The first thing Po noticed when he woke up was that he was in a cell.

A dark and cold cell, and he couldn't see more than two feet in front of him.

The second thing he noticed was that in the cell next to him, he could hear what sounded like sniffles and someone crying.

"Chao?" he asked quietly. The sniffles stopped for a moment and a gasp was heard.

"S—Siyu?"

"Yeah! I'm here," Po reassured the cub, "are you okay? Did they hurt you?" He decided that when whoever had captured them showed their faces, they would be sorry that they had ever messed with the Dragon Warrior and his friends. Wait...it was just one friend now.

A memory of the night before swept through Po's mind and everything came back to him in a flash. He had been about to fall asleep, about to go into hibernation for another thousand years—when Lotus had done something that had cost the little panda his life.

The transformation...he was no longer a dragon now, but a panda—and it was all because Lotus had given up his own panda spirit so he could be changed back into his original form. Because of Lotus, he could stay awake to see another day and avoid going back into hibernation.

But Lotus was gone and it was all because of him...

More sniffles were heard, pulling Po back into the present. Chao had never responded to his question of if he had been hurt, and it sounded like he wasn't planning on doing so anytime soon.

"I'm so sorry...if I'd had any idea what he was going to do...I would have stopped him if I hadn't been about to fall asleep!"

Still no response. Po didn't blame Chao if he was mad and never wanted to talk to him again, though he hoped that wasn't the case; Chao and Lotus had been his first friends in this new, scary and lonely timeline. If it hadn't been for the two of them, he would have woken up all alone without any company, and he would have had no idea what to do next.

What more could you possibly take from me?! Po screamed mentally at Master Oogway, fuming in absolute anger that his master had allowed Lotus to go through with what he had done. Why couldn't he have intervened then?!

One of the smallest voices that he had ever heard suddenly made itself known; a weak voice that had the power to snap Po's heart in half.

"...I want to go home," Chao sniffed through a hiccup.

Po could imagine him all alone in the other cell, curled up into a ball against the corner. Me too, his mind couldn't help but respond, still unused to the fact that he was now able to communicate with actual words. He wanted to go back a thousand years so that none of this had ever happened, so he could see his friends and family again. He wanted to go home just like Chao, but he knew that it was never going to happen, and his aching heart throbbed in agony at the thought.

"I'll get us out of here, I promise..." was all he could say to try and comfort the cub who was just as trapped as he was.

There was another sniffle. "Siyu...is the world going to end now?"

"What?" Po questioned, startled.

"You're not a dragon anymore...does that mean you can't protect the universe now?"

"No way...not on my watch." Po's mind raced. Could he still protect the universe in the form that he was in now? Was he mortal again? How was he still alive if he was a thousand years old? If he died now, what would happen to the universe in the next thousand years? Had his powers completely disappeared? He couldn't really test out that last one in pitch darkness. A thought crossed his mind that he should create a light with his Chi, but then another thought came to mind that he probably shouldn't practice Chi around Chao for the time being, not since Lotus had sacrificed himself by using his own Chi to change him back.

He was back to normal, yet he felt so different...black and white fur had replaced his golden scales. It was still weird to truly be talking, to not have to use his mind to communicate—at least with Chao, the only one able to hear his thoughts. The child was still crying and it broke Po's heart; he of all people knew what it was like to lose someone close to you.

Po figured that he should start getting used to actually speaking, so he thought of something that he could say to Chao to comfort the little cub and cheer him up a bit. But what could you say to someone who had just lost their best friend...their brother?

"My birth name was Lotus..." he finally decided to break the deafening silence.

"...Really?" Chao replied in a beat.

"Yep. I was adopted just like your brother too, but by a goose...maybe that's why he was able to change me back...because we had so many similarities..."

"...What's your real name?"

Po froze. "My real name?"

"My mom kept his original name...but did you have another name after Lotus...?"

Po remained silent, wondering whether he should tell Chao the truth. He and Lotus had given him the name Siyu after all, and he didn't want to hurt his feelings or try to change a name that his brother had helped him come up with. Though he had accepted that he was no longer Po, he knew deep down that he was still...

"Po. My real name is Po...but you can still call me Siyu, if you want to...I mean, I'm kinda used to it by now..."

Silence. But then...

"I like Po better..." Chao whispered.

Po smiled through the darkness. For the first time in a long time...he was starting to feel more like himself again; he could only hope that they were going to be able to get out of this mess.

He wasn't a dragon anymore. The universe—though it wouldn't happen again for another thousand years—was in danger every second that he was still mortal. If something happened to him now, then what would happen to the universe in the future? Chao had suggested that they could try to make the world itself immortal...but how exactly were they going to do that? There were so many questions and not enough answers!

"They took my bag with the panda toy in it...and your staff," Chao said quietly, breaking him out of his thoughts once more.

"Oh, they are so going down..." Po murmured. Chao let out a small giggle, catching him off guard, though he was glad that he had helped him feel at least a little better.

The sound of footsteps instantly brought Po to attention.

Someone was coming, and he had a bad feeling that it wasn't Kai.