Chapter 7: Collide

After all baths had been taken, and all meals had been consumed, the entire group settled inside the old office room of their adoptive home. The shutters were drawn on every window; every door to the outside world shut. Even the curtains to the outside balconies were closed. Many candles had been placed on stands and set in the corners to keep the room well lit yet hallowed so the meeting would not mislead anyone to think it cheerful. The group was mainly silent as each and every person made themselves comfortable, this term being used quite loosely on every opinionated mind.

Po, Tigress, Jiu-Ne, Shifu and Saisei sat together on one side of the long table. Tigress kept the sleeping Kicho in between her and Po in his tiny rocking crib; the poor thing had a very fussy attitude when waking to bathe, but Tigress had finally settled her child down before the meeting could take place. On the other side sat Tai Lung, Song and Koru. Mantis and Viper sat in between the two sides on the table with their backs to the double doors.

"So where do we stand here?" asked Viper to no one in particular as she looked to and fro between the group.

"In all fairness, I don't think we misinformed him well enough; just because of our "possibly innocent intentions" does not mean we would be off the hook either way." said Saisei.

"No, I think we're lying on just the right level. After all, what can they really do if they find out how much we're lying?" shrugged Po.

"They may send the entire Imperial Army after us?", stated Tigress, who raised her brow at her husband.

"But it's not like we've really done anything intentionally wrong!" exclaimed Po in a low tone to keep his son from waking up.

"So should we continue to lie?" asked Mantis "Cus I have students I care for that could end up in the middle of this should something happen. And I won't allow it." he crossed his arms, looking around at each person. Viper showed a caring smile to the bug, but that smile quickly faded once she turned to her former red panda master.

"What do you think, Master Shifu?" Viper asked with still a great deal of respect.

Shifu sat there for a minute staring into the distance, thinking. For a few seconds he would stroke his fingers along his beard, then tap the same fingers against the side of his staff. Finally he inhaled a slow and shallow breath.

"I think whatever we say we need to choose our words carefully, whether they be truthful or false. But none of this is worth the time they take in putting us through this." his ears then lowered as low as his voice once he looked around at the group "And the original plan stays in place. It is unacceptable otherwise." the master then nodded to no one in general, for the dice had been cast and the plan was set in partial anonymity even within the group for emotion's sake.

"I do not expect the two of you to die, I wish to make this clear. Immediately." whispered Shifu as he spoke with the two he had secretly pulled away from the rest of the group this hot summer night, "But this plan calls for very risky missions. Crane and Mei Ling have done well, there is no doubt about that. But Tsu No Bai has trusted them too much as of late. I am afraid that one of them, if not both of them have fallen under Moeru's spell as well." the two silently looked at each other, then nodded to the master.

"May we…tell anyone in the group? So that they would not worry as much?", asked one.

"That is foolish and you know it!", exclaimed the other in a whisper "It would only cause them grief and worry!"

"Po knows, of course. But still…you may be correct." said Shifu in a soft sigh "Alright. You may each tell one person, as a safeguard. But understand that this person cannot know the full picture." the red panda put his arms behind his back and shook his head; he did not keep his new gaze away from the steps that they stood on, "This agent, this Tsu No Ba. I do not trust him. He seems to know exactly what is coming before it happens."

"So he can see into the future?", asked the latter with a look of confusion.

"No, no…but he has somehow grasped the concept of reading minds. This is why I have selected the two of you. Where Crane and Mei Ling have potentially failed, I am certain you can understandably divert any attempts at mind probing." he raised his furry head up, then bowed in his looking upon the two, "Whatever happens, understand that I am proud of you both."

The two bowed back as low as they could from this rare compliment.

Early next day a discussion had occurred between the entire group; Shifu would not explain any details whatsoever. Yet everyone now knew that there was a new plan should there be true damning evidence of the Imperial family's or Army's betrayal of China.

"But when will the plan commence? If we are to lie much more, no confrontation will take it's place.", chimed in Tigress softly; she continued to slowly rock Kicho in his tiny crib, instinctively and protectively glancing at the panger cub every few seconds.

"General Bai…if what you're saying is true, Ti, he'll confront us either way.", said Po.

"I still don't see what's so evil about this guy. I mean sure, he's a jerk. But no offense mom, you used to act the same way back in the day didn't you?", asked Saisei; turning her head to the young tiger.

"Still does. Ow! See!", laughed Po as Tigress punched him in the arm.

"I took no offense by it, Saisei. But I see what you mean.", said a smiling Tigress from being called a mother by her and from satisfying her urge to hit Po. Then her smile faded "But what you do not know is that his name cannot be coincidence. Tsu No Bai is the exact name of the tea shop where Moeru first attempted to kill us."

Po shuddered in disgust from the memory.

"So she is mocking your intelligence?", asked Koru with a raised brow.

"In a strange way, yeah. You heard her yourself, she likes this type of game.", said Po.

Tai Lung let a sigh pass through his lips.

"And should your plan succeed? What will happen to the rest of us?"

"Tai Lung, you will be safe no matter what goes awry. You are one of the few that keep this world from collapsing, even Moeru is not so insane as to kill you.", stated Shifu.

"I was not meaning my own safety, father. But thank you.", nodded the male leopard.

"I will not lie, the rest of you are not guaranteed to live. But for the good of everyone else, nay for the safety of China, it is a sacrifice that may have to be paid.", stated Tigress sadly.

Everyone nodded at this, and a solemn silence was echoed through the home for a moment.

After someone cleared their throat, everyone looked at the source of the sound; Jiu-Ne.

"So when would we be leaving?", she asked, continuing to become more anxious by the minute to see Ko-Ri again.

"A few weeks, should everything go off without a hitch.", said Po "But we can't leave until Crane and Mei Ling get back."

"So you are still convinced that they are innocent, Po?", asked Shifu.

"With every fiber of my being, Shifu.", responded Po in a deadly serious tone.

"And if, by some possibility, you are wrong?", asked Tai Lung.

Po put his left arm on the armrest of his chair to rest his mouth on his knuckle and sighed. He stared at the fabric of the blue tablecloth before him, inspecting the tassels one by one. Finally he looked back up at Tai Lung and broke the silence.

"If the branches of a tree are broken off, the tree still lives on. But it will forever remain anything but whole. We will move on. But we will continue to keep the spots for the two empty. If we find them in our travels, we will greet them with open arms. But if the branches have rotted, we will have no choice but to exterminate the appendages."

Again this was met with a sad, understanding nod from the rest of the group.

"Well I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm beat." groaned Song as the leopardess stood up and stretched. She scooted her chair out from in between the two males and walked towards the door, but not before giving a small wave back in their direction followed by a look over her shoulder that was not sad, but far from happy, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." said Tai Lung and Koru in unison. They looked at each other as the rest of the group of raised eyebrows looked in between the two. Song's whiskers moved at the rebuttal and she paused for a simple moment. But her back remained turned to them; and she left the room with a hitched breath that not many could hear.

After Song's exit, Jiu-Ne, Saisei, Viper, Mantis, and Tai Lung took their leave with only a few mumbled words between them. Koru began to leave, but was stopped by a voice telling him to stay. He turned around to confirm that the almost command came from his sister.

"Po, please take Kicho back into our room. I will be in shortly." spoke the remaining female. Po glanced at the white tiger and nodded to his bride. The panda softly lifted the cub and gingerly left the room as quietly as he could. And as unsettling as the feeling was, Koru kept his back turned when the surprising sound of Shifu shutting the door behind the panda and his grandson protruded into his eardrums.

"Alright, Koru; what happened out there?" asked Tigress in a razor like tone, yet you could hear the concern in her voice.

Koru's nose twitched at the expected, yet bluntly asked question. He did not realize it at first, but he had gone stiff in nervousness; part of him was unsure if he should tell anyone about this, even his own sister. Such a strange and unbelievable tale to tell. But things of this nature seemed to happen to the group.

"Well…" started the male scratching the back of his head. He avoided the eye contact that was being provided for him for good reason. Tigress was the most intuitive person he had ever known.

"What happened between you and Song?" asked Shifu in honest curiosity. Koru visibly sighed in relief from the unknown change in subject, to which the sigh Tigress took full notice of.

"She kissed me." said Koru in a halfhearted shrug. The two before him froze momentarily from this explanation.

"Well now, this is surprising." said Tigress, who crossed her arms after recovering from the shock with a smile.

"Y-yes. But I do not think I am interested." said a blushing tiger.

"Is this why you ran into the forest?" asked a calmly voiced Shifu as he stood on a chair close to Koru ready to smack him in the head.

Koru hesitantly nodded.

"I see, you did not return her feelings and wished not to hurt her. So instinctively you ran into the forbidden forest." Tigress stated while walking to her brother.

Again, Koru nodded; he stiffened so much more as Tigress came closer and closer. He contemplated more on telling them. What would the harm be? He would be deemed insane. And if the Soothsayer was untrustworthy or could not complete the spell, he could not prove it either way. The trees in the forest had led him in a maze before allowing the tiger to reunite with Boki and leave the forest completely; they would not be able to find that section even with years to spare unless the "spirit of the forest" allowed it.

Tigress was standing in front of him now, looking him straight in the eye. Koru had kept his head down during her closing of the distance between them, but it was impossible for him to keep his eyes away from hers because of his height. Suddenly Tigress smacked her palm into his forehead, her eyes sparkling in a feint glow. Koru's attempt to pull away was unsuccessful; somehow Tigress had paralyzed him on the spot. When she was finished, Tigress now showed a look of disbelief and concern covered her once suspicious face for him.

"Koru-"

"Please say nothing to anyone." croaked Koru, his heart wrenching at the reshown sight of his love in such a state; he turned to leave.

"But-" began Tigress, but she was cut off again when Koru stopped and turned around.

"I mean it, Hei-Wa!" quietly seethed Koru with tears stinging his eyes, threatening to escape. Tigress' paws tightened to an insane degree. Koru never said her real name unless he was deadly serious about something. The two siblings stared each other down for minutes on end. Tigress was trying to see passed her brother's eyes to somehow understand his reasoning by reading his mind. Even with her reading his memories before she could not see what he was thinking now, but with her sharp as a tack mind she could interpret what he may think next. Koru was simply waiting for his sister's confirmation to agree to his conditions. Tigress would never break a promise, of this he was sure. But she was as stubborn as he was, she may refuse.

Shifu contemplated the exchange and was greatly tempted to speak his mind, but years upon years of training in meditation and self-discipline allowed him to easily resist these temptations.

Soon Tigress withdrew her gaze and heaved a sigh as her eyes closed. She crossed her arms and opened her eyes once again to look at Koru; and with a subtle and understanding yet apprehensive nod, she saw Koru open the door and walk out in immediate reaction.

"Shifu…" said Tigress as she sensed Koru was out of an ear's reach, "Take me to the Soothsayer as soon as you can."

The red panda nodded in vague understanding; if there was one person whose actions these events reeked of, it was her.

Later that night; in Song's room

Tired groans warped under her breath. The feline shifted under her sheets and kept her tightly shut eyes concealed behind the tensing lids. Her breathing was shallow and pained. She felt cold. But the covers Song held would not help her. It could not be helped, for her problem was not truly physical in nature.

Sounds of children giggling entered her head. They passed over her as if the sound trailed the winds that chilled her. Soft bells chimed all around, giving the laughter a mixture of saddening joy. Images flashed above the young woman. Her betrayal of her best friend; prominent and repeating. Her childhood as a rich brat; imminent and foreboding. Her soul in it's ever tossing about in waves of confusion; present and accounted for.

"One day your soul will burn, Song. But death will not find you. It will seek you out, after the carnage. He will be blind to your heart, for it holds the seedling of another of which one more powerful than he has sought." said a raspy and whispering voice "Find this seedling…make it GROW!"

Song sat up in her bed, gasping in a cold sweat as the last scream echoed in her mind. She panted and looked around in the darkness of her room. Everything was completely still save for the wind gently pressing against the dark red curtains of her balcony to the right of her bed.

The female shivered in this cold and thought on such a dream that she could not remember. Song wrapped her blanket and sheet around her and made herself cling to it's fabric. She looked around at the room once more. Again, it was still. But the echo in her head had faded, and now she felt very uneasy at the silence she had taken notice of. Usually you could at least hear the sounds of Po or Mantis snoring. Even Koru would snore on occasion. But not tonight. Tonight everything was quiet.

Song's feet slowly swung over the side of her bed. Keeping the covers around her shoulders, she stood up and dragged her groggy body over the cold floor. She soon reached for the knob to her door and turned the piece of round wood. When Song opened the door, she merely cracked it and peered through the vertical line to see outside the hall. Empty.

Her blue iris scanned back and forth to take in as much information as possible. Her paranoia having took root in her mind, the female closed the door silently. She then stood right in front of the door and swung it wide open. What she saw only made the leopardess quiver in horror.

Standing before her door was no longer the hallway, but a giant open mouth. It had enormous yellowing fangs, a giant forked tongue, and the roof and sides of it's mouth were completely blue. In between it's fangs squirmed rotting and half dead bodies wriggling in it's gums and attempting to climb out and escape. It's breath was a vile smell of death and burning flesh; clearly evident of the putrid yellow puss and foam-like liquid oozing from the corners of it's mouth. Suddenly it roared, creating a wave of hot air that flung her to the floor and drowned out her screaming. She was rocked back and forth vigorously in the torrent as if the breath of the monster had appendages to grab hold of her.

"Song!" roared the demonic voice.

"Song!" it roared louder.

"SONG!" yelled a voice.

Song continued to scream and to struggle, not daring to open her eyes to the horrific sight before her. She barely registered the fact that she was no longer alone. And that the voice had changed from hatred to worry. Suddenly the arms around her tightened their grip, causing her to react to the feeling of warmth that was provided not by moisture but from a body.

The female opened her eyes carefully. She was visibly shaking all over, and no doubt the group might have had suspicions that her soul may not be with them once again.

"W-w-w-w-w-what h-h-h-h-h-hap-p-p-ppened?" she asked to no one in particular as she sat on the floor partially tangled in her blue sheet and blanket. Sitting and standing around her were Tigress, Shifu, Viper, Saisei and Mantis. Song could hear Kicho crying somewhere in the distance, but he was gradually being soothed of his cries. Apparently Po was rocking him back to sleep.

"You had a nightmare, Song." said Tigress who stood at Song's feet.

"It sounded like a really bad one, too." added softly by Viper who sat beside Tigress. At hearing real voices from her friends, the leopardess began to stop quaking.

"O-oh…" Song sighed in relief knowing that her dream wasn't real and absentmindedly relaxed against the soft surface cradling her.

"My God, what were you dreaming about?" asked Saisei curiously.

The leopardess could only shake her head in reply at first. But she made a small quiver in the vague memory of her dream and attempted at throwing it away. But for some reason she could not forget the details that stuck out in her mind "It was kinda horrific, I guess." she mumbled, "I'll tell you in the morning."

"It is morning." chimed in Shifu, who was in the process of leaving her field of vision behind the bulk of white and black fur to her near right. Part of her still waking mind took note of this, but the part of her that was still haunted by her dream decided to ignore it and simply be thankful for the comfort being there. She turned her head back to the left when Mantis spoke up from Saisei's shoulder.

"Ugh. Yeah, barely." he groaned in hopping away to follow his master "I'm gonna get another hour in."

"I'll come with." yawned Viper whilst slithering after the bug.

"Think I'll help dad with breakfast." said Saisei while standing and groaning a stretch; she then left the room to find her father that had finally succeeded in silencing the once wailing baby.

Tigress smiled uneasily at Song, which momentarily perplexed the spotted feline.

"Meditate on this. We will discuss it later on in the day if you feel up to it." she said to Song, who nodded at Tigress' wise advice. But then Tigress turned her head slightly above and to the right of Song and spoke again "And control yourself. We leave in a couple of hours for the city, and I will not have you acting doped up for the meeting."

Tigress then stood up and walked out of the room. Song was confused at Tigress' last statement, so she blinked her sleepy eyes and tried to concentrate. It was with this concentration that she noticed the sound of purring coming from right next to her. No not right next to her; pressing against her.

Song looked up and blinked once more to see Koru holding her. Apparently it was he who had been shaking her and yelling for her to awaken. She gulped nervously and waited for a few minutes to see if he would stop purring or let go of her. But when he did not cease either action, she cleared her throat as subtly as she could.

"You uh…feeling happy this morning for some reason, Koru?" asked the female whose heart was beating about a mile a minute by this point.

The white tiger hardly registered that Song even spoke, for he was intently staring at her this entire time since she had woken up. But with her speaking directly to him, his head shook slightly; effectively and swiftly rescuing him of his thoughts.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"You're…ya'know…purring."

"I am not! Anyways, why would I?" said Koru.

"Mmmaybe it's because you've been latched onto me since I woke up?" replied Song. She tried to shrug, but with his holding her action simply made her chest rise a little.

He stopped purring immediately to keep himself composed.

"I was simply trying to wake you up. You were screaming too loudly and you woke me up." he stated in a harsh tone.

"Yes, I can clearly tell the annoyance in your hold." said Song with a sarcastic tone and smile. She pressed the side of her body against his bare chest a little harder to snuggle in his arms. Koru kept his blushing in check, but he accidently let slip a small momentary purr. He quickly tried to pass it off as him clearing his throat.

"You are imagining things. I do not purr. And this is not a hold. This is a-a grappling technique." said Koru just a little too quickly. He loosened his "grappling technique" on her and stood up. She did not stop her smile at his obvious lie "Now if you will excuse me, I must be taking my morning jog."

The white feline spun on his heel and left the room.

Song sighed and shook her head only to hold it in her leaning paw as she stared at the sight of her empty doorway "Stubborn idiot."

"He's not an idiot!" yelled a small echoing voice. Song's ears perked up; she slowly stood up and swung her head back and forth to see who the voice belonged to. It sounded so familiar…

"Uhhh….whoever just said that needs to come out, or I might seriously freak." stated the suspicious leopardess plainly.

"Said what?" asked a passing Tigress with a risen brow. She stood there with one paw on the doorway, yet she had her body facing the hall.

"Uhm. Nothing, I…" Song glanced around at her room "guess…"

Tigress raised the fur above her eye even further, but shrugged and pressed on towards the kitchen area.

The remaining feline walked to her door and grabbed hold of said door; she stood there for a minute and gave her room one more scan. Maybe she was going crazy or something. After all, nothing looked out of the ordinary aside from the state of her bed sheets. Her closet door was shut, her bedside table was perfectly still and pressed against the wall, the curtains to her private balcony were closed, and every inch of her floor which was not covered by furniture was bare.

With an inward sigh, Song walked out of her room; shutting the door behind her.

Behind the curtains came a small, elderly and feminine giggle…

In the kitchen

Everyone but Viper, Mantis and Jiu-Ne now sat at an iron circular table of the quite large hospital kitchen. The kitchen was one hundred square feet with counters all around; much like the Jade Palace kitchen, in exception to the windows that lined the opposing wall to the doorway to brighten the almost dull table before the door.

As Song walked in, she noticed the large amount of food already set on serving plates sitting in the middle of the table. Po and Saisei were currently talking to each other with their backs to the rest of the group while still cooking at the counter; with Saisei attempting to make steamed rice and scrambled eggs and Po whipping up a few things for lunch. Shifu sat in his seat opposite Tigress eating politely. Tigress ate slowly while continuously glancing at Koru who sat at Shifu's left. Koru was eating as well, but he looked incredulously nervous. Upon further inspection you could see that he held a small bundle of a sleeping creature in his left arm while eating with the other; whether he was nervous from Tigress' monotonous glances or from just trying not to crush the delicate Kicho, Song could not tell. Yet she was highly amused as she sat down in the chair nearest the door while Koru had to pause each time Kicho stirred in his cradling hold.

Everyone ate without many words exchanged. Soon Po and Saisei took their seats on either side of Tigress and ate. A few minutes later, Mantis' hunger overwhelmed his desire to be lazy and led him to the table to eat. Afterwards Jiu-Ne awoke and joined in with Viper following soon after. But no one said much; if anything was said, it was a comment on the daily activities of things outside of the meeting. Yet nothing would be said of the meeting itself for everyone knew they would tire enough without a beforehand reminder. Needless to say that no one was looking forward to this. But it had to be done. After breakfast though, not all would be leaving for the Imperial Palace immediately, for they had daily responsibilities. Mantis had to keep his classes going throughout the day. Saisei and Jiu-Ne studied at and attended the mage classes respectively. Koru was one of the few who worked on their new future home. Shifu aided Tai Lung in his Channeler duties. And even Viper had a habit of instructing a few novice dancers at the studio; she was practically an instructor herself. As a matter of fact, the only one with nothing else to do was-

"Song?" the feline grunted at the panda who questioned her, for her mouth was full of food, "We were thinking, do you care to watch Kicho while we're in the meeting? At least until someone else comes and either of us can at least watch over him. I'm pretty sure that the Emperor will have a fit when only two of us first show up; no telling what he'll do if only one of us can sit in." said Po.

As Po was talking, Song was slowly chewing her food and tried to listen carefully as if this was an important mission. To be honest she was not very highly enthused at this "mission". But if it's what the Dragon Warrior wanted, she would suck it up for him.

Shaking her thoughts away, Song swallowed her food and blinked, "Oh, sure. But what if he doesn't like me? He might just keep bawling until one of you comes back."

"There is only one way to find out." stated Koru who now stood beside her holding out the child. Song hesitantly reached out and cradled the baby. So far so good. She held the panger to her frame and looked down at him. He was awake now. And he was looking up at her. She smiled when her nerves got the better of her, and it showed. Little Kicho cooed and reached up a tiny paw as if trying to grab onto something. The leopardess raised a brow at his actions and smirked while leaning her head back and by extension her whiskers, "Oh no kid, I'm not falling for that one."

In retaliation of not getting what he wanted, Kicho's eyes began watering and he squirmed in discomfort and irritation. The sensitive and misunderstanding baby sniffled and gave little baby whines.

Scoffing a sigh and rolling her eyes, Song lowered her head and prepared for the incoming pain. Kicho's expression performed a one hundred eighty degree turn as he grabbed hold of the whiskers. Song shut her eyes, and Kicho tugged with all his little might. But her pain never came. She opened them back up and found that Tigress was in fact holding onto her whiskers close to her nose, keeping Kicho from ripping them from their roots by anchoring the long hairs for her.

"Yes, you will need to watch out for that. If you have not noticed already, my demon child has already ripped off two of my whiskers." said Tigress amusedly and half bitterly. She softly took Kicho into her arms after getting him to let go of Song's whiskers, "Come on, son, it is time to eat." the striped female then stood and preceded to exit the room entirely.

"We'll probably hand him over when we get up to the Palace courtyard. Tigress is very overprotective." said Po.

"I understand Po. I mean come on, the kid isn't even a week old yet!" she replied in chuckles; resting her chin on her arm. Taking a glance around, she noticed that Jiu-Ne, Saisei, Mantis, Koru and Shifu had all left; leaving her, Po, and a slow eating Viper alone. Po was still eating as well, but he seemed more distracted than slow. But nevertheless even with the panda's weight loss this past year, no matter the amount of muscle tone his arms and legs had built up, and no matter how ancient his actual soul was he was still Po. Something wasn't right; and the two females in the room with him took notice.

"So what's got you so glum?" asked Viper before Song could get a chance to ask.

"Huh? What do you mean?" rebutted the bear. He glanced at them both, but quickly returned to his plate.

"I mean you look depressed. Like something is pulling you down." she replied.

"Oh that, I'm just getting very sick and tired of the bureaucracy of this Imperial City. I miss the Valley of Peace…" he said looking at his remaining foodstuffs with distaste.

"Are you sure?" asked Song in a look of skepticism.

"Yeah! I'm sure as soon as we get the plan going and this whole Moeru thing is put to rest, I'll feel great." Po exclaimed in his usual smile; which was rare nowadays.

The girls glanced at each other.

"Oookayyy, if you say so." said the leopard as she stood, "Ready to go then?"

"Yeah." sighed the panda with a stand. The two left the kitchen to make their way to the front of the building. When they found the front doors, Po and Song found Tigress just outside holding the bundle of squirming joy. The three traversed the field in a calmness that seemed unnatural. It was not long ago when these three had a tension between them like no other. But it seemed as though time really does heal all wounds.

As they met the midpoint, they saw the building team working away. There were about ten workers in all, not including Koru. Some were hammering wooden planks together, a couple were sanding the wood that had already been put together, and others were hammering those sanded pieces into one giant piece. Koru could hardly be seen behind the pillars he kept adjusting in accordance to the instructions given by the commanding warthog on the other side.

"Did you have to order so many columns to be made? Tacky." mumbled Song. Po and Tigress glanced at each other.

"So another couple bites the dust, eh? Before you know it Shifu and Jiu-Ne will be-"

"Po, I swear to God if you finish that sentence there will be much pain in your future." interrupted Tigress.

"Hey. I'm just sayin! Somethings going on and I just want a little warning first. That way we can go ahead and move your room on the other side of the house. Ow!" laughed Po as he rubbed his arm where Song had struck him.

"Thank you, Song." said the striped one.

"My pleasure." replied the spotted one.

"Anyways, I would not get my hopes up yet Song." said Tigress.

"Even if I admit anything, which I'm not, why not?"

"Just trust me." stated Tigress who did not look away from the path ahead as they entered the forest.

Song became silent the entire rest of the way to the Imperial Palace. Tigress leaned on the wall just beside the doors as Tigress handed over Kicho. The leopardess watched as the panda and tiger entered the room. And as thankful as she was that she was not going in there in the immediate hour, Song could not help but sigh and groan when she leaned her head back against the cold stone wall.

Within the Imperial Palace minutes later…

"She committed suicide? How many more of your people have this tendency?" spat the general.

"You know I'm getting real sick and tired of this! We're warriors! Not everything is going to go perfectly well and if you have any idea how hard it's been this past year, you wouldn't have questioned us for a minute!" shouted Po.

"I seem to recall you being a Kung Fu history buff, Master Po! Our scribes will put these days in the archives for all to see! Are you telling me you do not wish such a lavish tale to be told throughout the ages of the days of the Great Dragon Warrior!" yelled out General Bai mockingly with his arms out high as if proclaiming a grand feat.

"Some things need to be kept out of those tales." said Po darkly "If readers knew everything, all the blood and pain that the heroes go through; they would be more disgusted than inspired."

"Ehhh, continuing on." the general dismissed Po's speech with the wave of his paw. The Emperor, who usually carries out such a command, was currently asleep in his chair. Most of the other generals were not there yet save for one, and he was trying desperately to organize the papers on the table.

Po sighed and sat down. It was Tigress' turn. The tiger stood up and crossed her arms.

"After that, one of our members went missing for a week. And before you even ask us why we did not know where he was, we did you prick. He spent all of his time here in the city; holed up in the Sage's Temple to meditate with another of our clan."

"Hm." General Bai scribbled on the current scroll he was using "And then?"

"And then…" Tigress looked at Po, who shrugged at her. She returned his shrug with another shrug before looking back at the general "And then nothing. Nothing significant happened between then and now."

"Aside from three of your clan betraying China." added General Bai smugly.

"Whatever makes you sleep at night; at least then you aren't bothering us. Now if you will excuse us, we have to get back to our daily lives. You know, preparing for Moeru's plans, trying to save China. You would not be interested in it. It isn't about delaying people who do good in this world, it is more about keeping China from falling under a tyrannical maniac." Po stood while he and Tigress began to walk towards the doors during her speech, but were stopped by guards.

"I'm afraid you will not be leaving today. Guards, arrest them." said Bai.

"You're serious." stated Tigress with her brow raised as the guards walked forward with acupuncture cuffs.

"This is a big mistake, Bai. Stop this now and no one will get hurt." said Po.

"I doubt highly if you will do anything to stop me." chuckled General Tsu No Bai "You see with my men taking your child to another part of the Palace, you will do whatever I say whenever I say it unless you wish for harm to come to him. And trust me, I am sure the Chinese citizens will be completely understanding when they see the sight of the Dragon Warrior and Master Tigress destroying their beloved Emperor's home."

"Whoa, bad, bad move buddy." growled Po.

"Your think we care what a bunch of locals think of us? As long as the Chinese are alive and healthy, this is what we care for even if they hate us." seethed Tigress.

"Oooh, I'm so glad to hear you say that!" said Tsu No Bai in an excited shout "Because you see everything you told me yesterday, I altered and sent as a message to every town and village in Southern China. You are currently wanted in half of the country."

"What did you tell them!" barked Po.

"About how you destroyed your home town, burned down a forest filled with thousands of Chinese citizens, ran the streets over with blood and destroyed over half of an entire city as big as Kyrokuyoru! Everyone will be hunting for you!" the panther began to laugh at the situation, but it was short lived when Tigress slammed a palm into his face, causing him to fly into the opposing wall and crushing many of his bones. At the same instant Po punched one guard in the stomach, elbowed another in the face, and threw a chair onto the general that was previously sitting down.

"Let's go find Kicho!" shouted Po as he ran towards the exit with Tigress quickly behind. Once they exited, they found Song sitting on the ground still holding Kicho.

"Kicho!" said Tigress breathlessly; she took her child in her arms and hugged him to her chest. At the same time Song stood up feeling very confused for good reason.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"What's going on? What's going on is we're-" Po stopped himself to kick two guards away that were attempting to tackle him "We're wanted all over China!"

"What!" shouted Song. Kicho had awakened from the commotion and began to cry.

"Come on, explain later! We have to get the others and leave; now!" the three ran as fast as they could without harming Kicho with Po taking out any opposing forces.

Once they left the courtyard and into the common streets, they found themselves in the higher class housing level.

"I will get Shifu, Tai Lung, Saisei and mother!" said Tigress as they began to split up.

"I'll get Koru!" yelled Song.

"I'll get Viper and Mantis!" said Po.

And the three split up, none of them noticing the dark clouds beginning to form on the horizon.

In the sky, miles away from the Imperial City

Hundreds of bats flew together as if they were a fog of collective power. Each bat held from three to five men; each with eyes red with mindlessness and maddening hatred. But in the front held the biggest bat that held the baddest warriors. Moeru stood with no joy in her features at all. Hikage was at her side with a vicious smile. Monkey sat behind them tending to the wounds of Crane, who lay unconscious and half dead. And behind them stood a figure dressed all in ebony, with the figure of a healthy virile woman.

"Come here, servant." said Moeru darkly.

"Me?" asked Monkey.

"No." she replied. And the black figure covered In a black shirt and pants stepped forward and knelt before the red lion.

"Yes, my lord?"

"Go down there and prepare my lover for my arrival; destroy the house."

The figure nodded and flung herself off the side of the bat, freefalling until a smaller bat swooped in to carry her the rest of the way down.

On the Top of a Mountain Between the City and the Army

A small hawk sat perched on the branch of a small tree sticking out of the rock wall of the mountain. It stared with disapproval at the army for a long time. But once one split off from the rest, the hawk took flight and dove for the Imperial City.