Secrets
"Twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty!" Po practically growled as he slammed his body back to the ground from the push-ups. "Wow, I think I'm getting the hang of this." The panda rolled onto his back. The stabbing aches and pains were starting to go away, but they still lingered. "Ugh, I don't understand how Tigress does this for a living. Alright, next exercise." Po got up and walked over to the 10,000 steps. "Ugh... Okay, just try... about 1000. Alright, here we go." While Po ran on, Tigress, Crane, and Monkey directed the wolf down to the stone dungeon. The steps spiraled down into darkness, but as Wolf turned the corner, yawning as his eyes adjusted to the torch-lit room, a bit of light started to pour in. They came to a row of cells on their right with barred opened holes to the outside. Wolf could hear the wind and bird singing on the outside, and a small smile graced his face.
"Come on," Tigress grunted, shoving the wolf out of his trance. "Get in." Wolf stumbled into his cell. Crane snapped a huge shackle around his waist while Tigress chained his hands. They were bolted to the ground in the middle of the floor, just enough for him to reach the bars. Finished, Crane and Tigress got out, and Monkey closed the door behind. Wolf's eyes immediately looked out through the hole in the rocky wall, watching the setting sun pour into his new cell. He wore a glad smile on his face as he basked in the sun's rays. Tigress and Monkey looked at each other but shooed away the incident and walked out of the dungeon. "Crane, you're in charge of him."
"Oh, oh okay," Crane stuttered as the others left. The bird leaned against the opposite wall, watching the wolf gaze at the sunlight. "You like the sunlight?" Crane asked, hating the silence. Wolf turned his head and slowly nodded, slightly surprised that someone would talk to him. "Monkey told me you lived in a cave your whole life. I can't imagine that." Crane looked up and cocked his head a bit. "You don't speak, right?" The wolf only blinked. "Okay, good. Po talks enough for five people," Crane yawned. "I'll be nice to have some quiet while I think about stuff."
"Think about what?" said a voice.
"OH!" Crane bolted upright. "Hey, Viper. Hi Viper."
Viper giggled, "I didn't mean to scare you, Crane."
"No, no, no. I was just... watching the dangerous criminal, you know."
"Hehe," Viper turned her head to the black wolf who stared back at her like a blank slate. "Soo. This is the criminal Platon was talking about. I have to say... I didn't think he would be so... broken already." The wolf cracked his lips into a warm smile and bowed his head. "Oh! Uh... you're welcome. Anyway, I... just came to make sure you were alright."
"Fine! I'm fine! I'm really good. Thanks for uh checking up," Crane nervously chuckled. He silently prayed she didn't see through his guise. But Viper smiled and slithered away. The bird sighed and pulled his hat off. "What am I going to do?" The bird caught the wolf's smirking eyes. "Don't look at me! Just... just stay in there." Wolf's face fell. He simply shook his head and continued to stare over to the waning sun.
As darkness covered the land, Po trudged his way, sore and pained, over to the kitchen where he found Tigress there to greet him. "Uh oh, what did I do?"
"Firstly, what haven't you done," Tigress muttered.
"Hey! I take offense to that completely true statement," Po exclaimed. The tiger rolled her eyes.
"Secondly, I need to talk to you about our new... guest."
"Okay." Po took a seat, opposite where Tigress sat. Her hands were clasped together on the table as if they were in a business interview. She stared straight into Po's very soul while the panda desperately tried to avoid her eyes.
"Platon said he was extremely dangerous. And with Sho the bandit, this makes things worse. Having him here is a hazard."
"I know, I know. But-"
"Po, listen first. Talk later," Tigress asserted. Po buttoned up his lip. "This wolf is a dangerous criminal. Just because he's quiet and docile doesn't mean anything. For all we know, he'll be at our throats the moment we sleep, which is why I'm going to watch him for the first night. Understood?" Po nodded. "I don't want you to get attached to him, Po. You're very trusting, but enemies will use that to your demise. You can't show any kind of weakness. If he were strong enough, he would probably snap your neck. I might just let him for the stunt you pulled." Po gulped. "I know his kind, Po. They look humble and meek, but they'll betray you." Tigress looked at her hands with a long-lost look. "And you can never trust again."
"Tigress," Mantis hopped in. "It's time."
"I'll be right there."
"What's going on?" Po asked as Tigress got up.
"Don't worry, Master Shifu is having a meeting."
"Oh, then I should-"
"You should go to bed," Tigress firmly said. "This is just between the Furious Five and Master Shifu."
"O-Oh," Po sighed. Tigress gave a small smile as she rested her hand on his shoulder.
"Po. It's nothing major."
"Yeah. It's not like we're keeping secrets from you or something," Mantis mumbled. Tigress glared him down until the bug ran away. Po's frown grew longer.
"Just... trust me, Po. Go to sleep. You look tired."
"Yeah," Po said as the tiger vanished after Mantis. "Yeah, tired." The panda wandered over creaking wood towards his room. His eyes were wide open while the frown never left his face. "Why don't they trust me? I mean yeah sure, what I did was a little... okay a lot, but every things working out in end, right?" Po muttered to himself. Of course, there were several times that he nearly put them in danger. Maybe he had done the same with this prisoner? Po sighed. No, there was no way that was true. Wolf was more than strong enough to get out of that prison.
And yet here Po was, sulking in the corner letting the big warriors do their official meeting. "Why? I can keep secrets," Po complained. "I don't get it! Why am I always left out of these things?!" He couldn't get the answer; his quiet room wouldn't give it to him. The panda plopped his head onto the mat and enter another fitful night of sleep.
As the panda slept, Tigress followed the hopping bug down the shadowy halls of the Jade Palace. Tigress absentmindedly looked at the ground passing under her feet. "What's the matter?" Mantis asked, hopping onto her shoulder.
"I... I'm worried... about Po. I feel like I hurt him," Tigress strained.
"Really? You just told him to go to sleep while we talk about super-secret stuff that he can't be a part of," Mantis replied. "I'm sure he's fine."
"Mantis."
"What's the worse that can happen? Besides, Po isn't gonna keep a grudge against you. You know that," Mantis said.
"So what? I should abuse that?"
"Or just tell him Master Shifu said, 'Don't bring the panda'. Whichever you want."
Tigress sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. The little green bug could be a lot sometimes. Soon the two were in the Hall of Heroes where the rest of the Furious Five were. Shifu stood over and looked into the reflective Moon pool's surface. "Master Shifu, we're here," Tigress said.
"Good. Now, I've called you all here because we have to discuss our... new visitor."
"The wolf? What about him?" Viper asked.
"He's extremely dangerous and could pose a threat to the villagers. We must be on constant guard with him," Shifu warned, "Platon was very cryptic with his identity, but if some of the rumors are true, this man is far more than a strong criminal."
"What rumors are you talking about?" Crane asked. Shifu turned away and looked at the reflective Moon Pool.
"There are some rumors among the guards that deeply trouble me. Some of them say that this man is in league with the King of the Bandits, Sho. They probably staged the prison break. Fortunately, Po neutralized him, but we can't rely on Po to protect us. It is imperative that we keep his whereabouts a secret. Word must not leak out that he is here. He must be watched constantly until the guards come to retrieve him."
"Why didn't we bring Po into this meeting?" Viper asked. Shifu gave a great sigh.
"While Po's potential is unlimited, his heart is a bit too large," Shifu said. "This prisoner might charm his way into Po's good graces. As you know, Po is very hard to refuse. If this wolf can get onto Po's side, then he could use Po to get to us.
"The simplest solution," Shifu continued, "is to keep Po and the criminal far away from each other."
Tigress sighed, "That's going to be difficult. Po's already shown an interest in him." Shifu grimaced.
"Then we'll have to do damage control. Crane, Monkey, Viper, and Mantis, make sure that you can busy yourself with Po to keep him away from the wolf. Tigress and I will watch over the criminal when you all aren't available. If he asks questions, distract him. It should be easy." They all agreed with a nod, except Viper.
"Master Shifu, why don't we just tell Po how dangerous the criminal is? Won't he listen to us?" She asked.
"He would IF he weren't also gullible," Shifu muttered under his breath. "We have to keep Po away from him, Viper. If the wolf were to use him, it would spell disaster." The red panda sighed at Viper's frown. "I know it's hard to keep him in the dark, but this is the safety of the village we're talking about. I have no doubts that Po would be able to defeat the wolf if the need arose." The warriors gave Shifu disbelieving looks. "Okay, I do have doubts. Many of them. But I know that he would pull through in the end. It's for the best, Master Viper."
"I guess," The snake sighed.
"Alright, you have your assignments. Go." The team was dismissed and went their separate ways.
"Tigress?" Viper called out. "Aren't you a little worried about what Po will think?"
"What do you mean?"
"He's... he trusts you the most. You know that right?"
Tigress sighed and knelt down to her serpentine friend. "Drastic times call for drastic measures, especially when the people you care for can get hurt. If it were you in the situation, we would do the same." She smiled, but she could see Viper wasn't changed by it. "We'll tell him the moment the situation changes, I promise," Tigress said. Viper nodded and slithered back to the barracks. Tigress followed suit, pausing a brief moment over Po's door. She could see the panda's silhouette gently rise and fall. Her heart churned at what Viper said. The snake was right; it was wrong to keep this from Po, but what else could they do?
Whatever the case, Tigress knew this wolf's presence would test all of them.
Continued...
