Chapter 17: East

Foreword: I'm alive! I promise. This is just another foreword. This is the last chapter of the flashback, but it's what most people would call 'tragic', so I'm just giving you a quick heads up. Maybe it's not even THAT bad, but I just want to be safe rather than sorry. Anyway, this is the last chapter of act two. Hope you all enjoy!

The horrors were far behind them, or so they hoped. Despite the distance they had managed to put between them and the chaos, Lu Zahn didn't feel comfortable stopping quite yet. Only a little rest here and there until the sun set. Only then would they sleep, but Lu Zahn made note to wake up early and continue their retreat. Despite the fear Zahn felt for his family, he made sure to keep a close eye on their spirits. They were tired. Their fur was ragged, and they wore restless eyes. Zahn felt his heart break when he saw Xiu put on a soft, tender smile. He knew she didn't mean it, but the attempt was there. All he could do was smile back.

"We'll rest." Zahn finally ordered. His voiced boomed as it had when he was a young warrior. His experience in battle had shaped him into a hardened soldier long ago. Only Xiu was able to soften his thick shell covered by years of battle. Xiu always disliked the warrior tone Zahn occasionally brought along with their marriage. Now, however, she had to admit it was one of the few things that've kept them alive this far.

Wu Xiu sat down and pressed her paws into her face. She let out a hefty groan. Everything was gone. Everything aside from her husband and her daughter. They were, in the end, all that mattered. Zahn shuffled over and wrapped his large arms around her, pulling her close for a panda sized hug. After a moment, he stood up and began to pace. Zahn's mind raced.

"If we make our way far enough east, we'll reach the coast. We follow that north or south and we're bound to reach another village." Zahn said. His mind raced with options.

"What if we get lost?" Lu Fang asked. Her glowing eyes brought a smile to Lu Zahn.

"We won't." Zahn reassured Fang. Zahn poked Fang in the stomach, drawing a giggle from the little panda. A moment later, Zahn's smile faded. "If you can't find us, I want you to keep going east." He pointed to show her which direction was east. It was, this particular night, the direction that seemed to have the most stars in the sky. Zahn hoped it was a sign. "I don't want you to wait, and I don't want you to hesitate. Okay? I want you to run."

Lu Fang nodded, but deeper questions were burning within her. "What if-"

Lu Zahn pressed his finger to her lips. "Run. Okay?"

"Okay."

"That's my girl." Lu Zahn smiled then looked at Xiu. "I told you she had my discipline."

"What if there's a hill?" Lu Fang spat. "Can I roll instead of run?"

Zahn groaned as he saw the cocky smile on Xiu's face widen. "She gets that from me, I think." Xiu said. Zahn couldn't help but laugh. Then, a moment of silence fell upon the group. Xiu was the first to break it. "What did the peacock want?"

Zahn shook his head. "I'm not sure, and I have no intention of finding out. The further we get away from him, the better."

"Will we ever go home?" Lu Fang asked.

Zahn found the question impossible to answer. All he could do is looked down on the little panda. "East." It was all he could say.

That night, neither of the three got any sleep. Nor did they for the next three nights. What few dreams they had quickly turned to nightmares in a flash. The nightmares proved all too real. When the sun rose on the fourth morning, Zahn didn't skip a beat. He woke Xiu and Lu Fang, then they pressed on. East.

Zahn collected himself as they reached a tall hill and looked out over the rocky terrain. Hills decorated the landscape for as far as the eye could see and there was little grass to be seen. Zahn turned his eyes behind them towards the west. He didn't know what he had hoped for, but what he saw terrified him. Smoke. A tall pillar of black smoke. Panic set in.

Was the peacock following us? He shook with fear. How many villages was he going to hit? What were his plans? Then, his military mind kicked in. Unless it isn't the peacock? Zahn knew China was a large continent with many warlords fighting many battles and wars. The peacock had an army, but the logistics didn't make any sense for them to chase them this far. No, Zahn continued to dwell. No, whoever that was, it wasn't Shen.

Still, the signs of war and battle so close were too risky to ignore. Even if it wasn't Shen, they had to be careful.

Zahn had opted to carry Lu Fang that day, hoping to make decent time and allow Xiu to not stress about their child. Though Zahn's fur was still charred, and he was sure he had a broken finger or two, the thought hardly came up. He didn't care. He couldn't care. He had to be strong for Xiu and Fang. He held his head high and walked straight all day and well into the evening. Zahn hardly stopped to rest himself, and only did so when either Xiu or Fang needed to stop. Throughout the day, Zahn had led them over four enormous, rocky hills. The terrain was difficult, but Zahn knew the more difficult the terrain, the harder it would be for any threat to find them. As they neared the peak of the fifth, however, Zahn felt his energy begin to falter. His knees shook and his back felt like it was hanging on by a thread. As they reached the top, each step sent an uneasy feeling up and down his leg. It was like walking on pins and needles. He handed Lu Fang off to Xiu and collapsed to his knees.

Xiu set Fang down and helped her husband sit on his rear.

"Time to rest?" Xiu said, cracking a smile.

"One more hill." Zahn said, completely gassed and wearing the same smile. Xiu shook her head and turned towards Fang.

"I swear, your father will be the death of me." Xiu spoke softly to Lu Fang. This made the little panda smile. It was the first time since the attack all three pandas smiled.

Lu Fang was insistent on a fire as night fell, but with what Zahn had seen earlier, he knew it was a bad idea. Fire would be seen and could easily draw unwanted attention. He had to protect his family, and to do that he had to play it smart. He gave a quick explanation to Lu Fang and Xiu and they didn't push for a fire for the rest of the night. As the moon rose, Zahn slept like a rock. For the first time in an entire week, he didn't have nightmares. In fact, he had dreams he would consider good. Fire brought the good dreams to a swift and sudden end.

Zahn opened his eyes to an immediate discomfort. Something in his mind told him this night was off. Something was awry. It was the silence. He looked left and right. The large panda quickly turned towards Lu Fang. She was sitting still, eyes wide but still laying down. Zahn shuffled close to his daughter, but he felt warm. Too warm for this late at night. Then, he lifted his head and looked out onto the fields below.

Fire. There was fire everywhere in the distance. Patches of forests were charred black at the base of the hill. He looked around, frantic and clinging to hope he could find a clear path. A safe place. What was this? He asked himself. It reminded him too much of war.

The fire crackled in the distance. Howls and screams and moans came from the black trees. Unknown sounds echoed around them. He pulled Lu Fang close. He could feel her shake.

Then, from just below the rocky peak, he heard a voice. A soft voice, but through the echoes of the burning forest, it was the only one he could understand. "Hurry."

Zahn froze and gently shook Xiu awake. She opened her eyes and knew immediately what was happening. Zahn, Xiu, and Lu Fang crouched behind a small rock atop the hill.

Zahn shifted himself closer to the crest of the peak. He poked his head above the rock and looked down at the dark forest. The shadows of dead trees danced as the fire flickered closer and closer. He stopped and kept his eyes peeled for any sign of life. Any sign of the whispers. He clenched his fists. He hadn't fought in years, but he was hoping that when push came to shove, his years of instincts would kick in. His eyes were like a hawk as they grew accustomed to the dark forest. He was sure he would be able to get the drop on whoever was out there.

He was wrong.

Four figures emerged from the darkness. Though he was caught off guard, he was still able to throw a few punches, though not one landed. A mix of orange and black quickly surrounded him. The fight was frantic and quick. He was about to make his retreat towards Lu Fang and Xiu until an unseen fifth figure lunged from the darkness. Zahn went down hard. With all his might he tried to push the figure off, but whoever or whatever held him down had the strength of three pandas. It was a force Lu Zahn had never felt before. His years as a warrior could never have prepared him for this moment. Zahn knew he was strong, but whatever held him was something else entirely.

All Lu Zahn could do was watch as the four free figures made their way towards Xiu and Lu Fang.

Lu Fang leapt to her feet and made a mad dash for her father, but one of the figures pulled her aside. Lu Fang looked over, horrified to find her mother pinned by the third striped figure. Then, a horrifying silence.

Lu Fang was the first to break the silence. "It's going to be okay." She looked at both Xiu and Zahn. "I promise."

Xiu forced a smile. "I'm supposed to tell you that."

"Let them go!" Zahn roared as he managed to raise his head and look one of his attackers in the eye. "Take me but let them go!" The figure was brilliant orange with black stripes. A tiger, clear as day. One tiger knelt beside Lu Zahn, revealing his claws in a horrifying display of power.

"What are you three doing out here?" The tiger hissed.

Lu Fang, helpless and utterly confused, was quick to make an intricate system of naming their attackers. One that, if it wasn't a life-or-death scenario, she would feel quite proud of. Tiger One held her father. Tiger Two held her. Tiger Three held her mother. Tiger Four and Tiger Five were busy pacing around the peak. Tiger Five stopped a moment and sat down in the middle of the clearing.

"Just let them go." Zahn begged. "We don't want any trouble."

"Not until you tell us where the buffalo are hiding." Tiger Five snapped.

"Buffalo?" Lu Zahn shook his head in confusion. "What are you talking about? What buffalo?"

Tiger Five grit his teeth and quickly stood up. He paced, rubbing his paws through his fur and spitting on a nearby stone. He hissed and cursed. His tail thrashed wildly. "You!" He said, almost in a whisper as he knelt beside Xiu. "Where are the buffalo? Don't play stupid. Just tell us, or none of us make it off this rock."

Xiu refused to make eye contact. "I don't know what you're talking about."

The tiger ran his claw down her cheek.

"Stop!" Lu Fang roared. Tiger Two's grip on Fang tightened. She winced and tried to fight back, but it only made the pain worse and the grip tighter. Eventually, her stubbornness gave out.

"We have no reason to lie to you." Zahn cried out. "We don't know who you are or what you're doing up here. We haven't seen any buffalo, and we don't know where they'd be. We're just looking for a place to stay. We just want to find shelter."

"A place to stay?" Tiger Five inquired. "Why? Who are you people?"

"We were attacked." Zahn answered.

"By whom?" Tiger Three asked. His eyes narrowed, judging Zahn's facial cues for any sense of a lie. "It wasn't by the buffalo clans, was it?"

Zahn tried to shake his head. "No. It was a peacock and a pack of wolves. Back west. About a week ago. Our village is gone. Completely gone."

Tiger Five cursed again under his breath and sat down on a nearby rock. His eyes darted around. He rubbed his palms, ears, and played with his tail. It was clear his mind was in a rut.

"They know too much." Tiger Three, said. "You know it, and I know it."

"Don't talk like that." Tiger Five shot Tiger Two a stern glare. "Let me think on this a second."

Tiger Two was the next to speak. "So, what do we do?"

"I don't know." Tiger Five said.

"It's your call." Tiger Four snapped.

"I say we kill them." Tiger One said. There was a sudden silence. Eyes darted around. Within each set of eyes was a seed of doubt but also the will to live. Survival.

"Wait! We can talk about this." Lu Zahn snapped.

"They know too much." Tiger One continued. "You'd better think and think hard on this call."

"We can't do that." Tiger Five groaned. The argument that followed was absolute chaos. The pandas remained silent as all five tigers spouted their own arguments. What followed were a mixture of rants that none of the pandas could make sense of.

"First you say you don't know. Now you say we can't. We need you to make a decision."

"Just give me time."

"The buffalo could be on us any second. We don't have time."

"Time! I need time!"

"Look around us! It's a damn war out there."

Fire swirled just at the base of the mountain. The heat became almost unbearable. The dark sky turned red. Screams and moans echoed from the darkness surrounding the rocky peak.

"We have to kill them."

"That isn't what we do."

"We're warriors."

"We're not killers."

"It's war. Our way is war. It aways has been, and it always will be, war."

"They're innocent! We don't kill the innocent."

"If we let these pandas go, what happens then? They walk down the hill, run into a pack of buffalo, and then what? The buffalo hold a knife to their throat and the pandas spill everything. I'll let you guess what happens after that."

"That won't happen."

"I'll tell you what happens, chief. The buffalo hunt us down. They hunt us down like housecats and leave our bodies to rot. Is that what you want?"

"I said that isn't going to happen!"

"You're right, it isn't, because we're going to do what's right. Not for them, but for us. We make it quick, here and now. Clean. Then we leave here, alive."

"There's a child!"

"I'm not blind!" Tiger One spat back. After a brief moment of reflective silence, he turned towards Tiger Five and continued. It was then Lu Fang noticed the scar above Tiger Five's right eye. "I know it was tough letting your child go, but you'll never get to see her again if we don't get off this rock. To do that, you need to be smart. We can't act on emotions. That's what gets us killed. We need to do what's best for us and work as a team."

"You're arguing for killing a family." Tiger Three said. "How can we come back from that?"

"We can, and we will." Tiger One placed a comforting paw on tiger Three's shoulder. "We do our job and get off this rock. Then, we go home and win this war. The buffalo won't be able to hold out forever. When it's all done, we move on with our lives." He turned towards Tiger Five. "We find your daughter, then the rest of us can have our kids. Raise our families."

"This is messed up." Tiger Four groaned.

"Wait!" Lu Zahn made another attempt to lift himself, but the raw strength of the tiger above him forced him back down. His face was filled with dirt, sand, and rocks. Speaking became too hard.

"It's messed up, but it's what we have to do." Tiger Three said, joining Tiger One in the argument. "I love you. All of you, and I'd be the first to take a knife to the gut for any of you. I know it's messed up and morally wrong, but I just don't care."

Lu Zahn twisted his head towards the 'chief' tiger, Tiger Five. As he watched his amber eyes close slowly, along with a tear rolling down the scar that stretched across his cheek, Zahn knew his mind was made up, and it wouldn't end well for him or his family.

Uh-oh.

Zahn's heart raced. Now, it was life or death. His strength immediately returned. He didn't know exactly where it had come from, but he had it. Using the force only a parent could muster, he pushed his body up. Tiger One on top of him fell off. He quickly spun and charged at the tiger holding Lu Fang.

He pulled Lu Fang by the arm and yanked her away. Like a fluffy wall, he stood before Lu Fang as the tigers quickly rallied. It was utter panic atop the peak.

"Careful!" Xiu cried out to her husband, but she was not about to let him fight alone. With a quick strike, she ran her claws across the face of the tiger holding her. She pulled away and ran towards Lu Fang. The child held out her paws, expecting her mother to swoop in and run. Xiu did no such thing. Instead, the mother pressed her paws tight and pushed Lu Fang over the edge of the hill. She tumbled from rock to sand to grass as she neared the bottom.

Lu Fang landed, horrified and confused. The bottom was hot and she was surrounded by fire, but she was safe. She looked up and saw Xiu looking down at her.

"Run!" Xiu hollered. "Go!"

"Run!" Lu Zahn cried out from somewhere atop the peak. Though she couldn't see him, she knew he was in distress. Still, he had made a promise. "Run! Xiu! You too! Go. I'll-"

He went quiet.

East, Lu Fang thought.

"Get them!" The tigers roared above.

Lu Fang could hardly understand the situation. All she knew was that she had to run. She picked herself up and tore off into the woods. East, she thought as the trees burned around her. East. East. It was the only thing on her mind. East was safe. Behind her was a scene that confused her to no end. Surrounding her was fire. She was told east was safe, and she had to believe it. Behind was nothing but a burnt home. East was something new. Behind her was the enemy. The warriors of orange and black. The tigers. East…

She only stopped when the fires stopped and the land below her feet seemed to end. She had run so fast and so far, she was too tired and too inattentive to notice the clear river stretched out before her. She let out a gasp as she fell over the edge. Water quickly overtook her. She squirmed and pushed herself towards the shore, but the tide was too strong. She gasped for air. She tried to callout. With each attempt, waves of water poured down her throat. She eventually decided it was best not to try at all. The current began to pick up. White water pulled her down. All she could do was raise her paw, hoping that the gods her parents had talked about were real and willing to save her...

...though she had little faith.

Then, her paw wrapped around something.

She scrambled, and pretty soon she was yanked from the water. The second he felt the grass beneath her, she yanked her paw away from whoever or whatever had pulled her up. She couldn't see, as the water continued to drip from her eyes. Was it a tiger? She thrashed about, screaming and kicking about. Her strength gave out on her. She fell to the grass and gasped for air. She curled up and shook with fear.

Then, she heard a soft voice. Not the voice of a tiger. Not of a killer and beast of nature. It was a child.

"Are you okay?"

Lu Fang shook her head. "I don't think so." Lu Fang mumbled. After a second of silence, she was finally able to open her eyes and look up at the stranger. He was a small rabbit with ears that were at least twice his own size.

"I'm Liang." He reached out his paw and helped her to her feat. "Who are you?"

Lu Fang rubbed her nose and wiped her eyes. "I'm Lu Fang."

Lu Fang noticed immediately that the little rabbit never seemed to blink. "Your eyes are beautiful. What were you doing?"

"East." Lu Fang answered.

"Are you out here all by yourself?"

Lu Fang spat up more water. Afterwards, she shook down her fur. "East." She was too shocked to say much of anything else.

"Is that where your family is?"

Lu Fang shook her head. "No, but they'll come for me. They know where I'm going. East."

Liang seemed to give himself a second to think. "Can I come?"

"What about your family?" Lu Fang asked. Liang grew eerily silent. It was clear to Lu Fang that she had reached a nerve. After a few more seconds of awkward silence, she figured it would be best to move the conversation along. "Why do you want to go east with me?"

Liang shrugged. "Maybe my parents will find me, too."

That was all Lu Fang needed to know.

A/N: Woah! I'm back! So, I ended up getting mixed up with a bunch of other projects I have planned. Not all of them were fanfiction related. Sorry for such a long hiatus. Hopefully I can crank the last few chapters out in a reasonable time. This chapter was oddly tough for me to write. I wanted to have the tiger attack be part of the main story, but I just couldn't find a way to fit it in, so it may feel a little disjointed. Like a C plot that doesn't really tie into the A plot.

Also, I wanted to name the tigers, but given this was from the POV of the pandas, and the tigers were basically one-shot characters, I went with the simple One, Two, Three, Four, Five naming system, as I feel a child like Lu Fang would think like that. Hopefully it wasn't too confusing.

Still, I hope you can understand why Lu Fang hates tigers. Shen destroyed her village, but the tigers destroyed her life.

Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter. It's the last 'flashback' chapter, so next post we'll begin the third and final act. As always, thanks for reading!