Another long chapter because this includes the marriage.

Chapter Three- Marriage

The next morning, Shifu woke up drowsy and nearly dead tired. He had another nightmare last night, and had woken up in a cold sweat. It had taken him a few hours to fall back asleep. As he rubbed his eyes, he noticed that there was an extra quilt on the bed.

"Odd." He muttered.

"Shinjitsu put that there." Kiki said as she came in thru the door. She had bathed and dressed in loose pants and a red vest that was identical to Tigress'. "You must've looked cold to her." Shifu remembered that the room was pretty chilly at night without the light up dragons on. But he was also pretty shaken by his dream.

"Come on." Kiki said, heading back out the door. "Breakfast is ready, and we have a big day today." That was true; today was the day to plan the wedding.

Shifu got out of bed and dressed quickly before rushing to breakfast. After everyone had gathered and eaten, jobs were handed out. That's when the day got busy.

Po went off with Kivu to the kitchen to plan the dinner after the wedding. Tai Lung, Mei, Monkey, and Crane set up the seating arrangements. Shinjitsu was talking with her mother for a long time. Kiki, Tigress, Mantis, Lin, Daiyu, Destiny, and Narrisa set up the empty room that would be the wedding. They were debating on what it should look like for about an hour before they even started. Shinjitsu said a traditional Greek wedding with a touch of Chinese. Shifu meditated until someone needed him.

After the planning was done, it took another week for everything to be ready. It was five days before the wedding when Kiki suddenly remembered the bride and groom's outfits. Everyone needed to be ready.

So that's what they did all of that day and the next. The girls went with Shinjitsu and the boys with Kivu. Having magic powers came in handy; Shinjitsu, Kivu, and Nemesis created two new rooms full of wedding clothes, one for the boys and the other for the girls.

While everyone else was choosing, Shifu already had an outfit. He had actually planned ahead and had his wedding robes tucked away in his bag. So he went back and forth from the girls and the boys to see how they were doing.

"What do you think?" Tai Lung asked as he turned around. "Too weird?"

"It looks weird anyway." Po said. "I've never seen a warrior like you wear something so formal." Everyone laughed as Tai Lung shot Po a killer glare. Tai Lung had on a pinstriped suit that was navy blue and pink. He immediately went back to the changing room to change.

It was harder for everyone else. Po could hardly find a good outfit that he liked and that fit. Crane was considering whether or not to wear a shirt or not. Mantis couldn't decide whether or not to wear anything since he was so small no one may notice him. All in all, the boys were having trouble. Kivu was having the most trouble, trying to look his best for Nemesis and Shinjitsu. He would've broken down and fallen over had Shifu not helped him out a bit.

In the girl's section, everyone had an easier time. Shinjitsu knew how to make everyone look very nice. She fashioned Tigress, Mei, Kiki, Destiny, and Narrisa with very pretty dresses, though Tigress didn't seem too happy about wearing one. Lin, Daiyu, and Viper were fitted with headdresses since they didn't really wear clothes.

Shinjitsu was last. The girls had a hard time picking a dress that was perfect for the bride-to-be. This one was too elegant, that one too simple, and that made you look like a grandmother.

It took a few hours before Shinjitsu found the perfect dress. By then, it was mid afternoon. So everyone went to have a late lunch and then hang out. Po went back to the kitchen with Kivu and Shinjitsu to make sure the food was still on the Good to Go List. Monkey and Mantis took a nap. The girls, minus Shinjitsu, took one last look at the wedding room to make sure everything was in place. Tai Lung and Crane were put in charge of putting the outfits in bags and writing the names of the owners on the bags.

Shifu walked around, not doing much. He thought about meditating when he his sensitive ears picked up the sound of shouting. He followed the sound until he found himself walking towards Nemesis' door. He walked slower, listening intently.

"Why not?!" a man inside shouted.

"Because I do not wish to!" Nemesis shouted back. "I am not some concubine!"

"I never said that!" the man cried. His voice softened. "I respect you greatly for your wisdom, beauty, and kindness."

"I'll show you the full extent of my kindness." Nemesis regarded coldly. "Once you leave my temple and don't come back till after my daughter's wedding."

"I don't believe your daughter should be marrying this….Kivu…." the man hissed, spitting out Kivu's name like it was poison. "You realized he was the son of the evil sorcerer Dai, correct?"

"I know." Nemesis said. "But it was not by blood. Besides, I've gotten to know Kivu over these last six months, and I trust him."

"But don't you trust me?" the man pleaded.

Nemesis' voice went angry again. "I'll not do it!"

The man's voice was filled with rage. "You will regret this! I swear it!"

Shifu was a few feet from the door when it suddenly burst open. The man that had been shouting slammed it shut behind him. The man was tall; with deathly pale skin it was almost white. His hair was long and straight. He wore strange black robes that looked sinister and dark. When the man scowled at Shifu, his black eyes bore straight thru the master, giving him a cold and bad feeling and making the fur on his neck bristle in fear. The man walked off, and Shifu stared after him, not taking his eyes off the man's back until he walked out the front door, slamming it behind him. Shifu turned back to Nemesis' door and saw the goddess standing there. She gave Shifu a soft smile.

"Sorry you had to see that." Nemesis apologized. "That was Hades, the Greek lord of the dead."

"What'd he want?" Shifu asked, still shaken by Hades' murderous glared.

"Nothing." Nemesis said. "Just…..nothing." Nemesis disappeared into her room. Shifu thought about pestering her, but Shinjitsu suddenly ran up to him.

"I'm glad I caught you." She panted a little. "I wanted to ask you something."

"What's that?" Shifu inquired. Shinjitsu looked around for a moment before grabbing Shifu's paw and leading him down the corridor to a door covered in vines with a sign that read "Garden". Shinjitsu pulled Shifu in and shut the door quietly behind her. The two of them walked thru the garden, and Shifu stared in awe. It was full of thousands of flowers, trees, and plants. Butterflies and wild birds fluttered about. Shifu and Shinjitsu stopped at a small pool and sat down on some rocks. Koi fish swam about in the pool.

"What's this about?" Shifu asked.

"Have you ever gotten married?" Shinjitsu asked.

"What?"

"Kiki told me about your fiancé, and how she died before you got married."

Shifu sighed. He told Shinjitsu about Yuki, and how they were planning to be married before she was murdered. Shinjitsu sighed.

"I'm sorry." She said. "And I want to help."

"How?" Shifu asked. Shinjitsu may be powerful, but she can't raise the dead, can she?

"Walk with me." Shinjitsu said.

"Excuse me?" Shifu was taken aback.

"Walk with me down the aisle at my wedding." Shinjitsu said. "I'm supposed to be walking with my dad, but he was a mortal that died years ago. I have no other siblings. I want you to walk with me."

"Oh…no…" Shifu politely refused. "I couldn't…"

"Do it…." Shinjitsu insisted. "Or I'll turn you into a mouse."

"So now you're threatening me into it?" Shifu guessed. Shinjitsu nodded. "Fine; I'll do it." Shinjitsu nearly squealed and hugged Shifu.

"Thank you." She whispered.

*****

A few days later, it was time.

It was the day of the wedding.

Everyone got up early to prepare. The boys went into the boys' dress room to change, the girls in their own. Shinjitsu and Kivu were in their own rooms getting ready. Shifu dressed in his own room. Thankfully, there were no windows, and Kiki was getting dressed with the rest of the girls. Shifu pulled on his wedding robes and studied himself in the mirror.

The robes he was wearing were supposed to be for his own wedding. Yuki had made it herself. The robe was gold cuffed with jade. The sash was black. Shifu turned to see the red colored dragon on the back. Shifu smiled. He may not be wearing it to his wedding, but to walk with Shinjitsu at her wedding was fine with him. To finish off the look, Shifu took out his werewolf necklace and put it on. Perfect. The wolf's head was glinting slightly in the light, and the chain was glinting a bit as well. Shifu smiled more broadly.

Creak.

Shifu's smiled faded quickly as he spun around. The room was deathly silent. But everyone knew that Shifu's ears could never fail unless he had an ear infection, and Shifu knew how to take extremely good care of his ears. Shifu warily walked forward, ready to fight. But there was nothing. Shifu was still worried, and he rushed down the hallway to Shinjitsu's room. He knocked hard.

"Come in!" came Shinjitsu's singsong reply. Shifu walked in saw Shinjitsu alright and putting the finishing touches on her dress. "What's up?"

"I just thought something was trying to attack me." Shifu said. "So I came to make sure you're alright. Apart from that, it's almost time."

"You want to help me?" Shinjitsu asked. "The zipper's stuck." Shifu blushed underneath his fur, but Shinjitsu didn't notice. Shifu walked up to Shinjitsu and awkwardly helped pull up the zipper on her dress. Shifu looked at her in the mirror and smiled.

Shinjitsu's dress was pure white. It had one strap that covered her entire shoulder and a single spaghetti strap on her other shoulder. There was a sort of strap below the breast line. Shifu helped Shinjitsu pin a faux white flower in her hair and clip in her veil. Shinjitsu stood back for Shifu's evaluation. "How do I look?"

"Beautiful." Shifu said. Suddenly, Kiki burst into the room. The little flower girl had on a little, short-sleeved, red satin, knee-length dress and a ringlet of roses on her head like a crown. She smiled from ear to ear.

"It's time!" she cried as she ran off.

*****

Everyone waited anxiously in the wedding room. It was very beautiful. The walls were sky blue with columns lining them. The walls weren't painted, but instead tiled with blue topaz gems. The columns glittered from the studded quartz crystals. The floor was tiled with many different gems that were multiple shades of blue; blue topaz, sapphires, aquamarine….and so many more. Put together, they made a sort of water/wave design. The pews were made of solid bronze studded with pearls. Little pink gems called garnets made little flower designs on the ends. There was no alter, but instead a large archway with a gold banner hanging from it. On the banner was the Chinese character for "Love" with the Greek translation underneath it. The ceiling was glass pane windows studded with emeralds with golden sunlight flowing thru. Between the columns around the room were statues of Greek heroes, each one made from a different gem. A Hercules statue was made of fire opals. There was a Perseus statue made of azurite. There was even a jade statue of Master Oogway, even though he wasn't Greek. Two large Pegasus, one made of black opals and the other made of white opals, seemed to guard the door with their wings spread.

Everyone inside the church looked nice as well. Po managed to find a nice, solid black suit that actually fit him. Tai Lung wore a navy blue suit and a purple tie. Monkey, Crane, and Mantis each had matching black suits and shirts. Crane had cleaned up his hat a bit before wearing that as well. Tigress wore a pink silk dress, but she didn't look very happy about having it on. When Po started teasing her about it, she threatened to make his eyes match his suit, if you know what I mean. Narrisa and Destiny wore matching dresses the color of grass in the spring. Mei wore a strapless dress the color of fire. Lin, Daiyu, and Viper each wore pretty headdresses.

Kivu stood by Nemesis, who was the priest for the wedding. He wore loose white pants and a puffy white shirt that made him look like a pirate. Nemesis wore a dress as black as night with a belt and collar as golden as the sun. Kivu looked nervous.

"Relax." Nemesis laughed. "This is your big day."

"I know." Kivu said. "But I'm worried I'll mess up."

"Just do as I tell you." Nemesis replied curtly.

Kiki suddenly appeared between the Pegasus at the door. "Here they come!"

Nemesis snapped her fingers and an invisible piano started playing. Everyone stood up and turned to the door, anxiously awaiting the lucky bride and her escort.

Shinjitsu and Shifu came walked in, Shinjitsu holding a bouquet of roses with jade for stems and thorns and petals made of abalone shells. Kivu couldn't stop staring at her, the lovesick zebra-disguised-as-a-nymph he was. Shinjitsu whispered a thank you to Shifu before standing beside Kivu before Nemesis. Shifu moved into the aisle and sat down with everyone else, next to Destiny.

The wedding began with Nemesis reciting several prayers in Greek. At the ending to the last prayer, she had Shinjitsu and Kivu hold hands. Shinjitsu handed her flowers off to Kiki and grasped her lover's hands. They held them that way for the rest of the ceremony. After Nemesis had finished the prayers, she made two flower crowns appear out of thin air. These crowns were actually ringlets of daisies with gold coins for centers and abalone shells for petals. As Nemesis continued the ceremony, the crowns switched places among the couple's heads three times. Then, it was drinking wine from a cup three times. The next part was what Kiki loved the best: the part where the couple and everyone around them are pelted with rice, which Nemesis made appear. Kiki managed to get Nemesis right in the face, despite the goddess using a Bible to dodge the assault. When the rice ordeal was over, Nemesis removed the crowns from Kivu and Shinjitsu's heads and broke their hand bonds with her Bible.

The wedding was over.

"Congratulations." Nemesis said. "You are officially married."

*****

The party afterwards was amazing.

Nemesis used her magic to clear out the church room for the party. Everyone talked, laughed, and (mostly in Po's case) ate and drank. Everyone kept congratulating the happy couple, who walked arm in arm the entire time. The party must've lasted for seven hours straight before everybody went to bed, dead tired. Except for Kiki, Shifu, and Lin. Lin and Kiki were hyped up on a sugar rush, and Shifu was used to staying up late. Po had left for bed early; he had drunk too much wine and left, saying he felt sick. When Viper went to check on him, she returned and said simply, "He threw up."

Shifu sat on his bed, meditating. Kiki was in Lin and Daiyu's room, playing. Shifu still hadn't changed out of his wedding outfit. He was feeling a bit too lazy to do so. Then, somebody knocked on his door. "Come in." he called.

Shinjitsu waltzed into the room, humming happily. She had long since changed from her wedding dress to a silky black nightgown. The nymph hopped onto Shifu's bed, smiling.

"Thanks for walking with me." She said.

"Think nothing of it." Shifu said. "Thank you for making me a part of it."

Shinjitsu smiled. "You're the best." She said. "Thanks again. Goodnight." She brushed the stray rice grains off his head and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before she walked out, her hips swaying. Shifu smirked and chuckled. Then Mei came into the room, holding a sleeping Kiki in her arms. She put her daughter to bed before wishing Shifu a goodnight and leaving. Shifu glanced at Kiki, who had her flower crown tilted cutely on the side of her head. Shifu got under the covers and fell asleep the minute his eyes shut.

A/N: Thank you soooooo much RPO for the gem colors! And I know it's not exactly like a tradition Greek wedding, but I tried my best. Read and Review!