A/N: Here it is the folks, the final chapter. I hope the ending doesn't disappoint you guys, I worked really hard on it and I hope you all like it. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda or Mortal Kombat.
The Final Fight and a Hero's Homecoming
"Well Shang Tsung, looks it's just you and me." Po said as he eased into his fighting stance. "Face me in Mortal Kombat." He challenged, smiling inwardly at the pun he just made.
"So be it." Shang Tsung stated in a serious tone as he took his fighting stance as well. The two final Kombatants stared each other down, both knowing that the outcome of this one match will decide the fate of an entire realm. Neither of them could afford to lose.
"Begin!" Shang Tsung announced, commencing the final fight.
The two Kombatants rushed up to each other and began exchanging blows. Po eventually tried to sweep his feet but Shang Tsung leaped over him and landed behind him. He then landed a kick to Po's back, making him stager, and then proceeded to land a combo, ending it with an uppercut which sent Po into the air. Po landed hard on the ground but he immediately got back up.
'Geez, for an old man, he hits pretty hard.' Po thought to himself as he didn't think that Shang Tsung would be that physically fit. Shang Tsung then shot a flaming skull at Po who just caught it in his hands and flung it right back at him knocking him down. Po then panda rolled over him twice and attempted to drop kick him, but Shang Tsung was able to roll out of the way and retaliate by punching him right in the face which sent him stumbling back. Just as Po regained his composure Shang Tsung summoned a flaming skull to burst out on the ground from under Po and knocked him off his feet. He then jumped into the air and tried to drop kick him, but Po recovered quickly and used his 'feet of fury' to kick him higher into the air and knock him back down. Po then tried to body slam him but Shang Tsung quickly got back up and stepped to the side to avoid it. Po bounced on his belly, landed safely on his feet and began trading blows with Shang Tsung again. Shang Tsung was eventually able to get passed Po's defenses and grab him with his now glowing hands. He then sucked some kind of green aura from Po and absorbed it into himself. Po stumbled back, as he felt a bit dizzy from that strange attack, but other than that no real damage had been done to him. Po then looked up to face his opponent, but once he did him, and all of the spectators, went wide eyed at what they saw. Shang Tsung's form changed right before their eyes and in place of the old red garbed sorcerer was a second black and white panda.
"Surprised, Dragon Warrior?" Shang Po said with an evil grin on his face as he stepped into the same stance Po was it. Po was both shocked and amazed, he felt like he was looking into a mirror. Every detail about Shang Po was correct, right down to the patches on his pants.
"A little, but you know what they say, nothing's better than the original." Po stated confidently. This annoyed Shang Po a bit so he rushed up to Po and tried to land a combo on him, but he just blocked every punch. It wasn't long until Po realized that he didn't just copy his appearance he copied his fighting style too. Now Po thought that this would allow him to easily predict his movements, but the thing was that, like Po, Shang Po fought unpredictably so he had trouble keeping up with him. Shang Po was eventually able to find an opening and landed a chi strike on Po, which made him stager. He then quickly landed a short combo on him, which ended with a round house kick to the face. Once Po recovered Shang Po shot a fireball at him but he telestepped behind him and landed a combo of his own which ended with a flaming uppercut which sent him into the air. Po jumped up to kick him back down but Shang Po regained his composure in the air and shot a fire ball at Po, sending him back to the ground. Shang Po landed back on his feet and suddenly turned back into Shang Tsung.
"So much for the original." Shang Tsung mocked as he watched Po fumble back to his feet. Po didn't respond and just rushed up to his opponent to continue the fight. Shang Tsung dodged most of Po's strikes and then swept his feet knocking him over. This however backfired as Po used this chance to panda roll and knock him down. Po then came back around to roll over him but Shang Tsung thought quickly and made a flaming skull burst out of the ground, causing Po to stop rolling and come out of his ball form. He then shot a flaming skull up into the air as Po recovered and dashed towards him. Just as Po was about to punch him, the flaming skull he launched into the air came back down and hit Po right in the head, this allowed Shang Tsung to kick Po across the field. Fortunately Po rebounded off the wall and rammed into Shang Tsung with great force, sending him crashing into the opposite wall. A confident smirk appeared on Po's face as he retook his fighting stance, this made Shang Tsung angry. The sorcerer then shot out three consecutive fire skulls in hopes that Po wouldn't be able to stop them all, but of course he was wrong. Po quickly redirected the first skull back at the second, the two canceling each other out, and redirected the third back to Shang Tsung. He was able to avoid the skull by jumping into the air but Po noticed this and shot a fireball up to him. It impacted with Shang Tsung and sent him falling to the ground but before he hit the floor, he was met with a chi strike that sent him further back. Shang Tsung's anger elevated even more, as he refused to lose to, what he felt, was an inferior being. In a fit of rage, Shang Tsung dashed up to Po and let out a continuous onslaught of kicks and punches hoping to eventually over power him. Unfortunately, it worked; he eventually broke through Po's defenses and landed a strong combo, ending it by stealing Po's life force and once again turning into Shang Po. The two then began trading blows again until Po tried to sweep Shang Po's feet. Unfortunately Shang Po jumped over the sweep and retaliated with a kick to the face knocking Po over. Once Po got back up, he tried to kick Shang Po in the chest but he just grabbed his foot, flipped him over and belly bumped him across the field. Just as Po was about to get back up, Shang Po came down from above him and drop kicked him, knocking the air out of him. Po groveled in pain for a moment and then got back up.
"You insolent fool, don't you realize that you are no match for me, why fight your fate?" Shang Po questioned, as his patience was wearing thing. Po looked him strait in the eye and spoke.
"Why, I'll tell you why. Because unlike you, I'm fighting for something, something bigger than either of us. You might be able to copy the way I look, the way I fight, even the way I smell, but you can't copy the things that really make me strong." Po stated before he got back into his fighting stance. Shang Po felt as if Po was mocking him and that was the last straw. He then turned back into Shang Tsung, wanting to kill the panda with his own hands.
"We'll see how strong you are once you're a soulless corpse." Shang Tsung said as he prepared for the final clash. The two Kombatants then rushed up towards one another and traded blows for the final time. Po's fists were ignited with a righteous emerald flame, and Shang Tsung's fists were glowing with an evil green aura. The two were relentless, neither one of them letting up for a minute, at that point it looked like either one of them could emerge the victor. Eventually Po was able to pin point the tiniest of openings and took it. He punched Shang Tsung in face and immediately belly bumped him across the field. However Shang Tsung was able to recover almost instantaneously and shot two fireballs, one into the air and one strait at him. Po knew what he was trying to do, so instead of trying to deflect the skull he telestepped behind Shang Tsung and before he had time to react he landed a kick to his back which sent across the field to where the skull was going to land so it hit Shang Tsung. Po then decided it was time to end it once and for all and so he charged a massive fireball in his hands, two or three times the size of a normal one, and shot it straight at Shang Tsung. He tried to counter it by throwing a barrage of flaming skulls at it, but it was no use, the fireball slammed right into Shang Tsung and sent him across the field to where Po had telestepped and was waiting for him.
"Skadoosh." Po said as he landed one final chi strike to Shang Tsung's back, the damage it did being increased by the speed he was going at. Shang Tsung flew across the field and landed on the other side, wallowing in pain. Po then approached him and spoke.
"Say it!" Po ordered once he was in front of Shang Tsung, waiting for him to admit his defeat. Shang Tsung tried to get back up, but he couldn't. As much as it pained him to admit it, he had no energy left to fight, he had been defeated by a panda.
"I concede." Shang Tsung said, with a scowl on his face and his head hung low. The Earthrealm warriors cheered at his statement, as it marked Outworld's defeat and Earthrealms salvation.
"He did it… He actually did it!" Tigress said with a mixture of delight and admiration in her voice.
"Indeed, he has saved Earthrealm." Raiden added. Once he said this, a strange, golden light illuminated the entire throne room, brilliantly shining on everyone there and marking the end of Mortal Kombat.
"That was awesome, Po." Sonya stated as she and the others surrounded him.
"Congratulations." Liu Kang said as he put a congratulatory hand on Po's shoulder.
"MVP, baby." Johnny Cage added enthusiastically. Po felt overjoyed to be receiving so much praise, and he also felt extremely proud of himself for completing a feat of this magnitude. All of sudden Po felt two striped arms wrap around him and hold him tightly.
"It's over, it's finally over." Tigress said softly as she felt absolutely relieved that Po was no longer in harm's way. Po sadly returned the hug, as he still hadn't forgotten the consequences of his victory. "Congratulations Po." She said as she backed up just enough to look Po in the eyes.
"Thanks Tigress." Po replied as he genially smiled at her, not wanting to ruin the moment with his hidden sadness. Raiden then approached the couple as all of the other Kombatants made way for him. After a moment of silence, Raiden smiled and bowed gratefully at him. Po broke the embrace with Tigress and bowed back.
"I thank you Dragon Warrior, you have rescued our land from certain doom, and I am forever in your debt." Raiden said sincerely.
"Well, I can't really take all the credit, we all did this together. I may have made it to the final round, but I couldn't have done it without all of your help, thank you." Po said to all of the Kombatants, as he truly felt that Earthrealms victory was a team effort.
"Well enough with the chit chat, let's go celebrate. First round's on me." Johnny said, to which everyone enthusiastically agreed. Just as everyone was leaving the throne room, Po gently grabbed Tigress's arm causing her to stop.
"Hey, uh, Tigress, can we talk for a minute… in private?" Po asked with a mixture of nervousness and seriousness in his voice. Tigress nodded, assuming it was about what he was going to tell her before, and the two left for the garden.
"Immortality?" Tigress questioned in disbelief at what she had just heard. Po looked down at the ground and nodded.
"Yeah, that's the grand prize, I won't age and I won't be able to die until the next Mortal Kombat tournament in fifty years." Po explained once again without looking Tigress in the eye. Tigress couldn't believe what she was hearing, she thought that Po winning the tournament would put an end to all their Earthrealm related troubles, but in truth it just made it impossible for them to be together. Tigress became overwhelmed with immense sadness and grief and dealt with it the only way she knew how, she turned it into anger.
"You knew about this, you knew about this and you didn't tell me!" Tigress scolded, surprising Po.
"Tigress, you make it sound like I knew about this from the beginning, I only found out this morning." Po rebuked.
"This morning, and you're only telling me this now!"
"I-I just didn't know how to tell you… I'm sorry."
"Sorry, you're sorry! Po, sorry is just not good enough, it's not going to change the fact that now we can never be together!" Tigress shouted as her eyes begin to wheal up with tears.
"Never?" Po questioned.
"Yes Po, never. I love you and I want to be with you for the rest of my life, but do really expect me to believe that you'll still love me… when I'm an old, wrinkled hag." Tigress said as she began to sob, the sadness overwhelming her.
"Tigress… how could you even think that? I will always love you, no matter what." Po said as he too began to cry.
"Po I… I just… don't think I can…"Tigress said but was silenced by Po bringing her into an embrace.
"Tigress, please, here me out." Po pleaded as Tigress kept crying into his chest. "I promise you that I will make this work, and I will make sure that all the time we have together will be worth your while, just please, stay with me." Tigress didn't answer, she just kept crying in Po's chest, feeling that she had already lost him. The two masters just stood there, embracing each other for who knows how long, and fell asleep right there in the garden, in each other's arms.
The next day, Po woke to find that Tigress was nowhere to be found. He looked all over, in the barracks, in the throne room, in the courtyard, but he couldn't find Tigress anywhere, in fact he couldn't find anyone anywhere.
"Hello, anybody here?" Po yelled, but no one responded. Po then saw a flash of lighting in the corner of his eyes and Raiden appeared a second later.
"Raiden, where's Tigress, where's everybody?" Po asked in a worried tone.
"They are all at the Shaolin monastery, awaiting your arrival." Raiden replied which just confused Po further.
"They're waiting for me at a… what now?" Po said confusingly.
"The monastery, where the victory ceremony is being held, we would've woken you up earlier, but in light of yesterday's events Tigress felt that you disserved your rest." Raiden clarified. "But I believe we've kept them waiting long enough." He continued, and before Po even had time to respond Raiden summoned a flash of lighting to come down on Po and teleported him away to his destination.
Po reappeared in a flash of light and he took a second to regain his awareness. Once he was no longer dizzy he examined his new surroundings. He was at the entrance of what seemed to be a Shaolin temple and in front of him where a multitude of monks sitting down on a platform that was held over water by giant statues (A/N: Look it up if you don't understand). There were an equal number of people on each side of the platform and in the center was a pathway which led to Raiden and a monk holding something.
"Everyone, may I present to you the savior of Earthrealm, Po the Dragon Warrior." Raiden announced. The monks then began to clap, cueing Po to walk down the path way up to the thunder god. Once he reached the front he saw all of the Earthrealmers and Tigress sitting in the front left row. His eyes fell on Tigress who had an unconvincing smile on her face. Po knew that she was still hurting, and he didn't blame her. He then refocused his attention to Raiden to whom he bowed to in respect. The monk next to him then handed Raiden a gold medal with the same dragon emblem on it as the one in the Kave of Mastery. Po could feel the energy radiating off of it and knew that the medal was what held the 'grand prize'(A/N: I am positive that that's not how it works, but just for the sake of the story that's how I'm going to make it). Raiden was about to put it around Po's neck until he was interrupted by him.
"Wait." Po said, stopping Raiden dead in his tracks. "Listen, I know that this whole immortality thing is like a once in a life time chance and everything, but do you think I could possibly… go without it?" Everyone in attendance was shocked by this, as never in the history of Mortal Kombat has anyone ever turned down this prestigious prize that most people would kill for.
"I am sorry Po, but it is a rule of Mortal Kombat, as the grand champion you must be at your best to defend your title in the next tournament, and this is the only way to insure that." Raiden replied, bringing a frown to Po's face. He glanced over at Tigress, who was looking equally depressed, maybe even more so. Their eyes met for a split second and Po felt his heart sink, he wished that there was something he could do, but it looked like he was going to receive the grand prize whether he liked it or not. Just then a thought occurred to him, an idea that could make his relationship with Tigress work, it was his last chance.
"Well, then is it possible for me to maybe… share the prize?" Po asked with uncertainty.
"Share it?" Raiden said quizzically, as he didn't really know what he meant by this.
"Yeah, could you make it so that half of it goes to me and half goes to… somebody else, you know, as a favor?" Po explained. A light blush swept across Po's face so Raiden knew that he was talking about Tigress. In all of his centuries of existence Raiden has never met someone who would be willing to give up immortality like Po was about to do. Raiden thought for a moment and spoke.
"Tigress," Raiden said as he looked over at the feline. "Please stand." Tigress's eyes widened at this but made no hesitation to stand up and walk up next to Po.
"Wait, really?" Po said in disbelief as he smiled happily.
"After what you've done for us, it is the least I can do." Raiden replied. "But you must realize something, if I spit the prize equally between you two then you will be twenty five years older during the next tournament, making you about fifty seven. Also, if you were to keep it all then you could live forever by winning every tournament, are sure you are willing to give that up?" He continued, wanting Po to realize what he was giving up. Without even a moment of thought, Po took Tigress's hand, looked straight into her eyes and said;
"Without a doubt. Even I were to live forever, as awesome as that would be, it wouldn't mean anything if Tigress wasn't by my side. I love her with all of my heart, and my life ends with hers."
"Po…" Tigress said softly and lovingly as she smiled with delight.
"You truly are remarkable Dragon Warrior." Raiden stated with a small smile on his face. He then resumed his action from before and placed the medal around Po's neck. Once he did Po's body began to radiate with a golden light making him feel like he was invincible. Raiden then tilted his head towards Tigress and they both knew exactly what he meant by that. The two then closed the space between them and their lips met, allowing the light to poor into Tigress as well. As they deepened the kiss the entire assembly began to applaud, Johnny Cage even blew a wolf whistle at the two masters. Though the sound resonated throughout the whole area Po and Tigress didn't hear any of it, to them there was nobody there except the one they loved, it was perfect. Little did they know a certain undead ninja was lurking in the shadows watch the whole display.
"Pff, you really are a fool panda." Scorpion said mockingly, and yet he couldn't help but let a small smile appear on his mask covered face. "Enjoy your victory while you can, because the next time we meet, it will be I who is victor." With that said Scorpion returned to the Netherrealm in a burst of flames.
Po and Tigress where now back at the barracks, packing their belongings for the trip home. Po had just finished stuffing his bag with some leftovers he snuck from the kitchen and then went out of his room to meet Tigress in the hallway.
"You ready?" Tigress asked.
"Yeah." Po replied. The two then walked down to the first floor of the building and exited it. The Earthrealm warriors were all there to see them off.
"So I uh… guess this is it." Po said sadly, as he had grown to like his new comrades and was sad to leave.
"I suppose it is it's been nice knowing you guys." Kung Lao replied.
"Have a safe trip home you two." Sonya said as she saluted them, with Po and Tigress saluting back.
"Yeah, and if you're ever in Hollywood, drop me a line." Johnny Cage added.
"Will do Johnny." Po replied. Liu Kang then walked up to Po and extended his hand out to him, which Po gladly took.
"I know we've said this at least a hundred times, but thank you." Liu Kang said as he shook Po's hand.
"No problem Liu Kang, anytime." Po said as he let go of Liu Kang's hand.
"We will miss you all." Tigress said as she bowed at everyone and they all bowed back in response.
"As will we," Raiden replied. "But alas, it is time that you both returned home." He then raised his hand and a portal appeared behind them, it was the exact same kind as the one they came in. "Farewell, we wish you both all the happiness you deserve." Raiden said, causing smiles to appear on the two masters faces.
"Thank you." They both said in unison. Po and Tigress then began to walk towards the portal and just as Po was about to step threw it Po looked over his shoulder at the Earthrealmers one last time. He wanted to remember this moment, along with all of the others he has shared with the group of comrades as he realized that he may never see them again. Once Po thought he had memorized all of them he turned back around and walked through the portal.
Once Po stepped out of the portal he was met with a familiar sight. He and Tigress where now back in the Kave the Mastery, and strangely enough the dragon emblem that was on the ceiling wasn't there anymore. Po saw that the entrance to the cave was now open again and rushed to it. He exited the cave and looked around at the familiar surroundings, taking a deep breath of the fresh mountain air. Tigress then walked up to his side and spoke
"Feels good doesn't it?" She said. Po nodded.
"Come on, we better get back to the palace." He responded.
"Yeah, we definatly have a lot to tell them." Tigress said as she took Po's hand in hers and the two began to walk back down the mountain.
The remaining masters of the Jade Palace were all gathered in the Sacred Hall of Warriors after another unsuccessful morning of searching. After a moment of silence, Master Shifu spoke.
"My Students, we have been searching for at least five days now and have found nothing on the whereabouts of Po and Tigress." He began. "As much as it pains me to say it… we may have to assume the worst." The remaining Furious Five held their heads low, depression showing on their faces. Some of them, even Master Shifu, on the brink of tears as they knew it was a possibility that they may never see their dear friends again.
"Ahhhh, there is no place like home… though I could do without the stairs." Po said as he and Tigress walked casually into the palace. They stopped dead in their tracks as they saw the surprised looks on their comrades' faces, realizing that they must have been worried sick about them during their absents. Po was about to speak but was interrupted by their fellow masters rushing up to them.
"PO, TIGRESS!" They all said in unison as they rammed into their friends, embracing them in a very enthusiastic hug. Po and Tigress where then bombarded with questions, such as 'where were you guys', and 'are you two alright'. Before they got a chance to answer any of these questions Master Shifu silenced the group.
"Enough!" Shifu said. The elder red panda then walked up to his students with a very angry look on his face, a look they saw often before Po was named the Dragon Warrior. "Where in god's name have you two been all this time?" Shifu questioned sternly as he stared the two masters in the eyes.
"Uh, well, we…" Po stuttered for an answer until Tigress spoke up.
"We found this cave up in the mountains and it caved in us." Tigress lied. "We didn't want to try and break our way out because we thought that it would just make it worse, so we waited until the rock fell away by itself, forgive us master." She said as she and Po bowed in respect to him. Master Shifu just sighed and said;
"Very well then, I suppose it was out of your control. Honestly I'm just glad that you two are safe." Shifu said sincerely, bringing a smile to Po and Tigress's faces.
"That goes for all of us; you guys really had us worried." Crane said.
"Yeah, we thought that you have been captured." Monkey stated.
"Or worse." Mantis added.
"Well the important thing is that you guys are ok." Viper said in the same comforting tone Po and Tigress missed.
"Well now that that's all settled how about I make us all some grub, I am starving." Po said to which Monkey and Mantis cheered.
"Uh, Po, don't you think we should get something out of the way first." Tigress said reminding Po about what they planned to tell them.
"Oh yeah," Po said realization. "Uh, guys, there's something we have to tell you." He said to everyone as he and Tigress held each other's hands. Suddenly, a goose messenger flew in clumsily and landed on the floor panting.
"Masters… bandits… in the valley… help!" The goose said between breaths.
"Well, duty calls." Po said as the rest of the five nodded in agreement. The six warriors then rushed out of the palace and down the steps to the valley. It wasn't long until they found the bandits robbing a family of pigs and sprang into action, a big, nostalgic smile gracing Po's features.
A/N: Well there you have it, the grand finale of MK KFP. Credit goes to Shouvin for giving me the idea on how to keep TiPo alive and well. I want to thank all of you guys who have supported me from the very beginning and have stuck by me to the very end. I can't believe I actually broke the 100 mark, WOOT! Now to those of you who want a sequel I promise I will write one, just not right away. I wanted to try my hand at writing a different kind of story so yeah. I want to run the basic idea by you guys first to see if it would be something you'd want to read. The story will by an OC, KFP story set in the year 2099 A.D. (Kudos to anyone who knows where I got this idea from), tell me what you guys think, love it, hate it, what? Well once again thank you so much for reading my story you guys, I can't tell you how much it means to me. Good bye for now.