Red Son growled to himself as he tried fixing up his Inferno Jet, tightening a bolt with a wrench. "I'm not a hero! I AM NOT A HERO." He told him before letting go of the wrench. He sighed, watching it fall onto the floor.
He rubbed the brink of his forehead and sat down. "...right?"
He would never admit this to himself, but the fact that he enjoyed the heroes' company...made him feel slightly warm and fuzzy. And the more he thought about it, the more he began to linger in on in the past...about his uncle.
What would've happened if he just...accepted his offer to stop fighting and surrender The Tang Priest? Would...Wukong have let Gunayin take him away or would he have taken him back to his parents?
Red Son sighed, looking down at the floor as he thought about the Dragon Girl's words.
'YOU ARE A HERO!'
Red Son then looked at his Inferno Jet again. Before the Spider Queen attacked, he DID want a fresh start with his father. Yes, a food stand probably wasn't the best choice...but after so much failure, broken bones, and TALKING bones. He just wanted some peace.
While yes, his father did reject the idea...later on. He actually seemed...open to it at first.
Then? There was a voice.
"My son." Princess Iron Fan's voice said before she walked into the room. "Is...something troubling you?"
Red Son turned and then stood. "N-No, Mother-"
Iron Fan's eyes softened and she held Red Son's hand tightly. "My boy...a mother can tell when something is bothering their little one."
Red Son sighed. Guess he WOULD end up telling his mother what happened. "I'm conflicted, Mother."
"With?" Iron Fan asked.
Red Son was about to speak before his phone started buzzing and vibrating, even a speaker coming on.
"SLEEP BUG! DOWNLOAD IT NOW FROM AN APP STORE!"
Red Son growled before shooting a fireball at his phone, obliterating it before facing his mother again. "...well, Father was-"
"Captured by the Spider Queen. He told me." Iron Fan giggled a little. "Your father was never good at keeping secrets."
Red Son chuckled a little before sighing. "I...I had to work with the heroes to save him."
Iron Fan raised an eyebrow, humming and nodding.
"Now I'm wondering...should we eventually return to trying to conquer the city?" Red Son asked. "These other villains seem to be better at it than us."
Iron Fan sighed. "Even I must admit. Failure after failure is exhausting...and one of our attempts nearly lost the love of my life and your father." She then sat down with her son. "I myself...am conflicted if we should continue."
"Is...revenge on Monkey King even worth it?" Red Son sighed. "It was 500 years ago, after all...right?"
Iron Fan stroked her son's cheek and her face went from soft to saddened. "The worst 500 years of my life. I lost you and my husband in what felt like the same day."
Red Son then scooted a little closer. "Well, I'm here now, Mother."
"Yes." Iron Fan giggled. "You are...and I don't want to lose you again. Whether we choose to continue our ways or start something new? We'll do it together. As a family."
Red Son nodded, feeling a small smile grow on his face. "Family...you're much softer when not on the battlefield."
"The battlefield isn't a place for affection, my child." Iron Fan laughed.
Red Son chuckled. "True...I take it the race was just you and Father playing a joke?"
"According to humans, that would be considered too harsh. But yes." Iron Fan said with a nod.
Red Son chuckled. "Their sense of humor isn't very amusing." He then stood. "Thank you, Mother. I'm going to get some fresh air."
Iron Fan nodded, standing up herself and leaving the room.
Red Son then opened the garage door and went inside his car/bike. He revved up his vehicle before zooming off into the city.
But when he saw the city? It was...empty. Too empty. It was almost like a ghost town.
The Boy Sage King hummed before continuing to drive around. Then? He saw a handful of people on the street...sleeping?
"Lazy mortals." Red Son hummed before continuing to drive....but that's when he saw more and more people throughout the city asleep.
He kept driving and driving before realizing...the whole city had been put to sleep. He quickly put things together. His phone had randomly buzzed and vibrated with a notification for a game called 'Sleep Bug'.
It wasn't a friend who sent them that. He didn't have any friends!
Red Son growled before driving to the most horrendous spot he knew...Pigsy's Noodles. But as he hopped out of his car, he realized what he was doing. He growled. "Am I really going to the heroes?! To warn them of this?!" He facepalmed before remembering his mother's words.
Whatever they chose, they'd do together.
"...warning them doesn't mean I've made a choice." Red Son told himself before going inside the shop...to see Pigsy, Tang, and Mei all asleep on the floor.
Red Son rolled his eyes. "Of course the idiots clicked on it. Why am I not surprised?" He asked before grabbing the pig and shaking him, even slamming his head against the table. He didn't make a sound.
He then hummed, scratching his chin. "It seems the spell isn't a minor nuisance. The Noodle Boy is either asleep or doing his 'heroic deed' and finding a way to reverse it." He then grabbed a hold of Mei, looking her over. "Nothing I can use to reverse it myself-"
He then blinked. "Reverse it?! Why would I-" He groaned, his hair lightly bursting into flames.
Red Son then looked at the sleeping Mei and growled. "You better be grateful."
He then summoned his gauntlet, a red holographic screen emerging from it. He started scrolling through before coming across a file called 'Sleep Bug'.
He started reading. "A virus developed by an anonymous programmer that will put the player into a peaceful, but neverending sleep. Agencies found that the cure for it was to delete and de-bug the game at The Cloud...but there is a much quicker cure for one person. A controlled volt of electricty." He hummed. "A quick shock? Alright."
He then went back into his car to grab a device from his home, driving off.
When he returned, he noticed Pigsy was gone...but eh. He never liked Pigsy that much anyway.
He then sat Mei up and lightly took the device, which was a small metal rod of some kind, and tapped it on Mei's shoulder, giving her a small shock.
"OW!" Mei cried, waving her arms around. "Who-" She then gasped. "...Red Boy?"
"IT'S RED SON!!!" He screamed before groaning. "I wake you up from an eternal slumber and you don't address me with-"
"I'm sorry." Mei suddenly said.
Red Son was left a bit...surprised, but he shook it off. "Uhh, yes. An apology...that is...accepted." He then blinked before standing, not helping Mei to her feet.
Mei tilted her head before seeing her phone still flashing with the Sleep Bug ad. She gasped. "PHONE...HOW COULD YOU BETRAY ME?!"
"It wasn't your phone. It couldn't physically betray you...as far as I know." Red Son mumbled the last part. "Someone's reinstalled the Sleep Bug virus into everyone's cellular devices simultaneously."
Mei then gasped again. "And...you saved me from it?"
"H-HEY! I was doing you a favor!" Red Son said before seeing a smile grow on Mei's face. "DON'T-"
Mei hugged him tightly. "I'm so proud of you, Red! C'mon! We got a lot of people to wake up-"
Then? A giant wave went through the Noodle Shop, and Tang groaned as he woke up, yawning. "Is it already morning...?"
Red Son blinked. "Guess the Noodle Boy DID wake everybody up."
Mei laughed. "That's our MK!"
Tang then turned and gasped. "RED SON?!"
Red Son blinked before quickly teleporting back into his car and driving off.
Mei watched him drive off through the window. "He...helped me..." She whispered.
Tang blinked before rubbing his eyes. "Hey, where's Pigsy?"