The Countdown: In Between the Lines

"I'm here"

Eyeing his neck where the pendant was, Tigress quickly grabbed the knife out of the ribcage of the skeleton next to her and threw it in Kai's direction. Her hope was that the blade would slice through the rope around his neck and free the pendent, but instead, Kai caught the blade and threw it in her chest almost immediately afterwards. Tigress gasped in pain and collapsed back onto the floor in between the skeletons. 

"How fitting," Kai taunted. "That you should go out the same way mommy and daddy did: pathetically." 

He then turned his attention to Po and sliced him with his jade blade before draining all power out of him. Because of the cut, Po immediately began to turn green and all the horrified Tigress could do was lay on the floor. She tried to scream, but no sound came out. She tried to move, but her arms were entangled by black vines suddenly coming out of the floor and sinking her into a black abyss that soon covered the scene she had just witnessed. In the blackness she could hear indistinguishable voices, could feel a heavy weight bearing down on her chest, felt sharp pains in her back and shoulders. She couldn't move. She couldn't speak. She couldn't breath. She couldn't see. She couldn't get free!

And in the depths of the endless black, she suddenly found herself falling and woke up to herself landing on the floor of her room. 

The master gasped, finally feeling the ability to breathe much easier now. She could her body violently shaking from what had just played out before her, and in a moment of anxiety and panic, she immediately fled to Po's room to make sure he was still alive and well. Her fear erased any logical notion of being quiet, and so she wound up slamming Po's bedroom door open and immediately waking him up.

Po sat up with a start and looked over at the door as Tigress froze dead in her tracks. "Tigress?!" he exclaimed in surprise. "Are you okay?! What's wrong?!"  

Tigress felt her face go red. She had just wanted to check on him, not wake him out of a dead sleep. "I just..." she stammered. "I'm sorry! I didn't...mean to wake you up." She swallowed nervously, trying to keep the panicked lump in her throat down. "I... just thought of something...and it's not important. Just...nothing. Sorry. I'll go back to bed. I'll be fine tomorrow." 

She hastily went to leave the room, but Po sprang up from his bed and grabbed her wrist before she reached her door. "Hey, hey, it's okay!" he whispered quickly. "I don't mind talking to you this late, really! Remember when we all came back from Gong-" 

"Don't even think about mentioning that place!" Tigress snapped. "I had enough trouble trying to forget about all the terrible things that happened there!" 

Po looked at her knowingly. "You had a bad dream, didn't you?" he stated. 

Tigress sighed in embarrassment. "Yes, fine, I did. But now I'm awake, and I'm fine now, and you can go back-" 

Po didn't let her finish her thought and just pulled her into a tight hug. Tigress gasped a little as some of the terrors of the night immediately came flooding back into her head and she tried to pull away a bit. Po held firm.

"I don't know where you were," he told her, keeping his voice down so as not to disturb his friends. "But we're here in the Valley of Peace. Any villain we used to fight is long gone. Anything terrible is not going to happen because we're here together and we'll stand firm together as we've always done. Even if we're scared. Even if we're hurt. Even if the world seems like it's going to be torn apart." 

Tigress didn't say anything to him. She felt her eyes start watering up and she simply buried her head in Po's shoulder to keep from bursting out into a round of sobs. The master attempted to calm herself down as Po stroked her back and laid his head on hers. This attempt didn't keep her from sniffling and taking shuddering breaths, though Po didn't seem to mind and continued trying to console her. After probably ten minutes or so, Tigress was able to keep her voice steady enough to explain to Po about the nightmare regarding Kai, though she had to keep her sentences short to keep herself in control. 

"It was like before," she told him quietly. "Except more bones. Especially my parents. And I threw a knife...and Kai hit me instead.......and then he had your chi.........and he was laughing........"  She took a shuddering breath and tried to keep herself from breaking out into sobs. She was tougher than this and she knew it. 

"Hey, it's okay," Po said soothingly, stroking her back. "I'm here. I got my kung fu back."

"I'm fine, really," she tacked on lamely. "You...can go back to bed if you want."

"No, I'm gonna' stay right here. You don't sound like yourself and I want to make sure you're 100 percent okay. Actually, you haven't sounded like yourself for a little while." 

Tigress said nothing in reply. 

"Tigress, I don't want you to feel like you can't talk to me," Po kept on. "I mean, we talk about stuff, but I know you don't always feel comfortable talking about super-personal things...and I don't want you to feel like you have to tackle any problems or struggle with any stress by yourself. Even if you just need someone to vent to. Even if it's just a nightmare. Even if it's Mantis stealing everyone's snacks. I don't mind helping you with anything you need. Heck, I wouldn't mind being a punching bag if you need to relax. I love you!" 

These final words were the ones to break the camel's back. Tigress burst out sobbing, though she kept her head buried in Po's shoulder to prevent herself echoing throughout the building. Po did his best to soothe her. The Dragon Warrior gently twisted his body back and forth in a rocking motion to try and help Tigress relax, and after a minute or so, she finally did. She still had a few tears running down her face, but those were quick to dry up with Po stroking her shoulders. 

"I love you too, you stubborn softie," she said quietly with a hint of a laugh. 

Po grinned. "Look who's calling who a stubborn softie," he replied. 

The two soon broke from their hug and Tigress immediately took to making herself look more composed while Po continued talking. 

"If you're having a bad dream, I don't mind you coming to talk to me. I've always appreciated our talks," Po assured the master. "It's like old times. But better now because we know more about each other." 

Tigress smiled at him and wiped away what was left of her tears. "Thanks, Po," she said. "I'll try to keep that in mind. It's just...I...I'm just.......stressed. And......I didn't want to sound like a hypocrite if I told you that I don't like it when things change so suddenly. Or if there are multiple changes at once. It's never been my thing. And I told you to not worry about it so much, remember?"

"Yeah I remember," Po promised. "But I also know that you're a total kung fu traditionalist. Anything new rubs you the wrong way. Always has. You tried to train with Mistress Mugan because of that, remember?" 

"Don't remind me." 

"But you'll adjust. You always do, even if you take the longest. Just, you know, hang in there, okay? And don't act all embarrassed about talking things out with people. You know I love a good conversation. Especially with you." 

Tigress blushed a crimson red. "Thanks," she said. "I will."  She gave Po a stern look and added, "Just do me one favor Po."

"Sure, what is it?"

"Don't you dare tell a soul I cried or else I'll kick you down the stairs." 

Po rolled his eyes and smiled. "What fool would dream of doing that, Master Tigress?" he asked.

"You never know. They tend to come from no where." 

Po smirked and gave her another hug which Tigress was quick to reciprocate. She was also quick to reciprocate a long kiss before her and Po bade each other goodnight and headed off to bed.