Before she could walk another step, a ghostly apparition of a bespectacled gentleman, dressed in a long white coat and flowing white pants, appeared in front of her. He was semi-transparent and glowed with a faint blue light. Although he had a ponytail of thick white hair, as well as a similarly white moustache, his face was smooth and unlined.

“Welcome, descendent of Tang, I have been waiting for you. May I inquire your name and purpose?”

“Triptika. I’m here for the prisoner. Are you White Dragon?”

The man smiled. “Indeed, I am he. I find it... flattering that information of my identity has survived among the Tangs for all these generations. May I ask, what are your intentions regarding the prisoner?”

“I want to release him. I need his help.”

“Miss Tang, -”

“Trip.”

“... Miss Trip, -”

“Just Trip.”

“... as you wish, Just Trip. What I intended to caution you of was, what you want, is not a simple matter. It will require much sacrifice on your part that might very well kill you, and even then, the results are not guaranteed. He might never be in any condition to help anyone. Not even himself.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll do anything it takes.” replied Trip, as a tiny crease formed between her brows.

“... Perhaps, it would be better to first let me show you and explain the risks, before you make your final decision. Please, follow me.” said White Dragon, turning to walk down the corridor, partially illuminating it with the faint blue glow that surrounded him. The floor and walls seemed to be made of metal, and were as free of dust or dirt as the entrance.

As they walked, White Dragon added, “Before we see the prisoner, it would be remiss of me if I did not make something clear. The... “prisoner” became one voluntarily. For certain reasons, he willingly allowed himself to be held here. I hope you bear this in mind later.”

After a few turns, they reached an a flight of stairs, and started descending.

“I do apologise for the inconvenience, Miss Tang. Under better circumstances, we would be using the elevator, but this facility has been in energy conservation mode for many years. We simply cannot afford the luxury.”

Trip simply nodded.

After ten flights of stairs, they went through a series of corridors, turning left and right and then left again. Eventually, they approached what seemed to be a dead end.

“Miss Tang, please touch your Bracer to this spot.” said White Dragon, indicating a seemingly random spot on the dead end, about two inches above her head.

After pressing her bracer to the indicated part of the wall, a series of loud hisses sounded. The dead end split in the middle, sliding to the sides, revealing another two thick metallic sliding walls that did the same. As they opened, a blast of cold, frosty air blew back the edges of Trip’s coat.

In the space behind the opening doors, a series of soft blue lights on the walls flickered on. For the first time since Trip had entered the facility, there was light beyond that cast by White Dragon and her lantern.

She saw a single large room with cabinets of equipment all along the walls to her left and right, while there was a table along the wall opposite her. The center of the room seemed to be divided in half. The right side was full of equipment and crates, arranged in an orderly manner. The left side was empty, except for a large oval egg-shaped device, about 8 feet high and 4 feet wide in the middle. The back half of the egg was metal, with a series of wires and tubes connected to it. The front half seemed to be made of glass, frosted over with ice.

Setting down her lantern, she moved closer to the glass half of the oval device. Through it, she saw... what could only be called an ape. A 6-foot tall male ape covered in black fur, with the face of a gorilla, arms that were disproportionately long, and a thick tail curled around his waist. He looked extremely desiccated, like a thoroughly sun-dried cherry tomato. However, it was obvious from the cable-like cords under his skin, still prominent under the covering of black fur, that he had once been heavily muscled.

“Miss Tang, this is the one you came for. Sun Wukong.”

“How do I wake him up?”

“Miss Tang, that is not something we can easily do. There have been... complications, in the many years that he has been here. The stasis chamber was not perfect. Not that we ever thought that it was, but even so -”

“What do I need to do, to wake him up? Safely. For him.”

“... Very well. First, we will thaw him out, then immediately pump a few pints of your blood into him, as much as we can without killing you. It is absolutely imperative that we get as much of your blood into him as possible, so please do try to hold on for as long as you can. Then, as we rehydrate his system, we will start cycling his blood through your system. Please be aware, Miss Tang, that this part of the procedure will be immensely, excruciatingly painful for you. However, not matter how painful it gets, no matter how close to death you feel you are, once we begin, we can not stop until the two of you are stable, or the both of you would most certainly perish. Do you understand the risks?”

“Yes.”

“Do you still wish to proceed?”

“Yes. Do it.”

“Very well. First, please make yourself comfortable here” said White Dragon, pointing at a cot that unfolded itself out of the floor, beside the stasis chamber.

“Now, please connect these two needles... to these two spots on your arm,” he continued. A port opened on the side of the stasis chamber, and two needle-tipped tubes extended outwards. He then pointed his right index finger at her, and two pinpoint rays of light landed on the crook of her left arm.

As it wasn’t her first time around a syringe, she inserted the needles smoothly and correctly.

“Well done Miss Tang. Let us begin.”

As her blood was very slowly extracted out of her, the stasis chamber let out various hisses and gurgling noises.

“1 pint... 1.5 pints...” said White Dragon.

“2 pints... 2.5 pints... Miss Tang, please let me know if you feel dizzy or nauseous.”

“I’m alright. Continue.”

“Miss Tang, I detect that your heart rate is at dangerously elevated levels. Are you sure?”

Her breathing was shallow and she felt like puking, but all she said was...

“I’m sure. More. Keep going.”

“Very well... 2.5 pints... 3 pints...”

Her dizziness was at the point where the room seemed to be swimming in every direction at once. Still, she kept silent.

“3.5 pints...”

Then, she passed out.

-- Chapter 2, End --