Dragon Warrior Training- Part 2

Tai Lung has fully embraced Po's training, all so Po can fully embrace Tai Lung's rear- it's a beautiful partnership. Enjoy, folks! And thank you for your support!

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Po audibly gulped as he approached Master Shifu's chambers. The red panda had sequestered himself inside one of the Jade Palace, once again seeking inner peace by meditating and fasting for a month. It was day thirty of thirty one. Po nervously knocked on the door.

"Po," Shifu responded through the door in a calm, measured voice. "I am in the middle of a complex meditation ritual that only a handful of kung fu masters have ever successfully completed. I'll only ask this once. Is it an emergency?"

"Uh…" the large, tubby panda spread his hands. "I guess it depends on your perspective, Master Shifu."

"Then you should be more than capable of handling it on your own. Goodbye, Po."

Po exhaled. "Alright. Well, I guess I'll figure out Tai Lung's training on my own."

The sliding door was practically blown open as Shifu stood there, nostrils flared and eyes wide with anger. "You'll do what now?"

The Dragon Warrior's explanation spilled over Shifu like a torrent of rain, Po tripping over himself to explain his rationalization of not only letting Tai Lung into the Valley of Peace, but taking him on as a student. Between his babbling and Shifu's constant variations on the term "What were you thinking?" there was no time for Po to explain the effects his training had on Tai Lung until they reached the noodle shop, and Shifu froze, suddenly as still as a statue as he stared at his old student.

A small crowd had gathered around the restaurant's patio, with a pig seated across from Tai Lung, leaning forward as they watched the snow leopard devour plate after plate of noodles.

"What's going on here?" Master Shifu demanded, finally able to collect himself.

"Tai Lung! He's about to beat the Dragon Warrior's record!" a bystander answered.

"What record?"

"Eating record! Tai Lung's going for twelve bowls of noodles in five minutes!"

Po's jaw dropped. "What- he can't do that! I only set that record two months ago!"

The pig was nervously counting down the last ten seconds as Tai Lung demolished the food set before him. On the last three, the gluttonous snow leopard slurped up the last noodle, guzzled down the broth, and then slammed the empty bowl down on the table. "There you are, victory is- hrrp- mine! Twelve dragon noodle bowls, five minutes with two seconds to spare!"

Po and Shifu could barely believe what they were seeing. The once honed and powerfully built warrior now resembled an obscenely spoiled housecat- every part of Tai Lung appeared overly soft, doughy, and plush, his fluffy fur bunching up at the folds of his love handles, his pants strained over barrel-like, jiggling thighs, and his immense, snowy boulder of  belly spilling over the table like an avalanche. He pumped his flabby arms in the air, a supremely smug grin of victory dimpling his round cheeks, and then Tai Lung let out a loud, roaring belch- which also signaled the end of the bench he was sitting on. It let out a loud, creaking groan, and then the full weight of his plump, round rear shattered it to splinters, shocking Tai Lung and causing the crowd to laugh.

Master Shifu slapped his forehead, shaking his head as he turned away from the spectacle. He angrily grabbed Po, dragging the panda out of the restaurant. "What did you do?" Shifu snarled, holding him in a Wuxi Finger Hold.

"Woah! Woah, woah, woah! Master Shifu, wait, I- I thought this is what you would want!"

"What?"

"Wait! Listen, Master Shifu." Po pleaded. "Look at him- Tai Lung is harmless. He wanted to reform, and… well, look at him! He's all cuddly, now."

"Cuddly?" Shifu snapped, letting go of Po. "You thought to train him, and your idea of training is to feed him like a prize hog?" The red panda sighed. "Tai Lung was dangerous at his peak, but this is…" He glanced back into the restaurant. The bloated snow leopard was rocking back and forth, his belly sloshing as he tried to stand back up. Shifu shook his head, putting his hand over his heart. "I can't look at this. I trained him, Po. I raised him." He jabbed his staff into Po's belly. "You brought him here, now you fix him."

Po sighed. "Yes, Master Shifu."

The red panda gave him a hard look. "Despite everything he's done, I still care about Tai Lung. If he's really reformed, if he's really changed, then you make him a warrior again. Not…" Shifu cringed. Tai Lung was still struggling to stand up. "That."

The Dragon Warrior collected himself as the red panda left him, then he turned back to the restaurant.

"Will… will someone please help me up?" Tai Lung begged, his flabby legs still kicking, and the crowd still laughing.

"Alright, alright, that's enough… c'mon, Tai Lung- Gah!" Po slipped the leopard's plush arm over his shoulders, and pulled him up. "Show's over." Po furrowed his brow, glaring the crowd down until they began to thin out, skulking away from the Dragon Warrior. Tai Lung and Po were left alone soon, Po's belly being smothered by the feline's now far fatter middle.

"You've… gotten stronger since we last fought," Tai Lung huffed, trying to steady himself.

"Yeah, well. You've been doing great so far!" Po grinned. "Dad says you're the best sous chef he's ever had."

"I'm a fast learner," Tai Lung grumbled. He sighed with relief when Po let him sit on a stone bench- the leopard seemed to find standing an effort, support so much weight. "Perhaps too fast," he said, slapping his gut as it spilled over his lap. "...Dragon Warrior?"

"Huh? Oh!" Po shot back up to Tai Lung's eyes. He had been watching Tai Lung's belly jiggle- it was oddly satisfying. "Well, that's why we're going to start your second phase of training!"

"What?" Tai Lung's heart began to rise. This is what he had been waiting for. "You're quite sure?"

"Yeah! We're gonna make you stronger than ever!"

Tai Lung looked up at Po, his eyes wide. "You mean it? Truly?"

Po punched the leopard's flabby arm and grinned- he already had a plan in mind. "Absolutely. We start your training at dawn!"

The following morning, as Tai Lung rolled himself- literally- out of bed, his nose twitched. He smelled something amazing on the air- Stuffed buns, steamed dumplings, fried eggs, and something sweet to finish it all off. He rushed as fast as his jiggly, barrel-sized legs could carry him, and his mouth was salivating at the sight- there was a delectable feast spread out all over the tables in the courtyard, and there stood Po, grinning wide.

"Good morning!" Po said brightly.

Tai Lung's head swerved around. Gorging himself on Po and Mr. Ping's cooking had spoiled him and lowered his inhibitions- it was everything he could do not to leap for the nearest plate. "I… I thought we were training," he said distantly.

"We are, big guy!" Po then snatched up a bo staff from the ground, striking a defensive pose. "But you gotta start the day with a big breakfast- you know that. Go ahead. Pick your first dish- it's all for you."

Tai Lung, even as he continued to salivate, was still sharp enough to realize exactly what was going on. "Ahh… I see!" He crouched, his belly in danger of brushing against the floor, some of his old instincts returning. "This is training!" He lunged, but it was a distinctly ungraceful, blundering charge that Po easily blocked, pushing him back.

"Go on," Po said teasingly. "Food's getting cold!"

Again, Tai Lung lunged for the food, but Po blocked him effortlessly, slapping his belly with the bo staff that sent ripples across his blubbery torso. After his third attempt nearly winded him, Tai Lung snarled- the leopard charged, and, just as Po came to strike, he gut-checked the panda, slamming his entire weight against him like a battering ram. Po was knocked off his feet, but still managed to land on his feet. The Dragon Warrior was stunned- not that Tai Lung managed to land a hit, but his move. Using his gut like a battering ram was a move Po had perfected, and this was the first time anyone had put him on the receiving end. Even stranger, there was a part of him that liked it. Po quickly pushed that thought back- he was still training his new pupil.

Tai Lung took the opportunity to charge for the food, grabbing fistfuls of noodles and stuffing his face before Po rushed to his side and, only with his strongest kick, managed to push back the several hundred pounds of feline flab away from the food. Again, the leopard snarled, especially as Po stole some of his breakfast with a cheeky grin. The two of them continued training until the last dumpling was finished, each of them snatching half, before they both sank to the ground.

"I…" Tai Lung wheezed, patting his belly. "I am not the warrior I once was."

"Yeah… sorry about that," Po replied. "But you're doing good! Look at you- even fatter than me, you still kick butt."

Tai Lung grinned at that. "You have done me a kindness. A part of me thought you might not be sincere- working here was supposed to humiliate me. I'm glad to see I was wrong."

Po returned the grin. "You know, we could have been at this point ages ago if you hadn't lost it over the Dragon Scroll."

The leopard frowned. "Losing to you was… humbling. I try not to think about the Scroll. But that is why I returned. You wear the Dragon Warrior mantle so easily, but I still couldn't understand it. I thought I could learn, if I became more like you." He jostled his belly again, swaying and bumping against Po. "I didn't think that meant physically like you."

"Hey, it looks good on you," the panda said, nudging the leopard's flabby side. "But, uh. Maybe we can try to make sure you don't look one hundred percent like a dumpling, yeah? C'mon! We're going up a mountain next!"

The training was grueling- Po had learned from Master Shifu well, and did not let up easily. He drilled Tai Lung in hard, heavy strikes and moves, using the leopard's still-growing weight to his advantage, and kept his motivation up with food, just as he had been trained years ago. From afar, Master Shifu and the Furious Five watched the two extremely round and burly figures in their sparring.

"With how he's gone about Tai Lung's training, I don't know how I feel about there being two Po's," Shifu grumbled, stroking his beard.

"To be fair," Monkey quipped, "Tai Lung is big enough for two Po's already. Ow!"

Tigress had swatted Monkey on the back of the head. "We have to trust the Dragon Warrior knows what he's doing." The rest of the Five turned to here with arched brows. "Well.. to be fair, he's had stupider plans than this that ended up working."

The training didn't let up- but Tai Lung rose to the challenge. He summoned all his willpower to keep up with Po, even while carrying an excess of five hundred pounds than what he was used to; and that number was not going to shrink. The leopard, excelling at Po's unique training exercises, had only grown fatter- but just underneath the thick padding of blubber, he had rebuilt his rock-hard musculature. He felt like a boulder- perhaps unwieldy and slow, unless he was pushed downhill, but also strong and powerful. In fact, practicing his fighting while hauling around so much weight may have made him stronger than he had ever been. And this is what it all came down to.

Po and Tai Lung faced opposite each other in one of the Jade Palace's courtyards- after they both complained long and hard about the stairs they had to drag their overweight forms up to get here. Tai Lung stomped, his immense hill of a belly swaying as his stout, barrel-sized wobbled- he was practically cracking the pavement beneath his feet.

"I wouldn't blame you, Dragon Warrior, for backing out," Tai Lung quipped, his old bravado returning. "No matter the squalls or wind, the mountain will not bend."

"Yeah, we'll see about that, tubby!" Po called back, smirking as he readied his stance.

"Oh-ho! Tubby?" Tai Lung grabbed at his gut, hefting it up as his powerful, thickly roped arms tensed and bulged, digging into his wide chest. He let that huge weight drop, nearly smacking the ground as it bounced. "I eat 'tubby' for breakfast."

Po made his first move, striking hard and fast. Though his powerful kick sent Tai Lung's gut rippling, he barely felt it- and certainly wasn't moved by it. Again, the Dragon Warrior attacked, but Tai Lung was like densely packed snow- nothing was scratching him. For his part, the girthy feline swatted away Po's attacks where he could, and absorbed the damage wherever possible. Po moved too fast for him to effectively counterattack, and even his multiple feet of layered pudge wouldn't put up with the Dragon Warrior's strikes forever. Tai Lung just had to time things right- when Po charged with a frontal assault, Tai Lung braced for impact, spreading his girthy legs and tensing his powerful arms. He struck as Po leapt into the air for a leaping strike, and the leopard pivoted his wide hips, swinging his titanic gut and hitting Po like a landslide. The panda was sent flying backwards from the impact, and fell face first on the ground.

"...Wow." Po wheezed. "You're like the Great Wall, dude."

"Heh. You know it," Tai Lung grinned toothily, patting his belly, making it bounce mightily. "Now let's finish this, Dragon Warrior." Tai Lung bounded for Po, his heavy footfalls making the ground shake as he rushed the panda. Po easily dodged the lumbering feline, but Tai Lung was  counting on it- as Po rolled to the right, the leopard hip-checked him, throwing Po off his balance. Tai Lung, however, also lost his footing- the sheer momentum of all that bulk moving at once made it hard to pivot, and Tai Lung tripped over himself- the mountain of snow leopard tumbled over backwards, and hit Po like an avalanche. The panda was smothered by Tai Lung's gigantic, blubbery rear, ending the fight with one fell swoop.

It took Tai Lung a moment to notice, Po wriggling under his mass. "I… I won?" He smiled wide, pumping his overgrown arms, bulging muscle pushing through the flab. "I won! I beat the Dragon Warrior!" he roared in victory. "Oh! Hey, watch it down there," he grumbled- he swore Po had just pinched his rear. "Besides, you owe me dinner, Dragon Warrior- Po." Tai Lung patted his belly, now pressing down on the floor. "And nothing makes me as hungry as the thrill of victory!"