12
"Preliminaries"
XX-0's only underground bunker - the communication database - was normally well-hidden. Commander Po - as those who knew him briefly called him - had organized the room such that one would have to take a secretive elevator hidden in the midst of nowhere on rocky land, burrow at least a few hundred feet into XX-0's cracked, stony surface - and approach a cave. After traipsing into this cave, and uttering a passcode - the voice command initiated a series of terraforming movements as metal plunged over metal, sealing the inquirers inside and encasing them in a new, shiny chrome room with a single supercomputer at the center. This was the source of all the Resistance's communication networks, and perhaps the only possible manner of encrypting their lines - without it, and the clandestine access to A.G.E files, courtesy of former APs who had joined Po's movement - the Resistance would crumble in seconds.
It made Karla very anxious therefore, to see her friend Tigress so hurriedly perusing over the computer, rapidly tapping away at the holo-keyboard as the weakly flickering, albeit massive supercomputer screen showed a multitude of names and profiles.
"What the hell are you doing, Tigress?" Karla begged, shrugging her shoulders. "You make me take you down here and don't even tell me why - "
"Shut up, please Karla," Tigress urged, panting. "Let me focus."
Click. Clack. Click. Clack.
A shiny message appeared on the screen.
Directory. Confidential Access only.
"What's the password?" Tigress demanded, not even looking at the lioness.
"Tigress…" Karla began, worried while moving forward.
"THE PASSWORD!"
Karla stood back, aghast. "Revolution."
Tigress quickly inputted the letters, until a new flashing message appeared.
Access Granted.
Specify Search Parameters.
"Scout Zero," Tigress let out coldly. "Species: human."
Search complete.
Entry not found.
"You wanted to just search the terrorist's name?" Karla asked, confused. "Tigress - "
"There must be a backup of his file somehow," Tigress motioned, stressed. "Broaden parameters. All files."
Broadening Parameters.
Entry Found.
Senior Scout Flint, Callsign "Zero". Alliance Protector: AP.
Species: Human
Status: Deceased
"What the hell…" Karla questioned, confused. "I - I don't understand… did the terrorist alter his own file, or something? Tigress? Tigress?!"
Tigress' paws were trembling, joints loosely clacking against the holo-keyboard. "St - state reason of death and… and time."
Accessing.
Cause of death: coronary artery disease, misc. natural causes
Time of death: 4814918100, A.A.G.E, after the Alliance for Galactic Evol -
Tigress hastily turned it off, not letting the message finish. "No, no no… what the HELL!?"
Karla recoiled as Tigress slammed her paws into the keyboard, nearly fracturing it in half.
"Hey take it easy!" Karla beckoned, shoving Tigress away from the computer. "This thing holds all our communication lines! Break it and - "
"It doesn't make sense!" Tigress roared, snarling. "Why would Zero be dead by natural causes millenia after my planet was Reformed?!"
"Tigress," Karla asked firmly, fed up. "I dunno what the hell you want."
"I - I think - I think - " Tigress let out, breathing quickly in bursts. "I think I know who Scout Zero really is. He's - he's not - Scout Zero…"
Karla laughed awkwardly. "He's a former AP, Tigress. Dunno why he switched sides, but - "
"He never switched sides," Tigress demanded, eyes wide open. "Alph - he wouldn't…"
Karla smiled gently. "Alph - is that someone you knew on your uh - home planet?"
Tigress kept silent.
Karla moved closer, trying to be comforting. "I know how hard it is, trying to let go of the past - Tigress. When my husband died - "
"I don't give a crap about your husband," Tigress snarled, although she didn't mean for it to come off so harsh. "Because I'm not crazy and I'm not making this up!"
"Tigress…"
"Screw you," Tigress growled. "I'll just go ask him myself."
Karla watched Tigress stomp off in anger. She tried to call out to her, but apparently the words fell on deaf ears - and within moments, Tigress had taken one of the readily available elevators and zoomed out of the cave.
Private Communication Initiated.
Sender: LM-381, Callsign "Wang".
Karla's attention was turned back to the monitor, which started emitting a strong, threatening voice.
A distinctive voice.
Well - did you learn anything new, Scout Wang?
Omega's voice. Karla gasped.
She was shocked more than the voice that came back - was Wang's.
Hehe, yeah.
They're planning to siege Earth.
Try to force a self-limbo Designation - sending all of humanity into quantum limbo.
Karla kept silent, horrified. Omega's voice rang again through the computer.
An idiotic plan - one that we could have foiled even without any warning…
… but a theoretically capable one at that.
I'm surprised such lower lifeforms like your kind can organize like that.
Good work, Scout Wang… I promise when we inevitably defeat and subjugate your kind, we will spare you and offer some mercy… maybe even a promotion.
Karla immediately tried using her holo-panel, trying desperately to find Commander Po's icon. She had to warn him.
They had a mole.
And what of their base location?
Karla's voice got stuck in her chest.
No. No. No.
Not the base location.
This would all be for nothing if -
Karla grabbed a nearby, massive stone, advancing towards the computer.
Certainly, Master Omega.
They are on X -
Smash.
Karla watched the rock crack the display into shattered remnants. She had to hope to the universe that it had immediately cut off the message. She sprinted towards the elevators, heart beating out of her chest… Po had to know.
. . .
"ARGH!"
"DELTA! DELTA!"
"RETREAT! RETREAT! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"
CRACK. THUNK.
To an outside observer's perspective, it seemed like absolute chaos - the normally peaceful Nebulus-7 spaceship was under attack, hurtling through the vast, cold cosmos with zero indication of regaining proper momentum and control. Inside the ship's double-titanium plated armor, a singular, massive metal room oscillated in sickening fashion, tossing around Commanders Omega, Delta, and Gamma carelessly inside. Computers and holo-panels floated aimlessly - whoever had attacked the ship had also blown apart the artificial gravity generator along with the inertial calculator. Most frustratingly, the ship's Armory had been blown apart - Omega, Delta, and Gamma reeled together in a semicircular fashion, guarding all corners while the ship auto-sealed the breach with dancing laser beams.
Then he came.
Omega growled, stepping away from the protection of his two other comrades to see the enemy - the black-armored man with white arrows on his shoulder pads.
"Scout Zero," Omega forced. "Self-terminate. Code 77a."
The terrorist merely approached calmly, hands already reaching for his twin plasma pistols.
"Ah, seems he's deactivated his quantum identification," Delta spat, activating his own golden, trademark AP armoring. "Seems you were right, Omega."
"That, or the man doesn't have a quantum number at all," Gamma theorized. "But that's impossible. All recently-born humans were outfitted with a quantum number…"
Omega snarled, watching the terrorist approach quietly. "You're not Scout Zero, are you?"
The terrorist merely kept his gaze harsh and unforgiving. "This is a warning, Omega. Tell your Designators to free all animals, or…"
"Free all animals!" Omega reiterated, laughing loudly whilst Delta and Gamma got their weapons out. "You know… your naivety betrays your young age, you ignorant fool…"
Omega walked confidently closer as the terrorist instantly trained his pistols on the commander's frame.
"One more step," the terrorist demanded. "And I finish you right here, and now."
"We understand you will attempt to self-terminate the entire human race," Omega recalled. "An ineffectual plan, if I might add…"
The terrorist felt anxiety welling. "How - how did you know?"
Omega grinned. "You don't think we have an inside man in your little Resistance already?"
The terrorist frowned, activating his visor. "Last chance. Obtain a Designation to let all animals go, or we siege Earth and force a self-termination."
Omega chortled harshly. "You have much to learn, boy…"
Zip. Zip.
The terrorist whipped around, but it was too late. Gamma and Delta had already sprinted to his side, wrestling the plasma pistols out of his grasp. With two thudding blows, they brought the terrorist down to his knees, forcing his neck down in submission to Omega.
"Only a fool would attempt to engage three AP Commanders by himself," Omega growled, roughly whipping the back of his hand against the terrorist's head.
Crack.
The man's visor shattered. Omega grabbed the submitted terrorist by his jaw, lifting him up to dig fingers into the exposed skin. He gently bent the terrorist's head away, revealing an ugly, long line of burn marks on the man's neck.
"Hmm… I remember seeing this somewhere," Omega grinned, taking another moment to brutally kick the downed terrorist in the chest plating, denting it.
"Argh!" the terrorist let out, arms still immobilized by the other two commanders' grip. "Coward…"
"I don't recognize him," Delta noted, twisting the terrorist's arm to inflict more pain.
"Neither do I," Gamma concurred.
"No… it was a solo Reformation mission many years ago, before you two were appointed…" Omega tried to remember, viciously slapping the terrorist across the face. "Ah yes… now I remember… you were the traitor."
The terrorist merely kept silent, whilst Delta and Gamma squealed with confused joy.
"Traitor?" Delta asked.
"Yes…" Omega noted, forcing the terrorist to look him in the eyes. "Many years ago… we were dispatched by the Designators to take care of a problem… a human had been found on a garbage dump of a planet, populated entirely by… get this… sentient animals."
Delta and Gamma laughed in unison, forcing the terrorist down. Omega flipped him on his back, roughly stomping down to fracture a rib, leading to the man painfully roaring before being subdued again.
"No A.G.E, no other humans… just this little boy surrounded by those disgusting lower lifeforms…" Omega spoke carefully. "And even more ironically - they treated the same boy like a rabid dog. Like a filthy…"
Stomp. Crack.
Another rib fractured. The terrorist roared out, but was quieted by Gamma's plasma rifle, shoved into his mouth.
"...primitive…"
Stomp. Crack.
Another rib.
"...dog…"
Stomp. Crack.
Stomp. Crack.
Stomp. Stomp. Stomp.
Omega, Delta and Gamma watched the man bleed out on the floor. He briefly managed to choke out a few words, grabbing his discarded plasma pistol to aim at Omega's head.
"Sc - screw, you - ARGH!"
Omega had deftly wrestled the pistol out of the man's hand, grabbing the upper arm and pulling violently until a popping noise came out - and another fractured bone was added to the list as the terrorist roared in pain yet again.
"You were weak back then, boy," Omega spat, grabbing the terrorist's body. "You are still weak today. A pity I can't remember your name…"
Omega shoved the terrorist down, pointing a plasma rifle directly into the man's cracked chestplating, revealing a heavily bloodied, wheezing torso.
"I don't know how you survived last time, but this time…" Omega began.
BOOM.
Blood came spurting. Delta and Gamma winced, turning back from the sheer amount of it.
"... it's permanent." Omega finished, watching the terrorist wheeze and stop breathing, a hole left in his chest in a very similar fashion to how Omega remembered killing the boy back at the Reformation.
A flutter of motion.
Omega turned back, shocked to see the terrorist leaning up on one arm - eyes glowing silver like liquid chemicals.
"And I said… screw… you," the terrorist whispered silently.
Then he roared.
BOOM.
A burst of golden energy.
"AGH!"
"WHAT THE - AGH!"
"NOOOO!"
All three commanders were blown back by the force - the force of something. Omega recoiled the quickest, seeing the terrorist limp away. The explosion had caused another breach in the ship's walling, and the terrorist was heading for the vacuum outside.
"No! He's getting away! Delta! Gamma!" Omega called out, searching around for another plasma rifle. "Gamma?"
The commander turned back, seeing his comrade impaled and bleeding on a metallic spike that had been knocked back by the explosion. Before he turned back to see the breach, the terrorist had gone too.
Thinking quickly, Omega activated his holo-panel, sending a message.
—
Sender: Commander Omega
Recipient: Council of Designators, Earth
Message: Engaged in scuffle with terrorist. Commander Gamma killed in action. Commander Delta heavily injured. Terrorist heavily injured.
Make preparations to defend Earth against hostile attack. Requesting fourteen AP squadrons and battleships at once. I will triangulate the Resistance planet and eliminate it.
Prepare for war.
—
. . .
XX-0 was rather crowded at the moment.
Well, most of the planet was merely molten wasteland, but on a specific section of the planet - beneath the semi-noxious atmosphere and tall spires of craggy rock - there was a moving crowd of people - mostly animals, but also a few traces of humans. Commander Po stood atop them - both using a pedestal and being naturally taller than most of the lifeforms present, of which - there appeared to be thousands. A good percentage of them were still out scouting, and/or defending the perimeter of the planet - but for the most part, everyone who needed to be here was here. The panda grinned at the people in the front row: Mantis, Viper, Crane, Monkey, and Shifu - but notably lacking Tigress. Flanking them to each side were Sigma, Henderson, Wang, and Zhong - all of whom were watching Po, along with the other hundred thousand denizens of XX-0 - with rapt attention.
The speech had to come.
A sudden movement. Po saw a lioness walk close to him, with a grace but worried gait that he easily recognized.
"PO!" Karla begged. "I have to tell you something! It's about Wang - "
"Not now," Po denoted, trying to muster up the words to tell out loud.
"Po, it's really serious…"
"The time has finally come!" Po shouted, ignoring Karla as she nervously backed away. His powerful voice projected as the immense din of the crowd egged him on. "Our days of serving as the Alliance's slaves are no more!"
The crowd clapped and jeered enthusiastically, some jarring their plasma rifles in the air.
"We have enough spaceships to make this work!" Po yelled. "We are going to siege Earth!"
The crowd raucously applauded, screaming at the top of their lungs. Po wanted to say some more information - but was deafened by the enormous noise. So, instead of competing - he merely asked for a bit of peace with his paws raised.
"But we mustn't forget that the enemy is not humanity!" Po shouted. "But the enemy is the Alliance!"
This drew considerably less applause. Notably, only about a third of the crowd agreed with this - and even then, they clapped mildly instead of shouting and jeering the way they were last time. Po had expected this - the bulk of the Resistance had been carefully acquired over years of strategically attacking and freeing animal slaves on production planets, whom everyone knew were not the best representation of all humanity could offer.
"Po, I really, really need to tell you something…" Karla tried again, pinching the panda as he shoved her away, ignoring her again.
"We make this move in stages!" Po screamed out again. "First! We prepare a frontal assault and strategy for penetrating the atmosphere of Earth… then, we seize the planet from Alliance control, and then…"
Po gulped, completely unwilling to mention the last part of the plan.
"What?!" came a distant voice, somewhere in the enormous crowd.
"We blackmail the Alliance!" Po lied loudly, leading to applause from the crowd and more jeering. "We order them to release all animals in custody and/or on production planets - even humans enslaved - and we demand equal rights!"
The crowd, perhaps nonsensically - cheered this on as well. Po was less enthusiastic - the obvious plan was that while the bulk of the Resistance attacked and sieged Earth, he would take a crack team of himself and perhaps the usual high-quality fighters: the Five, Shifu, Wang, Sigma, Henderson - break into the Designators' Council, and force a self-termination order for humanity. Po didn't want to reveal this part of the plan, partly because the Resistance was still approximately ten percent consisting of human fighters… and no revolutionary in their right mind would consciously give up their lives for no return… but it was either lie to everyone, and perhaps stand a chance of winning all of this, or tell the truth, and lose everything.
Po felt completely horrible no matter what he chose.
"Look!" came shuttered voices from the crowd.
The panda looked up, seeing a rapidly approaching figure from the atmosphere. His first instinct was in fear, to grab a plasma cannon and blow the unknown figure to smithereens - but it was too small to be a ship, and appeared - almost human-shaped. A trail of red liquid was flowing behind it as it fell…
… and it was wearing armor, white arrows on the shoulder pads.
"Po!" Karla forced, shoving the panda out of his state. "Wang's a double agent! He's a mole!"
The panda merely let his mouth fall open, two shocking bits of news nearly causing him to faint entirely.
. . .
Fire.
The shocks.
The Dragon Warrior Tournament.
Plasma bursts.
Seeing her eyes one last time.
The furnace.
Seeing Omega.
"Ahh!"
He was awake.
He was… alive. The intruding thoughts stopped.
For now.
The terrorist jolted up, confused to be in a grey metal bunker. There were few decorations around, aside from the makeshift cot he was lying on. However, he was presumably still in good hands - white bandages covered his exposed torso, and his right arm was in a splint. The din of crowded noises outside the bunker meant that he was still on XX-0, which was a good sign… and aside from feeling slightly light-headed, he felt taken care of. He remembered crash-landing on XX-0… but Po had clearly taken good care of him, dispatched medical help, and relocated him to a private bunker.
"Were you ever going to tell me?"
A voice. Her voice.
It was too distinctive for the terrorist to mistake for anyone else. But he had to mimic apathy.
"Uh sorry - who's that?" the man spoke out, seeing the figure standing in the shadows - chest armor with white arrow pads in her grip, as she idly twirled it around.
Tigress.
"Don't lie to me," Tigress whispered, marching forward to get close to the man's cot. "You were never good at lying to me."
The terrorist's pulse skipped a beat.
No. Not now.
She couldn't figure out now.
How the hell did she figure it out?
There was so much to talk about.
The mole.
Omega.
He had to tell Po everything he knew…
This didn't matter now.
"Were you…" Tigress began, sniffling as she threw the man's armor on the floor. "... ever… going to tell me?"
The man gulped, seeing her face up close for the first time in nearly sixty years. Although the Crystal Essence had rejuvenated her physically, the mental age was still there - immense bags were around Tigress' eyes and face, and her frame drooped with a kind of morose defeat that the terrorist wondered if it was caused by him. She clearly hadn't slept in days - if not longer.
He had to try one last time.
"Tell you… what… Tigress?" the terrorist whispered back, trying to get back into character. "That I'm sorry I helped Reform your planet? I'm sorry Miss, but that's what Commander Omega told me to…"
"Please please please!" Tigress begged, a few tears slipping down her fur as she grabbed the man's shoulders. "... Alph… please."
That was the breaking point. The man gave up trying to resist, seeing Tigress' face stare completely at him.
"You weren't supposed to find out," Alpha gently returned.
Tigress remained still for a moment. Alpha was terrified that he couldn't read her expression, usually being very good at doing so. Instead of saying anything, she merely pursed her lips and leaned back, burying herself in her paws… and slowly but surely, a steady sob came.
He sat up, ignoring the tremendous pain in his body to try to loop an arm around her.
"Tigress…"
"Don't," she replied, scowling in a sniffle. "Don't touch me."
Alpha sighed, putting his arms back down. Tigress sniffled a bit more, clearing her eyes before bending her head down. She picked up the discarded shoulder pads with arrows, staring at them in regret.
"Who… who else knows?" Alpha asked, nervous.
Tigress shook her head in the negative. Alpha was enormously grateful that as much hatred as she may have for him right now - she hadn't told anyone.
"How long… " she began again, gritting her teeth. "... how long were you going to keep up this charade?"
Alpha shook his head. "It doesn't matter now, Tigress…"
"Doesn't mat - the hell it does," Tigress breathed viciously. "Sixty years… sixty years of you letting us… grieve…"
"Fifty-eight and two hundred twenty three days - but hey, who's counting?" Alpha let out, smiling. "And no one was grieving Tigress, except… except for you…"
"We felt like we were drowning!" Tigress spat harshly. "We were lost after you - you know how it was, to see you… killed like that?"
"Again, only you felt that Tigress," Alpha replied as sweetly as possible. "The others… they spent a few days, weeks maybe - but hell, even Po let go of me after a couple of months… production planets tend to do that to you."
"You were spying on us," Tigress dismally growled, sniffling. "All this time… and you didn't even have the decency to…"
"What could I do?" Alpha answered, now feeling a bit frustrated. "In case you haven't noticed Ti, the whole universe has been ruled with an iron fist by the Alliance. Was I supposed to just waltz into you and the Five's lives, putting you all at risk?"
"That's bullc - " Tigress stopped, trying to regain some semblance of emotional control. "You expect me to believe that? You had no problems sending me cryptic messages on XS-211, or flying past my damn spaceship window… but let me know you were alive? No… that was too much for the great Alpha, terrorist extraordinaire!"
Alpha groaned, turning away. "I… I suppose I didn't want you to know either. I didn't want… anyone to know."
Tigress growled. "WHY?!"
Alpha waved his arms, exasperated. "BECAUSE I WANTED YOU ALL TO MOVE ON!"
Tigress felt taken aback, staring back coldly at the man.
"I WATCHED EVERYONE DO IT!" Alpha yelled now, fed up. "SHIFU! PO! VIPER! MANTIS! CRANE! MONKEY! EVERYONE MOVED ON! But you, Tigress… you…"
Alpha paused, trying to catch his breath as his ribs started hurting again. "... you never did. For fifty-plus years, I watched you live in the past… constantly… never accepting that we had lost the fight, that we had lost each other… then you pushed Po's memory out of your life, by sacking up with Angel…"
Tigress's eyes burned with anger. "Alph… don't."
"I'm not saying you didn't love him," Alpha noted. "But Tigress… the way you process grief… is self-destructive. Ever since day one. Hell… ever since that damn Dragon Warrior tournament."
The words made Tigress tear up slightly.
Years of memories.
Broken under A.G.E.
"You bottle it up, and just shove it away," Alpha forced. "Remember how crazy your life got when you realized Wang was alive? When your father - Shifu was alive?"
Tigress gasped, blinking twice. She turned towards Alpha again, sniffling.
"This thing… this Resistance… perhaps is destined to fail," Alpha noted, smiling emotionally. "I - I didn't want anyone - you, of all people - to see it."
Tigress inhaled air violently, another realization coming to her. "The quantum limbo thing… once, well… if the Designators can be forced to give the order… you'll die too, right?"
Alpha lowered his gaze, eyes heavy but resilient.
"Let's find another way," Tigress cut across, voice completely harsh.
Alpha sighed. "Tigress…"
"We can negotiate a deal! We can promise to all go back to production planets or… some might face execution, as long as most of us get to live…"
"Ti…"
"We can all beg for mercy from Omega! Maybe we can get our memory reformatted - "
"Tigress…"
"Worst case scenario, we can split a spaceship and do round trips… try to get as far as - "
"Tigress."
Alpha caught her in the middle of her ranting, gently placing a bloodied hand on her paw, squeezing gently.
"You said it yourself… the most likely scenario is we all die," Alpha noted. "We'll all die together, don't worry… if that somehow helps you sleep."
"No," Tigress retaliated, inching closer to Alpha. "Promise me. Promise me that even if the siege is successful… you won't force the self-termination order."
Alpha shook his head gently. "You know I can't do that."
"Oh what the hell are you so adamant about?!" Tigress groaned. "I mean just look at yourself - "
Tigress reached out, paw grazing over the ancient burn marks permanently looped around Alpha's neck.
"Why are you willing to give up your life… and so many humans…" Tigress emphasized, eyes almost glazed over. "For a species capable of the same things? The same… violence?"
Alpha grinned. "I suppose I'm a traitor to my race."
Tigress pursed her lips, shaking audibly. "I can't lose you again."
"You already did," Alpha observed, frowning. "I'm not the same boy you knew, Tigress… and if you hadn't been so nosy, you would have never known about… me being alive."
"You didn't even want me to know that…" Tigress spat in anger. "Because screw my conscience, right?"
"I knew whatever plan we'd come up with to defeat the Alliance, I knew I would very likely die," Alpha retaliated. "What would be the point of just coming back and saying - hey, loved ones! I'm back! But also I'm gonna die again!"
"It would have helped me," Tigress growled.
"It would have hurt you," Alpha countered. "Tigress… you and the others… you all mean too much for that to happen."
Tigress shut her eyes. She let her head droop down before feeling a large, warm arm now encircle her, and this time - she didn't fight it. She rest her head on his shoulder, sighing deeply before calming down. Tigress had no idea how to broach any of this to the rest of the Five, her own father, everyone else… and she didn't even know if it was the right thing to do.
"Bet you wished I was dead now, hmm?" Alpha whispered, leaning his head against hers.
"I don't know," Tigress replied softly. "But please don't let go."
And he didn't. Tigress turned back, gazing at his face. She did it slowly, taking in every feature - trying desperately to find the boy she had once known decades ago. But in reality, all of it was gone - Alpha's previously innocent, puffy cheeks and stringy black hair paired with light brown eyes were gone, replaced with hardened, bloodied cheekbones and deep-set eyes - color almost undetectable. A thick, dark black beard covered the lower half of the man's face.
"I… I barely know who you are anymore…" Tigress whispered, mumbling. "When did you get this?"
She scratched alongside his beard, earning a small chuckle from Alpha.
"Guess I ended up growing some fur after all," Alpha replied, smiling.
"You sound different too," Tigress noted gently, eyes still glazed over in shock.
"My voice is way deeper, hmm?" Alpha proudly concluded, grinning.
"Well, that too, but I mean you sound more…" Tigress paused, trying to search for the word. "Ugh, I dunno how to put it… aged."
Alpha narrowed his eyes. "Eh? Don't worry Ti… you've still got four years on me, you old hag…"
Tigress' mouth - as much as she wanted to keep it from bending anymore - curved into a tiny smile.
"Remember when we used to spar in the Palace courtyard?" Tigress remembered, still running her paw over Alpha's beard as if he would disappear. "Everytime we wrestled… and I'd put you down, you'd make this funny little noise…"
"The sound of a boy being manhandled by a sadistic tiger?" Alpha questioned, raising a sarcastic eyebrow.
"It was an adorable kind of squeal… like a kitten or a wolf pup," Tigress recalled, eyes lost in thought. "Your arms pinned, trying to get me off you while you cursed and swore…"
"Then you made me do a hundred pushups for disrespecting you," Alpha finished, grinning. "Yeah… yeah, I remember that."
Tigress took her head off his shoulder, staring at his bloodied torso once more.
"I don't think I could pin you now," Tigress guessed, leaning back on his shoulder.
Alpha merely smiled. "I'd let you - just for old times' sake."
Tigress bit back a residual sob, feeling the last of her anger dwindle away, even the sad parts of it - and be replaced with a quiet serenity - a kind of peace that she hadn't experienced in years. Not the feeling of acceptance, or of joy - but of a lasting, almost kind-hearted calmness. And this helped infuse her next words with meaning, a kind of tone that she hadn't used in a while.
"You don't know how much I missed you, Allison."
Alpha merely shut his eyes and leaned against her head, smiling subtly. He could have said something back, perhaps bantered a bit more with her - but chose to stay silent, choosing to spend the moment in her embrace, thinking through all the things and moments that had made this worthwhile. He wanted to savor every moment before it was gone, and he couldn't think of a better memory to keep with him as he approached the end. And when the time came - because he knew it was coming - he could relax, last thoughts comfortably secure and peaceful, focused on the one person in his life who could make him feel this way.
A/N
An appropriately heavy chapter. So much build-up leading to this moment! But first, the B storylines out of the way:
[1] Omega and his team are fully ready for war. As you saw when Alpha first engaged him, he's unrelentingly declared war - and Alpha has a new power? (to be explained next chapter, hehe - although some of you might have predicted it by now) Also - how the hell did Alpha survive the furnace and the point-blank rifle shot? - also in the next chapter. :)
[2] Wang is the mole, which kind of makes sense if you look at it. Way back in the KFP saga, he was part of the team "watching" the Seekers, fascinated by them… then as soon as Reformation hit, he sold out his race and became an AP. And now, keeping in consistency with his character - he's selling out again. Foreshadowing? Idk.
[3] Some of you (read: many :)) were shocked that the human race would be genocided. Here's the teehee disclaimer: they won't. At least… definitely not in the way that you might be thinking. ;) Don't worry, this isn't Animal Farm or Planet of the Apes XDXD.
[4] The juicy stuff. Tigress and Alpha's relationship.
It took me a while to write their inevitable meeting scene. The reason it took so long was because I was trying to find a realistic way for Tigress' character to evolve - the entire WWS saga, she's wrestled and suppressed grief for so long that even though on the surface she seemed okay, deep inside she was broken… definitely not "hardcore". #notmytigress. Then, the exact moment where she finally processes her own grief, and learns to accept what has happened, and how things may never be the same again… she realizes the terrorist, is in-fact - Alpha.
Imagine preparing your whole life for that one thing, for understanding it, accepting it - and then having it taken away - or rather, changed in the last second. Psychologically - a normal person would be pissed off.
And we see that. In her anger, in the way she keeps twirling the arrow-armor around, in the way she refuses to even look at him. In her mind, Alpha just committed the greatest sin possible… not only torturing her for years, by not mentioning he was alive - but also by coming back, introducing a new emotional conflict for Tigress - who is notoriously poor at navigating trauma (read: Shifu slapping her, her "relationship" with Po, etc..). She might seem angry Alpha's back in her life, but in reality - she's just upset about the emotional consequences of seeing her dead friend again.
Anyone who knows Alpha and Tigress' relationship knows that it's been an EXTREMELY slow-built, careful relationship centered around trust, with both sides feeling distrustful of the other at some point. At first, remember Tigress choking Alpha (or Alf, as he was known back then) on the steps of the Jade Palace? Then, he became her begrudging ally in KFP 2 whom she kinda had a soft spot for, then by KFP 3 they regularly confided in each other about their deepest secrets. She was with him when he realized his parents had been murdered, when he realized his real name, etc.
So of course, of all the cast - even more so than Po - she definitely took Alpha's "death" the hardest.
Which is why we can see the reasoning to why Alpha wanted to avoid Tigress - anyone for that matter - knowing who he is. In his mind, he was protecting one of his closest friends, from potentially spiraling into a grief nosedive.
But yes… their relationship has been waiting for this moment of release. Fifty plus years… to be precise.
I'll never get tired of writing their scenes together, and I'd argue - and many fans would agree - that of all the relationships on the show, they represent just about everything I want to say as an author, and a writer - both thematically and emotionally. Nothing signifies what means to be "human vs animal" or "second stories" more than Alpha and Tigress.
So yeah. 6 chapters to go. This fic's coming to an end.
Goddamn.
Forge on,
-TW
P.S: Another common q: why no Alpha x Tigress ship? Two primary reasons: foremost, I felt uncomfortable writing a humanxanimal pairing because of my own reservations and the reservations expressed by other fans. (remember the controversy Alpha x Yu had?) Secondly, I felt they have incredible, rich emotional depth to their relationship anyway… despite being platonic… the closest relationship I can liken it to, as other readers have also pointed out, and I agree with - is older sister, little brother. As I like saying - you don't need the kissy-kissy to get the eyes all wetty-wetty :) (srry I'm horrible for that, lol)
Also… I never confirmed nor denied Tipo. :) But I will say this… anyone who knows me knows I love to subvert expectations… so again… expect nothing, but everything, but also nothing. ;)
