Chapter thirteen: The darkness

Tigress found herself in the dark, with no clue of where she was, all memories of Hǔ shā seem to be fake... or al least part of her imagination. With some slight movements she tried to find a way to stand up, but...wait... she never felt a floor... in that moment Tigress started to feel something was wrong.

-Are you enjoying yourself in the darkness?- That voice again, this time with a more humorous tone... Hǔ shā was getting into tigress's nerves, at some point she really wanted to throw random punches to see if one of them hits him, but she knew that wasn't the best solution.

-Where am I? ... What happened?... and why is it dark?- Tigress turned her head to every direction she had known, only to find the same thing: darkness.

-This is the darkness that is in your heart... in your soul...and in your mind- The answer of Hǔ shā echoed through all the dark space, Tigress just stood there... with a stern expression... rejecting everything coming from him, but something the voice said seemed to be true...the fact that she was on her mind

-Your actions created this... the only thing I am doing is showing it to you- suddenly, she could see in the distance that infamous blue cloth that was part of Hǔ shā's garment, Tigress didn't hesitate to attack it, after all, is the only thing she could do ... but inside her, she knew it was only an illusion...a trap to make fun of her...and increase her despair... that part inside her was right.

-My actions would never create this- Tigress growled, she was already starting to think about the reasons why she was there and was thinking of a solution, but she needed something more than the deep darkness to create an escape plan.

An evil laugh full of madness emerges from Tigress's words -Are you sure?- the voice of that tiger started to sound a little bit distorted, she responds with a nod to recieve another laugh ... worse than the first one.

-Can't you see? You betrayed us in the first place!- The phrase that came out of nowhere, made her feel trapped, because she didn't know what he was talking about -No I didn't!-...the only thing Tigress could do was to deny the "lies" he was telling...

-You helped them...the enemy...by defending their lives, and prevented us from recovering the land that was supposed to be ours- Tigrees felt that he was confronting her, as if she was a criminal of some kind.

An image was displayed, the picture was quite familiar to her: it was the entrance to the Valley of Peace, she had no idea why Hǔ shā showed that picture until she thought a little more than usual...and realized the truth: the Valley of Peace was owned by her race. He continued his speech as the image disappeared, leaving everything in the darkness -Your "father", the panda, the villagers... everyone you once protected are the main reason why you are so alone, why you are so weak- Tigress didn't know his exact goals...but every word offended her more, because it was another lie that came out of his mouth.

-But you are there...still defending them...like a loyal traitor- that last sentence came out as a whisper, that was the last thing Tigress heard before feeling an intense cold in the paws, since that moment she decided to move, but something prevented her from doing it...a familiar sound was heard everytime she moved her limbs; the friction of chains.

All of a sudden a force made her kneel on the floor void created by her mind, and a light went on, that's when she realised that she was chained, but the chains had no end, and it didn't seem to have; her gaze turned to the blue cloth that could be seen in the distance, gradually approaching her and gradually taking the form of a tiger, to the point that she could see Hǔ shā's straight face and scarred body.

When Hǔ shā became fully visible, he stood still without looking away from her, and so as he clasped his paw to her's, he said:-Tigress...Right now you live in the darkness, but I can be the light that can change everything-

In the Jade palace...

The rest of the Furious Five returned to the Jade Palace shouting like a chorus: -Master... Master!- Master Shifu looked at them, he was glad they returned safe, but suddenly his face changed showing concern -What happened? Where is Tigress?- no one dared to speak for a few seconds, until a shout of the Master made them react -A Tiger appeared the village- Crane said, fearing the possible negative reaction Master Shifu could have.

-A-and Tigress stayed there to fight him- Mantis almost continued speaking but he was interrupted by his Master -What?! Why did you let her do that?!- what he shouted seemed strange: Tigress is a warrior who (for over twenty years) has trained and fought countless enemies, then ... why did he said that?

-And Po?- Master Shifu asked, tired of shouting desperately ... the answer seems very obvious, but needed to be told -He's helping her- Master Shifu's face showed impotence, he knew he had to do something ... but he had no idea what to do

-Don't worry Master, she can defend herself- Viper's words seemed to be right, they made sense ... until she saw an open scroll he had in his hands and read it carefully ... then a small sentence came from Master Shifu's mouth: -She can't... -

With Po...

It seemed eternal... but he finally reached the place where Tigress had told him to run, her voice was echoing in Po's head: -Now!- was heard in every step he took; Po thought that he was hallucinating... that he was going crazy. But after all, that day has been a crazy day: in the morning he had woken up with Tigress in his arms and realized that Master Shifu watched them, yet Shifu said nothing about it ... not even when Tigress woke up. He came to the Valley of Peace to fight a huge army of bandits ... and in the end it appears ... HE appears.

Po was immersed in various thoughts, but never came to think about Tigress location; he just kept running ... hoping to find her... and he did ... but it seemed too late ... Tigress was there, lying on the ground lifeless, just like a corpse. Disbelief made Po doubt about what he was watching with his eyes -No ... it can't be- he thought as he bent his knees towards the ground, near to Tigress's body.

At that moment Po could only think of one word, in one name: -Tigress-

/Author's notes/

*phew* Here's another chapter... DON'T KILL ME PLEASE... i"m too young to die... well... I've thought some other ways to end the chapter... but they seemed odd and didn't made sense, I (again) thank the ones who waited patiently this episode...aaaand hope you like it... :)

Please review! Because reviews save lifes ;) (And I'll still answer burning questions...)

And now I'm...Responding reviews! (Again, too late):

AilenHeart1915: Sorry if you blow up with these chapter... but hey that means that you have some interest! (I guess) I'll try my best not to change Tigress personality and/or turn her into a psychopath... but since her past and her real family is something that still bugs and weakens her... it made me think that it could fit into the story.

Tigergirl713: Noooooooooooo (I really hope you like the story)

MasterTigress4444: Thank you! :3

Guest: Here's your late update

Master Hunter: You still waitng?

-Disclaimer: I do not own every single character I'm using in this chapter, but the creativity and the story is mine... :) -