My first solo KFP fanfiction.

This is a story about the tides of fate affecting Po and the ones around him in a new, unforeseen direction than canon. His actions following these changing tides will affect the world around him as well as his future friends. And it all starts when he meets an evil owl...who isn't as evil as she thinks she is.

This is an AU story that explores that possibility of said events. And the journies that follow after that. Where some of the main character's backstory is slightly darker than canon, with the payoff of even deeper friendships when understanding sinks in. I'll sum up a major theme of this story with a simple word. "Outcast".

This is that kind of story. Called "Tales Of China". Was gonna call it the "Tales Of Po" but that's already an online game. *Sweatdrop* Dang it. Oh well. I'll just get it started and see how it goes.

But first, something very important. I don't own Kung Fu Panda. Like...at ALL. It belongs to Dreamworks, and them alone.(This part wasn't too necessary, but I felt like I had to.)

Let's begin!

Po is always a cub who likes to do a little exploring. He's always been an adventurous little panda, despite his physique not really helping in that endeavor. As one would not often expect, he had a lot of energy to go around running and playing like the innocent cub he is. To himself and his loving goose father, Mr. Ping, he was just a young cub who wanted to have some fun, eat lots of food, and make many friends.

...the last one was his only huge problem.

Po, as often as one would misunderstand because he tends to smile a lot. Because behind that smile is that of an extremely lonely child. His very identity is a very difficult concept to understand. In this part of China, no one even knows what a panda is. As such, when someone knows very little about something, they often choose between simply interacting with said subject, or rejecting it with very little reasoning behind it.

Unfortunately, Po is subjected to the latter.

See, Po lives in the Valley Of Peace. And in the Valley Of Peace, it's mostly populated by rabbits, pigs, geese, and the occasional buffalo. Special exceptions are the Grand Master Oogway and his prized student, Master Shifu. Anyone else will not be greeted very cheerfully, due to it's tendency to fear the unknown. It's because usually the unknown that usually ends up nearly destroying the Valley numerous times, be it a supernatural tendency, a bandit infestation, or a Kung Fu Master turned evil beyond redemption.

So when someone sees someone they do not recognize nor understand, they tend to get rather paranoid. Ironic that so many bad things have happened to the Valley Of Peace, that the paranoia of the next event hangs over everyone's heads.

It's an unfair disadvantage on Po when it comes to trying to make friends. Because being a regular panda, which again, has not been seen before in this part of China, he is naturally...chubby. At least that's what he afffectionately calls it. But faye has pulled the "Children are Cruel" card on him, which led to various reactions. He has been repeatedly been called fat and lazy so many times that it has become numb to him. He's also been called a waste of needed space, which was slightly more hurtful than either of them. They refused to play with him, no matyer how many times he has constantly begged for it. Then they started being even more coldhearted.

They just started pretending he wasn't there at all. Pretend that the 'annoying nuisance' is gone, then eventually he'll go away. That's what they thought, no doubt about it. The cub was more emotionally hurt by this than he thought he was, because he became even more downtrodden than ever, not to mention being an extremely harsh blow to his already low self-confidence.

But the extremely bad situation was his father. No, not like that. Mr. Ping would NEVER treat his son like that. He knows that he loves his son, mistaking that is absolutely impossible. The main problem was the time. Even before Mr. Ping took him in when he mysteriously appeared in that alley in a crate of radishes as a helpless baby, he was already on a low point of his business. His shop is usually wrecked by bandits,some customers aren't very grateful, and he has little money to pay to keep the place he's in standing, even less to take care of a child, especially a panda child. He was too poor to do something like that, especially with the first problem being the most persistent, no matter what he did.

It's the fact that Mr. Ping took him ANYWAY, that made Po feel guilty. Mr. Ping could be doing so much more if he hadn't taken in Po and just focused on his business. Mr. Ping also feels incredibly guilty for not having enough time to spend with his adopted son, because he was too busy trying to provide for the both of them. He had the choice of closing down his shop and not being above to provide for Po, or keep the shop open and keep Po taken care of, while having little time for bonding. The choice was very aggravating, mostly making him angry at himself for not being able to do better. But he chose the latter.

It didn't stop there. Back towards the 'Children Are Cruel', theme. Po ususally came home with numerous bruises alp over his body, and he was forced to lie to Mr. Ping about how he got them, which should be obvious. But even then, Po could only smile through the pain. Mr. Ping had enough to worry about. This was one of the sure times that he truly cared for Po, and that was enough for the panda. He didn't want to be more of a burden than he already was for Mr. Ping. All he wanted to know was that he cared, he never asked for anything special, because he feared how the goose would pay for it, and not with money.

...Po was only 7 years old at this time. And he smiled through all the pain he endures. Must have gotten it from his father, because he does the same thing. They smile through their pain, because being negative all the time was definitely not going to make things better.

Fortunately for Po things WILL get better...just not in a traditional way. While it does have some positive moments, that's not until the second half of the event. The first half...would not be very pretty.

(Late In the Afternoon)

"I at least got some awesome dumplings on my way here." Po said quietly, as he was walking through the snow, his red scarf flowing in the blurry wind. Winter has come around, and things were quite cold. His father was sleeping away, and he did not want to disturb him. So he just took the time to get out and explore like he always does. And he's going to do it solo. It's not like he had anyone else to spend time with anyway, as well as not being very sleepy anyway. So he just shrugged it off and left the area.

He was definitely in the mood for exploring outside the Valley, because he surely wasn't going to walk around and allow late-night kids to antagonize him as well. Avoiding that was a must. Another good thing about this that Mr. Ping was already aware of Po's tendency to venture off randomly, and he always came back safely. So he thought that he didn't have a lot to worry about. Though he had no idea that this time was very different. For a long while, Po felt like something was watching him, from all the blurred snow and darkness. And it was not making him feel comfortable that he could not see who was causing it, every time he tried looking over his shoulder to try and find whoever was hunting him down. It was starting to give him too many chills, and the snow had nothing to do with it.

"Okay, ignore it. Ignore it. Ignore the bad feeling. Stay calm, Po. Stay cool..." He kept whispering to himself as he squinted his eyes really tight as he kept walking. When the feeling did not go away, he began to feel scared. Still being a very young cub, as well as not being used to a situation like this. Sure, his usual bullies kind of corner him once in a while, but he never felt like this. He felt like he was being hunted down by someone.

So by sheer instinct, he just began running off as fast as he could. And he was right to do so, because seconds after he begam running, something was already chasing him down. He could hear them now, chasing him relentlessly. This only fueled him to run even faster. And in response, the footsteps behind him began getting much faster as well. His paranoia now taking control of him full force, he began running even faster while his eyes were now shut even tighter while his red scarf was flowing with the snowy wind.

"Ah man! Why?! Who's chasing me?! Please leave me alone!" He shouted out to his pursuers, though he could see that his words were not worth a lot, given that he could still hear them chasing him. It was clear that they would not listen. So Po could only continue to run, in fear of what happens if he doesn't. Unknowing to him or his pursuers, they running so far away that they were surprised, including Po himself that he was able to run for this long. And more sothat the place the were running to, was supposed to be off-limits, and for a very good reason.

Po was not always good at running, but even he has found this feat rather amazing, running for miles to keep himselfaway from whoever is chasing him down, as the snow got even worse. But soon, he had to slow down, and that would be his biggest blunder, as he tripped and crashed into the ground. "Ow...my arm..." He groaned, rubbing his sore limb, while he looked up in disbelief. They outright REFUSED to give up! To be fair, he didn't really feel like giving up either, but now his body was too exhuasted to carry on that will. He wasn't grown, like his pursuers were. But now he could at least see who they were.

"Well well...you were able to run quite a distance were ya...cub...?" He was able to fully identify the people who were chasing him. Though he didn't get much of a chance to respond, a hard blow to the head knocks him unconscious.

He didn't know how long he was out, but due to the coldness and the cold steel of a cage. He opened his eyes and looked up in a fit of fear. This was not the way he wanted his afternoon to turn out. What was going on here?

"I'm actually surprised that the tike managed to run so far. He sure is a lively one, that much can be said." There were three of these guys. There was a wolf, a boar, and a croc, and all have clothes that would belong to a rogue. And they all seemed very shady. "He's surely gonna be worth a lot, being a panda and all."

"Yeah, who knew that there was one all the way out here?"

"He put up one heck of a chase...but we got him in the end. And all we had to do was wait for him to stray away from thr Valley far enough so that no one would come for him. Tch, not like anyone would anyway. Have you seen how they treated that kid?"

"Sure have. It's like he never really belonged there, to him. Idiots really couldn't accept one little panda while they already have thousands of rabbits, pigs, and geese. Pfft, whatever. More profit for us."

Po suddenly realized the gravity if his situation. He didn't understand his situation very well, but he could just feel that this was very bad. And that if he doesn't escape, he won't ever see his father again. He began banging on the cage desparately in an attempt to break it open. Though with his freezing paws and weakened form, this was clearly very painful. But he had to try. "Let me go! Let me out of here!"

"Sorry kid, that's not happening." The croc shrugged it off. This only made Po more upset.

"Let. Me. GO!" He shouted in anger as he ran against the cage and rammed it as hard as he could. The boar, the one carrying the cage, yelped in surprise. The trio underestimated the small cubs strength, as the tackle was hard enough to knock the cage out of his handc sending Po crashing along the side of the mountain path they were crossing.

"Crap, he seriously sent himself flying off the side of the mountain!" The wolf shouted. "Don't lose him!

Po was crashing along the side of the mountain of snow, where his cage was battered and busted, until it finally sprung open and he landed on the cold ground, where he screeched. A high voltage of pain shot up his left arm. He looked at it, and could feel nothing but pain high enough to send him into tears. But he did not stop, as he got up again and tried to limp away from the destroyed cage. He was certain he was not going to get very far, but he wasn't going to give in so easily. He had to get back to his father. He HAD to.

...but how was he going to do that? He had no clear idea of where he was, he was injured, not to mention very hungry. He also felt like he was freezing to death. He knew that he liked to venture out, but at his current agec this was too much.

"Dad..." He said quietly, holding his limp arm. He could also feel that his forehead was bleeding. "D-Dad...I'm...I'm lost..." He dropped to his knees...then he fell forward in exhaustion. "Someone...anyone...please...help me...someone please..."

The wolf, boar, and croc could be seen on a cliff, and they clearly saw that he was close to losing consciousness. "Good. He's losing consciousness. That way he'll be easy to nab." The wolf said, with his companions nodding in agreement. They truly had no care for Po's condition as long as he stayed alive. "Now we just gotta-"

"Your poachers are nothing but despicable scum." A low, feminine voice said, with a tone of annoyance etched into every word. "I'm not a big fan of children, either. But not liking them, and actively harming them are two entirely different things. In fact, harming a defenseless child for no reason is one way to get on my bad side."

All their blood ran cold as they could feel the menacing aura behind them. They really hoped that the voice they hear isn't who they think it is. Though the croc was forced to check anyway, his already cold blood got even colder. "N-No way...we screwed up big time..."

"We passed by HER side of the mountain by mistake?!" The boar shouted in exasperation. They were all looking towards the winged shadow in terror. They see it raise one wing and suddenly the feathers looked a lot sharper.

"Another way...is to wake me up from my beauty sleep. If somehow managed to WILLINGLY do both simultaneously...well, I suggest you three goodbye to your lives."

The wolf whimpered. "...Goodbye life."

"SHUT UP YOU FOOL!" The boar and croc shouted at him.

Po seriously could not tell what was going on. All he could hear was three cries of agony...and then nothing after that. He tried to lift his head to see what was going on. Though instead of three people out to get him, he could only see one now.

He was not entirely sure who was standing before him. But he could see that he waa facing it's back. Therr was a purple blue robe with gold trimming, he could tell that much. The talons were sharp, and the wings were tucked in. Who was this person...?

"Pfft, what a bunch of cowards. I gave them one simple cut and they take off running. Idiots." He could her this person, and by the sound of her voice, she must be very irritated, since she was woken up in quite an unexpected way. Then, to his surprise she turned around to face him, so he could see her better. Judging by the makeup, eyelashes, and a bit of lumpyness from the chest(He thinks his father called this a 'bust') he was able to tell that this person was a woman.

Her eyes...he didn't know what to think of them. A simple description would be that they were yellow with blue irises. They looked distant, that much was certain. But while they did look like that, Po could sense another emotion emitting off of those eyes staring into his own. It felt like...

...relief?

"Boy. Are you alright?" She said in a forceful, yet also careful tone. She didn't want to needlessly scare him. But then her eyes widened when she got a closer look at Po. "A...a...a p-panda...? Here? But how...?"

Po could only close his eyes and lose complete consciousness. "You're...an...owl..."

She heard him say those words before he passed out. She could feel the icy winds getting a bit more violent, and she sighed. "Blast it...I need to get him out of this wind. When he awakes, we'll have a talk." With this in mnd, she carefully picks the cub up in her wings, and carried him back to her cave, where they would be sheltered against the feircw snow in the Northern Mountains. Where she has been living in isolation for many years.

Until now. Neither of them knew just how significant this encounter really is...

So...? What do you think of it? Be honest with me, I can take it! *brave face*

For real though, feedback will help me quite a lot. So please, do review.

Bye, for now.