A/N: Hey guys! Just a quick thing before I continue with this story. I am currently in the U.S, and as you probably may know, we have an inauguration today. To all of my readers, and every person on fanfiction, I love you guys. I don't care if you're black, white, Asian, straight, bisexual, strictly religious or strictly a partier. Politics won't change that.

I promise I won't go much farther into politics than that, but I wanted to get that off my chest first.

Second thing: I am updating whenever I can, which may be sporadic because everything tends to explode on me all at once. Love you all! Thanks for the patience!

The Emperor had always been a man of a smaller stature- Li Tong was taller than him by at least a head. Still, though, when the Emperor got angry, he was a force to be reckoned with. Li Tong, try as he might to keep his face stoic, was finding the Emperor's current anger to be quite taxing. The worst part was that, since summoning Li Tong to his study, the Emperor hadn't spoken a word.

"You're Grace? Is something the matter?" Li Tong asked, trying to keep his voice steady.

The Emperor's head whipped around in surprise, as it seemed he had forgotten about his assistant. He had been looking out the window, watching the figures of the Dragon Warrior and Tigress cross the courtyard out back. "Something is off." He muttered, more to himself than his servant.

"Majesty?"

"They are off." He gestured to the two figures, who had just entered the library. "Always speaking to Liang in private, keeping to themselves. Then suddenly, Tigress gets a mysterious letter." His eyes had a dangerous, far away look. "They are conspiring."

"Sir?" Li Tong's eyes widened, watching the Emperor with caution. The ruler's eyes still had that glassy, far-off look. It was the same look he had had when he declared war on Mongolia. Li Tong only saw it before the man went into fits of rage.

"Shifu didn't bring them here to help him train. He brought them here so they could plan something." He looked at Li Tong directly.

"Your Highness, the Dragon Warrior and his friend have had constant supervision. There is no way they could-"

"They are Kung fu Masters, Li Tong." The Man blinked slowly. "Are you really that naïve?"

"What would you like me to do, sir?" Li Tong had a very bad feeling in his gut. Since before he had started working at the palace, he had heard the tales of the extent of the Emperor's sudden bouts of anger. In the ten years since he began here, he had seen many fits. Once, the leader had cut out the tongue of a miner, simply because the man had stated that the Empress was beautiful. He was dreading his leader's next move, because he knew it would be rash.

"Kill them."

Those were the two words he had not expected. "Sir," he cried out indignantly, "What if China finds out? The Master's council? You will be executed."

"I WILL NOT HAVE TREASON!" The man roared. Li Tong stepped back, suddenly fearful. The Emperor grabbed the front of the man's robe and pulled him close harshly. They were so close that they could see the blood vessels in each others eyes. "You will make sure that they are dead by morning, and you will do it quietly, or it will be your head on a stake." He released the man and left his study, headed towards his chambers.

Li Tong trembled. His chest heaved in dramatic fashion, and his head pulsed with his heart. His heart. It was tearing in two.

He had to warn them.

"Li Tong," Tigress called out once they had entered the library. The Prince was sitting at a desk,, leafing through a novel.

"Why, hello." He took a look at their faces and frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Are you okay?" Asked Po, noticing the light bruise that decorated Liang's cheek.

"Yeah," the prince shrugged, "It is not nearly as bad as it looks. Tigress, have you caught Po up?"

She quickly told the Dragon Warrior everything, from Ni Chang's disappearance to the vault heist she had gone on. He listened with wide eyes.

When she was finished, he looked between the two of them. "So, what does that letter have to do with it?"

"Viper wrote this and sent it three days ago. She said that, after talking to an innkeeper, she found that Ni Chang was in Xiongxang," she took a breath, "willingly. According to Viper, the two took off up north." She watched Liang's reaction, waiting for a sign of anger or sadness. His green eyes reflected a little of both.

"So, then, what does that mean?" He asked.

"I have a theory." Po said, his eyebrows scrunched in thought. "You said that the secret passage in the office led to the vault?" Tigress nodded. "So, the money that was in the vault was brought up into the office?"

"That's what we think." Liang said. "I talked to one of the guards. He said there was no tampering with the vault door. It was like somebody just opened it and walked right in. "

"So," Po said, "Somebody brings the gold up into the office, hides it here. Then, they somehow sneak it out from there."

"That would make sense." Liang said. "Ni Chang got back from his trip two days after the vault break in. He left again a day later with some guards. 'Said he felt unsafe."

"So, the guards help him smuggle the gold out of the office, and he offers them a cut in return." Tigress finished.

"And if he had a lady friend, that money could be used to get them both settled in Mongolia." Po replied.

"If he was paying guards," Liang murmured, "that means we are probably being watched." The trio went quiet.

"We'll have to be quiet and lay low." Tigress whispered. "Po, it's late. We should head to bed." He nodded in reply and the two looked towards the Emperor's eldest.

"Liang," Po said, "sleep well." The man nodded and the two warriors left the building.

When they entered their own building, the two parted ways with a hug and entered their own rooms.

It was just past midnight when Tigress heard a creak. She tensed under the silky sheets and waited, waited, and then she jerked up. Someone clasped a hand over her mouth and tried to hold her still.

"It's me. IT'S ME." It was Li Tong whispering in the dark. She stopped struggling and he let her go.

"Are you insane?" She hissed. The frowned when she saw the look on his face. "What's wrong?" He glanced over his shoulder and stepped back to let her get up.

"The Emperor has gone mad. He's ordered your execution. You have to go." His eyes were wild and panicked.

"What?" She couldn't believe it. What had they done to tip him off?

"You have to go." She nodded and stood. She grabbed her bag from under the bed and began stuffing her stuff back into it. She made sure to grab a traveling cloak from the wardrobe. When she was ready and dressed in dark clothing, she went to Po's room and woke him up much the same way Liang had done to her. He squirmed for a bit, but then seemed to understand and began packing in silence. When he was done, the two of them nodded to one another and then looked to Li Tong.

"Follow me." He whispered. The three continued down the hallway and out a door that led into the garden. He led them around the side of the offices building and past the massive tree. Back in this part of the compound, the trees cast shade on the path, making it easy to stay out of sight. Back at the castle, shouts alerted them that their disappearance had been noted. They began to sprint rather than walk.

"This is a servant's path." Li Tong panted. "They use it to bring food suplies up from the city." The other two didn't respond, they just followed him down the trails. Soon enough, they reached a stone wall with an opening for the path. They ran through and met cobblestone streets. Li Tong kept pushing on, moving up at least ten streets. Several blocks ahead, they could see the city gates. Very few people milled about, since it was late at night.

They kept running, huffing and seeing the fog coming from their mouths. Their feet were wet with the snow that covered the ground.

They were so close.

Almost there.

Then an explosion, and darkness.

A/N: 1000 READS! WOOOOOOO! Sorry about the wait for this one guys. I hope it was worth it.