Kung Fu Panda Fanfic - The Rise of a Hero

(XII) The Duty of the Hero

(XII) The Duty of the Hero

Po and the Furious Five lay on the wooden debris that floated gently on the river. Po, who suffered the least of the impact, raised his head and watched in fear as Shen's fleet emerged from the Gongmen canals.

Crane and Monkey were prostrate on the same piece of wood, and Mantis on a different one, both near the edge of the canal. On the other hand, the Viper teacher, who could barely move, managed to drag Tigress's body on a board that was floating not far from the panda. Po approached slowly, pained, he looked at both of them sadly and feared the worst. But he had to do something.

Po pushed with little force the piece of wood where the teachers were to the shore. Then he turned and walked away from them, toward the inverted hull of a sunken ship floating on the surface. Tigress and Viper tried to stop him, but neither was strong enough to say a word.

With much effort, Po managed to climb onto the slippery hull of the junk and turned toward the fleet, directly facing Shen's flagship.

Shen: - As you wish. Let's get this over with. - Shen said after sighing and acknowledging Po's value a bit.

One of the cannons was trained on Po, ready to fire. The clang of metal alerted everyone except Po, who didn't lift his eyes from the water as he kept his breathing slow and steady. Instead, Po simply slid her foot back slightly, made a couple of circular motions with her hands until they rested on her abdomen, and braced herself for what was coming.

Shen: - Fire. -

At Shen's signal, one of the cannons pointed at him fired with a clicking sound that echoed in the quiet night. The projectile sped toward Po, leaving behind a curtain of smoke and fire. Po knew he couldn't fight the fierceness of such a weapon. And like his anger, he had to accept it as it came.

As if it were a drop of water, Po reached out his hand and the projectile slid through it, and with a precise and quick movement, Po diverted its trajectory, making it impact against the surface of the water. Those present were stunned, in shock. What had just happened was simply inconceivable.

Po turned around slowly, looking at his hand set on fire from the friction with the projectile. He made a fist, shook his hand, and prepared for the next round. Looking defiantly at the confused Shen.

Shen: - Again. -

The rest of the cannons lined up and fired at Po, but suffered the same fate. Po was trying to return the same projectiles that were fired at him, but controlling a ball of burning metal at high speed was a more than complicated task.

Shen: - Kill him! Someone kill him! - He screamed with despair and anger.

The cannons continued firing tirelessly at Po, who had to move quickly to avoid being hit, but little by little, he began to control the projectiles better. Eventually, Po was able to direct the missiles and destroy every single ship in Shen's fleet, while Shen could do nothing but watch in frustration as all his plans and years of preparation vanished before his eyes.

Finally, the immense gun of Shen's flagship opened fire; the same cannon that almost killed Po in that warehouse. The projectile came with more force than any other. Po had to turn several times to be able to redirect such a heavy load. From a distance, Shen watched in fear as Po's spinning silhouette became a Yin Yan symbol that rotated on its own axis, just as the fortune teller had predicted.

Finally, Po was able to control the projectile and forcefully send it back to the same place it came from. The metal ball traversed the more than fifty meters of ocean, opening a huge furrow on the water and creating a protruding wave on each side, and then colliding with Shen's ship and causing the rest of the gunpowder to explode.

A huge billow of smoke rose over the Gongmen shoreline as the sun rose over the horizon. Po swam gently to the wreckage of the flagship, only to find Shen slumped to the ground, looking around as her dreams had been shattered.

Shen: - How did you do it? How did you find peace with my present? I killed your parents. I destroyed everything important to you. I scarred you for life. -

Po: - Who do you think you are? - Po asked with displeasure while Shen looked at him in shock. - You say you marked me for life. That you destroyed everything important to me. Why do you think I would give you so much importance? I am not that baby panda who cried at night. I am Po, the Dragon Warrior. -

Po's comment made Shen's blood boil. The peacock pulled out some hidden blades from its sleeve and attempted to slash Po's face, but before it could get any closer, Shen's heart suddenly stopped beating. Looking down with what little strength he had left, he saw his chest being pierced by a sword that Po was holding in his hand, then he looked at Po expecting to find a face full of hearing, but instead, he only found sadness and gratitude.

Po: - I hope that at least you can find peace too. -

Po told him with a slight smile drawn on his face while a tear fell from his face. Shen took his last breath to smile back, then dropped his head into the panda's lap. Po slowly placed Shen's body on top of the destroyed ship. He had found the peace he was looking for so much, but he felt a great pain inside his chest at the same time.

But he did not have much time to think about it, the huge deformed cannon that lay vertically on the stern of the ship began to give way, cutting one by one the ropes that held it. Po had no choice but to jump into the water as the cannon fell on the hull, exploding the few barrels of gunpowder that were still intact.

The Furious Five, and the citizens of Gongmen who had come to the pier to witness the carnage, had not been able to see anything due to the huge smoke screen. But this second explosion made everyone back off as they looked on in fear. And then, from one of the floating docks, a figure approached through the smoke screen. The figure walked slowly, barely supporting his right leg while a tunic billowed in the soft morning wind, and as he approached, it was more or less than Po, and his triumphal entry into the city.

Viper, Monkey and Crane pounced on Po and hugged him tight as he fell to the ground complaining about his foot. Mantis and Tigress calmly approached. Mantis climbed on her head and Tigress sat on a box next to her.

Tigress: - That... was radical. -

Saying that, the six teachers laughed at such an unexpected sentence from Tigress.

Viper: - Good. And now that? -

Po: - Now... we will return home. -