Strong

The Meeting

Po crashed into his room and paced in a small circle. His hands clasped to his head and his mouth babbled on, "Aahhh! How? How?! She can't be one of them! She can't be! How is this happening?! NYAAAHHH." He pulled at his head fur and screamed with his mouth closed.

"Okay, okay, okay, okay. Calm down, Po. Calm down." He crashed onto his bed and took deep breaths. "It's okay. It's okay. You just learned that one of your best friends is a part of a secret clan that the emperor is trying to wipe out of China! NYAAH Calm! This isn't calm!" Po took another deep breath. "Okay, okay. Now, let's think." He stood up and began pacing again. "Tigress is a part of the Jai-Yin. Since she doesn't know about the tattoo, she probably doesn't know anything about the Jai-Yin... except what I told her. GAH!" Po slapped his head but took another breath.

"Okay, okay! So she's a part of the Jai-Yin. And Wolf's probably looking for her. But why?" Po didn't have an answer. "Ugh! What am I gonna tell Wolf? Heck! What am I going to tell Tigress! How is she gonna take being related to a criminal, a traitor, and a bandit! UGH!" Po crashed back onto the bed. His arms covered his eyes, hoping that he could just unsee everything he thought of, but there was no overcoming it. Po sighed. Thoughts raced over his stream of consciousness while the panda's heart sped like an arrow flung from a crossbow. "I need to get some air." Po stepped out of his room and out of the barracks. The sinking sun slowly made its journey across the horizon, and the air chilled the panda's bones. Shoving his hands into his pockets, Po looked down at the village under the mountain's shadow.

"I can't tell Wolf or Tigress. Not yet. I don't know what to do yet. Besides, I don't even know what would happen if Sho and Platon knew. And I don't even know if it is the same thing. She said it was a birthmark but... It could be a different kind of feline Wolf's looking for... UGh! Why is this so complicated!?" The night couldn't answer. Po hung his head with a dismissive sigh and turned back.

ZIIIINGGG!

"Dah!" Po flinched out of the way of an arrow with a message tied to its shaft. He looked around but couldn't find the shooter. "Hello? I think you... accidentally... fired this at me?" No answer came. Since no other arrows flung past him, Po figured it was a message, but for who? Po opened the scroll, and his eyes jumped out of their sockets. "Sho," He slightly growled as he read the letter. "A meeting?" Po pressed his lips together, scanning the floor. "Why would he..." He looked up at the Jade Palace. The sun's rays made a backdrop for its dazzling jade splendor. The panda could see a little light flickering from the palace, meaning Wolf was still up.

The pain in Po's teeth sharpened as he crushed them together. A bad thought came into his head, but the consequences could be even more dangerous than the gamble he kept putting himself in.

Either way, the letter was explicit. He had to do this.

******FFF*********

Two cloaked figures walked on rocky roads as mist rose into the air from the river about two stone's throws away. The two climbed upwards, passing shady figures on their right and left. Wolves, boars, large yaks, and gorillas glared at the two figures, and as the mist cleared near their destination, the two stepped before a large gray mountain wall with a metal door embedded in its stone. One of the figures, the larger one, knocked on the door. A little viewer opened and two beady eyes stared at them. "Password?"

"Bendan Huangdi Fu" (Loosely translated this means Idiot Emperor Fu) The viewer closed and the door opened up. The two cloaked figures walked in. A massive chamber filled with lanterns, torches, and vile bandits, thieves, and gangs with a bar right in the middle of the circle stood before them. The room was on a slight incline with the two figures standing at the bottom. "Whoa..." Said the larger cloaked figure as they took off their hoods. "I didn't think this place existed. Are you sure this is the place?" His canine friend nodded. "Wow. Hehehe, it's a tavern in a cavern." The dog only blinked at his joke. "Nevermind, let's go." Po and Wolf walked around the tables of laughing hordes of bad men, finally getting to the center where the bartender was; a small duck tended it. "Uh... do you know where the..." Po looked around and whispered, "the Bandit King is?" The duck pointed to the higher part of the cavern. The two walked over to the elevated part, glaring at the two figures at the square table.