A/N: Hello, everyone! Welcome to my first Kung Fu Panda story!

This is going to feature my OC, Krystal Amortentia Black Raven Song, who is an orphan with super-strength, and is amazing at Kung Fu. She is living at the Jade Palace, and all the guys there are hopelessly in love with her, including some of the older ones. She has floor length black hair with electric blue streaks, and her eyes are either icy blue like sapphires, or a deep hazel, depending on the light.

Just kidding! You all can relax. There are no OC's in this story! Yet.

An important thing for you to note before you begin reading!: This is a HUMANIZED KFP story, so the characters and all others described are HUMAN! Now, if you don't like that sort of thing, I guess you can ignore it, but all descriptions will include HUMAN features! Get it? Got it? Good.

I would like to thank my soulmate: LTspade, for unintentionally helping to get this story off the ground. Go read his story. Do it.

So, boys and girls, ladies and gents, turn up your favorite soundtrack, sit back, and prepare yourselves, 'cause it's gonna be a bumpy ride!

XxX

Prologue

It was bloody cold. The snow lay on the ground in thick blankets, and still more was falling. The paths at times were unmanageable, with snow built up higher than the tallest of them. And not to mention every single aforementioned path through the mountains was narrow and ran along the bloody cliff-side, so they were impossible and dangerous.

These thoughts and others less censored passed through the five travelers' minds as they trudged through the thick snow, climbing higher and higher in the mountains. They were so heavily bundled that you could hardly see their faces, or their bodily structures, or them. Occasionally the snow would give out under one of them and they would sink suddenly, and have to be pulled out by one of the others, muttering muffled curses lost in the folds of their clothes and in the howling wind.

The tallest of the travelers was carrying the smallest on his back, but was still having little trouble walking on to surface of the snow, earning dirty looks from the rest of the party. The smallest member had been lost under the snow so many times he was now clinging to the former's shoulders.

The remaining three in the party, unlike their taller companion, couldn't seem to stay above the surface of the snow. The leader, a woman, trudged at the head of the group with a determined look on what could be seen of her face, taking every slip-up in stride and fighting her way forward. Another woman, walking behind the leader, was at times almost completely lost under the snow, but managed to make progress. And the last party member, a man, lagged behind, cursing violently at whatever gods would come to his mind.

"Almost there!" the leader called back.

"Why can't we save villages on beaches, or tropical islands, or something?" the man in the back of the party moaned. "Why must every village in peril be on top of a bloody mountain?"

"Why do you think?" Mantis rolled his eyes- his tone of voice implied that he did, at least.

"Suck it up, Monkey," Crane smirked –well, it sounded like he was smirking. He was walking behind Viper, his feet barely made imprints on the snow. "Kung Fu warriors don't complain!" Mantis laughed from his perch on Crane's back.

Monkey began to curse wildly at their backs, in every language he knew. (More than you might think.)

"Monkey!" Viper scolded, looking back at him. "If Master Shifu could hear you…"

"Well, he can't, can he?" Monkey muttered. But he fell silent.

"One more mile," Tigress had completely ignored the entire exchange. The whole party moaned. "Babies," she muttered.

The remainder of the trip was spent in silence. At last the path widened out and flowed into a little cobbled path cleared away of snow.

"Any way we could get them to do the rest of the path?" Monkey complained.

Tigress was looking around for villagers. The path led them along until they came to a wooden gate, presumably the entrance to the village. To their surprise there were no villagers guarding it.

"If it's under attack, why aren't they watching the entrances?" Crane was confused.

"Hush." Tigress knocked on the gate.

After a few minutes the gate creaked open, and a small gatekeeper poked his head out. "What can we do for you fine folk?" he bumbled.

The five traded dubious glances. "We were informed that this village was under attack from bandits," Tigress said.

The gatekeeper looked shocked. "No, no- not us! We never get bandits… too far of a climb, you see!" he looked them over, "why, you're the first visitors we've had in months!"

Tigress mulled that over for a moment. Then she smiled- well, you could see her cheeks move at least- and bowed respectfully. "Do not mistake us- we are glad to find you all safe—nonetheless, we have come a long way for nothing, and are tired. Could we have food and a place to sleep for a night, at the least?"

The gatekeeper seemed affronted. "Do not mistake us, dear lady! The few visitors we have, we do not turn away! They are treated with kindness and respect! You will stay as long as you like!" he opened the gate fully and ushered the five inside. "I will take you to our best inn, where you will be treated with the most tender care and comfort!"

"All right!" Mantis looked ecstatic.

The tiny little town consisted of one street lined with shops, taverns, and residences that rested on stilts above the ground, with the built-up snow on the street level shoved underneath them. The townsfolk milled about on the street, which was cleared of snow. Workers with shovels would emerge every so often to clear away the more recent fallen snow. It was a clean, efficient, little town, and everything was perfectly normal.

It was driving Tigress crazy.

"Something is wrong here!" she hissed at Crane. Mantis had long since jumped off his back to go talk with the considerably happier Monkey.

"But everything's so… quaint," Crane said. "Maybe Master Shifu made a mistake."

"That's just it!" Tigress exclaimed. "He doesn't make mistakes like this—he said there were bandits, so where are the bandits?"

"Calm down," Crane said mildly. "We'll get to the bottom of it."

The inn the gatekeeper led them to boasted a massive fireplace at one end, so it seemed at least half of the townsfolk were gathered inside. When the five entered they were surprised to note that the conversations didn't even waver; a few nodded in their direction, some called out greetings, but that was all.

They found a table in the corner, away from the masses. "I thought they said they don't get many visitors," Viper said, leaning in close so only they could hear.

"They really took us in stride," Crane mused.

"I'm telling you, this is wrong," Tigress hissed. "I have this feeling that there's something we're missing,"

"I'm missing the big guy's noodle soup," Mantis sighed as the inn-keep brought them their dinner. "No one makes it like he does…"

"He's not such a big guy anymore, remember?" Monkey reminded him.

"Po!" Tigress exclaimed, and then lowered her voice again when people glanced in her direction. "That's what it is; I couldn't put my finger on it. Po's the one I have a bad feeling about."

"What about Po?" Crane asked. "I'm sure he's fine at the palace by himself, Shifu's there."

Tigress furrowed her brow, and then put her chin in her hand, "you guys have to feel it, too…"

"You're right," Monkey said, unexpectedly. "It's like that gut feeling you get when you try and convince yourself you have everything until you realize you don't."

Tigress looked at him for a moment. Then she stood up abruptly. "Let's go outside. I need some fresh air.

Mantis complained, "But it's cold out there-" then he caught Tigress' look. "I like the cold."

Once they were free of the crowded inn, the five huddled in a circle.

"You know what, Tigress?" Viper said through her thick scarf. "I'm starting to get that weird feeling, too."

There was a strange buzzing, just far off enough for Tigress to be unable to pinpoint what it was. She shook it from her mind.

"I think we should leave," she said instead, "soon."

The other four nodded.

"Maybe Shifu's Geese network was mistaken," Viper said, referring to the messenger service that referred to themselves and the Carrier Geese.

"They've never been wrong before," Crane mused.

The buzzing was getting louder, more insistent. Tigress frowned, and resisted the urge to swat at her ear.

"All agreed, then? We leave?" Tigress said. "I don't want to spend the night."

"As much as it pains me to say it," Monkey agreed, "I want to get the heck out of here."

The buzzing was very loud, now.

Crane yawned "We should at least -" thwack! He cried out and went to his knees, clutching his arm, the sleeve of which was blossoming red. Tigress saw a shaft embedded in his arm just under his shoulder.

It all started to happen very fast.

"Crane!" Viper screamed, kneeling down beside him.

"No! Viper, Monkey, Mantis, go find the archer!" Tigress ordered. "I'll stay with him."

The other three dashed off, and Tigress knelt down to look at Crane's arm. "How do you feel?"

Crane was wide-eyed and perspiring slightly. The shaft had punctured his thick winter clothing and stuck in his arm. Upon examination of his wound, Tigress saw with some horror that he was losing a lot of blood, fast.

"Slightly… surprised," he gasped. "…What just happened…?"

"Just stay still," Tigress ordered. "I can't pull it out; you'll bleed to death,"

"…Thought that was already an issue…" Tigress realized too late that Crane was about to pass out. He slumped over and she cradled him in her arms. She glanced in the direction the other Five had gone, realizing again too late that it had been a mistake to send them away, that Crane needed help and she couldn't do it alone…

Feeling helpless, she examined the little of the shaft she could see. To her surprise, it wasn't a bandit's crossbow shaft as she had at first assumed.

It was an assassin's shaft; sleek, slender, and… barbed. She cursed viciously. Someone legitimately had tried to kill Crane, and there was no saying that the other Five weren't targets as well.

There weren't bandits in this quaint little town… there had never been, just as the gatekeeper had insisted. Someone had set them up.

And what did that mean for Po?

XxX

A/N: It's purposely vague. It's a prologue. Please R&R, this thing can't be perfect, so I need all your help to make it that way!