•Somewhere over the Pacific Ocean•
"Explain to me again why we're flying on a public airplane instead of our usual jet?"
"To help us blend in, that way we can search for the talisman without arousing suspicion."
The younger man laid back in the seat, trying his best to ignore the fact he was in a cramped space with about..30+ people, though it did nothing to keep his nerves in check as he began to tap his fingers against the arm rest in a vain attempt to curb those thoughts.
Jackie seemingly took notice of the man's actions, taking the headphones from around his own neck and gently placing them into Alex's hands, making his eyes widen.
"You need them more than I do."
A smile formed on Alex's face as he slipped the headphone onto his ears, the sounds around him becoming muffled.
"T-thanks."
He gave the younger man a nod, a smile on his face as well, before turning back to look out of the window.
Alex took slow breaths as his nerves calmed down, his fingers fiddling with the bracelets he wore around his left wrist, but were always hidden behind his plaid jacket sleeve.
That wasn't to say the man was ashamed of them, which he wasn't, in fact he was proud of them, as they meant alot to him.
The man pulled his hand away, laying it on the arm rest, and laying his chair back in a more reclined position, closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.
"So, how does it look?"
"It looks good, Mr. Greyson, almost fully healed as a matter of fact. You should be able to go without any coverings in a couple of days, but we'll go ahead and put on some clean ones since your here."
The man nodded as the nurse began to gently remove the old bandages, tossing them into the waste bin and then placing clean and sterile ones on.
"Thanks doctor."
"It is no problem, just follow Cathy out to the front desk and she'll get you all settled."
Alex still couldn't believe it had been a couple of weeks since his surgery, and yet, here he was.
What he really couldn't wait for was to tell his family, the thought making him smile widely as he exited the examination room, heading out to the waiting room.
"Alex..alex..it's time to get up.."
The dream faded to nothing as the man's eye's opened slowly, showing Jackie standing up beside him, as he reached up and took the headphones off.
"What..?"
"We've landed in Sydney, we have to disembark."
"Oh..yea.."
Alex slowly got up out of the seat, yawning as he did so, reaching up into the luggage compartment and grabbing his bookbag and slipping it onto his shoulders as they both followed the line of people out of the plane and into the airport.
•Meanwhile at Section 13•
To say Shendu was bored was an understatement, silently cursing this shell he was trapped in, as well as this place he found himself moved to, under the pretense of his own safety.
As if anything could actually bring him harm, even in this form, but even if something could, and even if he lost his physical body in the process, to him it was only a minor inconvenience.
He could just find a mortal to possess and he'd have a physical form again, simple as that, though he hoped it would never come to that.
His eyes fell onto a chair that sat in the middle of the large and barren room, its cloth newer and more intact than the one he had seen in the shop, but it wasn't empty.
Upon the seat of the chair sat a book, and a rather old one at that, the leather bound edges worn and the image on the front faded, but was still legible as to what it was called.
The image itself was of a girl in a blue dress staring up at a tree, in said tree was a rather large cat with an odd face, upon which a large grin.
Beside that, written in an odd font that he had never seen before were the words 'Alice in Wonderland', a rather odd title for a book in the demon's opinion, but it was whatever.
Still, he wondered why ale..the mortal had left it in the chair, rather than take it with him when he left?
'He may have just forgotten it..'
At the same time he figuratively kicked himself over almost saying the mortal's name again, quickly chocking it up to a slip of the tongue.
Yet, it didn't feel like that. In fact, that odd, warm feeling he felt before had come back, and he still couldn't understand why he was feeling it, or what exactly it meant.
Maybe he could talk to him when he got back?
•Back in Sydney, Australia•
"Well, i can cross Sydney off of my travel bucket list now."
"You've wanted to travel to Australia before you pass away?"
The man smiled softly as they exited the airport and stepped out into the morning light that covered the city.
"Yea, i've been wanting to go to alot of places around the world..i guess as a sort of walkabout."
Jackie didn't say anything in response as they were stopped by a man, looking aborigines in origin, wearing a white button up shirt and a brown leather jacket and a pair of blueish shorts with sandals.
"Are you Jackie Chan and Alex Greyson?"
The two of them looked at each other surprised before Jackie spoke up.
"Um..yes we are..who are you?"
"My name is Marlee, but we must hurry, follow me, my jeeps just over here."
They were both hesitant,especially Alex, but at the same time the two men couldn't help but be ever so slightly curious, and followed Marlee to his jeep, setting their bags in the back trunk, Jackie getting in the front passenger's seat and Alex getting in the back seat.
Once in, the jeep pulled out and onto the main road, heading out of the city and into the Outback.
"So, how did you know who we are?"
"My grandfather. He's an elder of the Anangu tribe."
The jeep continued down the road, the road itself turning from asphalt and onto red dirt and rock, causing the jeep to bump around slightly.
"The Pitjantjatjara Anangu?"
"Yes, I see you've done your research."
Jackie looked back at him, the younger man smiling softly as he did so.
"I didn't know you knew that, Alex."
"I spent quite a lot of time in libraries growing up, i'll just say that, but, anyway, how did your grandfather know we were coming?"
"The dreamtime spirits told him."
They both look confused for a moment, sharing a glance between each other before Jackie spoke up.
"Dreamtime spirits?"
"Yes, they're a very important part of the tribe, in legends passed down through the ages that the spirits created the world."
"However, my grandfather said that it was the Adnoartina that contacted him."
"Who is that?"
"The spirit that guards Uluru, or as its known to many, Ayers Rock."
Before their conversation could continue, the jeep started to sputter loudly, before the engine gave out and Marlee pulled off onto the side of the road, as smoke poured from underneath the hood.
"Well this is a right fucking bingle.."
Marlee hit the steering wheel with his clenched fist, letting out a sigh of exasperation.
"With the engine messed up, i don't know if we can make it back before sundown.."
A sort of lightbulb clicked in Alex's head, as he took off his jacket, leaving him in his usual dark grey tank top, setting it in the seat beside him, which revealed that he had tattoos on both arms, both going from his shoulders down to his elbows.
Both being of a tribal design, and made in black ink.
"Hey marlee, you got a toolbox in the back?"
"Um..yes actually, it should be a metal box thats painted red up against the back of the back seat."
The younger man got out of the vehicle, opening the back and grabbed the toolbox, his back aching a tiny bit as he lifted and carried it, pulling the hood up on the jeep, letting the smoke fade into the mid-morning air.
Alex bent down, once again his back aching a tiny bit as the man grabbed a flashlight from the box, pulling down the hood so to provide some shade as well as to make it easier for the flashlight to illuminate.
After a minute or two of searching with the light, he found what caused the problem.
"Ah, i see the problem.."
Marlee stuck his head out of the window, though he was unable to see past the hood.
"Did you find the issue?"
"Your fuel injectors are clogged, though thankfully they'll only need to be cleaned rather than fully replaced."
Marlee let out a sigh of relief as the younger man got each of the injectors off, cutting himself a couple of times in the process, and cleaned each of them, one by one, before reattaching them and making sure they were correctly re-fitted, which took a good four hour's work.
Alex slammed the hood down, locking it into place as he, with the help of jackie, got the tools into the toolbox and cleaned his hands and the cuts, wrapping them up using the medkit he kept in the jeep, to keep them from getting infected.
They both got back into the jeep, Marlee cranking the ignition and the engine roaring to life as they pulled back onto and drove down the road.
"Thanks for fixing my car, Alex."
"Oh, it's no problem, though, you should really be thanking my dad and grandfather, as if it weren't for them, i wouldn't know most of what i know..at least for cars anyway."
The man smiled softly as he laid back in the seat, the midday sun above them in the sly above them, the trio thankful they were in a vehicle.
•Alice Springs•
"I didn't think there would be a town all the way out here."
The jeep took a right turn and started to go down, rolling past some houses and what seemed like farm silos.
"It surprises most people that come here, but this place is called Alice Springs, or as its known to the original inhabitants, Mparntwe."
Alex and Jackie were just glad the Dark Hand hadn't shown up yet, but they knew it probably wasn't going to be long before they did.
The jeep came to a halt, parking off to the side in front of a double wide, and the trio got out into the early evening air.
"So, do you know where the talisman is, Marlee?"
"No, but my grandfather does, he's the one you'll have to talk to."
"Where is your grandfather?"
"Likely in a meeting with the other elder's, so we may have to wait a little while."
The trio walked down the dirt road, the purple sky above them starting to become dotted with stars that weren't held down by light pollution.
Alex took out his phone and quickly snapped a photo, saving it onto his gallery and slipped it back into his pocket, not missing a beat in his step.
Though something sweet in the air caught the younger man's attention, making him sniff for a few moments, which caught their attention as well.
"Alex, is something wrong?"
"There's something in the air, it smells sweet, like cotton candy.."
"Oh, that's probably the elders, they like to burn eucalyptus bark for incense."
A small smile formed on the younger man's face as they kept walking, soon coming upon an old hut that seemed out of place amongst the other houses, but the smell of the incense could be smelled coming from it even as they approached.
"Grandfather, i'm back! And I've brought them!"
Shuffling could be heard from within the hut, before an old man, looking like a much, much older version of Marlee with greyed hair and beard, and holding onto a wooden staff decorated with symbols and trinkets, stepped out and smiled upon seeing the trio.
"I'm glad to see you're ok, Marlee."
The man smiled as the old man's eye's laid upon Jackie and Alex, and he slowly walked over to them.
"I see the spirit's were not wrong about you two."
The two younger men glanced at each other, before Alex spoke up.
"So, you know why we're here, then?"
The old man nodded, the trinkets on his staff swaying slightly as he did so.
"That i do, yes."
"And, you likely know we aren't the only one's after it?"
The old man nodded again.
Before Alex could ask another question, Jackie decided to speak up.
"Can you give it to us?"
"I'm afraid it's not up to just me."
They shared a confused look between them for a moment.
"So, the other elder's have to allow it too, or..?"
The old man shook his head and beckoned them inside his hut, the trio heading inside after he did.
The inside of the hut was a lot bigger than it looked on the outside, with an open area in the front with a lit campfire and what looked like a kettle hanging over it, tables against the back wall, like being a makeshift kitchen, and off to the far left side was likely his bedroom, with a bed set against the wall.
"Woah..it's like the TARDIS."
Marlee stifled a laugh using his hand, and Jackie simply smiled at Alex's comment.
"So, what exactly do we have to do to get the talisman?"
"You must show the dreamtime spirits you are worthy of protecting it."
"And how do we do that?"
In response, the man bopped Alex on the head with his staff like Rafiki did to Simba in The Lion King.
"You did not let me explain, child."
'I have a feeling this guy and Uncle would get along swimmingly..'
"You must enter the dreamtime, letting your spirit free from it's earthly vessel, allowing it to travel freely through the world, only then will you get what you're seeking."
Jackie and Alex looked at each other, both having confused looks on their faces, at least, until the younger man seemingly had a lightbulb moment.
"You mean..we have to enter the dreamtime to get to the talisman?"
Once again, Alex got bopped on the head by the elder's staff.
"I did not say both of you would."
"So, one of us has to go get the talisman, while the other protects them from any external threats?"
The elder nodded. "In such a state, the physical vessel is very vulnerable, especially to dark forces."
Alex and Jackie looked at each other, silently conversing on who exactly would be the one to go after the talisman, and who would act as a bodyguard.
The younger man stuttered on his words before swallowing. "I-i'll..i'll go after the talisman."
Jackie looked at Alex, eyes widened in surprise, as he, like the younger man, stuttered on his words.
"A-are you sure? You're just as capable as me in-"
Alex cut him off before he could finish his sentence. "After what happened in Mexico, I'd rather be the one who doesn't fight this time around. Besides, you have more experience fighting those guys than I do."
Jackie wanted to say something, but knew it wouldn't do much good, as he also knew that once that younger man's mind was set on something, it was hard to convince him to do otherwise.
"Alright, if you must, i can't stop you."
Alex turned to the elder. "Ok, so what must i do?"
"We must prepare you for the journey ahead." The elder answered.
The elder did a gesture to both marlee and jackie, and the two older men left the hut.
The elder went over to a small stone bowl, which seemed to be full of some kind of pigmented ink, and he dipped two fingers in, and using them, gently painted the pigment onto the younger man's face, as the other elder's entered the hut, carrying small stone bowls of their own, and began to do the same to his arms and legs.
"These are symbols of protection, they will keep your physical vessel safe, at least for a little while longer than normal."
Though, that explanation did nothing to make the younger man feel any less nervous.
Another elder decided to speak up. "We have to get your chest and back next."
Alex felt his throat tighten, making his breath come out wheezily, as if he had just run a marathon, but he tried to shake it off. "S-sure."
He slipped his shirt off, tossing it off to the side as the elder's got back to their work, and Alex gave a sigh of relief inwardly.
After finishing with the symbols on his legs, and the odd pot over the campfire was steaming, almost like a tea kettle, one of the elders poured some into a bowl, before handing it to the younger man.
It didn't smell bad, but at the same time, it didn't smell good, either. It honestly reminded him of that soup they'd serve in the cafeteria in high school.
Though that comparison really did not make him want to actually drink it any more than he already did.
"You must drink all of it, Alex."
He took a breath before he set the edge of the bowl to his lips, opening them enough so whatever concoction they poured into it would go down his throat as he tipped the bowl up and began to drink it.
Within about a minute or so, Alex emptied the bowl, gently setting it down on the floor.
"Ok, what happens now..?"
After asking that question, the younger man immediately began to feel sleepy, his body going heavy as his eyes closed and he drifted off into sleep, the elders laying him down on the floor gently.
"I sense darkness coming towards us." One of the elder's said.
Each of them shared a look, before they each took a hold of their staff, and tapped them against the ground, and a barrier, although unseen to normal eyes, formed around Alex's soulless body.
•Outside•
The silence of the night was broken as a jeep pulled up a few feet in front of the two men, the enforcers stepping out of it, in which Jackie narrowed his eyes.
"Well, well, if it isn't Chan. No surprise that you would be here." Chow said.
"The feeling's mutual." Jackie said.
Marlee looked between them, for a few moments before speaking. "I'm guessing those guys aren't your friends..?"
"You are correct." Jackie answered.
"You know the drill, Chan. Just hand over the talisman and no one gets hurt." Finn said.
Jackie looked to Marlee, giving a silent nod towards him, and Marlee gave a thumbs up to him back.
"2 versus 3, seems pretty fair to me." Marlee said.
"We just have to keep Alex safe." Jackie said.
Marlee nodded as Ratso charged, and he dodged the first few punches that were thrown, unfortunately he couldn't dodge the left hook that connected to his jaw, making him stumble back and almost fall.
Jackie, meanwhile, dodged both Finn's and Chow's punches and kicks as he grabbed a wooden bucket, using it to block one of finn's punches before he put it onto Chow's head, and pushed him into Finn.
"Hey! Watch where you're going!"
Chow's muffled response was ignored as Finn attempted to remove said bucket, only for them both to get knocked onto the ground as Marlee cracked his knuckles, a smirk on his face.
"That wasn't too bad, was it?" Marlee asked.
"And here i thought i could place my trust into you three like Valmont has..now that i've seen you get your asses handed to you, i think that was a mistake." Someone said.
Both of the men turned their attention to the person speaking, having gotten out of the passenger's side of the jeep.
"Who are you?" Jackie asked.
"I'm gonna go out on a limb and say this guy isn't your friend, either." Marlee said.
"My name is Yuzuki, but onto more important matters, as i believe you and i are the after the same thing." He said, as he fiddled with pocket watch's chain.
Jackie got into a fighting stance, a look of not anger but seriousness on his face. "You aren't getting the talisman, i can promise you that."
Yuzuki smirked as he set the pocket watch back into his suit pants pocket, cracking his knuckles. "Oh well, i suppose i'll just have to get it from you by force." He said.
•Spirit World (a few minutes earlier..)•
Alex opened his eyes, the first thing that hit him was the bright, full moon that hung in the sky above, drenching him and everything around in it's soft glow.
The second thing that hit him was the realization that he wasn't in the hut anymore, hell, the man wasn't sure he was even in australia anymore.
He then remembered what happened and what he was sent here to do, only feeling like moments ago, and slowly picked himself off of the dirt and grassy ground he laid upon, allowing Alex to see where he was. Which was, as it turns out, was in the meadow as a grassy meadow, the blades gleaming like miniature swords in the moonlight, but he was thankful they didn't cut him.
"Is this..the Dreamtime?" The man asked to himself as he saw no one else around.
"Dreamtime, Spirit World, the name may be different but it's always the same place." A voice answered, which made the man look around, wondering who exactly had said that.
"I'm down here!" The voice said, sounding like it in front of him.
The man looked down, seeing a small lemur like creature looking up at him, it's fur snow white with it's belly and paws having grey fur covering them.
"Hello." The creature said, which made Alex yelp and fall back onto his ass, and scuttle back out of reflex.
"W-what are you?!" The man yelled, more out of shock than anger.
"I'm an animal spirit, but most call me Lenu." The lemur said quite nonchalantly, as if it had been through this plenty of times before.
"Ok..Lenu, my name's Alex." Alex said, slowly calming down knowing they weren't a threat.
"Nice to meet you, though, I must say it has been quite a while since we got a human from the mortal realm here that wasn't dead." Lenu said, walking over to the much taller man.
"Lenu, do you happen to know where I could find a talisman here?" The man asked, having kneeled down so he could be near eye to eye with them.
"I do yes, actually." Lenu answered, scratching his back with one of his paws.
'Well, at least that's something.' alex thought as he nodded.
"I can take you to it, but you'll have to go on your own after that." Lenu said, climbing up Alex's body and resting on his shoulder.
"Then we better hurry." The man said as Lenu jumped off and ran through the grass, with Alex following behind him.
•Back with Jackie•
"I must admit, Chan, you're quite the opponent to fight!" Yuzuki said as he wiped away some blood from under his mouth with his wrist.
Both Jackie and Marlee were panting, looking beat up, more so than when they were previously fighting the enforcers.
"This guy..he certainly isn't like them.." Marlee said as he held his arm, a large cut being seen on his jacket, going down to skin.
"Yea..where did The Dark Hand find him..?" Jackie said, rubbing his wrist, as he was sure he had sprained it.
"I'm an old friend of Valmont's, as a matter of fact, though I'm only helping him gather the talisman's, I have no interest in whatever other scheme's he may have planned." Yuzuki answered.
"I don't know..how much longer i can..keep this up.." Marlee said, between trying to catch his breath.
"We have to, at least until Alex gets the talisman." Jackie said.
"Well..i just hope he hurries.." Marlee said as he slowly rose back onto his feet.
•Back in the Spirit World•
After running for what felt like ages, the duo stopped on the edge of a dense bamboo forest, the moonlight not doing much to show whatever laid within.
"So..this is where the talisman is?" Alex asked as Lenu climbed onto his shoulder.
"Yes, but most spirit's don't go in, so you'll have to continue on alone." Lenu answered as he hopped off of the man's shoulder and began to walk away.
"Hey Lenu?" The man asked, as the lemur spirit turned back towards him.
"Yes?" The lemur answered, looking up at him.
"Could you wait here for me?" Alex asked.
Lenu seemed to go into thought for a moment or two, before he gave a nod.
The man smiled, before he walked into the forest, the soft soil beneath him making his shoes sink in, but not enough to hinder him, as he walked, weaving through the thick columns, but being careful to not damage them.
However, even despite the moonlight that managed to shine it's way through the canopy above, it was still dark enough that he accidentally bumped into something, falling onto the ground and rubbing his forehead with his hand.
"Ow..what did i bump into?" he said to himself as he looked up, and saw that in fact it was what looked like a tall statue, which was blocking some light that came through, splitting it so it hit the area around it.
The statue itself depicted a man, a rather old man at that judging from the large beard and moustache he had, as well as his wrinkled features, and wearing what looked like ancient chinese robes, Alex dictating these features to memory, as he could do research when he got back to the shop.
The man got back up onto his feet, walking around the statue to make sure the talisman was hidden at the base, before he climbed onto said base and ran his hands down the roughened surface, slick in places due to moss and other plant life, but it didn't bother him.
"..Oh don't tell me it's up his sleeve." Alex said, pinching his forehead.
Moving his body to the right, he grabbed onto the statue's other arm for support and stability, he began to reach his arm into the stone sleeve that hung off the other arm.
'This is no different than sticking your arm into a catfish den, Alex..'
Though, again, that comparison really didn't make him want to do it more than he already wanted to.
Alex took a deep breath to steady his nerves and began to worm his hand and arm into the space, the appendage slowly going deeper in until he was up to his shoulder and standing at a very weird angle.
When his hand grabbed something, he quickly pulled his arm out, as his other hand grasped onto a patch of the moss, causing him to lose his balance and fall onto the ground.
"Ok..ow.." alex said as he lifted his left arm, which was noticeably scratched up, likely from the roughened stone, but thankfully no blood could be seen.
The man opened his closed hand, showing he had grabbed the talisman, which had the image of a sheep carved into it, the color being a lightish blue.
Alex let out a sigh of relief, before picking himself up out of the dirt, dusting his shorts and shirt off and he started to make his way out of the grove.
•Meanwhile•
"You need to give up, Chan, your friend right there's already got the right idea." Yuzuki said as he nodded towards Marlee, who was currently lying on the ground with a black eye and a bloody nose, trying his best to catch his breath.
"I won't." Jackie said, as he slowly stood up from his kneeling position.
The man honestly felt like he was going to pass out, but he couldn't, not until..-
"Hey, you lookin for me?" A voice called out from behind Jackie, which made both him and Yuzuki look, seeing Alex standing in the doorway to the hut.
"Alex, your back!" Jackie said, a smile forming onto his face and the younger man nodded.
"Ah, mister greyson, i was beginning to worry you weren't going to join the party." Yuzuki said, smirking at the man.
Alex's eyes widened slightly before he shook his head. "How the hell do you know who i am?" The question coming out before the man had a chance to stop himself.
The older japanese cracked his knuckles. "Oh it isn't too hard to know things, especially with the connections I have."
"Then again, you aren't exactly a man, are you?" The japanese man said, an almost sadistic smirk decorating his face.
Before anyone could even realize what was happening, Alex had connected his fist to
Yuzuki's nose, droplets of blood spraying out as the younger man sent the older one sprawling out in the dirt, letting out a yell of pain as his hand gripped onto his likely now broken nose.
But before Yuzuki could even attempt to try to retaliate, he felt himself getting picked up by his armpits and carried off, but not before he gave the younger man a look that said 'you may have won this round, but you won't win the next.'
The man's fist shook as he held it in a clenched position, the seemingly out of nowhere burst of anger making Jackie's eyes widen in shock.
"Alex, are you..ok?" Jackie asked, concern filling his words.
Alex took a deep breath for a few moments before releasing it, feeling his anger wash away and back to where it was needed, which was certainly not here.
"Yea, i'm..i'm ok." He answered, wiping his hand on his shorts nonchalantly.
"Damn..that guy sure did a number on me.." Marlee said as he had regained enough strength to stand up.
"Are you going to be ok, Marlee?" Jackie asked, looking the man over.
"Eh, i've been in worse scraps than this." Marlee said, even though he was clearly limping slightly.
"Do you have the talisman, Alex?" Jackie asked as he rubbed his shoulders and arms one after the other, popping joints as he did so.
The younger man dug into his shorts pocket for a moment before he pulled out the object in question, and held it in his palm. "Sure do, Jackie." He answered.
"Good, keep it safe till we get back to the shop." The man said, which the younger man nodded in response to.
"I'll drive you two back to Sydney, it's the least i could do." Marlee said, which both men smiled softly at.
After saying goodbye to the elder's, the trio got into Marlee's jeep and drove back to Sydney, both men saying their goodbye's once again, and headed into the airport, booking a flight and soon after boarding the plane.
"Sorry about getting so angry before, Jackie. I don't know what came over me.."
Alex said, his fingers and knuckles on his left hand having bruised slightly, but the man knew it would only get worse later on.
"It's ok, we all get angry at one time or another, but we have to make sure we don't let our anger control us." Jackie said, putting a hand on the younger man's shoulder.
Alex gave a soft smile before he turned to the talisman that he held in his palm, wondering to himself if the dreamtime spirits the elder spoke of led him to it and allowed him to find it or if it was just dumb luck.
The man shook his head as he laid back in the seat, the darkened cabin almost seeming peaceful as most of the passengers were asleep or getting there, which meant he was in no danger of having a meltdown.
He knew he could get at least a little bit of shut eye at the moment, so he closed his eyes and let his mind drift off to sleep.
•San Francisco•
"I'll get the talisman to Shendu, you go get some sleep, Jackie." Alex said, letting out a yawn as they entered the antique shop, the younger man setting his suitcases down.
Jackie couldn't argue with that, as he was too tired to even consider doing so. So, he gave the younger man a nod before he headed upstairs with his suitcases, while Alex headed outside and to a nearby phone booth, heading into Section 13.
Upon the elevator stopping, he stepped out and walked across the main floor, going down a hallway or two before stopping in front of a large vault door.
Entering the code, Alex waited as the door slowly unlocked and opened, allowing the man to step inside, the lights inside activating as he did so, revealing Shendu, still hanging on the far wall.
He was used to the noise that filled his head before the trapped demon spoke by now, whereas before it always made his head hurt, but now, it was almost comforting in a way.
"Good to see you are still in one piece, mortal." Shendu said, followed by what could possibly have been yawning, but the man was not sure if that was exactly what it was.
"Were you worried about me, again?" Alex asked, letting out a yawn himself.
"I told you before, I can't help but be curious as I am trapped in this form." Shendu answered, sounding serious, but his tone of voice towards the mortal gave him away.
"Sure, sure, call it what you may." The younger man said, smiling as he dug into his pocket, pulling out the talisman and putting it into the slot next to the snake talisman, which made Shendu let out a satisfied hiss.
It wasn't until after the demon absorbed the talisman's energy that he noticed the mortal's left hand.
"What happened to your hand?" He asked, his tone showing a glimmer of concern, though the man seemingly didn't catch it.
"Oh, it's nothing, just got into a scrap was all, no big deal." Alex answered, giving an absentminded wave of his other hand.
Of course, he wasn't sure if Shendu believed it or not, but hoped he did.
The demon seemed to think to himself for a moment or two, likely on what he was to say next, which didn't bother Alex much.
"Since I am technically trapped two-fold, I must ask something of you, mortal." He said.
"What? Like a favor? Because we're already gathering the talisman's for you, any other magic stuff is gonna have to wait." The man said, as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"No, nothing like that." Shendu said.
"Then what do you want?" Alex asked, another yawn breaking free from him.
"A television." The demon answered simply.
Of all things that Shendu could ask for, that certainly wasn't one of them. "You're sure?" The man asked.
"Yes, it will help relieve the constant boredom I am forced to suffer through." Shendu answered, his eye's flashing for a moment.
"I don't see why not, but I will have to talk to Captain Black about it, but it will have to be after i get some rest." Alex said.
Shendu grumbled, but understood that unlike him, Alex, and mortals in general needed sleep to keep themselves functioning, same with eating and drinking, besides, patience was a virtue he was more than willing to have.
"See you in the morning, Shendu." The young man said.
"And you as well." The demon said as the man headed out of the vault, the large door slowly closing, followed by the lights turning off, which blanketed the room and himself in total darkness.