Hey everyone, this's my first non-anime story and I really hope you guys like it. Note: all this stuff takes place before the two movies.

I also wanted to do this anime style so I'm including an opening song I think is relevant. If you know what it is, just play it in your head.

Hope you enjoy ;)

I DON'T OWN KING FU PANDA

Opening Theme: Makka na Chikai by Yoshiki Fukuyama

CHAPTER 1
LIN THE GREAT

Fire. Everything was blurry, but that one thing stood out. There was nothing but fire, a violent, raging inferno so intense, Tigress could actually feel its heat. The only sound was the crackling of whatever the flames were burning. But it wasn't harming her at all; she stood there in the middle of the fire staring before her wondering what was going on.

Tigress then woke up in the middle of the night and sat up upon her mat with a look of confusion on her face. She had that dream again, a dream that she had been having for quite a few weeks now. It wasn't really a nightmare but she was totally puzzled to why she kept dreaming that.

Shaking her head, Tigress went back to sleep; she needed it for more training the following day.

The sun rose on the Valley of Peace signaling the start of another great day. On a fine morning like this, Master Shifu went out for a walk around the temple, a cup of steaming hot tea in his hand. As he did, he spotted a small rolled up scroll near the entrance. Knowing this to be a message, he went on over and read it. After reading it, his cup of tea fell from his hand and onto the floor, shattering to pieces and spilling tea everywhere.

He used his free hand to grip the scroll and continued to stare at it stunned by its message. Forgetting his intended morning walk, he ran back into the temple.

"Tigress! Tigress, wake up this instant!" he yelled hammering on the door of her room. Tigress woke up with a start.

"What is it master?" she said already wide awake and taking a battle stance.

Shifu slid open the door revealing to his student, his panicked state; Tigress noticed the letter in his hand. "Tigress-This letter-I-" he stuttered before running off. Curious, she followed him.

She later found out that he had gotten Master Oogway too and the three of them were now together. "My dear friend, what is with this rush so early in the morning?" The old turtle asked sleepily.

"This letter is the cause of this rush." Shifu answered showing it to Oogway and Tigress. Calming down, he read it out loud.

To Masters Shifu and Oggway,

Good day to you, and I hope this message finds you well. I know this is all sudden but I would like to tell you that I'm visiting the your temple. I'll be arriving at sunset the same day you receive this letter. I'll be disguising my identity when I arrive but I'll show proof of who I am.

Thanks and good day,

Lin

P.S.

Please burn this letter when you're done reading it.

"Master, who is this Lin?" Tigress asked curiously.

Before answering, Shifu went to a lit candle and held the letter over the flame. In just a few seconds, the letter curled up and turned into ash. "That letter could have only come from one particular Lin: Lin the Great."

Tigress was confused. "Lin the Great?"

"Yes. He is the sworn enemy of the evil warlord Geng Wu." Shifu explained. "Whenever Geng Wu decides to attack a village, Lin is always there to stop his plans."

"You seem like a huge fan of him." Oogway said with an amused smile.

"I take it that he's a talented Kung Fu master?" Tigress asked.

"He must be to repel Geng Wu's massive forces. He even defeats local bandits when the need comes." Shifu answered with a hint of excitement in his voice. "But why would he come here of all places? Unless of course..." Shifu suddenly turned tense.

Tigress understood. "Geng Wu must be planning to attack the Valley of Peace." she finished.

"Calm down you two. Nothing is certain yet." Oogway said calmly raising his hand. "It's best we ask Lin himself the reason for his visit."

Shifu and Tigress calmed down. "Forgive me master. Come, breakfast awaits."

With that, they left for breakfast. Right after that, tigress proceeded right away to the Training Hall eager to start some training. She was just about to leap into her favorite training machine, the Seven Swinging Clubs of Instant Oblivion, when Shifu called her back.

"No Tigress. No training for today." he said.

Tigress looked mortified. "But Master-"

"I'm sorry but Lin will be arriving later, and I want the palace spotless when he arrives. You can clean the entire hall while I take care of the barracks." Shifu said handing her a mop. Before she could continue, he ran of with another mop in hand.

Irritated, Tigress began mopping the floor of the Training Hall. "This Lin better be worth it." she muttered under her breath. The hall was very large; it would take hours to clean in completely.

Several minutes later, she looked at the entire hall. Surely, Shifu wouldn't mind maybe just 5 or 10 minutes to train; she could still clean up afterwards. Abandoning the mop she leap into the Seven Swinging Clubs of Instant Oblivion which immediately sprung to life.

The ropes at her feet began spinning making her bob up and down. Getting ready, Tigress dodged the first club that came her way, the spikes just inches from her. Another one came at her with the flat side intending to knock her out cold. Tigress dodged it just as easily as she did the first one.

Again and again, the clubs swung at her wanting either to kill her or knock her out, and again and again she dodged them. The fact that she was bobbing up and down didn't bother her at all. She was totally focused; nothing could distract her now.

At least, except the sound of footsteps. Thinking that it might be her master, Tigress abandoned her training and made it look like she was mopping. To her relief, it was only Zeng who was flying around with a feather duster in his wings. Relieved but still slightly annoyed, Tigress continued cleaning the hall.

It took her all morning, but Tigress was able to clean the entire room. Cleaning wasn't as tiring as her usual training, so she still had some energy left. She left for lunch, but Shifu said to clean the barracks when she was done. Reluctantly, she followed.

By sunset, the entire Jade Palace was spotless; Tigress took a bath before the three of them assembles outside. She, Oogway and a very tense Shifu were right outside the doors to the palace waiting for Lin's arrival. Oogway was smiling calmly, Shifu was sweating slightly, and tigress just eyed the horizon waiting.

Just as the sun touched the horizon, a figure appeared before them and walked towards them. He was tall and wore ragged and messy blue pants and shirt. His left pant leg was shorter than the other; it looked like it was torn off. All the while, he wore a large, brown cloak with a hood that concealed his face.

Silently, the stranger walked towards the three of them; no one spoke. Finally, the stranger was right before them. Pausing a little, he reached into his pocket and pulled out an emerald the shape of an arrowhead and gave it to Shifu.

Shifu gasped as the jewel sparkled. "The emerald of Wong the Feared. Now defeated, the only one who would have it is the one who defeated him." he explained. He looked at the cloaked stranger. "You are Lin the Great."

Lin nodded and used one hand to remove the hood concealing his face. He was a Eurasian Lynx and a rather handsome one too. His fur was light brown with a few black spots on it; his eyes were dark yellow in color.

"Master Shifu, Master Oogway, it's such an honor to finally meet you two." Lin said with a respectful bow.

Shifu and Oogway bowed back. "And it is an honor to be in your presence Lin the Great." Shifu said.

Lin nodded and then eyed Tigress with raised eyebrows. "And you're..."

"Ah, Tigress. Proud student of Master Shifu." Tigress said bowing.

"Oh...A student of Master Shifu? You must be very talented." Lin bowed at her. "There's no need for formalities; you can just call me Lin."

Shifu nodded and smiled. "Ah yes. So Lin, what brings you to the Jade Palace?" he asked.

"Yeah, about that." Lin smiled and paused a bit before answering.

"I'm here...to learn Kung Fu."