Well hello again readers! I hope you enjoy the next chapter. I'll be posting every night now for at least the next few days, so thats covered unless some plans pop up, but for now new update tomorrow night.

A New Journey

Po was nervous, at that very, very, very nervous. What would happen when the time came for him to face Shifu directly? Po imagined it would go something like this,

"Hey Shifu, I'm innocent! It was all just a big misundersta-"

"PO! What are you doing here?! I hereby sentence you to death by some unusual punishment!"

"Yes. Master Shifu." Po would say as he was hauled off by some palace guards.

But no, no that could never happen. He had Tigress to help him. They could do this together. But still, Po had a bad feeling about the entire situation. They rounded a corner and walked down the hall that housed the furious five. Monkey just so happened to be in his room at the time Tigress and Po walked by and he shouted,

"TIGRESS IS THAT P-" Tigress snapped back too quickly for him to finish that sentence.

"Monkey if you don't shut up I'm going to bite your arm off! Ok?"

"Ok, ok, geez, I was just wondering what you and your boyfriend were doing here, especially because he's not supposed to be here in the palace anyway."

Monkey would soon regret those words.

Tigress pounced on him and then shoved him up against a wall, full of rage.

"Po is NOT, N-O-T my boyfriend! Understand?" She growled, "Now what Po is doing back at the palace is none of your business so just shut your face." She let him go and then said, "No more wise-cracks or you'll wake up tomorrow lying face first in some ditch 2,000 miles away." She said coldly.

Wow. If she feels so strongly AGAINST us being a couple, maybe I should lay off expressing my feelings to her. Po thought to himself.

"Ok, sorry. By the way hey Po haven't seen you in a while!" Monkey piped up again.

Tigress gave him another one of her trademark glares, which seemed to silence him pretty fast.

"Come on Tigress, we've got business to take care of." Po said, trying to get Tigress away from Monkey before he said anything else stupid.

"Ya. Ya you're right. Let's go." She said, now seeming calmer than before.

When they got past the sleeping quarters, Tigress said, "Sorry Po. I didn't mean to go off on Monkey like that in front of you. It was unnecessary for me to get mad at him."

"It's fine Ti, you were defending me, and that was pretty awesome." Po said. He was truly grateful about the fact that even though she had been so harsh to monkey, she was only doing it to protect himand that's what mattered. Within a few minutes, they had arrived at two large doors with decorative paintings of two golden dragons on them, marking the room as Master Shifu's quarters. Po took a deep breath and prepared for the worst.

"You ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be. It'll be fine."

Could he have been more wrong?

They opened the massive oak doors to reveal a sizeable chamber with a golden statue of some long forgotten kung fu artist in the middle. Po had never actually been in Shifu's chambers before. Shifu said to only disturb him in here when it was only absolutely necessary. Po noticed that on the left there were several large shelves, containing countless scrolls. Large paintings of battles, trees, and warriors lined the walls all the way around the chamber. Po noticed only one in particular; a very old, worn oil painting of a cherry blossom. Po only thought about it for a split second as his thoughts and attention drew to the back wall of the chamber.

There was a desk here. Some papers scattered across its scratched and battered surface. Behind this desk sat a red panda. He was deep in thought, lost in one of the many scrolls he possessed. As they drew nearer to him, he finally looked up.

"Ahhh Tigress, what brings you he- PO! What is that traitor doing here! I want him out NOW!"

"Now father, Me and Po need to talk to you about the attack on Jade Palace. We want you to know that Po is innocent. I'll even explain it again for you."

"Tigress, he tried to kill you!" Shifu snapped back, "And you want to help him? To try and prove he's innocent? He's dangerous Tigress."

Now Tigress was taken aback by that. Her father could be so, blind, sometimes.

"You know that's not what happened!" Tigress yelled back, on the verge of tears. "Po, was only trying to protect us and that leopard framed him! I've told you a thousand times! You only wanted him gone because you hate him. You wanted to make sure you never saw him again. He has saved our lives several times before, and you think he would do such a thing like that?! You don't give Po ANY respect considering the fact he defeated Tai Lung, Shen, and countless other enemies for us but yet you'll give him all the credit for anything wrong that happens?"

"You know that's not true. I was a little harsh on Po sometimes, but it was for his own good! A true dragon warrior needs discipline. And I certainly did not HATE him. That's not why he had to go! He committed treason! He did do some great things for us, but maybe he just snapped, went on a rampage."

"YOU FOOL!" Tigress shouted back, "He admired you and respected you and all you did was treat him like scum! A dragon warrior does need discipline, but also needs care, and kindness. Po isn't an invincible GOD, he has feelings too!"

Tears were now streaming down her face, as if some combination of built up anger, frustration, and sadness were now just flowing out of her. Po held her close as she buried her face into his shoulder and said to Shifu, "Look, I did not try to kill Tigress. Why would I ever do anything to harm her, or any of you for that matter? What I'm trying to say is that I care about all of you, and I would do anything to protect you at all costs."

Po spoke in a very calm way. A way that conveyed his thoughts and feelings to Shifu. Shifu knew Po was innocent. He just knew it, but there was no proof. No one else would buy the story that Tigress had told him a thousand times. He had to make sure Po was the hero he knew him to be, but how?

"Look Panda, I want to believe you, and half of me does. You have a good heart Po, and I doubt that you would go off and try to kill one of us. However, I cannot be certain that it wasn't you. Despite your heart, all of the five say that they saw a panda strike Tigress down."

"I am willing to prove my innocence!" Po said, standing his ground. "What if I go and find this Leopard? And what if I can prove that he stole a magic stone from the palace that allows him to shape-shift? Then would I have your trust back?"

"Hmmm. Yes, if you could bring the leopard back here, I guess then your story could be more believable. But until then I would have to be a fool to completely trust you. If you are that desperate to prove to us that you were framed, you should have no trouble hunting that leopard down. Now go panda, I don't want to see you back here unless you've got that leopard with you!"

No more was said. Po and Tigress left the chamber and went outside to the Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom. They just sat and watched the clouds for a while, letting their emotions cool off. Then Po got up and got his bag. He walked to the front of the palace and started heading towards the steps that led down to the valley.

Tigress caught up with him and said,

"I'm coming with you Po."

"No you're not. I have to do this without you. I need to prove my innocence."

"Po, I want to help you."

"You have. You gave me a second chance. Now the rest is up to me. I've got to defeat the leopard."

"Po he'll kill you! He almost defeated all of us in a matter of minutes. You need help."

"I'm sorry Ti; I just don't want you to get hurt again." Po said eyes full of sadness. He started to walk away but Tigress ran after him and wrapped around him with another hug. Po could still feel the tears that clung to her cheeks.

"Po, no. I'm not going to lose you again. I wouldn't be able to handle it a second time." She said, now clinging ever tighter to the former dragon warrior. "I don't care what obstacles we have to get over. I'll follow you to the end of the Earth and back. Whatever it takes."

Po repeated those last words,

"Whatever it takes. Sigh. Ok, back a light travel pack with only necessities. We have a leopard to catch."

Tigress lit up and a smile spread across her face. She then made a purring sound deep in her throat and said, "Ok great! I'll go get some stuff, but if you even think about leaving me while I'm packing, you're dead. Got it?"

Oh my god did she just purr? I've never heard Tigress purr before! Wow, is she that happy to go on a perilous journey with me? Po thought.

"I would never think of doing such a thing." Po said. He was happy that Tigress had cheered up some, but he was secretly even happier that she was coming with him.

If he had to travel with anyone in all of China, it would be her.

A/N: Well again, I hope you liked it! If you did like it, be sure to review! Thanks,

-wolfgangwalker