A/N: I do not own KUNG FU PANDA or any of it's characters, locations, etc. I can only claim my OC's.

*Peeks out from behind my laptop* Okay, okay, sorry for the delay people. I've been suffering from the BIGGEST writer's block in my life! Not to mention that I've started a new job, and I've been home babysitting my sibblings in my spare time, running around for my mom to do errands, working on Mission papers, etc. It's been really hectic lately!

BTW if you readers want to refresh your memories about Shifu and Qiang's training accident when they were cubs, head on over to my other story, 'Obsidian Blade' (On my profile) and re-read chapters, "Master Xue," "Equally Matched," and "A Father's Guidance." You don't have to read the entire chapters, just the italicized sections of the cubby flashbacks. Of course, it's up to you readers if you want to read them or not.

Master Oogway

"So how long are we staying? Is the war gonna be long? Is Master Oogway nice? Will you visit us? Can we visit you? When is Rui coming? Is his daddy bringing him too?"

Zhuang gave off an exhausted sigh as he and his two sons continued down the road that led into the outskirts of the Valley of Peace. His youngest son had been asking nonstop questions ever since they began their journey to the Jade Palace. Two days of his son's constant jabbering was beginning to test the elder red panda's patience, and he prayed to the Heavens that Oogway would be able to handle him; and Qiang as well.

"Oh for crying out loud Fu!" Qiang protested, "Can't you be quiet for two minutes?"

Shifu's ears lowered in response to his brother's reprimand.

"Now, now Qiang. Your brother just has a few questions. No need to get snippy about it." Zhuang gave Shifu a pat on his small head, "I can't say how long this war is going to last Shifu, but Oogway has ensured to me that he will keep a close eye on the both of you while I'm away. And yes, Rui will be traveling here with his father in a week or so."

"Oh, okay." The six year old cub replied. He then turned his head towards Qiang who was rubbing the bandages on his healing arm from their training incident earlier that week. "Are you still mad at me?" Shifu tentatively asked his elder brother.

Qiang didn't answer, he had been giving his little brother the cold shoulder since the event, and it didn't seem as if he was going to be speaking with him any time soon. However, he could see the disapproving look from his father and he in turn gave off an annoyed sigh. "No Fu, I'm not mad at you, but I'm still not happy about it."

Shifu's feet shifted nervously against the ground. Well, at least he's not angry with me anymore, he thought.

The three of them continued onward into the village that was nestled in the very heart of the valley. Houses were scattered about, only connected by simple cobble stone roads that stretched on for miles. Geese, pigs, and rabbits were going about their daily business while the three visitors took in the sights. Shifu nearly bumped into his father when he came to a sudden stop before the base of a very long flight of stairs.

Shifu gazed upwards with wide eyes as the stone steps traveled up the slope of the steep mountain before ending at the gates of an immense structure that sat near the top of the towering mountain. Even in the light of the dying sun, he could see the brilliance that shone off of its jade-green rooftops.

"Well boys, there it is: The Jade Palace." Zhuang said with reverence in his tone. "I spent many years training here under Master Oogway; the creator of Kung Fu."

"He created it?" Shifu asked in awe.

"Oh yes, he has been teaching the art for many centuries."

Shifu tilted his head in confusion, "Uh…what does that mean?"

"A century is a hundred years, genius." Qiang retorted; however he was quickly silenced once Zhuang gave him a disapproving look.

"Come along you two, it's quite a climb."

"Whoa, wait." Qiang said, "We have to climb up there?"

"Well, unless you both suddenly decide to sprout wings, then yes, you will have to walk every step of the way."

"But it's so high!" Shifu added, "It'll take us a million years to get up there!"

"You know what a million is but you didn't know what a century was?" Qiang asked.

"I know a million is a big number!" Shifu said.

"I bet I could beat both of you up there." Zhuang chuckled and started running up the stairs.

"Hey no fair!" Qiang rushed after his father with Shifu bringing up the rear. Of course it soon became quite clear for the two boys that their ascent up the long flight of stairs was much more difficult than they had thought. They hadn't even gone up fifty steps before they were both completely winded and short of breath. "This—is—impossible!" Qiang panted.

Shifu's short legs wobbled beneath him, but the cub was determined to make it to the top. If his father could do it, then so could he.

"That's it boys, just put one foot in front of the other." Zhuang said from several yards up the path.

Shifu couldn't remember how long it took them to reach the top, but by the time he had finally reached it, his legs gave out beneath him, and he lay sprawled on his belly on the cobble stone ground, gasping for breath as Qiang followed suit.

"Are—we—alive?" Qiang panted as he rolled onto his back to catch his breath.

Shifu gave an exhausted nod of his head, "I—think—so."

"Let's—not—do that—again…okay?"

"Okay." Shifu agreed.

Both of their large ears perked towards the suppressed laugh of their father as he stood over the both of them with his hands on his hips. "About time you two got up here." He said with an amused chuckle.

"Ugh…" Qiang protested.

Zhuang extended a hand to each of his two boys before pulling them to their feet. "Come along you two, Master Oogway is expecting us."

The first thing that both Shifu and Qiang marveled at, were the huge double doors of the Jade Palace; towering over them and making them both feel even smaller than they wanted to feel. Shifu gulped while Qiang nodded his head in agreement, "Yeah, this place is…huge!"

"Wait until you see the inside." Zhuang chuckled.

The boys held their breath as servants of the Jade Palace pushed the doors open to allow them entrance, and their eyes widened as they gazed inside.

It wasn't called the Jade Palace for nothing. Rows of jade columns ran down the length of the inner chamber with Chinese dragons carved into them. The marble floor had intricate designs and pictures carved into it. Dozens and dozens of paintings covered the walls, each one depicting an epic battle, or a proud warrior in a fighting stance. Several items were placed on pedestals throughout the room as well, ranging from bows, arrows, and throwing knives, to larger weapons such as hammers, swords, and staffs.

"Whoa!" Qiang exclaimed as he rushed towards a very large sword with a green Chinese dragon painted onto its smooth surface, "Now that's a sword!" He said excitedly.

"Qiang, I'd stay away from that if I were—"

"Ouch!" Qiang shook his hand and stuck his finger into his mouth.

Zhuang gave a small amused sigh, "I warned you."

"But I didn't touch it!" Qiang said defensively.

"That is the Sword of Heroes."

"Wow! Really?" Shifu exclaimed with awe in his voice. He had heard his father mention the powerful weapon on several occasions, and he was still astounded towards the fact that someone could get cut by simply looking at it. The cub's eyes then wandered to the large pool at the far end of the room. He walked towards it to see that it gave off a greenish-blue glow to its surroundings, bathing the room in a mystic light. He stood on the edge, and leaned ever so slightly to see his reflection on the surface of the pool. Shifu tried to see past his reflection to gaze further into the pool, trying to see where the bottom was, but he could not seem to find it. However there was something else reflected in the pool's mirrored surface that caught the cub's attention, and he gazed upwards to see an enormous gold dragon that hung from the ceiling. It's long, sinuous body was wrapped and coiled while a scroll was held in its maw. Shifu wasn't sure why, but he felt almost intrigued by it.

"You know, only a warrior who is loyal, courageous, and pure of heart is worthy to possess the Dragon Scroll." An ancient voice sounded next to the cub.

Shifu tilted his head towards who was addressing him to find the most bizarre looking creature he had ever seen; he couldn't even tell what kind of animal he was. He had no fur; instead he had wrinkly, green, scaly skin, and his body was encased in an enormous shell with a yellowish wrap that draped over one shoulder and around his body. His neck was long and thin, and he had large claws on each hand; one of them wrapped around an oddly shaped stick within his grasp.

His appearance was somewhat shocking, and it seemed as if he had appeared from out of nowhere, but as the cub looked into his light green eyes, he felt no fear towards this stranger. No alarm, no suspicion; instead he felt content, almost safe as the stranger gave him a kind smile.

"You must be Shifu." The stranger said; his grin widening.

The cub gave him a curious look, "How did you know that?"

The stranger gave a slight chuckle, "You look just like your father did when he was your age; he's told me all about you and your brother in his letters."

"Master Oogway." Zhuang came up from behind, punching his fist into his open palm, and saluting the old tortoise. "It is good to see you."

Oogway turned towards his former student and placed a clawed hand atop the red panda's shoulder, "It is good to see you as well my old friend. Many years have separated us from our last meeting."

"You're Master Oogway?" Shifu asked with awe in his small voice.

The old tortoise gave off an amused chuckle, "Yes, that is my name."

"Woah!" Qiang said in an astonished voice. "You invented Kung Fu! You taught our baba how to fight!"

"Both are true young one." Oogway answered as he faced the cub, "You must be Zhuang's eldest, Qiang."

The twelve-year-old nodded his head in response. "Yep!"

Oogway then gave Qiang a peculiar look, especially after seeing the bandage around his injured arm. "I see you have already been training." He said as he gestured with a long claw towards Qiang's injury.

"Well…sorta." Qiang answered nervously as he gave his arm a rub, "It was an accident."

"There are no accidents young one." Oogway said, "Everything happens for a reason, we learn from our mistakes."

The three red pandas exchanged looks; Qiang and Shifu were especially puzzled towards the ancient, tortise's statement, but by now, Zhuang was used to it.

Oogway gave a smile before turning towards Zhuang. "I must say, you've got yourself quite the pair of boys here my friend."

The red panda nodded with a smile on his face.

Shifu stood in front of Oogway, tilting his head curiously towards him, "You look really old, how old are you?"

Qiang face-palmed while Zhuang looked horror struck towards his youngest son's statement. "Shifu, remember your place!" He said, somewhat strictly. "My apologies, Master Oogway, he should know better."

The Grand Master shook his head, and waved off the remark, "Children will be children, Zhuang, if they do not ask questions, then how will they learn?" Oogway then knelt with a bended knee so that he was eyelevel with the cub. "I am very, very old, young one. Can you count to one hundred?"

"Yep!" Shifu piped up.

"Well, if you do that ten times, then that should give you a good idea as to how ancient I really am." Oogway joked as he patted the cub on his tiny head, ruffling his fur in the process. Shifu couldn't help but laugh.

"Come," Oogway said as he stood back up, "Let me show you where you and your brother will be staying." He extended a clawed hand towards the cub, and Shifu eagerly took a hold of one of the ancient tortoise's claws as they started walking towards the barracks. He hadn't been sure if he would like living away from home, or being separated from his father for too long. But the simple smile on Oogway's face, told him that everything would be alright.

I think I'm going to like it here, Shifu thought.

A/N: Again, I'm not sure when the next update will be, but I'll try not to make you readers wait for too long.