A/N: One of my dearest dreams is that the panda I cuddle with every night will pull on a pair of shorts, grow to massive size, and begin referring to himself as 'Po.' Also, that a certain point-man will barge in through my bedroom door, pull me into his arms, and whisk me away to a world of rotating hallways and three-piece suits. Ah, dreams.
This is chapter seven! This marks the halfway point! It's all planned out, and there's going to be fourteen chapters! Did you hear that! Fourteen chapters!
Yeah, this was never going to be a long story. But, never fear! I have potential stories/sequels planned for after this!
This chapter is dedicated in part to Kristenthekittykat, who wanted more Furious Five. Here you go, my dear. This is also dedicated to LTspade, my internet-fiance, who's updates I am currently coordinating with mine! (The Last Farewell Ride- go read it.)
Song of the chapter: "Tai Lung escapes", scored by Hans Zimmer and John Powell, on the KFP soundtrack.
Not much else to say here... I truly hope you enjoy. This chapter was an ass to write. I hope you know that I'm staying up past my bedtime to get this out to y'all.
Enjoy!
XxX
They slipped in under the cover of darkness. The night hid them like a cloak as they slipped in-between buildings, using the decrepit structures as cover from probing eyes.
It was reminiscent of their very first mission as a team, Tigress reflected. It had been a night very much like this one: Shifu had instructed them to infiltrate a village that had been invaded by bandits. The only difference was that the houses in that village had all been standing and intact. Here, not so much.
The brief glances she got at the others' faces told her they were all thinking the same thing: what the hell?
The three days it had taken them to hike down the mountain and trek back to the Valley had been filled with tense, frayed nerves, and short tempers. Tigress had driven them at a breakneck pace, pausing very little- mostly for emergencies like Mantis falling in a snowdrift and being lost for a little over ten minutes when no one noticed, and Crane's wound opening up out of nowhere while they were getting directions in a merchant's outpost.
The villages they had passed on the way in could only tell them that there had been a lot of smoke. In truth, the closest village was rather far away, and nothing could be made out clearly. At this point Tigress' fears were all but confirmed, and it had taken the combined efforts of Crane and Viper to prevent her from torturing more information from the hapless villagers.
Their first glimpse of the smoke over the Valley was about five miles out. The Five had just crossed the rope bridges (with some difficulty, as it hadn't been fully repaired yet), and from that vantage they had gotten a good look. The sheer horror from that one glimpse had almost been enough to break Tigress out of her emotional shell; but she had kept her cool… barely. The others hadn't been so lucky; Monkey had been physically ill.
But even she had to admit that she was ready to crack. Darting through the streets, being forced to hide in her own village had almost been too much for Tigress. And she still didn't know what in China was going on.
Ahead of her, Viper was sliding around a corner, her back pressed against a wall. She craned her neck tentatively around the edge; getting a good look back… and abruptly she whipped back around, hissing "get back, get back!" frantically.
They ducked hurriedly into a corner shop, yanking the door shut as two Wolves turned the corner and sauntered past. However, they hadn't entered the store, they quickly realized, only the store back-room. It was tiny, and the five of them were practically piled on top of each other. They hardly dared to move, and held their breath as the mercenaries passed.
The tense moment passed. The Wolves' footsteps and hoarse guffaws faded off into the distance. Everyone breathed, and realized, suddenly, how awkward the situation was.
"Well, this sucks," Monkey said from the bottom of the pile. They all looked at him. "…That the Valley is trashed," he made a face.
"This really doesn't look good," Crane commented. An awkward silence fell. He rolled his eyes. "Focus, guys."
"The Wolves really settle it, don't they?" Viper spoke up. She was crushing Monkey's legs, and Mantis was sitting on her stomach. "It's Shen's work."
"Exactly," Mantis agreed. Crane's hip was in his gut. "So what do we do now?"
"We find Po," Monkey said. "Right?"
"Right." Tigress confirmed. She was on top of the pile, and somehow she had landed directly on top of Crane. "But I think we should make a stop first."
XxX
"We're making a snack stop?" Mantis whispered, when they arrived at their destination. They were hunkered down next to a tall stone wall
"Shhh!" Tigress hissed. "Can't you, for once in your life, stop treating everything like a joke? We're doing this because Po would want us to be sure."
"Sorry," Mantis ran a hand over his hair. "Comic relief. Things were getting a little tense, so I cracked a Po."
"What?" Tigress frowned.
"You know," Mantis shrugged. "It sounded like something Po would say."
"Just be quiet," Tigress rolled her eyes. "I thought I heard some mercenaries a street over." She gestured to Monkey. "You first."
"Right-o," Monkey straightened and scanned the wall for likely cracks. Digging his bare toes into a crack, he vaulted himself up and began to climb, expertly navigating from foothold to foothold.
Once Monkey's dark form, silhouetted against the moonlight, disappeared over the top of the wall, Tigress nodded to Viper, who hastened to follow Monkey.
A few minutes later Tigress landed gracefully on the balls of her feet behind the remains of a shattered potted plant, next to the others.
"Okay," Tigress whispered. She stood up slowly. "Looks deserted. Let's check in the-" she was cut short as a flying pan flew straight at her head, narrowly missing her as she hurriedly ducked back down. The pan clattered noisily as it struck the wall behind her.
"Whoa!" her heart was hammering hard against her chest.
"Who's there?" a voice called from across the courtyard. "I have a knife!"
Crane's eyes widened. "That sounds like…"
Tigress nodded, relief flooding her nerves. Trying to keep the pot between her and potential deadly projectiles, she started to stand up again.
But she was forced to hunker back down as a mixing bowl flew past her head and shattered against the wall.
"We're friends!" she called out.
"Don't shoot!" Mantis begged.
"Friends?" the voice seemed thoughtful, "friends of whom?"
Satisfied for the moment that she wasn't going to be brained with kitchenware, Tigress came out from behind the plant, keeping her hands visible. "It's us, the Furious Five."
For a moment nothing happened. Then, from behind a table that had been knocked sideways, a man came into view, a suspicious look on his face.
"Mr. Ping," Tigress' simile was perfectly genuine.
The suspicion melted away. "Master Tigress!" Mr. Ping exclaimed. "It is truly a joy to see you well! And I presume the other masters are back there as well?"
"Is it safe?" Mantis called from behind the pot.
"Yes," Tigress replied. She turned back to Mr. Ping. "Is there somewhere where we can talk safely?"
"Yes… yes." Mr. Ping gestured to the kitchen. "There's not much left… but…"
"That'll do." Tigress smiled.
The kitchen was mostly a blackened mess. What used to be the counter was now blocked off by fallen debris from the roof, providing a somewhat ashy shelter from prying eyes.
Once everyone was settled Tigress got down to business. "Mr. Ping, I need you to tell us what's going on."
Mr. Ping was quiet, and then seemed to collect himself. "It happened without warning. It was a night just like any other, about three days ago, and I was closing my shop. They attacked from the south, I think, and targeted the most populated areas. They didn't ask questions, take prisoners, anything, they just started killing and burning. I hid in my shop for a little while, and then I realized that my neighbors next door had been out, and that their children were home alone. So I went to make sure they were all right and help them hide. When I came back to my shop was on fire, and there was a strange white-robed man outside watching it burn."
Tigress shared a significant glance with the other Five. Shen, Crane mouthed. Tigress nodded, and then turned back to Mr. Ping as he continued.
"I had had a pan in my hand," he said. "I was prepared, if I may be cliché, to 'go down with my ship', as it were." He paused before continuing. "He saw me. He asked me where Po was. When I didn't answer he seemed prepared to kill me. That's when Po showed up."
Unconsciously, Tigress felt herself lean forward, in tense anticipation. Out of the corner of her eye she saw similar reactions from the others.
"There was some banter." Mr. Ping's voice was growing quieter. "I didn't really understand it. Po called him 'Shen'. I don't know if that name is familiar to you." he paused again. "Then Po looked at me, and, I… I gave him a nod, as if to… to tell him to do what he had to." Mr. Ping's hands were shaking. "Then… then Po ran off, and the man followed him. I haven't seen him or heard word of him since."
Mr. Ping was silent for a moment. "Po was… I don't know how to explain this. Po was angry. Very, very, angry… and… and it almost didn't seem like Po. He seemed like… a warrior." Mr. Ping looked ready to break down into tears.
"Mr. Ping," Tigress said gently. "Po is a warrior."
"Yes," Mr. Ping said shakily. "But not like… not like you five. He was always different from all of you. But, in that moment, he was… cold. Cold and hard, very much like, if I may say so- you, Master Tigress."
Tigress was silent as she digested this. But before she could respond, Viper broke the silence. "Do you think he's alive, Mr. Ping?"
"Yes." Mr. Ping said, firmly, as if he was regaining control of himself. "I think—I know he's alive. I'm his father, I… I… I would know."
Crane spoke up gently, "Do you think he's in the Jade Palace?"
Mr. Ping nodded. "If he was anywhere, anywhere at all, he would be there."
Tigress nodded thoughtfully. "Mr. Ping, sir, if you wouldn't mind, we'll stay here for the night."
"But, of course, of course!" Mr. Ping exclaimed. "You'll stay here as long as you like!"
"Thank you." Tigress nodded respectfully. Then she turned to her companions. "All of you—get some sleep: if Po's at the Jade Palace, then more likely than not, Shen's there, too. We'll need to be ready."
They nodded, and began to move about, finding comfortable places to lie down. Tigress turned for the door. "I'll be outside."
"Be careful," Viper implored. Tigress nodded, and slipped out.
Mr. Ping glanced at the remaining four warriors. "If you'll excuse me, I have some food to distribute. Good night to you all." They nodded. Mr. Ping picked up a box, nodded to them, and ducked out.
As Monkey and Viper began to settle down, Mantis looked across at Crane, who was rubbing his arm absently. "How is it?"
"Largely fine," Crane said absentmindedly. "It didn't start hurting again, really, until that near-death experience at the rope bridge."
"Let me see it." Mantis went to sit down next to his friend, who pushed up his sleeve to bare the bandages wrapped around his upper arm.
"You think Po is okay?" Viper said sleepily from the corner.
"We'll find out," Monkey said simply, curled up facing a wall.
"He's probably starving," Mantis mused. "But, then, isn't he always?" and Crane chuckled.
Up above them, on the roof, Tigress sat perched on the tiles, facing towards the Jade Palace. "We're coming, Po." She murmured, watching the stars twinkle through the heavy smoke obscuring her home.
XxX
A/N: I had one reviewer complain about cliffhangers... boy... y'all are gonna HATE me next chapter, if you think this is bad...
No, I'm serious. You're gonna DESPISE me. As in, want to rip my guts out and EAT them. Oh, boy, sh*t (excuse my french) goes down next chapter...
Someday in the future, possibly starting next chapter, I'm going to take one-shot ideas from you guys and post them drabble-style in a story. If you have any ideas on how I should handle an idea like that, tell me :)
Review, my lovelies! I love each and every one of you to death. Till next time!
