A/N: Thanks for reading all the way to the end! And for all those who either favorited, followed, and reviewed it, thanks tenfold! This will be the last chapter of this story, but don't worry! I will be writing the sequel to Dark-Bright shortly! So stay tuned!

Anyway, on with the final chapter!

Chapter 8

Parting Ways

Su opened her eyes to see a very vibrant setting, with a shining orange sky. But this wasn't a typical sunset, for the entire sky was the same orange and gold color. Another thing out of the ordinary was the lack of sufficient gravity, for when she went to take a step she began to slowly float up and then fall just as slowly as she elevated. 'What is this place!?' She thought restlessly as she observed the strange land forms in the area, there were multiple high rising peaks which emerged from a shining golden lake of some liquid substance she didn't know. She began to crouch down close to a bank of the mysterious fluid and was about to touch it until her paw was snatched back away from it from someone else.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A male voice said from behind her. It was Tai Lung, he held her paw in his grasp and pulled her away from the bank. She looked at him with a face that read, 'Why not!?' He smiled and continued, "It's called Chi, it's an energy which resides in all living things." He said, explaining what the golden river was composed of. "That still doesn't explain why I can't touch it! And where even are we!?" She snapped as if she were upset towards the male Snow Leopard. He raised an eyebrow and replied, "Hey, hey, no need for the hostility Su." He then held both of her paws in his own and continued, "We're in a place known as the spirit realm. It is a place where people go when they pass on from the mortal realm. And the reason you should not touch the lake of Chi is to not disturb the calmness and balance of the universe." This drew a very confused look from the Leopardess and she replied, "Whatever you say...I Still don't understand how we got here..."

"We got here because you all trusted in me, and in yourselves." Said a voice from above. Su And Tai Lung looked up to see the figure of the Dragon Warrior slowly descending from above. He then landed directly beside them and he said with a smirk, "Am I interrupting anything?" At this, both Su and Tai looked at each other and noticed that they were holding paws, they then yanked their paws away from one another and looked away from each other blushing heavily. Po laughed at the obvious embarrassment he had caused both the Leopards. Su recovered and snapped, "Dragon Warrior! I demand that you tell me where my sisters are! And why you decided to bring us to this place!" The Panda listened as she ranted on and then once she had finished he replied, "To answer your first question, your Sisters are quite alright, they will arrive here shortly. For your second, I brought us here so that we can return to China without a delay." The Panda then walked ahead of them and towards a structure that looked like a dock, he then pulled his jade staff off of his back and dipped it into the chi river. Su and Tai Lung watched as the Panda began to pull something out of the river, and it was quickly revealed to be a boat of sorts. As he pulled it out of the river, the Chi seeped out of it and it began to float on the golden liquid.

Su was just about to berate the Panda again because her Sisters were nowhere to be seen, but just as she opened her mouth to say something, she heard a faint sound that resembled that of two people shouting from afar. She then looked up and saw two figures falling rapidly from the sky above, it was her two sisters. They were obviously terrified of being so high in the air and they screamed as they were quickly dropping to the ground. "You'd better catch them." Po said while winking at the one eyed Leopardess and referring to her falling sisters. Su took the Panda's advice and ran over to the spot where her sisters were about to land, she then jumped and intercepted their fall by catching them. The three Leopardess' landed on the ground safe and Wan and Wing shook their heads out of their daze, "Ughh what happened? Wait...Where are we? Sister!?" Both Wan and Wing almost exclaimed in unison. Po looked over to the reunited siblings and thought, 'I'll have a lot of explaining to do...'

Nearly 1 Hour Later on the Golden Chi River

The three sisters along with Tai Lung and Po had been riding along the golden river of Chi for nearly an hour now. Po propelled the boat using his jade staff, which he used as an oar similarly to Master Oogway before him. As they traveled along the river of golden liquid, the three sisters had many questions they wanted answered, the first was Su who addressed Tai Lung, "Did you say that this is a place where people go once they've passed on? Does that mean we're dead?" Tai Lung looked towards the Panda who was on the front bow of the boat, to this, Po replied, "Technically yes, right now we are non existent in the mortal realm, and so for all intents and purposes, we are dead." Su looked at the Panda in disbelief and snapped, "What!? You killed us!?" Po laughed from her reaction and replied, "Who said I killed us? It is after all possible to escape the spirit realm and return to the realm of mortals." She then folded her arms and asked, "And how do we do that!?" The Panda looked onward to where he was steering the boat and replied to her, "If one has enough connection to their Chi and also wields an ancient Kung Fu artifact, they can return." He then went back to rowing the boat silently through the river. The next question towards him was Wing who asked, "how exactly do you know where you're going Dragon Warrior?" Po smiled at this and he replied, "Well I'm sure you've all noticed the peach blossom pedals floating in the air? Well I'm using them as my guide, because they all come from one place." "Where exactly?" Wing asked for more clarity. Po smiled and vaguely replied, "You will see..."

Not Long After at the Shore of a Small Island

Po led the boat directly to the shore of a small island in the massive river of golden Chi, the only thing that made this island stand out was the large tree which emitted small pink pedals like the ones the five had seen on their journey. "Here we are." Po said as he let the boat come to a halt at the shoreline. "Here? Where is here?" Su said with a raised eyebrow clearly not understanding where they were. "This is the place where we can return." He replied while getting out of the boat and walking towards the large tree. "Trust me, he knows what he's doing, I spent three years living in this realm after he defeated me. It was only because of him and my former master that I returned." Said Tai Lung to a confused Su as he too left the boat and went onshore. The Wu Sisters simply shrugged their shoulders and followed the Leopard. "So what now Dragon Warrior?" Su asked as her and her sisters approached the Panda from behind. "Simple, you each place your paws on my shoulder again and then I will bring us back to the realm of mortals." Po replied getting right up against the shoreline. "Are you serious? How many times do we have to do this!?" The Wu Sisters each said simultaneously in annoyance. "Just this last time, I promise we will be back after this." He ended as he took his staff in his right arm.

So the three sisters and Tai Lung each placed their paws on the Panda's shoulders and once that was done, he etched in the form of a Yin & Yang in the golden river with his Jade Staff. All of a sudden, the five were encompassed with the pink pedals which rapidly swirled around them. And then…

Back in the Valley of Peace on the 1000 Steps Towards the Jade Palace

"I swear I will kill him when he returns..." A furious individual said with gritted teeth and a very angry expression on their face. As the individual stomped up the stairs in their rage they mumbled, "Because it wasn't bad enough that he lied to me...Then he goes ahead and leaves behind my back...Doesn't even leave a note...And worst of all, he does all this right the day after we get married..." They continued on their way up the stairs whilst growling angrily and clenching their fists. It was Tigress, and she was in about as good of a mood as her behavior would let one believe; not happy. She was just returning from dropping her adoptive son Hao off at Mr Ping's noddle shop where the cub liked to spend most of his time. But this wasn't what infuriated her so, it was the fact that her newly wedded husband Po had left her and Hao along with Tai Lung on some sort of mission he had not notified her of. Now it had been almost 3 days since his leave and she still hadn't heard anything from the Panda.

She was now nearly halfway up the expansive stairway but she stopped when she noticed something strange happening at the top of the stairs where the tournament arena was. "It can't be...Is that..?" She said to herself as she observed the gathering peach pedals forming in a spiraling circle. At the center of the pedals was the golden glow of Chi energy. "I've got to get up there...Fast!" She said to herself, as she began to rush up the stairs.

At the Top of the 1000 Steps

"Ughh...I thought I was done with falling for the day..." Said Wan as her and her sisters got up from their fall to the ground after they had returned to the mortal realm. "But think on the bright side, you're home now." Said another voice, it was Tai Lung, he unlike the three sisters had landed on his feet. The Wu Sisters looked around and Su exclaimed, "This isn't home! This is the Jade Palace!" Po who had also landed on his feet responded, "Hey, at least we're back in the mortal realm." At this, Su walked over to the Panda and slapped him across the face, "Ow! Why!?" He exclaimed in pain as he rubbed the area on his cheek where she just hit him. She crossed her arms and turned her head away from the Panda, she then turned to Tai Lung and addressed him, "Tai Lung, may I have a word?" At this Tai Lung shrugged his shoulders and followed her out of earshot of the others.

"Tai...What you did back there...At the coliseum-" The one eyed Snow Leopardess trailed off while the two were out of earshot from the others. Tai Lung looked her in the eyes and interrupted her, "It's nothing Su, I did what I had to to save China, and to save you." She seemed to feel guilty upon hearing these words, she replied, "I suppose you're going to lock us up now...Well?" She held her paws up in a manner that invited him to restrain her. She then closed her eyes and waited for the male Snow Leopard to restrain her with rope or cuffs of some sort. But instead, she felt the paws of another hold hers. "Why would I do that?" He asked while holding her paws in his. She opened her eyes and questioned, "Why wouldn't you? My sisters and I are notorious criminals, we stole from your Palace, and we nearly led to the destruction of China because of my ignorance. I deserve to be put back in prison." Tai Lung cracked a rare smile and he replied, "I was a notorious criminal when I returned from the spirit realm, but I managed to redeem myself. I know that you could too. Come stay at the Jade Palace with me-" But before the could finish, Tai Lung's lips were met by Su's as she began to kiss him and press her arms against his strong chest. Much like the first time, he again leaned into it as an instinctual urge and desire. She pulled away after nearly half a minute and stated, "That's a very generous offer Tai..."

He looked down at her and smiled again, this time blushing slightly from her displays of affection, but before he could respond…

"POW!"

Suddenly Tai Lung lost all the air in his lungs and fell to the ground in excruciating pain and clutched his crotch where he had just been kicked by Su again. He rolled over from the pain and due to the wind being literally kicked out of him, he faintly cried, "Oww! Why...Do...You..Keep...Doing...That!" Su laughed from the irony of the situation, because only 4 days prior, she had done the exact same thing to him when he least suspected it. She then ran over to where the others stood and said, "Sisters! Let's go!" And with that, the three sisters each ran ahead and scaled one of the walls to the arena. Then Su looked back to the male Snow Leopard who still lay on the floor clutching his crotch in pain. "Sorry love! Once a villain, always a villain!" Su shouted to him while winking at him and blowing a kiss, and with this her and her sisters jumped from the wall to make their escape.

All the while, Po had watched the entire spectacle while folding his arms and shaking his head with a smirk. "And here I thought you were the ballbreaker!" Po joked to the Snow Leopard as he approached him while laughing out loud. "Can't your Chi heal a pair of busted ba-" Tai Lung ranted as he still clutched his area before he was interrupted by Po who finished, "No, it can't. I seriously don't understand how you let her do that to you so easily..." The Panda said while still chuckling at the sight of the mighty warrior defeated with but a simple nut kick. "Well you're a great help! Is there anything else you can do other than ridicule me!?" The Leopard snapped while still in pain. Po smiled and moved on to a different topic, "Do you know why I made you fight Jian instead of me?" Tai Lung began to push himself up to a sitting position after some of the pain had gone away, "Yes, I caught on before the fight started. You made me fight him so that he would get cocky and raise the stakes higher." Tai Lung stated matter of factually. Po nodded his head and replied, "Yes, I had a feeling that Jian would gamble more if he thought his chances of victory were better, sure enough he wagered more than he had to to impress his army." Tai Lung began to smile as he asked, "You knew he would gamble for the freedom of the Wu Sisters didn't you?" Po nodded again and replied, "I counted on it."

Po then offered a helping paw up, to which Tai Lung took it and rose from the ground having conquered his pain. "Thank you Tai Lung, you once again saved the country." Po said as he bowed in respect to the Snow Leopard. But before Tai Lung could reply to this, he saw the Panda suddenly disappear from his sight as a figure tackled the Dragon Warrior to the ground. Po landed on the ground and rolled along with the figure clutching him. Once he came to a halt, he was on his back and he noticed that the figure who now pinned him to the ground was his wife, Tigress. An expression of worry and guilt spread across his face and he immediately thought, 'Uh-Oh...I'm probably going to die now...'

The female Tiger had the expression he was expecting; she did not look happy. "Uh...Hey Tigress...I can explain..." He stuttered as he tried to smoothly crawl out of her grasp. But to his surprise, she didn't stop him, instead she got up and folded her arms while looking down upon him with a face that read, 'Go on...' Po was nervous knowing that he was in a bad situation right now, but he got up and rubbed the back of his head as he said, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about-"

"SMACK!"

The sound of Tigress slapping Po across the face even made Tai Lung cringe. She hadn't even given Po the chance to explain before the began to angrily rant, "How dare you! Right the day after our wedding, you lie to me, and then leave me here alone with Hao without letting anyone know where you were going!?" Po rubbed the area where her and Su had both collectively hit him and he replied, "Look Ti, I would have told you about it, but then you would have wanted to come along! And I know that if you came along, my feelings for you would get in the way of completing the mission. I'm sorry I lied to you..." "Mission? What mission?" She asked without giving him a time to pause. "It's a long story, I'll tell you about it later, for now I have to return these artifacts to the hall of heroes." Po replied whilst taking out the two Zen bracelets which he had recovered and kept in his pack. But before he could go, Tigress grabbed his wrist and said, "Oh no you don't. I haven't seen you in three days and you sure as hell aren't getting away that easy! You're coming with me to the baths since you look absolutely horrid!" Po then accidentally dropped the two Zen Bracelets as Tigress began to drag him by the arm towards the hot springs behind the Palace. Po began to protest, "Wait! Tigress! We have to return the artifacts or Shifu will kill us for sure!" An evil grin formed on Tigress' face and she replied, "You'd be getting what you deserve! Now come on dear husband! You and I have a lot to talk about..." She then proceeded to drag the nervous Panda by his arm off to the baths while he desperately tried to sway her mind. But it was far too late for that…

Tai Lung watched as the restless female Tiger dragged her husband across the ground by his arm unwillingly. He shook his head and thought, 'For being one of the strongest warriors in the world, you sure do have your weaknesses Dragon Warrior...' He then took the two artifacts which the Panda had accidentally dropped and carried them off to the hall of heroes before Shifu would have the chance to notice their absence.

2 Hours Later at Dusk on the Roof of the Jade Palace

A lonely Snow Leopard sat on the top of the green shingles of the Jade Palace building looking at the setting sun on the horizon. After such a productive and adventurous day, one would think he would have a face of satisfaction, or at least a smirk from his great accomplishment of saving the country, but nay. He instead had a face that looked puzzled, as if he was pondering some thoughts cooped up in his mind, and he was. 'Why did she do that!? I offered her a chance to leave behind her life of crime...I even...Loved her...'

"You should be celebrating after your accomplishments, not moping." Said a voice from nearby. Tai Lung turned his head and noticed the Panda who had redressed into a new green tunic and golden cloak with black slacks who looked much cleaner than before. However, the Snow Leopard didn't respond to the Panda's remarks, instead he turned his head back at the sunset on the horizon. Po noticed the Leopard's negligence of him and he proceeded to walk up to the Leopard and sit down on the green shingles near his friend.

A silence lasted between the two until the Panda eventually spoke up, "You know, this wasn't the first time there was an issue with the Gong Lu Medallion." This seemed to attract the Leopard's attention and he turned his head and asked, "What do you mean?" Po smiled a bit and replied, "You may not believe me when I say this, but the first issue there was with the Medallion concerned your nephew-" "WHAT!? I HAVE A NEPHEW!?" The Leopard almost yelled in shock from the revelation. Po chuckled at his friend's reaction, to be fair, it was a very big revelation that the Snow Leopard most likely wasn't ready for. Then the Leopard continued to rant, "WHY DID NOBODY SAY ANYTHING!?" "Hmm, I guess it never crossed my mind..." The Panda replied with a confident smirk. Tai Lung seemed irritated with the Panda's ignorance to this major revelation, he responded by punching the Panda on the shoulder and began to rant, "When did this happen!? What is his name!? Where can I find him!?" The Panda was bombarded by the Leopard's questions and he tried to slow him down, "Okay there. One question at a time Tai."

Minutes Later after a Long Conversation…

"So you're saying that nearly 4 years ago, just after you had sent me to the spirit realm, some other Snow Leopard named Peng came to the palace claiming he was related to me? And that he was proficient in martial arts? And that he now teaches martial arts clubs across the country?" Tai Lung asked as he tried to sum up everything which the Panda had just told him. Po nodded and replied, "That's about it, though it has been a long time since he last visited here so I don't know his current whereabouts." At that, Tai Lung got up from a seated position and jumped off the roof towards the student barracks and made his way over to his room. Po knew exactly what his friend was doing, he was going to search across the country for his nephew. Po had no intention of stopping him either, this was his choice and he would go at it alone, but he knew that his friend would once again return someday.

"Farewell, Master Tai Lung..." Po said to himself as he watched the Snow Leopard who had just packed begin to leave through the Palace gates. "Until we meet again..."

The End

A/N: Thanks for reading through this entire series! I would humbly like to thank all of the readers who contributed by favoriting, following and reviewing the story. Now that this story is done, I will begin to work on the sequel to the fanfic this was based off of: Dark-Bright. The first chapter of that will be published shortly after this, so stay tuned! If you enjoyed reading this story, favorite or

Review!

Thanks

-Ace_Risk