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Chapter Text

“Monkey king!” Mk shouted, landing his nimbus cloud on the flat side of Flower Fruit Mountain. 

“Mk! Ready for training?” Wukong asked excitedly. He walked over to the boy and put an arm around his shoulder.

“Super ready! I’ve been practicing new spins and tricks with the staff! Just wait, it’s gonna catch you by surprise.” Mk replied smugly, Wukong only chuckled and rolled his eyes. “So what are we doing today?”

“Hmmmm, we’ll start with some agility training and end with a little sparring. How’s that sound?” 

“Sweet! So, uh, what are we doing for agility?”

Wukong smirked. “You run, and I’ll catch you. Starting in 3, 2-“

Mk’s eyes widened; he quickly pulled out his staff and ran away. “I WASN’T READY!!!” He fumbled with the staff and shot away into the trees. 

Wukong sat back in his tail and closed his eyes for a second. It was peaceful, the tree swaying in the breeze, the overwhelming smell of fruit—just how he liked it. When he decided he waited long enough, he took out some hairs and blew them out, each hair turned into a clone and shot out in different directions. 

He summoned a cloud and quickly mounted it. The cloud shot up above the mountain; he sat down and scanned the ground from the sky. “Huh… where’d you go..?” He hummed, scratching his chin. 

After he flew around the island at least 20 times as the sun reached its peak in the sky, there was still no sign of Mk. Wukong knew the kid was more than capable of handling himself, so he wasn’t too worried. His cloud landed back on the train ground as the clones peaked out from behind the surrounding trees and crowded in front of him.

“So?” Wukong asked expectantly.

“Nothing,” one shamefully admitted.

“We searched every inch,” one explained.

“And still nothing,” another finished.

Wukong looked down in thought. “Even the treasure room?”

“Yes,” they all answered.

“Even the shame temple?”

“Yes,” they answered again.

Wukong rubbed the back his neck and sighed. “It’s almost lunch break, he's bound to come back.” He looked back up at all of the clones. “Thanks,” he snapped his fingers, and they returned to hair. 

He sat down and reached up to pull more hairs out. Before he blew them, he heard a chirp. He quickly turned and saw a few cubs with their mothers. A bigger cub ran up to him and pulled on his sleeve. Wukong chuckled fondly and picked up the monkey.

“Hi little guy! You don’t happen to know where my student went?” The cub chirped, and Wukong’s eyes widened. “Wait… you do?” He put the cub down, and he raced into the trees. Wukong got up and followed; the mothers and their children followed as well.

The cub guided them through the trees and into a rocky cliff where it stopped. Wukong peaked over the edge, waves crashed against the rock. Wukong turned to the cub. “What happened.” 

The cub looked up at him with beady eyes before it jumped down into the slick rocks below and disappeared, jumping in between the rocky plain.

The mother ran up next to Wukong and tugged on his sleeves, chirping frantically. “Don’t worry, I’ll get him back, I’m sure he’s okay.” He reassured her, she let go of him, and he slid down the rocks after the cub. 

His eyes flashed gold, and he saw the little guys tracks. He followed its steps until they disappeared. He tilted his head in confusion before looking toward the mountain and seeing a cavern covered by vines. He entered, and there stood the cub who was waiting for him.

It chirped and headed deeper into the dark; Wukong sighed and followed. The further he went, the narrower it got, but the cub continued like it already knew the way. A light appeared at the end, and the two approached it quickly. 

The cub jumped out into a large meadow with purple and gold flowers and a lake in the middle surrounded by trees filled with flowers. Massive mountains surrounded the area with a space between cliffs where the ocean gleamed in the distance. Wukong looked around in awe. In all the years he’s lived here, how has he never seen this?

By the lake, Mk was crouched face away from him. Wukong let out a sigh of relief and quickly approached the boy. Mk turned around a smile brightly at him and waved his mentor over. 

Wukong noticed something in the water behind him. "So, uh, what is this-“ 

“Sh.” Mk held a finger over his mouth and gestured to the water. Wukong sat next to him; his eyes lit up.

In the water, a face poked out—a beautiful face. It looked like a monkey, wet fur clung to its cheeks, and it had a long snout. But its skin was scaly and glistened in the sunlight. Its eyes were a brilliant violet with golden irises. ‘It’s so pretty,’ Wukong thought. 

But its pupils shrunk into slits at the sight of Wukong. It jumped out of the water and grabbed onto Mk’s arms, pulling the shocked boy into the lake. Wukong quickly grabs onto the boys hood and pulls him back. The water simian hissed and pulled harder. 

Wukong got a good look at its body, six ears fluttered like lotus petals, long black ebony fur, violet fins popping out of its hips and elbows, and its sling on its hands and chest was also scaly. Wukong held on to Mk tightly, staring at the beautiful water simian, he’d never seen anyone like it before.

Mk squeaked in fear and twisted around to grab onto Wukong. “Let go! Please!” Mk pleaded hanging onto Wukong for dear life. Then it let go, and the two were sent tumbling back, but the lack of force. The black beauty huffed and sunk back into the water.

Wukong stood up and dusted himself off. He turned to his student, who was sitting on the grass still in shock. “What was that?! Who was that?” Wukong asked, more concerned than angry. “And how did you find this place?”

“I… I shot off and landed near those rocks. I had this… feeling? I don’t know, but I followed it and it led me to that cave thing. When I got in here and went to the lake, he popped out of the water, and I started talking to him, and then you showed up, and then-“ he paused for a moment. “He got all worked up. I don’t know why he tried to pull me in, he seemed friendly.”

“He didn’t seem all that friendly to me.” Wukong muttered, turning back to the water. “What’d he tell you?”

“Not much, I was mainly talking, but he said his name was Macaque.”

“Hmmm.” Wukong thought back to the macaque’s face, his scales, his golden eyes, his beautiful six ears-

“Uh… Monkey king?” Wukong broke out of his train of thought. When did his cheeks heat up? And why was his face so red?

“Um- yeah, sorry. Uh.. let’s go back, I’ve got a cub to return.” Wukong stammered. He walked back to the cave's entrance; the cub was rolling around in a patch of flowers. He huffed a laugh and picked up the cutie, who still had petals in its fur. 

Mk followed behind, glancing back at the lake. Wukong took notice and sighed. “Kid, I don’t think you should come back here.”

Mk turned back to him in shock. “What! Why?”

“What if I’m not here to help you and he pulls you in! You know you can’t swim.”

Mk looked at him in dismay. “But.. but it-“

“I’m not gonna hear it.” Wukong turned toward the exit before stopping. "Also, please don’t tell the pig; I’m never gonna hear the end of it.”

Mk looked down at the ground and sighed. “Fine.”

And with that, the two left through the cave. Neither noticed the macaque staring at them from the water.

…

Once Wukong returned the cub, they continued training. After a couple rounds of sparring, Mk headed home for the day, and Wukong was left pondering that hidden meadow. He’s lived here for over a millennia, so how has he never seen it? 

He took his nimbus cloud and shot out of his hut and up above the island. He scanned every inch but still nothing. He turned on his gold vision—nothing. Then he noticed something so small, he could’ve easily overlooked it. A small sigil at the start of the cave leading in inside.

He quickly flew down to it and inspected it, it was old, possibly as old or older than him. “Shadow illusions?” He muttered. It’s been there for so long that it practically infused with the stone of the mountain, so there was no way of removing it. 

He turned around and flew back to his hut. He was still so confused, who was that? No-  he’s Macaque. What is he? He has the fur of a macaque but the scales and fins of a fish. Not to mention those beautiful ears. Wukong’s cheeks flustered, he quickly shook away the heat.

Was he some kind of rényú? Wukong’s had very few run-ins with them, but they all looked like women, so it was odd, I mean, he was as beautiful as them. But no, he was a primate like Wukong.

Wukong groaned in frustration. Well, if there was nothing known about this creature, he would have to find out firsthand.

Chapter Text

Wukong paced around his little hut; he needed outside opinion on what to do, but the sun was already setting and he didn’t really know who to bother at this hour. Well, if he couldn’t find anyone, he would make someone.

He stopped pacing and pulled out some hairs, quickly blowing them into four clones. The clones sprawled out on his couch. “What’d you need, boss?” Asked clone number one, leaning over the couch from behind. 

"Well, during training, I found this hidden place, and there was another primate in this lake and..." Wukong lost his train of thought thinking about the macaque.

The clones ooed and awed at the flustered sage. "Awww, our boss is smitten,” teased clone number two in the middle of the couch. 

“Indeed,” agreed number three on left. The fourth on the right just giggled behind his hand. 

Wukong shook away his redness for the fifth time. “I am not!” Wukong argued.

“Uh-huh, yea,” the first clone deadpanned.

“Listen, I don’t know what to do about this, I’ve never seen another primate like me, or one that hasn’t been documented.” Wukong looked down, scratching his chin. “But he didn’t seem like a celestial primate, and he had scales like a rényú, but he’s not.”

All the clones brought a hand to their chins and hummed in thought. Clone four beamed and raised his hand. “Oh! Oh! I know! You should observe him from the shadows like a Ninja!”

Clone two chuckled slightly. “Yeah, if there’s no information we know about him, you should just get it yourself.” 

“Yea! But just to be safe, you should ask the smarty guy with the glasses tomorrow.” Clone one purposed. Clone three nodded in agreement.

“Thanks for the advice,” Wukong replied before snapping his fingers and returning the clones into hair.

He stepped outside his hut and stared up at the sky above the hole in the cavern. Night had already fallen, and the sky had turned dark blue and purple, with starlight reflected into the cavern. 

He sat down on the steps of his hut and thought about what the clones told him. He was far too bright to hide in the shadows during the day, but at night. He brightened up and quickly called his nimbus cloud and mounted it. 

He flew out of the waterfall, above the training ground, and back to the rocky cliff. He hopped off the cloud and entered the cave quietly. He could barely see anything in the dark, but he followed the wall; eventually, moonlight peaked out from the end.

As he got closer, he heard something, it was hard to make out, but it was a voice. When he exited the tunnel, he realized the voice was singing. He stood there for a moment to listen.

The voice was beautiful and delicate; the song was too. Wukong had never heard it before, but it was sung in ancient Chinese. He slid back behind some trees that surrounded the lake. He peaked out of the bushes and to where the singing was coming from.

Wukong’s eyes brightened at the sight of a silhouette in the middle of the water. The moonlight bounced off of his scales and fur. His eyes glowed gold in the dark as his webbed claws weaved through his hair. His voice was as clear as the lake, which gleamed from the moon, stars reflected off its surface.

The water simian stared off into the distance, deep in thought, while he continued to sing. Wukong’s cheeks flushed, his eyes were wide, and he stared. The simians six ears flickered and fluttered in the moonlight. He let his cheeks remain red as he closed his eyes and listened to the song.

When the singing died down, he opened his eyes and realized the ebony simian was crying. His eyes were closed, and pearls fell down his cheeks and into the water. Wukong’s eyes widened in astonishment. Why was he crying? And why was he crying pearls?

The simian stopped singing and combing his hair. The macaque turned towards the moon, his hair fell into the water and flowed out in the clear lake like a silk veil. The moon sat in the middle of the split between two cliffs, shining its light into the meadow. He began to speak quietly, but he was too far for Wukong to make out what he was saying. Wukong subconsciously took a step forward.

Snap

Wukong was broken out of his staring, and he looked down. A twig was crushed under his foot. “Fuck,” he cursed. He looked back up to the lake. The water simians head snapped behind him, and his golden gaze landed on Wukong with surprise.

Wukong’s mouth tugged into an awkward smile. “Uh, you have a really pretty voice.” The Simians eyes shrunk into slits, and it dove back into the water. “No, wait!” He shouted, running out from behind the tree and to the edge of the water. “I didn’t- ugh,” he sighed in frustration. 

Wukong stood there for a moment, hoping the other primate would show his face. But after a while of waiting he left through the tunnel in defeat. Why did it hate him so much? If he talked to Mk, why not him? 

He flew back to his hut and through the waterfall. He dismounted his cloud and went inside. He pulled out some hairs and blew them into four clones once more. They took their spots on the couch and seemed very interested.

“Sooooooo?” Said the third clone

“How’d it go~?” Finished the first clone.

Wukong slumped down to the floor. “Bad.”

The clones shared glances before the second one spoke up. “What happened?” 

“He was in the water singing, and then he was crying? And he saw me and swam away.”

“Mhm, well, if he was all nice to Mk, maybe talk to him about it.” The fourth clone chimed in. All the others nodded in agreement.

Wukong sighed. “I guess I’ll go to Pigsy’s in the morning.”

“Sounds like a plan, boss!” The first clone saluted before Wukong snapped his fingers, and they all poofed. 

He walked over to his room and closed the door.

…

Macaque swam back to the surface and peaked out of the water. He silently watched the loud simian leave and sighed. First this afternoon, now in the middle of the night.

“What do you think?” Macaque asked, turning to the moon. “If he keeps showing up, I don’t know.” He sighed again.

He thought back to earlier that day, the young boy who seemed so eager to talk to him. He may have been loud, but he was nice. A sweet kid. But that… golden primate was loud, and thanks to Wukong deciding to live here, Macaque has heard nearly everything he’s done. The waterfall muted some of it, but the wars, the meetings, the deaths. It made the curse of six ears unbearable for hundreds of years.

But then the noise left for a while, and it was peaceful. Then he came back, but now it wasn’t so bad, yes, there was still noise, but no more fighting. 

His ears flickered, and he turned back to the moon. “Let him be? Why?” His ears flickered again. “Interesting for you maybe,” he grumbled. “It’d be nice to see that kid again.” He sank back into the water.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Wukong left his hut with a “disguise” and headed straight to Pigsy’s noodles. He flew over the ocean on his cloud, admiring the sunrise while the city came into view. 

Once he arrived in the bustling city, he pulled the hood of his disguise over his ears and landed his cloud in the alleyway. He kept his head down and ventured into the street and rounded the corner. The dingy noodle shop soon came into view, and he slipped through the curtain. 

He sighed with relief and pulled down his hood. He walked over to the counter and sat down on the bar stool. The pig stood in front of a pot; steam rose from the stew boiling inside. “Kid's not here,” Pigsy stated. 

Wukong sighed, “thought so.” He looked down at his hands. “Where’s glasses?” 

“He’ll be here any second, he’s got some sorta schedule at this point.” Pigsy continued to stir the pot while grabbing a bowl with plain noodles. “Why’d ya ask?” 

“I’ve got a question, is all.” 

Wukong could feel with side eye from the chef. “Uh-huh.” The pig took a ladle and scooped out the stew and poured it over the noodles in the bowl. He turned around and placed it in front of the sage. 

Wukong looked down at the noodles, then up at the chef. “I don’t have money..”

Pigsy sighed. “I guessed as much. Consider it payment for the kids lessons.”

“What!?” A less gruff, higher-pitched voice screeched from behind the sage. “I teach Mk sooo much, and you have never once offered me noodles!!” Tang slammed his books on the counter and frowned at the pig. 

The pig stomped toward the scholar and pointed a finger accusingly at him. “What ya do is keep the kid from working; ya sit here for, I dunno how long, and yap about 'monkey king‘ this, ‘golden cicada’ that.” 

“It’s valuable knowledge!”

“What it is is a waste of time.”

Tang pouted and slumped into a stool with a sigh. Then he turned his attention to Wukong. “M-m-m-Monkey King!?”

Pigsy glanced towards the sage. “Yea, he’s got a question for ya.” Then he turned back to the pot.

Tangs face beamed. “A question?? For me??!!”

Wukong slurped down some of the stew. “Uhm, yea. You know your myths, is there any about some kind of siren primate?” 

Tang tilted his head and put a hand to his chin. “Maybe.. hold on.” The scholar quickly opened one of the several books on the counter and flipped through it. Then he unrolled one of the couple scrolls he brought as well. Scanned it up and down for a minute before his eyes beamed. “Ah hah! Here’s something.”

He slid the scroll across the bar and pointed to a section. “There isn’t much on it, just folklore, rumors and sightings here and there, but it’s something nonetheless.” Wukong took the scroll and read from the section.

"'Six ears, violet scales, golden eyes, and long raven hair. People stated being drawn in by its voice and beauty.’ That’s it?”

“Folks called it the ‘Lady of the Lake’ because they heard their voice by the Tianchi Lake, but after the few more reports and capture attempts they disappeared. Why were you looking for this?” Tang asked.

Wukong's face twisted into an awkward smile. “I-“

“Monkey king?!” A familiar voice shouted enthusiastically. “We don’t have training till tomorrow.” Mk sat down next to the king with a smile. 

“Hey bud! I came here for some noodles, buuuut I do need to talk to you for a second.”

“Oh no ya don’t.” The pig was pointing at Mk with a ladle in hand. “I’m not paying you to chat. I'm paying you to take these,” Pigsy reached under the counter and dropped a bag full of noodle boxes onto the bar. “And deliver them. So do your job and deliver them.” 

“But- but,” the boy's eyes expanded into a puppy dog face. “Pleeeeease.”

Wukong chuckled. “It’ll only take a second, promise.” 

The chef hesitated, and his gaze shifted between the two. “Fine,” he sighed. He pointed his ladle towards Wukong threateningly. “But if he’s not back in ten minutes, you're gonna wish ya weren't immortal.”

“Okay, okay, got it.” Wukong grabbed Mk and walked up into the boys room. He sat down on the bed, ignoring the clothes thrown lazily on the floor. “So um...”

“You wanna talk about yesterday, right?”

Wukong paused. “Maybe.” He sighed. “Look, Macaque doesn’t like me, I saw him last night, and he seemed all scared of me.” His hand reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. “So how’d you get him to talk to you?” 

Mk looked at him for a moment before smirking and raising his eyebrows. “Oh, so you think he’s hot?”

His face exploded red, and his cheeks grew hot. “What?! No!”

“Uh-huh, yea.” He rolled his eyes. “Anyway, I don’t know, just kinda walked up to the lake, and he appeared. I screamed cause I wasn’t expecting to see him, and then he also got scared and disappeared for a minute. Then I apologized and I told him I’m Mk, and then he peaked his head up again, and we started talking.”

Wukong sighed and turned to look out the window behind him. The sun was close to its peak in the sky, and clouds began to roll in. “Whenever I get near him, he starts freaking out. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.” Mk hummed and put a hand to his chin. He opened his mouth to say something, but it snapped shut, and he looked away. “What?”

“Well, I mean, I could talk to him.”

“No.”

“But-“

“Last time you talked to him, he nearly pulled in!”

“When you showed up maybe, but he seemed fine when it was just us.”

Wukong stood up and sighed. He walked over to the boy and placed a hand on his shoulder. “If anything happens to you, I don’t know what I’d do. You’re still mortal.”

“I know, but just let me give it a try, if Redsons anything to go by, I have a way with people.” Mk smiled confidently. Wukong hesitated, but Mk pulled out his pleading eyes, and Wukong looked away. “Please, I’ll stay back from the water.”

Wukong sighed in defeat. “Fine.”

Mk jumped up in excitement. “Yippee!! Let’s go.”

“Hold on, bud; Pigsy needs you; meet me at the mountain tomorrow.”

Mk groaned. “But Monkey kiiiiiing.”

“No buts. I don’t wanna feel the pigs wrath.” Wukong grabbed the kid and brought him back downstairs. Tang was nose deep in a book with a bowl of noodles in front of him. Pigsy was bagging another bowl of noodles behind the counter. 

“Ya had one minute left.” Pigsy stated putting the noodles next to a pile of bags. “Mk take these and be quick.”

“You got it, Pigsy,” Mk saluted. “See you tomorrow, monkey king!”

Wukong waved the kid goodbye and pulled up his hood. He slipped out of the shop and quickly hid in an alley before summoning his cloud and shooting off towards the mountain. “He’ll be fine. He’s a tough kid.” The sage told himself.

…

Mk got to the mountain a little after noon with thick clouds covering the sky; he was excited to see the water simian again. Even if last time didn’t end well, that was all in the past. 

He flew through the waterfall and into the monkey king's hut. He knocked on the door. “Monkey king! I’m ready!”

Wukong opened the door and greeted the boy. “Mk!” He stepped out and put a hand on his shoulder. “Thanks for this, but please be careful.” 

“Don’t worry, monkey king! I’ll be fine. Besides, Macaque actually likes me.” 

Wukong breathed in sharply. “Yeeeeah, good luck, kid.”

“Cya later!” Mk waved before summoning a cloud and shooting back out of the water curtain cave.

Mk landed the cloud carefully on the rocky shore before entering the tunnel to the hidden lake. When he emerged on the other side, he made his way to the large body of water. He sat down on the grass a couple feet away from the edge and called out. “I’m here.” 

A face emerged from the water and stared at him, violet scales glistening in the sunlight. The Macaques gaze softened when he saw who it was. “Oh… you came back.” He stood up and sat at the edge of the water, his legs still submerged.

“Yea! I finally got Monkey King to let me talk to you again.” The boy smiled enthusiastically, and the water simian smiled back.

The macaque sighed. “Look… about last time, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you couldn’t swim.”

Mk chuckled awkwardly, leaning back slightly. “Oh yeah, why did you do that?”

Macaque looked away. “That… king scared me.”

“Oh..” Mk looked away and rubbed the back of his neck. “So you won’t try to drown me again..?”

Macaque chuckled. “Nah, don’t worry.” He smiled thoughtfully at the kid in front of him. “I was hoping you’d come back. I haven’t… I’ve- been alone for so long. It was nice to have someone talk to me.”

Mk’s eye widened slightly, and he leaned towards the water simian. “Why did you stay here? All hidden and stuff.”

Macaque sighed and brought his knees up to his chest and hugged them. “I don’t know how I came to be like... this. But the first thing I remember was living in a lake not far from civilization. It was peaceful, plenty of fish and life. But as people inched closer, it became more disturbed. Some tried to kill or capture me after a while; it wasn’t safe anymore. So I left, and I let the water spirits guide me here.”

Macaque smiled a little. “It was pretty and serene. So here I stayed; sometimes the little monkeys would visit or another animal. But then war broke out, and I put those talismans up to hide myself. And hidden I’ve stayed for however long it’s been.” Pearls gleamed at the corner of the simians eyes, but he quickly wiped them away.

"Well, I’m here.” Mk smiled, inching closer to Macaque. “You don’t have to be alone anymore.” Macaques ears fluttered, and his eye widened in astonishment. A smile creeped its way to his face. His hand reached for the boy but retreated, but Mk grabbed the simian and pulled him into a hug. 

Macaque hesitantly returned the hug, pearls rolled down his cheeks and bounced off Mk’s hoodie. “Thanks kiddo.”

“Anytime.” Mk pulled away and smirked. “You know, my mentor really likes you.” 

The six-eared simian scoffed. “I know.”

“Why are you so scared of him?”

“He’s loud. His magic is practically lava and way too strong. It just... makes me uneasy.”

Mk giggled. “You should give him a chance.”

Macaque narrowed his eyes and turned away, wiping the remaining pearl off his cheeks. “We’ll see.”

Mk stayed there a little longer, Macaque enjoyed the company, he felt a little less lonely. But when the sun lowered, Mk’s stomach grumbled, and rain started to fall, he had to leave. And after saying his goodbyes, he exited through the tunnel. Macaque watched him go with a fond smile. It was sad to watch him leave. But he sank back under the water. 

He lay on the mossy rock and the bottom of the lake and listened to the patter of raindrops. He couldn’t help but think, Maybe the kid was right. Maybe he should give Wukong a chance.

Chapter Text

Macaque sat on the bottom of the lake on a mossy rock; the sun's rays made the mountains of pearls gleam in the water. He carefully grabbed one and poked a needle through it as his hair floated lazily behind him. He put the pearl down and pulled out a few hairs, weaving the strands into a string. He pulled it through the pearl and stringed it, he grabbed another pearl and repeated the process.

Once it was deemed long enough, he tied it. Pushing himself off the rock, he swam to his little treasure cave and hung it on the entrance. The cave was full of trinkets he found while he went to find a new place to live. It mainly consisted of silly-looking rocks and shells, but every once in a while he found some human stuff, like the needle. Sometimes when he cried, pearls would form odd shapes; he liked to put those in a small pile atop a shell. 

He swam back to the rock and grabbed a few more pearls covering the ground; there were small mounds of them everywhere. His ears twitched, someone was coming. He dropped the round gems and slipped into the shadows in the cracks.

He swam through the shadows and peaked at who was entering. “Oh.” A chirping cub pranced on the patches of flowers, rubbing its nose into the buds, then snorting out petals stuck in its nose. Macaque watched in curiosity from the shadows as the cub rolled and jumped in the grass. He heard a louder, older chirping outside, possibly its mom. 

The curious cub wandered closer to the water. It tripped and splashed face first in. Macaque quickly slipped out of the shadows in front of it and grabbed it by the nape, turning it upright. The cubs beady eyes beamed when it saw Macaque, its wet fur slipped out of his webbed talons, crawled up to his neck, and clung to his back.

The water simian stood there frozen. He hadn’t interacted with a monkey, much less a cub, in like hundreds of years. The cub now picked through the macaques hair, weaving its little fingers through the long strands. He reached back and grabbed the little guy and put him down on the grass. The cub chirped in surprise and immediately crawled back to the water. Macaque awkwardly put a webbed palm in front of its face to stop it. 

“Stay here.” Macaque commanded. It chirped in response. He moved his hand away and leaned down to its eye level. “What are you doing in here?” The cub chirped again. He squinted his eyes and tilted his head. “I can't- understand you.” The cub squinted its eyes and tilted its head, replicating the macaque.

“Oh wait, stay here.” He said, excitedly retreating back into the water and into his treasure cove. “Ah-ha!” He grabbed a couple pearled bracelets and returned to the little monkey. He brought one of the bracelets and put it on the little one’s head. “Like a little prince.” He chuckled. He brought the other around its neck like a necklace since its wrists were far too small.

He realized the chirping outside had gotten more frantic, the mother was worried. He looked at the cub, who was picking flowers in a nearby patch. He sighed. A shadow portal emerged under the cub, and it fell through. He swam back to the bottom of the lake and rested his head in his arms. He really had to repair those talismans.

…

The mother chirped in relief when the cub stumped out of the brush. She ran to her child and cradled it in her arms. She chirped in confusion at the pearls adorning the little one. 

“Did you find him?” Wukong asked, stepping out of the trees. The mother chirped and held it up to the king. The pearls glistened in the sunlight. “Where’d you get these?” 

He held up the cub, taking it out of its mother’s hands. “Like a little prince.” He chuckled and picked up the pearled bracelet on its head. He put it in his mouth and rubbed it on his teeth. “It’s real…? I didn’t think we had oysters around here.” 

The mother shrugged, he pulled the other one off its neck and inspected both. “Is that black hair?” He looked back to the cub and back at the bracelet. His face reddened. “Oh..”

…

Macaque was lying down with his lower half in the water while his upper half lay out of the water facing the sky. He picked a couple cattails a little ways down the lake and was messing with it before taking a bite of the stalks. 

Today was rather peaceful: some monkeys picking fruit, others playing and fighting, and someone making their way through the tunnel- wait... 

Macaque sat up. Who was it now? Another Cub? Mk? He hopped back into the water and swam back the cattails. He peered through the tall plants and to the entrance. 

He groaned quietly at the sight of the ginger monkey entering the meadow with a weaved basket in hand. The king glanced around and walked over near the lake. He gently placed the basket on the water and watched it float away. He stood there for a moment before leaving.

Macaque watched him go from the plants, then immediately approached the basket. “What are these?” He picked up a fruit from the pile, inspecting it. He’d never really seen other times of fruit or food than what surrounded the water. But this wasn’t green; it was pink with a little yellow. 

He brought the basket to solid ground and realized there were other fruits: a round dark red one, a red and orange one, and a green one. He inspected each thoroughly before deeming them edible and taking a bite of the pink one. Juices filled his mouth, and his face beamed. He tried each kind, and damn were they good. He liked the dark reddish purple one the most, but the red orange one and pink were close seconds. 

Once he was done stuffing his face, he noticed one more thing below the fruit. He held up two hairpins with tassels hanging off the ends. Both had a decorative pattern engraved on the side and had pearls adorning it. He put them down and picked up a hair comb. It had some fancy design on it with pearls twisted around, making some odd shape. He had no clue what either were for.

He hummed in thought before taking it all underwater and down to the treasure cove. He fiddled with their placement before smirking in satisfaction. 

Now, what to do with that basket? It couldn’t sink, only float. He swam back up to the surface; if it was used for food before, he might as well use it for food now. He grabbed the basket and brought it over to the cattails and began to pick and load them.

~

The sun began to set, and stars filled the sky. Macaque lay on his back, floating atop the water. Why did he leave that food? And those other ornaments? He shook his head at the other thought that plagued him. No, the primate was an overpowered immortal. And they were not to be trusted. 

But was he really that bad?

Chapter Text

It had been a slow few days in training. Mk truthfully hadn’t seen much of Macaque, and Wukong always seemed to be deep in thought. Mk sat at the bar with his chin lying on the counter and his arm falling lazily below. 

He sighed out of pure boredom. Pigsy was washing dishes by the sink as he turned to the brunette. “What’s up with you?” The pig asked.

“I’m bored.” He responded flatly.

Pigsy glanced to the sink of dirty dishes. “Hmph, well, I could always use extra hand.“

Mk put up a hand to stop the chef. "Sorry, dadsy, not now.” Pigsy sighed and turned back to the sink. Mk pulled his face off the counter and groaned. “Uuuuugh, if only there was someone to save me from this inescapable boredom.”

The curtain flapped up open, and footsteps trailed in. “Someone called?”

Mk gasped and turned around. “MEI!?!?”

Mei giggled. “Sup loser.” She wore her typical green letterman jacket and white jeans. Her phone was in her hand, playing puppy videos quietly. “Saaaay, wanna get outta here?”

Mk excitedly jumped up and put an arm around her shoulder. “Do I!?”

Mei put an arm around his shoulder as well. “I heard they got some new machines at the arcade! And they’re looking for testers….”

“Well then, what are we waiting for? LEGO!!” Mk shouts before they shoot out the curtain. Pigsy stared at the doorway; he turned back to the sink, sighing affectionately.

—

“Man, I feel like I haven’t hung out with you in forever.” Mei commented. She tilted the bike of her racing game to the left, making a shape turn in the game. “I wonder if I can do an Akira slide on this thing.” She mumbled to herself, looking down at the plastic bike she was sitting on.

“Yeah… trainings been a little rough lately, with Monkey King practically drooling over Macaque, it’s been hard to learn anything.” Mk sighed, making a slight lean to the right on the bike he sat on.

Mei giggled, twisting the handle of her bike, making the one in the game rev. “Wait, wait, wait, who’s monkey king swooning over?”

Mk looked at her. "Wait, I never told you?”

“Never told me what?”

“For the past, like two weeks, he has been in love with this other mystic monkey.” He turned back to his game and leaned left. 

“Another one, huh? What’s he like?” She leaned right and twisted the handle.

“He's actually pretty nice, pretty lonely though. I told him to give Monkey King a chance.” Mk reved the bike.

“Hmm. Can I meet him?” She jumped up in joy. “LETS GOOO top score!! Take that, bro!" 

“Does it count if you’re the only one that’s played?”

“All I see is my name at the top spot.” She proclaimed proudly with her arms behind her head. 

Mk sighed and got off the bike as the score grew on the screen. “Whatever you say.” They hopped off the small platform the bikes were on and walked over to the snack bar. “Anyway you wanna meet him?”

“I mean—“ she grabbed a bag of chips and placed it in front of the cashier. “If the Monkey King turns into a bumbling idiot...”

"Oh, he does.” Mk nodded in agreement.

“Then it’ll be worth it. Besides monkey man,” she pulled out her card, swiped it, and took the chips from the cashier. “This Macaque fella seems interesting.”

She popped open the bag and threw a few chips in her mouth as they headed toward the door. “He’s not like Monkey King though; he’s like a siren monkey.” 

Mei looked at him curiously. “Whadda you mean?” 

“I mean, he’s got like fins and scales, oh, and he cry’s pearls.” He reached for some chips, but Mei swatted his hand away. “Ow hey!”

“Nope! I bought these on my own, anyway, continue.” She gestured for him to go on as they exited the arcade and approached her bike.

He sighed. “He’s also got long black hair, real pretty.”

She stopped walking. “Wait. Like long black hair?” 

Mk stopped and looked at her, confused. “Yeah why?”

She put a hand on his shoulder. “I will meet this monkey, Mk.” She looked up at him with a confident fire in her eyes. “And I swear to the gods I will give him the most fire hairstyle in all of China.”

Mk looked at her hesitantly. “Um-“

She leapt onto her bike. “I’ll be back in five.” 

“WHAT??? WAIT DONT LEAVE ME-“

She revved the engine and shot away in a blot of green lightning. He sighed in defeat and sat down on the curb. A mouse was eating a piece of bread on top of the drain beside him.

He glanced over and watched it intently. “At least you won’t leave me.” The mouse secured the piece of bread in its mouth and slipped into the drain. “Aw man…”

—

Mk sat on the curb alone, sighing from boredom once again. Until green flashed in front of him, he looked up and was met with Mei holding several bags on her arms.

Mk looked at her curiously. “Uh Mei? What’s all this?”

She glared down at him. "Mk, you have not realized how long I’ve waited to do someone’s hair like this. So hop the hell on and let’s go to Flower Fruit Mountain.”

Mk immediately followed her commands, and they shot off down the road and to the docks.

“You know! I can fly us there!” Mk shouted over the wind. 

"Yea, yea, hold on a sec!” She shouted back. They continued to zoom past buildings as boats came into view. Once they landed on the dock, the bike screeched to a stop, and she parked her bike. 

“Why’d we need to come all the way down here?” Mk asked slowly getting off. 

Mei scoffed. “I’m not parking this beauty in the middle of the city where she could get stolen!” She got off her bike and hugged it affectionately. "Alright, summon your cloud and let’s meet a mystic sea monkey!” She pumped her arms up in the air with excitement.

He giggled at her antics and brought out his staff, twirled it around, and tapped it on the ground. A cloud formed under them, and they shot up into the sky. Mei quickly grabbed Mk’s jacket for dear life. “Thanks for the heads up!” Mei barked.

“Pft, please, you never give me one.” Mei rolled her eyes, but there wasn’t a drop of annoyance in it. They flew through the sky as the sun crept up through the clouds. They swiftly neared the mountain as they passed over the harsh rock surrounding it. 

"Okay, hold on!” Mk shouted behind him.

“Already am!” She shouted back as they began to descend. They landed successfully on the steep, jagged rocks in front of the hidden tunnel. 

"Okay, so I’m gonna go in; you stay inside there until I call you over.” Mei nodded back enthusiastically. They both entered, but only Mk came out.

Macaque was lying on the edge of the lake, eating cattails and basking in the sun. He looked up to see Mk approaching the water and smiled. Sitting up, he waved the boy over. “Hey bud. It’s been a little bit.”

Mk chuckled. “Yea. I actually brought someone to meet you.” He sat down next to the simian with a big smile on his face. 

Macaque looked at him quizzically. “Is it your mentor…?”

“Nope!” Macaque gave him a mixed expression, like disappointment mixed with relief. “But it is my best friend!” He shouted, turning back to the entrance. Macaque looked around the boy to where he was staring.

With that, Mei walked out of the tunnel with bags in tow. She approached the two and gazed in awe at the beautiful primate, and his floor-length hair sprawled out on the grass. 

“Damn you are beautiful; I think I see what Monkey King sees.” She giggled. The simian blushed slightly at the comments. She held out her hand. “Hi! I’m Mei! Mk’s longtime bestie.”

Macaque hesitated and looked at Mk, who smiled and nodded. He cautiously took her hand. “You’re loud.” He muttered. Mei blinked and then glanced at his six twitching ears. “I’m Macaque.”

"Well, nice to meet ya’.” She smiled, quieting her voice slightly. She set down her bags. “I hope you don’t mind if I... play with your hair a little..?”

Macaque looked down at his black locks and shrugged. “Yeah, I don’t mind.” He smiled to himself before turning around and giving her total control over his hair. She giggled in excitement and opened up a bag, pulling out a comb and a brush. “Mk watch a pro work her magic.” She stated proudly before brushing out the small plants caught in it.

Mk sat in front of Macaque talking to him while Mei chimed in every so often. Mei weaved pieces of hair together into tight braids and looped them with other braids. She pulled the rest of the hair into a bun and let the access hang down. She held it all together with jade and gold combs and pins. Macaque tried to move his head away a few times to eat another cattail, but she quickly jerked his head back, letting out a quick apology before continuing her focus.

After another hour of braiding and securing hair, she let out a sigh and grabbed a mirror. “Alright, I’m done.” She moved to the macaques front and faced the mirror towards him. He looked into it with awe. He’d never seen his face this clearly before. The only time he’d ever seen himself was in the water’s reflection. He really was pretty.

But now he looked to his hair. It was beautiful. Just like he’d seen the women in those old villages wear them but more fancy. His hair was in a large loop down in the back with four smaller loops on top, resembling a flower, with beautiful hairpins holding it in place. Below the large loop was a tight bun of braided hair secured with a comb and decorated with small ornaments. The last of his hair fell loosely down his back.

“Wow..” Was all he could muster as he looked at his reflection. Mei and Mk high-fived as Macaque brought a hand to his cheek, lightly tracing his scales. He really was pretty. 

"Aww, he’s speechless.” Mk whispered into her ear.

“I know!” Mei replied. Macaque turned back to the two, and Mei sat down next to him. “Do you like it?” 

Macaque looked back to the mirror. “I… I love it.” He said quietly.

Mei chuckled. “Thanks my mom taught me how to do all these traditional hairstyles; the rest I found of youtu-“

Macaque wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. “Thank you.” 

She smiled warmly and hugged him back. “Anytime.” Mei pulled away. “I mean, I don’t have like anyone to do this hair stuff on.” She chuckled.

“Can this go under water?” 

Mei blinked “Uh maybe.” He slipped back into the water. Mei shrieked. “Wait!! I didn’t say test it!!”

He emerged with the hair still intact. Mei sighed with relief. He handed her a couple hairpins. She scanned them over before looking back up at him. “What’re these?” 

“I… found them. Can you put them in?” He didn’t know why he lied, but he did nonetheless. 

“Uh.. turn around.” He complied. She tucked them into the top, and the tassels hung wet from the edge of the pin. “There!” Macaque stood up and lightly touched the pin, smiling softly.

“Damn Mei! You’re good.” Mk clapped.

“Why thank you.” She bowed in a joking manner. “Now all he’s missing is a fancy hanfu.” 

“Hmmm.” Mk looked the simian up and down. “You’re right.” 

Macaque walked up to Mei. “I almost forgot.” He grabbed her wrist and put a pearled bracelet on it. 

She looked at the bracelet and smiled. “Thanks Macaque.”

He smiled back. His ears flicked, and he looked to the left; on one of the rocks was a butterfly. But this butterfly had the most odd colors he’s ever seen, but then again, he hadn’t seen many, so maybe it was normal. Its wings were white and yellow with red and black accents. He stared at it for a moment before it flew off of the rock. 

Mei and Mk stayed for a while longer before Mei got a text and said she had to leave, and since Mk was her ride, he had to go too. Mei told him to keep the pins and comb before she left.

The sun eventually set, and the lake glittered from the moonlight. He kept his hair up as long as he could before the water ruined it. As he ran his web talons through the black locks, he looked up at the moon glowing in the sky. He glanced around the lake; once he knew he was alone, he began to sing. Something old that he’d heard that woman sing so long ago. He closed his eyes and combed through his hair in a steady rhythm, not noticing the butterfly listening at the edge of the lake. 

Chapter Text

"Boss, I think this has gone farther than just 'observing', huh?” One of the four clones offered. They sat on the bed in a neat row.

“Yeah, you’re like a stalker.” Another one giggled.

Wukong’s face burned red. "No, I’m not!” They all laughed at his refute. “I called you here to help me, not make fun of me!”

The first clone on the far right was a gigging mess. "Well, you could just keep watching from afar.”

The second clone next to him was much more serious. “No, that’s stupid. The boss will never wow him from the shadows.” The first clone sighed.

“He liked the fruits, didn’t he?” Chimed in the third clone. This seemed to make the other clones think.

Wukong thought for a moment. “I mean… I never got the basket back.” The Sage shrugged.

“Well there you go! Give him more fruits! Maybe then he’ll talk to you.”

“You know what the women say,” the fourth clone started.

“The best way to a man’s heart is through his stomach!” They all shouted in unison.

Wukong hesitated slightly. Isn’t this like… buying affection? Did it seem insincere? He only left the fruit originally as a thanks for giving the cub back. And those hair accessories were thanks for the pearls. Right? That’s why he gave him those… right? 

The clones could sense his anxiety. The fourth clone stood up from his bed and walked over to him. “Boss,” the clone placed a hand on his boss's shoulder. “Trust us; I’m sure he’d love it. What’s he got to eat down there anyway? You’re basically doing him a favor.”

Wukong looked at the clone, the others followed suit and reassured the king. The Sage eventually sighed and moved away from them. “I’ll… I’ll think about it.” With a snap of his fingers, the clones disappeared and hair fell to the floor.

He walked back to his bed and sat down, turning to the small window and standing a little above his bed. He rested his head against the wood frame, gazing at the flowers as the moonlight illuminated the small patches of wildflowers and daisies. “Fruit.” He whispered to himself. 

—

Mk came by for training after a couple days. Mk twirled his staff, whacking the training dummy in the stance Wukong taught him a week ago. Man training really has slowed down.

Once he landed a particularly hard hit on the dummy, he excitedly turned to his mentor to earn some praise, only to be met with Wukong staring off into the distance, head high in the clouds.

Mk groaned an exaggerated sigh and leaned on his staff. “Earth to monkey king!?” He shouted.

Wukong shot up, snapping out of his trance and looking back at his student. He cleared his throat. “Um.. yeah! great hit kid!” He smiled awkwardly at Mk.

Mk rolled his eyes. “Would you just talk to him already!? Not gonna lie, I’m getting a little tired of this.” Mk gestured to his mentor.

Wukong seemed a bit taken aback but sighed in defeat. “I know, I know. I’m sorry, but it's... difficult.”

“Then can you please focus on my lesson? Who knows what evil baddie is gonna show up next, and I feel like I haven’t gone anywhere in like over a month!” He lamented from the training ground. 

Wukong sighed again and approached Mk, putting an arm around the boy's shoulder. “I’m sorry, bud. I promise I’ll be more focused in the future.”

Mk’s eyes twinkled at him. “Really?”

“Yup!” Wukong smirked mischievously. "Now... let the training begin.” His tail swept under Mk’s feet, causing the boy to fall backwards and onto his butt with a thud. 

Wukong jumped back onto a tall rock further away. “Catch me if you can!” He challenged, running into the tree.

Mk quickly stood up and gripped his staff tightly. "Oh, I will!” He accepted, dashing into the tree after his mentor.

…

It’d been two weeks. Fourteen days. Macaque was at the bottom of the lake, facing the surface of the water, his scales gleamed in the filtered moonlight. He may have been alone for hundreds of years, but now that people actually knew about him and have come to see him, he’d gotten a little too used to it. And too quickly. 

So now when he was alone, he was far too self aware, and it hurt more. Not mention the added anxiety. Had they forgotten him? Had they grown bored of the new strange water primate? Macaque sat up and brought his knees to his chest, hugging his legs and wrapping a tail around himself for some sort of comfort.

Why’d he feel this way? Why would he possibly come to such conclusions? It was ridiculous! No, all Mk and Mei have ever done is show him kindness. They wouldn’t leave him. But that little voice of doubt nags at him. 

Air bubbles escaped his gills and floated to the surface. He watched them, he left out a sigh and fell back into a small mound of pearls. His hair didn’t follow and flicked in front of his face, the ends reaching towards the surface. “Why is this so difficult?” he muttered to himself.

He turned over onto his stomach, face deep in pearls. He just wanted someone, anyone, so visit him. Even that immortal primate. The mound of pearls continued to grow. 

…

A couple more days passed. Mk had left from training satisfied that his mentor followed through with his promise of being productive. Wukong waved his student off with a proud smile on his face before heading back to the orchards.

The sun peaked in above the clouds as tree branches swayed in the breeze. He made his way to a large grove of trees full of all kinds of fruits, their scent filling the air. Monkey sat on the branches, pulling them off one by one and placing them in baskets. 

He grabbed an empty one from a pile and hopped up onto a plum tree, picking off a couple, inspecting them carefully, and carefully placing them in the basket. Then he hopped to a peach tree to repeat the same process before hopping to a mango tree. He took a total of two plums, mangoes, and peaches, throwing in a pear.

He placed the basket down and inspected the arrangement. A chirp sounded from behind him. He turned around to see an elder monkey, holding a few plum blossoms in her hands. She crawled over to his basket and placed the blossoms around the fruits before turning to the king and giving him an encouraging pat on the back. 

He blinked at her, then grabbed one of the blossoms, placing it behind her ear. “Thanks.” The other monkeys chirped good luck and have fun, and he hauled the filled basket away. 

He summoned his cloud and mounted it in one swift movement and traveled back to the rocky cliff. He hopped off and carefully descended towards the tunnel with the decorated fruits in hand. He moved away the vines concealing the entrance and continued inside. 

He shielded his eyes from the sun looming overhead and made his way down to the lake. He kneeled down at the edge and laid the basket down on the calm water. He watched it float away intently, silently praying to Buddha he’d show up. Flower swayed in the slight breeze and cattails danced at the sides of the lake.

After a moment, a face popped up from the surface. Macaque emerged in front of the basket, examining each fruit. He looked up, his gaze met with the ginger simian sitting on the grass a couple feet away. They watched the other with curiosity, looking into each other’s eyes. 

Wukong gazed at the others purple iris in amazement, red dusting his cheeks. Macaque, on the other hand, stared at his golden eyes with hesitation and a slight fear. 

After a long minute, Wukong tore his gaze away. “I brought you fruit, the same ones as last time.” He announced. Macaque blinked, and his body untensed slightly. Wukong stood up awkwardly. “That’s all…” 

Silence spread; Wukong eventually sighed and turned around to leave. Macaque shifted uncomfortably. “I’ll just go.” 

“Wait.” Wukong turned back around. The ebony primate swam to the edge, and Wukong watched his fins and scales glide through the water. Macaque pushed himself onto solid ground and grabbed his hand. “Stay.”

Wukong now noticed the longing in his eyes. He felt pity for him. "I...” he hesitated before kneeling back down to the other. “Okay.” He smiled softly at the other, whose face relaxed further. 

“Thank you.” Macaque muttered. 

Maybe Mk was right. He wasn’t really so bad after all.

Chapter Text

“Here comes… MONKIE KID!” Mk shouted, bringing his staff down over the giant bull robot. It’s metal bent and broke. Mk jumped back, and it fell onto the street. The robot exploded, littering the street with metal. 

“Ugh! Damn you, Mk the Monkie kid!” Redson shouted from the side, slamming his controller onto the ground with a crash. It shattered into pieces on impact. 

“Nice job, Mk!” Mei shouted from the other side, pumping her fists in the air.

“You-.” Redson stuttered his insult, his fists trembling with rage. “You- peasants!!"

“Uh-huh, yeah, see you next week at the fare! Your stall always has the best food.” Mk waved.

“Ugh!” Redson turned around and was engulfed in flames; when they dispersed, he was gone.

Mei ran up to Mk, quickly pulling out her phone and snapping a selfie. She turned back around, typing something in. "Hey, just wondering,” Mei started. “How’s the Monkey king x Macaque situation?”

Mk stared at her for a moment, taken aback. "What?"

"Oh, you know...” she clapped her hands together. “Like getting them to like each other.”

“Oh, uh.” Mk looked up at the sun, rubbing the back of his neck. “I mean, good? I haven’t asked, but he’s actually been focusing on the lessons again, soooo… well?”

Mei giggled, hiding her face with her phone. “I have an idea.”

…

“You what!?” Mk gasped. Mei was bouncing up and down with giddiness.

“He just stayed for a bit and ate some fruit.” Macaque sank back into the lake slightly, his cheeks red with embarrassment. The cattails waved in the slight breeze, and the orange light of an oncoming sunset reflected off the calm water. 

“Mk.” Mei stepped back, gesturing him over. Mk looked at her curiously before obeying.

“What?”

“Look, you said it was obvious Monkey king is like a little kid in love, right?”

“Uh… yeah? Well technically a cub cause he’s a monke-“

“That’s beside the point. What if,” Mk looked at her like he’d heard this all before. “Hey! Don’t look at me like that. Hear me out, what if we get these two together?”

Mk groaned with designation. “Mei, you did this with Pigsy and Tang, and look at them.”

“Yeah, dating.” Mei shrugged proudly. “I’m practically Cupid.”

“He threw a ladle at you.”

“And he missed.” Mei announced proudly. “But they’re perfect for each other. Think about. Monkey King is a magic monkey, so is Macaque. And it’s like opposites attract type shit too.” Mei stared him down with a cocked eyebrow, a clear fire of determination in her eyes.

Mk hesitated, looking back at the water simian, who was gazing at golden flowers. Mk sighed and looked back to his best friend. “I see your point. Fine. But the moment anything goes wrong, we’re done, no more messing with them.”

Mei rolled her eyes. “Pleeeease, Mk, nothing could go wrong.” She walked past Mk and back to Macaque. Mk mumbled to himself before following. “So macaque..” Mei started, sitting down in front of the siren primate. He just jumped slightly, being broken out of his trance.

“What’s up?” He asked curiously.

“You and monkey king…” she smirked knowingly, wiggling her eyebrows. 

Macaque frowned. “You know I heard you a second ago, right?” He deadpanned and pointed to his ears, each twitching.

Mei stood still for a second. Mk’s gaze flashed between Mei and Macaque. “You are perfect for each other though, and you know I’m right.”

“I appreciate the idea, but it’s not like that.” Macaque pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Eating fruit together is as far as I’m willing to go with him.”

Mk sat down next to Mei. “It’s because he’s like super immortal and magical, right?”

“Yeah, I don’t trust celestials. Period.”

Mk shrugged. “I mean… technically, he’s not-“

“Sorry kid.” Mei and Mk frowned at each other. Mei slouched and sighed in defeat. “I appreciate the effort though, it’s sweet.”

Mei and Mk’s gaze met, they stared at each other before giving the other a small confident nod and looking back at the macaque in the water. "So, um… when does he bring you fruit?” Mei asked, crossing her legs and leaning on her hand.

Macaque hummed in thought. “I don’t really know, whenever he feels like it, I guess.”

Mei grinned mischievously. “I see.”

…

“One more time?” Mk asked awkwardly.

Mei groaned. "Mk, this is the third time.” Mk sat on the bed, and she stood in front of a whiteboard in the center of Mk’s room.

“I just wanna make sure I understand the plan completely.” Mk shrugged.

“Okay, okay.” She flipped the whiteboard around to the back. “Step one: you tell Monkey King Macaque wants more fruit at tomorrow’s training sesh.” She pointed to a doodle of Mk and Wukong with a little speech bubble with fruit in it.

“Step two: monkey king brings fruit to Macaque, and they talk for a bit, we’ll be in the bushes a couple yards away.” She pointed to another doodle of Macaque and Wukong talking and their heads poking up from the bushes.

“Step 3: You turn into a fly and zoom up behind Monkey king, then you turn into a cub and push him into the water.” The next doodle was of a fly turning into a cub jumping at Wukong.

“Step 4: You scurry away back to the bushes, Macaque saves the other monkey, and we make our leave.” The last doodle was of the two leaves and Macaque holding Wukong. “Got it?"

"Okay, yeah, and what if Macaque hears us?” 

"Oh, I have a solution for that.” Mei smiled confidently and crossed her arms. 

Mk stood up and stretched. "Alright, I think I got it.”

Mei and Mk put their hands in a pile. “Alright then operation Gay Monkey Men is a go!” The shot their hands up. “Cya tomorrow night!” Mei turned around, waving a goodbye before leaving.

“Cya sista’!” Mk shouted back. When the door closed behind her, Mk looked towards the window above his bed. “It’ll be fine.”

…

“Hey bud!” Wukong greeted from his cloud with a large smile. “Ready for some combat training?”

Mk landed his cloud on the training ground. “Hi monkey king! And I was born ready.” He pulled out his staff and got into a defensive position. The sun barely peered over the horizon, and the morning breeze was crisp.

Wukong chuckled in response. “Alrighty, let’s get started.” Wukong lunged at Mk with his fist up and a smile on his face. Mk swung the staff around and blocked the blow. The sage kicked up at the staff, but Mk jumped back, dodging it.

They went on like this for a while. Mk twirled his staff, avoiding Wukong’s attacks while landing a few of his own. Eventually Wukong swept his tail under Mk's feet and stumbled back, letting go of the staff. He fell to the ground with a thud, and Wukong quickly grabbed it and pointed it at his successor. 

"Wow, Mk, you’re getting better!” Wukong spun the staff around and planted it on the ground. He held out his hand to a Mk for help; the boy took it and was pulled up to his feet. “You really gotta watch for the tail bud.” 

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Mk chuckled. Wukong handed back the staff. The sky was a yellow-orange, and the morning rays hit the mountaintop. 

“Come on, let’s take a quick break.” Wukong said, walking to the cliffside of the training ground in front of the sunrise. Mk smiled brightly and quickly followed. 

They both sat down and watched as the sky began to turn blue. Mk turned to Wukong. "Oh, um, Macaque said he wanted you to bring him some fruit.” 

Wukong faced his student. “He did?”

“Yeah, same ones as last time.” Mk turned away.

“Oh… okay.” Wukong smiled softly and turned back to the sunrise. “I’ve seen the sun rise and set thousands of times, but I never get sick of it.”

Wukong put an arm around Mk’s shoulder and pulled him in. “That’s kinda sappy, monkey king.”

“Eh, I’m an old man, what can I say?” Wukong chuckled. He let go of Mk and stood up. “Alright, enough sitting around. Let’s get some training done, huh?”

Mk smiled up at his mentor. "Yeah."

…

Mk left the mountain a couple hours later. He immediately went to Mei’s house, where they once again went over the plan before heading back to the mountain. When they landed on the beach, a few monkeys approached them curiously. 

“Hi little fellas!” Mei greeted happily. A cub chirped happily and jumped to Mk, latching itself on his head.

Mk chuckled at the baby monkey. “Hi little guy.” It chirped back. “You wanna see the pretty water monkey?” The cub excitedly chirped a yes, and the two smiled at each other. 

Mei bent down to its mother. “You don’t mind if we borrow your kid for a little bit?” The mother chirped dejectedly. “Thank you, Mrs!” Mei waved, and they headed for the tunnel with the little cub.

They reached the rocky cliff and descended carefully to the entrance of the lake. They moved away from the vines hiding it and quietly went in. Mei grabbed the cub off of Mk’s head. “Alright cutie. You go in and distract him; we’ll sneak in, got it?” She whispered. The cub chirped back. “Alright. Go!” She set it down, and it ran into the meadow chirping happily. 

They waited for a bit before slipping in and behind some bushes, watching the water primate intently.

— (switching povs) —

Chirping sounded from the entrance. Macaque snapped out of his thoughts, and he looked towards the sound. He was sitting near the edge of the water, basking in the sun over head. A small cub chirped enthusiastically, scurrying its way to the water simian.

Macaque chuckled. “Hi little buddy, long time no see.” The monkey chirped happily and jumped on Macaque’s chest. A climbed to his back and began picking through his fur. 

Macaque sighed and reached behind him to grab the grooming-savvy cub. “I told you to stop doing that.” The cub chirped a refute. Macaque gently put it down, and it immediately found the first patch of flowers and shoved its nose in it. Macaque watched the little thing curiously. “What is with you and flowers?”

“I don’t know either.”

Macaques eyes snapped up. “Oh, you’re here.” Wukong stood between the lake and the entrance with an even larger basket of fruit. 

“Yeah, I brought enough to share this time.” Wukong smiled and walked to the edge of the water and set the fruit down. The cub jumped for the fruit, but Wukong grabbed it before it could touch. “Sorry little guy, not for you.” He set the cub down facing the entrance. “You oughtta go before your mom gets worried.” 

The cub looked back to the two monkeys and chirped sadly before scurrying back through the entrance. “It’s only been two days, why’d you bring them now?” Macaque questioned, grabbing what he now knew was a mango from the pile. 

“Uh, didn’t you say-“ Wukong heard something small running through the grass. Macaque looked up from his fruit. Wukong sidestepped last second, watching the cub dive face first far out in the water. 

“Wukong!” Macaque scolded.

“Psh, it’s a cub; they can swim.” Wukong shrugged.

“Mk!” A voice screeched from the bushes. The two primates looked over to see Mei, horrified. The water moved unevenly and slashed rang out from the center. Mk flapped his arms and struggled to kick. His clothes weighed him down and slowed his movements. 

He gasped for air, his vision began to blur as the water felt thick against his clothes. He couldn’t breathe, he could barely think. He tried to reach out for anything to help. Help.

“Help!” He gasped, but water filled his mouth, muting him. He fought to stay above the water to no avail. 

“Mk!” Mei shrieked again and ran towards the water. She felt helpless, watching in horror as her best friend grew tired and slipped under the water.

Macaque silently observed, his throat tightened and his stomach knotted. He stared at where the boy was submerged. His body was frozen, he wanted to move he wanted to step forward and help, but he couldn’t move. 

He can’t move.

A voice from behind snapped him out of his thoughts. “Macaque!” Before he could comprehend the word, Wukong dove into the water without a second thought and swam toward the boy. Macaque’s heart pounded, but he stayed rooted by the shore. 

Under the water, Mk could feel the last bit of energy leave and the last air bubbles floated to the surface. His mind went fuzzing and he shut. He felt a hand grab his arm and yank him up. His shot opened, and he was met with the golden, glowing eyes of his mentor. Wukong hoisted him on to this back and swam as hard as he could to the surface. 

“Mk!” Mei screamed, her trembled. She turned to the helpless Macaque. “Do something!"

Macaque looked to her. “I-“ His gaze switched between where Mk sunk and Mei. “I can’t…”

Wukong broke through the surface with Mk on his back. He swam back to shore, Macaques eyes stayed locked on him. They reached the shore, and Mei helped Wukong lay the barely conscious Mk on the grass. 

Wukong looked at the helpless Macaque, who was just staring at Mk. Mei crouched down next to him. Her throat hurt slightly from screaming. “Is he-?” Her voice cracked.

Mk shot up and violently coughed out water. “Nope.” Wukong smiled with relief. 

Mei immediately wrapped Mk into a tight hug, ignoring his soaked clothes. “I’m so so sorry.” She trembled with relief. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

MK coughed more before chuckling weakling. “It’s okay, I’m fine.” The voice was a little horse. 

Macaque stood there silently. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. There wasn’t anything he could say. He stepped back, looking away. His chest felt tight, and his heart still pounded, ringing through his ears. 

“You could’ve helped." Macaques gaze snapped up to Wukong. His voice had a slight venom to it, but there was something else he couldn’t name. He just looked from Mk to Wukong with anguish. But his gaze dropped to the water, he couldn’t bring himself to respond.

Wukong looked back to Mk and Mei. “You two should go home.”

Mk looked up at him. “But Pigsy-"

“Now.” Mei and Mk exchanged glances before Mei helped him up, and they slowly got up to leave. Mei looked back to Macaque in slight disappointment before turning back around and helping Mk back through the tunnel.

“I-“ Macaque started. 

“I have to go.” Wukong turned around. 

“Wait!” Macaque reached for him, but he pulled away. “Please…”

“Enjoy the fruit.” Wukong walked back to the entrance. Once he was gone, Macaque broke down. He let the knot in his throat and chest untie, and pearls tumbled down into the water. He held his face in his webbed talons and laid on the shore. 

He felt a slight pat on his head and reached up to grab. “An orange leaf?” He shuffled. He’d never seen it before. He wiped his nose and eyes and placed the leaf on top of the fruits. Which he realized he had too much to eat on his own. 

He looked back to the trees and saw the beautiful colors of red, orange, and yellow on the trees. He hasn’t noticed. He left the basket on the shore and sank back in the water.

Alone.

…

“YOU WHAT?!” Pigsy yelled. Mk sat on the bar stool with a towel over him. Tang sat worriedly to his right, checking him up and down for injuries. Mei was on his left, being scolded as well. “You!” Pigsy pointed his ladle at Mei. “Ya’d think after last time ya’d know better after the last time ya tried this shit.”

Mei looked down further in guilt. Mk looked up. “It was-“

“And YOU!” Pigsy turned to the boy. “YOU can’t swim if ya forgot.” Mk looked back down. “And you kept this from me? Ya kept the water-... monkey guy from me? And he tired to pull ya in?” 

“He was scared!” Mk defended, standing up. 

“Now calm down, Pigsy.” Sandy came from the kitchen with tea in hand. “I’m sure they had their reasons.” 

“Sandy! Mk could’a died!” Pigsy yelled, gesturing to Mk.

Sandy looked at the boy empathetically. Placing tea in his hands, then handing one to Mei. “What’s happened has happened. There’s nothing you can do to change that. Let’s just focus on helping these two.” Sandy placed a hand on Pigsy’s shoulders.

“Sandy’s right.” Tang said softly. "Mei, I’m sure your parents are worried about you, you should go home.”

“But-“ Mei looked up and paused for a moment, looking at Mk who was turned away from her. She stood up and slowly walked to the curtain. She looked back to Mk, guilt shadowed her face then left. 

“Mk, go upstairs and get out of these wet clothes and get rest.” Mk looked at him for a moment before complying and walking up the stairs. 

“Mk.” Pigsy started, Mk stopped and looked back down. “No going back to that lake thing.” 

Mk wanted to refute but didn’t have it in him and walked up into his room. He threw his wet clothes on the floor and changed into clean, dry ones before flopping down on his bed. “I’m sorry, Macaque.” He muttered.

Chapter Text

“It wasn’t his fault, he didn’t know what to do.” Mk sat in Sandy’s ship with tea in his hands. Wukong sat a little ways away from him, his tea was still on the tray between them.

“Maybe it wasn't, but he just stood frozen on the side doing nothing.” Wukong muttered, looking away. The ocean was calm, and the water reflected the afternoon sun. The boat rocked gently, barely noticeable.

“If I may say something.” Sandy interjected. Steam rose from his cup, he lightly blew it away. “I have never met this Macaquack.”

“Macaque.” Mk corrected.

“However, it sounds to me like he has a type of troubled past.” 

“Like trauma?” Mk asked, taking a sip of his tea. 

“In some form yes, but I can’t be sure. Just a thought.” Sandy took a sip of his tea as well. Wukong’s breath hitched and he looked away.

If Sandy was right, then he was a big asshole. But on the other hand, Mk could’ve died, Macaque could have done something. Wukong just stayed silent as Mk and the sea demon talked.

"Well, I can’t go back to ask or say anything to him so..” Mk trailed off pouting silently, hiding his mouth with his tea cup. 

“I don’t think you should say anything to him.” Sandy advised. “If it really was some sort of trigger for something in the past, maybe give him time to process it.” He took another sip. “You have a Christmas party in a few weeks, right?” 

Mk looked up, hope beamed in his eyes. “Yeah! I do!”

“Maybe invite him to that, then he can meet us all. Pigsy might even let you go back once he knows more about this mysterious monkey.” 

Mk’s smile crept across his face. “You’re right! What do you think, Monkey King?”

Wukong looked back at his students face, his eyes sparkled with optimism. "Yeah... sounds good.” He grabbed the tea cup on the tray, gulping in down in one sip. He stood up. “I’m gonna go. We have to get the last of the fruit before the trees freeze over.” He began towards the door. 

“Monkey king?” Wukong stopped and looked to his successor. “Tell Macaque sorry for me.” The boy looked at him, guilt clouded his face. 

Wukong’s face twisted into pity. He hesitated for a moment, the feeling of guilt stung in his heart. “Sure bud.” He shut the door behind him and summoned a nimbus cloud, shooting off into the sky.

Winter was around the corner, and there were still tons to do. The mountain bloomed nearly all year round, the only break was winter. So that meant they had to go around the entire mountain to pick the remaining fruit before the cold froze the trees. He’d been so distracted with... that the harvest process had slowed down. 

As he flew over the ocean, Sandy’s words settled in his mind. “Time, he needs time.” Wukong repeated. But that overwhelming guilt of being an asshole in the situation still sat uncomfortably in his heart. Like that moment when one’s heart drops but it never comes back up.

—

“Oooh… that makes sense.” One of the clones responded by grabbing a couple peaches and throwing them to a neighboring clone, who gently placed them in a basket. Clones were all over the peach garden, grabbing fruits and putting them carefully in baskets. 

“What do I do? He needs time, but how much?” Wukong asked helplessly. Throwing a peach to a different clone. 

“To be honest,” the clone looked at his boss, tossing a peach over. “I think we need to focus on this.” 

“Oh, I know!” Another clone chirped from the tree on the other side of him. “How bout you go see him after the harvest is done?”

“How long will that be?” Wukong threw the peach the second clone. 

“Uh, like… three weeks…?” The clone answered, unsure of himself.

“What? Really?"

“Yeah, we still have plums, mangoes, bananas, and pears to pick.” The first clone answered. 

“Jeez,” Wukong murmured, absentmindedly picking a couple more fruits and throwing them along. 

“See what happens when you’re drooling over some monkey you’ve never seen before?!” A different clone shouted from below, catching the fruit and placing them in the basket.

“Yeah…” Wukong rolled his eyes at the other. Three weeks—that’s plenty of time. 

Three weeks.

…

It’s so cold. Macaque laid on the rocks under the water. He shivered and trembled, the water was colder than it had ever been, the leaves on the trees were long gone, and the ground was frozen over. He barely ever left the lake. If he did, he would probably freeze. 

He doesn’t know how long it’s been since... the incident. Maybe a month? He curled in on himself, hugging himself for warmth. Air escaped his gills and bubbled to the surface. The water didn’t move, there were no leaves to sway in the frozen breeze. Just silence.

Unbearable silence.

“Why so blue?”  

Her voice echoed from the past. Pearls nipped at the corner of his eyes. He closed them tight. “Not now..” His voice quivered. “Please, not now.”

“Eternity is a long time, you can’t just live in the shadows forever.” 

Her voice rang in his ears like a ghost. He clamped his hands over his bottom pair of ears, digging his nails into the soft scales. “I said not now!” He yelled, but it was muted by the water. 

He hated that voice. Her voice. It always came at the worst of times. Sharp yet sweet. It was like a knife that ran deeper with every word. 

His ears twitched. His eyes shot open, and he sat up. “Is it..?” He didn’t notice it, but frost clung to his cheeks and fur. He weakly pushed himself off the rock, knocking pearls into the crevices of the lake floor. He swam to the shore and broke through the surface. 

No one was there. The cattails were brittle and brown. White flakes fell from the sky, the edges of the lake were solid ice. His lips were blue, his mouth trembled, and his teeth chattered. “S-stupid.” He muttered.

He looked up at the moon, frost framing his vision. The moon's reflection created an eerie glow over the frozen water. His body shivered and trembled from the cold. “He’s not c-coming… i-is he..” his voice was quiet and shaky. The little hope he had left had begun to die. Yet his heart still yearned for someone anyone. 

He felt dazed; his eyes half lidded. His fingers and tail went numb, he couldn’t sense his legs much anymore. He let out a shaky breath and wobbly made it onto the shore. He pulled himself out of the water and laid on the ground. If he was gonna freeze, his body might as well be findable. 

His breaths were shallow and shaky, forming pale clouds before disappearing. His wet black fur, matted by frost, clashed with the thin layer of white powder covering the grass. He was so cold, barely feeling the rest of his body. He felt his consciousness slipping, he looked at the moon with frost covered eyes and blurred vision, before his vision completely faded, and he couldn’t feel anything anymore. 

The night darkened and snow continued to fall, clouds veiled the moon, casting pale light onto the meadow. Macaque laid motionless on the frozen ground. Frost clinging to his fur and ears and snow covered his body.

It was quiet.

…

Wukong stepped out of his hut. Snow fell from the skylight in the mountain. He smiled softly. “Guess we got the fruits in time. Who knew your whole three-week timeframe was accurate.”

“Yup!” A clone exclaimed, setting a basket down. Wukong couldn’t help but look at the moon, the clones noticed the mixed expression on his face.

The clone stalked towards the yearning monkey. “Uh.. boss?” One started. Another waved a hand in front of his face.

Wukong blinks and shook his head. “Sorry just… thinking.” The clones shared glances before breaking into laughter. Wukong turned with flushed cheeks. “Hey! What’s so funny?!”

Their laughter died down. One of them grabbed a basket of fruit and shoved it into his hands. Wukong looked up at him with confusion, the clone only winked, shoving him to the door. “Go get ‘em tiger.”

The other clones smiled and waved. Wukong smiled and ran out the door, summoning his cloud beside him and jumping on. He zoomed through the waterfall and around the mountain. A snowflake fell onto his nose. Damn, it’s awfully cold tonight.

His gaze fell to the vines and the rocky cliff. His face brightened and his smile widened as he landed carefully. He held the basket, whistling a happy tune, moving aside the vine’s concealing the entrance. 

When he left the tunnel, he looked around. The meadow was covered in snow, the plain was once green and filled with life now it was silent, covered in a sheet of snow. The lake had begun to freeze around the rim, and the trees were bare. 

As Wukong examined the area, he realized the water was probably freezing. That begged the question: does he hibernate? That would make this awkward. 

He made his way to the water's edge, basket securely in hand. “Macaque?” He muttered. “I’m here…"

Nothing.

He hesitated. "Look... about what happened…” he breathed out. “I just wanna talk.” He waited patiently.

Nothing.

Wukong sighed and placed the basket down on the grass. “I’ll come back, but I’ll leave these.” He smiled sadly before turning around. But he stopped. It was so quiet. 

Too quiet.

He looked around further, analyzing the snow-covered ground. Then he saw it. The snow was covering something, bits of black peaking through. Bits of black? Wait.

“Macaque?” Wukong shouted. He rushed to the lump in the snow and crouched beside it. The snow crunched as his knees hit the ground. He picked up the snow-covered lump. Long raven hair. Ghostly pale. Frozen. Eyes half-lidded. “Macaque!”

Wukong’s breath hitched. His hand trembled as they crazed over the limp, frost-covered body. "No, no no” Wukong muttered almost in disbelief. Frost clung to the black simian’s fur and nose; his eyes had a clear film of frost covering them. “Macaque?!”

Wukong picked him up into a cradle and ran out the tunnel, leaving the fruits behind. He hopped onto his cloud and shot into the sky. He pulled Macaque in close to his chest. “Please. Oh Buddha, please.” He whispered.

He shielded the frozen monkey from the waterfall and jumped off his cloud. He stumbled but steadied himself and slammed open the door to his hut. The clones attention snapped to him. One stepped forward. “Boss, what-“

“Get a fire going and get me every blanket you can find. Now!” Wukong barked. They nodded, running around. Some grabbed everything from towels to blankets, others prepared a fire. Wukong laid the now-shivering macaque on the couch. His body was still lifeless and limp.

Clones from all directions rushed over and handed Wukong what they had. He wrapped Macaque in fuzzy blankets and warmed towels. “Please, stay with me.” He muttered, feeling the others neck for a pulse. He felt nothing. “No.. no, no no please. I can’t be too late.” He held his breath, guilt heavy in his heart. Tears nipped at his eyes. The clones surrounded the two in bated breath.

Bu-dum

He sighed in relief. “He’s okay.” The clones rejoiced, jumping up and hugging each other. Macaque shivered under the blankets. His body was still trembling from the cold.

“The fire’s ready.” A clone informed from behind. Wukong nodded and grabbed the bundle of blankets that was Macaque and lightly set him down in front of the fire, the flames dancing around each other. The clones dispersed, leaving the two alone. Wukong held Macaque from behind, sharing his warmth. Macaque’s eyes closed. Wukong finally heard him breathe shakily through the crackling of the fire, but the dark simian still shivered. 

Wukong smiled softly. He really needs to get the other clothes. Once Macaques breathing became more stable, and his body shivered less. Wukong could feel himself drifting off. His hold on Macaque stayed strong as his eyes closed. His worry faded away, and he felt his head fall onto Macaque’s.

Chapter Text

Macaque shifted uncomfortably. Some of the warmth that had accumulated over the night had left, leaving behind an unusually cold simian. His face scales felt so warm, his body was still slightly numb, but he could feel softness surrounding certain parts of his skin. He didn’t have much energy to move or to even open his eyes. 

He couldn’t remember anything from the previous night, only the cold and frost. He didn’t know where he was, his senses were rendered useless, leaving him to shiver and breathe shallow breaths.

Slowly, his hearing came back to him. He could hear people talking and running around, monkeys tussling and playing. Someone whistling and unknown to tune. He curled deeper into the blankets, the noise that came back to him became more dreadful by the second. Like an oncoming assault on his sense of hearing.

He let out small groans, shifting and twisting under the blankets. He’d always been able to hear the entire mountain, but the talisman helped mute some of it. Which meant... he was no longer in the meadow. He heard a voice through all the access noise, but it was unclear, or he couldn’t process what it was saying. He felt arms wrap around him, pulling his numb body up. The warmth that left a minute ago returned.

He leaned into it, embracing the blazing warmth, it was kind and tender. And over all the outside noise, only one thing persisted. A heartbeat. A loud, strong heartbeat. As he honed in on it, he sighed with relief, his ears twitched and flicked. This was nice. 

He attempted to open his eyes, but his vision was completely blurred. He could only see muddled shapes and colors. And it was so bright. He quickly shut his eyes again. He heard that voice again. It was so familiar, but he still couldn’t understand it. 

His ears moved towards it, trying to make sense of the words. “You’re okay.” The voice cut through. The voice was calm and gentle; it was soft like the blankets that encased him. 

He opened his mouth to respond, but his throat tightened painfully. He let out a raspy cough, but no words came out. 

“Hey, it’s okay. Just rest.” The voice came back much clearer. Macaque squinted his eyes up, it was still a big blur, but he could make sense of a figure.

“W-wukong..?” His voice was barely a whisper, and his throat felt dry and painful. The realization hit him all at once. Where was he? What’s going on? He froze, didn’t he? Yeah, he did. He remembered the numbing cold, the frost growing on his body, and the moon's pale light. Her voice.

His fingers twitched as he tried to move his arm under the blanket. “Yeah, I’m here. Don’t move.” Wukong shushed. Macaque body stilled. His breathing was sluggish, and his body was much the same. He felt a million questions weigh at the back of his mind. 

“Where a-am..” His voice was hoarse and throat felt scratchy. His vision continued to focus, and slowly the golden simian's face came into shape. He could make out the ginger hair and the gold eyes, he brows furrowed with worry. 

“My place.. behind the waterfall.” Wukong replied calmly. Macaque looked up at him. He inspected his face, the heart-shaped mask, the freckled cheeks, and the teal eyeliner. Worry didn’t suit such a face.

The more he looked at the immortal monkey, the more he wondered. “W-why..?” Macaque rasped.

Wukong looked away. He opened his mouth to reply, but he hesitated. "I... I couldn’t leave you to die. I just couldn’t.” Macaque wanted to refute. People of his power... his status weren’t afraid to watch the light go out in someone’s eyes. Macaque should know better than anyone. But he didn’t have the energy to protest.

So instead he let his eyes shut and felt his consciousness slip away, this time peacefully. 

—

When he woke up for the second time, it was much darker than before. His eyes were able to focus on his surroundings, and his body was much less stiff and numb, but he still couldn’t move a lot.

He shifted in his blankets, the sun had long since set, and the noise and quieted to snoring monkeys. He felt arms wrapped around him, holding him gently. The heartbeat was still strong and steady. He already knew it was Wukong.

He heard crackling from the side, light was also being emitted from the source. He turned his head to face said source to be met with flames dancing and, in the even light, warming the desolate room.

Macaque froze, his breath hitched. His body tense, and his heart sank. The fire. The smoke. He found enough strength to claw his way out the blankets, his heart pounded in his chest, and his breathing became erratic as the room seemed to tilt. Three pairs of ears flattened against his head as memories tried to slither through.

He pushed himself away from Wukong, away from the heat. The golden monkey stirred from his sleep and rubbed his eyes. “Macaque? What’s going…” Wukong turned the macaque. Pure terror radiated from the dark simian. His eyes widened, and he furrowed his brow in concern. He stood up and slowly walked towards him. “Macaque..”

“Get away from me!” Macaque screamed. He pushed himself backwards, hitting his back against a wall. He groaned at the sudden pain in his back, just now realizing his body still ached and his vision still blurred slightly. But the fire, the screams. His ears rang with the sounds of death, the smoke hazing over the earth. He brought his hand up to his bottom ear, clawing into the delicate scales. That man standing in the middle of it. 

He could feel the smoke choking him all over again. He brought a hand down to his throat, his tail wrapped around his torso as his webbed talon scratched the scales on his neck. His lungs had a phantom sensation of burning. 

Wukong kneeled down in front of him. The water simian flinched, he shut his eyes tight and curled in on himself. Wukong looked at him with pity. He slowly put his calloused hands over the others webbed talons. “I don’t know what’s wrong, but I’m here. I’m not gonna hurt you, please.” Wukong pleaded softly.

Macaques body untensed slightly, and the grip on his ears and throat gradually lessened. “Put it out.” Macaque muttered. “Put it out. Put it out.”

“Okay,” Wukong nodded. He took his hands off the other and moved back to the dancing fire. He grabbed a pitcher of water a clone left and threw it over the flames. They sizzled out, the light it emitted was gone, and the room was dark—only the light of the moon overhead. Smoke rose from the wood, twisted and curling in the air. “It’s out, see?” Wukong said softly, turning back to the simian.

Macaques breathing slowed, and he opened his eyes. Wukong sat him in front of him, staring intently, curiosity and concern mixing in his gaze. “What was that-“

“It was nothing.” Macaque cut in, removing his hands. “Just forget it.” He pulled a lingering blanket up, gripping it tightly. The golden simian looked down at his hands, the macaques hands trembled. Wukong opened his mouth, wanting to pry, but he quickly shut. 

“Okay,” he spoke softly. “I’ll be here.” He stood up and walked to the couch. Macaque watched him sit down and lay his head back to look at the ceiling. It was quiet, it wasn’t an awkward quiet but peaceful quiet. 

Macaque made an attempt to stand, but his legs wobbled, and he fell back down with a muffled thud. Wukong laughed behind a hand. Macaque gasped, offended. “What’s so funny?” He crossed his arms, sitting up straight on the floor. 

“Nothing, nothing.” Wukong waved off. “Here.” He held out his hand to the other. Macaque stared at the hand, then up to Wukong. He brought his hand up to grab it, but he hesitated. “I’m not gonna bite.” Wukong chuckled softly. 

Macaque rolled his eyes and took the hand. Wukong pulled him up to the couch and let the simian lean against his chest. The sound of a steady heartbeat filled his ears once more. Wukong had already slipped back into sleep and was snoring obnoxiously, but for some reason Macaque couldn’t bring himself to mind. 

The fire… no. That was a long time ago, things have changed. Macaque adjusted himself on the warm monkey's chest and let his exhaustion wash over him.

…

Wukong woke up first, he yawned and looked down at the peacefully sleeping macaque on his chest. He smiled softly. He didn’t move a muscle and waited for the other to wake up.

Macaque eventually stirred and blinked his eyes open. The morning rays broke through the windows, bouncing off the snow outside. He slowly pushed himself off the other and coughed. “Water.” He rasped.

Wukong blinked. "Huh?"

“Put me in water.” Macaque muttered, looking up at the other. Wukong eyes scanned him, the others scales had dulled, and a few had cracked. Wukong nodded and removed himself from the couch. He rushed to the bathroom and filled the tub. The dark simian coughed violently from the other room. 

Once the bath was filled, he went back to the couch and scooped Macaque into his arms, bringing him back into the bathroom. He carefully set the other in the water. Macaque sighed with relief, and it hydrated his drying scales. Air bubbles raised from his hips.

Wukong sat at the edge of the water, watching the other. Macaque noticed his thoughtful face. “Spit it out already.” 

Wukong blinked out of his trance. “What?”

“You wanna ask me about last night, don’t you?”

“That and the other day.” Wukong smiled awkwardly. Macaque gestured for him to go on. “Has the freezing thing ever happened before?”

“No.” Macaque sank deep into the water. “I’ve never had a ‘winter’ before. But if I had to guess why it happened, it was because I keep forgetting to replace those damn talismans.” 

Wukong thought curiously. “Why have you never done that before?” 

“I have.” Macaque furrowed his brow. “Only once when they were damaged by..." His eyes widened and shook away whatever memories were trying to creep back in. 

“Why’d you put them up in the first place?” 

“It’s… a long story.” Macaque trailed off. Wukong looked away, it was clear he didn’t want to explain. 

Wukong remembered something. "Oh, I have a little something for you.”

Macaque turned to the other curiously. "What?"

Wukong smiled brightly. “I’ll be back.” Wukong left the bathroom and ran into his room. He grabbed a box and brought it back to the monkey. “I was gonna wait till the Christmas party, but now it works.”

Macaque gaze flickered between the box and the golden simian. He grabbed it, hesitantly examining it. The box was white with little flowers all over it. I was tied with a red ribbon and a big bow. He untied the bow slowly and removed the lid. A red cloth was folded neatly inside. He took it out and held it up curiously. He looked back at the smiling Wukong with a questioning look.

“It a red scarf.” He smiled wide. 

“Why would I need this?” Macaque scanned it up and down, it was soft and more like a cloak than a scarf. 

“Well- uh.” He fumbled. “It’s... it’s absorbent! So if you want to leave the water for a while, you don’t have to worry about drying up.” He smiled awkwardly. 

Macaque blinked. “I..” He looked back to the cloth in his hands. "Thanks."

Wukong smiled brightly, almost blinding to the other monkey. “I’ll..” Wukong stood up. “I’ll leave you be.”

“Wait.” Macaque reached out, grabbing the other hand hesitantly. “Don’t.” Wukong looked back at the other. Macaque looked away. Half expecting the him to pull away. But he didn’t. 

Wukong knelt back down beside the tub. “Kay.” Macaque sighed quietly with relief. 

This was nice… 

Chapter Text

Macaque sat in the tub of water. Wukong said he was hungry and said he’d get some food for him. The water was black from his hair that took over most of the tub. He was always proud of the length of his hair. 

“Any girl in the village would be jealous.” 

Macaque shook away the voice, trying to make its way into his ears. Wukong opened the door with a few plums and peaches in hand, one peach already had a bite in it. He sat down beside the tub and offered a plum. Macaque took it hesitantly and bit into it. 

“Oh yeah, Mk’s having a Chri-mas par’y in a week.” Wukong mentioned through a full mouth. 

Macaque stared at him, confused. “Chri…mas?” He echoed.

Wukong swallowed the peach he had in his mouth. “Chrissstmas.” Wukong corrected. “Wait…” he gasped in shock. “Don’t tell me you don’t know what Christmas is.” 

Macaque sank into the water and blushed from embarrassment. “No…”

"Ok, so basically it's this whole thing these mortals came up with. It really only involves a fat man slipping down your fireplace and putting presents under a decorated pine tree.” Wukong sounded enthusiastic and lit up as he spoke. 

“A fat man... breaks into your house?” Macaque questioned, uneasiness evident in his tone.

“What!? No, no. That’s like the story you tell kids to get them all excited!” 

"Kids are okay with this?” 

"Well, I guess..? I don’t know, but it’s just a holiday that involves you giving people presents and people giving you presents.”

Macaque thought. “Oh.. ok, that makes sense... kinda.”

“Mk’s hosting a party with all his friends, and he wants us to come.” Wukong smiled, eating the rest of the peach in one bite. 

Macaque took a bite of his plum. “How big of a party is it gonna be?” 

Wukong looked up in thought. “Uuuuh. One, two… four… five! Five other people.” Macaque looked away, and Wukong noticed the anxiety in his eyes. He put a hand on the other's shoulder. “They’re all really nice, especially the blue one. Besides, I’m sure Mk will tell them about you before hand.”

Macaque sighed quietly. "But, uh, you need clothes.” 

Macaque turned back to him. “What?”

“Y’know.” Wukong gestured to himself. “Clothes.”

“I have the red scarf.” Macaque smiled awkwardly.

“Yea no.” Wukong thought for a second before lighting up. “We can buy you clothes! You know what that means?” Wukong nudged the other playfully. 

“What?” Macaque almost didn’t want to ask. 

“Two monkeys hitting the town.” Wukong smiled confidently. “And today’s a weekday, so the city won’t be packed!”

“I don’t know... what would I wear to town?”

“You can borrow my clothes, they’re probably big, but they’ll work.”

“My scales-“

“If you know enough illusion magic to hide a whole section of my mountain from me, you can hide your scales.”

“But I-“ Macaque looked away again. 

Wukong looked at him with concern. “What’s wrong?” 

“I can’t-“ He sighed in defeat. “I can’t walk.” Wukong stared for a moment in disbelief. He brought a hand to his mouth to hide his laughter. “Hey! Don’t laugh!”

Wukong broke out in laughter. “Sorry, sorry. It’s just.. you’re such a good swimmer! Walking should come naturally.”

“It’s totally different!” Macaque defended. “Whatever. Point is, I can’t go anyway if I can’t walk.”

Wukong smirked. “Want me to teach ya?”

Macaque stared at him for a second. “What?”

Wukong leaned in. “You heard me.”

Macaques eyes glanced over his face and flushed. He coughed away the red and cleared his throat. Finally, he sighed. “Fine.”

Wukong smiled, he stood up and held out his hands to the other. Macaques gaze flickered between Wukong and the pair of hands reaching out. He rolled his eyes and took the others hands. 

Wukong eagerly pulled him up, and Macaque squeaked at the sudden movement. His legs wobbled from the weight, he stumbled in the tub, some water fell over the edge. When Macaque finally stabilized his legs, Wukong took a step back, taking the macaque out of the water. His raven hair dragged on the floor behind him. 

“Wait, wait, give me a second.” Macaque shouted, his legs wobbled and stumbled with every movement of his upper body. He leaned forward into Wukong, and his legs stumbled forward, his webbed feet stepped on his hair. He shrieked in pain and stepped back onto his hair again. He fell forward, and Wukong quickly caught him. 

“Jeez man, your hair’s messing you up.” Wukong said, helping the ebony monkey back onto his feet.

“I know, I know. I can’t do much about it though.”

“I know how to braid.” Wukong offered.

“You do?"

“The cubs like doing crazy stuff with their fur. I picked it up along the way.” He shrugged.

Wukong led Macaque carefully out to the main room and sat him down on the floor. “Alright, keep your head still.” Wukong sat behind him, taking out a hair and blowing it into a brush. He brushed out the long black hair and put it into three sections. He weaved the sections together gracefully. 

When he was done, he left the macaque on the floor and went into his room. He exited after a while with grey shorts, a black hoodie with red accents, and a baseball cap. “Alright. Here are some clothes, yeah, they're probably a bit big, but that’s fine.”

He tossed the clothes over to Macaque, who caught it easily. He looked at the pieces of cloth with a puzzled expression. “How…?” Wukong sighed and kneeled down next to him. He helped put on the hoodie and shyly showed him how to put his shorts on.

Macaque put the cap on and hid his first two pairs of ears. The clothes were a bit big, but they'd do for the day. He used illusion magic Wukong liked to call glamour to make his scales seem like actual skin, although he still felt his scales underneath. 

Wukong quickly got his own little disguise that consisted of nearly the same thing, only it was a gold and teal hoodie, and they quickly left out the door. Macaque slowly but surely got the hang of walking, but only walking. Running, jumping, or anything more movement-based made him topple over.

Once they made it to the beach, Wukong summoned his nimbus cloud and helped Macaque up. They shot off into the sky; Macaque clutched Wukong with pure fear.

“Could you go any faster?!” Macaque shouted against the wind sarcastically.

Wukong gave a cheeky smile. “Actually, I can!”

“Wait, whaAAA-!!” Wukong pushed his cloud faster, causing a sonic boom clap through the air. Wukong laughed at the thrill, while Macaque screamed bloody murder.

When they finally neared the city, Wukong slowed down his cloud and discreetly landed it in an alleyway. He happily hopped off the cloud with Macaque, trembling from the adrenaline. Wukong chuckled at the bug-eyed Macaque and helped him off the cloud. 

“Alright, so, like, what time period do you remember?” Wukong started, pulling the dark simian out of the shadows of the alley.

Macaque thought about the conversations people were having about the current dynasty at the time. “The… Sui Dynasty, but after a little bit it was the Tang dynasty… I think.”

“Ooooh, alright, in that case, let’s get you more traditional clothes and some modern stuff, hm?” Wukong turned back to the macaque for his reaction. Macaque only nodded, bringing a hand up to his ears to shield them from the noise of the bustling city.

Wukong noticed and stopped at the side of the sidewalk. He put a hand up to his ears, a small sigil emerged from his hands. When it dispersed, Macaque removed his own hands and realized his range of hearing had been lessened. “What did you...?”

“Simple dampening spell, figured you needed it.” Wukong smiled. “Alright! To the first store!” Wukong and Macaque marched on to the first store, which was full of modern clothes and trends. 

They walked through the shelves, occasionally pulling stuff off and scanning it, before putting it back. They went on like this for a while. Wukong was terrible at keeping up with "trends,” and Macaque never wore clothes. 

They were at the back of the second store when Macaque noticed something that caught his eye. He reached for the hanger and pulled out a cute black and purple hoodie. There were little cat ears on the top with purple spotted patterns all around. His eyes lit up at the sight of it. He loved it. 

Wukong snatched it out of his hands and brought it to the cashier to pay for it. Once he threw some money at the woman behind the register, he grabbed the bag she put it in and handed the bag with the hoodie back to the ebony monkey. After that, they left the store. 

Wukong was right, the streets were a lot less congested in the middle of the week. People were still at work, and it would still be a few hours before they left. The streets were near empty, with the occasional homeless guy or kid ditching school. 

They moved on to a more traditional store with hanfus and robes from ancient China. They picked out a couple layers of hanfus—nothing fancy but simple. A red robe with a black cord tying it, the bottom layer of white peaked out from under the vibrant red.

"Alright, that concludes this shopping trip.” Wukong smiled, swinging the bags in his hands. “Man, Mei’s gonna flip when she sees you in this for the party.”

“Wukong?” Wukong turned around and faced the macaque. The ebony monkey looked down and away from the other. “Mei and Mk do they…” Macaque hesitated. “Are they still mad?” 

Wukong blinked in shock. “What? No! Mk could never be mad at you, and Mei... she’s going through her own stuff right now.” Wukong placed a hand on his shoulder. “But believe me, neither of them blame you for what happened to Mk.”

Macaque looked up with a soft smile, eyes shining with hope. Wukong smiled softly at him. The macaque's dove-like eyes, feathered mask, although he couldn’t see it but his scales and fins. He couldn’t help but feel his face heat up and flush. 

Macaque looked up at him curiously. “You okay?"

Wukong’s eyes widened, and he shook away his flustered cheeks. “Yeah, peachy!” He smiled awkwardly. “I’m gonna… go get food. Want anything?”

“Just fruit.” Macaque mutter, thrown off by the others sudden change in mood. 

“Okie, I’ll be right back!” He sped off to a few food stands a block away.

Macaque scoffed and rolled his eyes. He walked around some souvenir stands, looking at the trinkets with curiosity. “Hey little lady.” A deep, slurred voice called from behind. Macaque continued looking at the little items, he wasn’t “little” or a "lady,” so the man wasn’t referring to him. 

“Hey! It’s impolite to ignore someone.” The voice became more irritated as it went on, the words slurred together. Macaque rolled his eyes and picked up a little staff that looked oddly like the kids.

A hand slapped the mini staff out of his hands and grabbed him by the wrist. “I’m talking to you.” He scowled. Macaque looked up at him. It was a demon, a ram demon. Instead of a fluffy coat, it was matted, messy, and clearly unkept. He radiated with the scent of alcohol and anger. 

Macaque ripped his wrists away, causing him to stumble back a little. “I’m not a ‘lady’ asshole.” 

The ram scoffed. “Sharp tongue.” He grabbed Macaques braid and dragged him closer. “For a pretty little thing like you.” 

Macaque struggled against his grip. “I’m not a ‘little thing’ either, fucker.” Macaque growled.

“You awtta watch your mouth missy.” He pulled Macaque closer to him by the hair. Macaque gritted his teeth as the asshole pulled his feet off the ground.

Crack

The ram was sent flying into a stall nearby. Macaques hair was dropped, and he stumbled back into the counter of the souvenir shop. He looked around and saw Wukong standing in front of him where the ram once stood. 

“Wukong wait.” Macaque said, pushing himself off the counter. “Let me handle this.” 

Macaques breath hitched as Wukong looked at him with pure anger, whether it was focused on him or not. Wukong tail swayed in warning, his eyes sparked with fury. 

The ram demon groaned in pain from the rumble of whatever shop he slammed into. He attempted to get up from the wreckage. 

“Handle it?” Wukong’s voice was a low growl. His gaze snapped to the demon slowly getting up. “That drunken dipshit put his hands on you!” He growled, clenching his fists. 

“I know just..." Macaque sighed. “Let me take care of this.”Macaque ignored the slight tremble in his legs. Wukong looked from the ram to the simian. He opened his mouth to refute, but Macaque put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m not some fragile damsel.”

The ram staggered to his feet, the tip of his horn was chipped from the impact. He laughed drunkenly. “You th-think-“ his words slurred in his drunken stupor.

“Shut up.” Macaque snapped coldly, his expression as deadly as the depths of the sea. Even Wukong flinched at the glare. People gathered around the three, watching intently. 

Macaques face was shadowed by the cap, but his golden eyes shined with a deadly glint as he stalled toward the ram. The ram stumbled back at the deadly demeanor of the monkey in front of him. 

Macaque stalked toward him, he grabbed the ram by his collar and dragged him right his eye level. “You sure a ‘pretty thing’ could do this?” In one swift movement, he kneed the ram right in his manly hood. The ram yelped in pain and fell to knees from the force of the hit, holding his crotch feebly.

Macaque stumbled from the uneven weight and fell back into Wukong, who kept him steady. He pushed off a Wukong and bent down to the ram, grabbing him by his collar once again and pulling him back up to eye level. “You better listen, cause I’m only gonna say this once.” His tail whipped dangerously behind him. The glamour on his face flickered, revealing scales and sharp talons. “If you ever touch me or another girl in this life again, I won’t need my friend to help put you in your place.” 

Ram shivered at the coldness of his voice, his lip quivered, and his hands trembled. He shriveled under the murderous glare in the scaly monkey’s eyes. Macaque threw the ram back on the ground. “Now go crawl back out of the hole you came out of." The ram scrambled to his feet and scurried away. 

Macaque sighed and readjusted his glamour. He turned back to Wukong, flipping his braid back behind him. Wukong was staring at him, his jaw on the floor. Macaque looked around at the small crowd. He blushed at the attention. "What?"

Wukong chuckled a little. “How did you-? Why-?"

Macaque walked past him with a smug smile. “Right in jugular, as the women would say.” 

Wukong laughed loudly and quickly caught up. “Jeez,” Wukong put and around the other shoulders. “Remind me not to piss you off.” 

“I told you I’m not some damsel in distress.” Macaque chuckled, walking away from the scene. The crowd dispersed and went back to their average Wednesday.

“I realize.” Wukong replied. “But you can’t let people touch you like that. It drives me crazy.” Wukong’s voice was soft, his tail brushed against the others. Macaque blushed at the contact.

“Yeah… I’ll work on that.” Macaque replied, avoiding Wukong’s eyes so he couldn't see his red face. 

Wukong chuckled again. “I got us some dumplings,” he swayed a bag in front of the siren simian. “Let’s head back. I don’t think I wanna stay with a ‘pretty little thing’ like you out in the open. Who knows what other creeps wanna try and get a piece.” He growled quietly at the last part.

Macaque elbowed him in the side and whipped him in the back with his tail. “What did I just tell you? I’m not some weak little cub.” Wukong only chuckled and flicked his braid back in front of his face.

"Eh, still don’t wanna take any chances.” Macaque huffed quietly in response and brushed his braid back behind him. They walked into an alleyway. Wukong summoned a cloud and hopped in the cloud, he lent his hand to the Macaque, who cautiously took it. 

“I swear to the gods if you go fast, like last time, I’m gonna kick you in a sensitive spot.” Macaque warned, fangs gleaming and a dark glare shadowing his face. 

Wukong held his hands up in defeat. “Okay, okay. Got the message.” Macaque held on to Wukong, and they shot into the sky, going slower than last time. 

When they landed back on the mountain, Macaque quickly stripped and hopped back into the tub. Wukong set their dumplings on a tray with chopsticks and set it on the rim of the bath. 

And after a lesson in how to use chopsticks, they gobbled down the meal. Macaques eyes gleamed at the taste. But dimmed, remembering the party in a week. Gods. But he shook away the thought. Mk and Mei are going to be there. 

What could go wrong?

Chapter Text

“Damn rényú.” Macaque scowled. He sat on the dock of Tianchi Lake, where he knew none of them dared to come. It was evening; the sun had long set below the mountain peak surrounding it, and the moon had risen in its place. 

He hates those damn fish girls. Their tails, decorated in shells and pearls, glistening in the rays of the sun. Silk cloaked their busts, cascading through the water like their long, dark hair, also decorated in pearls and shells. They always laughed at him for the fur, legs, six ears, and other monkey-like features he had no control over. Though the men made fun of him for his more feminine appearance. 

He kicked the water angrily, disturbing the calm water. “Two-faced and jealous, all of them.” He huffed quietly. He doesn’t know how he was brought here, the first thing he remembered was waking up in a bundle of red silk at the bottom of the river. 

He sighed heavily and laid back on the wooden dock. The moon shone brightly overhead, illuminating the peaceful water.

“Isn’t there anyone like me out there?” He mumbled helplessly. His ears flicked up and out in alert. He sat up, looking around for the perpetrator approaching. Hesitantly, he moved back to the water, dipping his legs back in. 

“Hello?” A voice called from the path. The voice sounded feminine but scratchy and old. “I know someone’s out here. Bao if it’s you-!” The voice cut off. 

Macaque couldn’t help but peek his face up, but when he did, he was met with an old woman. Her gaze locked with his, she stared curiously, but not with fear like the others. 

“Oh… you’re not Bao.” She hummed. “You’re not human either.” She approached quietly. Macaque shied away, lowering himself back into the water. “I’m not going to bite, I’m too old for that anyway.” He heard a light chuckle. He didn’t say a word, but he didn’t swim away.

There was silence for a moment, neither spoke. The lady never left, and Macaque stayed against his better judgment. The old woman neared the edge of the dock and sat down, legs dangling off of the edge. 

Macaque peeked his head up again. The woman had an old robe on, it was darker red with a black tie, she was short, and her gray hair was tied up in a bun with loops of hair creating a sort of flower, kept stable by two hair pins. 

The woman looked over the simian with a soft smile. “What’s your name, cutie?” She asked softly. 

Macaque stared at her, not a hint of fear or disgust. He stayed silent, his golden eyes scanning her face, until he opened his mouth and answered quietly:

“Macaque.”

——

Macaque pulled up the hood of his hoodie with the cat ears over his head, he rung out the red scarf after dipping it in water and put it on, it dangled behind him. He wore the pants to his traditional attire and sighed. Gods was he nervous. He knew he shouldn’t be, but... it’s been a few months since he met someone new.

Not to mention he missed the lake, it was lonely but spacious. He had sat in a bathtub that was barely large enough to fully lay in. He swore he was gonna get claustrophobia when this was all over. But it was better than freezing his tail off, so he didn’t complain. 

Wukong stood by the door, whistling the same tune he had been for the last two weeks he had been staying with him. He was dressed in some odd hat with a fluffy white trim and a little white poofball on the tip. He wore a red hoodie also with a white poofy trim and three more poof balls lined on the front. 

Wukong stopped when Macaque entered the room. “Hey bud! Ready for some presents?” Wukong chuckled. He had a bag with a few boxes inside, each wrapped as equally messily as the last. 

Oh, right, presents. “I didn’t bring anything.” Macaque said, looking down. 

“Eh, you’ll be fine, I wrote both our names on these, so no need to worry.” He smiled confidently. Macaque fiddled with the scarf nervously, Wukong couldn’t help but notice. "Look, if you can beat some creeps ass, you can handle a little party.” 

“That was different, I was told to ‘not take shit from men’ but this is... more difficult.” Macaque trailed off. 

Wukong chuckled. “Who taught you that?” 

Macaque stopped and looked away. “Long story.” Wukong opened his mouth but quickly shut it. He turned around and opened the door, stepping out with the bag in tow. Macaque followed, still fiddling with the end of his scarf. 

Wukong summoned his cloud and helped the nervous macaque onto it. Once Macaque was holding onto Wukong tightly, they lifted off the island. Little cubs waved them off. Snow coated the mountain in a white blanket, sparkling in the sunlight of the late afternoon. 

As they flew away from the island, Macaque stared at the sparkling island. Wukong glanced back and smiled as they continued to the city. Once the bustling city came into view, they began their dissent, landing in an alley once again. 

With hoods and hats shadowing their faces, they left the alley as discreetly as they entered. The streets were flooded with light from holiday decorations all around. Street laps contained hanging candy canes, the leafless tree wrapped with lights, the stores lining the street had their own decor, and painted windows. Macaque could help but stare in awe at the colorful atmosphere.

Wukong chuckled at his star-struck face and pulled him down the street to Pigsy’s place. They turned the corner and immediately saw the neon pink sign hanging above the door. 

Wukong stopped before they entered the shop. He turned around to Macaque with a smile. “Almost forgot!” He pulled out a reindeer antler headband and placed it on the macaque's hood. “There. Okay, let’s go!” Macaque was still trying to make sense of what he put on his head when Wukong grabbed his wrist and pulled him inside. 

They entered to a smell of boil broth and pine. A large blue man was helping set up a large pine tree. A much smaller man with glasses was setting a few mugs on a counter, and a pig demon was behind the counter stirring what Macaque assumed was the broth. 

Mei wasn’t here yet. 

Mk turned around to see the two in the doorway. He smiled brightly and rushed over. “Macaque!” He wrapped his arms tightly around the macaque. 

Macaque accepted the hug, and a soft smile crept up his face. “Hey kiddo.” The other men in the shop turned toward the three. 

The blue one didn’t have a shirt on, but he did have a scarf, which confused Macaque. He also had the same hat Wukong had and red pants. The blue man approached Macaque. “It’s nice to finally meet you, I’ve heard quite a lot from Mk.” He said, holding out a hand. 

Macaque smiled awkwardly, hesitantly taking the hand. “Yeah, nice to meet you too.” 

“My name is Sandy. You know, I myself am a water demon.”

Macaque looked up at him curiously. “Oh really?”

“Yup, I’ve got a boat on the docks where we’re planning to move the party later.” He smiled, it was a sweet, gentle smile contrasting his large appearance. 

The next to approach was the man with glasses, practically bouncing up and down in excitement. “You’re the lady of the lake?!” He asked excitedly. 

Macaque let go of Sandy’s hand and was admittedly caught off guard by the question. “I… guess? I haven’t been called that for a long time.” He laughed awkwardly. 

“I’m so happy to meet you, I have so many-“ 

“Tang!” The pig interrupted from the kitchen. “Give the poor guy a break.”

The man with glasses, who he now knew was Tang, sighed. “Sorry, I just get excited about stuff like this.” Tang chuckled awkwardly.

“Um.. yeah, it’s okay.” Macaque smiled back. 

The pig huffed from the pot of broth. He glared back at the macaque, his brow furrowed. Macaque gulped, he hadn’t spoken a word to him, but it seemed like the pig had already made up his mind on what he thought of the six-eared simian. Macaque turned away from the daggers of the pigs glare. 

“Where’s Mei?” Macaque asked, turning to Mk. 

“She said she had to finish wrapping her gifts. She’ll be here soon.” Mk smiled back. Mk looked to the tree they just set up, then back to Macaque. “Hey, wanna help decorate the tree?” 

“Um… sure?” Macaque looked back to Wukong, who nodded. Wukong, Macaque, and Mk walked back to the tree, and Tang and Sandy went behind the counter to pigsy. 

There were a few open boxes around the pine tree, full of stuff Macaque has never seen before. Mk pulled a ball with a hook on it out of one box and hung it on a branch. Macaque looked over to Wukong, who was doing the same thing. So for the next half hour, he copied the other’s. 

“Come on, pigsy.” Tang spoke softly to the pig, placing a hand on his shoulder. “The kid wanted this; you can’t stay mad at him forever.”

“Tang’s right, Mk and Wukong have forgiven him, why can’t you do the same?” Sandy added. Macaque listened, absentmindedly placing "ornaments,” as Mk called them, on the tree.

“I don’t care. He could've killed him. That fish thing doesn’t deserve my forgiveness.” Pigsy stated flatly, and Macaque glanced behind him back to the pig. Pigsy glared daggers back at him. 

Macaque turned back to the tree with a sigh. He’s been for less than an hour, and he’s already messed up. All the sudden Mei burst through the door with bags of more boxes. “MERRY CHRISTMAS!!” She yelled, throwing the bag to the side. 

“Mei!” Mk shouted, he rushed to her and wrapped his arms around her tightly; she happily returned the hug. “I missed you!” 

“I missed you too! And-“ she looked up, locking eyes with Macaque. She smiled softly. “Hey Mac."

“Hey.” He smiled back. 

“Took you long enough.” Pigsy shouted from the kitchen. 

“Heh, sorry. Who knew wrapping presents took so long." She shrugged.

“You could’ve wrapped those days ago!” 

“Meh, too lazy.” Pigsy huffed and turned back to the pot. She walked up to the tree, which was shining with ornaments and decor. “Wow guys, the tree looks good.” 

“Thanks.” The three said in unison.

“Alright. Let’s get this party started!” 

Chapter Text

“How come you’re always alone when I see you?” The old woman asked delicately, sitting down at the edge of the dock. 

Macaque played with the ends of his hair, trying to think up an answer. “I… don’t…” Macaque paused, never meeting the woman’s eyes.

The old lady hummed, she was far too wise to be deceived, especially by him. “I see…” She scanned the simian up and down. “Sometimes the fewer people you know, the better.” 

Macaque rested his chin on the dock. “Yeah…”

“Honestly,” the old woman scoffed. “Most people are two-faced backstabbers and catty.” 

Macaque laughed softly, amused by the woman. “Sounds like you know from experience.” 

“Yes, I learned the hard way.” She paused and smiled at the simian. “Just remember you can’t befriend everyone. Even if you feel like you have to.” 

Macaque frowned and huffed. “Why would I? Everyone that lives in this lake already hates me.” 

“You never know, there may come a day when you leave. But it will most likely be long after I’m gone.” She chuckled, but Macaque did find the idea of that very funny.

“You’re senile.” Macaque mumbled with a sigh.

—

They had moved the tables in the restaurant together to make it big enough for everyone to sit. Mk and Mei took their spots first, Wukong sat down next to Mk and looked back at Mac. He smiled softly and patted the seat next to him. 

The black-furred simian took his seat next to Wukong and removed his hood, letting his long raven hair fall to the floor behind him. Tang and Sandy sat on the side opposite to the monkeys, talking to each other about something. Tang occasionally glanced at Macaque, like he was unsure of something. Macaque grimaced and turned to Wukong, who was chatting away with Mk. 

With a frown, he just sighed to himself and braided the ends of his hair. Soon Pigsy came out with a tray of bowls and laid them in front of everyone. 

Pigsy subtly glared at Macaque as he set the simian’s bowl down. The macaque smiled awkwardly and looked down at his noodles, it smelled amazing, and the macaque's eyes beamed with delight.

He grabbed his chopsticks and fiddled with the noodles in the broth. But he noticed a chunk of something in the bowl and frowned, he nudged Wukong on the side. “What’s this?” He asked in a hushed voice.

Wukong glanced over. “It’s meat, like from other animals.” Wukong replied before turning back to talk to Mk. Macaque looked back at his bowl with a conflicted frown, meat from other animals…

He tried to stop his face from pinching in disgust, but it was still evident in his expression. The pig seemed to take notice. 

“What? You gotta problem with meat?” He huffed. Everyone looked up from their food and stared at the six-eared simian. 

Macaque looked around with bug eyes, pink dusted his cheeks from embarrassment. “I um…” he glanced helplessly at the golden monkey next to him. 

“Have you ever eaten meat?” Wukong asked.

“No.” He looked back at the bowl. “I always thought eating the other fish was gross.” 

Pigsy huffed, irritated. “Just pick out the meat.” Macaque gave a small, awkward smile and nodded. Wukong gave him a sympathetic nod and went back to talking. 

Macaque sighed and picked out the bits of meat from the broth, trying to ignore the glances from the others across from him as he did. By the time he was on his last bit of noodle, everyone was finished. He pushed the empty bowl in front of him, and Pigsy stood up to collect them, Sandy noticed and got up to help.

When the blue giant came close to Macaque, he whispered. “Maybe you should try helping Pigsy out in the kitchen.” He spoke with a soft voice and a tender smile. Macaque relaxed a little and nodded back. 

He stood up and walked behind the bar, Wukong glanced over and gave a thumbs up for good luck. Macaque smiled back at him endearingly and continued to the kitchen. 

Pigsy had brought the dishes to the sink and was rinsing them out. Macaque walked behind the bar. “Do you, uh… need any help?” 

The pig glared back at the monkey. “No.” He stated coldly before looking down and focusing on dishes. 

Macaque hesitated, he turned back to see Sandy gesturing with a smile to keep going. Macaque sighed once again and walked towards the sink. “I could help dry them—“ he slowly reached for the towel.

Pigsy swatted away his hand, and with a surprised chirp, Macaque stepped back onto his hair. He yelped in pain as he tripped and bumped into the counter behind him, causing a dish to fall over. The dish shattered on the ground, Macaque winced and covered his ears at the sound.

All eyes from the bar were on him and Pigsy. Macaque could feel weight from their stares, especially the glare from the sink, as he stared down at mess at his feet. “I-…” he paused, what was he supposed to say? Would the pig accept his apology? 

“What?” Pigsy crossed his arms. 

“I didn’t mean to… I’m sorry.” Macaque bowed his head in shame. 

Pigsy huffed. “Look, macaque, just because everyone else seemed to forgive ya for letting Mk nearly drown doesn’t mean I will.” 

“Pigsy…” Tang made his way into the kitchen. 

“Don’t ‘Pigsy’ me, Tang. My kid coulda died, and this… guy just watched him!” Macaque didn’t dare look up. “And then he comes into my place expecting everything to be fine and dandy.” 

“Hey!” Mei interrupted from the bar. “It was my idea for us to even be there in the first place! If you’re gonna yell at anyone, yell at me.” 

Macaque sighed. “Mei,” the girl stopped and turned to look at the simian. “I understand, really I do.” Macaque looked up at the pig. “I’ll wait outside.” A shadow opened under the raven-haired monkey's feet.

“Wait, Macaque!” Wukong stepped into the kitchen, but Macaque had already dropped into a shadow portal. Wukong’s brow furrowed, and he turned his attention to the chef. “Look, I get you’re upset, but that was too far.”

“Too far?” Pigsy clenched his fists. “Mk coulda died!”

“But I didn’t!” Mk shouted, stepping out from behind his mentor. “Monkey King was there, and Macaque didn’t mean for me to get hurt or anything.” He walked up to his dad. “I’m fine.”

“And he felt horrible about it.” Wukong hesitated but felt it was the right time to tell them. “Back when that blizzard hit, the lake completely froze. I went down to give Macaque some fruit and found him nearly frozen to death under the snow.” 

Everyone was silent, Mk and Mei stared at him with utter shock. Tang and Sandy had a look of surprise, Pigsy’s expression was hard to read. “He never told me why he was just lying there in the freezing cold, but…” he paused. “I feel like it was because of what happened.”

Mei's gaze fell down to the floor. Mk noticed and looked back at her, concerned. He understood how she felt, they carry the same guilt from that day. “I’m going after him.” Mei spoke up, clenching her fists.

Tang put a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Are you sure?” 

“It was my fault any of this happened!” She shook his hand off and turned away toward the door. “If I hadn’t made the stupid plan.” Tears nipped at the corner of her eyes. “I’m going to find him.” She stormed out of the noodle shop, the curtain swung closed behind her. 

Mk stared at the door his best friend left through. Wukong put a hand on his student's shoulder. “Let her go,” he said softly. Mk glanced at his mentor with worried eyes. “I think she needs this.” 

—

Macaque sat on the roof of the noodle shop, staring up at the sky above. It was dark now, the moonlight filtered through the clouds. 

He hugged his knees to his chest and sighed. “He’s right,” he dropped his face into his knees. “I could’ve done something, anything.”

His tail wrapped around him, bringing him some bit of comfort in the cold. He could try all he wanted to, but in the end, Mk’s family could never truly forgive or accept him. The pig made that clear. And the worst part was he knew he didn’t have the right to feel sorry for himself, but he couldn’t help but be sorry. He pushed his face deeper into his knees.

He heard footsteps from below but decided to ignore them, there were still plenty of people walking the streets. Those footsteps walked into the alley and climbed up onto the roof from a ladder along the side of the building. Macaque glanced up from his knees.

“Figured I’d find you up here.” Mei smiled softly at him. She glanced up at the sky above. “Monkey king told us about the blizzard.”

Macaque winced, of course he did. 

Mei sighed and sat down next to him. “Y’know, ever since Mk…” She hesitated but took a deep breath and continued. “I’ve just been thinking about… everything. About Mk, you, monkey king. Everything.” She crossed her legs and fiddled with her thumbs. Macaque turned to look at her, filtered moonlight made her face glow in the night. 

“I’m sorry.” She spoke softly, like the words would break at any moment. “I’m sorry… for everything.”

Macaque turned his gaze back to the cloudy night sky. “I just remembered, a long, long time ago, a woman told me that… making mistakes is like making a wrong stroke painting.” 

Mei looked at him confused “What?” She chuckled lightly.

Macaque laughed as well. “I know, I thought it was so stupid. But then she said, ‘No matter how hard you try to paint over it, it will still be there. So you can either work with it or be a coward, throw it out, and start all over.’” He chuckled at the memory. “She had the weirdest analogies, but the more time I spend with you guys, the more I understand what she was trying to tell me.”

Mei hummed. “She sounds like quite the character.”

Macaque smiled fondly. “She was.” 

They sat in silence for a moment, cars drove down the street, and people laughed and mingled on the sidewalk. Mei straightened and looked at the simian next to her. “Want me to fix up your hair?” 

Macaque sat up and sighed with relief. “Please do.” 

She chuckled and turned, Macaque did the same. She weaved through his hair, and he hummed some melody from long ago. It was peaceful, Macaque enjoyed getting his hair styled, and Mei loved doing someone else’s hair more than her own. 

She finished she used a spare hair tie to tie it up. “Finished.” She huffed with pride. Macaque pulled the hair in front of him to look at her work. She had braided a few sections of hair and then braided it all together. “You kinda look like Rapunzel.” She giggled to herself.

“Who?” Macaque blinked at her, confused. 

Mei gasped dramatically. “Oh boy, do we have a lot of movies to watch.”

Macaque chuckled at her antics. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, but my hair looks amazing.” 

Mei smirked proudly. “Why, thank you, kind sir.” Macaque smiled warmly at her before she stood up and held her hand out to the monkey. “Come on, let’s head back inside. It’s getting a little cold.”

Macaque hesitated but took her hand and nodded. “Yeah. Let’s.”

They climbed back down the side of the building. “By the way, I never knew you could make portals.” Mei said, waiting for Macaque to jump down from the ladder. 

He hopped down and stumbled back but quickly steadied himself. “Me neither, it was kinda spur of the moment.” Mei hummed in acknowledgment, and they walked back in front of the noodle shop. 

Mei glanced over at the hesitant primate. “Ready?”

Macaque took a deep breath and nodded with newfound determination. “Ready.” 

They entered the noodle shop together. Mk immediately latched onto the macaque and hugged him. Everyone was standing by the bar watching them. Mk looked up at Macaque with big eyes. “Hey… it’s okay.” Macaque patted the boy on the head awkwardly.

“Alright bud, you’re gonna suffocate him.” Wukong chuckled, pulling Mk off of him with his tail. He looked at the shadow monkey with concern. “Are you okay?” 

“Yeah,” he smiled and glanced back at Mei. Wukong smiled softly and nodded. 

Sandy approached the group and put a hand on Mei’s back. “Thank you, Mei.” He spoke tenderly. Mei smiled up at him. 

Tang cleared his throat loudly. “Pigsy.” He ushered. 

The pig stood behind the bar with his arms crossed. With a sigh, he walked up to Macaque, the simian resisted the urge to step back. Pigsy put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry for gettin’ mad.”

Macaque gave him a small smile and nod. “I don’t blame you for being upset with me.” He glanced at Mk. “You don’t have to forgive me, but I really am sorry for what happened.” Pigsy only responded with a nod and a small smile. 

“Alright!” Mei clapped her hands. “Let’s get this party back in motion!! Sandy, take it away!” 

Sandy nodded. “Alright, let’s go to the old boat!” Everyone cheered in response. Macaque couldn’t help but beam at the excitement.

Maybe things truly weren’t so bad.

—

Macaque kicked open the door of the hut, with a drunken Wukong hanging on to him. The rest of the party was amazing. They played games, Macaque was introduced to this moving painting called a movie, and there were plenty of drinks to go around. Though Pigsy didn’t allow Mei or Mk to try it, despite being of age. 

Wukong sure had his fill, the cloud ride home was the most terrifying experience the poor water simian has ever had. 

“Y’knooow,” Wukong slurred as Macaque set him down on the couch. “Your hair is really pretty.” He hiccuped with a lopsided smile on his face. His cheeks were flushed and Macaque couldn’t but laugh at the moron. 

“Alright,” the macaque closed the door and pulled off his hoodie. “I’m going back into the tub.” 

“Waaaaaaaait!!” Wukong whined. 

“What?” Macaque leaned over the back of the couch, looking down at the drunken monkey. 

Wukong made a grabby gesture at the other. “I wanna blanket.” Macaque huffed a laugh and walked in front of the fireplace. He picked up the blanket on the floor and threw it to Wukong.

“Get some rest,” Macaque called out, entering the bathroom and filling the tub with water.

“Night.” Wukong hiccuped from the couch.

Macaque rolled his eyes endearingly and finished undressing. He stepped into the water and settled in comfortably. He was exhausted, emotionally and physically. He felt his eyes flutter shut.

“Night.” 

Chapter Text

The days after were calm, Macaque and Wukong just continued rooming together. Wukong seemed more than happy with him staying. They’d also been honing the macaques strength by doing private lessons. But still, Macaque was starting to feel… confined.

He was literally stuck in a bathtub for most of the day, and he missed the lake. Besides, he wanted to test that whole “shadow portal” thing. And with this new ability, he wonders what else he’s capable of.

So after another week of being in a tub, the snow finally melted. And Macaque was very eager to go back.

“You ready?” Wukong asked, tossing the fish simian a mango.

“Yes!” Macaque caught it with ease. “As thankful as I am for you doing all this, I hate that bathroom.”

Wukong scoffed. “I thought my bathroom was decent.” He mumbled. Wukong formed a cloud in front of them, and they both hopped on. “Let’s GOO!”

“Gods daAAAAAAAH—“ they shot into the sky at breakneck speed. “STOP DOING THAT!” Macaque yelled over the wind.

“What?! I can’t hear you!” Wukong shouted back, laughing uncontrollably. Macaque frowned, and his eye twitched in irritation. Wukong only laughed louder as they flew down to the rocky side of the mountain.

The cloud safely entered the tunnel and exited into the meadow. The grass was covered in autumn-colored leaves and most of the snow, excluding a few patches, was gone. Macaque happily stepped off of the cloud and walked to the edge of the water.

Wukong sat on his nimbus cloud, watching as the long-furred monkey tested the water's temperature. Macaque knelt down and hesitantly put a hand in. It was warm.

He smiled giddily and dove in. Wukong watched the scene with a smile as he freely swam around, enjoying the open space. Macaque touched the bottom of the lake, cupping the mounds of pearls in his hands and throwing them up in the water. They glowed under the water, shimmering in the filtered sunlight.

Wukong chuckled. “Alright. Mk’s coming by for training, so…”

Macaque peaked his face out from the water and frowned. “You’re leaving?"

Wukong nodded. “Come by later, they’re shooting off fireworks in the city for Lunar New Year.”

Macaque tilted his head in confusion. “Fire… works?”

Wukong rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s not like actual fire, you’re gonna love it, I promise.”

Macaque sighed and sunk his mouth back in the water. “Uh-huh.” The air bubbled at the surface.

“Hey! Don’t ‘uh-huh,’ just trust me.” Wukong huffed, crossing his arms with a pout.

The macaque giggled. “I’ll find you later then.” He smiled up at the ginger. Wukong winked back and zoomed out of the meadow. It was quiet, a subtle breeze made the brown leaves tumble over. Macaque lay back with his chest facing the sky, basking in the sun’s rays.

Gods, he missed this.

—

For the next few hours, he continued to attempt to make a shadow portal. He went to the deepest part of the lake, where there were many shadows, and tried conjuring one every way he could think.

He thought of a place he wanted to go; he waved his hands around, but nothing. He tried different spots under the water until eventually he sighed and sat down. Why was it so easy that one time? He didn’t even mean to portal either! And if he could make portals, what else can he do?

He pushed off the floor of the lake and swam to the edge, breaking through the surface of the water. He rested his chin on the yellow-brown grass and sighed. He’s always been able to sink in and out of shadows, sometimes he even made shapes out of them, but he never knew he could travel through them.

His ears flicked up; he heard his name. The sun was setting, and Wukong had told him to come over later. He focused his hearing on where Wukong was and realized he was on a cliff facing the city with Mk.

He pushed himself out of the water and made his way out of the meadow. But when he left the tunnel, he realized, how the fuck was he supposed to get up the cliff?! He stared up at the steep rocky terrain, trying to come up with some sort of plan. He was getting better at agility, but he wasn’t that good.

All of a sudden, the shadows opened under him, and he fell through the ground. Over the years of hiding within them, he’s used to being enveloped in the shadows. When he fell out the other side of wherever they were taking him and hit the ground with a thump.

He slowly sat up, rubbing his head, and took in his new surroundings. Mk and Wukong weren’t very far, and he could make out their conversation clearly.

“I don’t know… I was gonna watch the parade with my friends.” Mk spoke awkwardly.

“Oh… alright…” Wukong sounded… Disappointed? It was hard to place an exact emotion on it.

There was a brief moment of silence as Macaque made his way to the cliff they were standing on. Mk spoke up. “On second thought.” Mk sat down. “Yeah, I’ll stay.”

Macaque finally reached the two, they both sat on the edge, ready to enjoy the view of fireworks. They didn’t seem to notice the ebony simian behind them. As Macaque watched them, he wondered if he should leave them be and go back or not.

Until Wukong glanced back and locked eyes with him. His smile brightened. “Macaque, you made it!”

Mk looked behind them as well. “Mac!"

Macaque relaxed and smiled softly back. “Hey, guys.”

Wukong patted the spot on the other side of him, and Macaque happily took it. “Oh yeah. I brought these for you.” Wukong handed over a pair of clothes they had bought a few weeks ago, as well as the scarf. “I thought you’d want em."

Macaque took the hanfu robe and quickly slid it on. He then took the scarf and let it drape behind him, tucking his long hair into it. “Thanks, Wukong.”

Wukong only smiled and nodded. “Shh, it's starting!” Mk hushed with a finger to his lips. Wukong leaned over and applied a quick dampened spell over Macaque's ears. Then a loud pop went off, and colors exploded in the sky.

Macaque stared in awe at the colorful explosions, in all his years of hiding, he never would’ve thought humans would create something like this. Wukong and Mk jumped up and cheered, and Macaque just watched them with a smile.

“It’s been over a millennia, and fireworks are still the best things humans have invented.” Wukong hummed, plucking out hair and turning it into a box of treats.

Mk eyed the food with disgust as Wukong grabbed one and took a bite. “Are you eating hair right now?”

“It’s best not to think about it.” Wukong shrugged. Macaque broke out in laughter. “What? What’s so funny??”

“Nothing!” Macaque wheezed and wiped away a tear. “You’re disgusting.”

“I don’t find that very funny at all.” Wukong huffed, turning back to the show. The colors shimmered golds and reds, others popped with purples and blues.

Until they stopped. The explosions of light stopped. “What?” Macaque mumbled.

“What happened to the fireworks!?” Wukong yelped. His and Mk’s eyes lit up gold, and they stared at the city. Macaque honed his ears in on the festival that was supposed to be taking place. Instead, people screamed in terror, and something large was stomping around.

“The city!”

"The fireworks!” The other two gave a deadpan stare to the golden monkey in the middle. “Oh… and uh, people getting hurt..!” He shrugged.

“Come on, let’s go.” Mk transformed into an eagle and shot off into the sky.

Wukong glanced back at Macaque. “You comin?” Macaque nodded. “Alright,” he formed a cloud under them. “Let’s go!”

They flew off after Mk and landed on top of a building in the city. Mk’s face was pinched in disgust as he looked at the large spider mech destroying the block. “Ew, spiders… Why’d it have to be spiders…” The poor kid looked like he was gonna throw up.

“Bud,” Wukong put a hand on the boys shoulder. “I think you should leave this one to me.”

“What!? But I’m the monkie kid!”

“I know, but if you can’t handle a few spiders, how are you supposed to take on that?” They stared up at the giant spider mech. “Don’t worry, I’ve got this! You and Macaque should go make sure people are safe."

“Wait! Monkey king!” But he was already gone and flying after the mech.

Mk sighed, and Macaque walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “He’s right, we should go find your friends.” He offered, but the boys resolve only hardened.

“No, you go find them. I’ll go and help the Monkey King.”

"Wait, Mk!” But the boy had flown off as well. Macaque frowned and turned around with a sigh. “Sometimes those two are stupidly similar.” He tied his hair into a ponytail and ran to the edge of the roof.

He jumped from building to building, looking around for any sign of Mk’s group. Civilians were scattered on the street; he watched them, and he noticed their green glowing eyes and some spider thing on the back of their heads.

It must be something controlling them, he thought. He took a deep breath and focused on his hearing, his ears flicked about, listening to everything in the city. He finally heard Mk’s group down at the docks, but he heard something else.

Wukong was fighting someone larger than him, but even so, he seemed to be winning. Macaque continued to run across buildings to Sandy’s boat. He noticed how the controlled civilians and little spider robots on the street were heading in the same direction.

He quickened his pace (he’s gotten much better at running thanks to Wukong) and made it to the edge of the city, where the buildings stopped and the dock met the ocean.

He could see Sandy’s ship from his perch on the last building of the street. The mob of civilians and spiders wasn’t far behind. But he couldn’t just jump down from the building, it was too far, and he wasn’t ready for such a big jump. He took a deep breath and focused on the boat. He slowly felt the shadows open under him and fell in.

He stumbled forward from the change in gravity but quickly steadied himself. He turned around. Shit. He wasn’t on the boat, he was right in front of the mob. He yelped and began running away as the civilians saw and chased after him.

{Just to clarify, he got teleported further back, like right in front of them; he was already kinda tired.}

So he kinda has the hang of making those portals, just not where they end up. Good to know, he thought, still running away from the possessed mob. He finally saw the boat and tried to pick up the pace, but his body fought him as he ran out of energy. His breaths were shallow, and his lungs felt like they were burning. But he kept going.

By the time he reached the docks, he nearly collapsed. “Guys!” He yelled in the ship’s direction. He stopped and slouched over, trying to catch his breath, even though the mob was nearly caught up with him.

Tang peeked over the side rail. “Macaque!” He turned away and yelled something to someone, but the macaque was focused on trying to recover. Sandy jumped onto the dock, grabbed the simian, threw him over his shoulder, and ran back to the boat. He set Macaque down on the ship's deck.

“That’s it! We have to go!” Pigsy yelled.

“But what about Mk?!” Mei shouted back with distress.

Pigsy pulled up the anchor. “He’s with Monkey King, he’s safer than anyone."

Sandy stepped away from Macaque, who was sitting down trying to catch his breath. Mei rushed over. “Oh my gods! Are you okay?”

“Yeah…” he replied between breaths. “What’s… going on…?”

“We’re trying to get out of here.”

Two of the spider queen's lackeys came out of the shadows as the group huddled together. They surrounded the ship, laughing menacingly, while Sandy tried to start the engine to no avail.

Macaque's ear flicked up, and he turned his attention to the sky, where he saw a flash of light. “Mk?!” He shouted.

The others looked up in time to see the screaming boy plummeting from the sky with the staff in hand. Mk crash-landed on the dock in front of the boat and scrambled to stand up. The smaller of the two spider demons laughed to himself. “My queen, we found the monkey king’s successor.” Mk stepped back. “Right where you said he’d be.”

Mk’s heart dropped in realization. “Oh no.” He whipped around and ran to the boat. Mei kept her sword pointed at the demons as Pigsy, Tang, and Macaque pulled him onto the ship. Sandy finally ran out to the deck and pressed a button on a remote.

There was a loud rumble, an airship burst out of the ground and shot over to them. As the spiders pounced on the boat, Sandy threw everyone onto it, and they flew away from the robots and demons.

Macaque fell back and sprawled out on the deck of the new airship. He let out the breath he was holding with relief. But when he sat up, he noticed how Mk was still tense. And where was Wukong?

“Mk?” The boy looked back at the simian with wide eyes. Macaque's brow furrowed slightly. “Where’s Wukong?”

“Yeah, and what happened?” Mei asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Mk sighed. “Spider Queen captured him.”

“WHAT!?” They all shouted in unison. Excluding Macaque, who placed a hand over his ears.

Mk explained what happened when he left Macaque. How Wukong fought Spider Queen and how he lost to her and some skeleton thing. “How are we supposed to beat her if he couldn’t?” He finished, sitting down and staring down at his staff.

As they gave him words of encouragement and hope, the macaque sat there and thought. If Sun Wukong, who nearly took over heaven, lost to this demon, how were they supposed to beat her? His ears flicked up. He looked to the sky. “Again?”

An aircraft crashed onto the deck of their ship, and out of the wreckage fell Redson, apparently Mk’s previous enemy.

“Get him!” Mk shouted as him and Mei pounced on him, tackling the demon to the ground.

“Ugh! Get off of me!” The red-haired boy exploded, and the two flew off of him.

“What are you doing here?!” Mk shouted.

“Yeah!” Mei backed her friend up. “Are you some big spy for the spider queen?"

Macaque watched the three interact with impatience as Redson explained his predicament. His father, the venom, and needing certain items to help make a cure.

“Hold on.” Macaque stepped out from behind the group.

Redson eyed him up and down. “And who are you supposed to be? Knock off Monkey King? Rapunzel?”

Macaque's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, this kid was really loud and irritating. “Do you want to use this ship or not?” Macaque growled low.

Redson put a hand to his chin in thought. “I wasn’t going to ask, but yes. I will be using your ship.”

“Well then, tell us where to get these items.” Macaque crossed his arms. He was taught how to negotiate long ago, but he was a little rusty.

“Hmph.” Redson frowned. “Well, we can’t get them here; we have to go…” He looked up past the clouds.

Mk beamed. “Space?”

“No, you imbecile!” Redson's hair lit up from agitation. “The celestial realm.”

Macaque's heart dropped. “What…?” He muttered. The celestial… no. No. They can’t. They’ll…

The macaque’s tail whipped behind him, and he stepped away. They can’t go. They can’t. If they do… If he does, then…

He could feel his heart begin to pound in his chest. No, no. His breaths felt shallow, like his lungs weren’t allowing in any air. He thought he heard the other speaking around him, most likely about a plan. But it was muffled, meanwhile, one sound was becoming more and more clear, screams.

From the past. From thousands of years ago.

Macaque?

He clenched his trembling fists so tight they might bleed. His vision was blurred into muddled shapes of color. He squeezed his eyes shut in response.

Macaque?

His heart felt like it was going to break out of his chest, and his breaths felt like rasps. He could feel that burning sensation in his throat that he knew so well.

“Mr. Maquack!” He felt a strong hand on his shoulder. His eyes snapped open and he looked up to see the blue giant with a gentle look on his face. “Breathe.”

His warm voice calmed Macaques racing heart, and slowly his breathing evened out. The burning sensation in his throat subsided, and his body untensed.

Mk came out from behind Sandy with a concerned expression. “Is everything okay?”

“I’m not going to the celestial realm.” Macaque's voice was stern and cold. “Bring me back to the mountain.”

“What?” Mei stepped forward. “But we could use your cool shadow powers!"

“Yeah! And Wukong said you were getting better at fighting.” Mk added. “Besides, don’t you wanna save Wukong?"

Pigsy glanced at the two eager teens and sighed. “Will you two calm down?” He snapped. Mk and Mei immediately shut up. The pig turned his attention to the simian. “Look, you don’t have to come, but the kids do have a point.”

Macaque frowned and looked away. “I wouldn’t be of much use, trust me."

Sandy hummed. “You could stay on the ship with me. And you can stay in the living room while we wait for them to get the magic stuff.” He offered with a tender smile.

That’s not a bad idea, he won’t be seen by any celestials, and he’ll still be somewhat involved. He sighed and nodded. “Alright."

Mk cheered. “If you’re done with the sentimenta BS, can we go?” Redson interrupted coldly.

Mk nodded with newfound determination. “To the celestial realm!”

Chapter Text

Redson prepared the portal to the celestial realm on the deck. Macaque entered the living area on the ship and, after a while of searching, finally found the bathroom. He dropped the glamour he had put over his scales and untied the hanfu, letting both it and the red scarf drop to the floor with a muffled thud.

He turned to the small bath provided and turned on the faucet. When the water was warm enough, he stepped in and curled up under the water. There wasn’t much room, but he’s already been stuck in a tub for two weeks, it wouldn’t hurt to be here a few hours more.

He wasn’t going to leave the bath until they left the celestial realm. That was his plan. He didn’t want to risk being seen. He couldn’t risk it.

His ears flicked back, there was someone large coming towards the bathroom. He sat up and stared at the door, waiting for the visitor. The steps came closer until they stopped right in front of the closed door. After a brief moment, there was a knock. “Mr. Macquack?”

It was Sandy. The gentle giant that helped calm him down earlier. “Yeah?” He called back.

“We’re about to open the portal. Mk wanted me to check in on you.”

Macaque smiled softly to himself. “Alright, thank you for letting me know.”

“Is everything alright?” Macaque didn’t answer. “If you want to talk about it, I’ll be here.”

“Thanks.” Macaque replied quietly.

Sandy stood at the door for a second more before adding. “I’ll get some tea ready for you.” Before Macaque could reply, he left.

With a sigh, the simian sunk back into the water and curled in on himself.

After what felt like an eternity, the ship rumbled and pushed forward into what Macaque knew was the portal. When the rumbling stopped, he heard the others jump off of the ship and disperse in opposite directions. But he also heard something else. Was something following them?

But he paid no mind to it. He was sure, whoever it was, Mk and his friends could handle it.

As he lay curled up in the tub, ears pinned against his head, he couldn’t help but miss Wukong’s warmth. That strong heartbeat that always made him relaxed and feel safe. His tired, golden eyes and fluffy fur. He curled tighter, and his eyes squeezed shut, he missed him, Wukong. He missed the golden monkey's tender embrace that felt like the sun itself, wrapping him in its warm rays.

The knock at the door made him flinch. “Can I come in? I made tea.” Sandy asked softly.

Macaque was silent for a moment, then with a sigh, he sat up. “Yeah, you can come in.”

Sandy gently opened the door with a tray holding tea in a cute cat kettle and sat down on the floor in front of the bath. He poured the kettle's contents in a matching cat teacup and offered it to the simian. Macaque hesitantly accepted it and took a sip. His eyes lit up, and he gulped down the rest of it.

Sandy chuckled. “I thought you’d enjoy it.” Sandy took a small sip of his own cup. “It’s white tea, one of my favorites.” Macaque hummed as he swirled the small amount of liquid left in the cup. “You know,” Sandy picked up the kettle and poured more into Macaque's cup. “I’ve never seen your scales before, they’re quite pretty.”

Macaque smiled and sipped his tea. “Thank you.” They sat in a comfortable silence drinking tea until Macaque glanced up at the blue giant. “Who’s watching the ship?”

“Mo is!” Sandy replied cheerfully.

“The cat?” Macaque deadpanned.

“He’s more qualified than anyone I know.”

“Uh-huh.” Macaque took a sip, he really ought to make Wukong get some of this tea from the blue giant when this is all over. He frowned. Wukong…

"What’s troubling you?” Sandy asked gently.

Macaque winced, holding his cat teacup with both of his webbed hands. “Everything.” He stared into the white drink. “Wukong, ‘spider queen’… the celestial realm, our entire situation.”

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Sandy began. “Mk mentioned you were unsure of Wukong at first because he was a ‘celestial.’ Why is that?”

Macaque looked down at his tea with a frown. The last thing he wanted to do was get into his backstory. He leaned back until his head touched the wall, he stared at the ceiling. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt… to say something…

He took a deep breath and spoke calmly and clearly. “Long ago, before I was on Flower Fruit Mountain, celestials caused me nothing but pain.” He grimaced and shook his head, trying not to recount the memory. “Then when I did move to the mountain, Wukong’s reckless actions brought them back to my doorstep.” That was as much detail as he was willing to go into. But he found it surprisingly easy to talk to Sandy.

He was a sea demon like Macaque, and he was kind. “But you’re friends with him now, are you not?”

“Of course I am.” Macaque took a steady sip. “He saved my life and housed me for weeks…” he paused, looking back into his tea. “He’s come a long way since the war on heaven.” The corner of his mouth tugged into a small smile.

Sandy noticed the look in the simian eyes. With a soft smile, he nodded. “I see.”

Macaque ears twitched in different directions. “They’re on their way back.”

“I should prep the engine then.” Sandy stood up, leaving the kettle on the ground. “I leave the rest for you to enjoy.” Macaque nodded and gave the sea demon a small smile. Sandy closed the door behind him as he left.

The others came running back with the spider lackeys on their tails, as well as the ingredients. Pigsy and Tang with the pills in hand, Redson and Mei with the peach, and finally Mk with the furnace hauled by a dog mech thing. Sandy started the engines and began to back away out of reach from the spider demons. At the last second, Mk jumped onto the airship, and they shot back out of the portal they entered through.

Once Macaque realized they were out, he glamored up, put back on his hanfu, and left the bathroom. Out on the ship's deck were the three items and the rest of the crew. Mk’s demeanor was different than before.

“Done hiding away are we?” Redson smirked down at the macaque. Macaque glared back at him and turned to Mk. He was above petty insults.

He brought a hand to his chin and tried to think. They needed a plan, and if those spider demons were after them, they didn’t have a lot of time.

“So what now?” Tang asked, scanning each of the mystical items with enthusiasm.

Mk turned around and smacked his palm into his fist. “First, we need a place to lay low for a bit so Redson can conjure up this cure. Then we’ll go into the city and defeat the spider queen!” Determination practically poured out of Mk, and Macaque couldn’t help but smile.

“Ugh, you’re back to your disgustingly upbeat self. What happened?” Redson mumbled with agitation.

“I gained the power… of self-reflection.”

“So cool,” Mei muttered in awe.

“I know where we should go.” Macaque offered, trying to get back on topic. MK glanced over at him and nodded. Macaque smirked and glanced back at the cockpit. “Sandy, set a course for Flower Fruit Mountain.”

—

They landed on the beach, setting the furnace down on the sand. Redson poured in the venom. They brought the peach and pills out from the ship for Redson to take, only for Mk to cut him to the chase and throw them in.

The green liquid inside turned gold, and Redson shoved Mk out of the way to carefully stir the mixture. “Is the cure ready yet?” Mei asked impatiently.

"Yes, but I don’t know how we’re going to administer this in the entire city.” Redson huffed.

“Leave that to me.” Sandy said, pointing to himself with pride.

“Alright!” Mk put a hand on the furnace. “Let’s take the fight to Spider Queen and end this once and for all.”

“Are we forgetting that she beat the monkey king?” Tang said. “How are we—?"

“We’ll find a way.” Mk cut in. “We always do.”

Though Macaque was skeptical they truly had a chance, he wasn’t going to run away any more. Sandy called the ship over, and they shot off towards the city. They loaded the cure into water cannons built into the airship. Macaque could hear the groans of the controlled citizens clearer the closer they got.

They crashed Spider Queen's parade, she jumped up from her throne in shock. “Your reign of terror is over, spider queen!” Mk shouted from above, wielding his staff.

Below, the spider queen cackled, “You’re truly nothing without your master.”

“Oh yeah?” Mk pointed his finger in the air. “Sandy! Release the cure!”

“What!?” The spider queen shrieked. The cannon shot out, and golden liquid sprayed over the controlled civilians below. The spider robot malfunctioned and fell off their heads. Their green, soulless eyes turned back to their usual hue as they broke free from her control and ran away screaming. The queen continued to laugh menacingly. “You still can’t beat me, Monkie Kid.”

Mk huffed and jumped off the ship, but the Spider Queen’s body surged with power from her mech. He also noticed the little girl at her side disappear. “Mk wait!” Macaque shouted. But it was too late.

Mk pointed the staff and swung only for her to catch it. “As I’ve told you before.” She threw Mk down the street, and he slammed into a building with his staff above him. “I am the Queen!”

“Mk!” They all shouted from the ship. Spider Queen continued to laugh as her minions slammed into the aircraft and sent everyone flying into the air. Spider webs shot out towards Macaque. He squeaked as the webs wrapped around him and flung him into the ground headfirst. There was a crack as his head hit the concrete, a sharp pain split through his head. His vision was warped, and his ears were ringing loudly.

His vision slowly focused, and the ringing died down. The others were wrapped in her webs and stuck to the street. Something warm and red dripped down the side of his face and pooled onto the ground. Macaque's head felt fuzzy, but he could still make out a voice from inside the mech. “Wukong?” he muttered.

The queen glanced at the monkey and pulled him to the street, bringing him right in front of her. She hummed as she scanned him up and down. “You look familiar.” She muttered.

“I guess I got one of those faces.” Macaque smirked, struggling against his restraints. He winced at the pounding headache growing more intense by the second.

She frowned and scoffed. “Whatever.” She stuck him back to the ground and strutted over to Mk. “Now I’ll be taking that staff, boy.” Macaque's ears flicked up, something large was coming for them. DBK slammed into the street, cracking the concrete and ripping their restraints.

Macaque slowly stood up, holding his head. They all stood before the spider queen, whose crown fell. “All of you together stop me, I am the queen!”

“Oh yeah?” Macaque turned around and looked up at the shadow above. Wukong pulled the staff out of the building and jumped down onto the street. “Well, I’m the king.” With one hit the building behind him crumbled, and Mk broke free.

Spider queen grunted and jumped back onto her mech. “If I can’t rule this world, no one can!”

With a shared look of determination, Mk and Wukong flew towards the mech. “HERE COMES MONKIE…!!” They shouted in unison. Wukong threw the staff with Mk hanging on, aiming for the mech.

“Kid.” Mk hit the mech with his staff, and it split down the middle. It exploded, and Mk began to plummet from the sky. Wukong quickly transformed into an eagle and caught him, DBK noticed and ran to catch Wukong.

The rest of the mech crashed and exploded in the street, the force of the fiery explosion pushed the group back with immense heat. Redson stepped out, taking most of the force head-on. Macaque stayed behind Sandy, his head reeling in pain and the heat making it much worse.

The wave of heat stopped, and Redson stumbled back, Mei quickly caught him, putting an arm around him as he steadied himself. Sandy noticed the injured simian leaning on him. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” Macaque responded quietly. “Let’s find Mk and Wukong.” Sandy nodded and scooped up the bleeding monkey.

“And my father.” Redson cut in coldly. They made their way to the dock, the sky was filled with dust that twinkled from the evening sunlight. Macaque looked up at the glimmering specks in awe.

Wukong and Mk were sitting at the edge of the rubble, enjoying the view. They glanced behind them and saw the others. Wukong turned to see the macaque; his face flashed a concerned look. “Hey guys!” Mk spoke up happily. “Me and Monkey King were just—“ but when he looked back at his mentor, he was gone, and so was Macaque. “Huh…”

—

Wukong kept his hold on Macaque strong as he soared through the air. Macaque frowned and looked up at the vibrant bird. “I think I prefer the cloud.” Macaque shouted against the wind. The bird squawked what seemed like a laugh and flapped its wings.

They landed on the flower fruit mountain, Wukong let go of Macaque and flew up. Macaque stumbled, the world spun for a moment, and he held his bleeding head. Wukong turned back into his regular form and landed. “What’s up with you and getting hurt?” Wukong sighed, placing his hands on Macaque’s waist to steady him.

“Ask that damn spider why she slammed me headfirst into the hard ground.” Macaque huffed, pointing to his head.

Wukong rolled his eyes and picked him up, carrying him bridal style. “Looks like you’re spending the night with me—“ he flinched as Macaque wrapped his arms around him and nuzzled his nose into the golden monkey's chest. Wukong looked away and tried to hide his blush. “W-what’s wrong?”

“I missed you,” he muttered into Wukong’s chest. His glamours fell away, revealing his scales that glimmered in the slow-setting sun. Wukong watched the tired monkey in his arms, his long, messy black hair dragging on the ground.

"Come on, let’s get your head fixed up.” Wukong said softly, the macaque hummed in response. He tightened his grip and carried the fish simian through the waterfall and into his hut. He laid him down on the couch and pulled out some hair, turning it into bandages.

Macaque sat up and undressed, these clothes are annoying to wear after a while, and he didn’t want to stain them with blood. Wukong sat down next to him and wrapped his head, Macaque winced at the pain of added pressure, but he enjoyed the warmth of Wukong’s hands against his head. He enjoyed it so much his eyes closed, and he felt something rumbling in the back of his throat. The sensation crawled up from his chest and escaped him.

He let out a low purr.

Wukong froze. His hands remained on his head, his fingers tangled in black strands of macaque's hair, he shook away the blush and finished securing the bandage. As he did Macaque leaned into the touch almost on instinct. Wukong felt his face heat up as he watched the other in silence; the sound of the others low purr filled the void.

Wukong let out a choked laugh, the purring stopped. Macaque opened his eyes and frowned. “What?”

“Nothing, nothing.” Wukong brushed it off. “It’s just… I didn’t know you could purr.”

"I was what?” Macaque put a hand to his cheek. “I’ve never done that before."

Wukong chuckled softly. “It’s a thing we do if we’re comfortable or happy, especially in front of our…” He trailed off, and Macaque noticed red dust on his cheeks.

"Our what?” Macaque asked with piqued curiosity.

Wukong glanced away as Macaque stared him down. “Nothing, forget I said anything.” Wukong smirked. “It’s adorable.”

Macaque’s face broke out in a deep red flush. “Shut up.” Macaques huffed, slapping Wukong’s hands away.

"I’m just saying—“

"Shut up.” Macaque frowned. He sighed and flopped back on the couch. His eyes felt heavy, and his headache felt worse than before. He lifted up his hand and flexed the webbed claws. Wukong noticed the solemn expression on his face. “I think I’ve found out more about myself in the past months than I have in my entire life.” He spoke, his voice barely above a whisper.

Wukong hummed. “That’s good though. To know more about yourself.”

Macaque sat up and hunched over. “I guess…” his ears drooped, and he felt his face relax. “…but I still don’t know where I came from…” He yawned. His eyes fluttered shut, and his body leaned against Wukong’s.

Wukong stared down at him, watching his chest rise and fall in a steady rhythm. He was asleep.

Wukong smiled softly and plucked out a hair, turning it into a blanket. Slowly he lay down; Macaque moved down to his chest, shifting slightly to get comfortable. Wukong pulled the blanket onto them and carded his hand through Macaque's fur.

If only this could last, Wukong thought. He frowned thinking back to the fight with the spider queen. She was back. And he had to take care of that wraith once and for all.

—

The streets are empty. The dust had settled, and the block had been all but destroyed. The young girl walked on the broken pavement, inspecting the damage with a deep frown, though her demeanor was serene.

“My lady!” The not-mayor greeted enthusiastically.

The Lady Bone Demon turned back to glance at him. “What news have you brought me?” She spoke without a sense of emotion, turning away. There stood in what was left of the city block. The street was desiccated, and the buildings were demolished.

"There appears to be a new pawn in the game.” The not-mayor cackled maniacally.

The lady hummed, turning her gaze up to the darkened sky. “Is that so?” The wraith smirked.

"It’s Mazu’s toy.”

The Lady Bone Demon's smirk widened, and she broke out in laughter. Her laughter died down as the whispers around her grew louder, and a blue haze rose from her feet. “It seems that destiny truly is on my side.”

Chapter Text

“YOU’RE WHAT??” Mk and Macaque shouted in unison.

“I know, I know.” Wukong sighed. He had called both of them to his hut to “talk.”.

“You can’t just leave.” Macaque huffed.

“Yeah, and what about my training?” Mk added.

“I’m sorry, bud, you and Macaque can work together!” Wukong offered with a smile. Macaque frowned, he could barely control his powers, much less teach the kid.

“Why are you leaving anyway?” Macaque asked, walking up to him. “And why now?”

“Yeah!” Mk joined in. “We defeated spider queen a few days ago.”

Wukong sighed. “Look, Mk’s proven himself to be strong enough to defend the city in my absence. And some old buddies of mine asked to hang out. So I’m taking a vacation!” His smile was as bright as the sun.

Macaque's eyes locked with Wukong’s. “To where?”

Wukong froze and rubbed his neck awkwardly. “To, um… Y’know… the celestial realm—

“WHAT!?” Macaque shrieked, his tail bristled and whipped behind him. “You’re… you—“

Wukong placed a hand on the ebony monkey's shoulder. “Don’t worry, nothing bad'll happen, I promise. Just a little get-together.” That still didn’t reassure the macaque.

“When will you be back?” Mk asked.

Wukong hummed. “Uh… couple weeks? A month? I don’t know for sure, but not that long.”

“And what if something attacks the city!” Mk shouted.

“You got this!” Wukong pulled down his sunglasses that seemingly appeared from nowhere. A cloud began to form under him as he stepped away. “Just believe in yourself, and you can do anything… okay byeee!”

Macaque ran, reaching toward him. “Wait—!” But he had already flown away. Macaque sighed and slumped down to the floor. Wukong was gone.

Mk sat down next to him. “I know, it sucks that he sprung this on us.” Mk sighed, picking at the grass.

“I don’t get it.” Macaque huffed. “He knows how I feel about…” he gestured toward the sky. “That.”

Mk twiddled his thumbs. “I get it…” They sat in silence for a moment. “But… he has been alone on this mountain for like… 1000 years.” Mk lay back, sprawled out on the ground, staring up at the sky light in the cave. “Maybe he deserves a vacation.”

Macaque stared down at his webbed talons, it wasn’t just the fact he left for the celestial realm. But for the thousands of years Macaque has lived here, heard everything that has happened here. Wukong has never once left the island to “see some friends.” Not after the journey.

“I guess…” macaque muttered. But his suspicions still ate away at him.

Mk left the mountain soon after (he stressed something about being late for his shift), and Macaque was left alone to work on his shadow powers. He had gained a bit more control over them and, at some point, came to the realization that being water limits his abilities. He stayed behind the waterfall for a while as he meditated on his thoughts. And when he got tired of that, he dropped into the shadows.

He moved through the shadow realm with ease and appeared right outside of the waterfall, beside the small river the monkeys liked to play in. He walked over to the stones surrounding the small body of running water and stared at his muddled reflection. His hair fell over his shoulder and into the crystal-clear water. The strands danced and fanned out like veins.

He stared at it for a long moment in thought. Why did Wukong really leave? And why wouldn’t he be honest with Macaque?

A force was slammed into his back, breaking him out of his trance. With a yelp, he fell in face-first and splashed into the water. He sat up in the shallow river, his long wet hair veiled his face; he grumbled quietly and brushed it behind his ears. With a frown, he glanced around to find the culprit. His ears flicked, and his head snapped back to see a group of cubs snickering at him. “Hey!” Macaque huffed. “Not funny.”

The cub turned to look at him with mischievous smirks. “Wait, no. No, do not—“ they pounced, knocking him back into the stream. They chittered triumphantly as they jumped on his chest. Macaque watched the monkeys endearingly before sitting up, they tumbled into the water with surprised chirps. “Alright,” he chuckled, “that’s enough.”

The cubs chirped angrily at him, jumping up and down. He chuckled softly at their faces scrunched in fury. He stood up and was about to walk away when something grabbed his hair. He looked back and saw one of the older monkeys sitting on a rock. She was an elder, one that had her name erased from the book of the dead, and drank the immortal wine. Scars marked her face from past wars, patches of fur singed from…

She gave a low chirp, demanding him to come over and sit down, he immediately did so. She sat on her rock and weaved her small fingers through his long hair. The cubs came over and picked flowers out of the brush as she groomed him. Macaque closed his eyes and felt the suspicion and anger from before melt away.

He leaned into the elder's touch, to which she straightened his head. The cubs jumped into the grooming session and added the flowers they picked into different strands. The elder chittered proudly and stepped back to admire her work.

Macaque ran a hand through his hair. It felt much softer than it had before. He loved it. He turned back to the elder, watching him intently on the rock. “Thank you! This is amazing!” Macaque smiled and bowed his head. The little cubs chittered happily and hopped up and down.

The elder nodded in response with a small smile on her lips. She slowly crawled over, grabbed onto Macaque, climbed up his back, and perched on his head. Macaque glanced up at her. The cubs guided him away from the river and into the forest. Macaque rolled his eyes and pulled back a little against their tiny hands. “Hold on, where are you taking me?” The cubs chirped a “you’ll see” and continued to pull him along.

They entered a small clearing covered by tree branches. Light filtered through the leaves and illuminated the grass. The cubs pushed him to sit down in front of a tree. He sat down and leaned back onto the thick trunk, and the cubs piled onto his lap, making themselves comfortable.

The macaque chuckled and reached over to pet one. “You guys like me too much.” He chuckled to himself, the only response was tied chirps. He rested his head back on the bark and felt his consciousness slipping away. The filtered light warmed his face and shimmered off his scales, the other monkeys were already snoozing away.

He closed his eyes and let sleep embrace him.

—

“I don’t get it.” Macaque flopped back on the dock. The old woman hummed as she moved the brush gracefully on a paper. “I’ve tried everything, and they still don’t want to talk to me.” He huffed.

The moon reflected off the surface of the water. A gray haze settled around the dock, obscuring the view around them. It was a calm night, as many were.

“Why are you giving them the time of day?” The lady chuckled.

Macaque thought for a moment and sat up. “I… I mean… they’re all I’ve got here.” Macaque gestured to the lake in front of them. He turned to the woman painting. “No offense, but you’re…”

“Old?” The lady laughed. “I take that as a compliment these days.”

“O…kay?” Macaque sighed and frowned, watching the undisturbed water. “Point is, you’re not gonna be around much longer. Then who am I supposed to talk to?”

“I’m sure you’ll find some other pretty fish.” She glanced at him and smirked knowingly.

Macaque frowned and rolled his eyes. “I’m gonna be alone for eternityyyy!” He whined, flopping back on the dock.

“Really?" the old woman scoffed and put the brush down. “Eternity is a long time.” Macaque sunk back into the water with a long, drawn-out sigh. The woman only smirked at him and stood up, leaving the paper behind. “That reminds me, I have some songs to teach you later.”

Macaque rested his chin on the dock with the bottom half of his body still in the water. “You’re leaving?” The woman glanced back and nodded before turning around and walking away.

Macaque huffed and glanced at the paper with black ink on it. He hesitantly grabbed it and held it up. It was a portrait of him. The lines were thick and a little blotchy, but it was still recognizable. He smiled at the painting.

—

Mk crash-landed on Flower Fruit Mountain. He hurriedly ran to the rock cliffs that concealed the meadow. “Please, please, please.” He whispered to himself.

He made his way down to the tunnel and into the hidden lake. “Macaque!?” The boy shouted. No answer. Mk ran to the edge of the water and shouted again.

Still no answer.

“No, no.” Mk turned away. “I’m not crazy. There’s no way everyone is asleep.” He ran out of the tunnel and climbed up the rocky cliff. He ran towards Water Curtain Cave; if Macaques not in the meadow, he has to be there.

He stumbled through the trees and finally heard the crashing waterfall only a few yards away. He hopped across the stones and separated the waterfall, running towards Wukong’s hut.

When he entered, he cupped his hands around his mouth. “Macaque!?” He shouted. “Macaque!?” Still no answer. “Ugh!” He kicked a rock. “Where is he?!”

He left the cave and walked along the river. Wukong left, and now Macaque was gone. Along with EVERYONE ELSE who’s asleep. Mk sighed. What was causing all of this?

He stopped at the chirps that came from the trees. They were happy chirps, which was a good sign. He hesitantly walked towards the sound through the trees, soon he made it into a small clearing covered by trees.

And there was Macaque, sitting under a tree, covered by monkeys, hair woven with flowers. The siren simian was sleeping peacefully under the many cubs. There was a small smile on his lips, and his tail swayed happily in his slumber.

Mk almost didn’t want to try and wake him.

Almost.

“Macaque!” Mk shouted with relief. He ran over to the sleeping monkey and grabbed his shoulders violently, shaking him. “Wake up!”

Macaque stirred, his eyes fluttered open and were met with Mk staring at him worriedly. “Ugh, get off.” He huffed, pushing the boy off of him.

“You’re awake!” Mk sighed in relief.

“Yeah…” Macaque rubbed his eyes and realized the elder was still on his head. “Why? What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know what’s going on, but everyone in town is asleep, and they won’t wake up.” Mk slouched over. “What am I supposed to do?”

Macaque looked down at the boy and sighed. “I can’t tell you for sure… I’m not all that wise.” He put a hand on the boy's shoulder and smiled. “But I’m sure… whatever it is, you’ll figure it out.”

Mk looked up and nodded. “Thanks, Macaque.”

“Yeah, it’s no—“ Mk’s phone pinged.

He quickly pulled it out and scanned the screen. “Ugh, not now.” He huffed and threw his phone.

Macaque watched the scene with curiosity. “What’s that about?”

“My phone's trying to get me to download a dumb game called…” He paused and straightened up. “Oh my gods.” He jumped up. “I’ve got to go!” Mk ran out of the clearing.

“Glad I could help.” Macaque chuckled. He glanced at the discarded phone. Mk had left the grass, the cubs were already settling back into their spots on his lap. He shrugged, grabbing the phone with his tail, and turned it on. “Sleep bug…?”

…

A week went by, and nothing. Macaque hadn’t heard a single thing from Wukong.

Mk came by sometimes to work with him on fighting and magic, but Mk’s abilities are different than his. Nonetheless, it was still nice to learn how to fight.

And through all of this, he’s had to get his own fruit from the trees! By himself! It’s so much harder than Wukong made it seem.

Not to mention, before he truly met Wukong, he never realized how physically affectionate monkeys actually were. So with Wukong gone, he found himself missing the other's touch.

And it was so… quiet…

But not today.

There was this odd ringing in his ears as he lay on the grassy plain of the meadow. And as time went by, it got louder and more annoying.

He sprawled out on the grass with a sigh. This damn ringing was giving him a massive headache. “Gods, what is that?” He sat up and rubbed his temples. He sunk into the shadows and exited outside of the tunnel.

He made his way to the waterfall and portaled behind it (he’d gotten better at traveling short distances), his head felt like it was splitting open. He sat down in Water Curtain Cave and focused his hearing on the rushing water. His headache slowly cleared as he sat there for who knows how long.

Until the water parted, Mk and Tang stepped through. Tang seemed excited, nearly bouncing up and down, but Mk seemed nervous.

“Hiya, kid.” Macaque greeted. “Why’s he here?” He asked, pointing at the scholar. Mk and Tang jumped, not having noticed the macaque before.

“Macaque!” Mk smiled. “What are you doing in here?”

“My ears were ringing,” he pointed to one set of ears. “And you?”

“There’s a giant dumpling that’s gonna destroy the earth!!” Tang shouted.

Macaque blinked. Mk sighed and rubbed his neck. “Basically, Monkey King projected himself in my mind and told me he and his friends got into a food fight.”

Macaque frowned. “Of course.” He huffed. “That’s probably why my ears are ringing.”

“We’re here for Guanyin’s vase.” Tang adjusted his glasses. “In the legends, the Monkey King used it to suck up water while fighting a demon.”

“Huh…” Macaque stood up. “I think I can help.”

“Really?” The others asked in unison.

“Yeah, I’m extremely bored.” Macaque smiled.

“Alright, LET'S GO!” Mk shouted. They walked around the cavern and eventually found a door that led to Wukong’s treasure hoard.

“Jeez,” Macaque breathed out as Tang practically drooled over the ancient artifacts. There were mounds of junk mixed in with items of some value. Even Macaque's own treasure cave was more organized, although he was more selective with his stuff.

As they dug through Wukong's belongings, Macaque heard something approaching, something with multiple legs. He straightened up and glanced at the door. There was a spider demon standing in the doorway. “Uh… Mk?” Macaque kept his eyes on the spider.

The demon smirked and eyed something on the ground between him and the kid. He locked eyes with Mk and pounced on the item. MK shrieked and went after it. “What do we do?” Tang glanced at Macaque.

Macaque's gaze turned to Mk and back to Tang. “Keep searching.” Macaques turned back to the boxes.

Mk and the huntsman tussled over the item, knocking over the piles of mystic objects. “I can’t find it anywhere!” Tang shouted.

“Kid!” Macaque turned toward Mk. The kid got knocked into a particularly large pile, and the spider made a move for the object. Macaque raised his hand. He hasn’t tried this before, but it can’t be that hard… right?

Purple-hued shadows pulsed from his hands. Just as the spider was about to reach it, a portal opened under it and enveloped the item. The spider slammed into the ground as the object fell from the ceiling. Macaque held out his hands and caught it with ease.

Mk used his gold vision and directed Tang towards the correct vase. Macaque held up the item, it was a mirror. But when he looked at himself, he noticed an odd blue haze around him as well as… a red light? But before he could get a good look, a web swiped it out of his hands, and the spider jabbed him in the stomach.

“HEY!” Mk shouted, throwing his staff at the spider. The huntsman jumped, dropping the mirror. Macaque fell to his knees, trying to catch the breath that was ruthlessly punched from his lungs.

Mk continued to tussle with the spider demon as Macaque pushed himself to his feet and helped Tang find the vase in the pile. Tang picked up a sword to counter the demon, Macaque only watched with confusion. The fight was interrupted by the sword turning into a gun and firing at them.

The spider demon stood up in front of them with a smirk. “Let’s call a truce on this one, yeah?”

Macaque raised an eyebrow, this was… odd. “Wait, really?” Mk asked in disbelief.

“I don’t feel like dying from a giant dumpling, sooo…” The spider raised his hand and shot a web into the air. “Cya, Monkie kid.” He laughed menacingly as he swung away. Macaque also noticed the missing mirror but decided to ignore it.

Tang and Mk quickly found the correct vase. “Are you coming with us?” Mk asked as they began to leave.

“I think if I go near that thing, my head's gonna split open.” Macaque chuckled. “Good luck.” Mk smiled and nodded before leaving with Tang.

He went back to his spot behind the waterfall, and as he sat there, he remembered the mirror. That blue haze… what was that?

And when he thought about it, he remembered that there was also a red ribbon wrapped around him.

Chapter Text

For the next few weeks, Macaque was left alone. Mk didn’t come to the mountain as often anymore, no news from Wukong, and his head hurt. His ears pinned back, and his head always felt like it was splitting open. The migraines came in waves, varying in amounts of pain. So he spent most of the day lying on the grass in his meadow and eating cattails wrapped in his scarf.

He closed his eyes and massaged his temples, his head throbbed and ached worse than the previous times. He slowly let his ears relax but kept his eyes shut. They flicked around wildly, trying to pick up a certain noise…

Whispers.

His ears froze. The voice was quiet and airy. It whispered in a sickly sweet tone, but Macaque couldn’t understand what it was saying. The voice grew louder, and with it more voices joined chanting something that didn’t make sense.

The whispers overwhelmed his three sets of ears, he let out a cry of pain and covered them with his hands. The airy voices didn’t even make sense, they overlapped each other, forcing their way into his senses. It felt like ice penetrating his ears and head.

Macaque?

He clamped his hands tighter over his ears, clenching his teeth and curling in on himself. But the whispers still tormented him, chanting their distorted words. He writhed in the cold pain spreading from his head.

He squinted his eyes open, but his vision was muddled blobs of color with odd spots. He let out another cry of pain and shut his eyes.

“Macaque!”

It stopped. Macaque stilled. The cold was gone, the whispers had ceased, his head still throbbed, but it was better than before. He groaned and rubbed his ears, slowly opening his eyes. There was a muddled golden light above him, it was in the shape of a person. After a moment his vision cleared, and he realized what it was. Or who…

“Wukong…?” Macaque asked quietly, his throat felt raw and fragile. The golden figure above him looked down in worry. “Is it really you?”

Wukong smiled softly and nodded. “Yeah.” Macaque stared at the golden figure, it was quiet. The two stayed like this, watching each other for a moment in comfortable silence.

“How are you doing this?” Macaque asked eventually. He could see Wukong, but he was slightly transparent… and gold.

“It’s astral projection.” Wukong answered. “I did it to Mk a couple times.”

Macaque hummed and slowly sat up. His head spun for a second, but he held himself together. “How’s your ‘vacation’?”

Wukong paused for a moment before sighing. “Macaque… what was that just now?”

The siren simian brought his knees to his chest and hugged them. “I don’t know.”

“Mac, you were rolling around in pain.” Wukong deadpanned. “And your ears…”

Macaque brought a hand and covered the self-inflicted scratches on them. “I told you, I don’t know. There were whispers, and it was cold…” He trailed off, laying his chin on his knees.

Wukong’s breath hitched, but he didn’t say a word, only moved to sit down next to the other. They sat in silence, Macaque was hesitant to say anything more, and Wukong wasn’t sure what to say.

“I miss you.” Macaque muttered between his knees.

“Miss you too.” Wukong hummed.

“Can you stay like this for a bit?” Macaque glanced at the golden Wukong. “I think you’re the reason whatever happened stopped.”

“Yeah,” Wukong smiled. “Sure thing, bud.”

—

Macaque had fallen asleep at some point that day. He didn’t know how long he was out, but when he woke up, Wukong was gone. He sat up massaging his temples, the headache had mostly subsided, but traces of it still remained.

He sighed, bringing his knees back to his chest. What was happening? Everything felt so alien. And it all started back when the spider queen was defeated.

His ears flicked up. “Mk?” He muttered to himself. He could hear footsteps and talking, there were three sources. Was it more of those spider demons? He stood up and portaled outside of the tunnel, fanning out his ears to pinpoint the location.

‘M̵̡̯̐a̷̢̠̓͠c̴̭̈ã̴̪̐q̶̰͒̐͜u̷̞͙̇e̶͇̝͛’

The whispers called, he flinched, and his ears pinned back against his head. He can worry about that later. Right now he needs to figure out who’s here. He portaled up the cliff, and next to a tree, he crouched low to the ground and listened (praying to the gods those whispers wouldn’t start).

“Why are we here again?” A girl asked, Mei. Macaque breathed a quiet sigh of relief. It was just Mk and his friends.

“Monkey King has to have something that’ll level me up.” Mk replied with determination.

“You don’t need to level up,” Sandy began. “You just need to train.”

“I’ve been training! But Monkey King's gone, and he said not to astral project to him anymore and…” Mk paused and sighed. “This is the only option.”

“But you’ve improved a lot without him!” Mei stated. “Why are you trying to get stronger anyway?”

“Because…” The boy paused again. “I just need to.”

Macaque realized they were headed for Wukong’s hut, so he portaled near the waterfall and hesitantly held out his webbed hand. He’d seen Mk and Wukong do it a number of times but wasn’t sure it would work. To his surprise, the waterfall split open, letting the siren primate inside.

When he made it into the cavern containing Wukong’s hut, he heard the waterfall open again. Sandy, Mei, and Mk walked a short while later, the boy was surprised to see Macaque already there.

“Macaque?” Mk muttered.

“Hey, kiddo.” Macaque greeted with a smile. “What are you guys doing?”

“Mk wants to find something Monkey King has that’ll make him stronger.” Mei responded. “Why are you here?”

“Oh, y’know, hanging with the cubs.” And, as if on command, one of the baby monkeys jumped on his back and crawled up onto his head.

Mei immediately awed and cooed at the adorable creature. They went inside Wukong’shut;, the others dug through Wukong’s things as Macaque took a seat on the couch.

Mk seemed… anxious. There was a feel about him like he was anticipating something no one else was. Macaque could hear it in his heartbeat and in the way his actions felt urgent, even though there was no urgency. His whole demeanor was off, and Macaque was the only one who noticed.

“Kid,” Macaque interrupted Mk’s searching. “Why are you keen on getting stronger?”

“Because.. I need to be able to take on the next big bad, y’know?” The kid deflected.

“Didn’t Monkey King leave you any lessons?” Sandy asked softly.

“Yeah, but I already finished them!” Mk exclaimed, throwing a bunch of scrolls at them. Macaque opened one and read the pictures demonstrating movements for an attack. “I need something else!”

“I think you need a break.” Macaque stated flatly.

“Mr. Macquack’s right, you should kick back and relax a little.” Sandy added.

“What?” Mk stared at them. “Did Monkey King ever ‘relax’?”

“He’s literally on vacation.” Mei joined in plopping down next to Macaque. “Besides, he’s got some serious hours on this thing.” She exclaimed with some device over her eyes.

“What?” All eyes glanced at the TV with some game loaded. “Why would he waste his time on something like this unless…” Mk glanced back to Mei and gasped. “This must be it!”

He snatched the device off Mei’s head and put it on. “Hey!”

“What is that thing?” Macaque asked Mei.

“It’s a VR headset,” Mei chirped. “Basically when you put it on, you’re in a virtual world!”

“And he must’ve left this for me to unlock some crazy new power!” Mk yelled with excitement.

“Or it’s some crappy game he likes cause he’s in it.” Mei sighed. Macaque took the box from Mei and scanned the art on it. Wukong was standing next to a bunch of other demons and a human. They must be the ones he went on that journey with or something.

Mk played through the game, using some kind of one-shot ability on all of the bosses. Macaque can’t say he cared much about it, but he still sensed something about the way Mk acted. He couldn’t place his finger on it.

The boy got stuck on a boss and wouldn’t listen to Mei or Sandy’s advice. Macaque couldn’t offer much because he had no idea what was going on, so he stayed silent and watched.

Eventually he began to nod off and fell asleep leaning on Mei.

—

He was cold, an uncomfortable, biting type of cold. He looked around, shivering slightly, but it was all dark. His tail bristled and his tail twitched, wrapping around his ankle.

Where was he?

His ears flicked as a blue haze filled the void of dark. He tried to call out, but no noise left his mouth. It grew colder and colder by the minute, maybe minutes… He didn’t have any perception of time in this place.

He held himself as he shivered, his ear flicked and jerked wildly.

M̴̹͇̜͇̞͖̘̥̝̘̯̚ͅä̴̧͔͓̗̼͙̺̺̟̘͖̹̫̅̇͑̏͆̾̎̽̀̈̓́͑̄̔̚ͅͅc̴̹̺͔̫̖͈̞̥̦̼͙̼̩̩͓͖̦͇̈́̅͐̽̈́̄̎͘̚̚͜͠ã̶̼̞̰̅͂̐̋̉̓̑͒̔̑̒̾́͑͆͘q̵͈͙͖̳̬͕̼̟̹̭̰̬̗̈́́̈́̒͒̌̌͐͂̉̊̉̏͊͛̋͘͘͝u̵̐͛̎̋̊̈̄̿͒̽͛̈́͒̄̚͜͠ẹ̷̜̪̤͉͖̹̹̹͔̩͊̎͆̒̉̏͗̏̾͘̕

No. No, no, no, not again. He felt his heart pound in his chest and his breath become heavier.

M̴̛̺̈́͐̈́̄̕ą̶̪̣͇͎̥͕̩̙̮̜̼͖͕̫̽̄̉̈́̑͆͜͝c̵̪̪̻͖͙̞͕͈̃̄̑̋͋̓͛̚͝͠͝ͅa̵̳̻͍̫̥͔͖̓̂͐̀͗̏͛̅̆̌͊͂̚̚q̷̖͍̊̊̌͋̐̈́̂͌̄̐̕͝ū̶̡̘͓̲̳̥̲̜͖͍̻̫̒̎̑́̓́͐e̸̥͖̻͊̈͌͑̀͐̍͛͝

Whispers chanted his name. The voices overlapped, distorting the name into something he couldn’t understand. The cold grew unbearable as the whispers caused his ears to start ringing. His heart continued to pound, he could see his breath fog from the cold.

M̸͉͐͜a̸̦̖͋c̷͙̥̒a̷͓̕q̷͕̇ͅụ̷́̋e̸̥̩͂̉

He squeezed his eyes shut and held his ears, but the whispers slipped through his hands.

Then…

The whispers stopped.

It was still freezing, but the noise was gone. He lifted his hands and slowly opened his eyes and looked up.

A figure stood a few feet in front of him. A young girl, she stood there with her back turned to him.

He attempted to call out to her, but still no noise came out.

H̸e̸l̴l̷o̴.

A voice spoke in his head.

Who are you? Where am I?

D̶o̷ ̸n̵o̸t̸ ̶f̷e̶a̶r̶,̵ ̶L̵a̷d̴y̸ ̴o̸f̸ ̶t̵h̸e̷ ̵L̶a̷k̵e̴,̷ ̵o̷r̸ ̴s̴h̷o̵u̶l̶d̸ ̶I̷ ̶s̷a̸y̶…Six-Eared Macaque.

Macaque felt his heart drop to the pit of his stomach. His eyes widened, he took a cautious step back, keeping his eyes locked on the girl.

The child turned her head toward him, her front bangs draped over her shoulder.

Destiny will find you soon enough.

—

He shot upright, wildly looking around. He was back in Wukong’s hut, squished between the sleeping Mei and Sandy on the couch. Mk was still struggling with the game and yelled incoherent rambles.

Images of the bone demon flashed in his mind. Macaque sighed and dragged his hand down his face, fingers trembling from the memory of the cold bitterness in his dream. Was it a dream? It felt so… real.

His ears twitched, and he looked at the TV showing what Mk saw. Wukong was on the screen trying to explain something, but Mk clicked away from it before Macaque could try and understand.

Macaque let out another shaky sigh and did his best to keep the tremble out of his voice. “Mk, maybe you should listen to-“ Mk threw the headset, and it hit the couch with enough force to knock it over.

Macaque tumbled over Mei and face-first onto the floor. He groaned and rubbed his head. Mei stirred awake, and Sandy carefully put the couch back as Mk raged at the game.

“I think that’s enough.” Sandy interrupted.

“Agreed.” Macaque huffed.

“I can’t. I have to keep trying, that's what Monkey King would do.” Mk said with a fire in his eyes.

“You’ve been playing for 32 straight hours.” Sandy sighed.

“Yeah, and Tutorial King never actually said that.” Mei added.

Mk sighed and turned back to the TV with determination. The fake Wukong said something about a counterattack, and Mk gleefully listened this time, beating the boss in one shot.

While the others cheered for him, Macaque stared down at his hands. Still trembling. His brow furrowed, and his ears flattened against his head.

Who was that? And what did she mean by destiny would come for him?

“Right, Macaque?” Mei asked, breaking him out of his thoughts.

“Yeah…” Macaque glanced up at Mk, the boy also seemed deep in thought. “Mk, can we talk for a second?”

Mk flinched and turned to Macaque. “Uh… sure.” Mei and Sandy exchanged looks of confusion.

Macaque and Mk walked outside of the dingy hut and a couple meters away from the front stoop.

“Ok, tell me what's going on.” Macaque crossed his arms.

“Whaaaat?” Mk rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Nothing going on.”

Macaque sighed, hiding his trembling hands at his sides. “C'mon kid, you’re not fooling me. What happened?”

“Nothing…“ Mk stopped and looked away. “It was nothing.” The boy clenched his trembling fists.

“What’s ‘it’?” Macaque questioned. The boy didn’t respond, just stood there in silence, not daring to lock eyes with the siren. Macaque eventually sighed and put a hand on his shoulder. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. But I’m here if you need to talk, okay?”

Mk nodded. “Thanks, Macaque.”

Macaque smiled softly. “It’s no problem, bud.”

———

“My lady.” The not-mayor greeted with a bow. Webs dangled from the walls of the cavern that used to be Spider Queen's kingdom. The man wore a wicked grin on his face, waiting for his lady’s response.

The girl stood in front of a cauldron with a blueprint of a mech hovering over it. “It’s time.” She spoke calmly with a smirk. “Retrieve the next piece of the puzzle for me. You know where to look.” She commanded without looking back at her henchman.

“Of course, my lady.” The not-mayor bowed and cackled manically, slipping into the shadows.

“Destiny is all but in my reach.” The Lady Bone Demon whispered, looking up at the blueprint.

Chapter Text

The next few weeks were a blur of nothing. Mk was busy—or never had the time—and no one else had come to visit him at the lake. So Macaque sat in the depths of the pond, spending his days weaving pearls into beaded necklaces or bracelets, and other days were spent admiring his treasure. 

He didn’t dare go back above the water in fear of the whispers ringing in his ears or that cold feeling invading his senses. He didn’t want to risk it, even if he heard the little cubs chirping for him to come out and play.

It was lonely… But he’s been alone for decades. How was now any different? 

Even though new mounds of pearls piled up on the rocky surface of the lake, he’s grown to accept it, right?

It was a calm spring day, the breeze blew gently above the water, making the cattails sway with it. Flowers had begun to bloom and carry their scent through his little meadow.

“Macaque?” 

Someone called from above the water. Macaque glanced up, it sounded like Mk. His face immediately broke into a smile, and he jumped off the rocky floor, swimming toward the surface. It'd been so long since he'd seen the boy, he was excited to speak with him again.

He broke through the surface and saw the boy standing near the edge of the water. Macaque swam over to him with a bright smile. “Hey bud!”

Mk looked up at him but only gave him a small smile. “Hey Macaque.” Macaque paused, the boy had a mix of fear and sadness in his eyes. 

The sea monkey frowned. “Is everything ok?”

Mk hesitated for a moment before sitting down with his legs crossed. He turned his head down, fiddling with the blades of grass under him. “It’s… nothing.” 

It was clear it wasn’t nothing, but what could Macaque do? The two fell into an awkward silence for a moment before Macaque looked at the boy. “Hey, there’s something I taught myself over the years. Wanna see?”

A smile stretched across Mk’s face, and he nodded eagerly. “A friend of mine used to tell me stories all the time, and there was a little trick I did with my powers when she did.”

He brought his hands in front of him, casting a shadow on the grass below. Mk focused on him intently as the shadows twisted and contorted into a figure. A familiar figure. 

“Is that Monkey King?” Mk asked, pointing at the shadow. 

Macaque chuckled. “You said you've heard all of Monkey King's tales, but do you know about the time all of the cubs on the mountain were kidnapped by a group of demons?”

Mk shook his head. “No, what happened?” 

Macaque cleared his throat and told the tale using the shadows as puppets for his show, he had quite the knack for telling stories, and he had hundreds of years' worth of tales he'd heard. 

“And Wukong brought each cub back to their mother, making a new curfew for all of the little ones on the mountain.” The shadows dissipated as he moved his hand away. 

Mk laughed, laying back on the grass. “Those poor cubs.”

“The books never tell what cute little shenanigans Wukong would cause or fix.” Macaque rested his head in his arms. “I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

Mk gave him a small smile, glancing away from the water monkey. “Yeah, thanks.” 

Macaque nodded, a small grin booming on his face. “Anytime, bud.”

“I didn’t think you’d be so into theater.” Mk chuckled.

Macaque tilted his head in confusion, staring up at Mk. “What?”

“Theater?” Macaque blinked. “You don’t know what a theater is?”

“I, uh… might’ve heard about it, but…” Macaque brought his hand to his chin in thought before chuckling. “I have been closed off from society for over a thousand years.”

“Oh yeah, heh.” Mk scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “Well, I guess that means we have to go.” 

“Huh?” Before Macaque could react, Mk grabbed his arms and pulled him out of the water. Macaque landed wobbly on his feet. “Hey!”

“Come on, it’ll be fun!” Mk threw his hands up in exclamation.

Macaque paused, seeing the wide smile on the boy's face and sighing. “Alright, it’ll be nice to get out of the lake for a bit.” A portal of shadows opened by his hand, he reached in and pulled out a bundle of clothes. “Besides, it might help get my mind off… stuff.”

Mk nodded, gripping his sleeve. “Yeah…”

Macaque ran a hand down his face, and his glistening scales disappeared, leaving dark tan skin. 

“Nice hoodie.” Mk complimented as Macaque pulled his arms through the sleeves. 

“Thanks, I got it with Wukong a few months ago.” He stretched his arms until he heard a pop and turned to Mk. “So, where are we going?”

Mk giggled mischievously, rubbing his hands together. “You’ll see.”

—

The city was bustling with the traffic of the afternoon; the morning rush had ended, and people happily strolled down the sidewalk, chatting and shopping to their hearts' content. Macaque followed the kid, he didn’t know what they were going to do, but he trusted Mk.

“I don’t need any more clothes, kiddo; I barely leave the pond anymore.” Macaque sighed, glancing at the many boutiques along the street.

Mk chuckled. “We’re not going shopping, don’t worry. I have more stuff planned.” They abruptly stopped in front of a red building, lights were strung across the entrance, inviting passersby inside.

Macaque stared in awe at the practically glowing building, Mk only watched his reaction with a big grin. “Woah.” Macaque muttered. “What is this place?”

“A theater!” Mk exclaimed, stretching out his arms as if it were some big reveal. Macaque’s gaze snapped to the boy in confusion, then back to the red building. “Heh, not the same as it was back in your day, huh?”

“No… it’s not even close.” Macaque thought back to how theater was described to him, it was normally just an outside stage. 

“Come on, let's go inside and get our tickets.” Mk grabbed Macaque's hand and pulled him inside. He stopped by the entrance and watched as Mk walked up to a booth with cash in hand. The exhausted teenager behind took it and gave him two yellow slips of paper.

“Ok, so,” Mk began, walking with the scaled simian to the pair of doors with a line in front filled with people waiting to get in. “I'm pretty sure this is a stage musical.” They entered the line behind a chatty couple.

Macaque didn’t answer, staring around in awe at the beautiful interior, posters lined the walls of different plays the theater had hosted. The place was lit by stage lights, and the walls were covered by red velvet curtains. The lounge area had sofas and a bar, next to that was a concession stand with a glowing screen above it displaying all the snacks they offered.

“Uh, hello?” Mk waved a hand in front of his starstruckface. “Heh, earth to Macaque?”

Macaque broke out of his trance and turned back to the boy. “Sorry… I just got a little distracted.” Macaque rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “What are we going to see?”

“Uh…” Mk looked down at the ticket, examining the little letters. “Phantom of the Opera…” The doors finally opened, and the line hurried in to grab their seats.

The two sat in the middle, with a perfect view of the wide stage in front of them. Macaque began to glance around and get lost in admiring the theater before Mk gasped in shock.

“I forgot to buy snacks!” He whipped around to Macaque. “Do you want popcorn or anything?”

“Just water,” Macaque asked politely. Mk nodded and tried to make his way through the row of seats, hitting people’s knees and nearly tripping over and falling on some people. Macaque laughed quietly, watching the scene.

Once Mk was out of sight, he went back to admiring the architecture, the velvet curtains, and the lights, everything was so well thought out and beautiful.

It was a little cold, though. 

macaque

He froze. 

No.

No, no, no. 

Not here.

He was in public.

It shouldn’t… It can’t…

He frantically looked around, the sound of chatter muffled by his pounding heart. He needed to get out. Why was the air so cold? 

Mihou~

He shot up to his feet, he needed air, he needed to get out of here. He hurried out of the row, hitting people's legs but careful not to trip. Once he made it out of the aisle, he bound towards the lobby.

He rushed past the concessions and out the large doors to the outside. He collapsed onto the ground, catching himself with his arms. His heart pounding against his ribcage, causing an unsettling ache in his stomach, his breathing came in uneven gasps, trying to take in air but to no avail.

He felt cold, the same cold he knew all too well.

Macaque clutched his chest, feeling his heart pulse through his hand. Were people staring?

He needs to go somewhere else, somewhere secluded.

The shadows slithered under him, and he vanished from the sidewalk.

….

Mk wobbled back into the theater carrying a mound of food with him. He struggled down the aisle trying to find his row. Once he made it to his seat, he peeked his head through the pile of snacks. 

“Ok, your water is somewhere in here.” He sifted through and pulled out a clear plastic water bottle. “Here.” He stuck it out in the direction of where the simian should be, but nothing took it from him. “Uh, Macaque, I have your water.” He moved a few things aside and saw the seat empty. 

“What the…?” Mk turned back to the people behind him. “Do you see a monkey demon get up?”

The couple behind him shared the same expression. “Yeah, he looked really frightened.” The woman answered, with a slight worry on her face.

“He ran out towards the lobby.” The man beside her added. 

Mk stood up, the many snacks falling at his feet. “Thanks, I really appreciate it.” He took the water with him and went after Macaque, making his way through the row and into the main lobby.

Frightened? What could’ve spooked him? A loud noise? But it was quiet in the theater. His mind raced with questions as he burst into the lobby.

A few people were gathered around the exit, murmuring and whispering to each other. The boy walked up to the small crowd and asked someone what happened. 

“I don’t know,” the person around his age replied. “Some guy just ran out of here and started freaking out. Then he disappeared in, like, these shadows and stuff.”

“Oh no…” Mk muttered.

He’s gotta find Macaque…

And he knew just who to call.

—

Macaque fell out of the shadow portal, catching himself on his knees. He turned his head up and took in his new surroundings, the place he was taken was dark and desolate.

Dust coated every surface and corner, there were rows of wood bleachers formed around a worn-down stage. It looked unstable, wood boards stuck out of the floor, and other boards were rotting. 

He took a deep breath, waiting till his heart rate slowed back to its normal rhythm.

“Where am I?” He dragged a hand through his hair, slowly getting up to his feet. It looked like a theater, but a lot older than the one Mk and he were at a moment ago.

His ears twitched, and his tail lashed behind him.

He’s not alone.

“You’re not exactly subtle.” Macaque quipped, his voice laced with sarcasm to hide the fear he felt bubbling in the pit of his stomach.

A slow clap echoed off the worn walls of the dusty theater, and Macaque took a defensive stance (as he’s seen Mk and Wukong do). 

“I expect nothing less…” Macaque whipped around, at the top of the rows of seats stood a man. Well dressed but with a wicked, manic look in his eyes.

“From the goddess Mazu’s little doll.”

—

Mk burst into the arcade, the vibrant place was lively and filled with people crowded around machines and games.

The boy worked his way through the arcade, looking for one person in particular. “Mei!” Mk shouted, seeing her in the center of a crowd playing a vicious match against a guy on the other side.

Her gaze flickered up at her friend and then immediately back to the game. “Hey Mk! One sec.” She mashed the buttons on the game in a rehearsed rhythm, like she’d done this a hundred times before. 

The screen flashed the word “victory” as she pumped her arms up in celebration. The crowd around her cheered as the boy opposite to her sighed and bowed his head in defeat. 

She finally approached Mk, making her way through the group of people congratulating her. “Is everything okay? You look worried.” She began, shoving her hands in her pockets. 

“I was hanging out with Macaque, and- and I left for one second, and I- I guess he freaked out and disappeared, and I don’t know what to do.” Mk rambled, stumbling over words. 

Mei put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Everything’s gonna be fine, we’ll find him. Did you try using any of your mystic monkey powers?” 

Mk shook his head. “No… I-I just ran over here.” 

The two began towards the door, Mei hummed in thought, racking her brain for any ideas. Her eyes lit up, and she snapped her fingers. “You could try that eye thing.” Mk glanced up at her, his head tilted in confusion. “You know, when your eyes get all glowy…” 

“Oooh, gold vision?” Mk nodded, Mei grabbed his hand and pulled him out the door with a yelp. “Hey!”

Mei let go of him and hopped on her bike parked in front of the arcade. “Get on! We’ve got a mermaid monkey to find.” Her face sharp with determination, Mk gave her a hopeful smile and did as she said. 

They shot off down the road, the engine rumbling under them as the wind whipped through their hair. 

They’ll find him.

They have too.

—

“My lady has told me much about you.” The man hummed, stepping down the stairs, each step deliberate and calculated.

Macaque glared at him, taking note of his every move. Who was he talking about, “his lady”? Mazu? That name seemed familiar, but he couldn’t place his finger on it, like it was trapped behind a thick fog in his mind.

“All good things, of course.” The man continued, laughing to himself with an inhuman grin plastered on his face. It was almost sickening to look at. “I simply had to meet you.”

Macaque's tail bristled, the hairs on the back of his neck puffed out as a mist gathered at his feet, snaking through the cracks in the floorboards. The temperature of the abandoned theater dropped, the cold bit at his skin.

This isn’t good. He needs to leave.

He called for the shadows, but the moment they began to answer, the man was already inches away. He gripped the simian by the neck, pulling him off his feet, the macaque hissed, attempting to claw at the man's hand to no avail.

“What do you… want with me?” Macaque choked out, his voice strained from the hand clutching his airway.

The man only laughed like a maniac, squeezing his hand tighter. Macaque could hardly breathe, he couldn’t scream or call out for help.

He was alone.

“You’ll make the perfect champion.”

Macaque's vision swam, colors began to muddle together as he fought to stay awake. He gasped for air, he wanted to claw at the hand, but his strength was gone, and the shadows weren’t answering.

Stay awake.

His arms dropped, and his tail went limp.

Stay… awake..

He felt his head loll back, his vision a mess of black and blue.

The not-mayor smirked triumphantly as the simian went slack in his grasp. He released his hand and let Macaque fall to the ground with a thud, an icy portal opened behind him, and he dragged the simian by the leg through it.

It closed behind them, silence stretched in the abandoned theater. The cold mist retreated back through the floor, the late afternoon light seeped through holes in the ceiling.

As if nothing had happened.

—

Mk and Mei raced down the street, passing cars as they went. Mk’s eyes glowed gold as he scanned for the traces of Macaque’s shadow magic, though they were only faint wisps, he could still track them.

“Turn left!” Mk shouted over the wind to Mei, she nodded and took a sharp turn. Mk clutched onto her jacket to stay on. They whipped through alleys and busy roads, the magic leading them to the edge of the city.

The closer they got, the stronger the presence of his magic got, the wisps turned into a smoke-like trail. “Slow down, I think we’re getting close.”

Mei did as he said, and Mk followed the trail with his eyes up the road. “There!” Ahead was a building with purple tendrils seeping through the entrance, emitting a dark cloud of shadows. Mei’s bike skidded to a stop, and the two young adults stared up at the abandoned building.

“Why would he come here?” Mei muttered. Mk stepped off of the bike and ran into the building, Mei yelped and stumbled off her bike, rushing in after him. 

Mk entered the abandoned building, inside was a dark and dusty room with old furniture covered by white sheets. He glanced around for any sign of Macaque, but the traces of his magic led deeper into the dark. 

He pressed on with Mei running in behind him. The further in he went, the stronger the presence of the shadow monkey, but the dark purple was mixed with something else, something more sinister and cold. 

“Mk, wait up!” Mei shouted after him, trying to catch up. Mk felt the hair on the back of his neck stand as he was hit with a wave of cold air.

He froze before the last pair of doors. 

He knew that feeling. 

No.

No, no, no.

His hands shook at his sides as he stared ahead. 

It couldn’t be…

“Mk, are you okay?” Mei put a hand on his shoulder. Mk didn’t turn back to look at her, he couldn’t let her see the fear in his eyes. 

“Yeah…” he nodded quietly. He took a deep breath and pushed through the doors. The rusty hinges creaked as they swung open. 

Nothing.

It was empty.

An old rotting theater.

No sign anyone had been there for years. The coats of dust lay undisturbed over every surface. 

No. It can’t be empty, everything led them here.

Mk’s eyes flashed gold, and he scanned the room. In the center of the theater on the stage was a flurry of blue and purple magic intertwined in some twisted dance. 

The blue wrapped around the purple, suffocating it.

Mk knew what this meant. He’s seen this magic before. The same suffocating cold.

No. No! Today was supposed to be a break from this. But now…

What can he do? He can’t tell Mei, he doesn’t want to worry her anymor—

“Mk?” Mei called out from behind him. “What’s wrong? Where is he?”

“I…” Mk hesitated, grabbing his sleeve to stop the trembling. “I don’t know…” 

Mei stared at him blankly, her eyes boring into him. Her gaze fell to the ground, silence stretched between the two, a heavy, tense silence.

Neither of them knew what to do next, and neither willing to ask. Mei shifted, taking one last glance at the empty theater before turning back around. “Let’s go to Pigsy’s. We can figure out what happened there.” Mk only nodded and followed her back outside.

He knew what this meant.

But all he can do right now is pray to Buddha he’s okay.