The Dragon Warrior Blues
Sorry that this took so long, hopefully with my laptop repaired these should be written faster. I hope this was worth the wait!
Session #7 Waltz for Venus
Rocco Bonnaro hated boats, ever since he was a kid the thought of going on one made him feel queasy, even when he went with his sister who made everything feel better. The snoring panda in front of him hadn't made the journey any better for him.
He was on the boat to deliver an important package, it meant everything to him and giving it to the person who needed it had been his life's mission for about ten years now.
"EVERYBODY HANDS IN THE AIR!" Rocco jumped out of his skin when the yell rang throughout the room, he peeked out from his seat and gulped nervously when he saw that everyone was being robbed by some bandits. He was on a commercial boat so he knew he was asking for trouble, he cursed silently when he realized they would want something off of him and the only thing he owned currently besides the ticket was the package in his lap.
"Please! I'm an important man, take what you want off of the others but I'm too important to die!" Cried a deer from the front, one of the bandits walked over and smacked him in the face with the hilt of the short sword he was carrying, that seemed to get the message across. "One more word out of you and you'll be the most important man here with no hands, got it!"
The deer nodded meekly and his resignation seemed to make the hold up more legitimate as everyone around Rocco sighed and put their hands in the air. Rocco panicked and sunk lower in his seat so they hopefully wouldn't notice him, "Damn it!" he hissed, "Why did this have to be the day!?".
He thought he was okay for a second but then, "Hey! Are you listening to me?" Rocco looked up slowly and saw that one of the bandits was talking to the sleeping panda in front of him, Rocco watched in disbelief as the panda carried on sleeping through the event.
The bandit leaned in close and Rocco could almost smell the alcohol on his breath, he didn't envy the panda. The panda received a sharp slap across the face,"I said GET UP!" The panda's eyes opened slowly and as if he was mocking the bandit he yawned loudly, "Huh?" he said sleepily.
"Now that I have your attention, PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!" The panda blinked dumbly and stretched his arms out and punched the bandit straight in the face, if Rocco didn't know any better he'd say the panda had done it by accident.
The bandit stumbled back from the surprisingly weighty punch and couldn't believe someone had the balls to punch him when they were surrounded by his comrades. He regained his composure and growled, "Right that's it!" He brandished his sword and swung it horizontally to cut the panda's head off, the panda yawned again and ducked down, the momentum from the swing made the bandit moved forward slightly which the panda capitalized on with a swift headbutt to the jaw.
There was a swift crack as the jaw broke and teeth flew through the air. Another bandit saw what was happening and went to help his friend, he ran towards the panda's exposed back, Rocco saw that the panda was in danger and yelled out "Watch out!" The panda grabbed the bandit's arm and threw him over his shoulder, the shoulder made a small sound as it was pulled out of it's shoulder.
The panda yawned again and rubbed his head sleepily, "Sorry about that" he said both tiredly and unconvincingly. Another bandit came from behind but a tigress got him in a choke hold and knocked him unconscious. "Think again my precious bounty heads" she said mockingly, her voice was like velvet and Rocco couldn't help but find her attractive despite the fact she could probably kill him with ease.
She looked up at the sleepy panda and frowned,"Po! Why did you fall asleep? You could have botched the operation!" The panda who Rocco now understood was named Po simply shrugged and leaned up against the wall.
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"Don't be ridiculous!" Yelled Rocco at old owl behind the counter, for the past five minutes he had been trying to get the fickle owl to send the package for him. "5,000 Wulong is too much for me, can you please lower it? It's important to me that this gets to it's destination" he begged.
The owl shook her head, "No I'm sorry 5,000 is our going rate." Rocco growled irritably, "Going rate? Where does is say that? Could you show me that in writing?"
"Look, you're sending this to a special location and not a residence that's why it's so high" she said stiffly, obviously she was used to dealing with irritable people who'd just gotten off a boat. Rocco sighed and smiled sweetly, "All right then, could you please do this for me?" He said as sincerely and polite as possible.
As with his other attempts it was met with stony silence. He prepared to start another rant when out of exasperation he saw the panda from earlier walking down the street, Rocco dived into his pocket and pulled out the 5,000 wulong for the delivery, he slammed it onto the counter, "Make sure it gets there, or else!" He threatened.
Unperturbed the owl picked up the money and put it behind the counter. Rocco ran after the panda.
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Po whistled to himself as he counted the money in his hands, "Thanks for the pay off" he said to nobody in particular, as soon as they'd exited he boat they'd handed over the bandits to local authorities and Po had been given a form and told to report to a local bounty hunter station to receive his money.
"Hi" Po stopped dead in his tracks and looked up from his cash to see Tigress smiling sweetly at him, "What do you want?" He replied gruffly. Tigress, unaffected by Po's grumpiness held out her paw, "My half for helping you get those guys."
Po looked around, "You want me to just hand you a lot of money right here in the open?" Tigress smirked mockingly, "Scared panda?" Po frowned, "No, but someone coul-" Tigress snatched the money off of him and took her half. Po looked at his half then sighed, "I think I just got robbed."
Tigress laughed and started to walk off, "That's all you're going to get Tigress" Po said after her, "I know don't sweat it" She replied disinterestedly. "Depositing it at the casino again?" Po asked irritably, she carried on but called out "Why not? It's much more exciting then a bank."
Po rubbed his head as he watched her figure disappear into the distance, "Huh, that girl never gives up." He heard someone run at him from behind so he sidestepped and stuck out his foot, a young looking red panda yelped as he tripped over Po's foot and crashed into the ground, he saw a knife fly out of his palm and land next to him. The red panda had a bag strapped to his back which Po noticed he did everything in his power in order to avoid landing on.
Po folded his arms and smirked "I really hate dealing with pickpockets" he said dismissively.
The red panda just started giggling which soon turned into a hearty laugh. "Amazing, you really are amazing" he said happily. Po watched him spring to his feet energetically with a bored expression, "All right, you're the guy that took those hijackers out right?" Po nodded slowly.
"You've got some smooth moves my friend, can I ask you a favour?" Po tilted his head, "Hmm" he replied non-plussed. The red panda looked around before pointing at himself, "Could you teach a guy like me to learn some of those fancy kung fu moves" he started to make some over-the-top motions with his hands as if he was simulating real kung fu moves.
Po rolled his eyes and abruptly walked off leaving the red panda dumbstruck. Po smirked to himself, "I think he got the message", "Hey, wait a minute!" Po sighed and cursed silently. The red panda walked alongside, "Where are you going? I wanna be a tough guy like you."
Po huffed, "You are really annoying, and what about me walking off sounded anything like a yes to you?" Po started to walk down some steps, the guy stopped at the top of them, "Oh come on, I can do it! Just give me a try." Po again responded by ignoring him and carrying on with his path.
Po turned when he didn't hear that annoying voice, "He stopped? Thank the gods, I don't know how much more of that I could tak-" Po rounded a corner and gasped when the same guy was in front of him panting heavily with sweat patches on his shirt. "C'mon, just a few moves? Think of it as helping a guy out, y'know show some mercy and compassion isn't that what you martial arts guys are all about?"
Po pushed past him, "I'm afraid I'm all out of that stuff" How had that guy got there so quick? and how did he even know where Po was going? In fact Po groaned internally when he realized he didn't even know where he was going.
"My name is Rocco Bonnaro master and its a pleasure to meet you!"
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Meanwhile back with the 'Bebop'
Ping smirked and leaned back in his chair, it felt good to finally get a bounty for once. "The first reward we've picked up in a long time" he said to Crane who couldn't look any less interested, the bird had taken to wearing a straw hat they had found a few weeks ago so he could fall asleep without anybody noticing him, he was trying to do so now as he knew that when Ping got started he wouldn't shut up.
"So I've got some tasty food for us all" These words actually registered with Crane and he found a smirk work its way onto his beak despite himself, "All thanks to the brilliant mastermind" Ping said smugly referring to himself. He grabbed the nearby 'Big Shot' and went through its recent articles.
"Let's see who's up next"
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Po placed a paw on Rocco's and moved it into position, "I'm telling you, don't tense up" Rocco raised an eyebrow, "How am I supposed to knock someone out when my hand is all limp?"It was a reasonable question for someone who wasn't as deep into their martial arts as Po.
He took his paw away and folded his arms, "Its not about strength or power, you have to be fluid " Rocco scratched his head in confusion "Huh?" Po demonstrated by striking a pose and moving his hands about, "You have to be like water, you see what I'm saying?" Rocco shook his head, "Not really"
Po sighed and walked away from him "All right, come at me with your knife like you did earlier" Rocco smirked cockily and moved a little bit away to give Po some more room, "You're gonna get hurt y'know?" he said arrogantly. Po rolled his eyes and got into another similar looking pose, "Just do it" he replied impatiently.
Rocco removed the knife and ran at Po full pelt, Po didn't even blink as he moved again and punched Rocco to the ground from behind. Rocco groaned and rubbed his now sore back, "how did you do that?" He asked through gritted teeth, the blow had hurt far more then he would've believed but he would never show it to this random stranger.
Po looked up into the sky as is the moment was nostalgic for him, Rocco didn't know that the moment was very reminiscent of a moment from Po's past. "You're tense, I'm calm. You apply excessive force; I control that force through fluid motion. That means relaxing the whole body so it can react instantly without resistance—no, without thought. Do you see now? It means becoming like clear water."
Rocco nodded while trying to absorb the information, "Water". Po nodded "Right. Water can take any form. It drifts without effort one moment, then pounds down in a torrent the very next."
Rocco sat up, "Maybe I get it but maybe not" Suddenly a yell was heard down the street as a trio of ox in suits were running down the side walk towards Po and Rocco, Rocco gasped and stood up sharply. Po looked at the incoming group with a frown but then felt something being pushed into his hands.
He looked down and saw Rocco's package in his arms, he looked into Rocco's pleading face. "Hold onto this for me okay? Meet me tonight- no tomorrow night in the cathedral at the edge of town" Po had his mouth open in shock but he didn't get a chance to reply as Rocco ran off with the ox in pursuit.
Po frowned and looked at the strange shaped package in his hands, "Right then" he said irritably.
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Ping frowned "Casinos again?" he said irritably, "The ones around here are famous for stacking the deck" he continued. Po continued staring at the package that kid had given to him a few hours ago, it was sat on the table inside the 'Bebop'.
He had only just gotten back and told Ping where Tigress was. "It doesn't matter" Po said dismissively, "It's her life let her mess it up however she wants to."
Ping groaned and stood up to stretch his back, "On top of that she just takes off whenever she wants and doesn't tell us when she'll be back." He grabbed the Big Shot on the table and thrust it in Po's face, "Well there's no use just sitting around here go and make some more pocket money for us"
Po looked at the part he was pointing at and Ping started filling in the details for him, it was a picture of a fat looking cat and surrounding it were drawings of his associates. "Piccoro Calvino, usually a petty crook for bigger fish but by some miracle he pulled off a massive hit this time, the price is doubled if we bring in the whole crew" Ping finished like an excited schoolgirl, he always got like this around money.
Po's eyes started to go through the pictures of his associates. He suddenly saw a familiar looking face in the corner, he looked at the name underneath and felt goosebumps as he saw that one of Piccoro's associates was the red panda he had seen earlier, Rocco.
Ping continued not noticing his friend's expression, "He stole a rare plant named the 'Grey Ash' which is used to cure Venus sickness, they're very hard to grow and worth tens of millions of wulong." Po quickly undid the package in front of them and gasped when he saw it was the Grey Ash described by the paper, it was covered in a glass case and sat on a small stand, it had red petal and a black stalk.
Ping's beak nearly hit the table, "Where did you get that?"
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Rocco accidentally pushed someone over in his rush to get away, he looked back and saw an old man on the ground, "Sorry"he yelled over his shoulder, not like this small gesture would make his hastiness seem any more dignified.
He had been chased around for a few hours now by the same guys. He was used to this kind of chase so he was only just starting to feel his muscles strain and burn whereas his pursuers were more used to close quarters situations and rarely had to actually chase someone down.
Rocco ducked into an alley and heard the oxes stop for a second and loudly pant and gasp to get their breath back, "Shit! Where did that little bastard go!" One of them said angrily. Rocco put a paw over his mouth so they wouldn't hear him breath, they waited for a second then carried on northwards in the vague hope of just bumping into him, they didn't want to have to go back to the boss with bad news, Piccoro was well known for having an ugly temper.
Rocco let out a long breath and grinned to himself, "Yeah *pant* not bad."
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"I say we keep it" Tigress said while tapping on the glass case covering the Grey Ash. "Its worth a lot more then those hoods we got earlier" she said to Po, "Compared to this their reward was chump change."
After a second of silence Ping shook his head, "No, we can't" Tigress scoffed, "It took you a long time to say that goose!"
Ping scowled, "Don't be an idiot this thing is too hot! It's too dangerous for us to hold onto" Tigress shrugged and smirked, "Sometimes you've just gotta take a risk on things" Ping smiled cockily, "How much did you lose at that casino?"
Tigress leaned back and pouted, "What's that?" she asked trying to change the subject. Po stood up and grabbed his hat, "Piccoro is up to you two, I'll find Rocco"
Tigress raised her hand sarcastically like she was at school, "Uh question, you've got an appointment with him why don't you just wait there for him instead of just going a day early and looking like an idiot." Po pulled his hat down and tapped the glass case of the Grey Ash, "They say that Lady Bounty is very fickle"
Ping handed the address to Po, "This place is in the middle of nowhere, only crazies live there so why would this kid want you to meet him there?" Po shrugged, "I guess I'll find out." He left the 'Bebop' and walked to the cathedral.
Tigress frowned after him, "Its Lady Luck moron"
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It had taken Po hours to get there but when he did he took his hat off and was left in awe at the sight, the cathedral was sitting by itself in the middle of a grassy field but in a surreal twist it had a tree growing through the middle of its roof, the building had many cracks from what the panda could see but he assumed it would be worse the closer he got to it.
"Strange, this doesn't look like its well protected or a place that seems safe so why would Rocco want to meet me here? I'd better be careful this seems like a risk"
Po walked to the cathedral and knocked on the door strongly, the boom it created was fantastic and Po looked around and saw that the grass had stopped flowing rather creepily, the panda opened the door and stepped inside.
It was dark besides some light that poured through from the gaps in the ceiling, it created a creepy atmosphere and left Po on edge as he walked, he came to some steps and stopped. He reached his hand out hesitantly for a guard rail of some sort and breathed a sigh of relief as his hand came into contact with one, although he could feel it had rusted slightly.
He climbed the staircase which was short and lead to a balcony overlooking the main altar. Po looked around and frowned when he saw a small wooden chair about 20 inches in front of him, he got closer and saw oddly that it had some knitting on it. He reached out to inspect it but a knife poked out next to it and brandished itself at him.
"Hold it right there!" The voice was timid and female, they clearly weren't used to threatening people. Po's eyes went up along the women's arm and saw that she was another red panda, this one however and younger and wore a shawl over her head along with a tidy, plain yellow dress, the strangest thing was she wasn't actually looking at Po, more like looking over his shoulder.
"Hands in the air!" Po smiled and complied, "I'm not a criminal honest, wait, I guess that does make me sound more like a criminal doesn't it?" Un-amused the red panda replied, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
Po frowned and looked at her eyes, they seemed to be clouded over. "Well? Spit it out!" She yelled but in her inexperience she went to hit him with the hilt of the blade and tripped over, Po reacted instantly and grabbed her before she fell.
He lifted her onto her feet and she pushed him away, "Let go" she whimpered clearly embarrassed at having made such a rookie mistake and needing saving from the person she was trying to threaten. "I'm sorry" Po said softly, "I just came here to meet Rocco"
Instantly at the mention of Rocco her features brightened and a smile made its way onto her face instantly making her look prettier, "Y-y'mean that you're a friend of Rocco's?" Po scratched the back of his head, "Well not rea-" she cut him off "I'm glad" she replied with a smile.
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Rocco stepped into a public restroom quietly, he had stayed hidden throughout the night and managed to evade Piccoro's henchmen, now he just needed to find that panda from yesterday and get the Grey Ash back from him, but first nature called and he needed to relieve himself.
He walked in and immediately went to the nearest cubicle, he quickly did his business and went to wash his hands, there was a big guy standing at the sinks and Rocco walked over to him cheerfully whistling, he looked over at the guy and felt his blood run cold when he saw that it was Piccoro himself.
The cat glared at him and gestured towards the sink, "You going to wash your hands you little punk!?" Rocco heard the cubicles open behind him and snickering as some of the cat's henchmen walked up behind him.
Rocco chuckled nervously, "Hi."
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"Its all because of those flowers" the girl said while sitting back down on her chair, "They only grow inside this cathedral." Po raised an eyebrow, "How can they grow in here?" She ignored him and carried on, "The spores that are left behind feel like snow"
Po watched as she raised a paw and touched her cheek, "Most people aren't affected by it" she said softly, "As soon as they touched my skin I lost my eyesight." Po shifted uncomfortably, "That must have been very difficult for you."
She smiled, "Its surprising how quickly you can adapt, and in a funny way you appreciate and understand more when you can't see, I did at any rate."
"Will it ever get better?" Po asked referring to her sight, her smile dropped a little bit and her form sagged slightly, "If we have a lot of money, the truth is I don't really mind if I have to stay like this but Rocco..." She trailed off, Po knew what she was going to say and picked up the slack. ""But he cares about his little sister" He said under his breath, she seemed to hear it however and started to smile again.
She reached under the chair and pulled out a small box, it's outside was covered in a worn wood and it had a small velvet ribbon tied around it, her motion was quick and graceful so she must have done this several times a day, Po frowned to himself when he thought of the daylight she hadn't seen.
"Look" she said, "Rocco sent me this a few days ago" She held it out for Po to grab which he did, the panda ran his paw over the smooth finish and he softly opened it, music begin to gently play out of it,it was a long forgotten melody that filled him with both sadness and happiness, hope and despair.
"I know...that people say bad things about him, and I know that he hangs out with some bad people too, but Rocco has a good heart" she insisted, Po felt like she wasn't really talking to him, more to herself so she could justify his actions as they were only there to benefit herself. Po looked up from the box, "Y'know, I could be one of those bad people that he hangs around with" he said dryly.
She giggled, "Maybe,you could be one. But there's something very different about you, I can feel these things, both you and Rocco have something very beautiful inside of you. It's hard for most people to see it but it's there, I know it, that's why I showed you this music box." Po's eye went to the box again and he saw that there was a small tab on the inside, the music had stopped by this point so the only sounds in the hall were the ones Po was making.
He pulled the tab and the box unfolded slightly to show him a small object, it was a little clear square that had some seeds in it. Po stiffened slightly and let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, "Grey Ash seeds!" He walked over and looked over the balcony at the altar, "Something beautiful huh? I think I lost that a long time ago" He said sadly.
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The bar was thick with smoke from opium and the stench of sweat and defeat. The opening of the entrance did nothing but make the heads of every patron turn to face the pretty tiger that was standing in it, she got the usual stares and wolf whistles as she moved looking for a certain person.
When she spotted him she immediately made a beeline for him, the tiger grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up almost effortlessly, he was a monkey wearing a sweat stained vest and he reeked of alcohol. "I want Piccoro! Where is he!?" Yelled Tigress in the guy's face.
He chuckled humourlessly and made Tigress's nose twitch from his breath, "I've never heard of him sweetheart" his words were slurred and monotone, most likely from the copious amounts of booze he had consumed. Her ear twitched when she heard chairs move back, she had apparently ruffled some feathers at the mention of the cat's name so she let go of the loser and threw a punch behind her, she was right on money as her fist connected with someone's face.
The guy flew over a table and ruined a card game, two more guys came at her but she launched a kick at one guy's leg and felt the satisfying feeling of his bones breaking, a shriek confirmed her prognosis as the bone left his body, Tigress unsheathed her claws and slashed the remaining mook across the face making sure he would never forget trying to attack a lady.
She turned back to the monkey, "Now have you heard of him!"
"A-as a matter of fact!"
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Ping nearly fell off of his chair, "Huh! You're asking me for the price of Grey Ash seeds?" Po nodded, "Yeah, I'm just curious." Ping shook his head, "Well don't be! You'll be lucky if you ever see one there about as pricey as gems, you're lucky if you ever see one... Well, it might be difficult to sell them once you get them but I would say 8 million each."
Ping leaned forward expectantly and couldn't help but let the corners of his mouth both rise in an excited smirk. "Why? You got some?!"
Po shook his head and stuck his hand back inside his pocket, "No" he replied indignantly as if the idea was ridiculous to him.
Disappointment fell onto Ping's and he leaned back again, "No, I didn't think you'd be so lucky."
"Did you catch Piccoro yet?" Po asked, Ping shook his head. "No, not yet. Just don't screw up your end!"
Po nodded and bagged up the Grey Ash plant, "I'm gonna go meet him now."
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Rocco crashed into the fence and then fell over, he could already feel the bruises starting to form from that one. Piccoro chuckled darkly and took a lungful of a cigar he had just lit.
"Rocco, you can be a nice boy and tell us where the plant is, or..." His sentence was finished by the thugs around him cracking their knuckles and forming closer around Rocco.
The red panda chuckled nervously and tried to look confident when he replied, "Well I'd be happy to Pico', but I accidentally dropped it earlier" Without issuing a command the thugs moved in closer, Rocco felt his chest tighten. "You guys don't believe that do y-" A punch to the chest was his only reply.
They beat on him for a minute or two, Rocco struggled to remember later due to the pain. After wailing on him the mooks moved to let Piccoro have a say. Rocco struggled to get up and uses the fence to lean on.
"Like I said, you're a good kid Rocco. You have a younger sister right? I heard she was a sweet young thing." Rocco's breath caught in his throat, "She's got nothing to do with this!"
The fat cat blew smoke in his face and sneered. "And she'll continue to have nothing to do with this if you tell us where you put that goddamn plant!" Rocco weighed up his options. "Its uh-" Piccoro patience ran out and he took the cigar out of his mouth and jabbed it into Rocco's forehead.
The panda yelled into the night.
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Tigress kicked the door down and leaped in with her fangs and claws bared. She heard a yelp and ran into a room to find the source, she scowled when she reached a bedroom and saw two half-naked male antelopes having clearly been interrupted during the middle of something private.
Tigress advanced onto the top one, grabbed his face and ran a claw down it. "I want to know where Piccoro is...a quick answer would probably be best for you" While she said this she drew blood on his cheek.
He shook with fear, "Okay okay! J-just let me get dressed alright!?"
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Rocco walked miserably by himself towards the cathedral where he had agreed to meet that panda from earlier. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he walked past a fountain, "Yo" came a calm voice from the darkness.
Rocco almost breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Po leaning against the fountain with his bag over his shoulder. "So, you didn't want to meet in the cathedral? Its only a short walk away and we won't be so open." Po kept his calm gaze on Rocco without blinking.
Po held the bag out in an outstretched paw, "Sorry, but I took a peek inside." Rocco's eyes narrowed, "I see, so, you know what it is?" Po nodded, "Its Grey Ash, quite a humble name for such an amazing plant."
Po looked up at the night sky and continued, "Its awesomeness continues past its qualities. Its worth ten times the price of either you or the rest of your buddies combined."
Realizing Po's occupation along with the sense of dread that usually accompanied it Rocco leaped back and pulled a blade, "So, you're a bounty hunter huh?" Po didn't move which infuriated Rocco. "You're here to nab me and take me in aren't you?" His hands started to shake around the blade's hilt.
Po's eyes trialed back down to Earth and looked at the bag with a hint of somberness, "Your sister needs this, am I right? That's the whole reason you're doing this isn't it?" Rocco sighed and dropped the knife, "You need to get out of here quickly or they're gonna kill you!"
Po's eyes narrowed in irritation as he looked over Rocco's shoulder, "I think its a bit too late for that don't you?" Rocco's stomach dropped as he turned around and saw Piccoro and his henchmen come out from the shadows surrounding them.
Rocco held up his hands in desperation, "Wait! He has the plant, just let him go please!" Piccoro sized Po up, "Your patsy here made a good delivery boy eh Rocco? He has my thanks"
Po quickly ducked and sweep kicked behind him as he felt a person there. He was correct as a mook fell to the ground.
"Get him!" Yelled Piccoro. Po dropped the plant and drop kicked another guy, Rocco stood by and watched as Po quickly and effortlessly fought the guys around him. "Hold it right where you are!" Rocco recognized the female tigress from earlier as she jumped down from a rooftop and got Po's back.
She faced Po and to his surprise jumped other him and kicked a bear in the face. "You could be a little more delicate! You could've taken my head off!" Tigress smirked at him, "You sound like a child panda!" Po grunted, "Just be careful, remember there's no reward if they're all dead."
Tigress nodded suddenly serious at the sound of the money. She dove back into the fray, Po scanned the area and looked for Rocco, he saw the red panda run over the fountain and pick up the Grey Ash Po had dropped, Rocco removed it from the bag and started to move with it, rather luckily the glass case didn't even have a crack in it.
Po watched as he nearly bumped into a thug, Rocco used his free hand to grab the guy and flip him on his back like Po had showed him earlier. Po felt a smirk come on his face, Rocco met his gaze and gave a thumbs up. Po returned the thumbs up but gasped when he saw Piccoro come up from behind.
The cat grabbed Rocco's arm and stabbed him through the chest with a small knife, Rocco dropped the Grey Ash in shock, it seemed to fall in slow motion. Its glass case smashed on the ground and almost instantly the leaves seemed to start dying.
"Rocco no!" Po yelled, the panda sprinted towards the red panda but was decked in the face by a mook.
Piccoro pushed Rocco away and desperately picked up the Grey Ash to see if it was okay. It turned to dust in his hands, the cat growled and turned on the bleeding panda who's shirt was now stained with blood, the blade may have been small but it went in deep. "You clumsy oaf!" He snarled.
Tigress got the cat in a choke hold and hissed "You've caused me enough trouble for today!" Into his ear. She cut his oxygen off and stayed that way until the cat fell unconscious. After he was out she picked him up and made her way back to the 'Bebop'.
Po finished off the guy he was fighting and ran over to Rocco, he shook Rocco lightly. "C'mon, hang in there! Rocco" The red panda looked at Po with glazed eyes. "D-did you see me master? I was fluid, like water." Po sighed and nodded, "Yeah I saw it, don't try to talk anymore, save your strength we'll have a doctor here soon."
Rocco tried to get up, "Hey!" Po yelled, he pushed the red panda back down. Rocco seemed to understand the hopelessness of his situation, "I-I have a favor to ask master. In the music box with my sister-" Po cut him off so he would stop talking, "The music box at your sister's, got it. She's going to be fine Rocco, just stay alive so she can see her big brother with her own eyes."
Rocco's eyes flickered, "Thanks." Po panicked when he saw the life start to fade out of his eyes, the panda stood up sharply, "Okay wait here, I'll get you some help" when he didn't get a response Po said "Don't die" the panda ran off without another word.
Rocco didn't even realize that Po had already left. "I wonder, if I had met you earlier in my lifetime. Do you think that we...would have been friends?"
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2 Weeks Later
Po entered the hospital and went straight up to the room, the flowers in his hand feeling incredibly heavy. He pushed the patient's door open and stepped inside, the occupant turned around with a smile, "Rocco...is that you?" His sister asked. Po looked at her sadly and walked other to her bed, "Its me...instead."
"Hey you know what Rocco did? He got me some Grey Ash from the seedlings and the doctors say within a few days I'll be able to see again! I want the first thing I see to be Rocco"
Po's heavy silence wiped the grin off of her face, "He hasn't shown up in a few weeks and I wondered if he was with you." "He isn't" Po replied simply, "Is he...in jail?" She asked clutching at straws. "No"
"Then why hasn't he come to see me?" Instead of just telling her Po reached towards her paw and gently clutched it, he lifted it up towards his face and let her feel his expression.
"He's dead isn't he?" Po didn't say anything.
Her breath stiffened and Po saw her chest tighten, she was upset but for some reason was determined to not let this random stranger see it, her misty eyes filled with resolve and she let go of Po's face. "It's all right... leave me. I know. Rocco died because he did something bad, right? Please, leave me for today..."
Po got up hesitantly, left the flowers by her bedside and began to walk off, another chapter of his life was closing. He was getting sick of leaving these people behind while all he did was try to move forward. He had only made three and a half steps before she called out to him, "I never got to see Rocco once with my own eyes... Hey, what was Rocco really like?"
The panda decided he would leave this girl with something that he had never left with the others. Hope. "You know without looking, right? He was a great guy. Just like the one you knew..."
Po left the girl to her thoughts, his footsteps echoed around the hospital and he made his way back to the 'Bebop'
See You Dragon Warrior
Teaser
"Starting next week Viper will be on the scene! HAHAHA!" Viper chuckled happily.
Po groaned, "Oh great, who are you supposed to be?"
Viper beamed happily "Viper will introduce Viper. Full name Viper Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV."
Po merely blinked "That's a long name" he replied dryly.
Tigress then appeared next to them, she pointed at Viper. "Who the hell is this?"
Viper seemed to not even notice her, "Viper made up that name for Viper isn't it great?" she said excitedly with stopping for breath,
Po and Tigress looked in confusion at each other, Po scratched his head. "If you made it up then how can you be the fourth one?"
"Next time on Dragon Warrior Blues JAMMING WITH VIPER!" Viper started to whoop with delight and slither about quickly.
Po face palmed, "I can tell from now on that this story is going to get more random…and does ANYBODY know who this kid is!?"
