A/N: This was a fun part to write. I hope you like it.

The night air was cool as Tai ran across the grass. He spotted the tree and headed toward it. He looked to see if he had the knife. He did. On his back was his longbow and arrow also. The tiger had grown used to the weight and felt a little weird without it. The tree loomed ahead of him. A minute later he was at the base looking up at the ninety-one foot tree. The closest branch was at least ten feet above him. He jumped and locked his claws into the tough bark of the tree. He pulled himself up. Paw over paw. He reached the branch. Recalling how Shang told him to leap from branch to branch with ease, he bounded upwards using his tail, albeit its angle, his foot paws, and his paws. He got fifteen feet before the fancy tricks wore him out. He went back to normal climbing.

An out of breath Tai got to a branch and just sat there. Something soft tickled his head. He looked up to see two tails intertwined together above him. He followed the tails to see Mei and Shang sitting there, close together, arms around each other. They didn't seem to notice him. Tai reached up and tapped Shang. The Golden cat turned around and saw Tai holding up the knife and scabbard. Shang reached down but looked up as a howl split the night silence. He saw torches lit and the screams started reaching each of the feline's ears.

The army clothed in black crept silently across the grass to their designated positions, each one's heart thudding in their chest. Aviators filled the air above them, waiting to dive bomb the unsuspecting citizen's below. The hordes of villains got to their allocated positions and they waited. Their breath was visible in the cool of the night as vapor. They tightened their grip on their weapons. Swords, battle-axes, bows and arrows, halberds, spears, and other weapons were among the armory of the Army in Black.

Canku, Xisong, and Kar stood at the back of the army, standing at the bottom of the pass.

"Would you like to do the honors?" asked Canku to his mate.

Xisong looked at Canku,

"With pleasure."

She lifted her head to the sky and howled three times - two short bursts and one last, drawn out howl. The cry rang out crisp and clear. A second passed then screams began to rise from Mengyou City. The foot soldiers at the bottom tensed and waited for the doors to open. They remained as passive as ever, not moving. A crack of light appeared as the main doors were slowly, ever so painfully slowly, opened. They burst open to reveal chaos on the streets of Mengyou City. Bloodied animals, the traitors, ran throughout the streets, killing mercilessly, sparing no one. The army in black charged, still silent. It wasn't until they fully were in the City that they unleashed their voices in a battle-cry and attacked. Innocent citizens were slaughtered with savage delight. A rabbit ran across the street. An arrow suddenly sprouted from its stomach. The creature gasped, eyes wide, then dropped. The more agile animals climbed to the tops of the buildings and killed the inhabitants inside that dared oppose them.

Canku and Xisong finally got to the heart of the battle. A group of Guards at the Palace's entrance were proving very skilled as they held back the advances of the army that had suddenly come upon them. Screams still came from inside the Palace, but they were few and far between. Canku and Xisong's muzzles and fur were blood-stained from the countless innocents that they had murdered. They didn't stop running as they neared the squad of Guards. The single archer in the group fired an arrow at Canku. He batted it aside with ease. The archer's eyes went wide in astonishment. How could anyone avoid her arrows? Xisong reached the archer and, faster than the eye could follow, had pulled out the archer's own knife and killed her with it. The female wolf ripped the knife back out and threw it at the closest animal. The tiger toppled, clutching his neck. Canku was even more of a terror than his mate. He leapt on the closest animal he could find and tore out his throat. Taking the remains of the esophagus in his now red paws, he shoved them down the neighboring leopard's throat, blocking off the airway with the throat of his own comrade. The leopard fell, already half dead. A Guard stabbed at Canku's back. Kar appeared from above and felled the Guard with a stab at the armpit and finished the Guard off with a blow to the neck. A gorilla from the wolves' army barged into the fight, ripping of limbs of the animals. Shrieks and screams were the only thing that could be heard, besides the crackle of a few fires that had been started. Canku and Xisong finally opened the doors to the Palace courtyards. They marched with purpose until they reached the actual entrance to the Palace. The doors were flung open and they were met with a shocking sight.

The Lord of the City, Kun Zhu was dressed in his pure white battle armor. The light, flexible, yet strong material let Kun Zhu work terrors on the battle. His bracers held knives in it and he also had two thin swords, strong though, that he used in full combat. But, when Kun had normally worn this outfit for military ceremonies in peace, he now wore this for combat.

Kun's face was contorted in grief and anger, but he had an aura around him that spoke of wild, raw power. His fur stood up on the ends and his body quivered with energy. It was the eyes though that spooked many of the battle hardened soldiers out. They weren't the eyes of a civilized creature. No, these were the eyes of a primeval being – a hunter. These eyes displayed an ancient power, from the dawn of time. As if they were showing the past…..

The knives on the bracers were red with blood as he killed with the ease only a tiger could have. A knife to the throat, spin, and then stab a rival in the stomach. Flip over an opponent that dared attack and kill him with a strong kick to the neck, snapping it instantly. Three traitorous Guards attacked. Two from beside, one from the front. Kun flung his arms out as the soldiers were in range, killing both with a knife to the skull. The knives got stuck, the tiger struggled to pull the blades free. The last Guard continued to run. Kun didn't flinch as he contemplated about what he was to do next. He lashed out with his fangs and bit down on the head of the wolf, his fangs piercing the wolf's brain. He yanked back. He spit the blood out and finally let go of the knives. The tiger Lord fought with a ferocity that had never been displayed.

Canku and Xisong attacked as one, knowing that they would have a better chance together to bring down the angered Kun. Xisong lashed out with a sword but was parried by one of Kun's swords. The tiger growled at Xisong. The wolf was unmoved and merely smiled at him. Canku attacked from the left side. He attacked low while Xisong attacked the top, forcing Kun to do two things at once. Canku swiped at the tiger's feet. Kun jumped allowing for Xisong to stab at his chest. She missed.

Where is Ru? Canku thought. We can't kill this demon without it ruining our plans.

Canku howled as his thigh was cut. He lashed back out but it was blocked with ease by Kun. Then, Canku noticed something strange about the tiger. His eyes were blood red and the pupil's nothing but black slits against a green background. The male wolf had never heard of the Lord of the City having such savage features. A snort made him look up. A clang rang in his ears. Xisong had stopped Kun's blade from going straight through his head. There on the balcony was Ru, the traitor rhino. He had been able to infiltrate Mengyou City and become one of the Council, hindering Kun as much as he could. Canku didn't really care about the rhino though, no, he cared what the Ru had in chains before him: Sun Nushi.

"Now!" he barked at Xisong. The two wolves quickly ran to the balcony and put their knives to Sun's throat. Kun looked up and roared. The enraged tiger got down and readied to pounce on the murderous trio.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," crooned Xisong, almost lovingly but her voice dripped with mockery. "Unless you want to see your lovely wife die!"

Canku put a dagger to Sun's throat and smiled evilly. This was fun, torturing people. Kun seemed to fight himself and he looked at his right paw and stared intently at it. The primeval glint in Kun's eyes faded and his muscles relaxed. He stood there panting and bowed his head.

"Don't harm her, let her go. Take me," Kun said, defeat clear in his voice. A single tear rolled down the leaders face. He had failed in the Cities time of need.

Kar and another snow leopard chained Kun together. Kar kicked Kun in the side, knocking the tiger over.

"That is for my troops you killed."

Kun smiled.

"As if you didn't murder innocent people, yet you still judge me."

Kar kicked Kun once more. The two wolves and rhino manhandled Sun down the stairs and shoved her down on her knees next to her husband. She leaned up against in, burying her face in his shoulders.

"To the tower," said Xisong simply.

They reached the top of the tower and both Canku and Xisong howled triumphantly to the night sky. The City was silent for a second before cries of anguish at their leaders capture coupled with shouts of triumph for the wolves' victory. Mengyou City had fallen to the hands of the wolves and their Army in Black.

Mei and Tai held a struggling Shang back. The Golden cat had noticed the figures rushing down to the gates. Then, he heard the screams of anguish.

"The city is under attack! I must help!"

He had jumped down to the branch were Tai was. Tai immediately pinned Shang down. Mei went to help him.

"Let me go! You fool's! Do you want to see your City fall? What of your parents, Tai? And yours Mei? Do you want to see their mangled corpses?"

Tai growled softly and Mei was taken aback at Shang's sudden venom.

"It is you who are the fool if you go rushing in there. You will be killed and what help will that do for the City other than another body to bury? You are sworn to help the City, and then do so by protecting me!"

Tai knew it was a weak argument. He really didn't need protection up in the tree, but he needed his friend safe. Though the tiger prince didn't know that art of war, he could tell that Mengyou City would fall. Shang spat in Tai's face.

"Shang! Listen to Tai!" shouted Mei.

Shang just struggled more and shouted back at them.

"Cowards! You do not even go to fight for your own parents!"

It was like that for an hour. Shang yelling at them while Mei and Tai tried desperately hard to keep him down. A howl pierced the night. Tai looked up and, with some struggled, saw two figures in chains on the Tower.

"Mother…Father…"

He let Shang go. Shang bolted up instantly. He started moving swiftly down the tree but stopped. He climbed back up, passed Tai and Mei, and went higher. There he sat, looking at the City.

Mei looked at Tai. She said nothing for a while.

"Why did he act like that? I have never seen him with that much anger."

Tai grimaced and faced Mei.

"I know he probably hurt you, I know his words stung me, but you have to know that he has a very strong patriotism for the City. He has a fierce loyalty to it and it's people. Also Shang being a Guard makes him more attached to the City. When we held him back, he probably thought we were causing him to fail at his duty. It's best to just let him cool off."

Mei nodded and looked at the fallen City.

"I hate to see him like this. It must feel terrible," sighed Mei.

"It does. I saw my parents in chains. Chains! Two wolves were behind them and that…that…damn rhino! A traitor! Curo was a traitor also, no wonder he enjoyed beating me up. It was a rebellion all along. We were so blind." Tai had never used a word like that before, but here, it felt appropriate.

Shang appeared on the branch in front of them.

"Yes, we were. But we will fight back. Tai, Mei, please listen to me now. We must do something. We cannot just sit here and do nothing!" Shang said, almost pleading.

Mei crossed her arms and looked at Shang.

"You hurt me, Shang. Your words stung us both."

Shang looked down.

"I know. I was being rash and hotheaded. I'm sorry, to both of you."

"I for one accept your apology, I think we both do. Just listen to us next time," said Tai. "You are right about one thing, we will do something. What's your plan?"

"To be honest, I hadn't thought of one," said Shang, sheepishly.

Mei groaned.

"So you were just going to rush in like a madman and fight countless enemies?"

"No."

"At least you're not that stupid, let's think of something."

Mei spoke up,

"We need information first. We need to know who these animals are and what they are going to be doing in the future."

Tai nodded.

"Once we have the information, we will be able to judge our enemy better. From there we can strike at their weak points."

"Hold on, I thought you didn't like war?" asked Shang in shock at the knowledge Tai was displaying of war.

It was Tai's turn to look sheepish. He shrugged,

"I don't, I just read up on it. It seemed interesting, reading the war strategies. I picked up a few key points."

"Well, we have that down. Now, how will we get the information without being discovered? We need to do this as soon as possible."

"And I say we need disguises and I know how to get them too."

Tai and Shang looked at Mei. The female clouded leopard had a grin on her face as she pointed down. Four boars dressed in black sat at the base of the tree. Mei motioned for them to be quiet and mimed the action of shooting an arrow. Tai took off his bow and handed it to Mei. Shang already was heading downwards silently with Mei following closely behind.

The lead boar huffed and sat down at a massive tree.

"We looked everywhere for that blasted tiger with the crooked tail. Tell me, mates, do you see any tiger's with crooked tails around here? No? Well then looks like the high and mighty Canku and Xisong were fooled for once. But what do we do?"

The three other boars just shrugged. They didn't want to get caught up in whatever their squad leader was talking about. They just knew that they had been picked for a mission of "importance." A boar finally spoke up,

"We can't go back, for sure boss. If we go back empty-handed, they will have our heads. What should we do?"

The lead boar huffed again. He looked around.

"Have we searched this part? I know we looked over there." He pointed a hoof to the opposite side of the River Yi. "All we saw there was the archery place and the empty nest of a robin on the ground. Any tiger, Golden cat, or leopard? No."

The three other boars looked around uncomfortably and sat down.

"We could bail out, leave the wolves," suggested one boar.

"That would be treasonous and they would track us down and kill us, no doubt!" The lead boar thought over it again. "But if we left now, they wouldn't know until morning. We would have many hours to start and we could go down one of the rivers! Boars, let's go."

A female voice rang out.

"Apparently you idiots didn't look close enough before calling it quits. Try looking up for once!"

A boar looked up and took an arrow through the head. The boars readied there shields. An arrow hit the feet of two boars. They dropped their shields and jumped up and down in pain. A fatal mistake as two other arrows killed them also. One boar was left. He decided to take a risk with the wolves and ran. Arrows sprouted from his back. As the last boar dropped Mei and Shang landed on the ground. Shang walked to the first boar and started taking the black cloth off the boar revealing the light armor beneath it. Shang took off the fabric and moved onto the next boar. He looked back to see what Mei was doing. She just sat their by the tree, shivering and hugging herself. He hated the look of pain in her face.

"You okay?" he asked walking over to her.

"I'm fine," she said quickly.

"That is not true, you don't seem well. Is it because of the boars you killed? You told me you had killed before, when you got attacked with your parents that one time on one of your trips."

"I have, but I hate it. It just takes me a while to get over it."

Shang took her hand and helped her up. He held her close. She buried her face in his chest and hugged him back. Much to Shang's annoyance, he purred. Mei laughed, knowing how much Shang hated that.

"I'm fine now, thank you," said Mei. She turned and walked to the other boars and started taking the black cloth as Shang had done. Shang walked over to the others and took anything else they might need. With everything they needed in their arms, they climbed slowly back up to where Tai sat. He took the fabric from the two and hung it over the branches. A knife and a sack were left of what they had been able to get.

"Whats with the knife?"

"It's for you. You won't look like a full archer unless you have some sort of close combat weapon," stated Shang flatly. "Just wear it. It completes the disguise."

With the clothes laid out, Mei started folding them together and tying them in certain ways to fit them, as the boars were much bigger than they were. Once they were all ready, they donned the disguises.

They didn't want to look like a member of the wolves' army, so they used bits and pieces of the dead boars' clothes.

Tai let his white pants show but wore the black long-sleeved tunic instead of his normal orange and gold tunic. He also wore a scarf that hid his mouth and nose but he left his eyes and the top of his head show. They needed to hide his tail, as it was an obvious give away so they made him wear a cape that touched the ground and told him to not move his tail.

Shang took off the badges and other symbols on his armor that showed he was a Guard. He was left with just his light armor yet it just didn't seem right. Mei then suggested he wear a cloak with a hood that hid his face in its shadow.

Mei wore a veil over her face and a black cloak without a hood to let the veil do its work. A sash of black wrapped around her and she hid a few weapons in there. She had with her the spear of one of the boars.

"How do I look?" asked Mei, turning around for them.

"Evil," said Tai.

"Stunningly evil," said Shang.

Mei looked at the other two felines.

"Good. You don't look that good yourselves." She winked at her play on words.

Shang looked back at Mengyou City.

"We best get to bed…in a tree, I know. But we have a long day ahead of us. Plus, we will get used to the disguises if we sleep in them. Alright, let's climb down to find wider branches."

Two branches were found wide enough for them to sleep on. Shang looked at Mei devilishly.

"I guess we will have to share."

Mei climbed over to the branch that Shang lay on and snuggled next to him.

"If you insist."

Tai felt his ears grow hot at the display of affection.

"You two can share, but don't be keeping me awake all night? Okay?"

Mei looked at Tai then at Shang.

"Can you believe Tai thinks we would be like that?"

"I can," Shang said.

"No surprise. Seriously though, don't keep me awake with all your purring. Got that Shang?"

Tai turned away and went to sleep.

"Touché," was all that Shang said. Mei whispered into Shang's ear and Shang smiled mischievously. Mei then got even closer to Shang and they both started purring. Tai twitched in annoyance. Finally, Tai got up and turned to face them. He looked ticked.

"Just shut up!"

Tai only heard laughing. But it wasn't as jovial as before, a twinge of sadness was mixed in with it.

A/N: Now the fun stuff begins.