AN: This chapter's a bit bigger. I kept thinking of new things to add and trying to decide on a couple plot points. Still, it should hopefully be fun and interesting. The next chapter shall come... whenever it's ready!
Chapter 3: Greetings, Pandas. At Last We Meet!
Compared to her friends' hectic mornings, Mei's routine was much simpler; she slumped out of bed with a yawn, washed her face, and brushed her teeth. She was still a bit groggy, both from the usual morning tiredness and from her late-night wish to Sun Yee.
A tinge of sadness fell over her as she brushed. Despite her hopes, her passionate wish to Sun Yee had seemingly gone unanswered.
Stupid! What was I thinking, making a wish like that to Sun Yee?! Did I ask too much from her? Maybe the panda thing just wasn't meant to be shared…
Still, she tried not to be too sad about it; even if her friends couldn't do what she could, they were still her besties, and nothing would ever change that!
Sure would've been nice if they could enjoy it too, though…
With a determined smile, Mei finished up in the bathroom and slipped on her usual outfit – a pink polo shirt, purple skirt and tights – before heading to breakfast.
At the dining table, Mei unsurprisingly found her parents already present. Ming was putting the finishing touches on a bowl of congee while Jin had his nose buried in the newspaper. Mei decided to make her presence known.
"Hi, mom! Hi, dad!" She happily yelled, jumping into her usual spot at the table. Jin playfully ruffled her hair as Ming turned to greet her.
"Hello, my little overachiever." Ming spoke, placing the finished bowl before Mei. "Have any plans this Saturday?"
Had this conversation took place a month ago, Mei would have responded with a half-smile and the usual answer of "temple duties", but after everything that unfolded between them, Ming had resolved to try to give her daughter more freedom to do as she pleased.
To that end, Mei instead answered; "Well, Tyler said the arcade got some new games, so I was thinking about dropping by with my besties later."
"The arcade?" Ming raised an eyebrow. "Where all those… bloody and inappropriate games are? That arcade?!"
Mei raised her arms to placate her. "Chill, mom. I know the rules. No blood, revealing clothes or anything that could be construed as culturally insensitive." Even though Ming was trying to be more lenient, Mei recognised that she still had to set some boundaries.
Ming hummed in agreement. "Good girl. Well, have fun and…" Her dialogue was interrupted when her Tamagotchi beeped to assert its hunger. "This little guy's hungry again?" Rolling her eyes, she took the device off her neck (she had it hung the same way her old brooch was; old habits die hard) – and tapped to feed her spirit for the umpteenth time that week.
Mei elected to suppress a chuckle at the sight of her mom trying to play her old Tamagotchi (R.I.P Robaire Jr.) and instead dug into her bowl. As she ate, she thought back to that fateful night in the spirit realm, when her mom pleaded with her to come back and get her panda spirit sealed.
Mei kinda understood why her mom didn't want to keep her own panda – years of family trauma wouldn't just disappear overnight – but it felt pretty lonely being the only one in the family with a panda.
Mom, I wish you didn't hurt so bad and you could see how cool the panda is. Maybe yours wouldn't be so big and… angry if you let it out more…? From Mei's personal experience, the panda really didn't like being suppressed, and Ming never, ever let it out beyond the incidents with Grandma Wu and Pandamonium 2002.
Before she could ruminate further, the chime of the doorbell interrupted Mei's musings. Ming immediately got up to answer the door. "Oh, now in the world could that be, this early in the morning?"
As Ming opened the door, she gasped. Mei turned to finish up her breakfast.
"Uh… hey, Mrs. Lee. Fancy meeting you here." Miriam said, casually.
Mei's spoon dropped, and she confusedly turned to look at the hallway. Wait, Mir?! She's not usually a morning person, so why's she here this early? Weird…
"M-Miriam?! Priya? Abby? T-T-T-TYLER?!" Ming sounded really confused now, and Mei felt a bit more confused too. All her besties were here? This early? On a Saturday?!
What Ming shouted next further cinched it. "WHY ARE YOU ALL PANDAS?!"
Wait, WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?! P-p-p-pandas?! Then that means…
Mei leapt out of her seat, her breakfast now forgotten. As she slid into the hallway, she was greeted with the sight of her mom fainting to the floor, and her friends now looking a lot bigger and furrier than she remembered.
Her ears and tail unconsciously popped out, and her jaw dropped. Somehow, against all logic and probability, her impulsive, hastily made wish came true, and her besties were now giant, cuddly red pandas.
The green panda – Miriam – spoke, her usual confidence gone. "Mei?"
Still, Mei had to be sure this wasn't all some weird dream. "Mir? Is it really you?" She asked the green panda.
"You know it, girl. Surprise?" The green panda flashed a familiar goofy, brace-covered smile, and Mei knew right then and there that it was still her flannel-loving bestie under all that green fur, no matter what.
"Aw, Mir." She turned to the other pandas. "Abby, Priya, Tyler? You guys, too?"
"Yup!" "Hmmm." "Duh." After the three exchanged nods, Mei's gaze turned to her fainted mom.
First things first.
Going full panda, Mei carefully slung her mom over her shoulder with her panda strength and gestured for her transformed friends to join her in the living room. "Wanna come in? We should… uh… probably wait for mom to wake up first..."
The living room felt extremely cramped with four giant pandas plus a now-human Mei plus Ming's prone form all taking up space, but somehow, Mei managed. She was just glad her mom and dad re-enforced the furniture after her first stint as a panda.
Ming lay on the couch, still unconscious, with Mei sitting by her feet. Miriam and Priya stood to one side of the room, the former looking nervous and the latter sporting her usual half-lidded frown. Tyler and Abby stood to the other side, Tyler looking visibly uncomfortable (though he tried to play it off) and Abby looking in awe at how fluffy her friends were.
Jin elected not to question anything and had instead retreated to the kitchen to heat up some herbal tea. Mei was so grateful that he hadn't questioned the four technicolour pandas showing up on his doorstep; he was a lot more easy-going than mom in that regard.
As Mei glanced around the now-very-crowded room, trying to figure out the best way to break the news to her friends and mom, she was torn between jubilation and horror at the results of her impulsive wish.
I CAN'T BELIEVE IT WORKED! MY BESTIES ARE PANDAS! I DON'T HAVE TO BE ALONE ANYMORE!
I mean, I should probably try to break the ice, but what the heck do I say?! 'Hi, besties, sorry I turned you all into pandas without asking!'
Aw, who am I kidding! My besties are gonna kill me for this! Mom's gonna kill me twice! This was a stupid idea, stupid stupid-
A furry green paw on her shoulder interrupted her. "Mei? You okay?" Mei jolted out of her panicked thoughts to see her panda-fied friends now gathered around her in concern – even Tyler. Feeling her cheeks sting, Mei realised she must have started hitting herself again and took a breath to calm down.
"Yeah, I'm cool."
"Good, because I'm hoping you have some explanation for this weird panda stuff!" Tyler rudely butted in, clearly unnerved by his new form. "I don't know how the heck you live with all this hair!"
"Tyler, quiet." Priya butted in, before turning to Mei. "But yeah, he's right; do you have any idea what's going on here? I'm pretty sure puberty doesn't normally include giant pandas."
"Not that I'm complaining! I'm so CUTE!" Abby piped in, clearly having the time of her life as a pink panda.
Mei awkwardly rubbed her head. She'd been trying to cut down on her lies since Pandamonium 2002, and she couldn't lie to her friends about this!
"Alright, girls, you deserve the truth. Promise you won't get mad…" She shrunk under their curious expressions.
Miriam wanted to question why she or any of their besties would be mad but pushed it aside after seeing Mei's nervous expression. Her bestie needed her support, regardless of how weird her own body felt right now. "Sure, Mei. We promise we won't be mad. Right, girls?"
"Seconded."
"Third!"
"Fine. I won't get mad, panda girl…" Tyler folded his arms.
"Okay. Last night, I may have snuck out to Sun Yee's temple… and kinda… sorta… askedhertoturnallofyouintopandas." Mei hastily muttered. The room went silent as the impact of her hurried words sunk in.
"WHAT?!" Tyler suddenly broke the silence with a roar, to which Mei recoiled. She already knew what it felt like, but seeing those piercing red eyes still terrified her. "WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!"
However, before he could do anything, Miriam, Priya and Abby all held him back; the three girls' strength easily overpowering his own. Miriam yelled for him to calm down. "Calm down, Tyler! I'm sure Mei had a good explanation!"
"Yeah, Ty! Chill out!" Abby noted, dodging a clumsy paw swipe. "Don't make me sit on you!"
"WHY WOULD YOU CURSE ME WITH THE THING THAT ALMOST MAULED ME, MEI?!"
"Find your inner peace, Tyler." Priya quickly noted, dodging another swipe. "I'm sure she didn't mean it like that."
When a portrait fell off the wall and shattered upon the ground, Mei knew what she had to do. "I DIDN'T MEAN TO CURSE YOU!" She screamed, now in full panda form, before immediately poofing back to her human form.
The statement stopped him in his tracks, and he immediately quietened down with an unsure "W-what…?"
Miriam chipped in too. She wasn't exactly happy either but had set it aside to protect her friend. "Why'd you do it, Mei?"
Mei answered uneasily, twiddling her paws. "As far as I know, I'm the only panda girl out there, and I felt… lonely." She poofed her tail and ears to prove the point. "You guys don't have any spirit stuff, and most of my family sealed their pandas away. I just wanted you guys to see what it's like, to have someone I could hang with on that front."
Her friends now looked concerned, a lot of Tyler's prior anger dissipating at the reveal. He knew what it felt like to be alone more than anyone. "When I went to the concert, I flew across the sky! It was so awesome, turning from human to panda and back again and running across rooftops! I wanted you guys to get a taste of that…!"
Tears pierced her eyes. She never wanted to hurt her friends the way she did, and now they were mad at her. "I'm sorry, guys. I'm sorry I didn't ask first. I didn't even think it would work; it was a major long shot, and I was dumb, and I never should have-WOAH!" She found herself smothered by panda fur in short order, as her friends raced to gather her in a hug.
"You… did all this for us?" Miriam asked, burying Mei's face in her fur.
"SWEET!" Abby yelled, hugging both Mei and Miriam from the left.
"I guess it is pretty cool of you…" Priya noted, hugging the two from the right.
"You guys aren't mad?" Mei mumbled, her face stuck deep in Miriam's stomach.
"Of course not, Mei. I mean, sure, I'm not exactly happy about you doing this without asking me, but you meant well for us. Besides, it might be fun!"
"Besides, I always did want a tail." Priya noted, wagging her own tail in response.
"And I always wanted to be fluffy, ever since you got the panda! We could be panda sisters!" Abby piped in, snuggling into the hug. "Urgh… so... soft…!"
"Thanks, guys…" Mei could only mutter in response as the group parted.
Tyler, the only one who hadn't joined the hug, awkwardly sat off to the side. "Well, now I feel like a grade-A jerkwad. This whole time, I thought you cursed me as revenge for all the times I was a jerk to you." He slumped down to the ground. "Urgh! I'm sorry. I really am 'stupid evil Tyler'…"
Mei walked up to him, sympathetic. "It's okay, Tyler. Y'know, I reacted the same way when I first learned about Sun Yee's blessing. I thought it was a curse and tried to tear up her shrine!"
Tyler chuckled. "So, I guess 'perfect little Mei-Mei' wasn't so perfect after all."
"And 'stupid evil Tyler' isn't so evil. I dunno about the 'stupid' part, though!" Mei jabbed, causing Tyler to try to noogie her as the group laughed, the chaos of the past minute completely forgotten.
Once things calmed down, Mei smiled. They would get through it as they always had, as friends. "Y'know, you're all taking this whole panda business way better than I did when I first found out about it."
Miriam smiled, ruffling Mei's hair. "We learned from the best. I mean, sure, it's not really cool being stuck like this, but the whole 'giant panda' deal sucks less when you know it can just happen to anyone."
"TRUTH!" Abby yelled as Priya nodded in agreement.
"I just hope your mom doesn't kill me; she seemed totally mad there." Miriam solemnly noted.
"She's just scared of things she doesn't fully understand, Mir." Mei shrugged. "I'm just trying to think of the best way to break this to her."
"Pfft." Tyler scoffed. "This whole panda business is too cutesy for me. And how do you deal with the smell? It stinks in here!"
"Well, you kind of get used to-" Mei's panda ears perked up. "Wait, you think the panda's cute?"
"WHAT?! I didn't-"
"Don't deny it, Tyler. You think the panda's C-U-T-E!" Abby interrupted him.
Priya joined in, smirking. "Yeah, Tyler. Admit it!"
Tyler almost raised a paw to argue, but thought better of it. "Alright, fine. The panda's kind of cute. Just keep quiet, this is embarrassing enough already..." He mumbled, and did he just blush through his fur?
"Nope! We're totally gonna tease you about this for years to come!" Mei piped in, the other girls chuckling as Tyler tried to hide under his hair tuft.
"Wait a minute." Miriam suddenly noted. "Mei, didn't you say only the girls in your family get pandas or something?"
"Uh, yeah?" Mei noted, before thinking on the implications. "But if Tyler got a panda spirit, then that might mean…"
The entire group went silent out of shock at the implications. The four girls turned to Tyler, jaws dropped.
Priya chipped in. "Tyler, are you a girl now?
Tyler went as pale as a giant blue panda could. He'd never thought about it before, being much too busy running in terror that morning. "I… uh, well, I think I'm still the same. Y'know, besides the whole 'giant panda' thing."
"Oh, okay. That's good. I mean, good that you don't think the panda thing's changed you that much, not… I mean, if you do wanna go that way we're all totally cool-"
"I get it, Mei!" Tyler yelled, desperately wanting to sink into the ground that very moment. "You'd all still accept me no matter what, right?"
"Of course, Tyler!" Miriam tenderly spoke. "You're a 4*Townie like us, and like we always say…"
"4*Townies for life!" The five yelled at once, breaking into another fit of laughter.
"Having fun, everone? Tea's ready." Before anyone could question the situation further, Jin came in with five cups of tea on a tray. He handed a cup to each of the girls and Tyler. "Be careful, it's hot. This blend relaxes the mind and body. It should help all of you change back before Ming wakes up."
"Thanks, dad." Mei said, her friends chorusing a "Thanks, Mr. Lee." in response. As they collectively sipped their tea, technicolour smoke filled the room.
POOF!
Jin quickly opened a window as Mei waved away the smoke. Once it dissipated, Miriam, Priya, Abby and Tyler had all reverted to their human forms. They took a collective sigh of relief once they realised as such, except for Abby, who looked disappointed. Tyler took another breath upon realising that yes, he was indeed still male. The panda thing would have been difficult enough to explain to mom and dad.
Miriam and Priya both wore their usual outfits, having had the sense to change back before going to see Mei. Abby, on the other hand, wore a pink nightgown emblazoned with rainbows, and Tyler wore a black t-shirt (with 4*Town emblazoned upon it, natch) and boxer shorts.
Mei knew she should be better than this, but she couldn't resist another light jab at her favourite jerkwad's expense. "Nice undies, Tyler!" She called, punctuated with a wolf whistle from Abby.
"Gah!" Tyler hastily covered himself up with a nearby bathrobe, his panda ears and tail poofing back out as he blushed even harder. Unknowingly, Mei found herself blushing too; was it just her, or was Tyler kind of cute when he got embarrassed like that?
Shaking her head to distract herself from these weird feelings, Mei noticed her friends' hair colors had also changed, now being the same colors as those of their panda forms. Cool, but super weird. Shouldn't they be red like me?
"Woah." Abby muttered in awe. "We're like a living rainbow of hair…"
"Great." Tyler said, sarcastically. "This is gonna be easy to explain to mom and dad…"
"So, Mei?" The five teens turned to Jin, who had now procured the smelling salts. "Are you ready to break the news to Ming?"
Everyone's eyes turned to Mei, awaiting her response. She really wasn't, but she didn't want to drag this uncertainty out any further. Steeling her resolve, she nodded. "Ready."
Ming's eyes fluttered as she returned to the land of the living. "Urgh… My head."
"H-hey, mom." Mei uneasily waved, her friends just behind her.
"Mei-Mei? What happened?" Ming mumbled, clutching her head. As her vision cleared, she saw Mei's friends all standing around, now looking very awkward. And what was with their hair…?
"Uhhh…" Mei chose her words very carefully. "What do you remember?"
"Well, I remember making breakfast, then answering the door. At the door were… oh no." Horror dawned on Ming as she realised it wasn't a dream, that Mei's friends had somehow, against all known rules of Sun Yee's blessing, became red pandas too. Jumping to her feet, she slowly stepped past Mei to get a closer look.
"How did this happen?!" She asked the group, who slightly recoiled in fear of her possible wrath. She quickly took a deep breath to focus herself, to quell her own rising fear and confusion. "Sun Yee's blessing is supposed to stay within this family bloodline; there's no feasible way any of you should have it. Especially you, Tyler."
Mei nervously laughed. "Hehehehe… About that…"
Ming turned to her daughter, now even more confused. "Did you have something to do with this, Mei-Mei?"
Mei shuddered on the spot, trying to think of an excuse, but ultimately dismissed it. Mom's gonna kill me for this, for sure. "Yes, mom." She sighed. "Last night, I kinda snuck out to Sun Yee's shrine and asked her to turn my friends into red pandas."
"You did WHAT behind my back?!" Ming suddenly yelled, her Tamagotchi glowing the same bright red it did right before she fainted. "What if Sun Yee reacted badly to that request? What if your friends couldn't handle her panda spirits? Those pandas are war machines, Mei! What if one of them attacks someone?!" Ming frantically gestured to a scared Tyler, who cringed upon remembering the birthday incident.
However, upon seeing the terrified expressions on her daughter's face, Ming took a deep breath to calm herself - losing her temper now wouldn't solve anything - and the glow vanished once more. She might as well find out why her little Mei-Mei went to such lengths, and to do that she needed to get herself under control.
"Now, Mei-Mei. I won't be mad. Just answer me honestly, please." Ming took her now-quivering daughter's cheek in her hand. "Why would you feel the need to ask Sun Yee to transform your friends into pandas?"
"I'm sorry, mom. I just wanted them to see how cool the panda was." Ming raised a finger to object but retracted it when Mei sniffled. "I'm, like, the only panda I know. None of my besties have spirits and all my family sealed theirs away, even you."
Swiftly recalling how lonely her daughter felt when she first discovered her panda, Ming quickly swept Mei into a hug. "Oh, my poor little girl. I never realised how lonely you must have felt…"
"I just wanted someone I could share that joy with… I'm so sorry."
"It's okay, Mei-Mei. What's done is done." Ming released the hug, before putting her hands on her hips. "Unfortunately, I will still have to punish you for what you did. You could have severely hurt someone with your reckless wish and that cannot be forgiven. You will be grounded until the next red moon, at which point your friends will have their panda spirits extracted."
Mei slumped her head, sadly. "I understand, mom." Her friends moaned in disappointment but didn't dare argue with her; even as a human, she retained an air of authority that no one dared cross.
Miriam stepped in front of her friend defiantly, much to Mei's surprise. "Come on, Mrs. Lee! Can you please just trust Mei for once!?"
"MIRIAM?!" Ming questioned, not used to Mei's friends talking back to her. "You have no authority in this-"
"No, but just hear me out. Look, I'm not exactly happy about this myself, but she just wanted us to be happy! Right, guys?"
"YEAH!" Abby, Priya and Tyler shouted.
"Besides, she managed to learn how to control herself just fine…" As Miriam went on, a light bulb practically lit up over Mei's head. She had another idea.
"…so what if I teach my besties how to use their new forms?" Mei interrupted.
Ming looked dumbfounded for a moment. "You, teach them? Mei, the panda's not a toy you can hand to anyone! It's a force that only knows destruction-"
"I can control it just fine!" She yelled, before realising her mother's implications. "You don't… trust me?" Mei sadly muttered. Mom still doesn't think I can control it?
Jin cleared his throat, drawing the room's attention towards him. "Maybe we could trust her this once? Sun Yee did grant her wish, so perhaps this was meant to happen?"
"I-!" Ming raised a finger to argue but found she couldn't. Regardless of her own personal feelings on the matter, Sun Yee had, somehow, against all logic and everything Ming knew about her, granted Mei's wish. Maybe this was meant to be?
She sighed. "When's the next red moon?"
"I believe it's at some point in July."
Great, another month away… She turned to Mei's friends. "How do you all feel about your panda forms?"
"It feels weird, no doubt about that." Miriam noted, unsure. "But if Mei wants me to try it, I'm game."
"I've always wanted to be cute and fluffy!" Abby yelled excitedly.
"I get a sweet tail and ears out of the deal, so it's cool by me." Priya added.
"I dunno, this whole thing still feels super freaky to me…" Tyler noted. "But Mei thinks it's cool, so I guess I owe it to her to give the panda thing a shot."
"Very well. I have decided on a new punishment." Ming turned to her daughter, who cringed in fear. "Meilin Lee. For going behind my back and making a secret wish to Sun Yee, your punishment shall be…"
Mei shook nervously, bracing herself for emotional impact. "…teaching your friends how to use their new panda forms."
The room went quiet to the point where you could hear a pin drop. "…I'm sorry, mom, could you repeat that? I think I misheard you or something."
"You didn't mishear, Mei-Mei. I'm going to give you a chance to prove yourself. Sun Yee had enough faith in you to grant your wish, and so shall I." She ran her fingers across her daughter's cheek. "Prove your friends can control their panda forms, and they shall be allowed to keep them - provided their parents approve, of course. Fail, however, and they must get them sealed away by the next red moon. Are you up to the challenge?"
Once the realisation sunk in, Mei grabbed her mom in a giant, bone-crushing hug, now fully in panda mode. "THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I promise, I won't let you down!" Jin joined in the hug, followed by Miriam, Abby, Priya, and Tyler.
"Please… let me down…" Ming wheezed, to which Mei did so.
"Oops, sorry. So, can I start training my besties now?" Mei asked, practically bouncing on the spot out of sheer happiness. "I've got a ton of ideas I wanna try!"
Ming gave a small smile. "You are excused."
"Awesome. Come on, besties! Training awaits!" And with that, the five friends all raced out the front door, all thanking Ming in their own words before departing.
Now thoroughly exhausted, Ming slumped to the couch and flipped on the TV set. Unsurprisingly, news reports featuring video footage of the teens-turned-pandas rampaging through Toronto flooded the screen, to which Ming let out a sigh.
Upon being handed a cup of tea by Jin, who joined her on the couch a second later, Ming sipped it down. "Did I do the right thing, Jin? Letting her friends potentially keep their panda forms?"
"Who knows?" Jin shrugged. "But I know Mei appreciates that you're now putting your faith in her. Her friends, too."
"What if one of them loses control the same way I did? They won't be able to live with the guilt!" Ming put her face in her hands. "Maybe this was a mistake…" Jin rubbed her on the back, reassuringly.
"Mei's friends are good people. If one of them ends up on the edge, the others will be there for them." Though he wouldn't dare voice it to Ming, Jin also had a slight inkling that his daughter's friends were who really taught Mei how to control her panda.
Ming could only sigh in response.
The phone rang, and Ming facepalmed, knowing the sheer amount of chaos Mei's friends caused, combined with the unpleasant reminder of Pandapocalyse 2002, likely meant she'd be getting more than a few angry calls this time. She'd likely have to inform their parents about their children's new furry forms too…
And then she'd have to check the archives in the temple. She swore none of the scrolls said anything about this, but she must have missed something, somewhere, because none of this was adding up. Not once did any of them mention anything about power transfers or male red pandas or red pandas that weren't red!
Needless to say, she had a lot of work to do.
"Sun Yee, please help me…"
In Hawaii, Grandma Wu watched the chaos unfolding before her on the TV screen, clutching her 4*Town necklace - a harsh reminder of the past month. She'd been dreading this moment; the idea of someone outside the Lee family bloodline gaining access to their panda abilities.
She vaguely recognised the pandas as those youngsters Mei hung around during that 4*Town fiasco; the girls in green, pink and yellow, and that boy in blue who all somehow got 4*Town to help seal away Ming's panda spirit. If they were pandas now, then that might mean Mei…
"Oh, Mei-Mei. What have you done now…?" Wu muttered, face in her hand. This couldn't end well.
"My, my. Intriguing…" A rough-looking man in a black suit muttered in a gravelly Chinese accent, stroking his beard as he watched the technicolour pandas race about on his screens. Since Pandamonium 2002, he'd been trying to track the mysterious red pandas in the hopes of potentially harnessing their power for himself.
He turned his head to his associate, a slender man in a black suit. "You. Send out the men to observe and learn everything they can about this 'Meilin Lee' individual." Turning back, he ran his finger across the scars dotting his face. "She may hold the power to finally taking over this country once and for all…"
"Yes, Mr. Blacktooth. At once." As the man left, Mr. Blacktooth's laughter filled the room. Soon, the world would be his…
AN: Yeah, Mei told the truth. I actually contemplated with myself on if I should have her tell the truth to Ming, her friends, both or neither, but ultimately, I feel like she'd be a bit more willing to be honest with her mom now that she's allowed to be her own person, and she defo wouldn't lie to her friends about something as big as this!
Also, Grandma Wu knows about the pandas now! What else does she secretly know about?
And we've also got an actual bad guy this time! Benny Blacktooth, a Chinese gangster who was actually planned for an early draft of the first movie. He's going to do things in later chapters.