The Plan Begins

Po was in the special place. There stood before him was the same scene with bookshelves, floor made of clouds, blah blah blah. Anyways, there was Zelon, Chung, and Oogway sitting at the same table. Po rushed up to them frantically. "Great grand masters! I need your help. You see-"

"We are already familiar with the situation, panda," Zelon interrupted holding up his hand. "We've seen it all. By the way, nice job on turning Tai-Lung around."

"Yes, but what do I do? Should I go ahead with the plan I have in mind. It's risky and there's a tiny chance of it succeeding," Po explained. He then explained his full plan for everyone to be happy with Tai-Lung. Everyone was silent for a moment. Then Oogway said.

"Go ahead and do it." Zelon and Chung looked at him, "If this succeeds, then Shifu will have greater joy, Tai-Lung will stop hiding, and everyone will be happy."

"If. That's the word that makes me worried. But hearing Po's plan, I think there is more than just explaining it to us," Zelon mentioned.

"Po, is there a specific reason why you're here to tell us your plan?" the yak asked.

"Because of this," Po explained, "I know there is about a 99% chance of this failing. Which is why I need the Masters' help to guide and influence the course of events to make this plan successful."

"Well, if we're just influencing things, then I'm in full force," Zelon replied wholeheartedly. Oogway and Chung looked at him. "What? I admit I've grown to like the runt. I hate to see him die now," he confessed.

"So it's settled then. We will make sure that Po's plan to bring everlasting happiness to everyone, will succeed," Chung agreed.

Po awoke from his meditation. About an hour had passed by. Now was the time to just wait and look for his dad to come back. Mr. Ping came back the next morning with the news that Tai-Lung was hanging out with the Qilin in hiding until it was safe to come to the Valley of Peace. Qilin's place was very close to the valley but very very hard to find. Next to impossible. Only Mr. Ping and Po knew where it was. Anyways, that was one step of Po's plan. Second, when Zeng came to the Masters, he told each and every one of them that Po's older adopted brother would also help protect the village and told them that his name was Tai-gee. Of course, Po would make sure that the Furious Five and Shifu left long before the Masters would have time to meet much. When the day finally came, the masters arrived, and Po and the others left. While they left, Mr. Ping told Tai-Lung it was okay to come out and protect the village.

The way to the Southern village would take about several weeks on foot. Actually, going straight to the village would take only five days, and since Zeng was a bird, he could do it in one day. The reason why it would take several weeks was that Po suggested they search all the villages on the way to the Southern Village to make sure that Tai-Lung wasn't hiding in any of them. That, and the villages would need help with their crime rate. So ,The Furious Five and Po trained for the day they would have to fight Tai-Lung on the way. However, the group started to notice that Po was getting a little anxious. Okay, a LOT anxious. After training he would go by a nearby stream and meditate. He would also pace around worried, and if anyone disturbed him, he would get very angry. Finally, the others confronted him about it. "Po, is everything okay?" Crane asked.

"Yes, of course, why do you ask?" Po answered quickly as he stirred the pot he was making.

"Well, it's just that you've been a little irritable lately. Worried about something," Tigress explained. Po being irritating is normal. Him being irritable is not, "Is it because you're worried that Tai-Lung may, in fact, be alive?"

"Well," Po paused to think. There was nothing they could do now. They were too far in the mission to turn back now, so there was no harm in telling them. Plus, it would be easier for him to explain to them later about his brother. "The thing is when we left, I asked my brother to help protect the village." The group was a little stunned.

"You have a brother? Since when?" Monkey asked.

"Since a while ago. He's a very good guy with Kung Fu, and I asked him to protect the valley while we were gone. I was just worried that something may happen to him when I'm gone," Po explained.

"Why didn't you tell us this before?" Shifu asked.

"It was a family matter, and I didn't want to bother you guys. Again, if I'm irritable it's because I'm worried about my brother," Po finished as he poured out the soup into bowls for everyone to eat.

"So you're not the least worried about Tai-Lung maybe alive?" Tigress asked. Po chuckled a little at the irony of it all.

"My logic is if he were alive then he's changed. Think about it. It's been two years since we've last seen him. If he were attacking he would have done it by now or we would have seen or heard something about some maniac destroying villages. The very fact that we've not heard anything of villains growing and only of heroes growing is a good thing. Anyways, that's my logic," Po said as he noisily ate his food.

"You really think someone like Tai-Lung could change?" Tigress asked sarcastically "My apologies Master." She remembered Shifu was still there. Shifu simply nodded. Po just shrugged and said.

"I did." Nobody knew what he meant by that. As they finally came to the village and found no evidence of Tai-Lung, a message came from the Jade Palace from a messenger duck, not Zeng.

"It's from the Palace," the duck quacked as he handed one scroll to Shifu and one to Po. "This one is exclusively for the Dragon Warrior." Then he flew away. Shifu's note said:

We are protecting the Valley of Peace with eagerness and enthusiasm. Also, the brother of the Dragon Warrior is very bold and honorable. He's kind, caring, strong, and faithful to his fellow strangers. We've welcomed him with open arms. He is very well appreciated among the masters,

"That's good news. I was worried that they would run him out of town," Po sighed.

"What does yours say?" Crane asked curiously.

"Um...it's best that it be private to me. It's for my eyes only," Po replied. After the group slept, Po read the scroll under a dimly lit candle. It also was from the Masters.

We, the Masters of the Council, have discovered the truth of your brother. He has confessed to being Tai-Lung to us. Though we were shocked and surprised, his actions and words spoke for his character. We accept him as a new person and forgive him of his past. We will keep the secret of your brother hidden with us. Please know that if he runs into any trouble, we will be there to help him.

Po silently did a small victory dance. His plan was going along smoothly. He needed the Masters of the Council to be behind Tai-Lung's back so if the next step of his plan didn't work, then Tai-Lung would have a place to stay somewhere else. Now for the next step to his plan, let Shifu and the Five meet his brother.