Chapter Four- The Battle Part One

As Viper slithered to her room to sleep, she noticed Cobra out on a balcony, looking out at the city. Viper slithered up to him.

"Hey." She said.

"Hey." Cobra muttered. Viper sighed.

"Look, you didn't know about what Komodo did to the Emerald Palace." Viper said. "It doesn't affect our relationship." Cobra smiled.

"Thanks, I'm glad." Cobra said. "But that's not really what I was worried about. You see, ever since Shifu took you to train at the Jade Palace, I was angry. But now that I found out what happened to our home, I'm glad he took you away to train and survive." He sighed. "I'm just glad he taught me one last lesson before he left this world." Viper smiled.

"I'm happy for you." She said. "Goodnight." Viper slithered off. Suddenly, Cobra remembered something.

"Wait!" he said. "Viper, will you….." But Viper was gone, and Cobra just went to bed.

That night, Tai Lung, Komodo, Saber, and Tanuki go to the roof of the palace.

"Ganesha, bring the explosives, we may need them." Rik-Zi said. Ganesha nodded and Rik-Zi joined the others. Ganesha turned to his army.

"Now, when we attack, destroy everything in sight." He ordered. "Including those clowns that just left." He turned away and muttered to himself, "I will never share my power with anyone."

*****

As the army approaches, Panther woke up and sees them coming. Jumping out of bed, he woke everyone but Shifu up, knowing the old master needed his rest.

"Let's get ready." Po said. They agreed and prepared for battle.

"What's the plan?" Viper asked Po, seeing as he was the unofficial leader.

"Alright, we should split up, just in case." Po said. "Monkey, you're with me. Mantis and Tokay, you guys work together. Viper, Cobra, and Crane, you guys work together. Vachir, wait at the castle gates. Tigress, I trust you can handle staying alone. Panther, you work alone, too, but I want you to watch over Shifu. We all good?" Everyone nodded. "Then let's do this!" The group split up and went off. Before Panther could leave, Po tossed him the Ki-Rin Scroll. "I trust you with this." Panther nodded and walked off. Po held onto the Dragon Scroll.

Po and Monkey journeyed to the roof first, and they found Tai Lung on it, engaging him in battle.

"You know, I've practiced a lot more since the last time we fought." Tai Lung boasted. Monkey and Po fought fiercely. Po tried to use the Wuxi Finger Hold on Tai Lung again, but Tai Lung hit him away before he could. Crane, Cobra, and Viper, hearing the commotion, rushed up to the roof to help. But then, Komodo appeared, engaging them in combat.

In the meantime, Tigress had been searching the throne room for intruders. Turns out, she found one; Saber was there, ready for battle. Tigress ran to him, taking a Tiger Style stance. Saber didn't move.

"Fight me, you coward." She hissed.

"You know what? I'm actually going to listen to you." Saber said. "If Komodo's told me anything, it's that you're the bad guy and I'm the good guy."

Tigress almost gasped. She finally recognized Saber's face. "Xai?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Saber growled. He lunged, and they engaged in combat. The two cats fought hard, both worthy opponents. But, in the end, Tigress wins, and she knocks Saber unconscious. Tigress was considering whether or not to kill him when she heard the sounds of battle on the roof.

"I'm sorry, Xai." She said quietly before quickly going to the roof.

Mantis and Tokay, who had been watching the battle on the roof, quickly went to Atlas.

"Sire!" Tokay cried. "I fear that we may be losing!"

Atlas had the Phoenix Scroll with him. He thought for a moment. "Perhaps we should-" But whatever he was about to say, he didn't say it. Because at that moment, Rik-Zi burst into the room, running towards the Emperor, eyeing the scroll. Mantis attacked Rik-Zi, distracting him as Tokay led Atlas and the scroll to safety. Mantis fought hard, but he was quickly overwhelmed by Rik-Zi. After seeing that Atlas is safe, Tokay runs to Rik-Zi and hits him.

It does nothing.

Rik-Zi brushed Tokay aside and Mantis gets up to help his friend. The three of them fought hard, but it seemed as though Rik-Zi was immune to such attacks. But soon, he got dehydrated. Realizing he would lose, Rik-Zi retreated, running to the nearest pond. Mantis and Tokay, thoroughly confused, went back to Atlas to make sure the Emperor was alright.

*****

Panther stared at Shifu's still form. He gently grabbed the old master's wrist and sighed when he still felt a pulse. Panther was getting increasingly worried about Shifu's condition, seeing how he hasn't woken up, even after all the racket of the battles around them.

Meanwhile, Tanuki roamed the hallways silently, searching for something he could loot. Seeing Panther, he felt hatred swell in his chest and he drew his sword.

Panther heard it and spun around just as Tanuki attacked.

Panther dodged Tanuki's sword and managed to block it before it could hit Shifu. Panther snarled, grabbed the sword in his teeth, yanked it out of Tanuki's hand, and tossed it out the window.

*****

A palace rabbit walked by, tending to the garden. He nearly had a heart attack when a sword suddenly impaled the ground in front of him.

"What in Heaven's name?" he muttered, looking up at where the sword had come from.

*****

Tanuki tackled Panther, but the large cat just shoves him out the door. Panther charged after his former training partner.

Shifu's eyes opened. He sat up and sighed, staring out the door Panther and Tanuki went out.

Panther and Tanuki fought hard. Tanuki pulled out a dagger and thrust it towards Panther, attempting to wound or even kill him. Panther was more skilled, however, and he grabbed Tanuki's arm, turned, and elbowed the tanuki in the face. Tanuki dropped his dagger, holding his face. Panther took his chance and kicked Tanuki out the window, further startling the rabbit gardener below, who went running for his life, screaming about aliens falling out of the sky. Panther winced briefly and turned to go back to Shifu.

He stopped short, staring at the master in surprise.

Shifu was up and ready, as though he were about to go out and fight.

While that was happening, the fight between Po, Monkey, Cobra, Crane, Viper, Tai Lung, and Komodo was still happening on the roof. Po and Monkey were still fighting Tai Lung while Cobra, Crane, and Viper fought Komodo. Po and Monkey fight with Tai Lung hard, and the snow leopard soon realizes that they may be too much for him. Then, Po managed to kick Tai Lung off the roof and Monkey spiked him to make him fall faster. The two warriors high-fived before running to their comrades.

"We got this!" Cobra yelled. Monkey and Po stopped short. "We'll handle Komodo! Go check on Shifu and make sure he's still breathing!" Po and Monkey nodded and ran off as fast as they could.

Komodo suddenly remembered that Shifu was weak and defenseless. He had half a mind to go and kill the old master, but realized that the bird and snakes he was fighting were a bigger problem. I'll kill him later. He promised himself. He fought brutally. Komodo managed to grab Cobra by the neck, and Viper and Crane rushed in to help. Using his free hand, Komodo nearly crushed Crane's skull as he knocked him out cold and swatted Viper hard to the other side of the roof. Cobra, furious that Komodo was hurting the snake he loved, suddenly opened his hood and shot venom into Komodo's face. Komodo dropped the Indian cobra, screaming in pain. Cobra hit Komodo around a bit before knocking the oversized lizard off the roof. Cobra rushed to Viper and helped her up. It was then that he decided he may never get another chance.

"Viper," Cobra said. "I was just wondering if you would…." Then, Komodo returned, his eyes bloodshot and salivating his highly toxic venom. He charges for Cobra, who simply hits him away. Cobra tried again, but Komodo kept coming. Cobra sighed and knocked Komodo unconscious. Viper gave Cobra a weird look.

"Viper, will you….." Cobra barely started when Komodo woke up and attacked. "Will you stop interrupting me?!" Cobra took a wild hit to Komodo's face, sending him flying thru the air and off the roof.

"Not again!" Komodo screamed as he fell.

Cobra sighed with relief. "Now…..Viper…."

Of course, Crane chose that moment to wake up and interrupt him again. "Guys, we should get down to the lower level; everyone may need our help." Cobra sighed, but he and Viper nodded and they all rushed off.

*****

Outside the walls of the palace, Ganesha looked up and saw Komodo go flying. He muttered something about reptiles being stupid, and he decided to storm the palace. He set up the explosives and lit them. His army stood back as the doors burst open, and then they charged.

Vachir and the Imperial Army attacked, defending the castle. Vachir and his troops fought hard, but once Ganesha came in, they ran away, terrified. Mantis and Tokay, who had been helping and watching over the Phoenix scroll, retreated as well. They didn't get very far when Mantis noticed the scroll was missing.

"Where's the Phoenix Scroll?" He yelled at Tokay. They looked behind them….

….and saw Ganesha grab the scroll and put it into the centerpiece with the rest of the scrolls he possessed.

"We have to get to Atlas!" Tokay shouted. The two of them ran for it as Ganesha made his way up the steps.

A/N: I OWN NOTHING! Read and Review! And don't kill me.