The boat swayed in the water. She sighed as she cracked her neck. She had tried to sleep, but boats were no longer her thing. Not after what had happened in Gongmen. The masters of the Jade Palace had decided on renting a larger boat to return to the Valley of Peace. They had spent a week cleaning Gongmen with the remainder of the Master's Council. Croc and Ox had been grateful for the assistance, but time had required them to leave. They had left a valley undefended.

She stood to her feet, careful not to wake Viper. There had been enough rooms for them to split into pairs. Viper had convinced her to share a room with her instead of sleeping out on the deck. The snake had been worried about her behavior in the cells when they had been captured. She snuck out of the room and headed for the deck. She needed fresh air.

Instead of finding an open deck, she found an occupied one. The Dragon Warrior stood against the railing staring off into the sea. She could hear his breathing to be rhythmic. Hypnotising. After all that had happened she was glad to hear it. She walked up next to him and leaned against the railing, dangling her paws over the side. "I suppose you're not out here just to watch the waves, are you?"

He took a deep breath before he responded to her. "No, I suppose not."

She looked over at him briefly. "I won't force you to talk about it. But, I am here for you."

"It's not that big of a deal." He paused for a moment, "Actually, it is. But, I'm not that hurt by it. I'm just thinking." His voice had gotten lower as he ended his sentence. "I think I can tell you. It's not like Shifu doesn't already know." Po laughed a bit to himself, "He confronted me the night after Shen's defeat."

Tigress nodded, "Okay. I'm all ears."

"I found out what happened to my parents. You know the old goat?"

"The lady that was with Shen?"

"Yeah. She was a soothsayer, y'know? Predictions and stuff. Well, the old rulers of Gongmen City hired her to give a prediction of their son. To see where his path was going." His smile was weak and forced.

Tigress tilted her head, "WHat does that have to do with your family?"

"That son was Shen." Her blood ran cold. "He had been experimenting with fireworks. His path to create the weapon started there. But, the Soothsayer gave her prediction. That if he continued on his current path he would be defeated by a warrior of black and white. He would be defeated by me."

She placed a paw on his shoulder. She could see where this was going. "Po, you can stop."

"He set out to change his fate. He gathered his royal guard and descended upon the village. He killed them all. I survived thanks to my mother who hid me in a radish crate." Tears started to fall from his eyes, "She sacrificed herself to save me."

Tigress lowered her head, "I'm sorry. You must've hated Shen for what he did."

Po shook his head, "I should hate Shen. It would be so easy to do so. But, I can't. Blind hatred won't get me anywhere. What he did is done and any lust for his suffering won't bring them back." He looked her in the eye, "When I faced Shen on his boat I gave him another chance. I offered him peace and in his hate he choose to kill me instead. He died because of his anger. So . . . I choose to let go. To accept what has happened and not bring negative emotions to the surface. Sure, I wish I could've known a life with my parents, but nothing I do will change this. Hate will bring me nothing." He let out a breath and smiled, "So, why are you out here? Viper doesn't snore, does she?"

Tigress had to collect herself. Po had switched topics so smoothly it almost seemed like his pain was absent. She shook her head. Po had told her his pain, there was nothing more she could do at the moment. "No . . . I'm just homesick."

Po chuckled, "Trust me on this. You are not the only one."

Tigress's eyes slowly opened as she awoke from her slumber. She threw the blankets off her and stood to her feet. Her eyes scanned the room. Crane and Po were standing near the fireplace. She turned her ears into the conversation. The avian master shrugged his feathers, "Brute strength alone won't be enough. We need something different."

Po nodded, "Like speed? Will that work?"

"Shifu held his own for a bit, but he fell all too soon."

Po's shoulders tensed up, "Right. Forgot about that." He was silent for a moment, "Did- did you have to watch?"

Crane shook his head, "Not Shifu no. But I did see his Jadeification process. We have to be careful when fighting him."

"Then we'll have to use chi."

Crane sighed, "I don't know chi."

"Then you can't fight him. The plan needs some work, but maybe Shen can— " He turned around to face Tigress. "You're up."

Tigress nodded and walked closer, "Surprised I'm awake?"

Po shrugged, "Honestly? I thought your body would be too exhausted for you to wake until later." He turned to look at Crane, who nodded. His head turned back to Tigress, "There's something you need to know. Kai is on his way. He'll be here soon. Sooner than I thought."

Crane took a step back, "What do you mean?"

"His presence is still at least a day away, but there is another dark force that's close. Really close." He turned to Crane, "I don't have anytime to hang around. I need to go. Fill her in, will ya?"

Tigress watched him go, quickly exiting through the door. "He's avoiding me, isn't he?"

Crane nodded slowly, "I'm sorry, he's distracted."

Tigress sighed,"How dangerous is Kai?"

Crane was silent for a moment, "There is something you need to know. About Shifu."

Tigress raised an eyebrow, "I already know his chi was taken. What else is there?"

Crane shook his head, "His chi was never taken. Tigress . . . I'm sorry. Shifu didn't make it."

—-

Shen snarled and threw another wadded up piece of paper to the side. There was no way he had enough time or resources to make another cannon to use against Kai. There was hardly any metal out in these parts and it would take weeks to create another weapon. He had no doubt Kai would come to reclaim his chi. It was only matter of time. Shen stood to his feet and started to pace angrily. Was there no way to achieve victory? Were they doomed from the start?

He was never one to give up, despite how futile is was. He had thought about running, but Kai could track his chi. He could track any chi. He wished he had been able to see while he was stuck in that pendant, but no memories swam to the surface. He was as blind as the rest of them in this instance. "Dammit all!" There was a crunch in the snow and he stiffened. "What do you want now, panda? I told you all I required was a pen and some paper. I have no use for anything else. Unless, you have some useful information from your avian friend?"

"Plotting something, Shen?"

Shen whipped his body around. "No . . . this is too soon." The Jade creature marched towards him, "No! Stay back!"

Kai's voice boomed through the jade manifestation, "Return to the fold, you winged fool. There is no escape from me." The old tiger reached to grab his neck, but Shen dashed to the side. "Shen, you do realize I could unleash this manifestation. It had great hatred for you, it might even kill you."

Shen skidded across the ground. "I would rather die than be apart of you again."

"Very well, but know this— I will be watching closely." The jade creature pounced forward, striking down at Shen.

The peacock twisted out of the way, only to be kicked in the back. Shen slammed fast face into the ground. He snarled and jumped to his talons. "Where is the damn panda when you need him?!" He took a few steps back as the jaded tiger slowly approached him. Kai unleashed it, huh? Let its emotions run wild. Maybe he could manipulate the creature. It was a good thing he recognized it. "You are Fuqin. Old student of the Gongmen Kung Fu Academy. You and your master were part of Gongmen's defence when I was a young prince. You were there when I first started my crusade. You failed to stop me." His words only seemed to anger the tiger. The master pounced forward and slammed it's fist into the ground. Shen rolled off the ground and jumped backwards.

It grabbed him by the neck. Shen hadn't been expecting it to be that fast. It lifted him into the air and Kai's voice once again boomed from it. "Surrender Shen, you are beaten."

Shen's eyes darted to the side and he smirked, "You are the fool." A heavy attack hit the tiger and Shen dropped onto the ground. The jade tiger slid back a couple of feet and it's eyes landed on the panda. "I will never surrender." Shen's eyes turned to Po, "Took you long enough."

"Didn't know I was expected." Po narrowed his eyes at the tiger. "What is this? Is that Master Fuqin?"

Shen rubbed his neck, "It is one of Kai's Jade creatures. I would be cautious if I were you."

Po pulled back his fist and rushed forward. He slammed his paw into the tiger's face. There was a mighty shockwave and dust kicked up into the air. Po pulled his paw aback and held his wrist. "OW! What is this thing made of?!" The tiger's fist shot out and slammed into his face. Po flew back and landed on his back next to Shen.

The peacock rolled his eyes, "Jade."

"Oh." Po pulled himself into a sitting position. "I mean, I'm the Dragon Warrior and I'm not made from dragon." He stood to her feet and rubbed his face. "Okay, maybe this is what Crane meant by not using brute strength. I can't hit it without damaging myself. Got a plan?"

Shen narrowed his eyes, "My plan was to have you beat it. I've never seen one of these things defeated. However, if I had a cannon— which I don't— it would be easy."

Po lowered into an offensive stance, "We freed you with Chi. Maybe I can defeat it the same way." He had never used chi as a weapon before. He took a deep breath, gathering all the latent energy in his body. Time to give it a shot. He clenched his fists and a dim gold glow emitted from them. "Okay, let's do this."

He shot his body forward and goated his right paw in chi. Once the attack connected a flash of light went through the jade creature. Immediately it slammed it's fist into his stomach. Po retaliated with a punch from his other paw. As a reaction he forgot to coat his paw in chi. There was a crunch and he reeled backwards. The tiger grabbed him by the side of the face and dug his jade claws into his head. Po growled and lit both his fists with chi. He quickly did a double palm strike on the jade creature, throwing it back. Po backed up and placed a glowing paw on the side of his face. In seconds the wound was gone.

Po's breathing was erratic and sweat dripped down his face. "Shen, running on fumes right now. Those attacks are taking a lot out of me."

The peacock watched as the jade creature got back to its feet. "Then what do you suggest, panda?! I don't have a plan!"

"I do. But, I need you to distract it for a about ten seconds. I need to gather my chi."

Shen wanted to snort at the notion of fighting the creature again. He wanted to watch Po get crushed in battle, but he knew that the panda was his only shot at survival at the moment. "Then do it quickly!" Shen ran forward and opened his tail feathers, waving them back and forth. The creature turned its attention to him and pounced. Shen pulled his tail feathers back into a tight formation and dove out of the way. He scraped his talons across the ground to kick dust into the air. The tiger dove through the dust and Shen jumped over him and backed up. "I'm growing tired of these games."

The tiger stopped and Kai's voice came forth, "Who do you think you are to be issuing commands? A prince?"

Shen smirked, "I am the rightful ruler of Gongmen City! I am Lord Shen!"

"Well, My Lord. It's over."

Shen smoothed out his robes, "You simply don't understand, Kai. It is my destiny."

"Your destiny is about to be cut short!"

The tiger moved to run at Shen, but Po grabbed onto the side of his face, golden light exploding from his paws. He quickly slapped his other paw onto the other side of the jade tiger's head and pulled the head back, away from Shen. He tuned out Kai's painful screaming and he narrowed his eyes. "You couldn't have goaded any less? He was going to kill you!"

"A distraction is a distraction, panda. No matter how egotistical."

The chi wrapped around the tiger's body, "Oh! So, you admit that you are literally half ego?" Kai's screams changed into a new voice. "I can hear him!" He turned back into a pendant and Po wrapped his paws around it as it pulled away. "How is it trying to run away? How can it do that?!"

Shen stomped his talons onto the ground, "Kai's trying to pull it back! Don't let go!"

Po dug his feet into the ground, "Trying to!" His grip loosened and the pendent pushed against his fingers. It flashed gold and a small smile came to Po's lips. "Almost got it." He clenched his jaw as he pushed out more chi into the pendent. It stopped moving and he pulled it back. He stumbled back and let it rest in his palm. The flow of chi stopped and the gem lifted into the air. "Looks," He paused to take a couple breaths, "like we got another ally." The pendent flashed gold, turned into chi, and then vanished. Po's shoulders dropped as smoke was the only thing left of the pendent. ". . . or not." He fell forward onto his knees.

Shen narrowed his eyes and focused his gaze on where the pendent had vanished. "Interesting." There was a couple of thuds and he turned to the tiger and avian. "Little late, wouldn't you say?"

Tigress looked from Shen over to Po. She scrunched up her nose and turned back to the peacock. Anger burned in her eyes, "Shen!" Before she could jet forward and wing snapped into her path.

Crane shook his head at her, "What do you mean? Tigress heard sounds of fighting, but it's only you two."

"Master Fuqin was here. All jade and stuff." Po let himself fall onto his back. "I don't think I have anything left. I'm beat."

Crane took a deep breath, "Where's the pendent?"

"It turned to smoke." They all turned their heads to Po. "Just poof. And I put so much into it. It wasn't fair."

Shen walked away from the group. "Chi . . . how many other warriors are there that can use it?"

Po tilted his head to look at Shen, "None. None of them are warriors. Just old guys."

Shen nodded slowly, "We must find a way to use them to our advantage. One of you should seek out these Chi users and convince them to give their aid in the fight. If we can free enough of Kai's pendants then we will also eliminate his power source and gain allies of our own. We'll weaken him enough to fight hand to hand. Your lot's specialty." He spread out his wings, able to see his scheme. "Yes, yes . . . The tiger and the panda will distract Kai while the avains lure the slaved warriors over to the chi users. I can see it now."

Po tried to push himself up, but fell back down. "I think I'll just rest a bit. Tigress, you can convince Keun to help us. He has a lot of chi. Crane, go to my dads. Tell them about the plan and get my panda dad to teach you chi. I will talk to the elders." He waited a moment, "Shen , perhaps you should do some warm ups. You have been dead for awhile."

Shen crossed his wings into his sleeves, "You sound so casual about it."

Po nodded for his friends to go. Crane immedily nodded and took off, but Tigress stayed. "Po, I can't just leave you. You can barely stand and Shen— "

"I can hear you, dimwit."

She didn't pay Shen any mind, "Po, let me help you."

He waved her away, "No, we have to work as a team. You, me, Crane, Shen. It doesn't matter what he did in the past. Right now, only Kai matters." He pushed himself into a sitting position, "I'll be fine, Tigress. Go." He could see the sadness and fear in her eyes. He waited until she left before collapsing back onto the ground. "Ow."

Shen slowly walked up, "She was right about one things, you know."

"Don't say it."

"I could kill you right now. It would be so easy."

Po groaned, "And there it is. C'mon Shen, you and I both know that you won't do it now. You need me for the fight against Kai. Besides, kill me and you don't get that pardon."

Shen shrugged, "I am aware of the fact, Panda. I may hate you with every living fiber of my being, but even I am aware of your prowess as a warrior. You'll get ends met. Not to mention you're tearing up your own group by vouching for me."

Po closed his eyes, "Whatever. I'll get your sword later." He was still for a minute before snapping his eyes open, "We have a night to prepare. Kai will be here early tomorrow."

Shen narrowed his eyes, "We'll be ready."