Chapter 11: Boat Ride

Once again, the Turtles, Po, the Furious Five, April, and Casey got up early again, having a quick breakfast of bean buns that Po had packed in his backpack before heading out again.

The forest they went through slowly developed into a lush jungle as they ventured through, taking in many sights along the way.

Upon emerging from the forest, the group found themselves stopped again by a large long lake that stretched out to the horizon, almost like an ocean.

"So… how are we supposed to get across?" Monkey asked.

The group then looked down from the hill they were standing on, they spotted a large sampan boat in the water by the shore being attended by its owner.

They looked at each other with grins. They knew exactly how they were going to cross the lake.

After convincing the owner to let them borrow his boat (and by borrowing, I mean they bribed him with a hundred yuan), the group was off again as they sailed down the lake.

As the sun began to set, the group all agreed that they needed to get some food. And it was at that time Po actually asked Raphael of all people to teach him how to use a bow and arrow.

"Okay, take a deep breath." Raph instructed Po with a surprisingly patient voice as the panda stretched the bow back. "Clear your mind."

Po breathed in and out as he kept his aim at the water.

"Now, close one eye." Raph said, to which Po did. "Concentrate on what is directly in front of you, let everything else fall away and… release!"

Po released the air as it sailed through the air before piercing the water and hitting a fish that was unfortunate enough to be swimming close enough to the surface.

"Yeah!" Po cheered while the others smiled at the panda's elation. "Who's the panda? I'm the panda!"

"Perfect shot! Perfect shot!" Raph whooped, throwing an arm around Po's shoulders.

"Not bad." Tigress said, leaning against the edge of the boat before turning to Po with a small smirk. "And what's your plan for getting the fish into the boat so we can eat it?"

Po and Raph blinked before glancing at each other and then to the shot fish as it slowly sank beneath the water.

"Well… I was teaching him how to shoot, not fish." Raph said.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I can ask for fishing lessons tomorrow." Po added.

"Give me that." Tigress said, taking one of the arrows. "Hey, Donatello, do you have any rope?"

Donnie pulled out a long piece of rope with a gap-toothed grin. "How much do you need?" He asked.

"That'll do." Tigress replied, taking the rope and tying it to the arrow. She then handed it back to Po with an encouraging smile. "Now try it."

Taking the arrow, Po placed it on the bow before drawing it back. He took careful aim as he closed one eye before he released it.

The arrow went through the air like lightning, hitting not just one fish but a trio of fish, and with the rope attached, they could now reel it in.

"Huh, that was a pretty good idea." Po complimented the feline with a smile as he pulled the fish onto the deck.

Tigress shrugged with a playful grin. "And you're not a bad shot." She complimented him.

The two then chuckled as they gazed at each other with a fond look.

Mikey gave the two of them a weird look. "Okay, you guys are acting weird." He said while the others exchanged hidden grins.

Gathering around in a circle, the group huddled together while Po dumped the three fish in the middle.

"Uh, we're gonna need something to cut this with." Mantis stated, lightly poking one of the fish.

Nothing more needed to be said as Leo stood up, picking up the three fish before tossing them in the air.

And with three quick swipes of his katana, Leo quickly diced the three fish into several pieces while shedding off the skin too.

"Problem solved." Leo said, sheathing his katana as he sat back down.

With that, the group began to eat their dinner, with Leo, Tigress, April, Donnie, Crane, and Viper eating it in a very casual/formal manner while Po, Raph, Mikey, Casey, Monkey, and Mantis were practically stuffing their pieces of fish into their mouths and laughing.

Tigress, April, Viper, and Crane looked mildly disgusted while Leo and Donnie simply paid no mind to them.

"Do you guys have to play with your food?" Viper questioned.

"Yeah, because that's kinda gross." April added.

Po, Raph, Mikey, Casey, Monkey, and Mantis halted in their eating, staring at the female snake and the young lioness in a short silence.

"Yes." Mantis simply replied with his mouth full so it came out like 'yessh'.

Eventually, the group finished their dinner as the sun set and the moon rose into the night. The Turtles, Po, the Five, April, and Casey all slept together in the cabin of the boat.

And while all of the others were fast asleep, one of them was not as Po tossed and turned in his spot on the boat, mumbling to himself as he slept.

"Mama…?" He murmured before he began to dream.

In Po's dream, the panda found himself standing in a wide forest of white trees, the sun shining so brightly it was almost blinding as it lit up the forest in a bright golden glow.

But as he looked closer to the edge of the forest, he spotted the silhouettes of two figures standing out in the open.

And they were pandas. Pandas that he strangely recognized.

"Mom? Dad? Is that you?" Po murmured before his face brightened. "Mom! Dad!" He cried excitedly, running to them.

The two pandas then turned to him and Po skidded to a stop when he saw his mother holding a little white bundle in her arms.

"Oh, he-hey! Son, you're back!" Po's Father said in a very casual tone.

Po raised a brow in confusion. "Huh?"

"Honey, what are you doing here?" Po's Mother questioned.

"But I thought…" Po stammered.

"We replaced you, dear," Po's Mother then said, unwrapping the bundle, "with this lovely radish!"

In the buddle was a large bright red radish that seemed to glow in the sunlight.

"Radish…?" Po asked, looking both confused and devastated.

"It's quiet, polite," Po's Father said with a smug smirk. "And frankly, it does better kung fu."

The radish then lept out of Po's Mother's arms, landing on the ground while making several high-pitched kung fu noises.

"Oh no, no, no…!" Po cried, but couldn't stop the radish as it lunged forward, mercilessly beating him senseless while he was unable to defend himself.

One particular hit from the vegetable knocked Po onto his back while the radish landed on his chest.

As he gazed up at the radish, the center of the vegetable suddenly began to glow, revealing the same symbol he had seen on the Boss Wolf's shoulder.

The red eye surrounded by stripes of red flames.

The radish then leapt into the air as the sunlight faded into night and it began to snow as the vegetable came down to deliver the final blow…

Po woke with a start, breathing heavily as sweat soaked his fur. He placed a hand on his chest to steady his rapid heart-rate as he sat up.

It was just a dream. No more, no less. He was still on the boat towards Gongmen City with his friends.

But even still, Po felt the need to get some fresh air and quietly got up to head outside unaware that a certain feline had cracked her eye open.

Going out onto the main deck of the boat, Po breathed in the cool night air.

However, his mood turned sour as he thought about the radish in his dream again, and that same symbol that had been haunting him for days without end.

In frustration, Po lightly punched the mast, hoping to vent some frustration out.

Just then, he felt a drop of water hit his head, and he looked up to see water lightly dripping from the tip of the sails.

Taking a deep breath, Po breathed in and out as he began to slide his foot back, remembering Shifu's movements.

"Inner… peace…" He muttered, trying to calm his mind and concentrate, only for that to be broken as another droplet fell on his head.

Po scowled before trying again. "Pea-" Another drop hit his head.

Po tried and tried again, but everytime he did, another drop of water would hit him in the head, only serving to frustrate him more before he finally lost his patience.

Yelling in anger, Po furiously punched the mast rapidly. He then stopped as he breathed heavily, starting to calm down only for a large amount of water to fall from the sails and drench him.

At that point, Po completely lost it as ran around the deck of the boat yelling his head off in anger.

"INNER PEACE! Inner peace! Innerpeaceinnerpeaceinnerpeaceinnerpeapepapapah...!" Po ranted, banging his head against the mast.

"Ahem."

Po's eyes snapped open as he glanced up, seeing Tigress standing atop the cabin, her paw on the mast as her amber eyes stood out in the darkness of the night.

"Oh," Po spoke, an embarrassed blush seeping through his fur as he fiddled with his fingers, "er… I'm, er… training."

"The mast is not a worthy opponent." Tigress said with a small, knowing smile.

She then flipped over his head, landing on her feet in front of him before extending her palm out.

"I am ready." She said.

"Okay." Po shuffled back a little. "So serious." He mumbled before mustering up his strength and launching a powerful punch against the flat of her paw.

The sound was like a thunderclap as it echoed across the river as Po suddenly felt his fist throb painfully.

"Yeehahaowww!" He shrieked, pulling back and kneeling down to nurse his now aching knuckles. "I think I prefer the mast."

"Apologies." Tigress said, looking down at her palm. "I used to punch the ironwood trees by the palace to train." She told him before looking back at him. "Now," She dropped her palm to her side, "I feel nothing."

Po gazed at her, mouth agape. "That… is severely cool." He said in an awed tone.

Tigress bowed her head with a smile. He'd never fully understand how much his admiration meant to her. After so many years of just being seen as the fearsome 'Master Tigress', it just felt nice to have someone appreciate her for who she was, not what she was.

Still, that didn't mean she was going to let him get off that easily.

Her expression turning firm, she held up her palm. "Again." She said.

Springing to his feet, Po began punching her palm again and again. "So, uh, this punching ironwood trees," Po said as he kept punching, "how long did you have to do that?"

Tigress caught his fist in her palm, holding it. "Twenty years." She answered with a little smirk.

Po shrunk back a little. "Oh… twenty-twenty years. Yeesh." He shuddered. "Is there any, ya know, faster way until you don't, you know, feel anything?"

Tigress smiled at him. "No. And besides," She then clutched his fist, redirecting its force as she sent him spinning onto the floor, belly-up and a little dazed, "I don't think hard style is… your thing."

Po glanced at his belly. "Oh." He said as he sat up.

Tigress knelt down next to him. "Po," She spoke, her voice soft and lightly laced with concern, "why are you really out here?"

Po grimaced, averting his eyes before answering. "I just found out that my dad… isn't really my dad."

Tigress blinked before furrowing her brows. "Your dad… the goose?" She asked, trying hard not to sound incredulous.

Po simply nodded in response.

"That must have been quite a shock." Tigress said sympathetically.

Po nodded again. "Yeah." He said, still gazing out into the distance.

Tigress leaned in slightly. "And this bothers you?" She asked.

Po's eyes widened a bit. "Are you kidding me? We're warriors, right?" He shrugged confidently as he sat up straight with a smile. "Nerves of steel! Souls of platinum! Like you! So hard core, you don't feel anything."

He then chuckled as he gave a friendly punch to her shoulder, but Tigress didn't notice, her eyes slightly widened at his words in surprise as she stared down.

Did he really think she didn't feel anything at all, even after how much he had changed her?

Po seemed to notice her crestfallen expression as his smile instantly faded. "Hey, Tigress? You alright?" He asked in concern.

"... I was…" Tigress trailed off.

Before she could continue, a sudden voice rang out from behind them.

"So, what are you guys talking about?" Casey asked as he, the Turtles, April, and the rest of the Five came out of the cabin and onto the deck.

"Nothing…" Po mumbled nervously, both him and Tigress wondering if they had heard the whole thing. "Nothing."

Viper gave him a look. "Po's having daddy-issues."

"Man, I'm so lucky," Mantis said contently, "I don't have any problems with my dad. Maybe it's cuz Mom ate his head before I was born. I dunno."

"Man, some of you guys are lucky to still have a dad." Mikey said with a slightly saddened tone of voice, thinking back to Master Splinter.

"Mantis, Mikey!" April lightly chided. "This isn't about you."

"That's right." Viper agreed. "Po is the one freaking out."

As they all talked, Tigress turned to fully face the pointed bow of the boat. In the distance, in front of the glare of the rising morning sun, she could see the silhouettes of several extravagant buildings.

"I'm not freaking out." Po tried to assure them.

"Po…" Tigress spoke softly.

"I'm freaking… in." Po continued.

"That… doesn't really sound possible." Donnie said skeptically.

"Po!" Tigress said louder, turning to him.

"What?" The panda asked.

"We're here." Tigress said as the others followed her gaze to see the sprawling maze that had once been a thriving city. "Gongmen City."

Their travels had finally come to an end. Whatever happened next – the fate of their mission, their lives, and the art of kung fu itself – would be decided here.

"Eh," Mikey said with an unimpressed shrug, "it's got nothin' on Manhattan."

That little fishing scene at the beginning was based on a scene from the movie "Kubo and the Two Strings" (which, by the way, I really recommend). I just thought it would be a nice moment.