A/N: Hey, hey, hey! It's me again! Again, I'd like to thank all of you for reviewing and reading this story. I honestly didn't think it would be this popular.
In this episode of Aftermath Po, the Furious Five (sans Crane), and even Shifu all enjoy a nice fireworks show and have some sake to go with it. But the next morning, they soon realize that things didn't go exactly as they planned. I've decided to simply change this from a five-parter to a three-parter for you all; makes for a bit longer chapters. This story was pretty much the result of watching the Hangover sequel just hours after the KFP sequel. I gotta tell ya, it was pretty interesting to go watch an R-Rated raunchy comedy right after a family friendly animated movie. XD
I also heard that there is going to be a KFP short that will be released with the KFP2 DVD! Apparently it will be centered on the three masters of the Kung Fu Council: Thundering Rhino, Croc, and Storming Ox. Good thing too, because as much as I loved KFP2, there wasn't much character development for these three. And I really wanted to hear more from Jean Claude Van Damme, if he's reprising the role, anyway.
One last thing, I've decided to add another arc onto this mini-series that will be set after this one. For that, I give thanks to samus18 for crafting the story, "Ripples in the Water", which revolves around two totally unexpected characters in the sequel.
Enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN KUNG FU PANDA OR THE HANGOVER OR EITHER ONE OF THEIR GREAT SEQUELS
Aftermath
Down the Hatch!
PART ONE OF THREE
Night-time had fallen over Gongmen City, and pretty much all the people residing within as well as many of the Imperial Soldiers were all getting ready to become spectators of what was said to be quite the fireworks display. All over the streets, people were scrambling to get the best view of the show.
For a certain group of warriors, however, they very much already had the best seat in the house. Using their acrobatic skills, Po and four of the Five climbed to the roof of their hotel, and saw that they had a perfect view of the night sky, perfect for firework gazing. The only one absent from the Five was Crane, and for a very good reason. It became obvious to everyone that once the Imperial Army rookie, Xiao Chang, informed him that Master Mountain Cat had arrived to the city, Crane would most definitely spend as much time as he possibly could with his long-distance and closest friend.
Speaking of the young snow leopard named Chang, once the bird master left, Po and Mantis immediately ordered the kid to take Crane's place in their game they were still in the middle of. Naturally, Chang had fallen back into his nervous state, stating that he may be needed elsewhere and that his commanding officer would have his head if he didn't report back. It was Tigress of all people who told the leopard soldier that they would later talk to General Hao and tell him that they could call it "establishing better relations with the Imperial Army" as the tiger master put it; and that if in the even that Hao or Chang's commanding officer did have a problem with it, the Dragon Warrior and the Five would say that it was their idea.
After finally concluding their game Po along with Tigress, Monkey, Mantis, and Viper escorted Chang back to his post where General Hao and the commanding officer, a white tiger named Feng who looked about five years younger than the general, were residing. Once they explained why recruit Xiao Chang took longer than they thought delivering a message would usually take, Shang looked like he was ready to verbally destroy the visibly distraught kid… that is until Hao stepped in and thanked the warriors for helping the young recruit learn to socialize with others better so that he can socialize better with the other soldiers in his group. He then reminded the white tiger commander that they both weren't always battle-hardened leaders and that they had to go through what Chang was presently going through to get where they are. That served to silence Feng as he then excused himself to continue overseeing the clean-up of the harbor.
The five warriors' respect for the lion general grew exponentially after that, Grand Master Oogway certainly taught him well. Xiao Chang was also most grateful for the warriors' assistance, as he then seemed a bit more eager to spend time with his fellow soldiers.
With that part of their agenda crossed off, the warriors bid both the general and the recruit farewell, and returned to the hotel when the sun finally set.
Back on the hotel rooftop, Po and his fellow masters simply sat in silence, taking in the great view of the city, waiting in high anticipation for the light-show. Mantis' bottle of sake sat next to the bug.
"So uh…" Po began to ask, breaking the silence; "…when are we gonna break that bottle out?"
Mantis immediately went right for the cork of the bottle, "No time like the present tough guy! Now who's got the shot glasses?" Just as he got the cork ready for him to pull out, Monkey pulled out of a small bag several shot glasses and handed them to everyone else.
Yet when he offered Tigress her glass, she was hesitant to take it. "Oh, no thank you. I'd rather not partake in this." For some reason though, she seemed more nervous than usual; something rarely seen on the leader of the Five.
Po, of course, tried to get her to change her mind; "Oh come on Tigress, live a little for a change! We're celebrating our totally awesome victory, remember?"
Tigress turned to face him and replied, "I'm quite well aware of that Po; it's just that…" she sighed, "…I'm a bit of a lightweight when it comes to alcohol." The tiger finished with her shoulders slumped; but then straightened them and shot Mantis a glare when he looked like he was about to chuckle at her statement.
"It's alright Tigress," Viper said in her usual voice-of-reason tone, "It's not like we're going to get totally drunk tonight. One shot of sake won't hurt anyone."
After a couple of seconds of giving it some thought, Tigress finally agreed to only one shot and accepted her shot glass from Monkey. Mantis then popped the cork on the bottle and handed it to Po so he could pour the drinks. But just as the panda was about to start serving they heard an all familiar voice behind them.
"Is that sake you're drinking?"
All five warriors froze on the spot, and then slowly turned towards the source of the voice. Just as they feared, that voice belonged to none other than their master, Shifu. Apparently he found out about their incentive. He had a blank, emotionless face on him; which only served to make his students even more nervous.
So it was expected for them to be totally bemused when he then said, "Do you happen to have any extra glasses in that bag?" As he said that unexpected sentence they never thought they'd hear from him, his expression had loosened to a softer yet eager look.
Even as Po slowly reached into the bag to grab another shot glass and handed it over to the aged red panda, he and everyone else just stared at their master with every mouth gaping open in absolute disbelief. Shifu: their master, Grand Master of the Jade Palace, for many years the most strict kung fu teacher in all of China… actually wanted to partake in the consumption of alcohol?
This naturally didn't escape Shifu's notice, as he then said in a flat tone, "Judging by your faces, are you assuming I'm too old to have this kind of fun?"
"NO!"
"Absolutely not Master!"
"No way! What would ever give you that idea?"
"I think you're in totally awesome shape for a guy your age- I mean for anybody!"
"You're always welcome to join in!"
Shifu smirked as five of his six students simultaneously gave their responses. It was then that he noticed that someone was missing.
"Where is Crane? Don't tell me it's because of his wing."
That question made everyone snap out of their panicked state, as Tigress then answered.
"No master. He isn't here with us because his old friend, Master Mountain Cat, arrived to the city several hours ago. And I can imagine that he's taking the opportunity to do some serious catching up to do with her."
As Shifu nodded, Viper then added; "Something tells me that they're going to do more than just catch up with each other…" she said with a soft tone.
"No offense Viper," Monkey then said, "But that sounded like something Mantis would have said."
After taking several seconds to interpret the meaning of what the primate had said, Mantis then chuckled and agreed with him, Po awkwardly placed his paw behind his head, Tigress shook her head, and Viper let everyone know how she felt about the matter…
…by immediately swatting and batting at both Monkey and Mantis with the tip of her tail.
Chuckling at the sight, Shifu then had Po pour the shots for everyone. As the panda did so, the Grand Master of the Jade Palace went on by saying that he, Hao, and several other students back in his time went to the roof of the barracks once a week just to gaze out at the stars at night. Finding out that his students were on the roof had brought back some fond memories that he wanted to relive with his students. Once everyone was served and the bottle was re-corked and set aside, everyone knew that there had to be a toast before they had their drinks and before the fireworks could start.
"I say Tigress should have the honors." Po said as he and everyone else in suit turned towards the feline master.
Naturally, she at first refused; "Uhm… no thank you. I'm not very good when it comes to delivering a toast."
"Oh come on Tigress, it's not that hard to do." Monkey pleaded. It took that and more convincing from the others before Tigress finally caved in. Taking in a deep breath, she started talking; softly at first, then with more energy.
"Throughout the years that I've known all of you, I don't think we've had anything that was a closer call than what we went through all those days ago. We went through more physical and mental pain than what I'm sure many of us had to endure before. But it doesn't matter now; all that matters is that we were victorious in the battle to save China and Gongmen City… as well as proving to the world that Kung Fu is not dead just yet and will stay that way for all… eternity…"
She cut her speech short when she noticed everyone else giving her a bemused look, and Tigress realized far too late what the reason behind that was.
Po couldn't have said it any better, "Okay… as much as how awesome that speech was, all we wanted was a simple toast Tigress."
Tigress sighed in resignation as she lowered her head and grumbled, "I TOLD you I wasn't good with toasts." Despite that newest embarrassing moment added to her mental scrap book, she smiled a little as the others laughed not at her but with her.
It was at that point when Po, the four members of the Five, and Shifu then heard a loud bang. Turning towards the sky, they all saw that the fireworks display had begun, and boy did it live up to the hype. The colors, the lights, the sounds; it was all so mesmerizing and a true beauty to behold.
Finally turning towards each other, Tigress finally got it right when she said three simple words that summed everything up:
"To our victory."
Everyone else chorused "To our victory" and chinked their glasses together.
THROB. THROB. THROB. THROB. THROB.
As he slowly swam into consciousness, Monkey immediately groaned in pain as he pressed his palm to his forehead. Opening his eyes proved to be just as painful as he was suddenly blinded by the morning light that was pouring through the open window sills. "What the hell…?" he muttered groggily. Once he managed to get used to the light, Monkey then sat up and took in his surroundings.
He was back in their large suite, lying on a blanket on the floor. The living room was an absolute mess; chairs and tables turned upside down, bottles of rice wine, sake, and other various bottles of liquor spread out almost everywhere, and even several mattresses from their rooms down the hall were set up in the corner as though it were a child's makeshift fort (complete with a small rag tied to a broom-stick together acting as a crude flag).
Looking around some more, he saw his friends, out cold for the time being. Mantis was on an upright table, on his back, looking as how Po would describe his "Laying Still for a Really Long Time Technique". The panda himself was sitting and leaning against a wall, his mouth hanging as open as the catch of the day. Viper was wrapped around Po's shoulders like a decorative scarf. Finally, Tigress was totally lounged out on a couch, face down in a pillow, with a half-empty bottle of rice wine in her paw.
Taking all of this in, Monkey began to think to himself. What in the world happened? Was there a fight? Oh wait, if there were a fight we'd have bruises and cuts, and I don't see any downed bad guys. Let's see here; wine bottles, a killer headache, lights are a bad thing… Oh gods, I know what this is.
It was a hangover and a bad one too.
Monkey's thoughts were then interrupted by groaning sounds very similar to the ones he made when he woke up. Turning, he saw Mantis turning himself upright and trying to maintain balance as he stood up on his four legs. Po did the same as he stood up; yet Viper lazily slid off of Po's shoulders and flopped onto the floor. Tigress however remained on the couch and covered her head with another pillow, trying to drown out the sounds and the light. Monkey, Viper, and Po lazily made their way over to the table Mantis was standing on. For a good long while, no one said a word, and then Mantis spoke what everyone was thinking.
"What happened to us last night?"
Just as Monkey, Viper, and Po were about to answer, they soon realized to their shock and horror that none of them seemed to remember what exactly happened to them other than getting incredibly drunk and crashing in the living room of their suite.
Po was the first to speak, "I honestly don't know man; all I remember is us watching the fireworks from the roof, then we had those shots of sake. Next thing I know we're all here."
"I have to go with Po on this one," Viper chimed in, "Other than us winding up with what could quite possibly be the worst hangover in history; I can't seem to put my tail on what went on last night." As she spoke, she tried her best to block out the sunlight with her tail.
Monkey also noticed that they were all physically messed up as well. No cuts or bruises as he earlier thought; but Tigress', Po's, and his own fur was all ruffled up. Viper's lotus flowers were uneven (something she immediately took notice of and straightened them out). And Mantis had a severely tired and lazy look in his eyes. The primate then did a double take on Po's belly.
"Po, I think there's something written on your gut." The primate pointed out. Looking down, the panda saw that there was indeed something written in black ink on his large belly; which read "Tzu's-" the rest was severely rubbed out.
"Who the heck is Tzu?" Po asked aloud. Again, no one had any response to the question that was asked. The four then finally turned towards the one person in the room who hasn't said a single word.
"Tigress…" Mantis began, "…come on already, we know you're awake. You gotta help us out here."
The only thing the hung-over tiger could do was vainly give the 'shoo' hand gesture by waving her paw up and down towards them; she then groaned and let her arm flop lazily to the floor.
Viper pleaded, "Come on Tigress; we're serious."
Tigress gave another muffled groan into her pillow, and then sat up to look at her friends. Just as Monkey and the others were about to start asking questions to the striped feline, they all suddenly froze with their eyes becoming as wide as dinner plates. Tigress took notice of their expressions and she herself put on a puzzled look.
"…What?"
The only response she received was when Po motioned by placing his paw by his left ear. Tigress did the same… then herself froze in horror when she realized why everyone was so surprised…
She had her ear pierced in three different places.
All Monkey could think was, Something tells me we're in for a LONG day.
A/N: Uh oh. What could have caused them to not remember a thing from the other night? Why does Po have "Tzu" written on his stomach? Why does Tigress have ear piercings? Find out next time on Aftermath!
Oh man, I've been looking forward to writing this arc for so long. I love Kung Fu Panda 1 and 2; and I love Hangover 1 and 2. So what better than to combine both things I love?
Read and Review!
