Author's Note: Hey there! I know, its been a while again. Really sorry about that, I've just been working on multiple projects this time around (not all of them Fanfic related) so I've been pretty busy. I've got another chapter for you guys, and I think you'll enjoy it quite a bit! Also, forgot to mention. It has officially been a year since I've started this story... Yep... And we've only gotten this far... I need to hurry this up. All joking aside, I do hope you'll enjoy this chapter, not too long but it is quite important to the story.

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN KFP! (Dreamworks, please announce something about KFP 4 already, I'm starving!)

Enjoy.

The Final Piece

An almost blinding glow pierces through the winter clouds, acting as a golden river for the many petals of snow to float across. Hidden in the clouds is none other than the sun's watchful eye, giving a protective glance to the city of heaven as it begins to set over the darkened, veiled sky. This spotlight purges the shadows littering the streets but is powerless to the darkness projected by the city's tallest buildings.

A darkness illuminated only by a pair of dark blue irises glaring at the emperor's incredible palace. Within this cloak of shadow, Zhongcheng takes out a telescope and looks through it, his sight focused on one of the windows in the emperor's tower.

Golden lanterns peer back at the wolf's eye, illuminating the stairwell leading to the throne room in a heavenly display only fitting for a child of the heavens. Amidst this soft glow that kisses the glass, he notices a shadow shifting into view. A shadow with cold, white, reptilian eyes.

Immediately, the masked wolf pounces from wall to wall, hoping to get to the top before their narrow window of opportunity fades. He had witnessed the traitor and the jade palace masters disappear under the emperor's palace mere minutes ago, and knowing them, they will not waste any time before striking again.

Within seconds, the wolf commander reaches the top of one of the forbidden city's most impressive skyscrapers, his black armour now coated with tiny footprints of snow, left with innocent giddiness atop this demon clad soldier. Looking through his telescope again, he pulls out a knife from his breast sheath.

Panicked thoughts circle the mind of the stone-faced Komodo dragon stood motionless by the stairwell's window, the possibilities of being found out or simply being denied persisting with the continuance of a carousel. Yes, the emperor has little reason to question his trust, but perhaps this request, in this situation, may be pushing it too far.

A swift flash of light pokes Qipian's eyes for a split-second, pulling him out of his rumination before poking his white irises again. Through squinted eyes, he notices the dark figure perched on the roof of a skyscraper, a glint of the sun's rays shining in the dagger clutched in his paw.

That's the signal. Time for action. Let's hope this won't provoke the emperor's suspicion.

Seeing the commander pull out a telescope with his free paw, Qipian nods to him before continuing up the stairwell. As he nears the top floors, he notes the elite guards standing at attention by the doors to the emperor's throne room. He takes a deep breath as he hollows out the anxiousness from his eyes, that brief fear masked with a cold indifference. The leopard sentinels immediately block the door with their spears as the Komodo dragon approaches them. "I must speak with the emperor immediately; it is an urgent matter."

Glances are exchanged through uninviting gold helmets until one of the guards enters the room for a few moments whilst the other gives the traitorous council member an unyielding yet careful stare. For a second Qipian wonders if he has somehow been caught by the mere request, only for the previous guard to come back out with the emperor's voice booming behind him, "Come in, Qipian."

Two magnificent golden thrones await the Komodo dragon as he enters the room, the gold and amber flames of the dragon and phoenix coiling around the pale marble pillars stretching into the heavenly tapestries embedded into the ceiling. Pure, powerful red coats the entire room with hints of gold and amber littering the place like the gentle flames of torchlight. Two more elite guardians stand stern by the emperor's throne, unmoving yet alert with an unbreakable ferocity. Strangely enough though, the emperor isn't anywhere near his illustrious seat. Instead, he is off to the left side of the room, his golden irises gazing out at his home. A silent prayer fills his eyes, hoping the jade palace masters will be able to make this right. Hoping that Zhonglei is right by their side. Ever since he saw ones of city's settlements collapse to the ground in a fiery blaze, that hope had soon joined the embers that floated in the smoke that followed. His ears twitch at the sound of Qipian's footsteps, only making his expression strengthen in its solemnity. "You said you had an urgent matter to discuss." He keeps his gaze focused on the horizon, marvelling at the sun's beauty, yet partly keeping watch of something at the same time. His eyes had caught the glimpse of a brief flicker of sunlight by a nearby skyscraper, and he has yet to have conclude if his mind is playing tricks on him or if something more sinister is going on.

Qipian keeps his paws held behind his back, matching the seriousness of the lion's voice with ease. "Indeed. It's one that requires our immediate attention." The emperor turns his head only an inch, anxious scepticism hanging on his tongue. "A few civilians have reported a strange sight near the east side of the city. They called it 'A dragon on wheels with smoke flowing from its mouth and an intimidating person manning it.'"

Horror swells the emperor's golden orbs and spreads to the elite guards that watch on. That's impossible. He snaps his head to his most trusted advisor, masking that terror with a seemingly unshakeable grimace. "You mean to tell me that this enemy now has cannons?"

"They very well could, my lord. These were a few civilians so the reports may be inaccurate to some degree." Though his clenched jaw and glaring eyes match the look of an emperor deeply concerned for his home, the Komodo dragon can see right through his slim façade. He notes the ever so slight twinge of terror staining his intimidating stare, the hot and intense breaths shooting through his nostrils, a faint growl threatening to burst out of his throat. It seems there'll be little effort needed to convince him further. "Though I think it'd be best we don't take any risks. I suggest we send a group of our soldiers to scout out the area for intel, and then we bring our findings back to the kung fu masters." The emperor holds his chin in his paw for a few moments until he finally shakes his head at the suggestion.

"No, I'll send two members of my own guard." Golden orbs dart over to the two standing by his throne, who salute him without hesitation.

A feigned look of shock on his face, Qipian's serpentine tongue flicks a caustic question, "Would this be wise, your grace? What if something happens to them?"

"Hence why I'm only sending out two, I'm minimalizing our potential casualties." The emperor pauses for a brief moment, his eyes scanning the reptilian council before ordering him, "Thank you for informing me of this, Qipian. I'll be handling this situation personally. You may leave."

May being code for must, Qipian doesn't argue; the job is already done. "Of course, your grace." After a swift bow, the Komodo dragon leaves with the door shutting with a firm boom.

Nearly 20 minutes pass as a dark figure lurks through the ever-growing shadows of the city, dark blue orbs scanning the streets below for their prey. The emperor's elite guards, often proclaimed to be the best there is. As long as the kung fu masters are out of the equation, obviously. A sadistic yet cocky smirk rises onto the wolf's concealed lips, remembering how he had managed to make them several of those golden plated fools look like child's play. It's unlikely that much has changed, but the microscopic hope that they'll provide a challenge toils away in the commander's mind.

He leaps across the gap between two asymmetrically tall buildings, scaling up the top of the taller one to get a better view of the streets below. With telescope in paw, the wolf scans the streets below only to find nothing again. No obnoxious golden armour, no looks of superiority masked by steel plated grimaces. Just the setting sun beaming down with its protective spotlight and the patchwork carpets of snow slowly filling up as the winter goes on. Perhaps Qipian had failed after all. A disappointed sigh escapes his mouth as he thinks back to moments before, when he had managed to set out the specifics of their lie. Had the reptile really made it that obvious? No, he's managed to blend in for almost two years. Perhaps… The panda. Surely the panda would be able to tell, wouldn't he? Or perhaps his… clairvoyance doesn't work that way.

Before he can ruminate on this for any longer, a distinct golden shine peers at him deeper into the eastern region, coming into view just past an alleyway. Blue searchlights gaze through the telescope only for a sickening grin to take shape. Two muscular leopards clad in golden armour, spears clutched tightly in their right paws, eyes and bodies alert, ready for anything.

Anything, but him.

With his sadistic smile still present on his face, the wolf sets his sights to two of the dingier buildings in the city, rife with cracked walls and broken windows, usually home to the occasional squatter or homeless person. A perfect den for criminal activity and just across the alleyway the two soldiers have just emerged from. He shifts his attention back to his targets, who scan ahead. One taps the other on the soldier and points to the run-down carcasses that used to be houses. With a swift nod, they change course, right into Zhongcheng's paw. A dark chuckle escapes the commander's lips as he leaps off the high-rise building and plummets towards his prey.

Unaware of their predator stalking them from the shadows, the emperor's elite soldiers venture into one of the derelict houses, their eyes darting between mould and shattered glass with cracked walls almost surrounding the landscape. It has been rumours that this place once belonged to an illustrious family, stripped of their hearts and souls now imprisoned within the ever-groaning walls, under threat of collapse at any moment. They head up the stairs, taking extreme care with each step lest they risk the chance of the steps caving in under their feet.

Thud.

They stop in place… Silence.

Their eyes dart to every corner of the house… Silence.

They wait again… Silence.

After a few more moments of waiting, they resume marching forward, now taking even lighter steps in case they hear anything else. As they continue their way through the house's upper floors, a look of disgust crosses one of the leopard's faces at a particularly disgusting patch of mould. The other looks up to the ceiling, completely dumbfounded by how many cracks line its surface. It could crash right on top of them at any mom-

Crash!

A surge of blue light bursts through the ceiling as it collapses on top of the two guards, knocking one down to the floor whilst the other remains kneeled down, trying to regain his balance. Zhongcheng lands in the centre of the corridor, rushing over to the kneeling leopard and kicking him in the face to make him topple down the stairs. The second leopard guard gets up just as the masked wolf is about to engage him. Before he can pick his spear back up, the wolf forces him to block several punches and palm strikes. "It's a trap! Retreat!" He yells out to his comrade, who follows his command without hesitation by diving through one of the broken windows and rushing to the nearest regiment of guard on all fours.

He attempts to attack back, only for Zhongcheng to grab his arm in the process and knee him in the side of his torso, one of the few weak points in his armour. After this, the wolf twists his arm, receiving a howl of pain in response. He tries to punch the masked assailant with his free paw only for him to be parried and punched in the chin. During this motion, Zhongcheng grabs the leopard's throat and trips up one of his legs before throwing him down to the ground on his twisted arm. Another yelp of pain escapes the feline's maw only for him to recover quickly and grab his spear off the ground, jabbing it at the wolf right as he finds his balance again. This is to no avail, as the wolf grabs the spear mid jab and plunges it into the wall behind him, booting the leopard away in the process. As the leopard crashes to the floor, Zhongcheng snaps the spear in two and chucks the other piece away. Blue irises look to the rising sentinel in disappointment. "I've had enough of these pathetic games."

Before the leopard can even attempt to escape, the demon clad wolf throws a smoke bomb by his feet, disorienting him completely. Several coughs escape his mouth as he tries to wade through the smoke, clueless to the dark blue fist shining behind him. He feels the wind shift behind him. He turns-

Boom!

But it's too late. Zhongcheng's fist makes contact with his abdomen but doesn't break his armour, leaving a monstrous dent in its wake. The leopard is left completely stunned, the urge to vomit growing with every passing second. Before he can do so, the wolf rips off his helmet and jabs at his forehead with his index finger, a sickly blue light coursing through his veins as his irises and pupils fade away. With an unimpressed hum, the masked wolf pulls his arm out of the dented chest plate just as his eyes begin to glow a dark blue. He thrusts his left arm forward, fingertips glowing as he fiddles with the mind of his victim. "W-what the… Why… Where am I? Where are my arms? My legs! What's happened to me!? Where is everybody!?" As the leopard loses his grip on reality, the wolf commander shuts him up by putting his free paw over his mouth, scowling as he sifts through memory after memory. It takes only a few moments of searching until something catches his attention.

The guard moving through the emperor's tunnel network with his comrades, carrying boxes of unknown materials and metallic scrap. Within minutes, he would emerge into a large workshop full of imperial guards, some elite but most being of the standard variety. Dragons, eagles and modified phoenixes moved on conveyer belts, fuses sprouting from the top.

Cannons both complete and incomplete were scattered around the place. Zhongcheng notes the blueprints left on a table with several new notes written onto it. I knew it. This venomous thought bleeds into the commander's mind. To think, all this time you've been preparing this under my nose. Hmph, I wonder when you were going to debut your little project, emperor. With this mocking statement, he goes further forward in the leopard's memories until he reaches just a few minutes ago. Both him and his comrade had taken the tunnel again and emerged in the workshop, but then opened a secret door into… a changing room? Confusion continues to rattle Zhongcheng's mind until they walk further down, the establishment filled with soldiers and other fancy guests… flirting with the many scantily clad women walking around. They open the front entrance, and the leopard turns to look behind him to reveal a sign that makes the commander scowl with a corrosive ferocity.

"Mimi's Love Palace… of course."

Zhongcheng grits his teeth at this realisation, remembering how he had scoffed at this place mere days ago. It seems the emperor is far cleverer than he's given him credit for. Within moments however, his scowl morphs into a sick grin. That cleverness will cost him dearly. Now, all the cards are in my favour.

"There!"

The commander manages to hear the faint voice of the other leopard guard in the distance, making him pull out his dagger and placing it on the petrified guard's throat. "Can't let them find out I've been digging around in your head." With one quick movement, his unparalleled fear is replaced with emptiness, crimson cascading down his fur. Certain that his victim is truly dead, Zhongcheng leaps out of the hole in the ceiling and sprints back to his base.

The final piece is in position. Their end will soon begin.

Alright! We've officially reached the halfway point of the story! Yeah... Halfway... Ooh boy. Hope you guys are ready for what's to come cuz... let's just say it is going to get far more intense from here on out. And it will start next chapter, where many things will be revealed and a lot of questions will be answered, plus there may be some stuff you won't expect. Hope you lot are loving the story so far, and until next time :)