Chapter Two: An Island of Reason

Auburn clouds enshrouded Crane's daydreams as he flew among them. He reflected on his encounter with the crazy canid—he didn't know what to make of it. Maybe Shifu could provide some insight.

Yellow eyes... alright. He thought, perplexed.

From his height, Gongmen City looked like a box of hardened, unfinished clay: messy, lusterless and discarded from a potter's true project. Each serrated roof lay in a rough, intersecting line with the rest. A ways up the coast, a massive outcropping of rock dominated the city's north portion, on top of which the red roofs of Gongmen City's wealthiest houses gleamed—a bag of jewels shaken into a box of scraps.

At the city's boundary, a trundled landscape of brush and sand abutted the black sea. The sun poured a molten line across the busy harbor; Canvas-sailed boats were oblivious to the beauty that it created. The Yangtze delta lay in the south like a scar, and scattered farms met a balding forest to the west. Above the magnificent city, the air was calm, and the wind was light. Perfect weather to fly over it all.

Crane banked wide, and let the sky hold his broad soaring wings as he descended to find Mantis. He circled the palace grounds a few times, hoping to stay in the air a little while longer. The massive tower that once stood in the center was reduced to a wooden graveyard. People scurried like ants as they labored to clear the rubble. He remembered hearing Master Ox call the structure The Tower of the Sacred Flame.

Fitting. The "flame" part, at least.

A splintered mass of wood and tile was draped over the once proud wall of the fortress. The pavement was scorched and shattered where it was visible, under mountains of cold debris. Garden plants, grown with care by loyal servants, were wilted and charred. Broken branches, drifted leaves, and upturned roots hinted at a majesty and culture long gone.

Even before it was destroyed, the exquisite craftsmanship of the palace had seemed hollow to Crane; Almost as if the spirit of the city had left long ago, and was fated to collapse. The bird's large russet eyes closed halfway, melancholy as he made one final circle around the depressing courtyard.

Lord Shen had destroyed his ancestral palace, the jewel of his birth city, trying to kill Po.

Why?

No, it doesn't matter why, he assured himself. The peacock was evil, and that was that. It was over, and the palace was now an eroding husk; every scorch mark a defiant reminder that justice had prevailed.

As he made for a clearing in the rubble, he thought of Po's erratic courage in the throne room. The panda had a knack for turning a serious situation on its head. Crane smiled to himself, but a fog of unease met his heart when the walls of the fortress rose around him. His left wing twinged with the memory of an injury sustained within these very grounds.

The angled ramparts on all sides of the palace spoke of pain. Victims of Shen's tyranny shrieked from the black mortar. But also, there was the feeling that these walls had known something more—maybe a secret, or an intimate pain—chiseled into the very bricks themselves.

Crane disturbed a cloud of dust as he landed on a raised platform near the center of the courtyard. He ruffled his folded wings, trying to cast off his brooding mood. It was mid-morning now, and pigs and ibexes hurried around him in the heat of the rising sun. They hauled carts overloaded with rocks and timbers, shouting to one another over the din of hammers and picks.

Crane squinted as he peered around the bright, dusty courtyard, hoping to spot Mantis among the ruins. When the impossible game proved futile, he grunted and resolved to ask a worker for the green bug's whereabouts.

He had only taken three terse steps when a different kind of sound floated from across the courtyard. Layered in the discordant chorus of the workers was the distinct, bubbly belting of laughter. By the sound of it, a whole group of workers were sharing in the fun. Crane perked up, trying to see where the gathering might be, and who could have caused such a rousing. Of course, he had an idea who might be behind it.

Once he rounded a tall pile of debris, Crane saw a semicircle of pigs arrayed around a small box, like some kind of rambunctious amphitheater. The captivated workers sat on the rubble—improvised pews in a sea of destruction. On the pulpit stood the emerald Mantis, who was in the middle of a story. He took a dozen petite steps forward, and the blue-gold design on his back shimmered in the light.

"...and then, she threatened to step on me! Now that's spicy. I had half a brain to say: 'Yes, please!'"

Mantis' congregation howled with laughter and slapped the ground; a few of them fell over in their mirth. Crane approached Mantis from behind, taken aback by the absurdity of the jolly sermon.

"Uhh, Mantis?" he asked tentatively. Mantis jumped around and chirped with surprise.

"Well, look who finally flew out of bed." the bug jested.

"Oh, sorry," Crane returned sarcastically, "I should have flown out sooner. I almost missed your 'huge lady almost crushes me twice' story."

The pigs sobered up and looked at Mantis, murmuring with wonder. One of them gasped, "wait, twice?"

"Aw, Crane. Spoiler alert," Mantis whined playfully. He turned and addressed the pigs who anxiously awaited the end of his tale.

"Alright everyone, story time's over." The pigs groaned with disappointment and dispersed from their seats. One or two paused to point at the legendary masters in their presence.

"Looks like you're making progress out here," Crane said with a wry smile, glad to see his friend.

"Don't blame me, this is about as boring as it gets," Mantis returned as he kicked a pebble off of his podium.

"Well, we should probably get back to work. Sooner we finish, sooner we get back to the Jade Palace."

"Right... I can't wait to get back and train," the mantis grumbled, crossing his claws.

"That's the idea," Crane said, off-put by Mantis' discontent. The bug regarded Crane with a troubled expression.

"I just think that it's getting a little old, you know? Day in, day out, we get up, we train. Sure, we fight some meaningful battles, but sometimes, I just feel like I need a break from it all."

"That makes sense, I guess," the bird said, "but it's worth it for the people that we help. We're all that stands between them, and this."

Crane gestured first from the workers and then to the pile of rubble behind Mantis.

"Well, I'd rather not end up like either." Mantis said jokingly, and they both chuckled.

"Hey, Crane," Mantis cleared his throat and began timidly.

"So, Monkey and I were talking to Master Ox earlier this morning, and guess what? He and Croc had just gotten back from a place out of town, a little west of here."

"And?" Crane said absently, afraid of getting trapped in another one of Mantis' stories.

"Here's the kicker, they went to a bar."

Crane was puzzled. "That doesn't make sense. Masters aren't allowed to drink alcohol. It's against the code."

"True, true. Didn't stop them, though," Mantis said with a mischievous smirk.

"They called the place The Cherry Blossom Inn," he arduously enunciated the syllables of the name.

"Ox said 'there's no better place for a master to get a drink in all of China.' Celebrity endorsed, how about that?"

"Oh no. No no no." Crane said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"You don't actually want to-"

"Aw, come on Crane, just hear me out for a sec," Mantis pleaded.

The bug opened his arms. "Here we are, in the great Gongmen City. We came all this way, only to nearly get killed by a maniac with a gun. I mean, it was close, even for us. I really thought Po was... gone. But lo and behold, there he was in the harbor, ready to save the day, right out from under the white feathers of Shen."

The feeling that Crane had earlier that day returned, and he was again troubled by the uncertainty. That night was close. Mantis was right about that.

"Look Crane, I know it's only been two days, but I'm losing my mind out here. The excitement, the joy, the relief when Po showed up on that rooftop... it was like nothing I've ever felt before."

Mantis paused and shifted to a more relaxed stance. "I think that Po deserves a proper celebration; just a little something to say thanks."

Crane returned to himself upon hearing Mantis' proposal.

"Mantis, I think you're missing the point. We don't have to have some wild night to thank Po," he said, unsure of the bug's motives, but nonetheless impressed by his thoughtfulness.

"We could meet up anywhere in the city, or just wait a few days until we finish up cleaning. There's absolutely no reason to put our reputation on the line."

Mantis sighed, disappointed. "Monkey and I thought you'd come through on this one. It wouldn't hurt to take some time for yourself, you know."

"Hey, I'm not as lame as you think," he shot back defensively.

Did they really think I would agree to something like that?

"Come on, you know this is a terrible idea," Crane said confidently. "Shifu could find out. It's just not worth it."

"Mhmm," the green bug grunted and raised an eyebrow.

"And what about the time we snuck out to give Tai Lung a visit?"

"That's completely different," Crane scoffed, agitated, "people were in danger. And Tigress would've gone without us. We had to help."

"You kicked ass," Mantis added earnestly.

"We got ours kicked, more like it," Crane said, nevertheless pleased by the compliment.

"And that's exactly what's gonna happen if Shifu finds out we went to a bar. No," he said, "I'm not about to risk my reputation for something so stupidly risky."

Crane turned away, done with Mantis and ready to start cleaning.

"Alright, hey!" Mantis called loudly after the bird, "at least ask the others if they want to go. I'm serious!"

"Not a chance," Crane shouted just as he leapt into the waiting sky.


Crane perched on one of the palace's remaining parapets and scrunched his neck flat against his body. He gazed over the slowly clearing mess in the courtyard with a cracked eye. In the setting sun, spiky-shadowed scaffolds reminded him of his janitorial stint at the Lee Da Kung Fu Academy. After everything, it seemed he was right back to being a cleaner.

Mantis is right. This is the worst, he thought as he readjusted his footing. His toe ached from when he had dropped a beam on it earlier that day. The bird stretched and picked at a particularity itchy set of feathers on his wing.

Crane glanced to his side, where a group of arrows lay abandoned on the glazed tiles of the tower. He tapped his foot on the clay, listening as his talons scratched abrasively. With a sigh, he scooped the arrows up using his foot and glided toward one of the rubbish carts ready to be hauled away. He dropped the sticks on the pile and spied Mantis throwing rocks ten times his size onto a cart further down the line.

"Mantis," he called as he braked next to the unassuming green warrior. The bug made a strained grunt as he hefted a boulder.

"Where are they taking this stuff anyway?" Mantis panted and wiped his brow.

"They're burning the wood and dumping the rocks in the river," Crane said.

"It was a rhetorical question," the praying mantis grumbled as he turned to grab the next stone.

Crane shuffled his unkempt wings. "Well, I should know. I'm flying nets of this stuff all over town." Mantis ignored him and heaved another boulder.

"Anyway..." he added, "I've gotta go find Shifu. There was a raid earlier this morning. Well, more of a disturbance."

Mantis perked up at the mention. "Wait, like an attack?"

"Not exactly. Go ask the wolf what he was doing. He's in Gongmen Jail."

"Damn," Mantis breathed. "Of course I missed that. Save one for me next time."

"Whatever you say," the tall bird responded disingenuously.

Crane took a running start toward the palace entrance and let the turbulent ground-air facilitate his ascent. Any extra energy spent was bound to be noticed by his already agitated muscles. The large, red-gold hall of the palace passed beneath him, one of the only untouched buildings left.

Crane rested as he rose on some spiraling air, for once grateful for the warm climate of the seaside city. Rising smoke from the numerous chimneys permeated the air with a stinging musk.

I never thought I would miss something as simple as fresh air, he thought sourly.

The thermal he was riding dissipated all too soon, and he beat his wings to gain the altitude needed to reach the aristocratic quarter. It sat atop the rocky outcropping up the coastline; a proud miser arrogantly asserting its superiority over the rest of the town. With luck, he would find Shifu there without having to ask directions.

The bird's voluminous wings shed slight misty vortices as he glided, and a barely detectable sheen of water wafted from his feathers. Both were telltale signs that the air was getting wetter.

He broke his gaze away from the nearing buildings and focused on the horizon. Congregating clouds slowly melded and grew, harkening their imminent, watery downpour. It was too early to tell, but Crane had a feeling that they would bring quite a storm.

He entered the wealthy borough with a whisper of wind, and immediately felt out of place. The structures reminded him of the foremost section of the Valley of Peace, but groomed and manicured beyond what he thought was possible—or necessary. The glinting gold accents and ostentatious crimson abodes made him self-conscious of his own apparel. His purple patterned sash was of no modest cloth, but he was wary of the standard set by the neighborhood.

As he passed over yet another private garden, he saw a glimmer of green nestled on the eave of a wide rooftop balcony. He weaved through a web of hanging lanterns and was relieved to see Viper sitting erect on the spotless clay tiles. She turned her head sharply when he alighted on the roof's peak with a few curt flaps.

Viper uncoiled like a vine and slithered with her head low to meet him. Her patterned back stood out against her shimmering, leafy body as she moved up the wavy slats.

"Crane! I'm so glad to see you," she said with joy as her sinuous form came to a halt.

"You are?" Crane said, caught off guard as he always was by her amiability. The snake chuckled lightly, which sent her head backwards a bit.

"Of course I am. I haven't seen you since the meeting," she smiled.

"Oh yeah, right." Crane said with an awkward laugh. "So, how go the negotiations?"

"Ugh," Viper pouted. "These aristocrats want nothing to do with us. They say Kung Fu caused this whole situation and want to take control away from the Master's Council."

"They can't do that!" Crane blurted, "who will protect the city if something like this happens again?"

"That's what I'm saying!" Viper shouted. She sighed and tightened her coils.

"Anyway, Shifu's getting impatient. I think we'll appeal to the aristocrats within the next few days," she said, looking up at Crane hopefully. The serpent's turquoise eyes starkly contrasted the reddening sky. The two were silent for a while, content to simply enjoy each other's presence.

"You look tired," Viper said abruptly. Crane flinched, extended a wing and assessed his appearance. His down was messily ruffled; some feathers even stood up in places. His indigo patterned leggings had sooty stains from handling charred logs, and his violet sash fared no better.

The avian master shook himself in an attempt to fix his unruly plumage, which seemed to amuse Viper.

"So, how are the others?" he asked, eager to change the subject.

"The same, I guess. Shifu is angry, and Tigress is... well, Tigress. And Po," she said, "got bored of negotiating within the first minute or two."

"Some vacation, huh," Crane smirked, feeling better after hearing about his friends.

"I heard that Ox and Croc went to some bar outside the city," he said cautiously, unsure if he was revealing too much. "It seems like even they are getting tired of this."

"They seemed a little out of it today," Viper reflected, unfazed by the obvious breach of code.

"Yeah, Mantis wanted to see what they were up to as well. He tried to get me to ask everyone to go tonight. Like we'd do that." Crane smirked at the absurdity of the notion.

"Really?" Viper spouted with astonishment, "when is it?"

Crane balked, dumbfounded. "You actually want to go?"

The serpent gasped and let out a bright smile. "Oh, that sounds so exciting! It's been so long since we got to spend some time together."

"Viper..." the tall bird faltered as he faced the grinning reptile.

Why is everyone so restless? He mused fruitlessly. I swear, sometimes it's like I'm the only island of reason in this sea of foolishness.

"Look, we have to weigh the consequences here," he said, hoping to win her over with logic.

"You must be about as worn out as I am. The last thing we need right now is to stay up and carouse. And, say Shifu finds out, one way or another. What then?" He paused to hammer in the significance of that last point.

"And for that matter, if we want to keep the aristocrat's respect, sneaking around and disobeying our master is a pretty poor way to accomplish that. The risk is just too high. You said it yourself, we'll be finished with this city in no time. Then, we'll all be on our way home."

As Crane verbally outlined his thinking, he saw Viper's eyes brighten. Her flowery headpieces twirled as she glanced to her sides.

"So it's a high-risk game, is it?" she cajoled, leaning in and eyeing Crane sideways.

"Ach!" the flustered bird exclaimed, lifting a wing to his beak. Crane uncovered his face to see that Viper was chuckling again: a floral, lilting vocalization that was intrinsic to her personality. She was resilient—and stubborn. Like a spring flower seeking light in the darkest of woods.

The winged master set his eyes on the sprawling metropolis to the southeast.

"You trust Ox and Croc, right?" Viper asked while by his side, "if they think they can handle it, then I think that we can, too."

"Alright, fine," Crane said, "I won't stop you. But, it's your neck."

"Crane, I'm pretty much all neck."

"Oh, really? I thought you were all tail."

Both began to laugh at the uninspired joke. Crane still secretly considered each of the possibilities, though.

"Yeah, so, anyway... I'm looking for Shifu. I got a report to make."

Viper cleared her throat and assumed a more serious demeanor.

"You're not gonna tell him about the bar, are you?"

"Oh, no! No way, I..." Crane interrupted, not wanting Viper to get the wrong idea.

"There was some crazy wolf causing a panic earlier. I just thought Shifu should know."

Viper eyed him with mock suspicion. "He's in the meeting hall. They're in the middle of a meeting, though. There's a secretary if you can't reach him."

"Thanks, Viper," he said, less annoyed now due to her return to formality. He said farewell, and readied himself for a leap to the ground below.

"Crane," the shapely serpent said just as Crane was about to depart.

"It really was good to see you."


Red pillars of wood measured the blocks, each column gilded with flat patterns of wings and fire. Diligent servants had begun to light the infinite grid of lanterns spanning the gap between the high structures. Each newly lit lamp dotted the polished stone walkway with a birth of orange and gold. Crane focused on the end of the road, fighting the claustrophobia brought on by the oppressive valley of houses. Still, walking was a much appreciated opportunity to give his wings a rest.

The black-and-white bird tried to make sense of his friend's recent behavior. Mantis he could understand, the boisterous bug probably always had rabble-rousing on his mind. It was Viper that puzzled him. While not the most cautious of snakes, she did tend to think before she acted.

Crane had to watch where he was going as more people passed him in the street. Ibexes sauntered by, wearing silk robes of every hue, and groups of sheep with immaculately groomed wool discussed prices and shipments. Crane hid in his hat and tried to make himself smaller—the citizens disapproving glares drilled into his back.

If only I had hatched into a goose, or something less noticeable, he joked spiritlessly to himself.

The road ended near the cliff above the city proper. Crane found himself in a pebbled courtyard lined with twisting, gnarled trees. The earthy wooden doors of the meeting hall rose at the opposite end. An awning circled the length of the square, and lanterns hung from wires strung intermittently in the alcoves. The hall itself stood four stories, but was as broad as the courtyard that entranced it. A spiked roof hung over the edge of the deep red hall, like the maw of a dragon. It was needlessly scary, Crane thought.

As he picked a path through the river stones, Crane observed the calmness of the deserted park. Despite the foreboding hall, the openness was refreshing when compared to the rest of the dense city. He was about to continue to the doors of the hall when he heard the rasp of porcelain over the rustling leaves.

A shifting black lump faced away some distance through the covered walkway. The sizable mass in the narrow alley was too large to be anyone other than Po. Crane smirked to himself; he had gotten his wish of seeing his friends after all.

Po was sitting cross legged on the dusty ground, facing a tremendous cliff that overlooked the city. The panda transferred some variety of noodles to his face while he peacefully observed the slowly healing city. Crane came to a stop as the setting sun backlighted Po against the terra-cotta vista. The Dragon Warrior looked like a splice in the scene—his round ears and soft fur made no allusions to the hard tile and aggressive woodwork of Gongmen City. The panda imparted an entirely different take on majesty.

"Hey," Crane said after giving the panda a respectful distance.

"Gah!" Po yelped, gracelessly falling backwards and flinging his bowl into the air. Without hesitation, Crane bounded upward and arrested the meal, skillfully capturing every drop of broth as he balanced the bowl on his wing. He absorbed the landing with his cantilever legs and watched as Po struggled to right himself.

"Woah, you caught it!" the panda beamed, mouth agape with disbelief. He then moaned with the entirety of his daunting body as frustration overcame him.

"Aww, I missed it! Could you do it again?"

Crane laughed, despite himself. Po was a simply baffling merging of destiny, quality and innocence.

The grinning bird presented Po with his noodles. Without warning, Po rushed forward and hugged Crane, causing the bowl to crash down to the pavement.

"Oh," Po laughed nervously as he stepped away from the crane. "My bad."

Crane frowned with surprise, still trying to process the affectionate gesture.

"So, you're into hugging now," he said with a deadpan humor.

The panda let out a small chuckle. "Sorry Crane, I might have gotten a little excited. That was the coolest thing I've seen in, like, two days."

"What about your noodles?" Crane asked, glancing toward the sad splatter of wasted food.

"Ah, whatever. The noodles here are kinda weird, anyway." Po sighed and returned his gaze to the horizon.

"Feel's like I've lived here my whole life," he said with a demure intonation. Crane joined him looking over the twilight metropolis. The bird thought it odd that Po could be so still.

"Quite a city," Crane remarked. For the first time since arriving, he looked upon the city without a goal in mind. The bird and the panda simply stared into the windy silence, appreciating the lurid beauty that was the cursed city.

"I've always wanted to see Gongmen. Did you know that peacocks invented the first fireworks here?"

"Really," Crane mused, feigning surprise, "that explains the fireworks factory."

The angry factory hunched at the mouth of the channel a ways leftward. Even without the billowing smoke and red glow from within, the structure imparted visions of thorns, bones and fear. Crane was reminded of what had happened between those oppressive walls, and the defeat he had felt when Po was shot by Shen.

"Hopefully they can get it up and running again. Gongmen fireworks are the best in the world," Po said flatly.

Crane turned his head to look at his friend, wondering just what had happened after the panda had been shot. He seemed to have learned something while he was away.

"You okay Po?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine, it's just..." Po began, but then groaned in resignation.

"I really miss you guys. We hardly got to see each other, after-" Po faltered and lowered his gaze.

"After I defeated Shen."

The panda threw up his arms. "And now, Shifu wont even let me into the meetings. It's like he's lost his trust in me, or something."

Po sat on the chiseled stone with a thump. He rested his hands on his knees—Crane thought he looked less like a master of inner peace, and more like the panda that awkwardly barged into his room almost a year ago.

"Maybe I'm being too dramatic—They're just meetings," Po said as he glanced at Crane.

Crane set a soft wing on Po's shoulder.

He misses us that much, huh.

"You're not being dramatic. I think we all feel the same way. Everyone is restless," the bird said, thinking back to the way his friends had acted.

"Things could've turned out very badly. But they didn't, and that's thanks to you."

"I guess so," Po said with a chuckle. It bothered Crane to see Po so listless. He wished there was a way he could show his appreciation to Po.

As Crane looked out at the channel far below, an image recalled itself to him: Po, covered in a hat just like his own, high above the channel. Crane felt the sharp chains shackling his body. He heard the chilling voice of Lord Shen, leading them toward a certain, concussive end. But that panda, standing vigilant in the moonlight, never gave up on them. In the end, he had returned.

Ready to save the day, right out from under the white feathers of Shen.

"Po, there might be something we could do together," Crane said timidly, knowing that he would come to regret his next words. He exhaled, resigning himself to his fate.

"Mantis and Monkey were thinking of going to this... bar tonight. Might be a good way to unwind a little."

"A b—a what?" Po stuttered, instantly brightening.

Oh dear.

"Is Tigress going?"

The question caught Crane off guard; he hadn't even considered what Tigress would think about the scheme. If anything, the dutiful tiger would try to stop them.

Can't blame her, he thought dryly.

"Po, I don't know if she would want to go. We're not really allowed to go to bars in the first place."

"Are you kidding? We can't go without Tigress," Po said with childlike enthusiasm before speeding off in the direction of the meeting hall.

"Po, wait!" Crane called as he hopped after the lumbering panda. He emerged into the rocky square, easily matching Po's pace.

"Let's go together, at least. I need to talk to Shifu."

"That's great! Maybe you can help me get into the meeting. Seriously, I haven't seen Shifu or Tigress since this morning."

Side by side, they continued forward to the doors of the scary building. Harsh shadows scarred the face of the meeting hall, encouraging its bristling design. Nightfall was imminent, and Crane knew none of them would get much sleep tonight.

"Say, why did you need to talk to Shifu, anyway?"


A/N:

Thank you for reading to the end of this nearly 5,000(!) word chapter. I understand the degradation of attention that comes from such long chapters, but I re-wrote this so long ago (read: one year) and I couldn't find a way to reasonably break it up. I promise that I will have less arduous chapters in the future.

This chapter is very dialogue heavy, as I wanted to introduce at least a few of the five early on. More characters are coming, and I want to give them each a proper introduction. Having 7 main characters in this fandom is both a blessing and a curse.

Some might be wondering about the tags I chose to use for this story. As for the characters that I chose: I would've put more if I could've. Crane, Shen, Wolf Boss, Po, Viper, and others have large roles, and this story will explore many avenues of the characters' lives. I chose the ones I did because I wanted to tag the story as something I would want to read. I chose the "romance" tag because romance is a large part of the story-but it all relates to the greater story and is never frivolous. I hate shoehorned romantic B stories in movies and TV, and in fanfiction it is often done even worse, so I want to do it right.

As always, I love criticism. HURT ME WITH YOUR WORDS! I am very curious to know if the dialogue works for the characters-I spend hours studying their onscreen mannerisms in pursuit of an accurate reflection. Please let me know if there are any problems with this chapter, and what I can do to improve!