Mind Over Manners
After Leo and the Furious Five arrived at the Valley Of Peace, they all went back to their student dorms to get some sleep for tomorrow's training. Leo had unpacked everything once he got back. The morning gong rang and everyone opened their doors to greet Shifu.
"Good morning, Master." They greeted the small red panda.
Leo noticed the panda didn't come out of his room. "Shall I wake up the Dragon Warrior, Master Shifu?"
"No, Leo. I have a mission for you, Tigress and Viper. Apparently, a thief made off with the Ganxiang Sapphire that Po was supposed to guard yesterday. I need you three to go help Po retrieve the blue sapphire back and bring the thief to prison after you three have breakfast." Shifu answered.
"Yes, Master Shifu." His three students replied.
Shifu walks away as his students started walking to the kitchen.
Leo and The Furious Five made it to the kitchen.
"When will you tell Shifu about the pendent, Leo?" Monkey takes a seat besides Leo.
The Furious Five knows about the pendent after Leo told them about it on their way back from Gongmen City.
"I'll tell Shifu once the three of us get back from our mission." Leo replied, eating a slice of apple.
After their breakfast was finished, Leo, Tigress and Viper left the valley to meet up with Po. They were all running through a fog on the mountain pass.
"You know the one thing that these missions need? Some rest stops! Can we at least a take break right now?" Po panted as he leans on the stone wall.
Viper stops slithering and turns to look at him. "We're only out here because of you, Po." She said.
"You're easily distracted that you're not focused right now." Leo approached the panda.
"Hey, I'm not- Whoa, I can see my breath!" Po exclaims as he notices his breath in the fog.
Leo rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Po!" Leo snapped at the panda to get his attention. "Like I said just now, you are easily distracted. We need you to focus right now."
"Alright." Po nodded.
The four warriors resumed their chase of the thief. The mountain path led them to an open clearing and another tall mountain to climb. There was a tower of some sort on top of the mountain. Tigress saw a small figure jumping to the top of the tower.
"Looks we found our jewel thief." Tigress identified the thief. "Tong Fo."
"So he's the thief who stole the blue sapphire." Leo said.
"Exactly."
"Then let's go!" Po yelled as the panda ran through the fog.
Tong Fo places the blue sapphire on top of his lightning rod. He took out a scroll and it was a picture of his elderly grandpa. "Very soon your failure will be my greatest triumph, grandfather." He snickered. "It's very exciting. Haha!"
Po raced up the path and made it to the base of the tower. He started struggling to climb but he noticed the elevator inside the tower. "Oh, an elevator." Po hops onto the elevator and started to pull up.
"Po!" Tigress shouted.
Viper wrapped herself around the feline's waist and the orange feline started to climb with Leo following behind them.
As Leo was climbing the tower, he heard lightning was coming above them. "That doesn't sound good." Leo thought.
He continued to climb the tower by jumping and doing flips. The human had to run in order to get an extra boost when he jumped. Leo looks up to see the elevator coming down fast and did two straight kicks to send the elevator flying back. His kick sent the panda flying father up ahead than Tong Fo. The Dragon Warrior started running till Tong Fo landed a kick to his chest. The two warriors resumed their fight.
Tong Fo dodges underneath kick and got punched in the chest. He hits the pole and jumps to a lower level. "No!"
Po reached the top of the tower and removed the sapphire while twirling the lightning rod as a staff.
"Be careful you fool!" Tong Fo shouted.
Tigress saw Po was spinning the lightning rod. "Po, drop the lightning rod!"
"Wait, what?" Po looks at the rod.
Then a lightning strikes Po. All three warriors covered their eyes except Leo as he squinted his eyes a little. Po fell from the top platform and fell down to the floor. The sapphire fell from a his paw and shattered on the ground below.
"The Ganxiang Sapphire! No!" Tong Fo shouted as he dove after the shards and disappeared into the fog.
The three warriors quickly made it to the top and rushes to their fallen friend.
"Ah..." Po moaned.
Leo knelt down and checked the panda's pulse. He felt a pulse. "The panda's alive. We need to get him back to the Jade Palace immediately." He said to Tigress and Viper.
After they made it to the barracks, Tigress sets Po down on his bed.
"Look after him. I'm going to find Master Shifu and give the report to him." Leo said to Tigress.
Tigress nodded her head and watches him leave the room. Leo left the barracks and saw Shifu coming to the barracks.
"Leo, what happened to Po?" Shifu asks him.
"Po has been struck by a lightning bolt, Master, because of a lightning rod. He's ok for now, but a little burnt. The Ganxiang Sapphire is shattered when it hit the ground." Leo explained.
"I would like to see if he's awake right now."
"As you wish, Master Shifu." Leo bows his head and follows the small red panda inside the barracks.
They were both walking in the hallway until they heard voices coming from Po's room.
"Will you stop doing that?!" Po shouted.
"Doing what?" Tigress looked confused.
"Wait a minute. I see what's going on here." Po eyes them suspiciously. "You all became expert ventriloquists when I was unconscious! I love ventriloquism!"
Leo grabbed Po's paws before the panda can drag Monkey to his side.
"Enough." Shifu said. He approached the big black and white panda.
"What?" Po asked.
"Can you hear what I'm thinking, panda?" Shifu thought.
"Of course I can hear what- thinking? Wait, wait, what's happening?"
"Po, you have obtained the power of Nao Yuedu!"
"No!" Po yells in terror. He curls up into a cradle position and started whimpering.
"You have no idea what it means, do you?" Shifu stares at him.
"Not entirely." Po replied.
Shifu sighed and walks out of the room, gesturing his students to follow him. "Many years ago, the Valley Of Peace was enslaved by Tong Fo's grandfather, Tong Lo. He discovered a long forgotten relic, a jewel so pure that can capture a lightning bolt."
"The Ganxiang Sapphire." Leo folded his arms.
"Correct, Leo. The Ganxiang Sapphire gives its user Nao Yuedo, the ability to read minds. No foe could stand a chance against him. He knew every hidden thought within a plot against them. He predicted their every move. Tong Lo had become invincible."
They made it to the training hall.
"Whoa!" Po gasps with enthusiasm. "So no one can see him?"
"No. Invincible."
"Oh. Does that mean I'm invincible too?" Po wondered.
"Let's test that out." Tigress smirked as Shifu steps aside to allow Po to walk by him. She started running towards him on all fours. "Palm Strike."
"Palm Strike." Po said, dodging her palm strike.
"Leg Sweep."
"Leg Sweep." Po dodges again.
"Side roll."
"Side roll." Po dodges her attack.
"Claw Fist."
"Claw Fist." Po grabs her forearm and threw her to the wooden floor.
The rest of the Five were shocked and surprised, except for Leo.
"Whoa!" Crane exclaims.
"Awesome!" Po smiles with enthusiasm. "Looks like the Jade Palace has a new Dragon Warrior that can read minds. What can be wrong with that?"
"Tong Lo was an unstoppable force with Nao Yuedo, until he went utterly and completely mad." Shifu said.
"What?" Po asked in a high pitched voice. "I'm going to go mad? Mad as in "Angry Grr Mad" or "Crazy Mad"?"
"The second one." Shifu answered. "My point is, Tong Lo used people's secrets against them. This king of knowledge could be dangerous if it falls into the wrong hands."
"We're doomed." Mantis thought.
"This is bad." Monkey thought.
"Not good." Viper thought.
"Come on guys." Po turns around to his friends. "This power is in the right hands, not in the wrong hands, which is in my head. Am I right, Craniac?"
Crane nodded with a fake smile. "I hate Craniac."
"This is serious, Po. Your survival will depend on your discipline, focus and concentration." Shifu said seriously.
"Oh those are not three of my things." Po said to him.
"Agreed." Shifu agreed.
"I'm not surprised." Leo approached the panda. "But you're not invincible, Po."
"I hate to admit it but he did read my mind to avoid my attacks, Leo." Tigress said.
"It's pointless to spar Po, Leo." Monkey said.
"We'll see." Leo said as he folded his arms. "Let's go, Po. I want to test you myself."
"Sure." Po said as the two walk out to the center of the room.
Both warriors got into their respective kung fu stances. Leo began the spar by charging at Po fast. The Dragon Warrior try to begin to read Leo's mind. But when he tried to read his mind, there was nothing for Po to read. He received Leo's palm strike to the chest, spinning back elbow strike to the stomach before being swept off his feet by Leo's low sweep.
Leo placed his foot on the panda's chest, to not give him a chance to get up. He took a glance to see the others reaction to the short spar that happened. Leo looks back down at the panda.
"What just happened?" Viper slithers up to them with Shifu. "Did you try to read his mind?"
"I tried to read his mind, but I didn't hear him think." Po sat up straight after Leo removes his foot.
"Try to read his mind again." Shifu suggested.
"Ok." Po nodded. He stares at Leo and tried to read the human's mind again. There wasn't anything coming from the human's thoughts. "I can't read his mind somehow."
"What? That can't be." Viper looks at Leo.
"That's why I'm focused on not having you read my mind. You're new to this, Po." Leo said. "But it's better have a mind closed off completely before it's too late. I'll see you all later."
Everyone watched him leave the Training Hall.
"Leo is full of surprises, isn't he?" Po asked.
"That's something we can all agree on." Mantis hops onto Tigress's shoulder.
"I still wonder why he spent all that time in the library for the past few months." Monkey said.
"Po, are you sure you tried to read his mind?" Tigress asked him.
"Yeah and I couldn't read his mind." Po answered.
Tigress looked back to the doors where Leo exit the training hall.
Shifu was walking towards his room in the Jade Palace. He noticed Leo meditating in front of the moon pool. The small red panda approached him. "How is your meditation going, Leo?"
Leo opens his eyes and notice his master. "My meditation is doing good, Master. Thank you for asking me."
"You're welcome. Have you learned anything new once you arrived at Gongmen City?"
"I wanted to talk you about that, Master, right after breakfast before you gave us this mission." Leo stands up with a scroll in his hand. "Here." He hands the scroll over to his master.
Shifu opens the scroll and begins to read it. His eyes widen a bit. "Memory Warrior...?" Shifu murmured.
Leo stood with both of his hands placed behind his back. He waited for a few minutes to allow Shifu to reread the scroll several times. His master looks up at him from the scroll.
"Can you explain this, Leo?" Shifu asked him.
"Yes, Master. After we arrived at Jie's house, Fumi was there waiting for me to help me unlock my memories. Fumi and I both meditated to the point where I saw the pendant. That's when the Memory Warrior, Jian, appeared. He was sent to prevent to remember more of my past and take me away. That bastard found me somehow and stayed in my memories and he was the one who gave me that pain a couple days ago before we set out to Gongmen City. The three of us fought in my mind and we did receive some cuts. I killed that fucker on fire since he didn't answer my question. With that bastard gone, I can remember all my memories. I still haven't figure out those visions except the pendant. Fumi left after that." Leo explains to his master.
"Did you learn anything about the pendant?"
"I remember Jenna found it when she was doing laundry on the day she found me. She gave me the pendent when I was six. The pendent is familiar somehow, but I can't put my finger on it. Panther and I went to several stores to see if any of them recognize the pendent and they don't even remember the pendent. It's back in my room at Crimson Tower before I ended up here."
"I see. I'm glad that you told me about this."
"Thank you, Master Shifu." Leo bowed his head and left the hall.
Leo had been meditating at the Peach Tree for an hour. He heard the Five was complaining about Po for reading their minds. All of them were wondering why Po couldn't read Leo's mind and Leo was able to beat him.
The young man was getting hungry, so he decided to get some lunch at Mr. Ping's restaurant. He was walking by the Hall Of Warriors and saw Tigress and Viper talking to one another.
"It's very annoying now that Po can read our minds." Tigress said with an annoyed look on her face.
"He needs to stay out of our heads. I really don't like this." Viper shook her head. "But I'm surprised that Leo was able to beat Po in that short sparring match while Po still have the ability to read minds."
"There are times that I want to know what Leo is up to when he spends his time in the library. He doesn't talk about it. Even about the Saber clone. He was almost killed. It's not bad to tell us about these things."
Leo hid behind the columns outside of the hall as he listened to the conversation.
"He did tell us about Zhao and Sying when those two appeared. But when it comes to keeping secrets like the clone, Leo makes me worried about him."
"I know. I remember you and Po were telling us that you were inside Leo's mind when Master Ding possessed him. He told you that he was thinking about a memory."
"I just wished he could tell us these things and why he won't become a kung fu master like the rest of us." Tigress frowned. "It doesn't make sense to not be called "Master"."
Leo didn't say anything and left the hall in silence. Now he wished he didn't hear that conversation. Leo made it to the restaurant and approached the counter. "Hello, Mr. Ping."
"Hello, Leo."
"Did you hear the rumors about your son reading minds, Mr. Ping?" Leo asked him.
"Yes, I have. It's a complete disaster. I hope he doesn't know where I keep the money hidden."
"I don't think it's possible to keep that thought hidden from being read. Is it alright if I order a bowl of noodle soup?"
"Sure." Mr. Ping replied.
Leo found an empty table and waited for his lunch to be cooked. Mr. Ping brought his bowl to his table and Leo began eating his lunch. After eating his lunch, Leo paid for his meal and left the restaurant. Leo began to patrol the areas and watched from the rooftops. He has a much better chance to get to someone when they're being robbed.
Leo was about to jump down from the roof until he heard Po yelling. He quickly ran and to jumped onto different roofs. The young man looks down to see Po running while the citizens were staring at him angrily.
"That mind reading panda's a menace!"
Shifu was meditating in his room until Po came in the room, panting. "I have a small problem, Master Shifu."
"Really?" Shifu asked as he stands up and turns around to the panda. "What seems to be the problem?"
""The problem is that Po's out of control, master!" Tigress exclaims angrily as she, Leo and the rest of the Five entered their master's room.
"Everyone is freaking out in the village!"
"We can't keep living like this!"
"Are you happy that you know I love scented fabric?" Crane asked annoyed.
"I'm sorry, everyone." Po apologized. "And for the record, Shifu, I'm not bothered by your tea breath like Tigress."
"As of now, I'm no longer thinking of any thoughts." Tigress said.
Leo, Shifu and Po watched them staring at Po. The human notices that Po was shaking his head and started pleading his friends to stop.
"Enough!" Shifu warns them. "If you don't stop, you'll drive Po mad."
"Po just left." Leo pointed out.
Shifu notices Po wasn't in the room and he could hear Po yelling.
"Looks like Po is running towards the village." Leo folded his arms.
"This is how Tong Lo became utterly mad. With so many people thinking, it became too much for him." Shifu says to his students. "Which lead to his downfall and death."
"Then there's one thing to do. We help Po to get rid of this ability." Tigress said.
"We should find him now. He must've gone back to Tong Fo." Leo said.
"Let's go save Po." Mantis cheered.
The Furious Five and Leo left the valley and made it back to the mountain. Leo took a peek and saw Po strapped to a table. He was wearing a helmet with a lightning rod and a sapphire shard. Tong Fo was standing on top of him.
"Enough chitchat. Let's do this." Tong Fo said.
Leo quickly jumps in the air and delivers a palm strike that sent Tong Fo flying off of him.
"You doing okay?" Leo asks him.
"Yeah, but..." Po looks at the Furious Five. "I thought you guys didn't want anything to do with me."
"We think that pretty often." Monkey said.
"But still, no one puts you strapped on a table with a weird helmet but us!" Crane smiled.
"How touching. Unfortunately, the panda has a prior engagement." Tong Fo stood up. "With his doom!" He tackles Leo off the panda and hits the floor. Tigress came in from above with her axe kick.
Monkey and Crane quickly rushed to the elevator.
"Hurry, Monkey!"
"I'm trying!" Monkey struggled. "It's tight."
Leo picks himself up from the ground and helped removed the column off of his feline girlfriend. He helps her stands up and rushes back into the fight. Tigress jumps up back to the elevator with a spinning kick that Tong Fo doge and kicks her in the jaw.
Leo watched the fight from below with Mantis. He saw Tigress and Viper was kicked off the elevator and quickly caught them. Lightning can be heard from above them.
"Ha ha!" Tong Fo laughed as he started moving the elevator. "Gotta run!"
Leo acted quickly by wall kicking off the pillars and used two sharp stones to stab through the floor of the elevator as they went up.
Leo hung on as they reach to the top of the tower. He flip's backwards on the beam and listens in silence.
"Don't do this, Tong Fo. You don't want to be invisible." Po reasons to him.
"Invincible!" Tong Fo corrected him.
"Whatever!" Po complained.
Tong Fo pulls the lever, and the table was lifted high above him. He walks up to his basket and pulls out another helmet and a metal wire. Tong Fo hops over onto the panda's chest. "These pleasant thoughts will be your last, Dragon Warrior." Tong Fo said.
Po could do nothing but watch him place a wire on his helmet and Tong Fo hops onto a smaller platform and place the helmet on his head.
"Unscented fabrics!" Crane dove in from the air and slams him off the platform.
"Ha!" Leo dove and punch Tong's Fo head into the bamboo. He looks up and saw Crane getting struck by lightning and crashed into the ground.
Tong Fo did a spinning kick to Leo's head, sending the human several levels below. He managed to grab the bamboo to stop falling. Everyone heard the lightning was much closer. The rest of the Five continues to rush while Leo made it to the top platform.
Leo rushed to Po as soon as Tong Fo put the helmet on the Five made it to the top. A lightning bolt was struck into the sapphire. Po yelled as the blue light moved through the tube and went into Tong Fo.
"I can feel the power!" Tong Fo thought.
"I can't let you win!" Po thought.
"It's working! I'm sucking the Nao Yuedo out of your fat skull!"
"My skull is just made of big bones!"
"Keep thinking, chum, while you still can!"
Po started screaming as the sapphire started glowing again. He stops screaming and didn't move as Tong Fo started glowing and laughing. Leo and the Five did nothing but watch. Leo started to climb to Po and check on him.
"Po." Leo whispered, staring the panda.
"Po. Po, open your eyes. You can't give up." Tigress thought.
"Come on buddy. You need to open your eyes." Monkey thought.
"Remember what Shifu said, buddy." Mantis thought.
"You just have to concentrate. You can do this." Tigress thought.
As Po slowly opened his eyes and heard the Furious Five's thoughts, he heard a new voice.
"Now Po, you must concentrate. Keep your focus strong. Discipline your mind."
"Focus. Discipline. Concentration." Po began to concentrate.
"Too late, panda." Tong Fo thought.
"Yeah, for you." Po smiled.
The others watched the energy being transferred back to Po's head, causing the sapphire to glow.
"No, no, no!" Tong Fo shouted.
"Sha ka booey!"
Leo lets go of the table and fell as Po caused an explosion. He kept falling until he grabs a bamboo pole and landed as smoke covers the whole area and bamboo tower collapsed. Leo lowers his arms and notices the tower was gone. The Furious Five groans as they got up one by one. He walks over to Tigress and offers his hand to pull her back up on her feet. They both heard Po groaning and he was covered in black soot.
"I can't hear your thoughts anymore, guys!" Po smiled. "My head is completely empty."
"You got that right." Tigress said, causing him to look Leo and Tigress. "Don't worry, I said that out loud, panda."
"Oh thank you." Po hugs her.
Leo walks by and approached Crane tying up Tong Fo.
"Go ahead and tie me up. I still know what you're all thinking. You want to take me to Chorh-Gor Prision. And you want to stop for a snack."
"Thanks for the obvious statement." Leo snarls at him before he gave Tong Fo a hard punch to his stomach. "I bet you weren't thinking I was going to do that." He watched the loris coughed as Tong Fo was on his knees.
"Maybe we could take Tong Fo to prison before the snack." Po said after he saw Leo punched Tong Fo.
Tigress said nothing and nodded, staring at her boyfriend. They started climbing down the mountain to head back to the Valley Of Peace and hands over Tong Fo to Constable Hu. Leo walks behind them as they were climbing the Thousand Steps. His friends stop, causing the human to stop and looks at them.
"What is it?" Leo asks them.
"We wondering how did you blocked Po from reading your mind today." Mantis hops onto the human's shoulder.
"Crow had taught me how to close my mind off. I needed to create a mental block to surround my mind so an enemy or an opponent won't read my mind." Leo replied. "It's how I was able to block Po from reading my mind and beat him in that shirt sparring match. Not to mention I allowed you to read my mind once when you strapped on that table, Po."
"You are full of surprises." Viper complimented him in a friendly way.
Leo nodded at her compliment and resumes to walk by them back to the Jade Palace as Mantis jumps off his shoulder. The Dragon Warrior and The Furious Five looked at each other.
""And there he goes, off to the library again as usual." Monkey said.
"I did saw him in the library today before heading to the kitchen. I still couldn't read his mind." Po said.
Tigress looks back at her boyfriend continuously walking on ahead without them. She couldn't help but wonder why doe Leo spend so much time in the library. Does it have something to with his nightmare and this incident? Perhaps one day Leo will explain about it.
Author's Note:It feels good again to write a 4k chapter. Leo is full of surprises, isn't he? Don't forget to Follow, Favorite and leave a review for this chapter, everyone! I encourage you all to do it and have a great day! Before I forget, I notice that view counts are back again. Yay!