"RAAAAAOOORRRGGGHHH!" The tiger let out a fierce roar as she charged towards her opponents. As Shifu and the Four neared her, she swiftly leaped into the air with a flip and locked a foot in direction toward the red panda, setting for a clean kick. Shifu quickly backflipped out of the way as the tiger's foot hit the ground. He then launched a kick at her chest, which was dodged when Tigress ducked. The tiger was ready to strike him when Viper slithered up her leg in a flash. Smack. Tigress received a sharp blow from the Viper's tail to the cheek, causing her to growl. The tiger had no time to grab for the snake as Shifu forwarded a kick into her shin, sending her backward. She caught herself from falling using arm support and flipped into push up position. Shifu and Viper stood in front of her.
"Mantis, now!" Shifu commanded.
"Oh, no you don't–Whoa!" Before Tigress knew it, there was a burst of force beneath her that sent her flying up in the air. Then there was a twirling motion–a very, very fast one–that would make it seem like the whole world was spinning. In an instant, the tiger began feeling sick to her stomach. To the black and white warrior, it might've looked like the insect was balancing a tornado above his head, and doing an excellent job of it at that. He grinned wickedly.
"For someone his size, the guy's got some skills, doesn't he?" he said to the scared crocodiles beside him. Fung and Gahri were feeling more regret each second that passed as they watched the scene.
"What should we do now?" Gahri whispered to Fung.
"I don't know," Fung responded defeatedly.
Finally, Mantis stopped spinning Tigress and tossed her higher into the air. With a swift kick to the head, the feline was sent slamming head first into the wall. The insect then dashed forward for another attack. It would've worked had Tigress not managed to get up and quickly dodge out of the way before Mantis could strike her in the side. As the bug skidded to a halt (nearly colliding with the wall), the tiger took the fine opportunity with the missed shot and threw her foot against him. Successfully, it made contact with the small creature and he was sent flying off, soon crashing into a pillar nearby. "Stupid bug," the tiger muttered aggressively her breath before turning her attention to the rest of the warriors. Shifu and Viper were running towards her. The red panda jumped up and aimed a strike for her head, but the tiger ducked, then threw a kick into his stomach. Shifu nearly caught her foot, but was lucky enough to get missed by arguably an inch as it would've appeared. Viper was ready to unleash her tail and hit another smack at the striped warrior's face, but Tigress quickly dodged and grabbed the snake by her neck. Viper released a rough gasp as she struggled to break free of the feline's rather strong grip. She really hoped that Tigress hadn't gone crazy to the point where she'd kill her.
"Don't do it, Tigress!" the snake exclaimed anxiously. The tiger growled at her.
"That sounds too tempting right now," Tigress responded ruthlessly in her face.
"Tigress, this has gone on far enough!" Shifu shouted, rushing at his adoptive daughter, "You will give in one way or another! Whether you like it or not!"
"Never!" the feline shot back, "I won't let you convince me that this is our way!" She took Viper with both hands a far distance away from one another on the snake's body and pulled apart as if she were stretching out a robe. Viper released a wince.
"Tigress, you have gone far enough this time!" the red panda yelled, "Your wrath won't get you anywhere." This just made the tiger angrier as she squeezed harder on the snake.
"Mm-master!" she choked.
"Stop this before it goes too far!" Shifu shouted at Tigress.
"You can't make me!" the striped warrior backed. All of a sudden, something struck the tiger powerfully from behind, knocking her off her feet and causing her to let loose on Viper. The poor snake had no time to move before almost being crushed by a falling Tigress. The tiger's landing was rough on her stomach, but that wouldn't matter much a moment later when she looked over and saw a golden circular artifact, known as the Golden Shield, on the floor near her as well as Crane and Monkey in fighting stance a few feet further away. Monkey was now holding a bo staff each in both hands and Crane his rice hat.
"Waaawh!" the simian shouted. He was the first to charge at the feline master, whipping his weapons fervently. Tigress got up in time to avoid a hit; someone else got in the way though. Shifu rushed towards the feline in an attempt to perform a palm strike. And much to the tiger neither being super alert nor fast enough this time, the strike landed with the red panda pounding her in the ribcage area. The impact was enough to knock down the average person (referring to most inhabitants of China who didn't possess the durability of the Furious Five leader.) Yet, the strike only put her body in greater pain, something the tiger was very well known to have a high tolerance of. It was raging all within her, but even that wouldn't make the feline give up right then. And she would be prepared for when Shifu attempted another palm strike; this one directed to hit her in the face. That would've definitely been painful had it landed, but the tiger ducked and with perfect timing, she shot a fist into the elderly's master.
"Ugh!" The Grandmaster shot back with a bolt and fell onto his back. As Tigress was ready to land a kick at the old man, she suddenly found herself missing just by a few inches from his head when something cool and moving (like a breeze) swiped her over the area where he had landed and forced her across the Hall. She forced a stop by pressing her claws into the floor, skidding just a few feet from the wall. Just then, something came whirling through the air and at the feline like a spinning top. Crane's rice hat nearly made contact with her head when she quickly crouched down and let it pass over. A voice was heard yelling, "Wings of Justice!" from above and the moment Tigress looked up–Whoosh!
Po watched in astonishment as a large circular motion of wind emerged from around Crane when the bird spread his wings with a shout. He was far away enough to not get hit, but the wind swept a significant distance across the Hall. The only person that it hit was Tigress whose back was soon meeting the wall, and soon after, she had to avoid an upcoming attack from Monkey. The simian threw hit after hit with his bo staffs while the feline dodged. As fast as she was, Monkey started putting more energy into his own speed with the attacks. The only way he would slow down is if Tigress managed to get a strike on him somehow. The tiger could barely see anything in front of her the simian was moving so rapidly, probably just as quick as the speed of light itself (maybe even according to the panda's observation.) As it burned in her heart to admit, Tigress didn't have that type of power, or things wouldn't be so difficult for her right now. The feline would have to come up with something fast enough though as she was beginning to buckle under the simian's heated blows. Then, she got an idea. Monkey swung both staffs back, prepared to really land a strike this time–a double one on the tiger's head. He brought the weapons forward. What he didn't expect, though, was Tigress would catch them. Using both paws, she swiftly yanked them in the air with the simian still holding on. Monkey let out a yelp as the tiger released the grip over her head.
"Whoa!" Monkey cried as he flew across the Hall before landing against a pillar with the staffs hitting the floor beneath him. He fell on them with his stomach.
"Now prepare to be dealt with for real, monkey," Tigress snarled after him, cracking her knuckles and ferociously moving towards the area, "We'll finish this once and all." She was about to lunge at him when she heard the Dragon Warrior talking to her.
"Now you gotta admit that was impressive," Po remarked slyly to her with a smug grin, leaning on an empty table.
"This is all your fault!" Tigress spat.
"Man, all that foul temper and little advantage," the panda retorted, "Today's really not your day, is it?"
"Shut it, panda!" The tiger was growing more furious each word he spoke. "Today I will stop you!"
"No you won't," Viper hissed, slithering into the scene. She lunged at the feline master, coiling around her legs and causing her to fall on her waist. The tiger growled and wrestled to get free. "Guys, help!"
Crane rushed over and took one of Tigress's arms as she was busy tussling with Viper, pinning it to the floor. Mantis pounced on her chest. The tiger took her free fist and brought it down to crush the insect. He caught her paw before it could impact, but he had to fight to hold it up.
"Uh, we could use some more hands over here!" Mantis yelled at the simian who was picking himself off the ground. He produced a low groan and rubbed his forehead, almost completely disregarding that his friends were calling him.
"Monkey!" the rest of the Four exclaimed.
The simian dashed to the scene and quickly took the tiger's other paw. Viper wrapped herself around the tiger's leg as tight she possibly could while Crane and Monkey held onto his hands for dear life.
"Man, I wish there were three of me right now," Mantis said tiredly, pushing down on the feline's chest. Then, out of the blue, he asked to the angry tiger, "You're wearing a wrap, aren't you?" The feline's eyes widened at the sudden question as did everyone else's. The Dragon Warrior just burst out laughing menacingly from the distance.
"You're talking about that thing ladies wear t–"
"Mantis!" Viper barked with a hiss.
"I-I was just asking," the insect replied fearfully. The tiger, now even more enraged, struggled harder against the Four's grip.
"Now we have an angrier tiger on our hands," Crane said irritatedly.
"Couldn't have picked a better time to be weird," Monkey added.
"There's never the right time to be a pervert!" Viper spat.
Now that's one thing she isn't right about, the panda thought mischievously with a giggle.
"Hurry, Master Shifu!" Crane called out.
The red panda dashed towards the group and held up a hand. "I'm sorry, Tigress, but this has to be done," he said firmly with an almost sorry expression on his face. The feline master knew exactly what that meant and became wilder in her struggle, as if the animal had been unleashed inside of her. The Four were horrified, but Shifu barely raised an eyebrow in slight surprise. As it seemed, he didn't care how she felt at that moment, but was more concerned with how she had been acting. The tiger's energy reflected his. Believe it or not, she wasn't so much as furious with the rest of the Five as she was with him. They probably didn't agree with this any more than she did; they were just following his orders (or in a supposedly justifiable reference, his senses.) Still though, it wasn't like they hadn't stood up to the elderly master nor went against his orders before (the most notable being when the Five went to try and stop Tai Lung despite the red panda giving the tiger a big "NO" when she pleaded with him.) Well, Shifu (himself following what Oogway said) was correct on that one as the fight wouldn't end in favor of the heroes, but that wasn't the point here. With the current situation, the outcome held the same if they chose the "go along get along" route as Shifu was basically getting at.
The feline heroine snarled and viciously snapped her teeth at her comrades. Mantis shrunk back a little.
"Master, I think she's fully lost it," the insect whimpered. Monkey and Crane nervously nodded in agreement. "Hurry with the paralysis."
"Don't–you–dare!" the striped warrior hissed at her father. The seasoned master remained unintimidated.
"I'm sorry…" he repeated. The tiger couldn't care less about the man's empty apology. How many times was he going to say he was "sorry" to her even though both of them knew very well that it wouldn't fix anything–it certainly wasn't going to lessen the newfound strain on their relationship. The old man stared at her blankly for a few moments, then he sighed and looked away as footsteps sounded nearby. "Master Po…" The black and white warrior was walking towards the fray with a dirty lopsided smile on his face as if he was ready to receive the greatest prize of his life. He clapped with satisfaction and gave Shifu a nod of approval.
"Well, well…I honestly can't say I'm not impressed with the effort," he said with a hand on his waist, then eying the Four, "You guys aren't too bad with the moves. Guess the old man here has taught you something after all." Mantis snorted.
"He's forgot about our last encounter that s–"
"Uh, thanks for the compliment," Monkey quickly interjected, then shooting a glare at his bug friend.
"We take in your words with gratitude, Master Po," Viper added. She gave the insect just as cold of a stare with a muffled hiss escaping from her mouth.
"Yeah, we'll be flattered to show you more of where that came from," Crane said uneasily, simply unsure and wary where this was headed, "Literally." The panda guessed he was the extremely reluctant one of the group. He wasn't much like the tiger. He would probably be the most hesitant to resort to violence in a scenario, whereas the feline warrior attacked anyone in her path without an ounce of mercy. He liked that about her. The others displayed potential as well, but none of them stood out as much as their striped comrade. The Four might've had the upper hand in the fight–because of numbers, as one could simply put–but that wouldn't make him any less interested in seeing more of the hardcore master in action.
"Master Po, I'm afraid this next move you'll find a bit anticlimactic for your standard," Shifu told him.
"Ugh, that was it?" Po questioned sassily, folding his arms, "Now wait a minute, the fight couldn't be over already. You guys were only throwing tiger around for a minute or two."
"How long were you expecting us to go on?" Monkey asked unenthusiastically.
"I mean, you guys could've at least gone on until dinner," he answered plainly, rubbing his belly. Just then, an extended growl rumbled through the thick patch of his stomach and all throughout the Hall. GRRRRRRRRRRRRR… Neither Shifu nor the Five were surprised as this was just like regular old Po. "Then again, it's been quite a bit since my last meal. In fact, it's probably just around time for the next. What time do you guys normally eat the final meal of the day in this place? That's what I've been trying to figure out." Shifu facepalmed while several members of the Five nodded.
"Seriously?" Crane questioned with irritation, "Are we done with this fight or not?" That immediately brought the panda's attention back to the subject.
"Oh that, not quite," he said, looking down at Tigress with a smirk, "I'd give it a few more minutes to throw her around…at least until she looks somewhat tired."
"Like that's actually possible," Mantis muttered to herself.
"Because looking at her face, I mean…" the panda continued dryly, "The resting angry face doesn't help at all." The feline let out a ferocious snarl at that comment.
"Neither do you and your mouth!" she barked. It was becoming more difficult for the Four to hold her down as she kept struggling like a mad cat to get up.
"Master Po, are you sure about this?" Shifu asked, his voice finally showing a slight hint of concern–most likely not for Tigress, but for everyone around her. Understandably so. The feline master felt as if she would explode right there. Forget all those years of mastering restraint as well as the occasional lectures from Shifu. Now she was prepared to use her maximum strength and energy to break free of the Four's grip and take down them, Shifu, and the panda. Gotta do this, Tigress, if you can't do it for your family, do it for the villagers… She stopped struggling and closed her eyes tight.
"Yah!" a shout escaped Tigress's lips as a powerful rush of force suddenly unleashed from her body. In an instant, the striped warrior was on her feet. The others had just a split second to react when they were abruptly thrown in multiple directions by the impact. The Grandmaster fell on the floor and rolled straight into a rack of weapons. And, with that, he was unconscious (as were the rest of the Five in the spots they had landed.) The panda crashed into the library, hard enough for a whole shelf of scrolls to fall on him. That was…out of the blue, he thought.
The tiger turned to catch eyes on the bear and growled. Po just looked at her blankly while he picked himself up. "Whew, certainly wasn't expecting that. You know you could've given everyone a warning, right?" the panda said coolly, straightening out his back. The tiger gave no response.
"Especially your friends over there," the black and white continued without a single regard, "Goodness, you're pretty mad at those guys, aren't you?" The answer for his foolish question could've been more evident. "They deserved that, you think? That was some force you used there. Sent everybody flying with the wind–well, except the crocodiles over there." He pointed in the direction where Fung and Gahri were. The reptiles were crouched together in a corner, trembling violently. They were probably wishing the panda hadn't said anything in reference to them in likelihood some rather unwanted attention was to come their way as the result. They were lucky, for now, as Tigress's main concentration was on the panda. "So, can I ask you this?" the panda said, "Don't you think you're going a bit far with all this…hostility towards your friends?" The feline narrowed her eyes. The panda snorted. "Yeah, I know you don't think I'm being serious asking this question right now. No answer, angry face–yah, yah, yah–you know, it wouldn't hurt you to smile for once. I don't think I've seen you do that just yet."
"When I defeat you, I'll be less…frowny," Tigress responded grimly, "What do you say about that?" The panda pretended to think for a moment.
"I don't know, but it's worth a try," the panda replied indifferently, patting his belly, "Say, since the rest of the components are unconscious, think just you and me could finish this fight? Know you got off to a rough start, but…I don't wanna hold off on my next meal too long." This was exactly what she hoped for. It might've as well had happened while Shifu and the rest of the Five were out of the way–at least for the time being. Her lips emerged into a crooked smirk.
"Not a bad idea," she said with anticipation, to which the Dragon Warrior huffed and smirked back.
"That's more like it," the panda responded eagerly and nastily, cracking his neck, "Hey, perhaps we can talk about this over dinner afterwards." The tiger scowled and ran towards the bear with a mighty roar. Po returned the favor and rushed at the feline.
"Here it goes again. I can't watch," Gahri said uneasily, lowering his head behind Fung's. The crocodile in front of him covered his eyes.
"Oh no," he whimpered.
As the Dragon Warrior neared the Five leader, he positioned his paws for a palm strike, directed for the tiger's face. It almost hit when she swiftly ducked onto a knee and struck her raised leg into the panda's, swiping the bear off his feet. She was ready to pound him in the stomach when he back-rolled into a pushup position. He soon found himself having to avoid the tiger's foot to the face by rolling to the side. He was back on his feet before the feline could throw another kick. The second her foot passed his head, he grabbed the striped warrior by the knee and slammed her on the back. "Hah!" the bear yelled, bringing a fist down towards her face. The feline barely managed to avoid the punch as she rolled to the side; the panda's meaty fist crashed into the floor merely a few inches from her head. He then followed with a punch using his other fist, this time with more force and speed going into the latter. The tiger jerked her body to the opposite side of where the fist had landed and rammed her feet into the panda's waist. There was a low groan from the bear as he stumbled off balance from the impact. Immediately, Tigress took advantage of this by launching a spin kick into the bear's upper chest area. The panda was caught by slight surprise as he was sent back a couple of meters. He rubbed his paw over the area the tiger kicked to be greeted by a rising sensation of pain.
Still a little too slow but we're getting there, the panda supposed. Honestly, he wasn't expecting less.
The striped heroine dashed for the panda and spun around aiming for a palm strike. "Can't touch this!" the panda shouted playfully, leaning to the side for the feline's strike to miss. Tigress pulled back only to receive a jab to the cheek. The feline whimpered as the panda followed up with a series of hard strikes to her chest, stomach, and side with a final blow delivered to her head. She fell to her knees, and in a flash, the bear spun around and swung his foot into her jaw, causing her to fly back. She couldn't deny that hurt as bad as the time Po buttslammed her on the head. At least she didn't have him sitting on her this time.
The feline was picking herself up from the floor when the panda approached her. "That didn't take long," he remarked mockfully before quickly swinging a kick towards the tiger. She jumped up in time before his foot could strike her in the chest and came down behind him. She used the few seconds he had his back turned to return the attempt and thrusted her foot into the Dragon Warrior's back with a yell. The bear yelped as he felt a strong force of pain propel him forward. The tiger watched as the panda smashed into a nearby table, breaking the thing in halves and knocking its artifacts off. She heard a low groan as well as some muffled swearing escape the bear's mouth as he weakly sat up in the ruins. A more unfriendly look couldn't have been present on his face as he eyed the feline who returned a glare.
"How's that for a second round?" she growled as the panda stood up and brushed some residue from his arms.
"Wouldn't you like to know, whiskers," the panda retorted, "And that's cheating. You got me with my back turned."
"Who said there were rules?" the tiger questioned as she charged at the black and white warrior. The bear reentered his fighting stance and dodged out of the way when the feline sent her claws for his neck. He struck her shoulder and drove his head into her chest, causing her to stumble backward. The tiger had barely enough time to recognize when the panda swiped his leg out. She jumped and flipped over the bear's head. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.
"Get off me!" the panda barked as Tigress pulled backward, using her raw strength to lift them off the ground with a backflip. Thump! The panda soon found himself on his stomach with the tiger clawing into his back. Some blood emitted. The panda growled, reaching a paw over his back and grabbing her by the wrist. He tossed the feline to his side and rolled on top of her with his back. Tigress struggled to get out from beneath the bear as he applied his weight over her body. Po smiled and chuckled evilly. "That's much better. Better hope I don't squash you or your tail too though."
Of all the things that came of this panda's mouth, that last sentence just so happened to be one of the least idiotic as it allowed the feline to come up with an idea right then. Lucky for her (in a partial sense), a good section of her extremely long tail was hanging out through the most convenient place–the crack between the panda's legs. That was a little awkward for her, but the panda himself wouldn't be comfortable with something squeezing against his lower area as it extended to his face. Whack! "Ugh!" The panda let out a wince as the feline's tail made contact with his left cheek and sent it down an aching road. Po nursed the sore spot. …And I didn't forget that cats have tails–Whack! "Woo!" The panda clutched at his right cheek with a whimper. …How is she doing that anyway–Thwack! Tigress certainly got the panda good with that one.
"Aaahh!" Po cried loudly, jerking up with a paw on his right eye. The tiger's tail strikes hurt almost worse than her kicks–well, that might've been a bit of an exaggeration but still though… The impact from that strike was unquestionably enough to deliver a black eye over the next day or two–not that anyone would actually be able to see it due to the dark patch of surrounding skin. "You'll pay for that, whiskers." The panda's voice was fixed with coldness and forced calm as he stood up and glared at the feline master. There was a patch of red surrounding his right eye. Tigress felt not an ounce of regret in her soul. Mission accomplished, she gloated in her head with a smirk.
The panda narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists. "So that's how you wanna play, kitten?" he questioned bitterly.
"You fool, you're asking me that now?" the striped warrior retorted, leaping to her feet and waving her tail with aggression, "Kitten doesn't play nice." Just then she charged forward and threw a punch for the panda's lower area beneath his stomach. The bear caught her fist with ease–little did he know, however, the attempted move was a simple ploy; the feline swung her back to the Dragon Warrior and directed her tail at the area she had aimed to strike on the panda. Unfortunate for the black and white warrior, he had been a little late to process what would happen in the next split second or two. With little time there was, nevertheless, the panda quickly let loose of Tigress's paw and tried to jump back when–Thwack! The feeling was like literally being hit with a whip. "Guuurgh!" Po gasped in horror as he felt the force take over just after the tiger's tail struck him right in the crotch–the fricking crotch, he could tell you. The following moments were predominantly of pain and the bear grabbing at his genitals.
The feline seriously wasn't kidding with that last statement. This tiger takes feisty to a whole new level…
"My tenders!" the black and white warrior exclaimed. That was one of the worst areas to be hit and this tiger wasn't showing any mercy, not that he would expect to; but that was just giving the feline the satisfaction of seeing him in that state because of her. Ironically, some minutes ago, he was mocking the tiger about her not smiling. Now here she was in front of him with the most menacing grin on her face and he wasn't enjoying the sight a bit. Of course, she finds me being in pain fun to watch. Not surprised at that. "You like that? Very funny, isn't it, whiskers?"
"Actually that's the most entertainment I've had today," Tigress responded casually.
"And of all the places you could hit me…" the panda said dryly, "Some would've been less…sensitive."
"Obviously," the tiger shrugged smugly, "I've got more of where that came from if you want."
"At least you have a sense of sarcasm," the panda replied, though not impressed by the comment. "Don't know about the humor thing however."
Tigress scoffed. "Like you don't get a kick out of watching your enemies in pain," she retorted. The panda couldn't argue with that. He certainly didn't mind watching Tigress get attacked by her own teammates just minutes ago.
"Touche," he said plainly, managing to straighten himself up just a tiny bit, "But you're forgetting this fight's not over just yet. You think I'll take it easier on you after…that?"
"So approximately when will it be over?" the feline questioned in mock annoyance, "You've been talking about your last meal for who knows how long? And, you think I'm supposed to be scared of you?" The panda's mouth formed into a scornful half-grin.
"Hitting me in the eye is one thing, whiskers," he said wickedly, "Hitting me down there is another. You got some nerve." The feline master barred her fangs in ire. She was getting sick of the bear's useless attempt to make her feel small, though it was very likely he was doing that to get on her nerves. She had to admit though; it was working. Then again, it didn't really take much to get the Five's alpha worked up in general.
"And what are you going to do about it?" the striped warrior growled, cracking her knuckles super hard, "That's not even the worst I could do to you, panda. Trust and believe I could literally tear you to pieces right here. And I have to do that…" She reentered her fighting stance and narrowed her eyes. "So be it."
Po didn't seem surprised at all from her response; the current look on his face expressed he was rather getting irritated with the feline's persevering attitude. This cat just doesn't know when to quiet, does she? I can already see what type of teammate she is. It's no wonder her pals turned on her. Not that I could blame them for it…although, for a person to be that willing to put up a fight to the death–maybe somebody will die after this or not, evidently I'm not up for the debate–is something I have to respect. Even though–in this case–it can be the most annoying thing in the world. I mean, she doesn't even have to do all this…at least not right now. If we could get some time later, I wouldn't mind playing a game of cat and mouse with her. Plus it's not like she could actually take me down as that little brain in her head makes her think. Then again, it makes me wonder what the old guy's been teaching her. She did imply something like he was some sort of mentor in this place… Okay, I am really thinking too much into this? It's not time, Po–Gah, I thought of that…not now, Po–"Stressing much into your ego, panda?" the feline's voice questioned sharply, dragging him out of his thoughts.
"You're that positive you can stop me, huh?" the panda said flatly, shaking his head in pity, "What a shame. Looks like after this I'll just have to put you back in the dungeon." Despite the pain in his lower area wouldn't be gone for a while, the panda fully straightened himself up and cracked away the pressure in his back. He then got into his fighting stance and announced in a strong voice, "Your choice, whiskers. And this time, we're finishing things for good."
"Bring it, panda," the feline master declared.
"And they're not done yet," Fung remarked tiredly, facepalming from his and Gahri's area.
The black and white warrior let out a menacing scowl and rushed forward at once. He leaped into the air with a roar, aiming a spin kick for the feline. Tigress quickly backflipped out of the way before the bear's foot hit the ground. She was ready to strike him in the stomach; but just as her palm could make contact, the panda grabbed her by the wrist and flipped her on her back, then raising a foot over her. The striped warrior rolled to the side before the bear's foot could slam down on her neck. Fortunately, there was enough time for the feline to get up as the Dragon Warrior attempted a kick to the side of her head. On the other hand, she wouldn't be fast enough to avoid a following blow. The bear slammed his meaty fist into the tiger's shoulder, nearly making her stumble on her stomach.
Tigress kept herself from falling using arm support, but as she wasn't able to dodge an upcoming kick to the face. "Hyah!" the black and white warrior shouted, raising his leg as he jumped up and smashing his foot into the feline's jaw. A whimper escaped Tigress's lips as she was sent flying into the library. Po gave a sinister chuckle as he watched the feline get a taste of his experience earlier with the area and rushed for the striped warrior. The feline barely had the chance to stand up all the way when the panda spun around and swung a punch for her face; the punch missed as she quickly crouched down and swept her leg into the panda's. Po's legs slid out from beneath him and he landed hard on his front side. He let out a low growl and rose to pick himself up when Tigress spun her leg around to strike a kick to the jaw, which–much to his dissatisfaction–sloppily made contact with his nose, scoring a first for the feline to land a kick anywhere in his face. He was sent flying back a good distance and landed on his back. The black and white warrior produced a dry sob of pain as he sat up and rubbed his nose. That blasted tiger, he cursed in his head.
Foolish panda, Tigress denounced mentally. "Fight, panda! Show me what you're made of!" she roared, rushing at the panda once again. Po growled and charged forward. The feline readied her fists for a double punch; the panda angled his body and stuck out his elbow. Tigress almost hit the Dragon Warrior but missed just by a split second when the black and white warrior jerked to the side. Then–Bam!–Po's elbow slammed into the striped warrior's chest. The tiger had no time to react as the bear followed up with some jabs to her face, then delivering a brutal headbutt, and finally delivering a spin kick to her chest. Tigress fell back some steps and hit the ground. "Wukah!" Po yelled, leaping high into the air with a flip. Processing the pain in her body, the feline was almost too late to notice the panda's enormous rear falling from above and ready to crush her. Fortunately, she found the energy to leap out of the way before the Dragon Warrior could score a buttslam.
The feline hurried away from the scene with the struggle to work off the aching in her muscles. She heard the bear grumble after her. "Where do you think you're going, whiskers?" he growled, getting to his feet, "There's no running away in this fight."
"Who said I was running away?" Tigress shot back as she took cover behind a pillar. It was a couple of seconds before she heard the panda marching in her direction.
"That's what it looks like to me," the bear snarled. "...Hyah!" There was a loud Clang that followed the panda's shout. Tigress guessed it came from him kicking away an artifact; that was automatically confirmed when something slid against her left foot. The striped warrior looked down to see the Golden Shield on the ground beside her. Instantly, she realized the artifact would come in handy right then as the panda's large fist reached out of nowhere and swung for her head. Tigress quickly crouched down and grabbed the shield before the bear could aim a kick. Her arms shot forward to smash the shield into Po's face but he blocked it using his palms. He pushed her backward, pinning her against the pillar. Tigress struggled with trembling arms to keep the shield from pressing into her head. "No!" she gritted, the shield smushing into her face. Just then, something merely visible as a green flash came flying with insane speed out of nowhere towards their direction.
"What the–!" the Dragon Warrior cried as immediately let loose of his grip and jerked to his knees. Whatever was coming flew right over him and struck at the shield; the feline master couldn't see what it was right then but she felt the impact; the mystery object landed a really, really heavy hit, too. Now Tigress had to be thankful the shield was covering her face or whatever that hit it would've caused some serious injury. On the other hand, she had to wonder what it was that caused such a powerful blow and where it came from.
Po let out a grumble as he looked around to detect what almost hit him. He wasn't able to make out what it was either. The strange thing, though, was that it seemed to fade into thin air as quick as the speed of light right after the blow. One thing he could figure is that the blow certainly wasn't meant for Tigress.
Clang!
Before Po knew it, Tigress brought the shield down on his head, paralyzing him for a moment or two; then she raised up her knee, brutally crushing it into the panda's chin. The Dragon Warrior let out a groan through his teeth as Tigress (now balancing the shield on her head) then spun around and slammed her foot clean into his jaw; in a split second, he was no longer in front of her but whooshing across the Hall as if he'd been shot out of a cannon. Traces of saliva fell from Po's mouth as smashed against the wall. He sat up and forced out some breaths; now with the movement of his jaw, there was a slight crackling noise which strongly indicated his jawbone had been cracked. Despite this and the pain accompanying it, however, the panda was mostly unfazed. Well played, tiger…well played…but he'd had enough playing around with this "kitten." Get ready to feel the thunda one last time, whiskers…
He got to his feet and cracked his knuckles, eyes fierce and fixed on the tiger. "For now!" he declared as he charged for the striped warrior on fours. Now holding the shield in her right arm, Tigress dashed towards the panda. With a spin, she shot out her arm, dipped to her right knee, and shoved the shield forward. The panda jumped up and missed the sharp object rolling towards him.
Tigress put up her defense as the Dragon Warrior landed in front of her and swung a kick for her head. In return, she threw a spin kick for his stomach; the panda knocked her foot back with an arm, following with a pound to her chest. The force behind this punch was great enough to stun Tigress for an instant. …His punches are growing more intense but–Bam! The striped heroine barely had time to collect herself when the panda knocked his fat head into hers, sending her back several steps and causing her to wince. It didn't help that she heard a cracking noise with the blow–probably her nose as it hurt the most from the strike. But, if anything, she felt more anger than pain from this. Darn it, panda! I swear you'll pay for this… The feline would keep up this fight–not just for justice, but if it gave her the chance to physically teach this panda a lesson he'd never forget. Couldn't that just be now though? Apparently not…
"Come on! Is that all you got?" the black and white warrior yelled, to which the feline master growled.
Though in immense discomfort, the tiger readied herself for further battle and signaled for the panda to advance; the Dragon Warrior growled and raced up to her, attempting a palm strike. This time, he was awfully quick with the move–significantly outclassing his pace just a few moments prior, as what it appeared to Tigress. Slightly caught off guard by this, the striped heroine managed to use the little bit of tough luck she happened to have to hurriedly lean aside just a second before the panda's strong paws could find their mark. Just an instant afterward, the panda threw a quick punch for the feline's stomach which she barely was able to dodge. "Keep still so I do my punchy punch on you," he demanded, attempting a series of jabs. But the tiger moved back and leaned to the side with each punch. At one point, he attempted a slam kick to the tiger's knee, but she blocked it using her rising foot. "I'm only getting hungrier with this," the panda continued, "And because of that, I get more mad also."
That made sense. The panda started throwing punches harder and faster as the feline braced herself.
In another area of the Hall, Shifu regained consciousness. He breathed out a rough moan and pushed himself up off his stomach. He rubbed his head with discomfort as a painful sensation was knocking on the inside. The last thing the red panda could recall was falling into a rack of weapons in the very place he was sitting–and that was because of something he hadn't hoped for; Tigress allowed her anger to take control and she was still fighting with the panda. At that point, it seemed there was nothing to get her to listen; the strong, hardcore warrior who never quits mentality was deeply ingrained within her, and to be honest, it was his fault. Though, he had come to accept this and that didn't mean he was to allow his daughter to carry on her wrath like she had nothing to lose if it meant challenging the Dragon Warrior. Evidently, Po was using more power and speed with every punch he threw at Tigress and though the feline was using the best of her ability to keep up with the onslaught, Shifu didn't see the panda turning down the heat with his attacks. The rest of the Five could also tell that the black and white warrior had no intention of stopping until he managed to land a blow–certainly one hard enough to knock her down for good.
"Master Shifu, are you alright?" Viper asked warmly, slithering up to the red panda.
"I'll live," Shifu responded dryly, standing up, "Right now we have a serious matter to tend to."
"Wouldn't it be better if we just…I don't know…maybe…" Mantis said, leaping next to Viper and scratching his head uneasily.
"We aren't gonna let Po knock out Tigress," Crane said tiredly, joining the group with Monkey.
"Absolutely not," Shifu affirmed, "Now's the time to put a stop to this. Are you ready, students?"
The panda and tiger warriors hadn't noticed anything going on with Shifu and the Four while they were fighting. Po kept at it with his savage delivery of punches as Tigress continued blocking and avoiding. She had to admit; there was no telling whether she would be able to keep up with the panda's onrush. Honestly, the rising level of power he graced his punches with was starting to overwhelm her. But she knew the black and white warrior would no longer hold back in this fight. Neither would she back down. She couldn't surrender to the enemy. She would have rather died than disgrace the moral. Although she and Shifu weren't on the best of terms right now, she would continue to stand firm in the principles he taught her.
"Enough!" an elderly voice demanded just as the tiger's defense was about to be broken. The panda and tiger warriors looked to the source of the voice and saw Shifu not too far away from them. His eyes were on Tigress. "Time to put this to rest. Tigress, I warned you." The feline just let out a snarl at the elderly master while the panda suddenly found himself in a better mood. If a different time meant another fight with the tiger, or one with her against the other Jade Palace "warriors", he was more than pleased to watch; but right now he would've rather been occupied with something else–like stuffing his face with bean buns. Then working on his plans to build an army and dominate the Valley of Peace…stuff like that. He would be using up time for those things if he kept on fighting with this tiger. She, on the other hand, could literally go on however long she believed was necessary. She's definitely spent a lot of time on this fighting stuff, he reasoned.
"May you do the honors, old man?" Po said.
"It would be our duty," Shifu asserted as the Four appeared around him, "Students, attack!"
On cue, the Four rushed forward to Tigress; Po quickly moved away while telling her to "have fun" with a chuckle. She ignored him of course, readying for her former comrades to advance. Mantis sprang into the air with a whoosh. "Fear the bug!" the insect ripped through the air with his legs stretched out in front of him. Tigress positioned herself on fours and was prepared to pounce when something wormed through the crack beneath her. Whack! Tigress immediately shot up and reached her paws for the snake behind her, but Viper was moving extremely fast and soon enough, she was spiraling around her left arm, then proceeding to the right. The striped warrior became so distracted with the snake she nearly forgot a super speedy bug was coming towards her. In a flash, the tiger was launched backward with Mantis's feet locked onto her chest as well as Viper attaching together her arms and wrapping her wrists. Then, Crane swooped out of nowhere with a piece of rope between his beak and kicked her into midair.
"No!" Tigress screamed as the avian twirled her around speedily tied the rope around her legs. "Crane, you son of a–"
"Wah!" At that moment, something hard pressed down on the tiger's head as she heard a shout. Before she knew it, she was on her back, then able to see Monkey pressing over her forehead with a bo staff.
"We're taking you down for real now, Tigress," the snake said strongly into the striped warrior's ear, "So fighting back won't be an option."
"I'll get you all," the feline master gritted as she struggled.
"Master Shifu, now!" Crane shouted.
The red panda zoomed in and raised his palm. "Mantis!" he shouted, prompting the bug to jump up from Tigress's chest, and in the split second, Shifu brought his palm down with a wave of blue energy emitting upon the touch. The feline's eyes and mouth widened and stayed that way as she sensed all the feeling in her body go void in an instant. Paralyzed again… The feline would never get used to the feeling. Shifu and the Four, on the other hand, were relieved.
"Finally," Mantis said tiredly. Monkey removed his bo staff and Viper uncoiled from Tigress's arms and wrists. "But really, what was the point of tying her legs? It was just gonna take a few seconds to paralyze her–"
"Don't ask," Crane responded grimly. Shifu cracked his knuckles and cleared his throat.
"I do apologize, Master Po," the elderly panda said respectfully with a bow to the Dragon Warrior as he approached the scene. "For that rather–"
"Meh, I've used that move before," Po interjected dryly, "The Paralyzer as I like to call it. What do you think?" The Four exchanged glances; inside, no one could be more unimpressed at such a basic name. Shifu just tilted his head to the side.
"That's what you prefer," the red panda said.
"I was thinking more like–" Monkey began. Whack! "Urgh!" The simian nursed the sore spot on his shoulder from Viper's tail whack.
"That's a suitable name, Master Po," the snake said warmly, then eying the male members of the Four with deceptive tolerance, "Right, guys?" Crane and Mantis nervously nodded in agreement with uneasy grins. Monkey rubbed his shoulder with a nervous smile.
Po, seeming to notice the uncomfortable things were, chuckled a bit. "You guys are funny," he said, "I know that's not the most unique name in the world–but anyway, job well done. I'll admit, the tiger here was starting to wear me out a little. Got me a workout today." He paused, then took a sniff of his armpit, then wrinkling his nose in disgust and drawing his head away. "Whew, yup. Don't need to say that again. I'll have to take a wash after I get my meal in. By the way, fancy bath house you got up the hill, although it's mine now…"
After, Mantis and Monkey shared the same concern, though these two had grown to tolerate the panda's personal hygiene habits to a degree. Crane and Viper were mostly indifferent as this was like the panda they knew so well. Shifu was most likely a little disgusted himself, but kept his thoughts unspoken. Tigress…had no opinion on the matter (not that she could actually say anything as her whole body was in paralysis.) She was thinking of so many other things though; her family's betrayal, the fight with Po, Shifu's teachings, justice for the villagers, etc.
"Good one, tiger," Po spoke to her mockfully, "You made me need some ice and a good cleaning." Fool!
"And what are we to do with her?" Shifu asked.
"That? Oh yeah, you can just throw her back in the dungeon and leave her there," Po responded casually. This answer didn't surprise anyone, but would Shifu or any of the Four actually be up for the idea of it? No. It would seem like the most logical thing to do since Tigress, without a doubt, could be quite a handful; yet, the thought of keeping her caged like a criminal was ridiculous. Even Shifu thought that was going a little far.
"Master Po, are you certain that's what you want?" the red panda said, keeping his tone neutral.
The panda just shrugged and nodded. "It's appropriate," he said simply, "Plus my guy over there–" The panda shot a disapproving nod at Fung, "–Hasn't done the best job keeping guard, evidently."
"Not like I wanted to do it," Fung muttered awkwardly. The panda ignored him.
"You seen all that happened just now–although you guys were out for a bit–but, look at my eye here," Po said, pointing to the eye that was red, "That and the tiger broke my jaw."
"Well, not her smartest move but–"
"Yeah, and I know how that's gonna feel in the morning. All because someone failed to keep kitty in their room," Po continued with his arms folded, then narrowing his eyes and making his voice cold, "Which reminds me, I have something to deal with right now." He turned to the nervous crocodiles and started towards them.
"Master Po, would you consider an alternative?" Viper slithered in front of him.
"Like what?" Po responded, not taking his eyes off Fung and Gahri for a second. Viper wouldn't be too sure right away.
"...Well, we were thinking maybe you could…leave her in her room anyway," she answered. At that answer, the panda's eyes landed on the snake.
"What do you mean keep her in her room anyway?" he questioned skeptically, placing a hand on his waist. "Obviously she's a tough kitten to handle. That'd only allow her to keep getting herself into trouble–although our little fight here was pretty intense. I can't say I didn't have some fun throwing her around–but that's not the point here. You asking for more chaos?"
"Not at all, Master Po," Shifu responded, "I believe Viper means well by that. Because now you have qualified candidates to keep watch over Tigress."
"Hey, I tried my best," Fung pouted, though he understood Shifu's statement.
"It'll be much more difficult for her to leave her room," Viper said.
Po knew exactly what they were getting at, but still wasn't about to approve of the idea. "Oh no," he objected with a nod, "No way. Not happening. Case closed." He began to walk away.
"But Master Po," Viper continued, "It might not be such a bad idea. There's five of us after all."
"And we're trained in combat," Monkey added.
"Not convinced," Po replied indifferently, "Now if you'll excuse me."
"Master Po, I can guarantee all of us together are fully capable of assuring Tigress doesn't cause any further mayhem for you," Shifu spoke up, "We are more than willing to take on that responsibility." At least one of the Four agreed completely on that; some others were a little uncertain.
Just hope she doesn't go mad too soon, Monkey hoped, nervously tapping his fingers together.
If anything goes wrong, I probably won't be the first to try and stop her, Mantis admitted mentally.
Oh geez, here's something else on our hands, Crane facepalmed.
"I'm certain we've demonstrated enough of our fighting skills for you to consider," Shifu went on. Right then, something clicked in him. He paused and furrowed his brow. His voice leveled up several notches in seriousness. "Trust and believe. You won't have to worry about her escaping, because if she even attempts…she's going to wish she hadn't." A wave of silence briefly fell over the group. Strangely, Po found himself a bit unsettled by the red panda's choice of words as well as the change in tone. He couldn't help but wonder what the old man meant by that.
Although not exactly strangers to the Grandmaster speaking in this manner, it would seem like the Four might've too been a little caught off guard. Then again, they had to remember the plan…while in hopes the elderly master wouldn't take it further than expected.
Tigress remained unaware of anything. All she knew was Shifu was making himself look like an absolute failure in her eyes and the Four weren't helping either. I'm going to wish I hadn't tried to escape! That little…
"What about that, old man?" Po asked curiously, a little hesitant, "You're not talking about–"
"Let's just say, any beating could be just as brutal as another," the red panda answered directly, "Possibly more ruthless than what we've witnessed here." The Four exchanged dark looks, then locking wary eyes on their master. Crane even looked like he was tempted to ask the red panda something, but was seriously debating it. Tigress was mentally cursing the elderly master. That old rat! I can't believe it! He's really talking about committing harm towards me…for trying to stand up for what's right! How dare he! I can't stand him! What a disgrace…
Believe it or not, Po had a very odd feeling about this. He couldn't understand why though…
"Hopefully it doesn't resort to that," Viper spoke up.
"Hopefully," the male members of the Four repeated unenthusiastically.
"So you're basically implying there's a very good reason I should keep her out of the dungeon?" Po asked cynically, "Am I wrong? She has to be serving some purpose, other than being a playtoy. Also, that makes up for me now having a red eye and broken jaw." Viper might've been the only member of the Four that could come up with some excuse for an answer to that–even if it sounded ridiculous.
"Master Po, I understand if you won't believe me when I say this but…" she started, "I think we could manage to get Tigress on our side." Po choked back a laugh, hoping this snake wasn't being serious. Mantis and Monkey mentally shared his sentiment (without considering it a laughing matter.) Crane expected this to go left right away. Shifu was thinking some things over, probably considering that he hadn't fully thought everything through. Tigress was fuming in her head. What!
"You think you'll be able to manage that?" he asked quizzically, "Hold up, you weren't here this whole time?"
"Maybe not," Mantis sneered, earning a snarl from the reptile.
"Your friend's the queen of stubbornness," Po said, "She's too far caught in being this whole heroine warrior type."
"Yes she is," Monkey agreed.
"And she didn't just turn against you guys, right?" the black and white continued smugly, "I enjoyed watching the family brawl by the way. Good show."
I bet you did, the feline master thought angrily.
"Yes, it is true Tigress is very stubborn," Shifu said, "But my students and I follow the principle that anyone can have a change of mind given the proper guidance."
"Yeah, to believe that is one thing. Actually getting someone especially like her to follow through with it is another," Po replied flatly, then with a shrug he added, "Somehow though, I wanna think you guys could do it, old man. I couldn't try anything to get the tiger to listen but I'm the enemy after all. She just won't take in a word I tell her without trying to rip my head off." The panda looked at Tigress and cracked a smile. If the feline could move her mouth, she would return the most viscous growl. You're mine, panda. You may have won this one, but it's not over, she swore mentally.
Maybe try moving faster with your fists next time, Po considered, somehow possessing the unlikely ability to make out the feline's thoughts through her paralyzed expression. He looked at Shifu complacently. "I'd be impressed if you could calm her down…a little," he remarked, "But I don't know."
"I trust we can handle her," the red panda responded, "...And if it doesn't go as hoped, then we'll throw her back in the dungeon." The Four let out gasps at that sentence.
"Master Shifu–" Viper started but was silenced by elderly master raising his hand to her.
"That will be a done deal on behalf of me and my students," he added.
Po hummed in consideration. "You're pretty confident whatever you'll do with this tiger will work on her," he said, "Take this as me being generous for today. You'll keep whiskers put and ensure she doesn't get in the way of my plans. But since I let you have this one you are to go by your word…" The Dragon Warrior lowered his face to the red panda's and made it clear, "You will put her right back behind bars if she gets out of line. Go against that and you'll wish I had never been so nice." There was a brief moment of silence between the two; while Po was staring directly into the old man's eyes, Shifu found himself mostly composed. He had to remember; it served him no good in talking back to the larger creature even if his overt disrespect was beginning to test his patience. But, if it were a completely different scenario, this panda would be picking his teeth up off the ground for certain.
"Very well. You have my word," Shifu said civilly with a bow, then gesturing to the Four, "Students."
Uneasily so, the Four bowed. Po, himself feeling a bit awkward for some reason, straightened up after a short pause.
"Alrighty then," he said, "Guess that's dealt with. You guys can, uh, settle in the bedroom area. I'm pretty sure I don't have to tell you where your rooms are…because of the stuff in them." The male members of the Four looked at the panda as if that last sentence wasn't obvious enough.
"Thank you, Master Po. We should get going now," Shifu said, signaling for his students to carry Tigress.
"And don't forget you're gonna show me about that senses thing later on," the panda said, scratching his head.
From the distance, two crocodiles had taken everything in. "Uh, since all that is over–we're off the hook now, r–?" Gahri began, but Fung slapped him quiet.
"Darn it, Gahri! Do you have to ruin everything like always?" the bigger crocodile barked, "He was probably gonna forget about it if we hadn't said anything." The panda turned to them with a more unfriendly look on his face.
"As for you two," he said firmly.
"I'm sorry, I was just asking," Gahri cried, rubbing the now aching spot on his muzzle.
"I requested you both to do some things for me and you didn't do them," Po said bitterly, walking up to them.
"H-hey, it was all their id–" Gahri tried to reason.
"She made–" Fung started pleadingly.
"You are to listen to my orders," Po snapped, getting right in their faces, "I don't care who besides me tells you anything else, got that? Have you forgotten I'm the boss here?" The crocodiles were forced to crouch so low they were on their knees–it would look like they were ready to beg for mercy. The panda glared viciously into their eyes with a scowl. "And the outcome from all that happened tonight doesn't matter. You already should've known. For one thing, I don't play nice with those who disobey me." Shifu and the Four watched with alertness; even they felt a bit of pity for the crocodiles with how hard this panda was going on them.
"Master Shifu, do you think we should–?" Viper was about to ask.
"Let it play out," Shifu instructed.
"When I ask you to do something, you do it. Period," Po asked, "No ifs, ands, or buts about it." He leaned in closer to Fung, stopping inches from his eyes. "Am I clear on that?" The crocodiles nodded quickly. "Furthermore, since that whole incident minutes ago–which is how I ended up with a reddened eye and broken jaw–I'll be keeping a closer eye on you guys from now on. In case, there's some diabolic scheme I don't know of."
"W-what do you mean?" Gahri stammered, looking at Shifu and the Four. Fung nudged him in the stomach. "Ow."
"You're probably scaring him a bit too much," the bigger crocodile commented uneasily. Was there something Gahri had been planning with the Jade Palace warriors that he had yet to tell him (Fung) about though?
"Let me get any idea you're working with those guys over there on something," Po said sharply, specifically narrowing his eyes at Fung, "And you'll be getting more than just those claw marks on your muzzle." Upon that reminder, mostly everyone's eyes fell on paralyzed feline lying on the floor.
"You got it, boss," Fung answered timidly.
"And…as for your punishment, you will be walking up and down the Thousand Steps all night," Po stated.
"All night!?" the crocodiles bellowed.
"And maybe all day tomorrow," the panda added.
"What?"
Mantis chuckled. "And we say Shifu's harsh," he remarked to earn a glare from the red panda.
"B-but, boss?" Gahri cried, "Isn't that a bit…extra?"
"You wanna go for a week?" Po questioned, folding his arms and examining his fist, "Your choice. Unless you wouldn't mind a more physical approach."
"No, no, no–not at all–it's cool," Fung said quickly with a nervous smile, clapping his paw over Gahri's muzzle, "We could use the exercise anyway." Of course, the panda wouldn't let it be done at that.
"Okay then you can sweep the steps, too," he said sinisterly, "Those things could use some dusting as well, probably as ancient as the old man over there."
Shifu was very much tempted to tell the panda a thing or two in regards to that comment, but held his tongue. Some others, like Mantis and Monkey, had to hold back their giggles.
"Yeah, we can do that also," Fung said, though he didn't sound too eager, "Right, Gahri?"
"Uh…"
"No more said. You can start in an hour or so," Po said casually, rubbing his red eye and turning to Shifu and the Four, "So, I won't have any disturbances while I'm raiding the kitchen, eh?"
"Enjoy your meal as you wish, Master Po," Shifu said politely, though he knew he would never be on board with the Dragon Warrior eating the palace out of food. What could he say about it though? "My students and I have the latter to tend to." Tigress remained paralyzed as Viper and Monkey lifted her around Crane's shoulders, much to the avian's dissatisfaction.
"You make me carry her," the avian said pitifully as he had to hunch over due to uneven width. Tigress certainly wasn't a tiny person.
"Because you're the closest to her height out of us," Mantis responded, indirectly reminding himself of how small he was."
"I'll help," Viper spoke, coiling around Tigress and Crane's chest to secure the hold. Crane was only slightly relieved with that. Then, something out of the blue happened; a strange feeling rose within him–just from the moment the snake found her way around his neck. He didn't have the slightest clue as to what the feeling was; but for whatever reason, he suddenly didn't mind having to carry Tigress to her room.
The bird hadn't realized he was daydreaming until Viper asked, "Crane, are you focused?"
"Huh, what was that?" Crane snapped out of his thoughts.
The rest of the crew seemed to ignore the little moment between the avian and snake as Shifu led them off to the student quarters. Po watched them leave before turning back to Fung and Gahri with a blank, yet sort of confused expression on his face.
"By the way, what's a panda?" he asked them. Well…that was the last question you'd expect to hear then–and the answer was right there "blindly" looking the surprised reptiles straight in the eyes. One could think Fung would use the chance there to reattempt explaining everything for what it really was, but he had been near completely discouraged after trying to talk the bear out of his great lie the first time. Po had been so firmly convinced he was one of them–also, that he was one of a kind with black and white fur–he likely wouldn't believe it if Fung gave him the honest answer. "We've heard people calling me that. Is it another word for crocodile or something?"
The way simpler thing to do was make up something else ludicrous.
"It's a word to call any mammal that's black and white," Fung answered stupidly, "The villagers use it often."
"Really?" Po said slightly interested.
"Yeah, specifically if the mammal's built real fat–you know, with flabby arms, big jiggly belly, and a fat–" Before he could finish the description, Gahri was cut off by his partner quickly clamping his muzzle shut.
"You get the idea," Fung said with hesitation, "And those aren't…bad things to have."
Po hummed, then examined his stomach and arms. The old man and the tiger calling him panda made perfect sense as he was extremely fat with all the attributes Gahri was describing. The funny thing was they were most likely using the word for throwing at him like it was an insult; except Po wasn't offended at all. He could clearly and confidently look in a mirror and see an overweight person with arms big as the size of Hami melons and a belly like a giant bouncing ball. How could he be mad over the truth? If anything, he was rather taken back with how Tigress was so blatant about her disrespect towards him. The old man, on the other hand, had been mainly subtle in his approach; yet, Po knew very well the geezer didn't like him, for which he had a legitimate reason. But that didn't stop the red panda from trying to mask his dislike of the black and white warrior by "respectfully" referring to him as "Master Po'', when he initially called him panda, while speaking to him in that forced moderate tone (most likely because he didn't want to appear as if he was simply an old grouch all the time.) Po would have some fun testing him a couple of times just to see if he could wind the elderly fool up though. Come to think of it, he did seem like he wanted to get rattled over that last comment about him being as ancient as the Thousand Steps…
Wonder what he'll do if I call him Pint Size, the devious panda considered with a smug grin. I might just try that. Then we'll see who really gets offended over a size joke…
As for Tigress… You're just an extension of the old man, if not worse, whiskers… But I can handle that. And believe me, this big, fat panda right here will be ready to kick your butt whenever you call for a challenge… Get ready to feel the thunder.
"Eh, they also have large round heads, small ears, black circles around their eyes, and–"
"Gahri, do I have to tell you again about ruining stuff?" Fung argued at the smaller crocodile.
"I'm only trying to help!" Gahri pouted.
Po huffed as he was walking off, leaving the two to bicker for the little time he gave them before they had to go walk off their punishment. A growl roared from his stomach when he began to think about the goodies awaiting him in the kitchen.
After a long day, bean buns prepare to come home…
Deep in the forest…
A small group of four crocodiles, consisting of Wall Eye, Irwin, Wong, and Lidong, were making their way through the trees as the star-filled sky darkened into night. The much larger and most vicious looking one of the crew led the way as the rest chatted about what went on in the day.
"Do you think those pigs managed to get loose at least?" Wall Eye asked, tossing around a rock.
"I don't know. We tied them up pretty good," Wong answered, scratching his head nervously, "If not, then they should still be there when we get near enough to the village."
"So, how many bags of rice did you count again?" Irwin asked, much to the annoyance of Lidong. He heard Wong give the same answer each time they bought up that question. They had already asked about ten times over the course of the few hours they had been walking to and from the crocodile camp. After Wall Eye and Irwin told him and Wong the whole story (from the Dragon Warrior losing his memory to the panda becoming the "Bandit King" and taking over the Jade Palace from Master Shifu), he didn't believe it and supposed the idiots were making up a silly tale as part of playing a joke on him (he'd gotten that from his peers very often when he was little.)
The initial response also involved Lidong threatening to brutally beat the poop out of Wall Eye and Irwin if they weren't being serious…but, in opposition to his knowledge, they were. In Lidong's defense, though, the story would sound ridiculous to most people–especially if they heard the part in which Fung somehow convinces the Dragon Warrior he's a black and white crocodile. Once Wall Eye told Lidong this, he nearly choked the smaller crocodile out cold as he believed someone would go further than that to mess with him. The panda's THAT big of an idiot…so you think I'm a moron as well, Lidong snorted mentally.
"B-b-but it's true!" Wall Eye swore timidly, struggling against the larger crocodile's grip as Lidong pinned him to a tree by the neck, "We watched everything happen in front of us."
And, at the current moment, Lidong hadn't bought a single part of the story. How could he buy something so foolish like that? Nothing made sense about these so-called happenings at all.
Wong, on the other hand, seemed mildly convinced and would definitely believe the guys if they could prove their story.
"So the panda's not the Dragon Warrior anymore?" he asked cluelessly, to which Lidong facepalmed.
"You moron, did they say that more than once?" he questioned harshly.
"Well, they claim he calls himself the Bandit King now," Wong responded innocently, "He really beat up Shifu and the Furious Five warriors?" Lidong clenched his fists and whirled around to face his peers with a frightening scowl.
"Uh, I think he's had it with the questions," Wall Eye commented nervously as he moved back a little.
"You heard them say that multiple times! I know it!" Lidong snapped in Wong's face, "Would you quit playing stupid for a change?" The trio weren't surprised, but at loss for words by the overgrown crocodile's outburst. "And you two–" He turned his focus on Wall Eye and Irwin. "–How long are you gonna keep answering the same questions over and over again? Or are you just going along with this moron because none of you can shut up for once? It can never be a quiet walk." Lidong wheeled around and started marching back down the path. The trio followed behind quickly.
"Aw come on, Lidong," Wall Eye gulped down his intimidation, "You really expect us to walk miles back to the village, then all the way up the Jade Palace stairs and not talk som–"
"I expect?" Lidong barked over his shoulder, "You idiots brought me out here. All I had to do today was steal some rice from the village and take it back to the camp. Then you fools showed up."
"Again, you didn't have to carry the cart most of the way," Wong reminded unenthusiastically.
"We told you we didn't want to come out here," Irwin added desperately, "The Dragon Warrior made us do this."
"And I'm supposed to keep believing this stupid fib you made up," Lidong complained, narrowing his eyes, "Until you can actually prove you aren't lying. And you will remember your promise."
The trio exchanged nervous looks with a simultaneous gulp.
"We're almost there, right?" Wall Eye asked nervously, looking up at the sky then at the surrounding trees, "Say, do you think we should be moving a bit faster than this? It's gotten pretty dark out here."
Lidong grunted and facepalmed. "We get to the Jade Palace and I'll see if you're telling the truth about this Bandit King story," he said hatefully, "And if I walked all the way there just to be correct…" He cracked his knuckles so loud they echoed through the air. "Then I get to turn you lousy buffoons into dumplings like you said."
The trio said nothing in response; two of them (absolutely positive they weren't lying about anything, but scared nevertheless.)
Little did they know, however, someone just as terrifying as the overgrown reptile in front of them had been spying as they progressed through the forest. From a good distance away in the darkness, a mysterious figure with a black cloak concealing everything but its brightly glowing orange eyes stood behind some trees, watching through a crack narrow enough to keep its spot uncovered. The figure seemed to have been following the group, and perhaps, for a while; thus, it must have heard their conversation. "Looks like I found some new information here," its voice of sinister calm stated lowly before it turned around and began moving from the spot it had been hiding. "Surely it will provide excellent use."
And, within seconds, the figure faded like a gust of wind into the darkness.
I do not own Kung Fu Panda. All rights reserved to Dreamwork Animations. Readers, please comment or message me if you happen to find any errors (far as the missing of words or incomplete sentences) in this chapter. For whatever reason, some annoying things happen with my DOCs. My writing may be a little off in this one. At the end of the day, I'm working on improving for better. :D
Write you guys next update.