~~a/n; uh... hey! been uh, been a while huh? heh heh... but... I'm finally back! sorry, not with a "Lotus" or "TiPo Tumblr Prompt" chapter though, but with another one-shot! and it's TiPo too, so not too disappointing yet, right? hehe... please don't kill me- ;-;
ahem, anyways, this idea came right into my head out of no where! I was trying to plan another one-shot in my head but with my ADHD and my sensitive heart, this came out instead! and I just had to put it on paper, man! this is a little different, since 1, it's kinda... angsty... and 2, it's an in-between scene. and honestly, after seeing JustAnotherWriter140 do this, along with seeing a few fanarts of this particular scene, I wanted to finally give it a go! now I know how you guys just wanna get to the story so imma stop rambling before I end up spoiling the one-shot before you read it, so have a great day/night, grab some blankets, get comfy, live, cry, love, grab some napkins while your at it and enjoy!~~
warning: I don't own kung fu panda. so therefore I am not responsible if you experience tears and pain. blame Jen Yuh for that.
She was so close.
Her pads scraping across the wood as she runs on all fours after prying herself away from the gorilla who kept her captive. Her ember eyes glowing with fury among the red hue in the factory, never leaving sight of the panda she's come to grow fondness and care for confronting the peacock.
That gods forsaken peacock.
Her eyes grow wide when she sees that peacock ravel another one of his weapons under the piece of cloth, watching it as it aims at the panda, ready for fire. Watching the hellish grin on the devil dressed in red and white as his talons flick on the ignition vent, sending the weapons fiery ball flying.
Right at Po.
She tries to go faster, trying to out run that ball of death travelling at the speed of light, she gets on her two feet, reaching for Po as he puts a wok pan that he seems to have near him right in front of his abdomen, attempting to shield himself. She draws nearer to him, her initial goal to push him out of harms way and save him. She didn't care if the weapon hit her in the process. She didn't care if she would die because of it. She would do anything—anything—to protect him. Even if it costed her life.
But alas, the flash of fire was faster than her and all her years of training. His scream echoing her ears as the weapon and Po zip past the floor boards.
Her heart rate sped up so fast and so loud she could feel it in all parts in her body, yet it seemed everything was in slow mow. She rushes faster, trudging past all the guards trying to block her path, right until she has reached out for him, in hopes there was still time.
No... there had to be time. This couldn't be the end. She won't let it be!
"NO!"
Tears for the first time glazing her eyes after twenty years, she screams for him. Right as she thought she has made it, the impact of Po zooming out of the factory winded her, knocking her off her feet.
The sounds of the walls opposed to her crashing against the panda's weight, quickly bringing her back to her feet as she sits back up and looks at the huge hole, the view of the blasted Po etching further and further into his... his...
"No!" She whispers as she quickly gets on her feet and runs to the hole. The red light aglow from the ball growing dimmer each passing second.
Tigress felt her heart suddenly stop. All her adrenaline, all her hopes, seemed to have slipped away from her and followed the now passed panda.
She couldn't move. She couldn't think. all she could do was fall to her hands and knees, not bothering to look away from the nightly view.
She couldn't believe it. She wouldn't believe it! There has to be some loop hole in this, right? All their hard work and training, and—and fighting and laughing and smiling and bonding together, couldn't just lead up to this, could it? That peacock... he cheated! He wasn't supposed to win! Yet he did, in the least merciless and most dirtiest way possible. He didn't play fair! He knew he was a vulnerable point to Po, and gods knew he knew Po was a vulnerable point for Tigress! If he took out the glue that held the whole group together, the symbol of peace to not just China, but to Tigress herself, all hope is lost. He knew this, and took it to his advantage!
And Po! Why? Why couldn't he just stay in the jail like she needed him to!? Didn't he know how precious he was? Why would he do this to himself!?
Why did she let him do this to himself?
She was so close. Why didn't she help him? How did she not!? Because of her, that panda... he's...
He's dead. He died at the hands of that...
"Aw, no need to be sad, kitten..." Tigress growls under her breath at the wicked sound of the peacocks retched's voice.
"I've healed the panda. Now he can finally be at peace." 'Healed'? 'Peace'!? Her growling grew a bit louder and her paw scratches the floor to ball her fist. That wasn't healing. That wasn't peace! That was just cold-blooded, cruel, simply insane! But of course, what does he care? The simple thought of it got Tigress' blood boiling. That bastard... he's nothing but a disgraceful, merciless killing machine! Mad as a hatter! He's... he's...
"...YOU'RE A MONSTER!" She pounces on the peacock, catching him by surprise and making his tail fly open, in a quick attempt to distract her. It didn't help though as she swiped a paw through his face. He screams in agony as she was forced off by two gorilla guards.
He staggers to get up, feeling the pain increase on his face and the blood trickle down his beak, but non the less smiling at the tiger glaring at him with stares so vile, they could kill if they would just by one glance.
"My my, so sensitive. That panda must be very special to you, I presume?" He taunts, using his feathers to caress her face, only to be replied with a spit to the face. He turns away and wipes the spit off of him, looking back in exasperation at the unphased feline. "Don't. Touch me," Her voice low and calm compared to before, but covered in the same amount of hatred.
The peacock hummed. "A little... melodramatic, don't you think?"
"You killed him!" Tigress snaps.
"I did what I needed to do. Now he can finally be reunited with his parents. And the rest of the pandas I've slaughtered." He rolled his eyes and fiddles with one of his hidden daggers. Tigress felt her breath get caught in her throat. So that was what happened to Po? He's really suffered so much.
"take her to Gongman Jail, along with the rest of the so-called 'warriors'. We all break at dawn." He turns away from Tigress and walks off, but not before hearing, "You won't get away with this!"
He maniacally chuckles and looks over his shoulder, "I already have." before finally strutting off.
Those three words struck right at Tigress' heart. He was right. He won. And she... she failed.
She failed her master, she failed her teammates, she failed China, but most importantly... She failed Po.
Some hard-core warrior she was.
She didn't bother resisting as the gorillas took her in cuffs and shove her to move forward. She didn't raise her head up, knowing if she didn't have Po in her sight, in her mind assuring her that he was okay, she might just break down right then and there.
"Tigress?"
The gentle voice of Viper forces her to finally glance up. The sight of her teammates, her all time friends,—no, her family—confused by the situation as they were also cuffed by guards, looking to her in guidance, was furthermore heartbreaking. She locks eyes with her closest sister, looking to her in eagerness, mentally pleading her to say Po was alright. Tigress just bowed her head in shame, and it told Viper all she needed to know.
She gasps as tears fill her turquoise eyes. She glances at the boys and shakes her head, giving them the silent answer they've been begging to know.
Mantis covers his mouth in the cage he sits in, trying to cover his sobs as Monkey gingerly holds him tight, rapidly shaking, not wanting to believe what was inevitable. Crane just hid his face under his straw hat, his beak quivering as the Furious 5 was escorted away.
Finally reaching Gongmen Jail, the gorilla guards took off their handcuffs and shove them in their respective cells. Tigress coincidentally sits in the same cell Po, Croc and Ox were fighting in.
The memory of his ecstatic nature towards his heroes and his persuasion to get them on his side still burned bright.
"Oh ho ho, I can't believe we're rescuing actual legends of Kung Fu!"
"Nothing's unstoppable except for me when I'm stopping you from telling me something's unstoppable!... wait..."
"You guys see that? It's called being awesome!"
"Fine! You stay in your prison of fear! With bars filled with hopelessness! And all you get are three square meals a day of... shame!"
"We'll take on Shen! And prove to all those who are hungry for justice and honor that Kung Fu still lives!"
"...Where's the panda..?"
The voice of Master Croc from the cell ahead of her snaps her out of her thoughts. She looks up at the two masters of the council looking at her with hope and sympathy. The mention of the panda was enough to almost make her break. She chokes up as she simply says, "He's gone..." desperately not wanting to continue the conversation.
Viper, sensing her comrade's dread from her cell, spoke for her in a short whisper, "Shen took him out with his weapon..."
Croc widened his eyes, "What? No, that can't be! There must be some mistake—"
"HE'S GONE! DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND!?" She suddenly snaps, finally coming to the light and clasping on the cell, threatening to break it's metal. The bang in the impact between her paws and the bars, and her sudden outburst, was enough to make the whole jail, even the guards, go quiet.
"Tigress..." She turns to the ox, meeting his understanding expression. She knew he lost someone special to him too. "I'm sorry..." Was all he could say.
That was enough to shatter her heart into pieces. She slid down the bars, helplessly falling to her knees. All these emotions she's feeling, so familiar yet do foreign.
She felt it back in the Bao Gu orphanage when no body cared about her, she felt it when she saw her older brother get taken away to Chor Gom prison and betray her, she felt it when she tried so desperately to gain Shifu's love and attention but never gave it to her, she felt it in the twenty years she punched and fought the feelings out of her, she felt it when she thought no one would ever want to love her...
This feeling she felt, she thought was ceased when Po crashed into her life...
She felt alone.
She felt worthless.
She thought after Po and her started bonding, she had found someone who truly understood her, her pain, someone who actually praised her when she thought she didn't deserve it, someone who has showed her nothing but kindness and care, someone who gave her a reason to smile again, someone who ignited a fire of passion in her icy heart, opened her eyes to so many possibilities, so many colors and joy, someone who was her first best friend, and dare to say maybe even her soulmate, someone who actually... showed her how to love.
His kind smiles that always lit up a room, the way he practically glowed whenever he talked about something he was passionate about, his wholehearted laughs, his comforting embrace, his humble gestures to just get Tigress to cheer up, his lively jade eyes, were nothing but memories now.
How she wished she could see it just one more time, how she wished she could've worked harder just to save her friend, how she wished it was her instead of him.
The very thought of never seeing his spirit again made her tremble. A tear finally managing to escape her ember eyes, and for the first time in nearly twenty of her numbly years...
She cried.
She crunched the bars in her grasp and sobbed softly to herself, all that time she bottled up her emotions only to pour out of her eyes, she didn't bother holding back the tears. Po wouldn't have wanted her to do that. He wanted her to finally express herself, to open herself up from her hardcore mask.
The five and the remaining masters council—including the guards—looked to her in shock. They had not expected that kind of reaction from her. She was supposed to be unfeeling, hardcore, she never cried in helplessness, no matter how bad things got. Master Ox, of course, knew better. He knew when she hugged Po how much she cared about him. The times he would visit the Jade Palace for formal events, he remembered how shy and antisocial she was as a adolescent, she shut herself from the world. But that panda... the Dragon Warrior.. he became her world, and she welcomed it with open arms. Now with him gone, it was like her very world crumbled to ashes. He could see it all on her face.
"Master Tigress, please..." He pleaded feeling his own tears brim his eyes.
The hardcore master looked up and straight at Ox, as she came to the horrid realisation.
"I couldn't save him..."
~~watch me in my feels-
but hey, at least he came back again! so there's that!...
I am so sorry-
let me know, did you cry reading this? cus I kinda cried writing this, ngl ;-;
like I said, this was out of my comfort zone, (mostly because I basically killed off my comfort characters) but despite the heart wrench I felt reading this, I think it turned out pretty good! idk why, but I feel like I'm always in the zone when I'm writing a hurt/comfort fic or drawing something sad when I'm listening to sad music. like whenever I'm reading something specific, I wanna make sure the music in the background matches that, is that just me?
also, news! I'm FINALLY gonna stop procrastinating and actually work on my first TiPo smut! (don't come at me it's a request-) so there's that! anyways, I hope you liked this one-shot, let me know if I should write more in-between scenes like this (since they are my favorite trope to read and write) and until next time... Yarart, OUT! XP~~