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The noise was deafening. It shook the temple like it was made of cardboard, rattling windows, shaking doors and knocking one prized vase off its place on the display shelf above the central hearth. The blinding light that followed managed to penetrate even the thickest curtains and threw razor-sharp shadows on the floor. In his room, Sensei clutched at his bedside table for support. He could hear his students crying out in alarm as their world became filled with noise and confusion. At long last the temple became still and Sensei relinquished his grip on the table. He made his way slowly to the door, half crouched in expectation of another quake, his eyes still dazed by the mysterious light. His students were joining him now. First, the two eldest: Bo, a brown bear who towered over everyone, with thick black hair and a forest of stubble covering his dark face, and; Ying, a panda from the neighbouring town, short and round with bright eyes the colour of fresh grass. Right behind them were the two youngest: Lee, her lean tigress body tense and ready, and; Kovu the wolf, eyes wide in excitement. Master Lao silenced them with a wave of his hand. "Is everyone alright?" he asked. "What the hell was that?" whispered Ying, clearly still in shock. Master Lao shook his head slowly. "I don't know," he admitted. "But that's not important now. What is important is making sure that no one was hurt." Master Lao could see that they were all pretty shaken up, but he wasn't about to let things fall apart just yet. He motioned to each of them with a slender finger. "Bo, you and Kovu go outside and check on the sentries, make sure that they are all okay. Ying, take Lee and inspect the servants' quarters." They split up immediately, each hurrying to their respective assignments. Before they left, Master Lao called: "Meet in the library when you are done." They all shared a worried look before parting ways. Master Lao sighed. For some strange reason, a sudden wave of dread had come over him. He pushed it aside angrily and made his way to the library.

His fears must have been misplaced, for there seemed to be no real cause for concern. Whatever it was that had happened, it hadn't caused any damage apart from a few broken plates and a few more rattled nerves. By the time they all reconvened in the library, things had calmed down considerably. The library was one of the oldest parts of the temple, being one of the few remaining buildings of the original model. It was a large, airy room whose walls were hidden behind vast shelves filled to the brim with scrolls covering nearly every topic imaginable. "Well," said Master Lao once they had all sat down. "I take it, then, that everything is as it should be?" His students nodded in collective agreement. "Ying, Lee, how were the servants?" "A little shaken," said Lee. "But they'll pull through." "Very good, very good." He turned to Bo and Kovu. "Tell me, you two, did the sentries see whatever it was that caused this pandemonium?" Kovu cleared his throat nervously. "We didn't get much out of them," he said. "They were, um... caught off guard." Master Lao fixed a steely gaze on his youngest pupil. "What else were they, Kovu?" Kovu lowered his eyes, his cheeks burning with embarrassment. Master Lao sighed. While Kovu might have excelled when it came to academics, he possessed the innocence and naivety of a small child, a fact which made him the butt of many a joke by his fellow students. Bo, however, was older and had no such scruples, and answered: "They were entertaining courtesans from the town, Master." "I see." The silence that followed was chilling. Master Lao made no bones about the fact that he hated the guards assigned by the Emperor to the temple, and moments like this only cemented his feelings. "So again they prove themselves useless." "Not entirely, Master." Kovu objected. "One of the guards claimed to have seen-" "Damn it, Kovu, not that!" interrupted Bo. "What are you two talking about?" "Nothing, Master," said Bo firmly, silencing Kovu with a fierce glare. "It doesn't sound like nothing, Bo. Out with it." Bo groaned quietly but obeyed. "One of the guards claimed to have seen something in the sky, before... whatever it was happened." He paused briefly and was overtaken by Kovu. "He said it looked like a dragon, Master, a bright ball in the sky with a tail like a snake and a body made of fire! He said it was like nothing he'd ever seen before! He said it was so close that he was sure he could have touched it if he'd tried! He said it made a noise unlike anything he'd ever heard before, and that it then crashed into the woods nearby, right before the light and the noise." Kovu probably would have elaborated further had he not run out of breath. Bo was unimpressed. "I don't buy it, Master. While they seemed to have impressed young Kovu here - and by the looks of things, Ying and Lee as well - it doesn't change the fact that they were drunk out of their minds at the time. This 'dragon' he claims to have seen might easily have been some alcoholic fantasy of his." Master Lao glanced over at Ying and Lee. "You two don't sound so convinced. Is there something you'd like to say?" Ying and Lee exchanged a nervous glance with each other. "Actually, Master," said Ying slowly. "What Kovu said, about the falling... whatever it was..." She died down under Bo's glare but Lee soon took over. "Some of the servants said they saw a giant ball of flame in the sky, right before the earthquake. They described it exactly like Kovu just did." Kovu smiled in Lee's direction, grateful for the support. "Master," complained Bo. "Surely-" Master Lao silenced him with a wave of his hand, much to the amusement of the others. "It is clear," Master Lao said slowly, "that the earthquake was definitely caused by something falling out of the sky and crashing in the nearby woods." Everyone was silent now, even Bo. "I believe it is also clear," Master Lao continued, "that whatever it is that fell out of the sky is still in the woods somewhere." The students' interest was piqued now. The leaned in closer. Master Lao glanced at them all before continuing: "I don't think we should brush this matter off lightly," he said. "Now, I believe that it is vital that we find whatever it is, and bring it back to the temple for study." Master Lao paused to let them absorb what he'd just said. "Tomorrow," he said eventually, "I want two of you to go out into the forest, find it and, if possible, bring some of it back here where it can be kept saff. Any volunteers?" Bo's hand shot up like a bolt. Master Lao raised an eyebrow but said nothing. He knew Bo's pride well enough. He had been shamed by his friends with his denial of the falling star and would now move heaven and earth to get it to the temple. Master Lao looked at the other students, waiting for someone else to raise their hand. After a brief moment of hesitation, Ying raised hers. Master Lao smiled, not at all surprised. "Good," he said. "I want you two to leave first thing in the morning. Ask the cooks to pack you some food for the journey. In the meantime, I think we could all do with some sleep after tonight's excitement."

When Kovu woke up, he immediately glanced across the hall into the bedrooms of Bo and Ying: empty. He was a bit disappointed - he had wanted to wish them good luck before they left - but the feeling evaporated as soon as Lee appeared in his doorway. "Good morning, Lee," he said cheerfully. She smiled gently at him (he loved the way she smiled). "Good morning, Kovu." "When did Bo and Ying leave?" Lee shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. They were gone by the time I woke up." Kovu let out a slow whistle. Lee was the earliest riser out of all of them, often waking up before the sun had even had time to rise. Bo and Ying must not have gone back to sleep at all. "You'd better get up," Lee said as she turned to go. "Master Lao won't like it if you sleep in too late." Lee walked out, pulling Kovu's door closed as she did. Kovu sighed and dragged himself out of bed. He opened his trunk and pulled out a fresh set of robes. Student robes were mostly grey, with a thick black lining around the edges, and made from course cotton that thankfully wore itself smooth over time. Once dressed, Kovu pulled the bed sheets straight and headed outside. The living quarters were at the back of the temple, tucked away into a hollow in the mountain top, and divided into three buildings: sleeping quarters, food hall and servants' quarters. The temple was to the right, built right in the middle of the mountain top, and towered above everything else. Kovu walked past it and made his way to the food hall. The building itself wasn't anything special. It was just a square, hollow in the middle, and with a small kitchen attached to the back. Inside, two rows of benches ran parallel to each other and a serving table stretched across the far side. Kovu always wondered why they needed so much space for only four people (five, if you counted the Master, which Kovu didn't), but he just assumed the school must have been larger at some point in the past. He spotted Lee sitting down, grabbed some toast from the serving table and moved to join her. She looked up from her meal as he approached. "Took you long enough," she said playfully as he took a seat on the bench opposite her. "Sorry," he said as he took a bite out of his breakfast. "Why do you always eat that stuff?" Lee asked. "You know that they never cook it properly." "It's not that bad," said Kovu defensively, taking another bite. They ate in silence for a while. "How long do you think Bo and Ying will be gone for?" Kovu asked after a few minutes. Lee paused, the spoon halfway to her lips. "I don't know," she said. "I saw the smoke from where it crashed - well, at least I guess that was where it crashed. It looked quite a long way off. They could be gone all day, maybe longer." She lowered her spoon and shot Kovu a worried glance. "What's wrong, Lee?" he asked. "It's just... I don't think Bo and Ying should have gone alone. I mean we don't even know what's out there. Whatever it is, it came from out of the sky. We have no idea what it could be. What if something happens? I don't think Bo and Ying could handle it by themselves." Kovu reached out and put a comforting hand on Lee's arm. "Don't worry, Lee," he said gently. "I'm sure they'll be fine. I mean, come on. This is Bo and Ying we're talking about here. What's the worst that could happen?"

"This is the worst assignment ever," Ying grumbled as she swatted another low-lying vine out of the way. "Oh, quit complaining!" yelled Bo from the front. "If you didn't want to do it, you shouldn't have volunteered!" Ying rolled her eyes and stumbled forward. The humidity was almost unbearable, and the midday sun beating through the canopy didn't help matters either. Ying couldn't even remember the reason she had raised her hand last night. Oh, wait. Yes she could. It was marching about a hundred meters ahead of her, cutting a path through the undergrowth with a machete. She groaned helplessly and hurried to catch up. Bo had stopped and was looking at something just beyond him. "What's up?" she gasped as she finally arrived. Bo didn't say anything. Ying followed his eyes and gasped. There, just past the treeline ahead of them, was a massive circular crater. It was huge - Ying guessed it must have been at least as wide as the food court back at the temple - and dug deep into the land. The sides of the hole were black with charcoal and were still smoking slightly. That wasn't what was demanding their attention, however. In the centre of it all was a... they had no idea what to call it. In the middle of the crater was another, smaller crater in which a thick black liquid was bubbling away contently. "What is it?" Ying whispered. "I don't know," Bo whispered back. They stood and watched the strange liquid in silence. The sound of the bubbling substance - a sort of burping noise - was disconcerting and made Ying edgy. She turned to Bo. "What do we-" He was gone. "YING!" His voice called from below. She peered over the edge. "What are you doing?" Bo was already halfway to the pit, swinging his water bottle around his finger. Ying cursed under her breath and slid down the crater-side after him. "Bo!" she yelled after him. "C'mon, then!" he yelled back. By the time she reached him he was already at the edge of the pit. "Are you crazy?" she panted as she pulled in besides him. He didn't seem to hear; he was too busy staring into the strange, burping liquid, almost mesmerised. Ying grabbed his shoulder and shook him awake. "Huh?" he mumbled. "Are you out of your bloody mind?" Ying scolded. "We have no idea what this is. It could be dangerous." "Oh, come off it," Bo said. "It doesn't look that bad." "Still, I don't like it." "Well, you heard Master Lao: we have to bring some of it back to the temple." "And how do you do suppose we do that?" "Easy." Before she could stop him, Bo snatched the water bottle she had hung on her belt and proceeded to pour the contents from his bottle into hers. He then bent down slowly, the now empty bottle held over the pit. "Bo," Ying cried out suddenly. Embarrassed, she blushed and turned away as he looked up. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Nothing," Ying muttered. "Just be careful, is all." His chuckle only made her blush harder. She watched as he dragged the water bottle through the black goop. "Ugh," he said. "It's like tar." "Just hurry up so we can go." He lifted the bottle slowly and twisted the cap on tightly. When he was sure it was secure, he held it up for her to see. "Nothing to it," he said. Suddenly, the liquid began to shift in the pit behind him. Before Ying could say anything, pillar of the stuff shot out of the pit and wrapped itself around Bo's legs, knocking him to the ground and making him drop the bottle. "Bo!" Ying cried out as the now snake-like arm dragged him towards the pit. She started towards him but before she could get more than two steps the lid of the bottle shot off, releasing the black liquid which now rose up and writhed towards her like a snake. "Run, Ying!" Bo screamed. A second later he was in and under. Ying turned and sprinted up the side of the crater wall. Just as her hand gripped the top ledge, she felt a strong tug nearly dislodge her. She looked down and saw a black tendril curling up her leg. Thinking quick, she grabbed a pocket knife out of her trouser pocket and hacked at it, eventually managing to cut herself free. She clambered over the ledge and stumbled to the tree line. Then from behind her... a noise that chilled her to the bone. Suddenly, she couldn't run anymore. Her legs felt like lead and her arms were jelly. Slowly, she turned back towards the crater. Her screams didn't reach the temple.