"And I thought Shifu was the worst at slamming doors open...." Tai Lung complained wearily. 

"Song! What are you doing here?!" Po exclaimed, getting up and running over to give her a hug. 

"If I see one more Dragon Chalice being snuck under that parasol-" Tigress started threatening, but Po cast her a look and reminded her that Song's thieving days were over. 

"You're all out of breath! Are you okay?" Po asked in worry as he held Song by the shoulders. 

The clouded leopard heaved another gasp of air and leaned on her parasol for a second before straightening up to talk to Po. "Well...for starters..." she gasped. "Your friends are...chasing me." 

Right on cue, the Furious Five, including an intently focused Shifu, ran up to the training hall doors, only to stop short upon seeing Po holding onto Song and Tigress guarding Tai Lung in the background. 

Understandably confused, Viper blurted out, "What in the world is going on over here?!"

"It's...a rather long story," Tai Lung piped up from the back. "We'll explain it later once this Song girl gets everything off her chest."

"Su's back," Song immediately said. "My troupe's old leader, I mean. She's back and she's not happy. She scattered my troupe! She injured a few! She almost killed me!" 

"Where is she now?" Po asked quickly. 

"On her way here. She's after you, Po. After the valley." 

"Well that shouldn't be too hard," Crane noted. "She was pretty easy to beat the last time." 

Song shook her head. "This time is different," she explained. "She's armed with allies from the Flores Seas...The Moonlight Strikers." 

The masters all gasped in horror.

"Okay. I immediately take back what I said," Crane commented. 

"And they are...?" Tai Lung prompted with a look of confusion. 

Everyone turned to look at him in surprise. "You've never heard of the Moonlight Strikers?!" Mantis exclaimed. "They're the most feared female warrior group in the east!" 

"Forgive me for being out of the loop, but I was in prison for 20 years, remember?"

"He was?!" Song exclaimed, giving Tai Lung a suspicious look. 

"It's a long story," Po repeated. "Do you know what direction the Strikers will be coming in?"

"I'm not sure," Song admitted. "The last I saw of them, they were going  south, but I came in here from the east side of the valley." 

Having calmed down slightly from seeing Tai Lung resting in the training hall, Shifu kept Song's words in mind and said, "It's possible they may come over the mountain and launch an ambush. The Strikers are very good at air raids from what I understand. Apparently their cloaks are perfect substitute parachutes." 

"Shall we go ask for the aid of extra masters?" Tigress asked, still keeping an eye on Tai Lung. 

"Yes, I'll have Crane fetch them."

Crane bowed and went to fly off, only for Tai Lung to raise his voice and call out, "Hold on a second there. You might want to rethink that plan." 

"Hold on?!" Song cried. "I don't think you understand the severity of the situation! These women are an army of death! They rob pirates and vanish without a trace! They set fire to water! They've devastated towns! Massacred armies! They're invincible!" 

"Not quite," Tai Lung countered calmly. "You said they're from the Flores Seas, right?" 

"Yes." 

"Have they ever come to China before?"

The masters all looked at each other, thinking the thought over. 

"Well...no. Not that I've ever heard," Monkey admitted. 

"Exactly. I've personally never been to Indonesia, but the one thing I do know is that it's HOT. Their coldest recorded temperature feels like a slightly cool breeze on a warm summer day. They have never seen or felt snow or ice. Which means that that if they're here, they won't be trekking through melting spring mountains. Not if they want an ambush." 

"Which means they'd be coming up from the southern end since it's warmer down there!" Po realized. 

"Right. If they've never experienced cold, they'll be to ill-equipped to fight well." 

"Then they must have just been up north to meet with Su and attack us!" Song added. "And they'll probably stop for supplies on the way down and around." 

"I'd say if you want to fight these warriors, your best blockade would be on the southern bridges," the snow leopard suggested. "And you'll want masters good at maneuvering through snow and ice." 

"But it's spring," Crane pointed out. "Everything's melting." 

"Then we'll have to make it cold enough to beat them back."

"Oh! I got it!" Mantis announced. "If you have big enough ice blocks, you can grind them to make snow. I did that to cool down a fever once." 

"And you could make something to create icy winds!" Po added. 

Crane got into a position to fly off. "Should I get going then?" he asked Shifu. 

"Yes, start with the Stice masters up by the mountain pass. We'll need as much help as possible," Shifu commanded. 

"I'll go with him, Viper offered, hopping onto the avian's back.

"If you go too, I don't want any last second date pit stops," Master Shifu warned. 

"That was only one time," Viper assured him. "And it was after a routine area check. This is an emergency. We'll be back quickly."

"I certainly hope so." 

The two then took off, soon disappearing into the night air. Master Shifu turned back towards his students and said, "Everyone else follow me so that we can make a plan of action."

"What about Tai Lung?" Tigress asked. 

Shifu paused and turned to look at his former student. He furrowed his brow in thought before finally deciding that Tai Lung could help them. 

"I'll decide what to do with him after the threat is gone," he added and then he and the rest of the masters left the training hall. 

Tai Lung had to wait a second so that he could recover his strength from his fight with Po. Being exhausted and sapped of his strength , he rested against the side of the training hall and pretty quickly fell asleep. It wasn't until an hour passed that Tigress was sent to check on him and wound up rousing him from his slumber. When the two locked eyes, Tai Lung could tell she was less than happy. 

"We said you could rest, not sleep," Tigress scolded.

Tai Lung yawned. "I'm rested aren't I?" he asked her. "I'm all ready for a round two. Just not with the Dragon Warrior." 

"Calling Po by his title isn't going to endear  you to us, so don't bother." 

"No, of course not. I never expected to be forgiven on the spot. But it seems I could endear myself to you since we have the same sense of humor. 

He cuffed the bottom of her chin, only to get his paw slapped away. 

"Do I look in the mood for jokes?!" Tigress threatened. 

Tai Lung shrugged. "Suit yourself," he said. "But if you're ever in the mood to laugh, let Zeng give me a message." 

 He then turned and started walking out of the training hall. Tigress rolled her eyes and followed after him to get back to Shifu's briefing. 

Snob.... she thought. 

THE END

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