A/N: *holds up hands* Okay, okay! With an incredible bunch of reviews I have decided to *the weird drum-sound begins to make the tension* I am going to make the sequel! Not that it was a big problem (I just didn't know if I should make another Kung Fu Panda story or make a sequel to this). Though, I have already found out what the sequel is going to be about. You will find the summary in the end of this chapter.

Thank you for all of your reviews and support!

Nope, I still don't own Kung Fu Panda.

Behind The Golden Eyes, Open Doors

Tigress opened her mouth, but then closed it again. It just seemed… Stupid. The tiger had finally climbed the stairs that led the Jade Palace and now she was standing in front of the Hall of Warriors. What should she do now? She had been gone for so long and now she just expected to be welcomed with warm arms?

Would she have done it? If someone had betrayed her would she then have forgiven them? No, she wouldn't. Her heart was too hard. Sighing, she turned around and sat down on the top step of the chairs. How could she expect something that she didn't even self was able to?

Her friends were probably fast asleep, not knowing that she was so close, just outside… If she left now, then they would never know that she had been here. Mei-Hua's guards were gone now, they were all free. She could leave and find some place to live, a place where no one would find her. The failure Master Tigress would never been seen again.

It would be easier than facing to problems. Than facing her friends' anger. Than facing Master Shifu's disappointment. It would just be easier.

Tigress' ears moved slightly as they picked up the sound. It was way too familiar that Tigress didn't dare to believe it. Though, it was pretty possible. She recognized the voices but couldn't hear the words. She slowly walked towards the door as if she was in some sort of trance. She stopped shortly but now she was full aware of the fact that it was her friends' voices she could hear. They were just in there, so close…

Betrayer. Liar. Coward. How dare you call them your friends? You left them. You turned your back to them. You didn't write back. You ignored them. You don't deserve them. Betrayer...

Her mind was working against her; the words hurt her as if they had stabbed her. Her lungs didn't work, her throat was hurting, her eyes were burning and her body weighted hundred thousand kilos. She couldn't move, she wasn't strong enough.

She was weak. She couldn't do this. All she wanted was to make things right, but again she had failed. Or had she? Had she even got the chance to make everything right? No, but if she just opened the door she could get it. If she was brave enough then she could give it a try. If she just ran away then she would never even have the chance.

Tigress wouldn't let herself be a coward. She would take the chance. She would face the problems. With her voice still unable to work, Tigress lifted her paw and knocked on the door. Immediately everything became quiet. The tiger guessed that her friends hadn't expected anyone to come on this time of the night, and maybe they believed that she was one of the guards.

Taking a deep breath to gather her courage, Tigress opened the door. The entire hall was covered in darkness, there was no light, no sounds, it was empty. But Tigress refused to believe it. She was sure that she had heard her friends, they must just be hiding. Before Tigress could open her mouth to call their names, something very heavy tackled her.

"Take this you stupid, little, annoying guar… Tigress?"

With the moonlight shining through the open door, Tigress could see two green eyes looking down of her. Po was holding her by the shoulders, pushing her down on the floor. His grip was tight and Tigress was starting to feel uncomfortable. After the fight with the guards Tigress had fixed her bandage and vest, but now it was starting to hurt again. Po was frozen, too shocked to notice that she was in pain.

"Po… My shoulder." She managed to say out through clenched teeth.

First then the panda the white bandage that was under her vest but visible some places. He let go of her as if he had been burned. "Sorry, I didn't know you were injured. We thought that you were a…. Wait! You are back! How did that happen? How did you…?"

"Po, what's going on down there?" Tigress glanced at the ceiling as she heard the voice she recognized as Monkey's.

"It's alright, guys. Just come down. I think there is something you'll like to see." Po gave her a giant smile and soon his entire face became visible as the light came back. A few sounds were heard, and then four persons came out form there hiding places and walked towards the happy panda.

"Po, what are you…" Mantis didn't finish the sentence. He, Crane, Monkey and Viper was now staring at Tigress with big eyes. Tigress herself just stared back, not knowing how to greet them.

"Sister?" Viper whispered as she slithered closer. Tears were starting to fill the snake's eyes, but she didn't blink them away. She just stared at Tigress as if she had seen a ghost.

Tigress slowly nodded to answer the unsaid questions. Yes, she was back. Yes, she had missed them. Yes, she was sorry.

Viper let out a gasp and threw herself at the tiger. She curled her body around her friend and hugged her tight. Tigress hugged back the best that she could (hugging a snake isn't always easy), but after some time it became too much. "Viper, I actually need air."

"Well, look who decided to visit us." Mantis snickered but Tigress could see that he was happy as well. Before anyone could react Tigress had captured the rest of the Five with her arms, hugging them all.

"What have you done to Tigress?" Monkey joked still in her embrace along with the others who still were too stunned to speak.

"Left her in the snow." Tigress replied, playing along.

"Group hug!" Po exclaimed and joined them by hugging Tigress from behind. The tiger grunted in pain as the panda again touched her already sore wound.

"Po, my shoulder. Again."

"Oh, sorry." He let go of her and the others did the same.

Mantis jumped carefully up on her injured shoulder. "What happened to you? Got into a catfight?"

Tigress sighed. "Long story."

"I think we all deserve to hear it." Crane told her, glancing at her with deep eyes. The others stood behind him, also wanting to hear what had happened.

"Yeah, it's not like we have heard anything in a long, long time." Mantis said causing them all to give her blaming glances.

Tigress felt like her body was sinking, and her glance were only focused on the floor. What could she say? Why should they listen? Suddenly, she felt a paw being placed on her good shoulder.

"Hey, calm down, guys. I am sure that Tigress has a good explanation." Po told them, eyes serious but still gentle.

"We didn't say that she hasn't, Po. We just want to hear it." Viper said, and went back to wait on Tigress to start talking.

But the tiger didn't say a word. She just stared at the ground too ashamed to meet their eyes.

"Tigress?"

"I'm sorry." She whispered and finally looked up a little. The others chocked a gasp when they saw the hurt in her eyes. Something was definitely wrong. "I just didn't know what was happening to me."

"Well, you are back now. And you are not going to leave again, right?" Mantis asked her from the floor.

"If Master Shifu allows me to stay then I will."

"We should go and call him. I'm sure he will be glad to see you again!" Po exclaimed and started to run towards the open door. Though, when a person entered the hall the panda stopped. When you speak of the devil…

"What's going on in here?" The red panda demanded as he came limping towards them.

"Master Shifu! We…"

"If the guards caught you…"

"Master Shifu!"

"What, panda?" Master Shifu's mood wasn't the best after being awakened in the middle of the night and now his student kept interrupting him.

Po stepped aside and Tigress who had been using the panda as a shield now became visible. When Master Shifu saw her he nearly dropped his staff. "Tigress?"

In a second Tigress was on her knees, bowing for him in the most humble way. She didn't even dare looking up to meet his eyes, but kept staring at the floor. "Master Shifu." She would usually just have called him 'Master' but again her brain reminded her of that he wasn't her master anymore. Mei-Hua was… But now she was dead and Tigress had no one. She was alone.

"I know that I have absolutely no right, but I am here to beg you for forgivingness. What I did was wrong and I am truly ashamed of myself. Please accept my apologies."

"Tigress…"

"If you ask me to leave then I'll do it. I just wanted to tell you all how sorry I am. I don't deserve…"

"Tigress." Shifu voice was soft and Tigress had to look up when he laid a gentle paw on her shoulder. "You are always welcomed in the Jade Palace."

The tiger let out something that sounded like a gasp mixed with a sob. "You know?" She asked finally meeting his eyes.

"We don't have to talk about it now." He gave a wise smile as if he already knew what she was thinking.

"So she can stay?" Mantis asked from Monkey's shoulder.

Master Shifu smiled to them. "If she wants."

"Thank you, Master." Tigress glanced questioningly at him to make sure that she it was alright.

Shifu shortly nodded to her, and she sighed and relief. The red panda turned to the others. "Mantis, can you help me check Tigress' wound?"

The insect nodded and they all started to leave the hall. Tigress found herself surrounded by friends who supported her. She was truly home again.

"Can you please tell what caused you these?" Shifu gently ran his fingers down along the four healing wounds. He did it gently, but Tigress still flinched a little.

"You wouldn't believe me if I said it." The tiger replied. Suddenly, she felt how her master froze. "Master…?"

"Did Mei-Hua do this?" Shifu's voice was calm but if you listened closely you could sense the anger that was lying under the surface.

Tigress shook her head. "No. No! She didn't do such things…" Her paws began shaking for reasons she now even self understood. The whole room became cold and she felt like she was going to throw up.

You let them die. They were buried by rocks while you get away with only a scratch. You didn't even go back to check what had happened. You let them die while you were allowed to live…

"She's dead." Tigress quietly said. "They are both dead."

"Who?" Viper asked while curling herself around the tiger's paw. It was clear that her friend needed comfort.

Tigress looked up. "My parents."

"You mean Mei-Hua isn't coming back?" Po asked her. She still hadn't gotten the time to tell them about her adventures, so they didn't know about the deaths on the mountain.

But Tigress didn't answer him. Instead you turned to Shifu. "Why didn't you tell me? You knew who Mei-Hua was so why not warning me?"

Master Shifu looked slightly shocked by the question. But after short time he made his decision; she deserved some sort of answer. "Would you have believed me?"

"Probably not." Tigress turned back to Po. "You were right all from the beginning, Po. Mei-Hua was more than just a master."

The panda was obviously proud of the fact that Tigress just had given him right. "Nah, it wasn't that hard to see. You look just like her! Well, looked…" But he then realized his mistake as he saw Tigress pained expression. "But we first, you know, believed it for real when Master Shifu told us. So she didn't mention the family-thing for you?"

"I had to find out of it by myself. First then she started to speak."

Crane joined the conversation. "You said 'parents'. Does that mean…?"

"That I found my father? Yes." There was a stunned silence before she continued. "His name was Jiao-Long, the leader of the Shadow Warriors."

"Jiao-Long?"

"Shadow Warriors?"

"Leader?"

Master Shifu cleared his throat. "Maybe it's about time for you to tell your story."

Laughter. Not the hard, cold and taunting one she had heard in the orphanage. No, it was warm and soft; it was true. Faces that were smiling. Not full of fear or disgust. The faces… The stripes… The golden eyes… She knew them. It was like an old familiar scene from somewhere she didn't know. Her parents were smiling down to her, and she stretched her little arms out to greet them.

Her mother reached down and gently stroked her cheek. She giggled back and made out some few baby sounds that no one could get words out of, but they still understood the meaning. She was happy and they were happy. Everything was what it should be.

A calming humming started as her mother quietly song a lullaby for her. Her father stood behind her, and they both looked down at their cub. She smiled back, but then the thunder began.

It was loud, too loud for her little ears. She shrieked for her parents' help. The lullaby stopped. Her parents just stared at her, their faces a blur. Then the stones fell down, burying them.

And Tigress screamed.

She woke up with a gasp, her body shaking. A loud thunder was heard, and the tiger made herself even smaller. "It's just a nightmare, just a nightmare."

"Tigress?"

A lighting filled her room with light for a short moment, just enough for her to see Shifu standing beside her bed. "Master?"

The red panda looked troubled as if he didn't know if he should leave or stay. But when he looked down at the tiger he had already made his decision. Tigress was right now vulnerable, something that he hadn't seen her like in long time. "I owe you an apology."

Tigress widened her eyes. "For what, Master?"

Shifu sighed and looked away shortly. "I could have prevented this. I could have refused Mei-Hua's orders."

"It wouldn't have mattered. She would have taken me by force."

"Perhaps." In long time silence was only disturbed by the thunder that became louder and louder.

Tigress sat up, hugging her knees. "Is it wrong for me to feel this way? They didn't want me as their child, but yet I wish that everything had ended different." She glanced at her master, her eyes big and deep.

"I believe that there are a lot of things that we will never know about them. But one thing is sure; the bond between a child and its parents is a very strange but strong bond."

The tiger searched for something in his eyes. "Do we have that bond?" She asked him without any words. He looked back, and in that moment Tigress knew the answer. Yes, they had. Maybe it was too little for others to see, but there still was a bond. And if they just worked on it then it only could become stronger.

"I will suggest you to go back to sleep again. The others will be disappointed if you aren't ready for tomorrow." Shifu told her. True enough, her friends had decided to hold a little party at Mr. Ping's Noodle Shop to celebrate her being back.

"Yes, Master. And thanks." She quickly added. Just before Master Shifu disappeared out of the room, he turned to her while standing in the doorway.

"It's good to have you back, Tigress." Then he was gone.

Tigress sighed happily as she lay down to sleep. How it great it felt to be back in her own bed.

"I'll see who it is." Tigress told the others as she rose from her chair. She had been sitting in the kitchen with her friends talking about how today had been. Before they had reached the noodle shop, the villagers had been there to greet her. Especially the children had been happy to have their hero Master Tigress back. The dinner at Mr. Ping's had gone well. Tigress had just enjoyed her friends company while she again told them her adventure. Now it was late evening and they definitely didn't expect visitors.

The truth was the Tigress now was having mixed feelings. She was so happy but yet she was scared. It was long time ago she had learned not to trust her happiness; it only meant that something bad would happen soon. The future was a mystery, and Tigress didn't know what would happen next. How long time would she be able to stay at the Jade Palace this time?

She had promised herself to not let anything come between her and her home. But still, who knew what could happen? Right now she would just enjoy her time her and make sure that this happiness would last as long as it could.

Now she had finally come back to her friends, but she remembered that they weren't her only one. Tomorrow she would write a letter to Lu Chu and Piao telling them that she was alright and back home. And of course she would tell them that the Valley of Peace was open for them.

Then there was Enlai. Viper had been pretty interested in him. Tigress knew that the snake always had been looking out for a boyfriend to her. Though, Tigress had refused even talking about it. To make sure that there would be no teasing she had told them all that Enlai was a friend and only that. Beside, Tigress didn't even know where he was. If he wanted to see her then it would be him to find her.

Tigress finally reached the end of the hall and opened the door. Her heart skipped a beat but she remained calm. Even though, she didn't want to admit it, then this was something that only made her happiness better.

The male tiger in front of her smiled to her. "I've heard that this palace needs a gardener."

A/N: So now there is only an epilogue back. But as I said there will be a sequel and you will hear about now!

The Search For Golden Times: (To anyone who hadn't figured it out then it's the name of the sequel).

Tigress finds herself in an unpleasant situation as she receives letters that tells her that she is destined to become the new Dragon Queen but also is the next leader of the Shadow Warriors. On the same time a new enemy has stepped out of the shadows. He wants power and the way to get that is by killing the great Master Tigress. Now, Tigress and her friends have to stop him, but problems just won't leave her alone.

So what do you think about that? Are you excited? Please tell me! See you in the next and last chapter of Behind The Golden Eyes.