AN: I LIIIIIIIIIVE! This chapter took a while to decide upon, but I think I'm satisfied with it (for now).
Chapter 5: Slumber Party
Ming slumped on her sofa, having spent the entire day fielding calls from angry civilians regarding her daughter's friends' antics that morning, and carefully breaking the news to said friends' parents about the state of their children.
Jin was busy in the kitchen cooking enough dumplings for all of Mei's friends to enjoy, so he was too busy to help placate anyone. A shame, since his gentle touch would have helped a lot and Ming had come to realise her own had long since faded.
She took a deep breath to calm herself and vigorously clutched her stress ball. There was no point in getting angry over the situation, not when there was no one to blame and she was trying to cut down on that after the… incident. Her little Mei-Mei just wanted to share her gift with the world and didn't fully consider the ramifications of it.
A harsh thought of Mei's friends forcing her daughter to grant them their own pandas crossed her mind, but Ming dismissed it; the uncertainty and fear on their faces confirmed they'd never once thought about it, and the panda racket Mei-Mei started confirmed she wasn't as innocent as Ming believed her to be.
A dark thought ran through Ming's mind. Was she the one to blame again? Should she have noticed her daughter's loneliness before she made that wish to Sun Yee? But she seemed so happy before… didn't she…?
The phone rang again, jolting her from her thoughts. At this rate, she'd have to start her little investigation tomorrow! Rolling her eyes, Ming took the call as she had countless others that day.
"Ming Lee, owner of the Sun Yee temple speaking."
"Hello, Ming." Ming's heart sunk at that familiar voice.
"Oh… hello, mother…" Ming spoke, trying to banish the resignation from her voice. Though she and her mother were on better terms now than they were before Pandapocalypse 2002, there was still a lot of lingering awkwardness between them.
"I presume you know why I'm calling?" Straight and to the point, as usual.
Ming sighed. "Is it about Mei-Mei's friends becoming pandas?"
"Precisely. How did this even happen…?" Wu sounded slightly frantic.
"Apparently, Mei-Mei made a secret wish to Sun Yee – behind my back – and Sun Yee agreed."
"Oh?" Wu sounded vaguely confused at that. "How… strange."
Ming wearily sighed again. "Tell me about it. Now my daughter's off trying to teach them how to control their spirits. I told her that they might be allowed to keep their pandas if she could successfully train them before the next red moon."
"And you're intending on holding them to that?"
"I… don't know, mother, but the next red moon isn't for another two months, so there's no way to seal them away until then, and I also promised my Mei-Mei that I'd put more faith in-"
"Ming, listen to me." Wu interrupted, deathly serious. "They cannot be allowed to keep their pandas when the red moon comes. Not when the panda is still so dangerous, and especially with the possible… side effects of giving a panda to those not of this bloodline. Promise me you won't let that happen!"
For a brief, fleeting moment, Ming was conflicted. How could she choose between her own mother and her daughter like this? Her brow furrowed as she made her decision.
"I… I'll think about it."
"Very well." Wu conceded, realising she likely wouldn't get a better answer. "Expect my arrival within a few days. I need to see this for myself."
"Oh, no, you really don't have to-"
"And I'll bring the rest of the aunties, too." With no room for a response, she hung up, leaving a terrified Ming in her wake.
"Oh, gods…" For the umpteenth time that month, Ming silently cursed her family bloodline. Why couldn't I have been born without a red panda?! After all this, she'd be quite happy to never see another panda as long as she lived.
The telltale cacophony of Mei and her friends interrupted her, and Ming found herself face to face with the five in short order. Discounting their colored hair, Mei, Tyler, and Miriam all had their panda tails and ears out, Priya looked comparatively normal, and Abby was in full panda mode. Ming silently hoped she hadn't knocked anything down squeezing through the hallway.
Mei awkwardly stood in front of the TV, looking quite awkward. "Hey, mom?" She nervously twiddled her paws. "Can my besties stay over… uh, for dinner? It's been a long day and we're all super hungry after our serious training."
Ming gave a half-smile. "You may all stay." Her mother's intuition told her Mei had something else on her mind the way she fidgeted, so she might as well try to wring it out of her over dinner. "Your father thought ahead."
Jin smiled as he wiped condensation from his glasses. "I got the feeling you'd all be hungry after your training, so I made enough dumplings for everyone."
"Sweet!" Tyler and Abby high-fived, Priya nodded her head and Mei and Miriam fist bumped.
It wasn't easy fitting them all in (especially with the giant panda that was Abby), but eventually they found a way. Mei, being fully trusted not to leave panda fur everywhere, sat with her parents in their usual spot in the kitchen, while Miriam, Priya, Abby, and Tyler all ate in the living room instead.
Seeing Mei's friends talking amongst themselves and Jin being nose-deep in the paper (which said something about a crime lord) again, Ming took her opportunity. "So, Mei-Mei?"
"Yeth, mom?" Mei said through a mouthful of dumpling. When Ming crinkled her nose in disgust, she swallowed, now slightly embarrassed. "Yes, mom?"
Ming raised her eyebrow, curious. "How was your friends' first day of training? You didn't put them through anything… dangerous, did you?"
"Of course not, mom! I figured I should start small, so I just took them to the temple and taught them what I knew about the panda; y'know, the stuff about emotions and staying chill."
"And how did it go?"
"Pretty good… kinda. Mir and Tyler have got the transforming thing down pat – mostly – but Priya's so chill she can't panda out for long, and Abby's so hyper she can't change back for more than a min."
"The panda is… difficult, that much I understand." Ming nodded, glancing over to see Abby shovel dumplings into her mouth as Miriam, Priya and Tyler cheered her on. "Are you sure your friends can handle it? Remember, they always have the option of sealing it by the next red moon."
"Pfft, big deal, mom! Sure, they haven't fully got the hang of it yet, but with me as their teacher, they'll figure it out in no time."
"As should be expected from my little overachiever." Ming sadly smiled. She wished her own years with the panda could have gone that smoothly.
"Oh yeah, speaking of teaching, I also showed them the secret Sun Yee scroll!"
Ming almost choked on a dumpling. "You told them about Sun Yee's past?" She whisper-yelled, careful not to draw anyone's attention. "Mei, I specifically told you not to show that to anyone! If the wrong person learned about the pandas' destructive capabilities-"
"I couldn't hide something like that from them, mom!" Mei whisper-yelled back, tail flaring out. "They're pandas now! They deserve to know everything about their awesome new ancestor, even the… not pretty parts. Unless you don't trust them?"
Ming recoiled, startled by her daughter's accusation. "Mei-Mei, I…" She trailed off, embarrassed to realise she had, on some level, still doubted them, before sighing. "No, I do trust them. Mostly. It's just going to take a while to get used to them having pandas." Though that green girl – Miriam – still seemed odd in a way she couldn't articulate. "Just promise you won't show the scroll to anyone else."
"My lips are sealed, mom." Mei even did the zipping motion to empathise it. "Now, if you trust them, there's just one little thing I've been meaning to ask…"
Ming leaned in. So this is what my little Mei-Mei's hiding.
"Could my friends…" Mei hesitated, trying to figure out the best way to bring up this taboo subject. "…maybestayoverjustfortonight?"
"You want them to stay over?" Ming confusedly asked, after taking a second to decipher Mei's rambled explanation. "All of them?"
"Please, mom?" Mei pleaded. "Just for one night. It'd mean the world to me. They can all stay in my room."
"Even Tyler?!" Ming yelled, inadvertently drawing everyone's attention. Her other concerns about room size and breakable objects were forgotten once she realised the implications of Mei's words, as was the fact she now had a full audience. "No way, I forbid it! You may be a blossoming young lady, but you, Mei-Mei, are too young to sleep with boys!"
Mei and Tyler immediately panda-ed out with a synchronised "WHAT?!". Miriam choked on a dumpling, Abby dropped her jaw in shock and Priya smirked in amusement.
"Ew, it-it's not like that, mom!" Mei yelled once she figured out a response, ignoring the blush illuminating her furry face.
"Yeah! Why'd I wanna date a do-gooder dorkus like her anyway?" He, too, blushed despite himself.
"Shut it, fluffbutt." She also ignored the glare he sent her way. "Look, I just don't want any of my besties to spend their first night as pandas alone. Not even Tyler deserves that."
Both Ming and Mei immediately remembered the first night Mei spent after discovering her panda; the way her little Mei-Mei cried and slammed herself against the walls while Ming helplessly listened in, unsure on what to do…
Immediately, despite her misgivings, Ming knew she couldn't let any of them suffer alone as both she and her daughter had.
"Very well. You all may stay the night in Mei's room." She turned to Mei's friends as they cheered. "I trust that none," she glared at Tyler, who cowered as much as a giant blue panda could, "of you will try anything inappropriate?"
"Mom, please…" Mei facepalmed.
"Crystal clear, Mrs. Lee…" Tyler uncomfortably rubbed his head, reverting to human form.
"Yeah, crystal." Miriam absent-mindedly mumbled in response as both Priya and Abby nodded. Though she couldn't say for certain, she was pretty sure part of Ming's glare was directed at her too.
Ming smiled, her concerns seemingly assuaged for the time being. "Good." Her Tamagotchi started beeping again. "Now you all go have fun. I have another panda to feed."
After sending off a quick text to assure their parents, Mei's friends joined her in lounging around her room. Tyler had graciously provided the snacks and soda.
"So," Miriam started, through a mouthful of chips. "what's first on the agenda for Operation Sleepover?"
Priya pulled out a box of makeup supplies. "Makeovers, anyone?"
Mei, Miriam and Abby (especially the latter) squeed at that. Mei immediately dove in, amazed at her friend's selection; lipstick, mascara and nail polish of various colors all littered the box. "OH. EM. GEE! You've got literally everything in here!"
"Yup, I got it covered."
"Oh! Oh! Do me first!" Abby energetically waved her paws. "I'm gonna be the most beautiful panda ever! Uh, no offense, Mei." Mei merely chuckled good-naturedly in response.
"Don't worry, I got this." Priya took out a vial of royal purple nail polish and gestured for Abby to present her front paws. "Y'know, a couple months ago, I never, ever would have thought I'd be painting a giant pink panda's claws. It's cool, though. Like painting a werewolf."
As Miriam held up a mirror, Abby looked in awe, stars in her eyes, at her new glittery, purple claws. She gasped. "I'M SO CUUUUUTE!"
"So, Abby." Mei inquired. "How does it feel being the first panda to wear make-up?"
"Amazing…" She practically drooled out, grasping a nail brush in one of her giant panda paws and a vial of orange-yellow polish in the other. "Hey, Priya, lemmie return the favor! You're gonna be the first person to get made-up from a PAND-I mean, WEREWOOOOOLF!"
Mei laughed at that, but lightly chided her panda friend. "Just try not to spill it. Mom's gonna kill me if I get paint anywhere."
Miriam took the opportunity to swipe a sparkly red vial herself and turned to Mei, an awkward smile on her face. "Cherry red okay for ya, Mei?"
"You know me too well, Mir!" Mei nodded, taking off her socks. "Cherry me."
Miriam blushed but did as requested. As she lifted her red-headed friend's foot to apply a coat, Mei giggled. A cunning smile sketched itself across Miriam's face. "Are you… ticklish?"
"Hehehe… What can I say, it's my first time-" She broke into uncontrollable laughter when Miriam started tickling her. Eventually, she fell to the floor as Miriam's assault continued.
"HAHAHAHAHA! NO, PLEASE!" Miriam moved up to her armpits. "I'M GONNA-!" Mei exploded in a pink cloud, revealing her panda form. At that point, now atop her furry friend, Miriam elected to stop before her friend peed herself or something.
As Mei's laughter died down and her smile changed to a frown, Miriam looked apologetic. "I'm sorry, Mei. I couldn't resist, just this once."
"It's okay, Mir. Just gimmie some notice next time!" And with that, Mei poofed back to normal…
"Wait a sec, I'm still-WHOA!"
…only for Miriam to fall on top of her.
"Y'know, you're kind of cute when you laugh! Uh, in a totally platonic friend way, of course!" Miriam hastily backtracked with a nervous laugh, blushing so hard she looked as though she might panda out too, before she got to her feet.
"Ooooh!" Priya and Abby covered their mouths in awe. Tyler glared from atop Mei's bed, feeling a surge of jealousy within him.
"Uh, yeah! Right back at ya, Mir!" Mei ignored her friends' calls and focused on how warm her friend felt at that moment as she got to her own feet. Feels kinda nice being so close to Mir. B-b-but I like boys, right? Mir likes boys too, right? But why was she blushing there? "So, s-shall we continue?"
"Right!" Miriam was pretty happy to forget the moment and get back to where she was.
As the group continued to paint each other's nails – of the finger and toe varieties – an entire rainbow of colors, Mei suddenly realised one of them wasn't participating. She glanced over to her bed, where Tyler was awkwardly sitting and watching.
"No way." He frantically shook his head, blushing. By this point, he'd manifested the ears, tail and paws of his panda self. "I'm a manly man. Makeup ain't manly."
"Come on, Tyler. You know you want to." Mei encouraged.
"Yeah, Ty." Miriam added. "Besides, Priya's got that sick royal blue you love so much…" Which Priya affirmed with a nod and a "Yeah".
"Just give it a shot! It won't make you any less of a man!"
He groaned out of discomfort at the situation but saw Abby's point. His ears drooped. "Promise nothing leaves this room after today?"
"I promise." Mei slowly nodded – her friends following suit in affirmation – before moving to pull out the blue nail polish. "Now come on!"
"Fine. But only the nails." And with that, Tyler gave in, taking off his socks to let Mei do her work.
Despite his insistence, Tyler had ultimately conceded and let the girls smear mascara and other forms of girly makeup all over his face too. Though he now looked like a demented circus clown (an assumption not helped by his blue hair), Tyler took some measure of solace in the fact they all looked just as weird as he did. Pfft. Girls. Still, the blue does kinda look nice.
By this point, the five of them were singing and dancing to 4*Town music, courtesy of a boombox Miriam brought over.
A familiar melody piped on, and before Tyler knew it, he was belting out the lyrics for 4*Town's Nobody Like You again.
"You're never not on my mind, oh my, oh my!"
Mei immediately followed it up with "I'm never not by your side, your side, your side!"
"I'm never gonna let you cry, oh cry, don't cry!"
"I'll never not be your ride, or die…"
For a second, they sang in perfect harmony, gazing into each other's eyes. A spark formed between them, the panda's fire burning in their hearts like nothing else.
And then a cola-drunk Abby burst in with an off-key "ALRIGHT!"
Mei and Tyler broke into nervous laughter as the group congratulated them, realising just what they did together.
"Way to shake those hips." Priya gave both of them a thumbs up, a knowing smile on her face.
"Uh, yeah. You guys did… pretty well." Miriam noted distractedly, fiddling with her tail. Mei swore that she was blushing for a moment, but before she could think about it any further, the next song started, and the entire group resumed their usual singing and dancing.
As the excitement petered out, Mei and her friends decided to call it quits for the night. Mei laid in her bed, while Miriam, Priya, Abby and Tyler laid in sleeping bags spread throughout her floor. Despite this, none of them were particularly inclined to sleep after everything that happened today.
Mei herself couldn't quite believe it. Heck, she'd already had the panda for a while now, and it was still hard to believe she and her family could turn into giant pandas. And now her friends could do it too? Wow.
"So, guys?" Mei turned over to address her friends. "What'd you think of your first day of pandahood?"
"Y'know, I think I'm starting to get the hang of it, Mei." Miriam smiled, rubbing her ears under her toque. "It's kinda cool. And warm."
"And FLUFFY!" Abby whisper-yelled. "I wanna stay this way forever…"
"I can't wait to see what else I can do with the panda." Priya contemplated the possibilities in her head. "It feels like there's still so much to learn about it."
"I feel like I could shoot a thousand hoops and still not get tired." Tyler's eyes narrowed. "I'm gonna be the best player ever."
"That's nice to hear, besties. And am I the best teacher ever or what?"
"You're the only red panda teacher, Mei." Priya dryly noted. "Thus, you're the best by default." The entire group broke out into laughter at that.
"I wish we could just stay here forever…" Miriam said, staring at the ceiling. "Just the five of us chilling, listening to 4*Town music and just doing whatever feels right."
"Well, we're 13!" Abby piped in. "We'll be together FOREVER!"
"4*Townies for life!" The entire group yelled together, before Mei yawned, at which point the entire group began yawning one after the other.
Miriam got the picture. "Well, it's getting pretty late, dudes. I think it's time we got to sleep."
"Right, mom…" Tyler sarcastically mocked before he yawned; he too was starting to feel tired.
"G'night, besties. Tomorrow, we'll do even more as pandas." As Mei's head hit the pillow, her mind raced with possibilities on what to do with her friends tomorrow. Tomorrow's gonna be great!
Mei found herself back at the 4*Town concert, as she had previously dreamed of before the panda happened. However, this time she and her besties were singing alongside 4*Town themselves on-stage.
Her forever crush, Robaire – who was now a smoking hot merman – turned to her with his usual charming smile. "So, ready to knock them down?"
Mei squeed at that, her panda parts poofing out as usual. "O.M.G! YOU BET, ROBAIRE!" Grasping her mic, she belted out her lyrics on cue. "You're never not on my mind-"
CRASH!
A loud smash of crushed metal interrupted her. As she and her bandmates glanced around, a horrifyingly familiar red creature stepped into the stadium, casting a gigantic shadow over them.
Oh no. Not again…!
"M-M-M-MOM?!"
"MEI-MEI!" Her panda-fied mom roared, blowing her friends and 4*Town away into the distance.
"GUYS!" As Ming's piercing red eyes glared into her soul, Mei could do nothing but quiver in place. Her limbs wouldn't cooperate; all she could do was stand helplessly before Ming grabbed her in one of her giant paws.
"YOU'VE REALLY GONE AND DONE IT NOW, YOUNG LADY!" She screamed, lifting her daughter up to eye level. "YOUR LITTLE WISH HAS RUINED YOUR FRIENDS' LIVES AND DISGRACED THIS FAMILY!"
"B-b-b-but they were fine with it! You were fine with it, mom!" Mei grunted, trying to escape her mother's tight grip. "You said if t-t-they could master their pandas, they could keep them!"
"LIES! DO YOU SERIOUSLY THINK I WOULD EVER PERMIT THAT WHEN YOU'RE SUCH A DISAPPOINTMENT TO THIS FAMILY?! IN FACT, YOU DON'T DESERVE YOUR SPIRIT EITHER!"
Despite the pain shooting through her body, Mei tried to panda out again in a desperate bid to escape. However, the panda wouldn't come. In fact, the harder she tried, the weaker she got as her panda spirit gradually left her body; since it was bound to her soul, a part of her very being left with it. In Ming's giant eyes, Mei saw her former black-haired self staring back.
"Mom, why…?" Mei murmured weakly as another portion of her soul left. "I thought you…"
Panda Ming merely growled. "AND NOW, MY USELESS DAUGHTER…"
"I'm sorry…" Mei could only groan as she got lifted even higher, her mother's claws piercing the scruff of her shirt. By this point, she was far too weak to move and could barely keep her eyes open.
"…YOU SHALL DIEEEEEEEE!" The claws loosened, and Mei found herself hurtling towards the oblivion of her mother's fangs. She closed her eyes, waiting for the end…
Only for her panda-fied mom to morph into Miriam's concerned face.
"Mei? Are you okay?" Miriam quietly kneeled beside her, sensing Mei's agitation. As Mei glanced around, heavily breathing, she slowly realised that she was in her bedroom. Her friends were all okay, and her mom hadn't stolen her panda or tried to eat her!
"Mir? Ty? What happened?" Priya and Abby appeared to still be asleep, so Mei spoke quietly as to not disturb them.
"You were twitching something fierce, dork. You even went full panda." Tyler piped in from the bedside, at which point Mei glanced down at her paws to verify that yes, she had indeed panda-ed out.
"Oh no…"
"Nightmare?" Tyler bluntly inquired. Mei could only nod, still shaking. His heart shattered slightly as tears welled in her eyes.
"Do you… wanna talk about it?" Miriam carefully placed her hand on Mei's paw. "Only if you want to. If you don't wanna, it's fine."
For a moment, Mei contemplated if she should, but conceded; she could trust her friends with anything.
"Alright." She gestured for Miriam and Tyler to join her on the bed, which they did. "I was at the stadium, performing with 4*Town and you guys, and it was awesome! But then mom came in her giant panda form and blew you guys away. I couldn't find any of you!"
The three shuddered at the mention of Ming's panda form; it was roughly a week since Pandapocalypse 2002, and the scars of the incident were still fresh in everyone's minds.
"She picked me up with her claws and squeezed me so hard I thought I was gonna explode." Tyler recoiled at that, remembering his own painful experience. "Then she somehow… took away my panda, and I felt super weak, like a part of… me was being stolen."
Miriam gasped at that. Mei had told her about the specifics of the red moon ritual a while back; apparently, pandas could only be sealed away on the red moon because it empowered them, increasing their chi's visibility but also allowing them to permanently bond with their hosts once it ended. She couldn't imagine what it'd feel like to have a bonded panda stolen. Wouldn't that be like ripping out part of your soul?
"Then, she picked me up, opened her mouth, and dropped me as everything went dark." She shuddered again, her friends joining her as the implications of her words sunk in.
"Oh, Mei…" Miriam immediately hugged her friend. "I had no idea."
"Want me to smack some sense into your mom?" Tyler joked, though he immediately regretted it when both girls sent him a glare. "Sorry."
"Please don't hate my mom for this. She really wasn't in control of herself and she's still beating herself up about the whole 'losing control of herself and attacking me' thing." Mei sighed.
"You had these nightmares before?" Miriam inquired, still in Mei's fur. The red panda nodded. "Dude, you gotta let her know about this!"
"I can't, Mir. Look, it's fine. They'll pass, they've passed before. I'm 13, I can do this." Mei flashed a huge, exaggerated smile, but her shivering and the fact she was still a panda belied her true feelings.
Miriam and Tyler paused for what felt like eternity, trying to think of the best course of action. Tyler had no idea how to begin to comfort his former rival, and almost contemplated waking Priya and Abby up on the basis they knew Mei better than he did. Miriam, on the other hand, had an idea.
"Well, why don't I keep you company?" Miriam suddenly asked before she could stop herself, climbing onto her BFF's fuzzy belly by the window. "Since you're a panda, I can sleep on you and it won't be weird. We'll keep each other warm, and you'll know I'm still here."
"But mom said-" Even with the nightmares, Mei was reluctant to betray her mother's trust.
"To heck with what mom said." Miriam interrupted. "I didn't abandon you when we first learned about your panda thing, I'm not gonna abandon you now! 4*Townies for life, remember?"
Mei chuckled for real at that. "4*Townies for life."
Tyler joined the huddle a second later, gripping his friend's other side. "Fine, lemmie join you dorks. Might as well help you just like how you helped me." Though he wouldn't admit it, he felt just slightly jealous of Mei and Miriam's closeness at that very moment.
"Alright, go ahead." Mei smiled, grateful to her friends and oblivious to the split-second glare Tyler and Miriam exchanged. "Just try not to panda out, it might be a squeeze. And nobody tell mom about this."
"Sure, whatever." Tyler said, nodding off. Even her stench didn't smell so bad now.
"Night, Mei." Miriam mumbled. "Sweet dreams."
As her two friends got to sleep, Mei followed, thinking only of how warm their embrace felt. That night, she slept blissfully.
AN: In a surprising bit of realism, Mei has some leftover trauma from Pandapocalyse 2002. She still loves her mom (and vice versa), but I feel like they'd both be at least a bit traumatized from the whole 'attacking each other' thing. Good thing Mei has her friends to help her through it, and Ming has her husband and daughter.
And what will come of Mei, Miriam and Tyler all sleeping together? Probably more ship-teasey moments as the three figure themselves out.
Also, yeah, Grandma Wu and the aunties will join later in the story; no way would Wu miss out on something as bizarre as Mei's friends becoming pandas.