New chapter. Please read and review. Thx.
As he sat in the large bed, he looked over at Crane, who to the panda's surprise had also awoken, his head no longer tucked beneath his wing and both feet on the floor.
"Right, it's about time we talked about the elephant in the room." Crane spoke quietly but furiously. Po raised his eyebrows and pointed to the bedside table. "And no, I don't mean the large decorative figurine on the bedside table."
Po lowered his finger and glanced at Di Tan, who was still fast asleep in the other bed.
"You're right, let's go into the bathroom." Po whispered, secretly wishing that he wasn't about to leave his totally warm and comfortable bed. But still, something needed to be discussed now.
As silently as he could, Po lifted the thick covers and climbed out of bed. Luckily the boards didn't creak as he and Crane stepped into the adjacent bathroom the same color as the bedroom (different shades of green, not as tacky as it sounded). Po sat down on a small stool in the room as Crane shut the door and turned to him.
"Look…" Crane paused, his eyes narrowed. "You and I both know we have the same problem."
Po nodded, but then a moment later said;
"Just in case you're talking about something completely different, what?"
Crane set his beak and blinked several times, as if he was resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Po couldn't figure out what was wrong.
"I'm talking about you and me both being in love with a woman!"
"Oh, that…" Po glanced up sharply. "Wait, what?! Everyone knows you're in love with Viper, but what makes you think I'm in love with Tigress?"
Crane suddenly looked smug.
"Firstly, I've seen the way you look at her whenever Viper manages to talk her into wearing something other than her red vest. Secondly, I know all about your little 'tea party' the night before we left the valley. Thirdly, I never said you were in love with Tigress."
Po's eyes widened as he realized his mistake. His eyes turned away from Crane and he pursed his lips.
"I hate you." He muttered. "Okay, so I am in love with Tigress. So what?"
"So…" Crane paused again. "Ever since the Temple of Heroes debacle our minds have been half-distracted by our respective crushes. And since we're in one of the most isolated places in Asia and very likely to be killed by whatever attacked us this afternoon… what are we going to do about the distraction?"
There was a minute's silence as Po stared at the avian, trying to figure out what he was getting at.
"Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question, but what do you mean by 'distraction'?" He was relieved when Crane didn't react with frustration again.
"I mean that this is probably going to be our most dangerous mission yet, so we can't be wasting time worrying about girls." Crane said. "So what do we do? We can't just forget that we're in love!"
"Jeez, don't fluff your feathers, Crane." Po said, mildly taken aback. "Isn't it usually me who freaks out about these things?"
"I'm sorry, Po, but I did nearly die today. And I'm terrified that I might do something stupid and get Viper killed." Crane glared at him indignantly. "What do you suggest we do to make sure we don't get distracted during this mission?"
Po turned his gaze to the ceiling as he thought. The stone ceiling was the darkest shade of grey, two shades lighter than the floor and furniture. He was aware of Crane staring at him, as if he was hoping he could get an answer just by looking at his chin.
"Why don't we just let it go and do what we normally do?" He eventually said.
"What?!"
"Think about it…" Po stood up from the stool. "If we worry too much about not getting distracted by love, then that's gonna be a pretty big distraction in itself, isn't it? If we do our best to stick to our normal mission routine, then…" Suddenly his train of thought was gone. "Dang it…" He muttered as he tried to remember.
"You mean it's best if we just act natural." Crane said.
Good. The bird got it.
"Not just act natural, be natural." Po said with a relieved grin. "As long as we remember the top priority, everything will be fine. And once we get back to the valley, we can woo our respective crushes to our hearts content!"
"Presuming we get back to the valley in one piece." Crane muttered, his eyes on the large bathtub.
"Lighten up." Po said bluntly and without a hint of emotion. "Do you want to go back to bed and forget we had this conversation?"
"Sure. Your secret is my secret."
Speaking of secrets…
"Hey, Crane?" Po spoke, stopping the avian mid-turn when he made to head for the bathroom door.
"What?"
"Have you noticed anything weird going on with Monkey lately?" Po inquired. "Anything at all?"
"Nope, other than his obsession with those dao swords he brought with him." Crane replied. "Why, is there something wrong?"
Po opened his mouth to answer… but hesitated.
No, if Monkey knew something about the killers, he wouldn't keep it a secret from his friends. He wouldn't do that. He was Po's friend.
No, scratch that. He was Po's brother.
"No reason." Po said non-chalantly.
Crane gave him a look before leaving the bathroom.
Po followed him a moment later, but before he could return to his awesome bed he heard the softest of footsteps coming from the corridor outside.
Who would be walking around at this hour?"
"Who's that?" He heard Crane whisper as he returned to his mat.
"I'll check it out." Po crept towards the door. As he passed the sleeping Di Tan he found himself again thankful that the floorboards didn't creak.
He peeked out into the corridor. He looked to the left. Nothing. He looked to the right. A couple of doors down, Shifu was standing in front of Monkey and Mantis's door. Po was about to step into the corridor and ask what he was doing when the red panda rapped on the door with his staff.
One minute passed.
The door opened.
"Master Shifu?" Po heard Mantis's tired voice. "It must be midnight by now. What are you doing here?"
"I apologize for disturbing you." Shifu said. "May I speak with Monkey?"
"Uh… sure, I'll get him in a sec."
Po couldn't see what was going on from his position, but a moment later heard Monkey's voice at the door.
"What do you want me for, Master?"
"Mantis, could you leave us to speak privately?" Shifu asked.
"Okay. Goodnight." There was the slight flutter of wings as Mantis retreated into the guestroom.
What was going on, Po wondered.
"Is something wrong?" Monkey asked.
"There is something I wish to speak with you about." Shifu said. The room was dimly lit by small lanterns, so Po couldn't see their expressions.
"About what, Master?" Monkey sounded genuinely confused. And just as tired as Mantis.
"About what happened to you and the others today."
Po heard the door creak slightly.
"We already told you what happened, Master." Monkey said. "We were ambushed by flying rocks. Po and the other guys can testify to that."
"I already know all that." Shifu said irritably. The irritation unnerved Po. It wasn't like Shifu to be annoyed by anyone else other than the panda. "I'm more concerned about what you didn't tell me."
There was a heavy pause.
"I beg your pardon?" Monkey asked.
"You saw something just before you and the others were ambushed." Shifu replied.
"I told you we didn't see anything."
"Don't give me that!" Shifu snapped suddenly, making Po jump even though he was twenty feet away and barely able to hear what they were saying. "Po told me about what happened after dinner. He said you climbed up the rock to keep a lookout, and then you acted like you saw something. A second later Crane was almost killed by a boulder."
Po winced inwardly. He had forgotten about his little chat with Shifu earlier.
"I didn't see anything." Monkey replied firmly.
"What also bothers me is how you acted when you returned to the fortress. You were too calm after the attack for my liking. You still are." Now Po could sense anger slowly beginning to rise in the red panda. It was so obvious it scared him. "Is there something you're not telling me?"
"Look, even before I came to the Jade Palace I'd seen and experienced a lot of things even Tigress didn't!" Monkey said with equal anger at the accusation. "You know darn well what I'm talking about. So getting boulders flung at me doesn't really freak me out as much as it used to. Now let me get some sleep."
Po blinked. Never in his wildest dreams had he expected Monkey to talk back to Shifu like that.
As Po looked on, Shifu and Monkey glared at each other in silence. Then Shifu sighed and stepped away from the door.
"Fine. I'm sorry I disturbed you. Goodnight."
Po heard the door close.
He froze when Shifu, instead of heading back to his own room, turned and walked straight towards the panda, his expression one of frustrated concern.
Oh rice balls.
"Er…" Po gulped as Shifu stopped right in front of him. "How long did you know I was here?"
Shifu tilted his head.
"Do you really need me to answer?"
Po shook his head.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have eavesdropped."
"I'm not angry, Po."
"Are you sure? You looked like you were about to yell at Monkey just now."
"Hmmm…" Shifu's ears flattened against his skull. "Speaking of Monkey… do you have any idea what is going on with him?"
Po glanced over Shifu's head at Monkey's door before answering.
"Well, all I know is that his dad died here in the Himalayas when Monkey was a kid." Po said. "That's all I know, honest."
Shifu stroked his beard, his eyes narrowed in thought.
"Are you okay, Master?" Po asked.
"I'm fine." Shifu said, but then a minute later asked; "Po, are you sure you are telling me everything? I'm not accusing you, it's just that the last thing I need is my own students lying to me."
"Master Shifu, I swear on my dad's noodle cart that I'm telling you everything I know." Po said, placing a paw on his heart to symbolize how truthful he was being.
Shifu didn't reply.
"You know, Master, maybe you shouldn't worry too much about Monkey." Po said carefully. "There's always the chance that he's just acting strange because we're in the place where his dad died, and has nothing to do with whatever attacked us today."
Shifu and Po gazed at each other.
"You're right." Shifu said eventually with another, less agitated sigh. "Finishing this mission is the top priority. I can worry about Monkey later."
"That's a good idea. Whaddya say we head back to bed now?" Po asked hopefully. His eyelids were getting heavier by the minute and he was about to yawn in three seconds.
"Also a good idea." Shifu replied. "I told Su I wouldn't be gone too long anyway."
"Goodnight, Master." Po saluted him.
Shifu saluted him back and turned and walked back down the corridor.
Po yawned, stretched his arms and stepped back through his own door, hoping that for everyone's sake Monkey was indeed telling them everything.
General Tujiu was perched on the highest roof of the main fortress, gazing ahead at the mountains that surrounded the remarkable architecture. The new moon cast near complete darkness over the Himalayas, rendering the distant mountains nearly invisible. But Tujiu had been trained for decades to see through the inkiest black, and even from this distance could make out certain details on the mountainside. Such as the ruined rock outcropping where the male Jade Palace warriors had been ambushed, one of the boulders still embedded in the snow. Or the several markers dotted all over the landscape. Or the cave entrance Emperor Xian and the warriors had emerged from during their journey to the fortress of White Fortitude. Far down in the army camp situated just outside the outer wall of the fortress, small orange lights flickered as the campfires slowly died out.
Tujiu was currently perched on this isolated spot because he needed time to deal with the emotions that had arisen when the warriors and the emperor had arrived. Frustration at Xian's meddling. Condescension at the male warriors' cowardly reaction to the ambush that afternoon. Fear that he would soon lose his position if things didn't start changing for the better soon. All emotions very unhelpful in the crisis at hand.
Now was not the time for sentimentality. If he had any hope of the situation ultimately ending in his favor, then he would have to keep his emotions in check. Even if the Grandmaster and the Emperor were both breathing down his featherless neck. Not that he could blame them, he admitted to himself. But still, their intrusion into his fortress was annoying to no end.
Fifteen minutes of meditation later, Tujiu decided that he had out in the cold for long enough. The wind ruffled his dark feathers, reaching his skin and making him shiver slightly. He flapped his wings as he prepared to take off…
And folded them against his sides again. Not because he wasn't tired, but because as he had flapped his wings, his eyes had caught a hint of movement on the snowy mountainside, an estimated eleven miles from the fortress.
It wasn't a soldier. The patrollers never travelled this far from the fortress or the camp.
Tujiu narrowed his eyes and leaned forward on his perch as he searched for whatever he had seen. After a few seconds he found it again, and was perplexed as the dark shape ascended the rocky wall above the entrance to the tunnel network.
In front of Tujiu's keen eyes, the shape reached out with one long arm, did something to the rock, then leapt down as part of the rock wall came crashing down, completely covering the cave entrance in a matter of seconds. From this distance, the rockslide was silent, but Tujiu figured the noise must have been colossal to the creature.
Tujiu should have done something. Flown over there and tried to stop it. Warned the others. Instead he lowered his head and smiled.
Despite his earlier decision to suppress his emotions, he found a new one rising within him: respect. The creature had realized that the 'shortcut' was a liability, and had dealt with it in a way so that it would take days to clear. Now the chances for reinforcements or escape were less than zero. It was intelligent. And strong. A very bad combination for its enemies. Enemies like Shifu and Xian. And Tujiu himself if he underestimated the creature any longer.
"Lesson learned." Tujiu muttered.
It also confirmed what Tujiu had suspected for a while: it wasn't trying to scare them away.
As Tujiu looked on, the creature stood in front of the buried entrance for a few seconds, then began travelling west along the mountainside. Tujiu's eyes followed it as it reached a steep slope free of snow and began climbing, eventually disappearing into the rock.
"Game on." Tujiu said.
When he took off from his perch and flapped down towards the window of his private quarters, he was still grinning.
Ooooooh... the situation just gets worse and worse... and worse.
Yep, you guessed it. Tujiu's bad news.
In other news, Crane and Po decide suppress their romantic feeling for the time being... I wonder how that is going to turn out?
And what of poor Shifu's dilemma with Tigress?
All three subplots will continue... in the chapter after next. :)
Aren't I cruel?