Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was another beautiful day in Megapolis City.

Sun from above.

Cars, bikes, and all manner of vehicles honking impatiently below.

Humans and demons mingled, going about their lives in relative peace and harmony.

And two giant serpents loomed ominously over the city, ready to destroy it.

Yep, just another day in Megapolis.

The creatures roared, causing tremors for miles as they lunged at their next target. Three old ladies facing away from them, practising Tai Chi with their little radio, not a care in the world.

The two serpents reared back and hurled themselves toward the building, kicking up dust, rocks, and even people.

But the serpents never hit their target because they were stopped.

By The Staff of The Monkey King.

“G'mornin' ladies!”

And its young protégé, MK.

“Morning MK!”

“What a sweet boy!”

“Such a dear!”

He shrank his staff, spinning it around and growing it again, before he blasted the beasts back. ‘Now, who sent those-‘

“MONKIE KID! It's your worst enemies, Jin-“

“And Yin! The Gold and Silver Demons!”

MK frowned. ‘Of course.’

The two demons yelled from a building far away. ‘Oh boy.’ MK looked at the defaced ad for beauty products behind them. ‘Kai isn’t going to like that. They begged me to do that ad.’

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“Free spa day MK! Free! Spa! Day! You have to do it! Come on! Be a good brother and win me a spa day!”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

MK sighed fondly at the memory as he hopped on his tuk-tuk and sped towards the demons.

“With our legendary Golden Serpent Shears, we'll give this city a nice little trim.”

“But a dye job's gonna cost extra, and the only colour we got is red!”

“Them some big scissors.” 

'How am I going to get up there?’

“You’re telling me!” Someone said, zooming past him on a jet.

‘Perfect timing Mei!’

“Anything else! Literally drive anything else, MK!” She laughed down at him.

“Hey! I'll have you know this baby's got loads of miles left in her!” Just then, the tuk-tuk’s engine sputtered as it slowed down. “Aw, man!”

A sleek, futuristic bike pulled alongside the tuk-tuk. “Looks like you could use a ride.”

It was The PyroShade Racer. It was

“Kai!”

“Hop on!”

MK didn’t hesitate. He jumped on, holding tight as the PyroShade shifted into flight mode. The two raced after Mei, joining her in the sky.

“Oh, no!”

“What are we gonna do?” Jin and Yin said sarcastically.

“Oh, what's this inside my pretty new robe? Aha! Ne Zha’s Universal Ring!” Jin tossed it at the trio but missed completely.

“Ha! That missed completely!”

“You can’t throw for shit Jin!”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

Macaque’s safe house was quickly becoming a safe home to Morro.

He hadn’t had a room of his own since he was a 9-year-old training with Wu. Now, he pretty much had a whole building, Macaque gave him no restrictions.

Walking out of the kitchen, he passed by his hammock and his "mini jungle" (which was only five potted plants Macaque! ⁽¹⁾). He made his way to the low table surrounded by mismatched cushions, pushing last night’s training scrolls onto the floor to make room for the tray of tea he carried.

“Want some? It’s Longjing.”

Red Son shook their head.

He shrugged, taking a sip of his freshly brewed tea before asking. “So what did she say?”

“Mother has agreed to train you, if only for a little while. But I don’t really see the point, you’re clearly skilled. If what MK and Kai said was true, your old master trained you well.”

Morro gave a faint smile, setting his cup down. “….It’s been a very long time since I’ve used my powers like this. To protect people, instead of causing problems.” He studied his hand, moving the wind around it. “I know there’s a lot more my wind can do. Macaque’s been helping but there’s only so much he can do with no wind powers.”

“So you want Mother to guide you?” They asked.

“In my realm, there can only be one wind user at a time. I never had the opportunity to be taught by another. It-” The building shuddered violently, cutting Morro off mid-sentence. Both of them jumped from their seats as the furniture rattled around them. Morro, quick with his wind, saved his gladiolus. ⁽³⁾  “What was that? Earthquake?”

“No.” Red Son glanced at the window. “Prince Ne Zha’s Universal Ring?!” Morro ran to the window too, turning to the fight in the sky. “Seems Jin and Yin came well prepared for a fight this time.”

“Should we go help them?”

“With Jin and Yin? Please! Even Noodle Boy and his idiots can handle them.” The building shook again as another magical item hit the ground. “Although your home might need the aid.”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

Jin and Yin kept throwing and throwing, still missing completely. Suddenly, the artefacts froze mid-air, hanging in the sky for a brief moment before gently descending back to the ground.

“You morons have no idea the power you’re just tossing around the city!”

“You almost killed my gladiolus! They’re about to bloom!”

MK gasped at the demon on a hoverboard with the widest smile. “RED! YOU’RE HERE!”

“I- well- yes, someone has to actually stop those things from hitting the ground.” Red Son glared at him.

MK shrugged sheepishly. “We were a little busy avoiding the magical artefacts.”

Kai glanced back at the wind user, surprised. “What are you doing here?”

“Came to see how you were doing. You looked like you needed my help.”

“Are your eyes broken? Where did it look like I needed your help? I’m handling it.”

“Really? Because last time I checked, I was the one who stopped all that stuff just now.”

“Yeah, with the fan I made for you. Like I said, I’m handling it.”

Morro chuckled. “Right. My bad. How could I be so blind?”

“Is that all you two got?” Mei taunted.

“Not even close!” Jin and Yin started throwing again. This time, things hit, destroying Mei and Red Son’s vehicles and sending the two kids hurdling towards the ground.

“RED SON! MEI!” Kai and Morro flew down, Morro catching Mei and MK catching Red Son. They landed safely on the ground, avoiding the falling debris.

“MY JET!”

“MY HOVERBOARD!”

The two fire users sat in the wreckage of vehicles, their heads hanging in despair.

“So what now?”

“Now, I do this.” MK slammed his staff on the ground, building a mech out of the broken parts. Mei and Kai hopped on as he took flight, stopping the blades of the scissors. He ripped them, creating twin blades of their own.

“Here! Comes!”

“Ah, bugger!”

“Mommy!”

“Chosen Weapon Trio Team Attack!”

With one strike, Jin and Yin went down! The dust settled, revealing MK, Kai, and Mei standing tall.

“We're saved! Our hero trio!”

“I always like that MK.”

“Mom! Look, it’s The Monkey Kid!”

“And his brother Kai! They’re so dreamy!”

“The Shadow-Fire Child wins again!”

“That’s our dragon Mei!”

“Way to go Monkey Kids!”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

His two best friends snapped pictures with the now harmless scissors as he spoke. “I wasn't really gonna slice 'em and dice 'em, you know? I just-I just thought we looked cool and edgy. But like what if this is the point in our hero's journey where things get a little bit darker?”

“Darker than it already was? I don’t see how that’s possible.”

“Never say never Red Son. Things can always get worse.”

Kai and Mei glanced away from Mei’s livestream. “You two aren’t helping.”

“MK, look around. Everything is as it should be, there’s been no world-ending catastrophes for the last month, and everyone is happy. That’s ‘cus of you!”

‘Mei is right.’ The last month, since The Lady Bone Demon has been fine aside from the occasional villain of the week. He and Kai have been training with Monkey King and working at Pigsy’s, He hung out with Mei and Morro a couple of times, and he even got to spend some time with Red Son.

It was nice.

‘I don’t want anything to change…..’

“Now chat, what do you think? Potentially Lady Bone Demon level threat pile?.... Test it? It just tried to kill us, chatter. Not sure we want to be playing around with it.”

“Yep, wanna lock those puppies up tight 'cause... “

“𝓓𝓮𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓷𝔂 𝔀𝓲𝓵𝓵 𝓯𝓲𝓷𝓭 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓼𝓸𝓸𝓷 𝓮𝓷𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱!”

“𝓟𝓡𝓔𝓓𝓘𝓒𝓣𝓐𝓑𝓛𝓨 𝓤𝓝𝓟𝓡𝓔𝓓𝓘𝓒𝓣𝓐𝓑𝓛𝓔 𝓕𝓞𝓞𝓛𝓢!”

“𝓝𝓸 𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓸𝓻 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓷𝓸 𝓯𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓭𝓼!”

“𝓘 𝓭𝓸 𝓹𝓲𝓽𝔂 𝔂𝓸𝓾.”

“𝓓𝓮𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓷𝔂 𝓬𝓪𝓷𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓫𝓮 𝓾𝓷𝓭𝓸𝓷𝓮!”

“𝓝𝓸. 𝓣𝓸 𝓹𝓪𝓲𝓷.”

He shook his head as the sounds of the past died down. “I have definitely had my fill of world-ending related activities this year….”

“I feel ya.” Kai nodded. “I had enough world-ending related activities to last a lifetime, and getting over them is never easy. I came here because I wanted an escape, but I only ended up…” They paused. “It…it’s not what I wanted when I came here…..”

“Hey guys, are you-”

“Yep! Because everything’s fine! I'm all good, all-good-all-the-time all good! Well, we'd better get this stuff to Flower Fruit Mountain!” MK quickly threw all the stuff and Kai into his tuk-tuk. “Monkey King will know what to do with all this stuff and only this stuff because everything else is fine and nothing has changed that!”  The two drove away from their worried friends.

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“But I mean things do change… whether we want them to or not.” They said on their way to Flower Fruit Mountain. “I know you hate when things change, but they do! And sometimes those changes are good, like- like that new arcade in Upper Megapolis and sometimes… those changes are bad, like friends not being around-“ The tuk-tuk jerked as MK stopped it suddenly.

“What are you implying?!” MK turned to him, eyes wide, face filled with anxiety.

Which made them equally as anxious, dashing all hopes of having this conversation. ‘Again…’ “Just saying.” They quickly waved it off, a nervous laugh escaping their lips

MK’s tension eased only slightly before he pulled Kai into a tight hug. “Oh good. It almost sounded like you were trying to tell me you were leaving and heading back to Ignacia.”

“Ha…..yeah…..why would I say something crazy like that…..”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“Wonderful, like I didn't have enough junk already.” Wukong watched his kids carry in the new pile with an annoyed frown.

“Maybe this will encourage His Majesty to clean this place up.”

“Oh Ma!” He laughed. “That will never happen.”

Ma’s shoulder slumped, Ben patting his back. “It was worth a shot.”

"Valiant effort."

Wukong joined the others, digging through all the junk. “Ho ho, Ne Zha's gonna flip when he finds out I have this!”

“Wait. Wukong! Don’t!” The ring shook the mountain as it landed somewhere in The Value. “Throw it.” Lui sighed. “Someone let The Construction Team know they got a hole in here to fix.” He called to the other Suns outside The Value.

“We’re on it!”

“Seriously though, this is a great haul.” He picked up a cape Kai had been eyeing and tried it on, posing dramatically.

“Yeah, we saved a bunch of people too!” The twins said, also posing dramatically.

“Oh yeah, you're doing good out there, bud. Real good. It's actually amazing how quickly you two are mastering your powers!” Kai only took 3 weeks to master all 72 transformations, something wimpy mortals take years to master! He was so proud! ‘That’s my Huahua!’ “When I was your age, I-“

“You were fighting the Celestial Armies and generally swinging your big, ol' tail around?”

“Getting what you wanted by any means necessary without a care?”

“Well, I was going to say making regrettable life choices but yeah, thanks for laying it out.” Wukong grumbled, his grin faltering. “I'm embarrassed to admit it, but you actually might have already done more for this world than I ever have.”

“Yeah, well, I'm kind of the one always getting the world in trouble to begin with, so...”

“I wouldn’t say that, Young Master MK.” Ma said, sitting next to him.

“I let DBK take your staff and use it to destroy the city.”

“Well, that's true- Ow!”

Ba punched him in the gut before turning to MK. “Let isn’t the verb I’d use.”

“And it was my hair that somehow made Spider Queen super powerful, who also destroyed the city.”

“Yeah, I still don't really get how Spider Princess did that.”

“And I practically gave Red Son the key that freed The Lady Bone Demon, who also destroyed the city!”

“That wasn’t your fault.” Ben replied.

“Yeah.” Kai tried to cheer MK up. “Technically, I was the one who was given the key and had all The Lady Bone Demon-related predictions, so if it’s anyone's fault, it’s mine….Oh.”

“Ah, you gotta learn to let that stuff go, kids! Besides, literally every one of those guys were people I rubbed the wrong way to begin with.”

“Yeah, you think thousands of years old demons would know not to pick fights with babies. ‘Specially when they’re as cute as The Young Masters!” Ba cooed.

“Believe it or not, I wasn't always the easiest to get along with.” Wukong added with a grin.

“What?! But you're always so cute and cheeky.”

“I know! Anyway, the point is mistakes happen but so long as you leave the world in better shape than you found it, then it's all good, right?”

“I guess…” Kai mumbled, still unsure.

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓹𝓾𝓻𝓼𝓾𝓲𝓽 𝓸𝓷𝓵𝔂 𝓵𝓮𝓪𝓭𝓼 𝓽𝓸 𝓸𝓷𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰. 𝓟𝓪𝓲𝓷.”

‘I can see why Kai hates this power so much…’

“Honestly, I'm kind of liking the world how it is right now, so if it could just stay like this forever, that'd be awesome.” He answered truly. The last month was the best time he had all year. ‘Why would I want anything to change?’

“Yeah, well. Forever's a long time, bud. Trust me.”

They returned to sorting through the new junk pile after that.

Ba, Kai, and MK amused themselves by playing with a few of the items, separating them while Ma, Ben and Lui took on the task of organising everything properly, all under Monkey King’s very unwatchful eye.

“Welp, think that's all of 'em.” MK dusted his hands clean.

“Hey guys, what’s this?” Ba pointed to something on the ground.

“Looks like a scroll to me, Little Brother.”

Lui joined the two siblings near the scroll. “If it’s a scroll, it should go with Min Yu in The Archives.”

Ma walked up behind him. “But it doesn’t look like a regular paper scroll.”

Kai picked it up, studying it. “Looks like a bundle of sticks to me. But then again, what do I know about scrolls?”

“Yeah, a magical bundle of sticks.” He said, grabbing it to take it from Kai.

“Magical bundle of sticks? What are you kids- MK! KAI! WAIT!”

The scroll unrolled with a faint hum and pulse of magical energy. They immediately dropped it as ink started to spill out, flowing less like ink and more like a living creature, an invasive force that just kept growing.

“Oops!”

“Uh oh! Uh, we did a thing!”

“EVERYONE! BEHIND ME! NOW!”

The Upper Court compiled, rushing over to Monkey King’s side. MK and Kai moved to follow them but

“Aha!” Kai tripped. A hand emerged from the large, wet pool of ink, pulling on his leg. “Fucking gross!”

“KAI!” He doubled back for them, pulling on them while they shook it off. The hand sank back to the depth of the ink pool. But now it was bubbling almost as if it’s taking shape, trying to form something...

or someone.

Demon after demon emerged from the pool, moaning and groaning, their bodies dripping with ink. They sloshed and squelched together, shapeshifting into another creature entirely.

“Demon Bull King?!” Kai yelled.

His inky claws sharpened, attacking the two. Monkey King swooped in, nearly avoiding the attack. He dropped Kai and MK from his arm and tail respectively.

“But I-I thought we were cool!”

“I don’t think that’s the real Demon Bull King, MK.”

The gurgling and plopping don’t stop, being joined by laughter and screaming as ink shifted again to Princess Iron.

“𝕐𝕠𝕦'𝕣𝕖 𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘!”

“Monkey King, what are we supposed to do?!”

To Spider Queen.

“𝕊𝕦𝕟 𝕎𝕦𝕜𝕠𝕟𝕘, 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕕𝕠𝕟𝕖?!”

“Monkey King?”

To….

“Wukong?”

"𝔸𝔸𝔸𝔸𝔸ℍℍℍℍℍ!"

“Macaque… I-“

“Wukong! Snap out of it!”

“𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕜𝕖𝕪, 𝕟𝕠 𝕧𝕚𝕠𝕝𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖!”

“NO!” The ink, now in the form of Ne Zha attacked, stabbing his spear. Only Monkey King, Kai and MK were able to avoid it.

“Wukong! WUKONG! HELP US!”

The ink covered everything it touched, slowly trapping them in a nightmarish hold.

“GUYS!” MK and Kai ran to save them.

.

.

.

.

But they were too late.

All they caught was ink.

‘no. no! No! NO!’

“𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕓𝕖𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕪 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝕓𝕣𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕤?”

“𝕊𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕔𝕒𝕟... 𝕟𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕖!”

The ink sploshed again, forming an inky ji. “Uh oh!” MK felt Kai protect his body with their own as the ji came down, but the hit never came.

“You know, you make a couple of mistakes in your life, no one ever lets you live it down. Looks like the ghosts of my past have finally caught up with me.” The ink won the battle, locking Monkey King in its grasp. “MK, Kai, you gotta seal that scroll, no matter... what.”

“What?!”

“But we don’t know how?! Monkey King!”

The ink corrupted him completely, sinking into the pool and being sucked into one of the planks. It attacked again, relentlessly, not satisfied until everyone was in its grip. The two of them dodged, running for their lives toward the door.

“All good! This is totally fine!” MK shouted, trying to reassure himself.

“We'll figure it out! We’ll come back from them.” Kai said, though his voice wavered. They reached the doors. “Quick, close them!” The boys pushed the door shut, leaning against it, gasping for breath. “Do you think” Kai panted. “That will hold?”

MK watched as the ink slipped through the door, splattering on the ground. “Doesn’t seem like it!”

They screamed as the door suddenly burst open, and the chase started all over again. They leapt through the waterfall, landing in the river outside. MK swam to the surface, only to realise he was the only one above water.

“Kai!” he called, panic rising in his chest.

Without thinking, MK dove back down, resurfacing with Kai on his back. They panted, trying to catch their breath, as the ink slammed against the Water Curtain Barrier behind them.

Chapter Text

The Solarium was the grandest hall in all Flower Fruit Mountain, reserved only for the biggest parties and celebrations. But that night found them dining around her table.

 Lanterns hung from the ceiling high above, casting a warm, inviting glow. A gentle breeze flowed in from giant holes carved into the mountain to act as windows, and the table before them was piled high with fruits and food gathered and made by The Suns for Wukong’s guests.

Speaking of Wukong, he sat where he usually did, at the head of the table. Azure sat at the other end, enjoying the conversation without adding to it. DBK and Peng sat across from Yellowtusk and him.

“Such foolishness!” DBK roared with laughter, even though he had already heard this story earlier in the week. “Now, tell them what you said next!”

Wukong jumped up on the table and began. “You dare insult me, you old cad?! I shall henceforth be known as The Great Sage Equal to Heaven! I will muck out your pony stalls... no longer! Monkey King out!”

The table exploded in laughter while Macaque rolled his eyes with a smile.

“Wukong, we're to believe you gave The Jade Emperor such lip?” Yellowtusk asked.

“Well, I'm paraphrasing, but you get the idea. They're calling it The Havoc in Heaven!”

Peng chuckled again. “What an insolent, little chimp you are!”

“You're really going through with this?”

“Correction.” Wukong finished his gourd of fruit wine with a belch. “We're really going through with this! Like always! You and me, partners in crime! Lovers, towing the line between cheeky mischief and total disaster!”

“That’s here on Flower Fruit Mountain. Look, Wukong, I get you're excited, I do. This is different from us ducking our responsibilities sometimes. Crossing The Jade Emperor is gonna have consequences. For us and- you're not listening.”

He sighed as he watched Wukong goof around with DBK, who shook with laughter.“Hilarious little monkey! The Jade Emperor missed out on making you the court fool!”

‘They don’t understand…’ None of them do. Yes, the way heaven treated mortals and demons sucks, but fighting The Ruler of Heaven? All of The Celestial Armies? And winning? Facing such odds and coming out on the other side seemed impossible.

.

.

.

Someone was bound to die.

Hell, they were all bound to die. It’s why he hasn’t checked their future. He was terrified of hearing one of his friends dying.

Himself dying…..

Wukong….

‘What would happen to their eggs then……will they die before ever seeing their kids?.....’

“You always were the most cowardly of the bunch, Macaque. Slinking around in the shadows like a rodent.”

His jaw tightened. ‘Or maybe he’ll get lucky and hear Peng dying instead. Ha! That’ll be the day. He, Lui and Ben could throw a party.’

“Well I, for one, am done with squabbling for scraps.” They continued.

“Indeed. The Jade Emperor and his followers have lorded long enough with no regard for those they rule.” Yellowtusk agreed.

“The realm is well overdue for new leadership, and I think we all know the best man for the job.”

“Aw DB! When did you become such a big sweetheart?”

“Not you!”

Peng nodded. “Gods no.”

“Will you two have some faith in me? I was a god! I run an entire kingdom! We are in it right now!”

“A true leader should be big, strong, and handsome-“

Wukong flopped into his lap and pouted. “I’m all of those things.”

“Well, you’re actually pretty small.”

“But I’m strong and handsome though, right Peaches?”

“Yes, at least I sure think so.”

“Like Azure Lion!”

“Yes! Huh, Azure would look perfect on the throne!”

“An ideal figurehead indeed!”

Azure smiled and laughed, talking for the first time in a while. “I'm flattered, truly, but were it not for Sun Wukong bringing us together, I- Without you, none of this would be possible.” Azure watched Wukong, his gaze tender and his voice soft. “Your courage to stand up to The Celestial Host has inspired us to finally take a stand. To make a true difference in the world. And I could think of none other more suitable to lead us on our conquest than you.”

“Aww Azure! Alright, if you insist!” Wukong stared up at his glare. “Relax, Peaches. When this is over, we’ll be back here, basking in the sun, getting fat on fruit for the rest of... well, forever! Like we always wanted. Just you and me...and ours.”

He couldn’t stop the smile breaking on his face. “Whatever you say, Wukong.”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

Kai and MK led the others to the abandoned Solarium, the furthest point from The Vault as they could get. They sat on one of the old chairs, staring at their phone as the others talked around them.

“So, you're saying you unlocked a cursed scroll and were attacked by DBK, Iron Fan, Spider Queen, Ne Zha, and some other demons you've never seen before?” Mr. Tang asked.

“No, I'm saying we were attacked by ink versions of all those ones you just said.”

“And that Monkey King was sucked into an ancient scroll that you found in that stuff Jin and Yin chucked at us.” Mei added and Kai looked up, nodding.

“And now you're thinking Tang's gonna use his newfound powers to free our Mystic Monkey! Right?” Sandy asked Mo, who shrugged.

“And uh, if that amazing plan doesn't work?” Pigsy asked.

Kai groaned. “Well, I was hoping we could ask Iron Fan and Demon Bull King for help. But Morro won’t answer his phone!” They put away their phone and grumbled. “The first time I actually want his help and he no shows. Unbelievable.”

“Oh right, Red told me to tell you that Morro’s super tired from training so don’t expect anything from him for a while.”

“When did they tell you that?”

“They shot me a text.”

Kai frowned disappointedly. ‘....wait disappointed? Since when am I happy to talk to Morro?’

“Don't worry about it guys! I figure this is just another cheeky, little adventure! If fighting Lady Bone Demon was a marathon, this is like a-a-a half marathon.”

“Preferably a quarter marathon.” They mumbled.

“Yeah, ideally less, you know? Short sprint.”

Mei pulled the two of them aside. “Uh, you okay, my guy?”

“Yep!” MK ran off towards the vault.

“MK! WAIT!” They ran after him, catching up to him in front of the closed doors. Standing there were three monkeys, deep in conversation, discussing their next move.

“Tinker!”

“He’s right Tinker, this isn’t the time to panic.”

“I’m just saying.” His tail wrapped around him. “When Wukong made us an auxiliary court, I never expected to ever actually come into play! None of us are fighters!-”

“I can fight! I ain’t weak! And you ain’t either Sun Tess!”

“-What if something attacks us and we’re-“

Sun Xiang rubbed Sun Tess’s back. “Tinker, Breathe. Wukong wouldn’t have made us The Lower Court if he didn’t think we were capable. Ma, Ben, Lui and Ba all trust us to run things if they ever couldn’t, so that's what we’ll do. We’ll keep Flower Fruit afloat until they get back, but we need to have our heads on to do that.”

“Well said Xiang!”

“Guys!”

“Mornin’ Lil’ MK! Lil’ Kai!” Sun Bo, head of The Construction Team and the mountain’s very own swordsmith, called out. “You’re back sooner than I thought! Got a plan I reckon!”

“Yep! Are the…ink demons?”

“Gone.” Tinker nodded.

“We came to check awhile after you left.” Xiang said, watching the door. “They were gone, and we closed the door to ensure nothing got in or out. Everyone has been banned from Water Curtin Cave until further notice…..”

“You three should leave, too. It’s safer outside the cave. The mountain can’t lose The Lower Court too…”

Xiang nodded, sighing. “Young Master Kai is right. The Lower Court has much to do with The King and The Upper Court missing.”

“But don’t you go worryin’ yourselves too much Lil’ Masters. Leave the other Suns to us! You just focus on your fancy plan to bring the others back!”

“We wish you good luck Young Heroes.” The three started walking away until Tinker turned. “And don’t feel bad Young Masters. No one blames you. Things like this, kinda just happen when you’re a Sun.” He turned and ran out after the others.

MK and Kai stared at the door, filled with anxiety. They glanced at each other, nodding, before pushing it open to find an ink-free room. “Okay! No ink demons! Phew! When we get Monkey King and The Upper Court out, we're gonna look back and laugh. Oh, how we'll laugh!” He leaned again Pigsy and forced a laugh.

“Kid, you’re scaring me.”

“Whoa! Monkey King is a hoarder.”

“Hey, I think I found the scroll.”

“SANDY! WAIT!”

The scroll unravelled again, and the ink plopped to the ground, ink demons growing from the puddle as Sandy dropped it.

“Aight, Tangy, you're up!” Mei pushed Mr. Tang in front of them.

“Uh, give our monkeys back, or you're going to learn why they call me Mr. Tang!”

.

.

.

“Anytime now!”

“Give it a minute!”

The ink gargled as in grew again, changing shape into another person. Tang Sanzang stood before them, khakkhara raised. “𝕐𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕛𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕪 𝕚𝕤 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕡𝕝𝕖𝕥𝕖!”

Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing joined him, weapons at the ready.

“𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕗𝕠𝕠𝕝 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕟𝕠 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕘𝕥𝕙!”

“𝕐𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕗𝕖𝕒𝕣 𝕞𝕒𝕜𝕖𝕤 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕖𝕒𝕜!”

Even an inky Ao Lie came next, a bubbling, inky fireball aimed at them. “𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕒 𝕗𝕠𝕠𝕥𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕖.”

“Uh, I'm not sure my sweet magic moves did the trick.”

“You think?”

MK grabbed him and Mei, shoving them away.

Mr. Tang’s glasses slid across the floor, as he, Pisgy and Sandy sank into the ink. ‘…..no….’

“UNCLE, DAD, POPS NO!” At MK’s scream, the ink demons turn on them.

“𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕗𝕒𝕝𝕝!”

“NO!”

Slashes come from behind them, blasting the inky creatures back into the pool.

“What the hay?” A demon walked past them, confidently stepping up to the ink. "I want that!"

‘Who is the guy?.... And how did he get a sabre that could do that?!’

Ink shifted again twisting itself into the other demons they and MK saw last time.

“𝔹𝕣𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣, 𝕨𝕖 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕗𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕟.”

“𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕤𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕!”

“Forgive me, brothers.” He said before he swung his sabre around. ‘This guy is good! That sword work is nothing to scoff at! Why is he here?’ With the ink defeated, the demon sealed it, catching the scroll as it dropped. He glanced at MK and Mei, who nodded. ‘Good, we’re all in agreement.’

The trio ran, kicking him to the ground.

------☼ ☆ ☾------

He got distracted.

How careless of him.

“Hand over the scroll, children.”

Azure watched the children. They were clearly well trained, their stances were strong, a few flaws here and there like Xiaotian had too much weight on his left foot, but overall good.

The girl, Mei, if he remembered correctly, had her sword in hand. He hadn’t seen her sword work yet, but just by her grip, he could see she was born destined for the sword. And Huohua’s eyes held a sharpness only gained through endless combat. These children were battle-hardened…..

‘Wukong….what happened?....’

“No, you hand over the scroll, or-“

“We've got the scroll.” Mei whispered into his ear.

“We've got the scroll! Now free our friends, and I don’t let Kai suck your soul in his lantern.” He gestured to Huohua, their eyes and Macaque’s lantern already glowing.

“You expect me to believe you were not responsible for stealing the scroll despite it being in your possession?”

“Yup!” All three replied.

“We don't even know what this friend napper is, so there's that.”

“For all we know, you’re the one stealing the scroll.”

Azure Lion burst into laughter. He couldn’t help it! Wukong must have gotten sucked in before he could explain. ‘What luck!’

“He's laughing. Hey! Why are you laughing?!”

“Okay, okay. Let’s put down our weapons and start again.” He put away his sabre and waited for Mei and Huohua to lower their weapons, not put them away notably, but that’s fine. ‘They are only children. They just lost their friends. They have every right to be wary.’ “Let's see. You must be MK, The Monkie Kid, Mei, The White Horse Dragon Girl and Kai, The Fire Shadow Child, correct?”

“Tell us who you are, guy, before we mess! You! Up!”

“I've gone by many names. Perhaps the one you are familiar with is The Azure Lion!”

.

.

.

“Nope.”

“Drawing a blank.”

“Never heard of you.”

“Or... not, okay. In any case, I am here to help. The item that imprisoned your friends is a fragment of The Scroll of Memory, an ancient artifact stolen from The Underworld, The Land of The Dead. I am curious of how it ended up in Wukong’s possession.”

“You know Monkey King?!”

“Everyone knows The Monkey King.” He’d be hard pressed to find someone who didn’t-

“Kai didn’t.” Mei and Xiaotian pointed to Huohua, who looked surprised to be put on the spot.

‘Oh! Then what he heard must be true. Macaque really did hide the child in another realm before he was killed.’

“Wukong was once my sworn brother and a very dear friend.”

“Hmm, I see. Interesting. You know who else was a sworn brother of Monkey King? You might have heard of two little guys called The Demon Bull King and The Six-Eared Macaque?! And they tried to kill us many times.”

“Well, Macaque was only pretending to try and kill us.”

“My point still stands.”

“Ah, well. We all were sworn brothers but…. Sun Wukong isn't exactly the easiest person to get along with. He has quite a habit of keeping people at arm's length.”

The children frowned and glanced at each other. ‘It was a lesson they should learn sooner rather than later. If the love of his life wasn’t spared from his wrath, then…… he doesn’t see how his children fare much better.’

“We were young……. mistakes were made…” His thoughts went back to that day, watching Wukong and Macaque. ‘Opportunities missed.’ “... and some mistakes can't be undone.” ‘Some dreams will never come true.’

“Yo! So does that make you MK and Kai's sworn uncle? You two didn't tell me you had an Unckie Lion!”

The Twins blinked. “Hey, Mei, you know Monkey King's not actually our dad, right?”

“That scroll contains Wukong’s memories of his Journey to The West.”

Xiaotian flashed a smile much like Wukong's. “You're telling me that I'm holding The Journey to the West legend in my hand right now?!”

He smiled fondly. “That, and the great many other tales, I'm sure. 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 again for all eternity. In order to contain 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. Left unchecked, that curse would have spread, consuming everything until nothing remained. I thought I arrived in time to contain the curse, but based on your expressions, I would hazard a guess that Sun Wukong has already been consumed, along with your friends.”

“But it's fine, right? We'll just pop this bad boy open and get them back!”

“It's too late to save them. We can't risk unleashing the curse into the world.”

“Bullshit!” Huohua yelled. “We won't abandon our friends when they need us!”

“If your friendship with Monkey King meant anything to you-“

“Sun Wukong meant everything to me.” He interrupted him. ‘You have no idea, Xiaotian.’ “If your friendship is as strong as you say it is, then... perhaps there is a way. But we need to move now.”

“Wait for real?”

“You're actually gonna... help?”

“Just like that?”

“We…..are brothers. Nothing could ever change that.”

“Yes, yes, yes! Yes! Yes! We'll just go in after them, find our boys in a bunch of cheeky little adventures, beat the curse and bing-bam-boom, we're done!”

“I'll open the scroll long enough for you to get inside. But finding your friends, that'll be up to you.”

“We got this!”

“Let's go!”

“In order to escape the scroll, you'll need to defeat its protective curse, but it's going to take all your strength combined. Now, hand me the scroll.” The children didn’t move. “If we're going to do this, we need to trust each other.” Xiaotian looked at Mei, who gave a tiny nod and then Huohua, who shrugged and said.

“You’re always saying I need to trust people more.”

Xiaotian handed him the scroll after that. “Look out for one another. You can do this.”

“Thank you so much, Unckie Lion!”

“Alright. Ready? Good luck.” He said, opening the scroll.

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“Unckie Lion.” He quoted Xiaotian with a laugh. “What a silly nickname! Wukong, your children are truly a joy……… why would you curse them to live under heaven’s oppressive thumb? Have your mind been that warped?......No matter. I’ll rebuild the world, the way we always dreamed of.”

Chapter Text

It’s funny honestly.

How the past reminded him of his own beginnings.

The sights, the sounds, the smells, it all brought Kai back to Ignacia, which in turn brought him to what took him out of Ignacia in the first place.

“Whoa, I'm in the past!” MK smiled.

The surroundings only made him feel worse about the past he was keeping secret. ‘It’s not like I could tell him even if I wanted to now. We have to save everyone before I even think about going back.’

“There’s no wifi in the past! This place sucks!” Mei grumbled.

MK pulled junk and the few coins he had left from his allowance, slamming them down on the counter. “One ancient souvenir, please!”

“These aren't chickens. And what are these?” The shopkeeper gasped. “Demonic accessories!” The guards patrolling nearby responded to the yelling, quickly advancing towards them.

“We should run.”

“Yep!” Mei grabbed MK as they escaped into the winding alleyways. They reached a dead end just as Azure appeared.

“You made it in safely! Great! Mei, MK, Kai, welcome to Chang'an. I trust you've experienced astral projection before?”

“Yep.”

“No. Is this what dying is like?”

“No Mei, dying doesn’t feel like this.”

“A little astral projection never hurt anyone. Listen, I don't have much time. Remember how I told you the scroll has a protective curse?”

“And that it'll try to find and destroy us. Uh-huh, yeah. Wasn't really gonna forget that part.”

“Good. Try not to draw too much attention to yourself. The curse will be drawn to any imperfections it detects within its stories. So, for starters, we need to do something about those.”

“New outfits?” Mei squealed before high-fiving them.

“Oh yeah!” ‘New outfits were one of the best parts of a new adventure.’

“You betcha! I found some duds your size over in that trash pile.”

“Nope.” He turned around instantly, walking to the marketplace.

“Where are you going?”

“To steal the cheapest clothes I can find.” ‘They aren’t going to wear garbage for the foreseeable….past! Who did they look like? Cole?’

“What did I just say about drawing attention?”

“I can be discreet and what, you’re telling me no one got robbed in Chang'an?” When Azure didn’t answer, they smirked. “Thought so. See you later Unckie Lion!” They said, sinking into the shadows.

------☼ ☆ ☾------

They came back in a loose, blood red kimono top with wide sleeves tucked neatly into baggy, black hakama pants, all tied together with a white sash around his waist. It was a bit plain for his usual style but that was the point, to blend into the crowd. Plus, it was the cheapest thing he could find in his colour. MK caught them up on Azure’s instructions while Mei fixed his clothes.

“-If our bonds of friendship are as strong as you say, you will always find our way back to one another. Then he gave us these instructions.” MK slipped in his clothes for safekeeping. “Alright, find our friends, defeat the curse, and get back to the good old-fashioned story of the week. But where to start?”

“I’m ‘a clueless baby’, remember?”

“You're a big brain boy when it comes to legend stuff. Got any idea what chapter of The Journey to The West we're in?”

“Uh, I kinda just skip to the parts with Monkey King in them, but it's fine! Every-Everything will be fine.”

They passed by two imperial palace guards on a break.

“Did you hear? The Emperor’s sworn brother, what's his name again?”

“Tang Sanzang, right?”

The trio gasped, sneaking closer to the guards.

“Yeah, that's the one. He's been sent west to take some ancient texts to Thunderclap Mountain by The Goddess Guanyin herself.”

“Thunderclap Mountain? That’s on like the other side of the world!”

“Right. And everything outside of The Tang Dynasty is pretty much demon territory.”

“He's not gonna last two days out in the wilderness.”

“Isn’t Tang Sanzang Mr. Tang’s preincarnation guy?” They asked.

“Tang... Tang is Tang! Tang is Tang!” MK yelled.

“Our Tang's name is Tang!” Mei cheered.

“If he’s anything like our Mr. Tang, He couldn’t have got far!”

“To the forest!”

“LE'GO!”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

Tang Sanzang knew this journey wouldn’t be easy.  

However, The Goddess Guanyin didn’t explain what he was to do if he got into trouble before he made it to his first companion on Five Phases Mountain. He sat in a pot, surrounded by two hungry demons. His horse gone, the attendants sent with him dead.

“MK, look!”

“It's Pops! HEY POPS!”

He saw three human children calling out to him. ‘How strange?’

“Oi. Stay out of this, human boy.”

“Ain't nothin' getting between us and this delicious monk meat.”

‘Oh boy. What do I do?’ This journey is important. ‘But the truest journey is the one that takes place within. Every step is a step inward.’ So, he turned inward. ‘I’ll find peace in my final moments.’

“Violence is never the answer. If it is here, I am destined to meet my demise, I shall do so with dignity.” Even if he’s terrified.

“What?!” The children screamed before engaging in battle with the demons. “Here comes Monkie Kids!” The demons ran off, panicked. “Yeah, you better run, you fools!”

“Tang! Oh, thank The Great Sage you're all right! Why didn't you fight those guys? I mean, they were weaklings. Even you could have taken them. Am I right?”

‘Who were these children?’

“Young ones, although I appreciate your... assistance, you should have settled the matter without violence.”

“Uh, that was a... a weird way to say thank you.” The young boy said.

“Your outward actions reflect your inner state. You three are filled with torment, aggression, and hyperactivity.”

“What’s wrong with torment, aggression, and hyperactivity?” Another boy, an almost identical copy, replied, glaring at him.

“I hope you meditate that you can reflect on your past actions and find inner peace. Learn to choose peace, not violence. Many blessings young ones. I must be off.”

“Uh, Pops, it's us.” The first boy said confused. “MK, Kai and Mei, the lovable lil' scamps. Ya friends! Ya fam!”

“Friends? No. When I became a monk, I put aside all earthly connections in order to unburden my spirit. Earthly connections such as friends and family only serve to hold us back from achieving enlightenment.” The smile on the boy, MK’s face slowly faded, and sorrowful confusion returned. “Many blessings young ones. I must be off.” He resumed his journey, his gaze drifting to the sky. ‘I would be dark soon. I should reach the nearest inn before long-‘

His thoughts were interrupted by a commotion. A man tackled the children from earlier, yelling. “Oh, no, you don't! Get away from The Monk, demon spawn! Oh, you're just children so you're like regular spawn. My apologies, O wise Monk. Oh, perhaps you'd like to lodge at my home for the evening to get away from those, you know, fiends.”

“Hmm-“

“We'd love to!” MK interjected enthusiastically.

“Sorry about him.”

“Excuse us!”

Mei and Kai hurriedly dragged him aside, hushing him. After a brief huddle, they turned back with sheepish grins.

“And you won't even know we're there.”

“Shotgun the-“ Kai began, but Mei clamped a hand over their mouth.

“Shotgun the big bed!” She said before running off.

“Shotgun the big bed- Aw, nah, you got it, you got it.”

“Mei, you don’t know where you’re going!” Kai yelled.

“Oh yeah! Hurry up hunter guy!” She replied from afar.

Tang Sanzang sighed deeply, clutching his khakkhara. ‘This journey truly is my greatest test.’

------☼ ☆ ☾------

The hunter, Liu Boqin led them to his quaint little home nestled in the trees just off the path. Dinner time found them all at a solid handcrafted table, seated at mismatched chairs. Tang Sanzang marvelled at their design while the rest ate.

“This is the best mystery meat stew I have ever had.”

“Thanks, Auntie.”

Two of the children said, mouths full, eating like they never learnt table manners.

“Oh, uh, no stew for me, please. I'm a strict vegetarian. Eating flesh is an unvirtuous act against the body.”

“Yeah, I think I’m going to pass too. I’m allergic to mystery meat so-“ Kai said, pushed their bowl away before their brother? Friend? ‘It’s hard to tell when they look so similar.’ Shoved a spoon into their mouth.

“Nope, you’re eating it.”

“MK!”

“Start chewing.”

“Worry not, young sir.” A voice from his side croaked. Two of the kids jumped into the arms of the third at the sight of the ghost. “Allow me to fix you something else.” The bowl fell right through his translucent hands, smashing on the ground. “Oh, dear. Clumsy ol' Grandpa. I'll get a broom.”

Liu Boqin and his wife, Jing bowed before him. “Forgive us. We've lured you here under false pretences, O wise Monk.”

“It's my grandfather. He's a sweet old thing, but we asked you here in the hopes you might guide his spirit to move on.”

‘Oh my.’

“Oh, don't get us wrong, he's an absolute treasure, but-“

“This has been going on for years! Hundreds of smashed china sets! Wailing at all hours of the night! Floating in unannounced! Oh, we love him, but he's gotta go!”

“Oh, it's hard to hold things when you don't have bones or skin anymore.” The ghost lamented in the corner.

Mei laughed at that. “I like this guy.”

“I guess I should leave, but it's just so hard to say goodbye.”

‘Ah yes, the problem of earthly connections.’ “Earthly connections can only weigh us down. Of course, I will help. It's the least I can do to repay your generous hospitality.”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

Later that night, everyone gathered around Tang Sanzang as he performed a spirit-guiding ritual. Most were quietly watching, though Mei had drifted off to sleep.

He, however, was just so bored!

“Can't we blow through this a little faster?” He groaned.

“Everything in its right time, everything in its right place.” Tang replied calmly, not breaking his focus. “Don't touch a thing, it's working.”

“Agh!” This is the worst! He couldn’t remember Tang Sanzang being this mind-numbingly boring. Then again, he didn’t remember much about Tang Sanzang at all-

“𝓧𝓲𝓪𝓸𝓽𝓲𝓪𝓷.”

In an instant, the world around him shifted. Time seemed to bend and blur, pulling him into something deeper, something unfamiliar.

“𝓧𝓲𝓪𝓸𝓽𝓲𝓪𝓷.”

The name echoed endlessly, reverberating through fragmented flashes of the past.

Monkey King.

Two stones.

‘Huh?’

“𝕏𝕚𝕒𝕠𝕥𝕚𝕒𝕟.” The voice came again, this time from the ink itself, its call rippling through his mind.

He saw Monkey King again, shouting something urgent, but the words were swallowed by silence. The stones cracked, their joint power spilling out, raw and uncontrollable.

“𝔻𝕠𝕟’𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨?”

He stumbled back in alarm, kicking the khakkhara in the process. “Oops.”

“MK?” Kai asked, confusion and worry etched on his face. Mei jolted awake as the sigil on the floor turned blue. The wind around the picked up and the ghost wailed.

“Sorry! Uh, my bad! Get on outta here, nice Ghost Grandpa, sir. Go!”

“Go? Go?!” The ghost swelled to triple its size, eyes burning with fury. “I'm not going anywhere!”

“Ugh, crud.” The ghost took hold of his body, slamming him around the house. “Guys!”

Mei pulled out her sword as Tang Sanzang stopped her.

“No! No violence!”

“You're kidding, right?!” The ghost grabbed Mei too, throwing her to the wall.

“He’s a ghost! It’s not like we can hurt him anyway.” Kai got his lantern, trying to drag the ghost’s soul inside. “But I can definitely trap him.”

“If y'all don't like me hangin' round here, then maybe you should move out.” The ghost grabbed Kai, Jing and Liu Boqin, the three being tossed on the roof. “I'm not leaving my home!”

‘Oh no!’

“Mr. Tang- Tang- Monk!” Kai yelled. “You've gotta do something!”

“But I made a vow never to harm another soul.”

The trio moved around the room before finally bumping into each other, forcing them still. “Not everything in life is black and white.” MK said. “Sometimes we need to use our power to protect people we care about!”

“But-But all earthly connections must be put aside in order to-“

“It's never easy, but being there for your friends when they need you is what being a hero is all about.”

“That sentiment” The ghost threw the kids to the ground, towering over them. “is lame!”

Tang Sanzang faltered, watching the violent but wise kids who had been following him around all day, the weight of their words settling his mind.

As they fought

And he stood there, doing nothing.

‘Violence was wrong…….but not helping when someone need him was also wrong…..what do i-‘

------☼ ☆ ☾------

‘I want to be someone my son can depend on, all of my friends can depend on, the way I can always depend on all of you.’

------☼ ☆ ☾------

Chi erupted from him in a burst, severing the ghost’s hold. Everyone fell to the ground with a thud. Kai hit the floor first, instinctively catching Mei and MK, cushioning their fall.

“POPS!” MK scrambled to his feet, pulling him into a hug.

“MK? Or Kai? I can't see a thing without my-“ MK handed him his glasses. “Oh, thank you- IS THAT A GHOST?!”

Kai and Mei joined the embrace, wrapping their arms tightly around Tang and MK.

“Mr. Tang, you're back!”

“Now we can die together.”

He walked in front of his kids, terrified but determined.

“Looks like the magic boy finally got the nerve to fight.”

“Listen, you. Stop holding on to the past. It's time to go… But what I said before, ‘earthly connections can only weigh you down?’ Well, I don't believe it. Your time with your family was precious, and nothing will ever take that away. The memories we make with the ones we love, they're what lifts us up. Your time here is over. But that doesn't mean your story is finished.” The ritual sigil came back, only bigger and brighter. “You're not being cast out or pulled down. You are being lifted up. The next chapter is calling you to start a new adventure. It's time to answer the call!”

The ghost’s tears flowed as he shrank. “You're right. I can't keep holding on to the past when I can't even hold on to a plate. See? No bones, no skin. Okay, bye.”

“Bye-bye, boneless, skinless Grandpa.”

“I can't believe that worked!” MK and Kai said.

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“Thank y'all for everything, brave warriors.”

“And please don't come back.”

“Aight, Tangy. You ready for this?”

His dad looked up from the paper. “Azure's instructions seem clear enough. But if our bond of friendship is strong, we'll always find our way back to one another.”

“Hey MK, what was that back there?” Kai asked, pulling him aside, their face filled with concern.

“Oh! The past….I think? But it was different this time.…” MK said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “I saw something too. I think this ink is messing with me.”

Kai frowned, then rested a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Well…..let me know if you hear it again, I’m kind of the expert on hearing voices. With your past and my future, we could probably decode whatever it is.”

“Aye Aye Bro!” He ran over to Tang, Kai following. “Alright, off to the next chapter to find our friends.” Tang tapped the khakkhara on the ground, forming a bubble around them. “Here! Comes!”

“Monkie Tangs! AHHHHH!”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

The next few days? Chapters? Were filled with demons, fleeing for their lives, and screaming, lots of screaming. This chapter was an alligator-filled swamp, after screaming, getting to beat up and more screaming, the four got to safety, Kai bandaging him up.

“Dang, I had a really good feeling about this chapter! I mean pigs love mud puddles.”

“And snuffling for truffles.”

“THAT’S IT! THIS TANG HAS HAD IT! We've been through a bajillion chapters from Monkey King's Journey to The West and I feel like we're no closer to finding Pigsy, Sandy, Monkey King or The Upper Court. I'm tired, my feet hurt, and I've had this snake attached to me since we've been to the chapter with the snake village!”

“Ah, don't be like that Tang. It wasn't so bad. Those Snake Lady Demons were actually pretty friendly.”

“Actually, I’m with Mr. Tang on this one.” Kai said. “I don’t do well with snake ladies…..”

‘Thank God, one of his kids was on his side! Because MK seemed to forgot!’ “They tried to eat me!”

“It's not our fault you look so sweet.”

“I just wish we could find our friends and go home.”

“Okay, so I'm totally hearing your concerns and look, I get it! Learning to use your new powers is hard. Trust me, I know. I just think that maybe- and don't be offended by what I'm about to say- maybe if you spent a little less time complaining and a little more time thinky-thinking, then we might have found our friends by now? Maybe?”

“Hey! I'm following these vague instructions from this mysterious Azure Lion perfectly! We should have found someone by now. What did Azure Lion tell you, exactly?” He listened to MK recap Azure Lion’s words with confusion. “What? But-But I'm not learned in the mystic arts. I'm a cram-before-the-exam kinda guy. I can't really even use my powers when I want to.”

“Well, might wanna get cramming then, cram boy. Eh?” He glared at Mei before leaving.

“Hey! Where do you think you're going, young man?!”

“To get cramming, apparently! Hah!”

“Hey Mr. Tang, we shouldn’t split up too much.” Kai followed after him.

------☼ ☆ ☾------

The two walked to a different section of the swamp. They stopped as he watched his khakkhara. “If your bonds of friendship are strong, then you will always find your way back to one another." He said. “Here comes Tangy Kid!” He tried to cast a spell but summoned a golden cicada instead.

“Whoa. Cool!”

 “That's not what I was trying to do! Oh, stupid powers.”

“You’re being way too harsh on yourself, plus the little guy is kinda cute.” The golden cicada landed on Kai’s shoulder for a while before flying away again.

“I'll never get the hang of this. Oh, Pigsy, where are you?”

Kai walked closer to him. “We’ll find him. Don’t worry.” Kai flashed him a smile and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. Just then a trap triggered, hanging the two by their feet and sending their weapons to the ground.

“I really should have seen this coming.” He grumbled.

“No problem. I can get us out easy.” Kai smirked with a lit hand.

As Kai reached up to burn the rope, the trees shifted as someone approached. “Mei? MK? I sure hope it's you guys.”

They screamed but not for long as they were knocked out by a nine-toothed rake.

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“Mr. Tang!”

The world faded back in as he came to.

He could feel rope and cold metal pressed against his skin and the taste of badly cooked broth filled his mouth.

“Mr. Tang! Wake up!”

He opened his eyes to a skull floating in badly cooked broth. “What?! Where am I?!” He saw Kai tied up in chains, dangling from the roof. And- “Oh, Pigsy! I've never been happier to... see you….”

“Pigsy?” The demon turned, unamused. “Yeah, real original, Monk. You and your little disciple there are baskin' in the presence of none other than Zhu Ganglie. Former heavenly commander-in-chief of 80,000 Celestial Sailors and, more importantly, the greatest chef in all of China!”

“Oi, you open yet?” Zhu Ganglie threw his cleaver knife at the door and stomped away.

“Did Zhu Baije have a brother or something?”

“Zhu Ganglie is Zhu Baije before he met Tang Sanzang.”

“Ooooh. Then Pigsy must be.” Kai used their gold vision, his eyes glowing red for a moment. “Yep, Pigsy is in there alright.”

“Oh, if I could just reach my gold jangly stick.” He watched their weapons from afar. “But you can get us out of here, right Kai?”

His kid wiggled in their chains. “Vengestone…” he grumbled. “The past sucks.”

“Dinner will be served when I says it'll be served!” Zhu Ganglie slammed the windows shut.

“Dinner, you say? Oh, I'm famished. What's on the menu?”

“Um Mr. Tang…”

“….Ah, me! I'm the dinner. Excellent…”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

Ever since he got kicked out of heaven, he didn’t have anything, nothing but the clothes on his back, his rake and his love.

His love of cooking.

He always had it but no way to act on his passion in heaven aside from cooking for his crew. Here on earth, he kinda stumbled into it. Started small, just a handful of orders. Now he was big, he had it all.

He didn’t need Guanyin’s Monk.

Demons from all around came for his cooking!

If only his wife could see. His cooking wasn’t all bad! She just had terrible taste!

‘Oh Zhu Ganglie, I don’t eat monk meat, oh Zhu Ganglie, I don’t want to eat humans, oh Zhu Ganglie, let me go home.’ He chuckled just thinking about it. ‘He had such a silly wife.’

“Uh, Pig- Zhu Ganglie, I'm your Tangy. You have to remember.” The Monk yelled.

“Tangy, huh? Eh, it's okay. We'll boil that right out of you.”

Zhu Ganglie tossed ingredients into his pot.

He won’t fail to become the best.

“Wait! I-I mean, sure, you could just boil me, but I have sampled delicacies from East to West. And though you truly are a chef of... great renown, there is one greater still.”

‘Impossible.’ “Oh, yeah? And who might that be?”

“A swine not unlike yourself. A culinary genius whose skills are unrivalled. They say Dan Hua Tang courses through his veins, and he walks this mortal plane with one sole purpose: to follow The Code!”

“Wait, wait a minute. What code?”

“The chef's code: Always leave your customers satisfied.” ‘Always leave your customers satisfied huh? That does sound like my kind of guy.’ “I have devoted my life to this man and observed his great culinary wisdom. Allow me to share this knowledge with you and make you, truly, the greatest chef in all of China!”

“Huh. Yeah, alright then. It's a deal. And afterwards, I get to eat you.”

“Sure. Let's go with that….”

“Hope this works Mr. Tang.” His disciple said from the roof.

He cleaned his workstation. “Alright. Let’s get to work.”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

Zhu Ganglie stretched, chopped, and stirred, following the monk’s careful guidance. The disciple even offered a few tips on balancing spices. In the end, every deliberate movement and the shared wisdom of the group resulted in a steaming bowl of Jī Tāng Miàn.

“There. Now all that's left is the taste test.” The monk said with a gentle smile.

Zhu Ganglie wiped his brow and eyed the bowl critically. “So, you really think this is gonna make me the greatest chef in China?”

“May my life depend on it.”

‘Well, the aroma was nice.’

He took a bite.

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“Woah! YOUR FOOD IS AMAZING!”

“Thanks! One day, I’ll have my own restaurant. The best in all of China!”

“Then consider me, your first customer!”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

Pigsy and Tang watched the little boy that wander up to the shop.

------☼ ☆ ☾------ 

“Then consider it part of your job, there was extra left over and since you decided to skip breakfast, you can eat that whole bowl before dinner.”

                   ------☼ ☆ ☾------                     

When cooking is life, life is cooking!

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“Tang?”

“PIGSY!” Tang leapt onto him, smothering him with kisses. “Oh, I’m so happy you’re back!”

Pigsy held his husband tightly, a mix of relief and guilt crossing his face. “Oh, Tang. Oh, I'm so sorry, I was about to cook you. Badly. Oh, so badly.” His brat laughed at that. “And sorry about the shiner brat.”

“It’s ok. But could you two get me down-“ Before he could finish, MK and Mei came crashing through the roof, landing in a tangled heap with Kai and toppling onto Pigsy and Tang. “Nevermind…”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“Oh! Hi, Piggy! I didn't know you were here.” He heard Mei say, causing him to look up with the widest smile.

“DAD! Awesome you’re back but uh, we got a problem!”

Hungry demons came crashing through the building, tearing it apart piece by piece.

“Yo, there's a back door. LEGGO!” Mei said, breaking a wall in the wall.

“Pigsy, come on!” MK shouted, urging his dad to move as he grabbed his other dad.

“No. I can't leave yet, it's the code.”

“The code? What code?” MK asked, exasperated.

“The chef's code. ‘Always leave your customers satisfied.’ ”

“What?!”

“You’re kidding, right?!” Mei added.

“Pigsy, I love you. But now isn’t the time!” Kai shouted.

Amid the chaos, a haunting voice in MK’s ears returned.

“𝓧𝓲𝓪𝓸𝓽𝓲𝓪𝓷….. 𝓧𝓲𝓪𝓸𝓽𝓲𝓪𝓷…..”

MK froze. “Monkey King?”

His vision shifted. Now, he was standing on Ancestral Artery Mountain.

“𝓧𝓲𝓪𝓸𝓽𝓲𝓪𝓷….. 𝓧𝓲𝓪𝓸𝓽𝓲𝓪𝓷…..”

_{“MK! Can you hear me?”}

Monkey King stood before two massive stone eggs.

“𝓧𝓲𝓪𝓸𝓽𝓲𝓪𝓷… 𝓧𝓲𝓪𝓸𝓽𝓲𝓪𝓷…”

The eggs cracked, spilling radiant energy.

“𝓧𝓲𝓪𝓸𝓽𝓲𝓪𝓷….. 𝓧𝓲𝓪𝓸𝓽𝓲𝓪𝓷…..𝕏𝕚𝕒𝕠𝕥𝕚𝕒𝕟, 𝕕𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕟𝕕 ℍ𝕦𝕠𝕙𝕦𝕒 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨?”

_{“MK! You gotta focus! Come back!”}

“Kai!” MK’s voice came out as a whisper before the world shifted again. He stumbled, suddenly back in the present.

“MK!” Kai grabbed his shoulder, smiling when his glazed eyes cleared. “Thank god!”

“MK! Tell Pigsy to stop cooking!” Mei yelled as she fought off the demon.

But there was no need. His dad finished up, single-handedly knocking out the invading demons with his dishes. “Another satisfied customer.”

“𝓧𝓲𝓪𝓸𝓽𝓲𝓪𝓷….. 𝓧𝓲𝓪𝓸𝓽𝓲𝓪𝓷…..”

Kai placed a hand on his shoulder. “Again?”

“Yeah….Kai, I thought you said we can only hear what we experienced.”

Kai frowned. “That’s how it works for me. I can’t hear a future that I’m not going to live through… Is it not the same for you?”

“𝓧𝓲𝓪𝓸𝓽𝓲𝓪𝓷.”

“I don’t know…..”

Chapter Text

The team of five rested in an abandoned river village near Zhu Ganglie’s shop. Pigsy knelt by the water, washing his clothes, while Tang sat on a rock, engrossed in Azure’s notes. Mei was balancing her sword on her nose, her focus absolute, while MK coloured nearby and Kai watched him, half-smiling.

“Blue ain't really my colour” Pigsy commented, wringing out a shirt. “but uh beats looking like that monster, Zhu Ganglie.”

“Technically, you'd be Zhu Bajie, now that you're on The Journey to The West.”

“Oh hoho, no, no, no. Don't go comparing me to that demon.” Pigsy shook his head vehemently. “He may be my ancestor, but he’s not me. My name's just plain old Pigsy.”

“I can't wait to meet my ancestor, Ao Lie.” Mei chimed in, the sword wobbling precariously on her nose. “The scrolls we have at home don’t say much about him, but I bet he was mega cool! Right, Tangy?”

“Well...”

“I wonder when we're gonna meet our ancestor, Kai.” MK said thoughtfully, still sketching.

“I thought Monkey King was your dad.”

“He's not our dad Mei.”

“Yeah, Pigsy's our dad.”

“Pigsy isn’t my dad either. My dad is Ray Smith, Former Master of Fire and the greatest blacksmith of our time!” They said proudly. “Or at least he was until me!”

Tang adjusted his glasses, looking contemplative. “Hmm, Mei does have a point. The rest of us mysteriously inherited the powers of the ancient warriors. However, Monkey King is the only original companion we know for sure is still alive. And yet, you two have inherited all of his power so it is possible that-“

MK frowned, interrupting. “Yeah, right. If Monkey King really was our dad, don't you think he would have said something by now?”

“Yeah, 'cause he's normally so forthcoming with information.”

“Your theory falls a little flat Mr. Tang because…..” He hesitated, drawing a deep breath.

‘It’s now or never…..’

He looked directly at the group. “I’m kinda ….sorta….notfromthisrealm.”

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

“WHHHHHAAAAATTT?!”

MK gasped. “Kai don’t tell me. YOU’RE FROM THE CELEST-“

“No.” Kai cut him off quickly. “The Celestial Realm isn’t the only other realm. I don’t even think it counts as a realm, a sub-realm maybe? It’s definitely not one of The Sixteen.”

“The Sixteen?” Mr. Tang asked, clearly intrigued.

Kai sighed, shifting uncomfortably. “Okay, this is gonna take a bit of explaining.” He unhooked The Lantern from his side. It glowed lightly and shadows danced as he began his tale.

“Your world isn’t the only world out there. Long before time had a name, the universe was divided into sixteen realms. No one knows how or why, but it was. Each realm has its myths…”

Shadows transformed to show the Cloud Kingdom.

“…Mysteries…”

They shifted to the First Realm.

“…Legends…”

Now they displayed Djinjago.

“…And heroes.”

Finally, the lantern cast an image of Ninjago.

“This one is my realm. Ninjago. Created by the First Spinjitzu Master, also long before time had a name.”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

Tang’s mouth felt open. He couldn’t believe it, he always knew Kai wasn’t truthful about his past. No one truly believed it even on day one!

He had many theories, many late nights were spent rambling to Pigsy about where their second son came from, just like they did when MK came home.

‘But I never would have thought about another world?!’

“That’s why Ignacia never showed up on any maps…” He said, still in shock.

It all made sense, the reason Kai’s stories never added up, why they never heard about any of those events, because it never happened!

At least not here.

Kai chuckled softly. “I love Ignacia, but it’s barely a place on the map back home, let alone here. But thanks for trying, Tang. I know that’s one of the reasons you kept going back to The Cloud. I appreciate it.”

“So your friends… your sensei…” Tang began hesitantly.

“All in another realm.” Kai nodded. “They never came looking for me because they don’t know which realm I’m in……I didn't know which realm I was going to be in when I left, plus someone has to stay and make sure Ninjago doesn’t fall apart. Back home, we have our own mystical, powerful team of heroes to protect the realm. The ninja!”

The lantern’s light shifted to depict familiar faces.

“Cole, Master of Earth. And taste in music!”

The shadow displayed Cole battling in Shintaro.

“Zane, Master of Ice. He’s weird, but he’s awesome! Literally one of the best cooks in all The Sixteen Realms!”

Zane protecting the team from the Overlord.

“Jay, Master of Lightning. My brother-in-law and the most annoying person I’ll ever meet.” Jay taking down Unagami.

“And our faithful leader and little brother, Lloyd, the Green Ninja, Master of Energy.” Lloyd’s image shimmered as he fought the Overlord.

“You know me! Kai, Master of Fire! And there was…”

The shadows faltered as The Lantern dropped in Kai’s hands and his voice trailed off.

“Nya…” MK finished quietly.

Kai sighed heavily. “Yeah. After Nya… I couldn’t……. Nothing felt right without her there. I became a ninja for her, and now that she’s gone…….I left.”

“So, to recap,” Tang said slowly, still processing. “You’re a dimension-traveling ninja hero from another world?”

“Uh, yeah, I guess you could say it like that.”

MK and Mei sat frozen, their hair obscuring their faces.

“Kai…” MK finally muttered.

“That’s…” Mei added, voice trembling.

‘Here it comes,’ Kai braced himself for anger or betrayal.

“SO COOL!” The two tackled him to the ground, their laughter bubbling over.

Kai exhaled in relief. ‘This is going a lot better than I thought.’ Not that they knew what to expect, they had never been on this side of a secret this big before.

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“Kid, why didn’t you say so in the first place?” Pigsy asked.

He always wanted to know what Kai’s past really was. He had no idea why the kid was lying, but he knew the truth would be a lot, survivors’ guilt isn’t something 16-year-olds just go through.

Now that he knows….he hated that he was right.

“Sorry, Pigsy. I never really meant to lie but…..I didn’t want to re-hash the last few months of my life…..and by the time I felt better, I had been living at your place for months…..I didn’t know how to say it.”

He laid a hand on the kid’s head. “I get it. But just know, you don’t have to lie to me.”

They smiled. “I know.”

“So if the realms were split up, how did you get here?” Tang asked.

“Traveler’s Tea.” Kai replied. “It’s the easiest way to move between realms, but it’s super random. I got here completely by chance.”

“Wait, SO YOU COULD’VE ENDED UP SOMEWHERE WORSE?!” Pigsy and Tang exclaimed in unison, the very idea making them pale.

Kai grinned sheepishly. “All this to say, I know my past. I know who I am: Kai Smith, son of Ray and Maya Smith, Masters of Fire and Water!”

“That day in the tuk-tuk….” MK’s eyes widened. “You were trying to tell me…”

Kai nodded. “Y-yeah, for a while now. I know I did what was best for me, but I still feel bad for leaving everyone behind. I miss them.” MK frowned but nodded in understanding. “Hey, it’s not like I’m leaving today. I want to find everyone, so let’s focus on that first.”

MK grinned. “Let’s find Monkey King’s stone then.”

“What?”

“Monkey King's huh?”

“Monkey King’s stone,” MK repeated. “The one he was born from. Ever since I got into the scroll, I’ve been having visions of Monkey King standing next to his stone, calling for someone named Xiaotian.”

“That monkey messed up Monkey King thought was you?”

“Yep! I don’t know who Sun Xiaotian is but….I can’t help but feel like that…. Monkey King was calling out to me….”

He raised a brow. “Wha... You didn't think to mention that sooner?!”

“Kai didn’t tell you he was a dimension-travelling ninja hero from another world.”

“That’s different, and you know it!”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“Whatever. If we find the stone, we'll find Monkey King and he can explain how he's definitely not my dad and everything is fine. So, less yappy, more-“

“Kid!”

MK froze as the voice echoed. “Monkey King?”

A storm rolled in suddenly, its winds carrying an ominous pitter-patter. Ink seeped from the surroundings, dripping unnaturally out of everything. The blackened pools rippled, bubbling and twisting into grotesque shapes. Demons, both familiar and unfamiliar, emerged with nightmarish gurgles and snarls.

“Ah! The scroll's curse. It found us!”

“Tang, get us outta here!” Pigsy cried, summoning his rake.

“Right.” Tang fumbled for Azure’s scroll but lost his grip, the paper flying away into the storm. “Oh, no! My cheat sheet!”

Mei grabbed Tang by the shoulders, shaking him. “Forget about the cheat sheet! It's exam time, baby!”

Tang steadied himself and began tracing a teleportation sigil in the air, his movements precise but hurried. The ink growled, turning into a giant elephant demon wielding a massive mallet.

The demon let out a roar and swung its weapon directly at MK.

“MK!” Mei jumped in front of him, her Dragon Blade raised high to intercept the blow. But the force of swing was greater than even The Dragon Blade could handle. A light cracking sound was the only warning they got before The Dragon Blade shattered into shards. The sheer force of the strike sent her flying backwards, crashing into MK.

The impact hurled both of them into Kai, Pigsy, and Tang, disrupting the teleportation sigil. The glyphs flickered as everyone was sent into their own teleportation bubbles.

When the light faded, the group was gone, scattered into different chapters of the scroll.

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“Oh. Yep. Oh, that's broke. Nice going, Tang…..Tang?” 

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“Alright, Pigsy, before you get mad... Hmm? AHHHH!”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

She…..

She couldn’t believe it…..

Forged a millennia ago….thousands and thousands of battles...Of wielders…..

And she…

“Wha? No. My family sword. It can't be!”

Spears pointed at her face. She was surrounded, alone and without a weapon.

“Shit!”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“Tang? Mei? Kai? MK? Ah! Where are you guys?!” He heard a voice called out.

‘A new challenger! How should he approach this one?’

“Sandy? Sandy, are you hurt?!”

He smirked. ‘Sneak attack it is!’

“Oh, The Sandy is scared.” He sobbed dramatically.

“Oh, ain't nothing to be scared of, except these piles and piles and piles of skulls. Let's get out of here before whatever left all those bones does the same to us!”

“It'd take a powerful warrior to defeat the monster who did that. Are you a powerful warrior, mister?”

“Yeah, sure, a big powerful warrior. Come on, let's get moving before... huh?”

He chuckled darkly. “Finally! A worthy challenger for Sha Wujing of The Flowing Sands River!” He twirled his Crescent Staff. And here he thought he would have to wait for that Monk to get here to finally have a proper battle!

“Oh, nuts.”

He gestured to the piles of bones with a smug grin. “All these jabronis thought they could go one-on-one with the champ. That little pooper-scooper ain't gonna save you now.” He summoned his arena and attacked.

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“Ah. Another poor soul awaiting their fate at the hands of Kui Mulang.”

‘And she looks so young too.’ Kui Mulang is so desperate, he’s resorted to taking kids now. ‘Hopefully she doesn’t go before me like everyone else.’ At this rate, he might actually meet that Monk.

He watched the girl slam and kick at the door.  

He giggled. ‘Just like Cinxin! She would like this girl.’

“What's so funny, guy?”

“Oh, it's just... you know, you remind me of my sister. She, too, is impulsive.”

“Sounds like a cool gal. You know what's cooler? You helping me. Bust. Down. This. Door! This would be easier if I still had my sword.”

“Why don't you just make a new sword?”

‘That’s what Father had to do when I broke his by accident. Luckily, Uncle was getting a sword made for his birthday.’

“Oh, yeah! I'll just magically make myself a brand-new, one-of-a-kind, ancient family sword! Any other bright ideas? Or are you going to get over here and help me?!”

‘Might as well.’ He started getting up but tripped on his clothes. “Did ya see? I-I just fell down and bonked my brain cage. Ow.”

“Ugh, this guy. Forget it! I just assumed that you were in here 'cause that yellow-robed jerk wanted your powers too.”

“I'm sure he does. But all they've ever done is get me in trouble, so...”

“Wait. So you're just sitting here waiting to throw away your powers?! That's dumb!”

“Beg your pardon?”

“What's the point of having power if you won't use it? Don't you have people you wanna protect?!”

“Of course I do!”

Being a member of The Great Dragon Clan of The Four Continents meant he had a lot of family to love. And he did!

His big brother, Moang, who always guided him with wisdom and kindness.

His big sister, Cinxin, who always been his number one defender.

His Father, whose strength and legacy loomed large.

He loved them all!

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“Your punishment for this transgression is DEATH!”

“W-WHAT?! B-BUT IT WAS AN ACCIDENT! I DIDN’T MEAN TO!”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“But I can't protect them with careless actions.”

“Inaction is careless! If you're not giving everything you have to protect the people you care about, you are nothing! I would watch my sword shatter into pieces a thousand times so long as I used it to protect the ones I care about. If you're just gonna sit here and screw around, then maybe you don't deserve power!”

“And perhaps with greater caution, you would still have your sword. I know a thing or two about disappointing people, about feeling powerless to protect them, but I do not sense that you are a disappointment. Even now, locked away in imminent danger, your thoughts are to protect others.”

“But how am I supposed to protect everyone if I don't have my sword?”

“A sword is powerless without the hand that wields it.”

“What does that even mean?!”

“Oh, you know, just some wise sage stuff. Did you like it? I made it up myself. Like right now.”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“Wee wee goes the little piggy! Lemme hear ya oink! You can't run away forever, piglet. The Sandy wants to see the monster.” Sha Wujing taunted.

“I'm not a monster. And sure, our ancestors, they weren't great guys, but that ain't us, that ain't you!”

“Oh, enough yappin'.” He crushed him before performing a suplex. The crowd of phantom onlookers seemed to roar as he shouted. “I wanna hear that monster inside squeal! Come on!” He threw him into the ring ropes. “Let him out! Fight The Sandy!” And clotheslined him when he came back.

“No, I... won't.”

‘Then you’ll die.’ He got his diving elbow drop ready. “Time for this piggy to go wee, wee, wee all the way home!”

Something snapped in The Little Piggy. “You wanna see a monster?” He grabbed his rake and his energy surged. “I can show you a monster!” He sent Sha Wujing flying to the other side of the ring.

‘He hit me….’ He smirked. “Finally. A worthy opponent!”

This was what he had been waiting for. Way better than some Monk!

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“At this rate, it's going to take me forever to find the others.”

“Meow!”

Tang jumped at the noise before realising it was just-

“Mo! Oh, my Great Sage! I didn't even know you were in here.”

“Meow.” Mo placed a paw over his mouth, then gestured toward the ledge. Tang crept closer, peeking over the edge. His breath caught as he spotted the familiar figure of Macaque in a tense meeting below.

“Wukong is a traitor! He'll end us the first chance he gets!” A bird demon screeched.

Another demon sighed angrily. “Yes. The Stone Monkey is unpredictable.” ‘That’s the demon that attacked us, the real one.’ “Now he's thrown his lot in with The Celestial Monk, there's no telling where his true allegiances lie.”

“You're characteristically quiet Macaque.”

Macaque remained still, his expression unreadable. “I just think we should consider all our options before we-“

“What's to consider?” The bird snapped. “You think Wukong will just decide to come running back into your arms? Wukong's made his choice. I say we strike him down now while we have the chance!”

“We need to be careful. There’s still a lot we can lose here-“

“Like what? What do you have left to lose?” The bird demon interrupted with a sneer. “Last time I checked, you don’t have any more kids left. You, more than anyone, should be itching to murder The Monkey King.”

Tang’s eyes widened. ‘Wait, KIDS!’ He bit his lip, trying to piece it together. ‘He could be referring the monkeys on Flower Fruit Mountain. But that doesn’t make sense. Some of the monkeys are as old as Monkey King and they’re still around today…..That room in Monkey King’s house…..Maybe my theory….but Kai wasn’t lying…..’

His thoughts trailed off as Macaque’s body started trembling with rage.

“Peng,” Macaque hissed. “Do you have a death wish?! Because right now THE ONLY ONE I’M ITCHING TO KILL IS-“

“Enough.” A voice cut through, high above on a throne. “Both of you. We can decide what to do about Wukong without infighting.”

Tang’s gaze snapped upward to the figure seated on a high throne, his stomach churned. “Is that... Azure Lion? I've got a bad feeling about this, Mo.”

“Meow….”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“The time has come for you to lend your energy to a greater cause.” Kui Mulang sneered, blade in hand. He yanked Ao Lie forward, forcing him to stumble closer. “What do you say? Beauty first.”

Suddenly, the girl rushed forward in a streak of light, blocking Kui Mulang's blade with her own. ‘Look who made a new sword.’

“You insolent little-!”

Mei smirked. “White Horse Dragon Pepper Girl comin' right up!” With a battle cry, she unleashed a powerful strike that sent Kui Mulang staggering backward. “Sorry, I just thought it was the right time to be careless.”

“I'll just do this the old-fashioned way and tear your flesh!” His form began to shift, bones cracking and muscles rippling as he transformed into his true form, The Wood Wolf of The 28 Mansions of The White Tiger. “from your bones!” Ao Lie ran forward, shielding him and her.

“Huh?” Mei blinked, taken aback. “W-Why didn’t you do that sooner?”

“Because now seemed like the right time for action.”

“Mei?” A voice echoed as he suddenly appeared in a flash of light, teleporting into the fray. “Oh, oh, Mei! Whoa, nice sword.” His gaze landed on Ao Lie, and his face lit up with astonishment. “Aaah! It's you! Mei's great-great-great-times-a-thousand-great-grandfather, Ao Lie!”

“I cannot hold him back much longer. Go. I will give you an opening.”

Mei grinned. “Knew you were cool!”

Ao Lie chuckled. “You really think so?”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“Now there's the monster. I knew you were holdin' out on me. Well, go on then. Go for the finishing move.” Sha Wujing taunted, even in the face of defeat.

“No.” He dropped his weapon. “No! Just 'cause we look a certain way, 'cause our monster ancestors were, well, monsters, none of that matters. I won't let his legacy define mine, and neither should you. You're the strongest, the biggest, the bluest guy I know, but all you've ever used those muscles for is to help people in need, your friends. That don't sound like a monster to me.” He held out his hand and Sha Wujing took it with a smile.

“What's a fight without a bit of drama, huh?” Sha Wujing chuckled.

“What?”

“You almost had The Sandy, but you were too weak to be who you truly are. I am a monster. That's what the world wants me to be, so that's what I'm gonna give 'em!”

As he was about to pull off his finishing move, a soft, unexpected interruption came. A cat of all things got in his way, rubbing and purring against him. Sha Wujing froze, his stern expression faltering.

The purring was…… oddly soothing, and before he could stop himself, a quiet chuckle rumbled in his chest. He reached down, scratching the cat behind its ears, feeling the warmth and softness against his rough skin.

It….

It felt nice.

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“The name’s Pigsy. And that’s my boyfriend Tang.”

“…..I’m Sandy, sir.”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

A small, fluffy kitten nuzzled against Sandy’s leg, purring contentedly. “Meow!”

Sandy smiled. “I think I’ll call you Mo.”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

A little boy ran up to him, hugging his legs. “Uncle Sandy is here!”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“No one can bring someone back from the dead. There’s nothing we can do to change what happened, but we can help you overcome it. We want to help you! Because we’re friends.”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“Mo!”

“Sandy?”

Sandy grabbed them in the biggest hug he could do. “I'm sorry, my old friend.”

Pigsy chuckled lightly. “It's okay, Sandy. You're always there for us when we need you. The least we can do is be there for you when you need us.”

.

.

.

.

.

.

Tang broke the silence. “Now that we've had our moment, we need to get moving!”

Mei nodded. “It's Azure Lion.”

“Who?” Sandy asked.

“We’ll explain on the way but right now, we have to find MK and Kai.”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

MK groggily opened his eyes, blinking at the unfamiliar surroundings. He was lying next to Kai, the two of them lying in the grass outside of a temple. MK rubbed his eyes, still groggy, shaking Kai awake.

They got up with a yawn, stretching. “Where are we now?”

“No idea.”

A lady stood by the door. “Are you ready to meet the master?”

Chapter Text

Kai glanced at MK as the young woman walked into the old monastery. The other boy shrugged, having no other options and no way to leave this chapter, the two followed her in.

“Hey, miss, you haven't seen our family around, have you?” MK asked, walking through a hallway. “Pig guy, glasses guy, sword-girl guy- Whoa!”

Whoa is right!

The hallway led to the main monastery, built into a mountain instead of on top of it like the one back home. The main building’s worn stone walls connected to mountain rock, with a part of the roof left open for sunlight. Training dummies were scattered around for the disciples to use. Stone stairs led to a large courtyard with more dummies surrounded by towering trees.

“What is this place?”  They asked in awe.

“This is The Temple of The Tilted Moon and Three Stars, where those select few are trained and shaped to become powerful sages under the instruction of the wise Shifu Subodhi.”

“Shifu Subodhi? Then this... this must be the place where Monkey King learned it all! All his abilities! Earned his name!” Then MK flinched in a way Kai learnt was from a vision. “Monkey King….Where is Shifu Subodhi? We need to see him. Now!”

“I-“

Two disciples scoffed, stopping their training and strolling up to them with arrogant confidence.

“You really think you're worthy of meeting The Master on your first day?”

“No one has even seen The Shifu Subodhi in 50 years.”

“Fifty years?!” They yelled in unison, surprised.

‘How are you getting trained by a master you can’t see?!’

“But we gotta see him now!”

“Then just try, Headband.” One of the disciples flicked MK’s forehead. “We’ll earn the right to see The Master soon! Between us, we've nearly learned 2 of The 72 Transformation!”

“So just run along and train hard kids, and maybe you’ll earn an audience with him before you’re 40.”

They gasped dramatically. Leaning against MK, they smirked. “Wow! MK, did you hear that? They almost know two whole transformations!”

“Two, huh? Alright.”

“Whatever will we do?”

“Well, maybe I can give them some pointers on the other 70!”

Acolyte Lady giggled behind her hand as MK changed into a gorilla and started fighting. They changed into a bird and flew into the rafters. MK didn’t need their help fighting people that weak, and the view was perfect up here.

------☼ ☆ ☾------

The two slid under the grand door in the back. “Success!”

Kai agreed, laughing. “Nice Job! That was hilarious!”

“I know right!” They high-fived right before a shadow loomed over them and a hand picked them up by the scruffs of their necks. “Ahem.”

“Master Subodhi?!” They grew back to normal size. “Man, it is so cool! Uh, it is an honour!” He bowed nervously, pulling Kai down with him. “Now, I know this isn't gonna make sense, but we need to know how-“

“I know exactly what you need to know, MK and Kai, The Monkie Kids. The question is, do you?”

MK blinked in confusion. “Wait, you know who we are? But we're inside the scroll, in a memory.”

“I am The Great Master Subodhi. There is little I do not know.”

“Well, this guy is a real piece of work.” Kai mumbled.

“Oh. Okay, great! So you can help me find Monkey King and The Upper Court, save my friends, and defeat the curse. Awesome! No giant world-ending calamities for The Monkie Kids. Just gonna be straight-shootin', fun-filled adventures by the beach.” Master Subodhi smacked them on the head with his little staff.

“Ow! Hey, what was that for?!” The two yelled simultaneously.

“You. Stand straight and hush your tongue! You talk too much! And you. You came seeking my help. You have no right to be so arrogant.” As Master Subodhi talked, he moved around the boys. “This is not about The Monkey King. There is something more at play here. Something about you.”

“What? Me? I'm just a regular noodle delivery boy.” MK stammered.

“And I don’t know if you heard but, not connected to this realm in any way whatsoever.”

“And you two believe that?” The immortal scoffed. “The students I train spend lifetimes to possess even a fraction of the power inside just one of you. Am I to believe Sun Wukong is the greatest master in history to train two of you?”

“I mean, maybe. He's pretty great!”

“I don’t know. I like him but I haven’t decided between him and Sensei Wu.”

Master Subodhi smacked them again. “Wrong! I am the greatest master in all of history.”

Kai leaned over, whispering. “Told you, a piece of work- Ow! Ok, ok, stop.” They yelped as Subodhi swung his staff once more.

“However, I must admit, my mentorship is not the sole reason for Sun Wukong's absurdly fast learning, just as his is not the reason for yours…..Tell me of your childhood. Your parents.”

“Oh, well... um... I...”

“Both of you. Quickly.” Master Subodhi commanded.

He glanced at Kai, who sighed. “Alright. I lived in Ninjago with my parents and my sister in Ignacia until they were kidnapped when I was 5 by a villain, Krux. I raised Nya on my own from there……”

'Why did Kai’s life get sadder the more he learnt about?’ “Kai…”

“Hey, it was a long time ago. I kicked Krux’s ass and saved my parents! That’s all that matters!”

‘It’s not.’ But he let it go.

“And you?”

“Well….”

“You do not remember?”

MK’s mind flickered with fragmented memories.

“𝓗𝓾𝓱, 𝔀𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓭𝓸𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓸𝓾𝓽 𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝓸𝓷 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓸𝔀𝓷 𝓴𝓲𝓭?”

“I do. I was pretty much a street orphan until Pigsy and Tang took me in when I was 5.”

“You were a street orphan?!” Kai exclaimed, startled.

“It’s fine, I don’t even remember any of it.”

‘I prefer it that way. My childhood with Pigsy and Tang are much better memories.’

“And what else?”

“What else?” Kai snapped. “There is nothing else! Stop digging up the past!”

Master Subodhi looked at him. “Do you agree?”

His ears were filled with the sound of cracking stones, and laughing and-

“𝓒𝓱𝓲𝓵𝓭𝓻𝓮𝓷 𝓸𝓯 𝓕𝓵𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓻 𝓕𝓻𝓾𝓲𝓽 𝓜𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓽𝓪𝓲𝓷, 𝓦𝓮𝓵𝓬𝓸𝓶𝓮 𝓢𝓾𝓷 𝓧𝓲𝓪𝓸𝓽𝓲𝓪𝓷 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓢𝓾𝓷 𝓗𝓾𝓸𝓱𝓾𝓪-“

“The stones. Monkey King's stone. Please, take us there.” MK’s voice trembled.

“….Very well. But only because you said please.”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“Yes! Thank you, Master! Monkey King?! Monkey King!” He called out on the top of Ancestral Artery Mountain, but to no reply. “Where is he?.....”

“Are you sure he was supposed to be here?” Kai asked, scanning their surroundings.

“Yeah.” MK replied with a frown. “This is the start of it all. The first chapter! That's his stone, but it looks...”

“Different?” Kai suggested, eyeing the cracked stone monkey on the ground with suspicion.

“Yeah….. Monkey King should be here. This is the stone I've been seeing in my vision. Why isn't he here?”

Master Subodhi stepped forward. “I have not brought you to your master. Although this was the mountain from which Sun Wukong once sprung, it appears that, over time, it was used to form more. A gift of two simple creatures with no past.”

“More stone monkeys….” MK and Kai exchanged a bewildered glance before Subodhi continued. ‘I guess Macaque is also a stone monkey….’

“There is a reason you two are at the centre of these stories and there is a reason you two alone can harness the power of The Monkey King himself.”

MK’s eyes widened as a thought struck him. “So you're telling me I... am... The Monkey King! Ow!”

“Wrong!”

“Yeah, you kinda asked for that one.”

“Without question, you were born from the stone as he was. Who or what you two really are, even I do not know the answer. But of one thing I am certain. Fate has plans for you two. Great plans or foul? Only time will tell.”

.

.

.

Just like that, everything he knew, thought he knew about himself was cast into doubt. And he wasn’t the only one.

“I-I can't be.” MK’s voice wavered, disbelief etched into his face.

“…𝓧𝓲𝓪𝓸𝓽𝓲𝓪𝓷 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓗𝓾𝓸𝓱𝓾𝓪 … 𝓘 𝓬𝓪𝓷’𝓽 𝓫𝓮𝓵𝓲𝓮𝓿𝓮 𝓲𝓽’𝓼 𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓵𝓵𝔂 𝔂𝓸𝓾...𝓧𝓲𝓪𝓸𝔁𝓲𝓪𝓸, 𝓵𝓸𝓸𝓴 𝓪𝓽 𝔂𝓸𝓾! 𝓨𝓸𝓾’𝓿𝓮 𝓰𝓸𝓽𝓽𝓮𝓷 𝓼𝓸 𝓫𝓲𝓰! 𝓘𝓽’𝓼 𝓸𝓷𝓵𝔂 𝓫𝓮𝓮𝓷 𝓯𝓲𝓿𝓮 𝓱𝓾𝓷𝓭𝓻𝓮𝓭 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓯𝓲𝓿𝓮 𝔂𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝔂𝓸𝓾’𝓻𝓮 𝓪𝓵𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓭𝔂 𝓽𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓮𝓻 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓷 𝓶𝓮! 𝓐𝓷𝓭 𝓗𝓾𝓪𝓱𝓾𝓪! 𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓵𝓸𝓸𝓴 𝓶𝓸𝓻𝓮 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓶𝓸𝓻𝓮 𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓑𝓪𝓫𝓪 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻𝔂 𝓭𝓪𝔂!”

‘This…..This doesn’t make any sense!’

Kai’s fists clenched at his sides, his voice rising in protest. “That’s impossible! I couldn’t have come from this stone! I didn’t even know this realm existed until I fell into it!”

“Destiny perhaps.” Master Subodhi replied calmly.

Kai shook his head fiercely. “If….if I wasn’t their son, my parents would have said something! They would have…….They would….” His words trailed off.

“When were they going to tell you? After all you were only 5 when they went away.”

He started at his trembling hands, shaking his head. “I'm just... I'm just MK.”

“And I’m just Kai!” Kai added, their voice cracking.

“We’re-“

“The Monkie Kids.” 

The stones behind them cracked as darkness creped in. Ink dripped from the sky as the protective curse caught up again. They try to move but the ink trapped them, spinning in a violence circle around them and the stones.

“Master Subdohi!”

“What do we-!”

“Your journey is just beginning.”  Master Subodhi’s voice echoed as his form dissolved into the inky vortex.

“That guy was an ink demon this whole time!”

The circle of ink abruptly stopped, stilling in unnatural silence. Then, from the cracks in the ground, behind the rocks, and even the fragmented stone eggs, ink surged forth, pooling ominously in the center. The liquid churned, bubbling with malevolence.

A pair of hands clawed their way out of the black pool, their long, sharp fingers slick with ink.

“What... No.” MK whispered, his heart pounding in his chest.

Kai stepped in front of him, making his shadow escrima sticks in a tight grip.

The ink writhed, and two figures emerged fully from the pool. They were monkeys, similar to Monkey King and Macaque. Their fur shimmered with a dark, inky sheen, and their eyes glowed faint blue.

What struck MK and Kai most were their faces. Their features bore an uncanny resemblance to their own. Their hairstyles were an eerie mimicry of MK’s and Kai’s, their movements unnervingly synchronised as they stepped forward. The monkeys smiled.

“𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥'𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕘𝕦𝕪𝕤?” One of them spoke, a mocking echo of MK’s.

“𝕐𝕖𝕒𝕙! 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕜 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕤𝕒𝕨 𝕒 𝕘𝕙𝕠𝕤𝕥.” Kai’s clone let out a laugh. “𝕎𝕖 𝕒𝕣𝕖𝕟'𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕤𝕔𝕒𝕣𝕪 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕨𝕖?”

“We-“

“ℍ𝕖𝕪, 𝕟𝕒𝕙, 𝕨𝕖 𝕘𝕖𝕥 𝕚𝕥, 𝕞𝕒𝕟.”

“𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕚𝕤𝕟’𝕥 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕒𝕞𝕖 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕗𝕠𝕣. 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕣𝕖𝕝𝕒𝕩.” Kai’s clone slid down, lounging nonchalantly against a rock, kicking its leg up. “𝕋𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕕 𝕠𝕗𝕗 𝕠𝕗 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕚𝕟 ℕ𝕚𝕟𝕛𝕒𝕘𝕠.”

“𝔸𝕟𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕒 𝕘𝕖𝕥 𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕥𝕠 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕎𝕖𝕖𝕜 𝔸𝕕𝕧𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖𝕤?” His clone looked at the stones and toyed with it, smirking. “𝕋𝕠 𝕘𝕖𝕥 𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕥𝕠 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕤𝕚𝕞𝕡𝕝𝕖 𝕞𝕚𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕄𝕖𝕚 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕂𝕒𝕚, 𝕞𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕜𝕖𝕪 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘'𝕤 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕕𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕟𝕠𝕠𝕕𝕝𝕖𝕤 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕠𝕦𝕣 ‘𝕕𝕒𝕕’, 𝕣𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥?”

“Yeah…. Yeah, actually that's exactly what I want-“

“MK! Don’t talk to it!” Kai whispered.

“𝔹𝕦𝕥 𝕨𝕖 𝕔𝕒𝕟'𝕥!” The ink clone knocked one stone egg into another, causing both of them to fall, the sound of cracking reverberating around them. “ℕ𝕠𝕥 𝕒𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕨𝕖'𝕧𝕖 𝕤𝕖𝕖𝕟. 𝔸𝕝𝕝 𝕨𝕖 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕨𝕖 𝕕𝕠𝕟'𝕥.” It sat on the rock with a sigh. “ℝ𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥, 𝕗𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕤?”

“You’re not our friends!” Kai hissed as MK summoned his staff. “You sure as hell aren’t us!”

“𝕊𝕦𝕣𝕖, 𝕨𝕖 𝕒𝕣𝕖!” Kai’s ink clone said, leaning on the other clone much like the real Kai would do to him. It rested its hand on his clone’s shoulder, laying its head in its hand. “𝕎𝕖’𝕣𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕓𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕗𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕤! 𝕎𝕖𝕝𝕝, 𝕔𝕝𝕠𝕤𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕒𝕥 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕥. 𝕎𝕖 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦'𝕝𝕝 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟 𝕒𝕕𝕞𝕚𝕥. 𝕋𝕠 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕗 𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕠 𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕤.”

He took a step back and the ink…thems was suddenly behind him. “𝕐𝕠, 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕘𝕠𝕚𝕟', 𝕘𝕦𝕪?” They said as the real them flinched, turning quickly.

“You're- you’re not real. You're just the curse of the scroll trying to get all up inside of our heads, just like-“

“𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕃𝕒𝕕𝕪 𝔹𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝔻𝕖𝕞𝕠𝕟?”

“𝓓𝓮𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓷𝔂 𝔀𝓲𝓵𝓵 𝓯𝓲𝓷𝓭 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓼𝓸𝓸𝓷 𝓮𝓷𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱!”

“𝓓𝓮𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓷𝔂 𝓬𝓪𝓷𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓫𝓮 𝓾𝓷𝓭𝓸𝓷𝓮!”

“𝓗𝓐! 𝓗𝓐! 𝓗𝓐! 𝓗𝓐! 𝓗𝓐! 𝓗𝓐! 𝓗𝓐! 𝓗𝓐!”

He shook his head as Kai called out to him. “MK, stay with me here.”

“𝕋𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕞𝕖, 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕕𝕠 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕜 𝕨𝕖 𝕒𝕣𝕖? ℍ𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕝𝕪. 'ℂ𝕒𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕀 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕓𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕕𝕪𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕠 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕣 𝕦𝕤 𝕤𝕒𝕪 𝕚𝕥. 𝕆𝕦𝕥 𝕝𝕠𝕦𝕕!”

“𝕎𝕖 𝕔𝕖𝕣𝕥𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕝𝕪 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕤!”

“What kind of question is that?! I'm just...We’re just MK and Kai. Two kids with the powers of The Monkey King and The Six-Eared Macaque. No biggie.”

“𝕆𝕙-𝕙𝕠𝕙𝕠! 𝕁𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕜𝕖𝕪 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕚𝕩-𝔼𝕒𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕄𝕒𝕔𝕒𝕢𝕦𝕖?”

Ink him splashed in front of him. “𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕞𝕖𝕒𝕟, 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕤𝕖 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕤?” the ink clone struck, sending him flying into the jagged rock face.

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“MK!” Kai yelled, turning to help, but his clone moved faster, landing a hit with its tail that knocked him across the battlefield.

“𝔻𝕠𝕟’𝕥 𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕠𝕟 𝕞𝕖, 𝕗𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕕. 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕨𝕖 𝕙𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝕓𝕖𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕠𝕣𝕖𝕕.”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“Ugh! They're not here either! Tangy, get your head in the game!” She yelled anxiously. ‘Oh, where did you two go? I hope you’re ok!’ Trouble followed Mei’s friends like the plague. Whenever they were left alone, chaos followed. ‘We can’t even be sure they’re in the same story.’

“MY BOK CHOY!” A human farmer screamed in anguish, clutching wilted plants.

“I'm sorry! We're looking for our friends, and I lost my cheat sheet, so we don't know where we are and I'm starting to freak out pretty hard, and theseguysaredesensitizedtomybreakdownssoIneedareaction! FOR THE LOVE OF THE GREAT SAGE, I NEED A REACTION!”

“TANG! Would you pull yourself together?!” Pigsy said, grabbing him by the shoulders and giving him a good shake.

“I'm sorry. I'm just- I'mhavingameltdownandIhavenoideawhat'sgoingonand-“

“Tangy,” Sandy interrupted gently, placing a calming hand on his shoulder. “we're right there with you, old friend. But right now, we need to find MK, Kai, Monkey King and the others. We gotta hold it together until then.”

Tang took a deep breath as Mei handed him his jangly stick. “R-right.”

The farmer, now slightly less distraught, looked up from the grave she’d been digging. “Oh, you mean Sun Wukong? The Great Sage Equal to Heaven?”

“You mean you've seen him?!”

The farmer was startled but answered. “Yeah, I've seen him. He done made a mess of the whole air round my geese stable.”

Pigsy tilted her head. “Uh, geese stable?”

“Ay-yarp. See, I always been sayin' why come horses get themselves a fancy stable, but the geese don't?-”

“Guys, look at this!” Mei called out, drawing their attention away from the rambling farmer.

They turned to see a shimmering gold crack in the sky.

“Huh. You think Monkey King made this?” Mei murmured.

------☼ ☆ ☾------

The two fought themselves in the inky sky of the ruined chapter.

“𝕊𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕠𝕦𝕤𝕝𝕪?” MK dodged as his ink clone swung a staff at his head. “𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕜 𝕨𝕖'𝕣𝕖 𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕟𝕠𝕠𝕕𝕝𝕖 𝕕𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕘𝕦𝕪?”

Him and the ink created clones at the same time. Porty gave Arty a boost, using the same paint trick they used on Kai and their clones to blind the ink. Porty used the advantage, taking out every clones in their way with his records.

MK had his own problems, the ink him blocking all his attacks. “𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕒𝕟'𝕥 𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕨𝕖 𝕔𝕒𝕞𝕖 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞. 𝕎𝕖 𝕘𝕠𝕥 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕟𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕠𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥, 𝕨𝕙𝕪 𝕦𝕤?”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

Fire and ink collided.

“𝕀 𝕞𝕖𝕒𝕟, 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕒𝕟’𝕥 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕜 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕠𝕞 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖?” The ink clone created clones of it’s own. An inky fist slammed into Kai’s back, knocking him forward. Stardom leapt in, slicing through the attacking clone with his guitar.

“𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕠𝕕𝕕𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕨𝕖 𝕗𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕠 𝕒 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕘𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕤𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕚𝕥?” Forger conjured a storm of shadow weapons that rained down on the inky clones.

“𝕀𝕥 𝕨𝕠𝕟’𝕥 𝕓𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖 𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕝𝕚𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕪𝕠𝕦.” The ink taunted. Kai gritted their teeth as they blocked another strike. “𝕎𝕦. ℂ𝕙𝕖𝕟. 𝕂𝕣𝕦𝕩. 𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥’𝕤 𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕝𝕚𝕖 𝕠𝕟 𝕥𝕠𝕡 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕤? 𝔻𝕠𝕟’𝕥 𝕥𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕞𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕟’𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕚𝕥?!”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕨𝕖?! 𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕡𝕦𝕣𝕡𝕠𝕤𝕖?!” The ink versions roared, slamming MK and Kai into opposite sides of the same jagged rock, popping their clones in an instant.

“Of course, we thought about it!” the two shouted back, scrambling to their feet.

“I mean, maybe! I was gonna thought about it.” MK added quickly, brushing debris off his shoulder. “We just wanna be us! To be MK and Kai.”

“What’s so wrong with that?”

The ink copies landed in front of them with unsettling precision. “𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕨𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕚𝕥? 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥’𝕤 𝕨𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕘.”

“𝕎𝕖 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕖𝕩𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕝𝕪 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕤, 𝕕𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕨𝕖?”

“𝓣𝓸 𝓹𝓪𝓲𝓷.”

Ink MK sidestepped a strike from MK, leaving him wide open to a punch from behind from Ink Kai. Thinking fast, Kai opened a portal behind MK, redirecting the blow away. Seizing the moment, they hurled a fireball at Ink MK, only for it to be batted aside with a tail swipe. Ink MK punched his staff out of MK’s hands, leaving Ink Kai to catch it.

Ink Kai laughed maniacally, swinging the weapon with reckless glee. MK and Kai ducked and blocked the relentless barrage until MK got his staff back. He twirled it, deflecting an attack, then lunged forward only to meet Ink MK’s block. A fiery blast from Ink Kai sent them both hurtling into another floating rock.

“We help people. It's what we do.”

“𝔸𝕣𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕤𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥?” The ink copies began to merge, their forms twisting into a single hulking entity. The amalgamation slammed them against the base of Ancestral Artery Mountain. Kai, panting, reached for MK’s staff, helping him hold back the creature’s relentless force.

“𝕃𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕀 𝕔𝕙𝕖𝕔𝕜𝕖𝕕, 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕓𝕖𝕔𝕒𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕦𝕤. 𝕎𝕖 𝕤𝕒𝕚𝕕 𝕚𝕥 𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕧𝕖𝕤. 𝕎𝕖 𝕣𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔻𝕖𝕞𝕠𝕟 𝔹𝕦𝕝𝕝 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕌𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕.” As it spoke, grotesque shapes sprouted from its form, faces and claws resembling past enemies. “𝕎𝕖 𝕘𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕡𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕣 ℚ𝕦𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕖𝕒𝕟𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕕𝕠𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕔𝕚𝕥𝕪.”

“𝕎𝕖 𝕘𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕃𝕒𝕕𝕪 𝔹𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝔻𝕖𝕞𝕠𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕠𝕡𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕦𝕟𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕥𝕠 𝕨𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕜 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕠𝕔 𝕠𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕. 𝕎𝕖 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕠𝕟 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕗𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕤 𝕘𝕠𝕥 𝕤𝕥𝕦𝕔𝕜 𝕚𝕟 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕔𝕖! 𝕎𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕜 𝕒𝕥 𝕚𝕥 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥, 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕨𝕠 𝕤𝕖𝕖𝕞 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕧𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕤 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕙𝕦𝕙?”

“Ahh, this is going to haunt our nightmares forever!” He groaned.

“Just when I started having nice dreams again too.” Kai muttered bitterly.

“𝕎𝕖'𝕣𝕖 𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕊𝕦𝕟 𝕎𝕦𝕜𝕠𝕟𝕘. 𝔸 𝕗𝕣𝕒𝕦𝕕, 𝕒 𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕜𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣, 𝕕𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕦𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖. 𝕎𝕙𝕪 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕝𝕖𝕘𝕒𝕔𝕪 𝕓𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕪 𝕕𝕚𝕗𝕗𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕥?”

Something was wrong.

“𝔸𝕔𝕥𝕦𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪, 𝕟𝕠, 𝕟𝕠. 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕠𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕕𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕦𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕨𝕖'𝕝𝕝 𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕦𝕡𝕠𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕞𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕎𝕦𝕜𝕠𝕟𝕘'𝕤 𝕡𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕜 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘!”

Something inside MK shifted, a door, locked tight in the recesses of his being, was forced open. He felt it like a monster clawing its way out.

Something, almost like a cage inside him, snapped open.

Letting a monster out.

A golden light flickered erratically over his body.

“𝕊𝕙𝕚𝕗𝕦 𝕊𝕦𝕓𝕠𝕕𝕙𝕚 𝕤𝕒𝕚𝕕 𝕚𝕥 𝕙𝕚𝕞𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕗, 𝕣𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥?”

“No. No, you're wrong. I'm-I'm... I'm not-“ He and Kai said at the same time.

It didn’t matter what the ink creature or even his own body said.

‘I’m not a-‘

------☼ ☆ ☾------

The crimson flickering intensified.

Kai gasped for air as something inside them, a beast, raged free.

His eyes widen in horror as a tail swished behind them.

Their vision blurred from the tears in their eyes.

“No! No, you’re wrong! I’m- I’m not-” Their voices cracked under the weight of denial.

‘This isn’t happening. I’m not- I’m just-'

“ℕ𝕠𝕥 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥? 𝕊𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕜𝕖𝕪 𝕕𝕖𝕞𝕠𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝕕𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕠𝕤 𝕦𝕡𝕠𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕?” The ink mocked, grinning maniacally. “𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕕𝕖𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕞 𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕤?”

“ℂ𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕠𝕟! 𝕌𝕤𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕤, 𝕓𝕚𝕘 𝕓𝕣𝕒𝕚𝕟 𝕓𝕠𝕪𝕤. 𝕊𝕒𝕪 𝕚𝕥! 𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕨𝕖?”

 “STOP!”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“STOP!” The sky above them began to crack, fissures spreading as voices echoed all around.

“Guys? That's MK and Kai!”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

‘DAMN IT!’ Where was he now?! He didn’t even remember this place! ‘I’ll never find the-‘

“STOP!”

Xiaotian and Huohua’s voices rung out all around him. His instinct screamed as he ran towards the nearest crack.

“KIDS!”

‘I’ll find you. I’ll break through any chapter of my life. Just hold on for me.’

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“𝕐𝕖𝕒𝕙, 𝕓𝕠𝕚! 𝕆𝕙, 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥'𝕤 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕀'𝕞 𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥! 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕒𝕟'𝕥 𝕖𝕤𝕔𝕒𝕡𝕖 𝕚𝕥.”

“𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕒𝕟’𝕥 𝕠𝕦𝕥𝕣𝕦𝕟 𝕠𝕣 𝕙𝕚𝕕 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕚𝕥.”

“𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘,”

“𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕕𝕖𝕞𝕠𝕟,”

“𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕣𝕖, 𝕖𝕞𝕓𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕖 𝕚𝕥!” They dropped the staff, clutching their heads. Their minds screamed for this to stop, but the mental pleas only encouraged the ink to continue. “𝔼𝕞𝕓𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕕𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕪!”

“KIDS!.... KIDS!”

“Not now! Stupid past, go away!”

“KIDS!”

“Wait, I hear it too…”

They stared at the fractured sky, the faint shimmer of golden light breaking through. “Monkey King?”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

Finally, Wukong broke through.

‘About time!’ He’s been trying to find Xiaotian and Huohua since he felt them in here.

The curse cackled wickedly as it tortured his kids. Xiaotian and Huohua folded in on themselves, trembling as they fought to block out the tormenting laughter. Their glamour flickered, dangerously close to breaking.

A deep growl rumbled from Wukong, primal fury igniting within him.

‘No curse.’

In a flash, his staff was in hand. The ink never stood a chance as he crushed it beneath his strength.

‘hurts my kids in front of me!’

“MK! Kai!”

“Monkey King!”

The twins looked up at him with fleeting smiles of relief, but their moment of reprieve was short-lived. Their glamour was too close to shattering, sending a wave of energy all around them.

“I'm sorry I made you wait so long, bud. But it's fine. You guys look like you're doing”‘Terrible, really fucking terrible.’ “fine.”

“I don't know what's happening to us.” Xiaotian groaned.

“Did…did you know?” Huohua asked, still in heartbroken disbelief.

‘This isn’t how I wanted you to learn….I didn’t want the truth to break your worldview. I’m sorry…’

Their collective chirping brought him out of his thoughts.

“We can figure it out” The ink swooshed as the curse grow again. “but we gotta deal with the now first.” The ink towered over them but he faced it head on, standing in front of the kids protective fierceness.

“ℍ𝕖𝕪, 𝕟𝕚𝕔𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕠 𝕛𝕠𝕚𝕟 𝕦𝕤, 𝕓𝕦𝕕.” Xiaotian and Huohua’s voices came from the ink. “𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨, 𝕟𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦, 𝕣𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥?”

“𝕀𝕥'𝕤 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕗𝕒𝕦𝕝𝕥, 𝕒𝕤 𝕦𝕤𝕦𝕒𝕝.”

“Yeah. And us too!” The others crashed in. “Without us, you wouldn't be able to stop this thing. That's what you were saying, right-”

“Not really, but I like the energy.”

“MK! KAI!” Mei ran toward them, her voice laced with panic. “What’s happening to them?!”

Tang, Sandy and Pigsy moved protectively in front of the kids. “The curse! Is it just me or is it way scarier than it was before?”

“How did Azure say to defeat this thing again?”

“Azure... Lion?”

“Yeah, he told us how to save you.”

“But Azure is-“

“𝕊𝕒𝕪 𝕘𝕠𝕠𝕕𝕓𝕪𝕖!” The ink stretched from the curse’s main body, separating them again.

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“Where'd they go?” Tang looked around but couldn’t see anything.

“𝕊𝕦𝕔𝕙 𝕡𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕗𝕦𝕝 𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖𝕤.”

The inky Pilgrims reappeared, their weapons raised, ready to strike.

“ℂ𝕠𝕨𝕒𝕣𝕕𝕝𝕪. ℝ𝕖𝕔𝕜𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤. 𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕤𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕖𝕤!”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“MK! Kai! Where are you?”

An ink Wukong emerged, twisting a circlet ominously in his hands.

“𝔸𝕝𝕝 𝕕𝕠𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕪 𝕒 𝕣𝕠𝕝𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕 𝕒𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥.”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“𝕋𝕠 𝕔𝕒𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕠𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕕𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕦𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟.”

“STOP IT!....please….”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“Enough! 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've made. But what matters is the choices we make right now! Only we decide who we are and what we do with the power we have!”

“ℕ𝕚𝕔𝕖 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕠 𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕖𝕔𝕙, 𝕓𝕦𝕕, 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕨𝕖 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕓𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣. 𝔻𝕖𝕖𝕡 𝕚𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕤, 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕕𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕓𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕖𝕧𝕖 𝕒 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥.”

‘Of course, I don't ……I have too many mistakes to apologise for……I hurt too many people.’

Then he remembered them.

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“You’ll always miss them. But if you keep them in your heart, they’re never truly gone.” Ao Lie laughed. “Did you like that one? I made it up on the spot! Ha!”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“Yeah, well, we're pretty good at fakin' it till we makin' it, so you better takin' it, son!”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

Master looked up from his scrolls, his expression uncharacteristically soft. “You are a lot of things, Monkey but a monster was never one of them.”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“Yeah! I might be a coward, but we've faced scarier monsters than you!”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“Whatever ya plannin’, count us in Wukong!” Sha Wujing said and Zhu Bajie nodded.

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“Let’s do it Pigsy!”

“Right behind ya’ Sandy!”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“I won't let some curse bully me or my friends a second longer!”

Summoning their strength, they broke through the illusions and its powerful form, changing in back into ink version of Xiaotian and Huohua.

Using the magical items of The Pilgrims, the others worked quickly to trap the remnants of the curse within a ritual sigil. Wukong moved to his children, his fierce expression softening as he knelt before them.

“Monkey King?” They chirped, still glitching.

His face softened. “It’s ok. I’m here now.”

“𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕤𝕖𝕖 𝕚𝕥, 𝕔𝕒𝕟'𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦? 𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕚𝕤 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕗𝕒𝕥𝕖.” The ink Xiaotian’s grin twisted cruelly. Even in defeat, the curse wasn’t finished.

“𝕐𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕗𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕗𝕒𝕞𝕚𝕝𝕪 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕟 𝕠𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦, 𝕤𝕖𝕖𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕓𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕖.” The ink Huohua smirked. “𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕕𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕪 𝕪𝕠𝕦, ℍ𝕒𝕣𝕓𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕠𝕗 ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕠𝕤.”

“𝕀𝕥'𝕤 𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕃𝕒𝕕𝕪 𝔹𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝔻𝕖𝕞𝕠𝕟 𝕤𝕒𝕚𝕕. 𝔻𝕖𝕤𝕡𝕚𝕥𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕖𝕗𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕤, 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕨𝕖'𝕝𝕝 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕕𝕠 𝕚𝕤 𝕔𝕒𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕡𝕒𝕚𝕟 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕤𝕦𝕗𝕗𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘.”

“You’re so annoying!” Huohua mumbled, getting up.

Xiaotian got up as well. “We aren’t you, not now, not ever!”

“Stop talking!” Their glitching stopped, the power the glamour was traded for a more powerful attack. “And get out of our heads!” Mystical energy surged through their bodies as they channelled their chi.

“𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕦𝕤 𝕨𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕘.”

The curse exploded into a ball of light, the ink Xiaotian and Huohua destroyed.

“They did it!”

“Yes!”

“That's my boys.”

Wukong’s pride swelled, but his smile was bittersweet. The glamour glitched again, hiding Xiaotian and Huohua’s true forms from the world. ‘Macaque was right. We need to talk to them sooner rather than later….’

With the curse gone, the chapter fractured. Everything around them broke into pieces.

“Now would be a good time to get out of here!”

“But we haven’t found The Upper Court yet-”

A crack in the chaos glowed blue instead of gold. From its depths, Azure Lion stepped through, his presence commanding.

“You.”

“Me.”

Chapter Text

The group woke up in a desolate wasteland, perched at the highest point of a ruined cityscape. On the steps to the throne, scroll in hand stood Azure Lion, looking pensive.

‘I’m so tired of passing out…’ Kai stirred, quickly realising something was wrong.

Their breath hitched as he scanned the faces around them. One, two, three-

There was six of them.

Not seven.

“Azure? Where's Monkey King?” MK asked, panicked.

‘Not again. We just got him back!’

Mei glared at the lion demon. “Explain yourself, Azure!”

“Mei, what are you-“

“Azure's been lying to us, MK!”

Kai’s fists clenched, his teeth grinding. “What?”

“Um, maybe we should give Mr. Lion a chance to explain?” Sandy said cautiously.

Mr. Tang, however, pointed his khakkhara at Azure, glaring at the demon. “I saw it! Here! Wherever this place is! Him! Plotting to take down Monkey King! That was his plan all along, to trap Monkey King inside that scroll and do something sinister, something bad, probably.”

Azure Lion’s gaze briefly met theirs before turning away, guilty.

“See?! He's basically admitting it! And to think I modelled my brand-new sword after yours! Gross!”

Azure sighed, his grip tightening on the scroll. “It wasn't my intention to deceive you, but I knew you wouldn't understand. Sometimes it's easier to ask for forgiveness, not permission.”

His knuckles were probably turning white from how hard he was gripping them. ‘Forgiveness? Seriously?!’

“Ooh, okay. Then I hope you won't be upset when I don't ask permission for this!”

With a burst of speed, Mei lunged, her blade aimed at the scroll. Azure sidestepped her attack effortlessly, releasing a volley of ink from the scroll in retaliation.

Mei leapt above the inky assault, twisting midair to strike again. This time, a brilliant light erupted from the scroll, blinding her momentarily. A pair of golden wings materialised in the haze, blocking her path.

“Greetings, little girl.”

Before Mei could react, a large bird demon knocked her into a crumbling pillar with a sweep of its wings.

“Mei!”

“Hold on.”

Pigsy and Mr. Tang rushed forward to help but were pushed by Sandy taking the brunt of the attack from the elephant demon.

“Sandy!” They yelled as the force sent him skidding backwards, struggling to get back on his feet.

The bird stood on Mr. Tang and pointed their ji at Mei. “If it isn't The Great Monk Tang Sanzang. You cannot imagine how I've longed for this moment.”

“No! Please, Azure.” MK begged.

‘Forgiveness my ass!’ Azure got no sympathy from him. “Let them go!”

Before anyone could act further, MK and Kai’s bodies glitched violently, the strain knocking them to their knees.

“Peng, stop! This man isn't who you think.”

The demon did, preferring to talk to Azure. “Took you long enough, brother. I feel as though I've been trapped in that cursed thing for 1,000 years.”

The other demon followed. “How long has it been?”

“Oh, I don't know, truth be told. Yellowtusk, bring it in, old friend.” Azure replied casually.

Kai’s anger grew with each passing moment. The sound of Azure laughing with his friends made his blood boil, especially when they could see their friends either lying in craters or trapped in that damn scroll.

“MK, Kai, I'm sorry things got so out of hand. Let me introduce you to my other brothers, The Golden Peng and Yellowtusk The Wise.”

“So, this was all just some elaborate plot to break your friends out of prison or whatever that scroll is?”

MK’s voice was tight with disbelief. “But why not just tell us?!”

“He's a villain, MK.” Kai stared daggers at Azure. “That's what they do. They lie and manipulate people to get what they want. I knew we shouldn’t have trusted you!”

“Okay, okay. An explanation. I owe you that at least. If you will allow me.” The scroll unrolled and circled them as they were taken into a memory. The three stood above a ruined village, the aftermath of a brutal battle. Even from up here, the boys could see dozens of celestial soldiers patrolling around and one of them was.

“Is that...”

“Me? Yes. Oh, I was a strapping lad back then. I was once a Celestial Warrior, fighting to protect the weak. Or so I thought.”

The memory changed to The Heavenly Throne Room.

“Over time, it became clear to me that The Jade Emperor's only concern was keeping his subjects under his boot. He cared not for the plight of those he ruled.”

The scene shifted again, this time to Flower Fruit Mountain. A young Monkey King was teaching Ma, Lui, Ba, and Ben how to fight, while a younger Xiang, Tess, and Bo watched.

“No, like this.” Monkey King adjusted Ba’s stance, a proud smile on his face. “Better! Now copy me. There, you guys got it!”

Bo waved his hand around. “Us next! We wanna try!”

Tess turned to Bo, looking up from the metal he was tinkering with. “Um… Boa, I don’t want to try.”

“Me too.” Xiang shrugged. “I’m the only one of us who know how to use healing herbs. I rather not need to use it on myself.”

"Come on, y'all! Ya made me play the princess when we were doin’ heroes and villains today! Least you can do is learn how to fight alongside me!"

“You’re the only girl Boa. Of course, you played princess.”

“Why, I oughta.” Bo mumbled before grinning. “Come here!” He pulled both Xiang and Tess into a headlock, knocking all three off the log they were sitting on.

“BOA! GET OFF ME!”

“WUUUKONNNG!”

The boys flailed, calling for Monkey King.

“What? Do the boys need their king to save them?”

Monkey King came to their rescue with a mischievous grin. “Boa, if they don’t want to fight, they don’t have to. The same way if you want to, I’ll teach you how to fight.”

“REALLY WUKONG? YOU’LL TEACH ME?!”

“Yep!” Monkey King nodded.

“YAY!”

“Not until you’re older.” Ma chimed in.

“BUT MA!”

“No buts.”

Azure’s voice softened. “And then I learned of The Monkey King, whose only allegiance was to his people. He'd made his land a paradise. I knew here was a warrior with my ideals. A brother. A king. A…”

The brotherhood dined in the not-so-abandoned Solarium.

“You all seem so happy.”

‘They did…’

“We were….We were going to change everything. It was going to be glorious.”

He couldn’t help but ask. “Then what happened to you guys? What changed?”

The Celestial War raged around them. Friends and foe alike run across the battlefield.

“We followed our King into glorious rebellion. Though the might of The Celestial Host stood against us, victory was in sight. But in the final moment, The Monkey King failed. He wasn't strong enough to defeat The Jade Emperor. The battle was lost. Our cause destroyed and our King struck down.” Azure’s voice grew heavy. “However, fate had one last cruel twist for us.”

“This is for the best, Monkey. Until you can control your rage, I can’t allow you to run wild.”

“Sun Wukong now yielded to an agent of The Celestial Host, another warrior for the oppressors. Even so, our cause still burned strong in our hearts. While Sun Wukong cut down our kinsmen, we set ourselves on a greater path. If The Monkey King had it in his power to create a paradise on earth, so, too, could we.”

The ruins now truly look like a utopia, an empty one but one nonetheless.

“Here at Camel Ridge. But The Celestial Realm did not abide the competition.”

“Remember we’re here to capture, not kill.”

“That’s going to be real hard Master.”

“Try Zhu Bajie.”

“Remember Brother Wukong’s plan and we’ll win.” Sha Wujing said, and Ao Lie nodded.

“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 this scroll, left at the mercy of The Celestial Court.”

The scene returned to the present, leaving the group more confused than ever.

“That can't be true.” MK said, shaking his head. “Monkey King's a hero. He wouldn't just-“

“You saw it with your own eyes.”

“Save your breath, Azure.” Peng mumbled.

“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. But it wasn't in my power, it was in yours.”

Kai’s brow furrowed, voice cold. “So you used us….”

“I- yes….” Azure admitted. “You saved my friends, children. You returned them to me. And for that, I am eternally grateful.”

Pigsy sat up. “Great! You're grateful, you got your friends. We're done here, right? I'm sure Monkey King's learned his lesson, so just give him back, and uh... we'll see ya around.”

“I'm afraid not. It was Piggy, right? We haven't properly been introduced. No. Monkey King didn't understand then. I'm certain his position on the matter remains unchanged.”

“And uh... what matter was that again?”

“We're finally going to finish what we started.”

“No longer will we stand by as The Celestial Realm acts with callous impunity. The Jade Emperor must be dethroned."

“We cannot allow anyone to stand in our way. Until this is over, Wukong must remain within the scroll.”

‘…Oh hell no!’

Their voices were calm, chillingly so, as they made their demand. “Let Monkey King go.”

He felt his power spark within him, fiery energy bubbling to the surface.

“Boys please-“

Power kept surging through them, bringing on the glitching. The other demons in Azure’s little entourage watched in disbelief.

“Is that who I think it is?”

“It can’t be….”

“Careful, children. My patience is not endless.

He chuckled. “That's funny because my patience is the same AND YOU USED IT ALL UP!”

“I WON’T LET YOU MONKEY KING AWAY FROM US AGAIN!”

The glitching stopped on their monkey forms as MK dashed at the speed of light, placing a hand on Monkey King's plank.

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“Okay, I've seen enough!” They punched that little chimp with only a fraction of their might, it's not like they were trying to kill the little twerp.

Their hand met, not the chimp, but a shadow portal, passing through. Their eyes widen. ‘So it is you two.’ They should have known just from those ears that the spawn had inherited Macaque’s cowardly abilities.

The other twerp stomped on them from above. Yellowtusk swung his hammer, sending them crashing into the ground.

“Guys. No.” The girl and the wannabe monk yelled.

Yellowtusk and Peng stood in front of them, blocking their way as they got up. ‘Those twerps will never get-‘ The two zipped past them at lightning speeds before they could blink.

‘WRETCHED HELL SPAWNS!’

It would only stand that Macaque and Wukong’s little chimps be as annoying as they are.

The two circled Azure at high speeds, never giving him a chance to recover from their attacks. One of them kicked him off balance, sending the plank flying. ‘Where’s the other one? The Wukong one-‘

The child reached for the plank, but Azure sliced through him and the plank. The Macaque one caught the other in mid-air, in a very Macaque like move, sliding back to safety behind their friends. ‘Overprotective and yet cowardly, looks like Macaque made the perfect copy.’

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“No. No! This isn't what I wanted.” As they catch their breath, their twin glitching stopped again.

“All you had to do was wait. After this was over, I was going to release Sun Wukong, help him see reason. This is now impossible! Not after what you've done!”

“But we can get him back, right?”

“We can fix it. Maybe we can find some magic tape!”

“I... I don't know.”

‘What, no! Monkey King can’t be gone!’ This isn’t what they wanted. They didn’t want- didn’t mean to ki-

“Hey! My golden jangly stick! What are you doing?!” The three weapons floated over to Yellowtusk.

“Your ancestors were the agents of the Celestial Realm. Their weapons forged by the heavens, wielded against the weak. It's time that was reversed.”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“I'd hoped to mend the fracture between myself and Sun Wukong.”

‘I wanted you to see it, the world we dreamed of, the world we fought for, a world where you didn’t have to be chained to the heavens, where your children aren’t hunted down to settle petty grudges.’

“But his legacy will live on in our victory. Brothers, it's time to go.”

‘I’ll make that world……with or without you.’

“We're just going to leave those kids out here with that power?”

“This is not their fight, brother. Remember they were the first victims of Wukong's blindness. Give them this charity. Leave them be. But beware. My charity is at its limit. Stay out of our way.”

Xiaotian and Huohua may be Wukong’s children…..but he will strike them down to see Wukong’s dreams come true.

------☼ ☆ ☾------

After some painful glitching, MK panted in front of Kai, who was also breathless.

“…..No matter what we do, it's going to lead to pain. It's like The Lady Bone Demon said. Doesn't matter if we wanna help people or not! Everything I do just... it just makes things worse!”

The terrifying weight of MK’s words settled on his shoulders. ‘…….What did we do?’

“You're all stuck up in your own head! None of this is your fault!”

He pressed his hands to his face, trying to get his stupid body to stop shaking.

Tears streamed from MK’s face. “It's always my fault!”

They should be crying too, certainly felt like it, but they were too angry to cry and his thoughts were spiralling.

‘What the fuck did we do?! Damn Azure! Agh! I hate him! Monkey King is gone because of…..of…DAMN IT!’

“Ever since I picked up Monkey King's staff, I-“

They felt Mr. Tang’s hands cup theirs, Sandy’s hand on their back and Pigsy’s voice broke through their panic. “Look, kids, I know this has been scary and confusing, and, you know, the whole monkey thing, but... I guess what I'm trying to say is I know what you're going through.”

“No, you don't.”

“You can’t! YOU CAN’T POSSIBLY KNOW!”

Mr. Tang flinched at his outburst and he couldn’t feel bad about it.

“You have scary demon ancestors? That just means you have family. You come from somewhere.”

“I thought I knew where I came from! I thought I knew who I am! But I don’t!” Their voice cracked. “I clearly don’t know anything!”

“I don't have a family. I don't have anything!”

“Most of life, I’ve been alone! I only really had one person and now, she’s gone!”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“Without question, you were born from the stone as he was.”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“If….if I wasn’t their son, my parents would have said something! They would have…….They would….”

“When were they going to tell you? After all you were only 5 when they went away.”

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“And now that might be a lie! Fucking great! Another lie to add my never-ending list!”

“And the most messed up thing is. I-I never even realized, never even questioned who I am, or where I come from, or why, or-“

“MK-“

“Kai-“

“Don’t! Just….just leave me alone! You don’t know me! How could you?! I DON’T EVEN KNOW ME!” He sunk into the shadows, leaving everyone behind.

------☼ ☆ ☾------

MK watched Kai leave, ready to do the same. “Until we know what we are, what our destiny is, I can't risk hurting the people I care about……the ones I have left.”

“MK, just wait! We can-“

He flew off before Mei could finish, running to the only place he could think of.

------☼ ☆ ☾------

“Doesn't that moron know that we're his family?” Pigsy muttered, tears in his eyes. ‘Didn’t that other moron know that if they needed a real family, we’d happy to give them it.’

Tang held his hand, and though silently shedding tears, he was confident when he said. “They know. They’re just….they’re having a hard time right now.”

“MK didn't mean it, Pigsy. They’re just at that age where their bodies are changing into a... hairy, little magic monkey men. They’ll be okay.”

‘Would they be?’ Pigsy wondered. Trouble followed his kids everywhere.

Tang thought the same. “We should go after them.”

“Oh, hundred percent.” Suddenly they were transported miles away from where they were.

“The hour is late. It's well and truly time the new Great Companions received some training.”