Emperor Xian couldn't help but feel amused as he watched a variety of expressions form on each Jade Palace warrior's face. Grandmaster Shifu's ears pricked straight up into the air. The panda's eyes bulged and his jaw dropped. The golden languor monkey simply stared in silent shock, his mouth shaped in a perfect O. The praying mantis took one look then fell backwards from the primate's shoulder. The black crested crane was silently mouthing 'emperor Xian' in pure amazement. The green tree viper had completely frozen. The south china tigress simply gazed at him in mild surprise… and as Xian looked at her, he couldn't help but stare back.

"Y-your greatness!" Shifu said once he had regained his voice. Po and the Furious Five merely continued to stare. In his twenty years as emperor, Xian had proven to be a great, if slightly eccentric leader, and every now and again the Five had been of service to him. But it was still a shock to finally meet him in the flesh.

"May I present the shining Emperor Xian." Master Eagle Jr. proclaimed.

"I do beg your pardon. I had no idea that you were here!" Shifu said.

"It is quite alright, Grandmaster." Xian replied. "In fact, it is I who must apologize. I should have given you prior notice."

"Oh no, no need to apologize." Shifu replied.

"You never had that attitude thirty years ago…" Xian muttered under his breath.

"It is a great honor to have you here, your greatness."

"That's what they all say." Xian chuckled.

"If I may…" Shifu hesitated, not hearing Xian's statement. "Why have you taken the trouble to come all the way here? All you had to do was summon us."

"Yes, I had thought of that…" Xian replied. "But the fact is, I haven't been to the Jade Palace for nearly thirty years, and I decided that this would be a perfect opportunity to see the old place again. Also, I hadn't left the imperial palace for nearly as long as that… and the fact is, I had to get out!"

"Of course, your greatness." Shifu said.

"Could you please stop with the 'your greatness', please?" Xian rolled his eyes light-heartedly. "I used to be your student, for crying out loud."

"He used to train here?" Viper whispered into Shifu's ear.

"Yes, he did." Shifu replied. "He was a very dedicated and talented student during his time here."

"Oh come off it!" Xian laughed. "I think you and I both know that I was the class clown. Of course I was never as good as the likes of Tai Lung, and-"

Xian suddenly stopped as he felt the familiar ache in his heart. He unwillingly looked at Master Tigress again. The young feline frowned as she realized that he was staring at her.

"What's the matter, your highness?" She asked politely.

"Oh, it's nothing." Xian replied, managing to keep his voice even. "I'm sorry, but it's just that you resemble someone I used to know. Don't worry about it."

"Alright." The feline replied, but continued to gaze back with slight suspicion. Xian suddenly had a bad feeling that she was getting the wrong idea.

"No, that is not what I am thinking!"

"I beg your pardon?"

"First off, you are half my age. Second, I have no interest in concubines!"

Tigress looked a little taken aback.

"It's true." Eagle Jr. added bluntly.

"Please calm down, your- Emperor Xian!" Shifu quickly corrected himself. "None of use think that you have any interest in her."

"Oh good." Xian chuckled in relief. "My father always told me that first impressions are important."

Po and the Five raised their eyebrows at the emperor's manner. When they first learned that the emperor wished to meet with them, they had immediately thought of an old wise man akin to the late Master Oogway, or perhaps a stuck up, condescending jerk. Never had they expected this humorous yet humble man who acted half his age and behaved as though he was just a normal person like themselves. In no way did this lower their respect for him.

"Master Shifu, would you care to introduce your students?" Xian asked, still feeling slightly embarrassed from the exchange with Tigress. "I already know their names of course, but I would like to know which is which."

Judging by their names, that really wasn't that hard. But it pays to know for sure.

"Of course, Emperor." Shifu said. "I would like to introduce Master Tigress…" Tigress stepped forward and bowed.

"So you're Master Tigress." Xian spoke. "Little Zan has told me all about you. By the way, thank you for saving him from those crocs."

"Anything to serve and protect, your highness." Tigress replied.

"This is Master Monkey." Shifu continued to introduce the Five. Monkey stepped forward and bowed, standing by Tigress's left hand side. "Master Mantis… Master Crane… Master Viper… and finally, Master Po, the Dragon Warrior."

"Hey, how's it goin'?" Po grinned. Xian grinned back.

"Po…" Shifu slapped his forehead. "Please remember your manners!"

"It's alright, Shifu." Xian replied. "I'm the emperor, not god!" He turned back to Po. "I am delighted to meet you at last, Dragon Warrior, and that goes to you as well." He glanced at the Five. "Alright, now that we've got the introductions out of the way, lets-"

Crash!

Suddenly they heard the sound of clattering metal coming from inside the Hall of Heroes.

"What was that?" Crane asked.

They heard voices coming from within.

"Oiamsorryiamsorryiamsorry, is the armor broken? Oiamsorryiamsorryiamsorry!"

"Wow, Kangie, you made a big mess!" Tigress's ears pricked as she recognized the excited voice of a little gosling named Zan.

"Emperor Xian, is your family in there?" Shifu's ears pricked higher.

"Oh yes." Xian smiled warmly as he gazed at the closed doors. "I know I'm here on business, but the family so wanted to see you all again. Would you like to greet them?"

"Heck, yeah!" Po looked like the annual dumpling eating contest had come early.

"Alright then, if you would like to follow me…" Xian led the way as they approached the doors. Crane and Mantis held back, and leant into towards Eagle Jr.

"Is he always like this?" Crane asked.

"Oh yes." Eagle Jr. replied. "Of course we are all aware that he doesn't behave like the conventional emperor. But he is a powerful and compassionate leader, so no-one really cares."

"You know, there's something that I've always wondered…" Mantis spoke. "How come the royal family consists of different species? I mean, Lu Kang is a water buffalo, Zan and his parents are geese, and Emperor Xian himself is a tiger. What's with that?"

"Oh, you don't know do you?" Eagle Jr. gazed at the two of them. "Emperor Xian has no real family."

"What?" Crane and Mantis stared back. "But…"

"Lu Kang, Zan, and the rest of them are actually surrogates." Eagle Jr. said.

"Surrogates?" Crane inquired.

"Kang's family, Zan's family, and Xian's family have been very close allies for many generations." Eagle Jr. went on. "They all live in the imperial city together. The best way I can explain it is that after Xian's father died, he was left all alone. The members of the other two families then moved into the palace with him to keep him company and watch over him until he was fully ready to become ruler. As time passed, they became so close that they practically became one true family. Their bonds are so strong that people on the outside often mistake them for blood relatives."

"Woah… that's amazing!" Mantis gaped at what he had heard. "So Zan being the emperor's nephew…"

"Emperor Xian's father and Zan's grandmother had been very close, almost like brother and sister. Emperor Xian and Princess Zu Chunhua are the same."

"And Lu Kang being his grandson…"

"Lu Kang's entire family had been killed in a fire when he was a toddler." Crane and Mantis fell silent. "Emperor Xian took him in, and a good thing too, otherwise he would have gone straight to an orphanage. I guess Emperor Xian must have seen something in him, because a few years later, he put him next in line for the throne. Emperor Xian calls him 'grandson' as an affectionate term."

"Well… that certainly explains a lot." Crane said. "Let's join the others."

Emperor Xian and the others had already gone inside, and as Crane, Mantis and Eagle Jr. went forward, they could hear the happy sound of greetings.

While Mantis, Crane and Eagle Jr. had been conversing, the others had entered the Hall of Warriors, where they had found a group of familiar faces gathered around a mass of metal that they soon realized was Master Flying Rhino's armor.

"Tigress!" A five year old Zan had cried out in joy and practically charged into Tigress's arms.

"It's good to see you too, Zan." Tigress smiled happily and embraced the young gosling in return. "It looks like you're a big boy now!"

"Yup! I can count to a hundred now!" Zan beamed as Tigress set him back down on the floor. "And look…"

Before Tigress's eyes, Zan swung his right leg sideways into the air in a lightning maneuver, and landed on the floor without so much as a wobble.

"Wow, Zan," Tigress knelt down and patted Zan on the head, far less awkwardly than when they had last met. "You've mastered the side kick! Well done."

"Uncle Xian taught me!" Zan giggled in delight at Tigress's praise.

"Yes, he has been obsessed with kung fu ever since that fiasco with the croc bandits." Xian bent over to tussle to boy's head feathers. "It seems that you've become a role model of sorts."

"A rail model?" Zan frowned in confusion. "But she's not a fence!"

"No, role model." Princess Zu Chunhua, Zan's mother, stepped forward with an amused smile and wrapped a wing around her son's shoulders. "I'll explain what that means later."

"Okay! Tigress, do you wanna play checkers?"

"Sure, if your mother is okay with that."

"Mama, can I play with Tigress?"

"Of course you can." Zu Chunhua smiled warmly at her son. "But not right now. We only just got here, and we need to settle accommodation."

"You can sleep in one of the spare rooms in the barracks." Shifu said. "It's the same room Zan slept in while we were looking after him."
"That would be lovely." The princess said. "Thank you very much."

"Can I play checkers now?" Zan asked as he tugged on his mother's peach colored, flower pattern robe.

"Oh, alright." His mother said.

"Yay! Tigress, let's play!" Zan skipped over to the striped feline.

"Alright, Zan." Tigress smiled at the gosling's excitement. She herself was barely containing her own delight at once again seeing the child who had made her realize that she liked kids after all. "I think the checkers board is in the training hall. Shall we head over there now?"

"Okay!" Zan beamed.

"I think a couple of our students are in there." Tigress said as they walked toward the doors. "Would you like to meet them? They're just a little older than you."

"Okay!"

Tigress took the gosling's wing into her paw as they exited, passing Mantis, Crane and Eagle Jr. as they entered. In the meantime, Zu Chunhua was greeted by Viper and the pair of them immediately started chatting.

Meanwhile, a huge grin cracked on Po's face as he saw Lu Kang, the water buffalo just as clumsy as he was. The grandson of the emperor was too busy fretting over the mess he had made to notice the panda at first. But when he did, his face cracked into an identical large grin.

"Po!" Lu Kang exclaimed.

"Xi'an Po!" Po exclaimed.

"The Dragon Warrior!"

"The awesome clutz!"

The two rushed over to each other and embraced in a guy-style hug.

"It's great to see you again, Po!" Lu Kang said.

"Feeling's mutual! How've you been?"

"Doing great. My kung fu's getting better, but I'm still a novice at not breaking stuff."

"Same here." Po laughed. "I'm guessing that this mess is your handiwork."

"Yeah… so is that broken step over there." He sheepishly pointed at the set of stairs just outside the entrance of the hall of warriors, and Po suddenly realized that a piece was missing. "Just so you know."

"Wait, was it you who cried out a while ago?"
"Oh yeah. It's a good thing Zan's not the bratty type of kid, or I'd never live it down."

"Where's your emissary? You know, the new guy after Meng Tao."

"Master Eagle Jr.'s the emissary now." Xian spoke up. "And a darned good one at that! Strong, loyal, dependable, brave and honest…"
"Please, your highness…" Eagle Jr. sighed.

"Oh hush, you know I don't mean a word of it. Di Tan's a good cook, though."

They shared a good laugh at that, but then they heard a cry, and then a frazzled goose wearing a noodle bowl hat burst into the hall.

"Di Tan!" He cried. "Di Tan, I am so sorry! It's you!"

He rushed right over to Di Tan and began kissing his wing.

"I'm you're biggest fan, I swear! If I'd known who you were, I would never have poked you in the chest!"

"Easy there, fellow." Di Tan chuckled and patted Mr. Ping on the back, but was unsuccessful in calming his panic attack. "All is forgiven."

"I am so sorry!" Mr. Ping continued to wail. "I am so, so, so, so…"

"Dad, he said he forgives you." Po took that moment to step in and clap a paw over his father's beak. "Do what he says and settle down."

He waited until the goose's muffled moans died down before letting go.

"Thank you, son…" He mumbled. "So what brings you here, Di Tan? I thought you would still be wandering the country selling your wonderful noodles."

"Everyone seems to think that, don't they?" Di Tan raised an eyebrow. "Actually, I serve as the royal chef."

"Really?" Mr. Ping blinked.

"Oh yes. I have served the emperor for fifty years."

"You must be highly talented to be employed by the royal palace."

"Oh, I'm not that good. Unlike you, I can't make Dragon Warrior Soft Crunch Noodles."
"Oh, would you like to learn?" Mr. Ping's excitement visibly tripled.

"Oh no, it's a secret family recipe. You should keep it to yourself. Besides, I have my own special recipes."

"Like the Golden Fu Dog Sweet and Sour Noodles!" Mr. Ping exclaimed. "A truly beautiful combination of bittercraft and sugary!"

"Thank you for the compliment." Di Tan said modestly.

As the two gooses began a relatively normal conversation about various noodle dishes, the doors opened again as Tigress and Zan made their return, accompanied by a timid panda cub and a gob-smacked piglet.

"Su? Pong?" Shifu was surprised to see them. "What are you doing here? I told you not to leave the training hall."

"It's alright, Master." Tigress said. "Zan sort of insisted that they come and meet his family."

That was when they saw that Zan had grabbed both Su's and Pong's hands, and had evidently dragged them into the hall.

"That's my mama!" He pointed at Zu Chunhua, who was still talking to Viper and Crane, the latter having joined the conversation slightly against his will. "And that's Lu Kang, my first cousin once removed!" He pointed at Lu Kang. "And that's my uncle Xian!" He pointed at the emperor.

"Hi." Su waved shyly at each of them.

"Hiyah." Pong did the same.

"Children, you should know that this man is the imperial emperor himself." Shifu said. Both children gaped. "Please show respect during his stay here."

"Yes, Master Shifu." Both children bowed.

"It's alright, Master Shifu." Xian said, waving away what the aged red panda had just said. "They are children. I don't think the rules of etiquette should apply to them." Su and Pong gasped as the emperor knelt down to their level. "I am pleased to meet you both. You are both students, correct?"

"Uh… yeah." Su whispered. Pong looked like he was about to faint.

"Well, here's a tip from an old student…" Xian leaned in conspiratorially towards the children. "If you're ever rummaging around in the kitchen and come across a jar of sesame cookies, put it straight back pronto."

"Why?" Su and Pong asked simultaneously.

"Because otherwise Master Shifu will get so mad he will turn into a really red panda."

"Hey, I heard that!" Shifu exclaimed. As the children looked at him, his face turned bright red in annoyance and embarrassment.

Xian chuckled and stood up as the children burst into giggles. He liked kids. Like Oogway had always used to say, they were the physical embodiment of the world's innocence. That and most of them were pretty adorable to look at.

Then his eyes fell on Master Tigress again. His smile faded as he took in her facial features, which looked so eerily like hers.

No, stop this! He scolded himself, slipping his paws into his long sleeves so no-one would see them clench into fists. Stop staring at her. She's not her. She is dead.

"Emperor Xian?"

Xian turned his head to look at Eagle Jr. who had materialized at his side, an imperial messenger goose standing next to him.

"What is it?" Xian asked.

"I have just received a message from the rest of the family." He said. "They should be arriving here by tomorrow."

"Oh good." Xian forced a smile.

Eagle Jr. frowned.
"Your highness, are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Sorry, my mind was elsewhere."

"Oh. I'm sorry if I disturbed you."

"Don't be. Shall we inform the others?"

"Of course, your highness."

Xian stepped forward, away from the pillar he had been leaning against. The others in the room stopped talking and turned to him when they realized that he wanted their attention.

"I'm sorry for interrupting, but I've just received news that the rest of the visitors will be arriving soon." He said.

"More visitors?" Shifu replied.

"That's not a problem, I hope."

"Oh no, it's an honor to host more of your family."

"Who's coming exactly, Emperor Xian?" Monkey asked.

"A ruling family from a neighboring province." Xian replied. "I believe that some of you will remember Princess Mei Li?"

"Mei Li's coming?" A huge smile stretched across Po's face as he remembered the little piglet he had rescued from Qidan king Temutai. "Awesome!"

"Also, Zan, I think you will be pleased to know that your grandmother Haoxin de nushi is also coming."

"Yay!" Zan leapt into the air with joy.

Shifu, meanwhile, dropped his jaw and his staff.

"H-haoxin is c-coming?!" He stammered, his face inexplicably a mask of pure horror. "Surely not?!"

Meanwhile, in an ancient stone fortress somewhere in the Himalayas, a messenger hawk flapped towards an open window and perched on the stone sill. In the large room, a griffin vulture by the name of Commander-in-Chief Tujiu noticed the hawk, got up from the map table and walked over to the window.

"What's the report?" he asked briskly.

"Another soldier has been found, sir." The hawk said. He suppressed a shudder. "His head has been ripped clean off. Whatever killed him left his weapons behind, but took his helmet."

"Tell the party who found him to say nothing about this to anyone." Tujiu replied. "Bring the body back and put him in storage with the others. Make sure the other soldiers don't see him."

Something very strange was happening here in the Himalayas, something that was frightening the soldiers to distraction. Two weeks after the imperial army had discovered this ancient, derelict building and moved in to investigate, men had been disappearing. So far, twenty men have ventured out to patrol and explore the mountains surrounding the fortress and never came found. Only half of them had been found so far, all dismembered or worse, with weapons or pieces of armor missing, all reappearing in the western area of the mountain. General Tujiu had to find out what was going on and fix it, and fast, before the kung fu warriors the emperor was enlisting to investigate the strange murders arrived and stole all the credit. This morning, two more soldiers had disappeared.

"What is your plan, sir?" the hawk asked.

"Find Colonel Sao." Tijiu said. "Tell him to send out some men to the western part of the mountain. I want to know what the hell is going on out there."

"Yes sir." The hawk flew away from the windowsill and down towards the army camp below.

Tijiu turned away from the window and returned to the map on the table.

In the western area of the Himalayan map, the eleven spots where each body had been found were marked in red.