The Spirit Orbs Of Master Ding
Today is a Saturday. Leo was in his room meditating. The rest of the Five were doing their own thing on Saturday and Po and Tigress were sparring in the courtyard. He finished his meditation early and began reading several scrolls. An hour and a half passed by and Leo left the barracks to head to the library. He saw Tigress still sparring Po after thirty-three times. Leo was surprised to see Tigress losing in these sparring matches. He spent an hour in the library and trained for forty-five minutes in the Training Hall.
His time up was in the Training Hall and he walks outside to see his girlfriend growling with fury at the small table. He watches her to stand up and walks away to the Training Hall. "Po won the sparring matches?" Leo asks her.
Tigress looks at him and nods her head once before walking up the steps. Leo walks up to the Dragon Warrior as the Dragon Warrior turns around with two heavy metal hammers in his paws.
"Oh, hey Leo. Are you coming out here for some training?"
"Yes. And I was wondering you and I can spar today."
"Sure."
"How does fifty matches sound to you?"
"That's fine by me because I'm on fire today."
"I know. I heard that several times today."
"Let me put these hammers down first and then we'll spar."
"Fine." Leo said. He walks over to the stone square and waited for the panda to place the two heavy hammers on the weapons rack.
Po places the two hammers on the rack and walks over to the stone square. The two warriors readied themselves. The Dragon Warrior flies at Leo with a flying sidekick. Leo bent backwards to avoid the kick and delivered a back summersaulted kick with an elbow strike to the panda's back. Po spun around with a spinning backfist which was blocked by Leo. Leo jumps backwards to avoid Po's belly gong attack. He counters back with a knee strike to the stomach and a sweep of the leg.
The Dragon Warrior fell onto his side and got up. He did a punch, but Leo caught the punch with his hand before using his other free hand to grab Po's stomach and lifts him up above his head and slams Po down on the ground with his back.
"Hm. Looks like I won the first match." Leo said.
"Yeah, you have." Po said as he stands up.
As the two warriors began their second match, Tigress was watching them from the steps. She saw the Dragon Warrior was having a bit of trouble of blocking Leo's attacks. The human ducks below Po's front kick and did a forward front flip to have his knees land on the panda's shoulders. He delivered a elbow strike on the panda's head that stunned him, allowing Leo to use both of his knees to jump off from the panda's shoulders and landed on his hands before delivering two back kicks to Po's legs to make him kneel. The man quickly turns and stands up and delivered a chop to the back of the neck.
Tigress turns away and walks inside the Training Hall.
Leo and Po continued their sparring matches until they reached the last sparring match. The rest of the Five was heading to the Training Hall one by one as they notice the sparring matches between Leo and Po. Mantis saw Po pinned against the wall by Leo on the tenth match. Monkey notices Po was laying on his stomach as Leo stood behind the panda on the twenty fifth match. Crane witnessed Po flew across the courtyard from Leo's lunge palm strike on the thirty second match. And Viper slithers by and notices the two warriors had their hands and paws locked with one another.
Leo quickly let's go to avoid Po's headbutt. The panda tried to get Leo with his belly butt move. Leo jumps over him with a butterfly kick and lands behind him. He didn't waste time to send out a spinning hook kick that spun Po around with a backfist that Leo duck and sent a straight punch to the Dragon Warrior's stomach, knocking the air out of him. Po fell down on his side as Leo stood up.
"Damn Leo." Po groans. He sits up and rubs his stomach. "That was a good one."
Leo nods his head once.
"I thought I had you, but you got me good in that last match."
"That's because you were gloating about your one hundred fifty-one matches with Tigress. Your skills have improved since we arrived here."
"Shall we try something else?"
"How about arm wrestling then?"
Leo nodded his head and they both walks over to the table and sits down. He grips Po's paw tightly. "Ready? Begin!"
Po tried to move Leo's arm. The human's arm budges a little backward. Then Leo slams the panda's paw on the table.
"Hm. Not bad." Leo said.
"Yeah. I thought I would beat you in an arm-wrestling match like I did with Tigress."
"Since your skills have improved, you're becoming a good warrior."
"I'm not the only warrior, Leo." Po smiled. "I remember when you kicked my ass at those sparring matches back in the Wu Dan Mountains. I was surprised. It's like you knew what you were doing in those matches before Shifu started our training."
"Yeah, I remember that first match." Leo nodded his head.
"So I was wondering about something."
"About what?"
"I was wondering if you learned those moves in the scrolls from the library."
"I did. I learned some of them from the scrolls."
"Awesome."
Inside the Training Hall, Tigress was attacking the wooden warriors to unleash her fury. "Think you're stronger now?!" she growls with fury. The feline sent in powerful punches, kicks and palm strikes. Some of them were shattered or knocked down from her attacks. "Gah!" Tigress growls at the last one she did. "How about now?" But she stops to look up and notices the rest of the Five looking at her.
"So..." Monkey was saying, trying to come up with something.
"Is there something on your mind you want to talk about?" Viper asks her with concerned.
The feline didn't answer her friend. She turns around and delivered a couple punches.
"Like being jealous of Po for starters?" Mantis asked.
"I'm not jealous of Po!" she turns around and snarls at him.
The green bug's expression was unconvinced on his face.
"Maybe I am... kind of... jealous of him." Tigress gives in.
"You don't have to be jealous of Po, Tigress." Monkey said to her. "Maybe you clear up your frustration with some mediation to have a clear focus. You're better than Po at all kinds of things."
"Really? Name one." Tigress replied.
Monkey couldn't try to name one, so he kept his mouth shut.
"I think it's time for this warrior to face the ugly truth." Tigress said. "Po has become..." she gulps. "Better than me at everything." The feline folds her arms and walks towards her friends.
"Well not everyone is better at anything, like Po, Tigress." Viper said.
"But I did saw Leo and Po having their first sparring match." Tigress replied. "And he took Po down in the first sparring match."
"We even saw their sparring match on the way here." Mantis said. "It seemed like Po was getting his ass kicked by Leo."
"How many sparring matches were they doing?" Crane wondered.
"They were on the last sparring match last time I saw before I came in here." Viper answered.
"Well, Leo's skills have improved since he got here." Monkey said.
"Who'd have thunk it."
"Not the Dragon Warrior. That would require some concentration." Tigress said, getting an idea. "That's it! Concentration!"
Meanwhile, Leo was in the library reading a scroll. "Damn it." Leo cursed, closing the scroll. "It's not in this scroll too. Why am I not surprised." He picks up the scroll and return it to the shelf.
"I see you're having fun." Kaira's voice said.
Leo looks over his shoulder to a hear couple footsteps walking by. He quickly hid behind the shelf. Ever since Leo and Kaira can talk to one another for a while, he made sure to hide in places and lowers his voice so that no one can hear. The masters don't know about Kaira and the conversations he had with her. The only ones who knew about this was Panther, Bu, Qiao, Zhi and Nala.
"Yeah, going through scroll after scroll that should help." Leo said annoyed in a low voice.
The White Tail Feline knew when to comment on his performance to search for the answer.
"It's kind of fun to watch you be annoyed."
"But not as that last "fun" encounter with those two. I feel like they're up to no good."
"You don't trust them as much as you don't trust me."
"The first one I agree. But when it comes to you, you're alright when we worked together."
"I have to admit it was interesting to work together. There will be times when I will have to give some of my power if the situation gets worse."
After their conversation was finished, Leo left the library to get some fresh air. He passes by a room and notices three orbs in a glass case. Leo steps inside the room and kneels down to take a look at it.
"Leo, what are you doing in here?" Shifu asks him, walking up behind Leo.
"I was only looking at these orbs in the glass, Master." Leo answered as he stood up.
"I see." Shifu said, walking by his student.
"What are these orbs for?"
"These orbs are for safekeeping after what Master Ding did a long time ago." Shifu said.
"Master Ding?"
"Yes." Shifu nodded. "These irreplicable orbs of his are artifacts from the terrible events long ago on top of Mugu Mountain. Master Ding was kung fu student. His orbs gave him a mental focus unlike any before and Master Oogway sent him to study with the kung fu monks on Mugu Mountain. But Ding was impatient and turned on his teachers. He controls the orbs with pure mental focus that allows him to possess people and objects, but Ding also penetrated the monks' minds to drive them to their demise. The Jade Masters put a stop on him before he could control the Valley Of Peace. They imprisoned him on Mugu Mountain for eternity. Ding was powerless without his orbs. His angry spirit is still trapped inside the castle, according to legend. The spirit orbs have been kept safely here. But if the orbs return to Master Ding, he will reclaim his evil power."
"If Ding does return, then I assume you have plan to counter back."
"Yes."
"Good."
"Now, since you are here, Leo, I want to discuss about your training." Shifu gestured his hand for Leo to follow him.
Leo nodded his head and follows his master outside of the palace to the side.
"Since you have begun to live here, you have made a lot of progress. Not to mention your skills have improved. You've studied hard and train harder than the Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior."
"Thank you, Master."
Tigress rushes into the Hall Of Warriors. "... and that Po, is the meaning of life." She heard her master's voice. The feline stops running and hides behind the column as Po and Shifu walks out of the room.
"That's something to ponder about. Thanks, Master Shifu." Po bows to him.
"You and Leo are keeping up the good. Your training is really starting to pay off."
Tigress lets out a low sigh and watches her adoptive father leave. She approaches the Drago Warrior with a faux smug smile. "Sorry if I interrupted your daily chastising."
"I was just getting a daily praising." Po turns around to look at her. "I'm just rocking the new better-at-most-stuff-than-you Po, Tigress. I haven't gotten a daily chastising in weeks."
"Your kung fu has improve, that much I'll say." Tigress walks up to him with her arms folded. She leans towards him. "And what about your mental acuity? Has that improved?"
"Maybe... after you explain what that means."
The feline loses her smile. "Concentration. Focus."
"Oh!" Po smiled. "Like an intense game of "What am I thinking of?" It's four! It's four, right? What about nine? I said four already, right?"
"Po!" Tigress snapped at him.
"Ok." Po gives up. "How?" Po follows her inside the room where there was a cupboard holding three spheres.
Meanwhile, Leo was doing some meditation at the Peach Tree. He opens his eyes and sees Po and Tigress leaving the Hall Of Warriors. "Seems like Tigress has challenged Po to another contest." he thought. "I should get something to eat right now."
The young human got up and left the Peach Tree Hill. He walks past the room in the Hall Of Warriors until he notices two broken vases and a broken mirror. His eyes turn onto the cupboard and sees the cabinet was closed. There was something a little odd about the spheres inside the cabinet. Leo walks over and opens the cabinet and looks at the orbs. They look like round orbs. And they smell like nuts too.
"What?" Leo asked confused. He picks one up and sniffs it. "Silver-painted lychee nuts. That means the Spirit Orbs are not here. What the hell did you do, Po?" He puts the nut down and close the case. Leo left the room and rushes into the library. "There should be something in here that should help." He takes out a scroll and opens it. Leo's eyes widen in shock of what he just found. "This should do it."
The orbs were flying through the air as lightning went off from the dark clouds. In the distance was Mugu Mountain. All three orbs were closed to the castle and the castle doors opened by themselves to allow the orbs to come in.
"My old friends. How lovely to see you all again after all these years." a voice spoke from the darkness. "I suspect that there will be people coming to the castle to take you back from me again. But this time, they will pay for their lives! Ha ha ha ha!"
Leo continued his journey to the mountain. In the distance was Mugu Mountain, the prison of Master Ding's spirit. He folded his arms. "So that's the castle."
"Hm." Kaira chuckled.
"Let's get those orbs back." Leo said as he resumes walking to the castle. He made it to the top of the steps and stood before gate to the castle. As he entered the castle, everything was in ruin. There were several columns that were still standing while others were destroyed. Some weapons were still on the rack while there were many weapons laying around on the floor.
"Tigress!" Po shouted.
Leo saw a column breaking and was about to crush Tigress. His instincts took over and made a dash to the feline as Po dives forward to save Tigress. He was quick to dive into a forward roll and used his feet to kick Po's feet for an extra boost as the column hits the floor.
Po got off of Tigress. "And that's another save for the Po man." Po boasted, lending his paw to Tigress.
"You could try it without gloating." Tigress as he pulls her up to stand.
"Come on, gloating is all I got." Po said.
"How about you don't at all and focus on the mission, Po?" Leo asked behind him as he watch the panda became startled and turns around to see Leo.
"Leo? What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to help you find the orbs that you released." Leo answered.
"But Leo I-"
"We'll talk about it later when we head back to the Jade Palace." Leo interrupted.
Suddenly, they hear someone laughing. There was no one there with them.
"Damn. This place is really haunted." Po looks around the room.
A suit of armor came to life in a light blue glow. It snuck up behind them to attack. Leo was the first to notice the attack and quickly picks up a spear and threw it into the armor. When that was finished, he jumps behind Po and Tigress and caught two axes before throwing them into the wall. "I know you got more than that, you damn ghost." He snarled.
Every single weapon came to life. They were all covered in a blue mystic light.
"Yeah." Po said nervously.
The possessed weapons dives down at all three of them. Leo quickly blocks several of the weapons. He spots the three orbs above them. Leo turns around and caught a spear and throws it to the orbs before quickly jumping on one of the broken columns to run on and dives at the orbs. The orbs separated from the human's dive. He lands several feet away from one of the orbs floating near a hallway.
"Tigress!" Po shouted as he saw her struggling against the same suit of armor.
"Help her and get those two orbs!" Leo shouted over his shoulder. "This one is mine!" The orb flew down the corridor with the human giving chase. He fought and dodged more weapons and continued his pursuit on the next level. Leo went left and fought several suits of armor. The chase went on for three minutes and Leo enters a long hall.
Leo stops running to see if there was anything else to fly out of the big from the end of the hallway. He walks into the big room and spots the floating orb above him. Leo turns around and watches the other two orbs fly past him to join the first orb.
"I suspect you want my orbs back, don't you?" the spirit of Master Ding asks him.
"Correct." Leo answered.
"But what if I could help you deal with your problem?" the spirit asks slyly.
"Hm?" Leo watches the orbs fly down to him and begins to circle his head.
"If your problem goes away, you'll never have to worry about it with your other problems. You'll be become a powerful warrior than a thousand masters put together." the spirit said slyly as Master Ding begins to attempt his mind. "And your skills are most impressive."
Leo closes his eyes as he begins to fight against the spirit enter his mind. "You won't... win."
"Oh, but I will win. I'm only using you as bait."
Tigress and Po enters the room and notices Leo.
"Leo!" they both shouted together.
Leo snaps his eyes opened and outstretched both of his hands, stopping the orbs in their place before firing them off in three different directions. The three warriors watch the orbs floats above them.
"You can't win against me."
"We'll see!" Leo shouted.
The spirit orbs sent out a explosive blue ray towards the ground. Leo quickly jumps backwards and kicks off the wall to grab the orbs. But he dodges Po underneath and missed the spirit orbs. He rolls forward and quickly stands up to see Tigress and the Spirit Orbs coming to him. He charges at the orbs and one of them separates from the group.
The spirit orb led him to the wall and up. He was quick to latch onto the wall and jumps to get the orb but missed. His instincts kicked in which allowed him to run upside down on the ceiling for a few seconds and jumps to get the orb. He misses once again as he lands safely on the floor. Leo looks up in time to see the spirit orbs circulating above. The three warriors shielded their eyes and looks back up.
Floating above in front of them was a big, black, ghost pig. He was wearing a yellow robe with red trimming and a metal headpiece.
"Master Ding?" Tigress gasps.
"In the ghost flesh." Ding smiles evilly down at them.
"We want the orbs." Leo said.
"Not as much I do."
The Dragon Warrior lets out a yell and jumps towards the pig, but the body was transparent, and the Dragon Warrior landed on the floor.
"I have waited centuries to unleash my revenge against the Valley Of Peace." Ding turns around. "Now thanks to you, my time has come at last."
Tigress growls in anger and tries to get the orbs from Ding. The pig turns around and blast a ray of electricity at the feline. She hits the ground and rolls onto her stomach.
"Hmph!" Leo grunted jumping into air and releasing his fire wings from his back. He fires beam at Ding and the beam exploded on Ding, causing him to lose focus on his spirit orbs and the orbs fell to the ground.
Ding concentrated to get his orbs back. The orbs began to float and flew back the ghost. As the orbs were within reach, his own spirit orbs attacked him, surprising all three of them. Tigress watch the orbs flew to Leo, circulating around his body.
"Ha!" Leo fires another beam towards Ding.
The ghost quickly disappeared and reappeared behind Leo. He grabs the human and slams him to the wall before throwing him down to the ground and taking control of the spirit orbs once more.
"You haven't won yet." Leo lets out a small moan as he picks himself up from the floor. "Your spirit is still trapped within this for eternity."
"Yeah." Po said mockingly. "You need a body of a living creature to possess in order to break free. There's no living things around here."
"Heh heh." Ding turns around, chuckling darkly.
"Damn it!" Leo cursed.
Ding fires his ray of electricity at the panda. Before the lightning can touch Po, Leo quickly ran to Po and pushes him out of the way before Leo was caught in the ray.
"AAHH!" Leo yelled as the ray grew brightly.
Tigress looks away as she covers her eyes. The light dies down as Tigress looks around the room. Ding wasn't in the room. Leo's motionless body laid on gray floor while the three spirit orbs were laying near his feet.
"Leo!" Tigress yelled. She rushes to her boyfriend.
The Dragon Warrior knelt down to check on him.
"Wake up, Leo." Po said.
Leo's eyes snapped open and grabs both of their wrist, catching them off guard. He sent two vicious punches to their heads, knocking them both out.
Tigress slowly opens her eyes, groaning in pain. She found herself chained to two columns in the hallway of the castle. The last thing she remembered was Leo getting possessed by Ding.
"It has been a long time to what it feels like to be a mortal." Ding said, stepping out of the shadows.
"Bastard! Release Leo!" Tigress growls at Ding. She tries to attack Ding, but the chains and something else stops her. She looks over her shoulder to the Dragon Warrior chained up behind her too.
"I shall wreak horrible vengeance to those who imprisoned me here in this damn castle." Ding said, putting his hands behind his back. "And you two shall rot here. Ha ha ha!" He turns around and walks to the door and opens it. Ding took a deep breath. "I am free at last!" Ding walks out of the room and the door closes.
There was only silence in the room now.
"Ow..." Po moans, opening his eyes.
"Po, are you alright?"
"Yeah." the panda groaned, shaking his head. "Damn, that was some punch. Where's Ding?"
"That bastard is inside Leo right now and he left the castle."
"Then how the hell can we escape?"
Tigress scans the room and notices the spirit orbs several feet away from them. "The Spirit Orbs. We'll use those to break free."
"Awesome!"
"But you need to use your mind to control the orbs."
"Not brain stuff, Tigress!" Po complains. "That's asking a lot!"
"You're the Dragon Warrior, Po!" Tigress exclaims, looking over her shoulder. "You can master anything!"
"Ok!" Po nodded his head. He closes his eyes and begins to focus on the orbs. The orbs began to glow and float.
Tigress watches the orbs flies around the room and destroys the column. They were free from the chains and the two of them both stood up.
"Well done, Po." Tigress smiles at him.
"Thanks Tigress." Po thanked her.
Tigress stretches her paw out, having the orbs circulate around her paw. "We can't hold Ding off on our own."
"How, Tigress?"
"We'll need to break Ding's control over Leo."
"Then let's go save him."
Ding cracks his joints in the neck and took a nice deep breath of the fresh air. "And now to-" But he was interrupted as Po and Tigress lands several feet in front of Ding from jumping behind him.
"You were saying?" Tigress smirks at him.
"You used the Spirit Orbs?!" Ding growled. "But how?!"
"Mental focus is kind of my thing." Tigress answered. "Now release Leo!"
"The two of you cannot defeat me! I'm beyond this person's strength!" Ding yelled. He came at them with a straight punch but it was quickly blocked by Po and did a roundhouse kick to the face to allow Tigress to do a palm strike in the stomach.
The two warrior's dodges Dings attacks and jumps a couple feet away from him.
"You got to do better than that!" Po taunted him.
"You will not beat me!" Ding shouted angrily.
Po charges at him with a flying side kick, but Ding grabs the panda's face to deliver a knee strike to the stomach and then another attack to the face and the poor panda hits the ground. Tigress lets out a angry growl and came at him with several front kicks in the air.
Ding blocks her attacks and answers back with his own kick. He sent out a punch, which the feline dodges, and stomps on her foot to cause make her lose focus.
"Ah!" Tigress grunted, trying to keep her focus on the orbs. She dodges another punch.
"I am in control!" Ding shouted, as he punches through her defense. "His skills is mine!"
"Gah!" she yelled.
"Now his mind is mine!" Ding yelled, delivering two palm strikes to her stomach.
Tigress was sent flying and landed beside Po. The two warriors sits up. She was about to attack, but the orbs were not near her paw. They both spots the spirit orbs a couple feet away from Po and Tigress gets up. Ding stretches his hand out and focus on his spirit orbs.
But the spirit orbs didn't move.
"What?!" Ding gasps.
Tigress took advantage of Ding's distraction to close her eyes and focus on the orbs to be in control. The orbs glowed, causing Ding to dive towards them. She shifts her stance, causing the orbs to come in between them. "Ha!" she yelled, thrusting her paws forward to create a blue circle barrier.
The barrier exploded, covering them all in a bright light. The light died down as Po and Tigress lands on their feet in the ground.
"Where are we?" Po asked as he looks at their surroundings.
Their surroundings are new. They were standing in a field. Behind them was a forest. Po walks up to a hill and sees a palace in the distance. Tigress notices a strange mountain that was far from them. She thought she saw the symbol of the yin-yang on that mountain. After carefully looking at their surroundings, Tigress had an idea of they are right now. "We're inside Leo's mind."
"Really?!" Po gasps as he walks back to her. "Awesome!"
"Hm. I don't see Leo around here." Tigress said. But she got hit by a electric attack, slamming into Po and rolling on the ground and came to a stop. The two warriors stand and looks up to Master Ding, who is pretty big.
"Damn he's big." Po said.
"Nice try." Ding taunted them. "As you see right now, I'm siphoning his very essence right now. Once he's faded completely, he won't be even a memory within your own mind!"
Leo opens his eyes and stands up. He notices he was on the other side of the seal.
"Looks like he's inside your mind." Kaira said behind him, startling Leo.
"I can't believe I made it to the other side of the gate." Leo turns around to look at her. "How long you think he'll find us?"
"Soon."
"Does Ding really think he can control my mind and body?" Leo folded his arms. "He's going to learn that being inside my mind is a not a nice place to be."
"That was a good move to imagine Tao Palace."
"I only had enough time to put that in my mind."
"Do you require my help or the scroll you took?"
"We'll see what happens. I'd rather deal with you than some smartass controlling my god damn mind."
"Very well."
Before Master Ding can fire another ray, an orange beam was shot out of nowhere and hits him in the forehead. Po and Tigress turns around to see Leo several feet behind them.
"Leo!" Po gasps.
"Tigress, Po? Son of a- no, never mind that now. We'll talk about how you get in here later. Tigress, hit him high, Po, hit him low and I'll go to the center." The two warriors nodded their heads. Ding couldn't block their attacks in time.
Back on the outside world, Ding took control of the human's body. "Your body is mine and you will never take it back!" Ding shouted.
Everyone fought against Ding and Po took control of the body. "Oh yeah? I got it now!"
They all fought again, and Tigress takes control momentarily. "I'm in control!" she shouted.
The fight began again, and Leo took control of his body for a moment. "Alright! Get out of me! I already have one person I'd rather deal wi-"
Ding didn't let him finish.
Leo was sent flying a couple feet away as Po and Tigress stood side by side and dodges several rays from Ding. Po came at him with a flying side kick, but the pig caught Po and slams him into the ground and throws him towards Tigress.
Tigress jumps over the panda and punches Ding below the chin and chest. Ding grabs her by the tail.
"Tigress!" Leo shouted as he runs to rescue her.
"Ha!" Ding shouted, shooting a ray of electricity at the human.
"Gah!" Leo shouted in pain as he got hit by the electric attack.
"Heh." Ding chuckled evilly. "As I said, your body is now mine." But he felt a powerful punch in his stomach that sent him flying a couple feet and releasing Tigress.
The feline warrior lands on her feet and saw Leo several feet in front of her where Ding was standing.
"You sure about that, you damn swine?" Leo growls at Ding as the pig sits up coughing. "This body is mine and you have no idea how my mind works."
Po got on his feet and walks toward Tigress's side.
"Po, Tigress. I want you to sit this one out. I'll handle Ding."
The two warriors were surprised to hear that from Leo.
"You can't fight him on your own." Po said to Leo. "We need to work together to-"
"I said I'll handle him, Po!" Leo snapped at the Dragon Warrior, looking over his shoulder.
Po and Tigress saw Leo had a serious look on his face. The human turns around to face Ding, growling at him. "Now Ding, you shall pay for invading my mind!" Then a song started to play in Leo's mind. When the song started to pick up at eleven seconds later, Leo lets out a fierce a roar. He quickly lunges forward as Ding got up and started attacking the swine. Ding tried to block the human's first punch, but his defense was diminished completely.
Leo sent a knee strike to Ding's chin, followed by a elbow strike to the foot. He jumps backwards as Ding fell flat on his stomach. "Heh." Leo smirked. He stretched his hand to the right and coming out of thin air was his diamond sword. "Time to even the playing field!"
A ring of fire erupted around his feet and the fiery ring covers him in a ball of fire. Po and Tigress ran over to the hill that Po was on and watch the ball of fire grow. The fire stops and disappears to reveal a giant Leo. "Prepare yourself, you motherfucking swine!" he growls as he charges at Ding.
"Ha!" Ding shouted, firing an electric ray.
Leo deflected the ray back at Ding, causing the pig to yell in pain as he is unable to move. He dives into a forward roll and launch Ding high in the air to the chin with a powerful uppercut. But Leo didn't end the attack as he threw the sword at the pig extremely fast.
"Gah!" Ding screams out in pain.
Leo spreads his fiery wings and lifts his head up. He closes his eyes and begins concentrating. A red ball of energy was forming at the center of Leo's forehead. Once the red ball became full of energy, Leo fires the beam of energy with dark red energy at Ding. Ding couldn't dodge as the beam went through him, causing the ghost to explode. After the explosion, there was no sign of Master Ding and the song ended.
"Whoa." Po gasps in utter disbelief. He swallows hard of what they just witness.
Leo's giant body began glowing brightly red, forcing the two masters to shield their eyes. When the light disappeared and the two of lower their arms to look, they noticed a door where Leo once stood.
"Hey, where's Leo?" Po wondered.
"He must've gone through that door." Tigress pointed at the door. "Let's go."
They walk down the hill and Tigress opens the door. There was a long dark hallway with candles on both sides of the wall. They walk inside the dark hallway. A water drop can be heard somewhere, dropping on the wet floor.
"Ok." Po said a little nervously. "Now where are we?"
Tigress didn't answer him as she began walking down the hallway as the Dragon Warrior went after her. They continued walking down the dark corridor. The only sound they can was the sound of the steps in the water. They both continued walking and took a left to see a door. Po opens the door and went inside with Tigress. Before either of them can touch the first step of the stairs, Tigress halts.
"What is it?" Po whispers.
"Sh." Tigress shushes him. She can hear Leo's voice up the stairs and can make out of what he's saying and there was a growl. They both walk up the stairs silently.
"You really think it'll help?" a new voice asked.
"I won't be surprised." Leo's voice sneered. "If it's not there, then... I'll have to prepare myself when the time comes."
Po and Tigress was almost there when they saw Leo at the top of the stairs with a shocked look on his face. His breathing became slow, and he swallows hard. "What the hell are you doing in here?"
"We were looking for you after you destroyed Ding, Leo." Po answered.
"And who were you talking to before us?" Tigress glares at Leo.
"I wasn't talking to anyone, Tigress. I was only thinking about a memory from my past."
Tigress folds her arms. "Fine. But when the three of us gets back, you and I are going to have a talk."
"Alright then."
"So how do we leave?"
Leo closed his eyes and began to concentrate. The hallway began to disappear, and they were back outside in the field with a door behind Leo. Po walks by Leo and opens the door. He enters the door, leaving just Tigress and Leo. Leo watches her follow the panda and he lets out a sigh of relief. "Someday." Leo muttered. "Someday."
The walk back to Valley Of Peace was silent. Villagers greeted them when they arrived. Po returns the greetings to them, and the three warriors climbs the steps back to the Jade Palace. They all arrived at the Hall Of Warriors and Tigress places each spirit orb back in the cabinet before closing the door. She turns around and looks at Po with an apologetic look on her face.
"I'm sorry, Po. I should never have let my jealousy get the best of me." She lower ears.
"I'm sorry too. I could've been a tiny less bit gloaty-show-boaty." Po apologizes.
"We all have our own strengths." Tigress smiled.
"Absolutely!" Po smiled.
Tigress and Po bows to each other as Leo was leaning against the wall outside of the room.
"Anyway, it all worked out." Po said, backing up as the two began to leave the room. "Shifu never discovered our little rouse." He bumps into someone and turns around to see Shifu.
The red panda pulls out a lychee nut that was covered in silver paint. "You painted the lychee nuts in silver?" Shifu asks in shocked anger. He drops the nut onto the floor.
"Heh." Po laughs nervously.
Shifu shifts his attention towards Leo. "Where were you, Leo?"
"I had to leave the palace after I discovered the spirit orbs were not inside the cabinet." Leo answered. "There wasn't any time to alert you, Master, so I left the palace to go after the orbs and bring them back here."
"And what happened after that?"
"I chased one of the orbs and entered a big room. Ding's Spirit tried to get in my mind, but the other orbs arrived with Tigress and Po. The orbs came together, and that bastard appeared before us. We all tried to fight him, but our physical attacks didn't land on him. So I used his own orbs against him and fired several beams before he took control of the orbs again. When Po mention that Ding needs to possess a body to leave the castle, I pushed him out of the way and Ding possessed my body."
"What?!"
"I'm not finished yet, Shifu." Leo replied calmly. "I was unconscious for a few minutes and woke up in my mind. Then I went to challenge Ding and saw Po and Tigress in my mind too. We all fought over my body and mind. It was getting nowhere, and I decided to deal Ding alone without their help. So Ding is dead, again."
Shifu lets out a disappointing sigh before he spoke. "Leo, it was good of you to defeat Ding, but it was wrong of you to fight him on your own without Po and Tigress's help."
"I understand." Leo nodded.
"If you made a wrong move, Ding would have complete control of your mind and you would be lost. You need to be careful next time."
"Yes Master."
After their conversation was finished, Shifu had Leo to clean the archives and the Training Hall on his own while Po and Tigress were cleaning the floor. He didn't protest about his punishment. The late afternoon came and Po and Tigress were finished wiping the floors while Leo was taking his time cleaning the Training Hall. The human never stepped out of the hall as he started cleaning it. Leo didn't even took a break for lunch. And when the evening came, he still kept cleaning with no break.
Leo finished polishing and cleaning the Field Of Fiery Death. He looks up above and see it was nighttime. The young man left and headed to the dining hall. He grabs a small plate, one small square of tofu and a cup of tea. Leo sets his dinner and his drink down on the table before sitting in the chair. He ate in silence.
Leo swallows the last of his tea and washes his dishes. Then Leo went to the library to return the scroll and heads to barracks. Before he could sit down, there was a knock on the door. Leo turns around and opens the door to the Dragon Warrior.
"Hi, Leo." Po said.
"What do you want, Po?"
"I wanted to see how you're doing because you haven't step out of the training hall in the last few hours."
"I was taking my time with the cleaning, Po. Let me ask you a question. If you did not release the orbs, then who did?"
"Tigress release the orbs."
Leo gestured his hand for Po to enter his room and close the door.
"Tigress is the one who released the spirit orbs?"
"Yeah, she did." Po answered. "My kung fu skills has improved and that's why Tigress got jealous."
"And that lead her to release the spirit orbs." Leo folded his arms. "I can agree with Tigress that your skills have improved in the past few weeks. Your mental acuity, however, can be lacking sometimes. But what's holding you back is your mind."
"That's asking a lot, isn't it?"
"No it's not, Po. You're the Dragon Warrior who can master anything, even your mind."
"But I'm not the only one who improved." Po smiled. "Your skills have improved too in the past few months. I still remember that you beat Shifu in a sparring match when he began our training."
"I remember that sparring match and my match with Monkey when Shifu literally sent a flying side kicked you in the face and bounced on those steps. Listen, I'm sorry that I thought it was you who released those orbs."
"It's okay, Leo." the panda chuckles lightly. "Oh yeah. Why didn't you let Tigress and me help you battle Master Ding? Her and I were wondering about that. We could've taken him down together."
Leo turns his back on the Dragon Warrior. "I have my damn reasons why I fought that fucking swine alone."
"But wh-"
Leo swiftly turns around with a stern look on his face. "Goodnight, Po."
Po lets out a sigh. "Ok... Goodnight, Leo."
Leo watches him leave his room and closes the door. "That was cutting it a little too close." Leo thought. "And I didn't have a choice." He turns around and walks over to his bed before taking his shirt off and setting it to the side of his bed.
Unbeknownst to them, Tigress was still awake in her bed, listening to the conversation. The two of them were going to talk, but Leo took his time with the punishment Shifu gave. Why did Leo choose to fight Ding alone without their help? Doesn't he know that Ding was siphoning his essence? Was it really a memory that Leo was thinking about after the battle?
The feline took one last glance at Leo's room before closing her eyes to rest tonight.
Author's Note: This chapter was good to work on. If you all like this chapter, I encourage you to leave a review!