Liàng returned to the jade palace that night with his head held high. Even though he had just given away the last of his money, he felt good about why he did it. The sun was just vanishing over the horizon when he reached the top of the stairs; "dinner time," he thought. The young tiger didn't take one step farther forward, though. As he prepared to continue on, the echo of a loud and agitated voice caught his ear.

"...that panda is not the dragon warrior. He wasn't even meant to be here! It was an accident," the voice said. Whoever responded spoke too softly to understand.

The first voice was easily identified as Master Shifu. But who was he talking to? Once again, curiosity got the better of him and Liàng began searching out the source of the voices. It didn't take long to find them on the plateau of the Sacred Peach Tree. As he thought, Shifu was the first voice. Liàng was pleasantly surprised to find that the second was Master Oogway. Not wanting to interrupt their conversation, the young warrior remained just below the plateau landing, out of sight.

"Let go of the illusion of control," Oogway said.

"Illusion?" Shifu asked, seeming desperately lost.

"Yes. Look at this tree, Shifu," the old master replied. "I cannot make it blossom when it suits me, nor make it bare fruit before its time."

Liàng thought hard on those words.

Shifu was quick to refute his Master. "But there are things we can control," he said, striking the tree with a powerful kick and causing peaches to rain down. "I can control when the fruit will fall. And I can control where to plant the seed," he added, now chopping a peach in half and planting the seed in a random place. "That is no illusion, Master!"

Oogway smiled warmly. "Ah yes. But no matter what you do, that seed will grow to be a peach tree. You may wish for an apple or an orange, but you will get a peach."

"Have I been going at this wrong?" Liàng thought. "Have I been trying too hard to control something that won't be?"

"But a peach cannot defeat Tai Lung!"

"Maybe it can. If you are willing to guide it, to nurture it; to believe it in."

"But how? How? I need your help, Master," Shifu said, now begging for wisdom.

"No, you just need to believe," Oogway replied. "Promise me, Shifu. Promise me you will believe."

For just a moment, Liàng tuned out their conversation. He wondered what those words could mean: give up the illusion of control. The answer for Shifu: to believe in Po. To believe; but what could he believe in? How could he truly believe in himself with no memory of his former life?

"Master, you can't leave me!" Shifu exclaimed, catching Liàng's attention.

The tiger quickly poked his head up over the landing to see what Shifu was talking about; what he saw petrified him. Oogway's staff was in Shifu's hands, and the old tortoise stood on the precipice of the platform dropoff. Pink petals from the peach tree were flowing all around him, and with each passing second, his body seemed to vanish. Before Oogway was completely gone, he looked out and directly at Liàng where he hid. The tiger's breath caught in his throat.

It was then that Oogway uttered his final words. "You must believe."

"Master!" Shifu exclaimed, grief laced into his voice.

Liàng could not believe his eyes as the last remnants of Master Oogway faded away. A great Master, one of the greatest in the known world, gone. The very person he was sent to seek out in order to defeat his great enemies, gone. The only person who could have helped him unlock the secrets of his past, gone. Tears began to stream down Liàng's cheeks, yet he did not move. He couldn't bring himself to stand, nor to sit. He remained completely still, barely even breathing. It wasn't until Master Shifu arrived at the top of the stairs that Liàng moved, and he only moved enough to look up at the small red panda and exchange a look of sorrow.

"I am sorry," Shifu said. "Your training cannot be completed here."

Liàng took in a deep breath and dropped to his knees before Shifu. "And I am so sorry for the loss of your Master," he said, attempting to be respectful. Still, he could not help but to seek guidance. "Master, what do I do now? Where do I go?"

"For now, you will stay. I fear the valley may need your skills before the end," Shifu replied, before walking around the tiger and making his way to the mess hall.

"The end? What do you mean the end?"

No response was offered, and as much as he wanted to, Liàng decided not to pursue. Instead, he walked over to the edge of the platform, where Oogway had just been standing. He stood there on the precipice of the cliff, unsure of even how long he was there. Everything he was in the Jade Palace for had gone up in smoke. He knew that there were enemies coming; he knew that nobody in this world but him could stop them. Oogway was his only goal, the one stepping stone he needed to cross. Now, with not but a few short conversations to go off of, Liàng would need to complete his own training. He returned to the barracks early that night, but sleep was neither plentiful nor constant. Restlessness, it seemed, was his first reward for failure.

The next morning, Liàng was slow to find any motivation. Though he heard the morning gong, he did not rise for another hour. He was surprised that Shifu hadn't come in to wake him, but it was unsterstandible given the events of the previous night. When the young tiger finally found the strength to get out of bed and leave the barracks, he did so slowly. One could be forgiven for thinking he was drunk, the way he staggered down the hall; drunk on his own tears of despair. The palace was quiet as he walked, without the normal sounds of training or a Dizi Flute on the wind. Liàng hardly noticed, however there was a sound which broke the silence that he could not ignore: his own stomach growling. He hadn't eaten anything since the previous morning.

"Better to be upset on a full stomach," he thought.

Liàng's jaw dropped when the pantry came into view: destruction was all he saw. The doors to the food storage room, which were solid wood and usually locked by chain at night, had been broken down; a feat that would have proven difficult for anyone of Tigress's size or smaller. Inside was all the more terrible. Every cabinet door had been smashed open, every basket and bowl overturned and emptied. Nearly every morsel of food which once filled the room's storage had been either taken or devoured by whomever or whatever broke in.

"What in the name of-"

"Pardon us," another voice said, cutting Liàng off.

The young tiger turned around to find three geese in the palace uniform, all carrying basket-woven bins. "My apologies," he said with a hint of confusion in his voice before stepping aside so they could enter. "What happened here? Was it a thief?"

"No," one of them grumbled as they all walked by. "It would seem the Dragon Warrior's appetite does not wait for the cooks."

"Po did this?" Liàng asked, his eyes going wide. "How?"

"Your guess is as good as ours," another goose replied. "But whatever he did caught Shifu's attention. They left a few minutes ago packed with enough supplies to last for months."

"Wait, they left? Why, where did they go?" he asked desperately, then thought to himself, "without Shifu, I have no idea where I am supposed to go or what I am supposed to do."

"He didn't say much to any of us," the first goose replied.

Liàng sighed, rubbing his forehead as he felt the beginning of a bad headache. "Ok, where are the Five? I need to speak with them."

"Nobody has seen them since last night."

"Of course they haven't. Let me simplify this: who has been left in charge of the palace?"

At that question, everyone was silent. The four geese exchanged weary glances before the first one spoke.

"In the absence of Shifu, charge fell to Oogway. In his absence, it fell to the Furious Five," he explained.

"And in all of their absence?"

"There was never meant to be a time when at least one of the seven were not present in the palace. We are meant to continue our duties as normal, but as of now, there is nobody within the palace with any authority over it."

Liàng was silent for a few moments, thinking hard to find a solution. He could not leave with nowhere to go, yet he did not know for how long he was welcome to stay. He could not go to anyone with his questions, yet he had so many questions that were left unanswered. "Breathe," he thought to himself. "I cannot dwell on what I cannot control. I have to focus on what I can do here and now to help the Palace."

"I think it best that you all go about your duties, as you are meant to. I'd like to help, if I can. Are there any other food stores?"

"No," the third goose, female, replied. "We have enough for a few days more but we'll need to restock."

"Alright. If you give me a list and a string of coins, I can run down to the market and see what's available," Liàng replied.

All four of the geese scoffed. The second spoke up soon after. "Restocking our pantry isn't as simple as a trip to the market. We have to take a wagon to the southern farms. Besides, you are a guest. We could not hand you money from the palace and send you off on your own."

"Well actually," the fourth goose chimed in, "Normally we send the wagon with one of the Furious Five as a guard. We could-"

The second goose was quick to interrupt. "Well actually, we normally send a guard with the wagon. If you're interested in helping, you could accompany it as a substitute."

"That's what I just- oh, forget it."

"If that's where you need me. When does the wagon leave?" he asked.

"Less than an hour. Here, take these and go prepare your supplies," the first goose said, taking out and handing Liàng a string of fifteen copper coins. "The trip takes two days there and back."

With nothing more than a nod, the young tiger left the pantry more cheerful than when he arrived. Having a task before him gave him a feeling of direction which he thought he might never have again. For the second time in two days, he left the palace with nothing more than his staff and a string of coins and made his way down to the village below.

The valley was peaceful that day. Every villager went about their business without a care in the world, not knowing what a sorrowful day it truly was. The loss of Master Oogway had not yet been made public knowledge, nor had Tai Lung's escape from prison. Not a soul in the valley knew how rapidly danger was approaching. Liàng tried his best to appear cheerful as he went about his shopping, and for the most part seemed to do alright. Very few villagers gave him any cross glances, as by now, most of them had grown accustomed to his presence since his arrival nearly one week prior.

"Two days. I need enough supplies for two day," he mumbled to himself as he came into the Market. "That means food and water, only two or three meals worth."

The first stand he stopped by was one which sold water flasks. There were many different designs, each more expensive than the last, but Liàng opted for a more simple design. A large hollowed-out bamboo shoot, big around and cut to about nine or ten inches tall. The bottom had been plugged with a wood slab and the inside had been sealed with bee's wax. It would carry all the water he needed for such a short trip. Liàng also grabbed a bundle of rags, oil paper, and wax paper so that he could continue to re-seal the flask after each usage. Six copper coins came off of the string before he moved on to the next stand, where he found various travel bags. He had no need for a new pack, however a coin pouch was needed after he gave his away.

"Probably should have just dropped the coins," he thought to himself, chuckling at his own folly.

The pouch he chose was simple in design; identical to his last one. It was made of a thicker brown cotton and stitched with the same color. A thin white silk rope woven through the neck of the pouch would serve as the only way to close it. With another two copper coins gone, Liàng moved on to his final shop where he would be buying the food. This stand was near the southern border of the market, also fairly close to the exit of the village. He speculated that the reason for this was easy access for supply shipments. When he arrived at the stand, he was met with a less than friendly sight.

"Listen, each bag of rice is two copper pieces. The vegetables will cost four, and the fish will be three more copper each. For everything you're asking, the lowest price I can offer you is ten," grumbled the old billy goat behind the counter.

He was speaking to the only customer at his stand. From behind, Liàng couldn't tell exactly what the customer was. Much of it's form was concealed under a large azure overcoat with the hood up.

"I told you, I only have seven coins to my name right now. Please, I've barely eaten in days," it responded in a female voice.

"Join the club, lady. I'm not gonna tell you again. If you don't have the money, then buy what you can afford and get out of the line," the goat barked.

"Look, I'm done being nice, so you better sell them to me for seven, or things are going to get ugly for you."

Liàng felt uneasy about what he was witnessing. His first instinct was to intervene, but something about the customer's voice in that moment staid him.

"Oh, gonna rough me up, are you? I think the guard will have a field day with-" the goat shouted, but was silenced when three copper coins landed on the counter.

"That should clear her tab," said Liàng, pocketing what remained of his funding.

The customer began to slowly turn around, however before Liàng could see her face, she quickly turned back towards the stand. "Oh my, uh, thank you," she said. "That's very kind." Her voice seemed nervous, and significantly higher than before. It was as if she was purposefully disguising it.

"I suppose as long as I'm getting paid," the goat grumbled, sliding the three coins as well as the seven from the women over the counter. He then began gathering up her order. "I don't know why you'd do that for a harridan like her."

"Just give me the food, would you?" she snapped, her voice returning to normal. The anger she spoke with sounded familiar.

After another few moments, the shopkeep passed a burlap bag over the counter. The customer snatched it up quickly before darting away. Liàng watched her closely as she went, trying to make sense of her behavior. He watched her until she vanished around a corner, but just before she was out of sight, Liàng caught a glimpse of a tail poking out from under the coat.

"Oh course," he thought to himself, smirking as his attention returned to the food stand.

Using his last four copper coins, Liàng purchased a bag of rice, one large potato, and a small lidded box of sea salt. He exchanged very few words with the old goat, who continued to glare at him nonetheless. When the transaction was complete and he had his items in hand, he began the trek back to the palace. Liàng was barely outside of the market when he heard a familiar voice call out from his left. Turning to look, he saw her: the customer from before, sitting on the ground just inside an alleyway and waving at him.

"Excuse me," she said, "Spare a moment for me, would you?"

Unlike before, her voice sounded elderly. Not high pitched or angry, but frail and weak. Smiling and fighting the urge to shake his head, Liàng made his way over to her. She began standing as soon as he was inside the alley, keeping her head low to prevent him from seeing her face.

"Are you alright?" He asked when he was close enough to do so without shouting.

"Yes, I'm fine. I just wanted to thank you for helping me," she said, reaching out and placing a shaky hand on his upper arm.

"You needn't thank me. It was my pleasure," he responded, moving to take a step away but stopping when her grip on his arm tightened. "Strong grip for a frail old lady," he thought to himself.

"No no no, you must allow me to give you something in return. I don't have much, but I will give you what you deserve."

"That was just sad," Liàng thought, watching her free arm closely as it vanished behind her back. "And what exactly is it that I deserve…" he said, pausing as the arm he was watching lashed out. He could clearly see a knife in her hand moving swiftly towards his heart; swiftly, but not swiftly enough. With his own free hand, he grabbed her by the wrist and stopped the knife centimeters from his chest. "...Wan?"

"What?" she exclaimed, releasing him and jumping back into a defensive stance. "How did you know?"

"Well the tail that stuck out from under your coat was a start. It's hard to forget a tail belonging to someone who has bested me in combat," he replied cockily, taking no stance of his own.

"Well I'm glad to be so memorable. I haven't forgotten you, either. If it wasn't for you, my sisters would still be free!" she shouted while transferring the knife to her dominant hand.

Before Liàng could respond, a voice from outside the alley called out, "Call the guard! Someone's being robbed!"

"Sounds like we're out of time. You should leave the village while you can," he said, placing his staff in front of him with both hands resting on its top.

"No, I have just enough time to kill you first!" she bellowed fiercely before charging forth with her knife poised to strike.

"Whoah!" Liàng exclaimed, side-stepping an attempted stab.

Wan growled as he slid beneath a slash that was aimed for his throat. "Hold still!" she shouted, swinging her blade wildly as he dodged around.

"How odd," he thought, "The Wu Sisters were so formidable as a trio. The way she's fighting now is worlds below that level."

After dodging around another stab, Liàng slipped behind her and spoke sternly. "You're fighting recklessly," he said, then bent backwards to avoid another slash.

"Well that's what I do: kill with reckless abandon!" she exclaimed, not relenting in her assault.

After another few attempts to land a killing blow, Liàng began to grow tired of the game they were playing. In a fraction of a second, he slipped past a stab and inside her defenses. With a flick of his staff, Wan's legs were swept out from underneath her. She landed hard on her back.

"Slow down and think. There's nobody here to pick up the slack if you make a wrong move," Liàng said. He froze, however, as the voice he heard was not his own.

"When you're fighting in single-combat, every move you make is a vital one."

Liàng looked up at his Master on the walkway above the sparring square, who looked down on him with critical eyes. Facing him down in the arena was a familiar face: Biyu. Only, she looked younger and smaller than before. In her eyes, he could also see much sharper daggers. "But Master," he replied, "I can't win if I don't try to attack my enemy."

"And you'll never hit me if you don't time your attacks right," said Biyu with ice on her tongue. "Idiot."

"That's it, you're dead!" Liàng exclaimed, charging at her with a growl.

Biyu laughed at him as he attacked. Not one punch or kick landed; she was too fast, too graceful. She danced around his moves as if they had rehearsed one hundred times before. "You're too slow," she teased, inciting more anger from him.

"If you can't outpace your enemy, you have to outthink them!" the old Wolf on the walkway shouted.

"Hold still so I can pound you!" the young tiger screamed, throwing wild punches at his much faster opponent.

"But it's so much more fun to watch you fail," Biyu responded. "Just like always. You'll never-"

Right as she was about to deliver another one-liner, Liàng landed a punch. It wasn't a hard blow, but it was enough for Biyu to register that she had been touched. Sneering, she twisted around and knocked Liàng back with a powerful roundhouse kick. He landed on his back hard and had the wind knocked out of him.

"Enough!" their Master exclaimed. He was clearly angry. "Listen to yourselves. Liàng, you are a fool. You mustn't allow your emotions to be manipulated by the enemy. Grant them that power and you will never see victory. You must have control."

"Like he even knows what control means," Biyu mumbled.

"You are not innocent here, Biyu!" he shouted.

"B-but I-"

"The true mark of the warrior is humility. Tell me, on what day was victory no longer enough? On what day did it become insufficient to accomplish one's goals?"

Biyu felt a great shame from her Master's scolding. Her eyes fell to the ground.

"Forgive me, Master."

"Discipline is the key to victory. Whether it be used to be humble, or to not be goaded into attacking by a less than clever adversary."

Wan Wu looked up at Liàng from the ground, and he looked down at her. Sighing, he took a step back and spoke softly, "You have to think before you attack, and never give control over your emotions to the enemy. Discipline is the key to victory."

"Don't patronize me!" Wan screamed in reply, standing quickly and resuming her onslaught.

Liàng took in a deep breath as her attacks began, bringing his mind into focus. Wan's first attack was a reverse-grip downwards stab, which her target was able to block at the wrist. She then flipped her grip and attempted a slash, which he also blocked. Before she could pull away, Liàng grabbed her in an arm lock and pivoted around her, forcing her arm back in a contorted fashion. In that position, he was able to strike the pommel of the dagger with his free hand and knock it from her grip and high into the air. Over the span of two or three seconds before it came back down, Wan Wu was hit with a barrage of jabs almost too fast to see. None of them were harder than a tap, but the ease at which she was struck filled her with frustration. Not only was he working into every opening while maintaining his own defenses, he was doing so while juggling his staff. As the knife began to descend, Liàng used a palm-heel strike to push her back a few feet, which gave him enough room to swing his staff up and bring it back down with great speed towards her head. He stopped an inch from her face, which looked up at the petrified wooden staff in terror. At that exact moment, he also caught the dagger in his off hand.

Fear overtook Wan's mind. She was facing down an enemy whom she could not defeat, and so when she saw him catch her dagger while simultaneously bringing his staff an inch from her forehead, her legs turned to jelly. She screamed and fell back, terror painted across her face. "No, please! Please don't," she begged, slowly crawling away but barely able to move.

The distance she had crawled was easily closed with just a few steps forwards. He walked with his staff at his side and the dagger extended towards the terrified jaguar. He could see the helplessness in her eyes, which made it clear how much she depended on her sisters. Just like back in the bamboo forest, he felt pity for her.

"No!" She screamed as her back made contact with the back wall of the alleyway. "Please, just stay away!"

When the distance between them was closed, Liàng stopped. He stood there for a few moments and watched her shake in fear before squatting down and extending the dagger towards her. Seeing this, she froze. All of her screaming stopped; all she could do was stare, wide eyed, at what she believed would be her killer. Her expression turned to pure shock when the knife was placed gently in her lap.

"You have no reason to be afraid of me. I won't hurt you," Liàng said softly.
Wan had no words. Her eyes continued to jump between the knife placed so tenderly down and the face of her enemy, whose expression was soft and caring. "Why?" she thought. "He is my enemy; why would he give me the tool to kill him?" She continued to rack her brain for answers, but she could not fathom the reason for his actions. Slowly, Wan began to sit up and get her legs beneath her. Her own shocked expression faded as she became more relaxed. "No matter the reason, it was his mistake."

Moving faster than she had ever attempted, Wan took up her knife and lunged forward. Having put down his guard to appear less threatening, Liàng was left unable to defend. He was tackled to the ground in an instant, so forcefully in fact that even his staff was tossed aside in the struggle. He was pinned almost perfectly, with his arms held down by her legs and the remainder of her weight holding down his torso. Her arms were used to both hold down his head and press her dagger to his throat. His legs remained free, but he did not move them; he wouldn't until he knew he needed to.

"Your mercy is weakness. Now you die," she growled, but her blade did not move.

Wan hesitated in that position as her attention shifted elsewhere. Laying on the ground beside them just barely outside of Liàng's pocket was a coin pouch which was jarringly familiar. Brown cotton, with a white silk rope interlaced around the neck. It was identical to the pouch which had fallen from the canopy over her camp. Wan eyeballed her captive quizzically, wondering if it wasn't just a coincidence.

"You need to leave, before the guards come," he said softly. "You can still walk away."

Though his voice was unwavering, Liàng was struggling to remain still. Every fiber of his being was screaming at him to move, to fight, to kill Wan if she did not submit. But in his heart, he felt that he was not in any danger. He knew that she would not go through with her intentions, if he only remained unthreatening. The words of his former master played in his mind over and over again: "Discipline is the key to victory."

Wan growled and pulled the knife away from Liàng's throat. "We're even," she said. "I let you live, so now I owe you nothing. The next time I see you, I will kill you."

Before he could offer any reply, she was gone. Showing her skill with acrobatics, Wan rolled to the side to retrieve her food and then leapt up between the alley walls, vaulting back and forth until she vanished over the rooftop.

"In there, that alley!" the same voice from earlier shouted.

Liàng sat up from his place on the ground and looked back in time to see a rabbit pointing into the alley. Standing next to him was a large ram in armor, who stomped in without hesitation right up to the young tiger still seated on the ground.

"What are you doing back here?" he demanded.

Before responding, Liàng stood, stretching his back and arms. "Kind of a long story," he replied nonchalantly.

"Make it short before I throw you in a cell!"

"I was attacked by an old lady when I offered to help her."

There was a pause while a look of confusion washed over the ram's face. "Lengthen it a bit."

"There was an old lady back here who called out for help. I came to check on her, but she was actually some would-be-robber in disguise," he lied. "She attacked me, but I didn't have anything on me worth stealing, so she fled."

"What did she look like, and which way did she go?"

"She wore a mask, so I couldn't see her face. She fled only after knocking me to the ground. By the time I could bring my head up, she was gone."

The guard seemed to be growing frustrated, and Liàng was growing nervous. He wasn't much of a liar, but the truth would do more damage than good. Without the defenders of the valley, news of a Wu Sister in town would likely cause a panic.

"Well alright. You stay out of alleyways in the future," the ram stated bluntly, and without so much as a goodbye turned and walked away.

Liàng sighed and began to gather his things. He hoped that he wasn't too late to leave with the caravan. As he exited the alley with his food and staff, he was unaware that two eyes followed his every move. On the roof of a neighboring building, Wan lay in secret and watched as the white tiger made his way back up the mountain until he was too far to see. "Why," she wondered still. "Why would he help me?"