Chapter 4

Just as Crane fell of the edge, Tigress immediately grabbed him by his wing and pulled Crane up to her, saving his life. Crane, hugging Tigress to keep balance, felt relieved and happy to be alive… and awkward because he was hugging Tigress. She felt awkward as well.

They kept moving, Tigress led, but they couldn't hear the voice so Tigress shouted,

"Hello!? Where are you!? Can you say something!?"

They kept walking carefully as the fog covered the hill but they stopped once they heard the voice again. The mysterious voice that started to echo all around Tigress and Crane exclaimed with might,

"With what purpose guides you to come to the Shadow Mountain? Not many survive this foul walk. Speak!"

Tigress walks in front of Crane without fear and replies to the mysterious voice,

"We're looking for the Dragon Warrior and something tells me you met him on his way past the Shadow Mountain."

"Hmmm. What makes you think he traveled through these mountains?" said the mysterious voice while observing the two.

"Why don't you come out from the fog and show yourself unless you're too much of a coward to face me!?" Tigress replied with frustration and controlled anger.

The mysterious voice said to Tigress with warning yet a calm voice, "You wouldn't like it. Plus, I'm one with many forms and sometimes I choose the form of something... someone from the past or an idea of someone that exists in your mind which you fear. It could drive one to their own death."

"Try me. I'm not afraid!" Said Tigress trying to hide her fear inside her.

"Very well Tigress. I warned you." And so the mysterious voice formed behind the fog covering the sky and ground, a few feet in front of Tigress and Crane. The fog turned red during the transformation. Both Tigress and Crane weren't able to see the voice transforming until the fog cleared for the voice to walk towards them.

"You did this to me Tigress! Why would you let Shifu die!? Why did you let Stormbreaker break me!? It's all your fault!" Said the voice who transformed as an evil version of the Dragon Warrior with a burning yellow eye, black fiery armor that had sharp horns on his arm pads and shoulder pads, and scars on the side of his face where he lost his eye.

Tigress' fear came out and she instantly became terrified as she saw her fear tormenting her.

"The voice transformed as an evil version of Po, which is her fear?"

Yes. Tigress, who felt a heavy burden of guilt and sadness, which felt as if a spear pierced her heart, gave in and shouted to the voice thinking it's the Dragon Warrior,

"I'm so sorry Po! I could have saved you and Shifu! I failed you! I'm sorry for everything! Please don't do this, don't turn evil! Don't give in!... I love you Po."

While the voice was tormenting Tigress, Crane who knew that the evil Dragon Warrior was not actually the Dragon Warrior, shouted to Tigress trying to get her to wake up and realize that evil Po is not real. However, shouted many times and it didn't work.

"You don't love me! Not after what you did! I lost a friend, a master, and what did you do!? Nothing! You just watched as I went in the fire to grab Shifu's body! You're no friend of mine. You're nothing to me!" Said evil Po with rage and fury to Tigress!

"You don't mean that! You don't mean that!" Tigress screamed with tears running down her face while she laid on her knees, helpless.

Crane shouted to Tigress once more as loud as he could,

"Tigress! Wake up, he is not Po! It's the voice, he's playing you! Now wake up!"

At that moment, Tigress heard Crane's voice start to echo, loud enough for her to hear, and she no longer was afraid. She wiped her tears away with her arm and stood up facing her fear that was imitated by the mysterious voice with a fearless stern on her face.

The voice that imitated her fear started to shout in shock while its form started to fade away,

"No, that's impossible! No, no.. NOOO!""

And the form disappeared.

"So the mysterious voice is gone for good?"

No. The mysterious voice is still there. It's just the form that the voice took disappeared because Tigress overcame her fear, thanks to Crane.

"Oh."

Once the form disappeared, the mysterious voice said to Tigress, surprised,

"No one has ever been able to overcome their fear that I portray. However, you were. Even when the fear felt so real, you overcame it. Impressive."

Tigress replied "Well the reason I overcame it was because I heard Crane call to me, telling me that it wasn't real. I know you saw him! Now where is Po!?"

(To be continued…)