Chapter Ten: Bringing Truth to Light

It was hours before the Masters found the factory. As Tigress had described, it was old and falling apart, but still had goods that weren't too old for use. The Masters climbed to a higher platform and stopped to rest. They were all tired, but not so much as Tigress was. All along the trek, everyone kept an eye on her, making sure she wasn't having too much trouble.

Everyone was silent, trying to work up the courage to say something to her. Then Vixey approached her. She was about to say something when Tigress spoke up.

"I don't know how much more of this I can take," she admitted.

Vixey froze.

"I know honesty is appreciated at a time like this," Tigress continued. "It's about time I was honest with myself as well. I appreciate how you've all been ready to step in at a moment's notice."

Everyone gave her kind smiles.

"We appreciate you, too, Tigress," Vixey said. "Why don't I have a look at that arm while the others look around?"

The others immediately stood up and split off. They checked box after box, separating spoiled goods from items that could still be used. More often, they found garbage, due to the time since the factory was in use.

"Find anything, guys?" Viper asked, climbing to a higher level.

"Remember that rancid medicine healers used to use while we were kids?" Crane asked.

"Ew," Viper said. "What about it?"

"I found a few cases of it," Crane continued, "but I can't tell if it's any good or not. I'm just not going to touch it."

"Good idea," Monkey said.

"Found some soap," Po called from below. "Can soap go bad?"

There was the sound of him slipping and falling.

"I don't think so, Po," Mantis said nearby. "Unless you keep stepping on it."

"Over here!" came Jin's voice.

The rest of the searching Masters went to him.

"Most of these dehydrated fruits and herbs are still good," he said, pushing a box toward his friends. "Stuff your pockets in case we don't stay here long."

They filled their bags and continued searching the factory. Vixey looked down when Jin had shouted and turned back to Tigress. She'd nodded off. Vixey was about to leave her alone when she noticed signs that she was beginning to have a nightmare.

Heavy breathing. Tigress could only hear this as she ran through a dark forest. The trees seemed taller than she thought they'd be. And was her breathing really that deep?

She looked to the left as she continued to run. Was there something there? There was a sound to the right, so she looked there. She still couldn't see anything.

Tigress was breathing harder and she looked troubled. Vixey debated on whether or not to wake her. Was it really worth it to let her sleep if she was having a nightmare?

Now she saw it. Large shapes ran through the forest, looking like they were about to cut her off and engage in combat. One of the figures jumped out at her. A golden cat. But she threw it away as if it were nothing and kept running.

Then the pale cat suddenly appeared and threw her back. Tigress leapt up and charged, ducking and dodging around the cat's furious attacks. She was knocked off as she was about to punch at her head, so she just turned and kept running.

"Tigress! Tigress!"

Tigress's eyes bolted open. She saw her friend's worried face.

"Are you okay?" Vixey asked. "You looked like you were having a nightmare."

Tigress rubbed her eyes.

"I've been having that dream a lot lately," she said. "It's the same thing, but it's slightly different each time."

"Might have something to do with fatigue," Vixey suggested.

Tigress thought about it and nodded. That must be it.

They both jumped a little as the others came scrambling up as quickly and quietly as possible.

"They found us!" Mantis whispered.

Tigress snuck to the edge of the platform and carefully looked over. The golden cats were snaking through the factory, turning over boxes and searching every possible hiding place.

"We need to get out," Tigress ordered. "Mantis, check the windows and see if we're being surrounded. Everyone else, set up distractions if they get too close."

"Okay, but I'm staying right by your side," Vixey said.

Tigress was about to say something when the fox cut her off.

"There's no way I'm going to let them catch you again, Tigress," she said. "Either I come with you or you stay right here."

Tigress hesitated and looked at everyone else. They all looked ready to tie her to the nearby post if she resisted.

"Fine then," she said. "Let's get to it."

Tigress and Vixey kept watch while the others split off. The golden cats were beginning to climb to higher levels. Everyone was ready to act.

Then one of the cats launched herself at a support beam directly below Tigress and Vixey, shattering it. The girls started to fall, but Vixey caught a firm wood plank and Tigress just in time. Then another support beam broke and they started to fall toward the mass of golden cats.

Crane appeared from nowhere and snatched them away just in time. The cats were about to pounce, but one of them was hit in the face by a medicine bottle and the whole group started to retch when it shattered on the ground. They fled from the stench of the medicine and suddenly the factory was full of chaos while they attacked the randomly placed Masters.

When one was attacked, another threw a random projectile as their friend got away. Crane landed on an upper level with Tigress and Vixey and they had a clear view of the scene. They could see that the other cats were getting frustrated as their targets kept darting in and out of their vision. Then one of them snapped. She fled the building and returned with a torch. She threw it onto a shattered medicine bottle and it immediately lit. Rancid smoke filled the air as most of the opposing cats fled the building.

"Get us down!" Vixey cried. "Smoke rises!"

"Hang on!" Crane shouted as he took them and swooped down.

Then Vixey shrieked as something hit her and she let go.

"Vixey!" Tigress shouted.

Vixey had disappeared into the smoke. Tigress and Crane could hear fighting all around them.

"I can't see!" Crane shouted.

Then he and Tigress tumbled into a stack of boxes, becoming separated. Tigress stood up, viewing the burning carnage around her. She started running to where Crane had disappeared off to. She made it a few feet before getting hit from behind and tumbled to the ground. As she slowly picked herself up, she saw one of the golden cats. This one looked like the one more often seen by the pale cat's side.

Tigress made ready to fight and the golden cat charged. Tigress's attacks were slower than usual and her opponent easily dodged and struck. Tigress was sent flying into nearby boxes, shattering them and spilling their contents. She was clearly exhausted as she tried to pick herself up. As the other cat approached, Tigress suddenly threw a bar of soap, striking her squarely in the face and stunning her for a second. Then the gold cat grew angrier. She was about to strike when someone tackled her, sending her sprawling.

"Get out of here!" Vixey shouted before turning to her opponent.

As much as Tigress wanted to stay and help, she knew she was easily outmatched by an even outnumbered opponent. She disappeared into the smoke.

Vixey stood in a fighting stance and watched the cat climb to her feet.

"Little fox," the cat growled, "if I could beat down your friend, what makes you think I can't snap you in half?"

Vixey looked determined. The cat charged. The fox seemed to disappear and reappear behind her, landing a flurry of blows before jumping back to evade another hit.

"Stand still!" the cat hissed, spinning around to face her opponent.

"I won't!" Vixey shouted.

She jumped, flipped, and landed a kick to the top of the cat's head, sending her face to the floor and knocking her out cold.

Vixey was ready to continue fighting when she realized the cat wasn't rising again. She started to flee, but then turned back to the cat. She thought for a second and then took the cat and lifted her onto her shoulder.

"H-how do you g-guys do this?" she struggled to say to her faraway friends as she started escaping slowly.

Outside, everyone was waiting for her. The entire factory was on fire and the smoke rose higher than they could see. There weren't any golden cats nearby, and they guessed that they thought the Masters were stuck in the factory, never to get out alive.

"There!" Po shouted.

Everyone looked at where he was pointing and saw a huge figure. They all got nervous, but then the smoke cleared around it and revealed Vixey and her prisoner.

She dropped the cat to the ground and started coughing heavily.

"Why'd you bring her?" Mantis started. "If she wakes, she'll kill us all!"

Breathing heavily, Vixey tried to answer, but started coughing again.

"She has answers," Tigress said for her. "Tie her up and let's get out of here."

Vixey nodded and started walking. Then something inside the factory collapsed, a great deal of smoke and fire bursting out of all exits, sending her running like a scared pup.

The forest looked darker still. Clouds overhead obscured the moon, making the darkness and silence all the more eerie.

Tigress was still breathing heavily and her legs begged for a rest. No resting. Could still be followed.

Every little sound made her heart leap, even if she made that sound herself. She saw a mountain in the distance and made a mental note to stop and hide there.

"Tigress! Wake up!"

Tigress jumped and saw Vixey's worried face.

"Was it that dream again?" the fox asked.

Tigress started to get up, ignoring Vixey's question.

"Is she awake?" she asked.

"Almost," Vixey answered. "But are you feeling all right after that fire? Crane and Viper don't seem to be handling well, but I've been having them breathe in an incense. If you need it, too..."

"I'm fine," Tigress said. "Let's have a look at that prisoner."

When they'd gotten a safe distance from the factory, the Masters had set up camp and prepared to interrogate the golden cat. They tied her up, and then tied her to a tree, in case they needed to cut her loose and travel with her upon getting found out. So far, the only sounds were their coughing from the aftermath of the fire.

Tigress approached the still-unconscious cat. Nothing happened for a few seconds.

"She may not wake for a while, Tigress," Vixey said as everyone watched. "It could take hours -!"

Tigress backhanded the cat, causing her to stir.

"Or you could do that," Vixey added.

The cat pried open her eyes and looked at her captors. Immediately, she started growling at them.

"You know why we decided to spare your life," Tigress started. "We want answers."

"You aren't getting any!" the cat snapped.

Tigress was unshaken.

"You aren't in the position to argue," she said. "If you tell us what we want to know, we may even let you go. But if you don't..."

"You're going to kill me anyway!" the cat told her. "I'm never going to tell you anything! My sisters will come rescue me!"

"Really?" Monkey started. "I bet they think you died in that fire with all of us."

"How will anyone save you if they think you're dead?" Jin asked.

The golden cat started to look fearful, but she tried to keep her wit.

"I still won't talk!" she shouted. "You'll have to kill me!"

"Hm..." Vixey started. "I think death is the easy way out. Viper's venom is nice, slow, and rather painful, don't you agree?"

In response to this, Viper lifted her head and bared her fangs. They looked like she sharpened them recently and they glistened brightly in the light of the fire.

The golden cat jumped so hard she nearly banged her head on the tree.

"No! No!" she screamed. "Don't bite me!"

"Then tell us," Tigress demanded, "why is Ruili attacking us? What does she want with us?"

The golden cat was close to tears and she was frozen with fear. Viper rolled her eyes and rose to get closer to the prisoner.

"Stop! No!" the cat shrieked. "D-don't!"

She started sobbing. Tigress waited for her to control herself.

"Sh-she wants r-revenge," the cat cried.

"Figures," Po murmured.

"Wh-when she was l-little," the cat started, "h-her people were c-constantly treated h-horribly by Imperial s-soldiers. Th-they were attacked, b-beaten... sometimes k-killed. F-for no apparent r-reason."

She hiccupped.

"She wants to t-take down everyone w-with high authority," she continued. "G-give the people the ch-chance to fight back."

She fell silent. The Masters all thought for a little bit.

"Then why are you here?" Vixey asked. "Where did you come from?"

The cat seemed to calm down a little.

"Ruili needed an army," she continued. "She heard of us when she and other refugees escaped to the northern parts of Africa. We're lions, and we're stronger than warriors you'd usually find here, in China."

"And you agreed to her plan?" Po asked.

"N-no," the lioness answered, becoming upset again. "We all thought it was an insane idea. All our villages started shunning her because she was being irrational. B-but th-then..."

She started to shake.

"I n-never thought it would h-happen to us," she started. "W-we saw her c-coming w-with these h-huge bears. W-we didn't th-think she'd just attack us. B-but wh-when she d-did... We w-were too s-slow to st-stop her. Sh-she captured entire v-villages and... and -!"

"And what?" Tigress asked.

The lioness burst into tears.

"She gathered everyone into the village squares!" she cried. "She t-took all our h-husbands and k-killed them! R-right in front of us! In f-front of us and our ch-children!"

The Masters were horrified as the lioness broke down again.

"Sh-she s-said we w-were g-going to h-help her," the lioness continued, "or sh-she'd s-slaughter our ch-children. M-my son is all I have! I c-can't let h-him die!"

The Masters were silent as the lioness sobbed. Vixey whispered something to Tigress and walked forward.

"What if we were to help you, Nyota?" the fox asked.

The lioness looked up at her.

"How do you know my name?" she asked. "And you can't help me! Not without turning yourselves in! And she won't stop until even the Emperor is on his knees!"

"I know your name because I heard it a few times while we were on the run," Vixey answered. "We know a way to help you without turning ourselves in, and what's this about the Emperor?!"

Nyota shuddered.

"She wants to erase all loose ties before going after him," she said.

"So she won't strike until we're dead," Tigress answered for her.

Nyota nodded.

"You could jump in during the attack on the Imperial Palace and thwart her," she said. "She won't attack until all threats are deposed and can't fight her."

"What about Gongmen?" Crane asked.

"That's her next target," Nyota said. "She won't attack it either until you're all taken care of. It has a huge army and -!"

"And a frightening and powerful peahen at its head," Tigress told her.

Nyota nodded again.

"She wants to be sure no one can interfere with either battle," she continued. "So she'll do what she'd done to you to Gongmen City."

"She'd have to plan carefully, then," Jin said. "Any wrong move and the Emperor will send his armies after her."

"She's been planning for years," Nyota said. "She expected to get rid of you guys swiftly."

"So much for that part of the plan," Mantis added.

Nyota sniffed.

"I just want to go home to my son without Ruili's burden," she said.

"You can do that," Tigress told her, "if you give us a few more answers."

"Like what?" Nyota demanded.

"Ruili's weaknesses," Vixey started. "Maybe even the weaknesses of that army she lifted from you guys in Africa."

Nyota looked down. Then she got angry.

"I hate that horrible woman Ruili put over us," she fumed. "Her name is Guai Hu. Or at least it was given to her when she met Ruili."

She noticed the Masters exchanged odd glances.

"What?" she asked.

"'Guai Hu' means 'strange tiger'," Vixey said. "I bet not even Ruili knows what she is."

"She's a cougar," Nyota said. "I think she came here or to Africa from the Americas. She's strong and can stand to take a ton of blows. But if you get her alone, without any of my sisters, she could fall fast."

"About your 'sisters'," Monkey started. "What about them?"

"We were all taught a little Kung Fu when we became Ruili's army," Nyota answered. "But we're all clumsy with it, and with traditional weapons. We're resilient and strike hard and fast, but we have trouble hitting people behind us."

"With advanced Kung Fu, you'd have no problem with that," Tigress said. "Now what about Ruili?"

"She's tiny and most vulnerable on her own," Nyota told her. "She can't use large weapons, but can be deadly with the small ones, like daggers. I don't think she's had any real combat in ages. She left all the fighting to the bears."

She paused.

"Don't you need to know about the bears?" she asked.

"We've fought them before," Crane said. "And it's one bear now."

Nyota's eyes widened.

"Now, one last thing," Tigress started. "Where is Master Shifu?"

"I don't know," Nyota said. "My group has been chasing you guys ever since you evaded us the first time. I haven't heard anything about him, or the attack on the Valley."

Tigress turned away from her. The Masters started whispering to each other, out of Nyota's earshot. The lioness got antsy.

"What are you doing?" she asked. "You said you had a plan to help me, now what is it?"

The Masters all turned to her.

"You have given us very valuable information," Vixey said, "but we can't let you go back to Ruili."

Nyota looked at each of their faces.

"Y-you aren't going to kill me!" she begged. "You can't orphan my son! Please d-!"

Mantis suddenly appeared and applied a nerve-strike, rendering her unconscious.

"Are we really going to take her there?" Vixey asked.

"Yes," Tigress said. "Her allies will think she never made it out of the factory. Crane, there's a port town a few miles away. Put her on the next boat and come back here. If we're not here, continue north."

She looked northward and saw the mountain she'd seen in her vision, but it was closer this time.

"The next rest stop will be up there," she ordered as Nyota was untied and Crane took off with her. "Reserve your strength for the hike."