It's been approximately two months since the Great Battle of Gongmen City. A great amount of things has happened during that clash between us and Lord Shen. Large portions of the city have been destroyed, civilians have died during the large-scale battle, most of the young ones have been deeply emotionally scarred by the experiences, the Soothsayer has been aassasinated days afterward, Tai Lung now sports a scar on his chest from a cannon blast, and Po has lost his right arm. All in all, this has been quite a devastating experience for all of us. But despite this, I'm mostly just glad that everyone in our group is alive, if only somewhat traumatized by the events. We have each other to help recover in that regard.

Plenty of difficult decisions have been made, as well. Zeng, our beloved messenger, will have to stay behind. His services have been quite plentiful, but it's becoming far too dangerous for him to continue traveling with us. He will now be serving as the Kung Fu Council's resident messenger bird instead of ours. We can make do without him. We've already said our goodbyes, but it does not change the fact that we will miss him so.

Someone else staying behind, is Mrs. Yoon. She's been a sweet little lady, having been looking after her since the Valley of peace has been destroyed. She has been a joy to have around, but Po and Mr. Ping found it best to also leave her behind, and Anying and Xue will be the ones taking care of her. Their recruitment has been fun while it lasted, but they have ultimately chosen to be left behind, as they wish to follow their own destinies, and do a great service for this once great city. Po was once again upset about this since he really seemed to like them, but we all accepted their decision. The Kung Fu Council assured us that they'll take very good care of them.

Bian Zao's experiences in Gongmen City...have changed something in him. He's still about as lazy as ever, much to Lian's annoyance. But he's also being trained by Master Yao to use the technique, Bian Tian's Tempest. He seems to think the boy has a strong affinity for lightning, plus he's considered that Mystical Kung Fu Secret to be the most interesting. How the most lazy warthog of all found the concept of wielding lightning to be interesting, still leaves me and Taotie clueless. Nevertheless, we did not try to stop him anymore. He was very determined to see this through, so we let him be. He follows this mindset because he wishes to protect his father and loved ones. Peng and Lian must have really grown on him, to have him act like this on his own accord.

Back to the matter of Po and his arm...he seems to be recovering quickly over these past two months. During that time period, he tries to get energetic and move around more than he's supposed to, but Tigress and the others will not allow it. Mr. Ping and Fenghuang are especially adamant about this, not allowing him to go anywhere by himself. He always had to have at least two of us accompanying him, and if his injury gets highly irritable, he was to report to Mantis right away so he can examine it for himself and properly deal with it. It happened at least four times, and his freedom to move wherever he wanted without our supervision decreased each time it happened, much to his agitation. A laid-back kind of panda, and yet he wishes to continue the adventure as soon as he possibly can. But like we've all said MULTIPLE times, no one just 'walks off' a lost limb. It would take much more than a couple weeks of recovering from something like that to be suitable for travel. He's been awfully persistent about it.

Speaking of Po, Shen has been kept under close watch since a majority of us does not trust him. He hasn't exactly given us much reason to, except that he seems interested in how Po chooses to live his life. Since he spared the peacock, he wonders how the panda's life went in order to bring him to make such a decision. Tigress obviously distrusts him the least, possibly even more than Fenghuang. Mr. Ping is also displaying distrust, but seems willing to at least give him a chance. The rest of us are not so accepting. But we all had to remember that leaving him alive was Po's final judgement. We were skeptical about the decision, and we still are, but we didn't wish to undermine it since he wss so determined. So we left it well enough alone.

...Sigh.

I cannot tell a lie. Or at least, I can't tell a believable one very well. I really do miss how things used to be. Oogway was with me, we were both looking over the Valley, I was still raising Tigress..I never imagined that life could change so drastically in such a short amount of time. I'm well aware that change is an inevitable part of life, but this was not the kind of change I was expecting, nor was I completely prepared for. The entire world feels so different ever since that day, and especially since I've abandoned my official title as a Kung Fu Master. No...now I am a rogue who constantly travels around China. And as described by Po, we help whoever we can...and we do it OUR way. At least...that's how he said it. It hasn't always lead to the best of outcomes, but we've always turned out alright so far.

Still...there is so much to worry about. The Kung Fu Council has been generously lenient with my decision, as it is mine alone. However, they warned me that's not everyone will agree with that mindset. As our travels confine, there will be more instances of other Masters or Kung Fu figures not finding my decision to be...correct. In that regard, I'm doing my best to follow the example that Po has been setting for all of us: Follow our hearts. As someone who thinks a lot, this might not come to me easily. Though I can adapt. That's what we've been doing this entire time, after all. Adapting together.

...We are gathering all of our things so we can leave the city. It's been quite a venture, but we must keep moving onward. We have no idea what lies ahead for us now, but Po is confident that we will all be fine, so long as we stick together. I choose to believe him, and I too hope that things go well on our travels.

May our wisdom and hearts continue to guide us forward.

-Shifu

"Are you finished writing in that thing, Fufie?" Mei Ling the fox asked with a huff as she circled around the Red Panda with curiosity and slight impatience.

Shifu rolled his eyes and closed up the scroll he was writing in. "I just find it nice to write down my private thoughts once in a while. I do wish to do so often, most likely during the times I'm slightly stressed."

"You're writing out your stress now? Is that fun to you?"

"Yes. Writing out my thoughts is fun to me. Thank you for asking."

"Oh Fufie...if you were really so stressed out, you should have just told me." Mei Ling said, lightly passing by and brushing her tail against him. "I have many methods to helping you deal with that stress of yours. You know you can always consult me for assistance in that regard, right?~"

Shifu shifted his eyes away from her, trying to force his blushing face away. "You don't really seem to be helping me. If anything, you're making it worse."

'Is that so?~" Mei Ling eased closer to his face, lightly nuzzling his cheek. "I think I'm doing a great job at helping you deal with stress. At least you're not thinking about your problems anymore. You're a tough cookie, Shifu. Much tougher than you portray yourself as." She gently walks around him, and gently brushes her paw along his big and fluffy tail. The contact made him flinch a bit, before she leaned into his ear with a cheeky grin. "So don't worry so much, Fufie. Take a deep breath and enjoy the peace for the moment. Relax~"

Shifu shivered immensely, simply from the soft and sensual way she whispered this to him. These past two months have made her significantly more persistent in pursuing him, and getting him to return her advances. And so far, he has resisted them with much determination...but he would be lying if he wasn't the least bit tempted. Shifu had immense amounts of self-control, self-control that she was determined to break. It was a silent game between the two of them: Which one gives up first?

They both seemed very determined.

"Mei Ling! Stop harassing the Midget already! We need your help packing!" Fenghuang shouted into the room, which earned an agitated frown from both of them. She rolled her eyes and exited the room just as quickly. "You can harass him when you're on the road! But right now, focus goes to getting out of this place as soon as we possiby can! I've had my share of community service, and now I just wanna get the hell outta here!"

"Master! You love doing community service! You get to help so many people!" Po exclaimed as he was carrying a satchel over his head with his single arm. "Don't pretend that that you don't like doing so! I've seen you smile a lot more often since we started doing so!"

"Those were flukes and you know it! And dammit, what did I tell you about carrying things on your own?!"

"Oh come on! I'm not that helpless! My single arm is still capable of carrying this satchel own my own! I've healed up plenty! Enough for me to be walking around on my own!" Po pouted childishly. "Besides, Dad approved of me walking around on my own! He's perfectly cool with it!"

"That's after TWENTY straight hours of begging. I was ready to kick you through the wall...for the fourth time in a row."

Po set his satchel down and raised one paw upwards. "Now to be fair...that third time was to the ribs, so it didn't hurt me as much as I thought that it would. Since my belly is pretty good at absorbing damage. Plus, you don't nearly hit me as hard as you used to."

"How hard I hit you has nothing to do with it. You just got significantly better at taking them. Or in simpler termns, you got tougher. Nothing special about it." Fenghuang huffed.

"You're just jealous because I'm on my way to becoming even more awesome than you are! Hehe!"

Fenghuang slowly turned towards Po with a twisted grin. "Is that so? You've got quite a hundred years left before you could possibly stand on the same pedastal as me. I'm still on a completely different level you are."

"You're also the one who told me to always strive to break the boundaries. That includes boundaries of the skillset."

The owl was about to reject, but she lowered her wings and folded them with a curious tilt. "Yeah. I did teach you that, did I? After all, I didn't train you up to be a weakling. I trained you up to be as tough as you possibly be! To be one of the strongest! And having one arm lobbed off? I won't allow you to use that as an excuse!"

"Course not, Master! I'm one of the best around! Nothin's gonna keep me down!"

"Hell yeah! Nothing scares us!" Fenghuang lowered her wings and turned away. Except his father...that frying pan packs one hell of a punch.

Shifu sighed as he rubbed his forehead at the way they were both acting. "Their personalities may be drastically different to an extent, but their spirits are certainly on the same level. Unbelivably high."

"And it will spread upon our comrades and keep getting higher. That's how we're going to keep growing as a group, I suppose." Mei Ling nodded. "High spirits are needed in a large group like ours. Though it's rather sad we'll have to leave a couple of us behind, for their own safety. We don't actually attact a feeling of safety, Fufie."

Shifu sighs as he looks back at the scroll he has just written in. He lowered his eyes and lightly rubbed his ear. I'm well aware...

(Meanwhile...)

"Welp, the time has come, boys. I gotta move on." Fung said as he was packing his things.

"You're going already, Boss? It's only been two months. You pratically just got here..." Wong groaned, folding his arms.

"Please don't go, Fung. We're doing so much better with you here with us. As in...we're not instantly getting our butts kicked." Irwin yawned. 'And Wall-Eye has been getting better at not putting dangerous things in his mouth."

"All the more reason that I have to go. I love you guys. Really, I do. But I gotta be there for Po and Tigress. The three of us stick together anywhere. Plus...the city isn't really doing me any favors." Fung said, tying up a bag and hauling it over his shoulder. "Gotta keep moving forward, and all of that."

Wall-Eye slowly stared at Fung, having a flute in his nose. He didn't seem to acknowledge it's existence, nor the fact that he was the one who put it there. "You also want to follow the pretty lady...?"

Fung blushed heavily, swiftly turning towards Wall-Eye with a glare. "W-What?! Don't be ridiculous! Song going along is not a major reason I wanna keep going with my friends! I genuinely do wanna keep going on adventures with my friends and not stay with old man Croc!"

Gahri smirked. "Hmph. Wall-Eye never said that the pretty girl was Song. Your group ihas a slid division of beautiful and powerful women. And yet, your mind just instantly went to her, is that right?"

Fung glared at him with grinding fangs. "Gahri. I will tail slap the hell outta you! And know that my tail is the strongest part of my body! I can easily send you spiralling through multiple walls and breaking your ribs! Maybe I'll even bite your tail for good measure!"

"You're acting awfully defensive, Fung~"

"SHUT UP, DAMMIT! I'M THE ALPHA CROC! I DON"T HAVE TO JUSTIFY MYSELF TO YOU!" Fung said, roaring at Gahri's confident and tricky grin. The older croc sighed and shook his head. "Gahri. I actually have something important to tell ya." Gahri lost his smile and blinked owlishly blinked in confusion. "I've been thinking about this for a while due to the old man's constant prodding. After some contemplation, Fung smiled and folded his arms. "He told me that out of all of you, you were the furthest developed of the buncvh while I was gone, and that you were most apt to travel with me. So I picked you to accomany me on my travels. Wanna come travel with me bro?"

Gahri blinked again with his eyes wide. "W-Wait...you actually want me to come with you...? And Master Croc approved of it? Why?"

Fung rolled his eyes. "I just told ya why, you moron. I picked you, Croc picked you, because you have what it takes. So don't take these things into stride. I like the other guys of course. But I just really want you to be around with me. You'll be a great addition to the team, especially since we're losing quite a couple members due to personal and wide-ranging reasons. Of course I really can't force you to come with us. I just think it would be really cool to have you around and all of that."

"Are you kidding, or course I wanna come!" Gahri said excitedly. "Ignore me teasing you about Song, or course i wanna come with you! I would love nothing more than to go on an adventure with you all! I would prefer that over stayong in this city any longer! I mean, I love it and all, but I can see why you left!" Gahri spoke with sparkling eyes. "I would very well like to join you and the others!"

"Excellent! From now on, you're sticking with me and the others!" Fung declared proudly. Though he slowly frowned and sighed in annoyance. "Though you have to pass some sort of initiation made up by Po. It's quite an easy concept, really."

"Is that so? What kind of initiation is it?"

"HUUUUUUUUUUGSSSSSSS!"

As if he were aware of what they were speaking of, Po suddenly rushes into the room and picks Gahri up in a one-harmed hug. "Just because I'm one-armed, doesn't mean that I can't hug! Ya wanna join? Ya have to get hugged! It's a hug or be hugged world with this panda behind the reins!"

Monkey, Crane, Viper, Mantis, and Tigress were standing by watching the scene, and all with somewhat relieved faces. Monkey scratched his head. "Sheesh. We lose a couple, yet we gain one. That's some crazy arrangement we have going on, isn't it?"

"Yeah. It really is a shame that we have to say goodbye to Zeng, Mrs. Yoon, Xue, and Anying. But we have to remember that they have their own choices to make. If they wish to stay behind, even though we said it was for their own protection, then that's what we have to accept." Viper said with a soft smile. "While it's sad to say goodbye to a couple friends, we have a new one ready to join us. That's pretty great!"

Crane huffed, tipping his hat over a bit. "Fung was really serious about this, though. Guess he and Gahri seem to be really close. Why else would they be the ones most likely to argue?"

Mantis was right on top on his hat. "Is that so? We fight together all of the time, sometimes against each other? So by that kind of logic, we must be really close with one another." Tigress folded her arms as she watched Po hugging Gahri. Another friend was joining them, at the cost of a couple others. She wondered how they would progress from there. She would have to rearrange their groups a bit in order to make up for Po's lost arm. Though he didn't seem to mind, Fenghuang did tell her to stop coddling him. He had to adjust on his own, eventually. Tigress thought she was being ridiculous. She didn't think she was coddling him.

...was she coddling him?

A tigress can get quite possessive over what she believes is hers. Mei Ling once teased.

"Tigress? Are you alright?" Viper asked, seeing that she was being pretty silent.

Tigress jumped a bit, and shook her head rapidly. "N-No! It's nothing!" She stuttered a bit, getting a mischievous chuckle from Mantis. Tigress once again gazed at Po, who was looking quite cheerful and lively as always, even though he could only hug with one arm at the moment. Though it didn't seem to stop him. She smiled a bit with a soft nod.

Nothing at all...

It took a while, but I'm finally back on track with things here! Let's have this arc start small, because it'll get bigger as time goes on. Everyone else will be truly departing in the next chapter, most likely. Their journey continues then...and they'll have absolutely no idea where to go next. Mei Ling the fox might have some sort of idea where to go.

However, as this is the Shifu arc, she's going to be a major character on this, as well as everyone else who's leaving. Something BIG is gonna go down, and it requires all of them working together.

See ya then!