Author's Note: My thanks to everyone who reviewed, sent PMs, and supported me throughout the years (five years? Wow!) that I've been writing fanfiction for this fandom. It's been a wild ride, and a long journey, but one that I'm, ultimately, glad is coming to an end. I feel there is not much more I can contribute to the fandom, but I will always be a fan. Thank you, all of you, for reading.

Disclaimer: Kung Fu Panda is © the Dreamworks Animation Studios, and I do not own it. This, and my other fics, are not written for profit, just for fun. Any original characters belong to me, please do not use them without my permission.

Chapter 22: Every Ending is a New Beginning

Su Lin slept fitfully on the cot in the on-call room. Well, to call it an "on-call room" would be generous; the truth was, it was a corner of the temporary hospital, in a warehouse, that had been cordoned off with a sheet tacked up to the rafters. This makeshift curtain was all that separated her from the sick, wounded, and dying that were under her care.

It had been a few days since the battle. She didn't know how many days exactly, they had all blended together. She had been so busy, had very little time to rest or eat, let alone sleep. The number of sick and injured had been too much for the doctors and apothecaries at the village hospital, who had started to rely on the female panda more and more.

Master Storming Ox had been kind enough to field requests for her while she lay down for an hour to get a little sleep, but it eluded her. Her body ached, and every step felt like she was lifting lead weights tied to her ankles. Su Lin was tired, but her brain refused to shut off. She wished she could close the door to the sounds of the patients, close the curtain on the images of horrific wounds and plug her ears from the wailing of the bereaved. But she couldn't. All she had was this damn curtain made out of a sheet.

Finally, she gave up. She sat up, swung her legs over the side of the bed, fingers curling in the blanket that had covered her. She stared at the floor, dirty despite her best efforts to keep it clean. She had people coming in and cleaning three times a day; the doctors – the "professionals" - thought she was mad, cleaning when so many people needed medical attention. Truth was, she needed it to be clean. Her mind was so jumbled right now, so unfocused, so messy, that she needed something to be in order. If that meant paying someone to sweep and mop three times a day, so be it.

"Su Lin?"

She sighed. "Yeah?"

A female goat poked her head behind the curtain. "I'm sorry to bother you, I know you're trying to sleep..."

"Not anymore," she said, standing with a groan. She pressed her palms into her lower back and stretched. "What's changed?"

"No more deaths, so some good news!" the goat said, handing her a clipboard.

"Good, what about new cases?"

"Leveling off. We're still at full capacity, but the flood of new patients has slowed to a trickle."

"Thanks, I needed that little bit of poetry."

"I try, miss. Bad news is that a few of the open wounds are showing signs of infection."

"Show me which ones and I'll see what we can do."

But when Su Lin tugged away the curtain, she stopped short, nearly bumping into Po. The pandas stood and stared at each other for a long, tense moment. To Po's credit, he looked happy to see her. Su Lin, however, looked aghast.

"Po?"

"Hey, Su."

"Po...what happened?"

"Long story, but hey, you got a second?"

"Um, not really? Can you spare a sec to tell me what happened?"

"What d'ya mean?"

"Po, you're thin as a rail!"

"Whuh?" Po actually looked down at himself. "I don't feel any different..."

"She's right, though," the female goat said. "You have lost quite a bit of weight."

"Well, that's a good thing, right?" Po asked.

"Not that much weight," Su Lin said worriedly, looking him up and down. "Bai Li, go find Mr. Yao, take him around to the suspected infections, get some garlic and honey, both have infection-fighting properties, he'll know the others..."

The goat thus dispatched, Su Lin stood in front of the other panda and crossed her arms. "Po, what happened?"

"What, no 'I'm so glad you're home'?"

"Po," she snapped. "You have five seconds to tell me what happened."

Po stepped back, shocked that she had been so forceful. What happened to the nice girl he knew? Maybe it's stress, he thought. Yeah, that has to be it. "Well, we went to Tibet, Tai Lung and I, and when we were there, we were fed a diet of rice and tea."

"Okay."

"And then we left, and traveled some, and now we're back, and not a lot of lunch breaks, so..."

"Po, you're skin and bones. Go to your dad's, get Dalang and Mr. Ping to cook for you."

"Cook what?"

"Everything on the menu! Again, you're skin and bones!"

"I'm actually slender for the first time in my life, I thought you'd be happy!" he said.

"Happy?" she repeated. "I liked you just the way you were! I like my man having a little meat on his bones. I like hugging something with a little padding."

"Su, this was more than just 'a little padding'. And anyway, I gotta talk to you about something."

"Don't you change the subject!" she barked back.

He backed away from the force of her response. "Okay...are you mad at me about something?"

"Hmm...let's see," she said theatrically, starting to tick off her points on her fingers. "My boyfriend runs off for a few months right after I screw up a date, so I spend those months wondering what I did wrong, and why he was so quick to run away..."

"What? Wait—"

"...All the while worrying the whole time, thinking that if I had done something different..."

"Su Lin—"

"…That he wouldn't have left in the first place! Sure, prophecy, stopping bad guys, I get it. But could you have at least told me you were mad at me instead of me agonizing over it the last couple months..."

"I had no idea you were...I thought you were mad at me!"

She narrowed her eyes in confusion. "Why would I be mad at you? I'm the one who screwed up!"

"What did you screw up again?"

"You know what!"

"Seriously, Su Lin, I don't."

"Do I have to spell it out?!"

Po paused, then sheepishly asked, "...Please?"

Su Lin sighed and beckoned him behind the curtain. She waited until some people had passed before she lowered her voice and whispered, "The night before you decided to leave, when we were on that date...I was giving off signals that I was ready..."

Po nodded.

"And then I turned you down."

He nodded again, patiently waiting.

Now or never, Su, she told herself. She huffed, crossed her arms and said, "I was ready that night. I was ready to give myself to you, mind, body, and soul...until I thought about my mother." She hugged herself, not meeting his gaze. "I thought about what she would think if she could see me. I felt like I was letting her down by losing my virginity before marriage. She died so I could live, and I felt so guilty, I couldn't do it."

"Oh thank the gods!" Po said, letting out the breath he'd been holding. Then he realized what he had just said. "No, wait, that's not what I meant! Your mom's great, your mom's awesome, perfectly good reason to turn me down! It's just, this whole time...I thought you were disgusted with me."

"What?!" she asked. She looked at him like he had sprouted horns from his ears. "How could you think that? If you disgusted me, why would I be with you? I love you, Po!"

"I love you, too, Su," he said with relief. "That's why I had to leave. I mean, obviously because of Asmodei Koshchei, too, primary reason. Real reason, I guess, but the reason I wanted to go was so I could prove I was worthy of you."

Then she started laughing. Here she was, standing in a makeshift hospital, in a makeshift on-call room, emotionally and physically exhausted, covered in blood and pus and gods only knew what else, standing there as her boyfriend professed his love for her. And she was laughing. "I'm sorry!" she giggled. "This is not at all how I expected this to go."

"Tell me about it, I was expecting more candles and some food."

"I have some almond cookies, if that'll help." She giggled when he made a face. "Po, listen, I don't need you to prove your worth to me. I decide if you're worthy, don't I? I love you, you big goofball; you can't get any more worthy than that!"

Po was silent for a long moment, then cursed under his breath. "Damn. So I went all the way to Chengdu for—"

She cut him off. "Wait, you went to Chengdu? I thought you went to Tibet?"

He bit his lip, then explained. "Yeah, we hit Chengdu on the way back. And that's actually why I'm here. I had to go there, for a really important reason. And, here..."

Su Lin wondered how tired she was that she had not noticed the rucksack in his hands before now. She blinked and shook her head to get the cobwebs out. "What's this?"

"Something I got you in Chengdu."

Su Lin sat on the edge of the bed and opened the rucksack. She reached in and felt her fingers brush over smooth wooden boards, small objects that she couldn't place. Her fingers curled around one and pulled it out. It was wrapped in a white cloth that she tore off...and she froze.

In her hand was an ancestor tablet. Her mother's ancestor tablet.

"I brought them all home," Po said softly. "I know how much it bothered you, not having them nearby. I went to every temple in Chengdu looking for the right one, with all the tablets, your mom and dad, your brother and sister, and I...I went to your house. Or, well, the place where your house was. To pay my respects. I mean, I went there to pay my respects. And I went to ask your parents a question."

Still stunned, she finally found her voice. "What did you ask?"

He knelt in front of her and took her free hand in his. "I asked for your hand in marriage. I asked for their blessing. Because I knew it was important to you."

Tears were pouring down her cheeks now. "You...you went miles out of your way to get my family's ancestor tablets, so I can worship and give offerings to them here...you went all the way to Chengdu to ask my family's permission for us to get married?"

"Of course I did," he said with a smile. "I mean, I do kinda love ya."

Su Lin finally smiled.

"So...these tears are okay?" he hesitantly asked. "I mean, you're smiling, so I guess—"

Su Lin leaned forward and kissed him. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly, kissing him harder. She broke away only because she couldn't breathe. The female pulled out the other tablets and laid them carefully on the cot. Her father, her brother, her sister, and her mother, they were all there. They were all together again. They were a family again.

"Yeah," she said. "Yeah, everything is okay." She turned to him. "Thank you."

Master Storming Ox, who had been kind enough to see over operations while she was on break, came around to see how Su Lin was doing. When he peeked behind the curtain to find her in the arms of the Dragon Warrior, gently squeezing his hand as grateful tears ran down her face, the ox decided that whatever it was he needed her for could wait.

The battle was over, and Dalang desperately needed normalcy. It was a habit he had picked up after leaving the Jiao. Whenever memories, brought on by witnessing any kind of violence, popped up in his head, in his dreams, his nightmares, he needed a release. He was like his wife in some ways; when he was agitated about something, he did something about it. In this case, he focused on work; Tigress focused on training, which was more or less the same thing.

Mr. Ping was already at the stove heating water for the noodles. Dalang started measuring out the flour for the dumplings. He made a pile of the flour on the counter, shoveled out a crater in the middle of the mound, and dropped eggs and water into the hole he had made. Then with practiced ease, he mixed the dough together, pounded it and kneaded it with his hands. He began to realize he was using some of Shifu's training in this. Or maybe the tiger had always done it this way and was just now starting to realize that?

When the dough was ready he began to roll it out into little circles and set them aside. His next batch, he would make into squares for the gyoza. The circles were for the shumai and probably the bao he was thinking of making.

His plans for the day were temporarily interrupted when someone at the serving counter tried getting his attention.

"Um...excuse me, sir?"

Dalang's ears perked up and he turned to the counter. A sow wearing a gray shawl was nervously beckoning him to come closer. Turning away from his stove, he leaned over. "Yeah?"

"There's a gentleman sitting in the corner," she whispered, "Never seen him before, but I don't like the look of him."

Dalang glanced over to the corner in question, and noted the elderly tiger. He narrowed his eyes. He knew that the older tigers got, the stronger they got...to a certain point. This tiger looked well past his prime, but could still be dangerous. "I'll take care of him."

Leaving his work in Mr. Ping's capable wings, Dalang strode over to the table where the elder tiger was admiring the scenery. Dalang's senses were on high alert. "Can I help you?" he asked, hoping to sound as polite as possible while still being intimidating. The elder glanced up at him and smiled thinly.

"Perhaps," he answered.

"Would you like a menu?"

"I've just ordered some tea, but thank you."

"Mind if I join you?"

"The chef sitting and sharing a cup of tea with the likes of me? Why, I've never felt so honored."

"Sure." Dalang still stood, glaring down at him. The older tiger still stared back. "I've seen you before," the chef said.

The other male's brows rose. "Have you? I must have one of those faces."

"Look, mac, I'm gonna cut right to the chase. You're a stranger, you've been acting shady, and the last time strangers started acting shady in this village, there was a war, and many good people lost their lives. Now, you either cut the crap, tell me your business, or you get the hell out of my restaurant."

The older tiger blinked, then laughed. "Ah, of course! Forgive me, my memory isn't what it used to be. Put the knife away, Jiao Dalang, I mean you no harm."

Dalang froze, his hand poised over the knife he now kept hidden in his belt at all times. He stared at the older tiger. "You've been trained."

The elder waved off the comment. "Many years of service to my country. Ah, here's tea, would you join me?"

Suspicious, Dalang took his seat opposite the tiger. He eyed him up and down, but the elder was quite at ease as he poured himself a cup of tea. He presented this cup to the chef, who let it sit steaming on the table in front of him. "Who the hell are you?"

"I'd forgotten that brevity and bluntness are virtues in your family."

"You leave my family out of this," Dalang growled.

"If what I hear is true, then I'm afraid I can't do that," the elder said, reaching into his robe. He pulled out a cylindrical case and set it down on the table between them. "As I understand, you have your blood relations, now deceased, but you have also taken it upon yourself to add friends into your 'family'. Rather notorious friends, at that. Is something the matter?"

Dalang was staring in surprise at the case. "That isn't what I think it is, is it?"

"What do you think it is?"

"Something that will mean a hell of a lot to someone I know."

"Is this someone Tai Lung?"

Dalang finally looked back up at the elder tiger's face, and then it dawned on him: he knew who this tiger was. In the interest of not causing a scene, the chef lowered his voice. "So what brings you out of the capital city?"

The other tiger thinly smiled, perhaps glad that the chef had correctly guessed who he was, and that he no longer needed to keep up appearances. "Business. Several items of business."

"And you come alone?"

"The rather, ah, sensitive nature of my business requires discretion. Traveling with a full retinue is hardly discreet. Besides, I was hoping to deliver this scroll in person. Is Tai Lung not around?"

"He's here, but unavailable. If your intelligence is as good as I think it is, you probably already know the circumstances of it."

"Yes, a long journey indeed. And be sure to give him my congratulations."

"For which event?"

The elder smiled wider, but there was a predatory look to it Dalang didn't like. "Why, the blessed event, of course. What was it?"

"A girl."

"Ah."

"He's happy about it, too. So don't get all high and mighty, bud."

"Knowing who I am now, you would address me so familiarly?"

"I'm Manchurian, remember? You don't tell me what to do."

The elder threw back his head and laughed. "Ha! Yes, I remember now. Your brother said much the same thing to me, oh, what was it, twenty years ago? It has been awhile. I was very sorry to hear of his passing; I met him on the field of battle once, and it was all I needed to cement my admiration of him. Shang was a good man. He had his flaws, but had circumstances been different, I'm sure he would have been a king among men."

"He already was."

"That he was," he echoed, somewhat fondly. The elder tiger poured himself a cup of tea and took a long drink from it. The steam rose and curled through his whiskers. "Aren't you going to open it?"

"I already know what it is. It's a pardon. A pardon for Tai Lung."

"Well done. I assume you knew that because of the packaging."

"It looks exactly like the one I received...from you. Now all I want to know is why."

"Do I need a reason?"

"Typically, for a pardon, you do."

The old tiger set his teacup down. "I've had my eye on him since his escape from Chorh-Gom prison. I expected him to go back to his old ways, and needless to say, he surprised me. In a good way. Shifu taught him well after all."

"He'll be happy to hear it." Dalang paused. "It's a full pardon?"

"Naturally. Tai Lung is now free to live his life as he sees fit, something I believe he has already started to do. You can vouch for him?"

"I trust him with my life, and he trusts me just as much. He's as much a brother to me as Shang was, and as I would have died for Shang, I'll die for Tai Lung."

"He is lucky to have you for a brother."

"Who, Shang or Tai Lung?"

The elder tiger only smiled knowingly. "Can you ensure that Tai Lung receives this?"

"Pretty sure. Anyway...you sure you don't want a menu? Or is my cooking not high enough for your tastes?"

"Don't be so quick to judge. I am on a special diet. Trust in the fact that your spinach dumplings are widely known in the capital..."

"They should hear about Tai Lung's crab wontons."

"Really? That does sound delightful...hmm, well, what my doctor doesn't know won't kill me."

"Could very well kill him, though, couldn't it, if he's not up to snuff?"

The other tiger was quickly growing impatient with Dalang's attitude. "Would you be so kind as to take the order? This is one order you can take, yes?"

Dalang smirked. "Shang was right about you: you are a smart ass."

To his surprise, the other tiger just smiled fondly. "He was very right about that."

"Was he right about your sense of humor, too?"

"Let's see after those wontons, shall we?"

When Tai Lung was finally roused, with the promise of cooking a special order of his tried and true crab wontons for a special guest, the snow leopard grudgingly put the dish together. He grew suspicious when Dalang suggested he deliver it personally to table six. And when Tai Lung set the plate down and looked at the old tiger, he froze, eyes as wide as the plates he had just set down. The old tiger just smiled and pushed the scroll case closer to the snow leopard; then he lifted his teacup in a silent toast to the spotted warrior. Stunned, Tai Lung could only nod, pick up the scroll case and retreat to the kitchen...whereupon he promptly grabbed Dalang by the lapel.

"Do you know who that was?!" he hissed.

The tiger chef replied nonchalantly: "The Emperor? Yeah."

"Good lord, man, why didn't you warn me?!"

"Did you read the scroll?"

"No, should I?"

"Could be worth your while, yeah," he said with a smirk. He waited until Tai Lung ripped off the wax seal and tore open the scroll. He scanned it, clearly expecting a death sentence...but he looked stunned, then slowly smiled. "I've been pardoned. A full pardon."

The tiger was grinning now. "How's it feel?"

The snow leopard let out a laugh, still in disbelief. "Absolutely wonderful!"

"Good. So I won't have to throw him out after all?"

He gave the tiger a scandalized look. "You were going to throw him out?! Are you mad?!"

"I never did tell you about the time my brother Shang met him, did I? Shang did something stupid – never said what it was – and got himself captured. When the Emperor tried interrogating him, Shang told him 'I'm Manchurian, you're not my emperor, and I don't answer to you.'"

"I always figured your brother had a brass pair, but good lord…"

"Yeah, that's Shang for you. Speaking of, you're never going to believe what I found out about that Hu Quon guy…"

Hours later, after closing, Mr. Ping called Dalang over before the tiger could disappear up the stairs to see his family.

"Dalang? There's something I wanted to talk to you about."

Sensing the soberness of the goose's tone, Dalang turned away from the sink where he was washing out some bowls and gave him his full attention. No matter how big he got, however, whenever an authority figure said a sentence like this, Dalang always felt like he had gotten in trouble with the teacher for something. "What's up?"

Mr. Ping pulled up a stool and sat upon it. "It's about the restaurant."

"Okay…well, I know we didn't do so well this quarter, but to be fair, there was a war, and we had to make a lot of repairs…"

"That's not it at all," the goose waved him off. "But you do have a point, we'll need to hustle in the next quarter to get ahead again, but that's not the issue here. I've been talking to Po, asking him about his big kung fu journey, and the topic of the restaurant came up…" the goose sighed. "It would not be wise for Po to inherit the restaurant from me."

Dalang's jaw dropped. "You're disinheriting him?! But…but this restaurant is everything to him! He grew up here, in the same room that's now Su Lin's. How can you—"

"It was his idea."

The tiger clammed up, shocked, then asked, "And you're okay with this? You always intended for Po to inherit the shop from you…"

Mr. Ping sighed, "Yes, that's true, I did. But over the past few years, I saw how much more kung fu meant to him than making noodles. He will always love noodles. But he will never love noodles as much as he loves kung fu. This battle we just had, it got me thinking about my legacy, about my mortality…"

"Don't talk like that. You'll outlive us all."

The goose smiled warmly at him. "You're a good boy, Dalang. Which is why I've decided that, when the time comes, this restaurant will be yours."

The tiger was stunned for a second time. "You're kidding."

Mr. Ping just smiled warmly. "Nope."

"Me?"

"You."

"You want me to inherit?"

"I want you to inherit, and more importantly, Po wants you to inherit. This whole thing was his idea. Kung fu was always his dream, and your dream has always been to have your own business, your own restaurant."

"But what about the history of this place? That you inherited it from your father, who got it from his father, who…who…the friend in mahjong!" he said, wildly gesticulating at the portraits on the wall. "And besides all that, I don't know anything about making noodles!"

"Well in that case," the goose said, hopping down from his stool. "No time like the present to learn!"

Dalang stopped him with a large paw. "Wait…you're sure about this? I…I feel like I'm taking something from Po."

"You can discuss this with him, but he'll give you the same answer he gave me. I felt much the same as you did when he made the offer to give up his birthright, but then I realized he was right. You are much better suited to this work than he is. And under your care, this business will thrive."

Dalang stopped him. "Look, can I just discuss this with Tigress first? She's one of Po's closest friends, and I trust her judgment."

Mr. Ping wanted to say what was really on his mind, but he held his tongue and waited for the tiger to return with his wife's verdict. Though perhaps his hearing was beginning to go, the goose clearly heard the feminine voice growl from upstairs: "Honey, I love you, but take the damn offer, you fool!"

A few seconds later, Dalang plodded down the steps and stood next to the goose. "So, about noodle-making…"

Altai sat hunched over his desk, fighting down the urge to get himself drunk. Absurdly drunk. So drunk that he would pass out and not have to ever think about this ever again.

The death of Zang Deshi was not what weighed heavily on his mind, however.

Instead, he was staring at the wanted poster on his desk. It bore the name, aliases, and likeness of Lan Duo. Wanted Dead or Alive. He was worth an obscene amount of money, almost as much as the reward for Tai Lung's capture had been. Almost. The rhino read down the list of things the wolf was wanted for: murder, highway robbery, theft, fraud – multiple cases of fraud, in fact, which the rhino found interesting – and inciting rebellion. The last one probably explained the high bounty. No one in their right mind would pay out so much for a murderer and thief. Anyone inciting rebellion against the emperor on the other hand…well, there was only one way to pay for high treason.

And Altai was torn. He knew what the penalty was for all of the above. And as an upholder of the law, as a man who had spent his entire life in service to his country and his ruler, he knew exactly how he should feel about this wolf. The rhino should have hated him, taken him into custody right away, locked him away, perhaps even execute him, and, like Vachir, think that it was no real loss, that the wolf was a leech on society and a waste of life.

Ten years ago, he may have thought that. But now, especially having met the wolf, talked with him, known nothing about him except that his bastard of an uncle gave him such an unfortunate name, and that the wolf was racked with guilt over the death of his one and only student, Altai's former convictions seemed so…barbarous.

The rhino had been there the day of Lang's funeral. For some reason, Lan Duo had sought him out for help. "I have no idea why I'm coming to you. I guess if Jiang trusts you, I trust you. And I trust anyone she trusts," the wolf had said.

Altai helped him prepare the body for burial. He bought joss sticks and paper goods to burn at the gravesite. Duo couldn't afford a plot in the cemetery (and figured that the villagers would be angry if he dared bury him there), so he found the best possible spot in a potter's field and laid Lang to rest, wrapped in shrouds, with not even a coffin. Wolf and rhino stood over the grave, offered incense, prayers, and offerings to ease the departed into the next life. Then Duo stayed behind to cover the body. He insisted on doing it alone. Altai didn't judge; he probably would have done the same if he were in his place.

Which brought up the question: if their positions were switched, if it were Duo sitting here with the military honors and Altai the one with the checkered past, would Duo turn him in?

So now he was down to asking himself an important moral question: would it be right to turn him in, if Duo was genuinely trying to change for the better? Was it right to take a man into custody who had completely repented his old life and just wanted to start anew?

Altai knew what the law said, he knew was his duty was, but the moral and ethical questions weighed heavily on his mind and heart.

He was at that young wolf's funeral. He had seen how Duo practically kowtowed the whole way to the gravesite. No one who lacked regard for life would behave so reverently for a fallen comrade. He reminded Altai of several men he had known in the service, back in the early days. And the wolf adopted that baby that no one else wanted. Lan Duo wasn't a monster, no matter what the law said. But, as an officer in the Imperial Army, Altai's duty was to bring to justice any outlaws, especially dissenters and rebellion rousers.

He pursed his lips in thought, then nodded. He knew now what he had to do.

Tai Lung grunted and swatted at the person who was shaking his shoulder. "G'way, 'm tryin' t' sleep," he muttered with an exhausted sigh. The baby needed feeding every three hours, and though Mei Xing bore the brunt of it, the baby's cries often kept the new father up, too. He hadn't had a full night's sleep in weeks, and just when he thought he would get one…

That damn hand would not stop shaking his shoulder.

"Whoever you are," the snow leopard growled, "If you don't remove that hand, I'm ripping your arm out of its socket and beating you with the bloody end."

The hand drew away, and Po's voice remarked, "Wow, and you think I get crabby when I haven't slept?"

Tai Lung rolled over and pinched the bridge of his nose. His eyes were bleary from lack of sleep and couldn't quite focus on the panda. "Po, d'you have any idea what time it is?"

"I know it's late…"

"No, I mean, what time is it? All the hours blend together now."

"Oh. Well, that's not really important right now. I need your help."

"Can't it wait until morning? Is it morning?"

Po held a piece of paper in front of the snow leopard's face. Grumbling under his breath, the feline lit a candle, rubbed sleep from his eyes and stared at the paper. Then he shot up out of bed so fast he nearly extinguished the candle. He grabbed the paper and read it feverishly.

"Where did you find this?" he asked, now wide awake with panic.

"Out in the village. I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk. This was posted outside city hall, but there are many of them all over the place."

Tai Lung lowered Lan Duo's wanted poster and shook his head. "With soldiers and even the Emperor himself in this village…"

Po nodded, his round face showing nothing but concern and fear for the wolf's life. "I know. He'll be arrested and executed for sure. Tai, we gotta do something."

Mei Xing shifted in her sleep. Tai Lung motioned for the door and the two of them left the bedroom and settled into the living area. Po stoked up the dying fire in the fireplace as Tai Lung read over the wanted poster again.

"The reward is almost as much as mine was…'inciting rebellion'. Well, that would do it."

Po was resolute. "We can't let them take him."

"You don't need to tell me," the feline said, settling himself down into a chair by the fire. "But if we aid a fugitive from the law, we tighten the noose around our own necks."

"I know. Which is why we need to get him to pack up and leave, tonight, without anyone knowing."

Tai Lung shook his head. "We're taking a huge risk. Besides, where would he run to? And he's got the baby to think about… its winter, the snows and the cold could kill them both, and they're not safe anywhere in China."

"Exactly," Po said. "But in Tibet, they'd be safe."

The snow leopard looked at his ursine friend for a moment and slowly caught on to his meaning. "Tell him to take the Red Bird Pass, at this time of year? It was treacherous enough months ago, it'll be even worse now."

"Tai, it's his only shot."

"And what will he do once – or if – he gets there alive? Where will he go?"

"He can look for the brothers of the Phoenix Temple."

"We have no idea where they are. They could be anywhere. They may not even be in Tibet anymore. And Po, the child…"

Po nodded in understanding. Since becoming a father, Tai Lung had taken on a more paternal outlook towards kids in general. He tolerated them better, and cared more for their welfare. It seemed becoming a parent truly did change everything.

"We'll need to ask Duo what he wants to do," Po said. "Go get him, we'll talk to him about it."

Once they had roused the wolf and brought him up to speed, they settled back and waited for an answer. The wolf just stared into the flames in the hearth, a distant look in his eyes. When he finally said something, it was barely above a whisper. "You realize you're sticking your necks out for someone who doesn't deserve it?"

"Yeah, I got a habit of doing that," Po said wryly with a glance at Tai Lung. Tai Lung smirked when he caught the panda's look. "Either way, you need to make a decision soon, and you need to leave tonight. Whatever you decide, this can't wait until morning."

Duo buried his face in his hands and sighed heavily.

Tai Lung cleared his throat. "If you're worried about the baby, I can talk to Mei Xing and see if she will agree to adopt—"

"I am not leaving him behind," the wolf forcefully said. "Whatever happens, he's coming with me."

"Think about what you're saying," the snow leopard said. "It is a long, arduous, dangerous trip. It's the middle of winter. That cold, and the nature of your trip in the first place…not to mention the road you'll be taking."

"I can handle danger, and I can handle treacherous roads; I'd travelled my fair share."

"But the baby's safety…"

"I am not leaving him," said Duo, now looking him in the eye. "I leave him here, who's to say your wife will want him? Jiao Dalang won't adopt him, and I refuse to leave the kid at Bao Gu Orphanage. I can't do that. I know what it feels like to be abandoned. I can't do that to him."

Po shared a look with Tai Lung, who sighed and relented. "Fine, but we'll need to get him as many warm clothes as possible…"

"Here."

All three males jumped, stifling curses as Tigress appeared from her bedroom. In her arms was a bundle of baby clothes. She handed them to a bemused Duo. "These are the clothes Shang outgrew. Take as much as you want."

"Why are you…?" he began to ask.

"I saw the wanted poster, too," she explained. "And you're right, Dalang won't adopt the baby leopard, no matter how much I twist his arm."

"Which you mean literally," Po said.

"Naturally. And like you, I don't want that baby to go to grow up in Bao Gu." She looked at Tai Lung. "A child needs an environment with a parent who loves them and will do anything to protect him. Duo can provide that. He'll be safe in Tibet."

"I agree."

The foursome jumped and whirled around to look at the rhino standing at the top of the stairs. Tigress growled and immediately lowered herself into a battle stance. "Back off, Altai, or I will take you down."

The rhino glared back at her. "You would dare threaten to attack a member of the Imperial Forces?"

Tigress smirked, recalling her interactions with Zang Deshi's men. "Wouldn't be the first time."

Tai Lung moved quickly and between them. "Alright, enough, both of you. Altai," he said, turning to the rhino. "I know I have no business asking this of you, because you've done so much for me in the past…but don't do this. As a favor to me, don't do this."

Altai gave him a look he couldn't read. "I don't know…there have been a lot of favors you haven't paid back."

Desperate to avoid what he was sure would be an epic battle, the snow leopard begged, "Which is something I will resolve immediately. But please, don't arrest Lan Duo."

The rhino looked down at him. "I'm not here to arrest him."

Tai Lung felt his throat tightening. He couldn't believe this. He couldn't believe Altai – wise, honorable Altai – would kill the wolf just to get the reward!

"I'm helping him escape," he finished.

"I—wait, what?" Tai Lung had been ready to fight him, but the rhino's words stopped him dead. The three others in the room were similarly shocked.

Altai held up a haversack full of rations and showed off that he was bundled up under his armor, which he quickly began shedding. "I'm helping him escape. Any ideas?"

"Tibet," Po said immediately. "By way of the Red Bird Pass. We can give you a map."

Altai shook his head. "Won't need it, I know it well. Aren't you going to pack?" the rhino asked the wolf. Duo recovered from his shock quickly enough to nod once and disappear into the nursery to grab his meager belongings and collect the baby.

"I don't get it," Tigress said. "Why? Aren't you sworn to—?"

"Not anymore," Altai said. "I resigned. Well, I left a letter of resignation on Mei Ling's desk for her to find in the morning. By then I hope to be long gone."

"I hope you didn't mention why you resigned?" Tai Lung asked.

"I was honest, and that's all you need to know."

Po cleared his throat. "There might be a place you can lay low in Tibet. The Phoenix Temple. The temple itself may have burned down, but there were caves and passages all over the mountain. It can at least give you shelter. I'll give you directions."

The rhino nodded his thanks as Duo rushed back into the room, laying the fussing baby down next to the fire to keep warm while he stuffed his haversack with some provisions Po provided. Tigress quickly dressed the baby leopard in as many layers as possible, and swaddled him up in the warmest blanket she could find (one of Mei Xing's creations). Fixing a little knitted bonnet over the cub's head and ears, she held him in her arms while the cub's adoptive father finished packing. He fashioned a sling out of some sturdy canvas and placed the baby protectively against his front after shouldering his haversack.

"So…I guess this is it," he said with finality.

"When you get to where you're going," Po said, "Drop us a line, just letting us know you made it and that you're okay, okay?"

"We'll send word as soon as we cross the border," Altai assured them. "You might not hear back until the Spring Thaw."

"We might not get there until the Spring Thaw," Duo said with a nervous tone, looking nervously out the window.

"We'll get there sooner than you think. Don't worry, you're in good hands. I've got one more person coming with us, though."

"Who?"

From behind the rhino's thick legs, a tiny face peeked out and shyly waved.

"Little Brother!" Po said. "You're going with them?"

The child surprised them all when he chirped, "Yup! I'm going back home with my new Baba!"

Tai Lung got over his shock to hear the child talking before the others did. "What does he mean, 'his new Baba?"

Altai finally smiled, and knelt down to pat the red panda's head. "I'm adopting him. When I told him what I wanted to do, he asked if he could call me Baba. I said yes, of course."

"An' I'm gonna show him how t'get to the mountain!" Little Brother said with all the exuberance a small child can possess.

Tai Lung smiled fondly. "Sounds like you're in good hands after all." As Little Brother went around the room hugging everyone good bye, the feline looked to his former jailer and bowed. "I wish you a safe journey."

Altai returned the bow. "Thank you. I wish you well."

Little else was said, and before long the two men and their adopted sons skulked out the back door, sneaked down the back alley, and were soon gone from sight in the darkness as they headed out of the valley.

"Think they'll be all right?" Tigress asked.

"I hope so," Tai Lung said.

"They'll be fine," Po said with a smile. Then he frowned, "Question is…will we be all right?"

The next day dawned bright, the sun reflecting off the newly fallen snow, blinding passerby with the bright sheen. The snow, which had fallen after Altai and Lan Duo left, would have covered their tracks by now, making it impossible for any skilled tracker to go after them. Po had stayed the night at the Long and Feng, deciding it was best to stay put. He wanted to be there to help his friend if the hammer fell down hard on them for aiding an outlaw and a fugitive.

The trouble didn't come until later that afternoon. Po had been restless all morning, driving his father so crazy the goose finally suggested (that is, ordered) that his son visit Su Lin at the hospital, perhaps try and bring her home for some much-needed rest. Po eagerly took the trip, knowing that expelling his restless energy would help calm his nerves. Besides, he reasoned, maybe he was worrying for nothing.

"You're probably worried over nothing," Su Lin echoed his thoughts. He had successfully managed to convince her to come home for a night (or few days) of sleep. She continued, her pace slogged from days of little sleep, rest, and food, "If Duo slipped away in the night while everyone was asleep, well, that would be very fitting. People would expect that of an outlaw…especially if he robbed the place first."

"Yeah, which he did," the panda grumbled, remembering how Mr. Ping wailed to see how depleted his larder had become overnight. Apparently Duo had deemed the provisions as being too scanty for the trip and took advantage of a well-stocked pantry.

Su Lin tried to lift his dour mood by pointing out the new robe he was wearing, taking the green embroidered silk with the yin-yang symbol prominently displayed across his back and holding it out to get a better look at it. "I think this suits you."

Po uncomfortably replied, recalling it was very similar to the one Oogway, and now Shifu, had worn. "It's given only to Grand Masters."

"You're the Dragon Warrior; I think you're qualified," she teased with a wink and a peck on the cheek. Then she stopped short with a gasp. Before Po could ask what was wrong, he looked over to the doorway to his father's restaurant and his heart leapt into his throat. "Oh no…"

Imperial Guards stood outside, barring entry to anyone. A crowd of worried villagers milled around them, one of them angrily demanding to know what was going on:

"I pay my taxes, and I was beating back bad guys while your daddy was a twinkle in your grandfather's eye! Now I demand to know what's going on!" the goat Mr. Lu snapped, waving his cane in a rhino guard's face.

Po intervened before violence could break out. "Everyone! Everyone, just cool down, okay? No need to panic, no need to worry, everything's under control…I'm sure there's a very good explanation, right?" the panda directed this last question to the guard who had been recently threatened by a billy goat pensioner.

The rhino snorted, "I am not authorized to reveal any information to civilians."

Po frowned. "One, I am the Dragon Warrior; I'm no ordinary civilian. Two, this is my dad's house, and you're going to let me in."

"Yeah? And why should I? Hrrk!" He suddenly crumbled to the ground. Su Lin stood over him, tapping her foot impatiently.

Po only chuckled. "Why should you let us in? Because the Dragon Warrior's girlfriend knows chi-blocking, that's why." He grabbed Su Lin's hand and dashed inside while they had an opportunity. The Dragon Warrior ignored the other guards in the courtyard, the well-dressed courtiers of very high rank, and Po knew who was there. He raced up the stairs to the living quarters and as he reached the landing, found the entire household assembled in front of a seated tiger.

The elder tiger knitted his fingers together and regarded the panting panda with an arched brow. "Who may I ask?"

"I am Po Ping, the Dragon Warrior," Po said, with an intensity and gravity that he never knew he had. But he somehow kept calm, even though his heart was beating so hard he could hear it thudding against his eardrums. "And I demand to know who you are and what you are doing in my father's home."

The tiger glared. "You demand? Do you have any idea who I am? The only reason these…friends of yours," he said, sweeping a hand to indicate the two families, and the Furious Five, who had come out to support their fearless leader, "are still alive, is that they have information I want."

"No we don't!" Mei Xing growled, holding her baby close. Tai Lung shushed her, and with as much dignity and pride as the situation allowed, explained, "As I said before, we do not know what became of the outlaw Lan Duo. He left in the middle of the night, with a baby leopard, and about half of our larder."

"Your own fault for trusting an outlaw," the Emperor pointed out.

Tai Lung held his head high, and held his tongue. "Perhaps. But trusting him was a mistake I was willing to make. Someone once did the same for me. I was only paying it forward, as the saying goes."

"Be that as it may, you harbored a known fugitive under your roof for quite some time," the Emperor said. "And you know more than you're telling us."

"No he doesn't," Po said. "And they don't have the information you want. I do. I helped Lan Duo escape last night."

Tai Lung's voice immediately shouted in his head: ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!

Trust me, I know what I'm doing.

You'd better!

The Emperor was taken aback that the panda willingly confessed. "I…I see. And why did you help him escape?"

Po took in a deep meditative breath and paced around the room. In the corner, near the door to his old room, he was surprised to find Oogway's staff, leaning against the door; someone must have put it there after rescuing him from the Thread of Hope. Smiling fondly, and knowing this was a fortuitous sign, the panda pushed himself between the gathered residents and grabbed the staff, gently fingering the ancient peach wood branch.

"I helped him because it was something Master Oogway would do. He'd done it several times over his lifetime. He was a pretty forgiving guy, you know?"

The Emperor fell silent, regarding the panda very carefully, much more guardedly.

"Why did you want Lan Duo so badly?" Po asked. "Sure, he was a bandit, and I don't usually like those guys, but on the whole, Duo wasn't that bad. A bit rough around the edges…"

"He incited a rebellion in Harbin," the Emperor snapped. "One that nearly toppled the duke I had appointed—"

"Oh, you mean the duke that taxed your subjects to death and treated like slaves? The same duke who was quoted many times as saying he was Emperor in all but name? Is that the guy you mean?"

Tai Lung sent Po a strange look. How in the world did you know that?

Po sent a thought back. You know how Oogway almost seemed to be able to read minds? Same deal here; must be a perk of being Dragon Warrior. Like healing powers for you.

Tai Lung made a face. I'd rather have the healing powers than know what the Emperor is thinking right now.

Oh yeah, I really wish I didn't know what he was thinking right now, the panda thought. He continued aloud, "Duo didn't so much incite rebellion as make one off-handed remark. I think it was, and I quote, 'Man, this guy treats you like a dog. Why do you put up with that?' That's it, that's all he said, and then came the rebellion. If you want to execute a man for unwittingly committing a crime, then you're one lousy emperor."

There was an audible gasp from everyone in the room. Even the Emperor was shocked.

"How…How dare you!"

"I dare because Oogway spoke to you the exact same way, didn't he?" Po asked.

"That was the Great Master Oogway – you are just a panda who stumbled into his position," the tiger snapped.

"Much like someone else we both know, right, Your Excellency?"

That stopped the tiger in his tracks. He stared at the panda in amazement. Po had his full attention, and finally hammered it in: "You were your father's fifth son; no one expected you to inherit the throne. Just as no one expected me to become Dragon Warrior, or Tai Lung to become the Phoenix Warrior. But we did. And you did. The three of us have that much in common."

The tiger sat back in his chair, staring at the panda and visibly thinking this over. After a tense moment where the Emperor thought long and hard, he suddenly asked, "And what of Lan Duo?"

Po shrugged. "No idea. He's probably halfway to Tibet by now. You won't catch him, no matter how fast you are, no matter how hard you try, no matter how many soldiers you send on his trail. Once he's over the border, he's out of your grasp. And trust me: having been there, you don't want to go to war with Tibet over one wolf."

"And why not?"

"Because everyone knows the first rule of warfare is never start a land war in Asia," Po quipped. "Now get out of my house."

Po saw the Emperor rising, but not to leave. The panda feared the tiger was about to lash out, perhaps order his execution. But before the panda could move, however, Tai Lung stood between them and got right into the Emperor's face. Behind him, Mei Xing gasped, and the baby girl started wailing.

"I mean this with the utmost respect, Your Excellency," he said coolly over the crying child, "But you are scaring my wife and daughter. I'm afraid I must respectfully ask you to leave."

The Emperor stared him directly in the eye, as they were the same height, despite the age difference. The tiger was still as strong as he had been in his youth, but nowhere near as strong as the snow leopard.

"I remind you," Tai Lung continued, "That the Valley of Peace is an autonomous territory, per an agreement between Master Oogway and your ancestors, and the agreement will stand until the end of the Empire. We both know I am fully within my rights to protect my family and my home."

"That you are," the Emperor agreed. "And I likewise do not need reminding what you are capable of."

"Which you pardoned me for, as I recall, Your Excellency."

"Correct. And I am aware of the significance of your title. But I am still Emperor. I will show mercy this time. But it will not happen again."

"I hope not. I intend to behave from now on."

"Good." The Emperor motioned to his men, who lowered their weapons. With that, the imperial retinue filed down the stairs, leaving the worried family alone. Nobody sighed with relief until after the door slammed downstairs.

Mr. Ping let out a long, slow breath. "Well, I'm glad that's over. And that our heads are still on our shoulders," he said, rubbing his neck nervously.

"Why did he even come here in the first place?" Dalang angrily demanded. "I should've…"

"You should've done nothing," Tai Lung said. "What Po and I just did was dangerous enough."

"I get that inciting rebellion is a bad thing," Su Lin said. "But he was really after that wolf."

"Well, I say good luck to him," Tigress said smartly. "He's going to have his work cut out for him. Speaking of," she turned to the Dragon and Phoenix Warrior, "He's not going to be happy with the way you treated him."

Po only shrugged. "Yeah…but he won't do anything about it."

"How do you know?" she asked, unable to mask the worry in her voice as Shang wriggled in her arms.

"Because the Emperor knows the same prophecy that we do: 'When the Dragon soars and the Phoenix dances, prosperity and peace will return to the land'. He's not stupid; he knows me Tai are going to restore balance to the world. He's spent his entire reign trying and failing to make that balance, to fight the crime, reduce the poverty and suffering, and he…well, he hasn't failed so much as had really bad luck."

"And a lousy temper," Dalang snorted with crossed arms. When everyone looked at him, scandalized, he repeated, "I'm Machurian, okay? He's not my emperor. And I think they're right: he won't be back. Po and Tai Lung are now at a level that only Oogway had before."

"You think Oogway would have stood up to the Emperor like that?" Mei Xing asked.

Dalang shrugged. "You all knew him better than I did. Does that sound like something he would do?"

Those who had known the tortoise paused and thought it over. Then it dawned on them, slowly, that, though he had been aged, calm, and peaceful, Master Oogway could very well have done exactly what Po had just done, right down to the disarming, friendly smile on his face throughout the whole scene.

That winter was one of the hardest on record. It was cold, it snowed often, and when the sun did shine, it only did enough to melt some of the snow, only to have it freeze again into thick sheets of ice on the streets, bridges and steps all over the Valley of Peace. The steps to the Jade Palace were too treacherous for even the bravest kung fu masters to challenge, so Crane made frequent trips from the kung fu school, to the restaurant, and back to his warm rooms at the top of the mountain.

In the village, the families hunkered down for a rough winter. The only ones who didn't seem to mind too much were Tai Lung and Mei Xing. The horrid weather gave both the excuse to hold their baby close, and spend as much time with the infant as possible. Tai Lung had gotten his wish: this child would know she was loved.

For those affected by the war, the weather was yet another hardship upon other hardships. Because Tigress was the only member of the Furious Five in the village full-time, she arranged relief measures for widows and orphans, and for those who had become homeless as a result of the war. All the snow prevented new structures from being built until spring, so Tigress (with Su Lin's help) found alternative places for the people to live out the next three months.

The governor opened his home to as many occupants as could fit. So too did the magistrate open up his palace to the displaced. Carpenters and people who knew Sonam well fixed up the empty warehouses to serve as temporary shelter and hospitals. The magistrate swore he would begin building a hospital "of a worthy size" in the spring (like most politicians, however, he neglected to say where the funds for this would come from).

Very little else happened that winter, so the citizens and kung fu masters and students alike simply hunkered down over steaming cups of hot tea, shivering and dreaming of the day the warmth of Spring would return to the Valley of Peace.

"Happy New Year!"

"Happy New Year, indeed!"

Shifu greeted Mr. Ping with a hug, rather than his characteristic bow. The red panda had actually begun to miss the goose; neither had seen each other since the end of the battle, and now that spring was finally here…

"You look like you're cooking for an army," Shifu said.

"When am I not?" the goose flatly replied, then laughed. "Ah! I love the New Year! And after last year, I could use a brand new start!"

The red panda sighed heavily. "Yes, I think we all could. I see Dalang has put up all the decorations."

"Mm-hmm, and he's helping cook the feast, too!"

"Tigress, Mei Xing and Su Lin?"

"Will also help of course, in their own ways. Tai Lung and Po have gone out with Sonam to deliver firewood and food to the less fortunate. I tell you, Shifu, it does this goose's heart good to see people helping each other like this!"

"It is good," Shifu agreed. And it was. Just when the red panda had lost faith in the goodness of people, he was pleasantly surprised when the people proved him wrong. Wu Lien was organizing a benefit with her students that would take place after the New Year's Festival to raise money to begin building homes for the homeless, and another benefit with Bao Gu Orphanage to find homes for the orphans. A huge ceremony would take place at the local temple in the evening for those who had died, friend and foe, in hopes their souls would find peace.

Other traditions were being observed, of course. Shifu surmised that every house, from palace down to hovel, would be scrubbed so clean this year there would be no chance of bad luck ever returning to the Valley in his lifetime. He had seen it all over as he made his way to the restaurant. Dusting, sweeping, mopping, shoveling the last of the much-accursed snow into giant piles, some villagers had even taken scrub brush and bucket in hand and were scrubbing the paving stones in the middle of the street. Every door and window pane in the valley had a fresh coat of red paint, to scare away bad luck and evil spirits, and to welcome good luck in.

Everyone was looking to the coming year with hope and a wish for a better future. And as a part of that future, Tai Lung and Mei Xing's baby's Naming Day was fast approaching. The little girl cub had grown a lot from a thin fussy newborn, to a plump, fluffy (yet still fussy) newborn; she was only three months old, after all. She would be presented at the temple and her name recorded, once she had turned 100 days old. The fact she had survived such a harsh winter was either testament to the hardiness of the child, or the abundance of love from her parents.

The New Year's Festival came amidst a flurry of activity, merriment, firecrackers, and lion dances. A few days later, Tai Lung and Mei Xing took their baby daughter to the temple to introduce her to the gods and their ancestors. They had finally settled on a name: Mei Lien, "beautiful lotus". The "mei" came from her mother, and the "lien" from her Auntie Wu. Whenever Wu looked at the little girl in the coming years, however, she swore to her nephew "I swear, she looks just like Nima." The first time she had said it, Tai Lung knew exactly what Ming Hua had meant when she said Nima had been watching over Mei Xing "in a way".

The snows gone, the Furious Five reunited and training, the village seemed to come to life after Lantern Festival, like flowers popping out of the frozen ground, villagers began rebuilding. Graveyards were consecrated and blessed, tombs and headstones cleaned. Homes were built and rebuilt upon sturdy foundations. For weeks, until mid-Spring, the sound of hammers and shouts of workers echoed throughout the valley from dawn until dusk. By the Qingming Festival, life in the Valley of Peace had mostly gone back to normal.

Tai Lung and Dalang had gotten up with the dawn and threw open the windows to let in the warm spring air. Each took deep breaths and let them out slowly. "Man it feels good to feel warm again," the Amur tiger said.

"Agreed. Let's get the shop opened up."

They were down in the kitchen long before Mr. Ping, who had kept himself busy cooking foods for all the ancestors worshiped in the house. He felt it was the least he could do after the ancestors aided in their survival over the previous year, and all the blessings they had enjoyed. For the first time in months, the goose enjoyed a full night's sleep.

With the morning came an unexpected visitor. A goat with letters for the family, especially one that had come a long way. Tai Lung got excited when he saw where the letter had originated.

"It's from Tibet."

Dalang and Mr. Ping stopped what they were doing immediately. The goose said, "Go up to the Jade Palace. You'll need to share this with Po."

Tai Lung did so, making it there in record time. He was not surprised to see Po was still fast asleep and snoring so loudly he could hear him from outside the dormitory. The snow leopard shook him awake and began to open the letter.

"I think Altai finally wrote back," he said, and started reading:

To the Dragon Warrior and Phoenix Warrior,

We made it to Tibet, safe and sound, shortly before New Year. We had to hunker down in a few places thanks to the heavy snows this year, and to keep the army off our trail, but we made it just in time. I've sent a letter to Commander Mei Ling; in my resignation letter, I told her that my long years in the military haven't set well with me, and I desired peace, which was, and still is, the truth. I resigned to take up a monastic life, so I'm glad you told me about the Phoenix Temple. I had plenty of time to talk it over with my companion. He agreed to take up the vows with me, believing it was the only way to atone for his sins, and that it would be a good thing to raise his son in a temple, with the positive values and the structure our friend never had.

Little Brother is well. We changed his milk name on the same day our friend named his son, the adopted baby leopard. He named him Lang, after the student he lost; Little Brother has been renamed Feng, meaning "Phoenix", at his request. It seemed appropriate, and he's happy with it. He led us right to the mountain where the Phoenix Temple had been, and led us to the caves where we spent the rest of the winter months.

I wish you had told me how impressive these tunnels were. We explored them every day, until we came to the top of the mountain to see what remained of the temple. There wasn't a lot, but the walls remained, and the pagoda at the peak of the summit was still there, if a bit stained by smoke. That statue of the phoenix is spectacular. Our friend even found an entire library, hidden in one of the tunnels, far from the danger of fire. The books must have been saved long before the fire. We found the original blueprints, and decided that come spring, we would rebuild. Yes, just the two of us. Still, we are monks now, and the villagers at the foot of the mountain were happy to donate materials.

Not too long ago, a group of traveling monks came by the mountain; they said they were the original inhabitants of the mountain. They've been helping us rebuild. We're not done yet, but a lot of progress has been made. We repaired the pagoda and the shrine, built new dormitories, and are working on reconstructing the library.

We are currently being led by a lion they call "First Brother", until a new abbot is chosen. They have renamed us Thirtieth Brother (me) and Thirty-first Brother (our friend) once we officially took vows with their order. 31 is a willing student of Buddhism, and has taken to it much faster than anyone expected. I've never seen him this happy; I don't think he's ever been this happy. The clear mountain air, surrounded by people who support him, perhaps the first real friends he's ever had. I think his soul is finally at peace, as is mine.

I will write when the temple is completed. I hope you both come to visit someday. We plan to make it worthy of the Sacred Phoenix, and a place of learning and self-reflection. I look forward to hearing from you, and hope all of you are well.

Respectfully,

Thirtieth Brother (formerly Commander Altai of the Chinese Imperial Army)

P.S., Feng says Hello.

"That's great!" Po exclaimed. "I'm so glad they made it okay. And the brothers came back, they're rebuilding, and the library…"

Tai Lung sighed happily. "All good news. Just the kind I like."

"You're going to write back, right?"

"That's the plan. But I want to be perfectly sure that it's safe to do so."

"You could always address it to First Brother, and he'll pass on the news to Altai, Duo, and Little Bro—I mean, Feng. But I've been wondering…you think Mei Ling would have told the Wu Sisters by now?"

The Wu Sisters and Mei Ling had stayed in the valley until the Spring Thaw, when travel was no longer so arduous. Wu Jiang had seemed much more subdued after Lan Duo's escape and Altai's resignation, and both panda and snow leopard had an inkling why that was. Neither of the sisters said anything, and when pressed, Auntie Wu only said "She's going through a rough time. She'll be fine. She always is." But even the old red panda woman seemed to doubt her own words.

Commander Mei Ling and Captain Hu Quon did their best to cheer their comrade, but she still seemed crestfallen when the army moved out of the Valley. Wu Lien had paid her daughters a tearful goodbye, one that had been denied them so many years before. They promised to write, and visit as often as they could. Wu Lien let Jiang know she was welcome as often as she needed, which the female snow leopard only hesitantly accepted.

"She loved him," Po said.

"Pretty obvious now, yes," Tai Lung agreed. "Maybe she'll take a trip out to Tibet or…well, I don't know. If Lan Duo is a monk now, any sort of romance is out of the question."

"Yeah, but I wonder if he would try to get in touch with her?"

"I don't know if it's safe enough for him to do that. Or that he would even know how to find her."

"Should we tell her? Or would that endanger him and the baby Lang? And Altai and Feng, for that matter. Or all the brothers…"

Tai Lung rolled up the scroll. "Perhaps…for now, we keep silent. We can ask Aunt Wu's advice later, as she knows Jiang better than we do."

After a long silence, Po cleared his throat. "Maybe in a couple years, we should go visit."

The snow leopard smiled and nodded. "I'd like that. It would be nice to see everyone again."

"Think the Five would be interested? Or Shifu and Ms. Lien? Or our families?"

"We'll see about that. But as I understand it," the snow leopard said, leveling his eye at his friend, "You have something that's a bit higher on the priorities list, don't you?"

Po blushed when he realized what he was asking. "Think she'll like it?"

"You won't know unless you ask."

Su Lin was finally getting a full night's sleep every night. The hospital had just been opened, and she had started as the head nurse, and the one who supplied nursing training. Since the war, almost every female (and a few males) signed up to learn the basics, and even took on jobs at the new hospital. The hours were long, the work was hard, but for the female panda, everything was worth it.

She sat up in bed, yawned widely and stretched. She felt well-rested, for once. No worries, nothing looming over her head like a dark cloud. Today was going to be a good day, she decided. She got dressed, ready to take on a few more training courses that day, and went downstairs for breakfast. She paused in the main hall and lit some incense, bowing to her family's ancestor tablets, and then proceeded to the kitchen. Mr. Ping had set some things out for her, which she gratefully accepted. When she had finished eating and stood to go wash her dishes, she felt someone come up behind her.

Po hugged her from behind. "Good morning, honey."

"Good morning," she chirped. "Sleep well?"

His stomach growled.

She scowled. "Did you eat breakfast?"

He sheepishly smiled. "Not...yet?"

She pointed at the table. "Sit down and I'll get you some congee."

"Su..."

She put her hands on her hips and gave him a no-nonsense look. "It has been over five months since you came home, and I am putting that weight back on you, mister, or I'll die trying. Now sit down and eat."

He would have objected, until he remembered Tai Lung's advice from a few months before. "Yes, dear."

After she had sufficiently fed him, he leaned back in his chair and patted his stomach, groaning, "I think...I ate...too much..." Words I thought I would never say…

She beamed, and started clearing away his dishes. "Good! At this rate, you'll be my hug-able baby bear in no time."

"The things I do for love," he groaned.

She kissed his cheek and hugged him.

He smiled and hugged her back.

"And yes."

"What?" he asked.

Su Lin pulled back and caught his gaze. "You asked my parents' permission for us to get married," she said. "And I'm saving you time: I'm saying 'yes', now."

Po smiled, but didn't seem as excited as she expected. "Okay. Guess this means I need to get to work."

She furrowed her brows. "Work? What are you talking about?"

"Well, you need a house."

"But I have a house. With your dad."

Po shook his head with a rueful look. "Su Lin, trust me, as awesome as my dad is, you'll want your own house."

"Okay..." she said, not sounding convinced.

He decided to start painting a mental picture for her. "Think about it: huge kitchen?"

She grinned. "You mean...one I can stand up in?"

He grinned. "Exactly!"

She placed a finger thoughtfully on her chin. "Hmm...okay, you make a good point."

"And room to grow, of course. I mean, I kinda want kids, and I'm assuming you want..."

"Let's have a dozen."

"Okay—wait, what?!"

She giggled. "How about we start with one or two and go from there? And I have one other request."

He nodded eagerly. "Sure, anything, you name it!"

"I want my own business."

Momentarily confused, he asked, "Your own restaurant?"

"No, I don't want to go into noodles. I..." she looked over and tenderly gazed upon her mother's ancestor tablet. "I want to open a medicine shop, like my mother had."

He nodded once. "Done."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that," he affirmed. "If it'll make you happy, I'll build you a palace, a castle in the sky. And I think I already found a good place..."

"What's this?" she asked when he held a piece of paper in front of her.

"It's a deed."

"A deed? To what?"

"Our new house."

Su Lin's jaw dropped. "A hou-what?! Po, when did...how did...with what...how did you...?"

Po explained, "The Emperor had a reward for vanquishing Koshchei; Tai Lung gave his share to rebuilding the village. He and Mei Xing didn't want it, and they told me to do with my share as I pleased. Most of it already went to rebuild the village after the battle, but with what was left over, I bought us a house…for the two of us, and our future family."

Su Lin's eyes were darting all over the page, taking everything in. "Po, I thought you were kidding when you said you'd buy a palace..."

"I would buy you a palace, if you wanted it, but I hope you can be happy on thirty acres of orchard."

Su Lin stopped and looked him in the eye, a smile tugging at her lips. "Wait, are you saying...? Did you...?"

He confirmed her suspicions with a boyish grin. "I bought the orchard, where we taught you kung fu, and the house that sits there. I mean, yeah, it's a fixer-upper, but we still have enough yuan left over to have the house of our dreams. If you don't like what's there, we can build from the ground up. There'll be room for your herb garden for your business, and plenty of fresh fruit all the time, and yeah, I know it'll take a long time for everything to be perfect..."

She cut him off with a kiss and a hug. "Everything already is perfect."

They began planning the wedding that very day…even if it wouldn't happen until after the house was ready. It would take five years to make everything in that house perfect, but the two pandas would have waited ten thousand years and still been as happy as they were when they were finally married. And they were happy. Their story didn't end after the wedding day, of course. After all, the twins came along a year after the wedding, which is another chapter for another story. But it is safe to say the Dragon Warrior and his bride did indeed live happily ever after.

Tai Lung's journal, Late Summer that same year, near Moon Festival

We are expecting an excellent harvest this year. We had a good growing season, which, after the Dong Zhi War, is a wonderful blessing.

Po and I got some unexpected and absolutely wonderful news. A merchant from Yunnan came through the Valley, and told of this remarkable place atop a mountain in Tibet...a monastery that had burned, and now, just as spectacularly as it had been destroyed, is now being rebuilt and is already operational. He told of a group of monks that had resettled there, an abbey that now served as more than a place of worship: kung fu has spread to this region, an effort led by a man named "Golden Rhino", who serves as Abbot of the monastery, and a fellow called "Sun Wolf", who has been hailed as one of the best teachers of kung fu in decades.

I couldn't be happier for them. Once Mei Lien is old enough, I want to take her there, to show her where I finally found peace. She also deserves to meet the man who helped get me through prison with some shred of sanity left. And also, it might be a good idea for Po and I to check up on the young leopard named Lang. He's still much too young to learn kung fu, if he ever does at all. I've no idea what Duo has planned for him, but were it me, I don't think I could teach him kung fu.

Shang's vocabulary has expanded. He moved from 'Mama' and 'Baba' to 'spoon' and 'cookie'. He's also learned 'congee' pretty quickly. He took his first steps not long after New Year, and while Tigress and Dalang were ecstatic, now they're bemoaning the fact they can't keep up with their 18-month-old hellion.

Po has only told me this wonderful news: he and Su Lin are engaged to be married. But they will not be married until they have finished fixing up the house in the orchard. I think they're foolish to wait until then – heaven knows those repairs could take years – but it is what they want, and, I suspect, it is what Su Lin's parents would want for their daughter. True, Mr. Ping is as good a father-in-law as one can find, but I think the two of them would want their own place to grow…in more ways than one.

Dad – that is, Sonam – has offered his services, but he is getting on in years…

"Back to that journalin', I see."

Tai Lung looked up from his desk and saw Sonam standing in the doorway. "Yes I am. It helps."

"I hear it does."

"Where have you been?" the younger snow leopard asked, putting his brush down.

"Pardon?"

"I haven't seen you awhile. Mei Xing was getting worried."

Sonam waved it off. "It was such a busy year, I decided to take a little holiday, that's all."

Tai Lung paused, then fixed his father with a stare. "A holiday."

"Right."

"Without telling anyone?"

"Shifu knew."

"Then why didn't he tell us when we asked him?"

"Maybe he forgot?"

Tai Lung paused, then glared at his father. "You went to Yunnan, didn't you?"

"Just a trip, like I said, a little holiday," the old leopard replied with a shrug, further raising his son's suspicions.

"To the largest village in the province, perhaps?" the Phoenix Warrior asked evenly, even more suspicious than before.

"Maybe—nice touristy areas, there; they make a lovely lychee drink in the Old Quarter."

"The Old Quarter, where Mei's ex-husband lives?"

"Maybe, aye, sure," Sonam said evasively.

"Dad," Tai Lung glared. "Did you kill him?"

"Like I said, it was a visit."

"Dad."

Sonam growled and glared back. "No, I didn't kill him…godsdammit…"

"But you did go to see him."

Sonam huffed then crossed his arms. "Aye, I went to go kill him—there, I said it!—but I didn't kill him."

"So…you had mercy on him? Dad, I…" Tai Lung started to smile. "I'm so proud of you. You've really turned a—"

Sonam laughed harshly. "Me, merciful? Ha! No," he said with a sour look. "He's dead, but I didn't kill him."

Tai Lung looked at him curiously. "He's dead? How? If it wasn't you, then how…?"

"He had a heart attack."

The younger snow leopard paused again. "…A heart attack?"

"A sodding heart attack!" Sonam snarled, then ranted: "Everything was going according to plan: I snuck into his house, past the guards, made it to his bedchamber and he spotted me, took one look at me and boom, fell dead to the floor. I was going to wait until he fell asleep to smother him—wanted to do worse, but I needed to make it look like an accident. But nooo, he had to have a bloody heart attack!"

The younger snow leopard shrugged. "Got the job done, didn't it?"

"Son, I don't think you understand—he died of a heart attack!"

"I heard you the first time, old-timer. And so what? Look on the bright side."

"What bright side?"

"You're a grandpa so terrifying that you can kill with a single look. Think of the reputation!"

"Take out the 'grandpa' bit, and we'll talk."

"All right, how's this: this means you are an assassin so terrifying you can kill with a stare. Now who's going to trifle with that? If you ask me, this has done more to help your reputation than hurt it."

Sonam thought about it, then a smile slowly grew on his maw. "The assassin that can kill with a stare…heh, not bad for a man near seventy, innit?"

"What's going on?" Mei Xing asked.

Sonam visibly jumped when she snuck up on him, clutching his heart. "Great Huangdi's Ghost, woman! When'd you get so light-footed?"

She tartly replied, arms akimbo, "Since I dropped about seven pounds, six ounces. Now where the hell were you?"

Sonam looked to his son for help, but all he got in response was a wicked grin. The elder snow leopard looked down at his unamused daughter-in-law and offered, "Erm…a holiday?"

Mei Xing was equally unconvinced as her husband had been. "A holiday. In Yunnan."

"How does everyone keep figuring that part out?" Sonam wondered aloud.

"Dearest father-in-law," she said with all the sweetness of poisoned honey, "What did you do while you were visiting Yunnan?"

Sonam looked to Tai Lung, who just stared impassively back, offering no help whatsoever, and it didn't take very long for the old snow leopard to sigh and give in. "Fine. I went to Yunnan to assassinate your ex-husband. I didn't!" he said, holding up a hand to stop her from protesting. "But he is dead. Heart attack."

Mei Xing stared into space a moment. Then she shrugged. "Well, I guess he had it coming. With that temper, a heart attack was bound to happen sooner or later."

Tai Lung frowned, "Aren't you a little bit bothered?"

"No…just confused. Do I mourn him, or do I say the hell with it and hope the Gods of Death are understanding? He's not my husband anymore, but he was my first husband until the marriage was dissolved…is my mother-in-law also dead?"

"Years ago, apparently," Sonam said.

"Good," she said with a nod. "And good riddance. Couldn't stand that woman. Anything else?"

"Yes, actually. I got souvenirs for everyone, especially you," he said, handing over a sealed scroll to his daughter-in-law. "A letter from your mum."

Mei Xing looked stricken, and stared between the scroll and Sonam in confusion. "My mother…? But she can't read. I thought she was illiterate…"

"She dictated, I wrote. But these are her words," he said tenderly.

"You went to see my family?"

"I thought it best, after Tai Lung told me he had met them. Only proper to introduce myself as your in-law. Read it," he repeated. "There's been a lot of miscommunication over the years. It may help."

Mei Xing gingerly took the scroll and held it in her hands a moment before retreating to another room to read. Tai Lung fixed another stare at his father before he said, "Thank you, for checking in with them. How were they?"

"Better than you described. They had a good harvest as well, and are prospering. Helped that the headman's fortune went to them."

He did a double-take. "Sorry?"

"Some obscure law of inheritance or something," Sonam said flippantly. "Evidently, Mei Xing was his only surviving legitimate bride. She couldn't be located, so her family inherited everything that was left after the headman's creditors had their way. They got the house and furniture, which they sold off; used the proceeds to rebuild their own home. Looks nice, too, but nothing fancy. Mei Xing's mum was a kind woman. Still not rich, but living comfortably, and a damn sight better than what you described to me."

"I'm glad to hear they're doing well. What was the letter about?"

"To explain herself, mostly. Explain why she hadn't been in contact, what happened to Mei's dad, she even said a few things about you, how she thought her daughter had chosen well. She actually said some pretty glowing things about you," he said with a smirk.

Tai Lung only half-heartedly smiled. "Well, let's hope this will smooth things over with her family."

"Speaking of, her mum wanted to visit sometime, maybe in the spring. Think she'd like that?"

Tai Lung thought about it. Mei Xing had not always spoken of her family in the happiest of ways, frequently feeling like she had been cast aside and sold like a sack of rice. Hopefully her mother's words would explain how that wasn't the case at all. And perhaps a visit from the matron would reinforce that message.

"No idea. But, let's let her decide."

Next Spring, Mrs. Tian saw her daughter for the first time in ten years. She stayed until the beginning of Autumn, and returned home to help in the harvest. She had doted on her granddaughter, who had grown so big and was nearly a year old. Mei Xing wrote letters all the time to her family, a few of whom were literate and could read her news to her mother to assure her all was well. It made Mrs. Tian very happy to her dying day to know that, finally, her daughter was living the life she wanted and deserved.

Ten years later…

They expected the climb up the mountain to be arduous. But it seemed this time, it was even harder than before. Tai Lung refused to believe it was because he was getting older. No, it was just the thinner air here; that was all. Po was in much the same boat, though climbing stairs had never been one of the panda's favorite activities, even he was laboring.

They stopped on one step, hunched over, to catch their breath.

"I don't…remember it…being this bad…last time…" Po panted.

"S'weather," Tai Lung panted back. He blew air through his pursed lips, catching his breath a little sooner than the panda. He straightened up, cracked a couple vertebrae in his lower back, then looked up and smiled. "Well, will you look at that…"

Po stood up, and grinned as the mists parted, just as they had over a decade before. Echoing his words from their first visit, he said, "Looks like the place."

And it was. And when Tai Lung stood back to look, he grinned widely. The Phoenix Temple had been completely rebuilt...and it was glorious. It shone like a golden beacon on the mountain, scarlet walls painted with phoenixes...phoenixes everywhere. There were statues at each corner, and three new pagodas that had sprung up.

They didn't have to knock. The heavy wooden doors swung wide open and standing there was a welcome, familiar friend.

"First Brother!" Tai Lung shouted.

The old lion brought the snow leopard into a tight hug, patting his shoulder and grinning ear to ear. "Tenzin, and Po Ping! It's been far too long! Oh, and who is this?"

Tai Lung and Po moved aside, and ushered the four smallest travelers forward. "These are our children. Mei Lien and Tai Shan, are mine, ten and seven, respectively..."

Po chuckled, "And these are my kids, Bao and An. They're six."

The lion chuckled to see the shy little panda cubs hiding behind first their father…then their mother, as soon as she ascended with Mei Xing in tow. "Twins! How lucky!"

"Yeah," Su Lin panted under her breath. "Lucky, he says…"

"Down girl," Mei Xing laughed softly. "He'll never have to give birth."

The lion decided not to dig a deeper hole, and welcomed them all. "Well! A thousand blessings to you, all of you. Heaven help us, they all look like trouble."

"Nuh-uh," Mei Lien cheekily said. "I'm as innocent as the day I was born!"

Tai Shan, seven years old, scoffed in a way very reminiscent of his father. Bao, the boy panda, and An, the girl, shared a look with each other. They knew their "cousin" Mei Lien all too well.

"Come on in...I dare say there are a few who will be pleased to see you."

The two families passed through the gates, and the children were the first to halt before the splendor and bright reds and yellows of the temple they had just entered. The effect was not lost on the adults, either. Murals of the Sacred Phoenix were everywhere, carved into brilliantly painted building columns, and engraved in stone. A mosaic just inside the door showed the phoenix with her wings spread wide, welcoming all who came to visit her domain.

The other buildings had been completely rebuilt, a couple even bigger than before, and were resplendent with bright red walls and golden yellow roof tiles. Prayer flags fluttered in the wind, and wind chimes tinkled and rang, echoing across the courtyard before them, which was just as the two warriors remembered it.

Across the courtyard, Tai Lung saw the one they had really come to see. He was wearing saffron yellow robes, signifying he was a Grand Master, but the seal sewn into his sleeves showed he was the abbot's deputy. He was leading a large group of monks, a sea of red, orange and yellow, through staff drills. Nearly a hundred bamboo staves twirled through the air, in perfect unison, a flurry of color that was truly a sight to behold.

Then as if he knew he was being watched, the yellow-robed one's ears twitched, then he turned...and the wolf caught sight of the warriors, gave a shout, and a wide grin. No one was more surprised than Po.

"Lan Duo?!" Po gasped.

"It's Master Sun Wolf, now," he said, striding over to them and grabbing both of them into a hearty hug. "How the heck have you been?"

Po was taken aback by the show of affection…and the wolf's bear hug. "Busy! You?"

"Same. As soon as word spread about us rebuilding this place, you should've seen how many people showed up. We're thinking that, since there's high demand for a convent, we'll open a sister site on the next mountain over. But, we're waiting for the right time."

Po briefly wondered if that sister convent might include a certain snow leopardess as its abbess, but he decided not to push it. Last he had heard, Wu Jiang had resigned from the army and opened up shop as an apothecary in the capital, and was doing good business. Her sisters had also retired. Wu Zhu had opened a successful acupuncture clinic, and Wu Tian joined the Imperial Opera, just as her mother had always wanted.

"You look great."

"I feel great. Fresh air, exercise, simple living…who knew? And look at this: are these your kids?"

"Sure are," Tai Lung said proudly. He crouched down and explained to his children, "This is Master Sun Wolf, the one I told you about."

Tai Shan's eyes grew wide. "Did you really fight Asmodei Koshchei twice?"

The wolf only smiled wryly, "Well, yeah, but I didn't exactly come out of it unscathed…"

The littlest snow leopard didn't care. "Cool! Hey, who's that?" he pointed.

Hiding behind Sun Wolf's robes was a ten-year-old Amur leopard, with a round face and wide, honey-colored eyes. He peeked out from behind his adoptive father, who stepped aside and placed a comforting hand on his son's shoulder.

"You guys may not remember, as he was so little when you last saw him, but this is—"

"Lang!" Po said excitedly. "Wow, look at you! Look how big you got!"

Mei Xing equally grinned. "Last time I saw you, you were this big," she said holding her hands about twenty inches apart. "You look like you're shaping up to be a big tough warrior."

Lang cast his gaze to the ground and his cheeks reddened beneath his fur. He mumbled something, then his father whispered gently, "Speak up, son, they can't hear you."

Lang swallowed hard; both Tai Lung and Po recognized a shy child when they saw one. "I…actually prefer reading and studying," the little leopard said. "But Dad says I need exercise too."

Mei Lien strode forward and looked right into the round face of the golden leopard before her. The boy was dressed in the red robes of a novice, and looked rather shyly back at the visitors. The snow leopard cub's curiosity won out, and she smiled.

"Hi! I'm Mei Lien. What's your name?"

The leopard looked up at his father, who smiled, nodded encouragement, and patted his shoulder. The novice turned to Mei Lien. "I'm Lang. This is my dad. I know, he's a wolf, but he's the only dad I've got."

Mei Lien shrugged. "That's cool. My daddy has a red panda dad and a snow leopard dad. Uncle Po's got a goose dad and a panda dad..."

"Our family trees really are complicated, aren't they?" Po whispered to Tai Lung.

Tai Lung chuckled. "From the mouths of babes..."

Mei Lien held her paw out. "I'm learning kung fu. My daddy and my Aunt Tigress are teaching me. Are you learning kung fu too?"

Lang seemed to brighten up a bit. "Yeah. I'm still learning..."

Duo corrected, "You're a good, solid student. I'm proud of your progress in less than a year..."

"You've only been doing this a year?!" Mei Lien asked, wide eyed. "I couldn't do half those moves in that time! You must be really good!"

Lang actually blushed, but smiled. "Thanks. I bet you're good, too."

"I can show you. But do you wanna be friends first?"

He was taken aback a bit, but after a moment of surprise, he smiled back at her. "Sure! Lemme show you my dad's specialty move!"

Tai Shan protested, "Hey! I wanna be friends too!"

And so did the panda twins. "Us too, us too!"

The five children ran off to the middle of the courtyard to show off what they knew while the adults stood back and watched their progress.

Duo smirked and let them run off to play, "Man, if only making friends were still that easy."

"Easy if you try," said a deep voice behind them.

Tai Lung grinned and ran forward to embrace the golden-robed rhino. "Altai, it's been too long."

"Good to see you, too, Phoenix Warrior. Dragon Warrior, you're looking well."

"Feelin' pretty good too, Master Golden Rhino," Po said, bowing in respect.

Altai waved him off. "None of that; you're my old friends, you don't need to bow to me. Ah, and here's the Mrs."

Mei Xing and Su Lin took turns hugging him. "Nice to see you again."

"Are those yours?" the rhino asked, pointing at the playing children."

"No, we just picked them up in a village along the way," Mei Xing sarcastically replied. "Of course they're ours. Speaking of, where's yours?"

"Ah…looks like he joined the fray." Altai pointed over to the children and saw an adolescent red panda in orange robes showing them some more complicated kung fu moves. There was little trace of the red panda known as Little Brother, now known the last ten years as Feng, son of Master Golden Rhino. "I've been thinking of sending him your way, to the Jade Palace, for extra training, but he's such good friends with Lang…"

"They're like brothers in their own way," Duo said. "What's the saying? 'Friends are Heaven's apology for family'?"

"No reason you can't send them both, once Lang is old enough," Su Lin suggested. "We certainly have room, and they can stay with us."

Duo looked grateful. "That would be really great."

"Why don't we get you all settled in," Altai said, beginning to lead them to the dormitories. "Don't worry, we won't put you in cells. We've got better accommodations for pilgrims. Hope you don't mind sharing a room."

Tai Lung tapped him on the shoulder. "If it's not too much trouble, later, I'd like to pay my respects…"

The rhino nodded in understanding. "Of course."

Right before dinner that same night, Tai Lung and Po walked into the Sanctuary of the Sacred Phoenix. It hadn't changed a bit since they had last been there, in the presence of Master Sun Bear. Below the dazzling golden statue of the phoenix was a simple portrait, depicting the bear in his golden robes, seated in front of a screen covered with flying phoenixes. His bamboo staff was painted in there as well. Tai Lung swore he could still feel the staff whapping him on the skull, but it must have been his imagination. He felt as if Sun Bear were right there in the room with them.

"The brothers painted this not long after his death," Altai explained. "They carried it with them everywhere they went. I guess they expected to return someday, to find a more permanent place for it."

"No tomb?" Po asked.

"No body for the tomb. Yes, we found it. The tomb, I mean. Those murals are really impressive," Duo explained. "From what I hear, he was a great man."

"Among the greatest I've ever known," Tai Lung said, kneeling before the altar, statue, and portrait and kowtowing. When he rose, he placed his offering on the altar before the portrait: the Phoenix Scroll.

"You're sure about this?" Po asked.

"I'm sure. It deserves to be in its rightful place, just as the Dragon Scroll is safely back at the Jade Palace. Its secret should be protected."

"Not much of secret," Duo said. "It's pretty simple."

"For enlightened ones, yes," Altai said. "But achieving it is the most difficult thing a person can do in their lives. I agree with you, Phoenix Warrior. It is a powerful message, a powerful secret, one I'm not sure the world is ready for."

"I hope it will be, someday," Tai Lung said, rising from his knees. "Maybe another man, in another place, far away from here…maybe he will be the one to spread the message, who will know how to spread that message. Either way…this is one secret that won't stay that way forever."

"Let's hope not," Po said.

The Dragon Warrior and Phoenix Warrior stood gazing upon the altar and its relics for a few minutes, in perfect silence, taking everything in. They could feel the energy and the magic of this place, more acutely than they had when they were there a decade previously. Both of them had matured, learned, and though their power grew, each kept the other's ego in check. They were now well-known throughout China, but kept humble by the great task before them.

Balance had not been completely restored. A new emperor had ascended the Dragon Throne five years before, and as with any transfer of power, there were a few bumps on the road. The young emperor took their council and asked their advice on many matters, which had the two warriors frequently traveling to the capital city and Imperial Palace.

It was certainly a far cry from the lives they had fifteen years ago.

"If someone had told me," Tai Lung finally said, "all the things that have happened over the past fifteen years, I would have scarcely believed it. Hoped for it, but not believed it."

"Yeah," Po nodded. "I can't believe it's been fifteen years since I was just a clumsy noodle-maker's son, dreaming about being a kung fu warrior."

Tai Lung sighed. "Fifteen years since I was a prisoner, a villain, a convict…and now look at us."

Po looked to his best friend with the same wide grin he had always had. "Pretty awesome, huh?"

Tai Lung chuckled. "Yes…pretty awesome, indeed."

They stood there, contemplating their lives, their successes and failures, their blessings and hopes for the future. For the first time in their lives, both of them could reasonably say that they were both at peace.

Or, well, almost.

Po's stomach growled.

Tai Lung sighed. Of course…

Po replied, Shut up. Then he asked aloud, "You wanna get something to eat?"

Tai Lung sighed again, but didn't need to think it over for long. He nodded once. "Yeah."

The End

And there we are, the end of a long journey (literally). I'm sure these two will have many more adventures together, but none that I will write. As I've said before, I need to focus on my own original work, and so, I am retiring from fanfiction writing altogether.

I've also grown up over the last five (almost six!) years. I haven't outgrown the fandom; it will always have a place in my heart. But I have other obligations offline that need my focus now.

Someone once asked me why I never wrote about Po and Su Lin's kids. Honestly, at the time, it hadn't occurred to me, which is why I didn't write about them like I did for Tai Lung's and Tigress's kids. I gave them names to go with the family name "Ping". "An" is another name that means "peace", and "Bao" is supposed to mean "precious treasure", because I'm sure that's how Po and Su Lin would see their kids. I leave it up to you all to imagine what a future they would have, as I can no longer devote the time to it.

A few closing notes: The last conversation between Po and Tai Lung is intentionally based off of the ending in the first movie. Like the title of this chapter says, every happy ending is a new beginning. It seemed fitting. In case you wonder about the other characters, rest easy in assuming, like I do, that they all lived happily ever after. Yes, horribly cliché, I know, but I love – and believe in – happy endings.

My thanks to everyone who have read, favorited, followed, and reviewed this "little" story of mine. A hundred thousand thanks, to all of you.