A/N: WahahahahahaHA! I've gone on a happy high, and when I'm happy I write! Ha! So, anyway, I know it took long enough, but here's another chapter- I feel my inspiration for this story slowly but surely coming back to me- and that email helped too, of course- though, I've no clue who it was from! And, Cathy, hope you're still around, and hope you enjoy! ^_____^

OoOoO

Mowgli stomped out of Louie's club, anger clear in his dark eyes. Louie scrambled behind him, having trouble keeping up with the boy.

"Hey, Cuz," Louie panted, matching his pace with Mowgli's, "don'tcha think you ougtha wait for Baloo?" Mowgli frowned and grunted something. Louie frowned. "What?!" After a few seconds, Louie managed to get in front of Mowgli and stood firmly planted in the boy's way. Mowgli cam to a halt in front of him, looking rather annoyed.

"Move," Mowgli growled, ready to go around the monkey. Louie held up his hands.

"Whoa, cuz," Louie spoke quickly, fearing that Mowgli might bolt. "What's the rush?"

Mowgli glowered at him. "Shere Khan has my baby brother and Baloo's back there- there dancing!" Angry tears sprang into his eyes. "We came to get help- not to have fun!" Louie scratched his head, shocked.

"Whoa, I didn't know..." This only caused Mowgli to get angrier.

"Yes, you did," Mowgli whispered fiercely, "you just didn't listen to me!" The monkey lowered his eyes and then looked up at Mowgli, remorseful.

"I know," he whispered, "and I'm sorry." His shoulders slumped, but he didn't move. Mowgli stood there glaring at Louie for a couple minutes before speaking.

"That's okay," he sighed, still hurt, "but to make it up to me, you can help me find Ranjan. He's about his tall," he motioned with his hands, "and he's with Shere Khan."

Louie looked a little uneasy at the mention of Shere Khan, but forced the uneasiness away. It was obvious the boy was determined to locate his brother, and Louie didn't want him to encounter Shere Khan alone. With luck, we won't locate him at all, Louie thought, but kept it to himself.

"Okay," Louie held out his hand and Mowgli shook it. Both grinned at each other before taking off into the jungle.

OoOoO

"Heya," Baloo tapped someone's shoulder, "have you seen a boy around here?" he asked. He got a negative response, and sighed. No one has seen that boy! He glanced around frantically. They hadn't even been there that long, and already Mowgli had taken off! What was that boy up to, anyway?!

Suddenly Baloo's eyes went wide, and he slapped his forehead. Of course, he thought, ashamed of himself. How could I forget?! They'd been searching for Mowgli's brother and had come here to get help. He shook his head at his cluelessness. Stay focused, he chided himself. Now, he had to find Mowgli's brother and Mowgli.

Well, at least I have some idea about where he's at, Baloo thought, happy with that. After all, how hard could it be to locate a boy in the jungle? Or two boys for that matter? He hurriedly left the club and headed back into the thick of the jungle at full speed.

OoOoO

"So, are we getting near there...Bag...heera?" Shanti stumbled over the panther's name again. Why couldn't she say it right?! Bagheera smiled at her mispronunciation of his name, but she didn't see it.

"Yes," he replied, as he continued his brisk pace. He wasn't too sure what to do- he didn't want to bring the girl with him to the tiger, but he didn't want to leave her alone. There was a good chance that either way she was in the same amount of danger. Hopefully they'd meet up with Baloo and Mowgli soon.

He continued turning the thoughts over in his head, trying to determine the best possible thing to do when a sudden shriek from Shanti ripped him away from his thoughtful reverie. He turned around quickly and groaned.

Shanti bit her lips and tried to stop the tears, but she couldn't help it. She hadn't been paying attention to where she'd been going. Now, she really regretted that. She'd stepped on something, and it had given way underneath her weight. On her way down her foot had done some funny flip and now was in antagonizing pain.

Bagheera quickly made his way over to her. He had to give her credit. She was only whimpering. It'd have been terrible if she'd been screaming- then they might as well post a sign that said, "Shere Khan, here we come." Of course, with Mowgli and Baloo, maybe they just ought to do that and get it over with. He only hoped those two were handling things well.

Shanti clutched Bagheera's fur as he used his paws to pry her loose from the plants that her foot had gotten mercilessly tangled in. He ignored the pain that her hands were causing, knowing full well that she was in much more pain.

"It's okay," he soothed, "I'm going to get you loose." He continued picking at the stems and vines gently, not wanting to scratch her foot. She muttered something incoherent and clutched even harder. He swatted away a few more plants and sighed at the sight of her foot. A double take, though, caused him to groan. She definitely wouldn't be walking tonight.

"Here," he slipped his body under hers, and carried her to a nearby tree. "Wait while I go and find some thing to patch that up with." Shanti nodded and let her eyes droop shut. Well, it is time to get some sleep, Bagheera thought, glancing up at the moon. It seemed like the days were going by way too quickly, and they had yet to locate Shere Khan. He ran around, gathering some stuff for Shanti's foot, but never letting her out of his sight. A hungry carnivore would just love to have some injured human, I'm sure, he thought, grimly.

After he got everything he needed, he patched Shanti's foot up, and then flopped down beside her. His eyes roamed their surroundings making sure nothing was lurking about that might possibly cause them harm during their slumber. After he was sure they were safe, he sighed, and glanced at Shanti. She was sound asleep, though she'd moan every once in awhile. The conflicting thoughts he'd had earlier that day popped into his mind. His answer was still the same, though. It seemed no matter what he did, she'd still be in the same amount of danger. He didn't even want to think about the small boy that was with Shere Khan right now. Poor boy must have been scared out of his wits.

Let's just hope he's still around, Bagheera thought grimly. After all, how long could a vicious tiger hold onto "fresh meat" before devouring it? Bagheera pushed the thoughts out of his head and let his eyes slide shut, welcoming sleep.

OoOoO

"What's taking them so long?" a harsh voice whispered into the night, circling a young child. "I'm beginning to get impatient."