Chapter 13

"You see Po? You can achieve anything, given the right motivation." Shifu told Po as they ascended the stairs to the Jade Temple.

"It was kinda fun, in the end. Who knew that training could be so much fun? Now I know why Tigress does it all the time." Po said, grinning.

"Ah…well…Tigress has her own reason for training, as do you." Shifu said seriously.

"But I don't see why all of them train so hard…" Po said, pushing the doors to the temple open. "I doubt anyone could ever beat th-"

Po and Shifu froze as they saw a crowd of people in the courtyard of the temple, surrounding Viper, Monkey, Mantis, and Crane, some helping them get bandaged up while others watched. Po and Shifu quickly pushed through the crowd.

"Master Shifu! You're back!" Viper exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes I'm back, but that doesn't matter. What happened?!"

"We had received a message saying that Chor Ghom Prison…and requested our aid…" Monkey started to explain.

"But we were attacked by Xue Hu and three others…" Crane finished, wincing as someone tightened a bandage on his wing.

"Xue Hu…?" Po asked in confusion.

"Tai Lung's son…" Mantis said.

"Tai Lung has a son?!" Po exclaimed in surprise.

"Po!" Shifu snapped, and Po fell silent. "Where are they now?!"

"The villagers said they were seen chasing Tigress and a newcomer, Felix, out of the village several hours ago." Viper said. "We don't know where they were heading or what became of them."

"We have to find them. They might be in danger!" Crane tried to get up but fell back in pain.

"No. Our main concern is to get you four healed." Shifu said, picking up Viper and Mantis as Po lifted Monkey and Crane up. "Tigress knows how to take care of herself. As for this newcomer…"

"He can take care of himself too…" Monkey said.

"Alright…after we get you four patched up, I will go looking for them." Shifu said, as he and Po carried them into the bunk house.

"See? No one for miles...we even followed the river like you said…"

"I know, Lie Bao…but that only means that my mother still lives…"

Lie Bao gave a soft whimper of apology. "I'm sorry…I shouldn't have pushed them down the chasm…"

Xue Hu sighed. "It's alright…next time we find them…make sure you kill them in a way that allows you to check and make sure they're dead…"

"Yes…" Lie Bao muttered, looking down at her feet.

Xue Hu looked back at Lie Bao to find that she had stopped walking and was just standing there, looking down in guilt. He sighed again and walked back to her. "Hey…" Xue Hu hooked his finger around Lie Bao's chin and made her look up at him. There was a moment of silence, and then… "Let's go get Lang and Mei Hu…then we can get going again…"

Lie Bao nodded and ran after Xue Hu.

Tigress laid limply in Felix's arms, but he wasn't worried. He knew that she had merely slipped into meditation. A lot of people think meditation requires you to sit in a specific way, but as long as you had your mind cleared, you could be standing on your head for all anyone cared, sitting just made the process easier.

Felix set Tigress down in a cave that he found near the river bank and sat behind her so that she leaned back against him instead of the hard wall. They had been traveling for quiet some time…not as full as a day…but the day was coming to an end… The chasm seemed endless, with no visible path back to the top. They had thought that possibly going to the Chor Ghom Prison and then back across the Tread of Hope and then getting back. But only the prison's general location was known…and the fog above them prevented them from following the bridges.

Felix sighed and looked down at Tigress' seemingly sleeping features. Felix knew that the purpose for the meditation was to allow the body to focus on healing her ankle and to alleviate some of the pain. Felix wished he could do that too, but that would leave both him and Tigress vulnerable. He was battered and bruised from the fall…but the worst part was his shoulder. As they had fell into the chasm, Felix had tried to grab Tigress from the air, who had already passed out from her ankle smashing into a protruding piece of the chasm wall. After he had caught her, and then reached for a part on the chasm wall to grab. He found on, but the force of the fall caused his shoulder to dislocate, making him release the wall and fall the rest of the way down.

Felix winced at the memory and he gingerly touched his shoulder. After reaching the bottom, Felix had forcibly pushed his shoulder back into place. It was only a temporary solution, but it helped.

Felix sighed again and brushed his hand against Tigress' cheek. Tigress purred and unconsciously leaned into his hand. Felix smiled and shifted himself so that he was in a more comfortable position and Tigress remained leaning against him. He figured that they were safe inside this cave for one night, and that if he was expected to travel the next day, he would need to rest. And with that, he closed his eyes, and fell asleep, oblivious to the bright yellow eyes watching them from further in the cave.