There was so much silence.

It was like running through honey, like his feet were made of lead.

"Po, we need to go!" Li Shan? But, where was he? The entire landscape was a fuzzy haze.

Others ran past him, Mei mei and Bao, his cousins and friends. But they ran by so fast that they were nothing more than flashes.

And he couldn't. Catch. Up.

There was darkness behind him, he could feel it. It was nothing more than a shadow, but it swallowed the ground behind him. He tried running, clawing his way along the ground, but his feet would not move.

He heard someone shouting behind him, unintelligible words and sounds swallowed by the ever increasing void.

And just as that cloud of darkness caught up with him, he heard it. A familiar voice.

"Something is coming, Po."

"Oogway?" The name turned to dust in his mouth.

"The dragon is awake."

No sooner had his voice said those words than the dark cloud caught up with him, and the ground seemed to open up underneath him. And suddenly, he was falling….falling…falling

"Po?"

He sat up so fast that his vision was blurry, reflexes taking over before he could even think.

"Woah, buddy." Mantis was staring at him wide-eyed, and Po's head finally cleared to see what he had done.

He lowered the dagger from Tigress' throat, chest heaving and fingers cold.

What had he done?

"What-what happened?" He stammered, letting the knife fall to his side. He looked around at the group, into a mix of shock and surprise.

"We need to get moving, brother." Viper explained calmly, seemingly not angry at all. In fact, of the entire group, she seemed the most understanding.

"Right, yeah." He nodded, pulling his feet in to sit cross-legged.

He briefly recalled the conversation the night before, and the decision for him to return to the Valley of Peace. Mei Ling was leading a small party to investigate the palace, but the lights had gone out. More than likely, Bai Liang had already left for the coast.

Mantis and Viper were headed towards the Eastern provinces, to where the boats would hopefully be docked. Their plan involved sabotaging them while the others figured out their next play.

It seemed like an okay plan, but there was one part that concerned him probably more than it should. He was heading to the valley with Tigress…..the very person he had just threatened with a knife. He felt that anxious dread build up in his chest. She had disappeared before he had the chance to say anything to her.

Thankfully, only the five had witnessed his little episode.

"You hungry?" Monkey patted his shoulder and then produced a bowl. "Your dad made soup."

He nodded haltingly and took the bowl, knowing that his dad would probably kill him if he didn't eat. But also, it was quite the run to the valley, as they had to move fast. If he didn't eat it now, he would regret it later.

He scarfed it down, feeling suddenly ravenous, and then stood from his spot near the ashes of the fire.

It was early morning still, and the rest of the camp was either still sleeping, or just beginning to stir. So, he tried to be as quiet as possible as he maneuvered his way to the city gate.

Tigress was already waiting for him, going through the supplies of one-of-two packs that sat on the ground. She didn't even flinch when he came over to her.

"Hey, we only have provisions for the day, I assume we'll be back by nightfall?" She returned the contents of the first pack and handed it to him, giving him an expectant look.

"I guess so?" He shrugged, suddenly getting nervous. "Hey, about earlier, I-"

"Po, it's okay." She said it genuinely, but he still felt that sinking feeling in his gut that he had fractured their relationship in some way. Getting threatened with a knife wasn't easy to overcome, especially by a friend. "We all have nightmares."

"I know but…" He shouldered his pack. "I'm still sorry."

She offered him a small smile, while putting on her own pack. "It's really okay."

"Tigress!" The call came from Crane, who was making his way over to them, Kai and Yu in tow. "Shifu wants these two to tag along. That okay?"

"Sounds good." She nodded to Crane, who left them there and walked towards Mei Ling's scout party. "Can you two run?"

They looked at one another and nodded.

"Alright. We should get moving if we want to be back by nightfall." Tigress turned without another word, and they followed.

OoOoOoO

They managed to make it to the Valley before the sun was directly overhead, which meant in total, the run was just over four hours long. Mostly, that was due to Po's insistence that they stop for a break.

Secretly, however, they were all relieved.

Tigress' side was still paining her, and Kai wasn't adept at running like the others. Plus, the path to the valley was riddled with overgrown paths and roots. Even Tigress and Po, who were trained Kung Fu masters, had trouble navigating the overgrowth.

But, when they finally breached the bamboo thicket, there was a sigh of audible relief.

Despite ten years of neglect, there was not a sight that even came close to the valley. Even the overcast skies did nothing to damper the feeling of finally being home.

"We should get up to the mountain sooner rather than later." Tigress murmured, although the excitement on her face outweighed the seriousness of her tone.

"Wait, one quick thing!" Po took off before she could stop him, Kai and Yu following behind and absorbing his excitement.

Tigress knew where they were going, of course. It was hard to forget the path to Mr. Ping's.

"Well, he's not going to be pleased about that." She heard Po say and as she rounded the corner, and she could see why. The entire stone wall at the front had caved in, leaving a pile of rubble amassed in the seating area. The actual shop seemed to be in okay-condition, although she wouldn't dare touch the bags of flour and rice she could see still sitting in the kitchen.

Po shook his head good-naturedly and began making his way towards the base of the staircase, stopping only briefly to glance at the base of the large statue that had been reduced to rubble.

"I don't think I can do stairs." Po mumbled when they got to the base of the staircase.

"Woah." Kai breathed. "You had to climb these every day?"

Tigress hummed in reply. "Come on, Po. I'll race you to the top."

Judging by his expression, he was surprised, to say the least. But he didn't have much time to be in shock, because she took off up the steps, leaving him in the dust.

"Well, you heard her!" Yu laughed, watching him scramble for a moment. He took off after her, but it was clear that she would inevitably beat him to the top.

What he didn't expect was, when he finally made it gasping and sputtering, that she would be standing on the last step, frozen, her auburn eyes fixed on what used to be the main gate. He stood, came to stand next to her.

She didn't say anything. He knew what she was thinking, though. So, he took her paw in his and squeezed it reassuringly.

"I know."

"I heard it was bad, I just-" She faltered.

"Some of the buildings are still standing." He just barely tilted his head when Kai and Yu finally joined them, not taking his eyes off of the rubble. "Come on."

He squeezed her paw once more, and together, the four of them entered the Jade palace.