Thanks again for all of your reviews/feedback! It makes me happy to know that everyone's enjoying this so far (I think xD)
Great.
He had a brand new and awesome power, and Shifu wasn't allowing him to use it—not even for his classes that had finally started in the Jade Palace. The red panda simply said that he wanted to look more into the history of Chi, not explaining anything further. Po wondered why exactly, when he'd already told his master that Chi (most likely) had nothing to do with when he'd fainted at all. He'd even felt entirely normal after the whole incident, not feeling in the slightest bit that he was coming down with something like a cold.
And even if he was, a cold would be a cinch to get over compared to how many other things he had been through over the years.
But Shifu had also banned anyone else from using their Chi until they knew for sure how to use it safely and not overwork themselves, especially since their new discovery that Chi was capable of fixing broken objects. Who knew what else it could do besides fixing and healing like Po and the Five had read in the scrolls? The pandas all agreed, even the cubs; Bao wasn't about to use his Chi again anytime soon, not after what he'd witnessed in the Hall of Heroes.
Po felt really bad—to make it up to the frightened cub, he spent a little of his spare time teaching Bao the basics of Kung Fu. The little guy was a quick learner and it helped to get his mind off of what happened to Po.
The Dragon Warrior stared down at his bowl of noodles, listening absentmindedly to Li and Mr. Ping in the background of the noodle shop. It was great that the two of them were finally getting along (most of the time) and Po couldn't be happier. Mr. Ping was even teaching Li how to cook!
Po had decided not to tell them about his fainting spell afterwards so they wouldn't worry, but with the new 'No-Chi' rule, he hadn't been able to come up with any other explanation as to why Shifu decided to ban Chi. They'd been worried sick, as Po had suspected they would be, and that only made him feel worse.
But it was just for the time being until they had a better idea of how to handle things. Po couldn't wait until he was given the okay for everyone to use their Chi again so that he could help them learn how to use it. Crane, Mantis, Viper and Monkey especially since they hadn't really gotten the chance to use theirs after being turned into Jombies. The panda was surprised at how little action was going on the Valley bandit-wise lately; but he figured that it was just because the Jade Palace had recently been restored, and word had spread that it would be cowardly for anyone to attack such a vulnerable place that had just gotten back on its feet.
"Hey, son," Li said as he finished up washing dishes with Mr. Ping and breaking Po out of his thoughts. He wrapped an arm around Po's shoulder. The Dragon Warrior instantly knew that his dad was up to something. "Which noodles do you think are better?" he asked in a whisper. Mr. Ping frowned, obviously still within earshot.
"What?" Po questioned, staring at his dads with curiosity.
"I haven't given you the secret ingredient yet," Mr. Ping said with a smirk, wings crossed. "I think he knows which noodles are better."
"Um...I love both you and your noodles equally," Po pointed out. Li was getting better at it; his first few tries had been something else altogether. But they weren't listening. He wondered what Li would think when he found out that Mr. Ping's secret ingredient was actually nothing.
Shaking his head at their ongoing argument, Po went to clean his bowl and head towards his room for the night, but not before turning back to the goose and panda. "Goodnight!" he called. When he didn't get a reply from either, Po decided to just go to bed.
It was wonderful to be back in his room. His own room that had been entirely his and his alone for most of his life, before he'd even gone to the Jade Palace that fateful day. What with visiting the Panda Village, traveling back to the palace and then fixing said palace, he hadn't really gotten a chance to visit except when he'd been helping his dad rebuild the restaurant. If seeing the palace so torn up broke the Dragon Warrior's heart, it was seeing his home completely destroyed.
He looked over at Master Oogway's staff that he'd placed by his bed, the only place that Po felt was safe enough for something so fragile. He picked it up with care, running his paws gently over its frame. He still couldn't believe that he'd been able to talk with Master Oogway himself! He wondered if the staff was able to break, or if it was totally indestructible, especially having come from the Spirit Realm. Only one way to find out...
Po bent it ever so gently, and when it didn't break like he suspected, he wondered just how far he would be able to go.
The staff snapped in half.
Oh, no.
He was such an idiot! Why had he even thought that this was a good idea?! The staff was just too fragile and special; of course it wasn't indestructible.
But another idea was already creeping its way into his mind, just like when he'd first thought to bring his family to the Jade Palace. It was a stupid idea that was going to get him into huge trouble if anyone saw him doing it, especially Shifu...but Shifu wasn't here. No one was except for his arguing dads downstairs.
Po stared down at the broken staff, then down at his paws.
He knew it was probably a bad idea. What if something happened again?
But this was Oogway's staff!
Heart pounding, he set the staff gently onto his bedroom floor.
He closed his eyes and relaxed, reaching his paw out. He concentrated on the staff, imagining the broken pieces flying back together.
Nothing happened.
He concentrated harder, stretching his paw out a little more. But still, nothing happened. Opening his eyes, Po stared in confusion at the fact that his paw wasn't glowing.
He wasn't going to get in trouble for using his Chi even if anyone had caught him using it, because it wasn't even working.
His Chi wasn't working.
Before he could even question why, a pain seared through his paws, a sharp and burning pain. He collapsed in a heap next to the broken staff, just like he had when he'd fallen next to Master Flying Rhino's broken armor.
No one noticed a bright, golden light that flashed across the sky outside.