Chapter 2 – Going to Gongmen

Important note about KFP canon:

In the 1st movie, Tai Lung claimed to have "rotted in jail for twenty years", meaning the point of departure between this fic and the movies – i.e. last chapter – occurred 20 years prior to the first movie.

(And about 23 years prior to the sequel. There was no standard way to judge how much time passed between the 1st and 2nd movies in-universe, so I just went with the amount of time that passed between their irl release dates. Legends of Awesomeness is evidence that it wasn't a trivial amount of time, and 3 years feels about right.)

In KFP2, Lord Shen says, "Thirty years, I've waited for this moment. Everything must be exactly as I imagined. And I imagined it a little to the left." The most direct interpretation of this quote is that he was plotting his revenge 30 years before that moment, making Shen from KFP2 about 45-55 years old. I've chosen to interpret that quote differently.

As a prince, Shen would have imagined himself ruling Gongmen before his exile. He would have imagined himself in the throne room, even when he was little. That "thirty years" quote could have been him remembering the first moment he envisioned himself as Gongmen's ruler, not as Gongmen's conqueror.

Po probably isn't thirty years old in the second movie. The creators have said that Po was around 20 in the sequel. If Shen killed Po's mother when Po was a baby, that means Shen's murder spree and subsequent exile happened 20 years prior to the second movie, not 30 years.

TL;DR: Don't be surprised by Shen not being on the genocidal warpath just yet. He has only just discovered the potential of gunpowder. Has NOT built any true weapons; he has NOT amassed an army of wolves; and the Soothsayer has NOT foretold that he shall be "defeated by a warrior of black and white". Well, she hasn't foretold it yet, as of the start of this chapter.

A splendid port city glowed softly orange in the sunrise.

"There it is," Oogway said slowly. "Gongmen city, home of the Soothsayer."

Tai Lung gave the wizened kung fu master a sidelong glance. The snow leopard still wasn't sure why he had to come along on this trip. If it were up to him he'd be back home, training and preparing for the tournament.

Then, as if the turtle could read his thoughts, "But before we get any closer, how about a little spar?"

Tai Lung was surprised at first, then eagerly agreed. A spar against a master always led to improvement. Especially the master.

Minutes later, Tai Lung was panting hard. He hadn't landed a single attack on the old turtle.

"This isn't fair," he said in between breaths. "You're using your stick to keep the distance between us."

"I am," said the old turtle. "If you wish to become the Dragon Warrior, you must learn to overcome all opponents, even when they do not fight fairly. Non-lethal weapons will be allowed in the tournament. But if you insist on a fair fight..."

Less than a minute later, Tai Lung was on his back, panting even harder.

"What was that?" was all he managed to ask.

"The power of inner-strength." Oogway offered a hand to the downed leopard. "Also known as Chi. If you wish to become Dragon Warrior, you must learn that, as well."

The leopard grasped the outstretched claw. "How can I learn it?"

"In order to achieve inner-strength," said the turtle, turning to face the city, "you must first learn inner-peace."

Tai Lung slowly followed behind. "And how do I learn that?"

The ancient, wise turtle – knowledgeable on all things Kung Fu – turned to look at Tai Lung. The turtle took a deep breath. Held it. Let it out.

"I don't know."

Tai Lung let out a frustrated growl.

"But if I were you, I would start by asking myself why I have such a short temper. It is called 'inner-peace', after all, not 'inner-anger'."

Tai Lung was torn between growling again at the insult or attempting to prove the old turtle wrong about his temper. In the end, he remained silent. He was too angry to properly meditate, not to mention they were moving again. But it was good advice, and the future Dragon Warrior would consider it carefully at a more appropriate moment.

In the meantime, Tai Lung decided he shouldn't be too angry about being forced to tag along. It was always best to train against a live opponent, so if he could occasionally spar with Oogway, the journey wouldn't be a complete waste of time.

And he mustn't forget that Shifu was busy preparing the palace. The red panda was sending out letters to all the major cities of China (except Gongmen, which the two of them would be handling), hiring couriers, hiring staff, and managing all the other little details that Tai Lung knew existed, but couldn't be bothered to remember. Not to mention Shifu's normal duties, which still had to be completed on top of the tournament's prep-work. So staying at the Jade Palace might not have been as good as it sounded.

As they approached the city, Tai Lung failed to notice the small patch of cloth that had been ripped from his pants during the 'spar', or the small patch of fur that had been cleanly snipped from the back of his shoulder.

"You want me to what?" Tai Lung asked incredulously.

"Wait here," Oogway repeated himself, gesturing to the grand accommodations around them. "Meetings with the Soothsayer are often private. Including this one."

Without another word, the turtle walked up the final flight of stairs.

Tai Lung scowled, then turned away, searching for something to do.

"I see..." said the bearded goat. Her eyes seemed to be seeing something unseeable. "I see..." she repeated. "I see..."

Oogway leaned forward. "Yes?" he whispered. "What do you see?"

"I see... Nothing."

Oogway started in some surprise. "Nothing?"

The goat stared harder at her bowl. At the bottom, the clothing and fur of Tai Lung were burning in a plume of incense. "No... not nothing..." she corrected herself. "I see a future that is... dark... and obscure... and turbulent... much like a thunder cloud during the night. Dark on dark is difficult to see directly."

Oogway sighed. It seemed his suspicions had been correct.

"But I also see light," the Soothsayer continued, again surprising the old turtle. "Bright, flashing lightning..."

That wasn't good.

"...but also rays of moonlight, peeking through. Whose future is this?"

Oogway looked at the bowl, seeing nothing but smoke. "A student of my student," he answered vaguely.

"Tai Lung, then," the goat sighed. "I feared as much."

"How did you know it was him?" Oogway asked. That was supposed to be a secret.

"Because you just told me," the goat smiled.

Oogway sighed.

"And because he is the only one that came to mind," she said, a bit more seriously, and less mysteriously. "Storm clouds are powerful and violent. I could not think of any other-"

A loud bang cut her off mid-sentence.

"Soothsayer!" shouted a tall and proud peacock. "I require your services immediately!" he said, strutting forth. "It is a matter of utmost urgency!"

"I implied as much from the word 'immediately'," the goat said easily, seeming to ignore any annoyance at being interrupted as she turned to face the ruler of Gongmen. "What is the emergency?"

"It is my son," the great blue bird declared, voice tinged with a good deal of distress. "I need a reading of my son's future. Without delay."

Oogway cleared his throat.

The ruler of Gongmen glanced at the turtle, dismissive at first... until he became aware of who he'd just dismissed.

"Ah..." his voice halted, disrespect being replaced with shame. "I apologize for interrupting your session, Master Oogway, I did not realize-"

"You needn't worry," the turtle interrupted, waving a claw. "Your matter seems like it might be more immediately important than mine. If you allow me to stay for your son's reading, I can easily forgive the intrusion."

The peacock bowed gratefully. "Thank you."

Oogway chuckled quietly to himself. That had been too easy. It was always a privilege to witness the Soothsayer's work, and most people preferred private readings.

The peacock turned to the goat. "Soothsayer...?"

"Two readings in one day," the Soothsayer sighed, emptying her bowl into a waste basket. "I trust you've brought what I need?"

The peacock nodded, handing her a feather and a scrap of cloth.

She placed them in the bowl, grabbed another pinch of incense powder, threw it, and stared hard into her bowl. "I see... I see... your son... and a warrior of black and white..."

Oogway gasped. Another prophecy about the dragon warrior?

"I see your son... being stopped... no, being helped? No... two paths? Hm..."

The goat stared long and hard into her bowl.

"Yes, I see two paths," she said at last. "One of destruction, another of creation. If your son goes down the path of destruction..." she frowned. "I see him being stopped by a warrior of black and white. If he goes down the path of creation... I see him being helped by a warrior... a warrior of mist?... No, a warrior of gray, not a warrior of mist... hmm..."

The Soothsayer fell silent, staring hard at the smoke.

"Is that... good or bad?" the Peacock asked eventually, after the silence had stretched.

"I don't know," the Soothsayer sighed heavily.

"Is there evil in my son's future?"

"There is," the Soothsayer confirmed, causing the Peacock to gasp. She was still looking into her bowl. "But Shen is not necessarily the source of that evil. It surrounds his future, pervades it... that's why this reading is so murky... but where that evil lies, or shall lie, I do not know." She looked up at the aging ruler. "May I ask what prompted this panic?"

Earlier and elsewhere, but still inside the palace...

"What was his problem?" asked Tai Lung, looking at the open door through which a panicked peacock had stormed.

"I have no idea," Shen shrugged. For a moment, the white peacock scowled at the wing which was now missing a feather, then at the robes which were now marred by imperfection. Then the annoyance left his face again, and he turned back to Tai Lung. "He tends to overreact. Now, what was it you were saying? Something about the city's defenses?"

After Oogway had told Tai Lung that meetings with the Soothsayer were meant to be private, the snow leopard had searched the palace for a means of staving off boredom, eventually encountering an open door with flashing lights behind it. From there, he met the prince of Gongmen – Lord Shen – and the two quickly became fast friends. Well, as fast as friends could become over the course of a few minutes.

Lord Shen had eagerly shared his discoveries about fireworks to what he perceived to be a curious audience, explaining how gunpowder could be used to propel heavy projectiles at high speeds, and Tai Lung had realized how the idea could be weaponized. The peacock's condescending tone had taken some getting used to-

"It does NOT 'breathe fire' and 'spit metal'," Shen sneered. "It breathes AIR and spits FIRE. The fire propels the metal through the chamber, you see, like a firework propelled through open air, only with more control."

-but get used to it he had.

Tai Lung had been about to explain how the invention could be used practically when the other peacock had stormed in, demanded an explanation for the noise and lights, received his explanation, tore a feather and piece of robe from Shen, then stormed out again. But since Shen did not seem worried, Tai Lung decided to mostly ignore it as well, keeping the incident in the back of his mind.

"If this invention could be mounted on a wall like a giant crossbow," Tai Lung said, continuing from where he had left off, "you could surround the city with weapons and never have to worry about invasions again. You could use it to guard prisons, guard important locations like the palace or the port, even guard the ships themselves if it could be mobilized. Allow the aim of each metal crossbow to be adjusted, but lock the mechanisms from being turned on the city-" Tai Lung had occasionally helped construct a training course or two "-and you have an unstoppable defense."

Lord Shen seemed to consider the idea. "Rain would neutralize the powder, and therefore the defenses," he said eventually. "Any enemy with the foresight to research his opponent would wait until a storm to attack, easily bypassing this invention."

"Then cover it with a tarp," Tai Lung shrugged. "Or a roof."

"Hmm... yes, I could see that working."

"I read a bit of this city's history before coming here," Tai Lung said. "Each generation of rulers is meant to add something new. Your parents added wealth and beauty with fireworks, but that can attract bandits and pirates. It seems to me that your destiny is to help the defense of your city now that it has prospered."

Lord Shen's eyes were wide. "Yes," he nodded slowly. "Yes, I can see it. Lord Shen, Defender of Gongmen. Fierce on the battlefield, fiercer on the battlements."

"Fierce on the battlefield?" Tai Lung asked. "Why there? Would it not be wiser to keep yourself at range?"

"It would," Lord Shen agreed. "But many matters cannot be solved with brute force." He swiftly drew a knife from his robes. "In such matters, finesse brings victory."

Tai Lung eyed the white Peacock appraisingly. "You're a martial artist?" he asked. "You didn't strike me as the... type to get your feathers or fancy robes dirty."

"They can be cleaned after the day is won," Lord Shen shrugged. "My Kung Fu is not meant for open battle. I prefer to inspire the troops, outwit the defenses, and assassinate the kingpin. Finesse, espionage, and cunning are my forte." He fluttered his feathers like another animal might wave a dismissive paw. "You know... matters of stealth, and so on."

Tai Lung nodded. He looked at the knife, Oogway's words from their spar coming to mind. "I suppose you won't be participating in the Tournament of the Dragon, then."

"Beg pardon?"

"The Tournament of the Dragon," Tai Lung said in tones of emphasizing the obvious. "You know, the-"

Then he cut himself off, and not just because Lord Shen was giving him a sideways glance. Literally. As in, the peacock's head was sideways, at an angle which put the bird's right ear parallel to the ground.

"-the whole reason I'm here," Tai Lung slapped his forehead. He dashed over to the pack he'd set down at the room's entrance and withdrew a stack of flyers. "How well do you know this city's layout?"

Without un-tilting his head, the peacock said, "I am the prince." It was unnerving the way the peacock stared at him like that.

"Right, stupid question. Better question: what's the best way to spread these across the city?"

"I may know a few able bodies," Lord Shen said, his head tilting back to normal. "May I inquire what you wish to spread?"

Tai Lung stepped forward and set the stack of papers down on an empty space of the workbench. "News from the Jade Palace. See for yourself."

After a minute of inspecting the parchment from odd and frankly disturbing angles, the peacock's head swiveled to the door and his beak made a sharp whistling sound.

Not seconds later, an antelope entered the room. "Yes, Lord Shen?"

"Deliver these to the populace," Shen ordered. "Places of commerce, places of commute, places of traffic, places of influence. The marketplace, the main streets, the port, the palace. Make haste."

"Yes, sir."

After the servant had departed, leaving only a single paper behind, Shen turned back to Tai Lung. He tapped the page with a knife. "You assumed I would not be participating in this. Why?"

"Lethal weapons are disallowed."

"Yes, I read that part," Shen sneered. "But non-lethal weapons are fair game, no?"

Tai Lung looked at the knife in Shen's grip, saying nothing, only raising a questioning eyebrow.

"My friend," Shen grinned. "Before one learns how to throw a knife," he sheathed the weapon, drew out another, and threw it more quickly than the eye could blink. It landed dead-center on a wall target. "One must first learn how to throw a dart."

Tai Lung snorted. "Dart-throwing is nothing like knife-throwing."

"Mm, true," Shen shrugged. From his robes he drew a length of cord, which he quickly whipped out. The rope wrapped around the dart, and with a yank it was pulled free, flying through the air until it was cleanly caught in between two feathers. Shen began examining the dart like he had examined the poster – with odd head angles and wide eyes. "But the parents were far more accepting of a young chick doing one than the other." The dart slowly rotated in his grip, revealing a compartment on the inside. "And with a simple sleep poison, I-"

"SHEN!" a voice boomed, and the doors which had been closed in the wake of the antelope burst open. The same blue peacock from earlier strolled in like he owned the place... which he probably did. "Your mother and I require a moment of your time." The gaze of Shen's father flicked briefly to Tai Lung. "Alone."

"Very well," Shen agreed easily, returning the dart and rope to his robes. He strode forward, his talons clicking on the floor. Before he crossed the threshold, he paused, turning his head but not his body. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Tai Lung. I'll see you at the tournament, if not sooner?"

Tai Lung nodded, not really sure of what else to do.

Lord Shen's head turned forward again. "Feel free to explore the palace," he called over his shoulders, waving a wing. "But don't touch my things."

And with that, the door closed, and Tai Lung was left alone.

"Are you sure it is wise to tell Shen his destiny?" Oogway whispered to the Soothsayer. "One often meets his destiny on the path he takes to avoid it... and I fear that Shen will try to avoid his."

The Soothsayer gave Oogway a sidelong glance. "That is his choice," she said. "Just as it will be Tai Lung's choice to respond to his own prophecy as he sees fit. You will be informing him of his future, yes?"

Clicking claws could be heard from the stairwell. They had little time to speak privately.

"I will," Oogway sighed. "When it is time. And... please, Soothsayer, I know it is not my place to impede destiny... but could we perhaps wait a few years before telling Shen of his own prophecy? I suspect that, given enough time to mature, he will not act... rashly to the news."

"Rashly?"

The clicking was on the final flight.

"One possible road to avoid defeat is to attack the ones foretold to defeat you, and wipe them out," Oogway said. This wisdom he learned long ago, back even before he had invented Kung Fu, when he still called himself a warrior. He stood up with aid from his staff. In a whisper that would not be heard from the stairs, he said, "There is a panda village nearby."

The Soothsayer's eyes widened.

Plumes of feathers became visible through the top of the stairs' railing, and Oogway began hobbling away.

"I fear I must take my leave," Oogway said, as if addressing both the ruler of Gongmen and the Soothsayer.

He bowed respectfully, then did as he feared, taking his leave.