"Are you sure it was him?" Li pressed.

"Yes!" Po cried.

"You're positive that it was Chao?" Li double checked. He had to know for sure that his grandson was actually out there!

"It was him...he was terrified...he had an eight-point cuff around his neck," Po confirmed sorrowfully.

"You think Longwei put it on him?" Viper questioned, heart aching at the thought of a little six-year-old all alone in the woods. He wasn't exactly little anymore according to Po, but he was still just a child...a child who needed their help.

"Who else?" Monkey quipped.

"When we find him, I'm gonna kick him right in the—"

"Mantis! Po already knows where he is," Viper informed him quickly.

"Really?"

"I followed Chao. He went right into the top of a volcano," Po explained.

"A volcano? No wonder we couldn't find him six years ago."

"We can go scope out the area, maybe even check it out inside," Crane suggested.

"Yes, but you have to be careful. Longwei could have those other dragons on guard and even with all of your training, I don't think you are ready to take on two enormous dragons."

"Thanks for the confidence booster, Shifu," the bird grumbled.

"Uh, aren't you guys forgetting something?" Mantis piped up. The rest of the Five stared. They really didn't know?

"What?" Monkey asked.

"We have a panda who can turn into an enormous dragon whenever the heck he wants on our side!" Mantis revealed, pointing towards Po. The panda blinked and waved shyly.

"These dragons were a lot bigger than him," Tigress reminded Mantis. "And who knows...there could be more in that volcano."

"How are we even going to get inside the volcano when it's probably way too hot for us to go in there?" Crane asked, feeble.

"How do you think Longwei's able to go in there?"

Po brought forth the only memory that he had of the Dragon Slayer—when he had first been confronted and Longwei had so boldly claimed that he was no Dragon Warrior. What had he been wearing? Po's eyes widened in realization when he remembered the golden circle in the center of Longwei's vest.

"His vest. His vest with the golden dragon emblem on it! I bet it's fireproof!"

"That would make a lot of sense," Tigress agreed. Po could tell that she was getting restless. She shifted in her sitting position every so often, and he knew that she wanted to go after their son and go after him now. They knew where he was and they knew where Longwei was, and so they could invade the volcano and bring Chao home.

But he could also tell she was reluctant; what about Lotus? Po knew that if she went along with him and the Five, there would only be Shifu, Li and the pandas protecting the Jade Palace. Ever since that fateful day six years ago, Shifu had been very hesitant to keep watch over their daughter whenever something came up that they had to take care of, and Po really couldn't blame him when Chao had been ripped from their clutches under his supervision.

Their master glanced at them with a look that clearly said he wasn't ready to take charge of one of their children again.

"Tigress..." Po started slowly, knowing that she most likely wasn't going to like the idea. "You can stay here with Lotus if you want to," he told her gently. She snapped her head towards him, obviously not fond of the idea just like he had suspected.

"No!" she said a little too fast for her liking. "Chao is our son, Po. We have to bring him home together..."

"But Tigress, what if something happens here?" Po countered. "What if Chao was out there in the forest and went back to the mountain just so we would go there ourselves...another distraction while Longwei comes here to take Lotus, too?"

Tigress moved her mouth to speak against his words, but then she paused. He had a point and no matter how much she didn't like that point, she knew that he was right. Sighing, she nodded slowly. "We can't leave our daughter alone without one of us."

She didn't need to say anything more. She didn't need to say 'So I will stay.' Po knew just from the words she had spoken that she would stay here at the Jade Palace with Lotus and the others to guard their little girl and make sure that the same thing that happened to her brother didn't happen to his sister, as well.

"We will all protect Lotus together," Shifu reassured him with Li nodding in agreement. "We won't let her out of our sight."

xxxx

They didn't have to pack anything. While the volcano was a bit of a trip, it wasn't so far away from the Jade Palace that they had to pack any necessities, especially since Po had the power of flight as a dragon and could reach the mountain in just a few hours. Po was determined that it would only be a one-way trip: get to the volcano, get Chao, and then go back home.

Po stood at the edge of the Jade Palace steps, just as he always did when he was getting ready for take-off. Tigress was standing by with Lotus, Li and Shifu. Their little girl broke free of Tigress's grip and raced to her father, determined not to let him go without a goodbye hug.

"Daddy, do you have to leave?" she whined, wrapping her arms around one of his legs. He laughed softly, bending down to her level.

"I gotta go, Lotus," he told her honestly. "We're going to bring your brother home."

"He'll stay in the palace with us?" Lotus asked, her green eyes bright and happy. Her excitement of the possibility that Chao was coming home soon was contagious, and Po could hardly wait until he and the Five were ready to go.

"I don't know about that," Po said. Was Chao even capable of changing back to his original form anymore? He didn't know. Lotus tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"We're ready, Po," Crane said as the rest of the Five came out of the palace. Tigress wrapped Lotus up into her arms. She wanted to go. She wanted to go with them so bad, but she knew that it wasn't a good idea. She had to stay and protect their daughter.

There was a green flash as Po changed. Lotus hid her face under Tigress's arm at the quick transformation, but then she glanced up with wide and amazed eyes.

"He's still your dad," Tigress comforted her gently.

I'm going to bring him home, Po confirmed to his wife. He was going to be successful, he just knew it! Nothing could go wrong...it just couldn't! Chao was going to come back safe and sound with him and the Five. They had climbed up onto his back, ready for take-off. Lotus waved and he smiled, bending down into his flight position.

He took off from the edge of the Jade Palace steps faster than those left behind could blink.

xxxx

"Are we there yet?" Mantis asked.

"No," Monkey replied.

"Are we there yet?" Mantis asked again.

"No," Monkey replied in a huff.

"Are we—"

Po let out a loud grumble, relishing the silence that followed. He had been flying for hours with the Five (or four, since Tigress had stayed behind...) on his back and since so much time had passed, they were starting to get restless. While he could communicate with Tigress through his mind to hers, none of the other Five had the pleasure of being able to communicate with the Dragon Warrior telepathically like Tigress could. The message had come across clearly all the same, and no one spoke any further until the sight of a certain mountain came into view—the volcano that Po had seen Chao dive right into.

A loud whoosh suddenly blew right by Crane's head. Po had allowed him to stay on his back even though he had wings and could fly, insisting that Crane needed to reserve his energy. A roar just as loud as any that Po had sounded made itself known, and the group instantly knew that they were in trouble. Po immediately landed on all fours to the dirt-covered mountain ground, letting the others quickly off of his back.

"You go inside! We'll take care of things out here!" Monkey shouted as Longwei's dragons zoomed overhead this way and that.

Are you sure? Po wanted to ask, though he knew that he couldn't. Why couldn't he talk with everyone the way that he could talk with Tigress? It would make things so much easier! He didn't want to leave his team outside alone to face two gigantic dragons that they couldn't take on without him!

"We'll be fine!" Viper called to him as he inched slowly towards the mountain's open tip. "You might not get another chance to go in there! You need to go in now! We'll distract these guys out here!"

Without second thought, Po dove into the mountain's top just as Chao had done. He was the only one who could go through, anyway; he was a dragon, and dragons were fireproof—he could take the heat while the others couldn't. He could only hope that they would be fine like Viper had promised, that they would be able to deter the two dragons long enough for him to go and get his son out.

Maybe then, they would even have double power to fight against the other two...

xxxx

Even as a dragon, it was hot. The heat simmered against his scales, and it was difficult to breathe. He wondered how Chao could have survived in such an environment at so young of an age; with a sick stomach, Po realized that one possibility could have been that the heat itself had forced him to transform, not Longwei.

It was dark and empty inside, and only a firepit from further below the top ground he was walking on was able to light his way.

A shadow crossed the corner of his eye just like it had at the Jade Palace. He growled, instantly spinning around to come face-to-face with the one he had been searching for six years ago along with his son.

It was Longwei. He was still wearing his black vest with the golden dragon in its center, not even affected by the heat around them. He was just standing there ready to be tackled.

Po growled again, not even hesitating and barely aware of the sound of a gate being opened. He charged forward but before he could even touch the dog before him, a fury of claws and teeth charged right at him, catching him completely off guard. The rest of the dragons were outside, weren't they?! But he had forgotten about one.

"Your 'little' boy is quite the fighter," Longwei praised, remaining in place with a brand new shield. Po raised his head, shock nearly overtaking him when a very familiar dragon came into sight. A black and white dragon with freckles around its nose; Chao was protecting Longwei from further attacks! "People come from everywhere to see him fight. At his age, he's already got a lot of experience, though he has lost some battles. I'd say he's quickly becoming my favorite out of the bunch."

People came to watch? Who? Other dogs?

He's only six years old! Po all but screamed in his mind, blood rushing to his head as a roar escaped. Longwei was, just as he had been six years prior, completely unfazed.

"Kill him," Longwei said simply to the black and white dragon. To Po's horror, Chao actually turned his head to face Longwei in response. Was the Dragon Slayer the only one he could understand?

Chao, Po said weakly through his mind to his son's, praying that somehow he would break through the barrier that Chao had created to block any incoming thoughts.

Chao snorted, pawing at the ground below him; he was preparing himself for another charge, and Po knew that he wouldn't be able to take much more of a beating—just from a simple slam, Chao had done a lot of damage already!

Chao, it's me. Your dad. You don't have to do this. He stole you from us! Po tried, though he could only watch in horror as Chao inched toward him with nothing but hurtful intent.

"Kill him and I will never put that cuff around your neck or leave you in the dark ever again."

There was so much hope plastered on the dragon's expression, it was almost disgusting the way that he looked to Longwei for help and support during such a time like this when he had to make one of the biggest decisions of his short life. He was only six years old and had already been through so much! Fighting other dragons to the death, Longwei's torture when he lost or didn't listen...it had to end now.

You don't have to listen to him anymore, Chao! Just come with me!

A fireball was shot directly at him. With nowhere to jump out of the way, Po could only brace himself for impact. The blast rammed his already beaten body up against the rocky wall. He could only gasp, gripping his furry arm in pain.

Wait...furry arm?

No. He hadn't even noticed the green flash, meaning that he'd turned back to normal!

The heat was already getting to be too much for him, and he had only been in his natural form for a few seconds. With all of his fur, he could hardly breathe. He knew that in mere minutes, he would literally be toast. He tried to change again, reaching deep into his Chi to pull out the dragon once more, but it was no use. Even if he could call forth the dragon, he wasn't going to leave his son with this maniac!

Chao...

His thoughts were starting to get muddled and confusing. He couldn't think straight! He could no longer feel his body, and darkness was beginning to close in. He stared up at Chao. If it really was his time, he wanted the last thing that he saw to be his son.

I'm sorry I couldn't save you.

He was going to leave Tigress behind. He was going to leave Lotus behind! He couldn't leave behind his daughter! Shaking the darkness that continued to envelop him in a last attempt to break free from the fiery heat, he turned his gaze up to the top of the volcano. It was so far away...he'd never make it...

Po thought he could hear yelling then. He thought he could hear a roar that nearly split the mountain itself in half. Then the dragon-turned-panda felt himself being lifted. What was happening? He could feel something wrapping around his body, and it felt sharp.

He allowed the darkness to fully consume him.