Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda, and that's it.

Well, it's been long enough. I had problem keeping the pace together, as well as the writing. But, I hope I deliver the story right in place... for you.

Chapter 2: Beyond The Past

Someone sounded the morning gong… someone at least. Po had been waiting for that. He couldn't sleep, and was definitely tired, but no longer panic. He gained his self-conscious somewhere over the night. The things that chased him never made their way into his room, a good thing to cry about.

He opened his eyes to look around, seeing nothing but darkness. Of course, the windows were shut tight; there shouldn't be any light coming in. He couldn't stop reviewing the image of the faceless puppet he saw. It came and went repeatedly over the night, and that's what keeping him awake.

He had to find a way. He had to know what to do next. Hiding in his room won't get him anywhere, but the idea of stepping outside was crazy. What choice do I have?

Throwing off the blanket, he crawled himself towards the nearest window and slit it open. The light shot in through the opening, and it blinded him just as he peered outside.

Nope, everything is cool.

The twilight color was still there, covering his vision as he spent hours roaming the Valley of Peace. There was nobody around, and nothing was moving as well.

He went back to the Jade Palace next, in a slow but courageous approach. He had to constantly checked the corner before moving in, going like operating an infiltrating mission.

He soon dived himself into the Sacred Halls of Warriors, and quickly hid behind a pillar. The relics looked untouched, and the floor was clean; no sound, no whisper, no movement, nothing.

Obviously, there was no one else in here, so he decided to leave after checking it thoroughly. It was then he rammed into Zeng at the entrance. Again, he completely went through the goose like a magic trick.

"Master Shifu, master Shifu!" called the goose. Po watched him ran along the hall.

Shifu was here? I thought I checked the… Nevermind. Po followed the goose to the end of the hall.

From what he observed, the goose was carrying a plate of mirror, and it looked awfully familiar to him. To his surprise, he found Shifu meditating beside the moon pool.

The old master flipped his ear when they closed in. "Can I help you?"

"We had just received a relic from the Chang Tao Training School. They said they would be honored if you can keep it in the Hall of Warriors."

Shifu slowly opened his eyes, and examined the relic. "What is it?"

Much to his expectation, the two ignored his presence. Zeng continued, "Sorry sir, I don't really understand their explanations. But they warned me not to-"

"Po!" shouted Crane from the entrance.

Shrugged, the panda turned at him. "Hey, when did you…"

"Don't forget you got a sparring practice to attend!" continued Crane. Po couldn't make out the crane's expression, but he thought he was hiding a laugh, or a smile.

"Go ahead Po," said Shifu calmly. "I will join you at dinner".

Po widened his eyes, "You can see me?"

Dumb question… He thought. Then again, maybe not.

Tracing Shifu's line of sight, he was looking at something else, and definitely not Po. That goes the same with Zeng. He tried waving his hands in front of his master, but the red panda didn't react. Well, normally he would, with a frown or something.

Not long after Crane exit the hall, Zeng and Shifu disappeared in front of him.

"Awwh MAN! Off with the magic trick again!" he exploded.

*

Po was heading towards the training hall as told, but his mind was somewhere else.

What was that mirror plate thingy? It looked familiar He thought, He got a feeling that he seen it, but can't remember much.

And that Crane's speech was…. somehow like a déjà vu. If I am not mistaken, they are trying to…

Suddenly, Monkey came out of a corner and dashed through his body. Urgh!

He felt nothing, but the image of his body being gone through by someone was rather disgusting; he felt so exposed.

"Ahaha, Po been jinxed!" Mantis, Crane and Tigress came through him again. Triple Urgh! And if he wasn't in transparent state, he swore he would get a slap from Tigress - for accidentally kissing her.

The three were gone before he could respond. Po didn't bother chasing after them. No, what's the need? They would probably swoosh off again.

It seemed like the world was happening without him. Surely they couldn't just screamed "Po been jinxed!", while nothing really happened to him.

Jinx? Po hastened his steps. If I am not wrong that would be…

He was right. A spilled bucket of water was laid on the training hall entrance. Last thing he remembered, Crane tricked him to enter the hall first. Then, *splash*… as in showered by water.

Yeah, that's it. Po tip-toed carefully across the wet ground and carefully pushed the door.

A bucket of water was dropped on top of me. Po looked up. Even though there was nothing, he couldn't resist shielding himself. It just came to him like reflect.

Déjà vu? Let's try again.

Next thing he remembered was the gang went exiting the hall through the back door. So, as stated, he did the same. He hastened his steps as if he was running. Yeah, I did chase them after that.

He exits the hall, turned right from there, and continued tracing. He was in the back yard right now, with flowers and pots hanging along the corridor. Then I tripped somethi-

He found himself tumbling onto the ground when he made a corner turn. Umph!

Coincident? I think not. He looked back while lying on his stomach, finding a broken flower pot at his feet.

Oops. Yeah, that's what happened. Don't panic, Shifu can't hit me, he can just went through me for that.

Continuing his pacing, he traced around the Jade Palace for hours. Eventually, he ended up standing in front of the kitchen building.

Of course! This is where the whole thing started…

The sun started to set again, and he wondered how long have he stopped eating. Right before he open the door, it was swung open. But instead of banging hard on his nose, it simply went through him.

"Haha! Twice!" shouted Mantis as he and other furious four came charging out of the building. Okay, second slap if not in transparent state.

Po watched them vanished into the air before long, smirking as he remembered they successfully tricked him, twice. Naturally, he was getting used to this vanishing magic, and couldn't stop himself from waving at the air. "Bye…"

But that doesn't explain the door part. As far as he remembered, if he could touch any object, he should be able to hit by it as well. But he shouldn't bother thinking it now.

He didn't remember chasing them after that, probably knocking himself out in the kitchen.

*

Weird, the kitchen floor wasn't wet, and there is no trace of spilled water bucket either. As far as he knew, it was here that he received the second bucket.

He remembered cleaning it himself. Problem is, why he never seen himself.

"Of course," mumbled him, and chuckled. "I am here."

He paused to think for a while. So far the things happened were somehow like a déjà vu. Although that doesn't explain the ghost, but he knew everything happened before. He certainly can't remember anything that goes way back beyond his awakening. But what about letting it flows right now? The memories certainly clicked back to him, just a small piece. If he could extend it beyond here…

Po let his instinct take him, randomly grabbed a knife from the shelf; was a bit shock when it's the same knife he found earlier. He examined it a while, before grabbing a fish from the sink.

Weird, where did it come from?

His actions were taken like reflects, he done this before, he knew he had. He started pilling the fish's fin off, then pierced the knife into the middle, slicing the fish into half. The blood started drooling over his knife. But he didn't stop there.

He chopped off its head then, only to find himself overwhelmed by a foul smell.

"Urgh, gross!" Without hesitation, Po threw the fish outside the window.

Oops… I think I did regret doing that.

"Po!"

"Arrggh!" the panda screamed in respond and turned to the entrance. Much to his relief, or horror, Master Shifu was glaring at him.

"Hi," greeted Po automatically. "I errr.. yeah, hi."

"We don't throw our garbage like that."

"I am sorry." Again, his mouth spoke by itself.

"That's okay. But you better go pick it up later. I don't want to see my garden rots with flies."

"Yes master chief!"

How stupid of him to talk to someone who couldn't hear him. But for the first time ever, he had tied himself up with the world. He watched Shifu leaped onto a chair, slowly sliding a mirror plate on the table. That's the one he saw earlier!

"What's that?" asked Po.

"Don't really know yet," replied Shifu as he took out a scroll and started to read. "Am checking for it."

"Ow-okay," Po replied, still gripping the blood-stained knife in his hand. He extended his arms to take the mirror plate, but Shifu didn't notice. He held it in front of him, soon realized that the reflection in the mirror plate… actually contained color.

"Huh!?" breathed him aloud, catching Shifu's attention.

"Po! NO!"

Suddenly, the walls started to rot and melt to the ground. The world began twirling around him, twisting and distorting dangerously. The mirror was accidentally let go, but instead it floated right where he held it. It started emitting flashes, blinding him as he covered himself using his arms. The knife was dropped, falling to the ground with a huge *thump* that echoed over the place. His head became extremely dizzy afterward, with his body parts twisting in a horrible way.

*

Po opened his eyes again, to be engulfed in total darkness. It took a while before everything came blurring in. The first thing he noticed upon his awakening, was the return of colors. Damn, he missed it so much. He scanned around, only to find himself lying on his own bed. He was in the Jade Palace alright, instantly recognized the usual setting. The room was dark, possibly night hour.

What just happened again? He gave a rubbed on his head. Despite his confusion, he was still glad that he returned, from whatever it is.

Probably just a dream…

He got on his feet and walked himself to exit his room. Someone were snoring awfully loud, probably monkey. But it feels good to hear some sounds rather than seeing people vanishing. He needed some answers, but the only one he could find was probably deep asleep.

He was terribly weak, and starved. He needs food, as in right now. Probably go make some in the kitchen. Maybe a good old soup noodle would help to ease the starvation.

*

Po was a bit shock when he saw light in the kitchen window.

Who would probably stay up so late? He thought.

He dragged himself along the corridor, moving closer and closer to the kitchen. He didn't go in immediately, just gave a peak through the corner.

He was surprise to see who's in there. "Master Shifu?" called him. The master was a bit shock when he first saw him, but quickly returned a smile.

"Ahhh… Po." Shifu put down the tea in his hand. "I was starting to worry that you won't be coming."

"What?"

"Don't stand there, take a sit." Shifu went over the stove, and took out a plate of finely steamed dumplings from a cooking pot.

"You were expecting me?" Po eyed over the dumplings.

"Why won't I?" The old master placed the dumplings in front of him. "Here, help your self."

Shifu simply frowned when Po started to sniff, "Don't cry."

"Okay." The panda rubbed his arm over his nose, then discarded it on his chest. Obviously, his master was a bit disgusted, shaking his head. Without hesitation, Po started gulping down the dumplings, but his mind was somewhere else, and Shifu noticed.

He sat next to Po, where his tea was placed. "I'm sorry that I didn't warn you about The Golden Mirror first."

"Nah... Don't worry, that's okay," replied Po. "So uurmmmm.... That's what it called huh? Golden Mirror."

"Yes, it was a relic that reflects people's memory."

"Details?" asked Po, grabbing another dumpling. Shifu had a pause before explained.

"The mirror will throw you into a realm that completely builds from your memory. It is basically a physical illustration that allowed you to roam…. In a world that your memory has. And the events that happened, or things that you had before will slowly replay themselves along. Without you of course. Now they won't be in a good order, because their sequences were affected by your emotion."

"Wow, so that explains the random pops up." Po swallowed the rest of his food before going at another.

"Apparently, there is a risk: You can't wake up until 4 hours later."

"Really? But I thought I woke up because I glanced at the mirror during my err…. Memory time."

Shifu chuckled. "That was such a coincidence."

There was a pause, before Po continued. "What about the people vanishing?"

Shifu raised an eyebrow. "You mean signs of people blurring out into the air? That is where your memory met its dead end."

"Dead end?"

"In other words, 'things that you never get to watch'. Of course, you can't remember things that you never heard, see or touch. It is impossible."

Shifu received an 'owh' afterwards.

"What about faceless people?" asked Po. "I gotta tell ya, it scares the heck out of me."

"Really?" Shifu took a sip on his tea. "That was the same reason of you having only seen their rough figure, not their whole."

"Ooooow..... Okay. What about the ghosts, the thingies?" Po hastily asked.

"Ghosts?" repeated Shifu, rather confused.

"Yeah, I am really sure I was chased by something back there, something that chills me. You can even feel the cold for that."

To his surprise, Shifu only chuckled. "I think that is your own imagination, Po."

"What?!"

"As I have mentioned before, the mirror reflects your memory, which depends solely on your brain's interpretation. Further possibility, was that it had gotten to the false side of your memory."

Po's jaw dropped. "My false side of the memory?"

Shifu smiled at him. "Where do you think you get your nightmare from?"

Po widened his eyes. The brain sometimes had its own doing of messing things up. Normally one would face problem remembering things that wasn't there, mainly because of self overwhelming brainwash. And nightmare happened when one has an unpleasant emotion, such as stress. And Po certainly did. When he saw the faceless woman… That was his source of tense that had his brain worked up; leading to the creation of nightmare replicas, which were then jammed into the realm.

Po nodded quietly in agreement.

"Any more question?"

"There is one though. Who has a white gown over here?" asked Po. But when he gave a thought into it, nailing the scope down to the Jade Palace won't be hard to find a figure like that.

Shifu raised an eyebrow, and smiled, "Who else?"

Po was dumbstruck, so it was her.

"Rarely seen her in that kind of dress, aren't we?" Shifu chuckled. "She only wore it once, then bragged about how hard to wash the cloth..."

"So she never wears it again," Po finished. There was a long pause slipping through, with Shifu holding the china in his hand, and Po's mouth filling with dumplings. From what he had recalled, that white gown was given by the village, as a present for her during the Moon Festival. Tigress never liked it, saying it's too fluffy to dress on, and get a lot of icthiness afterwards.

"Well," started Shifu, leaping off the chair with his tea and pot. "Good night. Anything else you wished to talk about we will have it by tomorrow."

"Ow-kay." Po swallowed his food.

"And oh, I almost forgot." Shifu stopped his track. "Clear out the rotten fish at the yard first thing in the morning."

"Oh."

"And 30 miles hike in the mountains for breaking my flower pot."

The panda twitched one of his eyes.

"With me," finished Shifu with a smile. "I'll be glad to have a company."

He disappeared around the corner after finish, and Po finally swallowed his food... hard.

The End

That's it, folks.. Thanks for reading. Nightmare and brain theory was solely based on a simple research, experiences and concepts. It is not fully based on real professional thought, mind you. So, it can be proven wrong... If its wrong, which I even don't know either. =)