Li and Mr. Ping sat by their son's side, waiting patiently for him to wake up as Oogway said he would. It was dark now, the night enveloping the silence as they waited. They knew he was going to wake up—he had to. But their worrying wasn't over yet.

What if Master Oogway was wrong?

Shifu sat beside Tigress, watching the Dragon Warrior with a heavy expression. He was unsure of what was going to happen next and almost unaware as Tigress had been that he was in Po's bedroom for the first time. His master had said that he would wake up, yes—but the tortoise also said that he had to believe once again. Whatever that implied, Shifu didn't know. At least his headaches were gone...but he was giving himself another just by wracking his brain and trying to figure out what Oogway had meant.

Bao sat with Shifu, cuddling up against the old master and trying not to fall asleep while he waited for Po to wake up along with the others. Shifu couldn't really resist, for Bao had somehow managed to sneakily worm his way into his lap. Li and Mr. Ping had allowed the cub to come inside with them, for they knew that he would be one of the first of Po's friends that the panda would want to see upon waking.

Tigress couldn't help but send Shifu a smile as she held her own cub that she had come to know so well; little Lei Lei had also found a lap of her own to call home for the time being.

Shifu wondered how he would ever be able to send the pandas back home to their village now, especially after all they'd been through. But the Valley of Peace could be a dangerous place, as Kai had reminded them. Even if everything seemed quiet and slow at times, there was always something that would prove them otherwise. He didn't know if the pandas themselves would even want to stay after all that occurred, or if Po would want to go back with them as well...but Shifu decided he would cross that bridge when the time came.

Po was finally breathing again, Tigress noticed. His hand didn't feel so weightless when she took it in hers once again and she squeezed, Lei Lei fast asleep against her shoulders.

But something was wrong.

His breathing was just as ragged as the night when he had...she didn't want to be brought back to that horrible night.

"...Po?" Tigress asked weakly. Not again!

She couldn't bear to go through what she had the first night the Po had died a second time. The way his paw had felt so limp and lifeless against hers...she couldn't handle it.

"You don't think...Kai got his Chi again, do you?" Mr. Ping couldn't help but ask, his voice a low whisper. He couldn't stand to see his son in so much pain again. Master Oogway had told them that he would wake up!

"No...he must have used too much to make sure that Kai wouldn't get out," Shifu said after he managed to pry a now-sleeping Bao out of his lap, setting the cub gently as he possibly could onto the bedroom floor, grateful that he wasn't awake to see Po in such a state.

Li clutched Po's staff as if his own life depended on it, his heart hammering.

"He must still have at least a little left," the panda said desperately.

But Tigress knew that this wasn't the case. Even with just a little Chi, it was still painful.

He was going to...

It wasn't fair! Why had Oogway told them he would wake up when he really wouldn't?!

"We can't...we can't let him suffer again," she said quietly.

Li wanted to scream. He wanted to punch something, anything and stop his son from leaving once more.

But he couldn't do any of that.

"We have to let him go," Mr. Ping barely managed to get out, his shoulders slumped in defeat. He didn't want to see his son in any more pain.

And Li didn't, either. No matter how much it hurt.

"If you need to go..." Li said shakily as he made his way towards Po's bed. "You can. It's okay."

No! I'm not going anywhere! I don't want to go!

I promised...

...Inner peace...inner peace...

Inner—

Shifu remembered Oogway's final words to him before he had left.

Now you must believe once again for the Dragon Warrior.

So he believed, having trust in his master's words.

The staff in Li's hands began to glow.

Mr. Ping watched in shock. Instead of glowing white like it had when Po and Kai disappeared, it was glowing gold...the color of Po's Chi. Hope began to creep in again, and they gripped their son's staff together along with Shifu. Tigress raised a hand and placed it in between the other three.

Lei Lei yawned, blinking her eyes open at the shining light. "Wakey," she said in an almost demanding kind of tone.

Bao had woken, crawling gently onto his friend's stomach much like he had when they played together in the Panda Village.

"Po...you're not dead."

Except he wasn't kidding. He wasn't 'playing' dead like he had back then. Bao knew that chances of Po waking up again were low, and he probably knew more than the adults wanted him to.

But then a miracle happened.

Tigress felt her hand being squeezed in return.

Bright green eyes slowly opened, face spreading into a smile. A real and true smile that she could see amongst the light, a smile that Tigress could tell wasn't forced and filled with so much pain.

And Po said his first word.

His first word since turning back into a panda.

"Nope."