You're alive." Wukong stared at the warrior, then looked over at his student, "You've spoken to each other." Turmoil plagued his heart, screaming for anger to take control. But he'd lost the right to scream a long time ago. And his tears had long since depleted.
Macaque bristled, his scowl deepening, "Yeah. I'm here to 'talk it out' or whatever." Fear overtook his rage, making the warrior want to run. Slip into the ebony, and never be seen again. "Someone brought me back, I met your kid, and he convinced me to talk shit out with you." The confession was rough, made without sentiment.
"...I missed you. And I am sorry." Wukong swallowed thickly, "I know you're angry. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, and I can--" Macaque yowled, stepping back, "This isn't about you. I'm here so I can-! I don't know, find closure? Yell? Scream? Fight?" MK nervously looked between them, unsure of what to do.
"Sorry. You're right, uhm, is it a spar you want?" The king felt loss, flightless. How does one resolve such sorrow? Such betrayal? What Macaque assumed was hatred was really just grief. Grief for what had once been. Grief because who knew how long this would last.
"Sure." Macaque shifted in place, awkwardly glaring at the king. Wukong tried to smile, beckoning the pair over to where MK usually trained, "I promise to hold back if you want. Trust me, I know you're strong, but I don't want to..."
'Hurt you anymore' went unsaid. A silent promise. One that would be held close to his heart, and never let go. It was a command towards himself, making his fists extend as if catching a harmed soul instead of tearing a being apart.
Macaque bit back a harsh retort. This was not the same Wukong who'd hurt him nearly beyond repair. This was not his Wukong. He was MK's Wukong.
A small part of him hoped this could become his Wukong, too.
---
MK sat back, watching the pair slam into each other. Wukong was being careful, but still throwing the warrior around. And Macaque was screaming, sometimes wordlessly, with a heaving storm of fury and tears. MK felt as if he shouldn't be here.
Sometimes, when MK wasn't so distracted, he often thought of how Macaque felt about him. Honestly, sometimes MK felt as if he were a replacement. Set up again and again with one sole purpose, to keep the king company. But Macaque didn't seem to act that way, if anything, he was amused by the boy's existence.
And Wukong always treated him as if he were MK, not someone else. Someone different, long gone and stuck within memories.
The brunette gasped as the ground cracked and screamed, lurching forward as a fist clashed against the soil. Dust bellowed up, making him sneeze, and crackling purple and gold streaks shot through the air. Like lightning without the storm.
And then it was quiet.
No screams, no fists, no sobs. It was dead silent, dust settling like an uneven sheet over a bed. Power still buzzed in the air, and MK stumbled back onto his feet, eyes wide. Gold flashed within his irises, highlighting the land.
Macaque suddenly coughed, kicking dirt at the sage. Wukong smiled sheepishly, not bothering to scold the shadow user. MK bounded over, nervously gazing at the pair, "Are you okay?" Macaque rolled his eyes, "Sure." He spat at the ground, popping his knuckles together with a grunt. Wukong sat up, eyes downcast.
"Will I see you again?"
Or were you only here to see me off? Were you only here for MK? Were you only here to beat me with your own hands, to strike pain across my skin, and nothing more?
The warrior didn't look at the king. Instead, his eyes joined with the star's, and he smiled. A genuine, gentle little thing. "Sure." He then fell, disappearing into the ebony that presented itself as his home.
Sun Wukong stood back up, wincing slightly, "Thank you, MK. That was...well, not the best, but..."
"HOW COULD YOU!" The yowls were heartfelt and raw. "YOU BETRAYED ME! WAS I NEVER ENOUGH?! IS THAT IT?!" Wukong denied softly with his eyes, ignoring the pain blooming against his ribs. "HOW COULD YOU-! HOW COULD YOU?!" Wukong inhaled softly, his eyes never leaving the other's face.
MK nodded, placing a firm hand against his mentor's shoulder, "I get it, Baba. You don't need to know how you feel right now." He then grinned, squatting down to meet the other's eyes, "And who knows! Maybe you'll be really close again, like a do over!" Wukong felt a small bloom of hope bubble up.
They were different people, just as how his Qi Xiaotian was each century that passed. The same soul, the same mind, but different beings with time.
"Thank you, dì di."
He truly was the embodiment of hope.
---
There was something MK had never told anyone. Not even Mei, and at the time, he'd simply forgotten it. But when they'd had the skeleton key, before Spider Queen's big attack, he'd held it up to his head.
Not that he's sure why, just that he felt like he needed to.
And he saw the universe, the stars, his form becoming part of them. His mind had buzzed, empty, and his dreams amplified from past memories into something new. Someone visited him, everytime he shut his eyes and let go of the world.
She seemed to know him, every part of him. Maybe she was just a part of his mind, somehow he knew she was something, someone, more. Imagination could only do so much. And tonight, MK felt a chill run through his bones, and he knew something was wrong. Maybe that explained the dream that night.
---
"Hello, my son." Soft hands caressed his hair, and the boy opened his eyes.
Small. He was small, with an oversized shirt and socks that didn't quite fit. Small. He was much too small. Why was he so small?
"Oh, how you have grown...are you happy?" A smiling woman beamed down at him as soon as he opened his eyes. The world was tinted golden, and yet, her jade ring gleamed brilliantly. Clouds with hues like sunlight reflected across the world around them. Were they floating?
"Who are you?" MK whispered, his voice much too young. He was too small. Why was he so small?
"My child, you are in terrible danger. The world needs a savior, you need to lead." The woman cradled him, warmth radiating from her body. MK frowned, chubby cheeks forming into a pout, "What danger? We beat Spider Queen."
"But there is a great evil that has been released." Clouds swirled, forming into an artifact he'd seen once before. "The Skeleton Key the Demon Bull Family forcefully took from you has been used to open a tomb."
MK sat up, turning his head to examine the woman, "...What do I do? Am I strong enough?" The woman smiled, nodding with confidence, "Of course."
---
"I have to go, bud. I, uh, can't really say why--"
"I know." MK smiled warily, ignoring the buzzing of his phone, "I had a dream. Someone told me." Wukong stared at him for a moment before slowly nodding, "I see. I...I just don't want to worry you. You deserve to continue living a life without the end of the world crashing down on you."
"I know." MK felt himself repeat that phrase much too often. How many times have people forgotten he was beyond his years? Beyond what a mortal lived? He might not know everything, but he knew enough. The dreams told him the rest. Was that the key's fault, or his own?
Wukong wrapped him into an embrace, and MK grabbed him back just as tightly.
---
"Kid, are ya sure you're okay?" Pigsy frowned, placing a hooved hand against the brunette's head. MK huffed lightly, "Worried. Wukong left to find something to beat up this really bad villain." He cleared his throat sheepishly, "I, uhm, I don't think I'm strong enough." The chef's frown softened, "Ah. Maybe Mei can train with ya? And ain't that Macaque guy s'pposed to be helping ya, too?"
MK sat up, eyes wide, "Yeah! And I can practice the stuff Wukong's been leaving me! Thanks, D-Pigsy!" He spun on his seat, leaping off and out the door. He ignored the fact he'd almost called Pigsy a title reserved for fathers.
A title MK knew Pigsy wasn't ever truly ready for. And in all honesty, yes, it hurt. But he understood the gravity that came from a single word. The weight of two syllables, the meaning behind the tone it held. Pigsy never expected to have children, much less one as strange as him.
He ignored the hurt, and instead bubbled with excitement as he managed to catch up to his best friend, "Mei! Mei, dude, guess what?!" The dragon girl laughed, bouncing with the brunette, "What?! What is it?"
"We can train together! And, I mean, I'm sure Wukong won't mind if we go to the mountain, plus Macaque'll be there!" He babbled excitedly, elated at the prospect of having her come with him to his second home. Mei beamed, "Sure! I'll take any chance to see some cool stuff and beat you up!" MK snickered, shaking his head.
---
"Hey, bud!"
MK blinked owlishly, staring at his mentor's golden form. He tilted his head slowly, "...So. This is new." Wukong snickered, brushing his hands together, "Just some good ol' Astral Projection, bud. So! Have you been practicing your transformations?"
"Yeah...It's actually pretty easy." MK didn't have much faith in himself, that wasn't new. But each day he felt more and more like the being he was, grasping his powers at a rapid pace without hesitation. "And I did the blindfold thing." He'd been done with it after a few hours of aimlessly walking around, listening to the city.
It was peaceful, in a way, to hear yet not see. He could feel the warmth of the sun, listen to laughter, feel the roads slant as he moved along, and could smell the plants and foods around him. MK listened, letting commands move to his mind.
It was unnerving how easily he followed instructions, it made him feel like a soldier. A machine. Something made to follow.
"Cool. How about shrinking? Have you tried that yet?" Wukong had a glint in his eyes, something that warned MK of some sort of challenge. The brunette grinned, rubbing his hands together, "Bet!"
The astral projection ended, and the boy immediately scrambled towards the kitchen. The sooner he got a few chores done, the sooner he could get to Flower Fruit Mountain. Grabbing the soap and a dirtied plate, MK began to scrub.
What would it be like to be so small? How small would he get? Would he still be super strong? Could he transform into a tiny puppy?
MK suddenly yelped as the world abruptly shifted, twisting into large shapes as he fell. Metal surrounded him, and he was in a dark tunnel. No, not a tunnel, a pipe! MK gawked, thumping audibly onto a debris-ridden ground.
---
Macaque felt his ears shift as a familiar voice yelped. The sound of thumping metal and a small 'oomph' alerted him to MK's location. Sighing, the warrior fell through a shadow.
When he emerged, he was surprised to see a sewer tunnel filled with chunks of concrete and twisted metal with strung-up webs. Suddenly, a small voice called out for him, "Macaque! Here, down here!" The monkey glanced down, frowning as a shrunken MK waved his hands up at him. The shadow snorted, "What're you doing in the Spider Queen's lair?"
MK frowned, grumbling softly, "Accident. I was washing dishes and shrunk." Macaque exhaled slowly, bending down to pick up the brunette--
"Where is he-? I know the little pest is somewhere around here!" The strong voice made the monkey duck down into a random shadow near the young hero, and he whispered for MK to hide. Spider Queen stepped over the rocks they'd hidden within, her poison-green eyes scanning the area.
The clicking of metal legs hitting stone and steel made MK flinch, and his eyes widened as he stared past Macaque. The shadow shifted himself, eyes narrowing as a wisp of blue managed to pass by them. He felt his blood freeze over, shards of ice stabbing into his skin.
His shadows were never this frigid.
As soon as the queen was out of earshot, Macaque launched himself out of his small abyss, grabbing the tiny hero, and bolting down the tunnel. MK gasped in surprise, holding on as he stared up at Macaque, "What? What's wrong?"
And oh, how could Macaque even begin to explain?
"Later, "he promised, "when we're out of here, I'll explain." MK gave him a look, but didn't say anything to the other. The tunnel was ending, the exit full of light. Macaque felt himself speed up.
And then someone was crying.
"Hey, stop! Wait!" MK squirmed in his hands, trying to find the young voice. Macaque felt his stomach drop, and he continued to run, "No. We're leaving." MK whined, trying to escape the monkey's grasp, "She needs help! There, see? A little girl!" Macaque didn't turn around.
"But-!" MK stopped struggling suddenly, eyes widening and glowing gold. They were out of the tunnel, the sun grinning down on them as if it could dissipate the chill in their bones. Macaque heaved, shaking his head as MK trembled, "...Can we go home? Please?"
Home meant two places to MK. It meant Pigsy's, where he'd grown up, and it meant Flower Fruit Mountain, where he'd been born. Whenever he said 'home' it could mean different locations depending on who he was with. If it was with one of the members in his small group, he meant Pigsy's. But when it came to Wukong or Macaque, it meant the mountain that had given him life again and again.
Shadows swallowed the pair, and MK felt himself grow. The smell of sunlight and foliage crashed over him, as if trying to chase away the cold.
---
When she began to attack with robots wearing shards of ice, the group was ready to run. The airship was already set to soar, but Macaque wasn't present. And MK decided to look for him, after all, what if he was in grave danger?
He was right, rarely wrong, but it still unsettled him as MK launched himself at a large mech and spotted a familiar figure straining against chains. The star gasped, eyes widening towards the warrior as metal claws reached up to grab him. All he heard was the shadow user screaming for him to run, and the staff expanded, pushing against steel palms.
Tears gathered in his eyes, threatening to either freeze or spill. Wind blew harshly against him as he continued leaping over buildings towards his friends. Towards safety the ebony monkey wouldn't experience.
A cloud suddenly came into view, and MK expanded the staff just a little higher and crashed against Wukong, grabbing his battered mentor and landing abruptly on the ship's deck. Wukong wheezed, clothes torn and eyes dazed. He breathlessly looked up at MK, holding up a roll of paper with a shaky fist.
MK sobbed, hugging him with care as his friends landed on their knees around the pair. And then Mei asked, because she was worried and because someone was gone. Missing. Taken away without her knowledge. She asked;
"Where's Macaque?"
___________________________
I forgot to update yesterday :'D
There's a snake loose at school, some sort of python idk ¯\_(ツ)_/¯