The Race

Akshatha regretted, even more than he had the last several weeks, the loss of his pavilion in the attack on his camp. He had made do, after the tigress' escape, with a much smaller tent confiscated from two of his elephants; and since the fools had gotten themselves killed soon after, he hadn't even had to put up with any complaints. But he'd had to sacrifice that tent, too, inadequate as it had been, when they set up the decoy camp and pushed on through the mountains. So now, making do with no more than a bedroll on the ground like any peasant conscript, he had to content himself with looking forward to the day, soon to come, when he would inhabit the Imperial Palace that Ushi had described in glowing terms for all these years. Still, throwing aside his tent flap would have made for a much more dramatic appearance, and communicated his annoyance much more effectively, than simply stalking forward in the grey predawn light.

"What are you doing here?" he snarled at the ox.

Ushi held his ground, glaring belligerently at the tiger. "I have every right to be here! I'm not going to miss this, not after all these years!" When Akshatha only glowered silently at him, he went on. "This is what I came here for! You want a kingdom, and you'll have it. I want my revenge! I delivered that fool a victory that he would have let slip through his feathers, and he took everything from me – my rank, my honor, my future – turned me out to scrape out a living as a bandit in the hills! I want to be there, I want to see him go down!"

"What," the tiger growled, "about my army?",

"I left Vikram in charge," the ox said, a little too flippantly for Akshatha's taste. "We know it's Yuan commanding that army in the Pass. I know his numbers are worrying, but he doesn't know our tactics. His military knowledge is all from the classics. If some general didn't write it down a hundred years ago, he won't think of it now. I might be worried if I thought old Shou would reinforce him… but we know he won't. He's holed up at Chang'an, we can pick him off later."

"And our troublesome rhinos?"

Ushi hesitated a moment. "Likely still licking their wounds back in the mountains. Did they ever even crawl out of the Valley of Peace?"

"You tell me."

"Well, they sure didn't get through those mountains faster than you, and they didn't get past me. If they come straggling up the Pass behind Vikram, they'll be either too late or too exhausted to give him much trouble."

The tiger scowled a moment longer, then a cold smile spread across his face. "Well, then. It looks like you'll be getting your revenge, Ushi."

Po woke up with the first light of dawn turning the sky to a soft blue strewn with orange streaks of cloud above him. He felt good, at least for the first few moments. Then, his surroundings came into focus – beyond the small group of himself and his friends, there was a constant thud of heavy feet, quiet murmurs of deep voices, the smoke of morning fires being lit – all of it took him back to the flight to the Valley, after his simple mission to collect a kung fu relic had gone so very wrong. And more, beyond the familiar sounds of the Anvil of Heaven, there was a deeper thrum; the much larger army spread out to the east, waiting for the invaders. The previous day came back to him, the obnoxious general, his insults to Vachir and, even worse to Po's thinking, Tigress, and his terrible threat to Tai. And, of course, the battle looming before them. He remembered the fight at the river crossing, the loss of Bayu and his men, of the young recruits. How many more would they lose today?

Po got up, his good mood gone, replaced by disquiet. To calm himself, he turned to something familiar and comforting – he cooked breakfast. By the time the others woke up, he had four kinds of dumplings and enough pan-fried noodles for three times their number. Even after Anguo and Qiru joined them, there was plenty of food left over.

"Opening another restaurant, Po?" Monkey asked, reaching for a final dumpling. "How'd you even have time to make all this?"

"Been up a while," Po muttered. "I woke up early, and couldn't get back to sleep, so I started cooking, and I guess I just kept going." He began filling up a large bowl with noodles and dumplings.

Monkey stared at him in disbelief. "You're still eating? I'm stuffed!"

"Thought I'd find Tai, make sure he eats," Po said, getting up. He headed for the center of the camp.

Anguo frowned, looking around at the others. "We're not going to actually let them take Tai Lung, are we?" When he got no answer, he asked again, obstinately," The commander won't let that general really kill Tai Lung, will he? After all he's done these last weeks?" He turned to his fellow recruit. "Qiru?" Qiru shrugged. He turned back to the Five. "He saved my life!"

Monkey began, hesitantly, "Po has a plan…"

Tigress looked sharply at him. "Po has a plan?" She slowly closed her eyes. "Oh, gods… you'd better tell me."

"Is he okay?" Po asked, staring at the snow leopard sprawled by the fire. A blanket had been thrown over him at some point, but now it was tangled around his knees. He snored loudly, tossed his head, kicked futilely at the blanket, and subsided into sleep again.

"He'll be fine," Vachir assured him. "Gave him something to help him sleep last night, it'll wear off soon. Brought him some breakfast?"

"Yeah," the panda said, sitting down next to the rhino. "There's enough for both of you, really, if you want some."

Vachir looked at the half-eaten bowl of rice porridge in his hand, and set it down. "Don't mind if I do. Looks a lot better than what the cooks are serving." He selected a dumpling, and ate it with obvious enjoyment. "You sure we can't recruit you, get food like this every day?"

Po smiled. "I'm not a rhino."

"True." Vachir picked up another dumpling. "We'd still let you cook, though."

"So, ah," Po began, "what's the plan for today?"

"I figure Ushi's getting his men into position in the pass. If he's smart, which I admit he can be, he'll either attack around noon, or after sunset. Late afternoon, he'd be coming out from the southeast, with the sun in his eyes. From what we've seen so far, he likes night attacks. Or at least Akshatha does."

"You're sure it's not going to be tomorrow morning?"

Vachir grimaced. "It's not. Yuan thinks so, because that would put the rising sun in our eyes. It's what all the strategy he's studied tells him is the correct thing to do. Trouble is, Ushi knows that, and he knows Yuan; maybe not personally, but I'm sure he's heard of him. He won't do what Yuan expects."

"That makes sense. So, when is the Emperor supposed to get here?"

"This morning, hopefully. I hope they're already on the road. If I knew for sure where Akshatha was, I'd have suggested Crane talk to Shifu, try to get the Son of Heaven to leave his entourage with the fortress garrison while he and his bodyguard made a fast run for our position." He scooped some of the noodles on top of his porridge. "Either that, or – and I have no idea how I'd ever convince Yuan to do this – have them lock up the fortress tight, while we made a run to their position. Problem there is, if anything went down at the fortress, we'd be right there in front of the Emperor being big damn heroes, while Yuan would be all the way over here, being Yuan."

That sounded good to Po. In fact, it sounded so good, he began to think about how he could possibly talk the general into it. Maybe Vachir could, if Po explained what he'd talked over with the others last night… But then the panda hesitated. He'd been reluctant to discuss his idea with Tigress, when she returned to their camp, not so much because she was already steaming over her second encounter with Yuan but because he was afraid she'd think it was a stupid plan, that he was being all gung-ho and idealistic and not thinking things through. He really wasn't sure he wanted to bring it up to the rhino. No. He was really sure he didn't want to bring it up to the rhino. Yuan wouldn't listen to them anyway, would he? He was so nasty, disliked them even when he had barely laid eyes on them. His eyes fell on the sleeping snow leopard again. Maybe part of his plan – the part Mantis had already shot down, he admitted – could work.

"Could we send Tai, do you think? To help Shifu protect the Emperor? That would get him out of here, at least."

Vachir gave him a look he couldn't read, then considered the sprawled form beside him. "Yuan's not going to let Tai Lung get out of this camp, Po," he finally said.

Po felt grief and futility rising up inside, choking him. There had to be a way out of this, there had to be, but he couldn't find it, and Tai Lung was going to die because he couldn't save him. That was it, wasn't it, and he was so desperate to have someone, anyone, tell him it wasn't. That if he just kept going, kept trying, he'd find the answer…

"Is he going to be alright?" he asked quietly.

Vachir shook his head. "No. He isn't. You've done what you could for him, Po. It was a good try. He's just got one thing left to do, tonight; let him do it." As though he wanted out of this conversation as much as the panda did, he reached over and prodded the snow leopard's shoulder. "Hey! Tough guy! Wake up. Po's brought you breakfast." He snatched his hand back with a grin as Tai Lung took an irritable swipe at him. The snow leopard grumbled unintelligibly and curled up with his back to them. Vachir chuckled and, with a challenging gleam in his eye, reached for the grey-furred shoulder again. Po watched, dubious.

"Are you sure that's what you want to -?"

The rhino's forefinger had barely made contact when Tai Lung whipped around with a growl, hand lashing out. Claws screeched across Vachir's wrist guard as he yanked his hand back with an exclamation. Tai Lung sat up, shook his head, blinked several times. He glared at the rhino, but then his brow wrinkled in consternation. "Damn. Did I do that?"

Vachir looked ruefully at the line of blood welling up just above his wrist guard. "Yeah. I keep underestimating how fast you are."

Tai Lung gave an small, uncomfortable shrug. "Sorry," he mumbled.

Vachir shook his head. "I'll let it go. Just for today," he added. He gave up trying to look severe, his grin drawing a baffled echo from Tai Lung. "Now take your food before I stop trying to resist those dumplings and eat 'em all." He poked the snow leopard's shoulder again.

"You do like living dangerously," Tai Lung said, in his usual disdainful tone. He struck out with another lightning-fast motion, this time snatching the bowl from the rhino's hand. He gave Vachir a smug smirk.

"You're pushing it, cat," Vachir warned, still not managing to sound very threatening. "You're taking advantage."

Tai Lung stuffed a dumpling into his mouth. "Every chance I get. Big day today, you know."

Vachir's grin faded. "Yeah," he nodded. "I know."

Abruptly, Po couldn't stand it anymore. It might be their way of dealing with it, but the two hardened warriors, with their friendly banter grating over the issue of Tai's death like claws on a slate, were beyond Po's experience or what he wanted to handle. He bolted to his feet, and when they both turned questioning looks on him, he fumbled for an excuse. "I… ah, I thought I should… get back to the others. Ask Crane to fly out to that fortress, see if they're leaving yet. Ask Shifu what he wants us to do." He started to back away. "Stuff like that." He turned and hurried off.

He slowed when he'd gotten some distance away, then came to a stop, hands on his knees, breathing heavily, though not from exertion. Don't be stupid, he thought. He's been telling you all along this would happen. He squeezed his eyes shut. But I can't just let it happen. He's my friend. But is that enough? No, it wasn't. He knew it. But he's changed so much. Can't anyone see that but me? Viper, Monkey, Anguo… his dad… but not anyone who could make a difference, it seemed. Not even Master Shifu or Commander Vachir. He pressed the heel of his hand against his forehead. C'mon, Po, think! There's got to be a way to talk to the Emperor, to make him see. He won't let that General Yuan kill Tai if he sees how much Tai's changed. Will he?

He took a deep breath, then straightened up, determination edging out desperation. His plan would work. It had to. He'd figure out some way to make it work. They were going to win this fight against Ushi and Akshatha, and save China, and then they were going back to the Valley of Peace. All of them. Okay, not the rhinos, but he knew what he meant.

Tigress stood as he rejoined the group around the fire, but he held up a hand to stop her. "Crane. Can you fly back out to that fortress and find out if they've left yet? And what Shifu wants us to do?"

"Sure thing. I won't be long." With one sweep of his wings the bird was airborne; with a few more he'd gained altitude and was speeding westward. Po watched him go, then turned back to Tigress, waiting.

She took him by the arm, led him a few yards away from the others. Taking a deep breath, she turned to face him, looking him in the eye. "Po. I know you want to save Tai Lung. I know you want him to come out of this the hero. I don't know if that's possible. And if it comes to it, the important thing here is that we defeat our enemies, that we don't let them come a step farther into our land or hurt any more of our people. I can't compromise that for Tai Lung. But," her expression softened, "if I can help you save him, I will. For you."

Po's eyes misted up. He smiled past a lump in his throat. He wanted to hug her, but settled for laying a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you, Tigress," he said quietly.

Duke Wei finished the last of his tea, set the cup next to his empty dishes, and crossed the room to the window. One of the rabbit servants began to clear the table, but when he approached Chongde, the owl impatiently gestured him away from his barely touched and rapidly cooling breakfast, and sent him for more tea. Wei sighed. He'd wanted to order a plate of spicy hot and dry noodles, one of his favorite dishes, but neither his teeth nor his digestion were what they'd been in his younger days. The noodles were too yang, perhaps. Or should he have chosen them for that reason, when combat seemed likely? No, his stomach would cause him problems if he started the day with spicy food. Best he stick to his rice porridge for the next few mornings at least, and balance discussions of the invasion with his majesty and Captain Kuang with periods of meditation. He'd ask for hot and sour soup tonight, and a spicy tofu, followed by ginger tea, he thought. His grandmother had sworn by her ginger tea, and had lived to be nearly one hundred.

A rustling of paper came from behind him. He didn't know if the owl did that deliberately to get his attention, though he rather suspected he did. The scholar's dry and rather high-pitched voice soon followed. "Is Master Shifu with the Captain's men this morning?"

Wei pulled his gaze from the inspiring sight of the nearby mountains catching the first light of day and looked down into the courtyard where the guardsmen were drilling. The kung fu master had joined them each morning since his arrival, but today it took Wei a few moments to locate him. The red panda was off to one side, practicing strikes on a sparring dummy he'd located somewhere in the fortress. Kuang's voice floated up to Wei's window, repeatedly calling his men's attention back to their own training.

"He's there," he replied to Chongde, trying to determine what it was about the diminutive master that was distracting the men.

"Good," Chongde said sourly. "He's troubled you enough about that son of his. I can't imagine why."

"I should think it would be obvious. He doesn't want him executed."

"That would be a disgrace to his family, I'm sure," the owl huffed. "But considering that he's attacked innocent people, and his old master, and his own father – twice – letting him live can only bring more disgrace, can't it? Who knows what he'll do next?"

"I don't think that's Master Shifu's main concern," Wei mused.

"Well, it should be. He should have disowned that boy the first minute he turned on him, and gotten on with his affairs. All this wasted time and energy!"

No doubt that was what Chongde would have done, Wei thought. The owl had, in fact, disowned a daughter who had rejected the marriage he'd arranged for her and run off with an acrobat during a grand festival instead.

"' There are three degrees of filial piety,'" the owl went on, quoting Kong Fuzi. "'The highest is being a credit to our parents, the second is not disgracing them; the lowest is being able simply to support them.' That Tai Lung of Shifu's couldn't even manage the last."

"' When the great Tao is forgotten, goodness and piety appear. When there is no peace in the family, filial piety begins. When the country falls into chaos, patriotism is born,'" Wei murmured back, continuing to watch the red panda. Shifu was focusing on a narrow range of strikes, practicing the same blow over and over again. Wei was no master of the martial arts, but he'd seen a lot in his life, and he was sure the blows were meant to kill. And something more…

"What are you going on about?" the owl grumbled. "If there was a lack of harmony between Shifu and his son, surely old Master Oogway would have called them to order."

"As easily as that?"

"You never know what gets into children's heads. You think you raise them right, train them as a father should, then they suddenly take a notion to act on their own, and bring shame on their families! 'A good man regards the root; he fixes the root, and all else flows out of it. The root is filial piety.'" Chongde took another sip of tea. "And you left something out of that Lao Tzu quote, didn't you?"

"Perhaps." He had it now. Shifu's practice was very specific. His leaps took him the same distance each time; he had a much larger opponent in mind. Wei knew that the leader of the invasion was a tiger. Perhaps that was the enemy the red panda hoped to face.

Another sip of tea and rustle of papers behind him. "You aren't going to trouble his majesty with such a trivial concern, now of all times, are you?"

"As it happens, Chongde, I've already spoken of Master Shifu's concern."

He could hear the outrage in the bird's voice. "You didn't! Wei -!"

"I thought Master Shifu deserved that much consideration. Ah, there is Master Crane. Perhaps he has some news."

"General Yuan has his own messengers," Chongde sniffed. "And I hope Crane is speaking to Captain Kuang; that would be the proper channel…"

"He's speaking to Master Shifu. Who, I might point out is his teacher and so commands his respect and loyalty." He smiled, his back to the owl. "At any rate, for all we know, the message may be personal."

Chongde gathered up his papers. "I shall go have a word with his majesty," he said haughtily, and hustled out of the room.

Wei sighed. No doubt, the emperor would get as great an unwanted earful of ancient sayings concerning filial piety as he had. He wondered if it would do any good. The emperor kept his own counsel, and made his own decisions; and as Chongde had pointed out earlier, and apparently forgotten, the present crisis left little room to deal with the concerns of one man. At any rate, that was something that should be dealt with through the mind, and the heart, not through dusty old adages. "'How then can a scholar understand the Tao? He is restricted by his own learning,'" he muttered, turning from the window. He might have a cup of that ginger tea now, he thought. Then he'd make his way down to the courtyard and find out what message Crane had brought, if it wasn't a personal matter. At least it had diverted Shifu from his practice. It wasn't the precision and skill that had distracted the men, Wei thought. It was the sense of grim determination in the red panda. Somehow… very disturbing.

Practicing, Crane thought, speeding to the east as fast as he could with a distressingly brisk headwind making his flight harder than he liked. The emperor's guardsmen were practicing, while the rest of the entourage were holed up in the fortress, eating breakfast or still asleep; the knot of young scholars he'd spoken to before were clustered around the steps of the main building, excitedly discussing theories of warfare. Not one of them, Crane suspected, knew how to fight or handle a weapon, and if it came to it would likely hide or flee in panic at the first hint of a threat. Master Shifu had spoken to the captain once more about leaving the fortress and moving to rejoin the army; had even suggested that the… non-essential members of the entourage be left here with the garrison while the guards made sure the emperor reached the army safely. While they were speaking, another messenger had arrived, from General Yuan, an osprey in red lacquered armor, with a query about their position. The captain's reply had not been to the liking of any of his listeners, and Crane had headed back at once, to relay Shifu's concerns to the others. The osprey had left shortly before he had, and he hadn't yet caught up the raptor, despite being sure the messenger's armor would slow him down. Of course, he had delayed slightly, taking a swing toward the mountains, half-expecting to see some sign that Akshatha and his warriors were poised for an attack on the fort. He had seen nothing but an unbroken canopy of leaves.

It had done little to allay his misgivings.

At last he saw the army camp spreading out across the entrance to the pass, and put on a burst of speed. As he circled over the Anvil of Heaven's camp on the western edge, he scanned the mass of grey-skinned and grey-armored bodies below him for a flash of orange and red that would mark Tigress' location. When he saw her, speaking with Vachir, he dropped quickly to a landing, looking around in confusion at the activity around him.

"Crane!" Tigress called as he landed. "Did you speak to Master Shifu? Are they on their way?"

"Please tell me they're on the way," added the rhino.

"No, they're not," Crane blurted out, without his usual diplomacy. "Captain Kuang said it will take some time to get everyone moving. But they should have been here yesterday! They should at least be starting to leave, but I saw no sign that they were even getting ready!"

"What the hell is going on over there?" Vachir growled. "Is that Kuang a complete incompetent? It's past midmorning!" He started toward the middle of the Anvil's camp, stopped, looked around, and spotted a particular soldier. "Arigh!" he shouted, and before Arigh reached him, he'd turned, headed toward the center of the army encampment and, presumably, Yuan's tent; then stopped, slammed a fist into his palm in frustration, and turned back to Crane and Tigress and the confused Arigh. "Has Yuan sent any messengers?" he demanded.

"One arrived just after I did – he should be back by now," Crane said. He glanced between the rhino and Tigress. "Is the Anvil breaking camp?"

"Yes," Vachir rumbled, irritation plain. "Arigh, grab a few men, get over to the main camp, try to avoid Yuan but see if you can find out what's going on over there. If they realize the imperial entourage is still holed up in that damn fort, and what they plan to do about it." He started toward the main encampment again, then turned back once more. "And that army's coming out of the pass at nightfall, I just know it! I want scouts heading into the pass, get a look at their position, what they're doing." After a last false start toward Yuan's camp, he pivoted and stormed off into his own, demanding loudly to know where Chuluun and Deshiyn were.

"What is going on here?" Crane asked Tigress.

"Yuan told Vachir to move the Anvil further north, toward the rear of the camp. To better protect the emperor, when he arrives, he says. But we think it's to head off the possibility that, when the fighting starts, the Anvil could just slip into the thick of it from the west flank," she said, quieter but just as angry as the rhino.

"Slowly!" came a bellow from among the milling rhinos. "Pack up, but move out slowly! And don't start setting up…" the commander's voice finally faded to an indistinct rumble.

"He'd do that?" Crane asked, appalled. "Keep some of his best fighters out of the battle we're facing, just for… spite?!"

Tigress shook her head. "You saw him yesterday. Once the battle starts, he'll realize he needs Vachir and his men. I just hope it's not too late, that too many lives won't be lost to his stubbornness."

Crane wasn't sure what to do with himself after that. Following Vachir's orders, the rhinos had packed their gear, but were making no great effort to move to the north. In fact there seemed to be just as much unpacking, repacking, and unrelated activity going on. He wandered around the camp for a while, then found Mantis and asked him to do a bit of acupressure on his wing. The strenuous flight back had the muscles sore and shaky again, and he wanted to be in shape for whatever might happen today. After the insect had finished, he went back to wandering. He followed some enthusiastic shouting to where Tai Lung was involved in something midway between a sparring match and a controlled brawl with as many rhinos as cared to join in. He decided not to take part in that. Monkey and a few more of the soldiers were so deeply involved in a game of dice that Crane wasn't sure they even knew they were supposed to be moving camp. He finally found Po and Viper near their campfire, cooking, with Anguo and several other rhinos hanging around, likely hoping for lunch. Tigress joined them soon after, and, to Po's disappointment, ate only a small serving of tofu.

"You sure you don't want some of the vegetables? I traded three packets of Dad's noodles and some ginger to one of the army cooks for the mushrooms and water chestnuts!"

"Don't worry, Po," said Anguo, a bit muffled around a mouthful. "None of it will go to waste." Qiru nodded in enthusiastic agreement.

Po ladled more food onto their plates. "Guess I should get started on lunch."

"Have you been cooking all day?" Crane asked, amazed but not quite surprised.

Po shrugged.

"Po," Tigress said quietly, "we may have to move soon. Why don't you pack up and put out the fire?"

"I'll help you," Anguo said.

"Yep," added Qiru, reaching for the wok. "I'll start by cleaning out this pan!"

"Good choice," Anguo said, dryly.

"What? There's all that rice left for you!"

Anguo shook his head. "Huh-uh. I'm not fighting Po for it."

Qiru glanced up from the leftovers and studied the panda. "I think you could take him."

Anguo elbowed him in the ribs, nearly knocking the wok out of his hands. "He's the Dragon Warrior, you nitwit! Even Tai Lung couldn't take him! Besides, there's food involved, that just gives him an edge."

Po looked up as Tigress stood to leave. "Actually… I think I might have to cook just a little longer."

She sighed, then smiled. "Fine. Finish with the customers you have, but tell anyone else the kitchen is closed." She started off, Crane and Viper following.

As they headed back through the camp, Tigress asked, "Where are Mantis and Monkey?"

"Mantis said he was going to talk to the medics," Viper said.

"That's where I found him," Crane added. "And Monkey was gambling with some of the rhinos."

"Of course he was," Tigress sighed again. "We'll find him later. After we're in our new position I want to get in at least a short practice session."

They had reached the still-ongoing melee. "There's one you could join," Crane said wryly.

Tigress watched the fight critically for a moment. "Not in a thousand years," she said, disgust plain in her voice. "You'd think Master Shifu had taught him nothing, that he'd learned it all in back-alley brawls."

"He's not that bad," Crane argued. "And he's more than –" He stepped back as a rhino flew head-first between him and Tigress, picked himself up with a laugh, and headed back between the two masters into the fight. " – more than holding his own," Crane finished.

"He has no discipline," she continued. "He just relies on… ferocity."

"Well, I'm going in there," Viper said, matter-of-factly. "It looks like fun."

"Tai Lung doesn't need your help!" Tigress called after her.

"I know that," said Viper, slithering into the mass of rhinos. "That's why I'm helping the Anvil!"

"Well, she's gone," Crane remarked, then asked, "Should I fly back out and see if they're moving yet?"

"I don't know," Tigress answered. "I don't want to tire you out before the battle…" She considered a long moment, then added decisively, "Yes. Do it!"

He spread his wings, then hesitated a moment. "And if they're not…?"

She frowned, still thinking. "I don't know. Just go, I'll have an answer when you get back."

Vachir didn't know the pig's name, because he'd been too aggravated to ask. He assumed the pig held some rank – though he wouldn't put it past Yuan to send a common soldier to issue orders to him – but the little fellow, staring him square in the stomach, was just too small, and too young, and too nervous for the rhino to take him seriously. Really, had the antelope dragged this weedy pen pusher out from behind a comfortable desk in Chang'an and onto a battlefield just to annoy Vachir?

He'd appeared three times already. The first time was shortly after he'd spoken to Tigress, and it was the most confidence he'd seen the pig display. Well, not confidence, but an officiousness that presumed that merely relaying Yuan's demand that the Anvil begin moving to their newly assigned position immediately would be enough to get the thing done, and he could go back and smugly report success. That attitude had faltered in the face of Vachir's hard-headed refusal to be pushed into anything. He'd had more than enough experience ignoring whatever requests and attempts to nitpick at him that Shifu had felt inspired to send him over the years, and at least the kung fu master had tried to be polite about it. He was doing exactly nothing that some random, fussy little pig told him to.

But the pig had kept reappearing. The second time, visibly more nervous with Vachir scowling down at him, he had relayed Yuan's opinion that not enough of the Anvil were yet in motion, and his demand that the Anvil give him some proof that Tai Lung was secure in their camp. He knew why Yuan wanted to be sure the snow leopard was on hand, and had told the pig that his prisoner was at that moment surrounded by a number of his best men. The fact that Tai Lung was beating the hell out of his supposed guards went unmentioned; he'd need to check on that brawl and make sure the cat wasn't putting anyone out of commission, he thought.

The third time, he'd sent the pig off after a sharp reply to the complaint that the portion of the Anvil he had moving were moving too slow, and were considerably further west than the position they had been required to take. The pig was almost tripping over his words on that one, trying to repeat his message complete with Yuan's insinuations that they were trying to sneak away out of cowardice, without actually saying that to the large and obviously angry rhino warrior in front of him. Vachir's bellow had sent him scuttling back the way he'd come.

That had been the last of the pig for some time, but Vachir's mood hadn't improved. Irwan, still dripping from the jar of water he'd poured over his head, turning dust and sweat into tan rivulets on his grey hide, looked just as irritated.

"They're in there, and they're getting into position to attack," he said grimly. "I'd guess they're coming out of there tonight, but we couldn't get a good look. Yuan's scouts ran us off – we'd have argued the point, but we couldn't be sure they'd have enough sense to keep it quiet and not give away our position," he added sourly.

"Did you see Akshatha or Ushi?" Vachir asked.

"No. Saw an elephant giving orders, but like I said, we weren't out there long enough, or close enough. Do we have to listen to this general, Commander? He's got it all wrong!" Irwan's exasperation was plain.

Vachir hesitated a moment before he answered. "I'm working on it, Irwan," he said finally. "I'll make sure we're where we need to be."

Tigress came up to them, Mantis perched on her shoulder. "Your scouts are back?" she asked, in tone that indicated she realized they'd returned too quickly.

"Yuan's men turned them back, didn't want the competition," he grumbled. "Where's Crane?"

"Checking the Imperial party's progress," she said.

"Just hope they've made some."

"So do I." She took a deep breath. "Commander… if they haven't made any… if they're too far out…"

"I know… we'll have to—"

"Commander!" Gerel's frustrated voice broke in.

Vachir turned. "Didn't I have you and Shouren start for our new position with most of the supplies?"

We did! Shouren sent me back. It's that pig again! He caught up with us and said we were going too far west – but if you go down the west road, there's a track a little further on that heads north toward some farming villages, it would take us right near where Yuan wants us! And it's easier than hauling everything across country… What is their problem? We'll never get everything set up and get in position to fight by nightfall!"

"I know, I know! Look, just get the men headed to that north road, and if that damn pig says anything again –" He broke off as a streak of white swooped in to land beside Tigress. "Oh, good, Crane, please tell me they're –"

"Commander!" Yet another urgent voice broke in. Arigh and Bintang hustled up. "Commander! Do you know what Yuan has them doing over there?" he demanded, pointing back the way he'd come.

Vachir had the worst feeling that 'preparing to fight a battle' wasn't the answer Arigh was looking for.

"They're busy setting up a damn scaffold!" the younger rhino continued, outraged.

Vachir stared at him in an anger that should have stretched into surprise, but somehow didn't. "They're WHAT?!"

"You know, for Tai Lung's exe –"

"I know what it's for!" Vachir shouted, livid. "The enemy is massing in the Pass for an attack, and he thinks the way to spend the afternoon –"

"Commander!" This time it was Crane breaking in. They all turned to bird, usually so polite, but now insistent. "The Emperor's entourage is still locked up in that old fortress! They haven't moved at all! It's after midday, they'll never get here before dark even if they left now, and I don't even know if they've sent out scouts to see if there are enemy troops in the area!"

Vachir stared at him, his breathing harsh.

"Did you talk to Master Shifu?" Tigress asked urgently.

"No, and the captain asked me to not fly out again, I might give away their posi –"

"We're going," Vachir grated.

They turned to him. "We're -?" began Arigh.

"We're going now. To the Emperor's position. Yuan be damned, something's very wrong and someone needs to get there!"

"Will we make it in time?" Gerel asked, glancing up at the sun's position.

"We have to," the commander said shortly. "Irwan, get the lieutenants, then pass the word. Arigh, break up that brawl in the middle of the camp. Get about thirty – no, make it forty – of our best men, they're probably there anyway, put them around Tai Lung, he is not staying in this camp no matter what Yuan wants! Everyone else I want with a day's supply of food and water and their weapons and ready to go within an hour, no more. Leave the rest here. Gerel, catch up with Shouren, turn him around and meet us on the road west. Go!"

When he turned to Tigress, the smile she gave him was both approving and rather feral. He grinned back. He really liked that girl. Reminded him so much… but no time for that now. There'd be time to consider the past later – after tonight, and possibly his career, was over.

It was less than an hour later when the Anvil of Heaven began a definite move westward. Vachir figured that whoever Yuan had spying on them – and he suspected it was some of the bird messengers that passed overhead regularly – the general would take a while to realize exactly what was happening. He figured they'd get as far as that northward track Gerel had mentioned before Yuan caught on that his orders weren't being followed. And then… he could buy them a bit more time with some flimsy excuse, but he was tired of making excuses. Yuan couldn't commit men to stopping them, he knew; he couldn't be stupid enough to throw his own army into disorder, thin out his men at the head of the pass, and start fighting in his own ranks without inviting an immediate attack from Ushi.

And so he was ready when the same little pig pulled to a panting stop in front of him just after Shouren and his men rejoined the Anvil on the west road. He held up a hand for a halt and stood eyeing the pig, flanked by Chuluun and Tigress, neither of whom looked any more welcoming than he did. The pig stared back, round-eyed and frantic.

"Commander Vachir!" he said shrilly. "General Yuan demands an immediate explanation of why you have taken so long to move your company, and why you are so far out of position! You are supposed to be taking up position to the north, to protect the Emperor and his entourage when they arrive!" When he got no answer but cold stares, he persisted, his voice becoming even higher and tighter, "Where exactly are you going?!"

"We're going to protect the Emperor," Vachir finally rumbled. "Since his majesty isn't coming to us, we are going to him!"

"But our messengers have assured us that the royal entourage –"

"They're not moving. We are. That's all." The rhino took a step forward, and amazingly, the pig stood his ground. His voice had risen to a squeak, but he continued talking as he looked past Vachir to the knot of rhinos near the head of the ranks. "This is ill-advised, Commander! You've been given your orders!" he chattered. "And you can't take your prisoner with you! By General Yuan's orders, he's to be –"

Vachir cut him off with a laugh. "You want us to leave him here?" He spared a glance back at the snow leopard standing among his men. "Son, that is Tai Lung." He emphasized the name. "The only ones who've ever been able to handle him are standing right here, and I'll tell you right now, if he wanted to take off, we couldn't stop him. Maybe you've heard about the last time that happened? You really want him loose in your camp if he wants to be somewhere else?"

The pig blanched as that sank in.

"Didn't think so. Now step aside. If Yuan wants us, he knows where to find us. Tell him to have his men prepared for a night attack. He's got about three hours until dark. If he doesn't get his troops ready – find somewhere to hide."

With that he gestured his men forward again, and headed down the road, leaving the little pig to stand gaping as the mass of rhinos passed him by.

"Commander," asked one of his men, he didn't turn to see who, "are we going to make it in time?"

"We'll make it," Deshiyn answered before he could, his breath heavy. He glanced at Vachir with a rueful grin. "Been sitting around too long, Vachir. I'm out of shape."

"You'll be up to speed in no time," Vachir told him. "How's the leg?"

"Good enough. It'll ache when this is over, though. Damn cat owes me, Vachir."

Despite being a bit short of breath himself, Vachir chuckled.

"It will be close," Tigress said from his other side. Vachir had set a good pace, trying to move as fast as possible without having his men exhausted when they arrived. If he was right, they'd have a hell of a battle at the end of this march. He was grateful they'd had the chance to rest in the Valley of Peace, and even more that they'd run into Yu Chang and his boats.

"We'll make it," he said. He glanced up at the position of the sun, slightly to the right of their course. Lower than he'd like. And they'd need at least one stop for rest, and a bit of food…

"We'll make it," he repeated grimly. "We have to."

Po took the bowl Tai Lung handed back to him and hoped he hadn't just fed the snow leopard his last meal. "But what I was saying… you see it'll work, right, Tai? Just do your best, show them you really are a hero, they'll see it and have to let you go. Right?" Tai Lung gave him a quick smile, but the regret in his eyes wasn't the answer Po wanted. "I mean, considering that you'll have just saved China…"

"Again?" Tai Lung asked, but even his sarcasm seemed muted. "Po, do you know what happened the last time I 'saved China'? Within a month, I attacked the Valley."

"But it's not like that this time!" the panda insisted. "Tai, you were just mad you didn't get the Dragon Scroll! And you'd been told all your life you were going to get it, there was no way you could have known that Oogway…" Another thought struck him, and he wished the treasured relic was in his pack, not lying under his bed back at the Jade Palace. "Tai, remember when I showed you the Scroll –"

The snow leopard's face clouded for a moment, and Po thought maybe he shouldn't have brought that up. But then Tai Lung's expression became quizzical. "Po… what did you see there? That I didn't? It was blank when you first saw it, wasn't it?"

"Yeah!" Po's enthusiasm was reasserting itself. "I couldn't believe it! And like I told you then, I didn't get it, either! But think about what you saw, when you looked at it –"

"Nothing…" the snow leopard started to mutter.

"No! What did you see when you were looking at the Scroll?" Po urged. "Not written on it, or anything like that, just think, try to remember what you saw."

Tai Lung thought. "There was… just a shiny surface. It just reflected –"

"Right!" Po almost grabbed his friend, then remembered that was a bad idea. "And what you were looking at … what you saw… you just have to believe… it's what you've got in…" He stopped tripping over his own words, and tried to think how to express what he was trying to say in a coherent manner. "Did my dad ever tell you the secret of his Secret Ingredient Soup?"

Tai Lung's brow creased even more. "No…"

"Well, when you were coming into the Valley, and Master Shifu sent all of us out to evacuate everyone, and I went to the noodle shop, and my dad was talking about how we'd set up a new shop somewhere and he'd try diced vegetables instead of slices, and he saw that I was feeling pretty down, considering how I felt like I'd failed at the whole –"

A distant bellow set off an expanding echo of shouted orders. Tigress appeared at the panda's shoulder. "Po! We're getting ready to go. Hurry! There's no time to spare."

"But I was just – "

"Hurry!" And she was gone again.

When he turned back, Tai Lung was gone as well.

"Just… " He sighed in frustration, and kicked dirt over his small fire, and stuffed the bowl in his pack, and went to rejoin the column of rhinos on the road.

Mantis peered down from his perch on Crane's hat, but the land below was fading into a blur of mist and twilight. Close on their left, the wooded slopes of the mountains were dark, no movement to be seen, or any sign of life save for a few stationary lights. Cottages, Mantis hoped, of local woodcutters and charcoal makers. Stands of oak edged away the foothills onto the plain, growing sparser as the land flattened. To their right, a low fog was rising up from the valley of the Wei River, pale silver in the light of the thin crescent moon overhead.

Mantis hopped from the hat to Crane's neck, then moved under the brim to the bird's head. "This is no good," he said worriedly. "If it stayed clear, the guards at that fort could see anyone coming miles away over the plain. But with this fog, they can get too close."

"It'll clear out," Crane said. "I can feel the air currents changing. A cold wind is going to start coming off those mountains in a few hours. I just hope we have that long."

"How close are you going to get to the fort? If they told you to stay away –"

"Close enough to see what the situation is. Then we'll head back. Can you see anything moving down there?"

"Nothing that you can't – wait, over there, what's that?"

Crane banked left, slipping lower toward the plain below. Mantis stared hard at the indistinct land, thinking that anything could be hiding in the rolling terrain, and wishing he had Tigress' night vision. But as they came closer to the movement he'd seen, he relaxed. A trio of sheep, bent under loads of firewood, were hurrying home in the fading light. Southwest, he noted, away from the fortress.

"There it is," Crane said, and Mantis looked ahead of them. He saw only the brim of Crane's hat. Retracing his path, he climbed out on top of the hat. As Crane soared upward again, the hat continued to block his view. A little annoyed, Mantis worked his way to the forward edge of the hat, and could finally see the fortress far below. Lights shone in the windows of the central tower and outbuildings, and guards patrolled the walls. The heavy gates solidly blocked the one entrance he could see.

"Looks like they've got it locked up tight!" he called down to Crane.

"What?" Crane yelled back over the rush of wind. "Can't hear you! Anyway, looks like they're locked up there, I'm going back!"

Mantis caught less than half of the answer, but when Crane turned and headed back the way they'd come, he took one last look toward the mountains and then headed back under the hat. He was beginning to feel that cold breeze Crane had predicted.

The fog from the river had closed in as their road swung away from the foothills and into the lowlands. The flatter ground, no longer going up one low rolling hill and down into the shallow valley before the next, had the rhinos happier about the time they were making. The fog had drawn an anxious rumble from Vachir, worried that it would slow them down and hide any potential ambush from them, but Chuluun had pointed out that it also hid their movements from their enemies. Vachir had stepped up their pace, finally deciding that, at this point, speed was far more important than caution.

"We'll have to trust to luck, that they won't be expecting us," he said.

"And that we don't run right up the back of them," Chuluun added.

"You're just full of cheerful thoughts tonight, aren't you?"

"Just trying to think of every potential problem."

"Speaking of," Vachir grumbled. He glanced around, and saw that, while the mist hid Tai Lung fairly well, the snow leopard was still slightly behind him. He'd had to call the cat back three times already. While he was sure Tai Lung was entirely capable of causing significant damage to Akshatha's forces on his own, he couldn't be everywhere at once, and Vachir didn't want him charging into something without knowing the full situation, and giving away their presence in the area. The leopard was looking to fall in this battle, Vachir knew, but if he was busy mixing it up with Akshatha or Ushi while someone else was making short work of the Emperor, Vachir was sure they'd all wish they'd joined him before very long.

"That's strange," Viper said, from her position draped around Po's shoulders.

Po, surprised, followed her gaze upward. He'd been focused on the fight they were heading into, and the building excitement had distracted him from everything else, the long march, the increasing pace, his worries. Now he saw what Viper had noticed. While the fog was thick around them, blocking their view of anything more than a few feet away, the low-lying mist left the sky nearly clear above them. Only a slight haziness surrounded the sliver of moon and a few bright stars.

"That is weird," he agreed.

"And beautiful," Viper answered. She tightened her grip on Po, pressing closer to his warmth. "It's cold, though."

"You worried?" he asked.

She hesitated a moment. "No," she finally replied. "No, not for us. But for the others, the Anvil soldiers and the Emperor and his men… yes, I know we won't get through this without casualties. I wish…"

"Yeah," Po sighed, "Me too." He stopped a moment, caught his breath, stretched, and started moving again, speeding into a trot to keep his place in the line.

"Crane was right," Mantis said, as he leapt to Monkey's shoulder. "I think this fog is breaking up."

Monkey looked at the swirling mist around him. It did seem to be moving more than it had been, though he had thought it was the passage of their troop of rhinos that had stirred it up. Now, he noticed, all the movement seemed to be in the same direction, across their path to the north. "I think you're right," he said. "Good. I like to see what I'm doing. How far is this fortress again?"

Mantis had no idea. He could fly, low and for short distances, with the two pairs of wings folded under his carapace, but he had nothing like Crane's range or altitude, and didn't see the land the way the bird did. He had a fair idea of how long it had taken them to fly out to the fortress and back to the Anvil's position, but translating that to the speed and distance the rhinos were covering overland was impossible; and any landmarks he might have spotted from the air – and recognized in a different perspective on the ground – were hidden in the mist.

"We're close," he finally said. His answer lacked conviction.

Monkey gave him a skeptical look. "You sure?"

"Nope. Not a clue," the insect amended truthfully.

Vachir's thoughts were as churning and changeable as the receding fog. He'd get there too late, he thought. Akshatha would break into the fortress. Or he'd have help inside already, some traitor who would attack the Emperor before anyone knew there was a threat. Or, and this was most troubling, there'd be no threat at all, and he'd arrive in front of the ruler of China, safe and secure with his guards and entourage, when he was supposed to be miles away at a battle that had likely already started and was possibly – probably—going badly. It wouldn't take much for Yuan to convince the court that he and his men had slipped away out of cowardice, that their two-year absence in the south had been nothing more than skulking and hiding after the failure of their duty…

He shook his head with a snort of annoyance, and pushed the crowding worries out of his mind. Later, he thought, after he saw what the situation was, after their battle was over. There would be a battle here. He knew it. His instincts couldn't have dulled so much. He was as much the warrior as he had ever been, he thought, and tried to ignore the heaviness in his legs and his harsh breathing as the road climbed a steeper slope than most. His men were still the best, the elite warband of China, the Anvil of Heaven. They would arrive in time. They would prevail. And then Yuan and any others who had doubted them, had slighted them, could…

He was nearing the crest of the hill. He took a deep breath, slowed his pace just a bit, and looked up, and began to smile. There it was. The top floors of the fortress tower were in view, the steep roof and narrow windows glowing with a welcome golden light.

"Made it," he breathed. "We made it." He pushed himself the last short stretch to the top of the ridge, more and more of the fortress, and the valley below it, coming into view as the last of the fog swirled in the night air and drew away to the river below.

He came to an abrupt halt, throwing up a hand to stop his men even as he stared in shocked disbelief. The lights shone in the tower. The guards stood sentry on the walls.

And the heavy gates stood wide open.