A/N: Wow, am I updating at a decent time? What am I doing?! :P
Anyway, so, here's part 2! Nothing much to say - except that I hope you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: If I owned KFP, do you reall think the 3rd movie would be coming out in 2016? Really?
Spirit
"The Bridge"
Po looked up at the blue sky above him and smiled. Well, at least the weather was in their favor! He then proceeded to stumble over a tree root. He shook his head, trying to wake himself up. He didn't get enough sleep; but it was his fault, and it was for good cause. Hearing Tigress' painful breathing as she slept made Po give her a little extra time, and he only woke her when he felt like he was about to collapse from exhaustion.
Speaking of Tigress, she was in step closely beside him. However, when they had first left the cave, Tigress had found a large, sturdy stick to lean against instead of Po. He still help her by holding her arm when the terrain got rough, but, otherwise, the two only stepped in time together.
Po shook his head at the thought that it had been just a normal mission before the arrow incident. In fact, it was barely a mission at all. There had been rumors that the south farmers* wanted to rebel. Shifu had sent Po and Tigress on the mission, figuring they would be the perfect team for the objective. Po could enthuse anyone with the positives, especially if the topic was kung fu, and Tigress was the silent enforcer.
They had cut through the Artisan Village**. Po was a little unsure why Tigress had chosen that way instead of the Thread of Hope. It would have been quicker, and it had been rebuilt after Tai Lung had it destroyed. But Po had shrugged it off; after all, he loved seeing his "fans," for lack of a better term.
When they arrived at their destination, the farmers had met them, assuring them that there was no rebellion planned against the Jade Palace and their masters. The farmers reported a band of archers; they had not shot anyone yet, but they liked to scare the farmers, by shooting arrows near them and through their possessions. Po and Tigress assured the farmers they would inform Grandmaster Shifu and would come whenever called.
Po had thought it was over after that. But of course, he was wrong, as he sang and babbled and droned on, even when Tigress' ear twitched, and she demanded silence, he prodded her with unstopping questions – well, the questions did stop when she fell to the ground.
Po shook his head to rid the thoughts. He couldn't change the past – yesterday was history, after all! All he could do was focus on the present, the now: and that was he and Tigress were walking as quickly as they could.
Po glanced around with furrowed eyebrows. He was never really good at focusing, but he was aware that this was not the path he and Tigress had taken before.
"Tigress?" Po spoke up as he stepped a little closer to her. "Are we on the right trail?"
Tigress nodded. "We're going a faster way."
"Yeah?"
"We'll be crossing the Thread of Hope this time, instead of the Artisan Village." She stated.
Po's eyebrows bunched tighter together. "How come we didn't take the Thread of Hope before – if it's faster?"
Tigress' mouth stayed shut for a moment, as if considering how to word whatever she needed to say. Finally, she responded. "The Thread of Hope is not necessarily my – or anyone else's, for that matter – first choice. The only reason we're taking it now is we need to get back to the Jade Palace as quickly as possible."
Po glanced at her right side then looked away quickly. He stayed silent the rest of the journey.
Soon enough, Tigress and Po reached the Thread of Hope. Suddenly, she stopped, standing a little straighter, darting her eyes, and perking her ears.
"Do you feel that?" She asked with her voice low.
Po stayed quiet for what felt like forever, standing still and trying to feel something. He felt nothing, perhaps save for tired and confused, answering, "No? – should I feel something?"
"No," Tigress said quickly, continuing on her pace to the rope bridge. "There is nothing, I must be tired, that's all." She sounded to him as if she was trying to convince herself, but he stayed quiet.
Tigress threw her walking stick aside, seeing as she couldn't really use it on the bridge.
They moved slowly, of course. Tigress walked alone, gripping the rope tightly with each step. Po tried to keep his distance, but was finding it difficult between wanting to move quicker and be close to her incase she needed help.
Around halfway across the first bridge, Po heard thunder roll above. He looked up and moaned. He noticed the dark clouds and flashes of lightning as he exclaimed, "Not another storm!"
"We must hurry," Tigress said as she quickened her pace. Well, she quickened it as best as she could; but their speed was still rather slow.
They continued on, nearly finishing their journey on the first bridge, when suddenly Po thought he heard laughter. It was not a joyous kind, but one of seemingly evil.
"Did you hear that?" Po asked.
He had barely finished as Tigress was answering, " – It's just the thunder; it must be."
He would have believed her if she hadn't answered so quickly. She sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than him. But he decided to keep quiet and just walk quicker.
Po was practically at her heel then. There was nearly no space between the two as Tigress walked as quickly as she could across the rope bridge, and Po followed.
They soon finished their journey across the first rope bridge. Tigress paused a minute, holding her side and breathing heavily. Po was quickly beside her, already putting his paw on her arm gently, as if to give her some energy of his own.
"We must hurry on." Tigress said between pants. But even Po knew she was saying this to herself more than to him.
He wanted to tell her to rest a little longer, for she looked absolutely exhausted, but before he could, a loud roll of thunder bellowed above, and Po was reminded of both the coming storm and the heinous laugh he had heard earlier.
Tigress must have thought the same as he, for she was making her way to the second rope bridge as quickly as she could manage.
Things played out the same way they had on the first bridge: Po was still following at Tigress' heel as she led in front as quickly as she could. They were nearly halfway across when Po heard the same evil laugh as before. There was no questioning it this time. He locked eyes with Tigress as she turned her head to face him: she had heard it, too, and she could no longer deny it.
"Run!" Tigress yelled, grabbing her side and sprinting.
Po followed behind her, not really thinking. If he had, he would have wondered why they were running for their lives because of an echo that sounded like a laugh; but he trusted her, and she always knew of things he didn't, and so off they ran across the rope bridge.
Without warning, a wooden plank seemed to have been pulled out from below underneath Tigress. Her leg fell through, and she yelped with pain, as Po tripped over her and fell on his stomach, with his legs kicking her face.
"Po!" She yelled, and he jumped up quickly, stumbling a few times and kicking her with his legs. He was finally able to turn around, and he grabbed her arms and pulled. But she didn't budge.
She said urgently, "Something's got me – something's got my leg!"
"How?" Po asked as he continued pulling at her arms as she thrashed around her fallen leg wildly. His question went unheard, or simply unanswered, as the struggle continued on.
It finally ended, after what felt like an eternity of struggling and fighting, whatever had kept Tigress' leg down had released it, and Po pulled her out with all his strength; she flew into him, and they collapsed on the bridge, with she on top of him.
Po took her shoulders, bringing her face a little closer, and he asked her, "What is going on?"
Tigress answered by shaking her head and pushing herself up. "We just need to get out of here!" She pulled him up and pushed him to get him to start running again.
They sprinted, this time with Po leading and Tigress at his heels, ignoring the swaying of the bridge. But soon the wind picked up, and the Thread of Hope began to sway wildly, causing the pair to slow down and eventually stand still for fear of falling over.
And then Po couldn't move. He was literally paralyzed with no reason behind it. Tigress ran into him, but he didn't budge.
"Move, Po!" She shouted at him, giving him a push. But still he remained, unable to even open his mouth to tell her that he had no control of his body anymore and that he had no idea why.
He heard the evil laugh again, this time from behind him. He still couldn't move, but he felt Tigress turn around and step into him, her back now touching his.
Po heard her breathe out: "You."
He heard a sinister chuckle, and then a familiar voice sneered, "I've missed you, too."
Po knew that voice! But it couldn't be? The voice sounded a lot, too much, in fact, like that of Tai Lung.
*So I was going over it in my mind, and I rewatched Kung Fu Panda, and it looks like the Thread of Hope is actually in the east, not the south. But can we over look this...please?
**There is a very strong possibility that I am wrong about the location of the Artisan Village and the Thread of Hope. I actually think the Artisan Village is more behind the Jade Palace, while the Thread of the Hope is at the entrance to the Valley of Peace in the other direction. But because I can't prove this, can we just overlook this, please? Pretty please? :)
Sorry about my fails. Forgive me?
