"New Times"


Gongmen City was - for once - a bit more peaceful than usual. The greatest results seemed to have come from within the city itself, as the usually heavy wolf presence was all but gone. Citizens therefore, took it upon themselves to slowly put chunks of building back into their original places, clear debris, and start rebuilding the roofs, their city, and all the lives that Shen's former occupation had gone away with. The tragic deaths of the Masters' Council was not forgotten either, as a group of sheep had already taken it upon themselves to preserve any remnants of the Tower of Sacred Flame, quickly storming the Palace Courtyard and taking possession of the territory.

In a far more subtle sense, the true rebuilding was occurring at the outskirts of the city near the Docks - with nearly fifty ships all bound with cannons and bowing wolf soldiers - as the Furious Five, Shifu, Po, Zhong, the Soothsayer and the wolves looked on at a lone couple, kissing passionately under opaque moonlight, on the front of Shen's former warship. The peacock himself lay dead at Zhong's feet.

Alf pulled away, making Yu groan a bit. "No one's said anything yet - I'm surprised."

The fox merely giggled, stealing the moment to grace his lips again before pulling away. "I don't care."

"WOOO HOOO GO ALF!" Monkey cried out, squealing with joy.

"OH MY THAT IS SO ROMANTIC!" Viper called out.

Alf smiled gracefully, flashing a wordless glance at the Five, Po, and Shifu. He noted that Zhong and the Soothsayer were already busy talking to the defeated wolf soldiers - probably trying to get them to relinquish their crusade - after all, their leader was dead.

His crowd however, was more enthusiastic.

Po was the first to come up, wrapping his arms freshly around Alf and Yu.

"That was so couple goals!" the panda exclaimed, giggling with joy. "Badass rescue, save China, kiss your girl…"

"And thus ends literally two years of back and forth," Crane smiled. "Glad to see it!"

"Yu went for it first," Tigress quipped, holding an injured arm. "Once again Anna, we all got to see who wore the pants in this relationship."

Both Alf and Po simultaneously grinned - it was certainly a good sign that the girls' names were coming back.

"Nice to see you too, Tigress," Alf gently reminded. "Nice to see all of you guys."

"Thanks bro," Mantis offered immediately. "We uh - hmm. Guess this is the second time we all owe ya one, huh?"

"Don't make it a habit," Crane offered, patting Alf on the back. "Hanging out with you is a national crime, after all…"

Alf grinned broadly. The Five and Po circled around him and Yu, as the fox looked at the Seeker with a distant affection that only he could sense. Privately, Alf wanted to talk some with her - perhaps catch up on so much time they had missed - but he also wanted to enjoy this moment, take in the satisfaction that for once - it was all over.

"Seeker…" came a shrewd, clouded voice.

Alf sighed, as Yu bit her tongue. The rest of the Five audibly stiffened - particularly Tigress - while Po merely sighed again.

"What is it now, Shifu?" Alf asked in frustration. "Wanna somehow twist this all into my fault - for the public to hate on me some more?"

Shifu emerged, unoffended. "... what is that device?"

Alf had been expecting this question sooner or later. The Five and Po added into the intrigue, staring at him expectantly while Yu merely flashed him a confused, but empathetic glance as she rested her head on his shoulders.

"Before I got here," Alf noted. "I went back to the Tower place. Found some old cannon parts - managed to make something out of it."

"That's some shit only Seekers can do," Mantis mentioned, nodding his head furiously atop Po's shoulder now. "Make something in seconds…"

"How'd you make something that fires even faster and smaller than a cannon in such a short time?" Viper queried.

This was a question that hadn't really crossed Alf's mind. His first response was to say it was the Soothsayer - and the dream - but that was just the inspiration, not the actual method. His second likely response was all instinct, that something had just taken control of him - but the more he thought about it, it wasn't really a memory or just knowing how to do it - it was more just how the pieces seemed to him. Broken bits of metal, a fuse, a spark chamber - it had only taken him twenty seconds to figure out how the cannon mechanism worked, and perhaps just a few more minutes to make a crude manifestation of something much smaller, complete with trigger and firing shell. It had taken him mere seconds to learn how to aim it.

And then Alf thought back to all the other times where he had found his mental abilities to - greatly exceed everyone else's. Back in the Jade Palace, when they were discussing paths to Gongmen - it had taken Alf just moments to suggest a faster, more alternative path. And even before that, Alf had figured out an easy way to defeat Tai Lung despite having zero knowledge of kung fu, fighting, or even basic anatomical principles.

And the list of examples never stopped.

So the honest answer was that Seekers maybe - as much as Alf hated to admit it - really were different from everyone else.

It made Alf gag just to think that way.

"I - I just knew," Alf whispered to a confused audience composing of the Five, Yu, Po, and Shifu. "It's - it's kinda hard to explain."

"You just see patterns and mechanisms in the world," Tigress noted quietly.

"Since when did you become such an expert in Seeker stuff?" Po shot casually.

Tigress smiled, bruise just appearing to fade under her right eye. "I've seen it before in Alice. She's - well - maybe specia - "

"Alright I've talked with the wolves," Zhong came in, interrupting the flow of conversation. "They're giving up. Going their separate ways."

Alf and Yu watched the immense gang of wolves - perhaps hundreds of them - disappear off the boats and back onto the Docks, throwing down their weapons. The Five, Po and Shifu however - eyed Zhong and the approaching Soothsayer with a bit of trepidation. The Boss Wolf promptly shoved the fallen device into Alf's hands, stepping over Shen's body.

"I dunno what the hell this thing is kid," Zhong mentioned, eyeing the metallic device still smoking in Alf's hands. "But by the Scrolls did it get the job done."

The Five and Po again heartily congratulated Alf, fiercely slapping him on the back. Thick moonlight shone down on Alf's face, further illustrating the happiness in his soul. He watched the waves idly ripple by away from the Docks, for once finding them quite soothing.

"Whaddya wanna call it?" Yu spoke up for the first time since the kiss, squeezing Alf's arm.

"How about - mini cannon?" Mantis tried.

"Or death boom!" Monkey offered.

"Super awesome killer machine thingy!" Po also assured.

Alf laughed at all the suggestions. He eyed the device with curiosity.

"Well - this part of it revolves in circles when I reload it - " Alf started, stroking the chamber. "Maybe - let's call it the Revolver?"

"That'll never catch on," Po immediately rejected. "Glad to see there's still some dumb in ya!"

Alf laughed.

"Despite our - apparent victory - " Shifu started, genuine surprise in his pained voice. "We still have two problems."

Yu wrapped her arms around Alf's neck, brushing past the collar as the Five formed a circle around Alf proactively. Zhong and the Soothsayer still stood a little ways back, confused as to what Shifu was referring to.

"The Seeker is now - no longer a secret," Shifu noted. "And - the whole of China, and perhaps even beyond - know that the Jade Palace is now harboring one. That might - lead to - repercussions down the line."

"We'll deal with that as it comes," Alf offered immediately, not even waiting for any of the Five or Po to come to his rescue.

"Hmph," Shifu groaned, clearly disappointed by Alf's newfound confidence. "Yes well - that seems to be our only option… now as to your Revolver…"

Alf casually tossed the device to Shifu, who was frightened a bit before he instinctively caught it. The Five, Po - and even Yu - seemed surprised, given that Alf would usually argue a great deal with the old master over matters such as this.

"Keep it," Alf forced. "I don't want it. I - I - I realize it's sorta dangerous to give to - give to someone like me."

"Very courteous of you," Shifu noted, stuffing the revolver into his waistband. "I will certainly find a use for this, and your - engineering skills later down the road… now as to our second problem - you two."

Zhong and the Soothsayer realized this was about them. And for once, the Jade Palace seemed moderately united - the Five, Po, and Yu all rallied around Shifu in a twist, looking at both individuals with harshness. Only Alf remained apart, looking at Zhong with sympathy.

"Even considering you eliminated Shen," Shifu started. "You are still a criminal - and have done - terrible things in the name of Shen."

The Boss Wolf sighed, perhaps having expected this. Alf was a bit saddened to see the Five and Po nod their heads in unison, despite the fact that the wolf had literally betrayed his own people, killed his oldest friend, and had helped Alf escape from the cave.

"...therefore, I highly encourage you to run away from here, while we still give you mercy," Shifu forced. "Please. For your own sake. We are - grateful. But we are not - forgiving."

The last statement drew some controversial whispers from the rest of the Five and Po. However, Zhong was comforted by the Soothsayer - who patted his back with a sad touch. The Boss Wolf looked at Alf first, smiling woefully at him.

"So much for joining the Jade Palace, huh?" Zhong addressed, remembering Alf's previous advice. "See ya folks. Thanks for letting me uh - live, I guess."

Zhong turned to walk away, inevitably heading for the city again - where he would likely pack up supplies, then leave this entire area forever. The Five and Po broke again into furious whispers amongst themselves, but Alf tore away from the group and Yu's lax grip to walk closer to Zhong, trying to turn the wolf around.

"Listen man - " Alf started.

"Nah, it's okay kid," Zhong emphasized, shaking Alf's hands with a firm but gentle grip. "I - I wasn't expecting anything in return for killing the peacock - I mean - if you knew half of the shit I've done for that guy - hell, I wouldn't want me around either."

"I'm sure Shifu can be persuaded to take you in," Alf begged. "You're strong. You're loyal. You've got - "

"Kid," Zhong cut across, eyes glancing sadly at the Seeker's youthful features. "Guys like me - just don't get a happy ending - and - "

Zhong paused, mulling over his words as his head dipped down. " - I probably don't deserve one."

Alf felt heartbroken. The old goat behind Zhong frowned, patting Zhong's arm with a gentle gracefulness.

Zhong steadied himself, grasping Alf's hand. "Take care of yourself kid. It - it was crazy to meet a real Seeker in person."

Alf awkwardly laughed, but the Boss Wolf had already gone away off Shen's warship, down the bridge, onto the Docks, and was headed inside the City past the massive gates of Gongmen. The goat stayed behind, frustrating Alf.

"You're not gonna stop this?" Alf asked. "Don't you care about him?"

The Soothsayer merely smiled. "I promised him a different path. I never said it would let him be a part of the Jade Palace… it's not in his destiny."

And she walked off, following the same path Zhong had.

"Bullshit," Alf whispered under his breath, heading back to his own group.

Po and Shifu were standing over Shen's body. They seemed partially regretful, and Po was hiding something that Alf wasn't quite sure about. The Five on the other hand were in high spirits - talking amongst one another and dramatically recounting Alf's entrance onto the Docks - despite it having occurred literally five minutes ago. Yu on the other hand - deliberately stood apart from the group, immediately wrapping her arms around Alf as he walked closer.

"I've got a lot to tell you," the fox finally uttered with a smile.

"Like what?" Alf queried.

Yu thought back to the Yongshi, to Hafthor, to the scroll, to the messages, and to everything else.

"A lot."

Alf smiled at her. He took one last glance at the fallen peacock, eyes a bit closed perhaps from sadness, other portions from regret perhaps - but ultimately, in quiet acceptance of his ultimate fate.

. . .


Dear Mr. Sir. Dude Master? (Former) Commander Zhong,

I understand why you want to leave. I understand why - especially after the life you've had - you'd just want to go to your place (in Mongolia, right?) and just - hide out there forever.

I get that, I truly do.

I've been in situations myself where I just wanna dump everyone in my life away, give up on believing in people, and just run away somewhere no can hurt me. But I've found that - if you give them a chance - people can surprise you. You might also end up surprising yourself. I don't know any philosophical stuff like the Soothsayer - and I'm certainly no Oogway - but I think you're worth it. I think it's worth fighting for what you believe in. I know you're not proud of what you did in the past. I know even trying to come back to - civilian life, especially under the Jade Palace - it'll suck, everyone's gonna hate you, and nobody will trust you. But take it from a guy who's spent his entire life being shitted on by the Universe (excuse my language) - it gets better.

Eventually.

It'll take a while though. But I want you to take that chance, to just believe in yourself enough to think that redemption is possible. All you need is one person to believe in you. I know I did.

Come to the Jade Palace. I don't know who you will be, or what you're gonna do - but it's a chance. Please consider.

Your fellow outcast,

Alfalfa

P.S: I know it might feel like you don't have any friends in the world right now. If so, consider me your first.


Alf eyed the letter with trepidation. He thought about perusing over the words again, perhaps editing it further - but was interrupted by the gentle noise that caught him out of the corner of his ear.

"Alf," Yu called out, smiling at him from the other end of the room. "We're ready."

He smiled.

After the events of last night, Shifu had ordered the Five, Po, Yu, and Alf to take a day (singular) for recuperation - quickly finding lodging at a local motel in Gongmen situated close to the docks, while the old master himself was going to spend the day procuring a new boat for travel and make sure Gongmen's political infrastructure was stable before leaving. Many citizens of Gongmen had personally invited Shifu to stay on as the head of a new Masters' Council in Gongmen, but the red panda refused quite easily with his responsibilities at the Jade Palace. The day of "recuperation" at the motel - more situated for the Five, Po, Yu, and Alf - was enough after all, to heal up the worst of the injuries and start the process of adjusting into what had happened. It had brought them all a valuable time period to reflect upon exactly how stressful the trip had been: it had been a month away from the Jade Palace, staying in a foreign, enemy-occupied city with little guidance from their master (at least, for a while) - and they had managed to simultaneously defeat a warlord, bring justice to a city, free its enslaved citizens, bring justice for all the dead members of the Masters' Council… so by any metric, everyone agreed that this had been their most stressful trip yet. Compounding the stress was Alf's newfound "popularity" - really just intrigued citizens - who would knock and try to pry their way into Alf's room, soundly stopped by an angry Yu or Po.

However, the return journey had already been planned - this time using Alf's expertise from the get-go. It was predominantly a nice, peaceful, sea-faring journey with some mountainous traversal - which brought no complaints from anyone. Monkey and Mantis were already looking forward to sleeping in their cozy cots at home - Po and Viper were eager to get back to cooking food in an actually functional kitchen - while Tigress and Crane eagerly awaited the chance to train again. Alf of course - who very much remembered his depressing room under the sewage pipes - was not particularly enthused for that portion, but going "home" nonetheless sounded appealing. Equally appealing had been the chance to speak to Po - who as Alf had noted - had been strangely deflated since Shen's death last night. The Seeker wanted to talk to him privately, as he could very much guess the amount of emotional trauma that the panda was going through - first with Shen, then learning about what happened to his entire race, and his parents - and now realizing that with the peacock's death, some of those questions might never get answered. Po himself had been isolated in his own separate motel room - coming out scarcely to just eat delivered food. Alf also noted some tension between Tigress and Po - which, although downplayed - seemed to be a significant component of the panda's stress. Shifu further complicated things, whom Alf noted to have been consistently making both Tigress and Po uncomfortable, as of late.

So, Alf had lots of work to do once he got home.

"Alf! You gonna answer me?"

Then of course, there was her.

Alf smiled, looking around his clean, bare, bamboo motel room to see Yu stand at the entrance with two bags. She closed the door behind her, whilst plopping the bags on the floor as she flipped herself onto the only cot in the room.

She was the sole exception to all of this.

"Whatcha writing?" Yu asked, seeing the letter in Alf's hand.

Alf chuckled nervously, stuffing it into his pocket. "Nothin' - just Shifu asking me to double-check our route home…"

He wasn't sure why he was lying - but Yu seemed too tired to try to pry in further.

She gave a big sigh. "Crazy trip, huh? Here - packed your bag for you."

Alf noted the large knapsack with a smiley face drawn on. "Heh - not bad. Food? Clothes? My mask?"

"Didn't think of packing the mask and that damn awful jumpsuit," Yu noted. "You think you really need it? I mean - the whole world sorta knows who you are now…"

"Yeah," Alf admitted. "Yeah I guess so…"

Alf hadn't even begun to imagine the consequences from that.

"So you get a chance to think over all the crazy shit?" Yu promptly fired.

"What, me hallucinating a weird cloaked dude telling me my dimension was in trouble, saying he was a Seeker from far away?" Alf asked promptly. "Yeah - I realize Shen must have tortured me harder than I thought."

This was a blatant lie. At no part of the "hallucination" did Alf feel it wasn't real - plus, many of his visions had been around Yu and her family history - a question that Alf didn't dare to ask the fox yet. So, the Seeker had independently assumed that it would have been better for him to simply ignore the topic for now - perhaps later, in the confines of his own room back at the Jade Palace - he could analyze all of it.

"No, although that is some insane stuff," Yu returned. "I'm talking about all the stuff I told you."

Alf laughed. He had completely forgotten about the massive lecture that Yu had given him last night, as soon as they had checked into the motel and were alone in the privacy of his room - all the stories and details about the Yongshi, meeting Hafthor, the magical scroll, and a myriad of other complicated facts and legends.

"I dunno Yu…" Alf started, giggling a bit. "When you first told me all that - I was like - what the hell?"

"I know, right?" Yu continued, eyes wide. "Good thing Shifu doesn't know… he'd probably shock you into next morning…"

Alf touched his collar instinctively. "A global cult? Some weird guy from Europa? A magical freaking scroll?"

"It sounds crazy," Yu started. "But it's true."

"Some of it might," Alf accepted. "But a lot - I dunno. Just seems like some kid tryna con us or something…"

"Remember the book?" Yu referenced. "The same source gave us all this info! Gave us the scroll. There has to be something going on…"

"Maybe," Alf acknowledged. "Man - I wish I could ask Shifu about some of this - obscure stuff, but like you said - he'll skin me alive…"

Alf wasn't sure why, but he felt highly suspicious of Shifu. He had no doubt that everything, and all the experiences Yu had been going through - though insane - had been real, but the fact that so much of Seeker history was still being arrogantly stonewalled by the old master only served to piss off Alf more.

But he knew they were getting somewhere.

"We must be doing something right," Alf finished. "When you think our anonymous friend is gonna send us some more clues on Seeker history? Maybe send that Hafthor guy again…"

Yu sighed. "I don't know."

Alf chortled. "Ain't that the truth…"

The fox got up out of the coat, leaning a folded arm on Alf's shoulder. "But hey - we got all the time in the world to figure it all out."

Alf smiled, staring right back into her green eyes - reminded of the same softness that Po often had with him.

"We do," he finished. "Together."

She stared back into his eyes, grinning.

"Hate to interrupt you two girls," came an unexpected voice, again from the now open entrance. "But we're going. Now."

Alf swiveled his head, seeing a smirking Tigress stand in his doorway. With an enormous sigh, he broke away from Yu and heaved his bag over his shoulder. The fox got her own bag together as they both jointly headed to the entrance leading out of the room. Alf was careful to stuff the letter he had written for Zhong deep into his pockets - just waiting for a single moment of pause so he could deliver it.


A/N

Yes, I'm rushing through publishing chapters - I desperately wanna get to KFP 3! Next chapter will be the last one in KFP 2!

This chapter is the "prelude" sorta to the full resolution of KFP 2 - this chapter is a more of a "breathing" point, in contrast to all the chaotic stuff going on in this fic for the last ten or so chapters lol.

On a side note, in case I haven't hit you over the head with it already: Zhong and Alf have many similarities character-wise. And in case you again haven't been hit in the head with it already - this'll turn into something I think a lot of readers will enjoy. I think of the relationship as sorta the reverse of Alf's situation once he got to the Jade Palace - a stranger in a foreign area, a place where he's despised…

Fundamentally I think Alf connects with Zhong because he can sympathize with those feelings, and the two share similar feelings perhaps about the world they live in. Alf is less cynical perhaps, but that could be a function of him just being younger…

Long story short, it's a great relationship to write.

Next chapter will be the last in KFP 2. Then KFP 3. :D

Support is incredible.

~TW

P.S: Started reviewing/favoriting/following your guys' stories! Please bear with me, there's a LOT of ppl who've shown me IMMENSE kindness on this fic, so it'll take a while to get to all of your guys'... but I will eventually! Just from a browse of it, seems like your guys' fics are light years ahead of mine, lmao.