OOOOO9OOOOO
"He's here."
Wenwu wasted no time. And with his army right behind him, he stalked right into Ta Lo, making his demands and fighting back viciously when met with resistance.
They had a plan of sorts, it was really quite simple: keep Wenwu away from the Dark Gate. They could do that, right?
Maybe not...
With his army, especially Death Dealer and Razorfist, distracting the Ta Lo fighters - even Trevor and Morris suited up for battle - and his intense determination to free his wife from her supposed capture, he basicially waltzed right up to the Gate. But not before Shaun and Dryaa stood in his way.
Shaun seemed surprised when she joined him mid-father-and-son-fight. "What are you doing?"
"This is my fight too. It's personal for all of us."
Wenwu stared them down. "Get out of my way."
"She's not back there, Dad."
The pain in his eyes was heart-wrenching. "I have to save her, she's calling to me."
Dryaa sighed. "Oh, Wenwu-" All of this was just so heartbreaking. "She isn't calling to you. It's a dark dimensional creature who's preying on you-"
"Anything to take the Rings for yourself," he accused. "Without them, you are nothing!"
"Your words, not mine. And couldn't that be said for anyone?"
"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" The Rings surged forward and struck her with a blast so strong it shot her back, sending her smashing into the mountainside housing the gate, and she crumbled limply to the ground.
Shang-Chi saw red and lunged at his father, continuing their duel.
When Dryaa shakily and numbly started to come too, a bright light struck her vision. Her eyes flickered open to see everything was engulfed in a soft golden glow, the Rings swirling together in the air, all ten of them.
And Shaun was using them.
He held out his hands, the rings swirling around him. Wenwu appeared just as shocked.
For a rapid moment, it seemed like Shaun was going to blast his father with the Rings, but instead he cast them downward, sending them clattering to the ground at Wenwu's feet.
There was a moment of still silence, only to be shattered mere moments later.
The entire mountain shook with a great quake, and the Gate crumbled before them, a giant, dark, scaled creature smashing its way through.
The Dweller in Darkness.
It noticed them right away and seemed very interested, wanting to feast upon their souls after having been starved for so long. Wenwu gathered up the Rings and dove in, knocking his son out of the way - only for the monster to grab hold of him.
"No!"
But Wenwu seemed to accept his fate, and let the Rings fall from his wrists and onto those of his son. They resumed their soft golden glow as soon as they were worn by Shaun.
"Wenwu!" Now Dryaa was back on her feet, albeit shakily.
His body dropped limp to the ground and the creature, hungry for more souls, flew off in the direction of the village.
Dryaa rushed to Wenwu's side, but their suspicions were quickly confirmed: he was dead.
She bowed her head low. "Goodbye, Old Friend."
"It's headed for the village!"
With a roar, the Great Protector of Ta Lo, a magnificent dragon, swept in, Xialing already on its back.
"Drey, here-" Shaun held out his arm, and all the Rings from his left arm slid off and onto her own arm, turning their signature purple.
With that they leapt onto the dragon's back themselves, joining Xialing, and both swung their sets of Rings around, slashing at the Dweller's soul-sucking minions. If the minions could cause this much damage, it didn't take much imagination to figure out how much the Dweller itself could do.
The Dragon crashed into the Dweller before it could reach the village.
"Cover me!" Once they were close enough, Dryaa jumped from the back of one creature to the other. When she neared the Dweller's head she wrapped her five Rings around its neck, seeking to strangle the creature with the power of the Rings.
It obviously did not like this, and was strong enough to throw off the Ring's hold, flailing its neck and throwing her off - just in time for a minion to catch her mid-air.
The minion wasted no time in attempting to suck her soul, but was sliced in half by the Rings - Shaun's Rings.
He caught her and pulled her back to safety on the Dragon's back.
"What are you doing?!" she cried. The Dweller had resumed its quest for the village. "Go after it!"
"I've lost so much I love already - I'm not going to lose you too!" was his response.
She barely had any time to process his words - Xialing was mid-fall and he was determined not to let her go either.
"No!"
The Dweller was now feasting on their dragon's soul. Nan had said that if this happened, the dark creature would be unstoppable.
Xialing back to safety, Shaun turned to help the dragon.
Slice!
The creature gave a great wail as an arrow shot from one of the villagers cut right through its throat.
"I have an idea," Shaun announced. "But I'm going to need all the Rings."
"Do it." Dryaa handed hers to him.
The Ten Rings proved their savour where they had once been their enemy. Shaun shot the Rings down the creature's throat, before blasting it open from the inside - literally. Blood and body parts shot throughout the sky. Dryaa got splattered and almost puked right then and there.
The dragon took them back down to the village. "Oh no..." The beautiful place was covered in the wounded and dead, as well as destroyed buildings. Their victory had come at a great cost.
"You guys!"
"Katy!"
Their friend rushed into their arms. "Oh thank God!"
"Did you see that arrow?"
"Yeah, that was me!"
"That was you?!"
"That was me! We make a pretty good team."
"We do."
"Drey, here-" Shaun held out his arms, extending the Rings out to her again, the full, complete set, for the first time in centuries. "Mission accomplished."
But she declined. "You keep them. As Guardian of the Rings, I have bared witness and seen that you are a truly worthy keeper of them, Shang-Chi."
"You're sure?"
"Completely." She smiled and moved to turn away.
"Drey wait-" He stopped her. "What I said back there-"
"Was just in the heat of the moment-"
"No, no it was true. I know I have commitment issues, but I know I want to commit with you."
She was shocked, to say the least. "Even after everything you've learned about me?"
"Yes. I know I want to commit, and I want to commit to you. If you feel the same way, that is..."
She didn't answer, just drew him close in a passionate embrace - including a kiss.
"Holy shit!" Katy gawked at them as they pulled away. "It finally happened!"
Before doing anything else, even cleaning up the village, the whole of Ta Lo held a ceremony for those they had lost in the battle.
Nan led the ceremony, placing a lantern on the water, the others following. "Tonight, we honour those who gave their lives so that we might see another day. They were more than warriors - they were our mothers and fathers, our sisters and brothers. And though we will always hold on to their memories, tonight we release them to rest with our ancestors... A thousand years ago, and a thousand years from now, we will always be together..."
Whew, so much happened in this chapter! One chapter left - see you there!
Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :)
