Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It all started with a lamp, a shadow, and a stage.

The Ghostlight Theatre’s production of Hadestown was going amazing. Orpheus and Eurydice had incredible chemistry, Hermès knew how to put on a show, and Hades had the deepest, smoothest voice.

And you, well, you were the director’s assistant, so as far as you could tell that was going great, too. Western plays were always a spectacle in Megapolis since usually it was traditional Eastern theatre that was performed, so it was extra work to prepare for... but it was worth it.

You mouthed the words to ‘If It’s True’ as Orpheus gave his musical speech, encouraging the denizens of Hadestown to basically unionize. It was... far more romantic when he sang it. As the number went on you prepped for the next, checking on the backstage actors and ensuring they were all ready. 

The director was rushing about as usual, looking for his reading glasses while answering a flurry of questions from stagehands to every side. He misplaced them so often in his old age and with his natural frazzled personality that the regular cast often joked about screwing them into his head like a nearsighted Frankenstein. 

Well, like Frankenstein’s monster, anyway. 

In a rustle of fabric you passed him, depositing the renegade shades on his clipboard on your way to deliver a sewing kit to one of the hair and costume ladies who was desperately trying to fix a rip in one of the costumes. She muttered a quick thank you, barely looking up from her work. 

Peeking out from backstage, you could see the seats were filled. That was good... it had been a hard few years for the Ghostlight, since the Demon Bull King had been freed. With all the chaos, residents of Megapolis were more concerned with repairs than they were with enjoying the arts— and it wasn’t just the Demon Bull Family. 

There’d been a massive smoke monster that turned out to be some elaborate illusion created by a Monkey King look-alike— though the damage it did certainly wasn’t an illusion— an invasion by an evil Spider Queen who’d turned you and everyone else in the city into spider zombies, and far more. By this point, it was a miracle the Theatre was still open at all, much less bringing in and keeping business.

But tonight... Tonight, the seats were packed, faces dimly illuminated by the set lighting. You smiled to yourself at seeing that, before vanishing back into the curtains just as one of the patrons caught your eye. Their head had turned from the play to look directly at you... 

Or, well, they couldn’t have, because for one thing they were wearing a hood. For another, you were totally hidden in shadows. It must have been your imagination, but it was just odd to feel so seen when it was impossible. 

Also, why the hell was someone wearing a hood indoors? Weird. 

Whatever, there was work to be done. Theatre always attracted weirdos, it wasn’t a big deal.

The rest of the performance went off without a hitch, except for one of the chorus missing a note. No one seemed to notice, though, and as the cast and director went out for a bow you smiled from the wings. The actors motioned to the orchestra as the audience cheered, then bowed once more before the play finally ended.

“Zhu!” The director called as the cast went out to meet their fans, using the troupe’s fond nickname for you, “Great job! I don’t know what we would do without you.” 

You smiled and nodded, setting down the props you were carrying to pick up a discarded costume. “Of course, Lee! You know this is my home. This show wouldn’t be possible without you either, you’re the director.” You reminded lightly, smoothing the fabric of the dress and folding it properly to put away later. The other stagehands were doing similar work; everyone had a job to do to clean up for the night and get ready for the show tomorrow. 

It took several hours to get all the guests out, clean up, and prep for tomorrow’s performance. Finally, though, the last stagehand left and you were able to lock up. It was your favorite part of the night, since everything was quiet and dark, and it was just you and the theater. 

Tonight... felt a little different, though. It was strange, but you felt like you were being watched again. Taking a quick look around you, all you could see was the same darkness that always filled the seats and spaces where people usually stood. 

It was easy enough to shrug off as you headed for the stage, carrying the lantern that had been the namesake of this theatre since long before you were born. The lantern was ancient and ornate, and many people believed it was magical. Some said it could control shadows, even.

You weren’t sure you believed that... but at the same time, there were plenty of magical beings and items in your city these days. Perhaps this one was too. 

Regardless, the lantern still functioned as a lantern, and for your theater it was the ghostlight left on for either practical safety reasons or to give the ghosts of actors a lit place to perform— depending on who you talked to.

As you lit the inside of the ornate little lamp, you could swear you heard something... Slowly turning, you once more looked out at the shadows draped along the theater walls. In the flickering light of the candle, it almost seemed that they were alive... like they were watching you. 

But that couldn’t be true. It was all in your imagination... Right?

A few more seconds of surveying the seemingly empty seats, you turned back to the lantern and shut the little door with a sigh. 

“Alright, Ghostlight,” You hummed to the theater and the lantern before you, “good night.” 

With that, you carefully made your way out of the old building and across the street to your small apartment. The debut show had been a lot of work, and tomorrow was going to be even more, so you were ready to get to bed. Stepping into the small apartment with a tired sigh, you slipped off your shoes and trudged into the kitchen to microwave some leftovers. 

Rice and vegetables, nothing fancy but tasty all the same, were gone in a matter of minutes from your bowl. Working a show took a lot of energy. You tossed the bowl and chopsticks into the dishwasher and made your way into your bedroom. From there it was a quick change of clothes, brushing your teeth, and hitting the bed and falling asleep practically immediately.

Tomorrow was going to be another big day, and you needed to be rested. 

It was about time they finally left!

A hooded figure stepped out of a supposedly solid wall as the last human finally left, bidding the theater goodnight. He hummed, circling the lantern quietly for a moment before grinning. 

“...Perfect.” He patted the object fondly, then made his way backstage and up, climbing up easily to the walkways above the stage. There was a nice little nook, in the vaulted ceiling of the theater, that would be a perfect place to hide out for now and take a rest. 

Ever since nearly stealing the Monkey Kong’s power from that naive kid, Macaque had been lying low, looking for an opportunity to strike again. But now the Monkey King was gone, so Macaque had nothing to plan... at least, until he’d heard about this Ghostlight Theatre. 

The dark-furred demon had always been a fan of theater, that was true, but he was also a fan of legendary items that could grant him even further control of the shadows he wielded so effortlessly. And this lantern, so simply used to illuminate the stage at night... well, that was his legendary item right there.

It was funny, though. When Macaque had slipped in to watch the performance, he’d put up defenses to keep from being seen. It was strange, then, that that little stagehand he’d spotted seemed to be looking right at him. And just earlier, when they were lighting the lantern... they’d possibly sensed his presence.

That shouldn’t be possible.

So, the original plan of just stealing the lantern was out. Macaque had something interesting to investigate... and besides. This troupe was decently talented. He didn’t mind sticking around to enjoy a few more performances of this... lovely little play. 

Even if that lovely little play reminded him all too much of... unpleasant memories.

Macaque settled himself in his new hidden nook, arms behind his head and cape shifted to act as a blanket for the night. Tomorrow, he’d test that... what did the director call them? ‘Zhu’. Candle.

Heh. Cuz they lit the lantern... funny.

Chapter Text

As always, getting up in the morning was hard. 

As always, the alarm on your phone screamed at you, the annoying bugger. 

As always, with a groan, you shut it off and slid out of bed. 

As always, your usual morning routine filled the next hour: 

Shower. 

Brush Teeth. 

Clothes. 

Breakfast.

Walk across the street to the Ghostlight Theatre. 

And, as always, you were the first person there.

You began the routine with a hum, unlocking the door and setting down your lunch for later in the fridge in what passed for a break room, but was really just a small closet off the dressing room. One by one you went around flicking all the lights on, stopping on the stage to open the ornate ghostlight and blow the candle out. 

“Morning, Ghostlight.”

As you worked on the various morning chores, you felt that odd feeling of being watched again. It was easy enough to shake off at first as you checked the audience seats to ensure they were clean, and while you shined the handrails… but it was when you were backstage that it was harder to ignore. 

Backstage was always your safe place, the most protected and quiet area when you were alone. There was no reason it should feel so… strange. Like the hairs on the back of your neck were raised, like there was someone right behind you–!

You whirled around, eyes narrowed and a prop bottle held like a weapon… 

But you’re alone. 

When you turn back to put the bottle with the others, but as you set it down you realize the rest of the bottles are on a different table. “Huh…?” 

You could have sworn…?

Shrugging, you walk over and put the bottle away, moving on to ensuring the costumes are ready. Weird things kept happening, though. A dress is hanging inside out, a suit’s been paired with the wrong tie, and you find a shoe hidden in a box of flyers. All things that could be easily explained as the costume department being lazy, but… you know them. Sam, Cai, and Tiernan were all picky, detail-oriented divas. 

Sam never let their color coordination get messed up, Cai hated when her costumes weren’t put away properly, and if Tiernan lost a shoe you and him would be there all night looking for it.

But it’s not like someone broke into the theater just to fuck with the costumes, so you dismiss it as some fluke.

“...Damn, I’m really losing it. Must be the three fates playing tricks on me, hah.” You muse to yourself, going back to work. The others will arrive soon to prep for the night’s performance, so you have to get everything ready before then.

Macaque was having fun fucking with the human. It wasn’t often he got to have some harmless fun, and Macaque was nothing if not opportunistic. He’d slipped out of the shadows when their back was turned and moved the bottles, gone through and flipped the dress around, swapped two ties, hidden the shoe.

Actually, it was kind of impressive how fast they found the shoe. He’d expected it to take at least ten minutes, but either the human was some kind of bloodhound or was just lucky. They’d checked the box of flyers right after looking through the shoe bins. 

Well, regardless, it was free entertainment, a show before the show one could say, and Macaque was having a blast. The shadow demon did relent after a while, though. If he did too much, he could risk discovery or worse- delay the progress of the performance tonight. And he did want to see this play again. Eurydice was… relatable.

The Celestial Primate watched as the human worked busily all alone for a few more hours. The rest of the crew began arriving one by one, joining in the work, and finally the cast showed up to go through make-up, costuming, and warm-ups.

It was a peaceful little thing to watch, that was for sure. Precious mortals and their precious little lives, so small and insignificant, but with such big dreams!

The actors for Eurydice and Orpheus snuck off to make out in one of the closets before the show, how cute. Theater romances rarely worked out, but they were always a spectacle. 

Hermes was running his lines, practicing a few different ways to say them. Seemed like he was the ‘no two performances are alike!’ type. 

The director and Hades were arguing not-so-quietly off to the side. Like with all the other tidbits of information, Macaque stored that away. Especially when he heard the director… Lee, that was his name… threaten to replace the actor. Juicy, juicy gossip~!

The demon turned away from this argument though, wondering where the little candle was… ah! There they were. The costumers needed some emergency thread to fix a tear, again. 

Clearly someone didn’t know how to sew a decent suture stitch. 

He watched as the little human fixed the rip quickly before hurrying off to do some other little fix-it task. What a busy little bee they were. And yet, whenever he slipped closer, into the shadows nearby, they seemed to look around as if they could tell. How, though? How did this human know he was there? Or was it perhaps just some failing on his part, some slip in skill he hadn’t recognized after years of being on his own?

But no, that couldn’t be the case, since no one else ever seemed to notice he was there, even when he concealed himself in their own shadows.

Well, whatever it was that made that little candle different, he’d figure it out later. The show was about to start!

Once more, as the lights began to dim and the audience quieted, you peeked out from behind the curtain to survey the crowd. No weirdo hood-wearers this time among the seated masses, but just like last night the room was packed. It made you overjoyed, to see all your troupe’s hard work being properly appreciated. 

You pulled back and turned as someone called your name, needing something yet again. The rest of the night passed in a blur of music, dancing, work, and more work. The performance went well, with only a few missteps by the cast and no technical issues. By the time everyone had finally left for the night, you were once more exhausted. 

The next week was spent in much the same way: Wake up, work, sleep, repeat. Odd things kept happening, and the crew was starting to talk about there being a ghost haunting the theater. Actors were superstitious people, prone to blaming problems on ghosts whether they were really there or not.

The others started trying to appease the spirit, leaving different fruits and incense on a table backstage as offerings. After an incident where Persephone’s signature red dress went missing, they realized leaving peaches was a very bad idea. With much trial and error though, they’d discovered that the ‘ghost’ really seemed to like mangos and lilac-scented incense… and so that was added to your list of daily chores. 

You weren’t entirely convinced of a spirit haunting the place, though. In your experience, while the supernatural obviously existed, it was best to rule out more practical possibilities first: like someone sneaking in and somehow living in the theater without you noticing. How that could be possible, you weren’t sure, but it sure made more sense than a ghost suddenly moving in.

That is why, after the finale performance of Hadestown, once the director had been given his graveyard bouquet and everyone headed out to have a drink… you stayed behind. 

You looked around the Ghostlight carefully, peeking in every nook and cranny while you cleaned. That feeling of being watched persisted, even seemed to grow stronger as you did. Broom in hand, you swept the stage while scanning an eye around the empty room. 

You could swear you heard a chuckle behind you, but when you turned there was no one there. 

“I know you’re here!” You shouted, really hoping your hunch was right because… otherwise, this would be awkward. Shouting to an empty room like this, hah. “I know you’re not a ghost, so come on out!” You waited several long seconds, but… nothing happened.

Huffing, you turned back to your sweeping– and that’s when all the lights went out.

“Fuck— who did that?! If this is a prank, it’s not funny, turn them back on!” You shouted, spinning in a circle in the sudden pitch black as you searched for any hint of who’d done this. If it was Enrico you were going to KILL him—

Another chuckle, you swear you’re hearing it, you can’t be imagining this twice in a row! 

There was a quick sound like someone lighting a match, and then the ghostlight lantern glowed to life. It illuminated the stage, encouraging you to move closer to the perceived safety of light. “Alright, so are you a ghost or what?” You called out to the darkness, gripping your broom handle tightly. “Stop fucking with me and come out!”“I’m not so sure you want me to,” A low voice purred from just behind your shoulder, and you screamed. You spun, slamming the end of your broom into someone’s head with a thump, and there was a curse from the darkness as whoever it was stumbled back. 

You only had a few seconds to be smug about it, though, because something grabbed your ankle and yanked your legs out from under you. Your back hit the stage hard, knocking the breath out of you as glowing gold eyes appeared over you. Around those eyes materialized a face, spiky black fur with red markings around the eyes, a sneer with sharp white teeth, a red… scarf? Cape? Something around his neck.

“I didn’t expect that, but I suppose I should have,” The… something muttered as his sneer turned into a smirk and he leaned over you, “You’re fast for a human.”

“Back off!” You snarled, kicking at him and trying to get back up quickly. This time the whatever-he-was was ready, though, and he dodged the kick easily before pressing a foot into your stomach to keep you down. 

“Look, ah… Zhu, I don’t think you know exactly who you’re talking to here, so I’ll give you that little hit for free. If you think I’m gonna let a puny little human hit me again, though, you’re sadly mistaken, bud~” You squirmed under his foot, but it didn’t budge at all. A tail looped around the handle of your broom and yanked it easily out of your hands, tossing it away. 

“Who are you?” You asked angrily, not exactly pleased to be attacked by some… thing that called you  ‘puny little human’. 

“Who am I~? Aw, that’s cute. I’m the Macaque! You didn’t figure that out from looking at me? Woulda thought you saw my battle with that little pipsqueak a few months back~” He hummed, laughing. That laugh was fucking annoying, he was laughing at you.

“What do you WANT?” You asked, still trying to move the foot that just would- not- budge-! What was this, was this some cruel joke? You were going to be killed by this smug monkey motherfucker who acted like he was the best thing ever??? 

“From you? Oh, not much~ Just that lamp, and an answer~” Macaque hummed, leaning down and tapping you on your nose. You smacked at his hand, but he pulled it away before you could make contact.

He wanted the lamp? Hell no! That was the Ghostlight Theatre’s prized possession. You’d be damned before he got that lamp. “Yeah, I don’t think so. Let me up!” You hissed, while one hand slipped subtly towards your pocket. If you could call the cops…

“Now, now, be a good little human… Oh~ And what do you think you’re doing, bud~? You know, making calls during a conversation is very rude.” You cursed as a hand… came out of the shadows, and grabbed your wrist before you could make it to your phone.

No matter how hard you tried, you just couldn’t get free– what the hell WAS this?! Was he just doing all this to be sadistic? Just mocking you for being powerless?

“What– Answer, did you want?” You asked through gritted teeth, deciding to comply for now. Not much option to do anything else at the moment. 

“Theeeere we go, good little Candle. Now.. the answer I want is to this question I’m gonna ask. Ready, bud~? Here goes:” He paused for dramatic effect, his grin widening as he glared down at you almost hungrily, like he would rather eat you than ask whatever it is he wanted to know. Finally, though, he spoke again.

“How the hell did you know I was here?”

Chapter Text

“How the hell did you know I was here?”

…huh?

You stared up at this ‘Macaque’ in confusion, unsure what the hell he was talking about. “What the fuck do you mean? I didn’t know you were here until just now!” You retorted with clear frustration in your voice. The one pinning you down just laughed. 

“No no, you may not have known it was me, but you definitely knew I was here. I saw all those glances, heard you ask if someone was around. You knew someone was there. So. How. Did. You. Know?”

Was— was he talking about the fact that you’d had a feeling? Like, a normal, paranoid, ‘someone’s behind you’ feeling?! “You’re insane. I was just being paranoid!” You shouted at him, before pausing and adding grumpily, “well, I guess not actually, since someone WAS there, but I didn’t know that!” 

Macaque didn’t look convinced. He inspected you, your face and features for several long seconds before the pressure on your chest eased slightly. Now that it was a little easier to breathe you tried to shove him off again, with the same amount of success as last time. He let you struggle for a bit before chuckling lowly, finally moving his foot off you and picking you up by the back of your jacket. 

“Wh— hey! Let me down! Stop manhandling me, you asshole!” You demanded, kicking and punching at him while the bastard simply stood there, entirely unaffected.

This was frustrating.

It got even more frustrating when his low chuckle turned into full-on laughter. 

“You are such a gem!” He said cheerfully, reaching up to pat your cheek with the utmost condescension. “The sheer stupidity you have to have to try and fight an immortal like me, with your puny little mortal hands. It’s honestly adorable, talking back to me like you’re anything more than a little insect I could squash with one finger.” 

Macaque turned and began walking towards the back of the stage where a piece of set decoration was hanging, still holding you in the air easily. “You know, it’s even kind of impressive. Impressive enough that I won’t kill you, you’re welcome~, but I still can’t have you running and telling anyone I’m here. Not before I’ve prepared, anyway. So you’re going to stay riiiight here, while I figure out just what I’m going to do with you~” 

The dark-furred immortal pulled the set piece away and hung your jacket on the empty hook, leaving you suspended in the air a foot off the stage. You went to reach up to free yourself, but found your hands bound in—

What was this, glowing purple chains? The fuck?

They were too heavy to lift, leaving you trapped. 

Again. 

Helpless, you watched as the bastard who put you in this position turned back to the lamp and began messing with it, casting some weird shadow magic voodoo into it.

The golden tassels on each corner of the lid began to blow in some unseen breeze as an ominous purple glow took over the once warm yellow light of the candle inside. 

The flickering shadows at the edge of the lantern’s light began shifting more than they should, forming images of light and darkness. An outline of two figures upon a mountaintop, then of a group, then a battle. Your struggles slowly stopped as you looked on, somehow unable to resist watching the display before you.

Macaque seemed to entirely forget your presence, muttering to himself as he worked with the now very obviously magical lantern. 

“…Aaaand there we go,” he finally hummed, leaning back with satisfaction as the lantern finally settled to being just that: a lantern. No more magic shadows at play, just the normal everyday shadows.

“Alright, now that that’s out of the way… hmmm.” His golden gaze returned to you and you stiffened, giving him a glare and baring your teeth angrily. 

“I could just lock you in the lantern… buuuut I don’t want anyone investigating a missing person… you are rather feisty, too, and I’d hate to waste such an entertaining mortal by locking you away anyway. So. Let’s talk, human. What’s your name— aside from that cute little nickname ‘Zhu’?” Macaque asked, walking towards you slowly with the lantern in hand. 

“Why should I tell you that?” You asked indignantly, motioning to your situation as well as you could with the heavy magic chains weighing down your arms. “I’m not telling you a damn thing!” 

“Like I said… feisty. I like that sass, Candle, but I am gonna need you to cooperate. Or else I’ll make this unpleasant, you understand?” His tone had started out casual and friendly, but the further into the threat he went, the darker and more dangerous his smooth voice became.

You grimaced as the chains around your wrists tightened, just enough to become painful without actually causing you damage. 

The message was clear enough. 

Reluctantly, you sighed and nodded. “Fine. Fine, I’ll tell you. Asshole.” You gave him your name- just your first name initially, but then he insisted on your last as well, and… well, you were just a human. It’s not like you’re gonna challenge a powerful immortal over something not even that important. 

“There we go, thank you~ It suits you,” Macaque purred smugly, allowing the chains to loosen back up again so it no longer hurt.

“Now, like I said, I don’t wanna have to deal with the suspicion that you going missing would cause, so I’m going to let you go, and let you live. But, since I can’t have you telling anyone about this, and I certainly could use an extra set of hands… you and I are going to form a little pact.”

…What. What was he, a sorcerer’s patron in D&D? 

“You’re out of your mind. I am not ‘forming a pact’ with you!” You argued, struggling to lift your hands again to try and get free of the hook. Like before, the chains were far too heavy. Macaque chuckled, shaking his head as he approached closer, stopping right in front of you. 

“It’s cute how stubborn you are, but you really don’t have a choice, little Candle~” He chuckled, holding up one clawed hand. Black and purple mist surrounded it before forming an intricate black dagger.

Macaque took the blade and sliced into his palm, blood welling up from the small wound before he reached for your hands. 

“Wh— hey— wait! Don’t fucking cut me—!” You shouted, struggling again in vain as he took one of your, lifting it easily despite your resistance and the weight of the magical chains. You cringed as he brought the dagger up and sliced into your palm, the brief pain spiking through you before fading to a dull ache. 

He grabbed your bloody hand with his, interlocking your fingers together. The purple chains around your wrists shifted, freeing your uninjured hand and instead locking around his wrist so you were bound together.

Macaque recited an incantation, and the chains seemed to melt into your skin as you watched, high-key panicking. It felt weird, it felt unnatural. The pain vanished from your hand, instead replaced with a strange warmth and a sensation of restriction. 

As Macaque finally let go, you yanked your hand away to check the damage. 

…There… was no damage. Your hand didn’t have a cut on it anymore. Instead, there was this… strange black and purple mark where the cut had been, wrapping around the palm, circling the wrist, and following a vein until it faded out about halfway up your forearm. It looked like a delicate chain, more like a tattoo than anything else.

“What… is this?” You asked, looking up at Macaque uncertainly. 

He looked very proud of himself. “Well… it’s not something we do often, but we immortal beings will occasionally take on mortals as servants. Uh… it’s actually easier to explain with your vampire legends. You know what a thrall is, yes?”

“You MADE ME YOUR SLAVE?!?!” 

The monkey flinched at your sudden loud volume, frowning and pointing at you. “First off, don’t yell that loud,” he ordered, and the immediate attempt you made to do exactly that… died in your throat.

“Secondly, relax~! I’m not gonna make you do anything bad,” He said with a laugh. “Just get you to do some errands, keep my living here a secret, that sort of thing. In exchange, since you’re my… I guess we’ll just go with ‘thrall’… you’re stronger than you were before, faster. Harder to kill. And once I’ve accomplished my goal, I’ll let you go! Sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me. Being more powerful in exchange for subservience to me? I’d take that deal.”

“Well I wouldn’t.” You snapped, staring down at your arm with a frown. Looked like you didn’t have a choice, though. Dammit… would this make you considered accessory to any crimes he committed? Would a court even accept the defense of ‘Your Honor, I was magically bound to do it’? 

Yeah… You were fucked. 

“Guess it’s too late now, though, isn’t it, my little Zhu~?” He mocked, grabbing you off the hook and letting you down. He ruffled your hair, making you snap up to glare at him while smacking away his hand. 

“Don’t call me that.” You muttered, running a hand down your face and sighing. Fine…

This was fine. You were just… the magically indentured servant of a psychopathic shadow-controlling demon monkey who’s already tried to destroy the city once. Yeah. Tooootally fine. 

Shrugging, the monkey leaned back on his tail, smirk still in place as ever. “Just a few rules, little Zhu~ Don’t tell anyone I’m here, don’t tell anyone what happened, and if someone asks about the mark tell them you got a tattoo.”

You flinched as you heard him, feeling a… weight settle on your shoulders and tongue, like the orders had a physical presence to them. But then it was gone and you were normal again. As normal as you could be, now. 

“…I have work to do.” With that, you went to pick up your broom to go back to cleaning. 

Macaque snorted, hopping up onto the balcony that Hades and Persephone used in the play. You cast an annoyed glare up at the monkey before getting to work, acutely aware of his gaze on you the entire time. 

So… the ghost of the Ghostlight Theatre existed, he was an evil shadow monkey, and you were now bound to obey him. Fun. 

Chapter Text

“Little Candle~!” 

You groaned, glaring down at the stage you were in the middle of sanding before looking up to the shadow monkey that would not stop demanding things from you. “What now?”

“Bring me another mango~”

“For gods’ sake—“ You got up, the chain ‘tattoo’ around your wrist tightening slightly when you hesitated for even a moment to fulfill his order. “How many of these are you going to eat? You know they’re fucking expensive, right?”

Despite your complaint, you vanished into the break room to grab another colorful fruit from the big bag Macaque had ordered you to buy two days ago for him. Two days. Two fucking days of his incessant orders, his jokes at your expense, his obnoxious laugh. 

If you didn’t have this stupid magic tattoo bullshit— 

“Thank you~” Macaque purred smugly as you returned, practically hurling the fruit at him before going back to work. Of course the aggression in your action was pointless: he caught it with his tail easily as he watched you return to sanding the stage. 

Blessed silence fell for several minutes before he spoke again. 

“So. Why don’t you have anyone else helping you?” He asked after a bit, tilting his head with a raised eyebrow and an amused smirk. “There’s like, ten stagehands. But you’re the only one who does upkeep regularly. What’s up with that?”

You glanced over, annoyed as usual. At least he wasn’t making fun of you this time. Or was he? It could be a long-con jab…

“Do you really care, or are you just bored?”

“Can’t it be both, little Zhu~?”

“No. And I highly doubt it could even be the first one.” You turned back to your sanding, cursing softly as a wayward splinter found a new home in your thumb. 

Macaque watched as you grabbed a pair of tweezers you’d brought just for this occasion, carefully digging out the piece of wood that had chosen violence and wrapping yet another finger in a bandage. 

Three fingers bandaged, seven to go, you thought with dry amusement. Once the tweezers were once more set down, it was back to sanding. 

It took all day. Macaque’s constant orders interrupting you didn’t help, either. Get this, get that, check the weather, fix this rip in his scarf, and so on and so on and so on. It never stopped. He could do at least two thirds of these himself, but he was just rubbing your situation in your face. 

Finally, though, you were done. All of your fingers were sporting stylish colorful bandaids, a veritable rainbow of reminders of exactly why sanding the stage was so important. You never did answer his question, but he never pressed it. 

“Where are you going?” Macaque asked as you put away your tools, stretching and heading for the door. You stopped, glancing back at him in confusion.

“Home? Duh. I’m hungry.” You snorted, rolling your eyes. 

“Well, if you’re hungry…” The shadow demon hopped down from his perch, meandering over to you with That Look on his face. The one that said you were about to be given An Order. Ugh. 

“I know a great little place you can go~”

This was stupid. This was so fucking stupid

Why did you have to do this?! 

Not for the first time, you cursed the gods for deciding that you would have to deal with hell before you even died, stepping into the noodle shop called Pigsy’s Noodles. The bell over the door chimed, and the only other customer looked up from where he was eating a bow of noodles at the end of the bar before nodding and turning back to his food. 

You sighed, putting on a smile before walking up to the far end of the bar from the bespectacled customer as from the back came a cheerful shout: “A customer! Coming!!”

It was weird. Why did you know someone was there before they spoke…? Eh, whatever. 

From around a corner a young man slid into view, wearing an apron and holding delivery bags in his hands. A… lot of delivery bags. How was he even carrying that many?!

“Hi! Welcome to Pigsy’s Noodles! I’m MK, what can I getcha?” He asked cheerfully, setting down the bags and pulling out a notepad. 

“Oh, uh… Some lamien with beef is fine, thanks.” You said, smiling back at him awkwardly. 

“Coming right up. Pigseyyy! Lamien with beef! Drink?” MK had addressed you, then shouted into the kitchen, then turned back to you. He’d done it so fast it kind of gave you whiplash. 

“Er— just some tea is fine. Do you have any lavender?” You asked, not really focused on the food or drink you were ordering. That, unfortunately, wasn’t why you were actually here. 

Thanks to someone, you were here for something far less innocent. 

MK said some affirmative before vanishing into the back again. Looking over at the other customer… what had Macaque called him? Tangle? Tandem? Oh— Tang. You noted he was looking through a scroll, and shifted over a few seats to be closer. 

“Uh… excuse me. I hate to bother you, but can I ask what you’re reading?” You asked, a little embarrassed to be bothering some stranger over their personal business. 

Tang looked up, adjusting his glasses with a calm smile, looking like some sort of wise man or soemthing for a second. “Ah, of course, young one! Wisdom is always best when shared.” He said sagely- or, you’re pretty sure that’s what he was going for anyway. 

“I’m reading about the legends of a great hero, the Monkey King. The Monkey King’s accomplishments are many and varied, and almost always chaotic in nature. He’s been active again lately—“

“—training me!!—“ MK’s voice called from the back,

“—…Yes, training him, so I’m reviewing the older legends and inscribing the current ones for posterity.” Tang finished, rolling his eyes in amusement at the interruption. 

“Order up! Hello, always good to have a new, paying customer!” A new voice joined the conversation. You turned to see a bowl of delicious-smelling, steaming noodles before you, and a pig man standing on the other side of the bar with a smile and a hard glare focused on Tang. This, obviously, was Pigsy. 

“Oh, thanks! You must be the owner of this place. I’ve heard wonderful things,” you greeted with a smile, pulling the bowl closer to you and using your chopsticks to take a bite. 

…Oh. 

Oh. 

You didn’t hear whatever Pigsy said next, too busy wolfing down the noodles as fast as you could. Not only did you realize you were starving— these were the best damn noodles you’d ever had. 

It wasn’t until after half of it was gone that you came to your senses and had the decency to look embarrassed. “Gods, I’m sorry, they were just—“

“No no, no worries! I’m always happy to have a satisfied customer. Now, that’ll be 7.50.” Pigsey hummed, his gruff voice cheerful. Tang scoffed softly, getting another glare from the pig. 

“You’re never that nice to me.”

“That’s because you don’t PAY, you damn freeloader!” 

You handed over your card, stifling a laugh at the exchange. “Uh, so, about that Monkey King stuff. I thought MK looked familiar… are you guys really the same people who saved the city from those spiders, and the Demon Bull King, and everything else?” You asked, like you didn’t already know the answer. 

“That’s us!” Tang replied cheerfully. “I’m Tang, you met MK and Pigsy. Sandy and Mei aren’t here right now, but they’re part of the group too. Together, we save the city all the time!”

“You mean the kid saves the city. You just sit there and contribute nothing!” Pigsy scoffed, pointing an accusing finger at the other. Tang stuck out his tongue at the shopkeeper as MK finally returned with your tea. 

“Here you go! If you need anything else just ask Pigsy. I’ve got deliveries!” He hummed, picking up the ridiculous amount of bags and scooting sideways out the door. 

You watched him leave, a bit surprised. This… wasn’t exactly the hero you’d been expecting. Not that he didn’t seem nice, he just—

“…He’s a bit young for, uh… all that, isn’t he?” You looked over at Pigsy in confusion. The shopkeeper made a face, glancing at the door. 

“…Yeah, he is. I worry.” He answered, before going back into the kitchen, leaving you to eat your food. 

You went back to eating your noodles, letting silence fall as Tang returned to reading his scroll and marking stuff down in a notebook. 

Macaque had said to come here, get to know them… get any information you could. But how was that supposed to work? What were you supposed to do?! It’s not like you could just go ‘hey, thanks for these amazing noodles, do you have any secrets or weaknesses I can know about for no ulterior motive at all?’

Yeah, somehow, you were pretty sure that wouldn’t go over well. 

So then what could you do? The bowl was empty soon enough, your tea gone. Hanging around would be too suspicious. But Macaque had said you couldn’t leave until you had something. That now-familiar tight feeling around your wrist appeared, making you grimace. It didn’t hurt yet, but it was a reminder. There was no choice in this. 

You blinked as the sound of Tang getting up snapped you out of your thoughts. He vanished into the restroom… leaving his stuff unattended. 

After a glance around it was clear no one else was present. Pigsy was in the kitchen, Tang in the bathroom, MK out on deliveries— this was your chance!

You quickly slipped over to Tang’s scroll, pulling out your phone and hurriedly snapping pictures of as much as you could. The faint sound of a toilet flushing made you tense as you moved to his notebook, snapping pictures of that too. As many pages as you could manage before the sink turned off. 

By the time Tang came out, still drying his hands, you were headed for the door. 

“Come again soon!” Pigsy shouted from the kitchen as the doorbell rang to announce your exit. 

“What the HELL is this?!” 

You flinched, glaring at Macaque as he waved your phone in front of your face. “This is NOT what I told you to get.”

“What was I supposed to do? Look, it’s not like they had a page called ‘Things I’m Weak To’, okay?! Damn.” You scoffed, watching as the shadow monkey angrily swiped through your pictures. 

Tang’s scrolls were all information he already knew. And the notebook was information, you knew that— but none of what you managed to get described any glaring weaknesses or anything to exploit… aside from the fact that apparently MK had a big spider phobia. 

“This is useless. You’re going back tomorrow.” Macaque growled, tossing you your phone. You scrambled to catch it so it wouldn’t break, glaring at the asshole who was forcing you into this with a look that should have been able to kill.

“No, I’m not! We’re starting set-up for a new show tomorr—“ Your argument cut off into a gasp as the chain around your wrist coiled and tightened painfully. You grabbed at it with your other hand in a useless attempt to pull the ink-like marking off you, but of course that did nothing. 

“You’re. Going. Back.” Macaque said calmly, one hand lifted slightly with his claws curled in a constricting manner. “Understand, little Candle?”

“Y-yeah, yeah, I got it, fuck-“

“Good!” Macaque’s demeanor changed and he dropped his hand, moving over to ruffle your hair and smirk at you. “I knew you were a smart one~”

“Fuck you.”

“Oh, babe, you wish.” With that, Macaque fell sideways into a shadow and vanished, leaning you alone in the dark theater wondering what the hell you’d gotten yourself into. And… what the hell you were going to do tomorrow.

Chapter Text

Morning came, and you didn’t want to get out of bed. 

Two days of torment from your new shadowy ‘master’ had ended in something even worse- now, instead of just bothering you with simple but annoying demands, he was ordering you to spy on innocent, heroic people to find their weaknesses so he could exploit them. 

That meant, not only were you about to be an official accomplice to whatever crimes he used the information you gathered for, but you were also going to betray the very people who saved your ass along with the rest of the city’s. 

Reluctantly, as the chain tightened slightly around your wrist to remind you of your current goal, you got out of bed and went about your normal routine. 

There was something else about all this that made you even more upset: the Ghostlight Theatre was prepping for its next show starting today. And with Macaque’s order, you weren’t going to be able to help. 

Or… maybe you could. 

With a new idea in mind, you rushed through the rest of your routine and bolted across the street to the Theatre. Director Lee was already there with some of the stagehands, planning the start of the production design. Luckily that meant Macaque was nowhere around… though you could feel him watching you. 

That damn ape…

You glanced up at a particular shadow, flipping it off when no one was looking before joining Lee and the others to get to work. Now to put your plan into action:

“Hey, guys. I found this awesome noodle place nearby. I’ll order us lunch from there!” You volunteered, pulling out your phone to place everyone’s orders. Lee wanted simple ramen, Sam wanted an order so complex it wasn’t even worth writing down here, Cai asked for the spiciest thing they had, and Tiernan just wanted whatever was easiest. So, putting in their orders and yours, you waited. 

Hah, shadow bitch! You weren’t disobeying his orders, but you were ALSO disobeying them! 

It was a small ‘fuck you’, but a ‘fuck you’ nonetheless. 

It was an hour before MK came striding into the theater, glancing around almost nervously as if not sure he was in the right place. You’d already begun walking towards the door before he showed himself. It was… weird. You knew he was there. You probably just heard a familiar board creak or something, no big deal. 

“Uh… delivery for— oh! It’s you! Hi again.” MK said cheerfully when he saw you, perking up as his confidence returned. You smiled and waved, taking some of the bags from him. 

“Just in time, MK! Everyone’s starving. Hey, do you have any deliveries after this?” You asked curiously, just casual chit-chat, definitely no ulterior motive here. 

“Mm, nah, not right now. Why?”

“Oh, that’s awesome! Well, we’re always looking to get more people to attend our shows, so I thought you could hang around and see how a show gets made, then maybe if you think Pigsy would be interested we could put up posters in his shop!” You explained with a smile, the hand with the chain tattoo hidden behind your back casually. It wasn’t moving or anything right now, you just… really didn’t want to answer any questions about it. 

“That sounds so COOL!” MK exclaimed, grin widening. “Show me EVERYTHING!”

“Sam, this is MK.” You hummed as you brought the young man towards your friends. “You know, the guy who—“

“You’re the guy who saved our asses from those spiders!” Sam exclaimed, jumping up with a broad grin on their face as they reached forward to shake MK’s hand excitedly. “Nice to meetcha, amigo!” 

“Nice to meet you too!” MK said with a matching enthusiasm, shaking their hand as excitedly as they had his. “And uh, yeah, I mean… I had help, so. It wasn’t just me.” 

“Si, si, but you have the staff, very cool magic stuff with that thing. It grows and stuff!” Sam continued, star struck by the local hero’s presence. You chuckled a bit as the others crowded around as well. 

“Did you really meet the Monkey King?” Cali asked, her brown eyes wide in awe. “You know, I played the Monkey King once! Right here in this theatre, actually!” She boasted, puffing out her chest proudly. 

“Ah, Cai’s a terrible actress, that’s why she’s costumes now~” Tiernan teased, earning a sharp elbow to the gut. He grunted, but chuckled through the pain as he held out a large hand to the visitor. “Tiernan, nice to meet you, MK! I certainly didn’t expect to have my food delivered by an all-powerful superhero.” 

“Oh, I’m not— Hah, you don’t— oh, you guys are really sweet, but it’s really not like that! I’m not even invincible anymore.” He explained sheepishly, flushed deep red from all the praise. It was funny, you’d expected him to be way more used to it after a few years of the hero worship. Humble kid, you supposed. 

That comment about not being invincible, though, was the start you were looking for but hoping not to find. The chain around your wrist tightened again and you grit your teeth before speaking up. 

“Wait, you’re not invulnerable? But aren’t you the Monkey King’s successor?” 

MK rubbed the back of his neck, looking away a little sheepishly. “Oh, well, I mean… yeah. But I’m still training! If he’d only come back from vacation…” That last sentence he mumbled under his breath. You barely caught it, but pretended you hadn’t. 

“Well, at least you have your friends, right? You talk about them a lot.” You prompted. In only the two interactions you’d had with him, he mentioned them a lot. 

“Oh, yeah—! There’s Pigsy and Tang, you met them already. But then there’s Mei and Sandy, too! Mei’s part dragon, part human, all awesome! She’s a tech genius and has this cool-ass sword and is the best driver! And, she’s my best friend!” MK bragged, eyes sparkling as he talked. 

“Then Sandy’s super big and scary, but he’s a total pacifist and loves tea and therapy cats. He’s sooo nice, always doing his best to help us out through any problems we have. And he’s got this awesome boat.” MK continued. Your coworkers listened intently just as you did, in awe as they learned about the team that saved all of you so many times. 

You were a little distracted, though, trying to keep yourself from turning around, looking up, and glaring at where you just knew Macaque was watching you from. This kid was genuinely sweet and amazing. You hated having to pry for information like this. 

Macaque sat up in the rafters as he listened to MK talk. He had to admit… the human was pretty clever, finding a way to follow his orders while still doing their job. And earlier, when they’d flipped him off… only confirmed to him more that they had some sort of ability or power, or… something. How else would they have known?!

He bit quietly into one of the mangoes he’d had them buy for him, making note of anything useful. MK wasn’t invulnerable anymore, good to know. No wonder he’d lost the fight to Wukong when he tried to steal the sun bastard’s powers from the brat. Hm. 

The spider phobia he already knew about. Funny, a little useful, but using it would be a bit contrived. The news that Wukong was on vacation was interesting… he’d wondered where that asshole had vanished to so suddenly. Wondered why… 

Well, that meant Macaque had an excellent window of opportunity here. 

And with how much MK talked about his friends- and wow, did that kid talk. Gods, Macaque wanted to puke- it would be a good idea to get them involved in his scheme as well. Make sure the poor little hero suffered, seeing them suffer. Heh. 

Eventually the conversation turned from MK and his exploits to small talk about what the stagehands were working on, and MK helping out a little with his impressive strength, moving some stuff around. 

Macaque watched a while longer before deciding that was enough. He didn’t see his little Candle getting any more information out of the kid just yet, so he let the binding to that order release. The human visibly relaxed then, no longer feeling that tightness around their wrist. Heh… it was fun watching them dance to his tunes, pulled along by his strings. 

An amusing little Candle, that was all. Nothing more. Mortals were so often so boring, that finding an entertaining one was worth keeping for a bit. Once he was done, mmm… he’d have to kill them to keep them from talking. Maybe he’d just take out their tongue, as reward for all the work they’ve done so far~

He’d think on it. 

For now, MK was being called away to more deliveries with a promise to come back and help the theatre more some other day, and Macaque’s human went back to work. Time for a nap, Macaque supposed, getting comfortable and shutting his eyes. 

He could work on a plan afterwards. One was already starting to form…

You wiped your brow with a sigh as Director Lee announced it was time to be done for the day. Looking upon the work you and your coworkers and done, you were quite satisfied with the results. 

There were still weeks’ worth of work to do, but for a day it was pretty good: you’d restored a cheap old chair to looking new and shiny, Sam had started work on patterns for the new costumes, and Cai and Tiernan had picked out paints for the props to be made in the future. 

“Alright, everyone! That’s enough for today. Thanks for your hard work and dedication! As you know, Journey to the West is a big production, and it has a rich and extensive history both here, at the Ghostlight Theatre, and in the world as a whole. I look forward to giving the people a wonderful show! Now, head home and gets some rest, all of you! There’s a lot to do in these next few weeks.”

Sam and Cai cheered and cat-called the director after his speech, making him roll his eyes with a chuckle. “Alright alright, out, you! All of you!” He scolded playfully, shooing your coworkers out the doors before turning back to you. 

“Thank you for ordering us all lunch, Zhu,” Lee said with a kind smile, walking over and putting a hand on your shoulder. “I don’t know what we’d do without you and all your hard work.”

You flushed a little at the praise. It was rare for Lee to address you personally. Usually he was more focused on the group as a whole. It was nice… to have your efforts recognized for once. 

“Speaking of hard work… I have a few chores I need you to do before tomorrow. Do you think you can handle that?” He continued, making your smile fall for a second. 

There’s the catch… alright . 

“Yeah, of course. Whatever you need, Lee!” You assured, smiling again. Director Lee nodded, handing you a folded piece of paper. 

“Here you go. Don’t overwork yourself! Good night!” With that, Director Lee left. 

You took a deep breath, then unfolded the paper. And unfolded it again. And again. And—

“Gods— how long is this list?!” You muttered to yourself, feeling your heart start to sink. There were too many things, no way you could finish all this by tomorrow! 

Clean the seats? Scrub the railings? Sanitize the fridge?! The seats alone would take two nights of work! And that was only the first three items on the list. 

With a quiet groan, you set down the list and went to grab some soapy water to start on the seats. 

It was going to be… a very long night. 

Chapter Text

He gave you three rows before he spoke up, at least. Three rows of peace and quiet before the damn shadow monkey just had to open his mouth. 

“Soooo…”

“Gods, not again,” you sighed to yourself, glancing up at Macaque, who was now perched on the back of the chair you’d just cleaned. “What?”

Macaque chuckled lowly, leaning in and tapping your nose. “Aw, that’s quite the attitude for someone who’s stuck doing… mm… the work of fifty people.” He was holding the list, looking through it slowly. 

When— when did he get the list?!

“That’s mine!” You snapped, snatching for it. Macaque snorted, holding the list out of your reach as you lunged for it. This left you in the awkward position of being far too close to the dangerous monkey while he smirked casually. “Give it back, you asshole.” You snapped right in his face. The only reaction was a slight uptick in one eyebrow. 

Godsdamn his smug face. You wanted to punch it so damn bad. 

“Mmmm… no~” He hummed, falling back and vanishing into the shadows like they were the surface of a pond as you looked over the seat he’d just been crouching on. 

“I wanna ask you a question~” His voice was behind you now, but when you turned he was nowhere to be seen. Again with these damn games—

“Oh yeah? What?” You asked angrily, looking around and trying to find where he was. There was no sign of him anywhere— wait… no— there. 

He was right there. 

You glared at the darkness, knowing he was there despite no clue to that fact. 

“How’d you know I was here~?” Macaque stepped out of the shadows, one hand on his hip, his body bent forward and slightly to the side as he looked at you crookedly. His ever-present smirk remained. In the monkey’s other hand was your list. 

For a moment, you didn’t know how to respond. How… did you know? You couldn’t see him, he could have been anywhere, but…

“I… I don’t kn— w-what does it matter?! Just— give me my list back!” You shook your head. This was not the time to be distracted! You had to finish everything by tomorrow!

“Hm. Well, how about this… I’ll give you back your list… IF, you answer my next question.” Macaque hummed, dangling the list in front of him temptingly. 

Ugh… another fucking question. But you needed that list. 

“Fine. What?” You growled, crossing your arms. Macaquems smirk widened and he chuckled, turning his golden gaze to the long sheet of paper as he paused for dramatic effect. Always dramatic with this one… he should audition for the damn shows. 

“Why are you letting them push you around like this, huh~?” 

…What…?

“Wh… I don’t know what you mean?” You asked, confused. Macaque just rolled his eyes, stepping forward. He began reading off the chores assigned to you. 

“Clean theatre seats. Scrub railings. Sanitize fridge. Dust lights, print scripts, write schedule… this just keeps going! Come on, little Candle~ don’t you know that saying about burning at both ends?” Macaque’s amusement only grew with each chore he listed, eventually ending with a disbelieving laugh as he smacked the paper with the back of his hand and shook his head. 

You exhaled, torn between being angry, and being too tired for this shit. “Look, it’s just my job, okay—“

“No. No, it’s not. Let me get this straight.” Macaque’s amusement turned to solemnity as he stepped forward, pointing at you lazily. “You’re willing to deliberately defy and insult me, to my face, knowing what I could and might do to you without hesitation… but you can’t tell the powerless little human you work for that you need either a raise or ten more people to help you?” 

He laughed, putting a hand on your shoulder and squeezing when you tried to pull away. “Make up your mind, little Zhu~ Are you a pushover, or aren’t you?”

“I’m not. And in case you haven’t noticed, there’s a BIG difference between what Director Lee wants from me and what YOU do.” You replied coldly, going to shove his hand off your shoulder. “Lee isn’t forcing me to do anything. You are.”

Macaque allowed you to shove his hand away, chuckling lowly and making a face that said he highly doubted what you’d just said. “Oh no, bud, he’s absolutely forcing you. The only difference between me and him, is I haven’t put up any pretenses about our arrangement.” 

You… didn’t really know what to say to that. Who the hell did he think he was, talking bad about Director Lee?! Sure, the work was hard, but dammit— someone had to do it! 

Macaque waited for some sort of rebuttal, but when you never gave one he snorted softly. “That’s what I thought. Alright, here you go~ enjoy your little all-nighter. And… trust me. From one former loyal servant to a current one… don’t serve anyone who won’t serve you back.” 

Macaque turned to vanish again after handing the list to you. You’d scoff softly at his ‘advice’. “Except you, right?” You asked angrily, glaring at his back. The dark-furred demon’s retreat stopped, and he chuckled again. His tail curled as he glanced over his shoulder. 

“…Exactly~”

He watched as his human resumed their work. 

Poor little candle~ from one heartless master to another, they went. Such a spark in them, but so easily controlled. That’s why they were called Candle, he supposed, and not something a little more wild. Just a tiny flame in the dark, carried around by anyone who lit them. 

He did have to say, they were a diligent worker. Even after miraculously finishing the seats by two in the morning, yawning all the way, they kept going. 

Three in the morning passed, and his human was done printing out the scripts and cleaning the fridge despite the way their head kept nodding. 

Three thirty, and they nearly fell off the ladder while they were dusting the lights. 

At this point, it wasn’t safe for them to be doing anything anymore. Macaque frowned, watching as the foolish mortal just… kept going. 

This was too much.

What was he supposed to do with a candle that was worn down to the bottom of the wick? What was he supposed to do with a broken candle?

Nope. That was enough. Macaque needed his human intact, and capable of doing his bidding. They didn’t even notice when he stole up beside them while they worked at the desk, sleepily trying to sew something or other. 

They only barely protested when the pillow was placed beside them and their head gently pushed down to rest on it. Macaque wasn’t even sure they knew what they were protesting. 

It was simple to take the work from their hands as their eyes finally closed, their shoulders slumping slightly as dreams finally overtook them. 

“It’s your own fault, really,” Macaque sighed to himself as he worked, glancing over at his sleeping thrall, “should have bound a demon, or hell- at least an immortal. But no, you went and got yourself a mortal to work for you.”

At least he chose one that worked in a theatre. It was something he enjoyed, and even though they were setting up to put on the worst fucking play ever— damn that sun bastard and his precious monk— it was a line of work he respected. 

Macaque spent the rest of the early morning hours finishing the Herculean amount of chores that prick of a director had assigned his thrall, planning a way to ensure it didn’t happen again. Had to make sure anything he did couldn’t be blamed on a mortal, or the effect wouldn’t be as desired. 

The shadow demon came up with a brilliant little plan, setting down the list with all tasks crossed out beside the human he’d bound to himself and taking a moment to inspect them. 

He’d watched them sleep before, trying to figure out how they could tell where he was… but this… was a little different. 

Hm. They were shivering a bit. The theatre was a bit cold… his fur protected against it, but humans had no such protection…

Rolling his eyes a bit, the Celestial Primate wrapped his scarf around the shoulders of his human before vanishing back into the darkness. 

You woke feeling… well. Sore. 

Sore as HELL. 

But… also warm. As you yawned and sat up slowly, you realized the scent of mangoes and spices were surrounding you. Oh. From the scarf you were wearing. 

…scarf?!

You jolted, impulsively moving to yank the red fabric off, but ending up just tangling yourself in it further and falling out of your chair with a grunt. Low laughter echoed around the theater and you flushed, throwing up a middle finger at the annoying shadow. 

It was a damn shame the scent was his, or you’d have liked it. 

…A lot. 

But it was his, so hell no. 

After a second, though, you were distracted from mangoes and spices by a panicked thought. “WHAT TIME IS IT?!”

It took another thirty seconds to frantically untangle yourself from the good-smelling smelly scarf and grab the list that— …that… was completed?

You looked up in confusion, turning to a dark rafter you could tell he was at and starting to speak. “Did you—“

“Zhu!” You whirled towards the entrance to the theatre, staring like a deer in headlights at Director Lee. He was closely inspecting the seats. 

“Oh— M-morning, Director!” You called, hurriedly glancing around to hide the scarf. It was already gone, though, so instead you moved over to where Lee was looking over your efforts. 

“Good morning… I see you managed to get the list done. Very impressive! But I suppose that's why you’re my assistant!” Director Lee laughed, and you gave an awkward smile in return. 

“Y-yeah! I… did all that.” You felt weird claiming work you hadn’t done, but… you couldn’t tell him who’d actually done it. 

If… you even believed who’d actually done it. The obnoxious, self-serving asshole of a demon doing anything for someone else was… kind of hard to believe. 

“Well, Zhu, we have another busy day ahead of us! How about you order us noodles again today? Those were delicious.” Lee walked away with the list, going to check ‘your’ handiwork. 

…great. Paying for food for everyone out of your own pocket… again.

With a sigh, you trailed after the Director to ensure everything was ready to start work on. 

The day passed quickly. There was much to do, so everyone worked hard. Yet again, towards evening, Director Lee gave you a list of things to do. Which… sucked, because tomorrow was your only day off. “Director—“ You started, stepping after him.

“Now, Zhu! Unless it’s an important question, you know I get off at five!” Lee interrupted, glancing back at you with a smile.

”Well— that’s the thing, so…” Lee was already out the door. You sighed. “…So do I.” You mumbled, glancing at the new list and moving to grab a mop. 

Macaque’s damn laughter echoed once it was you and him alone again. You scowled, glancing up at the darkness in the rafters and sighing. “You gonna help, or are you just going to mock me?” You asked flatly.

”Neither~“ Came the response from, once again, behind you. You jumped, whirling and impulsively trying to hit him with the mop handle this time. Luckily, for the shadow demon, he’d learned from the first time you’d met and he caught the hand easily in his tail. “Now, now, that’s no way to treat your master~” 

Your eyes went wide as he said that, before you flushed and glared at him angrily. “What. Do you want?”

”I want you to go home and get some fucking sleep.” Macaque replied. That was… not what you expected.

”…Huh?”

”You heard me.” He said casually, letting go of the mop handle  “Tomorrow you’ll be going back to Pigsy’s, and I need you to be awake for that. So, you’re going to go home and get some sleep.” 

“But what about the lis—“

“You let me worry about that.” He hummed smugly. He couldn’t be actually… planning to help, right? Surely…?

But hey, if he really wanted to… Who were you to complain?!

So you headed home, headed to sleep. Blessed, blissful sleep.

And meanwhile, the Ghostlight Theatre’s spirit put his plan into action.

By morning, it was complete. Macaque made sure to turn off his human’s alarm as well, so that Director Lee would be the first one in the theatre.

He was in for the surprise of a lifetime.

Macaque watched with sadistic glee as Director Lee saw his message painted in red, covering the entirety of the theatre. No mortal could have managed it in one night. He knew the Director would think it was the resident spirit… and, well, it was.

”Wh-what the fuck…” Lee muttered in terror, his eyes tracing the aggressively written message. 

EMPTY MUST BE EMPTY EMPTY THEATRE AFTER SETTING SUN NO MORE LIVING NO MORE MUST BE EMPTY

The message went on like that for several lines. Just something to ensure his human was sent home at six at the very latest. Damn Director, trying to overuse Macaque’s thrall.  

The next few weeks went by fast now that you were getting proper sleep. Ordering noddles from Pigsy’s or going there by order of Macaque. 

You found quite a bit of information on MK and the gang over time. Tang was a scholar, who knew anything and everything about the Monkey King, but also about plenty of other important figures in… not myth. History. 

Pigsy was barely keeping his ship open despite its popularity, due the same enemy all faced: debt. Debt of all kinds. Student, house, car, restaurant. All the debt. 

Mei was suspicious of you at first, but she warmed up quickly. She was intelligent both with books and life, but her competitive streak was dangerous to herself and her friends sometimes. 

Sandy… well, you hadn’t met him yet. 

And finally… MK. Aside from the obvious: not invincible, spider phobia— MK was stressed. He had anxieties about being a hero, about failing. You didn’t get too much information on it, but enough to know that was a weak point. 

Macaque seemed pleased with that much, at least. He’d stopped demanding quite as much from you— that wasn’t to say his orders weren’t many and obnoxious still, but at least he stopped forcing you to bring him each individual mango he wanted to eat. 

With the new Journey to the West play being worked on, though… you noticed him getting more and more agitated as things came together. He stopped teasing and started snapping. His already dangerous aura darkened even more. 

It was the first rehearsal that really showed it, though. 

The actor for the Monkey King was spot-on as far as you could tell, which… made the ‘Ghostlight Theatre’s spirit’ very angry. Lee and the others tried to appease the ‘spirit’ with more gifts and offerings, but nothing seemed to work. 

The Monkey King costume was found shredded one day. You had to spend all night fixing that. Macaque didn’t help with it, despite it being his own damn handiwork. 

Another day the staff was broken in half. You had to make a new one. 

The week after, the stage dressings were painted over with red. That one took you three days to fix. 

As each issue arose, Director Lee grew more and more stressed and paranoid. He started blaming everyone for the mishaps- accusing Cai of trying to undermine him, declaring that Sam was a traitor. Everyone’s tensions were running high, and you… as the Director’s assistant, you got the brunt of it. 

“Zhu!” Lee shouted, looking for you. You set down yet another broken prop you were trying to fix, hurrying out into the main room. “There you are. Gods, you’d think you could get here a little faster.” The Director snapped. You just waited for whatever he wanted. Arguing or defending yourself when he was like this never went well. 

“I’ve been thinking, Zhu, and I’ve come to a realization.” Lee hummed, stepping up to you and looking down. “There’s only one person here who stays late enough to do all this… the thing is, I’m wondering why. Why are you sabotaging all my hard work?!”

And there it was. A deliberate accusation at you. It made your blood boil. His hard work? HIS? You’re the one who fixes every issue! 

But Lee was Director. Without him the show couldn’t go on. 

So you swallowed your pride, shook your head, and said calmly: “I haven’t done anything to hurt the theatre. I’m not sabotaging anything.”

Lee scowled, leaning down to your height angrily. “Oh really—? And how are you going to prove that?!”

You could feel a presence near you. In your shadow. It was weird, it felt stronger than normal. Maybe more angry? You glanced down at the stark shadow you cast from the stage lights, shaking your head subtly. If that damn monkey showed up, you’d be in way more trouble than just with Lee. Why would he do anything anyway? Probably didn’t like that you were getting all the credit for his hard work. 

“I can’t. All I know is I’m the one fixing everything anyway. Why would I give myself more work to do?” You replied to Lee, crossing your arms. He didn’t seem to have an answer to that, as angry as he was. The Director stormed off after growling something about a pay cut of anything else went wrong, leaving you to exhale slowly and turn to get back to work. 

There was a lot to do before the debut performance next week. 

Chapter Text

“You still haven’t told him off.” Macaque mused from where he was lying on a set piece, one knee bent and his other leg swung idly below him. His tail was holding a mango he had been too lazy to use his hands for. One golden eye was watching you work on sewing together the very last of Red Son’s outfit. It was funny… putting on a play about characters you’d seen in real life. 

Even if you’d only met one of them in person. 

“Hm?” You hummed, glancing up at the grumpy shadow demon. He’d been such a handful these last few weeks, sabotaging things all over the place. Today, at least, he wasn’t ranting about the upcoming show, or breaking things. 

“The Director. You still haven’t told him off. It’s honestly a little pathetic.”

“Shut up, Macaque,” You sighed, rolling your eyes and turning back to your work, “Lee always gets stressed before a show. And someone keeps fucking up the preparations. Of course he’d going to be a little high-strung.”

Macaque sat up, raising an eyebrow as he watched your careful stitching. Always so precise.

“I think you’re downplaying it. And I don’t know why. You have no problem telling me off.” Macaque continued, smirking a bit. “What, you got a crush on the old geezer or somethin’, bud?”

“A cr— he’s FORTY YEARS OLDER THAN ME!” You shouted, grabbing an empty pincushion and hurling it at the offending demon with a huff. “Asshole.”

“See— this is what I mean! You’re sooo brave with me, little Candle~ so why aren’t you with him, huh?” Macaque taunted, catching the soft round projectile and tossing it back at you. It hit you on the head before falling and rolling a few feet away. 

With a sigh, you got up and moved over to grab it… only for a familiar dark tail to wrap around your wrist before you could. It yanked you around and up so you were face to face with the demon monkey himself, the tail being replaced by a hand to keep you there as he stared down at you. 

This close, the scent of mango and spices was strong. It wasn’t often that Macaque closed the distance like this. He usually preferred to stay away, out of reach of any attacks even if anything you could attempt would be sadly lacking. But not this time. This time, you were barely an inch apart. 

What was it about this that made you freeze up?

Oh, right. Dangerous psycho demon monkey. 

“You’re awfully quiet,” Macaque hummed lightly, smirking down at you with his intense gaze, like molten gold almost, but you… felt like it wasn’t right. Those weren’t his eyes. You… knew that, felt it, but had no idea what that could mean. 

“I’m just waiting to see if you’ve decided to eat me or not.” You finally replied, your voice flat even as your face warmed slightly. 

“Mm, not yet. But my question stands, little Candle~ Why are you not standing up for yourself with that damn Director of yours?” 

Once again, you fell silent for what felt like forever. It was probably only a few seconds. 

“…An I gonna have to order you to tell me~?”

“No! No, fine.. Dammit, Macaque,” you grumble, hating that he could just. Make you do anything. 

Hating it, but you were glad all his orders were… 

…there was a lot he could do, that he hadn’t done. For that you were grateful. 

“Fine, okay… basically, he helped me out when I was a kid, okay? That’s it. I just owe him is all.” He didn’t look too convinced by your lackluster explanation. 

“…And?” He pressed calmly, leaning in a bit further. Macaque was practically towering over you now, your head tilted back just to meet his gaze. 

“And, I don’t want to talk about it.” You said stubbornly, furrowing your brow. “Why do you even care? I’m just a… what’d you call me, something like ‘pathetic mortal’, right?” 

He seemed to pause slightly at that, the corner of his lip twitching back slightly. What that meant… you had no idea. 

“I don’t want my thrall being too overworked to obey me.” He said with a slight shrug. “But fine, if you don’t want to talk about it, so be it.” Finally, Macaque let go and moved away. 

You let out a breath you didn’t know you’d been holding— wow, that was cheesy— and watched him idly roam over to your desk with the Red Son’s costume on it. 

“I just think you’re putting way too much stock in ‘owing’ someone. In this world, it’s all about what you can take,” he grabbed the costume before you could stop him, glancing back at you, “and what you can stop others from taking.” In one simple motion, he ripped the costume in half. 

You let out a cry of anger, bolting forward to grab them as if you could fit it back together, looking at the damage in utter disbelief. Why— why was he—

“WHY are you always such a JERK?!” You shouted, looking up at him with tears in your eyes. “I worked on that for DAYS! I worked so HARD on that! Why did you just—“ You started to shout, holding up the damaged costume to show him. But you stopped, confused, cutting off in the middle of a sentence when you felt the fabric again. You looked at the costume, frowning.

This… it wasn’t right. This wasn’t…

A glance at the desk explained everything. There, sitting right where it had been- always, had been- was the Red Son costume. In your hands, as you looked back… were the very last bits of wispy shadows that melted away. 

It was all a trick. A fucking trick. 

“See? That’s what I mean. I fuck something up, you snap at me. Like you should. He fucks something up- and you and I can both see he does, constantly- you just put your head down and quietly fix it!” Macaque laughed, shaking his head… until he noticed the tears in your eyes. 

He tensed, frowning and looking uncertain for a moment. “Hey, look, I wasn’t going to actually—“

“Oh? You weren’t? What about everything else you’ve done?” You asked, wiping your eyes angrily. “Destroying costumes, set pieces, props. Here you are talking about how Director Lee puts all this work on me, when you’ve only made things harder!”

“Yeah, well, that’s not my prob—“

“Exactly! It isn’t! So why are you trying so hard to get me to stand up to Lee when you’re the one making things so shitty for me?!” You pointed at Macaque angrily, finally turning and sitting down at your desk. “Just leave me alone. I have work to do.”

The theatre returned to blessed silence. You stewed in your rage as you went back to work, trying to sort together all your fragmented feelings. Anger, obviously. Frustration. Exhaustion, if that counted as a feeling…

Hurt? Why would you be hurt, you could only expect these kinds of dick moves from someone like Macaque, right? 

Whatever… you were busy. 

Macaque watched his human quietly, annoyed. At himself, or them… he wasn’t sure. Sure, he’d sabotaged the upcoming play. A lot. But of course he would! 

The whole damn thing was yet another jerk-off for that damn sun bastard, yet another reminder of what once was, yet another headache from the scar hidden under his glamours. 

But now his little Zhu was angry at him. More than usual, anyway. And this time Macaque hadn’t even actually broken anything! He’d just been trying to—

…Not… help. Macaque didn’t help. 

He was just looking out for his own interests here. He needed his thrall to be ready for his orders. Not stressed out because of some dumbass Director. But if the spirit of the Ghostlight Theatre tried to intervene, someone might get suspicious. Someone might suspect. 

So he just had to hope his… harsh lessons… had finally gotten through that thick, stubborn skull of theirs. 

He kept a distance from them for the rest of the night, giving his human time to calm down. He wasn’t interested in getting yelled at again. 

When Lee came in the next morning, though, Macaque paid more attention to his little Candle’s attitude. It was… different, today. 

“Morning, Zhu~!”

“Morning.” They replied so flatly, so unimpressed. The shadow demon leaned in, eyes fixed on the interaction. Lee looked so surprised. 

“Is something wrong?” Lee asked, but when Macaque’s thrall didn’t answer right away he called their name a few times. Macaque felt a slow grin forming. Was this it? Were they finally going to fucking stand up for themselves—?

“I need help.” 

…Okay. Well. Kinda disappointing, but it was a start. 

“…What do you mean?” Lee pressed for more information, frowning. 

“I mean, I’m overworked. I’m exhausted. I need a break… I need help if you want this show to come out on time.” There we go! Macaque exhaled a silent chuckle, nodding proudly. Finally, they were fucking saying something! 

Lee was staring at you like you’d grown two more heads. “I’m— sorry? We don’t have the budget for-“

“You don’t have the budget for me, Director. I’ve been putting in overtime for weeks without any pay. I’m fucking… tired, Lee. I need someone to help, or I’m going to collapse and then you’ll be without anyone putting that overtime in.” You said, the strain in your voice tense and genuine. 

Lee seemed to believe you, at least. He didn’t seem to like it, though. You’d always known he was a penny-pincher, a stingy old man, but surely even his frugal tastes couldn’t overcome his desire to actually make the show happen, could it?

“…I’ll think about it.” Lee finally said, vanishing into his office. You sat back down with a sigh, running a hand down your face. 

Okay… that wasn’t the big confrontation you knew Macaque wanted. It wasn’t a satisfying talk, either. But you just… it was different, shouting at Macaque and shouting at Lee. The damned monkey wasn’t…wrong, but that didn’t make it easy to stand up to someone you’d known for so long. 

It was complicated. 

Lee didn’t mention the talk you’d had all that day. He didn’t mention it the next day, or the day after that, either. Finally, though, on the third day, he pulled you aside with a grimace on his face. 

“Okay… I’ve looked through the budget, and it looks like we can hire one more person to fill the roster and help you out. I held an interview with someone, they seem… perfect… for the job, so tomorrow you’re going to start work with them. You’ll train them, teach them how things work, and then work together. Sounds good?” He asked, to your surprise. 

A helper?! Finally— 

“Yeah, sounds good— thanks, Lee.” You hummed, relief flooding through you. 

This wasn’t going to stop Lee from putting too much work on you, and it wouldn’t stop him from taking credit either. But at least you’d have someone to fucking help out. 

Chapter Text

The next day, was… well. Exciting? Nerve-wracking? 

Let’s go with both. 

On one hand, you were finally getting help! On the other… that meant you had to work with someone. And that could either be very easy or very difficult, depending on how you got along. 

In the morning you did your usual routine: head to the Ghostlight, turn everything on, check to see if Macaque had fucking destroyed anything last night (he hadn’t, thank the gods), then get ready for the others to arrive. 

Strangely enough, actually, you couldn’t sense Macaque anywhere in the theatre. This happened sometimes- usually he was off ‘scheming’, or at least that’s what he told you whenever he came back- but usually he was back before Lee and the others arrived. 

Not today, though. Weird. 

“Zhu! There you are!” Director Lee said cheerfully, waving as he led the way into the theatre with your colleagues. Cai, Sam, and Tiernan were busy talking to… someone new. 

Someone odd. 

“Zhu, I’d like you to meet your new assistant. This is—“ 

“Yingzi. Nice to meet you… Zhu? Is that your name?” The stranger interrupted, smiling as he approached you with one hand outstretched. 

Yingzi was the definition of ‘tall, dark, and handsome’. His unruly black hair and medium dark skin with freckles you had to be close to see that framed intense amber eyes, a charming smile with teeth that were slightly pointier than normal, and a tiny scar on his right eyebrow all came together into a man that was hard to look away from. A five o'clock shadow of stubble lined his jaw, and he wore a dark gold t-shirt with a black hooded jacket, black pants, and red shoes. 

You were stunned for a few seconds before clearing your throat and shaking your head. “No, that’s just my nickname here.” You said, giving your real name as you took his hand in greeting. 

He wasn’t fooling you. You’d recognize that smirk and those eyes anywhere by now. Hell, his clothes weren’t even that different! The question, though, was… why was Macaque suddenly pretending to be a human? And why was he offering to help with a production he obviously despised? 

Director Lee smiled, giving a satisfied nod. “I knew you two would get along! Now, there’s a lot to get done before the premiere in a week! Let’s get to work, everyone.” He headed for his office after that, as Sam, Cai, Tiernan, and you moved to do just that. 

‘Yingzi’ followed you, still smiling casually as he did. You could feel him behind you as you made the trek backstage and into the prop room to grab a few unfinished items. Once you and him were both inside, you shut the door and turned to him with an intense glare. “What do you think you’re doing?!” You hissed, pointing at the man angrily. 

‘Yingzi’ played innocent. “I’m sorry? I thought I was supposed to help you—“

“Don’t start with that! Macaque, I know it’s you!” You retorted, crossing your arms. As if you’d be fooled so easily! 

‘Yingzi’ laughed softly, shaking his head as the glamour dropped. “Alright, alright~ you got me. Clever little Candle~”

“I’m not clever, anyone who knows you could pick that disguise out in a heartbeat.” You replied flatly, entirely unimpressed. 

“Aww… and I put so much work into it!” Macaque sighed dramatically, pressing the back of a hand to his forehead as his human form returned. “Heh, you’re cute, little Zhu, but no one’s going to recognize me like this except you. That’s just because you’re special~” 

You glowered at him, rolling your eyes and turning away before your cheeks could be dusted in red. 

Human form or demon, it didn’t matter. He always mixed those stupid jokes in when he talked to you, and it always flustered you. Mostly because, well, he was an evil shadow demon bent on killing MK and his friends, and anything he said was going to be geared to those ends. 

You couldn’t let a few compliments sway your stance on him and his plans. 

“Right, well, we should get to work,” you finally said, tossing him a few props. “You know what you’re doing. Let’s get this done.”

Things really did go much faster with a helper. They went so fast, in fact, that you were done by five that evening.

Finally, you had a chance to go home and sleep for more than a few hours!

“You know, I really thought you were going to make things difficult for me.” You told Yingzi as you and he packed up the last of the paints. 

He handed you some dirty brushes to wash out in the sink while he made sure to seal the paint cans properly. “Who, me~? Never, little Candle~” Yingzi hummed with a chuckle, glancing over at you. 

With a huff, you flicked some paint-water at him. “Yeah, yeah… look. What I’m trying to say is thanks. I really needed the help. I thought you were going to make things worse, but you didn’t, so… thanks.” It was… hard to thank the shadow demon responsible for magically binding you to him, but— today had been a good day. He hadn’t done anything evil, he’d just… helped. 

The disguised demon hummed lightly at your expression of gratitude, a slight grin playing on his lips as he closed the last lid. “Eh… can’t have my little thrall too exhausted to obey me, can I?” 

That was… as nice a response as you expected to get, so you took it. “Let’s just get ready to close up.” You replied with a slight laugh, drying your hands and turning to walk away. 

“Zhu!!! Zhu, where are you?” Lee called from stage. You tensed, before hurrying out there. 

“What’s wrong, Director?”

“Sam and Cai need your help.” He said, motioning to the two other stagehands. Cai was struggling to lift a heavy set piece, and Same was on the stage trying to help her. 

“H-hang on! I’m coming, one sec-“ you rushed over, sliding off the stage and slipping under the large wooden object to help push it up higher. “Who… thought it was a good idea… to put this together… offstage?!” You grunted as Cai looked over from beside you sheepishly. 

“Sorry…”

The weight was starting to get to be too much, even with the three of you working together. “L-Lee! We need you to—“ You started to say, looking for the director who had been supervising. Before you could finish your sentence, though, the weight on your back suddenly lessened quite a bit. 

“I got you, don’t worry~” Yingzi hummed from beside you, lifting the painted wooden prop off you and Cai. He and Sam slid it onto the stage, where it could be picked up and repositioned much more easily later. 

“Ooo~ you’re so strong, Yingzi~!” Cai purred, sidling up to him flirtily and batting her eyelashes. You stifled a snort behind your hand. Cai was always like that, flirting with everyone. Her and Tiernan had dated on and off for a few months last year, and ever since they finally broke it off for good she’d been hitting on any attractive person she came across. 

But hey, good for her— if Yingzi wasn’t secretly a demon monkey, anyway. 

Yingzi chuckled at her compliment, winking and bowing with one hand pressed to his chest modestly. “You’re as beautiful as you are kind, Ms. Cai.” He purred right back, offering her a hand up on stage. 

You watched with mild annoyance as they flirted, while Lee seemed to reappear from wherever he’d vanished to when the work needed doing to clap Yingzi on the back. “Good job, I knew you were a good hire! Now, we’ve all done plenty of work today. How about we go out for drinks? It’s on me!” Lee announced cheerfully. 

Tiernan came out from the backstage where he’d been sewing, running his face with a cloth as he grinned. “Oh yeah? Sounds good to me! Zhu, you coming this time~?” He asked, looking over at you. 

Well… you didn’t have any more work to do tonight, by some miracle… “Yeah, sure,” you agreed after a moment, to the others’ delight. 

“Yes!! You never come with us!” Cai cheered, hurrying off ahead with Yingzi on her arm. “Come on, Zizi~ you can ride with me~” 

Zizi, huh? Well. That was fast. It was weird though, what did she mean you never went with them? You glanced over at Lee in mild confusion as he walked out with Tiernan, while you waited for Sam to grab their things and hurry along with you. 

How often did they go out? Without you?

Wasn’t this supposed to be a family?

You walked along with Sam in silence as the others all chattered amongst themselves. Cai decided not to drive after all, and instead was walking up ahead with ‘Yingzi’ amusedly listening to some crazy story she was telling. Tiernan and Sam were chatting with Lee, planning for the show. 

And you… you were walking along behind, out of the loop. It felt like you were an afterthought. A footnote on a script page. 

This didn’t feel like the home it used to be. 

Ten years ago, things were different in Megopolis. For one thing, there weren’t any powerful demons making trouble every other week. Sure, there were plenty of demons and other magical creatures in the city, and plenty of them made trouble, but nothing like the future held. 

Ten years ago, things were different for you. There was no apartment across from the Ghostlight, there was no Director Lee, and there was no family to work with. 

There was just you. Just you, alone, looking for a place to belong. You were too young to be on your own like this, but that’s how it was. 

The rain poured as you walked along the drenched sidewalk. No umbrella, no coat, just a trashbag of the few belongings you had and the clothes on your back. Night was going to fall soon, but it was already dark enough with the storm that night night as well have already fallen. 

You walked, and walked, and walked, not knowing where you were going or when you’d get there. All you knew was you couldn’t stay still. Staying still meant giving up. Giving up meant… you didn’t know what giving up meant. But you weren’t the type to give up yet, at least. 

A light glowed in the damp darkness ahead. A sign, ringed with bulbs that turned on and off in a pattern. 

‘Ghostlight Theatre presents: The Count of Monte Christo’, it said. You knew that musical. You used to listen to it with someone, but you aren’t sure who. Either way, it was somewhere that was open. Somewhere out of the rain. 

So, you slipped inside. There was a ticket-taker, and ushers, but you managed to slip past all of them and find an empty seat in the back of the theatre, listening to the characters plot and scheme against the main hero, watching as he was cast away like you had been, forgotten and abandoned… 

He escaped, got his revenge, got love at last… the whole show, you were glued to your seat. Even as the chilled air in the theater made you shiver, soaked to the bone as you were, you stayed and you listened and you watched. 

And when the show was over, you stood and clapped with the rest of the audience. 

But that was when it changed. Because no, you hadn’t slipped past all of the employees. No, one had seen you. One saw, and watched, and waited. 

As you moved to slip back out into the night, a hand rested on your shoulder. You jumped, whirling with wide eyes and an expression like a cornered animal. Director Lee chuckled softly, holding up his hands and taking a step back. “Woah now, it’s alright. I’m not going to hurt you,” he said gently. “I saw you sneak in. You look lost, kid. What’s your name?” 

You hesitated, not quite sure you wanted to trust this strange elderly man. But there was really nothing for you to lose, so you told him what it was. 

“Alright… nice to meet you,” he said with a smile. “I saw how interested you were in the play. And… well. It looks like you could use a good meal and a warm bed. So if you’re interested… I could take you on as an assistant.” 

There was no rhyme or reason to it. There was no secret benefactor, no hidden familial connection, no reason why he would offer this to you. But he did, and you took it. You were in the right place, at the right time. Director Lee took pity on you, and you accepted it. 

For the next few weeks, things happened quickly. You lived and worked in the theatre for a bit until he could find you a place nearby. For those few weeks you slept on the break room couch, he’d bring you meals, and show you how things worked backstage while the actors performed. 

You grew from a quiet, shy kid to a studious, passionate person, who loved the theatre and everyone who worked in it. They were all so kind to you, showed you the ropes. It was a dream come true. 

Then, five years ago, hard times hit. The Demon Bull family attacked, and the Monkey King returned… sort of. Things started to get crazy. Entire portions of the city would be destroyed on a weekly basis, a lot of people started moving away to safer towns. The Ghostlight Theatre began bleeding stagehands like an artery had been cut. 

It looked like this would be a mortal wound, too, and for several months… the Ghostlight was shut down entirely. 

Finally, though, things began to grow… normal. The city stabilized, began rolling with the punches. Ghostlight Theatre opened up again, though… it was still a shell of it’s former self. Less than a quarter of the original cast and crew returned, and Director Lee was forced to make do with what he had.

That was the beginning of the end, really. 

The beginning of the stress, the late nights, the work that was far too much for you put on your shoulders. 

And now… here you are. Trudging along behind the only people who’d cared about you for years, barely even paying attention to you. 

And Macaque. Who did nothing but pay attention to you for the last few months. Except, look, there he was too… completely ignoring you. Forgetting about you. 

Everyone forgets about you eventually. 

You sighed quietly as the night air chilled around you. Evening mist rolled into the streets, and the rejection you felt seemed to echo and amplify in the dark. Everyone forgets eventually… everyone forgets. 

Everyone moves on from you. 

Y o u ’ l l  a l w a y s  b e  a l o n e  i n  t h e  e n d .   

A strange chill ran up your spine then and you tensed, looking around warily. You felt… something. Something bad. Something… very, very bad. 

But it was gone… it was gone. 

You exhaled slowly, feeling the warmth of the night return as you picked up the pace to catch up to the others. At least getting drinks would be fun. Maybe you could reconnnect with them. Maybe it could be a family again. 

You didn’t have to be alone! You wouldn’t let that happen. 

Chapter Text

“So Cai’s tripping balls, Tiernan’s waiting there staring at gods know what, and I’m just standing there with the pizza in one hand and a half-drowned cat in the other, soaking wet, and to top it all off I can’t even remember where my glasses are!” Sam was telling a story about one of the previous times they and some of the others hung out, trying their damnedest to get through it without laughing their ass off. 

You smiled a bit, let out that polite half-laugh one did, and stirred your drink quietly in the corner. Getting drinks was supposed to be fun… so why did it feel like you’d become a piece of wallpaper?

Everyone was sitting around a round table. Everyone was equally looking at everyone else. So why did it feel like no one was looking at you?

And even worse… they’d been telling stories all night about different crazy adventures, but not a single one of them involved you. It was like the entire theatre had a life outside of it except for you. 

You started to wonder… if maybe Macaque wasn’t the ghost of the Ghostlight Theatre… maybe you were. 

Macaque… Right. 

‘Yingzi’ shone in the spotlight like he belonged there, sharing stories that had to be fabricated, laughing along to jokes like he’d been part of the group for years. He fit in seamlessly, perfectly. Right between Lee and the others, where you’d… always imagined you would be. 

You stared at him with a mixture of pain and anger for quite a while before those amber eyes flicked your way and locked on, forcing you to look away quickly with a frown. Now you weren’t looking at him, but you could feel him looking at you. 

“…Zhu!” ‘Yingzi’ called, forcing you to look up again, “what about you? Surely you’ve got some crazy stories with this group?” 

“Oh, yeah!” Sam started, grinning, “Zhu, you remember— oh, wait, you weren’t there for that, uh… oh-! Wait…” Their face fell into a thoughtful frown as they tried to find a memory with you in it that wasn’t inside the theatre. 

You forced a smile, waving a hand dismissively. “Oh, I… I tend to stick to myself.” It was easier for everyone that way, it seemed. But the damn demon wouldn’t drop it. 

“Really? You seemed so outgoing and friendly at the theatre! Why don’t you ever go out with them?” You gave the disguised bastard a hard glare, silently demanding what the hell he was trying to do. 

Lee chuckled, reaching out to put a hand on your back. You broke off the staring contest to look at him in mild surprise as the director answered for you. “They just aren’t the partying type, that’s all! My little Zhu doesn’t even drink, isn’t that right?” Lee asked, looking down at you fondly. 

That wasn’t true. You enjoyed alcohol fairly regularly. But Lee had ordered for you: a virgin margarita. “…Yeah,” You answered noncommittally, giving him a weak smile. Lee nodded, turning back to Yingzi with a pleased hum. 

“There you have it!”

The rest of the night went about the same. You felt like an outsider, watching the one who should have been the outsider fit in. By the time everyone separated to go home, and Yingzi ‘offered’ to walk you home, you were not in the mood. 

“No, no, I’m good. I can make it on my own.”

“It can be dangerous to walk alone!” He insisted with a toothy smile, “you never know what kinds of monsters are lurking in the shadows~”

“I think I have a pretty good idea,” you muttered, relenting and letting him walk you home. 

As it became just the two of you, ‘Yingzi’ continued humming cheerfully while walking beside you, seemingly ignorant of the sour mood hanging like a damp rag over your whole being. 

Seemingly. 

“You’re so grumpy tonight~ worse than usual. Why’s that, little Candle~?” Macaque purred, his smooth voice an endless source of eternal frustration. 

For several minutes that question hung unanswered. It was too much energy to bother with. Maybe if you didn’t answer, he’d just go away… but of course, he never just went away when you wanted him to. 

“Candle~ I asked you a question~” This time, that smooth tone was laced with warning. The dark purple and black tattoo on your wrist and hand tightened in tandem with the words, making your steps stutter a bit as you grimaced and gripped onto the skin in an attempt to soothe the discomfort. 

“Stop it! I don’t want to talk about this.” You finally snapped, growling at the bastard demon who just couldn’t seem to stop fucking everything up for you. 

For once, Macaque listened. You turned to see why he’d gone quiet, but he was simply… gone. 

It should have been a relief— and it was, for a moment. But then it became more of an uneasy feeling, being alone once again with nothing but your thoughts for company. You made it home without any issue, and Macaque didn’t bother you. But it still felt wrong.

Getting ready for bed and going to sleep was no problem, though something in the back of your mind kept that uneasy feeling from before. It felt like something was going to happen soon.

Macaque exhaled slowly, lying in the little nook he’d taken to calling his own. As he stared up at the dark ceiling, one leg swung absently in the air under him, the other folded up against the wall. 

He’d joined the troupe to help his thrall so they would be able to actually help him when the time came. And the time was coming. He had his plan. He knew what he’d do. When he’d do it. 

The only problem was… well. With his human. They refused to accept his help, no matter what he did! Here Macaque was, trying to do something selfless for once— mostly, at least— and it was being shoved away! Ignored! 

Almost made him want to snap and say fuck it, they could deal with their own shit. 

Almost. 

Because the problem he was seeing, the isolation and lack of connection to their supposed friends… that struck a nerve in him. Being overlooked by the people they cared about. One that refused to stop twinging until he did something about it. 

So, he started thinking of ways to fix it. Ways to make sure the little Candle didn’t get burnt out. 

Something struck him in the middle of the night. Something that killed two birds with one stone. He didn’t have to get his human out of the theatre… he needed to give them a starring role! And what better way to do that than to involve them in his plot to deal with the little brat Wukong had left behind? That way, Zhu could have that precious interaction they longed for, and he could draw his prey in closer and closer, until it was time to strike.

Macaque really was a genius~ 

The next few days went by quickly. The Journey to the West play was coming together despite the… numerous, setbacks… and ‘Yingzi’s help was really making things run smoothly. You even started to relax a bit, to feel a little less alone. Macaque was cheerful and excited, which probably meant he was planning something despicable… but honestly, you couldn’t care less so long as the play was ready in time for opening night. 

“Why don’t you invite MK and his friends~?” Yingzi asked at one point, glancing over at you. You looked up with suspicion in your gaze, frowning a bit.

“And why would you want that?”

“Well, they are fans of the great, wonderful Monkey King, aren’t they?” Yingzi leaned back, throwing his hands out dramatically with a mocking tone to his voice as he jokingly praised his most hated enemy. “Come on~ I won’t do anything~ promise!”

At least he wasn’t ordering you to do it. That, and his promise… strangely, you believed him. So, after a day of contemplation, you extended an invitation to MK, Pigsey, Tang, Mei, and Sandy— whom you still had not met— to the show. Naturally, they were all eager to come. 

Except Pigsey, anyway. He had some beef with the Monkey King, which was funny because he was a pig. 

As the opening night drew closer, your late nights drew longer. Even more than before, you and Yingzi were left to do chores long into the early morning. With an extra set of hands- and a tail- it went by much quicker, but it was still a lot of work. 

“Macaque! Hand me that measuring tape,” you called from the top of a ladder, reaching out a hand towards a shadow without looking away from the wooden sign you were attempting to straighten. It was placed in your hand a moment later. 

Bracing yourself with a knee against the side of the wobbly ladder, you let go with both hands to measure the sign. Now, was this dangerous? Absolutely. Did you do it anyway?

Absolutely. 

The next question is, did you pay the price?

Absolutely. 

One moment, you were stretching up to figure out exactly how many inches the sign was past the length it was supposed to be, the next you were in free fall. Your eyes widened as you reached out, trying to grab something, anything to stop your fall— 

And something did. 

Macaque chuckled lowly, one eyebrow raised as he looked down at you. “Don’t you think you should climb down the ladder instead of falling from it, little Candle?”

His grip was firm but gentle. You could feel the tips of his claws lightly pressing into your skin where he held you, but it didn’t hurt. That damned scent of mangoes and spice filled your nose. He was warm. “Fuck— let go,” you said, recovering your senses and squirming to try and get out of the shadow demon’s grasp. 

That smooth voice rolled with another chuckle as his grip tightened a bit. “What… no thank you? I just saved ya, didn’t I? Don’t you think I deserve at least a thank you?” You looked up at him with a hint of annoyance, but… well. He did save you. 

“Yeah… fine. Thanks, Macaque.”

“There we go~ Good little thrall~” He praised, moving to set you on your feet. That praise sent a really, really weird jolt through you, and you felt the need to clear your throat a bit as you pulled away. 

“Do you think you could do it for me? I don’t think I wanna climb back up there,” you asked, holding out the measuring tape. Macaque hummed, taking your outstretched hand in his. Maybe if he’d just brushed fingers as he grabbed the tool, it would have been fine. But he held on to your hand until you looked up from staring at it to meet his golden gaze. 

“…Sure, Zhu~” He agreed after a few more moments of silence, finally pulling away with the measuring tape in hand. 

As the shadow demon moved to do that, you quickly found an excuse to vanish backstage. Your cheeks were red. From the shock of falling… right? 

Right?

What the hell was all that?! Where did that come from? Why was your heart still racing?!

Things were bouncing around fast— from feeling so alone and left out, to Macaque interrogating you, to… this? It was enough to give you whiplash. 

You hid in the bathroom for a bit to take some time to recover— the one place you knew Macaque never watched you— before returning to the stage to finish up work for that night. 

Strange shifts in dynamics aside, you and Macaque were a good team. The debut of Journey to the West was ready to premiere in just a few days. 

Everything else, you could worry about later.

Chapter Text

“Wow— this place looks amazing!” MK gasped, looking around in awe as he bustled into the Ghostlight Theatre along with the rest of the crowd, his friends close behind. 

“You said it, MK,” Mei agreed, taking a picture of the poster and typing up a quick post for her followers, “they really worked magic for all this!”

You smiled as you approached, dressed in your ‘uniform’ for a performance— essentially just the darkest clothes you owned, to avoid being seen when moving about backstage— handing out playbills to the whole group. 

“Welcome, you guys! I’m glad you came!” Pigsey and Tang both took the playbills for themselves and the two chattering younger heroes beside them, while… 

Wow.

Okay… Sandy really was a giant. 

You stared up in awe at the massive… blue… terrifying man, and he stared right back at you— with an equally massive smile. “Hello! It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” He said, calling you by your name as he took your much smaller hand in his and shook it eagerly. 

“I was wondering, are emotional support animals allowed in the theater?”

A similarly blue feline popped his head up over the blue shoulder of his owner, mewing in greeting. You glanced around quickly, grinning a bit. “Usually no, but… you guys are getting special seating. So c’mon! Just make sure he doesn’t make any noise or cause trouble.”

“Mo? Cause trouble? Never!” Sandy hummed cheerfully, moving to follow you with the rest of the group. 

It was easy enough to get them seated on the quieter side of the theater, closer to the stage. Though the audience was full this evening, there was still space for reserved seating, and you’d reserved their seats by pulling a few strings with Lee. Luckily, Macaque hadn’t made any appearance yet; neither as himself nor as Yingzi. 

Hopefully, it stayed that way. 

You left the group to return backstage and went to hurriedly check on the last preparations. 

Yingzi was busy helping the actress playing the Monkey King adjust her costume, nitpicking about the way her scarf fell. 

“No, no, it goes more like this— no, you almost— stop moving it-“ He was starting to get frustrated, and he got snippy when that happened. Working on this play, it happened a lot. So, before he could hiss a stray insult at your lead actress, you slipped in with one hand resting on his arm and one fixing the scarf just so. 

“There. It’s perfect, curtains are about to rise,” you interrupted, before pulling ‘Yingzi’ away with a raised eyebrow. 

“I thought you hated the Monkey King?” You hummed, crossing your arms with the slightest hint of a grin. “You sure are familiar with his outfit. And the costume.”

Yingzi scowled, leveling a warning glare at you. “I just happened to have put this show on a lot in the past. Forgive me for doing what you asked and taking this seriously.” 

Yeah, well. You weren’t all that keen on trusting the fickle demon with anything when it came to this particular play, considering. He caught your look and rolled his eyes, taking a moment to reset himself before motioning to the stage as the lights dimmed. 

“See? No problems, eh~?” 

The actors began the first scene, you and Yingzi watching for the first few minutes to make sure of that. But… like he said, things did seem to be going smoothly. After watching a bit, you started to notice how close the disguised demon was to you. 

Both crowded together to catch a peek of the stage… He could easily see over your head, but the featherlight weight of fingers on your waist caught your focus. 

When had that happened…? 

Then there was the familiar call of Director Lee, needing something ready before the next scene, and the touch was gone. Yingzi withdrew, moving further backstage without a word to tend to Lee’s needs. You were left alone, just for a moment, to ponder that brief… not exchange, exactly… but simply the fact that a moment had existed.

Just a moment, both to ponder and to ponder over, and then it was back to work.

The show went perfectly. The cast and crew were ecstatic afterwards, congratulating each other on the wildly successful premiere of the Journey to the West. You enjoyed the company for a little bit before going to find MK and the gang, to see how they liked it.

“Incredible!”

“Amazing!"

“Eh… The golden boy’s still way too full of himself.”

“Well I thought it was great, didn’t you Sandy?”

“Of course, Tang!”

Okay, so four out of five was a great score! 

You smiled as MK and Mei went off replaying their favorite parts. It was rather funny watching Mei act like Macaque and MK being the Monkey King… at first. Though… it did make you wonder.

There was… no reason to doubt the validity of the tale. Macaque himself confirmed he hated the Monkey King and that the feeling was mutual. He certainly acted like the villain in the play… Mostly.

But… not always. The memory of his gentle touch earlier that night, of how he caught you when you fell, how he’d spent his nights helping you prepare for the production… He wasn’t always a villain. But how much was villain, how much wasn’t?

“I’ll see you guys later, I’ve got some prep work to do for tomorrow,” You finally hummed, smiling and waving at the group. MK waved back, walking out with the others while singing Monkey King’s praises as always. He was a wonderful kid, certainly did idolize his mentor a bit too much, but… well. It was working out for him at least.

You headed backstage, where almost everyone was finishing up for the night. Scanning through the mix of cast and crew, you spotted Yingzi talking to Director Lee. 

Strange… You tilted your head, watching as Lee’s expression brightened up and he clapped Yingzi’s arm happily, saying something you couldn’t hear over the chatter.

As you made your way towards them, Yingzi and Lee shook hands before parting ways. The disguised monkey demon looked quite pleased with himself as he turned to put away a costume. He paused when he locked eyes with you.

 That damn smirk was as infuriating as ever. 

As the distance closed between the two of you, Yingzi tossed a headdress towards you. “Put that on the hook, wou’ja, bud~?” He hummed, motioning to a hook behind you. The order was casual, but you still felt that familiar tightening around your wrist until you obeyed.

“Can we talk?” You blurted out suddenly, balking for a second in surprise. That… wasn’t intentional. 

Whoops. 

Those dark eyebrows furrowed, then one lifted in curiosity. He smirked, motioning towards the backstage door and ushering you outside into the cold night air. 

With all the Ghostlight’s patrons clearing out, the alley was empty. Just you and Yingzi.

“So… what do you need to talk about, little Candle~? Hmm?” The human form of your ‘master’ grinned down at you, leaning casually on the wall like he wasn’t a shadow-bending immortal. 

And… that rather was the question, wasn’t it? What did you want to talk to him about? But of course you knew the answer. You knew exactly what you wanted to talk to him about.

“Is that how it really happened?”

For a long minute, there was silence. Yingzi, Macaque, stared down at you, burning gold eyes flicking slightly back and forth as he inspected every inch of you; your face, your body language; to figure out what hidden agenda you might have for asking.

For a long minute, there was silence. And then, he let out a soft, bitter laugh.

“...No.” 

It was a simple answer. Not the kind you were used to from the demon who so loved to mock you.

“...Then how did it really go?” You found yourself asking, the words slipping out without much control. 

That was met with a soft hum instead of silence. He scratched his chin slightly, still inspecting you, before turning his gaze away to look off and smirk casually like he always did. “Maybe someday I’ll tell you, little Zhu… But not tonight. We have a lot of work to do to get ready for tomorrow.”

He ushered you back inside… and that was that. No chance to push that line of questioning, no choice in the matter. The case was closed, for now.

You did have a lot of work to do, anyway.

Chapter Text

Macaque had a problem. It was… not one he’d encountered in the past, so he had no idea how it had happened. But Macaque definitely had a problem, and it was definitely one he was going to have to figure out quickly.

Because see, his problem was, he was getting attached to his little human. There– there it was again! ‘His’ human. He knew better, knew the kinds of trouble this could cause. That’s why it was a problem.

He couldn’t very well continue his schemes if he was constantly distracted by these feelings! And for a human! What kind of lows had he fallen to? But it was impossible not to want them— The way they worked tirelessly towards their goals, the way they looked so happy, so fulfilled when the play went well. They shared his love of theater, not like that damn Wukong. They shared his passion for creation, for legend, for–... for everything. A passion he’d forgotten since being returned from death.

He’d been consumed by the need for revenge- and oh, he most definitely still was. Wukong would pay, and Macaque was certainly not going to stop that just for some human… but that was the problem. His original plan wasn’t going to work.

How could Macaque destroy this city Wukong so beloved, if his human lived and worked there?! So things had to change. He had to… work around it.

Coming to terms with his feelings were complicated enough. Oh, he knew if this were one of his plays, the character he represented would spend the entire first and second act pining and denying and pretending he didn’t feel what he felt. But Macaque wasn’t dumb. He’d realized a few weeks ago, when he caught the way their eyes sparkled as they laughed from one of his jokes.

The way his heart had trembled with joy at making them so happy.

That’s when Macaque realized what he had to do. And while it was going to make things a bit more difficult… Well, he was the Six-Eared Macaque! He could court a human if he wanted to. Besides— they were already bound to him. He didn’t even have to kidnap them, he already had! All that was left to do… was make sure they felt the same.

…Well, that, and figure out how he was going to announce the courtship to his human. And how he’d keep them safe from his enemies… And– okay, there was a lot to figure out. But Macaque was a master of schemes. His little human was just that- a human, pathetic and weak. He’d keep them safe, make them his, and get his revenge. 

Now, it was time for step one.

Step One: Gauge his Little Candle’s feelings.

“Sam’s into you, you know,” Macaque hummed offhandedly one day in the breakroom, carefully watching with a casual air to catch their reaction. His little human sputtered, adorable, frantically grabbing for the donut they’d nearly dropped at the sudden shock. 

“Wh– What?! Ha– n-no they’re not!” They’d said quickly, flushing a precious dark red that so perfectly matched his own markings. “A-and even if they are, I mean-”

“What, not into them back~? Do you have your eye on someone else then, hmmm~?” He’d leaned in, pressing every button just right to keep them on their back foot. 

His little Candle had stammered out even more nonsense, torn between avoiding looking at Macaque at all, and staring at him with an embarrassed glare. 

It wasn’t perfect confirmation, but Macaque decided that was good enough. Besides… he’d been testing: moving a bit closer, resting his hand on their hip or shoulder or knee every now and then. Every reaction hinted at a green light for step two.

Step Two: Prepare and arrange the perfect moment.

This was a little more difficult. Especially considering he still had his other plots and plans to work on at the same time. 

But it was nothing he couldn’t handle.

So, in between wheeling and dealing with Director Lee and keeping an eye on the damn Golden Bastard and the kid, Macaque took some secret trips out of the theater. A few snacks missing from one shop, a few materials from another, sneaking some pretty little things from a jeweler or two… Easy enough. 

If Macaque was going to court his human, he was going to do it right. A nest was prepared in his little hiding spot in the attic of the theater, he stored their favorite snacks and drinks nearby, and he made his courting gift to present when he whisked them away. 

Perfect. Finally… It was time for step three. Macaque was all prepared, all ready… Now he just needed the perfect opportunity.

Your days were filled with showtimes: prepping for next showtime, cleaning up from last showtime. Lots of work, as always.

It was honestly getting exhausting. These months filled with nonstop work, regardless of the extra pair of hands (and a tail) helping, were leaving you weary and sleep-deprived. You weren’t an immortal powerhouse, after all, so you couldn’t exactly go months without taking a nap.

The last show of the week had just wrapped up a few hours ago, and you and Macaque were cleaning up when your eyelids just refused to stay open. He watched you fall asleep for the third time while sweeping before saying something about it.

“If you’re going to mop the stage, shouldn’t you be using a mop?” 

You jerked awake, blinking and looking over in sleepy confusion. “Huh?”

“You’re drooling so much, I thought you might be trying to mop.” Macaque teased, motioning to your chin. You flushed as you quickly wiped away the dampness from your chin, huffing a bit. 

“S-sorry, I’ll grab a coffee so I stop falling asleep.” Setting down the broom against a prop, you headed for the break room with a yawn. Maybe there was some cold coffee still in there…

A pair of hands resting on your shoulders stopped you in your tracks, turning a bit to look at your… coworker?... with surprise. Even after all this time, it was always a shock when he moved so fast.

“You don’t need a coffee,” His deep voice chuckled teasingly, the taller demon leaning down so his mouth was right beside your ear. 

“What do you-”

“What you need, is rest.” He continued on as if you hadn’t interrupted, squeezing your shoulders slightly and massaging them a bit. Okay– what the actual fuck?

You pushed away quickly, turning to look at him with a wary frown. “Rest? We gotta finish cleaning, Macaque. And what the hell were you just doing-?!”

The shadow demon raised an eyebrow, looking at you for a moment. He looked like he was judging you for… something. You felt self-conscious, like there was something you were supposed to know that you didn’t.

Sure, he’d been acting kinda… weird, kinda touchy, these last few weeks, but— that was all in your head, right?

“Zhu~, my little thrall~, you need rest,” Macaque finally spoke, closing the distance between you and reaching up to cup your chin, “Such a pathetic little human. You need sleep, you haven’t been taking care of yourself. Am I going to have to do that for you, hmm?” 

You– had no idea what to do with this. Macaque was always flirty, smug, but this was- something else. 

“D–Did you just call me pathetic? I can take care of myself!”

Macaque chuckled, scooping you up in his arms and shaking his head in amusement. “Oh, my little Zhu~ I don’t think you can. So I’ll see to it you get the rest you need.” He began walking, holding you close as you squirmed in his grasp. 

“What are you talking about?! Let me down, Macaque! We have work to finish! Hey!” The bastard monkey just snickered at your protests, stepping through a shadow with you in tow. 

It made you gasp softly, feeling the strange sensation of traveling through Macaque’s dimension of shadows. The darkness was- well, dark, of course, but also a little cold. Just slightly chilly, like the coolness of the shade under a rocky overhang. 

He snickered again at your reaction, stepping right back out into… 

“What the… M-Macaque, what– what is all this?” You looked around in confusion, staring at the small space revealed to you. You recognized the wood of the flooring as the ceiling of the Ghostlight Theatre, so this must be where he’d been living… But that wasn’t it.

There was a– a nest, was the only way to describe it- of blankets and soft fabrics and pillows. Gods, it looked heavenly to your exhausted mind. Beside it was a small table and chairs- So that’s where the missing props had gone- with… snacks? And drinks? Your favorites, all of them, how had he even known-

And in the center, there was a… something, wrapped up in purple and red paper, tied with gold twine. A… gift…?

“Do you like it?” Macaque hummed softly, breaking you out of your shock. You looked up at him with hesitant bewilderment, unsure how to respond. “This-... this is all… for me?”

“Mmhm.” Macaque set you down, crossing his arms as his tail casually glided side to side like a pleased feline.

You glanced from him, to the display, then back to him before moving over to the table. The food laid out covered all your tastes: From sweet to salty to savory, everything you liked was here. After a moment you grabbed a pack of chips and one of the non-caffeine drinks you liked, taking a few sips and bites before glancing back at the demon monkey curiously.

He was still standing there, watching you, with that same smirk that was always on his face.

“Open the gift,” Macaque hummed when you looked at him, nodding towards the wrapped parcel lightly. You turned back, the shadow-chain tattoo on your wrist twisting slightly at the command. It didn’t hurt, just stopped you from hesitating too long.

The twine came undone with a simple pull, and you carefully unwrapped the paper to reveal…

“What… is… is this a joke?” You looked back at Macaque in shock, confusion, uncertainty. In your hands you held a delicate piece of jewelry made of black chain. Black metal pooled in your palm as you turned your eyes back to the beautiful purple gem in the center of the web of metal links.

“Nope,” He hummed, approaching now and putting one hand on your shoulder as the other came up to cup your hands carefully. “It is… well, aptly or unfortunately, your choice, called a slave bracelet. But the intention isn’t to bind you to me… you already are, after all~” Macaque chuckled, his tail curling around your ankle.

“It’s- I mean, it’s gorgeous,” You stammered slightly, glancing up at him, “ignoring the name, anyway… But– what’s it for?”

“You’re already mine by contract, my little Candle…” Macaque purred, leaning in to press his lips close to your ear. “...But I want you to be mine in a different way, too~”

Wait– wait, wait wait wait– He… he couldn’t mean… He…

…He didn’t mean…

“Y-you– this is- th-this is a trick, r-right? Like– you’re teasing me-?”

Macaque chuckled, turning you to he could push you back against the edge of the table, trapping you in. “Oh no, my little human, this is no trick. I want you to be mine.” You stared at him, eyes wide, face flushed. Oh gods, he was so close to you. The smell of mango and spices filled your nose…

“Tell me you’re mine… That’s not an order from my binding, Candle, that’s just an order from me~” Macaque ordered softly, leaning in so your lips and his were a mere inch apart. His golden eyes stared into yours, searching for your reaction, your compliance.

Hesitating just a moment, your heart beating as loud as a drum in your ears and his, you reached up a shaky hand to touch his chest. Gods- He... he was serious.

You had never been so glad to see that bastard smirk.

“I-I’m… I’m yours…” You breathed, and without any more hesitation he pressed forward to kiss you deeply.

Chapter Text

The kiss lasted for… maybe a few seconds. Then reality hit, and you pushed the demon away to slip out from between him and the table, taking several steps across the attic to get away from that spicy mango scent and the way it messed with your head. 

“Woah woah woah— Hang on. Two seconds. What the fuck— where did THAT come from?! When did you start— when did I-” You tried to express your feelings in some comprehensible way, but it was all swirling around. Hard to pinpoint.

Macaque raised an eyebrow, turning and leaning back against the table just like you had been a moment ago. “How about you ask one question to start off with, hmm, little Candle~?”

You scowled for a moment, face red enough to be MK’s headband, but took that time to think.

Okay. For… a while now… you’d noticed Macaque’s attitude towards you shifting, kind of. That… hadn’t been your imagination apparently. He really had been getting handsy, really had been moving close to you… Focus!

Okay. Focusing. “Fine, first question. When did we go from hating each other’s guts to kissing?”

The shadow demon chuckled again, pushing off the table and starting to close the distance between you. “What, it can’t be both~?”

“Uh, no?!” This was so sudden. At first you’d been caught up in the moment, wanting to kiss him back… But now…

Okay, no, you might still want to kiss him. The demon bastard was… enticing. 

As much as you knew he was dangerous, and probably planning on eating you in the future or something- that didn’t change the fact that he certainly ticked some boxes.

He helped you with your work, made things… interesting, if not always in a good way, saved you from a few different embarrassing deaths from falling off ladders… but most importantly, he paid attention to you. You existed to him in a way you didn’t to most other people.

…Didn’t mean this wasn’t sudden as hell, though.

“Look, Macaque– you can’t just go from threatening my life one day, then doing all… this, the next.” You said after letting out a long exhale, still working on getting the buzzing in your head and chest under control.

The dark-furred simian hummed, colorful ears twitching as he leaned in a bit. “First of all, my little thrall, I haven’t threatened your life in two weeks and three days~” 

He kept track of that? 

“And second of all, I can go from that to this.”

“I’m sorry, were you expecting me to act like one of our plays~? Spend weeks agonizing over you until I finally confessed in a dramatic monologue while renouncing my evil ways?” 

Macaque snorted again despite your flustered frown. 

“No, no, my dear… I’m a demon. The way it works for us is a little different than for you humans~ When we decide we want something, we take it.”

A clawed hand reached up to cup your chin gently. “So. Seeing as I want you…~?” The sentence trailed off into a confident question, and you had to struggle to untie your tongue and get out an answer. The demon thing made sense from all the stories you’d heard at least, but still!

“I– I need time to think about this.” You said, pulling away. Macaque looked surprised for a second, then annoyed, but his expression didn’t get any darker despite what you might have expected. The shadow demon took a few steps back, giving you distance while crossing his arms.

“Think about what? I’m a powerful demon, little Candle~ I can protect you! I want you— and I can tell that you feel the same way. It’s all over you… your face, your body language, your scent~. You want this too.” Macaque reasoned, but he didn’t get close again. 

At least he was respecting your space.

“Just– There’s a lot about this I have to think about. You– I-” You tried to explain it, but there was just too much to say. The exhaustion that had caused all this suddenly hit again in a wave, and you put a hand up to your head as dizziness rocked you.

Macaque was beside you in a second, catching you from tipping over with a frown.

“...I understand. You’re tired, it’s hard to think like that. Pathetic little human… I’ll bring you home.” He huffed, picking you up and sinking into the floor.

Once more you were pulled through the gentle chill and quiet darkness of Macaque’s world before coming back out in your bedroom. Your bedroom, in your apartment. He set you down on the bed, backing off again. “I’ll finish up our work for tonight. You’re going to sleep in tomorrow. Got it, little Zhu?”

The magical tattoo on your wrist twisted softly along your skin until you nodded, still rocked by this dizziness. It had been plaguing you for the last day. Just sleep deprivation, that’s all. Maybe you were coming down with something…? You felt… cold. 

“Good. rest well, my thrall~” Macaque flashed you a smirk and vanished. You were left alone in your room, clumsily kicking your shoes off to crawl under the covers and stare tiredly up at the ceiling.

Maybe the dizziness was just from sheer whiplash… Everything had happened so fast just now. Had that entire exchange only been half an hour? Fifteen minutes? It felt so much longer.

Macaque wanted you… Macaque was attached to you.

You could use that. You could get him back for binding you to him– You knew a weakness! You could make him listen to you for once—

But- wait, no. Where had that come from? You didn’t want to hurt Macaque any more than you wanted him to hurt others! What was going on?

You shook your head, rolling over and pulling the covers over to try and chase away the chill in your bones. But it just got worse. You curled up, but your skin felt transparent with cold. You felt like you could see your breath. You shivered, even under a blanket and a comforter.

The thought crossed your mind of calling for Macaque. He’d hear you, he was only just across the street. With his ears he’d hear you… But you made no sound except for the soft chattering of your teeth clicking together.

Warm with Macaque one moment, cold all alone the next. Freezing… Your mind started playing tricks on you. You really must be coming down with something: were those soft footsteps behind you, or just your jackrabbit heart beating thin and fast, echoing in your ears? Was that a chilling chuckle or the shift of your blanket when you turned over to look?

You were alone, and the cold numbed you. That exhaustion from before sank like a blanket of snow upon you, slowly burying you under it, dampening all your senses until you finally fell asleep.

Chapter Text

Sleep kept its hold over you until long past noon, the afternoon sun finally having crossed the room to light upon your eyes. You cracked them open with a soft groan, trembling. Your throat felt scratchy, your body ached. Something really must have caught you, a cold or flu maybe.

Getting up was out of the question, though water would have been great right at that moment. Grimacing, rolling over to hide from the sun that woke you, you shut your eyes and fell back into fitful sleep.

The cold was normal, by now. 

It was always there. Was this body still alive? Did it even know how to breathe? The voice that escaped these lips was the only proof of that. 

Sometimes, like a glass holding ice, condensation escaped these eyes. It was a simple fix for their owner, a simple dab of whatever absorbent fabric was nearby.

Footsteps barely registered even to the body’s own ears, the soft rustle of silk slightly louder. Making its way down the hallway, moving towards the light shining from down a dark hall. This light held no warmth, blue and misty as it was. It held no warmth in the same way this body held no warmth.

The body moved with grace and ease, but the joints felt tight. The voice spoke with cunning and glee, but the lips moved without joy. If not for being alive, this body could easily be called a doll. Or maybe even being alive didn’t exclude it, after all. A posable doll, a speaking doll, a haunted doll like some early oughts horror movie from the west. 

A prop.

A puppet.

Did puppets have thoughts of their own? This puppet wasn’t sure anymore. It had been so long since it had been a them . The memory of them was forbidden. This body was so tired now. So weak. The time would come soon when this body would be cast aside, replaced like an old outfit.

They had no voice. They had no choice. They had no hope.

Wait.

What was that golden light.

What was this fear in this body’s voice? 

What was happening?

The cold was gone in a scream. The body collapsed. The body breathed.

Warmth touched it. Hands. Voices with concern. This body… did not know what to…

This… They … They moved their eyes for the first time in years. They closed their eyes, the burning of dry eyes suddenly wetting sending a jolt through their system.

Someone spoke to them … Asked what their name was. They opened their mouth, and went to answer:

...u? Zhu! Little candle~? How many damn different nicknames am I gonna have to use?! Gods dammit, you’re so out of it… how did you get so sick so fast?” 

You cracked your eyes open. They stung like you’d been staring into smoke for an hour, or like you hadn’t shut them in ages. “..Wh…?” You croaked, blinking as you realized Macaque was leaning over you with a mixture of frustration and concern on his face.

When he saw you finally waking, the shadow demon pulled away a damp towel from your forehead. “Great Buddha, bud, I came to check on ya and you were tossing and turning like someone was roasting you on a damn spit! You were burning up like it, too… Still are, but the fever’s gone down a little now at least… C’mon, careful now. Sit up a bit and drink some water.”

Macaque was careful, gentle. He kept hold of you, guiding a glass of cool water to your lips. The cold made you want to recoil, but your throat needed it. As much as the chill made your skin crawl, it soothed the aching dryness of your mouth.

He kept talking, placing the cool compress back on your forehead as a shadow clone brought over a different cup. This one was steaming slightly. It smelled of honey and lemon, and after waiting a few moments to let it cool a bit more Macaque helped you drink a bit of that too.

You made no attempt to speak, miserable as you were. The… fever dream, you barely remembered it. It felt like you’d been… somewhere else. Someone, else, but not even them. Someone else inside someone else. Already the details were fading from memory.

“I should have seen this coming, I s’pose. Letting you work all these nights without a break… Damned Lee, can’t see he’s burning his Candle at both ends.” Macaque continued to mutter, and the sound was soothing. “Well, don’t worry, little thrall. The Ghostlight Theatre’s next show won’t require much from you at all. And as for the rest of the Journey’s performances… I have shadow clones covering for the two of us.”

You felt the exhaustion of sickness start to take you again. The fear of whatever that nightmare had been, though, it made you reach out to grab the demon’s arm tightly. Silky black fur, warm and soft against your skin, shifted at your touch. It made the soft muttering pause, and a larger hand with claws wrap around yours. 

“...Don’t worry, you weak little mortal thing. I’ve gotcha… Go to sleep.”

And sleep, you did.

--

It was two days before you could stay awake longer than a few minutes. On that third day, you were finally starting to be able to sit up and function again. Macaque assured you everything was taken care of. Currently, the two of you were sitting on your bed, nursing cups of tea. You were bundled under all your blankets, still working on getting that chill out from under your spine— but Macaque’s company and the mindless movie the pair of you were watching helped.

“...I didn’t expect you to be so good at taking care of a human,” You hummed after a while, idly glancing over at your... uh... frenemy-slash-captor-slash-coworker-slash-definitely-not-newly-acknowledged-crush.

“Eh… I’ve had to do it once or twice in the past. Not in a while… I googled most of it.” The demon said with a smirk, quirking his eyebrow in that way he always did. 

“Well, regardless. Thanks for taking care of me.” You were finally feeling lucid enough to actually realize all the effort he’d put into it. This whole… caring thing from him was still weird, still sudden to you… but at least it seemed to be consistent so far. “Even if you’re part of the reason I was sick in the first place.”

“What? No I’m not!”

“Yes, you are! You tripled the work I had to do for this damn Monkey King play!” You retorted, annoyance replacing that gratitude.

“What, cuz of those little pranks I pulled? Hah! I’ve spent the last half a month helping you!” He argued, reaching over to poke you obnoxiously. You scowled and smacked his hand away. It was nice to bicker again.

“‘Little pranks’?! You destroyed a whole set—”

“Yeah, well, I helped rebuild it too. And, I’ve been taking care of your sick ass for the last seventy-two hours. I don’t wanna hear it, you useless mortal!” He huffed, though before you could snap back with a retort his demeanor shifted slightly. That mostly-concealed concern you’d been seeing in between bouts of delirium returned as he casually met your gaze.

“...I need you to get better, dumbass, alright? That’s an order from your master to my thrall~... I don’t have time to babysit a weakling. If you don’t start being useful again soon, I’m gonna have to toss you out and find a new mortal to bully.”

You hummed, rolling your eyes and slouching back into the pillows propping you up. Things between you and the demon may have been changing fast lately, but it felt like everything was changing fast.

It felt like everything was… rushing. Maybe you were still a bit feverish, but it just felt like… Like the world was holding its breath as a timer ticked down. You didn’t know how long was on that timer, you didn’t know what it was for, you didn’t even know where that feeling was coming from…

But whatever uneasy feeling you had, it was clear Macaque had it too. 

“Yeah, yeah,” You answered, turning back to the movie and sipping your tea, “I know you’re just annoyed you have to do my job for once. I’ll get better as slowly as I damn well want.”

The pair of you sank back into comfortable silence after some quiet chuckling.

Whatever the world was waiting for, well, it could wait a little longer... Hopefully.

Chapter Text

You took two more days off to fully recover before going back to work. No one even noticed you were gone— Macaque’s shadow clones were damn good at impersonating you and him both. But considering he was a master of deception and stagecraft, that only made sense. 

Macaque spent half his time with you for those two days, and the other half… elsewhere. You weren’t sure where, and he wouldn’t tell you. 

“It’s a surprise,” He’d say, “Trust me!” He’d say. 

Yeah, like you’d ever trust him! Hah… Still. You glanced down at the bracelet on your left hand, the delicate chains attached to your fingers and wrist, the purple gem in the center. It was hard to… not trust him these days. 

You knew he was up to something villain-y. He had That Look in his eyes he got whenever he was scheming. But what scheme that was… he wouldn’t share. 

And so, as the fifth day finally rolled around and you were finally free of the shivers and sniffles, it was time to go back to work. 

The Journey to the West production was nearly over, with only one more show before closing. You stepped into the backstage area and took a deep breath, grateful to be back. The smell of sawdust, sweat, perfume and stress met your nose— and it felt like coming home. 

“Zhu! There you are!” Lee called from stage left, rushing over to you. “Where have you been?! I’ve been looking for you for the last five minutes!”

“Oh- sorry, Director. I had to-“ you were about to come up with an excuse for where your shadow double had vanished off to, but he interrupted before you could. 

“—that doesn’t matter. Look, I need you to finish updating these flyers! They’re for the next production, and everyone else is busy with more important things.” He shoved a massive stack of posters into your arms, turning to leave. “Thanks, you’re the best!”

“What- but I— aaaand he’s gone.” 

Welcome home, Zhu. 

You sighed, and carried the massive stack of paper into the green room to get started. These… these were all already used…? Some advertisments for ‘Kung Fu Monkey Cop: The Movie’. Of course Director Lee would want to reuse… well, that wasn’t necessarily bad. Recycling was good for the environment!

So, you set to work. The printer was, of course, busted. So that meant you had to get a bit creative. Copying every poster by hand was way too much work— but you did have a woodblock printing set up for when you needed authentic cloth prints. And it worked on paper, too. 

Carefully carving a wood block with the mock-up of the poster— it was for a shadow play called ‘The Hero and the Warrior’— took all day. But finally, it was perfect. You began the long (but much shorter than it could have been) process of printing on the back of each old movie flyer. 

Finally around midnight, the massive undertaking was completed and you leaned back with a sigh as you examined the last one. “…Shadow play, huh?” You hummed, glancing at a corner of the green room that was darker than it should be. “Gee, that’s not suspicious at all.”

“Heh, yeah well, what can I say? It’s kind of my whole schtick.” Macaque hummed, stepping out of the corner and leaning over your shoulder to get a look at your hard work. 

“Not bad, little Candle~! Not bad at all.”

“Thanks. You know, you could have helped.”

“Me? Naw~ I was busy preparing! Lots to do for the debut of my show.” He purred, pinching your cheek and wiggling it playfully. “You’ll be there, won’t you?”

Smacking his hand away with a scoff, you rolled your eyes and set down the last flyer in the stack. “I feel like I don’t really have a choice…”

“You don’t~” 

“Then I guess I will be.” 

The shadow demon grinned, stepping away and moving over to the Ghostlight Ghost’s shrine— his shrine— and plucked a mango from it to snack on. If anyone but you saw him do that, he would be in so much trouble- ha! No one else knew he was ‘the ghost’ that hated peaches and loved mangoes.  

And with Macaque’s keen ears, it wasn’t like anyone could ever sneak up on him. 

“Good.” He hummed, patting you on the head with a smirk. “Things are gonna start getting really interesting pretty soon, my little thrall~… Have you thought about my proposal?”

His proposal. Yeah, you’d thought about it. You’d thought about it nonstop. Being in a relationship with a dangerous demon monkey? That was kind of a very big deal!

And a lot of conflict to deal with. 

On one hand, Macaque was an asshole. He constantly mocked you, played pranks on you, ordered you around. 

On the other hand… that mocking had started getting softer, fonder as of late. The pranks were less destructive now. The orders were less frequent, or at the very least more morally sound. He paid attention to you. He cared. 

Buuuut on the other other hand, he was very much dead set on killing the Monkey King, and anyone who stood in his way to accomplishing that goal. 

So yeah… kind of a hard thing to just decide. 

“…I need more time, Macaque. Sorry.” You answered after a few long moments of silence. Those pretty multicolored ears folded back with disappointment, but he hid most of his reaction before a casual smirk and a shrug. 

“Aw, well~ I’m immortal, you’re not. So just take that into account when you consider time, eh~?”

You stood, glancing down at the ink stains and wood shavings covering your clothes. “…Yeah, yeah. I know. I gotta head home, it’s late.”

“Alright, go on and get your puny little mortal beauty sleep!” Macaque teased, winking, “I’ll plaster these lovely posters everywhere…”

There was a slight pause, and as you slipped out the door you heard him add: 

“You really did do some good work on these, Zhu.”

Freshly showered, with food in your belly and comfy pjs on, you flopped on the couch to enjoy some tv before bed. Journey to the West was over now, and since Macaque was the main player in the next production there wasn’t nearly as much work as usual looming on the horizon for you. 

Sure, there was still some work; mostly cleaning up the props and sets from Journey, and a little work with backgrounds for his play, but other than that there wasn’t much. 

It was odd, actually. How had Macaque managed to convince Director Lee to let him do a whole production on his own? It must have been what they’d been shaking hands about way back when… but how? It was hard to imagine Macaque convincing Lee without any money, but where would he have gotten enough to make the Director so happy? 

…Nevermind, that was obvious. He probably stole it. 

Flipping through channels until you found an old rerun of that River Monsters show, you settled down to watch. One hand absentmindedly traced the purple gem in the center of your chain bracelet, the smooth surface comforting. Comforting, but cold. It hadn’t been that cold before…? 

You glanced down, and froze in unnerved confusion as you realized the gem wasn’t purple anymore. It was an icy white-blue that sent a spike of panic into your heart. But— why-? And how?!

The dark chains of your bracelet, too, began to change before your very eyes. From delicate black chains to glowing blue, larger links that felt like liquid nitrogen on your skin. 

Frantically, you grabbed at them to yank them off, to tear it away from your hand and recoil. The bracelet shattered into pieces and splintered to the floor as you scrambled back across the couch. 

When had your heartbeat gotten so fast? Why were you hyperventilating?

You blinked, looked towards the door for an instant before looking back—

…the shattered pieces of the bracelet were… gone. 

You looked down at your hand, and… it was there. But it wasn’t… wrong anymore. 

“…What…?”

You lifted your hand, turning it and looking at it hesitantly. The dark chains, the purple gem, it was all… there. And normal. 

“Was it-… was it just a hallucination…?” You mumbled, running your hand through your hair with a shaky laugh. 

“Well, my dear, I’m afraid I have good news and bad news on that front,” a cheery, frostbitten voice chirped from behind you. Before you could turn to see who it was, two freezing hands gripped your shoulders and forced you to look straight ahead. 

“W-who—“

“Shush, shushshshhhhhsh… Little… Candle, is that right? Is that what they call you? Or shall I use your real name?” 

The way he said your name was like— like ice scraping together, cold and hard and terrifying. You shook your head rapidly, avoiding turning it too far in case the stranger got mad. 

“…No? Hm… let’s just stick with Zhu, then~ Now. Zhu. Like I said~! I have good news, aaaand I have bad news. Which would you like to hear first? … Speak up now~!”

“…G-good…?”

“Excellent! The good news is, your destiny is at hand! Rejoice, you’ve been given a second chance.”

“A— a second ch-“

“Shush! I’m still speaaaakiiiing~ Now, the bad news is, that was a hallucination. But! No need to fret, my dear~ you’ll be juuuuust fine, once you 

W    A     K    E  

U  P ”

You gasped, jerking up from where you’d been slumped on the couch. Scanning the room in a panic, you clutched your chest and gasped for air. 

What— what was that—?!

River Monsters was still playing. You… must have fallen asleep, but… what was that nightmare?

A chill ran down your spine, and you pulled a blanket tight around you. You could have sworn, for a moment, you heard someone whispering. 

It sounded like someone saying…

Shhhhhhhhhh…

Chapter Text

You didn’t get much sleep after that… nightmare?… so by the time you showed up to work there were dark bags under your eyes. Though, that wasn’t all that unusual. 

Macaque— er, whoops, Yingzi— didn’t notice right away, too wrapped up in preparing for the next show. He was meticulous in his work, even more so than before. This shadow play of his didn’t require much work, as most of it was going to be him alone creating the scene and actors and everything else. However, there was still the background, the lighting, the timing of the curtains and spotlight, the sound design- as well as his costume.  

All of which he oversaw himself, of course, directing you and the others with skillful leadership. It was incredible to work under him surprisingly enough; there was something very different about how Macaque controlled the stage versus how Lee controlled it. Things were more streamlined, more efficient. Everyone knew what they were supposed to do. No one was running around- it wasn’t unorganized chaos. 

“Zhu!” Yingzi called from the stage, making you look up from the backdrop you were painting. “I need your opinion. Should I wear a purple and black cloak, or a brown and red cloak?” In his human-looking hands were both options, held up to his form first one then the other. 

“Mm… go for the brown and red,” you decided, waving a hand and looking back to your work, “It’s less obvious.” He wanted to avoid being caught out in his plan right off, didn’t he? Purple and black was too on the nose, even if he did wear those colors well…

The next few days were filled with much of the same. That bad dream or hallucination or… whatever it was… you wanted to tell someone. You knew you needed to tell someone. 

But the problem was, any time you tried…

…it was much like Macaque’s binding spell. Except instead of the black chain tattoo tightening around your wrist— a sharp, cold string tightened around your heart. This certainly wasn’t a good thing… but you couldn’t do anything about it. 

“Macaque,” you called once the theater was empty except for you and the shadows, a few days later, “wanna eat dinner with me tonight?” You had to try to tell him what was going on. There had to be a way, right? Somehow. 

The shadow demon emerged from the shadows like one would out of a pool, the inky blackness withdrawing as he approached. “Oh…? Are you asking me on a date, little Candle~?” He purred, leaning in close. Those golden eyes that weren’t quite his, twinkled with amusement. 

You were far less amused. Huffing, you rolled your eyes and crossed your arms. “No, it’s not a date. It’ll just be at my place, I want to talk to you about something.” 

That piqued his interest, alright. Those six colorful ears swiveled and perked up for a moment before folding back to their normal position. “…You want to talk about something, hm?” He murmured, tilting his head and raising an eyebrow. “…Alright. Let’s go. I can’t say no to my precious thrall after all~”

“Shove it, asshole,” You grumbled, turning for the door. This was not the time for him to be flirting!

“Aw, you know you love me~” The demon purred, looping an arm around your shoulder with a low chuckle. He touched your temple with his nose, eyes half-lidded as he continued to tease. “The only reason I haven’t snatched you away to some secret place is because I don’t have to for you to be mine~” 

“Macaque— please be serious! This isn’t a date.” It was hard to focus when he got all… touchy. Affectionate. It made you want to ignore the hallucination and just— No! NO, you had to talk to him about it! Focus. On. Telling him. 

Macaque, of course, did not get serious. Not when you went up the stairs, not when you stepped inside, and not when you started to cook dinner. But for all his teasing, at least it helped soothe your nerves a bit. 

Once the simple rice and vegetable dinner was made, you set the table and the two of you took your seats. 

“Hey, your cooking isn’t half bad~” Macaque hummed, pointing his chopsticks at you casually and winking. 

With a soft chuckle, you rolled your eyes and took a few bites yourself. He was right— you’d done pretty good. As simple as it was, the food was still nice… but it was hard to concentrate on eating when the very thought of speaking up made your heart ache with that tightening chill. 

Looking up towards the guest at your table, you realized he’d been staring. Macaque didn’t look away when your gazes locked: he continued to stare, his golden gaze piercing and intent. Finally, he set his chopsticks down. 

“…At first I thought you were inviting me over to accept my offer… but I see there’s something on your mind. Go on, little Candle. Tell me what’s wrong.” He hummed, a rare moment of genuine seriousness from the shadow demon. 

Now was the time. Hallucination or not, those hands and that voice had felt all too real. And the words the mystery being had said were all too worrying. You didn’t know what any of it meant, what he’d meant by a ‘second chance’… but you had to tell Macaque! 

“There’s something going on—“ You started, before the words caught in your throat the same way breath did when trying to breathe in on a particularly cold and windy day. Macaque frowned, watching you struggle. He stood, walking around the table and beginning to reach towards you. He paused a moment before he could touch you, golden gaze flicking to meet yours again. “Let me take a look at you,” he requested calmly. 

With a silent nod, you shut your eyes to let the demon do whatever it was he wanted to do. 

Warm hands with prickling claws gently took your shoulders first. With your eyes closed, you couldn’t see what he was doing exactly… but it felt like there was magic around you for a moment. It was hard to explain how ‘magic’ felt, but just like being able to sense Macaque’s presence, or being able to tell his eyes weren’t really his eyes… there was just something there. 

Macaque scanned you carefully, his hands sliding down your arms before releasing and moving to carefully take and guide your head from side to side. After a few more minutes of silence, those warm hands pulled away, and you opened your eyes. 

Your ‘master’ was frowning, looking at you intently, with concern in his gaze. “…Yeah, something’s wrong here.” He said, his tail flicking behind him. The demon paced around you, thinking hard. 

“Looks like you have another binding on you. Someone else is trying to control you.” He explained, the growl in his voice… a bit possessive. 

…Okay, more than a bit. 

As he came back into view, Macaque paused. “Now, I know you can’t talk about it. But, I’m going to ask a few questions. Just nod or shake your head in response.” He waited for a nod in reply, and once you gave it he continued. “Okay. Zhu, do you know who bound you?”

You shook your head. Something about the voice had been familiar… but you didn’t know it. 

“Alright. Did they hurt you?” He asked next, a bit of an edge to his voice this time. 

You paused, frowning a bit, before slowly shaking your head. It hadn’t… hurt. It had just been really fucking— 

“-scare you?” Macaque was saying something… he called your name and you blinked, refocusing on him. 

“What?” You asked sheepishly. 

He repeated his question. “I said, did they scare you?”

You nodded, looking away. Admitting to being scared felt… childish, when you’d been dealing with Macaque for such a long time. He was one of the big scary demons in legend— you knew many of his schemes. You knew what he was capable of. But this other… thing. Whatever he was… He was different than Macaque. 

“Okay… now, my little Candle, I want you to try and answer this question with words if you can. Can you try?” 

“Yeah, I can try.” You confirmed, your eyebrows furrowing in concentration. Binding or not, you would do your best. 

“Alright. Zhu… what does this magic on you feel like, when it constricts? How would you describe the pain?”

How…? That was… not exactly a hard question to answer, but it was one you were almost afraid to answer. Like saying it out loud would make it more real. 

Like it would solidify whatever had a hold on you, or… something. 

Macaque waited intently, far more patient than he usually was. The fact that he was so serious about this wasn’t exactly helping the whole anxiety issue. If Macaque was worried… you were basically just fucked, right?

A warm hand touched yours, and you looked down at it. Tan, furred fingers wrapped around yours gently. His sharp claws were carefully arranged to avoid scraping you. When you looked back up, you saw…

Not golden eyes. Not fake eyes. 

Macaque exhaled softly, his other hand moving to join his first in holding yours. He said your name again— not a nickname, not a joke… your real name, your true name. “I’m not going to let some other bastard hurt you.” He said firmly. “Okay? You’re my human, my thrall. Not this other asshole’s. You understand me, my light?”

Your cheeks were red as you nodded, still staring at those eyes. 

One purple, one milky. A scar from forehead to cheek crossing it, rendering it useless. But even milky as the damaged eye was… it still reflected moonlight like his intact one did. Like the purple and white was space itself. The opposite of the sun his his fake eyes reflected. You figured now that those eyes were meant to mock Wukong’s. 

These were much better, in your opinion. 

You took a deep breath, lifting one hand towards the scarred side of his face. Macaque grimaced, but he didn’t move as you carefully touched his cheek. “I like these better,” you said softly, focusing on his good eye after a moment. 

“These are broken.” He scoffed softly. “And they’re not the point of this. We’re trying to figure out what’s wrong with you, not me. So… maybe focus on what we’re doing, eh, little thrall?”

You chuckled a bit, the brief humor relaxing you a bit. You took his hands again and nodded one more time. “…When it hurts… it’s cold.”

For a moment, Macaque’s grip on your hands tightened. He clenched his teeth, baring them a bit, his fur bristling— but, after that moment passed, he shut his eyes and exhaled. 

“What— what’s wrong?” You asked, certainly unnerved by that reaction. 

“No, nothing. It’s nothing, little Candle. An old… friend of mine… uses magic that feels cold. But it can’t be that demon, so relax. Everything’s gonna be fine.” He smiled, though you knew that smile. It was the fake one, just like once more his fake eyes were back. Pretty gold, but not real.

Fool’s gold. 

“Alright… I’m going to start seeing if I can undo this enchantment on you the hard way, okay? It’s going to require fucking around with your essence, so I’m going to need to put you to sleep. Is that gonna be okay with you?” Macaque asked, giving a brief explanation of what he wanted to do. 

“Are you sure it’ll work? Is it gonna hurt?” 

“No, and no. If I can’t untangle it easily, I won’t try. You won’t get hurt.” 

That wasn’t exactly reassuring, but it was better than a ‘yes’. So you huffed and agreed to his terms. Macaque stood, pulling you up from your seat and leading you to your bedroom. “I won’t do anything else. Promise~” He teased, trying to lighten the mood a bit. It didn’t work, but you gave him a token smile as you laid down. It was a nice try at least. 

“Okay… just relax. You’re gonna go to sleep, and be awake in no time. Ready?”

Before you could answer, you were asleep again. 

Chapter Text

Macaque took a moment to exhale a long breath once his thrall was asleep. Looking down at them, their peaceful face and gentle form, he wanted to rip apart whatever bastard demon had dared touch them. His thrall. His human. 

They hadn’t accepted his offer yet, which made things worse. He wondered… was another demon trying to steal his potential mate from him? Or was this something else…? 

Well, the only way to find out was to go poking around his human’s soul. So, that’s what Macaque did. He spent several hours going through each and every strand of essence and power that made up his Candle’s soul. 

There were… several, odd things about it. 

“This can’t be right…” Macaque mumbled, staring at the magic carefully wrapped around his claws. “How is there death magic infused into you, my light?” He looked up at the sleeping form of his human, then back at the tiny threads of white and blue that interlaced the more natural, lively colors that made up their essence. 

Though… it was like the icy blue strands… melded into the others. That— that had to just be a trick of the magic glow, though. Surely…

The strings began to burn him, burn him the way dry ice would burn- so cold it’s hot, so hot it’s freezing. Macaque pulled his hands away, his golden eyes narrowing angrily. It had to be his old ‘friend’… somehow, she had gotten her icy talons into his human. What was this, revenge for not letting her free? She was still contained in her tomb… wasn’t she?

Macaque shook his head, returning the threads of magic and life into the chest of his thrall with a soft sigh. 

Okay… he had time. They had time, it would be fine. He’d protect them, make sure she didn’t reach out from a distance or… whatever it was she had done to them… again. 

The shadow demon began weaving magic of his own: a cloak of sorts, for the soul of his Candle. One to warm it up, to protect it, to keep whatever curse that had affected them away. 

Once that was complete, he put on a casual smirk and sorted himself out before waking them. The show must go on— they had other things on the agenda, after all. The premiere of his play was tomorrow! And he’d made sure Specs had found one of his light’s incredibly-made posters… the group would be there. No doubt about it. 

“Wake up, little human~” Macaque purred, lightly stroking their cheek. His smirk grew when their eyes opened, blinking sleepily, and they smiled back at him. “There we go. How are you feeling, hm? I fixed everything. You should be just fine now.” 

It was a lie, sure… but a small one. He’d fix things properly later. They had time. 

His light didn’t have to worry about that curse for long, he’d deal with it just as soon as the show was over. 

Chapter Text

An Update

Hello everyone! It’s been a long time, haha. Sorry about that! Some more crazy stuff has happened, as it does. So I figured I’d give an update, let you guys know what’s up.

First of all– I will be continuing the story! I hope to post the next chapter either tomorrow or sometime this week. Hopefully ^^*

But as for what’s been going on… well, let’s see. About three? Months ago, I started having some really serious pain in my lower right abdomen. I thought it was my period at first, they tend to be *awful*, but nah… Five days of intense pain later and I finally went to the ER. Ended up lying on the ER floor for about eight straight hours, sobbing and in agony, with my roommate trying to get the doctors to pay attention. 

When the pain suddenly just vanished, they finally brought me back. It took TWO DOSES of morphine to get the pain to finally stop, lol

Anyway, turned out my gallbladder had decided to be infected. I decided that was grounds for TERMINATION. (Had to get it removed, lel)

So yeah, nearly died there for a bit. Took a while to recover from the surgery, but I’m doing okay now. I still have some side effects and stuff but yeah, so that explains the first month or so of silence.

Then recently, I’d been having issues with work. At the moment… I don’t have enough money to pay rent. My bosses were understanding at first about the whole, you know, barely-survived, healing-from-surgery thing… but my body heals slowly, and now they think I’m slacking off. As a result, I’ve only been getting ONE DAY of work a week, maybe two if I’m lucky. Tryna make me quit, but I can’t get another job. So, for the last little while I’ve been dealing with that. It’s been insanely stressful and I don’t have enough money to pay any of my bills, much less my rent. Seeing as I only just managed to escape homelessness in December, I’m… kinda fucking panicking.

But uh, yeah. Anyway. Post will be soon, hopefully. Just needed to explain my absence. The amount of love and support this fic has gotten makes me SO happy and if I weren’t so constantly stressed about finances I’d probably be posting weekly LOL

Also, no spoilers but the season four special???? AAAAAAAAAA

Right. See you guys!

Chapter Text

It was hazy as you began drifting back into consciousness. Vaguely, you could hear Macaque calling to you.

“Wake up, little human~” 

You smiled, sleepy but relieved to see Macaque’s familiar smirk hanging over you. He chuckled a bit, touching your cheek with a featherlight hand. 

“ There we go. How are you feeling, hm? I fixed everything. You should be just fine now.”

Before answering, you took a moment to assess the way you felt. There was still a bit of a lingering chill, deep in the darkest recesses of your being, but overall it was much… warmer. It felt like you were better. It felt like relief.

“I feel better,” You assured the shadow demon, moving to sit up. Macaque assisted you, standing and taking your hand in his to pull you up with him. Once the pair of you were up the demon would pull away and head for the kitchen. Following after would result in him cheerfully pushing a warm mug of tea into your hands, with a wink and smile that hinted at that playfulness Macaque seemed to always have.

“Drink this, little Candle. It’ll warm you up… brighten your flame, eh~?” He’d chuckle, ruffling your hair despite your attempt to bat at his hand.

“So… what did you do?” That question had been on your mind since you awoke. What kind of things could demons do to a human’s soul that would change it so drastically? Make it cold, make it warm. Make it bend, break, mend, heal… That seemed like… well. Like powerful magic.

“Hm? Ah, well… Nothing much. Just my usual charm~” Macaque answered, chuckling lightly. That… wasn’t really much of an answer, though. He caught your disapproving look and huffed, rolling his eyes.

“Alright, alright, let’s see… how to explain this to a puny little human~, hmmm… Right. So basically, your soul is a culmination of your being. I’m pretty sure even dumb humans know that. There’s two major parts of your soul, the Hun and the Po. Eh… some scholars say it’s just the two parts, some say there’s three Hun and seven Po, but regardless… different parts. The Hun is that part of you that ascends into the afterlife, or to reincarnation. The Po is the part of you that stays behind, in the body.” 

Macaque paused, gauging your expression to see if you were following. After a moment he’d nod and continue. 

“Now, That’s the suuuuper basic explanation, but it’s just about the only way I can think of to explain it to you. As for what I actually did, well, I examined the strings of your soul, both Hun and Po, and found where the infected portion was. The part where sh-... this other demon… took hold of you. Don’t, ah, don’t worry, it was mostly on the Po part!” He grinned, waving a hand, though you weren’t sure you fully believed that.

“And you… cleaned it off, or something? I’m not infected anymore?” You asked, still frowning a bit. The black-furred demon nodded, shooting you finger guns and a lazy smirk. 

“Damn right. No one gets to infect my light but me.” The nickname still made you blush, you… still hadn’t really decided about that proposal.

The rest of the night was spent talking, hanging out. Tomorrow was the big premiere for Macaque’s show, but he assured you all the rest of the prep could be finished beforehand. For now… it was just… you and him.

The concept of a soul wasn’t exactly new to you. Everyone talked about them, it was one of those concepts like love, or success, or personality that were so often spoken about and referred to. But the idea of it being… Macaque had used the word ‘infected’... it sent a shiver down your spine. Who had infected you? Why? 

Did every demon in this damn city want you to serve them or something?!

It also… felt like Macaque was hiding something. That also wasn’t a new concept. He was always hiding something. But this was different, because whatever he was hiding had him feeling uneasy. After all this time, you recognized his tells. The way his tail twitched slightly, how he’d deflect, the subtle shift in his voice.

Macaque was worried about something, and that made you worried.

“Is everything alright, little candle?” 

You glanced up, blinking in confusion. “Huh…?” The shadow demon was staring at you with a raised eyebrow and a flat expression. He was pointing at something, and when you looked down you realized you’d long since overfilled your cup for more tea… it was making a pool on the table. 

“Oh— Oh, fuck, hang on!” You jumped into action, quickly moving to set down the kettle and cup to grab some towels. Your demon ‘master’ was right there next to you, grabbing a towel and returning to help clean up the mess. Luckily it hadn’t gotten on the carpet yet.

Wordlessly, the pair of you mopped up the spilled tea. You took care to dry off the table so it wouldn’t warp or stain. As you patted the towels to sop up the water, your hand touched Macaque’s. In classic, cliche movie scene fashion, the two of you glanced over and locked eyes for a split second.

With an embarrassed laugh and a flush of your cheeks, you moved to pull away… But his hand caught yours, the claws lightly denting your skin, and pulled it closer. 

“You know… speaking of souls and fate,” Macaque hummed, his golden gaze intent and focused solely on you, “you still haven’t answered my proposal. It’s been a while… are you planning on just never answering?” He asked, chuckling, though the way the demon’s expression remained intense took a bit away from the lighthearted sound. 

“I-… there’s been… a lot going on, is all.” You answered, a bit uncertain. You looked down at the tan-furred hand holding yours, the way his claws were so gentle on your skin so as not to leave a mark. Used to be, Macaque wouldn’t care if his claws pricked a bit when he grabbed you. But over the last few months, working for him and then with him, spending time with the shadow demon…

…He’d gotten gentler. Kinder to you. You were still his ‘thrall’, still stuck with him, but… you found you didn’t mind it so much now. He wasn’t the villain you thought he was at first. 

“Macaque…” You looked back up at those golden eyes with a soft frown. He wasn’t the villain you thought he was… but he still hid parts of himself. Like his eyes. Those weren’t his… you could tell they weren’t. 

“Yes, little Candle?” The demon answered, one eyebrow raised with a slight cocky grin, though the expression was intentional… carefully crafted to hide his nerves from you. 

“Show me your real face.”

—

Macaque hesitated at that, his eyes widening slightly. He hadn’t expected… he’d thought maybe his human would ask for more time, or maybe- a bit too optimistically- that they’d finally agree to be his. But no… like always, his light never failed to surprise him. 

‘Show me your real face’… did they even know what they were asking? Macaque didn’t show his true features for a reason! He liked having control of what others could see of him… but… if it was them, maybe he could bear it. 

“…Alright.” Macaque sighed, lifting his free hand to wave it across his face slowly. The glamours dropped, revealing his face in all it’s genuine… whatever it was. 

Macaque stared at his light, waiting for their expression to shift into disgust, or maybe mockery. The six colorful ears he was named for were now in full view, pinned back slightly with hesitance. One eye was now the purple it was naturally colored, reflecting like the cosmos themselves… while the other…

The other was milky white, an old, jagged scar cutting his eyebrow in half and dragging down to his cheekbone. 

The demon waited. He watched his human’s features shift into surprise, taking his true appearance in carefully, before their brow furrowed into dis—… no… not disgust. Something… softer. Macaque scowled, tail thumping on the couch self-consciously. “There’s no need to pity me—“ He began indignantly, before cutting off as a gentle hand reached up to cup his face on the side of his blinded eye. 

“I’m not pitying you,” his human murmured, leaning in a bit with that soft expression still on their face, “…I’m admiring you.”

That shocked him. His ears fluttered slightly, perking up and forwards towards his light. Macaque, the suave demon who always knew exactly what to say… he was at a loss for words. 

They… didn’t hate his real face?

—

You stared into the gorgeous violet eye, your thumb gently sliding along Macauqe’s cheek under his white one. He clearly expected a different reaction… and that upset you. 

He was handsome regardless. Even more so now, actually! He was even more handsome, because this was him. Macaque’s true face, with no mask hiding it. 

Your admission earlier had rendered him speechless, staring at you in shock as those pretty ears fluttered a bit and focused on you. 

…Yeah… it was time to give your answer. 

“Macaque…”

“Liu.”

“-hm?” You stopped, eyebrows furrowing a bit deeper. Liu…?

“My real name. It’s Liu Er Mihou.” Macaque supplied softly. 

You smiled and nodded, giving a gentle hum of acceptance. “Liu, then. Liu… I accept your proposal.” 

Chapter Text

For several seconds, you smiled as Mac-… Liu… stared back at you in shock. He was clearly processing your words… maybe he hadn’t expected that. No, he definitely hadn’t, hah… and yet, you’d given it. You were certain now, seeing his true face, seeing him . 

“…Are you sure?” Macaque finally asked softly, his expression softening with his voice as he lifted up his clawed hands to take your face in them carefully. Those colorful ears fluttered a bit, swiveled towards you and listening intently. “Being a demon’s mate isn’t something you can change your mind about. This isn’t like a mortal marriage.” He warned, his voice growing just a bit more rough as his violet gaze flicked down to your neck for a moment. 

“If you’re sure, I’ll Mark you as mine. Like our little binding ritual, but permanent. You won’t be just my thrall or servant, you’ll be mine. Forever .”

Macaque was being so serious, so solemn , and you didn’t want to break the moment… but you couldn’t help but laugh softly. “What is this… a YA novel? So dramatic…” His little speech sounded like an omegaverse fanfiction or something— but at the same time, it certainly made your stomach flutter with butterflies. And if any demon was going to be dramatic, it would be Macaque after all. 

The monkey demon huffed softly, leaning in closer. “You don’t understand… the more animalistic a demon is, the more animalistic our instincts. Humanoid demons mark their mates, too, but they like doing ceremonies and traditions and all that stupid stuff. Not me, not us . You’d be marked, and you’d be mine , and if anyone tried to take you from me I would protect you with my life.”

That certainly made your cheeks redden again. But… it didn’t discourage you. A wedding wasn’t really your style, traditions were good but there wasn’t time in your busy life. And… all that would just keep you away from Macaque for longer, anyway. 

“…I’m certain,” you promised, looking into that one purple eye that glittered like the cosmos, and the other that was milky white like snow. 

Macaque let out a long, slow breath, nodding slightly. “…Okay. Then I’m going to mark you. It’s… it’ll hurt. Are you ready for that? I’ll be as gentle as I can be, and we’ll bandage it up right away.” His voice had taken on a more feral shift to it, the words rough and husky. His fur was ruffled slightly, and the grip on your face was slightly tighter than before. 

It was clear he was trying very hard to control himself, and you appreciated the effort. But… “I’m ready. You don’t have to be gentle, I can handle it.” You promised, leaning in to touch foreheads with him. 

Your hands lifted to run through the dark fur on either side of his face, brushing along way set of three ears. The gentle touch there made Macaque shiver and he growled softly, though the sound wasn’t one of warning. His claws pulled away from your face and wrapped firmly around your wrists, pulling your hands down and away. 

“Not yet… my turn first,” he rumbled, his gaze piercing into you now. The shift from his almost timid demeanor when revealing his true face to you, to this, was… hah. Well. It certainly added more butterflies to the growing collection in your stomach. 

You held still as he let go of your wrists, one hand moving to gently tilt your chin up and to the side while the other pulled slightly at the collar of your jacket to expose your neck. The slightly cool air of your apartment was replaced by warm breath as Macaque leaned in, nuzzling his nose and face into your skin for a moment. 

“…Last chance… to back out,” He whispered against your neck, the faintest hint of fangs brushing by when he spoke. Didn’t sound like it to you, hah— last chance was several chances ago. This was what you wanted… what you both wanted. 

“I’m ready.” You assured, reaching up a hand to tangle your fingers into the fur on the back of his head. 

Macaque chuckled lowly, his tail curling back and forth behind him like a cat’s as he leaned forward into you. The weight of his body pushed you down flat on the couch, pinned beneath him. You couldn’t see his face, but you imagined it looked very possessive . “ Good little Candle,” He rumbled, the words vibrating against your neck, “don’t hold back, pull my fur if you need to.”

And then Macaque’s fangs were sinking into your neck, right where it met your shoulders. You let out a gasp of pain as you shifted, grabbing at his shoulder with one hand while the other grabbed and pulled at the fistful of fur you’d tangled your fingers into earlier. Macaque’s grip on your chin and shoulder held you still easily, a low growl of satisfaction escaping his throat. 

It burned, in that way any wound first burned when you get it. The sting of broken skin and hot blood, though the sharpness of Macauqe’s fangs helped to keep the pain of your Mark contained to a small area. That didn’t matter much to you— the feeling was strong enough to keep all your focus on that one spot, the bite of a demon….

You liked it. You liked it… a lot . 

He pulled away after a moment more, giving the bleeding mark a gentle kiss. “ Good human~… you handled that well, my light. Are you okay?” He asked softly, pulling away to finally look into your eyes again. Some of your own blood stained his lips and teeth as he smirked at you, but that weirdly didn’t upset you. It was actually… kinda… hot? 

Maybe you’d read too many vampire romance webtoons…

Either way, you smiled back at him and nodded, reaching up to feel the now sore spot on your neck. “I’m fine… I don’t feel any different, is something supposed to happen?”

Macaque sat up, pulling you up with him. His ears swiveled in different directions, though they always kept coming back to focus on you. He stood, going to grab some bandages from the kitchen while he answered. “Well, since we were already in a binding contract, the focus of it just shifted. If you look at your wrist, the chain tattoo should be gone. If you hadn’t been already bound to me, the Mark would have done that fun little light show my magic did when we first met.” 

You looked down at your hand, and… sure enough, under the chain bracelet he’d given you as a ‘courting present’, there was no longer any delicate, inky marking of links encircling your wrist. 

“So can you still order me around?” You asked, raising an eyebrow at him in amusement. Macaque chuckled, returning to you with an amused light in his violet eye. 

“Oh, I absolutely can~ sure, now you’re allowed to refuse , but that doesn’t mean there wouldn’t be consequences , little Candle. Planning on being rebellious , hm?” He teased, flashing those fangs at you again. Macaque carefully disinfected the bite and bandaged it, the soft fabric soothing on your raw flesh. 

“Maybe~” You retorted, smirking back. Hah, so you were technically free of his command now… not that that mattered to you. No, you were still his, and he… he was yours. Macaque was yours , too. 

“Good. It wouldn’t be fun if you didn’t~” Your mate said with a laugh, pulling you into his lap. Macaque nuzzled into your neck on the other side, pressing a few kisses along the skin as he held you close. The way his tail curled around your ankle was so damn cute. 

The shadow demon seemed to be quite pleased with himself, those gorgeous ears of his fluttering a bit as he cuddled with you. 

It was adorable. 

“Oh, am I just a bodypillow now?” You asked with a soft chuckle, running your fingers through his dark fur. It was so soft, and that signature scent of mangos and spice filled your nose from being so close. “You gonna add me to your nest of pillows?”

There was a deep rumble of a laugh from the demon below you, his head turning so his violet good eye could gaze at you with the hint of a crooked smirk beneath it. “Maybe I will… you gonna complain, little Candle?” 

The answer didn’t need to be spoken. It was getting late now, the day long over and night already half moved on from the pair of you. Time passed so slowly, and yet so fast… Like words spoken into the wind, this moment was fleeting. But that very thing is what made it so precious, so meaningful. You were certain there would be many more of these, adding to your growing little hoard of priceless moments with Macaque— especially now that he’d fixed whatever it was that was wrong with your soul. 

For now, though, you were getting tired… and you did have Macaque’s big show debut tomorrow, too! 

“How about we go now, then? Take me to your nest, Liu… let’s go to bed.” You murmured into one of his ears, smiling as the way it sent a shiver down his spine. 

“ Our nest,” Liu corrected, adjusting to pick you up bridal-style as he stood and grinned again, “as you wish, my pathetic little human~!”

“You’re the worst !”

“I know~”

—

It was time. Time to finally make his move on the brat and his friends… torment the kid a bit to show him exactly what a bad idea being Wukong’s student was. 

Macaque exhaled a low breath, his face solemn. He watched his human… his mate… work, running around and preparing the last of what he’d told them to do for the show. They were truly skilled as a production manager, even if Lee only considered them an assistant. Such wasted potential, honestly…

Not anymore. After this show, after Macaque put the fear of gods into MK, the Six-Eared Macaque was going to make sure Director Lee had a similar… spiritual experience . One that would make him realize their true ability. If Liu didn’t have him resigning and leaving the title of Director to his little Candle by Monday, then truly Liu had let his own skills slip in the last few centuries. 

“Your cloak, Li— Yingzi !” 

“Mm-? Oh, thank you~” Macaque blinked, snapping out of his planning as his mate approached holding the brown and red cloak. The mystic monkey- currently disguised as Yingzi, of course- leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to their forehead. “Good little human~”

“Yeah, yeah— just put it on so I can see if it needs any adjustments.” They retorted with a laugh, pushing his face away playfully. Macaque complied, of course. He watched them work: fixing his cloak, arranging the backdrops, checking the audio and lights. Of course Macaque would be doing most of it all with his magic, but why bother using a theatre if you didn’t use the theatre? 

Soon enough, it was time for the show. 

The lights were set to dim, but bright enough for guests to find their seats. People were filing in. The curtains were drawn, and all was ready. Macaque took hold of the Ghostlight Lantern, feeling its magic swirl and connect with his own. 

He heard his little human coming, so the hug didn’t surprise him when it came from behind. But Liu didn’t expect the question that came with it. “…You’re not going to kill them, right?” They asked, that genuine concern in their voice. 

It was so hard to be evil when his mate sounded so damn cute being good. But… luckily for them, he had no plans to take the kid out. Not anymore. After last time… Well, Macaque realized MK didn’t deserve that, at least. 

But he still needed to learn a lesson. 

“No, I won’t kill them. I promise. I won’t even hurt them that badly, I’m just going to scare him, okay?” Liu promised, glancing back at his mate with a reassuring smile. “The kid needs to learn that his teacher is bad news, and he won’t listen any other damn way.”

That assured them, even if they still didn’t like it. His mate let go, nodding and giving Macaque a smile. “Break a leg, Liu.”

—

The play was… interesting, to say the least. It put some things into perspective as you watched the tale unfold… though your main focus was MK and his friends. You’d grown relatively close to them- not part of the gang, but you could consider yourself in perhaps the role of a recurring side character- and seeing Tang, Mei, and Pigsy all get sucked into the lantern was, uh…

Well it was wierd for one thing. 

And MK , poor MK. He didn’t even realize. You knew the kid could be a bit… oblivious , but… well, you could see why Macaque felt the need to tell MK this story. Even if you disagreed with the method. 

Every other guest enjoyed it, of course. The Hero and the Warrior did great on the sales side of things, you just knew Lee would be overjoyed… but that wasn’t really your focus right now, was it?

MK came back after the performance was over. You watched from backstage as Macaque talked to him, then taunted him, then—

Fuck! He didn’t say anything about destroying the place—

“Hey!! Stop breaking things!” You started to shout, stepping out from backstage— only for a clone of Macaque to melt out of your shadow and quickly pull you pack to safety before a chunk of splintered wood the side of a chair slammed into the place you’d just been standing. 

“This is not the time!” The clone hissed, shaking its head. “We’ll fix it after, promise, but you’re a fragile mortal and we’ll be damned again if you get crushed by a piece of your own stage.”

There wasn’t really any arguing with him, much less fighting. You did it anyway, though. 

“What about MK?! He’s a fragile mortal too! You could kill him—!”

“We promised not to, and we’ll keep that promise. We won’t even hurt him much.” The clone insisted calmly, frowning. “Tough love is necessary, sometimes.”

Tough love? Like forcing a kid to fight shadow forms of his friends?! 

Well, it didn’t last long, at least. The clone flickered away as Macaque summoned it back to the fight, but the fight ended soon after. 

…your theatre… your lantern. They both laid shattered before you. MK and Macaque ran out of the theatre, leaving you and the others staring at each other. 

“Zhu…? What happened?” Pigsy asked, rubbing his head and looking around. “Where’s the kid?”

“Who broke everything?! Are we in danger ? Quick, come here, Pigsy and Mei will protect us!” Tang added, motioning for you to climb off of what remained of the stage. 

Mei seemed to be the only one looking at you suspiciously. She glanced at the lantern, then to you, then the theatre with a hum as he rubbed her chin. “Do you know what happened here,” she asked, adding your name to the end with that serious tone she got so rarely. 

Anxious, you shook your head. “N-not really— All I know is MK and some shadow thing ran out the side entrance!” You told them, pointing towards the door MK had followed Macaque out of. Tang and Pigsy started there immediately, though Mei stared at you a moment longer before joining them. 

And then… you were alone. 

…Or so you thought. 

—

The show had been earlier than most, but by the time Macaque finally returned he would find his human hard at work despite the late hour, angrily cleaning up his mess. 

For the second time that night, Liu felt a pang of guilt in his chest. First seeing MK tear himself apart, now seeing how upset his mate was…

This was a bad idea, wasn’t it? No— not a bad idea… it had been good. It just wasn’t… the right idea. Damn it. 

“Little Cand—“ 

“ Don’t .” 

Macaque stopped short of approaching them, grimacing. Yeah… definitely not the right idea. “I didn’t mean to—“

“ I JUST said don’t .” They snapped, turning and brandishing their broom at him. Heh… the same one they’d hit him with, all that time ago. “You never said ANYTHING about destroying the theatre! You never said ANYTHING about destroying the Ghostlight! You broke everything !”

Okay… so they were angry. Very angry. This was… definitely not how Macaque had hoped his first day being mated with his human would go. Didn’t they get how important this was? And the theatre could be fixed! No big deal!

“Well, the Ghostlight Lantern isn’t actually destroyed,” Macaque corrected, climbing up onto the shattered stage and waving a hand over the scattered pieces. They reformed in his hand, good as new. “See? And as for the theater, we can fix it! It’s not the worst thing ever, love-“

“Oh, can we? ” His little human scoffed, turning and moving towards the seats now to sweep some more debris up. “It’s gonna cost a fortune . We’ll be out of business until it’s fixed. How could this get any worse?!”

Liu sighed, turning his back to them as he went to set down the lantern. He’d been about to do so when there was an odd sound… the sound of his little Zhu’s broom clattering to the ground, and… clapping?

“Oh, bravo— braVO ! Encore! What a performance !” A cold, sadistic, familiar voice crowed. Macaque felt his fur stand on end as he whirled, lantern in hand. 

His human was staring at him, eyes wide and confused as their body stayed stiff and unmoving. Paralyzed in place… with icy blue strings encircling their wrists, their ankles, their neck and waist. The puppet strings led back to the hand of a man standing just behind them. 

He wore a grey-blue pinstripe suit, his cold blue eyes practically glowing, with black and silver hair and a smile… a smile that would scare any demon or god. 

Oh no.

“Heh— thanks, bud. Show’s over, though, I’m just on my way out.” Macaque said with a chuckle, trying to play it off. Don’t show any reaction. Couldn’t show any sign of fear. 

“Oh, I don’t know… I think you should stay . My Lady has need of you, simian… you and that pretty little lamp… aaaaand ~”

The man who was not the Mayor slowly turned his head towards Macaque’s mate. A burning rage overtook Macaque. They were HIS! He would protect them—

“LEAVE THEM ALONE —!”

He launched himself at the not-Mayor, snarling, claws extended— but the bastard caught him by the neck with his free hand and slammed him into the ground. Macaque gasped, grabbing the man’s wrist with grit teeth. His gaze flicked to his little Candle, his light, his mate — and all he saw were a pair of terrified eyes, staring back at him soundlessly. 

“Well now, how sweet ~”

Chapter Text

Alright everyone! The votes are in, the week is over, and it’s time to announce which option you lovely readers chose!

Option A, going with Macaque and LBD, was given 9 votes.

Option B, going with the Gang, was given a whopping 21 votes!!!

With these votes in mind, it’s clear what you all want. Who’s ready to go on a journey to the west?!!!!

I don’t know when the next chapter will come out as this portion of the story will require much more research and attention to the original plotline, but rest assured I’m working on it now! Thank you all for your support and your love, it’s made me so happy ^^ feel free to leave any comments or suggestions or things you want to see in the next portion of our tale!

CandleLily

Chapter Text

It was strange… how familiar the sensation was.

It was cold . It was sharp . The strings dug into your skin like razor wire, the icy blue glow tingeing your blood a slight purple. Why did this feel so familiar… when you had no memory of something like this happening?

There was nothing you could do as the man who sounded like your nightmares gripped Macaque’s neck and slammed him into the floor. Even MK hadn’t managed to land a real hit on the monkey demon— Macaque! You tried to shout, but nothing came out. No sound, no movement, no proof you were even alive. Your mate looked at you with fear in his eyes, something else you’d never seen before. 

“Well now, how sweet ~” 

The stranger purred, cackling as he looked between you and Macaque, a grin as wide as his face plastered on like some kind of mask. He made a motion with the hand tied to your body and you started to move, giving the pair a bow and pirouetting before running through a few more ballet moves you didn’t know the name of. 

Each tug on the strings was painful, and yet your body moved with the utmost precision and skill. 

“Let— ngh- let them go! ” Macaque snarled, attempting to claw the man in the face. He was simply bound by blue chains, the floor around him and your tormentor beginning to glow that same blue glow as a magic circle inscribed itself into the broken stage. 

“Why would I do that~? If there’s no one holding the strings, the poor thing would simply… cease to be~” 

As a demonstration, he ‘cut’ the cords a few inches from his hand. The strings remained tightly coiled around your form, but with no puppeteering you simply crumpled to the ground. Macaque screamed your name, reaching out for you. 

Where was your breath…? Where… where was your heartbeat…?

Once more your body moved, slipping back onto your feet into a ballerina’s resting pose. The strings had been reattached to the man’s hand. 

“Now~ Let’s go home, shall we? Enough dawdling.” With Macaque chained, your controller could let go of his neck and instead move to brush off imaginary lint from the blue pinstripe suit. He raised his hand and snapped… and you vanished into freezing, white, oblivion. 

—

Macaque snarled as he and his mate were dragged away by the creepy puppet. The teleportation was freezing, but soon enough he and his Candle were brought before the Lady. 

The Lady Bone Demon. 

After being resurrected, Macaque didn’t think he’d ever have to see her again, the bitch. Sure, she’d demanded a favor for her help, but it wasn’t like she could stop him from simply tossing away the key and doing his own thing. She’d been sealed away, after all. 

Well, apparently not anymore. 

And even worse, now she had a grip on him and his light. Once they surfaced in whatever realm she’d summoned them to, Macaque immediately looked around for his mate…

There ! 

They hovered behind the Lady herself, pulled into some pose by the strings wrapped around them. Their eyes were closed and their head was bowed. Their hands were pressed together in front of their chest like they were praying and their feet were pointed down. His love… his little candle— they seemed…

…They seemed empty. With closed eyes it was hard to see any sort of life or… anything , but he couldn’t see them breathing. He couldn’t hear them breathing… he couldn’t hear a heartbeat , he couldn’t— “No— No! Zhu! Little Candle! You BITCH! What have you DONE TO THEM?! ” Macaque screeched, straining against the chains that held him on his knees to the floor. He glared with the fury of all the darkness at the Bone Demon’s young host, snarling and fighting his restraints. 

“Oh, do be calm, Liu Er.” 

The girl hummed sweetly, her hands folded away in her sleeves. She was as unbothered as ever, unfazed by anything. Unafraid of the Six-Eared Macaque. 

“They are nothing more or less than they’ve ever been. I must say… I didn’t expect you to make things so easy for me, though. My dear puppet found you so quickly…!” She chuckled, stepping closer. 

“But that is good, isn’t it. After all, you do owe me something, do you not?” Macaque grit his teeth, realizing there was no getting out of his bindings. 

The only way to save his mate was to play along. So he chuckled, giving the Lady a thin half-smirk. “Well, you know— I was gonna get around to it eventually , y’know? Aren’t you all about patience—“

“Don’t insult me, Macaque. I know you strayed from your duty .” She said sharply, her smile vanishing for a moment. “Luckily, you will have a chance to rectify your sin. You will have a chance to redeem yourself.”

The Celestial Primate snorted softly, grimacing. “Oh good.” He drawled, glancing every now and then up at his light. They still didn’t move… didn’t breathe… 

“Oh yes, it’s very good.” She cooed. “You’re going to be my champion, little Monkey. You’re going to bring Sun Wukong and the boy to me .” 

Woah. Hold up. Wukong?! HELL no!

Macaque leaned back, recoiling from the idea. He laughed in disbelief. “You— you think I got that kinda power? Lady, you’re crazy! Nah. Two rounds with the golden bastard is enough. I’m done with that now.” He refused, shaking his head. 

“You don’t have a choice, simian.” She exhaled softly, tilting her head and withdrawing one hand from her sleeves to motion up to his mate. “Not if you want your little… toy back~ Besides, I’m a merciful ruler. You two will be working together.”

The Lady Bone Demon motioned again, and this time Macaque’s little candle opened their eyes. He stifled the intense sigh of relief that threatened to escape when the sound of breathing and a heart beating once more caught his keen ears. 

They were still alive. 

“What—… what do you mean by that? They have no magic, they’re not a demon or a monk— how could Zh— the mortal be any use to you?” Macaque questioned, face screwing up in confusion. He looked up at them, trying to send some sort of subtle reassurance to them with his gaze. 

His mate quivered with fear, confusion, and pain. He could smell it on them— see it, even hear it. They tried to speak, but no sound came out. 

“That is none of your concern, little ape. For now, you’ll be staying right here until I need you. As for your toy…”

She turned to smile up at the terrified mortal, chuckling softly. 

“…We have some work to do.”

—

When you next awakened, you were back in bed. 

For a moment… it felt like everything before had been some sort of nightmare. Some terrible, horrible, awful nightmare. 

And then you tried to move. 

Unlike before, you were able to move— it was just that moving meant a sudden spike of pain searing up your arm. Your fingers, wrist, and elbow were all crusted with dried blood in a ring around each one, right where the joints connected. Moving your head resulted in the same pain from your neck. 

Still, persevering through it, you finally managed to make it to the bathroom. Flicking the light on, everything became clear. 

…Or well, at least your reflection did.  

Dried blood stained your clothes and skin, the injuries all uniform and symmetrical throughout your body. Every joint had a cut that ran in a perfect circle around your body. 

There weren’t nearly enough bandages to cover them all, so the next best thing was to slowly and painfully strip down, turn on the hot water, and deal with all of it sitting down in the shower. 

As the water streamed down your face and body, getting darker and darker pink the lower it ran, you tried working through the strange amalgam of fractured memories that preceded your awakening. 

…There was… some creepy guy. He appeared after Macaque’s fight with MK. And then there was darkness… and then a child? Why was there a little kid looking up at you from a throne?

And Macaque… your mate… looking at you with an expression you’d never seen on his face before. 

And then…?

Then it was a blank. 

No answers came to you by the time you’d finished cleaning each wound. 

No answers came to you by the time you’d dried yourself. 

No answers came to you by the time you left the bathroom. 

It was dark outside when you looked out the window. Your phone was nowhere in sight in your bedroom… you searched the rest of the apartment and didn’t find it anywhere. 

Oh! The theatre— you’d dropped it when those strings…

…yeah. 

You pulled on a jacket- carefully- and crossed the street to go find it. The theatre was… a disaster, just like you remembered it. Wait— no. There was something different... Things had been moved. The mess had been cleaned up a bit.

Searching through the wreckage, you finally found your phone under a large piece of set design that had been stacked up with other broken bits. 

…That’s weird. Why was it dead? Hadn’t it been close to full charge? And it didn’t look shattered, so that wasn’t the problem.

Phone in hand, you returned to your apartment. You plugged it in to charge and went to grab some food. The fridge… smelled awful.  

Fuck— had the milk gone bad?! 

You quickly shut it again before the horrific smell could make you gag, turning instead to the cabinets. There was some cereal… you could eat it dry. 

How had the milk gone bad so fast…? Why was your phone dead? 

A deep, gnawing sense of dread filled your chest. The screen flashed bright white as your phone finally charged up enough to turn on. With only 2%, you picked it up… and stared at the date and time in dumbfounded shock. 

How… how had two weeks passed?!

And…

Where was Macaque?

Chapter Text

After spending about half an hour panicking and trying to piece together what had happened in the last two weeks, you finally managed to control the wild rash of emotions enough to calm down. It was important… you had to think, and all the frantic pacing wasn’t going to help.

There were several texts on your phone, of course. Vanishing without a trace after the theatre had been destroyed was pretty worrisome. Lee’s voicemails— who left voicemails anymore? Damn he was old— had started out angry, then worried, and finally angry again. Many of them accused you of destroying the theater on purpose. After the fifth angry message, you stopped listening to them. 

The other crew mostly left missed calls and dozens of texts. All of them were worried, though it seemed Sam had started to believe Lee and thought you’d been the reason the theatre was destroyed.

Then there were the messages from MK, Mei, and Sandy. None of the others in his group had your number, so that made sense. But those three were quite worried as well. 

MK asked if you’d been kidnapped by ‘a creepy shadow demon’, which surprisingly wasn’t too far off, and other outlandish theories. 

Mei started out asking a few probing questions about the incident and your involvement in it. 

Sandy just offered you a place to have some tea and to talk about things if you were struggling with stress or anxiety about what had happened… as well as pictures of cats.

As you read their messages, a strange… tug, caught at your heart. It made you cringe, feeling like the same cold sting of the strings that had left these unique injuries on you. The tug felt like more than just that, though. An instruction whispered to you, not truly there and yet inescapable. 

Follow them. Learn about them. Befriend them .

Funny. Where had you heard that before? You grimaced softly, shutting off your phone to allow it to finish charging while you packed some things: some clothes, money, and a few personal effects. You put your chain bracelet on, feeling comforted by the touch of the cool metal. Macaque was in danger, you knew that much. And to save him, you had to obey this mystery order you’d been given. 

Given how late it was, you were surprised Sandy was still awake when you made it to his ship and knocked on the door. 

“Helloooo! Who’s knocking at this hour- oh! Hello, Zhu!” The massive gentle giant greeted, smiling when he looked down and spotted you. “Geez, it’s great to see you! We’ve all been worried, you know. After that whole thing at the theater the others told me about, no one had heard anything. Did you get all the cat pics I sent you?”

You smiled up at the cheerful man, nodding tiredly. “I did, yeah… I was wondering if I could take you up on that offer to talk and have tea. Sorry it’s so late…”

“Not at all!” Sandy stepped aside, motioning for you to step inside. Several cats came up to greet this newcomer to their home… though, oddly, when they got close enough to smell you they hissed and stayed well away from you instead. 

Sandy didn’t seem to notice, shutting the door once you were inside and turning to lead the way through his ship’s insides to a living room that seemed rather small for someone like him, but felt cozy and comfortable nonetheless. “Take a seat, I’ll get us some tea brewing. Then you can tell me all about what’s bothering you.”

There was a moment of silence between you as Sandy bustled about, humming softly while brewing a lovely-smelling herbal tea with hints of something floral. You watched the cats sadly, wishing they would come closer so you could pet them. Why were they so wary…? Did they sense something about you?

Did they know about the whispers ?

Eventually, though, Sandy took a seat opposite you, holding out a steaming cup of tea with an angelic smile. Mo hopped up onto his shoulder, regarding you with curious narrowed eyes. “So,” Sandy began as you sipped from your cup, “what’s going on? Everyone’s been really worried.”

It was hard to figure out where to begin… or what to tell him. How could you even start…? What could you even say…? Without your input, words flowed into your mind. They were cold, frosty, but as you opened your mouth to speak them the words melted to sound like your own.

“There was a ghost in the theatre… or that’s what we all thought. Turns out it was a demon… the one MK and the others had to fight two weeks ago. After he trashed the theatre and nearly hurt MK, I got scared and ran away to hide,”

You explained, 

“I only just returned… but I keep having these nightmares, like that demon blames me for losing that fight somehow. I’m scared he’ll come after me… and I didn’t know who else to go to. You guys beat him once, so I thought if anyone could protect me it would be you…”

So much of it was lies. How did they spill from your lips so easily, as if you were an actor on the stage? However it happened, Sandy seemed to believe every word. He looked at you sympathetically, reaching out a hand to pat your shoulder fondly. 

“I understand,” he hummed, saying your name gently. “You don’t need to worry. I’m sure as soon as MK and the others hear about this they’ll help you. That demon apparently caused a lot of trouble to MK not too long ago, so if he’s after you for whatever reason we can help!”

Tears sprang into your eyes, as ingenuine but convincing as your words had been— and yet they almost were genuine, because lying about Macaque like this made you feel queasy. 

He’s missing ! 

You wanted to shout. 

He’s a prisoner! He’s in danger! He’s being held by Her!

Whoever ‘Her’ was. You still didn’t have a name for Her, though deep within a whisper provided one that surely wasn’t right… ‘Mistress’ . 

She was not your master. You did not belong to her! You belonged to Macaque, that’s what the Mark was for. You belonged to him, and he belonged to you…

Sandy was speaking. You blinked, focusing back on your host. He was saying something about… about going to a forest to get some special flower for tea?

“…And I saw one of the spider demons there, the Huntsman. He was after the flower, too! He kept wanting me to fight. My little forest buddies helped me out, which was nice, but I didn’t want anyone to get hurt! Not the Huntsman or the cute animals.”

“Kinda lost my temper a little there, hah… you know, it’d been a while since that happened, but even someone like me can’t always keep calm! It’s alright though, the Huntsman decided not to fight. He even left most of the flower for me! And of course, I gave him a nice tea bag to go. Just like I always tell the others: anyone can be our friend, we just have to give them a chance.”

You quickly nodded along, smiling as you dipped your tea to keep from having to say anything. It seemed he hadn’t noticed you’d lost concentration. Hearing talk of a spider demon made you nervous, though, remembering being turned into a venom-zombie when the Spider Queen took over the city… but he was continuing before you could ask about them. 

“Anyway, you can stay here for tonight if you like. Tomorrow everyone’s going out to the desert to spar and train! You can come with us, and explain everything to the others then. How’s that sound?”

The way Sandy’s smile felt infectious, his voice so calming, it soothed your worries. You smiled back at him, nodding and taking another sip of tea. “That sounds great, Sandy. Thanks.”

Tomorrow… you’d talk to MK and the others tomorrow. Convince them to let you stay with them… and do whatever it was She wanted you to do. Something about tomorrow made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, though. It felt like… something big was going to happen. The wind outside changed for the worse, or… something. 

For now, though, the big blue softie showed you to a guest room and made sure you had everything you needed to be comfortable before retiring for the night. As much as you felt like you would never get to sleep… somehow, it happened anyway. 

Whatever icy dreams chilled your mind that night, they’d be forgotten in the morning, when you and Sandy headed for the desert. 

Time to meet the group as a whole… infiltrate them, do whatever it was you were tasked with. 

Chapter Text

Hello, everyone! Really sorry for the long absence, haha— I’ve hit a snag. For any of you who’ve been reading a little while, you’ll probably have noticed I’m pretty constantly dissatisfied with my writing… and that it takes ages to get chapters out. And when they do come out, they’re not long. Or good.

Well— I’ve decided to try something new… and hopefully it’ll help. I’m asking you all, my lovely readers, if any of you would be interested in becoming a co-writer of this story!

I know how I want things to go, but my biggest struggle with writing anything has always been my inability to stay on track on my own. It doesn’t help that I have a horrible memory.

So here’s how I’m hoping to do this.

If you’re interested in potentially joining me working on Candle in the Dark, send me a dm over on Tumblr at lilylauk. In the dm, send me a writing example and and introduction. I’ll respond with some questions and, if we seem to click, we can start writing!

If this ends up working out and I do get a co-writer, I’ll update the fic’s summary and tags to include them, as well as credit them on all future chapters. I’m hoping to find someone I can create a fun partnership with. perhaps in the future we could even write more fics!

Uh…. I hope this all makes sense. Sorry if this isn’t professional or whatever, I just really want to get this story out to everyone!

I’ll hold this opportunity open for a week, if I don’t get any messages by then I’ll extend the deadline by another week. If nothing from there… I’ll suck it up and try my best to get the next chapter out ^^* So— first deadline is the 21st of September, 2024. I hope to hear from y’all soon! ^^*

Chapter Text

The request I put in last week was a success. I received way more responses than I expected from people who were interested in helping me finish this story, and I am truly grateful to all of them!

I want to thank @titanicdragon , @asherbakugou , and @theidiotwitch for being the top three prospective co-writers for my fic.

To everyone who applied— and to @sleepingdramaqueen who helped spread the word farther— thank you so much!

It’s with great thankfulness and relief I can announce that @theidiotwitch will be my co-writer from now on with regards to A Candle In The Dark! I hope the next chapters will be coming out soon. To the second runner up, @asherbakugou, I hope to potentially work with you in regards to other fics!

The next chapter for Candle In The Dark should be out soon, and I hope to increase both the speed and quality of the chapters from now on!

Chapter Text

Your dreams were filled with darkness and ice. The whispers you’d been hearing continued to lap at the back of your mind like waves steadily eating away at a beach, while your sense of self within the dream shivered. ‘Sense of self’, and not ‘dream self’, because there wasn’t a physical world in this dream. There wasn’t a physical you. There was the cold, and the darkness, and the whispers.

You realized this wasn’t a dream, though. Or- it was, but not just a dream. No… it felt like a memory. Your sense of self reached out, stretching out the concept of you in all directions in an attempt to find something… anything.

The further you reached, the more the cold ate at you. The harder you searched, the less you found. It seemed to go on like that… go on forever. 

Exhausted from the search, you withdrew back into yourself. You curled around the core of your being, gathering closer and closer around what made you, you. Smaller and smaller, denser and denser, your sense of self coalesced… 

And then… something changed.

A flicker of something formed within you. A sense of light, of heat.

Like a candle in the dark, even this tiny flicker of life seemed to fill the air with light. The darkness and cold recoiled from you, but only for a moment. It hissed soundlessly, staring you down without eyes. It bit at you without teeth, and slashed without claws. The tiny light that was you couldn’t bear the attacks. It struggled, and faded. Smaller and smaller, the warm thing weakened, until all at once the darkness and the cold consumed it entirely. 

There was no more reaching out… no more reaching in, either. You were frozen in place, and the cold was worse now. It coiled around you like wire, made you twist to its desires. The darkness became darker, the cold colder, and you began to feel suffocated. Tighter and tighter the wires drew, tighter and tighter, until—

“Ready to go?” Sandy’s voice cut in, and you blearily opened your eyes. He called out your name a few times, waiting until your weary gaze met his. “Mornin’! Looked like you were sleepin’ real deep, sorry about that. It’s already noon, I thought you might need the rest… anyway, we’re heading out to the desert to meet the others soon!”

You nodded, sitting up and yawning. “Ah… okay. Thanks, Sandy.” The memory of that dream was fading, replaced by just a deep feeling of unease. At least there was no whispering right now. Trying to remember the dream just now was too difficult, though, so you ignored it to get ready for this reunion with MK and the others.

The unease never faded, but at least it was just unease and nothing worse. Even with the desert heat beating down on you and sticky sweat clinging to your skin under your clothes, the environment wasn’t the real problem. No… the real problem was your mind. As soon as the small group of heroes came into view, the whispers began again. Dread stirred in the depths of your stomach at the sound.

Befriend them. Use them. Befriend them. Use them. Befriend them. Use them.

The voices wouldn’t stop, wouldn’t go away. They wouldn’t stop repeating those four words! The bandages wrapping your joints rubbed painfully on the strange cuts they covered, and your hand started to hurt. It throbbed in time with your pounding head, and massaging it did little to help. Once, not so long ago, that feeling would have been a squeezing sensation, the dark links of the magical chain ‘tattoo’ coiling around your wrist in reminder… but not anymore. 

Macaque didn’t have you under that spell anymore. No… She did. Whoever She was. Thinking about Macaque made your heart ache right along with all your other grievances.

You wanted to go home. You wanted to see Macaque. For once to feel a sense of peace.

Just where was he? Was he okay? Did She… did She hurt him…?

You tried to focus on that, but the splitting headache returned, reverting you to your task at hand. 

“You okay there, Zhu?” Sandy caught your attention, and you looked up at him with unfocused eyes. Craning your head to try and meet his gaze, you were grateful for his large stature. It blocked the desert sun, helping at least a miniscule bit with the heat that bore down on you, allowing you to actually focus on his features while squinting marginally less than if he hadn’t been in the way of the unforgiving light.

“I’m fine… I guess I just feel a little out of place. Both… from the desert, and being here while you guys train. I’m not a fighter or a hero like you guys.” You responded a bit sheepishly, giving the large, muscular man a hapless shrug. That was a good enough excuse, right? He seemed to believe it, at least.

That was good. You were already feeling guilty enough about using them to appease the whispers. What else could you do?! They chewed at the back of your mind like termites, endlessly digging deeper and making your mind hurt unless you obeyed. It was distracting, and all the more worrisome when you and Sandy reached the rest of the group. MK was already practicing his fighting, so when he saw you he simply grinned and waved with excited relief before going back to his training. The others, though… Tang smiled warmly and nodded, while Mei’s and Pigsy’s faces were filled with a mixture of relief and skepticism.

Skepticism… did they know? Gods, did they already know?! It couldn’t be, they couldn’t know— it… it was just the odd timing, surely. Yeah… just the timing. After all, you vanished right after what happened, and just reappeared out of nowhere! That’s all… breathe. Just breathe.

Mei opened her mouth to speak, but Pigsy beat her to it. “Where the hell were you these last few weeks?! We were all scared to death! After the incident at the theatre, you just vanished.”

You cringed a moment, giving the scolding pig demon a weak smile. “I-I’m sorry… I ran away after you all left. I was scared the… the demon would come after me- so I ran away and hid. I was panicking so much I didn’t even take my phone or any clothes… I’m sorry I worried you all.” The lies spilled out of you as easily as if from a water faucet. And it didn’t stop there. The interrogation continued rapid fire:

“Where did you go?” Pigsy demanded. “Did you know what would happen?”

“Why didn’t you come to us, or contact us even?! We could have helped you!” Mei added right after. “Did you know what was going on? Did you know the demon?”

“W-well, I-“

“How’d you get all those bandages… did the demon hurt you? Did you know who it was?”

“I-I can’t really-“

“Why not? Did he force you into silence? Did you have something to do with it?! Why didn’t you tell us anything? Why didn’t you show up before now?!”

It was getting overwhelming. You staggered back, eyes wide. Mei had gotten carried away, she wasn’t trying to be mean. There was just so much to explain, and so many questions-

“Woah, woah, woah! Give little Zhu a break, Mei-Mei.” Sandy cautioned, resting his large hands on your shoulders. You looked up at him again, and he smiled down kindly. “Take your time. Answer when you’re ready, little dude.”

It took a few moments of deep breaths for you to catch your composure, before you could actually decide what to say, though, the words began to flow out once more. 

“I ran away to the outskirts of the city. I left my phone because I didn’t know if it could be, like… traced or something, you know? I was scared of the demon… everyone at the theater thought there was just a ghost, we didn’t know it was an actual demon who wanted to- to hurt people! Much less you guys… I don’t know who it was or what it wanted, but I didn’t want to risk it finding me by contacting anyone. I only showed up now because… because I just couldn’t stay away any longer. I needed to make sure you guys were okay, I felt so awful about you getting hurt after I helped put together a show that ended up being dangerous! I was terrified of the demon… it threatened me, it thought the reason it failed was because of me. It was ugly, and scary, and- and I just- I had to hide!”

How was this all coming out so easily….? How was it all so fake?! Each word came out like it was your own, but the thoughts rolled into your mind already formed and ready to be spoken, They seemed to believe it, too, mostly. Why couldn’t they tell it was a lie?! He wasn’t like that at all. Macaque wasn’t ugly, he wasn’t scary, he’d never hurt you! 

It was getting to be too much, your heart began to race and your eyes widened. Your chest started to heave as you fought the overwhelming chill of the whispers that grew louder and louder inside. It was like every fiber of your being was being frozen stiff, and thinking grew harder and harder. Ringing echoed in your ears, and everything hurt. Somehow you’d stoppped being able to see anything, even with your eyes wide open. 

Where was Macaque? Where was he- why were you lying so easily? Why was this happening?! Where had you been for the last two weeks, why did you hurt so much, why were there so many voices inside?! Help… help…! Liu! Help me—!

Warm hands took you by the arms, and for a moment you thought it was him. Him… your mate. Your protector… your love. 

But it wasn’t. Your vision cleared, and your registered the hands were too large to be his, anyway. It was Sandy, and he was gently rubbing your arms while looking at you with much concern. He was speaking, but it took a while for the words to break through the ringing in your ears.

“…’s okay, Zhu, it’s all okay… just breathe. Don’t worry, little friend, you’re not in trouble. You’re not in danger. We were all just worried, we’re sorry for overwhelming you…”

Only once you’d calmed down did Sandy pull away. He looked towards Pigsy, Tang, and Mei disapprovingly. They give you their apologies, but… the three still don’t seem convinced. They don’t trust you, and they shouldn’t.

Make them trust you.

How?! How were you supposed to do that?
None of them said anything else. Sandy suggested that you and he should go back to the flying ship and get some water. That seemed like a much better thing to do than stand in the blazing sun and be interrogated, so you agreed without hesitation. Gods… this was already horrible…

As Sandy and their theater friend walked away, Pigsy, Mei, and Tang shared glances. “Did you two believe that? It seems damn fishy. It’s not just me, right?” Pigsy asked, his expression conflicted. “They’ve always been a little odd, but I never thought they were dangerous. But something just feels… different, now. And if this Macaque guy MK told us about didn’t find them, how the hell did they get so hurt? And why are the injuries so weird?”

Tang nodded sagely, stroking his chin. His glasses reflected the desert sun as he considered the rush of answers before. “It's all very… vague.” He agreed, sighing lightly. “It feels like they might be lying, but I’m not sure why. And I’m not sure where they could have gotten so badly injured, but the fact that they won’t tell us how or why is definitely strange. In any normal situation, one could believe our friend Zhu was in an abusive relationship of some kind. But not only have we never seen any sort of partner or family member around… I’ve never heard of a domestic incident causing injuries like the ones they have.”

Mei glanced over towards Zhu and Sandy as the pair walked off, returning her gaze to Pigsy and Sandy once they reached the ship and vanished from view.

“It’s something bad, right? It’s gotta be. They’re too closed off. Why doesn’t Zhu want to talk about this? Why is it they suddenly showed up, too? After all the weird stuff going on lately, I’m having a hard time just… trusting this.”

Tang cleared his throat, fixing his glasses a bit, “You have to admit, though… if it is something bad, isn’t it natural to not want to talk about it? Don’t get me wrong Mei, you have a point. But if something like this happened to me, I wouldn’t want to be too keen to share so fast. Still… we know so little about them. It’s best to be understanding but cautious.”

Mei's expression faltered a bit, growing softer. On one hand she understood what Tang was saying, but on the other- she would have told MK at the very least, any of them. So why can’t this- Zhu do it too…? Sure, she and MK were best friends, and sure, Zhu was kind of the odd one out here… maybe Mei could see why they’d be reluctant to share.

“This situation could have been solved, easily, if Wukong was around. Of course he had to be on his “vacation”. Letting MK train alone with only vague instructions and crazy items that cause a ruckus, typical. He’s no king, he’s a grifter.” Pigsty groused, snorting dismissively. Mei looked over at Pigsy with a puzzled expression. What did Monkey King have to do with this? Whatever.

Meanwhile, inside the ship, Sandy handed you a glass of water.

“Kiddo, don’t worry. Everything is going to be just fine! They may seem a little on edge, but some things have been happening on our end that stressed all my buddies out. It’ll all work out, I’m sure. Once they wrap their heads around your situation, you’ll see: they’ll help ya in any way they can.” 

Sandy crouched down to meet your gaze, giving a massive thumbs up in reassurance.

It was comforting, a little… er, well… okay, it was barely comforting. But it was nice that Sandy was trying to boost your morale. Even if that nagging, chilling feeling was still entangled inside your chest like a frozen bush of thorns. That piercing headache and aching feeling from your hand returned, persistent and repetitive. Wincing, you tried to massage your head a bit. 

It did nothing, but Sandy’s gaze filled with concern at the motion, “You okay there, friend? I’ve noticed you doing that for a bit now… how about I make us a nice cup of hot tea? That can do wonders for all sorts of problems!”

The aching in your head made it hard to answer, but you tried regardless. “I—... I think I’ll take you up on that, Sandy… thanks. Something to drink sounds really good right now, even if it is a bit hot outside for tea. Maybe staying in the shade where it’s cooler will… help.” Sandy smiled, nodding and vanishing into the kitchen to put the water on. It was only then you remembered the glass of water still in your hand. Sighing softly, you took a few deep draughts from it.

Alone for the first time that day, you glanced out the window to your right. The desert laid out before you with the city in the distance, gleaming like a beacon of life amongst all the dead sand. It was reassuring to see it there, where you knew the citizens were bustling along with life. No matter what happened, MK and his friends had protected that city, had protected you, from demon after demon. Surely, you thought even as your headache rose with the silent hope, surely they could protect us even from this creepy, cold threat…?

From the city, your eyes drifted back to focus on the sparring match between Mei and MK. Stepping outside the air conditioned interior of the ship, you rest your hands on the railing of the ship and lean over it slightly to watch the fight better. Their moves ever so experienced, but also reckless. You weren’t a master at any kind of fighting, but from seeing demonstrations in the past you could tell that they didn’t have the best form. Even still… It was amazing how two young adults holding such power were able to wield it almost effortlessly. They might not have perfect form, but they obviously knew what they were doing. Their attacks were quick, decisive, they didn’t hesitate. They fought to protect everyone with that power…

Compared to that… compared to them, what sort of use were you?

Your eyes felt weighted, sinking to stare instead at the floor as your mind wandered. What good was someone like you, compared to them? There was no magic in your bones. You had no training, no mystical powers, no skill or prowess in battle. When that creep had shown up after the play and taunted Macaque, you’d been unable to do anything. Not a single fucking thing. 

In those two weeks you couldn’t remember, how many times could you have done something if only you were strong enough? There was no way of knowing, but it ached anyway. ‘What if’s were swirling all around, digging their edges into your hurting mind all the more. 

How could you blame them for their suspicions? How could you possibly get them to trust you?! After all, you showed up unexpectedly in their lives once already- just some normal, random weirdo from the theater… and now here you are: out of place, in the middle of this crazy situation, with no explanation- just like before. 

Just like in the theater. Just like with Lee and the others… What good were you to them? What good were you to anyone? It was so fitting, that nickname of yours. Zhu… Just a forgotten, used up candle, to be burned at both ends when they needed a convenient light and tossed away when they didn’t. But now you weren’t hidden away in the faux safety of a small theater. Now, here you were, a little stub of wax in the middle of a massive desert. You weren't anyone special. You weren't a descendant or reincarnation of someone important, you weren’t chosen to have abilities. You were just…

You. 

You can't even remember the early years of your life. What was it like, before your wick had ever been lit? What was it like before the wax melted away? Were you ever good for anything—

Something inside broke you from your swirling thoughts. Something cold, and sharp, and smug.

You are good for something, little Zhu. You are the light that will guide the world into perfection. Now look up. Look up, and witness the beginning.

Your eyes rose in automatic obedience, but there was no time to question or dread that fact. No… no time at all, because that beacon of life you had admired from afar only moments ago… Was gone.

Ice and darkness overtook the entire city, and a massive form rose above it. MK and the others didn’t notice yet. You stared, wide eyed, opening your mouth to shout and warn them. There was no sound, though. Only pain, as your mind exploded in agony to stop the attempt. You crumpled, gripping your head in silence, though your eyes never looked away from the approaching form.

Somehow… you knew exactly what it was. Somehow, you knew exactly who.

It was Her. It was the end. You, in your uselessness, your helplessness… you couldn’t even warn the others.