The Ticking Contingent: The Countdown vo.2

Great power and a slippery slope

The next morning, as Po woke up and headed over to the kitchen to make breakfast, he heard huffing and panting behind him and turned to see Mrs. Jun running to catch up to him.

"Hey!" he exclaimed in surprise. "Are you okay? What's the rush?"

"Oh, no rush, Master Po," she huffed. She handed the master a paper and added, "I got a notice late last night about the arrival of a masters counsel meeting for later this week, and I figured you were sleeping and I didn't want to disturb you, so I thought I'd catch you in the morning."

"Thanks. I appreciate the sentiment, Mrs. Jun. why don't you go sit down so you don't wear yourself out?"

Mrs. Jun agreed to this and immediately sat on a rock a few feet away. Po asked one of the palace geese to help her back up the stairs when she was finished so she didn't stumble on the steps. He then headed over to the kitchen where he began to prepare breakfast and wait for his friends to arrive. It didn't take very long since everyone was an early riser and the smells of delicious rice porridge often roused even the sleepiest masters out of bed. By the time Po was done, the Five and Zhen were happily gathered around the table waiting to eat and chat. Which they did until Po brought up the visiting masters.

"How long have you known this?" Viper asked in surprise.

"Just this morning," Po explained. "The message arrived late last night. But they'll be here this week. I'm so excited!"

"As per usual," Tigress noted.

"Do you know which masters are coming?" Crane asked.

"The message said Master Bear, Master Hun, Master Ostalrich, Master Orazdou, Master Croc...Storming Ox is busy with things so he's staying in Gongmen city...and Master Sheep. I am a hundred percent asking her if she really took down the wolf gang of Horizontal Pass with nothing but a stick and an immunity to toxins! And we can totally introduce them to Zhen! Croc used to serve as part of the underwater-"

"I'm not going to some stupid masters meeting," Zhen remarked bitterly, stuffing some porridge into her mouth after making the remark.

Everyone turned to look at her. Po, a little surprised at the sudden hostility, asked her why.

"Not interested," came the answer. "And I ain't gonna' be your show doll."

"Nobody said anything about showing off or doing kung fu tricks," Po promised. "It's just a meeting to see how each territory is doing with whatever threats they've dealt with."

Zhen didn't reply though, and she had soon dismissed herself from the table and made her way to the valley. The sudden irritation puzzled Po, but he decided to ask her about it later. However, Zhen never returned to the Jade Palace, and despite Po's best efforts to talk to her, he wound up not being able to find her despite asking around. He tried to put it out of his mind when the counsel finally arrived for their meeting later that week, but everyone could tell he was a little distracted.

"Is something the matter, Master Po?" Master Croc asked, looking a little concerned.

"Nah, I'm good," Po promised, trying to put on his best face.

"He's a little disappointed that his new student bailed on the meeting," Tigress corrected.

"New student?" Master Bear remarked with a look of surprise and a smile. "Look at you! I can't wait to see what the new generation of masters at the palace is going to be like!"

Po chuckled sheepishly. "Yeah, I mean...we'll see," he said. "She's...um...a little antisocial right now, but I'm she'll come around."

"What kung fu temple did she come from?" Master Ostalrich asked, adjusting a brass button on his sleeve. "Or was she a villager with potential like you were?"

Po thought that over for a minute. "She's...somebody trying to make a fresh start, and she's not doing too bad. She does have previous experience with combat. She just needs some polishing and some precision training. She's a natural."

Croc looked at Po knowingly. "Thief, bandit, or warlord?" he asked.

Po hesitated then sighed and said, "Thief. But she's adjusting."

Master Hun laughed shortly. "Adjusting?!" he exclaimed. "Where's your sense, Master Po? Those kinds of people are so set in their ways she's probably robbing the Sacred Hall of Warriors as we speak!"

Master Croc gave him a sharp look. "You must think incredibly low of me then," he remarked. "And I've never considered myself "set in my ways" as you put it."

Master Hun cleared his throat. "Oh. Uh...many apologies," he said, quickly bowing. Croc rolled his eyes and told Po that it wasn't a big deal and that his new student could join in on meetings when she felt more comfortable. In the meantime, they had a lot to go over. Po agreed and he and the Five finally sat down around the table and began to discuss what was going on within each territory. The clean up in Gongmen city had gone smoothly over the past five and a half years and Ox and Croc were now training new students to help not only replace master Thundering Rhino, but also to help with keeping an eye on the borders and deal with certain sectors that had once crawled with komodo bandits. They currently had two, but could always use more.

"Maybe one or two for now," Croc said. "We're still looking and asking around."

"Our territory is doing great," Master Hun remarked proudly. "But I know that certain provinces underneath Prince Guam could use some extra hands. There's been an increase in crime, and he could use the extra hand. I told him I'd offer to scout."

"Don't you have fifteen students?" Master Sheep asked him, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, but our territory is so big, I need them all to keep a close eye on each sector. I did offer to have one or two go on biweekly outings to the city since the border is on that side anyway, but it's still a bit of a distance, and I hate to put extra territory burdens on the others. Especially the newbies who still don't know their left from their right."

Sheep grimaced at this answer but said nothing.

"Perhaps one of the Jade Palace masters could help out?" Hun suggested, gesturing a hoof towards the Five. "The valley seems so well covered and is so itty bitty I'm sure you could handle one less Master or two."

"We're not itty bitty," Viper told him firmly. "We help in plenty of areas around here as well as the valley. This is just where we train and sharpen our skills."

"And you do an excellent job," Master Orazadou noted, admiring his sandals. He looked back at the masters and added, "But Hun may have a point. You Five have such extreme power and precision that it could be used to help out in less protected areas. I've been tasked with helping Master Fowl locate a suitable master to help aid with western tribe raids in the mountains, which is something I believe Master Crane might be very helpful with. And Master Tigress' iron like strength might be of use to the masters in Gongmen city. Right Croc? That's what you were talking about?"

"Yes...."

"I appreciate the sentiment," Po told them. "But I still need the Five here."

"Aren't you training new kung fu masters, not to mention an entire village?" Master Orazdou remarked.

"Well, yeah, but it's only been four years since I've started chi training and I could use all the help I can get if bad guys show up. I'm not invincible you know."

Master Croc laughed. "You're too modest, Master Po," he told him. "You defeated Kai single handed. Mostly. And that'll probably be tougher than any ragtag bandit gang. Who else could possbly be worse than that?"