Can't Pick Your Family

"He wants you to do what?" Shifu asked. Po could completely understand his confusion. Personally, Po couldn't understand it either.

"I know it's weird, but that's what he told me," Po explained.

"Why would the Master tell you to go to the palace of Northern China just to meet with a guy?" Crane asked.

"I'm just as confused as you guys," Po answered. Shifu sighed.

"Well, if I've learned anything so far from this Master is that I don't want to get in the way of his goals. If this is what you have to do then do it," Shifu said.

"Great, and I'll need Tigress to accompany me. The Master told me he needs you on this mission," Po explained. Tigress's eyes widened and she seemed almost to perk up at the news, but she was careful to compose herself, simply nodding. "Great, I'll leave as soon as possible." With that, Po and Tigress went to the grand palace in Northern China. The trip took three days. Northern China was bigger and more populated than the Valley of Peace, or any valley for that matter. Recently, a famine had gone through the local area. The people couldn't travel to other places to get grain and the merchants started taking advantage of the situation. Rumors had spread about a man appointed by the ruler of Northern China to give stored grain to the people. Because of this man, the famine's toll on the people had lessened and he was seen as the second ruler of Northern China. As Po and Tigress stood in the line, Po looked around at the huge crowd surrounding them. "Man, this place is packed.

"Yes, it is very populated," Tigress agreed. "This overseer is quite the manager to keep all this chaos in order." A goat, who overheard their conversation, added his own two cents.

"He's not only done that. He's the one who predicted the famine would happen. He prepared three years in advance for it."

"Three years in advance," Po said. The goat nodded and went back to his own business. "Three years in advance is something that even soothsayers can't do. Most of them can only say it's somewhere in the future or something. None have been able to hit it dead on the mark." As they neared closer to the man, they saw some commotion going on.

"What's happening," Tigress asked.

"I don't know. It seems the guy is worried about something," Po commented, seeing the man pace around, whispering to servants. Po couldn't make out what the man actually looked like. He was covered from head to toe in a royal Chinese garment and had a fearsome looking mask on. "Hey, why is he wearing that mask?" Po asked the goat.

"Its said that when he predicted the famine, the ruler called him 'savior'. That mask is specially dedicated to him." Suddenly, a group of guards surrounded Po and Tigress and brought them to the front of the line, where the man sat. Tigress and Po respectfully bowed as the man sat menacingly from the seat. But for some reason, Po could see a little anxiety when he whispered to his interpreter. Some people in Northern China speak a language other than Chinese, so Po and Tigress assume he didn't understand Chinese, hence the interpreter.

"Jiu Zhu would like to know who you are," the interpreter said.

"I am Po, Dragon Warrior, and this is Master Tigress. We have come from the Valley of Peace to deliver the great Jiu Zhu a message," Po said. After translating for Jiu Zhu, the interpreter spoke.

"My lord says you are warriors here to seek the weakness of Northern China." Po's eyes widened.

"What? We're not here to do anything like that," Po said.

"We are simply here to talk to the great Jiu Zhu and deliver him a message," Tigress replied. While the interpreter translated, Po whispered to Tigress.

"Whatever happens, don't fight. I have a feeling the Master's behind this."

"Why would he want us to go to the prison?" Tigress asked, not believing him.

"I don't know. I'm the servant of the Master and I've learned one thing about him. You can never fully understand him. His ways aren't like our ways. And he doesn't think like normal people do," Po explained. The interpreter spoke again.

"If you have a message, then you will publicly say it." It seemed like an easy way out. Po was waiting for the Master to speak through him like he usually does, but nothing came out. Before Po could mutter even a sound, guards surrounded Po and Tigress in an instant. They were carried off to the prison. Tigress grumbled.

"Why didn't you say anything?" She asked.

"It wasn't my fault. I thought the Master was going to say something," Po said.

"You mean, he never tells you things in advance? It's all straight from him?" Tigress asked.

"Whenever I talk about the Master, it's usually me. But when I give a message from him, it's like my mouth isn't listening to me. It's like someone is talking to me and I'm just a figurehead," Po sighed. "What I really want to know is why this guy is so hostile towards us. He was fine with the other ones."

"So what do we do?" Tigress asked. Po laid his staff down in front of him and sat down.

"We wait patiently for the Master to do his work," Po said. Tigress sat down as well. About an hour passed when a guard opened the prison door. He was followed by two ladies who gave Tigress and Po fresh new clothes. The two were beyond confused.

"My lord has told me to ready you for him. He is requesting you for dinner," the guard said. Tigress and Po looked at each other. This made no sense at all.

With their new clothes on, the two warriors walked down the hall to the great table. The food was stacked up by the foot. Po teared up. "I'm in heaven," Po cried, jumping into the mountain of food. Tigress shook her head, but both of them became alerted when they heard a familiar voice.

"My lord hopes that everything is to your liking," the interpreter said. He was standing with a small mountain cat child with dark yellow eyes. The little one tried walking towards the panda, but the interpreter held her back. "Not now, Lula," the interpreter whispered.

"Yes... everything is-"

"Wonderful!" Po exclaimed, popping out of the mountain of food. Tigress groaned as the little Lula giggled at the sight.

"Funny panda," She said.

"Very well, my lord will be here shortly to explain everything to you," the interpreter said, walking off with the child.

"Bye Po," said Lula. That shocked both Po and Tigress. How in the world did the child know Po's name? Most people just know him by the Dragon Warrior. Maybe the whole family was a bunch of psychics.

"That was strange," Tigress commented.

"And weird," Po said. "But right now, I must conquer food mountain!" Po exclaimed, digging into the food again. Tigress shook her head. A little while later, when Po stopped his food conquest, Jiu Zhu came in. Tigress and Po respectfully bowed.

"It is an honor to meet you, Great Jiu Zhu," Tigress said slowly as the interpreter whispered to him. "But we are confused as to why you imprisoned us," She said, restraining her urge to growl.

"He was-"

"I was scared," Answered Jiu Zhu in a deep voice. Everyone in the room looked at Jiu Zhu surprised. He knows Chinese? "I was told that two warriors would come for me and to stay away from them. However, I had a dream about two warriors coming to me to do a task." Tigress's eyes narrowed at Jiu Zhu's emotionless mask. There was something familiar about his voice. Po was more accepting.

"We absolutely mean you no harm, Master Jiu Zhu. We're only here to give you a message that the almighty Master has given us," Po explained. Jiu Zhu's shoulders sagged and he seemed to become more relaxed.

"If you had said that at first, I wouldn't have put you in the prison," Jiu Zhu replied, "What is the message?" Now Po was able to tell him as the Master spoke through him.

"This is what the Master has said, 'You, great Jiu Zhu, have been a great follower of my mission. Therefore, I shall grant your request of seeing the Mongolian empire changed. But before you do that, you must accompany Po and Tigress to Bol-Lat on the eastern side of your region.'" Then Po looked over to Tigress. "The Master also said not to harm or persecute Jiu Zhu. He said we are to be his friend and love him like a brother. The mission is to warn the people of Bol-Lat about their wickedness," Po explained. Jiu Zhu sighed.

"Bol-Lat makes all the tribes, villages, and providences grieve. Its wickedness even annoys the Mongolians," Jiu Zhu said.

"Shall I tell your wife about your departure, my lord?" asked the interpreter.

"Yes, and don't bother getting my things. I will travel with what I wear. Minus the mask," Jiu Zhu said. With that, he took off his mask. Po and Tigress instantly realize who it was.

"Tai-Lung!" They exclaimed. He seemed frightened by their outburst. Tigress went to her fighting pose, but Po held her hand down.

"Remember what the Master said," He reminded her, "He wouldn't have warned us if he didn't know about it in the first place. A person that the Master trusts, I trust." Hesitantly, Tigress dropped her hands, but she didn't drop her guard. "The real question is how you're alive."

"After I was set free from Kai, I was transported to a cave. In the cave, I met a lovely mountain cat, who nursed me back to health and later became my wife." Tai-Lung shook his head, realizing he was going off on a tangent. "Anyways, a man came to me and started talking about the Master."

"There are others who know the Master?" Po asked. Tai-Lung nodded.

"Yes, and he helped me change. I was still angry about not having the Dragon Warrior title. Slowly, as time passed, I learned to forget about the past."

"How did you become the savior of Northen China?" Po asked. Tigress refused to speak.

"I was a student of the man who taught me about the Master. After he died going to Bol-Lat, I became the person everyone sought after. One day, the ruler of this place had a dream and with the Master's help, I interpreted it." Po fell silent, thinking about all of these things. He finally said.

"We'll talk about this later. It's important that we finish the Master's task first." Tai-Lung agreed. Tigress, who was still silent, walked out with Po, keeping a close eye on Tai-Lung.

Continued...