Chapter 1

(7:00am)

"Good morning master!" the furious five answered to the sound of the gong, they stood dutifully out side their rooms. Po was unusually on time this morning and was looking annoyingly pleased with himself.

Shifu sighed, the way he usually did when there was bad news, he then glanced at his students with a troubled look on his face. "I have received a letter from master Ching-lee; it would seem that they are in trouble, serious trouble." He said skimming the beginning of the letter.

The furious five exchanged uneasy glances with one another. Letters were never good, ever. How often does a letter come to kung fu masters to say that things are going smoothly? Tigress frowned and looked at her master seeking a facial expression that she could intercept.

"No way!" Po yelled, excitedly, breaking the tension that had formed in the hallway. "You mean the master Ching-lee? That's awesome! Not about him being in danger and what not..." he added quickly rubbing the back of his neck; embarrassed. Tigress shook her head as if watching a child in a tantrum.

"Panda." Shifu said in a very bemused tone, making the panda be quiet. "A panther named cheng is destroying their villages. Building an army to take over china. He is causing devastating chaos as we speak…" master Shifu's eyes widened and he almost choked as he read the rest of the letter.

"What is it master?" tigress asked in a very concerned voice. She rushed over to his side and was ready to catch him if he did fall. The rest of the furious five followed suit, as did Po.

"Tigress. Read this out." He ordered, still holding down the fury and sorrow within him but barely.

The tiger master took the paper and cleared her throat. "Greetings old friend. Unfortunately this letter was written in desperation. You may not have yet heard of the chaos and destruction that is being dealt across china, as far as I know your area has not yet been invaded. A panther by the name of 'cheng' is the person responsible for these devastation's and also for my death which is soon to come." Tigress growled and tensed her entire body. "He is creating an army that is larger than we ever thought possible, and seeks to make it more powerful than any other. Therefore I feel it is my duty to inform you that he intends to recruit your students. And asked for 3 especially" Tigress' claws penetrated the thin paper as she read out the rest. "Tigress, the dragon warrior and Rukian. Shifu, stop this monster before it is too late. Sincerely Ching-lee." Tigress was shaking with fury, fangs bared involuntarily and her claws flexed in a way that made everyone want to take a step back; Po did.

She would die before she joined a murderer and betrayed her master. And by the looks of things, everyone else felt the same way. But as usual the over confident panda broke the silence.

"Hold on a sec, who's Rukian?" he asked in a puzzled tone. The furious five looked at each other, then expectantly at Shifu, also wondering the same thing.

"I do not know panda but I intend to find out. If this 'cheng' did ask for her in particular then she also is in danger." Master Shifu answered, where had he heard that name before, it sounded surprisingly familiar, perhaps they had crossed paths? He glanced at his students who all had the same defiant and loyal look on their faces. Tigress' also had a mixture of anger on hers. "I want all of you to pack your bags. We leave for Chang Hai at noon." He ordered.

"Aww, c'mon! We just got back from busting that annoying peacock!"

Tigress answered before master Shifu could, her voice promising violence if he pushed the matter further. "Get used to it dragon warrior, this is exactly the reason I don't bother unpacking." Her voice was like rock; firm, bold and cool and her face mirrored it. Although her eyes flashed anger and impatience. It was well known that tigress had a short and fiery temper, although it was rarely seen, she had learnt to control it very well. But right now she was on the edge of self control. She stalked away before she lost it completely and headed for the training room, her tail swishing angrily and a barely audible growl escaping her lips.

The remaining students exchanged anxious glances, it would be a smart idea to steer clear of the training room for the time being, and then headed towards the kitchen for breakfast hastily.

"What's up with tigress? She totally lost it back there." Mantis murmured to everyone at the dinner table.

"I don't know but she took that letter really seriously, I hope she's ok." Viper said as she worried for her friend. "We can't help her if we don't know what's going on, unlikely that she will tell any of us; she's hardly the 'get it all out' type."

"Huh, yeah, the only person she has ever shown her soft side to is Po; that's what you expect from a couple of love birds." Monkey said as he fluttered his eyelashes. The whole table erupted with laughs apart from Po and viper.

"Ah c'mon guys, you know there's nothing going on with us." Po insisted

"Even so, she only ever talks to you about personal stuff Po. None of us have ever received a hug off her, like ever." Mantis concluded, pointing a chopstick at him. That's when viper got an idea.

"Po! You could talk to her and find out what's up!" the others nodded in agreement and looked at Po with excited faces.

ok that was the first chapter and it was just an intro, it gets better later on ;)