Author's Note: Yes, I went there. I noticed that Oogway seemed pretty knowledgeable about the Wu Sisters in the short, so I thought "Hey, why not make him their former master?" I don't think it's too much of a stretch.

This isn't the longest chapter or the most exciting, but it had to be made.

Chapter 11: The Jade Palace

For someone who could move faster than lightning in battle, Oogway sure was slow outside of it.

The Wu Sisters had a feeling that they could of reached this "Jade Palace" days ago if not for their escort's pace. Su wondered if this was a test of their patience to see if they were worthy; if they didn't try to kill him, they passed.

On the bright side, the tortoise had made sure that they were well taken care of. They stopped in every town they passed to eat and stay for the night, giving the sisters some of the best food and sleep they had ever gotten. Oddly, even though he didn't carry any money, he was able to get all of this accommodation just by telling the owners that he would pay them later. They couldn't think of a single shopkeeper that would ever accept that, yet every one of them did. Most of them even offered to serve him free of charge, calling him "Master" Oogway. Was he some kind of noble or something? He sure didn't act like one.

It took them about a week to finally reach their destination, or rather, the village that it was housed in. Oogway called it the Valley of Peace, which made Wan smile and Su and Wing roll their eyes. But to their surprise, the place lived up to its name. The Valley was a community unlike any they had ever seen. There were no run-down buildings, no shady alleyways, no sign of criminal activity anywhere. It was just a haven of various pigs, geese, and bunnies, going about their daily lives. The villagers smiled and waved to the cubs as they passed, a far cry from the distrustful glares they tended to get back in Jinzhou. It almost seemed too good to be true.

But it was nothing compared to the Jade Palace, which they had assumed was only a name until they actually saw it. The towering building was so magnificent, it made Mayor Yong's house look like their old cabin. They saw the sun beginning to set and thought that they might be able to make it there before nightfall. At least, until they saw the massive staircase leading up to it.

"Welcome to your new home," Oogway said to the three cubs, who were currently catching their breath after the long climb.

"Did you...have...to build this...on top of a mountain?" Wing gasped.

"Yes."

He waited a few moments for them to recover before he continued. "Now, allow me to give you a quick tour. This room is known as the Hall of Warriors. It is where we keep our collection of kung fu artifacts from all across China. It also contains the thousand scrolls of kung fu, which you will all be learning from." It was then that he realized they weren't paying attention to him. As soon as they had been able to get a good look at the room, they had become mesmerized by the artifacts. Instead of getting angry as most people would, Oogway just smiled. It had been a while since he had trained children and he had forgotten how curious they could be.

"Moving on," he said. The sisters snapped out of their daze and followed him into a long wooden hallway with a row of small rooms on each side. "These are the student barracks. They will be your sleeping quarters."

Wan peeked inside one of the rooms and frowned. "A little barren, aren't they?"

"I think you'll find that they will be enough."

She took another look at the room, completely empty except for a single cot. "If you say so..."

Oogway led them further down the hallway, briefly stopping to show them the kitchen and dining area, before he got to what was definitely the most memorable room, the training hall.

The sisters stood completely still, jaws hanging open as they looked upon the large, and very dangerous training equipment in front of them. They had never seen so many spikes in one place.

"You don't seriously expect us to go through that, do you?" Su asked uneasily.

"No. Not yet." Somehow, that didn't make them feel any better.

"Master Oogway?" a new voice asked.

Oogway and the sisters turned around to see two people walking into the training hall behind them.

The first was a diminutive red panda dressed in red robes with white and brown fur. He was looking warily at the three of them with a serious expression.

Standing next to him, only slightly taller, was a snow leopard cub. The cub wore purple pants and no shirt, with a pair of golden eyes not unlike their own. He looked more confused than anything else.

"Master Oogway," the red panda repeated. "I see you are back from your trip across China, much sooner than I expected." He turned his attention to the three cubs. "And who would these be?"

"Ah Shifu, let me introduce you to my new students, Su, Wing, and Wan Wu." Both of the newcomers looked surprised at this statement. Oogway ignored this and looked back at the sisters. "This is Master Shifu and his own student Tai Lung. They are training, much like we will be."

Wan bounded up to Tai Lung with a big grin on her face. "Hi, I'm Wan! It's nice to meet you."

Tai Lung crossed his arms and scoffed. "Girls shouldn't learn kung fu."

With that one statement, it became clear that they would not be friends. Su had to physically restrain Wing from attacking him right there, even though she wanted to hurt him herself. He had insulted all of them and, moreover, he had hurt Wan's feelings.

Shifu reached up and smacked Tai Lung across the back of the head, scolding him for his rudeness. He then turned to face Master Oogway. "Master, may I speak to you in private?" Oogway glanced between Tai Lung and the violently struggling Wing, then back at Shifu. He got the message. "Tai Lung, I want you to mediate at the Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom until dinnertime."

"But I'm supposed to be using the training hall now!" he whined.

"That's an order, Tai Lung!"

"...Yes, Master," the snow leopard stopped to shoot a quick glare at the sisters and left the room. Once he felt safe leaving them alone, Oogway told them to wait in the training hall and followed Shifu out.

"What would you like to speak about, old friend?" Oogway asked, as Shifu led him back into the Hall of Warriors. He knew the answer of course, but it was always polite to ask.

"It's these new students of yours. How exactly did you come across them?" Oogway told him the story of how he had met the Wu Sisters while traveling on a country road, and after a brief chat, had taken them on as students. Shifu inwardly sighed. Only Master Oogway would take on new students five minutes after meeting them. He was always unconventional like that.

"I don't mean to question your judgment Master, but what is it that you see in those three?"

"I can see many things. Sadness, anger, fear..." Oogway trailed off as he slowly paced around the room. "I believe that those three have the potential to become great masters if they can learn to overcome those obstacles and fight as one. That is why I felt the need to help them."

Shifu wondered how his master had gotten so much from a simple conversation. Oogway claimed that he wasn't a mind-reader, but he found that hard to believe sometimes. "Isn't that a bit risky?"

Oogway gave him a calm, but firm look. "Perhaps, but that is not your concern. You have your own student to look after."

He realized he had crossed a line. "I'm sorry, Master. That is all." Shifu bowed in respect and left Oogway to his new charges. As much as he wanted to trust his master's judgment, there was still some doubt in his eyes.

Oogway decided against starting the sisters' training right away. He wanted to give them some time to adjust to their new surroundings first. Besides, after that walk up the Palace stairs and the incident with Tai Lung, the least they deserved was a good night's rest.

They felt the same way, turning down dinner in favor of getting to sleep as soon as possible. As Oogway led them back into the student barracks, Su immediately noticed that they had separate rooms, albeit right next to each other. This was the first time they would be sleeping separately, yet Wing and Wan didn't object to it, and she knew it was because of her.

"Good night, girls," Oogway called out gently. "Sleep well. Your training begins tomorrow."

Su curled up on her cot and tried to get some sleep, thinking that this training had better be worth it.