A/N: What's this? Another chapter? Yes it is! I enjoyed writing this chapter for reasons you will, I'm certain, figure out. Enjoy.

Today was the final day. Night had come, Tigress slept, the nightmare visited, and she awoke at sunrise, shivering and sweating. They all commented of how troubled their sleep had been, but it was passed by as a coincidence. Only Tigress and Viper took notice. Getting up to run for that last time in the chase was almost ceremonial. They had poured so much into this and it was very likely it was going to turn fruitless. Still, the adrenaline of the chase took hold and they ran on.

Coming on a river, they bathed – females to the far left, males to the far right – to wash the grime and dirt that had caked and discolored their fur or got in between a scale. It was refreshing and the set out as a pace unattainable at all but by kung fu Masters. The river flowed at their side until it veered away, doubling back on itself and winding down the forest like a snake. As the sun hit its zenith, they stopped for lunch. Po had requested an early lunch, but it had been denied.

Sitting cross-legged in the flower bed and the grass that grew thick on the forest floor, Tigress ate her beloved tofu. Her eyes drifted lazily from treetop to branch to distant river to one of her friends to treetop again. Conversation was kept to a minimal, as they were all trying to eat and catch their wind at the same time. Ten minutes passed and they all felt a bit better. The food in their stomachs helped and the resting period added to it all. Tigress stood up and again, prepared herself to run. As she took the first step, she stopped and didn't go further. Po had already passed her. He looked back to stare at Tigress.

"We going?"

Tigress didn't answer. She simply stared at a branch that protruded out from a massive trunk. Po followed her gaze. There, stooped on the branch were three figures. The figures alone wasn't much of a threat to six Masters. But the way they stood, uncannily still, sent shivers down Po's spine. They stood with one standing out in front and the two others behind. The one in the front had a long, billowing cloak that splayed out behind him. It was hooded, obscuring his face in the shadows, though the golden snout appeared from underneath it.. From underneath the cloak, they spied leather armor. The armor had been abused, its seemed. The surface wasn't smooth but rough and uneven. Long, thin lines displayed where blades had tried to cut, but had been stopped. Po noticed four sheaths. Two were located near his waist. The other two strapped to his legs.

Everyone stood still. The air was like the calm before the storm, but it crackled with energy. Po leaned over to Tigress, and gesturing to the center one, said,

"You can take that one."

Tigress nodded. The toughest were usually cocky, but they were cocky for a reason. Yet no one, no matter how good, had ever bested Tigress. It was their final downfall. With the leader being dealt with by Tigress, Po sized up the others. The second one had a veil covering her face. Po knew it was a her because of the way the shirt bulged out a bit at the top, near the chest and the way she poised herself. The female had a black cloak similar to the first one, but had no hood. She wore rugged looking traveler's clothes with a black sash around her torso. In her hand was a spear. The way she held the spear looked like she had used it before and knew exactly where to impale others with it for a swift, clean kill.

The last one confused Po. The figure was thin, his body built like a runner. He was taller than the other three, but he couldn't tell how tall he actually was compared to his friends. A bandana sort of thing wrapped around his nose and mouth, preventing from any of his face to show besides the top of his striped head and his eyes. He had white pants on, stained with the dirt from the road. He wore a long-sleeved tunic that was entirely black. A cape fluttered behind, waving up and down in the slight wind. Wait...stripes? Po looked again, closer. He was a tiger.

"I feel like we're going to have a cat fight pretty soon," said Mantis. He too had noticed the third figure was a tiger. "You know, Tigress, he seems a bit bigger than you."

Tigress snorted.

"No bandit, big or small, will beat me."

"I'm just saying."

Po gave his famous grin.

"Taller or not, Tigress is stronger. Now, I think that those guys look familiar. Almost fit the exact description that that rabbit said. Heck, if we can beat those guys here, we won't have to go back! Then we can continue on our search. Win-win situation, you gotta love it."

The three figures also seemed to be having a conversation among themselves, with constant glances at the six Masters. The female pointed and waved in their direction, almost frantically. The leaders snout, just poking out, twitched a bit. The third remained silent with occasionally butting in.

"Let's get 'em," said Monkey. He itched for something to practice against, no sparring, a real life fight, some competition. He preferred it not to be with bandits, but he would take what he got. Crane nodded. Viper found herself agreeing, eyeing the three, rather uniquely dressed bandits. Seeing the looks from the others, Tigress took a menacing step forward. They all got into their ready positions. The third figures eyes went wide. Tigress smiled. Intimidation was an important tool. The third figure pulled out a longbow and nocked an arrow. He aimed it, pulling back on the string. Tigress waited for the arrow to fire, but the archer didn't fire. Instead, he waited calmly. The leader of the three unsheathed two dirks, wielding them in his hands with finesse and mastery. The female made the spear dance around her hands as it twirled around and around. The three leapt down to the ground. The leader whispered something to the archer and he put away his bow. Changing positions, the leader and the archer took each others spots. Stepping in front of the other two, the tiger spread out his paws and took an alien ready position. His knees were bent and his arms and paws were ready, but they were ready in a position of defense for his friends. Tigress stood up straighter.

"Change of plans. The tiger is mine."

Relinquishing the tiger, Po, Mantis, and Crane switched their attention to the hooded leader. Three against one, two against one, and Tigress versus the other tiger; Po felt confident. In the back of his mind though, he had a troublesome thought. They seemed so sure of themselves. Shaking away the doubt, Po let himself feel the flow of the universe around him. Inner peace. His eyes snapped open and he raised his clenched fist.

"My fists hunger for justice!" he shouted to the three figures. A gurgling sound killed the moment. Po looked down at his stomach and looked at the Furious Five. "Okay, that time it wasn't me."

They all looked at the three figures. The leader was looking down at his stomach. The mouth formed a frown.

"Sorry," called out the hooded figure. "Haven't had lunch yet."

Po nodded in sympathy, going without lunch and straight into a fight was one of the worst things ever. A shout from the Furious Five put Po right back into his fighting mode and he ran forward. The archer of the figures sprinted forward with the other two right on his heels. Po removed his focus from the enemy tiger and refocused on the hooded enemy. Po kicked out and the figure caught it and threw his leg upward, exposing the crotch of his pants. The panda would have received a painful blow to his tenders had it not been for Crane smashing the kick and returning the blow with a strike at the hooded figures face. It never connected. The figure danced away and ran up the tree. Crane flew after him. The hooded figure suddenly back flipped off and the tree and grabbled from Crane. Crane deflected the swift blows from the hooded leader until he landed with a dull thud on the ground. The hooded figure had him pinned down by his wings and he couldn't move. Mantis came to his rescue. The praying mantis lunged for a pressure point located on the leg. The hooded figure kicked out. Mantis grabbed hold of the leg and flung himself upward. He let gravity overtake him and used it to increase the strength in his attack. Po had gotten himself up and jumped up, attempting to smash the hooded figure. The hooded figure deftly twisted his body out of the way. Po landed on Crane instead.

"Sorry," the panda said bashfully as he started to bound back upward. His body was slammed back down onto Crane's as Mantis, in an attempt to slam down on the small of the hooded figures back, rammed into Po's bodaciousness. Flipping up, the hooded figure wrapped Mantis tightly in his tail and let three claws rest themselves on Po's neck, pushing slightly in near a rather sensitive pressure point. The figures left foot stood on Crane's wing heavily, causing the crane to squawk. Po twisted his neck, casting a reassuring smile at the hooded figure that he wasn't going to cause any trouble, to see if his other friends were trapped. To his dismay, they were. Except Tigress. Po grinned smugly, Tigress would win. One thin tiger versus his friend and Master, an easy win for Tigress.

Tigress had immediately let all other thoughts excuse themselves from her mind as she focused on the sprinting tiger. She decided to attack first, giving her the upper hand. She jumped up and brought her leg up and then down with enough power to smash through solid rock. What the tiger did threw Tigress off balance. She anticipated a block with his wrists and then a blow to either the stomach or head. Maybe even the feet or a sharp yank on the tail. Instead, the tiger dropped down and suddenly exploded upward using his feet and hands to bound high in the air. But Tigress's descending foot was in the way, so the tiger kicked upwards. The force upwards cause Tigress to fall to far backwards and she landed on her back. This was nothing new. She prepared herself for the barrage of quick blows that would be most likely aimed at her face and chest. Like the other time, the tiger did something different. He just landed and readied himself, getting into a defensive position, almost goading her to attack. Tigress snarled and she flipped herself upright. She feigned right and jabbed left. The tiger didn't even fall for the false punch and immediately ducked beneath the punch and grabbed her paw. He pulled her forward, slamming his head forward to hit Tigress on the head as well. Tigress moved so that way she was horizontal to the tiger and brought her elbow around to hit him the temple. It was like the tiger knew what she was going to do next, because he ducked under and reached behind her knees and pulled. Tigress smiled when she saw where her knee could go. She went with the pull, adding kneeing upwards to hit her enemy in the groin. The tiger used the extra force to propel himself upwards into the air above her. She reached up to grab his own paws to pull him into the ground. The tiger curled himself into a ball, and then unfurled so that way his feet would be able to kick at Tigress as he fell. Tigress dove out of the way and as his feet got into her view, she punched with all her might. The legs of her enemy were flung backwards. She saw the look of amazement in his eyes as his face shot past. Tigress readied herself for the attacker to land and strike outwards or try to trip her. The tiger increased the motion in the air. His foot had completed a full circle and struck Tigress on the crown of her skull. She was dazed by the blow and almost cringed when she thought of the amount of blows that she could receive in this state. As the tiger landed, he spun around and again readied himself in a defensive position. Tigress cleared her head and faced the tiger once more.

He is good, she admitted to herself. For once she felt truly challenged – besides Tai Lung. Wonder how this guy would hold up to the snow leopard if he was still alive?

This time, Tigress copied the tiger's methods and went straight into a defensive position. They started to circle around each other. His cape billowed out behind him. Still, the tiger didn't attack. She looked hard into his eyes to see what he was feeling. All she could get out of him was confusion and a hint of fear. She saw him trip slightly over his cape. Switching back over to offense, she lunged forward. The tiger tried to strike up at her throat but she deflected it and hammered her head into the tiger's gut. She heard the whoosh of air leave him. Good, he was stunned. She reached down to his feet and pulled his cape up. The tiger, clearly winded, still got up and tried to break her hold. She moved gracefully around his grapples. She flung the cape up and over his head and began to tightening it, choking him. He struggled and she saw the desperate look in the other figures eyes. She had them now.

"Release my friends or you loose one."

A growl came from the tiger. She snarled back but it was cut short by a lightening fast kick to the both knees. She collapses, falling into a splits. So, the fight was back on. She was a bit more cautious now, but was still confident. The tiger whirled around and she saw his pupils had become a bit more narrowed. No longer seemed as innocent as they had before. Tigress lunged forward, repeating her tactic from last time. She knew what kind of fighter this was and, just as she predicted, would leap over her. He did and she twisted in the air, grabbing his feet and pushed him headlong into the ground. A grunt escaped from the tiger. He got up and started to back away. Tigress advanced, looking at her every options. Her eyes darted here and there, looking for anything that the tiger could use against her. Unexpectedly, the tiger actually ran at Tigress. She sidestepped out of the way. Just as she did that, the tiger slid on the floor, extending one leg out. Tigress jumped over it with ease but was grounded by the sudden pull on her tail. She landed on her rear and, using the strength in her arms only, pushed herself up and let her feet get back underneath her. She heard the scuff of dirt and she swung around with her fists. The tiger bounded upwards and pushed off her wrists. Her arm buckled slightly, just slightly, underneath the new weight. As the cape flapped around, she caught sight of his tail. It was crooked. Xiaofang's words were suddenly fresh in her mind and she froze. The tiger used this to his advantage and kicked out Tigress's legs from beneath her. Quick as lightning, he pounced on top of her. His teeth were bared – halfheartedly – and he had a steely look in his eyes – almost. He pulled out a knife and held it to her throat. Tigress almost laughed, but didn't. She was thankful that one of the other figures, who were now pinning down her other friends as well, corrected this tiger's mistake.

"Uh, Tai. You do realize that you are supposed to have the blade at her throat, not the handle," said the hooded leader

The tiger, who's name must be Tai, looked at the knife in his hands.

"Oh, thanks," he said sheepishly. He looked back into Tigress's ocher eyes. What Tigress saw next was just as alien as his fighting style. His pupil widened and he almost brought himself back a little bit. They stared into her eyes, curious and spiraling out of control with emotion. But, despite the whirlwind of feeling just in his eyes, she sense pure emptiness. Like an empty jar, waiting to be filled, but never found or used. An almost haunted look glazed over and wrapped all of the emotions into one package and displayed them in his eye. It was almost terrifying.

Tigress cleared her throat. This animal had a crooked tail and that was exactly what Xiaofang had told her to look out for.

"You have a crooked tail," Tigress said, feeling her throat bob against the knife blade.

The tiger looked at his tail. "I do." He didn't seem to mind the question, yet it did seem like he had been told that a lot.

There was an awkward silence that followed. Tigress dared move her head only a bit to look around before the knife was pressed harder against her throat; the tiger on top of her seemed hesitant to do so and, when he did, did so with utmost care not to cut her on accident. The hooded assailant had somehow trapped Po and Crane. The hooded animal couldn't have weighed more than Po by himself, yet somehow he was keeping him pinned to the ground. Mantis himself was struggling with just the leaders tail. Mantis caught her gaze and mouthed something. She cocked her head. The knife moved slightly against her jugular vein – what scared her when he did this is that he did so with such precision. Almost like he knew exactly where to place it. She let a soft growl escape her lips and she was rewarded by the tiger moving the knife away slightly. Mantis repeated whatever he was trying to mouth. It looked like he was saying "Golden voice" but that couldn't be it. Mantis saw the look of misunderstanding in her face and tried again. Tigress rolled her eyes. All she got out of that was "more to boys." Tigress twisted her head over to look at Viper and Monkey, who were most likely incapacitated by the female. Sure enough, there they were, both with the spear laying across their throats. The female was in a splits, immobilizing their lower bodies. As much as Tigress hated it, she was impressed by the skills these three had shown. She turned to her own captor.

"Well," she spat, "go on and kill me? Or do you not have the guts? You a scared kitty maybe?" Tigress was satisfied that her insults and taunts got to the tiger. One thing that always made criminals make mistakes was to poke at their pride. This seemed to do the exact opposite in this tiger's case though. A pained expression flashed across his face, illuminating his eyes and the soul behind it. Tigress was shocked to see how clearly she could see into his being almost. It was like they were telling a story. Before she could even begin to read whatever story did lay behind them, they snapped back to the curiously emotional eyes that she had stared into at the beginning. The tiger stared at her, he looked up and down her. His gaze was hard and critical, like he was deciding whether she was good or not. He suddenly got up.

"Shang, those three animals were wrong. These are the Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior!"

The hooded leader, Shang it seemed, looked at the male tiger from underneath his cowl.

"You sure?"

"Positive, look at the markings on her. The panda is exactly what Wi told us about and the rest look too familiar. They lied to us."

Shang got up and brushed himself off. He was joined by the female who stood by his side. Tigress looked at the tiger, offering his paw to help her up. She pushed it away and got up herself. Tigress looked around as her friends got to their feet as well. Po walked over to the hooded animal.

"You guys are incredible! How'd you do that?"

A smile crossed the hooded animals face – or what was visible of it.

"We had a very good teacher."

Tigress folded her arms across her chest. She tapped her foot impatiently and waited for Po to stop badgering the hooded one about how he did it. The female walked over to her side, still carrying the spear.

"Is the panda always like this?" she murmured out of the side of her mouth.

Tigress looked at the veiled animal.

"Yes, but not always."

The veiled animal shook her head.

"Well, were are my manners..."

The veiled animal pulled back her veil and there, standing in place of the veil was now a rather striking face of a clouded leopard. The clouded leopard cleared her throat. The hooded leader caught the drift and let his hood fall back revealing a male Golden cat. The tiger was staring blankly into space, looking at the faint outline of the moon that appeared even in the daylight. His eyes darted to look at the clouded leopard then the Golden cat and he pulled the half-mask down from over his mouth and nose. There was a tiger, sure enough, underneath it all. From his face, Tigress could see that he wasn't as muscular as the Golden cat or as agile as the clouded leopard, but his face, though thin, portrayed immense intelligence. The tiger stuck out his paw again.

"I'm Tai," he said bluntly. Tigress took his paw and shook it firmly. Tai then motioned around to the others. "This is Shang and that is Mei."

As they shook the other's paws – or claw and tail – Tigress noticed how Tai's eyes never left her. It unnerved her.

"So, why are you out here? The Valley of Peace is that way," said Shang, pointing in the general direction of the Valley.

Tigress looked at Po and the others. Should she tell them. Po nodded. Po seemed to have no doubts in these three they had suddenly met. Even though Xiaofang had told her that the one with the crooked tail would be the one who would help her, she felt suspicious of these three. Something didn't seem right. First of all, they had beat six Masters rather quickly. Only one person had been able to do that, but that had been without Po. Who had taught them? Tigress weighted the options. There was no harm in telling them.

"We're chasing after three assassins who killed Master Shifu."

The clouded leopard, Mei, nodded with a grim expression on her face; Tai looked as if he was lost in thought; Shang stared at her blankly.

"Oh," breathed Tai, going back to reality. "Have you caught them yet?"

"Nah, not yet, but we will," said Po. "When we do, they aren't going to like it."

"I'll bet. Might I ask what these three looked like?"

"Well, one was a crocodile, the other a fox," said Po, rubbing his chin, summoning up the memories of the three, "and the last was a rabbit."

Shang chuckled. It wasn't a nice chuckle though.

"Then we passed them less than a day ago."

Tigress's ears perked up. They were closer than they thought. She grinned. Master Shifu would be avenged finally. This was probably why Xiaofang had told her about the crooked tail tiger. These three had told them that they were close.

"Thank you," she said, bowing slightly. "C'mon guys, lets go."

Tigress took a step forward, already the vigor and adrenaline pulsing through her veins. She felt a paw take hers. She whirled and came face-to-face with Tai. Tai was just a bit taller than her but thinner.

"Don't stand in my way," she growled.

"Oh I wouldn't dare," he admitted. "But unless you want a massive army attacking the Valley of Peace and capturing you, go on ahead. I will not stop you."

Tai let go of her paw and let both his and hers drop to their side. Like before, those eyes were hurricanes of emotion. If one word could describe them, she'd say lost.

Tigress opened her mouth to give a sharp retort but stopped.

"Did you say army?"

The Golden cat stepped up.

"Yes. Huge. We're talking thousands. It'd be in your best interest to get your black and orange hide back to the Valley of Peace."

It took a lot of Tigress's self-control to keep herself from punching the Golden cat for that remark.

"Who's it run by?" asked Crane.

"Couldn't be any of Shen's army, could it?" mused Viper.

"I doubt it," said Mantis. "Shen's army basically running away with their tails tucked between their legs." The insect snickered. "I'm surprised they didn't trip over them."

"Ah-hem," Mei cleared her throat. The six kung fu Masters looked at her. Mei continued. "Who is this Shen guy?"

Po's jaw went slack as it hung loose, almost swaying in the breeze. Monkey and Mantis looked at each other with grins on their faces. Po was about to go 'fanboy' on the clouded leopard in front of them.

"Shen? Lord Shen? As in the peacock who basically whipped out the entire panda population! Creator of the cannon and wannabe conquered of China!"

Mei tapped her nose. "Nope, can't say I've heard of him."

Po started to open his mouth again to protest, but Mei cut him off.

"I think it's more important what we are telling you right now. What do you think, Tigress?"

Hearing her name being spoken by Mei caused Tigress to flinch involuntarily. She shook her head and turned to face the clouded leopard.

"Yes, it is very important. Po, just drop it." Po shuffled in his position. He had to clear this up later. "Did you say who was leading the army?"

Mei folded her arms across her chest.

"We were, but then the viper and the insect started guessing about some peacock. As we were going to say, it is run by two wolves named Canku and Xisong. Ring a bell?"

Their blank expressions were enough to answer the question.

"Then," said Shang, clapping his paws together, "let's get a move on. The Valley of Peace can't defend itself without its warriors!"

Tigress shook her head in agreement but inwardly was in turmoil. What about Master Shifu and avenging his death? There was no way she could turn around and forget about it. She heard Mantis talk to Shang about something. Her face remained stoic as she contemplated about what to do next. The raw anger inside of her fought bitterly against the idea of turning around. Though she hid her emotions, one seemed to read her like a book. The tall – maybe you could even call him lanky – tiger moved over to face her. She removed her eyes from his own gaze.

"What's the matter?" he whispered to her.

"Nothing."

"Something is wrong. That I can tell. Your eyes, they move back and forth like you're going between something. Trying to make a choice?"

Tigress sighed. There is no point in hiding something if it can be seen already.

"Yes."

"May I ask what is?"

The female tiger met eyes with the male tiger. She stared into those eyes as long as she could. Who was he anyways? The fire Dragon had told her to look for the one with the crooked tail and here he was, standing in front of her. He had beaten her in a match, how much was luck and how much was skill she did not know, and now he read her like it was nothing. Who was he? Tai. That was what he called himself. He spoke like one educated and had the body of an adult, but he seemed so young – except his eyes. They betrayed his youthful appearance and replaced it with a wise being. Whoever he was, though she had just met him, she felt as if she could trust him.

"My – our – Master was killed treacherously by a group of assassins. They used explosives and tried to capture us as well. We were able to fight back, but our Master had no way. It was entirely by surprise. I swore vengeance that day and I have yet to fulfill it. It's taken us a long time and now we are close but you come to us with a message that the Valley of Peace is threatened."

"I see," Tai said. "You know, you've probably been told this a lot, but anger clouds vision."

Tigress let a bitter laughter ring out. Again, Master Shifu was talking to her, thought not directly. The others looked at the two tigers. Tai shrugged. He didn't know what Tigress was doing.

"Tai, you are right. Master Shifu told me that many times. I guess he was right, as usual." Tigress took Tai's paw and shook it. "Thank you." And she meant it. It was as if her mind was free of the weight that bore down upon her. The voice of Master Shifu, the aged red panda, echoed in her mind, warming her heart.

Your anger has been extinguished. You see more clearly now, don't you? Good job, Tigress.

Tigress smiled for the first time in months.

"Let's go guys. Thank you three for the warning as well. I don't know what would have happened if we hadn't run into you three."

"Think nothing of it," replied Shang. "But we're not leaving. We're coming with you."

"Classic line," said Tai airily.

"What?" said Mantis.

Tai blinked and then looked down at where Mantis stood.

"Oh, nothing. Just a line used in many of the stories."

Mantis nodded slowly.

"No, you shouldn't come. Don't you have elsewhere to go?"

Tai shook his head.

"Nope. Our city, Mengyou City, is overrun. We escaped and went to warn you. We have and now, with nowhere to go, we are going to help you." He finished the statement as a fact, not an option. Tigress started to object. Po cut her off.

"Sure. Got any good stories to tell on the way?"

Shang pointed to the male tiger.

"He will tell you some pretty good tales."

"Awesome. Finally, some entertainment. C'mon Tigress, I know you don't like competition, but we need all the butt-kicking power we can get!"

"What competition?" asked Tigress indignantly.

Po jabbed a elbow into Tai. Tai stumbled, trying to regain his balance. "This guy."

"Beginner's luck," muttered Tigress. To the whole group, "All right. If you insist, come on along."

"Whew," sighed Mei. "I didn't want to be going around in these disguises all the time! And finally, I'm not surrounded by these smelly males all the time. Especially this one." She finished the statement by pointing at Shang. Shang humored her and sniffed his armpits.

"Fresh."

Monkey snickered. These two were comical and the more jokes cracked and insults dished out meant more hysteria. He was fine with that.

Tai shook his head.

"Funny thing love will do to you," he commented.

"You've said that before," said Mei, giving Shang a quick kiss before taking his paw and leading him down the trail, calling out for the other's to follow. "I remember parts of this trail! We're actually really close to the Valley of Peace. No more than a week's journey."

"Wait, love? and week?" said Crane.

"Shang and Mei are a couple and it seems that you guys were heading toward the Valley of Peace actually."

"Why would they travel back to the Valley of Peace? That would mean..."

"...they were leading us in a circle," finished Viper for Crane. "Funny, don't you think?"

"Very," said Po, already eating a dumpling.

The now seven caught up to Shang and Mei who had been sitting on a collapsed tree, making them a total of nine.

Newfound acquaintances, thought Tigress. She watched how Po moved up next to Shang and started an earnest conversation with him about his knives and kung fu. Most likely to become friends but who knows?

Tigress was used to leading them forward, but she relinquished the position to Mei. The clouded leopard knew the way, no doubts there, but was constantly bounding forward. She was filled with energy. Shang, the Golden cat and Mei's boyfriend, was talking with Po and watching Mei with a hungry expression in his eye. He was definitely protective and, from his physique, strong too. Tigress then searched for Tai. Sizing up others and judging them on your first meet wasn't a good practice, but Tigress knew first impressions have power. Finally, she saw Tai slightly up ahead, regarding a brightly color red and white flower. He moved it around, studying it. He pulled out a small compilation of papers bind together with twine and flipped it open. From the glimpses she caught, she was astounded. Accurate sketches of trees and fauna dotted around the pages in the harsh lines made by the charcoal. Numbers and symbols also danced on the pages. Lines drawn here and there, connecting this and that. It sparked her curiosity. She sped up and hunched down beside Tai. He looked over and lurched backward, surprised by her sudden appearance.

"Sorry, didn't see you there," he mumbled.

"What's on the pages?" she asked, pointing a claw at a line of numbers and lines.

"Some math problems."

"You like school?"

"Love it. Back at home, when it was fine, I went to the University."

Tai finished his sketch and got up. Tigress walked beside him. Tai was an interesting animal.

"How old are you?"

It was an innocent question, yet Tai reacted as if it were poison. He wanted no one except his parents – if they were still alive – and those he one hundred percent trusted to know his age. He thought others would look down on him if he gave his true age. Many thought that he was just young and brilliant. Brilliant, yes; young, not as much.

"I'll let you guess," he said hesitantly.

Tigress mused over it as they walked together in the group that was now headed to the Valley of Peace. Finally, she had an answer.

"Seventeen?"

Tai cringed. "No, not seventeen."

"Older or younger?"

"Not going to tell you."

Tigress put her hands on her hips. "Why not?"

"To tell you the truth, I'm embarrassed by it."

"Again, why?"

Tai hesitated again. Shang had noticed it and came to his rescue, stating loudly.

"Hey Po, want to hear a story?"

The panda's ears perked up. Stories were right on his list next to kung fu...and food. A good story could send you to far away places that could never exist.

"Yeah!" exclaimed Po. "What kinda story is it?"

"You know how you asked how we got so good?"

Po nodded vigorously. A story about kung fu – even better.

"Well, we'll tell you it. How about you tell it, Tai?"

Tai blushed. As many stories as he had read, he never felt comfortable telling them. His social speaking skills were basically nonexistent, let alone rusty. But, it distracted this rather attractive female tiger away from his age. And, she was probably interested in how he, awkward Tai (she didn't really know that yet) had beaten a master that had been training for over twenty years. Tai started to speak, but no words left his mouth. Po stared at him intently, eagerly awaiting the tale that would be told.

"I'll tell it later tonight," he finally said. "I'll have figured something out then."

Po sighed, deflated that he couldn't hear it now.

"Hey," Po said, "we'll have a campfire story! For the first time!"

Monkey chuckled. "Let's hope this is going to be a good one."

Tai nodded. He sure hoped he didn't let the Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior down.

With Mei leading them, Shang in second, and the rest in a scattered position, they followed wherever the clouded leopard led them. Mei had traveled the area with her parents before she had visited Mengyou City and knew these parts well enough to navigate them with just the smallest bit of indecisiveness. Occasionally she would stop, look around, and, much to everybody's curiosity, sniff at a tree. She didn't say why she did, but it led them in the right direction. Soon, they picked up a route used by traders and merchants mostly, yet it was one of the quickest ways to the Valley of Peace. Since the Furious Five and Po knew the road, they took the lead. On they walked, but not ran. From their surroundings and Po's descriptions of the Valley, Shang could tell they weren't too far away. Nobody paid attention to the road, they just kept walking, knowing that the road would lead them to home and to safety. Tai suddenly ran ahead and stopped, blocking the rest of the road.

"Uh, buddy, what are you doing?" asked Mantis.

Tai's face turned slightly red. Standing up in front of anybody was something he wasn't used to.

"We can't go this way."

"Why?" asked Tigress.

"We can't follow the road, that is."

"You didn't answer my question," she replied, slightly annoyed.

Tai cleared his throat.

"Let's say that this road will lead you straight into a rather clever trap and you won't be able to get out of it. The wolves will have you captured and the Valley of Peace will be overrun. Then, they will go on to capture Gongmen City, followed by the Imperial City, followed by the rest of China." Tai stopped abruptly at the end. From the look on Tigress's face, he probably shouldn't have been that frank.

Po could sense that Tigress was going to go off on Tai – verbally. Tai hadn't done something to upset her that much yet. He shrugged overdramatically.

"I say we go Tai's way. Wait...what was your way?"

"Um, I was going to head that way for a bit and then cut back in the direction of the Valley."

"So, like, through the places were nobody really goes?"

"Precisely. No one will be there to know that we are even there!"

Po clapped his paws together.

"Sounds good to me! Let's go!"

Tigress huffed but said little else in argument as they went their way on the detour. She sensed Mei next to her. The clouded leopard was shorter than her, almost a half a head shorter.

"I know," she simply said.

"You know what?" asked Tigress, keeping her face forward. Her whiskers twitched slightly.

"He is an odd one, isn't he?"

"What?"

"He had an interesting childhood."

"Stop changing the subject please! Who or what are you talking about?"

Mei smirked at the frustrated Tigress.

"Tai."

"What about him?"

"What I just said."

Tigress gave Mei a deadpan stare. She really wasn't in the mood for this.

"What about Tai?"

"I'll tell you when you tell me."

"Do you enjoy doing this to others? Confusing them?"

Mei cocked her head slightly to the right, thinking about it, then brought her eyes up to look straight into Tigress's eyes. With a perfectly straight face: "Yes."

Tigress snorted. "Can you stop for now?"

"Okay," said Mei, submitting, though not defeated. "Alright, what do you think of Tai right now?"

One word came to Tigress's mind – no, more than one.

"Awkward, nerdy, young, absentminded, soft, lost."

Mei nodded. "I agree with you to some degree. Anything positive?"

"Kind, from what I know. Humble maybe. Compassionate? I don't know, I only just met him!"

"I guess so..."

Tigress waited for the clouded leopard to continue.

"But, he is awkward and soft and absentminded and lost. He hates violence. He can be forgetful sometimes, though he has incredible long-term memory. As for awkward and lost. Yes."

Tigress was slightly confused.

"How can he hate violence yet fight the way he does?"

"Did you notice that he mostly went on defense?"

Tigress nodded.

"He has learned to defend himself and use his defense as his offence. Brilliant and effective."

"I'll say..." muttered Tigress.

"Just thought I'd share that with you. Oop, Shang is calling me over, I'll talk to you later!" Mei gave her a quick wink and bounded away.

Certainly energetic, thought Tigress. But why did she tell me about him?

Tigress narrowed her eyes, her mind suddenly thinking about Tai and those other two. How had Tai even known about any traps? A seed of an idea took root in her mind. It grew and blossomed into a doubt and suspicion. She watched the lanky tiger make his way forward, seemingly uncertain of where he was truly leading them, but he seemed to know where to go. How had he known about the traps? Quite suddenly, she stopped. Monkey let out an oomph as he ran into her, which was like running headlong into a stone wall.

"Why'd you stop?" Monkey asked, rubbing his head. "Tigress?"

The female tiger didn't respond. Instead, she waited for the rest of the Furious Five and Po to stop. Their new acquaintances kept on going until Shang looked back. The Golden cat called forward to the other two. They too halted and spun around. Tai looked nervous when he looked straight at Tigress. Tigress gave a toothy grin. Maybe her suspicions were right. It wasn't like her to just walk up to somebody, hear their so called warning, and then march off with them back home – especially when they beat them so easily also.

Tai, Mei, and Shang went back to stand face-to-face with the kung fu Masters.
"C'mon, we have to hurry," said Shang, his tone crisp and filled with authority. "We have to get to the Valley of Peace!" There was no time for games like this. His lip almost curled in disgust at the female tigers distrust in them. They had shown themselves trustworthy...hadn't they?

Tigress folded her arms across her chest and stared daggers at each of them. Po looked at Tigress uncomfortably. What was she up to?

"Yeah, uh, Tigress, Shang's right. We gotta go!" Po insisted.

"Oh, I know," said Tigress. "I just want to know how some supposedly pacifistic tiger and his friends shows up, beats us, warns us, and then supposedly knows about traps that are set for us?"

Crane nodded involuntarily. She had made some good points. Viper didn't know what to think. Even in this short time with Mei, she had grown to like her as a friend. But, like usual, Tigress pointed out holes that they had missed. Mantis tapped his pincers together; if this came to another fight, he didn't want to be trapped by a tail again. That had been humiliating. Mei put her hands on her hips.

"What proof do you want?" she said, an eyebrow raised. Her tail twitched back a forth. She was annoyed.

"Why don't you prove it to us?" shot back Tigress.

"That doesn't help," sighed Mei.

Tai's paw rose up feebly, like he was in a class and had an answer.

"What?" asked Tigress.

"Would a story about how we came here be proof enough? I have evidence that could persuade you?"

Tigress thought about it. Viper slid up next to her and tapped on her side. Tigress leaned down and put her ear beside Viper's mouth. Tigress nodded as she listened to what Viper had to say.

"Alright. I guess that will do," she finally said begrudgingly.

Tai relaxed visibly. Shang, in all his military demeanor showed nothing while Mei nodded her head slowly.

"I'd say we wait till night," said Po. Everyone looked at the panda.

"Why?"

"'Cause, then we can have dinner with it. And a campfire. It'll be a freaking amazing campfire!"

"No harm in that," said Monkey. "Anyways, night is almost here."

As they started back following Tai, Tigress kept her eyes peal for anything that might be a sign of betrayal from the three that they now followed back to the Valley of Peace.

Tigress sniffed the air and a gentle breeze blew, ruffling her fur. A roaring campfire had been built. Shang, Po, and Monkey had been acting like children around it, getting it to grow bigger and bigger. To make matters worse, Mantis had joined them. Finally, they had had to tell the males – with the exception of Tai – to knock it off. They had to let the flame die down a bit before Po could start to make dinner. As the kettle had been hung above the fire, suspended by three branches, the smell wafted upwards, filling the nostrils of every animal near enough. The delectable aroma caused their mouths to water and their patience for the meal to grow thin. With Po's stomach rumbling the loudest, the soup had finally been served. The look on the three's faces as they tasted the first of Po's cooking was priceless. Their eyes widened bigger than anyone thought was possible. Eagerly, they almost begged for seconds. As the panda ladled out the soup, everyone set up for sleep and the story.

The world was now encompassed by darkness. The fire was now licking at the wood hungrily. Sitting on their sleeping mats, everyone turned their attention to Tai and the other two. They all, for different reasons wanted to hear this story.

Tai looked out at his small, but important audience. If he didn't convince them that they were truly who they said they were, Tigress would mostly likely send them away or beat them all senseless. He had yet to see her angry and doubted that he would be able to defend himself against a master in her pure rage.

The orange glow flickered off of the faces and cast elongated shadows behind them. The shadows stretched out, warping the shape to cause eerie shapes on the tall trees and the grass. The stars were out like every night, staring down on all of them. The moon, and it's watching eyes, was invisible tonight. A few shuffled around, getting into a more comfortable position. Tai cleared his throat and they leaned forward without noticing. His words came out soft yet grew with strength as he recounted what had occurred from the day Mei and her parents had arrived...

A/N: I don't usually leave end chapter author's notes, but I going to for this chapter. I'm looking for a beta reader and if anyone (betareader or not) has any suggestions on someone I should check into, let me know please. Thanks for reading. Now, I also don't usually ask for them, but please review. If you have any ideas or comments or criticisms, please let me know, its the only way I can get better at writing. Thanks for reading!