Chapter 26: Wu Kong versus Wu Kong
It started off like many bouts of trouble did: talking about girls. Isabeau had to leave early that day as a part of her healer training with the monastery, which left the guys in their group (sans Jonathan) to breakfast together in the dorms. And since she was gone, they were a bit freer to talk of some things. "Well I've got a date with a beautiful woman today," Naverre said.
"Really?" Walter asked as a skeptical joke, raising an eyebrow. He did believe it. With Naverre back in good graces with his family, he was once again a wealthy man of high status that women would be after. The main thing surprising about it was that it had taken this long for him to mention something like that.
"Really," Naverre said. "Her beauty shimmers like the jewels she wears; it's going to be a wonderful evening."
"What's she like?" Issachar asked, curious about it. He hadn't dated at all outside of a few group dates he'd been invited on, which did make Walter curious to know why.
"Well she's an ebony haired beauty that always carries a parasol when she goes outside to protect her lovely fair skin," Naverre said. "And she has some marvelous curves to her shape."
"But what's she like?" Issachar repeated. "I mean, does she read books or cook? Or grow flowers, or anything like that?"
Naverre shrugged at that. "I'm not sure, her family organizes farm trade. But that's what these dates are about, right? Finding out about the person who catches your fancy. Though for me, her loveliness has won me over already and I'm sure it will be a wonderful time."
"I think I know who you're talking about, and she is gorgeous," Walter said as Issachar seemed disappointed in that. "Nice catch, but you'd better make sure she doesn't get snatched away from you."
"Oh yes, I'm well aware that she could take whoever she likes, whenever she feels like it," Naverre said. "Or, were you after her?"
Walter shook his head. "Nah. I mean, she's got the looks, but her personality is so mild that I didn't go further than one conversation with her. And she's so careful with her skin and all that she's made herself overly delicate. Not even the monastery girls are that fragile, even though they spend much of their time studying and praying."
"Perhaps, but a delicate girl makes you want to protect her, right?" Naverre countered. "But maybe that isn't your tastes. I have noticed that you've spent a lot of time with the monastery girls, actually."
"They're an interesting bunch," Walter said, then smiled at a thought. "They're modest but when you get them comfortable with you, they'll uncover their heads and that can be hotter than what the other girls show on a normal basis."
"Oh, that is so true!" Naverre agreed quickly. "I remember it was quite a shock seeing Isabeau in a samurai uniform for the first time because her hair was out. She's quite pretty too, not like other girls."
He nodded to that. "You know, I can't imagine her in a nun's garb. The uniform suits her so well, even if she looks a bit like a boy."
"That doesn't seem fair to the girls to make judgments on them just based on their looks and one conversation," Issachar said. "You can't really know a person like that, and I'm sure they'd prefer to be admired for more than just how they look."
That was probably true, but Walter's mind seemed sparking with all kinds of fun. "Aw come on, haven't you ever seen a woman so beautiful that it made your mind stop and you want to just look at her?"
"Uh," he got nervous at that.
Walter playfully acted like he was thinking hard on it. "Or, are you secretly a girl pretending to be a boy?"
Issachar got so red at that that Walter almost felt bad for teasing him. Almost, but not actually. "Um, I'd make a rather ugly girl," Issachar said, shrinking back in his chair.
"No, you'd be cute," Flynn said out of nowhere.
"Flynn!" Issachar said, then hid his face on the table.
"What, do you think a girl dressing as a guy is hot?" Walter asked, trying not to laugh (Naverre failed at that). Although now that he said it out loud, it was quite nice.
"A woman would look good in pants," Flynn said, just as calmly as always.
"So, then you could see the full shape of their body including their legs?" Naverre asked, also intrigued by the idea. Flynn just nodded.
"Actually that would be something," Walter said. "I'm sure the old folks would kick up a fuss, but wow, yeah, that'd be quite a look."
"A-anyhow," Naverre said, "weren't you complaining a while ago that the monastery girls kept asking you about being responsible and disciplined?"
"For some reason, they have trouble seeing me as disciplined enough to study Scriptures even though I'm doing it," Walter said, then jokingly added, "I haven't the foggiest idea why they'd think I'm undisciplined."
"Oh really?" Naverre asked, smirking at him.
"Really, aren't I the most disciplinished and responsiwhatsit person you ever knew?" Walter asked. "I get my jobs done as soon as I can, accounting for time spent relaxing cause you can't work non-stop without going nuts, and for time spent training cause you don't get a body like this without putting some work into it. So yeah, I get things done, even studying stuff."
"You still can't get a perfect score on the math test in under ten minutes like the rest of us can," Flynn said.
"Hey, I'm doing good enough to pass," he said.
"I'll give you that," he said. "If you want to prove that you're responsiblish, could you guys all take some job off the blackboard in K's Tavern and complete it today? There's a challenge going around the group leaders; if we all could take and finish one job today, we'll be in a good spot to pass first. There'll be a small bonus for doing that."
"Sure it'll be business as usual," Walter said, then nudged Naverre. "Too bad you can't use that to impress your date."
"Well if I say we're serving beyond what we've been called for, that would be enough without revealing our mission," Naverre countered.
Walter was interested in the small bonus, since he had been doing a few more jobs than usual lately to save up money. He'd thought he could tough out batting demons without being encumbered by a lot of armor. However, a few close calls on the fourth level made him think twice about it if he wanted to keep pressing his luck deeper in. He'd cleaned up a discarded leather armor vest he'd found in Naraku a while back and found it not as bad as he'd thought. But it wasn't much extra protection and the armory had an unusual vest of chainmail that seemed better for him. Depending on how much the bonus was, he could afford it before someone else bought it.
He went in with the others after they finished breakfast to claim a few jobs before others did. However, K was quick to wave him over when he stopped by. "Oh hey, Walter, you looking for a request? I got one that came in last evening that I was going to let you look over first."
"See, told you I could be relied on," he said to the others, then went over to the counter. "Sure, what've you got?"
K smiled at that, then fiddled with one of his machines under the counter to send it to him. "Actually, sometimes you get demons who make requests of us. It's been deemed fine to complete such requests as long as they follow our guidelines, like not asking for something harmful to other samurai or the civilians. Yesterday, there were several requests from demons for someone to challenge one called Wu Kong so that he leaves, as he's been causing them trouble too."
"Wu Kong?" Walter asked, surprised at that. "I still have him since he helps me train, but he doesn't leave my sight if I call him out."
"I'm sure," K said. "But it could cause you trouble if this other Wu Kong keeps doing whatever he likes, since he is quite strong. It's not a demon often recorded, so I figured you'd be best to deal with him since you're familiar with the Wu Kong you have."
Wondering briefly if this was what he was thinking it was, Walter nodded. "Sure, I should be able to wrangle the other one. Where's he been spotted?"
"Mostly on the third level, but he might also be around down on the fourth," K told him. "That's where the others who took those requests fought him. Be careful down there."
As he was heading down to the second level, Walter called out Wu Kong. "Hey, I think your original self is hanging around here," he said.
"Oh yeah?" he asked, interested.
He nodded. "Yeah, I just got a request to chase him out of Naraku. K says he beat the snot out of a few other samurai on the third level around the time we were sparring on the first."
"It might be another shade like me," Wu Kong said. "But hey, I can beat other shades easy, and if it is the original, well this is a chance I can't lose out on. Let's go kick his ass."
They looked around the dry areas of the third level, then decided to search the fourth before delving into the poisonous marsh. It turned out to be the right path as they found the other Wu Kong hanging out on one of the higher spots in the large cavern. "Oh, it's another one of you guys," he said disdainfully. "Don't you know better than to…" his taunts dropped off as he noticed Walter's ally following up the ladder. "Hey, what's some kid like you doing with me?!" he demanded.
"He's training me," Walter said. "And we're here to kick you out of Naraku."
"Hey, I ain't harshin' on anybody's vibes, so don't be harshin' on mine," the other Wu Kong said. "I'm just taking a break from the heavenly yipyap, seein' what this place is like. And if any punk like you challenges me, I'll take 'em on. Ya know, the usual. No harm comes to those who don't come seeking it."
"Then you're the original?" Wu Kong asked.
"Yeah," he said like it was obvious. "And you must be some human-conjured shadow. Hmph, like you could train anybody."
"Well tough luck to you because I'm no ordinary shadow," he said, ready for a spar at any moment. "I've crossed many worlds and have been with many summoners to train myself up and track you down so I can defeat you in a duel."
The original gave a sharp laugh at that. "You're a nutcase if you think you can come anywhere close to me. I don't duel shadows because it'd be an uncontested wipe, no fun." Ignoring the shade's glare, he gave an appraising look at Walter. "Well, I'm bored anyhow, so tell you want: if this student of yours can give me a better solo spar than the other blue coats, I'll give dueling you a thought. Maybe two."
"I will be fighting you one way or another, even if I have to chase you down to the ends of the stars to get you to face me," the shade said, punching his fist in the air to emphasize his point. "Go on, Walter, show this smug monkey what you've got."
"Right on," Walter said, ready with his axe.
The original Wu Kong smirked at him, then darted over to attack. Like with the Wu Kong he trained with, this monkey god couldn't be hurt by ordinary weapons. Walter still struck him with his axe just to prove that he could hit the nimble demon. His plan was to then switch over to fighting defensively and using some strong magic stones he'd picked up to chip his health down. Hopefully, toughing the fight out long enough would be enough to impress the original enough to allow him to call on his other demons, including his ally Wu Kong.
However, the original monkey god darted well out of range after Walter's first hit with the axe. "Huh, you have one hell of an arm to nail somebody like me with a big heavy axe," he said. "But that's not going to be fun. I'm outta here." He then leapt away far across the gaps in the pathways.
"Hoy, get back here!" Walter called.
Of course, Wu Kong didn't listen and Walter had to jump down a few levels to pursue him. His ally darted along the air, leading him to a fairly large alcove hidden behind a misty waterfall. The original groaned when he saw them. "Oh come on, can't you respect a guy who doesn't want to be bugged? Or did the clowns of the heavenly court pester you into this?"
"You're from Heaven?" he asked.
Wu Kong rolled his eyes. "No, not Heaven, I mean the heaven of the Indian gods. Although, as tiresome as that place can be, I ain't got a desire to be anywhere near the so-called proper Heaven. I came out looking for some excitement, but it's awful quiet and boring in these parts."
"If you're looking for excitement, then why run off from a fight?" the shade Wu Kong asked, irritated at that.
"Cause I know in two seconds if the fight's gonna be anything interesting, and this isn't it," the original said. "You guys wouldn't be able to win against me even if I let go of the boon that protects me from weapons, so buzz off."
The shade growled, but Walter held a hand out to him as he thought of something. "All right then, so you know you'll lose and so you won't fight us."
"What?!" the original Wu Kong growled, narrowing his eyes at them.
Walter smirked at him. "Well you beat up several other samurai even though, by your own words, you would've known in two seconds that you could wipe them. So if you run off without touching me even though my axe won't hit you, you must know that you can't win against me even if you kept your protection."
"That's hogwash and you know it!" the original insisted. A light briefly appeared in the air and snapped before disappearing. "Or maybe you don't have the sense to know when you can't win and need a lesson in that. Well then, young fool, try hitting me with everything you've got."
"As you wish," Walter said, quickly calling out two other demons who were skilled in magic to help out. His ally Wu Kong joined in, not breaking his protection from physical attacks (and he might not be able to do that). So even though Walter couldn't attack as quickly as their opponent did, his ally Wu Kong could keep up with his original easily.
And it didn't take long until the original leapt back and grabbed hold of the wall near the waterfall. "Oh hell, I didn't ask for this," he said. "Quit bothering me!" He then darted out the waterfall, perhaps to fly off to somewhere they couldn't reach by the land.
His ally flew up to the waterfall, angrily calling out, "GET BACK HERE YOU COWARD!"
This time, a shriek of rage answered. "I AM NOT A COWARD!" The original Wu Kong then tackled his shadow through the waterfall, sending them careening through the air in a cloud of fur, dust, and blood.
"Uh, what now?" one of the other demons asked him.
"Hold off, we don't want to hurt our guy," Walter said quietly. Although, the two combatants were yowling worse than cats in their spat. He didn't think either of them would pay attention to anything else.
The battle managed to last longer than before, after which one threw off the other. The only way to tell which one was which was that without the protection against weapons, the original showed a lot more injuries than the shade. "Whoa, never thought a shade could actually give me a challenge," the original said.
"Heh, that was the purpose I decided on for my life," the shade said. "Didn't care if I'd win or lose, or what the hell went on around me, I just wanted to give you a good fight."
The original Wu Kong laughed at that. "Well, you've done my name good, so thanks. Hey, but I could think up some great plots to mess with the other guys if I was working with a body double of me. What do you say, want to team up and wreak some havoc?"
The shade grinned. "Sure, sounds great! Sorry, Walter, you've done good but I can't miss out on this. And this place is boring anyhow."
"Sure, but don't you guys be wreaking havoc around Mikado and Naraku," Walter said.
"Hmm," the original Wu Kong said, stroking his chin.
"Meh, this place has been boring," the shade said. "And not even boring enough to disrupt. There's so many weakling demons who think themselves strong because they can trouble humans. My student and some of his allies are good, but most of them are pushovers."
"You got that right. Well then, we'll leave this place be." The original Wu Kong shrugged, then added, "May as well do what I said I'd do and track down Krishna. He up and disappeared some time ago around here, to where nobody in our group can contact him. I think he just got carried away romancing some girl as usual, but some other folks were gettin' worried."
Walter accepted breaking contract with Wu Kong, to let him go off with his original self on whatever adventure they had in mind. Although, he half-wished he could take off with them. Naraku had been an exciting change to his life at first, somewhere he could be challenged and end up respected with what he did. There were hints of treasure everywhere, with jewels and mystic relics continually popping up to be discovered. There were seemingly many paths to discover, many little rooms and secrets to find before others told him about them.
After a few months of being in here daily, it became a dull grind where his progress was coming to a halt. Unusual demons like Wu Kong today did not happen much, maybe once a month. It could be a nice challenge if he caught the request before others. But most days, it was the same demons and similar requests. Now that he didn't have Wu Kong anymore, it wasn't even worth it to stay in Naraku more than necessary. Maybe he should participate in more of the hunting competitions? But those were getting easy too, unless Flynn was also participating.
He couldn't even break the wormwood barriers yet, just make a dent in them. Was he going to be able to make that goal? Walter used to not think too much through things, as it was easier to just do them in the first place. But in his studies, he'd come to see some merit to not being impulsive. Since this was bothering him, he decided to go up to the tower above the dorms to consider things.
There was a weak wind on the ground that became much stronger up on the tower. He didn't mind it, since it made him feel more alert. While it had been shoveled away from the entrance, snow and ice often got left to pile up around here. The view up here was still magnificent, even though the sky was overcast with gray and actual colors were harder to spot in the winter landscape. But it was much less likely for people to be up here; he shouldn't be disturbed.
In climbing up there, he'd thought of something else: the demons who worked with them didn't really care about them. They could impress the demons enough to learn their skills, yes, but demons were mostly interested in fighting and whatever mysterious energy the summoning program could provide them. Dantelion spoke of wanting a human for a student, but his intentions were clearly to his benefit, not the student's. Similarly, Wu Kong (at least the shade) had taught him how to fight better but then was quick to leave when something else interested him more.
Then whatever the demons said, they shouldn't be fully trusted. They used humans, and humans used demons. That equilibrium could keep things fair and peaceful… no, no it couldn't. It wasn't an equilibrium because the demons kept trying to draw him towards their way of thinking. Closing his eyes, Walter could recall how Wu Kong would frown whenever he said he wanted to stop for the day to do more of his scriptures studies. "It's all rubbish that'll keep you from doing what you really want," he would claim any time Walter tried to bring up those ideas.
But he wanted to figure these things out rather than just ignore them. Who had really made everything, and what did they want for the world? God was supposed to be perfectly and infinitely good, but bad things still happened in the world. Why did God allow evil to exist if He was all-powerful? And more importantly, what could Walter do to make the world better not just for himself, but for others?
Some good people like Kathy at the upper city church were glad to help him find answers, but others were skeptical. They'd hear how he didn't bother to stop sounding like a village Casualry; they'd see how he didn't give a damn about looking prim and clean (it felt unnatural to try). And even if they didn't say it, their doubts about him would be in their eyes. How could you ever understand the wisdom of God?
Even the demons were like that. Just the other day, he'd tried to recruit an ogre that had appeared on the fourth floor of Naraku. Walter knew you had to flatter them well, but when asked why he had a book of scriptures with him, he decided to be honest and say he was studying it. Then the ogre had laughed at him, saying that he seemed more like the sort that would get frustrated just reading it, much less understanding it. In the ogre's opinion, Walter was better off using the book to whack others in the head with.
His fist clenched on remembering that. He hated it when people misunderstood him, or underestimated him. However he might look, he wasn't just some thug who had no thoughts of his own. Walter was capable of doing more than he seemed, even understanding these scriptures. Maybe he would start with this spite, to prove them all wrong, but he did want to learn. He knew he could, as he managed to successfully complete the timed math tests not that long ago. If he could do that as an uneducated Casualry, then he could certainly become wise too if he kept working at it.
"I will," Walter mumbled to the wintry landscape below him. Then he grimaced as he realized that his head suddenly felt heavy and painful. His legs also felt like he'd stepped off a boat onto a steady dock, causing him to put his gloved hands on the stone walls. "Ugh, what the hell? I felt fine just a minute ago."
The icy air in his lungs felt painful too. While he waited a moment to see if this would pass, his vision got blurred. He thought he saw a strange girl floating in front of him, her mismatched eyes filled with a fiery glow and her hair fluttering due to the raw force of her own power. She offered a hand to him, offered the power to give true freedom to the world. When he got that power, though, his body became so gaunt, disturbingly more like death than life. All who were weak would perish, leaving the strong to remake the world. If they felt like it.
All who were weak… would perish? No, that wasn't right. It was his duty as a samurai to protect the citizens, no matter who they were. He knew quite a few people that he wanted to keep safe now, both back in the village and here in the capitol. That was something in the books, a good use of his strength. What did he get out of it? What did that matter since he got his dream of becoming a samurai? And since he had, he had to work to be at his best at it.
That was right, but why was the thought of it literally making him sick?
Then he felt like someone took his arm. But when he glanced down, there was no hand there. Instead, a faint voice said, "From eternal change to eternal foundation, from stasis to motion, you both shifted. What caused this?"
Just in case, Walter turned around. But again, no one was there. Visibly, anyhow. There was a warmth that wasn't a draft coming out from the indoors below. It was just there. "Who are you?" he asked quietly.
"Who… am… I? Who am I?"
This was strange, but this wasn't like looking a demon in the eyes and knowing they were there to fight you, or challenge you in some other way. Maybe whoever this was wasn't hostile. "Sorry, I asked first so I can't answer that," Walter said.
After a moment, the spirit replied, "I will be calm no matter what may come, for I have faith in God to lead me. I thought I was watching the world through one man's eyes, but here I am watching through yours instead. You feel like him, and yet not. You seek wisdom under God?"
There was a part of him that resisted having such faith as this spirit did. It was like closing your eyes to navigate Naraku, something that seemed completely dumb. And yet, "I think so," he answered the spirit. "I can tell those who are truly faithful from those who aren't in a few minutes; they always seem so calm and serene, and they have a dignity from being so sure of things that they don't need to show off or prove themselves. I never felt sure of things, not even where I should be going with my life. I used to dismiss faith. But now that I've tried studying scriptures, having such faith is starting to seem enviable."
"Do not listen to the whispers of envy, for you will feel frustration at what others have without realizing what you have already," the spirit said.
Most of the time, Walter would snap at someone for rebuking him like that, or laugh it off to not show how it embarrassed him. But this strange spirit was different. He rubbed his head at it. "Right… man, it seems like a nice way to be, but then I think over how much I'd have to overcome to follow these scriptures and there's so much I need to catch up on."
"If you wish to follow the ways of God, you must face your own faults and commit to overcoming them," the spirit said. "It is a straight and narrow path full of difficulty. But with each step you take, you will grow in spirit which will make your way easier."
"One step at a time, huh?" Walter said. His mind wandered back to just that morning, having fun with the other guys. But Issachar did have a point that they were being unfair in talking about women like that, even just in jest. While it would be hard to change his ways all at once, a bit at a time… well, he was already doing that.
There was an even softer sound, like a yawn. "I don't think I can speak to you much longer," the spirit said. And this time, it was easier to tell the feminine tone to the voice. "I can't be… much of a guide right now. To either of you. Your demons…"
"Hmm, what about them?" he said, tapping the screen of his gauntlet. It went right to the screen with the group he currently had recruited. An obvious gap was where Wu Kong used to be.
After a moment, the outlines around two of them flickered. "These ones. Fuse them. Then fuse that one no longer and you will have a guide and steadfast companion who will grow with you. That should help." Her warmth faded away and he knew she was gone.
Walter shivered a moment, then looked at the two that were still flickering. He recalled not being interested before in any demons they could fuse to. In fact, he'd considered dismissing his contract with them earlier. He activated the fusion app and checked what would come of fusing them: Divine Angel. He'd had an angel before, but that one hadn't seemed useful. But with the two component demons, he could pass on skills that he knew were useful to her. She didn't have the projected stats to use those skills well.
But… a guide to the path in life he chose, a steadfast companion that would grow with him… this angel might be useful now. Walter went ahead with the fusion. She gave a typical response to being summoned through the app. And since he was alone up here, he went ahead and called Angel out.
After taking a look at him, Angel tilted her head. "Hmm? There's something about you that doesn't seem like the usual person who calls upon us."
"Yeah, I'm probably not," Walter said. "But I've been studying scriptures for a while now, and I want to change. It just seems really daunting as there's so much I need to change and move away from. Just now, someone suggested I should summon one of you as a guide. I had been learning from another demon, but he proved that he was only using me to pass the time."
"If you truly wish to change and grow in faith, then it would bring me joy to light your way," she said, smiling although it didn't seem like a strong joy. "It is my duty to lead and protect the faithful."
"Well it's my duty as a samurai to help keep Mikado peaceful," he said. "Although I realize now that I could stand to take that duty more seriously."
Then someone else opened up the door to the tower. Walter put a hand on his gauntlet, nearly sending Angel away for now. But then, it turned out to be Flynn. He gave Angel a glance, then shrugged and came over. "I hope I'm not bothering you," he said, a frown briefly appearing on his face before he seemed expressionless again.
"Nah, but what's up with you?" Walter asked. "You look pissed off, for you anyhow."
"Don't be saying this to others, but it's about the masters," he said after a moment. "I knew they slacked off in their duties more often than not. A lot of the requests that involve the third level and on get taken care of by us already. But with that squad challenge I told you guys about, we won it handily. I didn't even need to encourage you three to make sure to take a request today for that. The excuses they gave were weak and awful. When trouble comes up, I don't feel like we could trust the defense of the people to them. And it feels like I have to keep reminding Hope that he doesn't have to be a doormat. It's little wonder that that one guy…" he stopped abruptly, then just sighed and closed his eyes.
Flynn did take duty seriously, Walter thought. Even though he often found ways to wriggle around an exact interpretation to do what he wanted, he still worked day in and day out both in and out of Naraku. If Walter could learn to be like him, it'd be a great improvement. "How did they get known as masters anyhow if they slack off like that?" he asked.
"Traditions, and they feel like they've put in a lifetime of duty already," he said. "You should be acknowledged as more of a master than they simply from dealing with Wu Kong today. But you won't be because those traditions haven't been upheld by you yet." He spoke of those 'traditions' like he felt they were garbage.
Walter could just accept that, although he knew it wasn't right. "Maybe not from that deal with Wu Kong," he said, shaking his head. "Most of the reason he left was because my Wu Kong gave him a good fight and they took off together to make trouble elsewhere. I mean, they're probably not going to return to Naraku, but I feel like I didn't handle that right."
"Where did they go?" Flynn asked.
"I'm not sure, but they mentioned going to find one of their own named Krishna who'd disappeared."
For some reason, Flynn stiffened at that. "Krishna…" he mumbled, looking down at the city below them.
"You know that guy?" Walter said, surprised and deeply concerned about this. He half-expected to see flickers of white on Flynn's skin. Although, why? That thing only happened in those strange dreams.
"He's a fop of a god who performs magic with a flute and can charm just about anyone," Flynn said, like he was trying to make something he dreaded less intimidating. But it didn't seem to work. "I've made mistakes where many people suffered the consequences, not just me. And then Krishna made something that had been right into something horrific. I hope I haven't made things worse by trying to make them better."
What had happened to make him feel that way? More importantly, what could Walter say to that? "Hoy, don't fret so much about every little thing. There's only so much one person can influence, right? As long as you're working to make things better, then things should get better. I think, maybe."
Flynn then gave him a curious look. "How much do you recall?" he asked.
"Uh," Walter scratched his head. "I don't know? What're we even talking about?" Then he laughed sheepishly. "I'm just running my mouth again when I'm not sure what's going on; I really should stop doing that. It's just, there's been some part of me that's always worried over how you're acting even though I'm not sure why I feel like that. I think all of us in our group have felt that way at some time or another, and it's hard to know how to help you when we don't know what's going on. And it seems like the longer this winter drags on, you're getting more stressed over whatever's going on in your head even though everything seems like a breeze to you. So, then," he shrugged, "what is going on with you?"
"It's complicated," Flynn said, once again seeming like he was far older than he looked, that he'd suffered more than he should have. "Waiting on something to happen can be more stressful than actually doing it, especially knowing you shouldn't move too soon and reveal that you're up to something. I shouldn't be second-guessing myself at this stage, but… it's complicated, a lot of moves that I haven't used together before. Maybe I can tell you about it someday, but not now. Experience would be the best teacher right now."
For a moment, Walter felt like telling him to trust in God, even though he was trying to learn to have that confidence in an unknown himself. But then he recalled how Flynn felt about God. This wasn't a time to let a door slam shut between them so they couldn't talk like this anymore. "You got that right," Walter said. "I had to learn today how demons that seem friendly might not be as loyal as they act."
"What happened?" Flynn asked, so Walter told him more details on what happened with Wu Kong. Maybe giving him other less worrisome things to think about would help.