hat dry of the water.

Po stood still in the last phase of his stance when Shifu leaped over and landed before him a small distance away. Immediately Po re-entered his ready stance but Shifu had still yet to enter his. After a brief moment, both Po and Shifu began to smile at each other as if coming to an understanding and immediately the two stood up straight and placed their left fists to their right palms and bowed to one another, signaling the end of the match. It was only then that both Po and Shifu opened their eyes for the first time, since before starting their, what was supposed to be a private training session.


As Po and Shifu relaxed Shifu was the first to congratulate the Panda while saying, "Excellent work, Po. You have done well to maintain your Inner Peace. I am indeed, very impressed." Po bowed to his Master in thanks for the praise once more as he replied, "Thanks Master. I just…the feeling of using Inner Peace like that…it's just so…so…" But it was Shifu who finished the Panda's sentence by saying, "Awesome?" Po went wide eyed as he asked in amazement, "Whoa! Can you like, use Inner Peace to read minds too!? Can you teach me how to do that?" Shifu simply shook his head as he answered, "Afraid not Panda, I suppose I have just come to understand you on a surprisingly simple level."

Po's ears fell at that, unsure of whether or not that was a compliment or an insult as he muttered a "Uh…thanks…I think?" Shifu's brow then furrowed as he continued, stating in a rather annoyed tone. "I have also come to understand that not everyone currently present was aware that this was a PRIVATE training session." At this Shifu immediately whirled around and shouted over towards the Boulder the four Masters were now crouched behind, "Monkey, Crane, Mantis, Viper, all of you step forward this instant!"

Slowly, all four Masters emerged from behind the boulder and began to walk, fly, slither, or hop over to stand before Shifu, as they all lowered their heads in shame. Shifu, although clearly displeased by his student's presence, did not get the chance to voice his disapproval right away as he was about to begin chastising the Four, when Po spoke up behind him saying, "Awe come on Master, don't be too mad at them. I mean, come on, when was the last time you got to witness a training session THAT awesome!?" Shifu then sighed as he turned around and looked up at his student seriously and said, "Never Panda…because unlike you, I was never fortunate enough to have the opportunity to partake in this same exercise with my own Master. Very few are blessed with the fortune to achieve Inner Peace at all and even fewer are able to experience it alongside their Masters."

At this Shifu looked up into the sky longingly and it was only then that Po realized exactly just how important a moment like that was for Shifu. How he wished he could have done exactly what he and Po had partaken in with his own Master, but because of Shifu's past, he was unable to achieve inner Peace until after his Master had ascended to become one with the Universe. But he was still able to have this moment with Po, and although Po was no Master Oogway by any means, he finally did realize just how important their training really was.

Once again, Po bowed respectfully as he said, "Master Shifu, I am truly honored to have gotten to train with you today." Shifu turned to the Panda and smiled appreciatively, as he nodded and said, "And I hope there may be many more days to come. That, will however depend on you." Po looked down at Shifu and raised his eyebrow in confusion as Shifu explained, "Po, surely you know by now that it is simply unheard of for someone as young as you are to have mastered Inner Peace? To the best of my knowledge, I cannot think of a single Master who has ever even come close. Normally this wouldn't be a problem except…"

At this Shifu trailed off as Po asked desperately wanting for his Master to continue, "Except what?" The others were remaining silent, also curious as Shifu sighed and revealed, "Except just that. No one as young as you has ever obtained Inner Peace. Normally one does not obtain it until you are at least my age and by then there is little to no concern about losing it. Once one has achieved Inner Peace, it is nearly impossible to lose it…because normally one does not have the TIME to lose it."

Po and the 4 Masters all looked at each other as Shifu continued, "You are still incredibly young Dragon Warrior, and will no doubt have many years ahead of you, and with those years, no doubt many trials ahead, each more trying than the last. It will be up to you to maintain your Inner Peace through them all, now that you have obtained it. Do you understand?"

As Shifu looked up at the Giant Panda, he noticed for the first time that Po looked a little bit unsure of himself at first, but he quickly shook it off as he smiled and said confidently, "No problem Master Shifu. I totally got this Inner Peace thing down. It's not going anywhere!" as Po fist pumped to emphasize his point, causing Shifu to only smirk and shake his head at his Student's rather…unique, optimism and personality.

Shifu then turned around to face his 4 remaining students who each gulped nervously as he stated rather seriously once again, "Well then, as for the 4 of you-" But Shifu was cut off as the sound of flapping came within the range of his hearing. Turning towards the source of the noise, Shifu saw that it was the Palace Messenger, Zeng, who was making his way over to the Masters. "It's about time." Shifu thought to himself as he began walking over towards the approaching Goose while he looked back at his students and said, "That will be all for today Dragon Warrior, you are free to go. As for the rest of you, I expect to see you in the training hall in one hour. We can discuss your immediate future training then. Until then you are dismissed for lunch."

His students all bowed and saluted their Master as they said, "Yes Master." And with that the Five Kung Fu Masters began making their way over to the Mountain path, four of them dreading what sort of training Shifu had in mind, while Po began asking each of his friends what they all wanted for Lunch.

As the five warriors descended the Mountain path, Shifu stayed behind and stood patiently with Zeng as he watched them leave. Once he was certain his students were out of hearing range, he turned on the goose and asked, "Well? Have you received any word from her this time!?" Zeng then shook his head disappointingly at Shifu and responded, "I'm sorry Grandmaster, but we still have not received any word from Master Tigress. I am only here because you wished to be informed whether or not we received word at all."

Shifu sighed as he turned around and walked a few paces away and lowered his head in thought. "It has been 4 weeks now since her last report…and still no word from Tigress. I am beginning to fear the worst. Perhaps she has simply been unable to send a report on her progress…but then again…perhaps something has gone wrong…hmmm…Could she have been discovered?"

Zeng then spoke up cautiously as he asked, "Master…is there anything else?" Shifu then opened his eyes and turned to face the goose once more and said, "Yes, Zeng. In one hour I want for you to assemble the rest of the Furious Five in the Hall of Heroes. Tell them that I wish to merely speak with them all in private." Zeng then asked, "And the Dragon Warrior, Master?"

Shifu paused for a moment in thought before he shook his head no and said, "No…not just yet. If the time comes I will send for him myself but for now just the remaining members of the Five. Understand? Do NOT ask the Dragon Warrior to come to the Hall. Try to report to the Five when they are not around the Dragon Warrior, if you can help it. Knowing him, his curiosity would only serve to get the better of him if he found out the others were being summoned without him."

Zeng nodded as he began to take to the skies and started to fly towards the Jade Palace, while Shifu mumbled to himself. "I truly hope I am wrong…but we must be ready for anything. Tigress…I hope you are safe." And with that, Shifu picked up his staff and put on his jade green colored robe, before descending the mountain path and heading straight for the Hall of Heroes.

"I truly hope… that I am wrong."


And there's chapter 3! I hope you guys enjoyed it. Thanks for reading and remember...

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