Kai, Oogway and a small number of their soldiers were traveling along a forested route when they were taken by surprise from opposing forces.

Of the pair, it was Oogway who got the worst of it.

The two of them shouldn't have been talking as much as they had been— because of it they weren't as alert to their surroundings— they both knew it was dangerous to do so in unknown territory, but the two of them always found conversation so easy, fulfilling and natural. They had become overconfident and distracted by one another.

Kai didn't see Oogway get struck— he only saw the oncoming cascade of arrows before the battle began— that was when the two were separated, whenever it was that his companion was critically injured he wasn't there to see it.

He wasn't there by his side to stop it.

In the end, the small ambush was defeated, but their own army was also left dead or too injured to continue on their travels. It was then, after the last of the opponents fell that Kai noticed Oogway was not standing at his side. He wasn't standing anywhere on the battlefield.

The moment quickly went from something victorious to something frightening.

Cascades of red from the fading sun turned the land into something harsh, the area was silent and unmoving— a sharp contrast from what was once a raging battlefield with a cacophony of animal cries and screams only seconds ago.

His brother was gone. The turtle wasn't one to run from any battle, and his natural defenses made him a formidable opponent just to get any injury on, whatever happened to him couldn't have been good.

"Oogway!" Kai called out, turning in circles looking for any sign of his brother in arms. "Where have you gone!"

What eventually alerted Kai to his location wasn't the sound of his voice responding. It was Kai's ever searching eyes that caught sight of his shell.

For a moment he wasn't sure what to make of the round cracked shape on the ground, thinking it to be a broken rock— but then he realized it wasn't just some part of the earth— it was dripping red where it was cracked and scales were tucked underneath the side, it was Oogway.

There was a crack down the center of his friend's back, reaching from a higher point on the right side— it was wider there too— to a lower point on the left. It broke entirely through his shell and into the flesh that was beneath it. The leather and metal spike band he once wore around his middle had also been cut into two from this attack.

And Oogway wasn't moving either.

For some reason Kai just expected his friend to get up despite this, no injury had ever stopped him before, but he had never seen his shell cracked. He had never seen him this hurt. That natural armor of his had always seemed so indestructible.

Oogway was, hiding in his now broken shell— his arms and legs tucked into the sides and his head pulled back completely inside of it with his tail drawn tight to one side of his body. Kai was pretty sure if his companion was dead he wouldn't be able to hold himself in that defensive position. At least that is what he told himself. Despite knowing him for years he did not know much about tortoises. For all he knew that position could be one all tortoises went into when they died.

Kai wasn't a healer by any means, and he didn't know the lay of the area they were in— but he had to try and do something to help the only person he was close to.

As gently as he possibly could, he took the tortoise into his arms and hoped the crack wasn't too deep to come back from.

The only thing he could hope for was that the next settlement they came across had hospitality and no idea who either of them were.

The ground was cold, rocky— as Kai continued onwards it appeared he was heading towards higher ground, and the land became colder as he continued on, but he couldn't head back. Every settlement behind was an enemy, if there were any people left in them at all.

"Kai."

On the second day of travel Oogway spoke.

The bull halted in his steps in an instant and looked down to see his friend in his arms lightly untuck himself from that once thought to be impervious shell of his.

"You need to eat something." Kai responded and fell to his knees as gently as an oxen could.

He didn't mention the injury. How grim it looked. How he thought the tortoise in his arms may already be dead. How he had no idea when or where the next settlement was.

Now, braced on the ground with Oogway's weight on his legs, Kai was able to hold him with one arm, so he could get some of the rations stored in the bag on his belt without letting him touch the cold ground.

"Shells do not heal." Oogway said, with a sort of vague acceptance. "It is not in their nature."

Kai looked to his hands stained in a rudish red and the now fragile tortoise in his lap. He had stopped bleeding a while ago, but the wound was still raw . Oogway had already lost a lot of blood and now he was permanently injured in a way that would forever affect his battles and life.

The bull knew this type of injury was a death sentence for him, but he refused to accept it.

"Then I will change nature."

It was four days later, when Kai came across a village hidden high in the mountains.

Oogway's biggest weakness he kept hidden underneath a sash.

It was a reminder of his past, and a literal vulnerability— his skin was not tough and thick like the scales of his outer arms and legs beneath his shell. The flesh there was never meant to be exposed to the world. And while chi did impossible things, it couldn't heal scars. Wounds— even grievous ones— were healed in minutes, but they always left their mark. And shells simply did not heal.

His time as a warlord and the very end of it was permanently carved into his body.

And not always, did he wear that sash.

"Master Oogway." Shifu spoke, drawing the tortoise's attention away from his mind. When his eyes opened the smaller animal took that as an acknowledgement and spoke again. "There is something I would like to talk to you about."

"Then come, sit and talk." He responded, and turned his back to the red panda, taking a few steps forward before gently lowering himself to the ground.

But Shifu did not follow nor even move.

When Oogway turned his long neck around to see what he was doing or what he wasn't, he saw Shufu's ears were lowered and eyes were looking towards his back. It was after he noticed Oogway looking back at him that he was dragged out of his surprise, his face once more becoming something more schooled.

"I was unaware your shell was cracked." He spoke and averted his eyes.

"I usually keep it covered for a reason. While one should not shy away from their own weakness, they should know how to protect it from others."

And Oogway protected his weakness by hiding it altogether.

"It is a great honor you would show this to me."

Oogway smiled.

"I do not need to hide it from you." He explained— and for a moment thought of his once friend, who despite his aggressive and often cruel nature did everything for him when he was on the edge of death. "There is no need to hide vulnerabilities from friends."