More Secrets


"51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60."

"That'll be enough," Shifu said. Po groaned and plopped to the ground after his push-ups. Sliding the weights off of his back, he stood up and rubbed his wrist, slightly frowning.

"What's next?"

Shifu looked at the panda. He couldn't make out his emotion. He seemed solemn, tight-lipped like someone stepped on his toe.

Or his heart. "Take a break. You've done a lot of work." Po nodded and sat crossed legs to meditate. "You seem... more focused."

"Thank you, Master Shifu."

"And bad tempered."

"What makes you say that?" Po muttered.

"Because our food supply is low," Shifu muttered back. "And you're acting like Tigress."

Po scoffed a bit and looked away, still furrowing his eyebrows. "I thought that was a good thing."

"Po, what's wrong?" Shifu asked. Just then, Tigress passed through the entrance of the Training Hall. She looked inside, locking eyes with Po. He glared before looking the other way. Tigress continued on, softly walking down the silent halls. "Did something happen between you and Tigress?"

"No."

"Po, please. Carrying anger like this isn't healthy for you. And whatever reason you have for being angry, will it matter in the long run?"

"I think it will," Po grunted out. "Especially this." Shifu furrowed his bushy eyebrows together, but he didn't say a word. A full minute passed before the silence finally got to Po. "Tigress and I... had a... a bit of an argument."

"I got that part," Shifu said.

"It was... it was about trust," Po said. "She... ugh! None of you guys trust me!" Shifu silently stroked his beard.

"This is about the wolf, isn't it?"

Po nodded. "I know he's dangerous and I know he could hurt you guys, but don't you think I know that? Why won't you guys trust me?"

"Because it's not the normal way." Po's eyebrow rose. "Po, you do things that... aren't typical, but they solve the problem. I would have never thought of using the Wuxi Finger Hold on myself to defeat Kai or teach a bunch of pandas to defeat his jombies- I mean jade zombies."

"Ha, ha! Got you to say it."

"Hmm." Shifu recomposed himself. "Po, your heart is always in the right place. I've seen that for myself. And your actions prove it. It's just... the way it goes is... not always the way we're trained to go. Heh, much like teaching a panda through food isn't how people usually learn Kung Fu."

Po shrugged, "I guess. Maybe you're right." He looked around and noticed something. "Where's Zeng?"

"He's in the dungeon, cleaning."

"And who's guarding Wolf now?"

"Viper. Why?"

"Just curious," Po said finally smiling. "Alright, now that that's cleared up, let's keep training." As they continued, Zeng the duck gulped and followed the winding steps down to the dungeon. It was always comforting to see the sunlight trickle in at the bottom of the stairs, but normally there wasn't someone IN there to scare him. The duck got to the last stone stair. He saw the black wolf, staring out through the barred window.

"Oh, hey, Zeng," Viper said, the faintest lift in her voice. No one liked guard duty. "What are you doing here?"

"I-I-I-I'm here to s-s-s-sweep," Zeng quacked.

Viper smiled, "Don't worry. He's not going to hurt you. If anything happens, I'll be here to help." Zeng looked at Wolf, who finally turned his head. The chain around his waist allowed him to move, but he could barely grab the cell bars, so there was a small limit to the wolf's freedom. The dog didn't seem to mind. Zeng's eyes stayed on the wolf. "Zeng, you'll be fine. He hasn't done anything."

"A-A-A-Are you sure? I heard that he was very dangerous."

Viper heavily smiled, "Having him seems to be more dangerous than him." Wolf looked at her, slightly widening his eyes. Was that a look of concern? Viper just sighed, "It's okay, Zeng. He's not gonna-"

Suddenly, Zeng tripped and dropped the broom. Zooming to the bars, Wolf quickly snatched the broom into his cell. "HEY!" But Viper stopped short. Zeng's beak dropped. There in the little dirty cell, Wolf swept and dusted his living area with surprising enjoyment. A broad smile flew across his face as he finally pilled all the dust in his corner and threw it out the barred window. He finally gave the broom back to Zeng. "Uh... thanks," Viper said.

"Wow! He cleaned this better than I could," Zeng said.

"I... I guess." Viper could see the intrigue plastered to the duck's face. "Why are you interested?"

"Well, you said he's not really that dangerous. So... maybe he could lend me some help in cleaning around the Jade Palace!"

"Ummm," Viper saw Wolf's ears perk up, and his eyes darted to her for the answer. His tail wagged, further dusting the ground. "Uhhh. I don't think Master Shifu would like that."

"I'm not talking about now," Zeng revised, "But if he can't help me around the palace, maybe he could help me in other ways."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll think about it," Zeng smiled. He turned and bowed to the wolf, "Thank you. I hope you have a nice day." The wolf nodded and watched the duck rush back up the stairs to do the rest of his work. He turned back to Viper, who pensively looked at the ground. He whined, calling her attention, and then he tilted his head in a question

"I...I'm not sure you... ugh, never mind. It's nothing," Viper sighed. She just silently thought and waited for Monkey to take over her place.

Later on, when the sun rose close to noon, Po walked up from the village when he met Tigress at the top of the steps. Her hands were folded behind her, but the smallest creases in her stoic face told him something was off. "Tigress?"

"Master Shifu has called us to the Hall of Heroes," She simply reported. Po nodded and stiffly followed her. They walked in complete silence. Neither of them wanted to really break it, but the longer it dragged on, the sharper the quiet knives stabbing their hearts grew.

Tigress crossed her arms. Po fretted about what that meant. She only crossed her arms when she was upset, confident, or annoyed.

Finally, as they came to the steps of the Hall of Heroes, Tigress stopped. "Tigress? What's-"

"I'm sorry," She finally blurted out. "I'm sorry for not... trusting you. It's just-"

"It's alright," Po smiled, "Shifu explained it to me. I shouldn't have said stuff like that. I know it's hard to trust me sometimes."

"I just... don't want something bad to happen to you if I can help it, Po." She rounded her shoulders, staring deep into the cold stone steps beneath her. Then she looked at the hand on her shoulder and saw Po's smile. A little ball of warmth reentered her heart.

"It's okay," He said. "Come on, let's see what Master Shifu wants."

Tigress nodded. "I will say, though. You're not acting at all like you usually do."

"What do you mean?"

"Normally, you show more curiosity than this. Right now, it seems like you're just concerned with getting stronger. Why?" Before Po could answer, they opened the door to see two large rhino guards standing before Master Shifu and the others.

"AHH! There's our panda," Smiled one of the guards.

"And he's still alive," murmured the other guard, earning an elbow nudge from the other. Tigress glared hard at the other guard, but Po was more surprised.

"Mr. Three, Mr. Four?"

"I'm glad you recognized us," Mr. Three smiled as they fell in line.

"You're finally here," Po narrowed his eyes, "Why did it take you so long?"

"We were... caught up," Mr. Four simplified. Mr. Three nodded.

"Master Monkey was just telling us about what happened. He said you defeated the Bandit King. You're very fortunate that nothing happened," Mr. Three said.

"And that the prisoner didn't get away," Mr. Four uttered heavily.

"You'll have to forgive my partner. He's-"

"I get it, I get it," Po finished, annoyed. "What's he trying to say is?"

"That it's very important that we know everything about what happened. Everything," Mr. Three said ominously.

"Good to know," Po sighed.

"Po, are you okay?" Tigress asked. The panda looked at her, mulled between two weights in his brain, and came to a final conclusion.

"I... I don't know. I honestly don't know."

"How about we go and see the prisoner, hm?" Mr. Three proposed. Mr. Four quietly nodded and the gang started to go down. "Just the Dragon Warrior." Everyone looked at each other.

"Why?" Tigress asked.

"Because we have some... personal issues to discuss. We just need to make sure that we understand the whole story."

"Are you suggesting that Monkey lied?" Tigress slightly snarled.

"Monkey was knocked out cold and nearly died," Mr. Four stated back emotionlessly. "So Po's the only real reliable source right now."

"I wasn't that bad," Monkey mumbled.

"And we want to prepare Po for any... unforeseen circumstances. You know, being the Dragon Warrior and all?" Mr. Three finished. The Furious Five and Shifu glared at the panda, waiting for his response. Sweat poured down Po's forehead already.

"Uh... sure... I mean, what Monkey said is probably the same, right?"

"Good, good," Mr. Three said, "Then there is nothing to worry about. Either way, we would like to talk with you... privately." His stern glare sent chills down Po's spine. He looked back at the others' questioning glances and stares.

"Guys, it's okay. It's... a little personal."

"Why?" Tigress asked.

"Uh... it's... kinda about why I'm training? I don't know. I'll talk to you guys in a little while." With that said, the two rhinos and the panda walked down into the darkness of the dungeon. Tigress stared on into the darkness and folded her arms.

"You know what," Viper spoke up. "He's right. Whatever they talk about, it's probably not for us to know."

"This is Po we're talking, remember?" Mantis mentioned.

"And because it's Po, it's not like he's going to be able to keep it a secret," Monkey said. Tigress's glare softened a bit, and as the others left, she and Shifu waited for the guards and Po to return.

"Master Shifu, do you think Po would actually hide something from us?" Tigress asked. The red panda brushed his beard for a while.

"I believe that Po will be able to face whatever he's up against. I think we should trust him," Shifu smiled. Tigress held her stare as her master ambled away.

Continued...