Cloudless Authors

Chapter r

Po narrowly dodged the blade from the dark cloaked figure as he kept a close eyes on the bridge. It hung tilted on its side with Tai Lung dangling precariously underneath. Unlike the bridge at the Thread of Hope, the ropes of the rickety bridge were thin and easy to cut apart. Repairs on the wood and new rope was constantly brought in to repair the bridge. One would have thought it would be more practical to make a sturdier bridge, but apparently the bridge wasn't frequently crossed, so no one thought it necessary. Bad news for Tai Lung. Po had noticed him attempt to balance himself on the rope, but it was too flimsy to support him. One could only imagine the fears running through his mind. Po was scared, and he was on solid ground. 

Tigress leaped at the figure, attempting to subdue him, but her arm was sliced within a few minutes, and she was tossed to the side with a cry of pain. Po, in the meantime, had grabbed a nearby log and threw it at the figure's middle. The dark cloaked killer quickly whipped out a blade and sliced it in half, scattering the pieces everywhere. One part of the log flew over to Tai Lung, nearly knocking him off the precariously dangling bridge. 

"You okay, Tai Lung?!" Po called over. 

Tai Lung winced. He had gotten stabbed in the shoulder just as Tigress and Po showed up and the pain was getting worse with each passing moment. "I just need to get a little closer," he answered. "Then I can jump! Or I hope I can!" 

"Well this is all rather amusing," the dark cloaked figure remarked. "I was told this beast was a dangerous foe of yours, and yet here you are defending him."

"I'm pretty sure Tai Lung's not the one blowing up buildings and trying to kill Shifu!"

"That's not how I heard the story...."

Po dodged a few thrown blades ans blocked some sharp kicks from the figure's talons. He then belly-bumped the guy into a tree. "We know Tai Lung. We'll be the judge of that!"  he said sharply. 

The figure slid out of the way of a punch and then leaped into the air and unleashed a wave of blades at Po. The Dragon Warrior quickly dove into a roll and stopped behind the log he had thrown earlier. He quickly utilized it as a shield, narrowly avoiding several stabs to his gut and face. The figure landed back on the ground and threw two blades far beyond the master's head. Before Po could even protest, the bridge was cut loose and Tai Lung was send hurtling down towards the trees and rocky rapids below. His cries of terror echoed through the air. Then a faint crash. Then absolute silence. 

"Po?"

The Dragon Warrior snapped out of his thoughts and turned towards the voice behind him. "Oh. Hey, Monkey," he said. "What's up?"

"Your dad's looking for you," came the answer. 

"Oh. Okay." 

Po got up from the floor of the training hall and walked towards the door. He had been training by the rotting alligator limbs for a good chunk of the afternoon, nut eventually had decided to take a break when he couldn't stop thinking. (He had to have been there for a couple of hours if his dad was looking for him). 

"You're thinking about Tai Lung again, aren't you?" Monkey correctly guessed.

Po stopped walking and turned back around with an unhappy sigh. "I can't help it!" he ranted to his friend. "He was right there and I should have been able to save him! But...."  Po swallowed a lump rising in his throat. "Everything just went wrong." 

Monkey patted his shoulder as a way to reassure him. "It's okay, buddy," he said soothingly. "You did the best you could. It wasn't your fault there was a sword-swinging psycho by the time you got there." 

"Yeah, but I'm the Dragon Warrior. Saving people from sword-swinging psychos is what I'm supposed to do!"

"I know, but sometimes things just happen, things beyond our control. Trust me, I know the pain. We tried to stop a massive bandit outbreak in the northern province and I couldn't save some of the village families within a few feet of me! I felt horrible for months! And to this day, birch trees still trigger me...."

Po sighed and relaxed a bit, though not by much. "That does not sound like an awesome day," he told Monkey. 

"Not even close," Monkey agreed. He squeeze Po's shoulder and added, "I am really sorry about what happened." 

"Thanks."   Po sighed and looked back over at the door. "I guess I better go find dad before he sends some mythical noodle army after me or something,"

Monkey laughed. "Yeah, probably a good idea," he agreed. 

The two then proceeded to walk out of the training hall where Monkey parted ways with Po so that he could hang out with Crane  and maybe do some border patrol. Po then made his way over to the main gate. As he reached the arena and the stairs, he noticed Tigress sitting on top of one of the roofs above the seating area. Surprised, he called out, "Tigress?"

The master jumped and then slowly turned her head to look at her friend. 

"Meditation trouble?" Po called up. 

Tigress' body instantly stiffened and she let out an audible sigh. "I saw Shifu walking about," she explained. "He was giving someone a shopping list and then he went back to the Dragon Grotto."

Seeing her lean her head in her paws, Po climbed up onto the roof and proceeded to sit next to her. "He's still upset too, huh?" he guessed. 

"Tai Lung did terrible things, but he seemed like he had a change of heart. Not that well find out now. His corpse is probably out to sea by now."  

"Yeah, it's kind of sad. We could have actually been friends if things got a lot better between everybody."

Tigress stared past the scenery in front of her, past the buildings, past the peach tree far off in the distance, past the mountains off in the background far from the Jade Palace. She didn't say anything for a while. Po didn't push. Then finally, "I won't mind if you're still angry with me. I know I messed up. I made everything worse than what it could have been."

Po reached over and wrapped her in a warm hug. "Of course I'm not," he answered her. "Everyone makes mistakes from time to time. Even me."

"Not like this...."

"Including this. You didn't know, and you got desperate. We've all been there. I'm sure Master Shifu has some stories too, although knowing Shifu, he'll never admit." 

Tigress chuckled lightly. "Knowing him, that sounds about right," she said. 

Po kissed her on the cheek and added, "I have to go find my dad and see what he needs help with. But maybe we can talk more later if you want."

"That sounds good to me," Tigress agreed. She squeezed Po gently before letting him climb back down from the roof. "I'll see you when you get back."

"Alright then."

Po then left the arena to go see what Mr. Ping needed. Feeling a little better from the hug. Tigress turned around and tried to meditate again, though she still silently counted the minutes for the beloved Po's return. 

THE END

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