Chapter 6: Too Late


The Dragon Warrior sprang into action. The Furious Five were hot on his heels.

Crane immediately took to the skies. His eyes were ever vigilant as they scoured the surrounding area. He tore through black smoke and ash with Mantis still clinging to his straw hat as an extra set of eyes. There was nothing but fire, debris, and rubble for miles.

Monkey and Viper went their separate ways and ran around the outskirts of the village, choosing to meet on the other end while Po and Tigress ran straight through. The buildings were black as pitch. Patches of fire continued to rage throughout the small village, but from the looks of it, the damage was already done. There was no grass. No trees. No shrubs or flowers. Everything had been torched. Po and Tigress stopped and took in the horrific sight. In the chaos and destruction, something clicked.

They had not seen a single sign of life. Not living or dead, nor any evidence that there was ever life. No survivors. No bodies.

The thought brought an immediate sense of dread to Po, and once again, he took off into the smoke. His lungs felt like they were about to fail him. They were on fire, but he didn't care. Where is everybody? The thoughts raced as he barged from building to building. He swung open any door to any building that wasn't caught in the flames, desperate and hoping to find life. With each door opened, the fear skyrocketed. The fear of finding nothing but remains grew like a germinating seed in the forefront of his mind.

He stopped just as Crane landed atop a charred post embedded within the rubble.

"Any luck from up there?" Po asked.

Crane shook his head. "The smoke is making it hard to see, and it's only getting worse."

Viper tore past, moving from window to window with the same hope and fear as Po.

"Viper?" Po huffed. "Found anything?"

She stopped a moment. Her breathing was fast, but she swallowed her fear. "Nothing." She gave a quick response before heading off once again. She vanished behind the debris that lay scattered further up the dirt path.

With a quick nod from Po, Crane returned to the sky to resume his watch.

Elsewhere in the town, Tigress was moving as fast as ever. She had chosen not to be as subtle as Viper or as gentle as Po. She tore the doors from their hinges and pounced inside, roaring fire or not. All she founds were rooms of ash in the empty, lifeless buildings. With each door she pulled, her search became more and more frantic. She found herself in the middle of town, eyes wide with shock at the sight surrounding her.

Po was quick to her side, with Viper and Monkey following right behind with Mantis sitting firm on his friend's shoulder. Crane, however, was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Crane?" Viper asked.

Po shrugged. It was Mantis who answered. "He saw something off in the distance. I hopped off so I could help you guys search the town. He should be back soon."

"This place is a ghost town." Monkey said, gasping for air as the smoke thickened.

"There has to be someone." Po responded, shaking his head in utter disbelief. "There just has to be. This place isn't small. How long would it take for bandits to cause this much chaos? A few days at the very least, right?"

"And where is Commander Huan and the army?" Viper said, looking up at Po. "Did you see any trace of them?"

The silence that followed between them became chilling. It replaced the scorching heat of the fire that surrounded them.

"Whoever did this, they weren't some random street bandits." Tigress said softly. "They couldn't be, but they may still be around. Be on your guard."

Suddenly, the sound of flapping wings drew their attention. It was Crane, and he was coming in hot. He fluttered down like a bird out of hell, crashing hard into the ground. He stumbled, nearly dropping to his knees as he reached the rest of the masters. His breathing was frantic, and his eyes looked past each and every one of them. Like he was looking straight through.

"Crane!" Viper was quick to his side.

"What's wrong, pal?" Po asked.

Crane tried to focus his eyes on his friends, but that seemed impossible. They darted around, never getting the chance to focus.

"It's bad, guys." He uttered.

"The bad guys? They're here?" Po readied his fists.

"No. It's bad." Crane corrected. "Like, really bad."

"What happened?" Viper asked calmly.

Finally, Crane's breathing began to sooth and for once his eyes stopped their frantic act. He looked up at Viper. "Follow me." He whispered.

Po watched as the bird guided them towards whatever it was they needed to see. Crane chose to walk instead of fly but did so with great difficulty. With each step, he limped. Monkey remained at his side to correct him if he were to stumble for fall. Soon, they had left the village limits and were wandering into the nearby forest.

Tigress began to slow down and allow the others to take the lead. As Po passed, she brushed her shoulder to his, forcing him to slow down to her pace.

"You think they're still out there?" She asked.

Po was visibly worried at the question but bore a confidence smile. One she could tell was fake. "Does it matter?" He responded. "If they aren't, then we have nothing to worry about. If they are, then we just go around booting and thwaping and skadooshing them until they leave us alone. It's all too easy, really."

"And you're super confident about this?"

Po's facade quickly gave in. "No. Not really. No."

Ahead, Viper screamed. Like a dart, Tigress and Po arrived on scene.

It took a while for either of them to take in what they were truly looking at. Ahead was a pit that stretched for at least a hundred feet but was not more than fifteen feet wide. Tigress was quick to note it was filled with dirt but continued to observe. It's just a trap, she thought. A poorly made, hastily constructed trap. Suddenly, she froze.

Her hope that this was some sort of elaborate trap for them quickly vanished when she spotted a glimmer of gold. It wasn't a trap, and it wasn't just a hole. It was a grave. Spears and shields rose from the dirt pile like tombstones. Chinese armor barely poked through the light layer of dirt.

Scattered beneath the dirt was a scene Tigress did not want to imagine. She couldn't, but that glimmer of gold buried beneath a thin layer of dirt kept drawing her eye. As Viper and the rest sat in shock, Tigress made her way down into the dirt pit to retrieve the golden item.

It was a helmet. One known to be worn by soldiers of Imperial China. More notably, this was a commander's helmet. Commander Huan's. Tigress' paws curled into a fist. She let out a soft growl.

"Is that…?" Monkey began.

"I think it is." Mantis answered.

Po thought quick. The goofy panda was no more. He was now a warrior. The Dragon Warrior. It was his time to get serious. "Crane? You and Mantis take to the sky and scout around. I want to know if whoever did this is still around."

"Wings of Fury!" Mantis called out from atop Crane's hat. They were gone in a flash.

"Viper? Monkey? Find the thickest part of the forest and search for clues on who did this."

Viper and Monkey gave a quick, simple nod and were gone.

This left only Po and Tigress. "Tigress?" Po whispered, slipping gracefully into the pit. "I'm sorry." She remained silent aside from her soft growl. "I know you two were close."

She nodded. "We were professionals." She said, letting go of the helmet. "Fighting and war were in our blood."

"Kung fu is more about fighting." Po said. "It's about-"

"I know what kung fu is about…" She said, tensing up. "…but fighting is all I know." She took a deep breath. "It's why I'm not the Dragon Warrior."

"Look, we can find the guys who did this. They have to be around here, and when we find them, I promise you we will get our answers. We will avenge these people. Commander Huan included."

"I don't care about revenge." She stood up but kept her eyes towards the trees in the distance. "Once more, all we had was a mutual respect for the other. If there was anything else, it was a mistake."

Po closed his eyes and thought hard on his next words, but he couldn't beat Tigress to the punch.

"This is why relationships are for fools."

In a snap, Po opened his eyes. The horror of those words stung like a million bees mixed with a thousand hornets. All straight to the heart. Po looked left. Then he looked right. Up and down. Behind. Tigress, in an instant, was gone.

"Where'd she go?"

Tigress, unbeknownst to Po, had taken off back to the village. She landed on all fours. Her eyes observed every inch of what lay ahead. The smoke was becoming thick in the streets as the fire moved swiftly towards the southern end of the village. She growled and wiped the water that leaked from her eyes. Judging the fire, how it moved, and where it was going, she knew the attack came from the north.

Far in the distance, she noticed Crane and Mantis, though the two warriors quickly fell out of sight as they continued eying the forest around the village. The plume of smoke that they weaved through had become so large, she wondered if it could be seen from the Valley of Peace.

She continued to go door to door, but with each building, the force she used became greater. One by one she made her way across the village. Her knees quickly became rubber and her eyes watered as ash clouded her vision. She stopped and sank into the ash filled foundation of a local nursery. The world began to spin. She had a strong desire to collapse right then and there. She had failed. The Furious Five had failed. The Dragon Warrior had failed. She pulled a paw of ash and watched as it trickled between her fingers. She pressed her paws firm to her face, bent down, and let out a primal scream.

Then, it echoed.

She froze and looked up. No. It wasn't an echo. What was it? She thought and looked around. The wind howled as it swept across the village, carrying swaths of fire and spreading it around to nearby buildings, originally untouched by its destructive power. With the wind, however, came something faint. She listened closely. At first, all she could hear was the crackle of the fire, but it quickly came back around.

"Help!" A faint voice cried out.

Her head whipped towards the sound. Sure enough, a few hundred feet down the road was a three-story building burning like none of the others. Tigress pulled herself to her feet and rushed towards the house. With each step towards the building, the heat intensified. Warm became hot. Hot became scorching. Breathing became harder. Her eyes dried up in an instant.

She heard the voice echo again as she reached the house, confirming to herself it was not in her head.

"Please." The voice came through the walls. "Help." It was even softer than before.

Tigress barreled through the door, knocking it to the ground. She was immediately met with a wall of fire. Her red vest turned black and her fur nearly charred. "Hello?!" She cried out. "He-" She was about to yell louder, but the heat was too intense. Her chest burned as the hot air found passageways into her lungs. She hit the floor and coughed. Her insides were on fire, but she managed to lift her head when she heard the loud BANG on the second floor.

Somebody was upstairs.

She clenched her teeth and rushed towards the stairs. Fire sprouted like weeds around her. Burning boards crashed from above. She felt the tip of her tail catch fire, but she had no time to look or even care. She raced upstairs and tore through the first door she came across. Another wave of heat, impossibly more intense than the first one. Breathing had become impossible. Her vision blurred and her legs gave way. She collapsed, but promised herself she would not die until she saved the stranger.

She growled to herself. She was her own motivator.

Sitting alone beside the bed was a figure draped in black and blue robes. She crawled towards the figure as he let out one last desperate cry for help. "Please." The hooded figure whispered, barely loud enough to be heard through the roar of the fire.

Tigress reached for the figure. Before she could put her paw to his, however, the roof collapsed. She roared with pain as jagged splinters and nails dug into her skin, helped and guided by hundreds of pounds of wood and metal. She dug her claws into the floor below and pulled herself from under the burning wreckage. She tumbled to his side and pulled him close. A trail of blood dribbled down her back.

With a wobble, she managed to find her feet and carry him out of the room.

She held the figure close, like an oversized child. The figure, however, was no child. He was just as tall as her, if not taller. She fumbled down the stairs, but a stream of fire caught her rear end. Her foot broke through the steps, causing dozens of lacerations along her legs from the jagged wood. She clutched the figure tighter as if for dear life. She would've screamed if her lungs weren't shot.

She yanked her leg from the rotten, scorched wood and spun herself out. The world continued to spin. Her head became light as a feather, then a moment of pitch black.

She tumbled down the stairs, clutching the figure close as she hit the first floor. Using her claws, she pulled herself towards the exit. It sat there for her like a beacon. Light beamed from the doorway and clean air waited.

She looked back as flames tore through the halls like one of Shen's rockets. She tucked the figure close as a stream of fire jettisoned towards them. She spun, taking the brunt of the horrid fire. She was sent down the hall, smashing into the end and dropping to the ground. Tigress crawled across the burning chunks of wood, too tired to care about what damage was being done to her body.

With the force she could muster, she stood and used the wall as a brace. The door that had once looked like a beacon now looked like the gates of hell. Fire made the path to freedom impossible. A pile of burning debris blocked her way.

Seeing no other way out, she braced her shoulder and sent herself crashing through the thick wall, making sure to pull the stranger along with her. She stumbled away from the fire, taking her first deep breath since entering the house.

She crawled quickly across the dirt road, but her body began to shut down. She let out another primal scream as soon as her lungs were able to accept the fresh air around her. Every bit of pain and every wound she sustained was vented with that one, mighty scream.

When she was finished, she finally took the time to look down at the stranger she had just saved. She was forced to do a double take. She swore her eyes were playing tricks on her. She looked over the figure, peering down into his green eyes. She did everything to convince herself she was truly imagining what lay before her. Impossible, she thought.

She lifted the hood and was able to look upon his orange and black fur. He was a tiger. His face was bruised, battered, torn and scorched. Tigress collapsed beside him. The adrenaline was all gone, and the immense pain was beginning to truly set in. She winced as it built. She was half tempted to scream again, but managed to hold it in. She was on the verge of tears.

The male tiger smiled. "Thank you." He gasped. Tigress laid her paw on his chest and once more looked into his green eyes.

"You're okay. You're safe now."

"Thank you." The other tiger repeated.

"Who are you?" She asked. Her voice was hoarse and raspy, but his was no different. If anything, it was worse.

The tiger looked up at Tigress with weary eyes. "Tsang." He said, continually gasping for air. "My name is Tsang."

Tigress pulled Tsang close, coddling him like a child left in the cold. "What happened here?"

Tsang looked over at the burning house, then up at Tigress. "Attack. They were after me. Ever since I left." He coughed and dug his head into her chest. If it had been any other circumstance, she wouldn't have allowed it. Her robes were in tatters, revealing too much for her to feel comfortable. Tsang, however, was desperate and obviously in a lot of pain. So, Tigress continued to cradle him and hold him close.

Tsang coughed again, then reached into his robes and pulled out a pendant. His paw shook and it quickly dropped into the ash. Tigress made no attempt to dig it out for the time being.

"Who is after you?" She asked softly. "Tsang, I'm here to help you."

"Too late." The male tiger moaned. "If you're truly here to help, deliver the pendant." He took a moment. "Deliver it to Master Tigress of the Jade Palace." He huffed. "In the Valley of Peace. I've failed." His voice softened. "I've failed." His breathing became too weak to feel against her fur. She pulled him close and managed a smile.

"No, Tsang! You didn't fail. You've found her." She whispered.

His eyes widened momentarily. "Master Tigress?"

Tigress nodded. Tsang's smile lasted only a moment.

"You're in danger. Everyone is." Tsang huffed, then pointed to the ash where the pendant is buried. "Pendant." His breathing quickened. "Don't trust the bird. Don't… Panda…" He let out a final gasp, then his eyes went hazy as they rolled back. He looked up at the sky one last time, then slumped over. He went limp in Tigress' arms. He was gone.

Tigress continued to cradle the tiger. Her mind raced with questions. A tiger? Here? She could not believe it. What bird? Crane? Also… panda? She quickly thought of Po. She looked up towards the raging fire. Suddenly, there was a shift. A figure lurking in the window. A figure she could only see the outline of. One set of eyes glared at her, then a wave of fire. And they were gone.

She set Tsang's corpse on the ground and pushed herself to her feet. Her knees immediately buckled, and she returned to the ground. She growled and roared, but the world responded by spinning faster than ever. She tried to catch herself, but it was no use.

Her world went dark moments later.


A/N: Howdy! This was fun to write. Chaos and disaster! Things are about to unravel nicely, I think. I'm mainly focusing on Tigress and Po, but the rest of the Furious Five will get their chances to shine so long as I stick to my outline and what I've written so far. Lu Fang is also going to start making for appearances from here on out. I try to take my time with OCs. I'm pretty proud of where the story will take her and her impact she will have on Po, Tigress, and the Furious Five, but at the end of the day, you'll have to be the judge of that.

Thank you all for reading. Much love.

I also didn't realize it until just now, but I guess I slipped a little hint on where Tigress comes from in this chapter. Maybe you can find it? I honestly didn't plan it, but if you're a history buff, you might get it. Funny how that works, huh?