Last of Our Kind
Po sat under the Sacred Peach Tree, looking up at the moon and stars above him. He was deep in thought as his face carried a sad expression. It was late and everyone had already gone to sleep. It had been one month since he defeated Lord Shen, discovered his past and obtained inner peace. Shortly after he and the others had returned home from Gongmen City, he had begun to dig deeper into his memories.
Every night, before he fell asleep, he'd replay those memories in his head. Until this very night, realization hit him. Tears came to his eyes as he turned his gaze from the sky to the village below. A village filled with happy families of goats, pigs, geese and bunnies. He tightly shut eyes and looked away from the village. His tears were falling like a river now. What he had come to realize, was that, since Shen had attacked the panda village, and most likely killed all the pandas, - except him, thanks to his mother – he was, as far as he and anyone else knew, the last panda alive.
This led to the realization that he would never find a mate, have a family, and revive his species. He choked in a sob as he whispered,
"I'm all alone."
Unbeknownst to the giant panda, a pair of golden eyes filled with worry, was watching him from behind the sacred peach tree. The owner of said eyes slowly began to approach the distraught panda.
"Po?"
Po's eyes snapped open at the voice. He sat up straight and turned his head, to see Master Tigress standing behind him, a worried expression dawned on her face. His sad expression never changed as he turned to look at the ground in front of him.
"Hey Tigress," he replied in a sad voice. Tigress frowned and sat next to him.
"Why are you out here so late? Is something bothering you?" she asked, in a gentle caring voice. She had realized that he wasn't acting like his normal self since they had returned from Gongmen City.
There was a long pause of silence, until Po finally spoke.
"Tigress… do you remember the story I told you guys about my past?" he asked.
"Yes. I remember." She replied with a nod.
"Well, ever since we came back, I've been digging deeper into them, trying to figure out something. It wasn't until tonight, that I finally figured it out." He sadly explained.
"What did you figure out?" she curiously asked.
He tightly shut his eyes, trying to fight back the tears.
"I'm all alone, Tigress." He said in a choked up voice. Tigress gave him a confused look.
"What do you mean you're all alone? No you're not, Po. You've got your father Mr. Ping, Master Shifu, me and the rest of the five. How can you be alone?" she asked.
"I know I've got all of you, but that's not what I meant. Think about what I told you about my past. What would come to your mind after knowing what happened from my point of view?" he told her. Tigress recollected her memory to remember what Po had told them about his past. She pondered on it for a while and gasped when she realized it. Her ears dropped as she sadly looked to the ground.
"You're the last known living panda." She whispered, glancing at him from the corner of her eye. Po nodded.
"As far as I, and all of China knows, Shen killed off all the pandas. And I'm most likely the last of my kind, which caused me to realize that I'll never be able to find a mate, and have a family, and probably revive my species. You can't possibly know what that's like." He explained.
There was moment of silence between them, until Tigress spoke up.
"I know exactly what that's like." She whispered. Po looked up at her, waiting to hear what else she had to say. "You and I are more alike than you think, Po. Although I have no memory of my life before the orphanage, as far as I know, I'm… I'm the last known living tiger." She told him in a slightly shaky voice, as she fought to hold back her tears.
Po gasped as he heard this. Now that he thought about it, he'd seen snow leopards other than Tai-Lung, meaning he wasn't the last snow leopard. But he had never seen another tiger other than Tigress.
"I have been on missions all over China, and I have never once come across another tiger. So I have come to accept the fact that I'm possibly most likely the last of my species." She continued.
Po sighed, "You're right, we're almost the same. But you have a better chance at finding a mate than I do." He told her. She gave him a questionable look, so he continued. "You're a feline, Tigress, so you're compatible with other felines. But me, there's no other animal compatible with me except maybe another bear species. But I haven't come across any of those either." He sadly explained.
Tigress got up from next to him and moved to sit directly in front of him, so they were face to face. She placed her paws on top of his, which were resting on his thighs. They gazed into each other's eyes, as Tigress smiled towards him, and then spoke.
"You don't know that for sure. How will you know, if you don't try?" she said to him.
"Tigress… even if I did, who would want to be with someone like me? I mean… the real me, not the Dragon Warrior me." He said, looking away from her as a light blush formed on his cheeks.
There was a moment of silence, until Tigress spoke up again, in an almost whisper.
"I would." She said, a light blush forming on her cheeks, but thankfully because of her fur colour, it wasn't as visible as the panda's.
Po's eyes widened and his head shot back up to face the female tiger before him. "Y-you would?" he stuttered in disbelief, at the woman he has admired for so long.
Tigress nodded. "I understand that this is a shock to you. The hardcore, tough as ironwood Tigress, in love with a fat panda. I couldn't believe it either when I found out. I've always considered you a friend, Po. But…" she frowned, "…after what happened in the factory, I realized how much you meant to me. I guess it's true what they say about not knowing how much something or someone means to you, until you've lost them. And Po, I felt my heart shatter into a million pieces when I thought…" she couldn't bring herself to say it. Po saw this and embraced her as she cried onto his chest fur. Funny how she was the one who came to try to comfort him, and now he was comforting her.
"It's ok Tigress." He whispered into her ear. "Do you really feel that way toward me?" he asked.
Tigress lifted her head from his chest to look up at him without breaking the embrace. "Yes, Po. I really do. And I can understand if you don't feel the same."
Po smiled and rests his forehead against hers, their noses touching, causing Tigress' blush to darken.
"Actually, Tigress, I do feel the same."
"You do?"
"Mm hmm. I have been from the very first time I saw you when Oogway announced the members of the Furious."
Tigress gasped, and then smiled as she rests her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. "That long, huh?" she asked. Po softly chuckled and nodded his head. The two stayed in the embrace in comfortable silence as they sat under the peach tree, until Po spoke up.
"Tigress?"
"Yes?"
"Do you… really think it's possible… for a panda and a tiger to mate?" he curiously asked.
"I don't know, Po. But like I said, you'll never know unless you try," she said, and grinned up at him "And I'm more than willing to try. But the question is, are you?"
Po pondered on this. If it were possible, they'd be able to revive their species, since as far as they knew, he's the last panda and she's the last tiger in all of China. Or, they'd make an entirely new species of a mix because of their difference in species. After thinking it through, Po smiled down at her and kissed her forehead, and then lovingly whispered in her ear,
"I'm more than willing to give it a try, especially with you." He leaned down and captured her lips with his. This surprised Tigress, but she quickly melted into it, as they lovingly shared their first kiss. After what felt like an eternity, they broke apart for air, and gazed lovingly into each other's eyes.
"Thank you, Po." Tigress whispered, nuzzling her head in the crook of his neck. "And who knows, it could very well be possible for us to mate. The Universe does work in mysterious ways, and could quite possibly allow the last panda and tiger to reproduce." She stated with a giggle.
Po replied with a chuckle, and tightened their embrace while nuzzling his chin on her head.
"It just might, Ti. It just might…" he whispered. Tigress gave a happy purr, as they continued to enjoy the warmth of each other, as they sat under the Sacred Peach Tree. It wasn't long until they fell asleep under the very tree, still in each other's embrace. The only thing watching over them, were the moon and stars above, and most likely, the spirit of the wise Master Oogway, smiling down at them, as the tree petals danced around the two warriors, and flew off into the night sky.
END!
Published: 10.03.2013
I really thought someone would have written something like this already. I mean, if you ignore the ending of the second movie, when you really look into it, in combining everything in the KFP series, Po is probably the last panda, and Tigress is probably the last tiger.
We've seen Viper's parents in 'Secrets of the Furious Five'
We've seen other Mantis' in LoA
Monkey's Brother in LoA
Shifu's father in LoA
And (this might be a bit of a spoiler), but in one of the upcoming new episodes, we're supposed to see Crane's mother (hoping that she's a Crane as well)
Po and Tigress are the only panda and tiger shown (like I said earlier, ignoring the ending of the 2nd movie). We've seen other snow leopards apart from Tai-Lung, but not another tiger.
So yea, just thought I'd point those out.
Hope you all enjoyed the story. Feedback is greatly appreciated.
~Zea