Monkey found the Yeti just as the sun began to rise, turning the sky a pale yellow.

Since leaving the fortress, he had found a trail leading from a spot that was relatively close to the scene of the medic's murder, obviously the creature's route of escape. The tracks were larger than a gorilla's, and spaced far apart, the work of a very fast runner. Judging from the speed indicated by the large gaps between the tracks, the Yeti had either been chasing something or trying to get away. Monkey couldn't decide which, not that it mattered.

He had followed the trail into the wilderness for two hours before it came to a halt at the edge of a rocky slab of land devoid of snow that the Yeti had surely crossed, except the trail did not resume on the other side. Instead it moved upwards, up a cliff overlooking the flat rock. Snow had collected on the craggy surface, and in some places it had been disturbed. Such telltale signs would have been insignificant if not for years of training in the skill of tracking down your enemies.

Monkey had ascended the cliff and once again found himself following the tracks, which were now closer together. The Yeti had slowed its pace. Now that it had put a good distance between itself and the fortress, it felt that it no longer needed to be on its guard. It felt safe.

Monkey would soon prove that murderer wrong.

He gripped the handle of one of his father's swords and kept walking.

Was it his imagination, or was the wind getting stronger?

The ground had gradually sloped upwards, becoming steeper and steeper as he walked. Soon he found himself climbing once again. One or twice he had turned his head and saw the fortress far below. Most of the flickering lights had gone out.

Climbing the mountain had been unusually dangerous work. The twinkling stars in the night sky had offered no illumination, and he had not dared to light a lamp, just in case the Yeti turned its head, spotted the light in the distance, and realized it was being followed.

His swords bumped against his thighs. The reloadable crossbow clattered on his back. He had slowed his pace slightly to lessen the noise.

At some point he had realized that he had no hope of catching up with the Yeti any time soon. It had two hours head start, and had the speed of Tigress hyped up on catnip. The best he could hope for was that the Yeti would lead him straight to its lair.

Eventually he had given in to fatigue and sat down on a boulder. He thought of Po and the others, and wondered what they were doing right now. Were they figuring out a plan of action, or had they already gone after him? If they had done the former, there was nothing Monkey could do about it. Except of course kill the Yeti before his friends caught up with him. He knew that the moment he had left the fortress, he had put himself in the biggest trouble ever.

If the Yeti didn't kill him, then Master Shifu surely would.

Monkey had quickly pushed those thoughts aside and set his mind alight of thoughts of the justice he would visit upon the Yeti.

And that was when the sun first emerged and Monkey looked up and saw the Yeti moving down the mountain in his direction.

Monkey practically flung himself from the boulder and lodged himself in a small crack in the stone close by. He heard the Yeti's footsteps, surprisingly soft as it neared his location. It couldn't be more than thirty feet away, and it was getting closer.

Monkey's pulse quickened. He remembered the stone spike protruding from his father's chest. The murderer was close… so close… finally his chance had come.

The crossbow was stuck behind him, and there was no space to reach behind himself and grab it. Instead, Monkey slowly pulled out one of his dao swords, desperately trying to make as little noise as possible. His only chance of success was the element of surprise.

Suddenly he saw it.

The Yeti stopped right in front of the small crack, its back to its vengeful stalker, instead looking out at the sky. It had probably sensed something. Whether or not it was Monkey, at that moment he didn't care. All he cared about was the sword in his hands, and the center of the Yeti's back where its spine was located. Monkey's target.

One… he counted in his head. He braced his legs in preparation to leap from his hiding place… two… he pushed up from the ground…

And didn't move an inch.

What the-

The Yeti turned its attention to the ground in front of it. It was about to start moving again.

Monkey took one hand from the sword and gripped the side of the crack. He pushed with all his might. There was a slight scraping sound as the prod (or cross) of the crossbow caught against the rough surface of the rock.

Monkey couldn't believe it. He was stuck.

The Yeti started walking at an unusually fast pace, in seconds disappearing from sight.

Of all the rotten-

"No, no, no!" Monkey pulled himself free of the crossbow's strap and leapt out of the crack, but already knew he was too late. The Yeti was now seventy feet away. The element of surprise had been lost.

"Darnit!" If he didn't hurry he would lose it. Quickly, Monkey turned back to the crack and grabbed the wedged in crossbow. After two tugs the crossbow came free, scraped in several places put perfectly useable. Monkey once more strapped the weapon to his back and set off after the Yeti, his mind numbed to all but rage.


Po blew on his paws, his breath coming out in clouds of mist. He thought he had been imagining it before, but it seemed much colder down in the crevasse that it was outside. Once again he thanked Master Eagle Jr. for advising him to take a coat. If he hadn't he would probably be shivering right now.

"How's your leg, Tigress?" He asked. It must have been ten minutes since he had persuaded her to top for a rest.

"A lot better." Tigress said, her eyes gazing into the lantern in front of them. "But Viper's been left alone for too long. Five more minutes and we'll get moving."

"Okay." Po replied.

He noticed vivid shadows dancing on the walls and turned his attention to the lantern.

"Brilliant." He heard Tigress mutter. "First Monkey runs off, then we get stuck in a crevasse and now the bloody lantern's going out."

"Not for long." Po replied.

"What are you smiling for?" Tigress demanded. The cold was beginning to make her irritable.

"Tigress, do you remember the private lessons I had with Shifu since finding inner peace?"

"Yes. How does that help us with our current situation?"

In answer, Po lifted the lantern. With his other paw, he stuck out his index finger and stared hard at the black furry digit… and Tigress gasped slightly as it began to glow a faint gold.

"Po, is that-"

"Hero's Chi." Po said with a twinge of pride. Tigress was amazed, and he knew it. He stuck the glowing finger into the lantern, and suddenly it seemed to glow brighter than ever. When Po removed his finger, the golden glow was gone.

"I thought you ran out of Hero's Chi during your battle with Ke Pa!" Tigress exclaimed.

"I thought so too, until Shifu told me that even if I use all of it up, my body can recharge a small amount of it using my life energy. That small amount of energy was what Ke Pa used to remove the demon seal before the peach tree sapling recharged it to mega-awesomeness!"

"Po, I find it harder to understand when you use words like that."

"Sorry. Anyway, as it turns out when you have inner peace you can use the Heroes Chi to perform some magical techniques, though I can't use it all the time. Don't ask how it works, 'cause I don't have a clue."

"That's amazing." Tigress replied. "What have you learned so far?"

"Well, aside from lighting up candles, I…" Po paused. "Come to think of it, that's all I know. This stuff's harder to learn than it sounds."

Tigress didn't reply, so the pair sat in silence for some time, the air warmer thanks to the replenished lantern.

"Po, I owe you an apology."

"Why?"

"I've been pretty hard on you since we left the fortress and… well, I'm sorry."

"Tigress, it's okay. You're just worried about Monkey. We all are."

"It's not just that." Tigress took a deep breath, deciding that she might as well just say it. "I'm worried about Shifu."

"I already know that." Po said, but with understanding. "You're still mad at him, aren't you?"

"I'm not mad!" Tigress said quickly. "I mean, I was at first… It's just that…" She sighed. "It's just that for as long as I can remember, our relationship has always been master and student. Ever since he took me from that orphanage. I was only ever allowed to call him 'Master', and the only time we played together was when we played checkers. I only understood why when Master Oogway told me about Tai Lung. Since then I've found it a lot easier to forgive him, because who wouldn't freeze their heart after having it broken so badly? So I'm not really angry, Po. I'm just… scared."

"Scared?" Po shifted himself so that he was directly facing Tigress.

"Basically, the reason why I'm not angry is because Oogway had practically told me that the only reason Shifu was like that was because of Tai Lung. But now that Tai Lung is gone, things have changed. Shifu praises our efforts a lot more than he had done two years ago. he even eats with us in the morning."

"So, he's unfrozen his heart!" Po replied cheerfully. "Doesn't that mean you can turn your relationship to father and daughter now?"

"That's why I'm scared." Tigress replied. "I know deep down that I want to, but I don't know if I should. I don't even know how. There's the issue with teacher-favoritism, for one thing. There's also the gap that has been between us for twenty years. There's so much we can lose if it goes wrong. I wasn't sure if Shifu himself wanted to change things between us. So when you implied that Shifu was trying to be more fatherly toward me, I didn't know what to think."

"So you freaked out." Po said, understanding at last. There were no words to describe how relieved he felt at that moment, and it took all the Hero's Chi he could muster not to grin like a little kid.

"I'm sorry I took it out on you, Po." Tigress said.

"It's okay. I get it now." Po replied. He took a chance and put an arm around Tigress's shoulders. She showed no reaction, though deep down she welcomed the extra warmth. "Tell you what, once this is all over we'll find out for ourselves if Shifu really does want to change things for the better. Then with luck you'll be able to figure out what to do from there. Whaddya say?"

"Deal." Tigress replied without hesitation. Her confession and Po's reaction were like thick arms lifting a massive weight from her chest. Po had been doing that to her a lot lately. "Alright, our five minutes are up. Let's get moving."

Po was the first to stand up.

"Are you okay to get up by yourself?" Po asked.

Normally Tigress would be offended, but she knew he was just concerned about her leg.
"I'm fine, Po." She said. "It doesn't hurt anymore." She stood up to prove it.

Po picked up the lantern and they resumed walking.

"Do you think we should shout up to Viper and let her know we're still okay?" Po asked.

"We might cause a cave in if we do." Tigress replied. "We should probably keep our voices down."

"Good idea." Po replied. "Hey, I think it's getting lighter up ahead!"

He picked up the pace, dragging Tigress along by the paw.

Sure enough, they could see light up ahead.

"Yes! Tigress, we made it! Come let's get out of-"

"Po, look out!"

"WAAAAHHH!"

Po skidded to a halt right before he would have gone over the edge of the pit that had suddenly materialized out of nowhere. He teetered on the edge, arms flailing wildly.

"Ga, ga, ga, gagagagagaga-"

Tigress grabbed his shoulders and pulled him away from the ledge.

"Phew!" Po breathed out. "Nice save, Tigress."

"Don't mention it." Tigress said, and turned her attention to the pit. "Well this was unexpected."

The pit covered the entire floor of the caverns ahead, and looked to be about a hundred feet long. A narrow, twisting bridge of ice and rock stretched across the abyss like a massive white snake. The pit was too dark to determine how far the panda would have fallen.

"Is the universe trying to make our lives hell?" Po muttered.

"Probably." Tigress replied. "That ice bridge looks like it was formed naturally."

"Really? Looks more like the work of some lousy sculptor."

"Is there a difference?"

Po thought about that for a moment.

"No."

"That ice bridge looks safe enough."

"Famous last words."

Po didn't bother arguing. Tentatively, he put his foot onto the very beginning of the ice bridge. Instantly there was a small cracking sound. Whether or not it was merely the sound of his foot pressing down on the frozen ground or something scarier he wasn't sure.

"Why don't we do this one at a time?" Tigress asked.

"Good idea." Po said. He stepped forward with his other foot. He was now completely on the bridge.

"Keep going." Tigress said. "We've got to get back to Viper. Be careful."

Po nodded. Slowly, cautiously, he began to walk. The ice continued to make ominous cracking sounds as he moved along the bridge, but showed no signs of collapsing. Once or twice he turned his head to look back at Tigress. She was still standing at the edge, looking on anxiously. A quarter of the way through, Po's heart began to slow down. The bridge was strong. Everything was fine. He actually started to grin.

"Huh, this is no big deal!" He said after a few seconds' tense silence. "Tigress, come on out! This bridge is-"

Crack.

"Why am I not surprised?" Po finished.

"Po, get out of there!" Tigress shouted as the first bits of ice began to break away.

Po took off like a shot, arms pumping as the sound of ice and rock breaking apart grew louder and more chaotic. The thunderous sound seemed to be chasing him as he ran, but he didn't dare look back to see what was going on. It sounded like the entire cavern was collapsing.

Just like the far end of the bridge was as he neared it.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, nonononononono-" Po leapt for his life. Time seemed to speed up as he flew through the freezing air.

And then his feet hit solid ground.

He had made it!

Sort of.

When Po looked down, he saw that he had landed precisely on one of the biggest stalagmites he had ever seen. The tip had broken off when the bridge collapsed, allowing Po to balance himself with both feet.

"Thank god for all that Jade Tortoise of Wisdom training." Po said to himself as the thunderous noise behind him slowly eased into silence. Whatever destructive force had caused the bridge to collapse so violently had passed.

Holding his arms out for balance, Po looked to the edge of the pit in front of him. It was five feet away.

"Po!" He heard Tigress shout from somewhere far behind him. "Po, talk to me!"

She sounded panicked, so Po spoke straight away.

"I'm OK!" Po yelled. "But you won't believe where I am now!"

"Stay there and I'll come to you!"

Po didn't bother asking Tigress how she was going to do that now that the bridge was gone. Being Tigress, she always found a solution.

Sure enough, he heard her grunts of exertion, gradually growing closer as she somehow made her way across the pit.

"Tigress what are you doing?"

"Don't talk. Just keep your balance and let me concentrate."

Po kept quiet. A moment later an orange and red blur flew past his head and landed on all fours on the far edge.

"Okay, that was awesome!" Po yelled. He swayed slightly on the stalagmite.

Tigress straightened up and took in Po's predicament. The panda saw her fighting not to smile.

"You didn't even see what I did." She replied.

"Don't need to." Po merely said. "A little help, please?"

"Just jump. I'll catch you if you don't make it." Tigress replied.

"If I don't make it?" Po said. "Gee, thanks for telling me there's a good chance I'm gonna fall to my death."

"Just jump."

Po bent his knees, then leapt from the stalagmite. His feet reached the every edge of the pit, and Tigress grabbed his arms and pulled him towards her before he could lose his balance.

"Oof!" Po exhaled as he collided with her body, knocking them both backwards one step. "Thanks, Tigress."

He then realized his arms were wrapped around her, and he quickly let go.

"How many times are you going to hug me, Po?" Tigress asked. There was a faint redness to her cheeks.

"Errr…" Po hesitated.

"You know what, don't answer that!" Tigress replied quickly.

"Okay!" Po replied, and turned around to face the pit.

His jaw dropped. The pit was unrecognizable. Not only had the bridge collapse, massive pieces of the walls had fallen, and wedged themselves in between the opposite sides of the cavern. Tiny bits of snow, ice and rock occasionally rain down from the ceiling.

"Did I do that?" Po asked meekly.

Tigress shrugged beside him.

"Who knows?"