Alas, the movie has started! It is time to choose the Dragon Warrior!

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Leo Lung was lost in thought as he moved his spoon through his bowl of soup. He was at dinner with the rest of the Furious Five. Master Oogway and Shifu did not eat with them- they preferred to meditate to calm themselves in preparation for the upcoming day. The Dragon Warrior would be chosen tomorrow morning. The entire village would be there to see it. Master Shifu, Master Oogway and himself would be presiding over it.

The lion's mind wandered back to twenty years ago. He had prepared so dutifully for being chosen as the Dragon Warrior. He had washed his fur, combed his mane and chose his best robe. Would the Furious Five do the same as he did?

Speaking of the Furious Five, they were incredibly eager about the events taking place tomorrow. Monkey had put his two cents in and predicted that Tigress would be the one to obtain the envious title of Dragon Warrior- after all, she had had over fifteen years of training under Master Shifu, Oogway, and Leo. Viper, Mantis, and Crane all agreed.

Tigress, on the other paw, was not as excited. If she was, then she did an excellent job of masking her emotions. Leo delicately lifted a spoon to his mouth and put a small amount of soup into his mouth. He swallowed and spoke up, interrupting the Five's conversation,

"Listen up you guys. The Dragon Warrior may be an incredible and honorable title to hold, but it also comes with great responsibility. You will be given the secret to unlimited power. It will not be easy, and it is certainly not a joking matter."

"Yes, Master Leo, we know!" Viper giggled, "You sound just like Master Shifu. You are so uptight and serious!" She said, using her tail to handle her spoon.

The lion was, in all honesty, taken aback by her statement. While the rest of the Five, excluding Tigress, laughed at the joke, the lion remained. Leo cast his gaze downward. Even though it was a simple joke, he frowned. He respected Master Shifu and all of his teachings, but he never expected to turn out just like him.

Leo stood, pushing his bowl away from him and stalking off to his dorm. Viper, as well as the rest of the Five, fell silent as the large lion exited the room. The lion walked down the hall, his paw steps silent on the wooden floor. As he climbed up the steps, he heard someone follow him. Leo reached the top of the steps and turned, looking behind him. His ears pricked. He heard heavy, but quiet footsteps. It must have been Tigress.

And he was correct. He saw her glowing eyes in the darkness. She ascended the stairs and met him at the top, her tail low and ears down. Leo narrowed his eyes and his tail swished, a gentle swishing sound entering the air as his tail dragged across the floor,

"Do you need something?" He asked gruffly. His whiskers twitched as Tigress sighed.

"I want to apologize for their behavior earlier. It was never funny, and they did not mean to hurt you." Tigress said quietly.

"I understand Tigress. You had no part in it. I just..need some time to think. The Dragon Warrior will be chosen tomorrow. I suggest you get plenty of sleep. It is going to be a big day tomorrow, for both you and me."

"Yes, that would be good." The tiger nodded, walking past him and towards her own dorm.

"Wait!" Leo called after her. Tigress stopped and turned, looking at him. Leo was silent for a moment. Then he beckoned for her to follow him. Leo walked into his dorm and reached for something in a box he had near his bed.

"What is it?" Tigress asked.

"This. You lost it many years ago during training. I have been keeping this, waiting for the right time to give it back. I guess this is the perfect time."

Leo stood upright, handing Tigress a small trinket. Tigress took it in her paw and looked at it. She gasped and her eyes widened. It was a small necklace with a Jade Dragon on it. It was the very same necklace Leo got for her on her tenth birthday. Tigress had worn it all the time until she had lost it one day during a tough day of training.

Leo had found it that evening. He was going to return it to her, but a small voice inside him had told him there would be a day when she needed it. He had held onto it for years, patiently waiting for the right time. Now was the that time.

"I..I completely forgot.." Tigress said, almost too quiet for Leo to hear. Leo gently took it from her and put it around her neck. Tigress lifted her paw and felt the cool stone of the jade dragon.

"It is said that it brings good luck." Leo said, smiling at Tigress.

"I won't need luck. But it's appreciated." Tigress pulled Leo into a hug. Leo chuckled and hugged her back.

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The next morning

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Leo's eyes scanned the courtyard in front of him. Hundreds of villagers had gathered for this great occasion. The audience was full of cheering. Leo had made himself presentable for this momentous day. His mane had been combed and washed, and he had his best robes, his green one with accents of gold, washed by the palace staff. Shifu stood next to him on his left, with Master Oogway on Shifu's other side. On each of the rooftops, the Furious Five waited. Shifu would announce them, and they would make a grand entrance.

Leo remembered the day Shifu took him and Tai Lung to Master Oogway to be chosen as the Dragon Warrior. It was the complete opposite of what was happening now. It was private, only Leo, Tai Lung, Master Oogway, and Shifu were there. They did not even have to battle or spar. Oogway had simply taken one look and shook his head. Leo shook his head, trying to shake the memory out of his head. This was not the time nor the place to be sad.

The door to the courtyard shut. Shifu cleared his voice. It was time to start. Leo lifted his head as Shifu began to speak,

"Citizens of the Valley of Peace! It is my great honor to present to you: Tigress, Viper, Crane, Monkey, Mantis! The Furious Five!"

Shifu said, the pride obvious in his voice. With that, the five animals leapt from the rooftops high into the air. Leo craned his neck upwards to watch, smiling as he spotted the glint of a jade necklace around Tigress's neck in the sunlight. The five animals landed neatly and gracefully on the ground, with Crane using his wings to send a gust of wind throughout the crowd, easily wowing them.

"Warriors!" Shifu barked out an order, "Prepare!"

Tigress, Mantis, Viper, and Monkey each stepped to the edge of the clearing, leaving Crane in the center. A group of pigs began to wheel a large mechanism, revealing some sort of beast, out to the center, not far from where Crane was currently standing. The mouth of the beast opened up, revealing countless missile-like projectiles.

"Ready for Battle?" Shifu asked Crane. The bird turned his head to Shifu and nodded, a smirk crossing his beak.

With that, the pig on top of the cart lit a torch, lowering it down towards the closest firework. All of them began to sizzle and launched out of the mouth of the beast. Crane neatly leapt into the air, his wings opening as he took flight. All of the missiles seemed to close in on him.

But, moments before the blast, Crane seemed to do a backflip in mid-air, dodging each and every missile and also creating a beautiful firework show. The crowd cheered.

Mantis, Viper, and Monkey each went after Crane, in that order. Leo watched each of their performances. They did well, yes, but Leo, to be honest, did not believe they were meant to be the Dragon Warrior. The crowd certainly loved their performances. Their cheers only seemed to get louder as the Furious Five went on. Once Monkey's performance was finished, the crowd even threw confetti into the air.

"And finally, Master Tigress!" Shifu announced as the crowd finally hushed, "Believe me citizens, you have not seen anything yet!" He said enthusiastically. The crowd roared, eager to see the bengal tiger in action. Leo nodded to Tigress as she made her way to the center of the courtyard, "Master Tigress, face Iron Ox and his Blades of Death!"

The Iron Ox was similar to the wooden warriors they had in the training hall, except this one was built with iron armor and had axes for arms. Tigress fell into a battle stance. Leo felt a smile tug at his lips. This would be the grand finale.

But, before Tigress could make the first move, Master Oogway's eyes widened and he raised one of his hands. The crowd hushed and simultaneously fixed their gaze onto the tortoise.

"I sense the Dragon Warrior is among us..." He said mystically.

Leo's mane prickled. This was it. Shifu beckoned for all of the Five, including Tigress- who had not even made her move yet- to line up.

"Citizens of the Valley of Peace! Master Oogway will now choose the Dragon Warrior!" The crowd cheered as Shifu spoke. The drums began to pound as Oogway made his way to the stairs. The Five lined up, holding themselves high. Leo made brief eye contact with Tigress, and he smiled. He thought he saw her make a small smile, but she fixed her eyes forward and the smile fell.

Oogway descended down the stairs. Leo felt the adrenaline coursing through his veins. He had felt this same excitement when he and Tai Lung were taken to Oogway to be chosen. But this time it was for real. It would not be him, but it would be one of the Furious Five.

Master Oogway approached the Five. As Oogway lifted one of his hands, fireworks erupted outside the courtyard. Leo glanced up. It was certainly a spectacular display. The crowd ooo'd and aww'd at the firework show. Leo glanced back down.

Just as the great tortoise lifted his claw to Tigress, a crash erupted throughout the courtyard as something fell from the sky. The crowd gasped, and the Furious Five moved out of the way as whatever fell from the sky.

"What in the world just happened?" Leo demanded. Shifu shook his head- he had no clue what happened either.

Leo craned his neck to see what, or who, just crashed the party- literally. It was large. Very large. And round and- {My goodness..} Leo thought {It's a panda!} Leo's fur bristled. Where in China had that thing come from?!

As the panda slowly came to, Leo lashed his tail. Oogway was pointing at Tigress, and that panda was blocking the way.

"Oh! Ok! Sorry! I just wanted to see who the Dragon Warrior was!" The panda exclaimed from the courtyard.

"How interesting.." Oogway said, almost to himself.

"Master, are you point at.. me?" Tigress asked, gesturing to herself.

"Him." Oogway responded simply.

Leo's eyes widened and his tail lashed. The panda tried to move out of the way, but Oogway's finger followed him. Oogway took the panda's paw in his staff and raised it towards the sky,

"The Universe has brought us the Dragon Warrior!" Oogway proclaimed.

"What?!" Tigress yowled.

"What!?" Shifu and Leo gasped at the same time.

At that time, a pig to the right of Leo banged on a gong. Then, as if on cue, the crowd cheered wildly, their confusion from the moments before forgotten. The drums pounded and music began to play. Shifu pushed past Leo and snatched the mallet out of the pig's hoofs, scolding him. Shifu's ears were pinned back to his head in fury.

Leo leapt off of the platform straight onto the courtyard, ignoring the fact that he could have used the stairs. Leo approached the Furious Five, who were still reeling from the fact that a panda just got chosen over them. Leo glared at Oogway,

"What was that? You just chose a panda, a panda, as the Dragon Warrior! He is just a normal citizen!"

"Have faith, my friend. Every flower takes time to bloom."

A group of escorters grabbed the panda and placed him in a throne-like chair. The ducks were barely able to lift him, and even still the ducks had to move at a crawl, the panda was so big.

Shifu ran up to them, "Master Oogway, wait! That flabby panda can't possibly be the solution to..our problem!" He said, quietly enough so that only he, Leo, and Oogway could hear, "You were about to point at Tigress, and that thing fell in front of her! That was just an accident!" Shifu exclaimed, desperate to try and get one of his own students the title of Dragon Warrior.

"There are no accidents." Oogway said, matter-of-factly. Just as he said that, the throne that the panda was being carried in broke. Shifu glanced at that and looked back at Oogway, almost as if he expected him to justify his decision.

Oogway just shrugged. Several pigs ran up to help the ducks carry the panda. Leo sighed. Tigress approached him and Shifu,

"Forgive us, Master. We have failed you." She, as well as the rest of the Furious Five, bowed. Shifu held up one paw, looking back to them,

"No. If the panda has not left by morning," He said, turning to look at Leo and the Five, "then I will have failed you."

Leo's eyes widened. What was Shifu going to do to the panda? Leo closed his eyes and heaved a sigh, praying that Shifu showed at least some mercy on the creature. He then turned to address the Five,

"Come along, now. Let's go training." He said. Training was the best way to get your mind off an experience like this.

Authors Note: The Dragon Warrior has been chosen! I hope you guys enjoyed the story so far! Favorite the story if you like it! Follow the story if you want to know when more comes out! Review the story to give me ideas, feedback, and critiques! Reviews, follows and favorites are my best motivators for writing!