A/N: And sorry, guys, for the wait. But I have been VERY busy. But I have returned! Missed me?!
Thank you for the support! It means so much!
I do not own Kung Fu Panda.
The Cost of a Sacrifice
The Promise
Po nervously rubbed his neck. "I… Uhm… Eh…"
Sighing, Viper decided to reveal it all. "Po talked with a soothsayer," she explained.
Tigress crossed her arms, not removing her eyes from Po. "I see," she said slowly. "And let me guess; I am going to suffer a horrible death."
"Well, she did not exactly say 'horrible'…" Po began, but when he caught Tigress' glance she understood that she was making fun of it.
"You have to be stupid if you believe such kind of things," Tigress told him sternly.
"But with Shen…"
"I mean, you should not believe false soothsayers," the tiger corrected herself. "It is kind of a part of the word' false'."
"But she is not false!"
Tigress opened her mouth to protest, but Monkey cut her off.
"He's right, Tigress," he said while staring at the ground. Mantis nodded quietly from the top of her friend's head.
The tiger then glanced at Viper, who shrugged. "They asked for some stupid prophecies that turned out to be true."
Tigress then set her eyes on Po, still not looking amused. "Then how is it that I should die?" she asked in a tone that told that she did not believe.
"You… You would sacrifice yourself for me," he muttered quietly.
"And it would happen within three days," Mantis added, and they all looked at the tiger to see her reaction.
Her eyes hardened as she said, "And you believe all of this?"
Wordlessly, the boys nodded. Viper looked unsure, not knowing what to answer.
Tigress snorted. "And what exactly do you think will happen? Some random bandit comes and kills me? Do I really have to remind you of that I have been training at the Jade Palace in over twenty years? I am still alive."
Mantis started coughing, as if he was trying to hide his own word. "Shen's *cough* weapon *cough*."
The fire in the tiger's eyes faded a bit. "That… That was something different," she hissed, not liking to be brought back to that day.
"Sure," Monkey said sarcastically. "Because you wouldn't do that again…"
"The weapon is destroyed and Shen is gone. End of story." Tigress turned around to leave. She did not like talking about that crazy peacock and now her mood totally destroyed.
Viper did not hesitate with following her. "Tigress, we just want to protect you!"
"From what?" Tigress asked and received no answer. "If Master Shifu knew about this-"
"He would be worried too," Viper said, causing the tiger to freeze.
Why did this conversation have to come now? Tigress bit her lip, holding in a groan as this caused her a headache. "Master Shifu would know that you can't trust false soothsayers. And so should you."
"You could try and talk with her…" Mantis began slowly.
"The soothsayer?" Tigress snorted. "Please; I have better things to do than listen to lies."
"Tigress-"
"What, Po?" she almost snarled, one sentence from losing her temper completely.
Po started speaking, without even thinking about what he was saying. "Three days," he started. "You give us three days where we prote… uhm… make sure you don't get hurt and then it is over."
Tigress glared at him. "And if I won't give you these three days?"
"We'll just have to follow you around everywhere," Monkey grinned. "And you know how annoying Mantis can be…"
"Hey!" the bug yelled angrily. "That's actually kind of true..."
They all stared at the feline who groaned in desperation. "You do realize that she has washed your minds, right?" she asked them and they all nodded. She then sighed. "Then what will happen in these three days?"
"Uhm…" Po said nervously, knowing he had to be the one to tell her. "You have to stay away from all dangers which mean bandits, missions… training…"
Tigress set her jaw. "Master Shifu will not be happy if we don't train."
"Master Shifu won't be happy if you die," Crane told her.
Tigress glared at him, causing him to be silent again. She then set her eyes on all of them. "I know you are trying to protect me," she sighed. "But I don't need to be protected. And I will not let my fate be decided by some crazy woman."
"But-"
"I'll go to bed," Tigress declared. "And you should too." With that she turned around to walk towards her room.
The boys glanced at Viper who then said, "I'll keep an eye on her. Goodnight."
Then she left too.
"Well, it could have been worse," Crane then said. "She could have punched us."
"Maybe she is right," Monkey muttered. "Maybe we are just overreacting."
But Po shook his head. "Three days. We can do that. Come on, Shifu would want us to look after her."
"Fine," Monkey then muttered and the others nodded. "But if she suddenly wants to claw someone, you will be the one to step forward."
Po gulped.
"Goodnight, Po," Mantis said as they all disappeared.
The panda remained where he was, scratching his neck as he thought about what to do. Maybe Tigress actually was right. And it was not like a new threat was coming towards them. Shen was no more; the same with Tai Lung.
Maybe the next three days would just be calm.
Shifu would soon be back, and he would make sure that nothing would happen to Tigress. And until then, he and the others would take care of the tiger. Even though she would not let them do it, they could just watch her from a distance.
Tigress was just being stubborn. Even the great Master Tigress had to need help some time.
Even if she did not ask for it.
Shifu had not returned home the next morning. Instead the students could sleep longer than they normally did. Well, except one.
Tigress, who had been in the palace in over twenty years, woke up as if the gong had sounded. Stretching out her body, she slowly opened the door. Taking in a deep breath, she sneaked out of the barracks. It would be lovely with some training alone.
But when she opened the doors to the training hall, she became shocked.
"Good morning, Ti-"
She slammed the door closed just in front of Po's face before he could finish his sentence. Rubbing her face with her paw, Tigress tried to understand what happened. There goes the time alone.
Opening the door again, Po remained where he was. Tigress tried to go around him, but he kept moving so he was in her way.
Growling, she asked, "What are you doing, Po?!"
"The training hall is closed, you know…"
The tiger's eye twitched. "Move, Po." She tried to push him away, but he grabbed her paw.
Gulping as he knew how angry she was going to be, Po quickly said, "As we said last night-"
"No more training for you," Viper finished from behind them both.
Tigress turned around to glare at her. "Then what am I supposed to do?"
Po opened his mouth, but Viper cut him off, "Meditate, of course."
Knowing that her friends would be after her if she tried anything, Tigress gave up. "Fine."
Po sent Viper a smile as she and Tigress walked away. He tried to give Tigress one too, but she glared at him in such a way that he wanted to shrink down to the ground. She was mad. Really, really mad.
But then she turned her head away, and disappeared along with Viper.
Sighing, the panda sat down in front of the doors. He could just as well stay here in case Tigress tried to train again. Which she probably would.
He kind of hoped that Shifu would believe him. If someone could protect Tigress then it was him.
"Hey, Po," Monkey greeted him as the last of the Furious Five came by. "What are you doing?"
"Standing guard."
"Tigress?" Crane asked and he nodded.
"Well, you are doing great," Mantis praised him. "Now we just have to keep doing that… Where is she now?"
Po shrugged. "With Viper. Meditating. That can't be dangerous, right?"
"I suppose not," Monkey answered. "But who knows?"
Mantis jumped to the ground. "Am I the only one who is kinda scared of this?!"
"Nobody wants Tigress to die," Crane spoke for them all. "It just surprises me that she refuse to believe it. Or just kind of react to it."
"Maybe she just won't," Monkey said quietly. "I mean, if I was told I was going to die, then I am sure I would hope that it was just lies."
"I think it is lies!" Mantis exclaimed. "Believing it is true is just like giving up!"
"Would she really do it?" Po then suddenly asked. "You know, for me?"
"Yes. Evidence one; she has already done it."
"But she survived," Monkey said, cutting off Mantis.
"She pushed him away, that's the point."
"I'll take that as a yes," Po muttered. He then sighed loudly. "It's like a nightmare!"
Mantis glared at him. "Well, it is your fault! You spoke with the soothsayer!"
"Hey! You did that too!"
"So? I am not the reason why she is going to die!"
"Uhm… Guys," Crane began. "I don't think that fighting right now will help." He paused as the others glanced at him. "Look-"
Monkey held up a hand. "We get it, Crane. No reason to go into details."
"No; look-"
"Monkey's right, Crane," Po told his friend. "We made the plan yesterday, you know. Viper is with Tigress now and we just need to look out for possible dangers."
"Just look up!" the bird finally exclaimed, losing his patience. The other's followed his glance and saw two eagles staring down at them.
Mantis glared back. "Who are they?"
"Hey!" Po shouted. "Hallo?"
But the birds just ignored him and started flying away from them.
"They don't seem friendly," Mantis huffed. "What are they doing here?"
"Guys, I think they are flying in the direction Viper and Tigress went," Po said as he realized it. The boys shared a worried glance, before hurrying after the two strange birds.
Crane flew after them, having a better chance to follow them than the others. There. In front of him in the distance, he could see the two eagles. Getting a better look on them, he realized their bodies were covered in armor. They were warriors?
Not good, if what had been said about Tigress was true.
But suddenly the eagles flew through a cloud, and when Crane's vision cleared, they were gone. "Huh?"
He searched for them, but found nothing. But then he spotted Tigress and Viper at the peach tree, meditating.
"Tigress. Viper," he called and they opened their eyes. He landed carefully beside them.
"Crane," the snake greeted them, but then realized how serious his tone had been. "What is wrong?"
"Two eagles were spying on us as I and the others talked," he explained. "After we spotted them, they were heading towards you two."
Tigress rose from the ground. "Where are they now?" she asked him.
"I lost them off my sight," the crane shamefully admitted. He met Tigress eyes. "The others are on their way. But maybe you should go back-"
"One prophecy and you are accusing every villager of being an assassin?" the tiger asked him with a blaming voice. "Don't you think that is a bit too much?"
"I… Look out!" Crane barely managed to say before they all had to duck.
The two eagles had suddenly appeared and dived down at them, claws ready to rip their skin open. No one got hurt, but they had flown so fast that Tigress lost her balance as they flew past her. Seeing how close she was to the edge of the cliff, Viper curled her tail around her arm and pulled her back before he could fall down.
"Thanks," Tigress quickly muttered, but then they had to duck again as the eagles attacked again.
They missed again, but remained nearby, ready to come down at any moment. Crane flew after them, and Viper's eyes never left them. Tigress growled, taking her fighting stance.
If those birds wanted a fight then they should get one.
One of them dived down again, and Tigress' paw curled into a fist. Just a little closer and that bird's beak would be crooked…
But suddenly she was pulled back so quickly, that the eagle did not have a chance to change direction but flew directly into the peach tree. Viper leapt at him and they both started to fight.
"Po!" Tigress shouted as he dragged her away. "What are you doing?" she growled.
"Getting you back to the palace," he said, but was suddenly nearly thrown back as Tigress placed her feet on the ground, refusing to move an inch more. No matter how much he pulled or pushed she remained where she was. She could just as well have been made of stone. "Come on, Tigress!"
"It's just two eagles," she protested. "Not an army. You could just as well make fun of my fighting skills by saying that!"
"But-"
"I'm not a child, Po!" she hissed, shaking her arm away from his grasp. "And I am not weak."
"I didn't say tha-"
"If you are afraid of them, then why don't you just stay here?" she asked him, losing her temper. Keeping her away from Kung Fu was not helping her mood, and she did not like when people acted like she was helpless.
So right now she was not exactly happy.
"Because I am not the person who is going to die soon!" he exclaimed, but then regretted his words. With a soft voice he started to apologize, "Tigress, I-"
The tiger was looking at the ground when she cut him off. "I am not going to die. That's a promise."
Po dropped his jaw; he had never heard Tigress talk in such a tone before. So calm, yet was there a bit of sadness in her voice?
Hardened her eyes she met his eyes. "Let's help the others."
"Tigress, wait!" he said, running after her.
Sighing, she looked over her shoulder as she ran back towards the tree. "What?"
"Be careful!" the panda exclaimed, nearly tripping over a stone on the ground.
Resisting rolling her eyes, Tigress said, "Sure."
Why was it that the tone sounded like she was mocking him? Okay maybe it was just some eagles, but he had a really bad feeling about this. A really bad one.
"'I can't watch my friend be killed'!" he called as she speeded up and he found himself slowing down as he could not run that fast. "Your words, Tigress!"
But the tiger could not hear him; she was too far away.
"Your words!"
A/N: I finally finished it! Stupid writer's block! Nearly finished with my school assignment and theater is now over. Sobs! I miss all my fellow actors so much!
And if anyone ask; the play went fantastic! Half of the times we played, we were sold out and we had to send people away because we did not have space for all the audience! We are one of the best-selling plays they have ever had! Aaaaand… I have already been contacted by two other theaters who have asked me if I want to be in their play. So, yeah, I'll soon have another play to use my time on. Forgive me!
