A/N: Since I've started to post a little more irregularly now - feel free to re-read past chapters and refresh stuff! Even I had to do that from time to time...
Also WOOOT 200 reviews. Crazy. I don't say it enough but - thanks to everyone reading now. Y'all are the best. :D
kk I'm gonna stop blushing on with the fic!
"Permanently Past-Tense"
He breathed heavily, chest wheezing against his deep sighs. For the most part, Po was anticipating something worse - as if his mind would start to break, or his body seize upon itself - but the deep breaths just kept coming back, haunting the large panda with ferocious noises.
Po paced in his room, kicking idle objects and scrolls around the floor in stress. It hurt him immeasurably to leave the Dining Mess like that, but he couldn't bear to be there a second longer - watching that panda…
… his father?
No, Po refused. My dad's… dead…
It couldn't be processed yet. All he knew is that talking with Li any more would -
"Son."
Damn it, Po immediately responded internally.
The large panda - well, the smaller large panda - swiveled around to see an even bigger panda standing at Po's bamboo doorway. Li Shan appeared morose yet disarming, yet Po didn't feel comfortable with him in the room.
"I understand how you must feel," Li spoke, deep tones falling on Po's ears. "The others told me not to visit but…"
Li walked closer, smiling gently at Po. "If you want me to leave - I can do that."
Po held the panda's gaze for a while. He observed his clothing - clearly village robes, and a bit worn down. There was even a massive, almost obstinate sense of style that Li had attempted to force onto his leg in the form of a band. A straw hat completed the outfit, making the larger panda almost alien-like to Po.
"You - you never tried to find me?" Po wheezed out, shaking slightly. "After - all - this - time?"
Li gulped, moving his head down. "After Shen destroyed my - well, our - village… I ordered your mother to send you as far away from us - as possible."
"To protect me," Po understood - yet not at all satisfied.
Li nodded slowly, almost as if waiting for Po's affirmation. "Yes - and when news came that you - had already been taken in by someone - Mr. Ping…"
"You didn't want to butt in and start a fuss," Po again completed, tears threatening the tip of his eyes. "I - I understand…"
The reality of the situation was that Po could predict pretty much most of Li's responses and reasoning - he just had no idea how to tackle those feelings other than start a vicious cycle of crying, getting angry at Li, understanding his viewpoint, then getting angry again. It was unfair to Li.
Yet Po had the feeling numb through him.
"I love you, son," Li forced now, hugging Po over the shoulders with a gentle grip.
And although Po didn't quite believe it yet, he was determined to try.
"I love you Dad. Thanks for finding me."
. . .
"My goodness - how long do we have to wait for these things?"
"Lots of time," Alf reiterated, groaning as he stood with Wang in the center of the large amphitheater - waiting for the unusually empty courtroom to proceed with the trial. "There's usually more people though…"
Alf was genuinely confused. Most of the times he had been summoned to trial, the amphitheater was packed - just hordes of citizens waiting for the moment where the Grand Council could finally "indict" Alf. Now there were just rows and rows of empty wooden seats, centered on a small podium where Alf stood, waiting for the Grand Council to make their appearance in front of him - on the green, dragon-embellished podium of their own. At the very least, the Seeker was happy that none of the Five, Shifu, or Po had been dragged into it miraculously - Alf was in particular concerned that Po should be given lots of free time alone, given all the crazy events that had just occurred.
"When do these um - Grand Council members make their appearance?" Wang asked in curiosity, staring at the empty green podium in front of Alf.
"Who knows…" Alf sighed in exasperation.
Wang shot the Seeker a bemused smile. "It must wear on you."
"What, the trials?" Alf returned with a smirk, captivated by Wang's thick mane. "Nah - you get used to…"
"I mean everything," Wang noted. "The trials. The double looks. The constant attention…"
"Yeah well," Alf sighed, groaning. "Like I said - you get used to it…"
"It's gotten worse after Shen, hasn't it?" Wang deduced astutely. "I can imagine how a random Seeker just bursting into existence and defeating an overlord peacock would go down…"
Alf felt a bolt of inspiration hit him, suddenly turning to Wang. "You - I don't know if you know this but - I'm the one who wrote all those - "
"The letters, I know," Wang smiled, as Alf grinned back joyfully. "I'm - sorry I had to keep you in the dark for so long… we, the Yongshi - had to make sure you were real."
Alf really didn't care about any excuses - he was just happy to have been remembered.
"The last time we spoke via letter two years ago," Wang started, ruffling his whiskers. "You seemed much more interested in your past."
Alf chortled, thinking back on all the hours and sleepless nights that Yu and himself had spent, particularly when Shen was still around - all in pursuit of finding Alf's history.
"Yeah, I gave up on that stuff," Alf huffed, shaking his head. "At some point - I dunno. Just realized I might never figure out what my past was…"
Wang smiled, almost knowingly. "What if I told you there was a way to find out?"
Alf raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"What if there was a way to change your life - and find out who you really are?" Wang offered gently.
Alf grew more interested. He was struggling to repress all those feelings two years ago - the sense of isolation from everyone else, not knowing who he was, the frustration of not finding anything - he just didn't want to end up disappointed again.
"What are you saying, exactly?" Alf queried, shooting a nervous yet hopeful glance at Wang.
The huge lion merely smiled again. "Perhaps now is not the best time, and I am not the best person to suggest but - talk to Tigress."
Alf almost cackled, wondering how she was relevant. "About what?"
"She'll know what I'm talking about," Wang offered gently. "After she tells you the thing - you might want to discuss it with anyone you care about. I hear the fox is your girlfriend?"
Alf smiled, mind quickly flashing back to all the nights spent under the starry sky, on Yu and his boulder just on the outskirts of the Valley - kissing under the warm blanket of night.
Good memories.
One of the few things that kept him going.
Her.
Always.
"Yeah," Alf simply agreed, smiling to himself.
"Good to see you making a halfway decent life for yourself - even under such… treacherous conditions for Seekers…" Wang mouthed off.
Alf wanted to press more questions, but was distracted by the thunderous clap of wooden doors opening roughly to the side - as three grandmasters made their way to the elevated green podium in front of Alf: a sheep, an ox, and a rhino, all wearing regal golden garments. A small, nervous scribe followed close behind them - taking a seat next to Alf as he waited to start writing down everything.
The grandmasters sat down with a flourish, as the sheep began to speak. Wang took the opportunity to sit down next to Alf, keen on observing.
"Case recurrence: 190," Grandmaster Chung noted, making a small mark on her scroll. "Grandmasters…"
"Blah blah blah," Alf cut across in boredom, trying to resolve this as quickly as possible so he could go back to the Five and Shifu, to talk about the mysterious Kai. "You all hate me - and I hate you. Blah blah."
"IGNORANT FOOL!" the ox - Grandmaster Sing - roared. "ONLY SPEAK WHEN SPOKEN - "
"He's right, please simmer down Judge Sing," the rhino - Grandmaster Wei Ling - let out in irritation. "We've done this enough times where we can skip the I hate you, you hate me routine…"
Alf felt pleased - having a judge agree with him (even on how much they all hated him) sounded good. Even Wang chuckled beside him.
Sing sat down reluctantly as the sheep Chung continued questioning.
"A recent report indicated that you've been harboring a wanted criminal named Zhong," Chung noted, emphasizing yet another predictable line of inquiry as Alf groaned. "Scribe - could you please read the charges against former Commander Zhong?"
No matter how many times he had heard it, Alf still was surprised by the "commander" title - hard to believe that just two years ago, Zhong and Alf were basically trying to kill each other.
"Zhong, wolf - " the scribe let out in squeaky tones, adjusting his glasses in anxiety. "Primary murder. Primary genocide. Primary betrayal of Chinese loyalty. Known associate with the late warlord Shen. Committed thousands of killings, burnings, executions…"
"Yeah he was a bad guy," Alf cut across, feeling uneasy every time he heard this. "He's changed."
"And how can you be so sure of that, Mr. Ping?" Chung shot quickly, pursing her lips. "If it were not for Grandmaster Shifu's plea for the wolf's forgiveness two years ago - a plea that was given very reluctantly - if I might add… we technically have the right to sentence him to death."
Alf shuddered, completely at a loss - yet also quite understanding. On papyrus, Zhong's charges seemed utterly terrifying - genocide, murders, killings… yet it would take an especially inquisitive soul to find out the real wolf underneath it all, and the amount of pain and suffering Zhong had gone through in his life - the amount of history in Zhong's battle-scarred face and reluctant, shy personality. It was all hidden under a past that followed him everywhere, and a hatred of authority that never seemed to help his case.
Alf could understand it - he lived through some of the same things - but he doubted anyone else would.
"Mr. Ping?" Chung asked again, breaking the Seeker's thought process.
"He's not - ugh," Alf didn't even know how to defend this. "Listen - I know it may be hard to believe but - he's not the same guy. He's - he's trying to get a job, trying to find a place to rent, trying to move on…"
"You have any legal documentation of this?" Chung asked, but was immediately pulled away as Grandmaster Wei Ling leaned into her ear - whispering something that was unintelligible to Alf. "Hmm… very well, Mr. Ping, you're dismissed for now."
Alf was taken aback. "What? What about - "
"We have some more pressing matters to deal with," Chung wrapped up quickly, standing up as the ox and rhino stood up beside her. They, along with the confused scribe, trounced away and back down the open hallway behind the podium - faint voices carrying gently.
"Send a detachment out at once… we cannot have foreigners so easily breach the Valley's defenses…"
Wang smiled at Alf, standing up. "They're talking about my men."
Alf shot him a quizzical look. "What? Your men? Wait -"
"They should have arrived at the Valley right about two hours ago," Wang noted, watching the three grandmasters disappear down the long hallway. "Was wondering when the local government would take notice… guess that's my cue too."
And without a single further explanation, Wang strolled off behind Alf - making his way to the equally large brown doors that opened into the Valley of Peace.
The Seeker stood there annoyed - for perhaps the millionth time in his life feeling confused as all hell.
"Mr. Ping?"
Alf swiveled - almost not understanding who it was until he saw the face.
A nervous yet happy female jackal - just shorter than Alf - smiled at him. "Soo Lin, sir - remember? From the Chinese Daily…"
"Yeah I remember who you are - you were there at my last trial, right?" Alf recalled, earning a happy giggle from Soo Lin. "I'm sorry and while I'd love to hear about your guys' think tank - I've really gotta be going on…"
Alf wanted to desperately get back to the Palace. There were so many questions - like why the rest of the Yongshi had just now showed up, why Wang was so insistent on going right now…
...and what the hell was the lion talking about "asking" Tigress about something?
Was Alf playing wingman?
The Seeker chuckled, entertaining the idiotic thought for a brief second.
"Actually I just wanted to ask about your comments on the Revolver's existence?" Soo Lin asked.
Alf felt his breath seize up, staring at the jackal hard in the face. Although he wasn't showing it, a spurt of shock had run through him - the question was so specific, so piercing, so accurate in its description that Alf was too taken aback to answer at first.
"I - I dunno what you're talking about," Alf forced a lie, having yet another issue to tackle once he was back in the Palace. "How - what the hell - how did you come up with that?"
Soo Lin turned around, pointing at the large, furry back of a retreating lion.
"That nice gentleman informed me of it a few hours ago," Soo Lin noted, turning back to a shocked Alf. "I just had to get your comments on it…"
Alf was incredibly pissed off.
The Revolver was a complete, and utter secret.
He doubted whether even some of Gongmen's witnesses could remember it.
Shifu had deliberately hidden it.
Had deliberately and proverbially locked it up, and thrown away the metaphorical key.
How in the hell did Wang know?
Why in the Scrolls would he reveal such sensitive information to this annoying, scummy journalist?
"So, is that no comment or…" Soo Lin started, bringing out a papyrus and quill.
"Screw off," Alf shoved past the offended jackal, not caring as she began hastily scribbling down as he left in pursuit of Wang.
And Alf knew, perhaps - that tomorrow would come to bite him in the behind.
. . .
"So - as you can see here," Wang noted, making a small clip of notes on top of the table. "Kai is a warrior - an old brother-in-arms of Oogway - they trained the same styles."
To the Furious Five's shock, Wang's guest room in the Palace was literally stuffed to the brim with complex evidence that the Yongshi had painstakingly collected and coerced out of people - eyewitness testimonies of a massive bull with chain blades, Chinese literature that proved the connection between Kai and Oogway, along with pragmatic reports of the mysterious "chi" that the pandas were supposed to have mastered - and to Po's relief, Li had not been invited to these conversations.
At least not yet.
Wang had publicly estimated that Kai's arrival to the Jade Palace would be very soon. It would be literally just days - and according to Wang, even with the reinforced members of the Yongshi who had just arrived at the outskirts of the Valley, it wouldn't be enough to completely stop Kai. Worse still, the green "zombies" that everyone had been fighting earlier had appeared to disappear without a trace - Crane couldn't find a single piece of the Badger Twins, much less the other masters that had been "jombified" - as Po put it. Wang had guessed it to be some kind of magic power that Kai had from the Spirit Realm.
With the gravity and immediacy of the threat and the undeniable hordes of evidence, the Five, Shifu, and Po sat in corners of the guest room - Wang observed them all as they poured over the papyrus, scrolls, books, and mini-library in the guest room - all of them desperately trying to find out more about Kai's weaknesses, and how to stop the warrior bull.
What definitely didn't help was Wang's reluctance to answer how much of a warrior he himself was - sure he was larger than Po, and far more muscular, and far more intimidating - but there had not been a single instance where Wang had shown any combat skills, and Shifu wasn't even sure whether the Yongshi were warriors or merely messengers and scholars. Wang had been as closed off as a brick, preferring to wait until the rest of his "men" got to the Palace.
And in sharp contrast to everyone sitting down, studying Kai-based literature - Tigress stood alone, leaning against a wall.
Wang sighed as her orange eyes glared him down. On Tigress' end, she was very upset that Wang had elected yet again to not mention the connection between the Seekers and Kai - a fact that she felt was extremely important to bring up. Yet Wang had casually left this part out, and Tigress didn't know why she couldn't just bring herself to shout it out… perhaps decency, perhaps a partial non-belief in Wang, but mostly just uncertainty.
"You prick."
For once, Tigress was happy to see Alf swear.
The Seeker strode in angrily - much to Shifu, the Five, and Po's confusion - walking directly to Wang to spit harsh words.
"This prick told the entire world about the Revolver!" Alf bellowed, chest heaving.
"Calm down boy!" Shifu forced, standing up on his staff. "Show some respect towards our guest!"
Yu had casually just strolled into the guest room - obviously awakening from a deep nap. She wasn't even remotely interested in going to the meetings - much unlike Zhong, who wished he could go but was always barred by Shifu.
The fox shot everyone confused looks from behind her orange dress. "What's everyone mad about?"
"Wait - the Revolver's missing?" Viper asked, a hint of fear in her voice.
"What the hell this guy LEAKED OUR DEATH WEAPON!?" Crane beckoned.
The rest of the Five looked to each other in confusion, as Shifu tried to pacify them with commanding remarks. Tigress was similarly angry, but was also pleased that she had found another concrete reason to hate Wang.
The huge lion however - simply waved off the complaints. Po, Shifu, the Five - and even Alf - stood in silence, awaiting his response.
"I had my reasons," Wang simply noted.
A pause.
More pause.
"That's it!?" Mantis let out, hopping onto Po's shoulder with a confusing tone. "YOU HAD YOUR REASONS TO LEAK A WEAPON THAT COULD GET INTO THE HANDS OF OUR ENEMIES?!"
"Yes, I did," Wang responded softly, yet the voice was so deep and stern that it almost shocked Mantis into complacency. "For now - why don't you all try working on stopping Kai - I have some errands to run."
And Alf got even more frustrated as Wang passed by him, offering him a gentle smile - almost as if the whole subject of leaking sensitive information had been "solved" already.
"Do ask her about what I told you," Wang offered, pointing at a freshly enraged Tigress.
"What the hell is he talking about Alfie?" Yu cooed sarcastically, leaning against his shoulder.
"Don't call me that," Alf spat back, irritated by helpless to resist Yu as she pulled him into a disarming hug.
. . .
"Stay away from him."
Wang turned around in the moonlight, incredibly confused. There was only one person who would be bold enough to follow him, even anticipate his meditation hours just on the outskirts of the Jade Palace Courtyard. Wang had chosen nighttime exclusively for the solace it provided - everyone was supposed to be sleeping, even Master Shifu. And after such a long day of researching Kai's background, going over perhaps hundreds of scrolls, and talking so many strategies to each other - everyone should be completely out for the night.
All except one.
Tigress.
Her orange eyes flickered dangerously - as if she would start punching Wang in a second. She ran up to his side, glaring as she paced on the aged black symbols on the Courtyard floor, light breezing wafting through her fur and golden attire.
"I don't understand," Wang tried to evade.
Tigress tilted her head to the side, snarling. "Don't ever talk to him again."
"You seem to be making no effort to," Wang forced, growing irritated as well. "You still haven't told him, have you?"
"I don't trust you," Tigress spat, walking closer to the considerably larger lion. "Heh - hearing about you leaking the Revolver…"
"Oh for Scroll's sake - grow up!" Wang bit, harshly annoyed now. "Look around you!"
Wang pointed through the twin wooden gates of the Courtyard - leading down a steep flight of stairs that emptied into the brilliant, shining Valley of Peace - tall buildings, twisted spires of factories, a huge residential community, decorations, bustling activity - nothing like the Valley of Peace Tigress had grown up in.
"The world has changed since Shen!" Wang spat. "China has changed since Tai Lung and that damn peacock!"
"So?!" Tigress argued back.
Wang struggled to compose himself. "Argh - let go of it, okay? The whole Jade Palace and their secret Seeker, their secret weapon, their secret…"
"We protect things that could fall into the wrong hands," Tigress fiercely countered, pacing away from Wang in anger. "You leaking the Revolver to some random journalist… proves you clearly don't protect things - like loyalty, secrecy, and trust… now all of China's scum knows how to manufacture a death weapon…"
"No!" Wang roared back, fully disdainful of her logic. "Now the Valley guard forces - and I'm hoping the rest of China - will be able to have a leg up, technologically! The design I leaked will HELP the rest of the world adapt to bigger enemies! Bigger foes like Kai! And we need all the help we can get!"
"That doesn't excuse the fact that you betrayed our trust," Tigress let out through gritted fangs, balling her paws into fists. "You failed to protect us too - from the gigantic backlash that the Valley'll put on us - another secret, another trial - as if Annabelle didn't have enough trouble already…"
"Ah so that's why you're irritated, hmm?" Wang reasoned sarcastically, raising an eyebrow at Tigress. "Me leaking the weapon could lead to a call for the boy's - execution?"
The dialogue irritated Tigress again. She spun around. "I couldn't give a flying bean bun about what happens to Alf."
"Indeed," Wang countered with complete sarcasm. "You care so little about him that you're preventing him the chance to actually have a life for once."
"What, a life with your idiotic cult of morons?" Tigress observed, cackling in disrespect. "I'm just trying to make sure the headline - Seeker death linked to Yongshi - doesn't come up in the news scrolls - and make the Jade Palace and my father look bad."
Wang chuckled, pursing his lips as he heaved a deep sigh. "You tell yourself whatever lie you want - but I know the truth."
Tigress groaned, walking yet again in annoyed paces - kicking idly at dust. "Truth, truth, truth he says…"
"Whatever - misplaced sense of protectiveness you're having for him right now," Wang emphasized. "It's keeping your head from ruling over your heart."
"I already told you… " Tigress began dangerously, fangs showing now. "... I… don't…. care... "
"If you don't care about what happens to him so much, then tell him!" Wang bellowed, deep tones easily overpowering even Tigress' ferocious voice. "Tell him to get lost! Tell him that the Yongshi want him, that the Valley hates him, that everyone arounds him cares so little about him - as you keep trying to insist!"
Wang inched his face closer to Tigress'. "I assure you - it will all be nothing he wouldn't have already deduced by now - by six years of living in this bigoted city."
Tigress took a moment to restrict the urge to punch Wang into oblivion. She calmed herself, staring back at him with a cool, detached gaze.
"I don't trust you," Tigress stated coolly. "It has nothing to do with what I want for Alf."
Wang sighed, pinching his fingers near his eyebrows as he shook his massive mane.
"In a few days the rest of the Yongshi will arrive," Wang forced. "I will then start to run out of patience - with Kai approaching and the Seeker threat…"
"Which you still haven't told anyone about," Tigress spat.
"... my patience will run even lower than it usually is," Wang cut across, not even missing a breath. "Tell him about my offer Tigress - before it's too late."
She watched him walk away.
"The hell is that supposed to mean?!"
A/N
Yeah - the past - always catches up?
I wanted to show how full circle a lot of the things were. With Shen, with Po's dad, with Alf's past struggles to find out his history, etc etc etc. Lots of continuity here!
If you're wondering why Tigress dislikes Wang so much, while everyone puts up with his mysteriousness, it's because of two things:
-She's not afraid of him like everyone else - even Shifu - is. Check out his physical description - larger than Po, muscular, thick mane, etc. etc. But Tigress isn't so easily silenced.
-She doesn't like the way Wang is hiding info (like the Seeker ships coming to this world) or being so indirect. Alf probably hates him for the same reason - he clearly knows something about the Seekers, his past, and everything connected - yet he's being so slow and deliberate with his info, it's pissing everyone off.
And that's pretty much it. Stay tuned!
And no - I haven't forgotten about Omega or Kai. :D
Support. Wow. Done. Amazing. :D
~TW
P.S: There won't be many Kai-focused scenes until his inevitable arrival at the Jade Palace - however, that's coming up close so expect more of our favorite Seeker-ally/secretly wants to kill him.
