The Panda and the Turtle (Book 2)

Chapter 8: Prisoners

Inside the palace atrium, Shen practiced his words for his first meeting with Po. He threateningly pointed his lance at an imaginary panda.

"Greetings, panda! At last we meet!" Shen said, before he faltered. "Oh, no no no no no..." He acrobatically flipped about before he pointed his lance in another direction. "We meet at last! Yes! That's it! Greetings, panda! We meet at la-!"

He stopped short when he ended up pointing his lance at the Soothsayer, who had appeared out of nowhere.

"You are afraid for a reason." Soothsayer said.

"I'm not afraid." Shen denied. "He's coming to me in chains! If anyone should be afraid, its..."

"You." Soothsayer finished.

Shen looked at her... then quickly yanked his robes out of her reach.

"Don't you even think about it." Shen warned.

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Outside, the captured warriors were being lead across the palace courtyard. Tigress turned to Po.

"I hope this turns out better than your plan to cook rice in your stomach by eating it raw and then drinking boiling water..." Tigress whispered.

"You did that?" Vee asked.

"This plan is nothing like that plan." Po assured.

"How?" Tigress questioned.

"Cause this one's going to work." Po replied.

He suddenly lost his footing. He, Vee, and the Five quickly saw that he had stumbled on the edge of a huge crater... with Thundering Rhino's damaged hammer that stood on the other end like a macabre memorial. The warriors stared in horror as Boss Wolf mockingly patted the hammer's staff, with a chuckle.

"Keep moving." Boss Wolf said.

The warriors narrowed their eyes as they were lead inside the tower. Po spotted something unseen in front of them.

"Ah... my old enemy..." Po said, as everyone saw that he gazed up at an enormous staircase that lead all the way to the top. "...stairs..."

In the throne room, Shen, Soothsayer and a gorilla soldier nervously awaited for Po's arrival. They saw a hulking shadow that moved up the stairs... heard him grunting with each thundering step... Shen unsheathed a knife slightly... Soothsayer looked on expectantly... the shadow neared the top of the stairs... Po emerged... as he was being carried on a gorilla's back like a sack of rice. He flung the panda on the floor as Boss Wolf, Vee, and the Furious Five also reached the top of the stairs.

"Thanks for... carrying me those last few flights..." Po said.

Tigress helped him up as Shen and Soothsayer looked on, astonished. Boss Wolf pointed a spear at Tigress, who kicked it out of his paws and into a pillar.

"I threw up a little on the third floor, someone might want to clean that up." Po reminded. "Is there some sort of evil janitor or somethin'?"

"Ah, my feet hurt." Vee winced. "Can we sit somewhere?"

"Greetings, panda!" Shen introduced to Po. "We meet at-"

"Hey, how you doin'?" Po asked, which caught Shen off guard.

"Hey..." Shen replied.

Soothsayer approached Po and poked him gently in the belly.

"You've grown up bigger than I thought..." Soothsayer said, as she examined the panda, while looking inside a confused Po's ear as she does so. "...strong..." She opened his mouth and peers inside. "...healthy."