A/N: At Chapter 10 already! For all those who have followed, favorited or reviewed the story, thank you all so much! Your support gives me the motivation to keep continuing the story! Anyways on with Chapter 10!

Chapter 10

Fugitive

"He really reminds me of someone with his enthusiasm and charm." Viper said to Tigress as they were alone, while following the others and Hao up to the 1000 steps. Tigress winced when her sister said this, she knew exactly who she was referring to when she described the Cub's qualities. But she felt a bit of pride when thinking of how much the Cub resembled her boyfriend, she felt proud to have given the Cub hope in a time like this. "He does..." She replied to Viper with a smile on her face looking over to how the Cub was always running ahead and waiting for the masters to catch up. Viper responded in an apologetic "I'm sorry for what happened Tigress, we all are. It breaks our hearts to know that he is gone." Tigress just kept looking at the Cub as she said "At least his sacrifice wasn't in vain. He once again demonstrated why he is a great hero, I wanted nothing more than to beat that Lizard to oblivion, but it would have come at the cost of Hao's life, and probably many of the other orphans. And though I feel nothing but grief losing him, I'm sure he knows what he's doing." Viper then said "And it just had to happen on the same day as your first date. What terrible luck..." Tigress just looked away and didn't respond. She just thought about how much she had enjoyed their date, it had been so long since she had been able to feel happiness and love, in fact it had been a long time since she could even feel anything. But once the Panda began to interact with her more and more, her wall that she had built to withstand pain and emotions was crumpled. Interrupting her thought was Hao who then said "Wow! I've never been this far into the village before! There are so many shops!." The Cub went over to look at all the merchandise being sold, from exotic foods, to exquisite jewelry, to restaurants. The others couldn't help but smile at the Cub's adorable behavior.

Then Hao said "What's that smell? It smells delicious!" He then ran over to where the smell was coming from, almost forgetting about the masters. He then looked up at a sign that read 'Ping and Shan's Noodles'. "That must be where that awesome smell is coming from!" He said to himself as he entered the round entryway of the shop. "Hao!?" He heard Tigress calling out to him, and he was about to go back to Tigress to tell her where he was, but then he was greeted by a very kind voice behind him. "Hello young one, Welcome to Ping and Shan's Noodles! Is there anything I can do for you?" Hao looked back to see a middle aged Goose who wore a red robe with a very strange looking hat. "What's that amazing smell coming from this place? I've never smelt anything so good!" The Goose simply chuckled happily and said "So you like the smell of our signature noodle soup? Say young one, would you like to try it?" Hao then smiled but realized something, "I would love to sir! But I don't have any way to pay for it." He said with a hint of disappointment. "Oh nonsense! You can try it for free!" The Goose generously offered, and then continued in a whisper "just don't tell anyone else." the Goose said with a wink. "Really! That would be awesome! Thank you!" Hao happily replied. The Goose then nodded and went over to the kitchen to fix up the Cub a bowl of noodle soup that he had leftover from the batch he had made earlier, however he thought while on the way over to the counter 'That Tiger Cub really reminds me of someone...' Then a voiced called from just outside the restaurant "Hao!? Where did you go?" It was once again Tigress. Hao then remembered that he had left the Masters behind when looking for the origin of that amazing smell. "I'm right here!" He called out, hoping that Tigress would hear him. Sure enough within a couple of seconds, Master Tigress and the rest of the Furious Five came running into the shop. "Thank the Gods you're alright Hao, next time don't run off like that!" Tigress said affirmatively. "I'm sorry Master Tigress. I just smelt this amazing smell and I had to see what it was! And there's this really kind Goose who offered to let me try his food for free! And-" The Cub was cut off when he heard someone say "Master Tigress?" Mr Ping had been bringing the bowl of noodle soup to the Cub, when he noticed that the Masters of the Jade Palace were also standing in the entrance of the restaurant. "Hello Mr Ping, how are you today?" Crane spoke for the group. Mr Ping smiled and said "I'm doing very well thank you! Do you happen to know this nice young child?" He said to the group. Tigress then spoke "Mr Ping, meet Hao Liang, he will be living with us at the Jade Palace for while. Hao, meet Mr Ping, Po's father." Hao then gasped "You're Po's Dad!?" Mr Ping then laughed and said "Well, one of them at least!" The Goose said with a bit of a chuckle. "Wait, Po has more than one Dad?" The Cud said confused at what the Goose meant. "It's a long story for another time, now, I brought you a hot bowl of our noodle soup, enjoy!" Hao took a sip from the bowel with his spoon and instantly craved for more, this soup was simply the best food he had ever tasted. "Wow! This stuff is amazing!" He said taking many more spoonfuls. The Goose simply laughed as he said, I'm glad you like it." Then he said to Tigress, "speaking of Po, how is my son doing?" Tigress then began to frown and decided to recount the story to the middle aged Goose instead of hiding the truth. They discussed the matter at the same table as Hao was sitting at, though he hardly paid attention to the conversation as he was to busy enjoying the incredibly delicious meal he was eating.

Once they finished recounting the story, Mr Ping was heartbroken and seemed very sad, he had always been very protective of his son and always wanted the best life for Po. Initially Ping had wanted Po to inherit the family business and continue his legacy, however, he soon realized that Po had always aspired to something greater. And that's exactly why he enjoyed being the Dragon Warrior so much, Po had always dreamed of learning the art of Kung Fu, however what he wanted more than anything, was to be a hero. And even though he was upset with the situation, he knew that Po would never go back on his word, and he would always come back.

Once Hao had finished his meal, they got up from their seats and said their goodbyes to Mr Ping, the sun had nearly set and all the village shops were beginning to close for the night. So the Masters left the noodle shop and made their way to the 1000 steps to the jade Palace, when they came to the steps Hao was surprised at how far up the stairs went. "Wow, you guys climb all those steps just to get to the Palace?" He said feeling a bit nervous. "Don't Worry Hao, they aren't as long as they seem, but trust me when I say that there was one individual who always hated these stairs." Tigress said with a bit of a giggle at the end. "I don't think I'll be able to make it to the top." Hao said with a lack of confidence. Tigress just smiled and said "Just do your best Hao, I will help you the rest of the way."

For a young Cub, Hao had gotten quite far up the stairs, stopping halfway. It had been a long day for the Cub and his body needed to rest, and so Tigress kindly picked the Cub up by the waist and held him next to her right shoulder as she carried him the rest of the way up. Viper couldn't help but feel great happiness when looking at Tigress carrying the adorable innocent Cub up the stairs who had fallen asleep in her arms. "He's so adorable you know." Viper quietly said to Tigress as to not wake the Cub. "He sure is, and he's a strong one too, he has been through a lot lately." Tigress responded almost whispering to also avoid waking the Cub. Viper then switched topics "So, do you miss him?" Tigress just closed her eyes and said in a sad tone "yes."

Meanwhile in a place unknown, many miles from the valley of peace...

Po opened his eyes and saw nothing but darkness and a small amount of moonlight on the floor which entered the room from a window which was barred with thick steel bars. The room looked almost exactly like the one he had been in during his nightmares. 'So the nightmares really were real.' He thought to himself as he observed more of his surroundings, he was standing up on a floor which was quite dirty, he presumed it hadn't been cleaned for a long time. He tried to move but then realized that his wrists were bound by strong Iron Shackles and chains which pinned his arms to the wall. He figured he would be patient instead of trying to escape. On his way up to this place, Po had meditated for nearly the entire trip, tuning out many distractions such as the cart wheels spinning, the footsteps of the mercenaries and also their conversations. Ever since he had defeated Kai, Po became much better in his meditation, he was able to sustain his calm and peace for hours (sometimes days) without being distracted in any way. On the way, he had used it as a means to calm his mind and body, also because he really didn't have anything better to do since he was imprisoned. Now he couldn't perform meditation in the lotus pose, however he could still quite his mind and get a clearer view on everything. He then heard what sounded like a prison door open with a metal squeak. Then he heard footsteps which sounded like those that he had heard in his first dream. "What do you want." Po said in a calm but unamused voice. The Komodo Dragon then laughed and said "What I want, my friend, is to ask you if you know why you are here."

Po didn't respond to this, sure he had a couple ideas on why the Komodo Dragon had captured him, but none of them had any evidence to prove them. "No response? Well I didn't exactly expect you to be very social so I guess I'll tell you why you're here." The Komodo Dragon said to Po in an understanding tone. "You see, I intend to rule the country, and I need your help to accomplish just that. I've heard of how powerful you are, and also how you are one of China's greatest heroes." Po began to slightly growl at the Komodo Dragon who then continued "But wouldn't you like to rid the entire country of crime and villainy?" The Komodo Dragon said as he began to smirk. Po then responded "How? By killing the criminals and forcing the country into fear? I'm sorry, but I've already dealt with a tyrant and he had at similar ambition to you. I'll never join you."

The Komodo Dragon just laughed and said "I didn't expect that you would join me willingly Dragon Warrior...But nonetheless, you will come around eventually..." He laughed and then left from the same doors that he had come in earlier. Once the cold blooded tyrant left the room Po thought 'so he intends to use me as a pawn to conquer all of China? Well, I can't let that happen.' Po then looked at both the chains on either arm restraining him. 'I'd better break out soon...But first I have to make sure the coast is clear...' He thought as he dilated his pupils to allow him to see in more clarity, although it was still dark, he could now see the walls of the entire room in more detail. They were made of thick concrete and probably reinforced with iron rebar, one of them had a small barred window which he had already seen. 'That window is way to small for me to fit through, even though I have lost a lot of weight.' He thought to himself trying to find another way to escape. 'The only other way that I can see is the same door that the bastard came in and out from, but it's bound to be well guarded, I'm going to have to be very quiet about this.' He thought. Looking out as far as he could, he noticed that nobody was guarding his cell, he suspected that this was because they believed that no one could escape. So gathering all the strength he had, Po began to pull his right arm as hard as he could away from the chain. After seconds of pulling extremely hard on the chain, it gave away and snapped, freeing Po's right arm. The wrist brace and some of the chain were still attached to his arm, but this didn't matter to Po, he was only focused on getting out of this place. He then pulled the chain binding his left arm as hard as before, once again after seconds of applying much force to the chain, it snapped, freeing Po completely.

Now that he was free from the chains, he stretched his limbs and neck and began to channel his Chi throughout his body. He was using his Chi to augment his physical strength. 'Just have to bend these bars quietly now.' He thought as he began to feel the strength building in his muscles. He then grabbed two of the bars and pushed very hard to bend them away from each other. They were strong, but Po was stronger, as he bent a crevice in between the bars that was just big enough for him to fit through. He then got out of his cell and looked around the hallway which his cell was in. He saw the hallway lead in two different directions, one lead to a dead end and the other looked like it branched off two ways as well. He decided to follow the open way, there were many other cells in the building, all of which looked similar to the one Po had been in. As he passed the many empty cell blocks on the way to the junction at the end of the hallway, he saw a room that had a label on it, it read 'Powder Room'. Po then remembered back to after he had defeated Lord Shen, the citizens of Gongmen city had made an investigation of the weapon that he had used to take over the city. They concluded that the weapon was powered by a substance called 'gunpowder', and that this substance was highly explosive. An idea then struck Po, 'I'll ignite the powder inside this room which will distract them, allowing me to escape and also cripple their operation.' So Po entered the room, it was very dark, he presumed that they didn't want to light the room as to not set fire to the highly volatile substance. He found many sealed barrels which housed the gunpowder, so he opened one of the barrels and started making a trail of the powder on the floor leading out of the room so that he wouldn't be near to the large blast. Once he was far enough away, he set the now empty barrel aside. 'Damn, there aren't any torches around here.' He thought as he looked for another way to set fire to the gunpowder. He then looked at the shackles that were still on his wrists and another idea struck him 'that's it!' Wasting no time, Po began to scrape the iron shackles against each other to make a spark. He tried this for nearly 30 seconds until he heard footsteps approaching his location, "Common Damnit!" Po angrily whispered to himself as he still tried to make a spark. Just then he heard someone at the junction gasp, he rapidly turned his head around and saw a shocked and nervous boar guard. Po then said to himself "Son of a Bi-" He was then interrupted as the Boar took out a horn and sounded an alarm. Po then took the empty gunpowder barrel and threw it at the Boar knocking him out. "Godamnit!" He said to himself. He wouldn't be able to escape out the front door now, so he quickly scraped the shackles against each other very hard which made many sparks. The gunpowder then began to catch fire and followed the trail which lead to the Powder Room.

"POW!"

The Powder room made a massive explosion which destroyed nearly half the hallway. Po had closed his eyes during the explosion and when he opened his eyes he saw that the explosion had made a large opening in the building. 'There's my escape route.' He thought to himself as he hurried towards the opening. Within seconds, he arrived at the large opening, but noticed that there was still much fire and smoke in the way, however through the debris was a wooden fence which was on fire. 'that must be the border of the place! I just have to get through all this fire!' He thought as he gathered his Chi and once again channeled it through his muscles to give him better speed. He then ran as fast as he could towards the burning fence, running through fiery debris on the way which Po ignored as he was more focused on escaping the place. Once he got out of the inferno, he noticed that his green tunic had caught fire, so he ditched the tunic and kept on running. Once he was nearly 100 meters from the fence, he started hearing loud shouts coming from the burning building, "Find him you idiots! No one escapes this camp!" He heard an angered voice shout. He just kept on running to get away from the pursuers, he was nearly at the fence but then…

"Splat!"

His left leg stopped moving and he fell to the ground in extreme pain. His left thigh had just been punctured by an arrow from a bow. He then hear the shouts of the mercenaries getting closer to him, he knew he had to keep moving. But he was too late, the mercenaries had caught up with him and trapped him in a circle. He then heard someone say "Do not kill him! I want him alive!" The mercenaries then began to approach Po as he knelt on the grass clutching his leg where the arrow had pierced. He then began to growl violently as he got into a fighting stance. He then pulled the arrow out of his leg and snapped it in half with one hand making the mercenaries more nervous. They then charged the Panda all at once, and the Panda responded by fighting all 10 mercenaries at once. He had knocked nearly 8 of the mercenaries out when he noticed that many more were replacing the ones he had knocked down. 'They wont get me down without a fight!' He thought as he kept fighting the Boars and Wolves that were attacking him. He began to tire after a few minutes of consecutive fighting thanks to the wound in his leg, but his resolve was still there. He had knocked down nearly 20 mercenaries when all the sudden…

"Splat!"

Another arrow pierced him, but this time it hit him in his upper right chest. He roared in pain which again frightened the attackers, but they still assaulted him. This time, he didn't even bother to pull out the arrow and kept fighting with absolute ferocity.

From not to far away, Akuma watched the fight unfold, he was very impressed with the Panda's resilience and resolve. Though he was also very enraged at how the Panda had destroyed his entire storage room for gunpowder, as well as half of the prison that he had in his camp. As he watched the Panda fight off his thugs, he noticed that the Panda was giving into exhaustion, no doubt because of his injuries. He then signaled for his strongest men (The Gorilla warriors) to restrain the Panda.

At the moment, Po was being jumped on from all directions as the thugs were trying to tackle him to the ground. He flung most of them off, however there were too many, and they quickly pinned him to the ground. With all the remaining strength he had, he rose from the ground roaring loudly and throwing nearly all the thugs off him sending them flying. He then tried to catch his breath quickly, but he was then swarmed by the Gorilla thugs who permanently pinned him to the ground. At this point, the adrenaline rush that Po had wore away and he gave up in defeat, passing out from the blood loss he had sustained.

Once the Gorillas noticed that the Panda wasn't moving anymore, they got off him. "A valiant escape attempt 'Dragon Warrior'." Akuma said to Po who was now on the ground unconscious. "However, I'm not done with you yet." Akuma said in an evil voice.

A/N: Wow, Po really put up a fight! Too bad he didn't make it out of there…

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