Chapter 9

Believe

"Anyone else?" Genji asked as he looked around the ring of animals for a new potential challenger. But no one stepped forward, for they could not stop looking at the Bear behind him who was still shouting in agony from the injuries Genji had given him.

The Tiger began to get impatient, and he raised his voice a little, "Well!?" This got the attention of some of the warriors, they looked at him, but none seemed willing to challenge him after sing how easily he defeated one of their best warriors.

Though instead of a challenge, Genji heard the sounds of laughter coming from Jian, "It seems we have an incredible warrior in our midst! I dare say, I have never met anyone with as good talent in combat as you, my friend." The Lion said with an impressed mannerism as he walked over to stand beside the Tiger.

Genji grinned mischievously and thought 'oh really?' Then Jian continued, "Does no one wish to challenge our new recruit? If not then, I think I'll just appoint him to my right hand man-"

"Wait!" Interupted a voice from within the crowd.

Just then, another Warrior stepped out from inside the circle, a Wolverine. "Ahh, Diavol, I knew you could not resist a good challenge. Very well then, it seems we now have a new challenger. So let the battle begin…" Jian said, as he left Genji's side and returned to the circle.

At this, Genji readied himself, he had read in the palace scrolls that Wolverines were some of the most naturally ferocious animals. They may not be as tall as him, but he had heard stories of wolverines taking on much larger animals and winning. 'I can't under estimate him, after all, looks can be deceiving sometimes...' Genji thought to himself.

"I will not allow for some stranger to suddenly join our ranks and then be granted Lord Jian's right hand man… So prepare yourself, Akuma." The Wolverine said with a rough and edgy voice, definitely the sign that he had seen action before.

Genji didn't reply to the Wolverine, and simply signaled for Diavol to attack him. Diavol sure enough, lunged at Genji with a knife hand thrust, a deadly technique which Genji had taught himself years ago. The Tiger skillfully dodged the unparryable attack and proceeded to attempt to leg sweep the Wolverine, but Diavol was more skilled than he expected, and the Wolverine managed to avoid getting tripped as he jumped over Genji's leg and out of the way.

Genji was impressed to say the least, he hadn't expected anyone in Jian's ranks to be as good as he. But he decided not to get too carried away, and went on the offensive. He ran up to Diavol, and performed a slide kick maneuver which the Wolverine wasn't expecting. This managed to trip Diavol and made him land forward behind the Tiger who quickly got up and attempted to quickly end the fight with a KO to the face. But Diavol reacted just in time and rolled out of the way, leaving Genji to punch the ground instead.

Genji grinned at how close he had been to knocking his opponent out, his arrogance showed, and was definitely noticed by Diavol who just scoffed at the Tiger's pride. Genji decided he was going to wait for his opponent to make the next move, he circled around the Wolverine, not taking his eyes off the fighter. And eventually, Diavol made a move, attempting to hit him with a powerful spin kick, but was unsuccessful as Genji was ready and caught the Wolverine's foot mid air and managed to pull Diavol's foot from underneath him and trip him again. Acting quickly, Genji grabbed Diavol by the back and lifted the Wolverine up with a great amount of strength, to which his opponent struggled to get out of his hold. But Genji was too strong to be swayed, and he then took his opponent and performed a suplex takedown maneuver which sent the Wolverine crashing into the ground on the back of his head, effectively knocking Diavol out.

Genji then kipped up and looked at the surprised Lion and asked, "Do you happen to have any other worthy challengers? My Lord?" He stood over top of his beaten opponent with his arms folded as if to say, "I'm bored." Jian couldn't help but grin in satisfaction at having seen the Tiger's skills first hand. And from what he saw, he was impressed.

Jian gave a chuckle as he went up and joined the Tiger who stood in the middle of the circle of shocked warriors. "I must say, I have never seen someone with your combat prowess, my friend. Color me impressed." He said with an impressed demeanor as he walked over and stood at Genji's side and then silently addressed the Tiger personally, "What do you say? Become my right hand man, and I will allow you to command these warriors."

Genji grinned and replied, "I would be honored, my Lord." He then thought, 'This is already turning out better than I had hoped. Now that I have earned his faith, I will be able to overthrow him soon...'

~"A good plan, but you have nowhere near the numbers you'll need to invade China yet. I suggest you use Jian to amass a larger army of his former ranks, that way no one will be able to stop you..."~

Jian then interrupted Genji from his internal conversation with the voice in his head, "Good, then you can follow me to my personal quarters. We have some things to discuss."

Genji nodded in agreement and followed the Lion who was accompanied by his two guards, leaving the circle of stunned warriors to look over at their defeated comrade who still lay on the ground unconscious.

Po was on his way back home from Chorh Gom Prison as he traveled through the spirit realm via a small row boat. He had only been journeying for around 20 minutes, though to him it went much quicker as he had been developed in deep thought for nearly the entire journey back.

'I am a disgrace to my family… I banished my own son from the country. And now he will never return…' He thought grimly as he kept on rowing the paddle which kept the boat traveling across the golden river of Chi.

As he drew closer to his destination, he thought back to his earlier interrogation with his former enemy Akuma. 'I know Akuma is responsible for all this. But what will I do with him… If I had not restrained myself when I did, I probably would have killed him.' As Po thought this, he finally reached where he was going, a small island amongst all the others with a lonely tree residing on its shores. The boat came to a stop when it reached the shore of the small island, and Po got out.

But when he stepped foot on the island, he heard a familiar voice address him, "Dragon Warrior…" To which Po looked up and saw Master Oogway slowly descending from a branch on the tree above. Thanks to the lack of substantial gravity in the spirit realm, Oogway freely floated down to where he was close enough to have a chat with his true successor.

"Master Oogway." po greeted back, giving a bow in respect to the elder master.

Oogway smiled, "It is good to see you again, especially after it's been so long." The Tortoise said, and he made a fair point, for he hadn't actually seen the Panda in quite some time. 18 years in fact.

"Yes, it is good to see you again Master." Po answered, but stopped himself from saying more, which the Tortoise easily noticed.

"I sense you are deeply troubled my friend, may I ask, what ails you?" Oogway asked, now descending to the ground to stand, or rather float in front of the Panda at eye level.

Po looked embarrassed and felt ashamed, and he didn't want his former Master to see him this way, but his present mood made it hard to hide his sorrow and anguish from the wiser and more experienced Tortoise. So he confessed, "I'm conflicted, Master. I simply don't know what to do at the present moment, or what to even think or believe..."

Oogway understood the Panda's state, and he placed his hand on Po's shoulder in mutual understanding. Looking Po in the eye, he said, "Young Po, I understand how this present situation may seem grim and daunting, but I assure you, you are doing the right thing."

Po was surprised by this, and he tried to argue, "But Master! I banished my own son! And he is still out there, and still under Akuma's influence!"

Po wanted to keep arguing, but before he could, another familiar voice chimed in, "It's not like you to sulk like this, Dragon Warrior."

Just from behind Oogway, he could see his former Master Shifu. Shifu had since past on from the mortal realm and now also resided in the spirit realm along with his Master and old friend Oogway for the last 10 years. His passing had come as a surprise to everyone, and especially to Tigress who had mourned the ascension of her adoptive father.

"But Master Shifu, I cannot simply forgive myself for what I've done! I banished my own son-" Po tried to continue arguing before he was silenced by the elder Red Panda who interrupted him.

"Do you think that you're the only person in the world who had to cast away their son? Hmm Dragon Warrior?" Shifu stated factually.

Po opened his mouth as if to retort, but he couldn't think of anything to say. He took a couple seconds to ponder this, then he argued back, "But Master! This is different! You sent Tai Lung to prison, and I banished my son from the entire country..."

Shifu would have none of this though, "It is no different Dragon Warrior! Sending my son to prison was the most difficult thing I ever did in my life! And it still haunts me to this day… Though over time, I began to see how my decision was for the betterment of everyone, Tai Lung was a menace to society, and there was no changing that. Well, no changing it until you came along."

Po hung his head in shame and refused to look the other Masters in the eye, this prompted Oogway to address him again, "Young Po, I understand that this is a difficult time in your life, however, you have made the right decision, and now you must help the rest to prepare for what shall inevitably come. Do you not remember what I told you on that mountain all those years ago, Dragon Warrior?"

Po again didn't reply, which led Oogway to continue, "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift." He again placed his hand on Po's shoulder and raised the Panda's chin to look him in the eye. "Now, rise Dragon Warrior. You must fulfill your destiny and keep the lands rid of evil."

Po again looked down, "But how can I keep people safe if I can't even keep my own family safe..."

Oogway replied to him, "You must believe, my friend. Believe in yourself, and believe in those close to you. For only then will you prevail."

Po looked up at his former Master for a good second and seemed uncertain, but then immediately understood, "I see what you mean, Master. I will do my best, everyone's lives depend on it."

And with this, Po prepared to leave the spirit realm, getting out his staff and walking up to the shore of he small island.

"Thank you, Master Oogway, and to you as well, Master Shifu." Po thanked them, taking a bow of respect.

The the elder Masters both nodded in respect, acknowledging this. And with that, Po drew the symbol of the two sides in the golden Chi river, making him pass through the golden liquid and back into the realm of mortals.

At that very same moment, Hao and Mariko were making their way back from the courtyard where they had spent the last 2 hours training. It had been quite a while since Hao had trained at such intensity, and his sister certainly hadn't held anything back just like she had told him. She had beaten him in almost all their sparing matches and was also running the training course much faster, but this didn't bother him. He knew what his strengths and weaknesses were, and also his true passion of cooking.

"Gosh Mari, you weren't kidding earlier, I don't think I've been beat up that bad since Mom first starting sparing against me when I was learning to defend myself." Hao said through laughter, to which his sister replied, "You're not so bad yourself big brother, but I have to say, you're a little out of practice."

Hao chuckled and replied while scratching the top of his head, "Hey! Cut me some slack! I'm too busy becoming a world class chef! After all, there has to be someone to cook the best meals in China, doesn't there?"

To which Mariko laughed and placed a paw on her older brother's shoulder, "Oh Hao, you never change..."

The two kept on their way towards the student barracks where Hao was going to make dinner. But before they could arrive, they both noticed a small mass of peach pedals forming around the tournament arena.

Mariko and Hao both looked at one another and they each said, "Let's go!"

And so they ran up to where the peach pedals were amassing and noticed that they formed a spiraling circle. Within a few seconds, a bright golden light appeared at the center of the circle and there formed a figure which appeared to be their father, Po. And before they knew it, the whole sensation stopped as quickly as it started, as Po dropped to the ground and landed before them.

Both siblings looked at their father with anticipation at what he would say. But Mariko could hold in her impatience, "Well? Tell us how it went Daddy!" Her and Hao each looked worried, but their fears were soon addressed as Po spoke to each of them, "I'm afraid Akuma is indeed responsible for this."

Mariko and Hao both looked at each other in worry, which Po noticed and reassured them, "Mariko, Hao, everything will be alright, trust me." And then Po walked up to them and enveloped both of his children in a hug which surprised them, but they didn't resist, and rather accepted it. Po was happy to be back with his children, of course it hadn't been that long since he'd last seen them, but he had missed the happiness that they brought him.

The hug lasted a good several minutes, but Po knew that he had things to discuss with them. So he released them both and asked them, "I trust you two spent the time that I was gone training?"

To which Hao replied on behalf of both of them, "Sure did Dad, but I think I'm really out of practice, Mari beat me up and whisked me like a cracked egg!"

Mariko laughed at her brother's joke but also replied to her father, "Yes, we did Daddy, I'm sure that if Hao comes up to train more often he'll be back in shape in no time!"

Po smiled at his daughter's enthusiasm and responded, "Good, I would like each of you to keep up your training, we are all going to need to be prepared for whatever will come our way. Understand?"

They each nodded and replied, "Yes Father!" Making Po smile and bow to them in respect, a gesture in which they returned.

But just then, during the brief moment of silence, a gurgling sound was heard, "Oh my, that's embarrassing… Uh, Hao, could you by chance make something to eat? I guess I forgot that I haven't eaten in several days…" Po asked while scratching his head in embarrassment.

Both Mariko and Hao laughed and after Hao finished laughing at his father's expense, he replied, "Right this way father, I was just about to make some of Grandfather Ping's secret ingredient soup."

Po then wiped his face in relief and answered, "Thank you son, you're a lifesaver!"

Mariko and Hao again laughed at their father's statements and the three left towards the student barracks to have a peaceful meal.

When they had nearly arrived, Po was surprised to hear voices conversing in the dinning hall. But these weren't any ordinary voices, for they sounded very familiar to him. And when they finally arrived at the dinning hall, Po was delighted to see his former teammates and best friends; the furious five. They all halted their conversation for a moment and each stared at the Panda who was clearly surprised to see them here.

"Hi Po. It's been a while." Viper said on behalf of the four.

Po replied briefly with a surprised expression, "Hey guys."

But before anything else, Po felt himself almost get tackled to the ground by all four of the former furious five who hugged him tightly. They all laughed in happiness at seeing their old friend back to normal, and also reuniting with him after having not seen him in years. Po also began to laugh in happiness as he allowed the four to embrace him tightly, almost squeezing the air right out of him.

After finally releasing him, Monkey said, "We missed you so much buddy!" Followed by Mantis who echoed this, "Yeah big guy! It's been way too long!"

Po smiled at each of them and replied, "I missed you all as well! It has been far too long hasn't it?"

Crane replied, "10 years, I'm actually kind of surprised you never decided to write to us in all that time Po."

Po again scratched the top of his head in embarrassment and replied in self defence, "Hey! You know me! I've got important Dragon Warrior duties that I must keep up! Do you know how hard it is to spend a whole day meditating under a tree waiting for something to happen!? Really hard! That's how!"

The four chuckled and Crane shook his head with a smile, "Yeah, whatever Po."

But before anything else, Po noticed that there was another person in the room who he had not yet addressed. It was his wife Tigress who he had not spoken to for the last two days. She seemed as though she was waiting for something, something which Po knew. He walked up to her and stood in front of her looking into her fiery amber eyes.

"Tig-" Po started before he was interrupted by his wife who suddenly took him up in a loving hug which she definitely needed at this moment. She rested her chin on the Panda's shoulder and closed her eyes to enjoy the moment. Po was surprised at first, but then he understood and hugged her back, placing his own chin on her forehead in absolute affection.

Mantis rolled his eyes and remarked sarcastically, "Oh wow, another typical sappy Tigress and Po hug… Could this get any more cliché!?"

The four, Hao, and Mariko all laughed at the insect's comedy, but Tigress just opened her eyes and looked directly at him making a slitting throat motion which silenced him effectively.

"I'm so sorry Tigress..." Po said with a tone of absolute guilt and sadness as he kept hugging his wife whilst getting more emotional by the second.

"This is all my fault, I let Genji's heart grow so dark. I should have raised him better, I should have-" Po ranted before Tigress stopped him by placing her finger on his mouth and releasing herself from their hug, "Po, it's in the past, now we must focus on what is important, the present. Wasn't it you who taught me this years ago?" Tigress asked him as she interrupted his rant.

"I guess you're right…" Po replied, seeing the logic in his Wife's statement.

Tigress folded her arms and smiled at him knowingly, "I'm always right you silly Panda." She said flirtatiously to her husband.

Po then also began to smile again and played along, "Oh, is that so? Kitten?" He replied with the same amount of playfulness.

Mantis then sarcastically gagged and mocked them, "Oh wow! Now they're flirting! Could this get any more sappy?"

This earned the insect another death glare from the striped feline who then said in a menacing tone, "I'm giving you a 20 second head start..."

Mantis then immediately regretted his decision and gulped, "Mommy…" He whimpered as he shrunk down in fear.

Monkey then looked over to him and told him, "You'd better get running buddy…"

To which Mantis didn't even reply and just zipped out of the dinning hall out of pure fear from the female Tiger's threats. When he left the room, Tigress began to giggle which came as a surprise to the rest of the masters in the room who all just stared at her in confusion.

"What!? It's just funny!" She explained as she noticed all the strange looks she was getting from her former teammates.

Viper then asked, "Who are you and what have you done to the real Tigress!?"

To which Tigress laughed and replied, "I guess it's been way too long since I've had a good laugh…"

Monkey then asked, "So… Aren't you gonna chase after Mantis?"

Tigress replied, "Nah, I'd rather leave him worrying about whether I find him or not."

At this, everyone began to laugh. It was much needed relief after all the negative events that had unfolded earlier, for everyone.

Hao then announced, "Alright everyone! Who'd like some noodles!"

Po's eyes lit up and his stomach growled from hunger, "ME!" He exclaimed from being deprived of food for the last several days.

Monkey then joked, "Once a hungry Panda, always a hungry Panda."

Everyone laughed and definitely agreed to this statement by the simian.

A/N: Chapter 9 at last! Can't believe it's almost 10 chapters in! I tried to end this chapter on a somewhat happy note. I noticed how glum it was getting and so I thought it could use some light! Thanks to everyone for reading so far! If you're enjoying this story so far, be sure to favorite, follow and most importantly;

Review!