Several days earlier...

Ever since yesterday's talk with Shifu, it seemed like the best idea to begin planning my route to Gongmen. The sooner the better too. The vision of that old goat hadn't left my head for even a second since I saw her. I had no idea who she was. Only that she played a part within Shen's near conquest of China. Other than that, I knew nothing about her, probably the only one who didn't within the whole of the Jade palace or possibly all of China for all I knew or cared. Still, it was enough to inspire me to do what I could to find and talk to her. Call it fate or whatever you want, but I knew that talking to her would help me one way or another. It had to. That was why I had come here, into the sacred scroll room within the hall of heroes. It contained more or less anything you could think of. Kung Fu, blueprints to the Jade palace, even a few recipies for making teas. They all seemed... interersting in their own way, but I had only maps on my mind, and here was where I would find them. I wasted no time in locating them and finding the correct ones. A few minutes later, I had a handful of useful maps leading from here, to Gongmen itself. It was exactly what I needed.

"Mike"?

Damn it Po...

I quickly put the scrolls back where they belonged just in time as the fuzzy panda appeared at the entrance of the room. His shadow stretched far enough to cover me. I slither out of it and into the light. Ever since my latest enocounter with that... thing... the Mèngyǎn, the light was the only thing that made me feel safe, made me keep my sanity. I no longer felt as though it was in my head, but better safe than sorry.

"Hey there Po. What's up"? I responded casually as I slithered up to him.

"Uh... some guys are wanting to speak with you".

Someone wants to speak with me?

"You mean a fan from the valley"?

"Well, not exactly"...

"Elaborate".

...

...

...

I sighed. Seems that word does not exist within Po's vocabulary. "Tell me who they are exactly. What do they look like"? I simplified.

"Ah... well, they both seem rather importantish... and uh... they say they're from Beijing".

Someone from Beijing has come to see me? Well this'll be interesting I'm sure.

"Alright then, let's go see what they want".

I followed Po's lead to the front of the Hall of heroes. There, I could identify an old goat and rabbit barely standing inside. They seemed... tired. Unsteady even. Bags under their eyes, shaky and barely standing. Whoever they were, they looked as though they had gone to hell and back just to get here. They both wore grey robes and paid no attention to their surroundings, only what was in front of them. Which happened to be me at the moment. I slither forward until I was feet away before they greeted me.

"Good evening master python". Spoke the goat. He bowed in front of me as did the rabbit who continued.

"It is an honor to meet you".

The last thing I wanted to be was rude, so I bowed back. Still, it doesn't explain who they are and why they had come from Beijing. It must have taken over a week for them to get here. The last thing I needed was to delay them any longer, so I decided to get straight to the point.

"Thank you kindly. Pleasure to meet some friiendly faces. So, what can I help you two with"? I asked with a smile. The goat spoke up.

"Our master sent us here with a purpose". He began calmly. Though it didn't take a sharp eye to see the bunny twitch a little at the word master. "Our mission here is to deliver a message to you and you only".

"I see. Well, I would love to hear what this message is".

I waited for a short moment, expecting to hear what their message was. I recieved nothing from either their mouths or a scroll. They didn't seem to move either. You could have almost mistook them for statues. At least until they looked at each other, then back at me.

"I'm afraid we can't at the moment".

"...Why not"?

"Our master has given us precise instructions on when exactly your message should be given. Now is not the time".

"Oh... okay then... so when will be the time if I may ask"?

"...Soon".

Well that was downright creepy. There was something about the way they spoke that threw me off, but I couldn't tell what. It just had that creepy low voice type vibe. Either way, I suppose I should let them in rather than just have them stand outside. Especially with those rain clouds rolling in.

"Perhaps you both would like to come in, maybe warm up for a bit"? I offered. They accepted and walked further in. I couldn't help but notice that while the goat had somewhat been calm since I first saw him, the rabbit just wouldn't stop giving a twitch every few seconds. His eyes darted back and forth as though he was expecting something to jump out of the shadows. I didn't exactly feel all that comfortable about it, but I decided not to say anything in case he may have taken offence to it. Instead, I put them in Po's charge while I headed down to the training hall as quick as I could before the rain starts falling. Shifu was still having me know as much as I could about demons and the like and how to face them should I ever have to encounter the Mèngyǎn again, especially on my way to Gongmen. I would need to be prepared as best I could. Though I would still need to explain to him our new guests.

2 hours later...

Good Lord. Shifu's teachings about the supernatural are just as intolerable than an actual pyhsical training workout. Just trying to have so much info crammed into your head over such a short period time was no easy task. Reminded me a lot of when I was studying for GCSE's a week before they began. I don't even recall recieving such a headache before, and believe me, ever since I came here, I have recieved a lot! of bloody headaches... Anyway, speaking of ways to get headaches, where's Po at? I hope he was able to keep our new arrivals happy. Shifu seemed to be fine with them staying for a short period of time. At least until we would need to get some sleep. If they hadn't delivered their message by then, well they'll have to find a place to stay in the valley. Still, I wonder why the heck this message had to wait. Was it even important? Probably, but at the same time it felt like one big prank. If so, I'm willing to bet that Monkey or Mantis are behind it. For their sake, I hope not. Putting my thoughts aside, I slithered from the training hall to the barracks quickly. The rain was still pouring, but it didn't bother me all that much. I actually like the rain. It's refreshing, but cold. Anyway, I headed into the barracks, and almost instantly finding Po to be right in the kitchen, with the goat and the rabbit. I smirked a little as I listened in on Po telling them one of his fights as he munched on several beanbuns. This time it was about when kung fu was outlawed and he became the midnight stranger if I remember. Seemed a bit like a rip off of Batman in my books, but since Batman won't exist for probably a whole milenium, or maybe even never considering how different my world is to this one, I think I'll let it slide. The goat remained expressionless, but listened nonetheless. The rabbit however... he seemed a little worse off. His eyes stopped shifting, but he kept twitching, and I could hear him speaking softly to himself. Though what he was saying wasn't as clear.

I wondered how Po hadn't heard this even once. Maybe he was too into his story? Wouldn't be the first time, and certainly won't be the last. I decided to show my arrival with a fake cough. Both the goat and rabbit turned their heads, whilst Po drizzled on for another three seconds before coming back to reality.

"Oh, hey there". Po smiled. "Thought our guests might have wanted to... view the kitchen"...

I smirked.

"Or, you decided to come here because you were hungry, weren't you"? I asked, knowing my black and white pal all too well.

"... Yea...aybe"...?

Oh Po. You're so predictable.

"It's fine Po. Though I'm sure our guests would prefer to do more than just stay in the kitchen and view your eating habits".

"We do not mind". The goat spoke up. "Anything to pass the time".

At this moment, a sudden thought came to mind.

"Oh jeez, you know, I don't think I asked either of you for your names". I blurted out feeling foolish for never asking.

"No worries Master Mike. Our names are irrelevant anyway". The goat assured me, waving it off. However...

"Jerry". The rabbit spoke. The second he did, the goat passed a glare over at him.

"Jerry eh"? I asked. "I take it, judging by your name, you were born outside of China"? I asked kindly. It made me feel better inside to finally see the rabbit come out of his shell. He even smiled a little for the first time I saw him.

"That's correct Master Mike. I originally come from England".

Dang.

"Awesome. So am I". I replied, taking Po's favorite word.

"Well, it's good to see another Brit I suppose. Especially when so far away from home". He nodded. "So how did you end up becoming a member of the Jade palace if you don't mind me asking"?

"... Well... it's rather complicated to be honest. Not to mention it being... well, the biggest change of my life"...

Literally...

I think my trailing off made it easy to understand that talking about that day was a difficult subject for me.

The day stretched on and things rose to become much more cheerful. I had to admit, I took a bit of a shining to Jerry. The more I dragged him into conversation, the more happy he became, as though whatever was troubling him had been forgotten for the time being. The goat, well... he was a little different. Always formal, passed a glare at the rabbit on occasion. I didn't dare ask why. Maybe it was a boss/ co-worker thing. Either way, it wasn't my place to interfere. But the longer I had to wait, there was no sign of this so called message. I really hoped that these guys were some kind of practical jokers that really were hired by Monkey. Then again, even if it was it was a hell of a long prank. These guys have been here for hours. Monkey's pranks usually take around half an hour to pull off, depending on how big said prank is. Still, I pushed the idea from my head and spent more time talking to Jerry on England and what it was like since I hadn't been for... some time. Turns out the place is doing well, and from the sound of it has taken on the time where Kings lived in stone castles, peasants living in wooden villages, knights and so forth. AKA, the dark ages. I really hope that this version of England doesn't come across the black plague.

On a lighter note, everyone was introduced to the pair of messengers. Even Mantis who actually behaved himself for once. Both parties were rather calm and throughout the night, we all talked, shared stories and just... well, had a good time. Even laughed, and I must say, it felt good to do so. This week had not been the best. But that was beginning to change as I heard Jerries stories about his younger years. I didn't take him to be a troublemaker.

I suppose that was the entire night. Just laughs and story telling. At least until it was time for us to say goodnight. Today had been fun, but now, I think I spoke for everyone when I say that we'll need our strength for training... or most of us anyway. Everyone headed back to their barracks and I was the last one to say goodnight to the messengers. When I asked about the message, all I recieved as a response was "Later" from the goat. I nodded, assuming that he meant tomorrow morning. Made sense since we all lost track of time. I wished them a safe journey and watched them turn round to leave. I shut the barracks, but not without seeing the bunny turn back to his twitchy state from earlier. Whatever's effecting him, I hope he'll be able to control it. Still, they were nice guys.

...

Or so I thought...

...

Five minutes had passed. I had headed back into the kitchen to clear up a knocked over clay cup. Who did it didn't matter, but whether they hadn't noticed or were just too lazy to do anything about it I didn't know. Thankfully I cleared it up and put the remains into the nearby bin. At this point, everyone's probably already asleep. Considering how few hours sleep and rest we get here, it made sense that everyone could fall asleep in only a few minutes. I envy them. I headed out of the kitchen and closed the doors before heading back to my room until I heard something.

A distant crack followed by a scream. Three more cracks followed along with more screaming. My senses instinctivley became active and I headed outside, sensing that someone was in trouble. Immediatley my first thoughts were that it was Jerry and the goat in trouble. I rushed, following their footprints, which remained encased in dirt from their departure, as best I could. The moon helped illuminate the area. I followed them to the staircase which led down to the Valley of Peace. Only... one problem. Their tracks didn't lead down the stairs. Instead was something much more interesting.

Within a foot of the staircase, both pairs of footprints were on top of each other. Marks of dirt grasped to the side. Some sort of scuffle I'm guessing. Had someone attacked them? I wasn't seeing a third pair of footprints. Something with wings maybe? Thanks to Tigresses tracking training, I could pick up a couple of things. The grasped dirt might have indicated that someone was crawling away before being stopped. And to the left, two drag marks heading in the direction of the training hall. Though that wasn't the worst of it. A trail of blood followed the drag marks. The goats tracks followed. Had Jerry been injured and the goat was trying to drag him to safety? I couldn't really tell. My gut was telling me to follow while my mind told me to get Po and the Five.

I couldn't waste time. As far as I knew, they may still be in danger. I followed the tracks to the training hall.

...

This was something I thought of introducing back in act 2. But I decided not to add it. So, I thought that before Mike arrives at Gongmen city, some of the past should take place, after the last attack of the demon and before he actually begins his journey to the city. How does this fit into the act? Well, I don't want to spoil anybody much, but all I'll say is that most people can only take so much horror and violence that may cause them to undergo a form of change... ;) Cheerio!