Death, a kung fu panda fanfic

Death

Inspired by two different sources Pandafan91 and zeaeevee . Even though this is still a T rated story keep in mind that the content is a lot heavier then stuff I've done before. including 'Comfort'. This is easily one of my favorite things that I've ever written and it was a blast, it's also the longest story that I've ever written.

As we escalate in order to combat the criminal element they escalate further in response to us. We carry semi-automatics and they start carrying automatics, we start wearing Kevlar and they start buying armor piercing rounds. - Lieutenant Gordan, Batman Begins

XXXXXX

The Valley of Peace was used to the criminal element despite it's name, it often had multiple muggings or bouts of thievery in as little as a couple of weeks. Something the Valley wasn't used to however was death.

Mr Ping was humming and smiling to himself, it had been a long hard day in the noodle shop with many different customers and orders. One particular incident had stood out among the mediocrity. Mr Ping had stopped a fight from breaking out merely by mentioning that his son was the legendary Dragon Warrior, the vagrants had run away in panic and the customers had cheered Mr Ping's name and bought more soup.

Anything that involved more profit was a victory for Mr Ping.

He looked at the sound of thunder from outside, the rain had been beating down upon the usually bright and sunny Valley of Peace for about three days now. It hadn't stopped for anything. He hadn't been outside the store since the earlier fight so he was unaware of what had happened earlier.

*BOOM*

Mr Ping's front door was suddenly kicked off of it's hinges and it crashed into one of his shelves. He quickly grabbed a meat cleaver to repel the invaders, he thought it was from the earlier bandits seeking a rematch. He stopped in his tracks when he saw who it was.

Tigress was soaked head to toe in rain water with a large bleeding figure draped over her shoulder. Her eyes were wide and fearful and her vest and black silk pants were torn in some places.

Mr Ping looked silently for a second in shock at her tattered appearance before he noticed who the injured figure was.

It was Po.

XXXXXX

Earlier That Day

Po wiped his mouth of any remaining vomit, what he had seen had shaken him to his core and made him regurgitate what he had eaten at breakfast that very morning. It was near evening in the Valley of Peace and there had been a murder, a young goose had been walking home and had been set upon by a gang of crocodile bandits.

It hadn't ended well.

Po leaned up against a nearby wall to support himself as he couldn't feel his legs. The Furious Five were keeping people away from the ghastly scene and Tigress and Shifu were taking a closer look at the body to see if they could find anything that could connect it to a killer. It was so horrid that Shifu himself had even come down to assist the The Dragon Warrior and his other students, Po was supposed to be helping them but his body had rebelled and forced him into his current predicament.

Po worked up the courage and walked back to Tigress and Shifu, upon seeing the look on his face Tigress threw him a sad glance, the two of them had grown incredibly close in the few months since he had defeated Lord Shen. Shifu cleared his throat, "Po, I know this is the first time you're ever encountered something like this, and I understand how you feel, it's even been a while since I've seen it" his sympathies ended there unfortunately. "However, you are a example for the people you are trying to protect, so grow up and help me and Tigress determine a cause of death!".

Tigress looked at the ground, even she thought it was a bit harsh of Shifu to yell at Po like that but it seemed to do the job as Po gulped and a fierce resolve came into his eyes. He walked over to the two of them and started to examine the corpse. He looked at it for a bit before he was questioned by Shifu, "What do you think Po?".

Po stood back up and pointed to a wound by the rib cage, "That looks like a stab wound, I'm pretty confident that's what killed this guy". Shifu nodded at his brief analysis, "Me and Tigress thought exactly the same thing, we will all discuss this back at the Jade Palace. The other masters can deal with this and the public" Shifu put his arms behind his back, "Po, go back to the Jade Palace and wait in the Hall of Heroes, I think you've done enough for now".

Po and Tigress nodded and followed him out, Po stopped on the way out and looked at the heap on the floor, his fist shook with anger towards whatever creature was capable of such an act.

When Po walked out of the alley he saw Shifu pulling Monkey aside and telling what to do, Monkey nodded gravely and got to work, he walked past Po to clear away the body. Po jumped when he felt Tigress's paw on his shoulder, "Sorry Po, I didn't mean to scare you" she said apologetically. She looked at the others making sure that nobody could see what was going on, "Are you alright Po?". Po shook his head wordlessly, "I knew when I became Dragon Warrior I'd have to stop evil and all the things I'd dreamed about ever since I was young but this..." he sighed and looked at Tigress, "I never imagined this". Po slowly began the walk back up towards the Jade Palace alone.

Tigress watched his slowly retreating figure, it began to rain heavily and it blurred her vision. She hugged her body in an attempt to keep warm...at least that was the reason she told herself. It was more out of a lack of any appropriate response, she quickly went to help the others in an effort to feel useful at such a time.

XXXXXX

Half an Hour later

Shifu looked into the Moon Pool and felt a great weight at what he was going to say, "Someone has been killed" he said simply. Po and the others remained silent, they were all soaked due to the heavy rainfall which had still refused to let up ever since it had started.

Shifu turned around to face them, his eyes had a darkness and a resignation in them that was seldom seen from him. "You know what to do" he said to the Five, they all bowed and left to search for leads. Po looked at the floor in silence, he knew that Shifu was angry at him for acting soft.

"You're going to kill the guy who did it aren't you?" Po said quietly, even though what the culprit had done was barbaric Po still rejected the notion of capital punishment. Shifu nodded without a beat, "We have to Po".

"Why!?" Po said angrily. Shifu glared up at him, "If we don't this will continue". Realizing getting angry wasn't helping the situation Shifu calmed himself down and took a deep breath.

"I'm not saying it's right Po, but sometimes we have to take the lives of our enemies" Shifu argued. "Compassion is not something your enemies will ever share" said Shifu calmly. Po remained resolute "That's why it's so important Shifu, it separates me from them". Shifu sighed, "You cannot protect the Valley unless you learn to do what is necessary, what if someone was attacking your Father? Would you honestly permit yourself the same control over your emotions that you would if it was someone you did not know?"

Po bit his lip, "I don't know honestly, but I'll do whatever I can to make sure I never have to take a life". Shifu huffed irritably, "Very well panda, but if he isn't caught and dealt with then know that any person who dies because you spared him, know that those lives are all on you, now go and help the Five find this monster". Shifu walked out of the Hall looking more weary then ever.

Po gulped and walked over to the Moon Pool and looked into his reflection, "This isn't what I wanted" he said softly, Po turned and walked away from himself and set out to find out who had become a killer.

Tigress, who had been hiding behind a nearby pillar looked sadly at his retreating form. "I should help him". She left quietly and followed the panda, Tigress actually sympathized with Po a lot on the subject. The first time she had killed still haunted her and she wanted to make sure that Po heard the words she had most wanted to hear upon her first kill.

XXXXXX

Po's first stop was the goose's home, he rapped on the door softly with his knuckles and waited in silence for a response. It had continued to rain heavily ever since he had left and his fur had quickly become soaked again. Just above him sitting on the roof was Tigress, she too was wet through with rainwater but was determined to subtly help Po.

Po heard a number of locks being undone behind the door which made him frown, "It shouldn't have to be this way" he thought sadly. The door opened and revealed a young, clearly pregnant goose. She wore a pink dress and a heartbroken expression.

"Hi Ma'am, my names Po", the goose nodded silently, the atmosphere quickly became awkward as neither knew what to say. Po coughed into his paw, "I was just wondering whether I could ask you some questions about your boyfriend who was murdered earlier...I'm sorry if it's too soon but I want to get this guy as soon as possible".

The goose looked apprehensive for a second before deciding to let Po in, she moved aside and let Po in. The panda walked in and bowed to her, she closed the door quickly behind them. Po looked around the room and his heart fell at the sight, the room was decorated with pictures of him and the Furious Five, Po didn't even know that they sold these.

"The only reason I let you in was because he was such a huge fan of The Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five, but you in particular, so I trust you and I will do anything to help you" the goose said. Po looked at her, "I'm sorry for your loss". The goose gestured for him to have a seat which he accepted, the goose then sat down on a chair opposite to him. Po dived straight in "Do you anybody that would want to hurt him?", the goose swiftly shook her head, "No, he was always polite to people and as far as I know he was well liked with the community".

He asked questions for nearly an hour but Po got no answers, he stayed for a little while longer but he needed to seek out more answers. "If there's anything I can do to help you or your family then please send a message up to the Jade Palace. I promise that I'll do anything within my power to see that he has vengeance given to him".

The goose fervently shook her head, "No". Po frowned, "I thought you of all people would want to see this guy get justice delivered to him". "You're not talking about justice. You're talking about revenge, he wouldn't of wished that on anybody. Don't lower yourself to their level Dragon Warrior otherwise you're no better then the criminal who took his life".

Po looked away guiltily before nodding and leaving the house more confused then before. Po knew he would have to sink to a lower level in order to find the perpetrator's location. Meanwhile Tigress was still standing in the rain, she started to track him across the rooftops, the wet tiles made it incredibly difficult to be quiet along with "ACHOO!" Tigress sneezed loudly, she had a feeling she had gained a cold whilst being in the rain for nearly an hour waiting for Po to move on.

XXXXXX

An hour later

A scream of terror pierced the night. "Give me a name" Po said emotionlessly, he was dangling a monkey over a clifftop by his tail. It had taken him an hour to find an informant in some rotten dive on the outskirts of the Valley, if anyone had the guys name then that was the first place to check.

"I-I can't, the boss will kill me, if I tell anyone, let alone the Dragon Warrior himself". Po rolled his eyes and loosened his grip for a second on the monkey's tail, he slid down slightly before Po grabbed it again giving him a fright. "That was a warning, my arm is getting tired". Po was only using this trick because he had seen Tigress use it once to find out where Monkey had hidden some of her vest ties, something which the same nearby Tigress knew all too well.

"O-okay I'll tell! Just please don't drop me!", Po grunted, "That depends on what you tell me, if I found out that you've lied I'll find you and we'll be doing this again, are we clear?", the monkey nodded quickly. "I-I don't know the guys name I swear! But I know where you can find him". Po threw the Monkey back onto solid ground, the pitiful creature almost wept with relief, "Where!?" Po demanded. "It's in a bar not far from here called the".

XXXXXX

"Tong-Fo" Po said aloud as he now stood outside it. He heard a rabble of mooks on the outside, "If things get rough this won't be easy, it sounds like a lot of thugs are in there. I wish the Furious Five were here to back me up...oh well, I might as well try and get this guy while I'm here, no sense waiting for backup that won't come".

Po pushed the saloon doors open and a hushed silence fell through the entire bar, Po counted nearly one hundred angry glares on him, Po felt his stomach twist with nerves and fear but he refused to let his figure expression give in to it. With a forced confidant voice he yelled, "I'm looking for a murderer, he killed a goose with a kid on the way earlier. Now how many of you do I have to go through to find out where this guy is so I can serve him some good old fashioned justice?".

Po saw a shadowed figure in the back slowly get up and go to leave, the figure maneuvered behind several larger thugs to try and avoid gaining Po's attention, he had failed however. Po feigned ignorance, "No? Well never mind then, I guess I'll just move on", "You're not going anywhere panda!" yelled a random ox. Po glared, "Oh yeah? And why's that?". The ox stood up, "You put my cousin in Chor-Gom prison, I promised him if I ever saw you I'd turn you into a stain on the floor, and now I have my chance". A murmur of agreement spread like wildfire throughout the bar, Po knew he couldn't win so he turned the tables, he pointed at a one-eyed wolf sitting nearby, "This guy said that you're not a ox, he said that you're more like a mouse".

Po pushed the wolf into the crowd and watched as the carnage began, he saw the figure run out of the back so Po left the bar and skirted around the bar to try and cut him off. He climbed onto the rooftops and overtook the figure, he jumped off of the roof and landed in front of him.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" Po asked angrily, the Tigress approach had worked before so Po decided to use it again. Up close Po could see that it was a croc bandit that he had been chasing. "Well as you know Dragon Warrior, it's the guilty people who usually run isn't it?". Po gasped, he had found the guy!.

Po took a step close to him, "You're coming with me!", The croc laughed, "I think not Dragon Warrior". Po raised an eyebrow, "Oh yeah, and why not?". The croc spread his arms dramatically, "You don't really think that I came out here alone did you?". Upon finishing his sentence ten crocodiles came out of nowhere and surrounded Po, The Dragon Warrior scoffed, "It's gonna take more than you and your goons here to take The Dragon Warrior out!" Now Po reverted to his own approach which, simply put meant beating the snot out of them!

Po didn't give them a chance to draw first blood, he launched himself at the largest one and he could feel the bandits ribs break from his punch. Po had made a rookie mistake however, he had gone straight for the center croc allowing himself to be flanked. Po felt a fist barely graze the back of his head, it made the panda stumble and moved him into the path of a kick.

Now he was in trouble, he had disobeyed basic combat rules because of his determination, in fact he might of lost if not for the timely intervention Master Tigress who pounced in. She cleared the crocodile bandits away from Po giving him some breathing room, however instead of being grateful he was more angry at having to accept help when this was his personal mission.

Po punched a crocodile bandit and glared at Tigress, "Have you been following me?" he angrily accused her. She ducked under a sword swing and broke a crocodile's forearm, "I'll explain later let's just deal with this first!". Po silently complied and went about finishing off the rest of the gang quickly and without mercy. Limbs were broken and turned to dust, Tigress had never seen Po fight so fiercely.

Soon enough they had cleared all of the dregs away and only one remained, the culprit hugged the wall in fear of the quickly approaching and very angry panda and tiger. Po stood within mere inches of him, "Why did you do it?" Po snarled in fury, he didn't need to be specific, everyone present knew to what he referred. Tigress hung back just in case something happened.

The crocodile bandit looked at Po for a second before laughing in his face and giving the worst possible reply. "I did it for glory" the crocodile bandit snarled arrogantly. Po's eyes widened in shock and a audible gasp left his lips, beside him Tigress's eyes narrowed dangerously and her fist clenched and shook angrily.

Po was so caught up his anger that he didn't feel the knife slip in between his ribs, his pupils dilated and a sharp breath escaped him. He looked down and saw that the crocodile bandit had stabbed him, the panda felt the feeling go out of his arms and the pain started spreading like wildfire through his body, time seemed to slow down as his legs gave out underneath him and he hit the ground. One more thought went through his mind before the darkness set in, "Tigress...".

The croc bandit dropped the money he had robbed from the goose, "Damn it" he cursed, he decided that risking his life for it wasn't worth he'd have to come back later for it. Tigress couldn't see what had happened but she knew something was wrong when Po's posture stiffened for a second and he fell over.

"PO!" Tigress yelled, she rushed over to him and quickly checked his pulse, with a breath of relief she found it. "Good, he hasn't gone into shock yet", she saw the crocodile bandit getting away, she was torn between helping Po and getting the bad guy. She closed her eyes in frustration and weighed up the pros and cons.

If she let him get away she would have a chance to save the life of someone she had grown to care about, but if she didn't and abandoned Po she could do the objectively right thing and stop the cycle of death right then and there.

Tigress opened her eyes. She made a choice.

XXXXXX

The Present

Anything that involved more profit was a victory for Mr Ping.

*BOOM*

Tigress was soaked head to toe in rain water with a large bleeding figure draped over her shoulder. Her eyes were wide and fearful and her vest and black silk pants were torn in some places.

Mr Ping looked silently for a second in shock at her tattered appearance before he noticed who the injured figure was.

It was Po.

"W-what's happened to P-" Tigress cut him off sharply, "Mr Ping not now! I need somewhere to put him"

Mr Ping quickly nodded and led her upstairs whilst worrying for his son, she quickly barged past him while on the way to Po's old room. She kicked that door open as well and moved hastily over towards the bed, Tigress put Po softly onto the bed and looked sadly down at him for a second.

"What happened to him?" asked Mr Ping worriedly, Tigress ignored him and went on all fours. "Wait!" Mr Ping yelled, "Where are you going?".

Tigress answered him without looking into his eyes, was it out of fear or shame it was hard to tell at the current time

"I'll be back soon, I'm going to find a healer and bring them here to help Po" she said with no emotion in her voice. Mr Ping looked outside of the window, "But it's the middle of the night, you won't find any healers at this time", he started to lose hope.

"Then I'll go and wake one up!" Tigress snarled, and with that she bounded off into the stormy, dark night. Mr Ping hurriedly grabbed a towel from his own room and pressed it hard against one of Po's more pressing wounds.

Mr Ping looked despondently at Po's unconscious form, "Oh son, what happened to you?" he said to himself.

XXXXXX

Tigress ran through the back alleys looking desperately for anyone who could help, "It's all my fault" she thought sorrowfully. She was so lost in thought that she slipped and crashed onto the floor.

She grunted in pain and her previous wounds flared up contributing to her agony. "No, I can't let him down, there has to be someone I can get". Thunder struck and sent a large flash of light through the alley she was in.

As if it was trying to help her it reminded Tigress of someone she could go to. Dr Kimaru, she was an old deer who was well known throughout the Valley as a generous, kind hearted healer. She had retired several years ago but she still dedicated her time and her considerable skills toward helping The Valley of Peace's neglected and impoverished population.

Tigress quickly ran to Dr Kimaru's house and knocked on the door harshly, she heard movement from inside and thanked the gods that the good doctor was in. The latch opened on the inside and the door opened revealing the old deer.

"Master Tigress? What can I do for you? Wait, are you or any of your friends injured for the fiftieth time?" she inquired quickly and irritably. Tigress nodded, "The Dragon Warrior has been stabbed by a small blade, I need you to save him...please" she added trying to keep the desperation out of her voice.

The doctor nodded, "Give me a second I'll get my equipment", Tigress waited for a few minutes and then Kimaru stepped out with a large sack over her shoulder. "Lead the way Tigress".

XXXXXX

Po's breathing slowed down slightly, Mr Ping's worry increased. "Where is that tiger? She's been gone about ten minutes!" he looked at Po's still form, "He doesn't have long left!" he thought in despair.

Tigress walked through the now door less entrance closely followed by someone that Mr Ping didn't know, Tigress led the way upstairs, upon reaching the landing the old deer quickly pushed past Tigress and inspected Po's wound. Mr Ping threw a look at Tigress which read "Who is this?", Tigress just folded her arms and waited for the doctor to help Po.

Tigress thought about getting Shifu and the Five but decided against it, Po needed her right now and they could be informed later on.

Kimaru hummed to herself distastefully, "It doesn't look good, he's torn an artery and he's lot a lot of blood. He should be fine though if he is allowed to rest and if we close his wound off".

Mr Ping smiled, "So let's do it what are we waiting for?". Dr Kimaru looked at him grimly, "I'm afraid it's not that simple, because of the size of the wound we would have to burn it closed". Tigress gasped, "But couldn't that send him into shock?" she asked worriedly.

The deer nodded, "It could but we don't have much of a choice, he hasn't got long and this is the quickest way to do it", she looked at Tigress seriously, "And you would have to do it". Tigress frowned, "I'm not shirking the responsibility, but why me?".

Kimaru smiled sadly, "My hands aren't as steady as they used to be and I doubt that Mr Ping could be objective about the situation". "How do you know my name?" asked Mr Ping, the doctor pointed at the restaurant outside, "I come in this restaurant every week! How do you not remember me?". Mr Ping blushed, "It's been a stressful day!".

"Can we concentrate here!?" yelled Tigress, "What do I have to do?" she asked the old deer. Doctor Kimaru took a small metal rod out of the sack she had brought with her, "We need to heat the tip of this rod" she looked at Mr Ping, "Mr Ping, could you heat this up?". The goose nodded, took the metal rod off of her and busied himself with the nearby stove.

Kimaru showed Tigress the correct technique and proper movements she needed to make, Tigress absorbed the information carefully. After they were finished she asked Tigress whether any information needed to be repeated, she shook her head and then it was time to begin.

Mr Ping lit as many candles as he could to give Tigress as much light as she needed.

Tigress took the metal rod in her paws and slowly pressed against Po's bare flesh, he grunted and stirred in his sleep. Tigress wanted to stop due to it clearly causing Po some degree of agony if it was causing Po of all people to stir in his sleep.

It took about ten minutes but they eventually did it, Tigress wiped a bead of sweat away from her forehead. It was lucky her paws had no feeling or the heat could of reached her paw. Kimaru check the wound, it no longer looked raw and open but Po would be scarred there for the rest of his life.

The good doctor sighed, "That's the best we can do for him now, it's up to him to wake up of his own accord" she picked her bag up and made her way to the exit of the shop, "If you need anything else just come and find me, good day to you all" and with that she left.

Tigress put the rod down, "I'll dispose of that later". Mr Ping shook his head, "Nonsense Tigress, you saved my son so I'll do it. Actually I was wondering if you wouldn't mind staying here with the two of us over night?". Tigress raised an eyebrow, "Why?".

Mr Ping pointed towards the gaping hole in the restaurant, "You destroyed my door so if those vagrants come back and try to hurt my boy I won't be that much good against them". Tigress nodded, "I'll inform Master Shifu of what has happened and then I'll come back".

XXXXXX

Shifu stood with his arms behind his back looking out into the Valley below, he was worried for Po and also for Tigress who nobody had seen since this morning.

His train of thought was broken by seeing Tigress running up the stairs towards him, a gruff smile appeared on his face at seeing her. "Ahhh Tigress, would you like to explain where you have been all day?" he asked calmly.

Tigress bowed and answered quickly, "I have been assisting the Dragon Warrior in finding the murderer". Shifu looked around her for said Dragon Warrior but couldn't see him, "Where is he?" he asked.

"Master Shifu, we found out who did and tracked him. Po...fought him for a while but he was caught off guard and stabbed, I had the choice to catch him but I prioritized Po's life over his" Tigress said sadly. Shifu gasped, "Is he alive?", Tigress nodded, "Me and Doctor Kimaru manged to seal his wound closed, he is at Mr Ping's noodle shop alive, but unconscious".

Shifu nodded, "You did the right thing Tigress, now we need to guard Po overnight just in case something happens". Tigress nodded, "I will go back down there now and stay with him".

"Okay Tigress, you do that while me and the Five will cover the surrounding areas". Shifu and Tigress went their separate way to begin the tasks that they had allotted to each other.

XXXXXX

They had all manged to get through the night with no reprisals. Tigress like she said she would had stayed with The Dragon Warrior through the whole night without nodding off, she had been careful not to wake him up, though if he could sleep through a wound cauterization then he would of been able to sleep if an army ran rampant throughout the noodle restaurant. As dawn broke Tigress yawned and rubbed her eyes, even though she had pulled all nighters in the past but they still never got any easier.

Eventually Po stirred and slowly opened his eyes, almost immediately he hissed and his paw instinctively went to his injury. "Ohhhhh, what happened?" he thought. Tigress noticed that he had woken up so she looked into his eyes and smiled, "Are you okay Dragon Warrior? You're not supposed to be sleeping, you're supposed to be protecting the Valley". Tigress noticed that Po looked incredibly peaceful when he was waking up, it was incredibly infectious and she couldn't help but smile at him.

Po tried to sit up but a wave of dizziness hit him and he laid back down, "Hey Tigress, whats going on?" he said groggily. Tigress shifted in her seat uncomfortably, "You were stabbed by that bandit Po, I brought you back here and me and a local doctor managed to seal your wound closed". Po digested the information, "Now that was a day" huffed Po dismissively.

Tigress bit her lip, "Po I'm sorry but that mark we made sealing your wound shut is never going to go away", Po shrugged, "It's cool Tigress. Thank you for saving my life though". He smiled gratefully at her, she smiled back and nodded. A comfortable silence fell between the two until Po asked her something that had been on his mind for a while.

"Why did you follow me Tigress?" Po asked cheerfully, Tigress looked away out of embarrassment, "I was worried you, as a fellow warrior it was my duty to see if you needed my assistance" she answered stuffily. Po smiled, "It's because you couldn't stand to see anything happen to me isn't it?".

Tigress growled, "Shut it Dragon Warrior or I'll give you another injury". Po put his arms behind his head and smirked cockily, "It's cool I know you care now". Po flinched and his hand went to his wound.

Tigress dropped her demeanor and reached her paw out to help him. Po dropped the act and laughed, "See! I was right". Tigress sighed at his childishness and left to tell the others that he had woken up.

While she was gone Po felt extremely lucky he had survived, "That was a close one, I can't let that guy get the jump on me again! Now he's mine!". Shifu and the others walked in and gave a cheer at Po's recovery.

"How are you feeling Po?" asked Shifu, Po struggled out of the bed and got to his feet, Mr Ping went to help him but Po stopped him with a wave of his hand, Tigress would of helped him as well but she didn't want Po to make stupid remarks again.

"A little injured but a lot better then I have any right to" Po replied, he rubbed his wound thoughtfully. He saw that the fur around it had been seared away and it had started to scab over. All of the Furious Five besides Tigress winced at the sight, it could of been worse for Po however, it would of hurt much more if he had been awake.

Shifu coughed to get his attention, "Straight to business Po, can you track this creature down again with Tigress?" he asked simply. Po who had his back to Shifu moved his head to show that he had been listening then nodded, "Yeah, there is no reason why we wouldn't be able to".

Shifu noticed his body language, "You are lying panda!" he snapped. Po turned around angrily, "No I'm not!". Shifu glared at him, "Yes you are! You're thinking of leaving to confront him by yourself aren't you?".

Po's shoulders slumped at being caught out, Mr Ping cut in "Why would you do that Po? He nearly killed you! Don't tell me that you'd ever be so foolish". Po raised his voice to his father for the first time, "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!". The room fell silent once more, Po took a deep breath, "He's mine, now he's made it personal. The person he killed was someone who looked up to me, so I'm going to see this through to the end and none of you can stop me!".

Shifu sighed. "Believe me Po, I sympathize with you on this, but-". Po snapped, "But nothing! You don't know how I feel-" Shifu cut Po off by flooring him with a harsh punch to the face. The Five gasped and Mr Ping gasped. Tigress tried to jump in and stop the scuffle but she was stopped by a glare from Shifu, she backed off but tensed in case it escalated.

Shifu look back at Po with a fire in his eyes, "Listen to me panda and listen well, don't ever call me liar, not now and not ever! Do you understand". Po nodded slowly, Shifu sighed, "Before I adopted Tai Lung I was part of the Furious Five as you know, one day I was out on patrol when a young ram who also happened to be a fan of mine saw me and struck up a conversation with me. I didn't feel like conversing with him but I was duty bound to the people of the Valley so I relented, we talked for about an hour when he was struck and killed by an arrow fired from a bandit, if I had been concentrating then I could've saved him. I found that bandit and made him pay for it" Shifu said darkly.

Po looked at him confusedly, "But I thought that you wanted me to kill him?" Shifu nodded, "I did Po, but I remembered how I felt after I did it all those years ago" Shifu paused to collect his thoughts, "I felt good for about ten seconds, then I felt the biggest sadness and guilt for what I had done, it ate at me like a parasite. It was only after I raised Tai Lung that that pain started to leave me".

Po looked solemnly at Shifu a wave of understanding passed through the panda at that moment, after what seemed like an eternity of silence Po spoke, "What was his name?" he said softly. "I don't know, I never found out" Shifu said sadly, "I did however find out that he was soon going to be a father". Shifu looked Po directly in the eye, "If I had taken that bandit out sooner then he would still be alive and a child wouldn't of had to grow up without a father".

Everyone in the room fell into a reflective silence, Po's mind was conflicted, it was extremely similar the situation that he was in. "Po, if you feel that you are not able to do this, then...then I will do it for you" said Tigress breaking the silence. Po faced Tigress and he felt grateful to her for taking the task away from him, then he felt a tremendous amount of guilt for thinking of letting her take that responsibility away fro him. "No Tigress, this is something I need to do, I'm the Dragon Warrior and the burden is mine to bear".

Po left the room silently, Crane reached out a wing to stop him but a look from Shifu stopped him. Crane sighed, it wasn't fair that Po was being put in this situation but it needed to be done. Shifu looked at Tigress knowingly, "Tigress, go with him...he needs your help, he's still injured" Shifu said sadly. Tigress walked off slowly to catch up to Po, The Furious Five stood around in uncomfortable silence.

Monkey spoke up, "Master Shifu, is there anything we should do?". Shifu shook his head, "No, you heard Po. This is something that he needs to do, just...be there for him when he comes back". With that Shifu went to meditate to clear his conflicted mind.

Mantis grunted, "This sucks". That summed up everyone's current feelings.

Viper slithered up to Mr Ping who was still in shock at being yelled at by Po, "Mr Ping is there anything that we can do for you?" she hissed. The goose shook his head, "Like Shifu told you, please just be there for my son when he needs you".

XXXXXXX

Tigress ran to catch up to Po, she spotted him walking towards the outskirts of the Valley of Peace. "PO WAIT!" she yelled, the panda turned and smiled softly at seeing his best friend run to catch up with him. She knew however that he was glad that he would now not have to face his ordeal by himself, he had been dreading it.

"Thanks Tigress" said Po appreciatively, they walked side by side until they finally reached the clearing where Po had been injured last night, and as predicated the croc bandit was there looking for the pittance he had dropped yesterday.

Po looked at Tigress, "You ready?" he asked cautiously, he was ready to finally put this ordeal behind him, Tigress nodded without looking at him and set off. Po smiled sadly at her before using a technique on her that Shifu had taught him.

He struck a pressure point on her neck which knocked her out instantly, Po caught her before she hit the ground, he kissed her on the forehead. "I'm sorry Tigress, but like I said, this is my fight. Also I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if he hurt you the same way he did me, I hope you can forgive me Tigress". He gently placed Tigress on the ground and walked over to face his opponent.

XXXXXX

The croc looked desperately around to find that money, "Damn that Dragon Warrior! It has to be around here somewhere, I've looked everywhere". A voice sent a shiver up his spine, "Would you like some help with that?" Po said coldly, there was no humor, no kindness just pure rage.

The croc stood up, "I'd of thought that getting stabbed would take you out for much longer then a single night Dragon Warrior, although I guess it does lend some relevance to your title". Po scowled at him, "I'm finishing this once and for all!".

The croc sighed and knelt down, "Ok Dragon Warrior I surrender, just come and arrest me or whatever", Po walked over to him apparently ignorant of the ruse the croc was planning, He grabbed a handful of dust off of the ground and prepared to throw it in Po's eyes, but Po suddenly put his hands on either side of the croc bandits head and viciously slammed his knee into his face.

The croc screamed in pain and fell to the floor clutching his tender face and trying to desperately breath through a broken nose. "You didn't really think I'd fall for something like that again do you? You're a moron".

The croc shed tears of pain and ran away terrified, Po slowly followed him.

The croc leaned against a wall and breathed heavily, he had run into what seemed like some sort of maze like area, "I think I lose him!" he thought happily. A voice boomed and echoed around him, "YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD ESCAPE ME!?" Po's voice yelled. It bounced off of the walls making Po's location hard to determine.

The croc looked fearfully around to try and find him, but to no avail. "IS THIS HOW HE FELT!? THE MAN YOU KILLED". The croc was now sweating profusely, he backed up into a corner and held his arms in front of his face.

"WHERE ARE YOU!?" he shouted into the darkness, a voice whispered in his ear, "Here". He sharply turned around and saw Po holding onto the wall above him, the croc yelled in fright and ran away yet again. He found himself on the edge of a cliff, "So this is where you want it to end?" Po said evilly, "I couldn't of picked a better spot to be honest".

The croc's hands shook as he pulled out the same knife he had stabbed Po with last night, Po eyed it angrily. As fast as lighting he snatched the knife out of his hand and tripped the bandit over.

Po kneeled on his throat, the croc desperately clawed at Po's knee, scratch marks appeared all over it but Po refused to budge. The Dragon Warrior moved his face close to the croc's

"What's the glory in making sure that a kid now won't grow up without his father!? Tell me that!" Po yelled in his face. With a jagged breath he replied, "Y-you...wouldn't u-understand". Po scowled pitifully down at him, "Oh I think I will now", Po raised the knife above his head and lighting struck to punctuate the moment.

Po's paw shook from the weight of the intent, he looked into the croc bandits eyes and saw an evil that needed to be extinguished, it would've made it easier but then a flash of the female goose's face flashed through his mind and then he knew he couldn't go through with it, Po would've been disappointing her if her boyfriend's hero abandoned his principles to make himself feel better.

Po threw the knife off of the cliff and backed away from the bandit, "You're going to go the Chor-Gom prison and you're going to serve a sentence, is that understood?" Po said angrily. The croc nodded fearfully in case the panda had a dramatic change of heart, Po heard Tigress sprint up behind him. He turned around expecting praise at finding an alternative but was floored for the second time that week by another punch to the face.

Tigress leaned over him in fury, "You idiot Po! Why did you go alone? You're still injured you could've died! I can't believe your selfishness", Po tried to get up but Tigress put a foot on his stomach which prevented him from doing so, "What about the people who care about you? Your father and m-", Tigress caught herself, huffed angrily and grabbed the croc bandit to take him to the prison. Before leaving she knocked the bandit out and threw him over her shoulder.

Po sat up and rubber his jaw tenderly, "Did...did she say she cared about me?". Po quickly got up and ran to catch up with her, he grabbed her arm. "Wait Tigress please!" he said desperately, she shook him off and kept walking.

Po grabbed her arm again and pulled it a lot more forcefully, she stumbled and dropped the package she was carrying onto the floor. Po pulled her into a hug, "Tigress, I'm so sorry for scaring you like that. I care about you and I know that you care about me, I don't want to be your enemy I want to be your friend".

Tigress leaned in closer, the near death experience and the aura of death that had surrounded them recently had taught them both that life was cruel and that happiness could be found in the arms of the most unlikely person.

"Tigress when I was stabbed I was scared, but not of death. It was the thought of never seeing you again" Po said sadly. Tigress purred at his confession and closed the gap between them. The kiss cleansed their doubts and made them both feel much better.

XXXXXX

A Few Hours Later

The crocodile bandit had been put in Chor-Gom Prison successfully and he wouldn't be getting out any time soon. Po and Tigress had spent the walk back in silence, neither Po nor Tigress knew quite how to react to their earlier scene so they said nothing

Po was currently standing by the Sacred Peach Tree of Wisdom looking out onto the Valley he had sworn to protect, standing next to him was Shifu who had called Po up here to talk to him.

"I'm sorry for nearly forcing you to make a huge mistake Po" Shifu said sadly, "In the end you were better then me, I gave into my rage and took that animal's life but you manged to look past your own feelings and do the right thing, I hope you can forgive me" Shifu said sadly. Po was quiet for a second before simply saying "Yeah" and setting off quietly down the lonely road back to the Jade Palace.

Shifu sighed to himself, "The world is a fine place and worth fighting for. I agree with the second part". He stayed there until the sun set and it became night.

XXXXXX

Po sat on the Thousand Steps and thought about the past couple of hours, how he had nearly killed someone for the first time and how he would never be the same. He nearly fell into despair when he felt two arms wrap around his waist.

"How's The Dragon Warrior doing?" purred Tigress into his ear. Po turned around and hugged her back, "Much better now that you're here Tigress" he replied lovingly.

They stayed that way for a while before pulling apart, "D'ya wanna get something to eat?" asked Po cheerfully. Tigress smiled warmly at him and nodded, "Let's go your Father's noodle shop and you can make me some of your famous noodles".

Po stopped for a second, Tigress felt his paw slip out of hers so she stopped as well. "What is it Po?" she asked. Po looked at her with a troubled expression, "Us" he said.

"What is this?" he said referring to their new relationship. Tigress walked back up to his level and grabbed his paw again, "I don't know Po, it could just be reactionary thing because of what's happened or that we've always been attracted to one another. All I know is that I want to enjoy it for however long it lasts". Po smiled and hugged her, "Thank you Tigress" she purred in his ear again and they continued down into the Valley, even though their hearts so heavily weighed.

They held paws all the way down to the shop.

XXXXXX

A shadowy figure wearing a cloak walked slowly up the path, he stopped on a certain tile and took out a bouquet of flowers from with his robes. He laid them down on the spot then turned on his heel and made the journey back to the Jade Palace, on the flowers was a small note with no name on it.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you"

The End