Incarnate

City Lights, and Too Much Ice

And then screams erupted.

Pigsy pushed at him to run, ice sprouting out in neat trails. MK ran, feet slamming against the ground as he forced off the costume and smudged most of the face paint off. He heaved as Wukong leapt down from a rooftop, Tang on his back and with the ring in his hands, no longer a lantern.

"Get on the train!" Wukong screamed, pushing anyone within reach into the vehicle. MK stumbled against a seat, heaving and trembling as ice tried marking the windows. The train sped off, screeching against the cold metal of its rails. Wukong clicked his tongue, pointing up at a mountain, "There! The ritual has to be recreated up there!"

Pigsy cleared his throat, "The, uh, Samadhi Fire...could it free Macaque? Despite..."

'Looking worse.'

MK looked away, and his mentor remained silent. The moment stretched on before the king suddenly nodded, "Yeah. If anything could free him, it'd be the fire." Mei smiled, eyebrows turned down in her determination, "Then I'll free him. Lead him to us, and I can do it!"

New bouts of hope washed over them, but the moment was shattered as a pink flurry of petals crushed metal. The back of the train was torn off, and a figure stood tall despite the opening as wind rushed in, "Sun Wukong. You cannot set the Samadhi Fire loose." Wukong stepped in front of everyone, a single arm stretched out.

The rings buzzed from their position against MK's chest, and the boy stared at the deity before them. Tang gasped, "The Third Lotus Prince, Nezha!" MK nudged the scholar, motioning for him to remain silent. He glanced back out the window, swallowing thickly. They were so close.

"Hand over the rings." Nezha instructed, eyes narrowed. And then Wukong had jumped forward, and punched the prince into the skies. "Go to the ritual, wait for me!" And then the sage leapt out of the ruined train, soaring away on his somersault cloud.

MK swallowed thickly, gripping the rings tightly. "Mei, you ready?" He gave her a small grin, and she returned it with a feral smirk, "Born ready."

---

Wukong threw the deity back, face carefully set into a neutral gaze, "Nezha, enough. I know it is your duty to protect the ring's locations and such, but--" A spear lurched forward, and the king dodged.

"You don't understand! Otherwise you would've--" Nezha inhaled sharply as his ribbons were caught in rough hands, pulling him to the side, "Would've what? Let the damn world freeze over? Nezha, you haven't seen her. You don't know how strong she's become since her entombment. You are the one who doesn't understand!"

Nezha sputtered, crashing against the snow on a nearby mountain. He threw out his hands, bottom lip trembling. Petals flew out, nearly impaling the sage. Wukong leapt off of his cloud, rolling onto the snow. Nezha stood back up, ready to continue their fight when the temperature dropped further.

It was beyond freezing.

Wukong shouted out a warning as ice crashed against their bodies, pinning them against frozen snow. Harsh winds blew over them, and a lone figure landed swiftly before them. Nezha felt his breath catch in his throat, eyes widening.

"Did she..." Nezha swallowed, disbelieving as the frozen warrior staggered forward. Wukong was staring at Macaque blankly, eyes glossy, and the prince looked away. Macaque crouched down before them, white eyes staring intently at the king. A cold hand reached out, grabbing Wukong by the jaw and tilting his head up.

---

He didn't know what was happening.

They had arrived at the cave, and found a cavern full of scrolls and beautiful statues of the group from the Journey to The West. It was nostalgic, staring up at them in awe. And then, near the back, was a carving in the wall. One that looked so familiar, yet so unrecognizable it hurt. The image of Qi Xiaotian had stared back at them as they moved towards the mountain's peak.