All credits go to DreamWorks Animation and Paramount Pictures.

It was still a good 20 minute walk till Shen would reach Gongmen City. He walked slowly, confidently, with determination; a cold grin splitting his face. He could taste the payback; the feeling of success against Master Thundering Rhino, his arch-nemesis. He scoffed at the fact that Rhino had been accorded the title of Master. He imagined what would happen to Rhino's prestige once people knew what the glorious master had done. Nobody knew what had transpired between Shen and Rhino, and Shen preferred to keep it that way, until the magnitude of Rhino's crimes exceeded a notorious level, at which they would be revealed to all the people. The lesser people that knew their history, the better.

The clever Rhino, while portraying himself as a 'paragon of virtue' and protector of Gongmen Palace, it's residents and Kung Fu in general, sought to destroy it. While Shen knew this astounding fact, there simply wasn't enough evidence to back it up.

He shook his head to clear these thoughts and focused on the task at hand, which was stopping Rhino. While it was true that Rhino had portrayed Shen as a villain and an evil mastermind, it gave Shen a veil of fear to wrap around himself, which kept people from interfering in his tasks and his ultimate mission, to protect China and restore to himself Gongmen City and it's throne.

While Shen wouldn't be too concerned if Rhino was defeated, he felt a pang of pity for Rhino's associates, Master Ox and Master Croc, who had wholeheartedly trusted Rhino and had tried to support him in his mission and would clearly be devastated at his betrayal. Anyway, collateral damage wasn't his concern, although he was careful to avoid it. He only wanted to defeat Rhino.

To add to that, the Dragon Warrior would be arriving in a few days. The Dragon Warrior and his five companions thought they were being secretive by hiking through the snow-capped mountains and taking a longer route. Shen had spies tracking their every movement. He was surprised as to why they didn't wonder why birds swooped past them every few hours. It seemed that even the legendary Tigress was easy to hoodwink. He didn't bother calling Po legendary as that excuse of a panda couldn't listen to anything except the call of his enormous stomach.

"What is happening to me? Where has all the focus gone?" thought Shen as he internally slapped himself, wondering what the benefit of training for Cai Li Fo for all of his 20 years was.

He was nearing the palace, his claws scraping across the dusty tiled floor, which had one been spotless. He still felt the pain; all of it. As his chest constricted, his mind transported him back to the distant memory. The traitor Rhino had called himself a friend of Shen's, separated from him at a young age and Shen had been naive enough to believe him. However, it was Rhino who had killed all of the Pandas, and pinned the blame on Shen, as there were a few of Shen's feathers lying in the area. Rhino had done his work silently, while the rest of the world only saw Shen yelling in pain and disbelief, (which they took to be anger and hatred toward the pandas) as he saw the events unfold before his eyes.

He was then banished by his parents, who were horrified by this turn of events, swearing revenge against Rhino, not them. It broke the shell of the heart he once had when he received the news of their death, from which his heart had turned to stone and known nothing else. Shen, however, still clung to one thing the Soothsayer that the Soothsayer had foretold 'the Gongmen throne would be restored to the peacock who is as white as snow; and you (Rhino) would be stopped by a warrior of black and white.'

"The propechy must be true! That's why it is a propechy!" thought Shen desperately to himself. Rhino had established himself a reputation with all of the Kung Fu Masters in China, while Shen was still at rock-bottom, at least considering support.

"What it is with all of these kung fu masters just blindly believing in people who claimed to be upholders of Kung Fu? Just because Master Oogway had turned out to be good doesn't mean everybody else will!" thought Shen with a roll of his eyes.

Shen snapped out of his thoughts as he heard the cha-ching of a few spears clinking and quickly disarmed the antelope guards and quickly tripped them, making them fall around him and creating a pathway.

He stood near the door of Gongmen Palace, replaying in his mind the many times of how he was royally escorted with due ceremony and respect through those very gates. Anger smoldered in him as he caught sight of the rusty wooden lock, his mind going back to the times when polished iron locks held the door in place.

"So much for the Gongmen Council guarding and preserving the place," he thought.

His mind replayed all of his preparations and the plans leading down to this very day.

"This must be it. It has to be," he thought, as he took a deep breath before slicing the lock clean with one swipe of his blade.