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Fourteen days into their journey, Po's legs were beginning to feel like lead weights.
"Are... we there... yet?" He panted. They hadn't stopped to rest for six hours.
Tigress rolled her eyes, opened her mouth to say that they obviously weren't, when Master Eagle Jr. said;
"Almost, Dragon Warrior. In case you didn't hear us mention it earlier, we are currently traveling through the Hariyo Forest, in the eastern Nepalese region." He said. Indeed, the traveling party was currently walking along a small dirt path cutting through a forest full of lush evergreen trees Po had never seen before. "Once we reach the other side, we will have reached the base of the lower mountains of the Himalayas."
"The not so snowy ones." Mantis added.
"From there, our route takes us through the mountains." Shifu took up the explanation. "We follow a small path for four or five days until we reach the-"
"Four or five days?" Tigress frowned. "But wouldn't walking to the fortress take a fortnight at the very least?"
"I'm just getting to that. After four or five days, we reach a natural tunnel system that cuts right through three of the bigger mountains. It would cut that time in half. After that, it's a two or three day walk to the fortress."
"Are you kidding?!" Po groaned. "I thought you said that this trip would take sixteen days at the least!"
"At the least." Shifu replied, then turned and walked over to Emperor Xian, who was trekking several feet ahead of the others. "Emperor Xian, the sun is beginning to set. Should we stop for the night?"
Xian looked up at the sky, which was turning steadily from pale blue to orange.
"I think we should. I see a small clearing up ahead. We can rest there."
"Good." Shifu replied. Silence passed between them for a while, then he added. "I still think you shouldn't have come with us on this very dangerous mission." He said with a small scowl.
Xian's placid expression suddenly changed.
"I have a duty to protect my people." He replied without so much as glancing at the red panda.
Shifu sighed in exasperation.
"Emperor..." Shifu paused as he tried to find the right tact. "If something happens to you while on this mission, then the empire faces a massive power struggle."
"You forget that I have made Lu Kang my heir. And he has changed greatly for the better since your panda student trained him." Xian said.
"But he isn't of royal blood." Shifu replied. "And you know as well as I do that there are others who desire the throne for themselves. If something happens, then they are bound to start searching for loopholes. Lu Kang not being a blood relative could almost count as one."
"Lu Kang is just as much a part of the family as my father once was." Xian said. "And I made a public announcement that he would ascend the throne upon my passing. I even wrote a will. Several of them in fact. And he is surrounding by loyal friends and equally loyal warriors." He glanced back at Master Eagle Jr. "If those power-hungry buffoons insist on taking the throne, then I'd like to see them try."
Shifu fought the urge to groan. Xian was still as stubborn as when he had once been Shifu's student.
"But Emperor Xian..." He began.
"Stop it, Shifu." Xian said harshly. "I'm joining you whether you like it or not."
"I..."
"Don't make me order you to shut up."
"Alright!" Shifu snapped and slammed the bottom of his staff to the ground. "I will say no more about this! But if anything happens, don't you dare try to be a hero!"
"Fine by me." Xian snapped back.
"Fine!" Shifu stormed off ahead to make sure that the clearing they were approaching would be safe for camping.
Several feet behind, Po and the others stared with wide eyes at the argument they had just witnessed.
"What the heck was that all about?" Po asked.
Eagle Jr. sighed.
"Evidently the grandmaster is still opposed to the Emperor coming with us."
"I don't blame him." Tigress said. "Personally, I would never question the Emperor, but if he gets himself killed then there could be dire consequences for the empire."
"I doubt it." Eagle Jr. chuckled. "I and the Emperor took care of everything before we departed for the Jade Palace. There is no-one other than Prince Lu Kang who can take the throne legally."
"If you say so..." Viper said. A few minutes ago she was slithering alongside Crane and Monkey (the latter was pulling the second cart.), but after hearing the angry exchange up ahead of them, had decided to slither up to her other friends and join in on their conversation. "But I'm getting a feeling that the Emperor may have other reasons for joining us on this mission."
Eagle Jr. gazed at the snake with an unexpectedly saddened expression.
"I share the same suspicion." he said. "Please do not repeat this to his highness, but I suspect that he still blames himself for his father's death."
"Really?" Mantis asked. "I don't see how. His dad died of natural causes didn't he?"
"Not quite." Po said in an unusually quiet voice. "The previous Emperor was killed in the Great Fire of the Imperial City."
"A coup de tat that went bad." Eagle Jr. said.
"What happened?" Viper asked. "I've never heard of such an incident."
"Well, a lot of people probably wouldn't want to speak of such a thing, so of course you haven't." Po said. "I'm not sure I want to tell the story myself."
"Go on." Tigress said.
"Alright..." Po took a deep breath.
"There was once this group of military goons who got arrogant and power-hungry and thought they could try to take over." Po said. "A long time ago, when you and me were still around baby age, they did the thing you usually do when you try to take over: they planned their attack, they invaded the Imperial Palace and tried to overthrow the Emperor. It went horribly wrong for both sides. After a long day and night of fighting, the attempted usurpers and their small army were eventually defeated, but not before they started a fire that consumed most of the palace and eventually spread to the city surrounding it."
"Over seventy houses were destroyed." Eagle Jr. said. "Ninety people died, the Emperor and most of the royal family included. Luckily Prince Xian, the Emperor's son and immediate heir, survived the fire, and therefore the coup failed."
"What a dreadful story." Viper sighed.
"Yeah..." Crane added, who had been eavesdropping with a sorrowful expression.
"Survivors guilt is a terrible thing." Eagle Jr. said. "Emperor Xian must believe that going to the fortress and protecting those soldiers in danger will make up for his failure to protect his family."
"Who knows, this mission might help make him feel better!" Po exclaimed, suddenly becoming his usual optimistic self. "It's a horrible thing, losing someone you care about. Believe me, I know."
"Everybody's lost someone."
Po turned his head.
"What was that, Monkey?"
"Oh, er, nothing!" Monkey called back. "Sorry, I'll shut up now."
Po raised an eyebrow.
Ever since Shifu had briefed them on the situation at the fortress, Monkey was behaving a lot less like his usual cheerful, pranky self. He hadn't made a joke in weeks, he rarely joined in any of his friends' conversations, and he always looked like that his mind was elsewhere.
Not for the first time since this started, Po felt a twinge of concern for his friend, and thought back to a conversation that they had had right before they had begun their journey...
Two weeks ago...
"What's taking him so long?" Shifu demanded irately as he paced back and forth in front of the entrance to the Hall of Warriors along with the other members of the traveling party. "Po, find out what is keeping Monkey!"
"Okay, Master." Po saluted the red panda and made his way to the student barracks where Monkey was taking an unusually long time sorting out the last of the supplies.
When he stepped into the kitchen, Po found Monkey sitting at the table, staring down at a pair of dao swords lying side by side on the wooden surface.
"Monkey?"
The primate looked up.
"What are you doing?"
Monkey leapt up from his chair with a start.
"Oh man, I'm late, aren't I?!"
"Calm down, Monkey." Po said. "You're only late by a few minutes. What are those swords for, anyway?"
"Nothing! They're nothing."
"Really? One of them looks an awful lot like the sword Princess Haoxin gave you the other day, except without all the rust."
"Po, I said it's nothing."
"Is it anything to do with your dad?"
The kitchen fell silent. Po realized what he had just said and clapped his paws over his mouth.
"Mantis told you, didn't he?" Monkey didn't seem that angry.
"Yes." Po said, his voice muffled by his paws. He lowered them before he continued speaking. "Don't be too mad at him, Monkey. I kinda pressured him into telling."
"It's alright, Po." Monkey replied. "I'm actually a little relieved. At least I won't have to tell you myself when the time comes."
"Oh..." Po twiddled his thumbs. "So... what are those swords for?"
"These belonged to my father. This one..." Monkey picked up the sword on the left. He had the smallest of smiles on his face, as if he was pleased to finally have someone to talk to about certain personal topics. "Was given to my family after all the bodies were collected..."
"Bodies?!" Po's eyes widened.
"Sorry, forget I said that. As I was saying, this one was given to my family. After we completely broke apart when Wu Kong turned to crime, I took this to the Jade Palace and kept it in my bedroom ever since." He put down the sword and picked up its brother, the one which had once been rusted. "This is the other. It was recovered not too long ago, and was passed to Princess Haoxin to give to me."
"Ah, now I get it." Po said. After a moment's pause, he sat down in the chair opposite Monkey. "Are you sure you're alright?"
"Yes."
"You sure?"
"Yes."
"Monkey, I don't mean to rub it in, but we're going to the place where your dad died. Doesn't that bother you just a little bit?"
"No."
Monkey looked completely placid. Po, on the other hand, was unconvinced. However, instead of persisting he sighed and got to his feet.
"Alright, I'll take your word for it." He said. "Are you finished with the supplies?"
"No, sorry."
"Well I think you'd better hurry up unless you want to gain fifteen minutes of sparring time with Master Shifu. I'll just go and tell him that you're still looking for a few things."
"Okay. Thanks, Po."
Po turned round. He took two steps, stopped then turned his head.
"Look, Monkey." He said. "I know you just said that you're okay, but you never know. Your feelings might change once we get up there."
"I think I'll be able to take it." Monkey, who had gotten up from his chair to wrap the two dao swords up in a thick sheet, now had his back to Po, so the panda couldn't see his expression. "See you in a few."
"Can I say one more thing?" Po asked hesitantly.
There was a pause.
"Speak."
"Just in case you do get a little bit upset... don't forget that I'm your best friend. If something does happen, you can talk to me. Okay?"
"Okay."
"Okay. See ya."
Po turned back round and started for the exit.
"Po... put the cookie jar back."
Po stopped.
With a deep sigh, he pulled out the greenish blue jar of almond cookies, turned round, and set it on the table in front of Monkey.
"You know if we hadn't had that conversation just now I'd kill you, right?"
"Yep."
"Was this hidden in your pants?"
"... Maybe..."
"Toss them in the bin and you can bake me a new batch after the mission."
Present day...
Po was distracted from his flashback by the sound of the tiniest of rustles coming from the food cart being pulled behind them.