Viper didn't run away from conflict. She faced it head on and solved it.

At times the Five didn't necessarily follow her philosophy, so Viper was left to do the job herself. It wasn't something she minded at all, they all held a special place in her heart, but sometimes they couldn't help but disturb the peace.

If she had hands then she would have put a palm to her face in frustration at Tigress and Po in Gongmen jail.

She could not believe that either of them had the audacity to argue at a time like that. Gongmen, Kung Fu and China were all dangerously close to a gruesome end. Po was being absolutely ridiculous, and Tigress was just being protective but come on could they have not kept it lowkey? Viper wanted to yell at them that they were both wasting everyone's time and the subject they were arguing about would only get worse the longer they wait. But she gritted her teeth and instead said something much more polite than what she really wanted to say.

"Guys, don't!"

They both made the mistake (in Viper's opinion anyway) of ignoring her, and it turned physical. Oh for crying out loud - this definitely went on the list as worst moments they'd ever had as a team.

As they scuffled, the need to step in and break it up was growing, not just because it was unnecessary and unwarranted, but because Viper felt it was a pretty unfair fight. They sparred together all the time, but right now Po was failing horribly. It was the first rule of Kung fu that you forget all grudges and relations and in the moment, remain completely emotionless. This was something Viper had seen Tigress perfect over the years, the need to control her anger in battle was so important. The risk of her killing someone was too high. And in the worst argument she'd seen them have, both Tigress and Po broke the golden rule. Po was visibly upset and every move he made was not calculated enough to get through the immoveable object that was Tigress.

They need to stop, she thought desperately. For a moment she was scared that Tigress might actually go too far and they'd have a wounded Po on their paws. This awful, why aren't they stopping? They were going to stop now, surely. They both knew the consequences of fighting with emotions, they all did. None of them had been there to witness it, but they knew from Oogway that when Shifu first fought Tai Lung he let his love and previous paternal relationship get in the way for their fight and couldn't let himself defeat him. Viper suspected the same thing had happened second time around when Po was forced to fulfill his destiny.

She shook herself out of her thoughts enough to see Tigress send Po flying and across the prison floor.

He has to give up now. "Stay down!" She hissed to him, praying he'd listen to her. She was not in the mood to jump between them, having contracted a few burns from their recent building escape, and being used as a spring toy all day had really taken its toll.

She looked at Tigress, muscles contorted and stiff.

Tigress was angry.

This was not a good sign.

Against her better judgement, Po stood up with stupid bravery and determination. The others around her were stone-still with fear. She had to admit, when it came to Tigress, the guys were so pathetic. Mantis was always the first to disappear, he put on a brave front but backed down in a way that Viper loved to tease him for. Monkey knew not to cross her and though he wouldn't run like Mantis, he still hated to say anything to make her mad. Crane, surprisingly, was probably highest on her list of being able to hold his ground, though he still went under "pathetic" as he always found a way to dodge the aim of her verbal punch. It was sometimes slightly hilarious how Tigress fueled by anger petrified these so called 'hardened warriors'.

At the sight of their fight she was sure that Po would overtake Crane on the list, the guy just didn't want to give up. He repeatedly picked himself up over and over again, with Tigress growing increasingly more frustrated. The pit of dread that had settled itself in Viper started to really affect her. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen Tigress this angry, and she was pretty sure it ended in bloodshed for whatever enemy they were fighting. She knew she had to move and do something, but she was glued to the floor from her knowledge deep down that both Po and Tigress needed this.

On second thoughts…

At the sight of Tigress lunging at Po after his meager explanation Viper could see him dead in their near future. "Tigress NO!" Her yell echoed through the prison walls and bounced back round like a boomerang.

She gaped and heard Crane's beak fall open. Tigress had embraced Po, the last time she'd seen her hug anyone was about five years ago at the completion of a terrifyingly life or death mission. Viper sighed in relief, at least everything would be alright between them. She almost smiled, the notion of Tigress hugging Po would have been insane a year ago.

Now that's something you don't see every day.

Another time Viper felt that her role in the group was very much needed was when she slithered into the kitchen to find the most unlikely of suspects arguing furiously.

"Mantis." Monkey took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself. "Did you or did you not take my almond cookies?!"

"I ALREADY TOLD YOU!" Mantis boomed, standing on the table to give himself extra leverage, Viper made a guess it was to look more menacing. "NO!"

"WHERE ARE THEY THEN!" Monkey yelled back, shaking the empty jar.

"What on earth are you arguing about?!" Viper had to strain to be heard over them.

Monkey looked to her for help. "Viper, tell this theif that he needs to stop stealing my cookies!"

Mantis powered back with the same reinforcements. "Viper, tell this imbecile that I never stole anything, and he must have eaten them!"

Viper wanted to hit their heads together.

Their argument could probably be heard from the village and it was about cookies? She looked at them both incredulously. These grown adults were hilariously incapable of solving their own issues so much that she had to step in for them. She would have expected this from Crane and Mantis (she decided early on that he was just too dramatic for his own good and to pair him with Mantis would be a recipe for petty arguments), not the two best friends who spent every waking moment with each other.

She stared at Monkey, hard. "Why do you think Mantis stole your cookies?" She demanded, making sure they knew she meant business.

"Because he'd the only one who knows where I keep them!" Monkey gripped the jar like it was a life form, looking slightly heartbroken. "He knows that I don't like anyone else eating them without my permission!"

"So that's why I've never eaten any that you haven't given me!" Mantis retorted.

"This argument is honestly – unnecessary," She had to refrain from saying 'ridiculous', even if it was ridiculous it still meant something to them. "has Mantis ever lied to you?" She asked Monkey pointedly.

"No – not that I know of." Monkey said slowly, still watching Mantis with suspicion.

"Well, there was that one time when you asked me about what happened with your bo staff – " Once again, Mantis started off on another of his many tangents.

"Wait, what-?!"

"Mantis!" Viper hissed. "Shut up! I'm helping you out here!" She turned back to Monkey. "But do you see what I mean? Mantis definitely didn't take your cookies, he knows what they mean to you and he would never lie to you about it."

Thankfully Monkey nodded, understanding where she was coming from. "So you're telling the truth?" He asked Mantis apprehensively. "You didn't eat my cookies?"

"Of course not! You're my bestie, why would I?"

"You swear on Viper's grave?"

"I swear on Viper's grave."

At that Viper sincerely hoped she was correct in her assumptions.

Monkey grinned happily and Mantis jumped on his shoulder as a sign of peace. As if on cue, Po came sauntering into the kitchen and stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of the empty cookie jar, guilt written all over his face.

His mouth hung open. "Uhhhhh… I – uh – I can explain…"

Viper smiled to herself, mystery solved.

The Furious Five didn't often argue, but when they did it was undoubtedly explosive and intruding due to their differing personalities. Even the petty ones could produce half-hearted fights. While Viper always made an effort to shift them, some disputes were inevitable. One argument in particular had actually started the week before with (lo and behold) Mantis and Crane.

Crane was near and dear to her heart. He truly was, but Viper didn't shy away from being brutally honest with him when he was disturbing the peace…

"So what was it like being jombies?" Po asked excitedly, their first dinner back in the Jade Palace after staying in the Panda Village following the defeat of Kai.

"At first it just kinda felt like floating around as a spirit… with no existence or body…" Monkey started, staring off into the distance woozily as if remembering a distant dream.

"And then we got let out!" Mantis chimed in. "But I have no idea what I did as a jombie – I just felt that I was moving." He scratched his chin in thought as he tried to explain the bizarre feeling.

"That's so cool!" Po gushed.

"I don't know if it was quite cool, weird maybe, but nothing awesome." Viper chuckled softly. "We had the feeling of moving around but it's not like we could see anything, so it was more like waking up after a long dream."

"So you have no idea what happened in the battle?" Tigress asked curiously.

Viper shook her head. "I have no recollection past being dragged to Kai by Jade Crane." She gave him a mocking glare to her left.

Crane winced. "I hope it wasn't a literal drag."

Monkey snickered. "She was flown through the air!"

"Jade Crane and Mantis were certainly hardcore." Tigress said, a playful smile pulling at her lips. "Mantis knocked us all over a couple of times and Crane gave me a pretty powerful kick."

"YEAH!" Mantis bellowed in celebration, jumping into Crane's empty bowl with enthusiasm. "Go us amarite?"

Crane gave him an incredulous look. "Do you remember anything before being Jaded?" He asked disbelievingly.

Viper almost stepped in there. Crane rarely confronted anyone, always preferring to shift the dispute around and far away from him. Though she couldn't deny that she was ultimately curious about how Mantis and Crane were Jaded.

Mantis scoffed. "Pfff, of course! We got to the boat where the other masters were and you said something about Shifu's orders but they ignored you, and then I got kinda worried because they didn't come out the ship so I went to go in and you told me…" He faltered, then gulped guiltily.

"And I told you what?" Crane prompted with a raised eyebrow.

Viper did not like where this was going, the way Crane was talking did not reassure her that what happened between them was a friendly discussion. "Guys, don't." She warned. Was that her new catchphrase now? She sure had to repeat herself almost daily.

Once again, she was ignored.

"You said – you told me not to go in." Mantis finished guiltily.

Crane nodded with a satisfied nod that disappeared as soon as Mantis opened his mouth again. "But how did you get caught?"

Crane stopped and his eyes widened as if remembering something horrifying.

Viper knew this was her moment to change the subject tactfully. "Let's not talk about that now," She said quickly. "Tigress, what did you think of Mr Ping and Li Shan, it's nice to see that they get along right?"

Tigress opened her mouth to answer but was interrupted by Po of all people. "Oh come on Viper, let Crane tell us of his battle with Kai." He

Crane scratched his neck absentmindedly with his talons. "Uh, I'd better not if Viper doesn't want to hear it." His excuse fell flat, they all knew that Viper loved hearing everyone talk about recent battles.

"Don't worry buddy, we all got caught apart from Tigress who was pushed down the hill and Po who had an army of pandas," Monkey reassured him, with an eye rolling from Tigress. "so no shame." He held his hands up with a smile, prompting Crane to tell his story.

Crane's eyes narrowed as he held his silence for a few seconds before speaking. "I went after Mantis then Kai took my qi, end of story." He said curtly, and left the dining room in a few long steps.

Everyone stared after him in shock and Viper couldn't refrain herself from berating them. "Oh well done guys." She said angrily, glaring at Monkey, Po and Mantis.

"What?" Monkey seemed genuinely confused and in spite of herself Viper felt a tinge of guilt.

She huffed in annoyance and gestured to Crane's empty place at the table. "Do none of you take signals? Honestly."

Mantis had the sense to look a little guilty but still opened his mouth. "But he was trying to make me talk about it as well, so I didn't think he wouldn't want to tell us what happened."

"From what I gathered, you probably ran in impulsively while he told you that Shifu asked you to observe only!" She growled through gritted teeth while Mantis nodded guiltily. "God, it's like the Breakthrough of Crane all over again." She muttered to herself.

"What?!" Mantis exclaimed, affronted. "That time was Monkey!"

Monkey sat back in his chair. "Don't bring me into this."

"It's the same situation!" Viper yelled back. "For the love of everything that is kung fu could you please not argue with me for once!"

Po leaned over to Tigress. "What's the Breakthrough of Crane?" He asked quietly.

"The Battle of the Weeping River."

He gasped. "Can I hear that story?!"

"Not at this rate." Mantis muttered.

Monkey forced his finger in Mantis' mouth as Tigress nudged her. "You'd better go talk to him, I'll take care of these guys."

She almost sighed as she slithered off to Crane's room to find the doors open with no sign of life. Crane so help me if you are up a tree, she thought angrily. Viper, historically, was never in the mood for fighting. It was part of the reason she was the peacemaker because the others would fight to the death if it meant they won the argument. Crane was usually never a culprit of arguments, especially not large ones. He generally only got involved in pettier things like if someone had touched his hat or not.

After looking round the training hall and courtyard she finally found him, standing at the top of the Thousand Steps, looking out at the sky.

"I took care of them, you'll be glad to know." She said loudly as she slithered up to sit next to him.

He hummed in acknowledgement, eyes distant and unfocused.

Viper took a deep breath, might as well go for it. "I know you inside out and battles have never bothered you, so why the reaction with Kai? You don't have to tell me what happened, I just want to know why."

Crane sighed. "I – I failed horribly."

"We were all captured though, what makes you feel so strongly about this?"

"Kai was – a lot bigger than I thought he'd be." He said slowly.

"And it took you by surprise?" Viper finished for him.

She knew deep down that Kai couldn't have just taken him by surprise. It was something much more than that, otherwise he wouldn't have reacted so strongly.

"Yeah, I guess." He said dejectedly.

Viper climbed her way onto him and patted him with her tail. "You needn't worry about that, it happens to the best of us."

She watched his wings for a moment and wrapped her coils stealthily around his torso. She decided she'd kill two birds with one stone and keep him from flying away while absorbing his body heat. It was a chilly night after all and none of the Five ever complained about her little habit.

He managed a weak smile at her in thanks. "But you still need to say something to them." She said sternly, wiping away any traces of contentedness from his face.

Crane gave her his signature unconvinced look, his wings pushing slightly against her with a mind of their own. "Are you kidding me?"

She stared at him in disbelief also. "Oh come on you don't seriously think they're the only ones in the wrong? Don't you know what you did?" Viper didn't even feel bad about reprimanding him.

"Whose side are you on?" He retorted, his wings instinctually fluttered irritably but still stuck to his sides by Viper's stubborn coils.

Viper hissed at him, her tongue flicking out at his feathers and her coils tightening slightly. "I'm never on anyone's side! That's why I solve all our problems!" She exclaimed. "Now, do you know what you did wrong?" She repeated sternly.

He made a grunt of disagreement but complied. "Look, I overreacted, okay? I know I shouldn't have stormed out and it was wrong of me to pressure Mantis into telling his side of the story when I didn't want to tell mine."

Viper nodded along happily, enthusiastic at his admission. "Yes, good! You realise what you did wrong."

"Can you go and tell them I'm sorry?"

She whipped her head round to glare at him. "I am not a goose, Crane. Go tell them yourself."

He rolled his eyes like an irate child. "Fine, but you're coming with me."

She smiled, finally, everything would be resolved and everyone would be resting easy that night. He began to make the trek to the barracks and Viper briefly wondered if everyone else had gone to bed yet, it was pretty late. I wonder what Tigress said to them, she mused. A part of her hoped that Tigress hadn't been too harsh, the blame didn't lie on just one of them. But, she sighed inwardly, Tigress wouldn't get that sort of thing. Fond as she was of her, Tigress (or any of the others) just didn't think the way she did when it came to arguments.

"Do you have to do that?"

"Do what?"

"Don't think I haven't noticed that you wrap yourself around my wings when you talk to me."

Viper giggled slightly, out of embarrassment at being caught out or because his fluttering feathers tickled her, she didn't know. "You could take it as a compliment that I don't want you to fly away from me." She wanted to hide her face, playing off as cool was never her strong suit.

"Yes, it's very flattering that I have the best body heat out of all of us." He smirked at her look of surprise, how long had he known?

"Don't get ahead of yourself," She gave him a playful squeeze, putting on a mock annoyed voice. "yours is just easiest to absorb."

He laughed then. "And it's also definitely not because you like my feathers."

She closed her eyes in embarrassment but couldn't help but laugh along with him. "Stop being so mean!" She swatted his hat over his eyes as payback to which he laughed even more. "You're literally the worst…"

"If it makes you feel any better, I like how smooth your scales are."

"Thank you! It's nice to know that someone notices I keep hydrated." She said in exasperation.

He chuckled at her reaction, a stark contrast to how she reacted to their conversations when they were younger. It made her cringe thinking of some of the things she said to him. He was the second member of the Five she became close with, the first being Tigress, and she was initially mesmerised at him being a few years older. Before meeting the Five she'd never had any friends who were older than her. (Actually, she'd never had any friends at all since she spent most of her life hiding away her lack of fangs) Crane softened to her instantly, not noticing or being tactful enough to not point out her missing venom. Viper was embarrassed to admit that she was quite taken by him as well. His painting and calligraphy ability was impressive, and to a teenage Viper who was (was, Tigress, was) a hopeless romantic it was the ultimate thing to make him her favourite. (And she definitely did not have a silly crush on him when she was a teen thank you very much).

It was times like these that reminded Viper how much a peacemaker was needed.

I know a lot of this fandom coin Viper as being the mother hen, but I feel her role is more important than just keeping everyone in line.

1) That first scene was where the "Guys..." dialogue was born haha, it genuinely kicked off that little bit of fanon for the rest of my stories.
2) I do wish Viper had more to say in that scene as well, since I think it's quite telling of her character
3) I like to think the Five have their immature moments when they're together, as everyone does when they're with their friends. My evidence for this lies in the dinner scene in the first film and also a lot of their dialogue in the third film.
4) I was hesitant to post this chapter because it seems like they fight often which... is not true. Because for the sake of this chapter, I've picked out moments when I think they would argue.
5) Also I went a bit hard with the Crane angst but as I wrote in the previous chapter - that moment was pretty scary from his point of view.
6) And you'll notice now that there is a slight connection between the chapters so far.

I definitely had more notes on the way I wrote Viper and why but... I can't find or remember them! I wrote this chapter about 5 months ago and my memory is awful!

Feel free to let me know what you think!