A/N: I just wanted to say 'thank you' again. I hadn't expected such a warm welcome. So thank you very much for reading, adding to favorites and alerts, and for the wonderful reviews!

Shifu, Monkey, Mantis, and Crane were placed on sleeping mats besides Po's cot where his dad still lay. They hadn't bothered calling the healer back. Deshi hadn't known any more than the rest of them had anyway. Po watched as Viper checked over their unresponsive friends before sighing and slithering over to him and Tigress, but staying a safe distance away from him just in case.

"What're we going to do?" he asked.

Tigress was the one to answer. "You and I will go to the Tong Ku Forest to look for answers. There must be a way to reverse this. Viper, stay here with the others."

"Uh," Po began. "Are you sure it's safe for you to go with me, Tigress?" He held up his paws to look at them with a deep frown. "All I did was tap Crane's leg and he was zapped. And the hand I grabbed Monkey's tail with wasn't even the hand I caught the stone with! What if..."

"As long as we are careful it will be fine," Tigress answered before addressing Viper again. "If anything changes in their conditions..."

"I'll send Zeng right away," Viper assured her with a nod. "Be safe, you two. The Tong Ku Forest is not a place anyone travels through, for very good reasons."

Tigress nodded before turning to leave.

"What?" Po looked between the two masters before following after Tigress. He cast one last worried look at his dad before stepping out of the room and into the hallway. "What does that mean? Why doesn't anyone travel through the Tong Ku Forest?"

"It is said that there are hidden dangers within the forest," Tigress answered without stopping. "Some believe it to be protected by the spirits of warriors long gone."

"Great. Yeah, sounds great." His dad and the others were frozen like statues while he and Tigress were about to go looking for a cure in a dangerous forest full of ghosts who didn't sound all that friendly. What had he gotten them into this time?

"Po."

Po stopped abruptly at the sound of Tigress' voice and looked up just in time to come face-to-face with the tiger master. He'd managed to stop just before crashing into her, but they were so close he found himself staring into her eyes as the fur of his stomach very nearly grazed her. His heart began to race after the very near accident and close proximity. "Yeah?" he asked weakly.

Silence passed between them for a moment before she took a step back, putting some distance between them. "I know you are worried about your father and the others, but you need to stay focused so we can figure this out. Losing your focus could lead to another accident and I don't particularly want to get..."

"Zapped," he finished for her.

"Precisely."

"I'll pay attention. I promise," he assured her with a nod.

"Good. Now go and get some provisions from the kitchen for us to take. The Tong Ku Forest is at least a day's journey from here," Tigress told him.

Po nodded and started to head for the kitchen with a new determination. "On it."

"And Po..."

He stopped and looked back. "Yeah?"

"Pack only what will be absolutely needed," Tigress said, holding his gaze with a knowing look. "The lighter we pack, the faster we will be able to travel."

"So no almond cookies?" he asked with a slight smile.

Tigress returned the smile with a faint one of her own. "No almond cookies." With that she turned and continued on her way, leaving him to head for the kitchen.

Po stuffed the last of the food into the bag. He'd tried to do as Tigress had said and packed only what he thought was absolutely necessary, yet the bag seemed to fill up quickly. He placed the pack on the table and took one last look around in case he'd forgotten something.

"Are you ready, Dragon Warrior?"

Po turned back around to find Tigress standing at the table with him. How she had entered the kitchen without him hearing her, he didn't know. But it was Tigress, after all. He glanced down and saw the scroll Shifu had been reading in her paw with a couple of rolled up blankets tucked under her arm.

He nodded and gestured to the sack on the table. "Yep. All packed."

Tigress glanced from him to the bag, which admittedly looked pretty full. She pulled the sack towards her and opened it to place the blankets and scroll inside, but when she saw the contents she looked back up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I just wanted to make sure we'd have enough. And who knows, maybe those warrior spirits are hungry," he said with a sheepish smile.

To his surprise she didn't comment on his 'logic' and instead rolled the blankets tighter so they would fit more easily into the bag. Once finished she closed the pack. "If you're ready than we should get going. It will be dark in a few hours."

"I'm all set."

"Good."

Po reached for the pack before he realized Tigress had done the same. To his horror their paws collided as they both reached for the same strap. He snapped his eyes shut tightly, not wanting to see her go rigid as the others had. When no 'thud' followed indicating she had fallen to the ground he chanced opening one eye a fraction.

To his surprise, and bewilderment, Tigress stood absolutely still with her paw still on the strap under his own paw. Her eyes were flickering from their touching paws to him and back with a hint of surprise shining in them.

She wasn't frozen.

He hadn't zapped her!

"How..." With wide eyes he looked at their still touching paws and leaned down closer just to make sure they really were touching. They were. "How is that possible?"

"I'm not sure," Tigress admitted, sounding more confused than he'd ever heard her sound.

"Your hands!" Po exclaimed as a thought struck him. "You trained with the Ironwood trees and you said you can't feel with them anymore, right? Maybe that's it!" He couldn't help but feel relieved and a more than a little excited that he hadn't hurt her.

"Perhaps." She didn't sound completely convinced, and now seemed even more curious than ever. "And perhaps we will find the answer to this as well in the forest. Come on." She moved her paw from under his and turned to leave. "It's time to go."

Po nodded and picked up the sack, slung it over his shoulder, and followed after her. He still had no idea what was going on or what they were going to do to help his dad and their friends, but so far the only answers seemed to lie in the Tong Ku Forest.

As Po and Tigress walked around the edge of the village, being careful to veer away from villagers milling around, a lone figure stood in the shadows watching them leave. The wolf pushed back the hood of his robe as he peered around the corner to watch the two masters disappear into the surrounding trees. A crooked smile spread over his face at the sight.

He could now tell Xun that all was going according to plan.