A Familiar Mistake
"Come on! We're getting close!" Yueding excitedly bounced.
"Easy, young one," Shang laughed. "You're gonna break the seat if you don't stop bouncing."
"We're getting close to where my father's army is."
Yanshi smiled, "And where is that? My feet are starting to get sore."
"The infamous Jai-Yin mountain. Where my father and Platon defeated a huge gang of ruffians and bandits living on the mountain."
Yanshi stopped in his tracks. "Hey! What's up, old man?" Shang grumbled. Yanshi pursed his lips and shut his eyes, taking a deep breath.
"Yanshi?" Yueding softly spoke. "Are you okay?"
"Sorry, let's... let's keep on," Yanshi sighed. He rested the poles of the deer's chair on his shoulders and pulled up his pants, tightening his belt, and moved on. "So... tell me about this... Jai-Yin?"
"The records say that they were a lot of powerful bandits that terrorized the farmlands below the mountain," Yueding rattled off. "But then my father came and with Platon's help, he scattered the villains to the outer edges of the kingdom. But I guess my father's trying to find something there."
"Is he tearing everything down to do it?" Yanshi asked.
"Why does it matter?"
"It. Matters," The gorilla said heavily.
"Uh? I... I don't know. Yanshi, is something wrong? You seem upset?" Yueding asked.
"Of course not, your majesty. Just a little sore in the foot," The gorilla chuckled. Soon, as they spread the leaves of trees away, they saw the mighty towering Jai-Yin mountain standing many yards ahead of them. The mountain range smoothly switched from green grass to gray rock to white snow at the top, but the clouds always covered its peaks. The Jai-Yin mountain stood with a wide base, taking up half the view of the sea behind it. "We're here." Yueding pulled out a small handheld telescope from his seat and scanned the terrain.
"I never thought it would be this... big!" Yueding exclaimed.
"Well, all I can see is your rear, your majesty," Shang laughed. The deer rolled his eyes but felt a sudden jerk forward. "Whoa! Hold on, old man."
"Come on, your father's in the basin below."
"O-Ookay," The deer stuttered. Yanshi's kind fatherly face had grown cold and hard like it would when he was facing an opponent. But why? They walked down the gentle rolling hill and marched towards the camp of tents where two large rhinos blocked their way with spears. "Open up for Prince Yueding."
He sounded a little pompous, something he hated, but it was the way his father had coached him. Well, his nurses taught him for his father's sake.
The rhinos didn't budge. "The Emperor has restricted ANY access to him."
"But I'm his son!"
"Our orders are final, sir."
Yueding sighed and tossed his hands up in the air. "Of course, he doesn't want to see me." As the two gorillas lowered his sedan chair to the ground, Yueding rested his head on his hand with a pout. "What am I going to do? Now I feel bad. I wanted to see what my father was doing, and I made you two go through this whole journey for nothing."
Yanshi smiled and sat next to the prince. "Going anywhere with you, prince, is okay by us. Besides, there are other things worse than not seeing your dad."
"Prince Yueding!"
"Speak of the demons," Yanshi grumbled. There, with his sword by his side, was Councilman Platon with a big beaming smile. Yueding jumped out of his chair and smiled.
"Platon! It's great to see you again. What are you doing here?"
"Your father is trying to find something on this mountain, but we haven't found anything yet," Platon said, bowing. "We can't even get up the mountain."
"Why?" Yanshi asked with a raised eyebrow.
Platon frowned and sighed, "The mountain is very... treacherous and it's been raining heavily for a while." Yanshi looked at the mud puddles around him. It was hard to see where the mud started and the grass began "But it doesn't seem like Emperor Fu has found what he's looking for."
"Which is?" The lion silently sighed. Yanshi glanced at the deer anxiously darting his eyes between him and Platon. The gorilla rolled his tense shoulders back. "Is there any way you can get the prince in to see his father, Councilman?"
"Of course," Platon said, his smile returning. "Anything for my favorite prince. Give me a moment, I'll tell the Emperor." The lion caught a cold glare from the senior gorilla and strolled over to Emperor Fu's tent. Yanshi's glare never left the lion.
"You okay, old man?" Shang smirked. "You look like me when I lose Mahjong."
"I told you to quit calling me old," Yanshi sharply said. Shang raised his hands in defense and scooted away from him.
"Yanshi? What's wrong?" Yueding asked. "Are you upset?"
"No," Yanshi quickly changed his face. "No, no, your majesty. I'm just... concerned."
"About Platon?"
"About... your trip!" The gorilla rapidly recovered. "Why don't we just keep it a secret that we lost you, okay?"
Yueding smiled with a small laugh, "That's what you're worried about? I promise not to tell my father."
"And... don't tell him or Platon anything about our stay in the Valley of Peace. I... I don't think he would like it."
"Why?" Shang interrupted. Yanshi crossed his arms.
"Do you want Emperor Fu knowing about it?"
"Hehe, you got me there."
"Okay, okay," Yueding sighed. "I won't tell them."
"Good," Yanshi smiled as Platon came back out and ordered the guards to let the young deer in. Yueding ran in while Yanshi closely watched him. But he found himself glaring at Platon until the lion disappeared into the tent.
"You've never had good feelings about Platon. What happened? You and him get into a-"
"It's... It's nothing... he just reminds me of someone I trusted... a long time ago," Yanshi sighed. He looked up towards the peaks of Jai-Yin Mountain, covered in clouds. The weight of his body seemed to grow as he recollected something that Shang couldn't see. He inhaled deeply and breathed out all the pain and sadness that he could muster. Before the other gorilla could ask, Yanshi groaned up to his feet. "Come on, the prince is gonna take a while. We should get some rest. Night's coming."
*********F*******
Viper slithered alongside Tigress, silently glancing up every now and then. The tiger's face was cold...er and seemed to glare at the space in front of her. Was she trying to start a fire with her eyes? "Tigress, are you-"
"I'm fine."
"Oh... Okay," Viper held her tongue for a while. "Are you... sure you want to help me with the kids today? You seem kind of...upset and taking care of children takes a... gentle guidance."
"I told you, I'm fine," Tigress answered just as harshly as before. Viper shrank and slithered closer to the ground. They only traveled a yard before Tigress stopped and sighed. "I'm... sorry, Viper. It's just... Po."
"What's wrong with him?"
"Nothing. He won't tell me something very important," Tigress growled.
Viper tilted her head. "Is it about the wolf?"
"I don't believe the guards took him down alone for nothing. He knows something that he's not telling us."
Viper couldn't help notice the tigers' sagging shoulders and downcast eyes. Sure, there was rage, but also sadness. "Maybe they swore him to secrecy."
Tigress glanced down at her with a slight shake of her head. "Po can't keep a secret. That's why I'm worried. The very fact that the guards told him instead of us could put the whole village in danger. He knows something, I just need to figure out what."
"Why do you care?" Tigress snapped her head at Viper. "I mean, even if he does talk, it doesn't look like you're questioning him just because he knows a potentially dangerous secret. I mean... what's new?"
"This criminal is extremely dangerous and-"
"That's not what I mean," Viper interrupted, the slightest annoyed, "I mean we've been in this situation before and Po's been fine. The last time he had a secret that you didn't know was when we dealt with Shen and you forced it out of him. And look how that turned out. So why is this one important?"
No words came. Tigress stood frozen. But before she could actually come up with any words, Zeng rushed into the barracks' hall. "Zeng? What's wrong?"
"The... The kids are...all over the Jade Palace! They're running amuck in the Hall of Heroes!"
"Oh no," Looking at each other, Viper and Tigress ran to the scene.
Meanwhile, Po trained with Master Shifu, pushing a wall of weights across the floor. "A little more," Shifu urged.
"I'm... trying!" Po gritted his teeth as he finally pushed the block over the finish point. "Whew, okay was hard."
"Which means you're getting better," Shifu commented. Po plopped to his butt, stretching the sore muscles in his chest and legs. "I'm impressed, Po. You've come a long away."
"Thanks, Master Shifu. It means a lot coming from you."
"I'm starting to understand that," Shifu sighed. A small sadness formed on his brow. Of what?
"Are you okay, Master?"
"I... reflecting. I'm just reflecting on my work as a master... and a father."
Po winched, "Master Shifu, you did the best you could with Tai-"
"I know, but I wasn't thinking about him," Shifu sighed. "Po, you revealing to me how Tigress views romantic relationships... worries me. I can tell that her views mirror mine when I was training her. It may be my mistake that prevents her from... having a fulfilling life."
Po smiled, "Don't worry, I think she'll be fine. Who knows, maybe she'll find someone that she can't resist." Shifu glanced at the panda's wide cheerful grin. It was contagious, and he smiled with him.
"Yes, maybe so," Shifu sighed. "That reminds me. Tigress seems upset with you. Is something wrong?" Po's smile vanished and he gave a heavy exhale. "Does it have to do with what the guards said to you?"
"How-" Po narrowed his eyes at the red panda, "How did you know?"
"Tigress seemed distressed that you were singled out for it. I can only assume that things didn't go well."
"No."
"What did the guards say?" Shifu asked.
"I can't-"
"Master Shifu! Master Shifu!" Viper burst in, shouting at the top of her lungs. "Ah! Po, great! We need your help! The kids are all over the Hall of Heroes!"
"What?!" Po and Shifu exclaimed.
"Come on!" The three raced over to the hall.
Bunny children jumped all around in a sea of spotted white. Monkey, Mantis, Tigress, and Crane tried to catch the fast little mites and take them to the courtyard below the mountain.
"YIKES!" Po ducked as an arrow launched from the kids' playing with a crossbow flung across the room. "Not cool guys!" The kids giggled and fled to play more. "Okay, this is a little much."
"Why are there so many children here?!" Shifu shouted to Viper so he could be heard over the roaring kiddy screams. "There can't be this many children in the village!"
"Every kid in the valley is here!" Viper shouted, dipping from a thrown ax. "Hey! Not nice!"
"Let's worry about the kids, alright!" Po said. Shifu and Viper nodded. The team got to work. Po scooped several bunnies in his arms, grabbed a basket, and tossed them to Crane who flew them down to the courtyard. Monkey and Tigress used Viper to wrap around the kids and push them out the door. Shifu and Mantis caught the kids climbing up the jade pillars. They were starting to make a dent in the sea of children, but they couldn't stop one little bunny girl from finding the entrance to the dungeon. Her ball had bounced down the dark hole, and she was determined to get it. The brave little bunny slowly crept down the winding steps. Her hand braced against the cold stony wall, and each step rose shivers in her spine. The faint trace of light at the bottom slowly approached. She thought it was the outside, but at the end of the stairs, she found her ball, some bars, and a very surprised Wolf looking at her.
"Hi!" She smiled. Wolf was beyond words. "You're a wolf, aren't you? Are you a fighter? My mom says that when-when you come up to the 'dade palace', you get to do-to do cool stuff."
Wolf blinked. He shook his head. The girl couldn't stay down here. He got up from his stool and snarled, "GRRRRRRRRR!"
"Hey, my ball!" the bunny girl ran right through the bars (she was small), grabbed the ball, and ran back out. "Thanks, mister. You're a good wolfie." Wolf said nothing.
Suddenly, they heard a high-pitched giggle, small enough to attract Wolf's attention and scare the girl. The bunny ran right to Wolf, clutching his leg as she shivered. With widened eyes, Wolf looked at the little girl. "I'm... I'm scared. Could you... Could you come up the stairs with me?" The wolf shook his head. "Then... can I stay with you?"
"Hmm." There wasn't much else he could do. As the chains lightly clunk around, Wolf laid on the ground on all fours. The bunny girl snuggled her head right into his dark black fur. It was warm and rich. He smelled of earth and grass. It was comforting, and she went to sleep while poor Wolf tried hard to figure out what to do. He looked at her small napping face, her bunny nose twitching at the slight cool breezes. She'd cuddle deeper into his fur when those breezes grew too cold.
"Hrrrm," Wolf grunted in defeat. He could hear the shadows giggling at him.
The Furious Five, Shifu, and Po managed to contain most of the bunnies and were sending them back down the mountain to their parents. "Okay, let's agree never to do this again," Po sighed. The others groaned their agreement. They were in the courtyard seeing the kids off when a frantic bunny mother looked around for her child.
"My baby, where's my baby?!"
"Calm down, ma'am," Viper soothed, "What does your daughter look like?"
"Her name is Haizi! She has a cute little pink dress and she came up with her ball. Please, please find her!"
"We're on it. Viper, come with me," Tigress said. The two darted up the mountain, looking for little Haizi everywhere, but couldn't find her anywhere. Finally, they met at the Hall of Heroes. "We can't find her."
"This makes no sense. None of the children were around the other parts of the Jade Palace," Viper said.
"The only part we haven't checked is..." Horror gripped their faces as they raced down the steps. There in the cell was the wolf lying next to a sleeping Haizi. "Haizi!"
"SHHHHHH!" Wolf hushed and glared at them. Why the heck were they shouting while the child slept? At least, that's what his face looked like. Wolf slowly got up, carefully carrying the little child in his arms, and passed her through the bars to Tigress.
"Thank you," Tigress said slowly. Wolf nodded and went back to the ground while Tigress and Viper carried little Haizi out... and her ball. The two didn't say a word to each other. They couldn't figure out how to explain away what they just saw. From all accounts, Wolf was in the perfect position to hold the girl hostage, but he didn't.
Another issue unnerved them. How did Haizi get in the cell? And how much did she see? Their minds rattled these questions around until Haizi sluggishly awoke in Tigress's arms, still clutching her ball. "Huh? Where am I?"
"We're taking you back to your mom," Tigress reassured.
"But what happened to wolfie?" The two warriors cast worried glances at each other. "Was he a dream?"
"Yes! Yes, just a dream, sweetie," Viper smiled. "In your... dream, how did you get into the cell with wolfie?"
"Oh, I went through them. I'm small," She cutely yawned. Viper and Tigress breathed a small sigh of relief. "Dream wolfie seems nice." Without another word, she rolled in Tigress's arms and went to sleep.
"Yes... nice," Viper sighed.
"Viper? What's wrong?" Tigress asked.
"Nothing... nothing." The two finally got to the bottom of the mountain as the sun started to set.
"OHH, my baby!" The bunny mother screeched as Tigress handed her over. "Ohh thank you so much. I'm sorry she was trouble."
"It's alright," Viper smiled. "She just... took a little nap." The bunny mother bowed and left the two warriors alone. Viper just stood there. The smile on her face disappeared while she stared off into space though somewhat at little Haizi.
"Viper."
"Huh?" The snake jumped awake. "Wha... what?"
"Are you okay?" Tigress asked.
"I'm just thinking that... I'm making a very familiar mistake."
"About what?"
Viper sighed heavily, "About judging a book by its cover." She silently slithered back up the mountain, leaving Tigress to pause and think about what she meant.
Continued...
