The Cost of Being in the Room Where it Happens
Wolf's ears perked up at heavy footsteps, familiar footsteps. "Hey, Blackie!" Mr. Three beamed. Wolf jumped up and grinned wide; his tail wagged carefree. "It's good to see you too."
"Of course, since you're here, that means that-"
"Please, Mr. Four, something less doom and gloom," Mr. Three said. Mr. Four simply blinked.
"It's... nice to see you again."
Mr. Three sighed and shook his head. "Like asking a stone to give water."
"Why did you guys want me to come here?" Po finally asked. The two rhinos looked at each other then they looked at Wolf. Through the bars of his prison, they could see his questioning face glancing between them.
Mr. Three spoke first, heavy and slow. "So what happened?"
"Uh... w-what do you mean?" Po asked.
"Cut the crud, panda," Mr. Four said. "We know for a fact that you didn't defeat Sho. He's way too strong for you."
"Wow, thanks for the confidence boost," Po grumbled.
"So... what happened?" Mr. Three repeated. The panda sighed. He looked at Wolf, who gave him permission to talk with a nod. Po sagged his shoulders and spoke.
"Sho attacked and... made quick work of me and Monkey. I mean, you should have been there! The guy is freakin' huge! And strong! I don't even think Tigress could-"
"We know of Sho's strength. What happened after he attacked you?" Mr. Four asked.
Po sighed again. "He hurt Monkey bad and was going clobber me when Wolf stopped him... with one hand! I mean how did you do that?! Was it some crazy training you did or-"
"Po, focus," Mr. Three thundered. "And no one else saw you?"
Po shook his head. "All the guards were knocked out when Sho swung that hammer of his."
"Hmm," Mr. Three hummed, "This is good and bad. No one knows that he's up here, but if we move him to Chor-Gom, Sho WILL break him out just to make his life more miserable. The overgrown wimp."
"Uh my broken bones say he's not a wimp," Po said. The rhinos simply sighed.
"We can't let him leave this mountain," Mr. Four said. "Sho doesn't know where he is now. For all he knows, the wolf is already in some secret place."
"Is that why Wolf was in the cave in the first place?" Po asked. The rhino nodded.
"And if anyone knows he's here," Mr. Three added on thoughtfully, "Sho will rip this valley apart just to lure him out." The rapid thump of Po's fearful heart echoed in his ears as the rhinos methodically tried to figure out what to do next. "We have to leave him here for the time being. What Sho doesn't know about, he doesn't see."
"And he won't make our lives miserable... again," Mr. Four muttered. The wolf nodded along with Mr. Three, but the rhino looked at Po. The panda's eyes were wide, wider than the dumplings he ate. He was frozen. Po could feel the familiar flames of a nightmare licking his body, but now shouts and screams rang out in the fire. Mr. Three turned to his counterpart again, snatching Po out of his daze.
"If that's the case, Po needs to know about Blackie. Well, know enough." Mr. Four frowned harder but gave a stately nod as he stood at attention.
"I just want to know if he's really a criminal. I mean, he hasn't done anything but save us," Po said. "He's just been quiet."
"I can tell," Mr. Three smiled a bit, looking through the sunlit barred window letting fresh air fly around the dry stony dungeon. The rhino noticed the chains clinging around the dog's waist. "You know those wouldn't really stop-"
"They're just there for my friends," Po interrupted. "They don't know anything about him."
"Which makes this less complicated," Mr. Four curtly mentioned. Mr. Three sighed. He had a point.
"Po, you have to promise that you'll never tell your friends about what happens here. No one must know about what happens in this room until the appointed time... whenever that is," Mr. Three looked at Wolf. The dog hung his head. How was he supposed to know when? Sighing, the rhino continued. "The wolf isn't a criminal. He's done no crime worthy of his treatment."
"Why was he stuck in jail?" Po asked.
"He's in charge of a band of spies searching for someone," Mr. Four summarized. "He hasn't attacked or gone after the emperor, but Emperor Fu considers him a bigger threat because of his espionage network."
"Spies. COOL!" The rhinos looked hard on the panda. "I mean, I see." As professional as Po tried to seem, his face was more like a childish dignified look. Wolf hid his snigger. "So... who is he looking for?"
"We... don't know. He wouldn't tell us for our safety, but the rumors of him being around felines is true. All we know is that he's looking for a particular one. That's all we really know." Mr. Three smirked, "Though some of the felines have been due to... other things."
Grrrrr
"Hehe, just kidding, Blackie," The rhino jeered. A flimsy scowl rested on Wolf's face. Po could've sworn he was blushing. "But we don't know who he's searching for."
Po sagged his shoulders, too.
Great, they were back at square one.
Po clenched his jaw. How was he supposed to figure this whole thing out? All he knew, for now, was that the wolf was innocent and looking for someone. But Po didn't know who the wolf was, who or where his spies were, and how they connected back to his friends! Po rubbed his temples. This whole thing was getting complicated.
Suddenly, something moved. Po snapped up, caught, and stopped a fist aimed for his chest but skidded back on the ground. He had stopped Mr. Three's fist from clobbering him.
"What was that for?!" Po exclaimed. The rhino smiled.
"You're getting faster. Stronger."
"Yeah," Po grunted as he shook the pain from his hand. "But I don't know if that's enough to stop Sho."
"It isn't," Mr. Four said. Po's face fell to the floor. "But," The rhino sighed after a brief moment of Po's depression. "It is a start."
"A very good start too. You're getting better much faster than I thought."
"Keep up the good work," Mr. Four uttered stoically. "You'll need it." Po looked at his hands that had just stopped Mr. Three's.
"HAHA! AWESOME!" He shouted. Wolf smiled as he shook his head, and Mr. Three gave a hearty laugh.
"Come, let's talk with the others. We have to tell them that the wolf has to stay," Mr. Four said. Mr. Three and Po nodded.
"When will my friends know about him?" Po asked.
"The truth will reveal itself sooner or later," Mr. Three replied. Po's gaze dropped to the ground as they ascended up from the dungeon. Tigress patiently waited for them. The panda gulped. She was going to be the most difficult to deal with. Mr. Three plastered a big grin on his face, showing his crows' feet, "Ah, Master Tigress. All goes well with the criminal, but as we were talking with the Dragon Warrior, it seems that the issue is... complicated."
Tigress crossed her arms. "How so?"
"The wolf will have to stay here until we can gather reinforcements to get him. We'll have to get Platon. It will take a while," Mr. Four explained. The tiger sighed. She glanced at the quiet panda fixated on the reflective jade floor. "In any case, we must be going. We'll send word to Councilman Platon after we reach home."
"Home?"
"Our houses are on the way there. It's been ages since we've seen our families," Mr. Three answered. Tigress only nodded. "In the meantime, we trust that you understand to keep him up here. The villagers don't need to know that a crook is living so close to them."
"I'll be sure to remind the others," Tigress replied. Mr. Three and Mr. Four nodded in unison and walked out of the Hall of Heroes, leaving the poor panda alone with the tiger. Tigress watched them leave while Po tried to sneak away. "Po."
"Doh!" So close. He spun around and saw the tiger's glare. "Y-Y-Yes? Tigress?"
"What did you and the guards talk about?"
"Uh... about... keeping the wolf up here?"
Tigress rose her eyebrow, "You know you don't lie well."
"I-I-I'm not lying," Po quickly said, "We did talk about that. It's... it's dangerous to have him, but it'd be more dangerous-er to move him now without some heavy muscle."
"Hence Platon?" Po nodded. "Alright then, what else did they talk about?"
"N-Nothing."
Tigress drew closer. "Po, I need to know."
"No, you don't."
"So you did talk about something?"
"Uhhh I didn't say that."
"You implied it."
"It's nothing really."
"Po!" Tigress shouted, now mere inches from his body. "Tell me what they said."
"I can't!" Silence swallowed up the panda's shout. He clasped a hand over his mouth. Her jaw slightly dropped like the panda smacked her. He might as well have. Tigress straightened back up, cold and stoic, and bore soul-destroying eyes into the panda's frame.
"I see. I'll leave you to your duties, Dragon Warrior." Not another word exited her mouth. Just her raging heat mixed with her icy shoulder as she walked out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her.
Po sighed. He stood alone in the bleak silence of the jade hall, feeling the weight of his burden.
"Great," Po sighed. "Now I'm back to being alone. UUGGHHH! Why me?! I didn't ask for this! Okay, sure yeah, everyone had a secret other than me, but I didn't want this!" The panda groaned under the sound of his stomach growling. "Alright, eat first, try to avoid Tigress's rage, and then train. How hard can this be?"
If only the panda knew.
Continued...
