Chapter 1, Part 2
Tigress quickly chronicled the events of Tai Lung's betrayal, while I merely sat and glared at her. I wanted to be the one to tell Po, I wanted to earn his trust, to open up to him. And yet the one who seemed to despise him most out of all us decides to open up to him first.
"... or since," Tigress finished, looked down as she recalled her past. Is she trying to slide her emotions into this? I wondered to myself. She doesn't do that with anyone!
However, she quickly tried to cover it up, by making Po feel like he kept Shifu from fixing his problems. "...And now, he's stuck, with you, a big, fat panda who treats it like a joke," she spat the tail end of her verbal attack.
Little did Tigress know that Mantis had resumed his acupuncture procedure. As soon as she completed the assault:
"Doi!" Po snapped, seeming to mock the tiger. His face twisted as though he wanted to further insult her.
"Oh that is it!" Tigress shouted, unsheathing her claws as she prepared to literally rip him to shreds.
I froze, astounded. Granted, I hadn't known the panda that long, but I wouldn't ever have expected such a reaction from him.
Thankfully, Mantis jumped in, explaining, "Wait! My fault! I accidentally tweaked his facial nerve!" As if to confirm this, the panda fell over. "...And may have also stopped his heart."
Tigress scoffed and left the room. I sighed, and slithered over to the motionless panda while Mantis began yanking the needles out of Po's back. Slowly I lifted his head with my tail, and stared deep into his eyes. They fluttered a few times before setting lazily about two-thirds open.
"How we feeling?" I gently asked him.
"Loads better, thank you," Po returned, smiling as I grinned back at him.
Mantis coughed cautiously, staring awkwardly at the panda and I.
"What?" Po and I implored at the same instant.
- - - - -
She was running. Toward the trouble. Toward Tai Lung. Alone.
Worst battle strategy ever.
"Don't try and stop me!" that arrogant tiger yelled back at me, as though she were offended. The other four of us, that would be Crane, Mantis, Monkey, and I, followed her. It didn't take long before we realized where she was heading. Tigress had left the dinner table as soon as Master Shifu left the room. With her short circuits, we knew right away what was going on. Now, she raced on, intent to let our conversation end. But that wasn't why I went on this cat chase over all these roofs.
"Were not trying to stop you!" I shouted back.
"What!?!" She gasped, hesitating slightly before jumping to the next roof.
"Were coming with you!" Damn, girl, do you think I'm going to let you have all the credit? I swear, Tigress must have thought that she could just take the panda as her own, especially the way she was playing hard-to-get earlier when we were eating. I guess it was true, that he was attracted to her, considering the way he watched her earlier.
I don't know why we decided to race off and fight Tai Lung, Master Shifu clearly said we would loose the first time Tigress asked. But still, I couldn't just let her waltz off and show off for the new guy.
So we raced on only recognizing one another by subconsciously maneuvering about them. It was probably to the greater good that I didn't speak, for if we had spoken, I don't think that I would have been able to guard my tongue very well. Plus I don't think Tigress would have appreciated me yelling at her for trying to steal my guy, considering the lengths she was going to to hide her feelings. I mean, I guess she was trying to hide it; I could see it plain and clear.
At least we were both trying to protect the guy, so I guess that was good.
- - - - -
Failure. The word rattled me to the core. Us five masters were unable to defeat Tai Lung, and we had been the protectors of the Valley of Peace for so long now!
I guess we should have seen it coming. Master Shifu had clearly stated it was Po's destiny to defeat Tai Lung, not ours. Deep down, I wasn't surprised that we lost. I mean, he did master the thousand scrolls of Kung Fu, and he did keep the valley safe from everything but himself for twenty years- just as long as the five of us did. And he did it by himself.
Tai Lung let us go. He told us to spread news of his strength and talent, to talk about him as though he were a celebrity. Then again, I guess he was a celebrity. Still, he sent us off with a warning: if we were going to challenge him again, he wouldn't show such 'mercy' or 'compassion'. Wonder how he'd define those.
Tai Lung also chose to talk a bit with Crane before forcing him to fly us home. I couldn't hear what was said aside from the occasional word or two, and couldn't ask Tigress due to our current conditions. I know she could hear them though. With her ears, she could practically hear their thoughts. Plus, why would I want to ask her. She could choose to hide everything, just like she'd been doing with Po!
It wasn't long before Tai Lung decided to get rid of us. With a few gnashes of teeth, he sent Crane flapping his heart out, carrying the rest of us home to spread the messages of doom to come.
- - - -
Sorry, am I boring you? AH sorry, thats right, you saw all of that already. I am so sorry, I was just a little bit caught up in the action that I didn't notice.
Allow me to pick up where things began going haywire.
- - - -
Poof! A bright glow shot out from the middle of the valley, accompanied by breeze.
Chatter rose up around us. That looked like...
"The wushi finger hold," Tigress gasped. "But, Po didn't know that."
I eagerly glanced back down at the village, for any sign that Po still lived. Wait, there were already masses of figures moving back into the town. Villagers were already rushing back down there!
"What if...?" That was all I had to say before the group of us rushed down, knowing that we could be facing Tai Lung again.
We jumped off the main trail to go around as many of the townsfolk as possible. My thoughts shattered as we gained sight of all the wrecked buildings and damaged store-fronts. Oh no...
We silently slowed to a walk, now picking our way through the crowd of geese, ducks, and pigs.
"There's no way he could have survived..."
Applause suddenly shot through the crowd. Surprised, we each instantly looked toward the center.
There stood my panda amid the settling dust. It would have been an understatement to say I was shocked.
"Hey guys," Po broke the silence. My head screamed SAY SOMETHING!
However, the bold, bone-headed tiger stepped forward and bowed respectfully, saying, "Master."
Dammit!
The rest of the crowd, including the other four of us, followed suit.
"Master?" he laughed. Then: "Master Shifu!" And he ran off.
We stood there for a minute watching him. "Hmm, now what was that about?" I tried to dryly joke with Tigress.
"What was what?" she replied coolly, turning to me.
"Riiight..."
"What!?!"
"You like him, don't you?" I pressed, needing to know the answer myself. She better make it clear. She ain't getting that panda.
"It's possible," she shot back before promptly turning and walking away.
I cursed to myself quietly. Crane glanced at me, so I faked a smile and started off after Po.
"What would he see in her, honestly?" I muttered to myself. "It's not like she has features or anything-"
"Hey man," I caught part of a conversation. "Did you see that Master Tigress? She is so much hotter in person!" The speaker's friend saw me, and only stared past his friend.
I pity the poor soul that had to wash his clothing. I hissed possibly a bit louder than I had intended to. The swine turned and squealed before realizing who I was.
"Don't you talk about her like that," I tried to say calmly, as he collected himself.
Before he, or anyone else could say anything more, I pushed on my way. "Okay so maybe there's that," I muttered. "I guess she does have a more attractive body than I do. Plus there's the whole cold-blooded thing that confuses people. Still, I'm more sensitive, caring, gentle, kind, outgoing..."
The stairs. The worst part of the Palace for a snake. Climbing a stair isn't as easy as simply lifting a leg. No. First you have to get your head up, then pull some of your body up before pushing your head the next step. Whatever, Crane wasn't there to help. He was down with the rest of the valley probably looking at all the damage, or celebrating.
When I finally reach the top stair, I glanced into the Hall of Heroes. No signs of life. I could make out voices elsewhere in the Palace, though. Slowly, I slithered on. The voices seemed to come from the kitchen. Part of me sighed. Of course he'd be in the kitchen.
I took a deep breath, feeling the cool, late afternoon air brushing itself across my body. The sky was fading into a deep crimson, stars beginning to speckle beside the triumphant moon. Their day's battle has been won, and now they dance in celebration. Likewise, fireworks lit up our valley, in our own victory festivity.
Po's party palace was the kitchen. I don't know how or why he enjoyed it so much, but he did. And you could tell it was him from a mile away, his boisterous voice carried the tales he told.
"At first he didn't think I could do it, but I was all like, 'Scadoosh!' and boom. He disappeared." Po was energetically recounting his tale. I got to the doorway when I heard:
"And that's when we showed up."
Oh no... Tigress!
- - - - - - - -
How could it get any worse? Who knows what Tigress might have said before I got to the kitchen.
I hope it wasn't much. I mean, Po should have taken up quite a lot of time recounting everything. I don't think it took me quite that long to get up those stairs. And I doubt that she would open up to him with Master Shifu around.
But, I needed to stick around just a bit to see if I could tell he something had gone on before I got there.
"Po, I really need to apologize for my behavior earlier," Tigress started. "It was really low of me to only see you for what you look like."
"Well, some people do say that looks are deceiving," Po replied to possibly the second nice thing that the tiger had ever said to him. "They even made a catchy line for it: 'Don't judge a book by its cover.'"
"You know what,Po? I'd like to get to know you better, especially since I kinda started off on the wrong foot," Tigress continued.
"As would I," Master Shifu inserted, "but I need to fly. The village leaders were expecting me. Can I trust you two together?" He paused. "Good. I will be back later. See you both later." I'm guessing he exited out the other door.
"I don't think he means it the way I do," Tigress then whispered.
"Huh?"
"I'd like to take you to lunch tomorrow."
I figured it was a good time to make my presence known. I couldn't have imagined what I saw next.
"Hey guy-" I froze having caught sight of the two mammals.
Tigress was practically on top of Po. She had his paws pinned to the table with hers, and already had a leg over his lap. They were face to face, Po looking confused as ever.
Upon my entrance, Tigress leaped off of him, upsetting two of the chairs and nearly the table. "Um, uh, you, uh didn't see anything. At all," she stammered.
"Of course not," I lied sarcastically, still struggling to comprehend. "Would you like me to leave?"
"Oh no no no no, of course not. I'm sorry, you really surprised me. I didn't hear you coming...-"
Shoot. "I think you were a little... preoccupied."
"No... Um, well, uh... I need to leave." Tigress promptly picked herself up off the ground and walked out. I stared her down until she was well out of the room.
"Why are you looking like her like that?" Po asked, still confused.
"Hmm?"
"Are you mad at her or something?"
"What? No... Of course not." He didn't take it. "Well, maybe a little."
I practically saw his mind jump to the truth. My deep dark secret.
"Oh no, it's not like that!" I denied.
"Sure it isn't."
"No really!" I yelled back.
"Uh huh." I shook my head at him. "Look, I think Tigress needs to take me to lunch to get the guilt off her chest. And her and I need to talk about... this thing that happened."
"Oh how sweet! She's taking you out to lunch."
"Don't play stupid. I heard you outside."
"WHAT!?!" How in the world?
"I quote: Legends say you will be able to hear a butterfly's wings beat."
I still stared at him silently, amazed. "You really took that thing to heart, didn't you?"
"Had to, to beat Tai kitty."
I laughed. Not much can compare to his sense of humor.
"Well," I began, "You should take up on Tigress's offer. Not many people get this type of opportunity." He laughed. "As a matter of fact, I think you are the first person who she's even considered taking out."
"Now don't you make this sound like a date. That's the last thing I want it to be." He paused. "Scratch that. I mean, who wouldn't want to date Tigress?"
Just like I thought.
He caught my downtrodden look. "Or you for that matter," he continued. "You're very beautiful as well, I was just talking about her at the moment." Again, he paused. "You know what? How about you and I go out for dinner tomorrow night, so that A) Tigress doesn't think its much more than lunch, and B) you and I can get to know each other better. How's that sound?"
I had to suppress myself from literally bouncing off the walls. "Amazing would be an understatement!" Oh my gods! A date with Po!
- - - - - - - -
Crane was the type of person you just knew you could confide in. I always went to him for advice, or even just a person to talk to. Dependable, kind, etc. As a matter of fact, you could say I had a crush on him in my earlier years. During that time of 'growth' where all the chemicals and hormones run wild. Heh, we could say I had a crush on pretty much anybody and everybody. The males, that is. Let's just get back to the story.
That night after the celebrations and all wound down, I went to talk to Crane. I had an idea, and I needed his help. Together, we could make sure Tigress didn't do anything to my panda. Yes, mine.
It was just after dinner time, when we each normally had free time to do as we wished. Monkey and Mantis normally sparred, while Crane practiced calligraphy. Master Shifu played his flute as only he knew how. I had no idea what Po would do, but it was probably either sleep or eat, no offense to the guy. Tigress normally sparred, but I think she was trying to put together some sort of set of clothing for tomorrow. Maybe scraping together some of the makeup I had given her over the years during my attempts to 'feminine-ize' her.
I knocked on Crane's bedroom door. Instantly there came a muffled, "Come in." I obeyed. "Ah, Viper. You could say I was expecting you."
"Really?"
"Considering how jumpy you were during dinner, I just thought you would have something to talk about. What is it?"
I shuffled in and shut the door. "I didn't interrupt something important, did I?"
"No not really. Just some practicing."
"It looks wonderful."
"Thank you." He replied, glancing back down at his work.
Then silence crept in on us.
"...Viper?"
"Oh yea, um... Would you mind going for a walk?"
"Yea, sure. Anything for a friend," He said, setting his calligraphy supplies aside. I walked out the doorway, and he followed.
At first I had no idea where we could go, but it didn't take long before I thought of the Peach tree.
We walked silently past the two sparring forms of Monkey and Mantis. Both of them acknowledged us by glancing over and nothing more. By the looks of it, Monkey was having a tough time keeping up with Mantis.
Crane and I also passed Master Shifu as he played soothing tunes from his flute. One of his jumbo, fluffy ears twitched, revealing that he had noted us.
Getting nearer to the tree, Crane walked beside me, glancing down and smiling.
I coiled up into a snake's 'sitting' position, and Crane ruffled his feathers a bit.
"First of all, thank you very much for being there to talk to," I started. He nodded for of to continue. "Now, settle in, this may be a long one. Okay so let's face it, I have a major crush on Po."
"Obviously, now go on."
"Was it really that obvious?''
"I could tell, but that's not saying much."
"Anyway, so I like him like a lot. But Tigress seems to like him too. Even he has confirmed that she is more attractive between the two of us, though it was by accident. I think Po likes me too, but he could just feel sorry for me. Anyway, she asked him out to lunch tomorrow. Then I caught her practically on his lap by her own doing and she jumped and ran away. Then he said he and I should go to dinner tomorrow night, but I need your help making sure that she doesn't kiss him or corner him or anything. I was thinking that we could follow then on the roofs and he the catch us, we would pretend that we were getting a bite to eat since the chef was out." I took a deep breath before exhaling slowly.
"Is that all?" Crane asked. I nodded. "Wow, what a story."
"What do ya think?"
"I'm not quite sure what to think. I'll help, but only so long as we don't interrupt any tender moments they share. If they do like each other, we need to let then be."
I sighed. "Understood."
"Now, do we know where they'll be eating?"
- - - - - -
Mr. Ping's restaurant. Of all places she could choose.
I guess I should look at the bright side, it was an open air restaurant, easy to spy into. Crane and I had situated ourselves behind Tigress and off to a side. Felines have this ability to see motion very well, so we wanted to stay well out of her field of vision.
Crane crouched over me. We didn't want anyone seeing us at all, and starting any commotion. He also wanted to keep me cool, by shielding me from the sunlight. Sometimes being cold-blooded has some disadvantages.
I was too focused at the time to realize just how we might have looked to the casual eye. The position Crane was in would have deeply amused of back when I was crushing on him. I don't know if Crane realized it either.
Ahem, that aside, our two targets were just getting seated. Po's father was even more electric than normal, shouting quite loudly as room as they appeared in the doorway. Apparently, they had sent Zeng ahead, and Mr. Ping had a table set aside for them.
They each quickly ordered something, and started talking. Tigress especially. That and she wouldn't stop rubbing her tail all over his legs and she constantly played with his feet. At first Crane had to literally pin me to the roof top to keep me from going down there and causing a ruckus. That would have been quite embarrassing. Crane pointed out that Po wasn't reacting, which calmed me down enough to realize it as well. Good, I thought to myself, He's my panda.
They seemed to talk forever. Tigress went on and on and on. Eventually, Po set his head in his hand, gazing blindly over at the blabbering tiger.
However, he lightened up a whole lot once the food came. Wait a minute... Theres only one...-
"They're sharing?" Crane asked, slightly amused and bewildered.
Took a minute to click for me. "What?" This was not good at all!
"Maybe just Po is eating?" I thought. But sure enough, Tigress picked up a pair of chopsticks, looking intensely at the bowl of noodles the waiter had set between the both of them.
Both Po and Tigress grabbed for noodles. Tigress finally stopped talking and shoved the bite into her mouth. Po did the same, not paying any attention to the pieces that he grabbed. Instantly, he began the childhood tradition of sucking them into his mouth before realizing-
"NO!!!" I jumped out from under Crane, landing in the restaurant below. Po had accidentally grabbed pieces Tigress had. Their mouths met halfway across the table. He froze, surprise shining through his eyes when he realized what they were doing. Tigress's tail showed just how excited she was, flicking obnoxiously back and forth.
Just then, Crane landed on my back and crouched down, keeping me from seeing anything more, and yet still trying to make sure that we weren't seen. "Po didn't mean that," Crane whispered, "So don't you hold it against him." He paused a moment to let it sink into that thick skull of mine. "Now, we need to get out of here."
"PO! TIGRESS!" a miniature, but powerful voice echoed from somewhere. "Come quickly!" The voice seemed to get closer. "Where are Crane and Viper!?!"
"It's Mantis. If they ask, we were flying, okay?" Crane told me, before standing up straight and allowing me to climb on top of him. Occasionally, we would go flying together to talk, so it wouldn't be all too unusual. He flapped his wings so that we were somewhat off the ground.
"You need us?" Crane called, before landing next to the now-gathered warriors.
Mantis was very tired. Something was wrong, I could tell, just by the way he was looking at us. I glanced at Po and Tigress. Po was still somewhat stunned, while Tigress had this sly grin on her face. Mantis had yet to speak.
"Terrible..." He gasped. "There were so many of them. They... They have them."
"Have who?" Tigress demanded, suddenly snapping out of her trance.
"Master Shifu, and Monkey."
- - - - -
Author Notes: Okay so I know its been forever since I updated this, but that was because I was still working with ideas. Now, though, I have a much clearer concept of the story. Which is good considering I'm writing it. XD. Any suggestions would be awesome, and comments on this... Cause it literally took forever.
I've been writing on my phone lately due to time constraints. Yes, I said it, my phone. Who here still types with Notepad? Not many. I, however, have to. There may still be some typos in the story, and if you find one, I will fix it as well as give you a mention down here ^^. Actually, does anyone else here type on a phone at all? One with a number pad and NOT a keyboard?
As always, tokokono helped muchly. First of all, he helped me overcome a formatting error that would have taken a bit longer to fix normally. Second, he kinda helped give this thing a direction. I have a horrible way of starting things w/o a direction to go in ^^.
Thanks as well to FalconMage, who I have been talking to muchly about this thing.
And, as always, thank you, the readers, for taking your time to read! Hope you enjoyed it (so far).