"Questions and Answers"


Although Zhong didn't believe it, he was actually following this old goat.

He was surprised how much stamina she had. The Soothsayer had beckoned Zhong alongside herself for at least five thousand paces away from Gongmen - indeed, the length of the Chinese terrain - outfitted with heavy dirt and luminous stretches of grassland - glistened under the brandishing moonlight. Zhong - under the service of Shen and months of pillaging metal from villages - had never taken the time to appreciate the scenery around the blasted city. Almost immediately once they left the city boundaries, a splurge of wild grass and tall lilies came bursting from the ground, with no other artificial structures in sight - and along with the mud stretches surrounding the city, Zhong felt almost feral once more, as a cub who gleefully trotted along with the peacock whilst playing outside Gongmen.

How he wished for those days to return.

"You seem buried in thought," the goat whispered beside the Boss Wolf, flashing him a confused glare. "You're not going to ask me where we're going?"

"You know, when I was young - Shen and I would race around the city," Zhong chuckled, losing himself in nostalgia as he walked. "Cheeky little dude. Always managed to beat me…"

"Why are you remembering that, out of all the things?" the goat queried.

"Because even back then, Shen had some - some edge to him," Zhong muttered, eyes narrowing. "The need to compete, to win, to destroy any opponents - only my dumbass actually thought it was a friendly race - he thought it was life or death."

The Soothsayer stopped her tread, gently holding the larger wolf back.

"Why did you join his army?" the goat whispered. "You don't look the type to enjoy killing - stealing - and Scrolls know what else."

Zhong snorted, staring up at the sky. "Why does anyone do anything? Because it was easy."

The goat waited for Zhong to continue his explanation.

"You're older than me, so you know it better than most," Zhong uttered. "There was a time when wolves weren't thought of as - uh - the best citizens in people's eyes."

Zhong turned away, threatening to get lost in thought again. "My mother was a carpenter and my father was addicted to opium - heh, we grew up next to the damn sewers of Gongmen."

He paused, warmth collecting behind his eyes.

Zhong quickly suppressed it. "Back then, you know how the city was split - the rich and the middle class in the nice center of the city. The lower class and poor guys - mostly wolves - fended off the outside lines, and in my case - the sewers."

The Soothsayer lightly hazarded a touch to Zhong's forearm. "It's gotten better now."

"You could say," Zhong returned immediately. "At least - I guess having a warlord take over your city screws up the gentrification anyway…"

The old goat smiled.

"...but that was my situation, nearly twenty-something years ago." Zhong emphasized. "Starving, unable parents, picked on because of what I looked like - and most of all - angry."

"At your situation," the Soothsayer noted. "At your life."

"Not just that," Zhong forced, beginning to circle in the dirt now. "It was - it was the fact that the same rich assholes who threw apples and arrows at me - those were the same morons who got the nice, fancy houses. It wasn't just anger…"

"You were feeling violent," the goat finished for him. "Anarchist."

"I was - I guess looking back on it - an extremist," Zhong noted, recollecting his youth. "And then - one day while I'm scouring the local trash cans for some spring rolls - along comes this peacock."

The Soothsayer stared harder at Zhong, more excited now that Shen was beginning to get referenced.

Zhong seemed to recall the memory fondly. "He was - angrier than me. At first look he looked like a city kid - I'd heard he was the son of the peacocks who ruled Gongmen - but he didn't sound like it."

"How did he sound like?"

Zhong paused again, trying to recall details. "Fierce. Sympathetic to the lower class. Dude looked like even as a kid - he was capable of killing."

Zhong stopped the recall, growing frustrated at another sign he had missed - Shen's personality had been evident since the beginning - he just didn't understand it until now.

"So this young, angry, poor wolf links up with this rich, royalty boy - and as soon as I rolled over to his side…" Zhong stopped, trying to choose his next words carefully. "... I figure that's when he started to realize he could do anything he wanted. Even - even kill an entire - "

Zhong stopped, staring at the sky again as he growled. The Soothsayer, as empathetic as ever, moved over to his side and watched the brilliant moonlight above them. She squeezed his paw in gentle reassurance.

"Not all the fault is on you," the goat mentioned quietly. "I knew him since he was born. I knew him - even as he suckled milk from his mother - how innocent he was… I never could have foretold what he did to the pandas…"

Zhong sniffled, looking away.

The Soothsayer stood up confidently, placing a hoof on Zhong's shoulder. "Zhong - I'd rather wait a bit until we look at your - feelings with what you've done for Shen. Just know two things: everyone can come back from the bottom, and sometimes - we get bigger tasks to do."

Zhong smiled genuinely back at her, feeling his soul uplift a bit. "Thanks - wait bigger tasks? Whaddya mean?"

The Soothsayer pointed ahead.

Zhong shifted his head upwards, just now noticing a massive tunnel that seemed randomly placed in the middle of nowhere - well outside of Gongmen, well outside of the dirt path they were on, and completely burrowing deep into the ground. It was huge, cylindrical, and had some sort of makeshift wooden elevator leading downward.

"Let's go down there," the Soothsayer noted with a smile. "I bet we can find all sorts of things down there - a cave, perhaps?"

Zhong's mouth went open.

There was no way.

She couldn't know.

Shen had told no one.

Why was she bringing them - there?

How the hell did she know?

"Follow me," the old goat finished with a smirk.

. . .

It was genius.

Absolutely genius.

Yu pushed past the crowded streets of Gongmen - perhaps a bit irritated that it was still crowded at midnight, but later acknowledged it as evidence Shen wasn't actively too involved in the city's affairs… with any luck, he was still off fighting the Five and Po in his idiotic Factory. The moonlight was enough to swathe the red roofs and brown dirt roads with a mild reflective quality, nothing unburdened by the heavily reduced wolf guard that would usually terrorize the city.

But the real reason Yu was excited was because of the person she was following - and the conversation she had just had a few moments ago.

"Come with me if you want to find your friend."

It was only one line.

But it was enough.

It was too specific.

Yu didn't care how the man knew.

The figure in front of her - walking against the flow of the crowd and blending in perfectly due to his average height and long brown coat - had the top of his fur prickling as he made his way down the densely packed street. The bigger issue was that he had grey fur with black stripes - a sign auspiciously too close to Tai Lung's demeanor (which brought up bad memories for Yu) - but she shrugged this aside as he fixated on Alf.

Following him therefore, was difficult - but not impossible.

Yu kept up the speed, noting the crowd dissipate gradually as she followed the snow leopard into a less crowded alleyway, lined with high cement walls. It was quite narrow and tall - so the citizens naturally left it alone.

Within another few moments, Yu felt more confident - following the snow leopard alone through the narrow corridor.

"How do you know him?"

Yu stopped, seeing the blank, neutral face of the snow leopard peek through underneath his brown hood.

"How do I - " Yu paused, confused that the leopard was speaking more now. " - whaddya mean? Who are you? I mean - "

"I ask you again - what is your connection to the Seeker?" the leopard calmly reiterated.

Yu paused, narrowing her eyes. The stranger's voice was neutral and soft, but there was an underlying element of seriousness to it. Still, it made her uneasy - no less helped by the complete lack of information and length of time she had on the guy.

"I - I consider myself his friend," Yu lied, wishing she could say the truth.

The snow leopard sighed, moving closer to stare even harder at Yu. "The next series of questions I'm going to ask you is the last chance for you to find your friend. Answer them correctly - and I'll tell you where he is. If not - "

"Wait who are you?" Yu interrupted, frustrated of the redundant I know information you don't know routine. "How about you start answering some of my questions? I - "

"Name Hafthor, I'm part of the Yongshi, I was sent here after our messenger scroll was activated."

Yu felt utterly baffled - for two reasons. One was the sheer volume of revelations that had been uttered in the short span of a few words, while another was the surprise that for once in her life - information was given to her with no hassle, no fighting, and no violence.

Was she dreaming?

"Um - " Yu mentioned, at a loss for words. " - um - what the - Hafthor? That doesn't sound like a Chinese na - "

"I am not from this land," Hafthor responded smoothly. "I come from a land called Europa."

Yu quelled her immediate excitement, rushing up to get closer to the snow leopard - she made a double take, making sure no one was around to see their conversation. Thankfully, only the concrete alleyway surrounded them.

"We've been searching for answers about Alf for nearly two years!" Yu whispered, excitement spreading. "We solved your guys' riddle! Well, I guess I did - but anyway - "

She paused. Yu just forcefully reminded herself of how much time she had spent away from Alf - and all the madness that had occurred since then. He didn't know about the Yongshi, about Shifu's arrival, about Po's - weird, suspicious new personality - she had to see him! It had begen so long since Yu had talked to him that for a moment, she was more angry at him than anything - then the fox realized he was likely still being tortured by Shen.

"Believe me, we are well aware of you and the Seekers' activities," Hafthor responded, face still unnaturally calm. "That is partially the reason why they have sent me."

"Wait wait," Yu stopped again, flooding her mind with suppressed questions. "There's more of you guys? What - what do you guys do, exactly?"

Hafthor scratched at his chin fur for a moment, turning around and pacing before continuing. "Our network is - vast. The only thing I am qualified to say is that - we watch the world's events. News. Crises."

"You guys are some creepy cult," Yu blubbered thoughtlessly as Hafthor kept his neutral expression. "But you guys aren't bad - right?"

Hafthor remained silent.

"Never mind," Yu continued. "Do you guys - erm - have like - a leader?"

Hafthor shook his head almost immediately. "No - but - well… if the Yongshi ever had a leader - it would be Wang."

Yu paused, holding the name in her memory - trying desperately to think whether she had heard the name before.

Nothing.

"Does he know about Shen and his cannons?" Yu at once let out. "So you guys just sit back and let an entire land just tear itself apart because of a dictator!?"

"We are occupied with bigger things at the moment." Hafthor replied smoothly.

"Bigger than China?"

"Now is the time for you to answer my questions," Hafthor finished, ignoring her words. "Are you ready?"

Yu felt taken aback. Was she supposed to "ready herself" to answer some basic questions? Was Hafthor going insane?

"Whaddya mean - "

"What is his height, weight, body morphology, strange pecularities, and overall disposition?"

Yu again felt the need to laugh at the leopard's ridiculously static demeanor. "Heh - what the hell are you on, bro?"

"Answer the questions, please."

Yu sighed, choosing to answer only because it felt very redundant - and because she desperately needed to know where Alf was. "Okay um - he's tallish, I guess - I mean he looks lean and well - um, well proportioned - he's charming and funny and - "

The fox felt lost in thought. Despite the fact that nearly everyone who ever encountered Alf ridiculed him for his physical features (probably because they were comparing him to some myth that never even existed) - Yu had never once found his physique or face to be unattractive. But that was the main error in dealing with extreme individuals like Alf - for everyone to focus excessively on how he looked, how tall and intimidating he should have been for a Seeker - they missed the simple guy underneath, the dude who felt very much like everyone else all the time. In fact, as far as Yu could tell - if everyone didn't so obsessively remind Alf of how different he was, the Seeker might one day actually believe himself to be - normal. Although there was certainly some sort of primal attraction she felt for him, the deeper feelings were subsieged under admiration and affection - admiration over his patience, his kindness, and most importantly - his heart. For her, everything that seemed to make Alf "different" from other folks wasn't what drew her to him - it was more with the way he carried himself, his persistence in dealing with the people's biases and judgementality, and on a more tragic level perhaps - the romanticized feelings of two outcasts bonding over how "outcasted" they were. For Yu - she had never thought of him as a Seeker.

And no one seemed to notice that.

"Peculiarities?" Hafthor continued brainlessly. "Disposition?"

The fox sighed, resuming her dialogue. "Ergh - he's been having some nightmares recently - something about some dude in a cloak - saying evolution is inevitable or something - and ergh - Alf's friendly, at least to people he likes."

Hafthor looked completely still for a moment. Then:

"Thank you. Go 5000 paces outside of Gongmen's South Entrance. Take a tunnel down. You'll find your friend in a cave."

Hafthor turned to leave down the alleyway.

"Wait!" Yu called out, happy to finally get the information but even more curious all the same. "I still have more questions!"

But Hafthor had already disappeared into the crowd.

. . .

In an area, there was a home. This was a home that was scenically placed and quite beautiful to look at, at least from the outside - lush grassland and tall lilies surrounding the small area, with its gentle thatched roofs and brick walls. It was by no means a rich home, but it was decent and well-presented - an oasis found seemingly in the middle of a beautiful nowhere, with nothing but vast stretches of paddy fields and grass as far as the eye could see around it. The sole occupants of the home were currently inside, and completely shielded from outside viewership - which of course, was intentional. The home didn't look like it had cared for many visitors before and judging by its fresh paint and custom layering - it was constantly kept in clean, ship-shape condition.

All of this encouraged Alf to go peeking inside.

The Seeker gently traipsed across the stone path leading forward, arriving at a medium-sized wooden door.

Alf knocked gently.

The door inched forward.

It wasn't locked.

Even more behooved to investigate now, Alf gently prodded at the swinging door until it gave him enough space to squeeze past - just getting a hint of dark torchlight reflecting into the house's interior.

He walked in.

It looked pleasant. The furniture was a kind of ornate, but still affordable kind - with dragon symbols and clouds painted over the walls and ceiling, with a high caliber rug scheme decorating the floor. The house was modest - with just three rooms - but it was enough. A gentle glance inside would reveal beds and cots positioned close to one another.

The most startling thing however - was two beds placed directly in the living room - awkward, and jutting out.

On top were two very aged, coughing silver foxes.

They were covered by a thick brown blanket, which did nothing to take away from their horrible appearance. They both held each other's hands, dangling off the edges of their beds.

A noise. Alf swiveled.

A young silver fox had just entered from a different room, brandishing a sharp knife.

Alf felt like doing something, but was compelled not to.

The young fox walked to both beds.

She quickly slit both foxes' throats.

Crying.

From all around the house.

Alf felt the walls cave in. The young fox ran out of the house.

Green mist.

. . .

He was inside a different house this time. Not exactly a house - but a broken series of images. Large, flashing glances at scattered pictures came flying by as Alf wondered why his head was hurting. He was falling, at least visually - but he couldn't quite make out what the purpose of the images beside him. It almost felt like falling through a large glass box - where mirrors would come running towards him and bash him across the head. Yet the shards of glass never appeared - only minute fragments of green mist.

Alf struggled to shove his head up.

He saw a large, black, spiked cannon.

An unnecessary fear shot through him.

It compressed.

In and in.

Smaller and smaller.

It fell into his hand.

"What the hell?" Alf spoke out loud, still dodging the glass panes as they came at him from all directions.

A loop of metal coiled around his finger. Alf moved his palm.

The cannon fired green mist.

. . .

He was back into the house again.

But it was different now.

It didn't even feel like the house.

Alf walked outside, letting cool moonlight bathe his raw skin. He was frighteningly unaware of his own body - and couldn't see most of it - but his vision was shaking. The world, already under darkness and nighttime - felt even colder. Alf moved forward with an adamant step, annoyed at having so much time to himself in the past few hours. The grassland was helping - or at least, it felt like it was - because he saw her within seconds of walking out into it.

Yu.

Alf rushed over to her side, chest heaving.

A large gash was left on her neck. A crimson axe was wedged into her skull. Her back was disjointed.

Alf's breaths grew more and more frightened.

"Yu!"

No answer.

"YU!"

Still nothing.

"YUUUUU!"

The grassland morphed, green mist spreading again.

The cloaked man came back.

"It was inevitable. Evolution."

. . .

"YU!"

"STOP - WILL YA JUST SHUT UP FOR CRYING OUT LOUD?!"

Alf kept his eyes ferocious, waiting to see Yu's body close by.

But it wasn't there.

He focused himself. Gone was the green mist, the cloaked man, the house, the grassland, and all the mirrors. Alf struggled against his limbs as a tearing sensation began going through his body - or rather, returning to him. Sharp bursts of pain flooded his senses as he realized he was strapped down by something.

The same belts.

Alf was on the table again. Blood loss was slowly oozing out from the various gashes and cuts that had split into his body so lethargically, and the same horrid cave was present around him. The stalagmites offered little company of course, and Alf was even more shocked that he was somehow bound back to the table, and every bit as injured as he had remembered - had the voice screwed up? Had he gone back in time? Had he traveled to the wrong "dimension" - whatever the hell that meant?

A big proof of this, was the Soothsayer and the Wolf Boss standing right beside him.

"Come on kid," Zhong uttered. "Let's get you out of these things…"

The old goat watched the wolf with pride.

"Screw you," Alf noted, voice coughing out in wheezes. "You - you son of a - whaddya - did Shen send your dumb behind to come torture me?"

Alf already hated this timeline.

Zhong paused, frustrated. "I'm - I'm not really rolling with the peacock anymore…"

The old goat smiled a few feet away.

"Yeah right," Alf situated. "You're nothing but a piece of - what the - oh."

Zhong had already unfastened the metal straps that had pinned him down. He moved back, letting Alf observe for himself.

"What the hell?" Alf moaned, trying to sit up but feeling his body cave in under the effort. "What - what kinda game is this?"

"No game," the Soothsayer interrupted gently. "Consider this - a new change in the prophecy."

"Yeah not really a big fan of prophecies," Alf coughed out. "So - what happens now? You guys gonna - gonna kill me?"

Zhong and the Soothsayer stood immediately quiet, as the Boss Wolf shook his head. Alf almost felt like the wolf had been expecting this, and the goat was calming him down about it. Reluctantly, he walked forward.

"Zhong," the Wolf Boss introduced, gently resting his grizzled palm on Alf's bloody one - as he gently pulled the latter into a sitting position. "I think I caught your name was Alf? I gotta say - it's crazy seeing an actual Seeker in person… and to think I thought you were some escort…"

"Yes truly fascinating," the old goat proclaimed, walking closer to observe Alf's features. "Notwithstanding the brutality Shen has obviously put you through - you're remarkable."

Alf wasn't sure what the hell was happening. He desperately wanted to elbow this "Zhong" guy in the face, jump over the old goat and find the ship - maybe activating it's features would return it to a different "dimension"? The voice had to have specified that.

"Screw this," Alf noted, too weak to physically attack Zhong. "I need to find the ship. I need to - "

Yet to his surprise - the ship was nowhere to be seen. Only the cave surrounded him, irking him with its cold emptiness. Alf's vision bounced off the slightly reflective rock surfaces, showing the vastness of the entire cave.

"Where the hell did the ship go?" Alf wheezed, still forced to rely on Zhong for support.

"Actually I was going to ask you that," Zhong emphasized, placing another paw to steady the bleeding Seeker. "It's not even - well, it just seemed like it disappeared."

"No no no - " Alf groaned, summoning a herculean effort to stand up and get off the table as he limped around in paces. " - no. The ship - the dimensions - no… it was right here! I need it! This dimension must be different…"

"Dimension?" the Soothsayer worded. "What does that mean?"

"Listen I DON'T HAVE TIME TO ARGUE THIS SHIT WITH YOU GUYS!" Alf roared, feeling ferocity surge through him. "I NEED TO SAVE THE FIVE! I NEED TO GO BACK AND SAVE PO BEFORE THEY DIE IN THE FACTORY!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Zhong bit in, annoyed to have the boy suddenly upset. "Your friends already destroyed the Factory like two days ago - didn't nab Shen though."

"No no no - " Alf warned. "No no they died - they all died because Shen - he - well the ship did something to alter the quantum erm - flux? I think? They all - uh…"

Alf's head was hurting again - and this time, it wasn't the blood loss.

The Soothsayer walked closer to Alf, examining him with care. "How long have you been down here, boy?"

Alf paced, trying to recollect his memories. "I - I - "

A fear was growing within him.

How did he not know how much time had been spent here?

An hour?

A day?

A week?

It felt like he was going crazy.

"I - I - I don't know…" Alf continued. "I - I just remember fighting Shen - the Tower collapsing - then this freaking cave… and the dimensions…"

"What the hell are dimensions?" Zhong forced, interest piquing now. "Is that some kinda Seeker word?"

"IT'S NOT A DAMN SEEKER WORD!" Alf yelled, feeling his throat seize up in emotion. "LISTEN - THAT SHIP CHANGED THE WHOLE UH - WORLD, OKAY!? TO REVERSE THE CHANGE - "

"NOTHING HAS CHANGED!" Zhong screamed back. "YOU WERE CAPTURED AND TORTURED! TWO DAYS LATER, THIS OLD GOAT CONVINCES ME TO COME HELP YOU OUT - AND THIS IS THE THANKS I GET?!"

"Zhong, easy," the Soothsayer forced. "The Seeker isn't - isn't right in the head. Boy - what about these dimensions were - "

Alf walked away, feeling his mind having an internal seizure. Why wasn't the voice coming back? What happened to the ship? Why was Zhong saying the Five and Po were alive - and already destroyed the Factory? Why did he not know about how long he was here?

"ALF!"

"ALF!

Two distinct voices. The rushing sounds of wind moving.

One voice was a fox's. One was a praying mantis'.

Both gave Alf a heart attack.

A joyful one.

WHAM.

Alf's body was crushed against an equally tall, warm frame - and its gentle silver fur with black stripes immediately identified itself as Yu. She squeezed him closer together, letting his bleeding areas soak thoughtlessly into her nice white coat - but that didn't seem to bother her at all.

And Alf was enjoying every second of it.

She pulled his head back, staring at his face in utter joy - tears running down her face.

"Oh my Scrolls…" the fox noted, voice desperately quiet. "I thought I lost you… but I found you…"

"Well technically we found him first…" Zhong noted, grinning at the equally happy Soothsayer.

Alf's head really began throbbing now. He had just spent the last few minutes having images of the same fox bleeding out, with gashes in her neck, her back broken in a grass field - and now he was being hugged?

"You look like you've seen better days."

Alf recognized the second voice immediately.

A panda's.

He mildly shifted away from Yu's gripped form, turning to see the Po and the Furious Five approach him and the table - along with -

Master Shifu? What the hell? Alf thought.

The diminutive red panda sprung up on his staff, examining the Seeker.

"Master Shifu!" Alf croaked, at a loss for words. "Um - I - what the - "

"Looks like Shen gave you a good go-over buddy," Monkey noted, mild chuckle in his features.

Alf stared shell-shocked at the all the figures surrounding him. First Shen's right hand man, then the old goat, then Yu - and now the Furious Five, Po, and Shifu were somehow being resurrected from the dead?

Alf began shaking, closing his eyes. "No no no no - no more - it has to be that freakin' green mist… where is it? Where is it…."

"Alf? Alf? What green mist?" Yu forced, scared while still hugging his body closer to hers. She flashed a dangerous glance at Zhong and the Soothsayer. "What the hell did you do to him?"

"Nothing!" the Boss Wolf defended. "We freed him! As soon as we came into this damn cave we heard him moaning - saying things in his sleep. Saying shit about some voice, dimensions, and needing to get back to his time."

"Hmmm - must have been all the torture," Viper noted, concerned as she coiled herself around Alf's leg affectionately. "Our boy looks a little worse for wear."

"IT WASN'T THAT!" Alf echoed throughout the cave, silencing everyone. "I'M NOT CRAZY! THIS IS ALL A LIE! THIS IS ALL JUST DAMN LIES!"

Alf lunged at Shifu, the closest possible victim.

He was sick of it.

Sick of the visions.

Sick of the voice.

Sick of the pain.

Sick of not knowing.

Sick of the green mist.

Sick of it all.

"ARGH!"

ZAP.

ZAP.

WHAP.

ZAP.

Alf screeched on the floor - feeling his collar go off in bursts of crackling pain. He heard concerned voices above him as he writhed in agony on the floor - all the torture over the past time seeming like nothing compared to this.

But it went away.

Alf breathed deeply on the floor of the cave, blood loss intensifying with his bruises as he looked up.

Shifu had a finger up.

On the button.

The red button.

The button.

"So that's what that weird metal thing around the kid's neck is for…" Zhong added. "I couldn't imagine wearing that shit for two minutes…"

Try two years, Alf thought.

"I assure you, this is all very real," Shifu forced. "Judging from your attitude - and the amount of injuries you've sustained - I'm going to say you're been hallucinating things for the last few hours, if not days."

Alf growled, as he usually did whenever Shifu would do this to him.

The voice was real.

The visions were real.

He had seen the Five die.

Had seen Po die.

"When I was first captured and put here," Alf snorted, standing up with a supreme effort as Yu effortlessly hugged him again. "There was a massive - metal - ship here!"

"That part is real," Zhong affirmed.

"I know you," Shifu noted, switching the topic, just now observing the newcomers. "Commander Zhong - head wolf under Shen. What brought you down here? Trying to set us all up?"

The Soothsayer answered for him, eyeing the Five's dangerous glares towards the Boss Wolf. "He's on a different path now Shifu - and might I add - it's so good to see you again. I was wondering why the Jade Palace was running around without its biggest head… glad to see you join the party."

Alf raised an eyebrow, but not surprised since all of China knew who Shifu was.

"He's defecting?" Shifu asked, wordlessly silencing the Five and Po's groans.

"She said different path," Zhong growled. "Not your side."

"We wouldn't want you on our side anyway," Tigress interrupted suddenly. "Only Masters of the highest degree get to serve on the Jade Palace!"

Zhong growled back.

Alf raised yet another eyebrow. Tigress' voice was so harsh and unforgiving - of course, it was always like that - but this was different. It felt ancient, dormant - like the same voice she had used on Po back way back when the Dragon Warrior Tournament had started.

Her body language wasn't the same. Her face was bruised.

Interestingly, nearly everyone was bruised around him except for Zhong, the goat, and Yu.

And just now Alf realized that the only thing he could really be certain about - was that there was a big gap in his memory.

And it became increasingly more likely that the voice, the dimension-talk, the visions - were really nothing but the mind-shattered rages of a desperately tortured boy, so overwhelmed by the physical and emotional trauma that he was going through that some kind of weird "imaginary" phase had taken hold of him after.

He had never broken out.

There had been no voice.

The visions were just more nightmares.

Zhong had heard him screaming while he was stapped to the table unconscious.

So what the hell happened to the ship if it was all - not real?

"What's this about dimensions and timelines?" Mantis asked, perching on Po's shoulder. "You sure you okay, Alf?"

Alf shrugged, looking back at Yu - still holding tightly onto him. "I - I don't give a shit, to be honest. How's about you guys start giving me some answers? How'd you all find me?"

"She lead me here," Zhong pointed at the grinning old goat.

"I - well - um - it's a long story," Yu pointed out, not even imaging all the information she had yet to tell Alf.

"We ran into Yu like an hour ago," Mantis noted. "She lead us here."

Alf seemed satisfied, coughing out some more remnant blood. "Okay… what else?"

Crane sighed, clenching his beak together. "Well we did it - we found and destroyed the Factory…"

"But Shen got away with most of the cannons…" Viper sadly emphasized. "We - we have to stop him, Alf. He's going to sail out of Gongmen in a few hours - hundreds of boats, stacked with cannons."

Alf put aside all the confusion and anger he had been feeling over the last span of time. He wanted to put it all on Shen.

That felt right.

"You and the fox will stay here," Shifu ordered. "Along with Zhong, and the Soothsayer."

Outcries from the Five and Yu. Shifu waved them effortlessly down.

"I've had it with this team doing things without my consent," Shifu ripped. "The panda brought the Seeker and the fox with him to Gongmen! You all botched an idiotic plan to go capture Shen back at the Tower! And now - now when we need it the most - we are planning this all, correctly!"

The silence continued as no one dared argue with Shifu. He took this as a sign to continue.

"The Seeker is too injured anyway to be of use to us, and the fox knows no kung fu," Shifu forced. "And regardless of any last minute moral dilemmas - I do not trust the wolf and a useless prophecy-teller…"

"Soothsayer," the goat corrected with a wink.

"... to aid us in combat," Shifu forced. "We are all moving out - now, do you all understand? And after we stop Shen - we can all discuss the failures this team has been through…"

Shifu flashed a last glance towards Alf, frowning at him before walking away from the center of the group - heading towards a dim slit of light that Alf presumed lead up and out of the cave.

The Five hung back a little longer though, all collectively forming a circle around Alf to give him a quick few hugs and in Viper's case - kisses - before promising to come back and talk more. After they moved away, there was only one exception.

Po.

"What's up dude?" Alf wheezed, punching him lightly. "You usually talk a lot more! Excited to see me all beaten up, eh?"

Alf tried to smile, hoping Po would lighten up - but the panda took this very seriously.

"Dude, I wanna confess something," Po noted, annoyed. "Back when - back when you first got captured - not a lot of us thought your life was - more important than - than - well stopping Shen…"

This hurt Alf tremendously, but he struggled to keep it away. "I - I understand. I - I would have done the same thing."

An utter lie.

"And I uh - I once sorta used to blame you for everything that happened with the pandas," Po started, uneasy. "And I uh - I don't know. I guess for a while - I was just being stupid."

Alf paused, unsure of where this was going. Po was basically telling him how little he meant to him, how often he doubted him, and how he would take the word of raging lunatic peacock more than his best friend for over eight years.

It hurt. But he couldn't let that show.

"I just wanna say sorry," Po started, putting his hand on Alf's injured shoulder. "I was being a dick."

"Yeah yeah no worries man," Alf lied, watching Po smile at him. "Go - go save the world. We can talk later."

Po smiled at him one more, sprinting off to join the rest of the Five and Shifu. Alf decided to throw one last question his way.

"Dude - what's up with Tigress?"

Po sighed, ignoring the question before sighing again and sprinting away.

"Guess topic for another day…" Alf announced defeated, turning back to see Zhong and the Soothsayer creepily stare at him.

He was used to having the stares, but he wasn't used to the amount of forwardness they were doing. They were giggling too!

Was - was Shen's right hand man actually connecting with a freakin' old goat?

"Hey you," Yu smiled, punching Alf lightly in the stomach.

"Hey you," Alf returned with a broader grin. "No pun intended."

Yu grinned back, resting both her arms on his shoulders. "Dude - there's so much I have to tell you... "

But then the fox stopped.

She had it.

She had it.

The perfect opportunity.

The Five, Po, and Shifu were gone. Only two people who didn't care - Zhong and the Soothsayer - were here. The place was secluded - and presumably if she was crazy - caves could be romantic.

"Alf, I've been wanting to say this to you for a long time," Yu started. "I lo - "

"Speaking of which, I wanna say something to you," Alf cut across, feeling a memory burst up. "No pun intended again, hehe."

Yu looked crestfallen, but allowed the Seeker to continue.

"So I know I might have been having - well - nightmares and stuff when I was down here," Alf started. "But - but in one of them - you were there. Several, actually?"

"Oh?" Yu wondered aloud, confused. "Um - was I like - a big monster or something?"

The fox gave it a hearty laugh.

Alf shook his head, tone grave and serious. "No - I mean - I saw this young fox…"

Yu continued her gaze at him.

"... she had this knife in her hands, in this thatched roof house and two - I guess - her parents were lying down beside her…"

Yu's face remained expressionless.

"... was that you?"

The fox breathed heavily, pursing her lips. She stared at Alf for a good five seconds.

Tears rolled down her face.

"I'm sorry…" Yu bit, feeling all the emotions she was about to say to him submerge under years of repressed memory stores. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"

She sprinted away - heading out of the cave.

"Wait!" Alf called, genuinely confused. "Yu! Come back!"

But it was to no avail, as the fox jumped back up the rocky formations that spiraled out of the cave and into the narrow stream of light.

Zhong and the Soothsayer watched with tired expressions.

Alf turned to them. "What did I say?"

Zhong chuckled. "I'm not even a Soothsayer - but I'm predicting that you are one stupid bastard."

Alf felt insulted.

"I am a Soothsayer," the old goat responded, stroking her chin. "And I can confirm that based on what I just saw - Seekers really are kinda stupid."

Alf frowned. The Soothsayer and Zhong burst into laughter.


A/N

Wooooo weeee! Finally a big chapter completed! Warning: only 4 more chapters left to go in KFP 2! Then KFP 3!

And yes - I hope this chapter starts even more speculation! Very detail heavy…

Tired after writing this, so I'll spare the lengthy notes.

I love you guys. You make it all worth it.

~TW