Disclaimer- I don't, I repeat, I don't officially own anything more expensive than a NERF gun. I just don't. Sorry.

Author's Note- So how did you like chapter 12? Are you ready for the unlucky 13? *ominous music in the background*

"Monkey!" Viper suddenly appeared in his open doorway. "Take care of Mantis. Po and Crane are coming with me to sort out a theft. We shouldn't be gone long. Bye!" Monkey hadn't any time to say a word before she left, obviously in a hurry.

He sighed. "Why am I always the one who is forgotten? At least now I can eat my almond cookies in peace without Po vying to steal them every time my back is turned. I wonder how in the world he knew where I hid them! It's almost as if someone told him..." Monkey shrugged. "No, the rest of the Five didn't know where I put them. Only Shifu, because he went into the pantry the most. But Shifu would never tell Po, never."

He shot a quick glance at the bed-ridden Mantis and made a dash for the pantry. He knew the palace was the safest place around for miles, but there was always that nagging voice: He could be anywhere, anywhere at all. In the archives, in Shifu's room, even right behind you. This was the part where it was the scariest. Monkey quickly turned around. He thought he felt something and started wildly punching the air around him. Nothing. Monkey glared at the darkness for a while and carefully made his way into the walk-in pantry. The fact that Shifu was in the same place as him gave him comfort. Hey, if you had one of the greatest kung-fu masters watching your back, wouldn't you feel at least a little bit safe?

Monkey tip-toed across the wooden flooring and proceeded to scale the shelves that obstructed his way. Then he began to wonder...how did Po get up here? He grabbed the bowl of cookies. There was half a cookie left along with a few wayward crumbs.

"Thanks a lot Po," he muttered to himself. "Taking my cookies when I need them the most." Monkey munched on his snack all the way back. He realized that what he said was kind of true. The cookie distracted him from what had happened just recently: the assassin, Tigress' words, tensions, Shifu's anger, and the feeling that this assassin wasn't the only problem they were going to face. It was sort of like a pick-me-up.

He returned to Tigress' room; the place where Mantis was now located. They had considered moving him, but they didn't want to damage him any further. Mantis was in a deep sleep; sleep was one of the only things they allowed him to do. He once tried to help, but everyone else protested and made him rest to regain his strength.

Monkey looked at his teammate and started to envy Mantis. He tried to shake the feeling from himself. No, he scolded himself, Mantis is critically injured; I can't-I can't be jealous of him! But he knew that he wanted, desperately, was a break from this entangled mess. All Mantis did was eat and sleep. The necessities of life. Why couldn't my life be so much simpler? said one voice. You knew what you where getting into when you accepted Oogway's offer, didn't you? Life is never easy, replied the other. He sighed and sat down in the corner of the room. He just needed to calm down and focus on the fact that every problem had a solution. All you needed to do was to find the solution.

Monkey knew that the others really enjoyed their life. He was probably the only one who ever wondered if he had denied Oogway. What would his life be like then? Would he still be the thief and prankster of his hometown? Would he still be the black sheep of that community? What had made him see differently?So many questions flitted through his mind it made him feel dizzy. He then wondered if Viper ever visited her father when she left to hone her skills at the Jade Palace. Monkey didn't remember his parents; all he remembered is pilfering from bakeries and nicking stuff from stores all his life.

He was going to get up and maybe go back to his room, when he stopped. Monkey stood, transfixed, and listened to his surroundings. He could he Mantis' slow and steady breathing, but he could hear something else. A voice, footsteps, coughs. He slowly opened the door and like a shadow, slipped outside the room. He crept down the hallway, not daring to make any noise at all. Careful, his inner voice warned. This may be a trap. You know how this works. Outwit them before they can outwit you. Monkey tiptoed through the sleeping area with no trouble. The voice seemed to come from the main chamber, where the dragon scroll used to be held.

"Heeeellllooooooo?" the voice bounced off the pillars and walls.

Monkey felt he knew this voice, but shrugged it off. Who in his right mind would come like this in the middle of the night? Especially with all the commotion with the murders and stuff. He was closer now; almost there. He stepped with care and stood very still when he heard footsteps coming his way. A shadow spilled across the floor, giving Monkey a warning of time. When the intruder turned the corner, Monkey pounced.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!" there was a scream that seemed to vibrate within the air.

Monkey wrestled with this….thing in a storm of feathers and squawking. Feathers? He let go immediately and hopped back a bit. There in his rumpled clothes was the palace messenger: Zeng.

"What the heck! Is this another one of your jokes?" Zeng accused nervously. He was breathing heavily. "I almost had a heart attack!"

"Sorry, Zeng, I thought you were an intruder." Monkey apologized.

"How could someone intrude in the home of Master Shifu?" Zeng said crossly.

You'd be surprised, Monkey thought to himself. Out loud, he said. "Well, I guess not."

"That's what I needed. A scare right after what happened with…" the messenger stopped.

"What happened?"

"Um….nothing."

"Tell me."

"No."

"Tell me!"

"I'm can't tell you."

"TELL ME!"

"Okay, okay!" Zeng looked at the floor. "My cousin, Ming, kind of, erm, ran into some trouble with his, um, boss."

"You don't sound so sure." Monkey noticed.

"It's just that his boss isn't so nice….and isn't so, um, legal."

"So he's a criminal boss."

"Yeah."

"I didn't know your family worked with criminals. Why are you here?"

"It's not like that!" Zeng exclaimed loudly. "That was the only way Ming could provide for his family! And by the worry on Ming's face when I last saw him….they're dead."

"Can't Ming just leave?"

"Ming told me his boss is working on an important mission project thing. He can't leave right now, or he'll die too!"

"What mission?"

"Oh, um, he…."

Just at that moment, a door slammed. Zeng squawked, muttered something about curfew, and fluttered off. Monkey hurried back to Tigress' room and sat back down. The door to room opened.

They were back…...

…..and they didn't look happy.