Author's note:

Hi! I hope you like this chapter, please leave your review! Also, I wuld suggest reading the last chapter again (to refresh your memory) and then come back and read it... also try to listen to a cool, fighting song or something... it will improve the mood;) and don't forget to tell me if you liked the chapter!

I hope you enjoy it and GO AHEAD MY LOVIES!

"Tigress?"

A quick, short snap was audible. Then he felt some pressure off his torso, and his wrists no longer ached. He looked at them and back up. Like a flash, Tigress was standing before him, with a dagger held between her teeth as she undid a remaining rope on her wrists.

Of course, the dagger. The one she kept on searching the day before. The one she threaten him with when they got mad and...that she dropped before going to bed. God, Po was sure this was some miracle. She was a miracle.

"Com'on, I still gotta give them a piece of my mind," she said as she held her hand out to help him stand up. He took it and got back on his feet, and one thought came back flooding into his mind.

Once Po got up, Tigress nodded and then ordered him to follow her. She rushed out of the tent and took a deep breath. She grabbed the dagger and dug it into one of her pockets then she turned to Po.

"I want to apologize for all this," Po was about to speak when she cut him off,

"And second and most importantly, are you sure you want to help me with this? I mean, I can handle it pretty well on my own and,"

"Tigress," her eyes darted to that forgotten name, "I'm coming. After all, I think I should head back home." The feline nodded and handed him her dagger, her hands caressing it before handing it to him.

"We don't want people to get the wrong idea." Po chuckled, grbabing it and keeping it on his pocket, a souvenir. And short afterwards, both of them started to dash towards the village. Po could notice the anxiety on Tigress' eyes and he wondered just how nervous she might be right now. He smiled though, because at least Tigress made the decision to go back.

As Tigress ran and dug her claws on the wet grass beneath her, her mind drifted off back to the valley. Was she going to see Shifu there? Was he going to scowl at her? Most likely. And what else...what would become of her? Some jail time at the least. She shook her head, suddenly overwhelmed by the weight of her actions. How could she let herself be so reckless?

"Umm, Tigress?" She snapped out of her thoughts and turned to the panda.

"We are here." She stopped on her tracks and looked up. What was that feeling? She felt naseous and sick...and... really hot. Tigress breathed in and out, reminding herself that it was up to her to march in there. Of course there was always that option of going back to her old life... to being that legend that everyone feared. She growled at herself. No, she was going to stop being that. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm fine Po."

"You don't look fine to me," he paused, "hey, just so you know, it's okay to go back. All that stuff you did is in the past, and you gotta let go of it." Tigress rolled her eyes.

"Easy for you to say, Mr. Perfect." Po chuckled.

"Come Tigress, I thought you already learned that there's more than what meets the eye." She shook her head.

"Spare me the chit chat, let's go find them."

"Hey Chang, you sure that she won't get away?" Chang laughed, adding some more of that firework powder into the canon.

"Nah, there's nothing there to help her."

"What about the panda?" Chang laughed before walking away and starting to check each one of the canons. The two assistants came to view, whispering something to him before Chang ordering them to get to their assigned positions.

"The panda is not a problem. Besides, they will hold each other back." Leng nodded at him and started to walk along side him. They stopped when they stood next to a silver cannon.

"Let's start, shall we?"

He lit it. The ball flew through the wind and hit the walls, alerting the villagers. The wall began to crack, causing a loud sound to reverberate throughout the whole village. Chang smiled, satisfied. The agitated footsteps of the villagers were echoing and some warnings and screams were raising up.

"It works. Now let's continue." Leng was about to lit another one when Tigress jumped to where he was standing and sent a loud kick to his abdomen.

"What?! But- you were!"

"I'm the Dragon warrior buddy, nothing can hold our awesomeness!" Po said, appearing in front of him. Tigress just rolled her eyes. Leng groaned.

"I told you they were going to come!" Chang yelled from the floor. Leng only groaned.

"Attack them!" The two assistants, -the pig and the goat- started to run at them. Tigress easily dodged their moves, but what had her worried were the villagers that were now exiting from their houses to watch the scene play out... and to gasp and point at her. Po was dealing with the goat, spitting his lines and smiling as he fought.

Leng helped Chang stand up and went back to the canon, but not before being spotted by Tigress. She threw the pig to the side and got on her fours, dashing at them and sending another kick toward Leng. Chang hopped to the roof and went next to the canon, followed by the feline.

"One more step and I'll shoot you!" He threathened. Tigress just remained on her fighting position, one foot in front and one of her hands behind her head. Then out of nowhere, there was a flash of green that tackled him. And seconds later she felt something poke at her feet, and in a second she was on the floor.

"What-"

"Mantis! Viper!" She heard Po shout, those two friends soon hugged him and bombarded him with questions, their faces full of worry. Tigress let a small smile out, so those were the new warriors. Po was in good hands, she concluded. She stood up, only to be faced by a monkey and a crane.

"Don't move!" The crane shouted at her. The feline smirked and stood up, making them take a step back and send glare at her. Monkey turned to Crane,

"Is she-"

"No, she couldn't be-"

"Tigress! Are you okay!?" The panda came running at her, setting himself in front of Monkey and Crane, almost as if protecting her even though if Tigress wanted she could have easily gotten out of there.

"Guys guys, she is my friend! The bad guys are the one with the canons!"

"Hold on, you are Tigress?" Monkey asked, Tigress started to tap her foot impatiently. Another crash was heard, only to confirm that Leng was back with the canon.

"I don't have time for this." She jumped out of the circle that had formed around her and chased after where Leng was. She could see that Mantis and Viper were already tying up the assistants, now the only question was where did that coward bunny ran off to? She fell back to a kick on her leg, only to notice that Chang had hit her. She stood up, teling herself to stop getting distracted.

"It's over Chang, you either face me or face them," Chang laughed, his eye twitching.

"That's not gonna happen." He lit up the canon and the ball came rushing forwards. Tigress felt her heart stop for a minute, but luckily she managed to push herself off from the roof, only getting hurt from the impact. She took in deep breaths, and stood up. She needed to destroy the canons. There were three of them that were visible right now. And those three were the one that set danger to the valley.

She facepalmed when she saw Po get up to the roof and start to shout punch lines to Chang, who seemed more than annoyed with his tactics. She was about to go aid him when Viper and Mantis got in front of her.

"Po told us you are his friend, but-"

"Viper! Mantis! What are you-" Tigress stiffed up when she heard that strict voice. She was afraid to turn around, to meet his face.

'Run. Escape. Hide.'

"Tigress?" She closed her eyes tightly, almost to the point where it hurt. She could hear his footsteps approaching her and dismissing Viper and Mantis. She could hear how they marched away, only so they could become once again engaged in the battle. She focused on the small steps he was taking, until he ended up right in front of her. In the distance she could hear Po shouting battles cries, and somehow that was all she needed to open her eyes once again.

Shifu was there. He hadn't changed much. He was looking at her like she was a mirage, like it couldn't really be her standing there. She was going to disappear any moment now, he told himself. But now, she was real. And most importantly, she was here.

Tigress glanced to her sides, only for it to make her heart skip a beat. Damn that panda. Could he ever stay out of trouble? He was fighting Chang, but now Chang had the upper hand as he was making his way to the canon and finding enough powder to blow the panda out. Tigress tried to see if any of his friends were going to help, but no, they were all focused on their mission, some tying up Leng and the other guys and the rest disarming the canons, as well as helping the villagers.

She turned to Shifu before getting ready to go after Po,

"I'll be back," and this time, she meant it.

Po looked at his sides, trying to see what was possible in this situation. Running? No, it wouldn't help at all, the ball of metal would come right at him and besides, he wasn't made for running.

Chang was shouting insults at him; at first they did hurt him, spiting all those comments about him, his friends and Tigress, but by now they had become void of meaning, just there to fill the silence.

"And I find it quite ironic Dragon warrior, you came in a ball of fire, and now, you will die in one!" Po widened his eyes as Chang added the powder and lit it up. He shut his eyes tightly and braced for impact. Maybe he will be tough enough... right? He heard his voice be called, and at that point he knew he was halfway to the Spirit realm. It wasn't until he heard the 'boom' of the canon and someone completely pushing him with them, that he took another short breath and realized he was still alive.

Tigress let out a groan as she opened her eyes. She was pressed against the panda, on top of him, which was handy because his fur really broke her fall. Maybe even his.

"Thanks," the panda said with a smug grin, looking up to her. Tigress just got up and shook the dust off her vest, which made no visible difference.

"Stupid panda," she muttered with a hidden smirk.

Her eyes went back to the roof they had jut fallen from, Chang was still there. He was desperately and hopelessly looking for any more buildings -or even people- to shoot. She shook her head in disgust. How can someone completely disregard life and its beauty? To just be willing to kill it, kill its simple and yet completely unique life?

She jumped back to the roof, this time her eyes were only set on the canon. She jumped in the air and extended her leg, only for it to deliver a kick to the canon, one that would certainly send it to it's destruction. It unfortunately also made a hole in the building, one that might as well be used as an open roof.

She diverted her eyes back to Chang, who was breathing heavily. He was defeated, but he wouldn't admit it. Tigress took one step forward, her fist clenched, ready to send a hit. It was then that Chang fell to his knees and almost immediately Crane and Monkey came to tie him up and take him away.

She breathed out, releasing the air she didn't even she was holding in.

The villagers were starting to return to their houses, some of them offering shelter to those whose homes were destroyed by the day's events. Tigress smiled at the sight. She began to search for the one safe place in this village, Po. She soon found him with the rest of the group, happily talking and cheering, even though he indeed had some injuries. She did too, mostly from when she pushed him from the roof, she probably had an open burn on her back, from the canon flying too close to her, but she didn't care for it, not now at least.

She shyly made her way to the group, only to be received by silence and some looks. They weren't afraid of her, though she had proven to be a strong opponent. They were mostly of curiosity.

"Tigress!" And the silence was broken. The panda rushed up to her and embraced her on a hug, making the feline stiffen up but nonetheless release a soft smile.

"I see you managed to make it alive, Dragon Warrior," she said playfully. Po let go of her and smiled, his eyes never going away from her.

"Tigress." She bit her lip. There he was again, Shifu. She turned around and kneeled down to his level, her eyes avoiding him, settling on the ground.

"I..." I what? I am sorry? Ashamed? Embarrassed? Stupid? Mad? Here she was, standing in front of him. All those words she kept practicing over and over and over in her head, all those things she left unsaid... she could speak out now. He was here, letting her talk. And now, her voice decided she didn't have anything to say. A tear rolled out of her eye, landing on the floor.

She felt his hand on her chin, making her look up at him. He was smiling sadly at her, and in a matter of seconds, he hugged her. She sobbed out,

"I'm so sorry! I didn't- I just- I'm so sorry, I thought you hated me and-" she began to stutter. Shifu let go of her and smiled.

"You are my daughter, and not a day went by that I didn't regret not standing by you. I'm sorry." She nodded and sighed, her heart feeling lighter and somehow...free. There was a silence between them that remained there. None of them were made for emotional words, but they understood each other.

"Welcome home."

Epilogue

Po was standing beside her, both of them walking towards the kitchen of the Jade Palace.

"So how did you managed to convince them?" The panda asked eagerly. Tigress shook her head and smiled.

"What? To not put me in prison? Well, they didn't know Red's identity. And accusing a Master of the Jade Palace wouldn't look good on them," she responded. But truly, she owed it to Shifu and the way he reasoned with them...

"So, you are staying here?" He asked, stopping her and grabbing her waist, bringing her closer. Tigress chuckled,

"I'm not running away anytime soon," she responded, trying to look away from his eyes, those that were eagerly staring at her.

"You know, I haven't returned something you gave me," Po began, still holding her. Tigress shook her head,

"You can keep the dagger Po, I don't-" She tensed up when she felt those familiar lips on hers. Her eyes immediatly closed, a thousand thoughts running through her mind... She opened them once again once he broke it, looking at her with a grin. For the first time he had caught her by surprise.

"No, that."

She laughed before grabbing his hand and reminding herself how lucky she was to have someone, and to have a home...

No matter the odds, she was the queen in her game. Some said she had powers. Some said she was the best fighter. Some said she had the flexibility of a snake. The strength of a tiger. The eyes of an owl. The balance of a crane. The ingeniousness of a monkey. She was one to be feared, one to be careful with, one to avoid. Yet, some saw goodness on her, but no one believed them...because how can an angel be disguised under a cold demon with red eyes? And that's how she became a legend.

Because the moment one single person showed faith, care and even love for her, they discovered the opposite... that an angel can sometimes be found on those who are disguised under the cold and red eyes.

The end.