The time has come! Another giant-ass chapter to wrap up Day 2! Hope you enjoy the longest chapter yet.

Chapter 14: Past and Present

At first, it seemed like the mission had gone off without a hitch.

Masters Crane and Mantis made a beeline out of Gongmen City and straight towards the forest where Lord Shen's camp was stationed, taking the Soothsayer along for the ride. The old goat proved surprisingly durable and showed little signs of distress even at the speed they were going, which was fast enough that they easily outpaced any of Kai's jombies that happened to spot them. They finally breached the edge of the city and headed for the woods, seeing no signs of pursuit behind them. It seemed that everything had gone just as-

"Where's Po?"

-horribly as expected.

Crane stopped in mid-air, looking across the city behind him. "Maybe he just hasn't caught up yet," he suggested. "He isn't exactly known for his incredible speed."

"Uh huh," Mantis said, clearly not buying it. "But I'm pretty sure a giant black and white puffball running for his life would be pretty noticeable at least. I don't think he made it out of there."

"Come on, you really think a few life-sized jade figurines could stop the Dragon Warrior? If anything, they should be afraid of him," Crane laughed to himself, that laugh becoming increasingly forced. "...Ah crap. He tried to play hero again, didn't he?"

"I'm thinking so, yes." As painful as it was to accept, they had an unspoken agreement that saving Tigress was the lowest priority of the mission. She had gone into this with the full knowledge that she would likely not be coming back, but Po was evidently not on the same page.

"What do we do now? We can't just ditch him!"

"Actually...I think we might have to." Crane sighed heavily, nearly flinging Mantis off. "Tigress said it herself. It's about the greater good. The fact is, if we go back to help Po, that only increases the chances of none of us making it back. And if that happens, all of China is done for, by either Kai or Shen's hand. Besides, we can't risk harming the Soothsayer any more than we already have."

"Thank you for your consideration, Master Crane." The goat looked up from within his talons. "I apologize for putting you in this predicament."

Despite being the most pessimistic of them all, it was Mantis who offered some reassurance. "Hey, there's nothing to worry about. The big guy can take care of himself. Plus he's got Tigress with him, right? He'll be fine as long as she's there to have his back."

"Tigress, seriously, stop trying to kill me!"

Po ducked another fierce swipe from the jade feline, who continued to ignore his pleas for mercy. To be fair, the real Tigress fought the same way.

Po finally countered with a belly bounce that threw Tigress into one of the jail's support columns. But despite the damage that did to the column, Tigress was unfazed, getting back up and cracking her neck left and right to shake off the dust. She pounced right at Po, aiming to sink her fangs into his shoulder. He just managed to move it out of the way, only for her to clamp onto his arm instead. "GAH! OFF! OFF! OFF!" He shook his arm frantically, trying to dislodge the tiger. He was starting to think he needed a better plan.

"Quite the feisty one, isn't she?" Kai asked, greatly amused. "I estimate that she may even be the third-strongest of my soldiers. But that position is still open, Dragon Warrior. Don't give up yet!" His eyes flashed again. "I said LATER, guys! Quit bugging me!"

It was around this point that Po realized he didn't have a plan. If he lost, he would get jombified. If he won, he would wear himself out and then get jombified. This was exactly the kind of impulsive recklessness Tigress had warned him about. If she were still herself, she would just be attacking him verbally instead of physically. Or possibly both.

Po swung Tigress into the wall of the prison, finally getting her to release his arm, now covered in bleeding bite wounds. Po winced at the sight. "Owww, is this how prey animals used to feel back in the old days?"

Kai perked up, leaning in closer. "What's that? You want to hear about the old days?"

General Kai didn't know much about military strategy, outside of how to best pummel his foes into submission, but one thing he always understood perfectly was the value of rest. Even someone as mighty as himself still needed to take a breather every now and then.

Well, he didn't NOW, but that wasn't the point.

The army was currently camped out in what General Oogway referred to as "the calm before the storm" or "the pinnacle between the ires of battle". Kai preferred to simply call it what is was: smack dab in the middle of nowhere. But that was okay, because being in the middle of nowhere meant that it was unlikely for anyone to bother them out here. "Bother" was really the best way to put it, as it wasn't like anyone could seriously "threaten" them anymore. It had taken many long, grueling years, but they had become powerful enough to seriously match the Imperial Army, if not defeat them outright. It was only a matter of time until the whole empire was theirs for the taking.

And to think, they actually used to WORK for those jokers. Their army had initially been created from a few hundred low-level recruits for the purpose of suppressing a rebellion against the Emperor. Soon enough, they realized that they were essentially being used as bait so the "real" soldiers wouldn't have to get their paws dirty. Naturally, it was Oogway who figured this out, but it was Kai who decided to take action. These two figures stepped up and took charge, merging the armies together to create an even bigger, more powerful force, turning a simple rebellion into an all-out war. A war that they were now winning.

Like many things, Kai found this hilarious.

But despite their legendary prowess, they were not invincible. That was a lesson Kai learned the hard way. Their latest battle had been won at a cost. A relatively minor cost, but one that affected him more deeply than anything else possibly could.

Oogway had been hurt.

For the longest time, he had thought the tortoise was indeed invincible. Aside from literally being clad in two sets of armor, one natural and one man-made, he possessed such immense wisdom of the battlefield that it was rare for an enemy to even scratch his skin, let alone pierce it. Let alone THIS.

"Why do you look so glum, brother? It was merely one arrow." Oogway lied on a cot, his left arm bandaged at the elbow. Kai was the only one in the tent with him, after he had not-so-politely told the medics to piss off.

"That one arrow is going to keep you from using your arm for weeks."

"It is okay. I have another."

"That's not the point!" Kai stomped a hoof into the ground. "The point is that you are hurt! Hurt because I failed to protect you!"

"Is that what you believe?" Oogway actually looked surprised. "Kai, you could not have predicted this would happen. This is a war. Just because we have gone through most battles unscathed, that does not mean all battles will be the same. Just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare there are no constant conditions."

"Well that doesn't mean I have to accept it," Kai huffed, crossing his arms. "I SAW that arrow coming for you! If I was just a bit faster, or stronger, I could have done something to stop it."

"Brother..."

"You always do this, you know. You brush off everything that happens, no matter how serious, with a smile and a cute little proverb. I'm supposed to be the jokester here, but at least I know how to take care of myself! Frankly, I'm starting to think I care more about your safety than YOU do!"

"There's no need to be so concerned," Oogway insisted. "I have taught the army well. Even if something happened, I have every faith that my knowledge will survive forever."

"You don't get it, do you?!" Kai stepped closer, looming threateningly over Oogway's bed. "This isn't about the freaking army! They can all go to Hell before I'll ever let you follow them! They might be able to function without you, but I can't!"

Oogway just stared up at him, stunned into silence. Kai's head drooped, his breath hitching. He couldn't stand to even look his brother in the eye anymore. "Do you know what I am without you, Oogway? Just a big angry guy with a spear and a bad sense of humor. That's all I've ever been for a long, long time. I used to be okay with that too, I really did. But now that I have a true brother in arms, someone who can accept me for who I am, I'm not willing to let you go that easily. I can't go back to just being ME anymore!"

It took Oogway a second to realize that Kai was actually crying. He doubted that anyone, including himself, would ever see this sight again. He reached out and laid a hand on his trembling arm. "Kai...you know it's the same way for me, but this level of concern is not healthy."

He shook his head bitterly. "No, it's not the same. You have other friends, but I've only ever had you. You are the only meaningful thing I have in this chaotic life of mine, and once you're gone, that's it. I'm not ever going to find someone like you again." He raised his head to glare at him. As suddenly as he had shown his vulnerable side, it was gone. "Tell me Oogway, do you have a proverb about that?"

Oogway bit his lip. As a matter of fact, he did. "...Anger may in time change to gladness; vexation may be succeeded by content." He paused. "But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being; nor can the dead ever be brought back to life."

"Oh, so you DO get it." Kai turned around and stormed out of the tent, stopping just as he pulled open the flap. "You better start looking out for yourself brother, because if something like this ever happens again..."

He looked straight at Oogway, narrowing his eyes ominously.

"...I'll do whatever I have to do."

Kai sighed, shaking his head. That was not the story he wanted to tell, but it was the first one to come to mind and he couldn't leave it unfinished. "Unfortunately, that warning wasn't enough. It was only a few weeks later when-ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!"

He watched as Po kicked Tigress away again, now covered in even more cuts and bites. The panda looked up at him, dumbfounded. "Of course I wasn't listening to you! If you wanted me to hear your story, you should have told Tigress to stop mauling me first!" Po was promptly attacked again and tackled to the ground.

"Excuse me for thinking that the legendary Dragon Warrior possessed the ability to multi-task! I guess not listening to me is something else you learned from Oogway!"

Po struggled to keep Tigress's jaws away from his throat. "Wait, what does Master Oogway have to do with this?"

"OH THAT IS IT!" Kai stood up abruptly, snarling in rage. "Tigress, stop! I am going to finish off this miserable panda mys-" His eyes flashed. Kai finally, and quite indignantly, connected to his jade wolves. "WHAT IS IT?! What is so freaking important that you need to keep bothering-SHEN?!"

"Greetings, Kai."

Shen stood casually atop a pile of jade wolves as he stared down his former lieutenant. The Wolf Boss looked even less in touch with reality than usual as his eyes glowed and his jaw dropped. "What are you doing here?!"

"Is that any to treat an old friend?" Shen asked, scraping his guandao lightly across the wolf's throat. "And here I thought you wanted me back. Isn't that why you kidnapped my Soothsayer?"

"It was, but that doesn't matter to me anymore," Kai chuckled. "I didn't think you'd be cowardly enough to send Oogway's brats in your place, but I suppose I can't complain when this is turning out even better than I hoped for." The Wolf Boss suddenly grabbed the blade of the guandao, its sharp surface only scratching his jade paw. "So you can take the old hag! She's been starting to annoy me anyway."

"So it's not just me she annoys. Good to know." In one swift motion, Shen stabbed the guandao into the Wolf Boss's chin, loosening his grip enough for him to yank the weapon out of his grasp, spin it once, and bash him over the head with it. "Thanks for letting me know that she's safe, by the way. You were never very good at strategy, were you?"

The wolf's face scowled. "Shut up." He lunged for the bird, jaws wide. Shen scooped him up on the guandao and threw him into the rest of the pack, knocking them apart like a set of bowling pins. Shen smirked in satisfaction, up until he noticed the wolves getting back to their feet, a bit scratched up but otherwise looking no worse for wear.

"Do you see the advantage of immortal soldiers?" Kai asked, now speaking through every wolf at once. "No hesitation, no fear, no will of their own. I do all of the thinking for them!"

"Hardly sounds like an advantage."

"YOU'RE DEAD, BIRD!"

The wolves all lunged for him at once. Shen vaulted himself away and watched them crash into each other. "Hmph. You're going to have to do better than that if you want my weapons Kai!"

"Oh yeah? Well I'm just getting started with...wait, did you say weapons? Plural?"

Shen stared at them, baffled. "Isn't that what you're here for?"

It was the first time he had ever seen a statue look embarrassed. "I, uh...yes, of course! YOUR WEAPONS WILL BE MINE!"

Shen had to wonder which of them was the bigger fool in this scenario.

"Freaky."

Po stared up at Kai, weirded out by the yak who seemed to be having a lengthy conversation with himself. He knew the guy was crazy, but not to this degree.

He suddenly realized he had taken his focus off of Tigress and spun around to face her, seeing the jade feline crouched into a tiger-style stance. Po got into his own stance and waited for the attack.

And waited.

...And waited some more.

It soon became clear that Tigress wasn't attacking. In fact, she wasn't doing anything at all. She was just standing there, still as a, well, statue. When Kai ordered her to "stop", she had apparently taken it very literally. Just to be sure, Po hesitantly waved his paw in front of her face. When it didn't get bitten off, he knew he was safe. As safe as he could be in this situation anyway, which was not the kind of safe he was looking for. If nothing else, it was at least a reprieve to consider his options, limited as they were.

But no matter how many times he went over it in his head, there was only one option that seemed even remotely probable.

He sighed. "Look Tigress, I know you can't hear me right now, but I just want you to know that I'm really sorry." He found it hard to look into her softly glowing eyes. "Sorry for letting this happen to you, sorry for being my usual dumb self, sorry for failing as a hero. But what I'm most sorry about is that I think I'm going to have to leave you here." Her unresponsive face spoke volumes to him. "Not forever! Just until we can come back and beat up Kai. I mean, partnering up with Shen's gonna be hard, but I'll do it for you. I promise."

Still a bit wary, Po leaned in and gave her a quick hug, shuddering from the unnatural feel. "Right. So, uh, I'm gonna get going now." He started to back away.

"Don't go, Po."

He froze. "...Tigress?"

"Stay here with me."

"Aw geez, I didn't know you could still talk," he groaned. "This is so much more awkward now. I told you, I can't stay here. I have to leave."

"But there is still one thing you need to do for me first."

Po leaned in warily. "Like what?"

"...You need to surrender your chi."

He shot back. "Wait, what? Why would I want to-KAI!"

The yak had a surreal expression on his face, as if he couldn't decide whether he found this amusing or just pathetic. "Yeah, I'm still here, dumbass! Hate to ruin your little moment, but there's a time and a place for this kind of thing and now isn't it!"

He looked back and forth between the two, his face softening. "Still...that kind of comradery you share...I must say it's very noble. I know what that's like, to be so close to another warrior, to find someone who understands you on such a personal level, who is willing to fight by your side no matter the cost." He smiled, almost warmly. "I'm actually a bit envious, you know. I would have preferred my comrade to be taken from me by an enemy rather than keeping him around long enough to betray me himself. If I knew that back then, I could've saved myself a lot of grief. But seeing you two now, it makes me remember all those good times we shared and-oh forget it, rip his throat out."

In an instant, Tigress regained her mobility and made a slash at Po's neck. The panda yelped and jumped away as the feline's claws came way too close for comfort, shaving off a bit of his neck fur. He leapt back with a kick to the tiger's chest, sending her skidding into the opposite wall. "NicetalkingtoyouTigressrunningnowbye!"

Po made a dash for the lower doors, but found his left arm suddenly wrapped up in a chain. "You're not going anywhere, Dragon Warrior. You will be one of the greatest jewels in my collection!" Kai laughed.

"Thanks for the offer. Not interested!" Po tugged at the chain, but Kai held him firm with almost laughable ease. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Tigress charging him on all fours and pulled even harder. Seeing that he indeed wasn't going anywhere, he stopped trying to get away and instead moved in closer. As Tigress pounced once more, Po dodged at the last second and clotheslined her with the chain.

Tigress swept a leg and tried to trip him up, but Po jumped to avoid it, then dodged to the side as she sprang back up again. As she came in for another bite, Po decided to put her immense jaws to good use and allowed her to clamp down on the chain, then kicked her hard in the chest. The resulting blow not only hurt his foot, it broke the chain apart and freed him.

"Will you people stop breaking all my stuff?!" Kai yelled. "Great, now I need even more metal..."

Po yanked the remaining chains off of his arm and made a run for it again. Just before he reached the doors to freedom, Tigress leapt the full distance of the room and landed directly in front of him. With a growl that sounded more like the clinking of jade, she extended her paws into a defensive stance this time. "Playing the defender this time, huh? Then I guess I'll have to be the attacker!" As he charged towards her, Po pulled one arm back and threw a punch as hard as he could into Tigress's open palm.

His resulting scream of pain made Kai burst out laughing. Po fell to his knees, clutching his bruised paw. That didn't work when she was mortal, why the heck did he think it would work now?!

Before he could answer that question, Tigress kneed him in the chin and knocked him to his back. She leapt on top of him, pinning down his arms and legs and roaring in his face. "Uh...I'm sorry about that too?"

He heard a heavy thud as Kai dropped down to the floor next to him. "Still trying to get through to her, are we? Take my advice, panda, these kinds of attachments are only going to cause you pain in the end. You're better off forgetting all about her, and the rest of your friends as well." He lifted a glowing hoof toward Po's face, and the panda gasped as he saw his arms beginning to turn to jade. "But don't worry, you won't have to think about them ever again. In fact, you won't have to think at all!"

"Not on my watch!"

Not since his first day at the Jade Palace had Po ever seen someone so large get tossed across the room so easily. So before Kai had even hit the wall, he knew exactly who it was who had rescued him. "Master Shifu!"

Shen had to admit, this was not one of his better ideas.

Yes, fighting off these wolves was proving an invaluable diversion for getting his weapons safely out of here, but it would be completely wasted if he himself couldn't escape. He certainly didn't trust the dumb mutts and lumbering apes to win this war on their own. It occurred to him that the kung fu masters currently fighting Kai probably shared a similar sentiment. This was the closest he had come in a long time to understanding the concept of empathy.

Ducking under another wolf, Shen extended his train and tripped him, then jabbed the back of his gunadao into another wolf's chest. Shen jumped over a third wolf's lunge, then vaulted over his back to land on a fourth. But no matter how many times he knocked these things down, he failed to do anything more than scratch them. It was times like this that he cursed his own frail body. At least Kai wasn't watching him anymore. Whatever those masters were doing to distract him, it was clearly working.

And if they could do their part, then he had no excuse to fail.

He turned on his heels as the Wolf Boss came at him now, swinging his hammer at him in a wide arc. Shen leapt clear over him, suddenly getting a stroke of inspiration. Waiting for the alpha wolf to make another swing, Shen strategically placed himself right in front of another wolf, and ducked. The real Wolf Boss would never endanger his own pack, but this cheap knock-off had no problem bashing the other wolf's head clean off. Repeating the tactic, Shen watched as another wolf was split in half at the torso.

Struggling to catch his breath, he was caught by surprise when a wolf nailed him in the back and knocked him to the ground. It appeared that even this final effort had not been enough. With no efficient way to put these things down for good, it was only a matter of time before one of them finally got the drop on him.

He could see the Wolf Boss grinning to himself as he lifted the hammer high above him.

"You're fired."

But as he saw the giant weapon looming over his head, he started to feel, as he had felt far too often now, that this was somehow...familiar.

"You're right. Then I choose...THIS!"

Shen withdrew three knives and sprung up, ferociously attacking the damned panda who had ruined everything.

The filthy creature was forced on the defensive, dodging away from all of this attacks. But he couldn't dodge forever. Letting out a cry of outrage as the panda actually dared to GRAB him, Shen lashed out and sliced open a small cut on his cheek, sending strands of fur into the air. That was nowhere near enough for him, and he flung even more blades that the panda blocked with a piece of wood from the deck.

There would be no mercy. Not for him. Shen grabbed his fallen guandao and attacked even more savagely, determined to exact his vengeance. He was SO blinded by fury in fact, that he failed to notice his blade slicing through the ropes that held up the remnants of his ship. He was oblivious to the loud snapping and creaking as the wood gave way and the massive cannon balanced on top began to shift.

When he did notice, it was already too late. As the panda rolled away to safety, Shen looked up, seeing the symbol of his empire finally collapse...right on top of him.

So this was how it was going to end. It was only fitting really. If he couldn't have his victory, this was the only other option he would accept. In this brief moment, his last, Shen had found peace.

He closed his eyes and waited for the end to come.

A loud boom made his eyes open again. As he snapped back to reality, he saw that the Wolf Boss had been blown to pieces right in front of him. The shock left him so disoriented that the other wolves could have easily gone for the attack had they not been blasted apart immediately afterwards.

"I hope you're not going to complain about this," the Chief Gorilla said, laying his hand on the surface of a cannon. Two other gorillas manned other cannons at his sides. "Seriously, don't."

Shen got back up, dusting himself off. "Are those the only cannons left?" He wouldn't complain yet, but if he had wasted all of that effort for nothing, heads were going to roll.

"Don't worry, the others are already safe and sound. They should all be wheeling into camp by now."

"Good. Then let's not waste anymore time here." Shen signaled them to start taking the remaining three cannons away. Almost dying aside, the operation had gone fairly well. Too well actually. He was expecting much worse. Like actually dying.

He couldn't repress a shudder. That latest vision disturbed him greatly. It apparently wasn't enough for his mind to keep remembering things that never happened; now it had to start preying on his fears as well. Was that supposed to be a premonition of his supposed death? No, that was completely different from what the Soothsayer predicted. And as his instincts continued to insist despite all rational logic, this was an event that had already happened.

His death.

Perhaps he really was just crazy. After all, he was quite clearly alive.

Are you sure about that?

"You're all just crawling right out of the woodwork, aren't ya?"

Kai pulled himself out of the wall, looking royally ticked-off, but otherwise unharmed. He glared over at the red panda who had attacked him, now brandishing a wooden staff at him. He felt an extra tinge of hatred at the sight of his familiar green robes. "You must be Shifu. You have a lot of fans in the Spirit Realm. Almost as many as Oogway himself."

"Seriously, what is your deal with Oogway?" asked Po, still pinned under Tigress.

"He is Master Oogway's former best friend and brother-in-arms, now returned to the mortal coil," Shifu answered, trying not to look at what had become of his adopted daughter.

"Woah, seriously?!" Po yelled, not sure if he should be excited about this or even more horrified.

"So you know who I am?" Kai asked curiously. "A little while ago, that might have really meant something to me. Now I just don't even care anymore." He waved his hoof.

Tigress stood up at her master's command and disappeared into chi, merging back into Kai. Shifu clenched his teeth, his eyes demanding vengeance. "You are going to pay dearly for this, Kai."

"Yeah, yeah." Kai gripped the chain of his remaining sword between both hooves. "I've had a long day, so let's just skip to the part where I take your chi and be done with it."

"Po, watch out!" Shifu kicked the panda out of the way of Kai's sword as it sped past him, but Kai had expected this and adjusted his grip, swinging the chain into the airborne Shifu. As the new Grandmaster flipped around in midair and landed on his feet, Kai leapt in to fight him with his own hooves. The miniature master ducked and dodged around Kai's attacks, showing a speed so impressive that even the tortoise couldn't pull it off.

If he weren't talking about Oogway, that would have sounded pretty silly.

Kai growled and swung his arm at Shifu's head, but he easily ducked the swing and shot up with several tiny kicks to his chin. Kai attempted a headbutt to retaliate, but Shifu was already gone by the time he did it, and countered by stabbing his staff into the yak's gut. Though these blows barely hurt him, it was a lot like being by swarmed by a mosquito: annoying and rash-inducing.

Even when so much else had changed however, there were always constants. Shifu still caught a glimpse of Oogway's amulet, and he still hesitated just long enough for Kai to finally strike back. He grabbed Shifu by the scruff of his neck and threw him roughly at the charging Po's belly, knocking the panda to the floor and bouncing Shifu right back into his hoof. With his other arm, he threw out his blade and wrapped it around the dazed panda's neck, pulling him to his knees. Po choked, unable to remove the chain.

"See how much quicker this is without the banter?" Kai asked, watching them both try in vain to escape his grasp. It was amazing how non-threatening someone could be once you had them by the throat.

"You..." Shifu gasped, abruptly ceasing his struggles.

Kai rolled his eyes. "Oh here we go..."

"Your chi..." Shifu's paws glowed faintly.

"It's an impressive collection, I know. You get to be a part of it too."

"Your chi is tainted."

"I imagine it would be." Seriously, was this guy ever going to shut up?

But Shifu had sensed something. His ability to sense chi wasn't nearly as strong as Kai or the late Master Oogway, but at this close proximity, he could sense something very wrong with Kai, something even the yak himself didn't seem to be aware of. "No, not the chi you stole...but your own."

"What?" This was not at all what he expected, but on the merit of being something different at least, he decided to humor him. "How so?"

"The shadow of death clings to you," Shifu said, trying to pinpoint this strange sensation that chilled him to the bone. "It's as if your own chi, your own soul, is being slowly pulled away." His eyes widened in horror. "What...what did you do to escape the Spirit Realm?"

Kai growled. This was the second time he had been asked this question, and he was starting to get really sick of it. "None of your business, old man!"

"Wait, what? You mean Kai's chi is even more screwed-up than we thought?" Po asked, as curious as ever despite being strangled.

"I'm telling you IT DOESN'T MATTER!" Kai yelled, shaking the old master violently. "All that matters to me is getting my revenge on Oogway! I'll do anything to achieve that, even if it means making a deal with a demon!"

Kai suddenly froze, as if his muscles had all just locked up on their own volition. "Wha...what's happening to me?"

Ah ah ah. Your contract included a non-disclosure agreement. I'm afraid you have just violated our terms, Mr. Kai.

What happened next was an experience none of them would soon forget.

Shifu was abruptly dropped to the ground as Kai reeled back, screaming. Po finally managed to slip the chain off and gasped, trying to catch his breath.

He nearly lost it again when he saw Kai. There was only a certain way you could react to someone being attacked by their own shadow. Kai clutched his head and screamed again and again, clearly in immense pain. Shadowy tendrils crawled up and down his body, as if trying to tether him to the ground. Unbeknownst to either of the masters, a voice spoke inside his head, one that he could understand perfectly even over the sounds of his own agony.

I believe you need a reminder of who's in control here. I would prefer not to discipline you, but you leave me no choice.

Kai thrashed around wildly, screaming even louder as the shadows grew more intense, beginning to spread around to the floors and walls.

Po backed away slowly, trying not to step on any. "Master Shifu...what's going on?" he asked, thoroughly freaked out.

His master's response did not reassure him. "I have no idea."

Even trapped in the center of this dark vortex, Kai proved as stubborn as always. "GET OUT OF MY HEAD YOU CREEPY BASTARD!"

Now why would I do that when you were so gracious as to lend it to me, Mr. Kai?

Kai's right arm rose without his consent, his hoof gripping the discarded chain.

I suggest you read the fine print next time.

His arm swung erratically to the left, causing the chain sword to fly around the room. Po quickly ducked under the blade, but Shifu was small enough that it missed him anyway. The blade continued to swing upwards, through several support columns, striking against the walls with powerful chi energy. The result was a very unnerving rumbling sound. "I think it might be better to run first, ask questions later," came the wisdom of the Dragon Warrior.

"Agreed." The Grandmaster kicked open the front doors of the prison and rushed out, Po right behind him. The panda only stopped to take one last glance over his shoulder, a decision he immediately regretted.

Kai had dropped to his knees, exhausted. The shadows were gone from his body and the surrounding room. Instead, they had contorted into a sinister silhouette looming directly over him. A silhouette with large wings, pointed ears, and glowing purple eyes. Whatever this thing was, it noticed Po watching, and smiled at the panda with needle-like teeth.

"Hello there."

Po ran like hell.

"What was that?!"

Shen whirled around at the sound of a loud crash. Or perhaps it wasn't so loud and he was just incredibly jumpy right now. Either way it was enough to get his attention. As he looked over the city, he saw a giant cloud of dust kick up in the distance...directly in the vicinity of Gongmen Jail.

It didn't take him long to put two and two together. His eyes widened and his beak started to quiver. "No..."

"Shen!"

Startled again, the peacock looked up to see another bird flying above him, carrying a very familiar face. So they had pulled it off after all. "You are still alive," the Soothsayer said, relieved.

To think that she had been worried about him all this time.

"Put her down!" Shen demanded. He imagined the old goat had dealt with enough perilous heights by now.

Crane gently lowered the Soothsayer to the ground and almost immediately took off again. He was probably heading back to camp in hopes of finding the other masters, but Shen couldn't care less about them right now. The only one who mattered was right in front of him. "I'm...pleased that you alright," he said, showing a smile that didn't quite reach.

Knowing that this was the best she was going to get out of him, the Soothsayer just walked up to him and wrapped her small form around his body. Hugging was not a privilege he typically allowed, but in this one moment, he would make an exception. She had been through enough to warrant this much at least. It was forced and extremely awkward, but Shen hugged her back anyway.

For all of two seconds. "Alright, enough of this foolishness. We have preparations to discuss."

Along with many, many other things.

"They're really gone, aren't they?" Crane finally broke the oppressive silence between him and the bug. They sat at the edge of Shen's camp, watching the army celebrate their victory over Kai, a victory they had very little hand in. To the two masters though, it wasn't much of a victory at all.

"How is it that of all the warriors in the Jade Palace, the two of us are the only ones still alive?" Mantis asked despondently.

"They're not dead," Crane reminded him, though not very forcefully.

"They might as well be if we're the only ones left who can stop Kai. I don't know about you, but I don't like our chances right now, not even with these giant metal death wagons."

"Maybe we should retreat," Crane said, grabbing his attention. "Not to run away," he clarified, "just to report back to Master Shifu. He might know something about this at least."

"Yeah, yeah you're right!" Mantis replied, perking up slightly. "If anyone can help us out right now, he can!"

"Then I have good news and bad news for you, Master Mantis."

Crane squawked and fell backwards, hitting Mantis into a tree and knocking him from his hat. The bug crawled back onto his tiny legs, shocked to see not only Master Shifu, but Po as well, standing in front of them. "The good news is that I'm already here, and I know everything we'll need to about Kai."

Any hope they got from that statement was diminished when they saw the grim look on their master's face, and an even grimmer one from Po.

"The bad news is that I'm no longer certain Kai is the one we should be worried about."

On one side, Lord Shen marched back into the forest with his troops, advanced weaponry and aged seer alongside him. The time for action was about to arise, and it seemed he would play his part perfectly.

On the other side, Kai the Collector pulled himself from the rubble of another failed hideout, sulking off to cause more mindless destruction. He was shaken, but not deterred. Exactly how he wanted him. No further discipline should be required.

Shen and Kai. They were two sides of the same coin, and he got to see them both at once.

From within his realm of nothingness, a void of endless dark, he raised a single clawed hand. A pair of parchments materialized above it, both sealed up neatly in black casings. How astounding that two little signatures could change so much.

"Only one day remains. I wonder how this will all turn out..."

Be honest, how many of you forgot about Shifu?

It's been a while since we've seen General Kai and General Oogway as well. I kept trying to find a place for another of these flashbacks because they're just so much fun, but aside from that one with Kai in the Spirit Realm, I couldn't find a good spot for it until now. I realize that certain parts of the pandom may read more than I intended into this particular one. For the record, I am not on board with the whole 'Kaiway' craze, but I do find Kai's relationship with Oogway more than a little obsessive. While I see Kai as a textbook sociopath, even those can have at least one person they genuinely care about, and for whom they will do horrible, horrible things to keep safe. You can probably see where I'm going with this, but I won't elaborate until later.

A lot of shit went down in this chapter, and a lot more is going to go down before this story is over. So what awaits on the third and final day? More action, more drama, and more answers, including the identity of our nosy bold-faced buddy. And perhaps the appearance of another villain you may not have expected. Yes, I love teasing my audience. Why do you ask?