"Irreversibility (I)"
Stop.
"AHH!" Kai let out a feral roar, surprised by the sudden intrusion into his head space.
Calm down.
"I thought you were done randomly popping into my head…" Kai spat.
Unfortunately the telemetry of your solar system eludes our sensors.
Believe me - it irritates me more than it does you.
Kai snorted, again understanding nothing.
It had been a long time since he had left the panda village. Just moments after he had killed the Dragon Warrior's panda father, and Omega had congratulated him on doing so - what followed afterwards was completely unknown to Kai. There was a blinding flash of light, a sense of radiating energy - and almost as if by magic, the panda father was restored back to life!
Or at least - it seemed that way.
Kai had noted some differences. The eyes were blue instead of green, and the clothing was just a bit more shabby and ragged than usual. The huge bull was shocked, but the panda quickly disappeared into a puff of smoke. Omega had ceased all contact with him since then - and Kai had decided to go along with his usual plan: destroying the Jade Palace. He would have ideally liked to stay behind and finish off the rest of the pandas, but he decided against this due to his urge to get to the Valley.
It greatly bothered the old bull that no one even knew his name. Although he considered himself confidently to be Oogway's superior, that damn turtle had all but erased Kai's name from the history scrolls - two farmers that the bull had spoken to (before killing of course) didn't even recognize the name.
And after so much distance traveled, so many snow-plodden paths and hot jungles that Kai had crossed, with so many killed villagers and travelers now occupying the Jade amulets circled around Kai's waist - now, in the middle of a sprawling desert with the hot sun beating down - now was when Omega chose to reconnect?
"Our partnership is over now," Kai noted with a smile, idly kicking sand away from his hooves. "You freed me from the Spirit Realm. I killed that panda in exchange. We're done talking."
Indeed we are.
"Then why do you keep speaking to me?" Kai growled. "Don't you have some Seeker invasion to plan?"
Just a few more questions.
"Ask them quickly then."
Your kind's technology - how far has it advanced?
"What?" Kai let out, irritated. "What do you mean, spirit?"
Can it defend against plasma weapons and photon cannons?
Stone age weapons?
Energy manipulation?
"I don't understand what the hell you mean," Kai groaned. "We have cannons and bows and arrows - as far as I know. The cannons were pretty recent too…"
Kai was utterly baffled how something as powerful as cannons could have been developed in his absence. Granted, he had been gone from the mortal realm for 500 years - but the technology was so advanced, so complex that he had almost imagined it to be stolen from some other more advanced species. Kai had heard rumors that a peacock had developed it - but he truthfully didn't care enough to inquire further.
Yet your kind practices some sort of energy manipulation.
Kung Fu.
"And the Seekers don't?" Kai laughed, sharp teeth showing themselves. "Hah! Perhaps the Seekers aren't as powerful as I thought…"
Our native planet - Earth - did not allow us to evolve Kung Fu superpowers.
We are however - light years beyond your kind's capabilities, technologically.
Kai felt the hot sun wear him down, more annoyed than ever that he was still speaking to this babbling moron.
"If you and your fleshlings are so far ahead," Kai spat. "Why do you need all this information from me? And from - your previous contacts… the snow leopard, and that other peacock…"
To ensure colonization success with certainty.
It is only because of the Beacon that we even found your planet.
The later discovery that a human was on your world…
...intrigued us.
"A human?" Kai asked, unfamiliar with the term. "Wait - that's who you want to learn more about? A Seeker on this world?"
A pause.
A laugh - a harsh, unforgiving laugh that Kai couldn't even identify as humorous until much later.
You have much to learn, bull.
Kai growled, at last fed up and continued the direction heading towards the Valley of Peace.
. . .
"He gave you a place with the Yongshi?"
Alf smiled reluctantly, completely confused as to what to say next. Yu was smiling beside him, laughing confidently as the words just began to settle down into her head.
"Boy the reaction Zhong's gonna have…" the fox smiled.
They were at the Rock again. In such crazy and turbulent times, Alf and Yu found it best to take some time off of each day - usually well after both Shifu and Tigress were done training the ever-loving crap out of Alf - and just relax and discuss the day. Alf found it particularly suitable - since the Rock was so far outside the Valley and was hidden in a large grassfield, Zhong was also able to meet up with them without fear of guard stops or anyone giving him a nasty side-eye. The glorious, ever-present moonlight also meant that Alf could better appreciate the extent of Yu's beautiful, lingering gazes at him - although he would never tell her that.
"He's had it rough the last few weeks," Alf spoke casually, sitting atop the boulder as Yu leaned her head against him. "Well, I guess he's had it bad since the beginning…"
Zhong - despite his best efforts - could not find a single place that would hire him. It was tremendously ironic as well, as the booming industrialization of the Valley had exploded forth new job markets and openings for welders, mechanics, fire-starters - and yet the wolf had stood in hundreds of lines, filed countless scrolls to the business offices, and returned home with absolutely nothing. He only survived from hand-to-mouth as Alf brought him leftovers - and the lack of coin meant that Zhong couldn't even make the return trip to his safe house in Mongolia.
And realization slowly hit Alf.
"You - " the boy began. "You think he resents me? For asking him to come to the Valley two years ago?"
Yu shook her head, disappointed. "You did what you thought was best."
"I thought it wouldn't be so bad over here, even for someone with a history like Zhong," Alf noted, feeling his collar again somehow. "Heh - guess five years living here hasn't taught me shit."
The fox smiled.
"Sorry I'm late."
Alf and Yu swiveled their heads, as a particularly crestfallen former Wolf Boss trudged his way across flattened grass, ears drooping in disappointment and head shaking sadly.
"How'd it go?" Alf inquired immediately, leaping down as Yu followed.
Zhong merely shoved a scroll into Alf's hands.
"What is this…" Alf mused, reading the ink.
Mr. Zhong,
Your accuracy in welding is important and useful for society. While we certainly admire you metalsmithing skill and value your desire to "turn your life around" - we regret to inform you that we, Valley Metalworks Incorporated, cannot hire you at the current time due to -
Alf didn't even bother reading the rest of it, quickly crumpling the scroll and tossing it the floor as Yu gave Zhong a reassuring hug.
"I was hopeful about this one because it's a new group and they didn't even recognize me when I interviewed," Zhong began.
"The interview was going well?" Yu asked solemnly.
"I sure as hell thought so - smiles and laughs and shit," Zhong continued, sighing before his face hardened into anger. "Then just as I leave - I peep this scrawny sheep giving me some kinda glare - whispered something into the recruiter's ear as I exited the room."
Alf growled. "Probably ratted out your history to them - and after they followed up with a background check - "
"Hence the shitty rejection letter," Yu let out, frustrated for the wolf as he sat down, back casually leaned against the boulder. "I'm sorry Zhong…"
The fox wrapped her arms affectionately around the wolf, squeezing tightly as Zhong seemed to cheer up imperceptibly. Alf sat down as well, shaking his head.
"You know, after two years of this shit I wish I coulda just stayed in Mongolia," Zhong mused, lost in thought. "I understood the consequences of working for Shen - I just never figured out it would go like this…"
Yu pinched Alf, clearing her throat as if expecting him to say something. Alf, as he was confused felt no inclination to speak up. The fox let out an exasperated sigh.
"Well - Alf here has a way out," Yu smiled, winking at the Seeker. "Wang offered him a place with the Yongshi."
"No shit?" Zhong asked, a bit incredulous despite his crestfallen demeanor. "You're telling me that bigass lion actually gave you a way outta this hellhole?!"
Alf heartily laughed, nodding his head as he gazed up at the stars. "Hell ya man - I only wish I coulda jumped ship sooner… I mean… Tigress only told me about it last night… haven't seen Wang since then."
"He's exploring the Valley with Shifu," Yu filled in. "Going over plans to stop Kai and looking for structural weaknesses, evacuation plans, that kinda thing…"
"Well as soon as he comes back you better tell him," Zhong confirmed, smiling. "I - I'm really happy for you bro - to just - get out so quickly…"
Alf smiled, as Yu crawled over to his side as the fox let her head fall directly into his lap. Alf stroked her hair gently, just realizing what a gift that Wang was giving him.
"I'm obviously gonna go with him," Yu noted, smiling. "Honestly I was just waiting for an excuse to get outta this place…"
Zhong grinned. "What about Shifu and the others?"
Alf held these thoughts in his head. It was actually a very legitimate question, and one he had pondered over for the last few hours - basically as soon as Tigress had told him about the option.
The issue he had found that - while Alf was very dedicated to the Five, Po, and Shifu - he was forever the outsider. It truly didn't matter what he did - beating Tai Lung, defeating Shen, or saving so many citizens over five years - there was an element of "us" and "him" that Alf could never hope to get past.
But that wasn't even a problem. He had grown accustomed to being "othered" more often than not - but when strapped with a shock collar for five years, constantly belittled and assaulted by everyone in the Valley, Alf had to agree that absolutely nothing had changed since the Dragon Warrior tournament.
If Shifu was beating him half to death in training, no one stepped in.
If the guards were harassing him, no one stepped in.
If the various Valley courts prosecuted Alf again and again, no one stepped in.
And after all these years - he still had that smelly, dungeon-esque room situated beneath the Valley's drainpipes - primitive technology miraculously untouched by the rest of the Valley's industrialization.
Po and the Five were quick to point out these tragedies in private however, usually after a horrible ordeal that left Alf silently crying in his room.
But in public?
No one dared defend the fleshling.
It had been that way for a long time.
Alf thought back to Po - the panda, his friend, the Dragon Warrior - perhaps the only person he had known for a long time, and had significant time spent with. But as much as he loved Po - and that fact was indisputable, Alf really loved Po - the Seeker had to acknowledge that he wasn't willing to live a life of misery just to stay close to his best and oldest friend.
And as Yu kept reminding him - if Po really cared about Alf…
… he would let him go.
"I'll figure out a way to tell them," Alf at last spoke up, breaking the silence as he eyed a particularly downcast Zhong. "You're welcome to join me and Yu, by the way…"
Zhong smiled. His optimism had been disproven before, so he was careful - yet the feeling of hope was still there.
"I just might hold you to that," the wolf denoted with a finally genuine smile.
. . .
To Po's great dismay, the path leading to the panda village was even longer than Li had anticipated.
Initial estimates had given the time at four to five days - now it became more likely that it would be closer to a week. So far, they had managed to traverse across the Wu Dan mountains and safely make passage to the farthest reaches of the province - and in the process, find themselves in the midst of a thick jungle. Po had recognized some of it - it reminded him of the same scenery he had seen when they had all gone to Gongmen two years ago - but the key difference here was that Li wasn't as organized, so the path forward was much more unsteady. Some hours the large panda would be boisterous and loud with jokes, practically running ahead of Po - other times, perhaps due to exhaustion, they were lucky if they moved a hundred feet without Li wheezing. The most irritating thing above all, was that all of these behaviors reminded Po greatly of himself, which was making the process naturally harder.
"So what's with the cold shoulder?" Li asked, giant belly wiggling in the hot heat of the jungle, surrounded by canopies and green, thick bushes all around. "Gotta admit - I was hoping the chi thing and dad not being dead thing woulda got me some more love…"
Po refused to answer straight away, taking the time to idly stare at the massive cedar trees eclipsing his vision on all sides.
"Is it my belly or something?" Li asked with a smirk.
"I had a father," Po stated bluntly, hopping over a fallen branch. "He was - taken from me."
Li seemed to acknowledge that he was pushing Po a bit too far. "Right right - Mr. Ping… I - I hear he was an excellent guy…"
Po had trouble tying this conversation to reality - everything felt so surreal. He was talking to a random panda who was supposed to be his father, while the individual he had associated with fatherhood was currently buried in the Valley cemetery.
"All I need to know is that you're willing to give me a shot," Li asked again, stopping in the mud tracks. "Leave alone the chi stuff and the pandas. You - you think we can - start to get to know each other?"
Po deliberated very heavily on his words before answering.
"I'll try."
. . .
The Valley was well into evacuation status. Perhaps five years ago, when Tai Lung was threatening to destroy the village and everything in it - ordering evacuations just meant moving perhaps twenty or thirty families outside of the walls and into the refuge of the Wu Dan mountains. It was a simple, painless process (aside from running from a dangerous snow leopard) - and it took about thirty minutes to orchestrate and completely organize.
Not so today.
Ordering an evacuation today meant significant legal hurdles foremost. Shifu and Wang had to appear in front of the Valley High Court, provide substantial evidence that an "emergency" was coming to the city, prove that the Valley's considerable guard forces couldn't contain it, and detail a relocation plan for the thousands of citizens currently living in the Valley: complete with food, temporary housing, and a small sum of reparations paid to each family. This process alone took a week - and if it were not for Wang starting the process as soon as he came to the Valley - Kai might have already arrived and found a completely defenseless city.
Then there were the practical effects of the grand relocation. Previously, the Valley barely had five shops (including the late Mr. Ping's noodle spot) - now, there were hundreds of stores, a commonwealth shopping bazaar, tons of workers and business organizations, and a system of courts, guard stations, factories, and numerous other buildings that had to be evacuated and citizens accounted for. It took yet another few days to forcefully shut everything down, provide enough supplies to relocate, and to calm everyone's nerves. Transportation thankfully was provided by Wang and his Yongshi - who seemingly had foretold the move by bringing eight fully-stocked grand wagons, each capable of easily holding up to a thousand citizens. And after many hours laboriously loading the angered, distressed, or confused citizens into the wagons - and as Wang ordered his Yongshi soldiers to depart with the Valley's population - the formerly bustling city was reduced to a gigantic web of connected buildings, empty streets, smokeless factories, and closed courts and schools. A trademark red banner - dragon symbol painted onto its center - ran over the length of the entire city - signaling to outsiders that the area was under effective lockdown.
Thus, the group now standing in the center of the Valley central marketplace - surrounded by tall, empty red buildings and a variety of sharp dirt roads - had to discuss strategy.
Shifu was at the center, with the Five, Alf, and Wang standing around him. In Shifu's paws were a map of the surrounding area, complete with detailed instructions and notes given by Wang. Zhong and Yu were notoriously absent, having already been commanded to go with the caravans holding the fleeing Valley population. Alf would have loved nothing better than to tell Wang that he was going to accept his offer, but had found no time to do so with all the evacuation preparations and work to do.
"Kai will be coming likely from the East," Shifu pointed out vaguely, as Wang nodded to affirm. "What powers did you say he has?"
"He was a legendary warrior, Oogway's superior in many ways," Wang noted gravely. "We suspect he will arrive here with two chain blades, a reincarnated Jade army, and a variety of energy techniques that he picked up in the Spirit Realm, or that was given to him by - "
The tall lion paused, mulling over his words. This drew the irk of Tigress, who absolutely knew that he had just kept himself from revealing the connection Kai had with the Seekers - and she didn't understand why Wang wasn't revealing it yet.
" - by his own dark urges, I suppose." Wang finished with a lie.
"I say we do stealth first," Mantis forced, leaping atop the map with gusto. "I don't care how powerful he is - all of us luring him into the marketplace, then pouncing on him should put him down for the count. Take out Kai - the zombies go away, right?"
"He's right," Viper noted, hissing in annoyance at Kai's name. "Powerful or not - taking precautions are more than enough to get him under control. Alf?"
Alf asked Yu for a small sack, and quickly drew out handcuffs from them - sharp, piercing sixteen-point acupressure cuffs which had seldom been used. All of them had decided this was the best way to restrain Kai after a surprise attack - after all, a field test had shown that even Tigress wasn't capable of breaking out of the cuffs.
"And what exactly do the Yongshi plan to do to help us?" Tigress asked with derision. "Wang - you've kept hinting at your soldiers coming to help us… how exactly, considering they all just went to accompany the relocated villagers?"
"Half," Wang corrected. "Half of my forces left. The other half is nestled in strategic areas around the city. We'll aid the Palace's efforts to apprehend Kai."
"He's right," Shifu concurred. "We need everyone on this, Tigress - given the magnitude of the threat."
"And how do we know not to erm - hit them?" Monkey asked genuinely. "I mean - none of us have even seen them yet!"
"I have, occasionally," Shifu countered. "They're stealthy warriors who wear all-black - just make sure to attack the green-colored masters and the huge bull you see."
Tigress still didn't seem satisfied, but it was enough for her to calm down.
Wang, on the other hand - suddenly seemed apologetic. "Now I - I understand that the Seeker here will be using his um - Revolver…"
Alf gasped. They had decided that strategy perhaps in desperation, and certainly in private - Shifu had promised him that he would not reveal the usage of the weapon to anyone except for the Five and himself. Evidently though, Wang had somehow deduced this…
"I want to make everyone aware that - that after I leaked the plans to the press," Wang began earnestly. "My men managed to recreate some replicas of it… we'll be fighting with the same technology, basically."
"Just what I figured," Tigress started, nostrils flaring as the others failed to suppress her advancing angrily towards Wang. "Steal our tech for your own men, eh?"
"Like Shifu said, we need everything we can to engage Kai," Wang countered, a bit irritated. "Leaking the tech was part of the plan! Think of it…"
"Yeah right," Tigress urged in anger. "I totally believe it…"
Alf felt somewhat betrayed, and after that feeling was gone - a bit concerned. The Revolver was - in many ways - a desperate move, and since everyone had witnessed its destructive capabilities back at the docks in Gongmen, Alf wasn't even comfortable using it, much less practice training with it. Furthermore, he was unsure how well-acquainted with the technology Wang and his men were.
CRACK.
Everyone gasped.
Even Wang.
Yu grasped Alf's hand more tightly, as he was roughly shaken out of his thoughts.
He turned his attention to the center of the group.
Tigress was holding the right side of her face, cheek reddened. Shifu was perched atop his staff, paw extended aggressively.
It took two seconds for Alf to make the connection.
He likewise gasped, eyes going wide.
"I have listened to you berate Wang since he has come here," Shifu spat quietly, just low enough so only Tigress could hear. "I don't care how long ago you knew him, or what you thought of him at the orphanage - fact is, he came to the Valley and told us about this… while what did you do?"
CRUNCH.
Another searing swish of Shifu's paw, and Tigress' other cheek now was glowing red.
"... nearly fail us in Gongmen," Shifu continued, snorting. "Keep your mouth shut from now on. Do you understand?"
Tigress nodded, again not making eye contact with Shifu.
BAM.
Another swish of Shifu's paw, as Tigress' right cheek turned freshly purple.
"Answer me," Shifu began dangerously.
"I will keep my mouth shut, master," Tigress let out, frame shaking slightly.
The rest of the group still had their mouths wide open. Wang in particular stared slack-jawed at Shifu - and Alf could sense he wanted to go forward and comfort Tigress, yet he decided against it, perhaps hoping to not upset her further. The biggest issue about these kinds of situations - where Tigress was physically humiliated in front of everyone - was that no one could really step in without incurring the wrath of Shifu. Sadly, this kind of treatment had occurred so often that everyone else just became numb to it - even Tigress.
"We ambush Kai as soon as he arrives, Wang" Shifu continued, almost as if nothing had happened. "The Five and I will start the initial attack, aided by your Yongshi soldiers - and the boy will come at the end and restrain Kai with the handcuffs."
Alf smiled, realizing that it took five years of serving the Jade Palace for Shifu to finally acknowledge him as "boy" instead of "Seeker" or "fleshling".
"I want to emphasize that if we - fail to bring Kai down," Wang started morosely. "I will not allow the loss of too much life. Retreat into the mountains is our best option - the Yongshi have sketched out some contingency plans - just follow our lead."
"You're expecting us to fail?" Monkey countered with confusion. "I mean - we've got everything planned…"
Wang smiled a bit gravely. "Just planning for circumstance."
"ALF!"
The Seeker turned around, broken from the focus of the conversation as a gleeful fox ran up from behind - hugging him firmly as a reluctant wolf followed slowly behind her.
"I can't just leave you alone!" Yu cried out, taking the time to squeeze Alf more tightly as the Seeker saw the wolf frown behind her.
"I tried to stop her - even follow her and make her go back to the caravan…" Zhong noted. "But she just kept going…"
The blue sky seemed to reverberate bright sunlight across Yu's ecstatic face. Shifu audibly groaned, while Wang and most of the Five made cooing noises that irritated Alf greatly.
"You shouldn't be here," Alf tried gently, brushing the fox's fur back.
"I have a habit of coming back for you, remember?" Yu returned with a smirk, referencing the time in the woods all those years ago - when Alf had elected to not run, and face Tai Lung.
"And uh, I guess I came because I wanted to say something to," Zhong clarified, coughing.
Instant silence.
Wang, Alf and Yu seemed completely open and accepting - in fact, they seemed overjoyed that Zhong had finally chosen to break the silence after so much time.
The Five and Shifu were different however - frowns and growls permeated their side of the conversation.
"What is it?" Wang asked genuinely.
"Don't listen to that fool," Shifu immediately rang out.
The huge lion walked closer to Zhong, placing a reassuring paw on the smaller wolf's shoulders.
"I forget your name," Wang gently noted.
"Zhong," the wolf quietly let out, keeping his head down and gaze away from Shifu - who was staring daggers right into him. "I'm - "
"A murdering psychopath," Crane started.
"The guy who killed the pandas," Monkey chimed in.
The group started more murmurs around Zhong. Alf and Yu did not participate, inching closer to Wang in defiant refusal of Shifu's orders to stay away.
"What did you wish to say?" Wang asked again.
Zhong still felt nervous speaking, but Wang's calm smile helped him. "Well - I just think that the guard forces could be useful to us."
"Your recommendation is to involve those incompetent idiots," Shifu spat, pacing furiously. "Foolish…"
"If this - Kai guy really is as powerful as you all say he is, and he has an army…" Zhong countered, a bit more bravely. "... we need everything we can get."
Wang nodded, as if he was taking this under deep consideration. "You should speak up more - Zhong."
The wolf smiled genuinely, for the first time in front of Shifu.
"Hey Wang," Crane asked suddenly. "We assume your soldiers can fight - how well can you fight?"
This had been a question that was on everyone's minds since Wang had come to the Palace. Although his imposing, large frame and muscular physique would imply immense power - none of the Five, Shifu, Alf, or Yu could tell what exactly Wang was a master of… they couldn't even be sure that he had any kung fu training at all.
"I can handle myself," Wang noted simply.
A/N
Done with another one boss! (hehe)
Some things I wanna note is that Kai definitely did something with Po's father back when he first met him - just not revealing specifically what happened yet. Also, we can see how Alf is somewhat at peace with his decision to leave the Valley behind, and that eventually he sorta understood where he stands with everyone else. Another key thing that resurfaced was Tigress and Shifu's rocky relationship - a factor I think which is excellent to mull over. Finally, I always found Po's instant love for his biological father a bit corny - imo, it should have been a little more drawn out and detailed.
And yay Zhong actually speaks his mind!
And so much more plot stuff!
Support is amazing.
~TW
