Well, phase one of Masterminds plan will begin.

It was now four days from the Almond cookie eating contest. Monkey and Mantis were excited about being in it. Shifu had recieved a letter earlier that day from the emperor, asking for Shifu to send his best political negotiaters to the Morth eastern part of China to keep a riot from breaking out there. That would mean sending DB and Tigress.

Shifu had told them the news around the table and DB asked,"Can we wait until night to leave?"

Everyone stared at him. He then explained himself, saying,"I don't want to be swarmed with crowds while we're leaving. Partly because t will slow us down and partly because I hate being in the center of attention."

Shifu replied,"Very well. You will leave right after sunset. Get ready then join us in the training hall."

Everyone said,"Yes master!"

Tigress and DB left for the barracks while everyone else left for the training hall. DB asked Tigress,"Have you ever played diplomat before?"

Tigress replied jokingly,"Every time we end a bandit raid."

Db laughed a little and said,"I meant without using your fists."

Tigress chuckled a little and replied,"Yes, I have. The emperor always asks for Shifu's top diplomatic students when he needs someone to negotiate with enemies or with unhappy citizens."

DB said,"That's interesting. I wonder how similar it would be to ninja negotiations. Hopefully it won't turn out like some of the ones I've been to."

Tigress asked,"How did the end?"

DB replied,"Well, the other side pulled out katanas and tried to attack us, so we killed the ones we were negotiating with. But, the majority of the ones that ended that way involved someone who had the negotiation skills of Wayward Son on our side."

Tigress then asked,"What are Wayward Son's negotiating skills like?"

DB thought a second before answering,"It basically goes like this, 'Do as we say, or we'll kill ya.'"

Tigress replied,"Those aren't negotiation skills, what so ever."

DB shrugged and said,"It is in the ninja world. And to people like Wayward Son." The two had made it to the barracks. They went into their rooms to pack. DB put on his ninja uniform, under his other clothes and loaded himself with many, many, many weapons.

Tigress just put in another training uniform and that was the end of her packing.

They both walked out at the same time. Tigress asked,"You ready?"

DB replied,"Ya, I think so. I don't think I forgot any weapons."

Tigress said,"We shouldn't need weapons for negotiations."

DB replied,"i know. They are for use on the way there. Who knows what enemies we'll face."

Tigress said,"Good point." They then walked to the training hall.

Training hall

Shifu had decided to make this interesting by having a free for all brawl between everyone. Po swung Monkey towards Crane, who effortlessly dodged, but he was then struck from the side by Su. Mantis kicked Wing, but she got back up and dodged his next attack and punched him to the other side of the ring. Viper then tripped her by pulling on her left leg. Wan then squared off against Po, matching him blow for blow. But, she eventually hit him away and into Crane. They both hit the wall, with Crane being behind Po. when Po got off the wall, Crane was stuck. At that moment, Tigress and DB walked in. DB asked Shifu,"What's going on here?"

Shifu replied,"It is a free for all. You may join, if you like."

DB said,"I think that last part of the comment wasn't meant to be taken seriously."

Shifu replied,"You're right." DB sighed before jumping into the ring. Shifu turned to Tigress. He said,"Join in the spar."

Tigress just smirked and asked,"You said this was a free for all, right?"

Shifu gave her a questioning look and replied,"Yes, I did. What are you think- Oh no-" He couldn't finish his sentance, as Tigress had thrown him into the ring. He just chuckled as he joined in on it. tigress then jumped in and took on Po. They were moving in harmony, blocking and dodging each other's attacks. That is until Tigress kissed Po, making him stop. She then threw him towards Shifu, who jumped over him. DB then charged at Shifu. Shifu used his staff to flip DB over him. When DB landed, he slid under Shifu's staff and sweep kicked him. He then jumped, but before he could swing his foot down, he was tackled by Su from the side. When they landed, DB kicked her off. She flew to Tigress, landed a kick to launch herself back towards DB, but DB rolled out of the way, sweep kicked Monkey, then punched Mantis. He grabbed Monkey by the tail, swung him around and threw him at Po, knocking both of them out. Wing struck DB from behind, followed by Shifu hitting him with his staff. DB quickly recovered, just in time to dodge Su, who had lunged at him. Tigress tackled Shifu, but as soon as they landed, he kicked her off. He swung his staff down, but she blocked, only to be pulled down by Viper. DB was fighting all three Wu sisters. He threw down a smoke bomb and struck Wing from behind, knocking her into Su. They were both out. He then flipped to where Viper and Shifu were fighting, grabbed Viper and used her as a whip to take away Shifu's staff. But, it soon went against him as she wrapped herself around DB to make him hit himself. Even though she was doing this, he was still able to fight off Shifu, eventually pinning him with one leg. He finally pulled her off and threw her at Tigress, who simply ducked, and Viper was out. Mantis tried to take out DB by striking from behind at his head, but DB picked up Shifu and used him to block the attack. He then grabbed Mantis, but was kicked down by Wan before he could do anything. Mantis and Shifu were both released from his grip. Tigress jumped into the group. The rest was a blur. DB then threw down a big smoke bomb, making everything invisible. You heard punches being thrown and hits being landed, but tha was it. When the smoke cleared, Shifu and Mantis were both out. The other three were breathing heavily. They were enjoying themselves as they stood in their fighting stances. DB said with a smile,"Well, the final three. This should be interesting."

The two felines agreed, saying,"Yes."

DB then said,"May the better man, or woman, win." The three charged at each other. DB slid down to avoid the first strikes. He then jumped up and did a split kick that was dodged by Wan and blocked by Tigress. DB then landed, quickly grabbed Tigress's arms, kicked her legs out from under her, flipped her over him, and released. Wan dodged. When Tigress landed, she charged at DB, as was Wan. DB jumped over both felines, and charged. Tigress stopped and Wan turned around. The three met in the middle with a cloud of dust. When the dust settled, the three were out cold. Zeng then walked in. He looked around and seen all the warriors out cold. He went up first to Shifu na dshook him awake. Shifu opened his eyes and said,"Hello, Zeng. Do you have any messages?"

Zeng replied,"No. What happend here?"

Shifu chuckled and answered,"Nothing. Just a free for all that I got dragged into. It was actually quite fun." Shifu then stood to his feet and said,"Help me get them all up."

Soon, all the warriors were concious. DB said,"That was really fun. Let's never do that again."

The rest agreed saying in unison,"Agreed."

Shifu then said,"Po, cook us some supper, so that DB and Tigress may leave." The group then headed to the kitchen for some food.

a few hours later, Top of the thousand steps

All the warriors were at the top of the steps saying their goodbyes. Shifu said,"Tigress knows the way to go, so just follow her. It is imperative that everything goes well."

DB replied,"Understood."

Shifu then turned to Tigress and said,"Make sure you get there quickly. Also make the return trip equally fast, as we do not know when the enemies of DB will strike." Tigress nodded in understanding.

Monkey and Mantis came up and Monkey said,"Looks like you two will miss the almond cookie eating contest, and see me win."

Mantis retorted,"No way, man! They are going to miss seeing me win!"

DB quickly stepped in and said,"Guys! It doesn't matter who we will miss seing winning. We just know we will miss seeing one of you winning. That is all that really matters, isn't it?"

Monkey replied,"I guess so. But, I'm going to win!" DB glared at him. He quickly said,"Just kidding. Sort of." DB gave a sharp glance, just to keep him quiet.

Tigress said,"I was going to miss watching it, anyways. It'll be like I never left for that."

The Wu sisters came up next. Su and Wing gave a hug to DB and shook Tigress's hand. Su said,"Be careful. Both of you. Wan really needs you, DB. And the rest fo the Furious Five and Po, but mainly Po, needs you Tigress."

DB said,"Come on. We're two of the greatest warriors to ever live. What could happen?"

Su replied,"Exactly."

Wan came up to DB, the same way she had done just before she kissed him the first time. DB lifted her chin and said,"Don't worry. We'll be okay. I'll come back here for you. I always have and I always will. Now, come get your kiss." Wan lowered her mask and the two kissed.

They didn't release for a long time. Po had come up to Tigress and said,"Come back safely to me. I don't know what I would do if you didn't."

Tigress smiled tenderly and replied,"I always intended on it." Then, they too shared a long kiss. The two couples stayed like that for quite a while.

Shifu eventually cleared his throat to break apart the kiss, much to the dismay of the couples. Crane and Viper finally came up. Viper imediatly jumped on the two and brought them into a hug, at least the kind of hug she could manage. She said,"Be careful you two. You are two of my best friends. Tigress, you are like my sister. DB you are a really great friend. Please be safe. I'm really going to miss you both."

DB replied with a chuckle,"Calm down. We're just leaving for a diplomatic trip, not going to a war that we may not return from."

Viper released the hug and said, "I know. It's just hard for me when two of my friends go on any kind of mission alone. Just be careful, okay."

DB said,"I promise. The most we'll come back with is a small cut."

Viper smiled again and gave them another hug before Crane spoke, saying,"Good luck you two. I hope everything goes well."

Tigress replied,"It will. Make sure you keep Po in line, okay." She had a smirk on her face as she said it.

Crane chuckled and said,"Don't worry. I'll make sure he doesn't get into too much trouble."

DB chuckled and said,"Bye Crane. Try not to miss us too much, like Viper."

Crane had a small laugh and replied,"She misses too much because she cares."

DB said,"I know." He then turned to the group and said,"Well, I guess that's all. See you all later."

Tigress said,"Bye everyone. See you in a few days."

The two started down slowly, but before they got too far, DB turned and said,"Oh, and Po. If you're looking for Monkey's secret stash of almond cookies, they're hidden under the floorboards in his room." Then he and Tigress rushed down chuckling.

Monkey turned to see Po had already left. He then screamed,"MY ALMOND COOKIES!" He hen ran off towards his room.

The rest started laughing. Crane said,"Boy, do we have one heck of a dysfunctional family."

Mantis replied,"We sure do. But, we are able to put the 'fun' in 'dysfunctional', huh?"

Crane said,"Can't argue with that. Can't argue with that."

Shifu then said,"No wonder I feel like I'm the father of five-year-olds."

Su replied,"I felt the same way with my sisters sometimes."

Everyone was laughing as they entered the Jade Palace.

Well, I thought I'd add some comedy to the end of this chapter, as well as leaving you wondering what is going to happen next chapter. Please review and please get more people to read. I only have 26 views on this story at the time I wrote this! AND NO REVIEWS!