Here it is at last: the sequel to Abode of Snow. I've made some revisions to the plot since I finished Abode of Snow, so here's the new extended synopsis!

After Po and his friends' fateful mission in the Himalayas, the mysterious Order finally emerges from the shadows. In the terrible battle that follows, several of the Jade Palace's warriors' allies and loved ones are captured, and the rest are forced into hiding. Two months later, their respective journeys will lead them into life-threatening danger and reunite them with old friends and enemies.

Crane receives a secret message from his old friend, Mei Ling, who has infiltrated the Order and learned some important secrets. Without Tigress to lead them, the Furious Five set out into a war zone to rescue her and find out what she knows, and their journey brings them into conflict with the leader of the Order's mercenary army.

With Shifu still in recovery, Viper and a team of old masters devise a plan to infiltrate one of the Order's strongholds to find what information they can. Tin the process, Viper is reunited with the panda cub known as Su. As they journey through the Mystic Mountains in search of safety, Viper slowly realizes that there is something very strange about Su, and that her genius intellect is not a gift, but a symptom.

After his capture two months ago, Po escapes an enemy stronghold, only to realize that Tigress is missing and he has become the target of the mysterious entity known only as Ember, the Dragon Empress. All too aware that this time Shifu and the Furious Five aren't around to help him, Po nevertheless undertakes a desperate quest to get her back before it is too late... and the blaze of Ember consumes him...

Well, there you go. Read, enjoy, and don't forget to review!


The downside to luck is that eventually it is going to run out.

Po Ping was feeling very lucky one late afternoon in the kitchen as he stepped into the kitchen and found his potential future girlfriend Tigress dozing quietly at the table before a pot of dark liquid and a cloth. It was early autumn. The air was cool and brown and gold leaves had gathered on the high windowsill. It would be Po's turn to clean it up later, but it would only take a few minutes, and he was in too much of a good mood to let mere chores annoy him. Right now he had to prepare for what he considered to be one of the most important nights of his life.

When he entered the kitchen, bag of cookies in his fist, and saw Tigress sleeping, he couldn't help but watch her with a smile. She looked so much different sleeping than she did wide-awake and kicking butt. She looked peaceful, more like the lovely woman she was. It was nice. He set the cookies down on the bench, not wanting to risk disturbing her with his eating.

The bag rustled when it touched the bench, and Tigress stirred. She opened her eyes and yawned softly as she lifted her head and saw Po. "Sorry." Po retrieved the cookies and sat down beside her, careful not to make any loud noises as Tigress continued to rouse herself. She sat up straight and rubbed her eyes.

"Tough day at training, huh?" Po asked her. With Master Shifu too busy with other matters to train his students, Po had spent the day down in the village below the Jade Palace to spend some much needed time with his dad, Mr. Ping. While the other members of the Furious Five, Monkey, Crane, Viper and Mantis had gone off for some leisure time, Tigress had stayed behind to train as usual. In Mr. Ping's noodle shop, Dragon Warrior Noodles and Tofu, Po had divided his time between cooking, serving, and listening to Haoxin de Nushi's endless stories of life in the Imperial Palace. As both surrogate and foster aunt of Emperor Xian, Haoxin's presence required two guards at her side at all times, though that had not stopped Mr. Ping from giving his girlfriend a peck on the check almost every time he passed her. By now Po had grown quite content with his father having the emperor's foster aunt as his girlfriend. Shifu, on the other hand, still growled under his breath whenever Haoxin got his name wrong.

To answer Po's question, Tigress merely huffed. Po offered her a cookie and she accepted. "Thank you." She took a bite and swallowed. "How was your day?"

"Princess Haoxin was in the shop all day." Po said. "I think their relationship is really getting serious."

"You're not worried?"

"Nah. Haoxin's a really nice lady. She keeps asking about you."

Tigress finished her cookie. "She does?"

"Yeah. She's been worried about you ever since she found out about what happened to you in the Himalayas."

Clearly touched, Tigress opened her fist to reveal The Heart of China, a massive emerald on a necklace Haoxin had given to her on one of her visits. It looked like it had been cleaned very recently. Po looked at the pot and cloth.

"You know, that would look really great with your green vest." Po said.

"I was thinking of wearing it for tonight." Tigress replied.

Po put his elbow on the table and rested the side of his head on his paw. "That would be extremely awesome." He said.

Master Shifu, the red panda who was in charge of the Jade Palace, entered the kitchen at that moment with a sour expression.

"Good afternoon, Master." Tigress and Po said.

"Is everything okay?" Po asked.

"Po, I have received a message." Shifu said solemnly.

Po's eyes widened. "From... the universe?"

"From the messenger." Shifu pulled out a scroll.

"Oh." Po said in a small voice. Tigress shook her head, smiling. "What does it say?"

"I have some bad news." Shifu said. "Almost a week ago, there was a jailbreak in the prison where the imperial authorities were holding Colonel Sao. No-one was killed, thank goodness, but Sao is missing."

Po and Tigress stood up from their chairs, shocked.

"Do they know who did it?" Po asked.

Shifu shook his head.

"Did they manage to get any information out of him before his escape?" Tigress asked.

"All they found out was that he was acting on the orders of an organization know as the Order." Shifu said. "He doesn't appear to know the name of the leader or any other higher ranking members. He claims that information died with General Tujiu upon his demise in the Himalayas."

Po shivered. He had not witnessed the event himself, but Viper and Crane had. Two weeks ago, Viper had admitted that she still had nightmares about it.

"Does Emperor Xian want us to track him down?" Tigress asked.

"No, he has assured me that his army will handle it. In the meantime we are to keep an eye out for Ember."

The kitchen was silent at the mention of her name. That woman, that creature, that terrifyingly powerful, psychotic entity who could paralyze a dozen men without even touching them.

Shifu cleared his throat. "Anyway, if you see Colonel Sao when you're out and about, apprehend him if you can. But be cautious. He may not be alone."

"Yes, Master."

"I may not see you again tonight, so goodnight, students." Shifu said. With that, he was gone. Po and Tigress sat down again.

"So Sao got away." Po muttered. "Man, that sucks."

"I know it does." Tigress said. "Don't worry, Po. We'll have him back behind bars, one day. Never mind that now. Do you think we should tell Shifu what we're doing tonight?"

"And have him make rugs out of our hides?" Po was aghast. "Let's just wait 'til we see how tonight goes. We can tell him after that." He twiddled his thumbs. "And pray that he doesn't scold us to death." Tigress laughed. Po laughed with her, but the laughter faded when Tigress pulled out a small box. "What's that?"

"Just a gift. For the two of us." Tigress said gently. Po took the box and pulled off the lid. Inside were two fortune cookies.

"They're from your dad." Tigress said. "He knows a woman in the village who tells fortunes, and he had her write them down. I guess in his own way he wanted to make sure tonight goes great."

Po grinned and stifled a yawn. That was just like his father. He pulled out a cookie and waited before Tigress had taken the other before breaking it open, revealing the slip of paper. He read out the fortune as Tigress broke apart her own cookie.

"A woman from your past will shape your future." He read. He pursed his lips. That was a bit vague for his liking. "What does yours say, Tigress?"

"Your fate will be sealed with a kiss." Tigress read.

"That sounds a lot more romantic." Po replied. "Wanna trade?"

"No thanks." Tigress said, chuckling. Po chucked the two pieces of cookie into his mouth as Tigress nibbled on hers. He yawned again. "You seem tired."

"Yeah." Po rubbed his eyes. "I guess running up and down the noodle shop had something to do with it."

Tigress stood up. "Why don't you get some sleep?" She said. "It's still a few hours until our date." Po grinned gratefully. He set the box and his fortune paper on the table and got up. "Wait." Tigress took Po's paw and carefully dropped the Heart of China into it. "I need to go down to the village. Could you look after this for the time being?"

"Sure. You can trust me." Po tucked the beautiful emerald into his pocket. "Now you wait."

Tigress barely had time to blink in confusion before Po leaned in and planted a gentle kiss on her cheek. Both faces turned bright red.

"Sorry." He said, wringing his paws. Tigress touched her face, stunned.

"For what?" She said eventually. "Go get some sleep."

Feeling giddy, Po left the kitchen and went to his room. There was a huge grin plastered on his face as he lay down on his bed. He loved Tigress. Better yet, Tigress loved him. This really was going to be a night to remember.

It took a few minutes for him to fall asleep, but when he did the dream came not long after.

The glowing blue moon was high in the dark sky as the little panda wandered through the forest.

Snow covered everything. It fell from the sky and melted on his fur. His crimson red scarf fluttered, though there was no wind. The little panda shook with cold and fear. He was lost. He had run away, took a wrong turn, and now nothing was familiar.

The snowflake that floated right in front of his face as he walked was different from the others. It glowed orange and radiated with heat. More like it fell from the sky, and before the little panda knew it the air was filled with what he now realized were little embers.

He crossed over a narrow frozen river and approached a big, bare bush. Through the tangled branches he saw a shape. A slender black shape standing over a much bigger shape writhing on the cold ground. The little panda was afraid, but he kept walking. He reached the bush and walked round it.

Why did you tell the Yeti to spare my life?

I don't know. All I know is... I feel like I know you.

There was a sudden, tiny sound and Po woke up with a start.

He sat up, blinking. It was dark in the room. Night had fallen. Po's heart sank as it occurred to him that he might be late.

"Crap, crap, crap..." Po patted his pocket. The Heart of China was still there. He leapt out of bed and rushed to the door. If he knew Tigress, she would be right on the other side, arms folded, eyes blazing.

Po opened the door, cringing. The corridor was dark and empty. "Oh." He didn't know whether or not to be relieved. "Tigress?"

No-one answered. Po wondered why none of the lights were on. He crossed to Tigress's room. He opened the door. Everything was tidy, but there was no sign of her.

Sighing, Po went to the kitchen where they would be having their date. There was nobody in the kitchen, either. It was unusually cold in the kitchen and Po rubbed his arms. Maybe he should wait for a minute or two. He sat down at the table. He rested his paws on the flat wooden surface and twiddled his thumbs. He tried whistling, but it was such a lonely sound that he stopped. Barely thirty seconds had passed before the silence became too much to bear. "Tigress?" He called, wondering if she was playing a prank. "Shifu? Burglar?" Po thought of the trip he and Shifu had made to the Imperial City a few weeks back, and the promise Emperor Xian had made to send some imperial troops over to help protect the valley in light of recent events. They should be arriving tomorrow morning.

The panda's nose caught the faint scent of burning. He glanced at the stove, but it was just as cold as the rest of the room. "Tigress?" He tried again. He sniffed some more. It was indeed very faint. So faint Po doubted it was coming from inside this building. All the same, Po went to check all the rooms. Each one he checked was devoid of fire.

Where is everyone? He asked himself. This wasn't right. As he checked the last room, Mantis's, he gradually became aware of a sound in the distance. He couldn't make it out. Maybe if he went outside...

Po left Mantis's room and strolled down the corridor. He gave a shiver. The air was chilly. He rubbed his arms again as he approached the open doors leading outside.

A panting Tigress rushed inside, slammed the doors behind her and sealed them with a beam.

Po exhaled with relief. "There you are." He said. "Look, I'm sorry I slept in, I-"

"Po?" Tigress blinked upon seeing him.

"Tigress?" Po replied. "Are you okay?" He noticed a tear on Tigress's vest at the shoulder.

"I'm fine, just stay away from the doors!" Tigress rushed to the storeroom where they kept a stash of weapons in case of an emergency.

"Tigress..." Po's smile faded.

"Don't open the doors, okay!" Tigress pulled out two long staffs and tossed one to the panda.

"Tigress, what's going on?" Po demanded after he barely managed to catch the staff before it hit him in the face. "What's happening?"

"It's the soldiers." Tigress growled. "They arrived just minutes ago, but..."

"What?" Po asked, starting to feel afraid. "Tigress, what's going-"

Bam! Po jumped as something slammed into the other side of the sealed doors. He backed away. "What was that?!" He barely had time to ask before the beam broke apart and the doors flew open. Two rhinos burst into the room, wielding huge axes. There was something wrong with their eyes, but before Po could figure it out they attacked. One reflexive swing of his staff took them down.

"Good one, Po." Tigress said.

Po turned to her. "Tigress, why are we being attacked by imperial soldiers? What did we do?"

"I don't know. Po, there's too many of them out there. We've got to get out of here and figure out a plan."

Po nodded, more frightened than ever. If Tigress of all people was choosing retreating over fighting, something really, really bad was going on.

Po looked down at one of the dazed rhinos. He saw what was wrong with their eyes, now. They were glowing red. He had seen something like this before, but where?

Then Tigress was pulling at his arm, dragging him outside into the cold night air. Po noticed a bright orange glow out the corner of his eye and looked towards the Jade Palace in the distance. His stomach leapt up into his chest when he saw the fire consuming the magnificent building. Aw man, Ke-Pa blew up that building only a couple of years ago!

"Where're the others?" He asked in a tiny voice.

"Fighting. I don't know where they are." Tigress said. "Shifu ordered me to get you out of here."

"Why?"

"Because we think they're here for you."

I woke up in the middle of the night for this?! Oh man, is dad okay? Po looked down at the village. He saw no fire down there, though he could see villagers fleeing in the opposite direction of the palace. He stared at Tigress.

"For some reason they're ignoring the village." Tigress said. "Like I said, they're here for you."

So his dad was okay. Po took a deep breath of relief. "So now what? Do we go join the others?"

"I'm joining the others. But first I've got to get you out of here." When Po tried to protest she cut him off. "I know you want to fight, but we can't let them take you. I don't know what they want with you, but it sure as hell isn't to challenge your title!"

Po gulped. He really wanted to fight, but Tigress was right. Besides, Tigress would pummel him into submission if he tried to disobey. He'd learned that the hard way in Gongmen Jail.

His memory of that one sided brawl was interrupted by the battle cries of six red eyed soldiers running up the stone steps towards them. Po wondered whether or not they were possessed as he and Tigress took them down.

Once things were quiet again, Po's small ears caught the faint sound of battle coming from the direction of the burning palace.

"There'll be more." Tigress said. "Po, we have to go."

With a heavy heart Po turned away from the palace and followed Tigress down the narrow trail that led down into the forest. After all the training keeping up with Tigress was far easier than it was two years ago. Still, it was hard to make her out in the darkness. All he had to go on was the orange of her fur, which clashed with the dark blues, green and browns of the trees. The forest floor sloped steeply, and Po did his best to avoid any tripping hazards that would result in an embarrassing tumble down the mountain. "Do you think this has something to do with Sao escaping?"

"I hope not." Tigress said. "I really do."

Through the gradually thinning trees Po spotted the rooftops of the village. He was about to ask Tigress if they were going there, when she abruptly changed direction heading deeper into the forest. The forest floor was now flat.

"Where're we going?" Po asked, two seconds before they reached their destination: an old building in a small clearing. He knew this place. Soon after he moved out of the noodle shop to live in the Jade Palace, three dimwitted pigs had kidnapped his father and brought him here. "Oh. That's where we're going."

Tigress gestured for Po to wait by the trees, and crept up to the building. She pressed her ear against the front door. Once she deemed the building empty, she opened the door and gestured for Po to head inside. Po did so at once, and Tigress followed immediately after. She shut the door and locked it.

They were in a sparse room that looked like it took up most of the lower floor of the house. There was only a table and three chairs. It must have been cleared out after the owners had left

Po sat down at one of the chairs. It creaked under his weight. This time, it wasn't his fault. The chairs were designed for smaller animals such as rabbits.

It was just as quiet here as it was in the barracks.

"I'm going back to aid the others." Tigress said. "Please don't leave this building until we come back for you."

Po didn't bother protesting this time. He didn't have a choice, and he knew it. However, he took Tigress's paw. "Can't you stay with me? I don't want anything to happen to you."

Tigress shook her head. "I'm sorry, but they're outnumbered. I can't just stay here and do nothing."

Po slumped in disappointment. "Worst test date ever."

Tigress smiled at that, but her smile vanished moments later at the sound of crunching. Po felt a shiver of fear at the sound. Whatever it was, it was come from above them. They looked up.

Holy flippin' crap.

A translucent purple substance was spreading across the ceiling and wooden beams like a mold. Bigger and bigger it grew, until it covered the entire ceiling and started making its way down the walls.

"They followed us here." Tigress whispered, oh crap written all over her face. She rushed to the door, but stopped dead when she saw the door completely consumed in the purple stuff. It took was moment for Po to realized that was he was looking was not some weird goo, but amethyst. This was beyond crazy.

Tigress spun round to Po. "We have to get out of here! Upstairs, qui-" She froze stiff. A second later, Po saw why. That same weird amethyst crystal had formed a rock hard pillar from the wall to Tigress in the blink of an eye, catching her by the upper arm. Before Po's eyes the amethyst continued to spread, encasing Tigress's torso in a thick purple ring and pinning her arms together. Po had been so transfixed by the surreal sight that he hadn't moved. When Tigress yelled and started struggling helplessly, Po came to his senses and rushed over to her.

"Stay still!" Po yelled, even though she was already fixed in place by the crystal. He threw a punch at the pillar attaching her to the wall. The only thing that cracked was a bone in his paw. Po yelled and danced on the spot for a moment before he noticed that a second pillar had attached and was currently pinning Tigress's legs together. "Get off her!"

Just as Po was about to throw another punch, the amethyst-encased door shattered.

Spinning round, Po saw about half a dozen red eyed goons in imperial armor. They strode into the room, all eyes on the panda and the imprisoned feline.

"Who are you?" Po demanded. "Why are you doing this?!"

Four of the soldiers went for Po, while the other two approached Tigress.

"Get away from her!"

He pummeled the four soldiers effortlessly, while the other two held spears to Tigress's throat, keeping her from trying anything that didn't require the use of her limbs. Po tried to run over and help her, but then three more soldiers grabbed him and threw a chain around his torso. It took him three seconds to take them down. He was the gosh darn Dragon Warrior. It was going to take a lot more than a stupid chain to stop him.

"Tigress, hang on!"

Four more soldiers stepped in to take him on, and with them came a woman. A beautiful black panther with cruel purple eyes and a dress in a slightly darker shade of purple. She glanced once at the struggling Po and strode casually over to Tigress. The two soldiers stepped away and went to join the others currently trying to subdue Po. The panther waved her fingers and the two pillars disintegrated. Two more soldiers arrived and picked Tigress up.

The panther spoke in a throaty voice. "Get her out of here. We can use her as leverage." She glanced again at Po as she said this, and grinned.

"Tigress!" Now desperate, Po kept fighting, but for every two soldiers he took down, four more seemed to take their place. If the Five were here with him, he could do this, but on his own he was growing exhausted. He yelled again, "Tigress!" He knocked a crocodile out cold and kicked a wolf between the legs. "TIGRESS!"

Even as he screamed her name, Tigress was carried out the door.

The panther made her way over to the brawl going on at the other side of the room. "Hold him still, boys." She said. She held her paw out towards Po. Another pillar shot out and caught Po by the neck. A ring formed and started to squeeze.

Po struggled furiously, but a dozen soldiers were holding him tight. They're killing me, he thought as he started to pass out. I messed up... Tigress...

He heard the panther's voice. "Finally. It's about time we had an edge on that fiery little freak. I'm going to make her wish she stayed dead."

And then there was nothing.