Hello peeps, welcome to the next chapter! I know it's been a while I'm sorry about that but here's an update! This chapter is going to be a little longer than most, so prepare for that. So much has been going on with me and I haven't been able to write much but I'm going to try to do some more frequent updates. Depression, anxiety, work ect all been hitting me at once. But anyway, this story is going to be a mind battle with Po due to his past and current struggles. It seems Tigress has her own pains and emotional trauma that still haunt her; will she ever find comfort and peace even with all that has happened to her? Keep reading to find out! Luckily, a certain ever-caring panda is there to help her with her troubles. Also in a few more chapters the villians identity will be revealed so be patient!
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Speaking of the villian, I would like to point out who the voice actor is for this OC so y'all know what he sounds like:) Look up a youtube video of the specified role mentioned to hear their voice.
In the villian's first appearance, when he spoke to Po and the others, he is using a voice disguiser mask that wraps around his muzzle, so there will be two voice actors here - normal and disguised.
(Disguised voice - first appearance) Mysterious, cloaked figure is voiced by: Tobin Bell a.k.a the voice of Alchemy/Savitar on the CW Flash season 3. Or some of you may recognize him as jigsaw in the Saw franchise but his voice is more like that of Savitar.
(Normal voice - beginning of second chapter) The unknown figure is voiced by: Teddy Sears - otherwise known for his roll as Hunter Zolomon in the same CW show.
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Anyway, moving onto this chapter. The two masters have finally escaped and are currently tracking down the army but will they catch up? Will Po ever learn to heal with his chi or will their injuries become progressively worse the more they push on? Find out in the rest of the story...
It had been a few hours since the two masters had left the village, and evacuated the villagers. The villagers were now safe from the bandits as they had relocated to a neighboring village a few miles east. Little Wing Sing and her mother were elated that the Dragon Warrior and Master Tigress had helped them. Wing Sing was especially excited she met her hero, and was mentally counting down the days until she would meet Tigress again, as promised.
The two warriors were now making their way down a muddy road towards the direction of the army - sore and wounded but very much alive. While the Dragon Warrior and the tiger master walked, they soon broke the silence and began to converse once again. This time, Tigress was starting the conversation.
"Ya know... that was really brave of you what you did back in the village, Po... and stupid." the tiger spoke up calmly to her panda friend before punching his arm rather hard but in a playful manner.
"Owwwhohoho!" Po shouted in pain rubbing his arm. This was the same arm that was wounded by the elites a few days ago and the playful punch the tiger gave him wasn't helping matters. He gave her a questioning look that said, 'what was that for?' however, the tiger just continued as sincerely as she could manage.
"But going back to find Wing Sing and her mother just to make sure they were safe - that took guts." the tiger complimented with a warm smile causing Po to elicit one of his own, quickly replacing the pained expression on his face. He also instantly remembered a similar compliment she gave him back in Gongmen City.
"Well ya know..." he replied nonchalantly at her comment, trying to play it cool. "I'm just doing my Dragon Warrior duties." he shrugged before punching the air dramatically.
Tigress, however, decided to keep the conversation going this time - she then shook her head, "No, Po. What you did, you did out of the kindness of your heart. You went back even though you could have got hurt or worse... killed." she concluded as her facial expression grew disconsolate at the last thing she said.
Po smiled sadly seeing this and placed a paw on her back, "I know, Ti - sorry I worried you so much." he teased but deep down he could see that she really did care.
Tigress chuckled and shook her head, "You always worry me, Po."
Po smiled at her briefly, before continuing, rubbing the back of his head, "Yeah but I had to go back to make sure Wing Sing and her mother were safe. I couldn't watch them be killed either."
The tigers mouth dropped open a bit at this before he continued.
"...I care about her too, Ti."
Her mouth slowly closed before her lips then formed into a smile. The two locked eyes for a bit - smiling before the tiger then cleared her throat and began to look down at the map again in her paws.
"We should keep following this road for a few more miles. We'll get some more water at the nearest village." Tigress said with her normal expression and tone of voice returning.
Po nodded in understanding but noticed something else. The panda knew she was hardcore and could deal with a lot of pain, as tough as she was, but he couldn't help but notice the way she was limping. She held her paw on her shoulder blade - the same one that was giving her trouble before, and judging by the expression on her face it was an indicator it still was the case. The panda then decided to speak up after a few moments.
"Hey Tigress?"
"Hmm?"
"I know we have a long way to go before we catch up to everyone but... how about we stop and I can... ya know... change your bandages?" Po suggest sheepishly not to knowing what her response would be.
The tiger thought for a minute about the idea and seeing that she would have trouble doing it herself in her current state, it would be nice to have someone to help change them. She took a few more moments in thought before she then smiled.
"Sure, Po. I would very much appreciate that." she said gently as her tail perked up off the ground a little.
"Thanks. I knew your right shoulder was giving you trouble from earlier sooo I thought it would be best to change them."
"Indeed it was. You're very thoughtful." she smiled again taking a little drink of water from the canteen which was nearly empty.
After quite some time trying to find a place to stop and tend to their wounds, the two spotted what looked like the opening of a cave among a densely, rocky area on the side of the road. The masters couldn't help but smile at this, happy to find a place to rest for a while and possibly find more water. Po and Tigress were now beginning to run low on supplies - water mostly, and Tigress gave Po the last drink of water over twenty minutes ago.
"How about... here?" the panda whispered looking at the tiger beside him.
Tigress looked at him and nodded with a content, relieved smile. Happy to finally find a place of refuge for a while, the two masters then walked over to the cave and made their way inside. Upon entering the cave, they couldn't see anything for the cave was pitch black. However, once inside - towards the back of the cave, Po and Tigress saw a glowing, bluish light begin to appear on the farther end and they decided to follow the direction of hue that plastered the walls.
The eerie silence was unnerving as they ventured further through the carved out walls and as they walked they looked up above them and saw the source of the glow. Above them, were small, glowing blue crystals embedded in the rock, completely scattered across the rocky roof.
"Wow." Po whispered in awe of the crystal's beauty as they shimmered around them.
It truly was a beautiful sight to behold; Po and Tigress looked at each other for a moment, briefly.
"It's beautiful, Po." Tigress stated in a very relaxed tone that surprised Po a little. He knew that she admired things like this on the side, but to see her like this, brought a smile to his face, despite their circumstances.
Po nodded, still smiling, before the two then made their way towards the back of the cave. Upon entering, they stepped into a larger area, more carved out than the rest of the cave and in the center of it, they spotted two large rectangular-shaped stone boxes which sat right beside each other. Confused, the two masters then made their way towards the two large objects to inspect them. Tigress then knelt down and read inscription that was carved on the side of the first stone container. She then rose to her feet with a solemn look on her face, a sentiment that was soon shared by Po, as they were beginning to realize what this place was.
"Po... this isn't just a cave. It's a-"
"Tomb." Po finished quietly to which Tigress nodded.
After a few unnerving moments, the tiger spoke up and took a twig lying on the ground, for a pointer and pointed to some more carvings on the side of the stone box.
"I recognize the inscriptions on the sarcophagus - it tells their story." Tigress said with a thoughtful expression before Po then cut in.
"Oooh, I love stories - this is going to be awesome! Are you going to read it?" The panda asked excitedly and Tigress held up her paw to silence him.
The tigers ear twitched in annoyance. "Quiet, Po - I'm getting there." Tigress said half sternly before she returned her attention to the stone box.
"Oh, sorry." Po replied, knowing to shut his mouth and let the tiger speak.
The female tiger then continued, pointing the stick at the engravings on the large slab of rock and she began to tell its story.
"It tells the story of two ancient lovers, a male - Lóng, and a female - fèng. The pair were completely inseparable and what had started out as a friendship, blossomed into a deep, eternal love, but there was one problem..."
"What happened?" Po whispered as his facial expression went from elated to disconsolate.
The story seemed to have an effect on the tiger, provoking her thoughts. Tigress felt a little strange when reading about this kind of topic, but as she looked from Po back to the engravings, she found that the place she had stopped appeared to be the end. Her amber glowing orbs searched the stone slab for some time but came up empty.
"I don't know. It just stopped there..." she mused quietly trying to figure out where the rest of the story could be.
"Aw, man!" the panda whined in frustration. "I really wanted to hear the rest of that story - it was so awesome too!" he slumped, leaning onto a rock embedded into wall of the cave. However, as he did so, the rock sank into the wall and the panda stumbled, momentarily frightened.
"Ahh! Whoa, what was that?"
As the rock sank into the rocky wall and the panda stood upright, beneath the stone sarcophaguses, a trap door opened on the side revealing a few scrolls.
Tigress immediately got down on a knee and after inspecting the scrolls a bit, she concluded that they were in fact the rest of the story. She stood up and smiled at the panda knowingly.
"Good work, Dragon Warrior. It appears your clumsiness has been proven useful." Tigress joked lightly chuckling a bit before groaning, remembering the pain in her shoulder blade.
Po laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, finally."
Tigress soon returned her attention to the scrolls in her paws and Po then stood behind the tiger, peering over her shoulder to get a better look at the scroll while she read.
"The Mongols. A fearsome, and barbaric tribe raided their village and slaughtered hundreds. They knew no mercy as many innocents fell by blade or were struck down by archers. However, the pair survived but their families were separated..." Tigress's face grew crestfallen as she read as did Po, who had a face of pure horror behind her.
"Another problem arose for the lover's when their parents forbade them from seeing each other. But their love was strong, even as strong as ironwood."
Tigress paused at the last line remembering her training with the ironwood trees. She recalled all the times she broke her paws conditioning them, before she finally felt nothing. Tigress shook her head at the memory and continued.
"They persevered and came out late at night to meet in secret. This place was where they came and met the most - to express their undying love for each other, totally alone, far away from any persecution. They were truly meant to be by each other's sides, forever - inseparable like yin and yang." Tigress paused for a bit to collect her thoughts after reading what she did.
Po, on the other paw, was in total awe and nearly in tears as soft-hearted as the panda was, this really spoke to him and touched his heart.
"That was beautiful..." he sniffed wiping the water from his eyes. "It was tragic all of that happened to them and all but that's the best love story I've ever heard!" he sobbed briefly before composing himself.
Tigress however just gave a subtle eye roll at this but she smiled nevertheless for the story was rather touching so it explained the panda's actions.
"Apologies. I'm not really experienced in this sort of thing called... love." Tigress confessed quietly as this topic seemed to be touchy for her.
Po smiled at the female tiger. "I understand - completely. I'm sure you'll figure it out one day." Po replied lightly punching her arm before he began to stir his foot into the ground awkwardly.
After a few moments of silence the panda spoke up again. "So uhh... what do we do now?"
Tigress appeared to be lost in her thoughts for a moment before her ear twitched, hearing something.
"We go find water and bandage our wounds." she stated as her normal expression returned. "I think I hear water towards the back of the cave - let's go."
Po nodded, "Yeah, we should get going."
The two masters then proceeded to make their way towards the back of the cave. The blue crystals above them lit up the stone hallway as they reached a larger, arched entrance. Opon entering, they saw a large pool of water in the center, and two opposite streams of water flowing into it from an unseen source.
The two were elated and relieved at the sight and immediately ran over towards the edge of the pool. After kneeling down in front of it, they took out their canteens and a few jugs and began to replenish their water supply. After drinking some for themselves to quench their thirst, the two masters looked at each other in relief while panting. The water was cool and refreshing and strengthened them much.
"This... was an excellent choice, Po."
"Thanks. I thought this place would be useful somehow." he smiled knowingly before Tigress then looked down at the water seeing her reflection.
The female warrior began to notice her ruffled up and knotted orange fur in the water's reflection. They had been traveling for days now and after several fights and almost bleeding out, the tiger's fur could use some grooming. Cleansing was another matter, but as she began to rake her claws through her unruly fur, Tigress noticed movement in the water. She gasped slightly as she knew what it was.
"Uh, Po?" she whispered quietly looking up at him as he was unpacking some fresh bandages and some sake.
"Hmm?" he stopped what he was doing, meeting her gaze.
"There's fish in this water. If we catch some, we could have something to eat." she suggested.
Po's face lit up excitedly. "Really? Oh, my gosh that sounds awesome! And besides I'm REALLY starving right now!" the panda stated rubbing his white plushy belly.
Tigress chuckled, "Of course you are." she teased momentarily.
Tigress then looked back down at the waters surface and into the pool, searching intently for any signs of the fish that she saw before. Before too long, she then spotted a medium-sized fish and raising a paw above her head, she carefully aimed and prepared to strike. Po watched in awe and in anticipation.
Splash!
At lightning speed, she dove her paw into the water, claws extended, and latched onto the fishes body, her claws dug deep inside of the fish before pulling it out and laying on a small stone slab. The startled fish flopped and jerked on the rock before it soon became still.
Po clapped, "Whoa that was so fast - good job, Ti."
The female tiger smiled slightly, before she returned her attention to the water and caught a few more, doing the same. Po then tried his luck at catching the water creatures but he failed to catch one due to not having sharp claws like Tigress, so he only made a big splash in the water.
"Ughhh! Why is this so hard!?" the panda groaned feeling frustrated.
"Fishing takes skill, precision, and speed. And sharp claws as well, but you seem to be lacking the latter." she stated simply with an amused look on her face.
"Yeah." Po said and simply nodded in solemn agreement and let her continue to fish.
After some time, she caught a few more and set them aside to be cooked. Both of them were very hungry and their stomachs growling was evidenced by this. Po then pulled out the flint rocks from the pack he sat down, while Tigress set up a small pile of kindling, shaping it into a cone, before motioning for Po to light it.
Po then poured a little bit of sake on an area of the twigs and struck the rocks together, creating a spark, which set the kindling on fire rather quickly. Once the fire began to crackle and burn, Tigress then skewered a few fish on a sharpened end of a stick and Po did the same, placing them over the fire to let them cook. After setting them into the ground a bit to further cook, Po assembled the medical supplies they had packed and arranged them near his right leg.
He then gave the tiger a concerned look seeing her haunch over from the throbbing pain in her body - seeing her in such pain grieved him much.
"Would you like me to take a look now?" he said as worry began to take over his features.
The female tiger looked towards him and nodded, her face trying to hide the pain she was feeling in her body. No doubt, she was tough as ironwood and hardcore, but she realized this was necessary.
Tigress then went over to Po and sat down in front of him with her back turned towards him. She then began to unbutton her jade, green vest - undoing each clasp that held it together, before sliding it off her shoulders, bringing it down to her lower back, carefully - fully exposing her striped back.
Po's mouth dropped open slightly, letting out a small gasp at the sight before him. His eyes took in the sight of Tigress's elegant stripes and orange fur in awe, before the female tiger spoke up, wondering why he was hesitant.
"Uhhh, is everything okay back there, Po? Please try to hurry."
The panda instantly snapped out of it, startled, hearing her voice. He was so enraptured by the sight of her stripes, that he apparently forgot about the task at hand.
"Oh! Y-yeah let me check..." Po nervously replied as he looked to where her wound was on her back.
He unraveled the now crimson bandage that covered her shoulder blade, which was slashed by the saber and he inspected the area. A disconsolate expression came over Po's face as he looked at the wound, which was bruised around the gash and the gash itself appeared to show some early signs of infection.
"How is it?"
The fur around it was stained with blood and no doubt she was experiencing excruciating pain. The panda took a breath and tried to respond but his heart sank.
"It's not good Tigress..." he managed to whisper sadly, as his face grew more worried and depressed.
"I figured. Is it infected?"
The panda nodded looking over her shoulder at her.
"It starting to be."
Tigress nodded in acknowledgment as she grew deep in her thoughts. Po, knowing the clean wound, then took the sake in his paw and began to pour some directly onto the bleeding gash. The tiger instantly flinched and growled in pain momentarily from this as the sake soaked her wound and the fur surrounding it.
"I'm so sorry Ti! I know this hurts but I just can't watch you die from this." The panda said frantically worried seeing her in such pain. A few tears threathened to well up in his eyes.
Tigress grit her teeth, breathing heavily, before she tried her best to smile hearing his concern for her.
"I-it's ok, Po - don't worry so much. I know you care but I'm not gonna die." she said as gently as she could manage.
"You sure?"
The tiger turned around a little and placed a paw on his arm and nodded softly with a reassuring look. Po relaxed after this and managed to smile a bit before making his way in front of her to tend to her other injuries. A few minutes later, he completed the agonizing process of changing and bandaging her other wounds on her abdomen and leg.
"Thanks, Po - I really appreciate it." she smiled feintly and tried to stand.
Po instantly came to her side to stop her "You're welcome Ti. And easy there, just rest a little. The fish is almost done."
Tigress nodded and sat down as Po went to check on the fish. The roasted fish that was cooking over the fire certainly smelled good and that only enticed their hunger more. After some inspection, Po took the sticks the fish were skewered on and brought two over to where Tigress was sitting and handed her one.
"Are they done?"
Tigress took the fish, broke it in half and after looking on the inside, she nodded her head. The fish was definitely hot from being over the fire but due to Tigress's ironwood tree training, her paws didn't register pain. Po was in total awe at this as usual. the tiger just shook her head in amusement and began to scale the fish before taking a bite. Po, on the other hand, was not having a good time trying to handle the roasted fish.
"Ow ow OWW!" he yelped as the fish was starting to burn is paw pads. He then looked over at Tigress who was enjoying her fish and he gave her a pleading look.
Tigress simply shook her head, with a slight chuckle, took the fish, broke in half, and begin to scale it for him and after doing so, she handed it back and the panda happily began to eat it. Soon, the two ate all the fish the Tigress caught, before standing up to leave and to continue their journey.
After putting the fire out, Po helped Tigress stand to her feet and they began to go back the way they came in, to exit the cave after packing up their replenished supplies. They followed the blue, glowing crystals on the ceiling, which gave off a peaceful atmosphere, as they passed the stone sarcophaguses of the ancient lovers and made their way outside the cave.
"Ahhh, fresh air!" Po exclaimed dramatically, running out of the cave with Tigress making her way out behind him, limping. "Looks like we made it out alive, buddy."
Tigress scoffed and shook her head, "Yeah because that was such a dangerous adventure in that cave." The tiger replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes but soon smiling a bit. "Didn't think we'd make it out dead, Po." she joked and Po laughed heartily.
"Heh, good point. Shall we go?"
"Certainly." she replied stoicly as she picked up her pack and the two warriors set out once more on the dirt path before them.
The sun was now beginning to set over the horizon, turning the clouds and sky above them to vibrant colors of red, orange, and yellow. It was a beautiful sight, but the two masters pushed on into the direction of the near army, as the once-humid air around them began to cool, providing the panda and tiger duo much relief. The two warriors didn't know what was ahead of them or what dangers inevitably laid ahead, but they knew they at least had each other... at least for now.
Wooooooohoooo, that's the end of chapter 8!!! Finally finished this chapter after sooo long. I'm terribly sorry about that guys I've been really busy for the past few months and only had a few moments to write when I forced myself. Between changing jobs and other things. Anyway, I've been getting some really good ideas for the story and I think I know how I'm going to finish it up! It's going to be good that's all I can tell you. I apologise if this chapter seemed a bit boring but in the next few, however, a lot of things will be going down for sure for our heroes.
- Now there are a few things I'd like to address here. One is brought up quite frequently and that is if I'm going to do TiPo in this story or not. Now... I know that's what my name is on here but that doesn't mean they'll be together in every fic I write. Heck, I've even wrote fics on here that are not even about Kung Fu Panda! (Flash/Arrow mostly) So it's really open to anything.
- Also, there are a few references in here that some of you may or might not catch, but I just saw them as necessary for the feel of this story hehe. The dragon and the Phoenix was something I really wanted to do in this and thanks to my mums idea i was able to do it. The villain will be revealed in just a few more chapters and his past is rather dark. I'll go into that later. Anyway, I now have someone who was kind enough to helo me edit my stories and that is my step mum, who is pretty good at grammar; so the next edit to this chapter will be the cleaned up one. Hope you cool cats enjoyed this update, drop me some feedback in the reviews and the Crucible will continue 100% and I even have plans for a sequel! So stay tuned!
- Tipofan4life