Disclaimer (for the whole story): I don't own Kung Fu Panda
Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry this chapter is a couple days late! I had something to take care and I had no time to type this chapter! Thankfully, a dear friend of mine came to my rescue! She wrote this whole chapter for me :D But upon her request, I cannot reveal who she is. And this friend of mine also gave me her idea of a potential sequel for this fic! See? This story isn't even half way through and she already thought of a sequel. It's actually pretty good. And she said if this story didn't succeed, I can always make into a separate story. PM me if you want to know some infos about it.
Well, enough of my raving. On with the story!
Troubles during travel
The rest of the day was spent travelling. The time the sun had risen up the horizon Shifu and his students had already reached the Village boarders and then headed north from there on. By the middle of the day they had reached the Thread of Hope, but before mounting the perilous bridge the Warriors stopped to eat lunch which Po prepared for the group. Crossing the rickety bridge was rather trying especially for the Dragon Warrior. Fortunately for him, the others are there to assist him.
Five hours later they had reached a small town within the province called Hanjin.
Shifu booked three rooms at the nearest inn they could find. Viper and Tigress will be sharing a room, all the males will be in a separate one and so is he, as the red panda preferred to be alone during slumber. Also, Shifu didn't want to deal with Po's snoring and mutterings in his sleep.
Po flopped into his mat inside the room he and the male members of the Five were checked in. He hugged his pillow very tightly. "Man! I'm glad I don't have to sleep on the ground tonight!"
Mantis fell into his own mat, rubbing his legs and pincers into the surface as if he was making a snow angel. "You said it buddy! Ahhhh, sweet civilization."
"How come you get a whole bed to yourself?" Monkey said as he and Crane went into their own bedding areas. "You're only the size of my hand!"
Mantis raised his tiny head and shot Monkey a withering look. "What? You want me to sleep on your hand?"
"No." Monkey replied. "I'm just saying that you should get a bed your size."
"Pfft. You're just jealous that I have plenty of space, and you don't." Mantis taunted.
"Whatever." Monkey waved his hand dismissively.
"Cut it out guys," Crane said as one of his talons grabbed the rice hat from his tiny head and placed it on his bed area. "I know all you are pretty tired from the journey, but that doesn't mean you should start fighting."
"Crane's right." Po said as he settled into a comfortable sleeping position. "We should probably get some sleep. We have a long journey ahead of us."
But that evening, as the lights were out and everyone went into a peaceful slumber, Po couldn't help but think about the letter Shifu received yesterday.
What if Viper was right? What if it was indeed just a means to lure Po into a trap? And now that the others went with him, they'll be in danger too! And it will be his fault because he was too damn foolish to believe that the message was written personally by his father!
But what if it was from him? If he had refused to put his trust in it, then he would have missed the chance to meet the man who had risked so much for him to escape the evil hands of a power-hungry peacock. And besides, the letter also mentioned the name of Lord Shen. How many bandits out there actually knew about the panda massacre thirty years ago?
Sighing tiredly, Po flipped so he was lying on his side.
I guess I just have to wait and see. Po thought, before falling into a deep sleep.
The next morning...
The kung fu warriors checked out early to continue their journey for Shanxi. Shifu had no idea how to find the Heaven's Sanctuary Ang Déshèng mentioned in the letter. The red panda's plan was to ask the local citizens of the province for the aforementioned village.
Po's nervousness was getting noticeable. He was quiet all throughout their travel. He never even laughed at Monkey's funny jokes. They grew worried, but spoke nothing for fear that they might make matters worse.
At nightfall, they set up camp in a small clearing inside a forest. Dinner was rather quick, and even then the Dragon was as silent as he was earlier that morning. Viper initiated a casual conversation. But most of time, when a question was asked at Po he would answer "Huh?", "What?", or "Did you say something?"
After the awkward meal, there was a thirty-minute break before Shifu ordered for a quick sparring match between the warriors. It was Monkey against Po, Crane against Tigress, and Mantis against Viper. And afterwards, it was time for bed.
Tigress volunteered to take the first watch. To the feline's surprise, yet visible delight, Shifu accompanied her.
The others placed mats on the ground around the dead embers of the fire pit they made, and went to slumber while the Tigress and Shifu checked the entire area for potential dangers.
There was a certain panda, however, who find it hard to fall asleep because of the many thoughts circulating in his mind; and most of them were negative.
Po simply stared at the stars at the dark sky with both paws cushioning his large head. He hoped that this would tire his eyes out, but thirty minutes had passed and he still couldn't sleep.
He tried counting the stars, reaching up to two-hundred, yet he was nowhere near exhausted. He tried on sleeping in different positions, but it did him no good. He was still wide awake.
"Alright, stop that," Mantis voice rang from the corner, startling the panda.
Po yelped. He didn't know that the insect was awake. "Dangit, Mantis, don't scare me like that!"
Mantis simply ignored Po's statement, and stood up from his tiny sleeping mat and pointed a pincer at Po. "We can't sleep with you making so much noise."
We? The three other members of the Five rose from their sleeping position, glancing at Po with worried eyes. The panda guiltily scratched the back of his head. "Sorry guys."
"Po," Viper said softly, "are you worried about meeting your father."
Sighing, Po looked down at the ground. "Yeah, but that's not what I'm really worried about."
The four kung fu masters scooted closer to the Dragon Warrior, showing him that they were ready to listen. It made Po smile a little.
"I thought about what you said before, Viper," he said and glanced at the snake. "What if the letter was fake? What if this was really a trap, and this Ang Déshèng who claims to be my biological father, is really a phony? Then all of you will be in danger all because I was too naive to know any better."
They were quiet after Po had spoken. The trees made soft rustling noises that shattered that silence. The four members of the Five exchanged looks, then turned back to the distraught panda their eyes worried as ever.
Viper decided to wrap her tail around Po's wrist as an act of comfort. She smiled warmly at him, "Po, we came with you on our own free will. If that message is a sham - which I highly doubt - and is indeed a trick, then it will be our own fault if we were to be in any sort of danger. Not yours." The others simply nodded in agreement.
"But guys!" Po threw his paws in the air. "It will be my fault! If I hadn't let my feelings get the better of me then you wouldn't have come with on this ridiculous quest and nothing bad would have happened to you!"
"Uh-huh. And what if the letter was not a fake, hmm?" Monkey retaliated. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at Po challengingly. "What d'you think would have happened if you decided not to go see your dad, when in fact the letter was actually real?"
The four warriors fixed their gazes at the panda, anticipating his answer. But Po just stared back at them. His green eyes darted from one Furious Five to another, his lips slowly pursing and his eyebrows furrowing. Unable to hold the frustration any longer, he groaned aloud. "I don't know! Okay?" Po exclaimed. "It's just..."
Po sighed and flopped back on his sleeping mat. "I don't want to keep on hoping, only to get disappointed in the end."
There was a pause, before Crane spoke next. "Po, listen. I know we have no concrete evidence that this Ang Déshèng is no underhanded criminal nor do we have any proof that he is truly the man who sired you, but one thing is certain. We are going to Shanxi to this Heaven's Sanctuary and find out that this man, is what he claims to be - and!" Crane held up a wing preventing Po from saying anything. "If we are going to get in trouble, we take full responsibility for it. We will not blame you in the slightest."
The other three nodded in solemn agreement. Seeing their supportive smiles and encouraging eyes made Po feel certain. He was very glad to have friends like them. He wanted to give them all hug, but before he could do that he gave off a big yawn feeling tired all of a sudden.
"I guess it's time for us to head back to sleep." Viper said, ushering the three males away from the panda and into their sleeping areas. She went to her own mat, yawned and finally settled into a comfortable curl.
"Um, guys?" Po sat up, interrupting the masters once more.
"Yes Po?" Viper called from her sleeping mat.
He was little nervous of telling them? How will they react o his confession? What if they didn't approve? "There's... also something else I want to talk about."
"What is it?"
Po gulped. "It's about..."He wasn't able to finish his sentence when Shifu and Tigress suddenly emerged from between the trees.
"Why are you all still awake?" Shifu asked as he walked closer to the kung fu warriors.
"My fault, Master," Po confessed raising a paw in the air. "I was making a lot of noise and interrupted their sleep. Sorry."
Shifu stared at the panda as if he was trying to figure something he sighed and said, "Well, you should go back to sleep. Tigress and I have already patrolled the entire perimeter, and we haven't found any potential threat."
"Yes master." His students bowed.
For the next following days, the warriors spent most of the day traveling. Po's wariness at the thought of meeting his biological parent grew more noticeable each day. It showed in his habits. Most of the time the panda was strangely quiet, he always stared into space at nothing in particular, and he never even laughed when Monkey cracked a very funny joke one time. His companions grew very concern, even Shifu. One day when they were resting by a river bank in Ningxia Hui, the red panda tried to make Po speak of his concerns, but the Dragon Warrior brushed the question aside saying that he would rather not talk about it. After that, none of them dared delve further into the matter anymore for fear that they might make things worst. They simply gave Po the space he needed to think things through.
It took them a whole week to reach Shanxi, and an extra day to arrive at Taiyun, the provincial capital. Shifu asked various people for the so-called Heaven's Sanctuary, but no one even knew what the place is. To the citizens in the province, such a place didn't exist.
"Strange," Shifu said after asking another local citizen who gave him the same answer of 'no I don't know where that place is', "the letter clearly said the province was Shanxi. Could Ang Déshèng mistaken it for Shaanxi? No one around this place know this village."
"He could have," said Tigress, her fiery scarlet eyes roaming all over the busy streets. She stepped back when a pair of rabbits - a mother and her child - walk past her. The little one looked up at her with big, astonished eyes. Tigress offered a gentle smile. The little bunny girl waved a small paw at her as her mother dragged her along the road. The tiger turned back to her master, "perhaps we should ask other people. Someone might give us the answers."
They went to a different part of Taiyun and inquired other people. Unfortunately for the six Jade Palace warriors and Grand master, they received the same answer as earlier. Thirty minutes had passed and still no success. Shifu ordered for a little break, and afterwards they'll be going to another part of the province.
In a grassy field somewhere in Taiyun, about 3: 45 PM
"Ugh! This is pointless!" Mantis said as he flopped into the soft grass under the shade of the tree. "We've been asking countless of people about this 'Heaven's Sanctuary' and none of these folks know this place!"
Viper rested in her coil near Tigress who stood on the right side of Po. The panda seated near the tree, his back against it. Monkey was on his left, balanced on his tail. Crane was next to Shifu, both of them stood.
"How can you expect to find this place right away? Shanxi is pretty big, you know." Crane said.
"But we should have found it by now? What if that letter is a fraud and this Ang Déshèng really is a fake?"
"Mantis!" Tigress, Viper and Monkey exclaimed. The insect shrunk under their voices, and even further when Shifu dealt him with a stern look. "Sorry..." he muttered guiltily.
They all glanced at Po who was staring into space. The panda didn't move and he showed no emotion whatsoever. They felt sorry for him. Po had intensely hoped that he truly will be meeting the man who sired him, to speak with him. But nothing is sure yet, the search is not over. They will keep looking until there was solid proof that this place is unreal or real.
Po sighed, his shoulders slumping. "Maybe...maybe Mantis is right."
"No Po," Shifu said quickly, approaching the panda master with a firm air, clasping his wooden staff tightly. " Until we can prove that Heaven's Sanctuary does not exist, we will keep on looking." The Five nodded in agreement to Shifu's proposal.
Po looked at their faces and couldn't help but smile at their unwavering support. He truly did have amazing friends and master. "Thanks guys."
"Right then!" Shifu exclaimed tapping the ground with the staff's butt. "We better start searching."
They began making their way towards the heart of the capital. As they marched, Po noticed from afar, between the trees that lead to the forest of the grassy field a lone figure wearing a brown cloak, staring at them. The figure retreated into the woods once it noticed Po was looking in its direction. Po furrowed his brows but ignored the figure as he thought it was merely an illusion.
The warriors were back to asking people again. It took them the rest of the afternoon, and by that time they had practically roamed the entire capital and asked every citizen there. Yet no one knew! What's with those people?
Night finally took its dominion and the warriors decided to call it a day. They went to the grassy field they had rested on earlier that afternoon and decided to camp there for the night. Tigress and Shifu built a fire with the woods Monkey Crane and Mantis had gathered, while Po and Viper prepared the noodles for dinner.
During dinner, Po was silent like he had been the previous dinners they've shared since their departure from the Valley of Peace. The Five spoke amongst themselves, Shifu joined in on some occasions hoping that the panda would join in. But he didn't. Afterwards, they unrolled their mats around the dead embers of the fire pit. Like always, Tigress offered the first watch and Shifu joined her yet again. It brought a delightful smile on the tiger's lips.
"Hey Po," Mantis said. "You still up?"
"Yeah?" Po answered.
"Sorry about what I said earlier."
"It's nothing." He sat up and bowed his head sorrowfully. "I'm starting to think that this whole thing with my 'dad' - he made quotation marks in the air -"is a sham. We've been asking people about this Heaven's Sanctuary and no one around here know where it is."
Viper, Monkey and Crane were overhearing the conversation. The three stopped their pretending to be asleep, and joined in with the chat. "Maybe Master Shifu is right," said Crane, "what if it was Shaanxi, not Shanxi?"
"Maybe," Monkey shrugged.
"Well in that in case," Viper smiled encouragingly, "we should tell Master Shifu to go look in Shaanxi, if we can't find the village here in Shanxi."
Po smiled gratefully at his friends. "Thanks you guys."
"Everyone! Hurry and pack your things. We must leave immeiately," Shifu said urgerntly as he and Tigress suddenly came rushing back into their camp. The look of alarm on their faces told the other five warriors that there was trouble.
"What's wrong master?" Crane asked, he and the warriors now in full alert.
"Bandits," Tigress replied. "We saw a whole horde of them setting up camp just a few yards from here."
The warriors hastily packed their supplies back in their bags. Shifu strained his large ears for any indication that the enemy were nearing their location. His blue eyes narrowed as his left ear suddenly twitched. "Make haste, students. Some are -"
He didn't finish his sentence, and he startled his six students when he suddenly launched himself in the air. Shifu moved his arms about as if he was deflecting an attack, but the Five and Po saw nothing!
It was when Shifu fell back to the ground in a kung fu stance that the students saw why he performed those moves. Five long black arrows fell to the forest floor in front of their master. Each one of them gasped in shock. They had not seen those arrows, nor have they heard them saling in the air!
"We have company," Shifu said, his blue eyes narrowing into dangerous slits.
Five wolves fell from out of nowhere and surrounded the kung fu masters
Cliffhanger! Stay tuned for the next chapter!
Oh yeah, you guys should totally check out Naiatra Equatron's new story, "Life in Bao Gu". It's really awesome and you all are going to like it, especially if your a Tigress/ Shifu father-daughter fan.
To Jubjub 250, I'm sorry I haven't read your new story yet. My excuse was elaborated above, but I promise I'll read it once I have the time. Promise! :D
Don't forget to review!
