The journey to Lin'an was long and strenuous, yet it wasn't the longest journey the Masters had to take.

That title went to the path to Gongmen. The road between the Tien Shan mountains, the home of the Valley of Peace, and the Southern Coast of China where Gongmen City resided was basically a cross-country journey. Lin'an was closer when one considered the travel by air, but it was still an eastern coast city. The Masters of the Jade Palace had to endure and get through the sands of the Takla Makan Desert, the peaks of the Altun Shan Mountains, and a lengthy and constant decline filled with forests, plains and rivers. The city of Lin'an was right at the place, where the Yangtze River poured into the East China Sea, so most travelers just simply followed the great river to visit the country's shiniest gem.

The place, where the person bestowed with the Mandate of Heaven lived.

But as of now, barely three days have passed, the city was nowhere near the horizon, and the Yangtze was still just gathering little threads of water as it flowed into its destined greatness. The life around this part of the river was quiet, the forest was thick, the surrounding hills towering, and the occasional village silent. It was a relaxing experience to say the least, but the word 'relax' did not immediately translate to 'calm' in everyone's dictionary.

"This is so boring, ugh."

Boring was a synonym too.

"Po, what changed in the last ten minutes?" Tigress asked with a steady voice, looking back at the panda.

Said Dragon Warrior had enough energy to raise his eyes to meet hers. "Well. Nothing really."

"Exactly," Tigress nodded, "And ten minutes ago you said the same thing. While not whining, might I add."

"And without the 'ugh' part," Mantis added from her shoulder.

"Hey, can you blame me? We already left the part where we look badass together, and that is the only exciting thing about journeys like this."

"You mean the 'cool walking down on the sand dune in a formation'?" Monkey asked from the side of Tigress, where he was busy studying the scroll he received from Shifu.

"Yes! See, that is awesome. With the sun behind us, shadowing our faces as we relentlessly go against the winds of sand and stuff."

"Explains your serious look and the random techniques you do." Mantis remarked.

"But this- this is boring. There is nothing cool about green leaves and bushes."

"You weren't whining that much when we were going to Gongmen," Tigress said.

"Because back then, I could occupy myself with the thought that we will kick some evil dude's butt. This is a diplomatic mission."

"He… has a point though. I'm not too fond of walking through China just to talk either," Mantis remarked, getting a glare from the tiger.

"If His Majesty the Emperor requested our help, the help of Kung Fu warriors, then there must be some fight to be had."

"Yeah, but what are the stakes? Who is the bad guy? Where are their henchmen? Or is it just a slightly bigger horde of bandits with absolutely no idea how to kick forward," Po said, animated limbs helping his reasoning.

"I wouldn't mind something like those pigs from yesterday, minus the smell. One swing and a dozen enemies are out," Monkey said with a smile, momentarily looking up from his read.

"Or a sneeze from Crane," Mantis shared his best friend's joke.

Hearing his friend's name, Po turned around to look back on their path. Something like ten or eleven steps behind wandered Crane and Viper, talking in whispers and murmurs. The bird was still shaken from the events occurred back in their home, but even with that, Po could still see the care and focus in the avian's steps. It made the panda smile how serious Crane was taking the lesson about slow movements, even with everything going on. To top it off, it was successful; throughout the journey, the bird has conjured no holes on the ground or vortices in the forests.

On the other hand, Po was maybe a little worried. His eyes traveled to Crane's wings, which occasionally twitched and rattled. Sometimes they even unfolded to an extent before being pushed back by Crane's conscious. The panda gathered that his friend was literally itching for some flight, being a bird and what not. But then flying would need quick flaps, flaps that could lead to a part of China falling underground, which would not be that cool.

"Maybe you could continue on the first layer, Dragon Warrior. If you feel the burden of boredom," Shifu's voice reached back from the front, "The sooner are Master Crane's sneezes safe, the better."

Mantis and Monkey couldn't conceal their snickers completely, only Tigress' glare silenced them.

"All right, Shifu, I get it. I got it." Po replied with a fond smile of himself. With that, he halted in his stride to let his friends catch up.

"-you get what I'm saying? I don't really know what to do," Crane's strained shush said.

"You don't have to do anything. We'll be with you no matter what and we know you can master it."

"…Hopefully."

"Hey guys."

At the panda's greeting, both Viper and Crane turned their attention to him.

"Hey Po," Viper said, while Crane smiled, a little tired around the edges.

"Are you ready to continue your training?" Po asked, taking up their tempo of walking.

"I… hope so. What's the next step?"

"First, we'll call them layers from now on, okay?" the statement confused Crane but nodded, "Second, we are staying on the first layer, the physical layer. Because while it is good that you know how to not destroy everything you touch, you are still a warrior, and warriors cannot fight in slow-mo."

Crane unfolded his wing and looked at his mark. The mysterious black feathers greeted him with an onyx shine, and the avian master gulped when a snippet of that damned song found a way into his ear. He quickly folded his appendage back.

"That's fair… I suppose. How do I speed up?"

"Well, I've got few ideas. But for now, you will fly."

"Fly?" Crane sweatdropped, "A-are you sure about-"

"Absolutely! Your entire style revolves around doing air stuff in the air! How can you fight if you cannot get up there?" Po looked like what he was saying was the most logical conclusion ever, which was close to the truth. Still, Crane had doubts about this new lesson, even if he really wanted to take the skies on. But, orders from the teacher were orders from the teacher, no matter how much he hesitated. Plus, Po was a master in all things Chi, so he should know what to do, right? Even if they are ideas.

Right?

"Okay…"

Crane crouched and readied himself to take off. He crouched and raised his wings, but had to stop when something touched the side of his leg. Tensed, he looked down just to see Viper smiling up at him with that fangless smile. He couldn't help but return it, albeit weakly, and took a deep breath.

"I can do it," Crane whispere, turning towards the sky, "…maybe."

With that, he launched himself into the air. His eyes were closed tight from the get-go, fearing that if he opened them, he would witness the disappearance of the realm of the living altogether. Needing to focus on something, anything, he ended up concentrating on the many sounds around him. He sincerely hoped that his friends' scream won't be amongst them. He flapped his wings five times, this was how much he dared to do, then stopped ascending when he reached a distance twice as high as the tallest tree in the area. He opted for keeping this height and freaking out right there.

"A-are you guys okay?! Please tell me you guys are fine, because-"

"WOHOO, CRANE!"

An exclamation of joy was not what he was expecting, not at all, and it made him tempted enough to open his eyes to a slit. On the ground, he saw his friends standing in a half circle, watching him with genuine smiles and relief adorned features. The intact and unharmed sight of the environment and his family made him open his eyes to a full and relax his muscles. It was just the cherry on the metaphorical cake when he saw Po actively cheering him on unabashedly. It made the waterfowl giggle.

"We're okay Crane, don't get your panties in a twist."

For once, Mantis' half-insulting, half-reassuring quip did not even bother his feathers. With new vigor, he flapped his wings and flew for real this time. He went in circles, zig-zagged in every direction possible, whooping along like the first time he tasted this sensation. He just wanted to fly, to feel the weightlessness after these days' chaos. The wind was with him, hugging his body and urging him on.

"I can fly!"

Happiness colored his mood, spreading faster than ever before, the kind of happiness that makes the world so much more vibrant and active. Where the crown of the trees are not surrendering themselves to the force of wind, but dance with it to a happy tune, courtesy of the chaotic element. Where the ground did not crack in its dusty dryness, but flourished with the green warmth of life, feeding the roots of plants with such invisible enthusiasm. Where the Yangtze was not flowing because it must, but because it wants to carry on an adventure through China, where at the end, the prize is the unity with the sea. Like when a child wobbles up to his mother's loving arms for an embrace and a promise of love. Crane may have started crying too.

With the others though, the mood was quite different.

"Are you guys seein' what I'm seein'?"

"If you mean the trees under Master Crane, then yes Monkey, we are seeing it too."

It was a spectacle to have for sure. The trees on the imposing hill next to their road simultaneously flowered when the breeze from Crane's wings touched them. Leaves turned light green in waves, punk barks cleansed into stoic wood and lame stumps sprouted. This sight was much less scary than a vortex of deadly wind or a ring of noodle soup and tears, but still; Elemental Chi was at work, and by how ecstatic the avian Master looked, it was clearly messing with his emotions once again. It wasn't like Crane was never happy, but he was more of a soft-happy, not this kind of enthusiastic-happy.

"Yeah! Hey Crane!"

The avian in question heard Po's voice and circled back above them.

"Yes, Master Panda?"

"Master Panda?" Po looked taken aback, not just because they never called him his 'technically official but not really' name, but because Crane said the words with such vitality, not even Po could reproduce them. His confusion was momentary, before he smiled again, "I like it. So, wanna take it a step further?"

"Yes!" Crane totally shouted his agreement. After he did that though, his expression froze, "I am ready, I just… need a little… Ow."

The liveliness literally drained from him at once and pain replaced it.

"You need a little what? You okay?" Po asked, his own vigor deflating slightly.

"Yes, I'm… fine. My head hurts a little, 'guess I got a little lightheaded from the speed, hehe."

"Talk about mood swings…" Mantis whispered to Monkey. Shifu was carefully observing Crane, filing away all the new information they were currently getting in massive portions.

"All right!" the panda then took up a defensive stand and held up his right hand, his palm open. "Now come at me with that harpoon move of yours."

"Y-you sure? I don't-" Crane winced at the sudden throb in his head, "I don't think it is a fine idea."

"I agree. I think taking one step at a time is for the best," Tigress said amid her frown, still penetrating the hill's blossoming trees with her hard gaze.

"Hey, I'm not gonna break. I'm quite sturdy myself," Po said and patted himself on the belly to emphasize his point. Crane looked doubtful, but nodded.

The move Po was talking about is quite a technique. First, Crane has to nosedive from a high distance towards his target. Then, when he is close enough, he twists in the air, his wings and feet becoming a blur for his opponent. This is the key to the technique; the surprise. The enemy won't know which limb will strike from which direction, making it relatively impossible to defend against. Its main weakness lies in the fact that anyone with good enough reflexes can deflect it, which would leave the user completely at the mercy of their opponent. A decimating technique against weaker practitioners, an 'all-in' technique for those of the same skill and a literal suicide attack against the more skilled Masters.

And now Crane would use it on Po's open and ready palm.

Narrowing his eyes at his target, he began the nosedive. A deadly projectile in the sky, that's what he was, but Po didn't relent. He took up an even steadier stance and smiled at his incoming friend. He even wiggled his stubby fingers at him, a little friendly taunting never hurt in the panda's opinion. What he didn't know was that the distance between where Crane was at the moment and where he started twisting was large enough for the avian's mind to understand the gesture and for the Elemental Chi to react to that tiny, insignificant, negligible flicker of annoyance that came in its wake.

The reaction was quite wild, one might say.

The rest of the Furious Five didn't even have time to get shocked when flames engulfed Crane's body, making him become a literal phoenix amid the technique. He began twisting into a blur, and from the outside it looked like some kind of big, fire lance was nearing Po. Crane's flaming left leg shot out suddenly and connected to the panda's arm, but Po stood his ground. There was a beat of silence as the vibrant yellow-eyed, body-covered-in-hot-fire Crane stood on one leg, the other being in the palm of a surprised Po. The avian didn't look like he cared about the simple fact that he was supposed to be screaming in pain and jumping into the Yangtze to extinguish himself. No, he was keeping eye contact with Po, who started to realize that:

A) his friend was on fire, which should not happen,

B) his friend's leg was on fire, which also should not happen,

C) his friend's on-fire leg was in his palm, and-

D) his palm had an inflammable coating called fur, which meant that the burning pain he was experiencing was not because Crane's kick was a particularly strong one.

"Wah! Waaaaaaah!"

He waved his paw in a vain attempt to put out the fire. He looked to have forgotten about the river right next to him, because he was very intent on trying everything except the rational thing. He even tried to lick the flames away, but it was just too extraordinarily hot. Viper, Mantis and Monkey couldn't decide which spectacle to panic on; Phoenix Crane or trying-to-take-out-fire-by-hitting-trees Po. Tigress was the one who took a hurried step forward and marched up to Po, intent on solving the one problem that is actually solvable with their knowledge.

Shifu in the meantime was watching the other delinquent for their pause in the journey. Crane was barely visible under his new 'coating', the yellow tongues of the flames shined as bright as the avian's iris, but visible enough for Shifu to note the wide-eyed stare he was giving to his own being. The telltale sign of shock, the unhinged beak was there too for added emphasis.

"Uh, Ow, Tigress, hi, Tigress, wah! Crane!" Po babbled while the tiger took hold of his fine paw and dragged him towards the Yangtze, intent on throwing the panda in altogether.

Shifu watched as Crane's eyes snapped up to Po and focused on the burning appendage. By the way the wind started tickling the red panda's long whiskers, the avian master's heart did not appreciate the image. The Elemental Chi didn't help his plain transparentness with emotions. Crane also seemed to notice Tigress' intentions with Po, as she hauled the panda from the woods towards the river, and the wind drove Shifu's whiskers sideways now. As the duo neared the red panda and the steadfast Yangtze next to him, Crane's tired face changed, his expression going slack. Then he turned, looking at the water beneath him.

Shifu gathered that he had an idea.

Sure enough, the avian narrowed his eyes at the river and took up his technique's basic stance; one wing in front of him, one wing pointing upwards, his legs far from each other in a shoulder length. He raised his outstretched wing and channeled chi into it. The shine appeared, much yellower than the red panda had last seen it. The bird did a slow upwards motion with his limb and Shifu's eyebrows rose to their max when a tiny thread of water raised itself up. Crane seemed to share his surprise too for a moment. He exhaled and murmured something Shifu's ears could not catch, then turned his whole body. His wings still outstretched towards the Yangtze, he did a motion, one that looked like he tried to throw something over his shoulder.

If he hoped for water, he had to be really disappointed, as the little thread went back to the flow with a small 'plop' like nothing happened. Shifu clicked his tongue at the very dissatisfying climax.

"GUYS, LOOK OUT!"

Monkey's panicked shout captured his attention in time to see Tigress jumping away from a huge boulder flying towards them from the exact opposite direction of the river. Po couldn't get out of the way in time and the house-sized piece of ground collided with him face-first. It launched the panda backwards with a pained shout and into the awaiting arms of the flow.

Except for Crane, the Furious Five ran to the bank of the river, ready for action. Tigress took a hold off Monkey's tail as the simian jumped into the water. He had Viper wrapped around his hands, lengthening the living chain they were making. She was holding up her entire body above the water surface, and at the top of her head was Mantis, looking into the water in search for Po.

"Do you see him?" Tigress said, her voice raised to a shout.

The insect's eyes could bore holes into the Yangtze. "Can't, the river must have drifted-" Mantis had no time to finish, as a round, black and white head suddenly emerged with a loud gasp.

"OH MAN! That was amazing Crane! I can still feel the numbness right here!" Po exclaimed, his wet finger pointing at his slightly reddened cheeks.

Mantis did not look amused. Neither did Viper nor Monkey. Tigress, even less so.

"Grasp him."

So Mantis did. The celebratory whooping of the panda stopped when he felt the surprisingly tight hold of the insect. The next thing he knew was tasting the feeling of flying once again, himself shouting the whole way, before hitting the ground face first. Well, at least he was off-fire.

And then-

"Wohooo! Man, this day just gets better and better."

"Not to be rude, Po, but," Mantis began, "You are biting the dust. I know that you are good at anything food, but this is excessive."

"Wha-"

"You also should get up. Unless you want another round in the river," Tigress added with her hands on her hips.

"I'm getting up, I'm getting up, no need for tha-"

"Even like this, he is still the cleanest between us. Maybe we should follow Master Panda's example - skinny dip, anyone?" Monkey added.

Viper giggled, „You look cute like this Po."

"Cute? Like what?"

And then she pointed at his ears, "Like that."

Reaching up, Po felt both his ears, and realized that they were hugging his head, courtesy of the weight of wet fur.

"No! This looks so uncool. Cute is uncool. And in front of you guys too!" he said, grasping his we ears, trying to hide them.

Shifu chuckled. That's it, he just couldn't help it. This is what a real family looked like. Po gushing over possibly the most lethal aspect of life, not caring about the fact that he had literal dirt in his mouth, while the Furious Five tried really hard to feel annoyed at him, but failed so miserably that it was almost embarrassing. One might think the different species, personalities, life goals, views on the world would make this a dysfunctional family, but the red panda didn't care, because this was what their family looked like and it was perfect in every imperfect way.

And Po still thought of them as his idols, even after Tai Lung, Shen and Kai. He still thought about them as some kind of untouchable gods, even after they had been beaten, chained and jaded. None of that changed his perspective of them, not even becoming their Teacher. But to be fair, Tigress still gave out orders, Mantis still had a knack for disrespecting others, Monkey still didn't know the boundaries with pranks and Viper still didn't know when not to be sympathetic.

They have all changed in these recent times. But there were things that didn't, and these things became the essence of their family. Yet…

Something was missing from the picture. Something crucial.

The giant boulder rested on the road, but it wasn't alone. Shaking wings touched its surface slowly, exactly the part that hit Po on the face, and strands of fur and a droplet of red was taken from the rock. Tired yellow eyes looked at the items, and their bearer's face went slack in disbelief. The wing shook, trying to swat the red liquid and the fur off it, before folding back to the body of their owner. Tightly from what Shifu could see, like Crane was actively trying to hide his own wing from himself. If the bird wanted to forget what he had accidentally done, he was doing an awful job; the boulder was right in front of him.

In the words of the Dragon Warrior, 'this needs a Fixer-Upper'

Night had arrived, the inevitability of it was always a beauty to behold. The Masters had found a quaint little valley with a clearing, courtesy of the union of the Yangtze and a decently sized tributary stream. They were one day away from reaching Lin'an, but it was still a long walk. The woods became sparse for some time now; the trees surrounding the clearing were nothing like a dense wall it once was. The Masters set up a small fire in the middle, trying not to imagine their avian friend amidst the flames, and camped around it.

Topics with no real direction or sense were popular tonight, it seemed.

"So here's my question; what would my first measure be if I became the Emperor?" Mantis asked their group.

"Make learning Kung Fu mandatory in the Empire," Po replied immediately.

"Of course you would."

"But seriously, think about it! If everyone learned Kung Fu, China would be undefeatable and the coolest Empire ever."

The circle contemplated, and slowly started nodding along, getting the idea.

Shifu cleared his throat. "Don't you think if all of China learned Kung Fu, and showed the world how 'cool' it is, other Empires would try adapting to it?"

"It would also lose its uniqueness," Mantis added.

Po didn't back off. "You guys are talking like it's an easy thing to learn. And by the time any other country got Kung Fu, we would probably evolve Kung Fu to another level of awesomeness."

Shifu thought about it, and even if he didn't necessary agreed with the logic, it was an optimistic view that the world lacked, so he let it be.

Monkey tapped his chin in thought. "I would probably delete some of those boring rules and traditions."

Tigress raised her eyebrow. "Those traditions are for the respect of the Emperor's importance and his person. You would erase them?"

"I'm not some pompous snob," Monkey shrugged, "Plus, the ceremonies would be shorter and I would have more time to lead the country and stuff."

"Read it as in lazing around and pranking important people, because he can," Mantis cut in, making Monkey throw a small twig at him.

The circle chuckled, before they all looked at Tigress. The feline closed her eyes, a sign that she was thinking.

"My first measure would be finding a way for every abandoned child in China to able to have a purpose in life," she said, opening her unfocused eyes at the end of her sentence.

Somber silence sat on the circle. The kind of somber where people still smiled because they were glad that the reason for the sombreness is nothing but a leaf of the past and a theory in the wind, but they are still somber because the topic applies to someone they know and love, and it makes it relevant to them.

It's complicated.

"I would…" Viper said deep in thought, breaking the silence, "…probably make sure that every corner of China is a beauty."

"Mandatory make-up and flowers-behind-ears, anyone?" Monkey asked, with a wide smile towards the snake.

Viper giggled behind her tail. "That doesn't sound too bad. But no, I was thinking of making the cities beautiful. Painting houses, planting flowers and trees, that kind of deal."

"Crane would probably help. He would die for a chance to paint China," Mantis noted.

"He did once say that China is like a large scroll with a grand picture on it, that lacks color, but has too much shading," Tigress added with a tiny smile of herself.

"Wow, the level of artsy-ness was a bit too much for my head," Po said, scratching his head.

The tiger shrugged. "That's just how he is."

"Speaking of Birdbrain," Mantis noted looking around, "Wasn't he standing next to Viper?"

The Masters turned to the spot, and sure enough, it was empty.

"Where'd he go?" Po wondered.

Shifu raised his staff. "I believe, Master Crane has already begun repainting China's grand picture."

They followed the staff, and saw their last friend by the bank of the river, alone in the dark, a stick in his talon, drawing in the dirt something they couldn't see.

"Oh god, he's sulking. What's up with artists and depression?" Mantis asked, unimpressed.

"He did have a pretty rough day," Po commented, not removing his eyes from his drawing friend.

"Maybe you should talk to him?" Monkey asked, which gained Po's attention.

"Why me?! Last time I talked to him, he literally went up in flames."

"Because you were the one who took up the task of teaching him," Shifu reminded, "And if my memory doesn't fault me, you quite enjoyed today's events."

Po looked like he wanted to deny it, but a smile replaced his pout. "Okay, I won't deny those. But I'm not good with sad feelings and stuff. Why doesn't Viper do it? She's basically a master of depression-beating."

"It is true, Master Viper has an uncanny ability to emphasize with people and find ways to help them get out the holes they have fallen into," Shifu's words made the snake in question smile and blush, "But the thing is, Master Crane has wings, so if he were to fall in a hole, he would just fly out. What he is in as of now is more like a jungle. He needs someone to listen to him, someone to reassure him, someone to break the dense crown of trees for him to take off."

"Sooo… I should just… ask him how he feels? Is that it?" Po asked, not quite able to grasp the whole meaning.

"It's a start," And with that, Shifu put the fire out with a grand move of his hands.

"Great," Po groaned, "More confusing talk. I think I'll call you Master Oogway the Second from now on, all right?"

His answer was silence. Without the fire, it was too dark to see where anyone was.

"Guys?"

More silence.

Po sighed. "Okay. Guess it's time to be a teacher."

With that, he arose from his place on the ground and made his way over to his bird friend. Luckily, the moon reflected on the Yangtze, and it made Crane's shadowy figure visible. The avian stopped drawing into the dirt for a moment when the panda stepped next to him, but otherwise didn't indicate that he cared about it. Meanwhile Po was trying to figure out a way how to start a conversation. He went with the well-proven solution.

"Hey."

"…Hello," And with that, Crane continued drawing.

Damnit.

"What are you drawing?"

"This and that."

"Oh. And how is it?"

"Could be better."

"That's true."

Po couldn't actually see the drawing, but his friend didn't need to know that.

"And how are you even doing it? Isn't it dark to see anything?"

"I have the picture in my mind, and I follow its lines. Basic technique."

"Wow, you can do that? Imagine something and then copy it into real? That's so-" Po was about to fanboy over the idea, when he remembered why he was here, "…not important right now. And what do you think about this trip all in all?"

Crane shrugged. "It's long."

"Yeah, I can agree with that. Y'know, I'm not much for maps and such, but I think there must be some kind of shorter way between the capital… and… us," Po had to stop because Crane was obviously not listening. He frowned at his failures of getting the bird talking so he could 'listen and reassure'. He hit himself when he realized that he was doing it all wrong; he needs to be the one listening to Crane, not the other way around.

Thankfully, he knew just the technique.

"By the way, the guys are wondering how you're doing," Po said, trying to play it casual. There was a moment of quiet between them, where Po thought he may have messed it all up. Much to his relief, Crane finally stopped drawing and turned to him.

"Well, I… am not good," the bird began, putting down his stick and turning towards Po, "This whole Elemental Chi business makes me jittery I guess."

Po tried hard not to cheer at his success. "Jittery of what?"

"Hurting you. You and everyone."

"Hurting us? Ha! You aren't hurting anyone Crane, what are you talking about?"

"Oh nothing. I'm just, y'know, talking about giving concussions to Viper and Mantis, endangering an entire shop, your father's shop, and then this afternoon, I may have had the fortune of setting the Dragon Warrior on fire before making said warrior kiss a boulder the size of him plus two and hurling him into a baby version of the Yangtze."

…

"Wow. That was some speech."

Crane snorted. "Sorry."

"No no, don't apologize," Po tried to amend, "From that perspective, it can look a little… problematic, but trust me when I say that none of us hold it against you, and everyone is fine! I'm fine too, as you can see."

Crane eyed his smiling face. Po suddenly remembered those yellow eyes burning in every sense of the word and had to suppress a shiver. Thankfully, his friend missed it if his softening eyes were any clue.

"Yeah, I guess. Though it doesn't help that I still have no clue how to even remotely control it."

"But what about the boulder? You controlled that. And you were on point too," Po replied, his hand tapping his cheek as an emphasis.

Crane looked at him deadpan. "I wanted to spray you with water from the river."

If confusion were a liquid, Po would be drenched. "But a rock… hit…. me?"

"Exactly."

"And it came from the woods. That's like, the complete other s-."

"Exactly."

Po's mouth made an 'o' shape and nodded in sudden understanding of the bird's point.

"Well, it's no surprise, you are just barely over one third of your training. And props to you too, you have done well on the first layer."

Crane looked at him weirdly. "We have very different views on what 'doing well' is, but- thank you."

Po deflated slightly when his friend took the stick again between his talons. In the end, he listened and empathised and everything, but he still didn't make his friend less dejected. He knew Viper would have been better suited for the job. Why did Shifu even think that-

"I… am anxious for another reason too, actually."

Hell yeah, success on the way.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I mean, I will tell you, if you care that is," Crane said, not raising his eyes from the drawing he still was yet to continue. The stick in his talon hovered barely above the surface.

"Of course, absolutely. I mean, I wanna hear it, so lay it on me. Full force."

The avian glanced at him, a glimmer of hope twinkling in his eyes. "You sure? I don't wanna bore you. Plus, everyone's asleep, figured you would be tired too."

"Okay, first of all, I'm the Dragon Warrior. I'm supposed to survive on universe juice and stuff, so a little tiredness won't beat me," Po began listing on his fingers, and Crane smiled a little at the reference to Tigress' words, "Second, I'm not even tired, I'm completely vigilant and ready for action at a moment's notice. And third, in order for us to start on the second layer, I would need to know how your mental works. You telling me how you feel is a great way to start. So, what is that other thing?"

"Well, if you insist," Crane let the smile linger there, before sighing heavily and putting down the twig, "I'm… scared of going to Lin'an."

"Aha? Why?"

"I haven't told you anything about my childhood or anything before Lee Da, right?"

Po squinted at his friend. "Before Lee Da… no, not really."

"Okay. So, I'm actually from Lin'an."

The panda's eyes widened in wonder. "Wow. You mean you are from the capital?!"

"Born and raised."

"How is it? Is it as grand as the stories tell? Golden light everywhere you look? Did you see the Imperial Army? Did you step into the Emperor's Palace? or… have you met the Emperor?! Oh please, please, please, tell me you've met him."

Crane chuckled at Po's enthusiasm- "It's big, yes, no, yes, no and no."

"Wait, so which one was yes again? 'cause, I got a little tangled up with the questions there…"

"Wasn't this conversation supposed to be about something else?" Crane asked, his smile stretching into the start of a smirk.

"Oh. Yeah," Po said dumbly, before frowning, "Why are you scared of going there? You are technically going home."

"The Jade Palace is my home," the bird stressed, "And that's why I'm scared. I have people I knew there, such as my mom and dad. A best friend too."

"Oh… You are scared because you think they would want you to stay there. I get it, but I don't think-"

"No! No, no, no. That's not what I mean. I want them to be part of my life again."

Po stood perplexed as he looked at Crane like he was an unsolvable puzzle. "You lost me."

Crane groaned, one of his wing covering his face with a sigh that came with it. "I'm scared because there is a possibility that I will have to choose between them and you guys. And I'm not sure I could make that decision."

Po couldn't really say anything to that for two reasons. One was that even if he very much wanted to say something, he had a feeling this one was one time when speaking would destroy any process he had made, and maybe even anger his friend. He had certainly learned what would happen if he angered his friend, the burnt patch of fur on his arm was evidence enough.

The second reason was the event happening behind Crane. Po's eyes widened when water suddenly rose from the Yangtze in the shape of an eastern dragon, slowly and silently slithering its way from the river and around his friend. From what he heard from Viper about the accident in his dad's shop, water was something like a soothing element for Crane. Which, to be fair, was a relaxing thought for Po, as this probably (hopefully) implied that no one would die tonight.

All that in mind, he simply opted to rock subtly on his heels, with his hands clasped behind him, watching his friend use his appendage to rub his beak while the water dragon hugged his body.

"I love my mom," Crane whispered as the wing slid off his face. His eyes met with Po's. "I love my dad. I love my best friend. Gosh, even after twenty years, I still cannot pour it into words how much I love them. But… I love you guys too. And there is a reason I never got into poetry in the first place, because all I would write about is how much I love the people in my life. But then I wouldn't write anything, because there are no words to describe it.

And, what with this curse of a chi that found a home in me out of all people, I'm not sure I wouldn't just blow up if somebody told me I had to choose. And I know I must make a choice, because they belong to Lin'an, and you belong to the Jade Palace and I-"

"Belong to both," Po finished his friend's sentence. Crane held his head lower as he sighed.

"And then, while we are on the topic of blowing up, who's saying something else won't happen, huh? Like, think about it; we are going to the capital, to be among millions of people. What if I have another episode and destroy a part of the city? I couldn't live with myself knowing that I took away the lives of so many people. Especially if one of my precious people are among them too…"

The sound of the Yangtze flowing was the only thing filling in the silence after that. Crane whipped his head away from the river, his haunting reflection disappearing. This action made it possible for him to find the little ring of water around him. His eyes copied Po's initial reaction upon seeing its draconic shape. When the dragon's head arrived in front of him, he raised a nervous wing to touch it. Much to both his and the standby panda's surprise, the dragon stopped and gazed up at him with those blank, watery eyes.

Crane gulped. "Heheh… where were you when I needed you today, huh?"

The dragon didn't answer. Didn't even move for that matter.

"You… hear the song?" Po asked out of the blue, fidgeting with his fingers. Crane looked up at him and nodded.

"Yeah. I-It isn't that bad, actually."

"Does it change with each element?"

"It… doesn't. Always the same womanly voice singing. Similar to my mother's voice," Crane's eyes softened, as his voice took on a nostalgic tone, "She would always sing to me before sleep. Her voice chased away the bad dreams, I was sure of it. She was the one who encouraged my artistic hobbies actually…"

"Well, she must be pretty awesome," Po said, trying not to sound wistful. After all, he did not get the chance to experience what it was like to grow up with a mom.

"Yeah. She will love you, you know."

"Eh?"

"I will eat my hat if she won't try to strangle you with love," Crane said, snorting goodheartedly and meeting Po's eyes. The water dragon he had been eyeing the whole time continued its journey around him.

"Wow, your hat? That's… wow," the panda said, smiling a little awkwardly at the supposed love from Crane mom that he would get.

"She was always on the opinion that everyone needs to be safe and well fed. Once she discovers that you are safe if you are well-fed…" Crane said, momentarily looking down at Po's large white belly, "She will have a delirium."

"Deli-what?"

Crane laughed, restrained. "Figure of speech Po. Figure of speech…"

"Ah, right," Po said, nodding yet not understanding. He always had problems getting some of his friend's fancier words.

"Oh and Po," Crane spoke up, making eye contact, "To answer the question Mantis asked at the fire…"

The half-sentence captured Po's attention completely, and he craned his neck in anticipation. Crane's eyes shone a bit, although it was dimmer than usual, and the water dragon disappeared into a puddle under the bird's feet.

"…I would do all that you guys said, and then some."

Story Miscellaneous
#10:In Chapter 4, I gave a little world building to you, gracious readers. Kung Fu Panda takes place in obviously China, but in an alternate universe. For the sake of giving the world an itsy-bitsy reality factor, The Author analyzed the canonical knowledge of some of the places in the movie, and theorized where in China was what.
#11:At this Chapter did the author start worrying about Crane being too much of a Passive protagonist, and started having thoughts of 'Activizing' him.
#12:The city of Lin'an is an actual real life city; 'Lin'an' was the name of today's Hangzhou at the time of the Song Dynasty (960-1279), and it was the capital city of the Empire between 1138 and 1276.
#12A:The Honghe Dynasty is not a representation of the Song Dynasty. The Zhao Dynasty is not a representation of the Yuan Dynasty.

Chapter 4 Miscellaneous
#1:The 'harpoon move' in this chapter is basically what Crane did at the beginning of Kung Fu Panda 1, at the scene where Shifu was playing on the flute.
#2:The Author thought about calling this chapter 'expositional miracle', because it both contained narrative and dialogue exposition, that yours truly tried to make as subtle and as natural as possible.
#3:At this chapter did The Author get anxious about how likeable he made Crane.
#3A:Working at chapter-per-week advances the story slower to me, thus I tend to get involved with one chapter instead of all the previous ones, and sometimes a chapter doesn't contain much character building.