Too Little, Too Late?

He was gone. Po was actually gone. Tigress still couldn't believe it. Even now as her arms were in shackles, bound along with her other friends, her mind could only race with thoughts of the lost panda. Why? Her thoughts growled. Why couldn't he have just listened? Maybe she should have done something more severe to keep him in place, but she thought he would have understood her plea to him to stay in the jail. She thought he would have realized how desperately she wanted him to stay safe.

No, how desperately she needed him to stay safe. This hadn't been just about Po and what was best for him. She knew that now. Too late she knew it. Now she understood how much he had come to mean to her as a friend. A closer friend than she'd ever truly allowed herself to have before. Never had she felt comfortable opening up to the others in the way she'd begun to open up to Po. She hadn't wanted to lose that. Was that companionship the thing she'd been secretly longing for since as long as she could remember? Although it had scared her to reveal to him the vulnerable side that she kept hidden, now she knew not having him around was scarier.

"I really didn't think we'd go out like this guys."

Mantis' words broke through her thoughts momentarily. He was right. This was most likely the end anyway. She wouldn't have to face life much longer without the dragon warrior. He was gone and soon she would be too. She hadn't thought it would end like this either. Things had started to feel right in her life. Was this punishment for allowing herself to feel a little too deeply? She felt her anger boil up inside of her. Her natural ferocity etched itself upon her face and she couldn't control it.

She could hear Lord Shen and his treacherous words. "You coward!" she growled at him and shook in her chains. But all seemed pointless.

Maybe if she hadn't been so afraid of opening up sooner, she would have at least had the chance to make Po understand that no matter what happened, she was happy that he had become the dragon warrior. Had she ever said it to him? Her thoughts were so jumbled that she couldn't really remember, but even if she had, she knew she hadn't said it enough. Now her friend was gone and they would never get the chance to say goodbye. You can at least say goodbye to the others. It's what Po would have wanted. She shifted her eyes, but noticed the others' attention had been drawn elsewhere.

In the distance was an unmistakable figure. Her eyes went wide and her ears twitched. "Po?"


A/N - Just a little drabble of sorts I couldn't resist writing asap. Thanks to grazar for reminding me of Mantis' line in this scene. I didn't include the full comment since Tigress is supposed to be thinking while he continues on in the background. I couldn't remember who noticed Po first. *facepalm* You would think I hadn't been paying attention! Also, while I ship Po/Tigress, I tried to keep this one friendly. I have other more romance-driven fics that I hope to start churning out here soon :) If only I could get my hands on a copy of the junior novelization first...