Three weeks and three days before the Jade Palace's destruction...
The only reason Po was up one hour before the morning bell was because Top Dog was an early bird, and Po had pulled the short straw. The panda was yawning ever two minutes and was seriously considering propping his eyelids with toothpicks as he waited alongside Top Dog at the top of the stone steps. Eagle Jr. had gotten up earlier than they did to send a report to Emperor Xian concerning the outcome of the meeting, and should be back any time now.
"I do appreciate that you got up so early to guard me, Dragon Warrior." Top Dog spoke after an uncomfortable silence. "Normally I would be fine on my own, but after what happened with Superintendent Wu and those pigs I don't want to take any chances."
"How's Wu doin', anyway?" Po asked. "I haven't seen him since all that stuff with the special cargo."
Top Dog thought for a moment and then chuckled. "He tried to convince the Emperor to shut you down. I reminded him that the Emperor was an old student of Master Shifu and wouldn't take to the idea, but he wouldn't listen. Needless to say, kung fu permits became non-existent after that. Please understand that deep down, Wu does have good intentions, even if he does have a habit of ticking off people who know how to kill him with their little finger."
Po frowned. "Wait, you're literally the top dog at HQ, so you would have to be the one who came up with kung fu permits. Why do you sound happy that the Emperor got rid of them?"
"Because by then it was clear that the permits were more trouble than they were worth." Top Dog said with a hint of bitterness. "I'd hoped defenders like you would be able to manage while the permits would keep criminals trained in kung fu in line." Po thought about the two months he'd spent waiting for his own permit and opened his mouth, but Top Dog hadn't finished. "I'd hadn't counted on my subordinates' inefficiency. While you and countless other masters were stuck in your academies, criminals were running rampant in the streets, and we were entirely to blame. I've spent the last year making changes so nothing like that happens again."
"Yeah. Those few months sucked." Po replied, nodding.
Another, not so uncomfortable silence followed. As Po watched the sun peek out from behind the far mountains, turning the light purple sky a fierce orange, he thought about what Top Dog had just said. Maybe some of the ink brush pushers at HQ weren't as sucky as he thought they were. After all, Top Dog wasn't the only one who made mistakes.
All the same, he said, "I think you should apologise to Master Shifu before you go."
Top Dog frowned and looked at him. "What are you talking- ah, right." He sighed. "You're right. You're right, I said some things I shouldn't have. I'll speak to him before I leave."
"You can talk to him now, if you want." Po pointed to the double doors of the Jade Palace. "He usually gets up round this time to meditate himself into awakeness."
Top Dog tilted his head. "How does that work?"
"I have no idea. I tried it myself but woke up on my face."
Creak.
Po and Top Dog turned round. Shifu had just stepped out a crack in the door. "Don't mind me, I just wish to see you off."
Top Dog didn't hesitate. "Master Shifu, I owe you an apology. I went too far at the meeting, and I'm sorry."
Shifu's eyes widened, just a little. "Apology accepted. Po, I'll take over guarding Top Dog until Eagle Jr. returns. In the meantime, I need you to go down to the village and collect a shipment of weapons for the Training Hall. Get going."
"But Master, I was hoping for a little sleep time..."
"Po!"
"Alright, alright. Um, see ya later, Mr. Top Dog." Po went down the steps without another word. Back at the top he could hear Top Dog and Shifu talking. When he caught Ember's name he sped up his descent until they were out of earshot. There was no training today, so he would be spending the day with his dad. For one day, he just wanted to forget about Ember and devour some noodles.
As he was strolling down the empty main street towards the warehouse where deliveries from outside the valley were usually sent, Eagle Jr. swooped down from the steadily lightening sky to greet him.
"Good morning, Dragon Warrior." Eagle Jr. said. "I just wanted to take this last opportunity to say goodbye before I return to the Imperial City." Po yawned again. "Dragon Warrior, I swear that sometimes when you open your mouth it's like staring into a cave."
"Count yourself lucky you and Emperor Xian are best buds." Po folded his arms, half-miffed.
"I should continue to the palace." Eagle Jr. bowed and started flapping his impressive wings, ruffling Po's fur. "It was good seeing you, Po."
"Likewise." Po bowed in return. Once Eagle Jr. had taken off, the panda gave a friendly wave and continued on his way.
The echoing chime of the morning bell filled the air by the time he'd collected the shipment from the warehouse. It was mercifully less than he'd expected, being three sealed crates that fit perfectly on the cart he used to drag them back down the main street. When he started passing Dragon Warrior Noodles and Tofu, he heard his dad calling out to him.
"Dad?" Po walked through the archway, taking the shipment with him. Mr. Ping was emerging from the kitchen carrying an empty sack. Clay Po was standing in the far corner, frozen in the real Po's famous pose.
"It's not often you're out and about right after the morning bell, son. Is everything alright?" Mr. Ping asked.
"Yeah, I'm just picking up a shipment for Master Shifu." Po said. "Where're you going?"
"An emergency trip to the north farms. We're about of radishes and the delivery man never showed up." Mr. Ping crossly put his free wing on his hip. "I should be back in two hours. It's a good thing you've turned up, son. Could you do your father a favour and get the shop ready for opening?"
Po really wanted to sleep, but leaving the shop alone wasn't a good idea. "Fine."
Mr. Ping smiled. "Thank you son. Again, I'll be back in two hours."
The goose was gone immediately after.
With his mad kung fu skills Po made short work of prepping up the restaurant. With great speed and precision he moved all the stools from on top of the tables to the floor. He sped across the eating area, cleaning the dust off the tabletops with a single swipe of a cloth. He mopped the floor until it was sparkling in the morning sun. All in all it took him six minutes. When the mop was back in the closet and the floor was starting to dry, he sat down one of the tables closest to the kitchen and waited for his father to return. As the minutes passed, the main street outside began to fill with villagers going about their daily lives. More than once a pig, rabbit or other animal stepped into the restaurant, and once Po politely explained that the restaurant wouldn't open until his dad returned they left soon after. All of them had complimented the clay statue. Po himself had tried to avoid looking at it the whole time he'd been cleaning. Since he'd grown out of the slight narcissism he'd developed after becoming the Dragon Warrior, he'd found many of the statues in his likeness difficult to look at. Especially the ones that looked too much like him, such as Clay Po.
One hour before Mr. Ping's estimated return, Po's stomach told him that he'd hadn't had breakfast yet. Looking forward to some dumplings mixed with hot noodles, Po got up and went to the kitchen door. He yawned again as he pushed it open.
"Quick, close the door! Close the door!"
A much smaller panda sprinted past Po into the kitchen, and the bewildered older panda stepped back to avoid the door as it slammed shut in his face.
Po blinked a few times before the door opened again, and Su's face glared at him. "What are you doing? Get in here before they see you!"
Wondering what the heck was going on, Po quickly stepped inside and Su shut it again. "Is Mr. Ping here?" She asked.
Po shook his head. "He went to get radishes and left me to get the noodle shop ready. I swear there's a conspiracy to kill me through sleep deprivation."
Su put her ear against the door, eyes narrowed.
Po looked at the door, then Su, then the door again. He put his own ear against the door. Then Su crept to the side and peeked over the counter. Not knowing what else to do, Po followed her lead. He saw a group of kids pass by the archway. He was sure had seen them before.
When the kids were gone, Su stood up. "Phew!"
Unpleasant images of his own childhood made Po bristle. "Are those kids picking on you?"
"What? No!" Su said. "They just want me to join their stupid club!" Now Po remembered them. They were the current members of the Master Mantis fan club. "That's the sixth club this week!"
"Sixth what?"
"Mister Po, how many clubs are there?"
"Six."
"Aw crud!"
Po was starting to get an idea as to what was going on. "Are you telling me that every fan club in the valley have been trying to get you to join them?"
"Yeah! Duh!" Su took an apple from a crate. "What do they want with me? I'm not a master!"
Po thought about how to answer. Thoughts of his fans reminded him of Pong, and all the fanboying he did while Po was training him. One memory in particular stood out. Pong was standing over Po while he was trying to sleep, gushing over watching the Dragon Warrior sleep and how he couldn't wait to tell his friends back home. A grin spread across Po's face. "I think I get it. Every kid in the valley dreams of living with six of the most awesome warriors in China, but you're the only kid who actually does it. All the clubs want you so you can tell them all about their favourite masters."
Su pursed her lips. "I knew it. They don't want to make friends. They just want an inside man."
"Uh, don't you think you're being a bit too cynical-"
"I will not be peer pressured into spying on my teachers!" Su stepped out the kitchen.
Po sighed and followed her. "Su, that's not what I meant!"
The young girl turned to face him, and she saw Clay Po for the first time. "What the heck is that?"
"My dad's idea of promoting the Dragon Warrior." Po said. "Everyone in the palace calls him Clay Po."
Su pointed at the statue. "Is that the freak of art Mantis talked about at breakfast?"
Po sucked in air through his nose. "'Freak of art' is pretty harsh."
"Sorry."
Po glanced at the crates in the cart. Weapons were always awesome to look at. Maybe if he showed Su a few she would cheer up. "Hey, we just got a new shipment of some super cool stuff. Do you wanna see?"
"I guess."
Po sat her down at one of the tables and grabbed a crate. He set it down on the table and pulled off a lid. "Wooooooooaaaaaaahhh..." He pulled out a brand new crossbow with intricate dragon carvings.
"Why is that crossbow so fat?" Su asked.
Po burst out laughing. "It's a reloadable crossbow, Su. It's fat because it's designed to carry more than one arrow. Pretty neat, huh?"
"I guess so."
"Here, hold it." Su hesitated, but eventually took the crossbow into her small arms It was wider than her body. "Whew, it's heavy!"
Po pulled out another crossbow and aimed it at a poster. The poster displayed himself standing amidst scarlet flames. It reminded him of the last time he'd held a crossbow like this. Seeing that flaming arrow explode on the yeti's shoulder had been one of the most satisfying things he'd ever seen.
"Su, don't worry about those fan clubs." He told her. "If they get too pushy, just let me know and I'll make sure they back off... Su?" Su was staring at the dragon carvings on the crossbow she was holding. "Su, I'm talking to you."
"Oh, sorry. What?" Su struggled to lift the crossbow higher.
"Never mind." Po put his crossbow back in the crate. "Those carvings are pretty cool, aren't they?"
"I don't really like dragons." Su said. "They make me feel things I don't want to feel."
"What do you mean?"
"When I look at a picture of a dragon, I feel like I lost something very important to me. It's kinda stupid, I know. I haven't lost anyone yet, and I still have my lucky coin."
"Huh. What else don't you like?"
Su looked to the side, thinking. Then she scowled. "Bedtime stories. Nine times out of ten, something horrible happens in the story and I get nightmares."
"You don't say."
Su adjusted her grip on the crossbow. "I also hate wind chimes. Metal ones are okay because they actually chime, but wooden ones just go clunk, clunk-"
Twang-SMASH!
Suddenly Po and Su were yelling as they were showered in pieces of clay and brown dust.
"Whoah, what the heck?!" Po yelled, brushing dust from his fur.
Su had turned pale and dropped the crossbow. "Aw man, I shot Clay Po in the face."
Po saw the statue and his stomach lurched. "Why the heck did you do that?!"
"I didn't mean to!" Su started shaking. "I didn't know it was loaded..."
"It wasn't supposed to be! Of all the crazy, stupid things to do-"
"I'm sorry!" Su wailed.
"Not you, the idiot who put a loaded crossbow in the shipment!" Po quickly checked Su over, but she wasn't hurt.
"I wasn't even touching the trigger!"
"Look at this flipping mess!" Po groaned and got to his feet. "Aw man, my dad's gonna kill me!"
"Aw man, he's gonna kill me more!" Su dug her fingers into her scalp.
"Crap!" Po raced to the cart, removed the other two crates and pulled the cart over.
"What are you doing?" Su asked.
"One of the newest members of the Dragon Warrior fan club's a sculpting prodigy. He can fix the statue for us." Su's shoulders sagged as Po dragged the headless statue onto the cart and started looking for a blanket to cover it with. "If he's not at today's meeting, I don't know what the heck we're gonna do, because the local sculptor couldn't keep a secret if his life depended on it!"
Po was more convinced that ever that Ember was totally nuts. Why, of all places, did she lead him here?
The reddish brown room was big and horrid. Completely out of place in a prison. There were three tables fitted with manacles covered in red stains. Shelves with bottles of funny smelling fluid. A square counter with creepy instruments. it was false hope to think that this was just a torture chamber.
Sutoraiki's laboratory, Po, Ember spoke into his ear, even though he was alone. Many a prisoner spent their last moments here, Sutoraiki's rambling the last sound they ever heard. Well go on, Po. Don't be shy.
Po gulped and climbed out of the hole, stepping onto the dull wooden floor. Ember didn't speak again, and he couldn't see anyone in the horrible room. For now he was alone.
Sutoraiki. Po knew him. The crazy hornet from Japan who shot poison darts from his butt, who had disappeared along with his equally crazy knife-throwing pal Izumi after Po and his friends foiled their plans. Now he knew what had happened to them. So if Sutoraiki was here, did that mean Izumi was here as well? That thought made Po pull out his frying pan. He hoped Ember or her shadow monster had gotten them. It wasn't a very nice hope, but after seeing this room he couldn't stop himself from thinking it. Many a prisoner had spent their last moments here, Ember had told him.
"Oh, they are so gonna pay for this." Po spoke, his fear giving way to anger. Ready to slam his frying pan into the next jerk he saw, Po crossed the room to one of the two wooden doors. He found it locked, and after trying the other door was met with the same disappointment. Po braced himself and kicked the door. There was a loud bang, but it didn't give. After four more kicks and punches he gave up. Tigress could have brought that door down, but he wasn't Tigress.
Was this Ember's idea of a joke? To trap him here in this room of nightmares? No way, she gave him a clue to go to the Imperial City. Maybe there was a key in here somewhere.
Po started looking in the least sickening areas, such as counters and benches that were either empty or had ordinary, not so scary items. As he headed towards what he assumed to be a desk that was located roughly in between the two doors, the candles flickered. Po paused. He was sure he hadn't felt a breeze. He shook his head and started rummaging through the pile of scroll, opening none of them. He did not want to know what was written in them. Knowing more or less what this room was for was bad enough, never mind the details.
He didn't find what he needed on the desktop so he tried the cabinets. He dug his paw through the first cabinet on the right, found nothing but more creepy tools. In the second cabinet he struck gold. A ring of black keys was right on top of the pile of blank paper.
He heard what sounded like a soft breath and looked up.
On the plain stone ceiling, something was emerging from the black shadow he had failed to spot.
The arm came first, lean but muscular, bearing long claws. Black mist floated from the flesh.
Then came the head, with its night-black horns and long snout. The curved teeth flashed in the candlelight.
The torso came next, its back to the frozen panda. Dozens of black smoking tendrils on its back waved in the air like underwater weeds.
With an unsettling elegance it pulled itself free. It landed on the floor on all fours. Right on the other side of the desk.
At first Po did nothing but stare. He stared at the tentacles on its back. Then the monster's head started to turn. Po ducked down behind the desk. He was starting to sweat. He felt like a child hiding in the wardrobe.
Don't let it find him. Please don't let it find him. The scream of the warden rang in his ears.
There was a thud. The desk shook. Something struck Po's body. He nearly screamed. Scrolls fell past his face and clattered on the floor.
There was silence for a moment. Then footsteps, heading away from him. Po gripped the frying pan with both paws. He straightened and looked over the desktop.
The creature was going through the door on the left. Not breaking through. Moving through. Like a ghost. Po's courage waned for a second. He ducked down again.
When he peeked again, all that was left was a pure black shadow staining the door. Then that shrank and was gone, too.
Po didn't dare stand up just yet. He waited a minute... then two... the creature didn't return. He stood up, feeling nothing but helpless.
That was what attacked this place. That was what killed the warden. Po wanted to go home.
Not without Tigress, an angry voice in his head yelled at him. His quickened breath started to ease up. Tigress. Remember Tigress. After that, getting his body moving again wasn't so hard.
Po looked down at the keys in the open cabinet. He quickly picked them up.
He glanced at the door the creature had just gone through.
There was no way he was going through there.
As quietly as he could he went to the other door. Slowly, carefully, he picked out a key that looked different from the others. He slid it into the lock and twisted. Clink! Po winced and looked to the other door.
Nothing happened. It hadn't heard.
Po opened the door, quickly rushed through and shut the door behind him.
He was in a windowless, brightly lit corridor. The walls were painted blue and the floor was polished wood. A dark blue door stood at the far end. Po made his way through and opened the door.
Smack!
Something small and round struck him right between the eyes, knocking his head back. Po staggered, yelling in pain and surprise. Another voice gasped.
Po blinked and took in the room. It was a big, luxurious looking bedroom, with a nice framed bed, an elegantly carved table and a big set of drawers. What had Po's attention more than anything was the stunned young girl in the far corner, holding a spoon like a catapult.
Po couldn't believe his eyes. Su had just shot him in the face.
