Taken sooooo long, I know. I'll try to wrap up these stories.


Po turned his head to Shen, only to see the same shocked expression that he himself wore. Shifu smirked at them,

"Well, go on, dear. Make yourself comfortable.", he ushered. The invitation seemed to bring Shen out of his state and he began yelling at the both of them.

"What!? She can not come with us! You can't be serious!"

"For once, I agree.", Owello said.

Shifu frowned at the both of them, shaking his head slightly with a look of discontent.

"Um...Master Shifu...I don't really think that's such a good idea- not that your ideas aren't good, it's just that this one is-", Shifu shot Po a look, making him stop his rambling and bite his lips. Giving him a moment to collect his thoughts,

"It's just that...their relationship is kind of complicated and I don't think you know...", Po's voice became squeaky, and Shifu cut him off mid-sentence,

"Know that they're engaged? That they have a mutual hate for one another? Yes, I know."

"Then why are you making her come with us?"

"Because, they need to learn how to live with each other. Their engagement is three decades old, and marriage is forever. Besides, this journey will help them learn more about themselves and each other."

Po looked back at the two birds, who had both taken to opposite corners of the room and looked anywhere but at each other. He displayed a look of doubt when he turned back to Shifu.

"Just trust me.", the red panda said, smiling. He clapped his tiny hands together and rose his voice,

"Well, I better be off, then. Make yourselves comfortable for the moment, you leave in a few hours.", the panda trotted out of the room, his hands intertwined behind his back. Po slid his door closed gently, then swung around to sit in the corner. The room stayed unbearably silent, and Po thought he might just go crazy from having to sit still and quiet.

Come on, start a nice conversation.

"Uh...so...how are you guys?"

The two birds tore their eyes from their walls and give him a glare of irritation. Po frowned and shrunk back, feeling rejected. This was going to be a long few hours...


Shifu came back to his meditation room, also known as the room where a huge fight had just broken out, and was surprised to see another figure sitting on its knees in front of the newly lit candles. It's head hung and its hands in its lap.

"Soothsayer?", he called quietly. She opened her eyes and turned her head lightly to the side, acknowledging him. He walked slowly over to her and sat down beside her, leaning down to look at her face. He soon followed the direction of her watery eyes and found a pink water lily in her hand, her fingers spinning the stem absentmindedly.

"She told me that water lilies were her favorite...", she said sadly. Shifu's heart became filled with dread. Tigress had earlier told him about the girl and he couldn't help but feel guilty about not doing anything.

"Where is she now?", he tried to sound as caring as he could. He was never very good at comforting others, no matter how hard he tried.

"Tigress told me that she would bury her nearby."

The two stayed quiet for the next few minutes, Shifu sat awkwardly, and even nervously, beside her. He'd known her for years, beforehand. They had always been good friends. Suddenly, she let a sob escape from her, covering her face in shame.

"Why does this happen? Why can nothing go right?"

"Soothsayer..."

"I mean, first Shen, then Gongmen City, and now this girl? What am I doing wrong? How many more people do I have to hurt?", a tear fell from her eye and landed gracefully upon one of the lily's petals.

"None of that is your fault. Shen..."

"Is the way he is because of me! Gongmen City would be in complete ruin under Shen's reign! If I had not made that stupid prediction, he would not be so hellbent on trying to prove himself..."

"Shen is who he is because of his own choices. He's chosen this path!", Shifu argued, trying to get some kind of sense into her. The Soothsayer shook her head in offence.

"No. You did not know the Shen I knew. Decades ago, when innocence still bloomed."

Shifu tried not to scoff aloud, but abruptly failed.

Innocence? What innocence? There never was any, he thought to himself. The Soothsayer, hearing his earlier objection, turned her head to him,

"I know what you think of him now, and I won't say that he hasn't made bad choices. But, you don't know him like I do. He was sweet and kind and full of life. He still can be..."

"But, I presume that's only when he wants to be.", Shifu smirked playfully at her. She returned the gesture before the sad darkness consumed her once again,

"But everything has changed. He is so hateful and he barely trusts me anymore.", she paused, "But, I know deep down he won't hurt me. No matter what I do. I took care of him as a child. Protected from just about everything...sometimes even his own parents..."

Shifu froze at the last sentence. His own parents? Surely, she's joking..."

"No, Shifu, I'm not joking.", she snapped playfully at him. Shifu looked at her in confusion, then remembered that she was a Soothsayer. Who said Soothsayer's couldn't hear the thoughts of other's, if they could see into the far future? He chuckled and shook his head in defeat.

"Alright, alright. Why don't you tell me this story, so that I may find some pity to drown out my hate?"

She gave him a disapproving look, and hesitated. She looked up into his trusting blue eyes, then sighed gently before she began...


Po had left his room for only a short time, but now he regretted everything as he stared into his empty room.

Oh no! Where are they!?

He held his head, trying to choke down his current panic and think of something! He suddenly heard the loud shing of metal on metal from outside. As fast as his stubby legs would take him, he ran down to the main doors and felt his irritation rise as he opened them. Mantis, Crane, Owello, and Shen were seen fighting swiftly against one another in a gracefully, jumbled mess. Po stormed down the steps,

"Will you guys please quit taking these guys out of my room? Shifu doesn't want them causing trouble!"

"Hey, where is that guy, anyway?", Mantis asked

"Yeah, isn't he supposed to send us off on our journey soon?", Crane said

"Don't worry, he will.", Po said, "It's hard to doubt him. But, in the meantime, will you two please just go back to the room?"

The two peacocks handed each other glances and began moving toward the Palace.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait! Po, if you feel so uncomfortable with leaving them alone, then why don't you stay?", Mantis asked

Po hesitated, "It's not that I don't trust them, it's just that I don't really want them practicing. What if someone got hurt?"

"Then we would fix it. But okay, if you don't want them to fight, they won't fight..."

Po let out a big sigh, "Phew! Thank you, Mantis. I thought-"

"So, they can watch as we practice.", Mantis finished with a smirk.


Shen and Owello watched in both awe and humor as they watched Po's abuse from the stairs. The panda was still no match for the years spent training by Crane and Mantis, and now struggled to even get a hit in. After several tries, it only took a single flip from Mantis to do him in. He layed there on the ground looking up at the blue sky, breathing in pants. He raised a tired hand up, signaling for a time-out.

"Okay, I think that's enough practicing for today.", as he stood, he cracked his aching spine. He turned toward the two birds and waved his hands at them in a "shooing" motion. The peacocks shared glances of annoyance, but obliged the panda and started back up the steps. Crane and Mantis shook their heads as they watched the three go.

"You know, I'm beginning to think that he cares too much...", said Mantis, Crane nodding at the statement.


Po's sliding door sprung open as the two peacocks were practically pushed in by the bear.

"Do I need to start stacking boxes in front of this door every time I leave?", Po's tone sounded humorous, but he was dead serious.

"Maybe for him, but I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself.", Owello said proudly.

"Except from a 70-year-old goat...", Shen chuckled. Owello turned a fierce glare on him and Po could've sworn he saw holes burning.

"How was I supposed to know she could do that?!", the peahen yelled

"She's a soothsayer! They aren't exactly all they appear to be, Sunshine.", Shen smirked at her.

"Don't call me that!", Owello fumed, a blush of anger burning its way through her white feathers. Po stood confused near the door,

"Wait, what?", he questioned.

"It's just a stupid nickname he made up and he knows I hate it...", she grit her beak at her fiance'.

"That's why I do it, dear.", Shen replied in a satisfied way. Owello stepped dangerously closer to him and that's when Po decided it was time to intervene.

"Whoa, okay! Why don't we just calm down? We...we could...just...talk?", Po shrunk back as his voice became squeaky under the glares of his guests.

"About what?", Owello prompted

"Uh...well...Anything you guys want, I guess...", Po twiddled his fingers together nervously. After all...he was alone in a room with two very dangerous people.


Hours passed, and Po became more and more nervous about the time when they would finally leave. He was jumpy and was listening carefully for Shifu's tiny steps that he knew would soon make their way to his doorstep.

He barely listened to the conversation between the two birds in front of him. Aside from some bickering here and there, it was a tame conversation and Po didn't want to risk saying anything that might trigger a fight.

"That was years ago!", Owello giggled

"Thirteen, I believe.", Shen replied

"You were so clumsy back then..."

"As I recall, it was you whom seemed the most unbalanced when it came to gravity."

"Most of the time, it was you tripping me..."

"And you deserved it every time.", they smiled at each other. They soon realized the moment they were having and dropped their kindness for hardened expressions.

Po rolled his eyes at them when suddenly his heart dropped 10 feet at the sound of Shifu's light steps coming down the hall. He jumped up and opened the door wide, revealing a stiff Shifu.

"Are you ready?", he asked Po, his voice sounding hesitant. Po swallowed the fearful lump in his throat and nodded. Shifu shifted his eyes to look at Shen and gave him a sorrowful look before he bent his head and stepped out of the way, motioning for them to come out.


This took way longer than it ws supposed to, so sorry about that. The reason it took so long was because I'm also working on the NEXT update after this one and the ideas for both chapters got jumbled. That and school, so I hope you guys understand and found this chapter okay:) Love You!