He woke peacefully. Nothing startled him, nothing drove him out of bed. He woke up like he'd just had a pleasant and happy dream at the barracks in the Valley of Peace.

He sighed, felt the weight of something on his paw that drew him back to consciousness. When he opened his eyes, he was on his bed at the imperial palace.

"Please, tell me that was not all a dream." He groaned, and whoever was holding his paw chuckled.

"No."

He turned his head and finally looked at Tigress with a goofy sort of grin on his face. "You're okay."

"I am." She nodded. "And so are you. Doc said it was just a few bruised ribs."

"Who was the poor soul that had to carry me back up here?" He chuckled and then winced at the aforementioned injuries.

"It was a team effort, I heard." She replied, a small smile on her face.

Po groaned as he tried to maneuver into a seated position, and she tried to help him as best she could. Once he was sitting up, he felt much better.

"I'm never doing that move again. I don't like passing out."

She wordlessly handed him a up of water and was about to say something, but there was a knock at the door.

"Hey, buddy." Crane peeked his head in. "You guys aren't making out in here, are you?"

Po's mouth opened in surprise, and he looked to Tigress for an explanation.

"Crane!" Tigress growled, but the bird just shrugged and stepped into the room.

"How ya feelin, Po?"

"Hungry." The three of them chuckled.

"Well it's good I came in when I did." Crane replied. "Lunch is ready. Oh and Tigress, Kai wants to speak with you."

"I'll be out in a minute."

Crane nodded and departed.

"What was that?" Po looked at her wide eyed. "He knows?"

"He guessed, Po. I didn't say anything." She stood from her seat. "and just so you know," she started with hesitation, "You've been out for a couple of days. You still need to take it easy."

He nodded and watched her walk out of the room with a frown on his face. There was obviously something wrong, something she wasn't telling him. He resigned to figure out what is was as soon as possible.

There was a loud gargle from his stomach, and he sighed.

Po was able to carefully lower himself off of the bed and found himself standing on pretty steady feet. He made sure he had clothes on (although some poor stranger had changed him once again) and made his way down to the kitchen.

Only Viper sat down there. Crane hadn't gone back down there. Po could have sworn as he entered that he could hear music from the open window, but it was so faint that he couldn't tell.

"Hello, brother." Viper nodded to him as he entered. She sipped from her soup bowl, seemingly enjoying the quietness of the kitchen. "Glad to see you are up and about."

"Heh, thanks." He rubbed the back of his head. "Where is everybody?"

She chuckled, as though there was some joke he hadn't seen yet. "They are celebrating, Dragon Warrior."

"Celebrating?"

"Someone got ahold of a supply of rice wine from the cellars. The whole camp has been partying since yesterday."

"So then," he frowned, "everything is ok?"

"Po, everything is fantastic." She replied with a raised eyebrow. "I mean….we actually did it."

"But what about the wolves?"

"Two thousand, four hundred and twenty seven. The Master's council has been working non-stop to outfit Chor Ghom to handle all of them. Most of them are still knocked out though, so we have time."

He hummed his response and fixed himself a bowl of soup, but the information stuck like a lump in his throat. He couldn't remember it. At all. He remembered Tigress showing up, a lot of running, and then everything went black. But judging by the music outside and the look on Viper's face, they had been successful. He just hoped there weren't many casualties because of his negligence.

"Po," She reached forward and wrapped her tail gently around his wrist, "everything is okay."

He nodded haltingly and ate his soup.

"Hey guys!" Mantis came scurrying in and hiccupped loudly. "Master's Council wants to speak with all of us in the war room. Hurry up." And he left with a bizarre sort of chuckle.

Po and Viper looked at one another in confusion, and she just shook her head. "Half of our group is drunk off their ass. This ought to be fun."

"Most definitely."

The others were waiting when they got upstairs, but Po immediately noticed the absence of two very important people. He hoped they were right behind him, but Master Ox entered behind the Dragon Warrior and shut the door.

Croc and a few others were there, including who Po recognized from the Winter Feast as Mei Ling's old master.

"Please, have a seat." Croc invited. There were just enough chairs for the four plus Po, and the Masters remained standing on the other side of the table. Po watched them with a frown, suddenly feeling as though he was being put on trial.

"What about Shifu and Tigress?" Crane spoke up, and he glanced out of the corner of his eye at Po, who passed him a grateful side-eye.

"They are not needed at this time." Replied Ox, not giving any sort of explanation.

Before anyone could protest, Croc spoke. "Let me begin first by saying none of you are in trouble. We merely have some matters to discuss with you all going forward."

"The Master's Council, or what was left of it, gathered early this morning. We have been attempting to establish a death toll, but those numbers are insurmountable. More than likely, we will never find all of the bodies."

"We have had some luck in the north." Mei Ling's Master, Qiaolian, continued, "Several groups of wolves fled up there when Bai Liang was killed, and they are being swiftly taken care of by the Mongolian forces. Here, in China, we have arrested close to four thousand, including the ones you all fought three days ago. Our focus now is containing all of them."

"The matter that pertains to you all," A fourth person had entered the room, and there was a mild sigh in relief when they turned to find it was Shifu, "is regarding the actions you take in the next few weeks. May I?" He turned to the Master's Council, and they nodded and left the room.

The atmosphere seemed to relax as they departed, and Po let out a breath. "I thought I was in trouble."

Mantis snorted.

"I want to say," they piped down as Shifu continued, "how proud I am of each and every one of you. The last few weeks, no the last ten years, have been the fight of our lives. You all succeeded in doing what so many couldn't."

He sighed. They watched him in anticipation.

"Many Kung Fu masters have either been killed, or put in prison. We are trying to determine just how many are left. Until we do that, we need masters to return to the schools that are still standing."

"No disrespect, Master," they looked in surprise to Viper, who watched him tiredly, "But can you please cut to the chase."

Mantis let out a drunken guffaw. Monkey hid his snickers behind his fist.

"Very well." He continued indignantly. "The Master's Council has given you all a choice. You can return to the Valley and help it rebuild, or you can split up and try to rebuild other kung fu towns."

There was a strange sort of silence, as though they couldn't quite process what exactly he meant. Mantis' smile had been wiped off of his face. Monkey had seemingly sobered up in the two seconds of quiet.

"They want to split us up?" Viper's words were small, like those of a child about to cry. Po looked at her, but her gaze was on the floor.

"For how long?" Crane asked.

"I do not know." Shifu shook his head. "Ultimately, it is your choice. No one will fault you for wanting to come home. But, there are cities who need people there to protect them."

"What about you, Master?" Po spoke up. "And Tigress?"

"I will be remaining here. And for Tigress," Shifu hesitated, "She was offered a different choice. I'm sure she will discuss it with you when she is ready."

He let them think in silence for a moment, before he sighed. "I understand it is not an easy choice to make. You have always been taught that you must protect China, but protecting China now might mean splitting up again. But remember that as long as you trust yourself, your decision will not be wrong. Think on it. The Masters will be here until tomorrow. You are dismissed."

He exited the room, but the five of them remained, thinking deeply.

"I think we all need to sleep on this." Viper slithered to the ground, head bowed.

"Yeah and those two need to sober up." Crane gestured to Monkey and Mantis, who had stopped laughing but were still pretty glassy-eyed.

"I need some air." Po left the room before any of them had a chance to, and Crane watched his buddy go with a frown on his face.

"I hope he's okay." Viper looked to the door.

"I'm sure he's fine." Crane replied. "Just off to find Tigress. I wonder what is going on with her."

Monkey and Mantis sniggered again, and Viper hissed at the both of them. It didn't work, and they fell out of their chairs in guffaws, seemingly unfazed by the situation.

"What are they even-"

"I wouldn't worry about it." Crane tried to usher her out of the room, but she wasn't having any of it. After a second of looking between the three of them, she gasped.

"No."

"Yes!" Mantis was rolling, tears.

"How did you guys find out?"

"I guessed." Crane shrugged.

"We've had a bet going since Gongmen." Monkey cackled, triggering another round of laughs from the pair.

"Ugh." Viper shook her head and vacated the room before she smacked the crap out of the pair.

He found who he was looking for only a few moments after exiting outside. A party was in full force out in the courtyard, and hundreds talked, drank, and laughed in the afternoon sunshine. A small group had struck up some music. As he made his way towards the object of his search, he was patted on the back by several animals who cheered as he walked by.

"Po!" Mr. Ping was in the middle of a game with the Soothsayer, of all people, but he paused when his son came to the table.

"Hey. Can we talk a sec?"

"Of course, but I was winning. Let's make this quick." He left the table and the two moved to a quiet part of the courtyard. "What do you need?"

Po told him everything in a panicked sort of way, and when he was done, Ping looked at him with an unreadable expression. "What do you want to do?"

"I don't know, that's why I'm asking you." Po exclaimed. "Are you going to the Valley?"

"Well, Po, I do not know yet." The goose shrugged. "But you should make the decision for what's best for you."

"Isn't that selfish?"

"Of course not." Mr. Ping replied incredulously. "You just fought a war, son. You are the master of the Jade Palace. It is your right to return home, or to take on training a new generation. No one can fault you for your choices."

Po nodded haltingly, and Mr. Ping placed a wing on his arm reassuringly. "Thanks Dad."

"Any time, Po." The goose returned to his game, leaving Po feeling slightly better but still lost. The one person he wanted to talk to now was nowhere to be found.

But wait…

He noticed the striped pelt across the courtyard. Squinting, he could make her out weaving through the crowd. She grabbed a bottle off of one of the tables, and met his gaze across the way. She lifted the bottle slightly, and he got the message.

Po navigated his way through the crowds and disappeared into the quiet and cool halls of the palace. His bedroom door had been left cracked, so he entered and shut it behind him.

"Hey." Tigress seemed relieved to see him. When he entered, he embraced her and they just stood there for a moment.

"Are you okay?" He pulled away from her. "When you left-"

"I didn't mean to make you worry. I just had a lot on my mind."

"Come here." He led her to the front of the bed and sat on the floor, and she joined him, curling into his side and letting him wrap his arms around her. "You heard?"

"About your choice, yes. The Master's Council told me this morning before you woke up. Have you decided what you are going to do?"

"No." He frowned. "But I want to be with you."

"Po," She pulled away to look at him, "I'm staying here."

He launched himself off the floor, suddenly too antsy to sit still. Inside, a turmoil of frustration tore at his gut.

She watched him pace, and took a swig from the bottle for liquid courage. "Kai is being crowned on the New Year. He's requested that I stay here, and the doctor seems to like that idea. Shifu is remaining with me as well."

"The New Year?"

"Yeah." She nodded, standing. He stopped pacing, thoughts going a mile a minute.

"After that, what?"

"I'll go home, probably."

He sighed, resigned, and stepped forward, wrapping his paws around her waist. "We're gonna be okay, right? Whatever happens?"

"Of course, Po." She squeezed his arms reassuringly. "We've been through worse. But you have the choice here. You need to base that choice off of you, not me."

She watched him process it a moment, before sighing. "Come here." She led him to the floor where they had been sitting, and returned to their position.

He took the bottle and took a half-hearted swig, gaze not leaving the setting sun. Then suddenly, he remembered the question he had been meaning to ask her.

"How did you do it?"

"Hmm?"

"How'd you face him so easily?" He finally looked at her, but her gaze was far away.

"I didn't want to kill him, Po." She finally spoke after a moment. "If I had had it my way, he'd be rotting in jail for the rest of his life."

"But?"

"But," she hesitated, "Oogway once said that fear is always a part of us. It's what keeps us alive. Trying to live without it is foolish. Sure, I was afraid of him, but I'm more afraid of what would have happened if he won."

"He said something 'bout you." Po replied after a moment. "He said the two of you had a connection. Ti-"

"He tried." She didn't want him to finish the thought out loud. It still sent chills down her spine to think about it. "I almost bit his hand off before he could."

"I just…I didn't want to force you into anything-"

"You didn't." She chuckled, and the tension seemed to fade from his shoulders, although his face still wore a worried expression. "I seem to remember being quite willing."

He nodded, and she leaned her head on his shoulder. "Everything is going to be okay, Po."

The parties raged into the night. There was a feeling of elation and excitement. The atmosphere was alive with hope, and for the first time, the refugees relaxed. The music played until the moon was high in the sky, and the camp remained lively until then.

But by dawn, when Po opened his eyes, the palace was silent. A cool breeze entered through the open window, bringing with it the promise of a cold, early winter.

"We should get up." Tigress had woken too, curled on her side and facing him.

"It's barely dawn." He groaned, rolling over and kissing her bare shoulder.

"Yes, but if I get caught in here, Shifu is going to have a cow."

He chuckled and rolled over, allowing her to climb out of bed and retrieve her clothes from the floor. He watched her rewrap herself and put on her pants and vest with a sleepy sort of smile.

"Have you decided yet?" She asked, catching him staring. She hated to bring it up, but the masters would be leaving soon.

The smile disappeared, and he sat up. He'd come up with a tentative plan before he'd been...encouraged into bed, but he wasn't sure how the council would feel. "I think so."

She buttoned the last button on her vest and began looking for her robe. He had exited the warmth of the blanket and found it tossed on the floor near the bathroom door.

"Thanks." She wrapped it around herself and turned to face him. "So we're square?"

He pulled her close and kissed her slowly, reveling in the prospect of doing it freely in the future. It took every ounce in him to pull away, and even when he did, he kept his paws bunched in the fabric of her robe.

He leaned his forehead against hers, a sort of goodbye, and finally let her go. "It's a deal."

OoOoOoO

A/N: I'll post the epilogue tomorrow.