Crane awoke one morning in the barracks by the Jade Palace. He expected it to be like any other day. Recently, though, a dream kept plaguing him for the last several days. The images that played in his head were as vivid as sunlight itself. In his dream, he would meet strange creatures with no fur, no feathers, nothing that would make them animal. He would then see streams of light that resembled chi, only blue. The last image he'd see would be of one of the creatures he was sure was a girl. She was holding a ball of blue light in her hands and told him, "I can help you…"

The dream confused Crane and he constantly thought, What does it mean?

He went to the Sacred Hall of Warriors and was about to enter when –

WHOOSH!

Crane jumped in surprise when an arrow hit the floor. For a moment, he thought that they were under attack – again – but when he looked closer, he saw a scroll tied to it. He took the scroll and went inside the hall. To his relief, Shifu was by the Moon Pool meditating.

Shifu asked without looking, "Yes?"

Crane walked towards him and said, "Master Shifu, a scroll was just delivered outside. I thought you'd want to read it."

Shifu said as Crane gave him the scroll, "Thank you, Crane." He then opened the scroll and read it. When he finished, he put it down and said, "There seems to be strange activity in the Valley of Bones."

Crane gulped, "The Valley of Bones?"

"Yes. And you are to go there."

Crane jumped in surprise and cried, "What?! Why me?"

"Because you delivered the message to me…and you were having a strange dream for the last week."

Crane sputtered, "But…how did you know?"

Shifu smirked, "I noticed the dream interpretation scrolls were opened. Crane, the universe is telling you to go to the Valley of Bones. I believe it will provide you with an answer to your dream."

Crane sighed and said, "Yes, Master." He bowed to him just before he went out of the hall and flew to the Valley of Bones.

Crane said to himself as he flew, "The Valley of Bones. What was the universe thinking? Why do I need to go to the Valley of Bones for answers about my dream?"

When he saw a desolate patch ahead, he dove down and landed on the barren, black ground of the Valley of Bones. As he had expected, the valley was foggy and the charred ground was laden with bones. Legend had it that the valley was once lush and green. It was also one of the hotspots for chi and a sanctuary for all who mastered it. But all that came crashing down when, prior to his battle with Oogway, Kai took the chi of many masters in the valley and burned all who resisted, scorching the entire haven in the process. Though it broke Crane's heart to hear such a story, the unsettling scenery before him still creeped him out.

Just then, he saw a skull rattle. It startled him and he wondered if it was such a good idea coming to the valley. When his nerves calmed down considerably, he decided to look closely at the skull.

"SCREEE!"

Crane yelped and jumped back before seeing that the mouse-like creature that popped out of one of the skull's eye sockets was harmless. It then leaped out of the skull and scurried into the mist. What the creature exactly was perplexed Crane. He had never seen anything like it before. He was sure that it wasn't native to China.

He thought to himself, So where did it come from?

Just then, he saw a green flash in the mist. His heart dropped at the possibility that Kai had inexplicably returned. He thought as he crept forward into the mist, No, it couldn't be Kai again, could it? I thought Po got rid of him.

After a few more tentative steps, he saw a large silhouette. He let out a tiny gasp before realizing that the silhouette was much too blocky to even be Kai. To give himself some confidence, Crane ruffled his wings and whispered to himself, "Wings of Courage."

When he got closer, he was relieved to see that it was a tiny hut. It looked run-down and in disrepair. Crane stared at it for a few moments until a green flash shone from within. His nerves returned as he reconsidered the likelihood that Kai was here again. But what would he be doing here of all places? Crane had to know, so he cautiously entered the hut.

He called out in a quiet voice, "Hello? Is anyone in here? Come out so I can see you."

Another green flash took him by surprise. He considered backing out now and reporting to Master Shifu. He then heard a voice cry, "Oh, no!"

At the sound of the distressed voice, Crane flapped to the room where it had originated. When he entered the room, he was surprised to see an elderly goat trying to manage a smoking cauldron. What surprised Crane more was that the cauldron was spewing green smoke…and each tendril of smoke touched an object and made it disappear!

Crane asked despite his own stunned state, "What's going on?!"

The goat lady answered, "It's my magic cauldron! It's boiling over! I tried to use chi to start the portal, but now the cauldron's going haywire!"

"Do you know how to stop it?!"

"I'm trying to! I'm trying to!"

Just then, a pair of smoky hands rose from the cauldron and lunged from it. Crane saw they were heading for the goat, so he pushed her aside and cried, "Look out!"

To her horror, Crane got caught in the hands' grip and smoke started to surround him. She cried out to him, "Don't worry! I'll find a way to bring you back! I promise!"

This worried Crane, but before he could think, he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.