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Macaque never had anyone to rely on in his life, especially after the Great Sage, his first and only friend, abandoned him a long time ago. He was blinded by hatred, anger, and vengeance toward his former brother, whom he thought he could trust. They were supposed to be best friends, fighting demons together through and through.
He would do whatever it takes to not get hurt by anyone again, even if it means being alone. He believed the concept of friendship was useless because whenever one gains more power and popularity over the other, if you are not useful to them, then they will most likely not be there for you. Speaking from experience, these have been the principles Macaque believed in for many centuries until he met MK.
Macaque used to believe this noodle delivery boy was just a random boy that Monkey King pointed to as his successor and who gained Monkey King's powers as well. At one point, Macaque even tried to steal MK's powers to get back at Monkey King.
MK and Sun Wukong have a lot of similarities. However, if there is one thing that separates these two, it is that MK is fiercely loyal to his friends. He never abandoned his friends, even if the situation looked dire.
Macaque saw that MK was a million times better than how Wukong treated him in the past.
As MK tried to convince Macaque to join the heroes in saving the world, he initially refused. But MK pointed out to him that he does not have to be the hero of this story.
"...then be a Warrior.
This 1 phrase shook his senses down to the core. He realized that the kid wasn't trying to force him to be the role he wasn't meant to be, but MK was just reminding him of the role he was supposed to be. A warrior that fights for what is right, not for himself. He finally felt understood by someone. Finally, relenting to MK's words, he agreed to join the heroes.
No matter how much he hated to admit it, he wished that his bond with the kid hadn't started very rocky. Macaque had put the kid's life and his friends in danger multiple times. But deep down, he respected the kid's genuine kindness.
…
A few weeks have passed since that fight against the Lady Bone Demon, and most of the cities have been rebuilt from the previous destruction. MK had already finished all his deliveries, and Pigsy had granted the boy some time to cool off, saying that he earned it. The boy got on his Tuktuk and set out on his own to the nearby park.
Mei was currently attending an event that her family must attend, so she couldn't accompany MK for the day, even though she wanted to. MK also felt too tired to train after a hard day at work, so he texted Monkey King that he wouldn't be training today. The latter of which responded with "ok. no worries bud. as well as a thumb emoji
MK smiled at his mentor's message to him. It's clear that he's trying to make up for his mistakes by looking after his student's well-being.
MK decided to park his tuk-tuk at the nearby park where he could relax under the tree and start drawing. He opened his sketchbook and took out his drawing equipment. He flipped through the first few pages and took his time watching all the drawings he did of his friends. Monkey King, Pigsy, Tang, Mei, and Sandy appeared the most in his sketchbook, which meant they were very important to him.
Then, as he flipped through the last few filled pages, there was... Macaque. So far, MK has only drawn him twice. Probably because MK never looked up to him after Macaque attempted to steal his power as well as put his life in danger many times in the past. But MK started respecting Macaque after he helped MK save the world.
MK decided to start drawing some Macaque sketches on the empty pages while he ate the lunch Pigsy packed for him. He was quick to draw accurately without actually having the model there with him.
The wind caressed MK's skin as he filled the rest of the pages with pictures of Macaque, himself, and his friends. However, soon enough, he noticed something. MK looked down at his shadow. Something seemed wrong with it.
MK examined closely at his shadow, which seemed to not be his shadow at all.
"Heya, kiddo." The shadow extended to a full monkey size.
Before he could realize it, he was spooked out of his life by the Six-Eared Macaque's sudden appearance from the shadow. Macaque shifted his shadow towards the trees where he finally exposed himself to the outside world from his shadow portal.
MK took a few seconds to recover and finally turned towards the shadow monkey, "Macaque! Stop doing that would ya?" MK said bitterly, which caused the latter to laugh at his reaction.
"Why? It's less boring," Macaque said as he ruffled MK's hair.
"Well, no! What if I get a heart attack or something?" MK pouted.
Macaque chuckled and patted his shoulder, "You're still a kid, bud. You don't get heart attacks. Besides, the only way you would get a heart attack is if you keep eating that, " Macaque glanced towards the lunch bag that had the Pigsy's Noodles logo in it. MK felt red on his face and hid the noodles from Macaque's sight.
"I-it's not like I had a choice!" MK whined.
Macaque shrugged, "Whatever you say, kiddo. Although I guess I can't complain either. The noodles were good.
MK's eyes lit up, "Right?! Pigsy made the best noodles! I'm so glad that-"
Macaque watched how MK gleefully blabbed about Pigsy and his well-made noodles. The former just let him speak without interrupting.
Reminded him of how Wukong used to talk so much about anything and everything he found interesting in the past.
"... and you could call me again if you ever need another Pigsy's noodles by the way," MK's voice snapped Macaque out of his thought, "I'm always up to deliver them to a friend."
Friend…
Macaque nodded and smiled, "alright, kid. Thanks."
MK looked away momentarily before facing the old monkey, "sooo… how are you doing lately?"
Macaque looked up to the sky and shrugged, "oh nothing much, just a little bit of scheming, as I said before."
"To get revenge on Monkey King?" asked MK, deadpanned.
"Yep." Macaque made an emphasis on the p.
"You two really act like cats and dogs, you know that?" MK said with a sigh.
Macaque cocked his eyebrow, "what's that supposed to mean, kiddo?"
"I mean you two are always fighting."
"So?'
"...Nevermind," said MK, dropping the subject before the situation got worse.
Macaque then noticed the sketchbook MK was using lying close to his lunch bag.
"Hmm..." He sank into the shadows and reappeared in front of the sketchbook. He then snatched the book from the ground.
"H-hey! I didn't give permission to open that!" MK cried at the shadow monkey. The latter replied with a smirk.
"No need to act surprised, bud, you've sent me one of your drawings before," said Macaque as he opened MK's sketchbook. Sure enough, it's filled with Monkey King pictures and MK's friends. Macaque can only assume that this is how he shows his appreciation toward the people he cares about.
"Nice stuff," Macaque said, "I gotta say you have some artistic talent."
"T-thanks," said MK timidly.
Until he finally opened the last few pages... It was the drawing of Macaque that MK drew earlier. He drew Macaque using his shadow powers and also did some cool poses with some of his friends. He couldn't help but smile at that last drawing.
"I hope you don't mind me drawing pictures of you, heh… They're not great... but I just felt like drawing you earlier," said MK, scratching the back of his head.
Gosh, this feels so awkward to say.
Macaque did not verbally respond, but his facial expression showed how touched he was. He gave a soft smile at MK.
"It's… great," Macaque complimented. He then returned the sketchbook to MK.
"Hehe, thanks," said MK, "so... what's going on?"
"Hm?" Macaque's tail swished at the boy's question.
"Why did you decide to see me today of all days?"
Macaque let out a loud chuckle and crossed his arms, "what? Am I not allowed to check in with my favorite student after a while?"
"I am not y-" MK cut himself off before he finished the sentence. He used to deny being Macaque's student, but his words now rang in his ears.
You can never have too many teachers, right?
While MK never justified Macaque's hostility towards him in the past, he still learned something from him. Seeing how Macaque turned out after Wukong abandoned him, MK made a promise to himself to not make the same mistake as his mentor and that he would always be there for his friends.
MK sighed, "Well, I didn't say you can't. I just wonder why. "
"If you want an answer you mortal can understand, then I guess I just want to 'hang out with you." Macaque emphasized the "hang out" with his two fingers.
Dang. This was so sudden.
MK had never hung out with Macaque before, and frankly, he never thought it would be right at that moment. Of course, MK could never reject a friend's offer.
"Really? Um, then sure! A bit sudden, but okay! Let's hang out! Um… Where do you want to hang out, dude?" the awkwardness in the air got heavier.
"Well, you're the local here. You tell me where we should go, bud." Macaque puts his hands on his hips, waiting for the boy's suggestion. Macaque was already accustomed to living with mortals, so he already knew Megapolis very well, but he decided that the mortal teen should be the one to choose where they should hang out.
"Ah, well... maybe we can go to the arcade? I could show you the game I love to play," said MK.
"Hmm... sure, although that place can be really loud for me."
Oh right, Macaque has six ears. The arcade would probably be too loud for him. Sometimes MK forgets this because Macaque always puts on a glamor to hide his six ears.
"You can use my noise-canceling headphones if you want," MK took out his headphones from his bag and gave them to the shadow demon.
Macaque took and examined the headphones before he nodded, "Okay."
And with that, MK quickly ate his noodles and tidied up his things before putting them all in his Tuktuk.
As he entered his tuk-tuk, he noticed Macaque was just standing there looking confused.
"Uh, are you gonna come in or…" asked MK,
Macaque shook his head, "Bud, you know, shadow teleportation is much faster than using this thing."
"Oh... right," MK then got off his tuk-tuk, "but where should I put my tuk-tuk then?'
"I'll take you back here once we're done."
"Alrighty then..."
Macaque offered his hand to MK, and he timidly accepted it. It wasn't long before they both sank into the darkness. It took no longer than 15 seconds before he appeared again in the real world. MK thought it was an unpleasant experience to travel inside the shadow realm.
It was cold and damp.
The only words MK can use to describe it.
As they appeared in front of the arcade, Macaque immediately put on MK's headphones to block the loud arcade noise. Fortunately, his six ears allowed him to still be able to hear the boy.
"Come, Macaque, I'll show you the game me and Mei LOVE to play." MK grabbed Macaque's arm before pulling Macaque along with him.
After going inside the anti-gravity arcade, MK carefully tracked the Monkey Mech arcade game he and Mei played multiple times. The arcade was thankfully not as crowded since it was a weekday.
"So what's this game?" Macaque asked as his tail swayed side to side.
"It's a mech fighting game! You just basically push these buttons to punch or kick your opponent," explained MK to Macaque, the latter of which simply nodded along. He then looked at the other kids that were playing the game and took notes on the moveset.
"I'll insert the coins first, okay? Then we can start playing." MK then took some arcade coins from his pocket and inserted two coins for two players before pressing some buttons. The teen then instructed Macaque to choose his mech, and the latter decided to design his mech similar to the one he uses in real life.
MK felt a little uneasy seeing his mech design and he failed to notice how he jumped back at Macaque's mech in the game.
"You okay, kiddo?" Macaque asked. However with a hint of concern in his voice.
MK quickly regained his composure and said, "Oh, I'm fine! Don't worry," said MK, brushing it off.
Macaque narrowed his eyes suspiciously. However, his concern was short-lived as the game was about to start.
"Okay, so we're about to start and just to be clear, I'm really good at this game but since you are new, I'm gonna go easy on you, okay dude?" MK said proudly, although he knew he lost to Mei multiple times.
"Whatever you say, kid," said Macaque as he readied himself for the battle to start. Using his core memory to remember the moveset he learned earlier,
Once the battle finally commenced, buttons were pushed rapidly by both friends. To MK's surprise, Macaque was really good at the game despite being his first time. Punch after punch, he quickly recovered from MK's attacks and proceeded to kick MK's butt in the game. It was one of the most fun Macaque had in centuries.
"I thought you'd say you're good at this game," said Macaque, eyes still on the screen but visibly smirking.
"HOW ARE YOU SO GOOD?" MK cried as he was losing his HP in the game.
Macaque shrugged, "beginner's luck, I guess."
MK and Macaque kept battling until MK's mech finally lost all its HP and MK lost to a first-time player, which is a big shame for him. Part of the reason he lost was also that he kept getting distracted by Macaque's mech.
"Boy, Mei would laugh at me if she ever found out about this." MK covered his face with his palm in shame. Macaque lets out a chuckle.
"You'll beat me next time, kid."
MK rolled his eyes and sighed. MK then invited Macaque to try other games in the arcade such as the Dance Dance Revolution and Air Hockey to see if he can finally beat Macaque something. Surprisingly, Macaque is good with those too, which frustrated MK more.
Macaque seemed to genuinely enjoy having fun with the teen, although the latter was slowly feeling more exhausted.
"You really need to stop being good at these games because I'm running out of things we should do here," MK said, panting, "Can we take a break?"
"Okay, where to, kiddo?" said Macaque.
"Hm… there's an ice cream store down the street, we should get some!" suggested MK.
"Sure."
MK couldn't help but feel something was wrong with Macaque allowing MK to decide what things they should do together. Part of him asked himself whether there is an ulterior motive behind all this. But another part of him wants to believe this is Macaque trying to reconnect with his former student.
MK and Macaque exited the arcade and headed toward the ice cream store. They ordered two ice creams, MK ordered the mint soda-flavored ice cream, while Macaque ordered the mango-flavored ice cream.
"Mangoes, eh? So that is your favorite flavor, huh? Guess you learn something about someone every day," said MK, licking his ice cream and accidentally got brain-freeze by biting into it excitedly.
Macaque bit into his ice cream as well, saying, "you still have many things you don't know about me, kid."
"Such as?"
"I know you sneak in on Pigsy's fridge every night to get some snacks."
MK puts on a shocked expression and quickly turns red, "t-that's not even about you! And how did you know that?! Were you watching me the whole time?!"
Macaque let out a laugh and walked past the kid without answering his question. Truthfully, Macaque does like messing with the boy from time to time and seeing his reaction. It was not because of malicious intent, but he genuinely enjoyed his company.
MK recovered from the shock and returned to his old self as they finished their ice cream and threw it away in the nearby trash can. MK mostly did the chattering about the places he and Mei usually hang out while Macaque gave simple replies and some "mhms" in their conversation.
The next thing they knew, they ran into a familiar alley. A place where MK learned about Macaque's past and his history with Monkey King.
The theater.
The place seems to have been repaired over the last week. MK can't help but feel nervous at the vibe the place gives off because of that one particular event that happened between him and Macaque.
"Hey, look what we got here. My theater! Want to come inside, kiddo?" offered Macaque.
"S-sure! Maybe we can see your shadow play theater," MK said, although he can feel sweat dripping off his head. Macaque secretly took note of how nervous the boy looked but didn't say anything yet. He pulled the boy's wrist with his tail as they entered the theater's entrance. It was more or less similar to what MK remembered. Although the carpet has been cleaned and the walls are fixed.
They finally reached the theater room, which is specifically for shadow puppets. The feelings of dread loomed around MK as his anxiety grew at the place where Macaque once kidnapped his friends. MK had forgiven Macaque for that, but that experience still roamed rent-free in his head from time to time. It was the only reason MK grew more protective of his friends and became more selfless.
He didn't even notice that his breath was getting shallower and shallower
With six ears, Macaque was able to notice this pretty quickly. He knew this might be a bad idea to bring the kid inside this particular place.
"You okay, kiddo? We don't have to enter if you don't want to. I know that-"
"It's fine," MK said, deadpanned.
Macaque wasn’t convinced as he continued to hold MK's wrist tightly with his tail as they walked down the stairs of the audience seat.
They then took a seat directly in front of the stage to get a better view of the theater stage.
"So how does your shadow play usually work?" asked MK curiously, "do you use actual puppets or..."
"I use my shadow powers to display the characters on the screen. I usually just picture the character in my head and my shadow shapeshifts into that character. I can also create scenes by imagining them."
Macaque then showed off his talent by creating a shadow puppet version of himself inside the screen. Macaque tried making it wave, run, and shapeshift, which MK honestly found fascinating. MK could shapeshift into many transformations, but he could never manipulate shadows as it's never been in his power.
"That's cool! I wish I could do that," said MK, "I would have made a shadow puppet show too!"
Macaque snorted, "you don't have that power, bud."
"I know," said MK with a sigh, "but anyway, how long have you been doing this? You know, theater stuff?"
Macaque looked at the ground and tried to remember, "mmm, well, it's been one of my passions since I was your age. I still enjoy it to this day. Y'know, entertaining people with my shadow plays. "
"How come I've never seen your other plays?" asked MK.
Macaque shrugged, "I haven't done many plays in this particular place. Maybe I should. "
"Then where do you usually do it?"
"It's a secret," Macaque smirked.
MK lets out a raspberry noise, "booo."
Macaque rolled his eyes in response. The two then sat quietly and just enjoyed each other's company in the meantime. It was short-lived for MK, however. The teen has been fidgety ever since he and Macaque sat together. Macaque kept noticing this throughout the whole time they started hanging out and he decided he had enough.
"Kid, let me ask you this again. Are you okay?" asked Macaque, breaking the silence.
MK jolted back slightly, "uh, yeah! I'm fine! You don't have to worry about me. " MK then looked away from his former mentor.
Normally, Macaque wouldn't care if it was someone else. But this is MK.
"Kid, you know how bad of a liar you are," Macaque said, refusing to give up this time. "And I know a liar's body language when I see one."
The kid didn't respond. Instead, he just raised his legs to his seat and hugged them tightly.
Macaque sighed, "bud, you can tell me if something's bothering you today. No shame in that. You've been fidgety since a few hours ago. "
No shame in that.
MK wanted to trust him again but it was hard for him to be vulnerable again with these feelings.
"Bud…" Macaque called once again. MK closed his eyes and started shivering a bit. He can hear MK's soft whimpers and tears start forming in his eyes as well. Macaque felt helpless to do anything as he doesn't know what was going on. However, after what felt like hours, MK finally spoke,
"I…" said MK, almost as soft as a whisper, "I'm scared…"
"Scared of what, kiddo?" Macaque puts one of his hands on the boy's shoulder, leaning closer to listen to the kid.
MK took a moment before responding, "...you."
Macaque retracted his hand from the kid in shock but he expected this at some point.
Those purple eyes, those evil smile, those past memories keep flooding in MK's mind no matter how hard he tries to suppress them.
"I… really want to trust you again, Macaque. But... I just feel so scared to trust you again... I don't understand why I'm feeling this way again..."
Macaque stared at the kid sadly. Normally, he ain't the person to be emotional, but seeing his favorite student this distressed made his mood somber. And it was all his fault. He had many chances of getting along with the kid and he just had to blow it all the time.
"You said the same thing to me in this EXACT same place before. You took advantage of my pain when Monkey King left me on his 'vacation' and kidnapped my friends. You then kept attacking us when we went to retrieve the Samadhi Fire. You almost killed me and my friends..." cried MK and buried his head on his knees,” I know you helped us back then and I'm really thankful for that. But I can’t help but feel you’re planning something behind all this ‘hanging out’ stuff today."
Macaque was silent but his heart ached seeing how scared the boy must've felt when Macaque toyed with his feelings, kidnapped his friends, and then terrorized the gang on their journey. Although, in his defense, Lady Bone Demon forced him to do it.
"Did you... hate me, Macaque?"
That question made the shadow demon's heart drop. Hating the kid? Never! No matter how similar he is with his dumb teacher, MK's not him.
"Ah, this sounds dumb," said MK, wiping away his tears, "just ignore what I said."
Macaque could have just left the kid to deal with this on his own since he doesn't like this type of situation. But his heart begged him to stay for his student's sake.
Macaque looked at the stage and back at the MK with a sigh, "kid, do you know why I attacked you multiple times but I never actually took you Lady Bone Demon?"
MK shook his head.
"I was trying to provoke you because I figured it would help you to regain your power because I know you lost it. And you did get some of them back, thanks to me! My life was also under her threat and you know well I couldn't just reject her order. I would die again if I didn't repay my debt..." Macaque explained to the boy who responded with a nod. Macaque was just trying to survive like anyone would as he doesn't want to experience death again.
"But you also know I could've just brought you and your dumb mentor to her if I want to with my shadow teleportation. But I didn't use it because I believe that you’re the one that can defeat her. I’ve never hated you, kiddo, not one bit. You're the nicest kid I met."
MK understands now. Macaque's actions had always been to try to make MK unleash his powers to defeat the Lady Bone Demon. He sniffed and finally looked thoughtfully at the monkey with a subtle smile, "Oh, I- I see. Man, that made more sense. I guess I would've done the same if I was in your position."
Macaque's ears twitched. He never imagined MK doing what he did, even if he was in Macaque's place. He literally put himself in danger just to save his best friend that was engulfed by the Samadhi Fire.
Macaque shook his head, "you'll never do that, bud. You're not me. I can’t be as nice as you frankly but… what I've done to you in the past was also because.. I don't want you to turn like him. Abandoning a friend after gaining power and fame... even killing them."
The shadow monkey then dropped his glamour, revealing the big scars on his right eye and his six ears. He also grimaced visibly at those painful memories of his battle with Monkey King that made him lose his life.
MK finally got to see Macaque's six ears and he got to admit, it looked odd but cool at the same time.
This was also the first time MK got a clear view of Macaque’s scars and it made MK shiver. The huge X scar on his right eye that blinded his vision and some white fur caused by Lady Bone Demon's possession.
“I get it. What Monkey King did to you was terrible. And I promise I won’t turn out like that, okay?” MK said, assuring his former teacher.
Macaque smiled in relief before putting back his glamor to hide his scars again, “I know you won’t, bud.”
MK helped Mei instead of leaving her when she was in danger. In that moment, it was clear to Macaque MK genuinely cared about his friends.
"But I know you can also be better, Macaque. You helping us save the world really said a lot about you.”
“But it doesn’t make me a hero, bud, if that’s what you’re referring to. You are the hero, not me,” argued Macaque. He still hated being associated with the term ‘heroes’ because all he can think of was Monkey King’s betrayal.
MK shook his head and crossed his arm, “you can deny it all you want but we defeated Lady Bone Demon together! Even Bai He couldn't stop talking about you being her hero!"
"Bai He?" Macaque asked, unfamiliar with that name.
"The little girl you saved when Lady Bone Demon stopped possessed her. She's doing alright, by the way. Stopped by Pigsy's more often now."
"Oh," Macaque sighed in relief and felt his tail swaying a bit after hearing the news that she was alright. He did have a soft spot for kids, and he genuinely resented Lady Bone Demon for possessing someone as innocent as Bai He. It was nasty of her. But what surprised him was how he instinctively saved her when she saw her falling.
Could the kid be right about him being a hero? He even saved MK from the possessed Monkey King back then even though he has every reason to not do that.
"But yeah anyway, all I wanna say is... I'm sorry for what I said about being afraid of you… I should’ve known that-”
Macaque immediately pulled the kid close to the monkey's side and shook his head with shame, "Kiddo, this isn't your fault. It was mine. You will ALWAYS be a good kid to me and you didn't deserve what I did to you and your friends. I mean it. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gotten you involved with me and Wukong’s fight. It was my fault I betrayed your trust in the first place. I didn't realize how much damage I caused to you," said Macaque, shakily. Macaque’s voice was genuine and filled with guilt that he had caused himself. He's not one to apologize to anyone but he forced his guts to do it anyway.
“I wanted to hang out with you today because well… you’re still my favorite student. I thought maybe we could at least do something together after what happened. No other intentions. But I understand if you still don’t trust me, kiddo. I wouldn’t either.”
After saying that, Macaque’s embrace loosened a bit to give the kid some space but to his surprise, he was immediately wrapped in an embrace that held him closer to the kid.
Macaque's fur was soft but warm enough for the mortal to feel comfortable in their embrace, MK felt. Macaque also felt peace in their hug.
The boy's not heartless to not forgive him, even if he despised him so much back then. But that was when he did not know his intention. Now that Macaque explained it from his view, he understood.
MK saw no malice in Macaque's words at all this time. This is what their relationship would have been like if Macaque hadn't manipulated and attacked the kid long ago. Macaque's past was so complex and MK can't fully blame him for becoming like this.
"I forgive you, Macaque. It’s alright,” said the teen, patting the monkey’s back, “you messed up, Monkey King messed up, even I messed up. But as long we as we learn from it, we'll be okay. It may take me some time to completely trust you again but... I know I will. I still care about you too.”
Macaque felt much more relaxed as he nuzzled the boy in his arms. He didn’t realize how long it’s been since he felt this comfortable just letting himself be in an embrace and he has the kid to thank for.
He didn't deserve the boy.
The two hugged for what felt like hours and just allowed their emotions to flow like the river. After a while, they pulled back from one another.
"But you need to be a better teacher than using manipulation and tricks though," said MK with a small giggle and wiping away his snot.
"Oh? So you still considered me your teacher, huh?" said Macaque, nudging the boy’s side.
MK shrugged, "perhaps."
Macaque pulled MK and messed up his hair, which prompted some giggles and 'hey!' from the latter before Macaque released him. He won't expect the kid to come to him to be trained as often as with Monkey King, but he promised the boy that he will be a better teacher for him.
"You should clean your face. Those tears made you look like you haven't slept for 100 years," said Macaque, commenting at MK's aging face everytime he cries.
MK snickered while wiping away some of the tears, "you're one to talk. Aren't you like over 100 too or something?"
"I still look great." Macaque smirked.
"Whatever."
They both shared a laugh before Macaque stood up from his seat.
"Let's get out of here," suggested Macaque. He thought that this place is already too much for the kid to handle.
"Okay," MK nodded and stood up as well. Before they even reached the exit door again, Macaque called MK out again.
"Oh, and kid?'
MK stopped walking to look at his second teacher, "Yeah?"
"I just… wanna thank you again. Well, for seeing right through my bad-guy act and trying to reach out to me back then. Y'know that time when you gave that 'heroic' speech? It really spoke out to me," Macaque said, "and I may not be the best guy with this but... you can come to me too if you want to talk about things. Er… if you want to of course…" that sounded better in his head than when he said it. He cringed at his own words but thankfully the kid understood the message.
Macaque knew that MK was still wary around him which is why he's not forcing him to come to him when there are better people like Mei, Pigsy, Sandy, or Tang that he can talk to.
"No more trickery? Impersonation or manipulation?" asked MK, pointing his index finger at Macaque and tilting his head.
Macaque took a deep breath and nodded, "...I promise."
MK smiled in relief and quickly ran next to Macaque to give him a side hug. The kid’s gesture is enough for Macaque to know the kid wants to make an effort trust him again.
Macaque puts on the biggest smile on his face after a long time as he instinctively curled his tail around the kid's waist and returned the side hug. He used to put the kid in danger but now he swore to protect him. Even if he might not be able to trust Monkey King again, atleast he has MK to trust now.
And he won’t betray his trust again.
They exited the theatre onto the busy street together and just enjoyed each other's company in the city for the rest of the day.
…
Before they even realize it, it was almost night time and MK knew he had to go home or he would have to face Pigsy's wrath and a flood of questions. He asked Macaque to teleport him to the park where his tuk-tuk is, to which the latter agreed and quickly surrounded the ground with shadows. They then dipped into the shadow together and came up again to the surface of the place where they met earlier, which was the park.
"That was still very unpleasant," MK thought to himself.
"Welp, I better head off now. It's getting late and I don't wanna worry Pigsy," said MK as he walked towards his ride and put on his helmet.
Macaque nodded, knowing the short-tempered pig would get angry if anything happened to his adopted child.
"I'll see you around, Macaque." MK waved at the monkey that was staring at him.
"Later, kiddo," said Macaque with a smirk on his face, which confused MK.
Soon enough, MK understood why.
"WAIT, WHERE ARE MY KEYS?!" asked the boy, panicking while searching all over his pockets on his jacket and pants, "PIGSY'S GONNA KILL ME IF I LOST THE KEY TO MY RIDE!"
"Oh, perhaps you're looking for this?" with a smirk, Macaque revealed MK's tuk-tuk key in his hand.
MK groaned heavily and proceeded to playfully punch the shadow monkey. The latter dramatically said "AGH, where did you even- never mind. Just stop doing that," said MK with a pout.
"You're gonna have to get used to it soon, bud," said Macaque, ruffling MK's hair and laughing dramatically.
Yep, still his student too.
MK finally headed off back to his apartment while Macaque sank into the shadows after saying their goodbyes. Macaque then teleported to his dojo where he decided to come up with something as a way to make up to the kid.
He's going to be staying up all night to work on this particular gift. He has to make it right for the kid.
Meanwhile, MK quickly drove home and was greeted by an angry pig demon that was upset because MK didn't reply to his texts the whole day, which worried him. MK took longer than expected in explaining where he had been the whole day, especially after Macaque was mentioned. Pigsy panicked, fearing that he might have hurt the kid but MK kept assuring him that he was fine and there were no new scars found on the kid.
His scars were actually recovering.
…
A whole week has passed since MK and Macaque's 'hangout'. MK was hoping he would see Macaque more often but it doesn't seem to be the case. There was no sign of Macaque whatsoever when MK was doing his deliveries, hanging out with Mei, and training with Monkey King.
Did something happen? Did Macaque get in danger again? Did Monkey King do something to him?
Fortunately, all his worries faded away when he saw something lying on his table when he woke up in the morning. It seems to be a poster of a… shadow play?
The Hero, The Warrior, and the Mortal
While the name of the play is more or less the same, MK was intrigued by the use of the word 'Mortal' there. The poster also showed figures of what seems to be Monkey King, Macaque, and… a child?
The play seems to be located at the same place they watched "The Hero and The Warrior" play before. It's also gonna start playing this afternoon.
MK then looked behind the poster, there seems to be Macaque's message behind it with his handwriting. MK read it carefully.
…
Hey, kiddo.
I have something to show you. Come to my theater this afternoon. Possibly bring your friends/family with you but if they refuse then it's okay. I just hope you could come today to my play.
Your teacher,
Macaque.
…
MK nodded to himself. He then rushed to get showered and changed into his default clothes. He then ran downstairs to tell Pigsy and Tang, who were already downstairs to get his free noodles, about the play.
"What?! I've had enough of shadow plays because of that puppeteer-imposter. In case you forgot kid, Macaque kidnapped us in one of his shadow plays!" said Pigsy angrily.
"But Pigsy… he's changed! He helped us saved the world, remember?" said MK, defending his teacher.
"I g-gotta agree with MK. Sorry Pigsy," said the scholar. It was surprising to both Pigsy and MK especially since it came from him of all people, "I can't help but feel bad for him especially after learning about his side of story from that play and our little interaction in the city of lights."
"Tang, I expected you to be better than this! Didn't you remember how he used our shadow to attack MK? And how he attacked you for no dang reason when you were trying to retrieve the ring of Samadhi Fire?!"
"I did! I still spite him for that but I know when he's trying to make up for things when I see them. He helped us save the world and even saved Bai He! Without him, she would've been a goner!"
Before Pigsy could argue further, the door swung open. It was the young girl that Macaque had saved. What a perfect timing.
"Bai He!" MK exclaimed as he approached her quickly, "you're just in time!"
Bai He waved to the 3 people that were in the room, "hi, everyone. Hi MK. What's going on?" said Bai He timidly, who just came to have some noodles.
"You want to see Macaque?" asked MK with a smirk.
Bai He's eyes lit up and she jumped up and down excitedly, "Mr. Macaque?! Yes! I want to see him again!"
"Then you're in luck! Because he's performing a shadow play today, ooo~" MK said with a ghoulish tone.
"Ooh! Sounds interesting! When are we going? I'm so excited," asked Bai He as she jumped up and down excitedly.
Gosh, MK can't handle the little girl's adorableness.
"After this actually! Well, until we get that demon's approval over there," MK pointed to Pigsy with his thumb.
Pigsy was slightly offended by it but he wouldn't dare to yell in front of the girl. Instead, he facepalmed and sighed, "why you- ugh, fine. We can go. Just invite Mei and Sandy too while we're at it."
"Yes!" MK and Bai He said excitedly as they high-fived each other. MK then took out his phone and quickly contacted Mei and Sandy. Fortunately, they were able to make it and they agreed to meet up at the theater. MK sent the location to Sandy as he had never been there before.
The gang that was in Pigsy's noodles then prepared themselves to go together to the theater using Pigsy's truck. Pigsy had locked the restaurant to make sure no one could barge in.
…
Around 15 minutes before the play started, the whole crew met up in front of the big theater. Mei was asking him what was the occasion on Macaque inviting them to his shadow play and she can't help but doubt Macaque's motive once more. MK didn't know the answer as well but he assured her that it's gonna be alright. Mei brought a sword secretly just in case things went south for them.
The gang then walked inside the line to get some snacks for the theater. As expected, MK ordered the most, which made Pigsy groan. Afterward, they located the shadow play theater room and went to find their seats. There were enough seats for them to sit together although the room was surprisingly filled with people. MK sat in between Mei and Bai He whilst Sandy, Pigsy and Tang sat beside Mei.
After chattering to themselves, the lights inside the theater were darkened. The gang assumed the play was starting. Pigsy and Tang gulped nervously, silently praying that this won't be another trap set up by Macaque.
The curtain suddenly opened, revealing Macaque in the exact same puppeteer outfit he wore before, except he did not have his lantern with him this time. MK could see Pigsy, Tang and Mei felt uneasy while Sandy and Bai He looked intrigued, especially Bai He who seemed to be excited to meet her hero.
"Welcome back audience to my shadow play," greeted Macaque with his dramatic theater voice, "so as you all remember, the tale of the Hero and the Warrior tells the tragic fate of the warrior after being cast in the shadow by the hero as he got more powerful and later abandoned him in the dust. A tale of friendship that ended with no hope of reconciliation."
Macaque's shadow puppets recreated the scene from the old Hero and the Warrior play. Referring to Monkey King and himself.
"The Warrior's resentment against the Hero grew and he even challenged the Hero into a battle. A battle that cost the Warrior's life and scarred him permanently. Many centuries passed by and the Warrior was trapped in the underworld, suffering eternal torment."
The screen showed the warrior suffering inside the burning fire of the underworld before a blue light shone on him.
"One figure came to the Warrior's rescue. It was a powerful demon that brought back the Warrior into the world with the condition of bringing her back. Driven by the desire for revenge, the Warrior forgot the promises he made with the demon to look for the Hero that had become a legend throughout history."
It took no detective to know that the demon being talked about was Lady Bone Demon. However, the next thing shown on the screen surprised MK. It was a shadow version of MK.
"On his journey, he met a Mortal who seemed to be connected to the hero and had the same power as him. The Mortal was just a normal human that saved the city multiple times. At first, the Warrior underestimated the Mortal and even used him to get back at the Hero by stealing his power. However, the Warrior was soon defeated by the Hero and the Mortal."
MK figured out that this was his first encounter with Macaque and how he stole his power. It was a very bad start to their relationship.
"As more time passed by, the Warrior felt more attached to the mortal and put him to a test of adversity and friendship. The Mortal proved the Warrior wrong as it turns out he cared about his friends, unlike the Hero."
The gang except for Bai He looked at MK, knowing that Macaque is talking about him right now.
"The demon that saved the Warrior's life finally returned to this world and sought to clean the world from imperfection. To do so, she captured the Warrior and forced him to bring the Mortal to her after his power got taken away."
MK winced at that memory. Especially because it was almost the end of the world with Lady Bone Demon being invincible to MK's powers before Monkey King intervened and brought MK away.
On the other side, Bai He seems to start understanding the story as well. She was the one possessed by the Lady Bone Demon after all. She was not in control but she had watched the atrocious things Lady Bone Demon did with her body. It made her upset to see all this happen and she was helpless to do anything.
"The Warrior was forced to pursue the Mortal and his friends who were seeking a legendary weapon, the Samadhi Fire alongside the Hero, to defeat the Demon. Along the way, the Warrior managed to corner them multiple times but never once did he ever bring the Mortal successfully to the Demon. Why you might ask. The Warrior saw potential in the Mortal so he continued to provoke the Mortal so he could unleash his lost powers. It all worked out in the end and the Mortal had gotten his powers back."
The audience was soon immersed by the shadow reenaction of the whole journey starting from Macaque's encounters with MK and the gang. From the fight with Mei's great great great great, a thousand times great uncle, the separation of the gang, and his encounter with Tang.
"Soon the Demon grew impatient and gave the Warrior the last chance to repay his debt. The Warrior was forced to put the mortals in danger to save himself from her curse. At the mountain where the Samadhi Fire was sealed from its former host many centuries ago, it is also the place where one of the mortal's friends became the new host of the Samadhi Fire."
Mei visibly cringed at that scene. It was heartbreaking for her to realize Monkey King has been keeping this whole thing a secret from her the whole time.
"The Warrior was freed from the curse but the situation had gradually gotten worse. He expected the Mortal to run away from the dire situation but he did not. And instead, he reached out to her to cool her down. The Mortal once again proved to the Warrior that he is not like the Hero."
A smile began creeping up on MK's face.
"The Warrior fled from the scene but he still watched over the Mortal from afar throughout the whole ordeal. As the Demon found out about the Samadhi Fire, she captured the current host as well as possessed the Hero. That is when the Warrior agreed to help the Mortal to defeat the Demon even though it seems that all hope was lost."
MK watched as Pigsy, Tang, and Mei gradually got over their fear of shadow plays and managed to enjoy the show.
"The Mortal then saved the Hero before working together with his friends and the Warrior to save the world. The Demon was finally sealed away and the whole world was saved."
MK and his friends were amazed by Macaque's story-telling skills up to this point. They can't deny it was on par with Tang's story-telling skills.
"Even though the Demon was the one that brought the Warrior back to life, it was the Mortal that showed and brought back humanity to the Warrior. If the Hero was like the Sun and the Warrior was like the Moon in the night sky, the Mortal was like the star that shined on the moon and gave the Moon a new light of hope. The Mortal was the one that saved the Warrior in the end. He was the real hero for the Warrior. The end."
After showing the Mortal up close on the screen; which greatly resembled MK, the curtain finally closed and the show has come to an end. The audience cheered loudly. MK had tears in his eyes as well as his friends. Pigsy was holding back his tears but gave applause nevertheless, Tang and Sandy were crying intensely at the emotion, Mei was smiling throughout the last bit of the show while Bai He was clapping loudly at her hero's performance. MK and his friends were emotional to see their adventures being retold on a big screen. The other audience was also captivated by the play and gave a standing ovation to Macaque. What an amazing ride it was.
After the audience had cleared out of the theater room, Macaque stepped out of the curtain with his hoodie down now, revealing his face to the leftover audience in the room.
MK quickly ran down the audience seat and towards Macaque before tackling the shadow monkey with a powerful MK hug. The latter was taken aback slightly but he immediately returned the hug with a huge smile painted on his face.
"So how was I, kiddo?" asked Macaque, pulling back a bit to see the kid.
"It's your best performance so far," MK said, burying his face in his mentor's cloak.
"You haven't even seen my other plays." said Macaque with a chuckle.
"Doesn't matter. That was… really amazing shadow play. Thank you, Macaque," said MK with tears falling down his face, “and I promise… I won’t leave you like how Monkey King abandoned you in the past.”
Macaque smiled widely. He managed to turn the shadow play theater; a place that MK associated with bad memories, into a place where MK became the real hero of Macaque's story.
Macaque finally earned a genuine friend and in return, MK got his old teacher back and better than before.
"Thank you too, kiddo," Macaque rubbed MK's back in circles to calm the kid's sobs which then turned into soft breathing. Macaque then heard MK's friends approaching them as well and slowly released the boy from his embrace. They were touched by the scene unfolding in front of them, especially Sandy and Tang.
"That was a great play, Mr. Macquack!" exclaimed Sandy, still in tears.
"You got a talent in story-telling, I'll give you that," said Pigsy, folding his arms.
"Yeah, we can see you're really just a theater nerd," Mei added, playfully punching Macaque's shoulder. Turns out the sword doesn’t have to be used after all.
"Thanks for not kidnapping us this time," said Tang jokingly with a sniff, "or even trying to attack us here."
Macaque chuckled and shook his head, "I've moved past that point. I apologize to you all but I thank you all for coming to see me."
Macaque then sees a familiar girl standing next to Sandy. She timidly played with her hair without making eye contact with Macaque. Probably because of shyness. This was the host that Lady Bone Demon used to terrorize the world. Macaque reassured himself that this is NOT her anymore. She is a goner.
Macaque slowly approached her and lowered himself to match her height. Trying to not look as intimidating to her.
"Heya, kiddo. Bai He, right?" Macaque asked gently, "MK told me your name."
"Uh, y-yes! Hi again, Mr. Macaque..!" replied the little girl nervously, waving her hand.
"Did you enjoy my play?"
"Yes! I love your shadow play! It was so cool!" exclaimed Bai He, which caused Macaque's tail to swish.
"Thank you, kiddo. I appreciate it," said Macaque, patting her head with a smile.
"No problem! And um… thank you so much for saving me back then... I've never got to thank you for that. You are my hero!” said Bai He. Macaque's ear winced a little hearing the word 'hero'. The word he despised the most but somehow he didn't correct her this time. Instead, he continued listening to the girl.
"And uh... I'd like to say sorry about… HER doing many bad things to you and everyone here when she was inside me… I saw it all happened and I couldn’t do anything… I wish I was strong enough to stop her…"
Everyone gasped in response, including Macaque.
Macaque puts one of his hands on her shoulder, "kid… no one is blaming you. It was the demon that did that. Besides, I'm okay now and you're okay too. You have nothing to apologize for, okay kiddo?" Macaque poked Bai He's nose playfully, which made her giggle. It warmed his heart to see the girl that had been through so much because of that wretched demon this happy.
Bai He nodded, "Okay, Mr. Macaque," chirped Bai He, with a toothy grin this time.
"Just Macaque, please," said Macaque, correcting her and patting her head, which prompted everyone else in the room to go 'aww…'. Macaque felt embarrassed but that was the least of his concern as long as he knows the girl is alright now.
"Okay… Macaque," Bai He said awkwardly. It might take a long time for her to address someone centuries older than her without formality.
"Well… now that the play is over, how about we get some noodles in my shop? It's lunchtime and I'm sure everyone's hungry," announced Pigsy, which is followed by loud cheers and many 'me's', especially from Tang's side.
"Except you, Tang, you freeloader," retorted the pig demon at the scholar. The latter faked a gasp and grabbed his chest as if he had a heart attack while everyone laughed at those two's shenanigans.
Macaque quickly changed into his normal outfit behind the stage and followed the gang outside where they raced into Pigsy's Noodles. Macaque arrived first because of his teleportation while Mei came next and soon the rest of the gang.
After they arrived back at Pigsy's, he invited them all in and gave them all a treat of noodles. Something Macaque wanted since he hadn't had lunch anyway.
As Pigsy finished cooking up everyone's noodles, Mei invited everyone including Macaque for a group selfie inside the restaurant, they all quickly snuck in to get in the picture before Mei hit the snap button and published it on her social media. She wrote "with my epic family eating noodles after a great shadow play!!" and some emojis in her captions.
The group of friends then chattered amongst themselves. Macaque only smiled at his new allies- no, friends, accepting him in the group at last. He finally experienced the thing that he thought he would never feel again, a real friendship. It was thanks to MK that he finally learns to trust again.
Not more than five minutes after the picture was uploaded, MK received texts from Monkey King.
…
BUD WHY DID YOU NOT SAY THERE WAS A NOODLES PARTY??? AND WHY IS MACAQUE WITH YOU GUYS??! IM COMING THERE RIGHT NOW OK
…
MK snorted with laughter and showed Mei the message, who shared his laughter. Macaque looked curious as to why the children were laughing so MK showed him the message as well. Surprisingly, Macaque lets out a villainous laugh and the others joined in as well.
"Want to prank him when he comes here?" asked Macaque with a smirk. No matter how hard it is for him to admit it, his desire for vengeance gradually got less violent thanks to MK and his friends filling in the hole in his heart left by Wukong. Now they both are just bitter rivals that mess with each other instead of trying to kill each other.
MK and Mei looked at each other for a moment before laughing wickedly, "let's do this," said both of them together as all of them huddled up together with Macaque and figure out their plan to prank Monkey King.