A/N: Hi guys! I have the final chapter written! I cannot believe that it is over!? Can you!? I'm getting really sad….

I wanted to thank Salunatic for pointing out some things I missed in the last chapter. Thanks! I have taken care of your questions.

Also, I have Rising angle5 who was my 350th reviewer! Thanks for being a fantastic reviewer! I hope to read some of your work soon!

Thank you so much everyone for the wonderful feedback. It has truly been a blessing to have my very first story become this successful. It means a lot; I cannot find the right words to express how I feel right now.

Enjoy! Who's ready for some TiPo? Sorry if it is cheesy and mushy though…. I tried to make it was friend-shippy was possible.

Don't forget to review and tell me what you thought of the story!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kung Fu Panda, ATA Taekwondo, or Master Croc….

Chapter Twenty-One: The Ceremony

Po tossed and turned in his bed, he couldn't sleep. He was way too excited.

Several days had passed since he and the Furious Five had arrived in Gongmen City for the Certification Training. The camp had been very tough. His friends weren't joking when they had told him about the energy-draining workouts. The panda was sore everywhere. However, the training had still been fun and awesome; there were so many new things to learn.

Po was very anxious though, tomorrow he had to perform the final test for his Level One Certification. The Dragon Warrior had felt his stomach twist and turn like an ocean storm for hours now. The pressure was even more intense because he was the Dragon Warrior. Everyone expected him to pass. His friends and fellow masters had reassured himthat he would be excellent. There was absolutely nothing to worry about!

As he tried to fall asleep he went over the past events in his mind. He recalled the story Tigress told him about Grandmaster Croc. He realized that even though Master Rhino's dad made Croc stop stealing, Tigress had made a big effect on Croc.

He smiled to himself; she had a way of doing that to people.

He now understood why Croc had made such a strange face at her in the Gongmen Jail. Who wouldn't look like a ghost after seeing someone from your past...

The panda sighed. His head was becoming too clogged with thoughts. His stomach wasn't helping him much either… He needed to get outside and breathe some fresh air.

Po grunted slightly as he got up from his carved wooden bed into the hallway. Everyone that was testing for Certification was staying at the Certification Headquarters and the masters had provided almost everything for them. The Headquarters were just about as nice as a five-star inn.

Po and the Five's rooms were located at the top of the building. Right outside of the hallway was a decent sized balcony. It was large enough to fit a couple of tables and chairs.

The Dragon Warrior opened the elegantly carved doors and walked outside into the breezy summer air. It was a beautiful night. The panda leaned on the railing and gazed at the glistening stars. They looked like diamonds.

He closed his emerald eyes and listened to the sounds of the city, villagers were out and about enjoying the starry night.

Po was wondering about something other than his Certification Testing though. It was about- and frankly he didn't like the idea that he was thinking about it-Tigress' story.

It was such an awesome story, he really enjoyed learning about the one piece of information that had never been told before, but he wondered about something.

Why didn't Tigress report the incident in?

It wasn't a serious question; it was just out of curiosity. He didn't have the chance to ask his feline friend the question because they had been too busy with the camp. Sure, there had been a little chit-chat here and there, as well as the occasional eye catching between the two of them. But Po couldn't seem to find the right time to pop the question.

"What are you doing out here at this time?" someone said suddenly.

Po jumped a little and turned around to see Tigress. He smirked playfully. "I was just about to ask you the same thing."

She grinned back, walked towards the balcony's golden railing, and stood next to him. "You didn't have another nightmare, did you?"

He shook his head back frantically. "No, thank goodness I didn't. I don't think I'll have any more for quite some time."

"Good." Tigress confirmed. She suddenly took a shaky breath.

Po frowned. "Are you….nervous?" he asked quietly. He could understand if he or Crane, Viper, Monkey, or Mantis were nervous about tomorrow, but Tigress? He would have never thought that she could get nervous.

The tiger looked at him and winced. "Tomorrow is a big day; my goal of being a certified instructor is finally coming true. Yes, I am very anxious." She replied.

Po nodded back. "Yeah, I understand that…I'm nervous too…."

She took a slow breath and crossed her arms. "I do not know who would not be uneasy about tomorrow. Testing in front of the masters is very intimidating."

The Dragon Warrior turned his back towards the railing. "Tigress, do you think that I'll do okay?"

"I am very certain, Po. You can do amazing things, I am sure that you can accomplish this task."

He smiled. "Thank you."

His friend returned the smiled. "Anytime…"

Po shifted around in his spot and indulged himself in the cool air. It was so peaceful outside.

He sighed slightly as his stomach continued to dance around. "Can I ask you something? I've been meaning to ask you it for the last couple of days."

She nodded. "Go ahead. I'm listening."

"Well…." He scratched the back of his neck. "It's about your story. I have one, well, two things to ask you about it."

She stared back patiently.

"Well, how come Master Flying Rhino let Grandmaster Croc go so easily? He was a bandit right? Wouldn't he deserve a punishment or something?"

She pressed her lips together. "Yes, I must have forgotten those details. You see, Grandmaster Croc was apparently head of the Imperial Golden Croc Gang, or simply put, the Croc Gang. The band of thieves were becoming more well-known throughout China. Sometimes their robberies were successful, and sometimes they backfired."

"So did Master Flying Rhino want Grandmaster Croc on his team or something? Was Grandmaster Croc extremely smart?" Po questioned.

"Quite so, it seemed that when Grandmaster was confronted by Rhino, there was word going around that Croc was actually donating his stolen treasures to orphanages. Rhino was starting to surmise that the leader of the Imperial Golden Croc Gang actually had some good in him."

"So Grandmaster Croc was giving to the poor just like Robin Hood?" Po exclaimed. He smiled and remembered the story that his father used to read to him about a robin that wore a cloak, stole from the rich and gave to the poor. He loved that story.

Tigress nodded back, "Supposedly he was. I am not sure to this day. I have never asked Croc about that subject."

The warrior continued on. "I have no idea what Croc was really up to on the day of the Gongmen Uniform Incident. I think Rhino thought of Croc as a new threat and wanted to put an end to it before things became serious. He saw the goodness that Croc had in his heart, the fantastic skills in had in Kung Fu, and his smart mind."

"And then Flying Rhino spared his life." Po finished.

"Correct." She confirmed. "Regarding your question if Croc received a punishment, I think that he had to work in the tailor's shop for community service to replace all of the stolen uniforms." She gestured to him. "What is your second question?"

Po was very surprised with his friend's openness to his questions; it seemed that she really needed to talk about things to get the testing out of her mind.

"Well," he started. "You said that you never reported how you found out about the incident or that Grandmaster Croc used to be a bandit. If you were all "Miss Protocol" and loved to report things in, why didn't you?" the panda asked.

The tiger seemed to laugh a little under her breath. "I have my reasons. I guess I can say that it was a mistake I made because of my age. I could also say that I was told not to report it in…." she trailed off and continued to look at the city's skyline.

Po frowned. "What's the real reason why?"

Tigress turned back to Po and met his eyes. "I choose not to report the incident to honor Master Croc."

"What do you mean?"

She paused. "When Croc was about to receive that fatal blow to end his life, he looked so afraid. When the punch never came and Rhino explained him his proposal, the crocodile's eyes were genuinely remorseful. I even recall a single tear sliding down his cheek…." Tigress looked down to the floor and bit her lip.

"You didn't report it in because Grandmaster Croc just started to cry?" Po was very confused.

Tigress sighed. "No, silly…" She said playfully. "I choose not to report Croc's background because after a while, he became very successful in Kung Fu. If I had reported those events in, it would have ruined him. He has changed, what's past is past."

She looked to Po. "It is just like what you learned last week. Grandmaster Croc has chosen to use Kung Fu for good and is living a good life. That is all that matters."

Po smiled. "Tigress, you are absolutely right."

The warrior nodded. "I know…"

The panda went silent for a moment and decided that it was time to tell Tigress what he had been meaning to tell her for a few days. He had gotten interrupted so many times because of his friends. But now, it was just him and Tigress. Now was the time to tell her about his dream.

"You know…." Po found it hard for the words to come out of his mouth. "There's something else I would like to share with you."

"Yes?"

"When I had that awful nightmare a few days ago….. Well…. I lied to you…" he confessed.

She frowned and looked at him. "What do you mean "lied"?" she asked.

"The victim….. Wasn't a random person…" the panda stammered.

Tigress nodded. She knew where this was going….

"It was me, wasn't it?" She questioned.

Po closed his eyes. "No, it was…." His eyes bolted open. "Wait, what?"

"Was I the victim?" she repeated softly.

Po made a face. "Yeah…. How did you know?"

She chuckled. "I was awake when you had the nightmare. Before the rest of the Five were up, I heard you scream my name a couple of times. I've known that it was me…"

He sighed with relief. "It scared me so bad… That dream felt so real, it felt like you were dead."

She grimaced slightly. "I'm sorry you had to experience such a thing."

The Dragon Warrior shrugged slightly. "Nah, its part of life…. But the point is you had mentioned to me that the Shen and Croc in my dream had used someone that was special to me to scare me."

"Yes, I recall that…" she replied as her striped tail started to swish back and forth.

Slowly, Po took both of Tigress' paws in his own. "Tigress, I've realized in that past few days….. You're very special to me; you have taught me so many things about life, you have helped me when I have troubles…. And I treasure that I am your friend." He said shakily.

Tigress' amber eyes widened and she looked down to the black paws holding hers. A comforting emotions started to stir inside of her, she felt heat rise to her cheeks, and a smile form on her lips. "Thank you." She whispered. "Po, no one has ever told me anything like that. I'm very touched…."

Po looked at his friend's happy expression on her face. She looked beautiful when she smiled like that.

He watched she stretched out a striped paw and rested in on the side of his head. "You are the very first person that has called me their friend. I thank you for that…."

The tiger leaned in closer to the panda and spoke gently into Po's small ear. "You're very special to me too…."

Po smiled widely, he was glad to hear those words. Tigress pulled back from his ear and smiled sweetly at him.

There was suddenly a very strong feeling passed between the two of them. It was friendship and trust. They knew that they could count on each other forever and always.

Po tried to wipe the grin off of his face, but somehow he couldn't seem to do so. "Tigress?" he asked.

"Yes, Po?"

"I know that you have boundaries, but can I give you a hug?" the panda spoke gently.

The tiger admired that Po had asked her permission for the hug. It was very true that she had boundaries and she would only give hugs away when she felt it was most needed. Tigress figured that there was no better time for physical contact than the present moment.

"Yes Po, you may give me a hug." She shook her head as if realizing something and laughed softly. "You didn't have to ask…."

The panda wrapped his arms around the tiger and without hesitation, unlike the previous week, Tigress returned the hug. "Thanks for being my friend, Po." She said.

Po let go of the five-second embrace. "Anytime…."

The two smiled one last time to each other and turned back onto the railing to face the beautiful starry sky. Everything was perfect.

The moment morning rose from the sky, everyone was up and getting ready for their big and exciting day. Fur was shined, bandages finally came off, and they were all dressed their best.

They ate quickly, although they were too anxious to get anything down, and headed to the new testing center. The other main building, City Hall, had been destroyed last week with the help of the evil Lord Shen and his wolf minions. Fortunately, the Masters of the High Council had managed to find a replacement for the present.

When the six excited warriors arrived, they watched the opening ceremony. It was absolutely awesome! It was filled with tricks, flips, and cool sparring.

After the ceremony, it was time to split up all the levels. The gang told Po "Good luck!" and headed off to their separate stations.

It seemed like hours until the panda tested. With each passing minute, his stomach twisted more and more.

Finally it was time to test. His name was called on the floor and he ran up to teach a form with the little students. While performing the sparring segments, he kept on reminding himself about the correct moves, "It's a back-fist not a punch…..Back-fist not a punch."

He finished his test with high confidence. He was given a look of approval from the judge, and then he waited around the building for the Furious Five to join him for the closing ceremony.

The closing ceremony was very emotional for the Level Threes, making the accomplishment of becoming a certified instructor was a big deal. The room was lit only with candles, making the atmosphere seem very serious.

The Level Ones were called up first by Grandmaster Croc. The crocodile had not been seen for most of the camp, sometimes he would overlook a technique being taught or praise a student, but for the most part, Grandmaster Croc had laid low for the most of it.

Po waited and waited with butterflies in his stomach until he heard:

"Master Po Ping, the Dragon Warrior." Grandmaster Croc announced. "Level One."

Po grinned and scrambled up to get his document.

When he reached Grandmaster Croc, he shook his paw, accepted his certificate, thanked him, and told him he would keep his promise on staying on the right path.

He watched as one by one, Monkey, Mantis, and Viper were called for their Level Twos. Monkey and Mantis hooted with joy at their success.

Finally, Crane and Tigress had been called for their full certification. Po swore that had never seen Tigress so happy.

"Good done everyone!" Grandmaster cheered. "I am very pleased to see all of your new teaching skills. Let us keep continuing to teach the next generation of Kung Fu students. I wish you all the best of luck."

Po skipped back to his friends once the final ceremonial gong was struck. He received pats on the back from everyone and a warm smile from Tigress.

Po jumped up and down and decided that this had to be one of the best days ever!

He glanced back and saw that Master, um, Grandmaster Croc was coming over to chat with him and his comrades.

When the crocodile came, Po bowed deeply and respectfully to the now, Not-So Mysterious Master Croc.

The End

A/N: Well, I suppose that is it!? Oh! I'm so sad!

Please let me know what you have thought about it! Silent readers, now is the time to give a final review…. I will appreciate it so much.

I enjoyed writing this for you. Can you believe that I thought that this story was only going to be 12 chapters long? It turned out to be 21! It would not have been this long without you guys!

Special thanks to ShadowBrook17, Salunatic, LotusWriter768, my Grandma (Donna Curd/Po), and my Taekwondo instructor. You have made this story so awesome! Thank you!

I am hoping to start a new story soon! Keep your eyes out for it!

Please write your final review in that little box, it's free! Thank you!

Catch you later!