Well ladies and gents welcome back to this severely neglected story which I plan to rewrite and edit to breath some much needed life into it.

*cringes at writing abilities from 5 years ago*

Well anyway, here goes! Hope this turns out better than its previous incarnation. Wish me luck!

I own nothing apart from the OC

Chapter 1

The Thief

POV

?

The air was alive with celebration.

Local musicians filled the air with joyous music that made the villagers' hearts soar as they partied in the streets. Children ran wild, their squealed laughter annoucing their presence as they pulled kites of string and paper, fiery dragons and smiling pandas dancing in the wind as they played pretend, becoming the kung fu masters and heroes of old or, more recently, the fabled Dragon Warrior.

Complimenting it's aural accompaniment, the delicious aromas of feasts wafted through the chaotic air, the local vendors taking advantage of the festivities.

They were dotted along the packed streets on makeshift carts and stalls packed high with food and festive wares. From commemorative fans and figures to food items such as freshly picked or cooked foods; from fruits and vegetables to noodles and dumplings, there was even a baker's stall filled with sweet cakes and cookies dressed in brightly coloured frosting. All celebrating the festival thrown in the Dragon Warrior's honour after his miraculous victory over the infamous Tai Long. The day was glorious, spirits were high and worry was far from everyone's minds as they people awayhe Valley Of Peace partied the day away.

As I took it in I smiled gently, breathing in the mouth watering smells, my ears ringing from the glorious music and ecstatic voices and my eyes filled with the wonderful sights as the radiant sun warmed my being. If I was honest the atmosphere was perfect.

But not for the right reason.

With the chaotic streets, noise and others distractions it was the perfect time to rid myself of my hunger.

Hidden in the mouth of an alleyway I watched the jubilant display as a gut wrenching grumble rumbled through my midsection, a low groan slipping through my teeth in response. Following instinct I gently moved my cloak aside and pressed a tentative paw to my belly with a hiss. As my paw rested upon the coarse material of my makeshift bandages I felt the sting of my injury numb as my stomach settled into bearable silence. My gaze returned to the crammed streets, observing the peoples' movements carefully from my quiet view point. I watched as the crowd began to thicken perfectly, the perfect place to hide.

Adjusting my cloak to cover my features I quietly broke from my cover and faded into the crowd, careful to stay in the shadows and remain from sight as I expertly dodged the shorter people and continued to scan my surroundings. As I strode purposely through the turbulent waves of general public I saw the perfect target. The cart was relatively busy and small, stocked up with general goods such as bread, fruit and other essentials which would be missed. Behind it stood a single merchant who ran quickly back and forth between customers with a practised ease that young entrepreneurs could only dream of but from his flustered demeanors and red cheeks he was the perfect victim. The pig was somewhere between his fifties and sixties, young enough to work but close to the end of his run. He worked with the air of a retailer's confidence but from his flushed pink flesh, the wrinkles around his eyes and the sleek sheen of sweat on his forehead he had seen better days and exhaustion was setting in.

Exhaustion and distractions; the perfect combination for lapses in concentration.

Studying the stand, I quietly took position in a sidestreet across from the target. My nose twitched in interest as the mouth watering smell of fresh bread travelled my way. A sense of impatience flooded my mind as I licked my lips, my stomach grawled in response, the hunger pains attacking my body with a vengeance. I flexed my claws in anticipation and my tail flicked behind me in excitement, finally a meal. My mouth salivated agressively as I pulled the hood of my cloak forward, covering my face but not blocking my line of sight. Tensing my back muscles in preparation I was ready to pounce, my body quivering from hunger as I waited for the pig to make that much needed mistake. The seconds seemed to pass like hours as I watched intently, frustration setting in at the thought of my meal when finally it happened as the vendor left the stall. Awe and excitement sparkled in his tired eyes as he aproached someone off in my peripheral vision but my stomach hurt too much for me to care to glance their way.

With reckless abandon I took my chance, sprinting at full speed towards the unattended stall and swiping a loaf of bread and a ruby red apple, before quickly legging it down the street away from the crime scene.

Thinking myself in the clear I tried to fade into the crowd but a voice squealed loudly over the noise. "STOP THIEF!"

POV

Master Tigress

The sky was a clear azure and the sun was high and blazing above me as I waited for my fellow masters. My whiskers twitched in annoyance at their tardiness, the bright light forcing me to squint as a burning headache followed, further fueling my already bad mood. Beautiful as it might be I had better things to do then attend a stupid festival, but here I stood. As frustration began to twitch my tail and curl my claws the much awaited masters arrived sheepishly; Crane, Viper and Monkey quietly offered apologies whilst Mantis attempted to hide his presence in the shadow of his self proclaimed "bestie" the aforementioned ape. I gave them all a warning side glare as we continued to wait. My arms were folded in impatience before an angry growl left my throat when finally the last member of our little party arrived with not a care in the world.

The foolish panda waddled over to us with a dumb grin on his face. "Hi guys all ready for my festival?!"

I sent the larger warrior a venomous glare which caused him to bow his head and play with his fingers in regret. "You are late Po, now let's just get this over with and the return quickly, I have training to continue."

The Dragon Warrior nodded his head furiously before following my lead as I headed for the tall wooden gates of the courtyard. Accompanied by my fellow masters we left the shadow of the Jade Palace, excitement high for our day off. Approaching the gates I pushed them aside with little effort, ushering the warriors through before shutting them behind me, starting down the long stone staircase towards the town's centre. We walked in relative silence before the usual shout conversations began. Po, Monkey, Mantis and Crane began bickering over something stupid, becoming more animated with every word whilst Viper slithered quierly beside me, a happy smile on her face as she enjoyed the warmth of the sun on her scales. However amongst my comrades I stood straight, stoic and proud, focussed on just getting through this madness as quuckly as possible. As the laboured puffs of Po's breath began the town came within view. It was beautifully decorated with bright streamers and lanterns and was alive with the joyful movement of the people below. The happiness of the citizens warmed my heart but my uninterested façade remained.

Once we finally began our walk through the town we were surrounded by noise and excited faces, determined to interact with us, however we attempted to push on and greet the villagers as we walked past but the crowd only seemed to thicken, halting our progress immediately, much to my frustration. But whilst myself and the other members of the Furious Five attempted to disperse the sea of people, as per usual, Po was of no use. He was too busy making a fool of himself as he showed off to his fans who called out to the "Dragon Warrior".

I gave a sharp growl, my eyes locked on the chuddy hero. "Po."

The Dragon Warrior looked over at me as I gave him an unimpressed glare, his head once again returning to its bowed position. He grinned sheepishly, assisting in the dispersal of the masses before finally catching up with our pace and falling into step beside Crane. I rolled my eyes and lead the way to the market place. We mingled and greeted the people, entertaining the children and showing off our forms before we finally had a chance to breath, walking to the nearest stall. When got there we approached the food vendor who ran up to us with an excited grin, his wrinkled brow drenched in sweat and his eyes dull with fatigue.

"Oh! Master Tigress how may I help you?"

I nodded in greeting with a shallow smile and was about to begin our order when a cloaked figure sprinted past the stall, grapping something as they ran past. The clerk turned with an experienced grace, seeing the incident and stepping towards the culprit, but it was already too late.

"STOP THIEF!" The Pig shouted in dispair.

We stood there stunned before jumping into instinctual action, I gestured to my fellow masters; Crane taking to the air and began to persue the thief. The figure was quick and agile, sprinting down alleyways, jumping over carts and dodging people as they tried to get away, a sort of fluidity to their movements. It was obvious they had done this before.

"Monkey, Mantis!"

On my signal the mentioned masters spilt from our group and took a different route in hopes of cutting the criminal off from in front. The thief gained, speed dropping to all fours. I followed suit my spine like a spring as it propelled me forward gaining on the figure who suddenly jumped from a cart on to the rooftops in hopes of escaping us.

"He's on the roof!" Po exclaimed stating the obvious much to my chagrin.

I shot him a brief glare but brought my focus back to the target, jumping onto the rooftops, following the thief in a chase akin to cat and mouse. Once again my superior physic rocketed me forward, so I started gaining on them, literally an arms length away. Mactching their movements as they jumped from house to house, I watched as their movements slowly got sloppier, obviously tiring from the constant running.

"Viper!"

On my signal the snake master sped forward and tripped the unsuspecting target, who tumbled straight off the edge of the roof and onto the ground below with a hard thud and a distinctly feminine yelp. We followed the thief, jumping gently into the alley just as Crane, Monkey and Mantis arrived at the other end, blocking both exits. The figure shakely got to her feet, sliding into a something akin to a defensive position, obviously ready to fight. From her exposed paws I could tell that she was a feline of some sort with hooked claws and golden/orange fur, marked with faded black stripes and a creamy white undercoat, a mountain cat perhaps?

She growled low in her throat as she glanced back and forth between our split group, her face was completely covered so I couldn't see her expression but from her sharp movements I could sense her desperation. Seeing the hestiation in my comrades' faces I took the step forward, accepting her challenge, putting my right fist above my head and my left out infront of myself. She got into a similar position but with her paws open, a position meant for blocking, interesting. We circled eachother, my movements were slow and deliberate with her following opposite of me. I decided ti hold back to observe my opponent. Her form was shakey, her position sloppy outlining her as an obvious novice if not someone completely devoid of any Kung Fu knowlage.

Our silence was suddenly broken as the panting Dragon Warrior finally arrived, throwing a tired fist in the air. "Huh... GO... Ugh... TIGRESS!"

I rolled my eyes at Po's comment and sent a testing punch to my opponent who blocked it easily but took a shaky step back. Interested at the response Ient multiple strikes and kicks to the thief who tried valiantly to block but often got hit, proving a relatively basic knowledge of kung fu forms but only of the defensive kind. After learning what I could of the cat a deep frown made its way onto my face as it was obvious that this was particular match was going no where. Feeling sorry and bored of the thief, I tackled the fellow feline and threw her to the thief groaned as the wind was knocked from her and pinned her with one paw, I grabbed her by her shirt pulling her into a sitting position, ready to question her on her crime.

But as I pulled her up sharply, her hood fell back and I found myself staring into the face of another tiger.

The air was suddenly knocked from my lungs as I stared in shock at the other feline who stared at me in fear. The girl was fifteen or sixteen with a tired and skinny face that looked as though it hadn't seen food in weeks, her fur was more gold than orange and her stripes were faded and almost a brown colour instead of the usual black, her wide fearful eyes were a deep sea green that seemed to bore deep into mine, a strange sense if familiarity burying it's way into my mind.

There was a tense silence as the discovery was taken in, no one dared to breath.

The girl put up her paws in surrender, claws sheathed with her eyes full of confusion. "What? Never seen a golden tiger before?"

POV

?

My heart was beating a mile a minute as I gazed in fear at the kung fu masters before mewho stared just as intending at me with a mixture of confusion and interest. Unable to continue to look into their judgemental eyes I looked up at the older tiger, Master Tigress, in confusion. What's she staring for? Why does she look so confused?

With a strangled breath Master Tigress let go of her iron grip around my shirt and took a cautious step back as the rest of the furious five and the Dragon Warrior gathered around me. Once again my heart began to race as I sat surrounded by some of the greatest fighters in all of China, making me feel cornered and claustraphobic. I felt nausia build up in my gut, my eyes blurring at the peripherals as panic set in.

But finally a voice pierced the silence, freeing Ms from my impending panic attack. "No, actually we haven't and we also have never seen another tiger in the Valley of Peace apart from Tigress."

I looked towards the source of the voice, a fluffy mass of panda staring at me with wonder, I knew him as the Dragon Warrior, he didnt look anything like what I had imagined feom the rumours and stories I had heard but seeing him now I felt far from afraid. Feeling my courage grow within my gut I gently got off the ground, facing the masters at full height. As I adjusted my stance a burning pain shot through my left arm which had twisted unnaturally when Master Tigress had thrown me to the ground. I craddled my injured limb gingerly, taking a cautious step from the warriors as they looked at me with grave and apologetic expressions.

The Dragon Warrior held out a paw, a sad frown on his face. "Sorry kid but we'll have to take you in for stealing."

A spike of panic shot through me at his words making me wince in terror. Following gut instinct I tried to adopt a fighting stance but only succeded in falling onto my paws and knees, jarring my injured arm with a cry. Tears welled up in my eyes as I tried to push myself up with my good arm but I was suddenly assaulted by a wave of hunger pains. They ripped through me like a heated chain, tearinf me apart from the inside out. In response my wounds began to flare in the worst bout of pain I had experience since gaining them. Thats when I noticed the burning warmth on my mid section, forcing myself back onto my knees I presses my good paw to my belly, pulling it away to reveal the crimson presence of the blood from my reopened wounds. I heard the paniced cries of the warriors as a groan of pain forced its way from my mouth. My eyes began to blur, huge spots of black covering my vision. In a drunken haze I looked up at the Dragon Warrior and his comrades as they ran to my side, I could hear them call out to me in worry and alarm, trying to look me over when I felt a gentle weight on my back. I heard ther voices was though they were underwater, calling to me, asking if I was okay, concern flooding their words but I couldn't answer. I tried to focus on the pressure on my back but it was no use as I collapsed into someone's arms.

And then the world went black.

POV

Tigress

The girl winced as Po announced that she was to come with us, I couldn't tell if she had winced from her obvious injuries or from the terror in her expression but within her emerald eyes there was an undeniable look of panic. My muscles naturally tensed as the "golden tigress" attempted to adopt a frenzied ready stance but my caution became concern as the teen collapsed onto her hands and knees groaning. We all took a worried step forward when the younger feline pushed herself to her knees, a paw against her stomach which she pulled away to show a brilliant crimson liquid covering her palm. It was then that an all too familiar scent filled my nostrils, making my stomach flip in panic at its coppery stench.

It was her own blood, which now soaked the front of her once green and gold shirt.

We all jumped forward, startled by the turn of events as she started moaing in pain, looking up at us with eyes drunk with agony, clutching at her stomach obviously trying to stop the flow of blood. Allowing my companions to try and look her over, I knelt beside her and placed my paw gently on her back, trying to impart some comfort to the injured teen but it seemed to have little effect as her head bobbed arounding if a fight for consciousness. My paw seemed to weigh heavily on the girl but when I concentrated on my paw I suddenly realised why. I gasped in shock at the feeling below my palm, the sharp feeling of her vertebrae pressing to my paw pads through her skin and clothes as she shook in pain on the ground beside me. Her condition was far worse then what I had previously thought.

Suddenly she collapsed, her eyes rolled into the back of her head and was caught by Po just before she hit the ground. We all exchanged worried glances as we looked at the unconscious girl. Po recoiled in horror as her blood stained his snow white front, the bleeding only increasing in her currant state.

My eyes snapped to her cloak, following my instincts as I barked orders to the other masters. "Po hold her up, I'm going to take her cloak off."

Po did as he was told and I gently removed the ties of the cloak baring the girl's torso to reveal her shirt, around which there were different colours of cloth, obviously make shift bandages, which covered her midsection.

"Okay Viper you'er going to remove those old bandages and we are going to rewrap her wounds with this cloak. Monkey, help Po by supporting her legs and hips."

The masters did as they were told, Viper gently unwrapping the cloths to reveal the reopened gorges in the tiger's stomach. They were uneven and only partially healed, the red skin suggesting infection, as blood wept from the jagged edges. They seemed almost like... Claw marks. Pulling my eyes from the golden tigress' wounds, I tore up the cloak into long lengths of cloth, handing them to Viper who wrapped and tied them firmly around the young feline's stomach. With our basic medical assistance complete, I stood and gestured my companions to follow my movements, my eyes hard and my heart pained with worry.

"We should get her to Master Shifu, he will know what to do," The others nodded and stood up. "Crane fly ahead and warn Master, we will follow after you."

Crane gave a nod and rocketed into the sky as we made our way through the town sprinting with the unconcious tiger gently tucked into Po's arms. My eyes didn't leave the casualty, keeping me in step with Po, keeping an eye on the young tigress as she groaned in her unconscious state, her face scrunched up in pain and her paws unconsciously clutching at her stomach.

My brow was furrowed in concern. I hope she'll be okay...

A/N-Well Guys I hope this is better than the original and that it does the KFP series justice :)