Disclaimer-Don't own Kung Fu Panda

One by one, they filed into the silent bedroom. Crane and Tigress, for some reason, sat far apart from each other. Po slumped down on the floor, exhaled loudly, and wiped his forehead.

"How was it?" Monkey made it an effort to sound cheerful. "I bet you caught the thief and whipped them right into jail!" When there was no response, Monkey looked around and thought, So much for optimism, guys. I wonder what the public would say when they saw us like this.

"Did I say something wrong?" Monkey asked.

"It wasn't you who did something wrong," Crane answered, looking right at Tigress.

Monkey got the hint. "What did Tigress do ?"

"I did nothing. I used the jade statue of a lion as a bargain for information. A trader's loss means nothing if we stop a psychopath on a killing spree and prevent a future catastrophe." Tigress corrected.

"Yu got a glimpse of you. If he goes blabbing that the famous Tigress had raided his house, the public is going to hate on us along with the assassin on the loose." Crane predicted.

"Couldn't you have used something else?" Viper asked timidly.

"No." Tigress said.

Crane replied at the same moment. "Yes."

They both looked at each other with clear spite and dislike at the other's answer.

"Saga, the informant, wouldn't have accepted any thing less of value. The jade statue was barely met her approval. So the answer is no." Tigress crossed her arms.

"You could have gone to the border police. I bet they would of told you everything that Saga did, for free." Crane scowled.

"The police is unreliable."

"And a criminal is?"

"The police only has bits of information."

"Its legal and released information. Unlike your Saga friend, who is breaking the law by just being in the black market, the police can be trusted."

Tigress was about to say something in reply, when Po interrupted. "Wasn't like all the police at Yu's because all the ruckus Yu was making?"

"The ruckus was because someone stole his valued possession. His most valued possession." Crane attempted to rub it in.

"I never stole anything, so stop trying to come back to the topic." Tigress hissed.

"Yes, you did. You took something without permission that was someone else's."

"The lion statue was never Yu's."

"It was in his possession."

"Fine, if that justifies it, then the statue went into my possession and therefore belongs to me."

"It was in his possession, legally."

"Ha!" Tigress snorted, surprising the others. Crane looked utterly baffled. Tigress was supposed to be furious at this moment, not joyous!

At their confused faces, Tigress explained. "The statue actually belonged to me in the first place. It was part of my inheritance from my father. Its actually a jade statue of a tiger, not a lion."

"I thought you never met your real father," Po confessed. "That's what Shifu told us."

"I did. I was on a mission in the North and I stumbled upon an ancient tiger tribe."

"I remember the tiger tribes!" Monkey exclaimed. "I tried to steal from them once…" Upon Tigress' annoyed expression, Monkey added, "I never actually did. Security was too tight."

Tigress rolled her eyes and continued. "My father gave me my inheritance because he knew he was going to die soon; he planned to have it sent directly to the Jade Palace. Unfortunately, it got intercepted by some corrupted trading companies, like Yu's."

"How much was lost?" Viper asked.

"Almost all of it. The small amount I managed to salvage are hidden in the archives. Only I know where they are."

"I'm sorry, then." Viper apologized.

"Why?"

"For thinking that you actually stole it." Viper sighed. "Will you forgive me?"

"Yes, of course." Tigress' voice softened. It gave her joy that some people were still looking out for her.

At Viper's apology, Crane stiffened and turned away. He knew that Tigress would now expect some sort of apology from him, but he wasn't just going to trust her just yet. Times were hard now, and he had some doubts about some of the teammates and their origins. Some were murky, like Tigress', and others, clear as day, like Viper's. Po saw Crane, and knew, trouble would still come, especially if Crane and Tigress continued to bicker like they had before.

"How do we know you're not lying?" Crane's cold words shattered in the air.

"Lying?" Tigress' eyes narrowed, and the others could feel the heated tension vibrating in the air.

"Things have amped up, Tigress. This isn't a simple criminal, so we can't afford to be simple. How do we know you're not lying?"

"We're teammates," Monkey remarked. "We put our trust in our friends."

"Tigress is friends with a criminal; where is the proof denying that she has connections with more criminals?"

"Crane!" Viper exclaimed. "We can't afford to have this either! If you're not going to trust Tigress, th-then-then you can leave!"

Crane looked shocked at this remark and then frowned, "Fine, I will stay."

Viper let a sigh of relief….until Crane added, "But I'll have an eye on you, Tigress."

"I'll prove my connection with Saga is worth it. Tomorrow, we leave to travel north."

"Why? It's cold up there." Po protested.

"Master Han was the prison master when Shan, the assassin, was in there. I propose to check the prison to find records on this mysterious assassin."

"Well, a check can't hurt," Crane noted. "But Shifu going to be furious if we leave again."

"I'll tell him. I'll also ask if he can take care of Mantis." Viper volunteered. Tigress nodded an approval.

"Pack for winter tonight. We'll also need food, money, some identity documents, and bring a knife or two." Tigress suggested.

The others agreed; Crane reluctantly. They slowly left Tigress' room and Tigress could see candles being lit in the other rooms. She sighed and slowly cleared up the place. She didn't move Mantis because of his condition, but checked on his state and rubbed a bit more ailment on his bandages. Tigress brought out a leather bag and stuffed some woolen clothing and a dagger. She decided to pack the rest the next morning and walked out on to her balcony. Tigress carried a map and brought it out to read better.

A bright full moon cast sparkling moonlight over her. She glanced at the spot marked 'Chorh-Gom Prison', and suddenly it went dark. She looked up, but it was bright again. Tigress knew what had happened. A cloud had blocked the moon. She shook all feeling of superstition from her, but she knew what it meant.

A dark cloud covering the moon from shining light.

A bad omen.