Chapter 10: Wait, That's Not Cool!

Since Shifu was out cold, Tigress and Po were now free to roam around the Jade Palace without fear of retribution. They had requested the doctor to keep Master Shifu sedated until they had left, which the doctor reluctantly complied. Po was begging to train in the Training Hall, but Tigress put her foot down. An odd feeling for both of them, but Po had felt he had more and more energy ever since he and Tigress...'connected'. But with his stitches, even though they were more professionally done, were too fresh and Tigress was no where near to letting him start training again.

They strolled into the kitchen where Viper, amazingly, was sitting. She looked at Tigress and Po walking in and blushed softly as she looked at the surface of the table."Hey, guys..."

"Hey, Viper. Whazzup?", said Po as he started to take out the pots and pans to begin cooking. Tigress took a seat opposite of Viper and watched Po carefully to make sure he didn't strain his muscles.

"N-nothing much, just waiting for lunch.", she said. Tigress rubbed her temples. The constant tension in the air around them was giving her a headache this time. She let out a half groan, half sigh.

"Viper, I know that you heard me whisper to Po, but could you please be mature and try to look past it? It's not like we're going to do it anytime soon anyway."

At this, Po groaned and leaned against the counter with his arms crossed disappointedly while the chicken cooked. Tigress chuckled."Sorry hun, but it's not like we'll have much time while we're travelling."

"Oh my God-Could we just change the subject please?", Viper said, her cheeks reddened even more.

Po sighs,"Sorry. But on a somewhat related subject, Who are you gonna pick?", he said as he turned back around and chopped some sweet onions, leeks and carrots. Viper stared at him, wide eyed and confused. Tigress looked at Po as well with her eyebrow raised.

"What is that supposed to mean, Po?", Viper huffed.

"Who is it, Mantis or Crane? You've shown feelings for both and they have vise versa.", Po shook some garlic ontop of the mixture and sat down next to Tigress, who just kept looking at him for a minute before speaking, Viper herself was speechless.

"Po, it isn't fair of you to ask her such a personal question when she herself obviously doesn't know the answer to.", Tigress said while looking at Po, but she hid a smirk behind her paws which were held together as she was leaning her elbows on the table.

Viper tapped the table repeatedly with her tail and looked around the kitchen before looking at the two, yelling in a hushed tone like she did with Song."You're right, I don't know okay? I'm so confused!", she sighed, looking undeniably at her wit's end.

"Well, I say you should just sit them down and tell them both flat out how you feel. Then hopefully by the end of the journey, you can decide.", Po had gotten up and dished out all three of their plates, then got them out three teacups and set the dishes down before pouring Tigress and Viper some tea.

"Po, no. If she did that, then it would be like a contest to them. You know how competitive Mantis can get and Crane is always trying to outwit everyone.", she took a sip of her tea, then smiled at Viper."Just search your heart, sister. In time, they will show you just why it is that you are attracted to them. And their hearts will certainly control their actions when the time is right."

Viper smiled and nodded."Thank you, Tigress. That helps a lot.", she began to eat slowly, obviously still in thought.

Po ate slowly as well and looked out the window as clouds we slowly rolling in."Hmmm."

"Something wrong, hun?"

"Not really, no. It's just...Viper, has anyone interrogated that Wu Ji guy yet?", he said after swallowing some onion.

"No, not yet. Although Mantis went down there to bring him supper and breakfast. He's been trying to fill your shoes a little, Po. But let's just say he should stick to the acupuncture.", Viper smiled some. Po laughed a little.

"Well, I think I'll go down there and talk to him. We'll need to find out just what to do with him before we leave.", he got up as Tigress followed suit.

"Mm, good idea. I'll come too. No offense Po, but you're a little too nice for interrigating.", she patted him on the shoulder, kissed his cheek and walked out of the kitchen as Po followed her. Viper continued to eat slowly, thinking in silence.

They made their way to the dungeon and looked through the cells until they spotted the Spider Monkey laying on the cot holding his head. Tigress spoke softly to Po,"Good, he's hung over. This'll make things much easier."

"How do you know he's hung over?", whipered Po. Tigress smirked and snapped her fingers.

"Aah! Easy!", Wu Ji groaned.

"That's how.", she opened the cell door and grabbed the monkey by the collar.

"Okay listen, buddy. My boyfriend here is going to ask you a few questions. IF you value your life, you'll answer him quickly and honestly. Or else."

"Or else what?", he immediately regretted his remark as the tiger roared into his ear. His shreik in pain caused her to step back slightly as Wu Ji covered his ears and slumped onto the floor."Ok, ok, I'll be good!", he whined.

Tigress smiled at Po and waved her arm out as a sign for him to start his line of questioning. Po stepped up and knelt down, speaking quietly much to Wu Ji's gratefullness."Okay first off. What do you know about the Fountain Demon?"

"All I know is that she's a red lion that wants all aged peoples dead for uglying up her world."

"Okay. Next. I saw a dead ram on the cliffside with a shuriken sticking out of his chest. He had the same lime green gi as the assassins that attacked us. Did you kill him?", Tigress' eyes widen. He hadn't mentioned that.

Wu Ji studied Po for a minute and nodded."Yes, I did."

"Why? He was your comrade, was he not?"

"He was not my comrade! I didn't even want to be a part of this army. It's a fool who commands it and it's a seductress that kills her own men."

"She...she kills them?", Po flinched.

"Yes. Whenever a man in her army turns forty, she brings them into her cabin to mate with them. But they are never seen after that door closes. Hardly anyone ever notices, and if they ever do or say anything, they are killed on the spot. I have kept my mouth shut for seven years. And every day I grow more and more fearful. I am thirty-eight. I only have two years left to live if I stay in her army."

Po blinked and frowned at him."Wait, lets back up a second here. She mates with them? Why don't they just refuse?"

The monkey looked up at Po with fear in his eyes,"Because no man has ever resisted her charms. She is beautiful, but it is almost as if the sun mated with the moon to give birth to her. It's almost as if she has some sort of spell over men."

Po looked back at Tigress, who was looking down with her arms crossed as she had leaned back against the cell bars. He then looked back at Wu Ji."Wu Ji, I have one last question for you. If we let you go free, will you help us in strategizing against the Fountain Demon?"

Wu Ji stared at Po for more than a few minutes, apparently thinking over his options. Tigress pulled Po to the side and whispered.

"Po, should we really be doing this? He's the enemy."

Po shrugged."I dunno. I have this gut feeling that he's more than willing to help us take her down."

"Is this the same gut feeling you had when you decided to stomp on the King of Theives because he was just a mantis?"

"Oh yeah, forgot to tell you that that scar's finally starting to fade, see?", he lifted the bottom of his foot, which showed a feint 'X' mark across his heel. Tigress facepalmed and shook her head.

"Uh, could I interuppt?", the panda and tiger looked at Wu Ji, who was rubbing his head again."I just wanted to say that I'm all for taking the bitch down. I don't wanna die. Exspecially in two short years."

Po looked at Tigress hopefully. Tigress sighed."Fine. But you are to remain in sight with at least one of the Furious Five, Po, or Song. If you show even the slightest hint of betrayal, we take you out.", she finished the sentence by running her thumb across her throat. Wu Ji nodded and stood up.

"So can I leave the cell now? It stinks in here.", said Wu Ji.

"Oh, yeah, what is that anyway?", Po said as they walked out of the cell, followed by Tigress.

"Oh, I vomited.", Wu Ji said sheepishly,"Sorry."

Po rolled his eyes."Eh, don't worry. The Palace staff is used to having to clean up that type of thing. Especially after Monkey gets home late at night.", he mumbled as they walked up the stairs.

"Thank you for trusting me, Dragon Warrior. I promise you, you won't regret it."

"I better not. And call me Po.", Po grinned as they got to the top of the stairs and walked past the courtyard.

Tigress got beside Po this time as Wu Ji fell back, looking around at the Jade Palace in an amazed stare. Tigress spoke to Po quietly as he responded in the same manner, both staring ahead as they walked.

"Po, what did you do with the body?"

"Set it on fire and chucked it into the river below as it burned."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

Po blushed a bit and stopped walking as she did. He rubbed the back of his head and mumled softly."Iwntbelkyu.

Tigress brought up Po's chin so he was looking at her.

"What was that?"

"I...I wanted to be more like you. You know, cunning, resourcful, tactful, quick thinking, and you always know what to say or do when the time comes. Sometimes you don't talk and you seem to have good reason for it. So...", he trailed off. Tigress blushed and shook her head with a smile.

"Po, I'm truly flattered. But when you find a body, it's worth mentioning.", suddenly they heard a scream, then a swoosh, a groan, and a thud in a matter of five seconds. They looked at Song, the one who had screamed. She was standing over a bleeding Wu Ji, presumably the one who did the groaning. She had a blood stained dagger in her paw. Tigress lunged at Song and pinned her down as Po rushed over and knelt beside Wu Ji, taking his hand as blood continued to seep through his throat.

"Po..."

"Don't talk, Wu Ji. Just...hang in there.", Wu Ji shook his head slowly, then crooked his finger as he motioned for Po to listen. Po leaned in and put his ear to the monkey's mouth.

Song struggled under Tigress, growling,"Po, don't listen to a word that guy says! That's Wu Ji, the Thread Spinner!", Tigress put a paw over Song's mouth.

"Shut up! You may have killed our best shot of taking out the Demon!"

Po waved his hand dismissively at the two behind him as he sat, still listening to Wu Ji, whos voice was getting weaker and softer.

"She...she's making a fool out of all of you...don't you see? She's...a spy..."

"How do I find out?", whispered Po.

"The Demon...leaves a seal on whatever flesh she kiss...es...", with a raspy gurgle, Wu Ji was dead. Po slowly stood up, looked at Tigress and Song, then walked down the hall towards the bathhouse.

"Let her go, Tigress. Come on. We need to talk. Song, go tell everyone what happened.", he said softly.

Tigress growled at Song before getting up and sprinting over to Po to catch up. She eyed him worriedly."What's wrong?"

"Wait til we get to the bathhouse. I want to wash this blood off of my paws before the scent sinks in.", Tigress nodded and walked with him into the bathhouse. They went into the private section reserved for people who just want to bathe alone. Or for those who want to bathe alone with...others.

After washing his paws off and stripping down, Po sank his body into the water, the heat stinging his wounds as he groaned, but he settled in gradually. Tigress stripped down and got in with him as she cuddled against his side.
"Okay Po, spill it. What did he say?"

Po rubbed his nose and shut his eyes tight, like he was trying to get rid of some weird nightmare he had a long time ago."He said that Song is a spy."

Tigress' brows furrowed. Sure, she disliked Song. And sure Song made her blood boil. But Song was no spy."Po, that doesn't make sense. Did he have any proof?"

"Ugh. Yeah, apparently.", said Po.

"And?"

"He said...he told me how the Fountain Demon recruits spies.", Po blushed some.

Tigress was beginnig to get annoyed."Aaaaand?"

"She kisses a spot on their body, leaving a seal.", he rubbed his temples. Tigress growled lowly, she knew what he was saying and where he was going with this.

"AND?"

"Tigress, please don't make me say it. It's disgusting enough just to think about it!"

"Well, forget it Po! I'm not letting you fuck some other girl just to find out if she's a spy!"

"I never said I wanted you to let me!", he sighed frustratedly."But I would like to know how you think we should go about this. We can't travel with Song if she's a spy. She could lead us into an ambush! For all we know, that letter she had could've been fake!"

Tigress nodded, but still growled. She couldn't get the image of Po and Song fucking out of her head. She stared into the water in thought.

"Could we knock her out?", said Po.

"When?"

"When she's asleep tonight."

"Maybe...", Tigress was running her claws through the fur of her arm,"But Viper and I are examaning her!", Po flattened his ears, hurt that she would think of him like that.

"Of course, Tigress. What, you think I wanna look? I only wanna look at you.", Po said smiling. Tigress blushed. Then a thought popped in her head. She knew it made her sick to her stomach, but she wanted to see just how much he was commited to her.

"Po, if you had the chance to mate with both Song and I at the same time, would you?", she looked at him, trying to hide her worried expression.

Po blushed, hard."More than two people can mate at the same time? That seems a little weird...", she didn't change her expression and he sighed,"I'm not gonna lie, hun. That kind of thing is a fantasy that every male has, and it would be unfair for you to tell me that I should be blamed for being a guy. But Song is a friend, and I only see her as a friend. The thought alone just seems so wrong.", he grimaced and gagged a bit, she smiled and rubbed her cheek into his shoulder, hugging his arm.

"I understand, Po. As long as you don't try to act out your fantasies that don't include me, I can be understanding. I love you.", she purred.

"I love you, too.", he smiled and kissed her softly.

They sat there for an hour or so enjoying each other's company and relaxing in the hot bath.

That night, while the others slept, Tigress got up from her old bed with Po still asleep. She trusted him, but there was no reason to wake him if she and Viper were the only ones that were going to be examining Song anyways. Tigress crept out of the room, sliding the door open and closed silently before knocking thrice softly on Viper's door. Viper slid out of her room after cracking her door open and followed Tigress into Po's old room, where Song was sleeping.

They almost gagged at the sight, though they were more along the lines of just weirded out than anything else. Tigress quickly and quietly closed the door behind them to make sure no one could see. Song was asleep alright, but she didn't have any pants or panties on or anything. She had Po's old pillow, slightly damp, pressed imbetween her legs as she used her arms as a pillow. It took all of Tigress' self control not to roar in anger. That and Viper clenched Tigress' mouth shut and let out a 'shhh'. They crept over to Song before Viper quickly wrapped her body around Song's mouth and eyes. When Song woke up, she couldn't see or scream as she felt two strong paws pin her down while a sweet yet bitter scented flower was put under her nose. She slowly went limp.

"I swear to god, I'm going to kill this bitch wether she's a spy or not."

"Calm down, Tigress. Now look for the seal. We need to rule out Wu Ji's story, and if he's wrong, we need to put her in the same position she was in and leave before she wakes up."

They examined every inch of Song's body. They even looked in other certain places, but found no seal. Tigress sighed disappointedly. She would have loved to slit this bitch's throat while she slept. They then put her in the position she was in, Tigress regretably having to leave the pillow, and left the room silently.

The next morning, they were all packed and ready to go as Po made them the last breakfast they would ever have in the Jade Palace. There were pancakes, eggs, hashbrowns, bacon, biscuits, and gravy. They ate slowly, taking in their final meal there. But Po, Tigress and Viper were all silent as everyone else talked about the trip ahead. As everyone finished their meals, they walked out of the kitchen one by one, until it was just Po, Tigress, and Song. Po was washing dishes, and Tigress was waiting for Po like she always did. But Song was just glaring at Tigress.

Tigress noticed her glare and glared back."You got a problem?"

"As a matter of fact, I do, you bitch."

Tigress curled her lip in a small growl."Excuse me?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what's with the name calling, Song? Don't you talk to her like that!", said Po.

"I'm sorry, Po, but I'll talk however I want to someone who prodded and poked at my naked body while I slept."

Po gulped a bit and looked at Tigress, who's eyes were wide."How did-"

"How did I know you did that?", interuppted Song,"You idiots used a Nobahei flower to 'knock me out'. I would've pegged you smarter than that. The Nobahei flower just puts a person in a state of parylyzation. I watched the whole thing, you pervert."

"I had good reason to do what I did! Wu Ji said that you were a spy, and he said that you could only tell by finding a seal on the peron's body."

"That gives you no excuse!", said Song, who's cheeks were now matted with tears."I told you that Wu Ji was a liar! Why couldn't you have just asked me?"

Tigress looked down, feeling guilty."W...we didn't think you'd comply..."

"Well I would have! It would've been better than this!", Song wiped away her tears, got up, and walked to the doorway before stopping and not turning around."You owe me...big time, Tigress. You and the snake.", she walked out to the courtyard after getting her bags.

Tigress sighed as Po massaged her shoulders."Thank you, honey."

"Don't mention it.", he kept rubbing her shoulders as he kissed the top of her head, making her purr.

She sighed again."Damn it, how am I going to make this up to her? She really hasn't done anything to me. And she's been a good friend to you."

Po shrugged as he sat down beside her."I dunno, buy her a parasole I guess?"

Tigress shook her head."Thats not how it works, Po. Things like this are done through favors."

"Oh, then just carry her bags or something I guess? I dunno.", he stood up and stretched as she stood up with him. They made their way to the courtyard where everyone was waiting for them, their own bags still down at the noodle shop.

"Okay, everyone ready to go?", said Po with a pumped fist.

"Yeah! Lets find our new home!", said Mantis and Monkey respectively.

"Then lets gio!", they started down the Jade Palace steps. On their way to a new beginning. A new life.