Never Back Down

Chapter Four

A/N: Working with all your characters is quite a challenge that I enjoy quite a bit. I can't wait till I get down into the main bulk of the story as I have so much to work with. Most characters have a really good past life that really does define them and makes them unique.

Ember Kalan is owned by miggzzz
Aki is owned by Yuki the Tiger
Chan-Juan is owned by Sithlord8665
Ai Laterose is owned by thundra501
Sye is owned by KristenTheKittyKat
Leo is owned by me (Bloodycobra)
The wolf which hasn't been named is owned by (MindAssassin)

That's how many characters I have to work with, quite a handful but fun. I believe I still have one more to add in the mix but need to find a way of introducing as the character is rather strange for me.

I'm glad you lot are enjoying the story so far. This will be the last chapter of the trials which will enable me to get stuck into the main training of all your characters.

Mantis was standing on the edge next to the field of fiery death overseeing the final stages of the speed and agility test. Only one participant got passed Monkey's mean throwing arm and Mantis was engrossed watching the orange vixen elegantly back flip over the spitting fires.

As Ember touched back down on the field she heard a hissing noise directly under and quickly rolled to her side narrowly avoiding another flame spike. The orange vixen started to feel fatigue building up in her muscles as the dull ache began.

Mantis observed that the vixen was becoming slower and that fatigue was setting in and was ready to stop the test when he deemed the canine to be exhausted. Mantis watched as the vixen's white tank top was singed and had black soot staining the piece of clothing. Mantis also noticed the unorthodox shorts that the vixen was wearing; Shorts were allowed but not usually seen around, the white shorts that stopped at her lower thigh wasn't singed but had a lot of black soot from where she was rolling around.

Ember felt the heat erupt very close to her tail as she rolled out of the way again. She knew that she wouldn't be able to keep up as time went on. Deciding it would be best not to be burnt Ember went to jump off the field of fiery death but was caught out by an unexpected blast of fire.

Mantis watched as the vixen moved quickly but not quick enough to avoid being hit by the flame. As Ember landed she quickly checked herself over and noticed her tank top slightly on fire using her paws she quickly smothered the flame out.

Ember quickly looked around to see the green insect turn the field of fiery death off, Ember thought she had failed the final test.

"So what now?" Mantis looked at state of the vixen which was covered in black soot.

"I know what you're thinking Ember and to be honest after five minutes you had passed in my books. I just wanted to see how long you would last." Ember was shocked to find out that Mantis was playing around.

"I could've got hurt." Ember kept her voice quiet not wanting to shout and ruin her chances.

"PFFF. You wouldn't have got hurt because I'm here." Mantis hopped down and scuttled across towards the vixen.

"And I couldn't have my student get hurt before her first full day could I?" Mantis smiled at his statement he had already made his mind up after she had passed the first test and this test just confirmed it.

"Really? Thank you so much! So what do we do now...master?" Mantis smiled at addition of his student calling him master.

Mantis shrugged before thinking. "We could go watch the others and see how they are getting on. I only want one student."

The vixen smiled and nodded. "You only wanted one student?"

The small insect and the vixen made their way out of the training hall and started slowly descend the stairs to the main arena.

"Yeah, allows me to focus on only on you. I prefer teaching one-to-one." Ember nodded as it made sense.

Crane had the same idea of letting Chan-Juan and Ai look around and sees if the other masters had found their students yet. Crane decided to stick around with Viper to help her find a student.

As Mantis got closer to the bottom of the steps he noticed two felines on an intercept path and thought he recognised them. The first feline that looked part tiger and part lion was wearing a light cerulean vest that had a yin and yang pattern etched onto along with matching coloured training pants.

"Master Mantis. Master Crane sent us to see if any of the other masters had picked their students." Ai stepped forward and bowed towards the insect and noticed the vixen standing behind him.

"I thought I recognised you...its erm Ai right?" The hybrid tiger nodded.

"Cool, and you must be Chan then." The dark furred panther also bowed towards the insect.

"Crane must either be brave or rather stupid to train two students at once." Mantis chuckled at the irony of calling the avian master stupid.

"Anyway let me introduce you to Ember, She'll be under my tutelage." Mantis directed the felines' attention towards the vixen that was standing there rather quiet.

Ai smiled and extended a paw. "I'm Ai Laterose but you can call me Ai."

Ember smiled back and shook Ai's paw. "I'm Ember Kalan but people call me Ember."

Chan-Juan was the next to approach the vixen. Ember noticed the red floral pattern on the purple vest that the panther was wearing along with normal black training pants.

"I'm Chan-Juan but you may call me Chan." Chan formally bowed to the vixen.

Ember followed suit by bowing as well "Nice to meet you Chan, I'm Ember."

Mantis heard the main gate open and saw Tigress walk through with a devilish grin plastered across her muzzle.

"I know that look anywhere! Let's go see what Tigress is up to whatever she is up to it isn't going to be pretty." The two felines and the vixen nodded and followed the insect master over towards the strength test.

Mantis watched the two felines behind Tigress; A white female tiger and a orange striped male tiger. The white tiger was wearing a white training vest that clung to the feline's fur due to the sweat, the black training pants also clung to her fur as the material was soaked with sweat.

The second feline looked the worse out of all of them. The first thing Mantis noticed was the huge swelling under his left eye. The next noticeable thing was the massive bruising along the arms of the feline that Manti's deduced as defensive marks. The insect then noticed how clean and perfect the orange feline's clothes were. His black tank top didn't have a single drop of sweat on it nor did his white training pants.

Leo could feel people staring at him and it made him feel rather humiliated given the condition he was in. Leo followed Tigress until she stopped at a row of cinderblocks and looked at him expectantly.

"10 push ups with one of those on your back." Leo looked at the cinderblocks and could tell that they looked to weigh around 15 stone.

"10? I doubt I'll be able to do five given my condition." Tigress narrowed her eyes at Leo while Aki laughed in the background remembering how easy it was for her.

"With enough determination you could do it and more...now enough excuses and get into position." Tigress pointed to the floor.

Leo groaned in a disobeying manner but after the stern look from Tigress he placed himself in a press up position. Leo had no issue supporting his own weight he used to exercise daily but stopped after the fights. The orange feline watched as Tigress picked up the cinderblock like it weighed a feather and placed it on his back. As soon as Tigress let go Leo felt like a rhino had sat on him.

Aki watched the orange feline's muscles start to shake under the pressure put under them, she expected him to fail within minutes considering his condition.

"How much does that weigh?" Tigress growled at the complaining feline.

"Shut up and start unless you want my weight to lift as well." Leo huffed and lowered himself down with ease put lifting himself up was the problem. As Leo put pressure into his muscles he felt the blood rush into his bruise and felt the agonizing pain as he completed his first rep.

After three more reps Leo felt as if his arms would drop off. The pain was unbearable. "10...seriously...*huff*"

Leo could barely complain as the pain started to spread to his chest. Tigress watched emotionless and considered pushing him down with her foot to help him along. Aki wanted to laugh at how pathetic the display was; not only did she manage the task without breaking a sweat she did eleven more than she was supposed to while the feline in front her couldn't do four without whining.

Leo lowered and raised himself three more times this time he felt a liquid trickle down his bruised eye and start to drip onto the floor. Mantis noticed the blood coming from the feline's eye and sped under him and wiped the blood from his vision.

"Th-thanks *huff* but I was fine." Tigress shook her head at his pride getting in the way.

Leo started to push himself to the breaking point it was now or never, in a rush Leo pushed flat out and quickly lowered and raised himself three times.

"There...done." Leo lowered himself to the floor and let himself rest on the cold floor of the arena and closed his eyes as he relaxed. Tigress removed the cinderblock on his back and moved towards the gate.

"Good, now for the next test." Tigress could hear Leo groan about a break but didn't listen.

Mantis watched in amusement as Tigress pushed the orange feline to his breaking point and kept pushing.

"Aki get Leo up and moving." Tigress watched as the white feline nodded and walked over to the downed tiger and grabbed by the neck fur and yanked him to his feet.

Leo felt humiliated again in front of everyone and swiped Aki's paws away while snarling at the white feline.

"You could've just given me your paw." Aki snorted and walked off.

Leo followed the white feline out of the main gate of the arena where Tigress was waiting. Leo looked down the thousand steps down into the valley and noticed a figure climbing the stairs.

"Do as many laps as possible in under ten minutes. Okay. One lap is a pass and anything above is also a pass." Leo sighed at the idea of more physical exertion.

"Your time started ten seconds ago." Tigress grinned at the lack of warning.

Leo groaned and started to run down the stairs. As he charged down the stairs the figure that was climbing the stairs got larger and larger until the feline could recognise the mysterious animal as a grey wolf. As he Leo got closer the canine seemed to stare at him and move as far away from the feline. Leo raced past the canine at break neck speed so he didn't get a good look at the wolf.

After a three minutes Leo reached the bottom of the stairs and started to charge back up but slower as climbing the stairs was much more taxing on his stamina. After a minute of running up the stairs Leo spotted the canine again and guessed they were half way up the stairs. Leo felt slightly dizzy and thought he was going to be sick at any moment.

The wolf heard panting coming from behind him and turned around to see the same feline that sped past him charge back up the stairs. Looking at the feline at first glance would show that the feline looked good other than the obvious swollen eye and bruises but the wolf noticed how his breathing was laboured, the slight twitch on the facial features that indicated the feline was in pain. But the most obvious for the wolf was how his body weight would shift as he climbed the stairs. The grey canine estimated in his mind three more minutes until the feline vomited and passed out through dehydration and overexertion.

Leo bolted past the canine but noted how the canine stopped and moved away from him but that was the least of the feline's problems as his vision started to become blurry and a brain wracking headache developed. After two more minutes of running he reached the top stairs and placed his paws on his thigh while he tried to regain his breath.

"I'm *huff* done." Leo could only see a large orange blur and a white blur that seemed to mumble something.

Leo shook his head and rubbed his eyes trying to regain his vision but to no avail. Tigress watched as Leo started convulsing and run over to the edge where he started to be vomiting after ten seconds of vomiting Leo collapsed on the floor out cold.

"Go get Viper!" Mantis quickly nodded and bolted off using his speed he managed to reach Viper within seconds.

"Viper, a feline has just passed out he needs help." Viper didn't need to be told twice and instantly moved towards the thousand steps and instantly recognised said feline from last night.

"Tigress you had him do the trials in that condition!" Viper was shocked at her friend's careless regard to the unconscious feline's health.

"He was fine Viper he carried that box up that stairs by himself." Tigress pointed to the large box that looked rather heavy.

"What happened precisely so I can diagnose?" Viper heard soft padded footfalls followed by a clearing of a throat.

The large grey wolf in a long grey robe stood there slightly nervous but felt at ease when he noticed he was correct in his assumption. As he moved closer but still at a respectful distance just in case he looked the young male feline over.

"He passed out from overexertion and dehydration; you also may want to have ribs checked as he had troubles breathing on the way down and back up from what I observed." The large grey wolf ignored the stares he was getting from the group and kept staring at Leo like he was going to attack him at any moment.

"How do you know all this?" Viper was puzzled how could he know about what caused the feline to pass out.

The large wolf then looked up and down the green serpent observing every little detail he could see. "Just like I know you are a fond ribbon dancer but haven't had time so your form would be sloppy and now and again slice yourself with the material like that cut that has faded slightly suggests."

Viper was shocked not only was the wolf spot on. How he managed to see the cut let baffled Viper none of her friends had noticed and for the wolf to deduce that she like ribbon dancing off of a cut confused the serpent.

Viper remembered about the unconscious feline next to her and had a few palace staff carry Leo to the medical ward and treat him for dehydration. Viper in the meantime decided to talk to the grey canine and see what she could find out.

"May I ask what your name is?" the wolf seemed startled but calmed down once he noticed Viper.

"Zongxian" The grey wolf voice was monotonous and sounded colder than Tigress when she was pissed off.

"So what brought you here?" Zongxian looked over to the horizon and watched as the sun retreated behind the mountains leaving a blood red sky.

"I wanted to try something new." The grey wolf watched the serpent in the corner of his eye watching every motion and expression like his life depended on it.

"Change is good, keeps life interesting." Viper tried to read the wolf's facial expressions but the blank look the wolf had made reading Tigress easier.

"I suppose but change can also be bad as it brings the person out of their comfort zone." Zongxian kept staring at the sunset and admired its beauty as it left a red tint in the sky.

A loud smash was heard and Zongxian braced himself and got into his own defensive stance looking around for the source. Once he spotted the source his whole body tensed up further.

"Sorry my bad." Po accidently fell onto the crate that was left there.

Viper noticed how the wolf tensed up when he laid eyes on Po. The green serpent couldn't help but think that the wolf's erratic behaviour was interesting. Deciding to test something she asked Po to give her a few minutes alone with the wolf. The large panda shrugged before leaving mumbling about a crate and how they are out to get him.

Once the wolf noticed Po was gone and realised it was just him and Viper he relaxed again.

"Can I ask you something that might be personal?" Zongxian thought for a second and decided he was fine with it.

"Do you have something against males? I saw how you acted around the feline and Po and put two and two together...you don't have to answer if you don't want to." Viper looked into the wolf's eyes searching for something.

Zongxian found Viper's voice to be soothing and sincere like she actually cared about him even though they just met.

"I don't wish to discuss it. I don't know you well enough." Viper nodded and smiled sweetly.

"Would you like to take the trials before we stop them?" Zongxian nodded slowly and followed the green tree snake into the main arena.

Viper had set up a sparring session against a vixen much to the relief of the grey wolf. Zongxian stood in the ring with the golden vixen. Zongxian decided wearing his robe during a sparring session wasn't practical and removed revealing a simple and worn grey vest along with faded black training pants.

Zongxian studied his opponent for a short moment waiting for a tell tale muscle to flex or a facial expression to give away the vixen's next move. After a half a minute of staring the vixen became impatient and decided to attack first, Zongxian noticed the vixen's left leg tense indicating that the golden canine was going to attempt kick with that leg.

As the vixen launched the attack with all the power and speed she could muster she watched as her leg was stopped by a large grey paw. Next thing the vixen knew she was hitting the floor as the leg that was supporting her was swept away.

Viper watched closely and was impressed at the judgement of the wolf. Not only did he stop the vixen's attack but he managed to counter attack instantly like it was all planned. The green serpent kept watching as the grey wolf managed to block every strike and counter each time with ease.

Deciding that this was a one sided fight Viper stopped the sparring session and knew she had found her student.

Each master found the trials to be very helpful. Crane had found Ai and Chan-Juan and took them both on as students. Monkey decided to take Sye on and see how things would go with him teaching. Ember had successful impressed Mantis and became his student and Tigress discovered Aki's strength and discipline while also discovering Leo's courage and determination plus his bad attitude. The only master who hadn't found anyone was Po and he was slightly panicking about what he was going to do.

A/N: That's it. Trials are done, now I can get into the main part of the story and work on the interaction between the characters plus MONTAGES! Everyone knows if you want to go from just a beginner to a pro you're going to need a montage :D Anyway I can't wait to get each of the characters training. I'll have to set up special training regimes for each of them.