In response to the guest review that mentioned Po noticing something over Tigress's shoulder in cup 58 that was a mistake. That little bit was from a bit of text I had deleted and replaced with something else. I must have missed that sentence, just ignore it.
Ember snow.
That was the first thing Po saw when he opened his eyes.
He was still lying on the ground where he had fallen, but here, the snow was warm to the touch, the violent winds non-existent, glowing orange embers lazily drifting down from the night sky.
"Oh god…" Po whispered, his heart rate quickening. "Not again…"
He got to his feet. Without the blizzard, his visibility had greatly improved, yet there was no sign of the Yeti or Tigress.
"Tigress!" His voice echoed in the night. "Tigress, can you hear me?"
When no-one answered, Po started walking. As terrified and frantic as he was, he made sure to move slowly. Just because they had just had a battle here did not mean that there weren't crevasses around.
Po called Tigress's name over and over, but received only silence in return.
"Where are they?" He muttered. "Did the Yeti kidnap her or-"
Not quite.
Po spun around so wildly snow flew everywhere.
"Oh hell." He gaped.
Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you. I need you to wake up.
"How?" Po demanded. "Do I need you to kill me again?"
Yes.
"Oh great… You're Ember, aren't you?" Po asked, not rest-assured at all. "You're the Dragon Empress."
Yes.
"Why did you tell the Yeti to spare my life?"
This time there was a pause.
I do not know. All I know is… I feel like I know you.
"Wait, what?"
Po, wake up.
"No, I'm not finished yet!"
This is the only way you can leave once you enter.
With that, Ember grabbed Po by the throat.
Don't worry. You'll get your answers soon.
She dug her claws into his windpipe. She ripped it out.
"GAH!"
Po shot-upright with a shout.
One paw clutched around his still slightly-bruised neck, he quickly checked his surroundings. The wind was blowing. The snow was white and cold against his body. He was back.
"Ember?" He called out. The wind howled, partly drowning out his voice. "Dang, I hate it when she does that."
He moved to get to his feet, but gasped as he felt a terrible pain shoot up his side. He clutched his side and gritted his teeth.
"Aw no…" He muttered. "Don't tell me…"
But when he felt again, he realized that the pain wasn't internal. There was a massive bruise nearly the side of his arm stretching from his pants line to his shoulder. He remembered that part of the body striking hard jagged rock when the Yeti-
The Yeti.
"TIGRESS!" Po hollered.
Just like in his dream, he was met with silence.
"Tigress!" Po yelled a little quieter as he reminded himself that they were on a snowy mountain. One loud sound could start another avalanche. "Tigress, where are-"
The freezing of his blood had nothing to do with the blizzard as his eyes fell on the still form of Master Tigress, lying in the snow fifteen feet away.
"No." He said.
He pushed the pain of his massive bruise aside as he sprinted towards her, tripping only once. He flung himself to the ground by her side and turned her over onto her back.
"No, no!"
He stopped panicking when he saw the white mist rising up from her still lips. She was unconscious, but not dead.
"Oh god." He gasped. "Oh god."
He leaned over her until more than half his body was shielding her from the wind as he looked around for something they could use for shelter. What quickly caught his attention was the very rock he had collided with. At the base, there appeared to be an opening. What did he bet that there was a cave down there?
He turned his attention back to his friend. Things would get a lot easier if she was conscious.
"Tigress." Po grabbed Tigress's shoulders and gently shook her. "Tigress, can you hear me?"
Tigress's eyes were shut, her breathing faint by rhythmic.
"Tigress!" Po shook her again. The storm ruffled his fur and chilled his arms. They couldn't stay out here much longer. If Tigress didn't wake up in five seconds he was going to have to carry her.
"Tigress, wake up!" Po's paw slid down the side of her body as he prepared to lift her. "Come on, Ti-"
He froze.
Tigress's left side felt very cold and very wet beneath his fingers.
He lifted his paw. The normally brown pads of his paw were stained red.
"Huh…" Po looked down at the ground. In the middle of the ground, partly covered by the freshly fallen snow, there was a thick red puddle.
Filled with dread, Po turned Tigress's body.
His mouth opened in a silent scream.
Covering her entire left side were four massive, deep bloody gashes, clearly visible through the tears in her vest. Now that he wasn't focusing on her face, Po could see a massive dark stain spreading across her body, down her pants leg and steadily creeping across her stomach.
Po yanked her partly up from the ground and wrapped both arms around her, clutching him to her like an oversized doll. He was panting now, his breath heavy gasps as he started to panic. She was so still and cold against his body that he was beginning to think that she was already dead.
Then Po remembered the rock.
"I gotta get you outta here." Po said, even though he knew she couldn't hear him, and lifted her fully off the ground. She was lighter than she looked. He got back on his feet and made his way back towards the rock.
There were no adjectives to describe his relief when he briefly set Tigress down and brushed away the snow covering the opening, and found that there was indeed a small space beneath the rock. Not exactly a cave, but if it got Tigress out the storm it would be more than enough.
Even so, the opening was so small they would have to go in one at a time. Po climbed in first, having to squeeze his large stomach through the hole as he did so. He found that the space was half the width of his room, but was roughly the height of a table. There was enough room to kneel, but he had to hunch over as well. Also, a little snow had collected on the ground.
Po turned around in the small space and dragged Tigress in with him as quickly and gently as he could, then laid her out on the cold stone ground. He then reached out, grabbed the mercifully intact lantern which he had spotted lying in the snow while carrying Tigress, and brought it in with them.
Po lit the lantern once more with his hero's chi and turned to Tigress. She had still not awoken.
Fighting back the panic, Po struggled to remember the things Viper had taught him.
The first thing he would have to do would be to check the wound dirt or anything that might cause infection. Okay, that he could do.
But to get a proper look at the wound, he would have to-
"Oh crap." Po muttered.
He stared down at her torso, took in the blood, and told himself firmly that it had to be done.
Po gulped, half hoping she would stay unconscious, and began to unclasp her vest. He blushed very slightly.
"Oh dear." He said.
It was tough work.
"Oh dear."
His fingers were stiff from the cold and he kept having to remind himself that Tigress needed him to do this, and if she were awake she probably would have ordered him to do it anyway.
"Oh dear."
The last clasp was undone.
"Oh dear."
Po pulled off the vest.
Please be wearing underwear, please be wearing underwear-
He exhaled.
Tigress was wearing a dudou, a diamond shaped apron-like undergarment that covered her chest and was tied at the back. Po did not understand why she needed one, after all, she had no-
Stop it! Now is not the time, Po, get your head in the game and help her!
Po set his jaw and crouched lower so he could examine the gashes. There was a lot of blood, but no dirt. Considering that the only thing that had touched her was snow, Po wasn't that surprised.
"Okay, checking for dirt… check." Po said. "What else did Viper say?"
Luckily it didn't take long for him to remember. The next step was to close the wound through the use of stitches or other medical techniques. As long as he didn't throw up, he should be able to get through that alright.
The medical supplies had been in the pack Po had lost, so he had no choice but to turn out his pockets. All he had were some more of those hot peppers, the needle and thread he had used to fix his pants, a napkin and a small knife.
Po grimaced. This was not what he had been hoping for. The peppers and napkin were next to useless, and though the thread on the spool hadn't been used the needle had touched Po's pants. Using it to sew Tigress's injury was practically asking for an infection.
And that left the knife.
Po gripped it in his paw.
There was one other technique Viper had told him about. It was incredibly risky and incredibly painful. And it was also his last resort.
Po opened the little door of the glowing lantern. He stuck the blade of the knife into the flame.
Minutes passed. Po didn't need to worry about Tigress bleeding out any time soon. The blood covering her injuries appeared to have partially frozen in the storm.
When Po pulled out the blade, it was glowing orange. It was hot. Hot enough to burn.
Po turned back to Tigress. She was still motionless, and Po prayed that she would stay that way until this was over. He turned her half-naked torso slightly so that the claw wounds were fully exposed. He brought the blade close to the first gash. He thought he could hear a sizzling in the air.
Po's paw began to shake. Unless Tigress was so out of it that she wouldn't feel a thing, this would be tantamount to torture. But it had to be done. Sooner or later the wound would start bleeding again, and then she would be done for. Po's grip on the glowing hot knife tightened.
He inched the knife close to Tigress's torn flesh.
Closer…
Closer…
He jammed the knife into the snow by his knees. Steam hissed and rose up from the buried hilt.
He couldn't do it. Even if she couldn't feel the pain, he couldn't do it.
He could never, ever hurt her like that.
He hated himself for considering it.
Stitches it is.
Po grabbed the needle. Perhaps if he held it in the flame he could sterilize it to a certain extent. However, according to Viper it would take about an hour, two tops. He hoped that Tigress could last that long. She had to.
Po tied the needle to the end of the thread, tilted the lantern so the opening was facing upwards, and dangled the needle inside.
And that was when he felt wetness by his knee. Po though of snow melting from his body heat, and prepared to brush it away. It wasn't snow. Tigress's gashes were once again seeping blood and a small puddle was beginning to form.
"Damn it!"
Po slammed his paws against Tigress's torso, but he was only able to cover two of the gashes.
How had this happened? The wound had been fine a couple of minutes ago, and he hadn't touched it, not even with the hot knife…
The knife.
When he had held the heated knife to her injury, it must have melted the frozen blood, removing the barrier that had kept any more life blood from leaving her body.
"Idiot!"
Po cursed himself as he pressed on Tigress's injury, but it was no use. The puddle was getting bigger.
"Oh god, Tigress, hang on!" He begged. "Please hang on…"
And then, right out of nowhere, he knew what he had to do.
Po closed his eyes. He pushed the panic away. He remembered Shifu's words from what felt like a long time ago.
Use your hero's chi to heal this tree. Try to stop the bleeding at the very least.
"Come on…" Po whispered. "Where are you, hero's chi…"
Your inner peace should help you during your training.
Po remembered the redirection technique that only inner peace could you achieve.
Maybe he had to direct his chi to his paws, like a river?
It was worth a shot.
Po concentrated.
Please let me have enough chi, please let me have enough chi, please let me have enough chi…
Then Po felt a warmth in his chest, spreading from his heart and consuming his torso.
"So that's you been hiding, hero's chi." Po muttered. "I should have guessed."
Come to think of it, the day he had tried to heal a tree, his chest had begun to feel a lot warmer that usual. The same thing happened when he had died at Ke Pa's hands and he came into contact with a peach tree sapling.
How could he have missed it?
Well now that he had found the source of his chi, Po now had to direct it. It wasn't too hard. He had done the same thing with water droplets and cannonballs. Except this time he had to direct it through his own limbs. That was new.
But still, Po persevered. He fell back on meditation techniques to control his chi. And soon enough he began to feel the warmth spreading through his arms. It reached his paws. Po opened his eyes and saw that they were glowing.
"Yes!" Po cried, but maintained his concentration. He glanced at Tigress. She was still breathing, thank god.
For a while, nothing happened to Tigress's injury. But then Po felt the blood flow begin to slow. The wound itself wasn't healing, but Po would take what he could get. Within minutes the bleeding had stopped completely.
Po moved his paws away, and as the glow faded he realized that he was panting. He wasn't completely exhausted, but using his chi to such an extent and for the first time had certainly taken a lot out of him. But it had worked. It had worked!
Po pushed away his tiredness with a smile and gripped Tigress's limp paw.
"You're gonna be okay, Tigress." He said. "You're gonna be okay." He turned back to the lantern and the discarded needle. "Now, where was I?"
Two hours later, Po was pulling the thread from a warm and sterilized needle. The four massive gashes were now stitched thin slits on Tigress's body. Po put the needle and thread back into his coat pockets, and then realized that he had no bandages. But he did have a large clean napkin, and that gave him an idea. In next to no time Po had the napkin wrapped halfway around Tigress's body, held in place with thread. It wasn't a bandage, but it would keep the stitches covered until he could get Tigress some proper wrappings.
By the time his work was done, Po was covered in blood. Most of it had dried and made his fur stiff and sticky, but Po felt triumphant. This was the first ever time he had played the role of a medic, and in his opinion it had turned out quite well.
Po leaned over Tigress and gazed at her still face. Despite her terrible wounds, she looked peaceful, almost as if she had been sleeping. Po reached out, placed a paw on her forehead, rubbed her fur with his thumb.
She felt cold to the touch.
Po's smile faded.
She felt too cold.
He put his ear to her lips. Her breath was shallow. He parted some of the coarse fur on her bare shoulder. What little skin he could see was pale and ice cold. When he checked her pulse, he found that it was weak.
Po's heart sank. Master Eagle Jr. had warned them about this before they had set out in search of Monkey.
Hypothermia. If blood loss didn't kill her, this would. And they had no blankets to wrap her up in. There was nothing he could burn to make a fire, and even if there was it would be far too dangerous to light one in such a small space. To put it simply, there was nothing he could do to warm her up.
Po gripped his face with his paws. He couldn't believe this was happening. After all this, all he and she had been through, was Tigress seriously going to die?
Po exhaled deeply through his teeth. His breath stroked his wrists, briefly basking them in its warmth.
Warmth.
Po looked up.
His breath was warm.
And his breath came from his body.
Which meant that…
This time, Po did not blush. This time, he was not going to let anything, not even embarrassment, stop him from saving her.
Po pulled off his bloodstained coat.
He pulled off his white and black silk shirt, fully exposing his torso to the elements. He ignored the cold, eyes fixed on Tigress.
He brushed away the snow and lay down on the ground beside Tigress.
He reached out and wrapped his arms around Tigress's own bare torso.
He pressed her freezing body to his.
He gasped slightly at how cold her skin was. He could feel every hardened and toned muscle in her body, the softness of her fur. He pressed a paw to her back of her head, holding it to his neck. He grabbed the coat and pulled it over them both, creating a protective barrier against the cold air that seeped into the cave. Next to them the lantern gave light and a little extra warmth.
The storm wouldn't pass for at least a day, but once day broke Po would take Tigress back to the cave. He would follow the original plan to hide in the city of Shambhala, There he may find supplies, maybe some blankets and bandages to properly dress Tigress's wound with.
All he had to do was keep Tigress alive until then.
"Don't die, Tigress." Po whispered in her ear. "I love you."
He held her tighter as the storm raged outside.