Phew! Now I can work on my Secret Santa for the DisneyDreamers site on DeviantArt!

Anyhoo, I hope the next chapter won't take that long to finish. It has a lot of fighting in it. Which is hard to do. And it's like, the pinnacle of the story. AAAAHHHH...

Izotakeshi, Hei Long, Ju-long (c) me!

All other characters (c) Dreamworks Animation

Chapter 21: Dazhong's White Dragon

"Run!" Shifu barked to his students, though they needed no incentive.

All seven of them raced down the slope in a mad dash for shelter from the avalanche. Po swiped his master up, as his condition still slowed him down.

"H-Hey!"

"Run first, gripe later!" Po yelled over the roar of the snow, dashing off with the others as fast as he could.

Even the brutal Ju-long mutiny was interrupted when they took note of the catastrophe plummeting right for them. Izo quickly whipped his head up to eye the approaching flow, leaving him distracted enough for Hei to roughly yank his cape over the panda's face and slam him forward into the snow while taking off with the rest of the gang. Izo could barely get it back off before he was bombarded with a wall of snow and ice.

"Over there, quick, go, go, go!" Po and Tigress led the scramble for a distant, rocky overhang, the snowy flood straight on their heels. They leapt over the precipice of the boulder, a shield from the snow.

"Up against the rock-!" Shifu yelled and they all followed suit just as the white torrent flooded over. The blast of air from the oncoming rush of snow hit the seven warriors' chests as it careened like water over the cliff edge above them, ripping the fir tree before them clean off its trunk. They all gave startled cries and braced as the air blast threw them even harder against the rocks. Po covered his head with his arms to bar out the deafening roar.

Then seeing several small forms in the distance, Po squinted past the icy blast in his face - at least long enough to see the avalanche catch up with Hei and Ju-long with a terrible, forceful vengeance. In the blink of an eye, the marauders were swept off their feet and buried alive.

The panda held his breath, suddenly remembering his father may or may not have been with them. By now, the initial rush of snow over the cliff had ceased, but the avalanche was still raging on either side of their shelter. Po's eyes darted back and forth across the stream of snow, trying to locate his father. And before he knew it, out Izo came - a black and white mass snarling, battling against the flow of the monster and losing, being whisked down the slope.

Wide-eyed, Po gave a rapid inhale and looked around for a solution. His eyes fell on the Sword of Heroes strapped over his master's shoulders.

And he wasn't about to let those simple winters of sledding and snowball fights as a cub in the village be worth nothing!

"Sorry, Master!" he reached over and prompted slipped the sheath off of Shifu's shoulders, throwing it onto his own back and drawing the sword.

With a cry of effort, the Dragon Warrior lifted the weapon above his head and brought it down sharply on what was left of the severed tree. The strength of the blade sliced off a healthy layer of the stump that took little force on Po's part to pry off. And, faster than anyone could react, the panda sheathed the sword into his belt – a little too hastily, maybe, as he felt the blade deal him the slightest scrape. Without time to spare, he could only wince from the pain as he raced forward with his makeshift sled.

All this time, he had either ignored or not heard Shifu's inquiries of "Po, what do you think you're doing? Po, what—? Panda, come back this instant! What are you—?"

The shock of the six masters reached its pinnacle when they saw the Dragon Warrior leap atop his sled and dive into the avalanche.

Crouched on his belly, Po squinted through the sharp, icy wind on his face and steered for his father. "Dad!"

Izo's ear twitched, and he managed to stay afloat enough to twist around and see his son. He reached out his arm as Po careened for him, and in the fleeting moment, the two pandas managed to grab each other's paw and hold on for dear life. Po reached out his other paw, grabbing the scruff of Izo's neck and hauling him up onto the sled. He himself would've toppled off had his father not caught him.

"Cub, watch out-!" Izo barked, jerking the sled just out of the path of a fast-approaching tree. "We gotta ride this thing out!"

"O-Okay!" Po caught his breath. They situated themselves, sitting so that they could keep each other secured on the sled. And with that, the two pandas slid headlong down the rushing slope. "Left!" Izo yelled each time a boulder or tree was rushing right towards them. Then "right!" every time afterwards so they could stay in the center of the flow. They knew that so much as a wrong turn could lead the sled to capsize and condemn them to drown in the snow. Po did his best to keep his eyes open on the lookout for obstacles, squinting again and trying to blink away the sting of the wind and ice that had rendered his face numb.

Another form rushed at them, and Po had just enough visual to help his father jerk the sled out of the way. He glanced back long enough to confirm it was another tree.

"Po! PO!"

Po jerked his head forward just in time to see the boulder they were careening uncontrollably for. He yelped and jerked the sled as hard to the side as he could, though it was futile. The wooden slab crashed broadside into the rock at a terrifying velocity, flinging off its two passengers into the entombment of the avalanche's cessation.

Izo couldn't exactly tell what was happening, except that he was tumbling head over heels down towards what very well could be his death. Just because the avalanche was slowing didn't mean it was any safer. One more rock in his path or one second in which the last of the rushing snow would flood over him and suffocate him would be all it took.

His twenty years of experience in the mountains kicking it, the panda forced himself into an upright position and rode atop the white river as best he could, covering his nose and mouth with his paws to create a pocket of air. As Dazhong's famed White Dragon settled, he was flung forward off of a rocky ridge and bounced to a stop on his stomach.

After a few minutes of immobility, he stirred and groaned. Between the battle against his mutinous men and the scramble through the snow, he had somewhere lost his hat, and his robe was in tatters - one sleeve had even been ripped clean off his arm, and the shredded cloth on his back revealed his otherwise hidden scars. He gritted his teeth, slowly wobbling to his feet.

Now that the snow had ceased, there was nothing but an eerie silence suspended around him. He caught his breath looking out across the slopes. "Cub!" he called out, brow furrowed. "Hey, cub!"

Suddenly he was somehow alone, only the groaning whistle of the wind present. Izo groaned and gripped his arms, muscles sore from the struggle and body not working too well to keep him warm. Looking out across the slopes, it seemed he was the only living being for miles around.

"Cub...!" His voice grew a slightly panicked edge. "Po!"

He's just fine, he's the Dragon Warrior... He's a stupid Dragon Warrior. Why do you care?

Muffled, frenzied cries quite suddenly grabbed his attention. It took a moment for Izo to zero in on the slope of snow concealing the cries, yet he almost tripped over his own feet as he dashed right for the spot the moment he located it. Using his massive paws, he began digging fiercely through the snow. It had come up to nearly his shoulder by the time a black panda paw quickly emerged from the drift, flailing about for some ground. Izo grabbed his son's paw. "I gotcha!" he called, furiously digging at the snow with his other paw. "Hang on, cub, I gotcha!"

He continued to dig fiercely, only pausing when an air pocket in the snow was opened and he heard a gasp for air. "Okay, okay, hold on!" Izo dug faster, allowing the cub to bring his head up out of the drift.

In a moment of shock, Po panted and fought to catch his breath. This didn't last long, however, as he abruptly remembered...

"…Oh, man, the Sword!" he looked around frantically, jade eyes darting back and forth across the bleached landscape, desperately trying to scope out a hint of color amidst the snow banks. His ears finally drooped and the color drained from his face. "…Shifu is gonna kill me…"

Izo slightly furrowed his brow. "Well…let's just get you out of this trouble first." He stepped forward and gripped a hold of Po's arms to try and pull him out.

Crrrreck.

The two pandas froze, glancing at each other. Without warning, the ground suddenly dropped out from underneath Po and the snow shattered into monstrous blocks of ice, dropped and swallowed up in a bottomless pit.

Izo had never recalled moving so fast in his life than at that moment, when his primal paternal instinct kicked in. "No, no, no, no, NO!" he lashed out an arm as fast as he could, catching his son by the paw just in time. Po yelped, desperately but vainly trying to get some kind of footing against the slick walls. He didn't dare look down.

He knew about these things… Caverns of ice that looked more like the cerulean maw of some mythical monster waiting for an unfortunate prey to drop into its infinite gullet. And once you fell in, there was no coming out.

Izo growled, bracing his legs with all his might and fighting to keep he and Po's frozen fingers entwined. He was already exhausted beyond his limit, and had several bruises and gashes that needed treatment from the chill. A servant of Ju-long was always trained to take control of their pain and use it as fodder for strength and ferocity. Yet it seemed now that after everything that had happened, this was easier said than done, even with decades of training. He pulled and growled and strained, abruptly losing his footing the moment Po could grasp the edge.

Izo bounced into the cavern, instinctively grabbing onto Po's silver belt before he could plummet into the depths. The belt instantly ripped from his weight, dooming him to the cavern until Po lashed out his other paw and grabbed the other end. With nothing but a piece of fabric between the weight of the two pandas, Po panicked.

"Gah-AAH!"he yelped, almost falling before Izo braced his legs against the wall via small holes in the ice. Using the belt like a climbing rope, he dashed along the wall before launching himself into the air and sticking his landing in a kung fu crouch.

"Hey...!" Po yelped, struggling to keep his chin over the ledge. Izo managed to scramble over and grab his arms just before he slipped.

"Use the foot holds!" Izo barked, to which Po quickly scrambled to gain his hold. It allowed his father to brace and hoist him up for solid ground. As Izo reached out and pulled the young panda up the rest of the way, Po felt like the answer to all his prayers had finally come full-circle. The moment his feet found the ledge, he lurched forward and embraced his father tightly.

Izo was stunned stiff, literally too shocked to respond. For twenty years, he had been separated from this kind of contact, such a caring gesture. And to receive it again – from his long-lost son, no less – brought a twinge of relief to his iron-shell heart.

Yet before he could so much as react to his cub's gesture, the old panda's trained eyes targeted a speck of orange crouched over the low hill in the distance. And – before he could even register what it was – it was shooting towards them like an arrow.

"Po, get DOWN!" Izo's paw shot up to his son's head and swiftly shoved him down out of harm's way before lurching at the advancing form. Po gave a startled yelp as his chin hit the snow and he heard the fierce roaring scream of a hunting feline above him. The momentum of this collision almost made Po feel like he had been in it himself. A torrent of orange and black and white crashed into the snow in front of him, and it didn't take a genius to realize that Hei and Izo were quite literally at each other's throats.

TBC...