"The only thing that matters is what you choose to be now."

"You're right. Then I choose…THIS!"

Shen lunged at Po with a flurry of blades, failing to notice he was cutting the ropes holding up the large cannon. Only when they both heard the creak of the heavy metal and snaps of the remaining ropes as the cannon fell did they look up. Po jumped out of the way. Shen glanced at him, and their eyes locked for a split second.

Po looked like he was about to shout something, but Shen looked back up at the cannon and shut his eyes, sadly accepting his fate.

There was a loud crash, then a loud crack as the wood split. The deck Shen was on tilted, and he started sliding down toward the water. Pain suddenly exploded in his wing, then he hit water. He quickly sank, the heavy blades he carried weighing him down.

Then the cannon fell into the water, creating a large wave that sent him drifting out to sea. He tried to stay above the surface, but the metal was making that difficult. Finally he sank below, and he saw brief flashes of his life. The Soothsayer's prediction, his attack on the village of giant pandas, his banishment…the lonely days he spent before plotting his revenge.

He managed to break the surface again, and found a piece of wood to cling to and stay afloat. He passed out due to his exhaustion. As he slept, he relived the horrid memories again, and again, and again…

Xoxoxo

Shen jolted awake, panting heavily. He quickly glanced around his surroundings, and was relieved to see he was in Kaiya's shack, and not back in the water. The young bird was nestled in a nest of blankets, snoring softly. Shen was glad to see he hadn't woken her up; he wasn't in the mood for explaining anything.

He stood, and quietly made his way outside. He stopped next to the river where Kaiya had said she'd found him, and stared hard at the water.

He'd barely survived. Had the cannon been a few inches more to the right, and he would have been crushed to death. The shock of being so close to death must've caused him to forget how he'd ended up here.

And all because of that panda. He'd been so close to achieving his goal, and the so called Dragon Warrior had to stand in his way!

No matter, I'll get my revenge soon enough. He will pay for everything!

He looked up at the bright moon that was a few shades whiter than his feathers, and it gave the area an eerie silver glow. It was so bright, like the fireworks his parents used to mess with, putting on shows for the citizens of Gongmen City. While they wasted their time on fireworks, he found a way to rule China with the explosive powder used to fuel them, and it would have worked if that stupid panda hadn't intervened!

Shen shook his head. He couldn't dwell on failure.

"Lord Shen…?"

He turned to see Kaiya standing in the door way rubbing her eye with her wing.

"What're you doing up?" she asked.

"Nothing, just taking a short walk. Go back to bed." Shen replied, heading back inside. Kaiya merely shrugged and headed back for her bed. Shen settled in the corner again, and drifted back to sleep.

Xoxoxo

The next morning, Shen was woken up by a loud gong.

"Time to wake up!" Kaiya announced as Shen jolted onto his feet. He panted slightly, then regained his composure.

"Right, when did you wish to leave?"

"Any time's good with me. I got everything packed while you were sleeping."

Shen looked beside her and saw a few sacks.

"When did you get up?"

"About 6:30ish, why?"

"…Never mind. Let's go. We'll need to find a boat."

"I can do that. There's a dock a few minutes away."

"Okay, let's head out."

The two peacocks left the shack, and started towards the dock.

Xoxoxo

They found the dock, and were in luck. One boat was left, just big enough to carry them.

"Excuse me, would you mind two more passengers?" Shen asked.

The boatman, a fox, turned to him and Kaiya.

"How much you two got?" he asked.

"I don't have any money…" Kaiya muttered.

"Neither do I." Shen replied.

"Then I ain't takin' anyone anywhere."

"Kaiya set your bags over there while we negotiate."

Kaiya gave him a confused look but did as he said. While she went to the other side of the boat, Shen faced the fox.

"I told you, I'm not taking you or your friend anywhere." The boatman snapped.

"I believe you will." Shen said with a smirk.

"I'm not giving you feather heads a free ride just because you ask me-"

The boatman was cut off when the tip of Shen's sword was in his face.

"As you can see, I'm not asking you to do anything. If you choose not to, well, I'm perfectly capable of driving a boat, while you make friends with the fish."

The fox gulped. Kaiya was coming back over.

"Now, there's no need to make a scene for the girl." Shen muttered.

He quickly put the sword away and turned to Kaiya as she approached.

"Good news, the boatman has decided to let us ride for free, hasn't he?" Shen asked, looking at the fox expectantly.

"Y-yes." He replied.

"Really? Wow, thanks mister! You're a really nice guy!" Kaiya laughed.

The fox gave a nervous chuckle as he glanced at Shen, who merely smirked.

"Now then, let's shove off."

The fox pushed away from the peer, and remained silent at the wheel while Kaiya and Shen observed the passing scenery.

"How'd you convince the guy to give us a free trip?" Kaiya asked.

"I can be very persuasive when I need to be." Shen replied.

"Cool, maybe you can teach me how sometime, huh?"

Shen gave a small laugh.

"We'll see."

They passed a few boats, and some small villages. Kaiya smiled and waved at the passersby, who in turn laughed and waved back. Shen ignored them and thought about how he'd find the Five and the panda. First place he'd check, the noodle shop Kaiya mentioned. After that would be the Jade Palace.

"Hey Lord Shen?" Kaiya called, snapping him back to reality.

"Hm? What?"

"Where's everybody in that village at? No one's there."

Pointing out the village, Shen found himself looking at the last place he thought he'd see.

The abandoned panda village.

"I don't see anyone; maybe they're all on break or something." Kaiya said.

"Maybe…"

As they passed it, Shen saw smoke coming out of one of the shacks.

"Well, it looks like someone's there…" he muttered.

"You seem tense, something wrong?"

"No, let's just move on."

Shen turned away from the village and faced the other side of the boat while memories of that night rose. As far as he knew, only one panda had survived, and that was the one he was intent on finding.

Kaiya looked at him curiously, then back at the village. She saw one lone figure standing outside of the shack that had smoke coming out of it, it was an old goat. She was watching them intently. Kaiya waved with a smile, and the goat's gaze softened a little before returning it to a hard one and looking behind Kaiya. Kaiya followed her gaze to Shen, and looked back at the goat. The goat gave her head a slight shake, as if in warning.

Kaiya frowned in confusion, cocking her head slightly. Then the village disappeared behind the thick surrounding forest.

"Hey Lord Shen, I saw somebody in the village." Kaiya said.

"That village has been abandoned for years." Shen muttered.

"But I did see someone! It was some goat lady, and she was acting kinda weird."

Kaiya noticed Shen freeze slightly while he was turning to face her, his eyes wide with shock.

"Lord Shen?"

"It's nothing; just forget that village and that goat."

Shen faced away from her and glared at the water. Kaiya came up beside him and looked at the water as well.

"I haven't known you for too long, but I can tell you must have had a tough past." She murmured.

Shen continued glaring at the water.

"Don't worry though, just because your story had a bad beginning doesn't mean the rest of it has to be bad. You can choose who you want to be now."

At this Shen slowly looked at her. Those were the same words he'd heard the Soothsayer and the panda say. Why did it always come back to that?

"Where did you hear that?" he asked.

"From my parents, I'm not sure where they heard it from. I always think of that when I get sad about my parents."

Shen looked back at the water.

"If you don't mind me asking, where are your parents?"

Shen didn't reply at first, then sighed.

"Dead. Have been for years."

"Oh, sorry…"

"Never mind, let's just focus on getting to the valley…"

Kaiya didn't question him further, and simply stared at the passing scenery.

The moon was high in the sky when Shen felt something leaning against him. He looked down to see Kaiya resting against his shoulder, snoring slightly.

He considered shoving her away, but for some reason, when he looked at her innocent face, he couldn't help seeing himself, when he was younger. Careful not to wake Kaiya, Shen settled down, and let Kaiya continue leaning against him. Before falling asleep, Shen sighed to himself.

'What're you doing Shen?' he thought.

Xoxoxo