Chao's Student

Chao never really understood Oogway and his mysterious commands. But he didn't question them. That's why he was wandering the woods that night, looking for the cabin Oogway instructed him to find. Oogway had told him that he would finally fulfill the promise he made years ago that night. Chao was confused at first, but remembered something he promised to….her…..

The last time Chao ever loved someone was with her. How deeply in love they were. How happy Chao was when she agreed to marry him. How overjoyed he was to hear that she was pregnant with his child. His child; a little girl or boy to carry on his legacy. But, alas, it was all too good to be true. Oogway had a vision that the child, a girl, would posses great powers and would be in danger in their world. So she had to leave. The only woman Chao truly loved had to leave, in order to protect their only child.

Chao remembered that day all too vividly. He remembered how tight he had embraced his wife before she left. He remembered how he had lightly kissed her forehead before she disappeared to a different world, still carrying their daughter.

Ah, there it is. Chao had arrived at the cabin. He snuck in without making a single noise. He looked around at the tiny cabin. There wasn't much. A table, a small kitchen area, a fireplace, a bed…..with a human on it…..

Chao stared. Humans did not exist. They were myths. Yet, here one was, sleeping on the bed. Chao walked up quietly, but stopped when the human child, a girl in fact, started to wake up. The girl sat up and stretched, obviously just had a good night's sleep. Chao walked up slowly. He didn't want to startle the poor thing.

He didn't even touch her; he just said, "Hello."

The girl whipped around to look at him. Chao's eyes widened as the two stared at each other.

It couldn't be her. But perhaps it was. She had the same obsidian black hair, same pale skin, same bright green eyes, like her mothers. For the longest time, they just stared at each other. Then, the human girl took out a necklace around her neck: a golden locket. The human kept looking back and forth between the inside of the locket to Chao. Finally, the girl showed Chao the inside of the locket. Chao looked, and he smiled, fighting back tears of joy.

"Come, little one." He said, offering a clawed hand. "I'll take care of you."

The girl smiled a little and took his hand.

Now, Chao understood. He took the little girl back to the Jade Palace with him. She had nothing but her pajamas, a black blanket, and a hand-knit panda bear. Chao asked the girl what her name was, how old she was, and what her life was like before coming here. The girl wouldn't say much. She wouldn't give her name, but she did say that she was 7. Her mommy fell asleep and never woke up; her daddy drank bad-smelling water a lot and slapped her often.

Translation: her mother was dead and her father was an abusive alcoholic.

Chao was deeply saddened by the loss of his wife and infuriated by the other father's treatment, but was happy to have his little girl with him at last. Unfortunately, she still wouldn't say her name. Chao didn't want to call her "girl" or "little one" all the time, so he gave her a temporary name until she would say her real name; Chao called the girl Ren.

Oogway was not at all surprised to see Ren. He had known she was there the whole time. For Chao's part, he was having a hard time being annoyed with his master; he was too busy being happy that his daughter was alive and well. Ren loved being at the Palace, saying it was most wonderful place she's ever been.

And so, Ren began her life with Chao. She was constantly by his side. Whenever Chao trained, she sat down at a safe distance, but as close as she could. She spent the first year sleeping in Chao's room until she was brave enough to sleep on her own. Even then, however, Chao had to go into her room and comfort her when she had nightmares, which were constant in that first month alone. Oogway enjoyed having the girl around. Junjie thought she was absolutely adorable, but Shifu thought she was constantly in danger by being in the Training Hall so often. But, she eventually grew on him. Ren stayed at the Jade Palace with all of them, learning kung fu along the way. Mainly, Chao was her master. But Oogway, Junjie, and even Shifu would teach her when Chao was busy. She had one preference in weaponry: the Bo staff. When Ren turned nine, Oogway gave her a special gift. A staff of her own, pure black with a dragon circling it.

Time passed. Ren continued her training. Soon, Master Chao and Master Junjie left the Jade Palace to become members of the Sacred Onyx Council. Chao was determined to keep Ren with them, and she came along. Ren hadn't stepped one foot out of the Valley of Peace, and she was ecstatic to travel to a new place. The three of them traveled to the city of Ziben, where the Sacred Onyx Council resided. The members lived in apartments near the main building where they had meetings and trained. Sadly, Ren was not allowed to come into the main building, and had to stay in the apartments. Chao was initially worried; the other masters that had families lived in the city, so Ren would have to stay in the apartment alone. Ren was strong; she assured her father that she would be fine.

"You're sure you'll be alright?" Chao asked worriedly before leaving.

"I'll be fine, Master Chao." Ren said, bowing in respect to her teacher. "I can take care of myself and I'll be right here when you get home."

"Very well." Chao nodded. "I just don't want anything to happen. Don't leave the apartment without me or Junjie. Don't do anything dangerous. Don't-"

Ren hugged her father. "Baba, go to work. I'll be fine." Ren only called Chao "Baba" when he went ranting on like that. Chao returned the hug and walked off with Junjie. Ren walked in to go on with her daily routine: clean the house, eat lunch, train, clean before Chao gets home. The time in between she spent staring into her locket or reading.

Ren and Chao's relationship changed since they came to Ziben. Chao became the hierarch of the council. Although he was honored, he thought of all the people who might hurt Ren to threaten or blackmail him. Ren wasn't concerned. She was comfortable calling Chao "Master" most of the time. They had their times when they could be "father and daughter" and not just "master and student". But Ren sometimes thought about how much more fatherly Chao was when she was younger. Ren was forced to grow up fast so that she could take care of and protect herself.

One day, Chao informed her that he was going on a journey to the Valley of Peace.

"Can I come?" Ren pleaded.

"I don't know, can you?" Chao replied with a smirk.

Ren rolled her eyes. "May I come?"

"Not this time." Chao shook his head. "Junjie and I are only going to evaluate Shifu's skills on being Master of the Jade Palace. It's awfully boring."

"I think you're just saying that because you don't want me to come." Ren said, raising an eyebrow.

Chao sighed. "Ren, there's no reason for you to come."

"There's no reason for me to not come either!" Ren protested.

"Ren, silence yourself!" Chao raised his voice a little. Ren shut her mouth and her eyes went to the floor. Chao put a claw to her chin and raised her head to look in her eyes. "Look, it'll be a long journey. I'll be back in three days. And when I get back, how about you and I go see that dancing group you like? Just the two of us."

Ren brightened up. "Really?" Chao nodded, smiling. The two of them hugged.

"I'll be back soon, promise." Chao said. Ren sighed and stepped back, bowing.

"Yes, Master Chao." She said. Chao nodded and walked out. Ren ran to the window and watched him and Master Junjie leave until they couldn't be seen. Ren hated it when Chao went on missions because she always feared he wouldn't come back alive. She had to remind herself time and time again that he was a great Shaolin master; to Ren, Chao could do anything.

Still, those next three days were hard. She didn't wake up to greet her master that morning. She barely managed to catch herself making too much food for breakfast. When she ran to the door to wait for Chao, she skidded to a halt when she remembered he wouldn't be coming home. Most of all, she realized, he wouldn't be coming to her room to kiss her forehead goodnight. It was the one time he really showed fatherly love towards her and not be afraid to. Ren was thirteen at the time. But she spent so much time with Chao that it pained her to see him leave for so long. She couldn't focus on her training and mediating gave her no peace of mind; so she spent most of her time at the window of the apartment, staring into the distance and scanning the city, waiting for Chao to return.

On the third day, Ren didn't bother doing anything except sit by the window and eat a little. She continued to stare and search. Chao would be home soon. She waited patiently, a smile on her face. But, as the day dragged on, and Master Chao hadn't returned yet, Ren became worried. When he didn't return that night, she fell asleep and went back to her waiting spot the next morning. The day went on slowly, and Chao was nowhere to be seen. Ren kept thinking he was attacked or something. Maybe the evaluation was taking longer than he thought. Maybe he was…

No. Ren shook her head from those thoughts. Master Chao is not dead. He's one of the greatest masters in China. He was the Hierarch of the Sacred Onyx Council. He was trained by Master Oogway himself. Chao couldn't be killed.

Still, Ren was getting frantic. She took her blanket, which she had made into a hooded cloak, and wrapped it tightly around her shoulders. She held her panda doll and sat at the window, staring blankly into the city. She wouldn't eat. As the sun started to set and Chao was still not to be seen, Ren started to cry. Silent tears streamed down her cheeks. She fell asleep on the chair, still waiting.

When Ren woke up, she was in her room. There was a little smoke in the air and someone was shouting frantically. Ren bolted upright and ran into the kitchen. Chao was at the stove, trying to douse the flames that were coming from the wok. Ren dashed forward and slammed into Chao, wrapping her arms around him. Chao was surprised, but returned the embrace.

"Sorry I'm late." Chao apologized. "The journey home took longer than expected." He noticed Ren was crying into his chest. "What's wrong?"

"Don't leave me." Ren whimpered. "Don't leave me like Mommy did."

Chao's eyes widened. Ren hadn't said a word about her mother in years. And now, she said it with such innocence and insecurity, that Chao held her tighter, in hopes of soothing her pain. "I'm not going anywhere, I promise you that. I know you were scared. I'm sorry. But you need to realize this is how things are. I'll have to leave sometimes. But I'll always come back. I promise you that. Alright?"

Ren wiped her eyes. "Ok…."

They never did see Ren's favorite dancing group. They didn't need to. Chao told Ren about how Shifu had, sadly, failed his evaluation when one of his students, the Dragon Warrior, performed badly on the presentation of the Seven Forms. Junjie had taken over as Master of the Jade Palace, and Chao was to go back in a couple months to check on his progress. Chao promised Ren that she could tag along this time.

About two weeks passed. Ren woke up one night, gasping and sweating. Her eyes were wide and she panted. She leaped out of bed and banged on Chao's bedroom door. "Baba! Baba, wake up!"

The door opened, revealing Chao's tired face. He yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Ren, what is it?"

"I had a dream!" Ren said in a rush. "It was awful! Shifu was in trouble and I….I…."

"Ren, take a deep breath and slow down." Chao instructed.

Ren did so. "I had a dream. Shifu was in chains in some prison. I think he was in danger. I heard someone say they were going to destroy him!"

"Destroy him?" Chao repeated.

"I think he was in the Jade Palace." Ren continued. "You've gotta go back and tell Junjie! We've got to find him!"

"Alright, calm down." Chao coaxed. "We'll leave tomorrow morning. But I don't think it's anything important; I'm sure he'll be fine. Shifu's a great warrior." Ren nodded, but she was still shaken.

The next morning, the two left. Ren had her Bo staff with her and her cloak on. She kept fingering with the fabric, like she was nervous. Ren and Chao arrived at the Valley of Peace the next morning. They reached the bottom of the Jade Palace steps an hour later. Chao stared up at the palace.

"Ren, stay here." He ordered. "If your vision is true, and Shifu is in danger, then I don't want both of us to be captured. If I'm not back by sundown, come find me."

"Are you sure?" Ren asked uncertainly.

"I'll be fine." Chao assured. "Just stay here." He started walking up the steps. Truthfully, he wished that Ren would go with him. He had an ominous feeling that Ren's dream was a vision, and Shifu really was in trouble. Where did Junjie stand in all this, anyhow? Chao frowned and kept walking. He and Junjie would have to have a long talk. He reached the top of the stairs and walked up to the Hall of Warriors. The door was open a little and he peered in. He saw the panda, Po, sneaking around. But what really caught his attention was the large tapestry over the Moon Pool, depicting Junjie beating down Shifu. Chao growled low and snuck into the hall. He hid behind a pillar when Junjie appeared. He listened to his conversation with Po.

"I know you've got Shifu here and I'm here to bust him out!" Po snapped.

Junjie seemed unfazed. "Admirable. Since you unwittingly helped me trick Chao into giving me the Jade Palace. Not that it's hard to trick that doddering old fool."

That did it. Chao banged on his gong. Junjie and Po turned to him, surprised.

"Master Chao!" Po cried.

"The 'doddering old fool' has come to check on your progress, Junjie." Chao said, narrowing his eyes.

"Luckily, I prepared for that." Junjie smirked.

Chao heard the arrow being fired and easily raised two claws to catch it before it could pierce his neck. Too easy. He thought. Suddenly, he felt multiple arrows stab him in the back. He gasped and fell to the ground. He could feel the sedative in the arrows taking over.

"No!" he heard the panda yell. Someone lifted his head. "Master Chao!" Chao barely managed to open his eyes and see the panda's concerned face before blacking out.

Chao woke up who knows how long later. He shook his head and groaned. But when he tried to raise his hands to his head, he found his hands in metal boxes chained to the wall. The panda was unconscious in front of him, his ankle shackled to the floor.

"Glad to see you awake."

Chao jumped and turned to see Shifu sitting next to him. His hands were also in those metal boxes, suspended above his head. He sat cross-legged with a glare in his eyes. Chao sighed.

"Ren was right." He muttered.

"What?" Shifu asked.

"Ren had a dream, a vision that you were in trouble." Chao explained. "That the only reason I came back so early. But Junjie caught me off guard. I should've attacked him when I had the chance."

"It's alright." Shifu assured. "I had the chance to defeat him, but I failed."

"I'm sure it wasn't your fault." Chao said. "I put him in this position."

"Now is not the time for blaming." Shifu reminded him. "Now, we need to figure a way out. So far, I haven't come up with a good idea. Junjie will want to fight me soon. If I survive, maybe I can get you and Po out of here."

"Junjie won't destroy you." Chao assured. "Ren joined me when coming here. I'm sure she'll come soon and we'll all be out of here." Shifu nodded, praying he was right.

Ren sat on a rock nearby in a lotus position, meditating. She hoped Chao was right, and everything would be fine. Maybe she overreacted. But it seemed so real, and she truly felt that Shifu was in trouble. Ren truly cared about Shifu and Junjie. They were pretty much her only friends when she lived at the Jade Palace. She also missed Oogway, whom she looked to like a grandfather.

Ren tried to clear her thoughts, but she couldn't shake that bad feeling she had about Shifu and Chao. Was Shifu alright, or was he hurt? Should she look for him? No, Chao told her to stay there. But where was Chao? How long had he been gone? A few minutes? A few hours?

Ren sighed. "I've so gotta get out more." Chao could take care of himself. Ren glanced up at the Jade Palace, then at the sky. The sun had steadily been moving. Chao really had been gone for a while. Finally, Ren couldn't take it anymore. She began her ascent up the stairs. It took a while, but she pushed exhaustion from her mind. She reached the top of the steps and journeyed to the Hall of Warriors. Outside the door, there was a strange snow leopard.

"Who are you?" he snapped.

"I'd ask you the same thing." Ren retorted. "What are you doing here?"

"Answer my question or perish!" the snow leopard snapped again, taking a stance. Ren glared and held her staff ready. The snow leopard charged forward, but Ren sidestepped and whacked her staff against his head. The cat growled and lunged. Ren spun around and kicked the leopard in the stomach, sending him flying into a pillar. Two more leopards appeared, standing ready to fight. Ren twirled her staff. The leopards all attacked at once. Ren spun her staff around and whacked each cat on the head or stomach. One grabbed her, and she stomped on his foot. Another swiped his claws at her, but she ducked and jabbed her knuckles into his throat. The third swung his foot around; Ren caught it and slammed her elbow into his knee. Then, one kicked her back and she went flying into a pillar. The cats surrounded her.

Before another attack could be attempted, someone shouted, "Enough!" The four of them turned, and the three leopards bowed. Ren saw Junjie standing in front of them.

"Master Junjie!" Ren called. She ran up excitedly to him. "I hear you are the new master! Congratulations!"

"Thank you, Miss Ren." Junjie smiled. "What brings you to the Jade Palace anyhow? Not just to see me?"

Ren laughed. "Actually, Master Chao and I journeyed here because of a vision I had." She explained to Junjie about her dream and how Chao had come to investigate. She asked Junjie if he had seen Chao.

"I'm afraid not." Junjie shook his head. "Perhaps he's wandering around the palace. But I haven't seen Shifu since he was banished two weeks ago."

"Oh." Ren hung her head. "Ok. I was hoping I'd find him. He's been gone a while now."

"I'm sure he'll show up." Junjie assured. "Where were you supposed to meet him?"

"At the bottom of the steps." Ren answered.

"Then go back down there." Junjie said. "I'm sure he'll be back soon." Ren nodded, bowed, and began going down the steps. But she stopped and turned back to Junjie. "If you see him, tell him to hurry back, if he could."

Junjie raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"

"No." Ren shook her head. "I just…..want him to come back safe and sound. I've never told anyone this, but Chao is the only family I have. There really is no one else I have but him." Ren fingered her locket underneath her shirt. "I don't want to lose him." Junjie stared for a moment, but smiled. Ren bowed and walked back to her rock. She sat and meditated once more. It wasn't until sunset that something made her jump from her mediation: a scream and a crash.

Ren stood on her rock, ready to fight, until she saw Junjie and five snow leopards tied up and in a heap at her feet. "Master Junjie?" She jumped down to help him, but a voice shouted, "Ren, don't!" She turned and saw Chao walking down to her. "Junjie and his creepy leopards are going to Chorh Gom Prison."

"Really?" Ren said incredulously.

"For trying to overthrow Shifu and for imprisoning me." Chao said. Ren glared down at Junjie. "I could use your help." Chao instructed Ren to rest her Bo on her shoulder and hung Junjie off the other end. Then, he helped load the leopards onto a cart that would take them to Chorh Gom.

"Not taking any risks, are we?" Junjie mocked. Ren swung the staff around and hit Junjie against a rock. "Ow!"

"Sorry!" Ren smirked. She laughed as she followed Chao. The two of them walked side-by-side as they journeyed to the mountains. Chao told Ren about what had happened when he arrived. Ren sadly confessed that she had come looking for him, but listened to Junjie when he told her to go back and wait.

Ren looked away from Chao. "I have to confess two more things, now." Chao tilted his head. "One, I knew about Junjie's leopards. I saw him talking to them and recruiting them. I didn't know he would do something like this."

"Neither of us did." Chao assured. "It's nothing to blame you for." Ren smiled a little. "Now, what's that other confession?"

Ren's smile was gone again. "My name. The one mom gave me."

Chao's eyes widened.

"I had gotten so used to you calling me Ren." Ren explained. "It was so similar to my real name. When we first met, I wasn't completely sure I could trust you. I meant to tell you, but the time slipped away." Ren took a deep breath. "Now, I know that mom married the right guy." Chao smiled and put a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"What did your mother name you?" Chao asked.

"Siren." The human girl said. "For my singing voice. Siren Jin."

"Siren Jin." Chao nodded. "It's perfect."

Ren/Siren Jin smiled once more, showing her brilliant white teeth. Chao hugged her.

Had they been looking, they would've notice Junjie's eyes widen.