My apologies for the cliffhanger. Here's what happens next. Please read and review. A lot. And I mean a lot.
Mantis stepped back into the main hall of the Temple of Heroes to find it empty.
"Huh…" He said aloud. "Guess I'm the first out."
Or the last survivor.
Mantis swiftly shook off that terrible thought and sat down on a little rock, leaning forward slightly on the jade key as he gazed at the other four doors.
He got the key.
All he could do now was wait.
Mantis was just getting settled on the rock when the fifth door suddenly slid open and Monkey stepped out.
"Monkey!" Mantis grinned and stood up to greet his best friend. "Thank gods you- oh cripes, your chest!"
"It's nothing." Monkey muttered, keeping the piece of brown fabric pressed to the cut on his chest.
"Your tail!"
"Don't ask. Ever."
"Did you get it?"
Monkey held up the silver disk.
"Great. The others haven't come out yet."
"Then let's wait for them."
Monkey and Mantis sat down on the floor together and waited in silence.
Some time later, the second door slid open and Crane emerged with a plain wooden key.
"Crane, buddy!" Monkey exclaimed. "You made it!"
"Barely." The avian muttered. "Where's Viper?"
"She hasn't come out yet." Said Mantis. "Don't freak out, she's probably just running a little late."
"I'm not freaking out."
"Then why did you stop breathing for a second there?"
"Shut up."
"Sorry."
"Po and Tigress haven't come out yet either." Mantis piped up.
"Then the only thing we can do now is just sit and wait for them." Crane said.
His friends nodded in agreement, and together they sat down in the middle of the floor and waited for their remaining friends to emerge.
This is the end… was the last thing Po thought before he took a deep breath and went under a second before the water level reached the ceiling.
He could hear nothing but the gurgle of the water, and his and Tigress's own muffled grunts as they continued to desperately pull and push at the bars.
Those thick metal bars refused to budge an inch, as if determined to keep them under.
His concentration fully focused on his straining arms, Po's legs drifted limply in the water.
The corridor they were trapped in was now no bigger than a cupboard.
He could tell because his feet occasionally brushed against the slab that had scraped to a stop mere centimeters from them.
Sooner than he would have desired, his limited air supply began to run out.
His lungs began to ache.
Po ignored the small but steadily growing pain, fully focused on the bars that still refused to give up the ghost.
He stopped when he felt Tigress's struggles suddenly grow a little more frantic.
He looked down from the bars and found himself locking eyes with her.
Her eyes were narrowed in pain, her fists striking frantically at the stiff bars.
Po frowned.
Had Tigress managed to take a breath before the water reached the ceiling?
The question was answered when Tigress suddenly let out the breath she could no longer hold.
As the dead air rose up and popped on the surface of the water now several inches above the bars, she clapped a paw over her mouth and screwed her eyes up in agony.
At that moment, as he watched Tigress fight to keep the water from entering her lungs despite the horrible pain she was surely in, Po lost control.
He slammed his fists against the bars with all the strength he could muster, the screaming of his own lungs now a mere irritation now that he may be about to watch his friend die.
The thought of watching Tigress, his best friend, drown before his eyes filled him with a terror and rage he hadn't felt since that night in the waters of Gongmen Harbor.
He couldn't let her die like this.
He wouldn't.
Not if he could help it.
The thrashing movements of his furious battle with the bars forced Tigress to release her own hold and drift to the side, her paws still clamped over her mouth as she desperately fought to keep from inhaling.
As Po angrily tugged at the bars, his hip brushed the side of the wall.
As it did so, something hard and narrow dug slightly into his flesh.
Po stopped struggled, confused.
He quickly reached into the pocket of his brand new green shirt and pulled out the object which had distracted him.
He blinked.
In his paw was the oddly shaped bamboo stick he had found while on his date with Ming.
Suddenly Po's eyes widened as he looked down at the thick stick.
It was long.
Narrow.
Hollow.
An idea sprung in his mind.
With no time to waste, Po stuck the longer end of the L-shaped stick through the bars until it was poking out the surface of the water.
Now fully aware of the pain in his chest, Po closed his mouth round the other end.
He quickly blew the water from the inside of the hollow stick, and after a moment's hesitation, inhaled.
Sweet, wonderful air entered his lungs, numbing the ache.
Po's eyes fell on Tigress, whose eyes were shut, either from pain or unconsciousness.
Not wasting a second, Po swiftly reached out and dragged Tigress towards him by the vest.
Her eyes shot open in surprise as he pulled her right in front of him.
A tiny bubble floated from her lips.
Po removed his mouth from the hole in the hollow stick, immediately pressed a thumb over it to keep the water from filling it up again, and turned the stick until it was facing Tigress.
He jerked his head in the direction of the stick, then gently tapped a finger on Tigress's lips.
Tigress frowned slightly, her blurred mind not really understanding.
Po grabbed the back of her head and pulled her until her mouth was an inch before the hollow end.
Tigress's eyes were flickering shut as Po quickly shoved the wooden tube in between her half-open lips…
And then she was jerking back to life, her eyes widening as she sucked in air through the stick.
Her paws shot up and grasped the stick as she frantically breathed in the precious oxygen, and Po could have sworn that he heard a muffled moan of relief.
After a few moments, she blinked a few times and, her mouth still closed round the stick, she looked over at Po. Her eyes stared at him with relief, amazement, and immense gratitude.
Po grinned back, and returned his attention to the bars above their heads. He was just beginning to resume his struggles when he felt a tapping on his shoulder.
He looked back at Tigress, and blinked when he saw her offering the tube to him.
He shook his head, pushed the tube back towards her direction with one paw.
Tigress's eyes narrowed. Po recognized the expression well.
The expression usually meant Do what I say or you know what you'll get.
Po gave in and took a few breaths from the tube before he began pulling at the bars again.
He was once again interrupted when Tigress gently pushed him aside.
Tigress, what are you-
BAM!
The sound of Tigress maneuvering herself until she was upside down and then slamming her legs against the bars with all her strength was loud even underwater.
Po felt a rush of joy when he saw little spider cracks in the stone surrounding the bars.
BAM!
Tigress kicked the bars again before poking the tube back through and taking a few more breaths.
Po did the same when she offered, then gestured to her that he would attempt a few kicks himself.
Tigress quickly moved to the side as Po maneuvered into position. Ignoring the strange sensation of water going up his nose, Po kicked.
BAM!
The cracks in the stone grew larger.
BAM!
The bars jerked just a little.
BAM!
There was an explosion of dust and stone as the bars flew upwards and crashed to the floor of the room above them.
Before Tigress could do anything, Po grabbed her by the front of her vest and thrust her upwards until her head was above water.
She quickly climbed out, allowing Po to surface himself.
"Hah! We made it!"
He gripped the floor of the wide corridor they were now inside, half in the water, half through the hole, and watched Tigress lift herself from the floor in a sitting position, coughing up a little water.
For some time they didn't speak.
And then Tigress lifted her head and looked Po in the eye, a small smile of gratitude on her lips.
"Thank you." She murmured.
Po gently smiled back.
"Don't mention it."
"I'm sorry for being such a jerk before." Tigress lifted her knees up to her chin as she sat on the cold floor. "You don't deserve it."
"Will you tell me what the problem is now?" Po asked.
"I can't."
"Why not?"
"If I tell you, it'll only make it worse."
Po frowned.
"Are you sure?"
Tigress nodded.
Po sighed.
"Well, if you ever change your mind…" he trailed off.
"Okay."
Po raised a paw to wipe the water from his eyes as he and Tigress gazed at each other.
"I'm sorry too." He said. "I shouldn't have yelled at you either."
"You don't need to apologize. I deserved it."
"No you didn't. I should have been more patient with you."
"You had every right to yell at me."
"But not to threaten you again."
"Fair enough. Do you want me to help you out of the hole?"
"I really need to follow Shifu's advice and take up fasting." Po muttered as Tigress grabbed his arms and began to pull.