Chen looks around at the unfamiliar surroundings. He was in a forest, the trees so tightly packed together that he could barely move himself through them. "Hello? Is anyone here?" he calls out, hoping for a reply.
"Help…me…." a hoarse voice whispers out to him. Chen turns, seeing an eerie path had appeared. There was a blue glow coming from up ahead, a calming colour. The voice was coming from that direction.
Chen steps forward, looking around cautiously. "Hello? Who's there?"
"Help me…."
The voice was stronger now, louder. Chen moves aside some branches, peering into the clearing. There before him, stood the same jade box he'd seen the week previously. It was closed, with chains wrapped around it. As Chen draws nearer, he could hear the voice clearly.
"Help me!"
It was coming from inside the box.
Stepping forward, he reaches a cautious hand toward it.
That's when the box and chains begin to rattle, and Chen jumps back in fright. The lid of the box tried to open, as a loud, pained groan emanated from the box. The jade snakes, once frozen in place, fall off, slithering over to him. Chen tries to kick them away, but the snakes wrap around his ankles, trapping him in place.
Soon enough, they began to climb, slithering up his torso and trapping his limbs. One wraps around his head, blocking his mouth and nose and preventing him from breathing.
The young man looks up to see a faint, ghostly figure hovering in front of him. Its wide eyes stare right at him, while its mouth hangs open unnaturally.
"HELP. ME."
– – –
Chen sits up, gasping for air. Patting down his body and finding nothing holding him in place, he lets out a deep sigh, leaning his head against his bed rest.
It was just a dream. The same stupid dream he'd been having for the past week.
Hearing a meow, Chen looks down to see Shu was sitting on the floor, looking up at him with a quizzical gaze. Chen leans down to give her a pat. "Hey, morning Shu. How'd you sleep?"
In response, the cat leans into his touch, purring loudly. Chen smiles. "Glad you slept well." Bringing out his phone, he notices the time. It was 7:00am.
Realising he wasn't gonna be able to sleep after that, he decides to get up and take a walk before his shift.
Getting up and getting ready, he grabs his bag and his apartment keys. After he feeds Shu, he leaves.
–
Walking down the street, he looks around. Everything was peaceful today. So maybe they wouldn't have to worry about any demons attacking the city.
As he walks, he notices the same museum he'd come across last week. He pauses outside the entrance, looking up at the locked doors.
Those dreams he was having. He was having dreams of that jade box. What was that all about?
Shaking his head, he continues walking. It was nothing, it was probably nothing! Just a weird dream that kept coming back, over and over and over….
Chen rubs the bridge of his nose. Maybe someone knew what it was. He knew two bookworms. Tang, and his childhood friend, Rey.
It wouldn't hurt to check the library before work.
Making his way quickly down the street once more, he reaches the library in no time. He enters, looking around for either Tang or Rey. he soon spots them sitting together at a table, chatting about something. He approaches them, and Rey is the first to notice.
They smile brightly at him, waving him over. "Chen! Oh my gosh, it's great to see you! What are you doing here? I never took you as a nerd." they giggle, and Chen rolls his eyes. "Uh huh, great to see you too, Rey. Hey Tang." he says, gesturing at their table. "Mind if I sit here and ask you guys something?"
"Not at all! What's troubling you?" the man asks as Chen takes a seat. "Well, I was wondering if either of you know about a jade box with snake designs all over it. I saw it being loaded into the museum last week and was curious about what it was." he explained.
Tang gasps. "Wait! You're asking us about history?! I've waited your whole life for this day." Tang sheds a tear, as Rey giggles at his reaction. Chen glares at the older man. "Alright, alright, we get it. You're a nerd that loves knowledge. Do you know anything about the box?" he asks again, getting impatient this time.
Tang clears his throat, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Hm…nope." he shrugs.
"What?!"
Rey snaps their fingers. "Oh! Wait! I think I know what box you're talking about." they exclaim, getting to their feet. Chen follows them, while Tang stays at the table, bringing out his own book. "Bring it back when you find it." he calls out. Many people around him hush him.
Rey leads Chen through a few isles. "Remember those books I told you were coming in? I think one of them mentions the box you were talking about." they explain. They look over a few books, muttering under their breath for a moment. "Where is it, where is it…ah, here we go!" they exclaim, pulling out the book. The cover was black, with golden letters on the front reading; "A Guide to Ancient Artefacts".
They hold it out to Chen. "Here it is! Let's go take it back to Ta-"
Someone harshly bumps into Rey, knocking them over. The book slips out of their grip, sliding across the floor before landing at the feet of the person that bumped into them. Chen turns to the hooded person angrily. "Hey! Watch where you're going!" he growls, helping Rey to their feet.
The person stops. Bending down, they pick up the book, looking down at the cover. The only thing that Chen could see of their face was their smile, which looked extremely unnerving and creepy as they turn back to the two young people. "My apologies. That was an accident." They smile.
Rey waves them off, gently taking the book that the stranger held out to them. "No, no, it's okay! I wasn't exactly watching where I was going, either." they laugh off. The person nods. "You two have a…splendid afternoon." they leave, and Chen shivers. "That wasn't weird at all."
"Oh, he seemed nice!" Rey says, holding out the book. "Anyway, this is the book I was talking about! I think it has the answers you're looking for."
"Great, let's take a look."
Rey opens the book, Chen leaning over their shoulder. Flipping through the pages, Rey lands on a page. "Here! This is the box, right?" they ask, holding up the book with a picture of the box. Chen nods, seeing that it was identical. "Yeah, that's it. What does it say?"
Rey flips to the next page...only to see it's blank. They squint, confused, at the inkless page before them. Skimming over a few more pages, they realised the rest of the book was the same. "What? I don't understand, I checked it yesterday...maybe it was sent out before they finished printing it...?" They rub the crescent moon tattoo beside their eye, looking down at the book in confusion.
Chen sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Of course...are there any other books that mention this box?" Rey shakes their head, apologetic. "No. Sorry, Chen. If you want, I'll order some more books on the subject?" they offer. At that, Chen shakes his head.
"No, it's fine, Rey. Thanks for the help, anyway. It's very much appreciated." he says. "Now I better be heading back to Pigsy's. I gotta get to work." he explains, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. "Want me to bring you lunch later?"
"Only if you're paying!" Rey grins. Chen rolls his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. See ya, Rey."
"Bye Chen!"
Chen leaves the library, annoyed. Of course, there was something wrong with the book. "Guess I'll just have to ignore the dreams. They should go away eventually if I don't worry about it." he mutters.
Walking back the way he'd come, he rubs his tired eyes. Who was he kidding? He was losing sleep over this.
"Help...me..."
Chen stops, looking to his right. There it was, the museum. And that voice... it was calling out to him.
Glancing around, Chen quickly approaches the giant doors. They were locked.
But the voice kept persisting, begging him for help.
The young man makes his way toward the alley that lead to the back of the museum, being careful where he stepped. As he rounds the corner, he spots two guys talking in the doorway. What a coincidence.
"And you're SURE that box isn't worth more?" the first guy asks, looking a little devastated. The other man nods. "Yep. Just worth enough to be in the museum, nothing more, really. Not unless we can get it open and find anything worthwhile."
The first guy groans. "We tried opening it! We tried every machine that we could afford! That thing is impossible to open!" he grumbles. The second guy shrugs. "Don't blame me, I'm just here to do my job."
Chen picks up a can, hoping that the cliche action movies would pay off. Throwing it, it bounces off the wall, rolling toward the entrance of the alley with a loud clang. Chen hides behind a garbage bin as the two men turn their heads. "Did you hear that?"
""DiD yOu hErE tHaT?" he asks. Of course I heard it." the first man grumbles, as they both go to check out the noise, walking right by the hidden young man.
When they are gone, Chen quickly dashes toward the door, pulling out a mask to cover his face as he enters.
Chen finds himself inside the storage area of the museum, where all the artefacts that weren't put on display were kept. He glances around for any sign of the jade box.
"Here…"
His head swivels to the voice, noticing a staircase leading down to a basement area. He quickly approaches it, walking down. If he didn't want to be caught, he needed to be quick.
He finally reaches the bottom, where most of the artefacts here were kept in boxes and crates. Yet, he still couldn't see the jade box.
"Closer…"
Chen walks cautiously around the crates, keeping his eyes peeled. This was stupid, and he knew he'd get into a lot of trouble if he was caught down here.
Finally, he spots it, hidden amongst several other crates. Its green colour seemed to glow in the darkness.
He approaches it, taking his mask off momentarily as he stares at it. The voices were louder now, incomprehensible as they called out to him. Inviting him closer.
He kneels down beside it, reaching a hesitant hand to touch the smooth rock coffin. His fingers graze over the cold, jade snakes.
Upon touching it, the box glows brightly, blinding Chen as he reels back. A huge gust of wind picks up from seemingly nowhere, knocking the young man over. He falls back, covering his eyes as the lid of the box begins to move.
–
On Flower Fruit Mountain, Monkey King wakes up from his sleep, panting for breath. Flashes of green and blue filled his vision momentarily before disappearing quickly, and he's left clutching his chest from his nightmare.
Something wasn't right.
The sage looked over toward the city of Megapolis, sensing something was very, very wrong.
–
Chen rubs his eyes, the bright light and wind now gone. Opening his eyes, he looks back at the box. His eyes widen when he sees it's open, the lid leaning on the side of the box.
He didn't notice the ringing of alarms going off, for he was distracted by what was crouching inside the box.
A figure crouched in the centre of the jade coffin, trembling as they got to their feet. Taking in deep, shaky breaths, they slowly pat themselves down.
Long, grey hair fell down their shoulders, as their red eyes looked down at their hands in shock. He was silent for a moment, before he began to laugh, overjoyed. "I-I'm free! I'm finally free!" they cry, holding their hands to their chest in relief. "I-I can't believe it, I'm…"
The demon's voice trails off, eyes widening in realisation. He glances around, his gaze landing on Chen who was still laying on the ground, staring up at the snake-like demon in shock.
The two have a silent stare down, not daring to say a word.
The silence was broken by footsteps running down the same stairwell Chen had come down minutes before, several men shouting in alarm. The snake demon looks around, before looking back down at Chen. "...bye." he states simply, jumping up onto a nearby crate and disappearing from sight before Chen had time to react.
Chen snaps out of his stupor, realising that if he didn't get out now, he'd be arrested. Scurrying to his feet, he runs away from the jade coffin, keeping out of sight as the museum's security race to the scene. He pulls his mask back on to hide his face.
He manages to climb the stairwell and burst out of the museum's side door without being caught. He quickly walks away from the museum, noticing a few police cars passing by.
Hopefully the security footage doesn't pick up his face.
–
Chen reaches Pigsy's Noodles, the chef himself waiting for him. "Chen! You're late! Where've you been?!" he shouts, waving his spoon around. Chen pulls his hair into a pony-tail, before grabbing his apron. "Sorry, pops. I just ducked into the library to ask Rey something." he explained. He wasn't lying, he DID go visit Rey. Pigsy shakes his head. "You kids are always coming up with excuses…" he grumbles under his breath.
Chen distracts himself with work immediately, trying not to think about what he'd just released from that jade coffin into the world. He first does the dishes, seeing that it was piled high with bowls and other kitchen utensils. He fills up the sink with hot water, picking up a plate to scrub when Mei bursts through the door. "GUYS! Someone just broke into the museum!" she shouts out, waving her phone around wildly.
The sudden loud noise startled the young man, who in turn dropped the plate. It smashes against the ground, and he curses loudly. "MEI!"
"Oops! Sorry, Chen. But look!" she holds up her phone for all to see. Pigsy, MK, and Tang all crowd around. Chen looks over their shoulder nervously, noticing the blurry picture.
"The police said it might've been a failed heist. One snuck in through the alley side door, and may have let this second person in." Mei explains, showing them a picture of two blurry figures. Chen was thankful that they couldn't see his face.
"The first person left the same way when the alarms went off, but the second one just disappeared! Like they were some ghost!" the young girl points out. "Everybody's talking about it!"
That wasn't good.
"Did they manage to take anything?" MK asks, to which Mei shakes her head. "Nope! Just got in, then left. Kinda weird if you ask me."
Pigsy shoves deliveries into MK's arms, pushing the boy out the door. "Alright, alright! Gossip time is over! Time to get back to work! That includes you too!" he turns to Chen, pointing the spoon right at his chest. The young man holds up his hands. "Alright, alright." he grumbles, heading back into the kitchen.
– – –
(Several hours later…)
MK yawns, stretching. "Man, what a day!" he points out. He and Chen were sitting on the balcony above Pigsy's Noodles, looking down at the street below them.
Chen hums, not really paying attention. MK turns to look at him, seeing the deep, thoughtful look on the young man's face. "Hey, are you okay?" he asks with concern. "You haven't been yourself all day. Is something wrong?"
Chen looks up at the night sky. "Well, uh…" he trails off, before sighing. "You know that museum thing that happened today?" he starts. MK nods.
"That….that was me." he says. It takes a moment for MK to process the information, but when it finally clicks he lets out a loud gasp. "WHAAAAAAAAAAT?! THAT WAS YOU!?" he practically shouts. Chen quickly slaps a hand over his mouth. "Would you shut up?! Yes! I just said that!" he whispers angrily. He removes his hand. "But I wasn't there to steal anything." he explained. "I was there because of this weird box. Ever since I saw it a week ago, I've been having these weird dreams. I had to know what that was about, so I went and had a look. It was in the storage area, so I had to sneak in somehow."
The young man looks down at his hands, a guilty expression crossing his face. "I-I found the box, and when I touched it….it just opened, and this person stepped out of it. I think he'd been in there for a long time…." he puts his head in his hands, rubbing his eyes. "I don't know what I released….but I think I might've messed up real bad, MK." he trails off.
MK reaches a hand out, placing it gently on Chen's shoulder. The young man doesn't shake it off. "If you want, I can ask Monkey King if he knows them. If he does and they're bad, we can team up, track us down a bad guy and send him back to where he came from!" he says determinedly.
Chen stares at MK, but chuckles. "Yeah, alright. Buuuut maybe don't tell him it was me, okay? And you have to promise not to tell Pigsy I snuck into the museum. If you do, I'm gonna use every "older sibling card" known to man on you as revenge." he grins, pulling MK into a headlock. The two cackle as MK struggles to escape from Chen's grip. "It's a deal! It's a deal!" he shouts. Chen releases him, and the two resume to stare out at the city lights.
"It's a nice night tonight, isn't it?" MK asks to change the topic. Chen smiles softly. "Yeah….yeah, it is."
– – –
From a nearby alleyway, a figure lurks in the darkness, watching them. They're eyes glow red, as they detect the heat radiating from the two young men they were spying on. They couldn't see him, but he could see them clearly. And he didn't like the news that the Monkey King is still alive.
Jumping from the pole they were sitting on, they cling to the side of the building, scurrying up the brick walls and hauling themselves up onto the rooftop.
They had to get away before Sun Wukong found them.
They move quickly, jumping from building to building, sticking to the shadows. They come to a halt as a light flashes over the rooftop, hiding behind a pillar as the light passes by.
This gives them a moment to stop, looking down at the busy city below them. The snake-like demon gawks, mouth dropping open in awe. "Whoa…."
Everywhere he looked, there was something new. There were strange lights, wagons that moved on their own and small, rectangular objects that the mortals stared at while they walked. There were things he'd never even seen before, and it confused him.
How long had he been in that coffin?
He shook his head, standing up once more. They couldn't think of that now. They had to find a hideout, and fast. If those boys told Sun Wukong that he was free, he'd be a dead demon.
Running along the rooftop once more, they jump onto another, spotting something ahead. It was an empty building, closed off from intruders. That'll do for tonight, until they can find a better hideout.
– – –
A/n: monkey king: *wakes up* i sense a disturbance in the forceg not to think about what he'd just released from that jade coffin into the world. He first does the dishes, seeing that it was piled high with bowls and other kitchen utensils. He fills up the sink with hot water, picking up a plate to scrub when Mei bursts through the door. "GUYS! Someone just broke into the museum!" she shouts out, waving her phone around wildly.
The sudden loud noise startled the young man, who in turn dropped the plate. It smashes against the ground, and he curses loudly. "MEI!"
"Oops! Sorry, Chen. But look!" she holds up her phone for all to see. Pigsy, MK, and Tang all crowd around. Chen looks over their shoulder nervously, noticing the blurry picture.
"The police said it might've been a failed heist. One snuck in through the alley side door, and may have let this second person in." Mei explains, showing them a picture of two blurry figures. Chen was thankful that they couldn't see his face.
"The first person left the same way when the alarms went off, but the second one just disappeared! Like they were some ghost!" the young girl points out. "Everybody's talking about it!"
That wasn't good.
"Did they manage to take anything?" MK asks, to which Mei shakes her head. "Nope! Just got in, then left. Kinda weird if you ask me."
Pigsy shoves deliveries into MK's arms, pushing the boy out the door. "Alright, alright! Gossip time is over! Time to get back to work! That includes you too!" he turns to Chen, pointing the spoon right at his chest. The young man holds up his hands. "Alright, alright." he grumbles, heading back into the kitchen.
– – –
(Several hours later…)
MK yawns, stretching. "Man, what a day!" he points out. He and Chen were sitting on the balcony above Pigsy's Noodles, looking down at the street below them.
Chen hums, not really paying attention. MK turns to look at him, seeing the deep, thoughtful look on the young man's face. "Hey, are you okay?" he asks with concern. "You haven't been yourself all day. Is something wrong?"
Chen looks up at the night sky. "Well, uh…" he trails off, before sighing. "You know that museum thing that happened today?" he starts. MK nods.
"That….that was me." he says. It takes a moment for MK to process the information, but when it finally clicks he lets out a loud gasp. "WHAAAAAAAAAAT?! THAT WAS YOU!?" he practically shouts. Chen quickly slaps a hand over his mouth. "Would you shut up?! Yes! I just said that!" he whispers angrily. He removes his hand. "But I wasn't there to steal anything." he explained. "I was there because of this weird box. Ever since I saw it a week ago, I've been having these weird dreams. I had to know what that was about, so I went and had a look. It was in the storage area, so I had to sneak in somehow."
The young man looks down at his hands, a guilty expression crossing his face. "I-I found the box, and when I touched it….it just opened, and this person stepped out of it. I think he'd been in there for a long time…." he puts his head in his hands, rubbing his eyes. "I don't know what I released….but I think I might've messed up real bad, MK." he trails off.
MK reaches a hand out, placing it gently on Chen's shoulder. The young man doesn't shake it off. "If you want, I can ask Monkey King if he knows them. If he does and they're bad, we can team up, track us down a bad guy and send him back to where he came from!" he says determinedly.
Chen stares at MK, but chuckles. "Yeah, alright. Buuuut maybe don't tell him it was me, okay? And you have to promise not to tell Pigsy I snuck into the museum. If you do, I'm gonna use every "older sibling card" known to man on you as revenge." he grins, pulling MK into a headlock. The two cackle as MK struggles to escape from Chen's grip. "It's a deal! It's a deal!" he shouts. Chen releases him, and the two resume to stare out at the city lights.
"It's a nice night tonight, isn't it?" MK asks to change the topic. Chen smiles softly. "Yeah….yeah, it is."
– – –
From a nearby alleyway, a figure lurks in the darkness, watching them. They're eyes glow red, as they detect the heat radiating from the two young men they were spying on. They couldn't see him, but he could see them clearly. And he didn't like the news that the Monkey King is still alive.
Jumping from the pole they were sitting on, they cling to the side of the building, scurrying up the brick walls and hauling themselves up onto the rooftop.
They had to get away before Sun Wukong found them.
They move quickly, jumping from building to building, sticking to the shadows. They come to a halt as a light flashes over the rooftop, hiding behind a pillar as the light passes by.
This gives them a moment to stop, looking down at the busy city below them. The snake-like demon gawks, mouth dropping open in awe. "Whoa…."
Everywhere he looked, there was something new. There were strange lights, wagons that moved on their own and small, rectangular objects that the mortals stared at while they walked. There were things he'd never even seen before, and it confused him.
How long had he been in that coffin?
He shook his head, standing up once more. They couldn't think of that now. They had to find a hideout, and fast. If those boys told Sun Wukong that he was free, he'd be a dead demon.
Running along the rooftop once more, they jump onto another, spotting something ahead. It was an empty building, closed off from intruders. That'll do for tonight, until they can find a better hideout.
– – –
A/n: monkey king: *wakes up* i sense a disturbance in the force