"I wonder how much do you preen your feathers?"

"That really isn't any of your business, Bucky."

"It must take a lot of devoted time and patience to make sure you look well and presentable. Or maybe it doesn't? How much time does it usually take? A couple quick seconds? A few practiced minutes? Or maybe even a couple well-used and patient hours?"

"Bucky..."

"It's rather important that you look presentable, otherwise you only get the decent-class snacks instead of the nest snacks."

"I'm this close..." Fenghuang rubbed her forehead in utter aggravation. "He hasn't even been here for that long...and yet I'm this close..."

"You are not to harm him, Fenghuang." Shifu stated with authority.

"But Midget, he's asking for it! And I really wanna give it to him!"

"Like I said, you are not to harm him."

The bird huffed, folding her wings. "As I expected. The little Yao fanboy defends him on every front."

"I am most certainly NOT a fanboy! I just find his accomplishments and everything he's done to be incredibly interesting in many ways, and consider myself a loyal supporter of them!"

"Yeah...you're a fanboy for Yao. It's written all over your stupid face."

"And you're Tsundere for Po in the mentoring sense. Guess we're even."

"You're asking for a severe beatdown, you pint-sized fuzzball!"

The bickering of the two Masters continued once again, turning into yet another shouting match. The others have long sense stopped trying to break them up, instead settling on waiting for them to tire out their lungs without harming themselves. If it gets physical, then they'll try and step in. Though a certain wolfess seems to find the whole ordeal utterly hilarious, while her son thought a bit differently. In the sense that he didn't think it was that funny. However, he was not lost on how it can be seen that way.

Xuě, in the meantime, was speaking with the group on a certain matter. Being the one who was locked up by Jong, she was surprised to hear that they had just let both he and his son go after all they've done to them. It was especially personal for Monkey, but he just dropped it entirely before he actually got to do anything. After seeing the damage already done to Jong, such as barely being able to walk, losing all of his money, and just being happy that his son is safe. Monkey honestly can't do more to the guy aside from killing him, and that just wasn't how he worked. Although bitterly, he sent the man away with nothing more than a wave of dismissal. That must have taken a lot of inner strength to do. If she had stayed a week longer in the conditions she was placed in, she wouldn't have restrained herself as much as she did.

But then hearing that the ghost of Master Ding is behind a majority of his recent truly despicable acts, such as ordering the Valley of Peace to be burned to the ground via Lin Kuei, when no one was competent or strong enough to prevent it. And those that were strong enough were either sent away, or they ascended...like Oogway. The world was cruel enough to do something like that to the Valley of Peace without anyone's notice, until it was far too late. Ultimately, to her surprise, it was the goofy panda who had decided that there was nothing more they could do for the fallen Valley, and that it was best that they move on. He didn't look like the type of person to make such important decisions like that, but it's true.

Further on, she heard that the wolf she was curious about was also the one who saved Mrs. Yoon and sparing her from sharing the same fate as the rest of the villagers. She was glad he did, because Mrs. Yoon looks and acts too sweet to die in such a manner. It was a matter of luck that Ànyǐng was able to save someone, even if it was only one single villager. And it was someone Mr. Ping and Po held in high regard. She was sure that they've already showed their gratefulness to immense degrees. Yet he still feels like he's hasn't done anything that deserves serious acknowledgement. She wonders if he's downplaying himself on purpose for some reason. And another wonder of hers is if his mother knows something of it. One thing's for sure, he was kind of bumming her out with how little he views himself despite what compliments he's been told.

"So, Xuě." Monkey called on her, gaining the anthro goat's attention. "You seem like a rather calm person, with a rather steel glare. Anything we should know about you? You said that Jong had you in a cage for some reason. Something about powers?" She nodded softly as she rose a paw upwards, and a flake of snow appeared a bit above it, sparkling brilliantly. "Woah...snow powers?"

"And ice. Pretty cool."

"Ahaha! I see what you did there!"

"As I suspected, she's one of the special ones! I'm intrigued!" Master Yao beamed. "As I said earlier, she's gifted in a different sense. Everyone has their own gift in various ways, none are exactly the same. For examlple, our goat maiden here has a affinity for snow and ice, in a level that isn't possible to be taught. Another example would be extremely fast learning rates, such as Po and Master Fenghuang. The Twelve Impossible Moves are not easy techniques to learn, much less Master them. However...remember how there used to be Seven Impossible Moves? Fenghuang took it a step further and made five more! As for Po, he managed to depower them to a degree where he can use them a lot easier and yet they still pack a lot of power. The both of them are so different from everyone else, that no one can expect them to be so creative!" Master Yao clapped. "They're geniuses in their own rights!"

Mantis tilted his head. "Po? Our Po? A genius?"

Master Yao simply smiled. "You wouldn't have expected me to be an experienced Master in my own right due to my personality, would you?" Mantis was a bit stunned by this. "Some expectations are meant to be surpassed. The matter of how and when it's done, it depends. Nothing is completely certain in this strange fascinating world of ours. Anything can happen." There were a couple moments of silence that took hold of the group after this experienced statement...then he broke said silence in the most unexpected way possible: "So Fuzzy! When are you going to truly reconcile with the Kind and Lovely Vixen Comrade of yours?"

"Ah, what an interesting conversation topic~" Mei Ling said while leaning close to Shifu with rather mischievous eyes. The close contact caused him to blush, and he shook his head while trying to regain focus. This only caused her to leaned even closer, lightly rubbing his cheek with her own, leaving him unable to hide his blush from her. "And your reaction to my closeness tells me that you agree~"

"Y-You're insinuating incorrectly, Mei Ling!"

"Am I really?" She said slyly, which only made the blush even worse.

"You two seem awfully close as it is? Why not get on with it?" Lièrén said, her paws behind her neck. "It's very clear that both of you still have a thing for each other, and both wanna get back to business." She scratched her snout a bit as she shot a glance towards Peng and Lian. "I wonder if..."

"Mom. Please." Her eldest son groaned silently.

"What? You don't even know what I'm going to say!"

"But I can make an accurate guess on what you're thinking, and I'm sure it's worse than what you're about to say."

"...you don't know that." She said while turning her head to the side with her arms folded. "I can be interested in certain topics, you know. You think I can't innocently support a lovely couple when I see one?"

"No...but given enough time you'll twist it into something far less than innocent."

"Not true!" She said, her voice sounding like she was majorly offended...but Ànyǐng saw the look in her eyes that highly betrayed her words. She'll get like this only if his younger brother wasn't around to hear or see it. She does have some degree of self-control over herself...once in a while. It really depended on what her definition of 'control' was with every passing day. She tends to change it often to suit her current mood.

Right now she was playing around and having a laugh. All while at some point or another, she quickly scanned the panda in the group with a few seconds of seriousness, before flashing back to her antics before anyone can call her out on it. There are rimes when even he cannot tell what his mother was thinking. Yet she seems to have a good idea on how to read people without accidentally giving a clear signal of her own intentions. It's a skill he lacked but wish he had, and didn't know how she acquired, given her personality.

"You want something?" She said after sensing Fung turn to her. A bit startled by hoq quickly she noticed, the croc regained his composure.

"Um...Ms. Lièrén?"

"You don't have to worry about that formality crap. It's fine."

"Okay. If you don't mind me asking...how strong are you?"

"Strong? Is that what you're asking me about? Really?" She rose an amused eyebrow. "Maybe you're just wondering how I manage to rein in an entire village sized pack of wolves? Ya see, it's actually quite simple."

"How?"

"By asserting my dominance and make sure that they remember that I'm the boss. The Alpha Wolf. Now, that doesn't mean I'm not a nice wolf. I might be one of the nicer wolves you'll ever meet aside from my sons. I let everyone else roughhouse, couple fights, having some mischievous fun. I'm mostly a laid-back wolfess. But sometimes the pack gets a bit too wild when they gotta be tame for a specific situation, so it falls on me to make sure they do so."

"Meaning?" Monkey wondered.

She shrugged. "Lemme put it this way. When I actually get serious and tell them to they need to sit, they'd better sit. No ands, ifs, or buts about it. And if course anyone outside who represents a legit threat against my pack...it doesn't end well for them. Like, at all." Silence took over the area as she said this in a serious tone that seemed very unlike her according to how much they know about her so far, besides her sons. "...Zzzzzzz..."

"...You must be joking." Shifu's eye twitched as the wolfess somehow falls asleep while still walking down the path she was leading them down.

"She has narcolepsy." Ànyǐng said.

"Narco-what?" Mantis scratched his head.

"It's a sleeping disorder that causes overwhelming drowsiness at random times. I don't know how long Mom's had it, though."

"Huh. There are all sorts of crazy disorders out in the world, but there's one that causes uncontrollable sleeping. What do you think of that, Po?"

"..."

"...Po?"

Fenghuang quietly looked at the panda's back in slight concern. He's been awfully quiet ever since that encounter. It's not like him to be so lost in his thoughts. What has he been seeing that makes him freeze up and completely reduce his reaction time? Does it have to do with anything that Masters Rhino, Croc, and Ox think they've got hidden? He won't be happy about it if that's the case.

Lièrén's snot bubble pops at an opportune time, and she looks upward. "Aha! Here we are!" Everyone followed her gaze, and were a bit awed to see that they were so far up the mountain path in such a short amount of time. Perhaps they weren't paying nearly as much attention as they thought they were. The wolfess smiled at the display. "The gates are up ahead. When you're ready, you can go unlock them. I'm sure that the many citizens trapped in there will appreciate the gesture."

"Wait...you're not gonna show us the secret way in that you always take?" Po spoke up for the first time in a while.

"Sorry sweetie, that's for my own use only. As such, this is as far as I go." She placed her paws behind her neck and began casually walking away from the mountain. "Be sure to take good care of my son, will ya? If he doesn't toughen up soon, he'll be mistaken for a wimp. And I know he's nothing of the sort."

"Mom..."

"Oh! I almost forgot! Kiss me goodbye." Ànyǐng blinked a bit in exhuastion at his mother's randomness, but complied. A sweet, affectionate mother-son kiss later, and she was on jer way, wishing them luck. Fenghuang aised a confused eyebrow at this action.

She'll show us the main entrance and not her own secret way inside? She just wants us to open the gates like that? Well...she suggested that she had her own way...she never said she would show it to us. Pup...I really don't know what your mother is playing at...but it's really got me wondering what she's trying to pull.

"Wow. It's that easy, huh?" Monkey wondered while scratching his head. "Heh. She's quite a nice lady, more than I thought of at first."

"I don't know. She's a kind of strange that puts me on edge, but not enough to actually feel threatening to me. It's a weird sensation." Crane said quietly, unsure of how else to say it.

"Whatever. I think we should just open those damned gates already and see what's up?" Fenghuang waved her wing carelessly. "Let's see what's really inside."

"Oh! I'll open it! I wish to see how it opens!" Yao said gleefully as he made his way to the gate in order to open a way to the city...

(Within Mount Penglai)

How long has it been since this place has been locked up from the inside, and he's literally thrown away the only key to unlocking it? Qinchu didn't remember, not that he needed to for some reason. It's been made awfully clear that decision he made was absolutely finals and no one would be able to change his mind. Why would he? Everything's been going fine for years, so why change anything now?

The fox was a bit hesitant about one detail, though. The crows he sent out for patrol(since flying is about the only way to escape this place without his immediate interference, and very few citizens here have wings) have not reported back yet. His city has been in immense danger of being driven back to chaos ever since some skinny blackbuck named Master Yao managed to get his hands on the Key to Mount Penglai by sheer dumb luck. No one was actually supposed to find it, it was supposed to be impossible because of it's constant movement in the mail system. The only reason the Kung Fu Express never got it's hands on it was because very few could get into Mount Penglai at all, much less find the key to it. After all, they're never allowed to open messages that aren't addressed to them. Unfortunately, it seems as though that lucky break was about to end soon.

He was extremely tense about this turn of events. If someone else were to get into the city, and everyone else was able to get out...it could spell out problems for both his own well-being, and his reputation. Though to be honest, the latter matters so much less compared to his health, which has unsurprisingly values more than his reputation. Especially Since he knows full well the nature of his employer. He'd rather not have his health in a type of danger he can't recover from.

So he needs to find that key, and he needs to find it soon.

"Qinchu! We have problems!" He raised his head as his crows came spiraling out of control and into the palace, crashing into the ground, painfully. They struggled to get back up, and he's slightly annoyed to see them so worked up.

"What's going on with you all?"

"Some group is heading this way, sir! And they brought Master Yao along with the Key of Penglai! They're going to open the gates!" A small, strained pause took over for a moment. "It's a rather troublesome bunch, mostly being lead by a panda!"

...Yep. Qinchu feels like he's screwed doubly so. Getting the key back, that's one problem. But now there's a panda involved?! His employer is most definitely not going to like this...if it gets out. He feels panicked, but not enough to be unable to act. Before bad news can get out to his employer, he'll have to get rid of the problem altogether, before it gets worse.

Yes. He knew what to do now. His employer doesn't have to know that a panda is running around...because he's going to devote all of his forces to eliminating said panda before he can grow to be a serious problem. Will it be horribly unnecessary? Of course not. He needed to be absolutely sure that the panda wouldn't be any sort of problem whatsoever. Which means he has to be separated from his party.

Qinchu narrowed his eyes. "Target the panda. Find him. Eliminate him. I don't care how. He can't leave this city, should he enter."

"Understood!" The crows all saluted, as they all flapped their wings and flew out of the palace, leaving the tall fox to himself. This city was far too important to his employer to be taken over by a panda. And the fact that it's a panda at all will be enough for everything to go boiling over and burning him intensely.

He would stay in control, regardless of who had to pay for it.

(With the Group)

The city was looking unexpected, at least to Monkey.

It wasn't just a city on a mountain, like most of them sort of expected. It was a city surrounded by a forest on top of a mountain. And it was much...prettier...? Probably not the proper description to give, but it's how Viper sees it, to an extent. Most of the buildings were a bright pink along no with a dark shade of purple. Noticably there were a couple of cliffs that go a bit higher than the taller buildings, and the cliffs were also mostly covered in thick green trees, which extends the reaches of the forests.

Fung made special note that while the city was extremely big, it wasn't anywhere close to being big as Gongmen City. That they would experience for themselves soon enough. Right now, they had to get through this entire mess going on. There was no way that the citizens wouldn't recognize that the gates have been opened after who knows how many years. They certainly looked like they wanted out, so they were just granting that request.

Though they were a bit unprepared for what happened next, for two different reasons.

The citizens in question were walking out of their homes, visibly shocked that the gates were actually open. And they also looked extremely worried for the group at hand. Monkey tilted his head. "Those faces look like a strange mix of concern and gratefulness. Wonder what's going on?"

"Most likely, whoever is responsible for putting the people in a situation like this, is giving them a reason to be pretty angry over their conditions, and they choose to direct towards the one responsible. We just have to find out exactly who that is."

"I'll go look around." Po volunteered, gaining a couple looks from his comrades.

"Are you sure?" Fenghuang asked seriously.

"Master, I'm fine. I just...need a distraction. Is that the right way to call it...? I don't know. I just gotta think about other things for a while."

"If it'll make things a bit easier, I'll go with him." Viper said whioe slithering up his leg, around his belly, and coiled gently around his arm with her head appearing next to his. "He could use a looking around buddy, right?" Po manages a small smile due to this, and nodded quietly. "We'd better choose a path soon."

"Let's go one way. Which is this way." Po said while pointing to the side. He then folloeed that direction as Viper was wrapped securely around his arm. The others saw them off with a hint of concern for Po. Tigress and Fenghuang especially.

"I'm still sensing something is wrong with him..." Tigress said, clutching her scarf.

"Yeah. But look at it this way. If you all keeping prodding at him for answers while he feels so tense, he'll just close up even more." Bian Zao yawned, scratching his back. "Don't rush the guy. Give him some time to recollect himself before he opens up."

"Those blasted nightmares of his...now they've become...daymares!" Mr. Ping grumbled. Taotie turned to him with a look of bewilderment. The goose didn't understand why. "What? You've never heard of daymares before?"

"It just...sounds like a strange term to me."

"You're not nocturnal, you don't get to criticize." Fenghuang said, blinking her eyes a little. "Daymares on those that aren't nocturnal are no joke. I don't want them to interefere with Po's reaction times. It could prove dangerous."

"Exactly what I was thinking..." Tigress mumbled quietly while staring into the direction Po went with Viper. She chose to rein in her protective urges for the time being because he wasn't in any immediate danger. For now, she had to focus on something else. Tigress turned to Fung. "We should find out what these people know. I can feel how tense they are. They know the gates are open but they're too afraid to leave. We shoukd try and change that, but after we get some information."

"Yeah. That's probably for the best."

Shifu's ears twitched as he held his claim over his head. Some passing citizens were eying the group curiously. Too much curiosity in their part can prove a bit impeding on progress if left unchecked. "Standing around will get us nowhere. We shall disperse for the time being and meet back up in one place when one of us finds something important."

"Understood." The party dispersed in different factions, willing to explore the city if it means looking for the answers that they seeked.

There was a shift in the wind on one of the roofs on the buildings, as well as dust picking up...

Someone is watching.

(With Po and Viper)

"This place is bigger than I expected." Po said, a bit entranced by the architecture and colors of the city. And to think, Fung insists that Gongmen is still much larger. It's strange that every time Po thinks about the word 'Gongmen', his head begins to ache terribly for a couple moments, then it goes away like it was never there. Strange.

"Yeah. It's prettier than I imagined it to be. Now if only people didn't look so nervous or angry. I don't think they're angry at us, though." Viper said, taking in the citizens faces. Most of them seemed angry at the mere fact that they were still in the city, yet there was the underlying fear in their eyes that prevents them from attempting to leave. It must be a very frustrating combination. "The gates are open...why won't they just leave?"

"Maybe they're not ready to leave yet. Who knows?"

"They do. But I don't think they're very willing to tell us about it."

"True..." His hat obscured his eyes just a bit after this. "Ah man...I don't wanna stay down in the dumps. I gotta find something to do." He looked up towards a palace far ahead of them, his eye raised. "Hey...there's a palace all the way over there! Maybe the guy in charge-"

"Ahem."

"-or gal in charge-"

"That's better."

"-can tell us what's up with these people. If there's anything more suffocating than being imprisoned, it's being free yet still feeling imprisoned. It's one of the worst kinds of mind games I really don't wanna play."

"Right. We should hear there." Viper started. Then she flicked her tongue a bit, and she tightened her coil on Po's arm a bit, signalling for him to stop walking. "...but I don't think they'll let us pass that easily."

"What do you mean...oh."

Po's voice trailed off as he now saw why Viper made him stop. All the citizens quickly retreated inside their homes or businesses and locked everything down as tightly as possible. The reason why, would be the pack of wolves that tried to antagonize them earlier, except this time their numbers increased, and a couple crows accompanied them overhead. All of their weapons were drawn, a combination of hook sword wielders, staff wielders, and bow and arrows. And all of them were locked onto Po. They didn't even bat an eye to Viper, which was actually made her worry more.

"You've gone and done it now, panda."

"Done what?"

"You opened the gates of Penglai. No one was ever supposed to get in here without the Official's say-so...and yet here you are, breaking the rules. Now...this would warrant being thrown down the mountain..."

"Um...yeah..that sounds rather painful. I would rather not do that."

"Oh that's fine. We're going with a better solution. We're gonna kill you."

"...Dude. What the hell?! That's nowhere near the terms of a better solution!"

"We didn't say it was a better solution for you, now did we?" The wolves narrowed their eyes. "Don't take this personally. But if the big boss finds out that there's a panda running around outside of his notice, he'll never stop obsessing over it, and he'll pour all of his resources into killing you until he's sure you're dead."

"What? Who? Why does this guy you're describing to be sound like he hates pandas?"

"Because he does."

"Seriously?! Who is this guy and why does he hate me that badly?! I didn't do anything to him, whoever he is!"

"He's paranoid. It's what you could do that's the problem, and it's enough for him to send big enough forces to try and deal you in. We can keep him from going over the edge by erasing you before he ever catches wind of your existence."

"That's...rather harsh."

"It's business."

Po quickly deduced that the conversation ended there, as one or the wolves shot an arrow in his direction. Viper uncoiled slightly so she could lash her tail out and break the arrow in half before it can reach him. He pulled his hat back so it hung around the back of his neck, and pouted as the wolves began moving closer with vicious looks on their faces as well as the killing intent emitting from each and every one of them.

"Business is harsh..."

(With Shifu and Fenghuang)

Of course she'd still be stuck with him.

Fenghuang rubbed her forehead with her wings to soothe her growing headache. Shifu had insisted that they bring Master Yao into their faction, and she found out she didn't have a choice in the issue. Because Mr. Ping had agreed to the notion, and she forced her beak shut after that. There are some times she wished that the goose and panda duo didn't have such an effect on her.

Right now the blackbuck was describing everything he saw in explicit detail and admiring it to such a degree that it was making her headache much worse. Though Shifu seemed tolerant of it, Taotie simply ignored him, and Mr. Ping was happily going along with it. The last bit was the only reason she wasn't reacting violently. At least not on a physical level.

"Agh! Can't I just kick his ass a little?"

"No."

"How about I slit his throat?"

"No!"

"Not enough to kill him! Just enough to be sure that he can never use his voice again."

"Fenghuang, so help me..."

"Don't tell me you're not annoyed by his constant talking!"

"Just like how I'm annoyed by your constant whining?"

"You can't turn that against me!"

"Strange, I'm pretty sure I just did."

Mr. Ping and Yao were watching with amused expressions as the two went back and forth with each other over Master Yao. The blackbuck chuckled a bit.

"They must really care for one another."

"Are you serious? They look like they hate each other." Taotie said with disbelief.

"Some friendships are strange like that. The more that they bicker and spat, the deeper their bond is. The same goes for the younger ones."

"In that case they all must really care about one another. By what I've seen and heard, they've been at each others throats ever since their entire journey started." Mei Ling said with amusement in her voice as well. "Fufie is definitely fiery when he wishes to be." The mere mention of it makes her tail swish eagerly. Taotie takes notice of this, and chuckled. Soon...

Shifu's ears visibly twitched as he caught notice of a passing conversation. He didn't pay any mind at first, but then he heard 'panda' and immediately brought this to Fenghuang's attention. He pulled her to the side while simultaneously telling the others to hide on the other, kneeling as much as they can behind barrels. They were now able to hear the conversation themselves, though it was clearest to Shifu. However, what was said definitely reached Fenghuang first, as she watched a patrol of rhinos walk by. So tit wasn't just wolves and crows keeping this place on lockdown?

"-and he said all forces are needed for this. He doesn't want to take any chances."

"I still think his employer is too paranoid. I mean really, what can one single panda do against a whole army?"

"That's not something he wants to risk finding out, which is why this job is so important. Again most of our forces are to converge on the panda."

"And...?"

"Orders are that he needs to be terminated at any cost. He was pretty serious."

"Real serious, huh? Well I guess it can't be helped, then. We kill the panda at all costs."

The rhinos suddenly felt much, much, much colder all of a sudden, as they shivered in their armor. The weather was perfectly warm and it wasn't windy outside, so they were immensely confused. That was, at least until they see a bunch of barrels suddenly being scattered from a powerful burst of wind. They shield themselves with their arms to attempt to defend from the damaging debris. When the onslaught of debris stopped at last, they were met with an unsettling sight. And they now see an owo with her wings raised, as well as her eyes narrowed to slits. She was also emitting a violent purple aura, which was the source of their sudden coldness. It was clear she was not happy.

"...I'm sorry. Mind repeating that?" She said in a deceivingly sweet voice. "Because...I could have sworn you all were talking about ganging up on a panda in order to try and kill him. Am I correct?"

The rhinos stared at her strangely in bewilderment, then anger. "Hey! We've patrolled this city hundreds of times and we don't remember seeing you anywhere! Who are-" The rhinos were a bit slow to comprehend what had happened. A swift white blur had appeared and kicked their comrade so hard into the ground it made a small crater with cracks in it. It was revealed that Shifu is the one who attacked swiftly and knocked out the rhino in danger. He looked up slowly with his eyes dangerously narrowed.

"...That's not answering her question." He said simply, though his voice was low and dangerous. "Fenghuang...go check on Po. We'll deal with them." He disappeared in a burst of speed once again, and another rhino was sent spiralling into a wall behind them. He revealed himself to have thrown the rhino with slightly ruthless force. The other thinks began reacting to the sudden events, and tried to charge at the red panda assaulting them. He turned slightly and once again vanished swiftly, hopping onto one of the rhinos heads, grabbing him by the horn and swinging him into his fellow patrolmen. One tried to sneak up on him with an axe, but Mei Ling intervened and sent him flying with a spiral kick identical to Shifu's. She took a stand by his side, noticing something.

"Looks like more of them are coming, Shifu."

"Let them come. I could use something to hit." Shifu retorted as both of them got ready to fight. Fenghuang nodded to them and flew off on her own in order to find Po.

Taotie, Yao, and Mr. Ping stayed back, allowing then others to have their space to fight. However, Taotie looked ahead of them and saw a building that's drastically different than the others. It was big, metals and it was emitting a lot of steam from the roofs and windows...

A metal factory...?

(With Tigress)

"I'm trying to think of a way for us to better bond with one another." Lian said as she was walkng beside Peng and Bian Zao. The latter sighed as he kept listening to her a bit absentmindly. "Don't give me that, bestie! I know you've been thinking about it! We should find some way to deepen our connection to one another on another rlevel of closeness, you know?"

"Why should we try so hard just to get closer to one another? We seem pretty close at this point, why rush the great progress we've already made?" The warthog shrugged slightly. "We'll end up tripping ourselves if we push it too hard."

"How'd I know you'd say that, you Lazy-Ass?"

"You're using that name too?!"

Tigress couldn't help but feel amused by the situation the youngest of the party were having amongst themselves. Lian and Bian Zao were kind of in the midst of an argument and Peng is trying in vain break them up. The others looked on with amusement as well, appreciating the lightness that the air seemed to have taken. Tigress sure could use a lot less stress, and this was helping. Eleven if it is a bit silly.

Though of course, this wouldn't last too long.

She sensed a disturbance somewhere close to her. The others seemed to have noticed, as Crane looked towards her in concern. "Something catch your notice, Tigress?"

She nodded silently, as she pointed towards the roof. "There." She said briefly, before she leapt up high and followed the disturbance quickly. The others gasped at her sudden movement and did their best to follow her. Monkey, Mantis, and Crane were the ones choosing to follow her. Fung, Ànyǐng, Xuě, Song and the rest chose to stay behind and wait a little for them to return, while they watch for something suspicious.

Tigress saw somebody across the rooftops, just stopping once she also jumped on the rooftop. They turned around slightly to get a look at her. She couldn't see a face under the cloak, which prompted her to get closer. Then he leapt off the roof and back into the streets, prompting the others to do their best to follow her. She was pretty determined to chase this person down, whoever they were.

Just then, another patrol of rhinos chose to get in the stranger's way, forcing them to stop. They all pointed their spears at the stranger. "Hold it, trespassers! No one's ever seen you here before, which means you must have came in when the gates opened on their own! No outsiders are allowed in the city!"

The stranger chuckled, and Tigress was sure it sounded male...and familiar. "C'mon, fellas. Be ressonable. I'm just passing by here, going on a little stroll." He raised his arms up in mock surrender. "I don't wish to cause chaos upon this city...even though the official is utterly unfit to lead it."

"You insult our leader one more time, we'll skewer you!"

"Easy, guys. Can't we just get along and be drinking buddies? I'll pay."

The response was for one of the rhinos to jab his spear at him in irritated rage, only to hit nothing. He was confused for a moment...only to immediately lose consciousness once he felt a fist impact his skull and bash into the ground with unrelenting force. The other rhinos gasped in shock but nonetheless tried to attack him too. They quickly found that idea to be foolish, as the stranger went on to rush them with brutal strikes to their chests and abdomens, before finally being smashed into the ground just like their buddy. He then stood up and side, and Tigress could see him shaking his head in disappointment.

"That's too bad. I know a place with quality wine, too."

He then turned to face Tigress, who instictively shifted into an attack stance. He stopped his advance then and there, allowing a few moments of tense silence to pass between them. He then finally found his voice. "Heh...how long has it been? Sixteen...seventeen years or so? I can't believe I bumped into you all the way out here. I gotta say, you've turned into quite a beautiful woman while I was away. You've also gotten much stronger, I can tell." She raised an eyebrow in confusion, which caused him to sigh a bit. "Yeah. Memories don't always stick together very well. We've both changed drastically sense the last time we've seen one another." This only caused Tigress more confusion, but she was definitely getting closer. He raised a paw over to his head, and he removed his hood so he could see his face.

Tigress dropped her stance immediately, as her eyes widened significantly and her scarf began dancing along the wind. "Wha...how...you...?" She didn't know what to make of this event, as it was the last thing she expected to happen here. Without a doubt, this day would prove to be one of the long lasting ones that put her slightly on edge. But right now, her guard was down and she was too shocked at the moment to put it back up.

Her foster brother, Tai Lung, was standing right before her. This time, it wasn't an illusion.

"Yeah...I figured that would be your reaction."

She couldn't see his entire body due to the cloak covering most of his body, but the face was recognizable enough. The fierce red eyes, the spotted fur, the whiskers...although the slash scar down his right eye was definitely new, but it wasn't permanently closed because of it, fortunately. She was also able to get s glimpse of the familiar purple pants and the now longer brown sash wrapped around his waist, and was also dancing with the wind. Her memories and mind fully accepted who this was, as he walked towards her, and pulled her into a hug. Her head was over his shoulder, and she could only stare forward as her face was still showing visible shock, without returning the gesture. He wasn't surprised.

"I heard about the Valley. Hell, I saw the aftermath. It was absolutely horrible to look at. And after that, I was spending my days concerned out of my mind because that seals the fact that I didn't know where you were. I wanted to know...I needed to know that my little sister was okay." He tightened his grip on her just slightly, as he slowly closed his eyes.

"I'm so relieved and happy to see you...Tigress..."

Haha. Tigress's foster brother has made his official full appearance. And figures, Tigress is the first person he sees and recognizes. She has mixed feelings about seeing him again. Right on the boundary of happy and pissed off. No hatred, just anger. Justified anger...probably.

And of course, the group climbs the mountain for a couple minutes and already there's chaos.

Chaos is more fun though, under the right circumstances.

...Heh.