Kung Fu Lucario

Chapter 3: Hidden Dragon Warrior

*I'm glad everyone's liking the story so far! I hope you end up enjoying what happens in Chapter 3, which reveals a lot more details about future plot elements and characters.

Master Shifu sat in a meditative position near the Jade Palace's esteemed Training Hall. He was a short red panda in his early 60's with blue eyes, two large ears, and brownish orange-white fur. The elderly martial artist also had two white eyebrows and a thin, triangular beard that hung from his chin. He wore orange-brown robes that were complimented by a darker brown sash and black pants.

His bushy tail twitched about as he took deep, rhythmic breaths. Monkey, Crane, Viper, and Mantis were currently busy training, so he took this opportunity to relax and attempt to attain inner peace. There had been many factors getting in the way of such an achievement, namely Tigress's lacking performance in combat and almost everything concerning the Dragon Warrior prophecy issued by Master Oogway.

Thinking of the Dragon Warrior itself brought back bad memories that were far too painful to recall. It only served to put him in a much worse mood than usual.

"Inner peace. Inner peace..." The red panda murmured to himself. His ears then flicked about, sensing that someone was approaching him from a distance.

"Is that you, Tigress? If you're finished giving out that donation to the Bao Gu Orphanage, hurry up and rejoin the others. You'll need to work on your ferocity if you even want to consider—"

"My, my, Shifu. Inner peace will not come easy with that kind of attitude."

Master Shifu's eyes opened to see Oogway, rather than Tigress, standing there. Shocked and embarrassed by this fact, he quickly stood up straight and bowed as a sign of respect.

"M-My apologies, Master Oogway! I didn't expect you to stop by so suddenly like this." He said. "Is something wrong?"

The Galapagos tortoise waved his hand about and chuckled in amusement.

"Why must there be something wrong to visit my old friend?"

Shifu slightly relaxed his posture. He always had a difficult time understanding Oogway's intentions and this moment was no exception.

"Then nothing's wrong? You just came here to... see how I was doing?"

"Well, yes... and technically no." Oogway replied. He used his staff to walk closer to Shifu. "Not too long ago, I sensed an unusual chi depart from the Spirit Realm. It was powerful and something I've never quite seen before."

The red panda looked unnerved by this information.

"The Spirit Realm?! Are... are you certain you're not mistaken, Master? Couldn't it just be the arrival of a new kung fu master from some foreign land outside China?"

Oogway shook his head. "While they are unmistakably a foreigner, Shifu, I believe that no part of this world is what they call their home. Their energy is too unusual for that to be the case."

Shifu was starting to panic a little. It was times like this that he wished Oogway had taught him more about chi manipulation and sensing. He still hadn't quite scratched the surface in regard to that practice, unfortunately.

"Are we under attack then? Should I gather the Five and prepare for... whoever this person or thing is?"

Oogway couldn't help, but chuckle at his student's erratic behavior. He patted Shifu on the shoulder and wisely grinned.

"Oh, I think not, old friend. This energy could be a direct sign from the universe, in fact; a sign that great change will be coming to the Valley much sooner than we think."