"How long do I have to do this again?"
"Until you reach the top of the mountain."
"What?! But it's, like, a thousand meters away!"
"Which is why I suggest you stop talking and focus on the task at hand."
Po sighed. His arms and legs were burning hotter than volcanoes, begging to cool down for a bit. As much as he wanted to grant this request, he knew that this would only lead to the rest of his body suffering a worse fate. So, taking a deep breath and clenching his teeth, he reached for another protruding stone and pulled his body up.
Master Shifu always claimed that there were more than three hundred ways to learn Kung Fu, regardless of one's species and knowledge - nobody could learn Kung Fu the exact same way. That being said, there were some blueprints that could give directions in the form of the many styles for every species. In Po's case, Shifu explained, it was the Imperial Bear Style of Kung Fu. A style that was a supposedly smaller, but nonetheless devastating sub-style of the Tiger Style of Kung Fu; it focused on grips and strikes that could break any animal's bones. When mastered, the Imperial Bear Style could turn any user into a powerhouse.
At first, Po did not feel at ease with such an aggressive style (that was supposed to be similar to Master Tigress'), considering that the Panda Style of Kung Fu he had been learning since joining the Jade Palace revolved around versatility and counterattacks. Shifu, however, affirmed that having multiple styles in his repertoire would help him face a bigger variety of situations and enemies. Even if he had yet to master Panda Style and Tai Chi.
Having read a little about his new style, the young panda had expected his master to make him wear boxing gloves and hit a solid surface to harden his knuckles just like Master Tigress or to exercise until his chubby figure would turn into a solid six-pack. What he did not expect to do was to wake up early (well, earlier than usual) in the morning to travel all the way to the feet of the huge mountain located behind the Jade Palace, and then have to climb it with Master Shifu and Master Monkey on his back.
"This exercise will harden your grip and reinforce your resistance," Master Shifu simply said.
Throughout his training, Po had to deal with Master Monkey's constant teasing and remarks. Apparently, Master Shifu decided to bring him along not only for the extra weight to carry, but also because his annoying nature was perfect to test Po's concentration. When not trying to ignore the simian's jokes about him being a 'walking pillow', Po had to deal with his tail sneaking to his ticklish spots and almost making him fall. Shifu brushed off Po's accusations as excuses and told him to keep climbing, not seeing the mocking smirks of Master Monkey behind him... Unless he did and simply did not care.
When they returned to the Jade Palace, two hours later, Po's mood was at its sourest. His arms, shoulders, backs and legs were ready to snap, and so much dirt was gathered underneath his claws that it would take forever to take it all out. Why was Master Shifu so harsh and cruel? Sure, he had expected Kung Fu to be difficult, but this all seemed to be a bit much for a beginner like him.
"Don't worry," said Master Monkey with patting the panda's shoulder. "He hasn't been easy on me and the others when we all started... Or even now that we have reached the master level..."
After doing even more climbing in the form of the thousand steps, the trio arrived in the training courtyard where Master Mantis and Viper were strangely not training and just standing aside, looking at Master Tigress and Crane staring at each other from across the field. Their breaths were heavy, their clothes dirty and their fur and feathers all ruffled up. The clear indications of the sparing duel they just had.
"Oh, hey, guys!" Mantis greeted the trio when he finally realized their presence. "Where've you been? You just missed an amazing fight between Crane and Tigress!"
Somehow, this made Po's mood drop even lower. First, he spent the entire morning destroying his body to amuse Master Monkey, and now, he learned that he missed what no doubt had been a fantastic duel between two of his icons? Just when he thought it couldn't get worse, Master Shifu sent them on their dinner break, reminding him that they still had to train for the rest of the day.
That night, while brushing his teeth, Po noticed a strange detail with his Experience System Chi's menu. A little square window reading 'edit' appeared in the upper left part, just above the 'status' tab. Upon further inspection, he discovered that this new feature allowed him to completely modify his menu as he wished. He could create new tabs, change the names of already existing ones, and delete all of them. Seeing this as a chance to put some order in his menu, he decided to keep 'Cooking', 'History knowledge' and 'Gaming skills' in his already existing 'skills' menu. 'Strong attack', 'Quick Attack', and 'Panda Quake' went into his 'techniques' menu, and, finally, he used his new tool to create a whole new tab which he named 'Recipes' into which he stocked all the dishes he knew of. This little re-organization brought a pleasant sense of satisfaction to the panda; he would never get lost in his things anymore.
So far, Po had not received any letters. Zeng would sometimes arrive at the Jade Palace with mail for the residents, but these were mostly messages sent by the Kung Fu Express for Master Shifu - messages from Kung Fu masters or other important figures discussing business with him. Viper, Crane, Monkey and Mantis sometimes received letters from their friends or relatives. Master Tigress, however, never received anything. The morning after discovering his 'edit' option, Zeng came knocking at Po's door and handed him a wrapped package. "It's from your mother," he told him. The young panda wasted no time in tearing the package open and reading the letter hiding inside it.
"My dear Po,
I sincerely apologize for not writing to you sooner, but I didn't want to bother you during your first two months of training. Plus, I've been VERY busy at the restaurant without an extra pair of paws to help me around. Lucky for old me, He Tao is kind enough to lend me his arms from time to time. But enough talking about me! How is your training doing? Is Master Shifu nice with you? I want to know EVERYTHING!"
Po immediately went to his bedroom's table and proceeded to write a response letter to his mother. He explained that his training was rough, but that it did not matter; he was pursuing his goal, and it made him more than happy! After listing all the new tricks he learned since joining the Jade Palace, he talked about all the actual criminals he defeated, making sure to clarify that there was always one member of the Furious Five with him. And, of course, he did not mention his encounter with a Yokai; no need to give her a heart attack with supernatural stories.
With the message being done, Po handed his letter to Zeng who promised it would be delivered to Gongmen City thanks to the Kung Fu Express. Alongside the letter, Yonggan's package contained a newspaper from the Daily Imperial. Po didn't read the news as often as other animals, but it wouldn't hurt to know a bit more about what was happening in China at the moment. Plus, his mother sent it to him; it would be rude not to at least take a quick look.
'A NEW HEIST IN THE GARNET VALLEY' was the headline of the newspaper. Apparently, this was the eight time of the month that a huge amount of money or an object of high value had been stolen in the Garnet Valley - and every time, some witnesses or the victims themselves claimed they had seen a feline figure disappearing in the dark of night. This news created a certain dose of worry behind Po's mind, as the Garnet Valley was located merely one day south from the Valley of Peace. Could the thief come here and try to steal from the Jade Palace? Nah, Master Shifu and the Five would stop him without trouble. They were some of the best Kung Fu masters in China, after all. The rest of the newspaper only talked about politics Po did not understand and promotion sales here and there.
The rest of the week went by without any problem. During his time exploring the surroundings of the Jade Palace, Po discovered a nice spot outside the village where he liked to go during the weekend to relax. It had an open clearing, a large pond of pure water he could use to refresh himself, and enough trees to guarantee privacy. They were still in the middle of summer, so this was a dream place to escape to after enduring the ravaging heat rising up to the temple grounds. Plus, Po sometimes came there during his free time to level up his skills and stats. At the moment, he managed to pull his Panda Quake technique to level 2 and his climbing exercise with Shifu and Monkey allowed his constitution stat to raise to 17. He would also bring his cooking equipment from time to time so that he could prepare chamomile tea and max it up (it was currently at level 5).
The more he advanced into the Thousand Scrolls, the more he thought that Oogway had mistaken his Kung Fu knowledge with his love for tea in these notes: the ten first scrolls were all tea recipes. Po did not mind expanding his recipe arsenal, cooking was just as important to him as Kung Fu, but his little fanboy mind could not wait to learn all the cool Kung Fu moves that the old tortoise created throughout his entire century of knowledge. But at the rate things were going, Po's cooking skill would go from level 13 to 100 in not even a year.
Noon arrived, the sun now standing in the middle of the sky and shooting its burning summer rays down on the world of animals. At this time of the day, Po liked to just lay over a smooth stone conveniently placed under a tree shielding him from the heat assault. With his rice hat on his face, it felt to him like the best resting place in the entire Valley of Peace - even more than his own bedroom! If given the chance, he probably would have moved out of the Jade Palace to sleep here. Yeah, maybe Shifu would also allow him to have three break days a week and a whole mountain of chocolate...
"Po! There you are! Wake up now!"
Even before hearing the noise, Po got alerted of Master Crane's presence when he heard his familiar wing flaps coming his way. It had to either be him or Zeng. Pulling his hat off his face, Po sat up and yawned just as the waterfowl landed in front of him. "What's wrong, Master Crane?" he asked with rubbing his eye.
"We just received a message from the Tortoise Village; they have problems," the avian explained, his expression slightly more serious than usual.
The Tortoise Village? Where did Po hear that before? Oh, yeah! Before moving on to the Valley of Peace, Po decided to do a little study on the region at home and remembered the Tortoise Village; it was located on the mountains north of the valley and around the infamous Lake of Tears. As the name implied, this village was inhabited by tortoises - but not any tortoises: the descendants of Grandmaster Oogway himself... Which always felt odd as Oogway was never known to have taken a spouse, let alone enough to build a community.
"What problems are we talking about?" Po asked, adjusting the rice hat on his head and getting off his stone bed.
"Have you ever heard of the criminal group known as the Imperial Golden Croc Gang?"
"Yeah... No."
"They're a group of raiders consisting mostly of crocs - as you probably guessed. Their zone of action is located in the same region as the village, but they've been relatively quiet in the last months... Turns out it was all a trick," the waterfowl remarked with a little frown. "Lady Waike, the leader of the village, just sent a call for help. Apparently, the crocs have launched an assault on their home, chased all the residents away, and kidnapped the eggs."
"Their eggs?! Kids that are not even born? That's disgusting!" Po exclaimed with an air of revolt.
"I agree. Master Shifu wants us to leave immediately and go help them before anything wrong can happen. Are you ready?"
A resolute expression on his face, Po adjusted his rice hat like a cool anime character and turned around, rising a finger with an air of absolute justice and an overexaggerated pose. "You can count on me, Master of the Crane Style! Those reptilian rascals will not leave with their cowardice unpunished! Today, they will discover the true meaning of Kung Fu Justice!"
Whilst the panda was lost in his moment, Crane just followed the direction of his finger and blinked his golden eyes a few times. "Huh, what are you pointing at?"
The rustling sound of tree branches dancing in the wind echoed through the vast, lifeless mountain landscape. To this music was added the heavy steps and rhythmic flaps of two lone Kung Fu warriors. From the skies, Master Crane scanned the surroundings with his sharp sight in case of an unexpected enemy attack.
So far, traveling had never been a problem for Po. Whenever Master Shifu sent him to go shopping, he just had to go down to the village and then back up to the Jade Palace (not that climbing up and down the thousand steps was an easy task). As a matter of fact, he never had to venture far from the village, with the only exception being when he accompanied Viper to the (ruined) celebrations of that village. However, taking a peaceful stroll across the valley to attend a fun event was one thing; rushing to a village's help without taking a lunch break for six hours was a completely different run. It almost felt like the universe did not want Po to rest even for a single day!
As they advanced, the green, luscious landscape was replaced by steep mountains and a violent roaring wind, indicating that they had left the inner part of the valley and entered the chain of mountains where their help was expected. Vegetation became a lot rarer, as did the oxygen, making it harder for a terrestrial like Po to breathe. Where the Master of Fujian White Crane Style had the luxury of planning over the obstacles, the more inexperienced panda had to cross ponds and climb over stones reaching higher than the Jade Palace.
"Looks like my climbing exercise wasn't useless after all," Po mused to himself.
By the time the sky turned auburn in color with the sun giving its final rays away, Master Crane decided it would be better for them to stop and rest for the night. There was no point in going to rescue a village if they were too tired to save anyone, according to him. Luckily, they managed to find a stone platform near a pond with enough wood around for them to make a campfire and also some wild fruits that were non-lethal. A big stone shielded them from the wind, which meant they would not have to worry about their fire going out.
"Awww, man! What a day!" groaned Po, collapsing against the shield stone with his rice hat on his lap. "If this continues, I'm gonna end up tinnier than Mantis!" This statement was accompanied by a little pat on his potbelly.
"That would not be favorable; you need a large stomach in order for your Panda Style to work," Master Crane remarked from the other side of the fire, whose light illuminated his beak and plumage. The waterfowl allowed some berries to roll down his long beak before swallowing them one after the other. He was about to follow with some water from the pond when he noticed his panda companion giving him a look mixing admiration and excitation. "What?"
"Nothing, it's just... you have a really cool hat," Po responded, pointing at the object sitting on top of Crane's head.
"Oh, this?" the avian asked, reaching a wing to take off his straw hat, revealing his red crest tied into an elegant ponytail. "Thanks; sometimes, I even forget I wear it. Yours isn't bad either. Did you make it yourself?"
"Nope. It was given to me by Oogway himself."
A dead silence fell between the two companions, being disturbed only by the hard wind colliding against their stone shield and the fire crackling. Po soon realized that his waterfowl companion was staring at him with his eyes widened as far as possible, the campfire reflecting into his golden sloes. Why was he looking at him this way? Did he say something wrong?
"Oogway... gave it to you?" Crane hesitantly asked, his expression never changing.
"Hum... Yeah," Po replied. "Didn't I told you? Oogway came to visit Gongmen when I was a kid. Before leaving, I promised him I would one day become a greater Kung Fu master than him, and he gave me this hat, telling me to remember my promise every time I look at it. And believe me...," he placed his rice hat on top of his head again, giving his most serious expression, "... I intend on keeping it!"
Crane opened and closed his eyes multiple times, with the expression of someone trying to process information. Then, he reached a wing to rub his red crest, giving a tiny smile. "Well, I'm sure Oogway must have seen something in you if he decided to give you his straw hat." He then looked up at the sky, where the stars were slowly but surely coming out. "It feels like an eternity ago since the others and I last got to see Oogway. He was there when I started with Monkey, Mantis and Viper; we learned so much from him. I don't think we'd be the Furious Five we are now if he had not been there. I can't believe it has been three years since he left..."
"Yeah, Viper told me he had to find friends and do something for the universe?" Po inquired.
"Exactly. Whatever that's supposed to mean."
"So... where did you get YOUR hat?" the panda then asked, wanting to change the subject of conversation.
At this question, the relaxed expression on the waterfowl's face slowly melted away, getting replaced by a little frown, the kind one gets when thinking about a bad memory. This made the white and black warrior understand he must have stepped on a sensitive subject to the master. "It's... a long story," he replied without looking away from the stars.
"Oh, is it something personal? Yeah, it's totally personal. Shouldn't have asked. Just forget I-"
"No, no, no, it's alright. You just shared some of your past with me, so I guess I can tell you some of mine too." Crane finally lowered his gaze down to his straw hat, nostalgia taking over his expression, as if watching a friend he hadn't seen in forever. "This hat wasn't always mine. Originally, it belonged to my father. You know where I'm from?"
"Wait... It's from that village where there's Lee Da Academy, right?"
"Yes. Yunnan, it's called," Crane confirmed with a nod. "I've grown there with my father, Cui Heng, and my mother, Yan Fan. While my mother was known to be very kind and a good knitter, things were different for my father. Everybody in Yunnan always ridiculed him for being so weak and fragile. But it's not his fault he was born with such a fragile health!" A loud sigh escaped his beak. "Unfortunately, I've inherited those same traits from him..."
Po tilted his head to the side and crossed his arms. "What are you talking about? You seem to be in perfect shape."
"Now, maybe, but back when I was just a chick, I was very fragile and could shatter like glass at any moment. A theory that some of the local kids liked to test," he mumbled, his facial features twisting into a frown. "I'll never forget everything those guys did to me throughout my entire childhood. Always seeking ways to hurt me and ruin my days. Just for the crime of being skinny and tender. They beat me up, stole my clothes to force me to go around naked in public, and one time, they even shoved my beak down a toilet to see if my beak could reach the bottom."
Feeling a bit curious, Po leaned forward and rose an eyebrow. "Did it... work?"
Crane's eye twitched, his digestive system letting out a funny noise. "... Yes, it did." A shiver ran down the avian's spine, his feathers getting all dressed up. "Anyway. One day, things took a turn for the worst. My father caught a rare disease that made him fall very sick - he couldn't even stand up from the bed and had to ingurgitate at least ten different forms of medicine a day. You should have seen him then; it was... horrible."
Po sensed they were getting to the tragic part of the tale. "Did he make it through his illness?"
Making eye contact once again with the panda from across the fire, Crane shook his beak left and right. "It was too bad, and we didn't have the means to buy a remedy powerful enough to fight the bad inside him. He passed away in his sleep. The doctor told us that he did not suffer in the process... But right before that happen...," he once again looked down at his hat, "he gave this to me. As a way to always remember him."
Silence fell once again. Po did not know what to say. Of course, children were pre-destined to bury their parents one day or another, everybody knew that... but losing your father in such a harsh way brought a feeling of sickness to Po's stomach. What if the same thing had happened to his mother? He could not picture himself in a world without her. "My gosh, I'm so sorry, Crane..."
"Ever since, my mother became overprotective of me, making sure I always remained clean and stayed away from trouble," Crane continued. "The only thing is that... my father always told me to not let my weak body prevent me from being happy and experiencing things. So, one day, I decided to sneak out of my home, I went to see a Kung Fu class, developed interest for the art and... well, the rest is history." He placed his straw hat back on his head and gave it a little poke with his feather. "So there you have it, the story of how I got my straw hat. Not as fun as you had probably expected, is it?"
"Not really... I guess it's not better than never knowing your father, right?" Po wondered with rubbing the back of his head.
Crane's interest peeked again. "You never met your father?"
"Nope," Po confirmed with a shake of his head. "He left my mother when I was just a cub. Because of this, I have no memory of him. I've always wondered what kind of man he must be..."
"Must not be that much of a man if he is willing to leave his wife with a child to raise," Crane pointed out with a hint of spite in his tone.
"I wouldn't say that. Whenever I ask her about him, mom tells me that she'd rather not talk about it. But sometimes, she talks about him to her friends, saying mean stuff like 'he's a jerk!' or things like that. Other times, she says that he was brave and charming. Would be cool to know why he left us though..."
"Sorry about that, Po. It's horrible...," Crane said.
"Thanks, man."
A comfortable silence settled in, both the panda and waterfowl exchanging a little smile. Crane then looked up at the sky. "It's getting late; we should go to sleep now. We'll resume our journey at dawn."
"Good idea." Po placed his back in the most comfortable position he could against the stone, and then lowered his rice hat to his face. Crane, meanwhile, stood in the traditional sleeping pose for waterfowls like him, with his leg elevated and his head tucked underneath his wing.
Po moved his back away from the rigid stone, resisting the urge to yawn and wake up Crane. His spine felt sore from spending an entire night against an uncomfortable material, prompting him to pull it forward and crack a few bones. He would definitely need to have Mantis check it up when they'd get back to the Jade Palace.
Taking his hat off, Po allowed the rays of the fresh morning to hit his face, momentarily blinding him. By now, the campfire had died off, it's wood still emanating some smoke. Master Crane was nowhere to be seen... That is, until Po saw him taking a dip in the pond. He used his wings to rub water on his feathers, cleaning all the dirt away.
"Aww, I'm sooo hungry!" Po whined, stretching himself and looking down at his grumbling tummy. "I hope we still have enough fruits to calm you down... But first, let's take a look at my stats! With all the exercise I did yesterday, my constitution must have gained a few points. Menu!"
The little screen appeared before Po, all six tabs aligned in order, with the 'Edit' function in the upper right corner. Po rose his finger toward the 'Stats' tab and... Wait a minute, six tabs? Last time he checked, Po only had five: 'Stats', 'Skills', 'Techniques', 'Recipes' and 'Inventory'. He did not recall having a 'Party' tab.
"Well, where'd that come from?" the panda wondered, reaching his finger to click on the new feature. 'Who do you wish to invite?' appeared in a small window. "Who I wish to... What the... What's that thing?" Po asked, rubbing his chin as he tried to figure it out. Then, it clicked. "Could this be like in those RPGs where you can invite some characters to your party throughout the campaign? Guess there's only one way to find out."
The question, now, was how was he gonna test this function? He got his answer when his gaze drifted toward the waterfowl cleaning himself in the pond. "Hmm... Worth a try. Invitation, Master Crane."
Crane just finished cleaning himself and pulled his straw hat back on top of his head. Upon opening his golden eyes, he was met by a square-shaped window a bit too close to his face for comfort. "Argh!" he exclaimed, falling back in the water and staring at the mysterious square that seemed to follow his movements. "What the heck is that? 'You are invited to join Po's party: (accept) (refuse)' What's that supposed to mean?" Reading and re-reading the message multiple times, he slowly turned his head in Po's direction, seeing him innocently waving at him.
"Hi, Crane."
"Po? W-What are you... What is this? What's going on?" the avian asked, designing the window in front of him with his wing. He then rubbed his eyes with two feathers. "I knew I shouldn't have eaten those wild fruits. They looked good, but they were probably-"
"No, no, no, Crane, it's not the fruits; I'm the one who made this," Po assured, shaking his paws and approaching his feathered friend. "I'm a bit confused because I just discovered it too, but it's from me, I can assure you."
Crane looked alternately at Po and the window, his features twisted by confusion. "But... How? What's that?"
"Look, I'll explain everything, but how about you start by accepting the invitation?"
"... Oookay, and how do I do that?"
"You just click on 'accept' with your feather."
After hesitating for a few seconds, Crane reached his wing toward the window and touched the accept tab with his feather. The window instantly disappeared and got replaced by a set of tabs identical to the one Po had before modifying it with his edit option... which was also available.
"Wow!" Crane exclaimed, jumping back a bit. His eyes ran up and down the menu, looking at all the tabs before going back to Po. "What's this... thing?"
Po explained everything to Crane, how his Chi power worked, the use of every different tabs, how the skills could level up, how to gain stats points, and how everything could be edited. To back up his explanations, he showed his own menu and tabs to the Master of Crane Style. "... and I think it's supposed to be like in these RPGs, where you can invite otherwise NPCs in your party. Except that it's with real animals rather than NPCs," Po concluded, bringing his endless explanation to an end.
Crane's stare remained fixed on Po throughout the entire explanation, sometimes looking back at his menu. He blinked his golden eyes multiple times, his beak opening and closing as if he didn't know what to say. Eventually, he rubbed his forehead with his wing.
"Po, I... I just have so many questions on my mind right now. First off, how did you get this power? When did that happen?"
"Well... Believe it or not, but it was the day before I submitted my demand to be trained at the Jade Palace."
"How did it happen?"
"I don't know. I just had dinner and finished my homework, so I went to train in the backyard. I punched and punched my dummy, and it's then that this window popped in front of me. At first, I just thought I was hallucinating, but more windows kept popping one after the other. The next day, I studied everything, and that's when I understood I unlocked my Chi. Crazy, right?"
Crane stared at the panda grinning sheepishly, trying to proceed all the information he had just been given. He once again rubbed his eyes and shook his head. "This doesn't make any sense at all. The others and I have been training for years, and yet, not a single one of us have unlocked his Chi! How can you have, even before starting your training?" He rubbed his chin with a feather. "Though it's true that Master Shifu's training focuses more on our physical abilities rather than our spiritual ones."
"Do you wanna check up your menu?"
"Sure, I admit you picked my curiosity." Crane rose a feather in front of his menu, looking hesitantly at the tabs. "So... where should I start?"
"How about status? This is where I started first time around."
Crane touched the 'Status' tab with his feather and a new window appeared in front of him:
-Name: Jien
-Other names: Master Crane
-Species: Crane
-Gender: Male
-Age: 28
-Height: 158 cm
-Weight: 23 lbs.
-Feather colors: Black, white and gray
-Eye color: Yellow
"All of this is true," Crane stated after reading the whole page. "This information about me is correct."
Po read from over the waterfowl's shoulder and gave him a confused look. "Wait a minute, your name is... Jien?"
"Yes."
"But... I thought your name was Crane?"
"That's just my master's name, Po. In Kung Fu, we take our title as masters very seriously to the point that others address us as such over our real names," Master Jien-Er, Crane explained. "That's the case with every member of the Furious Five. Shifu and Oogway were lucky enough not to have a special master name and were simply referred to as 'masters' alongside their name."
"Whoa... That's crazy; I always thought that your real name was Crane. Though it also does sound crazy to just name someone after their species," Po remarked, rubbing his chin while looking at the sky. "But wait, what's the others' name if they aren't called Tigress, Viper, Monkey and Mantis?"
"That's a classified information, Po; I'm not supposed to spill it out."
"Oh." Po looked down with an air of deception. "So... Can I see your attributes? I'd like to see the difference between a Kung Fu master and myself!"
"Hum, sure, if you want to." Crane clicked on the 'Attributes' tab, the information spreading before him. Po eagerly looked over his shoulder... and his jaw dropped.
-Strength: 21
-Constitution: 53
-Dexterity: 92
-Intelligence: 78
-Wisdom: 24
-Charisma: 50
"Are these really my attributes?" Crane asked, looking just as surprised as his panda comrade.
"Looks like it! How the heck did you get so strong? My own stats look like a joke in comparison to this!" Po affirmed, his jade eyes wide like plates.
"It must be thanks to my many years of Kung Fu experience," Crane simply deduced. "What are your stats?"
"I have 12 in strength, 17 in constitution, 13 in dexterity, 9 in intelligence, 14 in wisdom, and 10 in charisma... Wait a sec'! You got 78 intelligence points and 50 points of charisma, while I only got 9 and 10?! Is my Chi insinuating I'm dumb and not charming?! Stupid Chi!" Po punched himself in the tummy before crossing his arms and giving a pouting look.
Crane couldn't help but chuckle a bit at his comrade's reaction. "Don't be like that, Po; you're still just a beginner. I'm sure your stats will be pretty high after a few years of training and missions. If you want, once we go back after saving Tortoise Village, I can try to teach you a few tricks." The waterfowls suddenly froze on the spot, his yellow eyes widening as if he had been hit by an arrow. "OH MY GOD! Tortoise Village! I've completely forgotten! Po, we need to get going right now; it's already past dawn!"
"R-Right!" Po responded, realizing they had been sidetracked from their mission by their discussion about his Chi power. Quickly gobbling some wild fruits, he followed Crane as he took off in the air and headed toward their destination.
Lotus Lake. A seemingly endless bed of water covered in lily pads, giant sharp stones protruding from the depths. In such a tranquil atmosphere, the only things that could be heard were the wind and the rare waves hitting the edges. A sweet aroma probably coming from the flowers growing around tickled the warriors' nostrils. In spite of this serene atmosphere, Po and Crane felt a silent tension somewhere.
"The Lake of Sacred Tears...," Po mumbled, his jade eyes widening at the lake before him. "Say, Crane, is it true that Oogway created Kung Fu right here about hundreds of years ago?"
"According to legend, yes," the Master of Fujian White Crane Style confirmed as he landed next to his companion. "Back when he still resided at the Jade Palace, I took the opportunity to question him about it, but... he didn't exactly confirm nor deny it. So, I can't say for sure."
"For a place attacked by bandits, it's strangely calm," Po remarked, stepping forward and placing a paw above his eyes to block the few rays of the sun. Because of the humid air, a wall of mist prevented from seeing too far. Luckily, there were some lanterns illuminating the way.
"Look out, someone's coming!"
Indeed, the two warriors were joined by a figure that came out of the water and approached their positions. Only when it stepped out of the mist could they see its appearance. A tortoise who looked just like Oogway... if Oogway was a female and worn purple robes with a pink lotus on the back. The beautiful pink flower headdress on top of her head made the duo understand she was the leader of Tortoise Village.
"Master Crane!" she exclaimed with a relief-filled voice. "We have been waiting for you!"
"Lady Waike," Crane said, politely bowing his head to her. "Master Shifu sent us to help you."
"Our priers have been answered!" Lady Waike happily said. She then turned her attention toward Po. "And you must be Po, the new Jade Palace student. We've heard about you."
"Really?" Po asked, slightly surprised. "I haven't done that much... Oh, must've been because of my fights against Fai Suan and Mei Ling... So, you have problems with crocs, ma'am?"
"Oh, it's been awful," the elder tortoise replied, shaking her head in desperation. "The crocodiles, they're everywhere! They have captured our eggs and are holding them hostages in hopes of receiving a ransom!"
"Those cowards!" Po mumbled with a frown. "Just wait 'till I get them; I'll give them a fistful of justice!" A detail then popped into his mind. "Wait a minute; I've never dealt with croc bandits before. A coin stealer, a maniac with a magic dice, a demon and a crazy musician, yes... but never crocs. What are we supposed to do?" he asked toward Crane.
"First off, we need to locate the eggs so that we can claim them back," the waterfowl replied. "I'm gonna fly above the lake and let you know where they are."
"Wait a minute, you're not gonna help me with the crocs?" Po asked, his face turning slightly pale.
"Why so scared, Master Po? You must be an experienced warrior, right?" Lady Waike asked.
"Huh..." Po sheepishly rubbed the back of his head while Crane shook his head a 'no' to the tortoise. "True to be told, I've only started my training about two months ago..."
"Okay, then, how are you a finding eggs?"
At this question, Po smiled. "Eggs? Me? Tops! Back in my hometown, I used to play hide-and-seek all the time with my friend; I should be able to make it!" he assured, giving two thumbs' up.
"Alright, then we have a plan. I will fly over the lake and let you know where to go. Good luck, Po," Crane said and took off to the skies. Lady Waike, meanwhile, started walking back in the water.
"Goodbye, Po. I'll meet you on the other side of the lake," she said, waving her hand at him as she disappeared under the lake's surface.
"Wait, other side? What?" Po asked, blinking his jade eyes multiple times in confusion. "But... you know I can't fly nor swim, right? Right? Okay then, looks like I'm gonna have to find another way..."
A small wooden (and, quite frankly, VERY cracked) bridge led to the entrance of Lotus Lake. After that, there wasn't anything to advance except conveniently placed lily pads and small pieces of land. Po realized he would have to do some platforming, just like in some of his video games. So, taking a few steps back, he charged forward and jumped, his momentum allowing him to land on the first lily pad. To his surprise, the big leaf did not break under his weight.
"Maybe I did lose some weight after all," the panda mused with patting his potbelly. "Alright, now, where are you, little eggies?"
Po made his way across Lotus Lake, hoping from one lily pad to the other, with the occasional piece of land helping him. The illuminated lanterns allowed him to navigate through the fog without getting lost. Throughout the journey, the young panda couldn't help but give nervous stares at the water down below. Not that he feared getting wet - he was a good swimmer, after all - but the idea that predators were lurking down below were making him sweat. Nobody wanted to be eaten alive by crocs.
After hopping onto around thirty lily pads, the young panda finally made it to the actual Tortoise Village in the middle of Lotus Lake. An eerie silence reigned as all the houses seemed abandoned. So it was true that the Imperial Golden Croc Gang had chased all the residents away. But where were the eggs; that's what they came for, after all.
"Alright, if I was a stolen egg, where would I be hiding?" Po mumbled to himself, rubbing his chin with a thoughtful look. This, unfortunately, made him fail to see a figure approaching him from below the water... and it wasn't Lady Waike...
"PO! LOOK OUT!"
The warning snapped Po out of his thoughts and he turned around. A figure leapt into the air... and it wasn't Crane... No, this one was reptilian. Its jaw wide open, it would've taken a bite out of him, had Crane not interrupted it with a dive kick. Drops of water hit Po's face as the waterfowl landed next to him, assuming his fighting stance.
"What was that?!" he asked, wiping the drops off his face.
"A member of the Imperial Golden Croc Gang!" Crane replied. "And he didn't come alone!"
Indeed, many crocs all jumped out of the lake and onto land with the two warriors. Their eyes were filled with malice, the blade of their weapons glowing under the faint sunlight. "Would you look at that! We've got some fresh meat, boys!" a croc bandit barked, his comrades laughing in terrifying amusement.
Whereas Crane narrowed his eyes and kept his stance, Po nervously swallowed his saliva and tried to keep his composure. "T-Tell us where you've hidden the eggs right now! Otherwise..."
"Otherwise what, fat boy?"
"I-I'll give a taste of my fist until you talk!"
Far from looking terrified, the bandit crocs all snarled, as if they had been told the funniest joke of all time. "I like this guy; he's funny! Let's hope he tastes just as good!"
"T-Tastes?" Po mumbled, his plump figure trembling.
"DEFEND YOURSELF, PO!"
As all the crocs charged forward, Po took a few steps back while Crane was ready to welcome the bandits. Sabers, maces and axes came from everywhere and the waterfowl managed to either dodge or deflect all of them with his wings. Using his superior dexterity, he replied by sweeping the crocs off their feet or hit them with powerful kicks. When too many crocs started ganging on him, he span faster than a tornado and sent all of them flying away like flies. He landed on the ground and adjusted his straw hat with a grin before checking how his comrade was doing.
"Whoa! No! Look out-HEY!" Po danced around to avoid the blades swung at him. At one point, he sucked his stomach in time to avoid getting gutted by a saber, at the cost of his orange robes receiving a cut. "Hey! That's my favorite dress - and I just recently got it!"
Alright, defense time was over; time to go on the offense! Po hit the croc who damaged his robes with two quick attacks before sending him into one of his partners with a good strong attack. When one of them attempted to strike him with an axe, Po got hold of his arm and tossed him hard into a nearby stone. The final croc thrust his sword forward in an attempt to skewer the panda. Thankfully, he sidestepped to avoid it and slipped his large arm under the croc's long jaw, catching him in a choke hold. Po actually learned this basic self-defense move in his Kung Fu book before joining the Jade Palace, but never got the chance to use it to this day. After struggling for many seconds, the croc passed out and Po just released him.
"Man! That was too close for my comfort!" He looked at the cut in his robes and sighed. "I barely bought it, and it's already ruined..."
"Don't be sad, Po; Viper'll patch it up for you. She did it many times for me and the others," Crane assured his companion. "We have more important business to take care of right now. I managed to locate the eggs; they are at the village's main plaza, guarded by who I assume is their leader."
"Alright!" Po slammed a fist in his paw. "Let's go get them back, then!"
The two warriors crossed the large bed of water separating the village from the main plaza with Crane flying over it and Po doing some lily pads jumping. After quickly neutralizing three croc bandits, they took cover behind a stone to analyze the situation. A giant crocodile was lying dormant next to a pile of eggs. A female, this time. Her snores could be heard all the way to the cover stone.
"This is the Crocodile Queen, the leader of the Imperial Golden Croc Gang. And she's asleep," Crane mumbled to Po, the corners of his beak twisting into a smile. "It's the perfect opportunity to save the eggs before engaging the battle. Po, you're gonna sneak up there, catch the eggs, and bring them to safety."
"Who? ME?!"
"Shh! Yes, you. I can't get there without making too much noise with my wings. And my legs aren't made to walk long distances; you can get in there and exit faster than I can," Crane explained.
"Faster, faster, that's a big statement there, man; I'm not like Tigress nor Viper!" Po exclaimed with designing his round figure. "I'm just a big ball of jelly that those crocs are just waiting to snap!"
"There's no time for discussion, Po!" Crane scolded, taking a more serious air than usual. "As Kung Fu warriors, it is our duty to put our lives on the line for the sake of others! Do you or do you not want to save those eggs?"
Po opened his mouth with a finger raised... only to sigh and lower his head. "You're right, Crane. I'll go... but I gotta bad feeling about this..."
Po came out of his hiding spot and made his way onto the island where the plaza was located. Taking a peak around a corner, he saw the Crocodile Queen lying on her side, snoring loudly, with a pile of eggs close to her. Very close.
"Alright, Po, time to be a hero!" Swallowing a lump in his throat, the panda carefully walked up the plaza's steps and started tip-toeing his way toward the eggs. His fur was getting wetter, the closer he got to his objective. When he arrived merely a few meters from the gigantic crocodile, Po almost froze on the spot. What if she was just pretending to sleep? What if this was all a trap to lure idiots like him in? He could already see her getting up at the last second and snap her jaw around him-
No! This wasn't the time to think about this! He needed to stay focused on saving the eggs, and nothing else! He carefully approached the reptile figure and somehow managed to reach the eggs without getting caught. That was good and all, but how was he going to carry all these eggs away? There had to be around twelve of them, too much to carry them all in his arms. Unless...
Po decided to get tricky and pulled a few eggs inside his robes, more in his sleeves, and one into his hat, using it like a plate. Not the most conventional way of carrying eggs, but that way, he would save them all in one go. He saw Crane urging him to come back after picking up the final egg. No need to ask it twice. Po started walking away from the still sleeping Crocodile Queen while being even more careful than before.
"Good job, Po!" Crane praised his companion after he made it back to safety with the eggs. The panda realized that Lady Waike had joined the waterfowl while he was away.
"Po! You saved my future grandchildren!" the elder tortoise beamed with a grateful smile. "Hand them to me now; I will carry them to safety with my shell."
"Good idea, not very comfortable in there," Po replied, giving all the little white globes to the village chief, who slipped them one after the other inside her tortoise shell.
"Alright, the eggs are safe. Now, we just need to neutralize the queen with stealth while she is asleep-"
BOOM!
Everybody froze on the spot when the ground shook with violence, a shadow now cast upon the two warriors. They slowly turned around... to be met with the glare of a reptilian figure standing at least eight foot tall. Its golden and red eyes glowed with malice, his hot breath ruffling Po's fur and Crane's feathers. Before anything could be done, a voice boomed behind this figure: "Who dares to wake me?! What... WHERE ARE MY EGGS?!"
A second figure joined the first one. The slightly more plump figure of the Crocodile Queen. She also glared down at the two smaller warriors. "Kung Fu warriors? I hate them!" the queen bellowed. "Sergeant! With me! Let's turn those intruders into chunks of meat!"
"Lady Waike, get out of here! We'll take care of this!" Master Crane quickly told the elder tortoise, who wasted no time in escaping in the water with the eggs. He then took to the air to avoid the swinging tail of the Crocodile Queen, leaving Po alone with the Crocodile Sergeant.
'Huh... Crane?" he mumbled, his legs trembling before the giant croc approaching him. The vile reptile rose both of his arms in the air, ready to make himself a good panda pancake. "ARGH!" Po exclaimed, rolling to the side to avoid the arms that created cracks in the ground. Acting fast, he hit a few quick attacks into the Sergeant's side, but they had little to no effect. When the giant went for a backfist, Po ducked and sent a strong attack at his large jaw, pulling him back this time, but not very much. Growling, he span on himself for a tail whip that Po could not avoid. He rose his arms to block it, but the impact was too violent, and he was sent flying over the lake and landed on another piece of land.
"Ouch! Dumplings!" the panda exclaimed while rubbing his hurting arms.
He looked up to see the Crocodile Sergeant jumping in the water and swimming in his direction. Crane was still fighting the Crocodile Queen behind by flying around her, gracefully avoiding her attacks, and striking when he had the chance. What was he going to do? There was nowhere for him to go; only one big rock decorated the little land. And he wasn't gonna jump in the water; he would become an easy prey for his enemy.
Wait a minute. A stone? This gave Po an idea.
He waited until the Crocodile Sergeant came close enough and leapt in the air, his jaw wide open for a good bite. At the very last moment, Po avoided the attack, ran into the rock, and found himself bouncing back because of the impact. He was sent flying into the Crocodile Sergeant's face like a cannonball, violently stunning him. Seeing him stagger to his feet, Po realized this was the perfect opportunity to finish him off.
"Get ready to fell a good taste of panda awesomeness!" Spreading his legs, tightening his rear end, and sucking his stomach in, Po rushed forward and hit the giant reptile's face with a powerful belly smack, sending him back in the water, and disappearing below the surface. "That's right, and stay in your little pool, buddy! When you mess with Po the Warrior, you better be ready to get shell-shocked! Even if you don't have a shell... But you know what I mean!"
Po came back to reality when he heard something slamming hard on the ground and turned his head to see Crane avoiding a violent tail attack from the Crocodile Queen. Right, they still had to neutralize her. Even though he knew the Master of Fujian White Crane Style should be more than capable of handling this situation, he decided to go give him some back up and leapt in the water (in spite of hating getting his clothes wet).
A large rock stood not too far behind the roaring reptile queen. This gave Po yet another idea. Sneaking his way around the battlefield, he remembered his training with Shifu and climbed the stone while being careful not to alert the Crocodile Queen. During his ascension, Crane noticed his presence. He gave him a wink. Crane nodded as he understood Po would be trying something, and did everything he could to distract the queen.
Arriving on top of the stone, Po took a cool pose and adjusted his rice hat. "Alright, evil queen, get ready to feel the thunda!" He jumped from the stone, and spread his limbs as he approached his target. "PANDA QUAKE!" The queen merely had time to look up before Po crashed on top of her, the force of the impact knocking her out instantly. "Oh yeah, you just got panda quake-ed, girl!" he boasted, crossing his arms with a grin.
"Good job, Po," Crane praised his companion, flying up to him. "I take it that the Crocodile Sergeant has been neutralized as well?"
"Yup! One good belly smack in the face, and he was down for the count!" Po replied, smacking his tummy in the air for emphasis. "Those two weren't that much trouble. Guess I've really grown into a strong warrior!"
"He-hem!" Po turned his head to see Crane giving him an annoyed look. "I helped too, you know."
"Oh, right, sorry. You did great too, Master Crane," Po quickly said, giving a sheepish look.
Rolling his eyes, the waterfowl tuned his attention back to the unconscious Crocodile Queen. "Alright, let's tie them all up. After that, we'll go check on the villagers and send a message to the Imperial Army to arrest these crocs."
With all the members of the Imperial Golden Croc Gang tied up, Po and Crane returned to the Tortoise Village, where all the villagers awaited them. They received beams and applauds from the tortoises upon arriving. "You're safe now; these bad crocs won't bother you anymore," Po announced.
"Thank you so much, Egg Master Po!" Lady Waike thanked, carrying an egg in her hands.
"Huh. Could you avoid calling me that? It's not very, huh... Kung Fu-y, you know what I mean?" Po asked, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.
"You are a true hero," the elder lady tortoise assured with a beautiful smile, causing the young panda to blush.
"I helped too, y'know," Crane once again said, feeling a bit annoyed at his companion taking all the credits.
"Oh, yeah, good flappin' there, pal," Po assured. The egg in Lady Waike's hands suddenly cracked open, revealing a miniature version of Master Oogway. It gave an adorable smile, cooing and reaching his little hands toward Po. He looked at him in... admiration? "Aww, aren't you the most adorable thing?" Po beamed, patting the newborn on the head.
"I will send a message to the Imperial Army now, Po," Crane said and flew away. Po gave a nod when a notification window popped up in front of him. And it wasn't to announce a level up.
'New nickname earned: Egg Master!'
Author's note: The training Shifu made Po do at the start is based on the real life training to learn the Imperial Bear Style of Kung Fu. I just thought it might be a good idea to expend the reach of Po's Kung Fu capabilities. And looks like it paid off, as Po had to do a lot of climbing in this chapter. And who knows, maybe his gripping will get better with time.
I need to address something concerning the writing of this story. So far, my writing has been very passive, and I realized I've been spoon-feeding you guys with too much information a chapter. Thanks to my friend, Kraft58, I learned how to handle the pacing and use the active voice instead. I learned it about halfway through this chapter, but so far in, I couldn't switch to my new writing style, so it's gonna be for the next one. Expect a different way of writing, next chapter!
For the re-arrangement of Po's menu, I made this decision because I honestly was having sort of a hard time remembering what was where. Not very ideal to put recipes for food and tea in the same place as Kung Fu techniques and other skills. So, I added a feature that should come with any RPG and allowed Po to modify his menu's interface, that way, it'll be easier to find my way around. I deleted the attributes section because... well, I don't think Po'll need to remember all this info he already knows about himself.
While we're on the subject of Po's power, he unlocked a new feature: Party! He can now share the functions of his Experience System Chi with his allies. Crane is the first Jade Place member to officially learn about Po unlocking his Chi; wonder how the others will take it.
On a more serious matter, I gotta confess something to you guys... I have no idea where to go with the Thousand Scrolls. I know I set them up to play a major role in this story - because they do seem to be important in the KFP lore - but finding a thousand different form of content is no easy task. I don't wanna use tricks from LOA like the Fluttering Finger Mindslip technique (seriously, Po would be too OP if he could just erase his opponents' memories). So, if you KFP fans wanna help me with ideas to fill these scrolls, I would sincerely appreciate it. Just don't submit ridiculous techniques, like, for example, a magic armor that makes Po invincible for a certain amount of time.
The later portion of this chapter was based on the 'Lotus Lake' level from the first KFP video game. This was the perfect opportunity to write some bonding time between Po and Crane, especially the part where they talked about their hats. Also... Crane's real name is Jien! I just hope I got his species correctly, as I've never been 100% sure what species Crane is supposed to be.