Chapter Text
Sun Wukong knew he was always meant to shine brighter and bigger than the sun that shone down upon the world, its fiery blazing glory watchful. There were few things in said world that were older than he.
And yet, the Monkey King knew he would never be able to catch up to the decades and centuries that the Sun had witnessed before his time. Would never live up to what stories the large ball of fire in the sky would be able to tell if it could talk.
So he wonders why he often finds himself being compared to the Sun despite not being anything like it.
Sure, they shared the same name. But his had meant something else, and the actual Sun itself had more to it than just a name.
Maybe Wukong was overthinking it, just a little bit. It was an inanimate object, after all.
But even some inanimate objects deserved respect. Especially something as old as the Sun.
The Earth, Moon, and Sea all too, had his respect. All things that existed before him. It was a good way to remind him that while he may be able to fight the entirety of Heaven and almost win, brave the very depths of Hell and win, he could never stand to fight against the strength and influence of time. It moved, it changed, and with it, so did he.
The old monkey reminded himself of this every time he would get just a bit too into his head. Immortality was a gift to himself once, but now it was more so a curse of memories he wished he could forget. Memories he wished he could change.
Because that same Sun that had witnessed everything and more so, had also witnessed the six hundred years he was forced to waste being stuck underneath a mountain. One of the few that had watched him struggle.
Usually, Sun Wukong wouldn't be so melancholic. But one look at his old calendar as he passed it with a wide yawn made him freeze for a few moments, brows furrowed slightly in an uncharacteristic downturn of his lips as those unwanted memories resurfaced, just as they always did on this specific occasion.
Today was the day he had been trapped. Almost at least a thousand years ago.
Normally on this day, he would curl up under the blankets of his bed and stay there, tiny monkeys crawling through the window to comb through his fur and cuddle into any and every crevice that they could find, keeping him company.
But he had Mk now. He had to train his protege. And after the past few months to a year that they've had, Wukong wasn't about to let some dumb old memories ruin what should be (at least partly) fun. Nor will he let it screw things up again with his successor. He had come so close to ruining everything when it came to the Lady Bone Demon, and the guilt still ate at him to this very day. So like mostly every day, he shoved it all down to the pit of his stomach and waited for Mk to arrive, sitting at the cliff and looking up at the Sun with a contemplating look.
Thus, leading him to the present.
The Monkey King's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone whistling a merry tune that echoed through the cave that was his home. It brought a small smile to the King's face, and his body relaxed almost immediately. A much needed change of scenery was skipping his way over, and so Wukong stood up with a soft sigh, letting the tension of what the day was meant to be leave his body as he plastered on a grin, crossing his arms and waited.
Not too long after, there was his kid, carrying Ruyi Jingu Bang at his shoulder as if it were a simple military rifle gun and weighed almost nothing. And to the both of them, it really didn't. Upon spotting his mentor, Mk's smile split into a grin, eyes sparkling with that same spark of awe every time they saw each other, as if still not believing he was meeting his idol in person. But it was accompanied with a warm familiarity these days, though it never failed to make the King's stone heart rumble like a mini earthquake of warmth.
A part of him still felt the sting that came with the adoration (You will never live up to his standards. Hissed his thoughts. You will never be a part of his real life, no matter how hard you wish for it.).
He knew what his greatness was. He knew of his own capabilities. That's what scared him the most.
None of these thoughts seemed to reach Mk, however, as he practically launched himself into Wukong's arms, knocking the celestial monkey back a step with a surprised chuckle bubbling out of him. His grin turned just a tad bit real as he patted his student's back.
"Woah. Well hello to you too, bud. Somethin' special happen today?"
Against the Monkey King's chest Mk shook his head, then looked up with that same adoring grin. "No, not really. Can't I just be happy to see my– Uh, you?" He so obviously had wanted to say something else, but in a split second had thought better of it and attempted to cover the slightly embarrassed bashfulness in his smile with a different approach. "I mean, it's been a while since we've like.. Actually trained, so."
Well, Wukong supposed that was true. And also his fault for the most part. After they had dealt with everything LBD left destroyed he had needed some time to recuperate, still feeling the after effects of more than just the fight. But as it turned out, once crashing in his bed, he had woken up a whole week after by accident, waking up to emails and frantic messages and missed calls by his student (Mei had thrown a phone at his face before he had left despite his attempts at denying it, saying it was "just in case". He could still feel the heat of her much deserved anger). Naturally the boy freaked when he called back, attempted to calm him down as best as possible, and ended up having to promise Mk for a training day just for the kid to believe him.
Not that he was complaining of course. But he had forgotten what the scheduled day had been, and so now the concequences were catching up to him.
Either way, the old stone monkey chuckled and peeled Mk off of him gently, before shoving his hand in the kid's hair and ruffling it affectionately. "If you say so, bud. Can't imagine why training of all things would excite you after everything, but who am I to complain?"
Wukong had meant it in a teasing manner. But he must have let something slip, because immediately the light in Mk's eyes died just slightly with something a bit like hesitant hurt and concern as he straightened up from bending over with the weight of his hand. ".. What's that mean?"
Sun Wukong sweated nervously, eyes flicking just slightly. "U-um-"
Back track, back track! His thoughts screamed, his heart leaping. Don't do this to him again!
"Just, well, y'know, I–" A realization clicked then, one that immediately had him panic just a bit with how his words had sounded and why Mk looked so hurt. His hands went up in a placating manner and he looked square into his successor's eyes. "Kid I didn't mean it like that, honest. I'm always happy to see and train with you, that's not what I meant when I said that at all."
Mk blinked. The hurt had thankfully died (You're too trusting for your own good, Mk. Wukong laminated internally), but that just meant his concern doubled. "Then.. Then what do you mean?"
Heavily, Wukong sighed, dropping his arms and gaze to think, rubbing the back of his neck.
Way to start the day, idiot.
He knew he had to be honest. He swore to himself that he was going to stop hiding things to save the both of them unneeded heartache and stresses. But it didn't make opening up easy. Not after how long he spent being alone. Plus, he wasn't ready to spill the whole truth right then, so for now.. Half of it would have to do.
"What I meant.." Sun Wukong started slowly. "Is that I can't uh.. Really see how you'd, have the energy?? For training, I guess?? After like, you know." His hand waved dismissively behind him to the opening of the cave that looked out to the city beyond, and then he cringed with how utterly awkward he sounded. "I dunno how to exactly explain it any further than that."
"Ohh. I see." The relief in Mk's voice made the old king relax, only to tense again upon the slight bit of guilt in his voice. "I bet you are pretty tired still, huh.. I probably shouldn't have pushed you into this, I'm -"
Monkey King interrupted him by placing both hands on his shoulders with an intense look. "No. Don't Mk. Don't apologize, it's fine. Really. I'm not tired, and definitely not tired enough to keep from training you. If you want to train, we will. We can. I won't let a little bit of fatigue keep you from that."
Brown, sad eyes met fierce, golden eyes. They flicked over his face for a few seconds, as if trying to find any deceit. He must have seen something that Wukong couldn't figure out, though, because the boy's gaze filled with a sympathy that almost left him spiraling. Either way, Mk nodded once.
"Okay, Monkey King."
He supposed that was as good of a response he was gonna get. The lingering guilt of technically lying to him again found a home in the back of his mind, but Sun Wukong smiled either way. Part gratefully, part reassuringly. He patted Mk's shoulder and nodded, removing his hands to cross them over his chest with a smirk. "Atta kid, bud. Now, how 'bout we get that training started, huh? I think I've got somethin' you might like."
Interest peaked, the delivery boy rose a brow. "Oh? And what's that?"
A challenging grin spread across Wukong's fangs. "A race."
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Student and mentor found themselves standing atop one of Flower Fruit Mountain's many peaks out looking the island and ocean surrounding them.
Mk was bent over, panting slightly from the previous scaling that he had been forced to go on without much explanation, and Wukong waited patiently for him to catch his breath, arms crossed over his chest with a smirk that never left his face.
"Ha, ugh, okay," Despite still trying to gasp in air, the kid finally straightened himself and squinted, leaning on the staff in an attempt to keep himself balanced as he looked over at his mentor. "Why are we.. Up here exactly?? Was.. That meant to be the race??"
Wukong laughed and shook his head. "Pfft, what?? C'mon bud y'should know me better than that by now. That was nothing compared to the real deal." He fixed his gaze on Mk with a raised brow, a hint of true concern beside the playful challenge dancing in his eyes. "You sure you're up for this?? If climbing a mountain leaves you this winded then–"
"No, no, I'm okay!" Mk interrupted immediately, almost frantically. He pointed an accusing finger at his teacher, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Do not try to put this whole thing around on me, I'm the one that asked you for this remember?? I just wasn't expecting that part, that's all!"
Again the old king couldn't help but to admit that he was right, and simply gave a lighthearted roll of his eyes in response to it. The kid was a lot smarter than he gave himself credit for. "Yeah yeah alright, I hear you mister smarty pants."
Mk nodded satisfactorily, then turned his attention to the horizon, lifting a hand to block out the afternoon sun. "Good. Now, what is it that we're doing up here again? You said something about a race?"
"Exactly." Wukong leaned towards Mk to point in the direction of the city, feeling the excitement of the race already tingling in his bones. "The objective is simple: Get from here aaaalll the way to the very edge of Megatropolis, and right back to the exact spot we're standing now with a perfect form." He beamed his fangs right down at Mk. "This will not only test your speed, but your balance and durability as well."
"Hmmmmmmm, yeah, okay." The kid had a hand on his chin, eyes squinting at the far distance and lips puckered out in thought. He matched Wukong's grin with a challenging one of his own after a moment. "What if I spiced it up with a bit of a deal??"
At that, the Monkey King couldn't help but to bend backwards with a laugh that echoed. Oh this kid was really testing his limits today wasn't he?? He allowed himself a few more seconds, then wiped at the corner of his eye, still chuckling as he responded, "A deal? With me?? Kid, I don't know if you know this, but making deals with people like me don't usually end well."
The challenge turned almost dangerous in Mk's smirk. "Yeah. Same here, Monkey King. Or did you forget that I'm meant to be your successor?"
This almost made Wukong lose his entire composure. Made him almost lose the good feeling he had been able to grow since this whole thing had started. The frantic thought No, never came and went in his mind and he debated on actually saying it out loud for a second before snapping himself out of it.
Instead, he grinned back. A bit forced maybe, but he hadn't had a good challenge like this in a while. This was going a lot better than he expected. "Alright, I'll bite. What do you got?"
Mk practically jumped with glee and excitement at his cooperation, eyes sparkling as he fist bumped with a "yes!" before going into thought again. "UHHH, um, okay hold on.. OH!" He lit up almost like a lightbulb, as if his mind had clicked pieces together, and he gave Wukong the absolute most devious look the king had ever seen on his face. "If I win, you have to stay small for a whole week!! And you have to stop by Pigsy's like that at least once during that whole time!!"
"Awe what?!" The old monkey stepped back, actually genuinely surprised at how mischievous that was, already feeling his ego draining at just the mere thought of doing something like that. Maybe Mk really was too much like him."But your Dragon Horse Girl friend is going to take like.. So many pictures of me like that!! No way!!"
His student waved his hand dismissively at him. "Oh come onnn, don't worry, I'll make sure Mei won't post them anywhere." He went all devious again, looking at Wukong with what he could rightfully call a shit-eating grin. "Don't tell me the Great Sage Equal to Heaven is scared of losing."
"Wow, you really are pushing limits and buttons today aren't you?" Monkey King squinted his eyes at the boy. There was no real fire to it, but he genuinely couldn't tell why Mk was being so high on his ego today. Maybe it was for racing purposes, or to distract him. Either way, it was working. He'd fallen right into the trap. "You want a real challenge? Fine. If I win, then you have to sneak as much food from your noodle shop as you can, for as long as you can and bring it to me. And when–if for that matter, if you're sneaky enough–the pig man finds out you absolutely can't tell him about the bet until you admit, right in front of everyone, that I am the winner." He smirked, crossing his arms victoriously.
Yeah, that'll definitely teach the kid a lesson about humility.
He was almost even convinced Mk wouldn't take the challenge, at least not until the delivery boy's brows set in a determined line across his eyes, and he held out his hand to his mentor, the wind whipping at the red tails of his mask and locks of hair as he uttered a final word: "Deal."
There was the moment Wukong knew his successor was full of more surprises that he could never predict, nor could probably comprehend. There was some work to do, but right now, Mk was a shining beacon of determination and strength, that smile strong, fierce, and ready for anything.
The Great Sage let some of that determination soak through his very heart as he took Mk's hand firmly, meeting his gaze with glowing gold eyes.
Together, they turned towards Megatropolis, and as if in sync bent low to the ground, Mk placing Ruyi Jingu Bang back in his ear.
"Ready??" Wukong side eyed his student, feeling lighter than air.
"As I'll ever be." Mk responded with a grin that told him he felt the same.
He turned himself back in front with a final nod.
"Three."
"Two."
"One."
In a blast of air, they were off.
Sun Wukong had been tempted to summon his cloud at first, but that wouldn't have been fair to Mk, who didn't exactly have that skill yet. So instead he shifted into a bird, letting the winds of the ocean propel him forward, his wings beating mightily with power. A long call of a hawk behind him told him that Mk had done the same, and one glance beside him told him he had been right. There was a much smaller black bird flying next to him, and he met his gaze with one eye before flapping off with a burst of speed.
He knew that both of them were only going half the speed they could actually fly to, and a part of him knew that Mk didn't want this to end too quickly, just as he didn't. To simply make it that much longer, they both twisted over each other up towards the sky, trading calls, and if Wukong could grin with his beak he would have been absolutely beaming. Soon they had reached the clouds, and Mk poofed back into his original human body, laughter echoing as he went free falling through the clouds. Monkey King folded his wings and dived after him, watching as his student changed back into a bird, going head first towards the water.
But that's when the world started to flicker.
Gold suddenly surrounded him and with a squawk that was meant to be a gasp Wukong pulled himself up short, twisting himself around with confusion. Voices–ones he knew but also didn't somehow–swirled in his head and he attempted to make sense of them, attempting to find where they were coming from. A terrible cold that ran through his wings had him losing altitude, and without prompt he was back in his original form, back in the regular world, falling through the clouds.
Quickly with a poof of gold he turned back to an eagle before crashing into the water, flapping in place as he attempted to get his bearings. Exhaustion pulled at his eyes, and while it was concerning, it wasn't anything the Monkey King hadn't experienced before. Either way, the experience was unusual, and left him confused.
What in the absolute hell was that?? He thought, shaking his head to try to clear it, blinking his eyes.
Only to remember what he was meant to be doing and quickly looked forward, seeing how Mk was already way ahead of him. While a part of Wukong had been grateful he hadn't seen that spectacle (He was certain it'd have the kid go haywire with worry), another part felt a tug that felt a little bit like hurt. And he couldn't understand why.
Now wasn't the time to figure that out, though. Now was the time to win.
With the drive from before slowly returning, Sun Wukong raced forward immediately at full speed, a train of golden light behind him as he quickly caught up to Mk's side. Said student gave a surprised noise as the bigger bird zipped past him, and the shape-shifted monkey gave his student a snarky wink before flying off again.
They had already almost reached the bay of the city. About a half a quarter of the race to go.
Just to show off, Wukong twisted around the pole of a docked ship, folding his wings and flapping hard to gain height over the next one, dodging through the sails. Despite his exhaustion he was feeling alright again, and was relieved that it seemed to have only been some weird thing his powers had literally never done before in his thousand plus years of living.
Oh well. He told himself as he flew into the docks. Can't worry about it now. I'll probably read up on it or something when I–
He turned his head to stare at a passing tree only for the world to change again.
Suddenly he saw himself, his Master, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing. He saw himself writhing on the ground with terrible pain as his Master chanted quietly to himself with a slight disappointed downturn of his brows. He saw how Zhu Bajie watched with a devious grin on his face, how Wujing only shook his head sorrowfully, and how Ao Lie turned away. Between them was a woman, blood soaking from her head to the dirt, basket laying discarded at her side.
Wukong screamed and screamed and screamed until–
With a wail he was knocked out of the memory by crashing into a window rather ungracefully. As if all the energy that was left in him had been drained he was no longer able to flap his wings or keep up his disguise, so with a poof of magic he was back as his monkey self, falling, disoriented once again.
At least until he heard someone yell his name and was caught by two small arms, and both he and the person went tumbling to a nearby rooftop. The world was still spinning even after he had landed, and in his slightly blurry vision entered a human Mk, worry lining his face.
".. Nkey King!!! Hey..!! Monkey King!!" Through the ringing of his ears he registered that the kid was calling to him, and he latched onto that to bring him back to the present, groaning as his senses returned and a sudden massive headache bloomed across his forehead. That only worsened Mk's worry, who leaned closer, on the verge of panicking. "A-are you okay?! What the heck was that?!"
Wukong winced. "Oh–geez, you saw that didn't you?" At Mk's confirming, wild nod, he sighed heavily, dropping his head and shutting his eyes. "Great. 'Course you did."
He flinched with surprise when feeling his student's hand land on his forehead. "Are you hurt? Sick?? Is anything broken?? I mean, I-I've never seen you do that before, how did you even–??"
To stop his rambling, the Great Sage gently took his wrist to peel his hand off, staring up at Mk through bleary eyes. "Bud, relax, I'm fine." This was the total opposite of the truth; inwardly he was freaking out. That was the second time his powers had suddenly stopped working and he had.. His vision-... He always had control over his powers. Always. Those were his. He swallowed it down, though. He wasn't going to accept what was happening. Never. "I just lost my focus and didn't see the building. That's all."
Mk blinked. Once. Hard. Blankly. "... You didn't see the building."
Wukong inwardly cringed at the tone of voice. Still he kept up the facade with a shrug. "Yep."
"The building.. That was right in front of you."
"Yup."
"At least thirty feet higher than when you were flying."
"Mhm."
The two stared at each other for a long, hard moment. Neither budging.
".. I don't believe you." Mk stated flatly eventually. "The guy that preached to me about focus for an entire lesson, lost said focus that he's so proud of?"
At that, Wukong narrowed his eyes. Then, with some slight struggling he sat upright, tail swishing uncomfortably. "Kid, I'm not perfect. I can lose my focus just like everyone else. Besides, I don't usually pay attention to a lot of things anyway." He turned himself away with a slight slouch, fist clenching. "With what happened last time, I'd thought you'd know that about me already."
There was a terrible tension in the air between them for a moment. Wukong fidgeted nervously in it.
The day was being ruined and this was not where it was meant to go. Not what he had planned to do. It was going good, he wasn't gonna lose this. Not again. Not like everything else.
He forced out a grin and turned it to Mk with his eyes shut, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Look, forget about it, alright? I already promised I'd tell you if there was something big goin' on with me already didn't I? This was just a small thing, no need to get worked up over it." Sun Wukong opened his eyes, and despite his attempts to hide it a bit of desperation seeped into his voice. "Let's get back to that race, yeah??"
Oh the guilt that was eating at him was ravenous now. Twisting his stomach and his own mind called him a liar as Mk's big, brown eyes bore into his very soul. Open, worried, vulnerable. Always so very vulnerable.
Then there was the defeat and Wukong wanted nothing more than to beat himself up on the inside as his student looked away.
"Okay."
Mk stood up first, leaving the king's hand hovering in midair. Yeah. That one stung just a bit too much.
Carefully, Wukong stood himself, walking up to Mk's side slowly. His tail was low and he didn't look at him, feeling very much like a kicked puppy.
"... Look." At the tone in his voice, Mk glanced up at his mentor. They were just the slightest bit glossy but it still shattered Monkey King's heart to see it. His tail wrapped around his leg as if trying to tell himself to keep it together. But he never once broke eye contact. "If you want to talk about it afterwards, if it bothers you that much, we can. Alright? I'm.. Not trying to downplay your worry or anything, just…" He sighed at how he was already losing the words. He fumbled, looking down at his hands as he thought. "I just.. It's like you said. We haven't done this in a while. I want to make it up to you. Or try to, at least. You don't have to worry about me so much, y'know?"
Well.. At least that was, again, half the truth. The earlier guilt had lessened as he let the words out, because it was still true; Mk was so caring, too caring for his own good. And Wukong could never truly understand why this kid cared so much for someone like him especially. Did he really deserve it, after everything??
He's only going to end up hurting Mk and his friends again. Not on purpose of course, but….
Everything good tends to die when he touches it.
Then there was a hand on his arm, causing Wukong to raise his head and meet Mk's soft, still sad but somewhat real smile. "I'll always worry about you, Monkey King." His voice was almost as soft. "But I get it. We can finish the race. If you say you're up for it, I'll trust you."
You shouldn't. Wukong wanted to scream. You really shouldn't Mk. I'm sorry that you do.
All he managed was a nod back. He didn't trust his voice.
The boy's smile twitched up, and he let go to turn back to the city, stepping on the edge. Monkey King followed his lead silently.
For the first time in his immortal life he felt the tingle of vertigo as he leaned over the side to look down at the city below. Logically, Wukong knew he was not going to die from a fall. He was invincible, nothing could truly hurt him at full power.
But a part of him told him he wasn't at full power at the moment.
Beside him Mk jumped from the building and changed into a bird again. Wukong watched him soar with a careful eye before following suit, sucking in a breath as wind roared past his ears. He willed his soul to change shape, and like normal, it did. Like always, there was that puff of gold that followed after that transformation as he flapped his wings, just a bit too hard, as if trying to subconsciously reassure himself that his powers were working like they were supposed to.
Like they should be.
This time there was no showing off. There was no twisting and turning around each other. Wingspan to wingspan they flew right up into a current, over the heads of oblivious city goers. Wukong could hardly call it a race now, and he desperately tried hiding the exhausted shake at the tips of his wings, kept his gaze and head straight up, tail spread and changing whenever the current did to keep himself in the air.
They were almost halfway now. Casually flying, enjoying the quiet company of one another. Mk always had one eye to keep watch, Wukong could practically feel his gaze, and it made him ruffle his feathers uncomfortably.
He could see Mk's noodle shop just in the distance now. Out of curiosity, he blinked and activated his golden vision.
But it turned out to be a mistake.
The world turned gold and then a cold terrible blue as voices crashed into his soul and mind. Wailing, dripping faces of lost souls filled his vision and they reached for him, begging for his help, begging for the pain to stop.
They called out, wanting him to fix their mistakes, wondering why he had abandoned who he had loved and cared for so deeply, wounding them.
You left. It's all your fault. They whispered. All he could do was sit there on his knees and gape up at the ghosts around him. You avoid your problems, you never cared.
"No… Never… I swear…" Sun Wukong whispered hoarsely. He couldn't do or say much of anything else. Felt so weak and helpless. Cold bone that felt like ice creeped from the ground to encase him, slowly. "I didn't–AGH!!"
Pain erupted through his entire skull and all the monkey could do was fall forward and hold the sides of his head. His nails scraped onto a cold metal, and his eyes snapped open as a gut-wrenching realization filled his mind at what it was.
Trembling hands fingered the metal. All the way from the back of his head to his front. All the while trembling even further. The pain increased and he shut his eyes, digging his forehead into the ground. A familiar voice–one he had not heard in a thousand years–made his heart freeze.
No…
"You still lie, Brother Monkey."
Slowly, fearfully, he turned his head to look up. Eyes unbelieving what he was seeing.
Standing in front of him, outlined by a blue mist, was his Master. Staring down at him with cold, dead eyes. Ones full of hatred and judgment. Two fingers were held up in a position Wukong knew–and feared–all too well.
"You say you care. But you still lie." His Master hissed, narrowing his eyes. "Did you learn nothing on our Journey?"
Sun Wukong's throat was too tight to speak. He only shook his head, trying to keep his lip from trembling as the world blurred before him.
Please. He tried to convey through his eyes, desperately. Not again. Please don't do this again.
Tripitaka only narrowed his eyes coldly. "Look at you. How far the great Sun Wukong has fallen. There is no mercy for those that cannot learn. Perhaps this will truly make you understand."
The monkey's eyes widened as his Master's eyes closed. He didn't have time to prepare himself.
His skull screamed and he screamed with it.
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The next thing Mk knew was that Wukong was falling. Again.
His mentor had let out a single, pain filled screech that echoed around them and then was plummeting down, golden smoke revealing his true form.
One look down and Mk knew it was bad.
Frantically the delivery boy dived. Folded his wings into his body and angled himself to go faster, heart absolutely racing as he tried to keep his panic at bay. He turned back into a human in an attempt to fall faster, to see if it changed anything, heart pounding the closer they got to the ground.
But he wasn't fast enough. No matter how hard he willed himself, no matter how he reached to grab some kind of fabric, he was never fast enough to catch the Monkey King.
There was a boom and he had to cover his face with the dust it left behind. He turned into a bird again mere seconds before crashing to the ground to save himself a few broken bones, landing into the crater and changing back quickly, yelling "Monkey King!!"
He scrambled forward, almost close to tears at this point, the dust clearing to reveal an unconscious Sun Wukong.
Mk froze at the sight.
White stripes went through the usually orange fur of his mane. Terrible bags were left under the Monkey King's eyes, a split in his left eyebrow.
The Monkey King's successor stood there, staring at his mentor for a long time.
It was clear things were not alright, after all.