The scroll rolled under the bed in time as Shifu showed himself. He seemed to be rather serious. Then again, when wasn't he? His hands were behind his back as he simply walked up to me. I almost held my breath. It was clear that he had something important to say, or demand to know.

"So python, I hear you have been troubled lately".

Oh boy, he expected something was up.

"I understand that Viper told you this Master Shifu"?

"Indeed. And while I am unable to vouch for the both of you at the same time, it does not stop me from trying to help altogether. Therefore, I must ask. Is there something you wish to tell me"?

The hard look in his eyes told me that it would have been very unwise to try and lie. Still, I could risk just bending the truth.

"Just some personal issues is all Master Shifu. Nothing that I feel cannot be eventually sorted out".

I hope.

Shifu stroked his beard.

"I see. And does this personal issue explain why you have a scroll hidden under your bed"?

I froze up!

Shifu used his staff to pull the scroll out from under the bed until it was right next to him. From there he picked it up and opened it. After a few moments of reading it, he looked at me with one of his bushy eyebrows raised. I swear that at this point I was sweating a river.

"The story of Kèxīng and Jiùshìzhǔ? I take it that you are studying up on your history"? He asked in a way that made it seem like it was a rhetorical question.

"I can safely say that I felt as though it could prove useful". I twisted the truth as best I could. "I suppose I should have asked permission before taking it out of the archives"?

Shifu looked back to the scroll before wrapping it back up and held it in both his hands.

"No matter python. What's done is done. I suppose after what you've been through lately, it should be only fair that I leave you to get some rest".

Shifu slowly turned round to leave. But before he actually did, he faced me once more.

"Oh and python, one more thing"?

I paid attention to what he had to say.

"Know that only cowards hide in the shadows of others. In order to help those that seem lost, all you need to is step aside in order to show them the light. Farewell Mike".

Shifu left me alone. While I had planned on sleeping, I found myself trying to work out what he meant by that last part of his visit. Exactly what was it he was referring to? Heck, for all I know it's just more of his words of wisdom that usually don't make any sense. I muttered before slithering over to the cupboard to check on the condition of my tail blade. I pulled it out and noticed that there was a few markings on it. Just some sort of dust as far as I could tell. I put it to lean against the side of the room and left to find a rag.

Some time later I returned with said rag and begun cleaning away at it, removing as much dust as I could. Some of it was stuck within the hinges of the weapon which I struggled to get at. Eventually I gave up and palced the weapon back onto the ground, almost slamming it in frustration. Guess I'll just have to sort it out tomorrow. It was now starting to get dark. I decided to put the rag back where I found it. At one of the supply cupboards near the Hall of heroes.

I slithered out through the door and up towards the hall of heroes,. I entered and slithered over, slowing down for a second to view the now locked scroll room. I felt thankful that I didn't need to go back down there just yet. I ignored it and quickly managed to find the supply cupboard round the back of it in a small room. I opened the chest, simply threw the rag in, and begun to head back.

As I slithered out of the supply room and back into the hall of heroes, I felt the wind from outside crawl up my spine, giving me goose bumps. I made it quickly over to the entrance and shut the doors. I hurried over to the barracks as quick as I could. I hadn't even made it halfway there before I heard something from behind. A small hiss.

"Don't turn around. Just keep moving". I reminded myself as I kept slithering towards the barracks, trying my hardest to ignore the hissing as it grew closer, becoming louder the nearer I got to the barracks. The temptation to ignore it was getting harder and harder. The sound did not slow down as it got nearer and nearer until it sounded as though it was right on top of me!

I forced myself to turn round.

There was nothing there. The sound stopped at once.

Okay... weird...

I shook my head and turned back round, not expecting a tall bird to be standing right before me.

"AAHHHH"!

Crane gave a small jump himself before calming down and making sure that I was alright.

"Whoops, heh, sorry about that Mike. Didn't mean to scare you". He smiled apologetically.

"It's- it's fine buddy". I wheezed, placing my tail onto my chest to feel my heart going a hundred beats a minute. "What are you doing out here anyway"?

"I thought I heard someone moving outside". He laughed awkwardly. "Guess I should have expected for it to be you".

"Yeah well, next time, please make sure to introduce yourself from a distance". I joked as I managed to get over the little unexpected jumpscare. "Come on, let's head inside before someone begins to ask what is going on out here".

So with that little ordeal out of the way, I headed back into my own room, wishing Crane a good night as I did before relaxing onto the soft bed. Viper had yet to show up. I'm sure she won't mind if I fell asleep without her. In fact, that's exactly what happened next. Though, I seemed to find myself trapped in a strange dream.

...

I found myself slithering down a concrete pavement. It was a dark cloudless night with a full moon out. The streets were quiet. Like the place was a ghost town. But that wasn't the weirdest thing that I could see. I looked round to see the buildings. They weren't made of stone. Instead, most of them were created with iron and steel. They rose high into the sky up to heights which would make any City of China green with envy. And at the sides of the roads, there didn't seem to be any rickshaws or carts, but instead long metal vehicles which rested on four large rubber wheels.

I quickly realized what it was I was seeing. Where I was. I was in the city of Leeds!

...

Hey guys. Sorry about the short chapter. Didn't have much to go on. But hopefully things will appear to be a little more interesting in the next chapter.