Note that there is a reference to another Chinese character, but it most likely won't be picked up on.
Village Fight I
"A panda? That's impossible!" growled the lead wolf.
"My fist hungers for justice," replied Po in response to the slight. His stomach had the bright idea of giving its own response too. "That was my fist…" Po said in an abashed attempt to cover up his rumbling gut. It usually didn't rumble unless he was hungry – which he wasn't – or unless he had a bad feeling about something unpleasant about to happen.
Po hoped it was just hunger instead.
"Get 'em!" yelled the wolf commander.
"Come on!" yelled Po, leading his friends into a head-on charge.
A wolf had the audacity to swing at the panda, who nimbly sidestepped every aggressive strike. The panda took note that that was just how Tai Lung would have fought, only with more reliance on an artificial weapon rather than utilizing his own living body as one. The wolf, getting more outraged, made the mistake of trying to deliver a power cut. Po easily caught his armoured paw, and with a ricochet of his obese belly, the wolf was sent flying headfirst into a stolen gong, where skull shattered upon meeting thickset brass.
The crowd cheered at first blood, then their attention shifted from the Dragon Warrior to his subordinates.
This is Master Monkey.
The pinnacle of acrobatics. The striker of unpredictability. A warrior who's might is defined by his compassion and care for others. In his younger days, he spent countless hours of countless days of countless weeks fundraising for charities across the provinces of China. The beloved late Master Oogway taught him how to obtain the treasure of empathy, and so when a young tiger warrior-in-training had arrived in his current village of residence requesting reinforcements for a faraway valley, the simian had jumped at the chance. He had gone from devoting his time to devoting his whole life to protecting the innocent, a decision that always brings joyful tears to his eyes when he remembers that fateful day.
He's the oldest out of his closest friends. At 31, he's like the eldest brother that the others never had. He's in control, he's cool and centered, and he loves and watches over them, making sure they are always happy. His friends value him, and they value his jokes. He's always able to alleviate tension with a few self-deprecating gags. He is always able to make them smile, and every time he sees their eyes brighten it's like he's found an invaluable treasure. He can't imagine a life without any one of his friends by his side, and they can't imagine a life without him.
His kung fu style reflects that. Against opponents, Monkey will always try to take them down with the least pain. A swift kick to the guts, a trip-up via tail sweep, or a double fist strike to the head – any of those moves are bound to be one hit knockouts against lesser trained opponents. And when he is not dispatching opponents with effective attacks, he is giving them warning glances with physical jabs and slights, taunting them, encouraging them to back down, run away or surrender.
If he has to kill, it will be done instantaneously. Two cymbals against the skull is bound to do that.
This is Master Mantis.
At 29 years of age, he's a paragon of incredible achievement for all of bugdom. From his teenage years of crimefighting, to his relative skill in the field of medicine and beyond. He has the quickest wit of his friends, and something he shares in common with the Dragon Warrior is their ability to learn new skill sets rapidly. Another thing he has in common with the panda is unusual body shapes for beings dedicated to walking the warrior path. Mantis is the complete opposite of the black and white hulky, klutzy fighting machine. He is insect-like, in speed and temper and obviously, size. But like Po, his repertoire and courage more than make up for that.
Mantis is also patient, compassionate, and offers an open and friendly ear. He may be the first to battle, but he is also the first to admit to his vices and his tribulations. And because of that, he is one of the kindest souls you will ever meet. If you ever cross paths with him, he will greet you with a cheerful spirit, a friendly hop, and will take you out for a friendly discussion at a bar. The bar part is if you're old enough though.
But right now, Mantis is in battle. He speeds to other people's rescue, and rapidly strikes down the wicked souls that dare to obliterate harmony. He proudly and resolutely stands by his friends in mortal combat, to shine a light of justice against a world that grows ever increasingly dark. He takes joy in his amiable rapport that he shares with his four comrades – brothers and sisters that he has trained with since adolescence. It is his strength and his shield. He would protect them with all that he is worth, and he knows that they would do the same for him without doubt.
And the same goes for the panda. The insect is happy to the heart to be one of the Dragon Warrior's closest companions.
That's why, using his zippy bug legs, he shoots cymbals to intercept arrows headed straight for the bear, with an urgent shout of concerned alarm.
The panda smiles back with a thumbs up.
Crane is an aerial creature with a modesty and patience second to that of the Dragon Warrior.
Days that he breaks out in bursts of loftiness and severity are days that are very sinister indeed. Every other passing hour, this master is a bird with a meek yet sturdy personality. He's warm-hearted, tinted with a hint of icy logic. He's leisurely and casual, but he'll keep you on your toes with his intelligent wit and incredible sophistication.
Physically, he is the weakest, but with unspeakable deftness of skill, he turns it into an advantage. Master Shifu has always said to find an opponent's weakness and make them suffer for it. So Crane responded in kind to devoting his training time so the end result has his technique with no visible surface weakness. When he was still alive, Master Oogway had likened the bird's mastery of the style as a perfect illusion of control. Contemporary fellow warrior Master Po described Crane's style as akin to endless deflecting. Which is an accurate description of not only the fighting style of the avian, but also of his morale. Crane is the least likely to be affected by simple, unintelligent words. Sticks and stones can grievously harm him when used with extreme force and grace, but the bird's spirit is as impenetrable as the jade-reinforced structures of his home.
Crane is a hit-and-run fighter, attacking any who are foolish enough to step into range, then gaining altitude before they can deal back damage. Many warriors, both grounded and aerial, have fallen to his talons and wingtips. Combining incredible speed and force with magnificent strategy, the avian master easily swats aside the invading wolves as if they were hip plush dolls.
Which is excellent, effective, and wholly satisfying to him. His limbs strike out in defense of the weak, and in protective support of his family. His eyes scan for threats of the present and the future, and he rushes forward with no hesitation to selflessly deal with the dilemmas, even though it could cost him his life one day. But in the center of his soul, he knows it's worth the risk.
For all his 28 years of living, 12 have been spent getting out of the nest and exploring the land. 4 had been wasted when he let his fears and his trepidations control him on his life journey. The remaining 12 years had been spent discovering confidence, gaining friends, earning respect, walking the path of Kung Fu, the path of self-improvement.
And finding love.
For Crane's heart beats only for one being. A being whose breath is his only air, whose eyes are his only gems, whose words are his only music, and whose face is the masterpiece that he could never replicate via painting. She's one of his fellow warriors, in fact.
Master Viper.
Yes, if you've heard of Crane's tale of how he laboured himself to uncover his Kung Fu potential, you'll know it was Mei Ling who encouraged him, who made his spirit soar, who made his heart roar with courage and boldness. Yes, Mei Ling was a golden cat with a golden heart. But she was too dedicated to her studies in martial arts to be able to form any deep attachment to him. Well, at least that's what Crane thought. And before he could work up the courage to tell her his feelings for her, she had attained master rank and had moved out to start her own academy. Crane didn't feel confident to insert himself into the midst of her labours and instead busied himself with earning a decent living for his own, still humbly taking upon janitor duties at the dojo where he still trained and had yet to achieve his own rank of mastery.
That plan went out a year later when a tiger, a monkey and a viper, all of them around his age, came to the dojo requesting reinforcements for a faraway conflict. Crane had been surprised that he alone had been picked to help above all the other candidates, most of whom were much more competent and advanced than him at the time. But that day changed everything. He started to dedicate his life full time to self-improvement, to mastery. And when that had been achieved a few years later, he let his heart yearn again for attachment, for reciprocated compassion, for the love that only soulmates could share.
That's when he realized his romantic vision was set on the fellow warrior that was the feminine snake, merely a year his junior. She was everything that Mei Ling was to him – a second chance. Only this time he had extra years of confidence to boost him forwards. Eventually, after the defeat of Tai Lung which brought more liberating respite into their lives, Mei Ling had even paid a visit once and encouraged Viper and Crane's blossoming relationship. The snake and the bird had their hearts soar joyfully at their friend's blessing, and spent the night comfortable in each other's intimacy.
And so like the panda and the tiger, both snake and bird had begun dating each other, letting their passion for each other grow day by day, their love for one another accumulating and never stopping. Crane is heavily attuned to his soulmate. That's why he's now busy fighting alongside her, flipping away demonic canines with spindly backflips and gusty wing flaps. That's why in the chaotic midst of this storm full of blood and bruises, he is able to find harmony in her, with her, striking up a lax conversation with her of what they'll do after this battle to wind down.
Because Crane knows they'll survive. She'll survive. And he'll survive.
Because they have each other, and the love that they share shelters them from all harm.
That is Master Crane for you.
This is Master Viper.
Many know her to be the young, soft and cultivated face of the Furious Five. She is the serpent with no venom, and the eldest daughter of Master Xiu.
She has two younger siblings, both females like her, who take up an active role in providing protection for their village. Her youngest sister, Yun, is a negotiator with a worldly tongue and equitable vision. Yun always spends most days of the week away from home, settling disputes in territories faraway, always using wise and just judgement to keep the hearts of people focused and pure. Her middle sister, Guo, is one of the many commanders of the Draconian Army. Said army serves as both law enforcement for Viper's home village of Draconia as well as outside protection for generous traders and charity workers that travel to and from the village in the Wuyi Mountain Pass.
Even so, both sisters and everyone else acknowledge that Viper herself has made the greatest achievements through the greatest sacrifices. Two decades ago, at the mere age of 7, the fangless little serpent had taken down a heavily armoured gorilla, who had just dispatched her father in combat. That had changed her and other people's views of her greatly. Before she had joined the Jade Palace, the snake had gone by her birth moniker of Hui Lin. Before defeating her first outlaw, Hui Lin was only a timid little girl, who never ventured outside her family's palace grounds and who only busied herself making tea and playing with plush animal dolls for most of her early childhood.
When her first victory transpired due to her willingness to lay down her young life for others, it had brought about the force of courage to support her, to strengthen her both physically and spiritually. Hui Lin transformed into an gregarious girl who ventured out of the palace grounds and into the village almost every day of the week, dancing for the people's enjoyment, learning to paint, learning to swim, learning what it's like to truly be a carefree child.
That experience helped mould her into the brave and selfless being that she is today. What united her on the path to self-mastery was an event that transpired when she was 16, an event that she'd never forget. A tiger, a monkey, and a crane had stopped by her village, looking for volunteers that would be willing to dedicate their time to reinforcing the Jade Palace in one of its most critical cataclysms. Hui Lin was only more than happy to give her all to help out.
That fateful day sowed the seeds of the making of the top tier warrior quintet that would eventually be known as the Furious 5.
Viper, as the snake now went by, became a revered master over the last decade, having spawned a new, innovative way for snake kind to fight without first resorting to fangs, messy consumption or clumsy strangulation to get the job done. Instead, Viper's courage and tenacity gave birth to a new fighting style, one that allowed a serpent to strike, avoid and counter with grace anything that an opponent could throw at them.
That's why, right now, you can see Viper slithering swiftly and easily avoiding the trap jaws and the lethal weapons that uncultured wolves dare to level at her. She slips around behind their defenses with angelic speed, and whips her body around efficiently to effectively take down squad after squad of malevolent canine beasts.
Viper's hardened mettle and sophisticated intuition are two character aspects that she shares deeply with Crane. The only difference that makes them Yin and Yang is his ability to fly, strike and soar with ease of reach and speed above and beyond the immediate battlefield. Other than that, you could totally say they were made for each other.
If you could look at them now, if you could watch quick green twirls mingle with dark blue blurs as both warriors bring down physical justice against sinister and intrusive forces, then you'd wholeheartedly say they complement and complete each other in life. As if hearing them banter with the stock phrases that engaged couples would use whilst swatting away threatening scum wasn't enough.
In summary, Master Viper is entirely selfless. She's a being whose sole purpose in life is to serve others. Including the man whose only treasure is her heart.
She has the courage to give her all. To defend all that she has ever known, and all that she has ever stood for.
That's why she can whip these wolves with the speed of a gale and the fortitude of a mountain.
Strike a snake, and it devours you in return.
And this is Master Tigress.
Daughter of Grand Master Shifu. Youngest member of the Furious Five, and yet their highly respected leader. Considered a prodigy on par with Master Thundering Rhino despite her ripe young age of only 26.
And… wait for it…
She is also the girlfriend to the Dragon Warrior.
Yep, when you first lay eyes upon the two, you'll wonder how the hell did they ever fall for each other.
Well, for starters, he brought relief and respite to her harrowed and oppressed life. In return, she brought salvation and motivation to his dilapidated and depressed existence.
Po showed her how to truly be free. Tigress showed him how to be commandeering and empirical. They brought the few precious and treasured gifts of fulfillment to each other, the objectives that one struggled in vain to reach was passed onto them by the other. They formed two halves of a perfect, sublime matrix. Their matrix of balance and triumph gave way to the path of a deep friendship and reverence.
On that path, they discovered how their lives shaped their souls, and how, despite the gaping differences of their metaphysical selves, their guts craved the attention of their significant other. How their strong hearts urged them to continue immersing themselves in both the big and the little everyday things that their other always found engaging. And because both the tiger and her beloved both trusted their guts and followed their hearts, they successfully completed the evolving path of friendship between a boy and a girl, and they reached the destination of love. That was the blazing, romantic start of a new phase of life between them, and they continued to take the plunge into the new, adventurous depths of passion that every passing day brought.
That same passion and devotion to each other fuels them in the life and death matters of mortal combat. Tigress knows that with Po around, goodness is guaranteed to go on, from this age to the next, no matter the odds, no matter the menace. And the feline knows that the panda charges into battle with the knowledge that she will always be at his side, no matter what. Because they complete each other. Because they love each other. Because they couldn't imagine life without the other.
With ultimate devotion fuelling her top tier mastery, Tigress feels she can fight with limitless power and energy. She can face any opponent knowing that they'll all come out on top, alive and triumphant. She knows that with both of them standing, the meaning of defeat has no right to exist.
She has longed for mastery, quested for affection. And even though she didn't know it until he first appeared in her life, screaming and plummeting from the sky, she has always yearned for eternal and passionate love.
He gave them all to her.
And as sure as the dawn brings the sunrise, she will give her whole life and love to him in return.
That is Master Tigress for you.
And she'll start accomplishing today's promises of devotion by reinforcing her panda on the rooftops.
"Tigress! Double Death Strike!"
Po did not know how the wolves managed to flank him on all sides. Especially when he had taken a particularly elevated vantage point. These combatants were much more tactical and disciplined. As a result, they were significantly more arduous to take down than the usual outlaw.
Right now they had pinned him down on the roof of a hall, with nearby axe wielders readying to plunge their heavyweight blades into his flesh. It was just unfortunate for the wolves that they failed to notice that the feline master had rallied to his call and was bounding over to give some much needed backup.
Tigress' first two pounces knocked several soldiers to a bone-cracking death on the stone steps below. Taking the bear by the paws, she twirled around. The tornado of black, white and orange easily dispatched the incoming axe wielders. Whilst they had been occupied by the rooftop menaces, however, several squads had gathered on the hill path overlooking the village from behind, using the high ground to launch an attack reminiscent of a devastating mudslide.
Fortunately, Crane had signalled this to Tigress, and the feline summoned another burst of accumulated vigour to launch the panda into the perfect aerial position to counter with his Feet of Fury Strike.
The snarling swarm of wolves morphed into whining puppies as a monochromatic kicking tornado smashed right into them.
Crane swooped in to deal even more rapidfire blows, which sent the wicked canines either into oblivion, or to an otherwise painful and agonized landing several stories below. The avian pirouetted midair to catch his friend, not even grunting as the bear's weight yanked him down. Po hurled himself into a forward roll the instant he felt his shoes touch the earth again. He easily disarmed a wolf wielding a staff, and utilized the wooden melee instrument to effortlessly bat away several more opponents. Crane dropkicked another wolf who was about to pin down Viper from behind. The blast of the bird's foot impacting upon his heavyset armour sent the wolf reeling back at high speed, and as he felt his ribs crack he only then realized that he had just collided with a tree, right as he passed out from the excruciating damage. But no friend, foe, or bystander paid any concern to him right now. Because the prolonged skirmish was now reaching its precarious climax.
"Tigress!" yelled Po, signalling his beloved to use him as a fulcrum to deal a devastatingly fatal overhead kick to another heavyset opponent.
"Monkey!"
The simian responded to his leader's command, turning his body into a rolling, ramming wheel that stunned and tripped over opponents.
"Viper!" shouted Po, angling his body so that he formed a somewhat ramp for the serpent to slither onto and complete a vicious offload onto another pesky canine. Her initial strike bruised the wolf's eye, and Viper soon landed the dispatching strike on her screeching, flailing enemy. Or rather, she manipulated the sucker's body into falling face first onto one of the metallic pots tied down in the stolen stash.
"Mantis!"
And now, the Goliath summons the David to leap upon the pressure points of the stunned troopers. The insect's strikes leave a variety of intriguing results. Some canines are left paralyzed by acutely precise oneshots. Others have bones broken, or their inner arteries start to internally bleed. Some are just lucky to be left knocked out by the bug's blows.
And some wolves get it all. They are the ones who are still standing, who still get to hear the signal to evacuate. They hop onto the piles as their remaining brethren on the hilltops above start pulling the nets of metal loot up, up and away.
"Help! Help!"
Po hears the screech of desperation just as he finishes off an unlucky straggler. It's too late for him to do anything now, for the nets have long left the rocky surface behind.
But it's not too late for the token airman of their six-man team to intervene.
"Crane, go!"
"I'm on it!" the bird replied, voice filled with vigourous resolve to defend and protect.
The master of the air beat his wings furiously as he climbed steeply upwards. The net with the trapped pig drew nearer and nearer. With a calculated swipe, the rope attached to it was cut, allowing both the metallic pile and the bird to begin plummeting back down to earth.
Even before Crane had cut the rope, Po and the rest of the Five were ready. Without hesitation, the panda leaped off the cliff's edge, with the guaranteed knowledge that Monkey and Viper were right behind him to form a living lifeline. Tigress was there in an instant to provide the required pivot. Grabbing Monkey by the tail, she hurled her three friends back to safety. Mantis topped it off by catching the pile of metal loot, gently putting it – and the pig still trapped inside – down on the firm and reassuring earth.
"Is everyone alright?" the Dragon Warrior asked, not even out of breath from the battle. He hurried to check over on his friends, and once they had confirmed to him that they were clear of injuries, he went to check on the cheering villagers.
But he was rudely interrupted by the battle cry of a lone wolf, springing up from behind some rocks to ambush him with a hammer. This wolf had customized his armour differently, and had much more stripes on his battle garments. Po concluded that this was their leader and planned to sock him and tow him back for trial and questioning.
But the markings on the leader's pauldron brought pause to his muscles and ice to his heart.
A baby's wails pierced the cold black of a winter night.
Po soon became aware that the baby was him, and he was looking at something that he'd never seen at all throughout his life.
Another panda. The same kind as him.
Though this was a panda that was fully grown, and was also female instead. But she had eyes that were as green as his own jade orbs, a face shape that only he could have inherited, and was wearing a bitter smile that he only knew too well. For it was a smile that he had worn many times throughout his life, throughout the many times that he had faced scorn and rejection and disappointment, before he had ever even achieved his dream of one day becoming a great warrior.
That smile, he noticed, disappeared from the female's complexion, and was replaced with steely intensity. Her face hardened, and so too did her heart. She turned and fled, ignoring the infant's cries – his cries – for someone, anyone, to help.
This pause and revelation was more than enough of a moment that Po's enemy utilized to its full advantage.
The Dragon Warrior barely heard Tigress screaming for him to move just an instant before a tonne of cylindrical metal slammed unforgivingly into his face.
His consciousness faded for several moments, the bruising impact of the ground rushing up to meet him snapping him back to a harsh reality.
"Chew on that, Tubby!" he heard the leader say, just as the wolf leapt onto the last stack of metal and fled the scene of the attack.
"Po?"
He heard the gruff yet terrified voice of Mantis speak out to him.
"Po!"
This time it was Crane crying out in concern.
He felt Monkey steadily lift his throbbing head off the ground.
"Sweetie are you okay?" Viper queried with anxiety, slithering over to check on her comrade.
"What happened?"
That was Tigress speaking now. And the urgency of her voice cut through the painful fog that still floated around in his head.
He felt the words tumbling out of his mouth uncontrollably, but his subconsciousness restrained the truth from revealing itself.
"I think I saw… I think…"
He sounded stupid, he mentally chided himself. He resolved to force down the matter and hoped to never again speak of it to his friends.
"I gotta go."
And with that, he bolted off, leaving his comrades confused and concerned. With silent looks shared between each other, they decided that it would be best to mop up the business of Artisan first, and then voice their worries to him later.
The truth cannot remain hidden forever.
Did anyone pick up the reference?
What did you think of this chapter?
Feel free to tell me in a review!
And have a good day!
Transformers 0 over the moon and out!