Hey guys here's a new story for you all! This story me and my good friend on FFN put our heads together and came up with this. Now I'm not going to be revealing any spoilers like I have the habit of doing, but I will tell you basic info. This starts of in the Valley of Peace and is set after KFP3! Currently, I won't reveal anything more - so let's get right into it!

It had been six and a half months since the defeat of Kai, and everything was slowly returning to normal. The Jade Palace was rebuilt at last - every detail restored how it was before Kai had rendered it a pile of rubble. No one had ever destroyed the Jade Palace before, not since Oogway had built it over nine-hundred years ago. Seeing the grand structure restored to its former glory was so surreal; it caused Po to remember something some six and a half months back.

Po, Shifu, and the Five were standing a ways off from the palace ruins, watching some construction builders from the Valley rebuild the Jade Palace. Shifu had found the palace's original blueprints left by Oogway in some scrolls he and Po scavenged among the rubble.

"I'm sorry, Shifu." Po whispered quietly as he stood next to the short red panda.

Shifu turned to his side where the panda stood and raised a brow, "For what, Dragon Warrior?" he replied curiously.

"I'm sorry that I let this happen." the panda sighed. "If I would have been here, the palace wouldn't have been destroyed and your chi's wouldn't have been taken. What kind of Dragon Warrior am I?"

"Po..." the elderly red panda began after pausing to collect his thoughts. "What happened here was not your fault. It was better for you to not be here - that way Kai wouldn't be able to take your chi." he stated reassuringly, but the look of guilt and sorrow on the panda's face remained unchanged.

The Five then walked closer and Monkey interrupted, "Buddy, You're the best Dragon Warrior China has ever seen! All of us would be dead if it wasn't for you."

The rest nodded in agreement as they stepped closer, gathering around their friend. Just then, Tigress too then spoke up, "I, for one am happy and proud that you are our Dragon Warrior, Po. There is no one like you in this world, and I can't even describe the fear and heartache we've felt at the times that we've almost lost you..." Tigress said kindly with a warm smile which turned into a sad, painful expression at the last part. "Almost loosing you was... too much to bear; the world just wouldn't be the same without you... and none of us would, either." Tigress said gently with a warm smile placing a single paw on the panda's shoulder. A smile tugged at Po's lips and he nodded towards the elegant feline with the same smile.

Shifu then continued, "Don't beat yourself up about it, Dragon Warrior, none of us blame you for what you did." Shifu said kindly with a smile. "But there is a saying, 'What's past is history, tomorrow is uncertain, but today is new.' One must dwell on the new, and not in the old that we so frequently entangle ourselves up in, Dragon Warrior." Shifu finished his saying with a smile at the panda, who's own expression brightened, now feeling better than before. Po was reminded of similar advice Oogway gave him at the sacred peach tree shortly before the wise master ascended to the spirit realm.

"Thanks, you guys - I'll try not to." he replied more elated than before, and the others - especially Tigress - smiled, happy to have comforted the panda.

It was now past noon, and Po had finished teaching for the day. He had improved his ability to teach greatly and the Five and Shifu were impressed by how well he had excelled in such a short about of time. Now that training was over, Po decided it was time to relax and what better way to do that than to spend some time with his best friend, Tigress. The panda absolutely loved to spend time with the tiger, and truth be told, Tigress quite enjoyed hanging around and bonding with Po; she was especially impressed by his rapid advancement in both shill and wisdom, and begun to admire the panda for his accomplishments. The two had gotten close over the past year, and she welcomed the panda's presence and enthusiastic nature. Usually, they would play checkers or other things while they talked, but this time Tigress had a different game in mind.

After Po finished reading his current study from the ten thousand scrolls, he made his way to the Hall of Heroes to wait for Tigress. When he arrived, he was surprised to see that the striped feline was already there, waiting for him. She wore her new elegant yellow hanfu attire, and was in a meditative posture in front of the moon pool.

"Oh, hey Ti!" he said in his usual enthusiastic manner, and then quickly went quiet seeing that she was mediating. "Oh sorry! I see you're busy you uh... want me to come back later?" he asked sheepishly.

A smile formed on the tiger's face and she opened her ambered eyes and chuckled, "No, it's perfectly fine, Po - stay." she said gently and broke her meditative posture, standing up.

Po smiled and did as she asked, and then the tiger turned around to face him. "Ready to have some fun, Ti?"

Tigress nodded, "Sure, Po. But I would like to play something... a little different." she replied and in her paw she lifted up a different kind of checkered board and a sack of game pieces.

Po noticed this wasn't the usual checker board they played on and his curiosity began to gush forth, "Ooooooh! What's that?" he asked pointing to what the feline was holding in her paws.

"This is a new game I had in mind." she replied. "It's called chess - a game that requires both attentiveness and strategy." Tigress said with a smirk while saying the last part causing Po to snicker. The two then sat down in the middle of the floor and Tigress put her feet together, placing the game board between them and setting up the pieces.

Po also crossed his legs, sitting down at the opposite end if the board. "Well, I think we both already know who's going to win this; neither strategy nor ...um - what's the word? - attentiveness! are my strong points." Po said in a jolly tone with a smirk.

"Especially the latter." Tigress said sarcastically and chuckled. The panda then playfully stuck his tongue out at the feline and she, copying him, did the same.

Po gave her a pretend pouting look folding his burly arms, "You know it's true, Ti." Tigress stated in a matter of fact tone while putting the last few pieces in place on both sides of the game board and laying the sack by her feet. "I also happen to have quite a few people who will agree with me - your dad and master Shifu for example..." She said nonchalantly and slowly cut herself off as she noticed him gazing towards Master Rhino's armor in awe.

Tigress just smiled at the panda and shook her head. "See what I mean, Po?" she thought. Then Po broke out of his trance-like state. "So anyway..." Po said while shifting himself into a more comfortable position and continued, "How do we play, Ti?" Tigress then sighed and began to tell him the rules, the object of the game, what each piece does, and the importance of careful thinking with each move. Tigress also told him that if he moved too quickly, he could lose the game much sooner.

About twenty minutes later in the game, things were advancing well, and Po was learning quickly, but Tigress was the one winning, taking most of Po's pieces. A smug smile lay on Tigress's face as she moved her bishop diagonally across from Po's King. "Check." she said with a snicker.

Po groaned, "Again? You've checked me like seven times in the past three minutes... how are you so good at this game?" he asked the striped feline, raising a brow.

The tiger didn't reply but a hint of pride could be seen in her triumphant gaze from Po's compliment, which were always unique and rather... heart warming to say the least.

Po sighed and decided to move his King up again, when he suddenly noticed something and thought excitedly, "Ohhhh! I can take her bishop."

The panda immediately moved his piece to the same square as the attacker piece and gave Tigress a big, goofy grin. Although she wanted to frown, it was nearly impossible given how happy he was and how big he was grinning to finally take one of her pieces. It was rather... adorable, even.

"Well played, Dragon Warrior," she said, smiling softly before reaching forward to remove her piece.

Po then gave the feline a smile of his own in return and began, "I-I believe it is your turn, Master Tigress." he said, feigning a foreign goofy accent.

Tigress chuckled, and moved a piece she had thought about for some time, deciding that now was the best time to make her move. The two then continued for a few more minutes, talking, laughing and having a good time together, and Tigress won at the end - to Po's dismay. The two agreed to play one more game before dinner, and soon the pieces were set back up again ready to begin a new interesting game. Tigress was indeed having fun for the first time since Kai - as was Po - and the tiger was enjoying times like this with him. It filled her with a sense of happiness and joy that she thought she didn't deserve. Po's friendship was unlike any other and his kindness knew no end.

After playing another game, with Tigress the winner once again, Po then got up to make dinner, congratulating Tigress happily on her wins and the two promised to play again another time. The two shared a friendly fist-bump before Po ran off into the kitchen to begin to prepare dinner. The tiger smiled warmly at the panda as she watched him run off and she then picked up the pieces and got up.

Meanwhile in the kitchen, Po was busy as usual preparing his famous noodle soup and tofu dumplings - which were Tigress' favorite - for everyone. Flour was all over his paws and his apron, and he was kneading the dough for the tofu evenly. After rolling it out, he began to cut out the basic shapes for the dumplings and he gathered the ingredients needed: the tofu, basil and a pinch of rice. Po had always been a skilled cook thanks to his dad, and the Five loved it and deeply appreciated the great meals since he'd come to the Jade Palace. Tigress especially found that she couldn't resist his cooking, even though she was a picky eater. After Po placed the now wrapped dumplings into the oven fire to cook he then continued to make his soup.

Unbeknownst to him, a pair of amber eyes were watching his every move - for said owner of eyes had followed the scent of food cooking to the kitchen. The glowing orbs then disappeared into her room, in the barracks, to do some basic meditation and relaxing. About seventeen minutes later, all the food was done and Po called the Five to dinner and everyone was greeted by the mouth watering scent of hot, delicious food as they entered the kitchen.

Everyone sat down and after gratefully thanking Po for the food, they dug in and ate happily in a peaceful manner. Mantis and Monkey swapped jokes and occasionally Po would join in but not very often as the panda remained silent for most of the time, lost in his thoughts of his tasks. The new responsibilities that came along with teaching had altered his childlike temperament as of late. Tigress thought this was strange, for he was usually a good conversation starter, but now he was silent. She planned on asking him about this later but for, now she focused on her dinner.

After everyone finally finished dinner, and Viper had told an especially interesting story from her time as a ribbon-dancer, the Five said their good-nights to each other and made their way over to the barracks to sleep. Tigress, however, decided to stay and chat with the panda as she usually did. The tiger sat behind him in her yellow hanfu and watched him do the dishes as he hummed to himself. Po was a thorough cleaner, and he always made sure every dish was washed clean before putting it in the strainer to dry.

While he did the dishes, Tigress thanked him for the food that she obviously enjoyed and Po smiled proudly that she loved his cooking. Tigress then decided to get the the point and ask what was on her mind from earlier.

Po smiled hearing that she was genuinely concerned for him and he sighed, "Well... ya know, hehe." he chuckled. "Just teaching and different things I need to do, including helping out my dad at the noodle shop this weekend." he replied putting the last dish in it's place. He then began to wash his paws.

Tigress nodded with an understanding smile, "Oh. That must be a lot to handle ya think? Perhaps... I can help... if you need an extra paw?" Tigress offered kindly and Po nodded as he dried his paws.

"Thanks, Ti! I appreciate that, but right now I need to get some sleep." he replied with a tired yawn to which Tigress chuckled. "So see you tomorrow ok, buddy?"

Tigress nodded and the two then left for their rooms in the barracks. As soon as Po entered his room and crashed in his bed, the tired panda fell asleep almost immediately; Tigress, hearing his snores, then decided to go to sleep also. The tiger climbed into her bed and pulled the covers over her shoulders and soon drifted off to sleep.

The next day, as morning approached, while it was yet dark, a fairly large army of wolves wearing matching white masks with a red peacock symbol on them, gathered above the Valley of Peace overlooking the village from a mountain. The army held torches and spears either hand and seemed to be waiting for an order. A figure in a dark cloak walked through the midst of them, his face unrecognizable, his red eyes glowing from the darkness of the hood. The figure then stood in front of them and growled as his scaly tail hit the ground angrily.

As their leader, all eyes were on him. The figure then spoke up and pulled a double-edged sickle sword from his cloak, "Do not forget why we are here; I want the masters alive, understood!?" he commanded authoritatively.

"Yes, Master!" the army shouted in unison, and they lowered their spears straight out to an on-guard position.

"Good..." the figure said coldly. "And burn their precious village to the ground - kill anyone who gets in your way." he added with a growl clutching the sword tighter.

"Yes, Master!" the wolf army shouted once more, getting in a ready position facing the valley; their howls began to echo between the distant mountains.

The figure grinned evilly and chuckled before motioning them to advance towards the village. The Five, Po, and Shifu truly had no idea what was about to begin.

Welp, there's the end of Chapter 1! Hope y'all liked it. Yeah I know I made a bit of a cliffhanger but everything will make sense later hehe. Who is this new foe and what do they want? Keep reading to find out! This story is still developing and has a long way to go, but I do appreciate feedback that's not hateful in nature. But anyway, there's more to come so favorite and follow to keep up with what happens next.

- Tipofan4life