Alright, so this next chapter ended up being about 9000 words so to make it easier for my readers to read, I am releasing it as 2 separate Chapters. So when you get to the end of this Chpater, there is still more to come. Enjoy the Read!

Chapter 25

Captured Light Part 1

The Warriors of the Jade Palace wasted no time in rushing to meet the mercenaries in battle with Shifu ordering to his students as they fought, "Viper, Mantis, Monkey, you three are to deal with the Fang. Crane, you are with me. Tigress, Po, Nightshade, you three are to pursue Drizen and get back those keys! We must get them back before the Eclipse can begin!" All Shifu heard in response to his orders was a collective, "Yes Master Shifu!" before the Grandmaster himself was busy fending off 4 Crocs at once with Crane a few yards away.

Monkey, Viper and Mantis began to clear a path over to the right side of the Volcano, pushing back as many wolves as they could so that their friends could reach their target. When the way was cleared enough, Viper turned back at the others and shouted, "Go!" Po nodded and together, he, Tigress and Nightshade began running for the walkway around the Volcano's edge, in an attempt to reach Drizen.

It wasn't long though before their path soon became blocked once more, by none other than Feng, and Nightshade's twin siblings. "Out of our way!" Po demanded forcefully, surprising Tigress slightly with his seriousness, but nonetheless she kept her fierce expression, as she readied herself for a battle. Po watched as the male twin, Min, brandished his 2 Chackrahms that had been holstered onto his back and started spinning the one in his left paw around a couple of rotations, while the female twin, Yin, withdrew her twin Daggers and readied herself for combat.

Feng then sneered at the Panda as he prepared himself, "Not a chance Panda! You want to get to Drizen…you'll have to get through us first!" Po slowly reached for Tigress's paw as he growled at the Dark gray wolf, "If that's what it takes…I don't have time to mess around anymore." As soon as Po grabbed Tigress's paw, she knew exactly what he was planning to do. He wanted to dispose of these three as quickly as possible, even if it meant them both using their combined power.

But before either Po or Tigress could begin summoning their strength, Nightshade surprised them as he stepped forward in front of the Two Lights and stated, "Dragon Warrior…please allow me to handle this." Po looked over at Nightshade and stared at his friend's back seriously. Was Nightshade really ready to take down his family all on his own? Po knew he was more than capable with his True Darkness, but this was something the Panda was hoping that he wouldn't have to let Nightshade do alone. But at the same time, Time wasn't exactly on their side.

Looking briefly up into the sky, Po could see that the Moon had just started to move in front of the sun. The eclipse was starting and they needed to hurry. The Panda looked back over to the Black wolf and asked, "Are you sure?" Nightshade turned his head to look back at the Panda as he smiled and nodded in his direction and said, "I promise…I won't let you down Dragon Warrior. Leave this to me." Po stared at Nightshade briefly before he nodded in approval before saying, "Alright then…Tigress, could you give me a paw?"

Instantly, Tigress's grip on Po's paw tightened, as she immediately began to swing Po around in 2 full rotations, before releasing the Panda and allowed him to soar over the wolves' heads. "What?" Feng shouted before he turned his attention back to the Tiger and noticed she was now running for Nightshade, who cupped his own paws and watched as Tigress leaped into the air, her right foot landing in the Wolf's paws as Nightshade released a grunt and hurled the Tiger over the 3 gray wolves blocking their path and after the Panda.

As she landed behind them, Tigress turned around to see the 3 wolves had now turned around and Feng was now charging her as he withdrew his serrated sword and roared, "I don't think so!" Po was about to step in front of his wife, when a black blur landed in front of the Tiger and parried Feng's sword with a black iron staff, with a white Dragon wrapped around it. It was Nightshade.

Nightshade appeared to have leaped over the wolves immediately after Tigress and had landed behind her in time to parry his Father's attack. As Nightshade shoved his father back, he took up a ready stance and shouted over his shoulder, "GO! If we don't stop Drizen now, then everything will have been for nothing! Remember about Li!" Po and Tigress shared a brief look of understanding before nodding to each other as they immediately turned and ran up the path leading to the Altar. They could trust Nightshade to handle this.

Feng then got back up to his feet as he glared at Nightshade menacingly, while the Black wolf returned his attention to him, his steel blue eyes now staring at him as if he were nothing but scum. But the longer Feng stared at the black wolf's eyes, the more they began to remind him of the eyes of another. The same eyes that he used to wake up to every morning. The same eyes as Nightshade's mother.

Feng then snarled as Yin and Min stepped forward to stand alongside their father with hesitant looks on their faces, "Do you seriously believe you can take all 3 of us, Runt? You're just one wolf whose own Alpha just abandoned him!" Nightshade glared darkly at his Father, before he tightened his grip along his staff and growled, "I'll manage just fine." Feng then snarled, "We'll see…Take him!"

Although Feng gave them the command, neither Yin nor Min made a move right away. Yin was staring at Nightshade as if trying to decide on what she was about to do, while Min waited for his Sister to make the Call. Whatever she decided, he would follow her. Even if it meant killing his older brother. Although a small part of the youngest wolf still viewed Nightshade as his family, it was just that for as long as he could remember, Yin was the only one who was always there for him.

Feng then looked over at the She wolf as he snarled, "NOW!" Immediately, Yin snapped her head out of her thoughts as she raised her Daggers and mumbled, "R-Right." Instantly, Yin dashed for Nightshade while Min ran alongside her. Even Feng was running with them. As the 3 gray wolves charged, Nightshade closed his eyes as he breathed in deeply and found his center. In seconds all 3 wolves were upon them, each swinging a weapon of some sort at the Black wolf, and for an instant, it looked like Nightshade was about to just let them cut him down.

But in a shocking black blur of motion, Nightshade quickly brought his staff up at just the right angle to parry all of the blades that were being swung down at him. He caught one of Min's Chackrahms, both of Yin's Daggers, and his Father's sword, all in a single parry. "Impossible." Yin whispered, when suddenly Nightshade roared and shoved the 3 wolves back with such incredible force, that it surprised them all a great deal, forcing them to flail backwards and onto the ground some 15 yards away.

As Feng sat forward he was staring at Nightshade in disbelief as he whispered, "How…!?" but his question was soon answered as the Leader of the Fang listened to both of his lieutenants gasp in shock, as all 3 wolves looked forward and were now each staring Nightshade in the eye…his now glowing, dark blue eyes!

Nightshade then twirled his staff around effortlessly as he re-entered his fighting stance and declared, "I'll show you just how strong this RUNT has become…Father!" as Nightshade charged the 3 wolves with alarming speed, and began his assault.

With Po and Tigress…

Po and Tigress were now racing along the narrow pathway climbing up and around the inner walls of the Volcano. As they ran, Po kept taking glances behind him over at their friends, as he watched Shifu attacking 3 Crocs at once while Crane flew up in the air and dive bombed 2 more. Viper, Monkey and Mantis appeared to be holding their own with the Wolves, with all three working together and watching each others backs. And then there was Nightshade, who was seemingly effortlessly dealing simultaneously with his former pack with relative ease, moving about with such speed and reflexes that Po knew he had to be channeling at least some of his True Darkness to keep up with them all.

He wanted to be there. He wanted to be by his friend's and Master's sides helping them all, making sure none of them got hurt. But as soon as he looked over at Tigress and their eyes met, he knew he was exactly where he should be, right by her side. Together, both he and Tigress were their best bet at taking down Drizen once and for all. He would have to trust in his friends and Master to look out for themselves, while Po looked out for his Wife.

Tigress was staring at Po as she asked while they continued to climb, "Are you ready for this?" Po nodded as her replied while still staring at her, "Yeah…let's finish this…for good." and with that, Po and Tigress turned and looked ahead as they approached the Sacred Altar, ready to do whatever it takes, to end this Nightmare before it can truly begin.

As they approached the Altar, both Po and Tigress came to a sudden stop, as they came face to face with the Black feathered Raven, wearing his Familiar dark Robes, with his back to them as they neared. Po then took a step forward as he shouted, "Drizen! This ends now!" Tigress growled in response to Po's declaration, but Drizen simply chuckled as he continued staring at battles being fought across the bubbling sea of Magma from below. "Confident, aren't we Panda?"

Tigress then snarled as she unsheathed her claws, "Where's your Partner Drizen? Or has he already decided to run away?" At this point, Drizen finally turned around and sneered at the Tiger as he answered, "Oh my dear, do not fret. You see, my associate is indeed very much still around. In fact, he is currently preparing a special little surprise as we speak."

Po then asked as both he and Tigress tensed at the possibility of a new danger, "What kind of "surprise" Drizen? What are you planning!?" again the Raven snickered as he answered, "But Panda…what would be the point in telling you? It would only ruin the surprise."

Po was now growling in frustration while Tigress whispered, "Remember…all we need to do is get one of those Keys and they can't summon the Power…ready?" Po only nodded his head slightly as he prepared himself while Gladir called out into the back of the Panda's mind, "Be careful Po…something… does not feel right about this situation." Po nodded as he said to Tigress, "Stay sharp." Tigress nodded in understanding as they watched the Raven spread his cloaked wings and say, "Well then…are we all ready to get started?" suddenly, Drizen's entire being was hovering a few feet in the air, and he wasn't even using his wings. His Magic apparently allowed him to levitate, meaning he didn't need to remove his Robe in order to fly!

Tigress and Po both began to focus, as each of them began to call upon the Forces of their respective powers. In seconds, Tigress's Dragons Heart necklace began to shine its fiery red glow, as her entire being was suddenly wrapped in a vicious fiery red aura. As she unsheathed her claws, each one began to glow a strong hot yellow as they were each suddenly wrapped in flames.

Beside her, Po was also concentrating as his being also soon became wrapped within the Powerful Golden Glow of the Heroes Chi. His body now shining like a single glimmer of Light in an otherwise Dark Cave. As Po opened his eyes he declared at the Raven right then, "You won't escape this time Drizen. And you definitely won't get the chance to summon that Power!" Drizen just sneered as he spat, "We shall see, you pathetic fool."

With a wave of his wing, Drizen concentrated as a large rock embedded in the wall behind him was wedged loose and now floating just behind the Raven's head. As Drizen made to throw the Rock, the boulder was now hurling in Po and Tigress's direction. Po wasted no time as he began focusing the energies of the Heroes Chi into the palm of his paw and in an instant Po thrust his right paw forward as he shouted, "HYAAH!" instantly, a powerful golden Chi blast was shot out of the Panda's paw and was flying straight for the boulder that was heading their way.

As the energy made contact with the boulder, Drizen watched as the rock was shattered into dozens of tiny pebbles, but his eyes soon widened as he noticed Tigress used her Husband's attack and began charging for the raven, as she leaped into the air and was now flying towards the Raven. She had used the boulder as cover to block the Raven's vision and now that Po had destroyed it, Drizen had almost no time to react before she appeared from behind the giant rock, seemingly out of nowhere. It was a good thing he had prepared beforehand.

In seconds, Tigress managed to reach Drizen, as she delivered a powerful flaming claw strike at the Raven's midsection, forcing him back a few yards before the Raven stopped himself from flying into a wall thanks to his magic. As Tigress landed on the ground, she looked up and noticed Drizen was sneering down at her with that smug grin on his black feathered face. It looked like he barely even felt her last attack.

Just then, Po was beside her as he said, "Dang! He's using his magic again so that we can't even hurt him!" Tigress nodded as she stated, "Yes, but we know that the more we hit him while he's using his magic for protection, the quicker his Magic will eventually run out and he won't be able to use it to protect himself from us any longer. We can't let up for a second Panda." Po nodded as the two readied themselves for another attack.

Drizen then called out to the two, "Come now Masters, surely this isn't the extent of the two Lights power? Don't tell me that this is all it took to vanquish the Dark Lord, Hei'an?" Po's eyes narrowed as Tigress growled, "Not even close, Drizen!" This time both Po and Tigress charged the Raven, with both of their aura's flaring as they ran.

As they approached both Po grabbed Tigress and threw her up at the Raven while he followed closely behind. As Tigress neared the Raven, she delivered a swift Kick to the Raven's chest. As soon as her foot made contact, Tigress grabbed the Raven by the robe and threw her over her shoulder, surprising the Raven before she began to fall back to the ground. After Tigress threw Drizen, the Raven looked to see Po had literally jumped off the wall and was now flying at the bird at an incredible speed.

When the two finally met in mid-air, Po brought both his paws up above his head and locked them together, before he swung downward and smashed Drizen downward towards the ground. Normally with the added strength of the Heroes Chi, Po would have no doubt shattered the Raven's spine upon impact, but thanks to Drizen's magic, the Raven barely even felt the Panda's attack.

As Drizen smashed into the ground before the Altar, he coughed heavily due to the dust around him before he began chuckling to himself. Soon Po and Tigress both landed side by side as the prepared themselves for the Raven's next move. "Not bad." Drizen commended before coughing twice as he turned to the two Lights and continued, "But not good enough. You'll never stop us in time at this rate. You've lost Dragon Warrior; you just don't know it yet."

Po's eyes narrowed as he relaxed his posture a bit and asked, "You sure about that?" causing Drizen to raise an eyebrow in confusion as he responded, "Yes you fool, of course I am!" Po's glare never lessened however as he slowly reached out with his left Paw over to Tigress who took it in her right. Drizen then watched as the aura's of two Warrior's before him soon began to flare once more as he wondered, "What are they up to?" when he soon had his answer.

Quickly, both Po and Tigress's aura's began to swirl amongst each other, as the two concentrated and closed their eyes and before Drizen could wonder even further, their two separate aura's merged into one large Orange aura of Power. Drizen stared with his beak slightly agape as he bore witness to this new display of power, as the Two Lights opened their eyes and Drizen was met with two pairs of glowing bright orange eyes.

Never had he bore witness to this kind of display of power before. Sure he knew the powers of the celestial Dragons known as Guang and Huo, were rivaled only against those of the Dragon of Darkness, Hei'an, but to be witnessing these two powers combine as one, was something Drizen never expected to see.

As Drizen stood staring at the two Warrior's, Po and Tigress quickly stood back to back, their paws still locked as Po brought his right Paw forward while Tigress brought her left Paw up alongside her Husband's, each forming half of a Double palm strike as thoughts of Li, and their Family, flooded their minds, and their aura flared even more. Po then shouted over at the still rattled Raven, "No more messing around Drizen!" while Tigress shouted just as loudly, "This ends now!"

It was then Drizen shook his head of his thoughts as he began shouting back, "Do your worst!" as he began chanting his own incantation and the air around him began to swirl. Po then looked over at Tigress and reminded her, "Remember, when we're together, all we got to do is want the Power to work. You ready?" Tigress nodded and together, both Po and Tigress focused and before they knew it, both Po and Tigress felt the incredible sensation of the Heroes Love flowing through their entire beings as they channeled the Chi into their paws.

At the last second, both Po and Tigress then shouted, "For our son!" and together, both Po and Tigress released a powerful, orange Chi blast at the Raven, as Drizen watched with wide eyes while he uttered the last syllable of his spell.

As the combined blast of power struck the Raven, there was a loud *BOOM* as everyone in the entire volcano momentarily ceased their battles to turn and look at the Two Lights up above unleashing their combined power on the Sorcerer. As Shifu looked up he could not help but mutter, "Tigress…Po…be careful." Before he returned to dealing with the momentarily shocked Crocs.

Feng was staring in awe as Nightshade continued fending off his sibling's a small ways away. Never in his wildest nightmares did he think the Panda would be capable of such power. Was this how he was able to defeat his former Master? But a short cry distracted the Dark Gray wolf as he returned his attention to his eldest child who had just finished knocking one of Min's Chackrahm aside that the gray wolf had thrown at him with his staff, and the black wolf had dashed forward with alarming speed, smashing a powerful fist at the younger wolf's chest, knocking him over to his Father's feet.

Once Nightshade had knocked Min aside, Yin cried out as she jumped off a ledge she had climbed up to from above and tried to stab Nightshade as she fell. Nightshade was too quick however as he rolled to the side and using his staff, knocked Yin's feet out from underneath her once she landed, forcing her to fall on her back and release a pained "Gyah!?"

Nightshade then proceeded to walk away from the she wolf but before she could get to her feet, Nightshade focused the forces of his True Darkness and produced a ball of dark blue fire in his paw. As the three wolves stared at the black wolf in wonder, Nightshade threw the fire at Yin's feet, creating a small wall of dark blue flames while he returned his attention to his Father who was now completely focused on him.

"What are you!?" Feng whispered in a combination of shock and reprehension. Nightshade stopped abruptly and glared at the leader of the Fang, while he could easily feel his sister staring at his back. Nightshade then stated as he twirled his staff once more, "The one who is finally going to stop you." Feng just growled as he readied himself for another bout.

He needed to buy some more time, it was still too early, and Drizen still hadn't made his move. He couldn't carry through with his part of the plan until Drizen made the Move! So, with a quiet sigh, Feng lifted his sword once more, and charged Nightshade once more, swinging his blade madly, while Nightshade parried each blow almost effortlessly. How did his coward of a child, become so powerful!?

As Nightshade and Feng fought, Yin watched from behind the small wall of dark blue fire in absolute terror. How could Nightshade be doing these things? Where did he get this kind of power? But the more she thought about it, the more a new idea slowly began to grow inside her head. "Is this…is this how his daughter was able to knock back our wolves before? Has she inherited some sort of power from Nightshade? Nightshade, where did you get such power…what happened to you?"

Yin managed to tear herself away from watching Nightshade's bout with their father long enough to see Min was now sitting forward holding his head as he tried to shake the stars out of his head. Wasting no time, Yin quickly wedged a dagger into the earth before her and walked back a few paces. Once she took a deep breath, Yin then dashed forward and leaped onto the dagger's pommel and pushed off with all her might, soaring just high enough above the flames, landing on the ground in a roll as she raced over to her twin brother's side. All the while, Nightshade appeared not to have noticed her.

Back with Po and Tigress…

Po and Tigress soon ceased their combined Chi blast once they were certain Drizen had been damaged enough that his Magic could no longer protect him. Once they lowered their arms, both Po and Tigress flinched at the sound of the Raven cackling madly from beyond the dust and up against the wall they had blasted him into. "AH HAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh my…I don't believe it…that hurt! That actually HURT! I knew the Powers of Guang and Huo were formidable alone, but together…it's no wonder Lord Hei'an was bested in the end. To think, that such power actually exists in this world!"

Po and Tigress were staring in absolute shock as they watched Drizen emerge from the dust and stand before them with a weary sneer on his face. How was he still standing!? "Wh-What's going on!?" Po asked as Tigress also asked, "I don't understand…how could he have withstood that attack? We defeated Hei'an with this power…how is this possible!?"

It was then Gladir spoke up in the back of Po's mind, and thanks to Po and Tigress's powers currently acting as one, Tigress could now hear the great dragon as well, "Incredible…never would I have ever imagined a creature to possess such strength to withstand the combined powers of me and my sister's." It was then that Po realized something, "Hey…he said that last attack actually hurt! Now's our chance to take him down for good!" Tigress nodded as both she and Po were about to prepare themselves for another attack, this time to finish the Raven for good. But before they could get into position, Drizen raised his wing up and muttered darkly, "Not this time…Dragon Warrior."

Before Po and Tigress could even attempt another combined Chi blast, Po suddenly began to feel incredibly odd. "What's going on?" Po wondered aloud as he began to wobble uneasily. Tigress looked over immediately asking, "Po?" but before she could ask anything else, Po was suddenly lifted into the air and he instinctively released Tigress's paw as he screamed in surprise, "Wh-WHaa!?"

The instant Po and Tigress released each others paws, their combined aura immediately was extinguished and Tigress watched as Po was magically lifted into the air above her. Turning quickly, Tigress growled at Drizen, "Release him!" but Drizen only chuckled as he said, "Believe me my dear…I intend too." And with a quick thrust of his wrist, Drizen launched the Panda back and out over the Sea of Magma, while Po could only scream, "WHAAAA-!?" while Tigress turned back and watched the Panda fall as she screamed, "PO!"

But she soon relaxed when it became apparent that Po wasn't going to fall down into the magma below, but rather was being sent hurling across the gap separating them from their friends. Tigress watched as Po hit the opposing wall and slid down onto the ground near where Nightshade and the 3 gray wolves were fighting and Tigress thanked every god she could think of for sparing Po's death. When Tigress turned around, Drizen was now walking back over to get up on top of the Altar to get a better view, when Tigress shouted over at him, "DRIZEN!"

Drizen turned to see Tigress was getting ready to charge for him as the Heroines Flame quickly wrapped her in its power once more, while her claws were ignited once again. "We're not finished!" the Tiger Master shouted. She was about to race for the Raven when Drizen chuckled darkly once more and stopped her with his next sentence, "We might not be…but that Panda certainly is." Tigress raised her eyebrow in confusion as she demanded, "What are you talking about!?" Drizen merely chuckled, no longer concerned about the Tiger master as he turned around to gaze down at the Panda and said simply, "See for yourself."

Tigress, was debating within herself right then. Drizen was clearly occupied at the moment and now was the perfect opportunity to snatch one of those keys! But no matter how much she Knew she should take this opportunity to thwart Drizen's plans, her concern for the Panda ended up overwhelming her, as Tigress walked over to the cliffs edge and looked out and over towards where her husband had landed as she could see that Po was shaking his head as he tried to get up.

Remember. I'm releasing 2 chapters here, so check to make sure chapter 26 is posted.

Thanks for reading and remember,,,

REVIEW!