[Back at the noodle shop, Po is serving the customers at their tables. However, he struggles to squeeze through the small gaps. He accidentally knocks into a table.]
"Oof..."

PIG CUSTOMER
Hey, watch it Po!
"That wasn't very nice."Poppy frowned.

PO
Oh, sorry. Suck it up- [sucks in stomach]

[His belly gets stuck between two tables, and in his attempt to lift himself free, Po accidentally sticks his tail puff into a rabbit family's soup bowl, making the rabbit children cry.]
Judy,Floor and Snowball winced.

PO
Oops, sorry! A thousand pardons...

[A gong sounds. Po turns, and sees a group of palace staff sticking a poster on the wall of the restaurant.]

PO
What?! [He runs over to the poster (which features the Furious Five), reads the writing, and gets very excited.] Master Oogway's choosing the Dragon Warrior. Today! [Sets down noodle bowls.] Everyone! Everyone! Go, get to the Jade Palace! One of the Five is going to get the Dragon Scroll!

[He begins ushering out the customers. Mr. Ping looks up from the counter.]

PO
[Runs over to a customer trying to quickly finish their food.] We've been waiting a thousand years for this - just take the bowl! [Runs over to a rabbit counting coins.] This is the greatest day in kung fu history! Don't worry about it, just go! [He begins following the customers out of the restaurant until-]

MR. PING
Po! Where are you going?

[Po struggles to hide his dismay as he turns back to his father.]

PO
To the... Jade Palace?... [Inches slightly out of door.]

MR. PING
But you're forgetting your noodle cart! [He rolls a heavy-looking noodle cart towards Po.] The whole Valley will be there, and you'll sell noodles to all of them!

PO
Selling noodles? [Mr. Ping nods happily.] But Dad, I was kinda thinking maybe I-

MR. PING
[smiling] Yeah?

PO
I was kinda thinking maybe I...

MR. PING
[still smiling] Uh-huh?

PO
...could also sell the bean buns. They're-they're about to go bad.
"I guess you can't say no to a happy face huh?"Marlene asked.
"Not really."Po said,feeling a little downcast.

MR. PING
That's my boy! I told you that dream was a sign! [He walks back into the shop.]

PO
[Looks down at the cart, disappointed.] Yeah, heh heh, glad I had it.

[At the Palace Arena just below the Jade Palace, palace staff are preparing for the tournament while children play and the villagers stream into the arena. The camera then moves outside the entrance doors and zooms down the thousand steps leading down to the village. It suddenly stops at the bottom where Po is staring open-mouthed at the daunting task ahead of him. He closes his mouth with a gulp, and begins to ascend the stairs, though is severely hindered by the noodle cart. Villagers move past him as he slowly makes progress. Some time later, Po is still ascending the stairs, dragging his cart behind him, exhausted. He stops for a breather and flops onto his back.]

PO
I'm... almost there... huh? [He sits up, and sees to his despair that he has only made it up seven steps.] No! Oh noooo!
Everyone laughed heartily.
"THE PANDA'S ENEMY!!!! Stairs..."
Snowball said with as much dramatic flair as possible.

[Two pig villagers, the Shaw brothers, pass by and meet Po on the stairs.]

K.G. SHAW
Sorry, Po.

J.R. SHAW
We'll bring you back a souvenir.

[They continue up the stairs. Po stares after them, and then makes a decision.]

PO
No... I'll bring me back a souvenir! [He casts away his apron and noodle hat, and makes his way up to the palace, leaving the noodle cart behind.]

[Up in the arena, Shifu is overseeing the preparations when Master Oogway appears, coming down the steps.]

SHIFU
It is an historic day - isn't it, Master Oogway?

OOGWAY
Yes, and one I feared I would not live to see. Are your students ready?

SHIFU
Yes, Master Oogway.

OOGWAY
Now know this, old friend. Whomever I choose will not only bring peace to the Valley, but also to you
And so you did.Shifu thought gratefully, looking in Po's direction.
Po caught his glance and smiled back.
Some who saw awwed.

[Oogway walks off, leaving Shifu to ponder what this may mean. He quickly catches up with him as the crowd roars with excitement. A pig announcer approaches with a gong in his hoof.]

ANNOUNCER
Let the tournament begin!

[The pig strikes the gong as the crowd cheers. Outside the arena, Po finally reaches the top of the stairs; out of breath, but pleased with himself. His joy is cut short when he sees the entrance doors beginning to close.]

PO
Oh, no! [He sprints for the doors.] No no no, wait... I'm coming! Yes! [The doors slam shut as he slams into them.] Owww... [Po collapses. The tournament music starts up. Po quickly gets back up and bangs in the door.] Hey, open the door! [Pigs rapping on drums drown out Po's banging.] Let me in!

SHIFU
[Inside the arena] Citizens of the Valley of Peace! [Po runs up to a small circular window, jumps and grabs it, and struggles to pull himself up and see inside.] It is my great honor to present to you... Tigress, Viper, Crane, 🐒, Mantis! The Furious Five!

[Po laughs in delight as his idols leap onto the scene in a stunning display of kung fu prowess. Master Crane flaps his wings and sends a powerful gust of wind into the arena.]
"Crane cool!"Floor happily exclaimed.
Crane felt pride swell in his heart while Rocket gazed at Floor with a small grin on his face. He never said it, but he always thought of Floor as a little sister of choice.A sister from a another mother.

PO
Oh, it's the Furious Five- [He is cut short when the wind blows the window closed, knocking Po back onto the ground.]

SHIFU
Warriors prepare!

PO
Oh, ah! Peeky-hole! [Po spots a crack in the entrance doors and peeks through.]

SHIFU
Ready for battle!

[Po sees Master Crane getting into position, facing a deadly looking machine.]

PO
Yeah! Woo! The Thousand Tongues of 🔥. [He laughs in anticipation.]

PIG FAN
Whoa, look at that! [Steps in front of and blocks Po's view.]

PO
Hey, get out of the way!

[Po hears a firing sound, looks up, and sees Crane being surrounded by fireworks. He keeps backing up so he can see the spectacle, but backs up too much and tumbles down the stairs again. By the time he gets back up, Crane has defeated the fireworks and disappeared from view. Po collapses on the ground in disappointment, but then gets back up with determination.]

While the crowd enjoys the tournament inside the arena, Po makes various attempts to gain access; first, he punches the doors, which causes him pain. Second, he attempts to pole-vault over the wall, but his weight bends the pole and he gets flung into the wall, cracking it. Third, he bends a tree to the ground and ties it with the plan to catapult himself into the arena. However, his weight keeps the tree bent when he cuts the rope. When he gets off, the tree springs up, whacking his nose, then springs back once to strike him on the head. In the next shot, Po is sitting at the top of the stairs, his back to the arena, apparently having given up.]

SHIFU
And finally... Master Tigress!

[Hearing this, Po once again gets up and starts looking for another plan. He sets out pulling back another, larger tree.]

SHIFU
Believe me citizens, you have not seen anything yet!

PO
I KNOW!!!

SHIFU
Master Tigress! Face Iron Ox and his Blades of Death!

[Inside the arena, Tigress prepares to face her daunting opponent. Po suddenly springs up above the arena, catapulted by the tree. Po gets a good glimpse of his favorite of the Five, but then bounces of the rooftops and crashes into a fireworks cart, just outside the arena.]

Back inside the arena, Oogway suddenly closes his eyes and raises his palm. The crowd hushes and looks up at him.]

OOGWAY
I sense the Dragon Warrior is among us.
"Among us sus-"Amber said drunkly, swinging her mug of alcohol around.
Ruby ducked, avoiding the alcohol, groaning in annoyance when her little sister Amber burped.

[Shifu gives a nod to the Five. Monkey, Crane, Viper and Mantis join Tigress in the middle of the arena and they quickly position themselves into a line facing the older masters.]

SHIFU
Citizens of the Valley of Peace! Master Oogway will now choose... the Dragon Warrior!

[The crowd cheers, but Po is alarmed as he hears this.]

PO
Huh? Oh no! No no no, wait! [He suddenly sees the fireworks surrounding him and gets an idea.] Yeah...

[Inside the arena, the pigs are drumming as Oogway begins to slowly approach the Five, his palm swaying in the air as he prepares to make a decision. Outside, Po ties many small fireworks to a chair, sits on it, and lights the fuse.]

MR. PING
Po!? [He appears at the top of the stairs, holding Po's apron. He sees Po sitting on the fireworks chair.] What are you doing?! [He rushes forward and attempts to blow out the fuse.]

PO
What does it look like I'm doing?! No, stop! Stop! I'm going to see the Dragon Warrior!

[Oogway is now closer to the Five.]

MR. PING
But I don't understand. You finally had the noodle dream!

[This close to seeing the Dragon Warrior, Po is unable to maintain the façade any longer.]

PO
I lied. I don't dream about noodles, Dad!

[The goose's eyes widen. Po looks down and sees that the fuse is almost out. He braces himself and yells to the heavens.]

PO
I LOVE KUNG FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!...
"Well, at least he finally admited it."Judy stated.

[When Po opens his eyes, he finds himself still on the ground: the fuse was a dud. He loses balance on the little chair and falls flat on his face (the chair still stuck on his rear), then begins to sniffle, defeated at last. Though sympathetic, Mr. Ping holds out Po's apron.]

MR. PING
Oh, come on, son. Let's get back to work.

PO
[He sighs.] Okay.

[Po is sadly getting up when all of a sudden, the fireworks on the chair go off, propelling Po into the arena wall.]

MR. PING
Oh! [Propelled by the fireworks, Po slides along the wall on his face, wailing.] Po, come back!

[Suddenly the chair changes direction and Po soars screaming into the sky directly above the arena in a display of fireworks. Below, the crowd looks up and "Oooh" and "Aaah" at the show. As Po eventually stops screaming and the fireworks die out, the burned chair disintegrates beneath him.]

PO
Uh oh. [He plummets back to earth and lands in the middle of the arena. Everything goes black upon impact.]

[After some inter-determinate time, Po groggily wakes up. Everything is blurry in his vision.]

PO
Ugh... [He looks up, and the first thing he sees is Masters Mantis and Viper staring down at him.] What's goin' on...? [He turns his head and sees Masters Monkey, Crane and Tigress, also staring at him.] Where, uh...? [What he sees next is a quivering finger pointing straight at his face.] What are you pointing...?

[He shakes his head, and his vision clears. He finds himself lying right in front of Oogway, the one pointing at him. He realizes with a jolt that he has landed right between the old master and the Furious Five.]

PO
Oh! Okay, sorry! I just wanted to see who the Dragon Warrior was.

OOGWAY
How interesting. [He still points at Po, intrigued by this unexpected occurrence. Standing right behind Po, Tigress steps forward, confused.]

TIGRESS
Master, are you pointing at... me?

OOGWAY
Him.
"I mean we all saw it coming right?"Poppy asked.
No response came. Poppy sighed. Why couldn't any of these people in the theater have hope of some sorts. At least Judy does.Poppy thought.

PO
Who?... [Po attempts to move out of the way, but Oogway's finger follows him. Tigress's eyes widen.]

OOGWAY
You.

PO
Me?

[Oogway lifts up Po's arm with his staff for all to see.]

OOGWAY
The universe has brought us the Dragon Warrior!

PO
What?

FURIOUS FIVE
What?!

SHIFU
What!?

MR. PING
[Entering though the doors.] WHAT!?
"Convinient timing. Classic comedy."Peter Quill grinned.

[The announcer strikes the gong. Shifu snatches away the mallet, but is too late as the crowd cheers wildly and confetti rains down. Po stares around him, speechless. A group of palace geese rapidly descend the palace stairs with a palanquin.]
Everyone chuckled at this overly grand sight.

SHIFU
Stop! Wait! Who told you to-

[The geese move straight past him, down the remaining steps, and stop right in front of Po. Shifu races down after them as the panda is hoisted up on the palanquin. The geese struggle to lift the palanquin and make their way back towards the stairs. While the Five are bowed behind them, Shifu finally reaches Oogway.]

SHIFU
Master, Master wait! That flabby panda can't possibly be the answer to... our problem! You were about to point at Tigress and that thing fell in front of her! That was just an accident!

OOGWAY
There are no accidents.
Pen marks could be heard from the balcony.

[CRUNCH! Shifu, Oogway and the Five look up, startled. Po has broken through the palanquin and is now stuck in the newly-made hole. Shifu looks at Oogway, who simply smiles. Palace pigs surround Po and lift the palanquin with relative ease, and make their way up the stairs. Shifu stares after them in disbelief, as the Five slowly approach him.]

TIGRESS
Forgive us, Master. [She kneels forward and bows. The others follow suit.] We have failed you.

[Shifu holds up a paw to stop her.]

SHIFU
No. If the panda has not quit by morning, then I will have failed you.

[Around them, the crowd continues to cheers and the confetti rains down from the sky.]

Next update:18 Dec 2023