When Shifu found Tigress, she was facing off with the adversary in one corner of the training hall. At first he didn't make his presence known, instead he stood silently in the doorway and waited to see what the tiger cub would do.
Judging from the pose she was currently in, Tigress was still practicing the thrust punch. Three days had passed since Shifu set her on the task of perfecting her punch, and she was making steady progress. He could see it in her stance. Aside from her right foot being placed two inches in the wrong position, her stance was flawless. However, he now knew better than to shower her with praise.
As he watched her, Shifu suddenly realized that something was off. Her movements were slow and tired, and as he caught a quick glimpse at the side of her face, he noticed that she looked pale. Come to think of it, she hadn't eaten all day, and the Jade Palace had recently suffered an outbreak of fever amongst the palace staff.
"Not you too." Shifu sighed and tapped his bamboo flute on the floor, startling the cub.
"Master Shifu!" Tigress spun to face him and bowed.
"Tigress, it appears that you have caught the fever." Shifu said, deciding to make it short and to the point. "I want you to drop what you're doing and see the healer."
Tigress looked like she didn't agree, but by now she knew better than to question her master. She bowed again and headed for the exit, only for a teenage goose to accidentally block her path.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" He exclaimed breathlessly before turning to Shifu. "Master Shifu, I have some bad news. The healer has also become stricken."
"You're joking." Shifu gave the goose a disbelieving look.
"I don't joke, Master." Zeng replied. "It looks like you and me are the only ones left. Aside from Master Oogway, of course."
Shifu rubbed his temple. This had to be one of the most frustrating weeks of his life. "Where is Master Oogway, Zeng?"
"Up on Peach Tree Hill, as always."
"Please tell him that we may need to cancel training for the week. We can't risk the other students getting sick."
"Yes, Master." Zeng flew off, colliding with the door lintel on the way and showering Tigress in tiny grey feathers.
"As for you, Tigress, I want you to go straight to bed immediately. I will have one of the servants bring you some water shortly."
Tigress sneezed from the tickling feathers, bowed once more and left.
Later that day, Shifu made his way down the corridor of the student barracks holding a box the size of a vegetable crate. Inside was a series of scrolls that would help Tigress master the thrust punch and all the moves that came with it. Just because she was sick didn't mean that she couldn't study. Shifu quietly stepped into the room to find Tigress snoozing softly in bed, no blanket as usual, a half full jug of water on the bedside table. There was also a small stool Zeng had sat on while giving Tigress some fever medicine.
Shifu sat down on the stool and placed the box in front of him. It shouldn't be too difficult to find the first scroll, considering there were only five in the box, and then place it on the table for Tigress to find. She was a smart girl. She would know quickly that Shifu wanted her to study.
When he opened the box, he found not five, not ten, but what must be twenty-five scrolls inside.
"I'm going to kill you, Zeng." Shifu growled. Taking care not to rustle the paper too much, Shifu dug through the pile and started searching.
Miraculously, Tigress did not wake up, not even when Shifu finally managed to separate the kung fu scrolls from the bamboo encyclopedia scrolls and moved to place the first thrust punch scroll on the table. As he stretched his arm out, he saw little Tigress's face. One striped forearm was stretched in front of her face, partially shielding it from view. Her little nose twitched, and Shifu's sensitive ears twitched at the sound of her soft murmuring.
She's dreaming, he realized. He fought the urge to chuckle. She looked so adorable when she slept…
Stop that! The cold bitterness in Master Shifu snapped. You must avoid past mistakes! Under no circumstances are you to have any emotional relationship with this child! Do you remember what happened when-
Don't remind me. The lingering guilt in Master Shifu replied sadly.
But she needs this. The dwindling compassion in Master Shifu spoke.
No. She will let the praise go to her head. Said bitterness.
You're right. Said guilt.
But she's suffered so much already… Said compassion.
She will learn humility in suffering. Said bitterness.
But she will never learn true happiness. Said compassion.
Even without suffering, she won't. Nobody ever does. Said guilt.
You did. Once. Said compassion.
And look what it did to my son! I will not have her turning into Tai Lung! Snapped bitterness.
And that was the end of Shifu's mental argument.
With a huff, he set the scroll on the table and turned towards the door.
He was about to close the door behind him when he heard the wind howl outside. It was a cold winter afternoon, probably what had brought out the fever in the first place. Shifu turned his head to look at the sleeping Tigress. Without a blanket, even with her fever she must be cold.
Oh, what the hell. The suppressed love in Master Shifu said.
He stepped back into the room, pulled out the folded blanket from beneath the table, carefully draped it over Tigress's still form, thud.
Shifu's eyes snapped open, bringing him back to the present.
The thud had come from outside, in the corridor. A second later, Shifu heard a certain panda curse.
Shifu rolled his eyes. From the sounds of it, Po had once again sneaked out for a midnight snack and tripped over nothing whatsoever, typical.
Shifu turned his gaze from the wall in front of him to the candle on the floor. Though the little flame was still burning strongly, a clear three inches had melted away since the red panda had closed his eyes. He had no idea how long had passed.
Did I really fall asleep during meditation? Darn, I'm getting old.
There was a chance that the sudden noise had woken Su. With the sickly state she was in, she needed all the sleep she can get.
Shifu turned his head to examine the panda cub.
All he saw was a crumpled blanket.
Shifu grabbed the blanket, half expecting Su to be hiding underneath it.
"Su?"
The cub didn't answer.
Shifu got to his feet, and in the process his green grandmaster's robe collapsed to the floor.
What the-
As he picked up the robe, he realized that it had been unclasped.
But who and why-
He would ask Su once he found her in the bathroom. If it had been her who done it.
Of course she was in the bathroom. Where else could she be? She wasn't like other children her age, who would run around the house in the middle of the night just for the sake of it.
All the same, Shifu couldn't shake the feeling that something was horribly wrong as he walked over to the bathroom door and opened it.
He was barely able to see through the darkness of the empty bathroom.
Shifu spun round, and his stomach lurched when he saw that the guestroom door was wide open.
No. Su would never leave the guestroom without telling him first. Never.
"Su?!"
Shifu dropped his grandmaster robe and sprinted into the corridor. The only panda he saw was the Dragon Warrior, who looked like he had been about to enter his own room.
"Po!" Shifu both shouted and sprinted over to the panda.
"M-Master Shifu!" Po yelped and covered his nether-regions. Shifu noticed that his pants were soaked, but at the moment he couldn't care less.
"Po, Su's gone! Have you seen her?"
"No, I hav- what do you mean Su's gone?" Po asked in confusion.
"She's not in the guestroom! Did you not see her?"
"No, I thought she was sharing a room with you!"
The two panda, one red and one black, suddenly had the same horrifying thought.
The dreams. The tomb!
"Po, wake the others! I'm going into the tomb!" Shifu took off like a shot.
His injured leg ailed him as he pushed his body to the limits, sending dust motes flying through the air as he sped down the corridors at record speed. If that thing that had mentally attacked Po and Crane hurts Su, an innocent child…
He reached the library, practically leapt up to the top floor, pulled the secret lever, and rushed down the darkened stairs, torch in hand. He sprinted through the empty treasure vault, passed the dusty sarcophagus, traversed the second passage, and emerged in the throne room.
Shifu leant against one arm of the throne. He was breathing heavily, not from exhaustion, but from fear and rage. He wasn't just afraid, but terrified. Su could be anywhere in the fortress, kidnapped or worse. He was also furious with himself for falling asleep and allowing her to disappear. If she ended up hurt or killed it would be his fault.
"You fool." He growled to himself. He left the throne room and joined with Po and the Five in the guestroom corridor. Strangely Tigress was absent.
"Master, what's going on?" Viper demanded. "Po said Su is missing!"
Shifu took a deep breath to calm himself before speaking.
"It's true." Viper went pale. "We must not panic. Viper, you, Crane and Mantis search the west side of the fortress. Po, you take Monkey and head east. Where's Tigress?"
"She's probably in the kitchen." Said Po.
"Then if Su is there Tigress will find her." Said Shifu. "Di Tan, you stay here in case Su returns. Everyone go, now!"
All six students took off running. Viper's fading voice was already calling Su's name.
"Oh, Master Shifu, this is horrible!" Di Tan clasped his head between his wings. "First the fire, now this! Can't I come with you?"
"No, you have to stay here. Shout if she turns up." Shifu started running down the corridor.
"Wait, where are you going?!"
"I've already checked the tomb! I'm going to search top to bottom!"
Shifu burst into the entrance hall, and almost immediately felt an icy breeze assault the side of his face. Shifu turned his head to face the source of the wind: the entrance door was slightly open, swaying in the wind.
She's outside.
"Su!"
There was no time to call the others. When Shifu shoved his way through the doors, he immediately found himself beset by harsh wind. Luckily there was no snowfall, otherwise there would have been zero visibility, and it was already near-pitch black. He couldn't see Su anyway in the stone courtyard. He had to find her before her exposure to the elements made her severely ill or worse, and she was already sick with a cold.
He caught the sound of his students' panicked voices emanating from the open door, voices that to any other person would be impossible to make out. Several seemed close by, while others were almost unintelligible. Considering that they were all scattered around the palace searching for Su, this wasn't surprising.
"Su!"
"Su, sweetie, where are you?"
"Oh god, we never should have come here! This is all our fault!"
Tigress was right. This was their fault. No, it was his fault. The moment he had made Su share a room with him, he had made himself solely responsible for her safety. And now he was going to do whatever it took to find her.
The immediate area around the entrance door was grey stone, the blanket of snow lay farther out. Shifu ventured further into the wind, folding his arms from the cold. It was a far colder winter than it was in the Valley of Peace.
Just as he had hoped, there was a single set of panda cub sized footprints leading to the right. Towards one of the towers.
Su would never go outside by herself, not at this time of night. And hers is the only set of footprints around. Could she be sleepwalking like Po and Crane had done during our first night in this godforsaken place?
If she were, then it would be pointless to keep calling her name: sleepwalkers were completely cut off from reality until they awakened. All the same, he shouted "Su!" once more before he took off, carefully following the footprints and holding an arm in front of his face to shield himself from the wind. At one point he found a large hole in the snow in the middle of the tracks, like a bead on a thread. Su must have tripped in her sleep.
Just as his body started to shiver from the biting cold, his head collided with something vertical and solid. Looking up, Shifu found himself staring up at one of the massive double doors of the right hand tower.
I knew it. But all that's here is a prison and a foundry. Why would whatever mentally attacked Po and Crane bring her here?
He thought of Po and Crane's stories of their brutal dream-murders, and of the disturbing image Crane's leg had been forced to draw, and his stomach twisted.
"Su! If you can hear me, stay away from him!" Shifu yelled as he ran through the other half of the double door, which had been pushed wide open.
The prison was a massive labyrinth of cells. No torches lit the corridors, meaning Shifu had to endure several minutes of collisions and the sound of his own thundering heart. But still no sign of Su.
All that's left is the foundry upstairs. If she's not there…
His legs didn't give him time to finish the thought, taking him to the nearest set of stairs.
His half-healed leg was throbbing by the time he had reached the foundry. It was still in good condition, and after the destruction of the imperial army's weaponry it was due to once again be put to use. Unfortunately when Shifu stepped into the two-floor high room there were no soldiers in sight that he could question. However, unlike the prison this area was at least partially lit. The single massive vat standing at one corner of the room was giving off a vivid orange glow.
"Come on, Su, where are you?" Shifu muttered. He looked up towards the series of stone platforms that made up the second floor. He saw no small shape. His breath began to quicken. He looked up towards the only place left, the single platform that stood several feet above the others, right above the vat…
"Oh my god…" He whispered when he saw her. Su was standing at the very precipice, right above the container of molten metal. The glow illuminated her: vacant expression, eyes glazed over, her little body swaying slightly. She was gazing right down into the vat. "SU!"
All Su did was moan softly, completely unaware of the red panda far below, staring up at her in pure horror.
Su was scared.
She had every right to be, considering that everything around her was consumed in fire. Charred and destroyed wood and metal formed grotesque shapes silhouetted against the blaze. The flames were so bright and intense she had to squint her eyes.
She looked down into the large well. She saw nothing but darkness.
She didn't look, but she could feel her presence behind her, feel her gloved hands gripping her body. Su looked down at the gold coin in her paws, unsure.
"All I need to do is make a wish and throw the coin into the well, right?"
Yes.
"And then the fire will go away?"
Yes.
"But what if I fall?"
Don't worry. I have you.
Su turned her head to look into the eyeholes of the dragon mask. The surrounding flames were reflected off the mask's surface, making it seem as though the mask was on fire itself. The scary image made Su turn away to look back down at the well.
"I don't know…"
How will you know if you don't try?
"You're the lady who's scaring Po and Crane. Why should I do what you say?"
Because if you don't, Tujiu will find me, and then everyone will die.
That's it. Su's decision was made.
Su slowly held the coin out in front of her.
A little farther. We must make sure the coin goes into the well.
Su looked again at the pit. She winced at the thought of how far down it must go.
Don't worry. I have a hold on you.
Su gulped as she leaned forward so that her upper half was directly over the pit. Her fingers slowly began to loosen on the coin.
"NOOOO!"
Thirty feet away, Shifu's heart stopped as Su leaned over the edge. He would never get to her in time.
"NO, SU-"
Something large and covered in brown feathers slammed into Su, pinning her to the ground. Something small skidded across the platform with a metallic clatter.
"Got her!" Master Eagle Jr. shouted, his expression a mixture of pain and relief. His broken wing was still bandaged against his side.
Shifu inhaled sharply, about to reply, when they both froze at the sound of high pitched screaming. Su was screaming and thrashing in Eagle Jr.'s talons, eyes staring at something no-one else could see.
"NO! NOOOOO!"
"Get off her!" Shifu yelled. Eagle Jr. did as he was told, allowing the red panda to rush to Su's side and wrap his arms around her like a bolas.
"Su, it's alright." He spoke into her ear, fighting his own panic at the sight of her extreme distress. "You're safe, it's just a dream…"
"EMBER! DON'T LET HIM FIND HER! DON'T LET THEM FIND HER!"
"Su, wake up! You're dreaming!"
"Shifu, give her to me!"
Tigress, whose own powerful hearing had heard Su's screams, leapt onto the high platform at that moment. Shifu quickly let go so Tigress could wrap her larger arms around the cub and pull her against her body.
Like she had done with many other frightened and distressed children, Tigress rubbed Su's shaking back as the cub continued to scream.
"DON'T LET THEM GET HER! EMBER!"
"Su…" Tigress leaned down to shush in Su's ear. "Su, it's okay. It's okay." She spoke softly, like a mother soothing her baby.
Shifu stepped forward and reached up to place a comforting hand on Su's back.
"Su, wake up."
Su's cries began to subside.
"Don't let them find her… don't…" She blinked. "Ember…" She blinked a couple more times.
"Su?"
Shifu looked at Po climbing up onto the platform and running over to them, followed closely by Viper, Crane, Monkey and Mantis.
"Su!" Po yelled and kneeled down beside Tigress. "Tigress, what happened?"
"I don't know. When I got here, Su was on the ground screaming her head off." They both turned their faces to look at Shifu.
"I think she was sleepwalking." Shifu said. Relief flooded through him and he fell back on his hands and rear. Su was safe. They had gotten to her just in time. "Luckily Master Eagle got to her before something serious happened."
"It's Master Eagle Jr." Eagle Jr. said calmly. "And yes, when I overheard that there was a little girl missing, I didn't think twice before joining the search."
"Thank you so much." Viper gasped. She slithered over to Su, who by now had stopped screaming and thrashing completely. "Su, honey, are you okay?"
Su pushed away from Tigress slightly so she could look at the snake.
"Viper?" She asked, her head titled in confusion. "What happened? Where am I?"
"Thank god. Welcome back." Viper gently stroked the fur on Su's head with her tail. "You're in the foundry, honey."
"What am I doing here?"
"It's a long story. We'll tell you in the morning." Viper replied. "How are you feeling?"
"Okay. I don't feel hot anymore."
Shifu frowned. Now that he thought about it, Su didn't look so pale anymore. Now she was blushing.
"I sleepwalked, didn't I?" She said.
"Yeah, you did." Po laughed at her sheepishness. "Come on, let's get you back to bed."
"Wait! My coin!" Su leapt out of Tigress's arms and ran over to the far corner of the platform. She picked up her coin and walked back over to them.
Something clicked in Shifu's head.
Wait a minute… last time I saw that medallion, I had picked it up in the secret passage. I had completely forgotten to give it back to her. How could she have gotten it? Unless… wait, my outer robe! She must have unclasped it and retrieved the medallion in her sleep! But why…
"Hey, Master."
Shifu registered Mantis by his side. The others were still on the platform, sans Tigress and Viper who were currently taking Su back to the center structure.
"What is it, Mantis?"
"We could hear Su screaming from the other building. What the heck was that all about? And who's Ember?"
Ember.
The ambassador's journal. The Seal of Yingxiong.
Now it all made sense. If his suspicions were correct about Su's lucky coin and the Seal of Yingxiong being the same artifact, then the key to discovering the fortress's deepest secrets was in their grasp. And the creature in the tomb wasn't pleased. It had sensed that the coin's true nature had been discovered, and tried to have it destroyed rather than let them use it. And risked a little girl's life in the attempt. There was no time to wait for it to strike again. If they were to back off and leave or stay and fight, they had to decide now.
"Master Eagle Jr.… please inform the emperor that I wish to speak with him immediately."