Happy Holidays!

I apologize for the very long wait. After all the movie hype back in January and a couple losses I went through since then, it took me ages to get back on track. And I'm glad to be back! I hope you enjoy!

Summary: As Tigress tries to begin to walk again, Vixey's mom decides to pay a visit. Will she cause chaos, or can she actually help?

Episode One: Mother of Mine, Part One

There seemed to be too many foes to count, but they were dropping like flies.

Tigress couldn't remember a time she felt happier. She attacked with confidence and most enemies not in the way of her claws immediately turned themselves around and fled. The battle seemed to be over in seconds.

She pursued them with only the intent to scare them off any additional attack. Then she stopped mid-stride when a storm of peach blossoms danced in front of her and continued toward her left. Knowing she didn't have to worry about her enemies, she followed the blossoms.

She had to continue running on all fours to keep up with the petals. She felt like she could run forever if she had to - her body didn't seem to show any signs of tiring.

Then she slid to a stop as the blossoms formed a whirlwind near a tree Tigress realized was the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom. She didn't have time to think before Master Oogway materialized amid the blossoms.

"Hello again, Tigress," the old turtle said.

"Master Oogway!" Tigress began, bowing. "It's good to see you again!"

"But aren't you forgetting something?" Oogway asked her.

As soon as Tigress looked up in confusion, she doubled over in pain. It felt like someone was digging a knife into her side. She looked up again to see that she was now enveloped by the cyclone of petals.

"Master!" she shouted, reaching out with one paw while the other was holding her side. "Oogway! Wait!"

She felt like she just fell through the ground.

Suddenly, she opened her eyes. She was staring up at her bedroom ceiling. Then the pain spiked again, making her turn onto her side and curl up.

"Uh, good morning?" Vixey asked reluctantly, standing up and walking to her friend's bedside. "Tian should be here any minute, so..."

The fox recoiled when Tigress hissed, presumably to herself.

"Was it that dream again?" Vixey asked, trying to help her straighten out.

"Of course, it was," Tigress growled. "What else would you think it'd be?"

She swiped at Vixey to make her back off, and then tried to sit up as painlessly as possible.

"Wasn't it Viper's night?" she asked.

"It was, but I had to fill in for her this morning," Vixey told her, walking away to clean up the scrolls she left on the floor. "Everyone's off roughing up some thieves in one of the southern villages."

She paused, watching Tigress struggle halfway through her task. She started to move to help her again.

"Back off," Tigress growled, more threateningly than before.

Vixey whirled around and cleaned her things up quickly. She then yelped when the door started opening.

"Off to an early start today, Tigress?" Tian asked as she walked in.

The red panda was wearing an off-white robe and a light green sash - her new healer robes. But after a few months already on the job, they were hardly new now.

Tigress gave her a sour look and continued trying to sit up.

Vixey peered around the door.

"She had that nightmare again," she whispered to Tian. "You know how upset she gets when -! Waaah!"

She ducked just in time to avoid the pillow Tigress threw at her. Tian had hardly flinched and took the pillow calmly.

"It wasn't a nightmare," Tigress growled as she finally sat up. "It never starts out that way."

Tian handed her the pillow and started working to remove Tigress's bandage to treat and clean it again.

"Most good dreams tend to be that way," she said. "You're practically flying and it drops you a thousand feet just before you wake up."

Tigress winced as the last part of the bandage came off. At least that wasn't hurting as badly lately.

"Still no scab," Tian said, sounding a little peeved, "but you're still not bleeding enough to worry much about."

She started cleaning the wound, making Tigress wince badly.

"Do you need my help, or should I go get food for Tigress?" Vixey asked.

"Go get the food," Tian said, not turning away from the wound. "I should be done by then."

Vixey nodded and walked into the hallway.

It had been just over half a year since the fight for the Jade Palace. Repairs had finished since then, but the memories remained. The Masters had chased Ruili, the crazed otter that had previously chased them from their home, through the halls of the barracks before Tigress cornered her, though she almost lost her life in the process. During the fighting, she'd been nicked by a poisoned axe, which poison manifested during the final fight. Due to the quick thinking of the others, she barely survived.

Most of the village closest to the Jade Palace had been destroyed and was still rebuilding. It was during the intense fight down there that one of the Masters, Jin, the quarterstaff master from Miao Zhen of the Ju Long province, lost his beloved girlfriend, Xinli. He left for Miao Zhen with his fellow warriors to mourn and still hadn't returned.

In the early afternoon, everyone was back and enjoying lunch, though most of them weren't even in the barracks kitchen. Po walked in and saw only Monkey, Mantis, and Crane were at the table, which had become normal lately.

"Hey, Po," they chorused before returning to their meals.

"Hi, guys," Po said, walking to the counter to dish himself up. "Any word on how Tigress is doing?"

"Same as usual," Crane told him.

"Still in pain, still can't walk," Monkey said, "and still upset about it."

"I heard from Tian that she's making progress," Mantis added. "Slow progress, but she's getting there."

They fell into silence for a moment. Po finished dishing himself up and started for the door.

"Eating with them today?" Monkey asked.

"Might as well," Po told him. "I haven't in a while."

Monkey shrugged and returned to his meal.

Po walked toward the sound of several voices in the direction of the bedrooms. He heard several people laugh just before he got to Tigress's room.

"Po!" Vixey cried enthusiastically. "Welcome!"

"Good afternoon, Po," Viper said, motioning for him to sit next to her.

Po walked toward her and plopped down next to her, causing a tremor that the others didn't pay much attention to. He figured Viper, Vixey, and Tian would be eating with Tigress, but he was startled to see Shifu here, too, sitting next to his sister. He usually seemed so busy around lunchtime.

"What're we all talking about?" Po asked, beginning to tear into his meal.

"Old war stories," Tigress answered. "Vixey was kind enough to remind us about the Battle of the Thousand Jackals."

Vixey stifled a laugh so forcibly that she snorted.

"Oh yeah," Po added, "when you threw me at that first squadron! Classic Domino Effect!"

"That will never get old," Viper said.

"I wish I'd been there to see it," Tian told them.

"I saw it from across the plains," Shifu added.

They all shared a laugh, and Po couldn't help but look at Tigress. It'd been ages since he'd seen her so oblivious to her injury. It was refreshing for once.

Vixey was still in a bout of giggles.

"Okay," she started, "I think I can laugh about this one now. Remember when I caught that terrible head cold mid-mission last year?"

The others laughed a little, holding back out of sympathy for the fox.

"Who could forget it?" Tigress asked.

"I'd been claiming I don't remember much from the experience," Vixey continued, "but I was lying. I remember hearing really confusing orders from you, though I know you'd never say anything like that."

"That would explain why you kept almost getting killed doing so many strange things," Viper said.

"We'd have had you keep playing decoy, because it was actually helping, but we didn't want to get you killed," Po added.

The four students laughed a bit, but Shifu and Tian looked rather interested. Shifu had only heard Vixey had gotten sick, and Tian wasn't even at the Jade Palace at the time.

"And once we got back, the healer totally jumped me," Vixey continued.

"You kept escaping and screaming about a snake," Viper said, "which I would've found offensive if I wasn't so worried about you."

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Vixey gasped.

The others erupted in laughter, but stopped when they heard a shriek from the other room.

"Was that Monkey?" Vixey asked.

"I actually think that was Crane," Po said.

They then heard someone running down the hall.

"I'm going to be an uncle!" Crane exclaimed as soon as he appeared in the doorway.

Everyone was surprised at his outburst, but then became delighted.

"Anjing finally laid an egg?" Viper started.

"It's about time!" Tigress told him.

Crane was almost literally bouncing where he stood.

"And this came for you," Mantis said, handing a letter off to Vixey.

"'Bout time Mom wrote," the fox muttered, opening the scroll. "She's usually very punctual each week."

Barely a moment later, she let out a cry of distress, startling everyone in the room.

"She's coming tomorrow!" she shrieked. "She must've sent this on her way out of town!"

Everyone showed varying levels of worry and exasperation.

"I'm surprised it took Aijia this long to decide to visit," Shifu muttered.

Tian raised an eyebrow at him.

"Aijia?" she asked. "What a peculiar name."

"We're a peculiar bunch," Vixey whimpered. "Couldn't she have given us more warning? Like a week's notice?"

"She's your mom," Monkey said. "Why don't you ask her that?"

Vixey gave him a stinging glare.

Then everyone stopped and listened as the warning gong sounded. Then the current Five rushed out to fend off the incoming attack.

"I'll wash the dishes when I get back!" Po called out as he was leaving.

Vixey shook her head as she started taking everyone's dishes and cleaning up.

"Yikes," she mumbled. "Must be the fifth attack in two days."

Her ear twitched as she heard Tigress slump a little. She jumped and turned to see her.

"I-I mean," she started, "it's not like it's huge fights! It must just be a handful of bandits, or... or a... um..."

"Shut up, Vixey," Tigress growled.

Vixey clammed up.

"I guess you're right," she whispered to herself. "They wouldn't be ringing the gong for that..."

She realized too late that Tigress could still hear her, and both red pandas could sense the tiger's growing frustration, giving the fox glowering looks.

"Do you really have to make it any harder on me?" Tigress hissed.

"I-I didn't mean to be so insensitive!" Vixey pled.

Sensing a bit of trouble, Tian rolled her eyes and climbed onto Tigress's bed, walking to just behind her. Shifu, however, shook his head and started to walk out.

"Why don't you just keep your mouth sh-AH!"

Tigress tensed up as soon as Tian touched her. She suddenly fell limp and the red panda helped her lay down.

"I hate you," she growled numbly to Vixey.

The fox gave her a weak, nervous smile before turning away.

"Pressure points, huh?" she asked Tian, who nodded back. "I... think I'll just go... prepare myself..."

She walked out of the room muttering quietly to herself, sounding almost like she was whimpering. As soon as she entered the hallway, she saw Shifu leaving the barracks and ran after him.

"Master!" she shouted once outside. "Wait! I need to ask you something!"

She saw Shifu's ear twitch just before he slowed his step. But he didn't stop.

"Ask away," he said.

Vixey caught up to him and started walking with him.

"I'm not sure I can help Tigress," she confessed. "With my mom, I mean. She always dotes on everyone like crazy and never listens to me to stop! I'm sure she's coming to try to help with Tigress..."

This time, Shifu did stop. Vixey turned to look at him, expecting to see him thinking of a solution. But he actually looked rather exasperated.

"You say she won't listen?" he started. "Are you sure it's her who isn't listening?"

Vixey looked bewildered.

"Wait, wait, wait, what?!" she told him. "Yes! I'm sure she doesn't listen! I tell her to let someone sleep for five more minutes, and barely a second later, she's brought a parade into the office! Then she offers a dozen remedies for lack of sleep, and I'm ready to punch myself in the teeth!"

"Did you always have this sort of relationship with her?"

Vixey paused. Then she looked down.

"No," she muttered. "She started going all crazy after I moved out."

Then she looked at Shifu again.

"But it wasn't like she missed me!" she continued. "If she did, she'd be paying just as much attention to me, right?"

Shifu raised an eyebrow at her.

"She's neglecting you?" he asked.

"Not... really..." Vixey said hesitantly. "She makes sure I've eaten and am healthy. But... she's just...!"

At a loss for words, she slumped a bit. Shifu thought for a moment.

"It seems to me there is something missing from your relationship with your mother," he said.

"Um, there's a lot missing," Vixey told him.

Shifu shook his head.

"Things will become better with her if you just try," he said. "You remember how strained my relationship with Tian had been. Now, we aren't perfect. There is still a lot to work out from our decades apart. But we can stand each other's presence and even care about each other's welfare now."

Vixey looked a bit conflicted. She kind of saw what he was getting at but... this was different!

"Try to find why your mother is acting like this," Shifu continued. "Only then will your relationship turn for the better. No friendship was ever based on misunderstanding."

He started walking past his student, leaving her to think on his words. But the fox couldn't make sense of much of it. By the time she turned to ask another question, though, Shifu was gone. Frustrated, she whirled back around and went back inside the barracks.

"Of course she's deciding to come now," Vixey mumbled to herself. "Always comes at bad times. It's like she knows when not to come and comes anyway..."

Po and Crane stopped talking when they heard the fox as they walked toward the kitchen. They looked inside to see her furiously scrubbing the dishes Po was supposed to clean, and the kitchen was spotless. They stood there in awkward silence while Vixey continued to mumble to herself, getting more soap suds on her face and past her elbows.

"Should we... do something?" Po asked.

"No. She's coping," Crane answered. "And the floor's still wet."

Po flinched, looked down at his dusty feet, then back at the fox, and made himself scarce.

Once the sun set on the Jade Palace, everything was silent. Not many of the occupants were actually asleep, but most were either finishing last minute work or actively readying for bed.

Tian sat near Tigress's door, fixing up a potion while Tigress just stared aimlessly at her ceiling. Tian's potion was almost complete when the silence was broken.

"What is there left to do?"

Tian looked up at the wounded tiger.

"About your injury?" she asked.

"Yes," Tigress answered.

Tian picked up on a sorrow in her voice. She finished her potion and walked to Tigress's bedside.

"I'm afraid we don't have anything to do except tend our patience," she said. "You have been making progress, but it's in very small amounts. We still can't risk larger amounts of activity until you've stopped bleeding."

She paused.

"It is a good thing Vixey has been giving you those potions," she continued. "Even with this small amount of bleeding, over these months, you would have bled your life away."

Tigress gave a small, unhappy sigh before sitting up.

"I'm supposed to be patient and just sit here for something to happen?" she started, her voice becoming sharp. "I used to be able to jump out of bed in the dead of night and race to the aid of any number of villagers in this Valley, and now I can't even walk!"

Tian maintained eye contact for a moment before looking at where Tigress's feet were covered by her blanket and looking back at her again.

"Shouldn't," she corrected. "Can't implies that you've lost all feeling in your legs and will never walk again."

Tigress hesitated, having had a strike to her frustration, though a small one.

"You're exhausted," Tian continued. "Every memory triggers your frustration and exhaustion and you need a release. Shouting at us won't get you very far. Find a hobby to fill your time."

"My hobbies don't last long," Tigress spat bitterly. "As long as I'm stuck in bed, nothing can keep my attention for long."

"Then rotate," Tian suggested. "Find more hobbies to fiddle with and switch every week or so. The trouble with exhaustion is that it can delay healing or even make your condition worse."

She swirled the potion in the vial she was holding.

"Here," she said. "It's a sleeping draught. You need your rest, especially after the day you've had."

Tigress paused, looking at the potion. Then she took it hesitantly.

"I'm sorry," she said at almost a whisper. "You didn't deserve that."

Tian shrugged.

"Maybe I did," she said. "Each one of you students reminds me of one of my children at different points in their lives. Since none of them live with me anymore, I relish the memories."

Tigress almost smiled at Tian. Then, after a moment, she swallowed the potion in one swig. She handed the vial back before lying down again.

"Your kids," Tigress started, "what were they like as cubs?"

"Impish little devils at certain points," Tian admitted, sitting down near the door, "but the most darling angels most other times. Typical, I know."

They shared a small laugh.

"You should meet them one day," Tian said. "They are your cousins, after all. I'm sure they and their children would be delighted to meet you and Shifu."

A second went by and Tigress jumped as if startled by something. Tian looked at her and noticed she'd been nodding off during the conversation and had grown alert for only a moment.

"Good night, Tigress," Tian told her gently.

She turned back to her scrolls and looked over notes. She picked up a nearby scroll and read the notes her friend had sent her recently. But at the bottom of the letter, she grew a bit disheartened. She looked at the other scrolls in the small pile she'd pulled this one from. They all said basically the same thing.

They had no idea what to do about Tigress's wound. Tian's guess was as good as theirs.

Tian rubbed her eyes. She was becoming drowsy and reading in the dim candlelight was messing with her vision. She cleaned up her workspace and prepared for bed.

She took one last look at Tigress.

"Don't worry, dear," she muttered. "I won't give up on you."

She blew out her candle and settled down to sleep.

Finally, I'm publishing again! I'm sorry it took so long, but after working on my first four stories, I hadn't done much preparing for the Recovery Chronicles and onward.

Since I'm now writing in episode format, it will take a bit longer to complete and upload, as opposed to stories like Battle of the Millennia.

Also, since the episodes are so long, I'm going to be separating each episode into three parts, as if stopping for a commercial break. Please do tell me if the breaks bother you. Then I'll likely shift to a different format.

Please stay tuned! Part 2 tomorrow!