Here's a new chapter, and just for some certain shippers, a nice little surprise. Enjoy!

Chapter Twelve: Cold as Ice

The mountains were cold and lonely, an eerie wind whistling off the peaks. All was white except for the occasional rock surface that wasn't covered by snow. There were plenty of dead trees on the way up, the ones nearest to the top looking like ghostly figures. Near the peak of the mountain, there were mounds of collected snow from small avalanches of snow when there was too little surface atop the jagged rock.

The cave the Masters found was large and well hidden. They had to clear away a lot of snow before they could enter; although, it wasn't a large task for Crane. The inside of the cave was basically two large rooms, separated by what seemed like a gigantic doorway. Large boulders could be moved around for some to sit on, and some were flat enough to serve as beds for the smaller Masters.

The wind outside was blowing hard and the snow seemed to shoot down as if they were arrows from a bow. The Masters had been able to collect wood from the trees just minutes before the storm settled in. As the light was fading, they sat around the fire and simply stared at the fire.

Vixey's boredom broke the silence.

"So," she asked, "what do you guys want to do when we finally get back to the Jade Palace?"

Jin turned thoughtful.

"I've got something special planned," he told them all. "I'm going to propose to Xinli."

"How sweet of you!" Viper said, raising her head. "I'm sure she'd be elated!"

"I've been thinking about it over the past several months," Jin continued. "When everything's settled down, I'm going to ask for time off to head home, buy a ring, and make my move. If that's all right, Master?"

A kind smile crawled onto Shifu's face.

"It shouldn't be any problem," he said. "Maybe then Xinli can stop by more often."

"What about you, Master?" Monkey asked, "Please don't tell us you'll be studying more scrolls."

"No," Shifu answered. "I've decided I'll visit Tian's grandchildren. One of them will be married soon, and I've never met them."

Vixey couldn't help herself.

"Wow," she muttered, "you guys are getting old."

Most of the Masters snickered as she spoke. She thought for a moment.

"I think I'll go back to my hometown and see Mom," she said. "I haven't visited just to visit in ages. That'd be a delightful change. What about the rest of you?"

"I don't really have anything big going for me right now," Mantis said.

"I think I might head home for a few more days, too," Viper said.

Amidst all the talk, Po noticed Tigress wasn't saying anything.

"If you don't mind," Shifu started suddenly, "I need to go meditate."

Everyone broke from the current conversation to say goodbye and returned immediately to the topic. Po watched Shifu walk off and disappear into the other side of the cave and felt the urge to follow him. He waited for a few more seconds before he rose.

"Where are you going, Po?" Jin asked. "I thought Shifu wanted to be alone."

Po was about to answer when Monkey did it for him.

"He occasionally makes an exception for Po," he said. "Maybe it's important."

The conversation returned to normal as Po continued on his way. He found Shifu sitting at the other entrance of the cave as if he was watching the snowfall. Po sat right next to him and didn't say anything.

After a moment of silence, Shifu sighed unhappily.

"I'm worried about her, Po," he started. "I sensed her injuries when I sensed she could see me. I am pleased that she lasted so long before taking serious harm. You understand, don't you?"

"I sure do, Master," Po told him. "We're all worried about Tigress. Lately, we've been trying to keep her out of the fight or she'll just get hurt badly again."

Shifu looked down.

"No one is immune to weakness," he said. "Not even the best of us. Tigress understands this, but sometimes she acts like she doesn't want to understand. I know she wants to help people. But if her wounds are large enough to keep her from action, she may cause more harm than good."

Po remained silent.

"Promise me something, Po," Shifu continued. "No matter how she reacts in the future, whether I'm there or not, make sure she doesn't push herself farther than she should. There are things you can do that she can't. Be ready to help her in her mistakes before she makes them."

"I'll try, Master," Po said.

They were silent for a while.

"I think I'll head back," Po said. "I'll probably get dinner going."

Shifu nodded. Po returned to the group and found that the others were engaging in conversation in smaller groups. Only Tigress remained near the fire.

Po sat down nearby.

"You doing all right, Tigress?" he asked.

Tigress didn't answer him for a moment.

"When everyone was talking about what they'd do after the fighting was over," she started, "I... I never answered because I don't know what I'd do. It sounds like everyone has plans to move on with their lives while doing Kung Fu. I have no family outside the Palace. All I've ever had plans for was to learn Kung Fu and defend the Valley."

Po shrugged.

"Looks like you've already achieved that," he said. "All you need now are new plans."

"Like what?"

Po appeared to be flustered for a moment.

"I don't know," he started. "Maybe you could look around and see if you really don't have, like, long-lost family members or something."

Tigress gave him a look.

"My parents were slaves," she told him bluntly.

"But that doesn't mean they didn't have siblings," Po said. "What I'm trying to say is... well, look at me! I thought I didn't have any family either, and I turned out to have a whole village behind my back! What's that got to say for you?"

Tigress looked back at the fire and thought.

"That was just one suggestion," Po continued. "What about what Jin's doing? He's gonna go off and get married! There isn't any reason why you can't get married in the future! Aside from those two things, there's plenty of other stuff you could do. I didn't really think about what I could do in the future, either. Maybe, you and I could, I don't know, go out to eat or something."

He froze, realizing what he'd just said. Then he saw a small smile appear on Tigress's face.

"That would be nice," she said.

Po just looked at her with complete shock. She just looked at him kindly before looking back at the fire.

"Just don't forget it, though, okay?" Tigress asked. "You tend to be a complete idiot when it comes to things like this."

Po was on the verge of blushing through his fur. Was she really saying this?

The two returned to a normal conversation for the rest of the evening.

It felt like only minutes before someone realized the sun had long since set. The sky was pitch black behind the still rapidly falling snow. Blankets were unrolled and the Masters were beginning to settle down to sleep.

"I'll take first watch," Po said.

"I will, too," Viper added. "It'll be easier if we each only watch one entrance."

"Po," Crane said suddenly, "wake me in a few hours. I'll get the next shift."

Po nodded and went to the entrance where he'd spoken with Shifu. He sat against the wall and stared out at the snow for any sign of something living. Whether it was minutes or hours, he couldn't really tell how long he sat there, looking at nothing. It was only when he started to nod off for a third time, almost falling asleep where he sat this time, that he decided to go wake Crane. He was worried it hadn't been very long until he saw that Monkey had taken Viper's watch and the snake was sound asleep, coiled up between Tigress and Vixey.

When Crane left for his watch, Po lay on the bare, cold, rocky ground under his blanket and, for some reason, couldn't get to sleep. After some time, he noticed Tigress was getting up. He sat up, too, and was about to speak to her. But then he saw that she was alerted to something and was feeling the ground.

Then he felt it. It was a low rumble that lasted only a second or two.

"What's that?" he asked quietly.

Tigress looked at the entrance Monkey was guarding. The rest of the Masters were awake now, and everyone raced to that entrance. The snow had let up some, but not completely. It was just enough to see a blast from the past - literally.

Several masses, dark against the snow, were firing Shen's cannons.