Chapter 6: The Makings of A Kung Fu Warrior
Since the day he completed the gauntlet of Lee Da, Kalek became as an astute student to learning the art as he could. Every drill, every exercise, every technique the school threw at him he learned and mastered the best he could. If he gave one hundred percent, he'd be sure to give more. When he had enough sleep, Kalek would wake up a little early than everyone else and get a few laps in to warm up.
When he wasn't training, Kalek took some time to study; whether it was reading the scrolls Lee Da had to offer or understanding the language and writing of China with Mei Ling's help, he made sure to enhance his mind and body to his fullest potential. The only concern people had with him though was him overdoing it, pushing himself too hard to the point that even the masters consulted with him about it to which Kalek sheepishly complied with them. To master his control over his anger Mei soothed him into learning meditation, a simple but soothing means to sort out his thoughts and find his inner peace. Every struggle he had he always looked for a smart way about it, climbing so high that he even became the second best student next to Mei. And all would soon be put to the test.
It was another day of training and a short one at that, Kalek felt a little bit in a sparring mood and looked for Mei. Sure the rhinos were available for such, but he could always find a good challenge in that feline. As he went over to look for her at the barracks, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He swirled around in a defensive position in case it was her and it was, with arms folded and a smile on her face. "Looking for me?" Mei asked him.
"I was actually. I was getting bored and was looking for you. I'm feeling a bit rowdy and was looking for someone to spar with so I was hoping you were able to spare a moment."
"Again? Why not the other students?"
Kalek scratched the back of his neck. "Well I would, but…I just feel more challenged when I face you."
Mei chuckled softly. "Even if I could I can't today. The masters have me busy on some important scrolls."
"Ah nuts."
"If you're bored, why not go down to the village and spend some time with them?"
"I'd like to, but sometimes it's a little much. Like there's no one there with me to help ease the attention and not get mobbed."
Her smile looking more sweet, Mei playfully punched him in the arm. "Oh alright. Just let me finish these scrolls and we can go together."
"Anything I can help with?" Kalek offered. Before Mei could answer, the academy gong was going off as all the students looked to the noise. "What do you think that could mean?"
"I don't know. But we better get over there and see." The duo walked over to the main platform where the masters stood above them with the instructor next to them just a step down as the students, including Mei and Kalek gathered and stood at attention before them. Whatever it was, it must've been important for everyone to attend. Once everyone was accounted for, the masters began to explain the situation.
"Over the many days, months and years, you've all done well here at Lee Da. You have all shown to be the fine examples of what this academy stands for."
"And tomorrow, you all be given the chance to prove such mettle." At this, everyone side-eyed each other with a look of confusion and curiosity.
"We just received word that tomorrow, our school will be graced by the presence of Master Oogway himself." This got the students murmuring with excitement as the masters continued. "So we want this academy as clean and pristine as possible."
"And most importantly, be sure to perform your absolute best for our guest tomorrow. Dismissed." Meeting adjourned, the students began cleaning over everything from the barracks to the equipment room; even the bathrooms got looked thrice over. As he was helping, Kalek thought over what kind of master this Oogway was. He had read tidbits about what this master accomplished through scrolls and conversations he had with the villagers. But how they were as a person was left untold. Whatever the case was, he was sure to do just what his masters instructed him to do.
The next morning, everyone was up and ready for the arrival of Oogway as breakfast was quickly ate and the students were lined up in rows of two facing each other near the doors. Mei was next to the wolverine as they were both near the end of their side of the line. Everyone present, the four masters then nodded to the two students and they opened up the gate doors inwards. It soon revealed an old looking
Galápagos tortoise with green eyes and green and white skin. He wore a green sash across his chest that wrapped around and nearly covered the back of his shell. This sash was held together by a ring, and the back bore a large, stylized design that looked like a tai chi diagram of fish forming the yin yang symbol. It seemed that this type of clothing and its color, as well as his staff he carried was a sign of leadership for the senior Master of the Valley.
The wolverine couldn't believe what he was seeing. In his mind, part of it was filling up with doubt that this turtle could possibly be a great master of kung fu. But common knowledge came through and reminded him that people wouldn't think of him as someone who didn't seem dangerous at all. In the end, appearances aren't always everything. After all, Oogway was regarded as a great master for a reason and hopefully Kalek will get a chance to see it. He remained still as the turtle made his way down the road in between the four masters.
"Welcome Master Oogway," the masters greeted Oogway as they bowed before him. "You honor us with your presence."
"It's always divine to see old friends," said Oogway with a kindly smile. Kalek could sense the wisdom and gentile nature in the turtles' voice which reassured him a bit.
"We can assure you that our students are more prominent this year than they ever have been before," one of the other masters continued. Oogway made his way down the row until he got to Mei Ling and Kalek. "Ah Mei, so good to see you again," said Master Oogway.
"It's always an honor, master," Mei replied as she bowed.
"Ahh, and I see you've welcomed a new face to Lee Da." He turned his attention to the wolverine. Kalek immediately kneeled upon one knee as low as he could to the master.
"Kalek, at your service master," said Kalek still bowing with hands clasped in front of him. Oogway chuckled a little as he found it a little amusing seeing how eager this new face was.
"I see that you have come from afar to train as a kung-fu master."
Kalek kept his demeanor knowing that he meant no harm in saying such but was surprised that he went right to it. "Only to help those in need from those who take delight in wickedness. To do the right thing."
"We shall see." He went ahead and sat with the four masters upon the pavilion. That was the students' cue to line up in front of the pavilion, leaving a big enough space for the demonstrations to take place. "Let the demonstrations…BEGIN!" said the fox masters. With the banging of the gong, the students began demonstrating what they have learned. Kalek was to be before Mei Ling and was a bit nervous about showing off what he could do.
It felt like over an hour to Kalek waiting for his turn. The masters soon called his name from the list and presented himself before them. The wolverine bowed low and was getting into position when the doors flung open as one of the villagers he knew burst in panting and calling for help. The demonstration was halted as everyone's attention from the messenger. "Bandits…in the village! Crocodile bandits! Need assistance! Hurry!" Almost immediately, Kalek answered with "I'm on it!", bowed to Oogway and the masters and took off like a shot to the village. Oogway, seeing this, smiled at Kalek's boldness. THIS was the demonstration he hoped to see.
Bursting with speed, Kalek made his way down to Wang Fu village hoping he wasn't too late. If these were the same crocodile bandits that he encountered before, then they certainly picked the WRONG day to come here to pillage the village. Reaching the winding turn of the road, he screeched to halt as he overlooked the situation that was happening. Sure enough, it was Fung and the same crocs that he had first encountered. It seems that he'll have to deal with them again, but this time he had the skills to do so and then some. It was time to get dangerous.
The croc bandits were busy terrorizing a shopkeeper of pottery as they grabbed the bunny and shook him by the ankles. "Please, I don't have that much today. I just opened and I haven't made much money being a slow day," pleaded the shopkeeper.
"Quiet little bunny guy! Hand over all that you got or suffer our croc bandit wrath!" Fung demanded.
"Are we just robbing the guy?" asked Wong the small crocodile bandit. "I was hoping that we could maybe burn down the bunny's business after we rob him."
"Gah! Wong! We've been over this! We rob people for gold and burn their home IF they don't!"
"Hey, I have a better idea. How about you DON'T?" said Kalek as he stood before them with arms folded. The bunny, still upside down, was happy to see Kalek. The croc bandits, on the other hand, of course were not; especially Fung. "Gah! Darn it! You're still here?"
"Disappointed? Well I did say get use to it and if I remember correctly, didn't I also say I'd turn you guys into handbags if you ever showed your faces here again?"
"He did say so," said Wall Eye, the wall-eyed plump crocodile.
"Gah! No one cares!" said Fung as he slapped his cohort. "Well guy…"
"KALEK!" the mustelid reminded him.
"Right sure whatever. Just before you go, like, punchy on us…"
"Don't you mean violent?" asked Gahri in correcting him.
Frowning, Fung conked him on the head with his helmet. "BEFORE you go violent on us croc bandits, there's someone else you should know about."
"You mean Lidong?" asked Wall Eye. Letting out a frustrated moan, the pitiful bandit leader conked his cohort in the head again with his helmet. "Darn it! I was TRYING to build up to the moment! GAH!"
"Wow. It must be sad being you right now, huh?" asked an apathetic Kalek, his arms still folded with an annoyed look on his face. Just as he was thinking about what to do next, he heard a large thumping coming up from behind the crocs. And in full view came the BIGGEST croc he ever did see. With eyes of of amber brown and scales of green, this towering bandit had to be about eight feet tall and possibly six or eight tons; at least that's what Kalek thought. He only wore a spike-studded tunic and black pants as he gave the mustelid a look over.
"THIS the puny…thing that was giving you a hard time?" Fung asked his puny cousin.
"PUNY?" asked an incredulous wolverine, a little intimidated. "First of all, I'm a wolverine if you wish to be accurate. Second, the one thing that's puny here is probably that puny ol' brain of yers."
Lidong frowned and lets out a threatening growl. "And a big mouth too."
"Well you know what they always say; the bigger they are, the dumber they be."
"I'll handle the little squirrel here," growled the big croc even more as he pushed Fung aside and stepped towards Kalek. "Handle the rest."
"Uh y-yeah. Sure." said their 'fearless' leader.
Mei, who had caught up with the foreign weasel, landed in front of the croc bandits that were just about to start robbing the villagers and readied in her stance. "You boys might have to pass me first before you go robbing people."
"Like, shouldn't you be helping him? You know, with the fighting and all?" the bandit leader asked the golden cat.
"I am actually," she replied with a curled smile as she cracked her knuckles. "By dealing with you boys first and making sure you don't make a quick withdrawal from anyone here."
Fung moaned with frustration. "OH! Darn it!"
A little ways from Kalek and Lidong, upon the slope of the road, there was Oogway and the three masters watching the titular conflict about to erupt. "Are you certain we should allow him to fight master?" one of them asked the old turtle.
"Let us see what he can do," Oogway said. "I sense an eagerness to prove himself and his willingness to help others. Let us hope that it favors him."
Kalek stared up at the giant crocodile as he grimaced back at him. He readied himself in his stance and anticipated the first move from his opponent. This is what he trained for, the moment he would prove himself as someone who will stand for others. "So are you just gonna stand there or am I gonna have to tell you to?"
Kalek soon got his answer as Lidong took a swing with a right. Kalek dodged as he engaged the big brute. It seemed that the wolverine was holding his own, landing his punches exactly where he was aiming at. But Lidong wasn't looking like he was going down so easily as he was able to land a few blows on Kalek. Even so, Kalek didn't back down. He was going to stop this, and he was to do it alone. Just like it seemed like was going to make it a reality, Lidong swept his big tail at him. Just when Kalek jumped it, he was met with a backhanded hit from the croc and sent him rolling down the dirt and stopped face down. Lidong chuckled as he looked at an unmoving Kalek.
"Puny weasel. Think you can take down Lidong?" he heard the huge bandit taunt him. His chuckle turned into a belly laugh and ceased when he got kicked in the head by Mei. She had already taken care of the croc bandits with no trouble and had them tied up together. When she saw Kalek in trouble, she stepped in to assist him.
Nimbly dodging the crocs' attacks, Mei fared better than he as she seemed to have him on the ropes. That is until Lidong had had enough and grabbed her with his large hand and thrashed her to the ground three to four times before throwing her through one of the houses. Reacting with horror, Kalek looked up and hoped that she was still alive. He could see the golden cat staggering up to the wall before collapsing upon the rubble.
The wolverine's eyes widened with fear that she may be in worse shape than she looked. His fear subsided when he heard the large bandit chortle. "Two pathetic weaklings in one day. I'm not impressed. Heh, no challenge at all." This gave Kalek the drive to pick himself up and stand on his two feet with renewed vigor. "Oh, the little weasel is still standing?" sneered the big croc.
"A strong man stands up for himself. A stronger man stands up for others," said a fuming Kalek. "And I am no weasel. I. AM. A WOLVERINE! And the wrecker of your shit!" With a burst of speed and a roar of vengeance, the muscled mustelid sprang forward and attacked with great fury. He withstood the brunt of the croc bandits' force and returning it tenfold with more savage and swift blows. He was winning. He was using his anger and channeled it into powerful punches. Lidong, feeling desperate and furious, threw a hammer fist down onto him. Kalek, without flinching, blocked the fist with one hand and savagely punched his kneecap and dislocating it.
Lidong cried out in pain as he stumbled backwards and clasped his knee. Seizing this opportunity, Kalek went all out in a fury of blows as they landed heavily upon his sternum. Reeling back, he delivered a sideways double punch and sent the large croc bandit flying backwards and hit the earth flat on his back. Breathing fervently, he stomped over to the bandit. Grabbing him by the snout, the wolverine glared down at Lidong feeling the anger.
Reeling his bared claws back, he was prepared to deliver the final blow that would rip the croc's throat out. "I should end you,…here and now!" He pulled back as Lidong flinched and braced for impact. Tensing up, Kalek hesitated and took a moment to look around to see the villagers and the masters including Oogway watching him. He closed his eyes and sighed with his mouth closed. "Fortunately for you, I've achieved a better state of mind. But next time I won't be so merciful if you EVER come for these people." Kalek growled with menace in his voice. Retracting his claws, he decided to knock Lidong out cold instead.
Once he made the large reptile unconscious, Kalek turned his attention to that of the other croc bandits. He strutted over to the tied up croc bandits who were trying to squirm uselessly away from him despite being tied up. He stopped just as he got near them. "Now if I remember correctly, I believe I said if you guys ever came back here I would turn you all into handbags, correct?" he asked them.
"Uh I think that's what you said," said Irwin.
"Gah! Shut UP, Irwin!" snapped an annoyed Fung, but not as much with Kalek glaring at them.
"Oh no, that's quite alright. He is correct after all," said Kalek with no remorse in his voice. His voice grew even more threatening as he continued. "At least one of you has a good memory." He leaned down and narrowed his eyes, intimidating them. "But sadly, I don't think I have in me to kill you all now. Just knowing how pathetic you all are." His voice shifted to an even more threatening tone. "But I warn you one last time. Even if I'm being generous today, I will deliver the same amount of vengeance upon you just the same as I did to that oversized tub of lard of a cousin of yours." He gestured a thumb fiercely at Lidong on emphasis. "THAT is the state in which I'll leave you all in if you ever come back. You get me?! If any of you EVER come back here again, I'll hit you with so many rights you're going to be begging for them! IS THAT CLEAR?"
The six pack of crocodile bandits all immediately nodded in unison, some of them whimpering a little. With a quick swift stroke, he sliced off their bonds and allowed them to stand. "Now grab your friend, and get out! Before I change my mind." His last issued threat made, the bandits immediately went to grab their large friend and made a dash for the woods, dragging Lidong behind them.
With shallowed breathing, he soon calmed down with one last sigh. As soon as they were gone, he walked over to where his friend was laying in the rubble. He gently picked her up and laid her upon the flat ground face up. He immediately checked for a pulse at the wrist then at the neck. It was there but she didn't seem to be moving. Without hesitation, he prepared to perform the kiss of life on her. Just as he was about to, Mei slowly started to open her eyes. His momentary state of panic then shifted to that of relief as sighed happily. "You know you just gave me a real scare just now, right?" Kalek asked with a slight chuckle.
"No need to worry, Kalek. He only knocked the wind out of me." Mei shifted up on her elbows to look and see that the croc bandits were gone. She gave him a happy grin as she looked at him. "And it looks like you took care of them yourself."
"Well, someone had to," Kalek grinned as he helped her up. "Can you walk?"
"I can manage," she answered him, accepting his assistance and was lifted up. Assisting her, he led her over to the villagers that came out and cheered for them as they gathered around their heroes with thanks and praise.
Meanwhile, high on a hill, Master Oogway was most pleased by what he saw with the other masters. He smiled as he watched Kalek helping his lovely friend with sharing the glorious victory of the day. Perhaps he might have the makings of a kung-fu warrior after all.