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The salmon train car bustled in the near distance towards a glowing city. Following them thus far has been much easier than he thought the journey would be (especially since they traveled by a large non discrete neon van that could be spotted a mile away.) Carrying the green dragon plush had been more of a hassle than tracking them once he caught up to the thieves who took and promptly wrecked his car.
Shaking off that frustrating memory to concentrate his eyes followed the tram until it entered a flashy station out of sight. He pyroported down to the nearest red rooftop, and jumped from roof to roof towards the station. As the train's passengers flooded out, he scanned the crowds for the group of oddballs, sure enough there emerged noodle boy, DragonHorse Girl, and their entourage of rejected circus clowns.
He tried to keep up with them in the winding city streets, but it was crowded, loud and hard to see clearly with the sheer amount of people, lights and decor. He needed to keep an eye on her and couldn't lose her now because of some obnoxious festival. Ever since that vision, he'd been following her the best he could, doll still in hand. Something was wrong, or rather was going to be wrong, and he had a nagging urge to ensure she was alright whenever or however that moment came to pass. NOT because he cared for her specifically, but those frightening flashes posed a danger to everyone.
As his mind wandered for a second he snapped back to see... no one he recognized. That was bad. "No! Where did she go?!" he spat to himself. Red analyzed the moving crowds for anyone from that group of weirdos and couldn't see a single one of them. What he did find, however, was a booth full of useless trinkets. He knew she and her friends wouldn't resist stopping by.
"You. " he harshly greeted the merchant,"Have you seen a short girl in green? She'd be with an annoying simeon, a loud boy with a bandanna, and some others? "
The question came off more like a demand than a question, and the merchant hummed, but did not respond. "Well?" Red sneered, forcefully approaching with a very apparent impatience and urgency. The merchant grinned and responded, "Maybe I did. Maybe I didn't. Wanna buy something to find out?"
Red Son slammed his open palm on the counter (other arm still carrying Mei’s plushie), "I don't want any of your trivial disgusting Gar-" His insult wavered as he examined the items being offered a bit closer. Hanging up were T-shirts with a golden ring plastered on it, ringed sunglasses with fire decals, and a multitude of other products brandishing his symbol.
"What kind of store are you running here bozo!?" Red Son snarled, leaning past the counter at the seller's face. He was polite enough to give the seller one chance to explain.
"Why these are all fine crafts and souvenirs celebrating the Ring of Light Festival! Without the Ring our city would not have become the successful metropolis it is today!" The merchant explained, directing his customers' eyes to a purchasable painted mural of SunWukong thrusting the Ring into the mountain. "Every year we honor the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Monkey King, for granting our village the Ring and a chance at prosperity."
Red Son looked entirely baffled. This entire civilization was built on his family's ring and his symbol... and they weren't receiving an ounce of credit! This information distracted him from looking for Mei to taking down this know-it-all merchant selling his image without even knowing who really founded the city.
"Look here, Merchant Peasant. I demand you cease production on all this ring merchandise and forfeit any profit of the day to me. RED SON." He shouted.
"You don't have that kind of authority. You're just a tourist." The merchant scoffed, shoving the man in red away from his face. Red Son stomped a foot up to the counter and flared at the notion, yellows and oranges waving through his fiery hair. "I?! RED SON! A TOURIST!!?" He screamed. "Do you even know who MADE that Ring you losers worship?"
The fellow behind the counter was sweating at the blazing heat and was honestly kinda terrified. He had never met a Demon like this before and didn't really know what to do. But the aggressor had fire powers and he was just a guy behind a pop up store. "Th-The Monkey King?" He squeaked, believing in the truth of his answer despite feeling it was not what Red Son wanted.
The Demon actually began to laugh at the answer. He decreed, "I. Son of the Great Demon Bull King, made the Ring. I made that fire! That symbol you're selling is MINE"
Red swooshed his trench coat to reveal the Samadhi Fire logo. The man quivered and stammered incoherently searching for some kind of rebuttal. Red Son noticed his uncertainty and burst into flames again to prove his point, one glowing devilish eye piercing at him. “Or perhaps you don’t believe me” he smiled threateningly.
The merchant sqeaked in terror, and collected all his merchandise into a cartoonish ball, shoving it all on the counter at the Demon. “I’m sorry. They're all yours, please don’t hurt me!” he cowered. Red placed the Green Doll down for a moment to dig through the pile. He grabbed out a small Ring themed backpack and a pair of shades. He unzipped the bag and placed the plush inside it, along with some of the money the merchant “graciously” handed him. He theatrically swung the bag around his shoulders and dramatically threw the sunglasses on his face. “That’s better! Yes! Respect me, Peasant! I created your entire city!” he cackled for a bit, happily taking in the man’s fear and forced adoration.
Once his gloating was done, the dragon stuffed animal redirected his attention back to his original purpose here. He stepped back from the store and regained a polite composure and tone. “Oh and before I go, Where did that Monkey group go?”
The man pointed downtown. “There!” he pointed down the street towards the center of the city, “They were looking for a Ring. We give a replica out as a trophy every year so they are bound to be performing at the Talent show, in the newly renovated amphitheater.”
Red Son turned to where he was pointing as he spoke, “The show should still be in progress. You can make it if you hurry.”
“Thank you dear citizen” he said, adjusting the straps of his bag before dashing off towards the stage. As he ran, he thought about the city’s origins. People here, despite their inept ignorance, seemed to really thrive. Although he wished his family for more credit for what it became (and the egregious branding without his permission ticked him off) it was comforting to know that at least something good came of his failure. He kept that small confidence booster in the back of his mind.
Red Son arrived at the very entrance of the theater and took a moment to catch his breath. The place was already overcrowded and he could barely see anything, so he sparked up his fire and teleported to the rooftop, hiding behind posts and columns as to not be spotted. Getting a better view, he saw the heroes on stage, looking more ridiculous than ever (no surprise there being led by the Noodle Boy). He sighed, relieved he had finally caught up to them, and his eyes immediately located Mei and stayed locked on her. He hated to admit that she looked gorgeous in that kimono. She was one of the most annoying, ill mannered of them all, but there on stage she seemed graceful; She was like a true respectable lady, instead of an annoying and totally NOT endearing nuisance.
He actually smiled, rather softly, watching the performance. The beat was a good break from what was anticipated to come. He didn’t need to think about what he was preparing for and he could just stand back and enjoy the music. She was still ok.
He patted the backpack to ensure the Doll had not fallen out somehow. Mei had left it at his pad and he wasn’t thrilled about having some goodie-goodie’s trash littering his garage. Red Son wanted to give it back to her and considered going down after the show too, but he would most likely be forced along on their quest at that point, which was extremely unfavorable. He reminded himself he wasn’t helping them, nor did he exactly agree to their plan. He was just supervising Mei in case worse comes to worse.
The song was approaching its end and the pigman belted out the final note, accompanied by all the bright lights of the city flashing on. Fireworks shot to the sky and the weird man that bums around the group fell onto the stage. He said something to the pig and the whole group just dashed off the stage. Red Son couldn’t hear a word, but he only hoped it was not about him. Red spelled up flames and flew off the roof to trail them. Speeding around the top of the backstage area, he looked down to find them rushing on the western tram, leaving town. He couldn’t lose her now, and he couldn’t be spotted, so Red followed along by running behind the tram on rooftops until he reached the end of the city, and then tele[prted across the drop off to the woodland mountains the railings connected to. From here he could continue to monitor the train from a good distance and-
The city behind him flashed blues and black. The energy wave threw him off balance and he peeked back to see what was the issue. Spikes emerged from the lanturn and rushed to cover the whole city. He pyroported further and further out in a rush to get far away while also keeping a concentrated tab on the train: which began to drive away from the ground he stood on and towards a desolate mountain region. Looking up, he could see a special mountain with three golden rings embedded in its peaks. His head began to throb with images and memories that he couldn’t make out. That had to be the original mountain they forged the Rings at. Which could only mean they were headed there right now. He jumped around the mountains, using their large bodies to cloak his presence, and saw a large ship with rings slashing the train car to a halt. The shock wave shot him back with a mighty force. He couldn’t keep his balance and was sent flying back a peak or two. He didn’t know who it was, but they did not like those Heroes and he knew that was not a fight for him to get close to. He retreated back into a nearby forest region that surrounded the peaks, keeping an eye on the mountain itself instead of the fight commencing. He did not go all this way for Sun Wukong. It was about Mei.
He walked around the forest region. It was hard to make out anything with the tall trees obscuring his vision (and he didn’t have enough concentration at the moment to constantly fly with his fire without setting fire to a whole forest). At that instant, he heard a loud boom and a maroon beam shot into the sky from the distance. Judging by its angle it had to have been from the Samadhi Peaks, and he ran through the forest to a bare rocky clearing to the side of it. The beam shot out a pulse of red and shot Red to the ground. He yelped as the shock of the fire momentarily struck him for the first time in centuries. The beam was accompanied by an enraged Dragon spiraling from the Peak, roaring with more flaming energy. Another faint blast hit him and he clutched his head as the images of Mei flashed in his mind. They started the ritual and Mei was an unwilling part of it.
“Mei!” Red cried out in distress, stumbling to stand on his feet. He didn’t know what to do or where to go next. The thought that she would have been safe if he had just intervened came to mind and he had to shake that off for now to focus on what was happening in the present. He finally understood what the vision said: Mei was merging with the fire. He could only hope she was strong enough to survive it ( of course she was ). He held his breath as the Dragon dispersed. That could mean either something really good or very bad and he tugged at his bag, hoping for a sign she was alright. Moments later, a ball of fire shot out from the peaks and sped down towards the continuing forest behind the mountain. Without a moment's more hesitation, he sprinted away from the mountains and through the forest, letting his eyes alone control his feet. He would not take his eyes off the burning wisp and forced his legs to keep up the pace. Each step and momentary leap of fire brought their trajectory closer and closer together. He hastily unzipped the uncomfortable bag and chucked it to run faster, grasping the doll in his hand. He heard the sizzling splash of boiling water and tracked the steam to a ditch that had evaporated in an instant.
Mei He said in his mind, catching his breath and allowing his lungs to settle. He finally caught up to her. He could finally return this stupid plushie. But he also needed to approach her correctly. She had his old fire now, and it was dangerous when unchecked. She needed someone to help her get through this, and what better mentor than the origin of it all.
Mei began to sob and he saw that as his cue to cheer her up. He leaned on the bushes, trying to find the right words. She warned him to stay back and, he may have been a bit too giddy considering Mei’s distressing new position, but he tossed the doll to her with a wide smile. After a week he could finally return it to its rightful owner! Her blazing stopped and she looked up to see who came for her. Red Son emerged from the bushes with a proposition.
“Dragon Horse Girl. Heh! Looks like you could use some fire training!”