The Way Back
Just to make something clear for people, the nightmare that Po has been having isn't him getting a glimpse into the world he left behind, it is him imagining what might of happened since he left, because these nightmares are so vivid he thinks that they are visions.
Chapter 4 - Tender
The Future
Mantis woke up to the smell of cooking, it was early morning, back in the old days this was about the time when the gong would of rung, "I guess it still comes naturally to me" he thought with a dry chuckle.
Mantis got up, stretched and went to find the source of the smell.
He walked into the kitchen and saw Po leaning over preparing food, "Hey Po, it's a bit early for you isn't it? What are you doing?".
Po jumped at the sound of Mantis's voice, he had been so deep in thought that he hadn't heard him come in...being tired didn't help either.
Po turned to face Mantis who gasped at the sight of Po's appearance.
He look exhausted, the space around his eyes had become sullen and darker, Po's fur was less shiny then usual and his posture didn't look too great either.
Po ignored Mantis's expression, "Nothing really, I'm just making breakfast for all of you, after that we can train for a bit, then I'm going to get back to work, I'm so close I can just feel it!".
He turned back to his food and continued preparing it, Mantis looked with great concern upon his friend.
Before Mantis could say anything Viper and Monkey entered the kitchen and sat down.
Po served them dumplings and soup and sat down silently.
Viper gave Mantis a look, she was telling him to tell Po what they had talked about last night.
Mantis scowled at her cowardice, he cleared his throat which caused Po to look up.
"Listen Po, me and the other have noticed how hard you're working on finding your way back, and the truth is the way you're going, you're going to end up killing yourself".
Po looked back at his food considering a reply.
"I can't waste any time, I've had to wait two years and I'm barely holding myself together, god knows how Tigress and the others must feel" Po almost sounded angry.
Mantis shook his head "I'm not saying that you haven't been working hard enough, quite the opposite, but we may have a suggestion ".
Po gestured with his hand so Mantis would continue.
"When we went to Gongmen City all those years ago we met a soothsayer", Po nodded "I know, I've lived through that, what's your point?".
Viper took over "Maybe she knows a way to get you back, at the very least she may be able to tell you your future which could hold the secret to making a stone".
Po weighed up the pros and cons in his mind, "Okay first the cons, if this ends up being a wild goose chase then I've lost at least three days from travel and another three to get back here, she may also not want to help me, after all I did kill Shen in this world. The pros are that if this works then I can go home, while that's the only one it's pretty much the ultimate pro".
Po smirked "Lets do it!" he stood up and brandished his fist in the air epically.
Viper noticed that he didn't look tired when he smiled like that and all of his energy seemed to come back to him.
The others all agreed, Po sat back down "So we should leave as soon as we can right?" Monkey nodded "Yeah the sooner the better".
Now they had a plan.
A couple of hours later they all stood at the top of the stairs leading down into the village, Po was wearing a pack containing all of his research materials and his letters.
"Wait before we go I just need to do something" said Po, he took his pack off and handed it to Monkey to hang onto.
Po ran up to the spot which he had been meaning to come to for awhile now.
He knelt down in front of it and rubbed some of the moss of the tombstone, it revealed Tigress's name on it.
"So this might be the only time I see you Future Tigress, that's got a weird ring to it hasn't it?" Po chewed his lip anxiously.
He stood up "I don't really have much to say, he sighed, "I don't know how to feel, I mean, I know that I'll always love any Tigress but I didn't know you at all so...I'm sorry".
Po started to walk away, he stopped and looked over his shoulder and spoke, "I've tried to get things back to normal here as much as I can although I don't think it will ever be the same again".
Po walked back down to the Three and grabbed his pack off of Monkey, when he had finished strapping it onto himself they started to make their way down the stairs.
Po was nervous it had been a while since he had come down to the village, the last time he did he had been regarded with suspicion and mistrust, many people had thrown things at him and called him a monster.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs they all looked around cautiously, the village looked deserted.
"Where is everyone? It's the middle of the afternoon" asked Monkey to no one in particular.
"I dunno Monkey it might have something to do with the fact that everyone is scared of us!" yelled Mantis.
"Yeah and having an argument with each other is definitely going to help" said Viper while rolling her eyes.
Po gasped when he realized something "Hey guys, who's going to protect the Valley while we're gone?".
"We don't need anybody here, ever since our Po started his campaign nobody has tried to invade or destroy this village, it won't hurt to tell anybody that he's gone" said Mantis.
"But nobody's been executed for two years, aren't people going to wonder why?" said Po exasperatedly.
Viper shook her head "No, you've been seen around the village, as far as anybody is concerned The Dragon Warrior never left".
Po became silent "Why should it matter to me? I don't belong here...what am I saying I can't let any innocents die because of my selfishness".
"No!, Two of you need to stay here to protect everyone" admonished Po.
The Three looked at each other, none of them found Po's concern warranted, he hadn't been around to see that because of what The Dragon Warrior did nobody would dare try to attack the Valley.
"How about we just get more rhino guards?" asked Monkey.
Po smirked "Ok fine, but you're going to have to stay here and supervise them".
Monkey groaned "How come I'm getting benched?".
"Because you brought it up" snickered Mantis, he turned to Po "Now can we go?", Po nodded and the others set off leaving Monkey to protect the village.
Monkey watched their retreating forms with a frown.
He thought of what Po was going through and wished his friends luck on their perilous journey.
xxxxx
Back in Po's world
This was it! Crane was finally going to tell Viper how he felt about her, he had learnt from Po to do it as soon as possible.
Crane was standing outside her room, it was night time, it had been a long day of training mainly because he had been Tigress's punching bag for today.
He raised his wing and softly knocked on her door.
After a moment of agonizing silence the door opened to reveal a very tired looking Viper, when she saw Crane her expression changed from one of exhaustion to happiness.
"Hey Crane, is there something I can help you with?" asked Viper with a smile.
Crane put his wings together nervously "W-well you see the thing is Viper, I want to t-tell you something that I've waited a long time to tell you".
Down the hall laying on Po's bed, Tigress could hear the entire conversation...and it hurt her...hurt her badly, "It reminds me of when I admitted my feelings to Po" with this thought she unsheathed her claw, dug them into Po's mattress and desperately longed for escape into her dreams.
Crane and Viper were unaware of Tigress at the moment however.
"What is it Crane?" asked Viper, on the outside she tried to keep a cool head but on the inside her heart was doing somersaults and she was getting breathless.
He kept trying to start a sentence but only nervous sounds kept coming out, he sighed and just lent forward and kissed Viper, putting everything he couldn't vocalize into a passionate kiss.
When he pulled away they looked into each others eyes, they were both panting from the lack of air.
"I love you too Crane" said Viper simply.
Crane beamed with happiness, after many years of longing Viper was finally with him!