"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY'VE TAKEN HER?!" Shifu shouted at thin air in the middle of his meditation, startling everyone standing within thirty feet of him. Mengxiang's voice echoed in his mind, repeating the short and panicked message: Hei Nuwang had invaded the village and recaptured Su and her parents.

Shifu ignored the shocked mutterings of his students nearby, instead focusing on the pebble he crushed with his bare hand. The village was supposed to be safe. That was why he'd left Su there. Unless Su was the reason the village was attacked. Shifu pushed the thought away. He couldn't afford to let guilt cloud his judgement. Not when there was still so much to be done.

Three days had passed since the invasion of the Imperial City came to an end, and the events of those days flashed across his mind like illustrations in a scroll. Reaching the Imperial City in time to find the war already over, the soldiers rounded up and the brainwashed civilians returned to normal, Ember having presumably released them. The joyful reunion with his students beside the HQ. Viper and Crane's loving embrace. Top Dog nearly collapsing in relief upon being told that the royal family was safe. Xian embracing his surrogate family in the largest of the palace gardens before confirming to Shifu that Ember was indeed Yujin. Qiang nearly crushing Mr. Ping in a bear hug before his good mood was soured when the goose told him what had happened to Po. Shifu himself nearly losing his balance when he too heard what Hei Nuwang had done to his student. Learning that Po had disappeared around the same time embers stopped raining from the sky, and praying to Oogway that he was alive before going to the prison to interrogate Sao with Ox, Croc and Boar. With a bitter, shamed look in his eyes, Sao had confessed everything. He'd explained everything he'd learned about the true purpose of the invasion, and also revealed that Po had been abducted because Hei Nuwang wanted to use Ember's obsession with him to her advantage. Tigress had been captured because she was the only warrior with Po at the time. He didn't know what Hei Nuwang wanted with Su, however, or what had happened to Long Feng after he went insane. Shifu had been particularly disturbed by the revelation that Sutoraiki had been experimenting on live subjects and had been meditating on this information when he'd received Mengxiang's message.

Viper was the first to reach Shifu. "Master? What happened?"

Shifu dropped what was left of the pebble and stood up. "Hei Nuwang attacked the village." It didn't take long to explain the rest. Su and her family were back in the Children of Nuwa's hands. Mengxiang had been forced to surrender to spare the lives of the villagers. They were all being taken back to a place called the Palace of the Body. The same place where Tigress was almost certainly being kept.

"Damn it, we should have stayed with them!" Boar snarled after sinking his fist into the wall of the throne room they were all gathered in.

"Then we would have been captured as well." Shifu replied coldly. "Children of Nuwa are gifted with the chi of the First Queen herself. Without a crystal dagger they are almost impossible to defeat." He and Viper shared a look. Neither of them knew what would happen if anyone else found out who the First Queen was currently, and for now he intended to keep it that way.

Ox shook his head. "Sorry, but I seem to be missing something. Who is the First Queen?"

Croc gave his comrade a look. "You sucked at history when you were a kid, didn't you?" Ox glowered but said nothing. While Croc explained about Nuwa and Fuxi, Shifu turned his attention to his students.

"We have to make the Palace of the Body our first priority. The good news is, Colonel Sao revealed its location during his interrogation. The bad news is that Hei Nuwang has protected the building with a ring of protective stones that repels trespassers. Only a Child of Nuwa can allow us access."

"And there are only three of them in the Mortal Realm." Viper said. "One is our enemy, one has been captured, and the third is god knows where."

"And even if Ember would help us, she'd just wind up massacring everyone in the fortress." Shifu said.

"Good." Shifu blinked and looked to Mr. Ping and Qiang, who were standing near the back of the group. Both fathers bore icy glares.

"Mr. Ping, you shouldn't say things like that." Mei Ling spoke calmly as she rubbed her bandaged leg.

Qiang glared at her. "And why not? We'd do it ourselves if we could."

Mr. Ping nodded. "Hei Nuwang invaded our home, nearly killed you and beat our son half to death. She needs to pay."

"Hear, hear." Xian said from the other side of the group. His family were resting in the bedrooms. He did not flinch under Shifu's stare. "Because of that woman, my father and son are dead and my wife spent nearly thirty years suffering a fate worse than death. She deserves everything Yujin gives to her."

"I'd agree if she wasn't a total whackjob who brainwashed the whole city." Monkey said. "Are you sure Po is safe with her?"

Xian crossed his arms. "If there is a single trace of the Yujin I know, then he's in safe hands. All we can do is wait for her to bring him back."

As the discussion moved on to how they would get past the protective stones without a Child of Nuwa, Xian broke away from the group and wandered over to the throne, which had been put back in its rightful place. There were streaks of blood on the steps as he climbed them, and he had a strong feeling that it may be Po's. Xian held no resentment towards him for what he did to his wife, but did have regret that he didn't know the truth until it was almost too late. He was sure that Yujin would have forgiven him, too, or she wouldn't have borrowed some of Xian's chi so she could go back and save the panda.

"Your highness?" Xian turned away from the steps to see Top Dog standing at the bottom. Top Dog took a deep breath and bowed. "Your highness, I beg your forgiveness. I recommended that the Dragon Empress be killed. If I'd known who she was, I never would have-"

"You already have my forgiveness." Xian sat down in his rightful place on the throne. "If you still feel the need to redeem yourself, you can do so by overseeing the empire for a while."

Top Dog understood immediately. "You're going after her, aren't you?"

Xian nodded. He gripped the arms of the throne and breathed deeply to hold down his turbulent emotions. "I can't lose Yujin again. I can't. Go back to the HQ. You need your rest."

Top Dog departed, leaving Xian to look on as Shifu, his students, Mei Ling and the Masters' Council continued their conversation. So far they'd hadn't figured out a solution to the protective stone problem and were now trying to plan their rescue mission.

Master Ox put his hooves on his hips and interrupted Shifu when he was in the middle of contemplating how to find the captives once they were inside the fortress. "Grandmaster Shifu, Hei Nuwang seems to have gone to a lot of trouble to recapture that panda family. Is there something about them we should know?"

"Nothing that would benefit us." Shifu replied sternly.

Before Ox could press the issue, Viper snapped. "He's right! Right now we need to find a way to get past the fortress's defences!"

"You won't have to look very far."

The voice was loud and clear in Xian's ears even though the owner was all the way at the other end of the throne room, standing between the open doors.

The quiet rage within Mr. Ping and Qiang vaporised when they saw their son. Their faces lit up with pure joy as they rushed to embrace Po, followed closely by the four members of the five. Shifu stayed where he was, but he was clearly so overcome with relief that he was leaning on his staff for support. Po grinned in return as they surrounded him, peppering him with questions and nearly smothering him in hugs. He merely returned the hugs and assured them all that he was fully cured and ready for payback. Even better, he knew a way to get past the protective stones.

Xian strode across the throne room. The others parted and stepped away from Po so the Emperor could approach him. "Po, you don't know how glad I am that you are safe."

Po rubbed his neck. "Aw thanks, chief."

Shifu and Eagle Jr. gaped at the panda, but Xian merely chuckled, but grew serious right after. "Po, where is Yujin? Is she alright?"

Po looked a little apprehensive, and for a horrible moment Xian thought the worst. But then a small smile returned to Po's face and he patted his stomach. "Yeah... yeah... she's good. Let's go save our friends."


Three days later...

Sutoraiki was having a very rotten day.

He buzzed through the corridors of the Palace of the Mind, a mild ache in his head that lingered after Hei Nuwang had finished speaking- no, screaming at the hornet. It had taken two hours and all of his patience to make her accept the conclusion he had come to after two days of mind-numbingly painless experimentation: there was no way to break the seal without destroying the chi of its creator.

It was understandable that her temperament had worsened over the last few days, he supposed. Her scheme to lure Ember to the royal palace and assassinate her had failed because of the panda, meaning that they had invaded the city and lost most of their men for naught. Then she'd discovered that the creature that had been causing them so much trouble was none other than a dark remnant of her own mother. And now she's learned that she can't accomplish her goal without killing the good remnant. Beneath his sadism and selfishness, he actually felt a little sorry for her.

He turned the last corner towards the laboratory where his special concoction was waiting for its moment to shine. He'd promised Hei Nuwang over and over that it would cause no suffering whatsoever. It had a similar effect to a sleeping drug, though this sleep would last a lot longer. Hei Nuwang had not yet authorised its use, but Sutoraiki wanted a bottle of it on hand just in case.

The hornet stopped outside the door to the laboratory and looked to one of the two dog soldiers who stood guard. He asked the same question he always asked before going inside. "Has anyone entered since I left, soldier?" He'd never bothered to learn their names.

The soldier nodded. "General Long Feng is, inside waiting for you."

Sutoraiki's eyes widened. "What? And you let him into my lab?!"

The soldier hesitated. "He said you wanted him to wait for you inside."

"I said no such thing! Lady Hei Nuwang ordered his arrest two days ago!"

The soldiers looked at each other, alarmed. "The order has not reached us sir."

Sutoraiki buzzed furiously and barged through the door, the soldiers following behind.

The first thing he saw was his storage cupboard, sitting wide open and almost empty. The second thing he saw was the one armed rhino sitting at the counter, sticking a glowing blue syringe into his stomach. There were bloodied bandages covering the burns on his chest and shoulders. Most of his armour was gone. He looked very unwell, but there was a vengeful fire in his eyes. The counter was covered in the vials that Sutoraiki used to contain the chi that Hei Nuwang had collected over the centuries before giving it to the hornet to experiment with. Roughly half of his stock was from ordinary mortals. Some came from extraordinary creatures such as the Phoenix and the Qilin. The rest came from demons of all kinds.

Sutoraiki counted thirteen empty vials. "How much of this have you used?"

Long Feng didn't look at him. "I failed to kill the witch. Her chi is too strong. I need power." He pulled out the syringe and set it on the counter beside the vials.

If Sutoraiki weren't an insect, all the blood would have drained from his face. "You fool. You have no idea what this could do to you."

Long Feng stood up and faced the hornet. He smiled despite the tremendous pain he must be in. "It will give me the strength to destroy the witch and everyone she holds dear. That is all that matters."

Hei Nuwang had demanded that he be captured alive, but already his eyes were glowing an eerie electric blue. Sutoraiki had to stop him now.

Don't be too displeased, my Lady. With his stinger he shot out a single wooden dart of the fastest poison in his arsenal. It struck Long Feng in his thick, leathery neck. The rhino blinked once before the poison hit him and he sank to his knees. In a few seconds it would be over.

Sutoraiki turned away from the dying madman to address the idiot soldiers. "Once he's dead, burn the body. I will inform Lady Hei Nuwang of what has happe-"

"Sir, behind you!" A soldier yelled.

Sutoraiki frowned and turned back round.

Long Feng was back on his feet, pulling out the dart and crushing it into sawdust.

That wasn't what left the hornet speechless, however.

It was that the rhino had two arms once again.

And this new one had claws.

Oh hell...

Sutoraiki knew he had to warn Izumi. He only got as far as the door before Long Feng's new weapons tore through his abdomen like an overripe pear.