Chapter Thirteen: Breathes Fire and Spits Metal

"What the heck are those?!" Vixey shrieked.

A cannonball hit a few feet away, making them fight to stay standing.

"Everyone! Move! Now!" Shifu shouted.

They all dove out of the way as a cannonball soared directly overhead and landed inside the cave, starting its collapse. The Masters covered their heads as shards of rock and ice showered over them.

Vixey sat up after the dust settled and looked shaken.

"What about our supplies...?" she started faintly.

Jin held up the bags and blankets he'd grabbed as he had fled the cave. He looked exhausted.

Everyone stood up and began running.

"How do they have Shen's cannons?" Po shouted. "I thought they were all destroyed during the final battle?"

"These may have been rejects!" Tigress told him. "I don't think these ones shoot as far!"

Everyone slid to a stop and fell as a cannonball landed feet in front of them.

"Get farther down the mountain!" Shifu ordered. "Po! With me!"

He and Po stood, ready to deflect the cannonballs. Then they noticed Tigress was with them.

"Wha-? Tigress?" Po started.

"She's been practicing, too," Shifu told him. "Be ready!"

Down by the cannons, Ruili could see what was happening. She saw the three figures standing to fight and the rest of them disappeared behind them. She pointed at one of the figures.

"Aim at her," she said.

"Here it comes!" Po shouted.

Tigress saw that the cannonball was coming at her. She prepared herself with the Inner Peace technique and held her paw out to catch the projectile.

She managed to catch it, but it shot a severe pain from the pad of her paw up to her shoulder. The force of it directed her to throw it upward and it landed a distance behind her.

She fell to one knee, grasping her now burned paw in pain and shock.

"I felt that!" she hissed.

"Help the others!" Shifu told her, rushing forward to successfully deflect a cannonball, landing it on the cannon it came from.

Tigress stood up and fled, leaving the hard part to the boys.

The cannons started to fire incessantly at the two Masters, but with every projectile they caught and deflected, another cannon was blown to smithereens.

"Master!" Po started. "Look!"

They both saw a massive horde of lionesses charging toward the place they'd told the other Masters to go. Obviously, they'd caught on.

"Spare the last cannons," Shifu said.

He then deflected a cannonball and shot it toward the lionesses, which scrambled to get out of the way and broke formation to hide from the deadly projectiles.

It took only a few deflections for the cannons to stop firing at the two and turn to aim at the other Masters. Po and Shifu started to run for the others, realizing shortly that the cannons weren't firing. They were being left alone for the melee fight.

Po and Shifu sped up their flight.

Tigress had seen the lionesses scatter and started running faster to catch up with the others. Then Ruili suddenly appeared a few feet ahead of her, ready to fight her. Tigress stopped immediately and assumed a fighting stance.

"All alone are we, Tigress?" the otter asked. "I've been long awaiting this moment."

She shot forward so fast that Tigress could barely see her. Tigress aimed carefully and punched. She barely felt Ruili go over her fist, causing her heart to lurch.

Then she felt something hit Ruili and knock her away. Shifu landed between the two.

"Go!" he shouted. "Now!"

Tigress bolted, leaving the two to fight.

Vixey looked over everything she could see as she ran, thinking about what she could do to help everyone get away. She caught sight of the perfect thing: a tall, steep hill with plenty of snow on top.

"Po!" she shouted. "I need you!"

Not waiting for Po to hear her, she ran faster and jump-kicked the steepest side of the hill, making all the extra snow fall off and into a big pile below.

A distance away, Po ran past Tigress upon hearing Vixey's call and saw what she needed him for.

"Got it!" he shouted.

He failed to notice that Tigress stopped running. She turned and watched the fight between Shifu and Ruili unfold.

Ruili struck fast, however failing to strike Shifu with her blades. Shifu made a serious effort to stay out of reach and still land an occasional hit.

Then they landed a few feet away from each other.

"Shifu! Hurry!" came Vixey's shout.

Suddenly, Shifu and Ruili shot toward each other. At the very last second, Shifu jumped away, but still landed his attack. From Tigress's point of view, it looked like a nerve attack. The otter shrieked and was thrown back, sliding a distance in the snow.

Shifu hesitated for a moment before running toward his students.

Then he stumbled and fell.

"Shifu!" Tigress cried.

She ran to him, picked him up as he was trying to rise, and carried him to the others.

Everyone else except Po surrounded the oversized snow drift. Tigress slid to a spot nearby and set Shifu down. She looked up and saw Po was nearly at the top.

Then she looked down at Shifu, who had been gripping his side. He pulled his hand away, and it was covered in blood. They exchanged glances in fear.

Vixey was just beginning her disappearing dance as Po jumped off the steep hill, right over the snow drift. She saw Ruili staggering toward the group in the distance. As she finished the final two steps of the dance, she winked at the otter.

Then Po panda-bombed the snow drift and the powdery snow shot into the air. When it all settled, the Masters were nowhere to be found.

Ruili was furious.

"FIND THEM NOW!" she shrieked, and then fainted.