Redson and Mei sat on either side of MK as he continued to doodle on multiple scraps of paper.
Redson tilted his head, "I do not have devil horns... I have extinguished bull horns that curl....! Not whatever that is." He glared down at the drawing of him being crushed in a hug by MK, Mei and he assumed Ren.
Mei gasped, "What are you talking about? That looks exactly like you...!" She grinned.
Redson turned his glare to the warrior girl, "Then I assume those rather nacho shaped ears is what you have? The tail that could compete as a third leg?"
Mei raised her hackles, "Oh yeah...? Well what about your Afro of red hair? Maybe the floppy and dragging bull ears? Or could it be the tomato colored red trench coat?"
"Ugh—! T-Tomato??" Redson flared at her statements and leaped at her, Mei laughed, taking the challenge and full on wrestling on the ground.
MK was frowning at his drawings, "Are they that bad...?"
"Hey guys—! Land Ahoy!" Sandy's call erupted through the Van. Making everyone speed to the front and get a good view of they're next destination.
Jinhua's eyes widened, "Lantern City..." She breathed out.
Beautiful mountain ranges that rendered the background almost perfectly. The bright and illuminating lights danced across the city like fireflies in a dark flower field...
"It's beautiful." The demoness finalized, her eyes never leaving it.
"We should've taken you here sooner... But someone... Wanted to finish the journey first and forgot." Macaque gave the Monkey King a sour look.
Wukong gasped and glared back, "I did not...! I was.. Just waiting for the right moment! And what better moment to go to this City now than ever!?" He pointed out the window with a giant grin, "I mean, it hasn't changed a bit."
—
They were now in a moving compartment that transported them in different carts down a metal vertical ladder rail. And the compartments were rather crowded and too noisy for Jinhua and Macaque's liking. They could see even the great Monkey King was bothered by the cramping.
"You were saying~?" Macaque leaned against a pole that was situated near a sitting Jinhua.
Wukong was wearing a hoodie with large dramatic sunglasses that celebrities would wear, "I'd rather you not speak to me right now, Macaque..." He seethed spitefully in his position between a snoring teen and a unbothered young adult on their phone, taking up his own space.
Macaque only chuckled at his demise.
Jinhua was busy looking out the window, MK and Mei on either side of her. Redson just chilled next to Mei with his hands in his pockets.
Tang held up the map towards a window, "If this map is correct...! The last Ring of Samadhi should be around..." He pointed to the center of the large lantern on the scroll, "Here somewhere." He pushed the scroll down, "I mean that looks like a good place as any to look for..." He trailed off when he saw the group already leaving, "HEEEEY—!!"
As they ventured the streets, Wukong was literally picking up baskets and boxes, "Alright! I remember throwing the ring around here somewhere..."
Macaque scoffed, "Oh great Buddha..." He facepalmed.
Mei narrowed her eyes at the Monkey King, "I thought you hid it."
Wukong raised a brow at her snappy attitude, "Yeaaah? By throwing it! Into the crust of the earth!? Where no one could find it." He placed his hand on his hips, "Keep up dragon pony girl."
"That's just irresponsible." Redson commented with crossed arms.
Mei rolled her eyes, "Tell me about it."
MK rubbed his chin as he glanced around, "Is there a festival happening?"
Pigsy was at a stall vendor, "Looks like it."
After everyone had figured out that the Ring was actually the founding of evoking a spike of evolution in Lantern City, they realized that the Ring had to be somewhere in the center of it all.
"So what? We're just gonna wander around until we just happen to stumble upon the ring, or..."
"I'm sure it's not gonna be that hard..." Jinhua smiled softly.
"That's good. I would hate to be here any longer than possible... The joyous air around here, is making me sick." Redson stuck his nose up in disgust at a group of laughing children.
Tang brought up his glasses, "Of course not, Pigsy. I think I know exactly where the ring is..."
Wukong then interrupted him, "It's in the giant lantern in the middle of the city."
Tang gasped, "Hey—! That's exactly what I was gonna say!"
Macaque sighed, "Unnecessary, Wukong..."
MK raised a brow, "How do you figure?"
Jinhua frowned, "Here we go..."
"Somehow, the villagers find my super hidden magic ring... There's a giant magic lantern in the middle of the city." Wukong shrugged casually, "Imma go ahead and say they put it in that. It's two plus two bud."
MK rushed forward and landed on Monkey King's shoulders, "And two plus two is three! WHOOHOO! The third ring!"
Mei cheered as well, matching his energy, "Big brain boy comin' through!!" She high fives the boy.
Redson raised a brow at the math not adding up, "I'm sure that's not correct...."
Jinhua chuckled, "It's not."
Macaque sighed and looked over the rails idly, "Try and convince a simian that they're math isn't mathing and they'll just prove it's correct."
Redson frowned, "What a strange race of demon..."
Wukong walked over while keeping MK balanced in his shoulders. He grabbed a flyer off a community board next to the rails and handed it to Sandy, "Here you go, big guy. You haven't said anything in awhile."
MK leaned down with pity face, "Can't read?"
Wukong looked at him passively, "Uh... I get stage fright or something..."
"Which one is it?" Redson asked with a raised brow, "They're two entirely different things...!?"
"It's both." Jinhua sighed.
Macaque closed his eyes as he reimenced trying to reach the Sage how to actually read, "He's severely illiterate."
Sandy whipped out his reading glasses, "Attention all, join the talented citizens of Lantern City, to a stage fight and win the convented ring of light, and bring the city to life." He finished by folding the paper into his pocket.
Mei looked up at all the people in the back rooms, "A talent show...?"
Redson deflated, "This is just great...!"
Pigsy crossed his arms, "So if we win... We get the ring."
"But none of us have any talents...!" Mk came flying and whined, "There's no way we can win..."
Sandy raised a hand, "Actually Pigsy can si—!" Pigsy grabbed his scarf and yanked him down.
"SANDY—!?"
MK turned around with a grin, "Pigsy~!" He then appeared next to the swine demon and placed his arm over his shoulder, "Do you have a secret talent that your not telling us about that might help us win this thing, maybeeeee...?"
Sandy bursted out, "Pigsy is an amazing singer!! And he has an awesome voice! It's like a choir of angels."
Redson deadpanned, "Um... What?"
MK grinned and carried on passing out roles throughout the group. That was until he rushed up to Jinhua and Macaque.
Jinhua shook her head, "Sorry, MK. But I think it's better if we have more teams playing in this thing."
MK tilted his head, "What do you mean..?"
Macaque sighed, "It means that we'll have a better chance at getting the ring if one of us doesn't win. Advantage in numbers, kid."
Mei gasped and slid in, "Does that mean you have a super secret talent!?" Her eyes lit up.
Jinhua chuckled as she saw the younglings bounce on their feet. Tails wagging on auto pilot, "It's more of a performance of sorts..."
MK gasped, "Are you gonna sing as well!?"
Macaque frowned and shut him down, "No."
Jinhua rubbed the boy's ears, "You'll just have to watch and see for yourself."
"Introducing to the stage...! The ShadowCat Duet—!"
"That's us, my dear." Macaque held out his hand with his other tucked behind his back formerly.
Jinhua chuckled lightly, gingerly placing hers in his outstretched one, "Let us go then..."
As they both ascended the stairs to get on stage left, their attire began to shift in a flicker of flames and shadows.
Red garments were the bold look they took on. A scarlet silken robes sewn into their backs and arm sleeves. Light white and gold details proceeded to make the red attire pop. Headdresses sat firmly on their heads. Jinhua was seen with a pale face and small red details on her skin. The blue tattoos wasn't seen through the makeup. Bells tied to her bared ankles as she pranced forward, barefooted. Macaque wore his hair low. His face painted white and his red markings popped. Allowing his golden eyes to seem alluring to the sight.
Jinhua noticed them most of all. It was her favorite feature on him.
"Time to show them how to really become stars." Jinhua leaned into Macaque's ear. Encouraging a smirk on his lips.
"What can I say? It's a family thing." He shrugged with a playful look.
Jinhua only chuckled at his nonchalant attitude. Knowing full well he's used to the stage and it's prying eyes.
"Let's give them a warm welcome...!!" The announcer stated.
The curtains opened and showed the duo in a alluring manner. They were both giving the genders in the audience an existential crisis on their sexuality. But of course it would happen when you have a switch simian who has seduced the entire fandom and a dominant tall woman who has beautiful features.
The music shifted into an upbeat Hispanic beat that allowed the audience to see what the type of show they would get.
Jinhua opened her eyes and smirked at the audience as she hopped lightly on her heels and twirled around with her thin silks. Her hands relaxed and arms dainty. Her steps were all calculated on command as if she were in a sequence of multiple battle scenarios.
Macaque followed her movements with a whimsical sensation of fluid steps. He was behind her every moment of the song. His arms draped over her like a shadow which allowed her to spread her silken red wings. His eyes trained on her bare back throughout the entire song until he decided to take the lead.
Pressing his chest against her back, he grabbed her outstretched hands and lead her across the stage in a fleeing notion. His gleaming golden eyes were the only ones to see Jinhua's surprised expression, the faint pink flush on her cheeks. Letting a giant smirk overtake his face, he chuckled and led her around in wide circles, allowing the audience to watch mesmerized, as the colors of black, gold, and red merged into one big blur of color. The soles of their feet arched with each step to make no sound other than the bells on Jinhua's ankles.
"You are overstepping..." Jinhua muttered, her eyes gleaming in amusement.
Macaque raised a brow as he continued to go on the dance like they weren't having a conversation, "And I'm supposed to let you lead this entire time...?"
"Very well... Take me away, warrior." Jinhua lightly brushed her nose against his and allowed herself to be scooped up mid performance.
"As you wish, princess." Macaque chuckled as he continued to sway and twist to the music.
Off to the side, the group could only watch as the duo continued to shine on the stage as if it was second nature.
"I forgot how good she is at dancing..." Wukong muttered, his arms crossed and he had long put the Gong down. His eyes watched her every step as she practically glowed underneath the spotlight, "Beautiful as always...."
Mei watched with MK and Redson by her side, "Look at Master move—!! She looks like she's having so much fun!"
MK hollered out, "SHOW THEM WHAT YOU GOT!!"
Redson just watched with a captivated smile on his lips, "She still is as good as ever..."
Macaque then began to stomp his foot firmly on the ground, unleashing a wave of dark violet bubbles to erupt around them. He rolled his shoulders and led the demoness around in tight circles as they dodged each one with ease. Their movements synced up like they had fought alongside each other in past battles. A step... A twist... A swing... A twirl...? Everything lined up perfectly until the song slowed to an end.
Allowing the two to slow down until Jinhua was dipped with ease, her chest heaving with large intakes of air. Macaque stared down at the demoness, watching her eyes light in a way that he hadn't seen in ages. A smile bloomed on her brightening face. A genuine smile painted her face like a beautiful canvas.
Though he was brought back to reality as they heard the cheers from the crowd. They both jumped and glanced at the roaring crowds. Flowers were thrown and rained upon the couple.
Jinhua looked back to see Macaque smiling back. They erupted in small giggles as they pressed they're foreheads together affectionately.
—
Sitting in a small crevice in the upper chambers, Ren sat with his legs dangling off the edges. His arms crossed as he had just finished watching his parents dance to their hearts content. And he enjoyed it. His eyes were locked in as soon as he saw they're attire. The movements almost made him wish he were there dancing with them.
'Your parents looked so happy on the stage.'
"Our." Ren corrected with a smirk, "Our parents did look happy."
Bai'he appeared in her wispy figure, floating in front of him with her arms crossed, 'I still haven't given you an answer to that...'
Ren closed his eyes and ignored her pout, "Doesn't matter... A demon's urge will never be satisfied until it is fulfilled. And I plan of fulfilling it."
'That's literally just kidnapping.' Bai'he frowned, but her eyes gleamed nothing but amusement.
Ren shrugged, "The law can just suck my left but if they wish to stop me."
Bai'he cracked and began to erupt in a series of giggles, 'You can't just say that...!'
Ren grinned mischievously, "Oh yeah? Watch me." He stood up from his spot and balanced perfectly on the thin space, "We should get a move on."
'Is it the nerdy looking guy?'
Ren nodded with a frown, "We need to make sure that he achieves in getting the third ring. But make sure we are also still perceived as the enemy for now..."
Bai'he stared at him worriedly, 'But is it enough...?'
Ren raised a brow, "What do you mean? The plan? Of course it's going to work...!"
The girl frowned and still couldn't help this gut wrenching feeling, 'I'm just worried about the Lady Bone Demon... She's been quiet for a bit and it's so unlike her...'
"It is... But! I'm sure it'll all work out in the end! Afterall! We are so close to getting the weapon! Soon you'll be free—!" Ren grinned up at the spirit. His cloak dancing around his figure.
Bai'he let out a sigh and gave a small smile back, 'Fine. I'll put my trust in the plan... After all. I'm the one who made it.'
"Obviously." Ren rolled his eyes playfully. He twirled his umbrella around before leaving behind a trail of purple mist.
"Now let's go say hello to the scholar."