28 days and counting.....

After what felt like forever, Po finally suggested that they head back down to the village to check on Kai. With the Dragon Warrior having the pendent, however, Tigress wasn't too worried about the bull's present state. Po helped the master get to her feet as well as walk since she didn't enough strength to get around on her own. 

"Do you want me to carry you or would you rather I assist you in walking down?" Po asked.

"I'd rather try to walk," Tigress answered. "I don't like feeling helpless."

"Alright...."

The two then began to slowly walk out of the temple and headed down the side of the mountain towards the village. On the way down, Tigress asked her friend how he had managed to get his chi back, prompting Po to talk about his entire journey. He told her about meeting Oogway, Tai Lung trying to redeem himself, finding his balance by means of fighting Oogway, and how he found the stick used to bring back his kung fu skills and his chi. Tigress, in turn, told him what had happened while he was unconscious, including Kai offering her an orb that could have been used to help her remember her parents.

"I'm sorry about Kai smashing the orb," Po remarked after hearing the story. "That must have really stunk, losing the one thing that could tell you who your parents were."

Tigress shrugged. "It was either lose memories of my parents or lose you," she replied. "And I wasn't about to lose you."

Po smiled and gently squeezed her. A quick glance down at the village a bit close by indicated that they were half-way down the mountain slope. Kai was nowhere in sight however.

"So...what did you and Mei-Mei's kid look like?" Tigress asked him.

Po looked at her in surprise. "Why are you asking that?" he questioned. "I thought you and Mei-Mei didn't like each other."

"We don't. I'm just curious about what you and Mei-Mei's kid would have looked like since we'll never see him."

"Her," Po corrected. "And she pretty much looked like Mei-Mei. Minus all the make-up that is."

"Oh. Was she cute?"

"Well...yes. I mean, all babies are cute.... Don't you think so?"

"That depends."

"Um...our kid was cute too...."

Tigress smiled. "I'm sure he...or she...was too, Po. But I'd rather wait and see for myself."

"Alright...suit yourself."

The two continued down the slope, Po noticing that Tigress was beginning to get a little bit breathless.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked with some concern.

The master nodded. "I'm just...a little worn out," she admitted. "It's just from Kai draining my chi. I'll be fine."

Po eyed her wobbling legs and said, "Yeah, I think I should carry you the rest of the way down."

"That won't be necessary, Po. I'm fine."

"Are you kidding? You're about ready to topple over."

"I can make it down."

"Tigress, I'm not taking no for an answer."

The master opened her mouth to protest, but the look on Po's face indicated that arguing would be completely pointless. She let out a sigh and said, "Alright. Just...can you carry me on your back, please?"

"No problem," Po assured her.    He bent down and hoisted the master onto his back where he then continued down the mountainside. The two were silent for the rest of the way down as Tigress simply laid her head on Po's shoulders and rested what little strength she had left. As they neared the bottom of the mountain pass, they heard, "Po! Master Tigress!"

The masters glanced down and saw Mr. Ping looking up at the cliff. A few feet behind him, Li was busy staring down Kai who was frozen in an attack position, most likely by means of the Chow-Wa-Punch-Kick.

"Hey, dad!" Po called down.   He kept walking down the cliff until he finally reached the bottom of the mountain upon which Mr. Ping ran over and gave him a tight hug. "Thank goodness you're alright!!!" he exclaimed. "We got a little worried when that blast went off in the mountains."

"It was fine; it was just Kai losing all of his pendent powers."

Tigress gently tapped Po on the shoulder and said, "Po, you can put me down now."

"Can you walk by yourself or do you still need help?"

"I...don't know," the master admitted.

Po gently set her down on the ground where he helped her balance on her feet. Tigress was able to stand for a few seconds, but she still didn't have her whole strength back and thus wound up wobbling a bit.

"I'll help you to an infirmary," Po told her. "Then you can actually rest."

"That sounds nice, but it might be better if I kept walking. That might help strengthen my legs."

"You'd be surprised," Mr. Ping piped up. "Not everything works by...well, working."

"You need to rest," Po told her. "If you keep walking, you'll make yourself feel worse."

With his friend's arm wrapped around him, Po helped her walk over to Li who gently squeezed Po in relief, minding Tigress who was attached to him. "Thank goodness this is all over," he remarked happily.

"Do you think you could explain what exactly happened while we take Tigress to the infirmary?" Po asked.

"Of course," Li assured him. "Hey, Ping, think you can keep an eye on our friend here?"

"With pleasure," Mr. Ping replied, walking over to stare Kai down.

"I don't think he's going anywhere," Tigress told the two, but Mr. Ping ignored her and continued to keep a very close eye on the bull who had just attacked the village. Po and Tigress then followed Li across the village who explained that right after the blast went off, all of the Jade Warriors were freed from Kai's control and were transformed back into their regular selves. Since they were all weak, exhausted, and badly injured however, the entire village worked together to put them in the infirmary and any other place with a comfortable resting spot. Afterwards, Mr. Ping and Li had tracked down Kai, now powerless without his pendent, and very easily froze him right before he got his strength back to fight them off. Po was relieved to know that everyone was okay and debate for a while on what to do with Kai. Li informed him that they thought about having Crane fly out and inform the Chorh-Gom guards, but since he was far too weak to fly, a few of the villagers offered to travel to the next village and round up some guards to take care of the task.

After about eight minutes, the three finally reached the infirmary which was jam packed with those formerly under Kai's reign. Because the infirmary was so full, various masters were sent to nearby houses to be cared for which wound up being the case with Tigress. Li lead her and Po to a house just a short distance away where an elderly panda placed her in one of the rooms upstairs. Po helped her walk up and get settled where the two met the other people who would be occupying the space: an elderly goat carrying a large knapsack, a butterfly with katanas, and a teen panther who was sleeping upon their arrival.

"Oh great," the butterfly remarked, flopping his head down on the pillow. "I can already feel a headache forming from too much girl gossip."

"Be careful with what you wish for," Tigress snapped, a bit offended by the comment.

"Master Tigress doesn't gossip," Po promised the butterfly.

"Sure. And I'm sure she also doesn't give out beauty tips."

"Come now, Master Hudie," the elderly goat said gently. "Give her a break. We've all had a long day and-"

"If you ask me to sleep one more time, I'll pummel you!!!"

Tigress glanced over at Po who had a slightly amused look on his face. "No comments, Dragon Warrior?" she asked.

"Nah. I learned my lesson with Yijiro," Po told her with a smile.

"Po," Li called over from the doorway. "You're needed downstairs for a moment...."

"Coming dad!" Po promised.   He looked back at Tigress and said, "So...you get comfortable and rest up, and I'll be right back, okay?"

Tigress nodded and watched the panda walk out of the room. She heard him walk down the stairs where she heard a muffled but still audible, "Fengy!!!!"

"Of course," the master grumbled to herself, leaning back on her pillow.

Master Hudie looked over at her. "Has that ribbon dancer been bothering you too?" he asked her. "Me-Me?"

"Mei-Mei," Tigress corrected. "And yes, she has."

"She's been irritating me all morning!" Hudie complained. "Everything she says is about her fiance which she keeps calling her husband, or her kid, or what her wedding will be like.... It won't stop!!!!"

"She's excited," the elderly goat told him. "There's no need to dampen her plans."

"Unless her fiance doesn't like her," Tigress piped up flatly.

"If that's so, then he'll have to let her know on his own terms."

The butterfly groaned. "I've had enough," he grumbled. "I'm going to drown you dramatics out."
He then yanked the covers over his head and went to sleep.

Tigress watched him before she sighed irritably and rolled over to face the wall. I hate being on bed rest, she thought to herself. I already vowed to never be in this position again!

The room was silent for a while and the only sound that could be  heard was the teen and Master Hudie snoring. Tigress soon got bored and considered getting up and trying to sneak downstairs when she heard irregular footsteps start approaching her bed. Startled, Tigress sat up and glanced over in the direction of the sound, seeing the elderly goat walking towards her, aided by a sturdy wooden staff he had.

"Do you need any help?" she asked him.

"No, no, I'm alright," the old goat promised.  He finally reached her bed and asked, "Do you mind if I sit here for a moment?"

"Uh...of course not," Tigress assured him, slightly confused. "Is everything okay?"

"Of course," the goat promised, managing to pull himself up on the bed. "In light of the circumstances, I haven't felt this good in nearly forty years."

"Forty years?" Tigress repeated, her mind flashing back to Kai's reference of one of his take-overs. "Wait...did you live  here?"

"You have heard of the Phoenix Order?" the elderly goat asked her in slight surprise.

"Only from Kai. He bragged on how he killed everyone minus a wiseman."

"And poor Iris, I'm afraid," the wiseman added sadly. "With all the tragedy that befell the village that was once here, she lost all hope and thus her life."

"I heard," Tigress said. "I'm sorry about what Kai did."

"Thank you, my dear. I wish there was something that I could have done, but Kai put me under the control of his pendent, so I wasn't able to reflect much on what happened, I'm afraid."

"Why did he spare you?"

"I'm not quite sure. I remember I was replacing the artifacts and hiding them so that Kai wouldn't get to them when he showed up and sliced me. And that was the last thing I remember. I woke up here with all these pandas and someone had to explain to me that it's been almost forty years since that incident."

"So...have you adjusted okay since being freed from Kai?"

"Very well, thank goodness."

The two sat in silence for a second before Tigress said, "What's your name?"

"Hai," the elderly goat replied. "And you are...Tigress?"

The master nodded. "I'm assuming you overheard Po and Master Hudie talking," she noted.

"I did," Hai acknowledged. He studied her for a moment, causing the master to lean back ever-so-slightly.   "You know," he told her finally. "Most tigers don't have a spade in the middle of their forehead."

Tigress blinked in surprise. "Wait...what?" she asked. "Is...that why you came over here?"

"Partially," Hai admitted. "I do apologize if I'm making you uncomfortable at all, but I lived all over China for many years until I settled in this village and I had never seen anyone who bore a mark in the middle of their forehead."

"Oh," the master said, relaxing. "No, you're not making me uncomfortable, but it is weird having someone stare at my face like that."   She eyed him curiously. "So, you're saying I'm the only person you've met with a spade mark?"

"Not exactly. There was one other person I've met with that same exact mark: Master Iris, of the Phoenix Order."

"Really?" Tigress asked.

"Indeed. Her and Master Laohu offered me a place as a wiseman here when I stopped by one day. She was a very kind and understanding woman. Strong enough to quite literally break iron, but very kind."

"I hope she was gentle...."

"She was. In fact, her and her husband had a child eight years after I arrived. She loved that little girl so much. In fact, I don't think I can recall a time she ever went anywhere without her. Well...almost."

"Did the daughter die?" Tigress asked gently.

"Thankfully no," Hai corrected, surprising the master. "Nearly three weeks after the baby was born, Kai approached the village. He tried to raid the artifacts and demanded that Master Laohu give him what he wanted, but of course he refused. Kai vowed revenge and he promised to return and destroy the entire village which of course sent everyone in a panic. Iris and Laohu wanted to evacuate the village, but the rest of the Phoenix Order insisted upon fighting and of course, Laohu was vetoed. Iris was worried for the child's safety, so her and Master Laohu decided it would be safer to leave the baby somewhere safe until the danger passed. So, they left the village and a week later, they returned childless. And of course, the entire village was taken over...."

"But if Master Iris knew her daughter was okay," Tigress piped up. "Why would she just kill herself and leave her?"

"I don't think she meant to," Hai answered. "I was just in time to witness Kai kill Master Laohu and I believe the shock from that alone sent her on that path. And of course, that left me with little time before I was caught myself."

More silence befell the room as Hai reflected on the tragic day, his eyes full of pain and sadness.

Tigress looked at him and asked, "What was the baby's name?" she asked gently.

"She actually had two names," Hai answered with a small grin. "Her real name and the nickname Master Laohu used to give her."

"She had a nickname?"

"Master Laohu was the strongest of the Phoenix Order, so he was given the title of The Nimbus. Naturally of course, everyone thought that his child would inherit his strength, so Laohu sometimes called her his little nimbus."

The goat glanced up at the master. "Her real name was Tigress."

The master froze, unsure of how to make out the news that she was being given.

"Just to be sure I'm looking at the same child," Hai said gently, seeing the look of complete confusion. "Do you know how old you were when you were sent away?"

"The...people at Bao Go said I was three weeks old," the master admitted, finding her voice. "But I don't remember any of...that."

"You can't recall any of your memories?" Hai asked her.

"No."    Tigress looked at the elderly goat as her she suddenly recalled something. "Wait," she said. "You said you replaced some of the artifacts. Did you happen to replace any that recalls memories to mind?"

"The Phoenix Orb?" Hai asked in surprise. "Actually I did. How did you know about that?"

"Kai mentioned it," Tigress explained. "I...told him I didn't remember my parents and he got what he thought was the orb and said he'd trade me it for Po. And when I said no, he smashed it."

Hai laughed. "I'm actually surprised he didn't catch on," he noted in amusement. "The artifacts in the Temple of Iron cannot be broken. Including orbs."

Hai reached into his knapsack and took out a nearly identical orb to the one that Kai had destroyed. The only difference was that it was a lot smaller. In fact, it was just slightly bigger than the wiseman's hoof.

"It's smaller than the other one," Tigress noted.

"Size and strength isn't always the key to victory," Hai told her. "A good plan and well thought out strategy can get you far. This is something that the Phoenix Order was founded on. This is why the real artifacts are quite small and not enormous as you probably saw earlier."

He handed the master the small orb where she took it, looking over the details on the small orb. "So...how does it work exactly?" she asked.

"Just think about the last memory you had of your parents and the orb will help you recall the rest."

Tigress smiled. "Thanks," she said.

"Not at all, my dear."

Tigress held the orb tightly in her paws, bracing herself for what would happen following the flow of memories. She slowly closed her eyes and thought back to when she was left behind at Bao Go orphanage. The blurry memory of her parents overwhelmed her as she barely recalled being left at front step and in a blur, they left. Tigress focused on the memory, not seeing anything change while she replayed the memory over and over. She tried to think farther back, but everything was lost in a blur. The only thing she could recall was the nasty storm she was left behind in. Her parents' faces weren't visible, no earlier memories popped up, and nothing blurry came into clear focus.

Except the spade.

A flash of white flooded the master's mind and a very clear image of the spade Hai had noticed on her head came into clear view. Except the spade was attached to another tigress who sported a pair of eyes that Tigress had trouble identifying as either blue or violet. A moment later, a glint of gold appeared in the corner which then flooded with memories of staring up at the roof of the inside of the temple. Then biting winds cut across the master's cheek followed by an unfamiliar tune that she couldn't recall. Then a face with golden eyes came into view with a gentle look to match. The master soon saw clear images of events prior to being given up: villagers long-dead holding her, being rocked to sleep, being shown around the temple and introduced to various rooms, (such as the training zone, the artifact room, the temple gardens, and the counsel room), the lullaby her mother sang her, Hai talking to her mother during visits, and traveling down the mountain to visit nearby villages and masters.

Tigress snapped her eyes open after finally recalling everything. The brightness coming from a nearby window made her wince and she glanced over at the goat who was giving her a small smile. "Well?" he asked.

The master simply smiled and sat back in her bed, her head now brimming with vivid memories of her family. She felt a little sad that she would never get the chance to meet her birth parents since they were both dead, but she was happy to know that they didn't give her up simply because they didn't want her around. The door suddenly opened and the two turned to see Mei-Mei and the elderly panda standing in the doorway.

"Mr. Lang, what are you doing out of bed?" the elderly panda asked in surprise. "We told you very specifically to rest!"

"I know, Mrs. Pei," Hai apologized, slowly getting out of bed with Tigress' help. "And I do apologize. Tigress and I were just getting reacquainted."

"Hai," Tigress called over, holding out the orb. "Here's the orb back."

Hai smiled at her. "I'd actually like you to keep it, my dear," he told her. "Think of it as me passing down an ancient artifact to the rightful owner."

He went over to his bed and sat down, upon which Tigress asked what he planned to do with the rest of the artifacts. Mr. Lang explained that, since Kai was no longer a threat, he planned to take them the nearest master's counsel to decide what to do with them. However, since the Phoenix Orb was valuable to Tigress, he wanted her to keep it. Mei-Mei, having no idea what in the world was going on, interrupted the conversation to give everyone dinner.

"Master Hudie! Pong! Wakey wakey!!!" she called out cheerfully.

"Mei-Mei, they're trying to sleep," Tigress warned her, watching Hudie grumpily stir.

"Well, I don't want them eating cold soup. That wouldn't be nice of me."

After Hudie and Pong woke up and received their dinner, (with Hudie making a very grumpy comment that caused Mrs. Pei to smack him lightly in the face), Mei-Mei walked over to Mr. Lang and said, "What did you mean by artifacts? Sorry, couldn't help but over-hear."

"That's quite alright," Hai assured her.  He gestured to the sack on his back and added, "I've had these artifacts for almost forty years. I meant to hide them when Kai attacked years ago, but I never got the chance to do so."

"Artifacts of what?" Mei-Mei asked. "Ancient buildings?"

"They were collected or given to the masters who once lived here."

"They're used to aid fights or to carefully store to prevent anyone with the wrong motive getting a hold of them," Tigress added from across the room.

"Hm," Mei-Mei said with a shrug. She handed Hai his soup, eyeing him and asking, "Wait, what masters?"

The elderly panda walked over to Tigress to give her her soup as Hai explained that prior to the panda village settling in, the mountainous region was home to the Phoenix Order and the people who made a home there. However, Kai annihilated everyone except for Hai and the only child of The Nimbus and his wife.

"Oh is that what happened?"the elderly panda asked in shock. "When we first came here years ago, all we saw were burnt down houses and corpses. We assumed it was genocide, like with what happened to us."

"It was indeed I'm afraid," Hai informed her. "But it was over Master Laohu not giving up the artifacts that were replaced."

"I'm surprised he's never found out about the switch," Tigress piped up. "It's been almost forty years."

"Kai collects things simply for power purposes. Frankly, my dear, I'm not  that surprised."

Mei-Mei shuddered. "I'm glad I don't remember that," she commented. "I might have gotten scarred for life."

I have half a mind to let you, Tigress thought to herself. But I don't think it's a good idea to even let you near an artifact.

Mrs. Pei sighed. "I feel so sorry for those poor people," she said quietly. "No one should lose their life so young. And over something so ridiculous."

"Absolutely," Hai agreed sadly.

Mrs. Pei finally glanced over at the door and said, "I'd love to stay and chat, but we have to deliver soup to the masters in the next room."

"And then Fengy and I are going to spend some quality time together," Mei-Mei gushed happily, completely forgetting about the dead masters everyone was just talking about.  She waved goodbye to everyone and darted out of the room with the soup cart, Mrs. Pei right behind her.

Master Hudie groaned irritably, muttering, "Thank goodness!!! I thought she'd never leave!"

"Now, now, Hudie..." the wiseman said gently, eating his soup quietly.

Master Hudie groaned but said nothing further. Tigress glanced over at him and asked, "Master Hudie, did you know that the Phoenix Order was once here?"

"Of course I did," the butterfly replied knowingly. "I was friends with Master Iguana. That and our counsel was closely connected to theirs. I'm still mad at what that scoundrel did!!!"

"We all are, master," the panther teen piped up quietly in the corner.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did your best friend die???!!!!"

Pong jumped in startledness and shook his head, retreating into the corner of his bed.

"Master Hudie, he's just a boy. Be gentle with him," Mr. Lang told the cranky butterfly.

"I'll be as rude as I want to him! Don't tell me what to do!!!"

The butterfly went back to eating his soup, leaving the room back in an empty silence. Hai looked over at Tigress and asked, "Tigress, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," the master told him. "What is it?"

"Who adopted you?"

Tigress didn't answer for a moment. She wasn't quite sure how exactly to answer the question since her and Shifu didn't exactly bond when she was young.

"Um...my master did, actually...." she finally said. "But...it wasn't...um...it was rocky at first."

"Oh really? I hope it's gotten better then...."

"It has. Mostly."

"How old were you when he adopted you?" Hai asked.

"I was ten," Tigress answered. "I had problems controlling my temper and my strength when I was young, so no one really wanted to go near me."

"Can't say I blame them," Hudie piped up. "I wouldn't have...."

"That doesn't mean it's alright," Hai told him. "No one should treat a child like that."   He turned his attention back to Tigress and added, "I'm so sorry about that. I'm glad someone believed in you."

Tigress smiled, reflecting on her earliest lessons with the master. "So am I," she replied.