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The bridge suddenly gave way, wood and stone collapsing into the river and with it MK. He barely managed to suck in a breath before he fell under the murky green water. Something snagged on his leg, threatening to pull him down. He fought as hard as he could, arms paddling as hard as they could. They were already so tired from the battle and his wet clothes weighed heavy on him, how long could he manage this?
But then hope came when he saw the blurry shape of Wukong at the surface, the monkey quickly kneeling down and shoving his hand into the water for him to grab onto.
MK grabbed for it desperately, but it was just barely out of reach. And each time he did try to grab it, his pause in paddling would cause him to sink deeper. His lungs started to burn as he fought against the instinct to take in a breath.
Why wasn’t Wukong coming after him?
Monkey King’s silhouette was getting smaller now, the water growing darker as the boy sunk deeper down. His lungs were screaming now, aching desperately for air. He was sure there were tears in his eyes, invisible the moment they were shed.
Instinct finally won over as his brain forced his mouth open and sucked in a mouthful of water. His body immediately tried to cough it back up, only to doom itself by flooding his lungs with each choking motion.
Everything was going black now. This was the end, the painful frantic end. All he could think about was the leftovers waiting for him at home.
… why wasn’t Wukong coming after him…?
He felt arms wrap around him… Was this the embrace of death?
He woke up to the terrible sensation of vomiting up water as he was forced back awake, unable to get a breath between retching up waterfalls. This was almost more painful than drowning itself.
There were muffled voices on both sides of him, hands holding him on his side as he expelled the water. It felt like he was going to black out again before finally, he took in a sucking gasp only to choke on the air. If he was going to die choking on air after coming back from drowning, it was all the proof he needed that the gods hated him.
But finally he was granted some mercy as he managed to get in a few deep breaths, oxygen flooding back into his systems and letting him grow more aware of his surroundings.
Macaque was there at his side, smiling. But it wasn’t a happy smile. It was a smile of relief, of someone who nearly lost everything.
Wukong’s expression was the exact opposite, face wet with tears as he murmured prayers half-hysterically.
“-iddo? You with us now?” Macaque’s voice finally broke through the fog.
MK looked over at him, still catching his breath as he nodded weakly.
“Good,” he sighed, “Let’s get these off of you before you freeze to death,” he said, pulling off the boy’s jacket.
Wukong reached over to help undress him, only for his hands to be smacked away. Both monkeys recoiled in surprise as MK suddenly burst to life with anger, “Y-You,” he wheezed, “You almost let me drown! You-” he coughed violently.
The Monkey King pursed his lips, “Bud, listen. I-”
“GET AWAY FROM-!” he coughed harder, doubling over as Macaque rubbed his back.
The shadow monkey looked up at the other, “It’s alright,” he said, “I’ve got it from here,”
“I…” Wukong’s protest died on his lips. He hung his head, picking up MK’s jacket as he walked out of the cave. He heard a shadow portal open behind him but didn’t look up. He trusted Macaque would take the kid somewhere safe to recover. Strange, he never thought he’d use the words ‘Macaque’ and ‘trust’ in the same sentence ever again.
He leaned against a random tree, sighing as he held his hands to his head.
He’d slipped on a river rock early in the morning, falling into the running water and into a valley at the bottom. He panicked for a moment, before remembering he was immortal and breathing wasn’t an issue for him.
Wukong grit his teeth, trying to stop the memory before it went any further.
He tried to paddle to the surface for a moment before realizing he was too heavy, being born of stone and all. So instead he tried to climb up the sides of the bank, only for the sandy silt to offer no support as he tried to scale it. This… was starting to be an issue.
“Don’t,” he pleaded with himself, sinking down to his knees, “Stop it,”
He tried to shout for the others, knowing they were in the treetops a short distance away. However his shouts were drowned out by the sounds of the current before it could reach the surface, sweeping his voice away.
His heart beat hard and fast in his chest, his lungs heaving as the memory of panic consumed him.
Soon it was afternoon. His shouts and attempts to climb out grew more frantic.
The sun dipped below the horizon, sky turning dark and dotted with stars. Someone would have to notice he was missing soon, right? Maybe he just couldn’t hear their voices calling to him like they couldn’t hear him.
The moon rose. His voice and body were becoming tired with fatigue.
The night gave way to the morning sun. This was his hubris for his immortality, wasn’t it? Doomed to remain unseen and unheard for the rest of time. He finally allowed himself to cry, but without the feeling of tears on his cheeks and the river taking away his voice it wasn’t the least bit cathartic.
It was afternoon again by the time he was found, Macaque tossing down a vine and working together with the rest of the monkeys to pull the king back to the surface.
A single day of agony gave way to a lifetime of fear.
“Stone,” he laughed to himself as tears ran down his cheeks, “Why did I have to be made of stone…?”
“Well, look at it this way MK,” Macaque said as he helped the boy sit on his couch, wrapping him in a blanket, “You can tell people you’re a zombie now.”
The kid glared up at him as his teeth chattered.
“Right, too soon.” he said, going over to his drawers to search for a dry set of clothes, “Here,” he pulled out a sweatsuit, “I’m gonna go put on a tea kettle. Don’t dry-drown, alright?”
“I’ll do my best,” MK shivered, noticing that Macaque had two more sets of ears as he left the room. Probably to keep a better ear out in case of anything.
As he changed into dry clothes, he couldn’t help but feel angry at everything. He was angry at Wukong for not saving him. Angry at himself for thinking about stupid leftovers rather than family and friends in his potential final moments. Angry at Macaque for trying to crack jokes.
Wasn't a near-death experience supposed to make you more grateful for life or something? Great, another thing to be angry about.
He sat back on the couch after he finished dressing, trying to ignore the leftover ache in his chest as he pulled the blanket tightly around himself. He stared at some random thing in the room. He didn’t even know what it was, too lost in his thoughts to be aware of his surroundings.
“Hey,” suddenly came Macaque’s voice, “Does your chest hurt?”
MK unsurprisingly found himself irritated by the question, “Yeah.”
“Is it dull or sharp?” he asked as he placed the mug of tea on the coffee table.
He had to pause to take account of his feelings, “... dull.”
“Any more wheezing and coughing?” he asked as he sat across from him.
“No, just sore.” he said as he picked up the mug, “And like… really, really mad.”
“Hey, you almost died. Take it from me, that’s as good a reason as any to be angry.” he half-smiled.
“I guess,” he murmured as he took tiny sips, wincing as the hot tea slid down his irritated throat, “I’ve just… never been this mad at Monkey King before.”
Macaque blinked, “At Wukong?”
“He didn’t jump in after me,” his hands gripped the mug tightly as he recalled bitterly, “He just… watched me sink…”
“Oh kid,” the other sighed, “Wukong’s a stone monkey , remember? If anything he probably would have sped up the dying process.”
MK blinked. Oh… oh…
“ Oh no, ” he groaned, letting his head fall back against the couch, “I’m an idiot.”
“In all fairness you weren’t in the best shape,” he patted his shoulder, “Trust me, he’s not offended in the slightest.”
“Promise…?” he looked over to him pitifully.
“Promise,” Macaque smiled as he stood, ruffling the kid’s damp hair, “I gotta go do a perimeter check. Take it easy while I’m gone, alright?”
MK nodded, continuing to take small sips as the other left.
Macaque walked down the steps and outside of his mountainside entrance, smirking as he looked up at the trees, “You’re not slick, Wukong. I know you’re here.”
A golden eagle flew down and shifted into the Monkey King, who quite frankly didn’t look in too good of shape himself, “I just wanted to make sure the kid was alright.”
“I know,” he nodded, leaning against the rockwall as he crossed his arms, “Kid’s alright. Shaken up, but alright. And probably going to be avoiding bridges for a while.”
Wukong squinted at him, “... what were you doing there?” he asked, “MK and I went there to stop a demon squid thing from taking over the city. You’re not the type to be concerned for the better good of things.”
“I take it you’re not going to buy the ‘right time, right place’ excuse?”
“Not in the slightest,” he replied as he stood next to him.
Macaque sighed, “Alright, so sometimes when I’m in the Shadow Realm I check up on the kid. In case you need help mentoring and all that, y’know?”
“Right.” he rolled his eyes, not believing him in the slightest, “... shouldn’t you be saying something?”
Macaque blinked, “Like what?”
“Like how it was only a matter of time before I had MK mad at me too, that everyone around me only ends up getting hurt.” he said, as if he hadn’t already been telling himself those exact things.
“Nah, that’s too low of a blow even for me.” he shrugged, “Besides, I told him the whole stone monkey deal. He’s not mad anymore so you can relax.”
Wukong’s eyes widened, “You told him-?”
“I only told him you sink,” he quickly assured his one time companion, “That’s all he had to know.”
He breathed a sigh of relief, “Good. I… wasn’t sure if you still understood.”
Macaque studied him for a moment before suddenly confessing, “I can’t be around fire.”
“Huh?”
“Ever since Erlang burned down the mountain, if I look at a flame I can still hear everyone…” he paused, screwing his eyes shut and clearing his throat, “Anyways. I get it.”
Wukong’s eyes softened. He held up a hand, hesitating for a moment before placing a hand on the other’s shoulder. Macaque tensed at first, before sighing and leaning against him.
“Some hero and warrior we are, eh?” he half-joked.
“Yeah,” he nodded, “Could be worse though.”