"Realization"


Hold your head still, boy.

Tai Lung growled, already tired from the long stretches of sprinting and slushing his way through thick mud. He stopped and chose to stand still in the moonlight, observing his surroundings more clearly.

There was nothing around but black, misty night air - the Valley was still nowhere to be seen, and although they were only perhaps a few days from reaching the Palace, the complete lack of navigation the group had right now made it very difficult to understand where they were going. No sounds followed the six individuals except soft footsteps on grass beds, and the faint smell of rain just beginning to drizzle down.

They are preparing to fight you.

"Wait, what?!" Tai Lung whispered, outraged as he watched the Five masters pause just a few feet in front of him - backs still turned to him. "After all this time? Now they figure it out?"

The one called Tigress deduced it long ago.

They have been leading you in a loop - away from the Palace. To a secluded place.

"Why didn't you tell me before, spirit?" Tai Lung spat, keeping both eyes trained on the Five's backs.

I had more pressing matters to end to.

Tai Lung snorted. Tigress was the first to turn around, joined a few seconds later by the rest of the Five. She instantly began getting herself into a ready stance - both paws clenched into firm fists.

"So, Bao Shen," she smoothly questioned. "Why don't we all drop the pretense?"

Tai Lung growled in pleasure, ripping off the outfit that had been keeping him dormant for so long. The clothes flew gently down to the ground, as the snow leopard flexed his thick chest and breathed in heavy air.

"Took you long enough," Tai Lung retorted, smiling sadistically. "Don't worry. I won't let you all live long enough to see what I do to Shifu and the Valley."

Use the nerve attack immediately, boy.

Do not waste time. Or allow the bird to fly them back before you arrive.

Tigress roared, leaping forward hard enough to split the grassfield she had been standing on.

A straight punch, extended perfectly from the front. Tai Lung effortlessly twisted around, grabbing her waistband to throw her a distance away.

"Even with your little looping trick, it'll only take me a few days to reach the Valley!" Tai Lung screamed triumphantly. "You were fools to face me…"

Tigress growled, a sense of regret filling her. What he had said was true - they had only recently begun to turn back the damage they had done, the time they had wasted personally escorting him to the Valley - and like Tai Lung had stated, he was very, very close to the Palace - even after the loop.

"Swear loyalty to me," Tai Lung offered, smiling as the other four masters readied themselves around him. "And I just may spare your worthless lives."

"NOW!" Tigress yelled.

The Five converged on the snow leopard, visibility enhanced by the lack of trees and vegetation.

Crane dove underneath the legs. Monkey sprinted behind, barreling forward. Viper twisted herself onto Tai Lung's head. Mantis sprinted through the camouflaged grassland, making his way to Tai Lung's feet. Tigress readied herself for another straight punch.

Tai Lung grinned, taking a moment to appreciate how far ahead his skills were.

He hopped gently over Crane's dive, stepping savagely to crush a talon. Simultaneously, he rotated sideways, oscillating his leg perfectly to whip Monkey into the sky. Viper's shocked response had doomed her - Tai Lung grabbed her by the tail, smashing her against the ground with groundbreaking force.

He shoved two thick fingers at Mantis and Viper's weary forms.

"EEK!"

"NO - ARGH!"

Tips of blue light emitted in circles, the second Tai Lung's fingers made contact with their bodies. Their bodies did not move afterwards.

Tai Lung leaped up, watching the force of his kick still leave Monkey in the air.

He smiled.

Tai Lung smashed his paw onto Monkey's chest - massive wave of blue light spreading like wildfire from the contact.

Monkey came crashing down to the ground. The snow leopard landed softly in front of him.

Tai Lung bared his claws, grinning at Crane groaning on the ground, clutching the broken talon. Tai Lung whipped around, not seeing the last member of the Five.

Tigress appeared suddenly, body lunging with her leg extended forward.

"AUGH!"

The foot made solid contact with Tai Lung's chest, sending him spiraling several feet backward. He rolled back, clutching his chest with mocking appreciation.

"I'm impressed," Tai Lung delivered harshly, claws extended. "In another world - you and I may have been brother and sister."

Tigress' eyes flashed dangerously orange.

She launched forward again, multiple limbs in perfect, coordinated movement.

A straight punch.

A twisting uppercut kick.

A shoulder ram.

A tail whip.

A headbutt.

Yet none of them made contact with Tai Lung.

The sound of Tigress cutting through air whizzed by the snow leopard's ears. She varied her attacks more, going more intensely than ever.

"Yet - " Tai Lung noted, speaking in between dodges. "You - should - always - show - respect - to - your - older - brother."

Tai Lung grabbed Tigress' leg mid-sidekick, twisting it inordinately forwards to fracture the knee.

"AGH!" Tigress yelled.

Tai Lung's nostrils flared, detecting a bird scent just begin to approach him from behind. He dragged Tigress by the broken knee, ignoring her roars of pain - then threw her directly behind him.

A solid, satisfying thump.

Tigress crashed into Crane mid-flight, halting his attack.

Both bodies fell to the ground loosely. Tai Lung smiled.

A whizzing noise. He turned to his left.

A green, nearly invisible speck of light came rushing through the cold air. Tai Lung jettisoned two fingers out, making contact with the center of Mantis' tiny frame.

The insect fell rigidly to the ground.

"THIS IS THE BEST THE VALLEY HAS TO OFFER?!" Tai Lung roared, staring at the sky. "THIS IS THE SO-CALLED, FURIOUS FIVE!?"

Tai Lung stepped forward, roughly kicking Crane's body several feet away. He leaned down, watching Tigress attempt to right herself.

"Tell me where the Dragon Scroll is," Tai Lung growled.

Tigress clenched her teeth, spitting out a loose bit of blood into Tai Lung's face.

He wiped it off, malicious smile back in full force.

DO NOT WASTE TIME, BOY.

GET THE HOMING BEACON.

DO.

AS.

I.

SAY.

The high-pitched whizzing came back, ripping through Tai Lung's head. He screamed, savagely punching down onto Tigress' face.

"I!" the snow leopard yelled, punching between each breath. "AM! TAI! LUNG! I! DO! WHAT! I! WANT!"

The final punch came down hard enough to push Tigress into the ground.

Tai Lung breathed heavily, high-pitched noise gone. Tigress twitched on the floor, orange fur lining her face now covered in mild purple and black splotches.

YOU.

ARE.

MY.

SLAVE.

It didn't come as a high-pitched ringing anymore.

It felt like Tai Lung had just walked into a bell.

"AUGH! AHHHHH!"

He yelled, tumbling onto his feet and shaking his head in fury - noise only intensifying with every vocal protest. Tai Lung knelt down, grasping the sides of his head to make the pain stop.

But it never did.

Tigress watched a few feet away, coughing out more blood. She turned to Crane, still lying limply to her side.

"C - Crane," she let out weakly. "F - Fly us - back…"

This seemed to reignite the avian master's courage. Crane forced himself to his feet, grasping at Tigress with his unbroken talon. He used a wing to shove Mantis and Monkey into Tigress' arms. Tigress kicked Mantis into the air, who landed perfectly on Crane's back. The bird proceeded to clutch Viper gently in his beak, tears mildly forming.

She wasn't moving. None of them were.

THEY'RE GETTING AWAY, YOU FOOL.

STOP.

THEM.

"I STOP THEM WHEN I WANT TO STOP THEM!" Tai Lung howled.

Tigress couldn't care what was happening. With a wordless signal to Crane, the bird flew forward - grasping the other four Masters firmly. They watched Tai Lung gradually disappear from sight, continuing to bash his head against the ground and scream at a force that no one had fully understood yet.

. . .

After packing weeks' worth of food (mostly sealed noodle bowls and tofu buns), fashioning himself cheap but sturdy garments made from Po's discarded burlap apparel, selectively mapping a route out of the Valley and well beyond the Wu Dan mountains - Alf was confident that his exit route would be mostly foolproof.

He had already routed away from the Thread of Hope, the bridge that he was almost certain Tai Lung would use to cross into the Valley - and elected a winding, seldom-mapped part of the Valley that lead to deliberately inhospitable, mountainous terrain. All the maps Alf could find (or peek at) ended at the Wu Dan mountains - so he had little idea of what lay beyond there. However, he also knew that his only requirement was to find safe places to rest in before stumbling upon a different province. Two factors inspired Alf to venture forward: his own newfound courage, and of course - Yu's promise of company. Somehow, it felt more bearable to know that no matter where he ended up in, no matter how many new villagers would likely try to kill or maim him on eye contact - there was someone else to work with him.

A team.

Now only Po remained.

A small part of Alf felt a twinge of regret. He had known nothing outside of the Valley since birth, and despite all of its bigoted residents - he had grudgingly called it part of his home. No longer.

However, a much larger part of Alf - one that tied itself to the newfound courage - felt an incredible sense of excitement. Opportunity.

Fresh starts. New beginnings.

And that insane optimism, coupled with the sweltering heat of midday sun - made Alf considerably less rational than normal.

"This is so stupid…"

"Shut up Yu," Alf insisted. "Help me up."

Yu sighed. She had no idea why Alf was suddenly becoming more stupid, electing to spend a hot afternoon hoisting himself onto the same boulder they had stopped by so often outside the Valley - trying to wedge the tip of the rock between his neck and the collar.

"Okay, I'm going to slowly let myself slide down," Alf began, keeping a firm grip on the rock jutting out, legs dangling at least ten feet from the grassland. "You get on top - and hit the edge of the collar as hard as you can, with this rock - okay?"

Yu gave Alf a quizzical look. In theory, the experiment could work - the spike-shaped boulder was positioned at a moderate angle where Alf could cling to the underside and gently wedge the tip of the boulder between his neck and the collar - and if Yu hit hard enough at the top, the collar should break in two pieces.

But the collar was made of metal - and of all the metals it could be fashioned out of - it was Seeker metal.

Yu had never seen anything made by the Seekers break. She wondered whether it was even possible.

Another big problem - if the metal took too long to break, Alf's back could snap in two as he would essentially be hanging himself with his own collar. Yu made a joke about this that was promptly ignored by Alf.

"You sure you wanna do this?" Yu asked again, leaping atop the boulder, watching Alf's head poke out from underneath - arms fastened around the tip of the large rock.

"I've gotta try," Alf emphasized. "One last time."

Yu readied herself. Alf let go of his grip.

Choking motions. Alf wheezed desperately, body loosely hanging itself from the tip of the rock.

Yu immediately brought a sharp, spiked piece of stone - bringing it down hard on the edges of the metal collar.

"H - Hard - Harder…" Alf breathed, back of his neck nearly crushing itself. "Ju - Just - a little - "

Yu used both hands now, bringing them down as hard as possible onto the metallic collar.

Not even a single scratch appeared.

"Y - Yu…"

Alf's eyes were closing slowly. His body was sagging uncomfortably outward. His arms weren't pulling at the collar at the other end - it began drifting at his sides.

"Screw this," Yu forced, kicking the collar away from her.

Alf slide off the tip of the rock, collapsing onto the soft grassland below him. Yu jumped down instantly, making her way to his side with a soft sigh.

She prodded at his face gently. "Alf. Alf. Come on…"

Alf's eyes methodically opened up. "Did - Is it off?"

Yu frowned sadly. Alf's fingers traced his neck - failing to find skin, hitting hard metal instead.

A soft whimper. Alf closed his eyes, lip quivering.

"Man - just - screw this whole Valley…"

Yu pulled Alf to his feet, placing two hands on his shoulders reassuringly. "We'll find a way. Maybe not now. But we will."

Alf spent another few seconds in silent wails, gathering himself and wiping away from fresh moisture from his eyes.

"Yeah I know," Alf nodded, slight doubt giving itself away. "Worth a try I guess…"

Yu tried to change the subject, sitting next to him and under the shade of the large boulder.

"So what's the plan?" she inquired gently, punching him in the right arm. "You said Wu Dan mountains, right?"

"Yeah, the Southern Path away from the Valley - straight into Wu Dan," Alf reiterated, letting his head rest against the side of the boulder. "It'll be only a few hours till we get lost in those mountains."

"You know how to survive in there?" Yu asked with a smirk.

"I've survived the Valley," Alf noted. "Those mountains'll probably be like a bowl of dumplings. Anyway, staying there isn't the point - we keep moving."

"How long?"

"I'm guessing at least six weeks. Hard to tell with all the crappy maps… but after that, we should be close to a new province."

Yu laughed, shaking her head. "Is that your best guess?"

Alf nodded slowly. "Yep. Beats staying here and getting killed by Tai Lung."

"I suppose…"

"You know," Alf noted, winking back at her. "You're always free to stay back…"

"And miss watching you getting mauled by bandits or bloodthirsty insects?" Yu let out with a chuckle. "No way!"

Alf smiled. He enjoyed how casual this felt, how honest he could be with her, how real the conversations went - it's almost as if someone reimagined his soul into a fox's body.

"And you're gonna definitely start learning about your past?" Yu tried again, winking.

"Yes yes yes, by the Scrolls!" Alf noted, tired of answering the same question.

"Whaddya think happened?"

"Probably there were a bunch of weakling monkeys who made weakling babies who got tortured for years into becoming the Seekers. And then a magical rhino poop swallowed them all and made them all suddenly vanish."

Yu giggled, having expected a non-serious response. "What about Po?"

Alf had predicted this question as well. "I'm gonna ask him later tonight."

Yu noted Alf's unreadable expression. She offered a sympathetic smile. "He'll say yes, Alf. Eventually he's gonna snap out of this whole Dragon Warrior thing."

"It's not being the Dragon Warrior that's the problem," Alf corrected. "It's the time. I - I can understand what Po's going through - has been going through - for his entire life."

He paused, trying to adjust his thoughts accordingly. "But - even if Shifu trains him, I mean come on - Tai Lung's a legend. Who's been trained his entire life."

"Po's barely had a month or two," Yu concluded. "Yeah - I get it."

"Even Tigress started training when she was a kid," Alf emphasized. "And even she's got twenty years less experience than Tai Lung does. Once he finishes Shifu and Tigress - the rest of the Palace won't have a chance. Po included."

"Maybe you should shove your collar onto him," Yu noted, guffaws coming out slowly. "Maybe that could stop the mighty Tai Lung!"

Alf cackled in hilarity. "Oh! How the mighty Tai Lung was - shocked to defeat! Oh the Valley would have a field day…"

"But yeah, I get it Alf," Yu returned, shaking her head again. "We need to somehow make Po see the reality of the situation."

Alf turned his head down, memories overflooding him. "He's - he's my best friend. Like - my brother. If there's one person in this whole Valley that I couldn't leave, knowing that he's gonna die - "

"It would be me," Yu cut across, smiling. "Right?"

"You're not a he, moron," Alf suggested sarcastically. "Why don't you try paying attention?"

Yu giggled, grasping a handful of dark grass and throwing it at Alf's face.

"Maybe I am a he! Maybe you're a she!"

"I know I'm not a girl, Yu…"

"How do Seeker genders even work? Do you guys have the same thing between your - "

"YU!"

"HAHAHA! CLEARLY NOT!"

. . .

It surprised Po how much kung fu he had learned without throwing a single punch.

Weeks of climbing the mountain - leading to the Pool of Sacred Tears - had given him an incredible amount of leg strength, and endurance. Hours upon hours learning to look at hot noodles (yet not eat any) while doing push ups on hot coals, taught him focus and the ability to resist pain. Doing spiritual movements with Shifu, balancing bowls of hot noodles on multiple limbs, defending his food from sudden staff attacks (again, from Shifu) - Po had learned kung fu before learning kung fu.

Throwing a punch. Kicking. Jumping.

Even the split.

It all came naturally now.

It felt - almost intuitive.

Instinctual.

As if he had been ready for this - his entire life.

So it came as a great surprise to him, when Shifu sat him down in the afternoon - still on the mountaintop, albeit a grassy, more moderately flattened out area - and put a bowl of hot dumplings in front of him.

"After you, panda," Shifu noted, taking a seat on the ground.

"Just like that?" Po queried, eyes wide open. "No - "

"Nope, nope, and no," Shifu correctly predicted. "You are free to ea - "

"Po?"

Shifu's gaze whipped around, seeing Alf approach along with Yu. The two of them made their way cautiously towards Po. Two large bags were strapped alongside their backs.

Shifu's eyes hardened, voice reducing to a cruel whisper. "Fleshling… you are interrupting the Dragon Warrior's training…"

"AHA!" Po exclaimed, standing up triumphantly. "I KNEW THERE WAS A CATCH!"

Po steadied himself immediately however, noting the tension of the situation. He wordlessly motioned to Shifu, begging for some time to speak to Alf and Yu.

"One minute," Shifu forced, standing up to pick up the staff and pace away.

"Thank you, Master," Po returned, eyeing the two bags Alf and Yu had with amusement. "What's up guys? What's the dealio with the baggios?"

"Baggios?" Yu remarked, astonished.

"We're leaving the Valley," Alf whispered, straightforward but gentle at the same time.

Po's immediate response was to break out into a laugh. "HAH! Good one bro - I get it."

Alf and Yu remained resolute. Po stopped smiling immediately.

"Dude - are you seriously - like - " Po began, eyebrows tense. " - leaving me?"

Alf sighed, knowing Po would take it this way. "Not you man - I mean come on - you're like a brother to me."

Po's smile came back, but it was off-color and a bit morose. "Brothers don't leave brothers."

"That's why we want you to come with us!" Yu squealed, beating Alf to the punch. "Just - "

"Guys," Po remarked, letting out an equal sigh. "I told you - I'm not ditching. This is - "

"PANDA! LOOK!"

At first, Po thought it was Shifu's voice telling him to stop talking, and that his time was up - but he turned his attention to the clear blue sky, where a far more unsettling appearance came.

A bird was flapping. Descending rapidly under all the weight it was carrying.

Crane. Holding the rest of the Five.

They crashed down to the grassland, letting loose an earthy spurt of dust.

Po immediately sprinted alongside Shifu to the area Crane had crashed onto. Curiosity drove Alf forward, following Po. Only Yu seemed to correctly deduce what had happened, taking slow but sure steps towards the rest of the group.

Alf gasped. Except for Crane and Tigress, none of the Five were moving. Tigress' face seemed wounded into submission. Her leg was twisted in an impossible manner.

Mantis lay still. Viper was motionless. Monkey looked frozen.

Po felt a peculiar feeling coming up - one that Alf had been warning him about, and the same feeling Shifu had taught him to ignore.

Regret.

Fear.

Hopelessness.

And - as much as Po resisted the idea - Alf was right.

The feelings were real. Stronger than his other emotions.

Reality, Po wondered, heart skipping beats left and right.

Still shaking on the ground, Tigress turned her bruised face upwards. Her next words came out in careful, weak wheezes - and everyone present meditated on every single letter, helped by the gravity of the statement.

"We failed. Tai Lung will be here in a few hours."

Tigress faded into unconsciousness.

And then it finally hit Po - that overwhelming feeling that he had shoved aside for so many weeks, the feeling Alf had probably been trying to shed light on…

He wasn't ready.

He didn't have time to get ready.

None of them did.

Po looked at Alf. The boy clutched at his bag tighter - eyes begging the panda to do what they now both knew to be the only feasible, rational thing left.


A/N

I'd say easily the most depressing chapter so far - and I usually write dark stories (not this one, ofc :)), so believe me - this feels sad to me too!

But then again, this happened in KFP as well - but obviously, there are a lot of new twists and plot points that may impact later on - HEHE.

Sorry - it's just giddy to tease audiences while knowing the answers. Trust me - I've felt the same reading some of your guys' fics. (Yes, I actually do that!)

Blah blah amazing support blah blah I'm humbled blah blah… :D

~TW

P.S: Glad to see everyone loving me moving away from KFP plot/dialogue. I think partly the reason why I stuck to the script for so long (esp. In earlier chapters) was to help establish Alf's character (sort of show how in Po's world, he really is sort of seen like a side piece - despite the fact that he isn't!). I've planned out Alf's arc to be long and fulfilling, so stick around!

P.P.S: Check out KingUnderTheHill's stuff! He's got a killer Ke-Pa story that does something I've never seen before - make KFP: LoA look halfway decent?