A/N: It's been fun to see everyone's reaction to Cranes death. Some thought it was beautiful, some felt it was harsh but not everyone can live forever, and some have chased me with pitchforks. I stand by what I did and I'm proud of it. I am sorry for the leave of absence, but I had a few issues to deal with. Anyway, let us continue with the story. Enjoy. Warning: this story contains violence, gore and mild language. Sigh, I love my job.

Chapter 14: The Voodoo you do

For days the large group traveled towards the Imperial City. The went at a steady pace and rested frequently. The Pandas felt nervous from leaving their home once more, but knew it has to be done. The Villagers from the Valley were still scared but felt more relaxed knowing that Po was back and that the majority of the Pandas were trained warriors.

Po, Shifu and the four however, felt as glum as ever. Even after a few days, the sound of Cranes neck snapping like a twig still haunted them. It was weird not having him around. Normally he would fly high in the sky and keep an eye out for enemies. With his death, not only did this leave them at a tactical disadvantage, it also made them feel incomplete. Crane was one of them, and they all missed him dearly.

Each of the masters found their own way to cope with the pain. Since Po was leading everyone to the Imperial City he was at the front of the pack, along with him was Tigress. The two needed each other right now, and they would gladly be beside each other to show comfort.

Shifu, having lost many people he cared about in his past, dealt with this pain better than the others did, but death is never easy, no matter how experienced you are with it. He stayed in the middle of the pack with Dao. He wanted to talk to his old friend whom he had not seen in over thirty years. Monkey was nearby. He didn't want to talk to anyone about it. Instead of forcing him to talk, the others decided to leave him be. He would open up when he was ready.

At the back of the group was Viper and Mantis. Viper felt the most pain out of them all, simply because she was so fragile. Anyone who knew Viper knew she was a strong warrior, but that doesn't stop her from being a woman, having a heart and being innocent. Up until she chocked the life from Razorbeak, she had never taken a life. She fought for peace and prosperity, but the death of her friend opened her eyes completely. She thought that she and her friends would stay together forever and save China from any threat, but this is no story, this is no fable. This is real. People will get hurt, people will suffer and in some cases people will die. This realization shook her to her core. Mantis who was nearby tried to think of something, anything to say to her. He deeply cared for the snake, but felt so embarrassed to do anything. One way or another he would have to put his insecurities to one side and help his friend, who badly needed it.

Out of nowhere, Po ordered the convoy to stop. As they did, Shifu, Monkey and Dao all rushed up ahead to see what the problem was. Mantis was about to follow, but stayed behind when he noticed Viper sulking on the ground.

"Why have we stopped?" asked Shifu who had just reached Po, along with Dao and Monkey.

"We gotta discuss what route we should take." said Po.

"What are our options?" asked Dao.

"One way is an open field. No danger, but we can be easily spotted by enemies, and risk an attack." stated Tigress.

"And the other way is?" asked Monkey

"Through that swamp hidden by the trees." Tigress stated once again.

"Whats so bad about the swamp?" questioned Monkey

"That is 'The Swamp of Lost Souls'. It's said that if you fall into the murky water, you never come out." said Po, who was acting a tad bit fanboyish. Tigress shook her head, but smirked at Po.

"So, its a choice between openly revealing ourselves, or carefully walk through a swamp?" said Shifu.

"Seems that way." said Dao.

"What do you guys think?" asked Po

"I think we should -".

As the small grouped talked at the front, at the back Mantis approached Viper and tried to comfort her.

"Hey..." said Mantis, weakly. Viper said nothing, she didn't even raise her head to look at the insect. Mantis was thrown off just a little, but decided to press on. "So … good weather we have today right?"

Again, silence.

"So, uh, hey, I was wondering if -"

"Why Mantis?"

"Huh?" the sudden voice of Viper threw him of once again.

"Why did he have to go and die? Things were fine before and now they are ruined."

Mantis was silent for nearly a whole minute, until he answered, softly.

"Crane knew the risks, we all do. He did what he felt was right."

"But we aren't suppose to die! I have trained all my life so I could protect everyone, including my friends and myself. I trained myself to fight those risks of death, and yet I failed!"

"Viper, you can train all you like but you can't protect everyone"

"Oh? And why not?"

Viper was starting to get teary eyed, which made Mantis hurt inside. He knew what he had to say and do, but if he did it would only make her cry even more. Breaking the news to someone so fragile is a difficult thing to do, but Mantis had to do it, for her sake.

"We are warriors, we have trained to fight evil, stop evil and protect all that we can. But we are only mortal. Eventually we all die. I will die, you will die, we all will at one point in time. Deep down we all know this. We try to shrug it off and imagine that good will always win and that everyone and everything will be okay, but it's not like that."

Viper remained silent as she stared at the insect, who for once wasn't playing any tricks or pranks. For the first time, he was being mature, sincere and honest. Vipers mind was still racked with pain and guilt, but she had to admit that Mantis looked good right now.

"Crane gave his life to try and protect those he cared about. It's what we do, that is what we trained for … I can't promise much but I swear to protect those I care about … even you."

Mantis blushed and turned his head away. Vipers eyes shot wide open at the last part of that sentence. Mantis swore to protect her. He really cared that much? If what he said was true then he must have strong feelings for her, right?

Mantis braced himself for some sort of smack on the head. Indeed, he did feel the tip of her tail on his body, but instead of being hit, she pulled him in to a hug. Viper wrapped her tail around Mantis and pulled him in close to her chest. Mantis could hear her heartbeat. It was fast, she was excited. Mantis' tiny little heart was also racing fast, simply because he was this close to someone he had a crush on for the longest time. As the two hugged, Viper whispered the words 'Thank you', which made the small insect hug her more.

As the two embraced each other at the back, at the front a decision was made.

"Okay, so we go through the swamp" said Po.

"Agreed" said everyone else.

"Okay. Erm...'Dad', can you and Shifu tell everyone what we are doing. Me, Tigress and Monkey will check our supplies and see if there is anything we can lose to shed some weight."

Dao and Shifu nodded and began to get to work. Po, Tigress and Monkey all took of to double check their supplies for anything useless. Po only took a few steps towards the bags when he stood on a sharp stone. The stone drove its way up into his nerve, which caused a sharp pain to shoot all over his body. He tried to hold it in. He bit his lip. He held his breath, but eventually …

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Do you like that?" asked Wello?

"Mmmmmm, very much so, ahhhhh oooh, a little … little lower." said Shen

Shen was lying, face first into the bed he and Wello slept on. After a long day of training , Wello decided to reward her lover by giving him a back massage. He was tense, sore and pulled one of two muscles in his training process. Truth be told, Wello enjoyed every second of it. Watching him move, watching him sweat, watching him break things sent shivers down her whole body. It felt good. Now, she was rubbing his back, the body she wanted to touch while he was training. He felt soft in certain areas, in others he felt rugged and sore. It was a sensual treat to feel every inch of his back. She wanted to feel more, but decided to work Shen into it.

Shen knew what she was up to. Behind her beautiful face was a devious mind that was always planning ahead. It's one of the reason he loves her so much. Her soft white feathers felt so good on his aching back. More and more she pressed down, trying to get rid of all the knots in his muscles. As the pleasure was building up inside them both, Shen couldn't help but feel proud at his sense of achievement. So far he has mastered one hundred scrolls. He skipped the useless ones, for example: how to make energy replenishing tea. Wello however did read that scroll, simply because at one point Shen might need all the energy he could muster. Hehe.

In a short period of time Shen has mastered the Wuxi Finger hold, the ability to increase his speed and strength and many other lethal techniques. Since then, Shen has not relied on his weapons as much, but since his style is Cai Li Fo, he will forever hold onto them.

Shen was shook out of his daze by Wellos soft hands working their way up his long slender neck. As they traveled up and down, the seductive Swan leaned in and breathed on his neck.

"Mmmmmmm, you really are a wonder with your hands." muttered Shen.

"You should see what else I can do." whispered Wello, who used one of her hands to stroke the crest on the top of his head. The second her feathers touched his crest, his eyes rolled to the back of his head. It was one of the most sensitive parts on his whole body. In Shen's mind, he wanted Wello to work for what she wanted, but since she had just done this, she was close to getting it. Shen almost regretted telling her about his crest, because now all she has to do is play with it and it gets him excited. As said before, he almost regrets it.

Just as the seductive trance was getting good, a sudden knock on the paper thin door was heard. Shen let out a grunt and ignored it. Once again, there was a knock at the door. Shen was quickly becoming frustrated. He somehow broke out of his trance long enough to utter the words "Go … away ..."

Once again, it was silent and Wello resumed her seductive methods.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK

Shens devious red eyes shot wide open. This time he would not mutter it, he would shout at the top of his lungs. "I told you to GO-oooooooooohoohoohhoooooo"

Before Shen could even finish his threat, Wello used her beak to nibble and lick the sensitive crest. Shens whole body writhed in pleasure. The more she pressed onward the more gasp and moans escaped his mouth. He was Lord Shen, destroyer of the Panda race, proper heir to Gongmen city and he was being used by a woman. Strangely enough, he loved it. Wello was enjoying herself, pleasuring her man, the more she continued, the more she wanted to do to him. She brought down a powerful warlord to his knees and was now at her mercy. Some say that Shen is the powerful one in their relationship, but just between them, they both knew that Wello was the stronger one, simply because she can manipulate and seduce. However, just like Shen, she was becoming very agitated at whoever was at the door.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK

Enough was enough. Wello reached over to the side drawer near the bed, grabbed one of Shen knives, and threw it at the door. The knife tore through the paper like a hot knife through butter. Sadly, her aim was slightly off and she missed her target. The one knocking the door nervously stood close to the tear in the door and utter the words "S-s-sir, I have important information for you."

"Hmhm, it seems you need to practice your aim" mocked Shen, who was snickering into his pillow. Wello, slightly angry, playfully grabbed his crest from the bottom and stroked it all the way to the top. The sudden sensation caused Shen to let out a sharp gasp of air. He was about to turn around and return such sensations to his lover, when he heard the next couple of words however, his plans changed.

"Sir, our scouting squad was attacked. We were defeated. Sir we -"

Using his new found speed, within mere seconds he shoved Wello on to the bed, put on his robe, grabbed his lance, jumped through the door, destroying it completely and finally pinned down the messenger to the floor, putting his lance close to his neck. As it turns out, the messenger was Fang. Shen was so fast that the poor wolf never saw him coming. Even Wello was amazed at such speed. Fang wanted to question how he did that, but was immediately drawn to the sharp metal object merely inches from his face. Shens eyes were half slanted and his voice cold and malicious. If you think Shen was in a bad mood before, he is at his worst now, or he will be soon.

"Who defeated you?."

"The...the...furios five sir. They are the ones responsible."

Shen was now taken aback. His adversaries were still alive and still causing a nuisance. If they became to much of a problem, history could repeat itself. Shen began to panic, but just as he was about to blow his top, he quickly calmed himself down. The sadistic frown on his face quickly turned into a devious smile, accompanied with a small chuckle.

"I see no problem. Those cretins couldn't stand up to me before, they obviously can't stand up to me now. Hmhmhm, there is no threat. I already got rid of the only fool who could stop me. He is probably fish food by now."

"Um … My Lord ..."

"Yes?"

The wolf stood before his master, frozen from fear. What he had to say would not be easy, but he was loyal to Shen. He had to tell him. Slowly the wolf opened his mouth and uttered the rest of his message.

Outside the Jade Palace, a bunch of bandits were mulling around, being lazy and some were making ludicrous bets and wagers. It was a fun time for all.

Suddenly from out of the barrack doors came Fang, flying through the air. His nose was bleeding, numerous teeth had been knocked out of his mouth and the scream he made sent chills down the spines of all who could hear it. When he landed, a loud thud could be heard all throughout the Valley. When the nearby bandits turned to face who had hurt Fang, they were faced with pure evil. Shen stood at the doorway. His eyes burning with rage, his chest going up and down from breathing to fast. His knuckles were drenched in blood. Slowly, he turned his head to one side and cracked his neck. Step by step, clang after clang, he walked towards Fang, who was still on the floor. Shen grabbed the poor wolf by his pelt and dragged him to the top of the thousand stairs. This caught the attention of every single soldier in Shens army. Shen mercilessly threw Fang to the ground and shouted so loud that everyone could hear.

"Where are the others who went with you? Where are the other witnesses?"

The beaten wolf tried to muster the strength to speak but Shen was to rough on him, he barely had the energy to breath. Shen raised his foot and pressed down of Fangs back. The wolf grunted in pain as the sharp metal talons dug into his flesh. The tip of each blade was so deep it scraped the edge of his spine. To further increase the pain, while the talons were inside him he twisted his foot to one side, scrapping the sharp metal against the bone. Blood dripped out of each wound, more blood came out when the demented Peacock twisted his foot back and forth. Wanting the pain to stop, he turned his eyes over to his men who went with him on his search. Shen noticed his eye movement and immediately turned his own head to a bunch of cowering bandits in the corner. They were beaten and bruised. Shen took his foot of Fangs back and slowly brandished his lance from his robe while he walked over to them. The bandits shook in fear as Shen slowly approached them. The evil frown on his face never left him, his burning red eyes sent terror down everyone's spine. From out of the barracks came Wello who was tying the sash around her robe. She didn't come out for concern for the men, she just wanted to see the best part.

"Tell me it isn't true … tell me he is dead … he can't be alive … he, just, CAN'T!"

The cold long metal blade was inches away from them, which made every single one of them whimper. If they uttered the wrong words their lives would end tragically.

"Tell me the truth. Is he … ?"

None of the bandits could talk. Shen raised the blade above his head, ready to strike them down one by one, when suddenly a familiar voice caught his attention.

"Yes, he is alive. The Dragon Warrior is alive"

Shen turned around and what he saw made his mouth, and everyone's mouth drop. At the top of the thousand stairs was Razputin, the bear who everyone thought had died. Since he did not care much for Shen or his plans, he took his time coming back to the Valley. Luckily for the bandits, his return was perfectly timed.

Before anyone could blink, within a mere second, Shen had dashed over to Razputin, jumped onto his chest and grabbed him by the pelt on his neck. Everyone, including Razputin was shocked at such speed. The well built bear stood tall with Shen on his chest, hanging on to him so he wouldn't fall. The two warriors stared at each other, eye to eye. The cold metal spear was pressed up against Razputins neck. Most people would be terrified in this situation, but Razputin didn't even break a sweat. Shen may be faster and stronger, but deep down Razputin knew that he could take him, and that Po was still the better warrior … he hoped.

"How do you know he is alive?"

"Simple. I let him live."

At that very second everyone's eyes shot wide open and everyone let out a gulp. Even Wello was slightly scared of what Shen would do.

"W-w-w-why d-d-did you let him live?!" Said the outraged peacock, shaking from rage and barely able to speak because of it.

"I told you I wanted to fight him at his best to the death. He and I survived the fall. If I killed him then I would gone back on my word and goal. I do not care about you or your plans, I only care about my goal and my honor."

Silence filled the air once again. Oddly enough Shen didn't shout, didn't scream, he didn't so a single thing. He just smiled.

He smiled at the bear in front of him, but this was no ordinary smile. Some believe that pure rage is screaming, shouting and breaking anyone and anything in sight. However, in Shens case, pure rage was pure silence. He was so angry that he didn't know what to do. Killing him would be to nice. Torturing him wouldn't cut it either. All he could do right now was smile. It was an uneasy smile, a twitching smile, a smile that would make babies cry, and if they were already crying, stop them out of fear.

"You … let … him … live?"

"Yes, I did."

"Oooooooohhhhhh … what I'm going to do to you."

The angry Peacock turned his neck to the other side, and slowly cracked it.

"... I'm soooooo angry! I just don't know where to start."

"Are you sure you want to do something?" said Razputin while he slowly unsheathed his claws.

Shen was about to pull back on his lance and drive it into Razputins throat, but a small wolf warrior approached them both carrying a glass orb.

"Lord Shen, it's the orb, something is happening."

Shens eyes darted from Razputin to the wolf, then to the orb. It was glowing and emanating an eerie aura. Deciding to deal with the bear later, he jumped down from him and took the orb from the wolfs hands. As he did, Wello approached Shen. She knew about this orb and the significance it played. Through her mind, the events of what transpired a few days before the attack began to reemerge.

A few days before the attack on the Valley

As Shen and his entire army marched towards the valley of peace, all was quiet. Everyone waited in anticipation for the upcoming slaughter. Everyone, except Madame Du Croc. Being clairvoyant, she was able to see parts of the future. And being a voodoo woman, she had her own agenda. Souls were her trade, and while the souls of the victims of the valley would be a nice deal, she had her eyes set on only one. Even though Shen promised her the Pandas soul, she was not to keen oh his word. She saw that Po would survive the attack and make his way through a certain swamp. Unfortunately, for the Panda, that swamp was home to none other than Madame Du Croc. Having reached a decision, Madame Du Croc made her way through the crowd to meet with her ever so humble host.

"Shen, ya small white devil, I have something to give you."

"Madame Du Croc, I wish you wouldn't call me that"

"Haha, sorry Shen, but if I see it, I will call it as it is"

"Ugh, what do you want?"

Out of her long purple sash that was around her waist, she pulled out a glass orb. This was no ordinary glass orb. Shen and Wello could feel the magic emanating from it. Madame Du Croc took Shens hand and placed the orb in it.

"What is this for?"

"I have my own agenda to keep. I have seen into the future, just a little. I predict you will need this. I will call you when it is time to use it."

"I don't understand, what is -"

Before Shen could even get the rest of his question out, Madame Du Croc was gone. Vanished into thin air, which is impressive for a crocodile of her size. Without paying any attention to this, Shen placed the orb with the rest of his possessions and carried on.

Present Day

To this day, Shen had no idea what this orb was for, in fact no-one did. Shen, Wello, Razputin and all nearby troops stared at the orb, still unsure of what it was. Suddenly the orb began to glow brighter. Everyone was taken aback by this wonder. Even startled, Shen stood tall and firm, holding the orb in his hand. The soldiers were terrified but Shen, Wello and Razputin knew that there was magic brewing. Miles and miles away in the Swamp of Misery, Madame Du Croc was watching and waiting. The towering crocodile was hiding in the shadows, holding an identical orb in her scaly claw, and just like the orb at the Valley, it was glowing more and more with each passing second.

Gradually over time, the glow changed from a blurry white to a clear image and what Shen saw astounded him. Via the orb, he saw Madame Du Croc and vice versa. That's when it clicked. These ancient orbs are used for means of communication via magic. The recipients could see and hear each other perfectly. Madame Du Croc placed her scaly lips close to the orb to whisper so not to get caught.

"Shen ya small white demon bird. Can ya hear me boy?"

Slightly taken back by this wonderment, Shen nearly dropped the orb. After staggering around and fumbling his hands, Shen answered back.

"Um...Hello?"

"Hmhmhm, I didn't mean to startle ya young one. I just wanted to get ya ready for the show"

"What show?"

"This one"

With that, Madame Du Croc held the orb higher, showing Shen and his allies the area she was in. As the picture became more and more clear, Shen looked around to see what she was talking about. His beady little blood red eyes looked deeper and deeper, looking for a reason for this so called call. That's when he saw it, something that shouldn't have been there but it was. Those dark evil eyes darted from the orb to Fang, who was still bleeding out on the ground. Shen simply grit his teeth together and muttered the word.

"Pandas"

Fang, although dazed and beaten still managed to respond to his master.

"I'm sorry sir. I told you he was alive...I'm sorry I -"

Fang was quickly cut off by a very temperamental peacock.

"No! Not 'Panda', Pandas! There's more than one!"

Both Razputin and Wello were now glued to to the orb to confirm Shens news. As they looked at the glass object, so did he. The three warriors from the Valley, and Madame Du Croc watched as Po, Shifu, the Four and the Villagers traveled through the swamp. Instead of traveling in a lined unit, the Kung Fu masters walked around the villagers who were huddled into a circle. The Masters knew that this swamp was treacherous and had to take precautions. At the front of the circle was Po, Shifu and Mantis. On the left was Viper, and the right was Monkey. Dao and Tigress guarded the back. The formation would allow the team to pair up with someone with great speed and another with strength. Even though this was a well thought out formation, they were in the Madame's territory now.

Everyone remained quiet, listening and following the Masters instruction. A single wrong step would land them in the murky water, sending them to their watery grave. When they looked down to mind their footing they could see the skeletons of those who weren't so lucky. Poor unfortunate souls, be they traveler, adventurer or thug, they all fell into the water. Fear and paranoia gripped not only the villagers, but the Masters as well.

Madame Du Croc watched the traveling group with glee. This was her home, her territory, her land. Born and raised here, she knew the layout like the back of her hand, and with the aid of her mysterious skills, this made her home an ideal battleground.

As the huddling group pressed onward, always cautious and wary, Madame Du Croc reached into her sash and pulled out a small sack of white powder. Moving slowly, so not to be caught, she opened up the sack and emptied the contents into the water below. The devious crocodile grinned, showing off all her razor sharp teeth, as her powder began her work.

As if from out of nowhere a thick fog enveloped the huddling group, making them stop in their tracks. No-one could see what direction to walk next, and since the wrong step could mean an unfortunate end, no one dared move. The fog swirled around the heads of every single member of the group, almost as if the fog was trying to reach out for everyone. This was the opportune moment to strike, and with Shen watching she would be at her best.

As quickly as the fog rolled in, it began to leave. The masters were all left rather confused. But, just as the fog was almost gone, Madame Du Croc revealed herself and with a simple blow gun, fired a dart at her target: The Dragon Warrior. As the dart flew towards Po, Viper was the first to eye the crocodile, and the oncoming dart. With all her strength and speed, she lunged herself towards Po. As she got closer, so did the dart. Before Po, or anyone else could even blink, Viper nudged Po out of the way, but the dart still made its way, unwavering and lethal.

THWIP

As the dart pierced the young snakes rough skin, she let out a small scream, which caught the attention of all the other masters. As Viper collapsed to the floor, and the masters rushed to her side, Madame Du Croc stood there, in all her glory, laughing. Po, Tigress, Mantis, Monkey, Shifu and Dao all concerned for their comrade, had to force themselves to look away from Viper so they could see their attacker. When they all saw the lumbering crocodile, anger was slapped onto their faces.

''Hmhmhm, there be only room for one reptile in this scene'' said the gloating crocodile, still holding the orb, which Shen could still see out of. To make sure her adversaries didn't notice Shen, she hid the orb at her side. They could not see it, but Shen could see them.

''Who the hell are you?'' asked Po, who was gritting his teeth in anger.

''I am the majestic Madame Du Croc, and you, my dear guests are in my home. I would hate to be a terrible hostess. So, I thought id just invite you all to dinner.'' The unhinged crocodile grinned and chuckled devilishly as she stuck her tongue out and licked her teeth. Her intimidation scared the villagers and most pandas. The Masters stood firm, not phased by her threat. Right now, their min concern was Viper.

''What did you do to Viper?'' asked a raging Mantis who was cradling the snakes head.

''Hey! I didn't do anything to her. She did it to herself. I was aiming for the fat one. Hmhm, then again, in a group of Pandas, I'm not sure who the fat one would be''

Po slammed his foot down and got into his fighting stance, ready to strike. ''Answer him, what did you do?!''

''A rare and fatal poison is flowing through the girls veins. Normally, on a big person like yourself, it would be a slow and painful death, but on someone as small as her, I say she has thirty minutes.'' Everyone looked down to Viper, showing more concern than ever. Madame Du Croc simply scoffed as she continued her plan. Even though her original plan went astray, she was a quick strategist. ''On my possession is the cure for the poison, if you want it, then you'll have to catch me first!''

And with that, Madame Du Croc turned around and dashed in the opposite direction. Without giving a moments puase, Po, Tigress, Monkey and Mantis all took off. Shifu and Dao stayed behind as Shifu shouted out ''Retrieve the cure, we will tend to Viper and make our way out of the swamp! And for goodness sake, be careful!''

Po and his friends ran at full speed through the swamp, making sure not to fall into the murky water below. However, no matter how fast they went, they never caught up with the enigmatic crocodile. Not wanting to let Viper die, they all pressed on and eventually found themselves in another thick fog, but this one was different. It smelled funny, like something was off. The warriors took no notice of this as they pressed on. Po, beginning to feel tired eventually came to a halt, as did the others.

''Guys, where do you think she went? … guys? Guys?''

As Po looked around him, much to his surprise, his friends were gone. He couldn't see them through the fog. The other warriors experienced the same feeling as they had all become separated. This is what Madame Du Croc wanted, she had lured her pray away from the pack and separated them. She could only grin as she made her way to her first victim. Shen, still watching through the orb, could see everything that Du Croc showed him. He grinned devilishly as he prepared for a glorious show.

Monkey walked through the fog, searching for his friends and his attacker. Cautiously, he began to make his way back to Shifu and the others, deciding to retrace his steps. Monkey felt tired, not from all the walking, but mentally tired. Everyone has a way to cope with things, but Monkey had a different way. Crane was not Monkey's first death, far from it, but seeing so much of it left his mind in shambles, and with the loss of one of his closest friends, it tore his apart inside.

''...M..onk..ey''

Out of nowhere, Monkey heard his name being called. With a keen smile, he believed it to be one of his friends. He dashed quickly towards the voice, hoping to reunite with his group. Monkey was right, it was one of his friends, but not one he wanted to see.

From out of the water came a familiar figure. A face that Monkey thought he would never see again. It was Crane. He rose out of the water and made his way onto the ground supporting Monkey. Monkey watched in horror as he looked at his friend. Most of his feathers were gone, his eyes were pure white, his chest was open, his ribs and organs exposed, his blood replaced with the brown murky water that he rose out from and his neck was still broken. Whenever he moved, Monkey could hear the bones scraping against one another.

Crane took a few steps forward towards his old friend as Monkey took a few steps back.

''Why didn't you save me?'' asked the dead avian.

Monkey could only stutter as Crane pressed on.

''You failed me as a friend. I would've saved you. Weren't we friends?''

''Of course we were..are..of course'' replied Monkey, who slowly began to back himself into a corner.

''Liar. You couldn't save me!''

''I'm sorry''

''You couldn't save any of us!''

''W-what do you mean?''

Suddenly, more bodies rose out of the water. Victims of Tai Lungs and Shens murderous rampage. The guards, the civilians, all people that Monkey believed he could have saved. His guilt was literally coming to life. Monkey further pressed himself against a tree, backing himself more into his corner as the undead slowly approached him. Step by step, they began to speak.

''Why didn't you save me?''

''Where's my mommy? I want my mommy?''

''I thought we were friends''

As the words sank into Monkey's mind, he slowly began to fall to the floor, closing his eyes and wishing it all away. Before he knew it, he put himself into shock and couldn't move. His guilt had now consumed him. Before his eyes fully closed, the last thing he saw was a towering crocodile making her way through the undead, approaching him.

In another part of the swamp, Po was still lost. He continued to search for his friends and his attacker. As he pressed on, his mind switched back and forth between Viper, who badly needed help and Tigress, who he was deeply worried about. Tigress had the same thoughts, except about Viper and Po. However, as both warriors worried about each other, they both knew that the other could take care of themselves. As Po and Tigress ran through the swamp, blinded by the mysterious fog, they both stopped upon hearing a twig snap behind them. As they both turned around, what they saw, they couldn't believe. As Po turned, he was face to face with his old enemy, Tai Lung. As Tigress turned, she saw the enemy who brought her to the brink of death, Razputin.

Madame Du Croc, who had already dealt with Monkey, watched the show to come. The warriors believed that they were looking upon their adversaries, but in truth, they were looking at each other.

''How are you alive?'' asked a demanding Po who readied his fighting stance.

''I'm stronger than you think'' replied an angry Tigress, who cautiously prepared her fighting stance. Since they believed that they were looking at Tai Lung and Razputin, then they also believed that it was their voice that they were hearing. Madame Du Croc grinned as she held up her orb, allowing Shen to watch the oncoming show.

''I beat you once, I can do it again, and this time i'll finish the job''

''I'd like to see you try''

Po and Tigress clutched their fists and bared their teeth as they prepared to fight. They had to finish this fight quickly as they believed that their love needed them. As Du Croc, Shen and the others watched, Shen could only chuckle as he prepared for the fight of lifetime. ''Oooh, this is going to be good''

A/N: So, what do you guys think. Have I lost my touch, or am I as good as ever? Anxious for the next chapter? Ready to see the lovers fight? Let me know what you think in the comments. Next chapter will be up soon. Laters