Blayze's frantic red eyes scanned the battlefield, looking for the familiar yellow robe, but there was no sign of his friend. He had disappeared in the chaos, hidden by the clash of two armies. The shrieks in Monkey were distinguishable from the other growls, yips, and other noises from the other Animals. But the skilled Monkey could pick out instructions being shouted and passed along the ranks of the army of Big Green. An army that had been gathered and had come for him.

It seemed that despite his secrets, the members of Big Green thought him worth saving. When he had first seen the army of creatures and Humans marching out to meet his father and the Monkeys, he had been stunned and touched by their loyalty. For the first time in two weeks, hope had bloomed inside of his heart, and he had blinked away tears as he was prodded and guided with a shameful collar and rope to denote his father's disdain for him and his choices.

The Monkey guards around him and the Humans murmured to each other. Their instructions were to keep the prisoners, and Blayze knew that there were few Animals or Humans that could get through their skilled fighting. But a soft growl reached his ears, which flicked, and he turned to see green eyes gazing at him. His father had wanted the red Monkey on the edge of the forest in case of a needed retreat, but that left plenty of hiding places for dark cats. Blayze smiled.

"Rahim," he purred in Panther. "I was expecting you."

"Analysis?" Rahim asked in a low growl.

"Strong," Blayze muttered out of the corner of his mouth, watching the hulking Monkeys chitter about the battle. "Surprise is best. Watch their tails and keep out of reach of their teeth."

"What are you doing?" the captain asked in Monkey, his dark green fur standing upright as he looked around for danger.

Blayze tilted his head. "A diversion, perhaps?" he snarled in Panther then ran at the Humans held captive beside him before Rahim could answer.

There was a curse in Monkey. "He's lost it!" the captain spat, and they turned to appraise the frightened Humans as Blayze perched on top of Woo's father's head, now completely calm.

"What are you doing?" the captain spat.

"Distracting you," Blayze said as shadows shot from the forest, turning into Panthers.

Before the Monkey Guard could turn around, Rahim was pinning the captain to the ground by the throat, the rest of his warriors taking the others. When they were unconscious, but not dead, Rahim stood to appraise the Monkey Prince, who jumped down from Woo's father's head. The man shrank away from the Panthers, his haggard face wary.

"Rahim," Blayze sighed, holding up his arms. "I've missed you so."

"Fang He, take off that ridiculous collar," Rahim ordered.

Blayze paused, glancing over in surprise to see Lin Chung standing there, his features decidedly Panther-like. His cheeks warmed, but he knelt down and pulled a knife from his hip. Blayze hesitated as Lin Chung reached for him.

"Commander? Don't make me disobey my Bàba," Lin Chung said gently.

"Are you angry?" Blayze asked cautiously.

"No, Commander. I understand, perhaps better than anybody else. Besides Woo."

Blayze scanned Lin Chung's serious face, and he nodded, stepping forward to allow the knife to slice through the humiliating collar. Lin Chung wrinkled his nose and tossed away the collar and rope. Before anything else could happen, a whining sizzle made them all look up in wonder to see an arrow falling about fifty yards away near the edge of the forest. Blayze wondered at what it was as he watched it hit the ground harmlessly. At least, he thought it was harmless until the lush, greensward caught fire as easily as if it were dry and parched. Blayze gasped, and the Panthers shrank back.

"You disgusting little fool!" a voice called above the cry of fire. "You dare bring your red flower back! This time, you will die by it!"

And from somewhere on the battlefield, Woo gave a cry of pain. Blayze shot to his feet, straining to see above the increasingly chaotic fighting as the Animals pushed to get away from the spreading flames. Cursing in Monkey, he launched himself on top of Lin Chung's shoulders to see. His eyes caught sight of the yellow of Woo's robe and a flash of black. Blayze wailed in horror to see his father dragging Woo toward the cliff by the throat. The man's fingers were scrambling at the dark paw that held him. Woo's face began to turn red, and Blayze felt his own rage burn inside of his soul.

"Take Woo's family and get them safely on our side," Blayze snapped, then he jumped and began to run toward his father and his best friend.

"Blayze!" Rahim shouted, and the Monkeys loyal to the king turned to see that their prisoners were no longer prisoners.

Rahim dropped to all fours and bared his teeth, his hackles raising. Lin Chung hurried over to the Humans and used his knife to cut their ropes.

"Follow me," the Panther-child said tersely.

"You're Human?" the tall man asked.

"Yes," Lin Chung replied. A yowl of warning told him that Monkeys were beginning to converge on his father. "Come, now!"

And he shot into the forest, followed by the Humans, who looked back to try and see Woo, but smoke from the wet grass obscured their vision.

Blayze had bowled through the back line of Monkey warriors and was a long way away from Rahim and the Panthers by the time that Monkeys started to register who he was. He tensed and jumped up onto the trunk of an Elephant, climbing up to the back to scan what was going on. The Elephant tried to grab him, thinking him an enemy, but Blayze spat in Human.

"No, no! I'm on your side! Stay still!"

"Commander ApeTrully?" the Elephant squeaked then lowered his trunk obediently.

Blayze had never been gladder that his voice was so distinctive, no matter what language he spoke, but especially in Human-speak. He saw his father dragging Woo by the ankle up the cliff, and a thrill of dismay ran through the Monkey. Throwing himself to the ground, he sprinted for the sheer wall. A gleam of light off of metal flashed, and he paused for only a moment to grab Woo's knife, which had been torn from the man's grip and thrown away. He put the flat of the blade between his teeth then began to climb.

Woo was dragged over the edge of the cliff, dizzy and gasping. His head was swimming, and he couldn't seem to catch his breath, which had been mercilessly squeezed out of him by the black Monkey. The man's face felt hot from the rush of blood after he was grabbed by his ankle to be hauled up. He needed a moment to catch his breath, but Severne didn't give him the chance. He was kicked hard, rolling several feet away as he gasped in pain and clutched at his ribs.

The man pushed himself up, staring up at the Monkey without fear. He knew as he stared in those hate-filled eyes that he was going to die. He knew why he was dragged up here. He was to be tossed down to the ground, to shatter when he hit, to be an example to the enemies of the Monkeys. But still, Woo wasn't afraid. Blayze was safe, and Severne could do nothing to the rest of his family while they were in Big Green. And the man saw that Severne was angry.

"Fear me, fool," he hissed, backhanding Woo's face.

Woo's teeth dug into his cheek, and he turned to spit out blood as he sat up again. "No. I'm not afraid of you, Severne. Kill me if you want, but you've lost Blayze, and you've lost my family. You'll never touch them again. Blayze won't let you."

Severne turned to look over the battlefield. Flames crackled over the grass, sending smoke across his vision. But he could see his unconscious warriors, and there was a distinct lack of Human prisoners, not to mention his traitorous son. With a shriek of rage that drew everybody's attention upward to peer through the smoke, the black Monkey snagged Woo by the throat with both hands and jerked him up, holding the small Human over the edge of the cliff. The battlefield rang with silence, and the members of Big Green gaped in horror. The Monkeys stared up, some with glee, some with dismay, but all eyes were on the Human and the Monkey.

"Say goodbye, filth," Severne hissed.

As his grip on Woo loosened, letting precious air flow into the man's body, several things happened at once. A shriek, louder and even wilder than Severne's reached his ears. A flash of red hit the black Monkey, knocking him over. Woo began to fall, but it only lasted two seconds. A strong, trembling hand grasped at his hand, heaving him up. A cheer from the members of Big Green sounded out, and some of the Monkeys jeered in disappointment. Woo looked up to see Blayze, panting and shivering from his swift climb.

"You okay, Woo?" Blayze asked gently, tugging him away from the edge.

Woo could do nothing but nod, his heart pounding a mile a minute. "Blayze," he croaked, tears in his eyes.

"Stay still. Stay back. This is between me and my father."

Blayze turned to face his father, who was standing feet from the river that rushed toward a steep descent. His black eyes were filled with such rage that the red Monkey should have cowered away like he always did. But he stared at his father with his own rage blooming inside of his chest. The Monkey had tried to kill Woo. His best friend. That was unacceptable, and Blayze was determined to never let it happen again.

"Bow down to your king," Severne shouted in Human-speak, his voice carrying down to the watching armies.

Blayze took a deep breath then stood tall and spoke calmly, but firmly. "You will no longer be king after today, Father."

"Then I will kill you both!"

"Try it," Blayze said icily, dropping into a defensive position.

This time, Severne launched himself over immediately, and they clashed in a manic ball of fur and fury. Woo watched, taking in great gulps of air, and he noticed his knife lying on the ground. Blayze must have grabbed it, so he took it up and placed it in the sheath at his hip. They wrestled and snapped, blood pooling on the ground as they began to injure each other. Woo was conflicted about interfering, so he sat and watched, his mind working so fast that he could barely catch a single thought.

Severne suddenly got the upper hand, pinning Blayze right next to the shoreline. His black eyes blazed with such fire as he pressed his son's face into the water, holding him down. Woo let out a noise that was so savage that even the king's loyal Monkeys shrank back. Hardwin knew then that something terrible was going on, and he gave a cry and shot toward the cliff to scale it, frantic to get to his friends and berating himself for not climbing sooner.

Woo ran over to the black Monkey, grabbing his tail and heaving. Severne ignored him, and that made him mad. Being ignored hurt more than anything else for Woo the Wise. After being raised in a family that prized strength and size more than brains and smarts, being forced to play second-fiddle to his older brothers, being taunted and teased, his school achievements never being recognized as much as their wrestling or sports, Woo snapped as Severne ignored him, treating him as if he didn't matter. But Woo would prove him wrong. Taking the black appendage in between his two hands, he bit down as hard as he could, the coppery taste of blood spreading over his tongue as Severne reared and screamed in agony.

Blayze sat up, mud all over his white face as he spat out muck and water. He registered his father grasping his tail, cursing and shouting in Monkey as blood dripped onto the ground from a bite. Woo's face was smeared with the king's blood, and he looked triumphant. Blayze grabbed at his father's ankle and began to drag him into the river. Severne may have learned Human-speak, but there was nothing that would make him learn to swim. Sure enough, Severne began to struggle, shrieking in fear. Something had changed in his demeanor, and Woo saw defeat in those black eyes. At that moment, he knew that Severne had finally realized that he couldn't overpower the two of them together. So Woo jumped forward and began to shove and push the Monkey into the current.

As Hardwin crested the rise, he saw Severne slip into the current. Before he could crow in triumph, the dark paw snagged Woo's ankle and dragged him in. Woo tumbled into the water, and Blayze shrieked in despair and anger, splashing toward them. But the current swept them away, faster and faster, their heads popping up for brief moments as they tumbled toward the waterfall. Hardwin was locked in horror as he saw Blayze grab Woo's arm and a branch, heaving him up to breathe. They met each other's eyes and Woo said something that Hardwin couldn't hear. Blayze nodded, then to Hardwin's dismay, he released the branch, and they were swept over the edge. Not a sound besides the rushing water could be heard.

And then he heard screaming. It took him a moment to realize it was himself.