When Po finally opened his eyes, the last thing he expected was to see gold all around, and to be floating in midair. He couldn't think clearly at first, but when his vision cleared, he was shocked to find himself back in the Spirit Realm.

W—why am I here? What happened? he tried to think back to what he remembered last, but it was all dark and fuzzy. The only thing that came to mind was pain, and lots of it. But the pain had gone away. He could finally move again, and it didn't hurt to breathe. If he was breathing, anyway.

He was back in the Spirit Realm, and he hadn't used the Wuxi Finger Hold on himself. That must mean...

"Oh, sweetie. I'm so sorry."

The first person he expected to see was Master Oogway. He would be mad for breaking his staff, wouldn't he? But then again, Master Oogway had never called him 'sweetie' before. The voice was also vaguely familiar, like he'd heard it somewhere. He'd heard Oogway's voice before, of course, but this was different, like some part of him that had nearly been forgotten but was scratching its way to the surface.

Po whirled around slowly in the air, green eyes widening when he finally saw the owner of the voice.

"...Mom?" he whispered in disbelief, blinking rapidly to make sure that the panda floating steadily before him wasn't just some kind of mirage or cruel trick being played.

She moved towards him as if in slow motion, and he soon found himself wrapping his arms around her in one of the tightest hugs he'd ever given anyone in his life.

He was crying before he knew it, and she caressed his face with the most gentle touch imaginable, her paw wiping away stray tears. She was everything his dad had described: Smart, beautiful and so much more.

"Mom," he said again, savoring the name that had been robbed from him at such a young age. "Mom..."

She remained still, allowing all of his tears to be released onto her fur.

His shoulders heaved as the tears continued to flow not just from sadness, but from the joy of finally seeing his mother who had given her life to save his so long ago. The life that would eventually lead him to become the Dragon Warrior.

"I'm so proud of you," she told him fondly, gently stroking his back. "I was always proud of you, Little Lotus."

"I missed you so much," Po sobbed, squeezing her tighter. But he was careful not to squeeze too tight.

"And I you," she said softly, hugging her long-lost son just as tight. A few stray tears escaped; the last time she'd hugged her baby, she had to leave him behind in a radish basket. "But I'm afraid we can't stay like this forever."

"What?" Po sniffled, finally releasing his hold. But just a little, his paws still wrapped around hers. "This is the Spirit Realm. I'm pretty sure it goes on forever."

"All good things must come to an end," another voice suddenly interrupted. Po turned, wondering just how being dead could be good, when his eyes landed on a very familiar tortoise floating towards them. He gasped.

"Master Oogway...I'm really sorry about the staff!" Po blurted, covering his mouth with a paw soon after. "I just wanted to see if it was indestructible..."

The old master gave a little chuckle. "No need to worry, Dragon Warrior..."

Po frowned. He knew that look—the look that the tortoise was up to something.

"You have to go back, sweetie," his mother said, as though she'd read his mind. "They need you."

"But...I'm dead, aren't I?" Po was extremely confused. He'd died, hadn't he?

"Are you?" Oogway asked with a smile. It wasn't a smile filled with grief or sorrow, but his usual smile that let Po know for sure that he had to be up to something.

Po sighed. Why couldn't Oogway just give him a straight answer for once? He looked to his mother for help, but she remained silent, smiling at her son as he attempted to figure things out on his own.

"So...I guess this means I can go back, like last time..." Po whispered to himself. But then again, did he even want to go back? Kai had defeated him by trapping him inside of his own house as he had become weaker and weaker without his Chi. He'd taken his friends and family as prisoners. What was there to go back to? His Chi was gone. He couldn't defeat Kai without it!

Master Oogway watched as Po debated with himself, his smile never wavering. It only grew wider when he saw a light bulb switch on in the panda's mind.

"I can't defeat Kai without my Chi," Po said, determination beginning to override his hopelessness. "But then again, I never even had my Chi when I defeated Tai Lung and Lord Shen. I mean I did, but I didn't know how to use it back then."

A memory crossed his mind of the Dragon Scroll and his reflection.

There is no secret ingredient, his dad had told him. It had been at that moment before facing Tai Lung that he had realized something very important.

It's you.

"Ahh, but I'm afraid you will need more than just yourself this time around," Oogway said, his grin spreading tenfold. "For it is a great challenge to face one's self."

What? What did that mean? Did it have something to do with the fact that Kai had his powers? But before Po could think more into it, the tortoise had brought out his own staff, his bigger staff, beginning to raise it.

"Wait! What about you?" Po asked his mother as he began to feel light-headed and dizzy.

"I'll be alright," she said. "I'll always be watching over you, Little Lotus...my baby Po. Tell your father I said hi..."

Before Po could respond, everything went black.

The Dragon Warrior was gone.

Po was gone.

Li and Mr. Ping hadn't said a word since they discovered that their son had passed away during the night. Tigress had remained silent herself, and it was difficult to look the two fathers in the eye. Li had wanted to race to the Jade Palace and give Kai a piece of his mind. Tigress had wanted to do the same, but surprisingly, Mr. Ping was the one who had kept the two of them grounded.

"He still needs us," the goose had said. The only words he had spoken for the entire day. His tears had already run out.

They couldn't bring themselves to leave the Dragon Warrior's side. Tigress felt terrible for Li; he had just gotten his son back, and then he had lost him. Her mind was numb and she had trouble thinking straight, trying to hold back her rage that would surely be the end of Kai no matter if he had the Dragon Warrior's powers.

Lei Lei helped to cool down her anger, staying seated in her lap and playing with her Tigress action figure, waiting for Po to 'wake up.'

But he wasn't going to wake up ever again.

The silence was almost unbearable.

Tigress's eyes suddenly widened in shock when Master Oogway's staff began to shake and start piecing itself back together, strands of gold wrapping around it until the staff was no longer snapped in half. She glanced hurriedly back in Po's direction, Li and Mr. Ping following suit. Much to their disappointment, the panda remained still.

"What's happening...?" Li asked quietly.

An ear-splitting roar shattered the silence.