I think it was safe to imagine the situation that myself and Viper were in when the manager of the hotel discovered the state of the room. Broken window, hole in the ceiling, beds almost crushed and goodness knows what else. I had spent most of the night trying to think up an excuse as to how the room had been trashed. Attacked by a group of unknown snakes would have seemed believable if it wasn't for the fact that we had no real proof of it. So instead, I came up with another excuse and waited until Viper was awake so I could get her opinion on it. Unfortunatley, extremely wild sex was a terrible idea in her opinion, so yeah. We were taken into the managers office were I was certain Hell was going to be raised. However in a stroke of luck and surprising coincidence, once the manager had discovered that Viper was part of the Furious Five, he instantly changed from being an overdramatic screeching baboon, literally since he actually was a baboon, to something of a fanboy. Next thing I knew, he was having his staff offer us biscuits while Viper went over about sending a bill to the Jade palace for damages. Considering her explanation of what really happened, and whether the manager believed her or not, things worked out in the end. Then, once we were allowed to go, after Viper had to sign the managers painting of her holding an umbrella and smiling at the intended viewer, we headed out of Jinzhou thank God, and into the forest, ready to survive the next few days. As you can imagine, we were more alert this time after being attacked. I think we both knew that there was a chance of them returning and trying to finish the job. I felt like turning round every few minutes in worry that a pair of fangs were going to sink into my neck at any moment. I mean, we were on our own in what I can imagine is the middle of nowhere, where we could be ambushed possibly at any moment.

"Gee, talk about eerie". I spoke up, hoping to drum up a conversation to break the silence. "Think we managed to scare those guys off Viper"?

...

"Uh... Viper"?

I looked to see that Viper was no longer at my side. She had stopped several yards back with a blank stare on her face.

"Everything okay Vipes? do you need to rest for a moment"? I asked, concerned. I still recieved no response

VIPER POV...

...

...

...

Horrifying terrifying mind destroying self psychotic pain inducing body breaking guilt is rising paranoia death approaching time is fading nerves are shaking Mental torture

"Vi... ...thing o...y"?

...

Vip..."?

You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you...?

"Viper"!

MIKE POV...

I had to almost yell until I recieved some sort of response Viper shook her head for a second or two before realising that I was standing right in front of her. I just watched as she rubbed the back of her head in slight embarrasment.

"Sorry Mike. I must have had something on my mind".

Must have been something serious. Her face looked as though she was about to have a heart attack not twenty seconds ago!

"Yeah, must have done".

She nodded again.

"Do you want to lie down for a moment on the grass, collect your thoughts"?

"... I would like that, yes".

We slithered over off of the road and onto the soft grass. I just watched Viper with concern as her head rested on the ground before closing her eyes. Maybe she was having trouble sleeping like I was? Maybe it was causing her to day dream? Who knows? Point is I don't want to just sit back and do nothing about it. There's no harm in at least asking if she wants to chat about it.

...

Well, here goes...

"Viper"?

Viper mmmmmmmmmm'd in response.

"I was thinking if maybe... you want to talk about that... something on your mind"?

Her right eye popped open slowly before allowing the other one to do the same. Both of them looking at me.

"Are you sure"?

I couldn't help but give a sad smile. I slithered over to Viper side and laid myself down beside her.

"Viper you're my best friend. I love you. I care for you just as much as you do about me. The last thing I want is to see you feeling down. If there was anything I could do to help, I wouldn't hesitate to do what I can".

My words got her to share her sweet smile. Her tail gently wrapped around mine, making me return the smile.

"Thanks Mike, but I think I'll have to pass. I'm sure I just need sleep. Nothing to worry about".

I nodded. I understood that issue just as much as she did. I laid my head on the grass and took the moment we had to just relax. Just for a short whle at the least before heading back on the road.

"Oh, and Mike"?

I turned back round to face Viper. I recieved a gentle kiss to the lips for a few seconds before Viper pulled back.

"Love you too". She smiled before lying down once more. I smiled and responded with the same motion. I guess even kung fu masters need a break every now and then too. I closed my eyes, and just like that I felt more at peace. Especially with Viper still holding my tail. At least we still had each other on this journey.

Half an hour was long enough for us to feel a little better. A small stretch along with a few cricks of the neck, and we were back on track...

Thankfully, the days passed quicker than I expected them to. No attacks, no ambushes, no anything. We were so close to Gongmen city now thankfully. Though it wasn't as easy as it sounded. We were now back on track with Vipers old route. You know, the one that she, Po and the rest of the five took when they had to travel to Gongmen and bring an evil pshycotic peacock to justice? Yeah, that one. And right now, all that was standing in the way of our journey was several miles of river. So unless both myself and Viper can swim for several miles without a break, taking God knows how long, I think we'll be having to find ourselves a boat. Shouldn't be too hard. Especially since the area we're at is known for being a popular fishing area. There were even a few shops and piers surrounding the part of the river. There was no time to waste as we found a reliable bunny fisherman and conviced him of our cause. He agreed at once. Twenty minutes later, we were on a boat to Gongmen. Just in time too as night began rolling in... Good. Now there was no need to worry about late night watch. The boat we were on had a storage room easily large enough to house myself and Viper and several large barrels. We said goodnight to each other and fell asleep.

...

Okay guys, I decided to speed things along a little bit with the story since I had nothing of interest. Next chapter it'll be Gongmen city at last. Will Mike see the soothsayer right away...? we'll see. Hopefully not since I don't want to rush the story. I'll only do that when I don't have any concrete material for a chapter, which shouldn't be to often. Still, we've got a long way until this act is over so don't expect it to be nearing the end just yet. There's a lot more I've got planned for this ;) Oh and that bit with Viper's POV? I must admit, some of it was partly inspired by Electro from Spiderman 2 ^^; With luck that should help give you the desired effect of what the voices should sound like as well as the *cough* rhythm... Cheerio!