Okay, guys, sorry for the extremely late update but this is the final chapter, the finale for 'Temperance'. I've had a great Christmas over here in my place and I hope you do as well. As for everything, thank you all for supporting me till the very end, which will be this. This is the end and I would like all of you to know that I appreciate every review that I had actually received. I didn't expect to have this many reviews at one time as this is my very first long story that I have ever written.

Enough, on with the finale.

Chapter 25

Two months had past ever since Tigress had departed from the Jade Palace. It seemed so quiet around here. The palace workers never talks to either of us, be it Master Shifu or us, warriors. They acted as if like we're invisible. Meanwhile, Mr. Ping has been coming up here a lot more often lately ever since Po's death two months ago. There, I've said it. Took me long enough. Master Shifu and Mr. Ping always got together to either have a good ol' chat, few games of mahjong or a drink of tea to pass the time. It's been like this ever since the five left. Training is, as per usual, good for me but even better. I have the whole training hall all to myself, like old times.

Leo was assigned to be the palace cook and he was thrilled by that position. Cooking was really where he excelled the most, other than learning all kinds of kung fu style. He tried to teach me the lion style but I wasn't fit for it. Improvise a few things and I'll be able to get it done without even breaking a sweat!

I saw the most beautiful, elegant snow leopard in town last week and I tried to get her attention but Mr. Big Bro had to stop me from going over to her.

"Don't you go cheating on Tigress," He said and I just rolled my eyes. Tigress ain't the only hot tiger around! There's plenty of fish and each one, has a different taste in which I want to try though. Yet, Leo just had to keep an eye out for me. Doesn't he ever try to get a new girl? Ssu Ling may be his only girl but he's been dateless or rather, mateless since two years.

Though I swore to the gods high up in the skies above all else that he had drooled over a hot lioness that time. That was a sign to move on. I better be the cupid to get big bro a girl before he expires. Don't really care if others think of me the other way around but big bro seriously needs one.

Well, Chinese New Year is approaching fast. In two weeks time, the whole village will be tinged with the prosperous colour that even the gods of the heavens above will be able to see its glory. Decorations are done and the planned festivities had already been arranged. Guess what? I'm the lion… (again) Leo should be the lion! Geezz… How can a snow leopard do a lion dance?

Okay, maybe I'm capable of jumping here and there and balance with one foot on the tip of a pole but still… This is a lion dance, not a snow leopard dance… Now, I'm just wondering which style should I adapt this time. Fat Shan, Hok Shan, or maybe both…

"Pung!" Shifu slammed a mahjong piece tile on the table.

"Kai! Mahjong!" Mr. Ping opened up his mahjong tiles as he revealed his winning pieces.

Leo groaned loudly and banged his head on the mahjong table. He had lost ten rounds in a row to Shifu and Mr. Ping and not once did he win, ever since the game started. He wasn't very good at that game and both Shifu and Mr. Ping literally dragged him to join in because they were short of one more person to complete the set. It was superstitious to Master Shifu that a game of Mahjong should never be played with two individuals. It is said that the game will set of evil spirit if unfinished as well. Well, that was Shifu's thought and Leo was mauled towards that predicament.

"Come on, Leo," Mr. Ping pats his shoulder. "Try harder. Remember, luck only plays a small part but strategy is the biggest factor."

"I give up." Leo answered the happy goose as he flipped over his tiles.

Shifu chuckled at his misery and continued to shuffle the tiles on the table. "Why don't you see who is more fond of throwing out the obvious?"

"Because…I don't know who is more obvious. Either it's you," he points at the red panda. "Or you…" to the goose next.

"You have two minds, no?" Shifu said.

"Odin?!" the lion smirked. "He doesn't know this game at all. None of these makes sense to him at all."

Hey! The Emperor Arcana exclaimed in his mind. I do know…a little…I think…

Leo rolled his eyes and continued to shuffle the tiles.

"Shifu!" Zeng suddenly burst into the room. "Tai Lung has returned!"

The old master nodded in agreement and told the snow leopard to come in but Zeng was reluctant to answer him .He paused and stammered out like he used to in the beginning whenever he had bad news for the masters. Old habits are hard to die, for the messenger that is. Zeng was always the nervous kind but a good messenger as well. He had never lied about anything about his messages, no matter how bad they were.

Shifu sensed Zeng's uneasiness and thought that he should handle that matter into his own paws. He stopped the game and asked the nervous goose who was about to fall apart even with the slightest surprise. "Where is he?"

"Ah-" He began as he stammered and prolonged the sentence.

"Hmm?"

"He-Ah…" Zeng backed a little as he tried to cower in fear.

"The children beat him up, didn't they?"

Zeng frantically nodded and ran out.

Leo and Mr. Ping were confused with the red panda as his words were quite ambiguous to them.

"What do you mean?" Leo cocked his head in curiosity as he tried to interpret the old master's saying. How can Tai Lung be beaten up by little children? He has battled so many armies in his life and yet, he can't even handle small kids?

"Wait for it…" Shifu puts up his right paw.

"SHIFU!! LEO!!!" Somebody screamed out loud with tirade through the Jade Palace structures. "GET THESE BRATS AWAY FROM ME!!"

Leo knocked over the mahjong table, flipping over the tiles as they scattered everywhere in different directions, and ran outside to the courtyard to see Tai Lung wrestling over with a few children.

The lion stood his ground as he watched in surprise at the antics of both the snow leopard and little children. The little brats were clawing and biting at his legs and paws as they tried to slash at him. Tai Lung was doing his best to not hurt them and tried to get out of that mess; he was, however, unsuccessful.

"Don't just stand there! Help-" Tai Lung's eyes widen and winched in pain. He looked down and saw that one of the little gits had sunk its teeth on to his sensitive area. An excruciating pain surged through his body as it received a wordless shock that the snow leopard had never experienced before, even during battle.

"Help me…" His voice turned in a high tone, almost feminine.

"Okay guys, break it up," The lion pried open the little kids from Tai Lung. He held them up in the air but their paws flailed; biting and clawing at nothing as they tried to hurt the poor snow leopard that's now quite humiliated. Shifu helped to calm the children down as he held the energetic children on the ground.

Once the kids were away from Tai Lung, the snow leopard's fur looked like he was ran and dragged over by a rogue cart. His fur was disheveled and a few minor bruises were seen over his body. Upon closer inspection, Leo found that he had a black eye on his right. It was amazing how those small kids could pack a punch on a warrior that had mastered all thousand scrolls in a short time.

"What the heck happened?" The lion helped Tai Lung up on his feet while carrying his other arm around his shoulder.

"The-the kids just-just came out of nowhere and-and…" he coughed a little. "I thought I was ready…"

"Ready for?"

"This…"

"You've done this before?"

"Can I get myself cleaned up first before I answer your questions?" Tai Lung pouted at him. "I'm a little disoriented right now."

It was Chinese New Year eve and everything had settled down. Apparently, the kids had attacked Tai Lung was because the little gits were trying to see who could defeat the mighty lion that was performing the dance. He had climbed up all the way to the Jade Palace with the kids clawing and gnawing at him like rabid dogs. He was totally out of breath by that time.

The Jade Palace was tinged with red as lanterns, carpets, curtains, and everything were coloured with the prosperous colour. Well, most of it… Tai Lung thought. Shifu is a red panda, so technically, he's already a prosperous colour.

The village below was just the same as the Jade Palace in environment but a little grander than what it seems to be. Although the death of the Dragon Warrior had left a mark on everyone's heart, they knew all too well that they had to move on without looking back at the past. The sacrifice of the Dragon Warrior will not go unknown to the villagers.

Chinese New Year was never a day of mourning, regardless of how terrible things are; unless of course, the villagers had opted to not do the festival. Everything was in order and the villagers were happily preparing for the night to come. The wait for the god of wealth during the night was the most important agenda on the list to do and everyone wanted to receive its presence into their homes with a grand entrance. Simple it may be for the humble villagers but grand it was for the gods.

Shifu, however, hadn't prepared for anything except the decorations. The wind blew through the air in the evening; wind chime clanged a beautiful sound of melody as each metal of the instrument knocked upon each other harmoniously. It was a calm evening in the Jade Palace as Shifu and Mr. Ping played a peaceful game of Chinese checkers. They didn't have any plans for tonight and this had made Tai Lung a little concern about it. He wasn't the usual worry wart but this time of year, it was different.

As far as he had remembered, Master Shifu was always the first to greet the New Year's Eve.

"Red! Red!" The snow leopard recalled back his old memories when Shifu insisted that everything should be turned into red.

"Do you want me to be dyed in red as well?!" Tai Lung roared to his master.

"If it's possible – which I think it is – you should." Shifu answered him back.

Tai Lung rolled his eyes as he chuckled at his master's old antics.

Those were the days…He trailed off.

But now, Shifu didn't even make a move; nor did he done any preparations at all.

"First, you nearly got me killed by those brats during the lion dance. Now, you don't ever want to welcome the god of wealth into the palace. What do you want, dad…" Tai Lung muttered to himself for no particular reason.

The snow leopard eyed his master through the door as Master Shifu carefully moved his game piece forward.

"Boo!"

Tai Lung literally jumped high up to the ceiling and fell on the ground with a sickening thud. He felt the worst pain ever on this rump and he wished that he had never done that at all.

"You okay?" Leo grabbed his paw and he stood back up.

"I think I lost a few years in my life," he carefully touched his body to feel if anything was out of place. "Not to mention a few furs and spots." He shuddered.

Leo chuckled lightly at his brother. He's definitely having fun teasing him. Although things had been a little bland in the palace but Leo had made it a little less…boring…

Leo suddenly handed the snow leopard a letter within his reach. It took a while for him to register but he gingerly opened the letter. He reads it fast and a huge smile was craved on his face.

"You sure?" Tai Lung asked.

"Very much indeed," The mighty lion answered back.

"I'm so there."

"And I'm gonna prepare the food."

Night had soon arrived and every villager got ready as they placed their offerings outside, in preparation to greet the god of wealth. The houses were lit brightly with lanterns and a few fireworks exploded in the sky. It was a sight to behold. With the sun down behind the hills, the skies were filled with a colourful orange beam from the ray as it descended upon the valley.

"Aren't you going home to prepare for Chinese New Year in a few hours?" Shifu asked. Mr. Ping as the two old folks sat outside the veranda, sipping Oolong tea to pass the time.

Mr. Ping puts his cup of fragrant tea down and gazed at the moon.

"It's…lonely…"

"I'm sorry…" Shifu apologized for his lack of concern for the old goose's feelings.

"No, no…" He shook his head in denial. "I-I know that one day, I will be alone again. I'm already prepared for this, Master Shifu. Yes… I am…"

Shifu sighed with disdain. This was possibly the worst Chinese New Year eve ever. First, the Dragon Warrior died. Now, the five had left the Jade Palace. He had doted the five with love but, he didn't take into concern their feelings as well. With each passing day, he learned something new; his mistake on Tai Lung, and now, the mistakes that he had done on the five.

"How ironic…" Shifu tittered to himself. "I plan to not make any mistakes on the five but now, look at what happened."

"Shifu," Mr. Ping puts his wings on his paw. "The future is nothing like what we had predicted. Always remember Oogway's saying: Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery but today, is a gift, that's why it's called the present."

"Yes," Shifu nodded in agreement. "Tomorrow is always a mystery. We… don't know the outcome of it all…"

Mr. Ping looked over the crimson sky and saw a sign beyond the seas of stars. A brightly star struck star gleamed with pride, overshadowing the others. Compared to all, that was the sign that the god of wealth is coming over upon the land where mortals reside in. The star shone brightly as possible and without further ado, the rest of the stars followed suit to match with the leader. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and with that great respect, the perfect day for Chinese New Year.

"It is time."

"The god of wealth has arrived." Shifu said as he gazed up to the sky.

"I'm just going to pray that my noodle shop will be able go on ahead in near future and may Po be blessed with good health in the after life." Mr. Ping closed in his wings together as they clamp close and shuts his eyes slowly but both of them were interrupted when Leo burst out to the veranda.

"Master Shifu! Mr. Ping! Come on!" Leo ushered them. "Everything is ready. What on earth are you doing here?"

"Wha-" Shifu was perplexed by the lion's sudden outburst.

"Come on." Leo dragged the two from their respective chairs and brought them to the courtyard.

"I didn't say I wanted a -" Shifu hung his sentence in mid-air.

His long cute ears shot up like a bamboo shoot when he saw what was in front of him. He wanted to run and hug them but contained his excitement, much to his displeasure. No words can explain what he was feeling right now; absolutely nothing can bring out his feelings.

Tai Lung turned around, "Dad! Come on! The gods isn't going to wait for you." He looked at the crowd around him. "Nor does it wait for everyone..."

"That's right, master," a female tiger warrior bowed.

"Good to see you, master," an avian lifted his straw hat and gestured to the old red panda.

"Give me some love, master!" a snake sang out as she coiled around herself.

"How you doing?" a primate bowed as well.

"You look healthy as always, Master Shifu," a small bug cricked on the primate's shoulder.

Shifu's eyes brimmed with tears of joy when he saw the familiar faces of his students. The Furious Five had come back from their training and are staying to celebrate Chinese New Year, together, as a family.

"Everyone…" he trailed off with elation.

Tai Lung cut in as he explained. "Isn't Chinese New Year about family? So, this year isn't going to be different. As long as everyone comes back to greet the god of wealth, all of us will be prosperous and happy. Come on, let's pray and greet him."

Shifu nodded his head and stood in the middle between everyone else. He was after all, the oldest and wisest among them and he should be speaking fro all of them. Master Shifu did not acquiesced at all and he was more than happy to do the honours. Both of his paws were open wide and they connected with each other, palm to palm. He bowed three times in front of the altar that was prepared in front of everyone present there and spoke with great pride over the great atmosphere.

"Gods of the skies, thank you for everything. Bless us, the family here, with your abundance of joy and happiness and bring us wealth throughout the coming year. We are grateful to have each other and thank you for the blessed year that all of us had. Make this year a good one and be it a prosperous bounty as well."

Shifu finished off and everyone kowtowed three times in front of the altar that had already been prepared outside in the courtyard. They hugged at each other and said the very phrase that everyone is saying right now, as well as down the village below.

"Gong Xi Fa Cai! Xin Lian Kaui Le!"

Tai Lung hugged and kissed Tigress with love. "Happy Chinese New Year, baby."

"And may you be blessed with wealth as well." She replied back.

Tai Lung chuckled back and turned to Shifu, "Dad, it has already started to be a great year."

"Why is that?" Shifu asked with curiosity to what the snow leopard was trying to say.

The snow leopard smiled with exuberance and kissed Tigress back. He held up a paw towards his mate's belly and caressed it a little, something which both of them has been doing for the past few days. Shifu's eyes widen with joy and he tried to scream his lungs out but he quelled that wondrous feeling of knowing the fact that he was going to be a Yeh-Yeh!

"You got that right, dad!" Tai Lung exclaimed between the cheers of their brothers in arms. "It's been two months."

Both the snow leopard and tigress grinned from ear to ear as they delivered that message.

What joy it has brought to him, Shifu couldn't say anything more. Indeed, the valley was once again at peace for the next few years and it was all thanks to one giant panda. Though big and clumsy he may be but he has delivered great joy to everyone here in the valley.

My job here is done…Byakko appeared suddenly in front of everyone.

It was no longer a surprise to them as they saw the persona out from Tai Lung's heart.

"Tai Lung, it is my time," Byakko began. "The Temperance Arcana is fulfilled and look at what joy it has brought to you! Thank you all. I had a great experience and will cherish this life forever."

Byakko started to fade away along with the cheers of everybody present there but, before it was gone, it had uttered one last sentence that Tai Lung will remember forever in his heart, even though it was the most common word there is in the book.

"Happy Chinese New Year!" and the white tiger was gone.

"Happy Chinese New Year to you too…" Tai Lung spoke softly "Thank you...thank you for everything. I am the Temperance Arcana."

Music started to play in the village below as the festivities began to roll out. The night was marvelous as they celebrated the day of the New Year. The day of a new beginning. The day for a new adventure. The day for an ex-convict to feel new again as he left his past away and look into his brightly lit future that he had gratefully forged in years to come. Together with a family and a whole lot more.

Temperance Arcana.

-Fin-

Thanks you so much for getting me through here! I would like to thank corset-rebellion-follower and Lucius Ferus for give me reviews from the start of Chapter one till this very chapter. Yes, you guys rock! Not forgetting the rest of you as well. All of you have given me lots of experience while working with this very fic and I will treasure them always. All constructive criticism has been taken into account and never let loose

And the biggest Thank you goes out to Luna Goldsun! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much for your support and being my beta. I had loads of fun trying to find out my mistakes and I have once taken any hard feelings on the changes that you have done. It meant a lot to me!

Awerewolf from the start as well for giving me all the support from the middle till now. I know that you've been away for quite some time but I will forever remember your words telling me that I should give more credit to the story itself than just beating myself up for not coming up to others expectations. Thank you!

I will not write a sequel to this story as I have nothing in mind for it. So, I'm so sorry if this disappoints but no, I won't have a sequel. Once again, the Temperance Arcana wishes you all the greatest of joy for the coming year ahead and Happy New Year. The Star Arcana as well. See you guys soon!

Happy Chinese New Year to you guys too! It's on the 26th of January 2009!