Ringkeeper - Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

OOOOO2OOOOO

She didn't sleep. She hadn't, hadn't slept for a thousand years.

And by the way things had looked, wouldn't have for another millennium. 

Until him, until Shaun.  

The greatest - and, let's face it, let's be honest, the only - candidate worthy of the Rings that she could find, across the world, across time, since him, since Wenwu.

And which led back to him, right back to him - to Wenwu. 

Small world. Small, strange world. 

Wenwu - the greatest mistake she'd made: handing over the Rings to him, sharing them and their secrets with him as though they were friends...

But they had been friends, a long time ago.  So, so long ago...

So long ago...

And now this.  

"Now can I finally rest?" she posed the question. 

"No." The response was curt, and not much of a surprise.

She groaned.  "But I'm so close!"

"Have the Rings been transferred to his possession from his father's? I think not."

Shaun wouldn't even want them, not after what they'd cost him, and for most of his life.

They didn't belong to her, the Rings.  She was their guardian, but the Rings were in possession of someone else - something else. and unseen great power that she only knew of and had spoken to, conversed with, but had never seen.

Not in over a thousand years. 

The owner of the Rings was as elusive as they were mysterious and cryptic. She had failed them, and they were not happy about it, and now she was trapped in a cycle of getting closer and then getting thrown way back, all thanks to Wenwu. 

Despite her lack of sleep, she went for a morning run the next day, planning on meeting Shaun and Katy after their shift later. 

The run helped her to clear her head some, but not fully. Never fully.

She was distracted, however, by the amount of rings here phone was giving off, meaning she had various notifications. Finally, it got to be so annoying, she stopped mid-run to inspect it. 

The notification was for a live video feed.  Opening it, she was shocked to see - Shaun.

He was on the bus, fighting four guys in hand to hand combat. A shocked Katy stood in the background. 

Shaun swiftly and efficiently took down the men - she recognized his father's own fighting methods in his. 

Promptly pocketing her phone she sprinted in the direction of Shaun's apartment. 

Her friends were there, Katy searching for answers while Shaun hastily packed a bag. What was he doing? 

"Katy, Shaun, I saw the live video footage from the bus - what the hell happened?"

"That's what I've been asking!" Katy cried, clearly shaking and understandably.  "But Shaun's being confusing."

He sighed. "Those guys were sent by my dad. They'll be going after my sister next -" His expression darkened.  "If they hurt her..."

Unlike Katy, Dryaa wasn't shocked by the fact that Shaun had a sister. "Okay, okay. How can we help?"

"No!" He cried.  Then more gently but nonetheless frantic, "Thank you, but it's too dangerous. I have to go."