Chapter 7: The Hall of Heroes
"DRAGON WARRIOR! DRAGON WARRIOR!" The crowd cheered all the way as Po and the turtles were escorted up to the Hall of Heroes.
The doors to the Hall swung open as Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo were led inside while Po was dumped off the palanquin and onto the marble floor.
The servants of the Palace quickly picked up the palanquin and scuttled outside, shutting the doors behind him.
Leo quickly walked up to the closing doors. "Hey, wait! I think there's been a bit of a misunderstanding." He tried to reason, still reeling in confusion.
"Uh, yeah!" Po agreed, equally baffled by the recent events. "Everyone seems to think… I'm…" He trailed off when he turned around and realized where he was, his mouth gradually dropping as he and the turtles took in the legendary Hall.
"The sacred Hall of Warriors! No way!"
"Amazing." Donnie whispered, running his hand along the carvings on one of the smooth jade pillars. "Such detail, perfect execution, just… flawless."
"This is pretty cool." Leo admitted while Raph gave a low impressed whistle.
"'Pretty cool'?!" Mikey exclaimed in excitement. "This is awesome! I don't know what to put my grubby hands on first!" He ran around the Hall, giggling and squealing like a little child.
Po giggled giddily as he rushed up to a rhinoceros shaped armor. "Well then you should check this out," He said, eyes shining, "Master Flying Rhino's armor, with authentic battle damage!"
"Cool…" Mikey whispered amazement, lightly poking the armor with his finger while Donnie examined the design of the armor itself.
As he looked around, Leo spotted a large sword with a golden hilt and emerald markings on the blade sitting on a small pedestal. "Wow." He said quietly as he bent down, keenly observing the blade.
Po noticed him and gasped, running over and pulling him away by the arm. "Leo! Don't look at it!"
Leo raised a brow, freeing his arm. "Why?"
"That's the Sword of Heroes." Po explained. "Said to be so sharp that you can cut yourself just by looking at it-OOOWW!" He yelped as he put his finger in his mouth, seemingly cut by the sword.
Leo did a double-take on the sword before slowly backing away from it, unconsciously folding his hands behind his shell.
Raph, meanwhile, walked up to what appeared to be an empty pedestal. "Hey, there's nothing here." He remarked, sounding a little disappointed.
"Yes there is, Raph!" Po said excitedly. "That's the Invisible Trident of Destiny!"
Raph glanced at the 'invisible trident' with a blank look.
A large canvas caught Po's eye as he walked up to it. The painting itself was of a large bull fighting off an army of ten thousand demons. "I've only seen paintings of that painting…" He muttered to himself.
They all spent the next few minutes pretty much looking at everything there was to see in the Hall. Po and Mikey of course were geeking out or poking everything they could find while Leo, Donnie, and Raph took a more laid back approach as they simply observed the intriguing artifacts.
As Po looked around, his eyes fell upon one single object near the back of the Hall. "Nooooo! Oh-ho-ho!" He exclaimed with an edge of disbelief in his voice, running up to a glass-like urn decorated with the paintings of several soldiers.
"What is that?" Leo asked curiously.
"Looks like some kind of urn." Donnie observed, bending down on his knees and observing the paintings on the glass of the urn.
"Not just any urn, Donnie!" Po explained. "It's the Legendary Urn of Whispering Warriors… said to contain the souls of the entire Tenshu Army!"
"Coooool…" Mikey and Raph said, deciding to get a closer look at the urn.
"So, what was the Tenshu Army?" Leo questioned.
Po was more than happy to tell them the story. "The five hundred warriors of Tenshu were called upon to defend an isolated village of peaceful potters from the attack of ten thousand demons of the Scarlet Moon. "He explained. "Though they were outnumbered twenty to one, they held their dark horde for a hundred days, fighting shoulder to shoulder in formation and whispering to each other, 'hold fast, brothers, hold fast" to keep up their courage. They fought to their last breath and successfully drove the assassins back. The villagers were so grateful that they worked to make the most perfect ceramic vase they had ever created, molded from the clay of the battlefield and moistened with their tears."
"Fascinating…" Donnie said, going back to observing the urn.
"Legend also says the souls of the noble warriors of Tenshu live on inside that vase, waiting to be called on again in a time of need." Po added. "If you are very quiet and still, you may hear them whispering, 'hold fast, brothers, hold fast'."
"Cooooool…" Mikey exclaimed softly, he and Po leaning over the earn and listening closely.
"Hello?" Po whispered quietly.
"Have you finished sightseeing?" A voice said.
Po and Mikey gasped while Leo, Donnie, and Raph blinked in surprise.
"Sorry, army dudes." Mikey apologized sheepishly. "We totally should have come to see you first."
"My patience is wearing thin." The voice said, sounding slightly irritable.
"Oh. Well, it's not like you were going anywhere." Po said.
"Do turn around." Said the voice, now sounding on edge of being annoyed.
The four turtles and the panda turned to their left to see none other than Master Shifu standing there, staring at him. "Hey, how's it going?" Po said casually.
Leo, Donnie, Raph, and Mikey immediately froze where they stood, their bodies shooting up stiff as the smart turtle's staff at the sudden presence of the master.
Po, however, didn't seem to notice as he turned back to the urn, now leaning against it. "Now how do you fit five hund-" He began before suddenly realizing who it was that was standing there. "Master Shifu!" He exclaimed, accidentally knocking over the urn over in his shock.
The instant the urn hit the marble ground, it shattered into pieces, a ghostly wail sounding as green mist floated out from the remains.
Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey all collectively winced. Someone was in trouble.
"Someone broke that… but I'm gonna fix it…" Po mumbled sheepishly with a grimace. "Do you have some… glue?" He bent down and tried to retrieve the pieces, another ghostly moan escaping from the mess.
Shifu simply stared at the five of them, looking very unamused. "So, you're the legendary Dragon Warrior, hm?" He asked the panda in a polite tone with a fake smile. He then turned to the turtles, who were still standing in a very stiff and awkward manner. "And you four are supposed to be his guardians, yes?"
Po slowly stood back up, rubbing the back of his neck uncertainty with a shrug. "Uh… I guess so?" He answered unsurely while the turtles each slowly nodded.
"WRONG!" Shifu yelled, causing Po to jump and stumble back while Leo, Donnie, Raph, and Mikey all collectively flinched nervously. "You are not the Dragon Warrior. You will never be the Dragon Warrior until you have all learned the secret of the Dragon Scroll." He said, pointing to the ceiling with his flute where the golden dragon was gazing down from above with the scarlet and emerald scroll clutched in its mouth.
"Wow…" Po, Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo all gasped in awe.
"So, how does this work?" Po wondered. "You have a ladder or trampoline…?"
Shifu laughed dryly. "You think it's that easy?" He asked sarcastically, his fake smile twisting into a scowl. "That I'm just going to hand you the secret to limitless power?!"
Po backed up, stuttering. "No, I-I…"
"I'm sure he didn't mean any disrespect, sir- er, master." Leo tried, correcting himself at the end of his sentence to try and show some respect.
"One must first master the highest level of kung fu." Shifu stated coldly. "And that is clearly impossible for someone like you." He said bitterly, pointing right at Po.
"Someone like me?" Po repeated as Shifu went around while the turtles slowly backed away.
"Yes!" Shifu exclaimed. "Look at you… this lazy butt!" He swatted Po's behind with his flute as the panda jumped with a yelp. "These flabby arms," He continued, gracing the panda's arms with the same smack of his flute.
"Hey! Those are sensitive in the flabby parts!" Po protested as Shifu continued.
"And this ridiculous belly." Shifu muttered, prodding Po's bloated abdomen with his flute. He then turned to the turtles. "And as for you four," He stated, making the four of them jump slightly, "your utter disregard for personal hygiene." He said, turning away from them and holding his nose.
Leo, Donnie, Raph, and Mikey all frowned souerly. "Well that was a little uncalled for." Raph muttered, to which Donnie and Mikey both nodded in agreement.
"Now, wait a minute!" Po said indignantly, coming to his friends' defense. "That's a little uncalled for."
"Don't stand that close, I can smell your breath." Shifu interrupted, moving back a little farther and cringing at a stench only he could smell.
Po decided he had had enough. "Listen," He said hotly, raising a finger at Shifu, disregarding all respect and manners and taking a daring step closer to the red panda. "Oogway said I was the-"
The panda didn't get the chance to finish his sentence as Shifu abruptly turned around and pinched Po's outstretched digit between his thumb and middle finger. Instantly, Po's eyes widened and he quickly fell to his knees. "The Wuxi Finger Hold?" He gasped in horror. "Not the Wuxi Finger Hold!"
Shifu smirked slyly, which intimidated them even more. "Oh, so you know this hold."
Leo, Donnie, Raph, and Mikey glanced at each other nervously, each having the same thought. Is it really that bad? (Though Raph looked a bit more skeptical than the others.)
"Developed by Master Wuxi in the Third Dynasty, yes!" Po answered, terrified.
"Oh, then you must know what happens when I flex my pinky." Shifu hinted slyly, lightly twitching his pinkie finger. The slight movement made Po whimper even louder, much to Shifu's enjoyment.
"No, no, no!" Po begged for mercy.
"You know what the hardest part of this is?" Shifu's voice lowered to a dangerous whisper, leaning forward as his eyes narrowed into slits. "The hardest part… is cleaning up afterwards." This was followed by a sinister chuckle while the turtles quietly gasped in horror at those implications.
"Okay! Okay, please, take it easy!" Po begged for his life.
Shifu squeezed Po's finger a little harder. "Now listen closely, all of you." He ordered, making the turtles shoot up in attentiveness. "Oogway may have picked you but when I'm through with all of you, you're all going to wish he hadn't! Are we clear?" He asked firmly.
Po and Mikey nodded frantically, the panda wanting nothing more than to be free from the dreaded hold that could end his life in a second, while Leo and Donnie and Raph nodded more slowly, all of them now very intimidated by the small red panda.
"Oh, yeah, we're c-clear." Po managed to say. "R-right guys?"
Leo nodded. "Yes, very clear."
"Crystal clear!" Raph exclaimed while Donnie nodded rapidly.
"We are so clear, little dude!" Mikey cried in a panic.
Shifu glared at the party turtle, releasing Po and grabbing Mikey by his finger before flipping him over his shoulder.
Mikey let out a cry of pain as his shell hit the ground while Shifu twisted his finger. "Do not call me 'little', and do not call me 'dude'." He glared.
Mikey nodded frantically, wisely deciding to keep his mouth shut as Shifu released him.
Allowing the party turtle to get up, Shifu gave a sly smile, chuckling darkly. "Good." He said, satisfied. "I can't wait to get started."
Po, Leo, Donnie, Raph, and Mikey all shared a collective gulp as Shifu led them out of the Hall and down to the training room.
"And I thought Splinter was strict." Donnie whispered, getting a nod from each of his brothers.
