The Chance of Change

"So I'm guessing you're wandering why I told the bandits to take the stuff?" Vince guessed. The group went into the sacred Hall of Heroes. Vince merely wandered about, looking at various artifacts and relics.

"Well, yes. And we would also want to understand why you were missing and what happened to you?" Master Shifu asked.

"Yeah, we thought that you would be a snake dude, but you're not," Po reiterated, "I mean, what about all the hissing and slithering and-"

"We get it Po," Viper silently snapped, whipping his hand. While Po nursed his injury, the walking snake thought for a second.

"Well, I guess you'll have to understand why I'm here to understand why I took the stuff," Vince reasoned as he began his story, "I was a slithering snake, as the panda implied, but then I had an unusual stroke of fate. I was chasing after this deranged sorcerer, who was going to endanger my village. I fought off his goons and ran after him. He had a pinkish red liquid in a clear glass bottle. When I slithered in front of him, he tripped over my tail. The bottle he held flew into the air and crashed on the ground. Quite foolishly, I slithered into the puddle of liquid trying to get the wizard, but then I felt a weird feeling in my stomach. I felt dizzy and fell to the ground. When I awoke, Leng was above me, but he didn't recognize me. I kept telling him it was me. Then I tried to rub my head. I realized then that a hand rested on my head. I looked at my entire body, and I was a walking serpentine. Walking was difficult at first but it was an amazing transformation."

"Whoa, so what did the potion actually do?" Monkey asked.

"It basically makes anything better. For snakes, it makes them walk. I don't know what it does to other animals," Leng replied. The group was confused and amazed. Then they heard Viper say.

"What happened to the wizard?" She asked sincerely.

"Oh, he died while in his cell," Vince replied.

"What about he potion? Did he make any more of it?" Viper questioned. Crane picked up on what she was really asking.

"Viper you're not thinking of-"

"No, after the transformation I made my partners destroy all of his work," Vince answered frowning a little. "Why do you ask?" Viper was silent for a moment.

"...No reason," She finally said. Leng spoke up very quickly.

"Well, now on to the other part of the story," He said trying to move the conversation along.

"Yes, well after that, I wanted to do something different with my crew. So, I decided to rob the villages to see if there was a warrior. If not, I bring back the stuff and give them a warrior," Vince explained.

"Very interesting. So you're a type of...inspector, essentially?" Shifu guessed. Vince nodded.

"Well that's all. Now let's go back ho-"

"Just one question," Viper interrupted Leng, "Is there any wizard or sorcerer that could make the same potion?" Vince looked at the snake's eyes for a moment. He could tell why she was asking.

"No," Vince said sadly.

"Well that's all the time we have for today. It's time to-"

"Leng!" Vince exclaimed, "What did you do? You're never this edgy. What are you hiding?"

"Hiding? Nothing! Hiding HA! That's preposterous! It's not like I know that there is more of the potion that transformed you and I actually made more of it. Oops! Darn it!" Leng said looking away.

"YOU WHAT!" Vince shouted. His horns went up a little.

"Look, look, look. Hear me out. I was thinking that maybe other people could benefit from it. So I reverse engineered it and made my own. It works because that's how I became so strong," Leng confessed.

"So you do know what happens to other species," Tigress said.

"Well, no. It's different for every animal. For ducks it's strength and for snakes it's walking. It's different for everyone," Leng replied.

"Leng, you still went against my orders. That thing could be dangerous in the wrong hands," Vince said sternly.

"Not really. While you were unconscious, the wizard tried to get some the potion on him. For some reason, it didn't work and only made him older. And he was a duck too. So it works only on good people," Leng countered. Vince thought about this for a moment.

"Do you have it?" Viper asked eagerly.

"What are you trying to do, Viper?" Crane asked. Viper was quiet for a moment.

"I...want to use it," Viper said lowly.

"What?" Everyone asked.

"Why would you do that, Viper? You're already awesome the way you are!" Po was amazed.

"Yes, Viper. You don't need legs, arms, or anything else. You're amazing just the way you are," Crane said compassionately.

"What happened to me was an accident gone good. There's no guarantee that it will happen again. You're already great the way you are," Vince added.

"GUYS!" Viper shouted silencing everyone, "I know that...you're doing this just to get me to feel better."

"No we are not," Master Shifu replied honestly, "Viper, you have extraordinary gifts as you are. You are warrior no matter what."

"Yes Master Shifu, so I should use something that makes me better, right?" Viper asked hopefully. Shifu looked at her. "Yeah, I didn't think you would agree. Master Shifu, you let Mantis become a huge bug and he loved it for a time. Here's an opportunity that is safe and proven and you don't want me to try it. I...I JUST WANT TO BE LIKE YOU GUYS!" She ended up shouting. Shifu thought for a moment.

"Alright," He said.

"You're not seriously going with this, Master Shifu," Crane said. Shifu nodded.

"Well, I can't stop you from doing what you believe is okay," Vince stated.

"I do," Viper said firmly. Vince nodded. Viper looked at Crane. Crane sighed.

"If you want to do this, it's your decision. I'm comfortable with anything you choose," He said. Viper nodded.

"Okay then," Leng finally spoke, "I'll get the potion ready. We'll do it tomorrow." With that everyone bowed. Vince and Leng went to a spot where Shifu let them settle in at the Jade Palace. Po stared at Vince down the hallway and around the bend.

"Are you okay Po?" Monkey asked along with Mantis and Tigress with him. Po still stared at the spot Vince went away to.

"I don't trust it," Po quietly said.

"What was that?" Tigress asked. Po looked at them for a while.

"Get Master Shifu and Crane to come here midnight. I've got something say to everyone," Po said ominously as he walked away. The three looked at each other.

"Tigress, what's wrong with your panda?" Mantis asked. Tigress growled at him. But he was right as Monkey and Mantis went away. Something was wrong with Po and it was certainly enough to go behind Viper's back. But what? Tigress would just have to wait until midnight.

To be continued

Trivia:

1. What changed Vince?

2. Why was Leng edgy?

3. What does the potion do to bad people? (According Leng)

Answers for chapter 1

1. They were sparring.

2. They didn't take any valuables, the duck fought them off with ease, what the duck said, or the bandits disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

3. He's a walking snake.