Sorry for the long wait. I'm finally getting back to writing and publishing, so please enjoy!

Chapter Eight: Disguise and Detect

"Rise and shine, everybody!"

Tigress jumped as she came out of her dreamless sleep. She looked up at Vixey beaming down at her.

"Nice to know you're feeling better," she grumbled, slowly getting up.

"I'm feeling better," Vixey told her, "but I still have that terrible taste in my mouth! Yuck!"

The Masters had taken shelter in a dense forest near a small town for the night.

"Running low on food again," Po said moodily after checking their supplies.

"We're near a small town," Crane said. "I recognize the scenery."

"I looked around before we stopped for the night," Mantis said. "There are soldiers everywhere."

There was a moment of silence as everyone began thinking.

"Well, we could do Stealth Mode," Po suggested. "Then we could -!"

"No," answered all of the Five sternly before he could say anything else.

Vixey snickered.

"Or," she started, "we could get out my disguise kit again. I still have a few tricks up my sleeve..."

The other warriors looked at each other. Last time wasn't that great of a success. But maybe this time would be different.

A peddler sat with their back against a building, plucking the strings of a mandolin. They were dressed in a dark brown cloak, brown gloves, and black boots. Whether they were male or female was unknown to those passing by. An occasional villager would drop a coin or two into the small wooden bowl near the peddler's feet, prompting a nod from the poor soul.

Two soldiers stopped in front of the peddler. They watched as a small rabbit child put a coin in the bowl and received a nod from the peddler.

"Do you have a permit to come here?" one of the soldiers asked.

The peddler stopped playing and cocked their head slightly.

"Are you mute?" the other soldier asked gruffly. "Or are you deaf?"

The peddler looked back down at the mandolin and continued playing.

"I'm thinking deaf," the first soldier whispered to his comrade. "That tune he's playing is terrible."

The peddler struck a bad note, making the first soldier flinch.

The second soldier suddenly lunged forward and grabbed the peddler by the front of their cloak and held them in the air. He tried to look at the peddler's face, but he couldn't see anything.

"Why are you here?" he demanded. "I know you don't belong here!"

"Put him down!" the other soldier hissed. "You're getting some angry looks."

The soldier looked around at the murmuring crowd and back at the peddler, who hung almost limp. They didn't seem disturbed at this event. The soldier shoved them back to the ground. The peddler simply took their spot again and returned to mandolin playing. Five villagers at once came forward and put at least two coins each into the bowl, prompting another nod.

The second soldier fumed. He stormed away with his comrade.

The peddler looked up at the soldiers with golden eyes.

"Oh, Bernard! Look at this!"

A merchant weasel looked up from his merchandise at a beautiful golden fox in a light pink kimono with white lining and a white ribbon around her waist. Her skirt had a gradient and became a darker pink as it went down toward her feet. Her parasol had the same style.

There was a panda with her. He seemed to tower over her. He wore a farmer's uniform and had a black mustache under his nose. A straw hat hid his eyes from view.

The fox picked up one of the souvenirs from the merchant's stall and admired it. She showed it to the panda.

"Isn't it marvelous?" she cried.

"Sure it is, milady," the panda said in a deep voice.

"You can have it if you want, madam," the merchant said smoothly. "I can even discount it if you'd like."

"Oh, you're too kind!" the fox told him. "You can call me Lady Yiren. Oh, Bernard, isn't he so sweet?"

"I'd be careful around him," Bernard warned.

"Careful?" the merchant asked. "I wouldn't dare harm such a beautiful young lady."

"He's saying careful," Yiren told him, "because I'm to be married to a Count's son. Daddy doesn't take kindly to other men trying to draw me away. Isn't that right, Bernard?"

Bernard nodded.

"Well then," the merchant said, "your daddy doesn't have to know anything. All he'd hear about was that you just bought a little souvenir from a shop here."

"But I couldn't get a souvenir!" Yiren continued. "Then Daddy would know I was here! We're just taking a break from all this wearisome travel... And I get to do some sightseeing. Daddy trusts Bernard to protect me wherever I go. Isn't that right, Bernard?"

"That's right, milady," Bernard agreed. "I've protected Lady Yiren since the day she was born."

"Isn't he sweet?" Yiren asked the merchant.

"Of course!" the weasel agreed. "I don't just have these little figurines, you know. I also have candies, candles, and..."

"You just need work for one day?" the boar asked.

"Yep," croaked an old peppery gray crane. "Jus' passin' through. An' I figure this place needs a good cleanin'."

"Well," the boar told him, "the broom's near the bathrooms. I need the floor swept clean. If it sparkles, I'll pay ya extra."

The old bird nodded and limped toward a nearby door. He was soon limping around tables, sweeping up fallen table scraps and crumpled napkins. Despite his apparent leg injury, he seemed to be moving around just fine. The boar guessed he'd had that injury for a while.

The old crane swept and swept. Occasionally, he heard a few words from some of the regulars at the tavern.

"Didja hear?" one pig asked his friend. "There's been some trouble up in the Valley of Peace."

"Who hasn't heard?" the goose replied. "There's been all sorts of trouble up there for thousands of years. The name oughta be changed. Maybe the Valley of a Thousand Wars? Hehehe..."

The old crane didn't pay much attention. He just focused on his task. Soon, he was just trying to sweep up all the dust that he could.

"I think I've heard that the Masters of the Jade Palace are on the run," a rabbit said. "Makes you wonder what they did. Normally, they're the ones chasing the bandits and villains. Now they're being chased."

"I'm so confused," a goat told her. "It was all so sudden. You think something's up?"

"I don't know," the rabbit said. "But I also heard someone's stepping up to protect the emperor. The strongest warriors in all of China are on the run, so someone has to protect him!"

The old crane still didn't pay any attention. It wasn't his job to butt in, now was it? He just kept sweeping and sweeping. He happened to stop moving in time to avoid bumping into a wobbling pig, who instead tripped over a table leg. The drink in his cup spilled onto the floor.

"'S all right," the crane mumbled. "I'll clean it up."

The pig wobbled as he stood up and walked over to the bartender. The boar shouted at him and pointed at the door. The pig had tried to argue, but couldn't find the words. He stumbled out of the tavern without another sound.

The old crane was busy at work clearing up the mess. Soon enough, it was as if the spill never happened. He moved on, continuing to sweep, determined to find every last speck of dust in the tavern.

The villagers never suspected anything was wrong except with the soldiers occupying their small town. While the soldiers weren't cruel or wasteful with their supplies, there were those scrutinizing glares they usually gave to passersby. But the soldiers didn't often look up – only when there was the occasional sound of someone possibly jumping of a nearby roof, flying by almost overhead, and landing on a different roof. But they never caught just where the sound was coming from. The sound was ever so slight.

A group of three guards walked through a narrow alley and all looked up as they heard that same sound again. Then a cough brought them to look down at someone almost at their feet.

There was an elderly tiger, worn down by age, trial, and whatever else seemed to happen in his lifetime, wearing tattered, oversized, and dirty clothes. He lay slumped against a nearby wall, snoozing fitfully.

The guards were about to wake him and find why he was there when a flask slipped out of his hand and rolled a little on the ground. They rolled their eyes at the old drunk and continued onward.

Up on the roof nearby, Viper watched over the tiger carefully when the soldiers had passed by. She hadn't known they were right there or she wouldn't have jumped right then. But Jin's distraction worked well.

"He's gonna have a huge crick in his neck by the time we're done here," Mantis whispered, suddenly appearing.

Viper simply nodded and they parted ways, patrolling to make sure their friends weren't in trouble.

The two soldiers stood in front of an inn, bored out of their minds.

"Why do we have to be here?" the first asked. "Nothing happens here. Nothing will happen here."

"I still have a feeling about that peddler..." the second mumbled.

The first guard sighed heavily.

"That again?" he asked. "He's just a peddler! A homeless guy who has nothing better to do with his life because he's broke! Leave the man alone!"

"You're taking this job too lightly," the second guard growled. "We're supposed to be suspicious about everyone, got it? Any problems are to be dealt with and reported before the day's over. And that peddler wasn't in this town before today."

"So he's a wandering peddler," the first reasoned. "He'll probably be going to the next village after today. People do that all the time! In fact, it looks like he's leaving now!"

The second guard spun around, seeing the peddler as they walked slowly and dejectedly out of the town. The mandolin was close to dragging on the ground.

"Give me a second," he said as he started to walk off.

"Come on! Leave the man alone!" the first guard told him.

The peddler turned at the sound of the plea. Once again, their face was hidden as if there was only a shadow inside that cloak.

"Where are you going?" the second soldier demanded.

The peddler shrugged.

"Answer me!" the soldier barked, grabbing the peddler by the front of their cloak.

The peddler shrugged again.

The soldier was about to tear the cloak off when there was a shriek a distance behind him. He looked to see a tiny green figure jumping out of the way of a villager's grabbing hands and escape. The sight was enough for him to drop the peddler.

"After that bug!" he shouted.

But then Mantis disappeared as quickly as he'd appeared. Then it occurred to the second soldier that it was likely a diversion and turned to look at the peddler. The only thing on the ground was the mandolin.

"They're in this town!" he shouted. "Get them!"

And he and his companion ran after the peddler, wherever they'd run off to.

Tigress heard the cry as she crouched in the bushes not far from where she'd disappeared. She waited until the guards had passed before making her move.

She ran as quickly as she could and jump kicked a sturdy tree. There was a loud SNAP! and the tree became a splintered stump.

"Yiren", "Bernard", and the merchant turned to look at where the sound had come from. Several birds were flying away.

"What was that?" the merchant asked.

"That was my daddy," Vixey told him solemnly. "Come on, Bernard! He must never know I was here!"

Po nodded and they rushed away from the wide-eyed merchant.

Tigress guessed she had at least five guards on her trail. She ran on all fours in a straight line so she could get as far into the woods as possible to cut down on whatever help these soldiers could receive. Suddenly, she skidded to a halt, turned on the soldiers, and crashed into them, sending them into a confused panic. Before long, they were all unconscious, well underprepared for their task.

Tigress disappeared into the bushes before she could be sighted again.

The other Masters gathered almost a mile outside of the town perimeters, waiting for their leader to return.

It was silent, then Tigress suddenly appeared right behind Vixey, causing the fox to stifle a shriek.

"Anything?" Tigress asked, ignoring Vixey.

"Nothing from the regulars," Crane answered, his voice returning to normal.

"Or the shoppers or merchants," Vixey said. "What about you?"

Tigress handed her a small leather purse.

"Nearly full," she said. "It should last us for a few more days."

Po looked rather unhappy.

"Wish I could grow a mustache," he mumbled as he returned the fake to Vixey.

Smiles crawled onto everyone's faces, happy to have even a little bit of humor from the panda, whether he meant to make them smile or not. Yet, at the same time, they all felt a little homesick.

"Guys," Mantis started, "trouble incoming."

Crane removed his hat and peered out of the bushes, his thin head and neck nearly impossible to see in the dark forest from a distance.

"That looks like more guards than there were in the village," he whispered. "Word sure travels fast around here."

"So, run or fight?" Po asked.

Jin peered through the bushes at the incoming army.

"I see those cats again," he said. "Until we can find a weakness, we're heavily outmatched."

"I'll create a diversion," Tigress started, "then everyone get out of here. I'll catch up with you when I -!"

"Can't someone else do that?" Vixey interrupted. "You've been taking all the big jobs and keep getting beaten down!"

"As a leader, I choose to do those jobs," Tigress said before the others could speak up. "It's my job to make sure everyone gets away safely."

"Everyone includes you, Tigress," Monkey said.

"That army is huge and those cats are very strong," Viper added. "Are you sure you'll get away in time?"

"Don't worry about me," Tigress ordered. "But if you all fail to get away because of this stupid conversation, you'll have to worry about me tearing you all to shreds. Understand?"

Everyone showed feelings of frustration, worry, and hesitation in their faces. It hadn't helped that Tigress never answered Viper's question.

"Just get away when you have the chance," Tigress said, and then she left.

A distance from the hiding spot, Tigress simply walked out of the bushes and stood, staring threateningly at the approaching army, just waiting for them to notice her. Several cats broke through the front line and began running for her. She crouched, ready to take off at just the right time...

She shot to her left and disappeared. She reappeared several feet away, jumping from one bush to another. The cats surged after her, following her trail.

The hiding Masters waited in a tense silence. They'd all frozen when they found the army was so close by. But chasing after the one they could see left them oblivious to any other hiding spots, including occupied ones. They passed right by their targets.

"Go!" Crane whispered.

The Masters headed away from the army, and then looped around, careful to not be seen.

Tigress ran as fast as she could and then ducked into the bushes again. Completely silent, she watched as several of the strange cats ran past her, intent on capturing their prey.

When everything around her was silent, she snuck through the forest in a different direction. She hid in the bushes once more to check if they'd caught on.

As soon as she turned around, she dove out of the way of an oncoming fist. She rolled and stood up, ready to fight. The leader of the cats stood before her, looking to be in a state of bloodlust.

"Well, well, Master Tigress," she started, "you've surprised me. I honestly didn't expect you'd try that tactic on us. But we've all seen it before."

Tigress was about to make her escape, but was suddenly surrounded by the golden cats. She knew instantly that there was no way out of this. But there was still something she could do...

She feigned and attack and ran up the tree behind her. The leader didn't flinch, but reached out to catch the supposedly fleeing Master. Tigress responded by leaping down from the trees onto the leader's back and attempted a nerve strike. But the leader caught her wrist and threw her off, rolling to a standing position.

"Where are the others?" the pale cat asked. "Don't tell me you've all gone your separate ways."

"What does it matter to you?" Tigress snapped, attempting another blow.

The leader blocked her attack with relative ease and punched, Tigress evading the hit.

"I think you already know that," she answered. "We have a place just for the eight of you. And your master will be there to welcome you."

Tigress froze. They couldn't have possibly...

"You'll have to catch him first," she growled, launching a flurry of blows.

Then she caught the slightest sign of frustration from the pale cat before she blocked every hit. Had she been bluffing?

Then the pale cat suddenly backhanded her. She could barely block it and it knocked her over. She rolled to avoid a jump attack. She leapt to her feet and crossed her arms in front of her face to shield.

She gasped in pain as the punch landed. She felt the bone in her lower arm snap and waves of pain shot up and down her right arm and shoulder. The force of the punch knocked her to the ground again, sending her a foot or two away. She struggled to recover sufficiently from shock as she tried to climb to her feet.

The stronger cat took her by the throat and held her up.

"How does it feel to be so weak, Master Tigress?" she asked tauntingly. "Homeless, hated, injured... How can you stand yourself?"

Tigress struggled to free herself in vain.

"At least I'm not a lying, honorless hypocrite like yourself," she spat.

The other cat became extremely angry and slammed her against a nearby tree, knocking her out.

Her opponent threw her to the ground and snarled at her.

"Take her away!" she hissed. "Now find those other rats!"

A distance away, the other seven Masters had watched the scene with horror. Then, as they were told, they fled.