Tai Lung's Return
AN: Yes, some of this is inspired by Traces of Spring. I highly recommend it! You can find it on Archive of Our Own. The artist is amazing! Author/Artist: nehezt
Let me know if you want me to leave a link to their story.
And yes, I combined the prologue and the first chapter to make my life easier.
Prologue: Po's Dream
The blizzard was so heavy, Po could barely see through the falling snow. He didn't remember why he was there, but he continued to fight his way through the wind. The piercing breeze tore through him, blowing his golden cape in the wind. When he looked up, his hat blew away, but he was too focused on the figure in front of him to care. Po squinted and blinked, trying to get a clearer picture of the figure, but the snow was too thick to see.
The figure suddenly raised their paw…or claw? Po couldn't tell, but he had more important things to worry about. Lightning was pulled from the sky, and into the stranger's hand. The figure lunged at Po, ready to strike, with lightning shooting right towards him.
But then, another figure appeared, as though they had jumped from the sky, landing right in front of Po and blocking the lightning. Po tried to see who had just saved him, but the flashes of light made it even harder to make out the two figures. Once the light had died down, so did Po's memory.
Chapter 1: Feng Komodo
Po nearly jumped out of his bedroll, gasping after the strange dream that he had. This was the third night in a row he had the same vivid dream; one attacker charging at him, and another figure coming to his aid. It wasn't very often he had reoccurring dreams…in fact, it was extremely rare.
Po sat up and gazed out the window. It was earlier than when he normally woke up, but he decided to get the day started anyways. He walked out of his room and into the kitchen, grabbing a snack. Once he had finished a cookie, he made his way back to the sleeping quarters, where Zhen was already waiting for him.
"Good morning, master." She greeted formally before relaxing. "I'm ready for another day of training!"
"Oh, yeah, that's great!" Po said, snapping out of his worries. "Today's gonna be awesome!"
The two made their way to the training hall, where the Furious Five were waiting. Po had become more comfortable with teaching, and Zhen was improving rapidly.
"Yeah! Good! Keep going!" Po encouraged as Zhen continued balancing on the snakes. She had finally made it across, and then on the jade turtle. Once she had gotten past Crane, she approached the alligator dummies and hesitated.
"Go! You can do it! Show those dummies who's boss!" Po cheered.
Zhen rushed forward, hitting the dummies, but tripped as one of the legs hit her behind the knees. She fell forward and got hit in the face, and continued to get hit by the dummies until she was able to push her way out.
"Ugh!" She growled in frustration as Viper scooped her up before she could get hit by fire.
"You need to focus!" The snake scolded her after setting her on the sides.
"I know…I just…" Zhen trailed off.
"Hey, don't worry about it, you just gotta keep trying." Po encouraged. "You did a lot better than last time."
"I don't know if I'm cut out for this…" Zhen sighed. "Are you still sure I've got what it takes to be the Dragon Warrior?"
"Of course." Po reassured her. "Hey, how about we take a break for lunch. I'll take you to my dad's restaurant. My treat."
Zhen gave him half a smile and nodded. Po knew she wasn't convinced. He couldn't help but wonder how he could encourage her more. He supposed he had to start with buying her lunch. The Furious Five were quick to join them, and they made their way to the village.
The village was filled with ducks, pigs, geese, sheep, and rabbits- and now, pandas. Businesses were doing well, and the villagers were happy. Mr. Ping's restaurant was busy as always, but he was excited to see his son come to visit. By now, he knew what the Furious Five liked on the menu, though Monkey usually liked to try something new every time he visited. Free almond tofu was always on the house for the group. Po offered to pay for everyone's meal, since he got a large discount from his dad.
Po ate his noodles, gazing around the restaurant. The Valley of Peace had indeed, been peaceful. The villagers were happy, he was happy, and yet…
The strange dreams of late would creep back into his mind. Maybe trouble was coming. But once Po's eyes landed on Tigress, all thoughts of worry vanished. As always, Lei Lei had run up to greet Tigress, holding the new and improved doll Po had crafted just for her.
"Stripey Baby!" Lei Lei cheered. Po realized she had gotten a hold of the old Tai Lung doll. After Tigress had greeted her warmly, Lei Lei went back to playtime. Po couldn't help but overhear her little story.
"Kitty, this is your new, baby sister." Lei Lei said to the Tai Lung doll. "Say hello."
Po looked back at Tigress and noticed she had been listening too. She didn't seem angry, but…sad?
Before Po could ask what was wrong, he heard a sound he had not heard in many months.
A gong…the alarm… The village was under attack. The villagers began to evacuate into their homes-to be out of the way so the masters could fight.
It was a group of badgers. Po guessed they were bandits, but among them was one Komodo dragon- he must have been their leader. The Five distracted the bandits, while Po and Zhen made their way to fight the Komodo dragon.
"Who are you?" Po demanded.
"I am Feng Komodo." The intruder replied. "And I've come to take over."
"Sorry buddy, spiritual leader position is already filled. Now, Zhen!" Po shouted. The fox had climbed onto a roof and landed a hard kick onto Feng's head. He hissed in pain and tried to grab at Zhen, who instantly jumped away.
Something happened that surprised everyone. Feng raised his claws and shot lightning out of them, right at Po.
"Po!" Someone shouted. Po saw a flash of orange before he realized he was being shoved to the ground by Tigress. She stayed above him, covering his heart with her body. Po saw remnants of lighting flying above them. When the light died down, both kung fu masters jumped back to their feet. Master Shifu appeared, landing in front of them. Feng shot another bolt of lightning at them, but Master Shifu raised his paws, and a slab of earth was raised to block the light. Once he lowered it, Po could see a look of frustration on Feng's face. The Komodo dragon looked around, realizing he and his bandits weren't enough to win this battle.
"Retreat!" He shouted, and the badgers obeyed, rushing out the gate of the village. "I'll be back." He growled, before taking off himself.
AN: So I didn't hate Kung Fu Panda 4. I like the idea of Po passing the torch to someone younger than Tai Lung. My own headcannon is that Zhen is either 18 or in her early twenties. But even so, I know what I and the other fans really want! A real Tai Lung redemption arc! I hope you enjoyed!