Chapter 3

Discovery and fighting

I wake the next morning to find myself being shaken by the panda which was quite surprising as he usually is asleep till dawn. Getting up and rubbing my tired eyes I grab my glasses and put them on as the panda waits for me.

I yawn before asking in an irritated voice, "What is it? I need my sleep Po."

He says in a very excited voice, "I want to learn that recipe you were talking about. Since everyone is out and about from what I have seen I thought this would be a great time to learn it."

I sigh before I get dressed and head to the kitchen with Po following close behind making the ground feel like it is shaking with each step from his fat ass. Getting to the kitchen I gather what I need for the recipe of the Breakfast bowl and start the slow process of cooking with the fat panda watching me closely to see how I make it. His eyes seem to get excited at this new way of cooking food as he pulls a notebook or scroll or whatever it is out of his pants which is scary since it has no pockets. I shiver at the thought of where the hell he hid it and the image made me feel ill. I quickly finish the food and place a serving for two people on the table as I grab my spoon and sit down and start eating the breakfast bowl I spoke of to Po before.

I eat slowly using my spoon as I watch the panda devour the food before him like I had seen my dad do so many times before. He seemed to scarf it down almost without breathing in the process kinda like it would disappear if he looked away. Thinking of my father made my heart hurt as I missed him much even if at times he was gone from the house a lot. I look at Po and start to wonder about him and how he has lived.

"Po I was wondering about you. Might I ask your life since you kinda know about mine from yesterday?" I say as I slowly chew the food in my mouth.

Po nods and finishes the last of the food and belches loudly, making me wince, before saying, "I was raised by my father for all my life. He runs a noodle shop in town and since it is the only noodle shop I grew up helping him from a young age. I may have lived in the noodle shop but I dreamed of being a kung-fu master like Tigress and the others of the furious five."

I look at him and ask, "Why? You lived with noodles all your life so why did you want to learn Kung-fu?"

He sighs saying, "I wanted to look cool and only later thought to help others because I saw what has happened for many years of bandits and thieves go through the town at times."

I nod saying, "Let's make a deal Po. If you and me both stay here and learn Kung-fu then we will both protect those who can't do it themselves."

He looks at me with that dumb smile and says, "Deal. One question though. Can I have seconds?"

I laugh at this and say, "Sorry. I didn't have enough for another go. Check the storage area and you might find something. Please don't be to noisy as I am sure Shifu will get angry."

Po excitedly runs to the storage area and breaks open the lock that was on it. I listen and I hear some noise making me smile at how the fat guy loves his food. Getting up and turning around to put my dishes in the sink I see Shifu standing there looking around as if wondering something. Hearing noise behind me I think I know what he is looking for.

"If you're looking for Po he is in the storage area probably eating more. Don't get mad at him though because he seems to be quite hungry today." I say as I pass by Shifu

He looks at me with a raised eyebrow before heading to the storage area where I hear him and Po starting to talk but ignore it as I go put the dishes in the sink and wash it since no else was going to. As I wash my dishes I put my earphones in and start to listen to the music for a bit before a certain beat makes me remember some moves I had seen Viper and Tigress use which causes me to feel a power making me move to iy. My music I am listening to right now is Safe and Sound by Capital Cities as I feel a rhythm going. I start to use the moves as I stand a little from the sink listening to the music and letting my body flow with it until I feel something hit my hand causing me to jump back and open my eyes to see Shifu in front of me with Oogway's stick blocking my hand that almost hit a mouth gaping panda behind him.

They both look at me with shock as I pull out my headphones and ask, "What? Did I do something wrong?"

Shifu soon comes to and says, "You did nothing wrong child but how did you do such advanced maneuvers that only Tigress and Viper have mastered flawlessly? You never even tried them before yet alone even do martial arts."

I shrug saying the truth, "I really don't know. All I did was listen to some music and was feeling the beat when a picture in my mind of their moves came to mind. I started to do the moves in time to the music and I felt almost as if it fit perfectly. I didn't even know if I was even doing it right yet alone did it in sync to the music."

Shifu looks at Po then back at me as he says, "Come with me and Po. We are heading somewhere special."

Stopping my music I sigh and head to my room as Master Shifu gets Po to gather some things from the kitchen. Entering my room I gather what few clothes I have and tie them up with a piece of string so as to hold them together to carry with me before I head to find Po and Master Shifu. Finding Po with a big bag on his back and Master Shifu I follow along as Master Shifu leads us away from not only the Jade Palace but the Valley of Peace altogether. Staying behind a tired looking Po I stay in step as best I can at a slow pace so as to not tire myself out.

Climbing up the side of a mountain on a flat trail Po says suddenly, "I know you're trying to be all mystical and kung Fuey but could you tell me where we're going?"

I smile a little at this and try to sound like Yoda as I say, "In due time, you will find out."

Po groans as he looks at me and says, "You are making me wish I stayed behind."

Smiling I walk past him as he stumbles along at a slower pace. After what seems like hours and with my feet starting to hurt I find myself on top of the mountain and see Shifu meditating beside a small pool of water. Taking a seat and resting as best I can while in the shade I wait for Po to arrive which he does about an hour later. Po arrives off balance and finally collapsing onto his side where upon he rolls over with the pack slipping off and he starts to use the water to put on his arm pits.

He asks as he does this, "You dragged me all the way out here for a bath?"

As he does this Shifu doesn't even open his eyes as he says, "Panda we do not wash our pits in the Pool of Sacred Tears."

Po looks at him in shock and asks, "Pool of…"

Shifu interrupts him as he says, "This is where Oogway unraveled the mysteries of harmony and focus. This is the birthplace of Kung Fu."

Po looks about to have a heart attack it seems as Shifu uses some aerial Kung Fu moves and lands on a tall rock where he asks Po and me, "Do you want to learn Kung Fu?"

Po says in an almost fan boy way, "YEAH!" while I go with a simple, "Sure."

Shifu stands tall *snicker* as he says, "Then I am your master."

Po says, "Ok." As he sniffs and looks ready to cry.

Shifu notices this and says, "Don't cry."

Po nods as he wipes the tear away and Shifu jumps down and leads us farther into the mountain to a really grassy field where he jumps on a rock and says, "When you focus on Kung Fu, when you concentrate, you stink. Perhaps that is my fault."

He looks away as he continues, "I cannot train you the way I have trained the Five. I now see that the way to get through to you Po, is this."

Po sighs happily and says, "Oh great, cause, I am hungry."

Shifu laughs a little and says, "Good. When you have been trained, you can eat."

Shifu looks at me says, "You Nate I will need to teach even farther then Po as with you food will not work but music seems to. With you music seems to make your mind find a rhythm where you move with it and finds a way to combine different abilities as well to make it work. This has never been done before and yet you seem able to do it naturally to make a flow that no one else can do."

He then pulls a bowl full of dumplings out and a flute and says, "We shall start training now."

Our training is quite hard as it goes for a full 3 days and nights leaving us with small amounts of sleep and lots of bruises making me wonder how he talked me into this. Yet I didn't give up because I had made Po a deal and I was not going to go back on it even if it meant a lot of pain on my tender body. We go through many task which include Pull ups on branches, sneak attacks with bamboo sticks, holding food away from Po, keeping me constantly chasing after my music player which was taken, doing push-ups over coals, balancing in high places and in flexible ways, and even ambushing scenarios when we are left with no food.

Finally the day came where Shifu sits at a rock and puts a bowl of dumplings on the rock and says, "After you Panda." Within minutes Shifu and Po are fighting over the dumplings in the bowl using chopsticks which is quite funny to watch as they go at it for about five minutes until Po is holding the dumpling victorious at having defeated Shifu. Po throws him the dumpling and says, "I'm not hungry. Master."

He bows to Shifu as I try to get over the fact that Po gave up the food even though he was always hungry.

Shifu turns to me as he says, "Put the music on and let us see how good you are now Nate."

Putting my music in I start a new song which turns out to be a good one for me called Hey Brother by Avicii. The song starts out making me think of Crane with his grace as I look at Shifu who attacks with a large poll. Using cranes movements and adding in a bit of Mantis and Monkey I find myself feeling so graceful and yet powerful as not only am I blocking Shifu but also pushing him back. Shifu looks over at Po and says something and now I find myself fighting both of them using my arms and legs to defend against them both. Soon the beat drops on the music and My style switches over to Tigress and Viper instantly as I get closer to them both and start to push them back until Po finds himself on his back and Shifu cannot get any closer as I hold the panda in place.

Shifu lets up and stands in place as I find the song coming to an end and I turn it off before looking at Shifu and smiling as I bow and say, "Master."

Shifu smiles saying, "I have never been this proud before having two students like you two. Keep learning and you will both be great heroes one day."

Having finished our training we gather what we had brought with us and head down the mountain to go back to the Jade Palace.

We arrive at the Jade Palace's fount entrance where Shifu says, "You have done well."

Po responds, "Done well? I did awesome!"

Shifu bounces away from Po because of all that fat before I say, "We both did good Po. We still have a lot to learn and we may never learn it."

Shifu looks at Po as I step back ready for what will happen as Shifu hits him in the side and says, "Yes, you did Awesome."

Po looks up and says, "Huh?"

Crane lands with a crash where upon Po starts to freak out thinking they are dead.

Shifu starts to unparalyze all of them as I go over to viper and ask, "Are you okay Viper?"

She looks at me and says, "Tai Lung is to strong. We cannot defeat him."

Everyone starts to head into the temple for some a scroll for Po to use as I ask Viper, "Are you hurt?"

She looks at me as if thinking about why I asked before saying, "No I am fine. You need not worry about me Nate."

I hug her saying, "I thought you were dead when you all landed in here. How was I not supposed to worry."

She looks shocked at me hugging her as she slowly coils around me saying, "We are the Furious Five. We don't die so easily. Why were you worried?"

I admit how I feel as I say, "You guys are like a second family even if we are not related and at times I have been harsh to you guys. In the time I have been here no one has treated me harshly. I have never felt so much kindness before from anyone. I only noticed that while training with Po under Shifu a little bit ago"

She looks shocked at this asking, "What about your family? Surly they must love you."

I sigh saying, "My family usually never is around or is too busy. My birthday was always lonely with some note saying they were sorry of something like that. I never felt such warmth until I met you and the others."

I see a dark shade of red on viper's face as she looks at me before kissing my cheek with her scaly lips saying, "Never worry. Even if bad things happen I will always be here for you."

I blush saying, "If you were human I would say that was a confession but that wouldn't be possible. I mean after all you are probably already with a husband or someone you like."

She looks at me with a shocked look asking, "Why would you think such a thing?"

I shrug saying, "Well I doubt that you would ever date someone like me and after all you are famous so someone must love you."

Viper is about to speak when Shifu seems scared or angry or some kind of emotion as he looks at the gold scroll that he had given to Po. Looking at it myself I see that it is blank and can clearly see a reflection of me in it.

Po starts in saying, "So like Oogway was like just a crazy old turtle after all."

Shifu looks at the scroll and say, "No, Oogway was wiser then us all."

Each of them start talking and panic starts up about how everyone while die until Shifu say, "Evacuate the valley. You must protect the villagers from Tai Lung's rage."

Seeing a heart reaching moment as Shifu spills his heart to everyone about him I smile seeing him with feelings and start to prepare myself for what was ahead. Making sure I was properly dressed I start to stretch so as to not cramp during the fight ahead.

I sigh as I get up and watch as the others leave while I look at Shifu who seems to be thinking. He notices me standing there and says, "You should go with the others. You have duty to hold to."

I smile saying, "Sorry fuzz ball but I am staying. I would never live with myself if I ran away from a fight. Also wouldn't want you to think I was like Po. Plus I would be unable to stop laughing if I saw Po bounce down all those stairs. Would you?"

Shifu snickers a bit saying, "It was a good thing you showed up here Nate but I do hope we both live through this to find some music to listen to together."

I smile and am about to say something when Shifu starts to head outside. He stands outside as I begin to get my newest music ready. Pulling up Mortal Kombat I start it just in time to see Shifu bust through the door with a big cat man right on his ass. I growl at him as the music starts in and I dash forward starting my techniques of everything I had learned to help Shifu hold off against the cat man. With a few strides I jump into the air and land before the cat man who I start to attack with my fists making sure to keep with the music as best I can. We fight for what feels like ages as everything is destroyed inside the building as I help as best I can. Finding that we might be winning against him, I feel happy thinking nothing can go wrong with the fight. I soon find out I was wrong as the battery dies on my I-pod leaving me without anything to help as I am kicked into a pillar causing my breath to leave my body and I see red blood flying from my mouth. My eyes close as I feel myself fall into blackness when I hear Po say, "Hey!"

My eyes open to find myself in a familiar place that felt like home since I arrived at the Jade Palace. Reaching my hand out I find my glasses and put them on to see a sleeping Viper and Tigress upon the edge of my bed which almost gave me a heart attack. I feel like I must still be asleep as I pinch my cheek and yelp in pain now knowing I am awake and also causing them to wake up. I find myself now with a wide awake Viper and Tigress looking at me. I feel as if I am about to die when Tigress wakes until Viper hugs me making me yelp again.

They both give me a strange look until Viper says, "Don't scare me like that dummy! We thought you were gonna die."

I smile and say, "Hey! Don't take me for a panda. I don't die that easily. What happened by the way? Last I remember was my face impacting with a green pillar."

Tigress and Viper tell me of how Po had come to help me and Shifu. She then went on to how he fought a long battle with Tai Lung for a while until it came to where Po used the Wu Shu Finger Hold to kill Tai Lung and how peace was restored again. Having found that out I smile and ask, "How long have I been out?"

Viper gets closer to my face saying, "You have been out for a week. You made us worry."

I pull myself up and find myself once again nude under the sheets as I yelp and pull them back up only to see both girls smiling at me as they go out the door.

Before the door closes and may new day starts Viper says, "I liked what I saw. Maybe later we can try going out together on a date."

My jaw goes wide as the door shuts. It takes me a bit to compose myself and start my new life as a Kung-fu Warrior. I shall see you on my next adventure.