A/N Chapter Ten, the Second Battle of the Thread of Hope. We get action in this chapter, but before then I want to give you a glimpse into Liulang Zhe's past. The chapter title refers not only to Liulang Zhe's dream/memory thing here at the start, but also to the eternal mists shrouding the Devil's Mouth.

In the last chapter Tigress, although she didn't know it, was paraphrasing some ancient Persian scholars when she said, "All things pass away"; the story goes that a powerful king asked his greatest sages to create a ring that will make him happy when sad and sad when happy, in response they gave him a ring with 'This too shall pass' engraved on it; his happiness was temporary, but so was his sadness.

It's actually pretty relevant to China, since that idea is pretty central to Buddhism; all life, even the pleasurable and happy times, is unsatisfactory because it is temporary and transient... because 'All things pass away', which is why people desire which is what causes suffering.

So yeah, she pretty much paraphrased Persian Sages, The Enlightened One and, if Jewish folklore is to be believed, King Soloman, and I believe the Bible says something similar in various places.

Next chapter there's another fight scene, we find out what happens when you insult Po's late mother and… Tigress finds out about an unwanted guest.


Chapter Ten

Mists and Memories

She smiled, her eyes sparkling like purest jade, her laugh was so pure, so beautiful, more precious to him than all the jewels under the earth, "It's been a long time, Dear One."

"Too long." He said, heart swelling in his chest, "You should come to the capital more often!"

"Oh, I wish I could, but I have responsibilities back home. You know how it is, Father isn't getting any younger you know." She replied, her smile flashing like silver.

"How long will you be staying?"

"Two, three weeks at most. Father's decided I need some hands-on experience at court." She made a face, her nose crinkling in that adorable way he remembered so well, "I'll be stuck indoors with pompous old fat men for most of my stay!"

"Come with me to the gardens then, let's get some fresh air before the boring old men start making the sky cry from the boredom of their speeches."

She laughed at that, making his heart swell again. Despite all of his duties and responsibilities, he knew all he ever wanted to do with his time was to make her laugh like that!

It was years later, and there was little to laugh about now, the War had started, and already things were going badly, they'd lost three provinces in the past six months alone!

"W-we've had to abandon all of the land west of the Gates of Heaven." She said, tears in her eyes and fear in her voice. His heart shattered in his chest.

"Then… your father…"

"D-dead!" She sobbed, burying her face in his chest, he wrapped his arms around her automatically, making soothing noises, "He… he wouldn't leave. He wouldn't abandon the city!"

"I'm sorry… I'm so so sorry." He crooned, brushing her hair, at a loss for what to say.

It was a few years after that, and the situation had grown grave; the enemy were at the gates, and the last city still standing was the capital itself. They made their last stand, but it was little more than a defiant gesture. They had no hope of victory. The first two walls had been breached, and soon the enemy would reach the third.

She entered the room where he had been buckling on his armour, he knew he'd have to go out to fight again soon… he shivered.

So much blood. So much death.

She was dressed in full battle armour herself, her eyes were tired, but no less beautiful. Her expression was… hard to place. But something was wrong, "What is it? Did they breach the wall already!?"

"No… no… the wall still holds but… Dear One…I… I'm… I'm sorry… oh gods in heaven I am so sorry…" She sounded scared, desperate, and her eyes… grief… pity?

"What is it? What's wrong!?" He was panicking now and he knew it.

"He... your father…" She rushed up to him and hugged him, the armour was cold, uncomfortable, but he didn't care. Her words struck him like hammer blows. He felt numb.

"My… father?"

"He's dead… oh dear gods he's dead!"

Her voice came to him as if from a great distance. This wasn't happening, it couldn't be happening, "He can't be, I saw him but an hour ago, he was fine."

"He was surrounded." She said, tears welling in her eyes, "They cut off his retreat, they killed him… and everyone who fought by his side."

Someone else entered the room, "My lord, you are needed on the walls immediately, they're preparing for another push." The servant paused as he stared at them, "I'm sorry my lord, but-"

"I understand." He pulled away from her. His voice sounded hollow in his own ears, "Tell the men I'm coming."

He started towards the door but she grabbed his hand, "But, your father…"

"It is what he would have wanted." He said, and he knew it was true, "He's dead… there's nothing I can do to change that. But I can at least serve the living."

It was hours later. His arms were tired, his body ached, his armour was scratched and dented and he was covered in blood and dust. Noise roared in his ears; curses, cries, screams, snarls. Out of the press of bodies he saw a familiar, welcome sight. She was tired, and one arm was bound with a strip of cloth soaked red with blood, but she was graceful and elegant as ever, her sword flashing brightly as she cut open the throat of a wolf and then she turned and disembowelled a boar… and then they were side-by-side, fighting, killing, surviving… for now. But they were outnumbered, injured and tired. They had been overwhelmed. The city was lost.

All that was left for them was death… but at least they were together…

"Will you stand by me, Beloved?" He asked her, arm rising, falling, someone screamed, fell, he filled his voice with all of the devotion, all of the determination he had left. He had loved her since they were children, and had always been too scared to tell her… but he did then. He would not go into the next life without her knowing.

"To the death, my lord." She answered, her voice as tired as his was, but full of love, determination, steel.

"In the next life, Beloved." He promised her.

"In the next life." She responded.


Liulang Zhe awoke with a gasp, sweat rolling off of him, his eyes wide, tears soaking into the fur on his cheeks. He stood up shakily. It was almost dawn; he knew the Furious Five would reach the Thread of Hope soon.

He'd had that dream again… or memories, rather. It was so long ago… but he remembered it all so clearly. He took a deep, shaky breath, pushing away the painful feeling in his chest. His wife… his beautiful, beloved wife.

Dead… slain by his own sister…

"No!" He snarled, "Not my sister! Not any more!" He left the room in the bunkhouse and ran from his memories, from his pain.

Eventually he found himself beneath the boughs of the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom… Of course he thought, somewhat bitterly. He fell to his knees; the beauty of the view lost to him… and a terrible cry of rage, loss and pain tore from his throat.

He had lost her… time and again he had lost her, but it never got any easier.

The day it did, he knew he would have stopped loving her.

"De Liang… old friend… it saddens me to see you in such pain."

Liulang Zhe turned his head, and saw the apparition of Oogway; the tortoise had a sad smile on his face, silently offering him comfort. Liulang Zhe's voice was hoarse, "Oogway? Aren't you dead?"

"Yes. But that doesn't mean I can't listen to the troubles of an old friend now does it?" The former Grand Master replied.

"No… I guess it doesn't." Liulang Zhe got off of his knees and turned to face the tortoise, "You know why I'm here, then?"

"Of course. I had a… run-in with your sister earlier."

"She's not my sister!" Liulang Zhe snarled.

Oogway blinked and then nodded, "Ah… you found out about your family."

"You knew!?" Liulang Zhe asked accusingly.

"I only found out after I passed over." Oogway said, "Don't take your anger out at me, De Liang." Oogway said firmly.

"D-don't call me that… please… it… I just can't."

The Grand Master sighed and nodded, "As you wish… Liulang Zhe." He turned, staring out across the Valley of Peace, with dawn approaching the sky was turning lighter and gold was starting to show in the east, with almost everyone still asleep the Valley seemed peaceful, with no sign of the dangers now looming to the south, "You will have to tell them who, and what, you are eventually." Oogway said, "We both know what, ah, Yin, is planning. They will have to know the truth if they are to have any hope of stopping the Dai Feng."

"And how do I tell them? They would never believe me." Liulang Zhe said, "Unless you plan to vouch for me?"

"I'm afraid that Shifu has instilled a little bit of his stubbornness in all of his pupils. Even if I were to tell them, I doubt they would believe me. They might try I suppose, but they won't really believe until they are shown proof." Oogway said.

"It isn't exactly something one can prove." Liulang Zhe said, he then sighed sadly, shaking his head, "I wish… I wish she were still with me. She would have known what to do."

Oogway smiled sadly, "All those years of marriage, all the times you have found her and lost her… and you still love her as deeply as you did the first time… and it is still so hard for you to speak of her when she is… gone. My friend, I do not envy your pain, for I know how terrible it is, but I do envy your love. I have never seen two people more devoted to each other than yourself and… your wife."

Liulang Zhe stared at the ancient master and sighed, "There have been times when I wished that the Elders had not saved us in the way that they did. I would not feel this pain."

"And you would have lost her forever." Oogway told him, "You would have lost her two hundred times over from that day to this."

"I did." Liulang Zhe snapped.

"But not permanently." Oogway said with a smile, "You always found her again… and you will do so again."

"And again, and again. Over and over." Liulang Zhe hissed, "I lose her, and find her only to lose her again."

"Love can not exist without pain, Liulang Zhe, happiness can not exist without unhappiness, and yin cannot be without yang." Oogway smiled comfortingly, "You know this. You should look forward to what will be, not dwell on what was."

The mountain cat groaned and sighed, "You are too wise for your own good, old friend."

Oogway chuckled and shook his head, "There is no such thing as 'too wise', after all, one may live a thousand years and reach enlightenment, but the world always throws up new surprises and new things to learn. One can be called wise, but you never stop growing wiser, after all, true wisdom simply means understanding that there will always be things you need to learn."

"Okay, okay, I get it." Liulang Zhe said with a sigh, "You're the wisest Zen Master to ever walk the earth and I should stop feeling sorry for myself."

Oogway nodded, "Now that you're feeling better, I'm afraid I have some bad news to tell you."

"There's no such thing as good news or bad news, there is just news." Liulang Zhe quoted with a slight smile.

"If you're quite done stealing my lines?" Oogway asked, once the mountain cat nodded sheepishly, the old master continued, "Yin took the Essence of Water from the Pool of Sacred Tears."

"Oh. That is bad news." Liulang Zhe said, "Then all she needs is the Essence of Wood and the Dragon Warrior."

"The Dragon Warrior is pure and noble, but I am afraid that no warrior can be entirely beyond coercion. You would do well to keep an eye on him and protect him as best you can… however I fear that her next target will be the Essence of Wood." Oogway said gravely.

"And where is the Essence held?" Liulang Zhe asked.

"Where do you think?"

Liulang Zhe paused, then his eyes went wide, "Here? The Sacred Peach Tree?"

"Indeed. This tree is the only place where the Essence of Wood could be drawn within Northern China, luckily it is even more imbued with my own chi than the Pool of Sacred Tears, and the Furious Five, the Dragon Warrior and Shifu all live right next to it, so it is the best-defended chi locus in the entire Valley of Peace."

"And you protect it too, of course." Liulang Zhe said thoughtfully, "She would have to weaken the Valley's defences… this must be why she joined the Dai Feng. With the Jade Palace distracted by fighting the army she could steal the Essences unopposed."

"That is what I thought, but I am still wondering what she intends to do to the Dragon Warrior. She might steal all five Essences, but in the end they will be useless without a sufficient source of chi." Oogway shook his head, "Be vigilant, Liulang Zhe, even if you cannot stop her from acquiring the Essence of Wood, you must protect the Dragon Warrior, at all costs."

Liulang Zhe nodded, "I will… but if she takes him, turns him to her side?"

Oogway drew in a long, mournful sigh, "Then I fear for the fate of China, and all the world… you must try to bring him back, return him to who he was… but if you cannot, and if she tries to perform the Rite of Sundered Heaven… then there is but one recourse left for our salvation."

"Mother already gave me such instruction… but I take it I have your blessing if the worst comes to pass?" The mountain cat asked, his expression grave.

Oogway nodded slowly, his voice full of regret, "If Yin takes him and he cannot be saved… then for the good of all, you must kill Po Ping, the Dragon Warrior."


The hawk cried out in pain and was hurled back by the power of her kick, Tigress whirled around and delivered a palm-strike to the sternum of an owl, snapping it and causing the avian to scream and crumple to the ground. Tigress bounded forward and punched a second hawk that had dived out of the sky towards her, breaking his beak and knocking him out.

"Hyah! Hah!" Po shouted, punching and kicking his way through the Dai Feng's avian soldiers to her side, "Man, these guys don't give up do they?"

"They're determined, I'll give them that." Tigress replied as she easily dodged a thrust from a falcon's dagger and then she thrust her arm out and shattered his wing, then she drove her elbow into the side of his head and the soldier fell.

"Infantry are crossing the second span!" Crane shouted from above as he grappled with an owl in the air, "You guys need to sever the bridge… now."

"On it!" Monkey shouted as he twirled his gun and knocked out yet another bird, Viper soon joined him and together they fought their way over the first span of the Thread of Hope.

"C'mon! Let's help them!" Po shouted as he charged after them, forcing Tigress to follow him, so that he wouldn't get surrounded.

The Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior fought their way across the first span of the Thread of Hope, beset by swooping and diving birds of prey who were constantly seeking to snatch them in their claws and toss them from the height and into the mist-hidden depths below. Unluckily for the Dai Feng, the Furious Five had fought a true master of war upon that same bridge and had almost defeated him.

If they could hold their own against the Master of the Thousand Scrolls, then the Dai Feng stood no chance. Shouts and screams filled the air as the Kung Fu warriors deflected and blocked blows, returning with punches, kicks and grabs of their own, shattering wings, ripping out feathers and breaking beaks.

Tigress snarled as she struck another owl with a powerful punch to the wing, shattering the fragile bones and sending him screaming over the edge of the bridge, the unlucky soldier flailed his one working wing desperately before the mists hid his descent.

"Get them! Get them you fools!" One of the larger birds, a brown-feathered eagle, was shouting desperately, though he himself kept well away from the Masters of the Jade Palace, "Don't let them cut the bridge!"

Suddenly Crane dived like a thunderbolt out of the sun and slammed into the eagle, who shrieked in pan and terror as Crane delivered an expert wing-strike to the middle of his back. The eagle plummeted a few feet but managed to recover, he wheeled about and attacked Crane savagely, striking out with cruel talons and slashing beak.

But Crane was in his element, he gracefully dodged the rending talons and blocked his enemy's beak with his wing before striking out with his own talons, ripping out some of the eagle's feathers in a bloody clump, the eagle screamed and tried to pull away, but Crane was too quick, he struck again, and then again, three strikes with his wings and talons in quick succession broke the eagle's left leg, right claw and his beak.

The brown-feathered eagle fell out of the sky and struck one of the stone spires that anchored the bridge, he lay there groaning in pain, but Crane ignored him and went after a second, then a third Dai Feng scout.

Thanks to Crane's efforts, as well as Mantis and Monkey, who had been striking back at their harassers with a vengeance, using every agile, acrobatic trick in their arsenals to batter the birds senseless, they had managed to protect Tigress, Po and Viper as they charged across the bridge towards the infantry. Monkey swung underneath the bridge to surprise a hawk that had been trying to sneak up on him by attacking from below, Monkey swung along by his tail, lashing out with his fists and feet, sending the bird spiralling into the mists.

Mantis was a blur, running along ropes and dashing from foe to foe so that he barely left the air, quite a number of birds quickly learned to watch out for the tiny green insect, but unfortunately for them, Mantis was normally too fast for them to catch and they were often blind-sided by his lightning-fast attacks.

With the number of birds dwindling, Tigress, Viper and Po had managed to reach the second span of the bridge where they met the advancing Dai Feng infantry. Po punched a wolf in the gut, doubling him over and causing him to drop his sword, which fell off the side of the bridge and into the great rift below, a kick to the face flipped the wolf onto his back and knocked him unconscious, not slowing the panda barrelled forward and smashed into the onrushing infantry, sending a few of them hurtling over the sides.

Thankfully for the panda, he didn't notice the unintended deaths he had just caused, so focused as he was on the battle in front of him, he punched a boar in the face, belly-bounced a tiger and tossed a wolf through the air, the canine struck the stone of the far spire with a whimper.

"Get ready to meet your ancestors, pudgy!" A boar with beady, unintelligent eyes snarled, raising a battleaxe over his head.

"Wow, ain't heard that one before." Po muttered as he snapped the shaft of the axe with his fist, causing the flat side of the blade to fall and strike the boar on the head, who fell heavily. A swift kick sent him to dreamland.


Hong-Li snarled angrily; the advance had been stalled. What the hell were those idiot birds doing!? They were supposed to keep the Five from reaching the bridge, "Idiots!" He shouted, "The War-Queen shall hear of this!" She'd hear of it all right… and his head would probably be on the block right next to that fool eagle's.

"General, the Five have reached the second span, our forces are being pushed back… what do we do?" One of his lieutenants asked worriedly.

"Stop panicking you mangy-furred coward." Hong-Li snapped, "We outnumber them a hundred to one. We must overwhelm them and secure the bridgehead so the rest of the Vanguard can cross. We will not fail the War-Queen. I'm not going to die so dishonourably." Hong-Li drew his immense two-handed dadao sword from its sheath at his back, "I will fight these Kung Fu masters myself."

The general ordered his personal guard to advance. These were the heavy shock troops of the Dai Feng Horde, all of them had full armour and many had two-handed weapons and they were comprised entirely of wolves, the most experienced, hardened veterans of the Dai Feng Clans. The grizzled, scarred wolf led his men across the Thread of Hope towards the Kung Fu masters, "I am Hong-Li!" He bellowed, "General of the Dai Feng Horde! My ancestors were warriors and the sons of warriors for twelve generations; I am descended from the founder of the Tiě Láng Clan of the Dai Feng, we who are at the forefront of the Horde! We who are the first to kill and first to die." Hong-Li led his troops over the bridge, his great dadao glittering with deadly intent in the early morning sun. He met Tigress near the middle of the span, "Master Tigress of the Furious Five. I give you this one chance of life. Retreat now and allow me passage into the Valley."

Tigress growled low in her throat, "The Valley of Peace is under the protection of the Jade Palace, as it has been for a thousand years. I will not allow anyone who intends the Valley harm to cross this bridge."

Hong-Li bared his teeth, "Then I shall kill you all." He swung his dadao with surprising speed for such a cumbersome weapon, forcing Tigress to fall back out of the way of the sword's deadly reach, not pausing Hong-Li charged at her, bringing the sword down in a powerful overhead blow, but Tigress managed to dodge it, causing the sword to shear through two planks of the bridge, the broken halves falling into the mists below.

Tigress eyed the large wolf for a moment; he was wearing Shan Wen Kai, or 'Mountain Pattern Armour', the metal scales protecting his body so that even her notoriously strong punches and kicks would be rendered useless. She had to hit him in the unprotected parts of his body and try to strip away his armour.

"What's the matter, kitty?" Hong-Li taunted, "Scared of the big bad wolf?"

"I've fought whole armies of wolves. If you want to know how scared I am of them, you'd better ask Lord Shen… oh, wait, no Po killed him and we routed all of his wolves so you can't." She grinned, baring her teeth.

The wolf snarled and swung his sword at her, but she dodged away from him again, taunting and goading, Tigress continued to dodge the wolf's massive sword with all the skill and grace of a true Kung Fu Master, though it was quite obvious that it was only a matter of time before he would catch her. After all, Tiger Style was a direct, offensive style, not exactly suited to evasive or defensive actions; she wasn't Crane, and Hong-Li was a master of the dadao, wielding it with more speed and precision than she thought possible for such a heavy weapon.

Tigress struck towards his unprotected face and the weaker armour near the joints of his arms, but apart from a few glancing blows she didn't manage to land any solid hits. The two continued to battle along the span of the bridge, with Tigress being slowly forced backwards.

What neither of them noticed in the heat of their battle was that the rest of the Furious Five had attacked Hong-Li's men, who were being hard-pressed by the masters. Monkey threw one armoured wolf from the bridge; Viper coiled around another and forced him to attack his comrades, Po was battering at a particularly hardheaded wolf who wielded a jian whilst Mantis and Crane were using their speed and precision to smash the wolves from the bridge and into the abyss.

But it was soon apparent that the wolves would overwhelm the Five and Po, through sheer weight of numbers if nothing else. It was time to sever the bridge.

"Tigress!" Crane shouted, "Just like Tai Lung!"

Tigress frowned, what did he- her eyes widened and she grinned, "Got you." She hissed. She suddenly went on the offensive, startling Hong-Li with her ferocity, she managed to batter aside his dadao before hitting him square in his armoured chest with a powerful double-palm strike. Whilst the armour managed to absorb the blow he was still flung back a couple of feet, but before he could recover he was hit in the back by Monkey, who used him like a springboard to propel himself towards the end of the bridge, simultaneously driving him to the floor.

Hong-Li suddenly realised the Five were retreating, he got back onto his feet and grinned, "We've got them on the run!" He shouted triumphantly, "After them!"

As he started charging forward, one of his men called, "No! Sir! The bridge!"

Hong-Li's eyes widened in horror. The Five had reached the spire; the way forward was clear, even that damned panda had made it to the other side. How the heck had that clumsy oaf managed to get there before his men? But that didn't worry him now; the Warriors of the Jade Palace had struck up a defensive position and he knew what was coming next, "Get off the bridge!" He shouted desperately, "Retreat you idiots! Get off the bridge!"

Hong-Li threw aside his dadao, he would have tried to remove his armour, but there was no time. He ran forward, and most of his men followed, charging towards the Five with desperate fear. They knew that they wouldn't be able to get back along the bridge in time.

Tigress raised a claw and struck one of the bridge ropes, Mantis took out a second…

"NO!" Hong-Li howled, "Not like this! I will NOT die like this!" He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, desperation lending speed to his feet.

At exactly the same time, Viper and Crane cut the last two ropes… and the Thread of Hope fell.

Hong-Li jumped forward, arms stretched as far forward as they could go, he flew through the air towards the jutting peak, his ears were full of the rushing wind and the blood pounding through his veins… and the screams of his men as they fell to their deaths.

His armour was too heavy, and wolves were never meant to fly.

Hong-Li, General of the infantry of the Dai Feng Hordes, the greatest swordsman in an army of five hundred thousand, scion of a line of warriors stretching back twelve generations fell.

Wolves weren't very good at surviving falls from great heights either… he howled in anger and terror as the mists claimed him.


The bridge swung back, slamming into the far peak, some of the wolves that had clung grimly on fell with cries of dismay, and only a few managed to hold onto dear, precious life and the ropes and planks of the bridge.

The Second Battle of the Thread of Hope was done, and this time the Furious Five were victorious. The Dai Feng had been cut off from the Valley of Peace, they would have to find another way in, or abandon their invasion.

Po stared at the wolves, at this distance their pitiful, fearful whimpers were lost, but he felt… numb. Sure he'd fought in battle before, defeated Shen and Tai Lung, but he'd never… killed anyone. At least, not outside the heat of battle. The Wuxi Fingerhold had defeated Tai Lung, and whilst everyone seemed to think he'd been obliterated, the panda was still uncomfortable with the idea that he'd killed the snow leopard. Just like that, flexing his pinkie, 'skadoosh' and… a man's life was gone, he'd never intended to kill Tai Lung, defeat him definitely, but not kill and Shen had killed himself, if he hadn't fought Po that second time and cut those ropes he wouldn't have died… that wasn't Po's fault.

This was the first time he'd seen death in battle, truly seen it for what it was; intentional killing, the cold, calculated taking of life. It was necessary; he knew that the Dai Feng couldn't be allowed into the Valley of Peace or they would burn it to the ground and destroy the lives of hundreds of innocents. But that did not hide the fact that he had helped end the lives of scores of men just then, the destruction of sacred life.

He felt Tigress' hand on his shoulder, and he realised that he had been crying, "It had to be done, Po. The fewer there are after today, the fewer we have to deal with if they breach the Valley, or if they attack the rest of China. They were invaders, killers, and their deaths today may have saved hundreds, or even thousands, of innocents. Like the villagers, like Liulang Zhe's family… like your father."

"I know… I know we had to do it…but… we shouldn't have had to." Po said quietly, "We should never have to."

"No… we shouldn't… but it is our duty to protect the Valley of Peace, and sometimes to protect the innocent the wicked, or at least the misguided, must die. But we never take a life lightly, Po, not a single one." Tigress told him.

Po smiled slightly and nodded, "I know…I just need…" He trailed off.

Tigress hugged him, and this time no one seemed shocked or surprised by it, "This is why you're the Dragon Warrior, Po, because you aren't a hardened warrior, you are pure. You feel for them, even the men you have to hurt or kill, and you grieve for them. I hope it never gets any easier for you, Po, because once it gets easy to kill someone… you're no longer a true kung fu warrior… you become Tai Lung. So long as you keep your compassion, your mercy, you will be a thousand times the warrior I am, or any of us."

Po hugged her back, "Thank you…Tigress."

She broke the hug and smiled, nodding to him, "Let's go home, Dragon Warrior, Master Shifu will want to know that we completed our mission... and I think you might need to meditate on what's happened… you should always grieve for the people you kill, but don't let that grief overwhelm you."

"I… I won't…" Po said, he sighed and nodded, "C'mon guys, let's go."

Viper shot him a worried look, and Crane patted his shoulder reassuringly, but Po seemed to have taken strength from Tigress' words, and whilst he was much quieter and more subdued on their way back to the Jade Palace than was normal, at least it seemed more like quiet introspection and reflection than depressive brooding.


A/N I had a lot of fun with the fight scene, but I wanted to show Po's reaction to the deaths of so many people. The way I see it, Po hasn't killed anyone, at least not outside the heat of battle and not intentionally; there might be bandits whose necks he's broken after sending them flying into walls, a few of Shen's wolves that were blown up or drowned in the bay, that sort of thing. So whilst Po's faced combat, this is, in a very real sense, his first battle. The first one where he's intentionally ended the lives of other people; Shen doesn't count because he got himself killed and Tai Lung's defeat was too… clean. The Wuxi Fingerhold obliterated him (Probably) and Po might rationalise that there's a possibility he didn't kill Tai Lung, i.e. sending him far away or something with the move.

Po lives a breaths Kung Fu as an art and a philosophy; to defend life, which is sacred and should never be taken unless absolutely necessary, and I think that would colour his view of killing in battle.

Anyway, let me know what you think! Read, Review, Enjoy!