Throughout the night, I slept peacefully. The mattresses were thicker and softer than any I've slept on before. Oh how I wished to buy one for my room back at the Jade palace. When I woke up, I could see that it was a bright and sunny day outside. The sunlight shone through the window between the two beds. The most interesting thing I gathered was the scent of something I hadn't smelled in a long time. What was it again...? Cinnamon? Yeah, that's it. It was an incredible smell too. I slithered off of the bed, eager to find out where it was coming from, careful not to wake up Viper. However, as her head slid down the bed after my tail fell to the floor, she woke up.
"Wuhza"...? She mumbled to herself, looking around to see me. I tried my hardest not to laugh at her rather drowsy state as it wasn't like her at all. Maybe it had something to do with her being back home. Who knew? Still, I held my laugh and decided to be a gentle snake and help her up.
"Morning". I gave a smile as best I could.
"...Morning". She slurred.
So after a quick wash, I made my way downstairs with Viper and met the two large vipers in what I imagined to be their kitchen. They seemed rather buzy preparing breakfast for the family which I couldn't help but appreciate. Pity we don't get this kind of service back at the Jade palace. There was plenty cooking too. Eggs, toast, some sort of cereal I've never seen before. It looked as though Vipers parents were planning on cooking for the whole village.
"Ah, I see you are both up early. Seems like all that training Master Shifu has you doing pays off well". Yǒudú spoke up, offering me a plate with some fried eggs as well as a few slices of bread.
"Thank you Yǒudú". I spoke, taking the plate and sitting down opposite someone I had yet to meet. Another snake with a lighter skin tone than Vipers and did not wear any lotus flowers on top of her head. This must have been Vipers sister... Y'ang... I think her name was? She received a friendly hug from her elder sister before Viper wandered over to help herself to a bowl of the odd looking cereal. Her attention turned to me for a second.
"Oh, so you're Mike I take it"?
"I am, yes. Nice to meet you... Y'ang was it"?
"Yeah that's right".
"Pleasure". I smiled. Y'ang on the other hand acted like she was interested when really, she wasn't. She waited until the two larger snakes left to check who was knocking on their door, probably a messenger, until she spoke again.
"So... have you and my sister done it yet"?
"Y'ANG"! Viper almost yelled as she spun round almost dropping the bowl of cereal, her face going red. Matter of fact, so did my own. Something formed in my throat, unable to let me say anything, letting the two sisters talk. Not exactly a morning conversation I was expecting today.
"I'm just saying sis! Jeez! I mean, this will be your first time so I just thought I'd warn him in case you're, you know, a little rusty".
I was now trying my hardest not to snigger the her comments. The glare Viper was giving her younger sister was one beyond anger. It seemed she got the message.
"Well, I'd better leave you two alone for a bit. Just try not to give in to any urges you may have. We do have to eat off of that table".
"Y'ang. I'm warning you". Viper hissed.
"Okay, I'm sorry! Dear Gods! See you later Mike. Bye Sis".
And with that, the young snake left me and Viper alone. Viper spoke as she turned back to me, carrying over the bowl of cereal as the redness of her face started to die down.
"I'm so sorry about that. She's still quite young so- Are you laughing"?
"No". I barely managed to say as I was doing everything in my power to stop the sides of my mouth curl upwards. Viper sighed.
"You're impossible sometimes".
"Come on Vipes, I'm sure she was just rattling your cage. I used to have a younger sister myself who drove me up the wall everyday of my life remember. Besides, I'm sure this is the first time you've seen her for some time now, am I right"? Viper settled down a little.
"Yeah. I suppose that's a good point. Thank you Mike".
"Of course".
So after breakfast, Yǒudú returned and explained to me a lot about the great Sh'e village. I know that Viper had already informed me of most of the information already but I'd rather have not been rude by telling him that.
It quickly turned out that the day would just consist of checking the village through a first person experience. In other words, a tour around the town. Yǒudú left that responsibility with both Viper and her younger sister, Y'ang, as he had to deal with some sort of disturbance. Something about the sighting of demon roaming around the area. Probably rumors I'm sure.
So while he had to travel all the way out to a nearby farm, Viper and Y'ang almost literally dragged me out of the house and up to the front of the town, thus beginning the tour.
From her house to the village itself, Vipes and Y'ang pointed out many of the building and market stalls. Some of the sellers dealt with black magic. At least that's what Y'ang told me but I wasn't sure if I believed it. We passed a couple of large buildings which seemed to catch my eye more than the others. The first building, made of stone and a large sign hanging over the front in Chinese lettering which read "Theater". The second one was an old fishing shop. Turns out that these people DO eat meat after all. Well, I don't really know if fish actually counts as meat. Many would argue that it wasn't but it didn't really matter at this point. I was just thrilled that they actually sold the stuff. Shame they don't sell fish at the Valley of Peace.
Two hours of exploring the town later and it had maybe just gone past noon. Viper was just pointing out the exact area where she defeated the large gorilla that got the best of her dad with, get this, poison proof armor. I know she mentioned it some time ago but I never recalled anything about armor that was poison proof. Was that actually a real thing? Poison proof armor? Hell if I know. I was snapped out of my thoughts as Y'ang scoffed.
"Yeah, she's only mentioned that story thousands of times". Viper shot her an angered glare.
There wasn't much else special after that. The occasional shop here and there, in which Viper wanted to visit or re-visit what with there being a couple new stores around. Personally, I found shopping boring but I was smart enough not to say such a thing in front of either of the two Vipers as they loved it. Great master Viper returned from his investigation and met us halfway through the village and decided to tag along as he had no more duties. He told me a lot about how he had been the protector of his village for years, decades even. The two young female vipers rolled their eyes. They used to hear a lot about this sort of thing I bet.
So eventually, night fell. The day had passed rather quickly, to both my surprise and my regret. The village was a beautiful place set in a beautiful location, I could say that without delay. Yǒudú at one point wanted to show us his favorite Wonton booth before it closed. When we arrived at the stall, it looked more like a small shack, but inside I could notice a pig selling wonton soup. I just paid for a few spring rolls while the family of serpents enjoyed a bowl of soup each.
"I believe we are done here. What say we get back home and relax for the rest of the evening? You know how your mother is whenever you leave, the poor dear". The great viper chuckled, mostly to himself.
"I can understand that". I spoke. "I remember whenever I had to leave my own hometown for important buisness. She always told me to write to her everyday".
"A motherly instinct I'm sure". He joked back.
I hadn't just made that up either, just replaced some of the words. What really should have been said was that whenever I left for a high school trip, Skiing in Italy or along those lines, she would always tell me the PHONE her everyday, not write. Those were some great days indeed.
"Right, so let's embar"-
A scream from the other side of town interrupted the great snake and several different animals were running in our direction, scared. Yǒudú was able to stop and calm down a small duck and asked what was going on.
"Demon! There's a demon attacking the town"! Was all the frightened villager blurted out before rejoining the screaming mass that was the villagers.
Demon? Did he actually just say demon? Please tell me that it was some kind of prank being pulled.
Before I could ask, I found myself heading in the direction of the area the villagers were fleeing from. I had just gone in on my own in a foolish attempt to see what was going on. Surely someone was taking all this out of context right? I mean, there's no way there's actually a real live demon running around for no reason whatsoever.
"LOOK OUT"!
Before heading out into another street, a cart flew across in front of me and smashed into the ground, thankfully hitting no one. I turned the corner carefully to see what I was up against. But whatever this thing was, it turned a corner and through another section of town. I barely caught a glimpse of it. It was massive! Twelve feet tall at least! But that was all I could have identified it by. It seemed to have been walking so I might have been able to catch up to it.
I slithered as quickly as I could in the direction of the beast and turned the corner...
My God...
It wasn't a demon. But something entirely different!
The figure just stood there with its back to me. It wore a large dark green trench coat, covering it from its shoulders down it its heavy thick boots. It was very human looking. It had very pale skin, almost white. It was bald headed and when it turned round to face me, It had no pupils. And what was worse, was that I knew what this thing was!
The T103 from resident evil 2!? I- I'm sorry, am I seeing this correctly?! WHAT?! What the hell is this thing doing here?! This monster used to scare the hell out of me when I was a kid!
It slowly turned round, facing me. It seemed to become that much more hostile as it broke into a full sprint right at me! I was almost in shock and fear to move. The monster snarled and as soon as it got close enough, it quickly lifted up its foot. I found the strength in me to dive to the side just as it came down on the stone pavement, destroying it and breaking it into dozens of pieces.
Oh God, Oh God, what do I do?! I'm fighting a scary monster that's not even supposed to be here and is nearly impossible to defeat! What the hell do I do?!
The tyrant slowly removed its foot from the remains of whatever now lay beneath its foot and charged again.
There was no way to fight this thing here. I needed to run!
That's exactly what I did. I slithered as fast as my body could let me. There was no way to attack this thing at the moment. If I tried I would have been killed at once.
But this thing was much faster. Plus it could have smashed through buildings if it needed to. But if one thing was certain, it seemed to want to kill me the most more than anything else! WHY?
As far as I understood the resident evil series, this thing usually works by tracking down given targets, objectives even. But that wouldn't explain how someone had managed to somehow create one and, for an even more bizarre reason, send it after me!
After it was close enough, it slammed its fist straight at me. It missed but I was sent back a few feet from the blast. I looked back to see that it had its fist stuck in the ground. Now's my chance!
I slithered up its arm and did what I could to crush its head. Damn things skull was stronger than iron!
Using its free hand, it grabbed me and turned my own tactic on me. It started to apply pressure to its grip. I couldn't escape! It's eyes glowed brighter as I felt some sort of cold sensation wash over my skin as though something had just crawled under it. For a moment I thought I could hear it speaking to me.
"So, the valiant hero of the valley arrives, only to fall into the trap set for him... How predictable"...
Before the thing could crush my ribs into dust, a figure from above attacked. A large elderly Viper to be more exact! The snake bit right into his shoulder! But, if he was here, where the heck was Viper and Y'ang? I didn't even have the time to focus on asking as I saw Master Vipers fangs sink deep into its skin.
The monster registered pain but a grunt was the only reaction received. It's blank facial expression didn't even change. But it had to drop me into order to rip him off and throw him towards me, though he was able to land on the ground before me with no problem.
With its fist still stuck in the ground, I was ready to strike at this abomination again until the Great master halted me.
"Fear not. I injected a lethal dose of venom into the demon. It should be weakened after such an attack".
Sure enough, the thing started shaking and spazing. While it should have been simple, my eyes widened in fear. One thing I know about this thing, real or not, was that it was even more dangerous near death. I slowly turned to the master.
"Did you say a lethal dose"?
"I did".
"Oh no"... It's exactly what I feared.
"Is something the matter"?
"Well, I know what this thing is. It's basically a biological super weapon and carries a fail safe protocol in case in takes too much damage". Just as well I speak nerd right?
"And what would that be"?
Before I could answer, the tyrant growled louder. I looked to see that the metal straps holding its large trench coat together broke apart and the tyrant began to grow even bigger!
Its muscles expanded, its skin hardened and became a dark grey and now instead of fists, it had large claws for fingers over two feet long each!
"That". I answered Yǒudú's question.
Its hand exploded out of the ground, leaving a large hole in the grassy area. I needed to do something before this thing flattens the whole town!
"Master Viper, what's your strongest most powerful weapon in the village's armory"?
"That would be a katana".
Isn't that a Japanese weapon?
"Alright ju- WHOA"!
I pushed the great Viper to the side as I jumped back in the opposite direction. The tyrant had nearly cut us both in half.
"JUST GET IT"! I yelled before doing what I could to distract the thing. Why it wanted to kill me most of all was unexplainable. At least it gave Yǒudú more than enough time to find this katana of his. Lucky me...
It was only two minutes into the new battle. Every attack I could throw was usless against its hardened armor-like skin. The tyrants second form made it stronger and faster than the original meaning I had to be even faster. At this point of fighting it, I climbed up one of the buildings and waited for the beast to try and hit me before I lunged into its face, trying to do what I could do slow it down. I had to jump off almost as quickly as I had leapt on as the razor sharp claws of the beast shot up and put a massive hole in the building. I didn't think that I was going to make it, but after what felt like much too long, Yǒudú returned with the weapon in a holster. I had an idea. A dangerous one but it was the only one I could think of.
"MASTER VIPER, I NEED YOU TO RESTRAIN ITS HANDS"! I yelled.
Yǒudú did not need telling twice as he caught the tyrants attention. The beast threw it sharp claws directly at him. But this was the Great master Viper after all. He dodged the hand with ease and wrapped around it, bringing it to the ground.
"THE KATANA! NOW"!
Using his jaw, he threw it right at me and I barely caught it with my tail, slithering and avoiding the second hand until I reached the creatures soft neck, removed the holster and was ready to slice the things head off.
"Let's see you get out of this you ugly mother".
I brought the katana down but before I could strike it, I fell? I just fell straight to the floor with a crash. So did Yǒudú. I looked back up to where the tyrant was.
A large dark purple cloud hung in the air, groaning and hovering right where the tyrant was just standing. I didn't understand, what had just happened? The only thing I could understand was when I saw Master Viper glaring at it, speaking only one word.
"Mèngyǎn".
The cloud groaned loudly before disappearing into thin air. What was that all about?
"What was that thing"?
The great master did not answer, but instead told me to go back to the house where everyone would be waiting for me. He said he was staying to help any villagers that may have been injured. I obeyed and headed back, thankful that I was still in one piece.
When I finally arrived and entered the house, I found Viper and the rest of the Viper clan safe and sound inside. Upon seeing me, Viper made no hesitation to hug me at once, glad I was safe. She looked up, realizing I had come alone.
"Mike, where's"-
"Don't worry. He's fine. He's down in the village helping the villagers".
She sighed in relief. So did Ti'an and Y'ang from behind. Both sisters begun to explain that their father had ordered for them to return back home in case the tyrant had decided to head up to their home. Just part of being a caring father I'm sure.
"Viper, can I talk to you for a second"?
I dragged Viper up the stairs and into the bedroom. The fact that her father had not answered my question on what that cloud thing had worried him. I needed to know what it was at once. Hopefully Viper could provide some sort of answer.
"Is something the matter"?
"No, just... before the monster disappeared, your father said something. Mèngyǎn. Does that mean anything to you"?
Viper seemed to become that much more nervous. She knew full well what it was.
"Mike, Mèngyǎn means nightmare. If my father said that then that means you encountered a Mèngyǎn soul".
"Mèngyǎn soul"?
"It has no true form and becomes whatever thought lies within your mind. It's a very dangerous creature. If anything, you're lucky to be alive".
"That's not good".
Eventually, Yǒudú returned and told us that there was nothing to fear. The Mèngyǎn soul had long gone and was unlikely to return anytime soon. I wasn't entirely sure if I believed that. The best he said to do was rest and forget about such an evil thing. Though I'm sure I'd be remembering it for some time. Something in my mind made sure of that...
...
Right now I bet a lot of people reading this are thinking "What the heck just happened"? Don't worry, it's all part of the story. you'll understand why in several chapters time. On the other hand, it seems that something sinister is at work. And it seems rather interested in Mike. Why? You'll see soon enough. Cheerio!