I waited eagerly to see the three figures emerge through the doorway. I felt a little worried. My muscles still ached from my latest fight and I felt ready to just fall to the floor. Whether she knew it or not, Kèxīng was starting to get the upper hand. Three of my friends may have been saved, but there were still the other three that remained. Plus, I doubted that the demon would have taken the disappearance of Shifu as lightly as she was making it sound. If anything, she would punish me for it, even if I was just as confused. Still, I said nothing on the matter and faced the doorway to see-

*Thoomp*

... Uh... no one?

That was odd. The door had just closed on its own. Vanished into nothingness. How or why, I didn't know, but I was thankful, even if my face held a look of confusion and concern for my own wellbeing. That look turned into worry and slight fear as I saw that The Mèngyǎn seemed rather angry, as though she knew what was going on. Before long, I found myself ducking as several large rays of red light zoomed above, lowering until dangerously close to hitting me!Exactly what it was or where it was coming from, I couldn't tell! Did Shifu have something to do with this? It certainly had nothing to do with Kèxīng.

"...Accursed meddler, she has found me... Such abilities should no longer lie in her possession"...

She?

I didn't have the chance to press on any further. These beams of red light, or whatever they were meant to be, begun flashing and zipping past my vision as quick as they could. It felt like being under the effects of strobe lighting, which was starting to make me feel a little queasy. It was almost like being in Vegas. My head was spinning and I closed my eyes in order to shield them. Yet I could still see the damn red color as though it was inside my eyelids. I felt like I was about to collapse. Correction, I did collapse, I felt my back hit the floor as I held my head in pain. I felt as though I wanted to tear my eyes out, but the one thing that stopped me from doing so was the image that followed next.

It seemed to be some sort of being I had never met before. An old goat. She seemed to sport a beard that seemed similar to Shifus, only longer. She was rather small and had a bit of a hunchback. In her right hand, she held a walking stick and the clothing she wore covered her feet. Other than that, I knew nothing else about her. I certainly didn't have much time to take in many other details as she disappeared into nothingness. Then, a bright light surrounded my vision.

I blinked once. And to my utmost surprise, I was awake in the Jade palace hall of heroes. Stuck back in the form of a python... Shame. It was nice while it lasted, being human once more...

Though above all things, despite what I had just been through, I felt as though I wanted to just fall back asleep. My head was no longer swimming with any dangerous thoughts. It felt... empty. Just empty. Ever since the Mèngyǎn had first invaded my mind, it had always felt heavier, as though my brain had increased several times in mass. But now that it no longer felt like that, it must have meant one thing. The Mèngyǎn had left. Either that or it had been forced out. In fairness, I may not have had any idea on what exactly had happened, but that red lighting, whatever it was, it had my thanks.

The first thing that came to mind as I rose up was that everybody else seemed to be awake too. Every single one of them. My first concern was Viper. I wasted no time slithering up to her, feeling like I was going to fall over as I did. My brain still felt as though it had stepped off of a roundabout going a hundred miles an hour. Shaking it only made it that much worse. For a moment, I could have sworn that I was going to throw up. Just as well I pulled myself together just in time. The last thing I needed was to be cleaning up my own sick. Despite that, I was able to make it over to her easily enough.

"Vipes, are you okay? Are you hurt"?

She seemed a little woozy.

"Quick, how many fingers am I holding up"?

...

Oh. Right, of course... I'm such an idiot...

Viper seemed to be the worst out of everyone else who had just woken, including myself. Shifu, Po and Monkey seemed to be the same as me, dizzy. Viper seemed to be affected a little worse than the rest of us. I hoped it was nothing. Still, I kept by her side just in case. I was so focused on her well being, I hadn't noticed that Shifu had just walked up to me, examining Viper.

"She seems to have developed some sort of concussion".

I flinched. Somebody should ready consider putting a bell on the guy. Wait, concussion?

"She'll be alright, won't she Master"? I couldn't help but ask.

Shifu said nothing, but instead bent down where Vipers head laid, putting one of his hands on her head and spoke.

"Master Viper. Can you hear me"?

Something of a small groan was heard from her. Shifu stood back up.

"No worries python, she'll be fine. She just needs some sleep".

"Master Shifu, I don't understand. How do you get a concussion from sleeping"?

"I'm afraid I don't know the answer to your question Master Mike. But the chances are that it has something to do with our friend". He turned to face me. "Speaking of which, how are you feeling"?

"Much better than I have the last few days".

"Then we can assume that our unexpected ally has played a part in this battle of yours".

Ally? Then it clicked.

"Master Shifu, do you mean those red beams of light? You know what they are"?

"I'm afraid not python. It seems that we are now more in the dark than we were before". He sighed, stroking his beard as he thought. For a moment, I felt like I should have said something about that goat. The one I saw just after the red light near blinded me. Of course, I reminded myself that Viper was still lying on the floor. I suppose I would have to tell him about it later. Besides, there was no way I was going to get anything else out of him for my part. I took my leave, slithering past Po and Monkey who had remained surprisingly silent, taking Viper with me as she leaned against me for support. It was going to be hell getting down the stairs.

...

The last few days have been sheer torture. Working on 3D modelling for four hours straight late at night is more frustrating then you would think. Still, this is the best I can get right now, just a short chapter. Sorry guys ^^ Next chapter will be written better, promise. Cheerio!