Author's Note: Hey guys! It hasn't been a month, crazy huh? Anyways, this is a much shorter chapter but no less heartfelt. I can't wait for you lot to see where this story goes, cuz things get even more crazy. (Yep, even more crazy than it already has been.) Now, let's get on with it.

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN KFP!

Enjoy... if you can.

A Future Destroyed

Ke-Pa drops Po's body on the ground, flopping down with an unceremonious thud. A deafening silence takes hold of everyone looking on, their eyes refusing to take in the sight before them. In complete disbelief at what has just happened. The panda master's body remains still, not a single movement of a limb, not even the twitch of a muscle. His jade eyes stare upwards, pale and unblinking. Looking at the five who can only gaze back with a horrifying truth.

The dragon warrior is dead.

"It would seem I've crushed your 'little lotus', Li-Shan." The panda chief doesn't acknowledge his heartless words, his own heart suffocating at the sight of his lifeless son. Grief rips the colour out of his fur, silencing the life from his eyes, sending a rush of power through Ke-Pa's flowing body.

Mr. Ping's eyes refuse to blink as he stares at his sweet panda. Lying dead in the dirt of the valley. "Po." Though disbelief clouds his tone, a haunting realisation soon overtakes him as waterfalls of tears begin to fall from his eyes. "My… my sweet boy."

Everyone's heart breaks as the poor goose dad breaks into a fit of sobs, no-one in the valley having ever seen the chef like this. Everyone except for Ke-Pa who watches on with an honest to Gods smile on his face, Mr. Ping's tears acting as music to his ears.

Music that is cut into by the sound of feet scraping the ground. A painful melody given a harmony by pained, shamed tears. He turns to face the new source of this grief, is vile grin growing as a wave of volcanic rage singes his body. Rage searing the reddened amber and clouded irises of Tigress. "Y-you took my Po." Her voice croaks and cracks, overcome with despair, sapped of all its strength. Barely able to keep herself standing, she takes wobbly, unmeasured steps towards Po's murderer. "You took my Po." She repeats, her mourning wail stabbing into the hearts of Viper and Crane as they watch helplessly. Trembling violently, her fists clench until her claws digs into her palms, forcing crimson to leak out of it. "Give him back." Her snarl brings an amused smirk to Ke-Pa's face as she breaks out in an unbalanced sprint. Her pupil dilates but not fully, her claws are bear yet not for blood, her eyes bleed with hate yet love is their puppeteer. Tigress lets out a savage, manic roar. "Give him back!"

Her claws swing with a wild, barbaric intensity, numbed from the torment coursing through her brutalised body. Fuelled from the grief that tears her soul asunder. Grief that shoots more bolts of energy through Ke-Pa's body. Though she rips into him, his form immediately puts itself back together, her anguish making his white eyes glow brightly. This doesn't stop her desperate, chaotic assault, the mourning tiger continuing to maul the vile demon as her tears shower the ground. All that greets her is his disgusting smile, "How quick you are to forget!" In the blink of an eye, he unleashes a devastating uppercut to her jaw, sending her off the ground. Before she can even fall back down, he grabs her leg and lifts her over him. "Your despair gives me power!" He slams her onto the ground face-first, cracking the dirt and stone beneath her. Though she tries to force herself up, Ke-Pa is too fast.

Bam!

He delivers a brutal stomp to her head, bringing her one step closer to unconsciousness, shocking everyone around. "Tigress!" Viper screams in horror, her hoarse voice cracking as she fights against all the pain in her body to reach her poor sister. As Monkey and Mantis finally regain consciousness, they all follow suit, their approach amounting to wobbly steps and desperate crawls.

"Get away from her! Liliang!" Even Zhonglei's vicious growl punctures the air as he tries in vain to break out of his restraints.

"Hmph. Fruitless." Ke-Pa clenches his fist, grinning at the five as he begins to turn back to the downed tiger. However, an unexpected obstacle stands in his way.

"Get away from stripey mama!"

Glowing white irises gaze at Lei-Lei, befuddled as she holds her arms out in front of the pathetic tiger crumpled on the floor. "Lei-Lei!" Li-Shan screams out, frantically trying to rip off his shadow shackles as fast as he can.

Tigress uses all the strength she has left to keep her eyes open, gazing at her little panda with tenderness. With fear. Not her too. "Run, Lei-Lei. Please." Her whisper is drowned out by another wave of tears running down her cheeks.

"I won't leave you mama! I'll protect you!"

Though she tries to keep a brave face for her strong stripey baby, everyone can hear the crack of fear peeking out of her. Especially Ke-Pa. Yet, that isn't what he focuses on. How did I not sense her? He looks within the panda child, seeing… Nothing? But… How? Her terror is palpable yet he can't feel it. He isn't growing stronger from it. Of course. That repulsive notion. A suicidal belief that brings a mistaken courage. Ke-Pa chuckles quietly. What else could bring… 'this' other than hope.

This chuckle soon turns into a bone-chilling cackle, one that makes the poor panda cub flinch in pure terror. In spite of this, she holds herself in a sloppier version of Tigress' stance. "Now isn't that just precious." Though his words are endearing, his timbre is anything but. "It would seem that a mere child is far braver than anyone here." As he looks around, he notices the scores of masters that have regained consciousness. Yet, each and every last one of them can barely be considered an afterthought. Just from one look, he can tell that the fight has left them. But can the same be said for his forced audience? "Then again, what courageous act can be accomplished when bound in chains?" With a flick of his wrist, they are all free. A single moment is all it takes for another chance to be given.

No-one steps forward.

No villager, no kung fu master. Everyone simply watches the demon king as he spreads his arms out in invitation. "Come now. Are there no heroes in the audience? No staunch avengers to bring me to justice?" Not a single soul responds. As expected, "How wise." He mutters, giving Lei-Lei a sideways glare as he gives both her and her 'mother' a moment of thought. Though being merciless brings despair, mercy itself can be its root cause. Especially now that he's taken 'her Po' away. His depraved grin shows all his teeth, sending shivers through the young cub's spine, "Count your blessings, little one. Mercy is a luxury reserved for very few." After all, what threat will the tiger pose him? What threat do any of these so-called masters pose now? With this, he heads on to the valley's exit, passing by villagers, masters and members of the furious five who all make way for him. "Oh, how your tunes have changed now that your dear dragon warrior is gone." A devious grin fills his face as he feels their glares stab into him, "All those heroic declarations mean nothing in the face of a harsh bitter truth." Turning to face everyone within the valley, his grin drops, a deathly cold tone rumbling through his dark voice. "You have no chance. No hope." This last sentiment he spews with a corrosive spit, infecting the hearts of many within the valley. As much as they want to refute it, what hope do they really have? White irises note the entire village turn pale at this, deriving a sick joy from their agony as the demon king turns around. "From now on, this world is no longer yours." With this, he heads to the valley's exit with a simple, slow stride. No-one stops him, no-one even thinks of doing so. What's the point in trying after what he has just done?

As Ke-Pa makes his leave, several of the freed kung fu masters rush to the five and their comrades, healing them with chi. "Stripey baby!" Lei-Lei shrieks as she hugs Tigress tight, the tiger reciprocating in a ghost of a hug. "Th-the big scary man n-nearly k-killed you! I was so scared!"

Tigress can only look on, her gaze hollow as the panda cub weeps into her chest. "Po's… gone?" Monkey's disbelief makes her ears twitch, making her bottom lip quiver as that truth threatens to rip her soul apart. "No… no there's gotta be something we can do. There has to be!" His denial is soon disrupted by a golden light filling her face.

"I'm sorry." Zhonglei says with a weak voice, his paw glowing with chi.

Her eyes grow wide as she thinks back to Kai and the panda village. When Po was in the spirit realm. "Chi." Ruby eyes give her a questioning glance until she turns towards the limp dragon warrior and rushes over to him, "Everyone! Use your chi on Po! Hurry!" She yells out, a flash of hope sparking in the faces of Mr. Ping and Li-Shan. They join her fast, holding their paws and wings out until a golden light fills them completely. At seeing what they are trying, Zhonglei and the rest of the five join them, now aware of Tigress' plan. It doesn't take long for the whole village to join in, a symphony of gold surrounding the lifeless panda. They focus their chi hard, pouring everything they have into reviving him.

But nothing happens.

His body doesn't move, his eyes remain empty. The golden light that flows into him leaves as quickly as it comes. Panic begins to fill the eyes of Po's fathers and Tigress, "No." A hopeless whisper leaves her as the black veil of smoke finally makes way for the sky. Yet the sun doesn't greet them, only a carpet of grey. "Why isn't it working? Why isn't it working!?" Rain falls from the heavens, the tiger master's paws shaking as fear invades her heart. Many of the villagers begin to look upon her and the rest of Po's family with pity, some taking their appendages away. "We have to keep trying!"

A minute passes as more villagers take their appendages away, some of the masters giving way as Zhonglei looks to his niece. "Tigress."

"He needs our help! H-he needs us!" She struggles to even get these words out as yet another wave of tears begins to fall from her eyes. Soon enough, the golden glow fades away from the rest of the five, Crane cradling Viper as she silently cries into his chest. He takes his hat off in respect to what was his little brother, Monkey joining in with a fist over his heart. So happy and full of excitement. How could it end like this?

Mantis places one of his claws on Po's body, finding all the strength within him not to cry at the loss of such a great friend. "Tigress."

She doesn't listen, she can't. Po had come back before, stronger than ever. This is no different. It can't be. "We can't leave him. He's still there." Despair begins to settle in as her single good eye settles on her love's body, praying for his goofy smile to come back and reassure her. To tell her he is still here.

Li-Shan retracts his paw as Mr. Ping breaks down in an uncontrollable wail, the poor goose embracing his dead son tight, never wanting to let him go. Aged jade eyes gaze at Tigress, her whole body trembling at the realisation that she refuses to see. He spares a look to his son, his mind flashing back to all the moments he had shared with him after Kai's attack. Messing around in the training hall, small dinners in the restaurant, those talks they would have when a big mission came up. Every day they had shared was worth a lifetime, yet even still it isn't enough. His lip wobbles as he musters up the courage to say the painful truth, "Tigress." The golden glow in her paws begins to fade as his voice croaks, their tears joining the rain in its anguish.

"He's gone. Our Po's gone."

At this, her chi fades completely from her paws, the tiger master placing her quaking paw on Po's chest. That dull little pressure of his beating heart is no more. Her love is no more. As the rest of the villagers and masters bow in respect to the now dead dragon warrior, Tigress tries her hardest not to break completely, but her heart simply can't take it. First Xiwang valley, then her father. Now him. Why? Why did they deserve this? Why can't she ever find happiness? So many people love you Tigress. His voice sparks through her head, the tiger remembering that moment of darkness. When her soul had nearly lost its way. And you do too. Don't you? When she had felt completely alone, he was there to help find her way again. You… you knew? Well… Yeah… He loved her so much, in a way that no-one could ever match. I…I love you Tigress. And I'll always be by your side, no matter what.

Not anymore.

"Po." This whisper turns into a fit of sobs as her heart shatters into fragments, her soul stained by its grief-stricken debris. Sympathy is felt by all around, but they can never truly understand what the dragon warrior's family has lost. She wants to cradle her panda but can't find the strength in herself. She couldn't protect him. Hell, she nearly killed him. Her eyes gazes to the sky, her pupil dilating but not consuming her eye entirely. Tigress and the monster roar as one, filled with agony and devoured by despair.

*Sigh* Why do I always like writing chapters like this? Guess I'll never know. Either way, we're only 7 chapters in and things are already looking dire. With Po gone and Ke-Pa being so powerful, what will they be able to do? All I can say is, keep any eye up above the heavens cuz interesting stuff will be going on there real soon. Have a great morning/afternoon/evening, and until next time :)