Oops, my bad. Po's dad is not going to get there at all. If you want to know why, keep reading. And a new secret will be revealed to Po about himself. It's gonna be AWESOME!

Also, I have been suffering from stupid writer's block. GRRR! But I managed to do it eventually. It took a couple of days.

I don't own Kung Fu Panda... DUH! You think? How could I possibly own Kung Fu Panda?!

Dragon Heart

Secrets of the Dragons

Chapter 21

The Power Of The Orbs

Po steps closer to the injured reptile.

Banshui's breathing gets louder as the panda gets closer to the old dragon that saved him. The dragon watches with one tired eye as he inches closer. The physical wounds covering the dragon inflict emotional wounds to Po. He stops walking a few meters from the dragon's large head. His head could fill up an entire tent.

The dragon looks Po in the eye. His voice comes out in a weak whisper. "Yen." Then he coughs, causing his neck more pain. "Yen, I'm... I'm sorry."

Po looks a little surprised that Banshui knows his name, but then he just gives the dragon a sad look. "For what?"

"I-I thought that I was strong enough. I was sure I could beat him. But I have failed again."

Po smiles sadly. "Hey, you did what you could, right?"

"I was only trying to protect you. I couldn't stand the thought of losing you again. You are all the family I have."

Po's looks at the dragon completely shocked. "What?" Then he realizes who the dragon is. "Dad?"

Banshui can't lift his head off the ground to nod. His eyes just shift away and look at the ground. "Yes. I have wanted to tell you this for sometime now. I think it's time I told you the truth."

Po is not so sure that Banshui will have enough time. But dragons can lose more blood than any other animal and still be alive for a while.

Siwang reaches the top of the cliff, and lands close to the edge. He walks towards what is left of the temple, which is some of the main floor. As he walks, he keeps his neck stretched out horizontally. Actually, all dragons do this, in order to stay balanced and keep walking in the direction they want to go. It is also handy for checking around corners. Their necks are only stretched up if they want a better look at their surroundings.

Siwang runs at the main door and hits it with his head. The doors come off of their hinges. He enters the temple with his wings tucked in so he can fit through the door. He looks around. He moves to the center of the main hall. He looks down at the ground and stomps on the ground. It sounds hollow.

He smiles and starts swinging his forelimbs down on the ground, leaving many cracks.

Then Banshui begins his story. "Listen, my name is not Hun Yao. I am really Banshui, the... the Royal Dragon, the leader of the Dragon Guardians." He sees Po's eyes widen. "I had fought with Siwang hundreds of years ago. He killed all of the other Guardians, and I was the only survivor."

He sighs. "I knew I couldn't defeat him again, so I went into hiding. As you know, I hid as a panda named Hun Yao. But he wouldn't give up. He was so hell-bent on getting the Orb's power that he had destroyed many villages, not just ours."

"Wait. What orb? What power?"

Banshui groans in pain and then looks back at his son. "The Dragon Orb. It contains the ultimate dragon power. I have kept it safe for thousands of years. Siwang has been after it since he learned of its power, but I refused to give it to him."

"Why? Who is the Orb for?"

Banshui smiles weakly. "You know Siwang's staff, and my dragon pin? Items like those were made for the Dragon Guardians. They stored their power within them. But the power I stored in the Orb was meant for one dragon... Wangzi, the Dragon Prince."

Po looks interested. "The Dragon Prince?" he whispers to himself.

"The Dragon Prince is the only one who will be able to harness the power of the Dragon Orb, making him more powerful than any other dragon. And he would be the only one to destroy the Dragon of Death. Son, you should know that Yen isn't your real name, and neither is Po."

The panda had already figured those weren't his real names. He starts to suspect what the old dragon is about to say.

"Your true name... is Wangzi. You are the Dragon Prince. You are the only one who can defeat Siwang."

Po looks at his father with disbelief. "How? I'm not a dragon. I don't have powers like you."

"No, not yet. But you will, and your powers will be greater then mine."

Siwang smashes more of the ground until the hole is large enough that he could squeeze through it. He enters the area under the floor. He looks around for something.

With his head still down, Banshui's eyes look up towards the sky, and Po does the same. Then a bright light shines from one spot in the air. It's not in the sky. It is actually a few meters above them. The light gets brighter and brighter, but starts to dim, forming just a ball of light. It slowly floats down in front of Po. The panda looks at the ball of light confused.

"Wangzi, this is the Dragon Orb. When you take it, you will earn your dragon power."

Po looks astonished. "Wait, how will I know how to use my power?"

Banshui coughs and groans. "You will know."

Siwang walks down a tunnel, and as he nears the end, he can hear the crackling of electricity.

He looks at a dark orb, glowing in a mixture of black and purple. The white dragon steps closer, with an evil smile on his face. He stands right in front of it. The dark light from the orb seems to show on his face.

Then Po and his dad hear a loud roar from the direction of the temple. Po looks towards it, and Banshui struggles to turn his body part way, to avoid worse pain from turning his neck too far. He looks at the cliff Siwang went to and suddenly, the white dragon flies up into the air with large chunks of the temple literally following him into the air.

Siwang lets out an evil laugh as he spins around while flying straight up. Then he stops in the air and hovers in one place. His wings stop flapping as he spreads them out, keeping himself in the air, and wind starts to blow throughout the city. The objects that had followed him into the air are now flying in circles around him. A dark cloud starts to form above the city, and it gets bigger.

Banshui manages to stand on his wobbly legs, and look up at the cloud. He ignores the pain he feels, and his eyes widen in utter shock. "No!" he whispers.

Po looks at him confused. "What's going on?!" He covers his face from the strong wind.

The old dragon looks at his son. He groans painfully. "Wangzi, you must take the Orb!"

"What? What is it, dad?!"

"He has found the Shadow Orb!"

"What?!" Po is surprised. He never heard of this before.

"The evil orb that creates destruction! He will use it to tear the planet apart. This is what I was trying to prevent!"

"I never heard about this 'Shadow Orb' before!"

"I stored the worst of his powers away in that orb and I hid it. Oogway assured me it was safe. But now..." He sighs.

Po looks terrified as he looks at Banshui. The old dragon can still hardly stay on his feet, and blood is still pouring out of his wounds. He tries to walk to his son, but the pain returns and he falls onto his stomach again.

"Wangzi, take the Dragon Orb! Use its power against him!" He knocks a tree branch out of the air with his damaged wing.

"I don't know if I can!"

The ground starts to break and split apart, and even float up into the air. Trees in the forest are being lifted up, the roots being yanked straight out of the ground.

Master Shifu and the other warriors are still standing against the wind. Tigress' eyes are open slightly as she looks around at what's going on. Monkey is covering her wound to keep dirt and all that from getting in. Many trees around them are being pulled out of the ground, and they can see Po and the injured Royal Dragon in the distance. But they do not yet know who he is.

But they will see who Po is.

The Royal Dragon glares at his son. "Son, take the Orb now!" He coughs.

Po still looks completely terrified. "Well, I've never had to deal with anything like this before!" He points at the evil dragon. "I don't know what to do!"

"You will know when you take it! Trust me!"

"How do you know I will even make it back alive?!"

Banshui is about to say something, but he can't. He is not sure if his son will survive. But he has to try; otherwise Siwang will destroy everything anyway. Then he gives Po a reassuring smile.

"You will, my son. You just need to have courage. You have the strength to do this. You have to. I cannot fight him anymore. I'm afraid you are on your own, but I believe you can do this. Please, just have courage."

Po stares at his dad, still scared, but he nods. "Okay, Dad."

"Take the Dragon Orb, Wangzi, and use the power you were born to use. Remember, my son, remember who you are." He gives a confident smile.

"You are the Dragon Prince."

Wow, that is pretty awesome, huh? Po is the Dragon Prince. He has finally found out who he truly is. Now, he has to take the Dragon Orb and become the dragon who was to defeat the ultimate evil. I will tell more stories about Siwang in my next story.

Wangzi = Prince