A Panda's Legend

The GREATEST warrior of all time traveled across the land in his perpetual search for enemies worthy of his greatness. He was tall and strong, built like a fortress - the kind of guy girls couldn't help but fall in love with at first glance. He carried the legendary Sword of Legend that he himself crafted as well as a rice hat that made him look SO COOL and that he built in the rarest bamboo China had to offer.

An army of 10,000 bandits was spreading before him, ready to kill and end his legend. This would ALMOST be a challenge for the warrior. But of course, he wasn't alone against this. Behind him stood the greatest group of warriors of all time: the Furious Five! Master Tigress and her unbreakable arms of steel that could destroy anything! Master Viper who possessed the poison descending from the dragons' fire and could kill or cure anything! Master Crane, the greatest sky fighter of all time! Master Monkey, the unpredictable warrior who could get out of any situation! And Master Mantis, the fastest bug alive!

"There's too many of them, Master!" Tigress said. "What shall we do?"

The warrior placed his paw on the feline's shoulder. "Don't worry, Master Tigress. I know we can do it. I believe in you." He then turned to look at his friends. "I believe in all of us! When we work together, nothing can stop us!"

"He's right!" Master Crane said. "We can do this!"

The warrior turned around and, with a swing of his swords, knocked away at least 1/5 of the army. Pushing a battle cry, he charged into battle with his trusty teammates behind him, ready to save China-

"Po? Wake up!" The warrior stopped and turned to see Master Tigress talking with the voice of a man. "You're gonna be late for work!"

"... What?!"

#

Po shook his head and groaned as he came back to the real world. He yawned and rubbed his eyes a bit, clicking his tongue as a taste of iron invaded his mouth. He then dragged his gaze across his little bedroom. Posters of famous Kung Fu Masters - mostly the Furious Five - decorated his walls along with some paintings of vilains with ninja stars planted in them. Right beside the deck on which was lying his computer stood a shelf with many action figures of his favorite heroes. The very top was reserved for the figurines of the Furious Five he himself crafted. His biggest treasure.

Well, actually, his SECOND biggest treasure.

The number one was lying right next to his bed. And he reached to pick it up and place it on his head. The rice hat that was given to him by Grandmaster Oogway in person when he was a cub. He could still remember the day the old tortoise came to his father's noodle shop for a little dinner with Master Shifu. How he brought them their meal, had a chat with them about Kung Fu. And then, when they left, Po declared he would become a Kung Fu master which made the old tortoise chuckle and give him his rice hat. He has held on to this precious item ever since.

"Po!" his father called him again from downstairs. "Are you coming? I need you in the kitchen!"

"Coming, Dad!" Po replied, quickly getting out of his bed and making his way toward his room's door. He made it out in the hallway before making his way down the stairs leading to the first floor which served as the kitchen. On his way down, the panda stumbled a bit and found himself falling down the stairs until he ended at the bottom, his chin on the floor.

"Po!" Mr. Ping called again.

"Coming! Coming!" Po pulled himself back up and ran into the kitchen. His father was already busy chopping the vegetables on the kitchen's counter, which gave them a good view inthe restaurant itself. Customers were sitting at the many tables, enjoying the meals that were served to them, mostly bean buns, steaming dumplings, and bowls of Mr. Ping's famous Secret Ingredient Noodle Soup. A sight that always made the father and his son feel happy. "Sorry for being late."

"Apologizes won't boil our noodles," Mr. Ping responded with pointing a wing toward the noodle soup that was boiling in a pot over the fire. Getting his cue, Po walked over to it and started pouring the soup into a few bowls. "What took you so long?"

"I was making a dream."

"Was it the one where you eat a whole mountain of noodles?"

"No; the one where I turn into a... great cook and made all the food in the world at the same time." Po wanted to tell his father about his true dream... but knew he couldn't. Mr. Ping trained Po his whole life to become a great cook and take over their restaurant, Mr. Ping's Noodle Shop, when the time would come. The old goose knew about Po's love for Kung Fu, but didn't expect him to actually train into it one day. As much as Po wanted, he also wanted to respect his father's wishes and would become a cook.

Po spent most of the morning serving food to the customers while his father prepared the meals. The part of the Valley of Peace where they lived had a good amount of inhabitants and thanks to their restaurant's popularity, they managed to make a lot of money every day. Mr. Ping always said that if things continued like this, in a year or two, he will maybe have enough money to take his retreat.

"Po!" the goose called his son after he finished bringing some food to some customers. "I have a command from Mr. Tang that needs to be delivered right now. Can you take care of it, please?"

"Okay, dad!" After finishing with giving the food to the customers, Po returned inside the shop, grabbed the special delivery food, and then walked to the shop's back so that he could grab his bicycle. Placing the delivery on the back, the panda walked out in the street and started rolling away. It took him a moment before getting his balance because Po wasn't that much of a sportsman.

As he rolled through the streets, Po looked around at the Valley of Peace's landscape. The sad thing was that this city was famous for having many Kung Fu schools and Dojos, some of which were considered the best in the country. Like Grandmaster Oogway's Jade Palace or Master Shujinko's Frog Dojo. So many places to learn Kung Fu in one city... and yet, Po couldn't subscribe to any of them.

Not that they would ever accept a fat panda like him anyways...

After around fifteen minutes, Po made it to Mr. Tang's house and knocked at the house's door. The black goose came out and gave Po the right amount of money for the delivery with a smile. "Thanks for the delivery, Po," he said.

"You're welcome. I hope you enjoy your meal, Mr. Tang."

"Thank you. Have a nice day, Po," he said before closing the door.

Po turned around to grab his bicycle and was ready to return home. However, before he could, the panda noticed a nearby set of stairs that were very long. Slowly rising his gaze up, Po saw that at the very top of those stairs stood the Jade Palace in all its glory. He then felt something. Something in his guts telling him to climb the stairs up and go see if he could meet the masters of the Jade Palace, see if they could teach him one or two things. His father would probably be disappointed that his son loved Kung Fu more than noodles... but what he didn't know couldn't hurt him, right?

Grinning to himself, Po approached the endless steps and started his ascension toward the Jade Palace...