Chapter 20

Between A Rock and A Hard Place

"Nothing in here either, Just another dead end!" Mantis called out as he and Po emerged from the third cave they had searched that day. "At this rate we'll never find that creep Nightshade. or those poor people." Viper said as the warriors re grouped. "Perhaps we will have better results at the next cave, according to this map the next one should be about an hour east of us, Lets move." And with that the Masters began there trek through the forest for the fourth time that day.

Po was hanging in the back as he was having a conversation with Gladir. "Can't you just tell us where this prison is supposed to be?" Po asked the Dragon. "I am sorry Po, But I have not been anywhere near this place we are searching for since Huo and I placed Hei'an in his prison. The terrain has changed much in a thousand years. I'm Afraid I am of no help to you here…" Po just slumped forward saying "Ah Noodles…" as he continued to bring up the rear of the group. Po, pick up the pace! We can't afford to get separated!" Tigress had called from the front of the group. "Coming!" Po called back as he began to jog to catch up to his friends.

After an hour they came upon the fourth cave which was at the base of a giant waterfall. Po couldn't help but marvel at the sight as Shifu addressed the Masters. "Alright, same procedure as the last three caves. Tigress, I'm sending you and Viper into this cave. Remember, if you spot any activity inside, do not engage, Report back here immediately. Understood?" Tigress and Viper both bowed at there Master saying "Yes Master!" as they turned to enter the caves while the guys went to wait behind the tree line. "Good Luck, Po called out as Tigress turned and gave him a smile with a slight nod, as she ran to catch up with Viper who was waiting by the entrance.

As the two warriors entered the cave, they began their search, staying near the walls and near each other. Tigress and Viper walked in silence keeping an eye out for any signs of activity. After about ten minutes of walking, (Yes I know, Viper can't walk just go with it! That wasn't meant to be harsh or anything…okay back to the story.) Tigress and Viper came to the bottom of a ledge. "I think I can get us up their, Come on." As Viper began to wrap herself around her sisters waist. "Ready?" Tigress asked "Ready." Viper confirmed as Tigress unsheathed her claws, and leaped up the side of the ledge Once Tigress reached the top Viper got down and the two continued their search. After some more wandering through the cave, Viper finally spoke up.

"So Tigress…have you thought more about what you're going to do?" Tigress turned to Viper saying "Viper, we're in the middle of a reconnaissance mission." Viper then said "I know that, but honestly we haven't seen anything yet and I doubt we will to be successful here too, so Talk! Are you going to accept Po's proposal or not!?" Tigress stopped and turned to Viper, "First off, you don't know if we'll find anything or not in these caves, second, How is my Proposal any of your concern at this moment!?" Viper slithered forward saying "Mantis told me about what he and Po were talking about down by the river last night. I know Po said he'd be willing to wait for you to decide but honestly I'm just curious as to how long you plan on making him wait! Tigress Po loves you and you love him, anyone can see it. So spill it."

"Can we not talk about this right now." as they came to a wall right then. "Great…another dead end…" Tigress grumbled. She was hoping they might have finally found the right cave, if they were supposed to be looking in these caves at all! This whole plan was just a theory of hers after all. "Argh!" as Tigress brought her fist to the wall causing a dent to form. Viper shouted "Tigress stop that! You'll cause a…" But at that moment there was a low rumble as some rocks began to fall from the ceiling. "Cave in…" Viper muttered. "Get down!" Tigress shouted as she leaped on top of Viper shielding her from the falling rocks. There was a loud crash as rocks began to fall all around them eventually sealing there only exit. Once the rocks stopped falling Tigress eased herself up as she asked Viper "Are you okay?" Viper coughed as she said "yeah, I'm okay…What about you?" Tigress looked herself over saying "I think I'm alright, nothing broken as far as I can tell. We should try to see if we can move some of this rock out of the way."

Tigress began to try to move some of the rocks but was finding it to be quite useless, the rocks wouldn't budge. Viper was having no luck either. Finally Tigress suggested "Perhaps you can slide through the cracks?" Viper looked at the new wall and said "Tigress…I don't think Mantis could slide through the cracks. And we can't just bash our way through, no telling if more rocks will fall on us." Tigress just leaned back against the wall and slid down it sitting against it now "I guess we just sit and wait for the others to come looking for us." Viper slithered forward and sat in front of Tigress and looked at her saying "Okay since it appears that we aren't going anywhere anytime soon…start talking." Tigress just looked to Viper with her face in her right paw. "Viper, there isn't enough air in here for that conversation…"

With Po and the Masters…

Po was getting anxious…Tigress and Viper should have been by now. It had been two hours since they went into the cave and they were supposed to have been back an hour ago. Po was worried. Shifu was meditating at the base of the waterfall as Po approached him "Excuse me Master…I'm, you know, sorry for disturbing you…but shouldn't we maybe go start looking for Tigress and Viper now?" Shifu opened his eyes then and stared at the Panda, he could tell Po was worried and to be honest He was too. Whenever Tigress was given a rendezvous time she was never late. Something must have happened to them.

"Perhaps you are right Po. We will begin a search for them immediately. Gather the others." And with that Po and his friends entered the cave. "I hope Tigress is okay…" Po said to himself as they continued their trek. After they walked for about ten minutes, eventually they came to a ledge that they would need to climb and Po just frowned. After looking at the claw marks in the wall Po muttered "Of course they would scale the large wall…why not?" As the Masters began to climb, Mantis sat on Po's shoulder, while Crane merely flew to the top as he waited for the others to reach him.

Once Po climbed up he rolled over onto his back gasping for breath "Gah…I ….Hate…Climbing…" Shifu then addressed his students saying "Come we must keep going, we have to find Tigress and Viper as fast as possible." And with that the warriors moved on.

Back with Tigress and Viper…

"Are you still worked up bout that whole Title thing!?" Viper asked as Tigress was trying really hard not to strangle her sister. "It's more than that Viper…I just…things are so great between us right now…do I really want to change them?" Viper just glared at Tigress. "If that wasn't a lie I don't know what is…you're changing your story Tigress now knock it off. We have no Idea how long it'll be before the guys come looking for us." Tigress merely looked away. But finally she said. "I just…I wasn't thinking about this before…but am I really worth Po giving up his Title as Dragon Warrior? And another-" *Smack* Tigress was stunned. Viper had literally smacked her across her face. Tigress turned to see an angry face on the snake as she cried "Are you worth it!?" Are YOU kidding me!? Tigress You're the only person in the world who would be worth it!" Tigress shot at Viper "And how would you know!?" Viper then hollered "Because Po Proposed to YOU Tigress! Po wouldn't just up and ask anyone to Marry him and give up his title because you're right, He loves being the Dragon Warrior, But it pales in comparison to his love for you!" Tigress was silent for a moment when Viper asked her. "Do you remember when Po took out Gor when he attacked the Village Mill six months ago?" Tigress nodded her head as Viper went on. "And how he took down Gar back in that clearing?" Again Tigress nodded her head as Viper continued "And did he tell you how he was even able to obtain Gladir's Power in the first place?" Tigress lowered her head as Viper finished. "All thing he was only able to accomplish…because ech time he thought of you…" Tigress was silent as she let Vipers words sink in. "So if you ask me Tigress…yes you are indeed worth a lot more than some Title. Not just to me…But to Po too…"

Just then They heard the panda calling out "Tigress! Viper! are you here!?" Tigress got to her feet shouting "Over here! There was a cave in and we can't get out!" Po was silent for a minuet as he asked "How much room do you have?" Tigress looked around saying "I'm not sure maybe twenty…thirty feet?" There was a moment of silence when Po's voice came back "Okay, get as far away from the wall as you can! I'm gonna try something!" Tigress and Viper went to the far wall and waited.

With Po…

"Well…Here goes nothing." Po muttered as he got into his stance. Shifu then asked "Just what are you intending to do Panda?" Po then turned to his master saying "Just gonna see if My training is gonna pay off." And with that Po turned his attention to the wall before him. Po took a deep breath as he readied himself, when he heard Gladir's voice inside his head. "Remember Po, Control is key…Too much and you could end up hurting Tigress and Viper on the other side." Po just said "Right…Control." As He called forth the Heroes Chi, he channeled it into his fist, making it glow. The other Masters watched in amazement as Po released another breath and brought his fist forward into a thrust, emitting a golden beam of light sent straiht ahead at the wall. The beam made impact as there was a slight rumble and some dust clouds formed.

Once the dust cleared Po went forward and a smile was on his face. He didn't pierce the wall of rock meaning he never hit the girls. As Po began to move some of the now loose rocks out of the way, he eventually made it through to the other side. There He could just make out Tigress and Viper against a wall. "Someone order a cave rescue with a side of awesome?" Tigress and Viper smiled as they climbed through the new hole in the wall and together with their friends left the cave, ready to start there search again. But before they reached the exit there was a loud rumble heard towards the back of the group, but it wasn't another cave in. "Sorry…" Was all Po could say.