50 days and counting....

In the darkness of the night, the masters quickly made their way to the northern mountain where various caves and tunnels could be seen winding throughout the pass. Po had learned early on while been toured around the village that the tunnels were originally made for the pandas to hide and even inhabit. However, after everyone pulled together and got the supplies they needed for their new home, the passageways were abandoned and hardly ever touched. Except of course for now as Kai and his Jade Army were slowly approaching the village by means of them.

"Which tunnel do you think he could be in?" Monkey asked as the masters hiked up a slope where other slanted mountain passes could be seen around them. "There's a gazillion of them!"

"This one," Po remarked, going down a slope a little behind them. "One of the tunnels goes to where Kai's coming in."

"Lead on, Dragon Warrior," Tigress told him, walking after him along with Viper and Monkey.

The cave was dark inside with little light to guide them except for a single lantern that Po carried with him to guide the way.

"How can he reach the village through here?" Viper noted. "When your dad said the village was secret and closed off from the world, we assumed there was only one way in."

"For us there's only one way in," Po corrected. "Dad and the rest of the villagers took the easier way in since mountain climbing isn't really for them. There were three ways in here, but one of them was destroyed a few years ago by an avalanche close by."

"And the one Kai's taking must be the other way in," Tigress finished.

"Exactly. Probably as a surprise attack."

Monkey chuckled. "Not surprising," he admitted. "Kai is one of those guys who knocks down your back door and makes himself right at home rather than just knocking."

"Unfortunately," Tigress noted with a small growl.

The masters walked through the cave in almost complete silence as they kept an eye out for Kai and his minions. Their footsteps echoed around them as they braced themselves for any surprise attacks around the corner or in the event that Kai could be overheard talking about a plan. After sometime of walking, the group approached a wide room with two tunnels connecting to it and clear signs of being inhabited. Remnants of grass beds were scattered across the floor, tally marks were made on the walls, and smoke stains from cooking could be seen on the walls of the cave.

"I'm assuming they lived in here?" Viper asked Po.

"Yep. This was one of those caves. It's actually kind of nice in here, minus it being cold an all."

"So which tunnel do we take?" Tigress asked, interrupting the conversation. "I'd like to stop Kai before he inflicts any harm on the village."

"Right," Po said quickly. "We take the one in front of us."

The masters began to move forward when they saw a sudden fleck of green approaching them from the end of the tunnel.

"The Jade masters!" Monkey exclaimed.

The army can barreling into the tunnel Po letting out a cry of alarm before belly bumping some of them backwards into the tunnel. The warriors got into position and proceeded to battle the incoming masters, blocking weapons and dodging incoming blows that could prove fatal. However, it wasn't enough as the majority of the Jade Army got past the masters which resulted with them getting badly beaten and knocked against the cave walls. Seeing the army running away, Po cried, "They're heading to the village!"

"Kai's not," Tigress pointed out. "That must mean he's still in the tunnel, right?"

As if to answer her question, Kai's mocking laughter echoed throughout the whole cave. "Well you all put on quite a show from what I can tell," he told them in amusement. But now it's my turn. You think stopping my army was difficult, wait until you get a load of what I've got planned for you!!!"

His maniacal laugh vanished with an echo as Po got up, determined to keep on going. "I'm going after him," he announced. "You guys go back to the village and help protect everyone from Kai's army."

"Po, you can't face Kai by yourself!" Tigress told him firmly. "It's too dangerous! One of us should go with you!"

"I know you guys want to help," Po told her. "But we've got an army attacking the village. The more hands over there the better. I can handle Kai."

"And how exactly do you plan on beating him by yourself?! All of us combined couldn't stop him!"

Po opened his mouth to protest when the mountain suddenly began to shake and rocks started to crumble down to the bottom.

"AVALANCHE!!!" Viper screamed in terror.

"You guys need to go, now!" Po ordered. "I'll be fine!"

"You're not going alone!" Tigress countered as Monkey and Viper took to scrambling out of the way. "I won't let you!"

"Tigress, the villagers need you! They may know some kung fu, but not enough to stand alone!"

"And they need you alive to stop Kai! I'm going with you and that's the end of it!"

"I just need to get his pendent to stop his army! I'll be perfectly fine!"

"We already tried that! You can't get it!"

Po pushed Tigress back a bit. "Tigress," he said sternly. "You can be serious about certain things, and so can I. And right now, I'm asking you to please go and help defend the village. You're the best fighter out of everyone here besides me; you can help keep them safe until I get back."

"If you come back!" Tigress protested. "Po, I know you're the Dragon Warrior, but you can't do everything alone! Especially after the various close-to-death counts you've had!"

"I can handle Kai on my own."

"You don't know what Kai can do!" the master snapped. "He can destroy an entire village! He can turn people into mind-controlled warriors! He can steal your kung fu! He can kill you! And I won't let him do it!"

Rocks crumbled from above right where the two warriors were standing, resulting with them moving out of the way to avoid getting crushed. Monkey, watching the quarrel from the mouth of the tunnel they just came from, yelled, "Hey, Tigress! I case you haven't realized it, we're in the middle of an avalanche! Lets run now and argue later!"

"Tigress, please," Po begged. "I'm asking you as a friend."

"And I'm telling you as a friend," Tigress protested. "I watched you get hit by Shen and almost die three times in Gongmen City. I watched you fall to what looked like your death in Fang's hideout. And I witnessed your death at the hands of Ke-Pa who is about as powerful as Kai! I won't do it again, Po! Not this time! You go through that tunnel alone, you may never come back!"

Po gave her a sad look and pulled the master into a tight hug. Viper and Monkey waited still at the mouth of the tunnel, avoiding the rocks to see whether or not Tigress was coming.

"Um...what part of 'there's an avalanche' don't you two understand?!" Viper called over.

"You go ahead," Monkey told her. "I'll catch up."

"I don't leave friends behind. I'll wait."

Po held Tigress tightly and took a deep breath. "Kai's not going to kill me, remember?" he reminded the master. "Just try and control me. And even if he was trying to kill me, how many times have I almost died or have died and yet here I am?"

"There's always an exception to that statement," Tigress protested weakly. "I just don't want anything bad to happen to you. Again."

"I promise, I'll be alright. I know you want to help me, but Kai's army is still powerful enough to take out the village, and they need one of us there to help them."

Tigress sighed. "I know," she acknowledged. "I just don't quite relish the idea of Kai getting what he wants: your kung fu skills. You are the Dragon Warrior and I-...no one wants to see you get hurt. Not me, not your friends, and especially not your fathers."

"Isn't that what kung fu is about?" Po asked. "Risking your life to protect those you love?"

Tigress nodded. As the sound of more rocks rung in their ears, the master pulled away and took a deep, inner breath, finally saying sternly, "Alright, I'll head out. But you better promise me one thing, Po."

"What's that?" Po asked.

Tigress' face slightly softened. "Please be careful," she said. "Kai is dangerous. And the last thing I want is you getting hurt because you either overestimate your skills or underestimate his."

"I'll be careful," Po promised. "I'll be back as soon as I stop Kai."

Tigress turned to reluctantly go out of the cave, only for Po to quickly grab her arm and pull her back to face him. "But...just in case I don't come back," the Dragon Warrior said nervously. "I want to do something first."

Tigress eyed him. "What's that?" she asked.

Po responded by pulling her closer and giving her a gentle kiss on the mouth. Tigress' eyes widened in complete shock and surprise, but she didn't do anything except feel Po's arm wrap around her back and allow the moment to go on. Monkey and Viper, who were still waiting impatiently by the mouth of the tunnel, could only stare in equal surprise, their mouths dropping open as they watched the two warriors share their kiss before Po finally pulled away.

"Um...please don't kill me for that later," Po told her nervously, and he quickly disappeared into the tunnel up ahead.

Tigress, still recovering from the surprise kiss, stood frozen to the cave floor, feeling a wave of mixed emotions wash over her. Po had just kissed her. While she was ecstatic at the moment that just occurred, she still wasn't quite sure what to think about it.

"TIGRESS!" Viper screamed as the cave ceiling started to collapse.

The master snapped to attention and quickly made her way out of the cave, going back towards the front entrance with Monkey and Viper following close behind. The front of the cave was a few minutes ahead and most of the tunnel had collapsed from the falling rocks, but the three were able to make it out just in the nick of time. Breathing heavily from the run, Monkey collapsed on the ground and said, "Remind me the next time we get into a fight with a power-hungry villain to get a chain or a horn. You know, so that we don't waste time doing stuff."

"Apologies," Tigress told him. "But I wasn't about to send Po off into a death match."

"I hope he'll be okay," Viper said, a hint of worry hidden in her voice. "Kai's powerful with that pendent and we don't even know the extent of its power."

Monkey stood up, looking in the same direction that the girls were looking in. "Ah, I'm sure he'll be fine," he promised. "This is Po we're talking about. If he can survive Shen blasting him with a cannon and Ke-Pa killing him, I'm sure he'll survive this."

"I know," Tigress admitted. She cleared her throat and added, "Well, he's going alone and there's nothing else we can do besides protect the village."

"Yep. And with that in mind, we should probably get going," the primate told her. He then proceeded to run off after the army, hurrying down the mountain with the girls following close behind.

Tigress' mind trailed back to Po kissing her, the thoughts causing her to slow down slightly. She hadn't expected the kiss at all, especially since she didn't think Po would ever possess any feelings for her. He did have other love interests who were...gentler than she was and who showed more emotion.

So does that mean he loves me? she thought to herself. It has to be. Why else would he kiss me? Unless...well, I'll ask later just to make sure. Provided Po does come back. Which reminds me...I'm slapping him later when he returns for trying to scare me.

A flash of green caught the master's attention and she looked around, seeing no sign of Monkey or Viper.

And this is what happens when I don't focus....

The master groaned. She had never been so unfocused before in her entire life up until that point. To be so far behind her teammates when she was normally in front and to get caught off guard by the smallest things was utterly shameful to her. Something she planned on also slapping Po for later. The green light suddenly vanished and out of nowhere, a green blast came towards the master. Tigress managed to leap out of the way, dodging impact just in the nick of time. A look back at the impact spot revealed Kai, much to her shock and slight relief.

"Kai?!" she exclaimed. "How...you were just...I don't understand!"

"I was just in the tunnel," Kai cooed slyly. "Of course I was. However, my dear, you seem to forget that I possess the Jade Pendent now. I'm practically invincible."

"Not unless I take it from you," Tigress threatened.

"I'd be careful with that manner of thinking, plum blossom. Haven't you already tried something like that? And failed?"

"How did you get over here?" Tigress demanded, ignoring the question. "And don't tell me it was the pendent. I already know that."

Kai smiled and fingered the green stone. "This wonderful piece of jewelry allows me to do things beyond my wildest dreams," he explained. "Combine that with the various skills of well-known and well-skilled kung fu masters, and you have the ability to jump over the tallest of mountains and completely bypass the need for a tunnel."

"You wanted Po. Why are you here? Not that I'm saying I'd prefer you there, but you're not making any sense."

Kai grinned nastily. "Why, I'm here for you of course," he coaxed. "Perhaps you've forgotten our conversation all those years ago?"

"I wish."

"Then you know why I want you."

"You're sick."

"Yes, my fever's probably over 103 degrees," Kai joked. "Would you like to check it for me?"

Tigress let out an angry growl and came charging at the bull, not in the mood for any reminders of his seduction attempt. Kai dodged her blow and whipped out his swords in an effort to try and cut her, rendering her weaker and giving him the advantage. However, prepared for this, Tigress ducked around the swords and blocked several swipes which would have left her badly injured. Kai prepared a green blast from his pendent, but the master was ready for this as well, she flipped backwards and moved out of the way of the powerful pendent attack, leaping into the air to try and strike her opponent from above. The bull quickly held up one of his swords, blocking her kick and causing an enormous green blast to ring out. Tigress was forced back into a tree, but she was quick to re-focus and re-attack him.

Kai whipped the swords above her head and tossed one at the master's head, which she dodged. He held onto the other one as she came back to kick him in the face, experiencing a painful blow to the head before he tossed another one at her. Tigress dodged again, not realizing that she was now between the two chained swords, something Kai took advantage of by pulling them together and causing the master to trip in the process. He then snapped the blades back to him, hitting her across the face while doing so. Tigress came flying flat onto the ground, but she managed to get to her feet and come charging back at Kai. The bull lept into the air, forming an enormous jade ball and came crashing to the ground with an even stronger energy blast. Tigress went to scramble out of the way, but the end of the blast caught her and sent her skidding across the ground where she hit her head on a tree. Kai came barreling at her again, the master barely managing to roll out of the way in the nick of time. She got to her feet to charge again, only for Kai to kick her hard in the chest and send her into the side of the mountain. He then finished off the fight with yet a third blast, rendering the master almost completely helpless.

"Not bad," he chided. "But not good enough."

"Shut...up," Tigress snarled. "You won't...get away with this."

"I won't?" Kai asked. "Oh really?"

He reached down and picked Tigress up by the collar, shoving her against the side of the mountain. "I believe I just beat you, my dear," he told her gloatingly. "Which leaves me in charge."

Tigress gave him a look. "Well...what are you...waiting for? Take away my chi. Kill me."

"Oh, come now. Don't be ridiculous," Kai told her. "I never had any intentions of harming you."

"'Had' implies 'used to'."

"Well, I was going to simply collect you and rule all of China with you by my side. However, your heart appears to be taken, so I'm afraid I can't settle for that anymore."

"What makes you think that?"

"Oh, it was painfully obvious once I mentioned my plans for your precious Dragon Warrior. I could see your emotions quite easily through your eyes."

Tigress snarled at him. "What do you want...with me, then?" she demanded. "If you're not here to...seduce me again,...what do you want with me?"

"Simply put, dearest Tigress, I'm using you as motivation. This Dragon Warrior is extremely powerful, but all powerful people have a weakness. Now, I've never seen your precious panda, but from what my wonderful minion has informed me, he seems to be quite smitten with you. And now that I have you under my control, I have the complete upper-hand! His skills will be mine before this day even begins!"

A wave of alarm crept over the master as she realized that the green light she had seen had been a spy coming back from the cave. I'm such an idiot! she thought to herself. If I hadn't gotten so blinded by my concern for Po, this wouldn't have happened!!! I can't believe I've fallen this far from my usual focus! What is wrong with me?!

Kai let out a laugh. "Well, it was lovely getting re-acquainted with you, plum blossom," he said to the master. "But now we have a fight to get to and I have a Dragon Warrior to control."

A green light emitted from his paw and he thrust it into the master's abdomen. Tigress felt a wave of unbearable pain wash over her and she let out a scream of agony. She felt like someone was stabbing her in the stomach with several spikes and then lighting the wound on fire. The master closed her eyes in an effort to block out the pain, feeling the pain rise up through her chest and creep up to the back of her neck.

"Don't be too scared, dearest," Kai assured the master as she felt tears start creeping out of her eyes from the agonizing pain. "I'm not going to steal your chi; I'm just going to...relax you. You're in good hands."

Tigress felt the pain grow worse, the painful burning and stabbing continuing to plague her until she finally blacked out and lost all consciousness.

Po reached the end of the tunnel and managed to escape the avalanche, being greeted by icy cold mountain air and the sight of a completely collapsed mountain pass in front of him.

"What the-?!" Po exclaimed in shock, seeing no one there. He turned around to go back in, but the tunnel completely collapsed, trapping him outside. The Dragon Warrior froze, looking around in alarm. He was completely cut off from the village and Kai was no where in sight. Seeing the missing pass, the panda assumed that Kai had destroyed it. But then how did he manage to get by without Po seeing him?

Great, Po thought in annoyance. Now I have to find another way out. Except the only way out seems to be by climbing up the mountain. Which seems dangerous. And I might die.

The Dragon Warrior took a deep breath, keeping himself close to the cliff so that he didn't trip over the narrow ledge and plummet to the ground below. Glancing up, he eyed the ridges in the side of the mountain which could be traced all the way up to the mountain's peak.

It's going to take me forever to climb all the way up there and climb back down, he thought to himself. And I'll have to be careful or else I'll slip.

Po braced himself and slowly turned around on the narrow ledge. This was the only way to get back to the village and he was going to have to use every ounce of strength he had to do it. He then grabbed a hold of the ledge and pulled himself up, struggling to slowly climb up the mountainside. He didn't look down and he made sure to take steady breaths so that he didn't get light-headed and dizzy, resulting with him tumbling to the ground below. Po climbed up and up and up, the air soon getting thinner and his muscles burning from the unusually long climb. The panda pushed himself forward, a little afraid that he would give out and fall to his death. After a long amount of time of torturing his muscles however, he finally reached the top of the mountain where he caught his breath. The panda laid down in the snow and began wheezing, trying his best to catch his breath before he began an equally dangerous and long climb down to the other side. However, Po wasn't entirely worried about the climb since if he slipped, while he did have far to fall, it wasn't nearly as long of a drop since the other side of the tunnel wasn't blasted (he hoped) and would let him fall down a dark chasm to his death.

The Dragon Warrior rested for about five minutes before he began his descent to the bottom. His muscles ached horribly from the climb, a searing pain riding up in his body from the strenuous climb. However, he thought of his family and friends and brethren being mercilessly attacked by Kai's army and he willed himself to keep holding on no matter what. Po almost slipped once or twice since the other side of the mountain didn't have nearly the same footing as the other side, but he he managed to hold on and finally descend down to the other side. Po hopped safely onto the ground after who-knew-how-long and collapsed on the stone slope, panting and wheezing once again.

"Well," he told himself as he rested his burning muscles. "At...least...I...made...it.... Now...I've...got...a...village...to...save!"

Po went to stand up, but his legs wobbled so much from the hard climb that he collapsed helplessly onto the ground. "After...I...rest...for...a...second...." he added, leaning against the cave wall. He felt like taking a nap, but knowing himself, he'd be asleep for hours, so it wasn't a good idea. The Dragon Warrior sat on the ground for what felt like the longest time before he was finally able to stand up.

"There we go," he told himself happily. "Now...to kick some butt!"

The panda took off for the panda village which was fortunately not that far away from the northern mountains. By the time he got there, he was greeted by everyone barely managing to hold off the entire army.

"Po!" Mr. Ping called over, noticing him coming. "There you are! What took you so long? Where's Kai?"

"Kai's missing," Po admitted, running over and upper-kicking to Jade Masters away from his father. "I tried to intercept him on the other side of the mountain, but he wasn't there; the entire pathway was blown up!"

"How did you get back here, then? Monkey and Viper told us there was an avalanche."

"I climbed," Po replied. He did a slight double-take and added, "Wait, just Monkey and Viper? Where's Tigress?"

"They don't know," Mr. Ping admitted. "They were on their way back when they realized she wasn't with them. They went back to look for her, but she was gone!"

Po grabbed a bamboo stick from an attacking master and used it to hit him into a nearby building. "That's not good," he said worriedly. "I hope she's okay."

The master barreled over to some of the ribbon dancers who were getting badly cornered by some of the masters where he knocked them over. The ribbon dancers, grateful for less villains to confront, eagerly took on the ones who were left. Po, in the meantime, rolled passed some kids throwing exploding dumplings and over to Viper and Monkey who were defending themselves against Master Bear and Master Quinn.

"Po! Monkey exclaimed. "You're okay! We were starting to get a little worried."

"I've been climbing over a mountain," Po explained. "Kai wasn't there and the path back was completely destroyed. How long was I gone for?"

"Over two hours," Viper told him. "In the meantime, we're doing okay over here, but we really need to put a stop to this army! We can barely hit them!"

Po used a Thundering Wind Hammer blast to knock several masters out of the way, asking, "How long has Tigress been missing then?"

"About as long as you've been gone," Viper told him. "But we thought she was with you."

"I haven't seen her since the avalanche separated us," Po told them.

"Well, where could she have gone?! She was right behind us!"

A maniacal laugh came from far within the village, one which Po recognized immediately. "Hold on a bit longer," he told his friends. "I'm going to take care of Kai."

"Be careful, Po!" Monkey warned.

Po charged through the battlefield, dodging attacks from the Jade army left and right until he finally reached the far end of the village where little to no fighting was going on. The panda looked around for the bull, keeping his eyes peeled in case a surprise attack ensued.

"Looking for me, Almighty Dragon Warrior?"

Po spun around and spotted the villain in front of him, and more importantly, Tigress.

"You!" Po snapped. He went to attack Kai, but the bull held one of his blades to Tigress' neck, causing Po to stop.

"Easy there," Kai taunted. "Lets not have any blood spilled."

"Put her down!" the panda demanded. "It's me you want!"

"I know. Just giving you some extra motivation to come quietly." Kai sneered at him. "What do you say we finish this somewhere with less ruckus, hmm? There's a small temple just up the far north mountain where we can...discuss this. You come with me, no fighting and no tricks, I don't kill her."

Po gave him a fiery look. "How about this," he offered. "If I come quietly and...tell you something you'd like to know, you don't kill Tigress and you stop the attack on this village."

Kai considered this idea thoughtfully. "Alright," he finally said. "How long have you been in love with Tigress?"

Po did a double-take and looked at him funny. "What?" he asked.

"I have spies, panda. I know certain things."

"Um...okay, but you weren't interested in battle plans? Kung fu moves? People's weakness?"

"Nah, I have enough power to do what I please," Kai assured him arrogantly. "I noticed you've taken quite a liking to my little plum blossom here, so I'm curious as to when this began...."

"Um...well..." Po stammered, turning slightly red. "I've had a crush on her since I was eleven. I started...falling in love...when I was about...sixteen, I think....."

Kai grinned. "There now," he cooed. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Uh, kind of." Po eyed him. "Can I ask why you call her plum blossom?" he asked.

"Answer me this first: why did you kiss her down in the cave? Don't tell me it was just a gesture of goodbye."

Po turned a darker shade of red. "You...like her too?" he asked shakily.

"Yes. Alas, she hasn't really taken a liking to me, so I've had to improvise. Now, come with me please."

Po began to tag along, saying, "Hey, you promised to halt the fighting, remember?"

"Half-way up," Kai promised. "Just so that you don't try anything."

The Dragon Warrior shrugged. "Fair enough," he said, following Kai towards the mountain.

I know I'm only supposed to upload chapters on Friday, but I just couldn't wait to post this!!!