Author's Note: Yey! Another Chappie! I want to thank everyone who had read and reviewed my story so far, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside :)

I do not own KUNG FU PANDA or any of its characters in any way. Xiao, Ying, and family belong to me. Enjoy!

Chapter 3: Persuasion

Shifu made his way down the dark alleys of Gongmen City. The moon was high overhead and its light illuminated the sky, casting dark shadows across the pavement of the road. Shifu's own shadow was like a dark pool of black ink that followed him wherever he went. He had been able to get to the heart of the city using his Kung Fu stealth, and he was grateful that he hadn't seen any more would-be victims of the wolves patrolling the streets. However as the night dragged on, he noticed that there were less and less of them. They must all be headed for the river, Shifu thought.

But the river was not his destination; it was Gongmen jail, where he hoped to find his remaining students along with Master Storming Ox and Master Croc. Only two hours previous had Xiao, the bunny he had met upon rescuing his family, delivered to Shifu the terrible news to him that not only were the Furious Five in Lord Shen's custody, but that Po had been killed by the murderous peacock.

Anger boiled within the Grand Master like a pot of water over a roaring flame. He refused to allow Shen to take away another of his students, he refused to let Shen win, and the peacock would get his when this was over. Shifu would make sure of it.

On his way to the jail, he had gotten turned around a few times because of how much the city had changed since he had last been there. He had to knock on quite a few doors to ask for directions, but hardly anyone answered. They were just too frightened to open the door to a complete stranger. Not that he could blame them after Shen had let his wolves loose on the city. Finally, after his fifth attempt to get directions, a pig had been brave enough to peek from behind the door and point roughly in the direction of the jail. "About a mile that way on Black Dragon Alley!" He had said hurriedly before slamming the door in Shifu's face.

Shifu took a quick step back in surprise, rubbing his stinging nose in the process. Just what I needed, he thought bitterly. After the pain in his nose had subsided slightly, he turned his head in the direction the pig had pointed. No wonder he had gotten turned around, the jail was in the exact opposite direction he had been looking. This place really has changed, and presently, he found that he didn't like the thought of change.

He traveled in silence towards Black Dragon Alley, all the while wondering why the jail had been moved fairly close to the Kung Fu Academy that resided on the same road. It had been the same academy that he had brought Tai Lung to train with the young Ox all those years ago. Maybe they moved the jail for security reasons, Shifu thought. What better way to make sure the criminals stayed in line, if the greatest Kung Fu Warriors of the city were right down the road? Finally after what seemed like a lifetime getting there, he had made it. He looked up and allowed his eyes to adjust to the darkness of the night so he could read the sign that was hanging from a post above his head.

Gongmen Jail.

But this wasn't Gongmen Jail; it was Gongmen Kung Fu Academy. Or at least, it used to be. Iron bars had been set into the windows and there were heavy-set chains on the main entrance. Shifu could only guess that this was Shen's doing, and he now realized finally what Ying had meant by Kung Fu being outlawed in the city. The peacock had turned a haven of the art of Kung Fu into a prison for those who would seek refuge within its walls. The very thought of it sickened the Grand Master.

Shifu took a second glance to see not wolves, but three gorillas standing guard at the door. His lips pressed together in a frown, I don't have time for this! Forget about being the wise, calm, Kung Fu Master of the Valley of Peace, Shifu was angry! And these apes were either going to let him pass, or he would show himself in! He reached up and undid the ties to his traveling cloak around his neck as he made his way towards the massive guards. One of them caught sight of the small figure quickly making his way towards them, and he alerted his fellow guards.

They each brandished their weapons at Shifu, "Who goes there?" The one with the large sword ordered, blocking Shifu's path.

The Grand Master clenched his fist around his staff while the other tossed his jade-green traveling cloak to the ground behind him, it would only slow him down. He looked the gorilla in the eye with a fury that made the ape flinch once he made eye contact with the small red panda. "You have exactly two seconds to allow me passage, or I will drop-kick your hides well into next year!" Shifu threatened.

The gorilla gave him a puzzled look, while the two guards behind him gave the stranger looks of amusement. None of them however, had the chance to even chuckle at his statement before he sprang! He jumped over the head of the nearest ape, grabbing his stubby ears in the process and flipping him into the air over his head. Combining his forward momentum with the gorilla's huge size, Shifu tossed him at another ape causing both to crash into the stone wall. He had to jump out of the way of a mace that was aimed for his head by the third guard. The Grand Master then ran up the gorilla's arm ready to aim a powerful kick to his skull.

"Ouch!" Master Croc exclaimed as he and Master Ox were listening to the fight beyond the jail doors, "That sounded like it hurt!"

Master Ox nodded but kept his red eyes fixed on the closed door of the jail from which beyond, the sounds of a battle were meeting their ears. There was a loud battle cry followed by shouts of horror and pain.

"AAAAAHHHH!"

The two masters gasped as a massive gorilla was hurled through the door, reducing it to splinters. He fell from the upper platform of the circular chamber and slammed into the ground. The ape groaned in pain from the impact and spat two teeth from his mouth before passing out. The two Kung Fu masters waited with baited breath at the open door; moonlight was shining through the gaping hole. There was total silence, and everything was completely still, except for the gorilla who unconsciously twitched in pain.

"Whose there?" Ox finally shouted at the shattered doorway as the silence dragged on.

"That would be me."

The two masters recoiled in surprise at a very small someone who had appeared in front of their cell door seemingly out of nowhere. He wore a simple reddish burgundy robe with a green sash around his waist. His face was obscured by the rice hat that sat atop his head and his arms were folded behind his back with an oddly shaped staff in his grip.

"Who are you?" Master Croc asked, looking suspiciously at the stranger. Without a spoken word, Shifu removed his hat and the two imprisoned Masters gasped and quickly bowed in respect to their surprise visitor.

"Grand Master Shifu!" Ox exclaimed, while the red panda bowed to the students of his former friend.

"It has been a long time my fellow comrades, since last we met. You've both grown favorably well since then." Shifu had been to Gongmen City over thirty years previous with his adopted son Tai Lung. They had traveled to the city for the fireworks festival as well as train with Master Thundering Rhino and the young Ox. The two boys had instantly headed off with each other, training under their Masters' watchful eyes during the weeks that Shifu and Tai Lung stayed in the city.

Shifu inwardly chuckled to himself at the image of the young boys laughing and playing together as only boys could. Those had been happier, simpler times that Shifu missed dearly. After Tai Lung's imprisonment, Shifu had visited the city again to find that Master Rhino had taken in the young Croc, who had been a former bandit, as his new student who trained alongside Ox.

"Yes," Master Ox stated, "we are glad to see you have stepped up yourself. No one else is more fit for Oogway's title than you Grand Master."

"Agreed!" Said Master Croc. "Our Master was most pleased once he heard that you had inherited Oogway's position at the Jade Palace." His eyes suddenly seemed to lose the brief luster they had had upon seeing Shifu, and his shoulders sagged slightly. Shifu's own ears drooped a few inches; he had to sympathize with these two. They had lost their master and probably felt the same way he himself had felt upon loosing Master Oogway. However, unlike Oogway who had passed peacefully into the next life, Master Thundering Rhino had been taken by the most violent and gruesome means.

Shifu took a quick glance around to the other cells, but already knew that his students were not there. He turned his gaze back towards the imprisoned masters to see that they both had looks of sorrow on their faces. "It pained my heart to hear about your Master's passing, however now is not the time to dwell on such things, we have work to do."

The elderly red panda lifted his hand towards the door. There was a small but clear ting as he simply flicked the door with one of his tiny fingers. There was silence for only a moment before the door creaked and teetered over, hitting the ground with a loud clang. The ox and crocodile stared wide eyed, their mouths agape with amazement at the small master. "Come," Shifu turned and started for the door, "we need to find the Five and get to the river before-" he stopped himself and turned back towards the cell he had just opened; its occupants still inside. "May I ask why you two are still in there? We are short on time." Shifu stated as he gazed at the two young masters before him. He had wondered before why they hadn't broken themselves out earlier, but felt that now was not the time to ask.

"What's the point?" Master Ox asked.

"Excuse me?" Shifu raised an eyebrow.

"If we go to stop Lord Shen, we will only meet our own doom!" Ox faced the tiny master. "The weapon has outmatched every Kung Fu Warrior that has stood against it! Nothing can stop it!"

Shifu's ears lowered slightly, "I highly doubt that."

"You haven't seen it in action have you?" Ox's voice rose and he pointed a hoof at the red panda before him. Master Croc looked worriedly between the two as Master Ox continued his rant. "How could you know how it felt to see your master ready to face the enemy head on, only for him to be dead before you could even blink? You couldn't have felt how helpless you were when you were unable to stop it from happening, and that you could do nothing to save him!" Ox huffed through his nose in anger, but Shifu stayed still and silent.

"We tried to tell your students not to go against Shen or they would only make things worse! And did they listen to us? No! They decided to be heroes! And where are they now? The Dragon Warrior got himself killed, and the Five are set to be executed by the weapon!"

Shifu's eyes widened with shock then they narrowed in anger, "You're telling me that when my students came to free you from jail to stop Shen, you refused to help them?" Shifu didn't shout, or yell, or roar in anger, but his voice cut through Ox's like a knife. "You're telling me that when they themselves were willing to put their lives on the line, you both stayed here to cower in your cell?" Neither Master Ox nor Croc answered Shifu, but he continued to glare at them both with ice in his eyes.

"I can't believe what I've just now witnessed here, Master Thundering Rhino's two prized students, hiding in a hole from the enemy? When hundreds, probably thousands of lives are at risk?" Shifu pointed out the splintered door towards the night enveloped city, "Abandoning the people and disregarding your responsibilities to protect this city is a direct insult to your master's memory and everything he stood for! And by allowing yourselves to give up, you have dishonored him!"

Master Ox scowled at Shifu, "You don't know that!"

"I knew your master long since before the time you were born!" Shifu stated, his voice rising. "And I know for a fact that if he were standing here right now, he would be ashamed of you both!"

That final statement seemed to strike a nerve with the ox and he averted his gaze from the red panda. Master Croc fidgeted with his claws while the tip of his mace-like tail twitched with agitation. Shifu continued to glare at them and he could feel the twitch in his right eye starting up. No longer was Shifu's anger a pot of boiling water, no, it was now a pit of lava that was threatening to burst at any moment.

He closed his eyes in frustration and disbelief as thought after terrifying thought surged through his mind. What would have happened if Ox and Croc hadn't stayed in this cell when his students had come in the first place? Would they have been able to defeat Shen? Would the Five have been spared becoming imprisoned by Shen's forces? Would Po still be alive? The last question seemed to spike Shifu's anger, and it took all the will power he could muster to keep himself from attacking Masters' Ox and Croc.

He had every intention of striking the two down where they stood right there and then; what they had done, or hadn't done, could have turned the tide of their current situation. But how could I know that for sure? Shifu asked himself. How could he have known, how could any of them have known what the outcome would be if Ox and Croc had aided his students in the first place? Things could have changed, yes, but could they have stopped Shen from killing Po?

Shifu gave a small sigh, no, he couldn't blame these two for what had happened at the factory. Nor could he dwell on what could have happened if they had helped. Finally, he opened his steel blue eyes towards them. He was still angry with them, but he could not hold them responsible for Po's death. That alone had been Shen's doing. Suddenly a candle lit in Shifu's mind as an idea occurred to him. He maintained his stern glare at the two masters but lowered his voice so he was no longer shouting.

"Listen, all three of us have lost someone we hold dear to Shen and his weapon; you both have lost your master, while I have lost my student, who was like a son to me." Shifu wasn't the type to admit it aloud to anyone, especially to these two, but if this was going to work, he had to be honest with them. "And I for one would like to see to it that Shen is put in his place." He paused before continuing. "Don't you two want to avenge your master?"

At this statement, both Ox and Croc looked back to the Grand Master; there was a spark, however small, that had ignited in their eyes. Now all Shifu had to do was fan the flames. "Come with me, and help me free the Five, and together we can fight against Shen and bring him to justice." He looked between the two; Master Croc was now standing at his full height, a new hope, rekindled in his green eyes. However Shifu could still see a shadow of doubt over Master Ox's face. It was as if he wanted to fight with every fiber of his being, but something seemed to be holding him back. He looked Shifu in the eye, as if he were looking for something in the aging red panda's gaze.

"Do you think we have a chance?" It was a simple question that Shifu himself was not sure of how to answer. He let the question sink in for a moment before composing his words in the way he thought that they would understand.

"To be completely honest, I'm not sure. I admit that we will be fighting nearly impossible odds, and I can't guarantee that any of us will leave unscathed, or worse." He paused and made sure that both Ox and Croc were looking him in the eye. "But I am sure of this," Shifu stood at his full height, despite his small stature, his staff placed authoritatively by his side, "I am Grand Master Shifu! I will not allow China to fall! I will not yield to Shen, his forces, or his weapons! And I will not lose another student to that murderous tyrant, even if it costs me my life!"

There was dead silence following Shifu's short, but powerful statement, and it seemed that no one dared to breathe. Finally Shifu broke the silence, "Now are you with me or not?"

Master Ox stepped up to the small figure before him and Master Croc followed suit. Ox thrust his hoof forward, with fire in his eyes. "For Master Thundering Rhino!"

Master Croc placed his clawed hand over Ox's hoof. "For Gongmen City!"

Shifu smiled and placed his tiny hand atop Croc's. "For China."

Author's Note: Well I hope you liked it. Originally this scene between Shifu, Ox, and Croc was going to have a bit more comedy in it. But as I was writing it I realized that the humor wouldn't fit with the mood of the story. Anyway, next time the battle will commence and I've made sure that Shifu will be using his AWESOMENESS to kick some major bad guy butt! Please R&R and I'll see ya next time!