Chamber of Truth

Po rammed his fist against the rock wall. Blood trickled down his hand. "Po! That's enough!"

"We have to get out of here!"

"Po! Stop!" The striped warrior halted his hand. Red stains mixed lightly into her orange fur. "Stop. Po, it's okay." The panda's heavy gasps and breaths echoed along with drips of water in the dark cave. She could see the faint glimpse of his jade eyes rapidly darting in every direction. "Po, breathe with me."

"O-O-O-Okay," Po rasply panted. Slowly they breathed, releasing long sighs. Once, twice, three times. "Okay, okay, I'm okay."

"Are you sure?" Tigress asked, placing a hand on his bare chest.

Po would have nodded but the darkness was probably too thick for the feline. So he said, "I'm fine." Tigress tore off a part of her pants leg and wrapped it around Po's bloodied hand. "I don't you need light?"

"I've done this enough time to do it blindfolded if I needed to."

"Heh, Thanks. Can you see in here?"

"Barely." She looked up at the ceiling. "There's not much light from the hole we fell through, but I see most of the cave."

"I'm... I'm so sorry for getting you in this, Tigress. I should've seen where I was-"

"Po," She rested both hands on his shoulders. "You didn't see the bandits' trap. I barely saw it before you did."

"But if it weren't for you pushing me out of the way, you wouldn't be trapped here with me and I-"

"Shhhh, it's okay," Tigress said softly. Po hung his head, though he doubted she could see it. "We should move. I can see a small hole in the wall. It's big enough to crawl through."

"Okay," Po quietly said. Tigress held the panda's hand since he couldn't see as well in the dark. They searched and stumbled over rock after rock. Several times they crashed to their hands and knees only to crawl through tight places. "Do you know where you're going?"

"Yes. I'm sensing a slight wind current. There should be an exit here," Tigress explained.

BOOOM!

"What was that?!" Po exclaimed.

"I don't know. It sounded like... a door shutting?"

Suddenly, Po sniffed the air. "Do you smell... fire?"

"We must be getting close to the exit." They crawled through the tightest space that Po could fit through. The tiger heard Po grumbling and grunting behind her. "Po, are you-"

"I'm fine. Just keep going."

"Are you... afraid of tight spaces?"

"No, I... just keep going, please?"

Tigress continued. Their predicament didn't allow much time for questions.

But Po got worse as they crawled on. While she held his hand, Po shivered horribly, grunting and whimpering almost every moment they went through the tight crawl space. "It's okay, Po. We're almost there. I see some light!"

"Awesome!" He rasped as if something was stealing his breath. They crawled out, but Po fumbled and rolled down the exit, landing flat on his back. "OWW!" Po grunted, rolling up to his feet with Tigress's help. Their eyes adjusted to the torch-lit room. It was a circular smooth-walled chamber with a small hole for light on the right side. The light shone onto a stone pedestal with a scroll standing in the middle. Two large boulder-shaped doors stood on the opposite end of the hole. Po immediately tried to get the doors to open. "Come on, come on! DAH! It won't budge! Maybe if I pull?"

While Po struggled with the doors, Tigress looked at the scroll atop the pedestal. She carefully picked it up. Thankfully, nothing happened as she read the scroll. "Ugh! Tigress, I think we're gonna need to do this together. I can't get it to move!"

"That won't work, Po."

"What do you mean?"

"This place is the Gate of Restitution," Tigress said, reading from the scroll. "Those doors won't open up until we get through this."

"Get through what?" Po asked, going back to the tiger.

"We have to... Po! What happened to you!"

Po looked all over him and gulped. Something like a black moving goo stretched up from his feet to his chest and arms, nearly taking his neck. It covered his fur and pants, and the faint light made it shimmer as it moved in a strange ocean-like manner. "DAHH! Get it off of me!"

"Calm down!"

"How am I supposed to calm down, Tigress!" Po screamed back, panting. "I'm covered in this black stuff, I put you in danger, and I feel like the world is crumbling in on me and I'm... I'm a terrible Dragon Warrior!"

The feline stood speechless. The panda clasped his hands to his face, crying out, "I'm sorry, Tigress. I'm... I'm really scared and I don't know why. I feel like everything is coming apart and you're stuck here because of me." Po looked at Tigress, noticing the flames of the torch illuminating her body. "Oh no, it's on you, too!"

"Hm?" Tigress looked at her hands and feet. The black goo was on her, but it only stretched to her shoulders and knees and didn't cover nearly as much as Po's did. "Hmm."

"Why are you so calm?!"

"Because panicking won't get us out of here. And I think I know how."

"What? That's awesome! How do we get out?"

"We have to tell the truth."

"What?"

Tigress showed the panda the scroll. "The text says that the only way those doors will open is if we become...'washed in the truth.' It says that this black thing on our bodies is Fubai. It's a representation of our inner corruption and has a negative effect on the mind, which is probably why you're panicking."

"What? I'm not panicking," Po said. The black goo traveled up to the base of his head.

"Po! Stop!" Tigress shouted. "You can't lie here. You have to tell the truth."

"But I... I... Ugh fine! Yes, I'm freaking out and I don't know why which is making me freak out more!" The black goo slowly lowered a bit. "Hey, it worked!"

"Yes, it did," Tigress seriously murmured.

"Wait, what happens if this stuff covers our entire body?" Po asked. Tigress showed the panda the picture on the scroll. "Uhhh is that a shadow?"

"Yes, the person becomes a shadow or true darkness if they are beyond all hope. Or if they continue to lie to themselves. They are forced to be a part of the darkness forever. Lost in their lies which only bring eternal darkness."

"Okay, okay, we need to get this stuff off of us," Po groaned until he saw Tigress's eyes on his body. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Tigress remained silent for a long time before speaking, "If this Fubai shows how corrupted we are... or how much we've lied, why do you have so much?"

"Uh... I don't know," Po said, making the goo spread up a bit. "Okay, okay, sometimes... I lie."

"To us."

"To everyone," Po sighed.

"I see," Tigress said quietly. Po couldn't tell if she was disappointed or intrigued. Probably both.

"Look, I'm sorry. Yes, I... lie sometimes about what's going on in my head, but most times you guys can tell I'm lying so I don't know why this stuff is on me."

"Hmmm. Restitution. Maybe this Fubai shows us all the lies we've told over time."

"What?! I don't remember every lie I've told!"

"It's worth a try. You and I won't fit through the hole above."

"We can try calling for help," Po proposed.

"That will either call the others, a random person that won't be able to help us, or the bandits. There are too many risks. Even if we did, we would still have this stuff on us. And we can't go back the way we came." Suddenly, the earth moved again and a loud quake erupted up the wall and over the crack. The crack was completely sealed off. "Especially now," Tigress sighed, "Let's promise that NOTHING we say here ever gets repeated. EVER!"

"Alright, alright, I get it! I'll try my best."

"What?"

"I'm not going to lie and say I won't slip or I won't tell anyone. I'll try my best."

Tigress groaned, rubbing her muzzle. "Good enough, I guess." She looked at her blackened hand. The goo didn't feel like anything. Her hand was there, but somehow she felt a pit of despair that threatened to boil up her neck. It was small but there. She looked at Po's nearly pitch-black body. His goo slowly started to lower after he said he would try his best.

Tigress took a deep sigh. "Let's talk about things we don't know about each other."

"Uhhh, you know almost everything about me."

"Really?"

"All the important stuff anyway."

"What about the unimportant stuff?"

"I'm pretty sure you don't want to know what goes into making my Tigress action figure," Po smiled a hint.

Tigress smiled back. Then a thought flew into her head. "Do you ever talk about us?"

"Yeah?"

"In a way that we don't know about?"

"Like... what?"

"Like how we sleep or eat or some of the things that annoy you."

"What? You guys don't-" He stopped because, by the movement of Tigress's eyes, the goo was going up. "Okay, okay, okay. Yes, it does get on my nerves when you guys snore."

Crossing her arms, Tigress rose her eyebrow a bit. "Really?"

"I'm used to my dad's snore. Not five different people snoring. That's why I go to bed earlier than you guys."

"Which of us is loudest?"

"Crane."

"The softest?"

"You."

"How?"

"You have a deeper snore. It actually helps me sleep."

"Is that why you're always insisting on sleeping near me when we're on long trips?" Tigress asked. Po gritted his teeth and nervously tapped his fingers together. He gave a great sigh.

"Yes and no. That's not the only reason why," Po confessed. He looked down. The goop lowered to the top of his chest. Po took another breath.

"How are you?"

"Better, still feeling guilty and sad."

"Why guilt?"

"I'm still blaming myself for getting you stuck here... And... for other things," Po muscled out of his mouth.

Tigress tilted her head slightly. "Like what?"

"Taking the Dragon Warrior title away from you guys. I still feel like I'm a mistake. I know I'm not, but... it doesn't mean the feeling goes away. I still feel like I'm... a guy that's in stealth mode."

"An imposter?"

"Yeah, that," Po sighed. The goo lowered to the top of his belly. "Wow, that was a lot. It feels like a massive bean bun was taken off of my head." Tigress smiled at the choice of words. "What about you? What about me annoys you?"

"Your clumsiness, ignorance, naivety, always stumbling into a situation-"

"Okay, Tigress, that's not lowering the goo," Po muttered sharply. Tigress shrugged. Worth a shot. "I already know that. And I know you sometimes think Oogway made a mistake."

"I do, but not as often as I used to."

"Hm," Po looked up and down. The goo on her wasn't moving. Why? Then Po's eyes lit up. "Do you ever think Master Shifu made a mistake choosing you from the orphanage?"

"What?! No, I-"

"Tigress, the goo is moving up."

"Yes! Yes," Tigress growled at her hands and legs. She took a deep sigh, walking away from Po. The crackling of the torches echoed in the silence. Po slowly approached her, resting his blackened hand on her shoulder. "I... Ever since Tai Lung was imprisoned, there are times when Master Shifu's training was... harsh and I wondered if that... disappointment in me is... ugh I can't do this."

"You can."

"No, I can't. I..."

Po watched the tiger stare into the rock wall. He gently turned her to face him. "Shifu isn't here to hear you. Whatever it is, get it off of your chest. Well... get it off so you can get the goo off, but you get the idea."

Tigress smiled a hint. She took another silent moment before saying, "I wonder if... he regrets taking me from the orphanage. That's... why I... it hurts when he's disappointed in me."

Po's eyes widened slightly, but he kept listening.

"It makes me wonder if... he would send me back to the orphanage if I didn't perform well."

"Is... is that why you're always training so hard?"

"No, honestly, no. It... that's how it started. Over time, I started to enjoy Kung Fu because... I didn't have anything else to comfort me during that time," She sighed. "And now, with you as Dragon Warrior... I still have a hard time finding my goal. What's my goal now?"

"I'm sure that whatever it is, you'll love each and every moment of it," Po smiled. The tiger smiled back. "And hey, I think that really did it." He pointed to her goo which was down to her forearms. "Alright, back to me. I think I need to get this stuff off faster than you do."

"Anything we don't know about you that you're ashamed of?"

"Oooohhh I was hoping you wouldn't ask that," Po groaned, rubbing the back of his head. "I...uh..."

"It's okay Po."

"It really isn't."

"Did you kill someone?"

"No, but it did nearly kill me," Po muttered.

"What was it?"

"I... accidentally cheated on someone."

Tigress rose her eyebrow. "Like... in a game."

"In a... no! In a relationship, Tigress," Po tilted his head and made a shocked yet slightly disgusted face. "Why would you think a game?"

"Well... honestly, I can't imagine you being unfaithful... and having a girlfriend before being Dragon Warrior."

"Wooooooooww. Thanks, Tigress," Po muttered, a little hurt.

"Am I wrong?"

"That's not the point."

"I am sorry for my comment, Po," Tigress said. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It's fine," Po sighed.

"But... how did you... accidentally cheat on someone? And why?"

"I... listened to the wrong people," Po sighed. "I was with this one goat girl and... I thought she was seeing someone else. I asked a bunch of my friends what I should do and... they suggested that I go snooping around. So I did and... I honestly didn't have enough proof to say she was cheating on me." He rubbed the back of his neck. "So, I told my friends, and... they said I should pretend to cheat on her to figure out if she really liked me. Get her jealous. Against my better judgment, I... went to a nearby bar for a date."

"Why a bar?"

"That's what my friends said would help. They said bars are where women go to find men," Po explained. Tigress rolled her eyes at the obvious lie. "Anyway, I... found out that my friends told my girlfriend that I was looking for someone else. So, while I was looking for a new date, my ex came in and made a scene."

Po sighed, "Honestly, I didn't care about being yelled at. After I told her what had happened, she got angrier because I didn't just talk with her."

"Why didn't you?"

Po grumbled, "Everyone doesn't have goop that corrupts them into misery if they don't tell the truth. And... I was scared that she would lie to me." Tigress slowly nodded. "Anyway, she said what I did was completely immature and we broke up. After that, I stopped hanging out with those stupid friends."

"But... you didn't date anyone. You were just trying to find someone."

"It's the fact that I tried to. I don't blame her. I should've known that those guys weren't good," Po sighed.

"How old were you when this happened?"

"15-16."

"Po, you were considerably young. It's not your fault you didn't know. Even though you listened to the wrong people, a sensible person would be able to look past that."

Po shrugged sadly, though the black covering slowly crept down to his belly button. "Yeah, well, she didn't care."

"What other secrets are you keeping from us?" Tigress mildly joked.

Po shrugged as he started to count on his fingers. "Oh lots of stuff, I guess. I know where Monkey keeps his almond cookies because he talks in his sleep. I get a little creeped out when Viper isn't in her 'nice' mode or when she's shedding. Oh and Crane isn't shedding, I just need his feathers to write-"

"That's you!?"

"Please don't tell him," Po whimpered. "And I have a crush that none of you know about and I don't want to talk about, which isn't a lie."

"Clever," Tigress rose her eyebrow and looked down at the goo. It now stood at his forearms and knees like Tigress. "But you're not completely free from this chamber."

"Ugh, I hope I don't have to tell all of my secrets."

Tigress smiled a bit, resting her hand on his chest. "I told you, Po. I won't tell anyone. Or at least, I'll try."

"It's not the others I'm worried about. It's you," Po sighed, walking over to the pedestal with the scroll on it."

"What do you mean?"

Po leaned his hands on the pedestal, glaring into some abyss. He said nothing. Tigress came over to his right side, looking at his hand. Even with the black goo turning them into moving shimmering glob, she could see the blood from earlier. She gently took the hand and smiled. He looked at her as she nursed his hand.

Po gave a long sigh. "Tigress, there's a lot about you that I... I have a hard time telling you. You're such a strong courageous person and... I don't want anything I do to mess with that. Even if you dislike me for everything else, I just... I just want to keep being your friend."

Tigress frowned with worry. What was so devastating that Po was scared that it would affect their friendship? The tiger slowly nodded. "How about I tell the truth? I think we'll save yours for last."

Po nodded. A little relief spread across his eyebrows. Then he chuckled a bit. "What?" Tigress asked sharply.

"Nothing, I was going to ask if you've kissed anyone."

"Yes."

"Really? Who?"

"That's none of your concern and it's not a lie so the goo shouldn't move up," Tigress firmly said. Sure enough, it did. Po scratched his head. He thought for a while as he looked up at the ceiling. Tigress made a small smile but said nothing.

"This doesn't make any sense," Po muttered. "Why is the goo not moving?"

"It's not a lie."

"But saying it didn't make it go up or down. So why... Hmmm. Is the person you kissed someone we know?"

"No, it was long ago," Tigress replied. The goo didn't move.

"Hmmm... Do you want to kiss anyone?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, is there anyone else that you... have feelings towards or want to kiss?"

Tigress froze. Her eyes were stuck on wide and she couldn't close them. She pursed her lips, grumbling to herself. "Y... yes."

The goo moved lower. "Ooohh, I think I get it. This stuff reacts to stuff like personal lies or regrets. The more personal it is, the faster the goo gets off."

"Great," Tigress muttered.

Po rose an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

"I... I don't want to say who it is that I want to kiss, but... if it gets us out of here-"

"Don't worry about that. I think we can get around it," Po replied. Tigress stared at him, slightly shocked. "What?"

"I... I figured you would be more curious than this."

Po shrugged, "Not if it causes you that much pain."

Tigress smiled just a hint. "Your caring nature always surprises me, Po."

The panda smiled for just a second before sitting down on the ground, sighing. He looked at his hands. The goo had traveled down to his knees and halfway down his forearms, but he still had a lot to go. "I guess I should get the painful part over with," Po said.

"You don't have to-"

"No, it's okay. The goo is already at your hands and feet. I'm the one who needs to get rid of this more." Po glumly sat on the cold rock ground, staring with half-lidded eyes into the dark corner of the wall and the floor. A soft hand rested on his shoulder, but the panda still stared into some kind of void sucking up his joy. "Tigress, I... I really envy you sometimes. You have this courage and bravery that no one else has. And people listen to you. Sure, people might be scared of you but they respect you and I... I'm jealous of that. I want people to listen to me. I want people to... to not laugh any time I say something. I know the Dragon Warrior title gets me a lot of respect but... I don't feel like people are respecting me. They're respecting Dragon Warrior 'me'. If I weren't the Dragon Warrior, if I didn't have Kung Fu, would people still respect me?"

Tigress's jaw dropped but she said nothing.

"I know, I know. People respect you because they're afraid of you and you just want people to know that you're not a monster. I get it, but I just... want to stop being the guy that everyone just teases or messes with just to get a funny reaction."

Tigress felt a pang of guilt rise up in her. She had done that multiple times. Honestly, Po's reactions were funny and comical. She never thought it was hurtful to him.

"I mean," Po continued, "I know that's why they do it, and I don't hate anyone for it. I'm okay with that if it makes them feel better, but... to always be the butt of the joke is hard. And it's only when people need my help that they stop teasing me. I don't know. Maybe I'm being too... pessimistic about this. I've never heard anyone say those things or actually mean it but-"

"You can't get the voices that tell you so out of your head," Tigress finished. The panda nodded. "Po... I'm... I'm sorry."

Po smiled over his shoulder. "Don't be. I realize that the respect you have isn't based on just being serious all the time. A lot of it is based on fear, and you've told me how sucky it can be. Still. I... I guess I just want people to respect me a little more. But... honestly, I know that for people to respect me more, I have to get my act together. I can't be this clumsy clueless naive panda for the rest of my life."

"Why not?"

"I... huh?"

"Who says those things are bad?" Tigress asked.

"Everyone and me?"

"Po, you're not always clumsy, clueless and naive. Sometimes you know more than us. Like Kung Fu history or ancient techniques that are long forgotten."

Po waved it away. "That's just because I'm a nerd."

"But you have a lot of knowledge. That's something many people respect. And I can tell you from experience," Tigress sighed, sitting down next to him, "That people don't respect people even when they're afraid. They'll respect you to your face, but not to their friends, neighbors, and peers. Even the people who 'respect' me have called me a monster to others when they thought I wasn't listening. Even some masters."

The two fell silent. Po looked at Tigress's goo. It was at her hands. Po looked at his goo at his hands. It had gone down, but not completely off. What else was there?

Po shook his head. He couldn't focus on that right now. "Tigress," He spoke up, "It's okay. I realized that I shouldn't work for people's respect. I should work to be a respectful person. People might like what you did, but not who you are." He smiled, looking at his blackened hand. "I think I just wanted to tell you that because... as much as I get on your nerves, it's because I want to be like you. But now, I know better than that."

Tigress gave a tiny smile. Po sighed greatly. "But the goo isn't off yet. Which means I have to tell you the big one."

"What's the big one?" Tigress asked.

"I...I... You promise that you won't notbe my friend if I tell you, right?"

Tigress rose her hand in a pledge. "I swear on my honor that our friendship will still be intact."

Taking a long breath, Po finally opened his mouth. "Tigress, I love you. Like romantically."

Her jaw dropped, her eyes widened, and her voice uttered no sound as the goo from Po's body left him completely. "Well, that's good," Po sighed. He felt lighter, much lighter. Almost like he was floating. Years of burying things deep behind the goofy smile and clumsy nature finally came out. He was free. He looked at Tigress. "Uhh... Tigress? Are you okay?" She still said nothing. "Tigress, I know that this is a lot but... I've felt this way for a while. Probably since we met and I just wanted to tell you... well I had to tell you, but...I just want us to still be okay with each other and I-"

Before Po could finish what he was saying, Tigress grabbed Po's head and kissed him fiercely on the lips. The panda's head stopped working. He simply sat there with the tiger's soft plush lips on his as she pulled apart, smiling widely. "I... love you too."

"R-R-R-R-Really?" Po stuttered. Then he stopped for a moment and his face fell. "Really?"

"Why do you doubt?"

"Well, it's just you get annoyed with me pretty easily."

"Doesn't mean that I don't care about you deeply, Po," Tigress smirked.

"Heh, and I'm guessing I was the one you wanted to kiss?" Po asked. Tigress nodded with a brimming smile. "Awesome! But... why didn't you-"

"After the way I treated you and the way I act, I didn't think... you would like me back."

"Heh, nice to know you were wrong," Po grinned widely.

Tigress smiled, kissing him again as the last of the goo left her hands and feet, "It is nice."

Just then, the boulder doors opened and the two warriors walked out of the dark chamber into the light. They stood on the steep end of a tree-filled mountain. Earthen stairs flowed down to a field where Tigress could make the faint traces of a village. "Ugh, of course, this place had stairs," Po grumbled.

The feline warrior smiled, "We should get to the village and find someone to contact the Furious Five."

"Don't worry about it," Po said, waving his hand at the sky. Crane, flying overhead, spotted them in the thick forest. Thank goodness Po was a big black and white panda. As he followed the two down the mountain from the sky, Tigress frowned just a hair.

"Po? What does this mean now? Do you... want a relationship with me?"

"Yes."

Tigress chuckled a bit, "That was quick."

"I'm not losing a chance to be with my idol," Po scoffed. "If you want to keep our relationship secret until the right time, I'm fine with that. I'm just gonna tell Master Shifu."

"Why?"

"Because I do not want him finding out by accident. That won't go over well," Po muttered.

Tigress smiled wider and reached for the panda's bandaged hand, "Thank you, Po."

The End

A/N: To answer questions, the comment thing is not really something that happens with me. I just wanted to make sure that if I did act like this, I wanted to say sorry. I guess I just want to say thank you reading.

But Whew! My goodness! This one shot was NOT Supposed to be this long! Geez! This was actually inspired by a Sonic/Amy comic I saw once. But we're finally done with the Book of Oneshots! I'm making a promise to myself that I will never again make another Book of Oneshots because to be perfectly honest, I miss the little short stories scattered around the Kung Fu panda fandom. Either way, I'm gonna take a break from doing this for a while. At least until I get really inspired or bored again. XD Until then, thank you for reading these stories, more, I hope, are on the way.