Worthwhile
Summary: The Furious Five and Po find the Boss Wolf, bloody and unconscious, floating on a plank in the wreckage of Shen's ship. Ever the caring panda, Po rescues him. Oneshot.
Rating: T
Notes: After seeing the movie today, I was inspired to write this little ficlit. :3 I l-o-v-e-d this movie~! But. The fact that they just killed off the main villains (and all the wolf bandits) like they were nothing pissed me off. I'm still in denial. I say everyone survived. ( including Tai Lung from the first one! D: )
Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda. If I DID...well...the villains wouldn't have "died". ^^
Worthwhile
Po heaved a giant sigh of relief. They were safe – everyone was safe; China had nothing to fear from Shen anymore.
Regrettably, the panda wished he could've saved the peacock. He had been trapped in a giant web of darkness that he simply couldn't escape in time. It perplexed Po to think that someone could be that evil, and that hurt inside.
But, as he reminded himself, what was done was done. Now he could focus on getting his friends patched up (as well as himself) and go home. He brightened at the thought; he looked forward to his father's overjoyed face at his return.
"Po! Alright! We did it!" Each member of the Furious Five cheered, congratulating him in some way (even Tigress!).
"That was...pretty hardcore," she admitted with a smirk.
Po grinned and hugged her. She flinched at the contact, but accepted it. He then proceeded to hug every one of his allies; the rest of the Five, Shifu, and even that Soothsayer that rescued him before. "I love you guys!" he growled playfully.
"You have saved all of China," the Soothsayer said. "Thank you, Dragon Warrior."
The panda laughed nervously. "Ah, it was nothing! Just an everyday butt-kicking! Right guys?" He glanced at his friends, who laughed in unison.
Just then, a quiet whine emitted from the water. Po stiffened, his limbs instinctively moving to a defensive stance. Tigress, Mantis, Monkey, Viper, and Crane did the same.
The pitiful noise continued, and after a few moments, Po relaxed. He peered into the water and found a bloody mess floating on a plank of wood. Upon closer examination, Po realized that is was Boss Wolf – the bruise covering his left eye was clue enough to his identity.
"Hey!" he called down. "Are you okay?" He knew it wasn't practical to rescue his enemies, but something in his gut told him to at least check his condition.
He didn't answer; Po suspected as much. He prepared to jump down to the wolf, but was blocked by Tigress.
"What are you doing?" she demanded.
"Um," the panda stammered, "I'm, uh, making sure he's okay."
"That is not your business. He chose the path he followed; why shouldn't he be punished for it?" Tigress reasoned coldly, her orange eyes glimmering.
Po placed a paw on her shoulder and walked past her. "Because he's alive. I couldn't save Shen from the darkness, but maybe I can save him." He leapt down to the plank, the thin wood shaking at the impact of his body. The Boss Wolf didn't move, and simply stared up at him with his one good eye half-closed.
He looked terrible. Sharp knives stuck out of his chest, but hadn't sunken in too deep – yet. His body was covered with burns and cuts, and his tail was wilting into the water. The only thing that reminded Po that he was alive was the quiet rise and fall of his chest.
Po carefully leaned down to pick him up, but received a fearful whimper as an answer. Clearly, he needed to be carried to safety; the panda knew he wasn't strong enough to do so, but maybe...
"Crane!" The bird straightened up as Po called out his name.
"Yeah, Po?" he asked, and flew over to the floating chunk of wood.
"Do you think you can carry him?"
The crane hesitated, glancing at the broken form. But, as always, the softer side of him controlled his actions, and he gently grasped onto the wolf's back – on a spot that wasn't bleeding or bruised – and flapped his wings vigorously. After emitting a few grunts of effort, the bird lifted Boss Wolf off the ground, and gave a nod to Po.
The panda nodded his thanks to him with a small smile, and rushed to get back with the others.
–
Slowly, the wolf's eye creaked open. He was met with a world of blurs, and let out a soft, low moan. His chest throbbed and he felt lightheaded and dizzy. After a few moments, his vision became clearer, and he glanced down at the source of the pain.
His chest was wrapped in white bandages; after examining the rest of his body, he found more bandages around his head, right hind leg, and left paw.
Next, he needed to examine his surroundings. He appeared to be in some sort of square-shaped room, laying on a blanket on the tatami floor, with a soft pillow under his head. He was still in his guard uniform, but it was little more than torn rags now. The broken armor that once protected his tail was gone.
He tried to remember what had happened. Lord Shen had nearly achieved victory...and then...and then...
That...panda...
The return of the panda shocked everyone – even his friends known as the "Furious Five". Lord Shen, in his furious state, ordered to fire at the Dragon Warrior, not caring if any of the wolves were in the way. Boss Wolf had refused to kill his own men, and paid the ultimate price for disobeying.
Or so he thought.
Somehow, he had survived those knives plunging into his chest, and the crashing of the ship afterwards. It was nothing short of a miracle; Boss Wolf wondered, however, who had rescued him.
His first thought was Lord Shen. But there was no way that the peacock would've helped him, especially after the wolf had betrayed him moments earlier.
Then who...?
Boss Wolf shook his head, causing the room to spin some more. He emitted a groan and barely registered that the door had slid open. Standing before him was that fat panda, carrying what looked like tea on a tray.
"Hey, you're awake," the bear's mouth stretched to a genuine smile. Much to the wolf's confusion, he sat down next to his bed and set the tray down. He gently helped the Boss Wolf into a sitting position and offered the tea.
"It'll help you heal," he merely explained.
Boss Wolf stared at the cup for a while, confused as to whether or not to take it. This animal was his enemy, and yet...he was helping him? Why? Did they plan to interrogate him? To...torture him?
The panda seemed to notice his hesitation. "Do you not like oolong flavor? I told the guys you'd probably want something like noodles or tofu, y'know, some food-stuff. 'Cause that's what I would've wanted..." He was interrupted by his stomach, which growled angrily. "But they said you'd probably be only able to digest this."
Boss Wolf took the tea, and murmured, "The...'guys'?"
"Yeah," the panda said, blinking. "Y'know, Tigress? Mantis? Monkey? Viper? Crane? Furious Five?"
The wolf looked down at his paws, and the blanket covering him. "I see..."
There was a long silence that hung in the air. So many unanswered questions were swarming through each of the creatures' heads. Po coughed awkwardly to try to break the quiet, but it wasn't very effective. Finally, the predator spoke up.
"Did you rescue me?" His voice was soft, almost as if he was in disbelief.
Po blinked again. "Yeah."
The wolf's teeth gritted together and he looked over at the panda, bitter venom reflecting in his eyes. "Why?"
Another long pause covered the room. "'Cause. I didn't want to see you die."
"Where is Lord Shen?"
Now it was Po's turn to hesitate. He twiddled his paws nervously, and glanced at the wolf, sadness in his eyes.
"He's dead, isn't he?" Boss Wolf guessed.
The bear nodded slowly. "I couldn't save him."
Boss Wolf's eyes narrowed. "I betrayed him in the end, anyway," he replied coldly.
Po lit up at his words. "What? What do you mean?" he leaned in close to the canine, his expression showing nothing but curiosity.
The wolf took a sip of the tea; its warmth slid down his throat and rested in his stomach. It relaxed him a little and he glanced over at his supposed 'enemy'.
"He wanted me to kill you...it didn't matter who got in the way. Even my own pack members." His voice was still hoarse from misuse, but the sad tone echoed through all the same.
"And now...now..." He started chuckling to himself. It was a common mechanism for him; instead of crying (which was considered weak), he would simply laugh the pain away. "Now I'm stuck here while they're happily rotting in their graves."
A fuzzy paw touched his shoulder; Boss Wolf visibly flinched and glared at the other. But before Po could say anything, a voice came from behind the screen door.
"You should be thankful you're alive."
The door slid open to reveal the form of a small red panda. The canine knew not to underestimate him, and surely not to mock his size; he had witnessed the power of the animal firsthand (when his feet were digging into his face).
"Master Shifu!" the panda cried out, bowing to him. The master returned the action respectfully and turned to Boss Wolf.
"I trust you are feeling better?" he asked. "That tea should help. It has a special ingredient for healing."
He then glanced at Po. "May I have some time alone with our guest?" he requested, and the panda shuffled out of the room.
It was quiet again. The wolf was beginning to hate silence with an ever-growing passion. He sipped some more of the tea; it did taste good, and he hoped it would make the agony from his chest wounds cease as soon as possible.
"Wolf." Shifu's voice shattered through his thoughts. He perked his ears and looked up from his tea.
For a while, they were just staring into each other's eyes, trying to find some sort of emotion; Boss Wolf was searching for some sort of anger or hate, while Shifu was looking for deceit.
Of course, neither of them found what they feared from the other.
"I heard what you did. With Shen, I mean." Shifu picked at one of his large ears, setting a casual mood.
The wolf didn't know whether to feel ashamed or proud; he had gone against his Lord's wishes, but he had saved lives (well, to be more accurate, he spared them for a few more minutes). He also wasn't sure where he was supposed to go now.
"I really don't know what I was thinking. I just didn't want to kill my allies." He looked away. "Some loyal subject, huh?"
Shifu's tiny paw rested on the predator's shoulder, and his expression almost seemed...reassuring. "You were very loyal – to your men, your friends. You have done well, and I believe your true potential has started to grow."
Boss Wolf's eyes narrowed. "Do you always speak in confusing language?" he asked bluntly.
"Yup!" Po's voice could be heard from outside, and they both glanced towards the screen door (which had a giant shadow on it).
"Po!" Shifu hissed, and the shadow disappeared quickly. He turned back to his 'guest'. "What I meant is that you have goodness inside you, and going against something you know wasn't right was the first step in your transformation."
The wolf lifted an eyebrow in disbelief. "You're saying I can change?" he laughed, causing his wounds to throb. He clutched his chest angrily and shook himself.
"Yes. I have faith in you," Shifu said thoughtfully. "Tell me, have you ever tried sea cucumber?"
"Uh...no?" Geez, that was random.
The red panda chuckled to himself. "It is a delicacy all across China. However, after it is harvested, the preparation process takes days to complete."
And you're telling me this...why?
Still, Shifu continued, "One would think, why go through all the trouble for one piece of food? Well, it happens to be a great resource for medicine. This is why we take the time to prepare it properly; it may take a while, but its usefulness will shine through, after some time." The master had a knowing smile on his face, and nodded to the wolf.
"Like the sea cucumber, your true potential will be unlocked."
Laughter erupted from the outside, and the door opened again. "SEA CUCUMBER?! WOLFY'S A SEA CUCUMBER? AHAHA!" The panda was laughing hysterically, his giant belly trembling.
Boss Wolf looked away in embarrassment, as Shifu yelled at Po to leave yet again.
Still, the wolf couldn't hide the smile that was tugging at his lips. Maybe he would prove something worthwhile for those who had rescued him.
He didn't know why, but he liked that idea.