A/N: Uh…so the entirety of the battle is going to be one chapter. I don't feel like splitting it up….Also I'm not super great at writing action scenes so sorry in advance

It was late.

Everyone was in position, but you couldn't see it for the trees.

Zheng knew the plan, and up in the sky, he could watch it going down below.

The docks were alive with wolves. They shouted at one another, passing around barrels. They didn't notice the animals raising themselves into the trees.

They also didn't catch on the still tension in the air.

Zheng dropped as the fliers came overhead. First phase time. Twenty one birds of varying sizes spread out in a V formation. In their talons and claws, they carried torches. In the night, the only thing the wolves could see was a V shape of orange blazing across the sky, and that's if they had been looking. Now for a gamble.

They could target the boats, of course, but that was difficult. There were over a hundred at least. Instead, they targeted the docks. One by one the torches fell, dropped precisely.

The wolves scattered as the docks became a bonfire, and it seemed their gamble paid off. As they'd been loading the barrels, gunpower littered the docks in imperceptible amounts. As soon as the torches hit the docks, they went up in flames. Left and right, wolves fell through the wooden boards. The boats had been tied to the docks, and the rope binding them served as an additional fuse. Flames licked the ships as the avians circled back around.

But it wasn't over.

The barracks had taken a small hit from Tigress' assault the day before. But they were still standing and in use. That's where the second squad came in.

Wolves ran towards the docks, shouting for help and helping one another out of the water. As they began to vacate the woods, the second squad lagged behind them with cannons. The two that had been left behind in Shang Zhi were now being aimed at the barracks, and Zheng watched as the sides of the building exploded.

He dipped down towards the trees.

"ZHENG!"

He heard that. He swooped low and dropped to the ground a ways into the woods. Viper slithered down from her tree, breathing heavily. She, and the rest of the five has been tasked with going after Bai Liang.

The manor near the docks, where the Emperor brought Kai for the first time, was dark and cold. The Five waited outside of it crouched just inside the tree line.

"We have a problem." Monkey dropped down just beside her. "He's gone."

"He got away?" Zheng looked to them all. They nodded reluctantly.

"We assumed he would be on the boats, or at the manor, but no one has been here in months at least. The place is abandoned. Can you find him"

"Absolutely." He nodded to her.

"And Zheng, notify Tigress and Shifu. If he heads that way, they need to prepare." Mantis called over.

Zheng nodded and took off, leaving a small puff of air as he departed.

Tigress was nervous, pacing across the courtyard even as the air grew cold. She didn't like being away from the action, not being able to see what her friends were doing or how the fight was going. From the imperial city, she couldn't even see far enough to know if there was even a battle going.

Shifu watched her pace, sitting on the steps of the palace. He felt the same way, itching for a fight. However, as his heart thumped irregularly in his chest, he knew that the time for fighting was probably long past. He had resigned to that fact, but he could tell his daughter was having a hard time knowing her own limits.

"Masters!" Zheng came skittering into the courtyard, sliding across the cobblestones briefly before coming to a stop. He was panting.

Shifu stood quickly.

"What is it?"

"The battle seems to be underway, but Bai Liang has escaped. I tracked him down. He's headed south."

"To Po." Tigress murmured. Her mind was made up before she even turned around. But even as he began protesting, Shifu knew she wasn't looking for his approval.

"Tigress, please." He grabbed her arm before she could take off running. "You could kill yourself."

"I have to." She met his eyes for a moment, and he saw not only determination, but worry. His earlier speculations had been right.

"Stay safe."

She nodded and disappeared into the darkness.

They were at full steam ahead, because what was behind them was too terrifying to pause for.

Wolves had come along, seemingly bleeding out of the dark. How they'd found the panda and fox was a mystery, but not one they had time to solve. Instead, they ran.

Yu kept the dagger clutched by her side as they raced through the trees. And, of course, she'd never gotten a chance to use it. It wasn't like they could just stop and stab. They had to get away first.

Po looked back at the young fox. She was struggling, not having had to run this fast for this long. Sure, he wasn't in the greatest physical shape either, but Shifu's training years ago had given him an endurance that he'd maintained running from wolves. Judging by how she was doing, they were going to have to stop at some point.

He had the staff in hand, and began working on prying the stone from where it sat curled into the top. The whisperings…the voices that had been in the back of his head since he had received it seemed to grow louder as he pried the stone loose from it's resting place.

"When I say stop," he called back over the wind, "We stop, stab, and keep running. Got it?"

"Yeah." She panted with a nod, but despite her firm reply there was terror written on her face.

"Ready?" They continued. The trees flashed passed. And suddenly they were in a clearing. "Stop!"

They slid to a halt. Po put the stone on the ground, Yu lifted the dagger.

"Ah there you are."

Yu was grabbed roughly from behind and sent flying into the trees. The dagger was separated and disappeared somewhere in the woods.

"Yu!"

"Well done, Dragon Warrior." The white wolf himself stepped forward, an odd sort of smile on his muzzle.

He jerked his foot forward before Po could get up, and landed a kick to his abdomen that sent him sliding a few paces away.

He couldn't breathe. He gasped, trying his best to get air into his lungs.

Bai Liang watched him reach for the stone and chuckled quietly. From the trees came ten wolves in a circle around him, one clenching Yu tightly against his large frame. She struggled, but he just grinned and pulled her closer to him.

"You know, I must admire your effort." The wolf picked up the stone and admired it a moment. "All those refugees, you had to drag them into our mess. And once I leave here, they will be slaughtered."

Po struggled to his feet, still trying to breathe.

Bai Liang didn't seem too worried though that the panda had managed to stand. He watched him with a cool reserve that was slightly terrifying. "I just feel bad for poor Tigress. She was offered a good life if she had stayed with me. But even though she's gone, that will never go away, Po. We have a connection you'd never understand."

Po lunged forward, and was able to land a punch across the wolf's face before one of his lackeys charged forward and slammed him back to the ground. He flipped the wolf over his head and used his momentum to drive him into the ground. Another one shot forward, but was taken care of with a kick to the stomach and a knee to the face. The other eight wolves watched him apprehensively, but none stepped forward.

Bai Liang cocked his head, seemingly unfazed by the punch. But it hadn't been just about wanting to beat the piss out of the white wolf…Po was also testing out another theory. The stone was the dragon's power-Po knew that. Otherwise he wouldn't have been able to complete the Weixing wave like he had. After so long with the staff near him, Bai Liang's strength had increased exponentially. They had to destroy the stone if they were going to beat him.

But how?

"Kill him." Bai Liang stepped back, and the wolf holding onto Yu came to stand by his side.

Seven lunged forward.

"I wouldn't use the wave out here, Dragon Warrior." Bai Liang teased as the panda dodged a blow. "You don't want to hurt the girl, do you?"

He sidestepped a kick and yanked the offending canine by the leg to throw him against a tree. But as he turned, one latched his arms around the back of the panda's neck and used his momentum to yank the both of them to the ground.

Before Po could try to get free, a second tried to hold his legs down. Bad move. The panda kicked one leg forward and the wolf was sent skittering, almost bumping into Bai Liang.

The white wolf side stepped easily, but was distracted for just one moment.

A knife appeared through his chest.

For a second, there was no movement. The wolves froze in their carnage, Po was able to wrangle himself free from the grip of the one behind him and he clumsily got to his feet, staring wide eyed at the dagger protruding from the wolf's ribs.

Yu managed to take advantage of the lull in activity. She jerked her head back and caught the wolf holding her in the chin. He yelped and dropped her in his surprise.

The knife was removed from his chest and tossed to Yu, who caught it, grabbed the stone, and stabbed it through in one quick, decisive movement.

There was a flash of light, and then silence.

Tigress stepped out from behind Bai Liang, holding him upright by digging her claws into his shoulders. "Say hi to Shen for me."

She let him go and he fell to the ground…dead.

The plan was a good one, but it was failing.

The boats were aflame, and the docks completely unusable. As they had made their way towards the boats, individual squads had dealt with the patrols in the area quietly, so their arrival wouldn't be spoiled. Even as the birds dropped their torches, the fighters had remained quiet until they were sure that the wolves were preoccupied.

But now, as the battle raged in the woods, they realized their mistake.

Guerilla warfare was only really helpful if they could easily slip back into the trees. The wolves had caught on to that plan pretty early on, and began grabbing them as they ran. The other mistake they made was not starting the boat fires quicker. So many of the reinforcements the wolves had had been on the boats, and they were able to dive into the water to safety as the boats went down.

The refugees were outnumbered and outclassed, but still they fought on.

"We have to fall back." Viper whipped a wolf into the trees with her tail. Crane had dropped to her side once the flyover was completed. He nodded in agreement.

"They're spreading out too far. Pretty soon, we'll be surrounded."

"Go." She nodded to him and he took off.

Pretty soon, the whole forest could hear the call for retreat. She got back into the tree tops and made her way towards the rally point a few Li back. Her body was exhausted, same as the others. As she made her way, she could see too many bodies littering the forest floor….it made her sick.

She only hoped that Po was soon on his way, but with Bai Liang missing there was no way to know if they had even made it in time. She was getting close to the rally point, but she worried as to how many of her comrades had gotten stuck behind the lines, left for dead.

"Cover your ears!"

What? Crane's call didn't make any sense…

Wait….

She stopped and tucked her head into her tail, and closed her eyes against the flash.

It seemed through the forest that there was an audible sigh of relief.

OoOoOoO

A/N: Only a couple chapters left. Should have them up by Sunday :)