Thirty minutes before the Jade Palace's destruction...

On the outside, Shifu was the stoic, controlled kung fu master he should be. Inside, he was out of his mind with worry. The sun had set, the stars were out, and the noodle shop was closed. Su should have been back by now. She should have been back long before the sky had turned blue.

He curtly returned every bow the villagers gave him as he half ran, half walked down the main street towards the Dragon Warrior Fan Clubhouse. He swore if those rowdy children had been keeping her after hours, their parents would be the first to know.

It had taken all his authority as grandmaster to stop Viper from coming down here herself, so she and the rest of the Five could go and look for Qiang, Pong and Anwu. They also should have arrived at the Jade Palace before the sun set. The dread in Shifu's heart grew worse as he reached the door to the clubhouse. Three pandas missing, and now possibly their daughter, too. He didn't know if it was the power of inner peace or just plain old gut instinct, but he sensed that something terrible was about to happen.

He knocked on the door, but didn't need his powerful ears to know that the little building was empty. A surge of fear quickened his heart. He waited fifteen seconds before turning away, just as child Pong's burly father came rushing towards him from his house across the street. "Master Shifu, thank goodness you're here! Someone has attacked our children!"

Shifu was struck speechless. Pong's father kept speaking urgently. "He broke my son's arm and tried to kidnap that girl you're looking after! She ran off before he could get her, and I'm betting she's back at the palace. I need you and the Dragon Warrior to find who did this before he gets away!"

"Take me to the children." Shifu was barely able to keep his voice steady. "I need them to tell me exactly what happened."

"But Pong's being seen to right now. Besides, you need to go after-"

"Su hasn't come home. I need to see them now."

Pong's father turned pale and he escorted Shifu back across the street into his house. Pong was in his bedroom with the other children and their parents, the bedroom covered in Dragon Warrior merchandise, the village doctor currently putting his left arm in a splint. The other children looked unhurt, but the sight of the splint had Shifu fuming.

The doctor finished his work and stepped away. "I'll come back tomorrow morning. Make sure he sleeps."

As Pong's distraught mother escorted the doctor out, Shifu sat down on the bed opposite Pong. On the other side, Pong's fellow club members sat in shaken silence. "Nothing else broken, I hope?" He said half-jokingly. Instead of cheering up a little, Pong sniffled. "I know it hurts, Pong, but I need you to-"

"I-it's not that." Pong rubbed his eyes with his good arm. "He got Su, didn't he?"

"Who are you talking about?"

"Some panda jerk who said he was Su's big brother. And we believed him." The rabbit girl sobbed as her mother comforted her. "We believed him. How stupid can we get?!"

Shifu knew for a fact that Su had no siblings. "Pong, please tell me what happened."

Pong told him about earlier this afternoon, when Su arrived at the meeting minutes before the red eyed panda did, and the scary fight that ensued. According to Pong, he had never seen Su so full of rage. After she had given the panda the Su-ker Punch... "The what?" Shifu asked.

"The Su-ker Punch. Su first used it when she punched that evil fox guy in the face." Pong smiled a little for the first time. "We've been calling it that ever since."

"Su-ker Punch. Well, that's a new one."

"Anyway, Su punched the fake brother, but then got this really bad tummy ache and ran out. The jerk went after her. I tried to stop him and... I failed. The Dragon Warrior's gonna be so mad at me." He lowered his head.

"Mad that you stepped in to help Su when she was in trouble? I highly doubt it." Pong lifted his head again. "And that was the last time you saw either of them?

The boy nodded. Shifu stood back up. He had to go, now, before Su or the red eyed charlatan got too far. He turned to Pong's father. "Take care of them. And don't leave the house. I don't think these streets are safe at the moment."

He sped off without another word, out the house and back to the clubhouse, hoping to pick up a trail. Inside, the single room was tidy, aside from a wooden sword on the floor that Pong must have tried to fight Su's attempted kidnapper with. His eyes caught a dull golden flash beneath the table with all the Dragon Warrior 'artefacts', and widened as he realised that it was Su's battered lucky coin. He crouched, went under the table and lifted it off the dusty floor. Su, where are you? He started wiping the specks of dust from the gold medallion when he suddenly fell back so violently his head struck the floor with a bang. Dazed, it took a second for Shifu to realise that someone had pulled him back out by the collar, and that someone was now pinning him with one paw on the chest, red eyes narrowed in hostility.

"Stay away from her, Shifu. You are not worthy of her. None of you are."

"Who do you think you..." Shifu trailed off. His ears were ringing.

The red eyed panda plucked the coin from Shifu's fingers. "I'll take that. I'll give it to her myself when I find her."

Shifu clenched both his teeth and his fist. Then the sounds of battle reached his ears. The red eyed panda grinned. "Perfect timing. See you around, Shifu... or maybe not."


The memory of the red eyed panda running out the door with Su's coin was the first thing on Shifu's mind when he woke up in the ornately decorated bedroom. His side ached, and there was a stale taste in his mouth. He stared up at the ceiling, taking in the woodwork and paint. He remembered the ceiling, having caught glimpses of it as he slipped in and out of consciousness. How long had he been in this bed? Where was he?

It took a great effort to sit up. His arms and legs were reluctant to move, and the barely healed injuries on his body were tormenting him. Better him than Viper. Speaking of which, where was she? Where were Tigress, Po and the others? How had the battle ended? Shifu had so many questions, but he wasn't going to get them lying in this great big bed.

He tried to turn, but failed. Biting back frustration, Shifu closed his eyes and let the energy of the universe flow through him. It eased the pain of his ribs and strengthened his limbs. After five minutes he was out of bed, smiling. Anything was possible when you had inner peace.

He strode up to the big wooden door and shoved.

"Ouch!"

The door struck something on the other side, and then from around it stepped a black-eyed pig carrying a roll of fresh bandages.

Woops.

"I do beg your pardon." Shifu said, embarrassed that the first thing he'd done upon waking up was hit his doctor in the face with a flat piece of wood.

"At least you're up." The doctor rubbed his eye, the other scrutinising at his patient. "Please go back to bed and I will examine you."

Shifu obediently returned to the bed. As the doctor removed the bandages beneath his robe and lightly touched the healed puncture wounds, Shifu did some questioning. "Where am I? Are my students alright?"

"You're in Gongmen City. You've been out of it since the valley invasion two months ago."

Two months? Shifu was stunned. "Are my students alright?"

"More or less. Masters Ox and Croc can explain everything once I get them." He straightened up. "You have scarring, but it won't be permanent. Honestly, I'm amazed that you're out of bed so soon. Once we get some food in you, you can leave."

"Thank you, and again I am very sorry."

The doctor was a good sport, accepting the apology and leaving without another word. He returned minutes later with a bowl of soup and the two founding members of the Master's Council. Storming Ox and Croc looked both troubled and relieved, but mostly the latter. "Finally, some good news." Ox was in the middle of saying as they entered. "Good to see you're awake, grandmaster."

"Where. Are. My. Students?" Shifu asked slowly.

Ox and Croc looked at each other. "They're out saving China, as usual. Well, most of them are."

Shifu snapped his spoon in half as Ox face palmed. "Really? You start with that? Calm down, Master, we'll tell you everything."

Shifu listened raptly as Ox and Croc started explaining. He sighed in relief when told that the Valley of Peace had been left alone since the battle, even though his students had been forced to flee with their wounded master while he was unconscious. He was aghast when told that Po and Tigress had been captured by the enemy, and the same thing had almost certainly happened to Qiang, Su and her parents. He felt disgust and anger when told about the Children of Nuwa and what they had been doing to China's soldiers. Finally, he felt both pride and worry when told what Viper, Monkey, Crane, Mantis and Boar were doing at the moment.

"There's something else." Ox said. "The red eyed creeps hanging around here have left. We think they're heading to the imperial city to help with the conflict there."

"Gods, I think we're at war." Shifu muttered. He set down his empty bowl and got back out of bed. "I can't stay here. I have to help my students." Since he'd only woken less than an hour ago, Ox and Croc naturally objected. "No arguments. I'm leaving tonight."

Ox had mentioned a prison. One of their spies had eavesdropped on some of the un-brainwashed soldiers, and heard of a secret prison owned by the Children of Nuwa that had been destroyed by Ember very recently. A kung fu master and three prisoners matching the description of Master Boar and the three missing pandas had been spotted fleeing into the surrounding forest, their whereabouts unknown for now.

If I can just find them before the enemy does, maybe I will find Po, Tigress and Su as well... what on earth did that mad panda want with her? Could she be the key to figuring out the Order's plan, and what Ember really is? I need answers. I need to find her.

Croc folded his arms. "I guess we can't stop you. We'll stay here and gather resources to take back the Imperial City. What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to the prison to find Viper and Boar." Shifu said. "And not just to help them. I have a feeling I will find answers there."

"Stay away from her, Shifu. You are not worthy of her. None of you are." The red eyed panda had warned. Somehow those words had disturbed Shifu more than the threat of Ember herself. If he had or did anything to hurt Su, Shifu would tear him in two.