Chapter Four

It took Po just seconds to reach top of The Thousand Steps, having blurred past Shifu and The Five. He leapt. For a few moments, he appeared stuck in the sky; a dot of black and white almost lost to a canvas of grey. Though, gravity took hold and he began dropping like a stone.

"AHHHHHH," Po shouted as he gazed wide-eyed at the rapidly approaching last few stairs that led to the village, "This was a bad idea!" Po closed his eyes tight and braced himself for the impact. Yet, when it came, it was not from below him, but rather above! Opening his eyes, he saw Crane, dressed in simple blue cloth pants and straw hat, looking down at him as he broke the panda's fall. "Whoa! Nice catch, Crane! I owe ya one!" Soon Po was back on the street; his heavy paws slammed down hard on cobblestone are he tore at breakneck speed to his father's shop. Skirting quickly around tables, The Dragon Warrior made his way to the kitchen entrance. Stepping in to what he saw made Po drop to his knees. Looking around, he saw drawers had been ripped out and tossed through; the dishes were smashed to mere fragments and all the food in storage, as well as spice jars, were scattered and strewn everywhere.

Standing up, Po aimlessly wandered the kitchen and tossed over a few upturned onion baskets. Stumbling about to the back of the kitchen, He let out a gasp. There before him was a small patch of blood-stained wood flooring. He knew it must belong go his father. Shaking his head and letting out a soft sigh, he sat down hard on the floor and sobbed quietly.

"Po, we will find your dad," Said Tigress. She had been the first to follow Po in, followed by Mantis while being shuttled on the shoulder of Monkey and Viper and Crane just behind them. "He is still alive, wherever he is, I know it." Her tone seemed convincing enough but Po heaved another sigh and continued to let silent tears fall. Throwing an arm around him, she brought his eyes to meet hers and smiled. "We are hardcore, remember? Nerves of steel? Souls of platinum? Come on, Po. We won't find him here, but we will find him."

"Yeah," spoke Monkey with an air of enthusiasm, "and when we find the guys that did it, we can use them to get in more Kung Fu training! After all, someone dumb enough to kidnap Po's dad is just asking for a butt kicking!" At this, they all laughed, even Po, and they seemed refreshed by monkey's good natured humor. Getting up and drying his eyes, the giant panda smiled lightly and nodded to his friends, swelling with the pride one gets when surrounded by family.

"So, where do we start looking?" Po scratched his head and scanned the room again. "It looks like there isn't much to go on."

Po and The Furious Five began combing through the house to search for clues to Mr. Ping's captors. Tigress, Monkey and Po searched the upstairs while the rest checked around further in the shop and surrounding grounds. The upstairs living area was just as jumbled and wrecked. Clothes and the drawers that contained were thrown about and the dressers had been destroyed. An end table was upturned near the upstairs landing and both Po's old bed and his fathers had been slashed and torn apart. Po Let out a stifled yell as he saw, on the floor near his bed, a small pile of broken action figures.

"No, you fiends," cried Po! "How," he scooped the broken toys into his paw and stared, with misty eyes, "How could they? First, they kidnap my dad and then they break my limited edition Furious Five: Protectors of China action figures!" Letting out a grunt of annoyance Po tossed the broken pieces to the floor and kicked them away. "Geez, I can't believe this!" He stomped angrily on the floor. "Where do we find these guys? Where do we even start looking?"

"How about there?" Monkey was over by the window and looking out into the dining area, pointing to something in front of the shop. Coming to the window, the other two saw what Monkey spoke of. The tables and chairs in the yard spelled out a phrase in Chinese characters. ("Shrine of the Soul") "I think there would be a good place to start."

Po turned to his friends, a look of bewilderment on his face and questioned. "Okay, that sounds like a name worthy of awesomeness on so many levels but what is a "shrine of the soul? You think it could be a soul in the literal sense or that it's a metaphor? Because to me, it sounds like some soul clens.."

Tigress had little time to react. She saw, out the window, the leopard come around the corner of the shop and draw his bowstring back, with an arrow nocked and flashing a deadly smile. Spinning on heel and flattening her body low, she threw her leg away from her, catching Monkey and Po in the legs and bringing them to the floor of the bedroom as the arrow soared through the window and across the room to strike the far wall. Reacting quickly, as their training taught them, they sprang to paws and headed for the attacker; Tigress jumping through the window and Monkey zipping down the stairs, with Po right behind him.

"One of them has found us! Do not let him get away," Tigress bellowed! "He's over by the archway to the shop!" She hit, foot paws first, on a tabletop and it buckled under the force of her landing. Jumping from it, she crossed the yard in a flash and was on the assassin with a mighty fury. With finesse, she extended her left paw forward and attempted to strike his jaw, but to her surprise, the snow leopard brought his off hand up and blocked. She then spun, attempting to elbow him in the ribs but again, he deflected her attack. Tigress jumped back to allow a few paces between her and her foe. She was surprised at his speed and technique. Taking a steady inhale of air, tigress lunged at the leopard, hoping to throw him off guard with a fierce attack. The leopard was a trained killer, however. With a grin, he leapt almost effortlessly into the air and brought a leg forward. Tigress had made a mistake and reacted with haste and now, she could not break her reckless charge forward.

There was a painful moan that escaped her lips as the foot paw struck her in the abdomen, follow immediately by loud cracking sounds. For a moment, both seemed frozen in time. Tigress slumped to the ground, doubled over in pain and clutching her ribs. As she dropped, the leopard himself his own surprise however, as Mantis came bounding over her and kicking the villain in the jaw, sending him into the adjacent wall. As Po and the other members of the five approached, the leopard laughed, pulling himself out of the wall.

"Don't be late, tubby," He shouted at the five! "I'd hate to see what would happen if you didn't show! You have till midnight to surrender the soul!" Still laughing, the leopard ran off down the street.

"After him," Po shouted as he knelt beside Tigress! Just as Monkey, Crane and Mantis were about to give chase however, Viper yelled out to them.

"Wait! Tigress is really hurt! We need to get her back to the palace!" Looking over her friend, the little green snake did her best to comfort the cat. Tigress was still unspeaking and clutching her ribs as though she were trying to hold herself together, her face twisted in pain. Her eyes were scrunched tightly and her upper lip curled, showing her long white fangs. Po placed a paw gently on her forehead and tried to hold back tears.

"Hang on Tigress," he spoke softly to her. "We will get you back on your feet in no time. I'll take care of you." Picking her up slowly, The Dragon Warrior carried her back to the Jade Palace are carefully as possible. The leopard may have gotten away, Po thought, but at least they knew where they would see him next; at the shrine of the soul, which unknown to Po, sat at the very center of the Valley's cemetery.