Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own KFP.

A/N: And here we have chapter two. This time it's Crane, Mantis, and Viper.

"Viper was right," Crane said as he flew over the tops of the trees. He flew high enough to stay out of the line of sight of the army and warlord hiding out in the forest. They had regrouped in a less dense section of the forest, and he could see just enough through the trees to tell that there weren't many left who were able to fight. "There aren't many left."

Mantis moved around on his back to get a better look. "Yep. Shouldn't be too hard to finish them off now."

It would be easier if Tigress was able to fight though.

Neither of them said it, but it hung in the air between them without needing voiced acknowledgement to know it was there. They were all worried about their friend and fellow member of the Five. Tigress had always seemed like a constant. A stoic, tough, always dependable warrior of justice. He'd gotten that impression the first time he'd met her all those years ago.

The thought of Tigress suddenly not being there to fight with them was odd. A little terrifying even. It wasn't like it was the first time she had been injured, but he'd never seen her this injured before. The water buffalo hadn't held back when he'd slammed into her from behind. And that had only been the beginning. Crane had only caught glimpses of the fight that had ensued, but when the buffalo had suddenly grabbed a dagger from his belt and drew it down across the feline's chest he had decided he'd seen too much.

The scene kept replying itself in his mind. Over and over. Seeing a friend fall was never easy. He'd never gotten use to it, and knew he probably never would. Worrying about it wasn't going to help though. To help Tigress they needed to finish this fight, get rid of Cai Quan and his army so they couldn't hurt anyone else, and get her back to the palace.

Shouldn't be too hard...

He hoped at least.

"Hey, look...," Mantis suddenly said from his perch on Crane's back.

Crane glanced over his shoulder too see him pointing down at the ground with a pincer. He followed the line of sight and flew in a circle overhead to get a better look. In a matter of seconds he saw what the other master was referring too. Several of the buffalo were placing their weapons down while they rested or helped injured companions. Others were readjusting their sparse armor or sharpening their weapons.

"It won't be long before they attack again," Crane pointed out.

"We could make this fight go a whole lot quicker though," Mantis said. "Drop me off down there in that dense part of the forest. I can grab some of their weapons and be back before they even realize what they're missing."

Crane glanced at him doubtfully. "By yourself?"

"They won't even notice me!"

"If they did..." If they did, he could wind up like Tigress. Crane trailed off, but knew Mantis got the gist.

"I'll be fine. I've done it a hundred times," the smaller master replied.

Mantis had a point. It wouldn't be the first time they'd used such a tactic. It was only the memory of their battered friend lying unconscious that made him hesitate over the plan. He pushed all his concern and doubt away and instead headed for the dense section of forest. As he cautiously lowered them both towards the trees he glanced back at Mantis.

"Be careful," he warned.

Mantis jumped off his back and onto a nearby rock. "I'll be fine. Get on back to the others before you're seen."

Crane nodded and watched Mantis disappear through the undergrowth before taking off into the air again.

Mantis POV:

They'd made him mad now.

Mantis moved swiftly, and with stealth, through the forest towards Cai Quan's army encampment. He would have to move quickly, grab what weapons he could without being spotted, and then hightail it out of there. It sounded easy enough, but he knew from experience that the easiest of plans could crash and burn in an instant.

Like Tigress getting injured.

He pushed the thought away as far as he could, but the memory still lingered fresh in his mind. He'd seen the whole thing. From across the clearing he'd watched his fellow master block an arrow heading for Po, but a second later she'd tumbled to the ground with a buffalo on top of her. He'd been too busy to lend her a hand, just like the others had been. The buffalo had held her down for a few seconds before picking her up and throwing her against a tree. She'd fought back, but the blow to her head had left her disorientated for a split-second too long.

The water buffalo hadn't just attacked. He'd pulverized. The guy had some serious anger issues. Both had fought for the upper hand, but neither really got it. Mantis had tried to make his way over, but each time he'd thought he had a clear path another buffalo would jump in his way. So instead he had watched as his friend fell to her knees, blood matting her fur, while Po yelled her name.

Viper had managed to finally get close enough before the buffalo could do any more damage. The snake had wrapped herself around the buffalo's wrist until he'd dropped the knife. Tigress had then taken the opening to land a solid punch to his stomach and, even in her weakened state, it had been forceful enough to make her attacker double over. She'd kicked his legs out from under him next, leaving him to be finished off by Viper as she'd fallen the rest of the way to the ground.

She hadn't gotten back up.

The damage had been done. Tigress had lost consciousness. And even though they'd sent the remainder of the army running to regroup, it hadn't felt like much of a victory.

It was that tension and anger which drove Mantis forward now. He'd barely stopped since the initial fight had ended. He had checked Tigress over once they'd gotten to safety, but there hadn't been much any of them could do for her without supplies and while surrounded by a warlord's army. He'd volunteered to go with Crane just to have something to do, and so he wouldn't have to stand around while Tigress suffered.

As he reached the area where the buffalo army were preparing for another attack, Mantis once again tried to push all thoughts of his wounded friend to the back of his mind. He didn't have time to worry. Besides, Po was worrying enough for all of them.

Once focused again, he narrowed his eyes and took off. Darting from behind trees and bushes just long enough to whisk weapons away. He piled as many as he could possibly carry together before heading off back into the forest as fast as he could.

Viper POV:

Viper glanced behind her to check on Tigress again. Po was still knelt down beside her, Monkey looked between his two friends sadly, and Tigress was still unconscious. A shiver went down Viper's tail as she looked at the feline and the various injuries now scattered over her body. She remembered all too well what the wounds looked like up close.

The buffalo who had attacked Tigress had gone overboard when he'd had the chance. Fists had flown, feet had kicked, and then he'd pulled out that knife. The gash across her torso had been bad enough. The stab to the thigh had seemed unnecessary. Tigress had already been on the way down by that point. He'd had every reason to believe that Tigress was incapacitated, yet he had kept attacking. Viper felt as if that was a reflection of Cai Quan as well. The warlord wasn't one to back down, even after an opponent was defeated.

Just another reason why he had to be stopped.

Viper turned her attention away from her injured friend and focused on the tree line again. She had to stay vigilant. Chances were they would hear the next attack coming before the army was close enough to strike, but being caught unaware was never a good thing for a sound strategy. She also needed to keep an eye out for Crane and Mantis, and had to keep a watch for signs in case they ran into trouble. Knowing the two of them, it was entirely possible. They were almost as good at finding trouble as Po was.

Almost.

A flash of movement over the tree line drew her attention upwards. Sure enough, Crane landed gracefully in front of the doorway moments later. She smiled softly in greeting.

"Any change?" he asked.

She knew he was referring to Tigress, but before she could answer her smile faded upon noticing Mantis wasn't with him. "No change," she answered. "Where's Mantis?"

Crane gestured behind him with a wing. "He's confiscating some of their weapons. He should be back soon," he added. "We should definitely get ready. It won't be much longer before they'll attack again."

Viper nodded and glanced behind her again. Po looked slightly less terrified. Tigress looked the same. The sight saddened her again and she looked away just in time to see Mantis appear beside Crane. "Mantis!"

"Ugh, yeah. Give me a minute," he said.

He was breathing heavily, obviously from moving quickly over a relatively long distance, but what Viper also noticed was that he didn't have any weapons. Before she could question him about it, Crane beat her to it.

"Where are the weapons? Swords? Daggers? Arrows?" Crane asked, looking at their fellow master skeptically.

"Thought I was being followed," Mantis answered. He was still breathless, but not as much. "So I ditched them. I tossed them over that cliff, and into the rapids. We're good."

"Good job, Mantis," Viper said with a light smile. "At least now they won't have as many weapons."

The sound of several pairs of feet running through the trees caught all of their attention. Viper's eyes narrowed as a dull vibration hammered through the building from the force of the approaching army. A battle cry echoed around the clearing even before any of the buffalo could be seen.

"Well," Mantis began. "They're angry now."

Viper turned to look back into the building. "Po! Monkey! They're coming!"

The brief lull in the storm was officially over.

By the time Monkey and Po joined them outside, the battle had begun again.