Chapter 4: Prophecy in Motion
After finding a comfortable rooftop, the turtles managed to sleep there for the night before the sun rose over the valley again.
The warm bright glow washed over the turtles as the star rose over the horizon.
"Morning." Leo yawned as he sat up, stretching his arms.
"Five more minutes, sensei." Mikey moaned, rolling over onto his side. Raph then kicked him, causing him to sit up with a yelp. "Okay, I'm awake!"
"Well, that wasn't the worst campout we've had." Donnie stated.
"Yeah, except for Mikey's snoring." Raph said.
"Hey!" Mikey snapped. "I don't snore!"
"You sounded like a foghorn!" Raph retorted.
"Guys, it's too early for this." Donnie said, rubbing the sleepiness out of eyes. Oh, how he wished he had a nice cup of coffee right now.
"Donnie's right." Leo agreed. He then tossed them their ponchos and their hats before putting on his own. "Time to blend in, ninjas."
"We also promised Po we'd visit him again today." Mikey reminded them as he shifted around in his poncho.
Jumping down from the rooftops, the turtles walked through the streets of the village, passing several residents before making their way to the noodle shop.
Walking in, they found the place fairly packed and tables full as Po stepped out from the kitchen carrying several bowls of noodle soup.
"Hey, wait, who are you guys?" He asked, sounding confused and rather cautious as the turtles approached him.
"Relax, dude, it's just us." Mikey assured as he and his brothers lifted up their hats enough to reveal their faces to him.
Po quickly recognized them. "Oh, guys!" He sighed with relief.
"Oh, boys! I see you are back." Mr. Ping noted, stepping out of the kitchen. "Well, since you're here, I was wondering if maybe you could help Po around the restaurant."
"Help out?" Raph questioned. "What are we, errand boys?"
Leo promptly slapped his hand over his hotheaded brother's mouth. "It's fine, Mr. Ping, the least we can do." He said, throwing a slight glare at his brother which silently told him to shut up, which Raph begrudgingly did.
"Great!" The elderly goose said joyfully. "I'll be in the kitchen making noodles if anyone needs me. Chop, chop, boys, let's get to work." He went back into the kitchen, a skip in his step. "Remember, service with a smile!"
Donnie stared at the goose slightly. "Yeesh, what's got him so excited?"
Po scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Well… my dad's really excited because… I had the noodle dream last night."
"'Noodle dream'?" Raph asked incredulously.
"Yeah, apparently the noodle dream means that I'm almost ready to be entrusted with the secret ingredient to the secret ingredient soup." Po explained.
"Cool." Mikey said.
"So… what were you actually dreaming about?" Leo asked, seeing right through the panda.
Po sighed before giving them a longing look. "Well, I was dreaming about… kung fu."
"Really?" Leo said, sounding slightly interested.
"Yeah, and I was fighting with the Furious Five against an army of ten thousand demons when I suddenly woke up."
"That's a bummer, dude." Mikey piped up. "I remember in my dream last night, I dreamed I was Crognard the Barbarian fighting off an army of squirrelanoids."
Raph lightly smacked Mikey. "You guys are both equally weird."
Eventually, Po and the turtles got to work as Po, Leo, and Raph handed out deliveries while Donnie took orders and Mikey eagerly helped Mr. Ping out in the kitchen (since he was the only one of his brothers who could cook).
As they worked, Leo noticed Po wistfully gazing up in the direction of the Jade Palace, a sense of longing on his face.
The blue clad turtle frowned a bit, feeling slight sympathy for the panda. He was longing to be something more than he was, more than just a noodle boy.
He looked up to the Jade Palace as well, wondering what could be happening in such a place.
And over the sounds of chattering people, Leo swore he heard the soft sound of a flute playing.
Shifu played the flute softly, sitting in a meditative position with bushes and trees nestled within the courtyard surrounding him as he played.
And as he played, five dark shadows moved unseen in the background, with Shifu seeming oblivious to their presence. The figures quietly crept towards him, not making a sound.
Then, as if someone had flicked a switch, the five figures lunged out of the undergrowth and dived towards the old red panda.
Like lightning, Shifu's eyes snapped open to use his flute to deflect a tail swipe from one of his assailants before ducking under a kick from another. Using his flute like a staff, Shifu easily blocked or dodged out of the way of his assaultents attacks before the figures seemed to slow down in their planned attack.
Shifu folding his flute behind his back as the fighting stopped, his students, the Furious Five, stood ready to attack again.
"Well done, students…" Shifu praised them with a mock smile as they hopefully raised their heads. "... if you were trying to disappoint me!" He said, his smile dropping instantly and replaced by anger.
The Furious Five stood up straight, all of them gasping to level their breaths, placing their fists into their palms (or at least all of them except Viper since she didn't have hands) and bowing slightly as their master berated them and corrected them.
"Tigress, you need more ferocity! Monkey, greater speed. Crane, height! Viper, subtly. Mantis-"
"Master Shifu?"
Shifu turned away from the insect and jabbed his flute at a golden dressed black goose who jumped with a yelp at the sudden motion. "What?" Shifu growled.
"I-It's Master Oogway!" Zeng blurted out, to which Shifu relaxed his stance a little. "He wants to see you."
Master Shifu ran purposefully to the Hall of Heroes where he figured his wizened master was at the moment.
The giant red doors carved intricately with golden dragons was opened by the geese servants as Shifu dashed into the hall, his feet hitting against the smooth marble floor, skidding to a stop in front of his master, who was resting on the moon-shaped head of his staff in perfect balance.
Shifu took a breath before bowing respectfully. "Master? You summoned me. Is something wrong?" He kept his head low and waited patiently as his master descended from his perch.
Oogway gazed at Shifu with wise blue eyes as he came out of his shell and slowly came to the ground, his wrinkled lips curved into a good-natured smile. "Why must something be wrong for me to want to see my old friend?" He asked calmly.
Ignoring the rhetorical question, Shifu raised his head, his brow lifted in slight confusion. "So… nothing's wrong?"
Oogway still smiled in spite of this. "Well, I didn't say that." He replied, walking over to the long table lined with thousands of candles.
Shifu shifted his feet as Oogway began to blow out each of the candles one by one very slowly. Usually it would take a few seconds to blow out some candles, however, it had taken Oogway a full minute just to blow out three.
Even a master's patience had its limits as Shifu stared at him, his right eye twitching. He then pulled back his palms and thrust them forward, blowing out all of the candles in the room in a matter of seconds.
"You were saying?" Shifu asked, not waiting to hear his master's reaction as the room went dark.
Oogway stared at the candles for a moment, a far-off look in his eyes before he turned to his student. "I have had a vision." He said, sounding troubled. "Tai Lung… will return."
Shifu froze at the very mention of the name that echoed in his ears. His mouth fell open and fear flashed in his eyes. Images flashed in his mind; the doors of the Jade Palace being thrown open, flashes of sharp claws, the silhouette of the snow leopard snarling ferociously in his mind's eye.
"That is impossible!" Shifu exclaimed, blinking his eyes to clear his mind of those awful memories. "He is in prison!"
However, Oogway shook his head. "Nothing is impossible." He said.
Ears flattening and eyes slowly widening, Shifu turned to the doors. "Zeng!" He called, his messenger fluttering into the room. "Fly to Chorh-Gom Prison and tell them to double the guards, double the weapons, double everything! Tai Lung does not leave that prison!"
"Yes, Master Shifu!" Zeng obeyed, nodding unsurely to the panic-stricken master. He turned away and in his hurry, he smacked into a column that helped support the roof of the hall. Yelping in pain, Zeng quickly recovered and frantically flew out of the hall, the doors snapping shut behind him.
Oogway turned away towards the small pool, his staff tapping the marble floor. "One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it."
"We have to do something!" Shifu argued, sounding nearly hysterical. "We can't just let him march on the valley and take his revenge! He'll… he'll-"
The old galapagos turtle placed a gentle hand on Shifu's back, bringing him closer to the pool. The turquoise water was littered with cherry blossom petals as it distorted the reflections of the two of them.
"Your mind is like this water, my friend." Oogway explained. "When it is agitated, it becomes difficult to see. But if you allow it to settle…" He then lightly prodded the liquid surface with the tip of his staff, the ripples and disturbance ceasing immediately as the water became still as glass. "... the answer becomes clear."
As the water settled, both Oogway and Shifu saw in its reflection an intricately carved golden dragon on the ceiling above them, the dragon statue having a small scroll in its fangs.
"The Dragon Scroll." Shifu whispered in awe.
"It is time." Oogway stated. "The guardians have already arrived."
Shifu looked to his master in surprise. The Dragon Warriors guardians… had already arrived? That was the first sign that the prophecy was in motion.
"But who?" He asked. "Who is worthy to be trusted with the secret to limitless power? To become… the Dragon Warrior?" Shifu whispered the last two words, seeing them as too sacred to be said so loudly.
Oogway was silent for a moment before he smiled. "I don't know."
Shifu scrunched his nose in annoyance.
Next chapter, the Dragon Warrior is revealed!
