The Night They Died

"Skaplow!" Came a loud noise that forced Cheng Long's naginata out of his hand and down the hill. Hu and Zeng saw the fox tumbling down the mound.

"What the-"

"Get off my husband!"

"Oh no," Zeng gulped. Suddenly, a vibrant leopard lunged at Hu and whacked him with a broomstick.

"What the blazes?!" Shouted Shang Lu. "Get off of-"

"GRAAAHH!" Ah Lam quickly jumped at the yak, taking him down as well. Wu Nang whipped her head back and forth at the chaos. Suddenly a weight knocked her out of the air. All she could see was Crane in the sky hovering above.

"AHH! Get her off me!" Shouted Shang Lu.

"Haha! Way to go Mrs. Ah Lam!" Po celebrated, helping Tigress clear her eyes.

The duck immediately found Po and glared. "You brought my wife?" Zeng growled, stormed down the mound, and grabbed Po down to his level. "Panda, I swear on the heavens that-"

"S-S-She told us to bring her and it's not like I was gonna say no to her! That's like saying no to Tigress when she's mad!"

"Po! I will not have these four put my wife's life in danger again!"

"What?" Wu Nang said. She saw Cheng Long fight to keep Ah Lam off Shang Lu. "Guys stop!"

"Tell her that!" The yak shouted as Ah Lam sat on his back, pulling his horns.

Hu finally went for Zeng, creeping up behind him. As he was about to strike from behind, Wu Nang hovered in his way. "Out of the way, Wu Nang. He has to answer for his crime."

"No!"

"What?!" Hu shouted. "Why?"

"You said that you wanted to know the truth about what happened that night. I want to know the truth just as much as you do," Wu Nang said. "So I want to know when did we put his wife's life in danger?"

"What does it matter?"

"Because," The bird said, touching the ground. "he's acting as if we've done this before."

"No... not you anyway," said a wise voice. Zeng looked across the hill to a familiar red panda. "Dead Shot Duck."

"Shifu," Zeng replied evenly.

"I think it's time that the truth came out," Shifu replied. He produced the scroll that the Emperor gave him. The goose simply looked at it and sighed. He didn't even bother opening it.

"Ah Lam! Stop. It's okay," Dead Shot shouted. The leopard finally stopped, jumped off of the yak, and ran straight to Zeng, nearly knocking over Hu in the process.

"I was so worried," Ah Lam sighed in relief, tightly hugging the duck.

"Aw, it's okay, honey. I'm fine."

"I'm not," Shang Lu grunted as Cheng Long helped him up. "Why are we stopping? We should-"

"Shut it, Shang Lu. No one wants to hear your overbearing pride speech," Wu Nang groaned. Hu glanced down at the crow. "What? He got annoying."

"So much for the moral lady."

"Would you stop acting like you're so smart? It doesn't hide your insecurities," Wu Nang shouted to Cheng Long. The fox frowned in hurt pride.

"Heh," Zeng chuckled meekly. "You're just like your father. Ready to snap when things aren't adding up."

"So what happened to him?" Wu Nang asked directly. "I think we deserve to know the truth before we try to kill you again. Why was there a cover-up on our parents' death? And why did you kill them?"

"Please Dusty, tell them," She said compassionately. The duck looked into the vibrant eyes of his wife and sighed. Zeng slowly closed the gap between the generals and himself.

Po squinted his eyes a bit, glancing at Ah Lam. "Dusty?"

"Because he spends so much time dusting the palace floors," Ah Lam said.

"Ahhhh."

"This better be good. What excuse do you-"

"Stop," Zeng said wearily to Hu. "Just stop hating me for five minutes." The goat narrowed his eyes but stayed silent. "Your parents were the greatest people I knew. I was friends with each one of them. They're the ones that helped me out of my little shy shell."

"Wait, so that whole nervousness act isn't an act?" Po asked.

"SHH!" hushed the Furious Five.

"As we got better and better with our fighting, we became known as the Deadly Five. I thought we were growing together," Zeng shut his eyes. "About six months before the incident, we had just finished one of our biggest missions. That's when I really started to notice it."

"Notice what?" Wu Nang asked.

"I was the best there was. You already know the stories. But I always thought that my friends didn't mind. I don't care about glory, I care about people. But after that big mission, people started talking about how I was the real hero. I had pulled your fathers out of a massive explosion, all of them. At first, they were grateful. I didn't think much of that mission until the next months went by. Cold stares, snappy remarks. We used to talk about everything. Well, Shang Lu would. But after that mission, nothing. Hours spent together quickly became short-minute meetings."

Zeng's voice started to break. "I hated it." He sighed, "I knew in my heart it was because of my fame that we were growing apart. In truth, I hate the stories of my 'wonderful' deeds just as much as you do. I don't want people to remember me as some great person on a pedestal. I want them to remember me. Zeng. So as they grew more distant, I grew more introverted. I know it doesn't seem like it with my snark but... I keep to myself. As a result, I started doing a lot of solo missions because the others wouldn't come with me. Hence Dead Shot Duck being a lone secretive fighter. Heck, these guys didn't even know I was Dead Shot Duck."

"Don't rub it in!" Po shouted from across the hill.

Zeng smiled, for a brief moment. "But the tear between my friends kept getting bigger and bigger. Even Hu turned away." Zeng shut his eyes, trying to blink away the tears. "He was the closest to me. He knew about my issues. My fears." Zeng got a little bit of control when he saw Hu's unmoved face. "It just got worse and worse until I finally had enough. I would not sacrifice my friendship for the glory that I didn't even want from the beginning. I wanted to protect people and be with my friends, that's it!" He said sharply. "But the world kept putting me in the spotlight. I finally had enough. One night, I came to the Emperor and said I wanted to resign."

"Resign," Shang Lu repeated. "Why?"

"Glory isn't worth losing relationships over. Pleasure isn't worth giving up love. Comfort isn't worth giving up purpose. Safety from pain isn't worth being incapable of love." Zeng's voice grew more gravelly as he spoke. "The Emperor understood and gave me an honorable discharge."

"Then why did you-"

"I was coming back from the palace," Zeng continued over Hu. "It was a clear night. I walked back to my house. I reached the mound when I saw dark figures setting it on fire. I darted into the house to find Ah Lam. She was tied up. The fire grew fast as I cut her loose and when I thought I could get out the same way I came, they barricaded it. I was in such a hurry that I didn't realize that the windows were nailed shut too. The smoke became to billow. They must have put some kind of flammable oil around to make it burn faster. I could barely see the roof over my head. Ah Lam coughed so much I thought I saw her bellow out smoke."

"Whoa, he is a good storyteller," Po whispered.

"I remember throwing the table aside and diving into tunnels with Ah Lam. I shut the door just as the flames engulfed the entire house. We were safe for the moment. We ran to the other end. When we were in the clear, we walked back to our house, looking at the flames burn. I quickly asked Ah Lam who had done this." Zeng's bill trembled. "She said it was the generals."

"WHAT!" Po exclaimed. Every eye looked at him. "Oh come on, I'm not the only one that finds this shocking."

"Most vocal about it," Mantis murmured.

"That's impossible," Shang Lu said. "Why would our fathers try to kill-"

"Jealousy," Hu said in awe. "It was jealousy. I remember those times when my father would come back home angry and frustrated. I never knew why." The goat shook his head awake. "But that doesn't explain why they were said to be killed. Why did you-"

"I lied," Zeng sighed. "I lied to you... to everyone. I lied that I killed them. I... I didn't kill them. They killed themselves." Zeng dropped to his knees. "I kept running and running to where they could possibly be. I wasn't angry. I just wanted answers. That's all I ever wanted," He sobbed. "I finally got to them. They were a few yards from the house. Dead from poison. I tried. I tried so hard to get them back to life but... Hu... Hu was the last one to die. I held his head in my wings. I... I asked him why. Why did he do it? Jealousy, he said. He said they were as good as dead knowing he was alive. I told him I was quitting. That I was leaving it because I didn't want to lose them." Zeng slammed his fist to the grassy ground. "That... that stupid stubborn goat had the gall to laugh at a time like that! He said it was the price they paid for their jealousy! He looked me in the eyes, asking for forgiveness. I tried to get the poison out, but... Hu was resigned to his fate. He... he thanked me for being a good friend!" Zeng cried. "He thanked me for being a good friend! But what kind of friend would let his friends die?! I'm sorry... I'm so sorry Hu Pengyou!"

"Bu-" Hu found his throat closing up. "But why isn't there any written record of this."

Ah Lam tossed them four scrolls. They opened it. Shang Lu broke, dropping to his knees and crying, "These... these are our fathers' diaries."

"I had to steal them," Zeng sniffled, cleaning his eyes. "I didn't want anyone to know about their demise. I didn't want people dishonoring their families simply because of the way they acted to their supposed friend."

"You would honor those who hated you?" Wu Nang asked incredulously.

For the first time since he told the story, Zeng smiled. "Honor is not just what you do. It's who you are."

Hu read his father's words. Each character showed a different reflection of his father's hatred. And a reflection of his own.

The goat crashed to the ground, letting the paper fall out of his hands. He gasped for air, trying to get the pain in his heart to leave. It wouldn't. It was firmly nailed on his chest. A sign of his actions and his folly. "What... what have I done?" He whispered. "What have we done?"

Zeng immediately ran over and hugged the goat. Hu struggled to have any kind of words. "It's okay," Zeng smiled as the tears filled both of their eyes. "I forgive you." Hu hugged him, crying as loudly as he could. Cheng Long, Shang Lu, and Wu Nang all hugged their former enemy in hopes of some kind of redemption of their own.

Po, Shifu, and Furious Five watched from a small distance. They were hushed into respectful silence.

Until Po asked the others. "Soooo, anyone still wants the Dragon Warrior title? It's up for grabs if-"

"No," Tigress answered.

"Nope," Monkey replied.

"Absolutely not. Way too much drama," Mantis said.

"Sorry, but no, Po," Viper replied.

"I'll stick with my position. Much safer," Crane smiled.

"Right," Po sighed, defeated.

Over time, things started to settle down. The generals sent out messages to their spy work that their cause had been fulfilled and that the Emperor would likely be on their tails so they were disbanded. "But the Emperor has issued a pardon for you all," Shifu mentioned.

"Yes for us generals," Shang Lu explained, "But some of these people are common bandits and thieves. It would be wrong for us to simply turn them in for something that they didn't know, but letting them loose is not a good idea. This is a good compromise. And the best part is that the message to the neighboring Kung fu masters will let them know the bandits' location."

"That's... well-thought out, Shang Lu. And... very merciful," Cheng Long commented.

Zeng chuckled. "Shang Lu always had a much bigger heart when he wasn't angry at someone. Made him one of the hardest people to fight in our spars."

"That reminds me," Po said, "Zeng, where exactly did you get your nervousness bit? I mean, being an introvert is one thing, but that can't be you all the time, right?"

"Oh no, it was an act, but I do genuinely act like that nervous sometimes."

"When?"

Suddenly, Ah Lam grabbed Zeng, hugged him, and kissed him on the cheek, "I'm so glad that you're safe, Dusty! But if you ever pull a stunt like that again, I'm tying you to the roof in the middle of a lightning storm! Understand!? Next time, you either tell me everything that is happening or bring me along! No more damsel in distress! GOT IT?!"

"Yes Ma'am," Zeng timidly said. "Anyway, Po you were saying?"

"Nevermind."

Just then, the duck felt a soft peck on his side. He saw Wu Nang shyly checking her feathers. "Um... Mr. Dead Shot-"

"Just call me Zeng," The duck smiled.

"Could... you tell us some...stories of our fathers. We weren't... really told what they did. We just heard... stories about you."

Zeng looked at the four generals. They were young and lost, with no more purpose. The black-clad archer smiled wide. "I would love to." As he sat down to tell them, Tigress and Po watched from the top of the mound with large smiles.

"And so another story ends and a new one begins," Tigress sighed with relief.

"Hehe, yeah," Po said, a bit nervous. Tigress rose her eyebrow.

"Po, are you okay?"

"Yeah no, I'm fine."

"Is it yes or no?"

"It's just... ummm... Soo... about that journal."

"What journal?"

"Your... journal. The one that Zeng talked about?"

Tigress's eyes grew wide. "Uh... I didn't write anything bad about you."

"It's just that. Zeng said that you... wrote that you... like me?"

Tigress glared hard at Zeng who only grinned from afar as he continued on with his storytelling. "Why are you bringing that up?" She asked.

"It's just that... I like you too." Po smiled.

"Oh." The tiger blinked. She couldn't find any words to say.

But she did smile, wider than she ever had.

"Did you want to uh spar together when we get back?" Po asked.

"Spar?"

"I know you like sparring more than hearing me talk about different Kung fu warriors and stuff. Not really a good dating idea for us. I mean, if you want to date. I didn't mean to force you or... I'll just stop talking."

Tigress smiled warmly, "You think you can tell a story as well as Zeng?"

Po beamed, "I'll try my best!" The two sat on the other side of the elevated clearing, talking with each other. Zeng could only look and smile.

Continued...