Po's rear slammed hard onto the floor. He propped himself up on his paws and had a good hard look at the larger hole in the wall right above Tigress.
His eyes went wide as dinner plates.
What he thought was a load of metal pans and woks he had salvaged for cooking stirred. The hand that had scared the crap out of Po dangled in front of Tigress's peaceful face for a moment and then was lifted up and tucked into the rest of the body.
Po realized what it was and backed away frantically on his paws and heels. He rolled over and ran for the exit and flung himself around the edge of the cave face and flattened himself against the outer wall.
His heart thundered. Every breath was a silent gasp. He gripped the rough wall as he struggled to recover from his initial terror. He had been so taken by surprise that in that instant primal instinct had taken over.
He thought of Tigress, who was still inside. His breathing eased up. Taking a chance, he peeked around the edge.
The Yeti was hunched up inside the larger depression. The dark colored armor, having lost its shine from all the damage inflicted during his battles inside the fortress, had camouflaged him against the rock of the cave. Po had been so focused on Tigress that he hadn't even realized that she wasn't alone.
The Yeti looked like he was in bad shape. Po couldn't see the shoulder he himself had wounded, but he could see the blood staining the armor. He decided that was a good thing. He was still feeling a little nauseous from his climb back up the mountain and he did fire an explosive arrow at him.
The campfire had shrunk significantly since Po had left, and there was massive black shadows flickering around the cave. Po couldn't see the Yeti's face, but judging from his labored, slow breathing, he was half-conscious, and slowly reviving. Po's arrival must have stirred him.
Why. Why here? Why, of all places, did the Yeti have to retreat here?
Po lowered his gaze and stared at Tigress. She was lying right beneath the Yeti, utterly vulnerable. The curtain must have kept the Yeti from finding her.
Po suddenly wished he hadn't injured the Yeti so badly. If he had been able to climb all the way up here with a ruined shoulder, then he would definitely be capable of ripping Tigress apart if he fully woke up and found her. The thought made Po's stomach feel even worse.
Po had left his crossbow back at the fortress. All he had was his little knife, the l-shaped stick and the wok that had slipped off his head and now lay at his feet. What was he going to do? Po hated himself for being so useless. If it had been the other way round and Tigress was in his place and he was the one in danger, then he would have been safe and sound by now.
Po could probably take him. The Yeti was wounded and partial-exhaustion aside Po was fit as a fiddle. If he considered his moves carefully, Po could probably defeat him.
But first he had to get that monster away from Tigress, first.
It looked like the Yeti hadn't actually acknowledged Po's presence yet. Good. That bought him a little time.
Po took a good look at the cave interior, looking for anything of use.
All that was there was the fire, the pot of soup still simmering above it, several pots and pans, and the sealed trap door.
Po's expression hardened. He had an idea.
Slowly, he reached down and retrieved his wok.
The Yeti growled a little. Po froze, but the Yeti didn't move.
Po put the wok back on his head and tied the string beneath his chin. He reached into his pocket and pulled out some red pimentos. He kneeled down and put the peppers on the ground before picking up a small rock. Being as quiet as possible, he started grinding them into red paste.
Taking a risk, Po moved his gaze away from the cave and glanced down towards the fortress in the distance. The building was so far away he could see no signs of life. He remembered the look on Shifu's face when Po had given him mixed messages concerning Tigress, and he mashed a little faster.
Soon he put down the messy rock. He made sure his wok hat, his only protection for his body aside from fat, was secure. He gripped the l-shaped stick with one paw. He scooped up the spicy red mush with the other. He stood up and stared right into the cave.
Po did not enter right away. He stared with wide eyes at his adversary, still crouched inside the wall. He felt a chill run down his spine as he took in the creature's size, and remembered the sensation of its hand around is throat. He also felt something else… heat rising within his gut. He remembered that night when he turned a limp Tigress on her side, and saw for the first time what it had done to her. He had come so close to losing her that night. After all those years of admiring her, getting to know her, being her friend, only for some psycho to try to take her away from him. At that moment, he understood what Monkey had been talking about. Having someone you have cared about for a long time taken away from you and living with the memory of that loss was a heck of a lot different than losing someone when you were too young to remember what had happened.
The first thing to do would be to get the Yeti out of the wall. Steeling every nerve in his body, Po stepped back into the cave. The flames were almost out, making the Yeti look more and more like a demon from hell.
Po slowly, quietly walked forward. He stopped in the center of the floor. He sat down on the cold stone, never taking his eyes off his enemy. Normally he would take a combat stance, but he had to be close to the ground if his plan was going to work.
A part of him was terrified at being in such a vulnerable position. He gripped his stick hard enough to nearly break it, making sure to keep the longer end pointed straight down to the floor. He clenched his other paw around the mashed up peppers, half-molding it into a red slimy ball.
Okay… this is it… no turning back… you can do this… just calm yourself… take deep breaths… just like Shifu always says… I'm going to get you out of this Tigress… man, this is so not awesome…
He slowly lifted the paw clutching the mashed peppers. He inhaled.
One…
He exhaled. He took another deep breath.
Two…
Po flicked his wrist and the mash went flying.
There was a spine-chilling roar.
Taken by the surprise as the pepper mash struck him square in the eyes, the Yeti roared again. The peppers did their work, assaulting the Yeti with searing agony. Po silently watched as the Yeti writhed inside the depression, knowing that the worst part was only just beginning.
As his enemy furiously rubbed the mash from his face, Po wiped the remainder of the mash off his paw and pulled his little knife from his belt. It was such a tiny and pathetic weapon that Po was scared at the sight of it. He could only pray that the Yeti still didn't have his humongous blade.
It was all Po could do to keep from bolting as the Yeti pushed himself out of the depression as pain continued to attack his eyes. It took the Yeti several seconds to get free, due to a combination of his wounds and general lack of co-ordination. Just as Po had feared, one hand was wrapped around the massive blade. To Po it felt like an eternity before the Yeti crashed to the floor in a heap.
Please… please let him be mad… be so mad that he won't realize that I'm about to do…
Po let out the breath he had been holding when the Yeti turned his head in his direction, not noticing Tigress at all. The fur around his eyes was stained red, and his eyes looked severely inflamed. The rest of his face looked was too terrifying to describe.
Po's own expression was one of stone. The worst part was over. Just as Po had hoped, the Yeti hadn't spotted Tigress while he was climbing out the wall, and now he felt just a little braver.
"Panda…" The Yeti snarled. He stood up slowly, one hand clutching his ruined shoulder and the other holding his blade.
"Yeti…" Po replied casually. "You don't look so good."
The Yeti stepped forward. Po raised his own tiny knife in response.
Wait for it… wait for it… Tigress, I'm sorry if it don't make it out of this…
And then the Yeti was standing right before him. As he raised his blade to take off Po's head, the panda jammed the l-shaped stick into the hole in the floor.
The floor disappeared beneath the pair of them. Po had one last glimpse of Tigress, looking so peaceful, so beautiful, and then gravity sent both him and the Yeti plummeting into darkness.
Po cried out once, and then his body hit the rough slope and he tumbled over and over like a rag doll. He bounced off what felt like the Yeti's back and then rolled to a stop on the floor.
Still feeling sore, Po scrambled to his feet. He realized he had lost his little knife in the fall, and when he saw it, he let out a small groan. The blade has broken off at the handle.
Po looked up, saw the Yeti getting up painfully, and took off down the corridor. He wanted to get the Yeti as far away from Tigress as possible before fighting him.
He emerged from the corridor, and his eyes stung when they were struck by the crimson light of early dawn. He blinked several times, and then look back to see the Yeti furiously pursuing him, blade in hand. Po rushed down the stairs and onto the large bridge that connected the secret entrance to the city. He kept running, up until he felt the very tip of the massive blade cut along the cloth of his coat, barely missing his flesh.
Po stopped dead and spun around, just in time to dodge a second swing that nearly took off his head.
Both panda and yeti faced each other in the middle of the bridge. The Yeti glared at Po with reddened eyes, but he seemed to have lost some of his blood rage. Po moved into a combat stance, and waited for his opponent to make the first move.
"Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough." Po said.
The Yeti stayed still for several more seconds, and then he lunged. Po caught the blunt edge of the blade mid-swing and vaulted over it like a wall. With a cry he kicked the Yeti square in the injured shoulder. The Yeti roared in pain, and for a moment Po felt a little guilt for playing dirty. Then the Yeti sent him flying across the bridge with a vicious backhand.
Po's head cracked hard against the stone floor, making it very lucky he was wearing a wok. He was able to get up just as the Yeti was upon him and about to run him through. Po somersaulted backwards just in time, and landed on the stone rail. The Yeti, distracted by his agonizing wound, made a wild overhead swing.
Po leapt into the air, and with a roundhouse kick, struck the Yeti's hand. The large blade went flying from his grip,
"Oh yeah!" Po yelled as he landed back on the ground.
Instead of falling into the abyss, the blade struck the center of the bridge and sank halfway into the stone. Spider web cracks quickly spread, and the stone began to crumble before his eyes.
"Oh hell!"
Po spun and sprinted like he had never sprinted before. He could hear the rock cracking and falling apart right behind him. It was just like that moment in the crevasse, where Po had found himself running for his life, with nothing other than the tremendous noise to warn him of the danger behind.
Po had just reached the crossroad when the ground literally disappeared from beneath him, and he found himself running on air. His fingers caught the edge just as he began to fall. Po didn't hesitate to start pulling himself up, and within milliseconds he was up on his elbows, gasping with relief.
And then a massive hand grabbed his leg, and a massive weight dragged Po down until he was once again hanging by his fingertips.
"Don't you ever quit?!" Po yelled.
Po tried to pull himself up again, but the weight was too much. Then the stone crumbled beneath one paw. Po's remaining paw started to slip.
This was it. He was going to die.
His fingers lost their grip.
The faces of his friends and family flashed before Po's eyes.
A jet black gloved hand shot down and grasped Po's wrist.
Po gasped as the sudden stop jolted his shoulder. He stared up.
The painting of the Dragon Empress sprung to the forefront of Po's mind as he gazed up at the dragon helmet and into its black eyeholes. Ember had a firm grip on Po, even though he had a thousand pound Yeti dangling from his leg.
What was she doing? Why was she saving him?
Po stared up at Ember, trying to find an answer in the mask's emotionless expression.
Someone about her had changed. Her grip felt more solid, and nothing in the air had changed. There were no embers falling from the sky.
This time, Po wasn't dreaming.
"What are you doing?" Po wanted to ask, but then the Yeti's grip on his leg was gone.
No.
A tiny whisper of dismay left Ember as it dawned on Po that the Yeti had fallen.
And then she was pulling him up like a bag of feathers. With one arm, she lifted him onto solid ground, and as Po collapsed to the ground in exhaustion, she left his peripheral vision.
When Po stood up and turned around, he found that he was alone once more.
Po turned around on the spot, searching the surrounding buildings, bridges and mountains for signs of Ember. But there was nothing.
Po bent down and grasped his knees, trying to catch his breath.
He turned his attention to the bridge, or what was left of it. Two hundred feet of the bridge was gone, and the Yeti had gone with it. While his death gave Po little satisfaction, he found comfort in the fact that the deaths of all the soldiers had finally been avenged, and he could never hurt Tigress again.
Tigress.
Po looked at the stairs at the far side of the ruined bridge. He couldn't go back the way he came. The only way now was to leave the city through the exit near the gardens and then find his way back to the cave entrance. In other words a very long walk.
Po sighed deeply, turned around, and started walking.
He stopped only for a moment to consume three dozen apples and peaches from the gardens.
A beam of light from the rising sun stoked Tigress's face. She opened her eyes and blinked in the light. She saw three things out of place. One; she was back in the cave. Two; the trapdoor was wide open. Three; Po wasn't there.
She lifted her head a little, and then winced. She was feeling a little stiff in the neck. Where did he go?
"Po?" She asked softly.
From her position she couldn't see very far down the pit. Perhaps Po had simply gone to get more supplies.
But then she heard loud gasps coming from the entrance. One black paw came into view, and a panda's sweating face emerged immediately after.
"Aaaah…" Po moaned as he pulled himself up and onto the ledge. He lay flat out on the ground, stomach rising up and down as he panted in exhaustion.
Tigress looked from Po to the trapdoor. What was going on?
"Po?"
Po turned his head sharply. His eyes widened when he saw her, and then he broke into a huge grin.
"Tigress!"
Completely forgetting his exhaustion, Po leapt to his feet and sprinted over to her, leaping effortlessly over the pit to reach her. He took a moment to close up the trapdoor again and retrieve the stick before wrapping his arms around her in a bear hug.
"Tigress, thank gods you woke up!" He cried, and hugged her tighter.
Tigress blushed a little before slowly returning the hug. Of course, she had ingested a healing tonic that made her fall asleep.
"How long was I out?" She asked.
"A few hours." Po said, not letting go. "How do you feel?"
"Actually… really great." She said. It had occurred to her at the moment that she was no longer in pain. She felt just like her old self again.
"Hold still, I'm going to check…" As Po lifted the shirt Tigress was wearing and began unwrapping the bandages, Tigress noticed that he was covered in dirt and melted snow. His coat was cut in several places and he had a few bruises.
"Po, what happened while I was out?" She asked.
Po didn't answer. He was staring with wide eyes at her unwrapped side. He laughed a little.
"Oh god… it's so better…"
Tigress twisted herself so she could see for herself.
She stared in amazement. Every gash had completely closed up, and the only signs they had been there at all was the tiniest traces of dried blood, and the thread still stitched into her flesh.
"There's no scarring. Nothing." Po whispered. "Oh, Tigress." He hugged her again, laughing in relief. Tigress was smiling widely herself. With her wounds gone, they can finally get off this cursed mountain.
"What are we gonna do about the stitches?" Po asked.
"A medic can remove them once we get back to the fortress." Tigress said. She rested her head on Po's shoulder, taking in the moment. For so long she had deep down long to be held like this, to know that there was at least one person who cared for her, and not just as a comrade. If only she had realized it sooner, then she wouldn't be about to take the leap of faith on the side of a mountain in the middle of nowhere.
"Thank you, Po." She spoke into his ear. "Thank you for keeping me alive."
"No biggie." Po said thickly. He let go once again, and they stared into each other's eyes. "You know, you look pretty hot in that shirt."
Tigress's face heated up at the compliment.
"Thank you." She said. Po's smile faded a little, and he looked strangely nervous.
"I'm just going to ask bluntly." Po said. "Did you mean what you said right before you passed out? About how you were capable of falling for someone like me?"
Tigress nodded. Po looked ecstatic. Tigress's heart raced. This was it. This was the leap of faith. She waited for his reply.
"Tigress, when we get home, would you like to-"
BAM.
A feathery projectile slammed into the side of Po's head, knocking him onto his side.
"Po!" Tigress pulled herself from the depression in the wall and helped him up. Rubbing the side of his head, annoyed at being interrupted when he was about to ask one of the most important questions of his life, Po glared down at the object that had hit him.
"What the heck are you- Zeng?"
Zeng smoothed down his ruffled feathers. He looked like he had travelled a long way.
"What on earth of you doing here?" Tigress asked.
"My apologies… Dragon Warrior…" Zeng panted. He didn't get up from the floor, his stamina almost completely depleted. "But your father… demanded… that I deliver… this message to you…"
"My father?" Po was confused.
"How in the world did you find us?" Tigress asked.
"Princess De Nushi… gave me... the location… I reached the fortress… and got the directions… from there…" Zeng let his head fall back onto the ground.
"Just rest easy, Zeng." Tigress said.
Po reached down and retrieved the little scroll attached to Zeng's leg. He sat down next to the campfire and unrolled it.
"Hey, it's from my panda dad!" Po said happily.
"Qiang?" Tigress asked.
"Yeah! He said that he's the Valley of Peace right now and Su's parents came with hi-"
Po's eyes suddenly went very wide. His entire body stiffened.
"No."