[enters the courtyard of his family palace]
Good afternoon, gentlemen! Now that we've got the pleasantries out of the way, please leave my house.
Yes, didn't you see the peacock on the front door? [spots the Soothsayer] Ah, there you are, Soothsayer. It seems your fortune-telling skills are not as good as you thought.
Soothsayer We shall see, Shen.
[under his breath]
No, you shall see, old goat. [aloud, to the Council] Where were we?
MR Master Rhino
What do you want, Shen?
What is rightfully mine... Gongmen City!
MR Master Rhino
Gongmen is under the stewardship of the Masters' Council and we will protect it, even from you.
[laughs]
I'm so glad you feel that way! Otherwise, I'd have dragged that here for nothing. [indicating his wolf army dragging a rather large box on a cart]
You want to see? It's a gift. It's your parting gift, in that it'll part you; part of you here, part of you there, and part of you way over there, staining the wall!
[Ox attacks, but is quickly brought down; Croc moves in, deflecting Shen's fan of blades. Finally, Rhino pushes Shen back with his hammer, knocking several of his fan blades away.] [sneering]
Show-off.
MR Master Rhino
That is a warning. You are no match for our Kung Fu.
I agree. [grins wickedly] But this is! [flips backwards onto the box, revealing a massive cannon. Rhino takes a defensive stance... as Shen fires it.]
My father's throne. He used to let me play here, beside him. Promising with someday this throne would be mine. A little to the left.
But it's so heavy, Master.
Every thing must be exactly how I envisioned it, and I envisioned it a little to the left. Perfect! With the weapon, by my si.. A little bit more. With the weapon, by my side, all China will bow before me! We move out in 3 days, when the moon is full and the tide is high. Well, Soothsayer, why don't you tell me my...?
Soothsayer Fortune?
Future. I was going to say future. Look into your bowl and tell me what glory awaits.
Soothsayer [peers into her bowl]
If you continue on your current path, you will find yourself... at the bottom of the stairs.
Soothsayer [Shen looks down and is annoyed to see he has indeed reached the bottom of the stairs leading to his throne.] [still looking]
I see... I see... [Shen comes closer] I see... pain.
[She plucks out one of his feathers.]
OW!
Soothsayer And anger.
[She chews on the hem of his robe.]
How dare you! This is the finest silk in the province!
Soothsayer Followed by denial.
This is not fortune-telling! You're just saying what's happening right...!
Soothsayer Now? The most important time is now. But if you really want to see the future...
Soothsayer [The Soothsayer burns a powder in a dish, creating a vision in swirling smoke.]
A peacock... is defeated by a warrior, of black and white. Nothing has changed.
[Shen throws a dagger, shattering the dish.] [laughs]
That's impossible, and you know it.
Soothsayer It is not impossible, and he knows it.
[running in]
Lord Shen! I saw a panda!
A panda!? [knocks him to the ground, gripping him by the throat]
[nervously]
A Kung Fu warrior. He fought like a demon! Big and furry, soft and squishy... uh, kinda plush and cuddly...
There are no more pandas.
Soothsayer [taps the Boss's missing eye]
Even with his poor eyesight, he can see the truth. Why is it that you cannot?
[to the Wolf Boss, angrily]
Find this panda, and bring him to me! (pushes him away)
Yes, sir! [hurries away downstairs]
[chuckles]
So, one panda lives. That does not make you right!
Soothsayer You're right. Being right makes me right.
Then I will kill him, and make you wrong! [turns and sees her chewing the hem of his robe again] WILL YOU STOP THAT?!
Greetings, panda. At last we meet. No. No, no, no.. We meet at last! Yes! That's it! Greetings, panda. We meet at..
Soothsayer You are afraid for a reason.
I'm not afraid. He's coming to me in chains. If anyone should be afraid it's--
Soothsayer You! [moves to Shen's robes]
Don't even think about it.
[triumphantly]
You were wrong, Soothsayer! [wields sword] We sail to victory tonight. Your magic panda is clearly a fool!
Soothsayer [angrily]
Are you certain it is the panda that is a fool?! You just destroyed your ancestral home, Shen!
A trivial sacrifice... [sticks the sword's tip into a nearby fire, then pokes the burning tip to a map of China, which bursts into a spreading flame] when all of China is my reward.
Soothsayer Then will you finally be satisfied? Will the subjugation of the whole world finally make you feel better?
[sneers]
It's a start. I might also convert the basement into a dungeon.
Soothsayer [Her anger spent, Soothsayer approaches the peacock, who is standing at the balcony with his back to her.]
The cup you choose to fill has no bottom. It is time to stop this madness.
[chuckles]
Why on Earth would I do that?
Soothsayer So your parents can rest in peace.
[bitterly]
My parents... hated me. Do you understand? They-- they wronged me. And... I will make it right.
Soothsayer [sadly]
They loved you. They loved you so much that having to send you away killed them.
[pause]
The dead exist in the past. And I must tend to the future. [to his gorilla guard] Set the Soothsayer free. She is of no use to me.
Soothsayer [heartbroken]
Goodbye, Shen. I wish you happiness.
Happiness... must be taken. And I will take mine.
[The gorilla guard leads the Soothsayer out]
Soothsayer [first lines; narrating]
Long ago, in ancient China. The Peacocks ruled over Gongmen city. They brought great joy, and prosperity to the city. For they had invented fireworks. But their son, Lord Shen saw darker power in the fireworks. What had brought color and joy... could also bring darkness and destruction. Shen's troubled parents consulted a Soothsayer. She foretold that if Shen continued, down this dark path, he would be defeated by a warrior of black and white. The young Lord set out to change his fate. But what he did next… only sealed it. Shen returned to his parents, full of pride. But in their faces, he saw only horror. He was banned from the city forever. But Shen swore revenge. Someday, he would return, and all of China would bow at his feet.
[After Po is injured from a flying cannonball blast, and is rescued by Soothsayer. Po then looks at Soothsayer with a mug of hot medicine] [exclaims, groans]
Yeah. Like, you could make me drink that... [Soothsayer sticks a needle in his forehead, making his eyes bulge and his mouth pop wide open, tosses the hot medicine in his mouth and yanks the needle, making him swallow] Ew! [coughs]
Soothsayer If I wanted you dead, I would have left you in that river.
[removing the needles]
Why save me?
Soothsayer So you can fulfill your destiny.
What are you talking about? Where am I? [notices that they are among the burned remains of a small panda village] What is this place?
Soothsayer I am surprised that you remember so little...but then, you were so little when it happened. [Po suddenly hears screaming inside his head and cries out in pain. He crawls towards the edge of the house ruin. gazes at him] Perhaps you do remember.
What? It's just a stupid nightmare.
Soothsayer Nightmare...or memory?
