The Truth is Out
Po simply stood with an emotionless stare. He blinked a couple of times before nodding. "I see."
"You see?!" Tigress snarled, struggling to contain her rage. "That's all you can say?!"
"Yes."
For a moment, Tigress's rage dissipated. Po's reaction wasn't at all what she'd thought he would do. "Po, are... you okay?"
"I'm fine. I'm fine. Give a moment," Po said. He turned around, went straight to the sink, and dunked his head into the water, screaming at the top of his lungs. Tigress heard bubbles rippling loudly. "OH MY GOSH!" Po shouted as he finally came up for air. "It all makes sense now! Actually, it kind of doesn't, but it-"
"Po, you can have your revelation later. We have to tell the others. Now!" Tigress shouted, grabbing Po by the arm.
"WHOAAA!" Po yelped.
The team congregated in the Hall of Heroes. The lanterns around were being lit by the other servants as the Tigress told the others everything. After the tiger's... intense and growling description of what they learned, Po finally came out of the silence and said, "Okay, so now that we know probably the biggest twist in our lives, we still don't know a lot."
"Like what?" Tigress hissed.
"L-L-L-Like," Po stuttered, "Where Zeng is or what he's planning to do."
"We also don't know why Master Oogway hired him in the first place," Shifu murmured. "How did a criminal and murderer get by us for so long?"
"You said that Master Oogway hired Zeng," Viper pointed out. "Is it possible he knew?"
"I'm almost sure of it," Shifu replied.
Tigress growled, "This doesn't matter if we don't know where Zeng is. Where exactly did you say he was going, Master Shifu?"
"He had some papers to deliver to the Shang Depression. I would start your search there," Shifu replied.
"What about the Generals?" Crane asked.
"The Generals are looking for Dead Shot Duck. If we get to Zeng first and make sure that he's dealt with, we can neutralize the threat of the Deadly Generals. Kill two birds with one stone," Tigress said. Her icy words contrasted with her hot temper. Po and Shifu looked at each other, slowly nodding in agreement.
"Very well. Go to the Shang Depression and find out what you can about Zeng and Dead Shot Duck. I'll message the Emperor directly and see if there's nothing we can do from our end."
"Yes Master Shifu," the team said. They left without another word.
"Po," Shifu called, "Make sure that Tigress's temper doesn't get the best of her. I don't know why, but I'm sure that this development is hurting her."
Po made a sad chuckle, "More than you think, Master Shifu." The panda ran after the others as they made their way to the Shang Depression.
The Shang Depression was covered in a lake of grassy plains that dipped into a crowded village surrounding it. While floods regularly came during the wet season, the villagers had draining systems that directed the water down the river to the southern end of the Depression while a small rocky mountain barred the northern end where the Furious Five and Po saw the entire layout of the land. There were several large mounds covered in trees surrounding the Shang Depression except where the village stood. From the loose rocky peak of the mountain, Po and the others started their descent into the wide valley. "Come on, we have to move," Tigress ushered them.
"We're moving as fast as we can, Tigress," Monkey panted, "Let up a little."
"No."
"Alright, alright. Geez."
Tigress glared forward, marching down the summit like she was an entire army. With the intense snarl on her face, Po definitely thought she was.
"Maybe," Po ventured timidly, "Zeng didn't tell us because he wanted to keep us safe."
"We can protect ourselves, Po," Tigress answered harshly. "We're much more capable than a lying masked archer."
"Ar-Are you sure?" Po asked, getting death glares from Tigress. "I'm just saying that Dead Shot was one of the best. Actually, he was THE best. His weaponry could rival even Kung Fu masters. And he had... has a lot of enemies that would want him and anyone around him deader than his namesake. I remember one story where-"
"No more stories!" Tigress shouted. Po stumbled flat onto his back, wide-eyed with terror. Suddenly, Tigress came to reality. Shaking her head, she offered a gentle helping hand to Po, lifting him up. "I'm sorry Po," She said much calmer. "I just... you know how hard it is for me to trust someone. The fact that someone who has been with us for so long murdered innocent people is... imagine if you suddenly found out that Shifu was really your father."
Po blinked and shivered. "Okay, yeah I see the point."
"What's wrong with being related to Shifu?" Viper asked. Po's fallen face matched Tigress's. "Okay, yeah, that sounded a lot better in my head."
Tigress gave a long sigh, "I... It bothers me for another reason." They all stopped and listen. Tigress looked down at the village, crossing her arms. Or maybe she was hugging herself to comfort herself. Po couldn't tell. "I've known Zeng for much longer than most of you. It's different for me."
"Yeah, but... I just figured that Zeng was some kind of personal babysitter for you," Po said.
"It... it was much more than that," Tigress whispered. The wind whistled around them. It picked up the ends of her fur. The tiger stood completely motionless, still looking at the village. "It's much more than that," She grumbled. Po gulped. Her rage soon picked up again, and they could feel the heat from her as she said, "We need to find Zeng. We'll search the village and then camp at the foot of the hill. Understood?"
"Yes," Everyone said like soldiers.
The team searched the town, trying to find some sign of the duck. Po was "chosen" to go with Tigress for the interrogation. For some reason, her glare at the ducks made anyone around her run in terror. Po sighed. He couldn't really blame her for her actions, but it wasn't getting them any closer to finding their target.
The sun slowly touched the crest of the northern mountain near the west side. Po stopped in the middle of the street, placed his hands on his hips, and sighed softly. "This isn't working."
"What?"
"We need to go back, okay?"
"We haven't-"
"No, you're not listening," Po remarked. Tigress snapped her head back at him, crossing her arms.
"Excuse me?" She said dangerously.
Gulping down his fear, Po bravely approached her, "It's getting late. We need to get back to the others and see what they've got, okay? No use wasting time like this."
Tigress stared. The panda's eyes matched hers in intensity, though Po couldn't figure out how he was managing this. His bones should be shaking, but the very fact that Tigress needed to listen to him felt more important.
And it felt like that was all that was keeping him from quivering in fear.
Tigress huffed, "Fine. Let's go." She passed him by, heading back to the camp.
"Whoa, that actually worked!" Po panted in relief. "I can't believe that worked. Ha!" The two of them walked back to the meeting place where the other Furious Five groaned. "Nothing?"
"We looked everywhere. No one knows anything about any new duck or bird," Monkey replied.
"But... we did see some of the Deadly Generals' men," Crane said. "They're here too."
"Why?" Po asked. Crane shrugged. Sighing and scratching his head, the panda yawned and stretched his arms. "It's getting late. We'll end the search for now."
"Do you think Zeng's here?" Viper asked.
"I think so. There's got to be a reason why he went here. Why don't you guys go to bed? We'll see you in the morning."
"We?" Tigress spoke up, raising her eyebrow.
"You and I are going for a walk," Po said plainly, walking out of the campsite.
"Why?"
"To clear your head. All that anger can't be good for your inner peace or whatever," Po said bluntly.
"I'll be fine Po."
"I'll believe that when I stop seeing smoke coming out of your nose," Po muttered. Tigress huffed. "And Dead Shot is known to move around at night. Maybe we can find clues to where Zeng or Dead Shot is now. I'm sure some of the people around here have seen him. But for now, why don't you just let me talk with the ducks?" Po smiled. The tiger rolled her eyes as she followed the panda back into the village.
Lantern lights slowly illuminated the village as the sun sank behind the sea of trees. Goats, bunnies, and a couple of ferrets made up the population of the village. As they clambered into their houses, Po would stop them and ask them about Zeng. No after no, shaking head after shaking head. No one knew where the duck was. It didn't help that village had plenty of ducks.
Po yawned as the lanterns of the village slowly doused their lights, and the night's darkness flooded the streets. "This is pointless," Tigress sighed. "We're not getting anywhere."
"Well, it was worth a-"
"HELP!"
"We can't catch a break, can we?" Po groaned. The cry came from a nearby alley. The two dove down it and saw a wolf and a ram holding a small goat at knifepoint.
"I told you! I don't know who you're talking about!" cried the goat.
"We know there's been movement here. Tell us what you know about the duck!" Growled the wolf.
The goat's eyes widened in terror and confusion. "No one knows where Dead Shot Duck is! Wasn't he killed by-"
"Enough!" the ram said. "We're getting nowhere with this."
"I'd say you are," Po called their attention, sliding into his fighting pose. "Right into getting your butts kicked." The ram and wolf dropped their hostage and prepared to fight the two.
Then a small ball dropped from above and a cloud of smoke blinded Po and Tigress. "AHH! ACK ACK! Tigress! What the-"
"Jump clear!"
Po and Tigress jumped out of the alley, waiting for the smoke to clear. When it did, the wolf and ram were beaten unconscious. "What the... where did that... come from?"
Tigress's eyes shot up to the rooftops. There in the bright light of the full moon stood the silhouette of a duck with a bow and a straw hat. He darted out of the light and off into the darkness.
"Zeng!" Tigress growled and jumped onto the rooftop, raging after him, "Come back here!"
"Tigress! Wait!" Po scurried onto the roof and chased after them.
Continued...