Tai Lung could feel the scorching heat begin to singe the furs on his back, but by the time it completely crashed to the floor, he was just ahead of the burning rubble. The smoke blew rapidly towards the back of the house and began to engulf the snow leopard, blinding him and filling his lungs. Tai Lung could feel the heat burning him outside and in, and he braced against the pain as best he could. If he could keep on just a little longer, then he'd be out. 

Tai Lung tried to cough more smoke out of his lungs and desperately started searching for any fresh air. At last, he  came to the back of the house which had caught flame and was beginning to crack under the fiery disaster. Gathering what was left of his strength, the snow leopard leaped at the back wall and gave it a mighty kick. The structure almost immediately crumbled under the pressure and Tai Lung found himself sailing out of the house. He landed on soft dirt and rolled over a little to stay away from the flame-engulfed house where he immediately began coughing and gasping for fresh air. 

That was a little close for comfort, he thought as he took in more air. I think when I get my energy back, it'll be better if I vanish. We don't need anymore houses catching on fire. 

Tai Lung wasn't tired in anyway. He had run that fast before and could keep up his stamina for a long period of time. However, burning wood and suffocating smoke can knock the wind out of even the toughest of masters, and the stings have no prejudice against the type of person in their vicinity. The snow leopard began to steady his breathing and felt the relief of fresh air enter his lungs. Once he had rested himself, he moved to get to his feet and leave before anymore trouble came up. 

"Are you okay?" 

Startled, Tai Lung looked up to see who the voice belonged to. Not even a foot off the ground stood Mantis giving him a look that seemed mixed with concern and suspicion. Tai Lung resisted the urge to scoot backwards and simply started getting to his knees. 

"Um...yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," he told the master as his arms shook trying to aid him. (No doubt it was from the lack of air in the building). "I'm sorry I disturbed everyone. I'll get going." 

As he got to his feet, Mantis said, "Yeah, not going to happen." 

Tai Lung looked at him, then looked around as if expecting someone else to pop out from the trees in front of him. "Look, I apologize for being a disturbance. I only meant to have a civil-"

"Shifu's on the look-out for you," Mantis continued, interrupting him mid-explanation. "And not in a good way." 

Tai Lung glanced back towards the top of the Jade Palace and frowned. "I figured as much," he agreed. 

"I'll explain more on the way, but if you don't want to be Wuxi Fingered again, I suggest you follow me." 

He then proceeded to walk into the forest and Tai Lung wasted no time following after him. He wasn't sure if it was a trap or not, but Mantis' presence indicated the remaining masters were close by and Tai Lung figured that any direction was a death trap anyway. Plus he wasn't in the mood for another villager to to try and subdue him by accidentally setting another house on fire.

Mantis led the former master through the bamboo forest, far beyond the panicked cries of the villagers. 

"Won't your friends miss you?" Tai Lung asked. "Don't they need help back there?"

"Crane and Monkey are taking care of the fire while the others are interviewing the villagers to find out what happened. They won't notice." 

The two walked a little farther away before Tai Lung spoke back up with, "Why are you helping me?"

"Shifu woke us up out of a sound sleep saying that you were back and that you vanished after he caught you fighting Tigress. We thought that was a little odd since you're not the kind of guy to back down from more than one challenge. But we came down anyway and that's when we saw the fire, so then we asked everyone what happened and tried to find actual eye witnesses....And after all that, I just came to the conclusion that there was a big understanding." 

Tai Lung finally started to relax a little and said, "Thanks. 

"Well, we're not out of trouble just yet" Mantis told him. "Keep on walking." 

Tai Lung sighed. "I could have avoided all this if I had just talked to Shifu," he grumbled. "Though then again, maybe I would have gotten the same result." 

"Why were you fighting Tigress?" 

"I accidentally spooked her last night because I thought 'Well, if I don't act threatening, maybe she won't go on the offensive.' So I decided I'd apologize and explain why I'm back."

"I'm guessing that didn't go over well?" Mantis joked. 

Tai Lung sighed again. "Maybe I'm rusty on my people skills," he admitted. "But I thought casual talk would help. Unless you have any other ideas about how to address people you once almost killed?"

Mantis thought for a second. "Well normally if ever we're talking to reformed criminals, there's a jail door separating us," he commented.

Tai Lung frowned. "I'm not walking a week and a half to Chorh Gom when the valley's much closer," he said. "So...sorry." 

The two walked on for a good while before they approached the base of a mountain with a narrow path leading upwards. Mantis made his way up with Tai Lung in tow until they came across a little cave.

"Wait in here. I'll be back," Mantis commanded. He then walked down the slope and disappeared, most likely going back the way he came. Tai Lung stood at the mouth of the cave with nervous flutters. He was still a little anxious about possibly being turned over to Chorh Gom without a chance to explain himself, but he hoped that things would turn out well. Mantis had listened to his side of the story, so maybe he was really giving him another chance. Tai Lung walked inside the cave and sat down against a rock to wait. He decided to sink beneath it and lay flat on his back, just in case. He then proceeded to lay there for a minute or so. Then five. Then fifteen. When almost forty-five minutes had passed by, he suddenly heard the sound of very light footsteps coming towards the cave. Then they stopped. 

"Oh please tell me he didn't move!" Mantis exclaimed.

 "Well I wouldn't blame him," came a new voice. (Viper, he remembered). "If I was trying to apologize for criminal behavior to the people I hurt, I'd be skeptical too." 

Feeling that the masters were not here to arrest him, Tai Lung sat up to look at them, giving them a start. 

"A guy can't lay down for a moment?" he asked. 

The masters came into the cave, accompanied by Crane as well, and after a few timid greetings, explained that they would hide Tai Lung until Shifu was calmer. 

"I'm sure Po wouldn't mind helping you either," Crane added. "But he gets into so much trouble with Shifu as it is that we figured better not to involve him."

In spite of the circumstances, Tai Lung chuckled. "That sounds like an interesting story," he remarked. "I'll have to ask about it later." 

"We'll sneak you food and supplies," Mantis told him. "But you can't go anywhere unless some random visitor's up here to explore. This way no one calls the Chorh Gom guards." 

"Okay."

The masters then turned to leave the cave, not wanting Shifu to get suspicious, only for Tai LUng to call out, "Hey. Thanks. You didn't have to help me." 

Mantis gave him a shrug and smiled. "Well, we wanted to. Consider this a 'Welcome back' gift. Provided you don't go behind our backs and destroy more stuff." 

"Don't worry, I won't." 

The masters then made their way back down the mountain to begin their very long trek back to the Jade Palace, leaving Tai Lung to rest from the excitement and terror of the day. 

THE END

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