Lions are All the Same

Maz was the younger brother. He stood about to his brother's shoulders. His elder brother was only three years ahead of him. But being a kid in this environment, Maz counted himself lucky that he was royalty. Prince Maz and his brother Zander were sons of the emperor's sister. Maz didn't really like his uncle because of the way he treated the people, and in return, the people treated the royal family with spite. Several times while going in the city, the slaves and commoners would glare at the royal procession, just for getting a piece of fruit. However, though they did represent something vile to the city dwellers, the people treated Maz, Zander and their mother with some kind of respect. That was, of course, if the two were with their mother. Maz's life wasn't miserable, but he never grew deaf to the sounds of the whips and the screams of the people. One such scream echoed in the middle of the night. It woke the thirteen-year-old from bed. He shivered and quietly wept. He looked over to his brother. He was still sound asleep. Of course, Zander's back was towards him, so he couldn't see him crying. Maz decided to get up and go for a walk around the palace. It was definitely dark, but Maz didn't mind. He had grown accustomed to the dark, given the fact that he had to do this multiple times to go to his mother when he was afraid. The large empty halls were illuminated by the full moon. The colors and splendor of the palace couldn't be seen by the moon's light, but Maz walked to the balcony. It was a long hall with large pillars on one side to allow the light from outside in. The calm breeze blew through the curtains. Maz looked over the balcony. All he could see was blackness, with a few patches of light in it.

"Why?" He asked himself, "Why did he do this?" It was as if he was waiting for the darkness to reply. It suddenly did.

"Power does strange things to men sometimes," it said. Maz whirled around to see a big lion. He looked older than usual. His dark mane was starting to give out gray hairs. Maz relaxed when he saw who it was.

"General Gong-Go, don't scare me like that," Maz panted. The big lion walked up to the little boy.

"And what are you doing up, cub," He asked Maz. Maz looked away sadly.

"I...heard a scream," Maz silently said. The general grimly sighed.

"I heard it too. Another person caught out past curfew," He replied.

"Why is my uncle doing this, General Gong-Go? It...it doesn't feel right," Maz said. Gong-Go smiled at the little cub.

"Your mother has raised you right," Gong-Go answered. He hugged the boy close to his chest. "I know that this whole thing is scary. Maybe your uncle will change things. Or, if fate will it, your brother will change things, but let's not talk about that," Gong-Go said as his eyes darted around the room. It was true of what he said. The emperor of the Bei-Lang lions did have a wife, but she was barren, but she wouldn't tell him that. Gong-Go, Maz's mother, and the Empress had an idea that many couldn't hear yet. Not even Maz and Zander. "Let's get you back to bed." He could see the little lion yawning. He carried the boy in his arms back to his room. Maz sniffed and noticed a scent on Gong-Go.

"General Gong-Go, where have you been," Maz tiredly asked. "You smell...nice." Gong-Go, of course, was a little confused about what he meant until he sniffed himself. He knew where that smell came from, and it wasn't his.

"I've probably been hanging around my servant too long," He lied sweetly to the sleepy cub. It wasn't the duck servant's smell he was smelling. It was who the servant took care of when Gong-Go was away. Gong-Go noticed Maz was fast asleep in his arms. He finally got to the room and laid Maz down on the bed. Then he looked at Zander, who still had his back towards them. The general went over to him and calmly rubbed his head. "I know you're awake." Zander slowly looked at Gong-Go. "It's alright. Things will change." The sixteen-year-old simply nodded and tried to go back to sleep. As Gong-Go went out, he could hear Maz's soft voice.

"Goodnight, dad," He yawned. Gong-Go couldn't help but smile. He knew Maz wasn't his son, but he did treat the boys like they were his own.

Po didn't scream when he woke up from this dream. He simply sat up and sighed. It wasn't a terrifying dream as the last two. It was just...sad. "Poor Maz," Po sighed.

"Who's Maz?" Po turned to see everyone in his room.

"AHHHAHAHAH!" Po jumped, falling out of bed, and landing on his head. "OW!" The others quietly laughed as Po got up. "What are you guys doing in my room?"

"Well, we were expecting another scream in the night or another vision," Lillia said. "Which one is it?" Po looked at the floor a little.

"It's...different. I don't want to tell you about this one," Po simply said. "Don't worry, I don't think it will affect you guys."

"Never the less, you have to tell us, Po," Master Shifu replied. Po sighed.

"It's about the lions of Bei-Lang," Po stated. They all looked at Po, motioning him to continue. "Lillia, correct me if I'm wrong. The lions started attacking other people and villages around them, right?" Lillia nodded. "The emperor brainwashed all of them, thinking that these were people who were the cause of their own misery, right?" Lillia nodded. "Then the emperor turned on his own people and started treating them like slaves, right?" Lillia nodded. "And then General Gong-Go with your help and others defeated the emperor of Bei-Lang, killed all of his heirs and left the kingdom to the Master's Council. Now the royal family consists of the emperor's sister and her sons, correct?" Lillia slowly nodded.

"I was given strict instructions not to harm the sister or wife of the tyrant," Lillia growled.

"It's a good thing you didn't," Po sighed. Lillia looked at the panda.

"Why? All of them deserved to die because of what they did to the villages...and to me," Lillia snarled.

"Because he's innocent," Po replied, "General Gong-Go raised both the sons during this time like they were his own sons. They are different from the ones that destroyed the villages." Lillia walked up to Po and stared him straight in the face.

"All lions are the same," Lillia said menacingly. And with that, she walked out the room in a rage. The others looked at Po. He didn't seem to register what Lillia had said. Then he blinked a couple of times and seemed fine.

"Are you okay," Crane asked.

"Yeah, Lillia just gave me a flashback when I first met Tigress," Po smiled. Tigress's eyebrow rose up. "Oh come on, like you weren't exactly like Lillia?"

"I wasn't that harsh on you, was I?" Tigress said, thinking that Po was overexaggerating.

"Not that harsh, but definitely up there with the right amount of harshness," Po smirked. "Anyway, I just hope this person doesn't get to the Jade Palace."

"Why?" Mantis asked.

"Because if he does, he's probably a full grown lion and Lillia will be outraged," Po explained.

"I think she'll be fine," Tigress said.

"It's not her I'm worried about. It's the lion," Po replied. Tigress just shook her head.

Continued...