A/N: Remember how I said I hoped things would calm down? HA! I totally lied….

Anyways, enjoy!

OoOoOoO

Mr. Ping's out-of-the-blue return seemed to send a wave of joy through the camp. There was a sort of elation as rubble was cleared, food was salvaged, and the few wolves that remained as prisoners were put into the dungeons.

But, as much as Po wanted nothing more to sit and speak with the goose that had raised him, there were even more pressing matters to attend to. For instance, there were many wounded. Even though the fight with the wolves had been brief, many of the rebels sported life threatening injuries. Some were buried under rubble, including a group of orphans whose orphanage roof had collapsed. It wasn't until late into the night when the five were able to relax at all, after being relieved of their duties by the next shift.

With the moon high in the sky and small campfires burning throughout the city, the masters of the Jade palace finally sat and talked, eating and taking care of their injuries in the cool night air.

"Dad, how did you get here?"

Po's question piqued all of their interests, even Shifu. Monkey's chopsticks hung in the air, noodles still hanging from them. Tigress looked up from where she had been tending to her side, even Mei Ling's tail shifted curiously.

"Well," the goose sighed heavily,"It's a long story."

"You don't have to-" Tigress protested, but he held up his wing to stop her.

"I was part of a small caravan of evacuees from the valley." He began with a dramatic tone, setting his bowl aside. "We were stopped a few li out from the village by some mean-looking wolves. They ransacked our supplies, and stole the soup I had made!" He shook his head, feathers ruffled in irritation. "They said it was good, so they forced me to come back to the Imperial City and cook for that stupid wolf. At least they were decent enough to give me a shop…"

"You sent me soup." Tigress replied with a smile, and the others looked to her with a mixture of confusion and curiosity.

He nodded and sighed heavily. "But the wolves talk," he paused, face falling,"and when I found out what they were doing to all of those animals…" he trailed off, but he didn't need to finish.

"The rebellion," Crane spoke up for the first time in a while,"was that you?"

"I can't take all the credit." Ping picked up his bowl, but only stirred the noodles around. "I just helped…provide a place for their meetings."

"My dad, the resistance leader." Po chuckled to himself, returning his eyes to his soup. But something shifted in his gaze, and it seemed that Tigress and Mr. Ping were the only ones to notice. The tiger sent the goose a glance, one that told him they'd talk later.

"You said the wolves talk?" Shifu's voice was inquisitive, and Mr. Ping must have understood his reasoning behind the question. He set aside his bowl once more.

"I don't know their plans if that's what you're asking." Ping replied. "All I know is this. Whatever Bai Liang is planning, it will happen soon. He has boats in the eastern harbor, and some of the city guards were complaining about having to find more resources and metal."

"Cannons." Tigress murmured the word quietly, but it still sent a little sliver of ice into each of the group member's hearts. "We thought he might be building cannons."

"Like Shen?" Ping looked around the group, wide-eyed.

"Exactly, but bigger." Mantis replied.

"But we don't know why." Mei Ling finished off her bowl and set it in front of her. "And he has so many reinforcements that it wouldn't be possible to just storm the place and take them out before he knows we're coming."

"She's right." Crane glanced to her and then back to the goose. "We need to get ahead of whatever he's planning."

"But how do we do that?" Viper's question was met with silence.

"I think I might have something that could help." Mantis piped up. He pulled a small scroll seemingly out of nowhere, and handed it to Shifu.

"Where did you find that?" Po asked.

"Broke into big bad's study." Mantis nodded, proud of himself.

"I've seen something like this before." Shifu muttered, more to himself than anyone else.

"Master?" Tigress frowned at him.

"It's part of the prophecy that Yu received." Shifu replied.

OoOoOoO

When the Great Dragon calls, from his fortress of stone

Assembles an army, from the warriors that roam.

Delves deep for his jewel, through rock and fire

There lies all his dreams and his hopes and desires.

But a war rages on, it torments his sleep

Until in fire and foe, come a dragon and peace.

Divided by struggle, united by death

The warriors must rise, before he takes a breath.

And in the sun, once it once more has shone

Stands a warrior of Jade and a heart of stone.

Defeating the dragon may seem simple but,

A tree with roots deep underground cannot simply be cut.

For a moment, there was silence. Nothing but the crackling of the fire disturbed the awed quiet that now resounded in the air. And the mixed emotions of everyone around that campfire could be visibly seen flashing across their faces. In fact, the only two warriors who didn't seem wildly confused were Po and Tigress. And Mr. Ping…he wasn't confused either.

"Have you heard that somewhere before?" Viper asked him, cocking her head to the side.

"The poem, no." Po spoke up before Ping had the chance to. "The story, though...that's familiar."

"It's not a prophecy. It's an old children's tale." Tigress continued for him, surprised at herself that she knew what it was referring to. "Tai Lung told it to me when I was really young. Scared me half-to-death."

"Tigress?" Shifu's head perked up at the mention of his adopted son's name, worry etched into his face.

"The story goes that there was once a stag who helped an old fox by defending her against a pack of beasts. She revealed herself to be an enchantress, and she told him about a magic stone that could grant his one deepest desire." Po began to explain. "In order to get the stone, he had to find his way into an enchanted lair. So he gathered a small army, and marched into the fortress. But when he found the stone, it granted his desire for power. He turned into a dragon and killed his entire army, thinking they were going to steal the gem from him."

"But the gem had other abilities." Tigress continued. "So when he found it, it began to call others to it. And each animal who was called by the gem was killed by the dragon. This went on for centuries until the first Furious Five was established. They confronted the dragon-"

"But they couldn't defeat him." Po interrupted, slightly giddy. This was after all, one of his favorite Furious Five stories. "He was too powerful. So, to keep him from hurting anyone else, they put him to sleep with the awesome Weixing wave and left him in his dungeon."

"What happened to the stone?" Monkey asked wide-eyed.

"No one knows. Some say it was destroyed, others say it's hidden somewhere safe." Tigress shrugged. "When I asked Oogway about it, he said that I didn't need to worry, that all would be revealed in time."

"Great." Mantis muttered begrudgingly. "Just another normal mission."

"Could this be the reasoning behind everything?" Crane asked incredulously. "It seems really far-fetched, and that's saying a lot considering what we've seen."

"Shifu? You're being awfully quiet." Mr. Ping narrowed his eyes at the old master. The others followed his gaze, watching Shifu think through what he was going to say next.

"I have heard of the Weixing stone before." He sighed. "But when Oogway told me the story, there was something….different."

"Like what?" Mei Ling asked.

"It was one of the few times I saw Oogway truly afraid." Shifu murmured, much to their surprise. "Back when I was younger, there were many a night when he would be woken by nightmares. I once asked what they were about, and he said it was a time after he had gone."

"Did he see this? Us?" Crane asked.

"If he did, why didn't he say anything?" Po's voice rose slightly. "Why didn't he try to stop it?"

"One often meets their fate on the path they take to avoid it." Tigress murmured quietly, normally stony eyes turning….sad. Po glanced at her, irritation fading.

"So, what happens now?" Viper dared to ask quietly, looking into the flames rather than her comrades. Her question was met with nothing but the crackle of the embers.

"We don't have much time." Tigress spoke up. "If he is moving now, we need to get to the coast."

Shifu nodded in agreement, as did the others.

"Do you have any idea where they kept the stone?" Crane asked.

"No. But it may be in Oogway's journals. They were still at the Jade palace when I returned." Shifu replied.

"So, a group goes to the valley, and a group goes to the coast?" Tigress suggested.

"What is that?" Something caught Mei Ling's eye, but her question was drowned out by Po's voice.

"Mantis should go to the coast. He can slip in and sabotage the boats...try to keep them from leaving their docks."

"Viper should go to for the same reason." Crane added.

"Guys-" Mei Ling tried to grab their attention.

"Someone need to stay here and protect the-"

"GUYS!" Mei ling cut off Shifu, ignoring the miffed look on his face. "Look!"

She pointed off into the distance towards the palace, or at least, where it had been. Now, it seemed nothing more than shadows in the dark.

"What about it?" Po frowned.

Tigress noticed it too, and she stood slowly, squinting into the distance.

"The lights have gone out."