The Return of Lord Shen

Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the story.

Lord Shen, the Peacock, that insidious would-be ruler of China, was defeated in battle with the Dragon Warrior, a panda by the name of Po. Shen, who went to such trouble to change his fate, was utterly destroyed by his own attempt to change his destiny. This is what people know. What people do not know, is that this is not the end of the story. Shen's tale was not over yet.

It was a bright, sunny day in the Valley of Peace, a place of, well, peace. It was the perfect place to raise a family, for quiet reflection, or just to visit for a holiday. The townsfolk who live in the little village nestled in the valley were quiet, respectful, and generally friendly. It still had it's bumps and bad times, but overall, it was an idyllic place to live. Indeed, it was very well protected by some of the greatest heroes of China, the Furious Five, who were deeply responsible for Lord Shen's demise.

One place in this village in particular deserves our attention, a small shop by the name of Dragon warrior noodles and Tofu. It was here that Po, the dragon warrior, was raised by the good-hearted goose, Mr ping. As a matter of fact, that is where Po is now, enjoying some of his adoptive father's prize-winning noodles. This is where we shall join him, so keep reading!

Chapter One

"These noodles are great!" Po exclaimed, "So much better than mine!"

"Oh no Po! You know I can't stand flattery! Besides, I made this soup extra special for you as a reward for saving china!" Mr Ping, an avid salesgoose who preferred not to lose money any way he could help it, was taking a big risk by letting his starving son eat free. So far, Po had managed to eat his way through 54 dollars and 89 cents worth of food.
"Don't stop eating son!" he said, "I can't stand someone going hungry in my restaurant!"

Po followed his fathers advice with pleasure. His two favorite activities were eating and Kung Fu training. As he ate, he spoke thoughtfully between mouthfuls.

"You know dad," he said, "I've been thinking."

Mr Ping paused from chopping onions to answer. "What about, Po?"

Po answered, swallowing another mouthful of soup. "I have learned a lot lately. First I learned about Kung Fu, then I learned that you only have to believe for something to be special for it to be special."- Here Po swallowed down more soup and continued- "But something doesn't seem right about that!, I mean, if you really believed that you wouldn't fall over a cliff, say, and then you walked over the cliff, you would still fall!"

Mr Ping looked up from his onions to ask a question. "Po, just what are you trying to say?"

Po had finished his soup. Pushing his bowl away and leaning back in his chair, he answered, "I'm not sure. Perhaps I'm trying to say that there may be a secret ingredient, something that we can believe in. For instance, if my person who walked off the cliff had a bridge to walk over, his faith would shift from himself being able to fly over the cliff, to believing that the bridge would hold him up. And that's a lot more worthwhile than believing that you would fly."

Mr Ping quacked. "That is a very interesting observation, son!" He poured his onions into the soup bowl and began on his carrots. "Would you like some more soup? I'm making some special!"

Po raised his head excitedly. "Must you even ask?" he pulled his bowl towards himself and impatiently waited. As he waited, he continued talking.

"I have also learned that it is very important to let go of the bad decisions or events in your past. I learned that you have forget them, and learn from them in the future, and-"

Po was interrupted by a delicious smell coming out of the pot. "Mmmmmmmm... What did you put in that?" he asked.

Mr Ping smiled. "A secret blend of spices which I will not tell you!"

"Awwww, why do you have so many secrets from me? That smell is making me drool!"

"Because Po, you are my son, and I love you, but you cannot keep a secret! I was talking to Ms. Chow, and she revealed that the whole village knows that I have no secret ingredient in my secret ingredient soup! Now how could she know that, hm?" He looked very hard at Po.

"Errr...um..., it may have slipped out, some..where... but I won't tell this one! Promise!"

Mr Ping answered gravely. "Ahh Po, as the wise man once said, "He who betrayeth the trust of his father with a secret should not be given another" I can't give you this, because it really has a secret ingredient, and if it got out, I would be RUINED! Ruined, I tell you, and I should know something about being ruined too, because have almost been ruined a few times, you know, like ,when you ate all my bamboo furniture or, or munched your way into Ms Yow's prize veggies..."

As he was talking, Po was getting hungrier and hungrier. By the time he was finished, Po was practically rolling on the floor in agony. Mr Ping finally noticed his sons predicament, and generously poured out a large helping into Po's bowl. Po's eyes gleamed with anticipation, he dug his spoon in, raised up to his mouth, and stuffed a large helping down his throat.

A minute later he was clutching his neck and gagging heavily. Mr Ping watched as Po threw himself into the well, chugging up as much water as he could get.

"Po! What's wrong?" Mr Ping asked in consternation, running to the well's rim. "Didn't you like the soup?"

Po gasped, sputtered, and finally answered. "No, the-the soup was good! I-I just wasn't expecting it to be so HOT! But the soup was g-great!"

"Oh good!" he said, "Goodness gracious Po, get out of that well!"

As Po struggled to get out of the well, he could vaguely hear a customer asking what was going on. He heard the customer sniffing the air, and crawled out just in time to see his dad sell the bowl of soup to the customer.

Mr Ping turned to Po, and helped him up.

"So what were you saying again, Po? About the choices?"

Po, eager for any chance to share his knowledge, was glad to comply.

"Well", said Po, finding a chair to sit on, " I said that I learned that you have to learn from the bad things in your life to help you make good decisions now, and that's what I did! Shen learned the same thing"-,

Mr Ping shuddered at the thought of the peacock, whose two ambitions in life were to take over China and kill Po.

Po continued, "Shen learned the same thing, but didn't apply it. He, in the end, refused to change, and now, it's too late..."

Po grew silent, remembering the last moments of Lord Shen Lee Han, the anguish in his voice, the rage in eyes, and his grave resignation to death. Po felt just a twinge sad, despite Shen's rampage against his race. Perhaps it was because he has so very young when it happened, so he did not remember his father as well as he should, nor his mothers gentle touch. Or perhaps it was because he was a naturally forgiving type. He knew, that if Shen had repented, asked for forgiveness, he would have been forgiven. It was too late now.

Po had been leaning farther and farther back in his chair as he thought, and now the chair fell backwards with a crash!. Po's bowl went over his face. Po looked up, pulling the bowl off his head, and saw Mr Ping exclaiming

"Oh Po, you are just too funny!"

Authors note: I have several chapters of this story already written out, but i want to finish it, so I wont update as often as i could. This story will be LONG, so a slow start.

Feel free to review!