And here it is...the moment we've all been waiting for! Mako tells Tigress the truth about the rivalry between her and Max! How will it go down? You'll have to see it for yourself!

Chapter 25: Calling Out the Truth

Tigress turned to face Mako and judging by the look on his face that it's definitely serious and that's something Tigress dreaded more than anything and she asked, "About?"

"What happened between you and Max a few months ago." Mako answered.

She knew that that was gonna come in any second and she just lets out a scoff and said, "I really don't have time for this."

"There's a time and a place for everything, Tigress. So whatever else you have planned, it's gonna have to wait. At least until we really resolved things around here." Mako stated.

Tigress sighed impatiently at this as she folded her arms and she asked, "Is this gonna take long?"

"Yes, it is. Now listen...I'm only gonna say this once and only once. For the duration that I'm here, you're gonna listen to everything I have to say without any interruptions. And you definitely cannot talk your way out of this. Master Shifu has given me permission to talk to you about Max and I don't care how long it will take. We might be here for hours if needed to." Mako added.

Shock came through Tigress as she heard that this conversation would take hours and such and she lets out a growl and said, "You can't do that."

"Want me to ask Master Shifu?" asked Mako, almost challenging her in a way.

Tigress wanted to punch Mako in the face, but after what she did to him, she just held herself back and she hated that feeling of holding herself back and she replied, "No."

"Right. Now, let's have a seat." Mako added.

Tigress complied with what he said and just sat down while Mako stood up and he knew that he was gonna go hard this time and there's gonna be no question off-limits and nothing else and he just has to break through Tigress' inner wall and he's gonna be the driving force behind it. Mako turned to her and said, "You know, through the years that Max has been a part of our family, I could sense a huge sense of animosity growing with you when he's at the Jade Palace. And I don't understand that a warrior like yourself could hold such ill feelings towards my tiger son."

"It's really none of your business." Tigress sneered.

Mako turned to her and gave her the biggest stinkeye he's ever made and said, "Whatever makes you tick is your business. But when it involves Max, that makes it my business."

"You don't know the situation between me and Max." Tigress stated.

"I disagree. When it involves my son, I have to know everything about goes on between you has always told me everything that goes on between you and him; from beating him up while training, underestimating him from his accomplishing things because he's too young and small, getting angry at him over the simple things, choosing to be jealous at my son, instilling fear in him, wanting to cause harm to him and almost killing him?! You think I don't know what goes on between both of you?" Mako asked.

Tigress felt like this is getting nowhere and she stands up and exclaims, "That's enough! This conversation is over!"

Mako got in her face with a very deep, serious voice and said, "We've only just begun! Now SIT DOWN!"

"You are not my father!" Tigress shouted.

"I know I'm not! But do not argue with me! JUST SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO ME FOR A DAMN MINUTE!" Mako shouted, twice as loud.

Once Tigress heard Mako's commands going louder, it was like she was gonna lose this battle and in defeat, she sat back down and Mako immediately simmered down and he said, "As I said, I'm not here to be mean and judgmental, but I'm gonna honest as I can. And I don't care if you get mad at me. You should be mad at yourself for trying to cause harm to Max; emotionally, mentally and physically. He's already been through a lot in his life and you can't cause more scars that he's gotten. It'll just make it worse for him."

"Why are you defending him?" asked Tigress.

"Because he's my son. That's my job." Mako answered.

Tigress sighed at this and she realized that Mako will not stop at anything until he deeps way down inside of her to find out the real reason why she's always so spiteful towards Max all the time and Mako said, "Let me ask you this question; why would you cause harm to Max? And let me point this out...no excuses. Period."

The fact that she can't come up with false excuses really made her more irritated because she knew that the truth was gonna come and that it's gonna hurt and Mako continued saying, "Believe me, it'll hurt me more than it'll hurt you. You got to suck it up. Now start talking and just answer the question I gave you. This time...the truth."

Tigress hated to admit everything because she has a very tough exterior and the fact that Mako's breaking it for her made her feel more ashamed that she's gonna spill the truth and she replied, "The real reason...ever since he came into the Jade Palace and into your lives, I felt like Max is stealing everything away from me; my family, my student and my comrades because everyone's been paying attention to him more. He gets all the attention and I get nothing. Do you even know what that's like? It's like going back to the orphanage when I've already been pushed away, ignored, hated, forgotten. I hated that feeling and I was afraid the same thing would happen again, so I have to respond by snapping at them and just wanting to cause bodily harm, if needed. Maybe that'll make everything better, but I soon realized that if I did that, I'd be disgracing my family and I'll lose everything I've worked for. Each time I've tried to remain calm in front of people, it always fails and I don't know what else to do. I can't come to people when I have a problem because no one would understand, so I gave up and just being this horrible person was the only way to gain attention from them so I wouldn't feel like I'm being forgotten."

"Go on." Mako stated.

"With Max, it feels like I don't even matter. I know we have a few things in common with our past experiences in different ends, but how Max got through it...that's what I always have trouble coming to grips with because I have never gotten over mine because it still exists to this day. It'll go on for the rest of my life until the end of my days. Sure, it's inspiring how he made it through and survived with a smile on his face, but the truth of the matter is that when it comes to me and him, I just feel like he doesn't care about the bad things that happen to him. His positive attiitude always annoys me and how he forgives me so easily...he's just like Po, Takami and Hope combined. They're all so easy to forgive. He doesn't even get mad at me, yell at me or nothing! That's what really bothers me!" Tigress exclaimed.

Mako nodded his head at this and he continued listening to everything Tigress said as she keeps airing her grievances about Max and it gets way more deeper than that.

"That's why this rivalry started; to see who gets the most attention and Max is the big winner...including the sparring lessons. I always feared that I'll get humiliated when they find out that I got beaten by a 10 year old cub who's smarter, faster, quicker and stronger than me and I refuse to be underestimated! I can't take a loss from someone like him! Each time he does something good, he gets all the praise and I get nothing. He helps out some of my comrades and spends time with them more...even Shifu! And he undermines my plans on getting through heavy obstacles during missions and every single kung-fu master sees him as this Golden Child. All I wanted to do is just end it all and have everything go back to the way it was before he even showed up. I can't adapt change really well and I thought that if I intimidated him that it would show that I win this competition of who gets the more attention and that I would see Max feel the same way I felt." Tigress stated.

"And why is that important for you?" asked Mako.

"So that I still feel like I'm a winner above everyone else...for selfish reasons." Tigress added.

"But is it really important to have the first position?" asked Mako.

"Yes, if you want to stay ahead of being remembered and I just want Shifu to be proud of me for once." Tigress answered.

Once Mako got all the answers from her, he then asked, "All righty...so let's go forward to where you nearly killed my son."

"That part...it was my pride that took over me. When he defended Blaze and stood up to me, I just felt like my pride was stripped away from me and it just got destroyed. So...I wanted revenge against Max and make him pay for it. And I took it too far." Tigress answered.

"What did that solve?" asked Mako.

"That I was gonna get my pride back and that Max should never have broken it." Max added.

"But...who was really at fault here? You or Max?" asked Mako.

Tigress couldn't believe that mako would ask a question like that and she lets out a sigh and replied, "Max."

That wasn't a good enough answer and he glared at her longer and said, "Tigress..."

Tigress groans in frustration and replied, "It was my fault."

"You see what the problem is? You can't contain your jealousy towards him and you end up doing and saying things that you know that you will regret and then you do them anyway and the issue remains unresolved. What does taking it out on Max solve?" asked Mako.

"To show who's boss." Tigress said, proudly.

Mako gave her the biggest stinkeye he's ever given like she just said the wrong thing and he said, "You're selfish."

That didn't sit well with Tigress very well and she turned to him and asked, "What?"

"You're selfish. You can't think of anyone but yourself and your kung-fu." Mako answered.

"I am not selfish. I just don't think I want to deal with Max or anything else at all." Tigress stated.

"And that's another problem you have; you don't listen. It's always about you and what you want it to be and how you want it to be. I know that you know better, but sometimes...you just have no limitations when it comes to your temper towards Max. And because you don't want to deal with it, the best option for you is to just not face the problem head on. That's being a coward." Mako added, very bluntly.

Tigress froze for a second and it made her snap a little bit and asked, "What did you just say?"

"It's a cowardly move. I know you don't think so, but I do. You can't always blame other people for your personal misfortunes, hold on to what happened in the past and you certainly can't run away from your problems. That's for cowards." Mako answered.

That was it...Tigress immediaely pinned Mako straight to the wall as Tigress unsheathes her claws, but Mako didn't bother being afraid and he was still being serious and Tigress said, "Take it back!"

"No! The truth is the truth! And you fighting me will never solve anything! It never does anyway!" Mako shouted.

"It'll make you take back those words you say!" Tigress said, snarling.

"You can do whatever the hell you want with me, but I am never gonna take back everything I said! That's the truth and you know it! If you can't take it, that's your problem! But what I am telling you is nothing but the entire truth and nothing else! If you think beating me up until I'm black and blue and bloody will make you feel better, then go right ahead." Mako said, in a serious tone.

Tigress wanted to beat him down so bad, but for some reason...tears started coming out of her eyes as she kept her fist balled up tightly and she held herself back from beating Mako up and once every word he said sinks in, she knew that he wouldn't back down from anything and she closed her eyes shut as the tears fall down from her face and lowered her head down and eventually, she let him go.

'Now we're getting somewhere.' Mako thought.

Forgive me if I made Mako a little out of character in this, but Mako tells it like it is. Stay tuned to see more of what happens after!