The Way Back
Chapter 6-No Sacrifice, No Victory
Back With Po and the Soothsayer
"Like what?" Po asked, "You can't just do something and expect me to understand it".
The Soothsayer chuckled "No I suppose not, very well I will tell you how".
Po got comfortable, he could feel that this was going to be a long explanation.
The Soothsayer sat back down and took a deep breath, "You must know by now that creating an actual stone is impossible without taking a life".
Po nodded "I'm desperate to get back but I won't ever take a life to do it".
"Indeed, however it is possible to mimic certain...properties of the stone, for instance you might be able to harness it's ability to travel across dimensions".
Po felt a glimmer of hope, it was almost alien to him after constant failure, "Ok how?"
"Tell me Dragon Warrior, what are The Sacred Blood Stone's base ingredients? What do you need to make one?"
Po scratched his chin in thought "I don't know, I've just been experimenting with many different elements and materials".
"While that is a very methodical approach, it will take you decades if you do it at this rate".
Po sighed in defeat, "So it looks like I'm stuck here, I can't believe it! This just isn't fair".
Almost as if she read his mind she said "Do not fear Dragon Warrior for there is a way for you to do it within two days".
Po jumped up in excitement "Really? YES!, so what do I have to do?"
She held a hand up to calm him down, "Before I tell you I must warn you, this is a dangerous path Po, it could be the most emotionally taxing thing you've ever done, so what would you prefer? The long but guaranteed path which will take decades or the short path which you may not walk away from?".
Po didn't even flinch "Getting back to her is the only thing that matters" he answered confidently.
The Soothsayer nodded "I thought as much", she smiled "OK then Dragon Warrior, what you seek lies in the Forest of Thundering Winds".
Po had never heard of the place although it did sound foreboding, "OK, where is it?"
"You must head east, It is a days journey from here by boat, you must also go alone as an ancient enchantment only allows you to gain access when you are by yourself".
Po was worried about going by himself but the thought of being with Tigress in less than three days spurred him on.
"What exactly is it that I'm looking for?"
The Soothsayer retrieved a small scroll from a nearby shelf and handed it to Po, "It is a plant known as the Wu-Ben nectar, it is a small pink flower that grows near riverbeds, it is very rare and will be difficult to find".
She gestured to the scroll "In that scroll are things you will also need beside Wu-Ben, it is...very specific".
Po opened the scroll and real aloud the other ingredients "Water 35 liters, Carbon 20 kilograms, Ammonia 4 liters, Lime 1.5 kilograms, Phosphorus 800 grams, Salt 250 grams, Saltpeter 100 grams and Sulfur 80 grams".
He closed the scroll and looked at the Soothsayer with worry written on his face "Wow no kidding, the measurements go down to the last detail, however I should be able to get most of that stuff at the local market or I could find them on the way".
The Soothsayer nodded "Indeed, however all of it will be useless without Wu-Ben so make that your priority".
Po stood up and put the scroll in his pocket, "OK I'll start right now, the sooner the better".
The Soothsayer stood up as well "Good luck Dragon Warrior, I know you can do it".
Po bowed "Thank you for your help".
With that he left the house and started to make his way to the dock to inform Mantis and Viper of what had happened.
Back inside the house The Soothsayer was looking at the real scroll, "The Wu-Ben nectar still contains someone's life force, I'm sorry for lying to you Dragon Warrior but you deserve to be happy and I know you would never use it if you knew that someone sacrificed their self to make it".
The Soothsayer looked at her hand which had begun to fade, "I hope my sacrifice can absolve me of the pain that I put on you and Lord Shen".
A single tear fell from her eye, she was gone before it hit the ground.
xxxxx
Mantis and Viper saw Po making his way towards them with a look of joy written on his face, "Looks like he found something, I'm glad that this wasn't a wasted trip" thought Mantis.
"So did you find anything Po?" asked Viper.
Po grinned and nodded, he told them the whole story.
"So what do you want me and Viper to do while you're up finding this thing?" asked Mantis, as far as he was concerned he wasn't worried, he knew Po could do anything if he put his mind to something so he didn't object to Po going solo.
Po thought for a moment, "OK you guys go back to the Valley, Monkey may need backup if the Valley is attacked.
"OK then Po, are you sure that you'll be okay by yourself?" asked Viper always the worrier.
Po gave a wave of the hand to show his nonchalant attitude "Don't worry it'll be fine".
He looked at both Viper and Mantis seriously "I'll come back to the Valley before leaving, I couldn't leave without saying goodbye".
Mantis looked at him for a second "Well I can" and with that he turned back to the dock to get a boat.
Po chuckled "WELL BYE THEN" he yelled at Mantis's retreating figure, he turned back to Viper "You should get going to Viper, if you don't hurry he might just leave you here".
Viper smiled "OK then, but be careful Po you wouldn't want to die before getting back to your girlfriend".
Po hugged Viper and then made his way into the market to start gathering supplies.
"WAIT PO!" the yell stopped him in his tracks, Mantis landed in front of him.
"What is it Mantis? If you wanted to say goodbye you could of ju-" a bag of coins smashed Po in the face cutting off his sentence.
"You're gonna need money aren't you Po? Well here's all the money we brought, as far as I'm concerned you need it way more".
Po rubbed the spot where the bag had connected "That's gonna leave a mark" he thought annoyingly.
"Owww, why did you do that Mantis you jerk?" Po growled.
Mantis looked sternly at Po "If you had been more awake you would've caught that or at least blocked it".
Po sighed "Yeah I know, bu-".
Mantis floored Po "No, no but you're destroying yourself Po, I know how much she means to you really I do, but think about the other people who care about you not just Tigress".
Po felt guilty "I'm sorry, you're right I'll be more careful".
Po stood up "Thank you Mantis", Po bowed.
"Just get back to your world Po that's how you can thank me", Mantis hopped off back to the dock.
Po picked himself up, put the money in his pocket with the scroll and started to walk towards the marketplace.
xxxxx
Po's World
It was morning, Viper woke up and found herself in Crane's wings she panicked for a second before remembering the night before with a smile.
"Crane...Crane wake up" she said softly.
He slowly stirred and opened his eyes, when he saw Viper he smirked shyly.
"So how are you going to get back to your room?" he asked.
"I can probably make it before the gon-" she was cut off by the ringing of said gong.
They gasped and looked into each others eyes, after a while they began to laugh.
"Oh well, they were going to find out sooner or later" Crane said.
Viper uncoiled herself from his grasp and waited by the door for him.
Crane got up and stretched, he reached for his hat and placed it in it's usual spot.
He moved to the door and stood next to Viper, "Are you ready?" he said.
"Yes" she replied.
They both opened the door to reveal...nobody there.
"Where is everyone?" asked Crane in disbelief.
Viper shook her head "I don't know", they were both secretly glad however to have avoided the embarrassment and the inappropriate comments.
They both went to the training hall, as they approached it they could hear loud noises and grunts.
"Well at least we know Tigress is around" said Crane, he went to walk away but Viper tugged on his wing.
"Lets go tell her" said Viper.
Crane raised an eyebrow "Why? She just wants to be alone you know that".
Viper nodded glumly "I know, I also know that hearing about her friends being in a relationship may make her more upset, but she is a friend and this may make her stop training for a bit".
Crane sighed "Ok then", they started to walk towards the entrance "Don't get me wrong Viper it's not that I don't want her to know it's just that she's still grieving and she needs her space".
He pushed the door open and ducked quickly as a large chunk of wood hit the space where his head would have been.
Tigress padded over to them slowly, she didn't too great her fur had lost some of it's shininess and she looked tired.
"I apologize Master Crane I didn't know you were going to walk in" she said coldly, she didn't sound sorry however and didn't show any emotion.
"It's OK Tigress honestly" Crane grunted, he stood up and dusted himself off.
"Are you OK Tigress, you don't look so good" asked Viper, Tigress scoffed internally at the concern in her voice.
"They can't possibly understand how I feel" she thought angrily.
"I'm fine" she said simply.
Tigress walked out of the training hall "Congratulations on your new relationship".
Crane gasped "How could you possibly know that?", his question went unanswered however as Tigress simply walked off to the Peach Tree.
Crane looked at Viper "I told you".
"Ah there you are Crane and Viper" said Shifu suddenly , he was followed by Mantis and Monkey.
"Hello Master Shifu" said Crane and Viper while bowing.
Shifu looked around "Where is Tigress? She is usually the first one here".
Viper spoke up "She was here training a minute ago" she paused for a moment "Master I don't think she's slept at all and she really didn't look too great either".
Shifu sighed "You four begin training, I will speak to Tigress" he looked at Crane "Which way did she go?".
Crane gestured in the direction of the peach tree "She went to the Sacred Peach Tree".
Shifu nodded "Thank you Crane, now go and begin your training I will be back soon".
The other bowed and went into the hall, Shifu looked towards the peach tree "It's time to end this".