Chapter 1: It's A Trap!
-Ganges River Valley, City of Bengal, India-
In the city of Bengal at the mouth of the Ganges River, there sat a sort of restaurant not far from the city gates. This restaurant was bustling with animals of all kinds getting food for their daily meal of lunch—from pigs to oxen, and water buffalo to crocodiles and wolves.
One such animal was sitting towards the very back of the restaurant completely alone from the other patrons of the establishment. His form was shadowed by the dark lighting of the place as he dined on a meal of Samosas, Red Curry, and Palm Wine.
As he enjoyed his food, some wolf bandits approached him. The one leading them had a scar across his left eye, and had better attire than his subordinates. He took out a dagger and pointed it at the lone customer enjoying his food.
"I've heard things about you. Lots of interesting stuff." The leader said. "And if you know what's good for you, you'll hand over all of your supplies." He added in a threatening tone.
The stranger didn't speak for a good pause, as he was still enjoying his meal. After a few seconds, he used his last pieces of Naan to sop up the rest of his curry, before eating it and the last of the samosas and drank the last of white milk-like wine.
As he finished these acts, he wiped his mouth, and then spoke.
"Enough talk." The darkened figure said in a deep voice that had a growl to it, but yet had discenable Indian undertones to it. He then swept the dishes out of the way with a move of his rather large paw, which was white with black stripes… and had retractable black claws. "Let's fight." He added, before he suddenly flipped the table and caused it to hit the pack leader in the face, before he kicked the dishes at the rest of the pack—causing them to shatter right in their faces as well.
Everyone else scrambled for the exit as the wolf bandits attacked their intended target. Several wolf grunts charged at the apparent white tiger with their daggers raised, but they were met with quick and strong jabs to their wrists, which made them drop their weapons before they were tossed into one another. The leader growled at his would-be target, who wasn't phased by what they had tried to do to him.
"You say you've heard things about me, and yet you were foolish enough to attack me outright." The white tiger scoffed as he stepped into the light, revealing what he looked like.
He was indeed a white Siberian tiger who stood over seven feet, and had strong muscles throughout his body and had a scar going on his right eye, where an eye patch presumably covered a sort of injury to said sight organ. His feet were wrapped in typical leg wrappings and his fur was also very shaggy. He also still had one good sky blue eye, and his fangs seemed slightly longer than most of his species—almost Sabertooth-like.
Attire wise, he was dressed in a purple colored short sleeve button up shirt, with had he cuffs rolled up, and was covered by a brown leather vest. A pair of brown pants adorned his waist, with a holder belt holding them up. The belt had two brown handled objects in them to either side of his waist and a large Bowie knife horizontally on the back of his hip in a scabbard. Lastly he also had a green bandanna around his neck, two ammo belts crossed in an X on his chest, and a Scimitar sword on his back.
"Because you looked like an easy target! Doesn't matter, me and my boys still need what you have!" The bandit leader retorted.
"And you're going to fail to get it all the same." The tiger shot back as he drew a seven barrel breech-loading wheel lock pepperbox pistol from one of his holsters. "Now, do me a favor and perish." He continued as he pulled the trigger and started shooting the wolves repeatedly, causing them to all drop dead on the wooden floor of the establishment.
The goat who was basically the bartender nervously peeked over the counter he was hiding behind… And promptly fainted when he saw the dead bandits. The white tiger put his gun away and placed some money on the counter before he took his leave.
(Timeskip)
After the bar fiasco, the same tiger was sitting on a barrel outside the building and sharpening his bladed weapons, when he heard the tell-tale sound of horns coming down the street—a sign that a royal procession was headed his way.
Picking up his many jaw traps and snares so that they wouldn't be stepped on by any wayward attendants, he waited for the procession to come into view. The procession itself was preceded by water buffalo, crocodile and rhino guards carrying swords and other weapons, pig, sheep, duck and rabbit servants carrying various valuables, and a large travel box draped in silk linens carried by four elephants.
Several similar boxes were also carried along by the same kind of attendants, and given that there were the slight outlines of several snow leopards, pumas and one or two tigers, the bounty hunter concluded that they must be a procession from the Ibn Shere-Arabian Sultanate. The royal family of a Muslim empire in Arabia that the Indian Deli Sultanate traded with regularly.
'Wonder what brings them here…' The tiger wondered mentally. Though as the rest of the people continued, one of them stopped upon spotting him. It was a cobra, who also looked like he was the Fazeer, judging by his attire.
The serpent was long and had red scales with black stripes and an orange underbelly. Additionally his hood was rather sharp looking as he had two raised triangle shaped horns above his eyes, almost like a pit viper. Attire wise he had a long robe around his body and a red turban on his head. Lastly he also had a goatee.
The snake had his attendants stop and he then slithered out onto the street, his companion, a rather small rainbow macaw, flew out with him. Upon reaching the white tiger, he stopped, sitting up with his body coiled slightly.
"Are you Bahgeera Kipling, otherwise known as the bounty hunter "The Trapper"?" The cobra questioned in a regal sounding Arabian accent, which caused him to emphasize his s sounds.
"I am. To whom am I speaking to?" The now identified Bahgeera asked in reply.
"Jafar, Fazeer to the Sultan. He has a job for you." The cobra replied, getting the tiger's attention.
"Explain." He said, and Jafar wasted no time.
"Simply put, the Sultan's only son—his highness Indra Muhammad Ibn Shere-Khaan, is fast approaching the age of correnation for ascending to the throne of Shere-Arabian Sultanate." The slithering reptile began. "And as such, he will need a bride and an heir in order for his rule to be considered secure." He continued.
"Alright, but what does this have to do with me?" Bahgeera questioned, idly scratching his patched eye—a habit he developed after years of dealing with an itch that occasionally occurred in said area.
"You're being asked to find and capture Tigress of the Furious Five." Jafar told him, causing the trap master to pause.
"... That's a… rather large order." The white tiger said slowly. He'd be a fool to not know anything about the Furious Five, especially a fellow tiger. To him, taking on Tigress was suicide, given that she was—for all intents and purposes—the strongest in the group, if not the world. Save perhaps the Dragon Warrior.
"Oh yes, I'm aware." The fazeer nodded. "The sultan and I tried to dissuade the young prince from such a folly ridden course, given that such a decision would most definitely cause an unnecessary war with China if the rest of the great masters found out—." He continued.
"But the brat just wouldn't listen." The macaw chimed in. "It just went in one ear and zoop!—out the other!" He added in a curt tone as Jafar cleared his throat.
"Yes… Thank you, Iago." He nodded.
"... I'm going to have to do this no matter what, won't I?" The white tiger sighed as he slouched in dismay.
"You could refuse, but that wouldn't go over too well." Iago told him, dragging a feather across his neck to emphasize his point.
"You see the position we're all in, don't you?" Jafar nodded.
"Seems I do." The trapper nodded. "I hope you realize that I'll be expecting payment in return for this job being done." He continued.
"Trust us, we are aware." Jafar nodded. "We'll see that the pay is well worth the trouble." He added.
"Good." Bahgeera nodded. "Do you wish for me to start right away?" He then asked.
"His majesty intends for his son's coronation to take place in two years' time. So as long as you bring Tigress to the Arabian capital before then, you should be fine." The serpent explained.
"Yeah, so ya better not mess it up pussycat!" Iago added.
"Call me that again, I dare you!" The Trapper growled, causing the macaw to yelp and fly back to the rest of his group. Jafar just shook his head at his associate's antics.
"My apologies. Well, I'll leave you to your work. So long, Mr. Kipling." The serpent said as he slithered back to his mode of transportation and then left, leaving Bagheera alone to contemplate the task he was just given.
"Capture Master Tigress of the Furious Five, huh?" He mused to himself. "Bagheera, what have you gotten yourself into this time…" He sighed as he got up.
(Elsewhere)
-Valley of Peace, China-
Meanwhile in the Jade Palace in the Valley of Peace, there wasn't much going on… Well, unless the sounds of training in an advanced course counted as nothing much. And it was coming from the training hall.
Master Shifu, a red panda in a kung fu robe, watched as his students went through the advanced training course, each performing to the best of their abilities. Po was off doing his own thing, which was probably emptying the kitchen.
"Well done students! Crane! More height to your strikes! You're blocking too low!" The furry short stack called to his avian student, offering a fair and honest critique of his form as he trained on the Jade Tortoise Shell of Insurmountable Virtue. "Viper, mind your field of vision! Do not let the fire get the best of your reactions!" He continued as the serpentine warrior used her body to move around the Thousand Tongues of Fire.
"Yes,, Master Shifu!" The two responded.
"Mantis! Mind your speed! If you go too fast, you'll find yourself in a situation that's hard to get out of!" The red panda continued. "Monkey! Careful with your reach! Overextending will lead to horrendous consequences!" He added further.
"Yes, master!" The two in question responded.
"And Tigress—." Shifu continued as he turned to his favorite student, but stopped when he saw her starting to slow down, and not out of laziness or lack of trying—no, it was because her muscles were starting to give and her body was threatening to give out. This made the Kung fu master's eyes widen in shock as the female feline tried and struggled to keep up with The River of Ten Winding Dragons and swinging maces.
It was at this moment that Po walked in and saw Tigress' state. He wasn't exactly bright when it came to fitness, but even he could see what was happening.
"Uh, Master Shifu, I think you might want to stop her!" Po whispered in concern for his friend's well being.
"Gah! Po! When did you get here?" The startled red panda questioned. Po just shrugged before pointing his mentor's attention back to the matter at hand. "Right, right. My mistake. EVERYONE! Cease your training for now, we'll resume later!" He ordered as the training hall slowly stopped working, allowing the furious five to step off with audible groans of exhaustion… and for the group's leader to collapse as soon as she stepped onto the floor, her body screaming in agony within every cell.
"Ow…" She groaned in pain as Po picked her up.
"Easy, Tigress. No need to tear your body apart completely." The panda tried to joke as he carried her to a bed so she could rest.
"Urg… Says the panda who trains with his stomach." The tiger quipped back in a pained tone.
(Later)
"You've been training late at night without rest again, haven't you?" Shifu questioned his pupil as Mantis brought in his medical supplies and placed a cold pack on her head. The feline warrior's silence was all the confirmation he needed as she winced from Mantis's acupuncture treatments. "Tigress, we've discussed this time and again. A hard work effect—although effective—won't be helpful to you if you end up broken." He continued, giving a serious reprimand to her in service to her well being.
"Master, I… I just want to make sure I'm strong enough to defend the valley." Tigress sighed.
"Destroying yourself entirely isn't really the best way to go." Po remarked.
"Not how I would have said it, but Po is right. If you destroy yourself, then it will only cause problems." Shifu nodded, though he put his hand on Tigress's shoulder to comfort her. "I know how you must feel. When I was a younger master under Master Oogway, I too became impatient and pushed myself to the brink to not only prove myself to him and the Valley, but to myself—a mistake I foolishly repeated with Tai Lung all those years ago." He continued, causing Tigress to look down ashamedly.
However, she was soon surprised when Shifu affectionately patted her on the head, something he'd hadn't done in years with her, which made her tail twitch happily.
"I promised myself that I would not allow myself or my future students to make the same mistakes I did." The master added. "So I won't let you slip either." He continued. "Now, get some rest." He told her before turning to Po. "Po." He said to the Panda, who was being a bit distracted by watching Mantis do his acupuncture on Tigress.
"Oh! Uh, yes, master?" The fat panda responded with a start.
"Make sure Tigress gets her rest. We don't need her body destroying itself from the stress." He ordered. "And, why don't you prepare some of your father's famous Secret Ingredient Soup for her and the rest of us? I'm sure we're all quite famished by now." He added.
"Oh! Yes! Great idea!" Po nodded as he went running out of the room towards the kitchen… before having to turn around and nearly crash into the urn of whispering warriors as he remembered that they were out of the necessary ingredients.
Shifu facepalmed as he held up Oogway's old staff. Even after defeating Tai Lung and Lord Shang, the panda was still the clumsy and hyperactive goofball that came falling out of the sky all those years ago.
(Several weeks later)
Bahgeera stretched lightly as he forced one of his special large animal traps open and covered it with some inconspicuous cover, while also making several other elaborate traps as well along the road leading to the Valley of Peace.
"There." The tiger said as he dusted his hands together. "Now, all this trap needs now is some bait." He said to himself. He then hid himself and waited.
He didn't have to wait long, only two hours, until he heard a squawk and one of his traps getting triggered. He immediately emerged from his hiding spot and saw a messenger goose in one of his snares.
The goose was upside down and flailing about as he bounced up and down, his hat falling off his head. This development made Bahgeera smirk cheerfully at his luck.
"A messenger, even better." He purred in a threatening tone as he skulked over to the snare and got the goose down, resetting the trap and holding him by the neck. "Pardon me, sir, but where do you happen to hail from?" The bounty hunter questioned as he politely put the fowl's hat back on his head and set him down, dusting him off as well.
The goose was silent for a bit out of sheer terror, his body quivering like a bamboo leaf in a typhoon. "U-u-um… Th-th-th-the V-V-Valley of P-Peace!" He whimpered, stuttering.
"Good. I have a message for you to deliver, so listen closely." The Trapper began as he grinned, the goose gulping in fear due to the entire situation.
Dragon Emperor0: And that's the first chapter of my Kung Fu Panda story done. As you guys can see, my character Bahgeera Kipling is a character based on two works of fiction: The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In particular the character of Tiger Claw. And one video game: Skylanders, specifically the Character Trap Shadow.
ThermalsniperN7: And traps are his bread and butter. If you trespass on his turf, watch your step! You never know when the next one could be a trap.
Dragon Emperor0: This story's first few chapters and first introductory arc will take place in the time between the second movie and the start of the Legends of Awesomeness TV show. After that, you can expect Bahgeera to play a role in the show from time to time.
ThermalsniperN7: That being said, see you next time.