It was odd that the last thing Po remembered before falling asleep was Tigress—a tiger—and the first thing he had seen upon waking was just that—a tiger.

His hope faded as he realized that it wasn't Tigress; that would be impossible. With a heavy heart, Po knew that she had most likely passed on ages ago during the time of his long-lasting hibernation. The tiger standing frozen before him was also just a cub, and a small one. He had a light-brown pack wrapped around his waist and bright, yellow eyes that were another startling reminder of his late best friend.

Po wondered if he was alone and had just happened to wander into his cave, or if there was someone else with him. A friend, maybe. He had no idea, but the cub had come in answer of his plea to Master Oogway—he was sure of it.

So he began to approach slowly and calmly so as not to frighten the little one.

xxxx

You're so stupid! Chao scolded himself once his foot had snapped the twig. The dragon instantly turned in his direction and the cub's breath left him just as quick.

But the dragon didn't move. It simply stared back at him as if lost in thought. Chao's heart continued to thud. It thudded so hard that he was afraid it would burst right out of his chest.

It didn't make things any better when the huge beast started moving towards him.

It was moving towards him.

On the verge of hyperventilating, it was all Chao could do to just stand there and hope that the dragon wouldn't bite his head off. Were they evil? Were they friendly? The legend never said, and Chao prayed with all his might that the creature was at least wanting to make friends.

"Please don't hurt me," he managed to get out. "I—I was just leaving..."

The dragon tilted its head to the side in a quizzical manner. Chao had no idea if it could understand him, but the head tilt seemed to be a reply of some sort, as if it was trying to understand; maybe it didn't. It was mere inches in front of his face now, crouching down so that it was at his level like it was getting ready to pounce. Chao had no idea how he was still standing from the fear and adrenaline that was threatening to take him under, but he kept talking anyway.

"Do y—you want..."

What? Food? He had no idea what dragons ate, and it was most likely something like him.

Chao reached slowly for the pack around his waist. He moved his paw, trying to feel what he was looking for. It had to be in there somewhere! His heart rate sped up once more.

Oh, no! He'd lost his panda toy! That "thing" as Lotus had called it had been in his family for generations, and he was always told to protect it at all costs. He must have dropped it while trying to get away. He really was stupid and was going to get in so much trouble if he went back home without it. Plus, he'd have to explain to his mother that he and Lotus had sneaked into the Forbidden Zone of the Valley of Peace.

This whole thing was stupid! He never should have listened to Lotus, and where was that panda, anyway? He'd just taken off without even looking back! And he'd also taken—

The sound of a panicked yelp broke Chao from his thoughts, and the young tiger looked up to see that the dragon had come to a similar realization—its staff was gone!

It glanced frantically every which way around the cave, desperately trying to find the lost item. It must have been very important, because the dragon was just as panicked as him when he realized that he'd lost the panda toy.

"I—I know what happened to it," Chao stammered, hoping to calm the frightened reptile. It stopped its frantic searching almost immediately, turning its gaze back towards the anxious cub. It tilted its head again as if waiting for an explanation.

"My friend was really dumb. He wanted to play with it and then ran off when you woke up. I have no idea where he went, though," Chao explained the best that he could, worry beginning to creep in. Where was Lotus, anyway?

Then the dragon glanced in the direction of the cave's entrance and for the first time, Chao noticed just how terrified it looked. He could remember now that the legend said this dragon in particular had gone to sleep for a thousand years. It had lost everything most important to him, which explained why it stopped to look at one of the pictures. Now that Chao had a chance to look himself, he could see what exactly had made it stop.

There was a goose, a panda, a smaller red panda, and a group of figures that Chao recognized—the Furious Five! It was the group that his grandma had once joined.

Wait...

It was his great-great-great something grandma!

"Is this your family?" he asked softly just to be sure, feeling a bit stupid for asking—talking to the dragon when he had no idea if it truly did understand him. It was weird that a dragon could have had a panda and a goose for a dad, but the legend had said that it used to be a panda itself.

The dragon nodded solemnly in response and let out a tiny, distressed whine, pushing his nose lightly against the picture. It was then Chao realized that it actually could understand what he was saying.

"I'll help you find your staff if you promise not to eat me," he bargained cautiously.

The dragon brightened, nodding once more. Chao released a breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding, relief sweeping through his entire body once he knew that yes, he was safe and that the dragon wasn't going to harm him.

It was then that he spotted a small shape out of the corner of his eye.

There it is! His mind cried in double relief as he spotted the panda toy. He figured that it must have fallen from his grip when he was trying to get away from the dragon. Maybe he wasn't going to get in trouble, after all...the only obstacle was the dragon itself.

xxxx

Po had forgotten just how sneaky cubs could be; they almost had better stealth mode abilities than he did, especially while he was in dragon form.

Permanently in dragon form, he had to remind himself.

Which was why it confused him when the tiger cub had been right in front of him one second, and gone the next.

He couldn't let him get away! Po had no intention to hurt the little guy, but he didn't want to be alone again. He wanted to be anything but alone. His search didn't last for long, however.

He found the cub right behind him, reaching down to grab something. Thinking fast, he wrapped his tail gently around the cub's waist and lifted him up into the air.

The cub screeched in fright, obviously not expecting such an action.

"Okay, okay! I'll put it back! Put me down!" he screamed.

Put what back? Po thought in confusion.

But then he saw it clenched tightly in the cub's paws.

That's my...my...his mind reeled. The cub hanging helplessly from the tip of his tail was holding...was it possible? Tigress had kept it all that time, making sure to pass it down from generation to generation? How had it not gotten lost in the deadly ripples of time?

Po immediately placed the cub back on the ground so as not to frighten him further, bursting at the seams with questions. Was he related to Tigress in some way? How else would he have the toy? He backed up again as fast as he could against the cave walls, but then visibly relaxed when Po made it as clear as possible that he wasn't going to harm him. The cub glanced down at the panda toy in his paws, then back up at Po.

"...I can hang onto it if you want me to while we look," the tiger said carefully, assuming that the item, like the staff, was extremely important to him.

Po nodded slowly. He barely knew the cub—they'd just met! But he had a feeling that the child could be trusted, as the child was putting trust in him that his head wouldn't be bitten off.

What's your name? Po wanted to ask. But he knew that he was just stalling to avoid the unavoidable.

He was going outside whether he wanted to or not. He couldn't stay in the cave forever.

He had to; the staff was important not just for nostalgia reasons, but the fact that he needed it to perform his task that he had been destined to do in the first place.

But what was the Valley going to look like? A thousand years had passed, and nothing was going to be the same ever again. He could feel his heart tearing in two, and it hurt more than he had ever imagined.

But he had to do this; the universe was depending on him. He'd asked Master Oogway for help, for some kind of a sign. Then he had come across the tiger cub who had managed to sneak his way into the cave—a cub that looked strikingly similar to Tigress, that was actually holding his long-lost childhood toy that he had given to her just before falling asleep.

There had to be a reason that their paths had crossed, and not just because he had a connection to Tigress.

"Are you ready?" a small voice asked. Po glanced down to see the little one staring back at him with a gentle, understanding expression.

How much does he know? Po had to wonder. How much of his story—the legend of the Dragon Warrior—had been shared and preserved over a thousand years?

A thousand years...

Nodding slowly again, he knew that there was no other choice.

And so, taking a deep breath and bracing himself for whatever awaited them—he followed the young tiger cub outside.