Ch. 1/Burn My Body

25th of February. 5pm. Valley of Peace. Dragon Warrior Noodles.

After a long day of serving what must have been hundreds if not a thousand customers that Saturday, Mr. Ping decided to accept Master Shifu's offer to play him in a game of Weiqi, since the old goose kept beating him at Mahjong anyway. The game started off very well for Mr. Ping, but eventually Master Shifu began to overcome him. Master Shifu chuckled as he sat there waiting for Mr. Ping to make his next move. He looked off into the distance as he saw Zeng flying to the Palace. And a few minutes later, he saw Crane carrying Viper on his back. No doubt they were being informed of a small mission since they weren't bringing Monkey.

Master Shifu had more or less given his students the day off unless problems should arise. Mantis had decided to travel to the Pool of Sacred Tears to see if he could surpass his precision expertise by trying to bury his acupuncture needles into the crevaces of the surrounding rocks. Monkey went to the new restaurant that opened up to take advantage of the buffet. Tigress had decided to meditate at the Sacred Peach Tree and train in the training hall, of course. And Po decided to go wherever Tigress went, much to her aggravation. Shifu had begun to notice certain odd mannerisms about Po that were out of the ordinary for the panda, but it was only whenever he was around his daughter.

Like just the other day Po and Tigress were in a sparring match and amazingly enough Po was keeping up. He had had Tigress on the defensive and when he took out her guarding arms, he went to strike. But it never happened. Tigress' arms were momentarily numb from the jabs Po had put into her shoulders, and she was left wide open. Po was about to land a strike at her chest, but stopped himself. Tigress quickly recovered, grabbed Po's arm and taught him a fitting punishment to those who hesitate during battle. But Po wasn't feeling bad about losing the match. Though his face gave him a look of confliction when he left the training hall...

The red panda turned to look at the board again, then saw a smile on the old goose's face. It made Master Shifu feel somewhat nervous. He studied the board to see what exactly Mr. Ping had done. The master groaned and facepalmed after realizing that Mr. Ping had his best defenses countered and captured his primary offensive.

The goose let out a soft laugh,"Well that was a good game. Do you wish to play again?"

"Well it would be nice but I really should get back to the Jade Palace. Po should have dinner ready fairly soon."

"Oh, what's the rush? I can cook you up some dinner on the house!"

"Well it would make up for the fact of you beating me, I suppose.", chuckled Shifu.

"And the next game I beat you at too!", called back Mr. Ping as he waddled into the kitchen and started to make Shifu and himself some soup.

Shifu walked to the front counter and sat down to watch. It was always nice to see how Po got to learn the precision and timing of Kung Fu when he was a child without even really knowing it was Kung Fu that helped him to do so.

"So did she say yes?", asked the goose as he chopped the vegatables.

Shifu blinked and gave Mr. Ping an odd look."Who? To what?"

"Master Tigress, of course! Po surely asked for your blessings to take your daughter out on a date, did he not?", he chuckled a few of his words.

Master Shifu's ears twitched. So that was it. And he thought back, had Po actually asked him for his blessings? No doubt that, though Po was not the most refined young man, he still had enough respect to ask him for his permission on such matters. Shifu facepalmed again and groaned as he remembered on three seperate occassions when Po had asked a private audience with him and Master Shifu had to interuppt the panda every time for various reasons.

Mr. Ping looked at Master Shifu nervously."So he did not ask?"

Master Shifu shook his head and sighed,"No, no, he tried though. Things always came up."

"Well may I ask if you approve of my son?", he asked as he began to make the noodles with surprising speed, not even looking at them as he twisted them and watched Shifu.

Shifu looked back at him and sighed,"Your son is a...fine young man, Mr. Ping. But I do not know if I wish for him to court my daugter."

"Well, why not? Is he not good enough for Tigress? Or does he need to save China for a third time? Or give you Inner Peace again?"

Shifu thought on this as he stared at the countertop."The problem is not within him, Mr. Ping, but within my daughter. She is a hard being. And would likely reject him outright. And I do not wish for your son's heart to be broken."

Mr. Ping slammed his cleaver into the cutting board and began to wag a feathered finger at Shifu,"Now I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Po when he asked me what he should do about his feelings for your daughter. Tigress has never acted so happy as she has acted when around Po! She has softened her heart at least a little, and she actually smiles! She cares about my boy and it is clear to see. Tigress promised me that she would take good care of him when they left for Gongmen city, and she did not break that promise."

Master Shifu looked like he was still in contemplation,"And do you approve of my daughter?"

"But of course! She is a wonderful, beautiful and polite young lady! You should be proud to have raised such a good person!", he said while ladling out the soup."And she is the love of my son's heart! And I only want to see him happy.", he set a bowl of noodle soup infront of the master and began to eat his own.

Master Shifu's ear twitched at the exact moment Mr. Ping put his wing over his noodle filled mouth."Love? He is in love with her?"

Mr. Ping swallowed his noodles and he shook his head a bit,"Ohhh, he's not going to like that I said that.", when Shifu only stared at him, he sighed,"Yes he is in love with her. He had a crush on her ever since he saw her poster when the Furious Five was formed again, and it according to him it grew into love the more time he spent with her."

"But that was over twelve years ago! He has held these feelings for that long?"

The goose nodded at him with a somewhat sad smile.

Master Shifu sighed,"Well I suppose that there is no harm in it. But I must warn you, Tigress can be very harsh at times."

"What can I say? My son is in love with pain!", he laughed softly as Shifu laughed as well.

Suddenly a scream broke their laughter. Shifu rushed out to the street, followed by Mr. Ping. There was a group of bandits raiding the village. But there was something different about them. They were organized, well organized. Most were wolves, but there was someone in their midst that was commanding them. He was cloaked, and his robe that hid his body and his hood that hid his face kept Shifu from identifying him.

"Mr. Ping! Get back inside!", yelled Shifu. The hooded figure raised his head slightly as he heard Mr. Ping's name. Shifu could then see a beak, with a smile forming over it. He then gave hand signals as he was before, then pointed to Mr. Ping, who had his back turned and was waddling inside back into his restaurant for protection.

Two wolves rushed over to the shop only to be slammed to the ground by Shifu.

"You wish to fight? Then fight. Do not waste your time with these civilians.", he said.

The bird chuckled under it's breath. It's voice was somewhat deep and malicious."My, my, Master Shifu. It is an honor.", he said with a mocking bow.

"Who are you? Show yourself!"

The bird stiffened for a moment, and hesitated as he began to reach for his hood, but lowered it nonetheless. It was a peacock.

At first, Shifu thought it might be Shen. The resemblance, though not uncanny, was familiar. But the peacock was not white like Shen. And he was taller and seemed to carry himself with more dignity. His feathers on his body and face were gray, and the feathers on the top of his head were white. He extended out his wings to show that he held no weapons. They were gray as well with black at the ends.

"Who are you?", Shifu repeated as he got into his defensive stance again.

"I am Fuhai, and that is all you need to know...", he opened his tail feathers and spread them out. They were white with black splotches all over. It was the most unsettling pattern Shifu had ever seen. Shifu flinched and backed away slightly. The peacock smiled as his trick worked again without fail, he studied the red panda thoroughly"Ah I see. You are conflicted with a problem in your life. It is...very personal. And apprehention. You wish the matter was settled, yet you see no solution. A rare thing for one with Inner Peace. Hmmm.", his smile grew wider."You are about to give your daughter away to a man that you think you can trust. Well do not. He is a murderer.", Fuhai spat.

"How do you know these things?", Shifu asked.

"Ah questions, questions, questions. They are meaningless, yet neccisary if one wants to seek answers.", the peakcock said as he waltzed slowly over to the master."But you see in your case they are meaningless, for answers are something that I do not give.", he smirked while staring down at Master Shifu.

Just then Po and Tigress came running down the street.

"Master, what's happening, who-", Tigress stopped as she saw the peacock and froze in her place. Po stopped beside her, but got into a defensive stance as he got infront of her slightly.

"Who are you?", he said in a deadly serious voice. Shifu could tell that Po recognised the fact that Fuhai looked a little like Shen, aside from the fact that he was a peacock.

"I am Fuhai. But you may call me the one who tore your sanity away from you...", he replied, his voice slowing like a music box that was ending it's winde as he stared menacingly at the panda twenty feet away from him.

Po began to lunge at the peacock, but as he closed the gap by half the peacock wagged a feather finger,"Ah, ah, ah.", he said teasingly."Attack me and your father will die."

Po looked to his left and his eyes widened. There was a wolf in the doorway of the noodle shop holding Mr. Ping by the throat with a large knife pressed against it.

"Dad!", he started to step forward but the wolf held up the knife a little more threateningly to the goose's throat.

"Now now, it wouldn't be a hostage situation if just anybody could get imbetween the kidnapper and his prey.", the peacock chuckled.

Po balled his paws into fists."What do you want with me?"

"With you? Oh, that's quite simple.", he replied while walking over to the panda he began to whisper when he got so close to Po so that the only ones who could hear him were Po, Master Shifu, and Monkey. Monkey had finally arrived as he had just beaten down nearly a dozen wolves before he arrived at the scene and stood just a few feet away."I want to take everything from you, Dragon Warrior. Everything you care about, all the people you love...", he trailed off to nod slightly over Po's shoulder where Tigress stood. She looked confused as she had gotten into a defensive stance while trying to listen into the conversation."I want to see you suffer until you beg for death by my hand.", he whispered venomously into Po's face."You murdered my nephew in cold blood. And you. Will. Pay.", he rose his voice slightly more and more as he spoke the last few words and got closer and closer to the panda, meeting him eye to eye with a glare before turning around and walking off, dozens of wolves now imbetween Po and the peacock as Fuhai called over his shoulder in a deadpan tone,"Rub him out."

Po turned his head to the left again as the wolf that held Mr. Ping, his father, slashed the goose's throat and dropped him before running off. Po screamed,"DAD!"

Po ran over to the bleeding goose and cried,"Dad, dad, please hold on!"

Mr. Ping was shaking and gasping as the blood left his body without hesitation. He spoke weakly,"Di...did you ask her, son?"

Po sniffled and shook his head as he whispered. Shifu had knelt down beside Mr. Ping and Po as Tigress stood behind the panda. Monkey was busy beating down the wolves that were too slow to escape the primate's wrath to avenge his best friend's father."No dad. But I-I will. I promise."

Mr. Ping smiled and nodded."Good. I only want you to be happy, son.", he looked over Po's shoulder and saw Tigress, who had her ears flattened against her head. She had tears in her eyes and was looking at Po until the goose spoke to her,"Take care of my boy. I would have been proud to have called you...daughter one...day..", Tigress let her tears loose, but she did not sob. She just stood there and nodded.

"I-I will do my best...", she wanted to call him father given the situation. But infront of the one who was her actual father if not biological, whom she had not called father herself, she could not. Nor could she say because of her pride. She was not ready to admit her feelings for Po, and now was not the time to let him know.

Mr. Ping smiled at her and looked at Shifu,"Guess you'll...never beat me...Shifu..."

Master Shifu let out a soft chuckle with tears in his eyes as he nodded,"I suppose not."

He then turned to Po again, who was shaking and doing his best to not run away from watching his father die,"The restaurant is yours now, son. Do with it...what you wish.", he coughed up a little blood and gasped wheezily,"I love you...Po..."

Po was openly weeping now as he hugged his father close to his body and sobbed,"I love you too, dad..."

Po held his father and stayed with him as Mr. Ping's blood leaked onto his son's fur until Po could no longer feel a heartbeat against his chest. Po laid Mr. Ping down and started to breath heavily as the fact now sunk in. It was now official. His father was dead.

Po stood up. He was shaking all over as tears continued to fall. He was panting. His voice was cracked and wavey,"Peacocks. The damn peacocks! My life is ruined because of those assholes!", he roared and snapped his head to the right to see the peacock perched on a far off tree relishing the sight of the weeping panda. When Po met his gray eyes with his jade ones, the peacock flew off. Po immediately ran in his direction at full speed.

Tigress watched Po, a look of shock on her face. She looked at Shifu, who had just closed Mr. Ping's lifeless eyes and was staring down at him solemnly. He nodded over his shoulder and muttered,"What are you waiting for? Go get him.", Tigress nodded slightly and ran after Po.

Po was in a rage. Nothing could calm him down. When he caught that peacock, if he had to follow him across China, he wasn't going to stop until that peacock landed. He was going to kill him. He wanted a murderer? Well he was going to get one!

Po ran through the forests with surprising speed and agility. He ran up a steep hill, but it did not slow him down. When he reached the top, he was now only twenty feet or so under the peacock. he jumped up onto the branch of a tree and jumped from it to slash at the bird, who quickly turned around and kicked him in the face, sending him flying to the ground at the edge of the cliff where the tree stood. Po grunted as he hit the ground.

Tigress had finally caught up with him when she saw Po land and ran towards him. But he got up, backed up and started to tun towards the cliff, apparently he wanted to attempt the hundred foot jump to the other side of the canyon. Tigress grabbed Po by the scruff of the neck just before his foot reached the cliff and slammed his back into the tree. He struggled and growled.

"LET ME GO! I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!"

Tigress growled back,"Are you insane? That's a hundred foot gap!", she yelled.

"I don't care! I'm going to rip his lungs out and feed them to his wolves!", he yelled back, his voice was cracked again.

"Po stop it, this isn't going to do you any good you'll just get yourself killed-!"

"I DON'T CARE!"

Tigress growled loudly and slammed him into the tree again,"You don't care? You don't care if you die?", she shouted.

"No! I dont care...!", he sobbed,"I want to die...", he stopped struggling. Tigress pulled him into a hug. He hugged back and cried into her shoulder.

Tigress sniffled, she was starting to cry again too. She swallowed a lump in her throat,"But if you die, who am I going to protect?"

Po didn't say anything. He just cried more and continued to soak her vest. She didn't care though. She held him and soaked his fur with the tears that dropped from her face to his back.

"He was a good man. He always held a kind word for everyone he met. He was charitable and giving. He was a loving father.", she stated as if giving a eulogy just for Po."And he left behind the best thing that's ever happened to me. Please don't take it away...", she almost whispered the last two sentences and hugged him tighter.

Po blushed at her words, but felt anger building inside him. Not at her. But at Fuhai. He remembered what he said. He would take away those he loved. So as much as he hated himself for doing so,he recovered his composure, steadied his breath, broke the hug and looked at her dead in the eyes."You're doing this now? What horrible timing. How dare you?", Po then walked back towards the village to leave a shocked and somewhat heartbroken tiger. It was the best he could do right now. In all honesty he wanted to kiss her just then. But if he was going to keep her from harm, he needed to be as cold as she used to be.

Tigres panted slightly as his words echoed in her mind. His voice sounded dead and cold. She'd heard that tone before in herself. Then realization seeped into her ears and struck her mind. He was trying to hide his feelings for her. Why, she did not know. She could certainly understand. His father just died. But there was something in his voice...it was like a hint of regret. She only used that hint when she was...keeping him away from something. She had that same tone and that same look in her eye when she told him to stay in Gongmen Jail.

Tigress started to follow him back. She knew his feelings for her now, there was no denying it. But she was going to get to the bottom of this one way or another. What was he protecting her from?