CHAPTER 8: PRESHOW

JOHN'S POV

After a nice sleep. I woke up to a beautiful sunrise here at the Jade Palace. After admiring the view from outside the window, I start making my way out of my room.

As I walked out of my room, I noticed that all of the doors that lead to each of the Furious 5's rooms were still closed. Thinking that they were still asleep, I decided to slowly start looking for the showers until I heard a voice coming from my right.

"Ah, good morning Captain." Master Shifu asked me.

"Oh!" I jumped

"Morning Master Shifu. I didn't see you there."

"No worries, how did you sleep?" He asked me

"Slept like a baby. Probably one of the most comfy beds I ever slept on. Say am I up early or something?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Well cause the masters' doors are closed."

"Oh. Not to worry. In fact you are up just in time." Shifu said

Then out of nowhere.

"GONG!"

As if that didn't make me jump high enough. The gong was then quickly followed by the 5 in perfect synchronization.

"GOOD MORNING MASTER." They all said

"Good morning students. As you all know, today is a very big day for all of us including Captain Dunn here." Shifu said.

"Morning guys." I said waving. They either waved back or bowed in acknowledgement.

"So John. Are you nervous for today?" Viper asked me.

"Well if I am being honest. Not yet, since I've performed in front of a crowd for almost 10 years now. Usually just a couple minutes before showtime I tend to get the occasional butterflies. As one should." I said

"Well I am fairly certain that you will do well today. From what Viper told us yesterday, I'm looking forward to seeing your band perform today." Crane replied.

Feeling rather touched that somebody else from the 5 was giving me a confidence boost, I couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you for the words of encouragement Master Crane. I'm looking forward to showing you guys our 100% out there this afternoon." I answered.

I then realized what I was trying to do before Shifu greeted me this morning.

"Say, I hope this doesn't sound demanding but where are the showers? Since I wasn't able last night, I figured I should do so before showtime."

"No worries Captain. Master Tigress, would you please show Captain Dunn the showers please?"

"Yes Master." She answered.

"As for the rest of you, you can head off for breakfast."

"Yes Master." They replied.

They then left, leaving me and Master Tigress alone.

"Well, after you Master Tigress." I said.

"Right this way." She replied.

We walked out of the barracks and made our way to the showers.

"Showers are to the right. Towels are provided on a shelf to the left of the showers." She said

"Roger that."

"Is there anything else you need?"

"Not that I know of. Thank you Master Tigress."

She was just about to leave when I thought of something.

"Actually."

She turns back to face me.

"I would like to apologize on behalf of Humphrey for what happened yesterday. I hope that it didn't affect anything between us in the long run. Hell, if you want on your behalf, I could get him back. Just as a friendly way of serving him a dish of karma." I said

"Apology accepted Captain. However I would like to say something to you as well."

I had this little look of concern, not knowing if I said something wrong.

"I hope you don't take offence to this, but we're not exactly friends, you and I."

"I beg your pardon?" I asked

"I had a feeling it would sound bad. What I mean is that unlike Viper, I am not the type of person who becomes friends with someone right from the start. While she normally is able to befriend someone within the first few minutes of meeting them. I typically wait after a few run ins with someone before I deem them trustworthy enough to call them a friend." She explains

"Oh. Well now that you put it that way, I understand your point. My sister had a similar problem like that. Luckily she realized that the person was using her and broke it off before any damage was done. So don't worry about offending me. In fact it takes quite a bit to get me riled up." I said reassuring her that I understood.

She nods in return before leaving me to shower.

A shower and a much needed breakfast later, I finally made my way towards the courtyard where my drum kit was set up. Knowing the boys weren't gonna be there for a couple hours, I decided to get myself warmed up.

Not long after I started, I got a text from Roman.

'Hey, I'm just leaving my place now, should be there in about 1 hour.'

I then texted back a thumbs up before continuing on with a rundown of the setlist.

Eventually Roman along with made his way to the courtyard. We then decided to hang out. Eventually, the Furious 5 then showed and came up to us.

"Hey John, hey Roman." Viper said.

"Hey Viper, you guys ready for the tournament today?" Roman asked.

"Ready as can be." She replied

"Say John, why don't you give the five a small sample of what's to be expected later on this afternoon." Roman asks me.

"Well Viper's already seen me play, but as for the other four, it all depends if they want to or not. I don't mind at all."

Everyone except Tigress nodded immediately.

"The others seem rather wanting. How about you Tigress, what do you think?" Viper asked

"Well, knowing how much it takes to impress me. How about I offer you a challenge to impress me with your drumming."

"Ah. Well challenge accepted Master Tigress. However, allow me to quote the great Dave Grohl. 'Define the best drummer in the world. Is it someone who is technically proficient, or is it someone who sits in the song with their own feel?' Well I'm neither one or the other. Instead I'm just gonna play you guys one of my favorites. Hopefully you enjoy it and sorry about the noise."

I then plug my in-ears into my mixer and get the song ready to go.

'Damage Inc. by Metallica

"Oh this should be good." I say aloud.

Start Song at 1:19 mark (when the band comes in).

VIPER'S POV.

As John rips through the song, Mantis', Monkey's and Crane's eyes go wide. I could tell they were into it. Me and Roman just laughed at their faces. Can't really blame them though since the song he was playing needed him to use all of his limbs.

"LOOK AT HIM GO!" Monkey screamed.

"How in the hell is he able to keep a straight face while playing that fast?!" Mantis followed.

"Well, he's been playing since he was a child. So he essentially mastered the art of drumming." I replied

"No kidding about that. He looks so calm and collected." Crane added

"He even told me that when he gets behind the kit, his mind switches to 'showtime' mode. Meaning no matter how bad day/mood he is having, the drums always brought out those bad emotions in a rather healthy way." Roman said.

I looked over to Tigress to see if he beat the challenge. She looked as stoic and serious as she normally is. But I could just see her tail twitch along to the beat, as well as her right foot tapping as well.

'Well, seems to me she's impressed.' I thought to myself.

JOHN'S POV

Finally, the song ended and as I took my in-ears off and put down the drumsticks, everyone except Tigress started cheering. I couldn't help but blush a bit and smile.

"Dude, that was epic!" Mantis said

"Absolutely incredible. Well done." Monkey said.

"Phenomenal performance Captain." Crane said.

"Thanks guys." I replied.

"So Tigress, did he pass the challenge?" Viper asked

She thinks a bit before giving me a smirk.

"I have to tell you. You know your way around the drums. So yeah, count me impressed. Good job."

"Awesome. Thank you guys once again for the kind words. It really means the world to me."

An hour later, the band and crew showed and we then began to work on some parts of the setlist that we needed to work on before showtime.

Finally, it was noon and the crowd started to make their way into the courtyard. That was our cue to start doing final preps (stretch, warm up our voices, final tune ups to our instruments) before we took to the stage.

In just one hour, the biggest show of the band was about to commence. Shit was about to be turned up to 11.