A/N: This story is inspired by SpiritChannelerJosh's Kung Fu Panda fanfic, so there will be some similarites here and there. Just had to let it out there.
I am sitting down in my home looking at my shelf that contains books and films involving kung fu and martial arts looking back on how I've been trained in it for 17 years now, for I am now 25 years old. I then decide to do some training with my sword.
So I pick up my white henley shirt and the Tiger's Tooth Sword and go to the backyard to start my training for the day. I unsheathed the sword to position and looked at how the blade has serrations which helps inflict more damage on an opponent, and look at the hilt which has two rubies on it to represent eyes. Then I swing it sword around and do some kicks and swipes with my legs and ends by being in a tiger-like stance.
But then as I got up, I heard a twig snap from behind me and so I sharply turned around to see someone charge at me with a dagger. Thankfully, I have quick reaction time and dodge this attacker who is all dressed in black and covering his face.
"Bloody hell." I hissed as I gritted his teeth. I then charge at him and deflect the dagger with my sword and dig the sword through the chest of my opponent and I can see blood squirt out of his back. I then pulled the mask off to see who attacked ,e and it was some random person I don't know of asian descent.
As I walk off, the attacker grabs my leg and struggles to talk as he's about to talk.
"You'll get what you deserve, you backstabber." The attacker said right before he gasped his last breath. I have no idea what he was talking about and just walk off, but then right before I enter my home, a bolt of lightning comes out of nowhere and strikes strikes. Yet, I don't feel any pain, instead, I now feel a strong surge of energy through my body and see that I'm now in a void seeing images of another world and then a white light grows bigger and bigger, I scream in fear as I don't know what is happening and then I black out.
Suddenly, I feel so dizzy and heavy that it's a struggle for me to wake up but then I feel that I'm on a bed and the air is warm, so I slowly open my eyes to see that I'm in a room and am watched by a red panda, turtle and tiger who are standing over me. Fear takes over my whole body when I see the female tiger.
I shoot up the moment I see them and wince when I feel a sharp pain on my shoulder and see that I have a bandage on and my shirt is taken off which reveals my biceps and abs.
"Calm, everything's alright, Luke, you'll be okay." The turtle said. Okay, this is absurd, an animal that can talk and one that even knows my name. This is too much for me.
"How do you know my name? Where am I and how did I get here?" I asked with utter confusion in my face and voice.
"What is this, Master Oogway?" The red panda said. It felt rude for him to say that. At least I know what the name of the turtle is.
"He's a human, Shifu." Oogway said. Shifu replied to this with a sound that hinted at his curiosity.
"To answer one of your questions, you're at the Jade Palace. We found you right outside the barracks and we realised that you're the Tiger Warrior. A warrior from another world that is endorsed with the powers of the mystical Tiger Spirit." Oogway explained to me and I just sat there bewildered at this news and now I have butterflies in his stomach. How can I be this warrior, especially since I've had a fear of big cats because of an incident in my past, this is why I feel fear looking at the female tiger.
"Why am I here?" I ask as I'm feeling concerned about myself.
"You're here because we're to train you to be the Tiger Warrior." Shifu said.
"Where will I sleep?" I asked.
"You'll be sleeping with me in my room." The tiger said in a voice that had no hint of emotion, this made my blood cold. And also because I'd have to sleep with a big cat and I'd be a nervous wreck.
"This is Master Tigress, the leader of the Furious Five." Shifu said.
"We'll leave you to rest, I'll go handle the Dragon Warrior." Shifu said sternly and then Oogway and Tigress left the room. Now by myself in the room, I then notice my shirt is on the ground and my sword is in the corner of the room. I don't want to stay in the room the rest of the day so I get up and put my shirt back on and decide to go for a little walk around the grounds.
"Wow, it's so beautiful here." I said to myself as I look at the gold and orange sky which says that it's in the afternoon. Then I stroll to a courtyard and hear some sounds coming from what I assume is the training hall and so I go and peek my head in and see an incredible display of kung fu as five warriors, who had to be the Furious Five Shifu mentioned were training with all kinds of contraptions.
"This is breathtaking." I thought. Then I hide myself in the corner where no one can see me and then I see Shifu and a big fat panda named Po enter. Po fanboyed out and was nervous, this made me realise that Po is the Dragon Warrior. Then after delaying to hit the dummy which was nothing short of wincingly awkward, Po is thrown into the various contraptions and he is practically being beaten up and it looked like it really hurt, to the point that I winced. Po after the carnage was all burnt up with a little fire on his head and he's crawling to Shifu.
"How did I do?" Po said in a raspy voice.
"There is now a Level Zero." Shifu said while putting out that fire on Po's head. Then everyone left the training hall. I now exit my hiding place and now look closely at the various pieces of training equipment.
"Might as well take a crack." I said to himself and attempted to face the multi-armed dummies and I even ended up breaking some of them and then I jumped in the air and performed a Spinning Wheel and then do a backflip and land in front of the door.
Then as I turn around, I see Tigress and and the female snake looking at me. Tigress is just staring at me with a look of anger present in her eyes.
"How long have you been standing there?" I said trying not to show any kind of fear for Tigress to take advantage of.
"When you came out of that corner you were hiding in." Tigress said angrily. Holding the fear was now harder for me but then I look at the snake and feel a bit calmer now.
"Pay no mind to her, she's just in a mood. I'm Viper." Viper said in a voice that oozed motherly care, it made me calm. She extends her tail out to me for a shake from my hand.
"Nice to meet you." I said in a shy manner because of Tigress looking at me.
"Come on, supper's ready." Viper said and all three of us walked to the kitchen in a building near the barracks. There we entered the kitchen and I saw the rest of the Furious Five and Po. It was awkward in two ways, one for Po since he's supposed to be the Dragon Warrior and for me since I'm a human and they all don't know me.
After standing there being uncomfortable, I see Viper gesturing to me to sit next to her, so I did and darted my eyes at everyone as I'm not used to being around people of different drastic sizes. With Po at the end of the table at my right. Next to my left is Viper, opposite Po is Monkey and opposite Viper is Crane and Tigress is opposite me which is just perfect for me. Mantis is on the table because of his size.
"Are you the human we've been hearing about?" Po broke the silence with enthusiasm. How he's able to be like this after what happened, I have no idea.
"Yeah. My name is Luke." I said awkwardly with my head hanging to avoid eye contact with everyone while trying to eat some of the rice.
"Awesome." Po said excitedly. This made an awkward aura present in the room. Crane cleared his throat to kill the quiet.
"So, Luke, you're apparently going to sleep in Tigress's room, correct?" Crane asked. Tigress made a low growl at this and I'm getting more scared just being near her.
"Yes." I said nervously. Mantis then takes a few steps towards me.
"Just hope that Tigress doesn't eat you for a little snack." Mantis laughed. I choked on and spat rice all over at what he just said and Viper swiped her tail and smacked Mantis.
"Mantis! He's uncomfortable enough already, don't make it worse." Viper hissed at Mantis.
"It's alright Luke, you'll be fine." Viper said to me to help calm me down and she even wrapped her tail on my shoulder to calm me down, it was working.
"Thanks." I said looking at Viper with a smile.
After dinner was finished, I decided to clean the dishes, partly because I wanted some time to myself and calm down. By the time I finished, I walked my way to the barracks to see Po standing there in front of me and then I heard the Five ahead talking.
"There's no words." Crane said.
"No denying that." Mantis said.
"I don't understand what Master Oogway was thinking, the poor guy's gonna get himself killed." Viper said. She sounded concerned for Po.
"He is so mighty. The Dragon Warrior fell out of the sky in a ball of fire." Crane said with clear sarcasm.
"When he walks, the very ground shakes." Mantis joke which made almost all of the Five laugh. That's a bit harsh isn't it?
"One would think that Master Oogway would choose someone who actually knew kung fu." Tigress said angrily as she walked past everyone.
"Yeah, or could at least touch his toes." Crane said agreeing with her.
"Or even see his toes." Monkey interjected which had some of the Five laugh. Okay, now this is nothing but bullying, I'm disgusted, these guys seem to be the worst kind of kung fu master.
"What do you guys think of Luke?" Monkey asked. Now I'm actually worried what they'll say about me
"He's interesting." Crane said. Alright, not the worst thing to hear.
"I feel sorry for the guy and he actually did some moves that even I didn't know. We should give him a chance." Viper added. I heard that and a little smile crept on my face to know that she is concerned for me and is willing to take a chance on me. Then I looked back at Po and saw that he was trying to touch his toes and fall on his back.
"You alright?" I asked Po as I pulled him up.
"Yeah." Po said drooping his head down.
"Come on, let's go to our rooms." I said as we both walked to the barracks.
When we entered the hallway to the rooms, Po went first and I followed, it was tense as the creaks would be loud enough to wake up the Five then right as Po was about to enter his room, Tigress opened her door.
"Master Tigress. I didn't mean to wake you." Po said.
"You don't belong here." Tigress said in a dark manner.
"Yeah, of course. This is your room." Po said trying to defuse the tension. Good luck with that.
"I mean, you do not belong here at the Jade Palace. You're a disgrace to kung fu and if you have any respect for who we are, and what we do, you will be gone by morning." Tigress said coldly. Po stood there flabbergasted and Tigress turned her head to see me with that dark look still on her face.
"You, enter." Tigress said. I did just that instantly in fear of Tigress hitting me. The room was empty except for a bed.
"I'm sleeping on the floor?" I asked.
"Yes." Tigress said in an emotionless voice as she sat on her bed.
"Listen, I don't know who you are but if you show any form of weakness, you'll regret being here. So be prepared to go back to your pathetic parents or be strong, freak." Tigress growled.
All of the fear that I had in me was extinguished the moment Tigress called my parents pathetic and me a freak. Hearing that made me boil with anger and frustration partly due to me remembering something from his past. So I bolt up and walk right to her face, barely touching each other.
"You don't know me, or my parents. They aren't pathetic." I snarled at Tigress before storming off. I heard some of the Five wake and I even stormed past Po as I exited the barracks and saw a tree with pink petals which eased me down a bit and so I walked to it and rested up on it to look at the view.
"Like Po, you found the Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom." Oogway said in a cheerful way. I turn my head to the master and look up at the tree.
"Didn't know." I said in guilt.
"It's alright. Something's bothering you." Oogway said. How he knew what's wrong, I have no freaking idea.
"I just can't stand people saying something as though it's a fact without knowing anything at all. In my case, my parents." I said staring blankly at the horizon.
"There's something else." Oogway said.
"Why am I this Tiger Warrior, out of anyone, why me?" I asked the old turtle. I have a fear of big cats and I haven't even done anything special to warrant me being this mighty warrior.
"I cannot say why for you need to figure that out yourself. All I can say is that like the Yin and Yang, one has a part of the other, you being in this world is you being a part of your world, you're meant to be here and bring some balance." Oogway said to me before walking away. That actually made me feel better.
After a while, I walked back to the barracks and into Tigress's room. I quietly open the door to enter and then close it. Then I looked at my sword and noticed a vest folded next to the sword. I picked it up and noticed that it's orange with black shoulders, which must be a uniform. I decide to use it as a pillow and then I drift off to sleep.
At Chorh-Gom Prison - Third Person
Tai Lung, Shifu's former student, has just decided to break out, and he did with a duck's feather of all things. He just defeated all the guards and he exits the prison and sees the outside world. He then sees this hooded figure standing in front of him holding Zeng, a servant of the Jade Palace.
"Who are you?" Tai Lung said. The hooded figure took down his hood and revealed a man with a buzzcut and a scar across his face. Tai Lung was surprised to see this human.
"My name is Moon. And I believe we can help each other. You see, I know you want the title of Dragon Warrior, I want to get a crystal, the Heart of the Tiger and someone I know might have it. We both know where they are, so let's help one another." Moon said.
"If you don't get in my way, we can help." Tai Lung answered.
Moon then pulled Zeng upto his face.
"You fly back to the Jade Palace and tell them that the Dragon Warrior is coming home and that Moon is after the Heart of the Tiger." Moon said threateningly to Zeng. Zeng in turn flew away instantly and didn't stop.
"Let's go." Tai Lung said and then they both ran.
At the Jade Palace - Luke's POV
I opened my eyes suddenly for no reason other than that I always wake up very early in the morning every day, due to my training over the years. I got up and put on the vest I used as a pillow and it didn't look half bad. But just as I'm about to open the door, a gong rang, must be a form of alarm. I took it that the Five wake up to this. And I'm right as Tigress got up from her bed and opened the door.
"Good morning, master." The Five said in unison to Shifu who stood at the end of the corridor to the left. I didn't say it though because this is all new to me. This doesn't go unnoticed as Shifu made his way to me, next to Tigress and hit one of my feet with a stick. It was such a sharp pain.
"What was that for?" I asked through a hiss to deal with the pain. He stood there with a smile as though he was being a joking little devil.
"For not addressing me like the FIve just did. And for hiding in the corner of the training hall yesterday. Tigress told me." Shifu replied before he turned around to Po's room as he didn't pop out of his room yet. I glared at Tigress for what she did and she just stared back with no emotion. Then I turned my head forward to see Shifu say that Po quit as he's not in his room.
We all followed Shifu to the courtyard outside the training hall to start some training. I let everyone walk in front of me as I stayed back a few feet all because of Tigress and also because I don't feel that welcomed. This isn't unnoticed as Crane looks behind and sees me apart from the Five.
"Why aren't you walking with us?" Crane asked curiously.
"I have my reasons." I said darkly looking down on the ground. I didn't want to talk about all of that stuff. Thankfully he didn't push me any further, probably because of the tone of my voice.
Then I heard Viper speak to Shifu and Shifu responded to her.
"All we can do now is resume our and trust in time, the true Dragon Warrior will be revealed." Shifu explained. Okay, what does that mean? Did he want the panda to step down? Well, that is squandered the moment he pushes the doors open and sees that Po is seemingly trying to do the splits, he seemed very frustrated. I had to try and contain the laugh that was close to being audible. Crane had to come over to Po and pull him off the set up he used to try and do the splits.
"You actually thought you can learn a full split in one night? It takes years to develop one's flexibility, and years longer, to apply it in combat" Shifu explained to Po as he threw these two discs in the air and then Tigress jumped up to demonstrate the splits by destroying the discs. What Shifu said is largely true though, and I say largely because I was able to properly do the splits after one month's training.
Then Tigress lands on all fours and scowls at Po, and thens walks back as the pieces of the discs fall. One of the pieces hit my foot and I winced at the pain. Then Po for some reason picks up a piece.
"Put that down! The only souvenirs we collect here are bloody knuckles and broken bones." Shifu snapped at Po. It must be to try and intimidate Po into fear.
"Yeah. ha, ha, ha. Excellent." Po said. That attempt from Shifu clearly didn't work.
"Let's get started." Shifu said right before he snaps his fingers which makes the Five excluding Viper stand in a line to watch Po face against Viper, a bit unfair. I just sat on the stairs leading to the Training Hall.
Po didn't even have a chance, he needed to work on unexpected attacks, next was Monkey and Po needed to work on rapid fire attacks, Crane, well since they were on this jade tortoise, he needed to work on balance. And then there's Mantis, with this one, size and speed.
Shifu had a look on his face of supposed victory, just disgraceful. Po, however was still pumped for more, what is up with this panda? This must've been the last straw for Shifu since he decided to face against Po, he didn't even face Tigress yet, and judging by the looks the Five gave to each other, Shifu must be brilliant. Yep, he threw Po around in a blur and beat him up a lot. All the while telling him stuff about finding an opponent's weakness, and using their strength against them till they quit.
Po was so oblivious to what Shifu was trying to do that he flat out said he'll never quit. Shifu looked mad, and he kicked Po through the door and he bounced off the stairs. Okay, now this guy doesn't deserve to be a Master, I know that the Masters I knew would say the same thing.
"If he's smart, he won't come back up those steps." Tigress said as the Five looked at Po bouncing.
"But he will." Monkey said.
"The guy's just not gonna quit, is he?" Viper said, she seems to admire Po's resilience, that's good.
"He's not gonna quit bouncing, I'll tell you that." Mantis said with a little chuckle. Will they just stop with the bullying. Thankfully, Viper hissed at him to stop, why is Viper the only one excluding me that is willing to give Po a chance.
"Do you want to take a crack?" Shifu said to me with a little chuckle for some reason. I wouldn't mind a little spar for the day.
"Okay." I replied and then when I got up, Shifu snapped his fingers and Viper was facing me.
"Are you ready?" Viper asked me. I then got in a stance.
"Yeah." I replied.
Then she struck at me but I managed to miss her tail and kicked her to keep some distance between us. She then came me again slithering on the floor and wrapped herself around my ankles and then swiped my face with her tail. It stung but then out of nowhere I had some strength in me which allowed me to perform the Spinning Wheel and then hit her with my feet and hands. This was what stopped her and I saw the looks everyone gave, they were surprised to say the least.
I landed on all fours and sat on the ground with sweat pouring down on my face. Viper then slithered her way towards me and bowed.
"You are a worthy warrior, Luke." Viper said to me with pure kindness in her voice. She's reminding me of a friend I once knew.
Thanks." I replied back bowing to her in deep breaths. Then I got up on my feet and tried to walk to the barracks but Shifu stopped me,
"It's fair for you to do one more spar." Shifu said to me. How in the bloody hell is it fair?
"I don't think so." I shot back with frustration.
"Do one more." He fired back at me.
"No." I said as I'm about to walk.
"One. More." Shifu said in front of me to stop walking. Now I've just had enough.
"NO!" I roared stomping my foot on the ground which made it crack. Nearly everyone there jumped at my outburst and strength. Shifu looked angry at me and pointed his staff at me.
"Don't yell at your master!" Shifu yelled at me. Now I've just had enough of this bullshit. He just lit a fire in me. I swatted the staff away and pointed my finger right at him.
"You are not my master, I already have one! And you don't deserve to be called Master after your disgusting behavior towards the panda! And you should keep your little kitty cat on a leash!" I yelled back at him. Then right when I finished that I heard a roar to my right and felt claws strike my cheek which made me lose balance and then Tigress pounced on me with my chest on the ground. She then dug her claws in my arms. Not again.
"You will respect Master Shifu or it'll be the end of you, freak." Tigress said to me, right next to my face with clear anger. Again, she called me a freak.
"No. I may have been told to train here, but it doesn't technically make me a student. Now get off me!" I yelled at her. She thankfully did that by backflipping off me and landed next to Shifu. I sat up and saw that she didn't draw blood and then I wiped my fingers on my cheek and felt pain and saw blood on my fingers. Then I got up and walked.
"Next time, she'll do what she wants." Shifu said to me in a stern manner. Now was the time to tell them something I've thought about for some time.
"Then I guess it was best for that leopard and tiger to have killed me years ago." I said darkly. Everyone there, even Shifu and Tigress looked at me as though they were saying 'What?'. Then I just ran away to try and clear myself, as I did this I heard Viper calling out for me. I ran as fast as I could to the Peach Tree since it helped me last time.
When I reached the tree, I collapsed on my knees from being exhausted and I was thinking about my past for the first time now. I was remembering all of the screams, buildings on fire, roars and fighting. It all is too much for me that I cried under the pressure. How can I move on and let the past go as it defined me for who I am.
"You can't let your past control you, otherwise you won't be able to do your full potential. You also have to understand and overcome fear and worry, they'll hold you back." Oogway said to me from behind. How the hell does he read my mind?
"How can I? If you saw my past, you'd see that it's impossible to do that." I said to him looking at his face.
"Nothing is impossible as long as you try hard enough. This place can help you with that and even give a family to support you. You might as well give it a chance." Oogway told me. It made me feel better and looking back, I should try harder than I usually did before.
"Thank you, Master Oogway." I said turning around and bowing to him.
I realised it was nighttime so I walked to the barracks to try and sleep. Then as I walk down the hallway, I heard some talking and it's coming from Po's room. I walked quietly so that I could hear what's going on. The door was open and Tigress was standing in front of Po.
"Shifu loved Tai Lung like he never had before…. Or since." Tigress said and it seems that she's sad about this, though I don't even know who this Tai Lung is.
"And now he has a chance to make things right, to train the true Dragon Warrior, and he is stuck with you, a big, fat panda who treats it like a joke." Tigress continued. From what this suggests, it seems that this Tai Lung did something bad and it affected Shifu so much that he thinks he can make up for a mistake by training the Dragon Warrior, apparently believing Tigress is the Dragon Warrior.
Then Po seemingly made a silly face and sound, big mistake.
"OHH! That's it!" Tigress snapped getting mad thinking Po is making fun of her. She even raised her arm up to strike Po but then Mantis stops her saying that he's tweaked his facial nerve. Then Po fell forward and holy shit, the amount of acupuncture needles seem overkill.
"And may have also stopped his heart." Mantis continued. Then I entered the room.
"All those needles seem overkill, don't they?" I shot at Mantis. This woke everyone up from their trance at Po and looked right at me standing in the corner with my arms crossed.
"We were looking all over for you. Where'd you go?" Monkey asked.
"The Peach Tree." I answered as I was sitting down on the floor, Tigress did the same.
"Are you alright?" Tigress asked me. This surprised me since when I last saw her, she looked as if she wanted to kill me.
"Yeah." I said blankly looking down.
"Are you sure? You seemed distraught and upset when you ran from the courtyard." Viper said to me as she slithered her way to me.
"I'm fine, it's just that I was reminded of my past." I replied. I was remembering what Oogway told me and I think it's now time to tell them and maybe start the process to let the past go.
"Since, I'm staying here, you lot might as well know what happened." I stated. The Five positioned themselves to listen and Mantis is still dealing with Po.
"In my world, I was trained in an academy named Chow Xu, it was like a village. There, 5 styles of kung fu are taught: Tiger, Leopard, Viper, Crane and Dragon. Each style is taught by 3 masters. I was taught in the Tiger style by Master Yen, he was the greatest teacher at the academy. He had a bond with a warrior who was taught the Tiger style as well, Moon Sang. Yen found Moon abandoned in a ruined house when he was a baby and raised him as though he were a son. Moon took to kung fu like a fish to water, he would always try and perfect himself and even partake in tournaments held at the academy. This wasn't enough for him though. All of it corrupted him to the point that he wanted more than to be a master. He wanted the crystal." I explained looking at the lantern.
"What is this crystal?" Crane asked.
"The Heart of the Tiger, a powerful gem that apparently can bestow powers of the tiger. Anyway, Moon craved so much power because he learned of why he was abandoned when he was a baby and wanted revenge. 10 years ago, he tried to steal the crystal but was caught by Master Yuen and so Moon killed him. When he was found guilty of these actions, he was expelled from the academy, feeling he was denied his revenge and power, he formed a gang and tried to take revenge on the academy. All of the masters and students including myself fought for the whole night. The zoo in the academy was in havoc as members of the gang tried to use the big cats to their advantage. I was running after Moon as he was trying to get the crystal back but then the tiger pounced on me and the leopard joined in as well, I was practically staring at the eyes and jaws of death. I was about to be eaten when Master Yeoh saved me and we continued the fight. Yen had to fight the very person he treated as family, Moon nearly won but Yen took him down." I further explained. I was physically shaking telling this story but it was cathartic to let it all out and I even shedded tears remembering those that I lost, great friends in students and masters.
Everyone, even Po looked at me stunned at what I told them and I shook it off.
"By the end, Moon was sent to spend the rest of his life in prison and a funeral was held for Master Yuen, everyone mourned his loss. Yen decided to destroy the Heart of the Tiger and ever since then, Yen stopped being caring and kind and became strict and distant. I finished my training 3 years after that, and I was gifted with a sword called the Tiger's Tooth." I concluded. Viper had her tail over her mouth and Tigress and Crane had their heads hanging down.
"And ever since that battle, I've been afraid of big cats." I further added.
"That's so unfortunate." Crane said.
"I can't believe it." Viper said in shock hearing the whole story.
"I do hope you get over it." Monkey told me as he puts a hand on my shoulder.
"I just did. Thanks for listening." I told everyone with a small smile on my face.
"I think it's about time for supper." Po butted in. Everyone agreed and left the room. I was about to as well until Tigress grabbed my hand. I turned around to see her face and it wasn't even cold and emotionless, there was guilt in her eyes.
"I'm sorry for all the things I said and did to you." Tigress said, It sounded as though she never said sorry about anything to anyone before in her life.
"I'm sorry as well, it seems we both need to work on our tempers." I said trying to lighten the mood is some way. It worked thankfully as she smiled at what I said.
"Come on, let's catch up with the others for supper." I said to Tigress and she obliged by following me to the kitchen. Here, I realised that I don't fear Tigress and actually enjoy her company, I now think that I've fully overcome my past.
We both managed to get to the kitchen and we both sat next to each other and this was around when Po was explaining a story involving a customer at his dad's noodle shop while making noodle soup. Tigress just simply some tofu cubes. I wouldn't mind trying the soup.
"Order up. Hope you like it." Po said as he handed out the soup to the Five (excluding Tigress) and me. Mantis took the first sip.
"This is really good." Mantis said in an impressed manner.
"Oh, come on. You should try my dad's Secret Ingredient Soup, he actually knows the secret ingredient." Po said to try to make it seem like he isn't that good.
"What are you talking about? This is amazing." Viper fired at Po.
"Wow, you're a really good cook." Crane added.
"I wish my mouth was bigger." Mantis said. Why, you having a smaller mouth means you can eat more than normal.
"Tigress, Luke, you need to try this." Monkey told both of us. I took my spoon and took a sip of the soup, HOLY… It's like an explosion of flavours in my mouth. I was so wide eyed.
"This food's even better than what the academy offered." I said to Po.
"Thanks, Luke." Po said to me feeling better. Then he took a huge sip of his soup and he didn't notice that a noodle was stuck above his mouth making him look like he had a moustache akin to Shifu's. Mantis chuckled at this.
"What?" Po asked Mantis. Really, does fur not make him feel the noodle stuck on him?
"Oh nothing, Master Shifu." Mantis joked. Everyone noticed and they too chuckled at this. Well, except for me and Tigress.
"You'll never be the Dragon Warrior, unless you lose 500 pounds and brush your teeth.." Po said in voice imitating Shifu. Everyone except for me and Tigress didn't laugh because it wasn't even funny.
"What is that noise you're making, laughter? I never heard of it, work hard panda, and someday, you'll have ears like mine." Po further joked as he used two bowls as reference to Shifu's ears. Everyone laughed harder and I just pinched my nose at how unfunny it was.
But then everyone stopped laughing, and when I looked up and turned towards Po, I could see why. Shifu was standing there with a stern look on his face and he was holding Oogway's staff, why was he holding it? Wait, no, he can't be gone, he just can't.
"Po, behind you." I said to Po so that he can stop.
He turned around and saw Shifu and dropped the bowls which landed perfectly and he slurped the noodle into his mouth.
"We have a problem, Tai Lung has escaped from prison, coming for the Dragon Scroll and you, panda have to stop him." Shifu said to all of us and then directly to Po. Just great, this Tai Lung is now out and now it seems Shifu is now accepting of Po. Po himself looked scared out of his mind.
"But can't Oogway stop him like before?" Po asked with the same scared look in his eyes.
"No, he's moved on to the Spirit Realm." Shifu said sadly. So he is gone, and everyone in the room gasped at this news.
"But we have another problem, Tai Lung's joined forces with someone named Moon and he's after the Heart of the Tiger." Shifu added. There's no way, that bastard's supposed to rot in prison. I stood up so quick that the chair slammed up on the shelf behind me and I slammed my fist on the table. Everyone looked at me.
"There's no way Moon should be here. He should be in prison." I said angrily.
"Well since you're here, it's seemingly possible for him to be here as well." Shifu told me. This makes sense but how is it possible for people from my world to come into this one?
"But he can't have the crystal as it was destroyed after he was taken to prison." I further added as my fist is trembling. I looked up at Shifu and noticed that Po is gone.
"Shifu, Po has run away." I said to him and instantly he ran after the panda. Then I looked at everyone and I knew that they were going to try to take down Tai Lung themselves. I know that they believe that they can do it so I can't try and stop them.
"Just go, I won't stop you. At least buy us time." I said to the Five because I and Po need time to actually train for our fights against Tai Lung and Moon. I may have trained in kung fu, but I'm a bit rusty and I need to perfect my form and technique in order to beat Moon since he was considered the best student in the Tiger style.
The Five understood what I'm saying and so they left. I was now by myself.
I walk to Tigress's room and pick up my sword. I put it over my shoulder as the scabbard has a strap and walk through the Jade Palace to try and calm myself to try and think about how to fight against Moon. My walk led me to this grand hall full of all these artefacts with all these jade pillars, it all looks beautiful and peaceful. I even rested there for 3 hours.
Then I woke up and looked at a pool that is surrounded by stacks of scrolls, and I decided to comb through them to see if there's anything about the whole deal with the Tiger Warrior, and then I finally found the scroll that explains it all.
"The Tiger Warrior will come from another reality and will be empowered by the mighty Tiger Spirit. He will arrive when the natural order of things is off balance. His eyes will find the strength needed to deal with the dilemma."
"So that's who I am." I said to myself. It seems that I have to maintain order to maintain balance. But it's the last part that made me think, I thought about the bit about the eyes and then like a lightbulb moment in the movies, I pulled my sword from the scabbard and looked at the hilt, I remembered how it has these two jewels on it to represent eyes, so I press on them and it opens the crosspiece and bottom of the hilt. The hilt had a piece of parchment in it and the crosspiece contained the Heart of the Tiger.
"WHAT?!" I yelled aloud to myself, Yen destroyed it, I saw it with my own eyes. I grabbed it out and looked at its orange glow with outlines of black and white, I forgot how beautiful it was. Then I looked at the parchment and it was revealing to say the least.
"Luke, I'm sorry for not telling you but the Heart of the Tiger isn't destroyed. I destroyed a fake one and hid the real one in your sword to protect it and because I fear that Moon may come back for it and I know that it's meant to be yours for you are the only one able to release its true power and it in turn make you grow into a mighty kung fu master. I may not have shown it but I'm so proud of you and I always looked at you as a son. I know you will do great things. Love, Yen."
I can't believe it, not only did he entrust the crystal to me but he actually did truly care for me. I cried at this new knowledge and it didn't go unnoticed as Shifu had entered the hall and saw me sitting by the pool.
"Luke?" Shifu called out to me as he walked his way to me and then stood in front of me. I looked at him and his face was full of worry.
"What is it?" I said with my voice cracking.
"When you said you already have a master, who were you talking about?" Shifu asked me as he wanted some clearance.
"I was talking about Master Yen, he taught me the Tiger style of kung fu in my world at the academy I was accepted into. And I just found out he actually considered me a son." I told Shifu with tears running down my face.
Shifu noticed I was holding something.
"What is that?" He asked me. I simply gave him the Heart of the Tiger and the note Yen left me. He was as surprised as I was.
"Shifu, I'm sorry for my actions from earlier." I told him.
"I understand." Shifu said with a small smile.
"Have you figured out a way to teach Po in a short time span?" I asked Shifu since I was hoping he had an idea to try and solve this whole problem.
"No." Shifu said in a defeated tone with his head hanging down.
"There must be someth-" I said but was interrupted by some yells in the distance. It sounded like Po.
"Is that Po?" I asked Shifu since it sounded like he was doing kung fu, but how would that be possible? I put the Heart back in my sword, put it back in the scabbard, strapped it on my shoulder and we both walked to the Training Hall as it would make sense he'd be there based on his yells. It was very early in the morning as the sun was barely visible and the sky was in a red hue.
We both got to the Training Hall and he wasn't there.
"Where is he?" I asked Shifu.
"I don't know." He replied. And then the yells came again and they are more clear and yet, sounded like they came from the barracks, why there?
We both walk to the barracks and as we get closer and closer to the barracks the yells are more clear and then we walk through and realise that they're coming from the pantry. So we walked to the pantry and I couldn't believe it, Po was doing kung fu moves and he was using them to get his hands on food stuffs.
He smashed his through a cabinet and grabbed what looked like a sandwich cookie and then he noticed me and Shifu standing there with our mouths open. Then there was the awkward silence as we looked around at the mess he made.
"What? I eat when I'm upset, okay?" Po said to us with a full mouth. I looked down at Shifu and he didn't even look angry, instead he had a smile on his face which is weird.
"Oh, no need to explain we just thought you might be Monkey, he hides almond cookies on the top shelf." Shifu replied to Po. He gestured to me to follow him and I was so confused. I followed and he hid so that he can see what Po will do. Then there was a little comotion and we turned to see Po doing the splits while eating the cookies. How is that possible? Someone of his build and body mass shouldn't be able to do this early in training.
"Don't tell Monkey." Po said to us when he noticed us looking at him.
Shifu and Po were talking about how Po got up there and then when Po said that it was an accident, he crashed.
"There are no accidents." Shifu said with a smile on his face.
"Both of you come with me." Shifu then said to both me and Po as he walked out. I ran to Tigress's room and grabbed a backpack and put in essentials and then met up with Po and Shifu.
We took this hike which led us away from the Jade Palace and through the mountains, I found the hike very peaceful, I was reminded of the hikes I took back at the academy but those thoughts would be interrupted by Po wheezing and complaining.
Me and Po have finally catched up with Shifu and we saw him seemingly meditating on a rock and in front of him is a pool which was surrounded by other rocks and mist. It all felt mystical and serene.
"You dragged us all the way out here for a bath?" Po asked Shifu out of breath and then reached his hand into the water and proceeded to wash his armpits, just why?
"Panda, we do not wash our pits in the Pool of Sacred Tears." Shifu said and I saw he had his eyes closed.
"The Pool of…." Po said in a stunned manner, why is this place special?
"This is where Oogway unraveled the mysteries of harmony and focus. This is the birthplace of kung fu." Shifu said in manner of being proud. I saw Po put his paw over his heart and I understand why as it's not everyday you visit a place of significance when it comes to kung fu.
Then Shifu flipped his way up on a natural rock pillar and looked down on both me and Po.
"Do you want to learn kung fu?" Shifu said to Po.
"Yeah." Po replied.
"Do you want to finish off Moon?" Shifu said to me. I nodded in response.
"Then I am your master." Shifu proclaimed. Po cried at this in happiness and I simply bowed to Shifu.
Then we were taken to this wide field and Shifu stood in front of us on a rock. Po put his hands high on his sides and I put both hands behind my back.
"When you focus on kung fu, when you concentrate, you stink. But perhaps that is my fault I cannot train you the way I have trained the Five, I see now that the way to get through to you is with this." Shifu explained to Po. He showed him a bowl of dumplings by the end and it does seem to be the way for Po to actually get ready for Tai Lung.
"Good because I am hungry." Po said as he wanted food really bad. Shifu lowered the bowl and gave a little chuckle, I immediately knew what he was going to do with Po.
"When you have been trained, you may eat." Shifu further elaborated. Then he drew his attention to me and noticed my stern look.
"You've clearly shown that you have the same strength as Tigress, if not more and have the attributes of a tiger. I'll help you perfect your Tiger style and even teach you moves that this world offers." Shifu said to me. I feel like I cannot let him down since I need to stop Moon and then be able to fully move on.
"Understood." I replied.
"Let's begin." Shifu concluded as he walks off and eats a dumpling.
The training was pretty tough, but I like it that way as it pushes me and makes me want to keep going and perfect my form. Shifu's teaching was very much like Yen's, he was patient and helping since it was tough to perfect my form and wrap my head around the new moves he taught me.
On the final day of training after Po finished his training, I was surrounded by both Po and Shifu on my sides and then they both charged at me. I was able to be quick enough to block them both with my arms and legs. And using my sword was now more easy and fluid than before. The end of the training came when I performed an extremely powerful palm strike at Shifu that sent him flying a good 10 metres away. I'm now ready to face Moon.
"I'm ready, master." I said Shifu when I bowed to him with a smile on my face. Then the three of us walked back to the Jade Palace and I was amused at Po explaining how he's become awesome and even Shifu was amused which was a nice change.
But then I heard wings flapping in the distance behind us.
"Wait. Listen." I told Shifu and Po and they were quiet and then they noticed the flapping, we all turned around to see Crane flying with the rest of the Five in his grasp. What the hell?
Then Crane landed in front of us and the rest of the Five landed as well but they looked as though they were frozen stiff. I've seen anything like this, and I noticed some slashes from what seemed to be a bladed weapon, that must be from Moon. Po was so shocked that he was struggling to speak, Shifu was shocked stiff at first and I instantly went to Tigress and she looked like she took the most beating.
"We were no match for his nerve attack and Moon's speed." Crane said to Shifu as he approached him. Then he proceeded to get the others back to normal. I heard from them how Tai Lung was getting stronger but I didn't pay much attention since I grew concerned for Tigress and how much pain she must be in.
Then Shifu fixed up Tigress and she let out a small gasp from the pain and then curled up a bit.
"I thought we could stop them and give you guys some time." Tigress said with some disappointment in her voice, it was as though she felt like she failed her master. I grabbed her paw and she looked at me all bewildered.
"Are you alright?" I asked her.
"I'll be alright when I patch up." Tigress replied to me. I pulled her up onto her feet. This was while Shifu told Po he could defeat Tai Lung.
"They're five masters, I'm just one me, and Luke…." Po said thinking that there's no way to defeat Tai Lung. And he's trying to drag me into his defence.
"But you will have the one thing that no one else does." Shifu fired back at Po. Then we all followed Shifu into the grand hall, which was named the Hall of Warriors. I helped Tigress walk by putting her arm over my shoulders and then I noticed that she had a small smile on her face at my helping her. But then I looked up to see that what was above the pool was a sculpture of a dragon with a scroll in its mouth.
"Do you believe I am ready?" I heard Po say in front of me talking to Shifu.
"You are, Po." Shifu replied. This was the first time he called Po by his name and I noticed a smile on Po's face at this.
Shifu then walked over to Oogway's staff and then performed some moves with the staff to make some petals move around and bring the Dragon Scroll down. It was beautiful. Then the scroll came down and Shifu catched it and made a ripple.
"Behold the Dragon Scroll, it is yours." Shifu said holding the scroll out to Po.
"Wait. What happens when I read it?" Po asked bewildered.
"No one knows for sure, but it's said that you'll feel the universe flow through you." Shifu further added. Then he handed the scroll to Po and struggled to get it out of the case but did it eventually.
He slowly opened the scroll and then screamed, we all took a step back and gasped. But then he stopped.
"It's blank." Po said shocked. WHAT?! Why would it be blank, that doesn't make much sense.
Shifu was so shocked at this that he looked at the scroll and eventually gave up on explanations. Po and Shifu then argued that maybe Oogway chose Po by mistake.
"But what about Tai Lung and Moon? They'll destroy everyone and everything." Tigress said to Shifu. She truly sounded as though she was defeated.
"Evacuate the Valley and keep the citizens out of harm's way, I will face Tai Lung and make up for my mistakes." Shifu said. Everyone in the room looked shocked at this, even myself.
"But what about Moon?" Viper asked Shifu. He looked at me and we both knew what I needed to do.
"I'll handle him, I will do what Master Yen couldn't do and kill him." I said and the Five all looked at me with concern, Tigress even more so.
"You can't. You haven't seen what he could do. He's too good." Tigress said to me with worry in her face and voice.
"I'm not letting him harm any more people for his selfish gain. And I have some assistance." I said to her as I pulled my sword out and took out the Heart of the Tiger. Everyone, excluding Shifu, were stunned.
"How?" Viper asked me.
"I'll tell you some other time. I gotta go. Be careful." I said to everyone and bowed right before I left to go to a part of the mountains that was high above the Valley and waited for Moon to arrive.
After some time, I saw the river of lights from the citizens and thunder was roaring, Then I felt a chill up my spine, I immediately knew what caused it.
"Moon." I said as I turned around and saw that son of a bitch who had a smirk on his face had his scars from when Yen fought against him last.
"Hello, Luke, you have no chance, I took your new friends down with ease, so just hand over the crystal and I'll spare you." Moon told me with clear arrogance in his voice. I pulled my sword out and put myself in a tiger stance.
"You haven't heard? It's destroyed." I replied with anger. He looked at me and was convinced from my lie.
"That was supposed to be my key to revenge! I will kill you as my assassin clearly didn't do his job." Moon said to me as he lunged at me with some daggers. I knew what he meant as I remembered that assassin who tried to kill me before I got to this world. I dodged his lunge with ease as I slashed at his arm and it squirted blood out. Moon growled in pain and slashed my leg which stung as hell but thankfully didn't gush any blood.
"Revenge wouldn't solve anything, Yen took you in and in return you killed for your selfish goals!" I yelled at Moon. My anger was back and it was blazing.
"He didn't let me get what I deserved! My parents just left me as they didn't want me and I thought he would understand, HE BETRAYED ME!" Moon yelled back at me. He then threw his daggers at me which I deflected with my sword, though one grazed my right arm.
"Yen was trying to help you!" I replied to him as I got into a stance.
"He didn't and you were taking his attention and admiration from me. I felt so satisfied when I killed some of your friends and masters, especially Yuen, he was an annoying little git." Moon said to me with glee in his voice.
He did it, he made me go into a temper so I charged at him and threw myself and him off the mountainside and I proceeded to punch the living shit out of him, and all I saw was his face getting puffed and blood oozing out his nose and mouth with blood drenched teeth falling out.
"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" I roared at him right before we landed in an open area in the Valley with buildings surrounding us. The sun was rising and it lit the whole area a bit.
I got to my feet and then Moon stabbed me in the lower abdomen and twisted the dagger to inflict more excruciating pain. I simply screamed at how painful it was but then I decided that now's the time for me to use the Heart of the Tiger so I pulled it out of the crosspiece and held it and then a huge surge of energy flowed through my body.
This surge gave me so much strength and so I headbutted Moon so hard he lost balance, then he looked at me with some fear and I chuckled to see him lose his confidence. I swung my sword and did some moves with some newfound strength and speed. He struggled to keep up and then I performed a palm strike to his neck and he was thrown back onto a bunch of fireworks. I now decided to use those fireworks to my advantage so I walked to Moon and pulled his dagger out of my abdomen and stabbed him around the heart with blood being released like an oil rig and strapped him to a huge firework.
"How?" Moon said to me weakly as he was about to die. I answered by showing him the Heart of the Tiger in my hand and he looked furious.
"Even if you got it, it wouldn't have helped you, only a person who was already born with the traits of a tiger can unleash its power, you're not born with them." I told Moon with satisfaction in my voice. Then I lit the firework and Moon was propelled in the air with the firework, he screamed and then, the firework exploded killing Moon.
"That's for Master Yuen you fucking son of a bitch." I said to myself and now, I can finally fully move on in peace and leave the past behind me.
Then I heard a sound from behind me and saw a wall of energy going in all directions. It must be Shifu and Tai Lung. With what's left of my energy, I walked my way to the main path and I saw Po standing there instead of Shifu and everyone was there cheering at him saying that he was the Dragon Warrior, how the hell did he just defeat Tai Lung? I saw the Five there as well and they bowed to him, I especially saw Tigress and she had a smile on her face, she finally accepted Po. I smiled at this and I used the last of my energy to meet up with them, but I caved in and blacked out before I even said anything.
I woke up in a lot of pain and realised that I'm in Tigress's room. I slowly got up and noticed the bandages on my body and that I'm not wearing my shirt and then I saw my sword resting on the corner, I got up, which was painful and found the Heart of the Tiger back in the sword. Then I looked out the window and saw that it's currently midday as the sky was clear blue with no clouds in sight.
"Where is everyone?" I asked myself as they're not outside the room. I opened the door and looked up and down the hallway and I heard the others in the kitchen, so I walked my way there and I saw everyone, even Shifu (thank the gods he's alive) eat some food. I cleared my throat to get their attention and it did as everyone looked beyond happy to see that I'm alright. I walked to the seat next to Tigress and sat on it.
"What did I miss?" I said to everyone. They all fired at me explanations of what happened I got the gist of it all, mainly that Po is truly the Dragon Warrior, that Shifu has achieved Inner Peace and how Po defeated Tai Lung with the Wuxi Finger Hold.
"What happened with Moon?" Tigress asked me, and I obliged by telling them all what happened, especially about using the Heart of the Tiger and this peaked Shifu's attention.
"Well done, Luke, have fully proven yourself and come tomorrow, we'll unveil you as the Tiger Warrior." Shifu said with pride.
Following Day
We were all in this arena that was midway through the Thousand Steps, all of the citizens were gathered around and Shifu was up on the stand, with me standing behind him with the Five and Po. I was wearing a new shirt and vest which was now one side black, the other, orange.
"Citizens of the Valley of Peace, I have an announcement to make, Not only do we have the Dragon Warrior, but we also have another master and warrior to watch over the Valley and China. I would like to introduce you to the Tiger Warrior." Shifu said in a loud and proud manner.
I was nervous to say the least but Tigress gave a little shove to help me get moving and I stood next to Shifu holding the sword by my waist. Everyone there clapped and cheered. I bowed in response to it all and I felt great, I still felt pain from yesterday but it was lessened by where I am in life right now.
All of the citizens left the arena and Shifu went back to the Palace, leaving me, Po and the Five there.
"I haven't been to Po's dad's place yet, can we eat there before heading back home?" I said to the guys.
"Yes, it's about time you met my dad." Po said to me and everyone else agreed. We then walked to Ping's and I was walking with Tigress and my feelings for her are starting to grow.
I will create more fanfics following the adventures of Luke, Po and the Furious Five. The next one will be about Luke learning to cope living in this world and his relationship with Tigress evolving.