14 days and counting....

Before I begin, I'd like to quickly thank Jellenax5000  for suggesting the idea in this chapter. I did tweak it a bit, but I thought it was really nice.
A few days later, after Tigress and the rest of Kai's victims were finally able to walk around without any assistance, the masters from the Valley of Peace got ready to head home. Kai, still frozen solid as Mr. Ping didn't learn how to undo his punch kick, was transported far away from China to a location disclosed to Po who was to report it to Master Shifu upon returning home. While Mei-Mei and Tigress finally called a truce, the panda was still furious with the master and ultimately decided to not wish anyone goodbye, just for the sake of avoiding her. Bao was a little disappointed that Po wasn't going to be his dad, but he was happy to know that Po would still stop by to play with him whenever he visited the village. Li then hugged Po goodbye and the group began their journey back to the Valley of Peace. With no Li making frequent food stops and with no Kai to put everyone in a frenzy, Po, his dad, and the reunited Furious Five made their way back to the valley right on schedule. The masters were finally allowed to rest at night rather than push through the night with no stops and Po was forced to keep going without constantly eating. (Which he didn't really mind too much).

Four days later, the group arrived back at the valley late in the evening which was mostly rebuilt from Kai's attack. The Sacred Hall of Warriors was still completely collapsed as Scorpion, Shifu, and Mei-Ling were more concerned with the villagers' houses, but other than that, everything else looked almost exactly the same. Upon arriving in the valley, the villagers gathered around the masters and Mr. Ping with complete relief. After the warm welcome, Po was quick to find Shifu who was busy finishing up repairs to Mr. Ping's noodle shop and informed him on what had become of Kai. Shifu was beyond relief when he heard that the master was frozen, powerless, and far away from China, though his expression of gratitude was interrupted by Mr. Ping's arrival and happy ranting on how lovely his shop looked. (Especially since he didn't have to pay for the repairs). Seeing that everyone looked exhausted from their journey, the grandmaster advised his students to rest in the barracks, promising that they could take off from training to focus on rebuilding the destroyed Sacred Hall of Warriors.

The following morning, Tigress rose early to see what could be done to the Sacred Hall of Warriors, seeing Shifu and Mei-Ling already working. The three worked continually on the temple building until the rest of the masters finally woke up and came out to join them. Mr. Ping arrived early that morning to feed everyone hot soup and tea as well as bond with Po before heading back down to the noodle shop. The temple took about four days to finally rebuild and fortunately none of the artifacts were badly damaged. (Including the Urn of Whispering Warriors much to everyone's surprise). Once the temple was finally finished, Shifu announced that training would begin the next day which made everyone happy since they were waiting for everything to finally go back to normal.

One Week Later...

The mid-day sun was beginning to slowly dip down into the late afternoon as everyone in the valley happily shuffled along. With no crime occurring in the valley since Kai's attack, the day seemed even brighter than it already was. The masters at the Jade Palace had been given the day off since Shifu had plans that day, (Most likely with Mei-Ling, everyone guessed), so they were out and about doing their own thing. Crane and Monkey were taking a hike up to the lake, Viper had decided to go see her family again, and Mantis was out spending time with his girlfriend who was terrified to learn of what Kai did to him.

Po spent the morning helping his dad out in the noodle shop until the mid-day gong rang. He then said goodbye and headed back to the Jade Palace to grab lunch where he ran into Tigress who had just opened the gates to head down.

"Hey, Tigress," the master said with a smile. "What's up?"

"I'm heading out for a little bit," Tigress answered, a shaky tone hidden in her voice.

Po eye her. "Out to where?" he asked.

"I'm just going out."

"You look a little pale though. Is something bothering you?"

Tigress opened her mouth as if  to protest, but she instead sighed and finally told Po, "I'm going to Bao Gu."

Po did a double-take. "Bao Gu?!" he exclaimed in surprise. "Are you sure? You told me that was the last place you'd ever go!"

"I know," the master acknowledged. "But years ago, I told myself that I was going to go back there at least once just to have a sense of closure. I was going to go there, look around, see how far I've gotten, thank the directors for letting me have one last look, and go home. Of course, I also planned to reflect on why my parents abandoned me, but I don't need  to do that anymore."

"Did you ever tell Shifu about that orb, by the way?"

"Of course I did. I told him the morning we started rebuilding the temple. You were all sleeping."

"Oh. How'd he take it?"

"He was glad I knew. He thought it would help me start down the road to inner peace, like you did."

Shifu and Tigress' relationship had improved a lot more following the masters' return back to the valley. Tigress still didn't call him her father around the masters, but they had gotten to  the point where it was still evident that they were finally bonding.

Po looked at Tigress with concern. "Do you want me to go with you?" he asked.

"To Bao Gu? I was hoping to go there alone."

"To the same place where you grew up alone? I could go with you and then when you look at it, you may have a happier closure."

Tigress looked at him, a small smirk creeping up into the corner of her mouth. "You're just saying that because you want to see it," she told him.

"No, of course not! Well, that is one reason, but I thought it'd be nice to go together instead of by yourself. Pleeeeeaaaaase?"

The master thought for a moment before finally shrugging her shoulders. "Alright, Po. You can come with me."

The Dragon Warrior did a silent fist pump and the two began to walk down the stairs to Bao Gu.

Just in time for Po's stomach to hungrily rumble.

"Hungry?" Tigress asked.

Po laughed sheepishly. "Yeah..." he said. "Um...you wouldn't mind if we stopped and ate lunch, would you?"

"Actually, I was going to stop at your dad's for lunch so it's perfectly fine."

The two warriors walked into the noodle shop where they were shown to a table and settled down to eat lunch. A couple of the customers asked if they were dating, but Tigress informed them that her and Po were strictly friends which got them left alone. Mr. Ping soon served the two soup and began tending to the rest of the customers who were streaming in for lunch. Po glanced at his friend and asked, "Tigress?"

"Yes?"

"When exactly did you first plan to go to the orphanage for the whole closure thing?"

Tigress thought for a moment. "I think I was almost nineteen," she answered.

"You were eighteen?!" the panda asked in surprise. "You were pretty young."

"I guess you could say that."

"If you wanted to go then, though, why didn't you?"

The master sighed. "I didn't have the guts," she admitted. "Every time I thought about it, the idea of going back to the same place that mistreated me and lost all faith in me just seemed like a nightmare. Then I would imagine everything going horribly wrong and then I'd just be too scared to go."

"So what finally made you decide to go?"

"Yesterday, I was thinking about it when I put the Phoenix Orb away. I started thinking about how brave my parents were and how much they sacrificed to keep me safe from Kai. The more I thought about getting some closure from that place, the more I thought of how hard it must have been for my parents to give me up. And then Shifu sacrificed a lot to help me control my strength..... So I made up my mind to go and decided that I'm not going there just to reflect on how far I've come; I'll go there to think about what my parents went through and say my final goodbyes."

Po reached over and gently squeezed her shoulder. "And just in case things get too nerve-wracking, you'll have me right there for you."

Tigress smiled at him. "Thank you, Po," she said with a small smile.

The two warriors finished their lunch along with their small talk before they got up and began the trek to Bao Gu Orphanage. Tigress was very quiet during the journey, but Po could tell that she was probably nervous to go back. He tried to make some small talk, but Tigress wasn't too interested in engaging in a conversation, so he left her alone after a while. The two traveled silently for about twenty minutes before they finally approached a tall, round building that loomed menacingly over them. The stone structure cast a long shadow with aid from the afternoon sun which almost went down the hill Tigress and Po were walking up. Tigress froze before reaching the shadow, her eyes glancing up at the building in fear. She quickly looked back down at the bottom of the hill as if considering turning back.

Po took her hand and gently squeezed it. "You okay?" he asked.

Tigress looked at him. "I'll be fine," she promised quietly. "I'm just a little nervous."

"I'll be right here if you get too scared. Remember that."

The master took a deep breath and looked straight ahead at the doors. "I'm ready," she assured him. "Lets get this over with."

The two walked up to the top of the hill and crossed the small, grassy field where they finally reached the front door.

"Think they'll let us in?" Po asked.

"They should," the master told him nervously. "You can come in at anytime, but if you're looking to adopt, there's only one day you can do that."

She hesitated for a second before sharply knocking on the door. The two waited stiffly for a moment before the wooden door finally swung open and an elderly sheep stepped out to  greet them. The moment she saw the two, her eyes lit up in surprise.

"Tigress?" she said in shock.

"Hello, Mrs. Ire," Tigress greeted, trying to not show that she was nervous in any way.

"What brings you here? I'm assuming not for adoption since that's a week away...."

"No, I'm not here to adopt," Tigress assured her. "I was just wondering...would it be alright if I came in and looked around one more time. I have...stuff I'd like to reflect on."

"Of course you can come in!!" Mrs. Ire exclaimed happily, opening the door wide for the two warriors to walk inside. "Make yourself comfortable."

Tigress and Po walked inside where they were greeted by a large, grassy field that contained a large tree, picnic benches, and a lot of happy children playing a variety of games. Tigress smiled a little. "I forgot about that tree," she said quietly. "I played under it a couple of times."

"I'm glad you remember something happy here," Mrs. Ire piped up with a sad smile. "I was afraid you would be a bit scornful since your time here wasn't all that great."

"Things got better after everyone stopped making fun of me," the master admitted.

"I saw. I am so sorry that things happened the way they did, but in our defense, we had never encountered a child with your temperament before, so we didn't know what to do! We've learned from that, thanks to Shifu, but I am so sorry about it!"

"It's alright. I can understand," Tigress assured her.

One of the children, a small gosling, walked up to Mrs. Ire and asked, "Is someone being adopted?"

"No today, little one," Mrs. Ire told him. "Master Tigress is just here to look around. She used to live here you know."

"Really?!" the gosling exclaimed happily. "You're an orphan too?"

"Yep," the master told him. "But someone took me in and I made friends. So, now I have a family."

"Do you think I'll get one?"

"I'm sure you will."

The gosling happily hugged her leg, but quickly let go and said goodbye when one of his friends called him over. Mrs. Ire gave Tigress a sad smile. "I wish I could go around here with you dear, but..."

"You're busy watching the kids," Tigress finished with a small smile. "That's okay."

"Just mind Mr. Ren. He hasn't changed much, I'm afraid and unfortunately, we can't seem to get rid of him."

"Thanks. I'll take care."

Tigress and Po then proceeded to walk inside where they were greeted by various wooden corridors.

"How are you feeling?" Po asked.

"A lot better," the master admitted. "I thought this would feel worse than it does."

"As long as we don't bump into Mr. Ren, I guess."

Tigress groaned in irritation. "I'm sure we will," she said in annoyance. "He's always lurking around the corner somewhere."

The two walked down each corridor, passing by the kitchen Tigress would eat in, (Prior to getting locked up in her room, that is), the room she used to sleep in with the rest of the orphans prior to being moved into isolation, and even the indoor play room that the kids were allowed access to whenever it rained or snowed. After looking around for nearly an hour, Tigress began heading down the hallway to the room she stayed in prior to being adopted. A figure quickly caught her eye down another hallway though and she stopped Po to see who it was.

Upon turning her head, Tigress spotted a graying goose shakily holding a net whom she recognized instantly.

"Mr. Quan?" Tigress asked curtly.

Frightened, the old goose jumped about three feet in the air, turning around to see the master right behind him. A look of complete shock and surprise crossed his face.

"Tigress?!" he exclaimed. "What brings you here?! Not saying I mind; you've grown up quite nicely, but...after all that we put you through?!"

"You and Mrs. Ire weren't that bad," Tigress promised. "Besides, I've been putting it behind me so..,no hard feelings."

Mr. Quan smiled happily, some of the tension in his face gone. "That's a relief to hear," he said. "Um...you know, if you don't mind, do you think you could help us catch one of the kids on the loose?"

Tigress eyed him. "With a net?" she questioned. "Didn't you try using that on me and it didn't work?"

"Yes, I know but Ren suggested it and you know how scary that man can be!"

"Who said I'm scary?!" a voice demanded. Mr. Quan squawked in fear and went running down another corridor, leaving Tigress alone with the elderly pig. Ren looked at her, his lips curled into a sneer. "Hey, look who's here!" he exclaimed with a laugh. "What, did Shifu finally send you back?"

"I just came to say my final goodbyes to the place," Tigress answered flatly. "Thank you for your concern."

"Do you still pester people with those stupid questions of yours? Or have you finally learned to shut up?"

"Hey!!!" Po snapped at him. "There's no such thing as a stupid question!!! Otherwise your questions would be considered stupid!"

"My questions are reasonable! What person in their right mind questions why the sky is blue? Or how soup can be sweet and sour?"

"Those questions are perfectly fine! Actually, while we're on the matter, sweet and sour soup is pretty easy," Po answered matter-of-fairly. "Just add some lemon and soy sauce."

"Oh that's how!" Tigress noted.

"Listen, panda," Mr. Ren sneered. "You clearly don't know anything about this monster, so allow me to en-"

He was suddenly interrupted by the scuffle of feet flying down another hallway, accompanied by, "No no no no no!!!! Come here! Come here!!!!! Come here!!!! I won't hurt you as long as you don't hurt me!!!!"

Mr. Ren sighed. "We'll discuss this later," he said. "I have another little beast to contend with."

And with that, he went flying down the corridor, yelling, "You'd better stay still or I'll beat the living tar out of you!!!"

Po and Tigress shared a very brief look of concern and alarm before dashing after Mr. Ren. They didn't know what made the old pig refer to the child in such away, but they knew full well what the outcome would wind up being if he was allowed to go after them alone.

The masters kept their eyes peeled open for whoever was running around loose, but they weren't able to see anyone for a while. Mr. Ren and Mr. Quan's voices were heard going around the empty corridors, but besides that, there was no sign of the kid. After a second of running, Tigress stopped for a brief second to think. When she had escaped her room, it was for the sole purpose of looking for someone to play with her. With someone else in her shoes, she could only assume the exact same thing.

The master quickly darted back to where she had came from, looking down another corridor that led to the playground outside. A small shadow caught her eye and she darted after it in an effort to see the child. The small shadows quickly fled around the corner into a hallway Tigress knew to be a dead end and the master wasted no time darting down it. The child moved behind a large stack of boxes placed in the corner and Tigress slowly began to approach them.

"Hey," she called over gently. "I'm not going to hurt you. You can come out."

No answer.

The master walked a little closer in order to get a better look, but the child flung the boxes at her face in an effort to make a quick escape. However, Tigress thrust out a paw and grabbed a hold of them where she was instantly clawed and scratched.

"Hey," she said firmly. "Take it easy. I'm not going to hurt you!"

The child turned out to be a young crocodile no older than five who wore a small blue vest, purple pants, and a tiny red hat. He glanced up at the master, an obvious expression of fear on his face.

"Are you the new orphanage director?" he asked nervously.

"No, I'm a Kung Fu master who's just stopping by for a visit. My name's Tigress. What's yours?"

"Dai."

"Well it's nice to meet you, Dai. Why are you running around the hallway?"

"I wanted to go outside and play," Dai replied, confirming Tigress' thought. "But they won't let me! They said I'll scare people."

Tigress gently put him down on the floor and knelt down to his level to see him better.

"You know," she told him gently. "They said the same thing to me when I lived here."

Dai looked surprised. "You used to live here?!" he exclaimed. "Did you get angry a lot too?"

Tigress nodded. "And I was really strong, so a lot of people were scared of me. But, someone believed in me and I was able to control both my temper and my strength."

"Really? And then you got adopted?"

"Yep."

"Oh there it is!" Mr. Ren piped up from the front of the corridor. "Where has he been?! He's going to pay for ripping a hole in that door! And also for scratching Mr. Quan!"

"That's because you're both meanies!!!!" the child snapped angrily. "I wanna' play outside!!!!!!"

"You don't deserve to play with your attitude! Now let's go!!!!"

"I'm not going anywhere with you!!!"

"Um...Dai," Tigress said quickly. "Do you want me to walk you back to your room?"

Dai looked at her funny. "Walk?" He asked. "You're not gonna' drag me back or carry me back?"

"I don't see why you can't walk yourself."

Dai thought about this for a minute before smiling and saying, "Okay. But...can you hold my hand? They scare me."

Tigress offered out a paw to the child and the two proceeded to walk back to Dai's room, which just so happened to be the exact same room Tigress once lived in. Po was excited to see the room she used to sleep in, but Tigress pointed out noticeable changes, such at the bed sheets, the decor, the window, and even the door which now possessed a semi-large hole obviously created by Dai.

"This is pretty small," Po noted as he examined the room.

"If you look at the wall with the window, you can see a noticeable patch I made when I tried to bust out," Tigress told him, sitting on the bed next to the young crocodile.

As Po went to examine the ancient damage, Tigress gently hugged Dai and said, "So how long have you been in here?"

"A year," Dai replied. "My mommy and daddy told me that I was a useless burden, so they gave me to the directors before they moved."

"That's horrible!" Tigress exclaimed in shock. "That's never a good reason to give someone away!"

"It's not?"

"Of course it isn't!"

"Mr. Ren said I deserved it because I'm so violent."

"Well Mr. Ren had no right to say that. You didn't deserve to be treated that way."

A low, whistling gong went off, echoing throughout the hallways.

"I see they haven't replaced that dinner gong," Tigress noted.

"Why, what's wrong with the gong?" Po asked.

"It has a big crack in it," Dai explained to him.

Mrs. Ire came into the room, smiling happily when she saw Tigress sitting next to Dai.

"Oh, look, Dai," she said happily. "You've made a new friend."

"She's nice to me," Dai told her, hopping down and walking over to the elderly sheep. "Like you are."

"Well I'm glad to hear it. It's time for dinner though, so you'll have to say goodbye."

"We need to leave anyway," Tigress told her. "Thanks for letting us look around, Mrs. Ire."

"No problem, dear."

As Tigress and Po got up to leave, Dai called over, "Tigress? Can you come back tomorrow? I liked talking to you."

The master was a little startled by this comment, but she smiled after a second and said, "Of course I will."

Dai let out a happy squeal before he walked out with Mrs. Ire to have dinner. Po watched him go before turning to Tigress. "All in all," he asked. "Not too bad, right?"

Tigress smiled at him. "Nope," she admitted. "Not bad at all."