Suspicion

Well...so much for a regular update schedule, but I'm gonna still try to update on weekends.

As always, I do not own Kung Fu Panda.

-Back in the Valley of Peace-

"Why is everyone looking at us strange?" Dega asked as the young Heroes walked through town, towards the Academy.

"I don't know, but it's unnerving," Kiera said trying to ignore the looks the people were giving them.

"They're glaring at us like we're criminals," Lupa said as they walked past a small group of villagers.

SPLAT!

Lupa stumbled as a tomato hit the back of her head causing her to stumble.

"Who threw that?!" Kai demanded whirling around.

"Lupa, you okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine, nothing a shower won't take care of," Lupa answered standing back up.

-After training-

"I believe Kai may be working with The Master," Dai said after a moment. "No one except Kai and Me knows that move he used to disarm me, he must have taught it to The Master."

"Are you sure?" Kiro asked.

"No, that's why, Lupa, I have an assignment for you. I want you to keep an eye on Kai," Dai said. "But keep your distance, don't let him know you're following him." He warned.

"You really suspect Kai is working with the Master?" Kiera asked

"Well, maybe, I don't know," Dai answered. "That's why I want Lupa to keep an eye on him."

"I can keep an eye on Kai," Lupa said. "Not a problem."

Lupa left the Academy and followed Kai around town all day, she saw nothing suspicious, until that night when she was about to call it a day she saw sneak out of his room and head for the old Palace.

"Strange, why would he go up there, it's been empty for years," She thought.

"Perhaps he's meeting with the Master," Sashi said.

Lupa followed Kai up to the old Palace, to the top of the stairs but didn't see Kai anywhere, but the doors to the old Hall of Heroes were open slightly, cautiously she walked in.

She had got to the middle of the Hall before the doors slammed shut behind her.

"It's a trap!" Sashi yelled as Lupa whirled around and raced to the door, trying to open it, but it was locked from the other side.

Lupa heard someone drop to the floor behind her and turned around and back against the door.

"We're not alone here," Sashi said.

"Who's there?" Lupa asked. "Show yourself!"

A hooded and cloaked figure stepped into the low light.

"My father ordered you to follow me here, didn't he?" The figure asked his voice muffled by his mask.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Lupa said.

"DON'T LIE TO ME!" The Figure yelled rushing Lupa, slamming her into the wooden doors. "I know when I'm being followed."

"I wasn't…I…wait, Kai?" Lupa asked.

"Well done Lupa, you always were the smart one," Kai said lowering the hood revealing part of his face.

"You're the Master…but Saber he…" Lupa stammered.

"The question is, what am I going to do with you now?" Kai said. "I should kill you, no one would find your body up here for months."

"Don't," Lupa said.

"And why shouldn't I?" Kai asked.

Silence.

"That's what I thought," Kai said drawing his sword

"Kill, me your life will be over," Lupa said.

"No, you've got that the wrong way around, your life will be over. I can almost see the funeral, all the Masters and students gathered around your grave, your Mother, Father and annoying Brother," Kai said pointing the sword at Lupa.

He was trying to unnerve her, he had no problem killing her and didn't care what happened to him afterward, as long as he killed her, and it was working.

"Please don't kill me," Lupa pleaded. "Let me go."

"Why would I do that?" Kai asked. "What can you offer me in exchange?"

In Lupa's head, Sashi already knew what she was going to do and was screaming at her not to do it.

"My loyalty, in exchange for my family's safety," Lupa said.

"Hmm, tempting," Kai said thoughtfully "I guess I'll let you live, for the moment. Lupa slowly stood up.

"Return home, tomorrow, you'll tell my father you saw nothing unusual,"

Lupa nodded and raced out of the Palace, back home.

-The Next Morning-

"Lupa, did you find anything?" Master Nakamura asked.

"Uh, no nothing," Lupa answered. "Kai walked around town for awhile, then returned home, he never left."

"Alright, but keep your eye on him, just in case," Master Nakamura said.

-During morning training-

"Well, this Tiger-lion's exhausted, I'm heading home," Dega said tiredly.

"We barely started," Kiera pointed out. "You need to at least train until lunch."

Dega groaned loudly.

"Fine," He said.

-two hours later-

"I'm gonna Die!" Dega groaned, lying on the training hall floor.

"You're not gonna die," Kiera said standing over the Tiger Lion arms crossed, looking just like her mother when she was annoyed by something, usually Kiro.

"You do great impressions, can you do anyone else," Dega joked.

"Get up!" Kiera said stomping on Dega's tail.

"YEOW! What'd you do that for?!" Dega said cradling his tail. "I think I need a bandage."

"You'll be fine," Kiera said.

"You're mean," Dega said standing up rubbing his injured tail.

"And you're lazy," Kiera said back.

Saber chuckled in the background.

"Shut up Saber," Dega said. "I'm going home."

Dega arrived home and went right into the kitchen looking for a snack. He stopped dead in his tracks, frozen in horror when he saw his mother impaled by one of his power swords, holding the sword was…him?

Dega rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.

"You see this too, right?" He asked Los.

His double pulled the sword out and dropped Mei-Ling to the floor, grinning when he saw Dega standing in the doorway in horror.

"Shame huh?" It said in Dega's voice making the real Dega shiver as he wiped the sword off on his pants.

Dega took a fighting stance, ready to attack this doppelganger where it stood.

"Don't move," It said pointing the glowing sword at Dega.

"Who are you, really?" Dega asked. "How do you know how to use my swords?"

"Now where's the fun in that?" The double asked moving around Dega, towards the door.

"You'll never get away with this," Dega said.

"I'm pretty sure I already have," The double said smugly, dropping the swords and raced out of the house, leaving Dega.

He spun back around and rushed over to his mother.

"Hang on Mom," He said kneeling next to her.

The door behind Dega crashed open a moment later as Dai, Kiro, and Tigress rushed inside the house.

"It's you!" Dai yelled.

"No! Wait! Let me explain!" Dega cried as Dai pulled him away from Mei-Ling's body, and pinned him to the floor.

"You can explain in jail," Dai seethed pulling Dega to his feet.

"It wasn't me, I swear!" Dega said as they hauled him off to the jail.

"Save it!" Tigress spat shoving him into the cell, slamming the door behind him. "You murdered our friends, why should we believe anything you have to say, murderer!"

"Dad, you know I didn't do this, right?" Dega said looking at his father.

Kiro remained silent, then followed the others out of the prison.

"I can't believe Dega would do this," He said once outside.

"Dega didn't murder Mei-Ling," Dai said.

"Wait, so…what?" Kiro asked confused.

"Someone's trying to frame Dega," Dai added once they were safely inside the Academy, away from prying ears. "I don't think it was the Master, we didn't see his signature anywhere in the house or on Mei-Ling's body."

-With Dega, same time-

Dega lay on the cot in the prison cell, waiting. He knew it was only a matter of time before Dega was transferred to Chor-Gom Prison.

At dinner, a guard brought Dega his food and left, as he left something fell from his pocket, the cell door key. Dega stared at the key to his freedom for a few moments before reaching out and grabbing the key off the floor, and tucked it into his pocket, and continued to eat. He'd wait until nighttime when the guard shift changed to make his escape.

"You know that was way too convenient," Los said.

"Oh, I know," Dega said as he ate his food. "This stuff sucks."

-With Lupa in the training hall-

"Your brother is going to escape from prison, tonight," The Master said to Lupa. "Steal his swords and stop him, kill him if you have to."

"Yes, Master," Lupa said.

-Back With Dega, shortly after midnight-

"I sure hope you know what you're doing," Los said in Dega's head as he unlocked the door and quietly snuck out.

"This is where all those hours in Master Nakamura's stealth class are going to come in handy," Dega said back sneaking down the hallway.

A shadow of a suddenly appeared around the corner, Dega quickly jumped up and grabbed onto the beams on the ceiling and pulled himself up just as the guard himself came into view.

Dega watched as the guard passed below him, once the guard was out of sight He dropped silently to the floor.

Dega snuck back home and in through his bedroom window to retrieve his swords, what he didn't expect to find was Lupa, already in the room, waiting for him, holding the swords.

"Lupa? What are you doing here?" Dega asked.

"Wait, something's not right," Los said.

"What are you doing with my swords?"

"You murdered Mom," Lupa said, sparking the swords, giving the dark room a greenish glow.

Dega leaned back just in time as Lupa swung the swords at his chest.

"What are you doing?! Have you lost your mind?!" Dega said backing away from his sister.

"Come on Lupa, snap out of it!" Dega said avoiding another strike from his sister.

"It's The Master, he must have gotten to her somehow," Los warned.

"RAH!" Lupa yelled spin kicking Dega out the door, into the hallway with a loud crash, it was lucky their father wasn't home to hear the crash.

Dega quickly rolled to the side as Lupa threw one of the swords at his head, embedding it in the wall.

"Hey! You could hurt someone with that!" Dega said pulling the sword free in time to block another strike from Lupa. The twin weapons sparked wildly upon impact throwing sparks everywhere.

"Lupa, I know you're still in there, stop this," Dega said kicking his sister back, getting to his feet. Lupa only growled and charged at Dega again with a ferocity He had never seen from her before.

It was slowly becoming clear He wouldn't be able to stop her unless he seriously hurt her in some way.

"I don't want to hurt you," He said.

"That'll be you undoing, then!" Lupa snarled charging at Dega once more, malice in her eyes.

Dega had never seen such hatred in Lupa's eyes before, she drove him back towards the staircase where he balanced, on the verge of falling. But Dega managed to push her back and swung his sword at her chest, slicing her shirt making her bleed a little, she dropped to a crouch a hand on her chest.

"Lupa! I'm sorry, I didn't…"Dega started to say, dropping his sword rushing over to her.

Dega was cut off as Lupa tackled him to the floor, Dega kicked her off and stood up.

Lupa kicked him in the chest, knocking him back towards the staircase. She hit him with a series of powerful blows to the chest, driving him to the edge of the staircase.

"Lupa, don't…" Dega said teetering on the edge of the staircase.

"KYA!" Lupa hit Dega with a claw fist, knocking him down the stairs. Dega tumbled down the stairs, landing in a heap at the bottom.

Dega slowly got up on all fours, only to have Lupa land behind him and grab him around the neck in a choke hold. Dega whipped his head back, breaking Lupa's nose and broke free of her grip.

He turned around, looking at his sister slumped against the stairs, holding her bleeding nose, and fled the house.

"What have I done?" He thought racing through the town. "Everyone's gonna think I attacked Lupa."

"Well…you kinda did," Los pointed out.

"She gave me no other choice!" Dega said back. "It's like she was possessed or something."

-With Kiro early that morning-

Kiro returned home after night patrol and found Lupa in the bathroom tending to her injuries.

"Lupa! What happened?" He asked rushing over to his injured daughter. "Who did this to you?"

"Dega…Dega broke out of prison and attacked me!" Lupa lied. "He tried to kill me!"

-Later that morning-

"Last night Dega escaped prison and attacked Lupa, we have to track him down," Dai said. "He is now a criminal and should be treated as such."

Kiera shifted uncomfortably in place.

"Master, are we to bring Dega in unharmed?" She asked.

"Dega murdered Mei-Ling and attempted to murder Lupa," Dai said and looked at Kiro.

"But try and bring him in alive, if possible, if not…" Dai said ominously.

The Students all nodded in understanding.

"Good," Dai said. "Spread out and find him."