It was just another typical day at the Jade Palace; and naturally, Master Mantis had been happily minding his own business with his own typical, harmless, Mantis affairs. He'd trained a bit, had a bit of lunch, done a bit of calligraphy, coddled over his precious set of acupuncture needles again...and of course, shared a few nice words with his beloved and trusted family in arms.

He hadn't thought anything of it! It had been a beautifully peaceful day as far as he'd been concerned. Nothing out of the ordinary had come to pass, all was perfectly well, and everything had been going his way! Which was precisely why he'd been completely and utterly flabbergasted by the extremely unpleasant surprise that had next destroyed such a glorious day! And for what purpose!? He still hadn't a hint!

"WHAT is your PROBLEM!?"

Mantis turned in alarm at the all-too-familiar voice, to lay eyes upon none other than his closest, dearest, and most important friend - or, the one who had held that position, for a time - Master Monkey. The obviously enraged ape cast a deadly glare across the room, which left his decided opponent frozen in fearful shock for a brief moment.

Oh, um, did I say fearful? Oh no. No. Scratch that, my bad. No matter what the danger, Master Mantis always remained headstrong and fully prepared to dodge every obstacle! Fearless was more like it! Yeah!

So after the brief moment of fearless shock in response to his unfortunate ex-bestie's confrontation, the insect then quickly regained his composure, and cleared his throat for a much more dignified response. "Monkey? I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about! What's going on!?"

"Oh, don't play dumb!" his aggressor continued with a nasty scowl. "I know you attacked my boyfriend! Po came to me in tears over what you did to him! How could you be so cruel all because I found someone that I care about way more than I ever cared about you!?"

Mouth agape at such a disastrously false accusation, Mantis didn't even know what to think! He choked on his next words, desperate to clear his name. "There must be a misunderstanding, I never-! Attack Po!? You really think I'd- Monkey, I know you hate me now, but surely you can't actually believe I'd do something like that!? That's crazy!"

"Pssht! I'd believe Po over you any time, any day! You might as well save your breath! It smells like rotten flies, anyway." The satisfied simian then swiveled around to take his leave, but not before his flustered ex-friend gave one last attempt to set the ridiculously confusing mess straight again.

"Monkey! Wait! Please! Can't we talk about this!?"

At the plea, Monkey swiftly turned to look back, sending a final, stabbing glare to the other master. He spat, "No! In fact, I never want to speak to you again! You're dead to me! Now leave me, and my boyfriend, alone! Forever!"

And with that, he coldly disappeared from the scene, leaving a crestfallen, confused, betrayed, and wrongly convicted Master Mantis alone to ponder the tragic biddings of the univ-

"Oh, COME on! He did not say that." Master Viper interjected her comrade's dramatic story with a hiss and a rather reprimanding look. She and Mantis sat just opposite one another in Viper's room, as yet another colorful session of 'therapeutic discussion' took place.

Taken aback, Mantis opened his mouth, fully prepared to rebut; but naturally, he stopped short. Then with a sigh of overwhelming defeat, he hung his head. Embarrassment graced a frustrated mien when he lifted it again to meet his friend's gaze.

"Well, it sure felt like it," he reluctantly mumbled.

Viper only rolled her eyes. "Mantis..." She gathered her thoughts in an attempt at both correction and understanding. "I know you're upset...and as your friend, I respect your feelings." She paused. "But they don't give you permission to be a jerk, or, twist reality to throw yourself a pity party."

If the insect was shocked before, he had absolutely no means of describing the state he was now in. Jaw dropped, he struggled to find a response.

"I-I... Excuse me, what?" he yawped.

The serpent blinked before she raised an eyebrow knowingly. Almost instantly, Mantis shrunk away, mouth clamped shut. And after a moment, he sighed...again.

"Ugh, I know, okay! I just," he continued in exasperation. "I want my friend back."

Softening ever so slightly at the words, Viper held her tongue just a little longer still. She was no stranger to how unbearably childish her teammate could be sometimes - indeed more often than not, his companionship was more like that of a full-time kid brother; though despite his ridiculous ways, nothing could mask the honesty in his voice, nor the pain in his eyes. So, for now at least, the sisterly snake opted to put her more berating side to rest.

Quietly, she took a breath.

Then she tilted her head. And with gentle concern, she asked, "What makes you so sure you don't have him anymore?"

Eyes wide, Mantis blinked up at her rather pitifully before attempting his next reply. As he gathered his words, he averted his gaze again, and a faint flush of dark green crept over his face.

"I... Viper, I think I really messed up this time," he finally admitted, chin tucked down sheepishly.

Gentle concern was very quickly replaced by surprise: azure eyes wide, Viper glanced to her right and left quickly before slithering in closer, and taking care to lower her voice.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding," she hissed, barely above a whisper but every bit as scolding as her tone only moments past. "What on earth did you do now?"

The tiny one flinched, both from the bite in his therapist's voice and the simple fact that deep down, he knew good and well how much he deserved it, and even more. Nonetheless, the short burst of panic that followed sent him just about stumbling over himself in a desperate attempt of explanation.

"I-I didn't do anything! I-I mean-I just-Po was just-agGHH!" Realization suddenly glistened in Viper's eyes at the words.

She shook her head as she held her tail up in-between them. "Okay, stop!" She then demanded answers. "So, this is about Po? Did you seriously attack him!?"

"What!? No!" He immediately retorted. Then he paused. "Um. Well. Not technically."

After a quick few seconds of dumbfounded staring, Viper dropped her head down in exasperation. Shortly, she lifted herself back up to continue her interrogation. Which, quite frankly, was steadily growing even more frustrating than cold rocks on an overcast day. That bug was lucky she loved him more than his flaws.

She calmly spoke. "Why don't you tell me what really happened, then?"

And we return, to that lovely little morning, in which all was governed by peace and sincerity. A ray of sunshine cascaded down through the puffy, white clouds amongst the rest of the day's undeniable glory, and conveniently of course, reaching toward the earth's grassy surface as it fell directly over the universe's one and only Dragon Warrior.

Master Panda stood elated and proud in his natural spotlight, the brightest of smiles upon his face in an all-too-complimentary fashion. And to top it off, just above and behind him, a vivid arch of many colors stretched plainly across the sky, beckoning one to gaze juuuust a little deeper to spot the magical sparkles that so charmingly adorned it.

With a dainty skip, Po began to frolic.

Over the flush, green hills and onward he frolicked, as he approached the Jade Palace grounds, though he did not stop until his jovial little stroll led him straight to the very location that one of its bravest and most beloved warriors had chosen for a pleasant morning training session.

Which Po, of course, did NOT hesitate to interrupt.

"Why HELLO, Mantis!" he called out in an overbearingly chipper tone.

It was certainly no accident. Nevertheless, Master Mantis remained as kind and benevolent as always! Politely, he paused from his diligent routine to face the bear with a welcoming smile. (If any parts of said smile were not one hundred percent genuine, it was simply due to the slight discomfort brought on by Po's complete and utter disregard of personal boundaries.)

The insect replied, "Ah, good morning, Po. What brings you here today?"

"Ohhhhhh nothing!" Po said. He paused for a moment, gently rocking his weight back and forth in an innocent little pose, with a smile sweet as honey cakes. Then, he boldly continued. "I was just thinking about how totally AWESOME it is that I stole your one and only best friend from you and turned him GAY for me! And now we're having the time of our lives being GAY as heck!"

"...Okay FINE it didn't happen like that!"

Viper, whose expression had only grown increasingly unamused over the course of her comrade's so very delightful tale, suddenly widened her eyes in a bright and shameless display of feigned ignorance. "Gosh! You don't say."

The bug flinched.

After which he tucked his face down a bit with a soft groan, and an attempt to hide behind one of his claw-thingies. Viper softened rather quickly at the action, then took to looking around her room at the smooth textures of wood and paper for even a hint of the stillness she'd found herself in significantly shorter supply of here in recent times.

"I'm sorry." She spoke up again once she'd settled back into her naturally intuitive rhythm. "I didn't mean to upset you. I must ask, though... When exactly do you plan on telling me the truth?"

Mantis remained silent.

Carefully, the snake continued, "I know it can be hard admitting to mistakes...but Mantis, it's truly the only way we can put them behind us and move forward to greater understanding and acceptance. You are capable of these things!"

Still, nothing. Viper sighed.

"Or of course, we could just wait and have this discussion when you're feeling a bit more up to taking it seriously," she added.

"I don't wanna wait!"

"Alright. Are you going to talk to me, then?"

"Yes."

"Honestly?"

"...Yes."

With a soft breath of relief, she replied, "Thank you."

A few more seconds of quiet brought Mantis to finally lift his face up again. Though his posture remained on the sheepish side, he took the opportunity to clear his throat and attempt a little more confidence with his next words.

"So, where do I start?" he asked.

"Wherever you like." Viper answered plainly. The newfound sincerity in her friend's voice was as relaxing as a cup of warm jasmine tea, and almost instinctively sent the serpent settling down into a cozy coil across from him. "Though, the beginning would be nice."

Sweetly, she smiled.

"So uh, you gonna tell me what's been going on, or...?"

Monkey almost seemed frozen for a few seconds after the question. It was direct, to the point, and most importantly, completely unavoidable. Of course, he'd known exactly what he was getting himself into the second he'd let it slip to Viper.

So without further ado, he cleared his throat, and took a breath in preparation to answer.

"Ah, M-Mantis!" he said. Before continuing, he straightened his posture. And with the next blink, blue eyes widened a bit. "You...still don't know?"

"Um. No?"

"...Right."

"Gotta tell ya though - LOVE how everyone else seems to know! Everyone but me - Mantis - your best friend! Care to explain that one?"

"I-I..." the other master choked a bit. "Look, I know I've been avoiding you..."

"Thanks for clarifying," the bug interrupted dryly.

Monkey froze again as a bit of color rose to his cheeks.

He continued in a tone now laced with guilt. "Mantis, I'm trying to apologize."

Usually, this kind of sincerity was all it took to iron out things between the two friends. Today, however, Mantis was not looking for sincerity. He wanted answers.

"You can do that after you tell me why you've been avoiding me."

The simian's chest rose and fell with a quiet, defeated sigh. He lowered his gaze for a second, and with humility, he nodded.

"Alright," he began shortly. "I know my word doesn't mean much at this point, but...Mantis, I wanted to tell you about this sooner. Truly, I did. But... I didn't know how to. And I still don't really know how to say it. So I guess I'll just be frank." He lifted his face back up, and braced himself. "I'm dating Po."

Mantis couldn't deny that he was finding it somewhat hard to believe.

It had been a little over a week since he'd finally confronted his best friend, demanding an explanation to the infuriatingly cryptic chain of events that had unfolded in the few days prior to his decision. He'd of course been, the last to know the true reason behind Monkey's blatant avoidance of close interaction with anyone other than Po; and while it had indeed left him in a rather conflicted state of mind, the biggest of his concerns had less to do with the truth, and everything to do with the fact that his own best friend had kept it from him for this long.

He was hurt.

...And perhaps a little uncomfortable.

Admittedly, this outcome was not one he had seen coming, nor one he'd felt particularly inclined to welcome with open arms. Especially not when the questions he'd found himself asking next had only left him even more lost than before.

His mind instantly traveled back to it, crystal clear as cricket song on a cloudless night.

"OKAY, okay, WOW! You literally almost killed me with that one!" It had taken Mantis nearly five minutes to calm down from his laughing fit. All the while, Monkey had only grown more and more annoyed with the inevitable reaction, and donned the expression to prove it. Rolling onward through the deflating hysterics, Mantis continued. "Y'know that ALMOST makes me accept your apology! Like right on the spot! And just when I was so freakin' worried that you'd changed! Oh man!" He giggled. "Dating Po! Gimme a couple more like THAT and-"

"It's not a joke, okay!?"

"What?"

With flushed cheeks and a rather disgruntled sound, the ape rolled his eyes and leaned back on his haunches as he looked away. "I knew you'd act like this. This is exactly why I didn't have any idea how to tell you!"

"Wait, you're...you're mad!?" Silence. "You're not kidding."

Monkey glanced over at him again.

"No. I'm not."

Mantis blinked, eyes now wide with stunned surprise. "Wow. Okay."

"Mantis..."

"What!? What'd I say?"

Viper had to laugh at this point, though she stifled it as best she could. Then she carefully gathered her words, and leaned just an inch or so more into their shared space. Softly, she said, "Nothing, it's just... When I said, the beginning, I kinda meant...y'know...the beginning of the current situation. Not the stuff you told me last week." She quickly added. "But thank you, for your honesty. I do appreciate it. Again."

Mantis blinked.

"Ah... Yeah."

She nodded. "Yeah."

Mantis coughed.

Then he continued.

"Hey, Mantis!"

Ugh. Not again.

But sure enough...again. This was the fourth training session that Po had interrupted this week, in fact. Leaving Master Mantis to only wonder... What did a bug have to do to let off some much-warranted steam around here!? Perhaps he'd never find the answer. So quite reluctantly, he softened from wincing, and turned to greet Master Panda with a big, fake smile...and a mouthful of sarcasm.

"Ahhh, Po. What a nice surprise!"

Po, of course, smiled brightly right back.

And there he stood, hands clasped behind him, teetering back and forth on his pudgy little toes, a perfect picture of innocence. Or so...he wanted them to think. But the bug was no fool. Not yesterday...not today...not ever. He knew the panda's game. Very well. As his brow crinkled, and a suspicious gaze rested on the smiling face of disaster, he waited to see what the Dragon Warrior would do next.

"Ummmm, heh," Po awkwardly continued after the moment's hesitation. "So, uh, whatcha doin'?"

Mantis blinked. "Training," he said. Then, ever-so-delicately, he added, "Alone."

Nothing short of total clarity remained in the reply's implications. All feigned happiness was immediately left to wither away as the bug turned his back on his unwanted company, and proceeded to get on with his Po-less plans.

Which Po, of course, simply couldn't accept.

"A-Ah, Mantis, wait!" he called. He released his original posture and took another step forward, nervous eyes wide and big paws now held out in front of him.

The desperation in his voice only caused Mantis to cringe yet again. He was growing very tired of cringing; and frankly, he was also growing tired of trying to be the nice guy. So tired in fact, that any and all desire to maintain the precious balance between patience and impulsivity only seemed to be slipping further...

"I-I was hoping we could both train!"

and further...

"Y'know! Together!"

...from his grasp.

"Doesn't that sound fun?"

"NO!"

Time froze between the two, as stabbing glare met green eyes full of shock. This was it. There was no turning back now, and Mantis knew it well.

So just as Po peeped, "B-But..."

He held his tongue no more.

"I don't want you joining me, Po!"

The bear blinked, orbs still wide with what appeared to quickly shift right back into worried desperation yet again. All of heaven forbid he say ONE more word.

But of course...

"Oh! Um...sure...okay." Despite the obvious blow to his morale, and the stiffening silence that followed his initial reaction to such harsh words, Po somehow still managed to work up a second wind of courage. "Well... Do you...wanna talk? I-I know things have been kinda weird ever since-"

"Are you dense!? I have literally nothing to say to you! What I want is for you to STOP bothering me and go away!"

"He turns the other cheek so you YELL at him!?"

"Yes."

"AND insult him! When he's trying to make things right! Mantis!"

"YES! YES, I'm an asshole, okay! I told you I messed up! That's why I'm here talking to you!"

Quickly, Viper stopped short of her next response, just in time to replace it. "...Yeah. You did, I'm sorry." She shook her head against the tinge of embarrassment on her cheeks. "You know how I am with this kind of behavior. And...with Po."

"Ugh, why does everyone have this bizarre, all-consuming need to protect him? He's not a baby!" The insect paused. "Okay, maybe he is a baby. But-"

"Mantis, YOU'RE a baby."

"Only on special occasions."

The serpent could do nothing to stop the inevitable upward curling of her lips. Even when fully embracing sincerity, her little brother simply couldn't find the heart to surrender his playful wit. He was a charming fellow, and naturally gifted in such ways despite his emotional shortcomings and intuitive blindness; but oh, how lucky was he to have a friend who was always ready and willing to share her own.

Viper asked, "So what happened next, then?"

Mantis heaved a long sigh as he sunk in his posture a bit. "What do you think happened next?"

A curious blink was the snake's only response. Her comrade took a moment to shift back up from his slump before he continued, delicately.

"PO went crying like a BABY to Monkey, THAT'S what happened!"

"Oh, dear..."

"And THAT'S why Monkey hates me now! And never wants to speak to me again!"

Suddenly, Viper interjected, "Whoa, whoa! Hold it right there, mister. I can believe that Po went to Monkey, but again - there is no way Monkey actually said those mean things. So if you wanna tell me what he really said to you...I would appreciate it a lot."

She never missed a beat. Snakes...what even. Mantis, as always, found himself in a conflicted state of not knowing whether he loved or loathed that about her. Ruby eyes narrowed into slits as he considered her words with due respect.

"What is your problem?"

Mantis turned at the all-too-familiar voice to lay eyes upon the one and only Master Monkey, stood at his doorway with a look he couldn't quite place. The bug couldn't deny he'd been expecting this little visit, but he quickly found himself at a loss for words now that it was upon him. When the next moment passed without a response, Monkey didn't hesitate to repeat his demand for answers with a suitable gesture: eyes went wide as ever so slightly, he leaned forward.

Across the room, his tiny comrade broke himself out of the freeze, and looked away to gather a bit of composure. He then coughed, and lifted his face to meet Monkey's again.

He stupidly asked, "Um, what do you mean?"

For a few seconds, Monkey's mouth only hung open.

"Seriously?" he asked right back. Mantis stayed silent. "You didn't think Po would tell me how you've been treating him? He's pretty upset."

The insect fought every urge to roll his eyes all the way to the back of his head. But even he knew better, despite how infuriatingly painful said urges were while both being assumed clueless AND having to hear about Po's infantile emotional state.

Well tell him to MAN UP! was what he wanted to say. What kind of a man talks about their feelings, anyway?

"...Don't look at me like that! I know! I'm an idiot!"

"Good. Please, continue."

But again, Mantis knew better than to expose such ignorant thoughts.

So very curtly, he answered, "My bad."

A deathly stillness followed, interrupted first by a subtle tail flick of frustration. Master Monkey then took a quiet breath, before wetting his lips, and carefully gathering his next words.

"That's all you have to say?" he asked. The ape paused to give his teammate another chance; when the other said nothing, he continued with a quick shake of the head, and a sternness that very rarely graced his usual demeanor. "Look. I get it. You're mad at me. You think I'm crazy. You don't understand. Whatever it is...that's fine. I never expected you to immediately accept this." He paused. "But what I do expect, is for you to treat your friends with a little more respect, whether you like it or not. So until that's something you can do...maybe we should be avoiding each other."

And with that, Monkey turned to exit the scene.

Mantis finished the story gaze down with a rather crestfallen expression. His scaly therapist tilted her head just a bit as she watched him, then in a quick decision, she broke from her coil to slither closer and gingerly re-coil around him. He released a heavy sigh.

"See there?" the serpent cooed. "He doesn't hate you, Mantis."

"But he's mad at me."

She hesitated. "Yeah. You hurt Po."

Mantis stayed silent.

A few more seconds brought Viper's head to rest on the floor as she waited patiently for her friend's next reply.

Finally, the bug blurted out, "I didn't mean to hurt him, I was just...I just..."

"You're mad, too." Viper finished the thought for him. Though he grew tense at the words, Mantis didn't bother to deny them. He was mad. In not even a year's time, he'd lost his closest friend AND come to find out that said friend wasn't at all the person he thought he'd known so well. So many years of friendship and fighting side by side, thrown to the wind so quickly. Everything was changing. And it was all because of... "But you're not mad at Monkey, are you?"

He inhaled.

"Oh, I am," he admitted with a nod. Then he paused. "But not as much as Po."

"Hmm." Viper accepted the correction. Thoughtfully, she asked, "And you blame him for what's happened between them?"

Mantis hesitated, and gave a half-truth. "Kinda. But I suppose you're going to tell me why that's stupid?"

The snake smiled. He was getting rather used to this, wasn't he?

"Well..." she began with an airy chuckle as she lifted her head back up. Just as quickly as she'd opened her mouth, though, she was interrupted in full force.

"He's not gay, Viper! He's never been gay! We've had so many conversations about girls and our opinions about girls and our past experiences with girls and I just don't... It doesn't make any sense! Why is he suddenly gay!?" he took a breath of exasperation before meeting his friend's gaze with a face full of hopelessness.

Silence then loomed over the two masters as Viper took a moment to process her distraught companion's sudden outburst. This wasn't the first time he'd voiced this concern to her, but it seemed that he'd only continued to dwell there. It also seemed that there wasn't a single aspect about Monkey and Po's new relationship that wasn't on his mind.

Very carefully, Viper said, "This might be a little advanced for you, but... I think you're thinking about this the wrong way. Monkey doesn't have to be gay to be in love with a guy. Monkey also doesn't have to be straight to be the Monkey you've always known. These things can be pretty fluid, and they don't necessarily define us." She paused. She would explain bisexuality to him later. "Is this really what you're mad about, though?"

Mantis was quiet for a moment. Gaze lowered and brow furrowed, he almost seemed frozen in time; until finally, he sighed in defeat. "I don't know."

"Do you have any idea what exactly you're mad about?"

"...I don't know."

Viper didn't respond, but instead waited for the other to elaborate. If he even had anything to elaborate on. At this point, she really had no idea what to expect. Or if she should be expecting anything at all. Such big messes her little friend found himself in. The insect, almost in cue with her thoughts, met eyes with her again; and a slight antenna twitch preceded his followup.

He said, "I just, didn't expect any of this. I knew something weird was going on, but..." He shook his head. "It's too much. It's crazy!"

The reptile tilted her head. "Monkey and Po don't seem to think so."

"Because they're crazy."

She snorted. "Mantis." A second later, she added, "They're happy."

When Mantis stayed quiet, Viper continued. "Don't you think it might be a little easier for everyone if you let them be?"

"Everyone but me," he grumbled.

Immediately and quite firmly, the snake shook her head at his response. "No, Mantis. Acceptance is just as much for you as it is for them. In fact, it might even be more for you in this case." He raised a brow between her words, skeptical but attentive. "But it also takes time. It takes patience. It takes a desire to move forward."

"You mean change?"

"I mean growth. But yes, change is a very important part of growth. You must be fearless in the face of it, lest you be left behind."

A moment of silence ensued, and the bug narrowed his eyes.

Then he replied, "I can't believe you're younger than me."

Master Viper softened into a giggle; the interaction brought a new lightness into the atmosphere around them, and soon enough, Mantis allowed a smile to creep over his own tiny face as well. He then took a big breath in before dropping the weight of his head on one of his claw-thingies, with a rather placid sigh.

"Well," he began. "As always. Maybe you're right. Maybe I am just...afraid...of change."

The snake gave a little shrug with her tail. "It's only natural." She paused. And warmly, she added, "But it's nothing you can't handle."

Notes:

Pre-KFP2.

WOW, HEY. How long has it been? Half a year or some shit?

I know I told a few of you I'd be posting this chapter months ago, so to everyone I said that to: my sincerest apologies. My first semester back at college started and totally kicked my butt. I finally found some time to finish it up over the break, thankfully; and while I have no plans to abandon this compilation, it would probably be unwise for me to make any promises regarding future updates. I'll just have to wait and see how next semester goes!

I hope y'all like this chapter more than I do! I've never written something with the intention of it being messy and incomplete before (usually, that's an accident, heh). It would take an entire story to see the full potential of Mantis' growth to the end, so I tried to embrace the emotional chaos of the journey.

This is what I ended up with.