AN*

Sorry for the wait but its been busy here and I haven't found the time to write. Hope the spacing is acceptable on this one. Tried to spread it out as much as i could but it looks funky here. Can't tell until i post. If it doesn't work then I'll try again. Whelp. R&R!

Chapter 5

Fire Fighter Part 2

Po, Crane, Shifu and Monkey stopped running within a mile or two from the outskirts of the fire. "Crane! Try to slow down the fire as much as you can. Me, Po and Monkey will clear out as much trees as we can to stop the fire from spreading this way!" Shifu called up at the avian who had been flying above their head. With a nod of his head Crane vanished in a gust of wind towards the inferno. Shifu heaved a sigh and looked at his two students. The three stared at each other, no words were exchanged but they all knew what needed to be done. "Is this going to work Master?" Po said.

"It will just slow it down Po. If the wind kicks up the fire could simply jump the gap we're creating. At least this way we could fight smaller fires instead of one giant fire." Shifu said as he toppled over another tree. The area they had chosen to create this "trench" was a piece of flat land about a mile in width but went on in length for at least 20 miles both towards and away from the valley. On either side of this valley laid two mountain ranges which stretched and later wrapped around the valley of peace. In the middle of this flat land lies a road that leads straight to the valley of peace. This road was vital for trade and movement throughout the valley and was used commonly to evacuate the valley. They would be using this road in fact if the flames had not engulfed the valley just a few short miles away. The only way out now was to take the mountain pases on the other side of the valley, which is going to greatly increase the time needed to evacuate the valley of peace. With Cranes aerial advantage of the blaze; Shifu learned that the fire was presiding the fastests on this flat stretch of land and was moving a lot slower along the mountain ranges. If they could slow the fire down here they could buy the Valley a few precious hours to evacuate.

Within thirty minutes Crane had returned, but instead of being bleached white, he was covered in black ash. He landed roughly and coughed loudly as he stood before his Master. "Its moving faster now. The wind really kicked up the fire and it should be here within the hour." Crane wheezed as he coughed yet again, a small cloud of smoke escaping his beak. "Alright Crane. We just finished the trench and are ready. Tell Master Tigress that the fire is reaching the Hépíng gōnglù and that they should pick up the pace on the evacuation." Shifu said as he could now see the fire quickly approaching them. The density of the trees had prevented him from seeing the inferno. Without Crane he would never have known the fire was near until it had already reached the trench. With a bow Crane took off once again into the air and headed towards the Valley of Peace. Shifu turned his gaze back towards his two remaining students. "We do not allow the fire to cross this trench. Understood?" Po and Monkey bowed. "Understood Master." Shifu turned and gazed at the approaching fire. "Lets hope Oogway is watching over us."

BACK AT THE VALLEY OF PEACE

Tigress was running door to door telling people to evacuate through the mountain pass. The emergency gong and warned the villagers to get ready to leave. All they needed were orders, and with Tigress they got them. Mantis was leading the first group of villagers up to the pass and was trying to keep a steady stream of villagers out of the valley. Though he tried his best to keep everything running smoothly, the mountain pass was extremely narrow and in some sections only allowed villagers to proceed in a single file line. The process was excruciatingly slow and Mantis was starting to get fidgety. If they didn't pick up the pace the fire would engulf the mountain pass while they were still there. He gulped as he imagined being cooked alive. "Master Mantis?" A shy voice pulled Mantis out of his thoughts as he looked up to see a scared, young bunny girl. Mantis immediately put on a brave face. "What's wrong little one?" The girl was shaking slightly as she held onto a small doll. "I can't find my mommy or daddy." She whispered lightly, a slight cry in her voice. Tears threatened to escape her eyes as she stared pleadingly at him. "Could you help me find them?" Mantis smiled warmly at her, all fear of his own gone. "Of course. Come along. Now, where did you last see them?" A smile appeared on her face as the two went off looking for her parents.

Tigress stood atop the roofs of one of the houses of the village. Everybody had been informed of the situation and were quickly evacuating the valley. Villagers cluttered the streets as the slowly made their way towards the pass. Tigress sighed heavily at the sight. Everyone was going as quick as they could, but the streets and pass couldn't handle the sheer volume of people using them at the moment. She noticed a small green snake slithering its way through the crowd, stopping to ask each villager if they were alright and if she could do anything for them. A small smile appeared on Tigress face as she watched Viper try to keep the crowd calm and organized. Tigress ears twitched as she heard a distance flapping noise. Quickly judging which direction it was coming from she turned to see a large black bird land next to her. She raised an eyebrow once she noticed it was Crane. All happiness left her face once she noticed the look on Cranes face. "The fires reached the Hépíng gōnglù. Po, Monkey, and Master Shifu are there to slow it down. What's the situation here?" Crane said looking below at the crowd slowly moving in a uniformed direction.

"Slow but steady. We'll need another two or three hours to get everyone out." She looked worriedly at Crane. "How bad is it?" Cranes face fell as he looked at the feline. "Bad. I've never seen a fire move so fast. It barely flinched when i used my wings of justice on it. We'll be lucky if we get an hour." Crane looked behind him at the direction he came from to see a towering pillar of smoke looming over the valley. A gust of wind brushing his feathers. He sighed. "If the wind slows we could have a chance. Other then that if the valley does not give to flames the mountains around it will." Tigress nodded her head in understanding. Knowing full well how much danger her family is in at the valley. They could stop the fire head on, but it will only wrap around them from the mountains. "Well you best get going. I got work to do here to pick up the pace." Tigress said. Crane nodded his head and tipped his hat at her before flying off towards the fire once again.

AN*

Hope you enjoyed it!

Hépíng gōnglù- Peaceful Highway