Author's Note: I do not own KUNG FU PANDA or any of its characters in any way; that credit goes to the people at Dream Works.

-This is my version of what Shifu was doing before his arrival during the final battle at the end of Kung Fu Panda 2. There wasn't enough of him in the movie sadly, so I thought I would give him a moment to shine.

*Edit—I wrote this story before "Secrets of the Masters" was released on home media. Just ignore any continuity issues that may occur within this fic. When I first wrote this, I went along with the original origin stories for Ox, Croc, and Rhino found on the KFP Wiki site. If you look there, you can find them as well.*

Chapter 1: The Kindly Stranger

The small cloaked figure strode down the deserted street with an uneven gait in his step. His shadow stretched far ahead of him as sunset was nearly upon the city. There was hardly a sound to be heard except for the sounds of his foot falls and the hollow tones his staff gave off each time it came in contact with the paved stone beneath his feet. Any eyes that looked upon him from behind closed blinds couldn't see much of him. His face was mostly covered by the rice hat that sat atop his head while his jade green traveling cloak covered his body. The only part of him that could be seen was his large fluffy white tail that stuck out from beneath his cloak. It had brownish red rings around it and was about the same size as his furry head.

He lifted a hand to scratch just behind his left ear. He didn't normally like wearing a hat. Mostly because of the fact that it pressed his rather large ears flat against his skull uncomfortably. However he found it necessary to wear so that no one would recognize him. He had quite a reputation throughout all of China as he was the Grand Master of the Jade Palace. He hadn't been in Gongmen City for many decades. He had still been a young man training under Grand Master Oogway when he had come here for the fireworks festival. The city had been filled with so much life and laughter and Shifu found its current state of silence and stillness to be very disturbing.

He knew that the recent death of Master Thundering Rhino, and the complete takeover of the city by Lord Shen would take a toll on the citizens of Gongmen; but it didn't seem as if these recent events would cause a deathly silence to befall the entire City. And it worried him. He adjusted his hold on his staff nervously, which was a feeling he hadn't felt in many years.

Dread washed over the elderly red panda as he recalled his sudden collapse in the Dragon Grotto. Something terrible had happened, but what? He knew that he would be nowhere near the same enlightenment as Master Oogway had been for quite a few more years, but something had alerted him with such force that he had nearly passed out from shock! But one thing was for certain, his students were in danger. That much he was able to sense before making the trip himself to Gongmen City.

Shifu hadn't seen fur, scale, feather, or antenna of any of his students since they had bravely traveled to the city to bring Lord Shen to justice for his crimes. Did something go wrong? Where were they now? Were they injured? Or worse? The moment he had sensed danger he had made the trip from the Valley of Peace as quickly as he could, even with his bad leg. What would have been a maximum of three days of travel was only one for the old master. He hadn't stopped for anything, for he was determined to find his students; his children.

Even now that he had arrived at Gongmen, he was still working off of the adrenaline burst he had had as he was traveling across the countryside with the speed and strength he had not demonstrated in many decades. Not since before the time he had found a tiny snow leopard cub on the steps of the Jade Palace gates.

He continued his way down the abandoned road when his gifted hearing began to kick in. He could hear muffled cries from not too far away and continued forward to investigate. After turning a corner he caught sight of two wolves terrorizing a mother bunny and her two children.

"P-please," the mother stammered, "my cousin was sick and we needed to take care of her!"

"No excuses!" The larger of the two wolves shouted at her, backing her and the two children into a wall while the smaller wolf twirled a sharp spear skillfully in his paws behind his partner.

"We only live just down the road, we weren't causing trouble-"

"No one out after curfew! No exceptions!" The wolf howled at her. Despite her quavering body the mother had stretched her tiny arms as far as she could around her children in an attempt to shield them from the ravenous wolves. "It costs ten Yuan for anyone caught out in the streets after curfew! And since I count three of you that's gonna triple the price!" He then held out his open paw in front of the terrified mother. Her children stood sobbing behind her, clinging to the ends of her sleeves.

"B-but, I don't have thirty Yuan!" The mother pleaded to the larger wolf. He growled at her, baring his teeth. The smaller wolf advanced on the frightened bunnies with his spear. Its sharp tip came dangerously close to the mother's throat.

"You'll pay; one way or another."

The Kung Fu Master couldn't wait any longer and he tapped the larger wolf's shoulder from behind with his staff. The wolf turned on the spot and growled while the smaller wolf directed his weapon at the red panda.

"Is there a problem here?" He asked simply.

The Larger wolf eyed the cloaked figure with both confusion and rage. Even in his traveling attire the wolf knew that this man was not from around here. From what he could make out he looked like a scrawny old rat with an unusually large, fluffy ringed tail. The wolf then caught sight of the traveler's staff and greedily eyed the golden clasp that held the two halves of the oddly shaped stick together.

"This is none of your business old man! I'm feeling a bit gracious today, so if you hand over that staff of yours I might let you off easy!"

The wolf with the spear advanced on the elderly stranger. The red panda lifted his hat slightly so that his steel blue eyes made contact with the wolf's brown eyes. The wolf froze for a moment as those eyes bore into him. The stranger didn't look like much at a first glance, but those eyes made him look deadly. The wolf recoiled a bit and took a step away from the cloaked figure.

"What's wrong with you, you idiot?" The Larger of the two came up behind his partner and thwacked him on the backside of his head. "Snap out of it and grab his staff!"

The smaller wolf growled, rubbing his sore skull and returned his gaze back at the small figure before him. Hardening his resolve he pointed his spear again at the red panda. "Pay up!"

Shifu lowered his head and grasped his staff with both hands, "You want payment?" He asked calmly, and the wolf nodded stupidly in response. "Very well."

Before either wolf could blink, the old man shot forward with lightning speed. He knocked the spear from the wolf's hand with his staff and brought the larger wolf down by swinging it under his legs, causing the wolf to land flat on his tail. Shifu then charged at the smaller wolf and jumped up to his face delivering a volley of swift kicks to his muzzle. The wolf was down in a matter of seconds after the red panda had delivered a few nerve strikes that immobilized him instantly.

The Kung Fu Master then did a backflip through the air, landing on the larger wolf's shoulders. He pinched a nerve in the canine's neck and jumped off as the wolf toppled forward onto his face, unconscious. The victor stood over his fallen opponents with a final twirl of his staff before he planted it firmly on the ground next to him. He stepped over the larger wolf to where the mother bunny and her two frightened children were still huddled together.

"Are you alright?" He asked while offering his hand to help them up. The mother bunny was hesitant at first as she gazed up at their rescuer. Only moments before he had been a fury of deadly precision with eyes of rage; but now those same eyes were filled with caring compassion. He gave her a kind smile as if to say that it was safe to take his hand. She reached out and gratefully accepted the offer. Shifu helped her to her feet while her children followed suit, all the while not taking their eyes from him.

"Who are—how did you?" The mother stammered as she continued to stare at the kind stranger.

"THAT WAS AWESOME!" The little boy suddenly piped up. "The way you gave that guy a million kicks to the face, and tripped that other guy, and-" the boy continued his stream of praises, adding little kicks and punches at invisible enemies, trying to mimic the stranger. Shifu chuckled to himself as he remembered Po's similar enthusiasm towards any extraordinary feat that he or the Furious Five performed.

"Are you a Kung Fu Warrior?" The little girl asked in a tiny but astonished voice as she peeked from behind her mother's sleeve.

Shifu smiled at the child, "You could say that." But he wasn't about to tell these people who he was. He had a nagging feeling at the back of his mind that the little boy would geek out on him and ask him for his autograph.

"You shouldn't be here!" The mother said frantically, "Kung Fu is forbidden in the city, and if Lord Shen found out you were here-"

Shifu raised his hand, stopping her mid-sentence, "You need not worry ma'am; I am quite capable of defending myself if trouble should arise."

"No, you don't understand," she paused before continuing, "Lord Shen has bested every Kung Fu Warrior that has come against him! Not even the Dragon Warrior or the Furious Five could defeat him!"

"Wait, what?" He asked, surprise crossing his face as his blue eyes widened, "Where are they? What has happened to them?" Shifu tried not to sound panicked but there was a slight edge in the tone of his voice that he could not hide, and his heart was rapidly beating against his ribs.

"I'm sorry, I do not know all of the details; but my husband works near the factory where it happened. He might be able to tell you more."

Where what happened? Shifu asked himself. The red panda took a moment to slow his breathing and to calm himself. He looked the mother in the eye, "If I escort you home, may I have a word with your husband on the issue?"

The bunny's face brightened a bit. She seemed very happy at the idea that a Kung Fu Warrior would ensure not only her own safety, but that also of her children. "Yes, of course!" She exclaimed. She then took each of her children by the paw, "This way." The three bunnies traveled paw in paw down the street while the elderly red panda followed close behind.

Author's Note: This is my VERY FIRST fan fiction so please go easy on me. I am open for suggestions and I welcome your feedback! More chapters will come!