Questions Answered


YIP! YIP!

The canine's happy squeals rang out through the night as he squeezed the rhino in a hug. "Hahah, Good to see you too, Blackie," Mr. Three smiled.

"You're alive? But... we saw your house and, and, and the message said-"

"We had to fake our deaths," Mr. Four interrupted Po's rambling. "Otherwise, the Emperor would have killed us."

"Killed you?" Po asked.

"Any guard in charge of Blackie has a funny way of... disappearing," Mr. Three explained. The wolf rubbed his head into the rhino's belly, making the soldier laugh as he combed the canine's head. "Ah, Blackie, you didn't think that we'd give up that easily, did ya?"

"Wait, but if you faked your murders, why are you still here?" Po asked.

"We had to try and make things difficult between the cloaked man and Sho. They're the main reason why Wolf is in..." Mr. Four stopped and narrowed his eyes. "Po, why is Wolf out of his prison cell? Why is he here at all?!"

"Heheheh funny story... well funny-ish." And he told them what had happened at the palace while Po was away. The two guards glared hard at the panda, who hid into his shoulders. "I-I-I-It wasn't my fault! I didn't know the bandits would be there." The rhinos stared but then sighed.

"He's right. The truth was going to come out sooner or later," Mr. Three said.

"But it shouldn't have come this soon. Things are moving faster than we expected," Mr. Four softly rumbled. Wolf silently stood between his two former caretakers. "With the issue happening between Sho and... the cloaked man, we don't have much choice but to speed things up."

"What do you mean?" Po asked.

"If there's bad blood between Sho and the cloaked man, then Wolf might be able to fade into nonexistence, and the Emperor will have no way to ensure where Wolf is. It will allow Wolf to make his search in peace," Mr. Four said. Po slowly nodded and looked at the wolf.

"Platon's the cloaked man, right?" Po asked.

"I... yes," Mr. Three replied, looking at Mr. Four. Wolf's eyes widened. "How did you know?"

"I mean, it's not that hard. He's the same height, and I can tell when someone's trying to change their voice," Po confidently smirked. "I've done it a few times myself."

"Were you successful?"

A crack in Po's confidence made him scratch the back of his head. "Uh... no."

Mr. Three sighed, "Well, you know. So there's no need in keeping that secret." Mr. Four nodded. "We also came to give Wolf peace of mind and to answer any more of your questions. We've been trying to keep the communications between the Jade Palace, the prison, and the Emperor in the dark."

"You were the guys that sent the Emperor the letter," Po said. Mr. Three nodded. "Wow." Po's head spun and looked for a place to sit. "That explains... a lot."

"Come, we need to get further away from the village. Platon or Sho's men could find us," Mr. Four warned. Though bewildered, Po agreed. They walked away from the basin, but Wolf looked back, frowning. Mr. Three turned around and spotted him.

"We have to move on, Blackie. There's nothing that you can do for him now," Mr. Three said. "The big bear will have to figure out his evils for himself." Air entered the wolf's lungs and blew out some weight only he and Mr. Three knew. Po couldn't figure it out. He just followed the rhinos into the forest surrounding the village where they could hide. As the moon's light seeped through the bamboo stalks, Mr. Three walked up to Po's side.

Suddenly, Po stopped a fist aimed for his side and automatically threw a firm punch right into the rhino's stomach. "OOOFF!" Mr. Three hunched over, dropping his spear as he clutched his belly.

"Whoops! Sorry! I didn't mean to-"

"HAHAHA! It's been a while since I felt a blow like that. Sho's the only guy now that I think of it," Mr. Three smirked, standing up straight. "You're getting stronger."

"Hehe, yeah. Thanks," Po smiled but looked between the two rhinos as he asked, "So you knew I was coming here?"

"We followed you shortly after you entered the area," Mr. Four answered.

"And you'll answer my questions?" Po asked.

Mr. Three winced, "Make sure that it's not a list of questions, Dragon Warrior. We don't have much time."

"Oh. Okay, Uhhh... geez, I'm not good on a time crunch," Po fretted. Wolf sniggered quietly as the two rhinos only rolled their eyes. "Oh! Are you guys part of the Jai-Yin?"

The air crackled around them; they were paralyzed. Mr. Three, Four, and Wolf had eyes wider than saucers. Jaws dropped to the floor as the guards' spears dropped as well. The panda looked around. Cold shivers ran up his spine and an awful turning in his stomach ran rampant. "Uh... am I-"

"SHHHH!" Mr. Three clamped his hooves over Po's mouth. "Never EVER say that name so loosely. The Jai-Yin have been targeted by the Emperor and his entire army for twenty years. He's tried to kill us one by one, but most of us escape. And the ones who don't usually hide." Po glanced at the canine who slowly nodded as Mr. Three released Po's mouth. "Yes, we are all a part of the Jai-Yin, even Platon and Sho. But you must be very careful. Blackie, Platon, and Sho are the only ones that are in the open because... well, Platon has nothing to worry about, Sho is the king of bandits, and Blackie moves so silently that the Emperor wasn't able to catch him without both Sho and Platon working together. The rest of us are trying to get by without being seen. It's hard enough not to be seen without this dang tattoo on our backs."

"Ta...Tattoo?" Po's eyes grew wide. He jumped up and down, slapping his own hand over his mouth and pointing at all of them. "HMM! HMMMH HMM!"

Mr. Three and Four shared a side-glance at each other. "Uh. Po? Are you-

"Does it say Strong?!" Po hissed out. The two rhinos were visibly shocked. "HA! I knew it. HA!"

"How did... How did you know about the tattoo?"

"Uh... uhh." Po stuttered. Telling them about Yueding would put them at greater risk. Or they would tell him not to interact with the young prince. "Studies... I uh... I was searching around in the Jade Palace and ran across it in... the paper Wolf wrote."

"Grrrr," The wolf growled.

"Something tells me you're lying," Mr. Three said.

"Ugh, okay! I helped Prince Yueding find his gorilla escorts one time and-"

"Yanshi," Mr. Four finished, "You ran into Yanshi." Po nodded. "I told that overgrown ape to wear a shirt."

"That doesn't explain how you figured out about it being a Jai-Yin thing," Mr. Three said.

"Well, Yueding heard something about his dad and... basically, we were looking for answers about Jai-Yin and the mountain. I think something is going on there."

The rhinos crossed their arms, heaving great worried sighs. Wolf stepped away from them and stood in front of Po. Mr. Three sighed again, "So you're sending information to-"

"Look, I know I can trust him. He wouldn't be asking for my help. He's... he's worried that his dad is going to find something at Jai-Yin mountain or hurt someone."

"He's done it before," Mr. Four said more to his counterpart than Po. "Why would the prince worry now?" Mr. Three stared at the ground for the answer, but nothing was popping up.

"It's risky," Mr. Three said, "But I'm sure that Yanshi got that position for a reason. Maybe this was it. Fine, if you feel that it's for the good of everyone, talk with Yueding, but you do NOT tell anyone else!"

"I promise! Oh uh... actually...could I tell Tigress about this?" The rhinos groaned. "She's more secretive than anyone I know and she's the closest one to a secret buddy that I can think of. This whole secrecy thing is killing me!"

"Hrmmm," Wolf mumbled, crossing his arms. His long stare into the two rhinos was a well-known answer to Mr. Three and Mr. Four. The rhino on the right sighed. Inhaling deeply, Mr. Three said,

"Fine. The whole world might as well know."

"Grrr," Wolf grumbled.

"Blackie," Mr. Four spoke curtly, "It doesn't matter if you want to keep them safe. We get that you're upset, but since you're free to roam, you can spend this time giving these warriors training to fight Sho. Either you train them to fight Sho and potentially Platon or they get slaughtered."

The wolf sighed and agreed.

"Wait, if you all are from the Jai-Yin, don't you know who Wolf is looking for?" Po asked.

"Unfortunately, he's kept it a secret from us. For our own protection, I guess," Mr. Four muttered. "If we knew who he was looking for, Platon or the Emperor could beat it out of us, something we're used to but would torment Wolf." The wolf nodded vigorously.

Mr. Three looked to the east and saw the black sky turning blue. "We have to go. Take Wolf and make sure that no one in the village sees him." Po nodded. Wolf latched onto Mr. Three in a hug. "Hmm. It's alright, Blackie. We'll be around. I promise." Wolf slowly nodded and released the rhino.

"We've got to go," Mr. Four said, but he couldn't leave until Wolf hugged him. "Um... There there. We'll... be okay."

"Like asking a wall to make love," Mr. Three muttered as he remasked. The two rhinos waved their goodbyes, disappearing into the darkness of the night. Wolf and Po started their trek home. The canine's smile showed brighter than the retreating night. His normally curled back straightened as he walked chest height with Po.

"That was... alot," Po nervously laughed. The wolf cocked his eyebrow up, smirking a bit. "I didn't think we'd find out... this."

"Hmmm," Wolf hummed humorously.

"But... Mr. Four is right, you know. I mean, sure I'm getting stronger but... the others could use your help. I mean, not that they're weak or anything, it's just that-" The wolf clapped his own paw over Po's mouth. "HMMH HMHMM!" Wolf removed his hand. "Why is everyone putting their hand over my mouth?!"

"HAHAH *Snort* HAHAHAHA *Snort snort*!"

"So... can you help us? I mean, I know I'm gonna have to smooth things over with Shifu before you can do anything, but... we could really use the help." The wolf walked on but remained silent. Po could see he was thinking, but the silence unnerved him. Wolf scratched his furry chin and sighed. The thoughts in his head must have been analyzed a dozen times. Or at least, that's what Po thought.

"Hmm," Wolf nodded.

"YES! AWESOME! Ooops sorry, quiet now," Po said. Wolf shook his head as they finally made it up to the Jade Palace while the sun was still breaking day. "AHH! Home sweet home," Po sighed as they walked towards the kitchen. "I should start getting breakfast ready before EEEP!"

"YIPE!"

The two furry animals stopped dead in their tracks as they turned the corner to the kitchen. Sitting with her hands laced before her mouth and her elbows on the table was Tigress fixing her eyes on the two of them. "Hehehe, hey, Tigress," Po nervously grinned.

"Po, where were you?"

"Uhh... just taking a... walk?"

"With Wolf?"

"Yes?" Po grinned. The tiger wasn't moving. Wolf tried to sneak his way out of the tiger's sight.

"Wolf!"

"YIPE!" The wolf winced.

"I want to talk to BOTH of you," Tigress firmly said. Wolf stood back at Po's side, grumbling at the panda.

"Hey, it's not my fault. You could have said no," Po grumbled back. The wolf grumbled more.

"That's enough," Tigress said, standing up. "Now answer my question. Where have you two been?" The two partners in crime gulped as Po told the whole story up to Mr. Three and Four being alive. Tigress pinched the bridge of her muzzle. "Po, what you did was totally reckless and dangerous."

"Sooooo nothing new?" Po chuckled. Tigress didn't. "I'll just shut up now."

"And you," She said to the wolf, "Shouldn't have gone with him. If Sho figures out you are here, he'll be bent on destroying the village to find you." The black wolf hung his head. "Both of you should be more careful. What you do doesn't just affect us, but the village as well."

"No one saw us," Po said.

"But someone could have," Tigress stated, "And I can't believe you would take Wolf with you. It was dangerous enough for you to go alone."

"Why do you care so much about this?"

"Because I care about you, Po!"

The kitchen fell silent. Wolf stood between the two warriors, glancing between the fierce tiger and the dumbfounded, jaw-dropped panda. Tigress took a deep breath, saying, "Ever since Wolf fought off the Fang-An bandits, I've been... afraid that something might happen to you."

"Because you don't think I'm strong enough?"

Tigress lifted her head. "No! No," She regained composure. "I just... Monkey told me the extent of his injuries. He could have... I don't want you to get hurt like that."

The wolf gave a small whimper only adding to Po's growing guilt. The panda scratched the back of his head. He never thought about it like this, but it made sense why Tigress was so on edge with Wolf around. He honestly did forget how much she cared.

"I'm sorry, Tigress," Po sighed. "You're right. I shouldn't have been so dumb and risky."

"Hm, I've come to expect it from you," Tigress said with a small smile. The two looked at each other, offering each other their small smiles. It wasn't until Wolf waved his arms in front of them that they stopped. "What's wrong?" Wolf flexed his biceps and pointed to the other two. "I see."

"What?"

"He says that we should worry on getting stronger. And considering how strong Sho is, I agree." Tigress looked at her hand and traced lines and the former scratches deep in her palm. "We need to train harder."

"Wait, how did you get that from him pumping up his muscles?" Po asked. Tigress shrugged. "Well, Wolf said that he would-"

"He said?"

"You know what I mean," Po griped, "He's okay with giving us some pointers. Or sparring with us. I... don't know how that's going to go with Shifu though."

"We'll worry about that, later," Tigress said. She crossed her arms, turning away from the two for a moment as she stared into the floor. A worried crease formed on her face. She glanced at the panda and sighed, "Is it okay if... I try training with you?"

"What? Of course, why do you need to ask?"

"I... don't want to slow you down-"

"Tigress, no one is going to match your strength. I'm sure that if Sho comes, you'll pound his head into the dirt. YAH! WHAHAA! Just like that!" Po exclaimed, kicking and punching the air. Wolf covered his snigger while the tiger smiled.

"Thank you, Po." Yet the weight of the world pressed on her. If Po, Wolf, and her couldn't stop the threats growing stronger by the minute, things would become desperate. Even Po told her he was way in over his head. While there was strength in numbers, Tigress wasn't sure about her own strength.

"Anyway, why don't we start training together. Really, really hard! That way it'll be challenging for you," Po smiled. The tiger's smile grew wider. She kept forgetting who she was fighting alongside during these times. The same plucky carefree caring panda that got them out of trouble time and time again.

"I would like that."

Meanwhile, as day rose higher into the sky and villagers walked around their business, a battered and bruised Sho sat in the corner of the Southern Tavern. His pride hurt more than the aching in his stomach. His hammer's handle rested at his side while he stared into the cup before him. His soldiers had left, scattered to get away from the cloaked man. Alone in the tavern, save for the bartender, the bear waited for something to break the silence. "SHO SHO!"

"What the?" Wei, the Fang-An Leader, came crashing into the tavern, clutching the side of his stomach. He hobbled to the bear and collapsed onto the table. "What's wrong with you? What happened?"

"The...we... we raided the Jade Palace. We... we nearly had it," The wolf hissed, grasping the fur of Sho's chest. He pulled him close. "WE NEARLY HAD IT!"

Smack

"Calm down, barnbrain!" Sho shouted after smacking the gray wolf's face. "What happened?"

"We... we nearly had them overwhelmed but... this... wolf."

"WHAT?!" Sho grabbed the wolf's bandages, hoisting him off the table. "What did you say?" His muzzle stood two inches from Wei.

"IT... it was a black wolf. He was terrifying! He looked sssssomething like a... a..."

"A demon," Sho finished. He dropped the bandit and picked up his longhammer, grinning from ear to ear. Pulling up his pants, he stomped out of the tavern, looking towards the north. "So, the little runt managed to escape. Well, time for a little revisit to pick up my spirits."

Continued...