Po heard the scraping sound of stone on metal and woke with a start. Propping himself on his elbows, he looked around the exquisite guest room. Right away he realised that he knew this place. Something way too small to be a blanket was draped on his stomach. He grabbed the cloth, and realised that it was a pair of shorts. Frayed tan shorts with patches of red and green. Po grinned. He'd missed these pants. Where did they come from? And why wasn't his arm broken anymore? Come to think of it, all the pain was gone. His stomach was cured of bruises. The gash on his head had also vanished.

He heard the scraping sound again, and looked to the far corner.

Oh crap!

Po flopped back on the big bed, shutting his eyes and letting his tongue dangle out his gaping mouth. Let him think I'm dead please let him think I'm dead please let him think I'm dead...

"Welcome back to White Fortitude." The Yeti set down the massive sword and the rock he'd been sharpening the blade with. His armour clanked as he stood up. "We locals call it the Palace of the Mind."

It was clear that Po wasn't fooling anyone. He nervously came back to life and sat up. At least this guy, who he now knew to be called Tenzin, didn't seem to want to kill him anymore. He hugged his pants like they were an unstuffed teddy bear. "So... um... how long have I been out?"

"Two days." Tenzin said. "That's how long it took for the elixir to heal you."

"My dad! Haoxin!"

"Safe."

"And Yujin..."

"Also safe. Thanks to you."

Po twisted his pants, trying not to look at the big freakin' sword. "So... you're still alive?"

"Yes, Mr Obvious. I am. I am a part of this mountain and it is a part of me. It would take more than an exploding arrow and a plunge into the abyss to end my life."

"Yeah... um... sorry about that." Po rubbed the back of his neck. "You did try to kill us more than once, though."

Tenzin sighed. "Yes. I know sorry isn't good enough, but I apologise for my actions against you and your friends. I was led to believe that you were allied with Hei Nuwang. I thought Ember felt the same, but I didn't know about her amnesia at the time."

"I get it, sorta." Po said. "Protecting the Dragon Empress was your job, but you did go overboard. I mean, they were imperial soldiers."

Tenzin gave a quiet snarl. "It was imperial soldiers who betrayed my mistress in the first place. My methods may have been extreme, but I would be damned if I let any soldier near her again."

"Like Monkey's dad?" Po asked. He had to say it. He had to know if Tenzin had any remorse for that particular crime.

Tenzin scowled, turned away and picked up his sword. Po froze, wondering what he was going to do. The large creature merely walked towards the open door. He stopped just before entering the corridor outside. Po couldn't see his face. "What I did that night... was not done on Yujin's orders. I acted out of rage and paranoia."

Po breathed a sigh. He took that as a 'yes'. "Where is Yujin? We've got unfinished business."

Tenzin tossed Po a thick wool coat. "She went into hiding right after she brought you here. You'll find her in the central temple in the old city. The original entrance has been cleared, so you will have no trouble getting in this time."

"... And what about you?"
"I have work to do. She wishes to speak with you alone, anyway. Good day, Dragon Warrior."

Tenzin left without another word, taking the giant sword with him. When Po was sure he wasn't coming back, he immediately set to work discarding the black clothes he'd woken up in and happily putting on his own pants. "Hello, old friend..." He put on the wool coat, and that was when he saw the big bowl of peaches sitting on the shiny black set of drawers opposite the bed. Right on cue his stomach growled, and Po wasted no time lifting the bowl above his face and consuming all eighteen peaches in less than ten seconds. He wiped his mouth and looked out the window. The sky was a normal reddish orange, with the sun emerging from behind the Himalayan Mountains. There were no embers falling from the sky. Getting up the mountain to Shambhala should be a cakewalk.

Po straightened his sleeves and set out at once. He was almost out the fortress gates when the visions pushed themselves back to the front of his mind.


The small dilemma of Yujin having to split her duties between being Dragon Empress of Shambhala and Chinese Princess was solved much more easily than she had anticipated. Xian's father may be a little old fashioned compared to his son, but he knew better than to try to force Yujin into becoming a traditional Chinese wife and abandon her title. So it was agreed that every weekend she would return to Shambhala, make sure all was well, and then come home by the beginning of the new week.

This was not without problems, however. Before marrying Xian, Yujin had made it very clear that no-one was to know the location of Shambhala, not even the Emperor. So this led to the royal court asking questions every time Yujin disappeared every weekend. Many of the more conservative members of the court weren't happy that a woman of the royal family was gallivanting about doing whatever she liked, but the Emperor merely told them that even if he wanted to do something about it, he couldn't. Xian's responses were not so polite.


Xian and General Tujiu had argued again, today.

It had been Yujin's fault, really, but she did not feel sorry. She probably hadn't needed to tell Xian about Tujiu's not-so-subtle accusations that Yujin was overstepping her bounds by not obeying her husband and father in law's every word, but she'd had more than enough of the feathered creep. Needless to say, Xian was so angry that he'd stormed straight into the throne room and confronted Tujiu in front of the entire royal court.

Yujin had left to visit Shambhala soon after telling Xian what happened, so she didn't find out about the incident until her return. Things had escalated when some members of the court also made their feelings known, and only the Emperor's arrival prevented the situation from turning ugly.

Xian walked into the bedroom as Yujin was giving their little cub a bath. Steam filled the room, but the baby merely giggled and splashed at the bathwater with tiny paws. It had become apparent since the first bath that just like with the mother, fire did not bother the child. That crossed off one thing on the parents' list of things that could kill their baby.

Yujin looked at Xian, saw that he was as steamed as the bathwater, and knew right away what had happened. "What did Tujiu have to say for himself?"
"He said that he's not the only one who thinks that way. The entire royal court is talking about it."

"To hell with them." Yujin practically snarled. She'd distanced herself from her sisters to get away from being treated like this. "They need to learn that a woman's place is not in her husband's bed!"

"That's not the only thing." Xian rubbed his neck. "He said something about you even dabbling in witchcraft if I didn't rein you in." Ember blinked. Xian looked out the window, worried. "You don't suppose he knows about..."

Ember shook her head and lifted their dripping cub out the bathtub. "How could he?"


Po stared in awe at the massive stone doors that had been carved from the mountain itself. Twice as tall as the doors to the Hall of Warriors, the stone doors were decorated with engraving that looked a lot like the ones on the throne room doors. They even had the jewel and gold sphere for the dragons' eyes.

The door bearing the red dragon had been opened just wide enough for a panda in a thick wool coat to squeeze through. Po steeled himself and went through the crack.

Another vision came to him. It was as if someone was pushing him to see them.


It was chaos out there.

The invasion started the evening after Yujin and Mengxiang's most recent argument, seemingly out of nowhere. Yujin could hear the brutal clash of sword against sword, the cry of a fallen soldier, and the breaking of the palace gates. She reached into the crib and shielded her child's ears from the terrible noise, even though her child was sound asleep next to the stuffed life-sized red panda toy Haoxin had made. She feared for Xian. He and Eagle Jr. had rushed off to aid his father, who along with most of the royal court was under siege in the Hall of Precious Peace. She reached out, looking for Tenzin, but he was outside the palace, disposing of the enemy reinforcements. Haoxin and her family were out of the city, thank the gods. Yujin had tasked herself with protecting her cub.

She waited, her heart racing as she listened to the battle outside. She couldn't use her powers and risk exposing herself. People could call it witchcraft. She wanted to take her baby away from the danger, but feared what effect her special 'technique' would have on the child's tiny body. Whenever Xian or even Tenzin 'travelled' with her, they would sometimes suffer headaches and nausea. But if the situation grew dire, she would have to risk it.

Yujin sensed fire coming from somewhere else in the building and cursed. Fire wouldn't harm her child, but she didn't know what smoke would do. She stepped away from the crib and closed her eyes so she could concentrate. Find the fire. Kill it before it causes too much damage.

She heard voices in the corridor outside, almost drowned out by the sounds of battle. Yujin nearly took her child away right then and there, but paused when she took the voices possibly belonging to Xian and Eagle Jr. into consideration.

She and her baby would pay dearly for that hesitation.

As she lingered, the door swung open. It was the last person Yujin expected to see. "Hei-"

Hei Nuwang moved so fast that Yujin couldn't even blink before she felt the pain of a crystal dagger in her gut.

Yujin went completely cold. Did she just get stabbed by her own sister?

Hei Nuwang twisted the dagger, making Yujin gasp and curl herself over her sister's arm. All the strength went out of her. She willed Hei Nuwang's dress to catch fire, but nothing happened. What kind of weapon was this? And why was Hei Nuwang using it?

Hei Nuwang pulled out the dagger, and Yujin crumpled to the floor. The baby woke and started to whine, but Yujin was too stunned to try for the crib. She stared at Hei Nuwang, who returned the stare with a very satisfied smirk. "What have you done?" She whispered, not just talking about the stabbing.

Hei Nuwang wiped the dagger. "You mean this little invasion? It was the only way to get to you. I must thank Tujiu and Long Feng for their assistance."

Rage set in. Yujin snarled like the tiger she was. If she ever saw Tujiu and Long Feng again she'd burn them till they're ash.

Her wound bled onto the floorboards no matter how hard she pressed her paw. "Why, Hei?"

"You know damn well why. First you discard us for that damned turtle. Then you marry a mortal. And now you give birth to this... this abomination!" She pointed the dagger towards the crib where the baby continued to cry. "You've gone too far, and as usual it's up to me to set things right!"

She made a beeline for the crib, dagger in hand. Yujin's mind screamed as she summoned what little strength she had left and launched herself at the back of the woman who had once been her sister. Hei Nuwang spun round, dagger at the ready, but had never faced anything like kung fu. Yujin grabbed the paw holding the dagger. Twisted the arm. Redirected the dagger tip into Hei Nuwang's shoulder.

Hei Nuwang shrieked, eyes nearly bulging from the shock of being impaled by her own weapon, and struggled with Yujin. They fell back against the set of drawers where they kept the child's clothes. A lone candle tipped over the edge and fell onto the large bed where Yujin and Xian slept. As the two felines wrestled over the dagger, the bed became completely engulfed in fire. All the while, the baby cried.

Hei Nuwang snarled, punched Yujin in the face and grabbed her by the arms. "Burn in hell with your cub, sister!"

And she shoved Yujin into the flames.


The pain was so horrendous that Po choked and collapsed just as he was about to climb the stairs to the central temple of Shambhala. He writhed on the ancient stone, his eyes stinging with tears, crying in agony from the non-existent flames until the vision ended and he fell limp upon the steps.

Sucking in air like noodles, Po tilted his head up so he could see the temple up above. He thought of a single bare bed, blood-stained medical instruments, and a small scroll amongst them.

Diagnosis: Third degree burns covering 85% of her body. Single stab wound to stomach. The Empress's spiritual power has kept the damage from spreading to her internal organs. However, the injuries show no sign of healing quickly, and the patient is comatose. It is unlikely that she will survive the night.

"Holy crap on a rice cracker." He spoke softly. Why had he used that dagger? Why?


Itburnsitburnssopainfulwhyhatehatehatekillyousisterburnshurtsithurtsithurtshelpmesomeonehelpmemybabysomeonesavejinpleasemaketheburningstophateyoutujiudamnyoualltohellkillyoulongfengburnsburnsburnsburnsburnsburnshatesopainfulwhywhywhywhyhurtsmybabymybabyjinxianhelpusiwillmakesomebodypay...

Sound of breaking wood. Can barely see. Tenzin peering through fire. Eyes wide and mouth ajar. He breaks burning bed apart. Lifts Yujin out. She can't feel his arms. Too painful. Most of dress gone. Fur gone, too. Crib silent. Still lump beneath covers. Hurts too much to move. Mengxiang falls to knees. Stunned at first but then crying. Screaming and crying. Yujin tries to scream but voice doesn't work. Closes eyes though it hurts. Tenzin looks at crib. Looks like his heart broke like hers did. He carries her out of burning room. Mengxiang keeps screaming and crying. Yujin's baby is gone. Jin is dead.

Yujin tries to cry but the tears don't come.


She still hurts when Tenzin takes her to central temple. Clears office and puts bed in middle of room. Places Yujin on it. She can barely move. Burnt fingers claw at cloth covering bed. Stares at ceiling. Still can't cry. Can't scream either. Can only breathe. Jin is dead. People work. Remove what remains of dress. Stitch wound. Tenzin is roaring outside. Not his fault. Is Hei Nuwang's fault. Make her pay. Hurts, hurts, hurts. Did Mengxiang know? Where is she? Where is Xian? Where is Oogway? Where is my baby? She is dead. Elixir is injected into furry part of arm. Hours pass. Painful. Nothing happens. Doctor cries and says dagger's power is too strong. Go to hell, Hei Nuwang. She closes her eyes and can't open them again. Can no longer move body, but can still hear. They decide to hide her in the Palace of the Mind. In casket underground. Needles stop chi flow. Keep her in stasis so body won't wither while burns fade. Hide golden medallion in place near Temple of Heroes until time is right. Hurts. They decide Shambhala is no longer safe. People evacuate. Tenzin stays behind to guard his mistress. He takes her deep underground. He dresses her in black suit to protect her burns. Places helmet over her head. Places her in the stone casket. Promises that Hei Nuwang will pay as he seals it.

Jin is dead. Hurts too much. Memories too painful. Yujin locks them up and throws away the key.


The mad vulture is familiar. Ember steps between the immobilised Viper and Crane, relishing in Tujiu's terror. She knew him from somewhere. Ever since they arrived, she'd known deep down that he and his people were somehow the cause of her suffering. It came to her as instinct. Every time she looked upon them, her first thought was to burn them alive. As she looked upon Tujiu, a faint memory came to her.

"It was the only way to get to you. I must thank Tujiu and Long Feng for their assistance."

Ember reached out with the flames and fulfilled her vow.


The young panda is familiar. Ember projected herself in front of the burning building, watching as Tenzin slowly choked the life out of the Dragon Warrior. Ever since he and his friends arrived, she'd had mixed feelings. A part of her wanted to kill them for associating with Tujiu. She'd enjoyed playing with the minds of the panda and the crane, and coming up with new ways to 'kill' them when she was done. And yet, another part of her knew they were innocent. She wanted to warn them. Warn them of Tujiu's evil, and the monkey's dangerous thirst for vengeance. This feeling was strongest whenever she looked at the panda.

As she looked upon Po, a faint memory came to her.

In a dark forest in the middle of winter, a little panda stared at her with wide green eyes, his red scarf dangling by his legs.

Tenzin squeezed tighter around Po's throat. Ember saw, and reached out with a gloved paw.

"No." She spoke.

Tenzin looked at her, confused.

"No. Not yet."