A/N: Here we are, the last part. What a great way to satisfy an annoying cliffhanger =P. Though it is the last part, I can't help but say I'm relieved. Now that this is over and that I've gotten this out of my system, I can bum around… well not really. But I hope the conclusion of this story will make my readers satisfied =).

Chapter 5

Crane flew as fast as he could as he was in transit to his own mind. It was a race that he needed to win. He did not know why, but it all of a sudden felt important to him. No one could take it away from him. Still, another spirit was speeding as well. Apparently, they both had entered at exactly the same time. The unwanted spirit was just as determined as Crane. The spirit had nothing to lose, but everything to gain, while Crane had everything to lose.

Crane could now see the end of the tunnel, which was the realm of his dreams. All he just needed was to get there first. Crane always had the spirit of a bird, so his determination to fly fast was just tremendous. He slowly gained a lead from the other spirit. But soon, that lead disappeared as the other spirit showed a little determination of his own. Again, they were equally distant to reaching the end. But just as Crane sped up to gain some lead, the other spirit pushed him sideways. This caused Crane to slightly lose some speed. Now, the other spirit had a significant lead.

Crane sped his way faster than ever before. But all his efforts were in vain. The other spirit was just too near to the end. Almost immediately, the other spirit completed transit and had reached Crane's dream realm first. As expected, Crane's mind did not reject the foreign spirit. It simply accepted the intruder. As soon as that happened, the dream suddenly started merging with the wandering spirit as if he was now suddenly becoming part of the dream. Crane's mind was now linking itself with the foreign spirit. The foreign spirit slowly claimed ownership of Crane's mind, just as the mind was also recognizing the foreign spirit as its new owner. The spirit could feel himself slowly gaining control every nerve cell in the brain, and every bit of information stored in them was becoming available for the spirit to exploit. It was slowly gaining possession of what used to be Crane's body.

"No!"

Crane tried to get in, but his entrance to his dream realm was refused. He was simply hovering just outside. He tried to break in once more, but the invisible barrier keeping him out would not budge. He could see the other spirit, slowly changing its appearance. He was starting to look just like Crane. His mind was replacing him and it was happening before his very eyes and he could not take it standing.

Crane gave some room between himself and the barrier as he sped up for one final push. But as he did, he was repelled violently away. In just a few very short seconds, the intruder had completely fused with what used to be his mind. He was in complete disbelief. He was rejected by his own mind, by a matter of a few seconds. It was no longer his. Crane felt something funny happening all over him. As he looked through, he saw his wings starting to lose its shape. His face was becoming less of a bird. He had become a wandering spirit.

In Crane's room, the shopkeeper continued to observe Crane. "I certainly feel a presence now in his body."

"I hope this works."

Suddenly, a white glow appeared on the dreamcatcher and released a spirit. Mantis thought it was the foreign spirit, but the spirit replied back. "Wait! It's me!"

To Mantis' surprise, it was not the other spirit. It was Crane's. "What are you doing here?" Mantis asked.

"I-uh… I didn't make it to end first." Crane said in a glum tone.

Now Mantis was sad. "I'm… I'm sorry."

"I feel hollow… like a part of me is missing."

"Wandering spirits always long for a home." The shopkeeper replied. "And I will certainly not like getting kicked out of my own house."

Crane was in disbelief, but he was slowly accepting the facts. "So I was kicked out of mine. I will end up like all those other spirits…. I will be alone…. So what now?"

The shopkeeper did not respond he simply picked up the Crane's dreamcatcher.

"Well Crane, I'd just like you to know, that I'll always remember you." Mantis replied. "And if you feel lonely, hey, maybe I'll buy Tigress a dreamcatcher and let you use her for a while. I mean we could use less of a grumpy face."

"Who?"

"Oh… right. You don't remember…. Anyway, she's fierce I tell you. You could beat the noodles out of whoever possessed your body."

Crane smiled. "Thanks… that means a lot."

"So…" The shopkeeper started. "Are you guys done now?"

"Yeah."

"Pretty much."

"Good." The shopkeeper stood by the open window. He held the dreamcatcher, facing it just outside. Then he just did the unthinkable.

He broke the dreamcatcher.

Almost immediately, the foreign spirit, who had just gained control of Crane's body, was repelled violently like a catapult being thrown to the distance. The foreign spirit was out of view. The shopkeeper looked back at the faces of two stunned masters. "What? Haven't you guys been listening to me?"

Mantis was confused. "What just happened?"

"As I earlier explained, the worst possible thing you can ever do is breaking a dreamcatcher."

Mantis suddenly remembered his conversation with him earlier. "Because it leaks the spirit out of his mind."

"Exactly."

"But if you broke the dreamcatcher, then you broke the link between mind and spirit."

"Go on."

Mantis' mood suddenly perked up. Of course, why did I not think of this earlier? "Then that means Crane's body is no longer in possession of the spirit and that it is open to repossession once more."

The shopkeeper smiled. "Your friend was never really in any danger at all. Well… sort of."

Mantis looked at Crane, who was just as excited as he heard the news. "You heard that, Crane? You still have a shot!"

"Yeah!"

"Wait a minute…" Mantis thought. "Then you broke the dreamcatcher. That must mean you have a spare."

Indeed, the shopkeeper revealed a spare brand new dreamcatcher. "Like a scout, I'm always prepared. A shame you did not get it the first try. Then again, not many spirits can do it in one try. Though I must admit, it was a close one."

"You've been doing this before?" Crane asked.

"Indeed I have. Long ago, my grandparents devised a sneaky, yet fail safe plan for a spirit to reclaim ownership of one's own body. It was passed on to my parents, and eventually, to me." The shopkeeper then chanted the spell once more. Again, the link between the new dreamcatcher and Crane's mind had re-established itself. "It is time. Hurry, before they go back."

Mantis looked back at Crane. "What are you waiting for? Go."

Crane made his first step, but looked back at Mantis. "Thank you, Mantis. I will remember you for this." Crane soon sped his way to the dreamcatcher. Finally, after all that, everything was back in its place.

"All's well that ends well."

Mantis just smiled. Then a thought came to him. "Do you really think Crane will remember this?"

The shopkeeper continued packing. "My friend, a spirit's own experiences are not compatible to something that is physical. He may feel a gut feeling, but that might just be all."

Mantis just looked at Crane, who was sleeping peacefully. "Yeah? I thought so too."

After a long night, sunrise had finally arrived. Shifu stood just at the mouth of the hallway of the furious five's sleeping quarters. Soon, the gong had rung.

"Good morning, Master!" They all said in unison. However, not all of them were awake. Crane had not opened his door.

"Crane?"

"Uhm… Master Shifu, Crane may still be trying to catch up with his sleep."

"I see-Viper, Monkey, what happened to you too?"

Viper and Monkey were a bit shaky, their eyes wide and red. "Just a bad dream." They both said simultaneously. Mantis on the other hand, could not help but laugh.

Shifu then looked at Tigress and Po, who seemed to look just as restless.

Tigress and Po looked at each other. Tigress tried to explain. "We had- uhm…"

"I invited Master Tigress to have a midnight snack with me." Po finished.

Master Shifu looked at them, both producing a faint smile. "I see. And what about you Mantis? You look terrible."

"I was… I was…"

Shifu was puzzled. "Didn't anyone get a good night sleep?"

Just as he said that, Crane had slowly emerged from his room, feeling refreshed. He yawned a bit. "Man, I don't think I've ever slept this long-" Crane was met with the looks of a surprised Shifu and the tired faces of his colleagues. "You guys look terrible."

"Okay, this is awkward." Shifu simply replied.

Morning was a bit slow but everyone eventually got back to their routines by lunch. Later that afternoon, Crane was walking through a corridor when Mantis tagged along.

"So how are you doin'?" Mantis asked.

"I feel good. Thanks for asking."

"That's nice."

"I feel a little numb though. I don't know why." They continued walking along the corridor. "I had this crazy dream."

"Oh really? What's it about?"

"It's all kind'a fuzzy, but you got me into trouble or something, but you pulled through in the end. I mean I don't know why, but I actually feel kind of happy to see you."

Mantis just smiled. "The feeling's mutual then."

"Well, I got to go. I need to catch up on some sparring. The down side of being a master I suppose. All work and no play."

They say that a spirit expresses his needs and desires when he does not feel that he is getting enough of it in the physical world.

Those words suddenly recalled itself on Mantis. He looked at Crane as he was finding his way out of the corridor. "Hey, Crane!"

Crane looked back. "Yeah?"

"You wouldn't be up for a little race, would you?"

"Well, I haven't had a race in a while." Crane replied, slowly forming a smile. "But I could use a little fun."

"Great. First one to the training hall wins."

"You're on!"

The two moved out, heading their way to the training hall.

In one sparring session, Monkey and Viper discussed about what happened last night. "You had a bad dream too?" Viper asked.

"Yeah, I dreamt it was Po stealing my cookies."

Viper just gave a weird stare. "Imagine that."

"I know! Can you imagine that? Po, the nicest panda there is."

[How does it feel to be, one of the beautiful people?]

Po was on the kitchen when the five had arrived. They took their respective seats as Po began serving the food.

"After hearing all the compliments from my awesome dumplings, I felt there should be an encore performance.

[Now that you know who you are]

The five were excited to try Po's dumplings again. "I heard your dumplings were good. It's too bad I missed it."

[What do you want to be?]

"Not to worry, Crane. Cause you don't have to wait any longer." Po said, serving Crane the first bowl.

[And have you travelled very far?]

"Good to have you back here."

"Great to be back."

After serving Crane, Monkey, Mantis, and Viper, it was time to serve Tigress.

[Far as the eye can see]

"Here you go." Po said. "Just the way you like it." He made a wink in his eye.

Tigress smiled. "Thanks Po."

[How does it feel to be, one of the beautiful people?]

The shopkeeper was inside his living room, surprisingly, playing Chinese board game with a wandering spirit. "Your turn."

The spirit then gave its instructions.

"You want me to move it here?"

The spirit gave a nod.

"Okay."

[How often have you been there?]

Then another spirit came inside the living room, telling the shopkeeper something.

"What? We have a customer?"

The shopkeeper left the living room to enter the shop at the front. To his surprise, his customer was no ordinary customer. "Master Shifu?"

[Often enough to know]

"Greetings, shopkeeper. I heard you have some items that can help with enhancing the experience of meditation. One of my former students recommended your shop.

[What did you see, when you were there?]

"I-I…" The shopkeeper was speechless.

"I'm interested in what you offer. Perhaps if I find them good myself, I might just recommend this to the other masters."

[Nothing that doesn't show]

The shopkeeper was finally able to find his voice. "Well… step in. Perhaps I can show you around."

[Baby you're a rich man,]
[Baby you're a rich man,]
[Baby you're a rich man too.]

It was finally lights out. Everybody had just returned for bed. Everyone except for Tigress, who had just come in. Upon entering her room, she noticed a note on her door.

Just the way you like it.

Tigress smiled. She opened the door and inside her room was a pair of chopsticks and a bowl of dumplings. It was still warm. "That panda." She wasted no time. She closed the door and grabbed the chopsticks as she started to consume her meal.

[You keep all your money in a big brown bag inside a zoo.]
[What a thing to do.]

Meanwhile, Mantis was asleep in his room. He had bunked in earlier that night. It had been a long and exhausting day. And after everything that had happened, he finally earned his well-deserved sleep.

[Baby you're a rich man,]
[Baby you're a rich man,]
[Baby you're a rich man too.]

THE END

A/N: If anyone wants to know the name of the song, it's Baby you're a rich man, by The Beatles B). It's a great song. There are days, that's the only thing I listen too. Of course, if you don't like to read the song while reading the fic or you just disagree with the song choice, you can always do what I do, skip reading the lyrics =P. Actually, I was thinking on whether to put a song in the end or not. I was even thinking of uploading two versions of the ending. But I think an ending with a song seems better.

I also want to discuss where I got the idea of Dreamcatcher. To be honest, if anyone still remembers Cow and Chicken, there was a similar episode of I think the same name. And that's where I got the idea for this story. I just mixed the ideas of that episode with my ideas and some basic research on what a dreamcatcher is. In the end, I really liked how this turned out. I enjoyed writing it, at the same time it was creeping me out. And though Halloween has passed, I hope that this fanfic will keep its spirit... no pun intended. Anyway, that's it. That's all. Again, thank you all for reading.