"Don't do this, Chao," Po pleaded with his son as the wounded dragon lay on his side, his breathing growing weaker and weaker every minute. "Come on, stay with me..."
Why did this have to happen?! Po screamed in his mind. They'd just found each other! He wanted to blame Longwei for taking Chao away from him so long ago. He wanted to blame himself for being so stupid and giving into the Dragon Slayer's pokes and prods. He wanted to blame Oogway for not stepping in to prevent such a tragedy from happening in the first place, but he knew that blaming his master would only get him nowhere.
Everything happened for a reason, but he just couldn't fathom what the reason for Chao getting kidnapped or killed was. Why, why, why?!
"Hang in there, buddy," Po whispered, readying himself to perform an extensive Chi session; he didn't have a choice! The Five were nowhere to be found—most likely captured by Longwei—and every second that he wasted was a risk that Chao wasn't going to make it.
It was almost certain that he wasn't going to make it, either. Just saving Lotus from her dreadful fever years ago had left him wiped out, and saving a dragon from a fatal leg wound would most certainly kill him. He didn't have an entire group of friends and family to surround Chao like when he'd gotten shot in the chest with Kai's arrow.
But he had to do it. He had to do it because if he didn't, Chao was going to die. He wouldn't allow his son to die!
He didn't have time to think things through, anymore. The only thing he could concentrate on was controlling his breathing as he began to ignite his Chi.
His paw shone a familiar bright glow, and he placed it on his son's wounded leg without any hesitation. Chao twitched but much to his father's relief, he didn't stir or wake up; jolting awake would have been a very upsetting and painful experience.
Before he could completely engulf the wound in the bright healing light, a strange and unexpected feeling washed over him. It was a rush of adrenaline and fear...and it came straight from Chao. A flash exploded in the Dragon Warrior's mind, temporarily blinding him. He could hear screaming, and then an extremely loud boom nearly deafened his ears. His first instinct was to reel back away from the wounded reptile, but he held his ground.
He had to, or else...
Po could sense behind closed eyes that his Chi was working, that it was carefully stitching Chao's wound back together. But it was also running out. He could feel that the last of his Chi was draining out of him, soon to be no more—sacrificed for his once-missing son who he had finally found and would protect with everything he had no matter what, promising that nothing would ever happen to him again.
Po found that he couldn't take much more—give much more. There were only a few drops of his Chi left and if he used the last remaining bit...he would be happy knowing that he had saved Chao's life.
It was then that he suddenly felt something different. It wasn't another strange feeling, but two familiar paws wrapping around his own. They were warm and soft, and he instantly knew who they belonged to with no need to open his tired jade eyes.
His Chi was growing stronger every second as the 'stranger' lent her own Chi, strengthening his dying fire bit by bit just as he had done to Lotus. She didn't say a word and she didn't have to, only gripping his paws even tighter than before as the last of Chao's wound finally disappeared. The dragon groaned but did not waken, letting out a relieved sigh as his pain from the leg wound vanished altogether.
The panda allowed his eyes to open at last, panting in exhaustion but immediately brightening when his gaze landed on his wife. She was sitting next to him and Chao on the rocky surface, bright golden light fading away from her paws.
"Tigress?" Po gawked.
She only smiled. "I knew you were in trouble. It's almost sundown." That had been their unspoken deal—that he was back by sundown, or she would go looking for him.
"How did you find me?" he questioned in confusion. There was no way she could have tracked them by land; he'd flown all the way to the volcano! Unless she had some sort of awesome power that he'd had no clue of before, there was just no way that she could have found him and the Five! Of course he had told her about the volcano, but it was only him who had actually traveled to said volcano while following Chao. Even after six years, his staff's powers were still sketchy; they still wouldn't work no matter how hard Po concentrated and visualized a person or a place. His power of flight when in dragon form had thankfully returned over time, but by then it had been useless; Chao was gone. Nowhere to be found, and they hadn't had any sort of leads.
"A feeling," Tigress responded. "I think Oogway was trying to tell me something, so he led me to you."
Po blinked, an uneasy feeling washing over him again. It wasn't as strong as when he had been healing Chao all by himself, but it was still there. Now that Tigress had mentioned feeling something too, he was slightly worried. It was nice to know that Oogway was still looking out for them, though. While he was upset that they hadn't been aided during the search for Chao—yet the tortoise had led Tigress straight to him—Po still had faith that Oogway would never completely abandon them, and he always had a reason for his actions.
The unusual and unsettling vision that he'd had proved it.
"Is Lotus okay?" Po asked uncertainly, though he knew that Longwei was nowhere near the Valley of Peace, that he was inside the mountain.
"She was playing with Bao and Lei Lei when I left. Li and Mr. Ping are looking out for them, and Shifu and the other pandas are keeping a very close eye out for Longwei in case he goes back..." Tigress trailed off. It seemed that she had finally noticed the young—yet huge—dragon resting right in front of them.
Po simply watched the bittersweet reunion unfold. She didn't say anything, remaining on her knees as she took in the sight of her long-lost son.
"It really is him..." she let out a choked sob, running her paws over his dull and scarred scales; there was only so much that their Chi could fix. "Chao...what happened to you?" she whispered, not even bothering to hide the tears running down her cheeks.
"It was Longwei," Po had to stop himself from growling. "He was forcing him to fight other dragons. A child."
Tigress didn't respond, but he could see anger mix in with her tears.
"We have to get him home."
Po glanced back towards the mountain. "What about the others? I think something happened..."
Tigress was firm. "We need to get him somewhere safe until he wakes up, first."
How were they going to move a big, unconscious dragon? They were also in the open where anyone could find them; even Longwei himself. With a wounded leg and carrying a heavy panda to safety, Chao hadn't been able to get far enough away from the volcano where they could easily be seen.
Po could only hope that the rest of the Five would be able to hold out a little longer, wherever they were. Hopefully not inside the mountain where they would be burnt into crisps, unless Longwei had given them all extra fireproof vests. "We'll think of something..."
They didn't have much time to think when the silhouette of a large creature suddenly flew overhead, and the creature itself landed without any warning directly in front of them. It was a dragon—a dragon that Tigress recognized—the dragon who had first carried off Chao six years prior. It was all she could do to send it a threatening growl, ready to fight to the death to prevent her son from being taken again.
To their horror, it looked to the still-unconscious dragon first but then back to the Dragon Warrior, its dark eyes clouded in anger and hate as it screeched a warning. A warning that they couldn't leave, unfurling large wings that Tigress had described to him the night that Chao had been taken.
Po stared right back, a fire inside flaring.
It was a challenge.
He accepted.