Hearts of Black and White

2. A Fluffed Robbery

"YEEHAAA!" Cheering and hooting, the panda Po, also known as the Dragon Warrior, ran across the meadows and threw enthusiastically his arms in the air. He stopped on a large stone, put his hands on his hips and proudly stretched his round belly into the sun. "We'll be back home soon!" he announced and took a long breath. "A holiday like this is the purest blessing. But it's even nicer to get back into action with new energy."
"What act are you talking about?" Viper asked, who joined him along with the Furious Five.
Po looked excitedly at his five friends. "Well, the vacation is over, but we are ready for new heroic deeds."
Monkey scratched his head questioningly. "What makes you so sure we'll have to perform a heroic act once we get back to the Jade Palace?"
Po paused. "Because... because..." He shrugged. "It might be possible. I mean, that doesn't mean, we'll get into another adventure straight away, but it's possible at least. I don't know how likely that is, but I just said that to prepare us for a possible mission. You know, Shifu once said that vacation is like a flower going into hibernation and then blooming again."
Mantis vibrated his antennae reprimandingly. "I'm surprised he likes flowers."
Po tapped his index fingers together awkwardly. "Well, well, I could also compare it to a kitchen. You go on vacation like you go into a kitchen with an empty stomach, and you come out of vacation with a full stomach - full of new energy."
Crane and Tigress exchanged smiling glances.
"You still have to work on your sayings," the tigress said.
Monkey stroked his red nose. "So, by 'full of new energy' I understand more like a sunburn, like on my nose."
Po made a dismissive gesture. "Oh, come on guys. I'm sure we'll face another challenge soon." He held a paw to his ear and listened. "I can already hear the cries of the oppressed as they cry out for our help."
The five looked at him in surprise. Monkey now also raised his hand and held it behind his ear, listening. "Well, I don't hear anything."
Po pointed to his ear. "You have to listen more carefully. Sometimes you don't hear a scream like that right away..." He paused when at that moment a scream actually sounded from the distance.
The six masters stood frozen in place, completely surprised.
Mantis vibrated his antennae again. "That didn't sound like a scream of joy."
Po nodded in agreement, still holding his paw to his ear. "Not at all, that was more like a scream of... of pain."
The Dragon Warrior jumped as another scream echoed over to them. "Ha! Didn't I say it? This is a sign for us. So, let's go now! With new energy, we rush to the rescue!"
With these words, Po took to his heels and sped off.
"I hope he doesn't burst with energy," Monkey said.
They hurried down the hill into the neighboring forest. Po ran a few meters ahead of them, always craning his neck to find out where the screams had come from.
They stopped briefly in a clearing.
"Crane, can you fly up and take a look?" Tigress asked.
Crane nodded and fluttered high into the air. When he reached the top, he looked around searchingly.
Below him he could only see the tops of the trees, except for...
"Over there!" Crane pointed to the left. "There seems to be a fight there."
Po immediately went in the shown direction. "Then let's get going! Hey, whoever it is..." His sentence was interrupted when something suddenly hit him in the forehead. "Ouch! Hey, what's this?!"
His friends immediately rushed to him. Everyone looked at the floor in surprise. Monkey reached down and picked up what had previously sailed through the air and hit Po's head. It was a helmet.
Po rubbed his forehead indignantly. "What idiot is throwing helmets around here...?"
Another scream made everyone jump. For Po, this was the starting signal to attack. "Let them have it!" Then he rushed off. As Crane had correctly guessed, there was a wild scuffle behind some bushes in a clearing. Po ran a short marathon and jumped over the bushes. "Ha! Here come the...!"
In the next second, a body flew towards him. Po was swept away by the living object and dragged a few meters along the ground. After the panda had somewhat recovered from the "whiplash," he finally had time to recognize who had crash-landed on him.
It was a crocodile.
"Huh, Fung?" Po's jaw dropped as he saw the leader of the crocodile gang get up. Fung was still swaying a little, but tried to stay upright.
"Hmm, I thought you were on vacation," he wondered.
Po brushed the dust off his fur. "I'm just coming back."
In the next moment, a small figure leapt ahead of them with a menacing scream. Dressed in a cloak and hood, it remained crouched in a fighting stance, with a staff in its hand.
Fung backed away from it. "OH, better we let it be for today. Let's get out of there!" He waved to his crocodile companions who were lying scattered on the ground. Now one by one they rose and hurried past Po and Fung.
The furious five looked after them in surprise, surprised that Fung backed down voluntarily. When Fung also wanted to disappear, he looked around briefly. "My helmet, give it to me!" He grabbed the helmet that Monkey was still holding in his hands, then he ran away with his bandit buddies.
"You can't even carry out a simple robbery," he cursed.
Po crossed his arms triumphantly. "That's bad luck. Then I save my energy for more worthwhile things."
"What was going on here?" Viper wondered.
Po shrugged. "No idea. Apparently they had attacked someone."
His gaze wandered to the small figure, who finally rose from its fighting pose and took a slightly more relaxed stance.
Po cleared his throat. "Are you okay, mister?"
"You wouldn't have been necessary," began the little stranger in front of them, "but I don't want to seem ungrateful. You're the ones I was looking for anyway." With these words he pulled the hood off his head and the face of a small red panda appeared, the same species as Master Shifu. He just seemed a little older and his long mustache hung down to his stomach. Po was so taken aback that he needed a few seconds to say anything.
"Hmm, you remind me of someone. Someone I see every day, just who was that again..."
"Aren't you Yong?" Tigress intervened in Po's monologue.
Viper raised her head in surprise. "Yong? But not the Yong that was previously nicknamed Yong-Fu. My father always admired him very much."
Po looked at her in surprise. "Yong-Fu? That sounds very dangerous*. But wait... Yong-Fu... Yong-Fu. Hey! Didn't Shifu even mention you? But he just called you Great Uncle Yong..."
"He used to serve in the army," Tigress lectured him. "Hence his nickname."
The little red panda raised his hand. "More precisely, as a scout. Today I'm retired and chairman of a military museum in the capital Beijing..."
"You were a scout!?" Po exclaimed. "Something like a spy, a kind of agent? Wow! That's crazy!" Po became so wobbly that he nervously bounced up and down on his tiptoes. "Does that mean you have important information from the underground?"
But instead of answering, Yong twirled his long mustache and looked at Po. "Am I right in thinking that I have the pleasure of the Dragon Warrior before me, or am I wrong? That would be the first time I would be wrong."
"Uh, no, I'm the Dragon Warrior." With these words, Po heroically folded his arms and stuck out his belly.
Yong raised his eyebrows. "I thought so." He twirled his long mustache again.
"But what brings you here?" Monkey wanted to know.
But before Yong could open his mouth, it was Po who took over the word again. "Don't say it. You probably want an autograph from me, right?"
Yong shook his head. "Unfortunately wrong."
Po waved his paws defensively. "Uh,... no, no, no. Don't say it, it's on the tip of my tongue. You want a demonstration of my skills, right?"
"Well, this is along the lines, but fundamentally wrong. If you don't mind, I would prefer to discuss it in your teacher's presence."
The friends looked at each other perplexed.
"But Po is a teacher, at least something like that," Crane said.
Yong twirled his mustache again. "Then I will formulate it more precisely, I would only like to discuss my concerns in the presence of Master Shifu..."
"Of course!" Po immediately responded to the suggestion. "We will take you to him immediately. Come on, come on! He will definitely be happy to see you." With these words, Po pushed Yong, or Yong-Fu, forward and excitedly he pushed him towards the Valley of Peace.
His friends watched them go with a smile and Monkey summed up everyone's thoughts perfectly.
"He's still full of energy. Hopefully he'll find something to let out his energy soon."

* Yong should be an innuendo for 勇 yǒng ~ brave, and his second name Yong-Fu 勇夫 yǒngfū which means a "berserk".