"What is that?" Tigress frowned, looking at the mass growing in the Horizon. From up on the roof, they could see the Mongolian border, and the guard tower nearby. The mass had already stepped foot over the line.

Po's eyebrows furrowed the longer he glanced. "Let's get inside." She nodded in agreement, and the two slid to the edge of the roof and carefully jumped down. "I'll go wake the others." He disappeared into the inn. She followed him after a moment to change and pull up her hair. By the time the others were up and moving, the mass was no longer a mass. Tigress could hear horses' hooves.

"Po." She called, standing at the entrance to the inn. He appeared a moment later. "They are soldiers. Shifu must not have gotten there in time."

"Do you think he's-"

"No." She cut him off. "We can't afford to think like that. We should find someplace to hide." He nodded in reply and the two re-entered the inn where Viper and Crane were waiting. "Viper you have been here before. Where should we go?"

The young girl thought for a moment, racking her brain. "Well, I was only really here for one day, but I'd say we split up. There is a belltower in the west. Maybe someone could climb up there. If we need help, we can ring the bell."

"I'll go that way. Crane, why dono't you follow me up there. You can find a perch higher up to keep an eye on things." Crane nodded, and he and Po took off down a back alley.

The crunching of boots mixed with hooves was getting closer. "Ti, what about us?" Viper looked over to her friend, eyes wide and a little bit terrified.

"Come on." Tigress grabbed her hand and led her back inside of the inn. She tried to think critically, fighting the panic in her stomach. If the guards were entering through the main gates, they would come by the entrance of the inn first. Rather than risk being spotted, they ran back through the inn and exited out a servant door in a back alleyway. They hesitated for a moment, unsure of where to go, but the calling of the general and his troops forced them forward. They kept winding through alleys until the voices were faint.

"I have an idea, but it may get us killed." Viper spoke softly. They ducked into the back door of an empty house to catch their breath. Tigress pulled all of the curtains to.

"An idea is an idea, no matter how reckless." Ti chuckled. "What is it?"

"If we move now, it'll be a moment before the troops catch up with us. We can try to follow the back wall of the city and escape out the gate. Our horses are still tied in the woods."

"We can certainly try, but what about the boys?" Viper's shoulders slumped slightly at Ti's statement. Tigress was right, though. They wouldn't be able to get out. Even if they could, the horses would be quite a distance from them.

"Come on. We need to move." Said the redhead. They ducked back out of the house. If Tigress has=dn't been as fast as she was, she would have been caught in the throat by a sword tip.

"Look here, gentlemen." The soldier in front chuckled ruefully. "Seems these two ladies have been left behind. Tigress, whether out of habit or intuition, stepped in front so that her body was in front of Viper's. The girl was a kung fu master, but that didn't stop the red head from being a bit protective.

"We were just leaving." She said pleasantly, although inside, her stomach was twisting like knots. "If you'll excuse us." She made to move around the soldier, but he grabbed her arm and yanked her back so she was in front of him. Tigress decided to play to his ignorance, since obviously the soldiers crowded around them had no idea the damage they could do. "All we want to do is leave." Her voice was soft, but her eyes were dangerous.

She slowly crept her hand further behind her back and gripped Viper's arm tightly once, before releasing her. Hopefully the younger master got the message.

"I'm sorry, Miss." The lead soldier said. A few of his friends chuckled, clenching their swords menacingly. "We have to take you two back with us first."

"What do you mean?" She asked quietly. Her mouth turned up in what could only be considered a maniac smile. "There's only one of me."

In the distance the bell tower clanged loudly, as it finally dawned on the soldiers that the "little" girl that had been hiding behind Tigress had vanished, and had apparently gone to warn the others.

"GET HER!" Somebody screamed.

Before the lead guy could even raise his sword, she shoved her palm up into his nose, and then brought her knee up to his groin. He fell, but she grabbed his sword as he did so and was able to parry a strike from her left. Her foot jolted up and kicked the soldier in the chest, and he went flying back into two more of his comrades.

Tigress ducked under a strike from the right and ran at the guy, barreling into him with her shoulder and knocking him to the ground. She fell with him and heard rather than saw his head hit the ground with a crack. She had fallen on her back on the cobblestone, so she rolled to the right as a stab came towards her. She used the guys momentum to basically kick him and roll him over her head.

When she got to a standing position, only three men remained, swords poised. They came at her all at once, but that was okay. She hit the first guy in the chest with a roundhouse kick, knocking him harshly against the wall. The second guy got a double palm strike, and then she spun him quickly and forced his arms behind his back. While holding his arms, she sent a kick to his back and let go of his hands at the same time, sending him flying against the third guy.

Panting, she stood straight and glanced over the men that litter the ground in varied shades of pain. As one began to slowly get up, she ducked out of the alley and made her way to the tower, hoping Shifu would make it back soon.

A/N: Sorry for the awkward fight scene. I've never really written one, so if it was disjointed or anything I apologize. I'll post the second half of this chapter tomorrow, but it won't be until tomorrow night. I have a job interview tomorrow afternoon :) Hope you liked this!