The sun was setting.

Each inch it dipped brought with it a heightened tension. The plan…it was relatively solid. It could work. They had to have faith in that. At least, that was the mantra that kept repeating in Tigress' head.

At soon as the sun was below the horizon, the first group prepared themselves. Tigress watched them with baited breath, fists clenched at her side. Not going with them was frustrating, but she would be there in the end at least. Shifu, who stood next to her, would not be. He was under strict orders-no getting involved. He seemed just as agitated as she was, and that gave her some kind of comfort. Kai, on her other side, was restless as they gathered.

"It's all gonna be okay." He murmured, mostly to himself. He had also been requested to remain with Shifu, uninvolved in the conflict.

"Yes, it will be." Tigress reassured him. "Your idea to have guards remain behind was smart." She watched Zheng circle overhead.

Kai had come to her with the idea late in the afternoon. Zheng was a pretty decent flier. He would be the communication guy. They needed troops to remain behind and protect the injured, so Zheng offered to remain behind and signal if any wolves came towards the city. Plus, he could also go and find Po, if the fighting got too intense.

"Yes, it was." Shifu said quietly from her other side. "Your plan to protect Shang Zhi from the attack was impressive. I doubt we would have had as few casualties as we did if you hadn't suggested it."

Kai's eyes went wide at the praise. "Th-thank you Master."

Tigress smiled briefly, glad that her father had finally said something to him.

The sky grew darker.

OoOoOoO

They reached it just before nightfall.

The point on the map had led them another valley, adjacent to the Valley of Peace by a few li. It was small, surrounded by steep craggy cliffs and rice fields on steppes. But the rice was no longer growing, and the water that remained was dark and unusable.

The place wasn't really anything special. It seemed like it had once been a village, but the houses were long gone, reduced to rubble. From what Po could tell, it had been destroyed a long time before.

Only one house remained-it's exterior relatively untouched by the years. In the growing dusk, they could see that it had a small garden, with nothing more than a few plants in it. Smoke rose from the chimney, hidden by the dark.

They moved down the main path carefully, expecting some kind of trap to hit them before they got to the front door. But, whatever had happened here seemed long over.

"Are you looking for someone?" The voice came from around the back of the house, in the garden. Po and Yu looked to one another briefly before he responded.

"We're friends of Oogway's."

"Oh." Around the corner came a fox, and in the darkness, they could only see her silvery pelt and hunched frame. When she saw Yu, she paused. "You here about the scroll?"

"Yes ma'am." She nodded, producing it from her pocket.

"Come on in." The fox opened the front door and disappeared into the house, leaving them to send each other glances before following.

The inside of the house was small and warm, lined with bookshelves and the smell of something delicious cooking on the stove. The fox, now illuminated by firelight, looked between the two with squinted eyes. Her gaze never left, even as she poured them tea.

"What happened here?" Po finally asked her, feeling uncomfortable under the weight of her gaze.

"This used to be a monastery." She said, handing each of them a cup of something dark. "But it hasn't been that in years."

Po looked apprehensively into the cup and sniffed it, not really sure about actually trying it.

"I'm sorry, but are we in the right place?" Yu asked her cautiously. "We need-"

"I know what you need." The fox interrupted tiredly. She stood and opened a cupboard, then took out another intricately-carved wooden box. "Oogway and the Furious Five stopped here on the way back from defeating the dragon. He asked me to keep this safe."

The fox handed the box to the younger fox. "You are the Dragon Warrior, I presume?"

Po nodded silently, watching Yu open the box and reveal a simple dagger. It glowed in the low light.

"We have to do anything special?" She asked the fox, who shook her head.

"Nope. Just stab it."

"Really? It can't be that easy, can it?" Po asked her incredulously.

"I don't know. Try it."

Po and Yu looked at one another, slightly confused.

"Huh?"