Becoming Strong
Heat surged in the blackness, and fire sprouted out all around him. The flames rose high over his head to an unseen blackened ceiling. Po's lungs cried for air. He looked up past the towering flames and saw four pairs of yellow glowing eyes on gigantic silhouettes, glaring down at his inferior body. His heart thumped in his chest. He heard the sharp ringing echo in the air and clasped his hands to his ears. Suddenly, the floor gave way, and Po fell down, down, down.
Crash!
"OOWWW! What the huh! What's going on!" Po ripped the blanket off of him. He was on the floor of his bedroom, with no flames or eyes insight. "Whew, I'm okay, I'm okay, I'm good. I uh... I should... get some food," Po panted. He struggled to his feet, but something nagged at him. His vision grew hazy. The posters and leftover bowls in his room looked blurry and darker. His heart thumped louder and louder in his skull until a loud white noise rang in his ears. He could hear nothing, but he walked forward. Each step wobbled as he pressed on.
He got to the kitchen. He didn't know how, but as Po crashed into a chair, he clamped his hands over his ears. The ring chimed in sync with his banging heart. "Calm down, Po. Calm down." His vision got darker and darker, and the ringing was as loud as a gong.
But then, his heart slowed down. Its thumping gently relaxed into a soft melodious pumping. His sight cleared, and Po saw the wooden table, the chairs, and the kitchen in its usual disarray. The panda gasped as he relaxed into his chair.
A panic attack. He usually got them when something traumatic was going on.
Po plopped his elbows on the table, staring into the wood. All he could think of was the rhino guard's warning about his strength. "What if the guards are right? What if I'm not strong enough?"
He wasn't strong enough. Try as he might, he wasn't. Po tried shaking his head free of the dark thoughts, but they were too far deep... and familiar.
He remembered the last time he thought he was useless. It was with Tai-Lung. But these guards and Platon all made it seem that this criminal guy was on a different level. How was he supposed to be strong enough?
Then, like a little tiny bunny valiantly standing with her wooden sword drawn against the fierce wild horde, a thought came into Po's head.
Then get stronger.
Po looked out the window. The sun was ready to burst forth for a new day. Might as well try. The panda stood up, still shaky, and declared, "Alright, let's do this."
Meanwhile, Mr. Three and Mr. Four guarded Platon's guest house. It stood behind the Hall of Heroes; they could see the Training Hall down the other mountain peak. Mr. Four's mouth was wide open with drool pouring down his jaw, though he wasn't snoring. Mr. Three rolled his eyes. His partner wasn't always like this, but ever since they started protecting Blackie and Platon, they felt a little more at ease with intruders. Mr. Three looked up at the disappearing stars, a sight he rarely got to see in that cave. "Rahh! Dang it! Who left that there? Oh wait, that was me." Mr. Three turned his head. The voice came from the Training Hall. Getting up, he looked over and saw the unmistakable black and white fur of the Dragon Warrior going into the Training Hall.
"He doesn't seem like the early-riser," Mr. Three said. He looked back at his slumbering friend and shrugged. "Couldn't hurt to get to know the guy better." The rhino made his way over to the Training Hall and found Po practicing his Kung Fu moves on one of the wooden dummies.
"WAH! HA OW!" Which he promptly got whacked by. "UGGHH! Alright, one of these days, I'm gonna beat you," Po pout, angrily pointing his finger at the wooden dummy.
"You know."
"WAHHH!"
"That's not the kind of strength I meant," Mr. Three said.
"Oh... I was just-"
"Don't worry about it." The rhino stepped closer. "The strength I mean. I'm not talking about your Kung Fu moves. I'm talking actual muscle. What's your goal?"
"Uh... to keep my friends-"
"External pressures help, but they don't last for motivation. Do you want to get strong, yes or no?" Po stood silent.
"Yes."
"Why?" Po couldn't answer that. "Don't worry. If you want to get stronger, you want to get stronger. Just make sure that it's your want and not your fear."
"O-Okay."
"Gaining strength takes time. Rest, eat, train, repeat. Try doing your normal training routine but add weights SLOWLY!" Mr. Three said with a stern scowl. "There's no sense in you breaking your back because you rushed the progress. Got it?" Po nodded. The rhino grabbed some light weights and gave them to Po. "First, work on getting your muscle endurance, then slowly up the weight. If it's too heavy, drop back. Remember, the form is key."
"Because it centers a master's chi, I know," Po muttered. He had heard the same thing from Shifu hundreds of times.
"Actually... it's because you don't want to be waking up with a broken back tomorrow," Mr. Three said. The panda gulped. "Alright enough talking. Let's get going."
"Whoa, whoa wait. Do you really think I can do this?" Po asked.
Mr. Three smiled, "I know you can handle it. Now do your routine, the way your master taught you, but easy and steady with the weights." Po nodded. Strapping two weights to his arms, Po tried hitting the wooden dummy, but the guard stopped him. "SLOWLY! Make sure that you've got the movement first then slowly pick it up. Remember, you're not gonna get through this at lightning speed." So Po slowly punched the dummy, blocking its hit, punching, blocking, punching. Again and again, faster and faster. Gradually, he began to get in the line of focus.
That was until his stomach growled. The panda immediately stepped back. "Ooh time to eat." Mr. Three looked down and narrow his eyes. "What's the matter? Do I have something on my feet?" Po asked, glancing down.
"No, no... I just... for a moment, it looked like you were moving faster than your shadow."
"Whoa! Is that even possible?"
Mr. Three shrugged, "It's one of those impossible goals that masters tell their students so they can push themselves. Anyway, go on and eat. No sense starving yourself." Po grinned and bowed.
"Thank you, Mr. Three."
"Just keep pushing yourself you'll get there," Mr. Three said as he walked out of the Training Hall.
****************f**************
"Ya got it?" Mr. Four asked. Monkey rolled his eyes as they walked down the Jade Palace steps. "He needs to be bathed every other day. Make sure that when you're ambushed that you take out the smaller enemies first and-"
"We get it already," Monkey groaned. "Geez, you guys are more worried about the criminal than us."
"Yes, very odd," Platon murmured.
"We take our jobs very seriously, sir," Mr. Three quickly said. "Mr. Four is strategic with defense."
"How do you know we'll be attacked?" Po asked.
"It's better to prepare for something in terms of when it happens instead of if it happens. You spend less time worrying AND you have a plan," Mr. Four said. Po looked back at Tigress and Shifu who only stared back confused.
"Mr... Three? Four?" Tigress guessed.
"I'm Three," said the rhino on the right of Platon. "He's four."
"How do we tell them apart?" Po 'whispered' to Monkey. While the simian shrugged, Platon spoke.
"One is always on the right. The other is always on the left."
"Okay, but which one?" Po asked. Platon smiled as they reached the edge of the village and stopped.
"Are you sure that you do not need more assistance?" Master Shifu asked.
"They'll be fine," Mr. Three said confidently.
"And if they don't make it, we'll get more," Mr. Four said, making the warriors' eyes shoot wide.
"AHH!" Platon exclaimed. "What Mr. Four is trying to say is that we'll readily send re-enforcements if anything goes wrong. Now, the criminal-"
"Uh... Mr. Platon, sir," Po interrupted. "What is this guy's name, exactly?" Platon darted his eyes around, trying to scratch for an answer.
"Uh, his name is... what is his name, soldier?"
"Uh! We um... we call him Blackie, but his name is... uh..." Mr. Three bumbled and scratched his head.
Mr. Four rolled his eyes and sighed, "Wolf. His name is Wolf."
"Is that his real name?" Po asked.
"That's the name you need to know," Mr. Four ominously grunted. The panda chuckled nervously while he stepped behind Tigress.
"Wolf?" Tigress said, nudging the panda away from her. "That's a very... basic name."
Mr. Four's face fell. "Says the woman whose name is literally just her species and gender on a team who have the same naming situation." Platon and Mr. Three shot their glares at Mr. Four's emotionless gaze.
"Excuse me?"
"What Mr. Four is TR-YING to say," Mr. Three growled towards the rhino, "Is that his name is actually very taboo in the criminal underbelly. It's best that his cover name is used. Right, Councilman?"
"...Right," Platon agreed, reluctantly. "I trust Mr. Three's guidance and advice. I hope you'll find the prisoner manageable."
"You're not coming with us?" Po asked.
"Emperor Fu wants me to accompany him on his military campaign in the south," The lion explained. The rhino grumbled softly to each other. "Mr. Three and Mr. Four will be accompanying you to the pris- Wolf's cell."
"We'll be traveling in the opposite direction," Mr. Three said, "Come on, we have a long trek." Po and Monkey nodded, waving Tigress and Master Shifu goodbye. Platon watched the team go on over the grassy hill and disappear over the horizon.
"Master Shifu," He called, "Do you believe that your panda student is able to defeat any obstacles?"
"I'm sure that the prisoner will-"
"I'm not asking about the prisoner," The lion interrupted. "In general, can Po overcome the obstacles put before him?" The red panda paused, stroking his beard.
"Po's heart guides him most of the time. While his ideas are... outlandish, when he follows his heart, there's nothing that Po can't do."
"The heart," Platon echoed, "There's so much in it, and so much that can be ripped from it."
"What do you mean, Councilman?" Tigress asked. The lion shook himself awake and smiled.
"No worries. I'll be contacting you all shortly after Wolf is transported," Platon said. The two masters nodded, and the light brown feline walked towards his destination, hiding his frown. "Those guards are up to something. I don't know what, though." He said to himself.
Meanwhile, Po and his crew traveled through thick bamboo forests and across flooded rice paddies. The guards never spoke other than a few sentences, and Po couldn't bear the silence for long. Monkey kept him busy for a while, but any secrets Po wanted to know the rhinos kept to their breastplates tightly. Soon, they crossed another forest, and the air grew cool and misty. "Uh... are you sure we're going the right way?" Po asked.
"Yes," Mr. Three answered.
"Who is guarding this guy while you two are away?" Monkey asked.
"The Emperor stationed an entire garrison to watch Bla- Wolf," Said Mr. Four. Po saw his strong jaw squeezing hard.
"Is Wolf... really dangerous?" Po asked timidly. Laughing, Monkey playfully smacked the panda's back.
"What's the matter, Po? Getting scared?"
"I'm not scared! I was just... wondering," Po remarked. Mr. Three and Four looked at each other and silently continued on.
"Of course, he's dangerous, Po. Any prisoner is gonna be dangerous," Monkey said. "You remember what Platon said. And if he's as dangerous as they said to felines, imagine what he could do to Tigress."
"Yeah... I guess you're right," Po sighed. "Wait, why did you bring up Tigress?"
"Oh! Uh... because she's the only feline we know?" Monkey rally back with a cheesy grin. Po narrowed his eyes but continued on. The forest cleared, but the mist from the lake grew thicker. They walked around its edge and came to the dark black mouth of the cave. It groaned with an unknown voice, something unearthly. The panda gulped. "Hehe, uh... dark."
"Halt!"
"DAAH!"
"Who goes there!" called a guard.
"Easy," Mr. Three said, "We're here with the transport." The guards drew back. Mr. Four and Monkey walked into the cave first, but Mr. Three held Po back. "You asked how dangerous he is. He's not," The rhino whispered. "It's his enemies that are the dangerous ones."
"Soooooo why is he in prison?" Po asked. Mr. Three sighed. "There's something you're not telling me."
"There's a LOT I'm not telling you. But if you survive-"
"SURVIVE?!"
"You will figure out the truth. Or better yet, put an end to this misery," Mr. Three muttered as he went into the cave. The panda gulped and slowly stepped into the cave, feeling its darkness swallow him. Guards were stationed every other step with torches by their sides. Po could hear his heart thumping over his own steps. At last, they came to the wooden door, where two guards lazed on their butts.
"Up man," ordered Mr. Four.
"We're gettin', we're gettin'," One of the guards muttered.
"We're moving the prisoner now. Make sure that everything is ready," Mr. Four said.
"I hope you don't take your guard duty as lightly when you're traveling with the prisoner," Mr. Three grunted.
"That little guy?" laughed the guard. "He's just been rollin' around in his filth all day. Says nothin' does nothin'. He ain't running away from us." Mr. Three's glare hardened as the guards opened the door. "Oi, little guy! Time to rise n' shine!"
"He's chained down, soldier," Mr. Four chided. Mr. Three and Mr. Four went into the blackness and undid the prisoner's chains. Po could hear the rhinos whispering. Mr. Three and Mr. Four emerged with the prisoner. His bright red eyes blinked again and again at the simple flames of the torches. His paws were fastened in a wooden block chained to his ankles. Brown dirt clung to his black fur, but he didn't smell as much as Po thought. After adjusting to the light, the wolf focused on the white and black figures in front of him.
"Blackie... I mean, Wolf," Mr. Three restated, "These are your escorts to Chor-Gom Prison. This is Master Monkey, and the panda is the Dragon Warrior." While the simian's face was neutral, Po nervously chuckled, waving his hand.
"Hi."
Wolf blinked several times at the panda before looking at Mr. Three. "Yes, that is the Dragon Warrior. Don't worry, you'll be fine."
"Alright then," Said the guard, "Let's get this guy to his new craphole. Come on, dog." He grabbed Wolf's chains and thrust him up the cave stairs.
"Don't be harsh with him," Mr. Three demanded.
"What's the little guy gonna do?" mocked the guard. "Talk me to death?" Mr. Three gritted his teeth, but a reassuring hoof from Mr. Four calmed him.
"So what will happen to you guys?" Po asked.
"Well, after going to the garrison... Platon said that we would be... going into retirement," Mr. Three said. The wolf suddenly stopped and spun around. His fur stood up on end.
"Oi! Who told you to-"
"Enough!" Shouted Mr. Four. "Before I put you in chains myself!" Mr. Three walked up to the wolf and petted his head. A sad but brave smile creased the slightly seasoned rhino as Wolf's red eyes looked for assurance.
"Don't worry, little guy. We'll be alright." The rhino smiled. The wolf silently nodded and walked alongside the other guards. Po looked at Mr. Three and Four.
"Po, let's go," Monkey called.
"Right... okay," Po murmured. The procession went up and out. Wolf slowly blinked his eyes at the blinding light pouring in.
"Come on, you," Called the guard.
"Alright, that's enough," Po argued. "Monkey and I will stand next to him. Why don't you two get in the back?"
"What? Now the prisoner gets special treatment? Oh, I'm sooo sorry," The guard grumbled to the back. The wolf looked up at Po and quietly nodded a thank you.
"Come on, let's get you out of here," Po smiled.
"Are you sure we're supposed to be doing this?" Monkey asked as they crossed the mouth of the cave and into the light.
"You know those guys were being mean. If this guy was a jerk, sure, but he hasn't done anything."
"Yet." The panda rolled his eyes as they marched forward towards Chor-Gom Prison. The mist slowly ebbed away as they left the cave. Wolf looked back. The mist slowly covered the cave. Po saw this. The wolf's heart was breaking loud enough for anyone to hear.
"You miss them. The soldiers?" Po asked him quietly. The wolf nodded and sadly walked on.
**************F******
The brown bear rolled back his shoulders, cracking the stiffness in his neck. Each step he made sent the earth rumbling. He stood 7 feet tall with thick fur stretching from head to tail. This was Sho, the ironic leader of the Bear Bandits, considered the strongest set of BOAR bandits in China. As he entered his camp, he threw his massive long hammer across his shoulders. "Alright slobs!" he shouted to his men. "I'm going for a walk!"
"Boss, where are you going?" asked one of his smaller boar bandits. Sho gave a cruel grin, flaring his nostrils in a snort.
"I'm doin' a breakout," Sho said. "Emperor stuffy butt's moving one of the most dangerous criminals in China."
"Are you making him join our group?" another boar asked.
"HAHAHAHA!" The bareback Sho laughed, slamming the heavy tip of his long hammer to the ground. "No, no. I'm not making him join our group. I'm just making his life a little more... interesting." Sho's grin stretched from ear to ear as he chuckled at his plan.
Continued...
