Dragon Warrior Training- Part 1 (Patreon)

Tai Lung realizes that the only way to be a true rival to the Dragon Warrior is to learn from Po himself- but is he ready to bear such a weight? Enjoy, folks, and stay tuned for next month!

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The Valley of Peace trembled with terror; word had reached them that Tai Lung, the Scourge of the Valley, had escaped Chorh-Gom Prison once more, and was heading for the Jade Palace. No sooner had the message reached the gates of the Jade Palace that the Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior, Po, leapt into action. They raced down from the Palace's steps, leaping over rooftops or taking to the skies until they took their stances at the main Gate of the Valley. There, seated on the road with his legs folded, was Tai Lung- the powerfully built snow leopard had seemingly recovered from his fight against Po, and looked just as strong and battle-hardened as he had two years ago.

"Already hungry for another serving of justice, Tai Lung?" Po shouted, the burly and rotund panda bear taking a trained defensive pose. "Because we're always happy to serve."

The Furious Five paused, watching Tai Lung intently. Besides the snow leopard's swishing tail, he was as still as a statue. Finally, he opened his eyes and stood up. "As a matter of fact, Dragon Warrior, I am." He spoke in a calm, even tone, and to the surprise and shock of the Five, Tai Lung brought his hands together and bowed low to Po. "I surrender myself to your custody."

Mantis, perched on Tigress' shoulder, narrowed his eyes. "Wait… you broke out of Chorh-Gom Prison… just to come here and surrender?"

"Would you have come to me if I had made the request?" Tai Lung responded. "For the past two years I have had time to reflect, and I wished to see the Dragon Warrior again."

Po scoffed, cracking his knuckles. "Alright, guys, stand back- if Tai Lung wants a one-on-one rematch, I am more than happy to oblige! Hi-yah!" the panda leapt into action, hitting the ground next to Tai Lung and slamming his boulder belly against the snow leopard- only for Tai Lung to brace for the hit. Though he went flying, he landed on his feet, and made no more moves against Po.

"Dragon Warrior- Po- I didn't come to fight you!" Tai Lung declared, and knelt before the panda, kowtowing until his head touched the dirt road. "I came to train."

"What?" Tigress snarled, coming to Po's side. "Master Shifu would never accept you for training again, not after all you've done!"

Tai Lung snarled, his head shooting up and a flash of anger dancing in his eyes. "I didn't come to train with Shifu," he snapped, before turning his gaze to Po. "I came to train under the Dragon Warrior."

"Wait, wait- you want me to train you?" Po asked, massaging his forehead. "Why would I do that? You're the bad guy. You've terrorized the Valley and nearly killed Master Shifu, you've probably killed dozens- maybe hundreds- of guards, and, you got a real nasty attitude."

Tai Lung was surprisingly calm as Po listed off his crimes. "I have had two years to learn humility- I think I now understand why you were chosen as the Dragon Warrior, and I wish to learn your methods- in exchange, I offer my skills to the people of the Valley, to be used as you see fit." He paused, studying the Furious Five and Po. "I was contentious to not do serious damage to a single guard on my escape from prison- you can ask for a report yourself. And if you do not think me worthy, by all means, clap me in irons and return me to Chorh-Gom. I will not resist." As if to prove his point, he held out his thickly muscled arms.

"Uh…" Po glanced to the Furious Five, who looked as confused as he did. "Hold please. Furious Five, group huddle!"

The six martial artists came close together, occasionally glancing back at Tai Lung, who stood patiently waiting.

"So, uh… what're we thinking, here?" Po asked awkwardly.

Tigress was first to speak. "Po, this is obviously a trap. It's Tai Lung. He's a master who has an ego as big as your-" she glanced at Po's belly, thought better of her comment, and revised herself. "...Optimism. Why would he want you to train him?"

"Well thanks for the vote of confidence," Po muttered.

Tigress rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean. Po, he's got this all sorted out. If you let your guard down, he'll attack. If we go to try and arrest him, he'll turn whatever we use to restrain him against us. What we need to do is incapacitate him, now, while he thinks we're on the backfoot. Viper, on my word, you constrict him, Mantis, you hit him at the chi points to the back of the neck."

"That won't work, you know!" Tai Lung replied, cupping his hand over his mouth so the Furious Five could hear him. "I trained in the Xianyang Chi Hold method- I can continue fighting for at least five minutes after being struck at a key chi point."

"Yeah, thanks for the tip!" Po shouted back.

"I forgot how good he was," Monkey muttered, earning a steely glare from Tigress.

"Alright guys, I have a plan," Po said. "But you gotta trust me."

"Po…" Tigress began, but the panda held up a finger.

"Tigress, I can't really sell you on the plan if he can hear us, can I? Do you trust me?"

The feline martial artist sighed heavily, massaging her brow. "Yeah. Yeah, I do, Dragon Warrior."

"Perfect." Po turned around to face Tai Lung, puffing up his chest to look intimidating- the effect was somewhat marred by his belly bouncing along with the sudden movement. "Tai Lung! You have asked to be taken into my custody, and so I shall! You will enter the Valley of Peace as my student, and your training will begin tomorrow morning!"

Tai Lung smiled and bowed again to Po. "I swear, you shall not regret this, Dragon Warrior."

"Crane! Hit him with a boulder kick!" Po shouted. It took a split second for Master Crane to react, leaping into the air with a rock the size of a melon. He let it fall before soaring down and kicking it straight into Tai Lung's face, knocking the snow leopard out in an instant.

When Tai Lung came to, he groaned, rubbing his head. He would have to repay Master Crane for that… His senses came back to him suddenly, then. He leapt to his feet, the leopard's ears pointed up, his nose sniffing. There was a motley of smells- salt, roasting tofu and meat, spices, and there was muffled conversation beneath his feet. He already had an idea of where he might be, and then he heard heavy footsteps lumbering closer to him, as Po entered the room from some stairs, balancing several platters of steamed buns and noodles on his arms. "Ah! Cool, you're awake."

"That was a cheap shot," Tai Lung grumbled. "I thought Shifu would have taught youall the niceties of an honorable duel."

"Yeah, well, I made an exception for you." Po gently set the platters down in front of Tai Lung, and then settled down across from him. "So. You were serious about me training you?"

The snow leopard sighed. "Yes. If you want to turn me in back to prison, I will accept that. But I had to take the chance. I want to be… more. And I figured, if anyone could give me that chance, it would be you."

"Alright, alright," Po grunted, holding up his hands. "You want me to train you? We gotta set some ground rules. First of all, we aren't touching any actual, kick-ass fighting martial arts training until I'm one hundred and ten percent certain you're reformed."

Tai Lung breathed in deeply. "Alright. How do I show you that I've changed?"

The panda smirked. "This is my dad's noodle shop. Congratulations, you just got hired as the new noodle boy."

"What?" Tai Lung leapt to his feet, clenching his fists. "I was trained in the Jade Palace, I am the strongest martial arts warrior you have ever faced, and you want me to sweep up a noodle shop?"

Po instantly leapt to meet Tai Lung, and faster than the leopard anticipated, grabbed him in a Wuxi finger hold, deflating Tai Lung's fury instantly. "Yeah. I do. And clean the dishes, and carry out orders."

"...Why?" Tai Lung finally asked through clenched teeth.

"Because you said you wanted to use your powers to help the Valley. Okay, let's start small. The Valley of Peace is… y'know, at peace. We don't need another town guard or a watchman; the Valley guards, the Furious Five and I got that covered. But my dad could use some help around here. You never learned what it was like for, y'know, regular people. You lived in the Jade Palace your whole life, then got sent off to prison. So, deal with regular people, slow down, and, y'know, maybe enjoy some food." He gestured to the noodles and buns. "This is all for you, by the way."

"What?" Tai Lung glanced down at the spread of food, enough for a large family. "Are you trying to turn me into you?"

Po was smirking again as he gestured for Tai Lung to sit down again. "You said you wanted to be the Dragon Warrior, didn't you? Nah, you don't have to finish off all of it, but if you're gonna work here, you should know what all the food we serve here takes."

Tai Lung huffed as he settled back down. With a low grumble, he snatched up his chopsticks and began eating.

The panda gave a sigh of relief, and continued. "If you do a good job here and maybe make some friends, then we'll start training you properly. I'd have to do some serious convincing with the Furious Five and Master Shifu, but I think that if you can show you've changed and take your pride down a bit- woah."

Po trailed off as the leopard finished off the entire spread- faster than even he could eat.

Tai Lung looked up at Po, licking a bit of sauce on his paw. "What?" He patted his toned middle, puffing up his strong chest. "I didn't get this body by eating daintily. Besides, I haven't had a decent meal in ages." He sniffed. "Your father's a good cook."

"Uh… yeah, yeah, he's the best." Po shook his head. "Okay. So… I'm heading back up to the palace. You start tomorrow." He stood up, and offered Tai Lung his hand. "I actually hope this works, you know."

The snow leopard paused, looking at Po's hand. After a moment, he took it, shaking firmly. "I do as well."

The few weeks after were strange for the Valley of Peace- everyone needed a little time to get used to the menace that was Tai Lung serving them their spring rolls and noodle bowls. Po checked in regularly, and was able to breathe easy- despite the doubts of Tigress and some of the other Furious Five, Tai Lung was diligent in his new duties. Mr. Ping's Noodle Shop hadn't run so smoothly in ages- Tai Lung's speed, attention to detail, and stamina meant orders went out as fast as Mr. Ping could cook, in a quick, and surprisingly friendly service. The panda did notice just how much of his dad's cooking Tai Lung was sampling- his old apron was starting to fill out just like it did on Po, with the middle growing thick- just as Po had planned.

"I'm still not sure I understand this plan of yours, Po," Crane began, the Furious Five watching Tai Lung intently as he moved around the tables, balancing several different orders with no sign of losing his balance. "You want to make Tai Lung fat?"

"Shh!" Po waved Crane off as the snow leopard passed by, accidentally bumping into the panda.

"Ah, sorry, Dragon Warrior- don't worry, your order's coming up, I apologize for the wait," Tai Lung said while he unloaded an order to a large family.

"But we only just ordered," Viper replied.

"And it's hardly right that the Furious Five should be made to wait for the food- I'll be right back," Tai Lung said.

"He's laying it on a little thick, don't you think?" Mantis muttered.

Po rolled his eyes. "Guys, look, I've got this handled. It's not that I want him, y'know, big. But I want to bring him down to earth a little bit, slow him down. He wants to train like me, well," He patted his round middle, his gut sloshing slightly. "This is a big part of being me. Besides- if he's really reformed, if he's really dedicated, he won't mind taking a hit to his figure, will he? It's a test. If Tai Lung's trying to pull one over on us, he won't let himself go-oh-hoh!" Po turned around to see the snow leopard standing behind him, their order ready to serve. "You won't… let yourself go without a big hug!" The panda quickly threw his arms around the snow leopard, and Tai Lung was taken aback- he had put on a good amount of weight, padding his well-muscled form out and making his winter coat look much more fluffy than usual. Po could feel it, as his belly mashed into Tai Lung's thickened middle.

"Uh…" Tai Lung broke out of the hug, spreading out the Furious Five's order. "Thank you, Dragon Warrior."

"Oh, uh, well yeah, it's just a thanks to you for all the good work you've been doing! Hah… I'm short on change so, uh, that's my raincheck for your tip. You're lookin' good, by the way!"

Po must have missed Tai Lung's tail swishing, or the way his whiskers and cheek fur fluffed up. "Uhm- yes. Thank you. So do you, Dragon Warrior."

"See? Doesn't suspect a thing." Po said, tearing into his noodle bowl and speaking between mouthfuls. "Trust me, we've got this."

Tai Lung slunk into the back room, closing the door behind him and resting his back against it. That hug felt… good. Really good. On top of that, Po had complimented him. Was this part of his training? Po wouldn't be… No, no. It had to be the training. Unless…? Tai Lung had grown to admire the Dragon Warrior, the only one to defeat him. It's why he came here. He would study under Po, and then when he had learned his secrets, challenge him to a legendary duel. That was still the plan, of course- but no one said the duel had to end in enmity. And had the few extra pounds he had admittedly put on caught Po's eye? Maybe it would get him into training faster- maybe it would get them closer. No! No. Tai Lung shook his head- he had to keep his priorities straight. There was one thing for certain, however- Tai Lung was hungry for more.

Mr. Ping pushed open the door, poking his head out. "Tai Lung! We're in the middle of the dinner rush, what are you doing out here?"

"Oh!" Tai Lung leapt to attention. "Apologies, Mr. Ping." He rushed back into the kitchen, putting some finishing touches on some of the dishes to save more time. "Mr. Ping- I was curious. I was wondering if you wouldn't mind me taking some of the leftovers- the ones you usually leave to throw out."

"Oh?" the old goose arched a brow.

"I… think I might be able to put it to good use."

The Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior were called away to Gongmen City to deal with a lengthy task on behalf of the Kung Fu Council. It was the usual story: bad guys thought they could get away with their evil schemes, and Po had to teach them otherwise. They were gone from the Valley of Peace for over a month, but Tigress made sure they had regular reports on Tai Lung's behavior- even with them absent, he had not made a move on the Jade Palace. Po would later argue, however, that the reports left out some really big developments.

On their return to the Valley of Peace, the Furious Five and Po found Tai Lung at the top of a hill that led into the Valley below, and he was more than twice the leopard they had left behind. Tai Lung was balanced on one leg, practicing a pose they had all mastered, but was clearly struggling- no wonder, as his legs were now thick as tree trunks. They pressed against his trousers, which strained to hold back his extra fluff and chunky thighs. Also affecting his balance was the sheer immense weight of his snowball belly, round and spilling over his long-suffering belt in an enormous tidal wave. His toned muscles were all buried under an avalanche of fat; his chest drooped over the crest of his overfed stomach, and his arms were wrapped in thick swaths of excess weight and fluff.

He huffed mightily to keep his balance, holding a huge tray of dumplings in one hand, and chopsticks in another- Po immediately recognized the exercise Master Shifu had done with him years ago. How did Tai Lung learn about it, though?

"D-dragon Warrior!" Tai Lung gasped breathlessly, still holding his stance long enough to greedily swallow a dumpling. "I hope this is a pleasant surprise- your father told me some of your exploits, a-and in my free time, I sought to emulate them! Is my form good?"

Po and the Furious Five could only stare, mouths agape. Tigress was the first to recover. "Po, you need to tell Shifu."

"Uh… yeah, yeah," Po nodded dumbly. "But maybe I'll grab some of his dumplings for the road."