Chapter 8: Panda Training

High in the mountains, the morning sun began to rise over the tips as it shined down on the panda village.

Leo shifted in his bed as he slept, the little hut that Li Shan had provided for him, Po, and mikey was comfortable enough to sleep in. Not as comfortable as their rooms back at the Jade Palace, or his own room back in the Lair, but nice enough.

But behind closed eyes, Leo began to see flashes of light in the darkness, before…

Kai loomed over Crane with a sinister smirk. "Don't worry little birdie. I'll put your chi to good use, destroying the Jade Palace and everyone in it."

Kai absorbing Usagi and Mei Ling's chi, turning them into those jade pendants.

"Wings of… regret!" Crane cried before he was dragged back down, Kai laughing as he absorbed the bird's chi.

Leo's eyes shot open as he sat up with a gasp of pain, holding his head as that same surge of pain rushed through it. This time it felt worse than before.

Next to him, Leo heard a loud shriek, causing him to turn his head and see Mikey sit up from his bed as well, holding his head while his baby blue eyes were wide and full of fear.

"Mikey? Are you okay?" Leo asked, getting out of his bed and walking over to his youngest brother.

Mikey blinked as he breathed in and out. "Yeah, bro." He said, putting on his chest to slow his rapid heartbeat. "I just had this crazy dream where Kai attacked Crane and-"

Leo lightly placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "I know, Mikey." He said. "I saw it too."

Mikey's widened slightly. "You did?"

Leo nodded in confirmation.

"You think Raph and Donnie are having them too?" Mikey asked.

"Maybe." Leo said. He then sighed as he rubbed his temple. "These visions keep getting worse and worse."

"You don't think they're actually… true, do you?" Mikey asked with a bit of fear in his voice.

Leo gazed at his baby brother with a lost look in his eyes. "Honestly, Mikey? I don't know. I just don't know." He said. His eyes then narrowed determinedly. "But, if they are, then we need to figure out how to master chi and do it fast!"

It was then that Po finally woke up, sitting up from his bed. "Aw, yeah, first day of panda training!" He exclaimed, jumping out of bed and getting himself pumped up. "Alright, flower. I'm gonna make you bloom!" He then turned to Leo and Mikey. "Oh, I see you guys are awake. You ready for some chi training?"

"Heck yeah, man!" Mikey exclaimed, pumping his fist into the air.

"Then let's go!" Po yelled.

The three quickly exited from their little hut, crossing a rickety bridge covered in snow towards Li Shan's hut, bursting through the door and finding the elder panda sleeping peacefully on the bed.

"Dad, dad." Po lightly poked his sleeping father.

"Wha? What? What is it?" Li Shan asked groggily.

"I'm ready for my first day of panda training!" Po said, standing up straight like a soldier.

"What?" Li Shan yawned.

"You know. Learn to be a panda, master chi, save the world." Po reminded him.

"Pandas sleep till past noon. So lesson number one is go back to bed." Li Shan said, pulling the bed covers over himself.

Leo raised a brow. "Uh… are you sure? There's not something we need to do or-"

He was interrupted by Li Shan's loud snoring.

Leo, Po, and Mikey stood around the sleeping elderly panda awkwardly.

"Oh, well, awesome! I'm still pretty tired anyway." Mikey said with a yawn.

"Of course!" Po facepalmed as the three of them went out of the hut (though Leo was somewhat reluctant), walked back across the bridge, and went back to their own hut. "Nobody said this would be easy." He said as he made his bed, fluffing his pillow before collapsing on the bed and instantly conking out.

Leo hesitantly got back into his bed while Mikey practically dived back into bed, instantly falling asleep as well.

He let out a heavy sigh. He may not be sure about it, but if this was the first step to mastering chi, then he would have to do it.

So, Leo closed his eyes and let sleep take him once again.

A few hours later, Li Shan burst through the door to the hut waking all of them up.

"Did we oversleep?" Po asked while Leo and Mikey yawned.

"Sure did." Li Shan said with a small smirk.

"Yes!" Po exclaimed.


Later that same afternoon, Po, Leo, and Mikey were led out into a field by Li Shan where they were met with several panda children playing a friendly game of hacky sack.

"Yeah. Show 'em, kids." Li Shan chuckled fondly.

"Can you do this? Can you do that? What about this? What about that?" Bao asked, repeatedly kicking the sack at Po, the sack bouncing off his belly and rebounding back towards the panda cub so he could kick it up again.

Po caught the bag, keeping it in the air with his feet. "How about this? How about that? Am I doing it? Is this good?" He said while the panda cubs gasped in awe. Po then leapt into the air, kicking towards Mikey. "Heads up, Mike!"

Mikey ducked down, letting the sack slide along his shoulders before dropping it down to his feet. "Aw, yeah!" He said excitedly. "Check me out, my dudes!" He then leapt onto his hands, keeping the hacky-sack in the air while he did a hand-stand.

The panda cubs gasped in awe as they watched the orange clad turtle continue to bounce the hacky-sack back and forth between the soles of his kogake sandals. "On to you, Leo!" He called out, flipping back to his feet as he kicked the hacky-sack over to Leo.

Leo grinned. "I got this one." He said, catching the sack and balancing it perfectly on his boot. He then moved his leg back, shifting the sack onto the sole of his kogake sandal before tossing it to his other foot, keeping it perfectly balanced as he tossed it back and forth between his feet, almost like he was doing a little dance while the panda cubs gasped in awe.

Leo then punted the hacky-sack back to Po, who quickly kicked into the air and punted it high into the air.

The panda cubs all oohed as they watched it fly… until they saw it was heading toward Grandma Panda.

"Uh, Grandma Panda! Heads up!" Po called out.

The bag suddenly came down, hitting Grandma Panda on the head and knocking her unconscious.

The group instantly winced as they saw that.

"Oh… we better roll." Li Shan as he, Po, Leo, Mikey, and the kids quietly snuck away.


"Po! Lunchtime!" Mr. Ping yelled as he came out with a bowl of freshly made dumplings.

Just then, the ground shook beneath him, causing him to turn his head upwards. He let out a panicked yelp as the pandas came rolling down the hill towards him, tossing the dumplings into the air as he weaved and dodged out of the way.

Among them, Po, Mikey, and even Leo rolled down the hill with the other pandas.

Po rolled along the ground without any control as he bounced off a tree and face-planted on the side of a mountain.

"Lotus?" Li Shan asked as he and the others reached the bottom of the hill not seeing Po around, only for the monochromatic bear to land right on top of him.

"You gotta let the hill tell you where to roll." Li Shan chuckled even while being crushed underneath his son.

"Ugh, rookie mistake." Po grunted as he got off of him.

Li Shan stood up and walked over to Dim and Sum, who were sleeping in bunk-hammocks in a bamboo tree.

"Dim. Sum. Let's show them how we go uphill." Li Shan said, pulling back the bamboo tree before letting it go, Dim and Sum being shot into the air like from a slingshot, the two of them cheering loudly.

"That's beautiful." Po said in awe.

"Well… that's one way to go uphill." Leo remarked.

Mikey gasped in excitement. "Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Can we do that too?!" He exclaimed excitedly.

"Sure!" Li Shan laughed.


"Po! Snack time!" Mr. Ping called out, carrying another bowl of dumplings. But he then dropped them and gasped as he saw Po, Leo, and Mikey fly by, all three of them cheering loudly.

"Po! You can fly?!" Mr. Ping practically screeched in shock.

"I'm coming in hot!" Po shouted as he landed on Dim and Sum in their chairs while Leo and Mikey did a little roll upon landing before getting back to their feet.

"Get them while they're cold." Mr. Ping muttered in an upset tone as he walked back to the hut.

While Po got himself untangled from his cousins, Mikey couldn't help but pump his fist in the air. "Aw, yeah! Flying turtles for the win!" He cheered.

Leo couldn't help but smile at his little brother's childish antics, but for some reason… something felt off about all this.

"Uh, Li Shan, sir?" Leo asked once Li Shan came onto the hill to join them. "This is great and all, but how exactly is this supposed to help us master chi?"

Li Shan stiffened slightly, something Leo noticed. "Well… the best way to master chi is to relax, right?" He responded hesitantly. "And that's what we're doing."

Leo nodded, but couldn't shake the feeling that… Li Shan was hiding something from them.


Mr. Ping waddled back into the hut, only to let out a shriek of alarm upon entering the kitchen upon seeing several baby pandas messing around with the kitchen equipment and eating all of the food.

"What are you doing?!" Mr. Ping exclaimed in horror. "That food is for Po!"

To further Mr. Ping's panic, one of the panda cubs inhaled a hefty amount of sugar before sneezing it out in the face of another cub. Even worse, one of the cubs dumped several radishes into a pot on the oven, even climbing into it himself while another cub lit the stove as he messed around with the spark rocks.

Immediately, Mr. Ping tossed the cold dumplings away as he rushed to stop them.


Leo, Po, and Mikey all winced in pain as Big Fun squished them all into a tight hug until they all felt their bones pop.

Big Fun then finally released them as he slipped away while Li Shan stood next to them with a knowing smile.

"Feeling relaxed?" Li Shan asked.

"Totally." Po nodded.

Leo blinked in surprise as he shifted his shoulders experimentally, only to feel relief and surprise as his joints felt completely free of stress. "Yeah." He said, rather astounded.

"Absolutely." Mikey sighed happily as he slumped down, feeling better than he ever had in a long time.

Li Shan chuckled before gesturing to the steep hill below. "Now, just let yourself fall into it." He instructed.

"Got it." Po said while Leo and Mikey both nodded.

Po then let himself go limp while Leo and Mikey tucked their heads and their limbs into their shells as they let themselves roll down the hill freely.

Though they got to the bottom with little issue, they had to take a little break because Po kept puking every time he spun while rolling.


"Get out of there!" Mr. Ping cried as he pulled the panda cub out of the pot. He then stepped backward to dodge a knife that nearly fell on him after being knocked over by one of the panda cubs on the top shelves.

One of the cubs then pulled on a noodle string which had managed to get tangled around Mr. Ping's foot, dragging poor goose down.

"My noodles! Leave my noodles alone!" Mr. Ping exclaimed in a panic.


Mei Mei practiced her ribbon dancing as she twirled around on the grassy field. That was, until Po came rolling down the hill and crashed into her, getting him tangled up in her ribbon.

"Subtle, Po. Very subtle." Mei Mei said amusedly while Po gave her an uncomfortable look.

"Let me get some of that." Big Fun said, picking both of them up and bear hugging them tightly, making Po feel more uncomfortable.

Needless to say, it would be a while before Leo and Mikey would come down to help him.


"Leave my hat alone!" Mr. Ping cried as he was currently in the middle of a tug-of-war between two panda cubs, one pulling on his hat while the other was still pulling on the noodle string tied to his leg.

Eventually, the cub pulling noodle attached to his leg won as Mr. Ping was flung across the room, slamming into a pan of vegetables as he landed on the hardwood floor, a few fruits bouncing off of his beak to add to his humiliation.

He was about to get up and scold them when all of the panda cubs huddled together with bright starry eyes and faces that almost emulated the sun. "We love noodles!" They all cheered rather adorably.

Seeing their adorable faces, Mr. Ping couldn't help but feel his heart melt at the sight as a touched smile came onto his beak. "Oh, just like my Po." He said softly.


Later that evening, Leo and Mikey were walking around the village before they met up with Li Shan and several other pandas at the bottom of a steep snowy hill.

"Hey, Li, have you seen Po?" Mikey asked.

"Why?" Li Shan questioned.

"Well, we were hoping he could join us for some sparring." Leo replied.

"He's a bit busy right now." Li Shan said.

Leo and Mikey both blinked. "Busy doing what?" Mikey asked.

As if to answer his question, they heard a loud yell that was doubtedly Po, causing them all to look up towards the top of the hill as Po rolled down the hill, gathering snow all over his body and forming a giant snowball around him as he came barreling down towards them.

Leo, Mikey, Li Shan, and the other pandas were forced to jump out of the way as Po launched off the ground, flew through the sky and landed in the lake nearby.

Upon floating back up, Po found he was sitting in a chair made of bamboo with an umbrella attached and a drink in his paw.

"That's how we roll!" Li Shan laughed before he jumped into the water as well. "Cannon-ball!" He yelled as he and the other pandas joined in.

Mikey let out a laugh. "Hey, wait for me!" He cheered as he jumped into the water as well, the orange clad turtle swimming and laughing with the other pandas.

"Woohoo, yeah!" Po cheered, getting in the water as well.

Above them, Leo couldn't help but watch them with an amused smile. He was tempted to join in, but didn't really feel like getting wet right now. (Besides, it would rust his armor, something Mikey didn't seem to be aware of.)

But as he gazed out into the horizon, Leo couldn't help but feel a strange sinking dread in his heart. That something really bad was on the horizon…

… and they were running out of time.