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Chapter Text

Everything was fine! The sun was shining above Flower Fruit Mountain, LBD was finally defeated, his relationship with the Monkey King was improving, and now they were going on a mentor-student camping trip for a few days to train on the 72 transformations! What more could he ask for? It was all perfect! Well...it would be... if he was not nervous about the fact that he invited a certain someone to try and help both them and the Monkey King get along. Something that he was planning behind his mentor’s back. MK felt kinda bad about it. When Monkey King told him about this trip, he could see how excited he was. Heck, even his tail was wagging while waiting on his reaction. And while the King labeled it a “training trip.” it was clear he wanted a few lazy days, which he would have agreed to either way. It's only been 2 weeks since the epic battle against LBD, and things have still been a bit on…edge...

But this was the perfect opportunity for his plan! Neither of them could leave cause one, Monkey King had planned the trip, and as for two, well, let’s just say MK could be pretty convincing when he wanted to. Besides, there is no turning back now. He’s already at the meeting spot waiting on the King, who was a bit late, both of them. At least that gives him time to think about how to tell him-

“Hey, kid!” his thoughts were cut short when he got startled by a hand on his shoulder. He hadn't expected it, so he got scared for a second. Wukong couldn't help but chuckle at his successor’s reaction. 

“Easy there, bud, it’s just me, the old, great sage equal to heaven!” Said the King while puffing his chest and putting his hand on his waist in hopes of getting the kid to laugh at his silly pose, which worked. Though he was still panting from the scare, man, did he scare him that much? “Wow, kid, am I that ugly?” he gave a bit of a forced smile as he was also starting to get kinda worried.

“What? Nonono! Sorry, I just, got lost in thought too much and didn’t notice you were here.” MK tried to explain while rubbing the back of his neck. He saw that forced smile Wukong gave. He didn’t want to worry his mentor for something as silly as this.

Wukong left a sigh. “Good. You really need to work on being aware of your surroundings, bud. Next time it might not be me sneaking from behind."

“Yeah, sorry…” 

"Hey, don't worry too much about it!" Said the Monkey King, proceeding on patting his student's head with a big grin. "Just making sure you learn from this."

MK giggled, he always enjoys those head pats, even if he never says it out loud. 

"And sorry for the wait, couldn't find my sleeping bag." The golden monkey exclaimed, showing off the sleeping bag hanging from his shoulder. And now that MK took a better look at his mentor, he noticed that he was wearing the outfit he wore during their search for the Samadhi fire. He wondered why he ended up wearing that but decided not to ask. "Alright! Now that we are all set let's-"

"WAIT!" MK yelled, earning a confused look from the Monkey King.

"Um...Everything ok, bud...?" The golden monkey asked while raising an eyebrow. Why was the kid acting strange all of a sudden?

"Yeah, totally!" that was a lie, he still had no idea how to tell the King about them being a party of three for those couple of days, not to mention who that 3rd party member was going to be. "So, here's the thing... I might have invited one more person to...join us...?" He gave a shaky smile, waiting on his mentor's reaction. 

Wukong stared for a while, trying to process what MK told him. "...Oh..." That is all he managed to get out of his mouth. Sure, why not? It's not like he was hoping for quality time with his the kid. Besides, the more, the merrier!...right...? "Cool!" He gave a big, not-so-real, grin.

MK looked at him with a surprised look. He short of expected the first part of his reaction, but the fact that he was cool about the last-minute invitation caught him off guard. Didn't know what he was expecting, but it sure wasn't this. "Cool? So... you're ok with this? You're not mad...?" 

"Of course not, bud! Why would I be?" Well, it's not a lie... he really wasn't. Just not thrilled either. "So, who did you invite? Is it the dragon pony girl?"

"No..." Is all MK said. Ok, so not the girl.

"Then your boss, Pigsy?"

MK shook his head

"Red Son?"

"Nope..." he was starting to sweat. For the love of... Just tell the monkey!

"Alright, kid, are you gonna tell me, or are we gonna play twenty questions?" he asked while crossing his arms. The kid was clearly hiding something.

MK tightens his fist. It's now or never. "Well, it's-"

"Sup, kiddo! Sorry I'm late."

Monkey King froze. He knows that voice. Too well in fact. But why was he- Oh...Oh god no... Oh please no-

"Macaque! You made it!" MK said happily. He got excited, ready to go to the other monkey until he saw the look on Wukong's face. Yeah, he was so dead.

Macaque started heading towards MK. "Of course! Wouldn't miss it for the world. Oh, hey Wukong, didn't see you there." He said while waving his tail in Monkey King's face.

The King tried really hard to hide his annoyed face but in vain. Macaque? Out of everyone the kid could have brought along. He chose MACAQUE?!? "And you are here because...?" Wukong grumbled. He knew why but just wanted to know... Why...? .

"For the camping trip, of course! The kid was very insistent, weren't you bud?" Macaque explained while throwing his arm around MK's shoulder. To that, MK only managed to give a nervous laugh. So far, things were not going well. "Why are you asking?" A short pause followed. "Wait... You didn't know I was coming, did you?" The Monkey King groaned to that. "Well~ Looks like the kid forgot to mention my arrival to his, oh-so-great mentor, huh?" A mocking grin was painted all over the black monkey's face while Wukong gave him death glares. God knows how he wanted to wipe that smile off his face. If it weren't for MK, he probably would have.

"Ok, ok, let us not start anything, please? Since we are all here, we can just make our way to the campsite!" Said MK, trying to lighten the mood as much as he could.

The two celestial monkeys stared daggers at each other for a while until Monkey King looked at MK while giving another fake grin. "Sure thing bud! But first, can I talk to you for a minute?"  He points behind his back. "Alone?" 

MK gulped, this was not gonna end well. He walked toward Monkey King while Wukong proceeded to rest his arm around the kid's shoulder, and the two started walking a bit farther from the other monkey. MK turned his head around to see Macaque waving at him with a smile. He tried to return that smile as much as he could but was a bit afraid of the scolding he was gonna get from his mentor.

"Look, kid." MK turned to look at his mentor. His expression was not angry as he thought it would be, but concerned? Nervous maybe? Sometimes it is hard to tell. "I think you know I wouldn't have a problem with this if it were anyone else, right?" The kid nodded. "So, is there a reason you wanted to invite him in particular?" Monkey King asked with a hiss at the end. MK didn't want to tell his mentor that he was trying to play peacemaker with the two monkeys, but he couldn't lie either.

"Well... you see... since Macaque is a good guy now...kinda... I thought that he should start hanging out with everyone! And since you two used to be friends, I figured we could start from there...? hehe..." He gave a nervous laugh hoping that the Monkey King bought it. He was not exactly lying, he was still planning to one day invite Macaque to hang out with everyone. One step at a time tho.

Wukong gave a long sigh. "Fine, just this once." MK's eyes shone with excitement. Seriously, how could anyone say no to that kid? Wait, that would explain how Macaque got dragged into this mess, if not only to annoy the King with his presence alone. He turned to look at the dark monkey, who still wore that stupid grin. Yep, those couple of days were gonna be...something. Just do it for the kid, he thought. The only reason he even agreed to do this.

"Alright, wannabe me." To that, Macaque raised an eyebrow. "I hope you brought your own tent cause we are not sharing." He said while pointing at himself and MK.

"No need, MK offered to bring me the extra sleeping bag he had. Besides..." Macaque vanished inside his shadow only to appear behind the King, who got shivers from how close he got. "I prefer to sleep outside on good days."

Monkey King just groaned and asked MK for the map to the campsite. He may be the ruler of Flower Fruit Mountain, but even he gets lost sometimes, especially when he goes on foot.

Everything ended up way better than MK anticipated! A few days together will surely help the two celestial monkeys get along. Now he just had to let things take their course and enjoy the time he would spend with Macaque and the Monkey King! Yes, this trip was going to be amazing!

Chapter Text

This trip was going to be a disaster...

They were halfway through the forest when MK watched the two monkeys fight over which way they should go. Long story short, they got lost. They've been at it 15 minutes after they left the meeting spot. To be fair, he expected 5 minutes or less, so... progress? Now one was trying to get the map from the other. MK was surprised the thing was still intact. 

"I said, we have to go left!"

"And I'm telling you, it says right!"

"I think I know how to move around my home; thank you very much!"

"Oh, that reminds me, really extreme to camp 5 minutes away from your house. Good job, oh great sage!" Macaque said sarcastically. MK could have sworn he saw Monkey King puffing his cheeks for a minute.

"It's for safety measures, smart guy!" Monkey King answered. It was getting really hard not to lose his cool. "It's not like we're going back before we're done with this trip unless it's an emergency."

"Yeah, cause three powerful beings are more likely to get in trouble rather than cause it." Macaque rolled his eyes while keeping his sarcastic tone going.

"We might be powerful, but the kid is still learning, so I'm not taking any chances." The King exclaimed, pointing his finger at himself and then at Macaque's chest.

MK thought he heard his name but decided to ignore it. At this point, he stopped paying attention to the other two's bickering and was hanging with some of the monkeys that came to see what the racket was about.
As fun as it was playing with them tho, they needed to get to the campsite before dark. Why not just fly there? By, you know, using one of the 72 transformations? The whole reason this trip is happening in the first place? MK waved goodbye to the small monkeys who chirped goodbye back, or so he thought, still hasn't learned how to speak monkey, and headed towards the celestial monkeys who...yep, still fighting...

"Um...Guys...?" He tried to get their attention but had no luck. "Guys...?" Still no response of acknowledgment. Ok, that's it. The kid had enough. "HEY!" With that, the other two stopped their fighting and looked at MK.

"Oh...Hey, bud! What's up?" Wukong asked with a smile. While still trying to get the map from Macaque... Oh boy...

"Other than the sky, that is." Macaque said with a snort. To that, MK left a small giggle.

"Shut it, will ya?" Wukong yelled at the black monkey, even if it was a good job, but he wasn't planning to admit it.

MK took the opportunity to suggest his idea. Not as confidently as he had in mind tho. "So...I was thinking...Can't we just...Fly to the campsite? It would be way easier that way!" 

"No powers, bud, remember?" Wukong finally let go of the map to face his kid fully, still smiling at him. MK didn't share the same expression as he looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "What?" He asked. The kid proceeded to transform into a bird, then gave another look at his mentor. "Ooooh, Riiiight...Transformation training..." He exclaimed while scratching his head. He could hear Macaque facepalming, and he rolled his eyes. He then turned his head slightly to look at the other monkey with a grumpy look. "Alright, I forgot, sue me." He deadpanned. He turned his attention to MK. "Let's bounce then!" MK's eyes sparkled. Finally! He's been waiting all day for this! 

The King went to take a few steps to transform when he noticed Macaque still looking at the map. "You plan on coming or...?" Macaque took his eyes off the map to look at Wukong, giving him a smirk. "Nah, I'm good. You go on ahead and do it the easy way. I prefer to challenge myself." 

Wukong gave him a death glare and growled. "Why you..."

"It's ok, don't worry. I know not everyone can handle the difficult stuff." Added the black monkey, waving his hand in a shoo movement at the Monkey King. The King had enough.

"OH! so THAT'S how you wanna play, huh?" MK watched as his mentor walked towards Macaque, grabbing the map from his hands. Wait, what's happening? 

Monkey King raised his hand to grab MK's attention. "You, bud, can go on ahead! Look for a red flag near the river! That will be the campsite! I'm gonna teach this wannabe me who's boss..." The last sentence, he said with a growl. Macaque just rolled his eyes at that statement. "We'll be there soon to help set up the camp, mkay?" MK only nodded with a frown that was not very visible in his bird form, so Wukong didn't notice it. "Great! See ya there, bud!" The King waved his student goodbye, and the kid flew off.

MK didn't know how to feel about this. Did Monkey King really just ditch him to prove Macaque wrong? What about their training? He couldn't complain tho. That was the plan, right? To help them get along. And being alone together till they reach the campsite kinda helps with that. Besides, they had all the time in the world to train. What's another hour or two? MK snapped out of his thoughts when he saw the red flag the Monkey King was talking about. He lands next to the river and changes back into himself again. He looked around at the open space. Two logs were fallen to the ground, possibly for them to sit. 

MK goes and gets comfy in one of the logs, then takes out of the bag his sketchbook. Had to do something while he waited. It was still daytime too, so it had good lighting to sketch. So, he started drawing, wondering about the things the Monkey King had planned for the trip. He always did have fun training activities planned. Well, most of the time. 

Lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice how an hour had gone by. He did a lot of sketches of his friends and yet still no sight of the two monkeys. He wondered if he should go look for them. But then again, Monkey King could move a mountain with a sneeze if he wanted to, and Macaque is equally as strong, so they were definitely fine. They could just have gotten themselves lost; no biggie! He was sure they would be here any minute now!

--

The sun was setting on flower fruit mountain...

MK was starting to get worried. Macaque and Monkey King were nowhere to be found. The kid even ended up preparing the camp alone. He set up the tent, which took ages to do by himself, gathered some wood to light up the fire, and even prepared the snacks for the night. That's it, he thought. He had to go find them.

As he was about to transform into a bird, he heard the rustling of leaves from the woods. MK quickly put his guard up, readying himself for an attack. But then he heard familiar voices coming from the same direction as the rustling. 

"We're almost there! I just know it!" One of the voices said confidently.

"You've been saying that for the past two hours." The other voice said with a groan.

"Stop complaining and move it already!" 

"Don't tell me what to doOOOO!" The second voice must have tripped, throwing them both down to the ground, revealing them to be the two missing monkeys. MK relaxed at their sight but was also mad that they made him worry.

"Ouch...Nice going, idiot..." Wukong groaned.

"Maybe if it weren't for your big head, I could have seen where I was going..." Macaque replied with a groan.

"MY HEAD IS COMPLETELY- Oh, hey, kid, how's it going?" He rested his head on his palm at the sight of MK to play it cool. The kid was staring down at them with a pout and crossed arms. To that, the King gave him a nervous laugh.

He quickly got up and cleaned himself up, ignoring the dark monkey who was also trying to get up. "Listen, I know you're probably angry cause we're a bit late-" 

"A bit?" MK cut him off. 

Monkey King gulped. "Ok, we're super late. BUT! Now that we're here, we can set up the...aaand you already did everything..." His eyes fell on the yellow tent, the campfire, and some wood to light it behind MK. He looked back at the kid with an awkward smile, and Macaque tried to hold a laugh at the King's silly expression.

MK sighed. Whatever. They were fine. That's all that matters. He went for his bag. That move made the two monkeys look at each other in confusion. That is until a bag of marshmallows comes flying toward the King, catching it mid-air. He looked up at the kid, who was smiling at him. "So, which one of you is gonna help me light up the fire so we can eat these?" MK asked. He was back to his usual self in minutes. Something that made Monkey King chuckle. 

"No way, bud. You just sit down. Mac and I will take care of it. You already did enough." Said Monkey King, grabbing MK by the shoulders and sitting him down on the log.

MK shrugged. "Fine, I won't argue with that logic." He answered, and both of them giggled.

Macaque's ears twitched at his name. Mac...Hasn't heard that for a long while. Brought back a few good memories. He shook his head. That was a long time ago, and it was too late for those days to come back, not after everything...

Wukong waved a hand in front of Macaque's face, snapping the dark monkey out of his thoughts. "You gonna stand there and space out, or are you gonna help?" He asked him, pointing at the firewood.

Macaque stared at him for a few seconds and then scoffed. He walked passed Wukong to go and get the wood without saying a word, not caring about the weird look the King was giving him.

Chapter Text

Darkness and fogginess filled his vision, and everything felt cold. That icy cold brought shivers down his spine. His body felt numb, and he hated it. It was hard to move, hard to think. Why is this happening?

Suddenly, a blinding flash of light forced him to shut his eyes. He tried to open them, but his vision was blurry. He could only catch a glimpse of the eerie blue mist surrounding him. It felt even colder than before. Then a wicked laugh was heard that made him freeze. It was her. Anger started consuming his every being.

He sharply raised his head, forcing his eyes open, expecting to see the demon that hurt everyone so much. The evil spirit that he hated more than anything. But what he witnessed made his heart drop.  Kid...?

With wide eyes, he saw MK covered with bruises and grabbed by the neck...by his own hand... He couldn't believe it. He was hurting him. Why was he hurting him?! He tried to call out his name, but nothing came out. He tried to take his hand off the kid but to no veil. He couldn't do anything, just watch. 

Her laughter was getting louder, filling the dark void full of mist.

He wanted to block out the noise, that painful, excruciating noise. Watching MK struggle to free himself from his grip was agonizing. He tried to gain control of his body and fight with everything he had, but he couldn't. All he could do was stand by as the kid was getting choked to death. The thought of being helpless suffocated him. And as he thought that things couldn't get any worse...

"M-Monkey...King..." 

He felt a teardrop on his arm. He looked up at his student only to see no sadness or fear. But hope. 

"You're s-stronger...Than her...You can f-fight her...I know you c-can..." MK was smiling at him. The kid was in pain, and yet he still had the strength to give him a smile. That hurt him in more ways than one. He wanted to tell him that everything was going to be ok, that he was right here, but still nothing.

He abruptly felt his grip around MK's neck tighten, followed by a groan from the kid. Nononono, he had to stop this. He begged for this to stop. But no matter how much he wailed, his body wouldn't react to his pleas. He cried. The only thing he could do was watch and cry. It maddened him to feel this useless.

Her laughter echoed even louder through the void. 

Like in command, He suddenly pinned MK to the ground with full force, and the kid cried out in pain. His mind was filled with panic. At this rate, he was gonna... 

"I...I know it's h-hard...B-But if anyone can d-do it...It's you..." MK groaned. It was getting harder for him to breathe, but he was determined to reach out. 

His grip was getting tighter and tighter. He couldn't stop. God knows how hard he tried to stop. 

"I...T-Trust you...A-And...I'll Always do..." MK gave him the biggest smile, full of hope and warmth.

He couldn't take it anymore. MK trusted him to fight back, and he was letting him down. The only person he cared most about was going to die because of him... And the kid wasn't even afraid or angry...He still believed in him... While he has just given up...

Whispers were starting to cloud his thoughts.

"You failed him again."

Stop...

"You had one job, and now he's paying the price."

Stop it...

"You don't deserve him or his forgiveness."

Please...Stop...

"The kid is better off without you in his life."

STOP IT!

Monkey King woke up with a hard gasp, his whole body shaking. He began to look around in a panic till his eyes fell on MK's sleeping form next to him, curled up in his sleeping bag. The golden monkey left a shaky sigh. The kid was still here, and he was ok. But that still didn't stop the trembling, and he struggled to breathe. He quickly got up, rushing out of the tent. He didn't notice the kid's eyes following him.

--

Wukong was pacing back and forth, trying to calm himself down. His tail kept twitching, and he was sweating none stop. He really hoped the nightmares would have been gone by now. He thought that maybe with MK around this time, his mind would be at ease, and he could finally have at least one night of sleep. But apparently, that wasn't the case. 

He didn't want to tell MK so he wouldn't worry, the kid already had to deal with so much, and he didn't wanna add more on his shoulders for something as stupid as this. Truth be told, he hasn't had a good night's sleep since the battle with LBD. He kept having nightmares of being under her control, and the kid was also involved. He's fully aware that MK hadn't gotten seriously hurt during that whole mess. But the King couldn't help the thought of all the different ways things could have gone wrong. And those reflectings decided to hunt him in his dreams.

Monkey king decided to sit next to the river since pacing didn't seem to work. He tried to take deep breaths in hopes of controlling his breathing. Thankfully, it worked enough to at least breathe properly. He spaced out for a few minutes, his mind going blank. He was so, so tired. The monkey put his face in his hands, leaning forward. He just wanted to sleep.

"Um...Monkey King...?"

Wukong raised his head. He spun around and saw MK standing behind him. His hair was messy, probably because he wasn't wearing his bandana, and he had that sleepy yet concerned look. Dammit. He must have woken him up when he rushed out of the tent. Way to go, Great Sage. Can't even let the kid sleep. He quickly put up his carefree smile. He had to convince MK that everything was alright. "Bud! What are you doing up at this hour?"

"I could ask you the same thing." MK answered while rubbing his eye. Ηe took a few steps forward and sat next to his mentor.

"Oh, me? No reason, really. Guess I'm just not tired." He said like a liar. They have no idea how much he just wanted to close his eyes and... Wake up in a hundred years. "You, on the other hand..." he put a hand on the kid's head to mess with his already messy hair. "Should be in bed sleeping. We have a big day tomorrow, and I want you fully rested!"

MK didn't say anything. Just looked up at him with narrowed eyes and a frown. "What's wrong, bud?" Monkey King asked. There was a pause. 

"I thought we were done with keeping secrets." MK deadpanned. That answer took the golden monkey by surprise.

"What do you mean, kid? I told you I'm just-"

"You were growling."

Monkey King was stunned. He did what...?

"You were growling in your sleep..." MK repeated. "You also kept twirling inside your sleeping bag..." he tightened his fists. "Why are you lying...? Don't you trust me?" The last sentence crushed Wukong. Why does he keep doing this? Why does he keep making MK sad?  

"Kid, no! Of course, I do! It's just that..." he sighed. "Look, I...I had a nightmare, ok?" he answered in a low voice. He wasn't gonna dump on him the insomnia issue he's been having for the past 2 weeks, but the least he could do was answer him about today. "It's really nothing to worry about. Just got me a bit...startled. I might need a while before I head back to bed tho..."

"...Do you wanna talk about it?" MK asked, looking at his mentor with concern.

"If it's alright with you, bud, I'd rather not..." He replied, his voice somewhat broken. He knows he should. But he really didn't want to return to that horrible nightmare. The fact that the images still played in his mind like a movie didn't help either.

Monkey King felt a sudden weight. He looked down to see MK resting his head on his shoulder. "Can I...stay here with you? Until you feel ready to head in?" A yawn escaped from MK at the end of his question.

The golden monkey stared at the kid for a bit, then left a soft chuckle.

"Sure, bud." He placed an arm on MK's shoulder for a side hug, then rested his own head on the kid's. "Sure..."

  Macaque was lying down on top of one of the trees. He didn't mean to eavesdrop on the two's private moment, but he happened to be near and awake. Looking at them made him think of what he's been asking himself since the trip started. What was he doing there?

**

"No way, kid."

"Aww, come on, Macaque. You're gonna love it!" MK was at the docks trying to convince the black monkey to come along on the trip. It proved to be more difficult than he expected.

"I said no. Besides, I have better things to do than being stuck with the Monkey King for who knows how long." Macaque exclaimed, motioning his hands in exaggeration, moving away from the kid.

"It's just for a few days..." MK mumbled, crossing his arms.

Macaque groaned. He turned around to look at MK. "Ok, does Wukong even know about this?"

MK fidgeted with his fingers, looking down. "Weeeeeell..."

"You can't be serious..."

The kid quickly raised his head to look at Macaque. "I'm going to tell him! Look, you need to start interacting with the rest of our friends at some point! And telling everyone that we went camping together could be a good conversation topic, no?" The monkey raised an eyebrow. He was not convinced. "I mean, what do you have to lose?" 

"My time, maybe?" Macaque deadpanned, and MK gave him a look.

"Really? You've lived for, what, a thousand years now? I think you have more than enough time." After that comment, the black monkey wrapped his tail around the kid's leg and turned him upside down, bringing the two face to face. 

"You really have to do better than that to get me to come along, buddy." Macaque gave him a smirk, which quickly turned to confusion as MK attempted to use his secret weapon. The puppy dog eyes. "What are you...?"

"Pweaaaaase...? I promise you won't regret it!" MK put his hands together in a pleading position. God, it was like the kid was staring into his soul. 

"Kid, this is weird. Please stop it." The puppy stares just got more intense. "MK...knock it off..." He didn't knock it off. The black monkey left a long groan. "Fiiiiine..." He proceeded to release MK's foot, and the kid fell to the ground, which didn't hurt him. "You win. Just stop looking at me with those eyes. It's super creepy."

"YES!" MK rushed and hugged Macaque, who flinched at the sudden touch. "I promise we're gonna have tons of fun!"

The monkey chuckled. "I guess I'll take your word for it, kiddo."

**

I mean, he did say the kid was insistent. He came for MK, sure, but he wondered if a part of him actually wanted to come along to this trip. Yea, the only thing that really happened today was him and Wukong getting lost, but it was fun seeing him struggle every time they ended up on the wrong side of the forest. Reminded him of the old times. Now, if that was good or bad, he had no idea. Tho, he kinda felt bad that they left the kid alone all day. 

The black monkey watched as Wukong carried a sleeping MK back to their tent. Guess the kid was tired. He decided to do the same and closed his eyes, thinking about what tomorrow could bring. He'll know when they get there, he supposed.

Chapter Text

MK really wished he could stay in his sleeping bag all day. It was surprisingly comfy and soft too. It was like sleeping on a cloud. Actually, scratch that. He's been on a cloud, and it was ten times comfier. Huh, that's something you don't get to say every day. Tired of thinking, he decided to go back to sleep. But a gentle shake woke him from his slumber. 

"Wakey wakey, bud!" The Monkey King whispered, with a soft voice, shaking the kid as gently as he could so as not to wake him up abruptly. "Breakfast is ready!"

"Five more minutes..." MK muffled as he tried to push deeper into his sleeping bag.

The King snickered. "Alright, but don't complain if we end up eating everything." He teased and carefully left the tent.

MK slowly got out of the sleeping bag and went ahead and changed his clothes to join the others for breakfast. Leaving the tent, MK got hit with the sweet aroma of freshly made pancakes and syrup filling the air. He followed the smell to the wooden table, which they had now apparently, And sat on one of the empty seats.

As he expected, the table had plates filled with pancakes all over. He could also see a bowl with peaches, of course, and a bottle of syrup. The sight was enough to wake him fully. "And here I thought u decided to sleep in." MK turned and saw the Monkey King with another plate of pancakes in his hand. "Here u go, bud!" The King placed the pancakes in front of the kid. 

"Thanks!" MK said with a smile. He was about to take a bite, but then he stopped and looked at the golden monkey. "These aren't made from your hair, right...?" He asked hesitantly.

The Monkey King laughed. "Don't worry, kid, these are all made from scratch." He pointed at the wet bowls and frying pans next to the campfire he used to make the pancakes. "I'll admit I used some of my powers to make the frying pans, but hey, why not?" He shrugged. 

That answer surprised the kid. He's not used to the Monkey King cooking, let alone sweets. "Are we expecting someone else? Cause that's a lot of pancakes."

"If that were the case, I would need a tree to punch..." the King mumbled.

"Huh?"

"Uh... I said that whatever's left, the monkeys can eat after! They love that stuff!"  Nice save, he thought.

"Huh, ok!" After a few bites in, MK took out his phone, and the time almost made him spit his food. 8 A.M?!? What time did Monkey King wake up to make all of this?!? Sure, if it were a few pancakes, it would make sense. But the King made tons of them, which means it would take quite a while to cook. Come to think of it, did he even sleep? After he dozed off next to him last night, he had no idea when they went to bed. "Sooo...Did you manage to sleep last night?" He asked as he took another bite.

Monkey King stayed still for a bit, then turned to the kid with a smile. "Of course! Right after, I managed to tuck you in for the night. Seriously, you must have been super tired. You were out like a light!" He kept talking to avoid the fact that he half lied. He did sleep ye, for an hour? or half an hour, maybe? He couldn't tell. Unfortunately for him, he stayed awake the rest of the night. He honestly has no idea how he ended up making pancakes and picking up peaches. But he needed to distract himself with something until the others had woken up too. He got lucky that MK and Macaque were both fast asleep. Or else he'd have to explain why he was cooking at 6 in the freaking morning. 

MK didn't know if he should believe the golden monkey or not but decided to take his word for it. "Glad to hear...And I'm always here if you want to talk about it."

"Yea, bud." The King ruffled MK's hair. "I know." It hurt that he had to lie to the kid, but there was no reason to bother him with his problems. He had to start cleaning up his mess on his own. Somehow.

"By the way, where's Macaque?" MK asked while looking around.

"Not sure," Monkey King answered. "last I checked, he was sleeping on the tree. Maybe we got lucky, and he left!" He couldn't hide his grin at the possibility. Even MK noticed it and gave the King a look.

"Nice try, Wukong, but I'm right here." The dark monkey came out of MK's shadow, startling the boy as he fell out of his seat. "Oops, sorry about that, bud." He said, trying to contain his laugh.

"Morning to you too...I feel like you enjoy jumpscaring people a bit too much." MK deadpanned.

"What can I say? It's funny." Macaque answered, grabbing one of the plates with the pancakes and sitting on one of the logs.

The King groaned. "Ok, you two, eat up so we can head to the beach."

"Why the beach?" Macaque asked.

"Well, as far as I'm aware, the kid can so far transform into a bird, a spider, and a gorilla." Not thanks to you, his thoughts added. "Great job about that, bud!" The kid left a nervous laugh at the compliment. "So I figured, for your next transformation, we could try something water-based!" He motioned his hands around to make it look exciting, which worked on MK. "And this time, we're ALL going to fly there. I don't plan on dealing with yesterday's shenanigans again." He added, looking at Macaque.

"Whatever." Said the dark monkey, placing his empty plate on the table. "Let's make this a bit more fun, though, shall we?"

"More fun?" MK asked.

The King crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "You have something in mind?"

"How about a race? The last one there gets to clean the dishes." Macaque pointed at the finished plates that used to have the pancakes they ate.

"Omg, yes! Can we?" MK looked at his mentor, waiting on his answer. 

Monkey King thought about it for a bit. The kid seemed to like the idea, and he could check how well he flies, too. "Alright, sounds like a plan!" He clapped his hands.

"Wow, Monkey King agreeing to one of my plans, that's new." The dark monkey said sarcastically with a smirk.

"Ye ye, you'll have plenty of time to believe it once you eat my dust and clean it, along with the dishes." The golden monkey answered while stretching his body.

"In your dreams, King."

What I would give to have at least that kind of dream once, Wukong thought. "Ok, you ready, kid?" He looked over at MK.

"Yes! Let's do it!" MK exclaimed eagerly. He was so happy that he would finally learn something new! well, almost new. As for operation: Get Along, he wasn't sure how things were going. Sure they weren't fighting to the death, but it was still fighting. Then again, completely seizing this habit was probably asking too much. He shook his head. He'll just have to go with the flow for now.

"Gather round, everyone! Time to go!" MK, Macaque, and Wukong all took positions. "Get ready...set...GO!" Wukong shouted. The three transformed into birds and flew off to the beach!

--

The Monkey King...! Lost...?!?

The first one on the beach was Macaque. He was about to brag at the King, but to his surprise, the one who arrived next was MK. The kid got excited that he got second place until he realized who got last. They both looked up and saw Monkey King finally arriving and transforming back into himself. MK rushed at the golden monkey while Macaque walked toward him.

"Wow, Wukong. I know you're rusty, but that was too slow even for you." The dark monkey tried to tease, but he felt something was off. He just couldn't figure out what.

"Ha ha, very funny. I just slowed down cause I thought I was ahead. Guess I was wrong tho." Wukong scratched his head. That was the best excuse he could come up with on the fly. Truth be told, both transforming and his insomnia have started to take a toll on him. It was difficult for him to stay in the air, let alone go fast, and even harder to focus on the race. It was getting worse by the second, but he didn't want to admit it.

"If you say so..." Macaque murmured, not wanting to push it further.

"Guess I'll be doing the dishes tonight, huh?"

"Well, that's what you get for being so cocky." MK answered with a laugh. "So, how did I do?" He asked the golden monkey, who was looking at him with a nervous expression.

"Uhhh...You did amazing! Proud of ya, bud!" The King gave him a thumbs up. He had no idea how the kid did. Everything felt fuzzy while flying and he kept spacing out. Had to find a way to fix his problem soon. "Anyways! Now that we're here. Let's get started!" Monkey King walked near the ocean. He sat down and patted the empty space beside him to invite MK to join. The kid happily sat with his mentor while Macaque observed them from a small distance. "For starters, let's go with something I'm also more familiar with, like a turtle!" 

MK's eyes shined. He started to imagine all the cool things he could do underwater and couldn't wait for it. "How do we start?" He shouted, then covered his mouth after realizing the volume of his voice. 

Monkey King looked at the kid in shock and then left a laugh. Gosh, it was adorable. "Alright, the best way to approach this is to first visualize the thing you wanna turn into. The more details, the better." He told MK while pointing at his head and crossing his legs. "Then, you need to relax your body and focus on the form you created in your head." He proceeded to close his eyes, expecting MK to do the same.

The kid followed his lead and closed his eyes, trying to envision how he would look like a turtle.

They stayed like this for a while until they heard a chuckle from behind. Monkey King and MK turned around and saw Macaque with his arms wrapped around his stomach, bursting out in laughter. The golden monkey frowned. "Care to tell us what's so funny?"

Macaque tried to control his laughing. He then wiped the tear that threatened to fall. "Nothing, nothing. Just, is this seriously how you train MK?" He motioned his arms at the two.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Monkey King asked with an angry look. 

"I mean, look at you two! Instead of sitting around, relaxing, and imagining how he can transform, he can just, I don't know, do it?" Macaque summoned shadow energy in his palm, and then it vanished. "See? Don't think. Go for it!"

MK looked at Macaque in awe. And Monkey King didn't like it one bit. How dare he interfere with the way he was teaching the kid? He got up from where he sat and moved towards the dark monkey. "Last time I checked, mister, you're not the one teaching the kid, now are you?" 

"And last I checked, It's up to MK to decide the best way for him to learn." Macaque snapped back.

 Wukong scoffed. "I don't think he needs to learn from someone that gets his tail handed to him in every fight." 

"Oh, you wanna go, King?"

"Bring it." 

Macaque tackled Monkey King, pinning him to the ground. But the King managed to kick him off of him, and then they both started rolling on the sand, punching and scratching each other.

A long groan escaped MK's mouth. Were they seriously doing this? Right now? He waited for a while, tapping his fingers on his leg. When he figured that the two celestial monkeys wouldn't stop anytime soon, he decided to try and work on transforming by himself...Again... He considered using Macaque's method, but he wasn't sure how to do it. The other times he used the 72 transformations, they just happened. And it was just easy to use the forms he had already turned into afterward. Turning to something by will? It was different. MK ended up trying both methods at the same time. He concentrated on what he wanted to turn into and just did it. 

As he sat there with closed eyes, the kid slowly felt a warm light overwhelm him, in a good way, of course. He sensed it coursing through every part of his body. When the light faded, he slowly opened his eyes. It felt different, but he wanted to see it for himself, so he walked to the ocean and looked at his reflection. His eyes beamed with excitement at the sight. If it weren't for the circumstances, he would bounce from joy. He did it! He turned into a turtle!

He took another look at himself in the water to look at the details of his form. His shell was black with swirling red markings, and his skin was light green, with his tummy colored a bright yellow with a black stripe on his snout. And, of course, his bandana was on top of his head. He couldn't stop giggling. 

Without hesitation, MK jumped into the water and started swimming with incredible speed. The sensation of the water washing on his skin, the freedom he felt from defying gravity. Everything was astounding. He wanted to keep swimming in the endless sea forever and observe the scenery and the life that lived underwater. But after 10 minutes, he decided to go back to the shore. 

He reverted back, filled with adrenaline from this insane experience and a grin that reached his ears. He didn't even care that he was soaking wet. "I DID IT!" He shouted, raising his fists up in the air and bouncing around like crazy. "I turned into a turtle, and it was AMAZING! Monkey King, did you see?" MK turned around to look at his mentor, expecting him to congratulate him and maybe raffle with his hair or tell him that he did a good job. But the only thing he saw was the two celestial monkeys still fighting and his smile slowly dropped. "Monkey King...?"

Monkey King was on top of Macaque when he noticed MK from the corner of his eye, looking at them all wet. "Kid?" He got off of Macaque and sprinted towards MK. The dark monkey followed right behind him. "What happened, kid? You're dripping wet!" He asked as he placed his hand on MK's back.

"I-" MK tried to reply, but Monkey King cut him off.

"Bud, I'm aware that I said every detail counts, but I didn't mean to jump in." He chuckled, using his hair to create a towel, then placed it around the kid. "Don't worry; it's not as easy as it looks. We can always try transforming into something else."

All of MK's enthusiasm was gone in an instant. He didn't see anything. He's been a turtle for around 10 minutes, and he didn't even notice it... Guess wrestling with Macaque was more crucial than paying attention to their training... No. He couldn't think like that. Monkey King just got distracted, that's all.

"You good, kid?" Macaque asked, sharing the same worried look as Monkey King.

"Yea, everything is fine! I'll... I'll just go back to the camp to dry. Be back in half an hour. Sounds good? Ok, byeee~!" Before anyone could answer, MK transformed into a bird and took off, dropping the towel. He didn't tell them that he actually managed to turn into a turtle. The moment was gone. He'd probably mention it at some point. Now he just wanted to collect himself and return with his usual smile.

He tried to look on the bright side. At least he did it. And he was going to learn how to turn to more things! The rest of the day was gonna be great! ...Right...?

Chapter Text

The rest of the day went horribly for MK.

After the transformation fiasco at the beach, they returned to the forest to try a different approach. Monkey King decided they could work on something a little bigger, like a tiger. Macaque, however, thought that transforming into a wolf would have been a way better idea. You can guess what followed. MK actually managed to turn to both animals. Still, the two monkeys were so caught up in their dispute, once again, that they didn't see anything. The kid got tired of this, so he caught their attention and asked Monkey King if they could try something else, hoping that that would seize their argument. It worked for the time being.

Later the task was to turn into a butterfly. The King figured that it would be a helpful thing to turn into. The mentor and the student tried to focus on the task at hand, sitting next to each other, eyes closed. Apparently, changing into something so small wasn't as easy as it seemed for MK. While the kid tried to picture his butterfly form, Wukong noticed the dark monkey hanging upside down with his tail wrapped around a tree branch. He got curious and attempted to copy him. Somehow they ended up making this into a contest of who can stay upside down the longest. 

MK was just staring at them, from a close distance, in his cute butterfly form. Unbelievable, he thought. He had gone to look for his mentor after realizing he was not with him, but instead, he was with Macaque doing...He wasn't even sure what they were doing, honestly. He could hear them calling each other names, not even glancing at one another for a second. The kid attempted to make them notice him by flying around them. But the monkeys only shooed him like some bug, not realizing it was him. He gave up. Defeated, he flew to a nearby tree, converting back to himself. He sat down and waited for the two celestial monkeys to stop their monkeyshines. 

Apparently, Macaque and Monkey King were very dedicated to what they were doing cause they'd been at it for 6 hours... MK had fallen asleep while waiting on the other two. He woke up abruptly tho when he heard a loud thud. He turned back to see the golden monkey down on the ground.

"HA! I win! Must say you're really out of it today, Monkey King." Macaque mocked as he released his tail from the branch and landed gracefully on the ground.

"Whatever, bonehead. You're lucky my tail slipped." Monkey King hissed, rubbing his neck while looking up at the sky. He thought the clouds were a bit darker than they were supposed to be but decided to brush it off. He was probably imagining it. But man, was it late. He lowered his head and noticed MK looking at him from a nearby tree. "Hey, bud! Sorry, we got a bit distracted. Did you manage anything tho?"

MK could only frown at that question. "Let's just go back to the camp." He deadpanned and got up from where he was, waiting on the King's answer.

"Uh, ye, let's. It's getting late anyway." Monkey King replied. He could see the kid was feeling down but figured it was because he didn't manage to transform into anything new all day. So, not wanting to upset him more, he said nothing. 

The three went on their way to the camp. MK could hear bickering from the celestial monkeys, mostly Macaque teasing Monkey King about his victory. He just wanted the day to be over...

--

Now they were back at the camp, the moon shining above them. MK was sitting on one of the logs, drawing away in his sketchbook doodles of how he would prefer the day to have gone, hoping it would relax him. Macaque was sitting on the other log, taking care of the fire, and Monkey King was next to the river, stuck with the dishes since he lost the race. You'd think with this setting, everything would be peaceful and quiet. But no. Even from a distance, the dark and golden monkeys would throw insults at each other. In times like these, MK wished he had his headphones with him.

"How are you doing with those dishes, great sage? Still not done?" Macaque taunted, wearing a big grin on his face.

"Maybe if you could come and give me a hand, I'd have finished already." The King answered bitterly. He started to regret not using his powers to make the plates, but nope! He had to go the traditional way and ask the monkeys to bring some dishes from his shack. Stupid insomnia that kept slowing him down.

"I'm not the one who lost, remember? Besides, it's not my fault you're bad at it." 

"You would know what that's like, right? Being bad? Since it's your thing and all." Wukong grabbed the next plate and started cleaning it.

Wow, ok. That's how we're gonna go, huh? Macaque crossed his arms. "I'm pretty sure you've done worse things than I have."

Wukong scoffed. "Really? What's worse than almost getting everyone d-e-d?" He regretted that question immediately.

"You almost did too, or did you forget?" The dark monkey deadpanned. This conversation was getting annoying. It's not like he was the only one that messed up, and unlike the King, Macaque didn't have a choice in the matter.

Monkey King winced. Anger built up out of nowhere, putting pressure on the plate he was currently holding, causing it to slightly crack. "What...?" He hissed, low enough to hide his irritation.

"Don't "what" me, King." Macaque fumed, giving Monkey King a hostile glare, and while he couldn't see it, the golden monkey felt it piercing his back. "How about the time you left the kid alone? Without any explanation as to what to expect. Remember how that went?"

The King's blood was boiling, jaw clenched. MK got scared as he heard a low growl leave the monkey's throat.

"Or maybe the whole Samadhi Fire incident?" The shadow warrior slowly got up from the log. "And don't get me started about you being the Lady bone demon's pup-" His sentence was cut short as a plate barely missed his head. Passing right by his right side, shattering into pieces as it hit a tree. He looked up to see the Monkey King furiously shaking while glaring daggers at him, fur standing on end. The kid flinched at the sound while Macaque replied with a wicked grin. "Guess I hit a nerve, didn't I?"

That was the last straw. Wukong tackled Macaque full force, who lost his balance as he tripped on the log, falling to the ground. He grabbed his arms and pinned the dark monkey down, staring at him with flaming rage. "Shut. Up." He growled. He didn't know if he was mad at Macaque, the things he said, or both. But he didn't care. He only wanted to let out all the built-up rage he felt.

"Heh, not so fun when you get reminded of the things you've done, huh?" Macaque groaned while trying to free himself from the King's hold, but to no avail.

"I SAID  SHUT UP !" Wukong roared. He flinched when for only a second, he thought he saw MK instead of the warrior. He furiously blinked till Macaque was back at his viewpoint. 

Macaque looked confused at the King's weird behavior but ignored it. Right now, he had to make his point. "You're no saint, Wukong! You don't get to talk about what I've done when you're actions are far worse." He hissed.

"If you keep this up, I'm gonna..." The King reeled his arm back, releasing one of Macaque's hands. Big mistake. The warrior took the opportunity and hid inside his shadow. Before Wukong could react, Macaque appeared from behind and gave him a solid kick in the back, throwing him down to the ground.

"You're going to what? Kill me? Come on, do it! It wouldn't be the first time now, would it?" He yelled, placing his foot on Monkey King's back to keep him down. The golden monkey gasped at the sudden weight. "It was stupid of me to think you'd change. You're still a selfish, good-for-nothing-"

"ENOUGH!" Both the monkeys turned to look at the source of the shout. MK, this whole time, was staring in horror at the scene in front of him. How did this happen? They were supposed to get along, not hate each other more. He's been quiet all day. Even when he was ignored, he said nothing. Because he thought that at least his plan was working. That Monkey King and Macaque would stop their feud and finally move on. Guess he was foolish to think it was going to work. But this was too much, and MK couldn't take it anymore. All the emotions he bottled up finally burst out. And he snapped.

"You two, Have been acting like 5-year-olds ALL DAY!" MK got up from the log, throwing his sketchbook to the side. "I thought I could let it slide because maybe that's just your way of hanging out or...I don't know, talk with each other? But this...?" He motions to the two monkeys. "I'm done. This was a mistake. You wanna know why I invited Macaque? Yes, I did it so he could socialize a bit, but the whole point was for you two to try and get along!" He clenched his fist and looked down, defeated. "Guess I'm just naive like that..."

The mystic monkeys were lost for words. Monkey King noticed the pressure on his back loosen, so he slowly got up to face MK. He didn't know what to say, but he wanted to try and calm him down. He took a step closer. "Kid...I get that you're angry-"

"No." MK cut him off. "I'm not angry. I'm upset and mostly at you." He pointed his finger at the King, who was taken aback by this. "While both of you started it, Macaque is not my mentor. You are. And the only thing you've been doing all day is antagonize everything he's said and done. You left me to work on my transformations alone. Again." The last word he hissed, making the King's stomach drop. "You didn't even see me turning into everything you told me!" He exclaimed.

Monkey King turned to look at Macaque, who was just as confused as he was. He looked back at the kid again. "What...Do you mean...?"

MK didn't answer. He just took a few steps away from the log and started turning into all the animals he's learned that day, a bright gold light surrounding him with each transformation. Monkey King and Macaque were staring in shock, speechless. "Back when we defeated the Lady Bone Demon, you said you'd try and be a better teacher..." The golden monkey knew where this was going. He expected the kid to lash out, to yell that he wished he had another mentor. One who would be there for him more than he had. He readied himself for the worse, but what came from MK's mouth next, he did not see coming. "But if I'm the problem, just say it! Say that you don't wanna train me anymore. That it shouldn't be me. SAY THAT YOU CHOSE THE WRONG SUCCESSOR!" He regretted his outburst the moment the words left his throat. He quickly covered his mouth, tears welling up in his eyes. "I..."

"Kid..." Monkey King whispered, head filled with so many different emotions. But the strongest ones at the moment were sadness and concern for MK. Macaque only stared down. The King took a few steps forward. He wanted to hug him tightly, comfort him and tell him how he would never even consider replacing him. How did the kid even think that it was an option? But the closer he got, the more MK staggered backward, looking so small and scared. Until he finally made a run for it, heading deeper into the woods. "KID, WAIT!" He shouted, stretching his hand ahead as if he would reach him. He was ready to rush after him, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Hold it, Wukong."

"What are you...?"

Macaque sighed. "Let him be for now. I think he needs it." 

Wukong didn't reply. He just stared in the direction the kid ran off to. No one noticed the dark clouds approaching dangerously.

--

All MK could do was run. He didn't dare to stop or glance behind, stumbling left and right along the way. Everything around him looked blurry, his tears making it hard to see. The sound of the leaves being brushed by the wind, the chirping of the monkeys echoing threw the forest, everything fell to white noise. He had no idea where he was headed, and frankly, he didn't care. He wanted to escape from the tension he felt back at the camp. 

The kid finally came to a stop as he leaned on a tree and slowly sat down to try and catch his breath. He couldn't stop thinking about what had just happened. He revealed his insecurities about being the Monkie Kid TO THE MONKEY KING! God, what would he think of him now? Was he upset? He looked upset. Lost for words too. What if that little stunt makes him consider actually replacing him? Maybe he should. He should find a successor that's more up to the task. Someone who doesn't mess up all the time and keeps putting his friends at risk. But he enjoys being the Monkie Kid. Yes, but is he worthy of being the Monkie Kid? 

His thoughts were running a million times per second. He wrapped his arms around himself for comfort, a few sobs leaving his throat. He couldn't help the tears that rolled down his cheeks. Everything felt so overwhelming as the stress of the day finally caught up to him. He thought he was gonna cry forever. Until he felt something on his lap. MK looked down, only to see a baby monkey staring at him. Right. He almost forgot they were still on Flower Fruit Mountain. Before he could say anything, the monkey started nuzzling against his cheek, making him giggle.

"Awww. Came to cheer me up, little guy?" He sniffed. He wiped his tears with his jacket and started petting the baby monkey curling up on his lap. It surprisingly helped calm him down, even if only by a bit. He sighed. "I know I shouldn't have yelled at them...It was my idea to bring Macaque along in the first place. So I shouldn't be complaining." He exclaimed, still petting the monkey. He didn't know if it understood half the things he was saying. But it felt nice talking to someone. Even if that someone was a monkey. "Not to mention Monkey King has been acting weird lately. Not just during the trip but for a while." MK was no idiot. He noticed how Monkey King was tired and kept spacing out during their training sessions for the past week. He just didn't know why. "I've really done goofed...If I hadn't invited Macaque... I mean, it's cool having him around, don't get me wrong. But I probably made things worse by doing so..."

His thoughts were cut short as he felt raindrops falling on his head. He looked up. Was it drizzling? How long has it been drizzling? That would actually explain the sudden chill he felt. "I guess I should get back before-"

BOOM

MK got startled by the sound of thunder, and the monkey got scared and left. "Hey, wait!" He quickly got up to try and reach it, but it was already gone. Before even thinking if things could go any worse, the drizzle turned into a full-on storm. "Great." He huffed, looking around to see if there was anywhere he could find shelter till the weather calmed a bit, or rather a lot. Everything was total chaos in minutes. He could hear thunder ramble loudly. There were winds strong enough that caused the branches to sway, and rain was bucketing down. Before he could move heard panicked chirping in the distance. 

He wanted to see what was happening, so he followed the sound. He stopped when he saw three monkeys cuddled up together to protect themselves from the storm under a tree. MK couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. He started to scan the area with his gold vision. His eyes fell on the branch above the monkeys, about to fall on them, and it was a big one. Without a second thought, MK stormed in and pushed the monkeys aside, but before he could react, he heard a snap.

Then everything went black.

Chapter Text

This is not how he expected this trip to go.

It was supposed to be a lovely expedition. A bonding time with MK and himself, doing some light training and having fun. Sure having Macaque join last minute wasn't the best, but if the kid wanted him along, who was he to say no? He'd just have to stick it out.

But instead of doing some exciting activities, Monkey King was pacing back and forth, sweating all over with his tail lashing like crazy. His face had worry written all over. He couldn't stop thinking about MK and what he said, not to mention running off alone. But Macaque was right, as much as he hated to admit it. Plus, he was the last person the kid wanted to see at the moment, so going after him wasn't the brightest idea. 

He finally decided to sit down in front of the log, leaving a long sigh. He noticed something next to him and reached to grab it. It was MK's sketchbook. He couldn't contain his curiosity to peek inside since the kid usually didn't mind. He wasn't sure if that still applies tho... He opened it to the last page the kid had sketched, and what he saw made his heart sink. On the left side of the book was a drawing of him and Macaque. They were laughing, both with a peach in hand. He left a sad chuckle. Like the old days, he thought. Before, the shadow warrior turned into a power-hungry monkey. The simian shook his head. That was eons ago, so there was no point bringing up the past now. What really broke him, however, was the drawing on the right. It was him and MK. The golden monkey had one arm wrapped around the kid's shoulder while the other was ruffling his hair. They were both with bright smiles on their faces. Around them were drawings of a tiger, a turtle, and a butterfly. On top of them was a speech bubble, pointing at the King's doodle. "Amazing job, bud! You did it! I'm so proud of ya!". 

Upon reading this, Monkey King frowned. He then placed the sketchbook on his head, resting his forehead on its pages. Another long sigh escaped him. "I messed up..." He whispered.

"Yes, we did." Macaque replied, leaning in one of the trees, not making eye contact with the other monkey.

Monkey King lowered the sketchbook, gazing down at it. "No. I was the one who was supposed to train the kid on this trip. But I kept getting distracted..." Was this because of his insomnia? He had no idea. Yes, losing focus was one of the symptoms, but he literally ignored MK the entire day. Every little thing that happened during their training got him off track. He couldn't blame Macaque either cause, well, it's Macaque. He always tries to find ways to tease the King. For some reason, tho, the comments made him more irritated than they should have today. He added that to the 'how insomnia has ruined me' list.

"It takes two to start a fight. We're both to blame for today." Macaque was still a bit mad at the great sage, but right now, he was just worried for MK, even if he didn't show it as much as Wukong did. "I can't believe the kid still thinks he's not enough. I expected him to have gone past it by now."

"I just don't get-" He stopped mid-sentence when realization hit him. He slowly raised his head up, staring at the shadow monkey. "What do you mean, 'still'?" Monkey King asked with a stern tone.

Macaque didn't flinch, however. He finally looked at the King, his eyebrows furrowed. "Nothing. Just that MK has been feeling awfully insecure about himself and his role as your successor since you left him alone. No reason for concern, right?" He answered sarcastically.

"Since I..." Wukong got on his feet so fast that he almost stumbled. "THAT WAS MONTHS AGO!" He shouted, being all up in Macaque's face. 

The warrior just shoved his face away from him in annoyance. He was about to answer when they both felt their fur getting wet. They looked up to see that it was drizzling. They also noticed the dark clouds above them. That can't be good. "Um... Correct me if I'm wrong. But isn't Flower Fruit Mountain suppose to be an all-sunny paradise?" Macaque questioned.

Wukong quickly shrank MK's sketchbook and put it in his ear so it wouldn't get wet. "Well, yeah. But for that to be a thing, we get these awful thunderstorms every once in a while. They're pretty rare tho."

BOOM

The two celestial monkeys winced at the sound of thunder. Macaque even covered his ears from the loud sound. The drizzle suddenly turned into a storm. "But I don't understand." Monkey King continued. " I usually-" He paused. The Monkey King was usually aware of the weather changes beforehand. He could always sense when something in the air was unusual or see when the clouds changed their shade. So, he knows when to start preparing the mountain to keep the monkeys safe from those stormy nights. But now...How in the world did he not notice this? How did his focus become so bad that he couldn't even tell it was going to rain? If he knew there would be thunderstorms, he would have postponed the trip with the kid for- Wait a minute...The kid...MK!

"You usually what?" Macaque asked. But he didn't get an answer as Monkey King rushed into the woods, the same direction MK went when he ran off. "HEY! Where are you going?!" 

Monkey King stopped and turned to look at the shadow monkey. "The kid is still out there! You stay here in case he comes back. I'm gonna go look for him." Without waiting for Macaque to respond, the golden monkey took off.

"WUKONG! WAIT!" 

Macaque's calls were now distant as the King got deeper into the forest.

--

He's been searching for a while, and still no sign of MK anywhere. The weather wasn't helping with the situation either. Honestly, It wouldn't be a problem if it weren't for the fact that he was super tired. He thought about using his cloud to look from above, but the rain would make it harder to move, not to mention that the forest was thicker on this side of the mountain. So he'd have fewer chances of finding him anyways. No, it's better to look from the ground.

It took everything he had to not think of the worst because if he did, he'd probably lose it. He needed to believe that the kid was hiding somewhere safe from the storm.

The more he looked around, the more his heart ached. Everything was a mess, and the monkeys were stressed out, trying to find shelter for themselves and the cubs. He got so caught up in his problems that now, because of him, his troop was paying for it. But as much as he wanted to help them, he had to focus on finding his kid. For once, he had to concentrate. He knew that the monkeys needed him, but he also knew they could handle it for now. He had to ignore their distressed chirping for the sake of MK, no matter how much it hurt him. It was kinda hard to tho cause they were coming from every direction.

"HELP!"

"We can't hold on for long!"

"We need help!"

"The Monkie Kid is down!"

"We can't find shelter!"

"The wind is too strong!"

...Hold on...The Monkie Kid is down...? Monkey King gasped. "KID!" He shouted, running as fast as he could toward the chirping. He hated how scared the monkey sounded. He begged for the kid to be ok.

After going threw bushes and trees, he finally reached the source of the chirping. What he saw in front of him gave him shivers down his spine. MK, his student, was out cold on the ground, a branch above him crushing him. Three monkeys were near him, trying to get it off. Monkey King immediately rushed to MK's side. At the sight of him, the three monkeys backed away. They knew their King could handle it.

Monkey King grabbed the branch with both hands and tossed it to the side like it was as light as a feather. He then quickly kneeled down, stroking the kid's hair from his face to take a closer look at the boy. "Hey, bud! It's alright; I'm here! Everything is going to be...Fine...?" The King said with a broken voice until he felt something warm on his hand. He slowly took it off of MK's head to look at it. He froze.

Red. Blood. His kid was bleeding. Terrified, he fell backward, his whole body shaking. He couldn't take his eyes off his hand. He wiped it on his sleeve. He couldn't stand staring at it. That's when his mind started playing tricks on him.

He looked at his hand again, only to see double the amount. He panicked, trying to remove it with his other hand, but it was also painted red. His breathing started to quicken. He wiped his hands with full force on his sleeves, trying desperately to get it off, but no matter how much he tried, it was still there. Why wasn't it coming off? He looked up at the kid, and his eyes widened. MK was now surrounded by a pool of scarlet liquid. 

The world around him faded instantly, with only the kid in his view. The King burst into tears. He wanted to scream, but his throat felt like it was being choked to death. There was an intense tightening in his chest. He wrapped his arms around his body, clenching so tight that his claws dug through the fabric. It felt like hours had gone by, even tho it had only been minutes. But he didn't care. He didn't care about the pain he felt or his intense shaking and sweat. Not even about the fact that his heart felt like it was about to explode. No. He only had one thought on his mind.

It's my fault.

It's because of him that the kid ran off. He made him feel alone. Made him think that he was replaceable when in reality, the King would rather die than choose another successor. And now, MK was bleeding right in front of him. Because he wasn't fast enough. Because he was a useless, good-for-nothing monkey that kept putting everyone around him in danger. That kept hurting the only person in the world that he truly cherished... He gripped his arms even tighter, his claws digging farther into his skin as his mind sank deeper into the living nightmare. Whispers started clouding his thoughts.

'You did this.' 

"It's my fault..." Monkey King whispered.

'You failed to protect him.'

"I failed..."

'MK is dead because of you.'

"He's..."

'Now, everyone will leave you, and you'll be all alone once again.'

"I don't want to be alone..."

And he kept going. His eyes were full of tears, blurring his vision. He didn't hear the monkeys chirping with worry for their King. He didn't notice the dark figure in front of him, removing his hands away from his wounded arms and holding them tightly, trying to get him to calm down.

"Monkey King! You need to breathe!"

--

Macaque was pissed.

How could Monkey King up and leave him alone at the camp and expect him to just sit and wait? There was no way he'd just stand around and do nothing while MK could be in danger. So the dark monkey quickly opened one of his shadow portals and threw inside all the stuff from the camp, sending them to his dojo. He would return everything after they were done with this crazy adventure. He then went after the golden monkey, hoping he'd catch up before the idiot did something stupid.

Now he was in the forest, looking around for any sign of either MK or Wukong. It was moments like these that he both loved and hated being the Six-Eared Macaque. With his incredible hearing, it was easier to pick up any sound that was out of the ordinary. Tho, it was also more painful with every peal of thunder. But if it meant helping the kid, then so be it.

He would never admit it out loud, but Macaque had developed a soft spot for the boy. He wasn't sure what it was about him. Maybe It's because he was like Monkey King, but when they were younger. Well, young by immortal standards. And even tho they were similar in some departments, the kid had a heart of gold like no other. He forgave him, while he probably shouldn't have. At least not so soon.

He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the sound of sobbing. An unsettling feeling grew within Macaque. Because unless the monkeys have developed the ability to cry like humans, something was definitely off. The dark monkey followed the sound as it got louder with every few steps he took. The closer he got, the more wheezy it sounded. Not knowing what awaited him made his skin crawl.

Macaque reached his destination, and he couldn't believe his eyes. He saw the kid down on the ground, not moving a muscle. In front of MK was the Monkey King, his back toward him, sitting on his knees, folding his arms around his body. To the warrior's shock, the source of the sobbing was the King himself. He decided to check on the kid first, seeing as he was in worse shape. After approaching MK, he started to scan him up and down for any injuries. Unfortunately, he spotted something red on his head. And it wasn't his bandana.

 "Ok...Don't panic." Macaque mumbled to himself, placing his hand on his forehead, trying to keep his composure and not jump to conclusions. He then quickly set two fingers on the kid's neck to check for a pulse. Thank the stars, he thought. It was weak, but it was there. That didn't mean they were off the hook just yet tho. He had to get him to a safer place, but first, Monkey King.

He turned to look at the King, who was still sobbing. He also started to mumble something, but Macaque could barely understand what. His eyes widened when he finally took a better look at him. Wukong was hyperventilating. 

Macaque turned his body fully to face the Monkey King. How did he miss this? Alright, to his defense, MK was unconscious on the ground. But still... His eyes darted between the kid and the monkey and put two and two together. This whole situation made it hard for the warrior to not freak out. He had to find a way to snap the King out of it because MK needed help and fast.

A sudden move from Wukong caught Macaque's attention. The golden monkey had dug his claws so deep that he was bleeding. Oh, hell no. He was not about to deal with two people bleeding to death. He quickly removed the King's hands from his arms and held them tight. "Monkey King! You need to breathe!"

But Wukong did not react. It was like he wasn't even there. He just kept mumbling nonsense, his eyes locked down. Macaque continued. "Do you know where you are?" He whispered, trying to be as calm as possible. He read somewhere a few tricks that were good in situations like these. It thankfully worked. After a minute, Monkey King slowly nodded. Ok, good. He was starting to listen. "Good, now, I need you to squeeze my hands." He told the golden monkey. He saw him do as told. His grip was weak at first, but then it got tighter. That had to be a good sign, right? "Great. Now take a deep breath in." Macaque breathed in to guide Wukong through it. "And out." He exhaled. "I need you to squeeze when you inhale and relax when exhaling. Ok?" Monkey King just gave a weak nod. Macaque did it a few times until the King followed along.

Monkey King's breathing started to go back to normal, and his heart rate, too. Tho it wasn't completely ok, it was at least something. He finally looked up at the dark monkey, eyes still teary. "Macaque...?" He croaked.

Macaque nodded. "I guess even the great Monkey King has his bad days." He chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. He let go of Wukong's hands.

The King looked down at his hands. The blood was gone. After a pause, Monkey King suddenly started to look around alarmingly, his heartbeat going wild again. "The kid...!" He cried. "Where's-"

Macaque placed his hands on Monkey King's shoulders. "It's ok. The kid is alright. But we really need to get him out of here. Can you stand?" Wukong only nodded. His sore throat made it hard to speak. "Good," he said. He let go of Wukong and turned to MK, grabbing the kid and carrying him into his arms. He watched as The golden monkey struggled to get up. Once he did, Macaque wrapped his tail around his wrist. The King stared, puzzled, at the warrior. "I can't really trust you to not get lost in the state you're in." Macaque replied. Monkey King gave him a weak smile that faded in seconds. It felt so off to Macaque seeing him like this.

One thing at a time, Macaque thought. Now he had to think of where to go. This... Whole situation didn't change the fact that they were still in the middle of a thunderstorm. He could use one of his shadow portals to get them to Monkey King's house, but he didn't wanna risk anything with MK unconscious in his arms. And asking Monkey King to summon his nimbus was out of the question the way he was right now. He bit his lip. What was he supposed to do? 

While he was thinking of their next move, he heard a chirp. He looked down and saw three monkeys looking at him. How long have they been here? One of them moved forward and then stopped and looked back at him. One of the other monkeys explained that they knew a cave near there where they could stay for now. But also explained that it would take a little while to get there. Macaque looked at them for a bit. At the moment, it was the safest option. "Alright, guys. Take us there."

The monkeys moved the moment Macaque gave the ok. The warrior followed them, dragging Monkey king by the arm with his tail. The King didn't resist. Just went where he was told to. It was like he was carrying a doll. He may not be on the best terms with him, but even he felt bad at how defeated he looked.

The silence made the few minutes they were walking seem like hours. It was unsettling, to say the least. The warrior would look back at the King every now and then to check up on him, seeing as he stumbled a few times on the way. He wouldn't speak, wouldn't look up, the light in his eyes was gone. He was completely drained. It would be a lie to say that his uncharacteristic behavior didn't scare the dark monkey.

As they were walking, Macaque felt his tail being dragged down abruptly. He spun around to see Monkey King collapsed on the ground. He wanted to see what happened, but it was impossible to do much while holding MK. "Wukong!" 

Monkey King tried to get up, but his body wouldn't let him. It was like gravity was weighing him down. And even if he managed to use all his strength to get up, there was no way he'd be able to take one step, let alone walk. He was already tired, but adding the whole outburst back there had him exhausted beyond comprehension. And that just slowed them down...

"Go..."

The dark monkey looked at the King, confused, his words taking him aback. "...What?"

"The kid needs medical attention...and fast..." Monkey King croaked, burying his face in the ground. If he wasn't dry, he'd start crying again. "I'm only slowing you down." He looked at Macaque with tired, pleading eyes. "Please..."

Macaque could only stare in shock. What the heck was Monkey King asking him to do? He couldn't just leave him out here during this thunderstorm. Yes, he didn't like him, but that was too much. It would be like kicking a puppy. Besides, MK would never forgive him if he actually did it. The monkey groaned. How did he get himself into this mess? How did he end with an injured Monkie Kid and a broken Monkey King?

"Dammit, Wukong!" he mumbled to himself. He signaled the three monkeys to come back. Macaque said he wouldn't do it, but considering the circumstances, he had to risk it. Monkey King got confused as Macaque's tail tightened around his wrist. "Ok, hold on tight."

In the blink of an eye, everyone vanished into the shadows.

Chapter Text

The group emerged from the shadow portal and landed in front of the Monkey King's hut inside the cave. 

After checking if MK was ok after the teleportation, Macaque turned to the three monkeys. "Help Monkey King come inside." He ordered. Then climbed the stairs and rushed into the house.

Now would it be better if he teleported them all to a hospital? Yes. But he was not good with people, and he had no idea how Monkey King would react in a crowded area at the moment. Besides, Monkey King's house was the first thing that came to mind at the time. Honestly, he was surprised he even managed to get them in. Considering the seal on the waterfall. He'd have to figure that out later.

 Macaque entered the living room area and placed MK on the couch. He quickly searched the house until he found the bathroom, took a clean towel, and headed back. He then set the cloth on the kid's wound, putting pressure on it. After making sure it was safe, he removed the bloody towel from his head and left it on the table next to him. 

"Alright. That's taken care of." He mumbled to himself. Thankfully the gash on MK's head wasn't as severe as he first thought. He just needed to get some bandages, let him rest, and he would be good as new. He had to hand it to the kid. He's tough. 

The dark monkey headed to the kitchen to see if he could find bandages or something similar to wrap around MK's head since he didn't find anything before in the bathroom. He looked through the cabinets until he found a first aid kit next to a cereal box with the King's face on it. 'Ye, the guy really needs to organize his stuff better...' He thought with a grimace, then took the kit and went back to the living room.

Sitting on the couch's armrest, Macaque carefully raised MK's head so he could tie the bandages properly. After he was done, he decided to check on the Monkey King, who, for some reason, hadn't come yet. Going outside, he looked around, but no sign of the golden monkey. That is until he heard a rustling sound coming from the tree next to the house. He looked up at it, and to his surprise, he saw the Monkey King sitting on top of it.

 "How the...?" He whispered. A chirp caught his attention, and he saw one of the monkeys staring at him. "I thought you were supposed to get him in." Said Macaque to the monkey, to which it replied by telling him that the King did not wish to enter his home no matter how much they asked him to do so. Macaque sighed and then nodded. "Alright, I'll deal with it. You three just do whatever you want. I'll tell you if we need you for anything, ok?" The little monkey nodded and then ran to the other two. The warrior felt glum for not helping the rest of them, but he couldn't just leave MK. Oh yeah, Wukong too.

Macaque groaned. He climbed the peach tree till he reached the top. He saw the golden monkey with his knees to his chest hugging them, his tail wrapped around his leg, gazing in the distance. He didn't know if the King hadn't noticed him or if he did and didn't care. "So, you can't walk...but you can climb?" He asked, taking a seat next to Wukong.

He saw his ear twitch, so he figured he had caught Monkey King's attention. However, the celestial monkey did not turn to look at him. "It took me five minutes to just climb the first branch." Wukong deadpanned.

"Ok...and why do that instead of just...come inside?"

Wukong didn't answer. Instead, he just hid his face. Looking at him, Macaque never thought he'd prefer the easy-going monkey over the quiet one. After an awkward silence, Monkey King spoke. "Why did you help?" He asked. Macaque looked at him with a curious look. He wanted to answer, but instead, he just tilted his head, hoping the King would continue. "Back there, you could have left. Both when I was...Not myself...and when I fell." He turned his gaze to the warrior. "So why?" 

At first, Macaque looked at him and then looked forward. "Honestly. I did it for MK. I doubt he'd ever talk to me again if I did nothing while I could do something. I don't know if that's not the answer you expected, but I don't care." He admitted with a little smirk at the end. Just because they managed to avoid a dangerous situation doesn't mean he'd stop teasing the other. He didn't lie tho. He did do it for MK...At least, that's what he told himself.

"I see." Said the Monkey King. Drifting his gaze away from Macaque and down on the ground. "Thought as much." Now, if that was a lie or not, the warrior had no idea. But he wasn't planning to ask.

Another pause followed. This time, Macaque was the one who broke the silence. "You can drop the glamour, you know." He begun. "I won't judge...probably." That made Monkey King tense.

Usually, he would come up with a lie or an excuse to prove the other wrong. That everything was fine. But he was in neither the mood nor the condition to do so, not to mention he didn't see the point in lying. Macaque already saw him breaking down, so it would have been pointless. "What gave it away?" He ended up questioning.

"Wukong, you just cried your eyes out, and you look... mostly fine." Macaque scoffed. "Doesn't take a genius to figure it out." Monkey King gave no reply, so Macaque figured it would take some convincing for the golden monkey to lower his walls. The warrior sighed, leaning back on his hands. "Fiiine~." He groaned. "You asked for it."

Wukong was about to ask what he meant, but a soft purple light cut him off. It was sudden, so the King couldn't help but cover his eyes, even tho it wasn't that bright. Once the light stopped glowing, he lowered his hand, and his eyes widened in surprise. Macaque had dropped his glamour. His six ears were finally out in the open. Wukong couldn't remember the last time he saw them. The sight of Macaque's eye tho made him look away. His eyebrow had a claw mark, and his eye under it was blind. Monkey King couldn't help but frown. He really did leave a nasty scar on the dark monkey. "See? That easy. Now it's your turn." Macaque insisted.

Monkey King wanted to chuckle at the warrior's attempts. But it was like his face was so tired of smiling that it forgot how to do it. "You're not gonna stop nagging me till I do it, are you?" 

"Nope!" 

"Ok..." Wukong sighed, then closed his eyes. Immediately, a bright golden light covered the monkey. This time, it was Macaque's turn to protect his eyes from the glow. When the light show ended, he looked at the King, but what he saw took him aback. His eyes were red and puffy from his outburst before, with bags under them. He expected that, but the bags under his eyes were way too big than they were supposed to be for just a one-time thing. No. These were 'I haven't slept in ages' kinds of bags. What caught his attention most tho wasn't his eyes. What shocked him was the Monkey King's once pure ginger hair, which was now tainted with white streaks that gave the shadow warrior shivers down his spine. He was speechless, to say the least. "How long...?" 

"How long has it been since I slept, or how long has my hair been white?" He deadpanned, catching Macaque mid-sentence.

"Um...Both?!?" The dark simian exclaimed, gesturing with his hands to Wukong. 

Monkey King looked away. "Well, I haven't slept since the fight with the Lady Bone Demon, so...two weeks? And the hair last week, I think? I just woke up, and the next thing I knew, white streaks." He said, pointing at his hair. "I think those are a side effect of-" He paused, then hugged his knees tighter. "A-anyways. Ye. That's pretty much it." Macaque just stared at him. Two weeks? No wonder he was acting weird and out of character during the trip. There was silence once again. Until Monkey King mumbled. "I'm sorry." Macaque gave him a confused look. Wukong continued. "I'm sorry for attacking you...back at the camp. And...about what happened, all those years a-"

"Since you haven't slept for a while, that outburst was...somewhat understandable." Macaque interrupted. "But don't you dare think an apology is gonna cut it for what you did back then." He growled, clenching his fists. "I was no better, I'll admit. But..."

"I know..." Wukong mumbled, looking at the dark monkey with pained eyes. "I never expected it to be enough... But there are times I can't help but think..." He paused.

"...Think what?" Macaque asked.

"I mean...Don't get me wrong, I'm still mad about what you did, but..." Wukong looked down. "This whole adventure got me thinking. Are we ever...going to go back to the old days? When we used to hang out?"

Macaque looked up. Thinking about Wukong's question. Could they go back? "Dire wounds leave scars, Wukong." He replied. "And those scars don't leave no matter how much you want them to. They're always there, never letting you forget." He raised his hand and touched his scar. 

Monkey King frowned. "Of course..." He whispered. It would be a lie if he said he didn't expect that answer. 

"But." Macaque continued. Wukong raised his head to look at him, surprise written all over his face. "Wounds can also heal. Some take more time to do so than others, but they do. And yes, looking at the mark it left stinks, and it feels...different...from what you were used to. That doesn't mean it has to change everything in your life." He looked back at Wukong. "I don't feel ready to forgive you, and I doubt that things will ever be like they were before. But who knows? I might be wrong." He shrugged.

After that speech, a warm smile finally grew on the golden monkey's lips. "Wow. Who are you, and what have you done to the Six Eared Macaque?" He teased.

"Shut up~" Macaque groaned. "God, I need to stop hanging with you lot. Your goody two-shoe act is getting to me." He laid down, covering his face with his hands.

Monkey King made a raspberry sound. "Come ooon~ You can't deny that you enjoy it."

"I can and will."

After a pause, the two celestial monkeys started laughing. After what they'd been through that day, it felt nice. Plus, the King looked more lively, which was good. But they couldn't stay up there forever. "Alright!" Macaque exclaimed and got up. "I'm gonna go take a shower."

Wukong looked at the warrior with an exaggerated annoyed expression. "in MY bathroom?!?" 

"Where else? Come on, you need one too." The dark monkey waved his hand for the King to follow.

The King's smile faded. "I can't..." He whispered. "I'm not ready to see him..."

"Wukong, the kid is just fine. There's no need for you to be dramatic." Macaque sighed while crossing his arms. He got down from the tree and looked up at Monkey King. "If you don't come, I'll drag you down myself," he shouted. Monkey King hesitated for a moment, then slowly climbed down. "There we go." The warrior chuckled.

Both the monkeys headed to the entrance of the hut. Macaque opened the door and entered, leaving it open while waiting on the other to join him inside. Monkey King stared for a moment, feeling nervous. He didn't know if he could bare to see the kid. He took a step in, but then he froze. Images of MK covered in blood clouded his mind. His breath started to quicken, and he abruptly stepped back from the door. "I can't... I can't do this!" He cried. Then ran from the entrance and sat next to the tree while leaning against it.

Macaque got out of the house, watching as the King put up his glamour again. He sighed. Guess he couldn't get him in either. The warrior got back inside, deciding that it would be better to let the Monkey King calm down on his own. He took one last look at him; before closing the front door. 

At this point, only one person could get the Monkey King to really open up or even relax. And that was his successor.

Chapter Text

Everything around him was suddenly dark and cold. A ringing sound was buzzing in his ears, making it hard to hear anything else. He could only feel pain throughout his entire body as something heavy weighed him down. Why was this happening? He didn't remember. But he didn't like it. He wanted for the pain to go away, for the cold to go away. 

As if by miracle, the weight was gone, replaced by a warm feeling on his forehead. It felt...familiar... But that feeling was gone as soon as it came, bringing back the unwanted chill. This time tho, it felt more... gloomy. 

The warm feeling returned, now covering his entire body. It was nice. No more cold, no more pain. He felt safe. And as the sense of safety grew, his thoughts started to drift away, losing every contact with the rest of the world.

He was finally starting to become more aware of his surroundings. He could hear the sound of someone pacing on a wooden floor, along with some muffled sounds. Curiosity got the better of him; as he tried to open his eyes, struggling to ignore the dizziness and the slight pain in his head. Blinking a few times to adjust to the sudden light, MK slowly sat up and examined the room he was currently in. It all looked familiar, but his foggy mind wouldn't let him think more of it. He also noted that he was lying on a couch. Did he fall asleep there? Where was there to begin with? 

"Morning, kiddo! Sure took your time, huh?"

A soft voice got him out of his thoughts. He looked around, trying to find the source of that voice. His eyes finally spotted a dark-furred monkey looking down at him from behind the couch. Macaque? Why was Macaque...     

It was at that moment that everything finally came back to him. The events of the past few days returned. MK shot up in a panic, startling the shadow monkey behind him. "THE THUNDERSTORM! THE MONKEYS! WHER- OW!" MK sat down again, gripping his head as he felt a sudden pain. 

"Kid, take it easy! You just woke up!" Macaque exclaimed, placing a hand on MK's shoulder. "Now, wait here. I need to bring you some clean bandages." He let go of the kid's shoulder and walked toward the kitchen. The warrior didn't show it but seeing MK wake up felt like a huge weight was lifted off of him.

"Bandages...?" MK croaked. It probably wasn't a good idea to yell a minute after waking up. He looked around the place one more time, now that he was in a better state of mind, finally realizing where they were. This was Monkey King's house. But if that's the case, where's...?

"Yeah...You were kinda unconscious in the woods when we found you. You had a nasty gash on your head too. Thankfully it was an easy fix!" Macaque answered, bringing back some new bandages and a glass of water and handing it to MK to drink. MK took it gladly and started sipping. "I can't say it was a pleasant twenty-four hours waiting for you to wake up, tho." The monkey bit his lips as he was aware that he hid some crucial details from him to not worry the boy. After all, he had just woken up. But thankfully, MK didn't notice it, as he was too busy choking on the water he had just drank, shocked by the warrior's words.

"What do you mean twenty-four hours?!?" MK coughed, placing the glass on the table in front of him.

"Well, not exactly twenty-four hours."

MK sighed. "Oh good..."

"More like...a day and a half?"

"WHAT?!?" 

Chuckling at his shenanigans, Macaque sat next to MK on the couch. The warrior can't describe how relieved he was seeing him so lively. "Relax, MK! What matters now is that you're safe and sound." He mused while carefully ruffling his hair, earning a smile from the other. "Although..." The shadow monkey scratched his head. "mind telling me how you ended up in that situation?"

"Oh." Said MK, fiddling with his fingers. "To be honest, I'm not so sure. The last thing I remember was trying to save some small monkeys from a falling branch. Guess the branch ended up falling on me?" He shrugged. 

The way MK said that so casually left Macaque flabbergasted. Here the two celestial monkeys went to hell and back emotionally, and the kid made it sound like an everyday situation! Yes, MK has fought many demons, including himself, and survived. BUT COME ON! Still, Macaque wasn't about to let his surprise show. "I see...Well, the monkeys are also safe and sound! They came with us when we brought you here, and thankfully the rain stopped about ten hours ago. Give or take." He explained, placing the clean bandages next to him. MK sighed in relief. "Now come here so I can change those bandages. Don't know if they're even needed, but better safe than sorry." Macaque motioned for MK to come closer, which the kid happily did.

"Ok, mom~" MK teased, making the dark monkey roll his eyes as he carefully removed the old bandages. As funny as it was watching Macaque act all soft, something seemed... off... The monkey did say "we" many times, so he clearly meant Monkey King, too, but... 

He started to look around for any sign of his mentor, but nothing. He couldn't help but think that Monkey King probably didn't want to see him. Not after he yelled at him... And just to prove his incompetence, they had to save him from a freaking branch! He's survived countless dangerous situations, without so much, as a scratch, may he add, and he got hurt from a tree, of all things! He wouldn't blame him if he wanted nothing to do with him...Despite his thoughts tho, he kept looking. Something that the warrior didn't miss. 

"He's outside." He began after he finished wrapping the bandages. MK turned to look at him, waiting for Macaque to continue. "I tried to get him in, but he's...not in the best mood..." He sighed, trying his best to find the right words to describe the situation.

MK looked down at the floor with a frown. "He's mad at me, isn't he...?" He mumbled. Guess he was right. Monkey King finally realized he had made a mistake choosing him...

Macaque blinked a few times in confusion before answering. "Why would you think that?"

"Because I lashed out at him...He probably thinks less of me now..." MK admitted, still not looking up to meet the other's eyes.

This was probably a good thing because Macaque was miserably trying to keep in his laugh. God, how were mentor and student so alike? He felt kinda bad tho. The kid had every right to feel that way back there, but to think Wukong would be mad at him because of it? He placed an arm on MK's shoulder, making him look up at him again. "MK, you are the last person the King would ever get mad at. And especially for something as silly as this." Macaque gave a comforting sqeeze. "So no, it's not about that, it's... I guess all the bottling up finally got to him? Don't know how else to explain it, kiddo." He really didn't know how to explain without giving out much information.

He didn't know if it was just comforting words or the truth, but MK wanted to know what Macaque meant. "Does it have to do with why he's been off lately? Do you know what's going on?" He asked with a worried look. 

As he expected. He may not have asked the golden monkey about it, but he knew him too well. Of course, he didn't mention his sleep deprivation to the kid. And, of course, MK had already noticed something was off. "Yes...and no. But I really think you should go and ask him yourself about it." While it would be better for MK to know what was happening, it wasn't his secret to share. Besides, these two needed to talk.

"I don't know...What if he doesn't want to see me?"

"MK, trust me, he does." He let go of his shoulder and forced him to get off the couch. This was happening either the easy way or the hard way. "Now go out and talk to him, or I'll make you." He smirked.

"Alright, alright!" MK exclaimed. He started to head to the front door, but then he stopped and looked back at the shadow. "Thanks. For the talk. And..." He pointed at his head.

"Anytime, kiddo. Now shoo! I wanna take a nap." Macaque sat on the couch, waving his hand for the kid to leave. 

MK giggled, then headed out.

--

As he carefully opened the front door, MK took a peek outside to see where his mentor was. He spotted the golden monkey sitting next to the peach tree. His worry grew. He's never seen Monkey King look so...small. MK took a few steps toward the monkey, trying to ignore the cold feet he was getting. Surprisingly, Monkey King hadn't noticed him yet, making him more nervous. Is this even a good idea? What if Macaque was wrong? What if seeing him would make things worse? What if- "H-hey..." He whispered.

Monkey King's ears twitched. Did he just imagine that, or did he actually hear... He looked up, and his eyes widened. MK. The kid was right in front of him. And he was ok! The sight made a smile grow on the golden monkey's face. "Bud!" he beamed. He was about to get up, but he froze, the frown returning. This was MK...Right? It wasn't another trick of the mind...Right...? He wouldn't just disappear the moment he got close... No, it had to be another illusion. Why would the kid even bother talking to him? After everything, he's put him through. But... What if it was actually him...?

Seeing how hesitant Monkey King was, MK started to feel like this was a bad idea. But he was already there. He couldn't turn back now. "May I...?" He asked, pointing at the empty space next to Monkey King.

Monkey King just stared for a moment, then nodded, trying not to keep eye contact. MK carefully sat next to him. He saw the claw marks on Monkey King's shirt but decided not to ask. 

There was an awkward silence between them. Wukong's tail was flicking nervously, and MK was no better. This wasn't fake. MK was actually sitting next to him. But what now? Wukong was conflicted. Should he say something? But wasn't MK upset with him? What was he supposed to say to make things better? Without thinking, Monkey King finally spoke. "Are you- I mean...H-how are you...feeling...?"

MK got caught off guard by the silence finally being broken. Honestly, he had no idea what to feel at the moment. But he had to answer something. "I'm...um...I'm fine." He lied.

"Good..." Monkey King mumbled. He couldn't help but stare at MK's head, with his once red bandana replaced by white clothing. He looked down at his hand. The hand that had MK's blood on it hours ago. The thought made him tense. Wukong started rubbing his arm, trying to forget the image.

Noticing the Monkey King so quiet made MK frown. Did he upset him more? God, he didn't mean to make him sadder... MK hugged his legs. He didn't like this. They never had a problem talking to each other. Feeling this awkward just felt so...wrong. And all this because he got mad about something he planned in the first place. Can they just go back to when everything was ok? When he hadn't yelled at Monkey King. When he didn't make him mad or sad. When he didn't spill out his stupid insecurities. "I'm sorry..." He whispered. 

It was low, but Monkey King heard him loud and clear. He got taken aback by the kid's apology. "What for...?" He asked with a worried and curious look.

"For telling Macaque to come while I knew you wouldn't like it...For yelling at you...For running off...I just..." MK could feel his eyes welling up. "Please don't be mad at me..."

"Kid, no..." Monkey King said softly, placing an arm on MK's back. "I could never be mad at you...Not now and not in a million years. Besides, I'm the one who should be apologizing." MK looked up at the Monkey King, teary-eyed. "This trip was supposed to be about you and your training, and the only thing I did was neglect you..." Monkey King looked back at MK. "You had every right to yell. I deserved it. So...I'm sorry..."

MK stared at his mentor, then scratched the back of his neck. "To be fair... You wouldn't have ignored me if I hadn't invited Macaque along. But I really thought you two would get along if you had to spend some time together..."

Monkey King gave him a warm smile. "Well, if it makes you feel any better... We actually did end up talking in the end." 

"Really?!?" MK tilted his head in disbelief. Monkey King chuckled.

"Yep!" Monkey King nodded. "We decided to take things slow, tho. It's not really easy with a past like ours."

"Well, guess it's better than nothing." MK shrugged with a small smile.

The tension between them seemed to be going away. But there were still some things that MK needed answers to. And unfortunately for him, if he wanted Monkey King to open up, he'd have to do it too. "Um...Monkey King...?"

"Yeah?"

"H-have you ever...? I mean, i-if you could...Do you...?" MK stuttered, not knowing how to ask. Or rather, not wanting to ask but had to.

"It's ok, bud. You know you can tell me anything." Said Monkey King with a comforting smile.

"Ok..." Taking a deep breath in, MK continued. "Do you ever...regret choosing me...?" He looked down at the ground, afraid of Monkey King's reaction and answer. 

The hand that was on the kid's back jerked at that question. He hadn't forgotten about what MK said back at the camp. And honestly, a part of him was glad he brought it up. But it still hurt that MK had to endure this for so long. "You said something similar back at the camp...Kid, where is this coming from...?" He couldn't help but ask. No way, MK just woke up one day with the thought in mind. Something had to have triggered it. "Macaque said you've been thinking about it ever since I left. Did...Did I make you think that you're replaceable...?" Is that even a question? He always hurt MK. That was just adding to the list. Why did he have to constantly mess things up?

"NO!" MK waved his hands frantically. "Well...Kinda? No! UGH!" He groaned, then sighed. "When you left on 'vacation' at first, things were fine." He paused. "But then you kept sending even less and...I don't know... Then some stuff happened, and I ended up in Spider Queen's lair, and I met..." The thought of it gave him shivers. "I met her... The Lady Bone Demon..." Monkey King was stunned. Back then, he thought he was protecting the boy by not telling him about her existence, and here she had already made her move on making herself known. He should have known she'd try something while he was away. "At first, she looked like a scared little girl!" He continued. "But I was so...so wrong..." MK started shaking a bit, burying his head between his knees. He really hated that memory. 

Wukong began to rub the kid's back to comfort him, holding his own urge to curse the demon that was already dead. "Kid, you don't have to continue if you-"

"No." He shot his head up. "I have to." He had already come too far to stop now. "She...she said that the reason you were gone was that you realized that...you made a mistake...That you chose the wrong successor. And I guess a part of me believed it too..."

If Monkey King could bring her back from the dead so he could kill her again, he would. How dare she plant that seed of doubt in his kid? How dare she even get close to him while he was away in the first place? His blood was boiling from anger the more he thought about it, yet...This anger was toward himself as well. It was also his fault for allowing this to happen. He gripped his hands on MK's shoulders, looking him straight in the eyes. "Kid...MK, I want you to listen to me and never forget what I'm about to tell you."

MK was taken aback by how Monkey King looked at him with those golden eyes. He looked so stern, yet those eyes, along with his grip, were emitting a sense of comfort and security that made MK not even want to look away. He nodded slowly.

"Never, and I mean never, have I even considered replacing you as my successor, let alone regret my decision. You are the best student I could ever ask for. The best thing that has ever happened in my life. Heck," He chuckled. "I'm surprised you haven't left me yet. You deserve way more than this old fool has to offer. What I'm trying to say is...I am so, so sorry, MK. For letting you go through this alone. If I knew you felt like that, I would have done this conversation a long time ago."

A huge smile was painted on MK's face. It was like all the dark thoughts had vanished in an instant. It felt so good to finally talk about this and better to know that he was wrong. He was so happy that tears started streaming down his cheeks. "Thank you, Monkey King. I never knew how much I needed to hear that." 

"Of course, bud." He cooed, pressing his forehead softly on MK's. "Everything for the best successor a guy could ever ask for."

As much as he wanted this moment to last forever, MK got puzzled by something Monkey King said. "But wait..." He slowly pulled away while Monkey King released his grip from the other, looking at MK, confused. "What do you mean, 'left you yet'? Why would I ever leave you?" While the problem with his insecurity was solved, he still had to know what was bothering his mentor. So maybe he could start from there.

Oh no , he thought. He said too much. How was he gonna save this? Maybe he could say it was a slip of the tongue? Or perhaps, he could play dumb and act like he never said it? What if-...No. If he wanted MK to trust him, he had to do the same. No matter how painful thinking about it would be. "Alright..." He sighed. "I guess the monkey's out of the bag." He chuckled, but it wasn't real.

MK was looking at his mentor with a worried look. And Monkey King didn't like it one bit. "Remember back at the camp...? My...nightmare?" The kid nodded without saying a word. He didn't want to intercept. "Well..." He continued. "It was about you...All of them, actually." 

"All of them...?" MK asked, not liking where this was going.

"Yea...So here's the thing. That wasn't the first nightmare I had this...month. They've been keeping me awake ever since..." He paused.

"...Ever since?" 

Monkey King sighed again. "Ever since we defeated the Lady Bone Demon. And they would be different, yet the same every time."

Like Monkey King did for him, MK attempted to comfort him. He placed his hand on Monkey King's leg. Monkey King smiled at his gesture, but it was a bittersweet one. He looked up before he kept going. "Most of the time, I would be under her control... And you would try to snap me out of it... But sometimes, you would be scared of me...and others..." He looked back at MK. "you would have that hopeful flare in your eyes." After a minute, Monkey King frowned. "No matter how much you tried, tho, I couldn't stop myself..." He stared down at his hands, his voice cracking with every word he said. "I would hurt you...So bad...A-and the more I tried to break free, the worst it got!" He stuttered, not realizing that tears had started to form in his eyes. "T-the nightmare would end with me about to give the final p-punch or with you...Please don't make me say it, kid..." It was becoming overwhelming. Monkey King wrapped his arms around himself as if that would protect him from the memories. He tried so hard to look strong, to show MK that it wasn't something to worry about. But at the same time, it hurt so much that Monkey King couldn't take it anymore. The walls he had built were slowly breaking down.

"Monkey King..." MK felt terrible. He knew something was bothering his mentor, but he could never imagine it was something like this. He's never seen Monkey King so...broken and vulnerable. It hurt him to see him in this state. But he also felt so stupid! Of course, being under LBD's control would affect him in more ways. He's pictured Monkey King as 'the Great Sage equal to heaven! Stronger than anyone! The guy with no weaknesses!' his whole life. Forgetting that Monkey King isn't just a God. He's also just a guy, like everyone else. And he, of all people, should have known this...

"And the funny part is..." He continued, bursting MK out of his thoughts. "T-that's not even the worst nightmare I h-had." Monkey King attempted to laugh, but it came out as a choked sob. "We won...a-and everyone was happy! But...you wanted nothing to do with me..." MK's eyes widened in shock. "Y-you...would blame me for leaving you in the dark when Lady Bone Demon attacked...for putting everyone in danger...for keeping secrets...You would say that...t-that you should have never accepted to be my successor... a-and that...you would have been better off thinking I was just a fairy tale...And the thing is...I agree."

MK slowly shook his head, eyes not leaving the monkey. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was speechless.

"It's because of me you're constantly in danger. And nothing I did seemed to change that! I tried to hide her existence from you to keep you safe, but you still got hurt. I brought you along on the journey to keep an eye on you, and I still messed up! I left you behind to deal with her myself and keep you out of harm's way, and in the end, I caused that harm! Even now, you hit your head because of me!" His breathing was quickening rapidly and he wanted to stop talking. He wasn't supposed to say that much. But he was already in too deep. "I'm just a walking disaster! Causing trouble for everyone around me! I should just leave you all alone. No one is safe around me. Or better yet, I probably should just disa-"

Monkey King froze as he was suddenly pulled into a Hug. MK had thrown himself on Monkey King, holding him tightly around his waist. He was scared that if he let go even for a minute, Monkey King would vanish. This time, it was his turn to get Monkey King out of his darkness. "Don't you dare finish that sentence!" He cried. Monkey King was staring at the kid in shock, finally snapping out of the trance he was in a second ago. "Why didn't you say anything about this?!?"

"I...I didn't wanna burden you with my problems, kiddo... It's my job to worry about you, not the other way around." Monkey King admitted.

"No! You can't tell me I shouldn't worry! You've kept this bottled up for so long...And you haven't slept in two weeks?!? No wonder you've been acting weird lately!"

Monkey King was taken aback by the last sentence. "You... You knew that-"

"OF COURSE I KNEW! You kept trying to postpone our training sessions; you avoided heavy combat. Even during the trip, you acted off!"

"Kid..."

"Now, this time, you will listen to me !" MK demanded. "Yes, you've made mistakes, but who hasn't? I, for one, have done TONS! But I'm not gonna leave no matter what!" He buried his face in the other's chest, soaking Monkey King's shirt with his tears. "You're stuck with me, you hear?!?"

And that's all it took for the Great Sage's walls to completely collapse. Finally letting the tears run like a waterfall, Monkey King hugged MK just as tightly as he, resting his chin on top of the kid's head. He let all the pain that consumed him for so long wash away and everything he's been bottling up rise to the surface. After so long, he finally allowed himself to open up and stop hiding, even for a few minutes.

After a long while, their cries turned to soft sniffles, with them still in each other's embrace, none attempting to let go of the other. They allowed the calming silence to give them some peace of mind.

"Hey, Monkey King?" MK muffled, to which Monkey King just hummed, not wanting to ruin the sweet silence. "You need a bath." He deadpanned.

Monkey King blinked a few times, then burst into laughter. "You're one to talk!" He playfully nuzzled against MK's hair, earning giggles from the other but also an 'ouch' since his wound was still recovering. "Oops, sorry, bud."

"All good. Don't worry. You can make it up to me by taking that bath. You stinky." MK teased. 

"Pffff. Fiiiine~ Give me a few more minutes tho. I'm really enjoying this hug."

MK chuckled. "Ok." He nuzzled a bit against Monkey King's chest. "A few more minutes it is..."   

Somewhere inside the hut, a dark-furred monkey had popped out his six ears, eavesdropping on the other two's conversation, and this time, it was intentional. With a grin on his face, Macaque lay down on the couch, finally letting himself relax after the rollercoaster of emotions that happened these past few days.

Chapter Text

It's been a week since that disaster of a trip happened. Things have been... good from Monkey King's perspective.

Once back, MK was put under house arrest by Pigsy. The kid was definitely not happy about it, but then again, the guy had every right, with the amount of scare they gave him. When they explained what happened to him, Pigsy was lost for words, yet he still gave Monkey King a two-hour scolding. He could still feel his ears ringing from how loud the pig demon was.

Monkey King had also gone to Macaque's dojo, mostly to get the camping equipment that apparently the black-furred monkey teleported there. Some of those things belonged to MK, which he gave Pigsy to deliver, along with the sketchbook he forgot to return to him. Thankfully, it was fully intact.

The two monkeys ended up doing some sparring during his visit too. It was progress from their 'death battles.' Although, in the hit of the moment, Macaque did try to kill the other once or twice. Guess old habits die hard. Monkey King didn't mind tho since he knew what that was like.

As for his nightmares, they're still there. Not as frequent, but there. But that has done nothing for his sleep deprivation. After staying awake for so long, it's like he forgot how to sleep, and the thing is, he's actually trying to close his eyes for once. Macaque volunteered to knock him out, but that's a hard pass. He knew it would be hard to adjust his sleep schedule again, but he didn't expect it to be so annoying.

Now, he's looking after the cubs and watching them play while lying on his cloud, his tail swinging lazily. It's the least he could do after he put the little guys through his mess. As cute as it was watching the little ones being so lively, he was only there to observe, which was kinda boring, but he didn't have the energy to match theirs to join. He would just get tired in seconds. Then either he wouldn't be able to sleep, or he'd have a nightmare that would wake him up, and frankly, he did not want to find out which one it was gonna be.

While looking at the small monkeys running around, he suddenly felt light-headed, and his gold vision activated on its own. Most would think of this as a cause for concern, but Wukong was well aware of what it meant.

"Hi, Monkey King!" A voice beamed. A voice Wukong could recognize from miles away.

"Hey, bud! I See you're getting the hang of astral projection, huh?" He got off his cloud to be on the same height level as his successor's gold projection, who was waving at him with a big smile on his face. It really warmed his heart seeing him so energetic. Almost made him forget all his problems.

"Yep! I even get fewer nosebleeds than usual!" MK said happily. Monkey King wasn't as thrilled with the nosebleeds part tho. "Anyways, I got something for you!"

Monkey King looked curiously at the kid and raised an eyebrow. "Um...Not to break it to you, bud, but that's not really how this works." He chuckled. "We can only talk, not give stuff to each other." 

MK gave him a mischievous grin, which terrified the golden monkey, making him wonder what the kid was cooking up this time. "Well, then, it's a good thing that it's not a thing I want to give you!" And with that, Monkey King tilted his head, now even more confused than before. "I'm sending you...drumroll pleaseee~...!"

Monkey King decided to humor MK and created a timpani with his hair, doing the drumroll the other asked. He would lie if he said this wasn't funny, but his curiosity ate him too much to enjoy it. "...TO A TREASURE HUNT!!" 

He stopped drumming. "...Eh?" Yeah, now he was just lost. 

"Yes!! I already planned everything; trust me, you'll love it!" MK exclaimed, looking at Monkey King with big, sparkling eyes while waiting in anticipation for his answer. And honestly, Monkey King has no idea how to answer. In fact, he mostly had questions.

"I don't know, bud. I mean, aren't you suppose to be under house arrest?" He ended up asking.

"Oh, that? I managed to convince Pigsy to let me out a day early. I've been free since yesterday." He shrugged. "But enough about that! Let me tell you how we're gonna-"

"Woah, Woah! Slow down, kiddo!" Monkey King cut him off, waving his hands franticly in front of MK. 

"I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I don't know if I'm prepared for a treasure hunt today. How about another time, huh?" He usually wouldn't have a problem, but like with the cubs, he wasn't sure he had the energy to play along for MK.

"Awww...But everything is already in place! It has to be today! Come on, Monkey King! Pleaaase~?" MK begged with pleading hands. "Don't make me go puppy dog eyes on you." 

"Bud..." Monkey King looked at him with crossed arms and an 'I don't budge' face.

MK pouted. It seemed like he wouldn't be able to convince the golden monkey. That is until an idea came to mind, making him grin. "Ok. I guess I'll have to give the prize to someone else." To that, Monkey King's ears perked up. He's aware that usually, in those kinds of games, they have some goodies at the end. But actually, talking about it somewhat piqued his interest. "Maybe Macaque would like to do the treasure hunt instead? Oh well. Sorry for bothering you, Monkey King! I'll just be on my-"

"WAIT!" Monkey King shouted. 

'Bingo!' MK thought. "Yes~?"

Yeah, it was evident MK did this on purpose, so he would say yes, he wasn't stupid. But... He couldn't lie that he wanted to see where this would go. And MK was really insistent about this, so it had to be somewhat important to him. He rubbed the back of his head and sighed. "Fine. You win."

"Yes!!" MK beamed, jumping around with joy. It made Monkey King chuckle.

"Alright, alright. So...What should I do?" He asked.

MK stopped and looked at the King. "Oh, right! I'm sure you know the basics of the game. You go looking for clues until you reach the end with the treasure! And I'll be giving you the first one! Easy peasy!"

"Ok. And, um...Can I ask something?" MK nodded for Monkey King to continue. "Why am I doing this?"

"Because it's fun! Now shoosh, so I can tell you the first clue." MK deadpanned, then cleared his throat. Monkey King just rolled his eyes with a small smile. "You've had a bad mood-"

"No, I haven't." Monkey King chimed in.

"I'M READING THE CLUE, AND YOU KNOW IT!!" MK grimaced.

Monkey King made a fake, dramatic gasp. "Me?? I had no idea!" He razzed.

MK looked at him for a good while, then sighed. "Anyways... You've had a bad mood, so it's time to grab some food!"

"Great! To the noodle shop, it is, then!" He announced, turning his back on MK to call the cubs' parents to come and get them.

The kid looked at Monkey King, unamused. "Wow...You know you could at least pretend it took you a while to figure it out."

Waving goodbye to the monkeys, Monkey King laughed. "Sorry, bud. Can't help it if I'm good at this!" He turned around to face him again. "So! I'll meet you there for the next clue, right?"

MK gulped and laughed nervously. "Yeaah...About that." He started fidgeting with his fingers, still looking at the King, who tilted his head. "I'm actually gonna be waiting for you at the end."

After staring for a good minute, then blinking a few times, Monkey King finally spoke. "...Excuse me?" 

"Yep! You'll be doing the rest of the game on your own! Fun, right?" MK could try and sugarcoat it all he wanted, but Monkey King was starting to get second thoughts about this.

"But how am I supposed to get the clues if you're not there?" He asked in a bit of a high-pitched voice. 

"You'll be fiiine~" MK assured him. "You'll get it once you get there! Now, I'm gonna go so I can let you start. Remember, I know you've got this! Ok, byeee~" Before Monkey King could protest, MK's projection was gone in a flash. But not before he saw the kid with a devious smirk that reached his ears. He huffed. That last part was definitely payback for the giant dumbling incident.

Alright. This was fine! He just had to go to the Pig's restaurant and get the second clue! While also having to face the pig demon...and probably the glasses guy too...without MK present...Oh boy...

--

While travel by cloud is supposed to be fast, Wukong took his time heading to the noodle shop to process the situation. Sure he's seen Pigsy a few times after LBD, but it was always in MK's presence. He had no idea how to talk to them after everything that happened with the Samadhi Fire, not to mention the pig demon had it out for him before that. He just added fuel to the fire. And yes, pun intended. 

What if they were gonna give him the riddle? This was gonna be weird, and he knew it. Then again, if they're playing along with MK's treasure hunt, maybe it wasn't as bad as he thought. Yeah...no. That was just wishful thinking. If that's the case, they're just doing it for MK. Nothing more, nothing less. 

He was a wreck the whole way there, trying to see how to handle the situation. As he was landing the cloud in the alleyway next to the shop, he had one thought in mind. Get in, get the clue, get out. It should be easy, right?

Considering that he was gonna be out in public, Monkey King had decided to wear his yellow hoodie with black and blue sleeves to not draw attention to himself. With his hood up, he reluctantly entered the shop, feeling a ball of nerves in his stomach.

Seeing as no one had noticed him, he decided to glimpse around before making his presence known. As he expected. Tang was sitting on one of the seats next to the counter, eating a bowl of noodles. Pigsy was nowhere in sight, however. At least from the angle, he was watching. The demon was probably in the kitchen or something. 

Since, thankfully, those two were the only ones inside, he mustered the courage to go and say hi, hiding the fact that he was not looking forward to the interaction. "Heyy, everyone!" He cheered with a bright smile.

"Oh! Hello, Monkey King! How have you been?" Tang greeted, turning away from the bowl to look at the monkey. Monkey King noted how the other seemed startled when he spoke.

"I've been..." Terrible? A mess? A rollercoaster of emotions? A walking dead unable to sleep? "...peachy! How have you guys been?" It's just small talk, he thought. Nothing to feel uneasy about!

"We're good! Right Pigsy?" He replied, eyeing the pig demon who...yep! He was indeed behind the counter. Wow, how did he just notice him there?

With his back turned on them, Pigsy was stirring the pot, not sparing even a glance at them. "Yeah...Lovely." He huffed. After that, silence followed. Well, this was an awkward moment if Wukong ever saw one. And he's seen a lot. It just made him wanna hide deeper in his hood.

Thankfully, Tang was the one that broke the quiet by doing a fake cough to get their attention. "So...You're here for MK's treasure hunt riddle, correct?"

"YES!" Wukong shouted, a bit too loud for his liking. If he wasn't wearing the hood, they could all easily see the monkey turning red from embarrassment...God, why was he so jumpy all of a sudden? "Uuuh...I mean, yes, yes I am."

Tang could hear Pigsy whisper, "Good grief..." under his breath. He didn't know if Monkey King heard him, but he still gave him a look and then shook his head. "Pigsy...Don't you have something for the Monkey King?"

Pigsy sighed. He let go of the pot and reached for a piece of paper next to him. He then turned to finally look at the two, but mostly Wukong, who he studied for a while first, before handing him the next clue MK gave him to give to him. "Here ya go..."

Wasting no time, Wukong took the piece of paper. "Thank you very much! Now, if you'll excuse me-" He was halfway to the exit, about to sprint out, but a stern "Hold it!" from the pig demon made him stop in his tracks, an accidental chirp escaping him from the fright. He quickly covered his mouth, hoping the other two didn't hear him. Pigsy probably did. But he chose not to comment on it. He proceeded to the front of the counter and behind the Monkey King. "Turn around. And for the love of everything, take off that hood!"

Wukong turned to face Pigsy, slowly lowering his hood. Tang was just observing. Making sure to intervene when needed. Pigsy rested his arms on the counter and took another good look at the monkey. While his face looked ok...ish... His body language told him everything he needed to know. He's seen how the other talked and acted long enough to know that this wasn't the monkey that kept annoying him with how unfazed he was during the search for the Rings of Samadhi. 

Although Monkey King tried to hide most of the details about their 'Mentor and student camping trip,' MK kinda ratted them out after he left. So Pigsy knew about Monkey King's problem. Honestly, a part of him thought he deserved it. A small part. But the other felt bad for the guy because he knows what it's like, to have to worry about someone else 24/7. Especially when you're not used to it.

"Look." He sighed. "I'd like to think you're aware of how much the kid cares about ya." Monkey King was surprised by his words, but he still nodded. Even tho he didn't believe he deserved it, he knew MK did. "Good." He continued. "Because as much as I hate your guts, at least I know you care for him too. Even if you show it in your own...um...way." He said in the best way he could. 

It didn't seem like it most of the time, but the pig demon could be good with words when he wanted to be. And Monkey King learned that in the time he spent with Pigsy and the rest of the team on their own 'Journey to the West' expedition. He just never thought those words would ever be wasted on him. The way Pigsy said your own way, tho, made him want to look down at the floor. 

"So I'm just gonna tell ya what I told you back when the whole amnesia rules situation happened, which you probably don't remember." He crossed his arms, giving him a soft, sincere look and a kind smile. "Try and keep him safe, alright? We both know that this kid is like a trouble magnet." 

That earned a chuckle from the monkey. The pig demon's calm demeanor helped ease the ball of nerves that was building up. This was the last thing he expected when he set foot in the shop, but he can't say that wasn't a welcomed shock. He trusted him with MK. And he wasn't planning to betray that trust. "Will do."

Pigsy smirked. "Now get outa here! I have noodles to make, and you're wasting my time!" He yelled, loud enough that the whole block could hear him while pushing the other out the door. There was the pig demon Monkey King remembers.

"Yes, sir!" He beamed. Waving the two of them goodbye. "See you later!" 

And with that, Monkey King summoned his nimbus and took off, not even realizing the people staring up at him in a total jaw-dropper. Their faces made Pigsy snicker. "Alright! Back to wo- Tang, what are you doing?" He turned around only to see Tang looking at him with a weird looking grin on his face.

"Whatever do you mean? I'm just eating my noodles while watching you being a softy." He teased, then resumed slurping his noodles. Pigsy narrowed his eyes, giving him an angry but not menacing glare. "Come on. We both know you didn't have to talk to him. Yet you did."

"Shut up, Tang." He groaned and returned back to the other side of the counter, grabbing the spoon he used to stir previously. "You better not tell the kid about this when you text him. AND YOU BETTER PAY FOR THE NOODLES THIS TIME, YOU FREELOADER!"

Tang laughed nervously, not liking how the pig demon was pointing the spoon threateningly right at him. He was not safe from Pigsy's wrath after that.

--

The next riddle seemed easy enough, pretty much like the first one. 'Fire is dangerous but bright and helps everyone unite.'. Keyword, fire. A.k.a, the dragon pony girl! Right now, Monkey King was a bit more confident facing her than he would be half an hour ago. If the pig demon didn't show him any hard feelings, then he'd probably be ok with Mei. Or so he hoped. His mess did have the most impact on her. Even if she said it was cool when he apologized to her after the fight, he wasn't sure if she actually forgave him. She did seem excited with her new fire powers tho... "I should probably stop thinking about it..." He mumbled to himself. The more he thought about it, the more his anxiety returned. So he figured he should probably drop it.

He kept looking at the paper on his way to Mei's house, admiring the cute fire drawings MK drew on it. He really went all out for this game. Makes him more curious about the 'treasure' the kid has in store for him. But seeing where the riddles were taking him made him think that maybe he had other motives for this. Guess he'd just have to find out.

Tracking down Mei's house took a while, but he finally reached his destination. Jumping off his cloud, Monkey King took a minute to admire the scenery around the place. It had a mixture of modern and traditional which looked pretty cool. It also had a lot of trees on the sides near the outside walls. But what caught his eye was the residence! He knew that Mei was a descendant of his old companion but living in a mansion? MK probably forgot to mention that part. Not that it mattered, tho. Wukong isn't really the fancy type. He's good with the simple stuff.

After some walking, he reached the door. He was about to knock but was met with a bunch of lasers ready to shoot at him. Ok. This is not the greeting he anticipated.

He tried to stay as still as a board so he wouldn't trigger anything. Why were they even active in the first place? Weren't they expecting him? Or maybe this is Mei's form of revenge? If so, good job! Cause if he wasn't immortal, this might have actually been terrifying.

A beeping sound caught his attention. He looked up to see the weapons withdrawing. That got him to relax and start stretching. Thank the stars he could move again.

Suddenly, the doors slid open, and on the other side stood Mei with the dragon sword in hand, ready to attack. "Woah, hold your horses! It's just me!" Wukong chuckled anxiously, his hands raised up in a surrender position.

Mei grimaced in surprise, lowering her sword. "Monkey King? Sorry about that. We weren't expecting anyone." She explained while scratching her head. "Wait, why are you here?"

Wukong tilted his head in confusion. "Uuuh... MK's treasure hunt? The clue I got from the piggy said this is the next stop." He answered, taking the piece of paper with the clue out of his pocket to show it to Mei.

There was a pause. Then Mei started bursting into laughter, leaning against the door so she wouldn't fall down. Wukong was just staring at her. Why was she laughing?

She managed to collect herself after a few seconds, wiping away a few tears. "I'm gonna have to disappoint you, Mr. King. But I don't have the next riddle."

That sentence made him tense. "...What?" He asked sheepishly.

"Yep!" She replied, placing her hands on her hips. "To be fair, I don't blame you for getting it wrong. You saw the word fire and thought it was me, didn't you?"

"How did you...?"

"Who do you think helped MK with the riddles?" She explained with a grin, pointing at herself. "And well, the treasure hunt in general. Who knew rhymes were that complicated?"

Oh great! So he could have avoided this meeting, to begin with! Guess that's what he takes for being brash. "So wait. If you don't have it..." He looked down at the clue he was holding. "Then who...?"

Mei sighed, holding one finger up. "Wait a minute." She then closed the door, leaving Monkey King waiting outside. 

He didn't know what to do until she returned, so he summoned his nimbus and lay on it to enjoy the quiet. The silence was really soothing. It almost made him want to close his eyes. But he knew it was an impossible feat at the moment. 

A few minutes later, his ears twitched at the sound of the door opening. He sat up. Mei was coming out with her phone in hand. "Ok! I'm gonna give you a hint about the riddles." She explained with a smile, putting the phone back in her pocket. Wukong returned it, although kinda weak, waiting for her to continue. Mei created a green flame in her arm, startling the other, who put a hand in front of him to protect himself. She giggled at the monkey. "So, the drawings on the paper? Yeah, they're more than that."

Wukong gave her a questionable look, then turned to the paper to examine said drawings. "More as in... They're hints?"

"Got it in one, monkey man!" Mei cheered. "Call it MK's special touch."

Ok, that was good to know. And also so MK. His creativity was just adorable! But going back to the task at hand, Wukong thought about the possible location of the clue. He had already looked at the red flames that were all around the paper lots of times. What could he b- Wait a minute... Red flames...Red... "DBK's kid??"

"Took you long enough." Mei teased. She then put out the fire and crossed her arms.

That's when realization hit him. "Oh right...! Your flames are green! So that's why you put your hand on fire! And here I thought you wanted to barbeque me." He exclaimed, pointing his finger at Mei.

"Don't give me ideas, Mr. King." She extended her hand out as if she would summon another fireball.

Not wanting to become a roasted monkey, Wukong slowly flew away. "Will you look at the time? I better get going. Thanks for the help, dragon pony girl, byeee~!" And with that, he was gone.

"See ya, Mr. King!" Mei waved him goodbye. Once he was out of sight, she took out her phone and started texting.

Dragon girl: The bird has left the nest!

Monkie boy: Uhhh...Huh?

Dragon girl: Dude, really?? 

Monkie boy: Mei, just explain pls qwq

Dragon girl: Siiigh... Monkey King left and is on his way to Redboy!

Monkie boy: Ooooh! Well, you could have just said that. 

Dragon girl: Whatever. So, how are things at your end?

Monkie boy: Pretty good! This little complication may turn out to be what I needed! Anyways, I'm gonna go now. Thanks again, Mei! Talk to you later! :D

Dragon girl: No prob! Bye~!

--

Reaching DBK'S fortress took surprisingly longer than he expected. Two hours in the sky, he was now outside his old brother's door. He could probably be there sooner, but he didn't want to risk anything with barely having any sleep.

The fact that he was there, of all places, felt both strange and amusing.

He was still kinda salty for not figuring it out sooner. He just hoped MK wouldn't find out, considering how cocky he was in his ability to solve the riddles. It was sure that he wouldn't hear the end of it.

Wukong started regretting his decision to wear a hoodie. The place was surrounded by boiling lava, and counting the warmth of his clothing, the King felt both hot and slightly dizzy, not to mention the sweat; ew. So, with a heavy heart, he ripped the sleeves from the hoodie, shrunk them, and put them in his pocket. He could try and sew them later.

He ended up landing right outside the entrance. His nimbus vanished as he jumped off of it. While knocking on the door a few times, loud enough so they could hear, he noticed a bull clone nearby, on top of one of the towers, and gave it a wave. The bull clone went inside. If he was right, it probably planned on informing the family of his arrival. It wasn't necessary tho, as he heard the heavy thud of footsteps, getting louder the closer they got. 'This ought to be good.' he thought.

The bull demon opened the door, an irritated expression on his face at the sight of the monkey. "Hey~ Bull King! Buddy ol' pal! How've you been~?" Wukong greeted him with a big smile, his tail wagging behind him playfully.

DBK groaned. He was never a fan of Wukong's annoying energy. "Simian..." He greeted back.

Wukong took a look at the robe DBK was wearing and snickered. "That's a nice look for ya, big guy!" He taunted, not regretting his choice of words. Not even when the bull demon growled at him angrily.

DBK turned his head to face inside and shouted. "Redson! Come here before I punch this idiot into next week!"

"Harsh..." Said Wukong with a grin, in a way that seemed like he was offended. But of course, he wasn't. DBK just groaned and walked inside. A few minutes later, Redson came out, giving the monkey a 'really?' look. Surprisingly, the teen demon wasn't wearing his characteristic jacket this time.

Redson sighed. "Wukong." He greeted him with a bow of his head. His family may hate him, but that didn't mean he had to be disrespectful.

Wukong raised a hand up. "There is really no need for that, Red. It's me we're talking about." He grinned.

"Redson..." He hissed. Wukong took a step back in case the boy decided to light the place on fire. He didn't survive the dragon girl just to be burned by DBK junior, of all demons. "And it's called exhibiting manners. Not that you would know. Barely five minutes here, and you already managed to piss my father off."

"Can't be helped." Wukong shrugged. Making fun of the Demon Bull King was one of his favorite parts of their interactions. You could even call it a hobby. What's a monkey without its hobbies? Besides, no harm done, right? "So...The clue?"

Redson rolled his eyes, taking the clue out of his pocket and handing it to Wukong. "Here. You know... I'm surprised it took you this long to come." He questioned, crossing his arms and leaning against the door.

"Yeah...Here's the funny thing." Wukong looked down at the clue-that seemed to be inside an envelope-then looked up at the other as he started explaining the situation. "At first, I thought I was supposed to go to Mei for the clue. So I ended up going to her house before coming here." 

I see...Why am I not surprised?" Redson said with a mocking giggle. It was cut off tho by the King's piercing laughter. He almost flared up from his anger but decided it wasn't worth it. "Mind telling me what you find so humorous?"

The laughter kept going for a while longer till it turned to puffs. Redson kept glaring at the monkey, growing more impatient as Wukong took his sweet time to answer. "Sorry, sorry." He panted. "It just seems so funny! How did you end up helping the kid out? Especially for a game, of all things."

It was an honest question. An understandable one, too, considering the teen demon wasn't really one to interact with the team, even more so than the King. Yet, for some reason, that question made Redson turn slightly red. And no, not the burn everything with fire red. He turned his head around to not meet eyes with the other. "Well...Let's just say that when noodle boy's 'puppy dog eyes' didn't work, he decided to bring some dragon backup. And two against one isn't really an easy win..."

Like father like son, Wukong thought. They could act tough as much as they wanted, but they're just cuddly marshmallows. It was honestly cute watching the boy look so embarrassed. He put the envelope in his pocket. "Aww~ Who knew you were such a good kid~!" He teased as he wrapped his arm around Redson's shoulder.

Red hair turning into raging flames, Redson had enough. "I AM NO SUCH THING!" He yelled, his face turning redder than before. He then shoved Wukong away from him, hating how close he got. "Will you just go already?!? I'm losing brain cells with you here!"

"Fine~ Since my nephew doesn't want me, I guess I'll be on my way." Wukong sighed dramatically, giving a lively punch on Redson's arm, earning him a growl from the other. While he summoned his nimbus, he heard Redson mutter "I hate you." from under his breath and chortled. "See ya around, Redboy! And say hello to your parents from me too!" That was the last thing he said as he blasted off into the air for the fourth time that day.

Redson started yelling at him, the place now on fire. "FOR THE LOVE OF DEMONS, IT'S REDSON!!" He fumed. But the Monkey King was already far gone to hear him. With a groan, he started heading inside, closing the door behind him. He grabbed his phone and texted a certain someone that his part was done.

This visit managed to give Wukong an energy boost he didn't know he needed. This was actually starting to get entertaining. It got him more excited for the places those riddles were taking him each time and the final destination. 'Speaking of which...' He stopped mid-air to check the new clue, taking the envelope out of his pocket and opening it. "Alright!" He mused to himself. "Let's see where this will take me next."

Chapter Text

The Celestial realm...The next clue...was in the CELESTIAL REALM?!?

Wukong was staring up at the Heavenly Palace from his cloud, flabbergasted. At this point, he knew to expect the unexpected. But this one takes the cake. He looked down at the clue for what seemed the millionth time. 'Where the best peaches can be found, it's up and not down.'

If it weren't for MK's drawings around the paper, it would probably need more than the half hour it took him to figure it out. They were sketches of peaches and clouds, randomly placed. Now, the first thing that came to mind was Flower Fruit Mountain. But it didn't add up with the riddle, not to mention it didn't make sense for the next clue to be there. What made things clear, however, was the lotus flower at the bottom center of the paper, which also gave him a pretty good idea of who he was about to bump into.

Going up there made the energy he had before disappear, replaced by pure tiredness. It wasn't something he couldn't handle tho. He just had to ignore his body's complaints until he could go back home to rest. Not that that would do much, but it was better than being constantly on the move.

For now, he had to process the fact that the next clue was in the freaking Celestial Realm! How did MK manage to pull this off? And in a day? The kid really went "go big or go home" in this game. 

He wasn't sure if he felt comfortable with MK interacting with Heaven, tho. He hated the idea of them finding out about his successor. Even the thought of it gave him goosebumps. The fact that Nezha knew about him wasn't something he had planned, but he could trust him to keep it a secret.

Speaking of the lotus prince, Wukong observed as Nezha walked down the stairs that led to the Heavenly Palace, spear in hand and his expression neutral as usual. He waved at him with a smile, happy to see his old friend again in a not life or death situation. 

As he approached the golden monkey, Nezha greeted him with a nod. He was grateful that, for once, the monkey wasn't here to cause mischieve. "Took you long enough." He sneered. "Losing your touch, are you?"

Wukong's smile turned into a pout. What did he mean he lost his touch? He's the Monkey King! He has the most touch out of everyone! Sure he's a bit out of it because of the lack of sleep, but other than that, he's still the Great Sage! "Seriously? How was I supposed to expect this?!?" He grumbled, gesturing at the palace. Realizing he was being loud, he took a deep breath, exhaled, and continued. "Even DBK's kid makes more sense! How did you get pulled into this in the first place?"

Nezha chuckled at the other's shenanigans. Didn't expect to actually manage to trigger Wukong so effortlessly. "MK wanted a favor. It's not hard to give you a piece of paper, so I agreed to help." He shrugged, handing him the next clue. He couldn't help but notice that Wukong was still on his cloud. "I see you don't plan on staying very long."

"Yep! I don't wanna be back to a week after, so the sooner, the better, right?" He quickly replied, turning around to head back to earth, his back turned on the prince and his nimbus higher from the ground. "It was nice seeing ya! You should come to visit sometime! I'm sure the kid would like it too." 

"S-sure..." Nezha mumbled, not so confidently. The tone of his voice wasn't overlooked. Wukong didn't say anything, however. He waited for him patiently to say what he wanted, and the prince noticed that. He clenched his spear and sighed. "Wukong. How...are you feeling?"

And there it is. Of course, Nezha wouldn't participate in the game for no reason. "The kid told you, didn't he..." He asked in a low voice, with a frown that the other couldn't see. Nezha didn't answer right away. He looked away from the golden monkey, clenching his spear tighter. He was starting to regret asking about it.

"Not in detail...Just that you weren't very well." He answered hesitantly. He wasn't lying. MK didn't explain much about the situation, or anything, to be more accurate. He wasn't going to question it at first. But he wanted to learn what troubled his old friend since he's always known him to be annoyingly cheerful and in high spirits all the time. Tho, it appears asking only made things worst for the monkey.

'Pathetic.' Wukong thought bitterly. He must seem really fragile if even the lotus prince shows concern. 

No, he was just thinking nonsense. Nezha is a good kid. And he may not look the part at first glance, but he's also very caring, always there to help those in need. It's not his fault the King only acts strong and carefree around everyone. Like he was about to do now. Wukong turned his head slightly to look at Nezha. "I'm Fine! The kid just worries too much, that's all." He lied with a fake, bright smile.

Nezha wasn't convinced, but he didn't want to push him any further. "If you say so." He said with doubt. "Just know I'm always available to lend an ear. If you ever need it." 

The other didn't react to his words, looking zoned out, and that kinda alarmed Nezha. Did he even listen to him? "Wukong...?"

Wukong snapped out of his daze, blinking once he heard his name, shaking his head lightly to regain focus. Did Nezha say something? Actually, how long was he standing there? Great. He's losing it. He turned his head away from Nezha to face forward but not before giving him a small, nervous smile. "Ok. I...um...I'll see you around, Nezha." That was the last thing he said before descending to the mortal realm. 

Watching the sage leave, Nezha could only pray that whatever bothered Sun Wukong would soon be solved.

--

Barely five minutes in the Celestial Realm, it was already almost time for the sunset, a shade of orange painting the blue sky. God, how he hated the time difference sometimes.

Lucky for him, it didn't take much effort to gather where he must go for the next clue. 'Time for the sun to meet the moon, as the wind plays a calming tune.' Anyone else would probably be at a total loss for what this meant, but Wukong was too familiar with the sun and moon talk. It was something like an inside joke created a long time ago. MK's drawings just confirmed what he already knew. The said drawings were an orange sun and a purple moon at the bottom of the paper.

He was DEFINITELY going to ask that dark-furred monkey how MK knew about it, but before that, he had to get to his dojo to get the clue.

Entering the city, he decided to get rid of his cloud and fly there in his bird form, so he could stretch his body after hours of sitting down.

He very quickly regretted that decision.

Everything seemed fine for a while! He was soaring through the sky, enjoying the breeze brushing his wings. But the more he flew, the dizzier he felt, struggling to stay in the air. His vision began to blur, and his body grew weaker. The world started spinning as his body forcefully transformed back into a monkey and started falling alarmingly fast.

Wukong gained consciousness with a hard gasp seconds before crashing into the concrete floor of a rooftop. Reflexively, he summoned his cloud right below him, landing on it before disappearing, hitting the ground with a thud.

Panting and sweating, he attempted to stand up on his two feet, but his trembling legs wouldn't let him. After a few tries, he gave up on the idea and stood in a sitting position to try and catch his breath, leaning on one hand while the other was wrapped around his stomach. His body ached in protest, telling him it'd had enough. He looked up and groaned.

Ok, ignoring the signs and transforming was probably a bad idea. Wukong lowered his head again with a sigh, clenching his hands into fists, and his teeth bared in frustration at how weak he felt. Still, he had to accept the facts. he was tired. Emotionally and physically. He had to stop saying otherwise to himself. 

But he couldn't go on like this. He's fought countless demons and won, yet he can't beat some stupid insomnia. How was he supposed to do anything in the state he was in? 

It has to be my punishment. Wukong thought to himself.

Punishment for all the things he's put everyone through.

He bets half his peaches that the Celestials are laughing at his misery with their smug looks and judging eyes. Because, of course, they would.

Whatever the case, he couldn't care less. He had to finish the game to get that over with. He growled at his way of thinking. Here, the kid did all this for him, and he could hardly enjoy it properly. And on top of that, he kept him waiting for hours. 

He had to move.

No breaks.

The moment he gathered what little strength he had, he stood up. He stumbled as he tried to regain footing and called his nimbus again. Thankfully, summoning it takes the least amount of power, so it didn't affect him in any way. 

As he carefully climbed his nimbus, he took flight to go and find the shadow warrior.

--

It didn't take long for Wukong to reach the dojo.

He spotted the dark monkey sitting on the edge of the rooftop. He lowered his cloud close enough to jump off it, landing a few feet behind the other, misstepping as he touched the ground. If Macaque detected his presence or noticed his slip-up, he didn't show it. But Wukong knew he did. "Mind telling me how the kid knows about the sun and moon thing we made up?" He walked to Macaque and stood next to him.

Macaque shrugged, still staring into the distance. "It may or may not have happened while you were on 'vacation'"

 Wukong rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Of course it did."

After a pause, Macaque asked him his own question. "Mind telling me why you're trying to act all casual when you passed out mid-air and almost crashed through a rooftop a few minutes ago?"

 A grin grew on his face as he sensed wide eyes staring at him in shock. He didn't even need to look at him to tell that his face must be picture worthy. Now he regrets leaving his phone downstairs. "YOU SAW THAT?!?" Wukong shouted in total disbelief.

"Correction. I heard that." Macaque pointed at his ear, emphasizing on heard. "I was gonna portal you here before you hit the ground, but you beat me to it with the cloud."

"I mean, there wasn't any reason for you to do so anyways. It wasn't anything serious. Just a bad moment." Wukong tried to justify, but Macaque's glare told him he wasn't buying it. He put his hands up in a placating gesture. "I'm good! Honest!"

Macaque gave him a side look and sighed. "You can try all you want, Wukong, but you and I both know you're lying."

Wukong huffed and crossed his arms. Honestly, he half expected Macaque to not believe him. It still didn't make it any less annoying. "Whatever..." He stretched one arm out. "Can you give me the next clue now so I can be on my way, please?"

"Hmmm..." Macaque hummed, stroking his chin as if in deep thought. Then he took a piece of paper out of his scarf, staring at it for a good while before giving the other a sneaky smirk. Whatever he was planning, Wukong hated it already. "Nah...I don't think I will."

Wukong looked at him with a scowl, tapping his foot on the ground impatiently. "I'm serious, Macaque." He hissed.

"So am I." Macaque quickly replied, putting the paper back into his scarf while watching Wukong getting angrier with that action. "You can have it AFTER you sit down and take a break."

Wukong stared at him for a minute before answering. "Look, Mac. I'm usually all for taking things at a relaxing pace, and you know it. But I really wanna get this over with. Besides, the kid has been waiting for hours, and I hate keeping him waiting."

"Listen, peaches for brains. As far as I'm aware, the next clue will be your last. So you have two options." Macaque raised a finger for Wukong to see. "Option one! You sit here for, what, ten or twenty minutes? And try to take a breather because I bet you haven't stopped flying around even for a second, and later find the kid while also being a bit more refreshed and energized." Not waiting for an answer, he raised a second finger. "Option two! You leave now to hurry and get the game over with, leading to having to explain to MK why you look like a walking mess." 

Option two didn't stick right with Wukong at all. There was no point in worrying MK about something they had already talked about. Besides, he wasn't planning on lying about being tired to him, but he didn't want the kid to think that all his hard work exhausted him this much. He'd probably feel bad, and Wukong wasn't gonna allow that.

So with a groan, he plopped himself down next to Macaque. "Ten. Minutes." He pointed his finger at the other monkey.

"Ten minutes." Macaque repeated. A triumphant grin formed on his face. 

They stayed in each other's company in silence, watching as the sun slowly set down, saying goodnight to the world to allow the moon to prosper with its own light among the darkness. The city under them followed suit with its bright lights, covering the glimmer of the stars.

He couldn't lie. This was actually pretty nice. It's been a while since Wukong last took the time to watch the sunset, and while the view was way better from his mountain, seeing it from the rooftop was still a captivating sight. It was also pleasant to see it with someone he thought he'd have to fight forever. He kinda missed this.

"We should do this more often." He thought mumbled to himself.

"We'll see. I'm still trying to get used to...us...hanging out." Macaque replied, gesturing between the two, startling Wukong, who did not expect an answer.

"So." He continued. "Still can't sleep, huh?"

It wasn't a question to be answered, so Wukong didn't reply. But his reaction said it all. He ran a hand across his face while groaning, his tail lashing behind him in agitation. It might have looked like Wukong got mad that the warrior brought it up, but in reality, he was angry at the fact that it was true. "As bad as before. Noted."

"Why does it have to be so complicated?? I've tried almost everything, and I still can't close my eyes! It's so frustrating!" Wukong whined, lying on his back while gripping his head, elbows facing upward. 

"Well, I volunteered to beat you till you pass out; your loss if you still don't want to." Macaque sighed, giving him an amusing look. "Have you tried tea? I heard it does wonders."

"Hard pass on the first one." Wukong responded, unimpressed. "And I tried the tea. It made me tired, but it still couldn't help me sleep. It's like I'm cursed or something!" He threw his hands in the air, then dropped them to his sides.

"You sure you're not?"

"Yes, I checked."

Macaque shrugged. "You're one of the most annoyingly stubborn monkeys I know. You'll manage at some point."

"I sure hope so 'cause this situation is becoming a living nightmare! I don't even know how long I'll-"

"There you are!"

Wukong sprung up from where he was, his blood running cold and skin paling at the sound of the new voice. No... no, no, nononono it can't be. She's dead! She can't be here! It has to be another trick of the mind...! Right...? But what if she's actually back? What if she came for him? Came to collect her champion? She'd send him back to that awful, dark, cold place.

No, please...

He didn't wanna go back.

He couldn't go back.

He can't go back!

His head started running wild, heart pounding in fear as he trembled and exhaled shaky breaths. Macaque quickly noticed his rising panic and placed a hand on Wukong's shoulder to get his attention. As soon as Wukong turned to look at him, Macaque tried to calm him down, staring at his golden eyes with a considerate gaze. "breath." He mouthed slowly.

"B-but..." Wukong stuttered, his voice low and croaky. God, how Macaque hated seeing him look so vulnerable. Right now, the King looked like a scared cub. Thankfully, he knew exactly why that was.

Macaque waved his other hand in a calm-down motion. "Everything is fine. She's not here." He whispered, then pressed a finger against his lips. "I know I'm asking a lot, but I need you to trust me. Don't say anything until you've calmed down, ok?"

As confused as he was, Wukong nodded. If Macaque says everything is fine, it is. There was no reason for him to lie, but it raised more questions. Macaque clearly heard it too. He didn't imagine it. So if it's not her, whose voice did he hear...?

His question was half answered by Macaque, who turned his head to look at the mystery person behind them, smiling. "Hey, kiddo! Guess I won hide and seek."

'Kiddo?'

After controlling his breathing, Wukong looked back timidly to see who Macaque was talking to. He wasn't far from what he first thought, but his mind would have never imagined that the voice came from the little girl the Lady Bone Demon used as a host.

"That's not fair, Mr. Macaque! You never said we could hide on the rooftop!" The girl protested, moving closer to the two.

"Funny, I don't remember specifying." Macaque teased. "I only said to find me within five minutes. And look at that! Time's up." He tapped a finger on his wrist playfully as if he wore a watch.

Wukong stared curiously as the girl-Bai He, right?-puffed her cheeks and frowned. It didn't last long, tho, because soon, she realized that it wasn't just the two of them up on the roof. "Hi, Mr. Monkey King!" She beamed with a big, toothy smile. "I didn't know you were gonna be here too!"

"H-hey, kid!" He waved nervously, Macaque rolling his eyes beside him. If it weren't for the kid being present, Wukong would have punched him into the next building for not informing him sooner about her being here. "I just came to get something from Macaque."

"MK dragged him into a treasure hunt game. I'm supposed to give him a clue for his next stop." Macaque added in.

Upon hearing this, Bai He's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Treasure hunt!? That sounds so fun!"

The two monkeys chuckled, and Wukong's body relaxed from his previous shaking. Of course, it couldn't be that demon. Seeing it with his own eyes, however, put him better at ease. He was happy to see that the girl seemed fine, especially after everything that had happened. Actually, wait...

"So...How come you're here, kiddo?" He asked, turning to Macaque in hopes that he would answer.

"The blue guy couldn't look after her today, so I volunteered." Macaque explained simply, then patted Bai He on the head, Bai He nodding in confirmation. His attention turned to Wukong, who was staring at him with an odd, surprised look. "What?"

"You. Macaque. Volunteered to take care of someone else? Ha! And here I thought I've seen it all."

Macaque glared at him for a minute, then his face shifted into a carefree expression. "Remind me again, who used to take care of the cubs in flower fruit mountain? Oh, right!" He leaned his head closer to Wukong, a breath away from each other. "Me."

"You're also the one who used to forget personal space." Wukong quickly shoved Macaque's face away from him, Bai He laughing at their shenanigans behind them.

"Oh! You think this is funny?" The shadow monkey hid inside his shadow, and before anyone could react, Macaque emerged next to Bai He and pulled her into a hug. "I'll show you funny!" He throws both of them down on the ground and starts tickling her. Bai He, unable to hold back tears of laughter, began squirming against Macaque's hold.

"Mr. Macaque, please! That tickles!"

"That's the point, blueberry. Now, prepare to suffer!"

"Noooo! Hahaha!"

Something warm grew in Wukong's chest as he watched the two having fun, their laughter a pleasant tune to his ears. The feeling grew more at the sight of Macaque, smiling with real happiness for the first time in ages. Even his tail was wagging in delight.

He couldn't describe the joy he felt for having the chance to see that smile again. And to think the one who brought it back was Bai He. A girl who might not have been here now if he hadn't gotten possessed.

Huh...He never thought about it that way...

Maybe-surprisingly enough-something good did come out of it. 

"Hey, Wukong. Guess what?"

"Huh?" Wukong snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of his name. He looked at Macaque, who was still down with Bai He, holding a piece of paper in his hand.

"twenty minutes." Macaque said with a smug look.

It took a few minutes for Wukong to process what he meant. When it came to him, he facepalmed with a groan. Then, he stretched his hand to grab the clue, lips in a straight line. "I hate it when you do things like that."

Macaque chuckled. "I gave it a peek. I'm not exactly sure where you have to go, but I get what the kid is trying to say." He handed the clue to Wukong.

"I see." Wukong looked down at the paper. 'You have to go back to where it all began.' 'P.s. I know it doesn't rhyme, but it's hard ok??'

That last bit earned a laugh out of the monkey.

To where it all began... He had an idea of where this could be, but to make sure, he examined the drawings on the paper and...Yep! A sketch of a bowl of noodles and one of the staff.

"It's where I sealed away the Demon Bull King at an old construction site." He informed the others. Bai He looked at Macaque, confused, and Macaque just shrugged. "Welp! I better head off now!" He got up and took a few steps toward the center of the roof, his cloud forming underneath him and lifting him off the ground. 

"You sure you're ready to go? Maybe stay five more minutes?" Macaque asked while helping Bai He to get up, then got up himself.

"Gee, Macaque. If I didn't know better, I'd say you care." Wukong taunted with a raised eyebrow and a teasing grin.

Macaque scoffed. "Keep at it, Monkey King, and I'll rip that smile off."

After a pause, they both chuckled. Wukong was well aware that there was no malice behind those words. It would be odd to not know his way of doing things by now.

"Can you tell MK we said hi when you see him, please?" Bai He pleaded with big, cute eyes. 'Oh my God, that girl is adorable.' Wukong thought.

"I'll make sure I will." Wukong replied, flying with his cloud close to Bai He to raffle her hair. The girl gave a cute giggle at the gesture. "It was nice seeing ya, kiddo! And, um... Thank you, Macaque, for...you know."

"Sure." Said Macaque with a nod, placing his hands on his waist. "But before you go, I've been meaning to ask." Wukong cocked his head curiously, and Macaque continued. "Since when have you allowed me access to the cave again?"

For some reason, that question brought a mischievous smile to Wukong's face, and Macaque had no idea why that was, nor did Bai He, who was as confused as the shadow monkey. "Who said I ever removed your access?"

His answer stunned Macaque, his face a mix of confusion and shock. His reaction made Wukong laugh hysterically, almost falling off his nimbus. "Boy, that was a good laugh." He panted, wiping a tear that threatened to fall. "Alright! See you around, bud! Monkey King out!" 

Macaque turned red at the nickname, eye twitching. He was about to burst into furious shouts, but he didn't get a chance to respond as Wukong was already gone.

"God, I hate him." He mumbled with a growl. Did he really have to call him that in front of the kid? Why even call him that at all?!? Wait a minute... DOES THIS MEAN HE COULD HAVE GONE AND BEAT HIM UP WHENEVER THIS WHOLE TIME?!?

He turned his focus to Bai He, who was tugging his sleeve to get his attention. "Why were you so surprised when he called you "bud"?" She asked with an innocent tone.

"It's complicated." He half explained to her as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Anyways, you go back inside, blueberry. I'll be right with you in five." He gave her a subtle push on the back toward the door.

Bai He turned her head to face the shadow monkey. "What are you gonna do?"

"Nothing much. Just gonna take care of something real quick."

After making sure the girl was inside, Macaque vanished inside a shadow portal.

--

Wukong was flying above Megapolis.

It wasn't too dark that he couldn't see, but the city lights were still a welcome guide.

The place that used to be DBK's prison wasn't far from the dojo, so it didn't take long to find his way there. Probably ten minutes tops. He was hanging above the construction site, looking around for the last clue, according to Macaques' words, and wondering who he was gonna meet this time. With how things have been this far, he wouldn't be surprised if MK somehow managed to get Chang'e to deliver the last clue.

The kid has really come a long way since he became his successor. Met a lot of new people too.

Where it all began...A simple phrase, yet its meaning is something Wukong treasures dearly. Even now, he still wasn't sure what it was about MK back then that made him think, 'Yes, he's the one.' Like a moth, unable to resist the light, ever since he spotted him, the more he observed him from afar, the more he couldn't bring himself to look away. It was like...A connection? Or rather...A force? After all this time, he still can't find a word to describe it. Who knows? Maybe it was the fact that the kid was a fan. But somehow, he doubts that's the case.

At first, he didn't think much of it when MK accepted his offer. He just finally had someone to take his place while he was retired. But who would have guessed that after many years, the Monkey King would end up getting attached to a mortal boy? 

A mortal boy with a ridiculously huge heart. He added. Because even after everything, he still has the kindness to put up with him. And ending up betraying that trust again is the last thing he wants. That's why he promised himself that he'll try to do better. For him...

Speaking of beginnings, Wukong started wondering if he's ever told MK who was actually the one behind the noodle order that day. "Oh well." He muttered to himself, shrugging. "It will come up one day." 

"Monkey King! Over here!" A voice shouted. A very familiar one, in fact. So much so that Wukong thought he was hearing things again. Regardless, he pursued that voice to its source and- Wait, what?

"Kid?!?"

Near a hole that used to be an elevator stood MK, who was waving at him. Wukong waved back, bemused since the next clue being with MK was the last thing he expected. He flew closer to him and landed with a misstep in front of him. Thankfully, it wasn't noticeable. "What are you doing here, bud? I thought I was meeting you at the finish line. Or is this it?" He questioned, slowly starting to appreciate his little break with Macaque.

His question was answered by a nervous smile. "You still are, actually. MK is waiting for you at your next stop. He made me so I could deliver you this." The kid explained, pointing at the clue in his hand. This one was in an envelope like the one Redson gave him.

Wukong crossed his arms, nodding in understanding. "I see. So you're a clone, then." Honestly, a part of him was relieved that that was the case. Even after that little break, he still wasn't at his best, so he hoped he could make himself look less...of a mess. And no, he did not mean his appearance. That part was already perfect, in his opinion.

"Yep! Now here you go!" The MK clone handed the envelope to Monkey King, which he took with a thank-you nod and a small smile. "I don't wanna keep ya for long. I'm sure you've been dying to know what the reward for the game is."

"Y-yeah. Right..." Monkey King mumbled, staring down at the clue with a deep frown. That's it. He was technically done. But now he was feeling worse than before...

'MK' noticed the monkey's lost gaze. "Monkey King...? Are you ok?"

Monkey King quickly tried to change his expression, a fake smile already on his face, ready to play the part. "Don't worry, I'm-" He paused. Fine. That's what he had to say. Then why won't the word come out of his mouth?

"Actually, no. No, I'm not ok." He uttered instead.

"Do you wanna talk about it? I can be a great listener." 'MK' asked softly.

Monkey King could leave. Leave now, and go find MK. It's not like the clone would be offended. In a way, it's like talking to thin air right now. But something urged him to stay. If it was the need to let it out, or the fact that the fake in front of him felt so real, he didn't know. His mouth just moved on its own.

"I'm tired. And it's not because of the game. I feel weak and constantly exhausted, and it frustrates me to no end. I've barely managed to enjoy anything from the things the kid has planned today! Heck, I even forgot about the prize! I also had another panic attack, well, almost, I zoned out a few times too, and I even passed out while flying! And all that because I. Can't. Sleep! I've been trying very hard to close my eyes, but it's starting to feel like an impossible task at this point!" His voice kept rising higher, but he couldn't control it. The more he talked, the more he could feel the pity look from the clone. Which is why he couldn't bare to look him in the eyes. Not with his face. Why was he even talking to him about this?

"And ok, sure, I feel terrible about speedrunning the game that the kid obviously put a lot of work into, but it's just a game, right? But what if next time it's something else? What if I feel dizzy during our training sessions or even our get-alongs and end up ruining them? Or worse, what if a powerful demon shows up, and I'm somewhere passed out? Even if I wasn't, I'd still be unable to do anything! I'm just useless like this! No matter what I do to resolve this, it's still the same! Either my eyes stay open, or they don't, and a nightmare wakes me up! I said I'd fix this. I'm trying to fix this, but I'll just end up disappointing you again, even tho you put so much faith in me that I could and-"

"Monkey King!"

Monkey King's rambling was cut short thanks to the kid's firm but gentle shout. 'MK' had set his hands on the King's shoulders to attempt and get him to focus on him, his brown eyes staring up at gold ones. "Since when are you the one stressing about the negatives?"

"I-"

"No. Stop. I'm talking now." Monkey King wanted to debate, but the kid wasn't planning to leave any room for him to talk. "Monkey King, it's only been a week. No one expects you to get better that quickly, especially not when you're pushing to do this on your own. Those kinds of things take time, something we have plenty of. I just want you to be ok. And not because we need you on the battlefield but because you're our friend. You're my- MK's mentor. And he's not gonna give up on you because of some insomnia. Can you get that through your dum dum skull for me?"

His words were so hopeful; so soothing; Monkey King couldn't help but nod. How could he not? The kid was here, correcting all his doubts and fears by reassuring him that they weren't real. But... This wasn't real either... Right. He almost forgot.

This wasn't him.

This wasn't his kid.

But as fake as they were, he wanted to believe in those words. Hold on to them. Because part of him wanted to hope that they hid some truth. That he was more to them than what he thought himself to be. He looked at the clone and smiled softly. "Kid has really grown. You're exactly like him. Looks and energy."

The kid pulled his hands away from the monkey and started rubbing the back of his neck, laughing nervously. "Y-yea! MK is just amazing like that." He praised, flexing his 'muscles' playfully.

"Indeed he is." Monkey King muttered with a chuckle. He didn't miss the way the clone's eyes sparkled for a second before he grimaced while crossing his arms. "So about you fainting part..."

"ALRIGHT, LET'S SEE THAT CLUE SHALL WE?" Monkey King yelled loudly, causing the clone to groan with a small ow. He was not about to return back to that conversation. And by the looks of it, the clone decided to drop it too.

Monkey King opened the envelope and took out the paper inside, reading it carefully. The kid watched as the monkey blinked, confused, turning his gaze to him. Then back at the clue, then back at him again. There was a weird pause.

"Buddy, do me a favor and verify something for me." Monkey King started saying, still eying the clone, giving him back the paper. He then crossed his arms and started tapping his foot. "Read it real quick first."

The kid had no idea what this was all of a sudden, but he cocked his head while mumbling, "ok...?" before reading the clue. 'Congrats for reaching the end after roaming around; now return home safe and sound!' At the end of the sentence was a smiley monkey face and, under it, a drawing of a mountain, specifically, a mountain he knew very well. 

Oh boy... He was starting to understand where this was going. 'MK' turned his attention to the Monkey King. "So, tell me." Monkey King began asking. "Is the finish line, by any chance, at Flower Fruit Mountain?"

"...Maybeeee~?"

Monkey King groaned dramatically. For some reason, that seemed funny to the clone, as he tried to hold in a laugh. He decided to ignore it for the sake of his own sanity. "I'm just gonna good now." He told the kid flatly, summoning his nimbus for what he hoped the last time that day and jumping on it to sit. "Need me to poof you, or you good on your own?"

The kid shook his head, returning the clue back to the monkey. "No need, gonna do it myself in a minute. I need to let MK know you're on your way, after all."

"Great! And um...Thanks for hearing my rambling. Guess I needed it." Monkey King admitted, scratching his cheek with his finger. He didn't really have to thank him, it's not like he'd remember it. But he also didn't feel right not to.

"Of course! But please just take it easy. There is no reason to rush." 'MK' said with a smile. Tho, if Monkey King didn't know any better, he would think that his smile hid a bit of sadness.

"I'll try." Is all Monkey King could say, as he wasn't sure if it was something he could promise. "Bye, kid!"

The kid bid the monkey farewell, waving his hand as he watched him fly off into the distance. "See you soon." He whispered, his hand slowly dropping to his side along with his smile the moment Monkey King was out of sight. He then turned his gaze up into the sky. "I know you can hear me, Macaque. I get why you brought me here, but can you send me back now? I need to be in the cave before he arrives."

Not even a minute passed, and MK dropped through a shadow portal under him, taking him back to Flower Fruit Mountain.

Farther away from the construction site, a Six-Eared Macaque observed the scene with a mischievous smile.

--

Is it considered a wild goose chase if you end up where you started? Probably. But after some thought, Monkey King was more curious than anything. What could MK be planning on the mountain? What was the point of this game if he was going to end up at his home again? So many questions, yet little to no answers.

Guess it was a good thing that he finally reached the island. If anyone could explain the situation, it was MK himself.

As Monkey King flew above trees and rivers, he eventually made his way to the waterfall curtain, dismissing his nimbus and hopping from rock to rock. He stopped before the entrance, about to unlock the magic barrier, when suddenly, the seal glowed a bright gold light, forcing the waterfall to split in half, revealing the inside of the cave.

But he couldn't see anyone on the other side, and he was sure he wasn't the one who opened it. 

This smelled sneak attack all over the place. Monkey King smirked. 'Now this is gonna be interesting.' He was cautious while entering the cave, taking careful, light steps as he walked inside, his ears ready for any sound.

Surprisingly enough, there wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Only the sound of the waterfall closing behind him, the distant chatter of the monkeys, and the fluttering of little wings. Wait- fluttering? Before he could register that thought, he felt something small landing on his head and crawling down to his nose. A little butterfly with black and red hues was staring at him. 

Monkey King sensed a tingly feeling building up his nose, alerting him of a sneeze. It took everything he had to not send the butterfly flying. However, he couldn't hold it for long. The little butterfly managed to flee the loud, earsplitting sneeze that escaped the monkey in time. It flew on his head again, but, unlike before, a radiant glow surrounded it, revealing nonother than the Monkie Kid, who was now sitting on Monkey King's shoulders. "Sup!" The kid cheered.

"Hey, bud! Good to see ya! Awesome job on the butterfly form!" Monkey King cheered back, adjusting his hold on MK's legs so he won't fall off.

MK giggled. "Aww, thanks, Monkey King! But you figured out it was me, didn't you?" He asked, resting his head against Monkey King's, his arms dropped to his sides.

"Yeaaa... Sorry, bud. But your colors gave you away." 

"It's cool. I half expected it, to be honest." MK mumbled with a lazy shrug. He seemed tired from the way he was talking, but Monkey King thought that he was probably imagining it. "Soooo... How did it go?" 

And the moment he did not look forward to unfortunately came. Monkey King bit the inside of his cheek, pondering the words he would use to describe his day. Lying about it was off the table, and also not to go as dramatic as he went with the clone. "I'm...not gonna lie to you, bud. It was really exhausting with the whole lack of sleep thing. Other than that, it was fun!" He tried to save it at the end, not wanting it to sound like he didn't enjoy it, which he did for the most part.

"Perfect!" MK whispered with a mischievous grin that the monkey couldn't see.

"I'm sorry, what?" 

"Nothing!" He quickly chirped. "Now come on! Onward to your house!" He beamed, pointing forward in excitement.

"I don't suppose you plan on getting off of me?"

"Nope! You too comfy." 

Monkey King chuckled while slightly shaking his head. "Alright, you big baby." He teased as MK mumbled an offended "Heyy." that made him laugh more. 

They continued talking the rest of the way. With MK asking more things about Monkey King's day, wishing to know more details as well as his reaction to each encounter, and Monkey King asking his own questions, mainly about the real reason the kid planned this game. But MK wouldn't budge on any of the things he asked. Only replying with "You'll see!" Every time. The times they would both go quiet, Monkey King would try and come up with random theories, but never to an actual conclusion.

He would sometimes even catch MK giggling at his failed attempts to figure things out, ending up with Monkey King pretending to almost drop the boy. Of course, he could never actually do it. Not just because MK wasn't even heavy to carry but also because he would feel guilty if he went with it. Especially with how comfortable MK had gotten sitting on his shoulders and using his head as a pillow. Even tho the little yelps the kid did when he thought he'd fall were hilarious to listen to.

After a bit of walking, they were near the entrance of the primary part of the cave. Monkey King was about to take another step when a pair of hands covered his eyes. "Uhhh...bud? What are you doing?"

"It's a surprise!" MK beamed. "If you just walk in and see your gift without some suspense, it won't be as thrilling!"

"Gift...?" 

"Oh, right. I mean your prize! Just trust me on this, ok?"

The kid sounded so excited; Monkey King ignored how suspicious he was acting and smiled instead. "Always, bud. But~...I'm gonna need you to be my eyes since I'm not allowed to use mine." He added teasingly.

MK giggled. "On it!" As they entered inside, MK tried to guide the golden monkey through the cave, but not without some stumbling here and there.

Monkey King thought he'd go nuts from the wait. And it's weird because he hadn't thought about the prize till MK made a big deal out of it. Maybe it was the feeling that his questions were gonna be answered pretty soon. Either that or MK's enthusiasm is contagious.

"We're here!" MK exclaimed happily, and Monkey King stopped in his tracks.

"Great! Now can I know what this is a-" Monkey King didn't get to finish as MK immediately removed his hands from his face, revealing the long waited surprise. And boy, did it leave him with his jaw open. 

MK had led them to the side of the cave somewhere beneath the peach tree, but it wasn't how he left it. Instead of empty space, there stood some kind of tent? A nest? It wasn't something he's seen before, so he wasn't sure. It was made of blankets, a bed sheet, and pillows with some chairs on the sides and MK's staff under the said bed sheet, keeping it above the ground like a tent, leaving only the front uncovered. Inside were vast amounts of pillows and some soft-looking blankets. In front of that construction was a picnic blanket. On top of it was a bowl filled with peaches, something that looked like a thermos, and two cups. 

While Monkey King was staring around him in awe, MK climbed off of him and rushed to the front to face him, his hands raised in the air as he yelled, "SURPRISE!!"

Monkey King was still in a state of shock, confusion, and amazement, so he didn't respond right away. Not like MK let him say much. "What the-"

"It's a mini camp!" MK beamed, and Monkey King was still kinda lost. "At least that's what I like to call it, hehe..." Monkey King kept staring at him, giving MK the go to continue. "Since last week ended in a disaster, I thought we could try again! But this time inside the cave! I went and collected some peaches before I arrived and even made some hot cocoa for us to drink! I also fetched some ingredients to make noodles if you prefer that instead! I wasn't sure if it would fit to eat with the cocoa, but I can always make them for tomorrow! I may not be as good as Pigsy, but I know my stuff!"

"OH! Also...!" He moved closer to the pillow structure, the monkey's eyes following him curiously. "I made a pillow fort! I figured it would be way cozier than a simple tent. It's probably not as good as your cloud, but you'll still fall asleep in seconds! Especially after a long day like today." He added with a wink.

Monkey King finally spoke up after realizing MK had just answered the question that's been hunting him all day. "Wait, wait, wait. So this whole treasure hunt was to tire me out? You wanted me to exhaust myself, so I could sleep?!" He questioned, trying to believe it himself as it sounded impossible. Then again, it's MK. For him, everything is possible.

"That, and to keep you away long enough so I could prepare everything! A gift from me to you!" He explained with pride, happy that he finally got to tell his master plan like a sneaky little genius. Which, to Monkey King's eyes, he definitely was.

"Ok, but...This is not a day's work." Monkey King pointed out with a chuckle, still trying to process it all. "How long did it take to do all this?" He asked as he walked closer to MK, taking a better look at the kid's work.

MK looked down sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "True... I've actually been working on this since we returned from the camp. While on house arrest, I've been searching online for good pillow fort ideas and sketching them on my sketchbook. To see what would work out best to build and sleep in. Then I had to look for the things I needed to buy. I didn't lie when I said Pigsy left me off the hook earlier. I just used that day to go and pick up everything. As for the rest of the week, I've been contacting everyone to help me out while preparing the clues at the same time for the treasure hunt! I got Mei to thank for the last one. She helped a lot! I also need to thank the monkeys for not ratting me out. Truth be told, I was already in the mountain when I called you. I'm glad it took you a while to come too, 'cause it was a bit harder to build the fort than I first thought, but it worked out in the end! And now, here we are!" He concluded, watching as Monkey King stared at him in total disbelief. Honestly, his expression was kinda funny.

"Bud...This is...And you bought all that?" MK nodded. "You went through all this trouble...for me...?" Monkey King asked, placing both his hands on his chest, feeling touched by the gesture.

"Of course! After everything, you deserve to have a nice night of sleep. And since you've been trying hard to improve as my mentor, I thought it was time to return the favor." MK reassured him with a warm smile that reached his eyes, Monkey King returning it with a smaller one. "And the best part! It'll be just you and me! No more surprise guests, promise." The golden monkey left a low snort at that. "So...do you like it...?" MK asked hesitantly.

"Like it?" Monkey King asked back. There was a pause that made MK believe that he had messed up somewhere. That maybe Monkey King didn't like the idea as much as he thought. The thought of it saddened him. He didn't get the chance to think it further tho as he was scooped up in the air and squeezed into a tight hug. "I love it!" He gushed with extreme excitement as he raffled MK's hair playfully, their giggles echoing throughout the cave.

After a few swirls, he finally set the boy down to his feet and gave him the happiest smile he hadn't had in ages, eyebrows facing slightly upward. "Thanks, bud. You have no idea how much I appreciate this. No way I ain't sleeping tonight with all the things you have prepared."

MK gave him a small but kind smile. "And even if you don't, it's ok. There's no reason to force yourself. No one is rushing us, right?" Monkey King nodded, a bit reluctantly, but he meant it. "Awesome! Now come on! I don't know about you, but I'm starving!" He grabbed Monkey King by the wrist and led him to the picnic blanket, forcing him to sit.

"Alright, alright. How about I tell you some 'Monkey King adventures' while we're at it, huh?" Monkey King suggested, and surely enough, MK was thrilled with the idea, his brown eyes sparkling like the stars.

So for the next two hours, the two shared stories, ate, and drank in the silence of the cave. At some point in story-telling, Monkey King managed to burn his tongue with the hot cocoa, causing MK to burst into laughter. But it quickly came back to bite him as he accidentally dropped some of the cocoa he was holding on his arm, earning a tiny shriek. They both started laughing at the chaos.

With MK's third yawn, Monkey King decided it was time to head in for the day since the kid was obviously pushing to keep himself awake. "Well, seems like someone is ready for bed." 

"Noooo~ I'm-" MK started protesting but was interrupted by his yawning, ruining the whole point of convincing the monkey. "-Good, totally not sleepy."

"Yeah, and I totally do not believe you." Monkey King insisted with a delicate voice as he wrapped his tail around the kid's wrist. "Come on. I'm not having you pull an all-nighter. Especially not today."

After a bit of whining, he eventually managed to get MK to crouch inside the nest made of pillows, as Monkey King liked to call it, with him in tow. Going in, he took note of the layers of blankets laying down on the floor- probably to replace the feeling of a mattress; and the number of pillows scattered around, along with a few folded blankets on the corner. The kid wasn't kidding when he said this would be cozier.

"So... I don't think we'll need them, but they're some blankets over there in case we get cold, and as for pillows...I got a few different types because I wasn't sure what you're comfortable with..." MK explained lazily, drowsiness finally kicking in. Once he took off his jacket and tossed it to the side, he plopped on a random pillow and turned his body to lay on the side to face Monkey King.

"Don't worry, bud." Monkey King cooed, extending his hand to remove MK's bandana from his head, then began stroking his hair gently. "I can figure it out. You just rest." His heart skipped a beat when he felt MK leaning against his touch. He smiled softly. "Goodnight, MK." 

"Goodnight, Monkey King..." MK muffled quietly, finally closing his eyes, the soft touch soothing him to sleep. 

Once MK fell asleep, Monkey King slowly pulled his hand away, grabbed a pillow, and lay on his back, as he was now left alone with his thoughts. His mind made sure there was a lot to think about.

He kept trying, but he couldn't recall anyone doing something that nice for him, let alone a gift. And as much as he cared for his deceased master, he could never count that circlet as one. He could only see it as a leash; meant to keep him under control during the journey. Even if it helped him reach forgiveness, he hates the pain it caused him and always will. But this felt...different. It was something done with care and thought. Something for him to enjoy without being asked for a favor or anything in return. A gift from someone that cared for him enough to work for a week on it. His kid did all this for him.

His kid...Monkey King was aware of how attached he's become to the boy, not to mention how he's gotten soft since he met him. But in no way has he seen that as a bad thing. It just felt weird having to care about someone again. But unlike last time, this felt more natural rather than forced. Something he truly wanted instead of having to do it.

Sensing a bit of movement, Monkey King turned to his side, looking at the kid while trying to prevent a chuckle from escaping him so he wouldn't wake him up. MK had gone from curled up to outstretched arms and legs. He was on his back, one hand slightly above his head while the other rested on his belly. As funny as it looked, it was also really calming. Watching his chest rise and fall in a steady rhythm, and smelling the distinct scent of noodles, was enough to soothe him. 

Because it meant that he was alive. 

That he was safe.

What more could he ask for?

He kept observing the kid's sleeping form, oblivious of his eyes slowly growing heavy. The feeling of being with someone he cared for that cared for him back, of not having to worry about the problems of tomorrow, seemed to be what he needed to finally let himself relax. And as the thoughts of 'what if' slipped his mind, he fell to slumber with a smile, knowing that he was no longer alone. 

With the first sign of sunlight, MK's eyes fluttered open. He tried to move but felt something holding him. Taking a moment to process where he was, he turned his attention to the monkey. Monkey King was still sleeping next to him, his tail wrapped around the kid's waist. MK smiled at how peaceful he looked; it had to be the first time he's actually seen the other sleep. He cheered silently at the success of his plan.

Not wanting to wake him up, he decided to go back to sleep again. They could both use a day to sleep in, anyways. 

In the following days, Monkey King would keep spending his nights at the pillow fort, claiming that the smell of peaches and noodles offered him comfort.

The end