I'm back!
Earlier than I had planned; I guess I love writing too much… DARNIT! (Flings helmet in frustration).
About the previous short chapter: one- I have no idea who Meshrep is. Two- this one will be average length, but still a little short: its sole purpose is to conclude the KUO RETURNS story. Enjoy!
Previously, in Kuo Returns… Kuo returned to the Valley of Peace and slipped spoiled dumplings into Mr Ping's pot, giving Shifu, Mantis, Crane and Monkey a severe case of food poisoning!
In Part II, Po, Mr. Ping, Tigress and Viper suspect sabotage, and their investigations lead them on a collision course with the knife-throwing antelope…
Five minutes after admitting Shifu, Monkey, Crane and Mantis to the infirmary, Po, Tigress and Viper gathered in Mr. Ping's noodle shop, where the goose was wallowing in despair.
"Oh, this is a disaster!" Mr. Ping wailed. "I gave them spoiled dumplings! My business is ruined!"
"Dad, calm down." Said Po. "Shifu and the guys were the only ones who had the dumplings, right?"
"Yes!" Mr. Ping exclaimed through his feathered fingers.
"Then it'll be okay." Viper said soothingly. "This was an insolated incident. The villagers will never know what had happened."
Mr. Ping looked up.
"Really?"
"Really, really." Po smiled, and then pulled his father into a hug.
"There's still something that I don't understand." Tigress spoke, a scowl on her face. "Mr. Ping is the most meticulous chef in the village. How on earth did ten day old dumplings get into his pot?"
"Yeah, I've been wondering about that to." Said Viper. "Mr. Ping, do you still have those spoiled dumplings?"
The goose nodded, and led the three warriors into the kitchen, where the old dumplings still floated in their pot.
"I know for sure that these dumplings were not the ones that I had put in this morning!" Mr. Ping scooped up one of the dumplings with a ladle.
"How do you know?" Po asked.
"I already told you, the color is different! And I'm talking about different types of dumplings, not their age!"
"So either the delivery pig made a gross mistake with your shipment…" Tigress thought out loud. "Or someone deliberately swapped the dumplings when you weren't looking."
"What?" Po gaped. "Why would someone do that?"
"Most likely to try and ruin his business." Said Tigress. "It probably would have worked too, if anyone other than Shifu and the others had eaten them."
"But who would try to sabotage my dad?" Po's eyes narrowed.
"We don't know." Tigress replied. "Mr. Ping… do you have any enemies?"
"None that I can think of…" The goose said. "Other than that crazy antelope who's currently in jail, I don't know anyone who's it in for me and my business."
"What antelope?" Viper asked.
"This chef named Kuo attempted to steal my recipes a few months back. Fortunately, Po managed to dodge the throwing knives and kick his buttocks into the middle of next week!" Mr. Ping smiled at his son as he said this.
"But he's in jail." Said Po. "How could Kuo have slipped dumplings into the pot?"
"Hmmm… last week, a messenger informed us that a psychotic antelope had escaped from a prison during a riot." Tigress said.
Po's eyes widened. Then he scowled a punched his hand with his fist.
"Guys…" He said. "I say that we find this guy and get some answers!"
In a small clearing in the middle of the forest, an antelope snickered as he sharpened his knives with a small rock.
"By tomorrow morning, you will rue the day you decided to ruin my business with your recipes, Ping!" Kuo chuckled as he ran a hoof down the sharp blade. "Rue, you hear me? RUE!"
"You're the only one who will be doing any ruing today, Kuo!" Yelled an angry voice behind him.
Kuo whirled round.
Standing at the edge of the clearing was a very angry Dragon Warrior. Standing on either side on him were a tiger and a snake.
"Nobody tries to sabotage my dad and get away with it!" Po glared at Kuo. "Prepare to be put back behind bars!"
"Not without a fight!" Kuo snarled, and hurled the knife.
Po quickly dodged the knife and lunged at the antelope. Kuo leapt out the way and flung a dozen knives at Tigress and Viper. Viper evaded the knives using her serpentine body, while Tigress deflected them with her claws and a growl.
"It's over, Kuo!" Po yelled as he aimed a flying kick at Kuo, who dodged again. "We know it was you who planted those ruined dumplings!"
"How can you prove it without any evidence?" Kuo grinned. "I may not be able to get the recipes, but I can still enjoy watching Ping's reputation crash and burn!"
"Ain't gonna happen!" Po grinned back as he deflected another knife. "The only ones who ate those dumplings were Shifu, Monkey, Crane and Mantis! No-one in the village will ever know about the food poisoning! And who will believe the words of a psychotic antelope?"
Kuo's eyes widened, and then he let out a guttural roar of rage and charged at the panda, a long serrated knife in both hands.
Po swung a fist and knocked the antelope out cold.
"That's for my dad!" Po picked up the unconscious Kuo and slung him over one shoulder. "Come on, guys. Let's put him back in jail where he belongs."
Later that day, Shifu, Monkey, Crane and Mantis walked slowly out of the infirmary, feeling worse than when they had been defeated by Tai Lung, if that were possible.
"How humiliating!" Shifu moaned. "My pants had to be burned to get rid of the mess!"
"That's nothing." Mantis glanced at him. "I had to take a scented bubble bath to wash Monkey's puke off!"
"Hehe… sorry." Monkey chuckled sheepishly.
"Gods…" Crane sighed. "I hope I never see another dumpling again!"
"Good to see you all well, masters." Zeng the palace goose waddled up to them. "I've brought you some dinner, since the Dragon Warrior is still down in the village." He held out a large bowl of fried dumplings.
Shifu, Monkey, Crane and Mantis glared at the goose.
A second later, Zeng found himself wearing the dumpling bowl as a hat.
Well, that concludes the two part segment.
Oh, and a small notice for Guest- the next story will be a Crane/Mei Ling one-shot. Promise.
