Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Anytime Wukong had the subject of therapy brought up to him, he’d shrug it off. He never listened to the others, no matter what they suggested. “I’m fine,” he’d reply. Even if it wasn’t true, he’d still say it.

No one really knew why, but that’s how it was with him.

Wukong also couldn’t bond with anyone. Sure, he’d be friendly, funny, or closed off, having different masks for each individual person he’d interact with. One thing that seemed to be a trend between 'masks' was his lack of hesitation to say, “I don’t need therapy”. Or anything, in general. He didn’t need anything.

Mk could recall all the awful things the king had been put through as punishment. Being in a furnace for forty-nine days, being under a mountain for five hundred years, the tightening fillet, anything specifically about the traumas he'd endured. It would be enough to break anyone, yet Monkey King didn’t seem like he cared about it. Yes, he had his times where he was caught off guard when they were mentioned. No, Mk never missed the ever-so-slight shaking when it was brought up.

That’s why Mk devised a plan. A plan to help Sun Wukong.

—

“What are we doing, bud?” Wukong asked the taller boy, who had grabbed his wrist without hesitation. Mk dragged him along, replying with, “You’ll see!”

They’d been training, before Mk had announced that he had a surprise for the king. Wukong, not usually one for surprises, was quite excited. It’d been a nice day! But, it was also evening. He wasn’t sure where the kid would be taking him so late, but he figured he’d better not ruin his fun, and just go along with it.

Wukong smiled at the enthusiasm from his successor. He’d grown attached to the kid, even though whenever he thought about the attachment, it’d send alarms ringing in his mind. It was nice to have someone to trust. He allowed Mk to drag him along, cocking an eyebrow when he could see the area he was led to. A camping area.

“Here we are!” Mk grinned, pointing at the fire, which was surrounded by the rest of the group. Even Macaque was there, which surprised him. The dark-furred monkey had been known for brushing others off, being non-committal to his plans on any other day. Wukong’s gaze went back up to the kid, with a small, confused smile.

“What are we doing here?” Wukong asked him, acting stupid. He didn’t want to just assume he was invited, although he had been dragged there by Mk himself. He knew in the past, his brother Bajie would bring him places just to show them off. He’d shun him from the group as his master and brothers had the valuable bonding time that he sometimes didn't really get to be a part of. Mk replied, “To hang out! Why else would I bring you here?” 

Wukong shrugged in reply, dismissing it. Even as Mk wanted to question further, he knew better than to set the monkey off before what he had planned for tonight. So, he walked closer to the group, easily fitting in. Which was something Wukong couldn’t do personally, but he sat next to Mk anyway. Macaque looked over at Wukong, before quickly looking away. Actually, this was a common occurrence with everyone, oddly enough, not just Macaque. They’d peek at the king, before looking away. Before Wukong could ask Mk, though, the kid was speaking to everyone.

“So, glad we could all make it!” he clasped his hands together, an excited grin gracing his lips. Wukong looked up at him, alike everyone else there. “Camp night!”

Wukong opened his mouth to speak. “Actually… I can’t-,” he started, before Mk looked down at him. Gods, he looked so excited, he didn’t want to ruin his mood. “…Fine. I’ll camp with you guys,” he sighed, before his voice drops to a whisper. “But is he staying?” Wukong looked over at Macaque, who stared at him. It was obvious he had heard Wukong, with his excellent hearing, but Wukong couldn’t do anything but smile apologetically.

Mk nodded. “I got Macaque to agree to camp with us!”

Wukong nodded, sighing. “So! Been a couple hundred years, I forgot how this 'camping in tents' works!” Wukong smiled sheepishly, joking to lighten the mood and rubbing the back of his neck. Mk smiled. “We need hotdogs and s’mores, of course! But first… Monkey King, can you help Pigsy by the fire?” the kid asked, his face innocent and not at all conveying anything he had planned.

Wukong curiously glanced at him. “What for?” the celestial monkey asked, peering up at his successor. It was an odd request, after all.

“Pigsy needs a little bit of help! So, chop chop!” Mk pulled him up from his seat, next to where the kid had been sitting beside him in the beginning. Wukong was hesitant, but he still stood up and walked to the fire. Pigsy was on the other side of the ring, looking at him. He looked lost in thought, his eyebrows furrowed as he looked down at a bottle he held. 

The hot coals released a warm aura, a little too warm for his comfort. He felt everyone's gaze on him, so his tail twitched anxiously.

“What’s up, Piglet?” Wukong let himself put on his carefully intricated personality, his smile being a well put-together façade. He was a little worried about this whole scene, being in front of all those watching eyes, but he couldn’t let his anxieties or fears show in front of so many. He knew better than to show them that much vulnerability. Pigsy gave him an unreadable look, before it softened. 

“Here, I wanted your help with the fire. Hold this,” Pigsy finally responded, handing him a bottle from around the side of the fire, a bottle like the second one the pig demon held himself. It was a strange liquid. He couldn’t read the word on the bottle, so he just opted to watch Pigsy. Off to the side, he heard Mk talking to Mei, and to the other, Macaque was scooting away from Tang when the scholar scooted closer with his journal.

He only realized he got caught off guard when the fire grew hotter, and smoke blew into his face. He let out a shriek of surprise, backing away before tripping. He tried rubbing his eyes with open palms, tail twitching anxiously. “Hnng?” he whimpered quietly, he couldn’t breathe or see. It tasted like smoke, like when he was burning alive in that celestial furnace. 

All of a sudden, while his eyes were completely blurry, the heat picked up again. He hadn’t moved, but it was just as hot as the furnace. Wukong tried to hold his breath, but the taste of smoke filled his mouth and lungs. His eyes closed, and he managed to wheeze out a small, “Help,” before he sputtered and tried to scoot away from the searing heat. It did nothing to ease the unbearable heat that continually crashed over him, wave after wave. He heard whispers all around him behind the crackles of a fire, sitting in their respective spots, but no one dared step foot close to him.

He let out a choked sob. “Stop! Not again, please! I didn’t do anything!” he protested to no one in particular. Damn, this was embarrassing.

Although his eyes were closed, he could practically see it again; the red glow of the inside of the furnace, his burns, all of it. When he tried to push against the wall, though, his hand didn’t stop against hot metal. Someone said, “Woah, hey. You’re gonna burn your hand!”, which confused Wukong. Wasn’t he already getting burnt? Why would they say that? 

He began to hear ringing in his ears, unable to hear anything clearly anymore. It felt like the hearing equivalent of blurry eyes; able to hear noises, but not hear the words they make. It felt like he was too far away, although the speaking came from just around him. The only sound he could hear properly was his heart pounding in his chest. Everything else was muffled.

His breaths were still shaky and fast, though some footsteps were coming close. He tried to back away from the movements of them coming closer, but a pair of hands grabbed him and… gave him a hug. Their hands moved to rub up and down his back, in an attempt to calm him down, as they sat in his lap. Someone else sat behind him, wrapping their arms around his torso, a grounding hand against his stomach. The pressure in his lap kept him aware enough, as another person tilted his head up and held his eyelids open. Suddenly, a cooling drop landed in his left eye, and he let out a pained whimper as he jerked back, away from the touch. He heard the strict, muffled voice, before they softly reached to put another, in his right eye this time. 

The hand rubbing his back never stopped, except for when he jerked back. Even then, they’d start again. After a while, his heart and his breathing calmed down. The only reason it was somewhat warm anymore was because of the unknown people hugging him. His eyes were starting to clear up, now, and he looked up to the figure in his lap.

Mk.

Wukong shakily hugged him back, his actual tears slipping out of his eyes now. His eyes, while irritated with smoke, hadn’t been able to produce tears. Now, with them less irritated with the smoke, his tears fell freely as he clung to his successor. The arms from behind him tightened softly.

Right, it wasn’t just Mk.

Wukong looked behind himself, surprised to find the dark furred monkey. “Mac— Macaque?” the golden monkey’s voice wavered slightly, surprised to see the shadow user.

“Hey, Wukong. You alright?” Macaque asked, tail flicking awkwardly. They hadn’t been in this position since.. a long time. It was nice to see that he still knew what worked best when helping him calm down from an.. episode? Did this even count? Regardless, the golden monkey nodded, russet curls shielding his face from the warrior.

Macaque sighed, resting his head on Wukong’s shoulder. He didn’t want to let him go, not after that. Similarly, Wukong didn't want to get up either, he was comfortable. It was risky, considering he and Macaque weren't on bad terms, but he wasn't even sure what terms they were on, anymore. "Can we just stay like this?" he mumbled, afraid he'd be met by rejection from his ex. Maybe because he still had feelings for him, or maybe because he was afraid he'd be humiliated. But he still asked.

Macaque hesitated, but that’s all he wanted to hear. He let out a quiet sigh and put any remaining negative feelings towards him aside, and whispered, “Yes. I’ve got you.” Perhaps this was what they were working to in the first place.

Mk hummed an affirmation, letting his head rest on Wukong’s left shoulder while Macaque’s rested on his right. They sat like this for a while, sometimes talking quietly. Macaque’s tight hug never changed, and neither did Mk’s. When it was time to go into tents though, it had only felt like it’d been five minutes since the whole incident. Neither the kid nor the dark furred monkey wanted to be separated from the golden monkey, so they had their own tent. Mei eagerly went into one of the two big tents, allowing the monkeys and her best friend to follow them in.

Mk did eventually break apart from Wukong in the end, settling down in his own area near Mei. They talked loudly (although they would say it was quiet), before slipping into their sleeping bags. Their laughter continued every time their eyes opened to see the other looking at them.

Macaque, on the other hand, still held Wukong close. He knew how energy draining a PTSD-induced episode could be, even for Wukong. The poor guy looked just about done for the day, completely mortified that he'd even acted that way in front of everyone. Macaque mumbled to him, “You okay?”

Wukong took a deep breath, before whispering, “I’m sorry,” to the warrior. The warrior wasn’t too surprised, but he still asked, “What for?”, to which Wukong sighed quietly, eyes glistening once more. 

“For everything. Everything I’ve ever done. It's taken too long to say it outright, but I'm telling you now. I'm sorry.”

Macaque couldn’t help but feel his emotions flare up again, but he suppressed them yet again. Wukong needed sleep, not to talk about this right now. He fought the urge to place that once familiar kiss on his forehead, the one from centuries upon centuries ago that he still longed for, and he whispered, “We shouldn’t talk about this tonight. It’s late, and you’re tired. Get some sleep, and we’ll talk about it later, yeah?” The warrior's voice was oddly soft for the Macaque that Wukong knew, but he might've liked it.

Wukong sighed, nodding. He also flinched when the once familiar gesture of a kiss to his temple was felt, a testiment to his failed attempt to repress it, but eventually it only felt right. Especially once the king quickly leaned into it. He felt the dark furred monkey's embrace lulling him to sleep, embarrassingvly so. But it still felt great after what had happened earlier.

Wukong was out pretty quickly, falling asleep quickly. Macaque fell asleep soon after. But, that was after he whispered, “I'm sorry, too.”

Chapter Text

What the two monkeys missed were the two young adults in the tent sneaking out after they heard the soft snores from them. Mk and Mei quietly left the tent, trying their best not to wake them. Once they were in the clear, they rejoined the rest of the group in one of the other big tents. Sandy, Pigsy, Tang and Mo all sat together, the cat cleaning himself. The young adults sat beside them rest of the group.

“Gang, I really don’t think this is a good idea,” Sandy suggested. Pigsy shushed him, glaring up at the bigger blue guy. 

“Don’t go all ‘morally good guy’ on us now, Sandy. You’ve seen how he acts! He never gives himself the chance to heal,” Pigsy argues, “So we need to prove he needs it, 'er something! This is one of our last resorts.”

“Yes,” Mei cuts in, “But how do we know it’ll work in the end? If I know the Monkey King, which I don't, he’s gonna be stubborn to the end. He won’t let some trauma responses determine if he needs therapy or not.” Mk clasped his hands, nodding. “That’s why we’re gonna talk to him after, Mei! This is all to prove he needs therapy to heal!” Mk pointed out, reaching his hand up to punch her playfully on the shoulder. Her reaction was a bit delayed, but after a moment she replied, “Big brain boy’s done it again!” She laughed, the familiar mischievous air in her tone.

“But I don’t really think this is right. I mean, we saw how he reacted today, right?” Sandy continued, “Besides, this could be dangerous. I don’t want him, or us, caught in the crossfire if we…overstep a boundary. We should just let him warm up to the thought.”

Pigsy rolled his eyes. “You put too much faith in that monkey. He’ll never do it without prompting, Sandy! You know this just as well as we do.”

Tang agreed. “He never was the type to ask for help. He has too much pride to admit he needs help from someone like a therapist, which is why we’re doing this. There’s really no other option I see fit enough that he’d actively agree, without having to re-experience those feelings and memories,” he said, adjusting his glasses on his face. Even though Sandy wasn’t convinced, he decided not to ask any more questions. Pigsy muttered something off-handedly about the Monkey King's pride, before looking back at Mk.

“So!” Mk broke the silence that fell over them. “Who’s gonna talk to him tomorrow?” 

The group stayed silent. The sat there, looking at each other before Mk sighed dramatically. “Fine. I’ll do it,” he said, and they dismissed the little meeting. Mk and Mei left the tent with the other adults, and they crept back to the tent that contained both the golden monkey and the dark furred monkey.

They quietly slipped back inside their tent, finding Macaque and Wukong huddled together in one corner, still asleep. Once they snuck inside and closed the zip opening, neither of the younger adults were feeling very talkative anymore. Mei and Mk instead laid down in their respective sleeping bags, letting sleep wash over them as well. Their breathing evened out, becoming faint through the night.

—

Pigsy was the first to wake up, setting up to make breakfast over the fire. He’d decided to make eggs for the group, since it was an underwhelming breakfast. He woke everyone up once the food was done, poking his head into their tent and shouting at them, it was an effective way of alerting the others awake. Sandy and Mo were the first ones out of the tents, followed by Mei and Mk, and then Tang. 

Last but not least, Wukong and Macaque languidly climbed out of the tent they shared with Mk and Mei. “What’s up?” Wukong yawned, rubbing his face before stretching. "..Jesus, I'm never camping again. My back hurts."

“Breakfast is ready. It’s eggs, to start the day off with a healthy meal,” Pigsy gave Wukong a pointed look as he sat a plate next to Mk, and one next to that one. Wukong sat next to Mk, inspecting the eggs closely. This was normal for him, though; he would constantly inspect his food before eating it or deeming it inedible for him. Even Macaque didn’t know why, but he did it even before he’d ever met him so long ago. For anything but fruit, oddly enough.

Macaque picked up the fork from the plate, eating his own eggs. He heard Mk begin to speak to Wukong, though, so he curiously listened in, ears fanning out to take in the little words spoken.

“Monkey King, not to be a bother or anything…”

“Oh, don’t worry. You’re never a bother, Mk.”

“Yeah. Uh, that whole scene yesterday? Monkey King, in the most lighthearted way, I really think you need to consider therapy. That’s not normal.”

Wukong frowned, growing uncomfortable from the sudden mention. “Mk, I avoid stuff like that for that reason. I’m doing fine. I do not need therapy for it.”

Mk gave a tentative sigh. “But… It was bad. You can’t deny, it was bad.”

“I’m uncomfortable. Can we talk about this later? I want to eat.”

“But—,” Mk started, but he was interrupted by Macaque.

“Hey kid, just let him eat. It's a little early, give him some time,” Macaque interrupted both of them, making Mk’s cheeks flush red with embarrassment. “Crap, you’re right. I was pushing him, I’m so sorry.” he apologized, before turning to whisper to Mei. Macaque turned to look at Wukong, before turning back to his food. It was no use talking to him about what happened last night right then, especially if he was already uncomfortable for that exact reason. 

The shadow monkey went back to finishing his eggs silently, casting the others occasional glances. Once he was done, he went into the T.E.A. to wash his hands by pouring a bottled water over them, and grab a hairbrush that Mk mentioned was his own, and that it was one the king's fur had already shed into. Once he was done in the team's vehicle, he left, bringing the orange fur infested hairbrush with him. He saw Wukong finally beginning to eat his eggs, and he swiftly walked over to him.

“So…” Macaque startled Wukong, setting his hands on his shoulders. “Your hair’s pretty messy. Mind if I brush it?”

Wukong’s tail thumped against the bench happily, but his face scrunched in mock-offense. “My hair is fine, yours is so much messier,” he states, before taking another bite of his eggs. Macaque shook his head lightly, unimpressed.

“You sure are a riot, Wukong,” Macaque muttered, threading his fingers through the russet-furred monkey’s hair. It was soft, but so very tangled. He tried to comb it with his fingers, placing his chin on top of Wukong’s head. He noticed the other looking up, a faint blush creeping onto his face as he chewed much slower now. Macaque smiled back at him, lifting his head so he could brush the other’s hair. He missed this so much. It was odd how one unfortunate situation had brought it back, but he wasn't complaining.

Macaque brushed slowly, working out any knots that had become known. Once Wukong had finished eating, though, is when he spoke up about what was really on his mind. “So… About yesterday,” Macaque started, softly.

“If this is about the whole episode thing, I don’t want to talk about it.” Well, he was quick to speak.

“It’s not,” Macaque reassured the golden monkey. “It’s about… yeah. After that whole thing. Look, I know we still haven’t apologized properly, and while I’m still.. a little angry at you,” Macaque’s tone was unreadable, “I think it’s about time we talked about it.” He felt Wukong tense ever so slightly underneath him.

“Yeah…” the golden monkey muttered, feeling the dark furred monkey begin to part golden curls into separate sections. He allowed him to. All that time ago, it was something Macaque had done to calm his nerves, or for comfort.. or something. He liked to keep his hands busy. “I’m really sorry,” Wukong started.

Macaque hummed in answer, now moving on to braid his russet locks. “Well,” he didn’t feel ready for this. “I’m sorry too.”

They didn’t pay attention to the others on the other side of the table, nor did the others pay attention to them.

Once they said their apologies, and had a rather long talk about everything that had happened, they were both in tears. Wukong was standing now, and Macaque’s arms hugged tightly around the golden monkey, weeping silently as Wukong did the same. Sure, they hadn’t forgiven each other yet, but it was a start. They were on even better terms now.

Wukong chirped softly as they both let go of the reminiscence of the hug. Macaque, however, held their foreheads together for just a bit longer, before he let go. Wukong smiled softly at the shadow monkey, his moon.

“So, what.. what happens now?” Macaque asked, yearning eyes meeting the other’s golden irises, surrounded by ruby red. They were beautiful, no matter the permanent damage done to them, even if for the longest time they were always associated with some sort of bad memories. 

Wukong considered his question thoughtfully, his tail twitching in the air. “Hmm.. that depends on what we're ready for,” he concluded, unsure if they were rushing back into this because of unresolved feelings, love, or the unexplainable urge to protect and care. Of course it'd still be there, they once were mates for life after all. His other half took his hands in his, faux golden eyes glancing at the king. 

“If it’s not too much to ask, I would like… a second chance. Or at least, to work on one, with you.”

Wukong’s eyes met his, and he smiled up at the warrior. 

“Of course, I would love that. A lot, actually.”

They lean together, gently touching mouths after a moment of hesitation. It didn't feel real, being this close with the one person both had sworn they'd hated, yet so blatantly lied to themselves about regardless. Wukong’s arms hooked around Macaque’s neck, pulling the other deeper into the kiss softly.

Oh, how Macaque missed those soft lips, and how beautiful they were.

Once the kiss parted, leaving uncovered feelings and love and hurt mingling together in the air, they both sighed quietly into the mid-morning silence. “I, um. I love you, Wukong,” the moon whispered, sitting down on the bench. “I never could have stopped.”

Wukong was surprised at how easily the words fell from his mouth. “I.. love you too, Macaque. And again, I am so sorry--,”

Macaque put a hand over Wukong's mouth to keep him from saying anything else, while they were vulnerable and open. "We'll figure it out, okay? We just need time to warm back up to everything, y'know.. after everything that's happened."

Wukong nodded slowly. "Yeah, that sounds good."

Chapter Text

“Okay. Can we talk about it now?” Mk asked his mentor, eyeing him carefully. Something about his demeanor has changed slightly, but he knew the talk was important and couldn’t wait too long.

“Bud,” Wukong sighs, exasperated, “I don’t want to talk about it. What happened wasn’t supposed to happen, and we can leave it at that.”

“But, Monkey King! What happened was really bad! How can you just brush it off like it was nothing?” Mk frowned, clearly getting impatient. “We should talk about it—,” Mk started again, but he was cut off by a hiss from his aggravated mentor.

“Enough!” Wukong stayed firm in his decision not to speak about it. He was a little disappointed that Mk wouldn’t listen, but he’d get over it eventually. Mk backed away, nodding tensely. “Okay, fine. I’ll leave you alone about it,” he dejectedly trudged over to Mei to talk to her instead a second time, leaving some space for Wukong to collect himself.

Just in time, Macaque walked back out from packing up his few belongings that he brought with him. He recognized the irritated swishes of Wukong’s tail, walking up to him. “What’s up?”, Macaque asked Wukong, curiously. It'd been an hour or so since their entire talk.

“He keeps trying to talk to me about yesterday. I’ve already said I don’t want to talk about it,” Wukong muttered, tail lashing through the air. The golden monkey crossed his arms over his chest. Macaque frowned, leaning on the picnic table. 

“Uh.. yeah. It’s weird how badly they want to talk to you about it,” he comments with a small shrug, “But maybe they just want you to know you can trust them and talk to them?” Macaque suggested, keeping his own distance from the agitated king. 

Wukong sighs, adding on, “Maybe. But I just don’t see why it matters so much. Like, it was a one-time thing. It's not like it happens daily.” The golden furred monkey walked by the table slowly, thinking. “Oh well,” he stopped suddenly, “I guess it’s time to pack up. I didn’t really bring much of anything, because Mk kind of sprung this whole camping thing on me.”

Macaque nodded. “Oh well. I guess, I’ll see you around?” he smiled at Wukong. No teasing, no taunting. A genuine smile. It made Wukong happy, seeing that smile after so many centuries. His heart nearly stopped at the sight, adoring even the smallest gesture of the ebony monkey.

Wukong almost forgot to respond. “I… uh, I’ll see you later,” he chuckled, embarrassed once he realized he was staring. Macaque smiled and fell through his shadow portal, waving to Wukong. The golden monkey waved back with a small smile as well, before turning back to the table and sitting down so he could think.

He wasn’t thinking of anything in specific, other than how… weird yesterday had been for him. He had an episode, and then he managed to actually talk with Macaque. And be vulnerable, even if it was sort of circumstantial. But hey, he managed to talk about their issues for a little while, so at least he could say they were doing pretty well, he thought. 

Not too long later, Mk and Mei came to grab him. “Hey, Monkey King! Tang and Pigsy had to go somewhere, so we’re gonna take the T.E.A home. We’ll drop you off at flower fruit mountain! We insist,” Mk, ever energetic, jumped up beside him, happily chatting to him as if nothing had happened. And if Mk was willing to drop it, he was willing to forget the whole thing. It was petty anyway. The golden-furred monkey weighed his options of heading off on his own or spending more time with the group. 

“Sure, bud!” he finally took them up on their offer, smiling as he hopped into the back of their vehicle. Sandy was in the driver's seat, strapped in safely and reading some magazines as they waited for the others to get in. Mk and Mei trailed in behind Wukong, sitting on the ground as the golden monkey laid himself out on one of the bunks to the side. His tail twitched leisurely as the long drive persisted. 

He heard Mk and Mei chatting away next to him, coloring with the crayons Wukong so graciously provided with his magical hair. He only half listened to the young adults, tuning them out to an extent so he could listen to the soft music in the speakers next to him and still somewhat listen to what they were talking about.

When it finally became time to enter the water part of the trip, the T.E.A became a boat easily. Which was something Wukong wasn't sure if he could ever understand, how these mechanical things can function in two very different ways without the use of magic. The movement of the ocean admittedly did not do wonders for the golden-furred monkey’s stomach. He laid on his side, clutching his shirt softly as he let out small, uncomfortable chirps.

He had never been one for loving boat rides, ever in his couple thousand years of living. He opted to just let sleep take him again, since he knew he could probably use the extra rest either way. He had no clue when he’d plan on sleeping again, given the fact he didn’t normally sleep unless anyone was around him, and they were resting; or the rare, but increasingly common, times he’d pass out.

About an hour and a half later from his best judgment, they managed to make it to the volcanic ring surrounding Flower Fruit Mountain. The golden monkey managed to not get seasick, still standing a little woozy. The rest of the group didn’t want to make the journey to the mountain and back, so Wukong waved them off from the volcanic rings around the mountain. He could’ve sworn he heard Mk whisper something into his phone as he walked by, specifically Pigsy’s name and a mention of fire. But who was he to care? Pigsy had gone home hours before then, presumably to open his noodle shop. It could’ve been about anything.

Wukong waved them off into the ocean, watching as they sailed out of sight. Once he was sure they were gone, he began on the long hike to his mountain home. Except… the closer he got to the mountain, the more heightened his awareness became. The more aware he was that something was definitely wrong.

Wukong picked up his speed, his heart beginning to pound in his chest as he drew nearer and nearer to the place he called home. It reeked of smoke, the scent clinging onto the green leaves.

And that’s when he saw it.

There was a huge fire raging across the mountains, with monkeys chattering and screaming everywhere. It was burning everything.

Wukong’s breath was shortened, sprinting to find the cause, and to see if he could make the fire stop. In the end, he resorted to evacuating his monkey companions through the waterfall. Once he was the only one still outside, he faced the raging fire that was burning across his mountain. His eyes were full of fear, even if the fire couldn't hurt him. It was taking away one of the things he loved so dearly. This wasn’t fair, this never happened before.

Random fires don’t happen on Flower Fruit Mountain. The only fire that ever came to his mountain was during the pilgrimage, when Erlang Shen burned his very mountain down. Wukong chittered sadly, hopping through the waterfall to find more proof that the fire was purposeful. His home was burnt to the ground as well, and his monkey companions chirped anxiously back and forth at this revelation.

Wukong withdrew from view of his monkey companions, kneeling to the ground, trying to fight off tears once he was completely alone. For the second time in his life, his home was gone, and for the first time in his life, he had nowhere to stay, when he should have.

Wukong wiped his eyes, but the tears just kept coming. Maybe it was because he was overwhelmed, or he missed his home which held many dear memories, but they just wouldn’t stop. He sobbed into his arms, sitting on the ground with his tail wound tightly around himself. He could barely breathe, but he didn’t recognize this to be a panic attack. No, this was despair.

Once the tears abated after a long while, he finally decided to think about his options. With the fire still blazing about outside, it wasn’t safe for his subjects to stay on the mountain anymore, at least for a while. He wasn’t sure what was keeping the fire going, but he couldn’t find it in himself to even care about that right then. 

He decided on a different tactic. He would try to reach his own astral projection to Macaque, having run almost completely out of options.

Chapter Text

Okay, he fucked up. Badly.

Redson stood on the outer edge of the island, viewing the absolute mess he made of Wukong’s mountain. Everything was burning, and he had a feeling he went a little bit too far. 

Well, it wasn’t like he could reverse it. He could see a very disheveled and panicked Wukong quickly running towards the clearing he was in, and Redson had already said he wanted nothing to do with whatever bullshit they were pulling on Wukong. That meant the punishments, too. However, once they convinced him to burn the island a little bit, it was hard to resist that.

He could tell the king couldn’t see him. He’d probably gotten smoke in his eyes from running into fires and trying to save monkeys he might've accidentally forgotten, and the tears only further blurring his vision. The fiery vortex left in just enough time, right before it would become clear to the golden monkey who had done it. Redson grabbed his phone out of his pocket, dialing Mk’s number after he'd used his flames to teleport himself home. Before he had left, he could hear many wails of despair from the little mountain monkeys, but he wasn’t sure he felt bad about them. As long as none of them were hurt. Mei's dumb love for animals had started rubbing off on him.. 

Redson rang Mk’s phone, getting a quick response. “Hey, Redson!”

“Noodle boy, remember that task you had asked me to do? Which, you still owe me a favor for,” the demon incited, making it known he expected something back. He sat down at his desk, nervously clicking a pen. “Well, I think I… got distracted. I know you said to start a small house fire, and to burn some places here and there, and to start a ‘wildfire’, but it’s all burning now.”

Mk, on the other line, sputtered slightly. “Wait, what? But— Oh, god! He’s gonna kill me! I just wanted to show him he needs help, not make him and his people homeless!” Mk got up to do something, but Redson couldn’t tell what. 

“Show him that he needs help? What do you mean, noodle boy?” 

—

“Liu— Macaque, I need help.”

Macaque didn’t know what he had expected, but it wasn’t Wukong stretching his astral projection thin, all the way to reach him. “Huh? What’s going on, Peach?”

“So, I came home… long story short, the mountain’s on fire, it somehow got to my home and now the rest of the monkeys and I are out of a place to stay.” 

“What— Wukong, what?” Macaque was in disbelief. How could that even happen?

“I don’t— I don’t know! I just came home and everything was on fire, there were monkeys cowering behind the waterfall, and my home was burned to the ground!” Wukong tried to keep his voice level, for the sake of the rest of the monkeys and the six eared primate.

“Hold that thought, I’ll be right there,” Macaque’s tail cut through the astral projection of the golden monkey, quickly throwing his scarf back on. This was… odd. Why the hell was all this odd stuff happening?

Macaque sighed, crossing his arms as he fell through his chilly shadow portal. He flew through the shadows quickly, trying to find the russet furred monkey quickly before anything worse could happen.

Throwing himself through the shadows, he quickly passed by many marks of land that signaled that he was getting close to his destination. He can smell smoke burning, the acrid smell of fire wafting through the air and singeing his nose.

He grappled up the mountain in the shadows, before launching out into a clearing in front of the waterfall. Once he passed through, he could see the distressed king making sure the babies were okay, helping his people. He always was very caring towards the babies, and he’d never known why.

Once Wukong saw Macaque, he rushed over to greet him. 

“What the hell happened here? It’s all in disorder!” Macaque looked around, taking in the sight of the ill-looking mountain lush, or what used to be lush. “Someone had to have done this!” The taller monkey’s hands fidgeted, tugging on his sleeves. The golden monkey looked exhausted, but he was still putting forth effort, he could give him that.

“What do I do? I have no other home, and I can’t just waltz into Mk’s apartment with so many monkeys!” Wukong frowned, gesturing to make an emphasis, before he picked one of the babies up to cradle them. 

“Well… For the time being, come stay at mine. There’s no other option, really.” Macaque offered, although his face wasn’t expressing happiness. He was angry, rightfully so. Wukong had to intrude in his own home because someone decided to take his.

“And no, I’m not angry about you staying at my home,” Macaque added upon seeing the king's face twist in confusion and regret.

Ah. That made sense. Wukong nodded stiffly at the taller monkey, feeling bad for asking for so much from the one he owed practically the most to. However, if Macaque was fine with it, he could be, too. “Okay. Next question, how do we get so many monkeys over there?” Wukong asked, curiously glancing at Macaque.

“No. Absolutely not,” Wukong could already see the grin on his face, even if he was still a little blurry. “I hate shadow portals, Macaque. You know that.”

Macaque snorted at his response. “Come on, sunshine! It’s just for a little bit. It’ll be okay,” Macaque patted his shoulder at the irked look on the king's face from the nickname, “But it’s funny how you still know exactly what I’m thinking.” Wukong sighed, grabbing onto his arm. 

“Alright. I guess since this is the easiest way to go, I’ll do it for the monkeys. Only this once, though.” Wukong huffed, before just narrowly biting his tongue as they fell through a portal. 

“You have to tell me before you do that!” the golden monkey protested, shuddering at the weird and distant feeling of going through Macaque’s shadow portal. His fellow monkeys didn’t seem to mind, all playing follow the leader as they try to get back to solid ground.

Once they were safe and back on the ground, they were at a different location; where Macaque lives. He looked around, seeing the place fit enough for a temporary home for the monkeys. He let them all run off, while he stayed to talk to Macaque. “Thank you so much, Liu’er. I… don’t know what else I would have done,” Wukong admits, walking beside the dark-furred monkey. 

Macaque nodded in acknowledgment, “Don’t mention it!”, he answered. “But… I don’t know if this is all just a coincidence or not, Wukong,” Macaque eyed him warily, looking for any sign of acknowledgment. When he got none other than a confused look, he continued. “Twice in a row now, fire has turned up around you, and both times it ended up hurting you in one way, or another. Think about it, Mk was the one to tell you to go up to the fire pit, no?” Macaque reminded the king, trying to get him to understand his point. Because he had a small feeling it wasn't just coincidence, but the golden monkey would take a lot more convincing. Or maybe he himself was overthinking this.

Wukong shrugged. “It’s probably a misunderstanding. Mk wouldn’t do that,” Wukong said with distaste, unsure why the dark furred monkey would ever even consider thinking it was his own successor. Besides, Macaque was always reluctant to trust anyone as of late. He crossed his arms, "He's my successor, Macaque. There's no greater betrayal than one of someone who you trust-- he knows that. I like to think we have a good enough relationship.." he brushed it off with a small forced smile. “He knows not to mess with me, anyway! You know, with my past and stuff, I'm sure anyone would be scared to cross me. No offense, I think..?”

Macaque desperately wanted to believe him, but after what he had heard of the group's next move, he knew someone had to have been behind it. But, if Wukong trusted them that much… he would never believe him.

“Don’t worry, Liu’er. It’s all a big misunderstanding!” Wukong smiled up at him. But not even Wukong could shake the feeling that something was very astray.

Macaque nodded, patting his back lightly as they continued their walk around the area surrounding Macaque's home. “Whatever you say, Wukong.”

Chapter Text

“You did what?!” Pigsy squealed. His emotion was indiscernible. The three young adults flinched at his shout, quickly wishing they could melt into the ground to avoid his disbelieving stare. 

“Noodle boy said you’d agreed to start a couple harmless fires, and he asked me to do that,” Redson's normal temper was still around, his patience short. Mk gave him a pointed look, upset that he’d given him away so easily. Pigsy massaged the bridge of his nose, letting out a disappointed sigh.

“I didn’t mean to burn the entire thing! Just a few fires here and there to work up the memory!” he grumbled, “Nothin’ too noticable. If he realizes it was on purpose, we might as well just hope he can still manage his self control while angry! I've picked up a thing or two when Tang was talkin' about him all the time, enough to know that we probably don't want to get on his bad side!”

Redson looked at the ground. Deep down, he knew it was wrong. Once Mk explained that they were purposefully trying to trigger his PTSD in hopes of getting him to get therapy, well.. He didn’t really care, but he hadn’t expected the entirety of the Monkie Kids to be on board with that idea. Sandy was a therapist, so he couldn’t imagine that he’d agree to it, unless there was some sort of tension between them and the infamous Monkey King. Or famous, who was to decide?

“Then we don’t let him know it was us,” Mei interrupted the silence. “You know, I don’t like seeing Monkey King like this, but he really does need help,” she added, looking firm in her decision. “So, why don’t we just play it off? He doesn’t need to know! It’s a win for everyone!” her hand moves to her hip as she smirks. “He gets therapy, we get a better version of the monkey king, and Redson got to burn up his mountain and take out some probably pent up rage, yeah?” 

Mk looks at her, raising an eyebrow. “Would you like to reword that thing about the ‘better version of monkey king’, er..?”

She thought for a moment. “We get a less traumatized one. That’s what I meant, woopsie!” she corrects herself, and Mk nods. 

“I think Mei’s right, though. We have to play it off as natural, or else Monkey King’s going to flip out on us. I’ve seen some of the panic attacks he’s had during training, and let me just say, they’re bad.” Mk shudders, looking at Pigsy. “Like, he can get incredibly violent, or he scratches himself a lot to the point he bleeds… it’s just bad, you know?” 

“Hold up, he hurts himself?” Pigsy looks to Mk, his gaze lingering on the boy. “Has he harmed you?” Of course, Pigsy didn’t think about Wukong first.

“Nope! I don’t think he’d ever allow himself to, even when having panic attacks or episodes like that. I don’t know what’s happening to him though, but they’re starting to get frequent,” Mk notes, frowning. “Which is why we need this to work, soon.”

Pigsy thinks about it, and nods. “Alright. I—,”

Mk got a phone call. Pigsy huffed, but gestured to him that he could answer it. When he saw the kid’s panicked expression, he looked over his shoulder curiously. 

‘Monkey King is calling…’

Mei quickly shushed everyone, leaning over Mk’s shoulder and tapping accept. Mk’s demeanor had changed from determined to nervous in a matter of moments. “Hey, Monkey King! What’s up?”

“Mk, there’s a slight problem with training today.”

Right, he was supposed to train with Monkey King today. “What’s up?” he asked, trying to act his way out of it. He was doing a pretty damn good job, too. Redson glared intently at the phone, waiting for any sign of accusation. But, it never came.

“Something happened to my mountain… I guess we finally got a wildfire, and it burned up everything. Even my house, but I don’t know how it got in there. I guess maybe there’s a hole in the cave that I didn’t notice? But yeah, everything’s gone. We can train at Macaque’s, though!” he replied, trying to sound well put together, but failing absolutely miserably. He could tell how hard his mentor was taking this. Which meant they were closer to getting Wukong to go to therapy. Mk smiled slightly at that thought.

“Woah— that’s a lot to process, dear Buddha. What? That’s so sudden!” Mk sputtered, eyeing the noticeably more relaxed fire demon. Mei gave an obnoxious breath of relief, far away enough from the phone so she wouldn’t be picked up. Pigsy gave a sigh of relief of his own, only glad that this wouldn’t be the reason someone would have to plan his funeral.

“I know! I didn’t even know we were able to get wildfires, but I guess I was lacking in my duties to take care of our home.. and now it's cost us the entire mountain. So, we're staying with Macaque for a while,” there was a wet, teary chuckle from the other end, making his gut churn. He didn’t like hearing his mentor sad, but it was for a good cause. He’d have to keep reminding himself that.

“Well… I guess I’ll come to Macaque’s to train, then?” When there was a hum of agreement, along with a couple other noises picked up by the receiver, he added, “See ya, Monkey King!” and hung up right as the golden monkey let out a quiet sigh.

“Okay, that didn’t go terribly,” Mk looked at the group. Tang spoke up, startling everyone in the room. He had been reading a book on the couch silently listening in, everyone forgot he was even in the room. “That went horribly, Mk. He started crying by the time the call ended.”

Mk nodded, carding his fingers through his hair. “Well… fine. It didn’t go too well, but it didn't go awful either. And he still doesn't know it wasn't just a forest fire so.”

—

Wukong was in shambles. It was so obvious, too, that the king didn’t feel he could do anything but cry. So, there he was, sitting on the ground with his knees pulled to his chest, heaving sobs into his arms. 

A little monkey chittered, climbing over to him and up his shirt. It was a baby monkey, from the flower fruit mountain.

“What’s—,” he managed to turn his head onto his shoulder, “What’s wrong, little one?” 

The monkey chittered anxiously, chirping with distress. Wukong’s hands were shaky as the little monkey cub started to cry, too. He picked up and cradled the little monkey, tears cascading down his cheeks as his willingness to keep himself intact crumbled.

He soon learned that because of the wildfire, this monkey cub’s mother had sadly passed away. She was the only fatality, her father having passed away earlier on. All he knew was that this monkey, who was too young to be alone, was alone.

“Shh, shh… you’re okay,” he rocked the little cub, weeping with her. “I’m so sorry, I couldn’t protect you from this stuff at such a young age. I’m truly sorry, I’ve failed at my job.” His fingers could barely even brush through her fur yet, that's how young she was. It made his heart ache for her. 

He was aware that the little monkey couldn’t understand english, given the fact it seemed she was only recently born. And she was only a monkey. She could tell it was meant to be comforting, as he cradled the little cub in the open forested area. She didn’t understand anything past that, though. He felt the cub drift to sleep in his arms, drying her tears softly.

“I’ll try to do better next time.”

“Wukong?” There was rustling of leaves, and a dark furred monkey emerged from behind them. “Hey… how are you doing, Wukong?”

Wukong quickly dragged his arm over his eyes, drying the tears. “I’m doing fine. Sorry, I got a little carried away,” he murmured, still rocking the cub. Macaque looked at the cub curiously. “Who’s cub is that?” he asked, peering over the white fur ball with brown tinged ends, burrowed asleep in his arm.

Wukong sighed, glancing up. “Her parents are dead. Her mother was killed in the fire.” Macaque’s ears fluttered, lips curling into a frown. “Oh… and the father?”

“Died earlier. She has no parents, but she’s much too young to not have parents,” Wukong commented, eyebrows furrowing. Macaque caught his intention behind the words, frown turning into a soft smile. 

“Well then, why don't we see if any of the other monkeys can take care of her? Or, I guess, you could always take care of her. She seems to like you,” Macaque joked, trying to lighten the mood as he leaned down and sat with the king. The notion did make him smile sheepishly before he shook his head. 

“Liu’er, we can find someone else for her. There's too much going on right now and I have to find out when I can get back there and rebuild my own home. Not that I want to, but it has to be done,” he frowned, looking at the little cub in his arms. “Besides, even if I would be willing to take care of her, wouldn’t it be too soon to decide, anyway?”

Macaque shrugged. “Maybe a little early, but you've always been impulsive and spontaneous. But if you think we'd ought to find another monkey to adopt her, then we should start soon. I'm just saying, though, you’d be a natural,” he pointed out. He was quite good with cubs, obviously, because he took care of them a lot. Being the king and all, he hung around the monkeys often.

Wukong’s eyebrows furrowed in thought, again. “Maybe. I’ll have to think about it. I don’t want to drag anyone into my own problems, much less a cub. Besides, this decision could also be made under the… stress of everything else happening.” Macaque nodded in understanding, crossing his arms over his chest. If Wukong cried at all during the time they spent sitting together, Macaque never mentioned it, and he only gave a shoulder to lean on until he was feeling somewhat better.

Chapter Text

When Mk did go over to Macaque’s, it was definitely a little… run down. He could see dead plants everywhere, leaving him to wonder if they even got rain over here. It was acceptable in some areas, but that only meant the monkeys had a confined space to live in. Mk walked quickly, nervous. It felt as if something was hiding, readying to pounce on him in this creepy forest..

He spotted his mentor and his dark-furred companion in a clearing. They sat on the grassy ground, talking quietly amongst themselves. He moved in closer, intending to surprise them. Once he crept closer, quietly so his whereabouts could be unknown, he stood at the base of a tree a couple feet away. He also noticed Wukong holding something in his arm protectively.

“—So, I told Mk, ‘But I’m faster!’, and he chased me around but he couldn't even land a blow on me! Guess we need some speed training soon,” Wukong’s tail twitched, thumping against the ground as he paraphrased his whole training session from a day or two ago. When Mk looked closer, his tone didn’t quite match the emotion in his eyes, yet it was shielded away from the human eyes anyway.

Mk had to will his nerves to calm down. Everything should be fine, he thought as he noticed the six eared monkey's eyes glancing in his direction every now and then.  

He jumped out into the clearing, startling the sage, who held the thing in his arm away from the surprise. “Oh! Mk! I was just talking about you,” Wukong mumbled, a big smile on his face. He certainly looked to be doing better than over the phone. But the shadow user never flinched, his six ears fluttering every so often. His gaze was cold, fixed on Mk.

“Hey! I’m here for training, Monkey King! What’s for today?” Mk exclaimed, glancing around the clearing chipperly. It was perfect for sparring!

Wukong cradled the object in his arm softly, eyes glancing down with a little smile. His back was to the curious kid, keeping it out of sight. He wasn’t sure if it was purposeful or not, but he assumed it was important to him in some way. Like maybe it was a sweet peach, or something. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for Wukong to hide something to show it was his, being the hoarder he was.

“What do ya have there, Monkey King?” Mk peeked over the golden monkey’s shoulder, getting a low warning growl from Macaque. He steps back, hands up defensively. “Jeez, sorry, Macaque! What’s wrong?” 

Macaque only grunted in acknowledgment of him backing off, turning away, yet his eyes still held a piercing gaze. That was.. weird. He turned back to the golden monkey, who whipped around to face Mk. In his arms was a ball of sleeping white, faded into brown fur. Mk’s eyes widened, as he looked at the little baby. 

“Where’d the baby come from? Why’re they not with their parents? Are we babysitting for training!?” Mk asked, cooing at the sleeping cub.

Wukong’s face changed quickly at the questions, dropping into a frown. “No, I mean I didn't intend to be babysitting for training.. Her mother was lost to the wildfire, and I still have yet to try to relocate her. So she's gonna be hanging with me for a little bit, until we can find her another mother.”

Mk’s heart nearly stopped, as he realized that he was, technically, at fault for her mother's death. Indirectly. “What?”

Wukong nodded, rocking the cub gently. “Yeah. Her father died recently, a natural death on the mountain I think. But yeah, we are trying to find a place to keep the cub, at least for a little while. She’s too young to be alone,” he continued, letting her tiny hands cling to his shirt as she slept soundly.

Mk felt like he could throw up. He never meant to take a cub’s mother. “How many casualties were there?” he asked the king cautiously, hand moving to the monkey's shoulder in a comforting manner. Macaque watched, eyes fixed on the kid as he moved closer to the golden monkey. Mk wasn’t sure why, but he didn’t really care. Wukong’s jaded sigh came, before the answer; “One. Just this cub’s mother.”

Macaque patted his back gently, a reminder that it'll be okay, as Wukong chirped sadly. “We just need to find a place for this little monkey, with a family.”

“I’ll take her,” Mk blurted out, looking right at Wukong. The golden monkey and the dark furred monkey both looked equally as stunned, and even a little skeptical. “Mk, no offense but do you even know how to care for a baby monkey?” the king asked, before giving a pointed look at Macaque. Surely he was just fucking with them, right? “It’s not easy, especially not in a confined living space in the city.”

The kid nodded. “I’m sure, I’ll take her. I’ll learn how to take care of her, I promise!” The kid sounded almost as if he were begging for the child. Wukong looked a little disappointed, offly enough, but he nodded. It wasn't like he had much of a choice, because giving her to an established monkey family could prove to be hard.

“If you’re absolutely sure you can take care of her, be my guest. It’s a lot of responsibility, though, and I don't know if you're really ready for it.”

“Wukong, you know you can wait,” Macaque interjected quickly. He knew from the longing look on his face how much Wukong wanted to wait and take care of her on his own. Wukong whispered to Macaque, low enough the kid wouldn’t hear, “I’m not.. ready . It wasn’t meant to be, Liu’er. We will have a cub at some point, but now must not be the time.” The king offered, a sad smile gracing his lips quickly before he turned away.

Macaque looked at Wukong, sighing. “Alright, then. If you believe he really can, so be it,” Macaque’s tail lashed against the rock they sat on, “I support your decision, I guess. But how will Mk get the necessary things to take care of her?” Macaque’s fur bristled lightly, looking up at Mk. The kid didn't know why the monkey who had seemed to be on better terms with himself than Wukong just days prior was so cautious, or angry, with him.

Mk was sweating, it was feeling hot beneath his jacket, and he was obviously nervous. “I’ll just get what Monkey King instructs me to, and you can drop her off at the noodle shop tonight! I promise, I'll be responsible with her. With the help of Pigsy, Tang, Mei, and Sandy, she’ll be fine!”

Macaque scoffed. "If you can't fight at least one demon without blowing apart half of the city, how do you expect to take care of a whole monkey cub? Like an actual kid?" he asked, an accusatory stare directed right at the young adult. Wukong elbowed the warrior in the rib, giving him a pointed look as he winced.

They had quite a lot to talk about, and he wasn’t sure if any actual training would happen.

—

Mk parked the vehicle, before bringing all the groceries inside. Pigsy greeted him, before he eyed the groceries. “Kid, what the hell do you need all those groceries for?” he asked, eyes trailing back to the pot of noodles.

“So, hear me out. I may, or may not have, adopted a monkey.”

Pigsy’s eyes widened, looking back to the young adult. “You what now?” he asked, hoping that Mk was just pulling some stupid prank on him. But he wasn’t. It was painfully clear when he took in the nervous, stressed form of his employee and-kind-of son.

“We killed one of the monkeys. The monkey was a mother of a little baby whose dad died a little before the fire. It felt right to at least help the baby monkey, after taking her mom.. Monkey King will be here soon with the baby. Buddha, I’m so unprepared for this,” Mk fretted, taking a seat to control his breathing. He was known for making impulsive decisions, but this one took the cake.

“You adopted a monkey?! From the Monkey King!” Pigsy shouted angrily, in disbelief. “We’re not meant to be his little babysitters, Mk! Why would you ever adopt a baby monkey?!” he was furious. Which was expected of him, given the huge impulsive decision that he was now being dragged into.

Tang looked up from his book. “Yeah.. do you even know how to care for a baby monkey?” the scholar asked quietly, “They’re quite complicated. Monkey King makes it look easy, but it’s really not. Why would you adopt a monkey?” Tang asked, repeating Pigsy’s question, just a little less angry and a little more nervous.

“Listen! The fire killed the baby’s mother, so I offered to take care of her,” Mk answered with a nervous laugh. Pigsy took a moment to think about this revelation. “So, you told on us?”

“What? No!” Mk looked shocked, “Of course not! I just felt so bad, so I—,” Mk tried explaining, but there was a knock on the back door. “Tang, come help!” Mk called, racing to the door after dropping the groceries. Tang groaned dramatically, standing up and heading over to where the younger adult laid them down, picking them back up for him. Mk had hurried to the door, allowing the golden monkey to step into the noodle shop through the back way.

The dark furred monkey was there, too, holding Wukong’s hand. It seemed just about normal anymore for the dark furred monkey to be with Wukong, whenever he was near the group at least. The golden monkey looked uncomfortable, holding the baby monkey close. “Are you absolutely sure about this, Mk..? She could be a real handful, I've never really met this one before today,” Wukong rambled quietly, “And, no offense but I worry she might not be in great hands, since you’re only like a kid yourself.” 

Mk did push the offense back, and smiled in a way he hoped would assure the king that the baby would be okay. “I’m sure! She’ll be fine here, I promise it. With me and the rest of the group caring for her, she’ll have an amazing time with us.. and she'll probably be pampered,” Mk added, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “Anyway, I’m sure I can do it. You could always check up on us, though,” he added, putting the offer out there. Once that was mentioned, Wukong let out a sigh of relief. 

“If you promise to take really good care of her, then alright. I know these are.. pretty bad circumstances, combined with the fact that she’s a monkey from a mountain and you’re more of a city guy, but I trust that you’ll try to care for her. Just keep her safe, okay? If you or her ever need anything, call me and I'll be right over, mkay?” Wukong turned his head slightly, away from Mk. He held the cradled baby monkey closer once more, before stretching his arms towards Mk to hand her over. The small bundle of white and brown fur was purring softly.

Macaque looked a little disappointed as Wukong made the move to hand her to Mk. But, since no one stopped him, he picked the baby monkey up, cradling her as the golden furred monkey had. She let out a small whiny noise, waking up as Mk shifted her against his chest.

Wukong looked back at Mk, smiled politely, and left without saying another word. Macaque looked over Mk, muttering, “Take good care of her. Please.”

And then the dark furred monkey joined the golden one outside, vanishing through his shadow portal.

Buddha, what had he gotten himself into?

Chapter Text

Wukong walked glumly down the street. He simply didn’t want to use any form of fast transportation, he was content with a walk in the remaining light of the sunset. 

“Why did we give her to Mk again?” Macaque asked for a reminder, frowning. “He’s also practically a kid.” the six-eared one sounded very agitated. Perhaps it was the fact that they just willingly gave a cub to the underprepared kid. Wukong sighed, looking practically drained from everything happening as of lately.

“None of the other monkeys will take her in, I checked. I can't take care of a cub yet and we aren't even really official yet either,” the golden monkey huffed, his breath shallow. Macaque sighed, his ears fluttering softly.

“I’m more worried about the cub, more than anything,” Macaque pointed out, grabbing hold of the king's hand once more. Wukong sighed softly, before nodding. He didn’t want to admit it, but he shared those same feelings with the warrior. But, he knew that doubting the kid would be even worse.

“Well, I’m sure he’ll be alright. He’s a smart guy, yeah? He’ll manage with a monkey cub. No one else wanted her as I said, and I’m afraid of what trouble she could come into if she joins us-- or, me, as family,” Wukong stated dismissively. 

Macaque nodded, but there was one thought that reverberated around his mind; If Mk truly could be the one behind the whole smoke attack and the burning of flower fruit mountain, which he wasn't sure why he would be, and this is how he'd treated Wukong, how on earth would they treat the little cub?

He desperately hoped they wouldn’t take out their obsessive actions with Wukong on the little baby cub.

It’s been two weeks, and nothing major has happened. Wukong was still grieving the loss of the monkey mother, and the whole of his mountain and home. Macaque gave him some space, but this morning Wukong was sitting in a tree with some of the population’s little cubs yet again. He leaned against the door frame, watching him closely. The king was cradling a couple of baby monkeys and hanging around the other mountain monkeys, making sure they were getting accustomed to the new environment.

“Good morning, sunshine,” Macaque waltzed up to the tree, nearly startling the king. 

“Some of the monkeys are washing and they didn’t want to bring their cubs. I offered to watch the cubs,” Wukong said, holding the heap of cubs as he allowed himself down from the tree branch. They were climbing all over him, chirping and cooing at the king, meanwhile the rest of the monkey subjects adults and kids were all together, still wary of their new temporary home. They relaxed under the shade of the trees. Macaque cackled at the sight, shaking his head fondly. His nose scrunched adorably, and Wukong's face heated a little at the sight.

They watched the cubs together, and they talked with the mountain monkeys. Speaking of them, only the ones old enough to remember Wukong and Macaque's fall-out (which was surprisingly quite a few) were still cautious around Macaque, for good reason too. 

The rest of the day was a blur and it ended with Wukong on the couch and Macaque in the bedroom, silence fallen over the home in the late hours of the night. Other than Wukong's loud snoring.

—

“I don’t want to do this, Mk.” The scholar was dressed up as Tang Sanzang, and they were outside of the monkeys’ home. “This isn’t..”

Mk sighed. “It’s for Monkey King’s good, Tang! He won’t ever know, anyway! No one would know. It's too late.” Mk shoved him into the doorway, where he noticed it was only Wukong in the shabby, cramped little living room. Macaque must’ve been in the bathroom, they could hear the sound of a shower running. Unfortunately, that was convenient for them. Pigsy patted him on the back, adding on, “Oh-ho, this is gonna be something. Come on, it’s to help Monkey King, he’ll never get better if we don’t help!” Pigsy further pushed him in, making Tang’s heart skip a beat. Mei leaned on Mk’s shoulder, a smile and a thumbs up.

So, Tang gave in. He walked over to Wukong’s sleeping figure, brushing his fur out of his face. He felt scared, anxious, frustrated but he knew better than to mess everything up for everyone. “Monkey,” he whispered softly, close to his ear.

Wukong stirred slightly, eyebrows creasing, but nothing more. He must've been a somewhat heavy sleeper. Tang tried again and again, saying his name louder, and caressing his hair. Wukong’s eyes finally fluttered open, and as soon as they did, Tang glared at him. “You have been bad, Monkey. You’ve used violence to scare everyone away.”

He really hoped that Wukong’s two a.m. brain wasn’t working as well as it did when he was awake. 

It seemed like he did, in fact, think it was real, with the way soft, pleading mumbles spilled out of him instantaneously. “Please, I didn’t.. what, please…” he croaked, eyes widening in fear as some sort of realization crashed upon him. He looked so terrified and Tang felt bad for what he was doing. Still, Tang looked over at Mk and the group, who motioned to recite the spell. Somehow, Tang was unsure how, but Tang knew it.

So, he did just that, and it was clear from Wukong’s reaction that there was some sort of phantom pain connected with it. He started wailing, screaming miserably and animalistically, shattering the silence in the home. He pleaded for Tang to stop, now on his knees with his head bowed onto the couch's cushion. Tang went silent, and receding footsteps could be heard, but the pain didn’t stop. Neither did his wailing, even after the perpetrator fled the scene.

—

Macaque was in the shower when he first heard it. There was some kind of animalistic screaming from the living room. He covered his ears, hissing as the sound of the scream was heightened once again. He quickly finished up in the shower and dried off, throwing his pajamas back on and almost running to find the source of the screams. Once he walked in, his eyes widened with confusion and anguish.

“…Master, please stop, it hurts— please! Ah— please stop! Stop!” the golden monkey wailed, knelt on the couch and his head delicately grasped in his hands. Macaque had never seen this before, other than the final fleeting moments of his life. “Wukong?” he asked quietly, throat drying. The king's body was shaking, his breath out of control.

When Wukong looked over at Macaque, his face went even more pale. His sobs and pleads became incoherent, and Macaque slowly approached the king. “Please, Master, I won’t— please, I won’t do it again, no!! It hurts, it hurts, it—,” Wukong wailed, between coherence and incoherence. Macaque felt useless, reaching a hand over to stroke the other's russet hair softly.

“TURN IT OFF! PLEASE!” 

Macaque startled, softly rumbling against him as a soothing gesture, he hoped. “Turn what off, Wukong?” he asked, patiently. This kind of freak-out kind of scared him, but he wasn't going to walk out on Wukong when he really needed him. 

Wukong all but wailed, “The fillet! The fillet!”, he claimed before he went back to crying for his master to stop.  Macaque wasn’t sure how to end this. “Wukong, look at me,” Macaque requested quietly, prompting the golden monkey to look at him. He leaned up, still shaking and sobbing. “Yeah, like that. You’re doing so well Wukong,” he murmured softly, “Now, can you use your gold vision for me?” Macaque asked, gently cupping the other's cheek with one hand.

Wukong took a moment, but through sobs, his eyes turned golden; and then everything stopped. He was still crying, but he seemed to ease up a little more.

“Wukong?”, Macaque prompted.

“Macaque..? I swear, I saw.. He started- The tightening spell, he said it, and it hurt. It hurt,” Wukong whimpered softly. His head did have the reminisce of a headache.

“That’s impossible, Wukong. He’s gone,” Macaque softly rubbed his back, still confused and worried about the king. Wukong shuddered softly in his hold, eyebrows furrowing. 

“But, he woke me up. He told me I’ve been bad, he repeated the spell. He touched my forehead, I felt it! And my hair!” Wukong protested, tail flicking against the couch anxiously. “Not just anyone can do that!”

“He touched your forehead?” Macaque asked the russet monkey, frowning. Maybe it had been a hallucination. Wukong nodded, leaning against him. “Why don’t we just get to sleep? We can talk about it tomorrow morning, it's two in the morning,” Macaque replied, standing up and unexpectedly pulling Wukong up with him. 

"What are we doing?" Wukong mumbled, watching the six eared primate with utmost confusion as he was led into his bedroom. The six ears fluttered as he pulled Wukong close, his face neutral. Not happy, but not mad, or disappointed.

"I figured maybe you'd want to sleep in the bed. If not for comfort, for safety," he stated simply, his expression softening, gaining emotion.

"Oh," Wukong mumbled. "Right. Okay. Well.. good night, then?" he whispered, hands shaking as he moved the blanket a little bit. He felt like he was intruding, to which he honestly probably was. He couldn't understand why Macaque would be this generous even if they were on better terms too.

Macaque whispered back, “Good night,” and he turned away to go to sleep.

—

Wukong had been outside when Macaque was cleaning the room. When he found a headpiece under their bed that looked exactly as if it belonged to a certain someone, his suspicion flared even more. 

“Hm,” Macaque hummed softly, scowling at the monk’s headpiece. His face fixed into a dark glare, and the shadows flickered in the room. They were still fucking around with his Wukong's trauma, and now he knew it was them.

He should’ve known, anyway. The air smelled exactly like the group, their mixed scent still lingering in the air. Wukong hadn’t seemed to pick up on that.

They would pay for taking advantage of Wukong’s trust.

Chapter Text

Wukong walked into Macaque’s home right at that moment, and the dark furred monkey quickly kicked the headpiece under the bed. He looked back at the golden monkey, smiling. “Hey, Wukong, what’s up?” There was a slight stutter to his tone, and Wukong glanced at him curiously. However, he didn’t mention it, or even ask about what he’d been doing before he walked in.

“I.. Well, I don’t know. I’m just.. I wanna go check up on the cub. Can I?” He looked up at Macaque, asking the simplest of questions.

And that made Macaque’s heart fall, even if just a little bit.

“Why would you need to ask me? You’re allowed to do whatever you want, and go wherever you want to, Wukong,” Macaque replied softly, eyebrows raising at this behavior. It wasn’t usual, and he had a small feeling it had something to do with the little incident in the early hours. Wukong looked down, as if he expected something else, but instead he just sighed. And then Macaque had an idea.

“No matter. Can I come with you?” 

—

Mk had gotten a text from his mentor that he and his six-eared companion were coming over to see the cub. It wasn’t much of an issue, apart from the fact Sandy was just now being filled in on what they did to the golden monkey last night.

“You did what?!” he cried, looking at all of them with bewilderment. “Guys…”

“Ah, it’s fine, Sandy! He can take it. He’s seven times immortal, didn’t ya hear him gloating?” Pigsy snorted from where he stirred his noodles. He looked rather happy, and Sandy eyed him. “He just needs a little push in the right direction, and he’ll be good as new.” Sandy sighed, trying to say something to protest but ultimately being interrupted by Mk. 

“Well, something’s up with Macaque, though,” Mk sounded nervous to bring this up. “When I went to his home to train, he kept looking at me like I had two heads, and it disgusted him. I think he’s just cranky, but..” Mk shrugged. Sandy held the sleeping cub, rocking her as she made little distressed coos. She’d been doing that the entire two weeks, and they couldn’t figure out why, and they didn't want to bother the king. She was very fussy when awake, chirping and crying a lot. Sandy shushed her quietly, frowning at their whole 'plan'. It didn't exactly seem to be 'all for his own good', anymore. They weren't being good friends.

“Well I, for one, do not want to do anything else like yesterday. He could have hurt me, you know,” Tang glared at the others, fixing his glasses. Mei shrugged, unceremoniously flopping down on the couch as she played on her gaming device. “Come on, Tang, it’s for Monkey King’s good. Like Piggy said! Besides, he needs to get better somehow.”

Tang glanced nervously at the dragon girl, before asking, “You know, what if it’s not?”

Mei rolled her eyes, slumping back. “It is.” She continued racing in the game, and everyone went silent. Sandy straightened up, holding the cub who was starting to whine again. “I hope Monkey King can tell us what she needs, she’s being super fussy,” he states plainly.

—

Wukong stared forward with exhausted eyes. Their conversation had died down as they walked down the wet streets, and they were more or less relaxed. It’d rained briefly earlier, which was why Wukong had come inside of Macaque’s home in the first place, and the ground was soaked with the telltale promise of more rain hanging in the sky. Once Wukong had enough of the silence, he decided to reveal something he’d tried to hide from the other. With everything going on, he felt terrible for Macaque having to be there for him every single time. So, he tried to hide it away from him more. The major times they impacted him, he wasn’t able to hide it. But the panic attacks, or the memories that persisted after, he was able to hide them if he was quick. “Every time I think about what happened to my mountain,” he starts, but doesn’t go on. He just sighs, pulling his golden curls out of his face as he continues to walk with Macaque. 

The other monkey nods, gesturing for him to go on. He twines their tails together, like he'd done before they fucked their relationship up, letting him know that he’s not alone. Wukong's face shifts into a soft smile, endeared by his gesture. “I got flashbacks to the first time it happened. It’s scary, and I never wanted to see my mountain like that again..” Wukong continues, laughing weakly. A sarcastic attempt at lightening the weight of what he revealed. "But, uh. There were more monkeys dead the first time, so I guess that's.. not really good but it's better."

Macaque frowns, nodding. “I’m sorry, Wukong, I really am. But I promise, it’ll stop soon,” he mutters, a promise. The golden monkey was confused. Wasn't it a one time thing? Why the hell would it burn down over and over again--

But they walked in silence the rest of the way, Macaque held the front door of the noodle shop open for Wukong to step in and dry his shoes first.

They looked around, first glancing at the chef. And then at Mk, who was smiling nervously, and then at Sandy, who held the cub. When Sandy noticed the intense stares from both monkeys, he handed the cub to Mk nervously.

Wukong rushed over to Mk, trying to take the cub from him once he heard the distressed chirps and deducted that something was in fact wrong with the cub. It startled everyone, even Macaque a little, when he went sprinting for the cub. 

Pigsy ran around the counter with a metal spoon, waving it around wildly as he yelled at the golden monkey for trying to take the cub like that. Mk at least tried to peacefully give the cub to the monkey. “Monkey King, what are you doing?!” Mk asked, worried when he took the cub right from his hands with a worried expression. Yet Wukong only growled in reply when Mk showed resistance against handing the cub to him.

Macaque interrupted and said, “Just let him have the cub. He’s not going to stop,” the dark tail twitching in agitation. “And, for the love of god, don’t hit him with a metal spoon!” he hissed at Pigsy, who started hitting Wukong with the spoon. And he thought the pig demon was supposed to be the most mature.

Wukong just turned his head and growled at him, baring his teeth. Pigsy glared at him, but ultimately backed off seeing as he didn't look like he was trying to attack Mk anymore. Mk backed away, to give the golden monkey some space with the little mountain cub. Wukong went silent, checking over the little cub and walked back to Macaque. He looked mildly upset, and everyone watched intently. “What was that about, Monkey King?” Mk asked quietly, getting his attention. He sounded scared.

“I was trying to check her over. She was making bad noises, something’s wrong,” Wukong whispered. “And it’s only normal for some monkeys to get aggravated with someone when a cub is upset at them. That’s why I kinda.. yeah, sorry. Guess I'm just a little territorial over my subjects, or something.” Wukong sighed, listening to the chirps of the cub. She was unhappy with the situation, he could tell, as she starting to cry again.

Macaque smiled, laying a hand on Wukong’s shoulder. “Wukong, could you step outside for a moment and check on her? I have to talk to them about something,” he murmured in his ear, getting a soft nod and a content chirp in response while the golden monkey handled the cub. Wukong stepped outside of the noodle shop as asked, and the second the door closed, he glared right at Tang.

Tang could feel his heart leap into his throat. “If that thing from this morning was you guys,” Macaque started, growling softly, “You’re gonna be in a world of trouble.” Macaque didn’t want to jump to conclusion, seeing as he couldn’t prove it yet but he did have a huge piece of evidence. The shadows flickered in the room, threatening to close in as faux gold eyes glared at each of them, one at a time. 

Mk asked quietly, “What thing from this morning?” Macaque scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest with some sort of grimace. Everyone seemed to genuinely not know, which pissed him off. There’s no way they weren’t behind it, or didn't know about it. but, again, he couldn’t prove anything yet, because that headpiece that could have been Wukong’s in the first place.

“Something happened to him while I was in the shower at two in the morning. He started screaming and crying for his master to stop the dumb fillet. If anyone was involved..” Macaque lowered his voice, gaze serious. Tang looked dangerously close to breaking, but Mk spoke before he could. “We don’t even know how to do that, and even if we did, we wouldn’t!” Mk put his hands on his hips as he defended them.

Macaque’s eyes fix on him. “You’d better hope you’re right. He doesn’t suspect any of it is you. If I find out it is you, I swear to Buddha, kid,” Macaque’s tail lashed behind him, before he chuckles. “And, also, I really hope I don’t have a certain Monk’s headpiece at my home,” he reveals, before Pigsy interrupts him from speaking again. 

“If all ya came along for is to threaten us, get out.” Pigsy grunted from behind the counter, stirring his pot of noodles. That's all they ever saw him doing at that point. Macaque only chuckled again, before he invited Wukong back in. He was holding the cub protectively, rubbing her back while he walked back into the noodle shop.

They waited until the monkeys left, with a knowing glare shot from Macaque, before they spoke about whatever the fuck just happened.

Chapter Text

“How does he know?” Mk’s voice wavered slightly, looking at the door.

“How did I forget the headpiece there?! Oh, Buddha, we’re screwed!” Tang freaked out, “He knows, and we lied, and it’s still there!” he put his hands on his head digging his nails into his hair, stressing about it. “I’ll be the first one dead!”

Pigsy whacked him with the spoon. “Hush, now! No one’s gonna die. Just say that it’s Monkey King’s. He’s so old, he’d never remember whether that’s true or not!”

Mk thought about it. “That’s probably true, actually. He does keep a bunch of random junk in this thing he calls a 'treasure room', but I think most of it's just random artifacts that he hoards. Or, had, I guess. I mean, maybe? Crap, I think all his stuff is gone now,” he replied, eyes wide. “All of that stuff might've been caught in the fire,” Mk frowned, thinking about all of the ancient artifacts that he hadn’t checked to see if they were still there. The monkey’s whole hoard of items was probably gone now, too.

Mei shrugged. “Guys, just play it off! Maybe Macaque knows, but just don’t be caught, and we’ll be fine! As long as we do stuff that could be accidental, we’ll be fine because it could be an accident and he'd never know! Speaking of doing stuff, actually,” Mei trailed off into her own topic, “What can we do next? I know about the whole mountain thing, but… how can we pull that one off?”

Mk thought about it, but he couldn’t come up with an answer. But, Pigsy on the other hand, had the slightest beginning to his idea.

Sandy wasn’t paying attention to the group, taking care of the cub. Wukong had given him some pointers on taking care of a monkey cub; for instance, when being held, she doesn’t like the fabric of shirts like Mk's. He also quickly showed Sandy the way to feed a monkey cub too before he left, with a bottle. It was different from holding a human baby, which was why she was so fussy. 

“We can bring him back to the mountain,” Pigsy whispered to the rest of the group, and Tang and Mk looked at him with worry in contrast to Mei's.. amusement? She didn't look too worried about it. “Y’know, maybe that’ll suffice. If you can spar with him there, you could probably throw him into the mountain if he’s nervous enough.”

“Didn’t he, like, completely break it?” Mei asked, raising an eyebrow. Tang and Mk shrugged. 

“I mean, he did break out of it once, yeah. But some of it is bound to be there, right?” Pigsy shrugged. Mk nodded in agreement. He was a little amused about how much Pigsy had learned from Tang and him. “But we’d have to make an excuse to go there. Much less with Monkey King. I guess we don’t have to tell them where? Just that we’re going somewhere to find a place to picnic.”

Tang still didn’t look convinced, but the young adults agreed. “Yeah! We don’t even know where it is, so he won’t think it’s on purpose— but, we don’t know where it is.” Mei realized the issue, voice falling.

“There’s a map,” Tang spoke up again, shrugging. “I have a map that could lead us there.”

Mei’s eyes twinkled in excitement as she immediately turned her attention to the scholar. “Ooh! There’s a map to the mountain?! How? How did you get it?” she asked, looking up at him with incredulous excitement. Tang met eyes with the dragon girl, shaking his head with a twinge of excitement.

“I have it, because do you really think that there’s no such thing that exists? Of course, there’s maps! So many people study the legend of the Monkey King, and their research is on most of the stuff that’s left behind from his journey. It may even be a tourist spot, so this may not work either way!” Tang informed, raising a hand up as he continued to ramble. “However, I’m sure if we get him close enough, he’ll probably get reminded of that, especially if no one’s around. He was left there alone for so long, you know. So, what you said may not be all that bad, we just need to pin him in the mountain, somehow. He lands hard, being a stone monkey, so just hit him hard enough that he hits the mountain or something. If there’s loose rocks, they might pile on him, making it twice as effective.”

The gang stopped listening after a while, chatting among themselves. “—And no one’s listening. Guys! Are we gonna set something up?” Tang sighed, exasperated and a little irritated with them for not listening. Pigsy looked at him and shrugged.

“Euhh, yep. We will, soon. Just gotta get Mk to text him,” Pigsy went back to chatting with Sandy. He was clearly angry about something, raising his voice slightly before he calmed down when it scared the cub awake. The cub cooed, small hands holding onto Sandy’s bare skin. Her white and brown fur was messy.

Tang sighed. They never listened.

“Hey, Mk!” Tang called over to the young adult, gaining his attention. “You just need to text Monkey King that we’re gonna go on a picnic and maybe get some sparring in and that he’s coming too. Then we’ll be good to go. How about this weekend?” 

Mk nodded. “Sure. Pigsy!” he called for the pig demon, who stopped his conversation to see what Mk wanted. 

“Yeah, kid?” he asked, looking past Sandy and at Mk. 

The young adult grinned. “We’re taking this weekend off for it!” he responded, taking his phone out to text the king.

-

“Who is there?” 

A familiar female stood in a distinct hallway, with one of her disciples walking into the hallway to talk. Her eyes glanced down to face her disciple, looking graciously at the letter he held.

“Bodhisattva, there is a letter. It has been known that your children’s home has been burned down,” the disciple replied, reading the letter aloud for her to hear. Her eyes were fixed on the letter that the disciple held. “The celestial primate, known as Sun Wukong. There’s no reason why that they have said yet. There’s no identity behind it, either.”

Bodhisattva Guanyin nodded. “Alright. I will pay him a visit. Where does he currently reside?” She asked, taking the letter in her own hands to read over it. When her eyes skimmed over it, it read that he lives with the other celestial primate, Six-Eared Macaque. “Well, I guess I have some places to go.”

“Alright. Would you like anyone to accompany you there, or should we stay behind to take care of business?” the disciple asked, taking the letter back and folding it neatly. She shook her head, grabbing an overcoat.

“No, I’ll be perfectly alright. I’m going to go see my child now. I will be back in a week or so, depending on how well the trip goes.”

Chapter Text

Wukong got a text from his student while he was in the shower, since Macaque had basically forced him to take one. The golden monkey hated showers. It was something about wet fur. Macaque could understand a little bit, but he’d hear his other half complain a lot about how horrible it felt to have his hair wet and flat against him. With his worsening mental health, which he planned to talk to him about and soon, he hadn’t showered or groomed in quite some time, actually a little more than a week really. Usually, not showering would be fine because they’re monkeys, but he figured it’d be easier than just sitting him down and grooming him anyway. Macaque perked up from his seat across the room once Wukong’s phone dinged, left on the bed while he showered. 

He knew immediately that it was Mk, and he scowled as the phone buzzed alive with ringing. He walked over to the bathroom door and knocked, getting a muffled “Huh?” in reply. Macaque opened the door slightly, “Wukong, I think Mk is calling you.”

“Oh, can you answer it?” he replied, dropping something in the shower. Macaque snorted as the golden monkey wrestled with the slippery soap, from the sounds of it; and the soap was winning.

“Sure, I’ll let you know what he wants when you’re out of the shower. Have fun,” Macaque teased, the king grumbling annoyance at him. Macaque walked away, though, letting the door close completely again. He eyed the phone suspiciously as he grew closer, looking at the name that flashed on the screen. 

Mk ❤️

And he realized how truly hard this would be on Wukong. He took the phone, and fumbled with it before he pressed the accept button. “Hello?”, Macaque asked into the phone, careful not to put it up to his ears.

“Macaque? I wanna speak to Monkey King, is he there?” Mk’s voice came chipper, almost undoubtedly promising of something else. Macaque, with a hint of annoyance, replied; “He’s here, just in the shower. I can take a message.”

Mk went silent for a moment, before he replied, “It’s about training! I wanna talk about our next training session on Saturday, just tell him to call when he gets out!” Mk urged. Macaque found this interesting, as Wukong never said anything about training on Saturday. But, he also wasn’t obligated to know everything, and he knew that.

He sighed dramatically, before he answered, “Yeah, yeah. I’ll tell him. Bye,” Macaque hung up, before laying the phone back on the bed. Before it shut off, the wallpaper lit up faintly; the two of them, happily posing for a surprise photo Wukong took a couple of days beforehand. He smiled, feeling his face heat up ever so slightly at the fond memory.

Yeah, he was glad they were making up. He had known how he missed the golden monkey, but he didn’t know exactly how much. He sat back in his chair, resuming his reading.

A couple minutes later, Wukong had finished up in the shower and walked out in his pajamas, flapping his hands. “Gross, it’s sticking to me!”

Macaque looked up at the messy haired monkey, who was grimacing. He shook his head, stifling a laugh at the golden one. “Just wrap it in a towel until it dries, or something,” he suggests, before his attention turns back to the phone. “Oh, yeah, Mk wanted to talk about training on saturday,” his tail flicked dismissively.

“Oh! Guess I should call him back, then,” Wukong muttered, grabbing his phone from the bed and sitting in its place. His peach-colored case was a gift from the kid himself, a cliché but lovable color. His phone had also been a gift from the kid, as he’d had no clue what a phone even was. When Wukong kept sending poorly written letters, he’d decided that he’d help his dyslexic mentor out just a little bit by giving him a phone; purely so it could autocorrect his spelling. 

It took him a while to understand how it worked, his nails constantly clicking against the screen in a way that made his stomach do flips, until he learned how to use the soft, fleshy pads of his fingers rather than the tips.

He opened his phone, clicking into the phone feature that Mk had pointed out when he first showed Wukong around the little device. He clicked Mk’s name, as Mk had explained before was to call him, and he smiled when he heard the ringing. 

Mk’s voice popped up on the other end of the phone. No matter how many times he’d call anyone, it would always amaze him how they could speak right through the phone. “Hey, Monkey King!”

“Hey, bud!” Wukong’s tail curled onto his lap as he chirped, quickly forgetting his earlier predicament with his hair. He put the phone to his ear, to hear the kid.

“We were gonna do something on Saturday, but the group told me to invite you! We can still get in some training, too!” Mk invited the king, “The others will be having a picnic,” he continued.

Wukong hummed, lost in thought. They’d be training while the others were having a picnic, so why not? “Sure! What time on Saturday?”

“Uh, probably gonna head out around ten!” Mk replied, and there was quiet snickering behind the phone. Wukong heard it, and promptly debated asking about it. “Whatcha laughing for, bud? Did I say something wrong?”

“Mei pulled a prank on Pigsy!” Mk replied quickly, before giggling. “Sat a tack on his seat, and now she’s waiting for him to finally sit.” Wukong sighed, shaking his head fondly. “You two are menaces. How’s Xue?” he asks, which Mk scoffs at. 

“You’re still worried about her? I’m a good parent, Monkey King! She hasn’t really been fussy, she’s played around the house a lot in fact. She seems to like it here!” Mk replies. Wukong sighs in relief, eyes flicking over to Macaque briefly.

“I’m only checking in, that’s all! Well, I’ve gotta go! Bye, kiddo!” Wukong replied with a smile, hanging up.

“Xue?” Macaque asks the golden monkey, interest piqued after he mentioned a name. Wukong beams at him, tail patting against the bed happily.

“Xue! I got to name the cub with Mk, and we decided on Xue,” he replied. 

—

“I believe there is something that can help us on Saturday,” Tang spoke to Mk and Mei, sitting on the couch as they glanced into his book. “There’s this one plant that can cause paralysis to him.”

Mk looked at Tang, eyeing him cautiously. “Well, I don’t wanna paralyze him forever!” Mei seemed on board with his idea, however. 

“Mk, he’s the Monkey King! His body will heal anyway,” Mei interrupted, and Mk guessed that was true. “Besides, once it works out the poison, he’ll be fine. It’s like what happened to me.” Both Tang and Mk looked at Mei, not sure what exactly she was referring to.

Mk sighed, putting a hand on his hip as he runs his other hand’s fingers through his hair. “As long as there won’t be any lasting side effects, alright. But this seems a little extreme, doesn't it..?" he asked, uncertainty lacing his tone. He wasn't completely on board yet.

"I mean, maybe. But it's not like the plant will hurt him in the long run-- Think of it like the stomach flu or something. It doesn't have any lasting symptoms, and while this plant is filled with toxins that could kill mortals, he isn't mortal," Tang explained. "It's like a little bit worse version of the stomach flu, sprinkled in with the chance of paralysis."

"I guess it’d make it easier, since otherwise he could just break out of the stone. Alright, what’s the name of this plant?” Mk agreed after it'd been compared as merely the same as the stomach flu. His hands clasp together, as he peeks over Tang's shoulder at the information written down in his book.

“It’s the Atropa belladonna, or known otherwise as the deadly nightshade. Sure, there can be many other side effects aside from just paralysis, but that’s mainly what we’re going for,” Tang continues on, “And even just a little bit can send a fully grown human into paralysis. So, we won’t need much, but we do need to make sure we handle it with care. As I've said, it’s poisonous to touch, as well, so we have to wear heavy gloves to prevent anyone else from getting poisoned.”

Mk, for the first time, still had a bad feeling about this. “Okay, but.. what if his body can’t overcome it?”

“He will!” Mei pats his back. “I know he will. He’ll get over it,” she grins at her best friend. 

“Mei's right. He’s the Monkey King, have some faith in his healing benefits, yeah?” Tang smiles. “We wouldn’t be doing this if there was a chance he couldn’t recover.”

Mk nods, writing a reminder down in his notebook to find some Belladonna.

Chapter Text

Redson walked through the halls of the family home, slowly. His mother had demanded he have dinner with her and his father about an hour ago, but he was still trying to buy himself time. After all, he had a feeling he knew why she sounded so irritated. 

His footfalls came light and steady, treading quietly around. His parents weren’t aware he was home, anyway, but he was trying to calm his nerves before walking straight into there. He took a deep breath, before he walked up to the door separating them. 

With a nervous sigh, he pushes his way into the dining room, glancing at his father and mother sitting together. They returned the look, before his mother broke the silence. “It’s about time. Sit down, your food is getting cold,” she spoke, gesturing to his spot.

“Alright, mother,” he replied through gritted teeth, his worries dying down slowly as he sat at the table. Maybe he just read too far into her tone, and maybe she wasn’t as mad as he once thought her to be. Besides, it wouldn’t make any sense for her to be mad about that, right? She disliked him all the same.

“So, how has your day been today?” her gaze pierced into his eyes, her perfect posture not faltering once. He picked up his fork, and rather than eating with it, he pokes his food instead. He wasn’t that hungry, but he knew better than to insult their cooking by not eating.

“Well,” he responded, “I’ve been working on a new vehicle. I’m getting closer to finishing with it, just needs a little bit more work… How about you?” The conversation felt unnecessarily formal, making his skin crawl. He wasn’t sure why, his mother probably wasn’t mad! At least, not about the mountain.

“Well, I’ve gotten word that Sun Wukong’s mountain has been burned down a couple weeks ago,” she spoke, before taking a slow bite of her food. It was as if she chewed it as slowly as she could to make the fear worse. 

“Ahah, have you?” Redson eyed her suspiciously. “Why should that matter to us? No one here is on good terms with the peasant, anyway,” he concluded, deciding now was a better time to eat than later. He took a bite, looking over at his father, who began to speak.

“That may be true, but we have talked… and we suspect you had something to do with the fire. Normal fires cannot start on his mountain, as it is protected against that, too,” Bull King’s gruff voice replied, laying it out flat for him. 

Redson could feel his hair flare up at the accusation. “Wh-H- What?! You really think I would stoop low enough to burn that— that peasant’s mountain?! There’s other demons that are more than capable of doing that too!” He fixed his glasses quickly, and he knew he’d been caught.

“That’s precisely it, my boy. No other demon has the access to his mountain through friends, like you have with the noodle boy. While I do not approve of your actions, however, you are correct; none of us are even on good terms with the simian in the first place. So, I guess, what I am trying to say is that I contacted Bodhisattva Guanyin—,” Iron Fan spoke firmly, until Redson started to sputter again.

“What?! No— don’t contact her again!—,” he was cut off with his mother’s hands slamming against the table. 

“Silence!” she called out, eyes narrowing at her son. “I didn’t mention your name anywhere in the letter. If she finds out, I could only pray for you, but you can only hope no one confesses before that. I just felt it was necessary, seeing as the Bodhisattva Guanyin is his mother, and I’m not sure if he even reached out to her himself. It was only right.”

Redson takes a deep breath, heat simmering underneath his skin. It was useless to argue, and he knew it. “I understand, mother. I will be joining their whole group for this.. picnic on Saturday. Sun Wukong was also invited,” he admits, looking dutifully at his mother. 

“Really? I doubt he goes,” the Demon Bull King replies, shaking his head. “He’s gotten weaker. It seems that all he does is laze around in his home, anyway.”

“Well, actually, father, he’s going. He’s supposed to train Mk while he’s there, because they moved their training to correspond with the time while they’re at the picnic,” Redson comments, shrugging.

His mother studies him, before humming. “That is interesting,” she replies.

—

“What do monkey cubs even wear?” Mk asked Sandy, exasperated. He’d been trying to find suitable clothes for Xue, ones that wouldn't make her have a fit, but none of it was right. He didn’t want her to get fleas or something while she was out at the picnic. Bai He held Xue, the two practically inseparable ever since the dark-haired kid saw her. 

“Well, I think she can wear normal clothes, with the addition of a tail hole!” Sandy replied, grabbing a onesie and cutting a small hole in the back. “Try this on her!”

Mk took the cub from Bai He’s arms, and the little girl watched as he put the clothes on the light furred bundle. It fit very loosely, surprisingly enough, but it still didn’t look completely right. “Agh! It doesn’t look right,” Mk scowled.

“We could always try one of my old baby outfits instead!” Bai He chimed in, getting the attention of both adults. She looked up at them, wide-eyed.

“Well— Yeah, we should try that,” Mk nodded, “Do you know where they are?” Xue started to squirm in his hands, grabbing at his shirt and making small, frustrated coos. 

Bai He nodded, “It’s still in my closet, but it’s stored away in a box labeled ‘Baby Clothes’. I can go and get them, I’m sure they would be easy to drag back here!”

“Nuh-uh. We can come with, right? It’d be easier that way,” Mk pointed out, and the little girl nodded hesitantly. “Well, if you wanna…” Her face fell slightly, but she seemed just as ecstatic to help the monkey cub either way.

“I’ll lead the way!” she exclaimed, heading out of the apartment, onto the platform for Mk’s stairs. She jumps about, almost unnoticeably, as she skipped down the steps. 

Mk carried the cub, her whines and frustrated growls not stopping. Upon hearing the whines, Sandy offered to carry her, recalling Wukong’s explanation for why she was upset like that. Mk passed her to the tall, blue guy behind him, before catching up with Bai He. Sandy held Xue to his chest, letting her tiny paws touch his skin. 

To Mk’s surprise, she purred at the new change, curling into the river demon’s arm.

It didn’t take much of a walk before they arrived at their destination, in an alley. Bai He led them to a home that looked relatively inhabited, despite the lamp being on. “Oh, I must’ve forgotten to shut that off earlier,” she grumbled, before turning back to face Mk and Sandy. “Okay, we’re here! My bedroom’s right down here,” she pointed down the dimly lit hallway, the light coming from between the curtains and the window, where the light spilled through. She started to walk down the unkempt hall. The adults peeked at each other cautiously, before stalking after the little girl.

“Hey, Bai He? It looks like your parents aren’t home—,” Sandy quietly mutters, feeling a little nervous. When Mo pounced on his leg, he almost shrieked, jostling the cub. He wasn’t aware Mo even came along, he half expected it to be some other animal. The cub’s alarmed squeak scared Mk, making his head whip around to face her. He took in sight of the nervous river demon and the curious cub, creeping down the hallway after him.

Bai He’s eyebrows raised at Sandy’s unexpected observation, where she sheepishly nodded from her bedroom doorframe. Her fingers tugged at her cardigan sleeves, more interested in that than explaining where her parents were. “The good news is, though, I found the summer baby clothes!”

A small cardboard box, which had baby clothes in it, sat on the floor. Mk saw what she had to offer for Xue. “That’s a lot of skirts,” Mk commented, chuckling. He poked around a little bit, before a certain skirt caught his eye. It had leaf prints on it, which made him giggle. “Just like what Monkey King used to wear!”

Bai He smiled, before her face fell slightly. “Right, why don’t we hurry? I’m sure mom’s gonna be home soon, and I wouldn’t wanna surprise her with guests!” she laughed drily, her hand combing through her own long, dark hair. The streaks were still prominent, however hard she tried to hide them.

“Yeah.. good catch,” Mk nodded, picking up the box of baby clothes. Sandy, however, viewed the inside of the house. There was something wrong, there. But he followed the others out anyway, unable to put his finger on exactly what was wrong but it still made him wonder if she was okay. “So, Bai He… You excited for the picnic?” the dark-haired young adult asked the kid, who looked up at him with wide eyes. She only nodded, hugging her monkey plush, which she'd gotten from Mk after they bonded after the whole 'Lady Bone Demon' situation, closer.

Chapter Text

Wukong sighed as the dark-furred monkey tried to get the smaller monkey to let him come with. “Mac, I’m sorry, but I'm not sure if they would like that! They've said some stuff about how you've been acting grumpier and meaner lately, and they think it would be better if you stayed behind.. I'm sorry. Besides,” Wukong raised an eyebrow, pointing an accusatory look at him as he crossed his arms over his chest, “Don’t you have something you’re supposed to be doing today anyway? I thought you said you had business to take care of.”

“But Wukong! I just want to come with!” Macaque’s eyebrows furrowed, as he whined. “That ‘thing’ can wait!”

Wukong shook his head. “If you’re so worried, send a shadow clone! But you can’t miss whatever you need to do, especially not because you’re worried about me!” The golden monkey smiled fondly, arms moving to wrap around the warrior's neck. “I’ll be fine.”

Macaque frowned, nodding hesitantly. “Alright, then. Here, I’ll send the clone in your cape’s shadows, so it's out of sight." He sighed, before adding on, "If anything happens, I’ll be there in a heartbeat, alright?” Macaque smiled, his hand cupping the king's cheek, watching as a rosy blush dusted his cheeks. 

“Okay, then. But I promise, nothing's gonna happen. All we're gonna do is train." He finally grew bold enough, and he kissed the shadow monkey. On the lips. Their lips met softly, a promising embrace, before they had to split once more. Macaque was stunned into silence, but his expression melted into a sad smile, as he summoned a shadow clone to keep a watchful eye on the other monkey. He watched as the shadow sunk into his cape, which he’d promised to wear the entire time or else the shadow clone would disappear. 

“Alright, well, I guess it’s time to go! Bye, Mac!” Wukong gave him one last kiss before he waved, and he was off on his journey to Pigsy’s Noodles. That was the designated place for him to meet the rest of the group, after all.

 The cloud ride there was short-lived, and he arrived there quickly. The whole group was still packing their items in the vehicle, when Wukong arrived. He almost immediately set his sight for Xue, who was curled up on Mk’s bare shoulder. Sandy had shared, by now, that she hates clothes like his jacket.

“Xue!” Wukong called to her, and Mk held her out for the king to pick up. He trilled happily, holding the purring cub as his fingers combed through her fur. “Wow, she looks great! Where’d you get these clothes?” Wukong brought attention to the faint yellow shirt, which had a white star outline on it, and the teal skirt.

“Bai He actually gave it to us!” Mk patted the shy girl’s hair, stepping aside to let Wukong see her. He was met with the sight of the girl he’d almost killed, and his heart tightened.

“Hi, Mister Monkey King,” Bai He mumbled, holding her monkey plush closer. Wukong’s tail flicked nervously, but he still stammered, “Oh, gods, hey kid! Sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

Bai He smiled. Oh, her squishable face. 

That he’d almost killed.

“Monkey, let’s go!” Pigsy called from inside the van, and Wukong’s head whipped around to see the entire crew, aside from him, Xue, and Bai He, inside. Had he not been paying attention? It felt like time had skipped.

Wukong hesitantly climbed inside the van, choosing a spot to sit with the monkey cub in his lap. No one, to his surprise, tried to speak to him aside from Bai He and Mk. Bai He sat next to him, lightly petting the cub’s hair.

“She’s so pretty!” Bai He smiled fondly at Xue, letting the monkey wrap her hand around her pointer finger. Wukong’s face was bright, as the cub cooed happily.

-

“Alright, here we go.. What do we tell him if he asks about the weird ball things in it?” Mk asked, looking over at Tang. The scholar was simply reading in his book, not paying attention to the kids. He read over the page, to make sure he wasn’t forgetting anything else about this deadly plant.

“Huh? Oh— Just say it’s boba, or something. I doubt he’s ever had boba, anyway,” Tang muttered, flicking pages back and forth as he read. “But, also, guys. This isn’t some sort of ‘have him eat it and it immediately works’ thing. It’ll take about,” Tang flicks back a page, “A half hour, to an hour? So, we should give him it relatively early,” Tang slammed his book shut.

Mk frowned, but he agreed anyway. Mei’s eyes held an excited gleam that her best friend could only guess was due to the picnic. She’d been so excited for it, to have another vacation so soon after the last. Actually, he’d assumed that Pigsy wouldn’t even take the day off for it, but it seemed they all needed a break, either way. Although, they were kind of taking that ‘break’ privilege from Wukong..

“Okay. But what if things backfire? What if it doesn’t affect him, or it does and he gets really sick?” Mk worried, putting the last of the berries in the peach tea. They all sank towards the bottom, and he stirred it up with a spoon.

“Mk, he’ll be fine. He’s seven times immortal. I promise you, he’s going to be alright,” Tang grabbed his shoulders and faced him. “He might get really sick for a bit,” Tang admitted, “But he’ll be good as new, probably by tomorrow! Or at least in a week, I never looked to see how long the effects can last. But it’s just a little poisonous berry! He’ll be fine.”

Mk sighed, sitting down with the container. “Okay. If you’re sure,” he swished the cup around once more. They were almost there, about ten minutes more. 

“Pigsy, hurry! I’m hungry!” Mei called, laying on the floor of the van. “Soooo hungry…”

Mk joined in, “We’re sooooo hungry, Piggy! Lets gooo!”

Pigsy rolled his eyes at the immature young adults, looking at them in the rear-view mirror. “If you guys don’t calm down, we ain’t goin’ anywhere. We’re almost there, so shush,” he grumbled, before looking over at the monkey. He was still chatting with Bai He, the cub clinging to her hair as she crawled onto her head.

He returned his vision back to the road. They were close, he could see it a ways up the road; the rest of the mountain. There was, surprisingly, a lot left of it. Unfortunately, the monkey also seemed to notice that. “Hey, Pigsy?” Wukong’s voice came small, almost.

“What?” Pigsy grunted, cocking his head to hear him better. The monkey peeked out the window before saying anything more.

“Where exactly are we going?” was all the monkey asked, from his seat in the back. Bai He could tell, from her own experiences, that the monkey was getting nervous. She leaned in for a hug, getting a small, surprised noise from the king. He returned the hug, however, gratefully.

“Uh, just up here. Why?” Pigsy asked nonchalantly, returning his attention to the road. He let Wukong say whatever he was gonna say, tuning him out as they grew ever closer.

“Well.. it's just that," he mumbled, nervously giggling as he tried to just outright say it. But apparently he couldn't. "That’s the mountain, I—,” Wukong sighed, his eyes visiting the vacant eyes of the pig. He wasn’t listening, so why should he go on? He patted the part of Bai He’s head that Xue wasn’t draped across. “Thank you, Bai He,” he mumbled, a small smile on his face.

“The mountain what?” she asked, leaning back to see the monkey. She was curious what he was trying to say, but Wukong just shook his head dismissively. 

“It’s nothing. We’re here,” he looked out the window with a solemn, yet jaded expression. He sighed, hopping up to help the others set up their picnic. They’d brought various fruits along, mostly for him; the others had their weird food that he didn’t particularly like. There was plenty of fruit for everyone, though, thankfully.

He picked up a table with ease and asked the pig, "Where do you want me to set this?”. The pig looked at him, and then at the table, before he responded with “Just put it anywhere. Make sure there’s no one else here, too, why don’t ya?” 

The golden monkey nodded, holding the table up as he brought it outside. It was a long table, one that’d be seen at buffet-like places. As he set up the table in the grass, at least thirty feet from the mountain, Mk hopped over to him. “Monkey King! I have something for you,” he smiled widely, excitement clear as day in his eyes.

Wukong looked up at him as he finished pulling the last leg of the table down. “Oh? What’s that, bud?” he asked, standing up straight before stretching his arms up and above his head. 

“It’s called, uh, boba? Have you ever had boba? It’s a peach tea boba,” Mk rambled a little, swishing the cup around slightly. Wukong’s eyes lit up, looking down at the cup.

“I can’t say that I have! It’s peach tea?” he asked, taking the cup into his hand. Mk nodded, smiling. 

“Oh, but don’t try it yet! I wanna see your reaction to the boba pearls! Wait until we’re all finished setting up,” Mk instructed, grinning as he ran off to help bring the rest of the food out. 

The shadow clone in his cape peeked out once they were alone, attempting to check over whatever drink he’d been given. But he never got to, because everyone else filed out with the food before he could reach for it. They all sat the food they carried out down on the table that the monkey had set up, and it was the young adults that had begun to beg to eat first.

Pigsy rolled his eyes, grumbling. “Fine, fine— go eat. Then, you can run around and have fun, or whatever you guys do in your free time.” The pig demon sat in a chair, sunglasses covering his eyes as he sank back.

Wukong waited until Mk had gotten his food before he smoothly walked up to him. “Alright, can I try it now? The peach tea smells so good, I was physically holding myself back,” he joked, leaning back on his tail. His legs crossed as he sat, a trick he’d learned to master oh so long ago.

Mei, who sat beside Mk, nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah! You can try it now, we just wanted to see how you liked the boba.”

Wukong looked down into the cup, before shrugging and putting the cup to his lips. He tilted the cup up, taking a drink, before he felt solid spheres enter his mouth as well. “Uhh, what do I do with these? Swallow them?” he asked as best as he could, although it was hard to speak with his mouth full of the aforementioned pearls.

“No, you chew them and eat them!” Mk shook his head, sighing. “They do taste good, though, don’t worry,” the young adults took to eating their food, trying not to watch as Wukong bit down on the poisonous berries. 

“They taste like berries? Huh, but they’re so sweet,” Wukong mumbled as he looked down into his cup. “This is boba? It tastes so good!”

Bai He walked up to the group, sitting next to them with her own plate of food. Xue was still clung tightly to her hair, and she pointed this out to Wukong. “She’s stuck to my hair, Monkey King!”

Wukong smiled at the both of them, cooing at how the cub had seemed to like the kid's hair. “She is! Aw, how adorable!” he replied, before he drank more.

They sat together, chatting and having a good laugh, until both Mk and Wukong were done eating. Wukong had gotten some fruits to snack on while his student ate. However, after about twenty minutes, give or take, they were both ready to get some training in.

“Alrighty, Mk! Let's get training!” Wukong hopped down, letting his tail rest from holding him up. He leaned down to tighten his shoes, when he noticed his vision wasn’t quite right once he stood up. He figured he’d just been in the light a bit too long, or something like a dizzy spell. “Prepare to get beat, Monkey King!” Mk called, as per usual for when they train. 

“Ohoho, right! Like you’ve beaten me all the other times we’ve trained?” Wukong asked with a sarcastic laugh. “Well, let’s see if you can hold this time, eh?”

The successor brought his staff out, yanking it from where it was summoned by his ear. Wukong only smiled, hands behind his back. He dragged his shoe through the loose dirt, trying not to pay any mind to the mountain. He could pretend it was Flower Fruit Mountain again, it shouldn’t be that hard. Aside from the fact it was very clearly not Flower Fruit Mountain, but hey, flowers and fruits or no flowers and fruits, who's to say?

Still, he kept a brave face anyway. “Alright! Here comes Monkie Kid!” Mk shouted, his energetic smile flashing as Wukong used his foot to block the staff. Instead of the attack that Mk had intended to strike on Wukong, he was surprised when the king’s foot pushed the staff around, and he kicked it square into the mountain. 

“You bore me!” Wukong snarked, giving him a playful grin. He was definitely aware that something was wrong, though. His insides felt weird, and it was slowly creeping in on him. But, it wasn’t so bad, he could still train! He must've eaten a bad fruit.

—At least, that’s what he thought, before he was thrown into the side of the mountain, additional loose boulders crumbling down at the force of the slam. Everyone backed away from the very noticeable destruction, leaving him to be the one who got the hit with the stones. He was kind of glad, though, considering the crack he'd somehow made in the mountain loosened huge chunks of rock that could have killed one of them, had it not landed on the immortal monkey. "Ah.." he mumbled, his head dizzy and his expression dazed. "Help?"

He tried to speak again when the entire group failed to help him and he was rapidly gaining a headache from the stones that landed right on his head, but he couldn’t produce a single word. He even tried to push the boulders off of himself to ease the weight, but his body wouldn’t respond anymore. 

He couldn’t move. And this wasn't the first time he felt like this.

Not to mention, he felt really nauseous, and he had no clue what was going on. His eyes were blurry, there was ringing in his ears, still from the boulders covering him. He couldn’t feel them anywhere, though, other than mainly atop his head keeping him down as he whimpered quietly. He was held down, his head on the side.

Bai He’s eyes widened, shocked. “Mister Monkey King!” she called for the non responsive monkey, who definitely did not look very good. She’d ran over, and tried to lift a rock, but she wasn’t strong enough to. “Mister Monkey King, are you okay?!” 

Tears formed in the corners of his eyes, before they fell down his face, but he still didn’t make a sound.

Sandy tried to come over to help, as well, but Mei and Mk shot him with twin looks. He figured it out, soon enough; they’d set this up. He looked away from any of the others, ashamed of their actions. “Guys, he’s hurt! We have to help him!”

Xue chirped at Wukong, finally climbing down from Bai He’s head. She tried to climb over to Wukong, but his frightened trill alarmed her to stay back. Even the cub backed away, clinging to Bai He’s cardigan now. She was scared.

But, little did they know, someone had seen this whole thing.

“Wukong?!” Macaque practically flew out of his shadow portal, very obviously uncoordinated as he stumbled in the grass. “Wukong! What happened?!” the dark-furred simian whipped around, accusation in his tone. “What the fuck did you do to him!”

Mk and Mei backed away, surprised. “We— I don’t know! I didn’t do anything to him, I don’t know what happened,” Mei spat back, wide-eyed. Mk nodded, agreeing with her. “We were just sparring, I thought, and all of a sudden he was trapped under rocks and— this happened!”

Wukong’s body was limp, tears continuing to spill over as he looked very ill. With the addition of sickly blood trailing down his face in various spots; his forehead, his nose, and they could’ve sworn they saw a faint trickle from his mouth. Bai He’s hand combed through his hair, as he finally let her come close enough to do so. Macaque looked back at them, fearful; what the fuck could have put him, the monkey king, into this state?!

He hurried towards them, allowing Bai He to back away before removing the piles of rock on the golden monkey. He pushed the rocks away, before he sat in front of him. “Hey, can you hear me? Wukong?” he asked, waving his hand in front of the golden one’s face.

Wukong’s body was limp, and it seemed he couldn’t see Macaque. His little trills were enough to let the shadow monkey know that he couldn’t see, or hear, him.

Shit.

-

Wukong’s mind had been racing, flooded with all the times he’d been unable to move. The time he’d been possessed, he had no control over his body. The time he’d been trapped under a mountain, he couldn’t move for so long his body went numb (with the added bonus of the rocks, from that very same mountain, that crushed him. How ironic!).

He knew something was wrong, it kept getting worse and worse. His limbs were shaking, although it wasn’t like he could even feel it. He felt a hand running through his hair, lightly petting him. He couldn’t see who. Everything was too blurry, he couldn’t view the owner of the hand. 

He choked lightly, feeling air woosh past his face. He gave a small whimper, but he couldn’t muster anything else. His head was the only thing he felt he had control of, and he couldn’t even feel most of the rest of his body. It was… complicated, and he was scared.

The weight above him was removed, and a little bit bigger hand cupped his cheek now. He recognized this..

He was picked up, body completely limp in what he assumed was someone else’s arms. Over the ringing in his ear, he could just barely hear a much more mechanical sound— a cellphone.

-

“Uh oh,” was all Macaque could muster. He’d accepted the call to Wukong’s phone, and it turned out, it was to warn them of Bodhisattva Guanyin’s travels to his home. She was to be there, and soon.

“How did you even find Wukong’s number..?” Macaque asked Princess Iron Fan, and she replied, “Redson has ties to Mk, who has ties to Sun Wukong. It wasn’t that hard. Why do you have his phone?” She asked, confused.

Macaque debated his answer. “So, long story short? Something is very wrong with him. He’s not responding, and I’m trying to get him home! So, now’s really not a good time. Call back later. Bye.” His shadow clone took the phone from between his shoulder and ended the call before she could even protest, and he started to form a shadow portal underneath himself. He couldn’t waste any more time glaring at the other group members.

“Mister Macaque, wait!” Bai He ran up to the monkeys, after handing Xue, who was unhelpfully crying, to Mk. “Can I please come with you guys?”

Macaque’s tail lashed, and he replied, “Your parents, they wouldn’t like you being with us for so long.” His gaze had dropped, now soft. “I will take good care of him, if that’s what you wanted. Alright?”

Bai He looked up, nervously biting her bottom lip. And then, she broke. She rushed her words, “I don’t actually have parents.. not anymore. They were lost to Lady Bone Demon, I haven’t been able to find them since. So, uh.. I doubt they’d care.”

Macaque looked stunned, but his thoughts were interrupted by strange noises Wukong had begun to make. His ears fanned out, and he cautiously looked at the monkey in his arms. “Let's go, then. We have to go, now.”

Bai He ran up to them, holding her stuffed monkey close. She tried to ignore Xue’s cries and whimpers as they plunged into darkness, her own eyes filling with tears. She only knew the little monkey for a couple of days, and she was so attached to her.

She once again saw that they were back on solid ground, in a home of some kind. Macaque was quick to rush Wukong into a different room.

—

Macaque felt like he could cry. He was angry, terrified, sad.. What didn’t he feel? Gods, they did something fucked up. He knew it was whatever they put in that damn drink, that he never got to check over to make sure it was safe.

He would fucking kill them for even laying a mere finger on Wukong again, let alone whatever the group had done. He brought the golden monkey’s limp body into a hug, getting a small whimper from him.

“Macaque?” A woman’s voice called to the stressed primate from the doorway, and then he heard a small gasp.

“Sun Wukong?!” she hurried over to the scene, to get a closer look at the golden monkey, who was still making those strange noises..

“Hello, Bodhisattva Guanyin..” Macaque whispered, holding the limp hand of his mate.

Chapter Text

“What happened to him?” Guanyin hurried over and took the golden monkey’s other hand in her own. He looked very ill. The monkey’s eyes were wide open, but he clearly didn’t know anyone else was with him. 

“The.. His successor, Qi Xiaotian, and his little group. They’ve been purposely triggering him, I think. I don’t know how to explain it but he won't listen to me,” the dark-furred angrily muttered. “I just know that I have no clue if it started about a month ago, when Wukong was camping with us, or if it's started before. That’s the first time I’ve seen it, when Mk told him to stand in front of the fire before Pigsy used lighter fluid to make the fire bigger. His only explanation was that Pigsy needed someone to help him and to hold the other bottle.” 

Guanyin’s eyebrows furrowed. “What did they do this time?”

“Ah, I’m not sure. They poisoned his drink, I think. My clone was going to make sure it was safe to drink, since they gave him the drink and I don’t necessarily trust them, but they came back before it could check without them knowing it was there,” Macaque responded. When he saw the confusion on the bodhisattva’s face, he added, “I wasn’t invited. I sent a shadow clone to watch over him because I was worried something like this would happen while I wasn’t there. Surprise surprise.”

If the bodhisattva was angry, she did a hell of a good job hiding it. She let her hand brush the hair out of Wukong’s face, getting a small uncomfortable trill among the variety of strange noises. Bai He walked in slowly, so as to not disturb them. She sat in a chair away from the rest, intently watching. 

“He looks awful,” Guanyin frowned, rubbing his temple softly, getting a sharp intake of breath from him. Macaque nodded in agreement, laying the other monkey's hand down. 

“I’m going to go find out what they put in his drink. I can’t promise I won’t beat the answer out of them, but I’ll try not to,” Macaque stood abruptly, fixing his scarf. 

“I wouldn’t even blame you if you did. They won’t get away with it, if what you say is true.” Her eyes flash towards him, skeptically. He knew she was still concerned about the ‘impersonating Wukong’ thing from so long ago, how he lied.. but he’d work to gain her trust. As of then, though, he was busy. He had some answers to get.

Macaque nodded, swiftly falling into his shadow portals. Guanyin’s attention shifted to her son, who laid on the bed. He was making some sort of choking noise, and Guanyin calmly laid the back of her hand on his forehead. Warm.  

“Your name is?” she asked the child suddenly, sitting up straight as she turned her head to take in the sight of the kid. Bai He jumped at the sudden question, nervous.

“I’m Bai He!” she replied, fiddling with her cardigan sleeves. She wasn’t too interested in talking, especially not in this situation, but she listened to the bodhisattva anyway.

“Listen, Bai He, could you go get a trash bin? I have a feeling it would be better to be prepared. If it is poison, his body needs to try to get it out,” she asked quietly. Bai He’s stomach churned slightly, worried. She wasn’t the best with sick people, but she wanted to be there for Wukong.. especially after what she’d just heard Macaque explain. She had no clue that the group would even do that.. It was sick and cruel! And they were meant to be heroes!

“Alright, is it okay if I go sit in the living room after I bring it in?” Bai He asked, standing up stiffly. 

Guanyin nodded, “Of course, dear.” Bai He smiled awkwardly and walked out, looking for a trash bin. When she found one, she carried it into the bedroom and sat it next to the bodhisattva. Once done with her task, she exited the room quickly, so as to not get caught up in the situation anymore. 

—

The sound of a shadow portal met everyone’s ears, as the van quickly flew down the road. “Alright,” a shadowy figure emerged. “Who’s going to tell me what you guys did to Wukong? Or do we have to take the ‘hard way’?” Macaque gripped his shadow staff, glaring intensely at Mk.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Mk was quick to lie, and Mei stood beside him with her dragon blade. “I don’t know how he got that messed up!” Mk said again, staring wide-eyed at the angry monkey.

Macaque glowered at him, before he raised his staff. “I know you’re lying! Don’t play dumb, he’s really sick!” he hissed, rushing forward and taking them all by surprise. He grabbed the young adult by the shirt collar, “You either confess, or I beat the answer out of you. It’s your choice, but don’t keep me waiting.”

Mk hesitated, surprised at how quickly this was escalating.. but he wasn’t willing to reveal it, even when held by the neck. “I just said, I don’t know! Let me down!” he struggled against the strong hands holding him up, the ones that'd done this to Mei once…

Speaking of Mei, she was angry. “Let my best friend go, now.” She held the dragon blade up. It was pointed right at the dark-furred monkey, threatening to shoot at him.

“Let go of Mk!” Pigsy shouted, from the driver’s seat. He pulled the van over harshly, making everyone lurch. Tang looked at Macaque, with fear in his eyes. The overwhelming situation only made him more angry, and he shook the kid midair. 

“What the fuck did you do to Wukong?! Why is he poisoned, and paralyzed?” Macaque hissed, the entire van going dark, consumed by shadows. Other than the purple glow, it was now hard to see inside the darkened vehicle.

“Wait!” Sandy shouted. “I know what they did, just calm down!” he said frantically, still on edge as everyone's gaze snapped to him. The warrior simply threw Mk down, who looked like he’d seen a ghost. He scooted backwards, away from the angry monkey. 

“What did they give to Wukong, Sandy? What was in that drink?” Macaque growled, his presence more ominous than it’d been when he’d started making friends with the group. With the purple glow being the only thing illuminating him, he could tell he was terrifying the whole group. He couldn’t bring himself to care, though; if Wukong couldn’t do it, he could.

“It was these poisonous berries. I found them in the cup they gave Monkey King, but I don’t.. I don’t know, Tang said they were poisonous and that it was all a part of this plan,” Sandy rushed out, the rest of the group trying to shush him. He didn’t stop, though. “Anything that’s happened, it’s all been them. They had Tang dress as Monkey King's old master, they’ve told me all about it. And the mountain, it was Redson! I’m so, so sorry, Mister Macquack,” Sandy almost deflated, this was his last attempt to de-escalate the situation, as he looked at the smaller figure in front of him.

“Do not call me that while I’m trying to set you straight!” Macaque hissed, glaring at the tall river demon. “As for you, Tang.. What berries were they?!” His attention shifted to the passenger-side occupant, who was nervously sweating. “Well?! Don’t just stare, answer me!”

“It was atropa belladonna berries! I’m sorry!” Tang covered himself protectively, scared of what the monkey would do. But, when nothing happened, when no words were spoken, he lowered his defenses.

“Belladonna?” Macaque asked, curtly. “Why in the everloving hell would you give him that, you dumb, fucking idiots?! No wonder he’s so ill!” Macaque spat at the group, his eyes shifting from one person to another. “Why don’t you just wait until you meet his mother? She won’t be as merciful as she’s known to be,” he sneered. “And we'll be right there, with her, seeing your whole damn group to your punishments!”

Leaving their faces pale as he left, he felt his job was well done.

"..He has a mother!?" Mk whispered, eyes wide.

—

Wukong’s body was indeed limp and paralyzed, even as Guanyin shifted him around. He’d started vomiting, which didn’t surprise her in the slightest. She held his hair back, tying it up as she kept him in the frankly unnatural position. She looked up from her son as a shadow portal appeared at the foot of the bed. 

“How’s he— gross,” Macaque commented, immediately looking away. He shook his head, deciding to bear with it. He'd seen worse. Once the golden monkey was alright, Guanyin helped him lay back down.

“So, good news, and very bad news. I found out the poison! The bad news, though.. it’s belladonna,” Macaque’s fists clenched. 

Guanyin stared right at him. “Belladonna? For what? What were they possibly hoping to get out of this? Poisoning my son with a very toxic plant, making him ill and paralyzed like this?” Now, she looked considerably angry. Much more than earlier, at least! “Oh, when I get my hands on them..”

It was a silent promise.

Chapter Text

“What in the world, Sandy?!” Pigsy shouted, angrily clenching his hair in his fists. “Now we’re all going to die, because you couldn’t keep your damn mouth shut!” he ranted, and Mei nodded behind him. Mk was trembling where he sat on the ground, eyes wide as he tried to process what'd just happened.

“Yeah! Couldn’t you see?! Macaque was starting to believe him!” Mei glared at the river demon, as the van began to roll down the road once more. 

“He wasn’t! He was about to kill your best friend, Mei. I couldn’t stand by and watch him kill a kid because you guys are too stubborn to admit to hurting Monkey King, over and over. He’s poisoned, for pete’s sake! If you would have just admitted, or better yet listened in the beginning when I told you it wasn’t even a good idea, then maybe we wouldn’t be about to get in trouble!” Sandy finally snapped, eyes filled with fury, his arms crossed over his chest. “I’d rather us be punished for what you’ve done, than watch you die by his ‘mate’!”

“Well, don’t act like you’re innocent! Either way, whether he agrees or not, Monkey King had it coming! He’s stubborn, he’s arrogant, he’s a liar, a manipulator, all he ever does is hurt people!” Mei raised her voice, her eyes gleaming dangerously. “No one seems to understand that, though, because everyone thinks he’s some great guy! And for fuck’s sake, he won’t even get therapy! It’d be so easy for him to fix himself if he put in the effort, like I’ve tried to get him to, time and time again! Doubt it even works this time, either, he’s just too stubborn for that!” Mei hissed out, looking suspiciously at her dragon blade, “But he doesn’t sound like he has much of an option right now, because he’s too weak to do anything at this point.”

Mk looked at her, bewildered. “I feel like I missed something..”

Sandy uncomfortably backed away, going to the front of the van. He needed some time away from the others, so he kicked Tang and Pigsy to the back.

He turned classical music on, to try to calm down. To try to forget everything he had just heard. It was kind of working, until he could hear Pigsy and Mei ranting to each other about it. Something about what Mei had said made him nervous.. what happened to the dragon girl he once knew?

--

The poison was slowly working through his system. Macaque held Wukong, the golden monkey’s back against the dark-furred monkey’s chest as Guanyin made a comfortable dinner in the kitchen for everyone else. Macaque ran his fingers through long, tangled golden locks. Once Wukong had thrown up once, they’d taken his shirt off just to make sure he didn’t overheat or vomit on his clothes.

Wukong’s condition was only getting worse, and Macaque was starting to worry. They’d gotten a few responsive chirps from him, though, which was better than none. When Wukong went unresponsive again, Macaque gently tilted the golden monkey’s head to the side, to study his face over once more.

“Wukong?” he asked, eyebrows furrowing together. His body was trembling against the dark-furred, but that was something that they’ve noticed happening a lot within the day he’d been poisoned. He sighed, letting his golden half lay ‘peacefully’ against him once more. 

Wukong’s eyes opened slightly, not quite out yet; he could see better, but he was getting weird hallucinations that his brain was telling him to believe. Even then, he turned to face the dark-furred monkey, chirping weakly. 

He swore he knew him, so why couldn’t he remember him?  

The lights, he thought, were changing. To Wukong, they kept flickering between on and off. The ringing in his ears was back once more, and louder than ever. Wukong moved his head, spacing out, before he lost consciousness abruptly. His head suddenly smacked against Macaque’s jaw, who hissed, “Hey-!”

He rubbed his jaw, hissing curses. He looked down at the monkey who had hit him, to find him unconscious. “Wukong..?” Macaque asked cautiously, looking warily at the king. It was odd. He huffed, combing his hands through Wukong's curly hair. “Fine, okay..”

After a few seconds, he felt Wukong’s body move slightly. He studied the golden monkey closely, hearing a choked noise come from him. Macaque’s heart rate picked up, as he realized something was most definitely wrong. “Hey, Guanyin? I need some help,” Macaque hollered anxiously from the bedroom. In only a couple of seconds, both Bai He and Guanyin were in the bedroom door frame.

Bai He recognized the jerking movements, eyes wide. “He’s having a seizure,” she answered Macaque’s silent question, approaching the foot of the bed. “My mama used to have them.”

Macaque muttered, “Shit,” before sliding out of the bed. He laid the king down, removing the pillow that would have elevated his head. Guanyin spoke worriedly, “Are you two good to help him? I don’t want to burn the dinner, but if you need help..”

“All good! I’m sure we’ll figure it out..” Macaque replied quickly, watching as Bai He turned the monkey onto his side. Guanyin nodded, before turning away and heading back out.

Bai He spoke softly, “He’ll be alright, I know he will be.” She watched as Macaque's hand hovered above Wukong’s body, as the other monkey's body jerked, and as small noises came from him subconsciously. Drool came from the monkey, but neither of them paid any mind to it. They kept him on the soft bed as the seizure progressed. After a matter of a couple minutes, it slowed down, and the seizing gradually faded.

Bai He pushed the golden monkey back onto his side since he kind of fell out of it, and she moved his body into the recovery position which Macaque didn't know about either. This elicited a small questioning look from Macaque when she put his hand under his head. “It helps people breathe as the seizure ends,” Bai He explained. “My mother had epilepsy. I’ve helped her with a few seizures before, when dad couldn't!” Macaque clicks his tongue and nods, gently rubbing his other half’s back as the jerking faded completely now. As it returned to mere trembling, Macaque saw those eyes flutter open, like heavy weights. Wukong’s breathing came rapid, but it slowed down as he slowly became more aware. 

“Mac?” Wukong’s shaky, rough voice came after a few minutes. It sounded soft, and the dark-furred was stunned. He’d spoken an actual word!

“Hey, you’re okay,” Macaque whispered, as Bai He rubbed his back too. Wukong looked about as confused as Macaque felt. Never, in his life, had he had someone close to him have a seizure. At least, not one he had known about. 

“I don’t..” Wukong started, but he never finished his sentence. Macaque knew what was going on now, and had just enough time to help him up and over the trash bin.

Bai He made a run for it the second she heard the gagging, plugging her ears with her fingers. She ran to the kitchen, finding Guanyin finishing up dinner. She sat down at the table silently, with a mortified expression, waiting for the dinner as she tried to forget the noises she’d heard.

“So?” Guanyin asked, handing the twelve year old a plate of food. Bai He smiled thankfully, but she shrugged at the question.

“He’s alright. Started throwing up after the seizure, though,” she replied to the bodhisattva with a scrunched expression. Guanyin nodded, before she started washing the dishes that she’d used. “Well, as long as he’s okay. I just don’t understand, that’s all,” her voice came bitter, but she softened once more upon seeing the kid. “Eat up, though. I hope you like it.”

Bai He took a fork, and took a small bite of the strange food. It was good, and she was about to tell the bodhisattva that; but she was gone, relieving Macaque from the duty for the time being. She looked down at her plate, continuing to eat dinner in silence.

Chapter Text

Xue anxiously chittered as the van sped off, leaving her alone. She stared, wide eyed, at her lonely surroundings. She cried, curling up on the ground. That was all she could do, being a monkey cub…

—

Wukong didn’t really seem like he was making any progress with his recovery. It’d been at least a full day, and he was still having sporadic seizures and vomiting, along with the addition of the paralysis. He seemed to be sleeping at the moment, but they could never be too sure.

Bai He sat on the bed with Guanyin and Wukong, the monkey curled up in her lap. It took help from Macaque to get him into that position, since he wasn’t able to move himself. “So, my dear, what is your story? Why are you here now, why didn’t you go home yesterday?” Guanyin asked, looking at Bai He. 

Macaque was sleeping on the couch, since he insisted on staying up all night with the golden monkey. No one could lie, they knew the shadow monkey could use a little bit of sleep. 

Bai He glanced up at her, eyes flashing with curiosity. Slowly, her lips parted to speak, but she closed them quickly with a “hmph”. Guanyin’s eyes were soft, understanding, as she’d expected. “Well,” Bai He started once more, “They disappeared after the whole.. Lady Bone Demon incident. I haven’t found them, and I don’t really think I ever will.”

Guanyin frowned, looking at her with a puzzled expression. “Well, where have you been staying for the past, however long it’s been?”, she asked the young girl. The girl sheepishly looks away, bringing a hand up to cover her anxious smile. “Well, I’ve been alone! At home, of course, but yeah.. Alone.”

Macaque stumbled into the room, stretching. His ears twitched, and he looked at the bodhisattva that stroked Wukong’s face as he slept. “Wha’s goin’ on?” he mumbled, walking towards the bed. 

“Bai He, you live alone?” Guanyin asked, prompting further explanation. She didn’t get one, however, since the girl just shrugged. 

“Yeah, I live alone,” Bai He replied, as if it was no big deal. Conveniently, Wukong’s phone went off right then and there, saving her for the moment. They all looked at each other, before Macaque picked it up. He didn’t look like he got much sleep, but it was a miracle he even got any. 

“It’s Mk,” Macaque announces with a dramatic roll of his eyes, before he answers the call. “What the fuck do you want?”, he asked the young adult, a slight hiss in his words. His tone conveyed exactly what he wanted it to; ‘You’d better not be pulling any bullshit’.

“Hey, is Monkey King there?” Mk asked, sounding extremely disheveled. Not like Macaque cared at all, he could just tell something was wrong by the way the successor sounded nervous, scared even. Macaque thought for a minute before he grinned.

“Yeah, sure! Here he is,” Macaque put the phone on speaker, and set it on Wukong’s shoulder. He heard the kid ask for the golden monkey, and when he got no reply, he asked once more. “Oh, yeah, forgot to mention. He’s still unresponsive.” Macaque sneered, picking the phone back up. Somehow, that made Mk sound even more timid. 

“Macaque, there’s a small issue..” the young adult replied after a moment of silence and shaky breaths. Macaque wondered what could possibly be so important that he’d be this upset. 

“We accidentally left Xue at the picnic area.”

Macaque’s reaction was quick and furious. “What?!” he hissed, the shadow monkey losing his temper. “Why the fuck— Are you trying to get me to hurt you?! I am not above hitting a mortal, Xiaotian,” Macaque snapped over the phone, making Bai He flinch. Unfortunately, at that moment, Wukong also woke up. He looked like shit, and Macaque wanted nothing more than to heal him right then and there, but he wasn’t able to. He couldn't heal others. Once he noticed something was, again, very wrong with the trembling monkey, he gave him an apologetic pat on the head and left the room. And then, he continued his angry outburst, fur puffing up angrily. 

“She had better be safe, or so help me, I will make you wish you’d never met me at all.” He snarled over the phone, before ending the call. Mk didn’t get any time to respond to the monkey, leaving him absolutely terrified.

Macaque quickly went throughout the home, grabbing his clothes and anything else he could need. He stopped abruptly, hearing an anxious chirp from his other half. One he immediately returned, walking in to see the golden monkey. “I’ll be back soon, I promise,” Macaque insisted, checking over his mate quickly. Guanyin patted Macaque’s hand, a silent affirmation that she would take care of him.

He sighed, and slipped through the shadow portal once more.

—

It felt like forever before some vehicle showed up, and she was starving. A van sped down the road, parking close to the mountain. She saw many people get out, clearly having the same plan as the group she had recognized as her caretakers.

They were setting up their own picnic when they saw the monkey cub, not old enough to be without her mama. They saw her all dressed up, and their immediate thought was that she was a pet. “Aw, what are you doing all alone out here? Where’s your owner?” one of the ladies crouched down next to her, reaching a hand out for the cub. Xue cried, instinctively pulling away from the woman. Not safe. “My, what a curious little thing you are, eh? You look hungry. Here, we have some watermelon,” the woman bravely picked up the cub, who continued to chitter anxiously.

Don’t smell safe! Miss mama! She chirped over and over, before she was silenced.

The woman pushed a watermelon up to her lips, and she kept her mouth shut. She wanted Sun Wukong.

Then, she heard a familiar voice. “Hey— what are you doing with her?!”

Six-Eared Macaque. 

Xue chirped loudly, turning her head to look at the dark furred monkey. Safe. She chirped once more, quieter, and Macaque glared at the woman. “Give her back.”

The woman stared, dumbfounded. “How should I know that you’re her owner?” The woman looked skeptical, over the fact that he had dark fur and she didn’t. “Run along, go back to your owner. I found her here, alone and starving. What kind of pet owner would leave her like that?”

Macaque’s fur puffed out. “Excuse me? No one ‘owns’ me, or her. I should beat you for even thinking that way, but I’m feeling nice. Now, hand over the child, or I won’t be feeling very nice anymore,” his eyes narrowed, as he snarled at the lady. She didn’t seem very fazed, though, much to Macaque’s displeasure. So, when she still refused, he decided to up his tactics once more. In one swift motion, he grabbed one of the lady’s wrists, yanking her to the side. He tripped her with his leg, making her wobble and fall. With her attention now diverted to catch her fall, he plucked Xue out of her arm. “A shame, really. Didn’t put up much of a fight, did you?” he sneered, rolling his eyes dismissively as she shouted long-winded and inappropriate insults.

He looked down at the reason he came. Xue. She chirped, and he could understand her; she was happy to see her dad. He smiled, the tension leaving his face as he saw the cub. He sure as hell wasn’t returning her to Mk, that was not happening. She chirped again, asking for her mom. He held her close, quickly falling into a shadow portal despite the lady getting up and running at him. 

He crawled out of the portal, into his home. The cub clearly liked the familiar smell of the home, but that wasn’t enough. She chirped for her mom once more, and he sighed. 

He knew something was happening with Wukong, if the hushed voices of Guanyin and Bai He were any hint. “Hey, Bodhisattva Guanyin, I can take over. I need you to watch over Xue,” Macaque held her out of the doorframe, watching the king suffering from yet another seizure. He sighed, of course he was. He was going to beat the gang’s asses for this, he swore on it.

“Oh, if you insist. Be careful in there,” she took the confused cub from Macaque, and he nodded before heading in there.

Balancing all of it was getting stressful, but Macaque could handle it. He sat by the bed, gently rubbing his other half’s back, and taking one of his hands into his own once the jerking had stopped. As long as their stupid plans were done now, Wukong and he would be alright. His eyes met Bai He’s, and he huffed, giving her a small smile that she returned.

Chapter Text

Over the course of the next three days, the king had finally started to get better. By the second day, he could speak again. The seizures and sick episodes went down in frequency, finally giving Macaque, Guanyin and Bai He a break without having to be ready for anything at any given moment. Macaque was asleep next to Wukong, and Xue was curled up with the golden monkey, her face nuzzled into his neck. The golden monkey reciprocated her little purrs. 

He was barely aware of anything that’s happened, considering for the most part, when he was awake, he was in his own world. He’d had some time to think, when the raging fever wasn’t clouding his mind. When it was, though, he saw things that he was quite fucking sure he wasn’t supposed to be seeing.. But, it didn’t matter. He was under the influence of poison, after all. 

When his mother came in once more to check on him, he finally spoke. “Hello, mother,” he croaked, almost wincing at the disuse of his voice. It sounded rough, still, but she didn’t seem to mind that.

“Hello, Wukong,” she replied with a gentle smile. “Bai He is in the living room, she fell asleep on the couch.”

“You could go sleep, too,” Wukong prompted, gazing at the bodhisattva from where he laid. She chuckled, ruffling his hair slightly before she sighed resignedly. 

“Actually, I came in here to talk to you. Wukong, Macaque told me what’s been happening recently,” she started, and she cut the golden monkey off when he tried to protest. “It sounds like just maybe, he’s right. Your successor, Xiaotian, has been doing this all on purpose,” she gave him a stern look, one of a warning for him to just listen and consider. Wukong scoffed, breaking the eye contact between the bodhisattva and himself. “He wouldn’t.. knowingly do that. Maybe I’m just allergic to the ‘boba’, or–,” he was desperately grasping for straws. Surely Mk wouldn’t… not purposely. Not like that.

“Wukong,” Guanyin frowned at his persistence to believe he really isn’t guilty. She went silent for a little bit, before she spoke up with a new question. “Do you know who set your mountain on fire?” With the question brought to light, and the fact that he could remember stuff in the moment, he pondered her query. “A wildfire. No one else has access to my home, and Mk was with me the whole time. Don’t try to blame him for something I know he didn’t do,” Wukong looked up at her, a weariness in his eyes. She could tell that he was tired of the situation, and what he needed was something lighthearted, rather than a deep conversation. One of accusing someone that’s closest to him with betrayal.

“Sure, my apologies. What about Xue? What are you guys going to do with her?” Guanyin glanced at the cub, nuzzled into the golden monkey’s neck. Wukong also glanced at her, a small grunt coming from him as he turned his head back to see her. “Uh.. return her to Mk? How did Xue even get here?” he asked. Wukong never really thought about it, but the last thing he was aware of, Mk had her. He glanced at his mother, cocking an eyebrow.

“Well,” she glanced down at the golden monkey with a solemnity gaze. “You know, Six-Eared Macaque had to pick her up from the picnic site after they left her there. Xiaotian tried to call you, and asked to talk to you specifically, but you were unconscious again. You did wake up, though I doubt you remember. You started to cry about a pain, and being cold, so either way, I doubt you would have been able to answer regardless,” she concluded, recalling the events leading up to them obtaining Xue.

Wukong sat in stunned silence, “Wh.. What? They left her there?” he asked, eyebrows furrowing together. “Why?” He couldn’t imagine that the careful kid, that had respect towards life, would leave a baby all alone and abandoned. Especially not a monkey cub, that he knew the king held dearly to him. He didn’t listen to the bodhisattva’s explanation, instead he ruminated on all the reasons he could think of. Most of them, he couldn’t find a plausible reason, but he wanted to trust that he hadn’t made a severe mistake in trusting the kid.

“Did you hear me, Sun Wukong?” Guanyin asked, and he shook his head. He could feel nausea rooted deep in his stomach, but he wasn’t sure if it was poison-related. He breathed deeply, head spinning with nausea and questions. “Can I–,” he cut off with a small cough and choke, “talk to him?” he added after a few moments of silence, to give himself time to recover from the cough. Guanyin eyed him, but overall nodded with a faint sigh. “I suppose, I should let you. Maybe it is all just a misunderstanding, or Macaque was simply wrong. Anyway, would you like for me to contact him, since.. you’re not really able to?” she asked, offering to help him.

“Well, that's a nice way to put it. But wait, I want to try my astral projection,” Wukong replied after thinking about his mother’s offer. It wasn’t worth making her do more if he could do it himself.

“Alright, but holler for me if you need me,” Guanyin replied. “I might take a small nap, depending on how you feel. How do you feel?” she asked, sitting on the edge of the bed with her son. Wukong sighed, not sure what to say. Sick? He’d be fine, it was just anxiety. Even if he did manage to throw up again, he didn’t need someone to help him. He was slowly getting better, even the paralytic state he was in was gradually getting better. Maybe it was his powers, maybe it was natural; he couldn’t tell. He was still weak, though, which mega sucked for him. “Ah.. I feel fine, mama. You go, take a nap. You deserve it, anyway, after being worried about me for so long. I’ll contact Mk, and have him come over so we can talk,” Wukong replied after thinking it through carefully. 

Guanyin nodded, trusting her son’s judgment. She gave Xue one final pet to the head, getting a small coo from her as she startled awake, and she left the room. Wukong wasn’t sure if she’d actually left to take a nap, but that was fine.

He took a deep, shaky breath, focusing his power once more and pushing the nausea down. He knew what he wanted. 

And he was going to get it.

–

“Mk!” The voice came through, startling the young adult. He recognized it immediately, though, and he looked around. He saw the king in a weird position, the golden glow of the king’s powers right behind him. “Kid!”

“Monkey King?” Mk asked, surprised to be hearing from his mentor after a couple of days. “Monkey King, what happened? Where were you?” Mk prompted, gaze resting at the golden flicker of the king, looking unusually sullen. Wukong laughed quietly, “Ah, guess I may be allergic to boba. Kinda been sick and paralyzed for the past couple of days.. Listen, kid, I wanna have a little talk. Could you come by Liu’er– uh, Macaque’s house soon? As in, really soon? I don’t know if I’ll stay in this.. ‘sober’ state for long, and my powers are stretched too thin to keep up this astral projection,” Wukong rushed out, awkwardly laughing to lighten the mood.

As if he wasn’t about to confront Mk. 

Mk could feel nervous sweat beading on his face. The whispers of Pigsy, Mei, and Tang asking who he was talking to, (combined with Mei asking how Wukong was even doing that, since he was supposed to be sick and paralyzed as Mei and Pigsy themselves had thought too,) were indefinitely too loud and not loud enough at the same time. 

Mk grabbed his jacket, nodding. “Sure.. I’ll be right over, Monkey King. Just relax, I don’t want you overworking yourself while you’re still in that vulnerable state.” Wukong seemed to smile in relief, before the connection flickered when his face contorted once more. With a small look of pain, his projection burst into a cloud of nothingness once more.

He knew what he’d done was fucked up. He knew he shouldn’t have gone along with it, and he knew that Mei was starting to be weird about the whole situation. He had time to think about it on the trip to Macaque and Wukong’s home, time to reminisce on his mistakes and grievances to his mentor. He couldn’t admit them now, though.. Not when he knew the potential outcomes.

He arrived at the place, walking into their home as if he lived there too. Immediately, he took in the sight of the Bodhisattva and.. Bai He. He wanted to question, but he heard soft, pained groans coming from the bedroom, along with the whisper of words. And then, a less flattering noise. He winced as he heard the faint sound of productive gagging, quickly deciding to sit outside and wait for the whole ordeal to pass. 

Once it seemed he was in the clear, and the sound of a running sink came from the bathroom in the bedroom, he walked through the door, making his presence known. Immediately, he caught sight of the golden monkey laying in the bed, body shaking ever so slightly. Xue was also on the bed, on the opposite side. He had a pretty good idea of what had happened while he sat outside, yeah. 

“Hey, Monkey King..” Mk waved awkwardly, glancing nervously at the bathroom door.

Macaque. 

“Hey, bud. I wanted to talk to you about Xue,” Wukong cleared his throat slightly, wincing at the sting from the acid from not even two minutes before. His voice sounded like he’d been through hell and back, and Mk was finding it hard to believe he hadn't been. Mk nodded stiffly, feeling himself go on edge. Macaque was going to come out and see him at any moment. 

“Where’s Macaque?” Mk asked, followed by the sound of the shower turning on. Wukong grew pale, and looked away. “I, uh, he's.. showering. I don’t want to talk about it,” he added after Mk made it obvious he’d heard the whole sick episode from earlier, putting two and two together.

“Ugh.. you alright?” he asked, his mentor seemed very frustrated about the sick episodes. He couldn’t blame him, he never liked being sick either. He just hoped Macaque wasn’t mad about something Wukong couldn’t really control, since he was still pretty paralyzed.

Why was he worrying, when he was the one who put the immortal into this state in the first place? Mk wondered to himself, before quickly reassuring himself that the king would be fine. It was like a little stomach bug to him, as Tang had said! “I’m fine, Mk,” Wukong sighed. “But.. Why did you guys leave Xue at the picnic area and not even go back for her when you realized she was missing? Like, a day later. You were supposed to be her guardian. I trusted you to take care of her, like you said you could,” Wukong glanced at him, eyes full of a pathetic hope. Hope that he’d have a good enough excuse, that he could still trust the kid. Sure, Xue wasn’t going back to his care. But he needed to be able to trust him. He needed to be able to trust his successor.

Mk sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed. “I’m sorry, Monkey King.. I got so caught up with worrying about work, I forgot. I didn’t mean to, and I understand that you probably won’t want her to stay with me anymore. I haven’t proven to be responsible, and I take the full blame. It was my fault, and I’m sor–,” he started, before he was cut off by a hiss. 

“Mk?! A lot of nerve you have, showing up around here!” Macaque glared from the doorway, tail lashing angrily behind himself. Mk’s eyes widened, and he stammered, “Um– Macaque, hey, I was just talking to Monkey King! He requested it,” Mk held his hands up, as if to prove his own innocence. 

“Ah, he’s finally comin’ down on you?” Macaque’s ears fluttered in interest, a small, wicked grin plastered on his face. Wukong muttered, “No, no– I believe he’s innocent, or whatever. I just wanted to know why he left Xue, and I wanted to explain why she isn’t going back with him.”

The shadow monkey sighed dramatically, “Wukong–,’ he protested, before he was cut off by Wukong once more.

“Mk,” Wukong started, “She won’t be going back with you. Don’t worry, though, she’s in good hands. I think I might adopt her instead, and me and Macaque will take care of her. We’re monkeys, so maybe it would be more ideal anyway. Sorry, bud.” Mk nodded in understanding, an uneasy smile on his face. Macaque, however, reacted ideally rather than a giant blow up.

“Wait, you’re serious? We- you're adopting her?” Macaque forgot all about being angry at Mk for a moment, as a new emotion stunned him. His eyes were wide, staring in wonder at the bed-ridden golden monkey. Wukong chuckled softly, turning his attention to the dark-furred monkey. “Of course. I didn’t miss how you reacted, all those times you’ve melted at her calling you her dad, Liu’er.” The dark-furred monkey’s face lit up red in embarrassment. “Aghuhgh Wukong! I don’t know what you’re talking about!” he looked away, slightly embarrassed as the bed ridden monkey cackled. “Yeah, thought I was asleep, did you?” he giggled, happily looking at his the dark furred. Mk took this time to leave, silently exiting the room so he didn’t ruin the moment.. or get a stern talking-to from the golden monkey’s presumed mate, who he’d started to fear a lot more than he used to. 

After that threat. 

He exited the home, away from them. He didn’t want to be near them and intrude, or more specifically, to be near Macaque. 

Chapter Text

It was like a miracle. That night, Wukong fell asleep, still unable to move his limbs. The next morning, he woke up able to feel everything correctly, and use his limbs once more. He sat up shakily, body still weak from being unused; but still, he could move! He got out of bed, almost immediately falling over. He landed with a thump and an “Oof.”

Macaque rolled over to face him, waking up at the sound of the thump. “Wukongg, whh– How did you get down there?” Macaque exclaimed sleepily, confused. He rubbed his eyes, looking at the other monkey.. who was moving. Wukong stood up, beaming at the monkey on the bed, before almost tripping once more. “You can move again?!” Macaque pulled him back onto the bed, getting an annoyed noise from the golden monkey.

“Yes! I mean, barely.. I’m still a little weak,” he replied, grumpily. Macaque could tell he was in for it, today. 

“Ah,” the dark-furred monkey clicked his tongue, sitting up in bed. His tail curled, twining around Wukong’s still tail. Wukong let out a small sigh, spacing out with that all too familiar ten-thousand yard stare, before he spoke suddenly. “I’m sorry, Liu’er.”

“What are you sorry for? You didn’t do anything,” Macaque gave him a comforting smile, but he was very confused about why the king was acting this way. Maybe he was on his time of the month again or something, who knew? Definitely not him.

"Oh, you know. This whole thing. And, uh, specifically for vomiting on you. Buddha, that was so embarrassing," he replied, refusing to look at Macaque. "But you stayed with me," he mumbled after a moment, his hair draping over his face as he looked at the ground, seemingly more interested in that, "And I wanted to say thank you for taking care of me when I really needed it. You've been so kind to me, and I don't know how I could ever.. return the favor."

"You don't need to, Wukong," Macaque said simply.

Wukong sighed,  before he looked back over to him. "Remember how I said I want to adopt Xue?" he mumbled, before stretching. Nothing could have prepared him for the absurdly loud crack his body made, and he flopped back onto the bed, careful not to land on Xue, who was yet again sleeping with them. Macaque gave him an affirming hum, wondering where Wukong was going with this.

"Well," Wukong said, "I was thinking of adopting her together. I said that, I think. But I guess what I wanted to ask was, we decided to try again a while ago. But I was wondering, are we.. together? What even are we?" he asked cautiously, feeling the warrior stiffen in the bed before he relaxed again.

"..I don't know," Macaque replied, his face neutral as he too looked at the ceiling. "I just know that it's more than friends. But we haven't defined our relationship, and we really don't have to unless you want to." They laid in silence for a while, listening to the quiet breaths and trills of the sleeping cub. But Macaque spoke up again soon after. "Do you want to..?" he asked, turning his head to see the monkey with the gorgeous golden curls, peacefully laying there. His face was relaxed.

"I mean, why not? We are going to raise a cub together, like we'd always wanted. Even if, you know.. the circumstances," he replied, before turning his head to face Macaque. Their eyes met in a silent understanding, they were both accepting of the term 'mates' or 'partners' once again. Macaque smiled, feeling giddy as Wukong returned the gesture. Before the russet furred monkey pushed himself up, and sat on the edge of the bed.

“You need help there?” Macaque asked when he noticed Wukong trying to get up onto his feet. The golden monkey frowned, shaking his head. “You’ve done enough for me, I can do this myself,” he replied, sliding off the bed fully now. Macaque shook his head as he watched the smaller monkey fall again. “Yeah, I’ll just help you.”

Wukong frowned, “I’ve got it, Macaque,” he insisted, but the other still helped him up.

“If falling is what you meant to do, then I’m sure you do got it,” Macaque replied, a harmless tease. He supported the tired monkey, helping him walk to the places he needed to go for the time being. The golden monkey gave an annoyed huff, looking to the side. When the king was done in the bathroom, changing into a suitable yet simple gold-trimmed outfit inside of it, he let Macaque assist him to his mother’s side with little argument. He tapped her shoulder, which seemed to wake her up. 

She sat up, yawning as her eyes fluttered open, until the sight of her son filled her vision. “Wukong? You can stand again!” she exclaimed, happily.

Wukong nodded, finally feeling balanced enough to be on his own. He just had to get used to it, that was all. He stumbled closer to his mother, embracing her with a hug and a chirp.

They chatted for a bit, Macaque helping his partner stay balanced when he needed it. Until they needed to sit down, because Wukong was getting dizzy again. But it was fine, it all ended okay, not counting the dread and guilt coiled inside of the golden monkey. He wanted to be able to do things on his own, and he knew he was able to; but with the others being super protective.. he felt like a burden, and it made the guilt worse. He was going to drain them mentally, like anyone else that fussed over him in the past, and he wasn’t exactly thrilled about it. 

The trio went silent when Wukong’s phone rang, getting an irritated twitch of Macaque’s eyebrow. The way it twitched made Wukong feel even more worse. What if he was right? 

Well, he couldn’t be. He trusts Mk, and he should damn well act like it. But he also trusts Macaque, his partner who only ever tried to help Wukong.

“Hello?” he asked, before hearing a huge sigh of relief in his ear, from the small device. 

“Monkey King! Hi, glad to see you’re awake! Are you able to help? There’s a demon, and she’s a little tricky to take care of, I could use your help!” he started breaking up, mid sentence, but he already heard what he wanted to hear. He was just itching to get out of the home, bask in the sun, be active..

“Say no less! I’ll be right there!” he said, standing up just slow enough to not be thrown off of his feet. He hung up, and explained, “Have to help Mk with a ‘tricky demon’. I’ll be right back, byeee!” Wukong waved and used his cloud somersault as the other two protested. He zipped out of there, though, leaving the other two and the kids there.

“Wukong!” Macaque called out, fur bristling. But ultimately, he just shook his head with a weary sigh. “I hope he’s careful.”

Guanyin sighed. “Yeah, he’s always been like this. You know that, clearly. But hey, he’ll realize about his successor and his pitiful gang someday. Don’t worry about it. As long as they’re not doing any harm anymore, and we’re keeping an eye on them, he can come to terms with it in a more.. organized way,” she explained. Macaque cocked an eyebrow, “What do you mean, ‘organized’?” he asked the bodhisattva. The dark-furred primate had an idea of what she meant, but he wanted to be sure.

“Well, when he was younger, you know he always commanded respect. Instead of flying off the handle, like he used to, maybe if we give him some time to accept it, he will realize and grow to make a better choice, rather than freak out like he used to,” Guanyin explained, but judging from Macaque’s face, she sensed she had gotten something wrong. “Is something wrong, Liu’er Mihou?” 

Macaque shook his head, sighing. “He wouldn’t act like that. Not anymore. He’s changed,” he replied, looking defeated. “I mean, yeah he still commands respect but he isn't as quick to jump to violence, especially not with someone he knows and loves. I have half a mind to believe the monk by the name of Tang Sanzang had beaten that out of him so long ago. The probability of him lashing out on Mk, more or less violently, I'd say it's pretty slim. I did tell the group he would, mostly just to scare them, since they seem to know how bad he used to be. At least, I think they know,” Macaque pondered aloud.

“Even so,” Guanyin continues, “We wouldn’t have been able to stop him from going if we tried. He never liked to sit still, and he was forced to be still for nearly a week. I’m sure he’ll be fine, he’s not a complete idiot.” Although the bodhisattva’s words were true, Macaque couldn’t help but be worried for the russet monkey.

Still, he sighed, nodding. “I’m sure he will be. He’s wise enough to make his own decisions. I still wish he would just listen, though,” he crossed his arms, leaning on the back of the couch. “But after our recent run-in, I’m sure they wouldn’t be stupid enough to get themselves killed by continuing their disgusting.. what even is this, anymore? Their weird plans.” 

Guanyin frowned, softly running her fingers through the dark hair of the child girl that slept on the couch. Xue had been brought out with the monkeys earlier and she quickly adapted to her new sleeping spot; with the girl. Xue slept against her, curled up next to the girl's face.

“I feel bad for this girl,” Guanyin changed the topic, “Losing your parents isn’t easy.”

Macaque nodded, eyes softening as his gaze rested on the little girl. “I can’t imagine what it’s like to lose the adults you’re supposed to look to for guidance, all because of this crazy bitch that possessed you. She’s a good kid,” Macaque hummed. 

“Yes, she is.”

–

“So, who’re we up against again? I didn’t quite hear you over the phone!” Wukong panted lightly as he ran beside Mk, with Mei on his successor’s other side. They ran down the street, the young adults leading the way for the monkey. Mk turned his head to face his mentor, “Ah, well– We’re here. She’s right in there,” he warily pointed out.

Wukong’s attention diverted to the abandoned building. “In.. here? Why?” he asked, confused. He guessed it was understandable, considering she was a demon, but even they have standards! Or so he assumed.

He walked in first, in case he had to shield any blows from hitting the younger two. “Hellooo?” he called, cupping his hands around his mouth in an attempt to amplify the sound. Something was eerie about this, though. It could’ve been the sick sound of eyes stalking them, the wet squelch of the eyelids closing, but he was on edge. Ready for anything.

But he wasn’t ready for everything. He heard a movement from the side, and he whipped his head around to face the sound, only to be met with a harsh smack to the head. He stumbled backwards with a grunt, arms flailing as he tried to keep himself upright. “What the–?”

Mk and Mei both looked alarmed as the monkey was knocked back, until he righted his stance with a wince. God, what hit him? It hurt! 

A pain was spreading through his head quickly, confusing the monkey.

“Yo, you good, Monkey King?” Mei asked, eyeing him suspiciously. “What happened?” The golden monkey listened as he rubbed the spot that hurt the most, in an attempt to soothe the ache that had begun to seep into his skull. He whined, “Huh.. yeah, I don’t know,” he replied. “Where did she go?”

“There!” Mk yelped, yanking the staff out just in time for it to clang against the tail. “Scorpion! Ew!” 

Wukong jumped in front of the kids, protecting them from another swing she took at them. “Hey- Just stand still!” she hissed, angrily launching herself at Wukong.. Before she realized it was the monkey. “Wukong?” she asked, a small growl to her tone. Their last run-in had been when he had amnesia, and they definitely weren’t on the greatest terms. The king let out an exaggerated, high-pitched sigh, an attempt to express annoyance. “No matter where I go, you’re going to come back into my life?! What’re you here to steal this time? A new robe?” he asked, “‘Cause your old one looks like it’s wearing down with your failed kidnappings.”

“Oh, really?” she edged out of the shadows, glaring at the monkey. “You look like shit,” she snarked, lips curling into a smug smile. Wukong rolled his eyes, “Wow, princess, you shouldn’t be talking.”

“Aw, did I hit your head too hard?” she cooed, watching him rub the part of his head that took the hit, before she explained herself. “Listen, I wasn’t doing anything. I was messing around with magic stuff that Tudi was rambling about, and now I’m here. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be leaving your wretched civilization now!”

“Nuh uh!” Wukong crossed his arms, propping his hip out sassily. “Answer me then, why did you hide, and attack, if you didn’t mean any harm?” he asked, suspiciously. She cocked an eyebrow, as the monkey waited for an answer. “Well, someone barged in and scared me,” she replied nonchalantly. “What else was I to do? It’s not my fault they.. like, dragged you out of some hellhole for a false alarm.” 

Wukong glared at her, huffing. “If that’s how it’s going to be, get a move on! Leave!” he shouted back at her, annoyance dripping from his lips. He hopped over to where she tried to leave, shooing her out as she grumbled. “Well, you have to let me leave–!” 

Wukong hissed threateningly, warning her that he’s not in the mood for any more petty idiocy or remarks. “The door is open,” his eyes narrowed. She left anyway, with another annoyed grumble. Wukong breathed out a sigh of relief, his hand coming back up to gently lay where she’d stung him. Mei raised her eyebrow, “Monkey King..?” she asked, confused at his small outburst.

“I’m going home,” he winced at the wound. Mk tried to get closer to him, to make sure he was fine, but Wukong pulled himself away from the kid. “Sorry, Mk.. not today,” he sighed, before he summoned his cloud. 

Without another word, he was off.

Mei waited until he was out of sight completely, before bursting into anger.

“Augh! What is his issue?! You were trying to help him!” she raged, kicking a loose rock in the abandoned building they found themselves in. “This is exactly what I’m saying! He won’t even– ugh!” she stormed towards the door. Mk looked at her, like he didn’t even know her anymore. 

“Hey, uh– Mei..?” the boy asked, getting no response as she stomped away. Leaving him alone and confused.

“Right. I’ll just go back to Pigsy’s. Bye,” he whispered to no one, feeling hopelessly confused and alone.

Chapter Text

Wukong landed at Macaque’s home, fur a little ruffled from the flight. He didn’t really care for that, though, so he just walked into the home. Rousing the other people in the home from their spot on the couch. He saw that Macaque had taken to just watching television with the kids, while he was unsure where his mother was. She wasn’t in the living room.

Macaque glanced up at Wukong, holding Xue in his arms. “Back?” he asked nonchalantly, ears fluttering lightly. He watched his partner walk across the room before pausing, seeming to finally process that Macaque had spoken. “Ah, sorry, what’d you say?” he asked, looking back at the dark-furred monkey with confusion.

Macaque repeated himself, “You’re back?”, and got a nod from the golden monkey. “Yeah.. I’m gonna go take a shower real quick, I smell awful,” he ran a hand through his hair, the gross feeling of unwashed and greasy hair lingering on his fingers. He shook his hand to get the feeling off, but it didn’t work. He gave a frustrated sigh. “Yeah, I’ll be back,” he grumbled, before he hurried off.

Macaque nodded, cradling Xue as she began to fuss from the familiar voice of her other parent. “Shh, he’ll be back soon,” he rocked her back and forth, looking over at Bai He who was almost absorbed in the kids show. He looked back at the show, watching it as well. After they’d decided to allow Bai He to stay for the moment, at least as long as Wukong’s mother was there, they’d gotten a tv for her entertainment.

The shows were weird, but as much as he swore he wouldn’t, he found himself getting invested in some of the shows that would play on there. Usually, they only played after Bai He would be asleep for the night, though he occasionally saw them during the day. 

Just as he started to pay attention to the storyline of the show, Wukong walked back out, shaking. Macaque saw his other half in his pajamas once more, that Guanyin had washed and dried while he was out. He had a towel over his hair, damp from usage. The golden monkey plopped down next to Macaque, letting out a low groan. 

“Something up?” Macaque asked, handing Xue to the russet monkey. Wukong took her, instinctively running his hands through her fur before laying her in his lap. “Yeah. I have a headache,” he whined, just about ready to pull all his hair out from stress, or pain. He couldn't tell.

“What’d they do this time?” Macaque’s tone turned hostile, startling the other. “Huh? Oh, they didn’t do anything, Liu’er– It was that insufferable Scorpion princess. She stung me, before saying, ‘Oh I don’t know what I’m doing here! I was messing around with magic I don’t know anything about other than from Tudi who speaks too fast for me to understand it all anyway!’” he mocked in a high pitched voice, maybe even exaggerating the situation a bit more than the truth.

Macaque sighed, shaking his head. He forced his tone back, just glad that they hadn’t intentionally hurt his mate. “Huh. Didn’t know she’d be that reckless. Well, guess who’s been missing you! She was getting fussy because you weren’t here,” he teased, grabbing the golden monkey’s attention. 

“She has?” he asked, tail thumping against the couch as he looked at the little cub in his arms. He heard her happy little coos, gently taking her hand in his and smiling down at her. “She’s such a little sweetheart. I’m so glad we have her, Mac. Our very first cub.. Adoptive cub, but our cub regardless!” Wukong looked over at Macaque, more relaxed now. His smile was almost bright enough to light up the entire room, a welcome change from his dull expressions as of recent.. However, Macaque’s eye wasn’t on his partner, but was fixed on the little girl. Wukong caught that, also looking at her. She looked properly taken care of, which made him even happier.

“Sunshine, I think you should say thank you to her,” he reminded his other half quietly. “I’m not sure if you can remember or if you could even see, but she helped with the whole..” he trailed off, letting Wukong piece everything together. Right, he hadn’t said thank you yet. He looked between his partner and the kid, all three of them looking between each other as he realized she'd heard the dark furred monkey.

“Actually, you don’t have to thank me, Monkey King,” she smiled awkwardly, but the golden monkey insisted on saying it. Wukong actually stood up, still holding Xue as he walked over to the couch she was on, and sat down with her. 

“Hey, kiddo..” he whispered, very nervous. For more reason than just saying thank you, added onto that. 

He almost killed her, and she helped him without a second thought. He’s a terrible person.

Without words, Wukong changed his appearance after shaking his head to clear the bad thought. A couple of long white streaks sat in his own hair, otherwise still golden, although Macaque knew his normal glamor was still up. He did it to make it easier to talk to her, to be open with her, especially with the stuff he was going to talk about. So, he looked at her, watching her eyes open with wonder and surprise at the streaks that ran through his own hair. A display of something like her own, that she was insecure about. “Listen, I’m very, very sorry. And thank you,” he spoke, his voice soft and quiet as he sort of began to ramble. “I know what I did at first was wrong, and I almost lost you, and everyone else I’ve ever cared for. I’m so sorry about all of it. About letting her get free, to possess you. I should have been there to stop it. I’m sorry.”

Bai He didn’t reply. Not with words, she replied with a very welcome hug. Wukong doubted he even deserved that little bit of consolation after the mess he’d accidentally let the girl be dragged into, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he hugged her back, untensing his body little by little.

Bai He hadn’t planned to have this talk, not when she never even blamed him in the first place. “It had to be done, it’s what a good hero would’ve done to keep everyone else safe. One life doesn’t matter as much as the whole population, you know..” 

It was still a touchy subject for her, however. Although she didn’t blame Wukong, she couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that she’d almost died with someone else in her body. It was a scary thought, and it only made her more grateful that her life and body had been spared, even if it meant that the Lady Bone Demon had possessed Wukong.

“Kid..” Wukong sighed, looking down at his lap. Xue was still there, curled up in a sleeping mass of fluff. “I don’t.. I’m not the hero. I never have been. Mk is,” his small, rueful chuckles were enough to express how he felt about this situation. “But,” the king snapped his head back up to look at the kid, some different energy lacing his tone now, “Yeah. We don’t have to talk about this anymore!” His tail curled in the air. He shouldn’t have started the conversation when neither was prepared, but it’s been quite a while after the whole ordeal, and he just wanted to apologize formally like he’s been meaning to this entire time.

“So I guess, what I’m trying to say is that I’m sorry Bai He. And thank you, so much, for helping with the seizures. You’re a great kid, and I’m so proud of you,” he mumbled, hand moving to push her hair back out of her face a little bit, before it rested firmly on her shoulder. He sighed softly, closing his eyes as Bai He started to cry. He’d never been the best at comforting people, but he could damn well try. He rubbed her back, chirping softly for Macaque. 

The dark-furred monkey looked back at them, at the sound of the chirp, seeing the golden monkey and the kid hugging.. and crying together. He chirped back to Wukong, letting him know he was there, before returning back to watch the show. Xue was waking up upon hearing her mom and dad’s chirps, moving between the hug and grabbing a fistful of both of Bai He and Wukong’s shirts.

They both laughed through the tears, letting Xue in the hug as well.

And even Macaque joined the hug, but he would deny that it was because he wanted to, instead insisting that Wukong wanted him to join them.

–

Macaque had to go somewhere, knowing he probably wouldn’t be back until late. So, after his unfortunately clingy partner let him get ready, he stood by the door with an exasperated sigh. “Wukong, I love you. But I need to go,” he whapped the golden monkey with his tail, getting an irritated grumble from his other half. They had quickly returned to the ease of their past relationship, with only a few differences.

“But Liu’er!” Wukong pouted, hugging the dark-furred. “Please don’t gooo..” The statement hung in the air for a moment, before the other sighed. “I.. I’ll cuddle with you later, only if you let me go. Or, I’ll use my shadow portals to get out of here,” he cocked his eyebrow, “Which one will it be, sweetheart?” he asked, the end was said in a sarcastic but playful manner.

The golden half hissed begrudgingly, face taut in a pout as he backed away. “Fine. But don’t take forever, or I’ll beat you up when you get home,” he grumbled, before kissing the shadow monkey goodbye. “Duly noted. I’ll be back later,” he waved goodbye to the golden monkey as he walked away, before using his shadow portal. The golden monkey hated his way of transportation, so he was courteous of that. 

Once Macaque was gone, Wukong walked back inside. Truth be told, he was at that time of the month. And it sucked, with his body putting him through what felt like double hell so soon from the first one. Bai He was drawing when he came back in, laying flat on the floor as she doodled with the crayons he gave to her. Intrigued, he laid on the floor too. “What’cha drawing, kiddo?” he tapped the paper she drew on, looking at her with a playful smile.

“Well, it was supposed to be a tree. I think it looks more like a bush,” she held up the drawing for the monkey to see, and he looked completely at the drawing.

“You are such a great artist! I think it looks like a tree with longer leaves,” he replied, picking up the paper and viewing the masterpiece. “You know, like a willow tree! Wow, I’ve never seen something as beautiful as it,” he complimented, taking in the beautiful use of color. 

“Even old Sun Wukong can’t draw as well,” a voice came from the door connecting the kitchen and living room. “And he’s been alive for how long, now?” her voice was sweet, like honey. Wukong sputtered, tail slamming against the ground. “Mama!” he called in, giving the doorframe an annoyed glare. She walked through the door to see that, giving a light, playful scoff. “I was just kidding, goodness gracious! There, your kitchen is all tidied up.”

Everything was going by quickly, and soon, Wukong got a headache. He wished it would distract him from the cramping, but instead, it only added onto the pain. He groaned in pain, rubbing his head with his palms. “I hate headaches,” he complained, before his vision flickered golden and the form of his successor wafted into his sight. “Monkey King!” he called, happily. “I’ve been trying to reach your phone, but I realized I accidentally have it somehow? Anyway, Mei and Pigsy said something about inviting you for dinner tonight! How does that sound?” 

Wukong thought about it, and what happened last time. “Uh, bad day, kid.. Sorry, I don’t think I can come there tonight. Tell them it was nice of them to think of me, though!” the king apologetically smiled. When Mk poofed, he looked around, bewildered.

No goodbye..? Oh well. 

He went back to coloring for a couple more minutes before the same headache came back. And then, the same image of Mk. “Alright, sorry, I needed to talk to Piggy! Anyway, he said he’ll send me to deliver some food, since you don’t feel good! That’ll be my apology for dragging you out earlier! Make sure you smell good this time, kbyeee!” he waved and the projection collapsed in on itself. 

“Wait, I–,” the monkey started, before the connection was cut. Okay, he guessed it’d be fine. He was pretty hungry anyway, but he had planned on eating whatever Guanyin made for them. He groaned, burying his face in his lap. “He didn’t have to comment on my smell, too..” he grumbled, sitting up and crossing his arms with annoyance.

Surely, nothing would happen. Not in Macaque’s home. Even if they did do all of the stuff, they wouldn’t dare do it in Macaque’s home. 

Right?

Truth be told, he was noticing all of the bad shit happened when the others were around him. He was suspicious, but still clinging onto the last bit of hope that it wasn’t them. They wouldn’t betray him like that. Friends didn’t do that, and they were.. mostly kind to him. He just wanted a nice, relaxing evening, after being paralyzed and poisoned for a few days. A night where he wouldn’t have to worry about that stuff.

He knew that was too much to ask for, though, especially with two kids to take care of. With a sigh, he went back to coloring with Bai He. He smiled a little as they laid on the floor, his legs kicking as he drew a pretty flower with her.

Chapter Text

Mk looked at the food he’d been tasked with giving to his mentor. As soon as he and the dragon girl came back to Pigsy’s and explained, his response was pretty normal, when the topic surrounded the golden monkey.

“Why would you ask him, of all people, to help take care of a demon? Last I checked, he was still paralyzed in bed!” Pigsy pinched his nose bridge, a sigh leaving him. He gave himself a moment to think, before he continued to speak over the dragon girl and the monkey’s successor. “Here. I’ll make him food, and you can invite him over if he’s feeling better. Go invite him, and do not invite Macaque. He’s really getting on my nerves,” the pig demon uttered, clearly annoyed. 

Mk looked at his father figure with caution, before nodding. Knowing how the king had been when he last visited him while he’d been paralyzed, he probably hadn’t eaten a whole lot. Not that the king needed to eat to survive, but it held undeniable benefits for him, which is probably why he was slower when healing. But he hadn’t seemed to be able to keep anything down, especially since he couldn’t really eat on his own anyway. Now that he wasn’t paralyzed anymore, he could only assume the Belladonna had worked through his system by now. Meaning, he should be able to eat now.

Mk whipped out his phone, pulling up his texts with his mentor. The funniest thing to him was how despite him getting the king a phone to help with his spelling mistakes, he still managed to be terrible at typing. He pressed the call button, hearing the faint sound of ringing in the noodle shop. He lowered his phone in confusion, just to confirm it wasn’t his own. When both rings stopped at the same time, he knew that the king’s phone had to be there somehow.. 

But he had never touched it? How would it have gotten there?

He called again, and again, until he finally recognized the peachy color of the king’s case. It was sitting on a counter, next to Mei’s dragon blade. 

Which reminded him that she was acting weird recently. He knew Mei was careful, but she had literally left her dragon blade in the open, along with the fact she had Wukong’s phone. How she even got her hands on it, he’d never know! “..Mei?” he called, looking around to not find her anywhere near the counter. What had gotten into her!?

“Oh, she’s with Redson,” Tang replied, “They’re just outside if you need them.” The older man pointed to the front door of the noodle shop, before going back to his conversation with the chef. Mk nodded, headed out to see them. He wanted to say hi to Redson while he was at it, but he was dying to know how his best friend got her hands on the king’s phone. He walked out to see the two, who were chatting noisily. 

“Hey! Hi, Red boy!” Mk waved, eliciting a very dramatic groan from the fire demon. “Who invited the noodle brain?” he shook his head, glaring at the delivery boy.

“Wow!” Mk crossed his arms, “Nice-ta see you too!” Redson scowled at his reply, but Mk quickly spoke; “Mei! Sorry to interrupt, but.. how do you have Monkey King’s phone?! Also, I have to invite Monkey King for dinner without telling Macaque, but I can’t because you have his phone!” Mei looked at him like he was crazy, before remembering, she did indeed have the old monkey’s phone.

“Well, Macaque’s not even going to be around Wukong for the evening,” Redson spoke up, like it was supposed to be known by everyone.

“Huh? Why?” Mk asked the fire demon, Mei’s expression twinning her best friend’s confusion. Redson looked between them, a ridiculous expression on his face. “He’s on his way to my house right now, you morons! My mother wanted to have a check in, to see how he and the overpowered monkey are holding up! What other business would he have with my family?!”

Mei looked at Redson, with an odd expression. “So, he’s not gonna be home?” she asked, to confirm what she just heard. “Oh, well. Alright. Mk, use your astral-whatever to get to him!”

So, he did. And he also explained that the king was not coming. “Can I come with you, then? I want to deliver his phone to him myself and apologize. I saw he dropped it, so I picked it up to return to him,” she gave a huge grin, playful; like she’d make when they were doing something fun.. or doing just about anything together, actually. So, he sighed reluctantly.

“Sure, sure.. Don’t make me almost crash again, though! Or I swear, I’ll make you walk home!” he punched her arm, a goofy smile on his face. Redson groaned dramatically, likely just to remind them that he was there as well. Their heads turned towards him, and Mei gasped; “Red boy! You want to come, too?!” she nearly shouted, grinning. 

The fire demon's hair flared up, “Wh– No!..” he shouted, crossing his arms and turning away from the other two. “Aww, yeah! The trio’s back at it again!” Mk grinned, “We’re just so cool!” Mk and Mei crossed their arms, leaning onto each one of Redson’s shoulders before dissolving into giggles. Redson glared at the two other young adults, groaning. “Fiiiine. I’ll go with you, just to check up on the dumb simian, after the whole ‘incident’. So I can update my parents.”

“Sure, sure, Red boy!” Mei poked at him, before running inside to get her blade and the king’s phone.

“You guys are so annoying!” the fire demon insisted, glaring at the king’s successor.

–

Macaque slipped out of the shadow portal, standing in front of the Demon Bull family’s home. He’d already arranged a time to come catch up with them, and he couldn’t just bail on them.. so, he knocked on the door. 

When Iron Fan opened the door, he waved. “Ah, Six-Eared Macaque. Alright, then, follow me,” she turned her heel, and walked down the hallway. Macaque followed, worried he might be underdressed, but quickly shaking the thought as Iron Fan and Bull King were both in their normal clothes, as well. “So, we asked you here to talk about the stubborn simian,” Bull King spoke in a rather gruff voice, as per usual. “And we have some news.”

Huh, that was never mentioned.

“News? About..?” Macaque gestured for him to go on, but to his displeasure, Bull King wanted to know how his partner was doing before they told him the news.

“We want to hear about Wukong first. The news might upset you, and we know how mated couples can be when one is being ‘threatened’,” Iron Fan explained. 

Threatened..?

Neither of them seemed to actually want to talk to Macaque, possibly due to the fact that they were once sworn brothers, but they were interested in the whole thing happening with the great sage. It made sense, really, he’d gone quiet, after he’d been pretty loud for the first time in over five hundred years. Of course some people would be concerned, some sad, and even some maybe happy about that.

“Well.. He’s doing alright. Still living with me, we don’t know if that will change ever again. I mean, of course, he’ll move back to Flower Fruit Mountain when things get rebuilt. But he hasn’t had the chance to, and even though he’s better right now.. his mental health is still pretty bad,” Macaque admitted, deeming that a good enough answer.

“Ah, I see. So, how’s it been, living with your enemy?” 

The question caught him off guard, and he briefly wondered if he was being mocked or not. “Well, I wouldn’t say enemy.. We made up, and we adopted a monkey cub,” he responded nonchalantly, as if he hadn’t just updated them about a major life event.

“What?! Why– how?” Bull King sounded very taken aback, and Iron Fan looked it, too. “You guys just made up, and you’re already adopting children?” The dark furred macaque looked up at him, with a stubbornly still expression.

“Yes. After all the shit he’s been through, he could at least use a little bit of happiness, and this is what he’d always longed for. When we were younger–,” he started, before Iron Fan interrupted. “We don’t need to hear about how much Wukong wanted a cub of his own, we already know. Unfortunately. But, I am interested, what other ‘shit’ has he been through, that you speak of?”

“Uh, well.. I’ll list it. First, pushed in front of a fire pit while Pigsy was putting lighter fluid in the fire. The very next day, he went home from camping to find not only his mountain burned down, but his home as well. One monkey was killed, and we adopted her as our child after like, nearly a month. Her name is Xue,” Macaque said, with great pride. “Anyway, next.. Oh, yeah. I was showering, and I heard him screaming.. Tang was messing with him. Probably with the whole fillet trauma thing, considering the dumb monk’s headpiece was under our bed and it reeked of Tang. Gotta give him props, though, I never knew he’d be dumb enough to fuck with an essentially mated monkey demon. And then, they paralyzed him and made him really sick with Belladonna. Which, why it even crossed their mind to poison him, I’ll never know! So, yeah. He’s been through some shit this past month or so, and Buddha knows what they might've done before that,” Macaque finished. 

Their looks were horrified. That was the only word to describe it. “Why aren’t you doing anything about it?!” the princess asked, and Macaque only sighed.

“Well.. The thing is, I think Wukong knows it’s them. He’s started to show hesitance being around them, if only a little bit! But he still keeps saying the group would never do anything to hurt him like that, no matter what approach I take. It’s going to go too far, and it’s going to crush him when he finally realizes,” Macaque replied, a jaded sigh coming from him. “But, his mother is there, too, helping us get through this damn rut he’s digging deeper for himself.”

“Oh.. Well, in any case, let me share the news I had for you. I couldn’t, in good conscience, go without telling you,” Bull King sighed, looking to his wife for the courage to tell Macaque what he was about to. She nodded, looking as regretful as her husband. “Our son, Redson, was the one behind the burning of Sun Wukong’s mountain and home.”

Macaque’s eyes widened, a fierce gaze of hatred in his eyes. The boy’s parents and Sandy had confirmed it, now. However, he kept his act together. “That thought crossed my mind a couple of times,” he admitted. “And I swear, when I see him next, he’s going to pay for what he did to my king's home.”

“Please, Six-Eared Macaque. Spare him,” Iron Fan asked. Macaque frowned, looking at her with narrowed eyes. “That’s not up to me. You’d better hope that Guanyin is feeling as merciful as she’s known to be. Because if she gives me the go-ahead, I will not be holding back.”

The parents of the fire demon did not fight any further.

–

“Hey, monkey king!” Mk drew out the ‘hey’, walking into the monkey’s home carrying a noodle container. “Piggy wanted us to bring this for you!” he plopped the food on the table, “And, uh.. Mei has something to give you!”

Wukong had been startled when they walked in. They saw the monkey in his long, peachy shirt and the matching shorts, with Xue on one side of his lap and Bai He’s head resting in the free space on the other side. They were watching cartoons. “Ah, I was gonna say, I’m not feeling very hungry,” he replied. Mei stepped forward, holding out his phone. “Hey, I was wondering where that went.. How’d you get it?” Wukong looked it over in confusion. Nothing was wrong with it.

Mei shrugged. “Ah, when you left while we were dealing with Scorpion Queen, or whoever, you dropped it.” Wukong made a soft noise of understanding, before noticing Redson was there as well. “Ah! Redson. Didn’t see you there,” Wukong commented, getting an angry outburst from the demon.

“Seriously?! How come none of you peasants can see me, I’m literally the tallest one here!” he shouted, gaining attention from the king’s cub. She started to cry.

“Shh, hey–,” Wukong started to speak to her, cradling the crying cub. This piqued Redson’s interest. “A cub..?” he asked, walking over to Wukong and the cub. “How did you get a cub?” Redson asked, “Why isn’t she with her mother and father?”

Wukong stared ahead for a moment, before replying, “She is! She’s my daughter,” he replied nervously.

“..Huh?” Redson asked, confused. “You… you had a cub..?”

“Wha- no, I adopted her! One of the mother monkeys died in the wildfire, so me and Mac kinda just adopted her!” Wukong revealed to the fire demon.

“..I think I’m gonna go.”

Wukong’s eyes widened at the sudden change in mood, tail flicking anxiously. “Uh, okay? Seeya later then.”

Mk and Mei looked between each other, before Mk nervously laughed. “Ahaha.. We should probably check up on him. Bye, Monkey King!” Mk ran, before Mei ran after him. “Yeah, what he said!”

Wukong sat there, confused. He waved at the door, “Bye? What the hell just happened..”

After Xue stopped crying, he set her down, getting up to go see the food on the counter. He wasn’t gonna eat it, but he was curious what the pig sent with Mk.

The second he stepped close to it, he could tell something was off. It smelled… bad. Like, death bad. Wukong was starting to get a little squeamish from the smell, as it grew stronger and stronger every step he took closer. When he neared the box of so-called “noodles”, he almost couldn’t get himself to open it and check what was inside. 

..But he did. And when he opened it, he immediately closed it again, backed away, and gagged. Nope.

The “food”, if there even was any, was alive and crawling with maggots. The golden monkey stared wide-eyed at the gross container. 

So that means they really were doing it on purpose.

He grabbed the bag that carried the gross container, trying not to gag again, and warned Bai He to tell Guanyin he was going out for a little bit. When she agreed, he thanked her before parting ways. 

Determined to reach a place he could throw them out. 

Well, there went his appetite.

Chapter Text

Redson felt like throwing up.

“You guys didn’t tell me I killed a fucking monkey! Even worse, orphaning a cub?!” he accidentally shouted the words, but he was beyond the point of caring. He’d taken part of something he really wished he hadn’t.

“What’s the issue? You heard Wukong. He finally got the chance to adopt a cub, which he’s made clear he’s wanted, in my opinion,” Mei replied, balancing the end of her dragon blade on her nose as she balanced on one foot. “If anything, I think you did him a favor. He has everything he could have ever wanted, now.”

Redson looked at her, miffed. “I do hope you’re joking, dragon girl,” he entertained an exasperated expression in her direction, which got a rise out of her. This was out of character for her, and he couldn't help but feel a little concerned.

“Fuck do you mean by that?! You tried to kill us, why is your so-called ‘conscience’ just now coming back to bite you in the butt?! Where was it when you tried to take over the world, and kill us?” Mei argued back, letting the blade fall before she caught it by the handle. 

“That was different, and you know it! I’ve changed since then, I’ve seen the error of my ways!” Redson snapped at her, hair flaring up. “How come no one feels the least bit bad about the cub?!”

“Of course, we feel bad! Her actual mom has been dead for a couple of weeks, though, and the past is the past. There’s nothing we can do! Besides, Xue seems to be loving it with Monkey King and Macaque,” she argued, crossing her arms. “Sheesh, you’re always so tense. Relax a little bit!”

“I killed a cub’s mother, and you’re telling me to relax?! Do you not understand the dire consequences I could face if Bodhisattva Guanyin realizes I was the one who burned down his mountain in the first place?! She’s the idiot’s mother, Mei!” Redson looked at the dragon girl as if she’d lost her mind. Mk and Mei themselves were beginning to wonder if maybe Redson had lost his mind. This wasn’t like him, to care so much for a life he’d never known existed. Mk wasn’t really paying much attention, though. He was busy overthinking his next training session at 3:30 in the morning. It'd been requested for the sake of varying times.

“Yeah, yeah! Just tell her you didn’t mean to, or something. She’s gotta be the goddess of mercy for something!” Mei replied, with a quirked eyebrow. “Surely, she won’t be too over-the-top with a ‘punishment’.”

“You’d be surprised,” Redson answered grimly. “Just wait until you guys are found out. And, don’t try to contact me. Not until your heads are right. You are acting odd, dragon girl.” With that, he left in a fiery vortex of flames. Leaving her to scowl at him.

-

Wukong had thrown the ‘delivery’ someplace off to the side, along the pathway to his destination. He didn’t even care about littering anymore, he was just plain tired.

Why would they do something so gross like that? Why would they do any of that? What did he even do to make them think he deserved that? He was at a loss for words. Out of all things that’s happened, if what Macaque was saying is true, this might just take the cake.

Oh well. If anyone was behind it, it was Zhu B– Pigsy. He knew the kid was too kind and took his relationships seriously. And, well, he already knew the pig demon hated him. It wouldn’t be too out of character for him to set him up like Macaque was suggesting.

He climbed the stone steps, getting closer to his destination. He was going to the one place he knew not even Mk or Macaque would bother to reach for him. The pathway was very bare, unlike how it used to be. It used to be bustling with monkeys, cheering and whooping from the treetops. He was truly by himself now, as he reached the old building he’d set for his destination.

The shame temple.

He mostly went there just so he wouldn’t be found by anyone. He needed to work up the courage to see the kid tomorrow anyway, bright and early; they’d scheduled his training earlier than usual. Like, way earlier. Wukong wanted to get it done before dawn, which probably seemed a little odd to the others, but he could make it work. It was even a little odd to his sleep schedule, but it wasn’t like he did much during the day, so he could just take a nap! He began to scale the building. Still, he wasn’t sure when he’d decide to go back home, or if he even would go back that night. They could easily figure out that he just needed his space right then, anyway. Once he climbed onto the roof, he pulled his knees up, hugging them to his chest. Once he felt comfortable in the dark of the night, he let out quiet, wavering sobs on the rooftop for no one to hear. 

–

Macaque didn’t get home until really late. He had a couple of places to stop by before making it home, which kept him out until late 1 am. He just hoped that Wukong was already asleep, so he wouldn’t beat the shit out of him for being out too late. The kids were asleep, Bai He on the couch and Xue in Guanyin’s arms. The golden monkey was nowhere in sight.

 “Wukong left,” the bodhisattva murmured to the dark furred monkey. “A couple of hours ago.”

Shit. 

“Where to?” he asked, taking in the view of the house. Nothing changed, it was all fine. There was a small stench, of what he thought smelled like death, but it was too faint to tell. Along with the lingering scent of three people he was all too familiar with; Mk, Mei, and Redson.

 He looked at his mate’s mother, taking his child from her. Xue started to wake up at the familiar touch and smell, eyes batting open innocently to peek at her dad. “I’ll never get sick of this,” he whispered, kissing the cub’s forehead as she grabbed at his nose and mouth with small chirps. “Silly baby.”

“I’m not sure where he went. Bai He told me he left to go bring something someplace else, but he didn’t even tell her what it was or why. Or where, for that matter,” she spoke. She looked oddly worn out for a bodhisattva, not what he’s ever seen one look like.

“It’s almost one in the morning! I was supposed to give him cuddles,” Macaque frowned. “I suppose I’ll go look for him, I don’t want him out late, the kids–,” he started, before Guanyin stood before him and shook her head. Her hand rested on his shoulder. 

“No, we should leave him be. He probably needs to be alone for now,” she replied with a small smile. “He’ll be back soon, I’m sure. Just head to bed, and I’ll work on–”

“No, go to sleep,” Macaque looked up at the bodhisattva. He’d realized what was happening with her. She was so over her head with worry for her son, that she had to find something for herself to do so she didn’t focus on it. “This situation should clear itself up soon. Get some rest, and he’ll come back when he’s ready to.” He handed Xue to her for a moment, so he could get ready for bed.

With that, he went into the bathroom to get ready. He’d been to many places that day, including to the Demon Bull family’s home. He was ready to not talk to anyone for a full week, by then. He threw a sleep shirt on, and his pajama pants, first. Then he took care of the rest. After he was done getting ready for bed, he walked back into the living room to find the bodhisattva settling down into a chair. 

The dark-furred simian grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch, draping it over Bai He, curled up asleep on the couch. With a pat to her head, he let her sleep in peace.

He moved on, walking over to the chair. “Goodnight, Bodhisattva Guanyin,” he murmured as he took Xue from her. She smiled, returning the phrase, before Macaque turned off the lights and walked into the empty bedroom he was supposed to be sharing with his mate right then. With a sigh, he laid down with Xue cuddled close to him. He fell asleep, tail curled protectively over Xue.

–

It was three in the morning when the king decided to go somewhere else. Wukong and Mk had agreed on 3:30 am for training, which was rolling around. It was to test the kid’s eyesight, and ability to battle in the middle of the night; and see where they had to work on. It was the king’s request, which raised some suspicions from the pig demon.

He walked back, enjoying the peaceful night. Nothing covered the skies, other than the trees. The moon was shining bright. He had always been fond of the moon, until he had lost his own so long ago. During that time, it’d seemed there'd been many moonless nights. Dull, dark, and unforgiving.

But now that he was back, he could appreciate the full beauty as close as he wanted to. The mere thought of his partner made him fuzzy on the inside, filling him with something better than the undeniable dread that had been building otherwise. It gave him something good to think about. When training was done, he could go back to his moon. They could cuddle, as Wukong had demanded earlier, and they could be in love. As they were.

The walk to their designated spot to train had left him with five minutes to spare, so he lounged around and hoped the menstrual cramps he’d been suffering with would go away. He could work through them, they were just annoying and hurt like hell. He was sitting on a rock, laid back, as he waited for his successor to arrive.

It didn’t take long, nor did it take much to figure out when and where he’d crash onto the island. With a zipping scream, he crashed into some trees with a loud “Oof!”, followed by a groan. The king hopped over, looking over the wreckage with a studying eye. “You okay, bud?” the golden monkey asked, scratching his head as he tried to piece together a liable excuse for why he’d arrive like that. He settled on ‘announcement’.

“Just fine!” Mk struggled to get up, as a spare metal part held him down. Wukong tossed it to the side, using his tail, so Mk could stand and face the king. “So, training at 3:30 in the morning, eh? Must’ve felt real productive,” Mk glanced down at the smaller king as he spoke in a playful voice. He noticed the king’s small yawn. 

“Not like I could even sleep anyway,” Wukong replied, shrugging. “If anything, I think this is a break from everything happening.” The thing was, the monkey was seeing double. He wasn’t sure why, but during the walk to the established training site, he started seeing things that he’d confirmed weren’t really there with his gold vision; so he just blamed it on the darkness. The tree shapes themselves could look so convincingly like random things, but he didn’t fully know how they were meant to look like they were walking. He didn’t really care, though, because it didn’t affect him at all.

Mk didn’t even ask what he meant by that, disregarding it as soon as he heard it. “Well, let’s test my night skills, then! I’ve practiced a little bit on my own, so I’m sure I’ll be super good at this,” he gloated, while Wukong cocked his head to the side as a response.

“Yeah? Then show me what you got, bud,” Wukong replied, arms behind his back as his tail swished playfully. When Mk raised the staff, getting ready to spar with Wukong, the golden monkey took his own position. Mk’s staff collided with the king’s feet, who thrusted it away from his body. The sparring went on, as they were evenly matched, until the face of Mk started to blur away into.. something else.

When Wukong stumbled,, the kid knew something weird was up with the golden monkey. “Mon..”

“..key king?” It was her voice. How?! They’d killed her–! “Sun Wukong,” her ever-taunting figure stepped closer. The staff laid on the ground, abandoned from the person as soon as the king's eyes laid on her. “Wukong!” she snapped, face blurring once more into an angry blue. And then it morphed back, into her flawless skin. A glamor? He’d know; “Stay back!” Wukong hissed, eyes narrowed as she continued to step closer. “I thought– I thought we killed you, did we not?!”

“What are you talking about?” her voice trailed off into a wavering, shrill laugh. Alarms were going off in his head, warning him of danger, danger. He was panicking.

Danger.

Almost instinctively, he found an opening where the demoness wasn’t paying attention, and he ran for his staff. He was mildly surprised to find her confused, but her expression twisted into that of rage, or fear. He wasn’t sure what was happening, she wasn’t acting like the last time they faced off–

Her figure then turned blurry once more, swirls of colors meeting his eyes everywhere as his head pounded. He could almost hear his master’s voice, yelling at him to not use violence. His head and heart pounded with a familiar ache, a feeling that something was wrong; but when it seemed the demoness was about to launch, he struck first out of pure panic. If he let her get the first attack, who knew if he would be able to defeat her? 

He didn’t even use the staff, he used his claws. His claws landed.. in her eye. Just like.. Oh, god. There was blood everywhere. He’d clawed out the eyeball. Disgusted and terrified, he leapt back and shook his hand free of the dripping blood. 

He looked down, the form of the bone demon he once saw was nowhere to be seen. Mk was there, his other eye wide open as he screamed in terror and excruciating pain, as he tried to push the monarch off. As he struggled, fighting for something. Wukong’s eyes immediately shot open, as he realized what he’d just done. He’d clawed out his successor’s eye, and they needed to go to a hospital, quickly. Wukong clearly wasn’t processing things quick enough, as the situation had his mind on internal lockdown. The blood spilled out of the open wound, and the kid was now unconscious– 

Wukong grabbed the limp form of his successor, the blood spilling into his hands and onto his clothes. Without a second thought, he felt his power pulse through himself and into Mk’s body, just to keep him alive. By the time he was done, he felt faint, but still determined. He wasn’t thinking about anything else, but getting Mk help. He used his cloud somersault to launch forward, a little uncoordinated as he tried to find a hospital, any place that could help. 

Pretty quickly, he found one; it wasn’t that hard. They made the hospitals pretty obvious. The hospital was humming with business, lots of people occupying the waiting room as others got their treatment. Thankfully, they found Mk's case to be a little more urgent than a cough, so they took him back into an emergency room. When they took the bloody kid away, they also asked the king, now in his human disguise, what had happened to render the kid in this state. He made up a perfectly good lie, saying that he just found the kid and decided to help. When they asked about the blood on his clothes and hands, he only replied that it’d happened when he carried the kid to the hospital.

“Is he going to be okay?” the monarch asked hoarsely, wishing he could see the kid once more. He didn’t care if he had this clawed-out, bloody, missing an eye, socket. He just wanted to see the kid, to make sure he would at the very least be okay with some healing. He knew that he would be, he hadn’t used his powers for no reason!, but it was more for his own mental comfort.. that he didn’t deserve! Why the fuck would he deserve that, when he just hurt someone as loved by him as Mk?! His own successor! For no reason at all?!

“We’re not sure. Whatever happened, he’s pretty messed up. The wound is pretty deep, but he will probably live,” the professional replied. “Although, we didn’t find an eye. He won’t be seeing out of his right eye anymore,” she concluded, and that was all she was allowed to tell him. Fair enough.

They asked for an emergency contact, so he just said he didn’t know anyone’s number. He didn’t, he wasn’t lying! But he also wasn’t about to go admit to Pigsy what he did, what the monarch had taken, considering the pig demon hated him enough. He just wasn’t sure he’d make it out alive if he did. He knew that was wrong, but he was on lockdown still and couldn’t have a full conversation at the moment.

So, he went home. He had plenty of time to reflect on his mistake, throwing up a couple of times from the sheer smell of the kid’s blood on him. Once, it was from the fact he did it. When he got home, it was almost six in the morning. Macaque was up, which didn’t surprise him. But when the king walked in, eyes wide and distant, covered in what smelled like Mk’s blood.

“Wukong..?” Macaque eyed his lover, concerned. “What the hell happened to you?”

Wukong’s wide eyes met the warriors. Tears ran down the king’s face, tears of shock, anguish..

At himself.

The king went into the bathroom. But when the shower started, it never stopped. Macaque could hear pained sobs ring out from the bathroom, even as every other house occupant started to stir with every passing hour.

Chapter Text

When the gang found out Mk was in the hospital, which was somewhere between ten and eleven in the morning, they freaked out.  

“I knew it was a bad idea to let him train with that damn monkey in the middle of the night! I’ve had it with this guy!” Pigsy raged, as he rushed to get ready to see the kid. “Why does Mk even like him at all?! Even he’s blind to the fact the monkey hurts everyone in his way! This has gone too far– hell, it’s gone too far when he messed with the Samadhi fire! When he left Mk to clean up his messes, with no help!” he ranted. 

Mei’s feelings were discernible just by the expression on her face. She was seething with rage, but she was also in a hurry to check on Mk. Her best friend.. once more hurt by the same person who hurt her, and her ancestor . She had woken up to a text from the pig, telling her to come to the noodle shop. He’d said it was an emergency, which could’ve ranged from not having an ingredient to the whole world collapsing on its head. It was the second one.

Tang was already ready, but he also seemed about ready to have a mental breakdown. So he was capable of hurting other people physically. And now his friend, son, whatever their relationship was, was in the hospital because of the unstable monkey. “If he can act this way to both Macaque and Mk, I’m starting to worry for Xue and Bai He,” Tang muttered under his breath, but they all heard him. He’d been crying a lot, fearing that the kid wouldn’t make it. After all, he knew what had happened to Macaque.

The gang hurried into the van, facing the inevitable ‘Pigsy grumpiness’ when they weren’t going quite fast enough for him. They zipped down the street, while staying within reasonable speed, trying to get to the hospital as quick as possible. It was about a fifteen minute drive, so the whole gang was left to talk about it. 

“I swear to the Buddha himself, I will kill that monkey!” Mei was the first to speak, rage boiling deep inside. Since the whole Samadhi fire incident, she’d learned to control it with her helpful teacher, Red Son. But she didn’t have a full handle on it yet, though the training had a lot of progress. Small flames lit up around her, not dangerous enough to hurt anyone because of the distance between them. 

“This is why he needs therapy,” Sandy muttered, “but you have to admit, you had to have seen this coming. You guys have been triggering him for a month, or more.” The disapproving looks from the pig demon and dragon girl is all it took for him to shut up.

“Don’t, Sandy. You ratted us out!” Mei shook her head sassily, turning away from him.

“Yeah, and where did that get me? He still clearly trusts you guys, otherwise he would’ve put an end to it! Mister Monkey King has faith that you guys aren’t doing this on purpose, that you guys don’t hate him!” Sandy argued, frowning at the girl’s hateful expression. “What did he even do to you to get on your permanent hate list? It had to have been really bad for you to like, want him dead..”

“What did he do to me!? I wonder!” she replied sarcastically. “It’s not like he blasted my ancestor with Samadhi fire, and then using me as some sort of fucking.. sacrifice! Without even telling me about it at all, might I add! He hurt me and Ao Lie, badly. Not to mention, he’s put Mk in so much danger, over and over even after I yelled at him the first time,” she recounted, “all because Mk had to fix the stuff he messed up with. Now do you understand? Monkey King is not a good person. He never has been, from what Tang has told me, and he never will be. After this, I’m not even sure therapy would fix him. He’s broken.”

Sandy stayed quiet, unsure of how to reply. Pigsy got in on this too, not missing the chance to jump at making fun of the absent monkey. “Not to mention he’s so arrogant and selfish, even yet! He didn't even try to alert us that he hospitalized Mk. I still don’t know why he has to tag along with the group for stuff, anyway. Is he really that lonely? Doesn’t he have Macaque, his ‘mate’, or whatever they are!? He should get his own friends, without annoying them if that’s even possible. I don't even know who invites him!”

Sandy stayed quiet, once again. He and Mk had been the one inviting the golden monkey to hang out. He had thought, though, that Mk would have talked to Pigsy and Mei each time.

“Maybe Mk, but I’m tired of seeing him! He acts like he’s never hurt someone in his life, but I’m gonna show him what it’s like to be hurt,” Mei started, the flames growing higher. When she noticed, she began taking deep breaths, cooling down for a bit. “Sorry, I’m just angry at him. Seeing Mk matters more, though.”

Sandy could sense the awful energy throughout the car, starting with Tang’s crying. “Hey, buddy, I’m sure he’ll be alright! I’m sure whatever happened, Monkey King will be more than happy to explain!” He tried to calm down the scholar, even if he wasn’t sure what would happen with the group. It seemed like everyone had turned against the poor king, other than him. He was even expecting Mk to be against the king at this point, although no one was sure if he was even directly related to the hospitalization of the successor.

When they pulled into the hospital parking lot, they rushed inside. It wasn’t terribly busy anymore, and they got to the desk with little traffic. “We’re here to see Qi Xiaotian!” Mei announced, bouncing on her heels. She was ready.

“Ah.. We’ll get you when he’s ready. Have a seat in the waiting room, it could be a long wait.”

–

Guanyin knocked on the door of the bathroom, which was still occupied by the king. It’d been an hour or two, and even Macaque calling into the room, “Wukong, you’ve been in the bath for ages! You’ll turn into a prune!”, wasn’t enough. 

When she also got no response, she sighed softly. “So, Macaque, how exactly was he when you saw him come in?”

Macaque hadn’t told her what he looked like, how terrified he looked, how he was covered in his own successor’s blood. The sight hadn’t been a great one, but whatever happened.. could he even blame him? He’d personally been wanting to get physical for a while, but he held back as long as Wukong still saw the kid in a positive light. Which was weird, though, something had to have happened and he was starting to wonder what he’d missed.

“Well, he was covered in Qi Xiaotian’s blood. It reeked of him. He also looked terrified, so whatever happened..” he trailed off, thinking. Okay. So, there was the chance of him realizing, and being super upset, or.. “It was probably an accident.” He knew his mate well enough. Unless they gave him good enough reason, he would trust them endlessly. Which is why he had a plan, to convince the golden monkey that they are guilty of all Macaque had been claiming. But he couldn’t go through with it, unless he came out of the bathroom.

“Oh,” Guanyin didn’t look fazed in the slightest. “Well, that explains it. Would you maybe go in there and check on him? Others need to use the bathroom too, unfortunately.”

Macaque sighed, but he nodded anyway. He knocked on the door, calling through, “Wukong, close the curtain. I’m coming in.”

When he heard the curtain close, he knew that was his cue to go in. Using his shadow portal, he slipped under the door and emerged on the other side, crouched. Things were quiet until Macaque spoke quietly, “So.. wanna talk about it?”  Macaque sat down on the counter, waiting for his other half to be ready to speak. Everything went silent for a while, save for the water running in the shower.

Until he spoke, his voice small, unlike his normal self. Fuck it, he hadn’t been his normal self for the past god knows how long. “I hurt him. I hurt Mk.”

“..Can you elaborate?” Macaque asked, “I already know something happened.. but what?”

“I took his fucking eye. His right one. I yanked it out like it was nothing, and I never even apologized.” The words almost made Macaque’s heart stop, unsure if he even wanted to hear more. Again?

It took a little while, but Macaque eventually mustered up the courage to ask, “Why?”. So many things were wrong, and he knew the king regretted the past time, and the current time clearly, but he couldn’t help but feel a little twinge of nausea at the mention of the whole thing. “I.. I wasn’t seeing right, earlier that night they gave me ‘noodles’ which were actually maggots and gross stuff, and.. And so I went off, to get rid of them and have time to myself at my temple, and I didn’t sleep at all. I knew I had to train with Mk, but I was exhausted from crying all night, my eyes were..” Wukong started, desperate, short breaths of air becoming a tiny bit louder with each passing moment. “They were showing me things that weren’t real, my brain convinced me that he was her, she was back and trying to get to me again. Everything was so blurry, blue, like I was possessed again. I tried to fight her off, I thought it was her, I swear!” Wukong sounded miserable, as he was sitting down and explaining it while the water ran through his fur, trying to rid himself of the smell, sight.. or guilt, from the blood of his successor.

Macaque was disturbed. He didn’t feel too scared of him, not anymore. So, maybe it was prompted. “Sounds like you’ve had a hell of a night,” Macaque commented quietly, “I think you need some sleep, so hurry up in there, or else you really will turn into a prune.” With that, he gave a small, light-hearted chuckle, before he used his shadow portal to get out of the bathroom. When he heard the shower shut off, he smiled to himself.

It took a while, but eventually, the mess of who he called his lover stepped out of the bathroom. Even Bai He knew not to say anything, but she was visibly surprised; mostly from the fact his glamors were down. And, yeah, he looked awful. He wore a fluffy, white bathrobe, the only thing on him that looked elegant at that point. Like he didn’t belong in the robe, because of how awful he looked.

“Mister Monkey King?” Bai He asked, walking up to him innocently. “Are you.. alright?” 

There it was. That question. Oh, how he despised that question. Absolutely loathed it.

“I’m alright, Bai He. Don’t worry about me, mkay?” Wukong smiled pathetically, drawing her closer into a hug. His tail wrapped around her back, more for his own comfort. And then it hit him, he’d have to explain what he’d done to her. To Bai He. And it might chase her away from him, it might make her too scared to be around him.

“I’m going to go get some sleep. Goodnight, Bai He,” he ran his fingers through her hair delicately, before he moved away completely. “Good night, Mister Monkey King,” the little girl responded, pulling him into a hug once more before she let him go.

Macaque followed him into the room, so he did see the masked energy dissolve into sadness, guilt, and exhaustion. “I’m sorry,” Wukong muttered, tears gathering in his eyes. “I’m sorry for everything. I never listen, I never learn, and all I’ve ever done is hurt people I’ve cared about.”

“No,” Macaque interrupted, giving his exhausted lover a stern look. “You’re too tired to be speaking about this, clearly. Did you exhaust your powers, too? Normally you wouldn’t look this tired unless you stayed up for endless days.”

The silence told it all. “Wukong,” Macaque groaned, facepalming. “What did you do now?”

“Listen, I had to! He could’ve died otherwise!” he replied, choked up. Macaque hugged him with a sigh, feeling the warm tears land on his shoulder, before he led his mate to the bed. He never was known to be a patient monkey, but he was willing, if that’s what he needed to be. He lost his sunshine once, he wasn’t going to do that again. Even if what happened was starting to worry him.

He just had to stay with him, be there for him. “Alright. Bed, now.” Wukong clearly disapproved of that, even beginning to protest, “But, Liu’er–,” but he was stopped short.

“No buts. You need to recharge, and then we can talk about it.”

“Hmph. Fine,” Wukong didn’t argue, he was too tired to care about arguing back. “But if anyone asks why I fell asleep in a bathrobe, I’m telling them you forced me to.” Macaque rolled his eyes, feigning annoyance, “Yeah, because people would normally care if you fell asleep in a bathrobe.”

When no response came, his ears moved to take in any little noises. He’d fallen asleep, judging from the faintness of his breaths, and his slowed heartbeat. Well, that didn’t take long. He looked at the king’s phone, buzzing awake with messages from numbers not even saved as contacts. There were over 99 fucking messages, and they kept being spammed to his number. 

He ignored the phone, instead putting it on silent, and also sliding under the soft covers. He was also tired from waking up early after he went to bed so late, and they’d promised cuddling yesterday. Now didn’t seem like a half bad time to go through with it, especially when the king’s tail twined with his. 

Sure, they’d have a lot to talk about once they were both rested. But nothing could beat right then, could it?

Chapter Text

When Wukong finally got the nerve to get up out of bed, he moved to the living room, not having bothered putting proper clothes on. His tail curled onto his lap, as he continued to think about the incident. It was near impossible for him not to, but at least he wasn’t crying anymore. Of course, the guilt was still crushing, but he had time to think about it now!

Macaque was still asleep, thankfully, and Bai He was helping Guanyin cook a late lunch. Macaque definitely needed the time to himself, considering he practically spent the entire time they’ve been together caring for him. He wouldn’t be surprised if his lover started to think of him as a burden. Stuff clattered in the kitchen, drawing him from his endless thoughts. He could hear their chatter as they made whatever it was that they were making. He wasn’t even sure what they were making, too busily caught up in his own mind. So, since the king wasn’t available at the moment; Xue was in the kitchen with the others, held by Guanyin in a baby sling.

In the kitchen, Guanyin was teaching Bai He how to make dumplings. With the tension around the home, the monkeys weren’t able to cook themselves. The bodhisattva didn’t plan to leave until they could take care of this stuff on their own, even looking forward to getting involved between the ordeal with the group and her son.

“Alright, those are looking good!”, she encouraged Bai He’s dumplings. She knew now that Bai He, for the stretch of time she’d been possessed up until when she began to stay with the monkeys, had been alone. Naturally, Bai He also hadn’t cooked alone, resorting to her own supply of canned foods. And, knowing the likelihood her parents were still even alive, she wouldn’t leave a kid that had her whole life ahead of her without basic knowledge of how to cook food. She probably knew how to cook some, but definitely not a lot. And, knowing her son and his mate, they’d either just let her stay with them, or they’d adopt her into the family.

“Here,” she helped Bai He with one of her dumplings, guiding her hand to make them correctly. Xue chirped softly as she was jostled in the sling, watching what the other two were doing with wide, wonder filled eyes. “Oh, I get it now,” Bai He replied as she began to make them correctly on her own. “That was easy!”

Guanyin smiled at the kid. “You are a born natural. I’m sure that everyone will appreciate your dumplings,” she commended, finishing up the rest of the process herself. Bai He chuckled, slightly embarrassed. “Aw, well thank you, Miss Guanyin,” she replied.

As Guanyin was finishing up the food, Xue began to cry. “Hey, Bai He? Would you be kind enough to feed Xue while I finish and clean up? I think she’s a little hungry. She’s getting a little fussy,” Guanyin asked of the little girl, who immediately accepted the favor. She plucked Xue out of the sling, before she headed towards the bottles and baby monkey stuff. When she went into the living room, one monkey was spaced out, curled up into a tight ball on the couch.. and the other was in the bedroom, sobbing. She halted by the door, peeking in. 

“Mister Macaque..?” she asked, her eyes filled with sympathy.

–

It was a couple of hours before they could go in and see Mk, because he’d been unconscious. After the emergency surgeons finished up, he still took a while to wake up. And even then, he was a little woozy and confused.

“Mk!” Mei ran up to him, beside his bed.

“Guh.. what..? Mei?” 

His right eye had a bandage over it, red stains all over it. “Oh.. Mk, what happened!?” his best friend asked, worried. He looked between the four others in the room, as well as the additional nurse. “I can’t.. remember.” The lie was vague, yet it somehow convinced them.

Mostly all of them. Mei was the only one that was able to see through his lie, but she understood. Not in front of the nurse.

As soon as the nurse left, she was quick to press on the matter. “Okay, what really happened? We’ve been worried sick!” she exclaimed, eyes trained on him fiercely.

“Something happened to Monkey King.. he attacked me. He took my, uh, eye out when I tried to calm him down, and he just kept shouting about how ‘he should have killed me when he had the chance’. I don’t understand..” Mk looked at her, as if he was still trying to process it himself. He probably was, considering being on medicine like he was and everything could mess with that ability. Mei only looked at him with horror and anger, her expression devoid of any other emotions.

“If he hasn’t crossed a line already, he has now. I will fucking–,” she stopped herself, but everyone else already knew what she was going to say. Mk quickly intercepted her idea, trying to convince her otherwise.

“Maybe he was having an off day! Besides, I don’t even need my eye,” he tried to calm her down, and for the most part, it worked. She seemed to cool down, even deciding she was not going to speak about the monkey again after Pigsy’s comment about him not even bothering to tell the group. “Are you okay, though? Do you need anything?” she asked, with a small reassuring smile.

“I’ll be alright. I’m not dead. Besides, not sure if I’ll ever have my eye back, but.. It’s healing quickly! He also used every little bit of power he had to make sure I didn’t die, and to get me to the hospital,” Mk noted, remembering those details. How could he not? The pain the monkey had given him was unlike anything he’d ever felt, and.. he wasn’t sure if he was angry or not. A little bit, at least, all things considered; he took something of his he could possibly never have back.

But, the way he acted was too out of the ordinary for it to be just a little slip up. He knew something was wrong with the monkey as soon as he started to freak out, and to be fair, he knew he should have left instead of approaching him. But, taking someone’s eye like that..? It was uncalled for.

Mei muttered something, but she didn’t repeat it. Pigsy pushed forward, to check on his bandage. He made sure the bandage was on properly and wasn’t needing to be changed, before he even remotely relaxed. With a sigh, he folded his arms over his chest. “Kid, you gotta stop hanging around the monkey. All he’s gonna do is hurt others, and I don’t want you to be caught up in it anymore. His little ‘family’ won’t last long before he goes and fucks it up in some way, either.”

“No! It was my fault, anyway,” Mk protested, before Mei jumped in.

“You didn’t do anything! You were only there to train, were you not? If you didn’t even do anything to provoke him, which was all in good intention anyway, it is not your fault. It’s his. He’s gone.. crazy! And I intend to fix him,” Mei noted, a firm gaze on her face. She’d tried to leave the subject be, but when it was talked about, it only fueled her anger and hatred more.

Mk’s face drained of color, as he processed what she was saying. “You’re saying.. you’re going to pursue him? Mei, it’s too dangerous. He’s not doing anything wrong, you have to believe me!” he exclaimed, giving her an incredibly rare frown. Directed at her specifically.

“Mk, there’s no saving the guy. And, there’s no protecting me. I will pay him back for what he’s done, whether it’s the last thing I do or not.” 

Her decision was final, and Mk understood that. But, that still didn’t stop him from shouting after her, as she left at that moment, to stop, and to leave Wukong alone. He tried to get up to go after her but he fell out of the hospital bed, tuning out the sound of everyone's clamoring as he finally fainted once again.

Chapter Text

He wasn’t sure what he expected, or even why the revelation of what Wukong had done would affect him like it was. But it was affecting him. His dreams turned into memories, nightmares. Ones that he’d personally not like to remember.

He knew his lover of all people wouldn’t kill him again, and he had, for the most part, forgiven the golden monkey for killing him. He was living now, wasn’t he? 

But no, after remembering what had happened to himself through it happening to the kid.. It was a subject the usually dark furred monkey liked to push down, rather than remember, but even now it plagued his dreams as he slept. And now he was crying, over a stupid fucking dream. He couldn’t fucking breathe, over something he could barely even remember at that point. Other than the other’s face as he unmistakably aimed his staff right for his eye–

Macaque’s glamors were down, showing his genuine and true looks. He knew because of his white fur, that was catching his tears on only one side of his face, and his lack of a right eye. The one eye that remained was open wide, as he continued hyperventilating. 

This shouldn’t be happening. He was over it. Tears burned in his vision, as his eye flicked up when he heard the door creak softly. It sounded like it echoed, his six ears fluttering with increased sensitivity.

“Mister Macaque..?”

The kid. She was there. Now he really had to get over it. The poor kid had seen enough of the family drama, and he was sure she’d need one of them to be strong for her.

Macaque was a pretty strong guy himself, not much could actually faze him by any means. And with the golden monkey’s mental health right now being uncharacteristically awful, he just wanted to seem put together for everyone while he recovered. For Bai He, Xue, and for Wukong. And Guanyin,  who he admittedly still sought approval from. For being her son’s mate, of course he would want her approval! 

Tears fell down his cheek, as he tried to calm himself down. Luckily, telling himself everything was alright and that it was in the distant past worked at least a little bit, given the pressuring circumstances he was under. Being strong for the little girl. He took shaky breaths as he calmed down, composing himself. 

But when he looked back to the door, Bai He was gone. He didn’t know what to think. “Thank god?”, or maybe even, “Was she even there in the first place or was he going crazy?” 

He put his glamors back up, making sure to make himself presentable. Being honest, he didn’t feel half as bad as he thought he would after that whole breakdown, or whatever. Sure, he could’ve gone a lifetime without it ever happening, but he felt fine for the most part, oddly enough. He changed his clothes in the bathroom, ready for the day; or not, he wasn’t sure but he had to be. Still, he peeked out into the living room, to check and see who was in there. 

Wukong was. He was alone, and distant. Spaced out, or dissociated or something, so he headed over to a chair. They were going to fix the mess they were in, and soon. He knew it. But they had to try harder now. 

“Sunshine,” Macaque mumbled, watching his other half turn his head at the noise. His gaze rested on Macaque, with a frown; not towards Macaque, it was simply showing how he felt. His dull, regret-filled eyes also gave it away. “We need to talk.”

Wukong’s heart began to race, at those very words. Maybe he’d become too used to those certain words usually meaning something bad, but it still didn’t sound all that great. “We do? Alright,” he replied nervously, wondering if the dark-furred monkey was going to break it all off and toss him out like garbage, all because he stupidly took the kid’s eye when his own two eyes were failing to show him real things. He deserved it, he knew he deserved being thrown out, treated with disgust. Good people-- heroes don’t act like he did, and he should’ve tried harder. He took a mortal’s eye, accident or not. “I’m sorry, Liu’er,” he mumbled softly, anxiety creeping up on him as time stretched by, without the dark-furred monkey responding to him. The dark furred monkey only sat there, seeming to contemplate his words.

“No.. Wukong, you’re okay. I just want you to explain what happened once more. I didn’t, uh, quite understand,” he replied after a little while. He was trying to put together supportive words for his mate, because clearly this whole thing was terrible for Wukong too. If it affected Macaque like it did, he didn’t even want to think about the ways it was affecting Wukong. He saw some of it, but he had a feeling Wukong was hiding the majority of it all anyway. 

With a deep, remorseful sigh, he finally responded after a small pause of silence. “I hadn’t slept. We decided to train at 3:30 in the morning, to better prepare him for stuff like attacks in the middle of the night. And I’d been at the shame temple the entire time beforehand, uh.. crying. So when I headed back to the place we chose for our training, I was super tired. I thought I was seeing things in the forest, but I assumed my eyes were playing tricks on me. Everything was going fine, we met up, started sparring a bit. It was nice, until I didn’t see him anymore. It was her, it was.. Lady Bone Demon.” Just the name alone made the golden monkey look more unsettled than he had before. Even he felt a little more nervous than before. “She was coming towards me, saying my name again and again, and I.. I panicked.” The king looked down shamefully, knowing what he did was wrong. He knew, and he felt so bad, to the point it was all he was reminiscing on for the time being.

“I’m going to see if Sandy can come over today, alright? I need a favor from him,” Macaque replied thoughtfully after a moment. He knew, after what he’d been told, the king wouldn’t just forget about that. How could he? He obviously felt really guilty, breaking a silent promise he’d made to himself to not hurt innocent people again. But he figured if he could get the river demon that’d admitted everything to him to tell Wukong face to face what they'd been doing, he may just believe him. 

Wukong sniffed, drawing his knees against his chest on the couch. “That means you’d probably want to change,” Macaque reminded him gently, pointing out the big fluffy bathrobe the king still had on, which only further elicited an annoyed huff from the golden monkey himself. 

“I don’t want to. I don't feel like getting up and changing,” he whined, still lazing around on the couch. Macaque shook his head at the response, pulling himself up despite the dull ache in his chest and the want to just sit for a moment. “I didn’t really want to either, but I still did it. Get up.” The warrior reached his hand out, to help the king up. The king who continued to pout, but still accepted his hand anyway. 

“Are you going now?” Wukong asked, wrapping his arms around the dark-furred monkey in a clingy hug. He held on tight, burying his face in the other’s shoulder. So, naturally, Macaque hugged him back. His hands drew around the king, a small rumble could be heard from the warrior’s chest. “Yes, I’m going to have to leave for a couple of minutes. Traveling by shadow portal doesn’t take a long time, though,” he mumbled against the side of the king's head. “I’ll be back soon enough. For now, though, can you check on Xue and Bai He after you’re dressed?” he pulled away from the embrace to point to the kitchen. 

Wukong nodded, with a sad trill. “I don’t want you to go, Liu’er.” 

Macaque sighed, patting his shoulder. “I know, but I’ll be back in the blink of an eye. It’s not that far,” he replied, hoping to soothe the other’s worries. He knew the golden monkey was clingy, and had some issues with being apart from some people he cared for. He’d seen a bit of that with Mk, and himself, and pretty much anyone else he cared about. Even with the rest of the group, he’d grown to like them.. somehow. Despite how shitty they treated him, he still cared for them, simply because he couldn’t seem to care about how badly he was being treated. That, or he really was slow.

“I’ll be back, okay? We can spend the rest of the day, after, together with your mom and the girls, alright? I think we could both use it,” he said the last part underneath his breath. He didn’t want to admit it, but the nightmare was still on his mind. So, maybe if they did something together, the memories would leave him alone. But still, he didn’t know if he was right for promising something when he didn’t know if it could happen.

Wukong sighed dramatically, but he let the dark-furred monkey go once more. “Alright, bye, Liu’er,” he kissed the latter’s cheek, before he watched his mate leave through his shadow again.

–

“Sandy,” Macaque said right as he exited the shadow portal. When he stepped out, he saw Tang there too, as well as Mk in a hospital bed. His face fell slowly, as he faced the river demon completely. “Can I talk to you in the hallway? I have a favor to ask of you.”

“Macaque! Okay, Mister Macaque,” the river demon agreed, watching the dark furred primate warily. “What’s the issue? And.. do you know what happened?” Sandy asked, following and studying the warrior’s face.

Macaque replied, “Kinda? I don’t know, still kinda weird and new. But, I have a request. Can you come with me, and tell Wukong what all they’ve done to him? He won’t believe me. He’s holding onto a last thread of hope, and the truth needs to come out. Like, now.” His gaze seemed threatening, but in all reality, Sandy could see exactly how the shadow monkey felt. Tired. The warrior’s arms crossed, as he waited for the river demon’s response.

“Okay. And I do have to warn you guys of something, quickly,” Sandy replied, making his decision quickly. He wasn’t going to let the others do this to the monkey. Not any longer, that was for sure.

His.. friends? Were in danger, and he needed to make sure they were as prepared as they could be for what was coming their way.

“Alright. You wouldn’t mind if I used my shadow portals to bring us to my home, right?” he asked, not really waiting for an answer. Sandy was about to respond, but he fell through the portal anyway.

He managed to land on his feet, standing on solid ground. In front of the monkey family’s home. “Huh, this is your home?” he asked, brushing off the shaken feeling left over from traveling by shadow.

“Yes. Hurry up, Wukong’s waiting for me,” Macaque replied, quickly walking inside. Sandy had no choice but to follow, ducking into the home to find the golden monkey coloring with Bai He, on the ground. Xue was having the time of her life, crawling all over his back and playing in his hair. 

“Hey, Bai He, can you pass me the orange?” he asked, before looking up to see them. “Oh, nevermind. Xue, dada’s back,” he exclaimed, grabbing the cub with his tail. She seemed to like that, nuzzling into the long-furred tail before objectively deciding to play with it. “Hey– no, that’s not dada! Quit it, goofball,” Wukong giggled, peeking back at her. She looked up to see Macaque, who moved forward to pick her up. 

“Xue!” he exclaimed, lifting her up with a big grin. “Did someone miss me?”

“Yeah. That someone is down here,” Wukong muttered, rolling his eyes. But Macaque saw through it, leaning down. “Yeah, yeah. Hello to you too, Peach. I brought Sandy,” he turned his head towards the tall being. “And he has something to tell us. So maybe we should let the kids get back to coloring and bring this conversation to Guanyin,” he added. The golden monkey looked up to Sandy, pushing himself up off of the ground. 

“Yeah, of course. Bai He, do you mind coloring with Xue?” he asked the girl, “Just for a little bit while we talk, of course. I’ll be back soon, hopefully.” She looked up at the monkey, nodding. Although she was disappointed they weren’t able to color together anymore, something she really loved to do with him, she understood. They had to talk about the situation. “Alright! Wait, Xue, don’t eat that– it’s a crayon, not food!” The cub started fussing as she took the crayon back, so she gave her the empty feeding bottle.

She ended up regretting that, as Xue began to hit her in the head with the bottle. “Ow! Hey, watch where you’re hitting that thing!”

The adults heard the conversation drift out of earshot as they went into a different room. Guanyin had been doing laundry, happily doing chores for them as they went through this rather difficult time. She wasn’t sure of herself, but she needed things to do with her hands so she could keep her mind off of other stuff. At least she could finally understand a mother's rage. She’d even gone by Bai He’s home and picked up the rest of the baby clothes that the group had brought back, in addition to Bai He’s clothes. “Oh!” was all Guanyin had to say when she saw Sandy. She was surprised, to say the least.

“Mama, he’s here to tell us something. Or, that’s what Liu’er said,” Wukong shrugged. That’s when she noticed he’d changed out of the robe, into a sleeveless yellow shirt and red pants. Nothing too special, but still different clothes than he’d been wearing.

“Right. Go on, then,” Guanyin spoke softly, with wavering respect. She couldn’t assume anything yet, that’d be wrong. Macaque was inviting him in, so she could do that, too!

Everyone turned to Sandy, two pairs of golden eyes and one pair of other eyes. “Well.. Okay. Monkey King,” Sandy turned directly to Wukong, meeting his gaze softly. “Everything Macaque had said is true. The group has been doing this stuff on purpose, trying to ‘show you that you need therapy’ or whatever their flimsy excuse is anymore. Redson burned your mountain. Mk, Mei and Tang poisoned you with that drink at the picnic. Tang supposedly came to you as you slept, and woke you up to trigger a migraine or something, but I don’t know much about that. My point is, they’ve done it on purpose. Macaque has been right this whole time, and I'm sorry.”

The entire group was silent, slowly turning their heads to look at the golden monkey and gauge his reaction.

“What..?”

Chapter Text

“And, uh.. I came to warn you about Mei,” Sandy spoke after a moment of silence, taking in the king’s baffled expression. He couldn’t tell how the king felt, but he saw Macaque visibly grow tense.

“..Why?” Wukong asked, quietly. He feared he may already know the answer. It seemed far fetched to him, but if they really did torture him for countless days, a bit over a month.. Is there anything they’d deem as ‘too far’, anymore? His own successor, along with the group of people he thought were his friends, have betrayed his trust. And he was devastated.

What did he do wrong this time..? What did he do to deserve it?

“Well, last I heard, she was planning to ‘fix you’, or something. She said that before storming out of the hospital room.” Macaque’s fur rose, but Sandy still continued. “I have reason to believe that she intends to severely hurt you, if not attempt to kill you. She's been off ever since the whole Lady Bone Demon incident,” he finished, looking between the two monkey demons and the bodhisattva helplessly. Macaque and Guanyin looked horrified, but Wukong looked at him with a solemn but accepting gaze.

“She will pay for it if she lays one finger within a mile radius of him,” Macaque’s tail lashed behind himself, but Wukong stepped towards Sandy, making the dark-furred monkey pause to watch his mate’s response. 

“I just need to talk it out with her, that’s all,” Wukong assured, but he didn’t look too confident in that himself. In fact, he didn’t even look like he believed in that at all. “I’ll sort it out, and.. I don’t know. Something will happen, I guess. But if she's acting this odd, then there has to be something wrong with her. Something different. And the only way I can find out is if I get close enough to.”

“Wukong,” Guanyin interrupted him, laying a hand on his shoulder. “No. She’s beyond being talked to, and you know that. I assume she’s very angry about the whole thing with Mk, and I really don’t think you can talk your way out of that one.”

Wukong took a deep breath, and Guanyin half expected him to shout at her or something in the result of a mood swing or something; so when his voice came out as a quiet mumble, she was a little caught off guard. “No, I can do it. You know, I'm good at getting myself out of predicaments so I can just improv it. But she needs to be stopped, whatever is wrong with her.

“I hate to interrupt this whole thing,” Sandy spoke up, “But, Monkey King, can you please maybe explain what happened with Mk? Why he’s missing his eye, and we were never contacted about it?”

Bodhisattva and Macaque both looked at the golden monkey. His gaze dropped further to the floor, but he repeated the story he’d told the others countless times. And sure, he knew he was in the wrong. He knew he should’ve tried harder, that his mind was just being stupid. There was no reason he should’ve hurt a mortal. Besides, of course he was safe with Mk!

..Right? Maybe not, in the end. With the new information, he wasn’t sure he would’ve been safe in the long run. But that didn't matter. He hurt a mortal, to ‘save himself’. He was a coward, huh?

Sandy was speechless after hearing the story, and that only made Wukong want to bury himself in a hole and not come out for a couple millenia. Better yet, never! He didn’t want to return to the place with all the people he’d ever wronged. The guilt was building up throughout the centuries, and it was at its worst.

His thoughts came to a halt when big arms wrapped around him, lifting him up off of the floor slightly. “Mister Monkey King, he doesn’t blame you,” he revealed to the monkey. 

“I still need to say I’m sorry to him,” Wukong replied shakily. “But.. do you know where I can meet with Mei?”

“Wukong–,” Macaque started again, growing frustrated with his mate. She was going to hurt him, and he was going to put himself in the way of the danger, because he’s being.. dumb and impulsive again. He was immediately shushed by the golden monkey’s long tail tapping him lightly. And then, less surprisingly, it tapped him on the shoulder three times. He understood the gesture perfectly, that was his nonverbal way of communicating 'I love you'. He frowned.

“Guys.. I’ve got this. When and where can I meet with her?” he persisted with the question.

He knew he was throwing himself in the way of danger again, and he wasn’t completely sure if he truly did plan to try to stop her himself. He just wanted this situation over with already, and that’s all he knew. He wanted to help her, with whatever was making her this way.

Whatever he had coming for himself though, he probably deserved anyway. After he took his successor's eye and all.

“Well, I don’t think she’d be willing to just ‘meet up’. I can tell her where to find you, and then maybe you could talk to her when she goes there to probably try to jump you. But, it might be dangerous,” Sandy warned. “I mean, it will be.”

“Wukong, you don’t have to do this alone,” Macaque tried to suggest, but the king already had his mind made up. And even the dark-furred monkey knew, once his mind was made, he wouldn’t change it.

“Liu’er, I’m not risking anyone else getting hurt. Besides, I can be pretty persuasive.. trust me,” Wukong replied with a small smile.

Macaque, for the first time in at least a month, didn’t want to. But he knew the other had to make his own decisions. “Fine. But afterward, I’m going to beat you up for being so stupid to do this alone,” Macaque attempted humor to lighten the situation, but it clearly didn’t fit him because he sounded so serious about it. It was always Wukong’s job to do that, but even he wasn’t doing that. Wukong only nodded in reply.

–

Sandy had talked to her earlier, telling her where to find Wukong. When she’d left earlier from the hospital room, she knew Mk thought she was diving into this impulsively. She wasn’t though, she’d actually gone back to the noodle shop to think of ways to really drive her point home.

Sandy, on the other hand, came by a couple of hours after she’d initially left. He’d announced that he knew where to find Wukong, and when. So, yes, her plan wasn’t well thought out yet, but it still had enough thought put into the works for her to maybe pull it off. Like she’d said, she’s good at improvising anyway.

She knew that he’d be at a particular pond in about 7 hours, alone. So she had a while to prepare, put more thought into it, and to polish her plan.

All she planned to do was give him a proper lesson, metaphorically dragging him to hell and back. If he managed to die on the way there, well, that shouldn’t matter. The monkey’s been alive for centuries upon centuries, well overstaying his welcome. And clearly, he'd never learned his lesson every other time he'd majorly fucked up, because why else would he continue to fuck up like this? Not like she actually wanted him dead, though, because at the end of the day, he was also a living being.. somehow.

“Alright, Piggy. So, plan ideas?” she asked the chef, who was cooking noodles for the only customer there at the moment. He looked up from the pot, giving her a weird stare as her mind felt, in an odd way, cold. 

“How am I supposed to know what will kill the damned monkey?” he grunted, as he got the noodles ready for the customer. The customer, on the other hand, he looked weirded out. Maybe because the chef mentioned killing a monkey, but he didn’t stick around to try to get any more context. He took his noodles when they were done and scrambled away. 

Mei rolled her eyes. “So, you have no idea what to do?” she asked, tapping her chin with a crayon. 

“Beats me! Besides, don’t you think killing him is a little.. far, even for you? Like, I get it! You don’t usually back down from fights and you are severely competetive, maybe even too much for your own good,” Pigsy started, but he quickly stopped when she gave him a glare. 

She sat on the couch with an unsettling expression, before she talked slowly. “He kept leaving Mk when he needed him the most. He blasted Ao Lie, my ancestor, with the Samadhi fire, and failed to tell me I was the fourth ring. He let me get set on fire like that, giving me an uncontrollable power I didn’t even know anything about. He took Mk’s eye, for fucks sake! And you want to say he doesn’t deserve everything I’m going to give him? Oh, no. This is revenge for every little mistake he’s done, for everyone he’s ever harmed. Ao Lie, Mk, me.. even Macaque, too.”

Pigsy looked at her, before sighing. “Yeah, okay.. I guess. But the whole ‘killing him’ thing. What’s the point in teaching him a lesson if he’s just gonna die immediately, anyway?” he asked, eyebrows furrowed. “It doesn’t make sense.”

Mei leaned back on the couch with a dramatic sigh. “The whole goal isn’t even to kill him! But if it just so happens to end that way, then he won’t even be around to fuck up anymore, right? He can’t hurt anyone anymore, like he’s done so many times in such little time. He’s gotten off free for things he shouldn’t have, and this is just me delivering the karma that's gonna get his ass back!”

Pigsy sighed. He’d never been fond of the king, admittedly for everything she’d listed. He knew it was weird for her to be planning a fucking homicide and at that point he couldn't admit it but he was severely considering calling the police or something. Something was very off about Mei. The Mei he knew wouldn’t go this far, and he was starting to wonder if this even was the real Mei.

“But.. killing?” he asked, a little more desperate to get her to understand that what she was doing was wrong. Something was very wrong.

She just looked at him weirdly. 

“When’d you get a soft spot for him? I’m bringing his ass down, once and for all. I know a lot of people who would like that, anyway,” Mei replied nonchalantly, writing something down on paper. Her plan. 

“Wha– What about the demons he’s defeated that’ll try to take over the world again?! Mei, you don’t understand. With the time we’ve been, er, ‘triggering’ him for Mk’s plan, a lot more demons have come out while he’s not been showing his face out in the open anymore. Besides,” he grumbled, “I feel bad for Xue. She’s already lost both of her biological parents, wouldn’t that be a little cruel to her?”

Mei thought about it, frowning as the realization was put onto her. She didn’t want to do that to Xue, but..

She didn’t reply to Pigsy, though, just leaving the conversation be. She had some things to edit in her plan.

Chapter Text

“Wukong,” Macaque called to his mate quietly. It was almost time for him to leave, and even the dark furred monkey was getting anxious about it. The golden monkey couldn’t guarantee that he’d come back alright, but he was doing everything in his power to avoid admitting that outright. Macaque noticed, though, he wasn’t fooling anyone. Or at least he wasn't fooling him.

The other monkey poked his head up, looking at his other half. And man, did the king look incredibly exhausted and unbelievably down. He only managed a small noise of question, before going back to nervously scribbling on a paper. Macaque took that as an invitation to sit down, and dramatically, or not - who could tell anymore? - sighing. 

“I’m worried. I don’t want you to go alone, you and I both know what they’ve already done to you, and what she’s capable of. Even if she wasn't acting weird.” While Wukong appreciated him coming to speak to him about his concerns, he knew one thing; “I’m not changing my mind. I’m the most likely to survive attacks from anyone, and I’m the strongest. Besides, it’s me they’re after anyway.”

Macaque sighed, nodding slowly. 

“Okay. First of all, only physically. I don’t care whether you admit it or not, we both know your mental health is.. very poor right now, no offense. Second.. I know. I know you’re not going to change your mind,” Macaque admitted, crossing his arms to try to stop fidgeting anxiously. It didn’t help, and Wukong noticed. And he wanted to help Macaque the most he could. So he turned to the side, back facing Macaque. And even though it seemed odd, Macaque dragged his fingers through the golden curls to keep his hands busy. “I just wanted to talk to you, I guess.” His hands unfolded, and he allowed them to card further through his mate’s russet locks. 

“I know, Liu’er. But we’ll both be alright, right?” Wukong offered positivity, still scribbling on the note pad, but even he was less anxious already. He felt Macaque splitting his hair into three parts, and his tail flicked back and forth at the tip; relaxed, and for the time being, safe. “I’ll get this sorted out, and.. I don’t know how to move on, with the only people I considered friends doing what they’ve done,” he admitted, and although Macaque couldn’t see it, he knew the king was sad. Hell, he must’ve been feeling a lot of things, and he still had yet to process it, “But I’ll manage it all. And then I won’t have to rely on you and mama! Wouldn’t that be nice.” A small, unamused chuckle forced itself from the king, and Macaque shook his head.

“Relying on me and Bodhisattva Guanyin isn’t a weakness,” Macaque replied, braiding the king’s russet hair. Wukong huffed, but he didn’t fight back about it. He didn’t have the will to, not when he was about to walk himself into impending doom. He listened to Macaque as he followed his partner’s instructions when he was asked to lean forward, back, and stuff like that. Macaque found great comfort in working with his hands, and hoped he was providing that for Wukong as well.

The kids were taking a nap together, on the mattress they’d just bought for Bai He. It rested on the ground in the only bedroom in use, for the time being. They’d just gotten it the other day or so, so it was completely brand new; and if Bai He stayed, they’d get a bed frame for her and give her an actual room. For Xue, they’d decided to raise her in a more unique way than normal monkeys. They were gonna raise her as if a celestial monkey cub, still with the adaption of giving her a normal monkey life mixed in.. somehow. They were looking into getting a crib for her actually, but they weren’t sure they’d ever use it. Considering she was a monkey cub, she usually slept with her parents, but they could never be too sure.

Wukong leaned back forward suddenly, making Macaque drop the braid, which undid all the progress. The warrior frowned, “Wukong, you undid it all!”

Wukong looked back at him, smiling apologetically. “I think it’s time to go.”

Macaque’s eyes met the king’s, and he sighed, standing up when his mate did. “Alright. When you get back, I’m gonna beat your ass. Anyway, good luck on trying to reach her, and stay safe. Or else I’m beating your ass doubly,” Macaque gave him a stern face, despite the obvious jokes. Wukong just twined his arms around the other’s neck, in a hug. He gave the other a small kiss, smiling at him with reassurances. 

“Goodbye, Liu’er,” he murmured, tapping the dark furred monkey three times, again; so the warrior did it back. They exchanged knowing glances, smiling sweetly at one another. They did end up splitting away from one another’s hold and saying their goodbyes all over again, because Wukong wanted to travel the long way rather than going there right away to get it over with. He had a small feeling she’d be there early too, to get ready to jump him. It wouldn’t be unlike her, from what he’s seen or heard.

He wanted to enjoy the calm before the storm.

-

Mei jumped at him, the first chance she got. The king seemed to not be expecting her, as she’d planned. He stumbled when he saw her, taking in the sight of the girl alone.

“So, Monkey King. What are you doing here?” She was feigning some sort of innocence, all the while she spoke in a bitter tone. 

“Mei! You scared me, haha,” Wukong laughed nervously, knowing that it was time.

“Yeah. So, actually, I have a couple things to say,” she stated, walking up really close. Wukong started to get nervous, so he took a cautionary step back.

“Go on?” Wukong mumbled, trying to avoid eye contact. Knowing what she did to him for an entire month, he wasn’t the most comfortable with her, especially not after he’d been told that day and was still trying to process and understand it.

And knowing what she planned to do soon made it worse, even if he’d convinced himself that he deserved it. At least he’d feel a little less guilty about Mk’s eye.

“Well, I don’t know,” she leaned against his shoulder, leaving a small ache wherever she touched. “I don’t appreciate the stuff you’ve done to.. well, any of us!” The way she exclaimed it made him wince from the volume, right in his ear. 

“What.. what I’ve done?” he asked, looking at her. Not directly in the eyes, but in her general direction.

“The whole Samadhi fire, abandoning Mk, taking his eye, blasting Ao Lie with the Samadhi fire in the first place, dragging everyone into your fights,” she listed endlessly, but a couple of the things she’d named weren’t even correct; however, when he spoke up to correct her, something else happened instead.

“Mei, I–,” he began, but he was cut off when a wave of heat crashed over him from an outside source. His eyes widened in surprise, seeing her bring out the Samadhi fire so early. “Wait– Mei, wait,” he repeated, almost sounding like a broken record. She stepped closer, which was pretty damn close considering she’d just been leaning on his shoulder.

That’s when the touch on his shoulder moved. A tight grip around his arm led him to glance down, even if subtly, to find that she did grab him. He wasn’t just imagining it. He looked up, to find the girl set ablaze, the striking waves of heat licking at his arm. It burned, like the other two times he’d dealt with the Samadhi fire. “Mei,” the king said, more worried than anything, as he saw her raising her fist. She drew it back, and Wukong had half a mind to prepare to take the blow anywhere. He turned his head away, but otherwise not bothering to shield himself. He didn’t even have time to think about that before she threw her fist forward, the fiery skin colliding right in the middle of his face.

Wukong let out a pained cry, hands flying up to his face as he instinctively fell to his knees to at least give himself time to heal a little bit, despite his power still being a bit unreachable than normal. He’d also gotten a little dizzy from her sheer force. It was impressive, in all honesty, she’d even managed to give him a nosebleed. He wiped his face, feeling warm sticky blood rub off onto his hand. His brain felt a little woozy as he kneeled. He briefly considered the situation, his mind running in circles with thoughts before he realized he had another issue right in front of him.

The dragon girl was right in front of him, still standing in those green flames. Her entire being was green, darker green, and the expression she gave him was unsettling. It was one of pent up anger, most definitely at him. She was doing everything in her power to make that clear. But in the fire, there was the smallest hint of blue that made him look closer.

“Mei..” Wukong repeated, for what felt like the millionth time. His voice was quiet, despite knowing that she probably couldn’t hear him. It wasn’t worth trying at all, though, since she refused to even think about listening to what he could have to say. “Please.”

Well, she hadn’t expected that. No one did, not even Wukong. For a moment, her face seemed to soften, maybe even wonder what the hell she was doing, beating a monkey on the ground. He wasn’t even trying to fight back. And, he didn’t seem as angry as she was, although she’d just punched him. He seemed more remorseful than bitter.

..But then that voice that was fueling her rage, he still had to pay for all the little mistakes he made that led to their unfortunate present.

“I’ve waited a long time for this. For the day I could make you feel as much pain as you’ve caused Mk, and me. And now that it’s here, you don’t even try to stop it..? You really are pathetic,” Mei’s voice and the flames wavered together, though Wukong looked at her in disbelief. Her voice had an underlying voice, confirming his suspicion. 

“Mei.” It was all he could say, as he watched the fiery being walk closer. The heat from the flames surged over him, making his breath catch in his throat. “We can talk about this, please,” pleaded as he took on a more urgent, trembling, higher pitched voice; panicking about the heat that continued to climb higher and higher in front of him. He had to remind himself though that he chose to let this happen. He could have stopped it but he didn't, he chose to take the beating. Why? Maybe he wanted to feel like he was getting his absolution. 

However, Mei stopped right in front of him. He looked up nervously, at the unnatural green light flooding his vision. “There’s no talking about it. You’re reckless, you hurt every single person you care about. You don’t apologize for it until you're made to repay your debt. If anything, I’d think of this as me saving Bai He and Xue.. from the disaster you’ve become. You’ve hurt me, and you’ve hurt Mk too many times to count. You’ve even hurt my ancestor, with what hurt me. And you want to just talk about it?” 

She really felt that way about him..? 

He couldn’t deny, yeah, he deserved the beating. He wouldn’t enjoy it, by no means, but it was well deserved. He repeated this to himself when he felt her hands grab onto his shoulder. Somehow, in some miracle, it didn’t burn him. Not yet.

“Shit..” he mumbled, fearfully looking up at her through the fuzziness in his eyes. Her flames had died down, which he noticed immediately, when the heat dissipated into no more than a slight buzz around the two of them. He had hope that she’d changed her mind, but that was immediately crushed when she yanked him against herself. He let out a startled yelp.

“I’m gonna make sure you feel this. After all, this is payback for what you’ve done to Mk and I.” She grabbed the king and hoisted him up into what felt like a hug, her arms pinning his to his side. He frantically struggled, getting the gist of what she was going to do. Flames licked at his fur as they grew once more, surrounding the two of them; scorching the monkey’s fur and even the skin under. His glamor fell, in hopes to save even just a little bit of strength to heal after it was over. He screamed as he felt suffocated in the heat, thrashing around to get out of her hold. 

“Mei! Thi–,” he cut off with a shriek, before attempting again, “This isn’t like you! I know- know I don’t know you that well, but I know you’d never hurt someone like this!” His breath was uneven, quick and short. The fire didn’t produce smoke, but it still took in any oxygen around them, suffocating the king as well. He made a desperate attempt to use gold vision to at least see what was the driving force, and he saw it; her. The remnants of Lady Bone Demon.

The blazing dragon girl moved her arm up to hold him up by his neck, and he could’ve sworn he felt something snap when he was left to dangle. His arms flailed before he grabbed at the arm, trying to pull her off. 

It only managed to burn his hands even more, as he tried to yank the source of fire off.

With an agonized scream, which he was sure could’ve been heard from miles away, he came to terms with the fact he couldn’t do anything. He dug his nails into her arm, and he started to cry tears that only evaporated right off of his face. 

His vision went blurry and spotty from the lack of oxygen. He wailed when the fire grew stronger, and it was finally enough for him to pass out. Due to suffocation, or heat, or even injury; he didn’t know.

And she only noticed when his body went completely limp and the agonized cries faded into nothing. Still, she wasn’t done with him yet.

Chapter Text

Wukong had only been gone for five fucking minutes before Macaque’s sense of worry got really bad. Luckily, he was prepared for the worst at any given moment, but it did nothing to calm his nerves. He even considered following, to make sure he could keep the golden monkey safe. But, he couldn’t; he knew he had to trust Wukong even if he really didn't want to this time.

Sure, he tended to get into these situations, get really hurt, promise he’d never do it again and then repeat the cycle when it counted the most. But, he needed to trust the king could keep himself safe. No, he wasn’t a warrior for nothing, but his mate knew how to defend himself perfectly fine. It was a matter of if he chose not to, or somehow got bested. And honestly, he really had grown a lack of choosing to fight for himself when it came to these things, for some reason.

And he was anxious. He hated this feeling, constantly worrying Wukong was going to get hurt. He guessed that would have something to do with the fact he was literally always getting hurt right about now, but he didn’t know what to do with himself to prevent any of it; the anxiety, or Wukong getting hurt.

So, he took to talking to the bodhisattva. Their relationship throughout the time they shared together was growing, and he could not relay how appreciative he was for her being there for not only Wukong, but himself, and the kids. 

“Hey, Guanyin? Could I talk to you?” he asked quietly, from the couch. The bodhisattva was in the chair, but she still looked up towards Macaque. She already knew it’d be something a little deeper than usual, just from the way his face was tired and sullen.

“Go ahead,” she replied simply.

He sighed. Well, here goes nothing…

“I had a dream. I had a dream where Wukong killed me. We were back where he killed me the first time, and it scared me. I thought I’d just be very angry, hurt, scared of him when I woke up, but now I’m just scared for him,” he said quickly, as if he’s racing to get it out in time. “It hurts. It hurts to remember it, and I didn’t want to speak about it to him in case I end up hurting him in the process,” Macaque rambled quietly. He could feel tears welling up in his eyes, but he refused to cry. He had to stay strong. He knew he was safe, anyway, so what was the issue?--

“You’re stressed. Macaque, it doesn’t matter how long ago it was, or what happens. That memory will not go away. You learn to live with it, but there are ways to heal from it. Take it from me; I’ve watched my own kids deal with things different, but similar in a way. Sure, Wukong doesn’t cope in the most healthy of ways, he never has-- but he does cope. Suppressing it won’t do anything but cause harm to you.” The bodhisattva looked towards the dark furred monkey, speaking with a gentle tone. “And it seems maybe you need a different way to cope.”

Damn. It was freaky, hearing her speak like she knew a lot about this. Macaque considered her whole speech, nodding. “Yeah.. I think me and Wukong do need help. I know he wouldn’t hurt me like that again, and I know the guilt gets to him a lot. I just wish I could do something about it, to help heal us both.”

“Macaque, you are not as bad as I once thought of you. But you need to try to move on, as does he. For everyone’s sake. A new plate, where we all try to heal. You have to put in effort to get the results you want.”

“Yeah. I don’t know what I wanted from this conversation honestly.. Someone to listen? Maybe, other than Wukong. He’s dealing with his own shit. But it was nice to be able to tell someone about the dream. I doubt it’ll be the only one,” he admitted, shrugging. “..But thank you. For being here, for helping everyone, for taking care of the kids. We’re a mess right now, but you’re helping us get our stuff in order. And I couldn’t thank you enough.”

“I guess maybe it’s because I am Sun Wukong’s mother,” she admitted with a small grin, “and presumably your mother-in-law. Or whatever you want to call me.” Macaque smiled, wiping away tears that had faintly begun to form in his eyes. Damn, did it feel good to care again. Even if it still hurts sometimes.

“I want to do the things me and Wukong never did before everything fell apart. Once everything calms down, I might just ask him about that.” The bodhisattva looked confused, but she nodded. 

“I guess that makes sense. It was a different time back then, you know,” she chuckled, “and he was a very chaotic child before his life had fallen apart, consumed by power. He’s calmed down at least a little bit, though.”

“Yeah. So, how have you been holding up? You don’t need to do our household chores for us all the time, you know,” Macaque said with a small grin.

“Ah, but it helps me stay unfocused on my problem child. A mother is always worried,” she replied. “I mean, although I do have other duties to take care of. I guess I could always try to see if my disciple could bring something back for me to take care of here, or whatever. I have lots of variety in the stuff I could do.”

“Well, don’t overwhelm yourself. Here,” he grabbed her hand, holding it flat and upward. He gently ran his thumb over the creases, which seemed to stop him from doing whatever he was going to do. She laughed softly as he got caught off guard by that, when he was running his fingers over the lines and creases. It was nice.

Time flew by, regrettably, and a loud scream shook them out of their comfortable silence. Bai He herself stood in the doorway of the bedroom, eyes wide. 

“Was that ma– Wukong?” she asked, sleepy and concerned. And Xue started crying, predictably.

Macaque was terrified.

–

He heard it.

He heard a really loud scream. 

Normally he wouldn’t care, but it sounded like someone he once knew, along with the fact that it was the scream of someone who genuinely thought they would die.

Although he had his doubts of it being who he thought it sounded like, it couldn’t hurt to check it out. Besides, if the person was dying, he could probably help them if he made it there on time.

So, he did set off to find the source of the awful, ear splitting shrieks. He wandered through a forest, as he grew closer. Yeah, his ears were not deceiving him. It sounded exactly like Wukong, which was odd all things considered, but he hurried even quicker when the realization set in.

No matter who it was, he needed to help them. He wondered what could even be making them scream like this. It was a horrifying thought.

The screams stopped abruptly, and he stopped in his tracks. Now how else was he supposed to find his way to the person!? Had they died already? Was he.. too late?

It turned out, he was just close enough to see a giant surge of green flames through the thick forestation. Again, odd. He tried to stealthily run forward, although he didn’t do a great job of the stealth part; but he tried his best to, anyway, tripping his way through the lush forest. Something weird was happening, and he had to get there. It was urgent.

He did run into another person. Er, well… A monkey. The monkey ran through the large cluster of trees, his face panic-stricken. 

Hey, he felt like he knew this guy.. Where would he know this monkey from? He briefly made eye contact with him, getting a confused expression as they looked back and forth at each other. He knew the macaque was after the same sound he was, just from his expression and urgency alone.

So, they silently continued their search, together; well, more or less. They ran around, the macaque cursing under his breath whenever he got close enough to hear what was said.

And then they saw the scene.

“Wukong!?” the macaque shouted, alarming the girl on fire. “What the fuck did you do to him!? Is he okay? How fucking dare you!”

Wukong. That was Wukong. 

He ran up to the scene, desperate to also see if his old friend was alright as well. “Sun Wukong!?” 

The macaque looked at him, at the dragon, stunned briefly. “You.. know Wukong?”

..Huh?

Chapter Text

Mei held her grip on the monkey, tightening it. “Who– who are you!?” she demanded, staring at the new person. The fire simmered on her body, leaving noticeable burns through the king’s clothes and fur, even his skin. The terrible sight was completed by the fact his limp body was literally being strangled by the girl on fire. 

“Does that even matter, right now?!” the stranger shouted, walking closer. 

She tightened her arm around Wukong’s neck, glaring at the stranger. “I said, who are you!? Answer me, or I will kill him.” 

They both heard Macaque begin to growl, his power flashing on the ground before he sunk into a portal and vanished from sight completely. He crept on a nearby tree branch, watching the demon continue to grow closer to Mei.

“Why are you hurting him? Let him go!” he persisted, as he watched some of the monkey’s fur burn. He was close to throwing himself at her in the face of danger, but Macaque’s shadow portal was quicker. 

His portal dragged her down, reopening above the ground so she fell right through, and it threw her off balance. With a shout, she dropped Wukong while flailing her arms when she fell through the shadows. Wukong’s body was the next victim to be swallowed by another shadow portal.

“Wh– Hey!” Mei shouted, watching the king land across the clearing. Macaque was quick to intercept him and run, even as Mei ran straight for them. He quickly swerved between trees, waiting for the perfect time to run home.

“Ao Lie!”

The shout stopped Mei, glancing back at the stranger. The Samadhi fire dissipated into thin air, as she looked suspiciously at him. “What about Ao Lie?”

Ao Lie looked back at her, equally as confused as her. “I am Ao Lie.” 

Her mouth was left agape, dumbfounded. She turned away from Macaque, straightening up before she spoke nervously. “Ao Lie! Really? Ao Lie is dead! What kind of joke are you trying to pull over me!?” she accused angrily.

“I’m not dead,” he replied. “I–.. is that the dragon blade?” The glistening green blade caught his attention, and his breath stopped short for a moment. “Who are you?!” 

She tilted her head to the side. “Uh.. Mei?” she answered, considering the other dragon. “So, wait.. You’re– like, actually Ao Lie?” The question sounded skeptical, which it should, but Ao Lie nodded to confirm that. “Then.. you should understand why I’m doing this! He hurt both of us, and–,” whatever she was going to say was cut off when Ao Lie looked at her in horror, replying before she could go on.

“He didn’t hurt me! What are you talking about?” he asked, looking down at his descendent. “Whatever he must’ve done, that does not mean he deserved that! You were killing him, and he’s damn near unkillable,” he announced, unkindly. “So tell me, what has he done that made you so sure he deserved to die!?”

Mei gave him a blank stare. “Uh, hellooo? Does the Samadhi fire ring a bell?” She waved a hand in front of his face, mostly to prove the point. “He gave me the deadly weapon, not me. Even this is his fault! It wouldn’t be happening, had he not fucked up so badly.”

Ao Lie took a moment to compose himself before he responded to the dragon girl’s foolish logic. With a deep breath, he responded with a disappointed expression written all over his face. “Mei, he was screaming so loud, I could hear him all the way from the ocean I was crossing. How could you, a descendent of mine, hurt someone like this!? What is wrong with you! Our dragon family doesn't act as foolishly as you..” Ao Lie retorted, chiding her for being so close to taking someone’s life for such foolish reasons. 

“But– he could’ve killed me himself,” Mei’s pride faded slowly. She hadn’t anticipated this, “And you. Hell, I even thought the Samadhi fire had killed you. Now I’m the one with the Samadhi fire, and I’m the bad guy for giving him what he deserves?!” She was grasping for straws by now, as Ao Lie took apart everything she’d done.

“What good is this if you’re just going to kill him?! I won’t deny, I don’t know the full story of what happened between you and Wukong, but the Samadhi fire was just an accident. He slipped! It wasn’t intentional,” Ao Lie’s expression held confusion, and a hint of anger towards her. “So don’t mistake it for something more than it was.”

Man, for someone who looked soft, he was really going at her.

“We still ended up getting hurt in the long run! I had the actual Samadhi fire reforged in me. You ended up getting hit with the Samadhi fire. That’s not just a ‘small little mistake’! He didn’t even tell me I was the fourth ring,” she protested, letting the hand holding the dragon blade slump.

“Okay, yes, that was wrong of him. But you can’t just outright kill my brother for that!” Ao Lie nearly shouted at her, keeping his voice in check. Her reasoning was terrible! After a couple moments of silence, he sighed. “ Why don't you just go tell your parents that I’m here. I’m sure they’ll be surprised to see someone as old as I, anyway.” He hadn’t planned to stop by, but he knew even they probably didn’t know about what Mei had been doing. Because their family wasn't built on rage and murder. And they really needed to be told, clearly..

–

While they were distracted, Macaque carried his mate back to their home, searching wildly for Guanyin.

“Guanyin!? Guanyin!” he called, before he spotted her, as she was rushing the kids into the bedroom and closing the door just to be safe. “I don’t know what to do– I..” Macaque’s eyes darted around frantically. Maybe for an answer, for a clue.. But in his addled brain, he couldn’t think of what to do.

The king’s state was pretty bad. Strangled, and burned up, unconscious and maybe even with something broken. Guanyin looked him over, making sure it wasn’t to the point he could die; yeah, it’d leave marks on his actual skin, and it looked like it’d hurt for a while with or without his healing factor. 

“I’ve never really had to go through something like this with him. I’m sure if we just use first aid, and bandage him, he’ll be fine. It’s not that bad,” Guanyin offered, “Besides, it’d be a little weird to bring a celestial monkey to a mortal hospital, considering he’s immortal anyway.. I’m sure he’d frown at that idea.” 

Macaque looked up at her, shaking his head. “I don’t really give a shit what he'd want right now. Neither of us are professional, nor do we know how to care for these burns and whatever the fuck happened to him in general, and I don’t want anything worse to happen to him. We should just take him to the hospital or something,” he argued, “because it’d be worse to risk stuff possibly happening to him or the wounds.” 

He shifted his grip on the king’s limp body, frowning at the way his head was lolled back. He knew he was still alive, but it was eerie seeing him like this. He definitely had a kid to kill later. He’d warned her already, and now it was too far, like, five fucking hundred times over. He was going to bring her down, and he was already planning it.

“Yes, I suppose you’re right. Can we at least get him into some sort of human disguise, though?” Guanyin asked softly. Macaque thought about it briefly, shaking his head when he failed to come up with plausible ways he could help make him look more.. human-ish. “They’ve seen weirder. Let’s go.”

They put on their own disguises, though. Macaque’s had been carefully practiced with his magic over time, and Guanyin didn’t really need much change to pass as a mortal herself. Macaque used his shadow portal to get them there in the blink of an eye. He carried his mate into the emergency entrance, rushing for the desk. The desk worker looked surprised, but they still handled it well, despite him bringing in.. well, a monkey.

Thankfully, the staff did everything in their powers to get him taken care of, taking him to a room and all of that. Of course, the staff was confused why they were taking care of a monkey.. but, hey, when you need help, you need help. Or whatever.

Chapter Text

They were scared. 

Bai He woke up because of distant screaming. She was barely even told about anything that even happened, and then she was kinda forced to stay in the bedroom when Macaque returned.

So yeah, she was confused. It didn’t help that Xue was crying, and no one else was around to care for her at the moment. Bai He understood that the adults were trying to keep the kids out of the drama, but she could literally smell the acrid fumes of a burning body from the bedroom while the adults spoke quickly to each other. Even as a kid, she could put two and two together.

She picked up Xue, cradling the still crying cub. “Hey.. I’m sure mama will be back soon. Or maybe Mac,” she said in a hushed whisper. Why? She didn’t know. It just felt right. She knew they were alone, considering she heard them speaking about going to a hospital.

Speaking of, that had to have been Monkey King that had been screaming. It was.. really hard to understand how and why the others in the group had been doing what they were doing, but she knew it was one of their stupid plans. She didn’t want any part of it, so she was left practically friendless for the time being. She didn’t care, though, because at least she wasn’t gonna join in on causing Monkey King’s plight.

Bai He held Xue until she calmed down. It took a while, with her parents gone, but she’d managed to soothe the little cub. She was pretty proud of herself, too, because she’d even gotten the monkey cub to play with her on the floor a little bit. That was, until there was a knock on the door. Bai He thought it was one of the others, probably looking for the adults, so she sat Xue down for a moment to get the door. 

“Monkey King and Maca–,” she began to tell them no one was home, before her eyes landed on someone she didn’t even know. He wasn’t too tall, almost like Monkey King’s actual height, and he looked.. a little angry right now. She immediately slammed the door before he could even speak. “Uh oh.”

She peeked out the window, to see him about to knock again. She didn’t want to reopen the door while he was knocking, that’d be awkward!

When he knocked again, she opened the door, almost seeming timid.

“Hello!” the demon spoke quickly. “Does Monkey King live here, now?” he asked, seeming perplexed. His long hair blew gently in the breeze, messing up the perfectly straight hair.

How did he know? Was this one of his friends? Bai he nodded slowly, blinking owlishly at the guy. He wore lots of green and white. “Well.. yeah, for now, I guess. He’s not home, and Mister Macaque isn’t home, either. Can I take a message..?”

The demon looked up curiously. “How come you’re here alone? You don’t look very old,” he commented, inspecting her closer. “You’re a mortal, correct?”

Bai He couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable. Was this normal? This conversation was weird. “I’m a mortal, yeah. I’m watching a monkey cub right now,” she replied suspiciously. 

The demon clasped his hands. “Forgive me. I’m Ao Lie, I meant to come check up on Sun Wukong. But, I understand; That ‘Mister Macaque’ you’re speaking of is his ‘mate’, right? Do you know where they went?” The demon continued to ramble a tiny bit, and she almost didn’t even catch anything he said at all. She considered just saying no and shutting the door, because she knew there could be danger with a random demon knocking on the door.

“Yes, he took Mister Monkey King to the hospital,” she replied, although a small voice in the back of her head was telling her not to. She didn’t know this demon! 

Luckily, (or rather unluckily, for Bai He) Xue began to make a wailing noise, and it caught Bai He off guard because she’d never heard Xue make that noise. She giggled nervously, “Just give me one moment,” and she headed to the bedroom after closing the door.

Xue sounded very upset, so she picked up the cub, who clung to her and started to slowly climb her clothes. “What’s got you all scared?” she asked softly, fully aware Xue couldn’t tell her, nor could she understand any human languages anyway. She trilled to the girl in reply, as Bai He went back to the door. 

“I think I need to go. Sorry,” she muttered, waving and closing the door. She was pretty relieved, too; that had been awkward.

She slowly crept back inside to the middle of the living room, looking for a giant piece of paper for their next activity to keep them both focused on something other than Xue's missing parents. “Hmm. I’m not sure if they’ll have some,” Bai He muttered, holding Xue against herself as she carried the cub. “I guess we don’t need that much paper. Just need it to be big enough for you to fit.”

She knew Xue still couldn’t understand her, she was just bored. “Ah! Here!” she grabbed the paper, “They do have a bigger paper!” Bai He carried Xue back into the bedroom, and set the paper on the ground. She laid Xue on the paper, getting a small and curious coo from the monkey cub. 

Bai He brought out a pencil and started to draw around Xue, outlining her on the paper. It was difficult, since she kept squirming and moving, but she made it work. It took a while, and Bai He was only three quarters of the way done when Macaque suddenly stepped up and out of the floor. Naturally, she nearly jumped back in surprise. 

“Mister Macaque! You’re back?” Bai He looked up at him, quickly finishing the rest of the outline before Xue tried to get up from where she laid. 

Xue trilled, getting up as quickly as she could and climbing Macaque. “..Yeah. Sorry to leave you girls home alone like that, there was an emergency. I hope you guys have been okay for the hour or so we’ve been gone?” Macaque kneeled down, taking Bai He’s face into his hands as he looked her over. “You smell funny. Oh, did someone visit? I think that’s what I’m smelling.”

..Right. Demons have better smelling than humans. “Actually, someone did visit. He called himself Ao Lie?” Bai He replied, “And he asked where you took Mister Monkey King. I told him that I overheard you talking about the hospital, but then Xue started crying again, so I told him I had to go. Is Mister Monkey King okay?” She already knew the answer. He’d be fine, surely, but she still had to ask. She watched as Macaque’s face shifted when he considered his words carefully. 

Finally, he decided on some. “Yes, he’ll be alright. He just.. got pretty messed up, that’s all. His mother is there with him, though, so I thought I’d come home for you two. So, how does a movie sound? I brought popcorn and snacks. I just thought we could all use a stress reliever.” In the dark-furred monkey’s hands, he held out popcorn and sweets for Bai He, and he decided he’d get something more suitable for the cub in a moment. When Bai He accepted the treats and took them, Macaque went to grab something for the cub in the kitchen while she went into the living room and stayed to choose the movie.

“Can we watch Moana?” Bai He called from the couch, as he grabbed something for Xue. 

“Sure,” Macaque replied, fixing a banana into slices for the cub and walking in. “Isn’t that the one Wukong said he loved?”

“Yeah,” Bai He replied, pulling a blanket over herself. “It’s a good movie! Make sure Xue’s watching. I wanna teach her right,” she joked, making herself comfortable in the chair.

Macaque chuckled, cradling the cub and sitting on the couch. “Alright, then.” He leaned over and turned the lights off, holding the slices of banana  and the cub in his other hand. The cub chirped at him, her small tail moving a tiny bit as he picked up a piece of banana and held it up to her lips. He sighed, smiling down at her. Despite the unfortunate situation that led them to where they were, Wukong and him had pretty much everything they’d talked about in their earlier years. A cub, hell, even a (mortal human) child! Well– that was complicated, still.

But Wukong never did seem to catch a break. It explained a lot, really, about how he’d been acting when he was hunting the king down to drag him back to her. He knew something was off, sure. 

But either way, this was his own break. Was it really a break if he was constantly worried about the golden monkey, though? He could try to suppress the worries, he guessed.

Key word; “try”.

Macaque realized that Bai He had moved to the couch, sitting next to him and Xue as the movie began. He smiled softly, allowing his tail to curl around Bai He and bring her closer. “Alright. Let’s see what’s so good about this movie, eh?” 

At that, Bai He giggled and looked at the lit up screen intently as she munched on some popcorn.

He begun to watch the movie, trying to ignore everything he knew about the whole situation.

Chapter Text

By the end of the movie, the girls were asleep. Bai He was leaning against Macaque as she slept, though. He didn’t really want to move and risk disturbing her but he also didn’t want them sleeping on the couch sitting up if he could help it considering it could make their back hurt. Quietly, he stood up, gently letting Bai He lay down.

He laid Xue on her, careful not to disturb either, and picked them both up. He held his breath, hoping he didn’t bump one while he lifted them up..

And he let out a small sigh of relief when they stayed sound asleep. His six ears fanned out as he heard rustling outside, so he hurried up and he carried the girls into the bedroom. He slowly  and gently lowered them onto the mattress, before moving the cub and letting her cuddle up to Bai He. He smiled softly as he watched her small hands cling onto the girl, and he grabbed the blanket that was bunched up messily at the end of the bed and neatly pulled it over them.

“Good night,” Macaque murmured, tail flicking lazily. He was tired too. Oh, right! The rustling outside..

He knew it was the demon from before, Ao Lie, just from the smell alone. If not that, then his better hearing would’ve given it away on its own. He trudged towards the door, opening it slowly to avoid any creaking noises. And, yeah, there was that dragon.

“It’s you!” The dragon sounded.. oddly relieved, or excited? 

“Can I help you?” Macaque asked quietly, signaling for Ao Lie to also keep his tone down. 

The shadow monkey looked at the dragon suspiciously. He didn’t know him, and he knew he was related to Mei. And somehow knew his partner. And, was also protecting Wukong for some reason. But that didn’t mean he’d trust the stranger, considering he didn’t even know what he’d planned on doing if he’d managed to free Wukong.

But, he appreciated the help, at least.

“As you may have heard, I’m Ao Lie. Sun Wukong’s brother,” the dragon tried to rush out, “Well, kinda, it’s a little complicated if you know what I mean? We haven’t seen each other, in like, forever but we're brothers. Not by blood obviously, but-”

What?

“Ao Lie.. brother.. huh?” The dark-furred was dumbfounded, and confused. This random dragon demon came up to his home, and told him he was his mate’s brother. But he felt like he recognized this guy, but he couldn't remember why. "Well, I don't think he's mentioned you."

Ao Lie hummed softly. “Well.. alright then. I do have one request, though, could you please take me to the hospital he is in? Or at least give me directions? I’d like to check on him,” he asked, smiling sweetly as he readjusted his too big robe under Macaque’s suspicious gaze. 

Macaque eyed him, of course. “Why should I take you to see him? How should I know you aren’t teaming up with Mei to harm him?” He knew the dragon was probably not doing that, all things considered, but it never hurt to play it safe. He just wanted Wukong to be safe, and he was going to do just about anything at this point to make that happen.

Ao Lie took a moment to reply. “..Well, see, I’m not like her. I care for Sun Wukong, and I just want to check on him. I promise!” He looked at Macaque, eyebrows furrowed softly as he met the monkey's gaze. He looked a little exhausted, presumably because of the whole conversation he’d had with Mei earlier. He hadn’t stuck around to listen, but it probably didn’t end very well.

The dark-furred monkey thought about it. He didn’t really want anyone near his mate, but this guy did claim he was his brother. It’d be pretty wrong of him to deny his brother from seeing him.

With a sigh, he decided to help the guy get to the hospital, where his own lover was staying. “Alright. Get ready, we’re using my shadow portals.”

“Your shadow wha–?” Ao Lie squeaked in surprise as they fell through the ground and quickly came back out in a hospital hallway. Macaque had taken on a more human appearance now, smoothing his clothes down. “Do you normally do that?" he mumbled, trying to straighten his hair, "You didn’t give me time to prepare,” the dragon begun to chide him for taking him by surprise, but he was quickly interrupted by the dark-furred monkey.

“Right inside that door. I’m pretty sure we’re supposed to check in with the front desk, but I don’t.. really do that, obviously.” Macaque admitted quietly, looking at the dazed dragon with knitted eyebrows. He opened the door and held it open for Ao Lie. “Well, after you.” The dark-furred monkey could hear startled movement from inside as he spoke. 

The dragon smoothed down his own clothes, hurrying through the door at the impatient stare from Macaque.

No one in the room expected him. He got at least three pairs of eyes on him as Macaque followed him in.

Guanyin, a doctor, and Wukong himself. He was awake! 

The doctor was checking the golden monkey’s temperature, which was still above his normal. That was one nasty burn. Macaque hurried to Guanyin’s side, whispering something to her and glancing at Ao Lie, and then at Wukong. 

The golden monkey coughed quietly, making a hard to catch wheezing noise when he breathed in and out. His gaze was far away, though, like it used to be sometimes; like it has been, as of recent. Not for the same reasons, though, obviously. The guy had almost gotten burned to death.

“Ao Lie,” Guanyin stood up, with a smile; “Welcome.”

“Is he okay?” Ao Lie asked, not daring to go near the golden monkey for the time being. He feared that if he did, Macaque would kill him right away because of his intense stare and the irritated flick of his tail, so. 

Guanyin nodded in reply. “Well, he will be. He can’t see clearly right now, and we’re not sure how long it’ll take for his eyes to heal. But he is responsive, at least,” she replied. “Not much, because of his throat. But he can hear anything we say! Oh, and also, his neck. Mei did something to it that no one’s been able to figure out yet. I’m not even sure if they’ve tried. After explaining he would for sure survive, because he’s immortal, they kind of started to slack on his case.” She shot the doctor in the room with an unimpressed glare. 

“Mama..?” Wukong whispered, coughing. His hands were scorched and blackened, but they still slowly reached out for her when he heard that she was near. She moved closer immediately, holding his hands gently.

Macaque curiously walked over. “This guy is here. He says he’s your brother,” he said softly.

“Wha..?” Wukong was cut off by a coughing fit that seemed painful.

“Ao Lie,” the dragon nervously spoke, once the coughing died down for a bit. Maybe Wukong didn’t remember him, or something. How awkward would that be!

Wukong’s face scrunched up in confusion. “Ao Lie..? Dead.” He wasn’t speaking in full sentences to avoid hurting his throat, but it got the point across well enough.

“No, no. He’s alive. He’s right here,” Guanyin shifted his hands in her own, before completely moving them to hand them to the dragon. His face went from confusion to shock quickly. 

“Ao Lie!” he whispered hoarsely, and even his voice cracked. Ao Lie nodded, despite knowing the monkey couldn’t see him. 

“It’s me. Hello, elder brother,” Ao Lie responded quietly. “How are you doing right now?”

“Great.”

“Ah. Well, I’m sorry. I mean, I kinda assumed that, but I thought I’d ask anyway. I’m.. so sorry about Mei. She is nothing like me, I swear I do not hold any grudges against you or anything of that sort,” the dragon nervously rambled, “And I’ll be talking to her parents about this, and–”

He was interrupted by a very pissed off shadow monkey. “Right. Problem is, though, that we’re past the point of just ‘talking to parents’. They’ve done so much to him, I can hardly recount them anymore. And all I know about is over the one fucking month-ish that we’ve been living together. They’ve paralyzed and poisoned him with Atropa Belladonna as well, on purpose, so that could make two murder attempts,” Macaque replied. “She will not be getting away with this with just a slap on her wrist. None of them will be, and I’ll make sure of it.”

Ao Lie’s eyes widened, ignoring the coughing fit Wukong was sent into just by trying to reply. Guanyin gently rubbed his back as some form of comfort, keeping the pressure down so it didn’t aggravate his body too much. “Who else? Who’s been doing this?” the dragon asked quietly. What had they been doing to his elder brother!

“His successor, and their little group. Qi Xiaotian, or Mk, and Mei are best friends, both a part of a group called the ‘Monkie Kids’ I believe they call themselves. Not very original. Every single person in that group, aside from Sandy, has been actively harming Wukong for a month or so. Sandy also never told anyone, though,” Macaque bitterly informed the dragon. “So, yeah. This was like a last straw kind of thing, that never should’ve happened.”

“..And to think I could’ve missed this, had I waited just a little bit longer to leave,” Ao Lie sighed. “Alright, I understand. You guys have every right to do anything you see fit. Just.. don’t kill them.” 

It was silent for a couple of moments.

“If you don’t mind me asking, though,” Ao Lie started again, curiously, “What happened to his powers? Usually he’d be fine after a little rest.”

Macaque clicked his tongue. “See, uh.. Jeez. Well, something happened while he was training with his successor, and he ended up taking the kid’s eye." Finally it clicked in Ao Lie's mind who the macaque was- "He used all of his power to keep him alive, in addition to bringing him to this hospital. He’s still here,” Macaque crossed his arms, “But anyway, he also didn’t meditate or resuscitate his powers at all before going to meet Mei's wrath on purpose.” 

Ao Lie frowned. “Right. And it’s the Samadhi fire. Well, no matter what you guys are going to do, I still think that telling her parents would be a good idea as well. Because, well.. It's hard to believe any dragon ancestor of mine would try to kill my brother. Obviously, her parents need to know about this. So, can I tell her parents?”

Wukong’s eyes blinked slowly, after he calmed down from the coughing fit. His voice sounded awful. “Seriously, can we get a little medical attention in here?!” Macaque snapped at the doctor who was over at the desk. “It’s been quite a while, and no one has even come in here to help once!”

The doctor nodded, “Sorry, yes sir. I’ll get some help right away.”

Macaque nodded curtly in reply, before turning back to Ao Lie. “Yeah, okay. Knock yourself out. All I’m saying is, they’re gonna get what they have coming for them.”

Ao Lie nodded. “Of course, I wouldn’t doubt that. Not with Guanyin and you with him. And, I hate to bother you guys more, if it’s too much to ask, but could I maybe stay at your home for the night? I will be out of your hair by morning, I promise. I just didn’t plan an overnight stay here, hence why I don’t have any place to stay.”

Macaque thought for a moment. “Well.. I mean, we’re running out of room. But, I guess, sure. We can try to find you a place to sleep for tonight,” Macaque replied quietly. “Bodhisattva Guanyin, are you going home to sleep for the night? I’d like to stay here with Wukong, but the girls need someone home for them, and Ao Lie needs someone to find him a place to sleep. You can go ahead and have mine and Wukong’s bed for the night,” he muttered to her.

Guanyin smiled, and nodded. “Thank you. I will go home, and be there for the girls. Do try to get some rest, though, please. Good night, Macaque and Wukong,” she hugged the golden monkey gently before she turned to leave. Ao Lie put his hand on Wukong’s, getting a quiet chirp out of the golden monkey before he left with Guanyin. 

And Macaque and Wukong were finally alone again. 

“I told you,” Macaque murmured quietly, taking his lover’s hand. The king tried to sit up, letting out a sharp cry of pain when he moved his neck. “Shh. Just lay back, don’t hurt yourself. You know, you’re going to have to meditate or whatever you do anymore to regain your powers so you can heal yourself.”

Wukong responded with a couple of coughs. “Are they ever going to come back with help?” Macaque scowled, glancing at the door.

“Patient,” Wukong muttered softly, although his voice was rough. Macaque scoffed. 

“Patience, my ass. They’ve not helped you first only because you’re immortal. I understand being busy with mortals that could die, but how long could it take? Really, this hospital’s staff is bad at their jobs.”

Eventually, a doctor did come in. “Sorry to keep you waiting so long. We were trying to figure out the best way to help the patient, and we’ve decided to try this,” she had brought a ventilator. 

Macaque looked at it curiously. “What does that do?” he questioned, watching as she set it up.

“It might help his breathing. Since he was in a fire, or.. something. ‘Magical fire’, I guess it says on the report so we kind of have to improvise. But I’ll be right back in with a cot after this, if you’d like,” the doctor offered, setting up the ventilator. Wukong gave a small chirp for him, which he wanted to return, but he was still disguised as a human.

“Yeah, sure,” Macaque dismissed, holding onto Wukong’s hand as the doctor slipped the mask on. He watched as the golden monkey began to resist it a little bit, worried they were lying to him and doing something else. But when Macaque held his head still, he trusted the warrior's judgement and let her slip the mask on. She moved his head slightly, causing him to chirp painfully.

“Be careful with him!” Macaque was quick to protect him, head snapping up to glare at the doctor. The doctor apologized warily and moved on to finish setting up the ventilator.

Wukong was exhausted and in a lot of pain, and he didn’t really know how long he could go without falling asleep. He was trying his damn hardest, though, and the pain was helping. But he decided against trying when his mate actually told him to go to bed. 

That he would stay with him the entire time. That he’d be there for him if he ever needed it. 

“Good night, lovely,” Macaque whispered against the king’s rough hair, before he planted a kiss on his temple. He ran his fingers through the normally fluffy fur, in a hopefully helpful attempt to get the golden monkey to sleep.

-

Ao Lie woke up bright and early, after being given the opportunity to sleep on the couch. While he wanted to stay until Guanyin showed in the living room so he could thank her for showing him kindness once more, he had a more pressing schedule today. He had stuff to do on his own, like most others, but it could wait until he’s had a full conversation with his descendents. 

When he’d finished fixing himself up as best as he could, he went back into the living room; he was going to write something to give his gratitude and leave, but the dark-haired girl was sitting in the chair now. “You’re pretty quiet,” Ao Lie commented, checking his hair quickly to make sure it was good. “Could you do me a favor and tell Bodhisattva Guanyin thank you for letting me stay? I must be off now, so I cannot stay long enough to see her myself. That’d be awesome, thank you!” 

Bai He nodded in agreement as Ao Lie left. The room was left in awkward silence, when Ao Lie walked out of the door, and started on his way to his descendents' home. He knew it was somewhere in Megapolis, but that was all he knew.

Chapter Text

“So you’re telling me, Monkey King is in this hospital too?” Mk asked, dumbfounded. His eye.. was completely gone. He knew that much. But it was healing just fine, even faster than any other mortal’s. He had suspicion that it was due to the king’s powers. Mei had come to visit him, dropping this news on him the second they were completely alone and there were no lingering doctors in the room to overhear.

Mei nodded, her face pale. “Yeah, he’s also in this hospital.”

Mk looked at her, cocking his eyebrow. “Okay.. first of all, how do you know that?! Second, what did you do?” His tone wasn’t pleased at all. In all honesty, he seemed a little upset to Mei. She could tell, sensing the shift in her best friend’s mood.

“Word gets around,” Mei shrugged. “I heard he was brought here.. and also, he’s literally just down the hall– I saw Macaque walk out and back into a room down there. He didn’t see me, though, thankfully.”

Last night, she could hardly sleep at all. She’d gotten confronted by her dragon ancestor. Mei was confused, because how could he be so forgiving to the miserating monkey?! Sure, he hadn’t been the one to get the full impact of the Samadhi fire, even if he did get blasted with it originally. He wasn’t the one carrying a world-ending fire. She was. But that still didn’t explain why he was defending the monkey. 

“You still haven’t answered me. What did you do to Monkey King?” Mk’s voice came across as accusatory and agitated. “Why is he in the hospital? He has his healing power. He shouldn’t be hospitalized.”

Mei took a deep breath, giving herself just a little more time to think of an excuse or something. “How do you know I was the one who did it? It could’ve been.. Bai He, for all you know! Don’t be so quick to assume.” She fixed him with a small disapproving glare, but it was shot right back at her.

“Bai He would never do anything to hurt Monkey King. She likes him, and you know that. Not like she could even do anything to hurt him, so don’t bother lying and bringing an actual kid into this! Besides, are you not the one who just left, yelling about how you’re going to kill him?” Mk reminded the dragon girl. But the only thing on her mind was how he looked so different from his normal self without his eye.

“Sure, sure. Okay, well, I did burn him up a little bit! That’s all I even planned,” she replied quietly, crossing her arms and avoiding looking at the monkey’s successor. “Eesh. I don’t understand what’s so bad about it. He’s immortal how many times over? He’ll live! He likes to brag about that, too. Just think of it as something he can gloat about.” 

She was a little nervous, considering how everyone was turning on her now. Her ancestor, best friend, who was next? The plan-

“Oh, yeah, sure! You burned him up with the fire he’s said could kill him before and he’ll be just fine, even though he’s in the fucking hospital! Mei, you just hospitalized the Monkey King,” Mk pointed out, trying to emphasize how bad it is. 

“..And also, I think I heard something snap when I was holding him. By the neck.”

“Mei, that’s strangling, not simply just ‘holding by the neck’. How did you even get that far?! And.. how could you do that!” Mk replied. "Are you crazy?" 

It was hopeless. It truly was. This wasn’t his best friend. For a while now, he’s known something was wrong. She wouldn’t brush off killing an innocent monkey normally, and he was pretty damn sure she wouldn’t have tried to kill Wukong over built up anger, even if she was normally protective. He could understand her hating him, but never.. killing. “You’re aware that’s illegal, right?”

Mei finally faced him, and seeing his expression made her heart sink. He couldn’t recognize her anymore, it was written all over his face. In his eye, the frown his lips were curled into, his knitted eyebrows. “I know. He wouldn’t bring it up with the legal system though, I think.”

Mk’s expression twisted into confusion. “How can you be so sure, though? He’s not dead, and he’ll probably remember all of it. Honestly, if I were him, I would probably bring it to the cops, the legal system, whoever. And besides, why's that your only concern? Don't you have morals anymore?! What happened to my sweet best friend who adored animals, and would never hurt anyone-”

Mei scowled. “Until she was hurt. I don't care. Maybe Xue's mom I do feel sorry for but Monkey King hurt me, and I'm only getting back! Why can't you, or anyone else, see that!? Besides, he didn’t even try to stop it. He just sat there and took it,” she explained, looking down. Yet the worst part was that she couldn’t find it in herself to actually feel bad for the king.

Suddenly, the doorknob turned slowly. Mei jumped, whipping out her dragon blade. It couldn’t hurt to be prepared in case Macaque was the one coming in. In case he did actually see her walk into Mk’s room. She lowered it when it was just Pigsy coming by to check on the kid in the hospital.

The pig demon brought in a bag, with noodles for Mk. “Hey, kid. How are you feeling?” he asked, before finally acknowledging Mei. “Hey, Mei.”

Mk sighed, sitting up. “Emotionally or physically? They’re two very different answers.”

“Uh, both? I guess,” Pigsy muttered, sitting in a chair next to Mk. Mei felt bad. He felt badly because of her. She’d hurt her best friend.

“Physically, I feel fine. I could probably leave the hospital, actually– thanks to Monkey King’s magic. Emotionally, I.. well. Did you know Monkey King is in the hospital, too?” Mk asked quietly.

“Like, to visit you? Where is he?” Pigsy glanced around the room nervously, to see if he could find even a hair out of place. He couldn’t.

“No,” Mk corrected, “as a patient, I guess.”

Pisgy was quick to look at Mei. “Is he actually dead!?”

“Wha– no!” Mk was the first to reply. “She just hurt him pretty bad, is all. Tell him what you told me you did to him,” he looked at Mei.

Well, shit. She really fucked up, huh? Even her best friend was angry with her.

“I burned him up. While strangling him. But he didn’t even fight back,” Mei pointed out, as if it made it any better.

Pigsy sighed. “I knew it wasn’t a good idea. What’s gotten into you?”

Her cellphone rang. She fished through her pocket for it, and took it out. 

Her parents were calling. Fuck! 

“I’ve gotta take this call,” Mei excused herself from the hospital room quickly. The pig demon and her best friend seemed a little confused, but they took that time to chat about stuff either had missed.

Mei clicked the accept button, and she didn’t even get a greeting out before her mother’s voice came through and the call ended. Mei brought the phone down, looking at the phone with surprise. All she’d said was to come home, and didn’t even give her a chance to reply.

–

Wukong was glowing. That was good.

Macaque had somehow managed to convince the golden monkey to try to meditate, so he could heal himself. The king had originally not been too happy with the idea, because he claimed it agitated his neck.

It made sense. They’d found out that Mei had broken, or fractured, something. He couldn’t remember what it was called, but when he brought up the fact it wouldn’t get any better unless he meditated to get the power to heal himself, the king finally reluctantly agreed to try. 

And he managed to fall into meditation. So Macaque was able to leave the king alone for a while, go back to the kids and take care of them while Wukong was out, and maybe even take them to visit when he was conscious again.

He used his shadow portal, leaving the room empty except for the glowing figure on the hospital bed..

A couple of hours later, the king’s eyes snapped open. He was alone, for probably the first time since he’d been brought there just yesterday. People had been hovering for the less than twenty-four hours he’d been there. He assumed it was the afternoon, by now, considering his mate had promised to stay the night with him once again.

Oh well. He chirped softly, getting nothing in reply. He kinda expected that, anyway, but it felt lonely with nothing to do but lay there. He guessed he could use the time to begin the healing process with whatever power he’d gotten back.

Chapter Text

Mei hurried outside after checking out with the front desk. Her mother’s words kept playing on repeat in her mind. She just knew it was about Wukong, considering she almost never sounded angry. But now.. Now, she did.

Which left her to wonder, what was she told? Surely, they wouldn’t care much about Wukong. Attempting murder was bad, but she wasn’t trying to murder him. Just teach him a lesson he wouldn’t forget, she was only standing up for herself and the plan. And getting carried away in the process. She checked the mirrors on her bike as she turned around to zip down the street at probably illegal speeds.

She remained deep in thought, though, not practicing good driving very well. It was a miracle she ended up making it home safe, considering how many cars she’d cut off. Whatever her mother wanted to say was more important to her than a couple of honking horns, though, so she was quick to park and make her way inside. Her parents were waiting impatiently inside the front door, next to Ao Lie.

“There you are,” her mother said angrily. “Come along. We need to talk about this whole murder thing of yours.”

Mei looked surprised. That was odd. “Murder thing?” she questioned, trying to prompt them to explain what exactly they meant.

“Sit down and tell us what all you’ve done in the past two days,” Mr. Dragon said, sitting next to her mother on a couch. She was left with a chair, across from them. Ao Lie stood next to the couch, looking at her firmly.

“Hung around with friends! Now, are we done here?” she boldly left out the part where she burned up and strangled the poor monkey. From the looks on her parents' faces, though, she quickly found out Ao Lie already explained everything he’d seen.

“Great! A murderer, and a liar!” Mrs. Dragon cried, turning away and acting as if she couldn’t bear to look at her own daughter anymore.

“I’m not a murderer!” Mei replied, eyebrows knitting together. “I wasn’t trying to kill him, okay?!”

“What were you trying to do, then? Mei, Ao Lie told us everything. You strangled him, nearly killed him with this.. this Samadhi fire! What else could you have been doing?” Mr. Dragon pointed out, incredulously looking at his daughter. “A normal person wouldn’t survive that, Mei!”

Mei grit her teeth. “Yeah, but he’s not normal, is he?! He’ll be fine, everyone fusses over him so much! God, if you only knew the shit he’s done, maybe you’d understand! I wasn’t trying to kill him. He just.. he’s not a good person!” She looked up at her parents, fury alight in her eyes. 

“This isn’t the girl I raised,” Mrs. Dragon said at last. Mei whipped her head to look directly at her, stunned. 

“That’s because you never raised me! You’ve always been out of my life for the most part, and you expect to know what I’m like now? Surprise; I’m not five anymore,” Mei replied coldly. She stood up, excusing herself. “I didn’t do anything that wasn’t deserved.”

“Mei!” Mr. Dragon raised his voice, dragging the girl’s attention to him. He and Ao Lie whispered back and forth for a moment, before her father faced her again. “Sit back down. We aren’t done here.”

With a roll of her eyes, she did just that. “Fine.” 

“Mei, explain everything. Why you did it, what he did, and why he did it,” Ao Lie calmly requested. The dragon’s expression was still stern, looking at her expectantly.

“Why should I?! At the end of the day, I don’t owe you anything. Give me one good reason I should,” Mei crossed her arms, being unnecessarily stubborn. Her eyebrow twitched with petty annoyance, as she waited for the answer from the dragon.. Which didn't take long.

“Because they could get your ass thrown in jail,” Ao Lie replied without hesitation. “The stuff you’ve done, according to Sun Wukong and his mate, is just awful. I don’t even know that you could ever make it up to them.”

Mei knew he was right. She could have legal issues with them. So reluctantly, she explained.

“At first, we were just triggering his PTSD. He’s been fucked up since before we even met him, but he refused to even talk about getting therapy, so Mk brought us all together and made a plan for a camping trip. We just ‘accidentally’ got smoke in his face, or something, to cause him to panic a bit so we could tell him that is why he needs therapy. And then the plans kept getting bigger and bigger so he’d finally listen, but he never did. Personally, I also took it upon myself to make sure he would consider his actions next time. That he’d never ‘accidentally’ ruin another person’s life by giving them an uncontrollable and painful power, or take another person’s eye, or even not communicate at all. He needs to be knocked down to learn something.” Mei kept her gaze fixed on the ground. “Aside from that, I don’t know why he did it. Probably to fuck up everyone’s lives.”

Mrs. Dragon yelled at her for swearing, and Ao Lie’s face turned even more grim than it was before.

“He has his reasons, Mei. I’m not saying you should agree with him, but you should never take away someone’s life like you tried to do. I’m very disappointed in you, Mei.” Those words made her freeze, the weight of his disappointment crushing her pride a little more. It stayed silent for a while, as Mei tried to think of how to respond.

“I used to think you were cool,” she began after a bit, “but apparently you don’t listen to reason, either. He’s hurt so many people, and now everyone else is on his side while I had to suffer from his mistakes. Hell, he even hurt you, and Mk! I should’ve known you’d only let him get away with it, though. You are a coward.” she retorted coldly.

“Mei,” Mr. Dragon spoke up, “I think you’re the one being unreasonable. Sure, he sounds like he’s made some mistakes. Irreversible, life-changing, relationship crushing mistakes. But just because he did some stuff, most of which sound like genuine accidents mind you, doesn’t mean you should try to kill him. I, for one, cannot believe you and Qi Xiaotian were behind something that got so out of hand, it ended up turning my daughter into a cold hearted criminal. Until you prove you can make rational decisions, and make us proud, we cannot allow you to keep the dragon blade.”

That was like a punch to the gut. “Wh–?!” she gasped, “No! You can’t!”

“We can,” Mrs. Dragon started…

“...And we did,” Ao Lie finished, holding up the blade. “You’ve allowed yourself to make inappropriate use of your powers a daily thing. We can’t trust you. You’ve already killed a monkey. That’s how he got one of his daughters, I recall the Bodhisattva Guanyin informing me of it. You are a shame to this family, and I can't believe I have to deal with the embarrassment of being related to you.”

Mei stood up quickly, too many emotions going through her body to understand at all. “But– Wait! That’s mine!” she shouted. 

Mei’s parents knew something was wrong with her from the moment they heard what she’d done, even if they weren’t there to know completely what had happened. They’d known she wasn’t herself, because they knew Mei was kind and caring. And she’d generally talk pretty positively about Sun Wukong, despite her anger about what had happened. Half of the reason they’d taken the dragon blade from her was because they didn’t have a clue what was wrong, but whatever it was, it could only get worse as she dug herself in a rut full of hatred. It could end up harming even more than just the Monkey King. And the other half, they hadn’t lied; the way she’d been acting could mean some serious lawsuits, and they couldn’t have those. And immoral use of their family blade was bad.

Ao Lie held the dragon sword behind his back shaking his head. “I’ll be keeping it in good hands. Good day,” he smiled and tilted his head, vanishing in a bright green glow. The dragon family had to turn away, to avoid getting blinded, but Mei still screamed after him to please give it back.

And then it was silent, other than Mei’s sobbing. Odd.

“I truly hope you decide to change your ways. You’ve been acting in unacceptable ways,” Mrs. Dragon is the first to speak, turning away and slowly making her way down the hallway with her husband. She wasn’t too interested in hearing what Mei had to say to that, and neither was Mr. Dragon, but they stopped short when she did reply.

“..That was my only hope!”

–

Wukong had his neck healed by morning. Obviously, it took a little bit longer than usual, but he was just glad he was for the most part feeling better. He did end up leaving without being formally emitted from the hospital, though. But that didn’t matter. The monkeys didn’t really listen to the hospital rules anyway, considering Macaque never checked in with the front desk. Neither were even sure the hospital even helped, but it was still worth the shot.

Wukong sat up, wincing when a burn rubbed against something, or was aggravated. “I’m ready to go,” the golden monkey climbed down from the bed and limped over to his mate. Macaque didn’t seem too pleased to see him up.

“No, no. You need to heal the rest of the way,” Macaque took his lover's hand, trying to guide him back to the bed. But, Wukong had always been stubborn. Hell, that was one thing he was well known for! He refused to get back in the bed. 

“I set something up with the group. I can’t miss it, Liu’er.”

“Wukong. You are aware Mei is the one who did this, why would you set up something..?” Macaque was astonished. Was he really about to go back to them, even after he’d almost been fucking murdered? “Wukong, I love you. I really, really do. But sometimes, I have to wonder if you’re just fucking dumb. You’re going to go back to the people who almost fucking killed you?”

Wukong scoffed. “To tell them off about it, or something. Thanks, by the way.”

“It’s the truth. Sometimes, you do really questionable shit.” The dark-furred monkey shrugged, his hold on the golden monkey’s hand became tighter. “But, I’ll go with you. I don’t trust them alone with you. They’ve proven themselves to be bad people.” The golden monkey nodded, slowly. After he gets this done and over with, he can go home and finally be at peace with the girls, his mate, and his mama. Well, at least for a bit longer, before she has to go.

“And, wait. How did you set this up?” Macaque asked quietly, getting a sheepish laugh from the king. “Astral projection. Mk was allowed out of the hospital, apparently. Probably because of the magic.”

Macaque gave him a thoughtful hum. “Well, that’s convenient. Where is it? I can shadow portal us there.”

“Oh!” Wukong looked up, to meet the warrior’s gaze. “Well, I said I would meet them behind Pigsy’s Noodles. That’s where they requested we meet up.”

“..You really are dumb,” Macaque sighed. “Alright, let’s go.”

“Wh– Hey, what is tha–,” Wukong cut off with a surprised shout as they fell through the shadows. They quickly arrived behind the noodle shop. “What was that about?!” the golden monkey shouted, crossing his arms. “You scared me! Stop doing that!”

They both heard rustling from the noodle shop before everyone filed out, even Redson was there. “..Ah. Hi,” Wukong murmured quietly, growing anxious. He whispered something to Macaque quickly before he slowly walked towards the gathered group that was waiting for him to speak rather nervously. He could see Mei glaring straight at him, which honestly just made his heart jump. He didn’t want to see her, especially not when she knew he wasn’t fully recovered from his previous injury yet.

He looked between the others in the group, as well. Sandy, Redson, Mk, Tang, Pigsy.. they were all there. Obviously, Macaque was right behind Wukong. He only knew because of how everyone kept looking at him and then slightly higher.

Everything was silent for a little while, as Wukong tried to put together what he wanted to say. He saw Mei open her mouth, as if to say something, but Pigsy immediately slapped his hand over her mouth. Wukong only watched them in disdain.

Eventually, he managed to mutter out one word. But conveniently, it was enough to convey how heartbroken and hurt he was.

“Why..?” 

Prior to this, Wukong had made sure Macaque knew he didn’t want the dark furred monkey to step in unless he absolutely had to, so Macaque was just watching his mate stand there. So many emotions were obvious from the golden monkey, from his body language alone. He knew if he could see the king’s face, it’d probably hold confusion, hurt, betrayal.

“Sandy told me everything, even about Redson,” Wukong confirmed who did it, making the others look towards the river demon.

“..What? You guys were hurting him! I had to warn him about what Mei was planning, so I just told him the full story!” Sandy looked between the others. Oddly enough, Redson looked to be the most nervous one between the rest of the group.

Guanyin and Macaque hadn’t even begun yet with their own ‘punishments’ of sorts yet. 

Wukong waved his hands, trying to tell him to quiet down. “Why did you do it? What could you possibly gain from burning down my home, poisoning me, paralyzing me, trying to kill me, and all the other stuff you did? If you hated me so much.. you could’ve just said so. I wouldn’t have accepted the invites. I wouldn’t have, I don't know.. bothered you guys if you didn't want me to!”

“Monkey King.. we don’t hate you,” Tang tried, but Wukong’s sullen stare made any more words die in his throat.

“So, then you did this all for fun?” Wukong asked, and that shut Tang up. “I should’ve trusted Liu’er. He tried to tell me, multiple times, but I had faith that it wasn’t you guys fucking around and actively hurting me. I.. trusted you guys. But you turned out to be huge bitches.”

No one spoke for a moment when Wukong had to turn around to compose himself at least a little bit. His voice had gone shaky, and he was about to start crying if he didn’t take a moment. 

“The staff.”

Silence fell again, for a few moments.

Until, Mk asked quietly, “What?”

“I want Jingu Bang back,” Wukong turned back around and held out his arm expectantly. Even with all the emotion in his face, he managed to look serious just this once. Mk didn’t need two eyes to see this. “Give me the staff, Qi Xiaotian.”

The full name was a rather unwelcome shock to Mk. “But..”

“No buts, Mk. I don’t trust you anymore, and I think it’s best if we don’t cross paths again. At least, it’s best for me, and I have to do what’s best for me.” Wukong’s voice was breaking slightly. “You guys tore down every single wall I built up between me and my trauma and brought it back twice as much just for fun?” 

Mei was finally allowed to speak. Well, less ‘allowed’, and more of ‘she forced Pigsy’s hand off of her mouth’. 

“You think this was for fun? We had good intentions, you know,” she snapped, pissed off at the king even yet. No one even knew why, anymore. “We were trying to get your ungrateful ass to therapy. No matter what, whenever it was brought up, it was always ‘Oh I’m fine’ this and ‘I don’t need therapy’ that! We were looking out for you, and all you gave us in return was being left in your path of– of destruction!” Her voice slowly split into two voices before it corrected itself- everyone was looking at her now.

Wukong’s face fell further. “I didn’t.. I- Well, I was..” He didn’t understand, “Path of destruction?”

“Yeah!” Mei answered, her hands propped on her hips. “You blasted Ao Lie with Samadhi fire,” she began, and Wukong interrupted her.

“You just won’t let that rest! I’m sure you know by now that it was an accident. He was mostly unharmed, and I’m sorry my calculation skills were wrong and you ended up with the Samadhi fire. I didn’t mean for that to happen. I was trying to give it to myself, but someone had to start the ritual early-”

"Don't look at me!" Tang said, "Look at Macaque!"

Macaque bit his bottom lip. "Yeah, uh.. sorry. I guess," he mumbled nonchalantly. He didn't look too sincere though.

“Well, it did happen!" the dragon girl brought the attention back to herself, "It was also a life altering mistake! And you just happened to take my best friend’s eye and then proceed to not tell us about it?!” Mei yelled, making Wukong wince. That, he knew he did fuck up badly.

He didn’t know if he could continue. He also didn’t know what was up with him anymore. He never used to be this emotional, but after that damn campfire incident, it was so hard to get it under control. Which, honestly, just led to a lot of emotional breakdowns. Probably from repressed emotions that he'd bottled up, but.. Oh well.

When Macaque noticed this, he stepped in for Wukong. “Yeah but from my understanding, he used every bit of his power to keep Mk alive and get him to the hospital!” Macaque snapped, tail lashing behind him. After this, he was going to absolutely destroy her, he swore.

..Well, probably not destroy, in a sense. He wasn’t the most moral of people, but he wasn’t as bad as Mei had been to Wukong. Not anymore, that he knew. But she had so much coming her way from him and Guanyin.

“Okay! But why do it in the first place?!” Mei glared at Wukong still.

“Let’s see. He stayed up all night crying because you guys gave him fucking maggots in his food he didn’t even want. Which what the fuck guys?" Pigsy stared at the ground at the mention of his little chip in the situation, "So he was sad because he thought you guys gave enough fucks to at least be decent to him. But no; instead, you wore him down enough for him to hallucinate! Honestly, I'm surprised I haven't gotten stressed enough from you guys to hallucinate," he hissed, "That’s why it happened. Now Xiaotian, give him the staff now,” Macaque glowered at him, ending the chat right there. Inevitably making Mei more angry, but there was no reasoning with her, and Macaque knew that.

Mk looked upset, but he brought out jingu bang without another word of protest. He held it once more, before he gave it to the golden monkey. “Monkey King.. I’m so sorry. I didn’t–,’ Mk spoke quietly, ignoring Mei’s screaming at him in the background. He never did get to finish his sentence, though, because once Wukong had the staff.. he left silently.

But Macaque lingered behind for just a little bit. “I hope you guys had fun,” he muttered, obviously sarcastic. “If any of you set foot near our family, I will not hesitate to hurt you. Any of you.” He turned away, tail lashing.

Mk reached out for where the king was fading away, calling after him, “Monkey King–!”

Macaque’s tail slapped his hand, as the dark furred monkey glowered at him. “Don’t even try. Do you have any idea how bad you fucked everything up? I’m so disappointed in you guys, and so are Bai He and even Xue, who's only a cub. I thought that maybe you guys would end up being good, reliable friends. Hell, you guys are what brought me and Wukong back together, too! It’s a real shame to think that your idiodic plans were what brought me and him together.”

The group kept trying to interrupt his speech, but Macaque continued to rant over them. “I hope you guys are proud of yourselves. You just fucked with centuries and centuries of trauma.”

He slipped into the shadows, leaving them to sit in stunned and angry silence.

…Until Redson broke it, again. “Don’t contact me. I don’t want anything to do with your guys’ moronic scheming anymore."

“But– Redson!” Mei and Mk sputter, watching as the fire demon vanished in a vortex of flame.

Why the hell was he, of all people, upset about it?!

Chapter Text

The monkeys had a couple of days for Wukong to rest, since he was complaining that he was feeling ill. Macaque knew it was anxiety, and adding onto that anxiety, he literally just stood up to people he thought were his friends. Of course, that’d take a toll on him, too.

So that gave the dark furred monkey some time to talk to Guanyin, while his mate refused to get out of bed at all. Sure, he should probably try to get him out, but where’s the harm in letting him stay there for a couple of days? He probably needed that anyway, even if he did get that quite a bit recently. But those days were different. Once, he was paralyzed, and then he was in the hospital for a day or two. Now, he was just.. there. Nothing physically happened.

Xue was with Wukong for the moment, and Bai He was probably also keeping the golden monkey company as well. The dark furred monkey smiled as he heard his partner and Bai He giggling from the bedroom.

He couldn’t deny that Mk’s group doing what they had done was actually one of the best things that’s happened to him, even if he absolutely hated it. He had family again, admittedly much sooner than he’d expected, if he even expected anything at all. But when he’d first seen it begin at the campfire, he knew something about the king was off. Whether it be how emotionally vulnerable he’d been, even if he couldn’t really back out of the area so no one else could see, or just how sad the sight was; he knew he needed to be there for Wukong because something worse was coming. 

That’s what bugged him the most; the fact they clearly knew what they were causing, and lied to Wukong’s face about it being an ‘accident’. How he didn’t catch that at first? Hell, he had no clue.

But, thankfully he was able to put their own pasts behind him, for the sake of the golden monkey.

He was snapped back to the present by the golden monkey’s mother, “Well,” Guanyin put her hands on her hips. “Mei was definitely the worst. Trying to kill someone is a little far, I believe. I just don’t know what kind of punishment to give her.”

Macaque’s face shifted slowly into a grin, “I could–”

“No.” The bodhisattva gave him a knowing look, clearly unamused. “We aren’t going to use violence to hurt her.. no matter how much I’ve wanted to, every single time I saw my son get hurt because of her and the rest of the group.”

“Damn.”

“However.. I have an idea. I understand that my son has issues with his own immortality, and his guilt. Technically, it wouldn’t be physically painful for her. Much, at least.”

Macaque lit up. “Guanyin, you are cheeky. But technically speaking, would it not be fine for me to jump her or something? I just want her to feel everything that he'd felt, and the anger that we'd felt.”

Guanyin nods slowly. “I guess you are correct, even if it is immoral. I don't mind whatever you want to do as long as I'm not brought into it, but I still think that I could think of a punishment to at least add onto it,” the bodhisattva replied. "I've heard from the grapevine that her dragon blade was taken away, so it cannot be taking away something she loves dearly. However, I believe I have some.. ideas, from back in the south sea." But so far, their whole plan was all talk and no action.

“Yeah, so, here’s the issue. I don’t know how to jump misbehaving dragons. Like, do I just catch her while she's outside? Or while she sleeps? And I feel it goes without saying, she will be racking up the hospital bills,” Macaque pointed out. “Regardless, I do have an idea for Pigsy.”

“Do tell,” Guanyin replied. It felt more like they were gossiping for whatever reason, and it was a little funny for the both of them. But hey, at least they had the same opinions on them.

“Well, Wukong told me about how he visited the moon a while ago. He mentioned how Pigsy was such a big fan of Chang’E… I’m sure she wouldn't approve of what he did. Maybe we could, I don’t know, personally get in touch with her? I’m sure a bad review from the one and only Chang’E will bring his stuff into perspective,” Macaque said thoughtfully.

“Of course. And maybe a little kitchen fire is overdue too,” Guanyin slyly added, smiling. “I think he should feel the pain of having to start something all over again, like they’ve forced on Sun Wukong.”

“Wow. For the Goddess of Mercy, you really are repaying them. I like that,” Macaque grinned. “How about the others, though? Tang, Redson, Sandy?”

“Well,” Guanyin started, “I think Redson already got his punishment. A whisper from the wind has told me that he’s never even been a part of the plans.. I think knowing Xue’s mother died because of him was enough of a punishment on its own. Sandy, however.. He didn’t do anything, but he didn’t stop it, either. I’m sure he’s lost his friends now, so maybe that’s a good enough punishment for him. But we definitely will be having words about standing to the side.”

Macaque nodded. “Of course. And Tang; Would beating him up a little bit be too far?” he asked, his tail twitching irritably. “I’ve never liked him. He’s annoying, and he’s just.. I hate him. Besides, he had the audacity to do it while I was in the shower.”

Guanyin sighed, nodding. “Well, as long as you’re not killing anyone, I suppose I don’t care. I was just hoping to keep it anonymous, so they didn’t for sure know it was us. So they could wonder why bad stuff was happening to them, like they did to my son.” She grabbed her cup of tea from the end table, which reminded Macaque of the tea he’d forgotten about. 

“Ah. In that case, I’ll just take his glasses. I guess that’s not severe, but he has to pay for new ones and stuff. And I'll get him in the night.”

The bodhisattva looked quite proud of herself. “I’ve never been given a reason to do this, and usually I frown upon this. But I feel it’s well justified this time. I mean.. I could’ve lost my ‘oldest’ son.” 

Macaque took a sip of his tea before he spoke again. “I feel like this is some sort of revenge-planning tea party and it's awesome.”

–

“Let me go!” Bai He giggled as Wukong pulled her towards himself in an embrace, tickling her. Wukong only held her tighter, “Not a chance!”, and kept tickling her. It was only when Xue smacked his head pretty hard with something that he let her go. “Hey!”

Bai He laughed triumphantly, squirming free from the king’s hug. Xue’s eyes flicked over her mama, before she latched onto his hair. Wukong felt the furry bundle cling to his own golden fur, “Xue, you’re gonna let her get away!” 

Xue kept chirping, ‘Mama, Mama’. Wukong turned around to see the monkey cub, chuckling when she immediately unlatched from the golden fur and climbed onto him. 

“You’re both handfuls, I’ll give you that.” The king sat up, holding Xue so she didn’t tumble down.

“Mister–,” Bai He cut herself off, unsure what to even call the golden monkey. Monkey King felt a little weird by now, so she just decided not to use any name.. “Could we go check on the rest of the monkeys? Please?” Bai He smiled sweetly, hoping to get a yes.

Xue scared them both by launching out of Wukong’s arms and into Bai He’s. “Oof– Xue! Hi,” she giggled, holding the monkey cub. Xue was getting more and more active now, and she chirped happily as she put her small hands on Bai He’s face.

Bai He absolutely melted.

“She’s so adorable!” Bai He cooed. She held Xue up and turned to show Wukong. “I think she loves me.”

Wukong snorted. “Well, yeah!” 

The king sighed softly, after mulling over the idea of checking on the monkeys. “How about this; I’ll get dressed quickly, and we can go see the other monkeys? Keep Xue busy, and I’ll be ready soon.”

Bai He’s face lit up even more, if that was even possible. “Okay!” she replied, setting Xue on the bed. She sat on the bed across from the confused cub, covering her eyes. “Peekaboo!”, she said, letting her hands turn and expose her face. Xue looked up at her, jumping up in surprise. 

Xue trilled loudly when she covered her eyes again, her small hand hitting the human's hand and then pressing over her own mouth. Bai He giggled, “Peekaboo!”

Xue hopped around on the bed, chirping at the girl. 

It never got old seeing her reaction to the game.

But Wukong was ready soon enough, coming out of the bathroom in his normal outfit; his yellow shirt, the golden coattail with the teal fringy lace, his red pants, the rest of it. Even his headdress. It’s been a while since anyone had seen him fully dressed like this. 

“Look! Mama’s back, Xue!” Bai He pointed to Wukong so Xue would follow the general direction. When she did look, she started hopping around and chirping.

“..You’re so energetic,” Wukong laughed quietly, letting Xue climb up his clothes when he got close enough. He was very proud of how energetic and comfortable Xue was. When he first met her, she was still able to climb up him, but not so easily. “Well, I believe I promised you girls some monkey seeing, so.. Come on!”

He mostly spent the time grooming Bai He’s hair, or Xue’s fur, while they chatted near the other monkeys. Some monkeys came up to them, asking Wukong who the girl was; Bai He had no clue what either were saying, but she knew it had to be generally positive if the way they approached her seemingly kindly was any hint.

–

So, Macaque and Guanyin did make quick work of their ‘punishments’. It wasn’t drawn out, as Macaque had hoped, but it got the point across well enough. 

Mei did get the worst of it all, hospitalized during the night. Needless to say, she stayed in the hospital for a while, with a couple broken bones and a 'newfound' fear of the shadow monkey. 

Pigsy, for the moment, only had his noodle shop burned down. They were still working on getting in touch with Chang’E, so that had to be postponed; but he definitely didn’t like finding out his beloved shop was burned down. Macaque had done it when Mk was in his apartment, which was how the Pig demon found out. But surprisingly enough, his apartment wasn’t harmed at all. Mk was probably scarred after that, though.

Macaque used his shadow portals to take Tang’s glasses, grinning as he put them on his own face. “..I can’t see anything. It’s blurry. Well, they aren’t even worth it.” He tossed them in a dumpster, walking off before they were noticed. 

–

Guanyin had promised to handle talking to Sandy and Mk, mostly so Macaque didn’t lose his cool as he was infamous for. The dark-furred monkey really hated Wukong’s old successor now, because of the stuff he put.. well, everyone through. 

How Mk didn’t have enough of a brain to see a red light and say ‘this is crossing so many lines’, he had no clue. But he didn’t, which was fucking stupid. You’d think a young adult would have more common sense!

He’d sent a shadow clone to watch over Guanyin, although he didn’t really need to; he just wanted to see how the conversation went.

“So, I trust you both know who I am?”

“Yeah, you’re Bodhisattva Guanyin, right?” Mk asked quietly. His eye was healed up, but just as he’d kind of expected, he didn’t have it back. The bodhisattva nodded slowly.

“Yes. I am here because I need to talk to you about what you’ve done.” She looked rightfully pissed, but she kept her composure somehow, “Why on earth, Qi Xiaotian, would you do such a thing to a living being? Worse yet, you’ve gone through so much training to become what he believed he couldn’t be, and you just throw away his trust so easily?”

Xiaotian was silent, lowering his head in shame. “I’m sorry.”

“The time for apologies is long past. I hope, for your sake, that you learn from this mistake and don’t make it with another person. We expected better from you, Xiaotian,” she replied, her tone just that little bit harsh. “You aren’t a kid. You should know better.”

Xiaotian felt himself tearing up. He’d never really done well with being confronted, he found it awkward and difficult. But he knew she was right. And he knew he shouldn’t have gone along with anything past the poisoning incident, when he really started to get worried about it. He shouldn’t have even done any of it, and he knew that.

“I don’t know what else to say. I’m sorry, for everything I’ve done. I didn’t.. expect him to be angry about it, I guess, since he’s usually pretty chill.”

Guanyin pursed her lips, turning to Sandy. “And you,” she muttered. “Thank you for telling us at some point, and not joining in at all. However, you waited so long to tell anyone. Why? You could’ve stopped it all a while ago.”

Sandy looked down as well. “They’re my friends. I didn’t want to make them mad.”

“Yes, but someone was actually getting hurt. You should’ve known better, too.” Guanyin wasn’t too harsh on him, however; he’d already lost his friends, and she felt he’d been punished enough just for staying silent by that point. “Make sure your new group of friends aren’t as bad as these ones.”

Sandy nodded slowly, watching as Guanyin began to walk away. “I hope you both learn your lesson, now.”

“I’m sure we will,” Mk replied quietly. 

–

However, it was completely unknown to any of the monkeys that someone was seeking them out.. for help!

Chapter Text

Everyone was home and talking at the dinner table, before Guanyin had to go. It was like a lively family get together, for sure, and it was great.

Especially for Wukong. He didn’t really feel keen on doing anything like this, but he was surrounded by people he loved, who actually loved him back, so that was that. He wasn’t up for speaking, though. Even if he could at that moment, he probably wouldn’t. He was a little overwhelmed by all of the things that had happened recently, they were finally catching up again, and then the amount of time he spent chattering with other monkeys. So, he was pretty much shut down. But he still enjoyed the cherished time together with his mother, daughter..s? And lover, regardless.

The king looked at Macaque, listening to him talk about his day. He and Guanyin apparently took it upon themselves to give the others what they ‘deserved’, which was fair enough and he couldn't really disagree. He listened to his dark furred lover contentedly, barely even touching the food on his plate for the time being. Xue was in his lap, nibbling on his fingers. He didn’t really care to stop her, though.

He wasn’t sure when the conversation took a turn, or when he spaced out, but he came back to the present to find Macaque looking at him. He just gave the dark furred monkey a confused look, in hopes that he might repeat himself. "Huh?"

Macaque gave him a pointed look and sighed. "Did you want to talk to her, like, during dinner?" he asked, keeping his voice down so no one else heard him over their own conversation. 

Wukong thought about it for a moment. Of course talking about this when he was finding it exceptionally hard to talk was probably not the best idea he'd ever had but regardless he nodded in the end. He shifted his gaze to the dark haired girl sitting at the table, swinging her legs as she poked at her food. And then he looked back at Macaque and nodded, a small smile on his lips.

Macaque turned back to Bai He and waited until he had an opening to speak, before he squeezed himself into their conversation- "Hey, uh Bai He, Wukong and I have a question for you."

"Oh, yeah?" she asked, briefly pausing her conversation with Guanyin to listen. 

Macaque cleared his throat, noticing Wukong watching him too. The russet monkey nudged him on with a smile, and Macaque took a breath and asked, "So we never really got to talk about this, but we were both wondering if you would want to stay here. Like, I guess what we're asking is if you would be willing to be adopted into our family." 

Bai He didn't react badly at all. She did try not to smile, but her attempts were fruitless. "Yeah, I uh.. yeah, I would like that," she replied, all giggly and smiling.

Macaque sighed, involuntarily smiling as well. "You've been an absolute miracle and I can't thank you enough for sticking around, kiddo. Honestly, I think you might've been even more helpful than myself, recently. Anyway, will we even need to legally adopt you? I don't know if we need the paperwork to adopt you but if we do.. oh boy," he replied, yet still he was all smiles. 

Wukong looked at him and groaned, putting his face in his hands. He forgot all about the legal issues and his lawyer.. oh boy indeed.

–

Macaque was the mystic monkey known for not having a sleep schedule, and taking showers at the early hours of the morning because he thought he smelled weird at random times. So, he was in the shower at some time between two and three in the morning again, knowing that his two kids were on the mattress on the floor asleep. Well, Xue might’ve been with Wukong, he didn’t know for sure.

This time, though, the shower felt more like a stress reliever. The shitshow should be over now, so the family could finally relax! At least for a little bit.

He was shocked though, when the second he stepped out of the bathroom in his pajamas, he was met with light. And his glamorless mate sitting on the bed hunched over?

“..Wukong?” Macaque asked, seeing his mate still awake. Usually he’d be asleep by then, since he was pretty widely known for his love for sleeping and napping. His tone was hushed, as he was trying not to wake up either of the kids.

The king glanced over his shoulder when he surprisingly heard Macaque. “Hi,” he murmured quietly, before turning back away and hunching over again.

Macaque shrugged, before sitting down on the bed as well. “..What’re you up to, sunshine? ” he asked, peeking over the glamorless king’s shoulder. The king’s tail swatted him away though, “Hey! What was that for?” he complained.

Wukong turned his head yet again to look at the six eared primate, grinning cheekily. “I’m only drawing.”

Macaque huffed quietly, before catching sight of Xue curled up next to her mama.

“You know, she kind of looks like you,” Macaque observed. He’d never really paid much attention to that, but it was between two and three in the morning and he had nothing else to focus on so he noticed the resemblance between their fur colour while Wukong was unglamored

Wukong glances over at him, face contorted with confusion. “She doesn’t.” Macaque pointed at her, and then back at the king. The dark furred monkey wasn’t completely wrong. “Well, nevermind. Isn’t that endearing,” Wukong smiled as he glanced down at her. “She was a little fussy before bed because I wouldn’t let her eat a crayon. I’m starting to think maybe we shouldn’t have crayons out near her because she is always trying to put them in her mouth.”

Macaque chuckled softly, as he turned the lights down. “You know, you should probably go to bed too. It’s pretty late,” Macaque tapped Wukong quickly. 

The king groaned in reply. “I can’t. I’m doing something and I'm focused and I am not sleeping until it's done.”

Macaque raised an eyebrow. “Why can’t it wait until the morning?” he asked, laying back on the bed. Wukong glanced at him, shrugging. 

“I just want to do it now. I don’t want to wait until morning. Besides, I want to listen to music too, anyway,” he responded motioning to the phone that was playing music that Macaque must've tuned out somehow.

Macaque yawned. “You can do it all in the morning. We have stuff to do tomorrow,” he pointed out, “We’re moving Bai He’s bed. You,” the dark furred monkey flicked his mate, “need to rest.”

Wukong frowned. “But, my beautiful moon!” he protested, tail beginning to flick against the bed.

“You’re not flirting your way out of this, sunshine,” Macaque rolled his eyes. “You gotta sleep. You can listen to music while you sleep, though? If that makes any difference,” he suggested, trying to find a compromise; otherwise his stubborn mate would probably not listen. So, begrudgingly, Wukong did put his stuff away in favor of going to sleep. He pulled Xue closer to himself, letting her curl up against his stomach.

Macaque waited a full minute after Wukong had laid down to sleep before he moved closer. His tail twined with the golden monkey’s own, and he rested his chin on the king’s shoulder from behind. “..You didn’t say good night.”

Wukong snorted, “Oh, really?”

Macaque pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Come on. Don’t be mad at me. I’m only looking after you,” he whispered. The dark furred couldn’t tell if Wukong was actually upset or not. It was hard to know whether or not he was being playfully mad or if he was really angry.

Wukong sighed, “Well, good night.” He smiled at his partner before adding, “I love you.”

The dark furred monkey cuddled up to him, sharing the warmth even if it was already really warm; it being summer, and all. But it didn't matter to them

It took Macaque a little while longer to sleep, having to grow accustomed to the music Wukong was listening to. It was only playing softly next to the golden monkey's head, but thanks to his six ears, he could hear it much better.

He eventually got to sleep.

–

In the morning, it was time for Guanyin to say goodbye. Wukong hopped up to give her a hug, squeezing tightly. “It was nice to see you again, mother. Thank you for everything. You’ll visit, right?” he asked quietly, eyes shimmering. Of course he’d be a little sad, having to let go of her again, but that was life.

She hugged him equally as tight, a small smile as graceful as her on her lips. “Of course. I do have grandchildren to see, now,” she commented, glancing at Bai He and Xue, and then at Macaque. “But I will miss you guys.”

Macaque brought Xue closer, letting her hold the cub again before she had to leave. “I’m sure everyone else is going to miss you, too. Thank you for, you know.. helping us through the tough time.”

Guanyin held Xue as she chirped, pulling on the bodhisattva’s hair.

And then it came Bai He’s turn. She hadn’t expected it, but it wasn’t an unwelcome gesture. She was picked up like it was nothing.

In the end, the goodbyes were short and sweet, but left them all happy.

“..So, I believe we had that surprise, Macaque.” Wukong elbowed the darker monkey, smirking. “We should get on with that, so we can make sure it’s done before tonight.” Wukong carried Xue inside, following after Bai He and pretty much just hyping her up for the surprise. 

Macaque also followed them inside before he walked in front of them. “Alright, Bai He,” he grinned. They were standing in front of a door. The door to Bai He’s new room!

She looked at Macaque curiously, her smile wide. “Yeah?” she replied.

“Here it is! Your very own room!” Macaque threw the door open, presenting the empty room. Bai He covered her mouth, excited; well, aside from a bedframe, it was empty. Yeah, it had room for improvement looks-wise, but it was a thoughtful gesture! She still didn’t know how she never even saw that door before, though..

“Thank you! You know, for two monkeys, I never thought you’d live in a house fit for a human, as well,” she pointed out. 

Wukong chuckled. “Well, it’s comfortable. I mean, more comfortable than how other monkeys usually live. When I was back on Flower Fruit Mountain, my subjects loved to hang around inside my home! Oh it was so fun,” He gestured for Bai He to follow, as he went to grab the mattress from the monkeys’ room.

A knock sounded on the door. Macaque told Wukong he was going to answer it while he watched Bai He and handled Xue. The dark furred primate thought that maybe Guanyin had left something and she came back to retrieve it, but he was shocked to find a peculiar green dragon.

Macaque spoke flatly, after a moment, “Mei. Did I not warn you not to come by? Or do I have to beat that into your brain? Because I will gladly do so. Guanyin isn’t around to save your pathetic ass anymore.” 

Mei didn’t even blink at his threat. “I need your guys’ help please. Something’s wrong.”

Macaque glared at her, and crossed his arms. “And why the fuck should we help you?”

Mei took a deep breath. She knew that it would be hard to convince them, “Can’t Monkey King just, like, look into my soul or something, anything? Something’s wrong, and I know it. We all know it. Please help me.”

Macaque was about to yell at her for even thinking about coming to them and asking for help after she probably thoroughly traumatized the entire family by that point, but he heard Wukong speak from behind him before he even got the chance to lash out.

“Ugh, fine! As long as we’re not pulling that petty killing nonsense again.” He was obviously uncomfortable and irritated, but he wasn’t going to turn her down. He did know something was wrong, after all; and it didn’t hurt to find out what it was.

Well, as long as he wasn’t getting killed in the process.

“Wukong, you don’t have to do this,” Macaque grabbed the golden monkey’s arm firmly. He looked the other dead in the eyes.

Wukong looked a little over his eyes, frowning. “Liu’er, I do have to because otherwise it'd be wrong. I’ll be fine!”, he patted the dark furred monkey’s arm as a way of reassuring. It didn’t really work though.

“When has it ever ended fine when you were near Mei?” he reminded, before adding on, “I’m staying here, then. To make sure there’s no funny business going on.”

Wukong sighed. “Very well, but when it’s over, I’m going to say I told you so.” 

Macaque rolled his eyes, but he sat by and watched as Wukong sat her down on the ground at a safe distance from the house. He specifically paid attention when he had to touch her shoulders, as he pulled his hands away just as fast; as if it burned. 

“Alright. This’ll be a little bit uncomfortable, but uh.. I guess you could kind of assume that. Just stay calm and it will be all good and fine.” Wukong looked hesitant, but he connected with Mei. A sharp gasp left her mouth as the king’s eyes squeezed shut and his arms trembled a little bit when they touched her shoulders once more.

It took a couple of moments to find what he was looking for. But what he found..

Was Lady Bone Demon’s presence. “What the hell?” he muttered, eyes squeezing tighter before opening with a golden glow. He guessed that made sense, but he didn’t know how he would get that out. He could probably overpower the fragments, but that might overwhelm her body. And they all knew where that would lead.

Mei was very uncomfortable, but she still managed to ask, “What?!”

Wukong sighed. “Small problem. So, when you were in that ice, I think that she might’ve used that to get into your body undetected. So, I guess, call it what you want but there is some of her in there..? However, if I try to get it out, I would probably have to use my powers. You know, kind of like what I described what me taking the Samadhi ring would be like. Except I’m trying to get her out. The power might overwhelm your body,” he warned, waiting for Mei to prove she was on board with the idea. He didn’t want to move on until he knew that she wouldn’t be angry if worse came to worst and she ended up getting hurt in some way.

Mei stayed silent for a moment, coming to terms with what he proposed. “Okay. I’m ready,” she muttered. She didn’t sound so convinced, but she also knew it needed to be done. 

Well, she knew something had happened in that ice. She could sometimes hear whispers, or something. So maybe this was a little overdue even if at first she thought it was just a trauma response.

She allowed Wukong to put his hands on her shoulder, gripping them tightly. Her eyes were closed yet again, especially as the golden light became blinding. The pressure and heat felt like it was suffocating her, as unknown energy oozed into and flooded her body.

Wukong’s grip got tighter, as he grit his teeth. His eyes were glowing golden, but it wasn’t really noticeable with how tight his eyes were squeezed shut.

As Macaque observed this, he noticed some movement from the door out of the corner of his eye. The girls were also watching this happen, although Bai He looked about as confused as he’d expect her to be. She shielded Xue’s eyes from the bright light, even looking away from the light herself; and then there was a horrible, loud noise.

Wukong and Mei were flung in opposite directions. Wukong was still conscious, although Mei didn’t seem to be. He landed on his feet, and without a second thought, he launched himself toward the hurtling girl and grabbed onto her. He held onto her, like a hug, and spun them around so he would take the landing.

Macaque instantly stood up when Wukong took after her, and watched as they hurtled to the ground. “Wukong!” he shouted, running over to where they landed. Wukong groaned, but he seemed relatively undamaged. Nothing that shouldn’t heal in about five or less minutes, other than a hurt rib or two. That might take a little longer. Wukong stood up with the dragon girl in his arms, regardless. 

“Is she unconscious?” Macaque asked, peering at the girl. Wukong nodded slowly. “..Someone has to take her back.”

Wukong bit his lip, before he whispered, “I’ll go. You just.. make a list of what Bai He wants for her room. It’s not like I could even do that anyway,” he shrugs. “You’ve always been the better writer.”

Macaque sighed. Wukong wasn’t completely wrong, but the others were who he was worried about. What they would do when he brings another unconscious kid to them.

“Here, Wukong.” Macaque summoned a shadow clone, which immediately sank into his shadow. “In case you get your ass into more trouble.”

Wukong hissed, “Macaque! The kids are right there!”

“Oh, boo hoo. Xue doesn’t even know what I’m saying. Bai He has probably heard it some before.”

Wukong rolled his eyes and shifted his hold on Mei. “Alright, well, go help Bai He with her list. I’ll be back soon to get the mattress into the room, alright?” he replied, before zipping off with Mei in his arms.

–

When he got to the noodle shop, his jaw dropped. The building was burned, but still standing.

“What the fuck..?” Wukong was just about speechless. But hey, at least Mk’s apartment somehow remained standing and looked pretty untouched. He climbed the stairs up to his door, and with that, his anxiety climbed as well.

He shifted his hold on Mei again, and freed one of his hands so he could knock on the door.

He took a shaky breath and knocked on the door, stepping away quickly.

And he waited. And waited.

When it seemed Mk wasn’t going to answer the door, he sighed and began to walk down the stairs. But then the door opened, and he heard a very shocked “Monkey King!?” before someone walked towards him. So, he turned around. 

And then, Mk saw him carrying Mei, and immediately assumed the worst. 

“What did you do..!?”

Wukong bit his lip. “Can’t explain, I have to get home to my daughters, but she’s fine. Just.. take her.” He handed Mei to Mk, who staggered backwards in surprise. “She can explain later.”

“Monkey King–?” Mk watched him in bewilderment, as the monkey panicked and fled the scene. He watched the king take off without another word, silently watching him become smaller and smaller before he disappeared completely.

–

Wukong dusted himself off when he got home, before walking in the door. Macaque and Bai He stopped talking, glancing at the golden monkey. 

“You're back! How did it go?” Macaque asked quickly. He knew something was bothering him just by the way he looked, but he wanted to give Wukong a chance to talk about it. But, the golden monkey nodded, and said, “Oh, it went okay. Except Xiaotian thinks I did it out of aggression or something. Anyway, mattress time!” Wukong changed the topic, picking up Xue and bringing her with, into the monkeys’ bedroom to finally move the mattress.

“Alright. Here,” Wukong pulled the mattress onto its side and pushed it out of the bedroom, holding Xue with one arm. She chirped, trying to get out of his arm and onto the mattress. “Sweetheart, not yet,” he mumbled as the monkey cub chirped at him.

Macaque giggled at him, as he pushed the mattress out. “Need a hand there?” he asked, getting a strongly felt (and barely managed) middle finger from the king. “So I can’t swear in front of them, but you can flip me off? Such a hypocrite, Peach,” Macaque scoffed before dragging the mattress as well. He needed help with directing it to the bedroom, since he was preoccupied with carrying Xue as well. Once they finished the team effort, Wukong pushed it over onto the ground.

“So.. here we are,” Wukong mumbled, before grinning. “Bai He, sit on the mattress and hold your little sister, would’ya?” he asked, motioning to the mattress. The girl was confused, but she still did so, holding Xue in her lap as she sat crisscrossed.

‘What’re you–,” She was surprised when Wukong picked up the mattress with both hands, somehow keeping it perfectly balanced. “Oh!”

Wukong smiled at her, a little hint of mischief in that grin. But he sat the mattress on the frame and helped Bai He and Xue down

“So, how far did you get on that list?”

“Oh, here!” Bai He handed it to the golden monkey smiling.

“I can barely read this, but it looks like we have a lot of shopping to do,” Wukong giggled nervously, before he remembered something, "Oh! Wait here." Wukong ran out of the room, getting curious looks from the others. He ran back in with a piece of paper after a moment, grinning goofily. "I know it's not the best and it's pretty rushed, but I made this for you, kiddo."

He handed it to Bai He, who's face lit up. It was a drawing of her.

"I love it! It's amazing!" Bai He exclaimed, bewildered at the sudden surprise. She hugged him, almost knocking him over with the force. Macaque looked at it a moment too, before realizing it's what Wukong had been drawing at two in the morning.

"..So that's what you were doing?" 

Chapter Text

For a while, it was relatively smooth running for the whole family. The monkeys somehow managed to legally go forward with adopting Bai He. But, it did require a teensy tiny bit of lying and human disguises.

Wukong’s mountain, Flower Fruit mountain, was just beginning to grow again, too! The monkeys, of course, didn’t know where they’d stay in the future, but that was their future problem.

Wukong tightened a bolt on the crib they were building. “You know, I’m glad we did end up getting this for her. I’m a little worried I’ll roll over onto her, and squish her,” the golden monkey chuckled at his own joke. Xue was in a baby sling, playing with locks of the king’s hair as he worked. 

“You mean like you do to me? That sounds oddly on brand for you,” Macaque replied, holding his hand out for the wrench. 

Wukong looked up at his mate and asked, “What’s that supposed to mean?” The golden monkey didn’t pass the wrench yet, scoffing at the other’s remark. 

“Hey, you said it yourself,” Macaque shrugged, taking the wrench from his partner’s hand. Wukong glared daggers at the dark furred primate, “I was only joking, and you know that,” and he crossed his arms with a playful huff. 

Macaque replied, pretending to tune Wukong’s idiocy out, “Uh huh. Where’s the screwdriver again?” 

Wukong reached over and grabbed it. “You know, I miss Bai He.”

“That’s the third time you’ve said it, Wukong. It’s only her first day back at school and you’re already impulsively building the crib to try to focus on something else.” Macaque snickered at him, finishing up the last leg of the crib. “There we go! Sturdy.. I think.” He leaned on it, testing the strength. It was fit enough to hold their cub.

Wukong stood up, admiring their hard work (which was mostly Macaque’s doing considering Wukong was busily chatting the poor shadow monkey's ears off), before he grinned at Macaque. “We’re the best parents ever, Liu’er.”

Macaque snorted, rolling his eyes. “And yet you never realized she’s probably not going to stay in the crib.”

Wukong’s face contorted with confusion. “Why not?” 

Macaque shook his head with an exasperated sigh, “She’ll probably climb out during the night. You know she likes sleeping near us, or Bai He.” He grins when the king’s face slowly morphs from confusion to surprise.

“..Well, I guess this wasn’t much use for buying then. But it’s worth a try,” Wukong shrugs, before looking down at his cub. “Well, as long as she doesn’t start screaming while we’re asleep.”

That night, Macaque was up working on something outside of the house when Xue climbed up the crib's barrier. Wukong had put her in there after she’d fallen asleep, and she was not fond of waking up alone. Just as Macaque had predicted. 

Her upset chirps fell into the silence, but the king couldn’t hear them; even if he could, he probably wouldn’t have even woken up. But he had fallen asleep with his head under the pillow, which made it pretty much impossible for him to hear her anyway. He was sprawled out on the bed, and Xue was trying to get to him.

She climbed up the side of the crib slowly, wrapping her small hands around the little pole-ish barricade. It took some effort for her, although she’d grown quite a bit and could climb easier. She made it to the top and jumped right across, onto the bed the golden monkey was on. She immediately curled up on Wukong's stomach, even purring as she fell asleep on her mother. 

A while later, Macaque came back in for bed. He took one look, and found that he was correct; “I told you so,” he muttered into the darkness of the room

//

Wukong had been baking pretty much all afternoon. It was.. fun to attempt, at the very least. He was trying to make a chocolate cake at that moment, mixing the dry ingredients first. Macaque brought Xue with him to the store, and Bai He was at school herself, so he was alone at the home.

He couldn’t really help but be anxious about the arrangements for today, since Bai He had asked to have Mk pick her up and drop her off. But he couldn’t exactly stop her from hanging out with them, nor did he want to; but the family had made a rule that it was strictly only Bai He that they were allowed to contact at all. Not Wukong, not Macaque, and not Xue. Well, obviously not Xue. 

Not after leaving her alone at a goddamn picnic spot. The monkeys were still really angry about that.

So he was kind of stress baking. With all that on his mind, he began to mix the dry ingredients with the wet ones, whisking it all together. He put it all in his wrist, watching the colors swirl together while he whisked. The mixture became a thicker chocolatey liquid that he poured into the pan. 

Wukong pushed the pan into the oven with a contented hum. “How long do these cook for..?” he asked himself, racking his brain for the answer. He shrugged and made a guesstimate, setting the timer, before sitting back at the table and getting the ingredients for frosting he had sat out ready.

He marked something down on a piece of paper and muttered to himself, before he turned back to the frosting ingredients. 

–

When Bai He came home, she walked into the house and smelled something.. odd, to say the least. She looked around quickly, before noticing the clamor in the kitchen. She slung her backpack into the chair, gaining the mystic monkey’s attention. 

“Oh, hey kiddo! Is Mac home yet?” he chirped happily, “I made something to celebrate his ‘birthday’!” The king took his apron off, not wanting to get his clothes dirty (even if he was in his pajamas. You couldn’t blame him, though; it was scorching hot with the oven running and his unusually warm temperature).

“Oh, I haven’t seen him yet, no.. He has a birthday?” Bai He asked quietly, her face morphing from confusion to surprise quickly. “How come he never said anything about it?” she pressed, heading to the kitchen to talk to her parent.

Wukong rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish grin. “Ah.. well, I guess it’s not technically his birthday, probably? But we didn’t exactly track dates all that time ago. It wasn’t an important thing, but it is now, so I just picked a random day to celebrate him. Because he put up with like, a month of stressing over me and this is my thank you.”

Bai He nodded slowly. “Oh, okay. Does he know about this?” she asked quietly, glancing at the frosted cake. 

“Nope!” Wukong grinned, cleaning up the mess he made with the dishes and on the surfaces. It didn’t take long until everything was spotless, and Wukong got changed into actual clothes before he sat at the table with Bai He. He sighed, glancing at his daughter with a smile.

“So.. how was your day at school? Did Mk say anything on your way back? Sorry, I’m just worried,” he muttered, glancing at the dark haired girl with a small smile.

“It’s fine. First of all, he didn’t say anything too out of the ordinary. And my day.. was normal! A little confusing but I made it through the day,” she crossed her arms and rested her head on them, on the table. “It was very busy,” she commented. 

And then the door opened. “That’s Mac!”

Wukong’s eyes go wide. “Oh! So soon,” he whispered with a nervous smile. “I hope he’ll like my surprise.”

Bai He went into the living room. “Hey Mac! Ooh.. You have a lot of groceries. Do you need help?” Wukong heard her ask, while he was briefly overthinking whether the surprise was good enough for his loved one. He just hoped he’d like it, honestly.

Macaque and Bai He carried the groceries inside to the kitchen, the dark-furred monkey stopping in his tracks when he saw his mate standing there. In front of something. Macaque didn’t ask, though, he just walked up to him and kissed him quickly. “That was the longest time I’ve been in a grocery store,” he sighed. “I think I got weird looks for having a baby monkey. But some people asked to pet her and I.. that was so annoying.”

Wukong nodded and cleared his throat. “So, Mac.. I have a surprise for you!” He grinned easily, trying to take in Macaque’s reaction to that announcement.

“Oh! I have a surprise for you and Bai He, too,” he replied, smiling. “What’s up?” He looked so happy, and Wukong was afraid he’d ruin it last minute somehow. But, he’d never know until he tried it. He knew Macaque wouldn’t say anything if he truly didn’t like it, anyway!.. He hoped.

“Ta-da! Happy.. birthday?” Wukong moved out of the way of the cake. He giggled quietly at his own uncertainty, feeling a strange awkwardness fill the gap between everyone. “Do you like it? I made it for you.” 

Macaque’s eyes were wide, looking between Wukong and the cake. “For me? My birthday?” he asked, stunned. Well, he sure as hell didn’t expect that one.

“Yeah!” Wukong chirped, picking up the cake. “I was bored, and we don’t exactly know our birthdays.” He looked at his mate, studying his face anxiously for a reaction or something. He wasn’t responding, and his mouth just hung open. “..Liu’er?” he asked quietly, getting even more nervous.

But, it seemed he just didn’t know what to say. Macaque moved forward and hugged Wukong, careful not to touch the cake at all. “Thank you,” he murmured, squeezing the golden monkey tighter as he pressed his face into the king's shoulder. Although it was never communicated, Wukong got the feeling that the dark furred monkey really needed the picker upper today. And he was very glad that he could make his day a little better.

–

No one could sit still during dinner. Especially not Macaque, or Wukong. 

Wukong was feeding Xue some fruit, who was sitting in his lap (as per usual). She seemed really tired, which was odd because she’d usually be bouncing with energy, even after dinner. But again, it was her first time going to the store today, so it made some sense.

He took Xue to her crib before moving onto the cake. He came back to the kitchen with a goofy smile on his face and somewhat shaky hands.

He grabbed a knife to cut the cake with, keeping his hands level, and he cut the cake precisely. “I made the frosting, as well. I mean, I followed a recipe, but you know.” He couldn’t stop nervously rambling, even as he handed a piece to his lover. And then his daughter, who chose a piece on the polar opposite side of where Macaque had chosen his.

Speaking of Macaque, he hadn’t tried the cake yet. His tail was thumping against the chair, though. “It looks good, though,” he admired the cake.

Only when Wukong sat down again did Macaque take a bite of the cake. 

“..You burnt the fucking cake, Wukong.” Macaque glared at the king as he spit out the somewhat burnt cake.

“Hey! I mean It’s the thought that counts, besides, we both know you’re the better baker,” Wukong’s face flushed red with embarrassment as he rushed out his words. “I didn’t mean to. I didn’t know how long it would bake for, and it looked fine to me!” The golden monkey continued to attempt to explain, his arms crossed.

Macaque snorted at him. “For Buddha’s sake, you really need baking lessons. But it's not that bad. Thank you, Wukong.”

//

Macaque did manage to get in touch with Chang’E. Which led to them hanging out a little bit, as well.. And doing a little bit of trolling on Pigsy’s site. That was mostly Macaque’s doing, though.

“I think that whole ordeal might’ve been more stressful than being revived and hating Wukong for a while. That’s saying something,” Macaque joked, sipping some light alcohol as he chatted with Chang’E. Wukong was with the kids, looking around the moon, since Bai He practically begged him to let them look around. Xue was running around and playing, and Wukong was also trying to keep her out of trouble.

“Mom, look at this!” Bai He commented, pointing at something in the distance for Wukong to see.

“Well, it looks like you guys have grown close. If you hated him not so long ago.. What happened?” Chang’E asked. She left room for him to change the subject, of course, but she was just curious about what Macaque was telling her.

“Well,” Macaque was hesitant to reply. Rightfully so, though, “I just.. I don’t know. Even at the campfire, I guess my feelings towards him weren’t, like, fully hate, considering we were well on our way to fixing our relationship? But when he was, like, extremely vulnerable, I just knew something odd was up. And, besides, I can hear the future, you know?” Macaque chuckled, taking another awkward sip. “I knew he’d need someone to stick with him. So, I put my anger aside, and it honestly felt good doing that. Not that this is a therapy session or anything.”

Chang’E nodded in acknowledgement. “Well, it looks like it worked out in your favor,” she smiled as she looked over to Xue. “But I have a feeling I’m going to end up with a ripped up garden. Oh,” she looked back at Macaque, seeming to have just remembered something, “You guys should visit more often! If you do, though, I’ll make sure to get a playset for baby. So she doesn’t wreck my entire garden!”

Macaque grinned right back at her, “Of course! This has been fun.”

Wukong approached, somehow breathless aside from the fact he doesn’t even need oxygen. “I forgot how wild monkey cubs can be,” he wheezed, putting a hand up. “I don’t know how she hasn’t tired herself out.”

Macaque rolls his eyes. “Ah. Not as young as you used to be, huh?” he quipped, earning a glare back from the golden monkey. 

“Oh, please. At least I don’t walk like a grandpa,” he snarked back, crossing his arms.

“I don’t walk like a grandpa!” Macaque protested, “Where the hell did you even come up with that?” They both laughed it off, before Wukong faced Chang’E with a cheeky grin. 

"Long time, no see!"

“Hey, Sun Wukong,” Chang’E grinned. “It’s been a bit since I saw you up here last! So, how are things for you?” she quirked an eyebrow, folding her arms and leaning back. “I want to hear all about it.”

Wukong took a deep breath, and looked between Macaque and Chang’E. “Eh, well.. I have two daughters now! And, uh, Xiaotian isn’t my successor anymore. And my house was burned down. But, how about you? How have you been?” Wukong tried to get the attention off of him, smiling hesitantly. He saw Macaque make an odd face at him, but he couldn’t really care less, because it worked; Chang’E was talking about how she’s been.

“Oh, I’ve been cooking, and all. It’s pretty lonely up here,” she mused. “So uh, maybe you guys could visit more often? I can even babysit your kids if you need babysitters?” she offered, which caught Wukong and Macaque’s attention.

“Well.. yeah, we’ll visit you, of course,” Wukong replied with a small smile. “As for the babysitting part, Macaque and I will talk about it,” he looked at Macaque and then back to Chang’E with a wide grin, “Thanks.”

Chang’E nodded with a smile, “Of course! Just bring ‘em here, and I’ll make sure they have a blast. Oh– I think the cookies are done. Excuse me for a moment,” she hurried away, leaving the two monkeys alone.

Wukong looked over at Macaque, who was still sipping the light alcohol. “Ooh, what’s that?” he asked, peeking into the cup.

“Not for you,” Macaque stated matter of factly.

//

Macaque and Wukong were walking to Bai He’s room. “Wukong, I feel foolish.”

“Macaque, I don’t care. It’s for Bai He. You wouldn’t break her poor heart by not showing up how she wanted, right?” he gave Macaque the eyes, which made him scoff. “You don’t, admit it!”

Macaque cursed under his breath, glaring at the king as they both walked into her room wearing princess dresses. “We’re here for the tea party!” the golden monkey did jazz hands as he announced them both into the room. Bai He lit up when she saw them both dressed up. 

“I didn’t know you guys were dressing up for it, too!” she stood up, moving to show them their seats. Xue was already in a small pink dress, hitting a cup against the floor.

“Yeah! We got dressed up too,” Macaque shot Wukong a glare before smiling at Bai He. “So, I guess.. Here we go.”

Bai He smiled kindly, “Here,” she passed a cup to Macaque and Wukong each. It was plastic, of course, “I’m really doing this for Xue because every child needs a princess tea party at one point, but I don’t think she understands how it works. She keeps throwing the cup on the ground.”

Wukong covered his mouth as he snickered, at least trying to be ‘polite’. “Yeah, she doesn’t know what’s going on. I think our main focus should be to make sure she’s not making any trouble. She’s a born trouble maker, just like me!” he gestured at himself proudly, getting an eye roll from Macaque. 

“Dear Buddha. I’m really in for it now, then,” he commented, crossing his arms grumpily. Wukong whapped him on the back of his head with his tail, glaring at him. The shadow monkey grumbled, sarcastically apologizing, “Well, ex-cuse me. Pass me the sugar, this tea’s too bland for me.”

Bai He poked his shoulder, “Uh, dad.. Xue hasn’t even poured your tea yet.” She then gave the teapot to Xue, who immediately threw it at Macaque’s lap with a loud chirp. 

Macaque mimicked pain, “Ah! Your host burned me!” he shouted dramatically before dropping back and playing dead. Wukong stifled a giggle, his tail tapping against the ground as he watched his mate mess with Xue. 

Xue, on the other hand, actually thought she hurt him. So she checked if he was okay, trilling and climbing onto him. He picked her up, cooing at her, “Of course you didn’t hurt me. You’d never hurt me,” he grinned at the cub, before kissing the top of her head. “You’re just not very good at pouring tea, that's all,” he muttered.

They had a rather fun tea party.

Chapter Text

Things were good for a while. There hadn’t been a demon attack in Megapolis for a while, so Wukong wasn’t busy fighting any demons off; which meant he was free. So, he used his free time to build his home on flower fruit mountain back up. Bai He and Xue were with him, as he was working. 

With the previous days he’d been working, too, he already had it built. Macaque had helped a lot, too, but he was gone for the day, doing something at the theatre that he refused to disclose for some odd reason. But Wukong wasn't going to push him to tell him.

“..I don’t think I can go back to public school,” Bai He whispered, admitted into the quiet cave, as Wukong was looking for a tool. It’d been a little while since summer had ended, so he didn’t know why she’d just now be saying that, “The kids always say I look just like her, and no one trusts me because of what she did. It’s like.. my name isn’t even mine anymore. And I know they call me her and they say just wait until I strike again or something. Behind my back, of course.”

Wukong pauses his work on the home, stunned. “I.. really?” he asked, surprised. He looked over at her, frowning. “That’s awful. How long has this been happening?” He climbed down the home-like structure, coming face to face with his daughter.

She sighed quietly, knowing she might get a small lecture from the king for not speaking up. “Ever since I went back to school, you know.. that long.” The girl’s dark hair curtained her face, as she tried to brush it off as nothing. But Wukong shook his head, trying to process what he was being told. After a moment, he sat down next to her and sighed. 

“..Why didn’t you tell me, kiddo? I wouldn’t have sent you to school if I knew this was happening. Of course, I’d have to figure out some other way to get you schooling, since you humans apparently need it.” Wukong spoke gently, hoping back rubs were comforting enough. Truth be told, he was shit at comforting others. But he wasn’t going to let his daughter suffer with being casted out because of something she couldn’t help, that was for damn sure. Not like he’d been. "You know, back in my day, us monkeys weren't sent to school and we learned everything purely by experience and our elders!"

She shrugged, cradling Xue in her lap. The cub was napping in the warm heat of the cave, which had surprised Bai He at least. "Well, unfortunately I'm not a monkey," she said as a small smirk forms on her face. "Might've been easier if I was though."

Wukong bit his lip as he thought about what to say now. Even the girl could tell he was uncertain, from the way his golden fur shifted as he tilted his head, contemplating something. However, golden eyes met dark eyes, and he sighed. “We’ll talk about this later, with Mac, alright?” he asked, pulling her into a hug, though he was careful not to bump Xue. That could be a death sentence for them both. 

She nodded slowly, sighing. “Alright. Sorry,” she muttered, keeping her eyes locked on the sleeping cub rather than Wukong.

“Ahh, it’s okay! No need to be sorry,” the golden monkey said a little more playfully rather than somber, as the conversation they’d just had faded away. “Things happen, and talking about it helps.” He gives her a reassuring, laid back smile, his nose scrunching up just a tiny bit. She smiled back at him, feeling a little better.

When the golden-furred monkey climbed up the structure of his new home, Bai noticed something from the corner of her eye. It looked like bundled slabs, “Huh.” 

However, she did not touch them yet.

She quickly turned her attention back to Wukong, who was hanging by his tail and finishing up one side of the home with a coat of paint. “Can I help?” Bai He asked, lighting up when she saw him painting. 

“Hm? Of course,” he gave her a goofy, upside-down grin, “Just try not to wake Xue.” He went back to painting, having to take extra caution so he didn’t get red paint in his extraordinary fur.

She gently picked Xue up, looking around for a soft place to put her. When Wukong noticed that there was none, he plucked one of his furs and suddenly threw a pillow towards them. “There you go. Set her on that,” he grinned as he went back to painting.

With two different painters, everything went by smoothly. They managed to get a lot of it done by the end of the day, some of it had to be left for the next day though. Wukong looked over the almost finished home, admiring their hard work, “I’d say we make a good team for painting, eh?”

His face seemed to light up when he got an idea, though. “Hm, let me find something..” he muttered, as he began to toss some things out of the way and he looked through some of the cluttered stuff he’d brought to make the new home. “Where did I put it– aha!” The golden monkey held up blue paint, the same cheeky grin spread wide on his face. 

“Alright.. Here, over here,” Wukong motioned for her to follow him, and they stopped in front of a rock. He took her hand, feeling it against his own. Hers were soft, like his own, and felt young. He held her hand palm up, grabbing a paint brush and dipping it in the paint.

And then he painted a coat of blue on her hand, which gave her a stronger idea of what he was doing. His hand worked quickly and with agility, staining her hand a beautiful blue. He sat the brush down once he deemed it good enough, and tapped the rock.

“Put your hand on here, and it will paint your hand,” Wukong showed her the spot, before he smiled up at her.

She placed her hand gently on the rock, leaving a wet handprint of blue on the rock. When she looked back at Wukong, he was much smaller, a little more than a foot smaller. His glamor was down, obviously, as he painted his own hand with a different color. Orange. “..To be able to tell where it is,” he explained, not letting her paint dry before he pressed his own hand..paw?.. against the rock. 

They both looked at the sight, Wukong putting his glamor back up, before they looked at each other. It was quiet for a moment as they just looked at each other..

“It’s Xue’s turn,” Bai He spoke first, getting an “Oh yes, definitely,” from the king.

Bai He crept towards Xue as Wukong found a yellow paint somewhere, mixed in with some other junk he brought. She picked up the cub, gently waking her up.

Xue cooed, confused. She was still with them, was it time to go home?  

The older girl brought her to the rock, where their parent held a paint brush, paint, and a water bottle to wash it off with (since he didn’t want her to think it was food and eat the damn paint). The cub trilled a little bit as the odd texture of cool paint started building up one her paw, she watched the brush strokes curiously. How it applied it, how it was her mama applying the odd yellow thing.

And then the golden monkey held her wrist, gently asking Bai He to move her forward. So, she was moved forward, to where there were other colors on a rock. She chirped quietly, confused as to what they wanted!

The king pressed her paw against the rock, gently. Her paw left behind a yellow mark, before she was snatched by the golden monkey and water was being poured on her paw. She jumped up when it was done, and started bouncing around the cave; indefinitely surprising the other two, as she ran back to the pillow.. before something caught her eye. 

She climbed down, grabbing the black thing. It was a little big, and it opened. Wukong snapped his head towards her when the atmosphere changed to a more tense one. “Xue?!” he called, eyes darting frantically before landing on his cub.. Holding the scroll. The scroll of memory. Fuck!

He was quick to get up, and quicker to get the cub away from the scroll. “What the–!” he muttered, his eyebrows pinching together as he scoops up the cub. The scroll was left open, but he was more worried about his daughter being safe.

But then his other daughter gasped, “Wukong, watch out!”, and his reflexes were to toss Xue to Bai He. Because he knew what would happen? Because he didn’t want to take the chance of hurting her? Bai He caught her, before her gaze snapped back to Wukong, who was held in place by an odd, shadowy– no, inky creature striking fear into him, clearly. Whatever it was, the whispers were loud, and it kept changing shapes and voices. 

She could hear a voice shout, “Monkey, no violence,” as a spear-shaped ink slammed into the ground. Wukong shouted, “No!” surprisingly enough, before he was thrown back by the force of the blow. She could see a slight shake to his body, before realizing– it was aiming for Xue and herself.

It was a bird-like figure now. Wukong immediately ran in front of the ink, using his power to create a barrier-like thing, looking at the honestly terrified girls in front of him.

The king laughed nervously, “You know, you make a couple of mistakes in life, and no one ever lets you live it down! It looks like the ghosts of my past have finally caught up to me, again..” The struggle towards the end sounded painful, and she tried to reach out for him.

The spear crashed through his barrier, striking him in the back with a gasp and shift in body language. His face paled, and his eyes flashed. It’d struck him.

She watched the golden monkey fight internally for power against the pulling ink, but ultimately, his own body began to turn to ink. “Go– find Macaque!” He struggled to get the words out, slowly being overcome by the substance. Though, she saw Xue leap for Wukong, chittering anxiously.

“No!” Bai He tried to grab her in time, but Xue was sucked into the ink as well.. And some other monkey she had lost track of, that Wukong brought with him. And then the monstrous ink turned towards her when the golden monkey was no longer there.

Her eyes went wide, and she turned and ran for the entrance to the cave. The ink sounded as if it was getting louder and louder as it gained on her. She was running, running, running..

Until she made it to safety. The protection spell on water-curtain cave kept in the ink, as it pushed against the probably now visible barrier. But she never did look back, terrified of what she’d see in that damned cave. 

But, now, she was completely alone without any service on her phone and no way to get home. All she could really do was wait for Macaque to get suspicious, which would be in a couple of hours, when Wukong didn’t come home, and none of the kids were home, either.

Chapter Text

When Macaque arrived home from the theatre, it was dead silent. 

“Wukong? Bai He?” he called into the dark home, “Xue?”

No reply from anyone.

“Huh.. odd,” he commented, setting his stuff down on the chair. He gave it a little bit, before he went to check on them. Just to make sure they didn’t get themselves into trouble. Because unfortunately, he knew something big was going to come soon. When didn't it? They rarely caught a break.

He sank into the shadows again, coming back up on the flower fruit mountain. The sun was setting outside, and he was near the foot of the mountain. 

That wasn’t close enough, so he sank back into the shadows and reappeared in front of the cave with a grimace. It looked like a mess.

“Dad?”

His six ears twitched. He heard Bai He, from somewhere, “Kid? Where are—!” he was surprised to feel her run into his arms, hugging him tightly; terrified. 

“What’s wrong? Where’s Wukong and Xue?” he asked, confused and concerned. They were nowhere to be seen around them. He felt warm droplets soak through his shirt where her face was buried. Something had happened, and he knew it wasn’t any good.

“They got—,” she could barely even explain what happened, because even she didn’t know.

“Come on, kid, what happened?” Macaque urged, faux gold eyes fixing on her own as he gently lifted her head to look at him.

“The ink monsters from the thing.. They got turned into ink,” she replied. It made sense why she was scared, that had to have been terrifying to witness.

“What ink monsters.. oh shit. Of course they did!” Macaque growled, staring at the cave. It was nice while it lasted, he guessed. “Where’d the ink.. go?” his head turned back toward her.

Bai He shook her head, drying her tears, “I don’t know. I didn’t look back, but they were so big.”

He sighed, patting her head. They couldn’t do anything about it right now, if Wukong hadn't been able to do anything for himself. He needed to make sure Bai He was okay, even if he despised leaving his mate and their fucking cub in a prison like that. With a frustrated lash of his tail, he held onto Bai He and opened a shadow portal, again.

“How long ago did all of this happen?” he asked as soon as they were standing in their living room again. He immediately began rummaging through the room, looking for something.

Bai He followed him around anxiously, “Uh.. I don’t know. A couple of hours ago, maybe? My phone died while I was waiting for you.” His responding sigh didn’t sound good. “Dad, what’s going on? Where are they? Are they okay?” She was practically pleading for an answer, one that Macaque himself couldn’t even give. 

“I.. don’t know. All I know is that this must’ve been planned, and I bet Mk’s little group has something to do with it,” Macaque scowled, carding a hand through his dark hair. “They always do.” His face scrunched up a little, expressing his anger towards them although he already had his chance to take his anger out on them; but with the guidance of the goddess of mercy, he didn’t give them reprimands nearly as bad as they deserved in his opinion.

Maybe he should have rethought that, if they were still pulling Wukong’s tail like this..

“..How are we going to get them back?” Bai He asked quietly, following the stressed monkey around as he continued to rummage through the items with a tense glare on his face. He stood to his glamored height, and stared down at her.

“‘We’? Sorry kid,” he muttered, putting his hand on her shoulder with an apologetic gaze, “I can’t risk bringing you into this, as well. If Xue is already in there with Wukong, I can’t.. I need you to stay.” She looked disappointed at his words, but there really wasn’t anything he could do about it. “I’ll bring you to Chang’E tomorrow, and then.. I’ll figure out what I’m dealing with.”

“Mac, please! I can help!” she protested, tugging on his cape lightly. She just wanted to help her parent, and her little sister.. She must be so scared, whatever the ink did to her.

“Kid, I can’t let you get in the middle of this again. You’re not going to change my mind,” he muttered, putting his hands on his hips. Everything about him at that moment said that he would be twice as stubborn as her, so she knew it wasn’t worth arguing about..

Especially not when she had a better idea.

“Okay, then,” she muttered, her head slumping forward. This beginning of a ‘plan’ of hers would take a little bit of acting. Macaque wouldn’t mind, right? He’d understand, he was quite the dramatic himself.

//

So she walked down the streets of Megapolis, wrapping her cardigan tighter around herself. She was seeking out a certain one-eyed boy’s apartment. But it was damn well a long walk from where she’d been, at the monkey’s home.

About an hour through the boring and quite honestly scary walk, she approached the apartment with a shiny new Pigsy’s Noodles sign right next to it. Her dark eyes flicked over the building, subconsciously doing that thing she’d notice Wukong do when he was checking to make sure he wasn’t being deceived. It was a habit of his as of late, by now, she noticed.

She obviously deemed it safe, hoping to get out of the threatening darkness and the pale light of the moon as quickly as possible. She could feel eyes boring into the back of her head, and she didn’t know if they were actual eyes or the weird poster board people that seemed to be looking at you wherever you went. She darted up the stairs, using the railing to make sure she didn’t trip and fall up the metallic stairs. Even the gentle breeze of the night, what once would be calming for her, made her feel vaguely uncomfortable.

Maybe because she’d just snuck out without Macaque’s knowledge, or because she was planning something Macaque would absolutely hate, or because her mom and little sister were still gone. But she wasn’t about to stand around and do nothing. 

..Well, if it went according to plan, this was the only action she had to take. She raised her fist to the door, and knocked. With excessive force. When she heard a startled sound from inside the apartment, she let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Her wide eyes stared at the door until it opened, “Wh-uh.. Bai He? What are you doing here?” The young man looked at her with disbelief, holding the door open wider for her to slip into the apartment.

Without wasting any more time, she got straight to the point of her visit. 

“Mk, Monkey King needs your help,” she muttered, combing her hands through her hair.

He seemed caught off guard at the mention of him. “..Bai He, it’s past midnight. What do you mean, he needs my help? He and Macaque made it very clear they don’t want me near either them, or Xue, why would he be asking for help now..?”  

She spoke quickly, “Xue and Monkey King were turned into ink by a weird ink monster, and Macaque won’t let me help. He doesn’t know what to do, and I know you want to prove you’re sorry.” She paused, to emphasize the importance, “Please, I need you to do this. You wouldn’t leave him alone like that, would you?” 

Sure, she probably wasn’t going about it the best way, but she was going to get the job done. “I know where jingu bang is. He didn’t take the staff with him, and if you’re careful, you can get it without Macaque getting onto your tail too early,” she explained. “Just.. please. If not for him, for me. I don't want my own mother and little sister to be trapped like that. From what Macaque was rambling about, it sounds like some sort of torture thing..” Her face was stricken with anxiety. Mk was speechless, but he recognized the desperation in her voice, her actions, everything; she was afraid of losing something, or rather someone, she loved. 

He’d been there before.

With a sigh, he looked down at her, “Okay. Yeah, if he’s stuck and there’s really no other way.. I’ll step up. But I’m going to need a little more assistance than my own bare hands, and a measly jingu bang– not that it’s not all powerful, or anything.. We’re gonna need to go get someone else, too,” Mk dumbly rambled, his brain going a million miles a minute.

Bai He understood, though, “But do you think that’s a good idea? You know, he still can’t really talk about her without getting upset..” Her voice trailed off with uncertainty. She mulled over the thought for a moment, each idea of what may happen getting worse with each passing thought.

“Hey, I’m sure he’ll be fine. Monkey King is strong. It took a lot to finally break him.. regrettably. But he’ll be okay, I’m sure of it,” Mk put a hand on her shoulder, trying to sound reassuring in the slightest. It wasn’t working.

“But you’re aware about what happened, right? She tried to kill him,” she argued, “I really don’t think this is a good idea, Mk!”

He looked at the dark haired girl, his eye meeting moon-like eyes, “Bai He, Mei isn’t like that anymore. She explained everything that happened after Monkey King left her here in a hurry a while ago. I promise, she’s not looking to hurt him, or.. kill him, anymore. Personally, I thought that was extremely weird, but I guess we know why now.” The dark haired male looked at her firmly, “I know what’s best for this ‘mission’. I know there’s always the chance he’ll freak out if we find him, but we have to try. I can’t do this alone, and I can not do this with Macaque, haha..” the nervous laughter seemed out of place, but on the contrary, right at the same time.

She understood the part with Macaque, he’d get a lot of stares because he could be scary from time to time, with other people. Mostly when they threaten his family, but he can be downright awful.

“Well, yeah, you can’t go with Macaque. He actually thinks you’re the one who did this to him in the first place, so if he catches you taking jingu bang, he might just rip you to shreds,” she commented, placing her hands on her hips as she racks her brain for any other way they could possibly do this. When her head snapped back up to look at him, prepared to offer another idea, she instead asked, “..What?” 

His face looked pale. “Well, I have a lot to lose if he so much as hears me, huh..?” That wasn’t nerve wracking, at all..

“You’ll be fine! Just don’t make a whole lot of noise, and we’ll be great,” she replied with a thumbs up. “But the real question is, how do we get to Mei, and then back to our home without Macaque noticing?” 

Mk sighed, shrugging with a sheepish smile. “I guess we don’t have much time to think this through now, do we? Well, we’re good at improvising,” Mk muttered, before walking into the bathroom to change. 

He hadn’t expected Bai He to come to him, and outright tell him that Wukong was in danger. Again. But again, she’s the only one in the family that hadn’t given up on him completely, so he had to take this undeserved chance; for her. For Macaque, for Xue, for.. Wukong.

He was quick to change into his normal everyday clothes, brush his teeth, grab a snack and go despite it being the middle of the night. He urged the girl out the door, “I think Mei could help with transportation to your guys’ home and then flower fruit mountain, anyway,” and he practically flew down the stairs. It wasn’t safe, but allegedly neither was that ‘torturous ink thing’ Wukong and Xue were trapped in.

Bai He’s eyes glimmered in the moonlight where she stood, before she sighed and hopped in. There wasn’t any time to spare.

“..Macaque is sending me to the moon, with Chang’E, tomorrow. He doesn’t want me getting caught up in whatever mystical business Wukong and Xue got caught up in,” she muttered after she buckled in and Mk took off speeding down the street.

"You know how weird it sounds to say you're being sent to the moon?" Mk asked, attempting light humor.

Thankfully there were no cops, otherwise he might’ve had to do some time.

When they got to the Dragon family’s home, Mk didn’t go to the front door, to the little girl’s surprise. “Where are we going, Mk?”

“Well, after the whole.. thing, she’s kinda in, like, big trouble with her parents. Not that they understand what happened or anything, but..” Mk chuckled sheepishly, parking beside a certain window. He hesitantly emerged from his vehicle, and knocked on the window.

The curtain shifted, and her face appeared in the window. She looked confused until she saw Mk, and she opened the window, “Mk! What’cha doing here?” Her face was bright, lighting up when she spoke to her best friend.

“Mei! Uh, well.. I need your help with something,” he replied, “It’s easier to explain on the way. So, you comin’?” 

She clicked her tongue, “Still kinda grounded. It’s weird, being grounded again as an adult,” her mutter was quiet as she glanced around her room to see if her parents were coming. “But.. I suppose a small break couldn’t hurt.”

Mk grinned at her, pushing his hair out of his face. “Oh– mind if we use one of your vehicles? I’ll explain on the way, like I said, but we definitely can’t get there with this bad boy,” he chuckled as he patted his own vehicle.

She smirked. “Already ahead of ya, boi! Meet me out front in two,” she saluted jokingly before she ran, leaving her own room. 

Mk turned to Bai He, still in the car, and looking really tired. “C’mon,” he gestured for her to get out and follow him, “Mei’s meeting us out front. Let’s do this, yeah?”

She hopped out after taking his hand, and followed him around front, “Yeah.. let’s do this!”

Mk practically pulled her along, but she didn’t mind. When they reached the front, they heard a rumble from the garage that warned them to back away. And then Mei came zipping out, braking right in front of them. “Come on, we don’t have all day,” she urged, frantically looking behind herself in the mirror. 

Mk and Bai He quickly scrambled into the car, and as soon as they were both buckled, they zipped onto the road.

“Phew. I just know my ass is gonna be grounded longer when I get home, I can practically taste it! Anyway, so whaddup, monkey man?” she asked, a playful grin plastered on her face.

Mk explained it all, his voice dropping the playful tone and taking on a more somber one. “So, Mei,” he began, “Monkey King.. needs our help, apparently.” This got wide eyes and a disbelieving ‘Whaaat?’, so he continued on. “Yeah, he apparently got sucked into this weird ink thing and even Macaque doesn’t know how to help. Bai He came to me,” he pointed at the now sleeping girl in the back seat, “And she told me it’s up to me to get jingu bang back from their home and to save Monkey King and Xue. I just.. I needed your help, too.”

She tried to keep her attention on the road, but she was confused and admittedly a little scared by this point. “But something bad is gonna happen, I’m sure of it. What I did.. oh boy. I mean, my actions were still my own, and I do feel bad. I never meant to hurt him like that. I can barely even remember it,” she muttered, her eyebrows knitting together. Her face fell into a more solemn and neutral face. “But he doesn’t know that. Hell, I can only imagine how I affected him, even after– I know you said before all of this, those panic attacks and breakdowns of his were getting worse, I just hope they haven’t gotten worse because of what I did.”

It was silent for a moment, before she spoke again, albeit uneasily, “I’m not really in the right position to be hoping that, though. I almost killed him. Anyway, I got way off track, sorry. Why do I, of all people, need to help? It’s just going to cause unnecessary drama.”

Mk sighed, as he watched the dark night scenery speed by the window. “Because, I need your help. So does he. If what Bai He said is true, then.. It can’t be any good for him. Or Xue, since she’s apparently in the ink too. I’m not so sure about this either, but he’s done way too much for us, for us to just leave him to suffer. Again.”

Not another word was spoken for the rest of the drive, but an unspoken agreement was made. They had to help Wukong and Xue, no matter what terms they were on with the king.

–

They pulled up to the home soon enough, and the first thing they noticed was that there were no lights on. 

“Bai He walked all the way to my apartment from here,” the boy mumbled, glancing back at the sleeping girl. It was really late, in the earliest hours of the morning. 

“I’ll carry her in, and you can find the staff. We need to make this quick, before we wake up Macaque,” the dragon girl replied quickly, hopping out and picking the dark haired girl up. Mk trudged lightly to the ajar window, leading directly to Bai He’s room. It was large enough to fit them into the home, that was for sure.

Mk followed in after Mei, who climbed in with the sleeping girl. He glanced around the decorated room, before spotting the door. However, upon walking up to it, he could hear rapid footsteps and mumbling. His eyes widened, “Mei, he’s not asleep!” he whisper-shouted to his best friend. She stopped in her tracks, tucking Bai He in quickly and darting out the window. He stared after her, cursing her for leaving him to do all the other work.

Now, what else could he do..

He changed into a little spider, groaning in disgust as he crawled beneath the door. He was met with the sight of the.. white furred Macaque pacing back and forth, muttering to himself. His glamours were down, obviously.

The guy paid little mind to it, though, darting forward as fast as his spider legs could take him. Which wasn’t that fast, unfortunately. But something golden caught his eye..

It was ruyi jingu bang, covered in clattered items

He skittered over to it, shrinking it with one.. paw? Leg?

It was small enough for a spider to carry, somehow; with a lot of balance. So he darted for the door, thankfully not getting noticed until it banged on the bottom of the door and caught the shadow monkey’s attention. But he was gone free already, sprinting for Mei’s car. How Macaque never heard it before then? They would never know! But they knew he definitely heard it that time.

..But that didn’t really matter, they were already zipping off into the forest again.

“Ohoho, dear Buddha! We actually got it,” Mk laughed nervously, trying to calm down his rising anxiety. “And he doesn’t know, yet. I bet he will soon, since he can smell better than humans. Let’s just try to get to flower fruit mountain as quickly as possible without dying, mkay?” he rambled on, fiddling with the staff that didn’t quite feel right taking.

Mei scoffed, “Way ahead of ya, monkey man! Let’s get these monkey’s back,” her grin was nearly blinding as they practically flew across the ground.

Neither could shake the feeling of some sort of impending doom, but.. they were ready. As ready as they could be with a sudden rescue mission, that is.

–

Upon arrival, Mk opened the cave. So, apparently he never did revoke any of his powers.. huh. 

It was silent, except for the occasional faint dripping. Mei lit the Samadhi fire, using it as a light source to see the scene, “What’s that?”

She was pointing at a black bundle of sticks, or something. 

“Huh, odd,” Mk commented, picking it up. It dropped open, and the atmosphere flashed once more into an odd, dark terror. A knot was in his stomach, that felt it was getting tighter the more anxious he got. He tossed the scroll away just in time, ink began to pool onto the ground beneath it. “I think we found the culprit, Mei-”

He was cut off by the shape of his mentor forming in the ink. His voice, more desperate than ever, repeated one word; “Why?..Why?..” 

Mei and Mk glanced at each other, swallowing roughly. 

“I trusted you.”

“Monkey King..?” Mk asked quietly, his throat gone dry. This couldn’t be good.

The dragon girl and noodle boy were being cornered. The ink figure of his former mentor sauntered forward, with a creepy grin on its face. 

“Mk!”, it called, mimicking his voice perfectly. And then it lunged for him, exactly as he had the first time, when he took his eye. But no contact was ever made, courtesy of the sound of a whipping blade, followed by the ink exploding into tiny droplets. 

Mei and Mk stood there, confused. They nearly even forgot the Samadhi fire was their only light source too, considering the ink dimmed even that.

“Whaaat the hay?” the dragon girl asked aloud.

Their attention was snapped back to the source of the attack. A blue lion demon with a light orange mane stepped forward, his face set like stone. He spun around his sword, before stabbing it into the ground. Mei’s attention was immediately grabbed by it, looking at the beautiful shining sword and practically drooling, “I want that!”

Within no time, more ink monsters began to appear; this time taking the shape of an elephant demon and a bird demon. Neither of the young adults could decipher what they were saying.

The lion demon sighed, “Forgive me, brothers..” and drew his sword once more from the ground. He lashed at the air, ripping up the silhouettes of the demons. Once they melted back into the puddle of ink, he reached out a hand and closed the scroll.

The dragon girl and noodle boy didn’t take kindly to his presence, though. They immediately leaped at him, kicking him repeatedly and taking the scroll from him. The lion demon landed across the empty space with a grunt, “Hand over the scroll, children.”

“Uh, rude! We’re adult’s, fo’ yo info-mation! And, no, you hand over the scroll–”

“We’ve got the scroll,” Mei whispered to Mk.

“We’ve got the scroll!” he corrected. “Now, free the monkeys, and we don’t have to get physical!” They both took fighting stances to prove they were serious about it.

The lion didn’t budge, though, “You expect me to believe you were not responsible for stealing the scroll, despite it being in your possession?” he queried.

“Yep!” they both replied, standing up. “We don’t even know what this thingy-monkey-napper is! So there’s that,” Mei added on, and they both crossed their arms with cheeky grins.

And then the lion began to laugh. Neither Mei or Mk expected that, and it made them feel uneasy and even a little intimidated.

“He’s laughing. Hey, why’re you laughing?!” she shouted, pointing at him angrily.

“Okay, okay. Let’s start again. You must be Mk the Monkie Kid, and Mei the white horse dragon girl.” It was odd that he knew so much about them, but they knew exactly nothing about him. Had they met before?, “Uh, technically not,” Mk giggled nervously, before being interrupted by his best friend.

“Tell us who you are, guy! Before we mess you up!” She kicked and punched at the air, to emphasize her point.

He began to walk forward, and get a little bit lower to their height as he chuckled. “I’ve gone by many names. Perhaps the one you’re familiar with, the Azure Lion!”

The silence was loud.

“..Or, not. Okay. In any case, I am here to help,” he offered, holding his paw up, “The item that imprisoned your friend is a fragment of the scroll of memory, an ancient artifact stolen from the underworld. If not by you, then presumably by your master, Sun Wukong.”

“He’s not my–Hold up, you know Monkey King?!” Mk asked, holding the scroll in both hands.

The lion tried not to laugh, but he ultimately failed, “Everyone knows the Monkey King. But yes,” he admitted, “He was once my sworn brother.” His tone sounded slightly remorseful. Neither cared, though.

“Hm, I see, interesting! You know who else was a sworn brother of Monkey King? You might’ve heard of a little guy called Demon Bull King?!” he shouted in an exasperated, or sarcastic tone. Was this another person he’d managed to rub the wrong way?

“Ah, well.. Sun Wukong isn’t exactly the easiest person to get along with. He’s got quite a habit of keeping people at arm's length,” Azure sighed, shrugging. 

The two young adults looked at each other. Oh..

“--We were young, mistakes were made, and some mistakes can’t be undone.” Azure glanced to the side, probably recalling everything that's happened between them. Who knew? This guy was fucking weird.

“The only reason I could imagine Monkey King would’ve borrowed the scroll is that he’s become sentimental in his old age. After all, that scroll does contain the memories of his journey to the west.”

Mk gasped, “You’re telling me that I’m holding the journey to the west legend in my hand right now?!” he asked, holding up the scroll with a giant smile.

“That, and the great many other tales, I’m sure!” Azure smiled again. Mei and Mk looked between each other once more, uneasy and intense stares coming over their faces as they realize he’s trapped in there. But, everything that’s happened, every trauma they brought up again..

“--Everything that has ever happened, every deed, every word has been recorded in the scroll of memory. It’s a prison, designed to contain wicked souls, forcing them to relive their past misdeeds over and over for all eternity.” His voice really did a good job conveying the mood, “In order to contain all its prisoners, a powerful protective curse was cast upon the scroll, to prevent those imprisoned from escaping and ensnare any who would seek to free those locked inside. Trapping them forever.” 

Monkey King and Xue were in there.

“Left unchecked,” Azure continued with a grave expression, “that curse would’ve spread, consuming everything until nothing remained. I thought I arrived in time to contain the curse. But.. based on your expressions, I would guess that Sun Wukong has already been consumed. Along with that cub.”

Did they mention Xue at first..?

“But it’s fine, right? We’ll just pop this bad boy open, and get them back!” He gestured to the scroll, and held his arm out with a hopeful grin.

“It’s too late to save them. We can’t risk unleashing the curse into the world,” Azure’s face held an odd glare. But Mk wasn’t going to back down. 

“You don’t know, we’d risk it for sure! I won’t abandon him when he needs us. If your friendship with Monkey King meant anything to you..” he tried to reason with the lion.

“Our friendship meant everything to me.” Azure sounded a little defensive when saying it, which was odd, again. This man was just full of oddities! But, to be fair, he could be losing his friend. His somber face said it all.

When he thought about it himself, his own friendship with the golden monkey meant a lot to him, too. But he abused it, and now there he was; saving him from a scroll even though the ginger simian likely hated his guts as many times over as he had immortality. 

Azure sighed. “Well, if your friendship is as strong as you say–”

“We aren’t on the best terms, Azure,” Mk stated bluntly. “We’re just trying to save him from this prison you’re talking about. His cub is in there too, and they’ve both been through enough. Mei and I.. we’re just here to get him out of there.”

Azure was stunned silent for a moment. “Ah.. but still, perhaps there is a way. We should get started as soon as possible, however.”

Mk asked, “Wait, really?”, as Mei gawked. 

“You’re actually gonna.. help?” 

“We’re brothers.. nothing could ever change that.”

“Yes yes yes yes yes!” Mk cheered, “We’ll just go in after him, go through the scroll, defeat the curse and then bang bam boom, we’re done!” He posed with Mei, grinning.

“I’ll open the scroll long enough for you to get inside,” Azure muttered, clearly beginning to regret this already. “But fighting the curse will be up to you.”

“We got this!” Mk had a strong belief in himself and Mei, knowing whatever happened, it would all turn out a-okay in the end. 

“Le’go!” Mei shouted, pumping her fist into the air.

“--In order to escape the scroll, you’ll need to defeat the protective curse. But, it’s going to take all your strength combined. Now, hand me the scroll.” 

Silence fell upon them again, and no one moved. 

“If we’re going to do this, we need to trust one another,” Azure finally muttered, his voice more of a growl than before.

Mk looked over to Mei. He didn’t know what to do. It would be weird to trust a random lion he just met that day with him and his friend’s lives, right?

She took his hand, giving him an adrenaline-readied smile and nod. So he handed Azure Lion the scroll.

“Hm.” Azure smiled at the two young adults, pleased that they agreed. “Look out for one another. You can do this.”

The demon undid the scroll, opening it and letting the ink pool under the young adult’s feet. 

“We won’t let you, or Monkey King, down,” was the last thing Mk said.

And then they were surrounded by black ink, and then they were in past-day Chang’an.

Chapter Text

Before Bai He was taken to Chang’E’s, she shot the rest of the group a text.

The text read, “Mei and Mk had to deal with something at flower fruit mountain. They probably won’t be back and they might need your help. They told me to tell you.”

That shouldn’t have been as ominous as it was, but Pigsy was freaking the fuck out. “They’re back at his place?! What if he hurts them again?” He shook Tang by the shirt, who was also freaking out but not exactly for the same reason.

“Pigsy, I know it seems bad..” Sandy started. He had originally been shunned from the group, but he’d returned to see if anyone else got the text and if they had a clue as to why. It felt foreign for him to be standing in a redone noodle shop, especially considering he’d been hanging around on the mountain sometimes with Monkey King when he wasn’t busy with his own stuff.

So, yeah. Major whiplash, “But he wouldn’t hurt them.” 

Pigsy snorted, “Yeah, right. He brought Mk to the hospital with a missing eye, he brought Mei to Mk’s apartment and she was unconscious–”

“But he did have genuine reasons, Piggy,” Tang replied, lips curving into a frown. “Mei and Mk told us the reasons.”

Pigsy sighed, defeated. “Eh, whatever. I still don’t trust him alone with them anyway, didn’t Macaque say he’d kill us if any of us went near him?”

Sandy nodded slowly, “You’re right. He did say that.. huh. I can’t imagine that would mean any good, then, if they’re with Monkey King.” The gentle giant crossed his arms, “What do you say we go and check things out for ourselves, then, and see if they’re doing alright?”

The pig demon scoffed, “And get hunted down by an angry Macaque? No thanks.”

Sandy shook his head, grimacing. “Come on, we don’t know why they’re at Flower Fruit Mountain. Let’s just go find out for ourselves, because by the looks of things.. it probably isn’t that great. I mean, Bai He had to text us in the middle of the night for this, so maybe we should go check things out. I don’t think she’d say that just to say it, considering if you think about it, she probably had to be out there at some point to know they were out there. I have a feeling there’s probably something dangerous going on.”

“--And that is the exact reason we aren’t going! I don’t want to be caught up in that crazy monkey’s life anymore,” Pigsy shot back, his eyebrows pinching together with exasperation. Tang put his finger up to Pigsy’s mouth, “But listen. If there’s danger, Mk and Mei are probably in danger too. They are with him, after all!”

Sandy nodded in agreement. “Actually, you’re the last person I thought would’ve suggested we go,” he commented, looking over between both the noodle chef and the scholar. The scholar, in turn, laughed nervously, “Oh, I’m not suggesting I go. I’m suggesting you both go, it’s probably much too dangerous for little old me! I could end up tripping and breaking my ankle, or getting eaten by something magical, or–or-!” he was shut up by Sandy’s hand on his shoulder.

“That’s why we try to stay alive, guy! Come on, these are our friends we’re talking about.”

Pigsy scoffed and muttered in reply, “And a stuck up monkey, that we’ll probably stuck with again for forever.”

The river demon stood tall. “What is your deal? At least he tries to change his ways! I haven’t seen you try since before Mk came around! You’re no better than Wukong, by that point.”

The pig was about to snap back, but Tang got between them. “Enough! If we do it, we do it for all of them!”

Sandy hastily nodded his head, deciding to drop the budding argument between him and the pig. After proving a point. “We’re supposed to be heroes! Heroes don’t pick and choose who they want to help, Pigsy.”

The pig demon sighed, muttering, “That was in the past. The guy took Mk’s staff, remember?”

Sandy shook his head, arguing, “But we can still be heroes. Mk, Mei, and Monkey King need us. Maybe. At least that’s what I gathered from her message.. it wouldn’t hurt to check, though, and I’m not letting you guys sit this out just because you’re holding way too big a grudge on a monkey. My therapist’s words, not mine,” he pointed out with an intense stare. “So get in the T.E.A, and let's get going.”

Pigsy grumbled, “Yeah, yeah, whatever— just don’t expect me to be happy about seein’ him again,” he gathered his things he felt he might need in case something happened, without another word.

“Well, I wouldn’t expect him to be happy about seeing you, either,” Sandy commented drily, turning to Tang, elicitinh an irritated snort from the pig demon. 

“Whatever!”

The river demon focused on trying to coax Tang into getting ready, since the scholar’s been back and forth about going in the few minutes they’ve been talking. “Don’t you think you’d know what to do if he flipped out, or something? Not that he would, but you do know the most about him, save for Mk,” Sandy offered, to which Tang nodded. “Though, to be fair, he’s not how the legends describe him,” the scholar added on. “I don’t know, he’s not always as aggressive as he used to be, according to the book. I don’t even think he is that aggressive, not anymore. So who knows what help I would be? I’d better stay behind and take care of Mo–”

The river demon grabbed him by the arm and pulled him along. “We don’t have time to waste! You can’t weasel your way out of this. We’re going,” he snapped, before taking a nice deep breath. “Remember, they may need your help. We’re not doing this to be heroes, we’re doing this to be good friends.”

During the long, awkward ride there, each of them had a while to reminisce on that exact thought.

But after that time was over, and they arrived at flower fruit mountain, Tang whined. “Not again..” he muttered, as he began to hike up the mountain begrudgingly. “This will take ages!”

Pigsy glared over at Tang for a moment, before he shot, “Keep it down over there, ya big baby! Some of us are tryna climb.”

As the hiking progressed, and everyone got tired from this.. unusual workout, they managed to convince Sandy to carry them up. Being the generous guy he is, he gave in and carried them up the mountain. 

So he hiked further and further, until…

“Stop!” Tang cried out, spotting something. He hopped down, moving some of the brush out of his way, “That’s it!”

The two demons had to peek over at where he was, finding a cave with a waterfall flowing down either side of the entrance. “That’s not supposed to be open..” the scholar muttered, looking at the cave quizzically. “He never leaves that open, and it doesn’t look like anyone’s around.”

Pigsy raised an eyebrow at that. “Maybe the kids left it open by accident,” he muttered, walking ahead and inspecting the cave. “Should we go find them now?”

Sandy agreed, taking the lead once more in case Wukong was there. He didn’t want to startle the golden monkey with more guests, especially ones he hated. “Alright.. Let’s go find out why Bai He messaged us. Shouldn’t be too bad, right?”

..Boy, was that wrong. They came into a big clearing after a while of being lost in tunnels and rooms, a giant table with overturned seats surrounding it sat in the middle. 

Pigsy was the first to speak. “Wonder what happened here,” The pig demon walked around and looked at the room, looking for anything that might look abnormal. “You think they might’ve fought, or something? This doesn’t look great.”

Sandy shook his head, “What is that, Tang?” he pointed at.. the scroll. Tang finally saw it, humming thoughtfully. 

“I don’t know,” he said as he picked it up. “I’ll have to study it to know—”

It opened, and black ink pooled at Tang’s feet. He screamed and darted back to the others, frantically hiding behind Sandy. “Was that me?!”

“What do you think, Tang?” Pigsy grumbled, looking at the ink with caution. “You were holding the damn scroll!” Tang was about to respond when a surge of ink took the form of a giant person.

“..Tang Sanzang?” Tang asked, frightened. 

His khakkhara pinned Tang down, the ink flowing and sucking him in. Judging from the way the two demons faded into existence next to him, he could only assume it had gotten to them too. 

Pigsy frantically looked around, and Sandy was at a loss for words. “Where are we?!” squealed the pig demon.

“..Chang’an?” Tang muttered, recognizing the place immediately. 

–

After Azure had helped them in the beginning, Mei and Mk wandered around for a while, trying to find Wukong or maybe even Xue to no avail. 

“So, we’re sure we’re in the right scroll?” Mei asked skeptically, walking down a path that seemed to lead to nowhere. 

“What other scroll was there?” Mk asked, pointing out that they really did not have to choose. Mei shrugged in reply, dragging her sword with her. She kicked a stone down the path, one she’d picked up a mile or two ago.

“It’s just.. how big can this place be? We need to find Monkey King, but at this rate, we’re never gonna find him!” she replied, tilting her head back with a dramatic groan. “Or Xue. We have no clue where either of them could be, and there’s absolutely nothing to help us at all! I don’t know if we’ll find them, Mk,” she sighed, before she shook her head. “But we’re Mei and Mk. We will find them.”

Mk’s temporary frown brightened into a smile, seeing that she had gained hope for them. “You’re right. Le’go, Mei, we got a long journey ahead of us!” He took her hand, and they both felt more secure in their roles. The dark-haired boy grinned at Mei with soft brown eyes, for a moment making her forget her fears of what would happen when the golden monkey finally saw both of them again.

“Yeah, le’go!” she grinned, her teeth glimmering in the sun as she wore a toothy grin.

“Ughhh, it’s been so long since we started looking!” Mk groaned, still having no trace of the vanished king. “This is taking forever!” 

Finally, there was some rustling in the forest. Mk immediately glanced over at the bushes that were moving, grabbing the staff in case it was anything they didn’t want to cross. With each moment the creature delayed their announcement, Mk clenched the staff tighter in his hand. “Mei..” he warned, and she held up her sword at once. But all that popped out of the bush was a sweet baby monkey.

“..Xue!” Mk recognized, holding his arms out for the golden monkey’s cub. Xue trilled happily, glad she found someone she recognized. She ran over to Mk, hopping into his arms and putting her tiny palms on his cheeks. Mk was taken by surprise, as the cub cuddled up to him. Because he was real, and she knew exactly who he was. 

“Holy shit,” Mei snickered at Mk. He ignored her, “How long have you been in here, lil fella?” he asked the cub instead. In response, she gave chirps and trills, and Mk bit his bottom lip. “Mei, you don’t happen to speak monkey, right..?”

They continued on, and a couple of hours later they saw a group in the distance. A group of three, one carrying the khakkhara.

The kids looked at each other, grinning widely, before running towards them. “Pigsy, Tang, Sandy? What are you guys doing here?” Mk asked, glancing between the trio. Tang looked like he was five seconds from having a mental breakdown, Sandy looked.. well, like Sandy, and Pigsy looked uncomfortable.

“Well, see.. Bai He texted, said you were doin’ something at flower fruit mountain and that you guys might need help. Where’s Monkey King..?” Pigsy asked, noticing the monkey wasn’t with them, but his daughter was. She was strapped to Mei’s chest, mostly to make sure she didn’t run off or anything.

“See, Piggy, we’re not too sure. Bai He asked us to help, but we can’t seem to find him!” Mei exclaimed, “But we did find Xue, sooo.. It’s better than nothing, right?” She was clearly nervous, anyone in the group could tell. “Chop chop. We gotta whooooole lot of ground to cover..”

The five group members each had different reactions to that. But none were too excited for it. 

Chapter Text

The group was resting for a bit, after walking for so long.

“It’s hopeless. Hopeless!” Tang cried, laying on the ground in misery. “We’ll never find Monkey King!” He dramatically draped his arm over his forehead, groaning.

“Quiet down over there! We’ll find him at some point,” Pigsy snorted, looking around the odd town they were in. “Hey, uh.. this place look familiar?” he changed the topic, before looking at Mk who was sketching the city into his sketchbook.

Speaking of, Mk looked up from his sketchbook doodling. “..Nope! Never seen this place before in my life,” he replied enthusiastically, before going back to his sketch. Tang peered at the page he was sketching, it was a very detailed image of the view of the city he had right now.

“That’s impressive,” the scholar mutters.

“I think we should hurry and get going,” Mei chimed in, holding Xue’s makeshift sling protectively in one arm. The dragon blade, which she stole back from her parents, glistened in the sunlight until the light disappeared from the sky entirely. That same aura that had appeared when they opened the scroll originally. Ink began to spill from buildings, and Mk immediately jumped up. “Woah-!” he exclaimed, his gaze darting around.

“Uh, I don’t think this is good,” Sandy muttered, as they all backed together.

“You think?! What if we die here?” Pigsy squealed, “I told y’all it was a suicide mission. But do you listen? No!”

“Calm down!” Tang shouted above everyone else, although he was the least calmest one there. He lifted the khakkara and tapped it against the ground in hopes that literally anything would happen and they wouldn’t have to deal with the curse breaking through the scroll and attacking them all.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, something did happen. The ground beneath them all turned golden, before it drew them all in! “Tang, what the hell did ya do–?!” Pigsy shouted, before they were all teleported away to different places.

//

Mei gasped, surrounded in forestry now. “What just.. What just happened? Mk?” she called, although she couldn’t find anyone else around her. No Tang, no Pigsy, no Sandy. Just her.. and Xue.

Xue was still there, asleep in the sling, while she tried to comprehend whatever the fuck just happened. “..It looks like it’s just us now, Xue,” she whispered, trying to stay optimistic. When she saw guards coming her way, her little hope surged and she ran up to them. “Hey! I’m lost, do you–,” she eagerly asked, but was cut short when they drew their weapons.

“Seriously, not even a hello? Guess we’re doing this the hard way,” she grumbled, before one guard slashed the sling right off of her. “Hey! Leave the monkey alone,” she hissed, reaching to yank out the dragon blade. One of the servants looked at her curiously, clashing swords with her. “How do you have that, girl? How are you even here? Everyone knows little girls should stay with their mothers.”

“Little girl?” Mei snapped, scowling at the servant. “Yeah, you’ll be calling me a little girl when I have your head in the ground!” 

Mei, ever impulsive, leaped up to meet the soldier’s weapon with her own. The servant blocked her attack, and used all of his strength against her. And the blade cracked, the force sending her flying herself. “What the hell?!” she shouted, her head shoved against the ground by a boot.

“You were saying?” he snickered, tying her arms behind her back. “I think you’ll find it lovely here, with–”

“Kui Mulang,” a voice spoke from behind them. She whipped her head around and looked at him, trying to calculate a way to defeat him. He held Xue in his arms, the monkey chirping quietly as he held her in what Mei assumed to be an uncomfortable position. He held her upwards by the legs, oddly enough.

The cub hissed angrily at Kui Mulang, sinking her small primate fangs into his arm. It did nothing to faze him, however, other than to grip her by the back of the neck like a little kitten. “Behave, monkey. It’d be a shame if your mother had to witness your young death, wouldn’t it?”

“Mother..?” Mei wondered aloud, face contorted with confusion. “Hey, guy, she’s not my kid!”

Kui Mulang’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. “How so? Do you know who she is related to?” he asked, now holding her upside down by her feet to inspect her.

“She’s the Monkey King’s cub, duh!” she retorted, with an indignant huff. “Whose else would it be?”

Kui Mulang hummed. “Interesting.. Guards, I want her locked up with that dragon boy. Hear me? I’ll question her later.”

“Dragon boy? Hey, wait!” she called as he walked away, leaving those servants to pick her up and carry her. “Let us go,” she hissed, trying to wriggle free. Obviously, that wouldn’t work. She knew that very well. “Come on,” she muttered, being dragged along the path. 

“Calm down,” one servant taunted, “you’ve got quite some time before he kills you. He needs some time to get you to speak about the supposed cub of the Monkey King’s anyway.”

“Hah! Like I’d ever talk about his cub,” she gave a wry smile. Something about this ordeal made her think she might actually have a bit of fun this time around.. “Besides, if you hurt her, Monkey King will have you skinned alive, tortured, and much more.”

At least, that’s what she heard about Journey To The West era Monkey King.

-

Wukong could feel the presence of others, with him, in the scroll. 

Why the fuck was so many people in the scroll? There was more than it would be if it was Macaque and Bai He. He knew exactly who they were, too.

He needed to get in touch with them, and to find Xue, before everything literally went to hell. He knew he couldn’t use his astral projection while in the scroll, considering the curse’s leash on him at the moment, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t try.. even if it might trigger the curse to try to get him.

He sighed, feeling the small pulse of connection flare up between him and the dark haired teenager, the one he used to call his successor.

So he was the one in the scroll, for sure. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to connect to him. How did he even find out, anyway? He told Bai He to tell Macaque!

With a frustrated sigh, he used that weak connection to shout, “Mk!” before the connection was terminated and the curse began to pool onto the ground again. “Shit..!”

He growled quietly, backing away as he was cornered by the ink. “Not today, fucker,” he muttered, turning his back to rip his way through the scroll of memories.

Chapter Text

Mk finally regained consciousness, pushing himself off of the ground. Yeah, with that landing, it’d definitely leave a mark.

He looked around, just to take in his surroundings. Everything was serene and humane, looking like some old temple of sorts. However, he noticed no one else was with him. He was alone. He pushed his hair out of his face, becoming vaguely aware of the dirt and grime that was stuck in his usually lush hair.

He brushed his clothes off, getting the dirt off of himself. With a muttered swear, he looked far past the gateway of this place. He had a small feeling he maybe was not supposed to be there, but.. he felt a strange pull to the place all the same. He turned around to face it, noticing it was dark inside. Yet, a strange woman slipped out of the darkness, her eyebrows furrowed.

“Are you ready to meet the master?” she asked, with a pretty expressionless face. She didn’t move at all, save for her hair that moved when the breeze picked up.

“Uh.” She elicited a confused response from Mk, who wished she would have explained everything before being completely ominous. But, it is what it is.. and she was turning to leave again.

He hurried to follow her, running up the stairs to catch up in the kind of long and dark hallway. He looked around for a moment, walking behind her. This place was so different. “Hey, miss? You haven’t, by chance, seen my friends around here, have you? Pig guy, glasses guy, sword girl with a monkey?-” he asked, before taking a good look at the room. “Woah..”

She smiled, glancing back at him in her peripheral vision. “This is the temple of the tilted moon and three stars,” she announced, “where only a few are trained and shaped to become powerful sages, under the teaching of our wise master, Shifu Subodhi.”

“Wait! Shifu Subodhi?” Mk exclaimed, glancing around the temple. “Then this– it’s the place where Monkey King learned it all! His abilities!” He stopped when he saw a memory of the king’s distant past, him messing around on a stick in the middle of a group of his fellow students. He turned into a turtle’s shell, and back to his original form; without his glamor. He smiled, not only at how carefree and happy his mentor looked (which reflecting back on that, he hadn’t seen much, if at all), but at his genuinity. Despite everything, he never hid himself away.

A sharp pang of guilt ran through him when he was hit with the now and present, seeing a rock, a stone monkey, and the ink curse all within the same moment. “..Monkey king,” he muttered, getting himself back on track. Now was not the time to lose focus.

“Where is Shifu Subodhi? I need to see him,” Mk said urgently, clenching his fist. “Now.” 

“I-,” the woman began to reply but cut off with a sigh, as two guys crept up behind her, just to interrupt her with the so-called ‘newcomer’.

“You really think you’re worthy of meeting the master on your first day?” one asked if he heard that correctly, a grin on his face.

“Right. No one has even seen Shifu Subodhi in fifty years,” the other held his stone cold expression, crossing his arms.

“Fifty years?! Uh, I gotta see him now! It’s kinda a life death situation, you know.” Mk frowned at the other men, noticing that they seemed to think whatever he said was blasphemous.

“Then just try it, headband!” the second guy poked his forehead, taunting him, “Between us, we’ve learned nearly two of the seventy two transformations!”

“Wow, two, huh?” sarcasm was thick on his tongue, “Alright. Maybe you could use some pointers on the other seventy!” He untied his headband, retying it in a ponytail before shape-shifting into a gorilla. He didn’t have to battle them for too long, seeing as they were pretty outmatched against the Monkey King’s passed-down powers; he managed to find an opening to make himself smaller and slide right under a door.

He successfully made it away from them, cheering, “Success!”

But he was grabbed by the foot. He shrieked, before taking in the sight of his old mentor’s older master. “Master Subodhi?!” he asked, returning back to his original size. He fell back onto the ground, but immediately jumped up to his feet. “Ah! This is so cool–” he stopped himself, wondering for a moment if that would be deemed an inappropriate thing to say, “It is such an honour!” He kowtowed to the immortal.

He needed to get to the point. “I know this isn’t gonna make sense, but I need to know–”

Shifu Subodhi interrupted him, holding a hand out to shut him up. “I know exactly what you need to know, Mk the Monkie Kid.” How did he know his name? “The question is, do you?”  

Great. More riddles. “Wait, you know who I am?” he exclaimed, “But we’re inside the scroll, in a memory!”

“I’m the great master Subodhi! There is little I do not know. I know about everything that led up to this.” His arms were behind his back, as he listened to the kid as he began to ramble. Until he couldn’t anymore. So, he bonked the kid on the head.

“Ow, hey! What was that for?!”

“Stand straight, and hush your tongue!” he ordered. “You talk too much. This is not about the Monkey King. There is something more at play here.” He circled Mk slowly, watching Mk intently, “Something about you.” When Master Subodhi pointed at him, he couldn’t help the offense that bubbled in his chest. Offense.. or denial.

“I’m just a regular noodle delivery boy,” he protested. The laugh that he got from the teacher upset him, just a little.

“Do you even believe that?” he shot back, making the kid question himself. “The students I train spend a lifetime over and over, trying to possess a fraction of your powers! Am I to believe Sun Wukong is the greatest master in history?”

That one, Mk thought long and hard on. “..Uh, maybe? I mean, he was pretty great–” he replied, before getting smacked on the head once more. 

“Wrong! I am the greatest master in all of history,” he said. “However, I admit, my mentorship is not the only reason for Sun Wukong’s absurdly fast learning. Just as his is not the reason for yours. Tell me of your childhood. Your parents,” he ordered.

“Oh!” That was random. “Well, um..”

“You do not remember?” he asked quietly, yet his eyes narrowed.

“No, I remember! It’s just, uh..”

He went silent for a while. Brand new parts of his life flooded his mind in some sort of flashbacks, from Monkey King’s stone to Pigsy taking him in. “..Pigsy.”

“And? What else?” Shifu Subodhi urged.

More things he was very sure he’d never seen before flashed in his mind. The king standing in front of the stone, looking out towards.. Him. The stone cracking, a stone monkey, the stone..

“The stone. Monkey King’s stone.” He was more sure of it than ever, now. “Please, you have to take me there,” Mk pleaded, even if he was a little worried about what he may find.

“Ehh.. oh, very well. But only because you said please,” He muttered, keeping a straight face even as he brought the kid to the mountain.

The moment they got there, Mk leaned into the bushes and vomited from the motion. When he looked up, he saw that they were indeed at the stone; a rock on a platform. “Yes! Thank you, master!” he bowed, before turning away and shouting for the king. 

But no response came.

“..Where is he? That’s his stone, but.. It’s not hatched!”

Shifu Subodhi stood there silently, hoping that Mk would figure it out on his own.

“Monkey King should be here. This is the stone I keep seeing, why isn’t he here?!” he asked, frustration with both his old mentor and the celestial behind him bubbling up.

“I did not bring you to the monkey. Although this was the stone Sun Wukong was once born of, it appears that over time, it was used to form another,” he explained to the kid, who seemed to not understand what he was talking about. “A simple creature, with no past, no family, and no name. There is a reason you are at the center of these stories. A reason you can harness the powers of the Monkey King himself!”

Mk looked down at his hands with his one eye, contemplating his past years as the king’s successor. “So you’re telling me.. I am the Monkey King!”

“Wrong!” Shifu Subodhi whacked him again. “Without question, you were not born from the stone as he was! Who, or what you are, even I don’t have the answer,” he spoke coolly, keeping a professional tone. “But of one thing, I am certain; fate has plans for you. Great plans, or foul.. only time will tell.”

Mk clenched his fists. How many people are going to suggest things like this?! 

“I– I can’t be! I’m just Mk!” he protested yet again.

“The Monkie kid?” 

It all made sense now. When the curse found him, and Shifu Subodhi turned into ink as well, his last words repeated over and over, like a taunt. The ink swirled around him, before finally, cracks appeared in the stone and ink oozed out, all leading to the same spot.

And he had an ink person behind him, with the likes of what he’d never seen before. All he could say to describe him was to say it looked like him.

–

Macaque hurried into the Water-Curtain Cave, preparing to find his lover in the scroll of memories. The situation was definitely less than ideal, but being honest, things like this ended up happening often. Maybe this was his punishment for giving into Wukong so soon, but he couldn’t complain if that was it.

He exited the shadow portal in the big opening, where the scent of Pigsy, Sandy, Tang, and the damn kids hit him in the face. So, they could be the ones behind this. He just couldn’t figure out, how the hell could they even know what the scroll of memory is? How could they even steal it, and why would they be willing to go so far?

 He found the scroll right there, on the floor. He grabbed it off of the floor, staring at it so intensely that he might even have been glaring. It felt stupid to believe his mate could be in a thing so small, but the power of magic was unpredictable in that way.

The dark-furred monkey was a little nervous about this, but all the same, he opened the scroll and threw it to the side without a second thought. Almost immediately, ink seeped out of the cursed scroll, making everything nearly ten times eerie.

He watched as the ink took the form of the people from the past, people that even he would rather just forget; Lady Bone Demon, Peng, Wukong with his staff–

He couldn’t help the gasp that came from him, upon realizing it was in the shape of his lover. “Oh, Wukong,” he muttered, eyebrows furrowed. His eyes widened at the realization that this was supposed to mimic when Wukong had taken his eye. The circlet, the same frustration somehow portrayed in the glowing, emotionless eyes.

“Wait,” he mumbled, backing away from the ink. Of all the ways this could have gone, did it really have to go this way? The ink figure raised his staff, aimed right for him. He braced for it to hurt, aimed straight for the eye he didn’t really have. 

And suddenly he was inside the scroll, after a few agonizing moments. He registered tears falling, but he wiped them away just as quickly as he found them. 

His mate, and their daughter could be literally anywhere. He wasn’t too excited about searching, but he knew a thing or two about Wukong that could be useful in his search. And he had a much easier way of getting around than anyone else, so he had that going for him. The dark-furred monkey decided to get a move on, taking in the surroundings. 

“..How the fuck am I supposed to find him?!” he sighed, falling into a shadow portal.

–

Wukong was busy tearing through the scroll, trying to find anyone– more specifically his daughter, but finding anyone he could maybe talk to would be nice.

He went time and time again without finding any real people, growing more frustrated the further he got. “Where the hell could they be?” he muttered, looking around at this place from his past.

It took a while, but he managed to find someone. He sprung through the tear, accidentally crashing into something– or someone. He stumbled backwards, surprised to see the person in front of him. His eyes quickly darted up to meet the person’s eyes.

“Liu’er?” he asked, surprised to find his lover.

“..Wukong?” Macaque asked, his expression that of concern yet relief at the same time. “How the hell did this happen?”

Wukong sighed, crossing his arms. “Long story,” he grumbled, “but Xue’s in the scroll. So are Mk, Pigsy, Tang, Sandy, and.. Mei.” 

“No way,” Macaque mused. “I thought they were the ones that trapped your ass in here in the first place.” He silently looked over his mate, to make sure he was okay. “Are you alright?”

“Well, despite the fact Mk and his group are in the scroll as well for no reason at all,” he hissed, “I’d say I’m doing just fine. We have to find them, and get out of here now. Before that curse finds us again. I’ve been trying to get to Mk,” he muttered, “But I couldn’t reach him for more than a second or two. But I think I know where he is, I just can’t seem to get back there.”

Macaque nodded solemnly. “Where is it? I can help you get there,” he grabbed the king’s hand and smiled sympathetically. Wukong was grateful for his lover’s offer, nodding slowly after considering it for a moment. “We don’t have time to waste. We have to get to the mountain, where the stone is. I think he’s there, and that’s why I can’t get to the stone anymore even though I couldn’t escape it earlier,” the golden monkey replied. Because even though earlier he couldn’t go more than every other tear without ending up back there, he couldn’t get there anymore now.

Macaque nodded, opening a shadow portal. “Hang on,” he muttered, dropping them both straight through the portal. Wukong hated the shadow portal, but he didn’t complain this time. It was too important for him, he needed to do this. The kid was probably suffering by now, and if he was lucky, he might just make it there right in time to help. They emerged on the mountain, where everything was dark and gloomy.

“Kid!” Wukong shouted, stumbling forward. Mk was flickering between himself and a monkey form. Maybe he was too late already. When wasn’t he, anyway? 

“Monkey King?!” Mk gasped, relieved to see a semi-familiar face, even if it was just his old mentor whom he’d hurt. He flickered with golden energy once more, and he clutched his body tighter once more. “I don’t know what’s happening,” he cried out, confusion and fear lacing his tone as the giant deformed ink monster behind him kept growing closer and loomed over him. Wukong did the only thing he could think to do, grabbing the staff and launching at it, smacking it with one blow right to the head.

When he was back on the ground and close to Mk, Wukong winced at the sight of someone getting hurt because of himself once again. “I didn’t think after everything happened, you’d end up like this. I was going to tell you, but..” he trailed off, looking at the kid with shame. He could even feel Macaque’s gaze bore into the back of his head as he admitted he knew this could happen. “Listen, you weren’t supposed to be here! Bai He was supposed to tell Macaque. How did you even find out about this?”

“Bai He,” he said, falling to his knees as the monkey form kept flickering in and out. 

“On the bright side,” Wukong chuckles nervously, “You look like you’re doing fine..?” It was more of a question than an observation. “Well, you’re not dying, at least. That’s good.”

Macaque made a noise of alarm when the ink monster began to reform again. He pulled out his own staff, ready to fuck up the ink monster if it got too close to him or Wukong

“Nice of you to join us, bud!” the ink monster said, with a smug tone. “You know, none of this would’ve happened without you, right?” 

“Yeah! And us, too!” It was Mei. Wukong couldn’t help the way he felt the uncomfortableness spread throughout him. If he didn’t know any better, he might’ve even said fear, but he couldn’t fear a mortal dragon that wronged him out of possession. Maybe he just held a bitter grudge, “Without us, you wouldn’t be able to stop this thing! That’s what you were saying, right?” She spun her sword, a little too close to Xue for his liking.

“Watch where you’re swinging that!” Wukong hissed, not wasting a moment to quickly take his daughter from the dragon girl’s hold. She didn’t fight it, obviously understanding why the golden monkey seemed about a moment from becoming hostile. 

He, on the other hand, checked her over quickly to make sure she was okay. Macaque rushed forward as well, staying quiet and listening to his mate and daughter chirping 

Tang was busy freaking out about the curse, “Is it just me, or does it look way scarier now?!” 

“How did Azure say to defeat this thing again?” Pigsy asked, his eyebrows furrowing. That grabbed both of the celestial monkey’s attention, for better or worse.

“Azure Lion..?” Wukong muttered, raising his eyebrow. He was caught off guard, only realizing everything was going dark as Mei reached her hand out towards him. So, in turn, he reached out for her, too. But, he lost sight of her. He couldn’t see Macaque, either. “Liu’er?!”

“Such pitiful creatures,” the ink Mk’s voice rang out, taking the form of his old companions. “Cowardly,” Tang Sanzang. “Reckless,” Ao Lie. “Monstrosities,” Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing. All in some way related to the group Mk surrounded himself in.

“Mk, where are you?!” Wukong shouted into the darkness, clutching Xue tighter. The sound of the gross ink came from behind Wukong. 

Himself. 

His breath hitched as the ink form of his younger self formed. “All doomed to play a role in tearing this world apart. To cause nothing but chaos and destruction.”

“Enough!” the king’s voice rang across the dark area. “I’ve never let anyone dictate my destiny in the past, and I’m not about to start now. None of us are! We can’t change who we were yesterday, or in a past life, or a hundred lifetimes ago. We live with the choices we made, but what matters is the choices we make right now! Only we can choose who we are, and what we do with the power we have.” 

“Nice hero speech, bud!-” the ink version of himself spun the circlet around his hand, creating a nauseating sound; Wukong held his head as he got flashbacks to when he wore the cursed object around his head, keeping him bound to his master. “But I know better. Deep in your hearts, you don’t believe a word of that.” The phantom feeling of pain around his head seeped into his skull uncomfortably, taking form of a dull headache. Great.

The darkness gave way to light, even if it was only visible to Wukong. Maybe it was a stress related hallucination, but Ao Lie walked forward and touched his shoulder, making him flinch a little.

“Yeah, well, we’re pretty good at fakin’ it til we makin’ it, so you better takin’ it, son!” Mei shouted, pointing her sword to the ink dragon.

Tang Sanzang also touched him on the shoulder. Maybe some other time he could be concerned about this, but for now, it was rather comforting to the golden monkey.

“I may be a coward, but we’ve faced scarier monsters than you!” Tang added on.

Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing stood beside the king as well.

“I won’t let some curse bully me, or my friends, a second longer!” he hissed, turning around with a rage burning inside himself. Pent-up anger or not, he was furious. Yet how he used the word "friends" made the group's guilt heavier, because of how genuine he sounded. He slammed his staff into the ground, albeit carefully while he still held Xue, creating a huge golden crack that spread in the stone. A light was emitted from the depths of the mountain, swallowing the ink monsters and melting them away. He could finally see again, watching the other four protectively slam their weapons onto the ground, which created magic of sorts. Wukong could barely pay attention anymore, with too much running through his mind.

His mate must’ve snuck up on him, because he only noticed him when he rested his hand on Wukong’s shoulder. The golden monkey let out a startled chirp, immediately being met with Macaque’s reply. He handed their cub to Macaque, deciding it’d be better to be safe than sorry.

“You can see it, can’t you?” The curse wouldn’t stop, “This is your fate. Your friends will turn on you, seeing you for the monster you will become. They will destroy you, harbinger of chaos. It’s just like the Lady Bone Demon said; despite your efforts, all you’ll ever do is cause pain and suffering.”

“Stop talking, get out of my head!” The kid attacked, in full monkey form.

“..Then prove us wrong.”

Mk ended the ink version of himself, and almost immediately, blue cracks began to form.

Wukong knew where this was going. He rushed to the front of the group, holding an arm across as a means to protect them as Azure Lion stepped onto the mountain. “You.”

The lion sighed, looking at the king begrudgingly. “Me.” There was a snap, and everything turned bright. Wukong looked back at Mk with an apologetic, confused grimace, they were both engulfed in light.

Within a moment, Mk was back at a stone place, asking for Wukong. “Monkey King?.. Where are we?”

Mei held her sword out, protectively in front of her best friend on the ground, how Wukong had still done for them although they’d hurt and abused him in ways that should not have even been imaginable.

“Azure, where’s Monkey King?” Mk asked, his eye narrowing at the lion in front of them all, who after all of this, still held the scroll of memories.

Chapter Text

Mk was fucking furious, and hurt.

He was lied to by this blue bastard of a lion. He wasn’t trying to help Monkey King! Obviously not, how couldn’t he see through his lie?! He mentally beat himself up over it, considering he should’ve been smarter about going into some magical prison like that scroll, too.

“I saw it, here, whatever this place is. Him and these other demons, wanting to take down the Monkey King! Macaque was there, too!” Tang admitted, watching the lion intently while he practically repeated everything that’d been said at the meeting. But.. if the real Macaque had been in the scroll, how the hell did it make sense that there was another Macaque at the same exact meeting he’d watched?, “That was their plan all along! To trap Monkey King in the scroll, and do something sinister. Something bad, Probably!”

Mk watched the way the lion demon’s eyebrows furrowed, and yet all he could do was avoid eye contact with the entire group.

That, of course, pissed everyone off. Especially Sandy, considering he was still genuine friends with the golden monkey. Yet the gentle giant didn’t stray far from his nature. The others, however, were furious that their trust had been betrayed. After they so easily gave him their trust, he’d betrayed them. “See! He’s basically admitting it!” the dragon girl shouted, pointing at the demon angrily. “And to think I modeled my brand new sword after yours! Ew, gross!” She turned away, and crossed her arms.

Azure sighed, lowering his head. Yet he still stayed adamant in his decision; it was for the better that Sun Wukong was left in his scroll.

“It wasn’t my intention to deceive you,” the lion demon admitted, “But I knew that you guys wouldn’t understand. Sometimes it’s easier to ask for forgiveness rather than to ask for permission.”

Darkness fell over the area, leaving everyone briefly confused. After a moment, Mei became focused again, and taunted, “Ooh! Well then, I hope you won’t be upset when I don’t ask for permission for this!” 

She leaped forward, with no regard for safety or the fact he could potentially have worse planned. She aimed straight for his hand, which he saw coming beforehand. 

He pivoted to the side as she flew right past him, and unlocked the scroll before she could even attempt to get it from him. She saw the ink from the corner of her eye, so she landed and kicked back around. But she was suddenly stopped when her sword slammed against something that she severely doubted was a blue lion’s flesh, considering how hard it was. “Huh!”

She breathed out heavily, squinting at the brightly glowing object. 

“Greetings, little girl!” a voice spoke, as the light dissipated and it revealed another demon.She was flung off after a bird demon thrust their wings out. 

“What’s your deal-!” The Samadhi fire flared for a moment before it was doused by her practicing calming exercises. The ones that Redson taught her. Her old friend. 

Friend? Was he still a friend? He’d cut her and Mk off, as if he never did anything wrong either, and let them take all the blame. Yes, they were to blame for most of what happened. The mountain being burned down, though, was only half their fault. They hadn’t heard from him for a bit, and she briefly wondered where the red haired demon had gone off to. Perhaps he’d opened that shop with his dad again, or he was busy building vehicles. They’d have to reconnect later, when the Monkey King wasn’t monkey-napped by some insane lion demon..

“Well,” a voice hissed from the darkness that had fallen upon them earlier and snapped Mei back from her own thoughts, “Always such a delight to see you, Azure Lion..” Even without seeing his face, anyone that knew him could tell for a fact that he had a mocking grin on his face. Or, that’s what the Monkie Kids thought, until the dark furred monkey launched at the blue lion, and he was glaring with contempt. Sandy was surprised when Macaque used his shadow portals to drop Xue into his arms, but he caught her thankfully. She chirped loudly at the river demon and snuggled against whatever part of skin she could find, funnily enough. In any other situation, he’d find it adorable, but they had to deal with Azure.

The lion demon looked absolutely miffed. “Liu’er Mihou.. I thought I might run into you, hanging around Sun Wukong still,” he replied drily. His hand-like paw twitched, whether it be from anger or annoyance was still a mystery. “What do you want, Mihou? Are you here to try to take back your king? Because rest assured, I won’t let that happen.” Azure was probably trying to provoke the shadow monkey, and it was working if the way his eyes narrowed with vicious annoyance. He looked about ready to rip the lion’s head off.

“I’m going to take him back,” he replied somehow nonchalantly, sifting through the shadows, a cool breeze stirring as he swept by. He ended up behind the Monkie Kids, his lips curling upwards into a smile that could make anyone’s blood run cold. “You know, there’s a reason, in the end, that he chose me. You might try as hard as you’d like, but I will do everything in my power to get him back. I won’t lose him again.”

Azure glared at the taunting monkey, tossing the scroll up instead of replying. An elephant demon came out of it, much like the bird bitch had. 

“Oho! What a kind way to greet the people who’d taken you in all that time ago,” Peng sneered, rolling their eyes. Watching them roll their eyes without even a second thought pissed Macaque off, because they didn’t even show any regard for the fact he’d grown powerful in their absence. He made a mental note to beat Peng’s ass later, after him and the Monkie Kids have won.

“Really, Peng?” he hissed, drawing his shadow staff. He watched them try not to laugh at him, that fucking prick. “No one took me in, dumbfuck.” He was stopped from speaking again when Mei cleared her throat, “Ahem! Anyone mind explaining what’s goin’ on?!”

Sandy glared at Azure with a hatred he had been so sure he would never feel again, but was apparently wrong. Sure, he’d made a vow to stay the gentle giant, not get caught up in violence and so on.. but he was a hero. Sometimes, you need to do what you can, when someone’s in danger. 

That being said, they had to do something. So Pigsy, Tang and Sandy all jumped at them, hoping to be enough to overpower one at least. Their primary goal was to take down the enemy and get Wukong back, so that’s exactly what they hoped to do. 

Sandy was the first to notice the swinging mallet, pushing Tang out of the way so he wasn’t killed upon impact. And then he realized he still had Xue.

Sandy and Pigsy took the brunt of the attack, sending the pig demon flying back. He landed with a thud, skidding across the ground before looking up to see his big friend holding his ground with his crescent staff. But with a little more force, even the staff couldn’t hold him back. Sandy was forced into the ground, seemingly helpless against the elephant demon.. and still holding the cub. She was mostly unharmed, aside from the drag of the mallet that had the sharp part and it cut right through her side—

Sandy couldn’t do anything through. She screamed at Yellowtusk, who immediately realized and stopped, but he was still down. Pigsy’s eyes widened at that, hurrying over to help the poor monkey.

This sure as hell wasn’t gonna be easy, all of them knew that. 

Macaque had just faded into the shadows before all of that, disappearing without a trace as Mei was down and Tang was pinned beneath Peng’s claws, the dragon girl met with a ji just inches from her face. Even she knew not to jump up now.

Mk held Xue, after Pigsy gave her to him. He knew more about monkeys than anyone else on their team, after training with Wukong for so long.. She didn’t know what was happening, why there was pain, or why red stuff dripped down her side. She cried out. And upon realizing there was a toddler, or cub, in the middle of a fight now, it just didn’t sit right with Mk. Not anymore, especially since Wukong was so careful with her to begin with. 

All Mk could do was rip cloth and tie it around her to help. They had so much to take care of and he couldn’t do shit because he was glowing, turning into some sort of monkey demon, and it hurt.

Xue also hissed at the golden light that shone every time Mk’s form flashed, squinting at the guy she hadn’t seen in a while as he flashed a bright golden light. “Azure, please!” he cried, holding Xue tightly so he didn’t drop her when his form swapped. Grunts of pain and protests fell on deaf ears, though.

“You have no idea how long I’ve waited to do this, how I’ve longed for this moment!” Peng sneered, leaning closer to Tang and pushed him further into the ground. He squirmed in terror beneath the claw of the bird demon. “Truly an honor, Tang Sanzang.” 

“Peng, stop!” Mk’s allies and friends were all surprised to hear Azure saving Tang’s skin, especially considering all the weird stuff that's been happening. Honestly, they were a mess compared to the opposing demons, and they’d been trapped for however long.. “That man is not who you think.” Peng heeded their friend’s command, laughing as they withdrew from their position.

“Took you long enough, brother!” they turned their head to face the lion demon, a wry grin on their.. beak. They finally retreated to reunite with the other two demons. “It feels like I’ve been trapped inside that cursed things for a thousand years!” 

As their chatter faded into the background, Mk looked down hopelessly at the monkey cub. As expected, she looked terrified. “Oh, Xue.. I’m sorry,” he whispered, hugging her closer. Where the hell had her dad gone? What was she even doing here anyway? He’d understand her accidentally getting sucked into the scroll and all, since she was with Wukong, but why hadn’t Macaque taken her to Bai He, or somewhere safer yet?

He didn’t realize he looked up at Azure, hopelessly confused, until he spoke, “Mk, I’m sorry things got so out of hand.” He was speechless, trying to understand everything that had happened. He protectively held the cub, and he saw Azure Lion finally realize there was a cub present. He did not care, at all. “Let me introduce you to my brothers! The golden Peng, Yellowtusk the wise.” He gestured to each one as he said their names.

“So, what?” the scholar pushed himself up to stare the lion demon right in the eyes, “This is just some elaborate plot to break your friends out of prison, or what?!”

“But why?!” Mk asked, bewildered, “You literally could’ve just asked, we would’ve helped or something!” He frantically looked around for a place to put the cub, before handing her to Pigsy despite knowing he wasn’t too fond of her. “We didn’t need to risk Monkey King!”

“He’s a villain, Mk!” Mei muttered, her eyes filled with danger. “We never should have trusted him!”

“Okay, okay. An explanation,” he held out the scroll, walking closer to Mk. “I owe you that, at least.” Mk tried to back away, opening his mouth to complain about him closing the gap. But the lion was quick, “If you’ll allow me”, and the scroll was quicker; within a matter of seconds he was surrounded with the slips from the scroll, and they were being brought into it again? 

But this time, they could see the stories of the past playing out. A young lion knelt to the ground in front of a lady with her baby–

“Is that..?” Mk exclaimed, staring at the younger version of Azure, the celestial warrior.

“Me? Yes,” he chuckled, watching as the scroll memory of him sheathed his sword. “I was once a celestial warrior, fighting to protect the weak,” he glanced at Mk, his smile falling into a scowl. “Or so I thought, anyway. Over time,” there was a jump in time, and the same young lion demon knelt before the Jade Emperor, “It became clear to me that the Jade Emperor’s only concern was keeping his subjects under his boot.”

The lion demon looked back as the images of the past switched again and Mk’s face fell, grimacing at the.. disorderly celestials. “He cared not for the plight of those he ruled. And then, I learned of the Monkey King.” The way he said that name to the young adult felt nostalgic, in a way. He watched the past Azure stare at the monkey, an adoration in his eyes. “..Whose only allegiance was to his people! He’d made his land a paradise. I knew from the start, here was a warrior with my ideals. A brother.. a king.”

Mk felt uneasy about all of this. Surely, something was wrong– Wukong never mentioned any of this, at all, to him. It wasn’t like he was so forthcoming about his past, either, but he surely would have mentioned Azure and the brotherhood if he really thought of them the way Azure said he thought of Wukong!

Another change in scenery. The small monkey stood on the table, and everyone was laughing, drinking, having a good time.. even Azure. “You all seemed so happy,” Mk muttered, a disbelieving frown on his face. 

“We were,” Azure replied with a sorrowful and longing sigh. “We were gonna change everything. It was glorious.”

“What happened?” he glanced up at Azure. “What changed?” 

The lion held up one of the slips, and they faded into a scene with battle and war. Images of each of their own going against the celestial warriors, and so on. “We followed the king into rebellion. Victory was near, almost in our grasp! But, in the final moment, the monkey king failed.” Mk’s eye was trained on Azure, feeling worse and worse with every bit of information he received for some reason, “He wasn’t strong enough to defeat the Jade Emperor. The battle was lost. Our cause was destroyed, and our king struck down.”

“However, fate had one last, cruel twist for us. Sun Wukong now yielded to an agent of the celestial host. Another warrior for the oppressors. Even so, our cause still burns strong in our hearts. While Sun Wukong cut down our kingsmen, we set ourselves on a greater path; if the Monkey King could create a paradise on Earth, so too could we! Here, Camel Ridge. But,” he sighed, “the celestial realm did not abide the competition.” Mk watched as the memories went from the three demons he’d met, Azure, Peng, and Yellowtusk creating Camel Ridge to them, again, fighting the celestial realm. 

Or.. It was Tang Sanzang, Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing, and Sun Wukong. “My former brother was sent to destroy us, and all we had built. It was with their combined power that we were cut down, imprisoned within the scroll, left at the mercy of the celestial court.”

Within no time, they were back at the present. And Mk had so many questions.. and doubts. “..That can’t be true,” he muttered, looking down at his hands. “Monkey King’s a hero, he wouldn’t just–,”

“You saw it with your own eye!” Azure insisted, eyebrows furrowing. Peng sighed, rolling their eyes, “Save your breath, Azure, you can’t expect Wukong’s friend to understand this.”

“His betrayal, his brutality! He took the only friends I had from me. I would have done anything in my power to bring them back,” he clutched the scroll tightly, “But it wasn’t in my power. It was in yours.” 

Mk felt like his whole world had stopped. That’s why Azure used him to get the two other demons out. He didn’t actually have anything bad planned! Other than kidnapping Wukong, anyway. He stared at the lion, dumbfounded, as he continued.

“You saved my friends, you returned them to me! And for that, I am eternally grateful.”

“Great!” Pigsy chimed in, holding the cub, “You’re grateful, you got your friends, we’re done here right?” he rushed out, even though he knew it was far from over, “I’m sure Monkey King’s learned his lesson, so just give him back, and uh.. We’ll see you around!” 

And Xue stared at Azure, knowing something was off. He had her mama.

“I’m afraid not,” Azure grimaced, flicking a pebble at the pig demon but missing and hitting Xue. He didn’t show that he cared much, though, “It was Piggy, right? We haven’t been properly introduced, but uh.. No, Monkey King didn’t understand then. I’m certain his position on the matter hasn’t changed since.” The lion glared at the scroll in his hand, looking at it as if it offended him. 

“And uh.. What matter was that again?” Pigsy asked angrily, his hold on the cub tightening when she hissed in pain. Something was going to happen, he could tell; especially when Azure’s glare turned right to Xue.

“We’re finally going to finish what we started!” Peng declared, pointing their ji at the ground aggressively.

“They’re right. We are no longer going to stand by as the celestial realm acts with palace impunity,” Yellowtusk said. And thankfully everyone understood exactly what that meant. A war. “It’s time for the Jade Emperor to be dethroned.”

“I cannot allow anyone to stand in our way. Until this is over, Wukong must stay in the scroll,” Azure holds Wukong’s part of the scroll up, as if brandishing a piece of meat in front of a starving pack of dogs, without letting them have it. And Mk wasn’t having it.

“..Let Monkey King go.” His fist clenched, and his eye narrowed at the lion. In turn, Azure sighed with exasperation, “Mk, please-,” but he was interrupted by the strange monkey form he’d acquired in the scroll taking its appearance.

“Careful, boy. My patience isn’t endless,” Azure warned.

“I won’t let you take Monkey King away from me again,” he snapped, jumping forward to take the scroll slip that held the golden monkey in question. He only got so far, though, before Peng leaped in to push the monkey back.

“Okay, I’ve seen enough!” they bark, punching Mk in the gut and sending him flying back. The force of it leaves no one holding the piece of the scroll.

Azure takes hold of it, with his brothers trying to keep the young adult away from him, but he easily slips right under them and goes in for an attack on Azure. And just then did the shadows start warping around them again.

Macaque leaped out as well, seemingly following Mk’s tactic and keeping him distracted while Mk tried to go for the slip. Macaque jumped at any chance to attack an opening, while Mk slid right between his legs and kicked them out from under him. Azure was outnumbered, and he fell. The piece of the scroll was tossed up.

Macaque sank into a shadow portal, growling at the lion as he reappeared right next to Mk, after the kid had launched up to grab the small piece of the scroll. They both were coming in for the grab, but Azure swung around with his sword at the last moment. And Macaque saw that, and he had a split second decision to make. He pushed Mk out of the line of fire when Azure’s sword sliced against the air, but he wasn’t quick enough–

The slip split in half. The slip holding his fucking mate, split in half.

Even Azure noticed his mistake, as both monkeys dropped to the ground. “Oh!”

The group crowded around Mk, Mei in the front, as normal. “Hey! Get away from our monkey man,” she barked, wincing at the pain in her side.

“No, no! This isn’t what I wanted,” Azure hissed, picking up both halves of the broken piece. Macaque’s face darkened, and Mk gasped, realizing that Wukong’s piece was now in two. “All you had to do was wait! After this was over, I was gonna let him out, and help him see reason! Now– it’s impossible! Not after what you’ve done!”

“We can get him back, right?” Pigsy asked.

“We can fix it! Maybe we can find some magic tape!” Sandy suggested.

“I don’t know!” Azure admitted, holding the broken halves carefully. Until Macaque approached him.

“He’d better be safe, or I fucking swear to you, there will not be a day I won’t hunt you down to hurt you thrice as much as you’ve hurt everyone here, including Wukong. And even ask every single one of them; when I promise something like I just did, I don’t just half ass it. I will make your life miserable.” 

He ducked just in time to dodge the khakkara that Yellowtusk had snatched from Tang via magic. “Hey! My golden dangly stick! What’re you doing?!” the scholar cried, glaring at the elephant demon.

“Your ancestors were the agents of the celestial realm,” Mk groaned as it sounded like yet another rant about the celestials, “Their weapons forged by the heavens, wielded against the weak. It’s time that was reversed.”

Azure looked down at the broken piece of the scroll wistfully, regretfully. “I’d hoped to mend the fracture between myself and Sun Wukong,” he said sadly, before putting on a braver face and turning his head up, “but his legacy will live on in our victory. Brothers, it is time to go.”

“Hold up,” Peng said angrily, “We’re just gonna leave the kid out here? With that amount of power?!”

“This isn’t his fight, Peng. Just more victims of Wukong’s blindness.” Azure muttered, grimacing. “Give him this charity. Leave him be.”

After a moment, he turned his head to mention one last thing. “But beware, my charity is at its limit. Stay out of our way.” He growled when Mei began to defy again, quickly shutting her down. He clutched the broken parts of the scroll, before the three demons vanished entirely into a white light.

While the entire group was talking, Macaque snatched the cub back and disappeared into a portal within just a moment.

“Great, just fan-fucking-tastic!” Mei crossed her arms, “What are we meant to do now?! Monkey King could be dead for all we know, and Macaque just up and left.” She took a moment to sit down and breathe, while Mk was struggling to even stand upright. He panted, fallen on the ground. He almost even missed Pigsy checking in on him.

“..No matter what I do, it’s going to lead to pain.” 

..

Was this how Wukong normally felt? “That’s what the Lady Bone Demon said. It doesn’t matter if I wanna help or not, it just makes it worse!” he mutters, frustration finally bursting at the seams.

“You’re all stuck up in your own head,” Mei tries to provide comfort, but it doesn’t work. Tensions were high and it just felt like they were yelling at each other. “None of this was your fault, you can’t let her define that for you!” She tried to reach a hand to her best friend, to try to comfort him somehow, but he just threw his head back, covering his one good eye.

“It’s always my fault, Mei!” he shouted, tears pricking at the edge of his eye. “Ever since I picked up that stupid staff,” he was stopped short by Pigsy, so he wiped his tears away and listened to the pig demon with doubt.

..Until he said he knew what he was going through.

“You have no idea!” he snapped, putting distance between them. “Oh, you have scary demon ancestors? That just means you have family. I have nothing. You come from somewhere, I don’t. I don’t have anything. And the most messed up thing,” he ranted on, his emotions getting the better of him, “I never even questioned it. I just.. Always thought I was ‘Mk the noodle delivery guy’, nothing more and nothing less! Not where I come from, or why. Until I know what I am..” he stepped toward the edge, holding his arm. He took a shaky breath. “What my ‘destiny’ is.. I can’t risk hurting the people I care about the most. The ones I have left.” 

“Mk, don’t–,” Mei pleaded, “We can figure this all out!” She ran forward, reaching to try to take his hand, or something, to keep him near. In all honesty.. she was seeing her mistakes from before flashing right before her eyes. She was realizing how badly she fucked up, this time. How badly this would end. “Please,” she begged quietly, grabbing onto his sleeve.

But he threw her hand off of him. “I need to clear my head.” Pent up energy exploded, blowing her back and lashing at her exposed skin. “Wait..!” she called, but it was no use. He’d already been flying away, in his bird form.

She stared at the fading glow, her heart dropping every moment until it was out of sight and her heart weighed heavy. She felt tears prick at her eyes, especially when she turned around to find Pigsy sniffling.

“Doesn’t that moron know that we’re his family?” he says breathily, sniffing again as he stared at the exact place where the dark haired kid had disappeared.

That’s what they were. Family, through thick and thin. Tang placed a hand on his shoulder and tried to offer what little reassurance he could muster in this.. tough time. Mei and Sandy followed along and brought him into a hug. 

“C’mon buddy, he didn’t mean it. He just needs a little time, like he said,” Sandy patted his head softly. “He’s just at that age where his body’s changing into.. A hairy magic monkey man!” That… left them more confused than before. But oh well.

“Eh.. we should probably go after him, right?” Tang asked, receiving a firm nod from everyone.. But they didn’t get far before they were transported by magic somewhere else. Not again..

–

Mk sat alone. Or, mostly alone. Until a little monkey came up to him. Just before this whole..ordeal, they’d just begun inhabiting Flower Fruit Mountain again; a place once thought of as peace and escape.

“Hey little guy,” Mk smiled softly as he held a hand out. The monkey still recognized him, somehow, and pushed his face into Mk’s palm. “Where’re your friends?”

The monkey chittered into his palm, sitting down politely. When Mk removed his hand, the monkey curled up behind him. He knew who was lurking around the mountain, at that very moment.

Chapter Text

Mk peeled a banana, given by the small monkey that’d approached him earlier. That monkey kept the rest of the bunch for themself, but that was fine. The last thing he could think about was eating. 

He was tired, and alone. His entire life had flipped on him after the whole Lady Bone Demon incident, which still haunted his nightmares. That’s one thing both Wukong and him could agree on at that point; that whole situation had been nonetheless traumatizing, and not at all handled well.

Not that he blamed Wukong for it. He knew that the monkey had tried his best, for being unsocialized for years upon years. He mostly blamed himself

He didn’t really think too much, either. Especially not about that plan the whole group had made. He didn’t think they’d get involved to the point of paralyzing him, nor did he expect his best friend to try to kill him. Maybe he should have, though, considering she’d always been protective of him. But he only meant to bring it far enough to make him consider getting therapy!

He sighed, watching the setting sun. “Do you think Monkey King ever felt like this?” The question was rhetorical– obviously, considering the monkey couldn’t speak to him. “Maybe that’s why he stayed on this mountain,” he continued, turning towards the habitant. “Just having a good time with you guys, maybe, ‘cause he knew he’d be out of the way.. Where he couldn’t hurt anyone he cared about.”

He only just then realized, this mountain had been inhabited for quite a while.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything more stupid than that, and I listen to Wukong blab his mouth all the time.” The mountain scenery turned purple. Mk knew exactly who it was, it was a no brainer. And he did not want to deal with the drama.

“Stop!” Mk hissed, honestly surprised to see that the dark furred monkey had deliberately followed him. “If you’re just here to– mess with me, then..” he retorted, standing up defensively as he began to glow and flicker all over again. Knowing that monkey who’d been quicker to violence than his old mentor now, there were a whole plethora of reasons he could’ve come to beat the shit out of him for.

Xue getting hurt, Monkey King’s scroll being split in half, the whole situation beforehand.. so, so much.

Mk sighed, and sat back down on the ledge. “Then go for it, guy. I don’t care anymore.”

Macaque’s eyebrow raised. And then he laughed, which made Mk snap back to look at the mystic monkey, annoyed that he was laughing at his defeat. What else could he do, though? “So, you finally understand?” He asked, squatting next to the kid. “Don’t you realize, Xiaotian?”

“Realize what?!” Mk snapped back, glaring at the dark-furred monkey. “If you aren’t just going to say it, then no, I won’t realize anything! What is up with you all speaking in riddles all the time?!”

Macaque glared at him. “How can you not realize this is pretty much the same place you put Wukong in, not too long ago? He let you guys mess with him, until he couldn’t handle any more. I know he said he only realized it after a long while and put an end to it right when he found out, or something, but he’s not fucking dumb. Like you guys seem to think, anyway,” he retorted, his eyes narrowed and fixed on the kid. Taking every little bit of reaction in, from the scoff to the way he uncomfortably squirmed where he sat. “He knew, probably from the moment he could smell that damned guy, Tang, and the rest of you in our room the next day. Which, by the way; low blow. Really? You wait until I’m in the damn shower to do it? Did you just, what, think I wasn’t gonna know?”

“And now, he could be dead, for all we know.” The harsh reminder from the dark furred monkey stung, like salt in an open wound.

Mk opened his mouth to respond, but Macaque immediately shut him back up. “You’ve had some nerve, kid. Maybe even more than I do, and that’s quite a lot,” he said, acknowledging the kid’s foolishness, “but you need to learn when to pick your battles. This isn’t my battle. I’m not here to scold you, or bring you the pain you deserve.. Even if I so wish I could.”

Mk looked up at him, from where he sat. “You’re not?” 

His question lingered in the air as the dark furred monkey grimaced, his eyebrows furrowed. He was angry, but not here to hurt him. His sense of hope, even if just a little bit, had been replenished. “Then why are you here? And where’s Xue?”

Macaque raised an eyebrow. “She’s safe, with Chang’e. Why?” His tone was a little accusatory, without even meaning to be– he just knew, never to trust this kid. Mk understood, though. He was a little miffed about it as well, but he knew he had absolutely no right to be. He looked over the horizon, the sky alight with a lucid, wavering sunset.

“I was just worried about her. She got a pretty bad cut, I saw,” he mumbled, the feeling of guilt and blame washing over him. He distantly registered Macaque walking up to him, feeling eyes trained right onto himself judgmentally, almost even scornfully. His form calmed down, though, no longer flashing into two different species.

“You know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you might’ve even put yourself into Wukong’s position.” His voice was soft, but not full of pity; in the end, he really couldn’t bring himself to care. “Well, come on, misery kid. I have something to show you.”

Mk didn’t know what he expected from Macaque. But when they plunged through the shadows so suddenly, and they ended up inside the monkey’s shared home.. he could say it definitely wasn’t that. 

“What are we doing here?” he asked, glancing around at the little bit of a messy home. Crayons laid on the floor, the monkey’s bedroom door was ajar and there was a cool air that confirmed that the home hadn’t been used for just a couple days or so.

Macaque walked over to the television. “I have something for you,” he replied, tossing Mk a headset and a controller. “Put it on.”

The kid looked at him, rather confused. “What does this have to do with.. saving the world?” he asked, or rather demanded to know. Macaque huffed, and with a roll of his eyes, he started the so-called ‘game’.

“Less talking, more doing. It doesn’t matter what I say about it, as long as it teaches you a lesson in the end.” He watched the kid, his gaze fixed into something akin to a glare. 

When the game started, Mk had to physically suppress a laugh at the art style, not wanting to piss off the shadow monkey more than he already had. He felt like he was walking on thin ice around him, and he very much was; there was no telling if the guy would attack him, like he’d tried, all that time ago when they’d ‘accidentally’ poisoned and paralyzed the monkey king..

“I know your latest discovery has thrown you for a loop,” Macaque admitted. It’d thrown everyone for a loop, truth be told. He tuned out his staticky voice from the game, “Between that, and Azure, and the Lady Bone Demon tryna get inside your head. But you know what– just play the game. That’ll teach ya everything you need to know.. for once.” He paused for a moment, before adding on with a smirk; “Besides, I put a lot of work into this.”

“Oh, yeah, no. I can definitely see that,” Mk replied, drolly staring at the headset’s screen while actively putting in a valiant effort not to laugh at the drawings. Macaque watched as Mk skipped all of the informational pieces, and he put his head in his hands.

“You know, I’m starting to see why you never understand stuff, kid.”

– 

At Camel Ridge, Azure stood at the edge, peering over into their torn down ‘paradise on earth’. Many thoughts plagued his mind, but the recurring one was, “Wukong.” He wasn’t even aware he was growling, at all.

But he could practically see the russet-furred monkey, clear as day. How he’d helped the celestial realm, and not the people he’d sworn his allegiance to. He didn’t even look remorseful about it, instead he looked how one would imagine a stoic hero to be. And if Azure knew one thing, it was that Sun Wukong was not a hero. He never had been, and he never would be.

Because hopefully, he’d remain in the scroll until the end of time.

He was wrenched out of his thoughts when he heard the familiar sound of wings gliding through the air, followed by his sworn brother landing behind him. Peng made a noise of disgust, “What a dump!” Azure spared them a passing glance, his fists clenching as he tried to focus on the here and now. 

“Can’t wait to say goodbye to this dirt pile,” they said, ever talkative.

Azure simply let their words go in one ear and out the other. Because all he could think about was how he was going to beat the jade emperor, and prove Wukong was ‘weak’.

Why were all his thoughts about Wukong? 

“Yellowtusk,” Peng turned towards the elephant demon. “How are we traveling, darling?”

Yellowtusk was using a spell, and he’d just finished drawing it out when Peng asked. He stood up, determination in his eyes. “Just finished up.”

And that’s all the time they had before they were in the celestial realm, fighting against who they thought to be corrupt and unjust. Azure used the scroll of memories to his advantage, trapping the majority of the warriors inside the inky prison. 

Peng and Yellowtusk beat the rest back, the bird demon smiling deviously as if they were the fucking antichrist. Ne Zha was by far the bravest, being the only one running toward the fight.

“Stand your ground!” he ordered the celestials, “We must drive them back.” He avoided Azure’s slips of the memory scroll, leaping at him from above. Of course, the lion blocked it with his own sword, “You will delay our victory no longer,” and even sent Ne Zha flying backwards with the slash of his sword. 

Nearby, Redson witnessed it. The hotheaded demon, having his parents taken from him and submersed into the scroll, was quick to join into the fight with the revered celestial prince. “You!” he shouted, “I’ll make you pay for that!” He used his fire powers as a boost to propel himself towards the opposing lion, trying to go in for an attack, but he was held away, by a strong hand. Or.. a paw. 

The laugh of the lion was the last thing he heard, before– 

“No– No!” he shouted, realizing he was joining his parents in the scroll.

And Ne Zha watched. He watched in anger, frustration, and sorrow. He quite liked that kid.

–

After the whole Mk-flying-off-into-the-sunset thing, the rest of the group was brought, or rather abducted, by Shifu Subodhi. There, they were told they were training for the battle that was yet to come, but Mei in particular found it to be nonsense. While they were supposed to be meditating, the dragon girl stood up abruptly and began to walk off.

But Shifu Subodhi was all knowing. “Annnnd, just where do you think you’re going?” he asked, only one eye opening.

She turned around, crossing her arms with frustration. “Ugh, we can’t just keep sitting around doing nothing but meditating, or whatever! We gotta get up there and stop Azure!” 

When he only replied “Yet you are not ready,” she was quick to pull the sword out and point it at the Shifu Subodhi. 

Tang stammered, surprised she’d go that far, and he briefly wondered if she was still going insane or something. “Mei! What-What are you doing, raising a blade to the great Shifu Subodhi!?” he exclaimed, pointing at the man.

“What’s your deal, guy?! If we don’t go and end this, the world will end first!” she got angry, eyebrows furrowed at the unfazed mentor.

“Still, you have learned nothing,” he claimed as he pushed the new dragon blade away. “If you leave now, you’ll be giving yourself up freely to meet your own demise.” A crash of thunder accompanied his warning, making it all the more ominous.

Tang looked around nervously. “You– You’re right, Shifu. Perhaps we aren’t ready. We might be clumsy, and kinda figuring things out as we go,” he admitted, “But it’s worked out for us so far! At least, usually.” He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to ignore the unimpressed look the great master gave him. And well, it might’ve stung, but it was true. 

Sandy spoke up, “And with our revered master’s training, then surely we stand a chance!” He was trying to keep optimism at a high, because he knew Mei was right. If they didn’t do anything and quickly, it wasn’t going to be only them meeting their demise. “Personally, I’ve never felt more in sync with you guys than I do right now.”

Mei stepped forward, not backing down even though she’d practically proved her point already. “Even if we don’t have Mk or Monkey King, we have to try!” 

And, well.. Try as they might, they still had no way of getting there. They realized that when they stood at the edge, and they had absolutely no way of getting down from the temple of the tilted moon and tilted stars.

“Uh, usually when we need to get somewhere, Mk does that weird monkey magic thing with the stick and makes one,” Pigsy said, as they looked out into the nature-filled horizon. “How are we gonna get to the celestial realm, if we can’t even get outta here?!” He gestured at the very, very obvious heights. “If we fall, we’re pancakes!” he exclaimed.

Sandy said, “It’s my turn!”, and just like that, the stars that the Shifu had awarded him all flew into the sky, building a vehicle out of… star stickers. A blimp had been made, sitting there in the sunlight.

“Uh, can you just.. do that?” Pigsy asked, changing back into his normal clothes.

Sandy shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know. It just kinda happened.” That tracked, with the odd group’s ‘history’.

“And ya just had to make the world's smallest mode of transportation ever!” Pigsy shouted, bonking the river demon on his head.

“Let’s hope this works!” Tang said nervously. He leaned outside of the blimp, holding a hand out and praying those powers he’d had earlier would work again. He was briefly reminded of how he’d used them against the golden monkey, and he felt guilt creeping up on him, but he had to push it down. He had a goal right then, to save the world from destruction, bestowed by Azure Lion.

He formed a spell that was supposed to bring them right to the celestial realm. They zipped right through the portal it made, eliciting shouts of surprise from each of them. 

The moment they flew right into the celestial realm, it stopped all other action in their wake. “Hello, celestial realm!” Mei shouted, a huge grin on her face. She was atop the blimp, and lights (that may or may not have been for dramatic purposes) shone on her, illuminating her during her little monologue. “Sorry for rockin’ up late to the porty, we were just busy nailing our training montage, boi!”

Azure growled, drawing his sword back. “I told you to stay away! What sort of fool would–” he began, but was abruptly cut off as Mei leaped down and landed with one foot to his face. He dropped his gigantic sword as she flipped off of him and whipped around, immediately zipping up to him and cutting the broken scroll pieces off of his belt. 

Azure nearly fell over, watching as she stole the monkey king’s scroll and tried to regroup with the others. But just behind her, there was a loud noise that shook her as dust and debris nearly got in her eyes. Yellowtusk swung his mallet at Mei, while she tried to run away.

At the same time, Peng decided to pick a fight with Sandy. Pigsy jumped in to help Mei, but they were still cornered. 

But, no one had eyes on the scholar.

Tang ran up to Ne Zha while everyone was distracted, taking in the sight of the battered celestial prince. “Ne Zha, are you okay?!” he asked, before grabbing ahold of one of the golden feathers pinning him down and pulling.

However, the prince put a hand on Tang’s arm, with an eerily serious expression. “Leave me,” he replied, “You must help your friends.”

Tang laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. “Ahah, I’m sure they’ll be fine!” he said, just before Sandy was thrown into the stairs, right next to the prince and the scholar. They’d been beaten, and Mei had accidentally let go of Wukong’s scroll.

Tang’s breath hitched, as he realized they may never get him back, now that Azure had the scroll slip back and he would expect just about anything from them anymore.

“I spared you once, mortals,” Azure spoke, creeping forward. His gaze was dark, as he stepped past the king’s broken scroll piece. His tone was ominous, “And I warned you not to rebel.” He was surrounded with glowing blue scroll slips, which clearly meant something bad. “You did not heed that warning.”

The slips flew forward, directed at each their own target. Sandy, Pigsy, Mei, Tang, Ne Zha. The celestial prince hurried forward, and he slashed them all in half in a desperate attempt to save the mortals.

But even after that, he leaned on his staff heavily. He was injured, and the mortals observed that it was pretty bad. “Guh.. you should not have come here,” he said, his voice strained as he turned back towards the group of heroes. “I must stop them from reaching the jade emperor!”

Pigsy retorted, “Yeah! But what if you can’t!?”

Ne Zha looked directly at him with a piercing glare. “That is not an option.”

Mei understood. She impulsively jumped to the front as well, taking a fighting stance. She knew if it were anyone close to her, she would do anything to protect them. Like Mk. Or Pigsy, or Tang, or.. Sandy, even if he’d kinda been shunned from the group.

And Monkey King, whom she’d greatly wronged.

–

Mk couldn’t stop choosing the wrong answers. He’d chosen to rescue the fair maiden, but he still got sent to the end screen. 

“Augh, again?!” he groaned, throwing down the headset. “Hey, remind me how this ‘game’,” he emphasized the quotation marks, “is supposed to convince me I’m not destined to turn into an evil demon monkey thingy again?! ‘Cause every option I pick takes me back to this same screen!”

Macaque stood up and approached him, thrilled. “Hey, you’re finally getting it!” He put his arm around his shoulder with the same sarcastic grin he usually wore. “No matter what option you choose, you’ll always end up in the same spot.”

“Ohh, thanks Macaque!” Mk said sarcastically, fuming. “Congrats! You went through more effort than usual to make me feel like dirty dirt dirt!” 

Macaque raised an eyebrow, kind of confused. The only thing he could think was how the kid didn’t understand the point. How stupid!

The kid made his way to the door. “Good job! A round of applause!” he clapped to emphasize the point as he left; he was angry.

Macaque crossed his arms. He couldn’t be serious..

The dark furred monkey sat beside him, on a stone outside. The one Wukong had first met Xue on, as he’d been told. “Alright, misery kid. You were supposed to realize by now that the choices it’s giving you aren’t the only choices you’ve got. Life isn’t some prewritten thing like a video game, where you have to do what it says!”

Mk replied, “Okay! Well, kinda a weird and convoluted way to make a point. Don’t ya think?” He was still looking at the monkey with annoyance.

Macaque shrugged it off. Not like he cared much. “Whatever. Point is, it’s time to start making your own choices. Something I wish I’d learned to do a lot sooner..”

Mk looked at him, and his face softened at the grimace the dark furred monkey’s face held. Years of hurt and anger were clearly written on his face.

“You don’t want to fight Azure, ‘cause people might get hurt. You don’t want to not fight him ‘cause people might get hurt!” Macaque laid it all out for him, a hard to read expression on his face. “So, do something else!”

Suddenly, a loud crash came from the celestial realms, invoking his attention to shift.

“Only you get to decide who you are, kiddo.”

Mk knew he had to move, and he had to move now. Now was his time to ‘do something’.

Chapter Text

Mk knew what he had to do. He had to save Wukong, for real this time.

With the new ‘monkey form’, he’d gained access to powers he didn’t even know he could even have. He could feel celestial energy thrumming in his veins, which if he was being honest terrified him to no end. But he had to act fast, the king’s life was on the line and if he had to do one last thing for his old mentor, it was going to be this very thing.

In the heavenly realms, the fight was at a standpoint. The entire group was beaten into a corner, the mortals were heaving for breath as Nezha crouched before them, protectively. The lion was on an angry tangent about how the jade emperor could in fact help them, he just chose not to– and, he was right, of course.. but that would put so much more at risk, like for instance the chances of him being slain.

“The only thing he cares about is himself. This lavish palace is proof of that enough,” Azure said with disdain, “He has the power to do so much good in the world, yet he looks down at the weak and starving the poor souls who fight his wars for him! It’s despicable.”

Nezha grimaced, grunting as he tried to pull himself up, his spear being the one to help bear his weight. “Whether you like it.. or not, the jade emperor has a greater role in this world than you can even begin to comprehend.” He stood up straight, holding his spear to the side with a look of contempt and a fire-hot glare in his eyes. “It’s not something to play with, Azure Lion.”

“I guess I’ll have to find out for myself,” Azure replied, his voice holding promise of destruction and breakage.

Azure lifted his sword, way above his head, aiming to slam it down on the third lotus prince. But a flash of light with speed none other could compare appeared, giving others the false hope that maybe Monkey King was back and alright. 

Azure’s sword was knocked to the ground, and for a split second he feared the monkey demon was back to stop him. But Wukong was in the broken scroll, he knew. It wasn’t until the light flew right by, when he just barely managed to make out; Mk.

Several times, the boy had managed to attack Azure, too fast for the lion to strike back. And he was merely just caught off guard, as the kid struck in random places, not allowing him time to even guess where he’d aim for next.

With one final punch, Azure was finally doubled over, unable to withstand it anymore. A golden light flooded over the celestial realm, bathing everyone in the glare. A figure stood in the middle, blacked out against his shine.

Mk stood up, a heroic smile on his face while everyone was rooting for him. He heard vague words, ‘Mk!’ or ‘That’s my boy’, which just made him want to get this over with as soon as possible. He flew forward on the cloud, only to be met with a destructive roar from the lion.

Mk was thrown off, in front of Nezha and flickering between monkey form again.

“I cannot let anyone stand in my way, Mk– even you,” he said, as he reached for his sword.

“I’m not here to fight you, Azure,” Mk protested. “Don’t do this.”

But the lion’s patience was worn thin and cracked already. “Then you’ve come here to throw your life away, for nothing.” He drew the sword and sliced the air, uncaring to spare the lives of the mortals.

“Mister Tang, now!” Mk shouted. 

“Wait, no!” Nezha shouted in return as he noticed Tang using the great monk’s powers to form a transportation spell, to get them the hell out of there. But it was no use, one moment they were there and the next they’d disappeared, into a place that looked vaguely familiar to everyone, save for Mk. Mk knew the place like the back of his hand.

They teleported right into the Water Curtain Cave, spacious as it was. As soon as they were out of the danger and in the safety of his old mentor’s cave, he landed on the ground on a knee. As soon as he stood, however, his group wrapped themselves in one giant hug, tears maybe included. They didn’t take turns speaking, resulting in clamouring and words cutting in on others. 

After a moment, they all pulled away, letting Mk face Pigsy.

“We missed ya, son,” he said, his eyes glistening with unshed tears as he kept one hand on Mk’s shoulder.

But their moment didn’t last forever, not even close. “You fools,” Nezha hobbled into the clearing, using a rock as support as he tried to warn them of the consequences of their actions. “We should have stayed and fought to the end.”

“We wouldn’t have stood a chance against them,” Mk said carefully, turning to face the celestial prince. “If we stayed to fight, it wouldn’t have made a difference!” 

“So you’re just going to stand aside and let Azure become the new jade emperor?” the prince raised his voice, holding an arm over his stomach as he tried to move forward, clutching a wound. His rage filled gaze were pointed at him now.. 

“There’s only one person who ever stood against the jade emperor, and lived to tell the tale,” Mk said, his tone soft. He reached into his jacket, pulling out an object and holding it above his head. 

Wukong’s broken scroll slip. 

Nezha looked up, a bewildered yet astonished expression dawned on his face as he was met with the sight of his brother’s broken scroll. “Monkey King..” he mumbled, the realization of what Mk was doing finally hit.

He was going to bring him back. And they didn’t have long, they knew that much when the world shifted and everything started to fall apart. Cracks formed, the ones that held the world together and separated the third dimension from the fourth dimension.

Mk found himself getting more and more nervous, the longer they just stood around. They knew for a fact the interdimensional holes that were being ripped apart right through earth had something to do with the lion demon.

“Uhh, at least it’s pretty?” Mei tried to make their situation seem better, more light than just another ‘end of the world’ thing. It was to no avail. Lo and behold, Pigsy with his grumpy attitude had something to say to that.

“Oh, sure. If you ignore the strong ‘end of the world’ vibes!” he looked skeptically at where the tear between the dimensions had just mended together, before his gaze moved to Mei. Mei hopped up to check Wukong’s new home out. She ignored the others for a moment as she peeked inside the door, the entire thing was empty. “Huh. Someone’s got a new home,” she commented.

The third lotus prince gave her a weird look, confused what she meant by that. “Anyway, the pig man is right,” Nezha said, sitting across the clearing from the girl and the chef. “Azure underestimated the control it takes to wield the power of the jade emperor. If we don’t stop him, that power is going to tear this world apart.” He winced as his wounds shot a stabbing pain into him, making him double over with a pained huff, before turning to look at Tang. “Monk. The scroll. Have you repaired it?”

Tang held up the scroll piece, showing off the taped middle that was barely holding it together. “One repaired piece of magical bamboo scroll coming right up!” he said, holding it out for the celestial prince.

“You can’t be serious!” Nezha’s rather expected outburst had still caught others off guard, “There’s no way that’ll hold!” he exclaimed. 

Sandy stepped in behind Tang and said, “There’s nothing a little tape can’t fix!”, probably to alleviate some of the blame or anger off of the scholar’s back. After all, he understood Nezha’s temper being even thinner than usual, with the Jade Emperor’s position being compromised and taken over, and his brother being trapped in a broken scroll.

“Alrighty-!” Mk exclaimed, holding his arm out. “Now to jump in there and find Monkey King!”

 His grin faltered when Mei stopped him with a small “Wait!” 

“How do you know that Monkey King is still..” she asked quietly, trailing off with an uncomfortable grimace. Which quickly shifted into a somewhat vague frown, as all the possibilities she knew of that could have taken the king out flooded her mind.

“Wha-?” He said, “It’s fine! It’s Monkey King! That guy’s like, virtually indestructible. If he can withstand the Samadhi fire, he’s gotta be fine in there right?!” Neither of the friends, however, missed the glare from Macaque, leaning against a pole.

“Be that as it may,” Nezha cut in, “You have no idea what you’ll find in there once you’re inside. Or if this magical tape will even hold!” He looked at the rickety old scroll taped pathetically together with mere strips.

“Oh, it’s not magical tape!” Sandy unhelpfully supplied, and Tang tried to shut him up.

“Shshshshsh!” he tried to make himself louder than Sandy, but when it failed he tapered into nervous giggles. At least he tried, right?

“We have to at least try! He’d do the same for any of us.. I think,” Mk replied, urging the celestial to agree. He put his hands on his hips, as if stubbornly waiting for the prince to just say ‘you’re right, let’s try it’. Nezha lifted one hand to his mouth, biting his fingernail nervously as he mulled the consequences and the reward.

It took a moment, but he finally replied, “I suppose you’re right. It’s worth the attempt.”

Mk held a bewildered sense of pride. He’d convinced the hot-headed celestial to go through with his unfortunately impetuous idea. If he agreed, then it might just work out in his favor!

Beside him, a shadow portal opened up and the shadow manipulator was thrust out of the ground, arms crossed next to the kid. “Ugh. Let’s just go get him back,” he said, his face betraying his irritation yet the determination to get his lover back. Back from the dumb scroll he hoped to never see again.

Next to him, Mk exclaimed, “Wait you’re coming too?” His astonished expression only weighed down on Macaque’s will to actually get involved yet again. But unfortunately he loved Wukong and he wanted to help get the king out of this predicament and make sure he was safe. So it was fine..

“Eh.. if he’s lost in broken memories from his past, then who better to tag along other than someone who’s seen it all? Or at least knows about it,” he gave a pointed stare at the king’s old successor, annoyed. “Your knowledge of the journey to the west seems.. pretty selective.” 

The jab at what they’ve done made Mk want to defend himself, exaggeratedly stammering as he tried to protest. Ultimately, though, he agreed with the scowling shadow manipulator. “Yeah, okay. I guess I walked right into that.” He playfully wrapped an arm over the monkey’s shoulder, ignoring how he tried to shy away, and said, “Okay! Le’go!”

Tang took a breath and let go of the scroll slip, it floated to the middle of the magical spell, magical words glowing on the ground. 

From the middle, a beam of light flashed up, quickly engulfing both monkeys and fading into ink. Both pulled away from the disgusting, vile substance. They were in a black plane of nothingness for just a brief moment. They both looked around at the pitch black surroundings, as if they’d just woken up in the middle of the night with no lights on. 

Finally, though, the scroll contents formed. A solid ground appeared beneath their feet, landing them right in front of a very torn through waterfall.

“Wukong..” Macaque muttered, almost disappointed, yet at the same time his voice held pity that Mk wasn’t used to hearing. Not once when he and Wukong were still on good terms, nor after. “What have you done?” 

“Monkey King did this?” Mk asked, looking at the golden glowing tears in the world with uncertainty.

The monkey let out an exasperated sigh, eyes darting around as if to search the golden rips in the world for something he was missing. “It looks like he’s been tearing his way through his past, trying to find his way to..”

“Me?” 

Macaque lowered his head solemnly, silently acknowledging Mk’s question. “We have to find him,” he replied in earnest, “Fast.”

They both turned quickly, running in the opposite direction of the tears. But Mk paused, exclaiming, “Oh, there he is!” as he pointed at a monkey exactly like Wukong.. just younger. “That was easy.”

Macaque tripped and fell, just barely catching himself with his shadow portal. “Guh! Kid,” he hissed, “That ain’t him. It’s just a memory, and a pretty broken one, too. I really wish they used magic tape..”

Both of them looked back to see the memory restarting, golden particles coming together to form an image of the younger, even baby monkey leaping towards his friends. Of course, he could notice a difference in size, color, less scars. Maybe he just wanted it to be him, so he could know the king was alright.

“I’ll know the real Wukong when we find him. I can smell him a mile away,” Macaque concluded, arms crossed almost grumpily. To Mk, it kinda looked like the warrior hadn’t slept well in a hot moment, which only made him fear that he may not make it out alive, knowing around Macaque it was like he was literally walking on eggshells. 

His attention was drawn back to the broken memory when it exploded into nothing, leaving one monkey behind. The monkey looked very confused? Hurt? Scared?

“Hey,” Mk said, “That monkey is..” He squinted, trying to get a better look at the little macaque monkey. “He’s still here, Macaque,” Mk said cautiously as he slowly walked closer, crouching a couple feet away. “Hey, hey little guy..!” He reached a hand out, only to watch the monkey dart right past him and immediately jump on Macaque. 

Who looked tired of this already. “Alright, let's get moving,” he said after removing the monkey from his face, by his tail. He was obviously exasperated, yet again displaying his irritation as he walked away.

He could hear Mk ask, “What’cha trying to tell us, little guy?”, testing his patience. “Kid, come on! We gotta–”

He was immediately shushed by Mk. “Shshshshshshsh!” he said, watching the little monkey bound up to the edge of the rock and look back at him longingly. 

“I think he wants us to go in that.”

Macaque sighed, and went along with it. “Alright then,” he said, lips curling up into a small smirk as he turned his head to look at the kid, “You ready to become king of the monkeys?”

Mk’s reaction was a slow-minded gaze, and a stupified “What?” as he tried to process what Macaque meant by that. It made Macaque want to pull his hair out. It seemed no matter who he was around, they’d always be slow..

Macaque’s eyebrows furrowed. “Cause when Monkey King jumped through the waterfall, he became the..” he trailed off putting his hand to his face with a frustrated sigh. It wasn’t worth explaining it to him. “You really should read the book, kid. How do you do.. all that, and still haven’t read the actual book?”

Mk shrugged, frowning. He had only a couple of seconds before Macaque’s hand was on his shoulder, the monkey’s grip was deathly tight. Macaque propelled them both forward, through the crack-waterfall thing, eliciting a surprised cry from Mk.

And they were falling. They were falling from a random crack in the sky that spewed them out along with some water they’d managed to bring through with them. Mk’s shout grew more panicked as he fell closer and closer to a roof, landing on the green, hard surface with a thud. He fell on his face. “Oof!”

He didn’t hear Macaque land. “Euhh,” he groaned, as a massive headache became achingly present. Or, at least he hoped it was a headache. He could faintly hear the sound of the little mountain monkey. 

Macaque watched as the little monkey he was carrying chirped, bouncing off and running to the edge of the roof. “How’d this little guy get in here, anyway..? I swore they weren’t on flower fruit mountain.”

Mk pushed himself up, shielding his hand over his forehead as he peered over the town. Old day Chang’an, yet again. “I dunno! I thought flower fruit mountain was inhabited. Wait, look!” he pointed something out on the ground, and his gaze followed the direction of Mk’s finger.

The younger image of his lover, yet again.

“I am the monkey king! I’m speaking human! Don’t you like it?” the light furred monkey’s voice, different yet just similar enough, rang through the clearing. But, half the words were severely butchered, unable to be deciphered by the boy.

“Just another memory, bud,” Macaque replied nonchalantly as the people in the streets laughed. He walked through a brand new tear, right next to them. 

So Mk followed, nearly losing his balance as he passed from place to place. Seriously, how could Macaque just.. do this? He stood up straight after catching his balance, eyeing the shadow monkey suspiciously. Before he realized where they were.

“Ohh, Monkey King was so cute and cheeky!” Mk exclaimed, watching the memory play out as the light furred monkey balanced on a stick. “I don’t get it! I don’t get how he ever made anyone mad, or got so many enemies! He’s just so..!” Mk couldn’t express himself. He knew he was at the very most on thin ice with the king, but with the monkey king also still being his fixation.. it was hard not to find him adorable.

And then again, little monkeys were cute. Very cute.

“This is like, chapter one, kid. Again, really gotta read the book,” Macaque gave him a pointed stare, before yet another tear broke through right behind Mk, startling the living daylights out of him.

He was starting to get the hang of going through the magical rips. He walked through, playfully getting down and inspecting this one, looking for the memory. But all he saw was a white furred macaque, one he quickly recognized to be the six eared Macaque. 

Macaque’s face still didn’t betray any feelings for it, his usual and quite honestly moody glare ever present. Mk just looked closer, staring at the younger warrior, sitting beneath the shade of the tree. Neither could see what he was doing. They only heard when the king swooped in from the branches of the tree, shouting, “Macaque!! You doin’ okay, bud?”

Mk tried to hold in a laugh. “Hah! Bud!” Macaque glared forward, and the small mountain monkey chose now to reach down and stretch his mouth into a smile. But they were drawn back to the exchange on the other side of the tree.

“Welcome back, your majesty,” the younger Macaque replied, obviously pissed about something.

“Dahh don’t be like that!” Wukong replied cheerfully. “Eat some fruit, soak up the sun! That’s why I’ve been training so hard!”

“What, so you can be the strongest?” The accusatory question seemed to make Wukong nervous, because he laughed as he was trying to say “Noo..”

“Well, maybe a little bit. But that’s not the point! It’s so we don’t have to worry about anything or anyone ever again! Just live a lazy life, sittin’ in the sun, eating fruit and doing whatever we want!” There was a moment of silence before the younger version of his old mentor asked, “Sounds pretty good, right? Huh? Huh?” he dissolved into giggles, throwing an arm over the white furred monkey’s shoulder as he leaned forward. And they just barely came into sight, the monkeys looked so happy. “You’re a peach,” Wukong mumbled, his mouth full of what Mk assumed was a peach.

“..Why didn’t he just stop right here?” Mk asked, clearly feeling something from the interaction. “He was already so much stronger than anyone ever needed to be!”

“Wukong didn’t think so,” Macaque muttered, sparing one last glance at the faint, yet beloved memory, before turning away to walk through yet another tear. “He always felt he had to be stronger. More immortal.” 

Unfortunately, this seemed off from how Wukong originally acted when they were still friends. Friends, in Wukong’s mind.

“He was so terrified of mortality, he went so far as to take his name out of the book of the dead. But even that wasn’t enough.” The next memory they visited was in a mountain, Wukong clamped in between the chilly stone. He looked like shit, generally speaking, as time ticked away. The poor guy looked even a little frail, a testament to the truth of how the guards actually treated him beneath the chains of the Buddha’s punishment. 

After a while of silence, the familiar sound of a shadow portal came, and Mk looked beside himself to find Macaque still there, and the dark furred monkey just turned Mk’s head back again, directing it to the memory version of Macaque.

He emerged from the stone ground, holding something behind his back. “Yoo, hey bud..” he greeted the fallen king awkwardly. “I got you a little something.” He held out a peach, right in front of the king’s face.

Wukong lifted his head, and gasped. “Whaaat? For me? You’re not serious, that whole peach is for me? Bud, you shouldn’t have.” The way he spoke was aggravating, and very clearly sarcastic. He was angry at Macaque.

Macaque sat down against the stone mountain with a sigh, “Okay. You don’t have to be so you about it,” he replied, glaring up at the king.

“No, no! Honestly, this is exactly what I need right now! I’m trapped under a mountain, but the Six Eared Macaque brought me a peach! Hooray,” he hissed, exaggerating his words to convey his emotions to the other monkey.

Macaque only sighed, trying not to let the king provoke him. “You know I’d help if I could.” He looked up, hoping the light furred monkey’s anger would be quelled by his yearning reply. But no. Like any other time, it was a bad response. He could see it in his eyes, the king was changed from that young happy monkey he once knew.

“Oh sure!” those golden golden irises, engulfed by red, rolled with irritation. “‘Cause normally you just rush to my rescue!” Wukong snarled, rage filled eyes pointed right at who he called his best friend, the moon.

“Yeah, okay.” Macaque stood up, planning to leave before shit hit the fan and he started yelling back at the trapped monkey.

The present Macaque only stared at the scene, and Mk was unsure whether he was just disinterested, he was ignoring it, or he was getting emotional. Or perhaps all three?

“Well, it was great seeing you, bud. Just run off, like you always do,” Wukong called after the retreating Macaque. 

Yet this time, the white furred macaque turned abruptly and shouted back at him. “No, that’s you!” he hissed, “You’re the one who’s always running off, looking for more power, more sources of immortality! You’re the one who wouldn’t quit while we were ahead!” Mk watched the drama, his mouth hanging open at the escalation.

“Not the great sage,” it continued, the current Macaque watching with disdain, “He’s gotta drag everyone else into his mess!”

Wukong looked offended, glowering at the white furred monkey. “You’re not in this mess!! You’re still free! Everything I did was for us!” he shouted back, his face scrunched in rage. If he hadn’t been trapped within a mountain, he could have easily ripped Macaque’s face off within two seconds. Maybe that was the scary part of it, he supposed.

“You did it for yourself!” Macaque replied, baring his fangs at the king. “You’ve become like– this obsessive demon!” he snarled, getting a jaw drop from literally everyone there, save for the small mountain monkey who cuddled up to the current Macaque. Wukong’s fist unclenched as he jolted. “I told you, going against the jade emperor was a bad idea, but no! Wukong doesn’t listen to anyone. He just does whatever he wants!” 

Wukong growled at him, warning him to back off. But Macaque said, “You put yourself here.” He squeezed the peach, making the insides erupt from the dainty skin and splatter on the ground, before throwing the useless fruit against the marred stone. “Not me.”

And he opened a shadow portal, allowing himself to sink into the ground, and flee from the fight.

The trapped monkey swore at him, before shouting, “Fine, leave! I don’t wanna see your face here again, you big– d’ahh!” he hissed. But, after a moment, he let out a big sigh, his eyebrows furrowing. 

“I really wanted that peach..” 

Mk stared at the trapped king. So this is what being paralyzed brought him back to? He knew he never should have done that, but now that he’d seen the conditions the golden monkey was kept in, and the bad memories that were associated with it in the first place, he internally kicked himself yet again. 

But.. one question remained.

“So, Monkey King really was a bad guy?” Mk asked, not quite grasping what the memories were trying to show. The mountain monkey cooed sadly at the sight of their king trapped in the mountain, clinging tighter to the warrior’s shirt.

“That’s what I believed. What Azure would have you believe. But then, he met him.”  Macaque’s voice was hushed, “The monk.”

Within an instant, the memory changed; and there he was, the great monk himself. Standing with his golden khakkhara, he gently tapped the end onto the ground. The world began to shake, alerting Mk before the entire mountain exploded into chunks of rock and debris. 

Out of the stone, the monkey king arose, granted his powers back by the buddha once the monk had claimed the light furred monkey as his disciple. Forced to bow to the monk, Wukong didn’t look exactly thrilled to be there, yet he went without argument. 

Wukong landed on the ground after breaking out, bowing to his new master, the Tang monk. The debris fell all around them as the monk reached his hand out to help the monkey up from the ground.

Macaque scared Mk when he began to speak again, his attention having been diverted to watch the retrieval of the king. “Wukong was on a path of self destruction– we all were. But when he met the monk, it sent him down a different path,” he spoke quietly, low with indifference.

“Ohh, the path of the good guy!” Mk said, “Makin’ those good life choices!”

“Every choice has consequences, kid. For someone. As I’m sure you’ve figured out already.”

Mk gave a sheepish giggle, “Yeah.. yeah no I think I got that.” He followed the shadow monkey into yet another crack in the memories, golden light melting away into a desert. The mountain monkey draped over Macaque’s head, as he grimaced.

“This is Azure’s utopia. This wasteland is the price he paid to build it. He stole the energy he needed from everything around it.”

“..I thought he wanted to help people,” Mk replied, an expression of hurt crossing his face. “I thought he wanted to help Monkey King. He said he wanted to be the hero.”

“I’m sure he does,” Macaque replied nonchalantly, his tail swishing. “Everyone thinks they’re the hero of their own story. Azure’s always been good at convincing people he’s the good guy. He’s even fooled himself.”

Another rumble tore through the silence, before a crack formed right in front of them. Something told them that they were about to find the golden monkey once again. Macaque turned back to look at the kid, “It’s him.”

Mk looked at the warrior with a grave face. He’d wanted so badly to find the king, but now– he knew a lot more about his past. Which he stupidly neglected to learn about, other than the legend-crazy parts, the funny and the good. He realized that he was exactly like them.

He inhaled and exhaled, but nothing helped to calm the nervous roil in his stomach. All he could do was walk through, fading through the lights in search of the golden monkey.

And there he was, sitting on a rock. His head was bowed, and there were so many sounds going on, he wasn’t sure how the king managed to know he was right there. But the monkey turned his head, golden eyes staring right into his one eye, and where his other eye should be.

“..Kid?” he seemed surprised to see Mk, his old student. His emotions flared up again, as well, but he repressed them. Getting angry at him now did them no good, but he couldn’t even look at Mk anymore. “Why’re you here?”

Mk sat beside him, letting out a small sigh. “I came in to get you back out,” he answered, his voice small yet repentant. “And to apologize, thoroughly. Monkey King, I–,” he began, trying to tell him how sorry he was, how he was ashamed by how desensitized he was– as a hero, he should have known better, and he really did. But he was also young and ignorant and made some grave mistakes, and additionally he was driven by a possessed Mei to do all sorts of things to a monkey who could outlive it all. 

“Not the time, kid,” Wukong said, his gaze firm at his own hands. 

“Right,” Mk tried to hide his disappointment, turning his face away as his cheeks heated with embarrassment. 

“But, uh,” Wukong continued, “I appreciate.. you coming to get me. Thanks.” Mk turned his face back to Wukong and offered a small smile, yet the king didn’t return the gesture. He looked down, face resting a mixture of irritated and sad as he played with his hands.

“Is something bothering you?” Mk asked, vaguely aware of the piercing stare of Macaque’s fixed right on the two of them. The small, droll laugh from the monkey king made him feel bad once again. 

“No. I’m in a scroll of all these memories, all these mess-ups that led me here, and I’m having the time of my life,” he replied with a dry sense of sarcasm, crossing his arms over his stomach. “Yay.”

Mk’s breath caught in his throat. “Monkey King.. I know you’ve been repressing all of the bad stuff. I’ve done things I shouldn’t have, once or twice putting you directly in harm's way–” he started, before the king tried to shut him down again.

“Mk, no–,” he started, eyebrows furrowing, yet he still refused to look up. Not even when Mk blatantly ignored him yet again.

“--But one thing I learned about you is that you are strong. We can’t fix everything, not right now, and probably not ever, but I remember one of our training sessions after the Lady Bone Demon incident, what you said when I said I wanted things to stay the same. Even before the incident. I thought it was just a weird Monkey King thing, but you were right. We can’t fix everything, your mistakes or my mistakes. We just need to leave it a little better than we found it. As long as we stay true to that, we can deal with whatever comes next. We need you to be the Monkey King.”

Wukong was stunned into silence, his mouth hanging open a little bit. Within the brief pause, he looked back to see Macaque was similarly befuddled.

Mk held out the staff towards Wukong, the king finally looking up at him. Did.. the kid really try to give him a pep talk? Wukong rose to his feet, glancing at the kid who had once tortured him. His eyes then met his lover’s once more, who’d approached him by now, his arms carefully wrapping around the golden monkey in a relieved hug. 

The corners of his lips curled up into a smile, and he sighed, patting Macaque’s hand which rested snugly against his stomach. He glanced back up at Mk once Macaque released him, and he nodded. “Alright. Let’s go, then,” he said, holding his hand out for the staff to be returned. 

Mk smiled, handing it straight to the king.

Golden cracks split across the ground, creating a cracked webbed pattern in the stony clearing. Mk was once again reminded exactly how powerful the Monkey King truly was, his hand just barely brushing the golden-hooped staff on its own was enough to tear their way right out of the cursed scroll.

They landed once again in the clearing, Macaque and Mk next to Wukong. The king brushed himself off, a small grin on his face–

“Need a little help with the Azure problem?” he asked cheekily.

Before getting an angry punch to the shoulder by Nezha.