Hey everyone. I am so sorry for missing my deadline and making you guys wait! Christmas and New Years were absolutely crazy for me. I can understand if you are upset with me. Trust me, I've been kind of beating myself up over missing the deadline. But, regardless, I am so happy to be able to put out this new chapter. It was kind of rough writing this chapter, but you'll find out why.

Phetiamwantip: Thank you so much! I hope you haven't lost interest during the wait! Please enjoy this chapter :)

Matthorserider40: Tai Lung doesn't know what happened to Leo, and I can't say anything (no spoilers lol) but it will hurt Tai.

Bloody Phantom: You don't know how much relief it brings me to hear you say that :') Thank you so much for your support and loyalty.

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Po

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The water of the hot spring soaking into his skin almost made Po feel like nothing was wrong. He took a deep inhale as his muscles relaxed and his mind cleared. If this was the life of a panda, then he would be content to live here for the rest of his life.

However long it lasted.

Po's eyes slowly opened as he remembered what he came here for. He came here to learn chi. His father claimed he knew chi, but the only way to learn it was to become a true panda.

Surely he had done everything by now? Rolling, hugging, eating, relaxing, and even playing hacky sack with the panda triplets! He was a fast learner, so anything else his father threw at him he could quickly master.

So why was Li not teaching him about chi?

Was his father afraid? Maybe he thought Po wouldn't be able to master chi in time to defeat Kai. The very thought of his father doubting his abilities saddened Po. All he wanted was for his father and the tribe of pandas to accept him as one of their own.

When Li slid into the hot spring across from Po, Po was silent. His father, mistaking Po's silence for happy contentedness, took a deep, relaxed sigh and relaxed his arms across the outer rim of the pool.

A sudden shout followed by laughter drew Po's attention away from Li. He looked up. Po spotted Klara, along with Ku Ku, Meng Meng, and Shuai Shuai, playing along the outskirts of the village. Klara was holding a kite string in her hooves and was racing her kite against the panda triplets' kite. Po felt a gentle smile tug at his lips as Klara played with the other children.

Judging by what he was seeing, it was almost as if Klara forgot about Kai. She looked like just an ordinary kid playing with other kids. Shifu had asked Klara to continue her Kung Fu training, but here she was having the time of her life. Po let out a quiet, mildly dejected sigh at the thought of Klara having to face the fact that Kai was coming.

His father heard him sigh, and turned to him, "What kind of a sigh was that?" He almost sounded disappointed, "You do it like this:" Li took in a deep inhale, then let it out in a big, happy exhale.

Po nodded and followed along, copying his father, "Like that?"

"Good work, Po." Li praised, smiling at Po. "You've come a long way."

Po felt a smile tug on his face after he heard Li's words. His words were true: Po had learned a lot in the ways of a panda lifestyle. "Thanks, Dad," He smiled. "I never knew life as a panda can be so...fun." Despite his doubts about Kai, Po still felt the easy, carefree lifestyle of the panda tugging and calling his name. "Do you think I am ready to learn chi, now?"

The happy, contented look on Li's face fell ever so slightly. The larger panda thought for a moment, before looking at Po, the smile reappearing on his face, "Soon, Po. Real soon. Come with me, I have something to show you."

The two pandas clambered out of the hot spring and redressed themselves. Li led Po up the village and back towards his house. Po remained silent, but his mind raced as he wondered what Li would show him. Was this the beginning of his chi training? He began to feel giddy at the thought. He knew how to make the flowers bloom, but would Li teach him how to wield it in combat? How to heal others? How to master it?

Li opened up the front door of his home, "Sorry about the mess." He murmured, "I don't usually get many visitors." Po closed the door behind him as he entered. He led Po towards the back of his home. "Look." He gestured towards a small shrine in the wall. There were several candles lit, and in the center of the shrine was a tiny painting, no bigger than Po's hand.

Po took the painting and examined it. There, standing in the middle of the fabric, were two pandas. A large, elegant female panda stood on the left, while she cuddled and held a small baby in her arms. Both had large smiles on their muzzle. Po felt his throat tighten as he examined the painting, "Is..is this my mom?" He asked.

Across from him, smiling wistfully, Li nodded, "I had this painting done on your one-hundredth day." He reminisced. "Your mama couldn't hold you still. You tried to eat the paper!" He chuckled. "It's true."

Po felt a large grin crease his face, and he felt tears well up in his eyes. This was his mother. His mother. "What was she like?" He nearly begged his father for answers.

Li chuckled, "She was the total package. Smart, gorgeous, tremendous appetite." He laughed. "The love of my life." Li closed his eyes and smiled, "I didn't think I could get any luckier. Then...you came along." Li opened his eyes, "My little Lotus. I really did have it all."

Po watched as Li's demeanor changed. His face went from wistful and content to visibly upset. "Then... that moment came where I lost everything. Lord Shen attacked our village. We had no warning. No alarms, no signals. They just. . . swooped in." Li winced his eyes shut, "I tried to fight. I tried to hold back those wolves. One of them nearly attacked you. I got there just in time." He took in a shaky breath, and Po listened attentively,

"I never shouted at your mother. I never raised my voice to her. But that was the one time I did. I ordered her to take you and to run. Run as far and as fast as she could. She picked you up and carried you into the forest outside the village. I didn't retreat until the village was nearly gone. I tried following the tracks, but there were so many, I nearly got lost.

"It wasn't until after I found everyone and we regrouped did I realize both of you weren't among the survivors. I went looking. I looked in the village, but I couldn't find anything. I was scared to go look in the forest. I was afraid of what I would find." Li opened his eyes, and Po saw they were wet with tears. Li spoke slowly, as if just talking about the memories hurt him.

"I found her body, but I couldn't find you. I searched for days. The thought of losing my wife- your mother- it hurt more than anything. But losing you-" Li sobbed, "It almost broke me."

Po felt his heart wrench and his throat tighten as his father opened up to him. He felt the emotions wash over him, and, without really thinking, Po pulled his father into a hug. Li sighed shakily and hugged Po back. Po sighed in happiness and relief,

"You never have to worry about losing me again, Dad."

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Milu

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Milu's first thought as he lay down in the boat was to pass out. The gentle rocking of the boat and the quietness of the nature around him nearly kept Milu in a state of almost-sleep. He looked up and saw trees, mountain tops, and clouds. The sky was darkening, and the light blue had turned into a pinkish-orange. Any other day he would be asleep by now.

But the knowledge that the world was nearly crumbling around him kept him awake. The Jade Palace was almost destroyed. The only surviving Kung Fu Masters were Tai Lung, Tigress, and Po. Milu squeezed his eyes shut. Po didn't even know what had gone down just yesterday. And Klara; Milu felt tears prick his eyes as he thought about his daughter. By sending her to the panda village, he wanted to protect her from Kai. But now, if Kai went to that village, he feared the worst.

What if Kai was already there? What if Po wasn't able to protect her? And here he was, going to heal the wolves in the wolf village while his daughter- his only child- is in the crosshairs of danger.

It was a sort of psychological torture he wouldn't wish on his worst enemy.

He lay on his back while Lie Ren quietly steered the sailboat down the river. The young wolf often cast nervous glances at Milu but would move his gaze back to the river, or the sail, or his bow, which he had cast on the boat floor in front of him. Milu's eyes, glazed over and half-lidded, wouldn't even make eye contact.

By the time evening came, Milu came to his senses. His arms and legs felt weak like he hadn't eaten in days. Although, now that he thought about it, it likely had been days since he last ate. Couple that with how he had put nearly everything he had into healing Leo Lung, and Milu was surprised at the fact that he wasn't dead yet.

The elk quietly sat up and looked at Lie Ren, who was sitting in front of him, gently guiding the boat around a bend in the river. As Milu righted himself, his head began to spin, and he took a deep, quiet breath to steady himself before he spoke.

"'Tis a day's journey to the village?" He rasped. His throat felt like it was full of cotton, and his tongue felt swollen and dry in his mouth.

Lie Ren startled in front of him, whipping around to turn and look at Milu. "Oh! Sir, you're awake." He said. "Yeah, we'll be there tomorrow afternoon." The wolf's tone then quieted, "You looked like some sort of zombie, laying there." He whispered.

Milu took a minute to let Lie Ren's words sink in. The young wolf was probably right. He had probably slept at least 12 hours, but he still felt weighed down. He nodded slowly, his heavy antlers nearly causing him to fall over. His mind moved to the Jade Zombies that Kai had turned the other masters into. He remembered seeing Leo Lung and the second lion- as well as Crane and Mantis- being turned into a Jombie- as Po called them. Their movements were stiff and statue-like. Zombies if there ever were one.

"Have you seen Kai's minions?" Milu quietly asked.

"Minions?" Lie Ren questioned.

"The Jom-" He halted himself, thinking over his words to something the wolf would understand, "the jade statues that Kai controls. Those are his minions."

"Oh." The wolf slowly and sadly nodded, "Yeah. He used some of those statues to attack our village. Where does he get them? They're..." Lie Ren thought over his words carefully, as if he were thinking back to when Kai attacked, "strange."

"When Kai takes the chi of a warrior," Milu propped himself up on the edge of the boat, "He takes control of their body. Uses it as an extension of his own body."

"It doesn't matter if that warrior is alive or dead?" Lie Ren quickly asked.

"I am assuming not," Milu answered. His eyes drifted towards a bowl that Lie Ren had perched near him. Milu gestured towards the bowl, and Lie Ren, spotting it, handed it over. The elk reached the bowl into the river, collecting some water, and began to drink needily. The water was cold in his mouth, but it brought the energy that the doctor never thought he would have again. Without saying anything, Lie Ren grabbed a potato sack sitting in front of him and handed Milu some fruit. "Thank you, kind wolf." Milu breathed.

Lie Ren turned away while Milu ate, turning his gaze back to the river. After several minutes of eating and another bowl full of water, Milu finished. Feeling his strength return, Milu stood and walked over to where Lie Ren was standing near the sail.

"May I ask how bad the battle was? I assume it went badly, considering Kai is still alive and you came here for help." Milu's ears tilted forward as the tawny wolf nodded in shame.

"Yeah. It was bad. I tried my best, but... Kai was so..strong. The battle wasn't even that long. But I watched Shui fight." His eyes narrowed as he remembered the battle, "The battle was almost over. I didn't want to die, but I didn't want to be labeled as a coward either." He whined, "So I decided to go get help. Nobody saw me leave, I don't think. But I...I looked back. I saw Shui. All of the other wolves had fallen but she was fighting." Lie Ren's eyes pressed shut, but he continued speaking,

"She fought with the fury of...of a raging storm. Kai was watching too. She fought against two of the statues at once. I think he was impressed, too. But he still didn't spare her." Lie Ren sighed sadly, "I saw him turn her into jade. I wish I was brave enough to stick around and help instead of running away." His gaze fell to his feet as a soft whine escaped his throat.

Milu took a deep breath and laid a reassuring hoof on Lie Ren's sagging shoulder. "You did what you could've, son. You're not a coward, and I will tell you now that Kai attacked the Jade Palace yesterday, just before you arrived. Shifu and Leo Lung tried their best to stop him. None of them stood a chance." Milu spoke honestly, "He took their chi as well. Tai Lung and Tigress managed to escape with Huo, luckily."

"So Huo's ok?" Lie Ren visibly perked up at the mention of the pup's name. Milu nodded and continued,

"He was when I watched them escape." The elk smiled reassuringly. "I'm sure it will bring joy to the pack knowing that Shui's child is alive."

"Yeah," Lie Ren smiled half-heartedly. "The battle was rough." He looked back out over the river, gently guiding the boat. By now the sun had set. Crickets began to chirp, and the stars began their nightly dance in the inky blue sky. Lie Ren lit a lantern that was hanging on the edge of the boat to guide him. The orange-yellow glow of the flame illuminated the two as they sat in the boat.

"If I may ask," Milu started, "who were the statues that Shui fought? Kai had sent Crane and Mantis against the Palace, and some others I didn't recognize when he first attacked the Valley nearly a week ago."

At his words, Lie Ren stiffened for a moment. He pursed his lips, clearly debating on whether or not he should say something. His shoulders sagged for a moment. "It's ok if you didn't recognize them. I was simply curious." Milu spoke, turning his gaze back to the water. But Lie Ren shook his head.

"No...no, I did recognize them." He said quietly. Milu's ears rotated forward as he listened to Lie Ren's next words,

"It was Shen and Alpha."

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Tigress

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If she were judging purely by the happy chirping of the birds, Tigress would have never guessed how much danger she and Huo were in. But as she and Huo, with Tai Lung following behind, crossed through a meadow in the shadow of a mountain, that was all Tigress could hear: ground birds and meadowlarks and other birds singing carefree songs.

Huo was perfectly happy with trying to match pitch with the birds- he eagerly hummed and howled whenever a bird called out, trying to harmonize with their song. Tigress smiled as she listened to Huo. His howls filled in the silence, which meant Tigress didn't have to make conversation with Tai Lung, who was several paces behind them keeping watch for danger.

Although Tai was never a big talker from what she had experienced, the leopard was quieter than usual this morning. At the start of their trek today, Tigress assumed he was concentrating on looking for any of Kai's Jombies or other signs of trouble. But now, after the sun had peaked and was beginning to set, the leopard had hardly spoken directly to her.

But whenever Huo talked to him, Tai was happy to hold a conversation. When Huo plucked a pretty flower with soft white petals and proceeded to show both Tigress and Tai his newest possession, Tai praised him and patted him on the head encouragingly. Huo had continued to babble about flowers and plants for the next hour, while Tai listened attentively, whilst also scanning the horizon.

By how much time Huo spent with Tai, an outsider would rarely guess that Tigress was Huo's godmother.

After the sun had set and the trio began to slow down for the night, Tigress looked at Tai, who was setting up a bed of leaves and moss for Huo. "Tai. May I talk to you?"

"What is it?" The leopard asked, his tail flicking in her direction.

"What's bothering you?" She questioned, her voice soft in the twilight air.

"Are you worried about me?" Tai straightened, his golden eyes looking in her direction. "That's new."

{Now he's back,} Tigress thought to herself. Huo came up to Tai. The pup grabbed and hugged his leg, but Tai gently pushed Huo away, "Get ready for bed, Tigress and I are talking."

Tai gestured for Tigress to follow him, and they went several paces away from Huo, who was sitting on his rump on his makeshift bed. When they were out of earshot, Tai turned and looked down at Tigress, "Why are you just now beginning to be concerned about me? Several days ago you hardly cared for me. Don't tell me Huo's given you a change of heart."

Tigress huffed, "I figured if we are going to have to warn Po, we might as well be on good terms with each other when we get to the village. Besides, it's not good for Huo to think we hate each other. He's been through a lot these last few days."

Both of the two cats turned and looked over to where Huo was. The pup's back was turned to them as he stared off into the wilderness beyond the camp. Tigress thought she heard murmuring, but, when she shifted her footing, she couldn't see anyone other than the dark grey wolf pup. {He's probably just staring at some far off trees,} Tigress thought to herself. Tigress looked back at Tai, who met her gaze.

"If anything I'd say Huo's given you a change of heart." She said.

The leopard's gaze snapped back to her, "Are you calling me soft?" He growled quietly. His fur began to stand on end and his tail lashed, disturbing the foliage on the ground. Tai Lung had never been one to have a soft personality, even with Huo around.

Tigress patiently shook her head, "I'm saying that, compared to what I was told growing up in the palace, and the leopard I fought at the Thread of Hope, you seem a lot...different." The tiger commented.

Tai Lung went quiet. Judging by the unreadable look in his eyes, Tigress guess that he had something to say, but the subtle perk of his ears told her he was curious to hear what she had to say, so she continued. "You're not as violent as you were those years ago when you attacked the Palace. I don't know what happened between then and now, but you've changed." She gave Tai a friendly, reassuring smile.

The larger cat's lips turned upward in a knowing smirk. "Ah, the Spirit Realm." He reminisced.

"Would you mind telling me what happened there?" Tigress asked curiously. "After...after Po beat you?"

Tai nodded slowly, trying to recall what he remembered. He sighed after a minute, "It's hard to remember. The longer I stay in the mortal realm the more I forget what happened there. I suspect in another few days it will just seem like a dream. Leo Lung was there, and we fought. I remember that. Then,"

The leopard squeezed his eyes closed as he tried to recall what happened, "Oogway was there. He helped Leo Lung and I forgive each other. I think that was when Leo Lung was sent back. But after that, Oogway and I began training. It was almost as if we were back in the Palace, training. Time didn't seem real. We didn't need to eat or sleep. We just existed.

Sometimes I would visit a reflection pool." Tai admitted. "I could look back into the mortal realm. I wanted to see what Leo Lung was doing- how his life was going. I watched him go to Gongmen and fight Shen. I watched the factory explode, and I saw his recovery." The leopard smiled, "He sure is a stubborn one."

Tigress nodded as she recalled the weeks Leo spent in healing after the explosion in Gongmen. Tai continued, "During the battle by the river I wasn't sure he would make it out alive. But, lo and behold, Po mastered inner peace in time." The leopard then added on quietly, "I admit, it was impressive."

When Tigress heard those words, she almost felt proud. Proud for Po, for being able to earn Tai Lung's praise, and proud for Tai Lung for being humble to praise Po and his abilities.

"You didn't hear me say that, though," Tai growled quickly.

"Yes, I did." Tigress retorted quickly, a smirk on her face.

Tigress turned and made her way back to the camp. Huo was laying on his side with his back to her. Tigress would have assumed he was asleep, except he wasn't on his bed that Tai Lung had made for him. He was by the bushes that Tigress had seen him near earlier.

And he was shaking. Violently.

Tigress inhaled sharply and rushed over to him, kneeling beside him. "Huo?!" She turned him over. The pup's eyes were rolled back into his head, and his lips were foaming.

"What's going on?" Tai ran to Tigress and looked down at Huo in worry.

"He's having a seizure..." Tigress said quickly. She picked up Huo and began cradling him in her arms. "It's ok," She whispered to him, holding him close to her chest.

Tai Lung knelt across from her, "Does he usually have seizures?" He whispered frantically, his golden eyes wide with worry. Tigress shook her head at him.

"He's never done anything like this." She said, pinning her ears to her head as she listened to the wheezing pup.

This was the first time Huo had a seizure in front of her. Neither Shui nor Ri Chu had mentioned anything about Huo being sick. "Then why is he having a seizure?!" Tai Lung demanded.

"I don't know!" Tigress snapped at him, her grip on Huo tightening as his limbs trembled.

The leopard watched helplessly as Tigress held Huo in her arms. She continued whispering in his ear, "It'll be ok," She said. Huo's breathing became labored. Tai Lung looked around, searching for anything that he could do to help.

He looked at the ground beside him and saw several bright berries. Tai Lung slowly picked up one of the berries and looked at it. It was a small seed pod colored a bright orange-red, and it didn't have a distinctive scent or sharp spines to ward off predators. Very tempting to an unsuspecting pup.

Tai turned around and firmly, yet gently, grabbed Huo's muzzle and inspected it. He could feel his heart pounding in his ears as he tried to work. Huo's entire mouth and lips were white with foam. Tai Lung used the back of his paw to wipe away the mess on Huo's face. There, underneath the foam and spittle on Huo's lips was the same orange-red tint of the berries.

"These berries are poisonous!" Tai concluded, "We need to make him vomit."

Tigress looked up at him, and without hesitating, Tai Lung stuck his finger into Huo's mouth, reaching towards the back of his throat. Huo's jaw seized, and Tai felt the pup's needle-sharp teeth dig into his skin. He winced as he tried to find his gag reflex. Huo continued to shiver violently, but Tai didn't give up hope as he pressed his fingers against the back of Huo's throat.

Then, with a sudden, powerful twitch and a loud gag, the dark wolf pup began to vomit all over Tai's fingers, Tigress's lap, and the ground beneath. In the mixture of the bile, Tai saw the bright orange-red tint of the berries he had ingested.

"Get him some water," Tigress said, her voice hoarse and her ears pinned to the back of her head.

As Tai Lung rushed off to find the nearest stream, Tigress felt Huo's convulsions begin to slow down and his breathing became more audible. Tigress felt relief flood into her veins. She swallowed and whispered to the child, "It's ok, Huo. It's ok, now. You're going to be ok. I'm-" She took a deep breath to try and regain her composure, "I'm so sorry." She took deep breaths as she stared at the child's lips.

She didn't even see Huo eat the berries. Tigress looked up at the bushes where Tai had run off into. From where he was sitting, Tai was able to spot the berries before she could and deduce that Huo had accidentally eaten the berries before Tigress even knew he was poisoned.

Tigress closed her eyes and thanked Oogway that Tai Lung had saved Huo's life.

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Authors Note: What a chapter, huh? Po found out his father's side of the story of Shen's invasion, Milu figured out that Alpha and Shen are under Kai's control, and Tai Lung saved Huo's life! I have next chapter all planned out, so all I need to do is get to writing! I'm not going to do what I did for this chapter and set a deadline, simply because I am afraid I will miss it and disappoint you guys. Anyway, let's get a preview of the next chapter. . .

"He's one of them, we shouldn't trust him."

Hmm, sounds like some trust will be tried in the new chapter! If you want to guess who is saying that, and who's untrustworthy, be sure to leave a review! I really appreciate constructive criticism and praise! If you've gotten this far and you haven't already, then you may as well leave a follow and a favorite :)

Much love,

Miss Firefly