Po knew he was missing training, but he just couldn't bring himself to go. For a week, he had read and reread the note that the thief had left in his room. The pendant that had been stolen sat on a pile of valuables that Po had found in his room a week before. They appeared the day Monkey had disappeared without a trace, and Po hadn't told anybody about it. He just couldn't believe what the note said, even with the proof of it being true.

Picking up the letter again, he began to read the now-familiar words.

Po,

Here is your family's pendant, along with everything else that was stolen a few weeks ago. I cannot face you, Master Shifu, or the others. It was I that stole the items, and I am truly sorry. My lack of control has proved that I am not worthy to be the protector of the Valley of Peace, and I shall return from whence I came. I hope that you can forgive me. On the back of this page is each house I stole each item from. Please return them and give them my sincerest apologies. You will not see me again. I beg that you would not look for me. I am better off with my own kind.

Hoping the best for you,

Monkey

Po stared at the page. He couldn't reconcile the careful, talented thief with his friend. He didn't know what to do. He didn't want to tell the others, afraid that they would despise Monkey, but he couldn't keep the secret in his heart anymore. Lying back on his bed, he stared at the gleaming pile, full of gold and gems and the most valuable artifacts from the citizens of the Valley of Peace. Squeezing his eyes shut, he pressed the pads of his paws against his eyes and gritted his teeth.

"Po?"

Po didn't move. Tigress tapped the floor lightly (they couldn't knock on paper after all.) Po sat up and begrudgingly went to slide aside the door. The female warrior scrutinized him.

"You don't look well. Is that why you've missed training?"

Po shook his head, his green eyes troubled. Tigress arched a brow.

"Then why?"

The panda hesitated then stepped aside and gestured to the valuables. Tigress blinked, her mouth opening slightly in surprise. Shaking her head in disbelief, she took several steps inside.

"Where did you get this?"

Po sat down on his bed and picked up the letter, holding it out. Tigress took it, but Po didn't let go.

"I don't understand. But don't hate him, Tigress. Please."

Bemused, Tigress nodded, and Po released the paper. As she read the letter, he stared at the pendant, confused and unsure if he wanted to know the real reason Monkey had stolen. Tigress read the letter four times before it sank in, and she looked up at Po, something strange in her eyes.

"When did this get here?"

"Last week. The day after we last saw Monkey," Po replied, picking at one of his short claws. "I don't understand," he admitted.

"Neither do I," Tigress said tightly.

"Should we tell Master Shifu? And the others?" Po asked, squeezing his eyes shut again.

"We must. Our honor is at stake."

Po sniffled but nodded. "Yeah. I thought so. But how do we tell him?"

"I'll go get him," Tigress said numbly.

The panda sat there staring at the treasure until he heard Shifu's soft, quick steps. He could also pick out Crane's claws clicking on the hardwood floor, Tigress's light but steady gait, and Viper's body sliding across the floor. They appeared in the doorway, their eyes instantly going to the pile of stolen goods.

Mantis, who was sitting on Tigress's shoulder, chirruped in surprise. "I thought you had to be joking," he said, his voice abnormally quiet. Tigress glanced at him, and he shook his head. "I hoped you were joking," he corrected.

"I did, too," Crane admitted.

Viper reared up, her tongue flicking out as she glanced at the morose panda. "Po? Are you okay?"

Po didn't answer, shifting his gaze to Shifu. The master was still, his sharp eyes taking in the proof of what the letter in his hand said. His ear twitched, a sign of irritation from his otherwise stoic demeanor. He took several steps forward and picked up the dragon pendant on top. Shifu's jaw was set.

"Master?" Tigress asked.

"I cannot believe that he would do this," Shifu said, his voice devoid of feeling.

"I can't either," Po agreed, and everybody looked up from the glittering heap, surprised at the darkness in the usually jovial tone.

"Po?" Crane asked uneasily. "Are you okay?"

"Do you expect me to be okay with this?" Po asked, his voice low. "Do you think I'm okay with him stealing from my dad? From anybody?" There was no answer, and tears slid down his furry cheeks. "I looked up to him like I looked up to you guys. I don't know what to think anymore. What should I feel about this?"

There was a long pause before Shifu stepped over to sit beside the panda on his mat. Shifu breathed deeply, his ears laying back against his head. He said nothing for a few moments as the seriousness of the entire situation settled over them like a weight. Everybody stared at the treasures, stolen late in the night by somebody that they thought they had known. Shifu finally sighed.

"Master Oogway told me that Monkey came from a position similar to mine. I didn't realize that he hadn't been cured of whatever vice he had."

Tigress flicked her tail and sat down as Viper coiled herself up, resting her chin on her body.

"What do you mean, Master?" Tigress asked quietly.

Shifu didn't look at any of them. "I used to have a gambling problem. A very big one."

There was a beat of silence before Po glanced at the red panda. "What happened?"

Their master's ear twitched again, but his lips turned up slightly. "Oogway happened. I got in over my head. This was many, many years ago. I was a young man at that time. Oogway told me later that he saw potential in me. That was why he bet against me. That, and I think he knew I would lose much more than our wager should I continue on my way."

"What was the wager?" Po asked.

Shifu sighed. "If I lost the bet, I was to come and work for Oogway for a year. I lost, so I came here to work."

"What made you become a student?" Tigress asked.

"I'm not sure when that happened," Shifu admitted, his grey eyes sparkling. "He continued to wager against me during that year. If I lost, I would have some difficult chore to do or some lesson to learn. If I won, I would receive a privilege." He paused, a relaxed smile coming to his face at the memories, a rare treat for his students. "After a year, I didn't want to leave. I was afraid to go back to my destructive way of life. So, the day came when I was to leave…and I didn't. I stayed day after day, doing my chores, praying that Oogway would not order me to leave. And he never did."

He placed his small paw on Po's enormous one. "Po, I know this is hard to hear, but not everybody had as good an upbringing as you did. And something you must realize is that nobody chooses how they are raised. I was raised in such a way that bred an addiction to gambling. I did not choose that. I never would have. But I didn't get to choose."

Tigress shifted forward, her gaze intense as she nodded. "I did not choose to be an orphan, Po. I did not choose to be feared by everybody, to be unwanted and shunned. But I was."

Po glanced up, sniffling. "It's just really hard to hear him admit it. The way he wrote that…He seems to think that he isn't a good person, that he'll never be okay."

Shifu nodded. "In the middle of an addiction, you think that you won't. I should know." He lowered his head. "This could have been avoided. I never asked Oogway what Monkey's problem was, and then he was gone. And I never asked Monkey either. Obviously, he was not cured as I was. Perhaps he was close, but close wasn't close enough. Everybody has a vice or two. Some you may consider to be better than thievery. But they are all vices."

"Like my eating," Po said.

"Po," Tigress chided. "You're a panda. Pandas need a lot of food."

"Yeah. But sometimes I can't stop eating," Po countered, meeting her gaze. There was a fire in his green eyes. "And if you can't stop doing something even if you want to, I think that counts as an addiction."

There was a pause then Po nodded. "But Shifu is helping me get better. And I think Oogway would be proud of him."

That certainly pleased the red panda, who blinked up at the Dragon Warrior with a surprised smile. "Thank you, Po."

Po smiled then looked back at the pile of gold and gems. "And I think he'd want us to help Monkey, don't you?"

Shifu nodded once. "I do. He is a good monkey, even if he must steal."

"Must?" Tigress asked. "Is that too strong a word? Does anybody have to steal?"

Po looked over at her and arched his brow. "Do you have to train until you can't feel anything? "

The female warrior blinked in surprise. "I…I suppose you have a point," she conceded. "It feels like I must sometimes, even when I don't want to."

"Then," Shifu replied, "you might have an inkling of what Monkey feels when he steals. I'm sure he does not want to. I believe that is why he is no longer here. He has run because he is ashamed, and he does not want to bring more dishonor to our name."

Crane ruffled his feathers. "So what are we going to do?"

Shifu tugged on his beard. "I don't know where Monkey could be. I don't know of his life before the village where Oogway found him. I never asked."

Viper blinked. "So we must go there," she said simply.

"Yeah, maybe somebody there knows where he could be," Mantis said. "I mean, after all the pranks he played, they'd want to know where he came from, right?"

"Even the smallest detail could help us, Master," Tigress said.

"He's from a big city," Po said softly. "Somewhere in the southeast."

Everybody turned to look at him. "How do you know that?" Crane asked.

"His accent is a southeastern one," Po answered. "I have a few cousins from down there, and he sounds like them."

"And the city?" Viper asked.

"He mentioned once how peaceful it was here compared to the place he grew up. And if he is a thief, what better place to steal things than a big city?"

There was silence for a few moments. Then Shifu's ear twitched and he shook his head.

"Po, sometimes I am still astounded by you. Very well, we shall start in the village we know of and ask about any city that Monkey might have mentioned. We leave tomorrow. I shall have the servants prepare for the journey. I will go and get the maps. You all may do as you please. Be up by five tomorrow morning."

"Wait," Po said. "What about…that stuff?" He gestured to the valuables.

Shifu stood and placed his hands in his sleeves. "We shall return them."

"And say what?" Po demanded. "That Monkey did it? They'd never trust him again!"

"No. We say that they were given back to us to distribute and that the thief is very sorry. We shall tell them that he will be dealt with accordingly."

"That's it?" Tigress asked.

"It is enough, and it is the truth. They don't need to know any more than that."

There was no room for argument in his matter-of-fact tone, and he handed Tigress the letter with the list on the back.

"Copy this down in your own writing. Then burn it. Do not let any of the servants see it. Then you will carry the items down and distribute them to the villagers. Answer no questions. Say only what I've told you. Po, let your father know that you will be gone. You may stay the night down there. We shall meet you at the East Bridge tomorrow morning. Try to be prompt."

"Why don't you guys come and have breakfast with my dad and me?" Po suggested, a small smile on his face.

"That sounds perfect," Shifu said. "I shall see you tomorrow. Now, go."

Po pulled out a pack and began to shovel the treasures into it. Tigress went to copy down the list, and Crane, Viper, and Mantis began to load other packs.

"How did he steal all of this stuff?" Mantis asked when Shifu's soft footsteps faded.

"He must be very good," Viper sighed. "I wish he would have told us."

Po shrugged. "We don't talk about our childhoods. I don't know anything about you and Mantis, Crane. And Viper, you and Tigress have only told us small details. It's just not something we talk about."

Viper's tongue dashed out to taste the air. "Maybe we should."

The panda glanced at her and nodded. "Yeah. That's what I think."

They went silent as they packed up the treasure, lost in their thoughts. Each one of them wondered where Monkey was and what he was doing at that moment.