At the Endless Summer Resort, Alex and Cappy were hanging together at the Pier 8 Market's food court, enjoying a nice breakfast to kick the day off. Whereas the floating hat simply sipped on his apple juice bottle, the Koopa gobbled down his pancakes, fluffy eggs, bacon, sausages, chorizo, ham, potatoes and waffles. Everybody in the food court looked at him shamelessly munching on everything and getting food all over his face.

"I'm done! That was delicious!" Alex said, going back to the counter where he got his food and giving his plate back.

"You seem happier than usual, Alex," the server remarked as she took the plate. "Did you win at the lottery or something?"

"Not exactly; it's because we're going to see one of his friends today," Cappy responded.

"Yeah!" Alex beamed. "My friend, Azrael, has invited us to join his group at the New Moon Theater to see a few performance practices for an upcoming show! I haven't seen him in a long time; it's gonna be a great opportunity to tell him everything I've done since my first day here! Plus, I'm sure that whatever show he has planned will be amazing!"

"Right, the New Moon Theater, that's from the movie Sing, isn't it?" the server asked. "I watched that movie with my kids, when it came out on Blu-ray. It was fun, with all the songs and that cute koala."

"Always nice to meet another fan! I think that the sequel might be my second favorite Illumination movie, right behind Super Mario Bros," Alex explained. He then pulled Cappy on his head and turned to leave. "We gotta go now if we wanna catch our bus and arrive on time. Have a nice day, Nancy!"


A huge smile was plastered on Alex's face as he looked out the bus's window. All around was a beautiful Californian-style town with palm trees here and there, but most noticeably, anthropomorphic animals as the citizens. The bus passed before a garage run by gorillas, some rhinoceros policemen arresting a group of angry-looking bears, and a restaurant with an aquarium full of fluorescent jellyfishes. Overall, a very warm and welcoming place. Maybe not as impressive as Disney's Zootopia, but still impressive nonetheless.

"Believe it or not, but I did actually come here a few times, in the past," Cappy informed his friend. "Ever since the movie came out earlier this year, Mario and his friends have been invited to perform musicals every once in a while. It just so happens that the New Moon Theater is a particularly popular place for them to perform. I attended their show multiple times."

"Really? Seeing Mario and company on stage must be quite the show!" Alex said.

Cappy couldn't prevent himself from laughing a little. "You should've been there when Bowser performed his song 'Peaches'; everybody in the entire theater broke down in tears. I'm pretty sure their ribs must've been aching from laughing so much." The two friends laughed together at this remark. Once they calmed down a little, a few seconds of silence passed before Cappy asked: "Say, Alex, can you tell me more about this Azrael? How is he, exactly?"

At this question, Alex simply stared at his hat companion, before resting his head on his two hands. "Well, he's one of the very first people I've met here, in the Epic Universe. I can't really go in a deep, detailed description about him because we've only met once - on my first day of vacation. Yet, he still left an impression on me. He looked kina scary and intimidating at first, but he went out of his way to stop Bowser and his army from entering the Mushroom Kingdom... Again."

"Really? He fought Bowser?!" Cappy asked in surprise.

"Yes," Alex confirmed with a nod. "I did help a little, but it's still thanks to him that Bowser didn't capture Princess Peach for the hundredth time. After that, he told me that I was the... Well, counterpart or something like that to a guy from the Magical World of Disney called Logan. He did that by analyzing my magical signature. Not only that, but he also saw multiple similarities between this guy and I"

"Jeez, not all that multiverse stuff again," Cappy sighed. "Whenever I try to read a story about the multiverse, I end up with a headache."

"Azrael asked me to pass a test. A test in which I have to go around the Epic Universe, make as many friends as possible, and help everybody I can. He said that this would help me to develop my magic potential, just like my other me did in his own universe," Alex kept explaining. He looked at one of his hands. "I'm not sure what kind of magic he's talking about, but beside feeling lighter thanks to my Tai Chi training with Master Viper and the occasional power up from the Mario world, I don't feel that different from my first day here..."

Cappy floated over to his friend and placed a limb on his shoulder. "Just fill him on on everything you did in the last month; I'm sure he'll be able to come up with an explanation."

"... You're right," Alex agreed, putting Cappy back on his head.

A few minutes later, the bus came to a stop and the two friends stepped out. Here it was, the New Moon Theater. Despite its destruction from the flooding, many years ago, the ancient-looking theater looked good as new, proudly standing between a yellow and a pink building. The representation panel read: "Closed for repetition".

"We just have to wait for him to show up now. I wonder where he could be," Alex said, looking all around in search for his friend.

"How are we supposed to recognize him?" Cappy asked.

"Trust me; I'll know when it's him. He's got the kind of looks and presence that just can't go unnoticed."

The duo continued to look all around, before hearing a piercing whistle that cut through the air. Freezing on the spot, they spotted a shadow rising on the ground, coming from behind. They slowly turned around and came face-to-face with an imposing canine figure with two distinguished blood-red eyes wearing a black hoodie with the alchemic symbol of death on the front.

Trembling on top of his friend's head, Cappy was about to shout out for Death in fear, but Alex reacted faster: "Azrael!" He ran up to the wolf and wrapped his little arms around him for a big hug. While the gesture wasn't expected, it was still welcome to the wolf.

"Good to see you again, Parvulus," Azrael said. "I see you've made yourself some friends, just as I asked you to," he added when noticing Cappy on his head.

"Yup! Cappy and I go everywhere together now! We haven't spent a single day of my vacation apart!" Alex beamed, tapping the living accessory on his head.

"I...? Wha...?! Ha...?!" Cappy babbled, trying to process the scene unfolding before him. Soon, he managed to regain his senses and got off his friend's head. "What's going on, here?! Since when do you know Death in person?! I thought he was supposed to be a villain, or something!"

"First off, I'm not Death; I'm his spiritual son, Azrael. Second, I've met Alex about a month ago, when-"

"It's okay; I already explained our whole encounter," Alex politely interrupted him, chuckling as he did so. "He simply forgot because of the shock effect."

"Oh? That spares me from having to explain everything, in that case," Azrael remarked, rubbing the back of his head. "Anyway, back to the things at hand, my group has been meaning to meet you for quite a while now, Alex."

After this statement, the theater's doors opened and out came three figures. One of them was a female anthropomorphic wolf with gray fur. "Azrael, are your friends gonna be there soon? I'm getting BORED!"

A chuckle escaped the male wolf's mouth. "You arrive just in time; they're here," he said, pointing at the Koopa and floating hat.

Alex approached and gave a good look at the wolfess. "Wait a minute, you're that wolf girl from the second Sing movie! Huh... Porsha Crystal, right?"

"You bet!" she confirmed with a wink. Porsha picked the small Koopa in her paws and lifted him up to her eyes' level. "My gosh, aren't you adorable?! I mean, I did see other Koopa before, but it's still cute to see one up close!"

Being treated to such a compliment by the beautiful wolfess caused Alex's cheeks to turn red. "T-Thanks. I'm Alex Russo. You're very pretty!"

"Aww, aren't you a little charmer!" Porsha cooed and patted Alex on the head, making him smile and wag his tail in response. Azrael, Cappy and the others couldn't help but smile at this wholesome scene. "I understand why you wanted to be friends with him, Azy!" Porsha went to kiss Azrael on the cheek.

"Stop calling me that, Porsha!" Azrael sighed but returned the kiss nonetheless.

This detail did not go unnoticed by Alex. "Wait a minute, are you guys a couple?"

"Indeed we are. Been for a few months now," Porsha confirmed.

Alex scratched the side of his head. "I'm not sure that I understand; are guests allowed to form couples with characters of the Epic Universe?"

"I can explain that," Azrael said. "Even though characters of the Epic Universe and those of the Real World are usually unable to form relationships beyond friendship, as guests don't stay here for long and the characters cannot travel to the Real World, nothing legally prevents both sides from getting into a romantic relationship. There are some rules to follow, however. First up, established relationships cannot be broken, meaning that pairings like Owen and Claire, Hiccup and Astrid or Ron and Hermione should be kept together and not broken up, unless a future piece of media in their franchise says otherwise. Second, if a guest/character relationship is formed, this couple cannot produce children, meaning they'll never be able to form a complete family." Azrael then smiled a little. "But other than that, there's nothing stopping Porsha and I from being together."

"... Wow, that's interesting to know," Alex remarked with a nod.

Cappy floated over to his friend with a cheeky grin. "You know what this means? It means you may have a chance with Master Viper."

The Koopa's face turned red as a tomato, stepping back and glaring at Cappy. "WHY ARE YOU SAYING THAT?!"

"Wait a minute, did you just say 'Master Viper'?" one of the other two people accompanying Porsha asked. A female Asian golden cat with light brown, dark striped fur, orange-yellow eyes and a teal-colored Kung Fu uniform consisting of a fitting tunic, loose pants, and leg wraps. She also had a leather belt and gloves over her paws.

Alex tilted his head as he gave a good look at the golden cat. "You look familiar. Were you in one of the Kung Fu Panda short films?"

"What's a short film?" the feline asked.

"I'll take care of this," Azrael said. "Yes, Alex; she was in Crane's backstory in Secrets of the Furious Five. It's Master Mei Ling from Lee Da Academy, the childhood friend of Crane and the one who encouraged him to get into the academy."

"Oh, yeah, I replace you, now!" Alex exclaimed. "I saw your story with Master Crane when I was a kid; it came alongside the normal DVD! Thanks a lot for doing that; it was really nice!"

"No problem. Say, why was your friend talking about having a chance with Master Viper?"

"Oh, right! It's because I'm taking Kung Fu lessons at the Jade Palace - once a week, to be precise - and Master Viper is my teacher!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! She has mostly taught me Tai Chi stuff so far, but it's really good! Look at this!" Assuming his Tai Chi stance, Alex showed his horse pat, white crane's retreat and brush knee push combo.

Mei Ling couldn't help but giggle in amusement at the Koopa's enthusiasm. "I learned those moves when I started my training, too. If you want, you can pass by Lee Da, one of these days; I'll teach you some more tricks. But if you're training at the Jade Palace, did you get to see Master Crane? I'd like to get some news from him."

Alex looked down and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, Master Mei Ling, but I didn't really get the chance to meet anybody besides Master Viper. I did get a little interaction with Master Monkey, though."

"Told ya he would get attached to the Valley of Peace and learn Kung Fu with the Five," Azrael mumbled to Porsha, who nodded.

Alex eventually turned his attention to the third and last of Azrael's friends...and widened his eyes. A little purple T-Rex with a white underbelly and red eyes. A T-Rex he would've recognized among a thousand ones. "... C-Chomper?"

The little dinosaur raised a curious eyebrow. "You know me?"

After many seconds of remaining frozen in place, Alex couldn't contain himself anymore and went full fanboy mode, running up to Chomper with excitation. "OH MY GOSH, OH MY GOSH, OH MY GOSH! IT IS YOU! It's so amazing! The Land Before Time was one of my favorite films growing up - it still has a special place in my heart to this day! I've even seen all the sequels! Sure, they weren't as awesome as the first film, but I enjoyed some of them anyway! You and your friends are all very special to me! Man, why did I forget to visit the Great Valley during my vacation?"

"Strange, Mei Ling reacted almost the same way when she met me at that wood cave," Chomper remarked. He smiled. "If you want to meet my friends, we like to go to Toon Lagoon sometimes. We have a lot of fun playing around in the water games!"

"That's going straight on my to-do list! Meeting Littlefoot is a childhood dream I can't miss, or it'll be my biggest regret for life!" Alex declared.

"How old is he?" Porsha asked.

"As crazy as it sounds, he's 20," Cappy replied.

The wolfess gave a good look at the floating hat and realized something. "Hey, I recognize you; you were in Super Mario Odyssey!"

"Indeed. Cappy here is one of Mario's most trusted companions," Azrael explained.

"That's the guy in red and blue with a lot of fur beneath his nose?" Chomper asked.

"Exactly. He teamed up with Cappy to save his world from yet another one of Bowser's evil schemes. This makes him a perfect companion for a newcomer like you, Alex. Though I must admit I was expecting either Po or a member of the Furious Five to be your travel companion," Azrael admitted.

"I've got more free time than they do," Cappy said with a shrug.

Azrael clapped his hands together. "Now that the presentations are done, how about we get inside? The repetition is about to begin."


A few moments later, the whole group was seated inside the New Moon Theater, chatting among themselves until the lights went off, and a certain koala appeared on the stage. "Ladies and gentlemen, wolves and Koopas, welcome to the New Moon Theater!" Buster Moon greeted with his microphone. "Today, you will have the privilege of witnessing the scheduled performances for our upcoming show! We accept commentaries and reviews, so get them ready for the end of the presentation! But until then, please remain silent and seated while we do our best to entertain you! Enjoy!"

The koala walked off the stage, allowing the show to get on the way, starting with everybody's favorite rock n' roller, Ash. The porcupine performed her own version of 'What I've Done' by Linkin Park, making the entire theater shake with the power of her voice and guitar. So powerful that Cappy actually had to cover his non-existent ears by moment.

"Whoo! Nice one, Ash, way to go, girl!" Posha beamed for her friend. This last one nodded gratefully before walking away.

"Awesome! I love rock n' roll!" Alex said, standing up in his seat.

"Speak for yourself," Cappy groaned.

Azrael decided to take advantage of the short break to ask something to his friend. "Say, Alex, did you try to make friends and help as many people around the Epic Universe during your vacation, like I asked you to?"

"Oh, yeah; I've made plenty of friends and helped plenty of people!" Alex responded with enthusiasm. "Cappy and I solved a problem with soldiers who wanted to leave Bowser's army and live in the Mushroom Kingdom, I've become Master Viper's student, met Sinbad and Prince Proteus' gang in the Lost Continent, where I also became friends with Ruby Gillman, and I even spent a whole day at Volcano Bay with the Madagascar gang!"

"Good. As the Guardian of Light, I can tell you that making friends and bonds is one of the most important things here, in the Epic Universe," the wolf said with a nod. "At first, I always did things on my own, but after meeting my counterpart - and yours - from the Magical World, I learned that companionship is something that matters."

For some reason, Alex actually stopped smiling and stared at the floor. "Yeah...," he mumbled. Before Azrael could question him on the matter, the next part of the show started. Meena and Alphonso came out and performed 'Hey Soul Sister' by Plain White T's as a duet. Alex's smile returned, and he clapped for the two elephants when they finished. "Meena was my favorite character in the first film; I'm so happy that she actually got a boyfriend in the sequel!"

"You should go see online; they're quite the fanboys' favorite couple," Porsha pointed out. "The same fanboys that, for some reason, really want to see Ash get either with Johnny or Mr. Callaway. Seriously, they're WAY too obsessed about this."

"For our next performance, I ask you all to give a warm welcome to a guest from the Valley of Peace, MASTER VIPER!" Buster Moon called.

"Wait, WHAT?!" Alex exclaimed in shock.

Indeed, slithering over to the performance stage was a certain reptile with apple-green scales who carried a flamboyant red ribbon in her trail. She gave a respectful bow to the audience before narrowing her eyes and nodding to the staff member who played a catchy Chinese song. With that, she started to dance, her long body moving in rhythm and her scales shining beneath the spotlight. The ribbon was firmly clasped at the end of her tail as she twirled it around and made it an extension of her own body.

"Of course! How could I forget?!" Alex mentally scolded himself. "Viper was a ribbon dancer, back in her village! Man, I really need to re-watch the short films!"

The Master of Snake Style mixed her dancing skills with her Kung Fu training, producing a graceful dance that everybody enjoyed. By the time she finished, everybody clapped for her. She even jumped on the opportunity to give a little wink in Alex's direction to let him know she hadn't missed him. Naturally, the Koopa's face turned red as a tomato... Again.

"I understand why you were teasing him earlier now," Azrael mumbled to Cappy, the two chuckling a bit at Alex's reaction.

"And now, for our final performance, we have a special guest that is also from the land of Ancient China!" Buster Moon called as Master Viper slithered away with her ribbon. "He asked to keep his identity a mystery as he happens to be a last minute addition and wants to surprise everybody! See for yourself!"

The watchers all stood with anticipation, wondering who the surprise performer could be. Many seconds passed to build up the anticipation before the performer finally stepped on the stage. A familiar-looking peacock with pure-white feathers and equally white robes made of fine silk, his eyes being a burning crimson. His trail feathers were marked by circular red symbols.

"Wait a minute, is that...?!" Alex mumbled, his eyes widening.

"Shen! What a surprise!" Azrael suddenly exclaimed with a smile. "What are you doing here?"

"Greetings, Azrael. Porsha, Master Mei Ling, Chomper," the peacock greeted all of Azrael's group. "The tortoises at the Lake of Tears believe that I've spent too much time in the mountains since the start of my personal training, so they advised me to start visiting different places of the Epic Universe and help people when I have the chance to. It was actually Porsha's idea for me to perform here and showcase everything I've learned so far."

"Guilty!" Porsha mused with a giggle.

"Of course, you did," Azrael said with a roll of his eyes. "So? What are you going to show us today?"

"You will see, Guardian of Light. Mr. Moon had the kindness to bring special equipment for-" Next thing Shen knew, a Mystery Block came flying straight at his face. Thanks to his martial arts training, he managed to gracefully avoid the item, though not as well as he wanted, since it caught him by surprise. The cube missed his face by a few millimeters before crashing in the background. "Who did this?!" the peacock asked, assuming his fighting stance in case of another attack.

All the eyes turned toward a certain Koopa in the audience. A Koopa whose face became as red as his shell, though not for the same reasons as when he saw Master Viper dancing. "What...the...heck...are you doing here...you JERK?!"

"Alex, what's-" Cappy did not even get the chance to finish his sentence as his companion jumped off his seat and attempted to run up to the peacock. He would have succeeded, had Mei Ling not caught him by the waist in time.

"Whoa, easy there, Alex! Shen's not an enemy!" the golden cat said whilst restraining the Koopa.

"NOT AN ENEMY?! WHAT THE CHEESE ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Alex bellowed. "That guy's one of the biggest bad guys from the entire Kung Fu Panda World! THE most, I even say!"

Lord Shen sighed. "I see my actions have not been forgotten, even after so many years..."

Following a violent struggle, Mei Ling managed to pull Alex back far enough for Azrael to put his hand on his shoulder and give him a serious look. "Alex, calm down. I understand your surprise, but Shen here is not an enemy. He has strayed away from his path of villainy."

Alex stared at the wolf as if he had told him the dumbest thing ever. "Are you crazy, Azrael?! Didn't you see Kung Fu panda 2?!" He pointed an accusing finger at the peacock. "This guy murdered hundreds of innocent people, including Master Thundering Rhino and Po's village!"

"I perfectly understand your anger, young one," Lord Shen assured as he stepped closer to the edge of the stage. "My past actions are inexcusable, I won't claim otherwise. However, since meeting my end at the hand of my own creation, I've found myself guided by the wolf incarnation of Death - the father of Azrael here. Now that I have found peace with no more expectations or ambitions, I've been trying to figure out who I really am and find my purpose in the Epic Universe. Azrael and his friends have bee greatly helping with that."

A beautiful speech, but Alex was having none of it. "Yeah, right! Stop taking me for an idiot; someone who'd go as far as killing women and children can't find peace or have a purpose! You're as dead inside as Jack Horner or Drago Bloodfist!" He reached into his backpack and pulled out a Mystery Block. "I should grab a power-up, go on that stage, and send you all the way back to the Spirit Realm!"

That's when Azrael had enough. He jumped between Alex and the stage, pulling out a khopesh sword with a serious glare in his red eyes. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Parvulus. Shen is one of my friends, so if you want to harm him in any way, you'll have to go through me, first."

Alex widened his eyes, any will to fight almost completely fading away. His stare alternated between the wolf and his cube...before he sighed and pulled the item away. "... I really don't understand how you can protect a mass murderer who only lives to inflict his own pain on others, Azrael," he said with shaking his head in disappointment. He shouted: "See ya around, Lord Genocide!" to Shen before storming out of the theater. Cappy mumbled a 'sorry' to everyone before following him.

"Sorry for causing trouble between your friend and yourself, Azrael," Shen apologized.

"It's not your fault, Shen," the wolf replied, pulling his khopesh away. "Hopefully, Alex will see that you actually changed and can be trusted as a friend..."

Author's note: Jeesh, looks like some friction has formed between Alex and Azrael! For those of you unaware, TheDragonSaver established that Lord Shen has been taken by Death (the wolf from Puss In Boots: The Last Wish) after his fall to find a new purpose in the Epic Universe. As Death's son, Azrael wants to do everything to help him, same for his friends. A controversial decision for sure - one that Alex doesn't agree with at all. Let's hope it won't ruin their friendship. I know I've been presenting Alex has a kind-hearted guy full of kindness and good energy, but he's not without his flaws. Not only is he impatient, but he is also grudgeful.

Azrael and Porsha Crystal from Sing 2 are a couple in this story. This was a good opportunity to explain how couples between guests and characters work in the Epic Universe. While we must respect canon couples, like Hiccup and Astrid or Owen and Claire, any character that never got into a couple in their source material is available to get with a guest. I'd recommend being careful about having a guest going out with a character from an ongoing series, though. It'd be awkward if you were in a relationship, then have the character with someone else after a movie/episode release. Honestly, that's the reason why I hesitate to make Alex and Master Viper a thing. With new Kung Fu Panda consistently coming out, including the fourth movie scheduled for next year, I'm afraid she may end up either with Monkey or Mantis... Maybe even with Crane?

Beside Porsha, Azrael's other friends are Master Mei Ling and Chomper. If you guys don't remember, Mei Ling is from the Secrets of the Furious Five Kung Fu Panda short. She's the one who encouraged Crane to try out in the Lee Da Academy, thus setting him on the path of Kung Fu. TheDragonSaver is a big fan of her and thinks she's underrated as she plays an important role for one of the main characters. Honestly, I'm inclined to agree. As for Chomper, he's from one of my favorite animated franchises ever: The Land Before Time! While I know the straight-to-DVD sequels are a mixed bag, the first one remains a classic to me - I must've watched it at least a hundred times as a kid! I definitely have to make Alex meet the dino gang someday!

Before concluding this AN, I'd like to address a detail: when it comes to OCs, I usually only accept one per author. However, my friend, b-wolf95, has submitted a group of four OCs, the Squad 14 of Legendary Truth, with which I can make plenty of stories and situations. This made me realize that group of OCs ca actually be fun. As such, I will make the exception of accepting a maximum of FOUR OCs per author - but these OCs gotta be well-developed, have a clear personality and motivation, because you have to give me something to work with. You can't, for example, just call your OC 'Fred' and tell me that he likes to say 'Hello' - what the heck am I supposed to do with that? These OCs can be separated, friends or related like a family.

Next time: Alex continues his apprenticeship under Master Viper...