Preface

For the last, let's say, six years I've been trying to write a Wolf Boss story of my own.

It all started with the writing and publication of my short story titled "Enduring Sins." It wasn't meant to be more than what it was, but it's funny how the mind works sometimes. The general idea of it began to grow on me, and it expanded into a full-blown adventure that, even today, I'm still trying to sort and write it down. Unfortunately, since I'm a pretty bad procrastinator, time went on and my focus and interest in the story waned, fading into an idea I keep alive in the back of my mind, but never seized.

Fast forward to a couple of months ago when a renewed interest in the character brought me back to this website to browse the "Kung Fu Panda" section to look for stories that dealt with the Wolf Boss. Here I stumbled into a story titled "Lazarus," written by The Cool Kat. The title alone intrigued me, and especially so after I read its introduction before the story truly begun. By the time I was done reading the entire story I was so absorbed and in love with it I truly didn't want it to end.

"Lazarus" told its story in a way I've never considered before, and quite frankly I don't feel confident that I would've told it any better had I had. Without giving anything away, "Lazarus" is written with so much care, thought, and heart that it was impossible to put down. It really made you feel for the Wolf Boss and of the guilt, soul searching and heart-wrenching decisions he had to make. You truly felt for him, and for everyone else that went through their own character arcs.

"Lazarus" had rejuvenated my desire to return and continue working on my Wolf Boss story. I'm currently revising everything I've written so far, fine-tuning the writing and tightening the pace before marching on to writing new content. I've been having a lot of fun coming back to it with a brand new perspective on the character.

However, this is not that story.

I was still riding from the high after reading "Lazarus" when one day, while I was listening to music from the "Kingdom Heart III" soundtrack, I started to develop a short story idea based on and inspired by The Cool Kat's "Lazarus." That short story is the one you're about to read, titled "Lazarus: The Final Words."

"Lazarus: The Final Words" takes place between chapter 13 and 14 of the original story. And as much as I tried to avoid spoilers, this short story inevitably does contain spoilers to "Lazarus," so I cannot stress this enough: I highly recommend you read "Lazarus" first. Not only will it provide you with the full context of this short story, but the original story is just one hell of a story that shouldn't be missed.

At first "Lazarus: The Final Words" was meant to be a personal project, but then I wondered…What would the original author of "Lazarus" think? Would he like it? I was incredibly nervous by the idea of what he'd think, but once I finished it, I sent it to him...And I was overjoyed that not only did he liked it, but gave me his blessings to publish the short story if I so desired.

And so, here we are. I really want to thank The Cool Kat for inspiring me, not just to write this short story but also for inspiring me to continue on my Wolf Boss story once again. I'm hoping to have something to show for it really soon.

I also want to thank you, dear reader, for taking the time to read this preface. I hope you'll enjoy reading this short story just as I enjoyed writing it.