A/N: Here's two of the three I promised in one update. Enjoy.

A hallway carved of stone will prison cells lay at the back to the vast cavern. It was dank and the torches sputtered constantly, deprived of air. What air there was, it was stale and there was no movement of it. A pungent smell had arisen from the unkempt cells. Feces and dead bodies rotted in some cells. Puddles of green water rested along the middle of the cells, on the walkway the guards used, and inside the cells as well. A crocodile guard marched up and down, occasionally cracking his whip on the floor. His heavy boots thudded on the rock and the reptile's armor clanked together as he walked on his patrol. The crocodile guard looked with scorn at a mangy-furred tiger. He spat at the tiger.

"Not so tough now, are y'?" mocked the guard. "It's too bad we can't sell y' yet. You'd make a profit, n'doubt!"

The tiger wiped the saliva off his head and huddled closer to the wall.

"Funny tattoo though," continued the guard. "Ne'er seen t'at mark before."

Still the crocodile didn't receive any answer. He got bored with the tiger and moved on. Maybe the Golden cat would provide more conversation.

"Hey!"

The crocodile banged on the cell doors with the butt of his spear.

"I'm talkin' t' ya Goldie!"

The Golden cat snarled. The crocodile feigned terror. He cackled and kept on walking. The sound of a gong reached the ears of everybody in the prison. The guard's eyes lit up and he rubbed his claws together.

"Lunch! Well, see y' suckers later!"

All of the prisoners watched with dismal stares as the crocodile opened the wooden door and then shut it behind him, going off to his meal. Each of them was hungry and starved. Their captives hadn't been very kind to any of them. Some of the captives who had been here the longest were skin and bone, emaciated creatures that would bring anybody to pity them. Most of them were gaunt, unfit, and weak.

The crocodile guard was part of a larger group that worked underground selling slaves and kidnapping others to continue providing their clients with whatever specimens they so desired. The Empire had outlawed this, unless you are in debt, but the black market slave trade flourished even so. Those who were not bought or traded within a year were usually forgotten about. They kept the best products in mint condition, as they would say. This particular group was notoriously known for being the shrewdest in deals and the cruelest to the captives – committing acts of violence for no reason. They were merciless fighters and when someone fought back; their life was usually drastically shortened regardless of the profit they could receive. On a good day, whipping would commence as soon as the captives had arrived and then, their backs still open and bleeding, placed in a detention cell until a buyer came to make a purchase. When they had a group of beleaguered animals come back and exclaiming that a lone tiger had killed a lieutenant and almost half the rest of the group, they came back with a taste for vengeance. Luckily for Tai and his friends, they had been marked as fine specimens, so they were spared their lives. Tai had been whipped ruthlessly, then shoved into a quarantine cell, alone from any other animals. For the rest, they had just starved them for three days and gave them no water for a full day and a half.

"Another half a day passed," commented Wi from a cell five up from Tai. The tiger crawled over to the iron bars and clutched them. His back still stung from the whipping he had received over a week ago. Had it really been that long since he had killed those animals and they had been captured? Tai looked at his paw and therefore at the tattoo that he had received from Li, one of the three ancestors that visited him irregularly. The iridescent red ink glimmered even in the scarce light that the torches emitted. Gu-Yi, Ancient One, the curse that plagued him and his past family, still lived in the back of his mind, begging to come out and take control over him. It was against his own being to slay others, yet on that night, it had come naturally with Gu-Yi. How he hated it. He wasn't meant to kill others. No, his teeth were for eating and his claws were for gripping rock and the bark of trees to climb. When had they become a weapon? No, they were not a weapon. He wouldn't allow it to come over him again. This was one battle he would fight, a fight with himself and his mind. This was a battle he wouldn't lose.

"Yes, it is," replied Tai finally. "Just another day of despair and aloneness."

"Cheer up, it could be worse!" said Wi.

Shang twisted around in his own cell, directly across from Tai.

"How so?"

"First off, we could have been tortured more. Second off, well, this is an easy one, we could've been killed!"

Mei laughed weakly.

"An optimistic one aren't you, Wi?"

"Always and never not!"

"What do you think will happen to the Valley of Peace?" asked Tai.

Silence. Nobody wanted to think of that right now. Each one of them felt terrible because they would be too late to warn them. Who knew how close the wolves were to the Valley? No less than a month's journey. Not even that probably. Yet here they were, captured with information that could save them. They had failed.

"They will be warned," said Shang, his voice steady. He had not given up. He was going to warn them one way or another. His mind refused to let him accept defeat; it was just hardwired into him. Success had to be met and he would meet it. The Golden cat had furiously mulled over how they could escape. He couldn't think of any ideas, none came to him. The keys to the cells were hung outside the door of the entire cavern and the iron bars weren't weak or rusty. When given their food, they were forced to eat without any utensils so they couldn't hide a spoon or knife or fork at all. Surprisingly, Mei and Wi had been put in a cell together, so it would be a bit easier for them to get out. It meant one less cell to unlock. Of course Shang felt terrible leaving the rest of the prisoners and slaves here to sulk in the cells, but that would just jeopardize their own escape. No one else spoke, so Shang went back to thinking.

Wi too had been thinking on how to escape. Nothing had escaped the observant porcupine, but there was nothing to really hide. Everything had been smoothed and there were not little cracks or crevices they could hide in while the guards searched. The keys were inaccessible and the guard's were very thorough in their patrols. Even the sloppy ones were professional on their watches. Whoever had constructed this had done a very good job.

Tai stared bleakly at the opposing wall. He had given up. He wasn't the lone candle in the dark anymore. Darkness was everything right now. He had no way of getting out. He couldn't fight his way out – unless he gave way to Gu-Yi, something he didn't want. Tai wasn't good at stealth nor could he think of anything that would help him get out. The locks on the gate weren't very complex, they had been designed for easy opening and closing so the guards wouldn't have to really mess around with the keys as much and therefore loose focus on the prisoner. But, the designers had cleverly placed the locks just out of the reach of the prisoners. The cells were ingenious in their design, no doubt. He noticed a symbol on the lock. It was the symbol of a locksmith in Mengyou City! He reached out to touch it, but decided against it. The symbol seemed familiar. Why had he seen it before? Tai closed his eyes and tried to imagine himself back in Mengyou City. He struggled to get the more intricate details right, but was able to create a pretty feasible replica within in mind. Tai imagined himself walking through the streets. Many of the building he couldn't put a name on, except the few like the noodle shop and Jingli's. One building stood out to him. He had visited there before. The building has a high roof but a low ceiling. The inside smelled of molten metal from the smithy next door. The metal was sent over to the locksmith who then formed the metal to create locks for the citizens of the City. His father had taken him their once. Tai remembered the silver-furred monkey taking apart locks to show the curious younger Tai how they worked. This one, thank the Dragons, was one he had shown him the innards of. The lock had been designed for prisons. The key was straight besides one large loop in the key near the end. The key fit the inside of the lock perfectly. When the key hit the back of the mechanism, the guard would push it down and over a bit. A little hook would catch onto the loop in the key. When the guard turned, the key would push the hook back and slide the deadbolt back, effectively and quickly unlocking the door. A release trigger snapped the bolt back into place without the need for manual securing. Tai smiled. He had figured it out. Tai didn't let his elation show. He wanted this to be kept from everybody. False hope wasn't good for people, it could turn out for the worse and they would just immediately go into despair and give up. But how was he going to make that key with almost nothing?

Tinker, said the voice of Senlin-Mu. A cup, a nail file, and strength.

Tai let each of the words burn itself into his mind. How could those make the key he needed? Now he really had something to think about.

Tai's stomach rumbled. He was hungry. A young rabbit cried out; she was starving. The unique sound of wooden wheels over stone reached the captives. Faces of many different species, all gaunt with malnutrition, pressed their faces to the iron that held them in. The keys jangled and the wooden door burst open.

"All right, y' mis'rable lot, time fer a meal!"

A fellow slave pushed the large cart forward while two other slaves pushed a tin cup of stale water and a few pieces of bread into the cells of every captive. All this was done under that watchful eye of the crocodile guard with the bull whip. As soon as the cart and crocodile passed to get those at the end of the hallway, Tai picked up the cup. Time was running out and he needed to figure out what Senlin-Mu meant that he was able to use the cup to help escape. The cup was like the other cups they were served. A cylinder of tin with a handle on the side, usually; some had it, some didn't. The handle! Tai looked back down the hall. The guard and the slaves were coming back to collect the plate and cup! He pried off the handle. It made a terrible screeching sound. Tai grimaced. Sure enough, the heavy boots started rushing down to his cell. With the broken off handle hidden in his pants, Tai downed the water, as bad as it was, and shoved the bread into his mouth. He chewed slowly, thanks to the amount of bread in his mouth, but was finally able to swallow it. Crumbs were left on the plate. If anyone had just passed by, nothing would have seemed different. The cup was just one of the cups that didn't have a handle, right?

"What was t'at damn noise?" thundered the crocodile, his nostrils flaring.

Tai didn't know what to say. He sat there, his mouth hanging open, looking rather stupid.

"I asked you a question."

Tai snapped out of it.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "I was dragging my claws on the stone."

The crocodile guard glared at him. He wasn't convinced. Tai extended his claws and let them run along the ground. A sound not unlike the sound of tin being torn made the crocodile cover his ears.

"Shuttup!" yelled the crocodile. Tai stopped, no needed to instigate, he had what he needed. "Gimme yer stuff."

Tai did so without question. Muttering, the guard and his slaves collected the rest hurriedly and exited. Tai almost danced with joy. Escape was possible now. He just needed two more things. The nail file was going to be tricky, but strength was one thing he did needed.

Another day passed and Tai had manipulated the tin handle enough to, as close as he remembered, fit the hook inside the lock. The clever tiger had figured out a way to use the file and the new hook together. He would push the file through the soft tin and then try to somehow keep the file in the place. Then, he would be able to reach around and fit the lock in. How? He had thought about that for a while. The answer had come to him by accident in fact. Come to think of it, the file had come to him on the same day. Tai had been sitting on the back corner of the cell. He looked around the cell, bored like normal on a day like this – or was it night? The cell was small, like the rest. A door was at the very edge of the prison cell and a raised bed right next to the iron barred 'windows' sat beside it. The bed had been placed in view so that the guard could easily see if the prisoner was there or not. He got cold sitting there in the corner and had moved to the bed. The guard left a thin blanket on the bed so that the prisoners wouldn't get too cold. The blanket really didn't help, but it was comforting in a strange manner. There he sat, his crooked tail dangling out the bar. He let his tail swish back and forth to keep himself from getting too bored. His tail suddenly hit something protruding. He let the tip of his tail feel around the bump. A hole was at the center of it. A bit too small for his tail to fit in, he turned his head around and pushed as much as he could against the bars. His tail was touching the lock! The guard was at the far end of the hallway having fun taunting a deranged wolf. The guard seemed engaged at the moment, so Tai continued to search around the lock. The bend in his tail wasn't a hindrance this time; the tail functioned like it should have…only with a forty-five degree bend near the middle. From then on, Tai practiced grasping different objects with his tail, trying to get the feel of how it would be like when he finally did try to unlock the door. He still needed the file though. The guard walked by, a disinterested face look on her face. She leaned against Tai's cell's door and took out a thin metal object. She extended her claws and began to rub them with the stick. It was an iron nail file. Tai grinned. How good his ancestors were being to him today. He noticed were the guard had taken out the file and eased his paw out the iron bars to slit the pocket where she kept it. He cautiously cut the bag and then let his tail drift underneath the small opening at the bottom of the door. Finally, the guard placed it back it. To Tai surprise, it fell straight though, like planned.

Something I guess do go according to plan. Tai mentally shrugged.

It was too early to think that. The file dropped onto the floor with a clank. The guard froze along with almost everyone else in the hallway. Tai quickly put his tail over it and started to slide it under the door. He let his claws scrape the floor to cover up the sound of the file being drug along the floor. At last, the file was under the door and in his paws. He realized he had been holding his breath and let it out.

"You, tiger, what were y' doing?"

Tai just went back to running his claws on the floor creating the same screeching sound as before. The guard grimaced at the sound then left to continue on her patrol. Tai pulled out the cup handle and started to use the file to make a hole to keep the file in place. He had to work in secret. Otherwise the guards would have confiscated it and he would have lost everything he had gotten up to this point. It took him a full day with constant pauses in work to hide it and then the rest of the night, but finally, he had the makeshift key. He hid the key in the pants that his captives had given him and got Shang's attention.

That night, when the guards stood outside the very front door the prison hall, he and Shang whispered back and forth on what they needed to do.

"Shang!" Tai whispered, louder than he meant too. The Golden cat moved over to his door.

"What?"

Tai wordlessly pulled out the key to show Shang. The dim light made it difficult to see, but Shang was able to make out the shape.

"What's that?"

"That," stated Tai proudly, still keeping his voice low, "is a key. I know how these locks work. A few of them were in Mengyou City."

Shang's fangs showed as he grinned devilishly. They were going to escape.

Another prisoner had moved next to Shang.

"A key?" he said excitedly. "A key!"

The last statement was almost a shout. Tai hurriedly buried the key underneath his pants. He could not let those guards see it.

"Quiet down in there!"

The guards on the outside banged against the door loudly. The hallway echoed with the sound. All was silent. Tai started the conversation back up, cautiously.

"Listen, I wish we could save you all, but it would endanger everybody."

The slave looked at him, wide eyed. The stare haunted Tai, it seemed to dig into his soul and pierce his mind like a hot knife though butter.

"Then come back for us."

Tai nodded.

"I promise."

The slave seemed a bit hesitant to accept it.

"When he says he promises, he means it," said Shang softly, yet firmly. He knew Tai would never back down from a promise, regardless. Though how he was going to, he didn't know. "Pass the word though. Make sure the rest know not to make noise when we do escape tomorrow night."

The prisoner acknowledged the request by simply yelling loudly,

"No noise tomorrow night!"

The door banged again.

"Shuttup…an' listen to whoever said that! No noise!"

Tai heard Mei giggle. The prisoner had just delivered a message right underneath the guard's noses and they agreed with it.

"Tomorrow night?" asked Tai.

"Yes, we need to get the word to Mei and Wi. When they do the morning attendance with the rest, we can plan it quickly."

Tai blinked his approval and went to his bed. He couldn't wait till tomorrow. But, at the same time, he was anxious. What were they going to do if they failed?

The next morning, the guards came in and chained up every single prisoner. They were then chained to a central chain and marched to a large, open room. The walls were high, but the roof had collapsed letting daylight stream in. The total amount of slaves and prisoners coming in from the other chambers was appalling. It was apparent that the slave traders had created a very successful business to make sure their stock was as full as this. It disgusted Tai. He felt the white hot, searing feeling at the base of his skull. Gu-Yi. He looked down at his paw, the red Peace Mark glowed red and he felt the feeling leave him. Tai took a deep breath, he had to remain peaceful and calm, otherwise Gu-Yi would overtake him again – that was something he didn't want to happen again. Shang casually made it look like he was jostled over to Tai. Wi caught on and almost drug Mei over to them. The three felines and porcupine stood in the midst of motley group of animals and waited for attendance. Organization wasn't the best here. The slaves just mingled together. They would call out the number and the slave who had been designated the number would call out loudly, "Here!" The slave traders were obviously cocky enough to think the slaves wouldn't think of planning an escape or they had too much faith in themselves.

"Good job, Tai," exclaimed Wi as soon as she heard the news. They paused to listen to the number being called: one-oh-four-nine. None of them. "You say we are going to leave tonight?"

"A bit sudden, I know, but Shang says that way rumors won't leak out, or a very minimal amount," replied Tai.

"What's going to happen?" asked Mei. Her fur stood on end. She too was excited about this. A number was called out: one-one-five-seven. Still not one of them.

Shang laid out the entire plan he and Tai had come up with.

"Tai's going to unlock the door and come open mine up. Then we're going to break you two out. There are two doors and the guards are positioned, stupidly, right on the edges of them a little bit out. All we have to do is slam them open real hard and they will be out cold. I've been able to sorta figure out a way out, but it's a bit risky. We're going to have to run through the armory and then through here again. See those little rafts up above?"

Shang pointed a paw to the numerous amounts of broken wood ends of boards that led up to the top. Wi was shocked that she hadn't seen those before.

"In the armory, we will be able to get some rope and make our way to the first one and up we go. Got it?"

"What about our stuff?" asked Mei.

"We're going to have to forget about that, we'll figure out what to do up top when we get up top."

Mei shook her head and was about give a retort when another number was called out. Three-eight-two-oh.

"Here!" called out Mei. The guard gave a bored nod and checked her off. Mei turned back to Shang.

"My knife, the one that you gave me, is still there along with a bunch of our stuff. We need that stuff Shang, those clothes we can sell at least and get food. We need our weapons in case we have to fight here or later."

Shang sighed.

"We can't risk out escape for a bunch of items, Mei. I know how much that knife means to you, but you being alive means more to me!"

Mei was visibly shaken. She knew that Shang spoke the truth, but she didn't want to loose the gift Shang had given to her.

"I'll bet the knife is in the armory," said Wi. "We'll be able to get all of our weapons in the armory. I doubt those bozos would just keep our weapons in quarantine. Heck, I wager an apple to a pear that we find our clothes in the barracks and the weapons in the armory. Mei, how about we go the barracks and take our stuff. Shang and Tai can get the rope ready and hold down the fort."

Mei seemed happy with that, even though it did make the chances of them getting caught skyrocket. Shang started to protest, but Wi cut him off. Another number was called: four-two-seven-three. Tai called out he was here and Wi continued on with Shang.

"Don't worry, we'll make it. Besides, moral is important too. Now, you said we would figure out where to go when we got up, I'll tell you, 'cause I already know. We are going to go to the Valley of Peace, but first, we are going to go to a tortoise's house I know. He's a great guy, wonderful in fact. He'll help us get supplied and we can be back on our way."

"What's his name?" asked Mei.

"Kamon Fangwu. He lives in a forest by a stream near mountains. Hold on, I'll be able to tell you rather quickly."

Wi walked over to a guard and stood right in front of him. The guard looked at the porcupine without interest. Wi then looked the guard directly in the eye.

"Are we by chance near the Peng River?"

The guard looked at Wi with surprise.

"Uh, yeah…wait, why do you want to know?"

"No reason. Why are you a wolf?"

The guard shrugged.

"'Cause, uh…"

Wi left the guard to figure out why he was a wolf and returned back to the other three.

"Turns out we are near the Peng River. All we need to do is find that, follow it upstream, find a forest with mountains in the background and find a cabin and we're there!"

"Alright, so it's settled," said Tai after a moment of silence. "Tonight, we break free, say hello to Kamon, and go back to warn the Valley of Peace."

The day passed by slowly, the four of them were all fidgety and awaited the night impatiently. They could hardly wait. Shang tried his best to keep his emotions hidden, but every so often he would stop and plan out the route again in his mind, tracing his claws through the air until a guard would look at him with a confused expression. The slave traders had surprised the prisoners that day by forcing them to do manual labor, to see if they were 'fit or not.' In reality, it was just another way for them to expand their lair. Yet it bade well for the future escapees. As they worked, they were able to see where they would need to go and where the guards were place. The work that the traders had placed upon them had become a blessing in disguise. The only drawback is that they would be more tired than if they had just sat in the cell all day and had placed tic-tac-toe by themselves – for Tai – for had meaningless chatter with other prisoners. At last, the gong sounded and the normally atonal note seemed pleasant and perfect to Tai's ears. The work was done and night was going to fall soon. They were herded like naughty children back into their cells. The guard didn't handle the prisoners like children. The guards viewed them a low as the dirt they walked on and maybe a little lower. The call for lights out came sharply at ten o'clock and the guards walked out of the room and shut the door behind them after they extinguished some torches to provide a meager amount of light. Tai counted down the minutes, thirty, until he made his move. He found the key and let his tail wrap around the handle of it like he practiced. He carefully moved the key out of the irons bars and into the key slot. He moved it down and over like he remembered the locksmith had shown him. He felt the satisfying resistance as the hook grabbed hold of the loop and pushed it back just a bit. He twisted, praying that his tail had the strength to twist the lock. It did. The door opened on slightly squeaky hinges. Tai froze in spot, waiting for the guards to come in, swords drawn and ready to attack and restrain any animal that had dared try to escape. Tai took the key out and opened Shang's door. The Golden cat walked out, even though he was tired, he held himself up high. Shang's cellmates looked at Tai with pleading eyes.

"I will return," he whispered. They nodded wordlessly and appeared to trust him, but their eyes seemed to accuse him that he would betray them. Mei and Wi were quickly released and they crept to the door. Two small squares with the same kind of iron bars running vertically were placed at eyelevel on each door, allowing for them to peer through to the other side. The guards were in the exact spot Shang had predicted they would be. He nodded at Mei and then both landed powerful kicks to the doors edge, snapping the lock with ease and sending the doors slamming into the guards. They collapsed without a word, both unconscious.

"We're out," said Shang, stating the obvious, but it felt good to confirm that.

Mei and Wi started off to the barracks while Tai and Shang headed to the armory to grab the rope and the weapons they needed.

Tai and Shang moved along the shadows, with Tai following Shang's every move, trying his best to copy it so they wouldn't be detected. The armory door was unlocked by the same key they had used for the prison locks. The room was filled with weapons and arms of all kinds. They even had one of Shen's cannons at the back. Thankfully, there was no gunpowder or cannonballs to be seen. Tai located Mei's knife quickly. Shang found the bows and the quivers just as fast. They were the most exquisite made of them all. Each one designed and crafted by the craftsmen of Mengyou City. That didn't mean they were made of the finest materials, no, the ones the slaves traders used were over the worst quality Shang and Tai had ever seen. This made them appreciate their weapons all the more. Shang's two knives were found among a pile of knives. He clasped them in his paw. Tai found a good enough length rope and let that drape over his shoulder. As quietly as they could with weapons and metal, they made their way to the center area with the open roof. They were as silent was ghosts that walked with full body armor. In other words, not like they meant to be. Many times they had to stop in the shadows as a guard came snooping around. Each time, Tai's heart thudded in his chest and he was amazed that the guard couldn't seem to hear it as well. The cavern with the collapsed roof was desolate. No guards could be seen. A few could be heard in the hallways to the right of them, but the sound was traveling away from them so they weren't too scared. Shang got the rope strung up and they hid again in the shadows, waiting for Wi and Mei to come.

As soon as they had left the two males, Mei and Wi encountered guards. They dove behind barrels to hide themselves. To their horror, two of the three guards walked over to were they hid. Wi wasn't frightened though. She made a slamming motion with her paws and Mei understood. Wi crawled around the barrels. The third guard was looking down a hallway, seeing if anything moved down their. He only missed what was behind him. Wi kicked his feet from underneath him and before he could get up, she began to choke him. As the guard passed out, Wi let go. She wasn't in the mood to end another's life, not matter how vile the creature was. Wi turned to see Mei spring up and slam the two guard's heads onto the hard, wooden edges of the barrel. The blow stunned each one and Mei finished them off with swift jabs to the jaw.

"On we go," said Wi.

The barracks started immediately after they crossed a large mess hall and yet another hallway. The caverns were truly massive. Entering the barracks was a bit odd for the two females. The traders clearly did not care for modesty or privacy. Females and males slept in the same room together. There were no curtains or bamboo screens for one to change behind, everyone was treated the same. The clothes were kept in an adjoining room that connected all four the barracks together. Mei and Wi crawled on the floor between beds and, sometimes, a body that had rolled out of its bed and onto the floor. The wooden door to the clothing room opened silently and they found themselves in a massive room with clothes every where. A little area over at the back of the room was clean and void of any dirty laundry for the slaves to do. They decided to check there. The black clothes they had stolen from the boar soldiers on the first night were directly on top. Mei wrapped those into a tight ball and put them under her arm. The other clothes they were all they needed to find now.

"Let's start searching!" said Wi, just as cheerful as before. The prospect of digging around in unwashed slave trader's clothes made Mei shudder. She liked to live life on the edge, but this was way over the top. But, those clothes helped complete the disguise, and if they were to run into any of the wolves' army out here – who knew what spies the wolves had – the disguises wouldn't give them away immediately. As they rifled through the various amounts of clothing, they were able to pick out the pieces of black clothes that they needed. Footsteps could be coming from one of the barracks. Mei blanched and Wi hurriedly looked for a door to escape that wouldn't go into more barracks. She spotted a door and the two rushed towards it. A guard walked in just as the door shut. The guard looked at the door. No one was supposed to be in here after curfew except the patrol. He walked forward with his spear held in front of him, lowered into a ready stance. He prayed it was just a group of practical jokers – he begged that it was. With his prayers complete, he walked forward, listening intently for the receding footsteps.

Clothes in hand the two females made their way to the open roof cavern. The crescent moon let its fill the cavern with a soft glow, betraying the tense atmosphere that had collected between the four fugitives.

"We're here," came a voice from behind.

Tai jumped and spun around with his paws in front of his face. He lowered them, rather embarrassed, when he saw that it was Mei and Wi.

"Quickly now, put these on," commanded Wi. The sound of clothe against clothe filled the open roof cavern. The rope was pulled taut and Shang swung up first, testing the resilience of the rope. It held and Shang pulled himself to the first board, it bended slightly. Tai made his way up second. The board began to bend a bit more under the combined weight of the Golden cat and tiger.

"Go on sweetie, I'll lead up the rear," said Wi to Mei. Mei blinked, not daring to say thank you this close to freedom in fear that someone might hear her. Mei was halfway up the rope when a sudden shout arose from the hallways. Guards began to pour in from the adjacent hallways, all shouting with a great roar of anger.

"Up you go!" shouted Wi, snapping Mei out of her frozen terror. The clouded leopard climbed upwards. Wi started to climb but a swift runner grabbed hold of her feet.

"You two, go on up, I'll meet you there later," said Shang. He began to pull on the rope, trying to lift Wi up above the throng. The runner was joined by another and they started to loosen Wi's grip on the rope. Shang tensed and was ready to pounce on the gaud but Wi saw the look in Shang's eye.

"Just go on! Get out of here! I'll be fine!"

Wonderful, another unoriginal line, said Wi. She knew that she was going to not escape, at least make it memorable with a good line. And that was all she could think of. Stands to reason though, it is a dreadfully good line.

Shang was indecisive for a moment, hesitant to just leave what had become a good friend to the slavers. Wi waved a paw nonchalantly, like always. How could she so callously throw her life away? Tai was at Shang's side. He let a paw rest on the Golden cat's shoulder.

"I think we best do what she says. How mad do you think she would be if we got killed trying to save her."

Shang smiled bitterly, how blunt of Tai, but how true. A hammer blow came across Wi's head. The porcupine's body collapsed, all the fight lost in her. Her grip was lost on the rope and she fell into the throng. With a shout of despair, Tai clambered up the boards, following Shang. Tai looked back in desperation, he was glad he was. He could see a couple guards tying up Wi. They wouldn't tie up a dead body. The tiger saw the sides moved and the porcupine stir. She was alive. Whispering the same promise he had done to the slave, he made it to himself.

"I will come back. Don't worry."

At last, they got up outside. The voices below started moving away and they could hear the echoing commands that drifted up to them. The chase was on!

The Peng River would have been a nice river to bathe in. The water's had a slight chill to them, but it was a refreshing chill after a hot day. The grass that ran beside it was a vibrant green and that fauna that grew next to it added to the melting pot of colors. Rocks sprouted up like the flowers at times, add a sharp contrast of grey to the normally bright greens, blues, reds, pink, and so forth. Even in the moonlight, the water had a silver sheen and the rocks light grey turned to a darker hue. The plants all of a sudden held a ghostly beauty, the blue light giving them the look of flora from another place and time. It was still as well, a kingfisher tweeted off in the reeds somewhere the lined the river in no particular order. The Peng also seemed to respect the silence, for the river didn't gurgle and babble to the travels like many of the others did; thus, it had received the nickname, "The Silent River." This normally attracted many visitors to hear the stunning silence of it and led many to come here to meditate on the many issues in life. The silence was peace for them.

In this case, silence was not peace. The sound of their footsteps as they trod in the grass seemed deafening to Tai. Numerous shouts and yells could be heard from behind. Torches had been lit by their pursuers and they numbered eleven in total; ten to fight, one to flee and warn the others if that need be. The eleventh was usually a runner.

The cool grass seemed like icicles underneath their feet as they ran. It seemed to crunch and steal the heat from the soles of their feet. The torches behind kept the pace they were going, not going faster or slower. The slavers had experience with this and they could run for how ever long the escaped slaves ran. Tai had never run this much in his life. He thought of the kung fu Masters at the Jade Palace, no doubt they would think this a jog. What would Master Tigress say?

What are you even thinking about, rebuked Tai to himself. Now is not the time to think about females! We've got to run!

Run they did. The forest inched toward them. Hours passed and their mad dash had turned into a slow jog. The slavers noticed this and accelerated their pace just a bit. If they weren't able to loose them in the forest Tai hoped was close, they would be caught and they could kiss warning the Valley of Peace about the wolves goodbye for good and forever.

The forest did want Tai and his friends to warn the Valley of Peace it seemed, because it seemed to start suddenly and they were lost among the trees soon. The tall trees voided all moonlight that tried to sneak in to touch the forest floor leaving the felines in the dark. Their eyes soon became accustomed to the little amount of light and they were able to navigate well enough. The enemy torches lit up the forest like fireworks lit up the night sky. The slavers spread out just enough so the light covered a greater circumference, but close enough to come to another's aid shortly.

"What are we looking for again?" asked Mei as they accidentally crashed through some underbrush. The torches moved in their direction.

"Well, we've found the forest and the mountains – don't know why I didn't see those before – are over there. All we need to do is look for a cabin with those in the background," supplied Tai. "I think we look that way."

Three shooting stars passed overhead and they all saw three of Tai's ancestors, therefore all tigers, armed with spears, blocking the way. One of them pointed to the opposite direction.

"You know, Tai," said Shang out of the side of his mouth. "I still doubted you a bit with the whole ancestors thing. I one hundred percent agree with you now."

"Good."

Bowing in thanks, the three did an abrupt about-face and started hurrying in the direction the spear welding tigers had pointed. They caught sight of them from time to time, diverting their path, pointing them in the right direction. The torches still were close, close enough to fry Shang's nerves a couple of times. He felt like his whiskers were getting singed sometimes by the angry flame and the sharp voices that rang out to call the others to him or her. At last, they came upon a cleverly hidden cabin. All the lights were out and thin wisp of smoke wandered upwards to get lost in the heavens somewhere. It was a quaint cabin, not to large. Nothing more than two rooms Tai guessed. They ran to the front door and banged on it.

"Can you hear us? We've got some slavers on our trail and need to hide. Hello?"

Shang pounded on the door over and over again, trying to get the inhabitants awake and aware of what was going on.

A snicker came from behind and to everyone's horror, from behind the tree trunks, came the slavers, all eleven of them.

"Gotcha y' now, kitty cats. Why don' y' just put yer hands in the air an' this'll be over easy like."

Shang snarled and pulled out his two knives. Mei proceeded to pull out her ivory knife and bring it to her ready position, calling upon her kung fu teachings. Tai grabbed for his bow and arrow. He fitted an arrow on the string and gulped. He had killed now before – thanks to Gu-Yi. He didn't want to do it now, but a show could always scare away somebody and he hoped it would scare away these. Apparently it didn't because they just readied their weapons likewise and continued forward. A loud, hollow sounding thok sounded suddenly and a slaver toppled over. A tortoise took its place, with a staff in his left had. The turtle wore a sash of green and brown across its front body with it spreading out and covering his shell. The staff was a taller than the turtle and had a knot of wood at the top. A thin jade line ran down the center of it. The tortoise was old and looked as if he had survived through many years, witnessing almost everything. The eyes also told of great wisdom and a hint of mischievousness with a sprinkle of compassion and understanding. The slavers turned to face this new threat. One of the older slavers had a look of recognition and turned to flee. The leader barked out a command the older slaver was shot instantly by a bolt from the archer's bow. The slaver fell down with a staccato scream. Blood ran down the arched back of the dead slaver and began to collect on the ground, moistening it and giving the normally brown dirt a red tint. The tortoise shook his head.

"Fighting amongst yourselves is not good you know."

"You, get over here."

The tortoise shrugged and sauntered over to the leader.

"Keep an arrow train on 'im, m'kay?"

The archer sneered at the elderly tortoise and aimed down the sights at the tortoise. Everything was still, even the three felines didn't move. Mei let her tail twitch despite herself. The leader swung a punch at the tortoise. The tortoises easily blocked the punch and let his staff strike the leader on the head. The tortoise's long claws reached out and touched the leader's side. Two blue hexes of light seemed to radiate out and the leader collapsed, twitching on the floor. The archer fired. The tortoise let the arrow embed itself into the staff. He pulled it out and threw it back. It struck the archer on the knee and he cried out in pain.

Two down, nine to go, thought Shang dryly. But this guy is good. Could he be Kamon?

Three attacked at a time. The tortoise ducked underneath and tripped one. Jumping up, he kicked the slaver in the stomach, sending his body to be suddenly stopped by a sturdy tree trunk. The two others recovered and kicked out while slashing at him with their swords. The staff reached out and touched one in the heart and it dropped without another movement. The other sword was also blocked by the staff of the tortoise. The third was dispatched likewise.

The rest of the fight went rather one-sidedly and as the last slaver dropped, the tortoise walked over to the three felines and bowed.

"Kamon Fangwu, at your service."

"Thank you, Kamon," said Tai, amazed at what he just saw.

"It was nothing. Now, what can I do for you?"

"If you can just direct us to the Valley of Peace and maybe, if you're okay with it, give us a little provisions, we will be on our way," said Mei.

Kamon shook his head.

"I'll do that. But, tell me, tiger, do you know how to fight? The other's seemed ready and rock solid – but you, you wavered and were unsure about yourself."

Tai was shocked. What was Kamon talking about? Why was he suddenly asking about this?

"No, not really. I don't believe in fighting at all really," confessed Tai.

"Okay. Now, do you know how to defend yourself?"

"No. I studied kung fu under the masters at Mengyou City but I just can't do it."

Kamon smiled.

"Perfect. You know, I am the nephew of Oogway. I came here looking for him after he left our home island. When I finally found him, he showed me the ways of yin and yang, of harmony and focus, of kung fu. I was elated. I studied vigorously underneath him and I left to start my own dojo. I built it here in the forest because of the peace. No one has come to study under me. I would love it if I were to have one student and I was wondering if you might be able to become it."

Tai was honored that the tortoise was willing to teach him, but he had to warn the Valley of Peace.

"I can't. We have to warn the Valley of Peace and the Furious Five about an army coming to them."

Kamon suddenly laughed. It was a low, gravelly sound deep in his throat.

"Are you talking about an army led by wolves?"

"Yes, how did you know?"

"Follow me," said Kamon and turned around. Tai shrugged at Shang and Mei and they followed Kamon to a pond in the back of the cabin. Kamon dipped the tip of his staff into the water and it cleared. The stars became crystal clear in the night sky and Tai could have sworn they moved in a certain direction. Some burned brighter than others while others were dim, barely seen on the massive navy blue canvas.

"These stars aren't the reflection of the sky above, these are the reflection of life," whispered Kamon. "May I know your names?"

"I am Tai," said Tai, then, he pointed to his friends and spoke their names accordingly. "This is Shang and the other is Mei."

Kamon bowed.

"Well, then. You are here, three bright stars against the dull sky. These clusters represent the cities and the villages. If you look close enough, you can almost make out the shape of the area. Here is the Valley of Peace and here is the army you speak of. Untold numbers, but each dim stars except six bright stars. Look, one has six smaller inside it. The army you speak of it months away and if you were to get there and speak of the danger, you would be scoffed at not months later because they would not come until it was too late to reverse what has been done. I'll make you a deal. You train with me for however long it takes for this army to reach this point." Kamon made a circle with his claw on the star map and a faint red glow appeared in that area. "Then, you may leave, only this time, stronger and unafraid to stand up for yourself. I can teach your friends too and I can help all of you. I already am sensing what you can improve on, but it is for you to decide, not me."

Shang called them over, away from the old tortoise who continued to gaze into the star pond.

"Should we trust him?"

"Wi did, why shouldn't we?" said Mei. "And if Tai's spear bearing ancestors almost forced us to come here, I guess we should stay. What about you, Tai?"

Tai was in deep thought and he struggled with what to say. If the tortoise was wrong, the Valley of Peace was fall and it would be their fault. If they left and the tortoise was right, then they would still loose the Valley of Peace.

Stay, he can help you with the curse, Tai.

Tai heard the voice of Li and he made his decision right then.

"I vote we should stay."

Shang nodded.

"Alright then. Uh, Kamon? I guess we are going to stay."

Kamon smiled.

"I'm glad you are. Now, I'm going to quickly say that I would like it if you were to call me Master and my first exercise is for you to set the unconscious animals on the raft you can find over there and send them down the river."

Shang and Mei put their fist to their palm and bowed.

"As you wish, Master."

They were both used to this kind of training, though studying under Kamon was going to very different, they speculated. Tai lagged behind, imitating the two. He finally bowed and began to help the other two with the bodies, but Kamon stopped him for a moment.

"You studied under the masters of Mengyou City you say. Did they teach you well and do you know the posses and the positions along with the teachings?"

Tai nodded, it was still in his mind, every single move – defense or offense – was lodged their and wouldn't come out.

"Ah, even better. I guess I'm just going to have to help you to actually do them. This will make training go by much faster. Now, carry on."

The bodies were cleared quickly with the three of them working together. It was alien how suddenly they had come to accept Kamon as their master. It was literally overnight, not even that much time! Still, they felt at home with him and Tai assured them that his ancestor had told him it was right to do so.

As Tai lay on the wooden floor with a thin mat beneath him to provide some comfort, he could hear the wind spring to life and rustle the grass and tree leaves. It battered softly against the door and the stout cabin, giving it a cozy feeling. The small fire gave a soft glow to the room that now served as the living room, dining hall, bedroom, and study. As Tai felt his eyelids grow heavy, he heard Senlin-Mu called out, his voice coming through the wind,

"Surprise."