Amazing Accomplishment

By: PointyEdgesofaSign

Note: I own nothing. This is the sequel to Magnificent Mistake: Uncut Version, so read that first or this won't make any sense. Mucho gusto to my amazing beta, to whom this fic is dedicated, Awerewolf, who had provided the inspiration I need to write, even though this is still WIP. Comments make me post faster!

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If the shouting and slamming of doors hadn't been enough to tell him something was wrong, seeing the willowy posture and saddened features of his love were. Pressing a small, graphite ear to the paper door, Po listened to a symphony of unrestrained, high pitched sobs broken by an occasional sniffle.

Sliding back the door only confirmed his suspicions. Crane was crying.

Po recalled the only times he had ever witnessed Crane's tears were when he had been caught as an anorexic and when he had been raped, neither of which had happened that time around. Worry crept onto his face and he stealthily snuck up on Crane, pulling him into a full-scale bear hug.

Crane gasped as Po held him, whispering against the side of his face, "Now I know I'm aright, and the sky doesn't appear to be falling, so why are the water works on?"

Crane sniffled, "Po, you don't think I'm weak, do you?"

Po could hardly believe his ears. Crane? Weak? Was it even possible to have the two words together in a sentence?

"Now you listen to me. You are not weak. You've taken on entire armies, I've sparred with you, and if there's one thing I've learned aside from the fact that getting hit with feathers moving ninety miles an hour hurts, it's that you are strong. Not only are you physically strong, but I have a feeling you'd do just fine mentally in a tough situation. Crane, love, you are NOT weak," Po sat against the solid back wall as he spoke, pulling Crane into his lap, tenderly stroking his feathered wings.

Crane turned his head slightly to smile up at Po as he replied, "Thanks, Po. You always know just how to make a guy feel special."

Po grinned coolly as he lowered his voice, making it smooth as silk as he rumbled, "Anything for you, babe."

That did it. Crane burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter as all Po could think was, 'Mission: accomplished.'

As Crane calmed down, he chuckled, "Spirits above, Po, I've heard people describe certain voices as 'sex for the ears,' but you're the first literal example I've ever heard."

Po giggled as he asked, "So I was your first? How was I?"

Crane relaxed in his arms, drifting toward sleep as he mumbled, "Mind blowing."

The moment was so perfect, Po later berated himself for not expecting a disturbance.

"Po! Where is that no-good boyfriend of yours?"

Tigress.

Damn.

What surprised Po the most, though, was not the feline's apparent rage at his lover, but how Crane replied, "He's in the Training Hall last I saw of him."

Po, thoroughly lost, queried, "What'd Tai do?"

Tigress turned her damning glare on Po, who instantly regretted speaking, and snarled, "He hurt Monkey. His tail is broken and it's Tai Lung's reckless fighting that broke it!"

Po gasped, "Tai wouldn't do that!"

"Wanna bet?" murmured Crane darkly.

"What'd he do to you?" Po questioned.

"Yeah, Crane, did he hurt you, too?" Tigress asked in a tone that clearly conveyed her lack of surprise.

"We were sparring and I thought it might be fun to play a sort of 'master and slave' game, kind of like what we did, Po. Anyway, I told him to get on his knees, I wanted to play a game. Out of nowhere he starts screaming at me, telling me how weak and worthless I am, and I react out of instinct, pinning him to the ground. He kicks me, um, you-know-where, slams me against a wall, then storms off," Crane explained, Po's mind reeling in understanding.

They hadn't memory shared yet.

Crane didn't know about what Tai Lung had been through, and because of that he didn't know why what he did was wrong.

Po felt he had to tell Crane about Tai Lung, but he feared that would be betraying the snow leopard's fragile trust. He realized he had to come up with a plan fast when he saw the very snow leopard that was on all their minds barge into the room.

"Tai, can I talk to you alone in the kitchen for a moment?" Po requested before anyone could try to dismember Tai Lung.

Glaring at everyone in the room, he nodded, exiting their room to head for the kitchen.

Po gave Tigress and Crane a quick, apologetic look before leading Tai Lung to the empty kitchen, all the while trying to think of the best way to tell him about what all had happened.

Upon reaching the kitchen, Po offered the leopard a seat. With them both seated at the small table, Po began, "Tai, have you ever heard of a love stone?"

The look of shock on Tai's face revealed his amazement at the random subject, but he calmly answered, "Yes, they come every thousand years and choose one person with which all who see them slowly fall in love. Why?"

"Did you know they can turn back time?" Po continued as if he hadn't heard Tai.

"Of course, if they feel they are doing more harm than good, or if the chosen decides they no longer want to be the one. Why are you asking?" Tai Lung pried, growing impatient.

"Because," Po turned to his mate as he spoke, gaze as honest as possible. "one chose me. Before you say anything, let me explain. One chose me just before I got picked as Dragon Warrior.

"At first, I had no idea. I was too busy to notice, anyway. I went through anorexia and bulimia, running away only to come back after I found you. A month or so later, I'm not sure anymore, we played a game, you, Crane, and me. We weren't supposed to so much as talk to each other for nearly a week, then we'd have a whole day to just the three of us. Sounded like fun, but that's not the point. During that game, I was visited by someone and went to help them, but that someone ended up being Vachir. You, the Five, and Master Shifu came to rescue me, but were too late to keep Vachir from …" Po trailed off, but by the horrified look on Tai Lung's face, he knew what he meant.

"Anyway, he told me about your time in Chor Gom, what he did, and all. After that, the stone turned back time to right after our battle. The point is that while I don't totally know what you went through, I know it hurts. I want you to know I'm here for you if you ever want to talk or just need to vent. I love you and I'll always be here for you, Tai."

Tai Lung's expression turned unreadable, his form still as stone. Po grew worried, but dared not bother the feline. He needed time.

Finally, after what felt like hours, Tai Lung spoke, voice barely above a whisper.

"If Vachir found you in the future, that would mean he's sill alive. If he's still alive, then he'll try to go after you again. If he does…" his voice trailed off, but his message was clear.

"I won't let him get any of us, Tai. Trust me, love, I've learned my lesson about trusting him, but that doesn't mean you're going to get away with what you did to Monkey," Po's serious demeanor took a turn for the funny when he mentioned the primate.

Tai Lung, who hadn't caught on, shivered, mind racing in terror. He was going to be punished? How? What would they do to him? Would they-? No. Po wouldn't do that to him. Not his Po, sweet, kind, loving. He didn't have to be afraid, did he?

Sensing his lover's distress, Po stood and walked around the table to comfort Tai Lung, wrapping strong arms around his defined chest, unintentionally pinning his arms to his sides.

Tai Lung screamed.

Unsheathing his claws in a desperate attempt at freedom, he dug them into Po's arms, while said panda tried to pull back and away from the deadly weapons. Seeing this as him preparing to strike, Tai Lung bit into Po's flesh, that which was closest to his mouth, he wasn't sure what, and at the moment he didn't care. Tasting blood, Tai Lung glanced up long enough to see where he had bitten.

Po's stomach.

Realizing this, he stalled out, pulling away, only long enough to see Po fall to the ground, clutching madly at his midsection as crimson pooled beneath him.

Racing footsteps approached him and, in a moment of sheer desperation, Tai Lung fled, racing out the doorway and down the mountainside, beyond the village and past the Thread of Hope, until he could no longer move, much less run, and collapsed on the ground, panting, wondering why his face was wet.

It took a moment for him to realize he'd been crying. Everything had been so perfect. He'd gone home, his father had forgiven him, and he had found two people who seemed to love him unconditionally.

And then it all went to hell.

Again.

How could he have been so naïve? He remembered when Vachir had kissed him under the shelter of the Sacred Peach Tree. He remembered playing catch for the first time with his father. He remembered when things made sense. He knew he would be Dragon Warrior, and that when he was, he would invite Vachir to live with him in the Palace, and they would have their happily ever after, just like in the stories his baba used to tell him. He remembered loving freely and smiling openly.

And there, in the silence of his thoughts, he fell asleep, body too tired to move.

Shifu was the first to reach Po, not seeing the ashen tail as it flicked out the window. His eyes were glued to the convulsing form of the Dragon Warrior. As the Five skidded into the room, there was a unanimous silence before Crane, recalling Po's words about him not being weak from earlier, took command.

"Tigress, you take Po back to his room. Lay him on his back and make sure he's comfy, then come back to the kitchen. Mantis, you and Viper get some thread ready and sterilize a needle, that injury looks like it'll need stitches. Monkey, you, Tigress, and I are going to go after whoever did this to Po and-" Crane was cut off by Po's strained voice.

"N-no, ple-ease, d-don-n't. T-Tai didn-n't mean it. He was-s-s just sc-scared," he gasped out, blood trickling from his mouth.

Crane was by his side in an instant, helping Tigress lift him as they carried him around a gaping Master Shifu and toward his room. Entering to see Viper and Mantis with the necessary supplies, they laid Po on one of the tatami mats, Tigress sending Crane a questioning look.

"Listen to Po. If he doesn't want us to go after Tai Lung, don't. Maybe he won't come back," Crane spoke optimistically.

Po's eyes flew open as he coughed, "B-but he's y-your mate."

Crane sighed, lowering his head, "No, Po, he's your mate. I just tried to be friendly because you wanted us both. I thought he really loved you, so I figured I could at least get along with him. I only ever loved you."

Po was preparing himself to yell, Crane could see it in his expression, when he went rigid and passed out, Mantis stepping away from his neck. Heart aching at the thought of what would come when Po was well again, Crane exited the room to meditate with Master Shifu in the Training Hall.

It was going to be a long night.

Warm light tickled his whiskers, causing him to twitch slightly as he mumbled, "Po, stop it. I want to sleep, today. Go back to bed, love."

The light did not ease up, nor did it become harsh, but simply continued as it was, not hearing the half-hearted request of the snow leopard. Rolling onto his back, Tai Lung sat up, eyes remaining shut until he was fully seated.

Then, he remembered.

He remembered his foolish decision to trust Po. He remembered how they had made love beneath the Sacred Peach Tree, he remembered, and wished he could forget. He wished so hard, so intently, that he could just forget everything, who he was, what he'd seen, who had hurt him, and how.

And, as he felt the world shift and sway about him, he forgot, namelessly falling to the ground.