Hopping Fruit and Dying Vegetables
If it feels like this is rushed, it is because there's a lot happening at one time
"Master?" Po called.
"Yes, Po," replied the Master.
"What am I doing here? I did what you told me to do. Now I'm in prison. Not that I mind, I can break out of this place no problem."
"You shall not break out of this prison."
"Why not?" Po asked.
"In this way, people shall know that I am the Master, who sets all things in motion." Po was still confused.
"But I thought this was going to be easy," Po said.
"Po, if you can't boil water, how do you expect to cook noodle soup? This is to train you up for the future. Remember what I told you," the Master said. Po looked at his staff. "I shall be your strength, just as I was your strength when you didn't know me. Now that you know me, you can use all of my strength, for I do not tire." Po nodded.
"Can I talk to you in the meantime?" Po asked, feeling a little lonely in the prison.
"Of course," The Master replied warmly. Though the prison guards thought he was crazy, Po spent his imprisoned time talking to the Master.
About two days later, Master Shifu and the others received word of Po's capture. Shifu sighed. "We must help him at once." So they traveled to Shin-Go's ruler and negotiated with him.
"Very well, and you say he has... become mentally unstable?" Asked the ruler.
"Yes," Master Shifu replied. He wasn't sure if Po was actually hearing things or was just going crazy. Maybe the hardcore training messed up his brain.
"Very well, let the panda free from the jail," the ruler said, "But before he leaves, he must apologize for his actions." The group grimaced. There was no guarantee that Po was going to apologize. As Po was brought to the royal court by two gorilla guards, his friends crowded around him and hugged him.
"What have you been up to, buddy," Monkey said. Po smiled.
"I've been well," Po replied. "And the food here is surprisingly great." The big gorilla next to him smiled pridefully.
"Well, there's a way for you to get out of this, but you have to apologize to the ruler," Shifu said. Po's smile disappeared. "Po, please don't do anything rash."
"Don't worry, Master Shifu. What I say aren't my words," Po replied. He turned to the ruler. "You called me, your majesty?"
"I want you to apologize for your actions."
"What can I apologize for? Did I not do my service as a messenger? You imprisoned the messenger but the message is still the same. The Master does not change. He still offers you mercy, but only if you take it. The Master has said, 'Free the slaves or I will surely destroy you.'"
"Who is this Master?" The Ruler of Shin-Go asked curiously.
"He is the Master of Oogway, master of all, master of the universe," Po announced.
"I know no such master, nor will I let the slaves go." Po was silent for a while. He leaned on his jade staff and looked outside the big window.
"Do you see that fruit and vegetable patch in your royal garden?" Po asked. The ruler nodded. "This is what the master has said, 'since you say you do not know me, I shall show you my power. Tomorrow morning, those fruits and vegetables that you eat and feast upon shall come to life and-" Po didn't get to finish because everyone was laughing.
"Talking vegetables," laughed the ruler. "Master Shifu, take him and go. He is free. You're right, he has gone crazy." Po looked at Shifu with a disappointed look. The others could only look away from his face. The group left the royal courtroom.
"Come on, Po. Let's go home," Crane said.
"No, I must stay," Po replied determinedly. They were walking past the slaves quarters when a little girl lamb came to them. She bowed lowly as she presented herself.
"Excuse me, masters, you don't have a place to stay and it's close to nighttime. Please, come into my home and stay for the night," she said. Po smiled.
"You were the servant girl that was slapped by the ruler. I'll stay in your house," Po said, then he turned to the others. "There is an inn not too far from here. Stay there and come back in the morning."
"Are you-"
"I will be fine," Po assured. Po felt something on his shoulder when he headed in the direction of the house.
"I want to stay with you," Tigress said. Po nodded and the two went to the small child's house.
"Where are your parents?" Po asked. The child looked sad.
"They were taken by the ruler. Last I heard they were in the prison," She said. Po offered a smile.
"Don't worry, the Master will protect you," Po said, hugging the little lamb. As she went off to sleep, Po looked at Tigress. "Tigress, do you think I've finally lost it like the others think?" He was asking her for her honest opinion. He still had a little place in his brain saying he was going bonkers.
"That's not what's on my mind," Tigress replied, avoiding the question.
"What is?"
"When- I mean, if what you says doesn't come true, then what will free the slaves? I saw one of them use a slave as a literal footstool. I nearly let my angry take control," Tigress confessed, balling her hand into a fist. Po smiled.
"You always think about the end in mind. Don't worry, the Master's plan will be done." The next morning, the ruler of Shin-Go woke up breathing in the fresh air of the morning dew smell. He got up only to hear something hit the floor. Probably just a bag of gold or something. He did sleep with his money.
"Hey! Watch it!" Said the thing that hit the floor. The ruler looked down to see a radish with two eyes and a mouth speaking to him. The ruler jumped out of his bed and scattered to the corner where the radish hopped along and followed him.
"A talking radish! This can't be!" said the ruler frightened. The radish smirked as he hopped in front of the ruler's nose.
"Have I got a story for you," it replied.
Screams and shouts of terror could be heard all over the region as people woke up to talking fruits and vegetables at their door. A broccoli was chasing an old lady. An apple was on top of a woman's hat. A baby danced along with a line of asparagus just as his mother snatched him away. Tigress and Po heard a knock on their door. It was Master Shifu and the others. Master Shifu probably had the most scared face out of all of them. "What's the matter?" Tigress asked.
"The ruler wants to speak with Po and so do about a hundred tomatoes," Crane said. Po couldn't help but smile.
"GET THESE THINGS AWAY FROM US!" shouted the ruler. Po picked up a peach.
"I don't know, they seem harmless to me," Po laughed. There were fruits and vegetables everywhere, hopping around the floor. Everyone had to be careful not to step on any of them. "Now you see the power that the Master has? He can even make fruits talk," Po said.
"I won't let the fruit- I mean the slaves go because of hopping talking plants," he said, kicking a tomato off of his foot. Tigress caught it in her hand.
"Thank you," said the small tomato as Tigress gently placed it on the floor. Po was incredulous.
"But the master said-"
"I don't know this master, nor will I let the people free," remarked the ruler. Po sighed. "Just make these terrors go away!" Po bent down to the vegetables and fruits.
"Go back to the vegetable patch and farms," Po said. Almost like zombies, the fruits went out of the palace. Then he spoke to the ruler of Shin-Go. "Because you say you do not know the master, tomorrow morning, every single fruit and vegetable will be gone and so will every blade of grass and every tree. The region will look like a desert. After seeing this you will surely know who the Master is and stop being so stubborn," Po muttered, walking out of the room. Po and Tigress returned to the little girl's house while the others went back to the inn. Po could see some of the residents trying to guard their gardens and trees. They finally came into the house.
"Po, why is the master deciding to only wipe out the plants and grass?" Tigress asked.
"The people in Shin-Go are very attached to their gardens and meadows. They are seen as the jewel of the region," the little girl answered. "I will get your food prepared." Po heard his stomach growl. Tigress smirked as Po rubbed the back of his head, a little embarrassed. Tigress and Po sat down while the girl got the food.
"Po, why is all of this happening?" Tigress asked. Po looked confused.
"What do you mean?"
"Why is this Master only now showing himself? Why does he want the slaves free? I agree they need to be set free because of the atrocities that were done to them but why now? Why not with Master Shifu or Oogway, his apprentice? Why do you have to do it?"
"I don't," Po replied as the little lamb girl gave them the food. "I chose to do this and I'm sticking with it. But I asked the Master the same questions when I was in prison. He said that Oogway was to just care for the people. He told Oogway not to tell people about the Master. He said that would be the job of the Dragon Warrior. I didn't know that it was the Master giving me all the strength and power I had. There is still so much about the Master I don't know."
"What is it like speaking to him," Tigress asked. Po smiled thinking about it.
"It's like... a whisper that steadily grows when you get to know him. It's almost like talking to Oogway again but... better," Po sighed just thinking about. "It's hard to explain." Tigress nodded.
"We better get some rest. I imagine the Master will surprise the people of Shin-Go," Tigress said.
The next day, guards pounded on the house where Tigress and Po slept. Po was sure to have the girl behind him as Tigress opened the door. The two guards seemed more depressed than angry.
"You're needed at the palace," said the guard. With that, they went to the palace. The palace sat on a hill so it had a wonderful view, but now that didn't matter. When Po, Tigress, and the others who were called as well came up the mountain, they could see the black and brown dirt that was everywhere. Not a shade of green was seen. The royal courtroom, which had a line of cheery blossom trees, now only had withered plants. Po could see the servants trying to give the plants life by watering them.
"You've done this!" the ruler exclaimed.
"You were the one who said you didn't know the Master. You've done this to yourself. Now you see he can even control the life of all living things," Po said. Now the ruler was angry.
"Do you think I change my mind?! I will not let the slaves go!" Shouted the ruler. Now Po was worried.
"Do not act hastily, your majesty. Your palace and region can all be redone and fixed but not if you continue to refuse to listen to the Master. All he asks is that you set the slaves free and treat them fairly. You've seen what he can do," Po said calmly.
"I will not release the slaves," the ruler stubbornly said. Po sighed.
"Tomorrow, about this time, it will rain," Po said. Everyone in the hall mumbled and whispered. How was rain going to stop them? "And when it hits the ground, it shall freeze and all the people of Shin-Go will be cold. Only in the slaves' quarters will it be warm. Your subjects will sleep amongst the slaves as if they were family trying to get warmth. This is what the Master has said," Po replied.
"Get out!" the Ruler shouted. "Everyone of you! Out!" With that, Po and the others left.
Continued...