Hello there!

So this is going to be a little teaser of a new full-length story that I'm very excited to write! This will also serve as a prologue to that story. Yes, yes, I know that I'm already working on another story, and that writing two at once (which I'm considering doing) while still making one-shots isn't the best of ideas, but hey, Dashishen did it with Fallen Phoenix and Bounty Hunter (two excellent stories worthy of your time), so if he can do it, so can I! (although, if we're being honest, Dashishen is a way better writer than me).

The idea for this story came to me just a few days ago, and, in that time frame, has grown into something I think I can really have fun with. I'm still not sure if I want this to be one full story, or if I want to split it into two. Right now, I'm leaning towards making it one story and having a part 1 and a part 2. The two parts will have a gap in time between them and will have different protagonists and antagonists, but I think I can make it work.

Oh, and before you read this chapter, no, this is not an AU. The beginning of this story starts shortly after KFP 3, but this prologue takes place in the middle of this story.

P.S. This is also a post-KFP 3 fanfic, but unrelated to my other story. I do not own Kung Fu Panda.

On with the show!

Thump, thump, thump. That was the only sound that could be heard in the hallways. It was a very common sound in that place. It was the sound of Vachir's wooden leg tapping the floor with every step.

Thump, thump, thump. At first, the sound had heavily grated on the rhino's nerves. Now, it was a part of him.

The hallways were dim, with only a few torches to light the way during the night. They were also pretty bare, with almost no decoration at all, exposing the bare and rotting wood barely keeping the old place together. It wasn't exactly a palace, but hey, you had to start somewhere.

Vachir, as you may have guessed by now, was, in fact, still alive. He had escaped Chorh-Gom prison with his life. However, he had not escaped with his right leg, or right arm, or right eye. Instead, he had a worn eyepatch slung over his head, and wooden leg, and a wooden arm that ended in a flat stump at the end.

But what had he been doing all this time, you wonder? Well, he had spent a good while moping about the loss of his limbs. But, after his tear ducts had dried up, he had… changed. The former commander had a very different attitude towards people and life. Not that he was a great person prior to Tai-Lung's escape, but now he knew he couldn't trust anyone. Why couldn't they have simply executed Tai-Lung? Not only would it have saved so much time and resources, but also the lives of how many of his men? But no, he bitterly thought. That thing was Shifu's son, and as such, had to be taken care of. Shifu had let his arrogance blind him, but he wasn't the one who had to pay the price for such arrogance.

After that event, Vachir had learned that there was only one person he was entitled to look out for. Himself. After this change, Vachir had decided to go into another business. The illegal kind. As a rhino, even without all of his limbs, he was still big enough to be able to be what they called persuasive. He had been slowly working his way up through the ranks of the "business," and everything had been proceeding like normal, until just a few days ago. Before, Duan Jing, the formidable crocodile, had been in charge of all of them. He oversaw everything, from small-scale robberies to large raids and sieges. Most of the time, their sieges would have been successful, as they knew how to overwhelm city defenses. But the Furious Five always seemed to prove to be too much for them, every time. Their constant losing to them had started to become repetitive and expected, but a wonderful event had happened. They would no longer have to worry about the Dragon Warrior or most of his friends. But with that came the Empress.

The very thought of her sent shivers down his spine. Him, a rhino trained by none other that the great Flying Rhino, was truly afraid of her. Only a few weeks ago, she came to this building. She had been wearing a large red robe with a deep hood that covered most of her face. She had met with Duan Jing and challenged him for his position. He thought his challenger, who was blind in one eye, would be easy to dispatch. Those were among his last thoughts. And Duan Jing was no shoddy warrior himself. She declared herself the new leader of the Bandit Clan, and no one had dared to disagree. When she had pulled down her hood, everyone was shocked. But no one was as shocked as Vachir himself. Even though everyone there knew who she was, she demanded they simply call her "The Empress." Unfortunately for him, she had recognized him, and appointed him as her new lieutenant/ personal servant.

Currently, he was on his way to report to her now. He felt what few hairs he had on the back of his neck stand up in anticipation of the meeting. He hated having to be around her. It had started to become well-known that she had a short temper, and she was liable to tear open the throats of whoever made her angry. He didn't have any desire to bleed to death on this cold ground.

After walking for some time in the dingy building, he reached a door. The door didn't denote anything special, but Vachir knew better. Listening, he could hear a mumbling coming from the other side. Before he even had a chance to knock, a voice growled from the other side.

"What do you want?" it bitterly asked. At first, Vachir was surprised how she knew he was there. He then remembered that she had excellent hearing. So he replied in a shaky voice,

"It is me, my mistress. I've come to give you the daily report."

"Then give it to me and leave," was the vicious reply. Vachir cautiously reached for the handle of the door, turned it, and gently pushed the door open.

With her back turned to him, the Empress was hunched over a table. She was wearing her red robe that she always wore. She didn't even turn around to look at Vachir.

"Speak," she growled.

Vachir was happy to do so and get far away from her. "My mistress, the initial attack on the Valley of Peace was successful, and their defenses are severely weakened. We are now in a position to launch the second wave. We believe that we can take the Jade Palace by the third or fourth wave." At that, he went silent.

"Anything else?" she asked.

"No, my mistress."

"Good. Leave." Vachir was happy to comply. He quickly stepped backwards and out of the door.

Meanwhile, on the table in front of the Empress was a map of the Valley of Peace. But that was not what had her attention. In her right paw, she held a horn. It was not like the horn of a rhino such as a Vachir, dark and only slightly curved. No, this one was a pale white color. It curved almost in a complete circle before ending in a sharp point, with ridges all along it. She had been having a small conversation with it before Vachir arrived, and now continued.

"Yes, I will find you. And when I do, I will make you suffer as you have made me suffer." Deciding that it was time to stop talking to this object and to look for the owner, she put it down on the table and turned around to leave.

She had one eye that shone a bright amber, glowing with hate. And even though the other eye, which was dead, could not see anything, it seemed to give off an even more dangerous look.

Meanwhile

The goat was slumped over on the grassy ground with one arm around the tombstone. In his other arm was a paper bag. Inside the paper bag was a large bottle of the most powerful liquor he could legally purchase. It was almost empty.

The goat looked to be in his thirties. He had on a simple black cloth robe. Coming out of the left side of his forehead was a large horn which was a dull white color. The other horn was broken, leaving only a stump on his forehead. It also left him in a good bit of pain, as he had to constantly fight the weight of his one horn pulling down his head. He had considered cutting it off to make the pain go away.

It was three in the morning, and, as might be expected, it was very dark outside. The dim light of the crescent moon gave just enough light for the goat to read the letters on the gravestone.

Here lies the Dragon Warrior, Po Ping. A loving son and friend. May he rest in peace.

The goat had been there for a few hours. For the first hour, he had just sat next to it in silence. Then, the alcohol had started to set in, and he cried so hard that his eyeballs must have run out of fluid. During the last hour, he had become so drunk that he stopped crying and tried to talk to the gravestone. His head drooped down and rolled around on his neck as he took more sips of his drink, and his voice was slurred as he spoke.

"I swo sworry… you knwow? I didn't… uhh… huu…" his voice drifted from semi-competent sentences to incomprehensible noises. "I mean… it wanit... suppod to be oo, huh. But now… I done… mesd up, eh?" A noise somewhere between a gurgle and a wheeze came out of his throat, which actually served as a cynical laughter. Then, he choked on his laughs as they turned to sobs. He put his head down on the gravestone and wept some more.

He let loose some primal wails that signified his sorrow. "What I… what I done!?" he shouted with a mixture of confusion and searing guilt. Fortunately for him, the new Jade Palace burial grounds were far away from any people, otherwise someone would have heard him. He wept some more, until a bright light shone right on his face. He lifted up the bag of liquor to shield his eyes. When he put the bag down and blinked a few times, his eyes refused to believe what he saw.

Standing a few feet away from him was a transparent tortoise. A very old-looking tortoise. In its right hand was a transparent staff that had two rounded prongs on the top end. Even though the goat had never met the tortoise before, he didn't have to guess who it was.

Grandmaster Oogway.

Suddenly, the goat shot up on his hooves. He realized that he was now fully in control of himself. The hazy cloud that the alcohol had produced on his brain had been lifted. When he saw Oogway's ghost, he desperately wanted to flee, to run and run and never stop running. It would be easier than facing what he'd done. But the turtle's stern yet gentle gaze kept him rooted in place. After a few moments of silence, the goat got down on his knees and clasped his front hooves together.

"Please, please, I'm so sorry! I… I… I thought I was right before, but now I know that I've become the monster I set out to destroy!"

"I know," the tortoise calmly replied. Although subtle, there was a harsh edge in his voice. It was actually a lot less worse than the goat had expected. Oogway continued.

"Yes, you have done terrible things. And yes, they are deserving of death." The goat cringed at this, although he already knew those words to be true. "But-" Oogway started. The goat's ears lifted up to hear whatever came next. "-you now understand what is right. That is why I am entrusting this task to you."

"What!?" The goat thought to himself. "After what I've done!?"

"I need you to destroy the Empress."

Immediately, the goat shouted back, "WHAT!? No, no, I can't! I won't kill another person! Not ever again! And you! How can you expect me to kill Master Tigress?!"

A look appeared on Oogway's face that hadn't been there for years. Anger. When he spoke, the goat trembled, for the old tortoise's voice was more terrible than could be imagined.

"I am not asking you to destroy Master Tigress! I would never ask such a thing! I am asking you to destroy the Empress! You created her, and now only you can destroy her!"

The goat desperately shook his head. He was willing to pay any price for his crimes, but this was the one thing he couldn't do. "No, no! I can't! I'd never succeed!"

Oogway gave a furious response. "That didn't stop you before, did it!?" Suddenly, Oogway sighed, and drooped his head down. He certainly looked very old at that moment. After taking a few very deep breaths, he raised his head back up with a much calmer expression. "Yes, you have performed a great evil, but I sense that you now have both the knowledge and the wisdom to prevent further evil from spreading." With that, the light faded and Grandmaster Oogway was gone.

The goat's head shot up. He blinked his bloodshot eyes and looked around. He was still in the small graveyard, with his arms on top of Po's gravestone. Looking down, he could see the flowers down at the foot of it. After a few seconds, a massive headache hit him. It felt as it a boulder had rolled right over his forehead. He clutched it with his hoof. Although the headache made thinking difficult, it was a lot better than before. Suddenly, he remembered his brief conversation with the kung-fu master. With that memory came the overwhelming guilt and shame at what he'd done, but also a slimmer of hope. A hope that he could, while not at all repair the damage he'd done, but stop others from suffering a fate that he had made possible.

After thinking for a few minutes, the goat realized that the entire conversation had been a dream. "Did I only dream that?" he thought. "Did it not really happen?" He then realized that it didn't matter at all. He was going to fix what he'd done, whether or not Oogway wanted him to. Despite the fact that he'd probably die in the process. He knew the Empress hated him with a fury more terrible than he could ever imagine. He also knew she would tear him to shreds if she ever found him. And with her newfound persona and power, he was sure she was very actively looking for him.

"Ironic," he thought. "I bet she'd never expect that I'd be looking for her too." With a trembling hand, he reached into his robe. When he pulled it out, a most curious object was in his hoof. The goat stared at it with a deep hate, wishing he could go back only two months ago, before he had seen it and he had started to dig the deep, deep hole he now found himself in.

The object was a long cylinder made of wood. On one end, it curved downwards. On the other end, the end piece was missing, in which you could peer down into the barrel of the object. Near the curved end of the object was a trigger. The goat knew what would happen if he pulled that trigger. Death would come out of the missing end. It had already been the death of a few. The goat had loved it only a short time ago, but now he wished he could throw it in a volcano.

"But," he thought to himself, "this thing created the Empress, and it will now destroy her. But first, I need to visit a few people. I'll have to go to the ram's house first. I have to... cancel our partnership."

Determined to set out to do what Oogway had asked, as he was sure that dream was more than a dream, he shuffled the best he could in his state across the graveyard towards his secluded house deep in the woods. As he passed by the few graves there, he tried not to look at the other ones. But his eyes disobeyed his brain. With a dread unlike anything he had ever experienced, he read the words on the four other gravestones. He knew those words would be seared in his memory forever.

Here lies Master Shifu. Grandmaster of the Jade Palace. A loving son and father. May he rest in peace.

Here lies Master Monkey. A warrior of the renowned Furious Five. A loving brother and friend. May he rest in peace.

Here lies Master Crane. A warrior of the renowned Furious Five. A loving son and friend. May he rest in peace.

Here lies Master Mantis. A warrior of the renowned Furious Five. A loving friend. May he rest in peace.

So... what did you think? I hope this makes you as exited to read as I am excited to write it! Once again, this takes place in between parts 1 and 2, and I hope you'll stick around for the beginning of part 1, which begins like any other day in the life of the Dragon Warrior and his friends. Part 1 will be about how everything fell apart for Po, and part 2 will be about the person who did that damage desperately trying to fix the consequences (insert evil cackling here).

If you liked this teaser/prologue, then feel free to leave a comment!

Keep being awesome!