Author's Note: Well here it is, the final chapter! I want to give a personal thanks to all my reviewers and to those who have favorited my story, I am honored :) And thanks for sticking with this fic from the beginning to the end, its been really fun writing this!

I do not own KUNG FU PANDA or any of its characters in any way. Xiao and Li belong to me.

Chapter 5: Inner Peace

Shifu must have blacked out, because the next thing he became aware of was how cold and wet he felt. His whole body ached, his head throbbed with pain where he had been struck, and all his past exhaustion had finally caught up with him. And I thought Tai Lung's punches had hurt. He felt terrible, not to mention he was soaked to the bone, and the fire blast had singed the edges of his robe and some of his fur. If his leg didn't hurt before, it sure did now. It screamed in pain, adding to the many other aches and injuries he had just sustained.

Shifu felt with his thin fingers the rough surface on which he was lying face down on. He opened his heavy blue eyes to see that he was lying across a splintered piece of wood, floating in who knew how deep of water. Well, that explains why I'm all wet. He then realized how lucky he was to have managed to land on this tiny piece of wood, otherwise he could have drowned.

It took Shifu a moment to recall his last memory before going unconscious. He remembered the loud ringing in his ears, the explosion of light, fire, and splintering wood. He had been with his students when Shen had fired his weapon at them-

Shifu's stomach gave a horrible twist in his gut. My students! Shifu lifted his aching head, despite his body's protests against it, and scanned his eyes across the harbor; frantically trying to locate them.

He instantly caught sight of Po, who was floating a little ways away from him. The panda had also managed to grab a hold of a piece of wood to keep himself afloat. They both made eye contact, blue with green, silently assuring each other that they were alright. Mostly, Shifu thought to himself. He tore his eyes from Po to find the rest of his students, along with Masters' Ox and Croc, strewn across the waters of the harbor with the shattered remains of the barrier that Shen had destroyed.

Shifu's gaze fell upon Tigress floating on a stray piece of wood; she looked as terrible as Shifu felt. A sudden surge of panic shot through him as he remembered that Tigress had taken the full blunt of the blast! The Grand Master urged Po with a weakened finger to check if she was alright. He waited with baited breath as he watched Po slowly making his way towards her still form. Please be alright…Please let my daughter be alright…

Shifu gave a sigh of relief as he saw Tigress lift her head and take a hold of Po's paw. The elderly red panda then allowed his head to rest on the splintered piece of debris he was now clinging to; completely drained of his energy. He was suddenly buffeted by small waves in the water. Shifu looked up to see that two of Shen's boats were passing on either side of him. The wolves on board were laughing and pointing at him.

"How do you like that?" One shouted at him.

"He's nothing but a little white rat!" Another laughed.

Shifu laid his head back down, closing his eyes. He ignored their taunts, and pressed his forehead against the cold rough surface he was lying on.

"Guess he can't handle the taste of defeat!"

I didn't taste it. Shifu thought. It was shoved down my throat!

And now he was choking on it. Shifu scolded himself for allowing this to happen. He dug his tiny fingers into the wooden plank in frustration. Master Oogway wouldn't have let this happen, he wouldn't have let it get this far! It was his duty as Grand Master to protect those who could not protect themselves. It was his responsibility to ensure the safety of the people of China. And he was honor bound to defeat those who would abuse their power by taking advantage of those weaker than they.

I have failed, Shifu's inner voice echoed in his mind. He had failed as Grand Master; he had failed as the protector of China. He had failed as a mentor, a teacher, and a father. And in that moment, Shifu felt unworthy to have been chosen by Oogway to inherit his title. Master, forgive me…

His ears suddenly caught the sound of clanking metal. Not only from the boats on either side of him, but on every ship in Shen's remaining fleet. Shifu opened his eyes and looked up to see that the wolves on board were aiming Shen's weapons. The blue eyes followed their line of trajectory to see what they were aiming at.

Po.

He had gotten himself out of the water and was now standing atop a large piece of an overturned boat in the middle of the harbor, the look of defeat across his face. Po, what are you doing? He was completely exposed! There was nothing to shield him, nothing to stop Shen's weapons from hitting him dead on!

The last of Shen's weapons was finally aimed at Po; a wolf stood ready awaiting Shen's order to fire. Shifu locked his eyes onto Po again as silence fell upon the fleet. The panda's face was wiped clean of the look of defeat that had been there only a moment before. Now he looked completely calm; completely at peace. Slowly, Po began moving his arms and legs in circular tai chi movements. What are you up to Po?

The silence was suddenly shattered by Shen's cruel voice. "Fire!" Almost instantly, a roaring weapon came to life and metal was spewed from its fiery maw. Shifu watched with baited breath as the gap between Po and the deadly ball of light became dangerously smaller with every passing moment. Po stood firm and unmoving. He closed his eyes as if he were in deep meditation.

"Please Po," Shifu silently whispered, "don't make me watch you die for real this time…" The old master took a sharp intake of breath as the fiery projectile was nearly upon his student, and he gasped as Po reached forward and literally snatched the ball from the air! He twisted his body and tossed the ball behind him, and it crashed harmlessly in the water with a splash! Shifu's eyes widened and his jaw dropped in utter amazement and shock!

Did Po just do what he thought he did? Had he just mastered inner peace? Water manipulation was one thing, but re-directing deadly projectiles aimed to kill was another matter entirely! Shifu's mouth then pressed into a half amused grin as he watched Po frantically flailing his arm in the air, trying to douse the flames that covered his right paw.

"Ney-yah! Owwhothothothaaaaa!" Po shouted before stuffing his flaming hand into his mouth, extinguishing the fire.

"Again!" Shifu could hear Shen's angered voice, and another of the weapons was fired. The glowing projectile was flying towards Po with deadly precision, but just like the first, Po easily caught hold of it and tossed it aside. This time it flew high into the air and splashed near one of Shen's boats.

"Yeah!" Po raised his arms triumphantly into the air, and dodged another fireball.

"Yes!" Shifu exclaimed; sharing in Po's enthusiasm by slamming his fist against the wooden plank he was holding onto.

"Kill him!" Shen shouted with rage at his wolves, "Somebody kill him!" Multiple wolves from each boat started lighting fuses and each weapon fired their deadly projectiles towards Po, one after the other. But the panda was ready and Shifu swelled with pride as Po dodged, weaved, and tossed the balls of fire back from where they came. One by one, each of Shen's ships became victims of the very weapons they were transporting. Wolves were frantically jumping overboard as the boats began to sink.

Shifu suddenly realized that he himself was still floating between two of the ships. He looked up to see that two of the fireballs that Po had re-directed were flying towards the boats on either side of him. Taking a deep breath, Shifu quickly submerged himself beneath the water's surface so as to avoid the shower of splinters and wood that was surely about to rain down on him. He dove deep down into the black waters, and although the sounds were dulled by the thick currents around him, Shifu could hear the howling's of panicking wolves; accompanied by the sounds of explosions and splintering wood.

He swam as far as his aching body would allow before he thought it was safe to ascent to the surface above. His leg throbbed as he kicked his way upwards, but he finally broke the surface, taking in deep breaths of fresh air to replenish his lungs. Shifu found himself floating close to the pier, and he immediately began making his way towards it, all the while the sounds of the destruction of Shen's fleet were meeting his ears from behind.

"Keep firing! Keep firing!" Shen's voice echoed across the harbor. Shifu reached the pier and scrambled up one of the supporting posts, despite his exhaustion. Sopping wet, Shifu stood on the wooden planks, a puddle of water quickly growing beneath his feet. He spun around to see what was becoming of Shen's fleet. He could see that the harbor was littered with debris from what was once a powerful force of destruction. Smoke billowed from the smoldering remains of the dozens of ships as they sank into the watery depths of the harbor.

There was a break in the smoke and Shifu could see Po using all his strength to maintain his hold on the buzzing fireball in his arms. He jumped high into the air, causing a whirlpool of wind and water to swirl around him as he came bouncing back down onto the overturned boat. Shifu could barely see Po as the panda was nothing but a blur of black and glowing white!

Amazed, Shifu gaped as Po swung his body around a few times before he finally released the flaming ball, aiming it directly at Shen's remaining ship. There was an explosion of fire and smoke as the fireball was thrown back into the open maw of the metal beast. Shifu jumped, punching his tiny fist in the air with excitement. "Yes!"

He couldn't believe what had just happened, but in truth the old master couldn't have asked for a better outcome. Po had done it! He had saved China! Shifu was so enveloped in the scene before him, that he did not notice the sounds of approaching footsteps from behind. It was only after someone called his name did he finally realize that he wasn't alone on the pier.

"Master Shifu!"

The red panda turned, recognizing the voice. He looked to see two bunnies, one running ahead of the other towards him. Shifu smiled and waved a hand towards Xiao as he came to a halt in front of the Kung Fu Master. He looked just as wet as Shifu, his fur and robe were dripping water. Shifu was about to ask how the bunny got so wet but stopped himself once he saw what Xiao and the bunny accompanying him held between them.

"I found it floating by the shore!" Xiao said taking deep breaths, "I would have fished it out, but alas, I didn't have my pole with me." With some difficulty, Xiao lifted the long, thin staff towards the Grand Master. Shifu realized that he must have dropped the peach wood staff during the blast. He smiled and grasped the ancient artifact that Oogway had left behind.

"I thank you Xiao, this means a lot to me."

The two bunnies bowed at the Grand Master. Xiao then gestured to his companion. "This is my brother Li. He was in the crowd when you asked me to help with evacuations, he helped too!"

"So no one was hurt? Everyone is safe?" Shifu asked.

Xiao nodded, "Everyone! However, we just watched what the Dragon Warrior did to Shen's fleet! It was amazing!"

"Did you teach him that?" Li asked.

Shifu was almost at a loss for words, not expecting the question. "Yes…" He finally answered, "…sort of…" He gazed back towards Po who was swimming through the wreckage and making his way towards Shen's wrecked ship while the rest of his students along with Masters' Ox and Croc were making their way towards the end of the pier. Shifu turned towards Xiao and Li and bowed. "It has been an honor. I thank you both for your help."

"It is we who are honored Master." Xiao answered.

Shifu smiled, however the sounds of a distant fight caught his attention and he turned his head towards the harbor. His eyes widened with shock to see that Lord Shen was attacking Po on the remains of his ship! Shifu quickly turned to Xiao and Li, "Please excuse me." He then started sprinting for the end of the pier to get a closer look at what was going on. Shifu skidded to a halt and gazed intently towards Po and Shen as they battled each other.

Shen was relentless; attacking at Po in any way that he could with the razor sharp knives he was throwing from his sleeves. Po blocked the volley of knives by kicking up a loose board from the deck of the ship and holding it up like a shield. Shifu held his breath, clenching his jaw and tightening his hold on his staff with worry as Shen charged at Po with his sword. Po dodged as the peacock tried to take a swipe at the panda, but all he was hitting were some of the supporting ropes of the destroyed mast.

Shifu's ears swiveled towards the sounds of a groaning weight that was about to give way. He suddenly realized that the ropes had been tangled around the remains of the massive weapon on Shen's boat. Those ropes were the only things holding it above the two combatants! Shen continued his assault on Po, completely oblivious to the fact that the weapon was ready to collapse on the pair of them. Po rolled out of the way of one of Shen's attacks when he too heard the groaning of the dying metal beast suspended above them.

Shifu watched with wide eyes as the last of the ropes snapped from the immense weight of the weapon, and it toppled forward on top of the peacock, crushing him. Po ran to the edge of the wrecked boat and launched himself off the ship as the weapon exploded behind him. Po yelled with shock and landed with a splash in the water. Shifu was suddenly aware that Tigress was standing next to him and they both watched with baited breath and gave sighs of relief once Po emerged from the water, unharmed.

Shifu smiled and turned around to aid his other students onto the pier and out of the water. He could hear Tigress helping Po as well, "That was pretty hard core." She said.

Shifu then shook himself off as he was still slightly wet, trying to rid his fur and robe of as much water as he could. He stole a glance at his students to see that they were all staring at something. He was surprised to see looks of utter shock on all of their faces; including Ox and Croc. He followed their gaze to see similar looks on the faces of Po and Tigress. He gave them all a puzzling look. Did I miss something? He thought.

He smiled as the other members of the Furious Five rushed at Po, tackling him to the ground.

"Po!" Monkey jumped onto the panda's belly, while Viper wrapped herself around him in a snake hug, "You did it!" She exclaimed.

"C'mere!" Mantis hopped on top of Po's head.

"Don't ever do that again please." Added Crane as the avian hovered above the group.

Shifu made his way towards the jumbled mess that was his students and inwardly chuckled to himself. Kids. He made eye contact with Po who beamed at him. "It seems you have found inner peace…at such a young age." Darn, he beat me to it. It had taken Shifu decades to finally achieve inner peace, and here was Po who had mastered it in less than a week!

"Well I had a pretty good teacher." Po said and he reached his arms forward attempting to pull his master into a bear hug.

Oh no you don't! Shifu quickly ducked out from beneath Po's outstretched arms, leaping to a post a little ways off the pier. That was close! He didn't exactly want to be pulled into a rib cracking hug from the Dragon Warrior at the moment; he was still recovering from the earlier explosion. Po turned towards him, bewildered at how fast his master was. Shifu only smiled and looked out to the sky as bursts of light, color, and sound exploded in the gleaming dawn of the morning. Oranges, purples, greens, blues, and reds lit the sky in a dazzling display, and cheers could be heard from the shores as the citizens of Gongmen praised the victory of the Kung Fu Warriors.

Shifu turned his gaze back towards his students; the sun was rising above their heads, crowning them all with golden light. The sight to him was more breathtaking than any fireworks that Gongmen City had to offer. Truly a new day was dawning, and he knew that the young warriors that stood before him would lead China into a great era of peace and prosperity. Shifu smiled, content that even when his time came, China would be left in good hands.

Author's Note: Well there you have it! I hope you all enjoyed this story! I admit that I am a HUGE Shifu fan and I was rather disappointed to find that he wasn't in the second film as much as I had hoped he would be, so thus this fic was born. I wrote this story as a sort of alternate scene for the movie in place of Po's journey to inner peace and I hope that I did Shifu justice!

Once again I thank everyone who has read and reviewed this fic, I hope to write more in the future but I am not sure what I will write or when I will do it. Only time will tell!

~FyreDragon5~