Control your anger; lest it controls you

[Baya]

Chapter 1: Puzzle Guardians

"When anger rises, think of the consequences." - Confucius

The full moon hung in a cloudless and very starry sky, its light beaming down on three creatures making their way down a dirt path. Their surroundings were mostly stone and dirt at the time being with a bridge coming slowly into their view. The breeze was soft and not too cold, as it was spring after all. The mists of the canyon nearby could be seen thanks to the luminescence of the moon.

In the group of travelers, one of them was a rather large but slender Bengal Tiger. He wore an all black uniform which consisted of long pants, a white belt, and a sleeveless shirt. It wasn't exactly extravagant as it was torn in some places along the bottom of the pant legs and on select sections of his shirt. His eyes were a brilliant emerald green. As for his fur, it was a very dark orange with intricate patterns of black like most tigers. He had a single scar along his right eye and had a brown bag hoisted over his shoulder.

The second of the travelers was a lady clouded leopard. She wore a dark blue uniform which consisted of a pair of long pants with some gold trimmings along the pant legs which were made to look like flowers, a red belt with gold trimming along the edges as well as a loose, but long sleeve shirt that had similar designs as the pants. Her eyes were a gradient amber, and she too had quite the slender build. She was only about half the height of her Tiger comrade.

The last of them was a snow leopard with a more bulky build. Though his muscles didn't stand out too much, if he were to flex they would certainly be easy to spot. He too wore a black uniform that the Tiger had, but with white trimmings along the edges of the pants, shirt and belt. His eyes were a glistening purple.

As of now, the three of them stopped as they reached the bridge. "Why'd you stop, Bao?"

"Oh please Lin, you think he's gonna tell you? He's being pursing his lips since we set off four weeks ago!"

"Shush Cheng! Let him talk!" the clouded leopard said sternly to her fellow.

"Bandits. They are waiting for us to get on the bridge so they can surround us. They think they can scare us into giving up our possessions by threatening to cut the rope." Bao muttered silently as his grip on the brown bag grew tighter.

"Hah! Really? Wow! Should we just yell out that we know they are coming, or go in and spring the trap? I could use some action...it's been awhile and -"

"Shut up Cheng. Follow my lead." Bao said sternly as he began to make his way across the wooden bridge.

Sure enough, when all three of them got on the bridge, a horde of crocodiles, wolves and some boars surrounded them on both sides of the bridge.

"How did you know this, Bao?" Lin asked silently with a small grin as she looked around.

"I don't really think it matters at this point..." Cheng said with a grin as he cracked his knuckles.

~ Several Minutes Later~

They were now making their way into the Valley of Peace. Such an ironic name with regards to what just occurred right outside. The sun was rising by the time the trio had made their way there, Cheng laughing the entire way.

"Did you see what I did?! I was like SHIPOW! Then...silence....Heh! They couldn't get the drop on us, could they!? No one gets the drop on us! We are disciples of Master Da-"

Lin quickly threw her paw over her friend's mouth. "Cheng. Shush. Don't..." she murmured with a small look of concern ahead at Bao. She slowly removed her paw and sighed.

"Stop being so stupid...you know he doesn't like hearing master's name...ever since..." Lin looked down with sorrow in her eyes. Cheng sighed and rubbed the back of his head as they walked.

"I know...I wasn't thinking...you think he heard me?"

"Doesn't look like it. Though you can never tall with Bao. Always bottling up anything to do with...emotions, caring...friends..." Lin murmured as she looked a bit irritated now.

"We're here." Bao said silently as he looked up at a massive stair case that almost lead into the clouds themselves.

"Alright, so tell me again WHY we are traveling so far to deliver a package?!" Cheng said as he made his way up the stairs behind Lin and Bao.

"For the last time, it was Master's last wish that we take the puzzle box to Master Shifu. It was also his wish that we stick around and protect it until we were sure it wouldn't be in any danger." Lin explained, knowing full well Bao didn't have the patience to.

"Well, what's in it? I mean...I heard rumors back in the village but -"

"It was said that a secret to immortality and limitless strength is housed in it. Though, nobody has ever figured out how to open it...and many less were allowed to try. Master told me that it has been passed down from Master to Disciple of the Tai Chi Tiger Style for centuries. It was so long ago, that no one even knew where the heck it came from." Lin explained in an almost motherly tone. The fact that Bao was the oldest of them at thirty made sense, but how Lin talked to Cheng sometimes, despite being younger than him at age eighteen, was humorous in itself.

After a few hours of trekking up the stairs, Bao stopped in front of a massive and colorful gate. He raised his paw and slammed it once against the door. The vibrations began to shake it and make almost a loud ringing noise. "Ow! Couldn't you just knock like a normal creature?! Jeez!" Cheng growled as he held his ears down. The gate slowly opened and standing before them was a small Red Panda.

"Uh...hi there. We were looking for a Master Shifu?" Lin asked as she leaned down. Shifu raised an eyebrow and cleared his throat.

"That would be me."

Lin's eyes widened as she bowed her head in respect. "I'm sorry Master, I had no idea." Bao cupped his fist into his other paw and bowed his head in respect as well. Both Lin and Bao then turned over to Cheng who was picking his ear.

"What?"

"Bow your head to master Shifu idiot! Gosh, do I have to tell you to do everything?!" Lin hissed under her breath. Cheng mimicked what the other members of the triad did, and once Lin had her back turned he stuck her tongue out at her.

"To what do I owe this pleasure? You are...Bao Tai. Yes, I remember you." Shifu said as he looked at the huge tiger. "You...have had quite the growth spurt."

"Master has passed away and he told us to bring you this." Bao said quietly, not really acknowledging Shifu's ramble. With that, he let the bag down gently in front of Shifu, and reached into it. He pulled out a letter with black wax as a seal and a medium sized black box with a scrambled puzzle on top of it. It was the puzzle box mentioned earlier.

Shifu took the letter, knowing full well what black wax usually meant. He opened it, his old eyes glinting with slight sorrow as he read the letter. After a short while, he let out a sigh and shook his head.

"Come in. Your master left me some instructions and orders for you." Shifu explained as he leaned on his staff as he began to walk. The three began to walk into the Jade Palace, with Cheng taking in the surroundings.

"Woah, they got training grounds...like....three times the size of ours back home! This place is SWEET." Cheng said with a wide grin. The three made their way into the interior of the Jade Palace, making sure to wipe their feet off at the door before entering. They made their way into the main dining area and Shifu bid them to sit down. He then sat down across from all of them.

"I am sorry for your loss, all three of you. Master Dai was trained by Oogway just as I was." Shifu said in his calm tone.

"He trained us well enough. I mean...he didn't die for nothing...I mean...Uh..." Cheng said as he began to nervously stutter due to the glare he was receiving from Bao.

"I'm...gonna shut up now." Cheng said as he placed his paws over his muzzle.

"Pinch me, I must be dreaming." Lin said with a roll of her eyes before looking over to Shifu again.

"You said he left other orders for us?" Lin asked as she tilted her head. Shifu nodded as he placed his staff more comfortably along his lap.

"First and foremost, he wants you two to resume your training under me. As for you Bao, your master wants you to stay here and protect the puzzle box until you feel it is right to leave it with us." Shifu mused silently.

"You will never be well trained enough to deal with the monster that is coming for it. Best dig your graves now." Bao murmured quietly as he stood, and began to walk out without another word.

"Bao! Don't be rude! BAO! Ugh, I hate when he gets like that! Instead of showing just a HINT of emotion, he goes off to meditate! When Master died, the look on his face made me want to hug him and comfort him, but he refused to grieve or to show sadness."

"The pain is evident in his eyes. I can tell he too has yet to learn. Your master always spoke highly of Bao in his letters, but his anger was always a problem. Over the years, it got to a good point where he was not unleashing it all the time, but when he did finally let his anger out, well it is alot more explosive than gun powder..." Shifu said with a sigh.

"You don't need to tell ME that! He broke three of my ribs during training once because I told him his form looks weird. I mean...Tiger form is awesome and everything, but it just looks weird!"

"You deserved that beat down Cheng. You also made fun of his size. Calling a powder keg like Bao "Gigantus" doesn't really help your case..." Lin said with a small smile. She could never recall a time when Bao got angry or even stern with her. It made her feel like she wasn't much of an annoyance, but sometimes she really felt like Bao didn't see her and Cheng as friends. He wouldn't even grieve with them, he went off on his own for a few days.

"Well, I suppose I could train all three of you. The Five will be back soon enough and I'm sure they'd be more than happy to help as well. Though may I ask, what we may expect to come after this puzzle box?" Shifu asked as he looked at it. Bao had placed it upon the table upon entering the room earlier.

"Our Master died against a black leopard by the name of "Demon Paws". Lei his real name is I think..."

Shifu's eyes narrowed as he looked down at the puzzle box. "Lei was trained alongside your Master as well. He left and created his own style that was designed to cripple and break his opponents. Oogway would always stop Lei's attempts at getting to the puzzle box...but with his passing I'm guessing he finally got to it. Now it lies with us." Shifu said with a nod as he placed his paw on it, letting out a sigh.

"Don't worry Master, we will die before he gets his hand on it. Our Master died for this, which means it's worth us dying for too..." Lin said silently as she looked sadly at the box.

"...Lin. You don't think Bao is gonna be training with us do you?"

"Yeah. Probably. Better not tick him off again Cheng." Lin said with a small smile, returning upon her face.

"I'm so dead." Cheng said as he let his head drop onto the table.