A/N: Hello! Here is a new chapter for everyone! I hope you enjoy it. It is on the short side, but I think that it is decent. This story is ending very soon, we only have two more chapters left. In this chapter, we will find out if Po and Tigress can make the creative form in time for the festival! Please let me know what you think and if there is anything that needs to be changed. Happy reading! :)

I would like to give a shout-out to M4dG4rl for being the 100th reviewer! Thank you so much, M4dG4rl! We love you and your writing so much, never stop! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Kung Fu Panda...

Chapter Eleven: Two Skits

"That looks great, Tigress!" he exclaimed with enthusiasm.

Too much enthusiasm that is, the panda jumped up when Tigress showed him what she had worked on, and he hit his head on a low hanging branch. "Oof!" he grunted.

They were in the iron wood tree forest, the place that Tigress had visited so frequently in her past. The space was airy and pleasant: a perfect spot to work on the creative routine.

Tigress stayed in her finishing stance until Po walked over to her. "I am glad that you are pleased with it," she said.

Last night, a few hours before Master Shifu had wanted to see her creative routine, the feline had frantically tried to create something to present to her grandmaster. Surprisingly, she had found within minutes of testing out moves and stances that it was very easy to make the routine. She had impressed herself by having a decent outline of the form and she was confident to share it with Shifu.

That was, until Po mentioned to the red panda that he and Tigress had failed to come up with a routine.

In a way, Tigress was thankful that Po had told Shifu. She would be able to work on the form until it was perfect. But yet, that also meant that Master Shifu would not be able to look at the routine until the Ceremonial Festival of the Masters show-case presentation.

The tiger decided that it was good that Po had stopped Shifu from watching her routine. It was as if she had been given a second chance.

Po looked up from rubbing his head and glanced at Tigress. She had done it. She had been creative enough to come up with a great outline for her form.

He felt happy for her, but on the inside he wondered if what they had done together for the past few days had actually helped. The panda had felt so ashamed the day before when she had left him in the bamboo forest. He felt that he had let his comrade down.

He knew what he had been doing during the activities, he was just having fun. How did he not notice that she was anxious? That she was worried?

He blinked. No… he knew what she was feeling. But how come he did not stop and ask her what was wrong? Had he paid any attention to her at all? He thought that he did, but apparently Tigress didn't.

He wanted to tell her that he was sorry. That he was sorry for procrastinating. Sorry for having fun. Sorry for wanting to get to know her better. Little did Tigress know that the reason why he had done all the activities and spent time with her was because he desperately wanted to be her friend.

And Po desperately wanted to tell her that…

But now was not the time. He could see it in her facial expression that she wanted to work hard today. There was no time for idle chit-chat. There was a form to create. He would tell her soon though, very soon…

"I think that looked awesome!" Po complimented. "I can tell that you worked really hard…"

Tigress nodded in reply, her paws behind her back. "Is there anything that we should add to it?"

"Hmm…" he placed his fingertips on his chin in concentration. "You could add a kick combination in the section where you are over by the tree."

She went back towards the sturdy iron wood tree and balanced on one foot. She lifted her leg into the air and performed six fast round kicks. Each kick was pointed in a separate direction and they went higher and higher into the air until her foot was flying above her head. When she finished she set her foot down and regained her balance, her bones cracking as she did so.

"How was that?" she asked.

Po grinned. "Intense…" he paused. "I think that the very beginning could use a third square block, and maybe an outer crescent kick."

The tiger shrugged and stepped in the middle of the small space they had. She breathed in deeply as she slowly moved her striped arms into a strong and precise block. She proceeded to perform the block three times in different directions: the first pointing to the east, the second to the west, and the third towards the south. With her eyes focused on her invisible target, Tigress picked up her leg and swung it across in a circling motion, as if painting a rainbow with her leg. She continued with the rest of her form, noticing that the extra kick helped to make everything flow better.

"Good," Po announced. "Now start from the beginning and do the whole thing."

Tigress obeyed and began her form with great intensity, speed, power, and focus.

Po watched his comrade with a critical eye, making sure that everything was perfect. Everything was indeed, flawless. But something was missing, and it wasn't any more kicks or punches. Po thought that the form was lacking emotion and depth: a story. Because without any story being told, the form was just a series of mechanical moves, nothing more.

The panda cringed inside as he watched the tiger performed a kick-up that turned into double splits. He had an idea on how to get Tigress' form to look fantastic, but she sure wasn't going to like it…

"Are you okay with that?" he asked her.

Tigress took a breath and opened her eyes. Po had just explained to her that the form was missing a key factor: fluidity. He had an idea on how to make the form phenomenal, and he wanted to try it out.

Tigress was uneasy and was not sure that the activity would be worth the time.

Po wanted to act scenes, two skits to be precise.

Even though the feline strongly wanted to decline, she felt that the activities that they had done together had helped her create the form. Po's tips had echoed through her mind when she was making up the moves of the routine the night before. Maybe doing one last activity would do the trick.

"Very well," she finally stated. "We can do two skits, but nothing more."

A grin exploded onto Po's face. "Thanks, Tigress," he said gratefully. "We'll do this really quickly."

He sat down on the ground and motioned for her to do the same. He shrugged a little when she looked into his eyes. "I guess you can say that this activity is more about the mind. Right now, I want you to think about what this creative form means to you. When you do the moves, is there a certain story or thought that comes to mind?"

Tigress paused. "I suppose that I think of the hard work that we have done to get this far," she pondered.

"So you think of the journey of creative activities?" he replied.

She nodded back in response, her paw resting underneath her chin.

"Is there a person you think of when you do the form?" the panda questioned.

"What do you mean by that?"

He cracked his knuckles absentmindedly. "Someone who has inspired you in the art of Kung Fu, someone that you of think of-" he paused and rolled his eyes. "I'm just tossing out random ideas…"

"Whenever I am doing Kung Fu, I think that I am facing an imaginary opponent-"

"What kind of opponent?"

Tigress wrinkled her nose. "A thief, what other kind of opponent is there?"

"It could always be you that you are facing…" Po said mysteriously.

She frowned. "Please clarify…"

"You could be facing yourself, an emotional and internal opponent." Po explained thoughtfully.

The tiger paused. She had never thought of it like that. Physical battles were difficult, but emotional battles were definitely extreme. She suddenly could imagine herself fighting with her mind, her conscience, over things such as the stress of the creative form. A spark of realization came over her as she noticed that what Po had mentioned was something the late Grandmaster Oogway would have said.

"Hmm…" she sighed. "I do not know how I could act out fighting myself."

Po suddenly snapped out of his trance. "Well, we don't have to do that. But at least you have an idea of what you think of when you do Kung Fu."

"Yes, I understand. But what are we going to do for the activity?" the feline inquired patiently.

Po narrowed his emerald eyes and rubbed his fingers across his chin in concentration. "You are going to have the role of a princess in a locked tower…" he decided.

"A princess?!" she exclaimed uneasily.

"Don't worry, you're a Kung Fu princess." he paused. "I'll be the prince!"

Without complaining, Tigress stood up and followed Po directions on how to be a princess. They acted out a scene where the damsel in distress needed to creatively think of something to escape a dangerous power. Of course, the prince assisted her in ideas and saved her in the end from a flaming dragon.

Even though the idea of playing the role of a princess was not very fun to the tiger, it was still entertaining to be able to transform herself into a different character, a different person besides herself. Tigress also had to admit that Po was good at everything in the arts. He was a totally different panda when he acted as the prince.

The second skit was the story that Po had made days before, a skit about a forgetful thief. When they had finished performing the hilarious scene, the panda and tiger sat down on the ground chuckling. Po had made a very good forgetful thief.

The thief looked to his friend, the merchant. "That was fun! Do you think you can do the form now with more fluidity?" he asked.

Tigress nodded with a laugh. "Yes, let's do it."

Po sat with his arms wrapped around his knees as he watched the feline do her form once more. He studied her focus, the story she was telling not only with her movements, but with her face. She was powerful, and never gave up until the opponent, her troubles in her mind, was defeated.

She finished with great determination; a look of pride was within her amber eyes.

Po clapped twice and gave a hoot as he approached Tigress, his expression suddenly serious.

"You're ready," he announced.

She nodded. "I feel ready."

And that was the truth. As Tigress held her position and looked into the panda's eyes, she felt inside herself, inside her heart, mind, and spirit that she was prepared for the Ceremonial Festival of the Masters.

She was ready…

A/N: How was that? I hope it was okay. I know that it was short, but this seriously was a hard chapter to make when it came to the activity. I guess you can say that the princess and the prince part was a little TiPo Easter egg! :)

Once again, thank you all for your wonderful support. I hope to have another chapter up very soon... :)

Catch you later!