A/N: I do not own KUNG FU PANDA or any of it's characters, locations, etc. I only claim my OC's; so no stealing!

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Secret Mission

The sun had already set beneath the western horizon, and the city had grown quiet in the evening hours. By now, the citizens of the city had retired to their homes, but of course, there was that looming fear in the air as they closed their windows and locked their doors. They had all been shaken at the fact that the Shadow Dragons themselves had risen from the ashes of their own supposed demise, and managed to slip past the city defenses. The thought itself was daunting, and even more frightening was the fact that they had disappeared like phantoms just as soon as they had come. The very idea that they could still be within the city walls was a frightening thought.

There was no denying that these thoughts were also invading the minds of the soldiers of Shuǐ de yáolán, and in particular, the warriors from the Valley of Peace. They sat in a circle around a dying campfire; their eyes all staring blankly into the diminishing flames; the constant shifting of the light making their features somewhat ghostly and sullen in appearance. There were dozens and dozens of similar small makeshift camps throughout the training grounds of the academy where most of the soldiers and young students were already sleeping.

Po prodded at the embers with the end of a long stick. He gave a long tired sigh, but he didn't feel like falling asleep. He stole a glance over to where Monkey sat, who unconsciously rubbed his bandaged arm. "How's the arm?" Po asked.

"Not too bad," the primate answered, "I'm just lucky that pythons aren't poisonous."

"Wasn't he the same guy you tied to that tree after you saved Shifu?" Mantis asked.

Monkey thought on this for a moment, "You know, I think you're right. He must have been one of the escapees from the prison a few days ago."

Tigress's features hardened slightly as she was reminded of the mountain cat they had encountered earlier that day. Why had he helped them save Xue's family? Why had they been targeted in the first place? Had it been a set up? Had he been sent to keep them occupied while the Shadow Dragons attacked the academy? The very fact that the Shadow Dragons had been able to slip in and out from right under their noses, infuriated her, and even with Shì xiě gone, his followers were still out there; possibly planning their next attack.

"So, what are we gonna do?" Po asked, breaking the silence once more.

"What can we do?" Crane answered, "We have no idea what's going to happen now."

Mantis suddenly gave off an angry huff, "If that Shì xiě dude weren't already pushing up daisies, then I'd be pounding him six feet under myself!"

"Shhh! Mantis, not so loud." Viper cautioned, "You'll wake everyone up."

"They'd agree with me." The insect said while grudgingly folding his spiked forearms across his tiny chest.

The six of them then turned their heads simultaneously towards the sounds of approaching footsteps. They tensed up for only a moment before seeing Xue walk into the light of their small fire. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything." He addressed them.

"No, not at all Master Xue," Tigress answered, "Is something wrong?"

Xue shook his head, "Nothing is wrong my friends, but with all the activity that has gone on today, I never was able to properly thank you all for defending my family against the Shadow Dragons." The raccoon paused briefly, and as he continued, it seemed like he was struggling to maintain his composure; as if he was using nearly all of his concentration to keep from breaking down completely. "I don't know what I would do if I had lost any one of them…I remember feeling the pain in my heart as well as watch my mother succumb to grief when my father disappeared. I—I do not believe that I could have gone through that again, and for that I am eternally in your debt."

Xue shakily bowed with a bended knee towards the six warriors, catching them all by surprise. In the short time they had known Xue they never would have expected him to submit himself to them in such a manner.

Viper slithered up to the raccoon and placed the tip of her tail comfortingly on his shoulder, "We were only doing that which we as warriors are honor bound to do." She said, "You would have done the same for us."

Xue gave the serpent a grateful nod of his head.

"Yeah, it's a good thing we were there," Po said, "otherwise things could have been a lot w—"

Tigress slapped her paw over the panda's muzzle, instantly silencing him. "Ignore Po Master Xue, his tongue sometimes moves faster than it should." She shot Po a glare that clearly said, 'Zip it or I will zip it for you!'

Xue straightened his stance, "I would like to offer an invitation to you all to come stay at my home as a thank you. I'm sure you would all find it to be better fitting than our current settings."

"Oh, that won't be necessary Master Xue," Monkey said, "We really wouldn't want to impose on your home."

"It would be no trouble at all Master Monkey, we have a couple of spare guest rooms on the second floor, and I believe that Master Shifu would be able to rest more comfortably there than out here. The nights here can get quite cold at times, even during the summer."

Po and the Five exchanged looks, Shifu did need to recuperate and regain his strength. Maybe they should accept Xue's invitation, at least until Shifu was strong enough.

Tigress turned to face Xue, "It would be an honor to accept your invitation Master Xue."

"It is the least I can do for you after what you did for my family." The raccoon smiled, "If you would all follow me, I believe that we should head to my home immediately. We wouldn't want to have to fight our way through any crowded streets."

The six warriors nodded and followed Xue to where Qiang and a couple of his soldiers stood waiting for them outside of the medical tent where Shifu was sleeping.

Qiang gave them all a satisfied smile, "I take it that you've accepted Master Xue's offer to stay at his home?"

"Yes Master Qiang." Crane answered.

"Good, we'll need to do this quickly, and quietly." He gave a nod towards his two soldiers and they entered the tent. A few moments later they reemerged, carrying between them a small stretcher with Shifu lying on top. He grunted slightly before opening his eyes.

"What's going on?" He asked sleepily.

Tigress bent down to his level and readjusted his blankets so that they fit snuggly around him like a cocoon. "Master Xue has invited us to stay at his home, we're going there now."

"What time is it?"

"Don't worry about that now little brother, just take it easy." Qiang said.

Shifu gave a tired nod of his head before allowing it to sink into his pillow.

Tigress turned to Qiang, "There's another reason why we're leaving now, isn't there?"

Qiang gave a slight nod of his head, "Shì xiě may be gone, but there's the possibility that his followers may still want to get at Shifu. We need to move him now while the city is asleep; when no prying eyes will follow us."

"Got it!" Po whispered excitedly, "Stealth Mode!"

The Five simultaneously face-palmed.

Once again, Tigress felt somewhat anxious towards the stillness of the city. The eerie silence that continued to drag on as they made their way through the deserted streets was doing nothing to calm her nerves, and she was pretty sure that Po and the other members of the Five were feeling it also.

Xue lead the small procession down the road with Qiang taking up the rear. His large ears kept twitching from side to side for any potential sounds of danger. They would stop at nearly every corner they encountered. Xue would check to make sure that the coast was clear before signaling to the others that it was safe to proceed.

Po and the Five stayed close to Shifu as the two guards carried his sleeping form on the stretcher. Their eyes darted from one rooftop to the next as if half expecting to be attacked at any moment by Shadow Dragons.

They all gave a sigh of relief as Master Xue's home came into view. They all made their way up the small path and up to the porch. The door opened for them, revealing that Lady Mei had been waiting for them.

"No trouble I hope?" She asked.

"None at all Mei." Qiang answered.

Mei gave a stifled cry of shock upon seeing Shifu on the stretcher. "Xue, you didn't tell me he was this bad!" She exclaimed, but she managed to keep her voice down.

"Don't worry mother, he'll be fine." Xue reassured her.

"All of you, inside!" Mei urged, opening the door a little wider to allow them entrance.

Po gave a smile towards the elderly raccoon, "Thanks for letting us stay at your place Lady Mei."

"You're quite welcome Dragon Warrior Po; it's the least we can do for you after what happened earlier today." She turned to Qiang, "I'm so sorry about the tower Qiang, you worked so hard on it."

Qiang reached a hand forward and patted her on her shoulder, "Don't worry about it, we'll be able to rebuild, make it better than ever."

Mei gave a small nod of her head before noticing Po rubbing at his eyes, "The guest rooms are upstairs, this way." She then lead them up the stairs to the second floor, and after Shifu had been comfortably situated in his own room, Mei showed the six warriors to the room next door. "Do any of you need extra blankets?" She asked once they had started to settle down.

"Nah, we're good." Po answered with a slight yawn.

Tigress turned to the elderly raccoon, "We thank you for your hospitality Lady Mei."

She smiled and headed out into the hallway, "Let me know if any of you need anything." She said before she slid the paper door closed behind her.

Viper repositioned herself into a tight coil atop the pillow she was using as a bed, "She's so kind."

"Yeah, she reminds me of my grandma." Crane said before dipping his beak beneath his wing and closing his eyes.

Po gave another enormous yawn before saying, "…Goodnight guys…"

"Goodnight Po." They answered.

"But Master Qiang, with all due respect, I believe that we should go after them."

Tigress's eyes fluttered open as her ear perked towards the sound of Xue's voice. She lifted her head from her pillow and turned her attention towards the open window above her bed. Curious, she silently rose from her bed to gaze out into the dark night. She looked down to the front of the house where Qiang and Xue stood on the small cobble-stone path that led to the house.

"We need to strike at the Shadow Dragons now while they're leaderless." Xue continued.

"I'm sorry Xue, but I am going to have to disagree with you on this." Qiang said, "Setting off in pursuit would not only cost valuable manpower, but also leave the city with weaker defense."

"Our defenses are already weakened!" Xue retorted. "Not only did several of the Shadow Dragons escape our prison, but somehow they have managed to hide themselves within the city itself! For every moment we stand here and do nothing, another life that is at risk!"

Tigress had no doubt that Xue was referring to his family that had been targeted earlier that same day.

"Xue, you have every right to be concerned, but you need to calm down." Qiang cautioned.

"How can I be calm when those Shadow Dragons nearly took my family away from me the same way they took my father?" Xue's voice was now filled with unbridled rage, "I honestly can't understand how you yourself can be so reserved! Especially after Shì xiě nearly succeeded in killing your brother on top of the destruction of the academy tower, which took you three years to construct!"

Tigress's eyes narrowed towards the elderly red panda and the raccoon as they were caught in a standoff. Her ears perked towards the sounds of her comrades as they awoke from their restless sleep. Quietly, they all gathered close behind Tigress to listen in on what Xue had shouted about.

Qiang's large ears lowered slightly towards Xue's outburst, but he remained still. "The reason for that is because I keep my emotions in check." Qiang answered with a slight edge in his voice. "There have been many instances in my youth when I lost control of my actions because of my short temper. I would act more rashly towards situations I normally wouldn't while with a sound mind, and this resulted in many unfortunate events that I eventually came to regret." The elderly red panda gave a small rub to his twitching left eye. "Do not make the mistake Xue that the events of today have not shaken me; I admit that the loss of the tower has struck a blow, but it was only wood and brick, it can be easily rebuilt; but Shifu…"

Qiang's voice trailed off, and a somewhat regretful look came across his face. "…I can tell you right now that I would not be as reserved as I am this moment if I had been but one second late in reaching him. In fact if Shì xiě had succeeded in killing him then I myself would now be leading our army in pursuit to eradicate every Shadow Dragon we could find."

"Then why aren't you doing it now?" Xue asked with a more controlled tone in his voice.

Tigress, Po, and the other members of the Five listened intently with they're eyes glued on the two masters. No one dared to take a breath for fear of being discovered.

Qiang took a moment before composing his answer, "Because Shifu survived, and Shì xiě is no longer a threat. The Shadow Dragons will be in turmoil, most likely fighting amongst themselves as to who will be their next leader. But as of yet, we still do not know of their location, or how many members they actually have. It would be extremely foolish to go in pursuit of an enemy that we don't know how to find, and who could very well outnumber us."

Xue's stubby black ears lowered slightly and he bowed with a bended knee towards the elderly red panda, "Forgive me Master Qiang…I spoke out of turn. I had no right to question you."

Qiang gave a shake of his head, "Xue, you are no longer the boy I took under my wing after your father passed; you are a grown man, and therefore entitled to your own opinion." Qiang paused long enough for Xue to rise back to his feet, "However, your argument is reasonable to a certain extent; and therefore, I have a proposal for you."

Xue looked expectantly towards Qiang, as did Shifu's students.

"I will entrust thirty warriors to your command to track down these assassins, a small enough group that will go unnoticed, but large enough for you all to hold your own if you do come across danger." Qiang stated, "You and your men will find the lair of the Shadow Dragons and when you have found its location and the number of assassins, report straight to me. Do not engage the enemy."

Xue nodded and gave a slight bow, "Understood Master."

Qiang gave a slight rub to the ridges between his eyes in exhaustion, "It's been a long day, and we should get some well-deserved rest." He gazed up towards the horizon where storm clouds were accumulating above the towering mountains. "We'll gather some volunteers in the next couple of days before heading off in pursuit, but this must remain confidential." Qiang said before he gave a small bow to his student. Xue returned the gesture then turned to head back inside the house, while Qiang began making his way down the deserted road towards the academy.

A long silence followed after Qiang's departure, and it was broken once Tigress gave a small sigh through her nose, "We should get some sleep too." She said as she turned towards the others. They all nodded in response before heading for their designated beds as the light drizzle of rain could be heard bouncing above the rafters above their heads. Hopefully sleep would come to them.

A/N: Hmmm...I wonder what is going to happen next? (Of course I know! I'm the author for crying out loud!) LOL!

Not a very eventful chapter, I know, but every story has those types of chapters. I found it necessary for the story.

And for those of you who are wondering about Cong and Rui, don't worry, they'll turn up...eventually.

R&R and PM me if you'd like. I'd like to chat if any of you readers have any questions.