A/N - Hooray, the sequel to A Great Escape is here! And if you haven't read the other stories in my series before...um, I'm not even going to try to explain what's going on here. But here's your reading order:

If No One Will Listen and/or White Hot Darkness (optional)
Redeeming Light (by Cryssy-miu; optional, but recommended)
Long Shot
Keeping a Secret
A Great Escape

Get it, got it, good. Thank you. Now, assuming that you've done your homework and know that you'll understand everything that will happen in this story, may I present to you...

The Path Not Taken

Prologue

In China, it is rare to find a village or town comprised of only one single species. Of course, the variety of creatures fluctuates in different areas, depending on the climate and the region and other such factors. But normally, a group of similar animals doesn't just decide that they will all settle down together and allow few, if any, members of other species into their community.

There are exceptions to every rule, of course.

Fai Dong Valley was located in an extremely secluded area of the country. It was surrounded on all sides by a distant eastern mountain range, and almost no one knew that it existed. As a matter of fact, it almost seemed as if its inhabitants were intentionally trying to hide themselves away from the outside world, which would seem foolish. Why on earth would a village want to make more work for itself, forcing its residents to produce everything they needed on their own instead of trading, isolating its denizens from friends or family members who might be living on the outside?

But Fai Dong was no ordinary village. The only people who lived there were pandas. And those pandas had long considered themselves to be a hunted species, which was why they had established a secretive society that allowed them to protect themselves.

Decades ago, the pandas of Fai Dong Valley had been driven from their ancestral home, a village on the outskirts of Gongmen City, by a murderous albino peacock named Lord Shen. Their homes had been razed to the ground, and many of their friends and family hadn't made it out of the raid alive. Those that had survived had been ready to give up hope, but fortunately, they had been shepherded to this safe place by a panda named Sir Cai Baojia, who had since become their leader. Cai was strong-willed but kind-hearted, a commanding yet understanding presence, and he was revered and loved by all of his people. He had guided them before they found this valley and helped with the construction of homes and cultivation of rice paddies after they had arrived. He made sure that any orphaned children were placed with loving foster parents and that families were reunited whenever they picked up survivors who had escaped to somewhere else…and he did all of this despite the fact that he had lost his own family on that terrible night.

The tragic situation was whispered about all around the village. On the night of the raid, Sir Cai's wife had run into the forest with their infant son, and both had disappeared. They had been pursued by wolves, so the outcome of the situation was obvious. No one had ever found the bodies, though. Cai was even more admired for the way he had carried on despite the horrifying adversities of his life, and eventually, he had gotten used to living alone with the ghosts of his family hanging over him…or, at least, as used to it as anyone could ever possibly get.

And then, on an ordinary day about four and a half years ago now, Cai had been looking over the valley from his private gazebo in the cliffs when he had felt…something. For some reason, a realization had suddenly struck him, some confirmation that he couldn't explain. But in that moment, he had known that his son was still alive and out there somewhere. And not a week later, one of the few messengers who was trusted enough to news to Fai Dong alerted him that Lord Shen had been defeated by the Dragon Warrior…and that the Dragon Warrior happened to be a panda.

Since then, Cai had been sending out his personal messenger Tung (a small bird who could observe people and places unnoticed) to try and locate this Dragon Warrior panda. For the past four and a half years, this ceaseless quest had returned no definite results. But today, Cai had the exhilarating sensation that his luck was about to change…

…

The three of them were standing in a sort of triangular formation in the gazebo – Sir Cai was positioned at what would have been the top point, while two birds stood side-by-side in front of him. The small, familiar avian was instantly recognizable as Tung. But Cai didn't know who the goose dressed in oddly colored finery was.

"Are you sure that this goose is trustworthy, Tung?" asked Cai carefully. He was always wary about admitting visitors into Fai Dong. For years he had been concerned that Shen would find out where they were and come back to finish them off, but since the peacock lord's defeat, he had loosened up on the strict "no guests" policy.

"I'm very sure, sir," responded Tung. "Zeng is an old friend of mine. I'm glad that I thought to go talk to him, because he has some information that you might be interested to know…"

Zeng cleared his throat and stepped forward. "S-so, I hear you've been looking for the Dragon Warrior…sir," he added quickly. "I work at the Jade Palace, where the Dragon Warrior lives…"

Cai's eyes seemed to spark. "And is this Dragon Warrior a panda, as all the rumors say?"

"Yes, sir. His name is Po…"

"Hmm." Cai rubbed his chin thoughtfully, though his heart was pounding and his eyes were still shining hopefully. The only way to tell for sure whether or not this Po was actually his son would be to meet him; he hadn't been holding out much hope that the boy would still be going by "Bao Yu" after either being in an orphanage or adopted by someone else. And even if the Dragon Warrior wasn't his son, it was always an exciting experience to find that another panda was alive. "Interesting. What else do you know about the Dragon Warrior, Zeng?"

"Well, sir," piped up Tung, "this is where things get very…ah...intriguing. C-could you please remind me…what your wife's name was?"

Cai's face darkened slightly, and Tung flinched. He knew that Sir Cai didn't like to talk about his beloved wife now that she had met her untimely demise. Tung had only heard the woman's name once or twice before, and he thought he remembered it, but he needed to make sure…

"Her name was Biming," answered Cai tonelessly, trying to keep his voice even. "Lady Biming, if you want her honorific, as well. Why is that important?"

Tung and Zeng exchanged a stupefied glance.

"There's also a female panda who lives at the Jade Palace," Zeng finally managed. "An older woman…and her name is Lady Biming."

Cai's pale green eyes widened, and he turned away abruptly.

"That's a coincidence," he said thickly.

"Are you so sure about that?" challenged Tung. "Tell him more, Zeng…"

"She has green eyes and she always wears her hair in a bun," recited Zeng. "Her hair is gray, although that might just be from age. She's a healer, and she used to live in a village outside of Gongmen City, where she worked tending to the heir of the Royal Peacocks. And…the Dragon Warrior is her son."

Cai didn't say anything.

"Doesn't that sound like your wife, sir?" Tung pressed ahead hopefully.

Cai still remained silent. He had his back turned towards them, so all they could see was his embroidered green shawl rippling as his shoulders heaved with deep breaths. They were unable to see his face to tell if he was upset, if he was angry, if he thought that this was some sort of cruel joke that his most loyal servant had decided to play on him for some reason…or if he truly believed what they were telling him, and was merely having a hard time trying to process the sudden shock of it all.

Then, without warning, he made a beeline for the steep staircase that led down from the gazebo. His fist was clutching the shawl together tightly, and his lips were pressed together into a straight, severe line. His eyes were set into what appeared to be an expression of determination.

"S-sir!" cried Tung, pushing off into the air in order to follow his master, afraid that he had upset him. "W-where are you going?"

Cai didn't turn around, continuing to stare straight ahead as tears pricked the corners of his eyes. "I am going to write a letter."

…

Many days and many miles later, Lady Biming was standing in front of the entrance to the Jade Palace, at the top of the thousand steps. Zeng had just handed her a scroll and told her who it was from, a name that she had heard perfectly and yet somehow hadn't comprehended completely, no matter how many time she wrapped her lips around it silently and repeated it in her head. She kept thinking that the messenger goose had to be mistaken, because the location he said he'd just come from was so far-fetched that she had never even imagined it…

"What?" she said at last, so shocked that her voice only held the faintest hint of curiosity. "I'm sorry, Zeng…who did you say it was from?"

A/N - Yes, I'm doing my take on the non-sequitor at the end of KFP2. DON'T JUDGE ME. Now you know why the story will mostly be about Po and Lady Biming...but all you A Great Escape fans have nothing to fear, because Shen and Lanying will indeed pop up in this. (Come on, it's like, physically impossible for me to write a story that doesn't have Shen in it.)

Also, this story is going to be long, and I mean, LONG. After the prologue, there will be Part I, Part II, and Part III, which is something I've not yet done in a KFP fic. This prologue is probably shorter than most of the other chapters are going to be, too. Anyway, I would greatly appreciate some reviews, and I hope that everyone enjoys this!