And another chapter is finally written and done. I even managed to finish it a few days early! Enjoy the read guys!

Chapter 21

Meeting the Partner

With Po and Nightshade…

Po just finished closing the massive door behind him and Nightshade after giving Tigress that one last look, begging her to be careful, when he released a heavy sigh. He hated having to get separated from her on a mission. His place was at her side, watching her back while she watched his. Together they were an unstoppable force of Justice. Whenever they were apart, Po simply felt like half of him was missing.

Stirring Po from his doubts, Gladir made himself known to the Panda by gaining his attention and said, "Focus Po. The sooner you find that key, the sooner you can get back to Tigress and in time, your son." Po closed his eyes as he took a deep breath and released it, while he allowed the Dragon's words to wash over him as he thought, "Tigress…Li…" his determination now renewed, Po opened his eyes and replied, "You're right. I've got a job to do and the faster I do it, the faster all this can be over with!"

Gladir nodded inwardly as the Panda turned to Nightshade and declared, "Alright, let's get moving…Nightshade?" as Po looked over, Nightshade appeared deep in thought, but upon hearing his name, he was immediately shaken back to reality, as he looked up at the Dragon Warrior and asked, "Huh?" Po immediately guessed what might be wrong as he walked over and said, "Hey, look I'm sorry about your family back there Nightshade, really I am, but we really got to move. We can't let Drizen get that key, right?"

Nightshade nodded as he turned to give one last look at the door they had come through while Po put on a big smile and said, "Besides, the sooner we're done, the sooner you can get back to Yao Niang and Xue!" that caused a small smile to spread across the wolf's face as he looked up and said, "Right…thank you, Po. Now…let's go get that Key!" and with that, Po and Nightshade began running down the hallway, guided only by the light of the many lit torches along the walls. Although grateful for the illumination, the torches only served to remind the two that someone was already ahead of them and that meant that whoever they were, they were that much closer to the Key than they were.

Both Po and Nightshade ran down the corridor for what seemed like an unusually long time as the hall twisted and turned and Po noticed that not only were they going in circles, but that they were also descending into the earth the further down the Halls they ran. Apparently what you could see on the outside of the temple literally was only the top of it. After running for what seemed like an eternity, Po was about to stop and collapse onto the ground due to exhaustion when he and Nightshade finally came to a stop outside a set of double doors.

As Po looked up while trying to catch his breath, he noticed that the doors had that same strange glyph on them that he remembered seeing in the chamber where he and Nightshade had left Tigress. "I wonder what's so important about those 3 rings and that star thing?" Po thought to himself as Gladir replied, "It's impossible to say. Perhaps the further in we go, the more likely we will find out their purpose. But, you do have a mission to fulfill before satisfying any personal curiosities, Po."

The Panda nodded as he turned to Nightshade and asked, "You ready?" Nightshade nodded his head as he replied, "Yeah…let's go." And with that, Po tried to push one of the giant doors open, but to no avail. "What?" Po grunted as Nightshade walked up beside him and together the two tried to push the door open, but the door refused to budge.

Looking at each other briefly, both Po and Nightshade nodded in silent agreement as both warriors closed their eyes and focused. In seconds, after finding his center and calling out to the forces of the Heroes Chi that dwelled within him, Po's entire being began to glow brightly with the golden light of the Heroes Chi, while Nightshade was wrapped in the dark blue aura of his True Darkness, his eyes now glowing a matching dark blue as both he and Po looked over at each other and nodded once more and together, using their now enhanced strength, slowly began to push the massive door open.

As soon as they managed to push the door open wide enough for Po to get through, both Po and Nightshade stepped through the door and stopped almost immediately. "Wow." Nightshade exclaimed as Po simply nodded in agreement and said, "Yeah…what you said."

They were now standing in what could only be described as the largest room Po or Nightshade had ever seen before in their entire lives, as the room literally seemed to go on for miles on end. The walls were once again lined with torches that were lit which begged the question as to how they could be burning all the way down here. If the place has been sealed for who knew how long, how could the torches be burning?

But what really had Po and Nightshade's attention was what was before them. Starting just a few yards in front of them was what appeared to be the entrance to a Maze of sorts. But Po and Nightshade quickly realized that this wasn't just any maze. This was a Labyrinth. If they weren't careful, Po and Nightshade could easily end up forever lost down here.

As Po and Nightshade marveled at the architecture, Po began to wonder, "How the heck does someone even build something like this underground? This room alone is maybe bigger than even Gongmen City!" It was then that Gladir pointed out, "Remember Po, this Temple has been lost for more than a thousand years. It's quite possible that at one time what you see here was indeed once above ground, but after more than a Millennia of Nature's influence, the Temple could have been all but buried during all this time. I have been on this world for a 1000 years now, and I myself have seen the destructive power Nature is more than capable of."

It was then Po remembered the line of the Prophecy the Soothsayers had recited back at the Jade Palace, "Darkness leads Light through the forgotten Temple's Maze." Po then turned to Nightshade and said, "Well, I guess this is where you take over." Nightshade looked back at the Panda as he asked in exasperation, "How can you possibly expect me to lead you through something like this!?" Po simply shrugged his shoulders as he responded, "Beats me. But don't worry Nightshade; I'm sure we'll think of something."

The wolf was doubtful however as he took a deep breath and released it, but the instant he did, he stopped instantly as he recognized something in the air. It was faint, really faint, but Nightshade's nose was just able to pick it up; a faint trace of a scent. If this place had been sealed for over a 1000 years then there was no way he should have been able to detect any scents belonging to anyone other than the two of them. But he did, he could make out a faint third scent leading towards the entrance of the Maze and after a few seconds Nightshade finally recognized who it belonged to. Feng.

As he glared in the direction of the Maze, Nightshade eventually announced, "I think… I just figured out how to guide us through." Po turned to look at the Wolf as he asked hopefully, "Yeah!? How?" Nightshade then began to walk forward with the Panda following close behind as he explained, "It's faint…but I think I can track down Feng by his scent. But you have to stay behind me at all times. If you get in front of me, I might lose the scent." Po nodded that he understood as he agreed, "Whatever you say Nightshade. Lead the way!" and with that, Nightshade began to lead the Dragon Warrior into the Maze, focusing all of his senses on the lingering scent of the Man he once called Father.

Meanwhile, outside the Temple...

The battle outside the Temple with the Wolves was quickly winding down, as Shifu had recently just finished off a group of five or so wolves he had been dealing with single handedly. As he looked around, he saw that the rest of his students all had the upper hand, as they too were finishing up with the last of their own battles. The Fang had tried to eliminate the Masters by using snipers with Crossbows up on the high walls, but thanks to Master Crane, that proved to be a useless tactic as he provided cover for the Masters by either using his Wings of Justice Technique, or simply deflected the bolts himself whenever he got close to a bandit while trying to knock them over the wall.

When Monkey had delivered the final blow to his last opponents, he looked up and over to his Comrades shouting, "I think that's the last of them!" Shifu then looked up into the sky and shouted towards his aerial student, "Master Crane, can you see any others surrounding the Temple?" Crane took one last lap around the temple perimeter before diving towards the ground, spreading his wings wide at the last second to catch himself as he landed in front of his Master and reported, "All of the enemies have been dealt with Master Shifu. the Courtyard is cleared."

Shifu nodded as he turned to the remainder of his students and said, "Excellent, then our next move is to enter the Temple and catch up and assist the others. Quickly, all of you with me!" and with that, Shifu began to lead the other Masters over to the Temple doors to follow after Nightshade and his students.

Moments earlier, with Tigress in the Entrance Chamber…

Yin released a short cry as she was thrown up against the right wall, her daggers falling loosely out of her paws as she slid down the wall with a low groan. As she struggled to look up, Yin could just barely make out her brother Min lying face down across the room seemingly unconscious, with one of his Chakrahms embedded into the wall just behind him, while the second one lay abandoned and forgotten farther down along the wall.

Yin then tried to focus her attention on the being that was slowly advancing upon her, but she herself was losing consciousness fast. Her vision now blurred, she could just barely make out the figure of Master Tigress standing over her, wrapped in a fiery red aura as the Tiger snarled, "What did I tell you? Not even 3 minutes." Yin growled in defiance but soon was quickly overtaken by darkness, and the she wolf had blacked out.

Tigress watched as the she wolf fell off to the side unconscious and immediately she released the Heroines flame and her aura diminished completely. Using those powers on ordinary folks was something Po, Tigress and Nightshade had all vowed never to do in the past, but the situation was growing more and more serious with every passing moment. So, following Shifu's orders, Tigress did whatever was necessary to end this little "battle" as fast as possible so that she could catch up with Po and Nightshade. Was it a bit over the top? Absolutely, but like she knew, Time was running out,

After checking Yin's pulse to make sure she was alright, Tigress then walked over towards Min and also checked to see if he was still breathing. Thankful that both wolves were still alright, Tigress was about to head over to the door Po and Nightshade had disappeared behind, when a familiar voice called out to her, "Tigress!"

As Tigress turned, she was greeted by none other than her Master and her comrades who were all running over toward her. When they approached, Viper asked worriedly, "Are you alright? Is everything okay with-" but before Viper could get another word out, Tigress stopped her by saying, "I'm fine Viper. I can handle a few wolves on my own." Mantis then hopped forwards asking, "So who are those two?" as he indicated Yin and Min. Tigress then answered, "Those would be Yin and Min…Nightshade's siblings."

Shifu nodded as he regarded the twins briefly and said, "I see…and just where IS Nightshade and the Dragon Warrior?" At this, Tigress then turned to face the door at the back of the room and said, "They went through that door a while ago. I was just about to pursue them." Shifu nodded as he declared, "Then we shall all go. Everyone, move out!" as his students all shouted in unison, "Yes, Master!" and immediately the 6 Masters began racing for the door, all the while Tigress was thinking to herself, "Po…please be alright. Don't you dare do anything stupid until I get there to bail you out!"

Back with Po and Nightshade…

Po and nightshade had just made yet another left turn down the long narrow halls as Nightshade stopped briefly to sniff the air once more in an attempt to pinpoint Feng's scent, while Po stepped off to the right to scratch a marking into the wall. As they had continued wandering the multiple paths of the Maze, Po had begun to notice a pattern of sorts along the walls. A few times now the two had managed to pass a copy of the same Glyph they had all seen up above in the room they left Tigress in and on the massive doors to the Maze, the one with the 3 circles or spheres that were surrounding a single star like shape and Po was beginning to wonder just what it was supposed to mean.

Once Nightshade managed to locate Feng's scent again he turned back to his friend saying, "I've got it…what are you doing?" Po looked up from his little marking and answered, "Leaving a trail for us to follow back-" while Nightshade finished, "-and for the others to use to follow to us. Not a bad idea, but we should really keep moving." And with that, the two were on their way again.

Pretty soon, the two warriors came to a fork as one path lead to the right, while another path lead to the left. As Nightshade stopped, he sniffed the air a few times before turning to the right and declared, "This way." and again the wolf lead the Panda down the chosen path, while Po scratched another little marking onto the right wall.

They had been maneuvering their way through the Maze for quite some time now and Po was beginning to think that maybe they had gotten lost, when Gladir spoke rather abruptly, forcing Po to nearly jump out of his skin, "I can sense the presence of another nearby, just one. It could be Feng, but it could also be someone else…Drizen perhaps?" After Po recovered from his near heart attack, he asked the Dragon, "Couldn't you be able to tell if it was Drizen?" But it was almost as if Po could feel the Dragon shaking his head within his mind as the creature replied, "With that creature's degree of power, it is quite possible that he could easily be masking himself. I could not be certain if it would be him or not. Back at the museum his magic managed to dull my senses, which is by no means an easy task."

Po nodded as he tapped nightshade on the shoulder gaining the wolf's attention. When Nightshade turned around, Po whispered, "Someone's close." Nightshade gave Po a questioning look asking, "Are you sure?" Po nodded his head and Nightshade nodded back. Nightshade knew very well that the Great Dragon Creature known as Gladir who resided within Po's soul was more than capable of sensing the presence of another from a modest distance, but even he was usually surprised whenever the Panda was aware of an enemy before he was. As Mantis would often put it, it was very weird and impossible to get used to.

Soon enough however, Nightshade's ear twitched as he could just make out the sounds of someone grumbling down the hall way. Once again, Gladir was right. As Nightshade peered around the corner, he could easily make out the form of his dead beat father standing at the end of the corridor with a torch in one paw and of course, the object Nightshade and Po were searching for, the Crystal!

Nightshade turned to see Po was leaning over him also looking around the corner, and as soon as the two made eye contact, they each began to slowly emerge from around the corner and approach their target, with Nightshade removing his black staff from its holster on his back, readying himself for a fight.

Feng was staring furiously at the crystal in his paw which was shining a dark blue color now. So far this magic crystal of Drizen's had managed to lead him through the maze with no problems whatsoever, glowing brighter whenever he was heading down the supposed correct path towards the key. Yet now, here he was, with the crystal shining brighter than he had ever seen it shine before and he was stuck at a dead end!

"I don't believe this." Feng grumbled as he brought the crystal back away from the wall and watched as it dimmed slightly, yet when he carried it closer to the wall, it grew brighter. "How am I supposed to find this stupid key if this darn thing won't work!?" the Dark gray wolf shouted when he heard a voice from behind him saying, "Well, if it won't work for you, you could always just give it to us."

Immediately Feng whirled around and threw his lit torch to the ground while he withdrew his serrated sword, taking a defensive stance as he growled at the two adversaries before him. Po, who had spoken earlier, then stepped forward asking, "Hi, remember us?" Feng growled deeply as he glared at the face of the Panda who had eliminated his late Master, Shen. "Dragon Warrior…Whelp." Nightshade snarled as he replied, "Father… hand over the crystal." Feng laughed as he lifted the crystal asking, "You mean this? Now why would I go and do something like that, Runt?" At this, Po stepped forward his eyes narrowing as he made it very clear that he was done with playing nice, "Because we aren't going to ask nicely again Feng. Give us the Crystal, or we'll just take it."

Feng then pocketed the still glowing crystal as he snarled, "You'll have to kill me for it Dragon Warrior… just like you killed my Master!" and with that, Feng charged the two warriors while Po warned, "Nightshade!" but the black wolf was already ahead of him, as the black wolf dashed past the Panda and replied, "I know…whatever it takes." As the black wolf twirled his staff around and met Feng's sword in a parry.

As the two Wolves snarled at each other, Feng sneered at the younger wolf, "So, think you can take me down yourself, do you runt? Or are you going to let the Dragon Warrior do it for you?" Nightshade growled as he retorted, "You aren't worth the Dragon Warriors time, Feng. I can deal with you myself." "But you won't have to!" Nightshade and Feng both looked to see Po, leaping up onto the left wall and using it to push himself off so that he could get behind Feng. Once the Panda landed, he immediately dropped low and performed a low sweep kick, knocking Feng's feet right out from underneath him as the Dark gray wolf landed right on his back.

As Feng growled viciously at the Dragon Warrior, Po then said, "Shen's downfall was his own doing. I gave him a chance to repent, to let go of his past, but he just wouldn't listen. His fear was his own undoing!" Feng roared as his grip tightened on his sword as he thrusted the weapon towards the Panda, "LIES! Lord Shen perished because of you, PANDA!"

Po leaped back as he watched the blade just barely miss his stomach by perhaps a mere inch or so. When he slid back to a stop, Feng had once again got back up to his feet, but was forced to keep his attention on Nightshade, who was unleashing a barrage of attack on the Gray wolf, forcing Feng to keep his attention forward and on him. As Nightshade pushed forward he shouted at Feng, "The Dragon Warrior isn't the one at fault for all your troubles Feng, you are. We wouldn't even be in this situation right now if you had just refused to join up with Shen!"

Feng roared as he swung hard at Nightshade and locked themselves in a struggle once more as he shouted, "Shen had a vision! He had a future planed for us! ALL of us! And we were going to be right at the top, where no one would disrespect our kind! But no, look at where we are now. Wolves treated like scum, ignored everywhere we go. We can't even walk into a market without being bombarded by the people's glares. With Shen, Wolves had a future. WE had a future, but all of that's gone. Our glory, our livelihood…it's all gone, and it's all thanks to the Dragon War-OOMPH!?" but before Feng could even finish his rant though, Po had snuck up behind him and delivered a severe blow to the back of Feng's head, causing the wolf to fall unconscious, and his serrated sword to slide a few feet away.

Looking up from his knocked out Father, Nightshade looked over to the Panda who wore an expression filled with pity for the Gray wolf as he looked down at the misguided creature. When Po looked up at Nightshade, he began to say, "Nightshade…I-" but Nightshade stopped him as he held up his paw and said, "Po…don't apologize for him. It's his own fault for being a fool." Po still looked down solemnly as he said, "Yeah…but he was still kinda right…about wolves being mistreated…wasn't he?"

Nightshade then knelt down and began digging through Feng's pocket as he said, "No…he wasn't. Not really." Po gave Nightshade a confused look, as Nightshade finally withdrew the crystal and looked up at Po saying, "Some of us…have finally found a place where we can belong and call home. where we aren't shuned by our neighbors, or denied service in a restaurant and we can have a job. And that's all Thanks to the Dragon Warrior." Po smiled as Nightshade stood up and handed the Panda the crystal.

As Po looked at it, he asked Nightshade, "So…now that we've got this Crystal…any idea how to use it?" but as if on cue, the minute Po turned to face the wall Feng had been standing before, the Crystal began glowing a dark blue color, as Nightshade replied, "Like that I guess…but I don't understand. It looks like we're supposed to move forward, but the path is closed off and I don't see a door."

Po thought about it for a moment, until he recalled the time he had Tigress on his back in the burning museum and he had to blast open a path with the Heroes Chi. After looking at Nightshade, Po then said with a smirk, "Well then I guess we'll just have to make our own door!" and with that Po handed Nightshade the crystal as he motioned for Nightshade to take a few steps back and give him some room.

Once Nightshade was clear, Po began to focus as he entered his fighting stance for the Panda style and closed his eyes and breathed deeply. As he concentrated, Po began to call fourth the forces of the Heroes Chi, as his entire being began to glow with a bright golden aura. Maintaining his concentration, Po began to manipulate the Heroes Chi and began directing it to his right paw. After a few second of building up enough Chi, Po quickly thrusted his Paw forward while crying out, "HYAAAH!" as he released a powerful Chi blast right for the wall that was blocking their path, the golden beam of light blasting forward, obliterating it in the process in an amazing display of power.

When the dust finally settled, Nightshade and Po looked forward to see the large new hole in the wall that Po had just made as Nightshade commented, "I don't think you have to worry about leaving a mark to let the others know which way we went this time." As Po released his Heroes Chi, he turned back to face Nightshade and said, "Come on, we got to move! If Feng is out here then that means the Key could still be inside!" and with that, Po and Nightshade ran for the hole in the wall, with Nightshade stopping only to grab Feng's still lit torch, leaving the Dark gray wolf behind still lying unconscious in the middle of the hall.

Once Po and Nightshade managed to climb their way through the hole, Nightshade took out the Crystal they had obtained and handed it to Po, who then held it forward and watched as the crystal began to glow even brighter the further down the hall they walked. "Wow…Think we're getting close?" Po asked, his eyes glued to the crystal. When Nightshade didn't respond right away, Po turned around and called out to him, "Nightshade?" but the wolf had simply stopped a few feet behind and muttered, "Yeah…I think we're close…look!" and as Po turned around, he saw the newest room they had wandered into and gasped, dropping the crystal to the ground in the process.

They had just entered a large circular chamber, with statues identical to the ones that looked like priests upstairs lining the walls, each one representing a different species, but all of them wearing the same robes. But what was sitting at the back of the chamber was what had both Po and Nightshade's attention. For there, sitting atop of a pedestal stationed at the top of a small set of steps, was a round spherical rock, identical to the ones taken from both the Jade Palace, and the First Emperor's Museum. Only this rock was now resonating the same dark bluish glow as the crystal that now laid at the Panda's feet. They had found it…they had Found the final Key!

"We did it, Nightshade! We actually got to the last key first!" Po shouted excitedly. Even Nightshade was wearing a proud smile as he looked up at their prize. It was only after a moment did he notice what was behind it. "What's that?" Nightshade wondered aloud as he began to walk forward, followed closely by the Dragon Warrior. As the two reached the top of the steps, both Nightshade and Po marveled at what they saw. "Wow…what do you think it means?" Po asked as he stared at the wall behind the Key while Nightshade responded, "No idea."

Behind the Key up against the back wall was a large set of engravings, both characters of what Po and Nightshade could only assume to be some sort of forgotten Language, followed by a series of pictures carved into the stone wall. And once again, at the center of it all was that same glyph with the 3 spheres surrounding that same star. But this time, there was a new image nearby. And as Po looked up, he noticed that there was a picture of what resembled what he thought looked like a sun, overlapping what looked like a crescent Moon shape. Above that, Po and Nightshade noticed 3 more spheres stacked one on top of the other. Towards the bottom of the wall, underneath the glyph was the image of a mountain with a flame carved in at the top of it.

As Po looked from the wall to the Key, a sick feeling was beginning to form in the pit of his stomach. These keys were supposed to unlock some sort of ancient power, right? Well…Po was beginning to think that this temple was somehow connected to just what exactly it was they were supposed to open up. Turning towards Nightshade, Po began reaching for the Key as he said, "Come on, we better get out of here while we still can, before your Dad wakes up!" Nightshade nodded, but just before Po's fingers could wrap around the Key, his paw was stopped mere inches away by an unseen force. "Oh crud." Po breathed out, as both he and Nightshade were suddenly and without warning blasted backwards by the strange force and straight into separate statues.

As soon as they were smacked up against them, the eyes of the Rhino statue which Po had been knocked against, began to glow a dark purple, as his arms suddenly came to life and began to restrain the Panda, while the Panther statue Nightshade had been thrown up against proceeded to do the same thing. "What's going on!?" Nightshade asked in surprise as Po responded, "No- *Urgh*- idea!" as the Panda began to struggle against the statue's hold on him, while trying to think rapidly, "Gladir, what's happening!?"

But the Dragon was at a complete loss as he answered, "I'm not sure my friend, I have not sensed the presence of any other within these walls since we've arrived. Whatever is doing this, it is either a trap of the Temple's…or perhaps… the work of one who is truly powerful." Po then asked as he continued struggling, "You mean like Drizen? Is he here?" but Gladir hesitated as he answered honestly, "I…I don't know…I can't tell…if anyone is here. It's almost like if there is someone here, then they are shrouded and hidden from me. I…I am sorry."

Po released a frustrated grunt as he was about to try and use the Heroes Chi to break free, when a disturbingly creepy voice began to echo throughout the chamber in laughter. "Heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heeeeh… Well…if this isn't a sight to behold." Po and Nightshade immediately tuned to the source of the voice, as a figure completely covered in a black robe and hooded cloak slowly stepped out of the shadows and into the light being cast by the crystal and Key.

As Po and Nightshade stared at the newcomer, Nightshade shouted in their direction, "Who are you and what is the meaning of this!?" the hooded figure cackled once again as he stated in an unsurprised tone, "Ah, young Nightshade…a pleasure to see you once again after all these years. As for your question…surely you can even recognize Magic when used against you by now…but then again perhaps not. After all, you spent years with it living right under your nose and not once did you ever notice."

Nightshade's face became one of pure confusion. "Magic?…years?…under my nose? What are you talking about!?" at this point Po shouted, "It's got to be Drizen! Who else can do stuff like this? He's just messing with you Nightshade!" the figure then turned to face the Panda and began to stare in his direction for a long moment and although Po tried to keep a brave face, there was something about this guy that was sending shivers down the Panda's spine. Gladir never even sensed this guy when they were in the same room. Not even Drizen had been able to manage that before, not completely. Was this Drizen? Or was it someone else altogether?

After a long moment, the figure began to climb the steps to the pedestal, all the while his concealed face remained looking towards the Panda as he started, "Dragon Warrior…Vanquisher of Tai Lung…Hero of Gongmen City…Light of China…and Savior to the world. Oh how long I have planned for what is surely to come in the coming days. For years I have been working to set everything in motion. For decades, I have searched, researched, calculated and recalculated and finally, with this final Key-" at this the figure took a cloaked hand and lifted the final Key off of the Pedestal while still looking towards the Panda and finished, "- I can finally commence the final phase of the First part of my Plan. And after all these years, my Promise to you shall be fulfilled."

Now Po was the one who was confused as he asked, "You've been planning this for decades? Buddy...I haven't even been the Dragon Warrior for 1 decade! What could I have seriously done to you!?" But the figure turned around to face the wall behind the Pedestal as he stated, "In time…you will have done plenty." Po just arched an eyebrow as he asked, "Huh?" but the figure ignored him as he pocketed the key and motioned to the wall with his covered hand or paw or whatever was underneath the robe, "Do you know what this is Dragon Warrior? Nightshade?"

Both the Panda and wolf looked past the figure and at the wall as Po answered unsurely, "Um…a really old picture?" Nightshade however continued glaring at the figure as he listened to what he said next extremely closely. The Figure then spoke to his captives without turning to face them as he said, "It is a calendar you fool. A calendar, showing the date of an extremely important occasion." At this the Figure turned to face the two warriors and said, "The day…of the Titan's Moon."

Po and Nightshade just stared at the figure while the Panda asked, "Day…of the Titan's Moon? How can a Day have a moon?" as Po looked over at Nightshade for answers, the black wolf simply shrugged and said, "Don't look at me, I'm just trying to keep, up with all of this." It was then that the figure laughed lightly as he said, "Heh heh heh…oh Dragon Warrior, I had nearly forgotten that your Ignorance knows no bounds at this point."

Po then turned to face the figure asking, "This point? What point?" but the figure ignored the question as he turned to face the wall saying, "Very well, I suppose I can enlighten you of your impending doom a little without too much consequence. Tell me, you are aware that there are indeed other worlds out in the universe besides our own of course?"

Po stared at the figure, his face now in a frown as he remained silent. It was true; he did know that there were other worlds out there somewhere. After all, Gladir and his siblings came from another world. But how many there were, neither Po nor anyone else had any clue. The figure then said, "Yes, I thought so…well, see those 3 round symbols at the top of the wall? They indicate the precise position of 3 such worlds near our own in a straight line of sorts, lined directly with our own."

As Nightshade looked at the top of the wall, he did notice the 3 world images in a straight line, one on top of the other. As he looked at them though he muttered, "3 worlds…3…keys?" the figure then turned to Nightshade and said, "That's correct Nightshade. Each of the 3 ancient keys are actually pieces of each of those 3 worlds, crafted centuries ago into the spheres you've seen thus far." Po then asked, "You mean…all this time, those keys have been hunks of rock from other worlds!? That's…kinda cool." as Po couldn't help himself from admitting.

The Figure then continued, "Indeed, but having the worlds in alignment isn't enough. You see, there are 2 other pieces that must be aligned in order for the spell used to awaken the ancient power to work. Magic, although incredibly powerful, is indeed extremely…particulate… in its recipes. And those final 2 pieces would be…" as the figure waited for the two warriors to figure the rest of it out. Po stared at the wall for a long moment until his eyes landed on two images that were just beneath the 3 worlds. One looked like a giant ball of fire…and beneath that… as Po then finished his thoughts, "The Sun…and the Moon?" the Figure then answered, "That's correct…a solar Eclipse on the day of the 3 world's alignment. An occurrence that is so incredibly rare for both events to occur at the same time, that the last time it has been said to happen was around 1500 years ago."

Nightshade then whispered, "1500 years ago…but wait…if this so called power could have been used back then, then why is it hidden now!?" the Figure was silent for a brief moment before he motioned to the statues, "That…would be because of them. 1500 years ago the priests of this once sacred temple, stopped the coming of the Great power the day it was about to be unleashed, and sealed it away using the power of the 3 keys and the 3 worlds they represent…the Lost stars."

"The lost stars…you mean… this whole place was built for those 3 worlds?" Po asked as the Figure looked over to the Panda and congratulated the bear, "And I recalled you being far more dense then that. Yes, Dragon Warrior. You see, this place wasn't built as a place of worship for the 3 worlds, but a place of protection, so that no one could use the power of the Keys to ever awaken the ancient power that has been sealed away for more than millennia. But now that we possess all 3 keys, all that remains is to await the day of the solar eclipse in 5 days' time."

Nightshade then thought to himself, "So he IS working with Drizen-" but the wolf's thoughts were interrupted by the Panda beside him who shouted, "You'll never get away with this…um….buddy-" as Po realized he had no idea what this stranger's name was, "- We'll stop you before you get the chance to use that Power!"

The cloaked figure chuckled loudly at the Panda's outburst, and for a moment, Po could have sworn the laugh sounded somewhat familiar, when the figure raised an arm up as the crystal floated over towards them as they said, "Oh I am well aware that you are going to try, Dragon Warrior. You see, I know all that is going to transpire in the coming days. Everything that has happened thus far is all according to my plans. You, Nightshade, Master Tigress, the Fang…even Drizen. You are all just pawns in my game. A game…that only I can win, because my victory has already been assured!"

And with that, the figure cackled madly as he waved his arm behind him and conjured up what Nightshade could only describe as a purple portal of sorts, much like they had seen Drizen use to escape from the Dragons tower all those years ago. As the Figure began to step through, he turned back and although Po was struggling, he looked forward as he growled at the figure and listened as the figure said, "Give my best to your precious wife, Dragon Warrior."

And with those words, the figure raised his left arm up and shouted a strange incantation, which resulted in the entire room beginning to shake and parts of the ceiling began to fall down around them. "We will meet again Dragon Warrior, and I promise you, our next meeting will be one you won't soon ever forget!" and with that, the figure stepped into the portal, and vanished from the chamber completely, casting the room into complete darkness.

As Po and Nightshade continued to struggle, the room was falling in on them rapidly as Nightshade shouted, "We need to get out of here now!" and as if on cue, Po's entire being began to glow with the forces of the Heroes Chi as the Panda released a powerful roar and using the Chi's power, broke through the statues hold on him allowing him to fall to the ground, while his aura served to illuminate the chamber once again.

Not skipping a beat, Po then ran over and leaped up onto Nightshade's statue and hung on it by the arms that were constricting the wolf as the Panda shouted, "Get ready!" Nightshade nodded as the Panda grabbed hold of the statues arm, and using his enhanced strength, literally tore the statue's arm off and the two were sent tumbling down to the ground.

Once they got up Nightshade then shouted, "This place is coming down on us, we have to get out of here!" Po then released the Heroes Chi as he pointed over towards the exit which they could see easily enough thanks to the light from the burning torches outside and shouted, "That way, come on!" and so the two were running for the exit, but as soon as they were drawing near, a section of the ceiling fell through and the rubble blocked their only way in or out of the chamber. "Damn it!" Nightshade cursed as he turned to Po asking, "Can you make another door!?"

But as Po nodded his head, a sound caught his attention. Looking up Po saw that the entire ceiling was about to collapse on top of them as Po shouted, "Look out!" and without even thinking about what he was doing, or about any potential consequences, Po dove straight for Nightshade, causing the wolf to shout, "What are you-!?" But he never even got to finish his sentence as the ceiling collapsed on top of the two, while Po was trying to shield Nightshade from the falling debris.

With Tigress and the other Masters…

Tigress was racing down the maze path with Shifu and the Five running close behind her. As soon as they had entered the Maze through the opened door that Po and Nightshade left open for them and while Shifu was trying to determine the proper path to take, Tigress immediately spotted a single marking on the right wall that read, "Tigress" and immediately knew that Po had left it behind either for him to use to get back, or for her to use to follow him.

As they came to a fork in the path, Tigress began to look around until she saw the same mark on the wall just off to the right as she said, "This way!" and again the Masters were on the move. They followed this particular path until they rounded a corner and stopped dead in their tracks. "Feng!?" Tigress shouted in surprise when she saw the Dark gray wolf lying unconscious in the middle of the floor. But as soon as she stepped forward to check and see if he was alright, the ground beneath the wolf began to shine with a dark purple aura, and the wolf began to sink into the earth, until he was swallowed up completely, and the shadow portal was gone.

"What the heck just happened!?" Mantis shouted as Tigress growled, "Magic…it must be Drizen, he has to be nearby!" Shifu then turned to his students as he said, "All of you be on your guard, and tread carefully!" his students nodded and all continued to walk down the hall until Tigress stopped abruptly and whispered, "Oh no."

As Shifu looked around her he noticed what she was looking at and immediately grew concerned. There at the end of the hall was a giant hole in the wall which was now blocked by a rather large amount of debris. Whatever was on the other side of the wall appeared to have caved in and sealed whatever was on the other side, in completely.

"Po! Tigress shouted as she began racing for the wall and began to shift the debris as fast as she could. Tigress continued shouting for her husband while she tried to move the rocks, "Panda! Are you in there? Can you hear me!?" but Tigress never got a response, despite her sensitive hearing, Tigress could not hear anything on the other side of this wall of stone and rock. Then again, she had no idea just how thick it was. Soon the others were beside her, trying to shift the rock out of the way when all of the sudden a single ray of golden light began to shine through the cracks of the rocks. "Po?" Tigress whispered, when suddenly more and more little beams of golden light were beginning to shine through the debris and Tigress began to get a VERY bad feeling.

"Everyone get back!" Tigress shouted as she and her comrades quickly ran away from the wall. As soon as the others rounded the corner, Tigress stopped and turned around just in time to hear a massive explosion, as the wall they had been trying to dig away was blasted forward, causing Tigress to drop down and cover her head as the debris fell all around her, followed by a single beam of golden light, which shot just over Tigress's head, and past the other Masters, stopping at the wall at the other end of the corridor.

As Tigress slowly got to her feet, Viper was instantly at her side as she asked worriedly, "Tigress, are you alright!?" Tigress nodded slowly as she mumbled, "Fine…but where's-" But before she could even finished the sentence, Tigress looked forward and saw a massive figure stumbling through the new hole in the wall, and immediately her heart began to soar as she breathed out "-Po!" But as Tigress dashed forward towards her husband right away, she stopped just a few feet away from him when she noticed a few things that were wrong.

For one, Po was covered in cuts and wounds as a result of the cave in on the other side of the wall. Two, he was also carrying a seemingly unconscious Nightshade over his shoulder who was in significantly better shape, but still had a few cuts and bruises of his own. But what really held Tigress's attention was the Panda's eyes, as they were glowing a bright golden color instead of the Panda's normal Jade Green, and that could only mean one thing.

As the other Master's gathered around Tigress, they stared in the direction of the Dragon Warrior, as the Panda spoke in a voice that was so incredibly old and ancient, yet also filled with incredible power. A voice that by now, they all knew to be none other than the Dragon Creature who embodied the Heroes Chi within Po. And a voice that they only ever heard if the situation was dire enough that something had indeed either happened to the Panda or the creature needed to communicate with the others directly. It was the voice of none other than Gladir, as the Dragon spoke through the Panda's mouth, "I'm afraid, we have a rather serious situation."

So the Mysterious partner has revealed his existence to Po and Nightshade and even revealed that they have been working with Drizen. But Po and Nightshade still have no idea who the Partner is, only that they have a serious problem with the Dragon Wrrior.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. We're slowly but surely getting to the part of the story everyone is waiting for.

Thanks for reading and remember...

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