Opening Song: Simple and Clean by Utada Hikaru

CHAPTER 36
THOUGHTS ON THE FIVE

The thieves didn't show up again the next night, nor the next few days. The residents of the Jade Palace eventually gave up on waiting for them to show up. Maybe they were just trying to scare them when in reality, they sold the scrolls. Long story short, they haven't showed up again ever since.

But Tigress couldn't shake the fact that she saw them before. Their cruel faces and sinister voices seemed ver familiar to her. That gorilla even said that he knew her from before. Just who were they?

Then again, Tigress never really had time to ponder that issue with all the training and protecting the valley and stuff. Why right now, she, along with Po and the rest of the five, was doing just that.

Fung and his goons were up to their usual mischief. This time, the Croc Bandits surrounded a restaurant full of cowering customers. Fung himself was inside laughing as he passed around a sack telling everyone to hand over their valuables while holding a sword to their necks.

One particular cowering pig was stubborn and refused to surrender her jewel-encrusted hair clip, something that annoyed Fung a lot. "C'mon, hand it over!" he yelled angrily bringing the sword closer to her neck.

Before this little exchange could push through, Gahri, who was supposed to be guarding the entrance, showed up. Fung sighed in annoyance. "Bathroom?" he asked. Gahri nodded making Fung face-palm; he didn't know how much longer Gahri would be around with all his antics. "Make it quick." Fung said pointing where the restrooms were. Gahri looked relieved as he headed there.

"Wait a minute, where'd you get that tattoo?" Fung said spotting a weird green mark on Gahri's back. "What is that? A spider?"

"Who're you calling a spider?" Mantis suddenly jumped off Gahri's back hitting Fung in the chest and knocking him back a bit. The other guards in the restaurant surrounded Mantis after that.

Fung got to his feet and smiled evilly (Gahri ran off to the bathroom and never came out). Before he could say anything, the croc next to his suddenly swung his sword at him. Only a well timed block stopped himself from getting hit. That same croc eventually noticed Viper on his head, controlling his every move.

On cue, a bunch of guards came flying out of the entrance and hit the restaurant wall. Fung looked there and saw the rest of the five led by Po. "Alright Fung, gonna do this the hard way like always?" he asked.

The croc leader growled angrily. "Sure, whatever. Get them!"

It was pandemonium in the restaurant. Of course, the safety of the customers was crucial, and the job was left to Crane and Viper. They made sure the customers got out safely while everyone else stuck to the fighting.

Po squared off against Fung while everyone else dealt with his bandits. Fung was as brutish and relentless as ever, but Po knew he could handle him. Fung thrust his sword at Po who side-stepped before hitting Fung with his fist. Fung unfortunately recovered and charged once more.

"You should've stayed down." Po said as he jumped and delivered a spinning kick to the side of Fung's head. Fung smashed into a wall and slid to the ground unconscious. "Now stay down." Po said rather pleased with himself.

The rest of the bandits were defeated, tied up, and hauled away, and the hostages had their valuables returned. With their job done, Po and the five headed back home in good spirits.

"Another day, another round of bandit beating." Po said stretching a bit.

"Yeah, but I wish we could get a break soon." Mantis said. "I mean yesterday, we had those wolf bandits, and more bandits the day before that..." He sighed in annoyance.

"At least we kept everyone safe during each attack." Viper added. "I wish bandits would just stop showing up and terrorizing the valley."

"Hey now, even if they keep showing up, as long as we keep kicking butt, everything'll be fine." Po replied. "I mean all we need to keep this place is a little...HEEE YAHHH!" He punched to the side but ended up hitting the side of a building. He gasped in pain and started sucking on his aching fingers.

The others laughed while Tigress only smiled. The panda was just as naive and childish as ever, but he was a good warrior who had a heart of gold. With his joking attitude and antics, he kinda reminded her of Lin. Of course, Lin was always more mature than Po to her.

The five of them, Shifu, they were her life now. Lin may be gone forever, but she was sure he was happy wherever he was, with her current life. Yeah, she wasn't the Dragon Warrior like he thought she would, but she doubted that he would get upset about it.

His death really changed her back to her old, silent, serious self. Then the rest of the five and Po showed up and brought back the Misha in her. She became a lot less serious, but of course, she still had a "tough-as-nails" image to keep up.

She did care about all of them. It hurt her a lot when she learned that Oogway was gone before she could thank him for all the training and wisdom he shared to her; of the six of them, she knew him the longest. And then she thought Po had died which also spelled despair for her.

After Lin's death, she didn't want anyone she cared about to die. She kept her promise to Lin even years after he died. She looked over to her friends who were still laughing at Po's recovery; she really would protect them even at the cost of her life.

"Uh, Tigress? What're you staring at?" Crane asked noticing her staring at the group.

"What? Oh er...nothing." she hastily replied. Luckily, none of the others noticed which was an enormous relief to her.

Eventually, the group made it back home, and Tigress went to bed.

She usually dreamed about other trivial things, but Lin always seemed to weave his way into them every now and then. Sometimes, it would be a time when they were cubs; other times, it was when he was at the Jade Palace.

In this particular one, they were sparring. Neither of them were holding back. Tigress had blocked Lin's punch and shoved him back. She charged in and did a flying kick; Lin backed up a little before grabbing her ankles and spinning her in mid-air. He then grabbed her ankle once more and threw her aside.

Tigress landed on her feet and sprung at him with her paws withdrawn. Lin knew what was coming and hastily crossed his arms over his body; Tigress's paws slammed right into him. Though the impact was weakened, Lin felt himself be pushed back by a few feet. Tigress was about to pull back and sweep him off his feet when Lin smirked and kissed her nose.

"I think that's enough for today." Lin said pulling back a bit.

"That's unfair. You knew I was about to pull back and strike again." Tigress told him a little annoyed.

Lin just laughed. "You're right. Look, I'm sorry about that." He extended his paw to her. "Why don't I make it up somehow? Say dinner out?"

Tigress smirked at his offer. "Well you should ask Master Oogway; it is easier to get permission from him."

"True, true." Lin said nodding in agreement. "I'll be back before you know it."

Before Lin could leave, a loud thump echoed across the room. "Did you hear that?" Tigress asked. Lin however seemed to have frozen in place which made Tigress worry. "Lin?"

Tigress woke up realizing that it was all just a dream. But then, she heard that same thump once more. She raised her head and listened; someone was outside her room, trying to sneak into the barracks.

All of her battle instincts kicked in, and she readied herself to fight if needed. Just who would dare to sneak into the barracks of the Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior. The footsteps stopped in front of her door; Tigress got up and grabbed the door. She hastily slid it open while keeping a fist up ready to strike at any given time.

"Heh...Told you I'd be back." Lin said before collapsing at her feet.

It took Tigress five seconds to get over the shock of what just happened. The stranger was lying at her feet covered in rags, cuts and bruises, his breath slow and heavy. She looked over to his head and saw a face she hadn't seen in over 20 years.

It took her another several seconds to find her voice. "L...Lin...?" she whispered.

On the ground, he raised his head, opened his eyes and gave her a weak smile. "Better late...than never huh?" After that, he grunted and closed his eyes, his head hitting the floor.

With that Tigress got over it and addressed that broken and exhausted Lin before her. She grabbed his shoulders and shook him a little. "Lin?" she called out, but he only groaned in pain. She continued to shake him scared that he wouldn't die on her again. "Lin! Wake up; Lin!"

His face contorted in pain. "Get...masters...hurry..." he said before slumping over; his breath was slower and weaker now which started to make Tigress panic.

"No...no. Don't you die on me again." she said shaking him some more. He didn't respond. "No...No! Lin! Wake up!"

She heard sounds of annoyance from the rooms around her. "Hey, some guys're trying to sleep here!" Mantis yelled from within his room. He poked his head out of his room. "Tigress, what're you- Whoa!" He yelled at the sight of Lin. The others looked out of their room and made similar reactions at the fallen Lin. Tigress knew he needed help fast.

"Mantis, Viper, get the medical supplies. Crane, Monkey, get Master Shifu. Po, help with him." she ordered. Judging by the look on her face and the tone of their voice, the others decided that explanations could wait. For now, everyone else but Po ran off to do what they were told.

Po went over and grabbed Lin's upper half while Tigress held his legs. Together, they lifted him and carried him into Tigress's room. As they gently laid him on her mat, he groaned and opened his eyes slightly. "Lin, stay with me." Tigress said ripping off the rag on his chest revealing more wounds and bruises.

"Whoa, is he gonna be alright?" Po asked while also wondering who this Lin guy was.

"I hope so." Tigress whispered.

Just then, hurried footsteps were heard. Mantis and Viper arrived with the medical supplies; at the same time, Crane and monkey showed up with Shifu who stared at Lin not believing his eyes. He slowly entered the room, and Lin smiled weakly.

"Master Shifu...so nice to see you again..." Lin said to him. "Wh-where's Master Oogway...?"

"He...isn't with us anymore..." Shifu said breaking the news to him.

The smile on Lin's face vanished; his eyes gleamed with pain. He suddenly gasped in pain and beckoned Shifu to come closer. The latter did so, and Lin choked out his message.

"Five days after the next full moon...Geng Wu will attack the Valley of Peace..."

After that, he slumped over and seemed to pass out.