Chapter 3

"Do you realize what you've done? When Master Shifu gets back and sees this, he not just going to punish us, he's going to kill us!" Tigress screamed as Po attempted to get a word in edgewise. "OK OK, I know I goofed up, but I can fix this." Po argued, only to have Tigress shake her head.

"You have caused enough damage. I will deal with this beast, so don't get in the way and just stay here!" Tigress turned towards the direction of the dragon, who had now decided to take a nap in front of the palace door. Now was her chance to strike.

She got on all fours and sprinted towards the great beast, leaped into the air and came rocketing back down with her leg headed straight for the dragons head. Her leg impacted the nose of the dragon, but didn't even leave a mark. Tigress then began to curse herself as she realized her leg hurt like hades from hitting the stone like skin of the reptile.

The dragon opened one of its eyes to look straight at Tigress, who was now starting to rethink her strategy. Before she could try anything else, the beast sprang up roared once again. As she turned to run, she bumped into Po, who had come out of the woods to see if he could help. "PO, what are you..." She couldn't finish as both she and Po tripped over the great stairs behind them and began to roll down in a big ball.

The dragon roared once again but decided not to follow and instead walked back inside the palace, leaving the two palace-sitters to roll down the incredibly long staircase.

3 minutes later...

"OW...DOH...AIIIIE!" Po screamed as they approached the bottom of the stairs and in a huge quake landed on the bottom in a heap. Dizzy and partially knocked out by the trip, it took Tigress several seconds to realize Po was lying on top of her. She used her great strength to shove him off of her. "What is it with you and those stairs?"

"Hey I can't help it if gravity decided to be a jerk today."

"Today has not been the first day that gravity has been your enemy, believe me." Tigress retorted as she looked back up the stairs leading to the palace. The creature now had the high ground, which as all strategists know, is a huge advantage. The only way to get up to the palace which would not be as exposing as using the stairs would have to be the mountain trail around the palace, which would take them to the back of the palace, possibly catching the beast off guard.

"What are we gonna do now?" Po asked as he attempted to pop his back into shape.

"WE are going to do nothing. I am going to go around the mountain pass and catch the beast off guard and you are going to stay here!" she answered, looking Po straight in the eyes to emphasize her point.

"But Tigress, you know you have no chance against that thing at all by yourself, how do you think your gonna take it down?"

"The palace is filled with mystical weaponry, there must be something up there I can use. I'll give you the signal when I've gotten rid of it."

"No way, I'm going with you."

"Out of the question. You'll just end up getting yourself killed."

"Hey, if I can defeat Tai Lung, then a dragon should be no problem." Tigress then got to within an inch of his face.

"1)Tai Lung was a snow leopard, not a dragon. 2)Your defeat of Tai Lung was nothing more than a fluke due to us and Master Shifu wearing him down for you. And 3)It's your fault all this happened in the first place, so if you think I'm going to take the chance of you tagging along and screwing up once again and making things worse, you have another thing coming!" Tigress's words stung like a hornet. Did she really think that Po was just a fluke? Po then began to get serious.

"You're right, this is my fault, all the more reason why I should go with you. I made this mess, I should help clean it up." Tigress's patience was wearing thin. After a moment of thought, and realizing that Po would just follow her if she refused, she finally said, "Alright fine, but if you screw up, even once, I'm throwing back over here. Do you understand?"

Po nodded his head and they began their long trek to the mountain pass. Po had to admit, if he had to choose between the stairs and the mountain pass, he would choose the stairs. There were so many obstacles along the pass that they barely see in front of them. Before they knew it, night was falling and Tigress decided that the best course of action would be to stop and rest for the night.

Setting up a fire for warmth, she and Po then began to make a roof for the night, as it looked like a rain shower was coming. After putting up the makeshift shelter, the two prepared to go to sleep. But Po wasn't really tired, he was actually more hungry right now, but he felt it best not to mention it. Tigress laid down with her back to Po, further increasing the border between them. The rain began to fall, making the roof above them make far too much noise for Po to sleep. After a few minutes, he began to get bored.

"Hey Tigress, you asleep?" Tigress cringed in irritation.

"Not anymore." She answered groggily as Po was thinking of something to say.

"I'm.....sorry for all of this. I just wanted to find something that could maybe...I don't know...help us be friends."

"So you unleash a fierce and very territorial dragon in the palace that tried to eat us. Oh yes, I feel oh so chummy right now, don't you?" she answered sarcastically.

"I didn't mean to. I just wanted to give you that box, because I thought you might like it and then I remembered what Shifu said and...well...I dropped it. It was an accident."

"An accident? Po, someone dropping a dish while trying to was them is an accident, kick someone in the groin while sparring is an accident, what you did is what is called a disaster, which is pretty much all you have been since the day you landed in front of me during the tournament." Po then began to notice a pattern.

"Is that the only reason you don't like me....because I was picked to be the Dragon Warrior over you?"

"No, I got over that months ago."

"Then why do you still hate me? I mean, you bowed in respect to me after I defeated Tai Lung and yet you still hate me." Tigress was now starting to get a little ticked off.

"The reason I bowed to you was because it was the respectful thing to do after you saved the Valley of Peace. Afterward, I came back to my senses and realized that even though you may have gotten lucky, you were still no warrior. Even if Master Shifu did."

"What does Shifu have to do with this?"

"Nothing!"

"Then why did you mention him?"

"Because....because....just forget it!"

"Just tell me, why do care what Shifu thinks of me?"

"Because!"

"Because why?!?"

"BECAUSE I WANT HIM TO BE PROUD OF ME, NOT YOU! THERE, ARE YOU HAPPY? I SAID IT!" She screamed it out like she was a steaming tea pot that had been boiling with the lid welded on for years. "All my life, I slaved and slaved to make Shifu proud of me! I studied until my eyes were sore, I trained until my bones ached, and when I finally had the chance to make him truly proud of me, what happens? You show up and take it all away from me! The reason I went after Tai Lung before you was because I wanted to show Shifu that I could do it. To show him that he could be proud of me. What happens? I fail, then you show up once again and did what I couldn't do! That's what you're best at isn't it, doing things better than I can? Well....are you happy now....to see me in my moment of weakness....well....ARE YOU?!?" Her voice echoed through the hills for miles around. The only thing Po could do was sit there and stare.

A thought popped into his head. Is this the same way Tai Lung felt when he was denied the Dragon Scroll? As he pondered this, he noticed Tigress do something he never saw her do before...she started crying. "I just want him to be truly proud of me. Is that so horrible?"

"Tigress...I..."

"Just forget it! I don't want sympathy....I don't want anything from you! Just leave me alone." She then turned away from Po again and continued to silently sob herself to sleep. Po just sat there for a few more minutes. He couldn't believe what he just heard. Tigress hated him, not just because she felt she should be the dragon warrior, but because she felt he stole Shifu's love from her. He felt so horrible that he just laid down and stared at the stars until he fell to sleep.

I know, it's unusual for me to write something sappy like this in my stories, but I felt it would give the story more substance. Anyway, you know what to do. R&R.