Notes From The Underground

Best Frenemies

Side by side, Po and Shifu sat.

"Are you ready for this, Po?" asked Shifu.

"Well, uh…" Po answered uncertainly.

"Good, let's begin," Shifu sat down cross-legged. "Through meditation, we can find out the exact cause of these voices."

As Shifu closed his eyes, he began his meditation, fully expecting Po to follow suite. At once, he heard some crunching.

Shifu opened his eyes. "Po? What are you doing?"

Po was munching down on some snacks.

"Sorry Shifu," Po said sheepishly. "It took me a long time to get back to the Jade Palace and I was famished by the time I got back."

Shifu frowned. "Okay fine… make it quick."

"Thanks," Po went back to eating his snacks.

"Ready now?" Shifu asked after Po was done.

"Ready and willing," Po smiled.

"Alright, let's begin," Shifu closed his eyes, expecting his former pupil to follow suite.

Before long, Shifu heard some slurping. He opened his eyes and saw Po with a drink he brought along with him.

"Sorry," Po paused. "I needed to wash it down."

"Po, do you want this or not?" Shifu crossed his arms.

"I'm ready now," Po promised. "No more distractions."

"Now let us begin," Shifu began meditating as Po finally followed his former teacher.

Po closed his eyes and began focusing.

You're the one who did this to us, Po. You changed everything the day you tampered with the spirits…

"Wait, tell me who you are!" Po cried.

Return to the one who made your destiny possible!

After that, Po could hear nothing more.

"Did you receive an answer?" Shifu opened up his eyes.

"I did but… it was cryptic," admitted Po. "It said for me to return to the one who made destiny possible for me."

"That could mean a lot of things," Shifu said thoughtfully. "It can't be either of your fathers because you would've gotten the answers in their presence already."

"Shen was the one who attacked my village but he's dead now," Po considered.

"There's also Tai Lung and Kai who are connected to all this," Shifu looked up. "This all began the day Tai Lung was rejected as the Dragon Warrior. And Kai was connected to Oogway. Their intertwined story was what helped Oogway achieve enlightenment and brought us to the present day where you were chosen to be the Dragon Warrior."

"That's it," Po finally realized. "I think I know now. The answer lies in the Spirit Realm! There are many people who made destiny possible for me but many of them are now deceased."

"So the answer lies with Oogway?" Shifu asked.

"It's possible," Po acknowledged. "But we need to enter the Spirit Realm first to find out. Just one problem though…"

"Oh, what's that?"

"I kinda don't want to have to skadoosh myself again," admitted Po. "Is there some other way we can get to the Spirit Realm?"

"Hmm," Shifu stroked his beard. "There are some legends out there that speak of the Spirit World being accessible in a secret location in the mountains."

"Great, where do we go to again?" Po asked.

"It's secret," Shifu reiterated. "However, it's been said there are a select few who know its location."

"Who's one of those people?"

"You and the rest of the Furious Five may not like the answer," Shifu's eyes narrowed.

oooo

"You want to ask Fenghuang for the hidden passage to the Spirit Realm?" Tigress demanded.

"I'm not crazy about it," Po told the rest of the Furious Five. "But she's one of the few people who might know the location. And she might have even gone there herself."

"How many times has Fenghuang tried to kill us again?" asked Viper.

"Enough times," admitted Po. "But hey, I think she's tried less times than Hundun or Temutai. Does that count for anything?"

"Not really," Crane looked at Po with a deadpan expression.

"Well, how about the last time we encountered her?" asked Po. "She teamed up with us to free Master Elephant from Xi'an's evil grasp!"

"Didn't she say afterwards that the next time we meet, all bets are off?" asked Mantis.

"Yeah, but she didn't mean it as a threat," Po smiled. "Or at least I don't think it was. Maybe she meant all bets are off when we play bingo."

"Nope, not buying it," Mantis shook his head.

"And has she attacked the Valley of Peace since that time all those years ago?" asked Po, hoping to strike some kind of chord with his former teammates.

"Hmm, I guess she really hasn't," Monkey shrugged his shoulders. "She's been kind of quiet all these years."

"Exactly!" Po pointed out. "She hasn't gone after you guys and she hasn't gone after me even when I went solo and moved to the Panda Village."

"It still doesn't prove she's somehow a good guy," Tigress pointed out.

"Correct," Master Shifu finally interjected. "Which is why Po and I are going to go to her mountain lair to find out for ourselves."

"Wait, you can't be serious, can you?" demanded Tigress.

"You're really going to waltz into the lair of one of our most dangerous villains and see if she's turned over a new leaf?" asked Mantis.

"And not bring backup?" asked Viper. "It sounds really dangerous."

"We considered that," Shifu told the Furious Five. "But Po and I have talked it over. If all of us go over there, she may consider it a hostile act. But if only Po and I go there, she might feel less threatened and be more willing to talk."

"Yeah, besides, Shifu and I should be more than enough to handle Fenghuang," Po smiled, patting Shifu on the back.

"Alright, well, don't say we didn't warn you," Mantis pointed out with a claw.

oooo

Up in the mountains, both Shifu and Po made their way through the snow-capped hills to get to Fenghuang's lair, or what they believed was still her lair.

"I haven't seen her in a while," Po admitted. "I wonder how much she's changed in all these years."

"I can't say for certain because I haven't seen her in a long time either," Shifu used a cane to carefully make his way up the mountain.

"Oh, I wonder how much her kung fu has improved," Po wondered aloud.

"If you ask me, she probably still keeps up with her training every day," Shifu climbed on top of another rock to get to their location. "She was after all a member of the previous Furious Five and the strongest one by far. It's highly unlikely she's slacked off all these years."

Finally, the two stopped at the entrance of a cave.

"This is it," Po looked into the cave. "It's been a long time since I've last been here."

The inside of the cave was now fancier than it used to be. There were more ornate decorations, a dinner table, and even a luxurious bed. All across the cave were also temple columns similar to what the Jade Palace had.

"She really spruced up the place," Po smiled. "Nice."

"Be on your guard Po," Shifu reminded him. "Fenghuang's housekeeping may be impeccable on the outside but what we need to pay attention to is if she still has the same blackened heart on the inside."

"A blackened heart? Aww, Shifu… you've hurt my feelings."

Both Po and Shifu looked up to see Fenghuang dangling from a temple column with both feet.

"Fenghuang, we need to have a talk," Shifu pointed his staff at her.

"Yes we do," Fenghuang flew down and kicked Shifu to the side.

"Shifu!" Po cried.

Just as Po leaped at her, Fenghuang utilized her chi and swung at Po with one wing, knocking him back with a powerful gale wind that knocked him against one of the columns in the cave.

"Agh!" Po cried out in pain. "Yeah, Fenghuang's definitely still training. And leveled up too."

The two kung fu masters circled the owl who was once a part of the previous Furious Five.

"Be on your guard Po," Shifu warned. "We don't know how much she's changed over the years."

"I hear ya," Po nodded.

At once Fenghuang leaped into the air and launched a Mongolian fireball at them. The two kung fu masters avoided it and Shifu leaped into the air first. He launched at flurry of punches at Fenghuang in the air who swiftly avoided them. The owl then flew down engaged Po.

"We just want to talk, Fenghuang!" Po insisted as he avoided a swipe from Fenghuang's wings that sliced apart the table in her quarters.

Fenghuang kicked Po back and hurled three razor sharp feathers at Po from her wing. At once, Po grabbed plate from the broken table and caught the three feathers before they could pierce his flesh.

"Whoa!" Po cried.

"You and Shifu come here unannounced," Fenghuang grabbed Shifu by the face with her claws and slammed him head-first into the ground. "Talk about how I have a blackened heart. And you expect me to believe that?"

"Well, considering how hard you are to casually contact with a letter… yes!" Po cried. "Besides, Shifu was only speculating. Neither of us really know if you've changed over the years or not."

Fenghuang took Shifu and threw him at Po. Po immediately caught Shifu and set him down.

"I've changed," Fenghuang promised. "Allow me to show you."

Gathering both wings together, Fenghuang created another ball of energy with her chi and fired it at Po and Shifu who leaped aside.

Po noticed some rope Fenghuang had lying on the floor. It was then that a strategy began formulating in his head.

"Hey Shifu, I got an idea," Po whispered to Shifu.

"What are you two talking about?" demanded Fenghuang as she saw the two exchanging quiet words.

"Why don't you come over and find out?" Po gestured.

Angrily, Fenghuang flew towards the two. She swung at Po first with a wing swipe that Po narrowly dodged. She slashed down at Shifu next who quickly avoided the hit with a side-step. After that, Fenghuang tried to swing at Po but he was able to catch her at her wing's bend before she was able to fully extend it into a more deadly attack.

"What?!" Fenghuang growled.

At once, Po drove his fist into her side, delivering a powerful liver punch that made Fenghuang wheeze.

"Ack!" the owl kung fu master yelped as both her eyes widened in pain.

Shifu came in next, hitting her with multiple bicycle kicks across the chest before flipping away. As the red panda fell back, the larger black and white panda came in with a palm strike to the chest that knocked Fenghuang back even further. Catching herself, Fenghuang hurled more sharp feathers at the two. Po slammed his foot down on the broken dinner table, flipping it up and using it as a shield to catch the razor owl feathers.

Leaping over Po, Shifu kicked Fenghuang directly in the chest, knocking her back against a column. Before the owl master could move, Po grabbed the ropes on the ground with Shifu. The first thing Fenghuang felt after her back hit the column was the middle of the rope binding her chest. In mere moments, she was tied up thanks to the combined work of both Po and Shifu.

"Ready to talk now?" asked Po.

"It would appear you have me at a disadvantage," Fenghuang finally conceded. "Very well then."

"Great," Po smiled.

"But first you should really untie me," Fenghuang told him. "This position is rather uncomfortable."

"After you tried attacking us?" Shifu asked. "Who do you take us for?"

Fenghuang sighed. "Alright, I admit I rushed to judgement. If you untie me, I promise I won't make any more moves against you."

Shifu looked towards Po for direction. While there might have been a time long ago when he had more authority over Po, those days were over as the panda was now the Dragon Master rather than the Dragon Warrior.

Po looked at Shifu and then looked at Fenghuang.

"Alright, but no more funny business?" he asked her.

"I give you my word," she promised.

Po finally relented and untied her.

"Don't make us regret this," Shifu told her.

oooo

"This place looks as splendid as ever," Fenghuang was the first to step foot into the Jade Palace before Po or Shifu. "By the way, I think the columns here could use some extra paint."

"Remember," Shifu told her. "We're not here to exchange home improvement advice."

"Of course," Fenghuang smirked.

"It's her!" Tigress and the Furious Five came forth, taking a battle stance.

"Stand down everyone," Shifu ordered. "Fenghuang has agreed to help us."

"Yeah, she's got exactly what we need to make this journey," Po added.

"Good to see there's at least some trust," Fenghuang tilted her head.

"We're really gonna trust her?" asked Crane.

"We don't really have much choice," Shifu reminded his pupils. "Given Fenghuang's experience and knowledge of forbidden arcane knowledge, we'll have to rely on her."

"I'll be keeping both eyes on you," Tigress looked at Fenghuang, sizing her up.

"Oh spare me," Fenghuang pushed past Tigress and walked towards a table.

Tigress looked like she was about to snap but Po quickly got in front of her.

"C'mon," Po insisted. "Let it go this time… for my sake?"

Tigress crossed her arms.

"I'll owe you just this once," she finally told Po who smiled.

"Listen to me carefully," Fenghuang took out a map and spread it out on the table. "We make our journey the first thing tomorrow."

"Where to?" asked Monkey.

"We head to Mount Tai," Fenghuang informed all the present company. "The gateway to the underworld that we're looking for is hidden there."

"And then?" Po asked excitedly.

"Then you journey to the underworld and risk your immortal soul being trapped in a purgatory for an eternity," Fenghuang smiled.

The confident smile on Po's face vanished to be replaced by a nervous grin.

"Yeah, not exactly the kind of pep speech I was expecting," Po grimaced.

To be continued.