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"You're behaviour was completely unacceptable," Master Lao berated his student as they trudged through the darkness. "Not only did you attack poor Nurse Rose when she was clearly injured and distressed, but you then went on to accuse her of having a hand in this terrible mess!" "I'm sorry, Master," said Lee meekly. "I should hope so," was the Master's sharp reply. "I thought I had raised you better than that." Lee said nothing and the two continued their search in silence. It seemed a pointless endeavour, however. Despite the aid of the moonlight, it was still difficult to see clearly in the darkness and besides, thought Lee glumly, Ying could be hiding anywhere. For all they knew, she had run back into the forest and taken up refuge there. This did little to comfort Lee's already troubled mind. Despite everything she'd seen she still couldn't bring herself to believe that Ying was capable of such a crime. Of course, the attack on Nurse Rose was the least of her concerns. Though no one had said it yet, Lee knew exactly what the implications were: if Ying had attacked the nurse and fled, it also meant there was a strong possibility that she was responsible for Bo's death. If only they could find her...

Meanwhile, Kovu was busy tending to Nurse Rose. He'd moved her into an adjacent room and had fetched some water from the kitchen which, much to Kovu's astonishment, she seemed to drink in one breath. She was now sitting on the bed, waiting for Kovu to see to her injuries. He'd managed to find some disinfectant in the supply closet down the hall and began to dab at her cuts with some soaked cotton-wool. He grimaced as he did: the cuts were deeper than they had first thought. He was amazed she was still able to sit up at all, let alone smile like she was. "I just can't believe Ying would do something like this," he said as he put the cotton-wool down and reached for a roll of gauze. "I guess she just wasn't who we thought she was," Nurse Rose replied. "Perhaps she's capable of a lot more than any of us ever expected." "I mean," Kovu continued, not listening. "I mean, we've known Ying all our lives, and she'd never hurt anyone without good reason." He wrapped the gauze tightly around Nurse Rose's chest, causing her to wince as he did so. He apologised but all seemed well. "Well, aren't you just a charming young gentleman?" remarked Nurse Rose as they both stood up. "Oh, it was nothing," said Kovu. "I'm just glad you could help. Is there anything else I can do?" Nurse Rose smiled sweetly and grabbed his shoulder. "Now that you mention it, I'm incredibly thirsty. Would you be a dear and fetch me some water? Oh, and some food would be nice. I feel like I haven't eaten in weeks!" "Of course," Kovu replied. "I'll be right back." As he closed the door behind him, he let out a long sigh. He was glad to be out of that room. There was something off about Nurse Rose. He couldn't figure out what it was, but there was definitely something. Maybe it was the way she seemed to have recovered so quickly. Her wounds, on closer inspection, had been pretty serious and yet she was now acting like they were nothing. And then there was that smile... Nurse Rose's words returned to him as he poured more water into a pitcher. "She'd just drunk an entire pitcher of water in one breath," she had said. Nurse Rose had just done the same thing and yet she still asked for more. She'd also said that Ying had been incredibly hungry before the attack. "I feel like I haven't eaten in weeks!" 'Something is definitely wrong here,' thought Kovu. He'd have to watch Nurse Rose closely.

When he returned, he found Nurse Rose sitting back on the bed, watching the door intently. She smiled at him as he walked in. He put the food and water on the nearby table but she didn't move to eat it. She just kept watching him with a smile. Kovu felt his skin begin to crawl. "Say, Nurse Rose..." He hoped his growing fear was not evident in his voice. "I'm still not exactly sure what happened here. Could you try and explain it again?" For some reason, this seemed to make the nurse's smile grow even bigger. "Why, I'd love to, sweety!" She got up and came closer to Kovu, who started edging closer to the door. "You see, I'd just come back from bringing her dinner when I noticed she was acting rather strange." She kept walking closer to Kovu and he somehow found himself wedged in a corner. He was suddenly very afraid of the nurse. "Of course, I'm surprised I didn't notice sooner, considering what she was doing at the time." "Wha... what was she doing?" stammered Kovu. "Why, she was doing this." As Kovu watched in horror, Nurse Rose dug her fingers into her forehead and began to rip her own head in two, until both halves split and flopped around her shoulders. All that was left was her bloody skull grinning wickedly at him. The skull laughed viciously. "What's the matter, sweety?" it asked in a voice like knives on a chalkboard. "Don't like what you see?" It laughed again. "Well, how about this?" The creature's chest exploded, raining blood and gore all over Kovu. Kovu's screams mixed with the maniacal laughs of the monster as he desperately tried to crawl towards the door. Before he could make it, the beast dug its claws into his shoulder and lifted him up and flung him like a rag doll against the back wall. He felt the cool night air rush against his face as the wall gave way and he continued flying outside. He groaned in pain as his hard landing drove splinters deep into his back. Kovu's entire body went numb and his ears rang like church-bells. "Kovu!" A familiar voice managed to pierce the haze and he turned painfully to see Lee and Master Lao running towards him. Lee fell to her knees next to him and tried to pull him up. He opened his mouth and tried to warn them but all that came out was a hoarse moan. "What happened, my child?" cried Master Lao. "Let me show you," was the chilling reply from inside the building. All three gazed in horror as the figure of Bo stepped out of the gaping hole in the wall. "Bo?" said Lee in disbelief. "Hello, Lee," laughed their former comrade. "Glad to see me?" Then, before their eyes, Bo began to convulse violently. As they watched, his skin began to crawl and deform until he... it... had now taken the form of Ying. "Gods preserve us," whispered Lee. 'Ying' opened her mouth and let out a terrible, shrill laugh and began to move slowly towards them. "Guards!" called Master Lao, his eyes scanning desperately for the now-much-needed soldiers. This just made 'Ying' laugh harder. "Oh, don't worry about them," she hissed gleefully. "I took good care of them already." Once again, the creature morphed violently, this time taking the form of one of the antelope courtesans that Lee and Kovu had seen earlier. "Master," groaned Kovu. "Master, what do we do?" Master Lao hesitated for a second before finally yelling: "Run!" Lee yanked Kovu to his feet and the three of them began running, not caring where they were heading as long as it was far away from whatever it was they had just seen.

After running for what seemed like an eternity, the three of them arrived at the dining hall and decided to take shelter there. Master Lao helped the injured Kovu as Lee shut the door and began dragging the tables to use as a barricade. When she was done, she collapsed next to Kovu while Master Lao began to pace frantically. "Master," gasped Kovu, "what was that thing." "I don't know, my child," sighed the Master, "but I think it's safe to assume that Ying - and Bo - are no longer with us." Lee and Kovu were too worn out to say anything but this realisation hit them hard all the same. "So," said Lee after some time. "What do we do, Master?" Master Lao collapsed on a nearby chair and sighed heavily. "I'm sorry, my child, but once again I must confess I am at a loss. I have never seen anything like this before." He paused. "I think we should focus on staying safe for now. Come sunrise, we can properly assess the situation." He paused again. "We should all take turns keeping watch. I will go first, Lee second. Kovu, you just rest as much as you can. Now then..." Before he could finish, Master Lao was interrupted by the sound of something large crashing into the newly-barricaded door. The whole building seemed to shake but thankfully the barricade seemed to hold. Another blow rocked the dining hall and the three of them were terrified to see their barricade strain against the onslaught. "Hide, my children!" cried Master Lao as blow after blow rained down on the door. Lee grabbed Kovu and the two of them sprinted in the kitchen, slamming the door closed behind them. The pair collapsed, panting heavily, to the floor. "Okay, Master," gasped Lee, "I think we're safe." She glanced around. "Master?"

Master Lao watched grimly as his students made their way to the safety of the kitchen. He knew it was only a matter of time before the beast discovered them. There was no other choice. He had to lead it away from Lee and Kovu. The attacks on the door were becoming more frequent and violent and the entire building shook with each blow. Master Lao sighed and prepared to face his attacker. He had no fear about dying for his students. He just hoped it would be enough. At long last, the door could take no more abuse and splintered at the hands of the beast, scattering the makeshift barricade in all directions. Master Lao was struck by a flying chair and flew back several feet. As he struggled to his feet, he heard the cruel laughter of the creature as it made its way towards him. The creature had abandoned all pretences of disguise and had now taken on a truly horrific form. Pieces of its previous victims sprouted out of its body like cancerous tumours. Arms bent at unnatural angles stretched out in all directions, heads - including, Master Lao was sickened to see, those of Ying and Bo - twisted themselves so that all eyes stared soullessly at him and the body was supported by several pairs of legs. Master Lao nearly retched as he gazed up at the unholy monstrosity. Seeing his terrified expression, the beast's heads opened and let loose a blood-curdling roar. "Master!" cried Kovu as he and Lee rushed to his aid. "No, children, get back!" came Master Lao' desperate reply. The beast turned its gaze to the two students. The heads of Ying and Bo laughed manically. "Hey, guys!" they shrieked in unison. "Why don't you join us? It's so much fun in here!" The beast stepped over Master Lao and angled for Lee and Kovu. Just when it seemed like it would be able to grab both of them in its terrible claws, the pair each sprinted in opposite directions. The beast's many heads couldn't seem to decide which one to follow and for a moment it spun around in confusion. Kovu stuck his fingers in his mouth and let out a shrill whistle. "Hey, over here!" he cried. "No, over here!" Lee shouted back. This only confused the beast even more and the heads strained against each other as they tried to decide which of the two students to focus their attention on. Eventually, they reached a decision and charged at Kovu, who leaped nimbly out the way. The beast failed to dodge in time, crashed head-first into one of the dining hall's support columns and lay stunned on the ground. The building shuddered on the collision but seemed to hold fast. Kovu and Lee ran over to their Master and helped him to his feet. "What are you still doing here, children?" he exclaimed. "You should have escaped when you had the chance!" "We're not leaving you, Master," replied Kovu. Before Master Lao could answer back, they heard the beast crawl sluggishly to its feet. "Master," said Lee hurriedly. "We have a plan: if we can trick it into breaking the supports, we can bring the entire building down on top of it!" "That's a big risk, child," said Master Lao. "It's the only one we've got," The beast turned its heads to them and growled menacingly. "Very well," said Master Lao. "Let's destroy this unholy creature once and for all." With that said, the three of them scattered to different parts of the room and tried to turn the beast's attention to them. The beast roared but didn't move, its many heads fighting each other in an effort to decide on a target. This decision proved too difficult and it chose instead to pick up a bench and hurl it in their general direction. Master Lao - who was closest to the bench's target - stepped quickly to the side and the bench successfully broke another supporting beam. The building shook once more and pieces of tile from the roof broke off and shattered on the floor. The beast roared again and charged at Kovu. Despite his attempt to dodge, the beast was still able to strike him with an outstretched claw and sent him flying off to the side. Thankfully, the wound was only minor and he was able to stagger to his feet. The whole building was shuddering violently now from the activity inside and looked set to crumble at any moment. 'This building's going to fall on all of us,' thought Master Lao grimly as he eyed the beast. 'There's only one way any of us are going to survive this.' "Monster," he called. The beast turned to him, growling. "Children," called Master Lao again. "I want you to run as far away from here as possible." Lee and Kovu began to protest loudly. "I'm not going to ask you again, children," Master Lao cried. With that, he charged straight at the monster, dodging its first swipe and kicking it sharply in one of its knees. The beast cried out in pain and fell down. Master Lao turned to his faithful students for the last time. "Run!" With a final, mournful glance at their Master, Lee and Kovu ran to the door and out the dining hall. As they exited, they heard another roar followed by the sound of splintering wood. As they watched, the dining hall collapsed violently in on itself. The beast cried out once more, and then all was silent.

For a long time Kovu and Lee just stood and watched, unsure of what to do. Eventually, Kovu said: "So is it over?" Lee nodded numbly. "I guess so." Another moment of silence passed. "So what do we do now?" asked Kovu. "I guess we send a letter to the capital," Lee answered quietly. "Someone needs to know what happened here." "Do you think they'll believe us?" Lee paused. "I don't know." Kovu said nothing. Lee reached out and took his hand in his and squeezed it gently. He squeezed back and, hand in hand, they walked slowly back to the main hall.