Kung Fu Panda 2. Po x Wolf Reader

Po's Inner Peace

     The sky remained dark, a gentle rain falling from the grey clouds. Far from the city, floating down the river was a limp body, his arms splayed out as the current moved him down what seemed like an endless stream. Miles out, the river took him to a house and dock, where the Soothsayer stood there waiting for him.
     As his body hit the dock, she reached down with her cane and poked on his stomach, sighing as she knew he was close to his end. She was glad to be who she was, having seen this would have happened when he wasn't ready. Bringing over a machine, she wrapped it around his arms and used it to pull him out of the river onto the hard ground.
     With her old strength, she dragged him back to an old worn down shack where she bandaged him and nurtured him back to health. After a bit of waiting, she frowned and went to the fire to watch the dancing flames and wait for the medicine, guilt written on her features as she waited for the warrior to awaken.
     Luckily, not too long later, the panda groggily woke up. Po looked around the room, first looking outside before turning and spotting the Soothsayer. Gulping softly, he moved his lower half trying to sneak away before freezing as the old goat had reacted to the sudden movement. With not much thinking he 'acted' as if he was out, sticking his tongue out and waiting for a few seconds.
     Peaking his eyes open, he turned and yelled in shock at how close she was to him, only to groan and hold his head leaning away. Her stern eyes held steady on him as she held out a bowl to him. He raised a brow, catching a whiff of what smelled like a not so pleasant tea, "Yeah.. Like you're gonna make me drink tha-"
     Grabbing an extra needle, she stuck it between his brows making him momentarily lose control of his facial features. With this moment, she poured the medical tea into his mouth before taking the needle back out. Once he regained his motor skills, Po could only swallow and gag at the taste, coughing softly as it burned going down.
     Soothsayer walked back to her seat, this time to where Po could be in her sight, "If I wanted you dead.. I would have left you in that river.."
     Leaning himself forward, Po reached up and pulled a needle from his head confused, "Then why save me?" His voice was strained and he was still confused on how he survived such a weapon.
     The goat slowly turned to him, wisdom in her words as she brought her attention away from the fire, "So you can fulfill your destiny."
     Pulling out another needle, Po asked again, "What are you talking about?" Sitting himself up, he looked outside the shack at what seemed to be an abandoned village, "Where am I?" From what he could see, the wood from the homes looked charred and black as if they had been burned long ago. "What is this place?"
     She frowned softly, wavering her eyes from him to the ground, "I'm surprised you remember so little, but you were so little when it happened."
     Po frowned, feeling anxious as she spoke. Suddenly a sting came to him, his head throbbing as screams and fire sounded in his mind. He called out strained,  ripping the cold bag from his head before crawling away to the rivers edge pained.
     The Soothsayer watched him closely, now realizing what was happening through his signs of distress, "Perhaps you do remember.."
     Gripping the dirt's edge, Po avoided his reflection, barely catching on to her words, "Yeah well, it's just a stupid nightmare.."
     She gripped her hooves gently, "A nightmare? Or memory?"
     That caught Po's attention, he glanced away from the water for a second before looking back in at his reflection. At the following drop of rain, instead of seeing himself, he saw a baby cooing and giggling back at him. His eyes widened as he looked away from the water, a blinding white light changing his view.
     The sky was bright and the leaves and land were green. Young panda's ran past him holding strings and flying kites behind them. Ahead of him was others farming and a mother, his mother, smiling and waving at him from near-far. A male walked up behind her with a rake and basket of corn, his dad, stood smiling proud at him.
     His mother motioned for him to look up, which in the sky was filled with colorful kites. He was a baby, making his way down the stairs by himself, in his paws a toy. He giggled and panted as he got on all fours, crawling towards his parents.
     "This was a thriving village. Young Shen was in line to rule Gongmen City. But he wanted more.." Her words brought him back as she fiddled with a stick, with it's ends casting smoke, "I foretold that someone would stand in his way. A panda." Po blinked a few times in shock looking back at her. "But I couldn't foretold what came next." Suddenly a painful memory came to his view.
     A baby's cry echoed and around him flames and wood came falling down. Panda's ran from the homes trying to seek shelter. In the midst of the flames a white peacock stood tall, he raised his sword and let out a call. Wolves came running, some with torches and others Pershing other pandas.
     He sat in front of his home, hugging his doll looking around whimpering and cooing from fear. Flames danced around him, he couldn't see his family but he could hear the yells from the others. In the distance, the peacock, Shen, flared his tail and pointed to the baby, "Get them all!"
     The wolves by his side turned and ran to him growling, their fangs and eyes glowing white. Lunging up, they extended their claws towards him. It didn't take a breath later that his father appeared in front of him holding a hammer. With a hard swing, he sent the two wolves flying back.
     Shen jumped back from one of the fallen wolves, his glare aiming right at Po's father.
     The male gripped his weapon, waving to his wife, who now held Po in her arms, "Take our son, and run away!"
     She nodded and ran into the woods with the others. "Go!" Po reached back over her shoulder, crying as his toy dropped from his claws and into the flames to be buried.
     Reaching under the same wooden planks, Po pulled out the toy he once held as a baby.  His eyes wide as he felt it's side in his claws. Another memory hit him, a quick flash of his mom and his crying rang through him before disappearing to darkness. He brought his paw to his head, straining to keep it together as it came at once.
     The Soothsayer watched from her own flames, smiling slowly as he was getting closer to remembering his full past, "Stop fighting. Let it flow."
     Go be honest, Po was scared of what he was going to see. He looked up at the sky in thought, "I have to know who I am.." Looking down, he placed his doll down next to a growing plant. Looking back at the sky, he watched the rain before furrowing his brows and remembering the technique Shifu had shown him before he left.
     Taking a deep breath, he listened as the rain fell next to him. Though as the droplet hit, he swayed her foot back to meet it. In his head, he followed Shifu's movements, frowning softly before bringing his paws together. In a swift movement, he brought his paw up, catching a raindrop, but instead of it dispersing, it stayed together.
     The wind seemed to be blowing harder as she ran, holding Po protectively to her. The flames of the home she once lived in grew brighter behind her. She pushed through the snow, panting from all the running. Po in her arms squinted his eyes to look ahead, though in all the tree's all he could see was the emblem that he had seen on Shen's feathers.
     To his right, a wolf with a closed eye came running towards them. The wolf panted and growled as it got nearer to the duo before snapping its jaws at them.
     Po furrowed his brows, keeping calm as he maneuvered the water from paw to paw, letting it glide along his fur.
     The mother turned and stopped as it got nearer. When he lunged, she ducked and bolted under, getting some space between her and the other wolves. She was separated, she couldn't see the others or see if they were alright. She could only hear the pants and growls as two more wolves came running behind her.
     Po moved the droplet between his arms, slowly lowering them to the ground.
     Getting enough space, the wolves lost her in the snow trying to pick up her scent through the harsh wind. She ran down a small hill, looking up as torches passed them from above. Spotting a basket full of radishes, she frowned sadly and placed baby Po inside. He cooed softly, looking up at his mother frowning.
     Po opened his eyes, expecting to see the ground in front of him, but instead the memory continued.
     His mother glowed golden in front of him,a broken look upon her face as she glanced between her baby and the red glow above. She knew what she had to do, and teared up at the thought of having to abandon her baby and not see him grow. As Po began to cry, she forced a smile and shushed him gently, grabbing his small paws with her big ones.
     Po cooed softly as she leaned in, muttering his first words to her, unaware it would be one of the last things she'd hear, "Ma."
     She kissed his forehead gently, rubbing his cheek taking in one final nuzzle from him. Trying to slowly pull away, he grabbed her paws and held them cooing softly. Through his eyes, her tears fell from her face. She frowned and hid her face from him before letting go, and forcing herself to not stay any longer.
      With her eyes on him for a few more moments, she climbed up the slowly bank before tearing her eyes from him and running up the hill in a hurry. He had begun to cry, so she needed to hurry before it was too late. Reaching the top, she gave him a final glance before turning to the wolves and Shen. With a wave of her arms and a turn and yell, she disappeared with the wolves right on her tail. Shen along with them chasing her down, not hearing the babies cry from below.
     With his cries fading in his memory, Po ended up on his knees, the droplet falling from his claw and down the plants leaves. His heart ached, he knew the truth of what happened, he saw his mother's face and saw his family before it went downhill. He panted softly, his heart racing as he sat down.
     The pain he didn't feel then, he felt now. Closing his eyes, he fought back the urge to cry, unaware that the Soothsayer had walked up behind him. Stopping behind him, she slowly smiled to him, "Your story may not have such a happy ending. But that doesn't make you who you are. It is the rest of your story. Who you choose to be."
    Po slowly sat up, now realizing what she meant in those words. Past all the sadness and fear he started with, he also had the bright days and the fun and games who made him who he is now. Flashing through his head were memories from over the years, starting with the first time he met his dad, Mr. Ping.
     Those day in the shop to the moment he made his way to the palace. The journey he took with (Y/n) by his side flashed the most. The training, the battle's, and the friendships made from his life. To the moment Ping adopted to. But the one that lasted the longest was the kiss that was shared between him and (Y/n).
     He took these memories for granted, now knowing how much they meant to him in the present. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the half-heart necklace that (Y/n) had given him that last Christmas. He looked at the "Best for" that was engraved in it's front. How he wished she was here with him so he could hold her tight and tell her what he felt.
     As he felt around, he perked up feeling something else carved in the back of it. Frowning, he turned it over and revealed the word "Lost". The necklace was right, without her next to him, he did feel lost. Now he wondered what the back of hers said. His eyes widened, everything coming together for him.
     The old goat looked up at him, hope in her eyes as she smiled, "Now, who are you panda?"
     He stood up slowly, his brows furrowed together as a new courage and confidence built up in his, "I am Po." He was at peace with his demons and had nothing else to fear, "And I'm gonna need a hat." Before he set out on his journey back to the city, the Soothsayer handed him a straw hat before watching him disappear into the fog back to the unfinished fight.