Leo the Demon Fighter


"Come on, we have a long journey ahead of us," Lee said. They were nearing the Jin-Min capital when Lee remembered something, "Oh shoot. I forgot that Leo lives around here. We're gonna need him for this fight."

"Who's Leo?" Po asked.

"He's this sweet little wolf that we found when we were traveling China," Mei said, "But wait... we have Tigress."

"That's why I'm worried," Lee groaned. Before Po or Tigress could say anything, they came upon an old tent with a scrappy white wolf cooking out in the open. "Get in the bushes you two," Lee said to Tigress and Po. The white wolf's light tan pants were torn in several places, and there were small dark circles around his eyes. He was short, probably the shortest among all of them, and he had amber eyes. "Leo! How's it been? Whacha' you doing?" Lee's smile reeked of bad acting. Leo tilted his head. "I have a friend for you to meet. She's a bit... different, but she's friendly." Slowly, Tigress and Po emerged from the bushes.

"Monster!" Leo shouted and immediately hid behind Lee. Tigress's ears went down.

"She's not a monster," Po defended her.

"No, that's not what he means," Lee said, patting the shivering white wolf. "You see, when he was a child, his parents were killed right before him by a... certain tiger."

"Wong-Hu?" Po asked.

"It was part of his 'ethnic' cleansing. Ever since then he's been afraid of tigers," Lee said, gently stroked the smaller wolf behind him, "But this one won't hurt you, Leo. She's... friendly."

"Thank you," Tigress said in a deadpanned voice.

"We're taking you with us, so you're not going to be hurt by anyone anymore," Mei explained holding the wolf's hand. The white wolf slowly got to his feet. "We're going to the Jin-Min capital." Leo's eyes shot open. "Don't worry, it will be fine. We won't let anyone hurt you. And we need you. People's lives are at stake and we can't do this without you," Mei's stared straight into his eyes. "We have to make sure that no more people are hurt like you." Leo slowly nodded.

"Okay. I'll go," He said in a timid brittle voice. Soon, he packed his merger things and journeyed with them, giving the others some of his freshly-made soup. Of course, because of Leo's tiger-phobia, Po had to take Tigress's bowl to her. The small wolf didn't talk much. He was always a good distance from Tigress, too, making her more and more depressed. Night came, and the team rested in their cozy tents. Tigress sat outside looking at the embers in the fire pit.

"You seem depressed. I mean, you're showing it more. What's the matter?" Po asked, sitting next to her. She sighed.

"It's just Leo. I-"

"Tigress, his parents were killed. You should know why he's scared," Po interrupted her.

"I do. I completely understand, more than anyone. Po, can I tell you something private?" Tigress asked. Po nodded. She took a deep breath. "I'm...scared...to see where I come from."

"I thought you were excited."

"I am but I'm also scared. What if I'm a monster amongst my own kind? And what if they're just like me?"

"If they are, then I'm gonna need a lot more padding," Po joked and earned a playful punch from the tiger, "But I've been there, Tigress. The people aren't like you... character-wise. They're okay." Tigress tucked in her legs to her chest. "They're amazing people, and I know your parents couldn't bear seeing you hurt by Wong-Hu."

"I just wish I wasn't seen as...a monster sometimes," Tigress whispered. Her sigh was long and heavy as if the air couldn't be lifted. She spotted Po looking around. "What?"

"Nothing, I'm just wondering if that howl we heard is going to come back," The panda replied.

"In either case, I think we should get to bed." The two went back to their tents while a pair of wolf eyes watched them.


"Good morning everyone. Ready for breakfast?" Lee said cheerfully as Leo cooked. Tigress sat looking at the grass, thinking about last night. Someone passed her a bowl. She expected to see Po, but she looked up to see Leo, smiling timidly. She gently grabbed the bowl and slurped it up, smiling warmly.

"Thank you, Leo." The wolf quickly bowed and went back to cooking. Still afraid but it was a start. Once they were on the road, Po asked the two royals a question.

"So, how do you know Leo?"

"He's an excellent fighter. They call him, The Fighting Demon," The wolf explained. Po's mouth dropped.

"You mean the legendary fighter whose fists can scare people and sends them flying the next minute! Wait, then that was you that we heard howling the night before." Leo nodded. "Awesome!" Po exclaimed.

"I know, right!" Lee replied.

"Boys," Mei muttered to Tigress. Both girls laughed.

"So can I see some of your skills, huh can I? Can I? Pleaseeeee?" Po begged. The white wolf only blinked. Just then, some bandits jumped out of the bushes and ambushed them.

"Give us your loot," They demanded. Leo cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders. He jumped into the air and came down, pounding one bandit into the dirt. Leo completely changed. He snarled, growled, and laughed madly as he took out the bandits, one by one. He slid under one of them and as the bandit looked down, Leo punched him in the face. When the bandits were all defeated, Po was in awe.

"That...was...AWESOME!" He shouted. Leo returned to his shy manner while Po bombarded him with questions.

"Funny, he can take out bandits looking like a crazy menace, but he's so... shy," Tigress said to Mei.

"He'll warm-up to you, but that's not even the kicker. We've never told him this, but he's actually... part-tiger," Mei said.

The tiger's eyes widened. "You're kidding," Tigress said silently.

Mei shook her head. "That's why his eyes are yellow and his claws retract whenever he's in his 'demon mode'," Mei explained. Tigress took a good look at the wolf. He did have a kind of cat-like aura to him. Something that can't be explained to anyone that's not a feline.

"He's afraid of what he is," Tigress lamented.

"Come on, girls," Lee said interrupting the girls' private discussion, "Let's get moving."


The dark cold clouds swirled around the icy white mountain top. In a cave, guarded by two burly orange tigers, shown a little light that journeyed deeper into the cave's large airy chamber. The clanks and banging hammers dimly lit by the torches rang in the thick metallic air. In the back of the chamber, far from the high entrance that overlooked the open space, sat a wooden door which a small tiger ran to and knocked on. Of course, the guards at the door blocked his way. "I have information for General Wong-Hu." The guards let him in. The small tiger slowly opened the door and walked inside. A back of muscle with a huge scar running from the right shoulder to the lower left hip caught his sight. The huge muscular white tiger sat looking at a large map on his desk. "G-General Wong-Hu."

"I told you not to disturb me," grumbled the general's low silky voice.

"I-I-I-It's about the Jin-Min capital, sir," the small tiger replied. "Our scouts say that... the Japanese Emperor has been sited heading there."

"And I guess his little kitten wife was there as well," The white cat moved his cup from the map and placed it to the side. He sighed like a man bored with his food. "Solider, we already knew that they were allies. Naturally, they would come to save the day. This better be news or else your head will be-"

"He was seen with a panda," the small tiger blurted out. He slapped his mouth shut. Wong-Hu shot up from his seat and slowly turned to the scout.

"What did you say?" He asked, steadily walking toward him.

"T-T-T-The scouts said he was accompanied by a panda," The small tiger repeated. Slowly, ever slowly, a long smile spread across Wong-Hu's lips.

"Po," He said almost gleefully. "Oh, it's been so long. GUARDS!" They burst in. "You, tell the men to speed up the weapons production. I want to be prepared within a week. And tell the men to raid the village for supplies. Go!" One guard left.

"What about me, Sir?" asked the small tiger messager. Wong-Hu glanced down at him with disgust. He pointed to the guard.

"You, take this trash and kill him outside. I don't want any loose lips giving away my plans."

"What?" The small tiger's eyes went wide as the guard grabbed him by the shoulder. "No! no! PLEASE don't! NOOOO!" The door slammed shut and Wong-Hu sat back at his chair, grumbling to himself.

"Why can't they just die quietly?" He mumbled, studying his map in closer detail.

Continued...