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Po dropped in, literally. The cave Shifu was meditating in was in the middle of two giant mountains, nearly impossible to find if one didn't know about it. If he hadn't asked Viper, he wouldn't have known at all. It was almost as if the red panda was avoiding him.
The sound of water running was faintly audible inside the cool space, like serene background music if it weren't for Po's loud voice announcing, "I went to the spirit Realm!"
Shifu turned to him, looking as if he had just swallowed half a lemon. "Yes, I know." He turned back to the wall and added, "congratulations." His voice made it hard to tell if he was being sarcastic or not so Po ignored the remark.
"No, I mean-" He walked further into the cave, stopping right before his Master. "-I went again."
At that, Shifu gave him a sideways glance.
"How?"
"I don't know!" His voice reverberated off the stone walls.
Shifu sighed and abandoned his position, turning to fully face Po. "Tell me everything."
Po explained about his involuntary visit to the Spirit Realm last night. He, of course, left out the part about Tai Lung entirely. And about how he had met him once before too.
"It must be your Chi," Shifu said after some contemplation. "It's...stronger than any other Master's...at such a young age..." His slightly irritated expression did not take away from the compliment and Po grinned at him.
"Yeah, I'm awesome." Shifu huffed but did not comment. "But how do I get it to stop?"
"I don't know-" Po opened his mouth "-yet." He closed his mouth. "I will have to go through Master Oogway's old texts."
Po suddenly gasped. "Oogway!" Shifu did not react, quite used to his outbursts by now. "I'll just ask him!"
Shifu's expression shuttered a little but his voice was level when he asked, "How will you meet him?" Then he raised an eyebrow. "Was he there last night?"
"Err, no..."
Tai Lung had been there but Po wouldn't dare to tell Shifu that just yet. He swallowed lightly.
"But I met him before that! I'll just..." Remembering his conversation with Tai Lung almost made his cheeks flame but he pulled his mind away before the memories could replay. "...think of him."
Shifu opened his mouth but no words came out. After a short, not completely uncomfortable silence, he said, "Good luck, Po."
And that was all Po needed.
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Po was the Dragon Warrior, so focusing to meditate would be an easy feat....but best to do it away from the noodle shop; the smell of his Dad's cooking was too good to resist. The Jade Palace wouldn't work either; Monkey had sneaked in more almond cookies just yesterday, and they were super tasty....
Once he was done with his duties, he found a quiet place near the foot of the mountains. Bamboo trees surrounded him, the tall, thin stalks doing little to obscure the brightness of the setting sun. The sounds of the evening crowd were dulled, almost inaudible.
Po took a seat on the grass, crossing his legs and straightening his back. He kept his jade staff on his lap. Before he closed his eyes, however, he had to take a moment to appreciate the beautiful sky above him. Shades of orange, yellow and red were interspersed with white, making the flying birds look all the more charming.
Nestled in the lap of nature, Po felt truly at peace.
His eyes slid shut as he took a deep breath, the smell of the forest filling his senses.
Oogway....Spirit Realm...Oogway....Spirit Realm....Oogway.....
.......
Oogway....Spirit Realm....Oogway....Spirit Realm....
Po's eyebrows furrowed a little before he cleared his expression. It seemed repeating Oogway's name in his head wasn't the way to go. He was thinking of the Spirit Realm too, though, so why wasn't it working....?
Perhaps, like the last time he had done it, he needed to think of Oogway himself rather than his name.
"Quit, don't quit...noodles, don't noodles."
"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present."
"On the first day we met, I saw the future of Kung Fu and the past. I saw the panda who could unite them both. That is why I chose you, Po. Both sides of the Ying and Yang."
"And my true successor."
A weightless feeling swept through his body, as if he was light as a breeze, a Sakura petal in the mist.
Po opened his eyes and bright light filled his vision, but he did not feel the need to squint.
"Po." He heard behind him, and a wide grin formed on his face. He spun around, barely noticing that he was on a boat like last time. Oogway seemed to glow more than his surroundings, a pleasant smile on his face.
"Master Oogway!" Po exclaimed. "It worked!"
"So it seems," said Oogway. "What brings you here, Dragon Warrior?"
"I wanted to ask you something...." Po paused. Should he tell Oogway the whole truth? He didn't feel the same uneasiness with the topic around Master Oogway as he did around Master Shifu....and lying to the wise tortoise felt worse somehow.
Oogway nodded at him, still wearing a smile. That steeled his resolve.
"I met Tai Lung. I wasn't trying to, of course-"
"Of course."
"-but it just happened! It was after I talked to you that time, when you gave me this-" He shook the hand holding the jade staff; it was amazing how it came with him from the Regular Realm. "-cool staff! Instead of going back to the village, I ended up in...that place, with Tai Lung!"
"What did you do on meeting him?" Oogway interjected politely.
"He attacked me, so I had to fight him off..." Po trailed off, before perking up.
"But! I gave him a lecture-" Even if it had been very short. "-and he was so impressed-" Tai Lung had complimented his fighting skills but his words must've been great for him too, right? "-that he stopped attacking me."
Po placed both of his hands on his hips and beamed at Oogway. "You would've been proud."
"That is impressive, indeed. I am proud of you." The words made warmth blossom in his chest, a merry feeling that made him want to fly.
Oh, yeah. "I can fly!" Po abruptly declared, ecstatic.
"You can," came the amused reply.
Po didn't take off, even if he dearly wanted to, because he needed answers still. He could do it afterwards, and the thought motivated him to keep speaking.
"And there was also last night. I was sleeping and then, somehow, I ended up in the Spirit Realm."
"That is strange, yes." Oogway's expression turned contemplative. He turned, beckoning Po to join him. Po stepped out of the boat, walking over to Oogway and taking a seat when the old tortoise told him to. Under the shade of the tree - thin as it was - it felt almost like he was back in the real world, coolness of the shadow and all.
"Your Chi is powerful." Oogway mused. His voice had a slight echo to it, an almost otherworldly quality. Which, Po thought, made sense since the Spirit Realm was another world. "Possibly even more so than my own."
"Really?" He asked, eyes a little wide. Shifu had said that too, but being more powerful than "The Great Master Oogway"? That was surreal.
"Yes," Oogway answered, smiling indulgently. "That could explain your accidental trips to this Realm."
Po almost corrected "trips" for "vacations" but thought better of it.
"How? I didn't want to come here..."
"Perhaps...." There was a gleam in Oogway's eyes. "Your powers react to your desires."
"Wha....?" It took Po a few seconds to realize the implication. The snow leopard's smirk flashed in his mind, making his next words come bursting out in a flurry. "I didn't want to see Tai Lung!"
"Didn't you?" Oogway questioned, tone coated with mirth.
"Of course not..." Po responded, affront dying out as quickly as it had come. "I was only thinking about his powers...I still don't know much about them..."
Oogway hummed in reply. "That is a desire for answers."
Po opened his mouth and then closed it. He looked away, his gaze roaming over the waters surrounding them. It was beautiful enough that it briefly made him forget his worries. When he spoke again, he made an effort to be calmer.
"What about that time after I met you?" His expression became a little distant as he recalled all the events leading up to that moment. "I wasn't thinking of Tai Lung."
"How peculiar," was Oogway's only reply.
After a small silence, Po realized that Oogway wasn't going to continue. He turned his head and looked at the tortoise. Oogway was looking at the waters too. He wondered if it ever got boring looking at the same thing every...day? Were there even days and nights here?
"Can you go visit other people?" Po's voice was quiet. It felt like a burden was off his heart now that he had told Oogway about this.
"If I choose to."
"Who do you visit?"
"My old friends, many of whom fought alongside me in battle."
Oogway was pretty old. He must have about a thousand friends. And speaking of old friends...
Po asked hesitantly, "What about Kai?"
"What about him?"
"Is he...." After the bull had "exploded" from Po's Chi, he had never really stopped to wonder about the aftermath. What does being full of the Dragon Warrior's Chi do to a person? "...dead?"
"He is between life and death."
There was something like melancholy in the wise tortoise's voice. Po regretted bringing Kai up but he was too curious.
Alas, Oogway proved he was still as mysterious as always because he did not answer Po's questions on what being "between life and death meant." Wasn't the Spirit Realm itself a form of afterlife?
Po decided to leave, because getting more answers from Master Oogway was something that even the fierce Dragon Warrior couldn't accomplish.
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Back at the Jade Palace, Po told Shifu a heavily edited version of his conversation with Oogway. The red panda seemed unsatisfied.
"Did you not ask how to stop it?"
"Uh...no..." He had completely forgotten about that, busy as he was being curious.
Shifu's stare of disapproval was louder than any words would have been.
"I'll ask him next time I go there," Po told him, smiling, trying and failing to hide his own uncertainty. Surely he could go there again by his own will if he had been there once already?
Shifu turned away from him but Po caught him rolling his eyes to the ceiling. He was used to this and did not take any offense. Instead, he thought. Tonight could be a problem. What if he went to the Spirit Realm again? More importantly, what if he ended up meeting Tai Lung again?
Maybe.....he could sleep in Tigress' room. If he started glowing and floating off, she would just slap him awake.
"Yeah," Po said, as he walked out of the room. "That's a good plan." He closed the door behind him, taking quick steps across the floor, feeling excited. Havning a potential solution felt great.
After all, Tigress would never turn down an opportunity to smack him.