On the way back to Universal Studios, Alex engaged a conversation with the driver whilst Cappy checked a map for information about today's destination. The Koopa watched the landscape moving by through the window, failing to pay attention to what the driver was telling him.
"... But then, my brother lost the truck and claimed it was my fault! Can you believe it?" When he received no answer, the driver looked at the passengers in his looking glass. "Alex? Alex, you listenin'?"
"Huh? Oh, sorry, I got distracted!" Alex exclaimed and looked back at the driver. "The landscape is really beautiful to look at. What did you say?"
The driver simply rolled his eyes. "It's not important. So, what place are you going to visit today?"
"Cappy and I are going to see-Oh, look! A lake!" Alex said and pointed out the window, once again getting distracted.
"Alex, Jim asked you a question," Cappy pointed out, not wanting his friend to be rude.
"Oh, right! We're going to the Kung Fu Panda Land of Awesomeness. I want to visit the Valley of Peace and, if possible, meet Po and the Furious Five."
"So you like Kung Fu Panda?" Jim asked.
"If I like it?! It's one of my most favorite franchises in the entire world!" Alex replied with enthusiasm. "I must've seen the first movie at least a hundred times when I was a kid! Much to my parents' annoyance. I'm already pumped up for the upcoming fourth movie!"
"Don't talk so loud, Alex; we're in a bus," Cappy shushed him. He then looked at his tourist map. "According to my tourist guide, Land of Awesomeness is, indeed, themed after the Kung Fu Panda franchise and is a celebration of Chinese culture. The main attractions are the Kung Fu Panda: Journey of the Dragon Warrior boat ride, Po's Kung Fu Training Camp, the Carousel of Kung Fu Heroes and the Lanterns of Legendary Legends. Oh, looks like it's our lucky day; the Dragon Warrior and Furious Five are scheduled to hold a performance show in the Valley of Peace today!"
"Awesome! We'll see my heroes in action!" Alex shouted and jumped up on his seat.
"Alex, don't stand up when we're moving; it's dangerous!" Jim called.
"Sorry..."
As soon as the duo arrived in Land of Awesomeness, Alex began freaking out and admiring the bamboo trees, illuminated lanterns and Chinese decorations everywhere. Cappy had turned into Alex's red cap and now served as his permanent new accessory that could also help him when needs be. They passed by the playgrounds made of wood in Chinese architecture, where children were running and going down slides.
"Too bad my parents never took me here as a kid; I would've been in heaven and played in here forever," Alex chuckled.
"I don't think this place existed when you were a kid. My gosh!" Cappy suddenly shouted and hopped off his friend's head, floating over to the Panda Village Provisions shop and admiring one of the rice hats. "This looks like Mario's resort hat but more...stylish."
Alex chuckled once again and approached his hat friend. "It's called a rice hat; this peculiar hat is very popular in Chinese culture, especially among people working outside and wanting to shield themselves from the sun. Po likes to wear one in all of his Kung Fu fantasies." An idea then popped into the Koopa's mind. "Hey, how about you turn into a rice hat while we're here? To fit with the ambience?"
"Good idea!" Cappy agreed and transformed from Alex's red cap to a cone-shaped rice hat and went to sit on top of his head. "Now, let's go have some fun!"
With that, the two friends began exploring the Land of Awesomeness. They kicked things off with a turn on the Carousel of Kung Fu Heroes, many people giving them odd looks as they weren't used to seeing a lone adult going on a kids' attraction like this. However, Alex didn't care; he was here to have fun, not to look normal. Once the ride came to an end, the Koopa went to an entertaining booth to get his face painted like that of a panda's.
The duo's next destination was the Kung Fu Snacks, where Alex bought some pork dumplings that he and Cappy enjoyed whilst attending Po's Kung Fu Training Camp. Unfortunately, everyone's favorite panda was not present, in spite of the title. Rather, the watchers got to see some rookies perform basic Kung Fu moves, nothing too fancy. Alex enjoyed the show, but knew deep down inside that it would be nothing compared to watching the Dragon Warrior and Furious Five in action.
When the show ended, Alex decided it was finally time to get to the Valley of Peace and visit the place before the main event. His little heart got overwhelmed by jubilant energy as he finally got to see the main location of his childhood's favorite movie. Unable to contain his excitation, the Koopa began checking every part of the valley and comparing it to the movie, not paying attention to the odd stares given to him by the villagers and other visiting guests.
"You know, this place reminds be of Bowser's Kingdom in terms of architecture," Cappy analyzed. "It's not a hundred percent the same, but still very similar."
"That's because Bowser's Kingdom in Super Mario Odyssey is inspired by traditional Japanese design," Alex explained his friend. "Japan and China are very close countries, so it's normal that they share similarities between one another." He rubbed his hands together. "Now, let's get to Mr. Ping's restaurant! I've always wondered if his Secret Ingredient Noodle Soup is as good as they say it is in the movie!"
The young man's dream was crushed when they found the noodle restaurant filled to the rim with customers, and a long waiting line stretching for miles at the entrance. "... Seems like this is one of those restaurants that are so popular you have to reserve a place months in advance," Cappy remarked.
"Aww, bacon!" Alex whined, slapping his forehead in disappointment. "I REALLY wanted to try out Mr. Ping's food, but if you have to reserve months in advance, then there's no way I'll get a place before the end of my vacation. Aww..." With his head down, Cappy attempted to cheer his Koopa friend up. When he looked back up, however, his expression turned to that of confusion. "Hey, are those...?" He pointed in a direction.
Following his finger's direction, Cappy found himself looking at two animals standing before an apple shop on the other side of the street. One of them was a golden-yellow monkey and the other, a snake with apple-green scales. It did not take long for the floating rice hat to recognize them. "It's Master Monkey and Master Viper of the Furious Five!" he confirmed. All trace of disappointment instantly faded from Alex's face, replaced by an excited smile. "Come on, Alex, let's go introduce ourselves!"
He didn't need to suggest it twice. After pulling his hat friend on his head, Alex calmly walked over to the two masters, none of them noticing his presence, even when he arrived right behind them. "Hi, I'm Alex!"
The two masters jumped in surprise and turned around in a flash to look at the Koopa. "You startled us, dude! Where'd you come from?!" Master Monkey asked.
"From the Real World," Alex obviously responded. "Sorry for startling you; that was not my intention. I'm Alex."
"Nice to meet you, Alex," Master Viper said with a smile after recovering from her initial surprise. "When did you get behind us? I didn't hear you approaching."
"I'd say about eight seconds ago; I simply walked up to you," Alex replied. He then jumped a bit on the spot with excitation. "Sorry if I'm interrupting something, but I really wanted to see you in person! I've been a big fan of your movies since I was a kid!"
"Jumping like this and with that face paint on, I would've thought you still were a kid," Monkey remarked with a chuckle. "Is this your first time in the Valley of Peace?"
"Yes. You have no idea how happy I am to finally see it! I mean, I did see it before, in your movies, games and shows, but getting to physically visit it is a totally different experience!" Alex explained, even though the two Furious Five members already understood. "The air is good, the people nice... My friend and I are having a lot of fun!"
This last part caught Master Viper's curiosity. "You're here with a friend? Where?"
"Here." The masters once again jumped when Alex's rice hat grew eyes and floated off his head. "Sorry for startling you; people aren't used to seeing talking hats around."
"Hey, aren't you that hat from the Mario game?" Master Monkey asked, pointing at Cappy.
"Right guess, it's Cappy the Cap!" Cappy beamed, doing a little twirl in the air. "I'm afraid Mario and I aren't teaming up as much as before. He's got a lot of things to do with lots of people, y'know. Celebrity stuff. Meanwhile, this little Koopa head and I are partnering up to solve problems across the Epic Universe."
"Really?" Master Viper asked.
"Yeah! You won't believe it, but on my first day, I tossed my backpack in the face of you know who? Bowser! It stunned him long enough for that wolf guy to neutralize him!" Alex explained in excitation. "He was awesome, moving all around like this!" He began performing cartwheels and jumps with agility. The two Furious Five members couldn't help but chuckle at the Koopa's childish enthusiasm.
"Are you excited about our movie that's coming next year, Alex?" Master Viper asked.
"I'm always excited when there's new KFP content coming out!" Alex beamed. "Say, is it true that all the previous villains will be coming back in that movie?"
"We're not allowed to divulge any information about unreleased content," the snake replied, zipping her lips with her tail. "You're gonna have to watch the film to get your answers."
"Oh, okay. Say, you guys will be in the performance show later, right?"
The Master of Snake Style nodded her head. "Indeed. Every member of the Furious Five will, even Po! Will you guys attend it?"
"You bet we will! It's not every day you get to see your heroes in action!" Alex beamed, throwing a fist in the air and earning another chuckle from Viper.
"We were actually gonna get ready with the others after taking a quick snack," Master Monkey explained. "If you guys wanna attend the show, then you should get on your way now. It'll start in about one hour, and climbing the thousand steps takes a lot of time, especially for newcomers. Ready to go, Viper?"
She once again nodded and then looked at the two friends. "It was nice meeting you, Alex and Cappy. I hope you'll enjoy the show!" And with that, the two masters headed back to the Jade Palace.
Cappy waved at them before chuckling. "They're nice people, right, Alex? Alex?"
For some reason, the Koopa's eyes were wide open, his face twisted by shock and horror. "... SWEET MANGO HABANERO! I completely forgot we would have to climb the thousand steps to reach the Jade Palace and watch the show! Holy grapes!" He rubbed his forehead in discouragement. "It's gonna be horrible... I suppose you can't pick me up and fly all the way up there?"
Cappy shook his head. "Sorry, but I'm not strong enough to carry people. Maybe we could try and take over a bird with a hat?" He went back on Alex's head. "Say, Alex, if you really love this world so much, why don't you ask the masters to teach you Kung Fu? That way, you'll get a new trick to help around the Epic Universe and even get to hang out with your heroes!"
At this suggestion, Alex awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "I...don't think that's a good idea, Cappy. To be honest with you, before Kung Fu Panda came out, I took Karate lessons... And it didn't give good results. Plus, I don't think I'll be able to learn much in less than a month. Let's just get on our way, if we wanna reach the Jade Palace in time."
After a long ascension, the two friends were very tired (well, more like Alex was very tired, since Cappy could fly and all), but still managed to get a place for the show. They sat amongst many other guests and villagers in the Palace Arena, where Po received the Dragon Warrior title from Master Oogway, the memory making Alex feel nostalgic. Then, a gong resonated after being hit by Zeng, the palace messenger, announcing the start of the event.
The Furious Five landed in the arena from the air, just like they did in the first movie, striking a pose together at the end. They were soon followed by Po, who made his entry with more energy and enthusiasm. So much enthusiasm, in fact, that Master Tigress had to bring him back to reality so that he could properly greet the audience. Seeing all of his childhood heroes caused Alex to cheer with the most energy out of everyone.
Master Mantis kicked the show off by darting his way across an army of dummies that were made to spin with sharp swords by the palace staff. This felt very similar to what he did with the Gauntlet of Wooden Warriors in the first film. Following him was Master Crane, who flew across the sky, avoiding missiles shot at him with grace, wowing the audience every time an explosion almost burnt his feathers off.
"Sweet, a firework," Cappy remarked whilst chewing on some popcorn that appeared out of nowhere.
For the third act, Master Tigress and Master Monkey engaged in a sparing duel. While the Master of Tiger Style was a force to be reckoned with, Master Monkey still managed to move around most of her attacks and even managed to land a kick on her. No doubt had he made a lot of progress as a master. Getting to see a real Kung Fu duel pushed Alex to the brink of excitation, Cappy having to calm him down multiple times. In the end, Master Tigress won, the two Furious Five members exchanging a bow afterward.
Taking stage last was Master Viper. "I'm ready!" she announced and crouched her head so that she could receive a metal hula-hoop thrown at her by one of the servants. She made this hoop spin around by moving her body like a dancer.
"Eh, eh, a hula snake," Cappy mused. Whilst his friend laughed, Alex couldn't help but watch the Master of Snake Style move her body and blush as she did so. Why was he feeling heat rising in his cheeks?
The servants threw more and more hula-hoops that Master Viper receipted and span around by moving her long body at a faster speed. "As a reminder to the audience, these hulas are charged with exploding powder, meaning that even a single wrong move could cause them to donate!" Zang called.
This announcement caused worries amongst the watchers, but not Alex; he knew how skillful the serpent was and had nothing to be afraid of. At one point, an excited watcher accidentally knocked Cappy off Alex's head and to the edge of the performance zone.
"Cappy!" Alex exclaimed and quickly ran to go pick him up. "You okay?" Before the floating hat could respond, an item came from the above and wrapped itself around the unsuspecting Koopa. "Huh?"
Back on stage, the palace staff glared at one of their members, who incorrectly tossed one of the explosive hulas. At the same time, Master Viper gasped when she realized the situation and slowly made her own hulas slow down to a stop. "Oh no, Alex! Don't move, I'm coming!"
A lump formed in Alex's throat as he stared at the explosive item round his arms, the watchers stepping away from him. Master Viper quickly slithered over to him, grabbed the hula in her mouth, and removed it with the utmost care. As soon as it was set on the ground, Alex released the breath he had been holding in and sat down, the audience giving a thunderous applause at how their hero saved the young man.
"Are you okay, Alex?" Master Viper asked in worry.
"Y-Yes. A bit shaken, but okay," Alex replied, rubbing some sweat off his forehead.
Now that he was safe, Master Viper couldn't help but give a stern glare at the young man. "What were you thinking, running into the performance zone like this? It's dangerous!"
"Huh, that was kinda because of me, Master," Cappy said, rising his little limb. "Someone accidentally knocked me into the zone, and Alex wanted to get me back."
The snake's expression softened as she looked back at the Koopa. "Is it true?" Alex nodded a yes. Master Viper alternately stared at Alex and Cappy before working something out in her mind. "Wait for me here." She slithered away, returning a few minutes later with a little ticket she handed over to Alex.
"What's this?" Cappy asked, looking at the piece of paper.
"An invitation. See, after defeating Kai, Po has taught not only the Panda Village, but also everybody in the Valley of Peace how to use their Chi," Master Viper explained. "As such, the villagers don't require the Furious Five's protection as much as before. At Po's request, we all started teaching Kung Fu to people across China and even to guests who want to learn. I give my lessons here, at the Jade Palace, on Thursdays. So, if you're interested in learning Kung Fu, you can come back here, next week, with this ticket and take part in my class."
Alex widened his eyes at this, staring alternately at the ticket and at the master. "Huh... Yeah, sounds good. I'll...think about it..." Master Viper nodded with a smile before slithering back to the stage so that the show could carry on.
The show ended after about two hours, the villagers and guests leaving as the sun started setting on the horizon. Many of them offered words of comfort to Alex after that scary experience. Whilst walking down the thousand steps, the young Koopa couldn't help but stare at the ticket given to him by Master Viper.
"Do you intend on accepting the invitation?" Cappy asked, floating next to his friend.
"... I don't know, Cappy. To be honest with you, I REALLY don't know..."
A little moment of silence passed between the two friends before Cappy spoke again: "Say, Alex, why did you stop your Karate lessons as a kid? Was there something wrong with your class?"
Alex zeroed his stare at his feet. "No; there's something wrong with me. I struggle to stay still, to pay attention when we talk to me for extended periods of time, to remember certain things, and things like that. That's why I couldn't do good in my Karate class, and why I'm still surprised I actually managed to graduate from high school."
"Oh..." Cappy remained silent for a few more seconds before smiling. "Well, I think you should give it a try. Po wasn't a martial arts genius when he started, but look where he is now. There's no reason you can't accomplish the same. Plus, it'll allow you to spend time with your heroes before the end of your vacation."
Alex stared at his floating hat companion and then back at his ticket. "... I'll think about it."
Author's note: This third day of vacation has brought us to the land of Ancient China! Alex not only got to meet his heroes, but also has been offered a chance to learn Kung Fu under Master Viper's tutelage. Do you think he'll accept?
Alex's feelings towards the Kung Fu Panda franchise in this chapter are a reflection of my own; I've been in love with it ever since the first movie came out. While I didn't keep up with everything like the games or TV shows (I hold no interest towards Paws of Destiny or The Dragon Knight), I still have very fond memories for the adventures of our loveable panda. In fact, you know what? It's on the KFP fandom that I met TheDragonSaver, meaning that he and I would have never crossed paths if I hadn't watched the movies!
Whilst writing this chapter, I couldn't help but realize a funny detail: Alex's supposed to be a counterpart to Logan from 'The Adventures of Logan', right? Well, whereas Logan is a tough guy with a more serious demeanor and cool powers, Alex is a fun-loving man with a child-like behavior and cartoonish powers. Yet, the former's in a K+ story while the latter is in a T-rated story. Shouldn't it be the other way around?
Next time: Alex and Cappy go make a little trip to the Lost Continent in Islands of Adventure.