The Start of a Long Journey

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"Well, I guess it's time." Tigress. She put a small note in her room that said she was going to be away for a while. 'I just hope they don't go to find me.' Thought Tigress. So on second thought, she threw the note into the trash. She then crept out of the barracks and to the Jade Palace. Her silent footing was almost impossible to hear. 

When she was about to pass her master's bedroom, she went as far away from it as possible as her master has excellent hearing. She made her way to the end of the Jade Palace, where all the sacred scrolls were kept on shelves that went up to the ceiling. Tigress then started rummaging through scrolls quietly, not knowing what she was really looking for. She took out scroll after scroll in hopes of finding what she needed. Still, nothing.

She almost about gave up. Then, she saw it! A golden colored scroll, all rolled up. It was the main map of China. Tigress gently put all the other scrolls back on the shelf and unrolled the map. Her eyes darted quickly across the map when her gaze started to focus on a certain part. Tiger's Cove. Tigress nodded, satisfied with what she found and set off. When she was far away from the Jade Palace, she whispered, "Don't worry. I'll be back soon."

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"What do you mean you don't know where she is?!" Master Shifu yelled at Po and the rest of the Five. 

"Master, we're really sorry. But we just can't find her." Crane told his master fearfully. 

"Yeah." Mantis agreed. "We even had the guts to look into her room. No clue though."

 "Hmm." said Shifu. He pushed open Tigress' bedroom door and started looking around. His students followed him inside. There seemed to be nothing, until Shifu took a look in her trash bin. There was a single piece of paper inside and he took it out and read it.

It said,

{Master, I know I'm doing something you don't want me to do. And I'm going to be away for a while. I just wanted to let you know that I'm honored to be your adoptive daughter.

-Tigress}

Master Shifu's eyes widened when he realized what she had done. "No!" he shouted. "No no no!" He rubbed his forehead frustration. 

"What it it?!" The other masters questioned anxiously. 

They followed their master, listening to what he had to say while they headed for the Jade Palace. "She is searching for her birth place. She's going to get herself killed!" 

"What?! Why?!" Po yelled. 

"Because," Master Shifu started while rummaging through the scrolls. "There is some sort of-- Oh no!" 

"What's wrong, Master?" asked Viper worried. 

"The-the map! It's gone!" 

"Huh? What map?" Asked Monkey. 

"The map of China! I was hoping that my suspicions were wrong, but this just seals it!" Master Shifu sank to the ground and put his head in his hands. "She's headed to Tiger's Cove. Someone just go find her. Please." 

"What's gonna happen to Tigress?" Crane asked. 

"Something awful." replied Shifu starting to stand up again.

"Legend says, that after the battle between the good and bad, there was the spirit of the most powerful evil tiger, lurking in the Tiger's Palace. He would consume every living soul that was weak who went inside. But if a strong opponent were to cross his path, he would challenge them to the death. As far as history can tell, none has made it out alive."

Everyone gasped in horror and Shifu's ears dropped. "I-is there some sort of way to, you know...defeat this guy?" Po asked his master anxiously. 

Shifu shook his head sadly. "Not any that has been recorded. The only good news is that he is trapped in the tiger's palace and is incapable to roam about. But even the good news can't always overcome the bad...Please, someone. Anyone. Look for Tigress...I'm too weak now..." 

"Don't worry, Master Shifu." Po assured. "We'll all go and get Tigress to come home. No one is gonna hurt one single hair on her." His master nodded and the rest, including himself, went to pack all the things that they would need for their little trip.

'Why did you leave, Tigress?' Po thought worriedly. He didn't know when he started to get these feelings for Tigress. They sort of just came. After they defeated Kai, his emotions went crazy around her. Po thought that it was just a friendship kind of feeling and that he was overwhelmed with happiness by Kai's defeat.

 Though, after about a month, that feeling didn't go away. He couldn't stop thinking about Tigress and just how...beautiful she looked. Po had almost fainted when he realized was he was feeling for Tigress, which was about three months later. It wasn't really a deeply in love kind of emotion. It was more of an attraction. Still, more or less, Po was determined to get Tigress home safely.

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"All packed and ready to go?" Viper asked everyone when they were outside the barracks. All the masters nodded. 

"Yup." Then they began their journey, with Po holding an extra small map of China, directing them to Tiger's Cove.

They were travelling for about three hours and had crossed different and difficult types of land forms. They stopped to have a break at a large, luscious meadow. All five of them sat down on the grass and took out some food for lunch. Everyone was silent as they ate, until Mantis asked, "Why would Tigress go to Tiger's Cove?"

 "Well," said Crane. "It is Tigress. We can't question her on what she does. She has reasons which are hard to uncover.-"

 "-And reasons which are right in front of our eyes!" Mantis argued. 

Crane sighed and admittedly said, "Well yeah, this time seems pretty obvious." 

Mantis asked, "Then what is it?"

 "Really, Mantis?" Said Monkey. "I thought you said there are reasons right in front of our eyes." 

Mantis replied, "Yeah. There are reasons which are obvious. But I didn't mean this one!" Po face-palmed.

Viper explained, "We all know that Tigress knows about that whole Tiger Power thing, right?" Mantis nodded. Viper continued on, "So she wants to find out more about herself by going to her birth place. Finding some closure or something like that." 

"Wait, hold on." said Crane. "Didn't she say that she's not going to do anything about it when I asked her?" 

Mantis joined Crane and said, "Yeah, why didn't she tell us the truth?"

 "IT'S TIGRESS!!!" Everyone screamed at Mantis.

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Tigress had been traveling for almost a whole day and has had no breaks whatsoever. She either ate as she walked or she didn't eat at all. She mostly did the latter. She checked her map again and saw that Tiger's Cove was still about two days away. She decided to find a village for an inn to stop for the night. After tireless travelling, she thought she deserved some rest.

After another two hours, she stumbled across a small town. The villagers there were kind and ushered Tigress to a nearby inn. She got a room on the top level of the two-story building, which had all the necessities of a bedroom. A bed, a small chair and table, and a tiny closet/chest for any belongings.

 Tigress started to settle down and dumped her carry bag on floor, lying down in the bed. She sighed and looked out of the large window beside her bed. The sun was setting and the sight looked beautiful. Tigress sat up and looked out of the window properly. 'Po would have liked this.' Tigress thought, smiling. 'I wonder what everyone else is doing.'

A while later, Tigress finally went to bed. She looked up to the ceiling as if looking up at the stars and smiled as an image of Po came into her mind. She mentally slapped herself for that. She's supposed to be hardcore. Why was she feeling this way? She thought, 'Maybe just a friendship feeling.' She then closed her eyes and went to sleep.

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