It didn't take much to release the dragons. All the Dragon Warrior had to do was thrust each locked cage open with what little remaining Chi he had.
Two bursts for the red and gray dragons who had bowed so graciously to him in the arena, and who deserved to be set free just as much as Chao. He had a feeling deep inside that his son had some kind of bond with the gray being. It looked to the small bundle in Tigress's arms with an almost worried expression, and Po knew then that he had made the right choice to set them free.
His decision had come with a price. Tigress was suffering without her vest to help keep her cool and to help her breathe, and he had to get her out of there along with the Five. Her grip on his back as she held the tiny shape in her arms was lessening. The two other dragons followed close behind, unsure of what to do without their original 'leader,' but knowing that the Dragon Warrior was now the one that they should follow. He had shown them mercy and had set them free—they owed him their lives.
The group couldn't get far enough away from the doomed mountain. It was as if the volcano was crumbling from the side and expanding—expanding until it would eventually explode like Po had predicted it would.
They found a temporary sanctuary in the same spot where Longwei and his army of dogs had surrounded them. The canine army had most likely run in fear of the volcano, but Po knew there was a big chance that the Dragon Slayer was still around; they couldn't stay for long. Monkey and Crane helped to slide Tigress down off of Po's back, her grip on the bundle in her arms tighter as she regained her strength now that she was outside in fresh air.
"He still has his collar on..." She murmured when she spotted the painful cuff still wrapped tightly around his neck. In all their worrying to heal his wound, they had forgotten all about the tortuous device, and she was surprised that it hadn't fallen off after he had transformed into a smaller size.
The gray dragon moved closer. Tigress moved back in a protective motion away from the gigantic reptile. She knew that it meant no harm, but it had still been a creature of the Dragon Slayer's; it was the very same dragon who had first kidnapped Chao, and who had attempted to kill Po. She just couldn't bring herself to forget those two facts, so it was instinct that she had to protect her baby.
The gray dragon let out a soft whine. She thought she could hear a voice in her mind like when she could talk to Po...
I just want to help, it said. It was nothing more than an echo, and soon it fluttered away with the wind.
Tigress forced herself to stay still as the gray dragon made its way towards her again. It moved slower this time in a way that let her know that it meant no harm to herself or Chao. It bent its head downward towards the tiny shape, and with a large claw it picked the collar's lock open with ease. Tigress knew that Po couldn't have used his Chi; none of them could. They were all tired, worn out from everything that had happened. She wondered how many times it had wanted to take Chao's collar off before, but couldn't—not when Longwei or the other dogs were around. She realized then that these dragons were all in this together. They had been through so much, and had survived against every dragon that Longwei forced them to fight.
They had fought for their lives and thanks to the Dragon Warrior...now they were finally free, even the gray dragon who Longwei had given a little bit of leash but could never have fully left his home. With a pang, she had another realization that these two dragons—including her son—were the only ones left out of who knew how many dragons that Longwei had forced into the fighting arena.
The cuff clattered to the ground like the first that Po had released from Chao's neck.
Tigress looked up, staring into the gray dragon's dark eyes; they reminded her a bit of Po's spirit side, but she knew now that looks could be deceiving.
"Thank you," she whispered gratefully, "for looking out for him." The dragon had been there for her son when she couldn't have. A warm blanket of emotion was rested over her—the gray dragon regretted taking Chao, so it had done all it could for her little boy while he had been in Longwei's clutches like a student and teacher—or a father and a son.
She faintly wondered if the gray dragon had a name. Longwei hadn't called his dragons by any sort of handle, and she was somewhat grateful that he apparently hadn't given her son a name to go by. Dragons were nothing but weapons to the dog, so why should he give them names?
In a split second, she made a decision to give him one.
"Guiren," she stated in respect. It was a name worthy of such a dragon—'looking out for others,' and that was exactly what Guiren had done for her son.
Guiren rumbled a quiet thank you in return. she glanced to the side, only to see that the red dragon had disappeared.
Po had stood by, still in his own dragon form.
He's still around, he assured her with a gentle smile. We have to get away from here and warn the Valley.
Tigress nodded and relayed his message to the Five.
"We have to warn the Valley and get everyone out."
"Tigress, what's going on?" Viper asked, her tone worried.
Tigress sighed, a stab of pain shooting through her chest as air released; the volcano's heat had certainly done its job. There was no way that she could answer her friend's question lightly—she had to be straightforward and honest.
"He said that the volcano is going to destroy everything."
"What?!" the Five cried all at once. They certainly hadn't been expecting that!
"How are we going to stop a volcano?" Monkey asked in a panic. "We can't!"
"How does he even know that it's going to reach the Valley?" Mantis questioned suspiciously.
"We can't just evacuate an entire Valley without any proof," Crane said, obviously reluctant about the whole thing. The volcano was going to explode, sure—but how could it reach a place that was so far away?
Are you serious? Po thought to himself. They didn't have any time left!
In a green flash, he changed so he could yell.
"Because I've seen it!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. It was a bad idea to tell the truth, he knew. No one was supposed to know too much of their future, but Oogway had never told him that he couldn't tell anyone. The tortoise hadn't mentioned any consequences if he did. This was a life or death situation!
"...Through a vision?" Tigress asked. She trusted Po to always tell her the truth, but this was a little far-fetched.
"No...I actually saw it," he said, lowering his gaze to the rocky ground.
"Po, what are you talking about?" Tigress demanded, holding Chao close. He still hadn't stirred one bit, and she was starting to get even more worried than she already was. What if something was wrong? His sword wound was gone; completely healed. But Chao had been a dragon for nearly his whole life. What if the transformation had only made things worse?
"Remember that 'crazy dream' I told you about? Well, it wasn't a dream," Po said. He looked absolutely serious. He wasn't kidding. There were only a few rare times where the panda completely dropped his silly nature—when he knew that things were bad.
"Tigress...you don't remember. None of you do except me. I was stuck in my dragon form because of the end of the world. After I saved the world, I had to go to sleep for a thousand years in order to save it again. And again and again...the process would have repeated if I hadn't met..."
He let out a shuddering sigh at the thought of his two friends.
"...If I hadn't met Chao and Lotus. Chao wasn't a student in my kung fu class, Tigress. It was true that he was a tiger. He had an adopted panda brother named Lotus. They were the ones who gave me the idea to make the universe immortal, and I used Kai to do it. He escaped from my prison that I'd accidentally left him in for a thousand years, and the universe wanted to send me back home in return for making it immortal."
"But if the universe is immortal now...then why is the volcano going to explode?" Mantis questioned. He didn't get it and none of it made any sense!
"Oogway said that families and situations would be brought together again by fate. Tigress...Chao was your descendant," Po answered, still with a look that meant he was all-out serious. "He was who I named our son after, and our Lotus after his brother. If it hadn't been for Lotus, I would still be stuck in my dragon form."
He took a cautious step towards her. She took a step back, her eyes wide.
"I'm sorry I lied to you," Po apologized with every ounce of sincerity that he had. "But everything I just told you is true. We have to get back home now. You have to believe me..."
Tigress took another step back, her eyes wide and still unblinking, cradling Chao closer to her chest. Po wouldn't blame her if she didn't believe a word that he said...but her next words surprised him and sent a shiver of relief and shock down his spine.
"...I believe you, Po."
"You do?" he asked, his own eyes growing wide.
"Yes. Ever since you came back from saving the world, I've been having these strange feelings of Déjà vu—like I'd already been in a certain place or had done certain things again. When you told me about your dream...it all came back to me then."
"...You've known all this time?" he questioned again just to be sure. Why hadn't she talked to him about it?
"I remember, Po...all of it." She clung onto him like a lifeline, and he placed a paw gently on his sleeping son's healed chest. "My life without you...the volcano...we had no warning...it just happened and there was so much destruction...I barely made it out with...with my family." She felt like she was going to fall over. "It's going to happen all over again."
The Five didn't know what to say. Unlike Tigress, they couldn't remember anything about having a past life, but they knew that her words rang true.
"We have to warn everyone," she confirmed.
In a second green flash, Po was a dragon once more. Tigress climbed onto his back in a slow manner, still weak from the volcano's heat.
Guiren lowered his body as an invitation for the Five to climb aboard. No time for hesitation, they accepted the dragon's offer, allowing Tigress and Chao all the space that Po's back provided.
They almost reached the Valley of Peace when an extremely loud boom pierced their ears.
Po didn't need to look behind him to know that fate had finally met its due just as Chao had warned him it would.
The volcano had erupted.