R&R Please. Thanks.

Half an hour into their short journey, Po, Monkey, Mantis and Crane stopped for a rest beneath a large naturally shaped slap of rock that jutted out over the ground, making for a decent shelter. As he was painfully aware of, Po was the main reason for this brief stop, his stamina depleted after thirty minutes if trekking through the thick snow. Normally the others would have gone ahead while he rested, but considering the current circumstances it was decided that leaving him by himself was not a good idea.

And so here they were, sitting on cold rocks scraped clean of snow and starting up conversation. The fortress in the distance was in plain sight, a white structure stationed in the center of an even whiter background.

"As much as I hate to admit it, but I don't think we'll find anything helpful up here." Crane said. "I mean, how many soldiers ventured out here and either came back with nothing or as corpses?"

"A lot." Monkey said. "But more lives could be lost if we don't find out what these guys are and stop them. Or him. The least we can do is try. Besides, Shifu would kill us if we disobey him."

"I know, I know…" Crane replied as he wiped the snow from his hat. A minor snowstorm had started while they were traveling and had yet to dissipate, managing to turn Crane's normally dull yellow hat bright white. "I just feel that maybe it's not a good idea to go too deep into the mountains. There's a huge chance that we'll be ambushed just like the soldiers."

"And then the remaining soldiers will be screwed." Monkey replied with an unusually somber expression. "The deaths of four kung fu masters, one of which defeated Tai Lung, a cannon, and an undead warrior, would basically kill what little hope we have left."

"I say we rest for a couple more minutes, then keep going up the mountain for ten more minutes, then stop and head back." Crane said.

"Fine by me." Monkey replied. "What about you, guys?"

"Good idea." Mantis replied.

"That's a plan." Po said as he rubbed his aching feet.

"How're you doing, Po?" Mantis asked. The bug was currently perched on the panda's shoulder. "Do you think you're ready to get going again?"

"In a minute." Po replied, wiggling his toes inside his shoes. "My feet are still throbbing."

Mantis stifled a sigh of exasperation and exchanged glances with Crane. Monkey merely stared ahead at the white wilderness that was the Himalayas.

Po was taken by surprise. Normally Monkey would crack a joke at his expense that would almost certainly involve food in some way, or at the very least exchange glances with the others. His recent quiet and introverted behavior was getting more and more suspicious every day. Back in the Valley of Peace, round about when they were just beginning their journey, Po had thought that he was just unhappy that he was going to the place where his father had died so long ago.

But now the panda wasn't so sure. He'd lived with the normally mischievous primate long enough to know when something wasn't right with him. No, he wasn't bottling up his emotions like Tigress often did. There was something else. What was Monkey hiding?

He was distracted from his thoughts by a wet popping sound. Mantis was pulling the cork from a small bottle he had pulled from Crane's pocket.

"What's that?" Po asked.

"Just a drink to ease the tension a little." Mantis replied. "We haven't had a light hearted conversation since we got here."

Po frowned.

"I don't know…"

"It's not alcoholic." Crane said quickly. "Just a little something to remind us of home, since we're probably going to be here for a while."

All the same, Po was suspicious as he was handed the bottle. When he took the tiniest of sips, the cool sweet peach juice ran over his tongue like silk, bringing back memories of a tiny sapling just beginning to bud on a small hill overlooking a lush green valley.

A small smile now on his face, Po nodded in thanks and passed the bottle back. Mantis took a sip then handed it to Crane. Monkey declined the bottle, which Po also found odd, so Crane slipped it back in his pocket.

"So what do you guys think about that?"

"About what?" Po looked at Mantis.

"Our very own resident genius." The bug replied. "Who knew Su was cute and smart?"

"Yeah, tell me about it!" Po rubbed his arms as he shivered slightly from the cold. It was a good thing he had brought the shirt Haoxin had given him. "I mean, when was the last time a seven year old kid learned four languages in just few months?"

"I don't think there was a last time!" Mantis said. "Su, the linguistic genius! Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"

"Not just linguistic!" Po grinned. The pleasant conversation they were starting was acting like a tonic, easing their worries and overall giving them a reason to lighten up. "Remember all those times Su read a scroll at super speed?"

"And beat your dad at Xianqi?"

"And aced those tests in the school down in the village?"

"Whoa, hang on." Crane spoke up. "Not to be the spoilsport here, but don't start creating a fuss about this in front of Su. You could give her a swelled head."

"No way, she's way to sweet for that." Mantis scoffed.

"We gotta find out what else she's good at." Po rubbed his chin in thought. "What about medicine?"

"Or the abacus?"

"Or nerve attacks with your mind?!"

"Or learning the meaning of life?!"

"Or how to paint with your tongue?!"

"Oh brother…" Crane muttered. He shifted on the stone he was sitting on, turning away from the others and turning his attention to the snowy landscape that seemed to stretch for miles in every direction. The wind blowed, snow flying everywhere like it was rain…

Or at least it was a moment ago. As he looked out from beneath the protruding rock that was their shelter Crane realized that the mild storm had dissipated while they were conversing. What was left was silence. A heavy silence that for some reason made Crane feel uneasy. His sixth sense, refined through years of kung fu experience, suddenly kicked in. A 'kung fu chill', as Po called it, rose up his spine and the avian was unable to ignore it. Said 'chill' often saved you from an arrow in the back or an assassin leaping down from above.

Monkey also seemed a lot more interested in the landscape than the excited conversation Po and Mantis were still in the middle of.

"Right, here's what we're gonna do…" Mantis was saying. "When we return home, we find the best mahjong player in the Valley then pit him against Su. See who wins."

"He won't be hard to find." Po replied, a grin still on his face. "Xianqi isn't the only game my dad's good at."

"What about those two friends of his? Mrs. Gow and Mr. Yeung?"

"Possible… possible…"

Crane was no longer paying attention, his gaze now completely focused on the mountainside that was far too quiet.

"Ah, there you are, Master Shifu."

Shifu looked up from the scroll he had been examining. General Tujiu was busy in his study while Emperor Xian was resting in the room that had been prepared for him. Having nothing better to do himself, Shifu had taken to searching the massive library along with Tigress, Viper and Su, searching anything that may prove useful in their mission.

But now he was being approached by Di Tan.

"What is it, Di Tan?" Shifu asked politely.

"There's something I need to talk to you about?"

"Will it be quick? I'm in the middle of important business at the moment."

"No, it won't take five minutes of your time."

Shifu sighed and put the scroll back on the shelf.

"Well?" He asked.

Di Tan leaned in.

"I hear you are needing help bonding with your daughter."

Shifu nearly knocked over the staff that was leaning against the wall.

"How did you find out about that?" He hissed.

"Mr. Ping put a little P.S. in the scroll he had Zeng send."

Shifu fought the urge to smack his forehead.

"Why did he bring you into this?" He groaned. "This is personal, and not important right now."

"I know, I know, but I am a very experienced father." Di Tan replied. "I have a daughter too, and I know how difficult it can be for a parent of the opposite gender to bond with their child."

"I don't doubt you, but this particular situation is… somewhat different." Shifu's ears flattened against his skull. He looked up at the second floor where Tigress and Su were reading a scroll together. "I'm sorry, but I think you may not be of much help on this."

"Oh come on!" Di Tan exclaimed, only to be furiously shushed by red panda. "Give it a try. In cases like this, it's never too late to set things right. Think about it."

Di Tan waddled off before Shifu could reply.

Monkey wasn't surprised when Crane suddenly said;

"There's something out there."

Po and Mantis stopped talking and turned their heads to the landscape, eyes narrowed as they searched for whatever Crane had spotted.

"Where?" Mantis asked. "Is it a soldier?"

"Uh, no." Crane replied, looked embarrassed. "I meant that I think something's out there. I didn't actually see anything."

"Oh right."

Both he and Po relaxed, but kept searching.

"It feels like something big. Pretty big."

"I don't see anything." Monkey said, unwilling to get his hopes up after so long.

"Why don't you fly up and take a look, just to be sure." Po said to Crane. "We'll be on the lookout down here."

Crane nodded. The four guys moved out from beneath the rocky shelter so Crane would have enough room to safely take off.

When he did, Monkey said;

"I'll head a bit higher myself."

While Crane circled ahead, wisely stay close to the group, Monkey leapt up onto the side of the jutting rock. The stone was freezing cold to the touch, but it wasn't slippery an provided many a good handhold.

"You two see anything?" Po called up.

"No, not yet." Crane said from thirty feet in the air.

Monkey didn't answer as he looked in a different direction, the east side of their position.

He lifted a free hand to shield his eyes from the glare of the sun, which was just peeping out from behind the clouds.

As always, snow was everywhere, with the odd rock dotting the other perfect white plain, and then that dark blot situated in between two large rocks in the distance… a blot with legs and arms… what the heck was that?

Monkey bit his lip. After fifteen years, was this finally it?

"Monkey!" Po yelled, confused that Monkey hadn't answered him. "What do you see?"

Monkey didn't get a chance to answer.

A boulder the size of a cart suddenly flew through the sky out of nowhere, barely missing Crane and exploding into chunks on the protruding rock fifteen feet from Monkey's position. Rock and snow rained down on the panda and bug below, who couldn't do anything but raise their arms over their heads in an attempt to protect themselves.

"Holy crap on a rice cracker!" Mantis yelled while Po kept his arms raised, a look of blank shock on his face. "What the hell was that?!"

A second boulder soared right at Crane, who squawked as he moved to dodge. The boulder just missed him as it flew by, taking the hat off his head. It hit the protruding rock just like its predecessor had done, nearly burying Po and Mantis in snow and stone. Monkey leapt down and pulled Mantis from the rubble as Po climbed out.

"Screw this, I'm outta here!" Mantis said. "Shifu can do whatever he wants with me!"

A third boulder hit the ground five feet away as the bug leapt up on Po's shoulder as the panda started running, away from the shelter and down the snowy hill they had ascended minutes earlier. Crane swooped down until he was a foot above their heads, following Po as he flapped his wings rapidly, trying to get as far away from their attacker as possible. Monkey couldn't help but run after them, all four heading in the direction of the fortress, which now seemed so far away. No fighting. No retaliation. All they could think off was getting the heck out of there.

Only Monkey looked back toward the shelter before they were too far away. a dark tall shape, the same color as the rocks, stood beneath the now half-destroyed protruding stone, and then they were too far down the hill and the shelter and his father's killer were out of sight.