Strong

Questions Answered

YIP! YIP!

The canine's happy squeals rang out through the night as he squeezed the rhino in a hug. "Hahah, Good to see you too, Blackie," Mr. Three smiled.

"You're alive? But... we saw your house and, and, and the message said-"

"We had to fake our deaths," Mr. Four interrupted Po's rambling. "Otherwise, the Emperor would have killed us."

"Killed you?" Po asked.

"Any guard in charge of Blackie has a funny way of... disappearing," Mr. Three explained. The wolf rubbed his head into the rhino's belly, making the soldier laugh as he combed the canine's head. "Ah, Blackie, you didn't think that we'd give up that easily, did ya?"

"Wait, but if you faked your murders, why are you still here?" Po asked.

"We had to try and make things difficult between the cloaked man and Sho. They're the main reason why Wolf is in..." Mr. Four stopped and narrowed his eyes. "Po, why is Wolf out of his prison cell? Why is he here at all?!"

"Heheheh funny story... well funny-ish." And he told them what had happened at the palace while Po was away. The two guards glared hard at the panda, who hid into his shoulders. "I-I-I-It wasn't my fault! I didn't know the bandits would be there." The rhinos stared but then sighed.

"He's right. The truth was going to come out sooner or later," Mr. Three said.

"But it shouldn't have come this soon. Things are moving faster than we expected," Mr. Four softly rumbled. Wolf silently stood between his two former caretakers. "With the issue happening between Sho and... the cloaked man, we don't have much choice but to speed things up."

"What do you mean?" Po asked.

"If there's bad blood between Sho and the cloaked man, then Wolf might be able to fade into nonexistence, and the Emperor will have no way to ensure where Wolf is. It will allow Wolf to make his search in peace," Mr. Four said. Po slowly nodded and looked at the wolf.

"Platon's the cloaked man, right?" Po asked.

"I... yes," Mr. Three replied, looking at Mr. Four. Wolf's eyes widened. "How did you know?"

"I mean, it's not that hard. He's the same height, and I can tell when someone's trying to change their voice," Po confidently smirked. "I've done it a few times myself."

"Were you successful?"

A crack in Po's confidence made him scratch the back of his head. "Uh... no."

Mr. Three sighed, "Well, you know. So there's no need in keeping that secret." Mr. Four nodded. "We also came to give Wolf peace of mind and to answer any more of your questions. We've been trying to keep the communications between the Jade Palace, the prison, and the Emperor in the dark."

"You were the guys that sent the Emperor the letter," Po said. Mr. Three nodded. "Wow." Po's head spun and looked for a place to sit. "That explains... a lot."

"Come, we need to get further away from the village. Platon or Sho's men could find us," Mr. Four warned. Though bewildered, Po agreed. They walked away from the basin, but Wolf looked back, frowning. Mr. Three turned around and spotted him.

"We have to move on, Blackie. There's nothing that you can do for him now," Mr. Three said. "The big bear will have to figure out his evils for himself." Air entered the wolf's lungs and blew out some weight only he and Mr. Three knew. Po couldn't figure it out. He just followed the rhinos into the forest surrounding the village where they could hide. As the moon's light seeped through the bamboo stalks, Mr. Three walked up to Po's side.