A/N: Super long chapter ahead because I didn't want to break it up...Also some fun at the end so read with caution

OoOoOoO

It was too soft.

Po bolted awake, slinging himself upright way too quickly. His heart thudded behind his temples at a racing tempo.

"Hey, man, take it easy." There was a paw on shoulder. Mei Ling's worried face came into few. His vision seemed to clear, at least enough for him to get his bearings.

He was in a bedroom, a guest room he presumed. The something soft he'd been on was a large fluffy bed, overlaid with a thick duvet that was soft like silk. He chest was wrapped in bandages, and there was a large bandage on the back of his head. Someone had changed his pants and he didn't even want to guess who.

He remembered attempting the move, but not the end result. Judging by the fact that he was in a palace bedroom, he assumed they won the fight. He had blacked out pretty easily. He just hoped Tigress didn't have a hard time getting him up there.

Tigress….where was she?

"Tigress?" His voice was hoarse.

Mei Ling reached over to the night stand and handed him a cup of water. "She's okay. She passed out from exhaustion almost as soon as she got up here."

"Who else?" He remembered feeling that aching pain in his chest, the same as her he assumed. He took a sip of water and steeled himself.

"Shifu. He's unconscious down the hall. The doctor is with him now, and he and Tigress are sharing a room." Mei Ling sighed and sat at the edge of the bed. Her face relaxed, showing just how tired she was. "Aside from the three of you, most walked away unharmed. Viper pulled a muscle, Monkey's tail is a little bent out of shape. Everyone else is just exhausted."

"You should get some rest, too." He commented, squeezing her paw reassuringly.

"I will." She nodded with a fond smile. "We had to set up a watch, in case they came back. I'm done in an hour."

He nodded. "Can I see her?"

She must have known, or at least guessed what was on his mind, because she gave him a knowing smile. "She's still asleep, but I'm sure that would be okay. Drink first though."

He finished off the cup, and she smiled. "I have to go, but I'll meet up with you all later, okay?"

He nodded, and she disappeared out the door.

Po took a deep breath, and began the process of getting himself out of bed. It was dark out, but there were a few candles flickering in the room. He found his footing pretty easily, it seems all he really needed was some rest. He assumed the worst of his injuries was a concussion, which was already on the path to getting better. Making it to the door was no real struggle.

Two doors down, he found the raccoon doctor. Her head tilted a bit when he entered, acknowledging his presence without saying anything. She finished her checks, and made to leave.

"They both need rest, Dragon Warrior." The doctor said wryly before she left.

There were three beds in the room, all relatively small. One was occupied by Shifu, the other by Tigress, and the third empty. He moved over to the bed containing Tigress, and sat gingerly on the edge.

"Hey you." She was awake, just barely. He immediately felt bad for waking her.

"I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's okay." She shook her head, and reached out to hold his paw. "I was up. The doctor has been messing with me every five minutes."

He chuckled, squeezing her hand. "I'm glad you're okay. I hate that I blacked out on you."

"You looked stupid all passed out like that." She joked. She began shifting around uncomfortably, and he helped her get into a sitting position against the headboard. She looked like she had something on her mind, but she wasn't sure how to say it. Instead, she asked her most pressing question. "How did you do that?"

"What, Shang Zhi?" He shrugged. "Oogway."

"Ah."

"He taught you the Weixing Wave?"

The voice came from behind, and the panda jerked around, not expecting a voice to come from the second occupied bed. "Shifu?"

"That move is very dangerous." The old master was trying to sit upright. Po dropped her paw and moved over to the other bed to help him sit up as well.

"I've heard about it, from Oogway's scrolls. It can cause you to go deaf if unprepared." Tigress replied quietly, surprised to see him awake. "I'm glad you're okay, Master."

"I am glad to see the two of you are as well." He replied, exhaustion in his voice. "When you did not return from the Valley, I expected the worst."

"I'm glad you all were able to hold your own until we got here." Po rubbed the back of his head. "I feel like if I hadn't been captured-"

"Don't." Tigress interrupted firmly. "This isn't your fault."

Shifu watched a quick look pass between them, and it piqued his curiosity. What exactly had occurred in the last couple of days?

"I did meet a friend, though." Po said nonchalantly, and the two masters frowned at him. "Zheng! The messenger goose!"

"He's alive?" Shifu questioned incredulously.

"Yeah! Apparently he followed my dad out of the city and ended up in Shang Zhi. They'd put him in prison though…"

"Po, what?" Tigress was very confused, and it seemed Shifu was as well.

"It's a long story. We should probably wait so I can tell the others, too." He sighed. "And I could go for some grub."

"Did someone say food?" The door to the room opened, having apparently been cracked, and in came Monkey, balancing three bowls of soup on his arms.

"Oh how I love you guys!" Po handed a bowl to both Tigress and Shifu, and then took one for himself and plopped on the floor next to her bed excitedly.

The rest of the Five filed into the room, all carrying soup bowls, and Mei Ling tagged along at the end with a large container of dumplings. Viper slithered carefully up the bed post so she could sit next to Tigress. Mantis hopped onto the edge of Shifu's bed, and the rest sat around in a circle on the floor. For a moment, they just enjoyed the soup (provided to the masters by Mr. Ping himself) and relaxed.

It was late, and the moon hung in the sky, but most of them had slept through the entire rest of the day. They were feeling the same kind of exhausted energy that prohibited sleep.

When the food bowls were empty and the dumplings finished, they lounged and talked, finally feeling full and satisfied.

"How did you do that, Po?" Mantis had asked him, and he responded exactly as he had with Tigress.

"Oogway. In a weird sort of dream thing…"

"Too cool." The bug shook his head. The room seemed to die down to an awkward, tense sort of silence, because they all had the same question but none of them really knew how to voice it.

"Look, I hate to be the one to bring it up." Mei Ling sighed and looked into her bowl, not meeting their gazes. "What happens next?"

The room remained quiet, because nobody really had an answer. The only thing they could do was speculate. Viper, being the reassuring one of the group, took in on herself to come up with a response.

"I don't know, but I think waiting for an attack is a mistake."

"You want to go on the offensive?" Crane asked her. He wasn't really surprised, as he had been thinking something similar.

"Maybe?" She dipped her head. "The next time they attack, and there will be a next time if we don't act, they could have more wolves, more cannons. We barely survived this one."

"I agree." Po replied. "Think about it logistically. The rebels don't have enough supplies to keep holding out here. And if Bai Liang plans to send out his boats, he could do it any day now."

"Look at you being logical!" Monkey teased.

"So we need a plan then?" Mei Ling ignored the comment with a shake of her head.

"It's like a three front war," Crane thought out loud, "Bai Liang and the Wolves, the Boats, and whatever this dragon thing is."

Tigress should have been listening to the conversation as it continued, but her thoughts drifted. Particularly, they drifted back to a conversation from a few hours before.

The Doctor had come in as she was blinking awake, the haze of a long sleep lingering through her whole frame. She began quietly checking on Shifu, on his pulse, his eyes. Tigress sat up slowly and watched her.

"Is he okay?"

She must have startled the raccoon, because she jumped a bit. "Master Tigress, I did not realize you were awake."

"I'm sorry-"

"Sheng. And no worries." The raccoon waved her off. "I need to check your bandages, if you do not mind."

"Of course."

Tigress removed the robe she had been dressed in, allowing Sheng access to the bandages wrapped around her midsection. She checked the tiger's pulse, and then sighed.

"What is it?" Shifu had woken, and sat up with a wince.

Sheng hesitated. "Your injuries are pretty light. It is not them that I worry about."

"Then what is?"

"Tigress?"

She was jerked back into the present by Viper's voice by her side, but it was so sudden that she startled and sent the bowl she was holding flying to the floor. Her paws just froze a second, realizing what she had done.

"Sorry, I-"

"It's okay." Po reassured her, righting the bowl and adding it to his own pile of dishes.

"What's up, Ti?" Crane's voice was light, but the worried look on his face made her wish she had been paying attention. Now they all looked at her, and she panicked searching for a response. Her eyes met Shifu's and with a resigned breath, he nodded. She could tell them, but she didn't want to.

"When the doctor came in earlier," she began slowly, "She expressed concern over Shifu's chest injury. She's worried that if he faces another blow like that, his heart will give out."

While the rest of them looked in shock to their master, Po glanced up at the feline. He could immediately tell that she wasn't saying everything, and part of him was a little frustrated.

"What else?" He urged quietly, and the five turned their attention back to her.

She shut her eyes briefly, steeling herself. "She is also worried that I've overexerted myself too much. My body isn't used to fighting the way I have been the last week. She's not as concerned about me, but she doesn't want me fighting until she's sure that my body can handle whatever I put it through."

"So, what are you saying?" Monkey probed.

"That I have to be careful." She replied simply. "But, whatever happens, I want to be there in the end. Bai Liang has a special place in hell waiting for him, and I'd like to help with that."

She finally looked up from her paws and met Viper's eyes with a slight smile. Despite the intensity of her words, her face was calm, shoulders square. Po made a mental note to ask her about that later.

"If only we could figure out what he wants." Monkey slumped against the end of Shifu's bed, seemingly defeated.

"I might be able to help with that." Po raised his hand like a school child, just thankful that the conversation had moved on. He was sure he could ask Tigress about it later, but the uncomfortable look on her face made him regret probing her. "I ran into an old friend while I was in prison."

"Wait, how'd you get out of prison?" Crane interrupted.

Po hesitated, and then realizing he didn't have an answer, turned to Tigress. "How exactly did you do that?"

"I lit a bunch of gunpowder barrels on fire and chucked them around." Her nonchalant statement caught them all off guard. They stared at her, wide-eyed, until she shifted uncomfortably. "What?"

"Anyway," Po continued, "I found Zheng the goose! From the Valley!"

"Po," Shifu finally spoke from his place on the bed, "I beg of you, get to the point."

Mantis snickered.

"Okay, fine." Po resigned. "Anyway, he apparently followed my dad out of the Valley. Ended up in Shang Zhi, and infiltrated the imperial city as the emperor's private messenger. He was there for five years before being discovered and sent to prison at the docks."

"Before I was broken out, he told me the story of Bai Liang!"

"The story of Bai Liang?" Tigress scoffed.

"Yeah? Problem?"

"The problem is that the story changes every time he tells it." She replied with a chuckle. "I lived here ten years and I never heard the same version twice."

"So…what's the story?" Viper asked.

"The story begins in ancient China-"

"Po," Tigress shot him a look, "Shut up. Anyways, Bai Liang came to the palace when he was fifteen. His father served as the royal war advisor to the Emperor. He died a year into the post, but the Emperor saw promise in Bai Liang and gave the post to him."

"The two became really close. The rumor is that the Emperor and his wife could not conceive." She hesitated. "Bai Liang knew that. He hoped that by getting close to the Emperor he could one day rule China."

"But the Emperor saw darkness in his heart, and refused." Po's voice dropped. The others stared at him. Tigress pinched the bridge of her muzzle at him having quoted her description of Tai Lung.

"Oddly enough, he's right." She finally sighed. "The Emperor was worried that Bai Liang had a darker greed. However, his wife died suddenly and, being he was getting on in years, he considered passing along the throne. Eleven years ago, he decided to abdicate after the fall festival. He traveled to the East a few days before, and found a four-year-old tiger cub stowed away on a boat from the south."

"Kai." Viper breathed.

"Exactly. Kai was an immediate favorite in the palace. Within a few days, the Emperor had agreed to adopt him as his own. Bai Liang had been on an expedition in the mountains when Kai was found. He came back and not only had he lost the Emperor's favor, but in his mind, he also lost the throne."

"The wild part is that while Bai Liang was traveling, he stumbled on the dragon's lair." Po finished. "That's a rumor that Zheng heard a lot. Zheng said it spoke to him, told him where to go and get followers. When Shen died, Bai Liang stole prototype cannons from the factories and used them to antagonize wolf packs all over China. They joined pretty willingly."

"When I met you in the woods," Crane spoke up after a moment, "the staff made my brain all wonky."

"The staff contains a stone, it's called the 'Weixing Stone'. Oogway told me that whoever controls it, controls the dragon. They beat him back the first time by knocking him out with the wave and while he was asleep, they stole it. Apparently, they also stole the way to destroy it. The only way to destroy the dragon is to destroy the stone." Po replied.

"The scroll that Yu found most likely has instructions on how to do that. Since white fox's kept the stone originally, it makes sense that they would be the ones who could destroy it." Tigress finished.

"So, we get the scroll, figure out how to destroy the stone. Destroy that, get the Dragon?" Monkey asked. "Where is Yu?"

"We sent them to bed a few hours ago." Tigress replied quietly.

"Boom, Dragon's done." Mantis interjected. "Now, the boats."

"I might have an idea for those, but it's risky." Tigress cringed, thinking back to the fight on the docks.

"Flaming barrels?" Po asked her dryly.

"Might be the best way." She rubbed her temples tiredly. "I don't even know how to go about it though."

Shifu frowned at his daughter, whose shoulders had fallen. They hadn't seen her when she first woke up, the flashes of pain that made her clench the bed sheets. Sheng had given her something for the pain, but it was beginning to fade. Plus, judging just by her eyes, she was exhausted.

"Let's continue this in the morning." He commanded quietly. "We all need rest."

Tigress passed him a grateful look as the group began to disband. Po, loaded up with dirty bowls, sent her a look saying We'll talk later and followed the group out.

She leaned tiredly against the wall, shutting her eyes a moment. Her brain raced though at the absence of sight, and she guessed that despite being exhausted, she probably wasn't going to sleep easily.

"Tigress, I am very proud of you." He murmured after a while. Her eyes flew open and he met her gaze evenly.

She hadn't been expecting him to say that, obviously, but she also didn't think he ever would. She had realized after years of living and fighting side by side with him, he showed his pride in other ways. But the way he said it was what concerned her. She hadn't been totally honest with the group, and he knew that.

"Thank you."

"You know what the doctor said, Tigress." He sighed. "If this is the end, you need to know that-"

"Just stop." Despite the pain, she got out of bed angrily. "I need air."

"Tig-"

The closing of the bedroom door cut him off. She felt stupid, because she really shouldn't be out of bed, but she couldn't let him finish his thought. Feeling cold and tired, she wrapped her robe tighter around herself and headed towards the kitchen. The medicinal tea the doctor had left would help her sleep.

And she ran into Po. That was exactly what she didn't need at the moment.

"Oh, hey." He looked up from the dishes he was washing. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

She leaned against the table, the burst of energy she'd used to get down there fading. "I need a drink."

He raised an eyebrow. "How about some tea?"

She groaned and sat at the table, putting her face in her hands.

"I'll take that as a yes." He moved to begin boiling water. As he waited, he sat in the seat in front of her patiently. "So?"

She finally looked at him, moving her paws to meet his eyes. "So what?"

"You came down here, obviously in pain and irritated." He looked at her tiredly, as though no amount of BS was going to fool him. "Let's talk about it."

She sighed, knowing he was probably going to pester her about it. "I kind of lied earlier."

"About?"

"Shifu and I." She leaned back in her chair. "The doctor said that even if he avoids Kung Fu entirely, he still might not have long. And me- I will never be the same again."

"None of us will." He stood from the table and began the process of steeping her tea.

"Kung Fu was my life, Po."

"No, it wasn't." He put the cup in front of her and sat back down. "It was a part of your life. Even if it goes away, you'll still be here. Stop being fatalistic."

She looked into her tea, still feeling frustrated but not wanting to admit that he was at least partially right. But she had spent so much time around it, living and breathing kung fu. With her body as messed up as it was from a decade of neglect, even with her attempts to keep in shape that failed through the years, the idea of not doing the thing she loved was painful.

"You still have us, the Jade Palace, the Valley." He shrugged, folding his arms. "You have me."

"I have you?"

"Come on, Tigress. I wouldn't have kissed you if I wasn't in love with you."

Her breath hitched in her chest, not just because he actually said it out loud but because it was the first time anyone had really said it genuinely to her. He seemed to have surprised himself, too, because his eyebrows shot up.

"Po, I-"

He stood from his seat, shaking his head. "I shouldn't have said anything."

He was leaving. Those words…she couldn't let him go without responding in some way to what he said.

She got up from her seat, intent on stopping him. The only way she could think to do that was to grab his arm and whip him around. But she didn't stop. She pulled him close and kissed him hard, just like he had done to her in the valley. She couldn't say it...not yet. But she could show it.

It was the first time she had initiated it, and the first time they were uninterrupted. Despite the fact that her breaths hurt in her chest she just couldn't let him go. When he did finally take a breath, he had her back pushed against the table. Her paws were on his chest. Her breathing was halted. Every bit of fatigue had seemingly disappeared.

His eyes met hers, as though asking permission, and she nodded.