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KFP - Origins - Chap. 3

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Rated "PG" for violence and some frightening situations.

Kung Fu Panda: Origins
Chapter 3: Midnight Melee

The storm had arrived – poised to strike and devour.

Crick.

Blue orbs opened and white ears flicked upright. Shifu shot up in bed, all of his senses immediately on vigil. His fingers dug into the mat beneath him and his ears pulled his eyes in the direction of the door. Whatever it was, it was in the dormitory. Why would it be in the dormitory? …Unless it had something it wanted with him, or his students, or both.

Maintaining the lightest steps he could, the old master rose from his mat and stepped quietly towards the doorway. He could see the perpetrator’s shadow now, looming through the hall. Approaching the door, Shifu grazed his fingers against the frame, poised to throw it open and light into the miscreant. He took a deep breath. Show your force but do not flaunt it.

He acted rapidly. Throwing the door open just enough to slip out, Shifu cart wheeled and landed in a crouch stance, eyes narrowed fiercely at the threat before him.
The threat with green eyes, black and white fur, two cookies sticking halfway out of its mouth, a cat-ate-the-canary expression across its crumb-covered face…and had most likely just gourmandized all of the sesame sticks.

Shifu relaxed from his stance. “Po! You are to remain in your chambers from curfew to sunrise, no exceptions! How many times must I say it??”

He knew why Po was up stuffing his face, and that he had every right to be upset. He’d let him off easy…this time. The young Dragon Warrior, however, was already on the defensive.

“Gimme a break, I didn’t get dinner!”

“Mark me, Panda, if I ever wake up to your antics again, I will--!”

Crick.

Shifu froze, his ears springing upright and forward to listen again. He gave Po a once over. “…That wasn’t you?”

“…Does this mean I’m not in trouble?”

The small master leapt up on his shoulder and slapped his paws over the crumb-covered lips. They both listened to the deafening silence that followed…before a heavy shifting noise suddenly sounded above them.

“Somebody’s on the roof…” Shifu’s ears picked up the mass then quickly shifting its weight to make room for another mass, then a third. The sounds then became quicker and grew distant, traveling down the hall. “They’re headed for the Hall of Warriors,” the red panda announced, and was dashing away quickly than Po could register it. Stuffing his last cookie in his mouth, he ran after his master.

He was suddenly yanked to a halt at the doorway and pushed against the wall by the smaller mammal, who gritted his teeth and sent him a urging “Shush!” They leaned forward just enough to look out into the hall and just in time to see the attic hatch slowly open.

Then, before Po could blink, a dark figure dropped from the hatch and landed on all fours with the silence of a falling feather. A long, cattish tail swished back and forth, and the glow of the Moon Pool reflected off the glowing, ice-blue eyes. When he stood upright again, Po and Shifu could make out the orange fur and stripes of a tiger but the build of a snow leopard. A thin, grizzly brown mane ran down the muscled back, halfway covered by a quiver of arrows and a solid black archer’s bow. A growl rolled in the big cat’s throat as he turned and took a scourging look around the hall, blue orbs piercing the darkness.

He then lifted a brawny arm and signaled to someone above him. Another form dropped from the hatch, this one a lanky black wolf. The third figure nearly made Po’s heart stop, as it swung in onto one of the pillars and silently scaled down to the floor – a stone-faced gorilla.

The wolf muttered something unintelligible, and Po and Shifu had to listen closely to hear what they were talking about.

“Look, moron, you’re making this harder than it is,” the gorilla growled to the wolf.

“Keep your voices down!” the big cat snapped a whisper at his companions. “If we get caught, the commander will be wearin’ our skins come next winter!”

“You’re not in any position to order us around, Hei,” the gorilla fired back. “It’s only by a prayer that the boss hasn’t killed you yet.”

Hei growled and seized the gorilla by the throat. “And it’s only by a stroke of luck that I haven’t killed you yet, Abhik. And I’m this close, so let’s clear the way for Commander Izo and grab the ancient slab of steel and get,” he snarled, still maintaining a whisper regardless. He shoved Abhik away, and the three animals continued down the hall.

Po and Shifu quickly ducked behind the corner, getting out of sight. “Ju-long…” the red panda muttered spitefully.

Po looked at his master, the reality of the situation sinking in. “What do we do?”

“Wake everyone up,” Shifu whispered, “And meet me up in the loft immediately.”

Student and master quietly parted ways. Keeping to the shadows, Shifu made quick and silent work of scaling the pillars to reach the loft hatch above. It didn’t take long at all to rendezvous with his students. Seven figures poked their heads silently over the edge of the attic hatch, peering in. They all remained stone silent, silently observing the uninvited visitors.

“Nnn, what, what is it…?” Kurisu stumbled over, half-asleep. She inadvertently slouched forward, slumping herself sleepily over Shifu’s shoulder. “Mmm, comfy…”

The old master poked her nose with his finger, pushing her off his shoulder. “Kurisu, look alive!” he whispered. “You’ll need your yari.”

The kitten shook her head. “Whaaaat, what?” she brushed his hand away and blinked. The moment she looked down into the hall, she was wide awake. “Uhh…company?”

Po stared back down at the large, orange-furred cat, who had an arrow set in his bow and looked set to shoot at a moment’s notice while the others struggled to open the main doors as silently as possible. “Uh, Master Shifu…?” the panda piped up, keeping to a whisper. “Is that someone I’m supposed to know?”

“Hei.”

“What?”

“Hei.”

“Hey what?”

“Long.”

“What is?”

He is!”

“He’s what?

“Hei.”

What?

Hei!

Hello, you’ve got my attention already!”

Shifu slapped a paw over her mouth. “His name is Hei Long.”

Po sniggered. “Who goes through life with a name like ‘Hei’?”

“It means ‘black dragon’, Panda,” his master frowned. “And he is nothing to sneeze at.”

“Oh yeah, sneeze, that’s regular Hei Fever,” the panda cackled at his own joke.

Shifu glared. “He’s Izotakeshi’s right-hand man.”

Po’s laugh trailed off. When am I going to learn to keep my big mouth shut? He looked back down at the accursedly named cat. “Okay, not to sound stupid, but…what is he?”

“A tigard.”

First the name, now the species?? “What is this guy, an alien??”

Shush!” Shifu snapped. “His father was a Manchurian tiger ranger and his mother was a snow leopard. Nothing much is known about his history except that he’s been training and residing within the Alliance since he was eight years old.”

“Talk about long term…” Crane put in.

“The average time for a warrior to reach such a rank as leadership is about 40 years.”

Po put up a paw. “Wait, wait, so Mr. Hey-You is the leader? I thought you said Izzy whats-his-name was the leader of Ju—”

The panda’s question was abruptly answered when a heavier sound came from below. The three Ju-long warriors were already kneeling on the floor with their heads bowed in reverence to the figure that was coming in now – the respected leader.

Po did a double take. It was a panda. Larger than even the Dragon Warrior himself, the leader was built of bulk from head to foot. His eyes were hidden underneath a sturdy straw coolie hat. He wore a golden-colored robe with black trim, a black sash, and black pants. Latched around his neck and flowing behind him was a burgundy cape with a great yellow phoenix ramping across it. And last but certainly not least was the customary Ju-long chiang medallion hung around his neck, the flint scratched and worn from decay of time.

He had claws. Mean ones. An observer’s eyes instantly went from there to where the leader had three long scars running down the length of his left forearm.

Po looked a bit staggered. He had never seen another of his own species before. “…Master Shifu…?” he spoke up quietly, his voice failing him slightly. “…i-is that…?”

“Izotakeshi.” Shifu confirmed, not breaking his glare on the marauding panda.

Po’s stomach gave a sickening flip. He hadn’t even known about this guy for a full four hours and already he was staring straight at his parents’ murderer.

A deathly silence fell over the eight warriors and the Ju-long followers. Izotakeshi stood tall with his arms folded masterfully behind his back as he walked forward into the hall. He was followed by at least eight other of his cronies, who all fell into line beside their comrades and stood to attention before their commander.

The brawny panda finally turned towards his disciples.

“My dear ladies, the Sword of Heroes is the lord of all blades across the empire, said to have slain three mountain giants the first day of its existence. It is, without question, the gem of the Jade Palace, a priceless artifact now come to rest in this hall to retell its glory to the sons and daughters of China.” A pause…then a smirk. “Too bad it won’t stay that way.”

Kurisu gasped. “Oh-no they didn’t.”

Shifu clamped a paw over her mouth and made a signaling motion towards Monkey and Viper – them along with himself being the best climbers of the group. The three of them snuck silently down from the hatch, each positioning themselves high up on the nearest pillars. The red panda master ducked behind his own pillar, observing the small army below them. He lifted a hand, signaling his students to hold back, and watched Izo walk over to Oogway’s staff – which had been placed back on its pedestal for the night.

The panda nonchalantly picked the staff up with a single paw. “See, what did I tell ya…” He smirked, turning to his men. “He’s gone.”

Now!!

“Death from aboooooooove!!” Po hollered, as all seven warriors rained down from the ceiling in a flurry of color. Most of the marauders snapped their heads up only to be greeted by a swift foot to the face. Izo snarled and swiftly swung a paw up to grab Shifu’s foot, which the master dodged with a swift twist of his body and instead drove his heel into the panda’s face. Tigress lunged at Hei with a fierce roar, Kurisu lit into Abhik with yari in hand, and the Hall of Warriors quickly became a battlefield.

Shifu’s foot made contact with Izo’s blocking arm and the two leaders leapt back into stance in a face-off. The panda freebooter took one look at the finely robed master and smirked. “Well, well… Look who stepped up.”

“Hello, Izotakeshi.” Shifu growled. “You have exactly three seconds to get your sorry monochromatic hide out of my palace before I take ejecting liberties.”

Izo seemed more amused than anything at the threat. “Well…comforting to know you haven’t changed… Just came to make a few amends… Leave my mark, so to speak.” He casually set Oogway’s staff back on its stand.

The fur on the back of Shifu’s neck stood on end and he gave a growl. “Mitsuo Izotakeshi, you lay a malign claw on any one of my students again and you have my word I will outright—!”

Chill,” Izo put up a paw, staring the master in the eye. “I have more important things to worry about.”

Shifu didn’t give him a chance to expand on that, dashing at him to throw a fist in his snout.

The discord of the battle carried on for minutes that felt like hours. In the middle of it all, Shifu managed to catch sight of his young panda student. Po had just dropped to all fours, allowing Tigress to run at him from behind and use him as a ramp. She launched off of him, lighting right into a Ju-long eagle.

“Po!” Shifu called out, to which the young bear quickly stood to attention. “Guard the sword!!”

The Dragon Warrior spun around and darted over to the sword to snatch it as fast as he could. But as soon as he reached for it, he was stopped when a furry black paw – very similar to his own save for three ugly scars – lashed out and grabbed his outstretched arm. He glanced over to come face-to-face with Izotakeshi, the ever-snarling presence.

To say Po was scared would be an outright lie… The young panda was terrified, practically shaking in his cloth shoes as he found himself staring straight into the murderer’s dark and cold eyes. He swallowed hard, his jade green orbs practically doubled in size.

Izo growled, his grip still ironclad. “I know you…” he narrowed his eyes, advancing towards the younger panda. “You’re the one everyone’s been squealing about… The ‘Dragon Warrior’, I presume?” he snarled.

“U-Um…” Po started to edge back against the wall a bit, trying to pull his paw from the fiend’s grasp. “…I-I…don’t know of any Dragon Warrior, your Creepiness…ness…”

Izo snarled, tossing the panda’s arm back to him rather forcefully. “You lyin’ to me, cub?”

“N-No, sir!” Po practically squeaked, edging back further against the wall.

Izo wasn’t buying it, not for a second – that much was apparent. Po gulped again before speaking up in a shaky voice. “Y-You know, I am the Dragon Warrior now that I think of it, a-and you know, I-I kinda forgot about it there for a second, ‘cause I just came back from a vacation to Sri Lanka, and—”

Po’s nervous rant was interrupted when he saw Izo whip something out of his belt and fling it at him in the mere span of a second. The Dragon Warrior yelped as the projectile landed in the wall a mere centimeter from his face. He opened eyes when he felt no sting of a blade and stared into his own green eyes reflected off of the ninja star. He looked back at Izo, who now stood and glared fiercely at him. “…N-N-Nice shot…” Po stuttered, lips twitching in a terrified grin.

A growl merely rolled in Izo’s throat. Po returned his glance to the weapon before him. It seemed a lot like the ones he’d had at home…except that this was about ten times a finer material, crafted of wrought, gleaming black steel. Bringing a shaky paw up, Po carefully gripped an arm of the star and tried to pull it out of the wall, in which Izo had almost driven just as hard and deep into his hide. When it finally came loose, the young Dragon Warrior could only hold onto it and stare at the many scratches and imperfections in the blades. Just how many innocents hadn’t been so lucky at the edges of the same star… Perhaps even his own parents, his own flesh and blood?

He could still feel the marauder’s flashing eyes on him and bit his lip a little, looking back at him. Quietly, sheepishly, he stepped forward and held the ninja star back out to Izo with his fingers trembling a bit.

He was merely met with a snarl and a hard backhand to the head and his chin hit the jade floor. With a gasp, he quickly leapt up into stance against the Ju-long leader just as Izo seized the Sword of Heroes and swung it at the younger panda’s head. It nearly made Po fall back on his tail – which, he realized – would’ve been the kiss of death at this moment.

The Dragon Warrior’s size and considerable girth had always been his greatest advantage in combat…but it meant next to nothing now that he was facing an opponent bigger even than him. Izo simply moved too fast for him, never allowing him a chance to strike back or even get a block in. The panda leader swiftly knocked him forward, then immediately landed a heavy strike straight down on Po’s back, slamming him into the ground. The younger panda gave a pained yelp.

Fallback!!” Izo snarled back at his men, Sword of Heroes gripped in his paw. Not daring to ignore their commander’s orders, each Ju-long warrior in the hall retreated from mid-combat and bolted for the main doors.

This distracted Shifu for one second, but it was enough for Hei to furiously swipe his paw at the red panda and send him tumbling across the hard floor. Bouncing back quickly, the old master lifted his head just in time to catch a glance of the relic sword in Izo’s paw before the doors started to close.

No!!” He leapt to his feet and barreled over to stop them…reaching them just as his fists clashed against the mahogany barricades that were the doors. “Augh!!” he gritted his teeth and pulled one door open enough to slip out and dash out onto the top of the stairs… Yet he was met only by the silent, star-laden night. There was not a sign or a trace or a sound of Ju-long anywhere.

Shifu clenched his fists, ears going back in shame. But, with the sword now gone, he didn’t have time to stand around and berate himself.

He entered through the front doors again and looked across the jade floors of the palace that had become the battlefield where all seven of his students were catching their breaths and pushing themselves back to their feet. Most of them were nursing some wound or another. Shifu could only stand there at first, the full extent of what had just happened settling in. He and his students had just taken on the brunt of a full-force break-in.

The outcome of battle? Ju-long: 8, Jade Palace: 0.

Stepping forward, the old master got to work on treating his students. He first healed Crane of a desensitizing nerve strike that Jin, the gangly black wolf, had dealt to immobilize the lanky bird.

Po himself was still recovering from Izo’s finalizing blow to his back as he started to get up. “Ahhoww!” he yelped and put his head back down. “Oh, bad idea, bad idea, very bad idea…”

Shifu, having seen for himself the blow his student had taken from the Ju-long leader, went to the young panda’s aid once he helped Kurisu to try and walk out a limp by consequence of Abhik’s fist. He jumped up on Po’s back and felt along his spine under the thick fur until he found where Izo’s strike had nearly knocked a vertebra out of place. He proceeded to use his unique method of chiropractics to straighten the poor panda’s spine with a sharp crackling noise. “Gaahh!” Po gasped, followed by a whimper. “Man, that hurt!”

“I told you they were nothing to sneeze at…” Shifu commented as he continued on to aid Tigress, who painfully held a dislocated shoulder. The shamed silence of his students was deafening and admittedly heartbreaking to the old master. ”Consider yourselves lucky, my students… You’re all lucky to be alive after a scrap with Ju-long.”

“Oww…” Kurisu moaned. “Paaaain…”

Tigress looked up at Shifu as he walked over and took a hold of her striped arm. “We can’t just allow them to run off with Sword of Heroes—” she gave a sharp gasp of pain when her master managed to relocate her shoulder.

“That we cannot…” Shifu agreed, gently aiding her arm back to a natural position.

“D-Didn’t you see what he did??” Po limped onto his feet. Tha-That maniac almost killed me! I kn-know we have to get the sword n’ all, but…” He put a paw to his sore back. “Owww!”

“The Sword of Heroes is a part of the valley’s history.” Shifu continued to go from student to student, aiding to their injuries. “And we cannot allow it to fall into Izotakeshi’s power more than it already has.”

“But they just went ‘poof’ into the night!” Kurisu reasoned. “We don’t know a thing about where there are!”

Shifu stood before the painting of a certain green-robed red panda on the wall. “…I do,” he announced, before turning promptly to his students. “Everyone get what sleep you can, we meet directly in the kitchen at the sound of the morning gong. No running late.” He made a particular glance at Po and Kurisu at that last part. “Am I clear?”

“Master,” his students promptly saluted him and bowed their heads before returning to their rooms.

Shifu again peered up at the painting. I’ll get it back… You have my word.

TBC...
The plot for Kung Fu Panda 2 has just been released!! SQUEE!!!!

Nothin’ really much to say here except for “hang on!!” PLEEEEASE read and review and thank you so much to those who have!!

And for those of you who wonder it - a tigard IS a real animal! :D

Enjoy!

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Next chapter: [link]

Kurisu (c) :iconcryssy-miu:

Hei Long, Abhik, Jin, and Izotakeshi all belong to me! :D All other characters belong to Dreamworks Animation.
© 2009 - 2024 FaithFirefly
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PrinzeBurnzo's avatar
Po.....poor Po :(. I do NOT like that Izo..no no no!!! Come on Furious Five, Shifu and Po, you can do it!!!! <3