3Ch.3-Daiyang Aftermath:
~Tigress's POV~
My vision was starting to clear up but I wish it was still blurry, because I could see Wolf Boss lifting his sword up to kill me. I barely have the strength to fight back against them. 'I really hope that the others are on their way here, otherwise I'm a goner.' I wondered to myself.
"What no final words before I kill you?" Wolf Boss asked me. I could tell he was just taking his time with me, hoping to hear me beg for mercy. But I just glared at him and kept myself silent, not wanting to give him the satisfaction. "Oh well then, your funeral, literally." He then swung his sword towards my head and in that moment everything seemed to slow down as death began to close in on me. I closed my and began thinking to myself, 'Well it looks like this is it for me. The others didn't make it here in time and no one here would've been able to help me. My only regret is that I didn't tell Po the truth, that I didn't tell him that I lo….' but my thoughts were cut short when I suddenly heard a loud groan of pain and what sounded like a metal object hitting the ground, I opened my eyes and the sight shocked me. Wolf Boss was curled up in a ball, laying on the ground in pain, and what shocked me more the one had caused it. It was the Tiger cub from earlier and by the looks of it she went for the really cheap shot.
"You big jerk leave her alone." The cub said as she crossed her arms glaring at Wolf Boss who was still trying to deal with the pain. Funny part is I can hear all the wolves trying to contain their laughter but many of them were failing miserably as they started to burst out laughing. "Ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha!" All of the wolves suddenly started to break out laughing about the fact that their leader just got kicked right where the sun didn't shine by some random kid, even I thought it was a little funny. 'I gotta say, that kids got guts.' I thought to myself.
"SHUT UP ALL OF YOU!" Wolf Boss shouted in complete anger as he now recuperated, and everyone went completely silent. Wolf Boss got up and turned towards the young cub, and I could sense the large amount of rage within him.
"Oh no…" I mumbled to myself, "RUN!" I yelled to the cub but I saw that she was trembling with fear and didn't know what to do. She had such a frightened look on her face and it made my heart ache to see it.
Wolf Boss began walking towards her, "You're going to regret that you little brat." he said as he grabbed her by the throat.
"Leave her alone you bastard!' I shouted in anger, but all he did was turn his head slightly and I could see true evil in his eyes. He grinned so maliciously it made my skin crawl. He then turned back towards the cub trying to break his grip on her, extend his claws and took a swipe at her stomach. Her screams of pain were unbearable, but what happened next put me over the edge. He then threw the cub into the side of one of the nearby buildings. I watched on in horror as she landed on the ground unconscious.
~End of Tigress's POV~
Wolf Boss turned back around and could see the looks of surprise and horror on their faces. Not even they would've gone as far as to harm an innocent child. "Perhaps that will teach you not to get involved in other people's business you little brat." He said with venom in his words as he once again turned to Tigress.
"That was the wrong move you monster." Tigress said, and it was right then and there that she regained all her strength in an instant. She broke out of the grip of the two wolves holding her, then she started taking each and everyone of them out till it was just Wolf Boss standing there, his eyes as large as dinner plates as he watched his men get demolished by Tigress. She then turned to him and with a look that could kill, and before he even knew it he was pinned up against the wall of one the buildings with Tigress's hand wrapped around his throat and the other extended her claws out. Nothing could be heard in that moment except for a slight gulp from Wolf Boss.
"You and your boss tried to take over China, you attack a village full of innocent people, try to steal everything valuable, and then you harm an innocent child. Give me one good reason as to why I should let you live?" Tigress asked him with seething anger. Wolf Boss tried to say something but her hand was pressed so hard on his throat that he couldn't. He saw Tigress's sharp claws start slowly close in on him and he knew that nothing was going to save him now.
But then there was a voice from behind Tigress that said, "Because that's not who you are." Tigress turned her head slightly and saw that it was Po, Mantis and Crane standing behind her looking at the scene before them and they were to say the least shocked. While Viper and Monkey were near the young cub they heard Tigress mention before. She didn't even hear them arrive.
"I know he's done a lot of bad things but it's better for him to pay for his crimes in prison." Po said trying to sooth her but she wasn't letting up.
"Considering what he and Shen did to the other panda's, I'm surprised that you wouldn't want revenge on him." Tigress argued back.
"But revenge doesn't bring them back, or rewrite all his or Shen's wrongs, no matter what they are. You and I both know that once you go down this road there's no going back." Po replied as he walked up to her and put his hand on her shoulder. She tensed up for just a moment but then relaxed. She dropped Wolf Boss on the ground and then walked over to where Viper, Monkey and cub were so she could take a look at her wounds.
Wolf Boss laid on the ground gasping for air. When he finally caught his breath he turned his head to Po, "Thank you panda, if you had not shown up when you did I would be dea…." but he never got to finish cause he was knocked unconscious by Po. He then turned to Mantis and Crane and said, "Keep an eye on him you guys I'll be right back." They both nodded and watched Po walk towards the others.
Mantis Jumped up on Cranes hats and whispered, "That was very intense,"
"I know, I've never seen Tigress look so angry before." Crane replied. "Heck she probably would've killed him if we hadn't showed up."
Mantis shook his head and said, "I think it's more if Po hadn't showed up he would've been killed." Craned nodded his head in agreement. She always seemed to calm down when Po was close by.
Po walked to his friends and saw the young tiger cub cradled up in Tigress's arms. "Monkey go and let the villagers know it's safe for them to return, and send word to the guards at Chorh Gom Prison to come pick up Wolf Boss and his men. Viper you go help Mantis and Crane keep an eye on the wolves." They both nodded and went off to do what they were told.
"She's hurt pretty bad Po." Tigress finally broke the silence.
"What happened?" Po asked with a lot of seriousness in his voice.
Tigress sighed knowing that she would have to tell him no matter anyways, "When Wolf Boss called for reinforcements I started to get overrun. Then one of them got a good hit on me and knocked me to the ground. Not long after Wolf Boss ordered his men to hold me up so he could look me in the eyes when he killed me, but just as he was about to swing his sword this child came up and saved me."
Po had a confused look on his face, "She saved you? Does she know kung fu or something?" Tigress chuckled a little at the question.
"I don't think so, by the looks of it she took a really cheap shot on him." It took Po a minute to figure out what she meant but when he did he started laughing a little bit.
"Oh, that kid has guts." He says as he took a good look at her wounds.
"I thought the exact same thing." Tigress replied, then she noticed the frown that was forming on Po's face. "What's wrong?"
"She's losing lots of blood Tigress, we need to get her to a healer right now." Po told her with a worried tone. She just nodded in agreement.
"Plus we should try and find her family." Tigress added on. Just as they were about to go looking for a healer and the girls parents the villagers started flowing back into the village, avoiding the large group of wolves all piled up in the middle though.
"Thank you Dragon Warrior and Furious Five for helping us." Came the voice of the bunny from earlier.
"You're quite welcome." Viper said as she slithered up to them.
Monkey then came up to them and said, "I've sent word to the guards at Chorh Gom and they should be here in an hour or so."
"Perfect," Po replied to Monkey. Then turned to the bunny. "Excuse me, where can we find your village healer?"
"I'm sorry Dragon Warrior but we don't have a healer here. We don't usually get serious injuries around here nor are we usually attacked by anyone. If we ever do get seriously injured we send for a healer and they arrive about a day or two after we send for them." The bunny said, and then saw the frightened looks on Po and Tigress's faces. "Why? Has someone been injured?"
"Yes, this young girl was hurt pretty bad." Tigress told the villager then turned to Po, "If they don't have healers here then we have to get her to the ones at the Jade Palace." Po nodded in agreement. He knew it was the only other option, otherwise she could die and it would've been for helping someone she didn't really even know.
"Alright you get her back to the palace, I'll stay here till the guards arrive and inform the girls parents of where she is." Tigress nodded and then ran off back to the palace as fast as she could, not caring about how tired she was or of the cuts and bruises she sustained during her fight, she only cared about saving this child, and she didn't quite know why but she felt very protective of her for some reason. 'Don't worry little one you're going to be ok.' she thought as she continued rushing towards the Jade Palace.
Back at Daiyang Village:
Viper came slithering up to Po with a concerned look on her face. "Po don't you think that you should have gone with Tigress and the cub back to the palace."
"It's ok, I know Tigress will take good care of her. Besides the guards haven't arrived yet and I still need to look for that girl's parents." Po said, then he felt something poking his side. He looked down to see the bunny again.
"I'm sorry but I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. You wanted to find the girl's parents?" He asked the panda looming over him.
Po smiled widely, he couldn't believe his luck. "Yes I do, do you know who they are?" he asked but his smile disappeared quickly when he saw the bunnies face full of sadness.
"My name is Zai and first things first, the girl's name is Mei, and yes I knew her parents quite well. They were very good friends of mine. They were practically family, but they passed away about 5 years ago from a deadly sickness. We had sent for a healer but there was nothing that she was able to do…" he heard the warriors gasp, "That's horrible." he heard Viper say, "Yes indeed it was. After her parents passed me and my wife took her in and we tried to raise her the best we could but unfortunately she wouldn't listen to us very often and would spend most of her time just wandering the village, keeping away from others or hide out in her old home." Zai continued telling the warriors. They were honestly shocked and saddened by what they were hearing.
"Damn, that's definitely rough, especially for just a little kid." Mantis said jumping on Po's shoulder.
Zai slowly nodded his head, "Ever since that dreadful day Mei's life hasn't been the same, none of our lives have been the same, and now the girl is badly injured. I just wish she could have a better life than this."
After hearing Zai's words an idea popped into Po's head and a smile slowly crept onto his face. "Well I think that could be arranged." Po said, and everyone gave him a very confused look.
"What do you mean Dragon Warrior?" Zai asked curiously.
"We have some of the best healers back at the Jade Palace so I'm very certain that she'll be all right, and after she has healed she could stay with us." Po said, quite proud of his idea. The others just gave him strange looks.
"Well that definitely is a good idea Po but we technically don't have a say in if she can stay. That's up to Master Shifu." Viper said trying to make sure Po thought this through.
"That's true, I'll talk to him once we get back." Po then turned to Zai, "I also promise to send word on how Mei is feeling and if she will be staying with us at the palace.
Zai nodded and smiled in happiness, "Thank Dragon Warrior, I think that would be wonderful. If she could start a new life there then I know she will be ok." he then bowed to the warriors and walked back to his home. An hour passed by and the guards from Chorh Gom finally arrived to take the wolves away.
"Alright guys now that, that's taken care of, it's time we head back to the palace. I need to talk to Master Shifu and check on Tigress and Mei." Po said, but then noticed that the others were smirking at him. "What?" he asked.
"Oh it's nothing at all Po." Crane said as he walked by him and then took flight. The others followed suit and started to head back to the palace leaving Po behind, and pretty confused. But after a couple of minutes he realized that he was far behind the others and ran after them trying to catch up.
At the Jade Palace (an hour earlier):
Tigress had just returned to the Jade Palace out of breath, with the still unconscious cub in her arms. But she was luckily able to make it to the medical wing of the palace. She burst the doors and instantly called out, "I need a healer right away, I have an injured child here!"
Then instantly one the healers named Kema came running over to Tigress, "Oh dear!" She said in shock at the child before her. "Bring her here Master Tigress." Kema said pointing to one of the beds. "What happened Master Tigress?" Kema asked her.
"She was hurt by one of the wolf bandits that was attacking her village." She said sadly, and Kema gasped in shock that anyone, even a bandit would hurt a child.
"That's just terrible." Kema said, and then saw the sad look on Tigress's face.
"It was my fault." Tigress told her, but it left Kema confused.
"How could it possibly be your fault dear?" Kema curiously asked while she and her assistants began tending to the child. Tigress then told Kema the whole story leading up to her rushing back to the Jade palace.
"Oh my." Kema said. She too was quite surprised by the courage this young child showed by standing up to those bandits. But as the present circumstances showed, it did not end very well for the poor child. "But Master Tigress you should know that the fault is not yours." She spoke softly as she continued to inspect the child for injuries and slowly began to clean her up. "You need to realize that sometimes these things happen, and that there is nothing that we can do to stop it." She continued to say, "Now dear, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to wait outside while I work on her. I can't be distracted at a time like this." Tigress just nodded slightly and left the room and waited outside like she was asked.
Jade Palace (present time):
Tigress had continued to wait outside the door of the medical wing, waiting for Kema to give her good news but still the doors did not open.
"What could be taking so long?" Tigress asked, muttering to herself. Just then she hears doors opening and quickly turns her gaze to the medical wing doors but they were still closed. She looked on confused until she heard familiar voices.
"Tigress!" Shouted Po as he ran straight up to her, huffing and puffing as he came to a stop. "How's… the, child?" He asked, while breathing heavily. The others entered the room shortly after Po did. She could see that they were all wondering the same thing.
"I don't know yet." She said with a slight frown on her face, "I've been waiting for Kema, but it's been over an hour now and she still hasn't…" and just before she finished her sentence Kema came out of the medical room as if on cue.
"Kema how is she?" Tigress asked as she and the others walked up to her.
"Well I have good news and I have bad news." She replied to the six kung fu masters before. "The good news is that the child will be just fine…" she said, and looks of relief began to show on everyone's face until, "But the bad news is that she took a really hard hit to the head and it put her in a coma." Everyone gasped in surprise, and Tigress looked crestfallen. She blamed herself for not being able to help the child, and for not taking out Wolfboss while she had the chance.
Po saw this and lightly put his paw on her shoulder. Tigress looked up to him with a sad look in her but saw only a small smile on his face. "It's not your fault you know. There was nothing you could've done, the villagers told us how outnumbered you were and still tried to keep up the fight.", she looked back at the ground, though his words were true she still felt responsible. "You got to look at the bright side Ti, she could've been hurt a whole lot worse than she was but she wasn't. She's alive and healthy, that's all that matters." Po said hoping he was getting through to her. Luckily he was, slowly mind you but he was.
Tigress looked back at Po with a soft smile, "Thanks Po, you always know what to say to make me smile again." She told him sincerely. Then she looked towards Kema who stood by in silence. "Do you know how long she will be out?" Tigress asked, hoping for a good answer.
"It's hard to say Master Tigress. It could be a couple of days, weeks, months even. There is no way for us to tell unfortunately." Kema told her sadly.
"Ok, thank you for your help Kema." Tigress thanked her with some sadness in her voice.
"Your welcome, now if you want you can all go in and see her. I'll be back later to come check on her." Kema said, and with that she was off. The others then did exactly what she suggested and went to see the child. They all looked down at the small unconscious form lying before them and stood there in absolute silence for many moments.
Tigress stared at the child with soft eyes, wishing that there was something that she could do. Po then walked up beside her, and spoke for the first time in minutes. "I can tell what you're thinking, Tigress, and you need to realize that somethings can't be controlled. This kind of stuff just tends to happen. Besides Kema said she'll be ok, she's just going to be out for a while." He told her trying to comfort her. She looked at Po and couldn't help but smile a little. He always knew how to make her feel better. The others just stood back and looked at Po, Tigress and the child. They looked like a little family together.
They all remained in silence once again until a thought occurred to Tigress. "Oh I forgot to ask, did you guys find out anything about who this child is, and let her parents know where she is?" She asked with curiosity. But the looks her friends gave her didn't fill her with much confidence.
"Well, for starters her name is Mei, and unfortunately her parents aren't around anymore." Viper said. This was the first time she spoke since they arrived. Tigress's eyes widened, "What?" She asked.
"A villager named Zai overheard us talking about Mei and came up and told us everything. He was a friend of her parents. " Po stepped in this time.
"Well what did he say?" Tigress asked, and so they told her everything that Zai had said to them leaving out no detail. She couldn't believe it, this poor child had been through so much. Losing your family and being on your own was tough, Tigress knew how that felt, for she had lost her family when she was only a cub as well. She was on her own for so long until she came to the Bao Gu Orphanage where she lived for a few years. But everyone was afraid of her, so even though she was with others she had felt more alone than ever. That is until Master Shifu came around and gave her a new home and a new life. Tigress then turned very serious, "Well then I believe the only thing for us to do now is to let her stay here with us.", Tigress was surprised to see that everyone was smiling. "What?" She asked once again.
"It seems that you and Po think exactly alike because he was suggesting that not long before we left the village." Crane then spoke up.
"Really?" She asked as she turned towards Po.
He smiled, "Yeah I thought about that too, which reminds me I need to go talk to Shifu about it right now before I forget." Po said, and just as he was about to leave, "Wait for me." He heard Tigress call out.
"I think I should come with you as well, it would be better if we both talk to Shifu about this." She said.
"Ok but what about…" He was about to ask but was interrupted by Viper.
"Don't worry we'll keep an eye on her, you two go." She told them. They both nodded and went off to find Master Shifu. The others did as they said they would and kept an eye on Mei.
"Did you guys notice that?" Monkey asked, breaking the silence.
"Notice what?" Asked Mantis as he jumped onto the side table beside Mei's bed.
"That Tigress and Po looked like two parents watching over their own child. It was like the three of them were a little family." Monkey answered. The others all nodded in agreement.
"Your right on that one monkey," Viper said, looking down at Mei, and a small smile grew on her face and a plan began to form in her mind. 'Hmm, I kind of like that idea.', she thought to herself. She couldn't wait to get started.
And there we go, chapter 3. Please review and I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, so until next time my wonderful readers.