Saying that Po's first day at the Jade Palace was a complete disaster would be an understanding. By the time he woke up, it was way past 7 a.m. on his clock, the hour Master Shifu CLEARLY said in his answer scroll training sessions began. Panic taking over his heart, the panda dashed out of his bed, struggling to get his bedsheet that got stuck on him off, and then tried to pull on his robes and pants as fast as he could. In his rush, he failed to pull them correctly and managed to do so only after three attempts.
"Holy dumpling! Holy dumpling! Master Shifu's gonna kill me!" Po panicked as he darted out of his bedroom just in time to meet Zeng in the students' barracks' hallway.
"Po! Where have you been?!" the little goose asked with a look mixing shock and disappointment. "Training has started over one hour ago! Master Shifu is gonna be furious!"
"I know! That's why I need to get there before it's too late! Where are they?"
Zeng pointed his feather in a direction. "They're at the Training Hall just behind the training courtyard you saw last night. Now, stop wasting time and run for your life!" He didn't have to ask it twice as Po darted out of the students' barracks as if his life depended on it...
###
Po emerged into the training courtyard of the Jade Palace and wasted no time breaking through the doors of the building at the far end. There, the young panda stood frozen, watching possibly the most amazing display of martial arts he ever got to witness. The Furious Five were going through what looked like a very dangerous obstacle course, doing nothing short of impressive maneuvers to avoid potential death.
Master Monkey swiftly hoped from one ring decorated with sharp blades to the other. His primate agility allowed him to grab onto the circular material with either his limbs or tail without getting cut. At one point, he even managed to pass in one ring's middle without touching it. Master Crane gracefully flew around the room, avoiding arrows shot by palace staff standing on the higher levels of the room. He landed on what looked like a giant bowl's edge, deflecting the deadly projectiles with his wings and taking a stance of assurance.
Right behind the waterfowl, a green blur was darting through a field of wooden training dummies with sets of limbs that span in circular motions. Po could easily tell it was Master Mantis as no one else would be able to move so quickly... while being green. Then, at the far end of the room was Master Viper who slithered her way across a square-shaped zone where jets of flame burst from the ground. Her serpentine body allowed her to avoid them all with swiftness and agility.
There was only one missing; where was Master Tigress? Po got the answer when he heard a little roar followed by an orange figure coming out of nowhere to land on spinning spiral-shaped boards right near the hall's entrance. She remained on the move while keeping her balance with surprising ease, also avoiding the spiked clubs that were swinging from the ceiling. At one point, Po saw her glancing in his direction right before smashing a club to pieces with a double palm strike, sending a piece of it right in his face.
"Ouch!" he exclaimed, rubbing his poor face in pain. Did she do that on purpose?
"Glad to see you finally decided to join us for training, panda." Po's heart skipped a beat when he realized Master Shifu was standing right beside him, staring casually at his students.
"W-What? How, when, why-"
"I have a more important question for you. Why are you so late?" The red panda asked, rising his gaze up toward his new student. "Did you think you could sleep in because it's your first day here at the Jade Palace?"
"N-No, Master! It's just... Back in Gongmen, I was used to waking up at eight o'clock in the morning and not one hour earlier. Plus, I went to bed very late last night, so my body just needed a little more rest."
"Right." Shifu rose an eyebrow. "I suppose you think I should just ignore this mistake and allow you to start training as if nothing happened?"
"... Yes?"
A loud sigh escaped the master's mouth. "Very well, I'm willing to let it slide this time since it is your first time... But should it happen ever again, I will not be so clement. Now follow me."
Po felt relief filling in as he narrowly avoided a terrible punishment and followed his little master further into the Training Hall. As he did so, the young panda couldn't prevent himself from staring at his five heroes going through their training. He hoped that he would get to be so awesome one of these days.
"There," Shifu suddenly said once they arrived before what looked like a training dummy designed to look like a bandit. "We're going to start with this. Show me what you can do, panda."
"Yes, Master." Excitation rushed through Po's veins at the prospect of showing off his skills to an actual Kung Fu Master. So, taking a basic stance, he started hitting the dummy with his quick and strong attacks, making combos with both. The dummy bounced back and forth with each strike, sometimes hitting against Po's tummy in the process.
"Suffice, I've seen enough," Master Shifu called after a moment, rising a paw the same way he did the night before.
"So? How was it? I was totally awesome, right?" Po asked and started mimicking the moves he did moments ago. "Yeah, I've been practicing the basics of Kung Fu for many years! Like, there's no more secrets to even the most basic of the basics with Kung Fu, so I-"
"You are sloppy."
Po stopped dead in his little excitation rush, his body freezing on the spot and his jade-green eyes blinking many times before staring at the little master. "... Hum, what?"
"I said you are sloppy, panda," Master Shifu repeated once again with a stern expression. "While your attacks are pretty strong, you lack technique and strategy. A Kung Fu master needs style and technique; not just the ability to punch and kick."
"What? B-But I thought basic attacks were, like, super useful in battle. That's why I upgraded them all the way to level three!" Po exclaimed in disbelief.
Master Shifu's blue eyes blinked multiple times, the red panda's facial features twisted by confusion. "Level three? What are you talking about?"
Oh, no. Po realized the mistake he just made. Neither Shifu nor anybody else outside his mother knew about his Chi powers! Would the red panda believe him if he said he could see video game screens that held all the information about his skills and attributes? It sounded like the fantasy of a young gamer boy. "Hum... I meant... Level three because... if I was to rank my attacks' awesomeness level on a scale of one to five, they would be three! Eh, eh!"
"Hum... Very well," Shifu replied with an unsure expression. "So, as I was saying, while your attacks are indeed strong, they are ultimately useless if you cannot develop a style and technique based on them." He rose an arm in the direction of where the Furious Five were training. "As you can see, while each of the Furious Five possesses a solid offensive, it's their unique style that makes them strong."
He pointed toward Master Tigress who kept jumping on the rolling boards while smashing and avoiding the spiked clubs. "Master Tigress is powerful, strong, firm, and aggressive. The intense training she went through gave her a great physical endurance and tolerance to pain. In other words, she possesses tremendous power and knows how to control it."
The red panda next designed Master Crane who flew through the air, still avoiding the arrows shot at him. "Master Crane's style is based on aerial skills. By tradition, the Fujian White Crane Style of Kung Fu - also known as Bái Hè Quán - is natural, graceful, effortless, fluid, and balanced. Instead of using his beak as normal cranes usually do for self-defense, Crane relies on his air kinetic and sweeping movements designed to exploit his wingspan for combat."
Both pandas turned their attention to the little green bug who was still darting through the swinging wooden clubs without a scratch. "As you can see, Master Mantis' style relies mostly on speed and precision. He always tries to take his opponents out before they can even have a chance to counterattack. In addition, his small size that makes him near invisible and his strength that can match even Tigress' make him a bigger threat than one can think."
Then, there was Master Viper who didn't seem tired to avoid the fire jets that nearly burnt her scales. "A lot of people would be quick to point at Master Viper's lack of limbs as a weakness, but it is actually what makes her so special. A long and slender body like hers is difficult to hit, and she always used her ability to contort into any shape alongside her sneakiness to compensate for her lack of venom."
"Yeah, I heard that she was the only member of the Viper Clan to not have fangs with which to use venom," Po pointed out.
"Indeed. And, finally, Master Monkey," Shifu concluded with designing the golden-furred primate who kept playing with the bladed rings. "Before coming to the Jade Palace, he was a prankster who liked to take out his opponents' pants. While this may seem childish and immature, it helped him to develop a unique, unpredictable style that always leaves his adversaries in the unknown. Being acrobatic and playful, one can have a very hard time breaking through Monkey's strategy."
"Okay..."
"You see? All of your comrades' styles is what makes them fearful as Kung Fu masters. Now, tell me, what do you possess that can give you a unique style in Kung Fu outside your basic attacks?" Master Shifu asked his student.
Po rubbed his chin. This was a good question. He could give good punches and kicks and also had unlocked his Chi which in itself worked like an RPG video game progress system... but what did he have outside all of this? The cooking skills he developed from working with his mother in the kitchen? Nah, it wouldn't be helpful in battle. His gaming skills? Yeah, he could ask the bad guys to sit down and play with him. His history knowledge? Maybe trying to bore his opponents to sleep with history lessons would work?
Tigress' strength, Crane's aerial skills, Viper's sneakiness, Mantis' speed, Monkey's acrobatics... Instinctively, Po's gaze zeroed down toward his chubby stomach. "I have a big belly?" he suggested with poking at his body part that bounced a bit in response.
"Indeed," Shifu confirmed. "Many generations ago, the people of Panda Valley developed what is today one of the twelve Kung Fu styles. This peculiar style requires a strong belly defense that can be used both to parry and to attack. This is what we will be working on."
"Really? How?"
"For now, just try to hit the dummy with your stomach; we'll see where to go on from there afterwards." After giving his instructions, Master Shifu turned around and walked away, going to check on his other students.
Po was now left alone. He turned to stare at the dummy and blinked his green eyes a few times. "Alright, dummy, time to discover another one of my awesome tricks. You've seen what I can do with my fists and feet, but now, you'll see all the awesomeness of my stomach!" he declared, moving around with energy and talking to the dummy as if he was in an actual fight. "Get ready to feel the thunda!"
The young panda leaned forward, pressing both his butt cheeks together, and sucking his potbelly in as far as he could. Then, he released everything, hitting the dummy with his belly full force. The dummy collided with the wooden wall of the room, bouncing back in front of the panda and wiggling a bit before coming to a full stop.
"Wow! Master Shifu was right! You are a very useful weapon, buddy!" Po said with patting his jiggling stomach in amusement in excitation.
"You call this a strike? Please, I've seen kids hitting harder than this."
Po froze upon hearing this firm woman voice. Slowly turning around, he found himself staring into a pair of intimidating and flamboyant amber eyes. Master Tigress's facial features were twisted to give a look of disapprobation and annoyance, both her paws on her hips. "M-Master Tigress?"
"Just because your belly is big and can shove a dummy doesn't make it strong. Look." Walking over to the dummy, she pulled both of her paws at her side and brought them back as far as she could. Then, she launched them forward for her signature double palm strike, sending the dummy crashing not only against the wall, but directly THROUGH it.
"... Woooow!" Po mumbled, gaping at the newly created hole in the wall.
"THIS is a strike," the feline declared, bringing her paws back at their respective side. "If you want a chance to earn the title of master one day, you better learn how to hit hard like this." As she turned around and walked away, returning to her training, Po blinked his eyes while staring in the feline's direction.
"... Did Master Tigress just gave me an advice?"
"Stop what you're doing, students! You may now leave and have your lunch break. The training session will resume in half an hour."
Po could not think of other words that could have brought him more joy at this moment. After hitting a dummy and doing physical exercise for hours, his body begged for a break and his stomach for food. As the Furious Five left the training space and started leaving, he gave a quick look in his status menu to see that his quick and strong attacks were getting very close to reach level 4. And with all those efforts, his strength and endurance would probably grow in level too.
"Not so fast, panda," Master Shifu mysteriously stopped Po before he could leave alongside his comrades. "You will have to do a hundred push-ups before joining us for launch."
The young panda's heart skipped a beat. "A-A hundred?! W-Why?!"
"Because, while your comrades were working hard improving their skills right here, you were sleeping comfortably in your bed. It's only fair that you make up for it by furnishing the same amount of efforts as they did before the end of the day."
"B-But I thought you said you forgave me for it earlier!" Po protested. He then felt a hand touching his shoulder and turned to see Master Monkey staring at him.
"Dude, this is him being forgiving. Trust me; he can be a lot more cruel when he wants to," the simian assured, patting his comrade's shoulder and walking away to join his friends.
Po opened his mouth... before closing it again and sighing in defeat. He did say last night that he was ready to face hardships and always push his limits farther. As much as he hated this task, there was no way around it...
"Master Shifu! Master Shifu!"
Just as everyone except Po was about to leave the training courtyard, Zeng arrived, crashing down on the ground in a hurried rush. His dark feathers were all ruffled up, and he seemed to be short on breath. It almost looked like there was a monster coming after him, and he wanted to be protected by the masters.
"Zeng! What's wrong?" Master Viper asked with worry, approaching the goose and helping him back up with her tail.
"M-Master Shifu...!" he weakly said toward the red panda without losing his tone of hurry. "It's an emergency. I received a call for help from the Imperial Army at the very moment."
"From the Imperial Army?!" all the Furious Five exclaimed together at once.
"What is it?" Master Shifu asked.
"The Emperor's Mystical Coin has been stolen from the Imperial Palace, Master Shifu!" Zeng quickly explained, swinging his wings in every direction. "It was his adviser, Fai Suan, who committed the crime!"
"Did they manage to catch him before he could leave Imperial City? This place is, like, the most heavily guarded place in the world," Mantis pointed out.
"I'm afraid that, by the time they realized what was going on, Fai Suan was already far away from Imperial City, Master Mantis. The Emperor naturally released a mandate ordering for all the Imperial and local defense forces across China to arrest him... But nobody managed to catch him yet. His scoots have reported that he has last been seen in the bamboo forest of the Valley! The Imperial Army wants us to apprehend him right now!"
Everybody turned toward Master Shifu who was rubbing his beard and mustache, clearly deep in his thoughts. "This sounds serious indeed. You said he was located in the bamboo forest, correct?" Zeng nodded a yes in response. "Very well, Master Monkey, go there, arrest Fai Suan and get the Mystical Coin back."
"Right away, Master!" the simian replied with a bow, not really trying to hide his excitation. He went to grab a bo staff that was lying on a weapon stack in a corner of the courtyard.
"Oh, and bring Po with you," the red panda added.
"What?!" the panda and primate exclaimed simultaneously. "B-But Master, I barely started my Kung Fu training; I can't possibly take on a mission for the Imperial Army already!"
"And you never will be ready, panda. Not until you do it for the first time," Master Shifu explained. "No amount of training can compare to taking part in an actual fight. Kung Fu warriors are supposed to be ready to put their lives on the line at any time. Plus, if your target was dangerous, the Emperor would have sent his best soldiers of the Imperial Army or requested for multiple experienced masters to go after his adviser."
"Come on, big guy," Master Monkey said with pulling his hand on Po's shoulder. "We should get going before that coin stealer gets too far."
And so, the two warriors were on their way. After walking down the thousand steps and reaching the village, Po felt so tired that he just wanted to go back to bed and sleep all day long. To his surprise, his comrade just kept walking on his knuckles, looking as if he was taking a normal walk in the park.
"How can you not be out of juice after such a walk? I feel like I just ran a marathon!" Po pointed out, removing his rice hat from his head to clean the sweat.
"Hey, when you've walked these for many years like the others and I did, it's like part of the routine," Monkey said with a grin. "Don't worry; you should get used to it too... probably." This statement was accompanied by an unsure gaze toward the panda's tummy.
"Yeah, right," Po said, giving a poke to his potbelly that wiggled a bit.
"It could've been a lot worse, dude. One time, Master Shifu made me climb these steps up and down fifty times because of a prank I pulled on him."
"F-Fifty times?!"
"Yes, fifty," Monkey confirmed, a blank look on his face and his body shivering at the memory. "Sometimes, I wonder if he really wants us to become stronger or if he's just using Kung Fu as an excuse to torture people..."
Great, Po was very excited to continue his training after hearing that...
A little later, the two comrades left the village and made it to the bamboo forest which, as the name implied, was a vast forest of green bamboo. Luckily, there was a main road that they could follow - it was probably a trade road that merchants used to travel and bring supplies or merchandise to the Valley of Peace's village. The sight of so much bamboo caused Po's stomach to grumble as if a buffet was presented before him. While bamboo was one of his favorite natural food, there wasn't much in Gongmen City, and it was pretty costly to get on the city's market. Yup, he would definitely come back here whenever he'd want a snack.
"So? Where do you think that guy we're supposed to find is?" Po asked, breaking the silence that ruled between his senior and himself for a while... well, not considering that his stomach already did it.
"If I was to make a guess, I'd say we should look at the old storage house, a little farther," the primate replied, resting his bo staff on his shoulder. "Most of the bandits and criminals we fought in this forest were trying to hide there. If this Fai Suan guy is attempting to escape everyone, I bet this is where we'll find him."
About two minutes after that statement, Monkey stopped dead in his tracks, widening his blue eyes and covering his nose with one hand. "My god, what's that smell?!" he exclaimed.
"What are you talking about-" Just before Po could finish his question, his little nose picked on the same sent his comrade probably detected. His nostrils were set on fire and a tidal wave flooded into his eyes before he got the chance to cover his nose too. "For the sake of dumplings! What the heck is that?! Smells like someone has been eating raw onions!"
"Strange; for all the times I've come here, I never got to smell anything like this. And onions don't grow in bamboo forests, right? Let's follow this smell!"
Resisting the urge to cover their noses, the two warriors followed the disgusting smell which drifted off the road they were on after a moment. Eventually, they found the source of the terrible smell in the middle of an open area of the forest. A male goat with gray fur and malice-filled green eyes. His blue robe and black hat reflected his status as an important person - the kind only found in places such as Imperial City. However, his outfit possessed two unusual features; pieces of armor on his shoulders and skirt, and a purple belt around his waist holding... garlic?
"Huh, am I hallucinating or are you too seeing garlic tied to that guy's waist?" Po asked, trying to adjust his view and see better.
"Nope; I'm seeing the same thing," Monkey informed, confirming his panda comrade he wasn't hallucinating. "Look! Around his neck!"
Now that he mentioned it, Po also noticed a detail he failed to see before: around the goat's neck was tied to a rope a beautiful jade-green yuan coin that reflected the rays of the sun. "Is that...?!"
"Yes, it's the Mystical Coin! No doubt; this guy is really Fai Suan!" Narrowing his eyes, the primate held his bo staff in both hands and charged forward. "Let's go!"
The two warriors hoped out of their hiding space behind the bushes and charged to apprehend the criminal with Monkey blocking the way he was walking in while Po ran behind him to prevent him from leaving. Upon seeing them, Fai Suan widened his eyes in surprise a bit. "W-Who are you? Get out of my way! Can't you see I'm trying to walk here?" he ordered with an air of superiority.
"You can drop the Imperial businessman act, dude! We know who you are and what you did!" Monkey declared. "On behalf of the Empire, you are under arrest! Give us the Mystical Coin you stole and come with us to the Jade Palace right now!"
Fai Suan had a genuinely surprised expression on his face following this declaration. However, it didn't last for long as his lips then twisted into a smirk. "How sad, I was hoping to calmly make it through the Valley of Peace without getting any unwanted attention. Looks like luck isn't on my side today. Though..." He chuckled in amusement. "The Emperor should have sent a bigger task force if he wanted to stop me..."
"The two of us are more than enough to arrest you!" Master Monkey declared, jumping up and diving toward the goat with his bo staff raised, ready to knock him out.
While the primate took action, Fai Suan grabbed a garlic from his belt which he brought to his mouth and took a bite. Then, filling his lungs with air, he released a terrible jet of smell that reached Monkey's nostrils, stopping him dead in his tracks. Landing on the ground, the simian dropped his weapon to cover his poor nose. This gave Fai Suan a chance to deliver a strong kick to the stunned master, knocking him a few feet away.
"I have no doubt you faced many criminals in the past, Kung Fu master... But I don't think any of them possessed a power like that of the Purple Garlic!" the goat declared with a smirk.
"Wooow! He's making his evil speech with the evil-looking pose, expression and all! This is so awesome!" Fai Suan blinked his green eyes a few times before turning around, seeing his other opponent jumping all around in excitation. He stopped upon realizing the goat was staring at him. "Oh, excuse me, this is my first time facing a bad guy. I started my training today, believe it or not."
"YOU IDIOT! DON'T TELL HIM THAT!" Master Monkey yelled from the other side of the open field, still recovering from the shot he took.
"Oh? So this is your first fight, hum? Well then...," Fai Suan bit another purple garlic, "... allow me to give you an experience you won't forget."
Po's excitation faded away, his eyes widening a bit and his legs trembling. That was it. His very first villain. It wasn't like before when, as a cub, he innocently bit that bandit's leg at the right moment or when he practiced with all those training dummies. This time, he was going to face a real bad guy who would try to end his life. The young panda wasn't sure how to describe what he was feeling; on one hand, it seemed dangerous and terrifying... but on the other, it meant he was taking a major step toward his goal of becoming a master. Plus, he trained a lot for this day.
"Get a taste of my PURPLE FIRE!" Opening his mouth, the evil goat spat a jet of purple flames toward the young panda who pulled a yelp before ducking just in time to avoid the attack, but not without getting some fur roasted in the process.
"W-What the heck was that?!" Po exclaimed, looking at his rice hat to make sure it wasn't damaged.
"The power of my Purple Garlic, chubby," Fai Suan replied, showing the fruit he just took a bite of with his hoof. "It's a unique fruit that I developed myself through my love for raw garlic. This little wonder has helped me with trouble quite a few times in the past-"
"Stop, stop, shut up, please!" Po begged, covering his nose and waving at it with his other paw. "I know you're a big baddie, and you have to make a villain speech and all, but your breath is terrible! So, please, shut up!"
Fai Suan blinked his green eyes multiple times before narrowing them into a deadly glare. "How dare you interrupt me like this! I'm going to turn you into a flambé panda and make you regret your insolence!"
"... Uh-oh."
Po found himself running away from the evil goat who kept spitting purple fire at him, the heat brushing against his large butt, causing him to jump and run even faster. Luckily, before he could blow a hole in his pants, Master Monkey returned into action, catching the evil goat with a dive kick across the face. He followed up with a series of swings from his bo staff which he recovered prior to his attack.
The piece of wood connected a few times with Fai Suan's sides before he regained his composure and started countering the attacks. However, the difference in terms of experience between the Kung Fu master and the royal adviser was clear. Seeing things were going south for him, the latter disappeared and reappeared farther from the primate, using what seemed like a teleportation technique.
"Purple Fire Dash!" As the name he screamed implied, Fai Suan slid on the ground, a dash of purple flames allowing him to move at an elevated speed. Monkey managed to rise his bo staff in time to block the attack, but it still sent him flying back.
At this moment, Po realized that the goat was so distracted by Monkey that he forgot his presence. That was his chance! Remembering what he learned earlier during his first lesson from Master Shifu, Po charged forward and, just as Fai Suan turned toward him, slammed his belly at full force right into him just like he did with the training dummy... and he was sent flying just as far!
"Yeah! I got him!" Po beamed with throwing his arms in the air. However, the goat groaned in pain and started getting back up. "... Or not." He needed to think of another attack to follow up with or this guy would roast him in purple. An idea popped in his little mind just in time and a grin formed on his lips. Running forward, he jumped as high as he could, stretching his arms out to give all the space to his stomach. "GET READY TO FEEL THE THUNDA!"
Fai Suan could only widen his eyes in horror before getting squashed underneath the panda's weight, causing the ground to shake a bit. Afterwards, Po got back up and realized with amusement that he pulled the evil goat down into a small crater that fit the shape of his body. His eyes were comically turned white, meaning he became unconscious from the attack.
But then, it meant...!
"I-I did it! YEAH, I DEFEATED MY FIRST BAD GUY!" Po beamed, throwing a fist in the air.
"You sure did!" Master Monkey exclaimed, a big grin on his face as he joined Po and pulled his bo staff away. "Good job taking him by surprise like this!"
"Alright!" Po held his two paws up and waited for the primate to hit the double high-five. However, he seemed hesitant to do so. "Come on, Master monkey, don't leave me hanging!"
Rolling his eyes, the simian jumped up to slam his two hands into Po's paws, effectively doing the double high-five. "That was... a good start, Po," he admitted.
Getting praised by a Kung Fu master, let alone a member of the Furious Five filled Po with joy; he jumped a bit on the spot. However, before he could start celebrating, a notification window appeared before him. "Panda Quake level 1 has been unlocked!" it read. That was probably the name of the trick he did to knock Fai Suan. But wait a minute, did this mean that Po's Chi selected the name of his techniques and he couldn't choose them by himself? Not that he had a problem with 'Panda Quake' as a name, but still...
After clicking the X to make the notification screen disappear, Po saw Monkey reaching his hand to grab the Mystical Coin and snap it off Fai Suan's neck. "Come on, Po, let's get this guy to the Jade palace before he can wake up."
Following yet another ascension of the endless steps, Po and Monkey made it to the Jade Palace. The young panda carried the evildoer on his back since he was the biggest in terms of size and... 'muscles'. They went to lock Fai Suan in the palace's dungeon before joining Master Shifu and the others in the training courtyard.
"Fai Suan has been neutralized, Master Shifu. We have retrieved the Mystical Coin," Monkey said, bowing in respect as he presented the jade-green coin to his master, Po doing the same.
"Excellent work, Master Monkey," the red panda praised as he took the little item in his hand, looking up at his two students. "I hope he didn't cause you too much trouble. Has Po been doing good during your mission?"
"Well, believe it or not, Master, but he's actually the one who managed to take out Fai Suan," the simian replied, pointing a thumb over his shoulder to his comrade.
"Is that so?"
"Totally! You should've seen this, Master: I was a bit scared at first, but then, the fight started, and it was totally awesome!" Po explained and started throwing his fists everywhere. "This guy was eating garlic that allowed him to spit purple fire - and also gave him a terrible breath! Master Monkey attacked him with his staff, and then I knocked him unconscious with my belly! I even unlocked a new technique!"
"... Unlocked a new technique? What are you talking about?" Master Shifu gave the panda a confused gaze which was shared by the Furious Five members.
"Hum... It's... nothing," Po assured with rubbing the back of his head, feeling too tired to go on another explanation. "I just think I learned a new trick while fighting this guy."
"Is that so? Very well, you crossed a very important step in your journey of Kung Fu, panda. I will post two members of the Furious Five to watch after Fai Suan in the dungeons and send the Mystical Coin back to the Emperor. Oh, and Po?"
"Yes?"
"You still have to do the hundred push-ups I commanded you to do earlier."
Author's note: Jeez, why do I always end up making these chapters longer than originally intended? Guess that's what happens when you like putting details too much in your stories.
Poor Po. Even after going on his first mission, he still has to do a hundred push-ups. Something tells me he's gonna go to bed early tonight XD On the plus side, he officially defeated his first villain and learned a new technique in the form of the Panda Quake. Those of you who have played the original video game will be familiar with this technique.
Fai Suan and the Mystical Coin are based on the first level of the online game 'Tales of Po'. While I've never played it myself, I did watch videos on YouTube and I gotta say it looks very fun. For this story, I decided I would incorporate elements from every Kung Fu Panda media which includes the movies, TV shows, video games, and maybe the comic books.
A detail I'd like to explain is the lack of disapproval Shifu and the Five hold against Po and our panda's admiration that is visibly less strong than in the movies. It's because the masters were originally hostile toward Po because he ended up being the Dragon Warrior which upset them; in here, he just joined the Jade Palace as a student in the rules. They aren't completely open up to him, as Tigress demonstrated, but not as closed as normally. As for why Po doesn't have the same level of admiration for Shifu and the Five, it's because in the movies, he grew up in the same village as them and the reason he got interested in Kung Fu in the first place was because he saw the Five taking on Boar. But here, things happened differently. I think his huge admiration would rather be directed at Master Storming Ox, Croc and Thundering Rhino.
Well, that's all I have to say for now. I hope you're enjoying this story so far, I hope I did a good description of each of the Five's Kung Fu style, and I hope I'm doing well with Po's character progression. See you next time and may the gods watch over you all.