A/N: And back! Funny how fast this story goes! It feels like I only just started it! Well, I can reveal that I feel so bad about ending this story that my mind has wondered about the word 'sequel'. Well, more about that in the end of this chapter.

citty darling: Well, congratulations! I wrote this chapter as fast as I could ;)

So none of you guessed who the person was (Maybe you, Avatarcatz2323, with 'Shadow Dragon'? Well, we can say that you were half right ;)). So let us reveal it! Dadada! Read the third line! And the rest of the story after that!

Nope, I don't own Kung Fu Panda.

Behind The Golden Eyes, The Long Road Back

Tung stepped aside and let the person enter. Well, actually there was more than one person. Wang, Jie and about ten more Shadow Warriors that Tigress didn't know the name of came in. Jie immediately sent her a glance that could kill which Tigress answered with a growl. Wang stepped between them.

"No fight here."

Jie's eyes didn't leave Tigress. "Then let's go outside." He snarled.

"Jie!" The leader barked at him. "We are here to talk, not to fight. Understood?"

Tigress watched as Jie slowly backed away and found a place in the corner of the room. "And what is this talk about?" She asked, lifting her eyebrow.

Wang smirked. "About the fact that you need help. Our help."

"I do not!" Tigress snarled, remembering the not so good memories about the masked warriors.

"Then how are you going to get pass the Dragon Queen's warriors?"

"None of your business! Why helping me anyway? Aren't I just some stupid, crazy tiger?" She used the words they had called her.

"Maybe, but that's not the point." Wang crossed his arms, sending her a challenging glance.

Tigress returned it without blinking. "Then what is?"

"That you are Jiao-Long's daughter. Enlai told us about his mission." Wang explained. "We have all once giving the promise that we will serve Jiao-Long. Now when he is dead it means that we have to serve you no matter how much we are against it."

"So you are saying that I am your new leader?" Tigress asked curiously. At her words Wang made a grimace full of disgust.

"I definitely didn't say that!" The Shadow Warrior scowled. "But you are Jiao-Long's daughter which means that we are bonded the protect you."

"Well, that sounds comforting." Tigress said sarcastically. "Then what are you going to do."

"We'll make sure that the Dragon Queen's warriors will leave your little valley. It has been a long time since we last have been in a real fight. I am sure we all are going to enjoy it." Some of the Shadow Warriors nodded in agreement.

"And after we have finished the battle?" Tigress asked, feeling more and more glad about Wang's suggestion.

"Then you'll go back to the Jade Palace and we'll go back our mountain. Do we have a deal, tiger?" He held out his paw, waiting for Tigress to agree.

There didn't go many seconds before Tigress shook it. "We have a deal."

"Your wound." He pointed at her bandage. "Will it be a problem?"

"No, I am fine. When will we start the travel?"

"Tomorrow. Make sure that you are ready." Wang turned around and gave the others a sign that told them that it was time to leave. Jie glanced angrily at Tigress, before disappearing with the others.

Tung closed the door behind him. "What did you do to make Jie hate you?" The ox turned back to Tigress, his face both amused and worried.

Tigress shrugged. "Tell me if you finds out. Apparently I am the enemy that only tells lies."

"Don't you let him bother you. Jie is just too suspicious. Give him some time and he will be fine."

"Hopefully." Tigress murmured darkly. "Do you think they can win? With my wound I don't know if I can help them and I don't want them hurt."

"Don't you worry, Master Tigress. The boys are good fighters, Jiao-Long has taught them well. Everything will be fine." The ox comforted her.

The tiger looked at him with big eyes. "How? How do you know? I can't remember the last time in my life where everything was fine." Tigress didn't mean to sneer, but it just happened.

"Then maybe it will be now." Tung hummed as he cleaned up the table.

Tigress couldn't hide a little smile. "Maybe…"

"You're ready?" Wang asked as he saw the tiger in the doorway.

"Ready." Tigress answered and walked outside. Tung glanced at her for a moment and she nodded calming to him. Sending her a last smile, Tung closed the door. The ox had said his goodbye before the Shadow Warriors had arrived. Though, Tigress knew that she was going to miss him. She comforted herself with the fact that she convinced Tung that he should move to a village. Of course she had said that the Valley of Peace was open for him, but she understood if he chose one closer to the mountain.

The first thing that Tigress noticed about the little group of Shadow Warriors was that they now all were carrying weapons. Bow, swords, axes… Each warrior had at least one of those things. Tigress herself had nothing, but it didn't really bother her. She was used to fight without weapons.

"Then let's get going." Wang ordered, and they all started to walk. Tigress chose her place in the end of the group. On that way she could avoid the warriors blaming stares.

"How many days will there go before we arrived at the Valley of Peace?"

"If you don't slow us down, tiger, then four." A warrior asked without even looking at her. Tigress sighed soundless; this wasn't really a nice company. Four days… She could handle it. She just needed to focus. When she had finished this trip then she would be at the Jade Palace. She would be back home.

"Is it really true?"

Tigress widened her eyes as she realized that someone actually what talking to her. Not with an angrily sneer, but with a friendly voice. The tiger glanced at the warrior that had lagged behind on purpose so he could talk with her. When she didn't answer, he asked the question again.

"Is it really true that you are Jiao-Long's daughter?"

"Don't you trust what you have been told?"

The warrior shrugged. "Just curious."

Tigress sighed as she looked into his big, blue eyes. "Jiao-Long was my father."

"So you are an orphan now?"

There went long time before Tigress had pulled herself together. "Yes." She avoided looking at him, and increased her speed.

But the warrior followed her. "Sorry 'bout that. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable."

This time Tigress wasn't able to control her curiosity. "Aren't you supposed to ignore me?" She asked, her voice bitter.

"Do you want me to ignore you?" The warrior gave back.

Tigress shook her head; no, she wanted to have someone time talk to. Just some few sentences that weren't full of hate would be enough. They had been walking all day, and now was the time to make a camp. Though, it was Wang who decided when they should rest so there could go long time before they would get a break.

"If Jiao-Long was your father, then who is your mother?"

Before Tigress could answer, a new voice did it for her. "It Mei-Hua, isn't it? I heard some of the others talk about it." The new warrior had suddenly appeared, but had obliviously listened to Tigress' conversation.

"I thought it was only rumors." The first warrior said. Because of the fact that they were masked, it was hard to see the different between them. Though, Tigress decided to call the first one Blue because of his eye color. The second she named Brown of the same reason. She wouldn't say their names out loud, but only use it in her thoughts. It would make it easier.

"Now when we are talking about it; how did it actually happen? The Dragon Queen and Jiao-Long?" Brown asked her.

She sighed. "It's a long and complicated story."

"Is it sad?" Another voice suddenly said. Tigress realized that there were more that were listening than she thought.

Blue smacked the new one in the back of his masked head. "Of course it's sad, you fool. They are both dead!"

Blue, Brown and Fool. Tigress tried to hide a smile when she thought of their names. Maybe it wasn't the most creative names, but why ask them about their real ones? They would only know each other for a few days, and it was more likely that they weren't going to talk so much with her in that time.

Fool glared at Blue. "Well, maybe it was sad before their deaths!"

"Why do you care? Afraid that you are going to cry again?" Blue mocked him.

"Hey! That happened only once and it was because I got something in my eye!"

Blue just snorted. "Of course." He rolled his blue eyes.

"And was absolutely not because you couldn't handle the thought that the girl never was going to see her sister again." Brown told him. Tigress guessed that they were either talking about a history or some poor girl they had met once.

"Just because I have a heart doesn't mean that I am weak!" Fool sneered back, and Tigress couldn't help but admire him for his courage. Though, it didn't really help him.

"We all have a heart; yours is just soft." Blue said while laughing. Suddenly, he became serious. "Uhm, what were we talking about?" He turned to Tigress who just stared back at him. She was still stunned after unintentionally hearing the warriors' discussion. They were acting like brothers who were teasing each other, and Tigress wasn't still good at such family things.

"Your parents!" Fool suddenly remembered. "How did they meet?"

"Why do you want to know?" Tigress asked him hard. Fool actually backed away a little.

"Just curious." He murmured.

"Forget it, boys. The princess doesn't want to talk about it!"

"Hey, Jie." Blue greeted him. "Why the bad mood?"

Jie just ignored his question. "Wang wants you to get the camp ready. Hurry up!" The boys quickly did what they were told; they did not want Jie's anger. "And you…" The warrior turned to Tigress who stood with crossed arms.

"Me what?"

"You will make sure that you are out of the way until we are finished."

"And what if I want to help?"

Jie snorted. "It's not us who need your help. It's you who need ours, so you better do what I say." He growled at her, but Tigress just look at him unimpressed.

"I am not out to hurt you or any of your friends." Tigress was a little unsure of using that word; Jie didn't seem like one who had tons of fiends. Though, she needed to calm him down and she hoped this was the way of doing it. "I want to work together with you."

"Just because your father was our leader doesn't mean that you are it!" Jie hissed at her, his fangs visible now.

Tigress shook her head. "I didn't say that."

Jie was silent for a moment, but then he turned his back to her. "Just stay out of the way."

"Home." Tigress whispered for herself. True enough, they had finally reached the Valley of Peace. The problem; how to defeat Mei-Hua's guards. But none of the Shadow Warriors wanted Tigress to join them. They had said that she was injured and couldn't fight. Tigress wasn't going to listen to them, though. Her wound wasn't bothering her and she would be careful.

A sound of rustling leaves caught her attention. Along with the others, Tigress waited for their spy to come out of the shadows. Sure enough, soon a masked warrior was standing in front of them.

"They are surrounding the whole valley. They don't seem to expect being attacked from the outside so if we split up and do it quietly, we will be able to defeat them without the even noticing it." Thee spy said, and soon the other warriors were discussing plans.

Tigress ignored them and turned directly to the spy. "What about Master Shifu and the others?"

"I heard some of the guards talk about how the lynx has threatened them to stay in the palace or they would attack the village."

Of course her friends would do anything to protect the village, but if Tigress knew them right, then they were working on a plan.

"Don't expect them to join the battle; I am pretty sure that they are full asleep right now." Then the spy left her and walked back to the others. Tigress glanced at the black sky. It was the middle of the night, so the spy was probably right. Though, it was the perfect time for an ambush.

Suddenly, nearly all the Shadow Warriors rushed away. Tigress walked towards Wang who still was there. "What's happening?"

"We're splitting up. We will begin the attack now." He said, placing his bow on his shoulder.

"And I…?"

"You are staying here. We'll tell you when it's over." With that he left the stunned Tigress.

Fool walked over to her. "Don't worry; it won't be that bad. And after all, there won't go long time before we are finished."

"What a comfort." Tigress snorted as Fool also disappeared. He, Blue and Brown had become those she had talked most to. Now she understood what Tung had meant when he said that they were boys.

But if Wang expected her to stay here then he was wrong. Tigress wasn't going to miss this fight. Leaping into the night, Tigress tried to find the others. But it wasn't as easy as she thought.

"Where are they?" She asked herself as she dropped on all fours. It went quicker than if she was just walking, even though she was limping a little because of her wound. Suddenly her ears picked up fighting noises, and Tigress increased her speed.

The tiger managed to see the Shadow Warriors fighting different species of animals, before a familiar person blocked her vision. Apparently the ambush had gone wrong and now all Mei-Hua's warriors were fighting the Shadow Warriors on one place. Tigress returned her focus to the person who was blocking her path.

"Where is Mei-Hua?" Master Lynx asked her before leaping towards her. Tigress jumped back and blocked his attack.

"Dead." She answered shortly, before starting to try and kick him. He blocked and grabbed her arm as she tried to hit him.

"How?" He hissed. Tigress flipped him over her head, but he landed perfectly on his legs. Tigress suddenly realized that he had been one of her trainers; he knew her strength and also her weaknesses. Defeating him could be hard.

Tigress dodged and blocked his attacks as he jumped at her again. "The dragons."

"So it's true…" Master Lynx murmured to herself. Then in a flash he leaped at Tigress and kicked her in her side. The tiger tried her best to stop rolling, but landed on her bad shoulder. The pain made her body to freeze, making her vulnerable. She opened her eyes just to see Master Lynx in the air, and Tigress knew that he would hit her when he landed. But before that could happen, something slammed into the lynx.

Tigress got up and saw her rescuer. To her surprise it was Jie. Before she could thank him she noticed one of the guards, a dangerously looking leopard, was sneaking up on him with an ax in his paw. Jie was too busy fighting Master Lynx to notice it. Tigress took her opportunity; she ran towards the leopard who swung his ax down at her. She dodged and kicked it out of his paw.

Jie turned around just to see Tigress saving him. He nodded to her as a sign of respect. Tigress did the same; now they both had saved each other.

"Help the others! I'll take care of him!" She yelled at him, and surprisingly enough Jie did what she told him. Tigress turned to Master Lynx, giving him a warning growl.

"Return to the Dragon City. You are not welcomed here."

The lynx didn't answer but the flash in his dark eyes told her that he wasn't giving up. He leapt at her again, but she was ready. She blocked his attack and landed some of her owns. Suddenly he tried to grab her vest to pull her down as she had turned the other way. The result was the vest and the bandage was pulled down a little, so she now was showing her shoulder. And then Master Lynx froze.

"They let you live?" He whispered, shifting his glance between Tigress' face and her wound. Then he turned around as fast as he could and yelled to his warriors. "Retreat!" In a few seconds the Shadow Warriors and Tigress was left alone in the forest.

"What just happened?" One of the stunned warriors asked. Tigress herself didn't have the answer. She also turned to Wang as all the warriors.

"Simple. They have to follow the dragons' orders." As he saw the still confused glances he continued. "The dragons killed Jiao-Long and the Dragon Queen, but only wounded you. If they had wanted it then you would have been dead now, but they decided to let you live. And that means that the Masters of the Dragon City can't hurt you." He explained to Tigress.

"So they won't come back?" She asked him to make everything clear.

"I don't see why they should do that." He turned to his warriors that were all fine except for some scratches. "Come on, boys. As fast as we get back home as better." But before they could go, Tigress was blocking their way.

"I just want to say thanks. Without you I would probably not have gotten back to the Jade Palace. I am truly grateful." She bowed to them, and after Wang had bowed back they all did. "If you ever are going to need my help then write."

Wang smiled at her. "Keep dreaming, tiger." Then he left, the Shadow Warriors following him. Tigress stared at them long enough to hear Fool and Blue's conversation.

"So it's over now?"

"Yes."

"And we won?"

"Yes."

"Then why aren't we cheering?"

And after to second loud yells of joy destroyed the night's silent. Tigress smiled for herself, but then she realized that she had more important things to do than staring into the forest. She turned around and started running towards the Jade Palace.

Tigress was finally close to home.

A/N: Well, we leave it here! And just to make it sad; I only think that there is TWO chapters yet (and one of them is an epilogue)! Though, I have something important to say!

PLEASE READ THIS! Hope that caught your attention ;) Well, let's get to the point. Since this story is nearing its end, I have considered writing a sequel. Though, before I decide it I want to see how many there will follow the story to the sequel. So anybody who wants me to write the sequel please say it, either by a review or pm me! I won't write if no one will read it and a probably have a lot of ideas to other stories, so please tell me your opinion! I will tell you what I decide in the next chapter. Thank you!