Chapter 5: The Dragon Warrior Revealed

"Okay, so that's two number seven's coming up." Donnie said to a family of rabbits, writing down their order on a sheet of paper.

"And a bowl of bean buns on the side, please." The mother rabbit added.

"You got it." The purple clad turtle replied, quickly jotting that down.

Po, Leo, and Raph soon came out from the kitchen with the food in their hands as they passed it out to the tables.

Po winced as he carefully squeezed his way through the tables that were way too close to each other while Leo and Raph seemed to be doing fine, that and his fat belly wasn't doing him any favors. Po then bumped into a table, spilling some soup onto a pig's clothes.

"Oops, sorry." Po apologized as the pig scowled at him. He quickly stepped back, only to bump into the table behind him, spilling the food of a whole family of rabbits. "Sorry! A thousand pardons."

Leo sighed while Raph groaned and smacked his palm against his head. They could quickly tell things were not going very well on Po's end.

Just then, the sound of a loud drum interrupted everyone's daily routine. They turned to see a small pig and two geese dressed in golden robes hanging up a poster on the interior wall of the courtyard. The poster itself was gold with the silhouettes of the Furious Five printed on it.

"What?!" Po exclaimed running up to the poster while Leo, Donnie, and Raph walked up behind him while Mikey emerged from the kitchen.

"What is it?" Leo asked.

"Master Oogway's choosing the Dragon Warrior! Today!" Po said excitedly.

"The… Dragon Warrior?" Raph said, sounding slightly curious.

"Awesome name." Mikey commented.

Po then turned towards the still oblivious customers. "Everyone! Everyone! Go, get to the Jade Palace! One of the Five is gonna get the Dragon Scroll!" He said enthusiastically.

An excited murmur filled the air as people immediately stopped eating and started getting up, with Po unable to contain his excitement.

"We've been waiting a thousand years for this! – Just take the cup!" Po continued, handing a small rabbit a bowl of noodles as people eagerly finished their soup and rushed out of the courtyard. "This is the greatest day in kung fu history!"

An old rabbit was very slowly placing money on the table, paying his bill. He was not spared either as Po quickly pulled him from his seat. "Don't worry about it, just go!" He then turned to Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey. "C'mon, guys, let's go!"

Po quickly ran out of the restaurant, and before the turtles could follow him, Mr. Ping quickly emerged from the kitchen.

"Po! Where are you going?" The elderly goose questioned, making the panda stop in his tracks.

Po sighed, turning to his father while Leo, Donnie, Raph, and Mikey watched from afar. "To… the Jade Palace…" He replied hesitantly.

"But you're forgetting your noodle cart!" Mr. Ping said, rolling over a heavy looking noodle cart stacked with bowls. "The whole valley will be there, and you'll sell noodles to all of them!"

However, Po seemed less than thrilled at this idea. "Selling noodles?"

Mr. Ping nodded happily.

"But, Dad, I was kinda thinking maybe I…" Po trailed off, seeing the gleeful look in his father's eyes.

"Yeah?" Mr. Ping asked, nodding.

"I was kinda thinking I…" Po was once again unable to finish his sentence.

"Uh-huh?"

Po shifted uncomfortably where he stood before answering. "... could also sell the bean buns. They're-they're about to go bad." He said, not having the guts to go through with refusing him.

Mr. Ping didn't seem to notice his adopted son's discomfort, instead beaming bigger than it was possible. "That's my boy!" He smiled, going back into the shop. "I told you that dream was a sign!"

Po looked down at the cart, looking crestfallen. "Yeah, heh heh, glad I had it." He murmured quietly with a fake laugh. He then grabbed the cart and pulled it out of the courtyard where the turtles were already waiting for him.

Leo placed a hand on the panda's shoulder. "You're gonna have to tell him at some point, Po." He stated as they walked through the streets of the village towards the steps of the Jade Palace, making their way through the crowds of pigs, rabbits, and other animal villagers.

"I know, I know. It's-it's just… not easy for me to do." Po sighed.

"Why?" Mikey asked curiously.

Po twiddled his thumbs unsurely.

"Hey, if you don't wanna talk about it, that's fine." Raph told him.

"No, no, I should." Po refuted. "In all the years I've known him, Dad has been grumpy sometimes, but never disappointed. And when I make a bowl of soup without him needing to correct me or add the secret ingredient… It's like he's been named the new emperor of China. And… I-I don't know how to tell him without taking that away from him."

The turtles, even Raph, all frowned sympathetically. None of them really knew how to respond to that. Thinking about it made them each think of Master Splinter again, bringing back memories.

Leonardo remembered how his father would always smile and praise him whenever he did a kata or a move right without having to interfere. The way he smiled made him feel so confident in himself and wanting to do all he could to make his father proud. No matter what, Splinter always saw the best in him, even if Leo didn't believe it at times.

Raphael was reminded how whenever he took one of Splinter's lessons to heart or was able to manage his temper, how his father would always compliment him or give a welcome pat on his shell. And even though he was usually the strictest with him (with good reason of course), he knew his father still loved him just as much as his other brothers.

Donatello still remembered how Splinter, while believing in his great intellect, would still encourage him not to rely solely on his mind, something which Donnie had taken to heart after their spirit quests. He remembered how proud Splinter had been of him after saving his brothers from a rogue Metalhead, 'You are responsible, yes. Responsible for destroying the mutagen, responsible for saving the people of the city, responsible for defeating advanced technology using only ingenuity, bravery, and a stick.'

Michelangelo, despite how scatterbrained he could be, would never forget the lessons Splinter taught him and his brothers, and would never forget his proud and encouraging face smiling down at him. Out of all of them, Splinter had stated that he and Leo were the most spiritually intuitive. In some ways, Po reminded him of himself. He was optimistic, but deep down insecure.

"It's okay man, we understand." Mikey spoke up, wrapping an arm around Po's shoulder. "I know you're feeling down, but c'mon, let's check out the Jade Palace and see who the Dragon Warrior's gonna be!"

Po smiled slightly at the party turtle's reassurance. "You guys go on ahead, I'll catch up."

"You sure?" Donnie asked, glancing up at the stairs of the Jade Palace which seemed to stretch all the way up to the clouds. "That cart does look a bit heavy, and given that it's gonna be a thousand steps to get to the top, it would probably be efficient if-"

"Seriously, guys, it's fine." Po interrupted. "Like I said, this is the greatest day in kung fu history, go check it out!"

Raph shrugged before starting up the steps. "Alright, fine. We'll be sure to bring you back a souvenir or something when we get back."

Donnie and Mikey quickly followed Raph up the steps while Leo simply stayed behind.

Po carefully pulled the cart, already stopping at the first step to make sure all the cups and plates were in order, with Leo closely watching the whole time. His apron was getting in the way of his feet, the cap he was wearing was making his head itch, not to mention the now noon sun was beating down hard upon his thick fur.

After what seemed like hours had passed, Po was panting as he still climbed the stairs, the cart still unfortunately being a part of the journey. "C'mon!" He panted, flopping down on the steps, feeling like he was on the verge of a heart attack. "Almost there!"

Just then, a large shadow fell over him which made Po look up to see Leo standing above him not looking tired at all, his kasa hat blocking out the sun above his head. "Leo? Oh, please tell me we're almost there, please, please, please!"

Leo winced sympathetically. "Uh, Po… look."

Po did look, and to his horror, he had only managed to make it up the first eleven steps. "What?!" He shrieked, looking like he was about to cry. "No! Oh, no!"

Leo had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at how 'traumatically' upset the panda was. "Sorry, Po." He said, lightly patting the panda bear on the shoulder. "I really wish I could help, but I need to catch up with my brothers before they start worrying about me."

Po sighed, leaning his head back against the steps. "It's fine." He panted, sounding defeated. "You go on ahead."

"Don't worry, we'll definitely be sure to bring you back a souvenir." Leo stated before sprinting up the steps to the Jade Palace like it was nothing.

Po sat up as he watched the blue clad turtle ascend higher and higher up the steps and out of view, feeling rather envious of the turtle's stamina. If only he didn't have to carry this stupid cart up to the palace.

Suddenly, Po felt a newfound determination fill his being. No way was he going to let a useless cart keep him from seeing his heroes.

"No." He said, getting up. "I'll bring me back a souvenir." With that, Po threw off his noodle hat and untied his apron, leaving them on the ground as he rushed up the steps.

Little did he know he was unknowingly running to claim his destiny.


Reaching the top of the steps to Jade Palace, Leo stood outside the front gate, looking around for his brothers.

"Psst! Leo, over here!"

He looked to his left to see Raph, Donnie, and Mikey clinging to the side of the wall having ditched their disguises.

"Guys, what are you doing?" Leo questioned, taking off his coat and hat as he joined them. "We could have just walked in."

"Where's the fun in that?" Raph replied with a shrug. "Besides, have you seen how many villagers there are? We'd stick out like a sore thumb."

"I hate to say this, but Raph's right." Donnie concurred. "Comparing the villagers sizes with ours, combined with the fact that we'd be in a pretty condensed space, it would be pretty easy to be spotted."

Leo sighed, caving in. "Fine, we'll hang on one of those roofs and watch from there, alright?"

His brothers nodded eagerly. "Keep it stealthy, my ninjas. Let's do this!" Mikey said, carrying a bowl of food in his hands.

Leo paused as he stared at his youngest brother. "Uh… Mikey, where did you get that?"

Mikey shrugged before stuffing his face. "Found it."

Leo looked over to Raph and Donnie who both shuddered.

"Trust me, you really don't want to know." Donnie stated.


As the villagers excitedly settled down in their seats, several of the workers at the Jade Palace pushed around the fighting equipment that would be used in the tournament, the participants of course being Furious Five.

Down the flight of stairs from the Hall of Heroes came Master Oogway, wearing a fine green sash around his shell. Shifu of course was waiting for him at the bottom.

"It is an historic day, isn't it, Master Oogway?" The red panda asked.

"Yes." He replied. "And one I feared I would not live to see." He then gazed to the courtyard where the Furious Five would compete. "Are your students ready?"

"Yes, Master Oogway." Shifu replied confidently, sure that his students would perform to their fullest potential and earn the Dragon Scroll fairly. And once one of them had been chosen, their four guardians would shortly arrive.

Oogway fully turned back to Shifu. "Now know this, old friend." He said. "Whomever I choose will not only bring peace to the Valley, but also to you."

Shifu stood there, contemplating the meaning behind his master's words. But not wanting to waste his breath, Shifu quickly joined his master in greeting the crowd.

"Let the tournament begin!" One of the workers called before hitting a golden gong, its reverberating noise ringing loudly throughout the courtyard, though it was drowned out by the cheering crowd.

From the roofs of the stadium above, the turtles watched with keen eyes, making sure that they would see but wouldn't be easily spotted by the crowd.


Meanwhile, outside the Palace gates, Po hoisted himself on the last step. Panting heavily, he flopped down on his back out of breath, but laughing victoriously.

However, that triumphant feeling was quickly dashed when he looked to see the doors to the palace slowly closing.

Stumbling to his feet, Po made a mad dash to the entrance, hoping to get in before it was too late. "Oh no! No, no, no! Wait! I'm coming!"

But of course, he was too slow as the doors closed all the way, causing Po to face-plant against the iron-framed wooden doors. "Ow…" He groaned before falling to the ground.

Shaking his head, he got up and scrambled over to the gates. "Hey, open the door! Let me in!" He cried hopelessly, pounding on the door with his fists, but was drowned out by the ceremonial drums.

Panicking, Po looked around desperately for a way to get in before his eyes settled on a small circular window in the wall, the shutter propped up with a small wooden stick. Running over, he jumped up and managed to peer through the hole.

"Citizens of the Valley of Peace!" Shifu announced. "It is my great honor to present to you… Tigress! Viper! Crane! Monkey! Mantis! The Furious Five!"

From the rooftop they took refuge on, the turtles looked to the skies as they saw five figures jump from the roofs of the nearby sheds, the crowd cheering loudly as they descended to the ground.

The first to land was Tigress as she landed with a spinning kick, throwing out her palm into a powerful strike before doing a side-ways spinning flip into a readied stance.

Viper came down next, her silky scales allowing her to land smoothly on the concrete before propelling her body into the air and snapping her tail like a whip.

Next came Monkey, landing with a roll before lifting himself up with his hand kicking his foot into the air. He then propelled himself up, balancing himself on his tail.

Mantis landed next, snapping his pincers threateningly as he too took a stance.

Finally, last but not least was Crane as he swooped down gracefully around his comrades before flapping his wings, sending a powerful gust of wind into the courtyard, which unfortunately closed the window holl Po was peering through, knocking him to the ground. Today was just not his day.

"Wow…" Mikey whispered in wonder as he, Donnie, Raph, and Leo watched from above.

"I'll admit it, these guys are actually kinda cool." Raph said, with Donnie and Leo silently nodding in agreement.

"Impressive form too." Leo complimented.

"Yeah, it's definitely not easy to be as coordinated as that." Donnie added.

"Warriors, prepare!" Shifu announced.

Meanwhile, outside the gates, Po quickly got to his feet, his eyes lighting up when he found a small crack in the door, which he promptly put his face up to. "Peeky-hole!"

"Master Crane, ready for battle!" Shifu announced as Crane stood in front of a large cannon loaded with burning arrows.

"Yeah, whoo! The Thousand Tongues of Fire!" Po exclaimed as caught a glimpse of the cannon about to be set off.

But just as they were about to go off, one of the spectators inside moved in front of Po's only source of view. "Woah, look at that!" The spectator (who was a pig) exclaimed, pointing to the cannon.

"Hey man, get out of the way!" Po cried, but the pig didn't budge.

The wind whipped around Crane as he swooped into the air, the crackling arrows on his tail feathers while turtles carefully watched from afar.

Crane swooped into the air as the arrows came towards him, floating in mid-air before spreading his wings and spinning himself around in a tornado of wind, catching the arrows in his wind before blowing them away as the arrows went off, creating a beautiful explosion of color.

Mikey gasped in awe at the pretty fireworks while Donnie lightly clapped with the audience.

"Not bad." Raph remarked, sounding impressed.

Leo simply gave a small impressed smile.

Po, meanwhile, had pretty much missed the whole thing, as in his haste to see what was happening, he had lost his footing and fell down the steps behind him.

Getting back up, Po crawled back up to the top of the stairs, but visibly deflated when he realized he had missed Crane's demonstration.

Pounding his fist on the ground, Po got up again. If fate wanted to play games with him, he wasn't gonna give up so easily.


"Master Monkey!"

Po poised himself in front of the gates and took a deep breath. Exhaling, he punched the door as hard as he could, hoping to break it down.

But the only thing that broke was his knuckles as he whimpered in pain, falling to his knees.

"Ow…"


"Master Mantis!"

Po rushed towards the wall with a long pole in hands, attempting to pole-vault over the wall and failing miserably as he fell on his back as the pole bent down with him. The flexible pole whipped around and threw him into the wall, cracking it.

"Mommy…"


"Master Viper!"

Reaching up, Po pulled down the heavy branch of a nearby tree and fastened it to the ground with a spare rope and a heavy rock, rigging it to work like a make-shift catapult. Using a smaller sharp-edged rock, he cut the rope and braced himself to be thrown over the wall.

But nothing happened.

Confused and a little irritated, Po got off the branch. But as soon as he did, the branch shot up and hit him in the nose. He gripped his nose with a yelp of pain as he staggered back before the branch came back down and hit him on the head.

He groaned pitifully as he collapsed to the ground, clutching his aching head.


The crowd cheered loudly in the courtyard while Po sat alone and depressed on the steps outside, out of ideas and instead pretty much just giving up. He was about to go back down the stairs and go home when…

"And finally… Master Tigress!"

Po's head and ears snapped up in attention. Master Tigress was the one he had wanted to see the most, after all, she was his favorite of the Five. He just couldn't leave without seeing her.

Taking the rope he had used earlier, Po wrapped it around a larger tree this time, tugging it farther back in order to launch himself.

"Believe me, citizens, you've seen nothing yet!" Shifu announced, slightly exaggerating the Master of Tiger-style.

"I know!" Po yelled back in annoyance and out of breath, not really caring anymore if he was heard or not.

"Watch as Master Tigress faces Iron Ox and his blades of Death!"

As they watched Tigress prepare to face her challenge, Mikey could've sworn out of the corner of his eye, he saw Po launching himself into the air before falling out of view. But he quickly shrugged it off before turning his attention back to the demonstration with his brothers.

Tigress' demonstration was quickly over as she impressed the crowd (and the still hidden turtles) with her swift and hard-hitting fighting style, easily dodging and blocking the axes before destroying the dummy with a triple spinning kick.

Right as her demonstration finished, Oogway suddenly closed his eyes and slowly raised his withered hand to quiet the crowd.

"I sense the Dragon Warrior and his guardians are among us." He muttered as Shifu nodded to his students.

After receiving the okay sign from their master, the Furious Five all lined up in the center of the courtyard in anticipation.

"Citizens of the Valley of Peace!" Shifu announced. "Master Oogway will now choose the Dragon Warrior and his guardians!"

From outside, Po groaned as he sat up at those words. No way was he going to miss the selection of the legendary fabled warrior and his equally fabled guardians. "Oh no! No, no, no! Wait!" He cried futilely. He looked around and noticed he was sitting in a pile of fireworks.

A light bulb practically flickered on in his mind.

"Yeah…"


Oogway slowly made his way down the steps to the courtyard, his eyes closed and the ceremonial drums thundering loudly as the Furious Five stood tall and anxious while the turtles watched with anticipation from above.

"This is it, dudes. This is it!" Mikey whispered excitedly.

"So, who do you think is gonna be chosen?" Raph asked out of curiosity.

Donnie hummed as he held his chin. "Statistically speaking, I'm leaning towards maybe Tigress since she seems to be the most dedicated."

Leo nodded in agreement. "She does seem to be the most skilled, too. Kinda seems like an obvious choice, don't you think?"


Po pulled over a small chair decorated with several fireworks, laughing at the supposed brilliance of his idea before hopping on and lighting the fuse.

He gave a sort of maniacal chuckle as the fuse caught fire and was quickly burning down.

However, it was at this time that father of all times decided to show up with Po's discarded apron in his wings.

The instant he saw his large fat son sitting on a chair with lit rockets strapped to it, he immediately went into panic mode.

"PO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Mr. Ping shrieked.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Po asked as though it were obvious. Mr. Ping quickly rushed over and began desperately trying to blow out the fuse. "Hey, stop! I'm going to see the Dragon Warrior and his guardians!" He protested, trying to push his dad away.

Mr. Ping looked dumbstruck at those words. He opened his beak to say something, but nothing came out as he was too shocked to speak. "But I don't understand." He said, his voice sounding hurt. "You finally had the noodle dream!"

"I lied!" Po confessed. "I don't dream about noodles, dad!" Noticing the fuse was almost up, Po figured it was the best time to finally speak his mind before he took off to pursue his true dream. "I LOVE KUNG FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU…!"

In an instant, Po felt like he was flying. He was finally going to get over this stupid wall and see who the Dragon Warrior was going to be. But when he opened his eyes, he was disappointed to see he was still on the ground while his dad stared at him.

He looked down at the fuse which was nothing more than a burnt out stub. Po sighed disappointedly, before yelping as the chair tipped over and caused him to face-plant on the ground.

Po didn't even bother to get up, too embarrassed to say anything.

Mr. Ping sighed, picking up his son's discarded apron. "Come on, son." He said sympathetically. "Let's get back to work."

"Okay." Po mumbled half-heartedly, reaching for the apron as he began to push himself to his feet…

… when suddenly the rockets on the chair ignited with colorful sparks blasting in every direction. Mr. Ping screamed and fell back as Po was launched into the wall, his face sliding along the concrete before the chair blasted into the sky.

Wind whipped in his ears and rockets roared and exploded all around him, but somehow Po's screams were louder as he gripped the chair tightly.

The spectators, Shifu, the Furious Five, and the turtles below all found themselves drawn to the skies as the fireworks exploded in a beautiful display of colors and white flames.

"Woah, cool colors." Mikey gasped, staring up at the exploding fireworks with wide eyes.

However, as the fireworks began to die down, Donnie noticed with his keen mahogany eyes that beyond the smoke, there was something coming down fast from the sky… or rather, someone.

"Hey, guys," The smart turtle spoke up. "Do you see that?"

Looking closely, Leo and Raph quickly noticed it too. "Is that…?" Raph questioned.

"Po?" Leo said in surprise just as Po landed on the ground with a loud 'THUD' between Oogway and Furious Five.

"Po!" Mikey exclaimed, without really thinking as he leapt over the roof they hid on and jumped down into the courtyard to check on the unconscious panda.

"Mikey!" Raph yelled as he, Leo, and Donnie rushed down to catch their youngest brother.

The crowd gasped as the four ninja turtles fully came into view for all to see, with the Furious Five noticing them as well.

Tigress was the first to take a combative stance as she eyed the four turtles suspiciously.

"Who are you?!" She demanded while Viper, Crane, Mantis, and Monkey eyed them curiously.

Leo and Donnie held up their hands defensively. "Woah, easy there. We're just friends of the panda." Leo explained.

"Yeah, we're so sorry about this." Donnie apologized. "He's a really big fan."

"Is he alright?" Raph asked.

Tigress lowered her stance slightly, glancing back to the panda. "Unconscious." She said.

Viper then noticed the panda begin to stir. "Looks like he's waking up."

Po blinked his eyes open as he sat up. Mikey was immediately by his side as he wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "You okay, dude?" He asked, concerned.

The panda groaned, holding his head as he opened his eyes. "Yeah, I think so." He mumbled. He raised his head and was confused to see Oogway pointing directly at him. "Oh! Okay, sorry! I just wanted to see who the Dragon Warrior was!" He quickly explained apologetically.

Instead of being angered, Oogway instead had a strange smile on his old face. "How interesting…" He said, still pointing at Po, his gaze also shifting to Leo, Donnie, Raph, and Mikey.

Tigress walked up beside the panda, equally confused. "Master… are you pointing at me?" She asked slowly.

"Him." Oogway replied.

The turtles and the Furious Five looked to each other before shifting their gazes back to the old galapagos turtle.

"Who?" Po asked, shifting from side to side awkwardly, Oogway's finger following him everywhere he moved.

"You." Oogway said simply.

Po was now more confused than ever. "Me?"

Oogway then raised Po's arm with his staff and said a single sentence that shocked everyone in the area.

"The universe has brought us the Dragon Warrior!" He declared. He then walked over to the turtles and raised each of their hands as well. "And the universe has revealed his four guardians to us as well!"

"What?" Po asked, eyes wide as dinner plates.

"What?" Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey all asked, sounding very very confused.

"What?!" The Furious Five questioned in shock (and for Tigress, a little in anger).

"What?!" Shifu exclaimed in shock and disbelief.

"WHAT?!" Mr. Ping cried, poking his head through the gates and seeing everything.

Before anyone in the courtyard could figure out what was going on, one of the workers from before hit the gong as the crowd cheered and clapped wildly. Confetti rained down from the sky and music filled the air in celebration. The Furious Five (though Tigress looked like she was swallowing a lemon) all placed their fists into their palms and bowed to Po and the turtles.

The palace workers immediately came running down the steps with a palanquin on their shoulders while Shifu frantically tried to stop them. "Stop!" He exclaimed, still reeling in disbelief. "Who told you to-" He broke himself off as he rushed down the stairs and ran up to his master.

Po hesitantly got in the palanquin while the workers grabbed each of the turtles by their hands and dragged them away.

"Master, that flabby panda can't possibly be the answer to our… to our problem! You were about to point at Tigress and that thing fell in front of her! And you can't seriously trust those four strangers! We don't know anything about them! They're teenagers and they're carrying weapons! That was just an accident!" Shifu exclaimed, gesticulating wildly.

Oogway simply smiled. "There are no accidents."

They then heard a loud snapping sound and looked over to see the palanquin had snapped under Po's weight, with Raph and Mikey struggling not to laugh while Leo pinched the bridge between his nose with a sigh while Donnie face-palmed.

Shifu could only watch, his jaw hanging open and his left eye twitching as Po, Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey were led up to the Hall of Heroes.

"Forgive us, Master." Tigress said apologetically as she and her companions all bowed to him. "We have failed you."

But Shifu held up his hand. "No." He said. "If the panda and those turtles have not quit by morning, then I will have failed you."