Chapter Five: The Source

Seven of the eight Masters waited near a small town in silence. It was now morning, and last night's sleep was anything but pleasant.

"I hadn't seen those cats before," Mantis started. "They were all gold, and one was pale. There wasn't a single mark on their fur."

Jin looked troubled.

"I don't think I've ever seen cats like that before," he said. "Are you sure that's what they looked like?"

"Pretty sure," Mantis answered.

"Those girls were all incredibly strong," Crane added.

"Girls?" Viper asked. "Are you sure they were all girls?"

"I can tell what a girl looks like, you know," Crane told her.

Tigress remained silent, watching the town.

"I haven't fought any cat that strong," Jin said.

"I have," Tigress suddenly answered.

Everyone looked at her as she turned to face them.

"He wasn't the same species as these cats, though," she continued. "Huang Zu was a Siberian tiger and was about as strong as these new cats. Maybe Vixey knows something about them. They certainly don't originate here."

"When will she be back anyway?" Monkey asked. "It shouldn't take that long to get a few groceries."

"No, it doesn't," came Vixey's voice.

Most of the Masters jumped and looked, finding her leaning against a tree holding a medium-sized bag.

"Then where were you?" Mantis asked.

"As I was shopping," she began, sitting down next to the others and passing out the contents of her bag, "I heard something about some rumors going on about us."

"Anything about us running away like cowards?" Po asked gloomily.

"Surprisingly, no," Vixey said. "Apparently, we stole things from the people we rescued, tried to kill a few ambassadors and other higher-ups, and a few other things. Word's also out that a new group of vigilantes stopped us from tracking and assassinating the Emperor. Sound familiar?"

The others looked very disturbed.

"So, because these rumors are flying around, I decided to find where they started," Vixey continued. "I got the talkers to say who told them without them noticing me and I got as far as a fight club in a town a few miles down the road."

The members of the Furious Five looked a little surprised.

"A fight club?" Tigress asked. "Could it be the Da Brothers' Arena?"

"The very same," Vixey answered. "You haven't been there, have you?"

"Several times to track down crime bosses," Monkey told her.

"It's a mess down there," Crane added. "Everyone there will hide anyone. It took us an entire week to find an elephant."

"If you've been there several times," Jin started, "then they'll recognize you as soon as you walk through the door."

"Well then, it's a good thing I'm here," Vixey told them. "I've been living on disguises since I became a detective. Your own mothers couldn't recognize you after I'm through with you."

Po, Tigress, and Monkey simply stared at her.

"What?" Vixey started. "It's just an express-! Oh! Right! Sorry."

She took a small box out of her robes.

"So, who's going?" she asked.

The others looked conflicted.

"We're going to the fight club?" Viper asked. "Just to find who sent out rumors? I think it's a bit obvious who sent them out."

"That's not what we're looking for!" Vixey said. "Whoever's in that club might know something related to Ruili, like her strengths, weaknesses, and, oh, I don't know, what she's going for? Isn't that a little important now?"

Tigress nodded.

"I'll go," she said.

"I'll do it, too," Po volunteered.

Everyone just looked at him.

"Uh, I don't think so," Mantis said.

"Why not?" Po asked.

"Have you heard anything about the Da Brothers' Arena?" Crane asked.

"It isn't just anyone who fights there," Viper told him. "The toughest, most dangerous warriors fight there."

"If we want to get anything, we need the strongest of us to go," Monkey said.

"And it's Triple-or-Nothing week," Vixey added. "Three against three."

A smirk touched Jin's face.

"I have an idea," he said, stepping forward.

"One remains against two! Things are looking bad for this one!"

A rabbit stood, holding his staff steady. He faced his two opponents, a pair of warthogs, as they approached.

Thwip thwip!

Suddenly, the hogs were on their backs and the rabbit attempted a jump strike. The hogs rolled away and approached him from both sides. The rabbit swung his staff this way and that, catching the hogs on their legs, arms, and snouts. One strike landed on the backside of one of the hogs, resulting in a loud, high-pitched squeal and making the viewers burst out in laughter.

Again, the hogs turned on the rabbit, now furious. The rabbit narrowed his eyes and jabbed out with his staff at one of the hogs. It caught him in the chest, knocking the air out of his lungs. The rabbit knocked him over and swung strongly at his head. The blow landed and resulted in unconsciousness.

A third of the crowd cheered as the rabbit struck a pose for a moment and jumped away. The other two-thirds adopted grave faces. They then cheered loudly for the remaining hog, starting to chant his name.

"It's now anyone's game! Who will win this match?"

The last hog squealed very loudly in anger and charged. But the rabbit only evaded and jumped onto his snout. He swung his staff down hard on his head. The two-thirds of the crowd gasped and watched as their hero fell flat on his back, staring dumbly at the ceiling as if there was a bright pink pony calling out to him up there.

The rabbit struck a triumphant pose as his followers screamed and whistled. He ran to his fallen friends, who were grinning at him with almost toothless mouths. He helped them up and out of the arena.

"One more fight! One more fight!"

The rabbit was nearly at the door with his winnings.

"I must decline," he called to his fans. "I will quit while I'm ahead. But I will be back!"

He was now greeted with boos and rotten fruit. He hurried to get his friends to the slightly opened door.

Suddenly, the door swung open, knocking the three of them aside. In strode a sharply dressed white tiger followed by three women: another tiger, a fox, and a snake, all ghostly white with pitch-black markings. They wore beautiful gowns and didn't look particularly threatening.

The crowd eyed them jealously as a huge black bear stood up from his seat overlooking the arena.

"Where can a man go to get into a match around here?" Jin proclaimed.

The crowd started to murmur excitedly. The bear eyed Jin.

"This isn't the place for you, pretty boy," he growled. "Only real fighters come here."

"But I do have real fighters," Jin told him.

He motioned to the three ladies behind him. The three didn't show any emotion.

The crowd burst into laughter, as did the bear.

"You brought girls to fight?" the bear roared. "You can't be serious!"

Tigress's gaze suddenly turned to a goose whose wing crept closer to Jin's wallet. The sash she was wearing suddenly snapped like a whip and wrapped around the goose's wing, flinging him and slamming him against the far wall.

The crowd got very quiet. The bear looked at Jin and his girls with interest.

"So," Jin began, unfazed by the most recent events, "when do we fight?"

The bear motioned to the arena.

"Right now," he said.

The girls leapt into the arena rather than taking the stairs. Jin plopped himself down onto a seat by the bar, listening closely to what the nearby people were saying. At this moment, it was what the rest of the crowd was doing: betting on who would win the next match.

Three crocodiles entered the arena. They snickered at the sight of the girls.

"Hello, little ladies," their leader began. "Are you here to have a little fun? We can show you a good time!"

"Aw, isn't his cute?" Vixey said just loud enough for some of the crowd to hear her. "He thinks we're little girls here to play house."

"I don't think he knows just what fun is," Viper suggested gently. "Shall we show him just what fun is?"

The two looked at Tigress, who cocked her head in mild curiosity.

"Begin!" the bear shouted.

The girls shot forward and suddenly the crocodiles were knocked away as if an explosion occurred. Tigress and Vixey attacked with their skirts and Tigress and Viper attacked with sashes and ribbons that seemed to appear from nowhere. In no time at all, the crocs were defeated.

Many members of the crowd cheered loudly. Others just wiped their eyes as if they blinked and it was all over. The girls retreated to their side of the arena to wait for their next opponents. Soon, there was a goose and two rabbits at the other side of the arena. The betting ended and the fight started. But it was all over nearly as fast as the first one.

"Hey, tiger," a pig started, calling Jin's attention. "Why doesn't that girl speak?"

Jin turned to look at Tigress. As Viper and Vixey were offering mild insults to their opponents, Tigress remained silent.

"Oh, her?" Jin told the pig. "It's for her opponents' protection, really. The last time she spoke to a man, the guy was found the next morning brutally tortured and killed. I wouldn't go into details, but it was ugly."

The pig and his goose companion stared at him with fright.

"Then how do you communicate with her?" the goose asked.

"Hm?" Jin began. "Oh, I just don't. Just to keep it safe."

He looked back at the fights again, where the girls just beat a trio of goats. The pig and goose looked at each other in fear.

The girls continued to strike down each team. After each victory, Vixey kept begging for tougher opponents, but each time, the opposing team was taken down in a matter of seconds.

More and more people began betting that the girls would win. But the bear kept eyeing them.

"You know," Jin began again, "this is the Da Brothers' Arena. Who are the Da Brothers? How many are there?"

"Oh, you're asking about them?" the pig told him. "The bear supervising is Rong Da, the younger of the two. As for Ning, the older, we haven't seen him."

"I heard that when someone gets past all the challengers, they get to fight him," the goose said. "But that's just what I heard."

Jin nodded, looking back at the fights. Then he turned back to the pig and goose.

"Speaking of things we've heard," he started, "did you hear about the Jade Palace? I knew there was something up with those guys!"

The pig did a spit-take.

"You mean they're true?" he asked. "I couldn't believe it when I heard!"

"He said he heard it," the goose said, "not that it really is true. I'd eat my own feathers if it was true."

"If it isn't true," Jin began, "then who started those rumors?"

"I heard it from around here," the pig answered.

"Well, I heard it from Rong Da himself," a passing wolf told them. "He said he was there in person to stop them. Also said he was great friends with Ruili, too. Him and his brother."

When the wolf left, Jin and the pig turned to each other.

"Then I guess it really is true," the pig said. "You were right."

"Well," the goose started, jumping off his seat, "better find something to make feathers taste better."

He walked away.

"That's why I don't make promises like that," the pig whispered.

Jin nodded again. But now, he thought over the situation they'd plunged into. If they got discovered, they possibly wouldn't be able to escape.

The girls defeated another three opponents, one right after the other. The crowd cheered wildly as the girls retreated to their side again. Rong stood up.

"Now, it's time for the final opponent, who needs no allies!" the bear proclaimed. "Introducing, for the first time since this arena opened, the great mass of pain himself, Ning Da!"

The crowd got much louder than before. There was a roar and a huge dark figure jumped from above and landed on the arena, opposite the girls. Ning was certainly larger than his brother. He let loose a huge roar and readied to fight. It was here, looking between the brothers that Tigress realized the painful truth. The bears had been with Ruili when they were accused. Viper and Vixey seemed to have realized the same thing. One slip up and they'd be captured.

"Begin!" Rong cried.

This time, it was Ning who dashed forward immediately. The girls evaded and landed attack after attack. Either the bear was impervious to pain, or the attacks did close to nothing.

Vixey yelped when she felt a paw swipe at her middle, throwing her against a wall and knocking the air out of her lungs. She fell to the ground and stayed down, trying to breathe again.

The crowd cheered and gasped at the same time. This was the first time anyone could touch any of the girls.

Tigress and Viper continued to evade. They tried to immobilize him with their ribbons and sashes, but this only resulted in the loss of their weapons. As Viper zoomed around the bear, she felt an enormous paw grab her by the neck. She tried to strike with her tail, but Ning suddenly threw her at the wall like a dart to a dartboard. Her face striking the wall would have been painful enough, if the rest of her body didn't come right after. She fell right on top of Vixey, who recovered partially from her defeat.

The crowd screamed. Two were down. It was only a matter of time before the last went down as well.

"One remains," Ning growled. "When will you fall?"

"That depends on you," Tigress growled right back.

The pig next to Jin squealed and raced out the door, leaving those nearby in the crowd looking at each other in confusion.

"Answer a few questions for me and I may consider it," Tigress continued.

"Then ask away," Ning growled before launching another attack.

Tigress jumped up and punched him in the nose, jumping out of the way of his furious blows.

"Where did Ruili come from?" she began.

She ducked as Ning's punch hit the wall behind her, getting stuck.

"She came from China!" he roared, tugging free his fist. "From a place you don't know of!"

They exchanged hits, only Tigress blocking.

"What does she want with the Masters of the Jade Palace?" she continued, landing a blow to his gut.

Ning landed a blow to the middle of Tigress's left upper arm that jarred it, making her feel it from the tips of the fingers on that hand to her other shoulder. It made her pause for a fraction of a second before dodging another attack.

"She wants to show even the strong can fall!" Ning shouted, slamming down on where she'd been just a second ago.

Tigress rolled away from another attack.

"Answer me one more question!" she told him.

The bear roared and swiped at her, finding that she'd appeared behind him.

"Why are you telling me this so freely?" Tigress asked quietly.

"Because it doesn't matter if you know or don't know," Ning said, "Master Tigress."

Tigress froze. Suddenly, Ning was bearing down on her, punching and swiping. She blocked frantically, but one particular attack caught her off-guard and threw her into the wall, crashing to the ground in defeat.

The crowd gasped at the sudden defeat. Those that had bid against the girls cheered and whistled while the others moaned and grumbled as they paid up.

Viper and Vixey helped Tigress up, who appeared to be in a daze.

"Are you okay?" Vixey asked.

"Yes," Tigress answered quietly, keeping her act up. "We need to leave. Now."

They quickly got Tigress up the stairs and toward the door. Tigress looked back in time to see that they were quickly being overtaken by the brothers' guards.

"Stop!" Ning commanded. "Traitors to the empire!"

The whole crowd gasped. But the girls didn't stop. Instead, they dropped the act and fled in full speed. Those around Jin looked immediately toward him, but found an empty seat.

"After them!" Rong shouted.

The crowd spilled into the town. There was an immediate search made in the town and the forests nearby. But their search ended in a failure. They were nowhere to be found.