Chapter 29: Trading Pain For Awesomeness

Everyone was speechless. Happy, but speechless. The pandas were supposed to be extinct, save for the Dragon Warrior. Tigress managed to speak up.

"Th-that's wonderful, babe, but hhhow?", she asked through wide eyes.

"Well they aren't in China, but they are coming from another country just West of China. Oogway said so. He said that the pandas were travelling to help in this war.", he smiled wider.

"Whoa, whoa, that's great and all Po, but shouldn't we be worried more about the Jade Palace? I mean especially about your father?", said Crane.

Po's bleeding ear twitched softly. He was silent. Everyone waited for him to erupt. Or to panic. Or cry. But it never came. All he did was clear his throat, though he still looked worried.

"O-okay. Yeah. That's...that's a good point.", he stood up and tapped his fingers on the table nervously in thought, trying to think of their options to figure out the best possible solution. After a half a minute of thought, he spoke up without looking away from the table. His fingers stopped fidgeting."I have to go."

Tigress' whiskers twitched as her ears laid back.

"Okay, so should we start packing now, or...?", asked Crane.

"No. I'm going, not you. I can travel faster alone.", he replied.

"Even with all your dad's stuff? Can you carry all that?", asked Viper.

"He isn't taking all of his things with him, just the most important stuff.", Po said as he walked around the chair he was sitting in and pushed it under the table.

"How long will you be gone?", asked Crane.

"Well...", sighed Po as he did some figuring in his head,"Took us about a week to get here so I'd say about...six to eight hours?"

"Make it seven to nine with the breaks we'll be stopping for.", smiled Tigress hopefully as she stood next to him.

Po looked at her,"No. You're staying here. With all of that running I don't want you to put too much stress on the baby. And I won't be stopping until I get there."

Tigress let out a growl and tensed up,"You're doing that overprotective thing again. I told you I can handle myself."

"But do you know what those outlandish speeds for an extended period of time could do to our child? I don't want to find out.", he said with determination as he eyed his mate.

Tigress sighed."Fine. But hurry back.", she said before pressing her paw on his shoulder and giving him a quick kiss.

Po nodded and looked at the others."Okay I want everyone to stay busy while I'm gone. Dr. Kimeru we need you to examine Song to see if there is any danger to her health. When you get to their room, Shiro will explain what happened.", Dr. Kimeru nodded and got up to walk upstairs as he continued,"Mantis, get some money out of my bag, go wake up Monkey, go to the market with him and buy as much food as you can carry and bring it back here. Crane, since you aren't picking my dad up, I want you to carry the bodies of the dead assassins to their barracks and explain what happened.", Crane grimaced and nodded."Mei Ling, get the flowers from Dr. Kimeru's bags and plant them in the back yard. I want a full garden blooming by the time I get back. Viper, how long has it been since you drained any venom?"

Viper looked at the table for a moment in thought and did her best to shrug before looking back up at him,"It's been a few months. Why?"

Tigress' ear twitched as her eyes narrowed and glowed ever so slightly. Something was amiss...

"Good, you'll have plenty then. Go ahead and contain it in some jars for me, I'll need them when I get back. "

"What do you want me to do?", asked Tigress in an uncharicteristicly eager manner as she felt an overwhelming urge to be of use after Po's rejection to let her leave with him.

"You, Jiu-Ne and Koru will go to the King's Palace and tell him that there will be a banquet here in two days and that he and all of his generals are invited. We are going to have a war council. Do not accept his...", he rolled his eyes in annoyance," ' civil advisors', only military. The civil aren't welcome and hold no place here after what you've told me. After you leave his palace, go to the Hall of Records and gather the info that Master Oogway told us to retrieve."

Tigress, Koru and Jiu-Ne all nodded.

"What's Shiro gonna do?", asked Crane as he seemed a little annoyed that Po kept giving him some rather annoyingly hard or disgusting chores.

"Yeah, about that...", sighed Tigress.

Po looked confused for a moment until Tigress began to countdown with her fingers. When she ran out of the fingers on her paw, Dr. Kimeru rushed back inside the dining room.

"Shiro's gone, and he taken Song with him.", she said.

"What?", said Tigress and Po as they spun around.

"I felt Shiro leaving, but I didn't think he'd take Song!", exclaimed Tigress.

"Where in the hell does he think he's going?", exclaimed Po.

"No time to think about that, come on!", she said as they sped off in a blur.

The rest left to do as Po said with Dr. Kimeru leading Mei Ling to her room to get the flowers and Jiu-Ne helping Viper get out the jars and holding them for her. Koru just stood up from the table and decided he might as well train a little until the three tigers left.

Tigress ran out of the building with Po at her heels. They rushed through the streets passed it's inhabitants without even bothering to dodge them. When they arrived at the massive crowds of people they simple jumped onto the city's wall and ran along the edge. Tigress felt Shiro's presence to be even closer now. She spotted the snow leopard with a large lump of brown cloth over his back running through the alleyways. Tigress gave Po a glance and jumped off of the wall with Po following her. They landed on the building where Shiro was about to pass behind and jumped down. Tigress stopped infront of him, causing Shiro to skid to a stop and spin around to run away, but Po was waiting for him with a death glare.

"Where do you think you are taking her?", asked Po through gritted teeth.

"It's none of your business, panda!", spat Shiro.

"It is our business when you try to kidnap a good friend to do god knows what with her.", growled the tiger behind him.

"Fine then! I'm going to take her to the Demon and retreive her soul!", he snapped back.

Po looked at the bristled fur on the back of Shiro's head. He whispered."Shiro."

Shiro did not move as he continued to glare at Tigress, trying to think of a way to get out of this perdicament.

"Shiro.", Po said as he spoke up a little. Still nothing.

"Tai Lung.", said the panda grimly, Tigress' eyes widened as the snow leopard turned to look at the panda.

"What?", growled Tai Lung.

"Give me back the Dragon Scroll.", he replied and held his empty paw out.

Tai Lung growled lowly."It was mine to begin with and now that it gives me power I will not part with it as easily this time."

Po shook his head,"You damned fool."

Before Tai Lung could even question the Dragon Warrior, Tigress swished passed him as she took Song away from the snow leopard and ran passed the panda back towards the palace. Tai Lung attempted to run passed Po, but Po immediately put Tai lung in a hold with his face in the ground and his arm locked behind his back, his arm in a backwards 'S' as it was bent upward so that his paw, which was forced onto it by Po, was pressing against the back of his neck. Po used his other paw to pull up on the underside of Tai Lung's elbow to raise it and pressed his knee harshly into the leopard's spine.

Tai Lung groaned in pain,"Th-the Bengal Armbar! No. No, Shifu didn't teach you that.", laughed Tai Lung nervously.

"Nope. Tigress did. Hurts like hell right now, huh? Too bad it's about to get much...much worse, because no matter what your intentions you still put one of my best friends in danger. And that I cannot allow. So you have two options, leopard.", spat Po."Option one, you come back to the palace peacfully and work with us in killing the Demon thereby releasing Song's soul. Or option two. I go into Feral Mode, get out my shiny claws and shove them into your back, pull your arm out of it's socket from under your skin and pop it into the crevace between the third and forth lumbar of your spine. You know what the hardest part is?"

"C-cleaning up afterwards?", trembled Tai Lung.

"No.",whispered Po as he seethed hatred into Tai Lung's ear,"The hardest part is trying not to laugh from the unimaginable pain the victim is suffering from."

Tai Lung's eyes widened and he trembled more."O-Okay, okay...I'll be good-d-d."

"Swear it!", said Po as he raised up on Tai Lung's elbow even more and went into his Feral Mode as his eyes glowed a fierce scarlet.

"I swear to behave!", shouted Tai Lung in pain.

"Good!", said Po as he let go of Tai Lung and stood up, grabbing the Dragon Scroll that was sticking out of Tai Lung's back pocket,"Be back at the palace in half an hour or I'm hunting you down with Tigress again and we do a Double Bengal Armbar on you, bitch.", as he said this, Po dissapeared in a blur.

As he arrived, the panda stretched and sighed as he walked through the front door. When he entered he was greeted by no one, obviously everyone was doing their tasks that he set for them. Po walked to the sitting room and leaned against one of the couches to look at the stairs. He waited for Tigress to come back down. He could sense her presence in Song's room, but she was sitting at the bedside apparently assissting Dr. Kimeru. Po could not sense the doctor, but it made sense. He could never sense anyone other than Tigress, but now it was becoming even easier to detect her. Perhaps it was because of the child she bore. As the panda thought this, Po nodded to Viper as the snake tiredly nodded back and slithered slowly up the stairs. She needed a nap whenever she would drain such a large amount of venom and this occasion was no different. Po watched the snake climb the stairs as he continued his train of thought.

"Hmmm. That could be good if I could sense the baby too. I can only hope...", he said to himself.

"Ah you're back. Are you going to leave for the Valley of Peace soon?", asked a voice. Po turned his head to the right to watch Jiu-Ne walking up to him from the kitchen and leaning against the couch beside him. He inched away from her slightly and crossed his arms.

"Eh, yeah I will. Just wanted to say goodbye to Tigress first. Why do you ask?", he said, glancing at the older tiger.

"I was hoping you could do me a favor.", she shrugged.

"Hm. And that is?"

"Do you mind going to village where my husband and I lived when Tigress was born? Something was hidden there that needs to be brought back to the family.", said Jiu-Ne.

His curiosity peaked, Po looked at the tiger with a raised brow. Jiu-Ne giggled a bit from the look on his face.

"It's nothing really special. Well it is, but...it's special on a sentimental level. And...I want you to have it. Since you are marrying my daughter and since she even bares your child, it is only fitting. It was Ko-Ri's duty to give it to you once Hei-Wa was married, but since my husband had been...since he passed, I hid it in the outsirts of our old village. It lays under a rock hidden in the cliffside that hangs over our village. You can get the location of the village from Bao Gu."

"What is it, like a necklace or something?", blinked Po.

"No, Po. It was a sash. It has been worn by every dominant male in the pride that was our family for five generations.", smiled the tiger.

"Whoa...I'm deeply honored, Jiu-Ne.", Po bowed just as Tigress walked down the stairs watching the two.

"It is nothing, Po. With Tigress being the last of our family of child bearing age you are both our last hope to continue the bloodline. And please call me mother.", said Jiu-Ne with an even broader smile.

Tigress' heart warmed as Po looked at Jiu-Ne and quivered a bit."Uhm...that...thank you. But...I don't think it would be proper."

"And why not?", asked Tigress a bit angrily as she approached the two, causing Po to jump in surprise."I call Mr. Ping father, why can't you refer to my mother in the same manner?", she asked with the cross of her arms.

"Well, you see, uh...you've never really seen your real father, Tigress. Yet I've seen my real mother. And...I feel as though I'm disrespecting her memory or something."

Tigress sighed in slight annoyance, yet she understood what he meant,"I'm sure she'd understand, Po. If she were still alive, hell if all four parents were still alive and we somehow managed to get this far in our relationship, do you think she'd have a problem with you calling my mother mom?"

"I dunno...m-maybe?"

"Really? The same type of woman that would hide her son in a crate of radishes and sacrifice herself by leading Shen away from him? Mm-mm. I don't think she'd be the type to get so unhinged by such informality.", she smiled.

Po looked at Tigress for a moment and looked down in thought, but his eyes trailed over to meet Jiu-Ne's. She truly did have the eyes of a mother, and though they were the eyes of a tired woman as well, they were still filled with care and comfort. Po closed his eyes. Hesitantly he put his arms around the older female, to which she returned the gesture. They hugged for only a minute in complete silence, yet Po showed no signs of doing anything else but continuing the embrace.

"So are you going to say anything or is this just going to be as awkward as you're making it?", said Jiu-Ne with a small chuckle.

Po felt himself smiling as he squeezed a little more tightly."Okay...mom."

Tigress beamed at the two and let out a sigh of relief. Once Mr. Ping was here their family would almost be complete. But then her thoughts caused her to remember something and she regrettably decided to end the moment.

"O-okay, Po. Are you going to be leaving soon? You need to if you're going to get back with father and still have time to get some sleep tonight."

Po and Jiu-Ne broke the hug,"You're right.", he hugged Tigress and kissed her softly."Bye hun. I'll see you tonight. Oh and if Tai Lung doesn't come back in fifteen minutes I told him that you would perform the Bengal Armbar on him.", said Po quickly before the image of him blurred away.

"What? Po! Ugh...", Tigress facepalmed.

Jiu-Ne raised a brow,"What is the...'Bengal Armbar'."

"Trust me mother, you don't want to know. And I really am in no mood to do such a horrid task at the moment.", said Tigress with a sigh before walking back upstairs, but called back while she made her ascent,"I'm going to take a bath and put on something respectable for our meeting with the king. I suggest you do the same."

Jiu-Ne rolled her eyes and shook her head. She walked back to the kitchen to look at the freshly filled jars of clear venom. There was quite a bit of it. She sighed to herself and turned her head to the window over the sink. She looked out of the window and watched as Koru spun and punched at the air in his perfectly formed body in the backyard. Jiu-Ne felt odd whenever she saw this tiger. He was obviously attractive. His rugged good looks and chiseled body would make for a great lover. But something was keeping the older tiger from feeling attracted to this one. He had political power at least as he held the title of Master, so what was it? Did she not wish to get between Koru and the wolf? No, the wolf annoyed her too much to care about that. But what could it be?

Jiu-Ne let out another sigh as she leaned her hip against the counter and continued to watch the strange fellow as if she was trying to figure out a puzzle that's pieces that had been scattered long ago...