Note: After the third movie
The huge imposing Palace doors opened a crack, their faint sound a resounding echo against the spacious walls.
A familiar dumpling-shaped head peaked a green eye through and scanned the interior.
"You see him?" a soft husky voice whispered.
The green eye retreated. "Nope," a younger and smoother counterpart replied, "I think we're in the clear."
Wasting no time, a panda and wolf nudged the entrance open enough to push through and quickly reclosed it once they entered the main hall, taking care not to slam it.
Their efforts made no difference.
"Care to explain where you two have been?"
Crud. The panda's smile could not look any more plastered on as he and his companion faced their master a little too quickly, startled. "Oh, h-hey Shifu! We were headin' over to our rooms to just rest a bit!" He made a show of stretching his arms with an exaggerated sigh of relief.
Zhong merely nodded, hands at his sides like a perfect solider/student. The amount of how well this posture dispelled suspicion amounted to none judging by the red panda's relentless squint. "Is there something you want from us, Master?"
The way Shifu arched his brow did not sit well with the wolf. Nor did the abrupt calm smile as he neared the pair. "Oh no, not at all. I only worried when I saw the Furious Five return without you and assumed you might be in the infirmary after rescuing the village."
As a former general, Zhong could see the non sequitur for what it was. Shifu sensed something amiss and intended to hunt it down.
Po did not share that experience. "Ah, c'mon, Shifu! It was no big! Just saving the villagers and kicking some bad guy butt as usual."
Zhong grinned and nodded in agreement, ready to take his partner by the hand and get out of there when the worst thing happened: a sneeze went off, one that originated from none of the men present.
Both bear and wolf went rigid.
Shifu's drilling gaze did not help at all. "And what was that?"
Zhong and Po's eyes shifted to each other and then to everywhere except Shifu. True to their classic idiocy, both stammered for an explanation despite knowing the futility.
"Uh..."
"Funny story about that—"
Like an arrow, Shifu's order came swift and true, piercing all excuses before they could even form. "Panda. Wolf. Arms out."
And now they were cornered. Po and Zhong shared a look of defeat and complied, revealing all hands empty. Shifu scrunched his face, unimpressed, and flicked an index finger left and right. "Now step away from each other."
Both bear and canine once again obeyed, moving at a pace slow enough yet fast enough to (hopefully) pass off as natural. Alas, the odd way in which Po hobbled did not escape their master's notice, almost as if he didn't want to risk spreading his legs too far.
A chilling, knowing smile addressed the chubby half of the duo. "Panda. Would you like to share what you and Zhong found?"
Never had the bear felt his stomach sink faster. He briefly caught Zhong's panicked helpless glance and stuttered through a nervous chuckle, "Uh heh, what do ya mean, Shifu?"
As though their conversation were over nothing unusual, Shifu shrugged all too easily. "Well unless your new abilities as the Dragon Warrior entail you becoming an actual dragon, I highly doubt that" – the red panda nodded his head at something behind Po – "should now be part of your anatomy."
Uh oh. With pure dread, Po and Zhong slowly turned their heads and discovered a small scaly gray tail poking out from behind the panda for all to see. Cue the former's awkward grin and the latter's resigned facepalm.
Knowing the jig to be up, Po looked behind himself and murmured in a defeated yet comforting tone, "Sorry, little buddy. Busted."
At this answer, a little grey and white alligator child poked their head from around the bear's leg to peer shyly at the stern-faced red panda, who eyed them and then the two larger mammals with a critical eye. The little one wore a greyish blue Duan Da with darker blue lining, sash, and trousers. Their largish tale swished in small nervous angles not at all dissimilar to how Zhong's own was behaving right now.
"Our apologies, Master," the ex-bodyguard responded in haste, "We found him hiding in one of the barrels the thieves tried to cart off. We asked around and couldn't find his parents anywhere."
Shifu regarded the boy once more, this time with a softer expression.
"No orphanage?" Both panda and wolf shook their heads. Shifu stroked his beard, eyes heavy with consideration and concern. The only available orphanage that came to mind was Bao Gu, but may the dragons strike him down if he dared send this child there. At last, a closed-lipped sigh escaped him. "Considering there are no other crocodiles in the valley, I suppose we could make room here at the Palace."
That decision took Zhong and Po for a loop. Was the old man serious?
"Really, master?" the wolf asked in both incredulity and poorly veiled relief, "You're alright with letting Ru be a permanent resident here?"
When the elder master perked a brow in curiosity, the large canine cleared his throat. "He told us that's his name, by the way."
Shifu nodded. "As I said, no other crocodiles live here so the young one would be quite lonely." Not to mention the negative reputation the species tended to have – not as bad as the one for wolves but still. "Besides, he already seems to have taken a shine to you two, so I trust neither of you have any qualms with this arrangement."
Indeed, the little one seemed keen on clinging to Po's leg and, now that both men noticed, kept sneaking glances to Zhong's paw. Po shared a smile with his mate before the wolf extended said limb towards the child, who took it.
Gold could not compare to the Dragon Warrior's smile. "I think we'll live, Master."
