Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Macaque never had any problems handling snow. He was born of the shadows, the dark and the little crannies where the sun couldn’t reach were his domain, he was no stranger to cold and thanks to his longer fur, winters in Flower Fruit Mountain were never a struggle.

This was nice, though.

Laying curled around his own tail and letting himself sink into the pillows and the blankets sorted around them in a big nest, his ears fidgeted around following the snores and sleepy grunts of the troop peacefully napping nearby, a pair of loving hands rummaging through his coat just the way he liked it.

He stretched out his neck as another gentle touch brushed the sensitive spot behind his ears, letting out an involuntary loud purr. Soft giggles mixed with the rustling of the bedding as Macaque slowly turned around to hug his King, bringing them even closer together, tails tied in a knot.

With the caresses now traveling down from his head to his back, the Warrior could properly nudge his nose in the curly, golden fur, the sweet and familiar scent of peaches filling the air and bringing a blush to his cheeks.

Another quiet laugh called his attention to look up, meeting a pair of glowing red eyes and a bright smile he could never say 'no' to. Scuttling closer, Macaque brought a hand to his face, feeling his heart flutter inside his chest as his mate nuzzled it.

Their noses brushed as their lips- wake up.

Wake up.

Wake up!

Wake the fuck up!

Macaque's fur stood on end as a flood of disgust and embarrassment rushed down his spine, making his arms tremble and his tail puff out like a big duster. His eyes weren't even open, but he still let out an enraged noise between a growl and a mumble.

The vision was gone. The sweet smells were gone. The warmth was gone.

Grogly, Macaque opened his one good eye, spying around his dingy and dark bedroom on the second floor above the dojo. Judging by the creaking of the old woodboards and the violent rushing of the wind outside, the snow would be covering the sidewalks and the streets, making his trip to the grocery store a living Hell tomorrow morning.

Another one of those confounded dreams again, or to better put it, nightmares. Macaque felt a sour taste in his mouth and an urge to hurl at the memory of it, fingers curling around the fur on his arms, trying to scratch the feeling of his touch off his skin.

A warm, gentle touch, combing through his fur whenever he'd ask for it.

-Uurgh… -the Warrior stuck out his tongue in repulsion.

His tail curled around nothing. Taking the ragged blanket off his head, Macaque let out a big yawn, finally stretching his hands and feet across the hard mattress.

And a strange cold fell over his nose. The dojo didn't have any heating but it wasn't supposed to be this cold, ever. Groaning, he pulled himself out of the bed, letting his tail drag behind him carelessly. As he made his way down the stairs, the blowing of wind grew louder and louder, accompanied by the banging of windows.

-What the hell…? -Macaque quickened his pace.

Sure enough, a large window on the bottom floor had been busted open by the wind, a pile of snow sat on top of the mat and made a mess on the floor. It would melt and seep into the floorboards and rot it and it would take ages to dry the mat…

Growling impatiently, he ran to shut the window again, fumbling with the lock between his fingers before he could properly put it back together. He let out a tired breath, looking over his shoulder to the mess he'd have to clean up later, for now, he studied the lock.

The wind wasn't strong enough to bust it open, rattle it, sure, but the lock didn't give out or brake, it was opened. The pile on the floor had little footprints, little handprints, leaving a trail out of the room and into the kitchen.

Macaque took a sniff, raised his ears and narrowed his eyes. Looks like he had a little robber in his hands, which was odd, since everyone thought the dojo was abandoned and haunted, nobody ever saw him leave and come in.

A flicker of his ears. Sniffles, a broken cry, trembling whines. It came from the kitchen.

Quiet like a mouse, Macaque crept around the corner, flipping all the light switches off to catch the sneaky little robber off guard. Another flicker. It was hiding in the cabinet under the sink, judging by the quiet rustling of boxes and pans.

One more step, he bent down, simply standing and staring at the handles, waiting for the cries to stop or change in some way. But they didn't. Macaque opened the cabinets, reached in with his hand and grabbed a fistful of soaked clothes, knowing he'd found the intruder by the startled yelp.

-I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I'm s-sorry! I'm so sorry, I'm so-sorry!

Dangling by the hoodie on her bulky sweater, Macaque could take a proper look at her wet clothes and puffy red eyes from all her crying. He'd recognize that pink hair bow and matching frilly skirt anywhere, not to mention the long and silky black hair soiled by stray, white strands.

That witch.

-Bai He?! -Macaque asked, raising a brow. -What were you doing in there? What are you doing in here , it's the middle of the night!

She couldn't answer him, hugging a big jar of biscuits to her chest with her arms and legs. He remembered how tightly she clung to his cape after the battle with the Bone Mech, unable to say anything to anyone, especially with him nearby.

He remembered having to carry her all the way back to Megapolis and even after some time she didn't let go or ate anything, only after Sandy offered Mo to sit on her lap.

-Do your parents know you're here? -he asked, much more calmly.

Bai He gave another tremble, shaking her head, breathing heavily through sobs.

-T-they… Moved away…

His eyes widened in shock.

-What?

-I w-went back home and- and i-it was locked… -she hiccuped. -I c-couldn't find them… A-and the landlord told me they- they s-sold the house while the L-Lady Bone Demon…

Another wave of sobs took over and she couldn’t finish the rest of her response. Macaque’s ears drooped as he slowly set her down on the floor, waiting for her legs to straighten so she could stand up, but they didn’t.

His eyes were fixated on her little trembling form, but his mind was twisting around itself. This kid’s parents packed up and ran away while their child was possessed by a demon. Macaque remembered turning on the news and seeing the havoc that witch had brought on the city, Bai He’s face could be easily recognized everywhere, even without the makeup and the more modern clothes she wore. They knew where she was, they knew what happened and they left her .

The fucking gall of these humans !

-I’m s-sorry… -Bai He whispered in a weak voice, slowly letting go of the jar of biscuits. -About the w-window… I wasn’t- wasn’t gonna eat t-these, I swear! I c-can clean up the snow…

-Nevermind that! You’re soaking wet, you’re gonna catch a fever or a cold if you don’t change, come on!

His bushy tail wrapped around her wrist as he’d seen mothers do with their cubs, gently tugging her upwards to get off the floor. Sharp little points poked against his fur and Macaque took a glance over his shoulder to see Bai He’s fingers had grown shards of bone out of her skin. At least it wasn’t frostbite.

Thankfully, his closet was full of towels and coats, they would never fit Bai He, but it would keep her warm for long enough. Handing it to her, she changed in the bathroom after a warm shower, giving the Warrior her old soaked clothes so he could wash and hang them to dry.

-I’ll have to go to the grocery store tomorrow for food, I can call any uncles or grandparents if you have their numbers. -he told her, guiding the girl to sit on the couch.

Bai He shook her head.

-I don’t have grandparents. My aunt lives out of the country.

Macaque took a deep breath, holding his tail with his hand so she wouldn’t see it lashing around in impatience.

-If you go to the store, can you get me cat food and hair dye? -she asked in a meek tone.

-Why would you need cat food and hair dye?!

-There's a colony of strays living in the park. Some of the queens gave birth a few weeks ago and they need food. The hair dye is for me…

She pulled out a few strands of white hair from her hair bow, clutching them in her fists with an angry face. Her eyes were still red and puffy and there were very obvious tear marks running down her cheeks.

-I don’t know when it started, but it won’t go away! And these stupid ice shards keep coming back even after I melt them!

She showed him her bare feet, also covered in pieces from her toes to her calves.

-Bai He, that’s not ice.

-...What?

-The witch is gone, but some of her powers must have stuck deeper than we thought. -he explained. -Besides, she’s not called “Lady Ice Demon”, you know that, right?

Bai He’s icy blue eyes widened in shock, as she slowly turned her head away from him to her hands again. And let out an ear-piercing shriek .

Macaque instinctively yelped, covering his ears and falling off the couch as his brain seemed to rattle inside his skull. Bai He was up and running, tumbling to the floor thanks to the long bottom of the coat, shaking her arms and legs frantically.

-GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF ME! EWW, GET IT OFF!

-Will you KEEP IT DOWN! -Macaque snarled a little too loud by accident, recomposing himself as Bai He was startled by his demand.

-I don’t want bone growing out of my skin! I don’t want nasty old people hair! I don’t want to be a demon!

She let herself fall to the floor as more tears ran down her face, rubbing her eyes, letting out whining moans between ragged breaths. Macaque shook his head, let out a sigh and slowly made his way to her.

-You’re not a demon. -he spoke gently. -Here, give me your hands.

Bai He did as she was asked, though her hands trembled weakly. He conjured a Glamour spell around her wrists, spreading it all over her, watching attentively as her white hair strands disappeared slowly and the bone shards retreated. Opening her eyes again, he could see the ghostly blue was substituted by a dark brown, and her breathing seemed to calm a bit.

-There, all better! -Macaque gave her an assuring little smile as she stared unbelievably at her hands. -Your clothes should be dry by tomorrow morning, you can come with me to the store and pick out the cat food they like best.

Bai He gave a sniff, whipping her nose on the sleeve of the coat.

-Why?

-Because you’re staying here from now on.

-What do you mean…? -the girl gave a surprised gasp. -I can’t stay, I broke in and tried to steal your biscuits!

Macaque let out an amused laugh.

-Would you rather go back outside and freeze to death? Feel free to do so, be my guest!

Bai He hugged her knees to her chest, shaking her head ‘no’ desperately.

-Then take whatever empty room you like best, I’ll get you bedsheets and snacks too, whatever it is that human children need! -he wrapped his tail around her wrist again, pulling her up. -You’ll need to learn how to control your powers properly.

-Control…? No, why! I don’t want anything to do with that… Witch demon thing !

Macaque’s ears drew back at Bai He’s whining, his fur bristling.

-Do you want the bone shards growing out of your hands again? Do you want the white hair popping out? -the girl recoiled and shook her head again as the monkey loomed over her, sharp teeth poking out of his smile. -Then suck it up ! I’m being more than generous by letting you stay and training you, you can repay the favor by doing as you’re told.

Bai He frowned and pouted, but didn’t discuss it any further, just stomped her feet as she made her way back to the couch again, crossing her arms as she snagged the TV remote before he could. Macaque didn’t argue, maybe putting on some cartoons would lull her to sleep quicker.

She immediately pulled up Netflix, ignoring the multiple true crime shows recommendations, instead, choosing some silly show about a girl that looked like an old lady and her pudgy animal sidekick. He wasn’t paying that much attention, but the artstyle was bright and soft, the animation was very smooth in a few parts and Bai He seemed distracted by how often she let out a laugh at the character’s shenanigans.

-You act just like Puppycat! -she pointed at the screen.

Macaque couldn’t help but let out a chuckle and bap Bai He in the face with his tail.

-Go to sleep!

The girl laughed, instead of shooing it away, she hugged it close to her chest to watch the rest of the episode. By the end of it, sleep had already carried her off to dreamland and Macaque had trouble keeping his eyes open as well. He should have brought her to an empty guest room and laid her down on a proper bed, but she was already all curled up against his side, a strong grip around the bushy tip of his tail as if it was some teddy bear, with a peaceful expression.

Macaque let out a big yawn, feeling himself sink into the cushions. He was no stranger to passing out on the couch while watching TV, and the credit songs for her cartoon were really soothing… So he let himself doze off, listening to Bai He’s occasional little snores, ears flickering around for any more strange noises that could pose her a threat.

Chapter Text

Bai He grumbled and brought the coat’s hood over her eyes as the first rays of the morning sun entered through the gaps in the wooden walls. For a second, she froze in confusion at the strange couch and house she found herself in until memories from last night came flooding back.

That’s right, she broke into the Six-Eared Macaque’s house. Dojo. Wherever he lived. And he let her sleep on his couch while watching 'Bee and PuppyCat'.

She honestly didn't remember much of MK's friends or exactly what happened after she left her body and the giant mech fell down. All Bai He had were flashes and glimpses.

Falling through the sharp cool air. Looking up at the big robot crumbling to pieces. Crying with her head in between her knees. Eating noodles with Mo purring softly on her lap.

The only consistent memories from that night were Macaque, clinging onto his cape, holding his tail, listening to his voice, letting him nudge her forward whenever someone else tried talking to her, except the Monkey King.

You should've stayed buried!

Bai He shuddered, a wave of fear crashing over her spine and stomach. Her hand instinctively held onto the collar of the borrowed oversized shirt she wore, remembering a powerful hold pulling her feet off the ground and dangling her by her throat.

GrrROooOwwWLL

Thankfully, her mind didn't allow her to remember too much about it, seeing as her aching hunger, which hadn't left her for days now, came back in full force.

Since she'd been locked out of her house, Bai He had to scamper around the city for scraps, mostly snatching half-finished bags of chips or burgers forgotten on tables and benches. The one time she actually sat down and tried to order food, willing to pay with money on a wallet she found on the ground, the waitress yelled at her to "Get out of my restaurant, you damned demon!" while violently swinging a broom over her head.

Waking up to the smell of toast and fresh coffee was a welcoming surprise.

-About time you got up, kid! -Macaque said in a teasing chuckle, busy with turning a pancake over.

Bai He dragged back a chair at the small, round table in the center of his kitchen, ogling the fresh bread, butter and jelly all set up nicely very much within her reach. She looked up at the distracted monkey to make sure he wasn't looking, and immediately snatched for slices and jelly, making a two level sandwich.

-Easy, there, tiger.

Macaque set down a plate of pancakes and syrup and Bai He immediately took them as well, shoving everything she could in her mouth, giving appreciative hums of the sweet taste. He made very tasty pancakes.

The monkey said nothing as he poured himself a very full mug of steaming black coffee with absolutely no sugar in it, sitting down on the chair in front of the little girl making a mess out of his coat with her gluttony. For a long time, they said nothing to each other, until Bai He started staring very intently at his pointy set of six ears.

-What?

-Ith it frue that you can thear the paft, the prefent and the thuture? -she asked with a mouthful.

Macaque lifted a brow and rolled his eyes with an amused shake of his head.

-My hearing may be good, kid, but not that good. You shouldn't believe every story old people tell.

Bai He restrained herself from staring any further and simply finished stuffing her face. As soon as she was done, she got up from the chair and set her plate in the sink already full of other dishes. The girl wasn't sure if she should wash them or simply leave them there for Macaque to do, but judging by how the monkey himself simply left his own used mug on the table, Bai He didn't think too hard about it.

-Go change back into your clothes, we're going to the grocery store.

She hopped up the stairs as Macaque went into his room to change out of his robe, wrestling with one of the stubborn sleeves of her bulky coat. Bai He was glad the snow didn't damage her coat besides soaking it, this one was her favorite.

Macaque's tail thumped on the ground as he watched Bai He excitedly run up to him at the door.

-What are those…? -he pointed to her hoodie, now pulled over her head.

-Cat ears!

She laughed at his dramatic groan and roll of his head. Heading out of the door, taking care to not trip and the layers of cold snow the storm had blown over the city. At this level, Bai He figured there'd be no school today, but it's not like she could even attend if it did.

The last time she showed up at the school's gates, the hall monitor ran up and threatened to call the police if she came inside and some of the parents shielded their own children. When Bai He tried to talk to her best friend Chang through the wire around the patio, her other classmates screamed and ran away when they saw her.

-My parents said to stay away from you… -Chang told her through teary eyes, before running inside.

That one had hurt the most. They'd been best friends since second grade and Bai He had told Chang plenty of secrets, she stuck up for Chang plenty of times and sat together at lunch since the day they met. Chang wasn't a goodie-two-shoes like her, much on the contrary, she was the one constantly getting into trouble.

She never listened to her parents or the teachers, why would she start now?

-Pick up the pace, slowpoke, you're lagging behind! -Macaque called, looking over his shoulder.

Bai He gave a little clumsy run to catch up to him, who was already waiting at the end of the street for the traffic light to turn red so they could cross. As soon as she was within reach, he wrapped his tail around her wrist.

It was funny, and it tickled. It moved as if it had a life of it's own and much differently than from a cat's, so the girl had a few problems reading his body language. She was too busy paying attention to Macaque’s mannerisms and stoic expression to really pay attention where they were going, all other sounds and people drawn out as Bai He tilted her head and tried to figure out what each of the ear flickers meant, why his nose scrunched up, why his fur bristled.

Macaque’s tail only let go of her wrist after they actually entered the store. He took out a scribbled list from his pocket and sent Bai He on an errand to pick out a few of the things herself. Before she could happily skitter over to the cleaning aisle, her legs stopped and froze at the sight of three of her old classmates pointing at the colorful candy bars in one of the stands and arguing about which ones they should take.

-Uurgh… -the girl stuck out her tongue in repulsion.

-What, where are they, who was it? -Macaque immediately materialized by her side with his ears flared out and sharp eyes.

-Yuan Hanying and his friends! They’re boys from my class, I hate them!

Bai He turned away with her arms crossed, she hoped they hadn’t seen her. Yuan was an annoying spoiled brat who thought everything should just be handed to him instead of actually working for it because his mother “paid extra support” for the school principal to keep him out of trouble. He mostly kept to other kids, but Chang and Bai He had to shoo his annoying self plenty of times.

-Go give him a piece of your mind! -Macaque nudged her with a sly smile.

-What, no! I don’t want anything to do with him!

-Come on, it’ll be fun! It’s not like he could do anything about it, you need to strike first before they have a chance, kid!

-He hasn’t even seen me, let’s just get what we need and go back! -Bai He argued with an angry glare.

Macaque shrugged his shoulders with a disappointed look, giving one last studying glance at the boys before walking back into the pets’ aisle. Bai He felt a cold tug at her stomach, She only ever saw that look a few couple of times but each time it hurt a little more, the look her parents and teachers gave her whenever she’d disappoint them. Bai He didn't want to disappoint Macaque, but she wouldn't walk up to a bunch of bullies because he thought it’d be funny. It wouldn’t be funny, it would be mean.

A few minutes later, they were all done with the list, and instead of walking through the store cashier, Macaque simply summoned a sort of blackhole portal and dropped the products down it, walking out of the front doors with a smug face as if nothing was wrong.

-You didn’t pay for that! That’s stealing! -Bai He cried.

He shot her a glare over his shoulder.

-Cry louder, maybe the manager will catch us and throw us in jail!

Bai He kept her mouth shut, but not without crossing her arms and stomping the snow under her feet with a pout and frowned brows. They walked in silence until the street corner, where Macaque promptly bapped her head with his tail again.

-Don’t give me that face, it’s a small necessary evil! -he explained. -When you’re alone, you can’t take to heart what other people think or feel, otherwise you’ll just end up throwing yourself under the bus.

He tugged her wrist to keep walking as the traffic light turned green.

-And what does that have to do with bothering Yuan? -she questioned.

-Nothing wrong with having a little fun every now and then!

The girl shook her head.

-It’s not fun, it’s just plain mean! Stooping to his level would make me just as bad as he is, all I gotta do is ignore it!

-Did that stop his teasing?! -Macaque let out a cruel laugh.

She was forced to bite her tongue this time because Macaque was right. Yuan never stopped, no matter how much they ignored him. Once he got so frustrated with their silence, he stuck a half-chewed piece of gum on Chang's hair, and she got detention for two days after punching Yuan in the face, but Bai He didn't blame her.

-I thought so! Besides, whoever said anything about stooping down to his level, you're so much above him! -he said with a shrug of his shoulders. -You have your own powers now, and once you start properly channeling them, trust me, you're gonna feel a whole lot bigger!

Bai He tilted her head.

-Bigger…? What does that mean?

-I'll show you later!

Thankfully, Macaque kept his promise and the two of them walked to the park. She hadn't really had a chance to visit them since MK and his family let her walk back home, and some of the cats seemed happier to see her and she did.

And especially friendly tom let out a happy and loud meow, running up to greet her with his tail held high, as more and more cats came out of the bushes and benches. Bai He let out a high-pitched squeal of overwhelming cuteness as the kittens slowly came out of their hiding places, trying to sit as still as she possibly could so they wouldn't be scared to approach her.

The adults made a scandal as Bai He scattered a line of kibble on the ground, shoving each other to bend down and eat, giving her the perfect opportunity to run her hands through their fur. Thank goodness so many of them had long coats, otherwise they'd be frozen solid, hopefully other neighbors had also come around and fed them while Bai He was gone.

She got up to call Macaque and point out a particularly hissy cat hitting the smaller kittens away from his share, and was rudely interrupted by a snowball hitting her right across the face.

Bai He fell before her arms or legs could properly hold her up, scaring all the eating cats away and back into their hideouts. It took a minute or two for her mind to properly track her surroundings again, slowly getting up from the cold snow, hearing a mocking voice calling.

-Look at the witch, fattening up her next meal! -Yuan was already making another snowball in his hands.

Her vision was a little blurry from the impact and her head hurt, she was pretty sure her knees were scraped, her fingers twisted into the snow as Bai He held back tears with a trembling lip.

-You’re gonna to let him talk to you like that? -Macaque’s voice echoed from somewhere behind her shoulders, an angry growl slipping between his teeth.

The girl pulled herself up.

-Get lost, Yuan! -her voice cracked.

-Ooh, the demon’s angry, I’m so scared! -he threw another ball, this time, Bai He managed to block her face with her arms. -Do you need cat bones for some new ritual to destroy the city again?!

-I SAID GET LOST!

Bai He didn’t mean to yell, she didn’t mean to step forward and she didn’t mean for the wave of power coming out of her skin to reach Yuan. The world went quiet for a second, as all she could hear was Yuan’s confused voice and flashes of memories.

A yelling father. A crowd of taunting bullies. A mother nowhere to be found. A pile of homework he just couldn’t make sense out of. A lying principal sneaking out of his parents room in the middle of the night without his shirt on.

As quickly as Bai He invaded his mind, she left just as quickly. The feelings, the words, the faces and so much loneliness were still fresh on her tongue, her heart beat fast and the girl could practically feel the surge of power running through her veins. Yuan felt it too, if not more than her, fallen to the ground with his eyes wide in fear and his breathing so ragged she could see his heart trying to beat out of his ribcage.

-What did you see, Bai He? -Macaque’s voice asked with excitement. -Tell him what you saw!

-...So your mom is sleeping with the principal, I knew it!

-Y-you don’t know anything! -he tried to defend himself, his voice weak and shaking as tears threatened to spill.

Bai He should have turned around and walked away, but she was so tired. Tired of being treated like a monster and a freak when people like Yuan were so much worse than her. She did everything she was told to, she had good grades, she kept her room clean, she was a good kid and people still hated her.

How is that fair?

-Quit lying, I saw it! Everyone at school knows that’s the only reason you haven’t been expelled yet, because not even your parents can put up with you! -she hissed. -You’re so dumb and in over your head about everything that the only reason you have any “friends” it’s because you have expensive toys and video-games, because everybody hates you!

The boy let out a sobbing hiccup, trying to get his legs to work so he could run. A small fog seemed to lift up from the snow and surround both of them, the breeze blowing past seemed colder than before.

-I’m not gonna say it again: Leave me alone and get lost! -she pointed at the park’s exit gate.

Yuan didn’t need to be told twice before he legged it, crying his lungs out, and Bai He stood behind to watch him leave. Her hands had clenched into fists and she could feel the bone shards growing back as dread and realization started to settle in.

On one hand, she had just spoken like a bully, said such horrible things to Yuan that he ran away crying. Bai He felt an awfully weight of guilt on her chest, she hated that boy, yes, but that doesn’t mean she could say whatever she liked even if the other person deserved it.

On the other hand, she saw a dark portal open under her just for Macaque to jump out of it and lift her high on his shoulders, smiling wide and whooping a cheer.

-YES, THAT’S HOW YOU DO IT! GOOD JOB, BAI HE! -he praised. -You showed him what for, that’s the scream of a boy who’s not going to sleep at all tonight! Way to go!

Macaque found Yuan’s distress incredibly amusing, judging by the deep, belly laughter he let out, accompanied by occasional thrilling and the excited wag of his tail. Bai He couldn’t help but laugh along and look down at him.

-Was that good?

-”Good”?! It was great! Was that the first time you used your powers, are you sure?! Don’t lie to me! -Bai He nodded and laughed louder as he pinched her nose jokingly. -You were awesome, kid! A bit more training and honing your skills and you’ll be unstoppable in no time!

Bai He immediately forgot any sense of guilt at the compliments, shoving any regret down her throat, instead letting out a string of giggles and hugging Macaque’s head as a way to show her thanks.

-Unstoppable like MK and his friends?! -she asked with a glimmer in her eyes.

Macaque gave a dismissive wave of his hand.

-Even more so! Your powers work a lot differently than MK's, and by that extent, the Monkey King's. Their powers are solid, hard like a rock, ours are a lot more fluid, meaning we have a lot more liberty with them!

He conjured a small, dark form in his palm, swirling between his fingers like ink. It settled down in the rough shape of a cat, peeking at her with bright purple eyes and letting out a ragged, disgruntled meow. Bai He couldn't help but giggle and give it a little chin scritch.

-So, kid, how do you feel?

Bai He gave a pause, looking over her shoulders to see some of the scared strays had slowly but surely returned, eating the rest of the kibble and looking up at the two of them with confusion. She looked down at her own hands, bone shards peeking out of her skin and the rush of Macaque's praise still running through her.

-...BIG! -she exclaimed.

-Atta, girl!

He let her down to enjoy the cats' company again. An hour later of more feeding, playing and petting the strays, trying to hide a kitten under her coat so she could take it home but failing, Macaque called her back, wrapping his tail around her wrist again as they walked to the dojo.

-Macaque… What happened back there, with Yuan? What did I do…? -Bai He asked sheepishly.

-That was Lady Bone Demon's first and best line of defense. She got into her foes' heads and used their insecurities and bad memories against them.

She gave a hum of understanding.

-What else could she do?

-Just some basic stuff, you know… Necromancy, mind control, rant about Fate and Destiny and what-not, levitation-

-I CAN FLY?!

Macaque flinched instinctively, his fur bristled and his ears pinned back, slowly turning his head to give her a glare.

-Sorry… -Bai He whispered. -But can I fly?

-With enough training, maybe. You'll need a good knowledge of your abilities as well as control over them. Today was an accident, we need to get you to a level where you can do it on purpose! Or else…

He stopped in front of a building clad in reflective glass. As the girl looked at her mirrored image, her nose scrunched up and her brows furrowed looking at the strands of white poking through her hair, but what really caught her attention was the long and deep scar crossing down Macaque's left eye. She remembered it distinctively not being there before, starting at his hairline down to his cheek and leaving his pupil milky and foggy-looking.

Bai He turned around on instinct, reaching out her hand to touch it and Macaque flinched, taking a step back. She stuffed her hands in the pockets of her coat, looking at her shoes in embarrassment, though the monkey didn't say anything, simply let a flick of dark magic cover his face again, returning it back to normal as if the scar was never there.

-What happened…?

-Nothing you'll ever need to worry about. -his ears gave a nervous flicker. -Let's hurry back, maybe we can start on some basics before lunch!

She gave a little excited smile, to think that Bai He herself would ever get to train to fight like MK and his friends, beating up monsters and demons and bad guys or going on adventures was a wish come true, scary bone powers or not. She had always wanted to practise in martial arts, but her parents never had the money to spend on extracurriculars and the fact that the girl was always a bit of a perfectionist made things a little tricky.

Chapter Text

Macaque’s teaching methods could only be described as ruthless, though he made sure to go a lot softer with Bai He than he did on MK, since she was so much smaller and didn’t have the same strength or knowledge about her powers like the boy did, the monkey took care to not actually hurt her.

 But that didn’t mean he’d go easy on her.

 -Come on, kid, you’ve got more to give than that! -he let out a sigh, watching Bai He slowly pull herself off the floor. -I saw first hand what you can do back in the park, where’s all that energy now?

 -I don’t wanna do that again! It’s scary and everytime I use my powers, these stupid white hairs keep coming out!

 The girl whined and complained, pulling strands of her head like she wanted to tear them off. It did worry Macaque a little bit as well, why did the white hair want to make itself apparent so much? It didn’t seem to be hurting Bai He, so he simply shrugged it off as a simple indication or a sign that Lady Bone Demon had been there, even the slightest bit of power left trying to make sure her presence was known.

 -That’s why we’re training, remember? So you have enough control to stop the white hair from growing in.

 He bent down, waving a hand above her face and casting another Glamour spell, it was small, temporary and always lifted without his permission but it gave the girl a little bit more confidence for the time being.

 Macaque did have to condone her hesitance due to her patience and perseverance. Bai He got easily frustrated, but she wouldn’t give up for anything, even after he called the training sessions done, she would still practice the moves and try to cast a few spells of her own in the dojo by herself until she got it right.

 -Stop holding back! Stop trying to be nice! -he yelled out as Bai He knocked back a dummy he set up for her. -Your first strike should be your last strike!

 She readjusted her position, clenching her fingers in a fist, summoning a large sharp edge around her hand and hitting the dummy all the way across the room, making a large dent in his wall.

 From dummies, they slowly evolved into a few shadow clones. Bai He was more interested in playing with them at first, but as soon as she recognised they were a threat, the girl started taking her blows more seriously.

 -Everytime you attack, give it everything you’ve got! -he explained.

 As one of the clones knocked her over with a mocking smile, Bai He quickly stood up again, tackling it with such strength, the clone was cut in half and the other two were gone with the wave of power left as she flew by. The girl gave a shrill cheer as she realized she was floating off the ground, then immediately started to wave her arms in a panic when she realized she didn’t know how to get back on the ground.

 She still wasn’t quite ready to take on a field mission yet, so instead, Macaque set up a small obstacle course/labyrinth for Bai He not only to practice her agility, but also her multitasking. He instructed her to run over the obstacles, knocking some things over if necessary, as some of the clones chased her.

 -Other people are going to tell you to be patient… They are slowing you down! -the monkey told her. -You have power inside you, use it!

 Bai He took his advice, taking a pause in her running to concentrate. Macaque almost called his clones back, but just as they reached to grab the girl, she raised an enormous spiked wall of bone through the floorboards like a shield. The shadows were impaled through their chests in less than a second.

 When Macaque finally felt like she was ready for a two-person spar, he asked if she could summon a sort of staff like his own. With a bit of difficulty, Bai He whipped out a long bone with a sharp point in one edge and an epiphysis at the other, it was good enough.

 -Remember, you don’t use a weapon! -he snarked, blocking her attempt at a strike. -You are a weapon!

 He tossed her back across the mat, making the girl roll around like a weightless ragdoll. She struggled to stand back up, Macaque slowly approaching her with a swinging staff on his fingers and a threatening smile, as he raised it above his head, a cold, metallic strand wrapped around his wrist.

 I will erase the very memory of you.

 The monkey’s inky black fur bristled and stood on end like a scared cat’s. His mind raced with panic thoughts, urging his body to move, struggle, fight back, but the fear seemed to freeze in place. Before he had a slight chance to set himself free, Bai He realized the opportunity she had, grabbing the other end of the chain she held in her hands and hurled Macaque across the room with every ounce of strength in her little body.

 Crashing down on a stand full of sharp weapons was not on his list of things to do today, but ever since he started training the girl, every day brought on a new surprise. Being awoken by a stampede of footsteps and shaken by the shoulder because “It’s breakfast time!”, finding innumerous new drawings hanging on his fridge door, accidentally stepping on crayons left lying on the ground, as well as having to scold Bai He for trying to sneak in another random stray cat she caught in the streets.

 -I don’t care if it’s cold outside, you're gonna put it back exactly where you found it!

 -You never let me keep any of them!

 And she was absolutely right, Macaque would never be caught dead with a cat freely roaming around his dojo, not in a million years, though she was really putting that resolve to the test. The monkey could only watch as she played with the noisy furball, waving around a string as the stray tried to catch it, occasionally picking him up to touch her forehead to his, earning a purr.

 The fact that it had all happened in the course of two weeks was almost scary. It was also scary how Bai He could so easily trick Macaque into letting his guard down just by existing beside him, it was hard to say 'no' to that little face, even when she wasn’t trying to be persuasive. Why would he have gotten cat food and walked to the park every day to feed the strays, why would he have gotten toys and colorful pencils, why would he have gotten Pigsy’s Noodles almost every day for lunch if she hadn’t been there?

 It was strange in a good way, and Macaque wasn’t used to that, it made his ears flicker nervously.

 -Do you want pink or purple bows in your braids? -Bai He asked from her seat on the couch, running her little fingers through the monkey’s black mane of fur on his head.

 -Are those the only colors you have…?

 She nodded excitedly at his tired sigh.

-Purple's good enough…

He already had a head full of little braids scattered here and there, too invested in Bai He's cartoon show playing on the TV to care, another episode of the robot lady and her pudgy animal sidekick, whatever the thing was.

DING DONG, the doorbell rang.

-Noodles are here! -she leaped off the couch with her arms up in a cheer, footsteps echoing off the floorboards.

Macaque didn't bother getting up, he never answered the door, only after visitors or delivery boys left he would actually check on whatever it is they wanted. Bai He didn't have such reservations, rushing straight to the door, giving a little disappointed hum as she opened it to find the delivery without anyone there.

-Hi, MK!

-Hi, Bai H- B-BAI HE?! -he heard the boy's confused sputtering.

He smirked. Lifting his arms, feeling his fur thin into feathers, feeling his teeth narrow and disappear into a curved beak, feeling his eyes grow wider and rounder, Macaque took the shape of an owl, silently flying above the front door and perching himself on a beam to make sure MK didn't make a fool of himself in front of his new student.

-What are you doing here? Where's Macaque?

-Still watching TV, I think! -she took the package from his hands, holding it to her chest as she made her way inside the kitchen, leaving the front door open. -You can come in and wait for him to tip you, I don't have any money!

MK looked at both sides before taking a hesitant step into the dojo, following after Bai He as she unwrapped her share of the order and sat at the table.

-Have you been hanging around Macaque's place since… Has he noticed you're here? -he asked with a nervous smile.

-Yup! He's been teaching me all about fighting and I'm getting better at controlling my powers, too!

The boy's eyes widened.

-He's training you? Since when?

-Tho weeks ago, I fhink! -Bai He said with a mouth full of noodles.

-T-two weeks?! -MK exclaimed.

Macaque gave a little quiet chuckle, amused at the boy's shock, MK hadn't even seen her in action yet. He should put the two to spar together, that'd be very interesting to watch.

-Do your parents even know you're here?

Never had the monkey wanted to slap MK as badly as he did now, watching Bai He slowly chew her mouthful and put her chopsticks down for a second, to look him in the eyes.

-They moved away while the Lady Bone Demon possessed me… -she said quietly.

His face dropped as he just kept staring at the girl with his mouth hanging slightly open. There were a few minutes of awkward silence between them, Bai He kept eating and MK fidgeted with the loose strands of his headband.

-So… You’re getting a better hold of your powers, that’s good! How’s that been going for you?

-It’s been great! Macaque’s teaching me all the tricks in the book! -she said, suddenly wearing a bright smile. -I’m a lot bigger and stronger now and my white hairs aren’t showing as much anymore, though they still come up when I use too much power…

-You still got the white strands?

-And the blue eyes! It’s more annoying than anything else… -Bai He stuffed her mouth again, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly. -Buf ith cool! Since I don’t have to go to school anymore, we just spend the day inside, training and watching ‘Bee and PuppyCat’! And eating noodles!

Macaque gave a sigh and a roll of his eyes, he’d lost count on how many times he’d watched the damn show with her. Did MK ever drag his mentor around like that? He wagered on ‘yes’, not a single fur strand on Wukong’s body was capable of denying anything to that boy.

-You’re not going to school?! Bai He, you need to study, what grade were you in? -the girl couldn’t properly answer him with a full mouth, so she just held up six fingers instead. -Sixth grade?! Ooh, that’s bad, that’s no good, is Macaque not taking you?

-No, they don’t want me there anymore! -she played with the broth on the bowl, stirring it with her chopsticks. -The other kids are afraid of me, and the hall monitors won’t let me in.

MK let out a little gasp, his eyes darted around the room, trying to come up with something else to say.

-Look… I know getting a bunch of new powers can be scary sometimes, believe me, I’m going through it right now, but-

-Yeah, I know. -Bai He interrupted.

-What do you mean “you know”?

-You’re a Celestial Monkey, too, aren’t you? Just like Macaque and the Monkey King?

Macaque felt his feathers bristle and puff up, his round eyes widened. How did she know that? He hadn’t told her that, she wasn’t there when MK’s monkey form started to get out of hand, how in the world could Bai He know? The boy seemed to be just as surprised by the information, frozen in place.

-How… Who…

-Something, something, ‘Harbinger Of Chaos’, right? -she said, continuing to eat as if nothing was wrong.

MK stared at her with a horrified face, unmoving, but Macaque’s sensitive hearing could easily pick up on his frantic heartbeat. His senses seemed to come back to him as his phone beeped loudly in his pocket. The boy jumped out of the chair.

-Uh… I have other stuff to deliver, but… I-it was good to know you’re okay, Bai He! -he told her. -Pass by Pigsy’s again, we’d love to see you there! If Macaque’s ever too tough on you, you’ll tell us, right?

-I will! Thanks, MK!

She waved him good-bye, ever the sweet one, as he rushed his way out the door, leaping back into his cart and flooring it down the street.

Macaque flew back into the living room, unnoticed, changing his wings into his arms again, feeling his tail lash behind him. When did Bai He ever refer to MK as a “Harbinger Of Chaos” before? He hadn’t heard it, but the boy very much had, judging by the look on his face. There was no way any of MK’s friends had told her about the new-found monkey form, there was no way she could have found that out all by herself.

The witch’s lingering presence was stronger than Macaque first thought, it seemed, it barely even scratched the surface. The girl needed more than spars and lessons, but how could he help when he knew so little about her powers himself?

It seems you cannot be trusted to willingly follow the path of Destiny.

Damn right he couldn’t.

-So, are the noodles any good? -he asked with a smile, walking into the kitchen to take a seat beside Bai He.

-They’re always good! Yours are getting cold, eat up!

She turned up the bowl, slurping the rest of the broth, leaving the vegetables untouched as always.

-You can have mine if you’d like, you’ll need all the strength and rest you could get for tonight.

-Why? Are we doing a special training session tonight? -she tilted her head, already unwrapping Macaque’s share.

-Sure are! I’m taking you on your first field mission!

Her head snapped around so their eyes met, the girl smiled from ear to ear.

-REA- Bai He placed her hands over her mouth, remembering all the times Macaque told her to tone it down with her excitement due to his plenty of ears. -Really?! Tonight?!

-Eat up and take a nap, kid, consider this a day off!

She let out a squealing cheer, kicking her legs under the table in excitement. As the girl finished up the rest of the meal, gobbling everything down, Macaque let his ears flicker and twist around, listening to the faint flap of small wings.

When Bai He was finally all done with her second bowl, Macaque twisted around with a growl, letting the shadows melt into his fur, bringing him into the wall, up to the beams on the ceiling to find the little sparrow hiding in the dark.

It's like MK hadn't learned anything he taught him, every single one of his transformations kept that stupid bright red headband which made him recognisable by a mile. It wasn't difficult at all to sneak up on the boy, grabbing his wings tight in his fist as the sparrow chirped desperately, squirming and struggling to fly away.

-I thought you had "other stuff to deliver"? -Macaque snarled at him, his eyes glowing menacingly.

-Why is Bai He here?! What did you tell her?! I swear, if you're hurting her, I'll-

-She tried to rob me in the middle of a snowstorm. -he said coldly. -You heard the kid, her parents are gone and she has nowhere to go, you'd rather have me toss her back out into the streets?

Sparrow MK stopped struggling to look at him with a raised brow.

-So you volunteered to train her instead, out of the goodness of your heart? Yeah, I don't buy it!

Macaque let out a little laugh.

-Just because you haven't learned anything from me, doesn't mean nobody can! Besides, Bai He is a much better student than you!

MK's feathers ruffled at the back-handed compliment.

-So what, you're just planning to steal her powers too? -the bird accused. -What happens if they overwhelm her, I mean, she's so little, there's no way she can completely control-

-You listen here! She's been a perfectly well-behaved kid, unlike a certain someone, and she's learning faster than I can teach her! -Macaque squeezed him ever so slightly, not to hurt, only to threaten. -Now is not the time for you and your little crew to butt in and ruin everything again! You won't utter a word of this to anyone, especially not your precious Monkey King! Now get out of my dojo and don't let me catch you sneaking around Bai He again!

MK's little eyes widened as Macaque bared his teeth in a growling threat, before letting them wander up to his mane of black fur.

-Are those little purple bows on your hair? -the sparrow snickered a little laugh.

-Get out!

The monkey threw him away, watching MK struggle to regain his balance mid-flight and hit his head against a few beams. When he finally managed to fly away through a crack in the ceiling, Macaque jumped back to the ground.

Walking back to the living room, Bai He had taken all the sofa's cushions and rearranged them in a sort of fort, covered in pillows and blankets she had stolen from his closet. There was another cartoon playing on the TV, though he didn't recognize it, it was much more detailed than the girl's favorite.

She did as she was told, slept most of the day away, lulled to sleep by her shows, only taking small breaks during her naps for snacks and pestering him with questions about where they were going and what were they going to do.

Macaque bapped her in the head with his tail and told her to wait for the surprise.

As day finally turned to night, Bai He estactically jumped up and down around him in a circle as he tried to lead her to the basement.

-It's a field mission, what do we need to go down there for? -she asked.

-I have one more present for you before we leave!

Her eyes sparkled and her smile widened, jumping over steps to get down faster, looking around the darkened room. Their gaze set on the large old wardrobe, wrapped in heavy, thick chains and a multitude of ancient runes carved in the wood. The only light source of the basement came from inside, a cold, hauntingly blue glow pulsed through the cracks like a faint heartbeat.

Macaque rolled his eyes at the struggling prisoner inside. It was a whole nother battle to stuff the Lady Bone Demon's lap dog inside the wardrobe after he found the man wandering around aimlessly, his eyes empty and sunken, his mouth hanging open, his movement sluggish like a puppet that had gotten it's strings cut loose.

-What's in there? -Bai He whispered, with hands stuffed in the pockets of her coat.

-In there is the Lady Bone Demon's most loyal servant. He's been around for centuries now, I think, following her every order. The guy's been a chief of war, the mayor of Megapolis, anything you can think of.

-You stuffed the mayor in there?!

The wardrobe gave a violent shake, the doors rattled in their hinges and the blue light grew more intense. He could definitely feel Bai He's power so close by.

-What am I supposed to do with him, read his mind like I did with Yuan?

-Why read his mind when you can do the writing? -the girl tilted her head in confusion. -Look, Bai He, we're manipulators, we take what's already there and we shape it however we like. You are a necromancer, you can reach even further than the world of the living! We wouldn't want that much power to go to waste, right? And for it to not go to waste, you need practice, this is the most beginner-friendly we're ever gonna get!

Bai He stared back at the wardrobe, still shaking and rattling in it's confinement, his ears could also pick up the new sound of frantic banging against the doors. The girl took a deep breath, shutting her eyes tightly and reaching her hands forward.

With enough concentration, the pulsating blue light finally stilled, the rattling and banging stopped, and Macaque felt energy passing through his seals and runes to reach the prisoner inside. The air grew colder and incomprehensible little whispers passed them by, the layers of dust on the floor and the walls lifted as did the wardrobe.

Macaque glanced at the girl with the corner of his eyes, noticing the sweat forming on her brow, the shaking of her hands and the many white strands covering her head.

Bai He let out a big sigh, dropping the hold she had on the prisoner and in turn, letting the wardrobe fall to the floor as well with a big THUD.

-Did it work? -he asked.

-I think so… -the girl took big breaths of air. -I can't hear anything…

The basement was awfully quiet, now that the prisoner had stopped his struggling, it was eerily still. Macaque dropped the chains and the seals with a wave of his hand, feeling Bai He hold his cape and hide behind him as the two approached the wardrobe.

Macaque opened the doors, and the little shape of a round body with a pair of perked up ears looked up to meet his eyes.

-A cat?! Seriously?! -he exclaimed. -Anything you could think of and you chose a cat?!

-I get to keep this one 'cause you said it was a present!

Before the monkey could protest, she ran up in front of him to pick up the cat with a squealing giggle. His tail twitched and his big, blue eyes glistened, letting out a loud and drawn-out meow as his lips drew back, his pearly white teeth bared in a freakishly large smile.

Macaque was almost tempted to tell Bai He to put him down, but the girl seemed just as glad to hold the cat in a tight hug as he did to receive it. Kneading her hoodie with his claws, purring like a factory machine, nuzzling his cheek against hers and never once letting that nightmare-inducing smile falter.

The furball was probably over the moon with happiness to return to his master's arms, even in such a small form.

-I'm gonna call you… Mayor! -she held the cat to her face, letting their noses touch. -It fits you!

His ears flickered in reluctant acceptance. Bai He would drag this cat around the dojo and out of it while "Mayor" would smile and purr through it all, he could already imagine it.

-Come on, both of you, we're not walking there. -he called.

Drawing a portal on the floor with his tail, Macaque fell into it with confidence, rising on the other side to get a good look at the numerous tombstones planted in the dirt of the city's cemetery.

Bai He followed not much behind, falling face-first beside him, not accustomed to portal-hopping as the monkey was. Mayor, unlike her, had no problems leaping through, bowing down to check on the girl as soon as he got to the other side.

She spit out a few stray hairs that got stuck to her tongue, getting back on her feet and dusting her skirt off.

Macaque cracked his fingers, already feeling the energy of his shadows crawling all around them. This was going to be a fun night!

Chapter Text

Bai He sputtered and mumbled to herself as she patted the dirty snow crumpling on the bottom of her coat. Her breath puffed out of her mouth in little clouds and her fingers stung from the freezing temperatures of the night.

Mayor looked up at her with his characteristically wide-shot blue eyes and Cheshire Cat smile, patiently sitting with his tail curled around his paws like a polite little gentleman.

She picked him up, struggling to properly hold his back legs in her arms, but thankfully, the cat was smarter and climbed onto her shoulders instead, curling up comfortably in her hoodie.

The only lights they had were the streets' lamp posts outside of the cemetery's gates and Mayor and Macaque's glowing eyes, so Bai He could still see where she was going as long as she kept close to the both of them.

-I want to ask what we're doing here, but I don't think I'll like the answer… -she told Macaque, who had an awfully pleased smirk on his face.

-You won't, but I will! I want to see how well you work with the recently deceased!

Bai He gave a little gasp.

-What, you mean… Like zombies ?! Eeewww, that's disgusting! They're all rotting and falling apart by now!

Macaque's smirk vanished from his face, his ears drooping as his brows furrowed. Mayor gave a ragged meow that sounded more like a laugh, his eyes squinting pleasantly.

The monkey bapped her in the face with his tail.

-No, bonehead, not with their bodies, just their spirits ! -he explained. -You managed to change Lady Bone Demon's pawn into a cat without even looking at him, you can manage to raise a few souls, right?

Bai He wasn't as convinced as he was, but Mayor did leap down from her shoulders to lead her way through the dirt path along the tombs. She clenched the sleeves of her coat, glancing around and trying to read the names in the gravestones but it was too dark to see, questioning if this was just a little too disrespectful to the dead. Maybe she could ask once she'd raise them and put the unhappy ones back to sleep.

Mayor let out a little trill, easily jumping up to the feet of a statue of an angel looming over with their hands held together in a prayer, looking at Bai He expectantly.

She took a deep breath, putting out her hands in front of her like she had done in Macaque's basement. The girl tried to reach out to… Whoever it was she was trying to reach, but all Bai He could feel was Mayor and Macaque behind her. It felt empty, cold, and lonely.

-It's not working! -she told Macaque. -I can't feel anything!

The monkey let out a thoughtful hum, his ears flickering.

-What does it feel like when you use your powers? What did it feel like in the basement? -he asked.

Bai He looked down at her little hands.

-I don't know, but it felt different. I knew what I was doing, even if just a little bit, and it wasn't pitch black in the middle of the night surrounded by dead strangers! -she explained. -I don't feel anything here…

Bai He had passed by the cemetery plenty of times before, but she'd never actually gone in. It was eerily quiet, it lacked the comfyness of Macaque's dojo and the night was so cold, all she wanted was to curl up on the couch and pass out watching a Ghibli movie, was that too much to ask?!

Mmree-eow ! Mmree-eow !

She heard Mayor crying, loud and languid. His shriekish little voice echoed in the silence of the night, drawn out meows coming out in a rhythm that almost sounded like chanting. His tail lashed out, hitting against the marble of the statue in the same beat.

And suddenly, Bai He could hear them.

"What's going on up there?"

"Who's making that damn ruckus?"

"Are the strays back?"

"Is there someone up there?"

Hundreds of voices, sleepy and confused whispering to each other, trying to figure out who woke them, 

-W-wait, I think I got it! -she exclaimed.

Mayor kept on chanting while Bai He extended her hands, this time, aiming for the dirt beneath her feet. She could feel them beneath the dirt, they were wide awake now and squirming against each other, pushing and pulling, trying to get out.

Out.

Out!

Get them out!

-Bai He, open your eyes! -Macaque's excited and deep voice drowned out the other's confused whispers.

She hadn't even realized she closed her eyes. With her hands still extended in front of her, Bai He looked around with wide-shot eyes, watching the many spirits glance at each other with confused and worried faces. She could see through them, though some looked more solid and others almost vanished, they all transpired a light blue glow, like lanterns that grew legs, illuminating the dirt path and the gravestones surrounding them.

Macaque seemed just as surprised as she was, though his ears perked up and his tail wagged slightly in excitement. Bai He was too busy picking up Mayor in her arms again to place a kiss on his furry forehead and praise him for a job well-done to pay attention to the angry spirit of a fat old man marching up to her.

-You! -he looked over Bai He’s head, glaring daggers at Macaque. -Is that your kid?! Get your brat under control, she’s keeping everyone up!

The girl took a step back, clutching a hissing Mayor to her chest. Macaque was looming over her in a minute, his tail wrapping tightly around her wrist and his fur bristled. His lips drew back in a terrifying imitation of a smile, sharp teeth poking out and ears drawn back flat against his head.

-Why, my good sir, this " brat " you speak so rudely of has just given you the opportunity of an afterlife! -Macaque spoke in a witty salesman voice, the purple hue of his eyes outshone the bright blue glow of the angry spirit. -We have traveled from very far away, hopping tomb to tomb, entertaining and helping restless souls such as yourselves!

The fat old man gave a scoff, crossing his arms.

-We're not "restless"! At least, we weren't until your noisy little furball-

-Hou! Are you yelling at the visitors again ? -a hoarse voice came from behind him. -Leave them alone, you're scaring the poor girl half to death!

She watched an old lady scold the fat man, Hou, as if he was no more than a child throwing a tantrum.

-Forgive my husband, he's not one to make friendships easily. I'm Wen. Are you and your daughter here to visit family members?

Bai He frowned, raising a brow at the notion of Wen thinking Macaque was her father. She never entertained the thought of looking like a monkey, but with both their matching inky black manes of hair, she figured it wouldn't be a stretch for an old lady with eyesight so bad her eyes squinted so tightly they almost closed.

-Not at all, ma'am, much on the contrary! We are here to make sure your family members remember to visit you ! -he said. -I’m sure you all have loved ones still living and breathing who haven’t shown up in a long while…

Wen gave a thoughtful hum, an upset frown forming in her face, turning to her husband. The other spirits also slowly approached to listen in on whatever elaborate lie Macaque was cooking up.

-Old friends, siblings, children, grandchildren even, I’m not sure they’ve come around as much as they should have, have they? I don’t see any flowers on that grave, nor on that one!

The spirits nodded along, some of them whispering angrily amongst themselves in a bit of confusion. The great majority of them were older men and women looking to be in their late sixties or seventies, but some of them looked awfully young. Way too young to be in a cemetery. Most were grown adults, but some looked to be teenagers or even younger.

Hiding behind a grave, was a small little boy, shorter than Bai He herself, with a gooey white liquid streaming down his face like tears. He couldn’t be much younger than her, could he? What was such a little kid doing in a cemetery?

-Well, your worries can finally be put to rest! Pun not intended… -Macaque rested a hand on Bai He’s shoulder. -This little lady here has brought you out of your sleep and back to your homes, where you can find your families by yourselves!

A wave of gasps sounded through the fog now lifting up from the cemetery floor, some of the spirits smiled brightly and tugged on each other’s shoulders and arms, pointing at the locked entrance gates. Hou looked over his shoulder at the hushed cacophony, bringing two fingers to his lips and whistling loudly. Bai He covered one of her ears with one hand and Mayor’s ears with the other.

-So you want me to believe you both just showed up out of nowhere to help us, out of the goodness of your hearts? -he gave a mocking laugh. -I don’t buy it!

Wen stepped in front of her husband, tugging on his wrist angrily.

-Hou, stop it! Don’t you see, we could finally visit Zhan again! Don’t you want to see your grandson?

The fat old man’s gaze softened, Bai He could see his inner struggle as he looked away trying to ignore the other spirits’ encouragement.

-Wen, I’ve worked with folks like these before, if it sounds too good to be true, it’s because it probably is! -he said in a much softer tone. -There’s always a catch at the end, some price we can’t pay!

-Y-you don’t have to pay anything, really!! -Bai He took a step forward, trying to come up with anything to convince Hou. -It’s a free sample!

Macaque gave a wheeze behind her, probably trying to contain a laugh.

-See, free of charge! Are you really going to doubt a sweet little girl ?

Wen reached down and pinched Bai He’s cheek ever so slightly, the way she’d seen other kids' grandmothers and aunts do. Her own aunt never really did that and she didn’t have living grandparents, the giddy feeling of overflowing pride made her laugh involuntarily.

The spirits finally started to scatter out of the cemetery and Mayor happily trotted behind them with his tail held high, giving the girl an inviting purr . Passing through the bars of the gates and the fences, they chattered and talked over each other excitedly, their bright blue glow cast on passing windows and cars.

-Why are we lying to them? -Bai He tugged on Macaque’s sleeve and whispered.

-Because if they realize we’ve brought them here for no good reason, we’re gonna get the short end of the stick!

He sat her on his shoulders, slipping into another portal to the street outside where they could accompany the spirits on foot. They floated above their heads like the fish she'd seen in the city's aquarium once during a school trip, smiling and laughing and pointing at places they've been before.

Some of them came down to walk beside Macaque and Bai He, sitting down on the benches and looking into shop windows. Mayor caught up to them, looking up at the dark monkey with loud and drawn-out meows , asking to be picked up again while the girl laughed at their one-sided argument.

-You have four perfectly good legs, you can walk yourself! -he spat.

They finally stopped in front of an ice-cream parlor, the fancy one with the three page menu that was always too expensive for her parents to get. Macaque gave her a wink through the reflection in the glass and unlocked the doors with a wave of his hands.

The girl sprinted inside with a shrill of happiness, accidentally bumping her nose against the glass of the display showing all the different flavors and toppings. One of them was bright pink with colorful sprinkles and chocolate bits called "birthday cake". It wasn't difficult to decide which one she wanted after that.

-Why is it called "birthday cake flavor" if birthday cakes have multiple flavors as well?

-I dunno! -she shrugged, taking another lick of her cone. -Macaque, what day is your birthday?

-I don’t remember.

Bai He choked on her own gulp of air, staring at him like he’d just said a wave of curse words one after the other.

-What do you mean you don’t remember?! How do you have a birthday party if you don’t even remember what day you were born?!

Macaque rolled his eyes, sighing heavily as the girl placed her free hand on her waist, looking up at him with a demanding pout, not noticing she’d left her ice cream cone hanging low to the bench where Mayor could reach to lick it.

-Kid, that was a long time ago. -he complained. -I’m not even sure how old I am. Besides, this whole birthday thing is really pointless to mortals.

-But it’s so much fun! There’s cakes and presents and all your friends are there with presents and you get to sing Happy Birthday and then you open the presents! My birthday is next month!

He gave an amused laugh.

-You seem really focused on the present part!

-Presents are an important part of a birthday party… -she mumbled. -AH, Mayor, no! Ice cream is bad for you, you’re gonna be sick!

She snatched the now melting cone away from a meowing Mayor, his toothy wide smile now covered in sticky pink ice cream, his tail swished happily and he repeatedly licked his lips.

Though if Bai He really thought about it, letting anyone eat ice cream in a negative temperature while there’s still snow outside would not be a good idea. Macaque should know this, right? If there was anything she wasn’t allowed to do, it’s because her parents had a good reason for it, either because she’d end up hurting herself or because she’d end up sick, or so she was told by teachers and the many cartoons she watched.

But Macaque didn’t have any house rules. Bai He watched as much TV as she wanted, ate as many bowls of noodles as she wanted, didn’t have to clean her room or change clothes or brush her teeth. She still did some of it out of habit here and there but the monkey never really bossed her around outside of training or whenever he was sleepy.

He had praised her when she bullied Yuan to the point of tears, he stole, he walked around barefoot, he stuffed his face in junk food and his silky black fur was never neat.

Had everyone lied to her? If these rules weren’t important at all, why had she bothered to be a good kid for so long?

-Your ice cream’s melting, Bai He! -Macaque bapped her face with his tail.

The girl was quick to finish her cone, accompanying her mentor outside again. The spirits had scattered all around the city, some still floating above them, against the pitch black of the late hours, but not as many as before. She saw Macaque’s ears flicker and stand up in alert, a smirk slowly creeping into his face.

-This is my favorite part! -he whispered.

Bai He was about to ask what he was talking about before a scream of absolute terror sounded from one of the nearby apartments. A woman scampared out of the front door, still wearing her pajamas, with a confused spirit following not much further behind.

From another house, a couple came out, also screaming. And more and more people ran out to the streets, waving their arms in a panic, crying and yelling as spirits chased after them.

-What’s going on? -she asked Macaque.

-Nothing, people seem to have just gone mad! I mean… ghosts aren’t real, right?

He winked at her.

She wanted to retort, say he was being mean again, that they needed to stop it, that it wasn’t fair to the people of Megapolis. But maybe it was, wasn’t it? Bai He had been taught to treat others like you’d like to be treated, and ever since Lady Bone Demon’s attack she’d been chased, yelled at and abandoned.

Let them run around in fear for a change!

Mayor climbed to her shoulders again, nuzzling against her cheek as they watched the frenzy. A young man passed by, going as fast as his legs could take him, being chased by a very angry-looking young woman. He was so distracted by the spirits he forgot to look where he was going and ran face-first into a light pole.

-Oooh…! -Bai He and Macaque flinched in unison.

He wrapped his tail around her wrist, leading her to sit in another bench to watch it all unfurl, pointing and laughing at anyone else that fell or just let out a particularly funny noise of terror.

The spirits seem to grow angrier by the minute, still chasing after people, even the little ghost children. Even Mayor joined in the fun at one point, walking under terrified runners’ legs to trip them so the chasers could catch up.

Bai He showed him a group of people hiding in an alleyway, looking up at the storm of bright blue light the ghosts conjured in their hurry, and the cat slowly but surely crept up behind them, waiting for a few minutes to let out a YOWL and scare them away.

That trick got Macaque wheezing with laughter and his tail wagging madly. It took him a few minutes to recover his breath.

-You know what’s the best part about this?! -he asked, getting excited when she shook her head. -This is all you! You did this, all on your own, with not even a full month of training! That takes power , Bai He! You’re getting bigger than I imagined!

Bai He smiled widely, cuddling a purring Mayor to her chest. She didn’t like to imagine herself ruining people’s night often, but this was funnier than the girl liked to admit. Is that why Macaque was so mean all the time, did he always have this much fun just by bothering people?

-Do you want to try putting on Glamour yourself this time? -the monkey asked softly.

The girl looked over her shoulders to see her reflection on the glass window. Half of her whole head of hair was now white and her right eye had turned an icy blue. Oftenly, looking at her own reflection to see the white strands poking through her silky black hair would cause a nauseous feeling to rise from her stomach.

But for whatever reason, this time it didn’t.

She saw Mayor rest his little paws on the back of the bench, looking up at her. He was covered in white stripes amidst his mostly gray short fur, and his eyes were wide and blue as well.

-No… -she answered, scratching her cat’s chin. -I don’t need it anymore!

She sat back down, happy to let Mayor curl up on her lap to watch the people run in fear of the spirits. They stayed there for what she assumed was at least an hour more, and even if Bai He was still having the time of her life, sleep was slowly but surely weighing down on her. Her eyelids were drooping and her yawns were getting more frequent.

Bai He looked up at Macaque to ask when they were leaving, seeing him also eyeing his own reflection on the window. The scar across his left blind eye was back and he had a thoughtful look on his face. Out of instinct, the girl reached out again, but recoiled her hand when the monkey turned to her.

Instead of flattening his ears against his head like last time, Macaque rested his elbows on his legs, closing his eyes and bringing his face down to a level she could reach. Carefully, Bai He grazed her fingers over the scarred skin as softly as she could.

She should probably try to ask him what happened again, but something told her Macaque wasn’t ready to tell her that story just yet. Maybe another day.

Chapter Text

Since they’d gotten back from the cemetery that night, Bai He had been insistently trying to push her powers further and asking Macaque for new fighting techniques. The girl would wake at the ass crack of dawn and pull her mentor out of bed by the tail if she needed to, even resorting to ordering the Heavensforsaken cat to YOWL into one of his sets of three ears.

That earned her a stern talking to which more resumed into Macaque circling the kitchen table, trying not to trip over the bottom of his robe while ranting about how insufferable it was to be awakened so early, sometimes stopping mid-sentence for a sip of his black coffee before going back to his blathering.

He also had to shoo away the furball Bai He loved so much away from his plate.

-And get that thing off my table! -he hissed, reaching to grab Mayor by the scruff.

-Be nice to the kitty!

The cat slithered it's way between the chair legs and onto Bai He's lap where it promptly nuzzled up to her chin, purring loudly as the girl hugged it closer, shooting Macaque a nasty side eye accompanied by another freakish smug smile of his.

-I better not see it climbing all over my furniture! It's gonna leave fur everywhere!

-You leave fur everywhere and we let you on the couch! -Bai He protested.

Macaque didn't have the energy to argue further and simply downed his coffee in one gulp.

The girl struggled to get through the dojo in complete darkness at first, another one of Macaque's challenges, until the cat woke up from it's nap, trotting up to Bai He with it's tail held high. The damned thing's eyes shone such a bright blue, it lit up the room like a flashlight.

She repeated all the blow sequences he'd found in an old book, back to back, even after Macaque told her she didn't need to and that training was over for the day.

-I want to get even bigger and stronger! Like MK! -she'd argue. -One day, I want to invite him for a spar and I want to win !

That was unexpected, but not in a bad way. Looking back to just a week or less ago, to that whiny and scared little girl who trampled over her own shoes trying to keep up with him, and comparing it to this confident and eager attitude made an overwhelmingly warm feeling bloom in his chest.

Macaque would gladly indulge her newfound hunger for power. Especially if Bai He focused it into kicking MK's ass.

But there was still the matter of knowing exactly what they were working with. He was fully determined to know the exact limits of her abilities and make sure Bai He wouldn't push herself past them by accident.

It took every single member of MK's little stitched-together troop to take down the Lady Bone Demon and her Bone Mech, even when Macaque thought it impossible, even if it did take every ounce of magic they had. If it could happen to an eons old immortal demon, it could happen to a little girl still learning the ropes of her own powers, and the witch had a lot of old enemies.

Macaque needed information and fast, thankfully, he had a reliable source.

shad0wm0nkey: hey

moonbun🌙🐇: Heeyyyy!! 🤗🤗👋💙💙

moonbun🌙🐇: So good to hear from you again, Mac!😍😍 Watcha need?❓️❓️🤔

The monkey felt an amused smile slowly form in his face at Chang'e's excessive use of emojis, trying not to scoff as his best friend immediately assumed he had something to ask of her. Because he did, in fact, have something to ask of her.

shad0wm0nkey: i need some information on a thing

shad0wm0nkey: its for a good cause

moonbun🌙🐇: 💙👍 You know I always have ☕️ whenever you need it!😝😉😉 But what's this good cause??🤔🤔🤔

shad0wm0nkey: Sent 3 images

Macaque attached a few pictures Bai He took of the two of them some days ago. One of her own confused face at the breakfast table trying to work out how the monkey's phone camera worked, another a clumsy attempt at a selfie with her cat, and the last one a proper selfie of the three of them sitting around a table in front of a McDonald's.

moonbun🌙🐇: 🤯🤯😍😍🥰🤩💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙

moonbun🌙🐇: What a cutie pie, she's adorbs!!💙💙🤩

moonbun🌙🐇: Where did you find her???🥰🥰🥰

shad0wm0nkey: funny story

shad0wm0nkey: she found me

shad0wm0nkey: been keeping her around for training

He looked over his shoulder, to see Bai He showing Mayor another movie on the TV about a big, fat, rabbit-like, gray wind spirit, pointing at the screen and explaining the story and who the characters were all the while, the cat nodded along and meowed in understandment.

shad0wm0nkey: thats the girl lady bone demon possessed

moonbun🌙🐇: 😱😱😱😱😱 Noooo!!!

moonbun🌙🐇: Poor, sweet baby! 🥺🥺🥺 That's terrible, is she okay?!🤕🤕

shad0wm0nkey: shes alright and shes strong

shad0wm0nkey: her powers are growing bigger and I need to know more about them

shad0wm0nkey: anything you could give me?

moonbun🌙🐇: 🤔🤔🤔🤔 I think I might have something!💙

moonbun🌙🐇: You just hop on over tonight and bring the little 👼 with you, I'll have a steaming hot cocoa mug with her name on it!🥰💙💙💙

shad0wm0nkey: thanks chang'e

moonbun🌙🐇: Anything for my dark side of the moon! 🌙😘😘😘😘💙

Macaque stuffed his phone back in his pocket, walking over to the couch and flopping himself down on the cushions beside the entranced girl, catching the cat sprawled out on her lap looking up at him with big blue eyes and an uncanny smile. The monkey's ears flattened against his head.

-I'm watching you, fleabag, so don't get any big ideas! -he whispered threateningly, hoping Bai He wouldn't hear him.

For some reason, the girl loved this cat more than anything and would come up with any excuse to let it do whatever it pleased. Mayor simply answered with a long and drawn out meow and a tilt of it's head. It knew exactly what it was doing.

He waited until the credits rolled to call Bai He's attention, not wanting to ruin her fun and even admitting to himself that her soft little films were starting to grow on him.

-Let's watch Howl's Moving Castle next! -she exclaimed, reaching for the remote controller.

-Not tonight, kiddo. We're going out. -he wrapped his tail around her wrist to stop her.

Bai He smiled brightly with excitement.

-We're going on another field mission?!

-Not really, just visiting an old friend of mine! -the monkey took the controller and changed out of Netflix into the other TV cable channels, much to the girl's annoyance. -Do you know this one?

The upbeat and whimsical little intro song from Chang'e's show sounded a little too shrill for his ears, but he knew the goddess loved this cutesy and soft type of stuff, so he never argued with her. Though that didn't stop Macaque from rolling his eyes.

" Hello, everyone! It's wonderful to see you down there! I've missed you all so much! ", came her sweet voiceover from the TV, along with the piles of bunnies she insisted on adding to her intro. " Welcome to my home for another night of: Cooking With Chang'e, where I always say 'cooking is life and life is cooking!' "

-Yeah, that's Chang'e's show! My mom watched it all the time and tried a bunch of her recipes, but they never worked out..  -she said, stroking Mayor's fur along his back and turning to watch the TV. Before her brows furrowed in realization of what Macaque had just entailed. -Wait, you're friends with Chang'e ?!

He gave a little laugh.

-Sure am! Best friends, in fact. She might have a bit more information on Lady Bone Demon and her powers that could help both of us.

-We're going to the moon ?! -she squeaked, bouncing on her seat. -We're gonna fly on a rocketship to the moon ?!

Macaque laughed harder, shaking his head.

-A rocketship ! That's a good one! We don't need a rocketship, I have my own private entrance!

Bai He seemed a bit disappointed at that bit of information, but even if Macaque had any idea of where to get a rocketship in the first place, he sure as hell wouldn't be the one to build it.

He sent the girl to bed early for a nap so she wouldn't pass out from tiredness in the middle of Chang'e's kitchen, and much to his dismay, she invited Mayor to cuddle up beside her on the bed.

After a few hours of desperately needed peace and quiet, Macaque's ears fluttered as hurried steps of little feet approached his room and Bai He called out to him from the corridor, Mayor by her feet, to announce the sun had set with a breathless voice. She hopped the whole way down to the living room, constantly checking over her shoulder to see if he was still following her, waiting with bated breath as the Warrior drew a circle of runes with his tail on the wooden floor.

As soon as it was opened with a beam of light, he nodded to the girl and they all jumped in. At first, Macaque hoped the travel wouldn’t make Bai He sick, all the twists and turns were very different from his standard smaller portals he had everywhere, and she still wasn’t used to them either, but the sounds of excited screaming accompanied but occasional whoops of glee reassured him there was no problem.

They slided all the way down at the speed of light, being tossed out the other end of the shadowed tunnel with an inhumane force. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he turned around to catch a still screaming Bai He in his arms so she wouldn’t fall face-first onto the dirt. Mayor came a few seconds after her, but caught itself on it’s own four paws, though it’s whiskers were disheveled and it’s fur stood up as if the cat had just been struck by lightning, it’s smile never faltered.

-AGAIN! -squealed a squirming Bai He. -AGAIN, AGAIN, AGAIN, AGAIN!

-We’ll go again on the way back.

She let out a disappointed hum as he set her down, but was quickly distracted by the beautiful garden around them. A dirt and stone path extended in a large circle, arches overgrown with vines and leaves guiding the way, surrounded by perfectly trimmed bushes and weeping willows with lanterns hanging from their branches. It was much colder than Earth, even if there was no snow, and small puffs of vapor formed in front of their faces with each breath, but Bai He didn’t seem to care.

Macaque kept a close eye on her as she looked around with wonder, brushing Mayor’s fur down against it’s back again, walking up to one of the arches and standing underneath it. His ears flickered and perked up as he heard one of the bunny mechs approaching through the bushes and locked eyes with it.

He kept still as it scanned him over and turned to Bai He. The monkey called the girl over and watched as her eyes widened and glistened at the sight of the little mech, immediately reaching out her arms to grab it. Luckily, the rabbit was quicker and leapt over the girl to the other side of the path, hoping to stand next to it’s maker.

-There you are! -Chang’e greeted them sweetly, as always. -I was wondering when you’d finally show up!

Macaque shrugged.

-I would’ve come early, but I’d never be able to forgive myself if I ruined your beauty sleep! -he laughed, walking up to give her a tight hug.

For someone who spent so much time in the kitchen, Chang’e never had that certain smell most cooks had. MK’s pig father had it, the stuffy, oily, garlicky characteristic smell that never seemed to lift away. He even caught Red Son and Demon Bull King smelling like that once or twice, but never Chang’e, and he was thankful for it, nuzzling against her hair as the anxious weight seemed to lift off his chest.

-You need to pop over more often, I missed you! -she whispered with her face squished against his shoulder. After what felt like hours, they finally let go of each other and Chang’e looked around expectantly. -Now, where’s that sweet little thing I’ve heard so much abou-

She gasped, looking down at Macaque’s rustling red cape, where Bai He had nested herself and peeked out from behind him to look up at the moon goddess.

-Say “hello” to Chang’e, Bai He. -he wrapped his tail around her wrist for reassurance and pushed her forward gently.

It took a second for the girl to actually look up properly and speak.

-Hello, Mrs Chang’e… -she greeted quietly, almost in a whisper.

-Aw, I love her even more ! -Chang’e clenched her fist on her chest right above her heart. -No need to call me “Mrs”, sweetie, it makes me feel old! Let’s go inside, do you want to see more bunny mechs?

Bai He’s eyes lit up at the mention of more rabbit robots, immediately letting go of Macaque and following the moon goddess to her house.

Chang’e made her main kitchen separated from the rest of her quarters so it’d be easier to film episodes and keep work away from home. There was an enormous pantry attached to it where she kept all the food she’d need, organized neatly in boxes and drawers, all labeled with names and dates so they’d never go bad. Maybe if Bai He distracted her for long enough, Macaque could manage to sneak in again and steal some goodies as he’d  done a few times before she banned him from ever stepping another foot inside.

The living room was crawling with more rabbits. It reminded Macaque of MK’s big friend, Sandy, and his innumerous rescue cats. Bai He had blathered on and on about his pets, memorized all their names and could even tell the identical ones apart somehow. She also responded to the very populated house the exact same way, rushing in with a squealing laugh and her arms open to grab the first one she could. The little mechs scattered in a panic, jumping on the furniture with alarmed blaring noises.

Chang’e didn’t seem to mind, sitting by the coffee table in her usual armchair. There was already a thermos bottle, sugar, milk, cream and mugs set around neatly in a little circle, as well as a  mug filled with what looked like hot cocoa. As Macaque let his body go limp on the couch beside her, he felt Mayor dash from underneath the cushions, tackling one of the bunny mechs to the ground, trying to dig it’s little claws and teeth into the metal.

The robot gave it a powerful kick, sending the smiling cat tumbling across the room. Bai He stopped her chasing only to run up to it and cuddle the furball in her arms. The monkey rolled his eyes at the scene.

-So what’s the big story, I want to hear everything! -Chang’e insisted, already pouring them two mugs of coffee each.

-Pretty clichê, if you ask me… She broke into the dojo in the middle of a storm, said her parents left when Lady Bone Demon took over the city and had no family that could take her in. I didn’t really have much of a choice in whether or not to let her stay.

The goddess let out a little undignified gasp.

-What, they just packed up and moved?! I swear, the gall of some mortals… -she shook her head. -I saw the commotion in the cemetery the other night, though, was that all her?

Macaque puffed out his chest in pride.

-It sure was! Bai He, tell Chang’e how you raised the dead in the city that night!

The girl came to a stumbling stop, breathing heavily as the bunny mechs still ran circles around her. Setting Mayor down by her side, she sat criss-cross in front of the coffee table, looking up at the two of them with a smile.

-I did! All by myself too! I mean, Mayor helped! And Macaque was there! And the ghosts were running around and scaring people! And I felt bad about it for a little while! But then Macaque got me ice cream! And then we sat on the bench-

-Easy, tiger, take a breath! -Chang’e laughed, gently handing her the mug. -I know all about it! It was all over the news too, you guys are famous! You sure make it your  mission to put the “tiny” in “mighty”, don’t you?

Bai He’s breathing evened and calmed as she took a few gulps of the hot cocoa, setting the cup on the table and leaving a spot of chocolate on her lips like a mustache.

-I’m not tiny, I’m big! -she protested. -Macaque says so!

-It’s true! Kid’s powers are growing stronger by the minute. She’ll be on par with MK and the rest of them in no time, if not stronger! -he glared at Chang’e. -Not that you’d know anything about it, would you, Mrs Monkey King’s Hugest Fan?

-Aw, come on, don’t tell me you’re still bitter about that!

Macaque let a little growl escape his throat, his ears flat against his head. He didn’t see it the night Chang’e had posted those damned pictures, but she showed them to him as soon as he was free from the witch’s grip. Look who stopped by for a surprise visit!!!🤯🤯😍 The Monkey King himself and his protege, what a fun night!😘😘😘😘💙 , it said in the description.

The Warrior dug into Chang’e that night, the only reason he didn’t yell was because she was kind enough to take him in and let him crash after the whole ordeal  with Mei’s Samadhi Fire attack and almost dying again. He owned the moon goddess a lot, but he was not willing to let that go so easily, especially after he had told her so much dirt on Sun Wukong and painted him to seem absolutely despicable.

-I’m only not going to give you another piece of my mind again because the kid’s still here! -he grumbled. -Speaking of… You did have something for us, didn’t you?

Bai He was still sitting near the coffee table, but she didn’t seem to be actively listening. She focused more on scratching behind Mayor's ears and looking around at the bunny mechs, slowly hopping near to study her more carefully now that the girl wasn't actively chasing them.

-Indeed, I do! -she took another sip of her milk with coffee and pounds of sugar. -From what I know, the first anyone ever saw of Lady Bone Demon was thousands of years ago, in a very reclusive kingdom. I can't for the life of me remember what it was called and it's nothing but ruins and dust out there by now…

Macaque nodded, ears flared out, not willing to miss a word out of Chang'e.

-I doubt there's anyone who survived the fall of it that actually remembers anything, but there is a map out there!

That caught Bai He's attention.

-A map? Like a treasure map?

-Kind of! -Chang'e said. -The last I’ve seen of it, it had fallen into the hands of a couple of… Kleptomaniac demons or something like that.

-Oh, no… -Macaque shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. He knew exactly who Chang’e was talking about, though he wished he didn’t.

The Gold and Silver Demons had been a thorn on everyone’s side for years now. They made into the news various times with their unending pyramid schemes, serial robbing, identity theft and tax fraud just to name a few things. Macaque himself had come face to face with them when they tried to install themselves in his dojo, thinking it was abandoned.

He put the two brothers to run, tails between their legs, screaming in terror, naturally. Those two were the most idiotic and stupid demons he’d probably ever met in his life, only losing to the Monkey King himself, but it was still incomprehensible how those clowns managed to stir up so much trouble to be known across the entire Megapolis and the Demon Realm.

-Friends of yours? -Chang’e chuckled.

-Not in a million years…!

Bai He gulped down the last of her hot cocoa, wiping the smudge on her upper lip with the sleeve of her coat. She let out a gasp as she looked inside, showing Macaque the bottom of her mug.

-There’s a bunny! -she exclaimed with excitement.

There really was a rabbit. Instead of a flat bottom, a small little ceramic bunny popped up from inside the mug, revealing itself from underneath the hot cocoa.

-Are we gonna fight the keptomanac demons? -the girl asked. -Are they big? I don’t know if I trained enough for a fight yet…

-Of course not, sweetie, you’re still too young to fight anyone! -Chang’e answered before Macaque could. -Besides, what exactly do you guys plan to do once you have the map? I heard the place opened up into a gateway directly to the Underworld.

-Those are rumors. Mortals will come up with any little story just to pass the time. -Macaque shrugged.

Chang’e didn’t argue, but he knew she was still a bit apprehensive about it. Filling up her mug again, she called Bai He’s attention, pouring a good amount of cream on her drink until it reached the surface.

The girl watched as Chang’e skillfully used the cream to draw a little rabbit. Bai He's face lit up with a smile and she stood up to take a better look at it.

At her delighted giggling, Chang'e offered to teach her how to make one. She unfortunately also used Macaque's mug to teach it even knowing he likes his coffee completely black. Bai He’s drawing came out very much wonky, but they didn’t seem to mind it.

-You’ve been training her to fight too?

-I helped manage her powers, if she can focus that into fighting, even better! -Macaque smirked.

-Is that why she looks so disheveled?

Bai He snapped her head up, with an offended look.

-I’m not disheveled, this is just how I look! -she protested. -Macaque is always disheveled!

The goddess let out a cackle, ignoring the monkey’s side eye and the angry wag of his tail.

-W-wait… You’re not fresh out of training? -Chang’e  turned to Macaque with her arms crossed. -Does she just look like this most of the time?! Macaque, you can’t possibly let her walk around like this!

His ears drooped.

-What are you talking about, she looks fine!

-Her hair is knotty, her shoes are caked in mud, her skirt is ragged in so many places, just to name a few things! -Chang’e stood up, raising her fingers with each point she made. -I already expected that from you, but you can't leave the poor girl in this state!

Bai He looked down at herself, passing a finger through a cut in her coat.

-There's a hole in it too! -she said with a cheeky smile.

-In the middle of winter!

Macaque didn't really have any counter arguments for that. Chang'e was always on his tail about taking better care of himself, changing out of his now years-old clothes he badly stitched together, grooming his fur properly, but most of the time, he would just get so caught up  in a mission or trying not to die, he didn’t really have the opportunity to stop and think about himself.

Though it wasn’t fair to Bai He to be dragged down to his level, so the Warrior just allowed himself to be dragged by the arm into Chang’e’s enormous closet.

-It’s like a whole room just for your clothes! -the girl exclaimed, her eyes widened as she took a peek into the never-ending hall of clothes hangers, shoes and who knows what else the moon goddess stuffed in there.

-I think there’s something your size on the big chest by the mirror! See if you’d find something you like!

Bai He rushed in, Mayor even leapt after her, eagerly giggling and shoving herself half into the chest, face-first, throwing clothes over her shoulders nonchalantly.

-So… What’s really going on?

Chang’e turned to Macaque with an uncharacteristically serious look, her arms crossed and her brows furrowed.

-You’ll need  to be more specific than that .

-The last time I saw you, your clothes were ripped to shreds, you were covered in bruises and bone shards, and you looked more terrified than the day you crawled out of the dirt! Now you show up with the kid that got possessed by the same demon who tried to kill you, saying you took her under your wing without an apparent reason! -Chang'e whispered harshly so Bai He wouldn't hear her from inside the closet. -...And you're wearing your scar out.

His fur bristled and his nose scrunched up at her last remark. Macaque was praying she wouldn’t point it out today, but he should have known that was too much to hope for.

-What did you expect me to do? I couldn’t just toss her back out to the streets! -he argued. -It’s not my fault she decided to break into my dojo!

-Are you still living in that moldy old thing? Even when you have a perfectly good room in that beautiful, sunny paradise you refuse to settle in?

He tossed his head back with a growl, feeling his eyes roll.

-Don’t you start with that again…!

-I’ll start whatever I please, thank you very much! You came here  to ask for my help and I’m not pulling punches anymore! -Chang’e set her hands on her   hips. -Mac, I know you’re stubborn about Monkey King-

-That’s simplifying it!

-But you can’t think of just yourself anymore! Bai He’s counting on you to watch out for her, if you’re having trouble handling everything, you could talk to MK  and his family! They know her and I’m sure they’d be more than happy to help!

“ How would you know,  you don’t have any children! ”, Macaque forced every fiber of his being to not snap at her. It wouldn’t be fair to his best friend who was just trying to help him like he’d asked.

The monkey took a deep breath.

-Those idiots wouldn’t  be able to help her if they gave it their all! -he explained. -I don’t even understand Bai He’s situation fully, the last thing I need is for her to get consumed by her own powers like I did!

Chang’e’s soft, comforting smile returned.

- There it is! Is that what's gotten you so worried? -she huffed.

Some unpleasant feeling bubbled in Macaque’s chest and he crossed his arms to try and ignore it. He knew the moon goddess was taking the situation just as seriously as he was, though some annoying little voice in his mind kept insisting she wasn’t.

-Listen to me, that’s not going  to happen, you know why?  -she rested a hand on his shoulder. -Because underneath all that grumpiness and emo makeup, you’re just a  big softie who can’t say ‘no’ to those puppy-dog eyes of hers!

A low growl escaped his throat and his tail swished in annoyance.

-She’s a good kid , you both are gonna get that map and you'll figure something out! And while I don’t think I’m qualified enough to speak on raising children… Maybe your sister is!

Macaque gave a thoughtful hum at her suggestion. It certainly wasn't a terrible idea and he hasn't seen Princess Iron Fan in a long time now, as well as his brother-in-law and his nephew, she'd be delighted to meet Bai He almost as much as Chang'e.

He'd never admit he needed help, but feeding the kid only noodles and letting her push herself during training until she passed out on the couch watching cartoons everyday might not be the best decision he's ever made in his life.

-I like these ones!

Bai He came rushing out of the closet, breathing heavily and pulling her bangs out of her eyes. Instead of the big, bulky coat, she had on a light blue jacket and a long sleeved black shirt under it. Her frilly pink skirt had been replaced with a silkier white one and black leggings. She wore boots instead of shoes and a blue hair bow.

Mayor stepped out beside her, it's chin held high, showing off the little purple tie around it's neck and squinting it’s eyes pleasantly.

-D'aaww, look at you two matching! Aren't you just the most adorable little things! -Chang'e cooed, before turning to Macaque again. -Now, for your clothes, monkey daddy…

-No, thank you very much! Bai He has new clothes, that’s all we need, I am more than happy with my looks right now!

The girl ran up to him and hugged his waist, pulling at his shirt with a bright smile.

-Come on, Macaque, it’s really fun! -she insisted. -And Chang’e’s right, your clothes are really old!

His ears drew back with a scowl, his tail bapped the girl's face and he raised a brow, trying not to let out a growl at Chang’e’s laughter. But after much insisting, he finally let them drag him into the  closet and toss whatever piece they liked best at his face.

Macaque had to admit it,though, they weren’t completely off base. He still had his red scarf, though he cut it down the middle and split it into two ends, the sash around his waist kept the belts in place to hold up the chainmail chestplate, it had a fanged monkey’s face engraved in it, his skirt held up by two yellow belts, all over the black pants and tunic he shoved on.

For some reason, Chang’e had a perfectly good phoenix feather lying around, and Macaque didn’t think twice to seize the opportunity and snatched it, tying it to his fur atop of his head.

Bai He and Chang’e cheered him on as he stepped out, the little girl looked  up at him with admiring eyes as if he hung the stars himself.

A loud ping alerted him from Chang’e’s pocket and she pulled out her phone.

-You know… We’re about to film a new episode! Do you two wanna join?

-We get to be on TV?!

Bai He didn’t think twice to let go of Macaque and follow the moon goddess out to her kitchen. The bunny mechs had already set the cameras and any props they might have needed, somehow, even without hands, and for the majority of the time, he hid in the girl’s shadow, simply watching over them.

-Hello, everyone! It's wonderful to see you down there! I've missed you all so much! Welcome to my home for another night of: Cooking With Chang'e! -she spoke her program’s intro. -Tonight, we’re going to learn how to make shapes and drawings on your lattes with some cream! And to help me with this episode… Everyone, say “hello” to Bai He!

-Hi! -the girl waved her hand excitedly at the recording camera, unable to keep still while standing on the small stool she was given so she could reach over the counter.

Most of the episode consisted of Chang’e helping a struggling Bai He to not spill cream and milk absolutely everywhere, and failing miserably at it. Thank the Heavens Macaque didn’t cook or let the girl anywhere near the stove, because she made an absolute mess out of Chang’e’s filming set.

By the time the episode ended, both of their clothes were soiled with coffee powder, sugar and milk. There were still pieces of broken mugs on the ground where they shattered. Mayor insisted on being on top of the counter even after the moon goddess shooed it away many times. Bai He insisted on cleaning it all up even after Chang’e told her she had mechs built just for that, and the two of them gathered some paper towels.

While the girl had the chef distracted, Macaque sneaked into her pantry and took the juiciest peach he could find, in and out in matters of minutes, if not less. The monkey perched himself on the roof and enjoyed his much deserved prize. After so many weeks of noodles and junk food, the sweet taste of the peach was more than welcomed.

Laying down against the roof tiles, he let out a deep sigh, watching the cloud of vapor form from his breath, pondering what Chang’e told him. Macaque hated to think about it, but she was right as always, maybe he couldn’t take care of Bai He on his own, maybe she did need more than what he had to offer.

“ I don’t need a beautiful, sunny paradise! I can’t handle myself just fine! ”, he argued in his head. “ And what kind of paradise would have a devil sneaking around it, anyways? ”

Macaque was never one to get along with the cubs in Flower Fruit Mountain, especially around springtime. The mothers would oftenly seclude themselves until their cubs were old enough, and the only ones allowed to be anywhere near them were him and Wukong.

The little ones would always rush to their King with wide eyes and eager smiles, begging for stories and happy to be held. The one time some of them were interested in Macaque, he tried to give them a little shadowplay and ended up scaring them back to their mothers, except for the littlest one he nicknamed Coco. Wukong gave him shit for that weeks after.

Bai He was never scared of his shadows, but she sure was terrified of the Monkey King. Even the mention of him would get her looking over her shoulder nervously and she would grab onto Macaque’s shirt.

His tail thumped against the roof tiles angrily, with a growl, he made his decision to keep a watchful eye for MK and his friends whenever they went out into the city again, Wukong was never too far behind. Macaque could take care of her by himself just fine.

“La la lu, la la lu

Oh, my little star sweeper

I’ll sweep the stardust for you”

Macaque’s ears fluttered as the soft lullaby came from the window.

“La la lu, la la lu

Little soft, fluffy sleeper

Here comes a pink cloud for you ”

He climbed down the wall and peeked into the window, seeing Mayor curled up around it’s own tail, surrounded by the many bunny mechs, on top of the counter they weren’t supposed to be on.

“ La la lu, lala lu

Little wandering angel, fold up your wings

Close your eyes ”

Chang’e was in front of the stove, stirring some broth she’d probably have to put in the fridge to cool overnight for tomorrow’s episode. Over her shoulder, Bai He hid her face against the moon goddess’ hair, wrapping her arms around her neck as she was held up and very softly rocked to sleep.

Her heavy eyelids opened only for a second to glance up at him, lazily reaching her little hand out to the Warrior.

“ La la lu, la la lu

And may love be your keeper

La la lu, la la lu ”

Macaque slipped through the shadows to their side, immediately wrapping his tail around her wrist as Bai He gave a big yawn. Chang’e turned to him, gently handing him the girl, placing his arms under her legs and the small of her back.

-There, now, little star sweeper. -she whispered to Bai He. -Dream on.

The girl nuzzled further against Macaque’s mane of inky black fur, drawing a loud purr out of him and squirming around until she was comfortable. With a quiet flutter of his ears, he sent Chang’e a questioning glance and she nodded.

Bai He was in no state to travel through the portal back home, and Macaque was glad for his friend’s hospitality as she walked them to the usual guest room he’d crash in every now and then.

Mayor’s characteristically soft paw pads trotted behind them. Macaque could envision it looking up at Bai He’s sleeping face with that freakshingly large and toothy smile, making sure both Celestial Beings wouldn’t mess up, looking after it’s “Lady”.

Chapter Text

The smell of burning tires and the screeching of a speeding car sunk into MK’s nose and ears as he sped up around the city, eager to get to Pigsy’s Noodles in time. Thankfully, the cops were too busy working on the case of the “Night of The Rising Dead” as the news had nicknamed it to bother him with speeding tickets.

Monkey King hadn’t been able to leave  Flower Fruit Mountain for the last few days now, as he and the rest of the troop were still organizing things for the end of winter and the arrival of spring because apparently, a lot of the monkeys waited for springtime to have their cubs, and tonight was the only night MK had available, so that meant he had to rush the rest of his deliveries.

He finally arrived at the back of the shop, tearing his seat belt off and tossing himself out of the delivery cart, only to fall face-first on the asphalt. MK kicked the door open, snatching his jacket he hung up on the hanger beside it so it wouldn’t soil while he was working and turned tail to run back outside.

MK had gotten quite precise in summoning his cloud and could conjure it very easily nowadays, though the one he took all the way to Flower Fruit Mountain was a tad too small and kinda fading apart in his rush to get there.

The young man didn’t even stop the cloud as he approached the ground, he simply leapt out of it and ran up the trail to Monkey King’s Palace as fast as his legs could take him. MK didn’t even stop to greet the few members of the troop who climbed down from their trees to greet him with welcoming chirps.

“ It’s Qi Xiaotian! ”

“ The Young Prince is here! ”

“ MK is coming! ”

“ Good evening, Young Prince! ”

“ Hello, Young Prince! ”

“ Young Prince, why such a hurry? ”

-Hi, Su! Hi, Gao! Hi, Tan! Hi, Luo! Hi, Xun! Hi, Wei! -MK greeted the ones he could recognize at a quick glance. -Sorry, can’t stop to chat! Got important business I need to tell Monkey King!

The monkeys still followed after him from the branches with great curiosity. The younger cubs pointed and laughed as they raced beside him, probably thinking it was some kind of chasing game, but thankfully, their mothers stopped them as MK reached the staircase to the Palace behind the waterfall. The heavy drop of the stream opened up for him, sensing his powers most likely, and MK entered without a problem as he usually did.

-MONKEY KING! -he called out, his voice echoing throughout the empty throne room. By now, the great majority of the troop had gone to sleep and only the nightowls were out and about. -MONKEY KING, WHERE ARE YOU?!

-Over here, bud! -MK heard a faint call from the corridor leading out of the room.

Running out to follow him, MK found Monkey King digging through a pile of fluffy towels and blankets stuffed into a little closet. Beside him were a few more troop members holding and picking up the blankets the ginger monkey would occasionally toss over his shoulder nonchalantly, their eyes lighting up and their tails wagging as they jumped up to greet him.

“ Hello, Young Prince! ”

“ Welcome home, Young Prince! ”

“ King Sun, the Young Prince is back! ”

MK let them climb on his shoulders, pull at his clothes and brush through his hair while Monkey King still tossed them extra blankets for no one to catch. As he finally finished whatever he was trying to do and took his head out of the closet, the Great Sage gave MK a snickering laugh, assessing his apprentice’s situation, but as he called the monkeys down, they all grew quiet to wait for his orders.

-These should be plenty, but just in case the mothers need more, just look through the closet again! -he handed them each a pile, and the monkeys rushed off to MK-didn’t-know-where. Monkey King finally turned to talk to him. -Heya, bud, what do I own the visit? You always leave before the sun goes down, so this is a good surprise!

-Monkey King, I need to talk to you about something very important!

-So important that you had to fly all the way here instead of just texting me about it?

-Yes, it’s about Bai He!

There was a small moment of silence where Monkey King rested his hands on his hips with a frown. As the silence extended and his frown increased, MK sighed.

-The little girl Lady Bone Demon possessed. The one who wouldn’t stop screaming every time she saw you.

-Oh, that Bai He! -he laughed. -Did she pop around the noodle shop again? How is she doing?

-No, I found her in Macaque’s dojo !

Monkey King’s smile dropped completely and his curly ginger fur stood on end, golden eyes widening.

-What was she doing in his dojo? -the usual bubbliness and soft tone in his voice were gone and he looked at MK with a focused glare.

-She said her parents left while LBD was still possessing her… And that Macaque’s been training her!

-Training her? For what?

-S-she still has LBD’s powers! -MK explained, trying to keep himself from ranting everything out of his mouth in a single sentence, not bothering to stop and breathe as he did often. -She told me she gets white hair and blue eyes that Macaque covers up with Glamour!

Monkey King let out a growl, lost in thought, his tail swishing behind him angrily.

-...And of course Macaque took her in! -he mumbled. -How much of Lady Bone Demon’s powers does Bai He still have? Did she seem out of it? Was she hurt?

-No, she wasn’t hurt or anything. And it didn’t feel like the first time I met LBD, it was just Bai He in there. I couldn’t even feel her powers.

By now, the ginger monkey had started pacing in circles.

-When did you see her last?

-Three days ago! And by what she told me, she’d already been training with Macaque for two weeks before that!

- Two weeks ?! -Monkey King exclaimed. -Why am I not surprised…?

MK was eager to ask his mentor what exactly that meant, but he didn’t want to ruin his thought process. Fidgeting with the loose strands of his bandana, MK wondered to himself why on Earth would Bai He go to Macaque for help after her parents left and not to the rest of them. Sandy, Pigsy, Tang, any of them! But he supposed it did make a little sense.

While she was, in fact, terrified of Monkey King, Bai He was still a perfectly polite, sweet little girl to the rest of them. Sandy kept her busy with a small tea party, Mo would let her pick him up and bring him everywhere, Tang would read to her if she had a nightmare, Pigsy made her any recipe of noodles she’d ask for, Mei braided her hair and MK drew with her whenever she’d ask.

But only after Bai He finally let go of her grip on Macaque’s clothes, and that alone took hours. She would always glance over her shoulders to make sure the Warrior was still there, and if he left the room, she’d go after him, characteristically following him around like a shadow .

-Does Macaque know you talked to her?

-He does, and he wasn’t happy about it! He told me not to tell anyone, but I’m worried for Bai He’s sake! -MK explained. -The same day I talked to her, there was a… A night of the rising dead! The city was infested with ghosts and they were all angry ‘cause their families wouldn’t visit them anymore or something! I spent the whole night trying to get them back in their graves, and I had work in the morning!

Just the memory of driving around the city while trying to keep himself awake made MK want to groan loudly. Even his clones weren’t much help either, being also too tired from fighting ghosts.

-He mentioned something about her “learning faster than he could teach her”, and… Monkey King, Bai He is so little ! She’s not strong like the rest of us… All this power, I mean… I’m really, really worried!

-Don’t stress about it, bud! -Monkey King’s gaze softened and he rested his arm around MK’s shoulders. -Being an asshole or not, I know Macaque wouldn’t hurt her on purpose! And Bai He’s a lot tougher than she looks, she’s a good kid , we just need to get a good idea on what’s going on before his bad habits rub off on her…

Monkey King was right about Bai He being tough, not only surviving LBD’s possession without a scratch at twelve years old, but still being so mature and sweet about it afterwards. Still, the idea of Macaque’s cruel teasing and aggressive fighting style passing down onto her was not a comforting idea at all.

-That’s not all of it! -MK took his cellphone out of his pocket. -Dadsy, Baba and I saw this streaming on TV yesterday…

Pigsy almost had a heart attack when he saw Bai He on Chang’e’s program that night, yelling for MK to come down stairs and watch it while Tang just kept repeating to himself “ How did she get up there?! ”, as if anybody else would know the answer. They called Sandy and Mei just to make sure they weren’t making this up and he had to tell the four of them everything he’d learned in Macaque’s dojo.

“ Tonight, we’re going to learn how to make shapes and drawings on your lattes with some cream! And to help me with this episode… Everyone, say “hello” to Bai He! ”

“ Hi! ”

Monkey King’s golden and curly fur stood on end like an angry cat’s, his eyes widening as he watched the recording. MK grew nervous as he didn’t react to the girl on screen, and flinched when he pointed at it suddenly.

- There ! Right there, pause that!

MK did as he was told, noticing Bai He’s shadow was a little bit bigger than it should be, with the tell-tale sign of squinting, mischievous eyes and extra sets of ears.

-Macaque! -he whispered.

Monkey King gave a low growl in his throat, his tail thumping on the ground in impatience.

MK must have slipped his finger accidentally because the video kept going, and as Bai He and Chang’e continued the show, the damned cat leapt up the counter, his chin held high to show the bowtie around his neck and his very toothy grin. Both mentor and student gave an audible shudder.

-Is it just me or is that…?

-The freaky thrall? Oh, yeah, that smile is unmistakable!

He gulped, remembering the first time he’d met Megapolis’ “mayor” a long time ago, how his relaxed body language conflicted with his broken phrases and wavering voice and the occasional snapping of his head. The way he looked up at Lady Bone Demon and spoke to her in such adoration, it made MK’s stomach churn, especially with the way she simply ignored him or did not care in the slightest about his presence. And now Bai He had him.

Did Macaque give him to Bai He? Did he find her? Did she find him all by herself? MK hadn’t seen him when he’d met her at the dojo, thank the Heavens, but his mind still swirled in never-ending questions.

-So what do we do now…?

-You, Mei and the rest of the gang keep an eye out in Megapolis for any signs of them, and text me if you find anything!  -Monkey King explained, confidently resting his hands on his hips. -Whatever it is he’s scheming, Macaque has no right to drag Bai He along!

MK nodded, putting his phone back in his pocket. He didn’t raise his vision from the ground again, however. By the time they had finally understood the situation with the Samadhi Fire, Macaque was desperate to break out of the Lady Bone Demon’s hold and pay his debt. He was angry, aggressive, tired, dragging his own feet, the Warrior looked an absolute mess. He was the last person -well, monkey- MK thought would want to work with the false mayor again.

“ What is he planning? And what’s Bai He’s role in all of this? ”, his mind repeated itself like a broken record player.

Listen to me, monkey. You and I are not so different. We both fight for what we believe is right, and that pursuit only leads to one thing.

To pain…

-Earth to MK! MK, do you copy? -Monkey King gently shook his student’s shoulder, hugging him close and snapping him out of his thoughts.

-Y-yeah, yeah, I’m okay! I just need to let everybody in on the plan!

Everyone had immediately offered to scout the city and look for Bai He as soon as MK had told them about what he knew, and he only stopped them because if they did start to look without Monkey King’s help, Macaque would immediately pick up on their suspicion and try to hide the little girl. Or kick their asses. Probably both.

-Sandy might know where to start looking first! Thanks, Monkey King!

-O-oh, you’re already going? Are you sure, it’s pretty dark out there, I don’t know if it’d be safe to fly home! -the ginger monkey had a tone of surprise in his voice, his tail curled around MK but didn’t actually touch him. -I could take you, or if you’d like, we could have a sleepover! We still gotta finish our Monkey King: Animated Series rewatch, right?

-Sorry, Monkey King, but Baba and Dadsy would be worried if I didn’t come back! And I got work early in the morning! -MK explained. -I can fly all the way just fine, you watch!

MK chuckled at the King’s offer, looking back at how closed in and detached his mentor was at the beginning of their training and comparing it to how warm and welcoming he was now. Talking to his successor from the astral plane, leaving him to deal with demon attacks on his own with a simple “Believe in yourself!” and a pat on the back.

But ever since Mei’s wake-up call, Monkey King had been much more involved and even a little more protective of MK, holding sleepovers, dinners and even barbecues at Flower Fruit Mountain, with all of MK’s friends invited along as well.

And then the monkeys started calling him “Young Prince”. Which caught MK by surprise the first time around, but he was training to take Monkey King’s throne after all, so they weren’t completely wrong. And that’s what princes do, right? Red Son was a prince, when DBK stepped down or croaked, his father’s job would be his.

-...I know you can, bud! -Monkey King gave a half-hearted laugh, a forced smile formed on his face. -Don’t forget to call me when you find Bai He again!

-I will! Goodnight, Monkey King!

MK didn’t even bother running out of the Palace, he just jumped off an open window, summoning another cloud. A more resistant and better formed cloud surrounded his feet, lifting him into the air and out of the mountain.

Hopefully, Macaque would order noodles again tomorrow, as he had been doing so oftenly, and maybe MK could have a longer talk with Bai He if he had the chance. He just hoped whatever it was the Warrior had involved the little girl in, it wouldn't take a big tool on her.

Bai He was way too little to be involved in Mystic Monkey Business like the rest of them.

Chapter Text

When Macaque said they’d be traveling somewhere warmer, Bai He didn’t expect to be teleported directly to the Demon Realm out of all places. Or at least, that’s where she assumed they were. Enormous mountains of rock and black sand surrounded their path and clouds of thick smoke rose from the chimneys of what she could only assume was a fortress.

Mayor walked in front of them with his tail held high, very occasionally looking back at the girl with a reassuring smile. The molten lava running in rivers beside them didn’t seem to faze him or Macaque, but Bai He still held on tight to the monkey’s tail wrapped around her wrist, following from her hiding spot under Macaque’s cape.

Eventually, they arrived at a stone path, passing through arches and gates guarded by soldiers clad in iron armor. Bai He let out a little gasp as one of them approached with a large ax and a big cape, recognizing the horns and nose ring. She remembered being hunkered down in the middle of class, watching the news streaming from her teacher’s phone, hearing the screams and destruction of the invasion of the Bull Clones all around the city while her classmates cried for their families.

-Tell Princess Iron Fan her brother is here. -Macaque told the clone.

The bulls snorted at each other, one of them turning tail and dashing straight to the larger wooden door at the front of the fortress. Macaque gently pulled her forward as Bai He latched onto his shirt and Mayor opened their way through the clones, not a single whisker out of place.

More bulls accompanied them until they walked through the grand entrance. A very long carpet was a welcome change from the stone path outside, and it was much easier to breathe without all the smoke and smell of kerosene in the air. There were banners and lines of Bull Clones decorating the walls along with more streaming lava, leading to a small set of marble stairs raising three large thrones off the ground.

Sat on one of these thrones was a tall woman with long black hair in an updo that resembled bull horns. The golden jewelry adorning every part of her vibrant red dress looked brand-new, and her soft make-up and beauty mark made her unamused frown stand out even more.

-So the Six-Eared Macaque remembered he has a family after all his vagabonding? How considerate of him. -she snarked. Her stern and commanding tone echoed through the main hall and Bai He’s mind suddenly filled with memories of that one math substitute teacher she really, really hated.

-You’re the one who’s always insisting I should visit for dinner, I’d just thought I’d take my sister’s offer! -the Warrior shrugged with a soft smile.

Princess Iron Fan, wife to the Demon Bull King who tried many times to take over Megapolis, rolled her eyes and picked up her fan resting against her throne, making her way down the steps with a regal stride. Bai He looked up at Macaque for any clues on what they should do, but he only winked at her.

Bai He had seen the damage the Demon Bull Family had done first hand and how dangerous they were, and Macaque had dragged them down straight into their home. Fantastic. All of her training suddenly seemed to escape her mind as the girl could only huddle under her mentor’s cape and pray the woman wouldn’t notice her.

-The only times you stay over for dinner is wherever you’ve stuck yourself in another mess. So what is it this time? Do you owe someone money, are in trouble with another Celestial? -she continues. -Because if it has something to do with that imbecile Monkey King again, I don’t want to hear it-

She stopped talking, and Bai He made the mistake of peeking out from behind Macaque to look up, accidentally meeting her gaze.

-And what’s that you’ve brought with you?

-This is Bai He! She’s been staying with me for a while now, and figured I should introduce her!

Macaque proudly puffed up his chest, bringing an arm around her shoulders and gently pushing her forward and out of her hiding spot. Princess Iron Fan looked down at Bai He with a raised brow and a cold stare, the weight of it bearing down on her so heavily, the girl had a hard time maintaining her breathing even and resisting the urge to cry.

-What do you mean “she’s been staying with you”? Who’s child is this, Macaque? -the demon asked.

-She had nowhere to go, so I kept her.

-Simple as that, and nobody’s come for her?

-Nobody of importance …

-Do humans even follow these types of adoption laws? Where did you find her?

-Is there a point you’re trying to make, Iron Fan? -Macaque crossed his arms. -If so, then make it.

-Her parents , Macaque, where are her parents !

Princess Iron Fan’s temper was starting to wear down and Bai He wouldn’t be caught dead in their cross-fire, so she quickly turned around to try and hide behind Macaque again. The monkey was faster and figured what she was trying to do, bringing her close to him in a comforting hug instead.

-They’re gone. They left without her, she doesn’t have anyone else. -he explained.

-And of course you took her in…! -Princess Iron Fan sighed. -Well, regarding the last few… Incidents, I’m glad to see you finally took my advice and gotten yourself a proper heir. Even if an awfully little one at that…

Bai He forgot who they were talking to for a small second and looked over her shoulder to glare at the demon. Macaque bapped her face with his tail.

-Come on, say “hello” to Iron Fan! You were so polite with Chang’e!

-Chang’e didn’t destroy Megapolis a bunch of times! -Bai He whispered to him.

Princess Iron Fan hummed.

-I’m surprised you chose this one specifically, all things considered. -the girl took another glance to see the demon’s hand reaching out to touch her, and flinched instinctively. -I’d figured you wouldn’t want any reminders of that witch’s very existence.

HIISSSS!

Mayor leapt to Bai He’s shoulder, his usually neat fur standing on end as if he’d been struck by lighting, his claws, unsheathed, swiped at Princess Iron Fan’s hand in a warning, his ears were flat against his head and his smile showed a lot more of his sharp, pearly white teeth.

Maybe she should have reprimanded Mayor for trying to attack Macaque’s sister, but she didn’t really want to be touched, and he was only trying to protect Bai He after all.

-And you also brought Lady Bone Demon’s thrall to my fortress. Charming.

- BONE DEMON?!

The walls and the ground shook as a rumbling roar came down from the corridor. Beside the thrones, a curtain of lava opened to reveal a growling and very angry-looking Demon Bull King, his eyes fixated on Bai He, glowed a menacing shade of red. His tail lashed angrily behind him as he charged down with a bellow, making the clones standing at attention fly past.

- WHICH PART OF YOUR SICK AND TWISTED BRAIN MAKES YOU THINK BRINGING HER INTO MY HOME WAS A GOOD IDEA, SIX-EARS?!

-Hello to you too, in-law! -Macaque growled, his teeth bared in a mocking smile.

Bai He felt her bones shake inside of her limbs from how loud Demon Bull King’s raging yells echoed around them, her fingers gripping tightly onto Macaque while Mayor still hissed at both of them. Loudly.

Princess Iron Fan placed a hand on her husband’s cheek, her gaze softening for the first time since she’s met her.

-She’s no threat, sweetheart. -she said in an awfully sweet voice. -Her powers are but a smidge of what they once were. Macaque was just telling me how he’s taken the girl in as his heir.

Demon Bull King visibly softened, the glow in his eyes dimming as he looked the girl up and down, bringing his nose to her level and taking a big SNIFF , just as Mayor attempted to swipe at him again.

- An heir…? That’s awfully out of character for you. -he sneered down at her. - Specially for choosing such a meek candidate.

Bai He bit the inside of her cheek, forcing down the urge to stick out her tongue at him, but still shot him what she hoped looked like a nasty side-eye.

Macaque shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

-You two worry too much about appearances, Bai He’s fine!

-I don’t think you worry enough, brother! -Princess Iron Fan crossed her arms. -At least you’ve bothered to dress up this time around, though I’m sure it wasn’t your idea!

-Yes, well, unlike you, dear sister, I know how to accept my humble origins and don’t have any need to prance around wearing my money on my clothes!

-I think she’s pretty.

The adults’ gaze immediately fell on Bai He. She hadn’t meant to say that out loud, seeing as both Princess Iron Fan and Demon Bull King had been nothing if not rude to the three of them, calling Macaque a vagabond and herself meek and little.

Her worries faded only for a second as the married couple were taken aback by her comment. Princess Iron Fan’s face lit up with a small smile and Demon Bull King’s rounded ears perked up with a tilt of his head.

-So she does have a voice after all. -the demon said more softly this time, offering her hand instead. Bai He didn’t exactly trust them, but she was curious about her many golden rings decorated with shiny jewels, and reluctantly let go of Macaque to inspect it more closely. -Macaque, have you been brushing her hair, it looks like a rat’s nest! Why is that bandaid on her face, are you allowing her to play with commoner children?! She looks awfully skinny, have you been feeding her properly?!

Macaque’s ears drooped, his eyes rolled and a grumbling whine escaped his throat as his sister nagged at him. Mayor was still perched on Bai He’s shoulder, bright blue eyes glued to both their hosts, even if most of his fur had settled back.

Demon Bull King bowed to meet her gaze again, without a snarl this time, and took another big SNIFF . This time, the girl felt bold enough to blow back at his nose. The big demon shook his head with a snort to get rid of the feeling, while Macaque let out a snarky laugh behind them.

- Tell the cooks to prepare something a mortal body can digest. And set up two more plates at the dinner table. -he told one of the Bull Clones. - RED SON! COME DOWN HERE AND SAY “HELLO” TO YOUR UNCLE!

Mayor let out a displeased mewl at Demon Bull King’s shouting and Princess Iron Fan gently guided them out of the throne room and into another hall. The siblings were talking about one thing or another, but Bai He was too distracted looking at all the grotesque paintings, murals, enormous sets of armor and taxidermy on the walls to really know what they were saying.

In another smaller room, there were large armchairs and a sofa set up in front of a grand fireplace. The girl immediately rushed to warm her hands and lay Mayor down on the carpet, maybe the coziness of the fire would help him relax. As the adults all sat around in their respective places, a young man walked into the room with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

He looked almost annoyed, wearing a ragged red coat, big black boots and sunglasses that looked way too small to protect anyone’s eyes from harsh light.

-There’s my favorite nephew! -Macaque exclaimed, ruffling his hand over the tuft of hair escaping the others’ ponytail.

-I’m your only nephew! -came the irritated and high-pitched voice.

Bai He recognized him now. That was Red Son, she’d seen him on TV multiple times, fighting MK and taking over the Weather Station. He looked a lot less threatening than his parents, but maybe that was just because she’d seen him around Mei when all of them drove back to Megapolis after Lady Bone Demon left her body, though he hadn’t spoken to her.

-What is she doing here?! -Red Son finally noticed the girl.

Macaque wrapped his tail around her wrist and guided her to step closer to him.

-This here is Bai He, not sure if you remember her!

-Your uncle has taken her in as his heir and trained her. -his mother spoke up. -She’s your new cousin.

Red Son let out an undignified noise, something between a squeal and a shout, his hair sparked and lit up with fire.

-C-cousin?! A commoner mortal cousin?! Out of bone girl , you can’t be serious! -he sighed loudly. -Really, uncle, from all the peasant children in that Heaven-forsaken city, did you have to choose the littlest one?!

Bai He frowned, resting her hands on her hips.

-I don’t wanna be bull boy’s cousin either! -she spat, looking over at a very amused Macaque.

Red Son let out another undignified noise and his ponytail lit up in very high flames, the girl worried he would burn the furniture.

-YOU DARE INSULT ME , RED SON, THE ONLY HEIR TO THE DEMON BULL THRONE, YOU MEWLING LITTLE PEASANT?!

-My name is Bai He! Not “bone girl”! So get it right!

It was probably a very stupid idea to argue with the Demon Bull Family out of anyone in the world, the very family that had laid waste to her own city so many times, but Bai He was growing increasingly annoyed at being looked down upon, insulted to her face and called “little”. Repeatedly.

Macaque thought Red Son’s anger was incredibly funny, laughing openly as his tail swished back and forth, and judging by how he hadn’t exactly made a point to defend them from so many accusations, that responsibility seemed to fall entirely on the girl’s shoulders.

- She has spunk, I’ll give her that! -Demon Bull King snorted.

Princess Iron Fan didn’t seem as amused with the scene, tugging on Red Son’s so she could whisper in his ear.

-Be nice to your little cousin, Red Son! -she growled. -Whether we like it or not, your uncle’s chosen her and I expect you to act accordingly!

The young man’s bravado seemed to instantly melt away as the fire in his hair settled, rubbing the piece of his sleeve that his mother pinched with a pout.

A small part of Bai He felt bad for him, she’d had been at the other end of that tugging a few times herself, whenever she and her parents had gone out to a fancy restaurant or they’d have guests over and she’d get too loud or rowdy, they’d pull her aside by the shoulder and whisper a threat in her ear. It never amounted to anything serious, that’s all it was, an empty threat, but it was still scary.

Funnily enough, Macaque never did that. He’d go on a rant for a few minutes or so but it was never for something Bai He had done wrong, worst of all, it would be if she annoyed him somehow. Ever since she’d started her training, she had never been grounded, never lost her TV privileges or denied a dessert after dinner, even after she’d done something bad. In fact, Macaque seemed to find it funny whenever Bai he did something bad.

She suspected that was not the way the Demon Bull household worked.

-So this map you want so badly… -Princess Iron Fan continued. -Do you even know which demon has it?

-Do the titles "Gold and Silver Demons" mean anything to you?

All three of their hosts threw their heads back and groaned very loudly. Bai He let an accidental giggle escape her as she cuddled up next to Mayor by the fire, seeing all of their expressions turn into annoyance.

- Those two vermin were exiled a long, long time ago, caught red-handed trying to rob our fortress! -Demon Bull King growled. - I've never met more incompetent fools before! I should have executed them on the spot!

-Yes, they are. -Macaque nodded. -Figured you guys might have some idea of where exactly they could have gone.

They turned to Red Son with a questioning look and the young man cleared his throat.

-The last time anyone saw them was when they robbed the history museum, they're probably camped around there somewhere…!

-Then we know where to start looking!

Macaque gave Bai He a nod of his head and the girl picked Mayor up from his spot on the rug, setting him wrapped comfortably around her neck. The monkey gave a stretch, his fur fizzing up as he stood up to walk out of the room.

-And where do you think you're going?! -Princess Iron Fan interrupted him.

The warrior gave his sister a confused look.

-Leaving, where else?

-Oh, I’m sorry, I must have forgotten how much of a self-interested opportunist my brother is! -she scolded him with a glare. -Isolating himself in that moldy old excuse of a house, only to resurface with a stray under his wing and wearing his scar out!

-Iron Fan, I don’t have time for this…!

- If you have time for a treasure hunt, you have time to spend with your family! -Demon Bull King grunted.

Bai He tilted her head in confusion.

-But what about the map?

- If it is that important, you can fetch it yourself.

Macaque's ears drew flat against his head and his expression turned stern, his tail wrapped around the girl's wrist instinctively.

-You're joking, right…?

-I don't see why not. If you've trained her sufficiently, she should have no problems handling those buffoons. -Princess Iron Fan waved her hand dismissively.

-Yeah, that's not gonna happen! -Macaque gave a nervous laugh. -She's never been in an actual fight, much less by herself!

She hugged the bushy tip of his tail against her chest, tugging on it slightly to call his attention.

-I won't be by myself, Mayor will be there with me! I'm big enough, I can do it! -Bai He said, excitedly. -We don't need to get into a fight, I can be sneaky and steal it without them noticing! Please!

The girl was bouncing on her toes, giving him her biggest smile as she saw the struggle on Macaque's face. Eventually, his gaze softened and he sighed.

-Alright, fine… -Bai He gave a whoop of excitement, pulling Mayor to rest on her shoulders before Macaque could finish his phrase. -Besides, Red Son can take you.

She stopped abruptly, almost tripping over the carpet.

-What?!

-WHAT?! -the young man's hair flared up again. -WHY DO I HAVE TO BABYSIT?!

- You're not working on any projects right now, and your uncle needs some peace of mind! -his father huffed. - You'll take your little cousin and that's final!

Red Son's hair sparked and smoke came out of his mouth as he groaned loudly in annoyance, stomping his feet like a spoiled child who just got told "no" for the first time in his life. It was a wonder how nothing in the room had caught fire yet.

-Fine! -he grumbled. -But if she breaks anything in my truck, I'll break her !

Bai He hugged Macaque tighter.

-I don't wanna go with him, he's mean! -she whined.

-It'll be fine, Red Son knows what he's doing! Just listen to your cousin and remember everything I taught you, you can do it, can't you?

With a last little push, Bai He finally let go of him and reluctantly followed Red Son out to the hall. As soon as the doors closed behind them and the adults were out of sight, both of them stuck out their tongues at the other. Mayor hissed at him from his perch on his owner's shoulders.

The Bull Clones opened the way and gave each other confused glances as both of them marched all the way to the garage where Red Son kept his truck. Occasionally, the demon would look over his shoulder to glare down at Bai He with a scoff or a disgusted glare. She would always retribute, staring him down every second of it with a pout and Mayor didn't take his eyes off him even for a second.

Is this what having a cousin was like?! Bai He wouldn't know, she didn't have a cousin. She remembered her classmates talking about their cousins a few times, but she'd never really lived to see the full picture. They were like a sibling that you only saw on holidays or family gatherings, right? Were cousins supposed to fight like siblings too?

Bai He had to wait for Red Son to open the truck's door for her because it was too high.

-I'm old enough to sit up front! -she argued.

-You're going on the backseat, end of story!

She still had some difficulty controlling her levitation and miscalculated the jump, having to crawl her way up to sit properly. Bai He worried for Mayor, as he was too small to properly wear a seatbelt like her, but as he leaned against her with a loud purr , the girl felt a bit less nervous about the whole situation.

Red Son's truck was surprisingly very neat, the leather cushions were soft and cold to the touch, the inside smelled like vanilla ice cream and his rear view mirror had a little Totoro keychain hanging from it. That made Bai He's frown soften a bit.

The roar of the truck wasn't as loud as she expected it, and she couldn't exactly tell when they finally left the Demon Realm and returned to Megapolis since it was already dark out and she had to crane her neck to see out the window.

-How are Macaque and Princess Iron Fan siblings? They look too different… -Bai He asked sheepishly.

-They're sworn siblings, obviously! -Red Son scoffed, as if she were too dumb to understand the concept. -Honestly, I already had to deal with two other Noodle Brains and now a third comes in, just my luck…!

The girl's expression fell again, as she pulled herself up against the back of his seat to talk to him properly.

-What's your deal? I know everybody says teenagers are supposed to be angsty and rude but Mei and MK are never like that! How are you friends with them?

-T-TEENAGERS?! -Red Son's hair sparked with anger. -HOW OLD DO YOU THINK MK IS?! HOW OLD DO YOU THINK I AM ?!

Bai He shrugged her shoulders.

-I dunno, sixteen?

Red Son let out a string of strange noises, hitting his forehead against the steering wheel.

-Sit down and stop bothering me with your noodle-brained nonsense! -he snapped.

The demon tried to push Bai He back off his seat, but Mayor quickly jumped to her shoulders and clawed at his hand with hiss. Red Son looked back and flinched visibly in fear, almost losing his grip on the wheel and the truck ran over a bump, making all three of them jump. Thankfully the windows were open, so the smoke coming out of Red Son’s flaming hair wouldn’t smother them.

-Just because you’re older than me doesn’t mean you get to be mean and boss me around! -she told him. -And that goes for your parents too!

-Oh, please, you need to toughen up! And that goes for uncle too! -Red Son responded. -You can’t just walk around aimlessly like vagabonds, chasing after more power with no end goal in life! How do you expect to build any sort of legacy from that?

Bai He tilted her head.

-Why would we need a lecacy…?

-” Legacy ”. -the demon corrected her. -And it’s a very important thing to worry about! For example: My father, the great Demon Bull King, attempted to take over your pathetic little Mortal Realm plenty of times-

-Yeah, before MK kicked both of your butts!

The girl couldn’t help but laugh. She’d seen many of MK’s victories through the TV or the internet whenever she’d missed a live one, she even started following Mei’s live streams before her possession and she and the young hero had swept the streets with many-a demon and monster. Red Son himself included.

But she’d seen how dangerous those monsters were, and maybe it wasn’t a smart idea to taunt Red Son, considering the death glare he sent her way, but Bai He never claimed to be a smart girl.

-My point is… Uncle made the mistake of never making a name of himself. Everyone knows of the tales and adventures of that ridiculous Monkey King, my father’s drive for conquest is spoken of far and wide! But Macaque, well… He’s content with wasting away and making nothing of himself. -Red Son monologued. -Now that’s fine for humans, but for such a powerful being like uncle, it’s just pathetic ! If he disappeared today, there’d be nothing to his name! He died once and nobody but us mourned him, what’s to say it won’t happen again?!

-HE DIED ?!

There was a small moment of silence where Red Son glanced over his shoulder to see Bai He’s horrified face with this news.

-He didn’t tell you that…? -he whispered. -I shouldn’t have told you that…!

-Yes, you should! He died once?! How did that happen?! Does it have something to do with the scar?! Is that why everybody keeps pointing it out?! How is he even alive?!

The demon gave a tired sigh.

-L-look, if he hasn’t told you yet, then it’s not my place to tell you!

Bai He huffed, crossing her arms with a pout. It felt like there were chains wrapping around her heart, squeezing it and making the ball of anxiety forming in there spread through the rest of her body. Mayor cuddled closer, purring ever so softly in an attempt to soothe her, but that could only help so much.

So Macaque dying was apparently a sensitive topic and nobody liked talking about it. Why?! Did somebody kill him? If so, who? Was it an accident? Was whoever killed him still out there? Was he embarrassed for dying? Humans died all the time, and a lot more easily than monkeys like Macaque did, so there was nothing to be embarrassed about!

-Is that why Princess Iron Fan and Demon Bull King didn’t like me? -she asked. -Because they think I can’t fight?

When Red Son looked over his shoulder, his gaze softened for the first time since Bai He had met him as he saw the serious look on her face.

-It’s not- W-what I mean is-  Well… -the demon stumbled over his words. -Look, Bai He, one day uncle might not be here to protect you anymore. And when that day comes, you need to be able to stand on your own!

She leaned a bit closer, resting her chin on her forearms as Red Son continued.

-One day, our parents’ fights are going to become our own! As will their names, their enemies, everything they left behind. It’s our job as their successors to protect all of it! -he turned around to look her in the eyes. -That’s why you need to be strong! Be tough! I’m sure you already know plenty of what uncle’s taught you!

-I raised a whole cemetery of ghosts once…

-So you have been on a field mission before, that’s something!

Red Son gave her a reluctant smile, trying to keep focused on the road. Bai He reluctantly let go of the back of his seat, putting her seatbelt back on and holding Mayor tightly to her chest as they drove along the snowy night.

Usually, she could hear the traffic of other cars outside and appreciate the light of the windows they passed by, but the night was eerily silent. Maybe it was either really late or really early, but Megapolis was uncharacteristically quiet and it left Bai He restless.

She recognized the history museum as they parked outside of it, seeing as she’d been there on a field trip once with the rest of her classroom. Bai He couldn’t remember anything the guide said, as she was too busy talking to Chang about one thing or another to really pay attention.

There was a set of twin doors latched to the ground at the back of the building which Red Son opened without much trouble. They led to a staircase downwards into a pitch-black corridor and Mayor, ever the fearless kitty, guided the cousins thanks to his bright eyes shining a blue glow over the steps. Red Son carried a flame on his hand to help illuminate that way and Bai He, unfortunately, had to clench her sleeves to try to relieve her fear of the dark since Mayor was busy and there was no way on earth the demon would hold her hand.

Once they finally reached the bottom of the staircase, it opened into what she could only assume was a basement. A stuffy, dusty and crowded old basement. Piles of random stuff reached the ceiling and toppled over without enough space, the girl had to watch very carefully where she was going so as to not step on a piece of garbage or something sharp.

-They’re hoarders! -she exclaimed.

-The worst kind of thieves there are…! -Red Son groaned in annoyance. -How are we ever going to find anything in this mess?! What do they even need this much stuff for?!

Bai He shrugged her shoulders.

-We’ll just have to look, I guess.

Very reluctantly, they looked. Bai He was careful when pulling things out of the piles so as to not make them collapse, even putting some of them aside and separating them on what was useful and what needed to go in the trash before Red Son snapped at her and told her to stop wasting time. They must have been there for quite a while before the demon gasped in surprise.

-I can’t believe this!

-What is it? Did you find the map? -Bai He was by his side instantly.

-Better!

Red Son held two little talismans in his hands. They were monkeys, carved out of solid wood and painted red and black with the swirling of clouds and marks on their faces that almost looked like Macaque’s own, except shaped to look like skulls.

The demon had an expression Bai He couldn’t quite explain, he looked like a child that had finally found the lost toys they’ve been looking for. A genuine smile grew on his face and the girl couldn’t help but be curious.

-What are they?

-These two were wedding gifts from uncle to my mother! -he explained excitedly. -They used to take care of me when I was your age!

That caught her by pleasant surprise.

-These were your nannies?

-Oh, no, no, no! They’re much more than that!

Red Son gripped the talismans tightly, igniting a fire in his fists before tossing them in the air. A cloud of thick and hot smoke emanated from the little wood monkeys, making Bai He cough and fan her hands around. As her vision cleared, two hunching forms stared intensively up at her, yellow eyes glowed menacingly, twin tails swayed and deep guttural growls echoed across the basement.

-OH, MY BACK! -one of them groaned. -Aaah, my neck…!

-Ah, my back and my neck! -the other complained.

They stretched and popped their joints, shaking the dust off their fur like dogs shaking water off their bodies before one of them looked over his shoulder to see Red Son.

-Is that… -he gasped in a soft voice. -I can’t believe it! Little Red, is that you?!

-Woah, check it! Princey had a huge growth spurt!

Both monkeys ran up to him, jumping to his shoulder, tugging at his clothes, sniffing his hair, checking all over the demon with worried looks.

-I’m fine, you bumbling fools, I’m just grown! -he laughed. -I’m not the one you should be fussing over anymore!

Their gaze fell on Bai He again, faces growing serious as their eyes scanned her little form. With synchronized movement, both monkeys climbed down and stalked over to the girl. Now closer, Bai He could see both their front legs completely covered in the red swirling clouds and spiky shoulder pads with leather belts circling their chest, much similar to the ones Macaque wore.

Coming closer, they took a few sniffs , even turning to Mayor at her side, who didn’t seem to be worried about their presence.

-Why does she reeks of Boss’s scent?

-Where is Chief, now that you’ve mentioned it?

-Waiting for us at home! This is Bai He, she’s his new successor! -Red Son answered. -Bai He, these are Rumble and Savage, uncle’s sidekicks!

Rumble and  Savage looked back at her with wide, gleaming eyes. Even their excited and soft smiles showed strings of pearly white sharp teeth.

-A cub ?! -they exclaimed in unison.

The monkeys leapt at her with much more excitement they had with Red Son, sending the girl stumbling back to the ground laughing. She tried to push the chirping twins back from her face and off her lap, chattering noisily like a pair of dogs welcoming their owner home.

-Chief’s and who’s cub?!

-Where did she come from?!

-She looks young, how old is she?!

-She looks mortal, is she human?!

-What’s up with the new Marionette?!

Red Son huffed and pulled both of them back by the scruff, Mayor hastily sitting on Bai He’s lap and holding his chin held high, solidifying his rightful place.

-You can ask questions later, right now, we need to get the map we came here for in the first place! -he told the monkeys. -It's supposed to lead to the Diyu. Do you know where it could be?

Savage and Rumble gave each other a knowing glance.

-We might, Princey, but it's not gonna be easy. I think the Badduns have it.

-The Badduns? -Bai He asked curiously.

-Yeah, the two Buffoons that poofed us! -Rumble growled. -That night they tried to rob the Princess and the King, we tried to stop them, but we couldn't!

-The Gold and Silver Demons… -Red Son's hair slowly lit up into a flame as anger formed in his face. -So they have the damn thing, after all? Perfect, we'll snatch it right from under their noses, just like the rest of anything precious in these piles!

The monkeys smiled threateningly and whooped, their tails wagging and encouraging Red Son on.

-What do you mean? You want to steal all of it, the whole hoard?! -Bai He asked. -That wasn't the plan!

-Well, the plan's changed! Those two imbeciles stole from my mother ! I'm not letting them simply walk away, thinking they can make fools out of the Demon Bull Family!

And he turned around towards the stairs again, leaving the girl, the monkeys and the cat behind. Bai He almost followed him, her mouth open and ready to give the demon a piece of her mind, but a pair of soft tails wrapped around her wrists and held her gently.

-He's right, Chiefie. -Rumble told her. -We need to stay and teach those Buffoons a lesson about crossing who they shouldn't!

-If we leave now, the Badduns will just keep on stealing from bigger demons until they're killed for it. -Savage explained. -It's what Boss would do, don't you know?

Mayor looked up at her expectantly, his smile never wavering. Holding their tails tightly in her hands, Bai He nodded slowly, that actually did sound like something Macaque would say.

-So what's the new plan?

The monkeys smiled mischievously.

-We'll help out Little Red with the cargo, you and the Puppet go spy on the dummies and warn us if they're coming too close! -Savage said. -Surely Boss taught you how to use a weapon by now, right?

Bai He waved her hand dismissively.

-Pssht! I am the weapon!

The monkeys gave an impish laugh, their fur shifting from solid to transparent and their bodies melting on the ground into weightless shadows, slinking away and after Red Son.

Mayor let out a meow and padded over through more piles of stolen goods, deeper into the basement until a faint flickering light shone against the walls, bickering voices argued and silhouettes moved around a big lamp.

Circling a small coffee table was a bright orange demon with curved horns, he had his hands combing through his golden hair while his arrow-tipped tail whipped behind him in annoyance. Beside him, another blue demon, with the same curved horns and silvery hair sprawled on the sofa with a bored expression.

-Seriously, what's the point in sittin' around if we're not gonna do anythin'?! -the one on the couch whined.

-And risk the Monkie Kid comin' after our throats?! You're welcome to try by yourself, but don't expect me to come with you! -the other retorted, continuing his pacing. -We already stole enough stuff, we should leave!

The demon with silvery hair gave a dramatic gasp, sitting up to look at his friend.

-There is no such thing as "enough stealin'"! Besides, the Monkie Kid's got way bigger fish to fry than us!

-They're puttin' up cameras and security guards around every single corner of the city, Yin! More than half of our hide-outs have been dug out, the city isn't safe for us no more! -the orange demon growled. -One more scheme and they'll throw us in the slammer!

Yin rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, his own tail starting to twitch.

-The city folk don't deserve us anyways! The new wave of anti-demon propaganda wouldn't have happened if those big name villains knew how to keep it on the down low, and we could have kept on our daily trickery!

-The art of consistent shenanigancy is truly underappreciated in our day and age!

The demons nodded at each other and continued plotting. Bai He could hear the rustling and shuffling of Rumble and Savage's dragging of whatever they thought worthy enough to bring back to Red Son, faintly barking orders at the monkeys from outside.

Mayor nudged her hand with his cheek, calling her attention and pointing with his nose. Right under their coffee table, in between the two demons layed a black scroll, decorated in blue runes and wrapped in a golden bow.

-Is that it? -she whispered, dreading to see Mayor nodding his little head.

Bai He gulped. Her mind raced with the faint and messy concept of a plan on how exactly they were going to get that away from the horned demons. The thought of telling Red Son they'd found it was quickly tossed out the window as her cousin would definitely want to fight both thieves, as would the monkeys, so the girl and the cat were on their own in this mess.

-Maybe we can distract them? -she bent down to Mayor's level. -Do you think you can out-run these two?

His smile widened so much, Bai He was afraid the skin in his face would tear, but the gleam in his eyes and his loud purring told her Mayor was happy to oblige her request. The cat slithered around the bickering demons, keeping away from the light of their lamp, his eyes never drifting away from his targets.

Sitting at the top of another pile, Mayor finally made himself known.

Mrreeeoow!

Both demons glanced over, pointy ears perked up at the new intruder.

-What the- Who's freaky cat is that?! -Yin exclaimed. -Jin, did you leave the door open?

- You were the last one to come in, you should've shut it! -the orange demon, Jin, argued. -Whatever… Maybe he can eat those rats we found the other da- OW !

With his tail, Mayor sent a pebble hurling at Jin's face, swatting it with his paw. Yin pointed and laughed at his friend in pain at first, but quickly changed his tune as the cat sent another pebble directly at his eye.

Bai He snickered behind her hiding place.

-OW! Ow, you little shit, my eye !

-You're gonna pay for that, you fuckin' furball!

The demons growled an animalistic sound, tails whipping behind them as they stumbled over their feet to get to him. Mayor, of course, let out his own mewling laugh, looking amused as ever at the situation he created as he leapt down from the pile and ran as fast as his legs could take him.

As soon as the demons were out of the room, Bai He crawled under the table and grabbed the map.

-I did it! -she exclaimed, gripping her stolen treasure in her hands.

Her heart beat rapidly inside her chest with excitement, her smile was so big it hurt her cheeks. They had to hurry up and gather everything so she could show Macaque the map, he'd be so proud of them! Maybe Bai He could even have an extra dessert for a job well-done!

She jumped behind her hiding place again and waited for Mayor to come back, but a few minutes later, he didn't. Bai He was growing impatient and worried as the minutes passed by, imagining all kinds of horrible things Jin and Yin could have done to him had they actually managed to capture Mayor. Red Son, Savage and Rumble were still busy, perhaps checking wouldn’t be such a bad idea…

Bai He followed deeper into the basement, finding another set of stairs up into the museum, coming out into what she suspected was a staff’s break room. For a minute, she just looked around, wondering why visitors were never allowed in, it looked incredibly boring.

Opening the break room’s doors, the museum looked quite terrifying in the dark. The skeletons of prehistoric creatures, ancient weapons and artifacts looked especially mean without the faint chatter of tour guides and her classmates, but Bai He could hear the demons shouting and growling in the distance, accompanied by hisses and meows. She hurried her pace.

Hiding under a glass display, she peeked out to see Yin standing on a very wobbly Jin’s shoulders, reaching his arm, trying to grab at Mayor, who had climbed all the way up on a marble statue and was lazily sprawled on it’s arm, looking down at the two demons with a smug smile. With another failed attempt, Jin’s legs finally gave out and the two of them went tumbling down over each other while the cat was still very much in the same place.

Mrreeeoow!

Mayor was laughing at them. Bai He was too, she just hoped they wouldn’t hear her. The girl waved at her little furry friend, who perked up his ears as he saw her and easily made his way down the statue, taking the opportunity to step over the demons’ heads as he went.

-Good kitty! -she whispered to him as soon as Mayor jumped into her arms, rubbing his cheek against her and purring loudly at the praise.

-OI!

Bai He looked up. The demons had recovered and they were looking directly at the both of them, ears pinned back, tails lashing and teeth bared in a snarl. All her training seemed to escape her mind as she turned around and ran for it.

She could hear their angry shouting and their footsteps from behind, she knew they should turn around and fight, but fear spoke louder and she couldn’t help but listen to it.

-GET BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE BRAT!

-I’M SICK AND TIRED OF THESE FUCKIN’ KIDS!

Their shouting and running echoed through the quiet museum, sometimes one of the demons would knock over a display or trip over his own tail, but no matter where she crawled or how many corners she turned they were still hot on her trail. Finally, Bai He could see the front doors, reaching out her hands to burst through them, but slamming against them once they were finally in reach.

She rattled and punched and kicked, trying to get them open but to no avail. Tears pricked at her eyes, the rush of her beating heart was all she could hear, along with the smug laugh of the approaching Gold and Silver demons.

-Here, kitty-kitty-kitty-kitty-kitty! -Jin laughed cruelly, extending his clawed hand out in a mocking way.

-Oh, good, this one is a lot smaller! Gonna be easier to bury, too! -Yin snarled.

Bai He’s legs were stuck in place, trembling, her arms clutched Mayor against her chest in a useless attempt of keeping him safe. The cat himself was struggling against her grip, hissing up a storm at the two demons slowly approaching.

He finally managed to free himself and jumped down, claws unsheathed, ears pinned back and his back arched up high, with gray and white fur sticking up like a porcupine’s quills, Mayor stood in front of Bai He. He would take on both of them if needed, but she knew he was too small for that, and she wouldn’t be able to help him.

Macaque was right, she wasn’t ready. Panic paralyzed her, all she could do was watch and cry.

This body is too weak!

HIISSSS!

The Gold and Silver demons laughed at the cat by her feet.

-Is that it?! Oooh, I’m so scared! -Jin laughed. -Do it again, come on…!

Mayor couldn’t take them, not on his own, not in this size, he needed to be bigger !

Much bigger!

Stronger!

With more teeth!

Bai He reached her hands out, feeling the anger and determination radiating off Mayor, closing her eyes as she lifted him off the ground. His tail grew longer, his claws grew sharper, his fur grew thicker and his teeth grew tougher. As she opened her eyes again, the girl noticed how the shadow of Mayor’s enormous figure was casting completely over her.

ROOOOAAAAR!

-AAAAH!!!

The demons turned around and ran with their tails between their legs as a fully-grown lion chased the both of them. The mostly gray fur was now overshadowed by the large white mane around Mayor’s neck, though he still maintained  his stripes, making him look like an aging old man.

Yin and Jin ran around in circles, trying their best to avoid Mayor’s gaping open jaws full of teeth, trampling over more and more displays in doing so. Bai He should probably feel bad about the destruction, but she was more worried about her cousin outside.

Finally, she managed to kick the door open, breaking the lock with her staff, running around the building and back to the parking lot.

-RED SON! RED SON! -she chanted.

Red Son was just about finishing tying the stolen goods to the back of his truck, roped together by pieces of chain and lace and whatever else they could find. The pile looked just about ready to topple over, especially with Rumble and Savage hanging onto it like… Well, monkeys hanging onto a tree branch.

-ThedemonsareafterusandtheycaughtmestealingbutImanagedtomakeMayorbigsonowthey'rescaredbutIcan'tfightthembymyself-

-Bai He, breathe ! Slow down, I can't understand a word you're saying! -her cousin rested his hands on her shoulders, before her words finally settled in. -They attacked you?! Did they hurt you?! Are you alright?! Is anything bleeding?!

He looked her over, lifting her arms, dusting down her jacket, even checking her temperature.

-No, I'm fine, Mayor's taking care of them.

-How can a cat of his size "take care" of-

The doors busted open again. Jin and Yin rolled down the steps, crying and screeching, as Mayor still gave chase hot on their heels. The demons managed to climb up the large water fountain that decorated the front of the museum doors, even if it had gotten them soaked. 

-SHRED THEM TO PIECES, MARIONETTE! -Rumble laughed.

-TEAR THEM TO SHREDS, PUPPET! -Savage cackled.

Unfortunately for them, Mayor stopped right by the edge where the water couldn't reach him. It would take a very long and bothersome time to dry all that mane if he did get wet.

The lion looked over his shoulder at the praising laugh of the two monkeys, his fangs the size of kitchen knives flashing through his wide smile.

-...I'm afraid to even ask… -Red Son's face contorted with dread at the sight of Bai He's overgrown kitty.

Her cousin stepped up to stand beside the lion, with his arms crossed and his hair already smoking with anger, Savage and Rumble trailing not far behind him, keeping a close eye on the girl.

-So, these are the two clowns that invaded my home, stole from my mother, kept my uncle’s sidekicks hostage and attacked my little cousin? -he growled at Jin and Yin, pathetically shivering as freezing cold water continued to pour on them. -I was hoping I’d get to fry you poor excuses for demons, and it looks like I finally have my chance!

-O-oh, that was y-your cousin, we… We, uuh… W-we didn’t know! -Jin’s voice trembled. -You can have y-your stuff back! We didn’t mean to t-take it, honestly!

Yin nodded frantically beside his orange friend.

-Y-yeah! I mean, w-with the king trapped under t-the mountain and everythin’, we d-didn’t think you’d n-need it!

Red Son’s hair flared up to a tower of fire with his yell of undignified rage, the snow around his feet melted into puddles and he lifted a hand to his lips to let out a stream of flames from his mouth like a living flamethrower.

Mayor jumped out of the way right before the inferno Red Son summoned enveloped the water fountain completely, the heat emanating off his attack overwhelmed the cold of the night, and Bai He felt as if she’d just sat down dangerously close to a big bonfire, flinching and closing her eyes tightly. Rumble and Savage jumped up and down, chirping and whooping in encouragement, the smell of burnt concrete and flesh was irritating her nose.

When she finally felt the heat die down and opened her eyes again, Red Son was heavily panting and the collar of his shirt was slightly charred, but what really caught Bai He’s attention was the pair of horns sprouting out of his forehead and the rounded ears pinned back against his head in anger. Hidden underneath his coat was a lashing, thin tail with a bushy tip, and the girl had to clutch her hands in fists to not reach out and grab it out of instinct.

The fountain had been reduced to a melted pile of marble and concrete with pipes sticking out of it, but surprisingly, Yin and Jin actually managed to crawl away from it with very gruesome-looking burn marks all over their skin, their clothes almost reduced to ash with some patches still on fire.

-FETCH! -Red Son yelled.

Savage and Rumble gave a shrieking whoop, charging on all fours to the Gold and Silver demons trying to crawl away. The monkeys tackled Jin and Yin to the ground, laughing cruelly at the crying and weak attempts from the demons trying to free themselves.

Red Son took another step forward.

-HOLD!

The monkeys immobilized the helpless demons, pinning them against the concrete, holding their hands behind their backs and their throats in their mouths. The sharp points of their teeth dug just enough to put pressure but not actually break skin, Jin and Yin squirmed desperately, their eyes wide open while tears streamed down their faces.

Red Son looked over his shoulder with a pleased smile and spoke to Bai He in a soft voice.

-Have you ever heard the sound of a pair of demons being mauled to death?

-No…

-Would you like to?!

She looked back down at their squirming prisoners, their eyes looking up at her were filled with tears and they were both visibly shaking. The girl thought about it for a while, watching Rumble and Savage’s tails lashing back and forth in excitement, seemingly loving the idea of it.

-I have a better idea! -she told her older cousin.

Bai He pulled a chain from inside her sleeves, tying both Jin and Yin’s legs together and calling Mayor forward. Even with his head bowed to her eye level, the lion still towered over her, but he did as he was asked, always the obedient one, and held the chains delicately between his teeth.

-Toss ‘em, boy! -she exclaimed, lifting her arms up.

Mayor dragged the Gold and Silver demons away kicking and crying. The monkeys seemed a bit disappointed, seeing as they didn’t get to deliver the final blow, but quickly started laughing again as Mayor turned and spun the chain in his mouth like a rope toy, hitting their prisoners against the ground.

With enough momentum, he finally let go of the spinning Yin and Jin, sending them flying against the little structure left of the destroyed fountain. The chain swung around a broken pipe before wrapping around it and the weight of the two demons made them hit against each other with an alarming force.

They grunted in pain, holding their heads in their hands.

Red Son, Savage and Rumble laughed an evil cackle, the kind she’d usually hear in saturday morning cartoons’ villains, circling her and chanting praises.

-Well done, Chiefie! -Rumble coed.

-Good job, Bossy Girl! -Savage chirped.

-You were so brave!

-So courageous!

-So daring!

-So valiant!

-So audacious!

-So fearless!

-So bold!

-A very, very smart cub! -they said in unison

The monkeys circled her, blathering fancy word after fancy word. Bai He wasn’t sure what half of them meant, but by the way her cousin smiled at her and how loud Mayor’s purrying was, she figured it was mostly good and hugged Macaque’s sidekicks close.

Red Son had to help her up to the passenger seat in the front, since Mayor basically took the entirety of the back seats, and even though Rumble and Savage could squeeze by him, the girl would have trouble fastening her seatbelt. Though as she tried to climb in, Bai He caught a glimpse of her own reflection in one of the wing mirrors, gasping in surprise as she noticed how her head of hair had turned completely white and both her eyes were a chilly bright blue.

-Come on, we don’t have the whole night! -Red Son reminded her.

He did let Bai He choose a few songs on their way back home, however, some few the monkeys even sang along to. They had great voices for being wood talismans for such a long time.

Savage and Rumble wanted to surprise Macaque, the excitement of seeing him again after so long keeping the two on their feet and blathering about a plan.

-Princey is gonna go in first and bring everybody out and when they're close enough to the truck, Bossy Girl is gonna let the cords loose and we'll lay all of our goods at their feet! -Savage said.

-Ooh, yeah, the King and the Princess are gonna like that! And then we jump out and surprise them! -Rumble agreed. -And Chiefie can show off the map too!

Bai He loved their idea, buzzing with excitement. She almost ruined it by jumping out of the truck when they got back and following Red Son very, very quietly so the adults wouldn't notice she was there.

The two cousins snuck around the fortress giggling and shushing each other, constantly earning strange looks from the Bull Clones, but successfully reaching his parents' meeting room nonetheless. The fire was still going and there were small plates with nothing but crumbs left in them, probably from something they ate while they talked.

And they apparently had talked a lot while Bai He and Red Son were gone, by Macaque’s exhausted look and his restless tail.

-Can we please talk about anything else…?! -he begged.

Demon Bull King and Princess Iron Fan seemed to be too caught up in their own conversation to hear the Warrior whining.

- I’m just saying, at least by his side, Macaque still held some title of importance! What does he do now, wander around aimlessly?! We can’t expect him to keep leading the life of a stray with a child by his hip!

-I hear your argument dear, but there is no chance I’m letting my brother get involved with some second-rate excuse for a “ king ” ever again! -she hummed. -Although, we do have many allies that could make proper partners…

Macaque’s fur bristled as he growled at his sister.

-Don’t you dare even think about it!

-So what do you propose, then?! You can’t possibly take care of this girl by yourself, Macaque! Bai He needs structure in her life, and I know for a fact you can’t provide that!

-La la la la la, I can’t hear you! -Macaque covered his ears, looking away with a childish grunt.

Bai He tilted her head in confusion.

-What are they talking about? -she asked Red Son.

-Frivolous affairs of the heart that thankfully don’t concern us! Go back to the truck and wait for my signal, I’ll bring them down in a minute! -Red Son waved her away.

Rumble and Savage had to help her get in the back of the truck to avoid toppling everything over before the right time. She held a sharp shard of bone in her hands, ready to cut the ropes at the first sign of Red Son approaching. Luckily, Bai He didn’t have to wait long as she could feel Demon Bull King’s heavy steps approaching.

She heard her cousin knock at the side of his truck twice, and quickly snapped the chains off, sending the piles falling down straight to the floor, getting dragged along with it.

-We took everything! -Bai He exclaimed at the adults, who looked down at her with pleasant surprise.

-You did! Good job, Bai He! -Macaque laughed, wrapping his tail around her wrist to help her stand up.

Mayor managed to dig himself out from underneath the stolen treasure, shaking the dust and snow out of his mane, bowing down to rub his cheek against the girl, who happily returned the gesture by hugging his face.

-What happened out there? -the monkey asked Red Son.

-We ran into the Gold and Silver demons, but they posed no threat at all!

Demon Bull King snorted, crossing his arms.

- And you showed them exactly what happens when you try to make fools out of the Demon Bull family, didn’t you?

-Oh, my memory seems to fail me all of a sudden… Bai He, care to tell everyone how we dealt with those peasants ?

She gave an excited little gasp, turning back to Macaque.

-It was really cool! They were hiding under the museum, but then Mayor brought them out, and they chased me, but then Red Son set them on fire, and we chained them upside down on the fountain in front of the museum! -Bai He took a sharp breath in, reaching into her jacket pocket. -And I got the map!

His ears perked up all at once, taking the map out of her hands and carefully untying the golden bow to look inside it. His smile slowly grew, and a faint blue light reflected in his eyes. She grew incredibly curious, trying to stand up on the tips of her toes to spy what was written inside it.

-See? We told you she'd be fine! -Princess Iron Fan told her brother, still examining the stolen treasure. -And it looks like they found a pair of helping hands along the way…

Under the pile, Savage dug his way out first, shaking the dust off his fur before reaching in and pulling Rumble out by his tail. The monkeys immediately let out a string of chirps at the sight of Macaque, stumbling over themselves to run at him.

-CHIEF!

-BOSS!

-RUMBLE! SAVAGE! -the Warrior opened his arms wide, a clear smile on his face as he’s tackled to the ground and fondled over much like in the same manner Bai He was.

The monkeys are very much not as gentle with him as they were with the girl, however, tugging harshly on his fur, wrapping their tails around his arms in a vice grip, clawing at his clothes and nipping at his ears. Macaque was equally unforgiving in their rough play, biting at the two of them to let go of him and manhandling them around like ragdolls.

-Where have you two rascals been?! I could have used your help these last few years!

-The Badduns got to us! But Bossy Girl and Princey got us out!

-Chiefie was awesome! You should have seen her and the Marionette dealing with the two Buffoons!

-Wish I had…! -Macaque smiled at Bai He with a soft and proud smile. The conjoined purring of the three monkeys piled up on each other echoed loudly.

She giggled, unable to keep down the giddiness and pride on herself, hugging Macaque’s tail wrapped around her wrist close to her chest.

Demon Bull King led them back inside the fortress, leaving the mess on the floor for the Bull Clones to clean up. The whole way, Bai He and Red Son retold their story more slowly and detailed, reenacting scenes and imitating Jin and Yin’s voices and expressions very poorly. The adults seemed amused by it, joining in on the mocking of the Gold and Silver demons from time to time with their own memories of their trouble-making.

Savage and Rumble only let go of Macaque and climbed down from his shoulders at the mention of dinner, rushing to the door and jumping up onto the dining table before anyone else had been properly seated.

They fought over a leg of the peking roast duck, tugging it with their teeth like dogs fighting over a rope toy, careful to not step over the other many plates of kung pao chicken, sweet and sour pork, rice and spring rolls. It was no Pigsy’s noodles, but it was an okay dinner, Bai He thought.

She had a bit of trouble getting on the chair itself. They were large enough for the Demon Bull family, obviously, but even Macaque had his feet dangling uncomfortably off his own seat. So Bai He had to jump up and try to climb into the chair, but still struggled to pull her own weight up.

The girl was pulled up easily by her jacket’s hoodie in the middle of her attempts, lifted as if she weighed nothing and gently sat down on the cushioned seat, temporarily blinded as her hoodie was pulled completely over her eyes. Bai He pulled it up to see Demon Bull King chuckling at the pair of cat ears attached to the top and returned his smile.

Macaque did reward her for a job well-done, practically letting her skip dinner and go straight for dessert while Princess Iron Fan chastised him for it. Maybe Bai He should propose the idea of going on missions with Red Son more often, but held back from asking right then and there, watching her older cousin talking to his father.

- And you're wearing your horns out! -Demon Bull King pointed out.

-Oh… -he reached up to his head. -I didn’t notice…

Mayor called her attention with a grunt, sitting beside her chair with his tail curled around his front paws. His new appearance was certainly useful and helped her escape the Gold and Silver demons, but Bai He missed holding him. Extending her arms forward, she concentrated her magic to him, feeling the fur grow softer and less coarse.

His sharp fangs decreased in size, the muscle became thinner and soon enough, Mayor curled around in her lap nicely as a normal house cat again. Bai He’s red bean buns were forgotten on her plate as she focused on smoothing his fur along his back the way she knew he liked best.

Chapter Text

MK’s finger tapped insistently against his phone, making an annoying noise. He had to keep reminding himself to not clutch his other hand too tightly, as to not absolutely crush Mei’s own fingers. She was doing her best to reassure him, offering to hold his hand while they looked around the park. Sandy mentioned the feral colony living around the neighborhood just a few hours before and as much as he hated to, MK skipped the extra deliveries to scout for any signs of Bai He.

They hadn't been able to find a single trace of Macaque or Bai He herself for the last three days, even going as far as sneaking into the dojo and filing a police’s missing person report. MK knew he didn’t have to worry about the girl getting hurt, considering both Macaque and the cat-Mayor were around, but after Red Son’s attack on the museum yesterday night, he couldn’t really shake off a bad feeling.

Tang had managed to snag them a copy of the security cameras' footage, and seeing Bai He getting chased around by Yin and Jin made his stomach churn.

-Should we have brought food? -Mei asked, snapping him out of his trance. -For the cats, I mean?

MK shrugged.

-I dunno, by the way Sandy was talking, I think the folks around here already feed them plenty.

MK had already given a good few rounds of scouting Megapolis from above with his cloud while the rest of the gang drove around or walked on foot, but still not a trace of the two of them since their debut on Chang’e’s show. Monkey King was still busy, but MK always kept his phone at arm’s length just in case they saw anything.

-So we’re completely sure Macaque’s not gonna do something stupid? -Mei inquires. -I mean… He helped us fight LBD and everything, but he still did a lot of fucked up shit before that.

-Macaque didn’t do all that ‘cause he wanted to, LBD made him do it. And he was just mad at me and Monkey king before that. -MK explained. -Bai He looked pretty happy when I found her, she wasn’t scared or anything like that, just a bit scruffy.

The woman shrugged her shoulders with a sigh, continuing to walk beside him and search over the relatively empty park. It was a school day, so they weren’t exactly expecting to see a bunch of children running around, and since the last attack of the ghosts and Red Son’s surprise visit, people were told to stay inside as much as they could. But the quietness still bothered MK a little bit, having grown up surrounded by the hustle and bustle of a big city.

The most recent demon attacks of the last few years made the city a bit quiet, or as quiet as Megapolis could possibly be.

-MK, look! -Mei tugged his hand gently.

He looked over his shoulder, where Mei was pointing, to a huge gathering of cats bent down to eat at the kibble being thrown for them. At the center of it, stood Bai He, tossing food like an old lady tossing popcorn to the pigeons. She was still wearing the new clothes she wore in Chang'e's show and now both her eyes were an icy blue, along with her full head of white hair.

MK gave a little gasp, turning to Mei who returned his confused and shocked look, before they both turned tail and bolted directly at her. They had to jump a small stone wall and slow down before they actually reached the girl so as to not scare away the cats lifting their heads to meow for more.

-Hi, Bai He! -MK called her, trying to find his footing around the begging strays.

The girl lifted her gaze to smile brightly at them before dropping the bag completely, which quickly got swarmed by her furry crowd.

-MK! Mei! -she leapt to wrap her arms around MK's middle in a hug.

Both of them held her, squeezing her tightly, lifting her off the ground for a few seconds and feeling her shoulders shake with a squealing laughter while her little legs kicked in excitement.

-Hey, fun-size! -Mei exclaimed. -How’re you doing? It’s been a while since we’ve seen you!

Bai He nodded her head with enthusiasm.

-Yeah, it has! Me and Macaque have been suuuper busy!

-Wow, really? -MK giggled at her tone, watching her rest her hands on her hips and exaggerate her words, acting like a grown-up who just came back home from an exhausting work trip or something. -What did you guys do?

The little girl’s eyes lit up and there was a bounce in her step as she excitedly told them all about her day-to-day life since staying with Macaque. Their training, their excessive orders of noodles for lunch and dinner, their marathons of Ghibli films.

Mei and MK were pleasantly surprised at that last piece of news, imagining Bai He dragging Macaque to the sofa to watch My Neighbor Totoro or Ponyo or some other silly thing. When the young man told Mei about Macaque’s many little purple bows tied in his fur, she almost fell back with laughter.

Bai He took full responsibility for that one.

-Macaque says I’m getting bigger by the day and my powers are growing very fast! -she added with a puffed-out chest. -He even gave me Mayor as a gift for our first field mission, ‘cause I did such a good job!

-Who’s “Mayor”? -Mei asked, still trying to engage the girl’s excitement.

“ Uh-oh… ”, MK’s mind immediately started ringing alarm bells as Bai He looked down and around her feet, glancing over the different cats, finally giving a gasp and lifting a meowing furry gray body off the floor to show them.

-This is Mayor! He’s my kitty!

The two friends gave a startled yelp, flinching backwards as Bai He held him so close to their faces. It was unmistakable now, those sharp blue eyes and gray fur with those lighter stripes that looked like they belonged to an aging old man… Monkey King was right, this was Lady Bone Demon’s thrall in the flesh.

And he didn’t look too pleased to see MK and Mei again.

-Oh, fuck, it’s that little creep again!

-MEI! -MK reprimanded his friend. -Bai He can hear you, don’t say “fuck”!

The young woman covered her mouth with both hands, but Bai He didn’t seem to mind the cuss word and just laughed it off.

The cat-mayor-thing just kept staring at them with his sharp tiny claws unsheathed and ears pinned back against his head. His fur was standing on end and his puffed out tail was lashing back and forth, his teeth were bared in a Cheshire Cat smile. There was a very deep and throaty growl coming out of him, daring MK to take a step forward and get his nose scratched off.

-Say “hi”, Mayor! -Bai He said in a sweet voice.

HIISSSS!

The girl’s face scrunched up, turning the cat around to look him in the eyes.

-That’s not how you say “hi”. -she told him sternly.

Mei and MK shared a concerned look, but the cat didn’t do anything besides glare at them from his spot beside Bai He’s feet as he was settled on the ground.

-So… Macaque is taking you on your own adventures, that’s fun! -MK changed the subject. -Is his training still tough? He’s not being too rough with you, is he?

-You can tell us if he is, we’ll rough him up right back! -Mei offered rather quickly.

The girl laughed, shaking her head.

-No, he’s not! We’re gonna learn all about my powers and then I can help save the world! Just like you guys!

Her eyes were gleaming at her own wishful rambling, looking up at the two of them like they hung the stars in the sky. MK felt his heart swell inside his ribcage and tried to fight down tears forming at the corner of his eyes, so he wouldn’t start crying in front of the little girl. Mei did not hold herself back however, squealing and “ Awww ”ing at Bai He, picking her up and giving her a spinning hug.

-YEAH, BOIII, THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT! -she twirled Bai He around in her arms. -The bad guys are gonna cry for their mamas when they see this little fighter coming at them!

-I’m not little! -the girl pouted.

-I bet you’re not! -MK laughed, joining them at Mei’s side. -Do you wanna come with us to Pigsy’s Noodles for lunch? Then you can show us all the new moves you learned!

-That’s gonna be a hard “no”!

There was a guttural growl coming from a tree beside them. Two pairs of sharp yellow eyes stared down at them from amidst the branches, where two shadowy forms hunched over to look at them. MK watched as a pair of awfully large black monkeys climbed down the trunk with their teeth bared, red swirling cloud markings spread over their bodies, and it reminded him an awful lot of Macaque’s magic.

-That’s Rumble and Savage! -Bai He told them. -They’re Macaque’s sidekicks!

“ Macaque’s never had any sidekicks! ”, MK thought to himself. When had he gotten the time to hire sidekicks? These were probably just shadow clones made to look all prettied up.

-Sidekicks…? -Mei’s nose scrunched up at the sight of the strange monkeys.

-That’s right! And Boss specifically put us to watch over Bossy Girl!

-Yeah, specifically! So we’ll ask you to kindly put the Chiefie down, if you please !

Mei looked at MK, who simply shrugged, and then at Bai He, who gave a reassuring smile and nodded to be set down on the ground. The girl ran over to the two monkeys, wrapping her arms around their heads in a short hug, but from their loud purring, they didn’t seem to mind.

The cat-Mayor strutted up to them, passing Mei and MK by with his tail pointed up and a never-faltering smile, but his ears were still pinned back and he could hear a very faint displeased growling coming off him.

He sat in front of Bai He while Rumble and Savage stood by her sides, like a trio of dedicated bodyguards.

-Nice to see Macaque's got some babysitters, at least… -Mei murmured. -So… We're hopping over to Pigsy's or what? It's almost lunch time!

-Yeah!

-No! -Savage snuffed out any hope of the very idea.

Bai He turned to him with an undignified look.

-What, why not?!

-Chief gave us clear instructions to wait for him while the Bull Clones finished moving all our stuff out of the dojo!

-The Bull Clones…? -that bit of new information caught MK's attention. -Why are they moving your stuff?

Bai He smiled at them again.

-Auntie Iron Fan and Uncle Bull King said we could stay over at their house for as long as we liked! And Red Son let me play Animal Crossing on his Switch!

-" Auntie " Iron Fan?!

-" Uncle " Bull King?!

Mei and MK exchanged another glance. So Red Son's attack on the museum wasn't a coincidence! The two of them tried their best to text and talk to him, get a how or a why, but they were only met with shouting voice messages or dismissive texts. Red Son was never a demon to explain himself anyways, but what really worried MK was how terrified of him Yin and Jin were when they were finally brought down from the destroyed fountain.

Mostly, they were babbling and talking over each other in a terrified panic, which the police did not appreciate. Lucky for them MK was quick enough to break their cuffs " by accident " before they could actually get shoved in the back of the police car. With this new wave of anti-demon propaganda, he worried for their safety, and now Red Son's and Bai He's too.

Especially if Macaque, PIF and DBK were encouraging them to attack Megapolis.

-Chiefie, don't tell our plans to the enemies! -Rumble gently tugged on Bai He's jacket sleeve.

-But they're my friends.

-Nobody who smells like Monkey King is your friend! -Savage growled, staring right at MK.

Their hackles raised and their teeth bared again, there was a deep throaty growl coming from the cat-Mayor.

-Monkey King's here…? -Bai He's entire demeanor changed. She shrinked into herself, clutching the ends of her sleeves in her little hands, looking from side to side as if she expected Monkey King to jump out at any minute.

It made MK's heart clench painfully.

-He will be, if we stick around Cubbo long enough! -Savage grumbled.

-C'mon, Chiefie, let's bail before Junior leads you straight to the monkeys' den. -Rumbled huffed.

The cat-Mayor let out a long drawn-out meow , turning around and walking away with his nose held high in disdain.

-O-oh, uhm… But Monkey King isn't here right now, he's busy at his mountain! -MK tried to salvage it. -We don't have to go to Pigsy's if Macaque told you not to! We could go somewhere else, like…

-The Arcade! -Mei suggested.

Bai He squealed, jumping up and down in excitement, her fear seemingly gone at the very mention of the place, her face lit up with a wide smile.

-I wanna go to the Arcade! I never got to play there! Can we go, please, please, pleaseeee!?

" Atta, girl! ", MK cheered internally. The monkeys glanced at each other, very clearly in a struggle on what to do. Bai He was still pleading with those big ol' puppy-dog eyes of hers that he knew nobody could resist.

The cat-Mayor jumped in between the two of them, meowing and growling , pointing at him and Mei and turning back to Rumble and Savage as if speaking to them. Macaque's sidekicks seemed to understand his every word, and by the looks on their faces, they didn't like what they were hearing.

Bai He's keepers finally turned to them and shook their heads in unison.

-No can do!

-We're not leaving this very spot!

All three of the humans let out different kinds of disappointed and undignified noises. Bai He's face grew serious and she bent down to pick up the cat-Mayor, raising him until they could stare each other in the eye.

-Mayor, are you fibbing?! -she demanded, only to receive an apologetic meow in response.

-Sorry, Bossy Girl, but when it comes to Monkey King's business, it's better to be safe than sorry! -Savage told her.

-Chief warned us plenty about Junior here to know not to leave you alone with him! -Rumble exclaimed.

-Geesh, you guys are ruthless about this, huh…

Mei was losing her patience and MK was nervous about the time. The last thing he wanted was a conflict with Macaque without Monkey King around to help them fight. Bai He seemed to be equally displeased, throwing the cat-Mayor over her shoulder like a stuffed animal and stomping her foot.

-Well, I don't care what Macaque said! I'm going to the Arcade with my friends! -she said, and turned around, running towards the street. -SEE YA!

Rumble and Savage gave warnings whoops and distasteful chirps, but they didn't follow her. Mei and MK cheered her on as they also started running after the girl so she wouldn't end up in the front of a moving car, and also because she didn't know the way to the Arcade.

She gawked at the entrance, pointing at all the different games she wanted to try while Mei bought them plenty of tokens. Bai He played Whack-a-Mole, Dance Dance Revolution, even Mortal Kombat.

-Isn't that one a bit graphic for you…? -MK asked.

-I'm big enough! I can play it!

And she absolutely detonated all the characters the game threw at her. Mei recorded all of it, carrying the tickets the girl earned and trading them for a pair of cat ears hair bow which made her look even more adorable. The cat-Mayor was still eyeing them suspiciously, but the constant laughter and joy emanating off Bai He seemed to distract him enough.

MK wasn't sure how much time they spent in there, just playing, but he was starting to sweat by the end of it. Bai He went into an inflatable castle they called the "Fun Dungeon" with a few other kids, but soon enough, Mei pointed out how the majority of them were leaving as soon as Bai He stepped foot in there.

As a matter of fact, he started to notice how a lot of folks were staring and pointing with scared looks, many parents picking up their own children and leaving.

-MK, wanna see me touch the ceiling?! -Bai He exclaimed.

With enough momentum, she leapt so high they had to take a few steps back to see where she went. Sure enough, the girl was so high she touched the ceiling, and gracefully floated down. Mei and MK cheered for her, the latter whipped out his phone and recorded everything, accidently sending it to Monkey King, not realizing what he'd done until he got a text back.

🍑peachking🍑: where r u guys at???

🍑peachking🍑: @ the arcade??

🍑peachking🍑: gimme 2 seconds, brt!

A cold wave of dread washed over MK as Monkey King quickly answered his video, tugging on Mei's sleeve with wide-shot eyes.

-Mei… -he whispered. -I did a dumb thing…

-You told Monkey King we found Bai He…? -she sighed as MK nodded. -Why would you do that?! Bai He's terrified of him!

-It was instinct! And I promised I'd give news if we found her, it's for her own good!

-Yeah, well, now we just gotta break it to her gently…!

As soon as Bai He was out of the inflatable castle and breathing normally again, they took a break for water and hot dogs at the Arcade's snack bar. The girl's legs kicked in excitement and she downed her cup of orange juice like a vodka shot, immediately snatching her hot dog off Mei's hand, digging into it like a starving woman.

It reminded MK a bit of DBK when they had dinner at his fortress.

-Easy, tiger, nobody's taking it from you! -Mei laughed.

At this point, MK expected to have already been thrown across the room by Rumble, Savage or a very angry Macaque, but there was really no sign of any of them. Their only reluctant escort was the cat-Mayor and all he'd done was give them a nasty glare or a hiss .

Maybe this was their chance!

-How come Macaque still lets you order Pigsy's if he doesn't want you going to the shop?

-I dunno! -Bai He shrugged. -But I'm glad he still orders it, it's my favorite food in the whole wide world!

Pigsy already knew that, but he never grew tired of hearing it, especially if it came from Bai He.

-MK said you're not going to school anymore, how's that working for you?

-It's great! I don't ever, ever have to worry about homework or tests or bullies anymore! -the girl answered them excitedly. -Now I get to train and play all day!

-But… What are you gonna do for a job when you're all grown up?

-Probably do what Macaque does: Chuck everything into a portal and walk away!

Bai He finished her hot dog rather fast, meanwhile Mei and MK shared another worried look.

-Macaque's been teaching you how to use your powers, so how do you use it? -Mei inquired in a more serious tone. -Have you been going out to train?

Bai He's eyes widened for just a second as she looked at them. MK saw the cat-Mayor's ears flatten back against his furry head.

-What do you mean…? -the girl asked in a hushed voice.

-Like… Going out at night to wake up the ghosts? Or breaking and entering at the museum with Red Son?

There was a small moment of silence amongst them, Bai He was looking around nervously and the cat-Mayor was glaring at them again, growling a threatening sound  deep in his throat.

She pulled on the sleeves of her jacket, refusing to look the two older friends in the eyes.

-I don't know what you mean…

MK bent down to her eye-level.

-You don't know about the robbery at the museum? Or why Red Son was in Megapolis last night? -he asked, shocked to see Bai He shook her head "no". -You don't know anything about that? Or why were there angry ghosts flying around, chasing people a few days ago?

-Nope…

Bai He continued to look around and fidget nervously, her face growing increasingly more guilty.

-Bai He, you're the only one with ghost powers around here and we saw you running around in the museum's security cameras. -Mei told her. -You were talking about helping us save the world and what not, if we're gonna do that, we need to know what's going on.

-I don't know what you're talking about. -the girl mumbled. -Ghosts aren't real…!

Mei gave an undignified squeak, looking Bai He up and down as if she had just called her a cuss word. MK was just about as confused as his friend. This wasn't like Bai He, she was a good kid and not one to keep secrets, so either Macaque or someone else deliberately told her not to tell them anything, or she was scared of getting into trouble.

The cat-Mayor gave MK a smug meow , lifting his chin with pride and showing off his sharp little teeth. It made the young man sick to his stomach.

-You're not in trouble! -MK reassured her softly. -We're not mad at you or Red Son or Macaque-

- I'm mad at Macaque! -Mei interrupted with a huff.

MK and Mei made faces and gestures, trying to argue silently so Bai He wouldn't get worried, though it seemed not to work. The poor girl was glancing back and forth between the two of them with a very worried face, knowing exactly how to interpret the wildly flailing and tossing of arms along with very telling expressions.

At the end of their quiet argument, Mei was still adamant of trying to get Bai He away from Macaque, at least for a little while and there was no changing her mind. MK rolled his eyes, trying to quickly come up with an excuse, they were getting nowhere.

-Maybe we should go back to playing. We still got some tokens we need to spend, right?

He gave Mei a smile, gently nudging her shoulder. Her face softened with realization, nodding accordingly.

-Yeah, we still got a few more games we haven't tried yet! -she told Bai He. -Since the two babysitters aren't around, maybe we can actually go to Pigsy's and grab a good meal!

Bai He's face immediately lit up as she nodded vigorously. The cat-Mayor was visibly displeased, his claws sinking into the cushion of their seat and his tail lashing about. Not bothering to throw out her used napkins, the girl leapt to her feet and took a few steps in front of them.

MK was about to join her, but saw the girl stop suddenly with a horrified face. And then he saw Monkey King step out from behind one of the game machines.

-Hey, kids, you found her! Great job! -he waved at them, before turning to look down at Bai He. -D'aaaww, is she wearing cat ears ?! That's adorable, she looks so cute!

He bent down to look the girl in the eyes with a bright smile.

-Hi, Bai He! It's so good to see you again, remember me?!

There was a small moment of silence, where MK and Mei held their breaths while waiting for a reaction. Before a loud WAILING CRY echoed out of her. Tears streamed down Bai He's face as she completely froze up at the sight of Monkey King, there was a clump of bone shards growing around her feet.

MK and Mei immediately sprung from their seat to her side, trying their best to calm her down, but there seemed to be no consoling her. 

-I-I didn't do anything, what happened?! -Monkey King was looking at them with a desperate and confused look. -No, no, no, it's okay, Bai He, don't cry! It's just a silly old monkey, see…?

He tried to reach out with his hand open, only for Bai He to turn around with another CRYING SHRIEK and cling to Mei's shirt like her life depended on it.

Yup, she was still very much terrified of Monkey King.

It pained MK to see her like this, burying her face so she didn't have to look at the ginger Hero, trying to hide herself under Mei's jacket while her shoulders trembled with violent sobs.

He was about to suggest Monkey King walk away for a few minutes just so that they could calm Bai He down, but the cat-Mayor let out a raging YOWL and attached himself to his mentor's leg with teeth and claws before they could stop him.

- OW- What the- Oh, it's you ! -Monkey King growled. -You fucking bitch !

He smacked his leg around, managing to get the cat-Mayor's grip loose and kick him across the snack bar, making a dent into the wall where he was tossed. Bai He only let go of Mei's shirt to run to the now very disheveled cat stuck inside a dent in the wall.

- Dude ! -Mei whisper-yelled at Monkey King, who could only shrug with an apologetic look.

People all around them quickly started to gather their things, grab their friends and book it out the back door. By this time, folks in Megapolis knew whenever MK, Mei or Monkey King were around, there was a fight about to start and perhaps they were right.

Even confined in Bai He's arms the cat-Mayor was struggling and kicking and clawing to get another piece out of Monkey King's leg. The poor girl was still sniffling and trying to recompose herself, hugging the hissing cat for any sort of comfort, staring at them with wide, teary eyes.

-Uuurgh, this whole fucking mess is a shitstorm! -Mei groaned loudly.

Monkey King sighed, resting his hands on his hips.

-It sure is… Let's just get her out of her before-

- SUN WUKONG!

It all happened so fast, all MK could see were two dark silhouettes leaping over the snack bar and shattering the floor beneath them as Rumble and Savage both growled at them with smaller versions of Macaque's staff in their hands, sharp teeth bared and the fur of their hackles raised like feral dogs.

Behind them, MK saw Macaque, dressed in brand-new dark clothes, adorning his fur with a phoenix feather, eyes darting at every little detail in Bai He's face, his cape draped over her like a comforting blanket and his tail wrapped around her wrist the same way the young man saw a few of the mother monkeys doing with their cubs back at Flower Fruit Mountain.

For some reason, Macaque had his scar out.

-I told you to wait for me at the park! -his voice was meant to sound scolding, but all it came out was a worried tone. MK had heard that same tone from his own fathers many times.

- T-they… They said he wasn't here! They s-said I'd be fi-fine!

Macaque's eyes widened slowly as he made sense of Bai He's hiccuping cries, his fur bristled as his face distorted from worry to absolute fury . MK took a step back as he felt every cell in his body yelling at him to run the other way, feeling Macaque's uncharacteristic expression of hatred settle on the three Heroes. The Arcade started to grow darker, the windows blocked by twisting shadows until MK couldn’t even properly see which direction he was looking.

He'd never seen Macaque like this. He was angry during LBD's takeover, desperate even, but this… This was some kind of animalistic anger he never expected from Macaque. Ever.

Mei grabbed his arm in a rush, snapping MK out of his thoughts.

-We gotta get out of here, he's gone full Papa-Bear!

-Pfffft, it's just his usual theatrics! -Monkey King laughed, taking a step forward. -He's just playing the scary-guy part, trying to rile us up for a-

Monkey King got the air knocked out of him as Macaque tackled him with so much strength, the ginger monkey was sent flying to the other side of the Arcade, crashing through game machines and walls. Rumble and Savage cackled behind him, cheering on their master.

-FETCH! -Macaque ordered, not bothering to look over his shoulder.

MK didn't look back either as he and Mei scattered, summoning their staff and sword each. Behind him, he could hear the two monkeys' voices fading as they ganged up on Mei. MK made a sharp turn as he ran after them, an inch away from grabbing one of their tails, before a mass of fur and teeth reached him.

Something heavy pinned him against the ground, there was so much pressure on top of his chest, MK couldn't breathe properly. He peeked out of the corner of his eye to come face-to-face with what he assumed was the icy blue eyes of the cat-Mayor, except he wasn't a cat anymore, he was a fully grown lion.

His mane of fur was so thick it was suffocating, his paws were the size of MK's whole head and his Cheshire Cat smile had widened to an extent that it looked like his face was tearing in half.

MK tried to twist and wriggle out of the lion-Mayor's hold, but found that even his monkey-super-strength wasn't enough. Bai He's "kitty" completely laid on top of him, dropping his whole weight on the young man, rendering him without movement.

His staff had been dropped somewhere not too far, but he couldn't reach it. MK could only watch as Savage and Rumble chased Mei down and trampled over her, she fought them as best as she could, her sword made loud metal noises against the monkeys’ staffs. Though they were much smaller than her, they were much faster and there were two of them, coming from every side, quickly overwhelming the young woman.

 -Macaque, let..! Her! Go! -Monkey King struggled against the Warrior in another destroyed part of the Arcade. -She’s not yours !

That last retort got his head angrily smashed against the wall. Multiple times.

Mei didn’t have any better luck, pinned to the ground by Macaque’s sidekicks tying her hands behind her back with their tails. She snarled and let out puffs of green flames, but that just made them press her mouth shut.

-HOLD! -he heard Macaque shout.

And suddenly, MK felt a hot breath upon his neck, the sharp teeth of the lion-Mayor prickled against him, putting pressure with a guttural growl, threatening to pierce the skin at any moment. He saw Rumble and Savage do the same to Mei, both clasping their mouths each on a different side of her neck, with an excited gleam in their yellow eyes.

-Ew, EW ! NO! GET OFF! DON’T YOU DARE DROOL ON ME!

Macaque’s tail was lashing happily as he managed to pin Monkey King down as well, tearing off his two-piece cape to get a better access to his throat, holding it in his teeth.

Panic started to settle in, not being able to move, watching his friends helplessly thrashing against the ground, but MK finally managed to see Bai He from the corner of his eye. She was just standing there, looking between all of them with an expressionless face, cheeks still stained with tears, she met his eyes and did nothing about her enormous pet lion on top of him and ready to bite down into his arteries.

MK, I apologize, But I need to take that staff.

He glitched . A golden heat envelope his whole body for a small second, and then vanished, leaving a faint pain behind.

Calm yourself. It’s pointless to deny it.

Another glitch . MK could feel his tail behind him, the fur in his arms spread out as the heat consumed him again, this time for a little longer.

-S-stop! -he whined.

Helpless girl? Oh, yes, my disguise had fooled many. This body in particular is quite useful.

-STOP! -he yelled out, another glitch making his bones crack and his insides twist.

You’re right, you know. It’s scary being alone! I do pity you…

-BAI HE, STOP ! -his voice was growly, the fur all over his body was threatening to stay as the glitches became stronger. MK did his best to keep it in, hold the monkey back, but the golden light emanating off of him was persistent.

Not here! Not right now! Bai He was the last person he wanted to see him in that state!

-Macaque, wait! -she called out. -I think there’s something wrong with MK!

He couldn’t really see if Bai He’s pleas actually worked, his eyes were closed shut as MK concentrated on keeping the monkey at bay, trying to breathe evenly just like Sandy thought him, but he could hear his friends still struggling.

-...DROP!

And then the overwhelming weight was gone. MK took a big gasp of air, finally able to think straight as the glitches slowly faded and stopped.

-MK, you good?! -he heard Mei calling him.

Slowly, she helped the young man to his feet, letting him lean on her for support. The darkness that washed over the Arcade was gone and the place wasn’t all that wrecked. There were broken game machines and shattered floor, but nothing all that serious aside from the dents in the walls.

Macaque, Rumble and Savage were gone, along with Bai He and the lion-Mayor, as if they had never been there in the first place. Monkey King dragged himself to stand beside them as well, and he looked even worse than both of the friends, with his clothes torn apart and his face all scratched up.

-I think we lost them.

-No, they’re still here! -the ginger monkey growled. -And they can hear us!

He picked up the staff from the ground, angrily pacing and looking at the walls, his tail puffed out like a feather duster.

-Well, come on, then! Show me the real Six-Eared Macaque! -Monkey King yelled in a teasing tone. -The old you would have leveled the whole street just to get to me! But you’re scared of hurting some little girl?! Who’s the pathetic one now?!

That phrasing felt uncomfortably familiar, but MK didn’t have the energy nor the words to reprimand Monkey King right now. But he got no response. Mei and MK sighed, surprised and relieved that Macaque didn't fall for the taunt.

-Ha! Looks like we scared the shadows right out of them! -Monkey King turned around with a victorious smile. -Bet they're already back at home with their tails between their le-

He was interrupted by a little mass of bright blue light teleporting right beside him. MK didn't even have enough time to open his mouth to warn Monkey King before Bai He swung a broken piece of bone into his stomach like a baseball bat.

Monkey King was thrown across the Arcade, hitting a wall so hard, part of the ceiling crashed on top of him. The two friends froze in place. Monkey King was heavy . Heavy as stone. MK struggled to block his punches and tackle him in training, even with his monkey-super-strength, and Bai He had just thrown him across the room like he weighed nothing .

" What the fuck is Macaque feeding this kid?! ", his mind screamed.

-I did it! -Bai He cheered, lifting the piece of bone over her head.

-Right in the love-handle! -Savage laughed.

-You got him good, Chiefie! -Rumble cackled.

The three dark monkeys and the cat hanged by a crushed cable tray, cheering the girl on as Monkey King crawled out of the rubble. The cat-Mayor looked down on MK and Mei, blue eyes glowing with malicious intent, a powerful force surrounding him as he leapt down, his form growing and shifting until the lion was standing in front of them again.

-WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?! -Mei freaked out.

She jumped in front of MK, blocking the vicious bite of the lion-Mayor's jaws with her sword. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Rumble and Savage overwhelm Monkey King and pin him to the ground again just as he started to get up. Macaque approached him with slow steps, the wide smile on his face showing his enjoyment, swinging his staff in one hand nonchalantly.

-So, you want me to show you the real Six-Eared Macaque…? -he spoke softly, in a teasing tone. -Who am I to deny his majesty?!

Shadow magic swirled around them in a thick cloud, MK couldn't see them, but he could hear Monkey King's grunts of pain and the Warrior's cruel laugh. He darted for his staff, thrown on the ground when the ginger monkey got tackled, before Bai He's little hands tugged his sleeves excitedly.

-MK, let's fight!

-Just a second, Bai He, I need to… What?! -he looked down at the girl as his mind finally processed her words.

-Yeah, everyone else is fighting, let's fight too!

-Fig- Bai He, I'm not gonna fight you !

-Why not?! -she whined. -We trained a bunch just to fight you guys!

MK shook his head, too distracted by Mei's delirious vulgar cussing as she knocked over more game machines while still trying to avoid the lion-Mayor's claws, along with the very worrying sounds of pain and breaking bones from the shadow cloud enveloping Monkey King.

Macaque's laughter was softer, drowned out by the maniacal cackling of Rumble and Savage.

-Bai He, no ! We're not gonna fight! -he told her. -You're too little to be in a fight!

-I'm not! I promise I'm not, I can do it, I can fight!

-MK, A LITTLE HAND, PLEASE?! -Mei roared.

MK gently tugged Bai He's fingers off his jacket, turning away to help his friend.

-Bai He, I'm sorry, I'm busy, I can't!

-Why not?!

She clung to his shirt, with a flash, she was inside his head.

He was back at the Silken Web Cave, tossing and churning, clawing at his hair at the heavy weight of that damned witch 's presence and echoing voice inside his head.

She let go. Out of instinct, he turned around, staff tightly grasped in his hands, aiming it straight at the little girl's face. MK's panicked heavy breathing made his heart beat wildly, staring at her with wide eyes.

Bai He didn't react, she just stared at the staff pointed at her with a confused look. MK's heart twisted inside his chest, he felt the taste of bile at the back of his throat at the very thought of accidentally hurting the little girl.

MK quickly drew back his weapon, watching her expression turn from hurt to angry. His throat was tied in a knot, his mouth opened and shut, but no words came out.

A heavy rush of wind passed by them as Mei tossed the lion-Mayor over her shoulder and against a pillar holding up the very beat-up ceiling.

-FINE! -Mei roared. -YOU WANNA PLAY LIKE THE BIG KIDS?!

A guttural roar escaped her as a wall of green flames surrounded Mei, concealing her transformation until the long, serpentine body of her dragon form stood above them. Her head pressed against the ceiling, and she had to bend down to really fit.

- LET'S PLAY LIKE THE BIG KIDS!

Bai He gave a little gasp, taking a few steps back, wide eyes glued in the snarling dragon staring down at her. MK knew Mei meant no harm, she'd just lost her patience, but the little girl had probably never seen Mei's dragon form this close, only from behind the TV screen, and it was quite intimidating.

MK didn't have time to reassure her, as Macaque quickly passed by them, grabbed Bai He and made a run for it, Savage, Rumble and the lion-Mayor not far behind them. Mei roared , sliding across the Arcade like an overgrown snake, hunting them down with open jaws, twisting and turning around the wrecked building.

-Mei, stop!

-Get'em! -he heard Monkey King shout behind him. He looked awful, with a black eye, bleeding nose and lips, his clothes torn to shreds, his fur looked matted with dirt and golden blood. -Get them, Mei!

MK could see Macaque looking over his shoulder with a mischievous smile, giving Bai He instructions to make sharp turns and corners, Mei's long body twisting and turning on itself, tying around the pillars that held up the Arcade.

There was dust and cables falling from gaps in the ceiling, the game machines were completely smashed and the snack bar was done for. Eventually, Macaque stopped abruptly, turning to face Mei with a smug look while Bai He hid under his cape. The dragon snapped her teeth loudly, trying to bite his face off to no avail, her body was tied around the Arcade.

A low rumble sounded through the Arcade, before MK yelled at Mei to snap out of it and run. He could see Monkey King limping towards the exit as fast as he could, and made sure Mei had transformed back, realizing what she had done, before throwing himself out of the falling building.

They stayed on the ground, covering their heads while the loud noise of the Arcade caving into itself echoed through the city. There was a thick cloud of dust and dirt settling around them as the final bits and pieces of the building fell. People were already gathering to film the disaster, sirens of the firemen's trucks and ambulances were fast approaching.

-Oh, come on ! -Mei whined, seeing her favorite place in the city get completely wrecked.

There was a deep pit of disappointment growing in MK's stomach, watching the scene unfold. Shrill laughter came from atop a light pole. Macaque perched on it, Savage and Rumble clinging to his sides, Bai He sitting on his shoulders and around her shoulders, the cat-Mayor draped himself like a fuzzy scarf.

-And this , Bai He, is why we don't go around playing with Heroes! -Macaque told her in a sickly sweet voice, pointing to the Arcade wreckage. -Nothing left but a pile of rubble, what a shame…

Monkey King let out a snarl, dragging himself to his feet.

-DON'T YOU DARE PIN THIS ON US, YOU ASSHOLE!

-Temper, Your Majesty! -Rumble laughed.

-Wouldn't want your Royal Highness to have a migraine! -Savage giggled.

The three dark monkeys laughed at Monkey King's stream of vulgarity, but MK could only look up at Bai He, still sitting on Macaque's shoulders, looking down between the arguing Hero and Warrior, laughing at their argument.

She didn't really understand what was going on, that must be it! And Macaque was trying to pin her against them, he knew they wouldn't have the heart to fight her, MK didn't expect him to stoop this low!

-YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS! -Monkey King yelled out in frustration.

Macaque gave a mocking scoff, before lifting his cape dramatically and leaving the scene in a fleeting shadow, very much so getting away with it.

Chapter Text

It was a pain to get Princess Iron Fan and Demon Bull King off his tail after the whole incident with Sun Wukong and  the kids at the Arcade. The couple insisted Macaque and Bai He stay in their fortress for a week or so more when they returned with the Bull Clones, arguing that it wasn’t safe to go out with their enemies now dead set on capturing them.

In a way, Macaque knew they were right. His sister was only trying to look out for them and it’s not like Bai He was having a bad time at the Demon Bull Family’s Fortress, she’d spend her days running through the halls after Red Son, playing on his video game consoles or training with Rumble, Savage and that smiley furball she was so attached to.

The girl was ecstatic to tell Demon Bull King and Princess Iron Fan about how she found Mei and MK, fought them and “won”. They had a very loud dinner that night. Red Son himself couldn’t keep the smile off his face, asking questions about how MK and Mei reacted to everything, completely forgetting about his food in the process.

While Demon Bull King and Princess Iron Fan indulged in Bai He’s little tale of victory, his sister did pull Macaque aside after dinner to scold him about letting her out his sight. As much as he didn’t appreciate the earful, he had no right to complain. She was right.

He did let her out of his sight, and Wukong almost took her.

Bai He’s absurdly panicked SCREAM OF TERROR reached him just before Savage and Rumble did. Macaque had never felt a more visceral reaction to a sound before in his life. His legs felt like they might give out under him as he ran, his ears vibrated with the volume of the girl’s voice, his heart burnt inside his chest as if he’d swallowed flames. The monkey didn’t know panic could overtake a person so intensely.

Truth to be told, Macaque stalled their departure, and he hated stalling. Finding excuses to stick around whenever Bai He would ask every day when they were going out for a field mission again wasn’t all that difficult.

Princess Iron Fan would tell her all about demon culture and history, Demon Bull King sometimes watched their training sessions and gave her pointers or tips, Rumble and Savage would think up a little prank to catch the poor Bull Clones just trying to do their jobs, she’d read books out loud to Mayor, Macaque even caught Bai He and Red Son taunting MK over the phone one night.

-I think the “undefeated” Monkie Kid is just embarrassed that he lost to a child! -Red Son scoffed into the speaker, while Bai He rolled on the ground from laughter beside him.

“ Red, this isn’t funny! Bai He could have gotten really hurt! ”, came MK’s voice from the other side of the call.

- HA ! You speak as if any of you noodle-brained peasants could actually stand a chance against her and Uncle! If I’m not mistaken, you got your asses handed to you!

“ This isn’t about who won or lost, you guys gotta stop putting Bai He to fight like this! It’s not right! ”

-I can fight whoever I want! And win, I’m sure of it! -Bai He boasted.

-Hear that, Noodle Boy?! You might as well surrender now, or would you rather embarrass yourselves even further in front of the whole city?

“ You better not get Bai He into any more trouble, you hear me?! If she gets hurt, I swear, I’ll tell Monkey King and- ”

-Oh, please do! I’d just love it if your whole bunch came down to the fortress so we can properly put you in your place! -Red Son growled. -I’D THOROUGHLY ENJOY WATCHING YOU PEASANTS GET TORN TO PIECES! AHAHAHAHAHA!!! Say “Goodbye, MK”!

-Goodbye, MK! -Bai He said, sweetly.

“ Wait, NO, RED- ”

He ended the call. The two of them gloated about it for days, scheming on how they’d ambush MK and Mei the next time they met. The echo of Bai He’s laughter constantly filled the Demon Bull Family’s Fortress, and Macaque couldn’t help but smile every time it reached his ears.

It was a strange sound. The first few times he heard it, he found it too shrill and piercing, annoyingly high-pitched. But now, it echoed through the halls like the sweet ringing of a bell, accompanied by the pitty-patter of her little feet rushing to bother Macaque about one thing or another.

He didn’t mind being bothered anymore so much. Except maybe during training.

They had left the fortress that very morning, with the promise they’d call Red Son should anything go wrong. Macaque had teleported them near the Dyiu’s gateway, according to their map. It’d be better to walk in rather than make a portal straight inside so as to not give away their position, so while they hiked up and around the mountain, he thought it would be a good idea to catch up on training.

-What’s this for? -Bai He tugged on her blindfold. -Couldn’t I just close my eyes?

-You’d just peek, that’d be way too easy, wouldn’t it? The point of this is to get you to use your other senses, not just your vision. Listen to the forest around you, take in it’s scents, feel the snow under your feet.

The cat strutted beside her, ever the loyal fiend, his tail held high as he meowed at every little pebble or twig that could possibly trip her.

-And tell that mangy fleabag to keep his mouth shut! -Macaque growled. -He’s not allowed to help!

The girl huffed.

-Why not?!

-We know the Puppet means well, Bossy Girl, but you’re not gonna always have him, you know? -Savage said.

-That’s right, Chiefie, you gotta learn how to manage it on your own, even without the Marionette! -Rumble added.

-I’d never go anywhere without Mayor, he’s my kitty!

The cat gave a drawn-out meow beside her, raising his chin high in pride. Truth to be told, Macaque didn’t have any good reasons to antagonize him as much as he did, at least, not very recent reasons. The Mayor stayed true to his duty, keeping Bai He safely close by, more than capable of defending her from anything that could pose her a threat. He did a good job, he was just incredibly obnoxious.

But speaking of obnoxious… One thing Macaque did remember was a very specifically irritating trait Mayor still probably had.

-What do you say we bring a few songs along for the road, boys? -Macaque smiled at Rumble and Savage, invitingly. The two of them leapt to his shoulders, chittering excitingly. -Minor key, from the top!

That immediately got a bothered growl out of the cat. His smile faltered, if only for a small second, as all three of the monkeys started to warm up their voices.

“ Oh, the Ol’ North Wind,

He starts to howl…

Puffs up, and furls his brow.

Now, now, you better take cover;

Lock up those doors

And close the shutters! ”

Bai He didn’t seem all that bothered by their singing, rather focused on her own task at hand. Mayor, however, visibly flinched, looking back over his shoulders with his ears pinned so tight against his head that it looked painful.

His smile was very forced as all three of them harmonized.

" I say, the Ol' North Wind,

(Oool' Nooorth Wiiind) yes he is!

He's gonna fight! (FIGHT!)

He's gonna spin! (SPIN!)

He's gonna pull back,

And blow a little more-

'Til you can't tell what you

Came here for! "

The cat's fur bristled with each high note they reached, his puffed-out tail lashing irritably, not being able to do anything seeing as he was not ordered to.

“ Oh, yeah, that Ol’ North Wind,

(Oool’ Noorth Wiiind), yes indeed!

He’s gonna breathe and breathe,

He’s gonna blooow…

(BloooOOOW!)

Blow ‘till you can’t feel no more! ”

Rumble and Savage hopped and whooped in excitement at getting to sing with their master again. Not surprisingly, they hadn’t lost their pitch even after all those years of disuse. Macaque assumed it was thanks to his very strong magic which had brought them to life.

Though his planned had worked, Mayor was looking more and more annoyed, especially after Bai He cheered them on, asking:

-Another one, another one! More road trip songs!

And they couldn’t possibly deny such a request from their audience, could they?

There were five more songs after that first initial one, until the girl grew exhausted and they decided to rest for the night, setting down camp. Mayor looked absolutely miserable and Macaque was very much satisfied with himself.

Bai He insisted they set up a tent, though Macaque had already packed them sleeping bags, and when she started struggling with it falling on her head over and over again, he caved in and helped.

-I’m not gonna sleep on the dirt , my pjs are gonna get soiled! -the girl argued. -And what if a snake crawls inside my blanket?! Or a frog?!

She also set up little makeshift nests with extra blankets and pillows for Savage and Rumble, even after they said they wouldn’t need them. Red Son had given her mountains upon mountains of candy and snacks, one of which was an enormous bag of marshmallows.

She insisted Macaque build her a fire and after much back and forth, Bai He sat with her legs criss-crossed, holding up a stick with a lightly-roasted marshmallow at the point, melting over the campfire.

-You better keep a close eye on that fire, because I’m not putting it out. -Macaque grumbled, sprawled on his sleeping bag beside her.

-What about ghost stories? -Bai He asked, excitedly, ignoring what he’d just said.

-Ghost stories…?

-Yeah, it’s one of the most important parts of camping! We had road trip songs, then we set up a tent, then we made a campfire, now we’re roasting marshmallows, all we need is ghost stories!

Macaque rolled his eyes..

-Kid, we’re not “camping”. We’re on a mission, remember? You’re the one who wanted to do all this work.

-But I’ve always wanted to go camping! I’ve never been outside of Megapolis! -she turned to the roasting marshmallow at the end of her stick. -Until now…!

Shaking his head, he sat up, wrapping his tail around her wrist while she looked up expectantly.

-Alright, fine. Which story did you want?

-How about… A story about Chang’e!

-Didn’t you want to hear “ghost” stories?  -He questioned, reaching his hand into a small portal on the ground, taking out his lantern. -I thought they were supposed to be scary.

-Yeah, but… I also wanna know why she’s up there, all alone! -Bai He tilted her head. -I think I remember my teacher saying she was married. Where did her husband go…?

Macaque’s ears perked up at the empathetic hurt in the girl’s voice at the mention of Hou Yi. Rumble and Savage gathered around them, should their master need backup voices with his storytelling. With the help of the dancing shadows, cast by their campfire, he created shapes and animals and people and monsters.

Mayor covered his ears and buried his face in Bai He’s jacket, bracing for yet another song.

The clouds blew away with a sudden wind, bathing them in the light of a full moon. Macaque gave a little laugh at his not-at-all-subtly curious best friend.

“ Long ago in ancient history,

Beautiful and kind Chang’e,

Met a handsome man named

Hou Yi, and fell-”

-In love?! -Bai He interrupted, eyes sparkling with barely-contained excitement.

Macaque bapped her face with his tail.

-In love…!

- True love! -Savage and Rumble added.

“ But she took a magic potion,

Giving her immortality…

Then she was forced to float,

Leaving her true love.

And so she waits for him…

On the moon above! ”

His puppets of Chang’e and Hou Yi danced in graceful circles, holding each other tenderly, smiling, kissing, surrounded by Jade Rabbits. The form of the moon changes from new, to crescent, to quarter, to waning, and finally to full, reflecting the actual moon above them in the sky.

Bai He looked at the dissipating shadows with a whimsical gleam in her face, before they faded away, separating, then back at the real moon with a serious look.

-But where’s Hou Yi now? Why didn’t he find a way to get to Chang’e?

-Bai He, Hou Yi died here on Earth many, many years ago. There was no way he could get to Chang’e. -he told her, surprised that human children weren’t more familiarized in their gods’ tales.

She looked baffled by that last statement, scoffing and waving her arms in indignation.

-B-but they were in love! You said it yourself, it was true love! And true love is forever! -the girl argued. -...Is true love not forever…?

Macaque debated internally on what to respond. He didn’t want to ruin fairytales and child-like whimsy or whatever else parents tried to keep up with their children, but at the same time, he couldn’t bring himself to coddle her like that. Bai He couldn’t live in a make-believe world for her whole life, she had been possessed, for Heavens’ sake, she was old enough not to fall for this “true love” bullshit.

-Look, kid, love in real life is a lot more complicated than a “True Love’s Kiss” and “Happily Ever After”. She’s the moon goddess, and he was just a mortal. That was never going to work.

-But then what’s even the point of falling in love if they’re not even gonna be together ?!

She started to raise her voice, growing yet more upset. Mayor tried to nudge her gently and soothe her with purrs , but It wasn’t helping much.

-The point is that they wanted to! -Rumble chimed in.

-The point is that they could! -Savage added.

-Might not have been a perfect, happy story, but they were still in love. Chang’e still loves Hou Yi to this day. -Macaque explained, bringing Bai He closer to him to calm her nerves. - Just because the time they spent together was short, doesn’t mean it didn’t matter .

Bai He stared just at them. Her brows furrowed deeply, in a confused stare, she looked around to her feet and sat the stick down, using both her hands to pet Mayor, trying to calm herself down.

Macaque could practically see the gears inside her head turning, trying to make sense of what he’d just said.

-But Chang’e is still alone…

-She’s not alone. -Macaque said in a reassuring voice. -She has her bunny mechs, her legions of adoring fans, and she has us.

The Monkie Kids were also her friends as well, but he was still a little butthurt about that. Bai He seemed a bit calmer, but she still let out a displeased noise in reluctant acceptance.

After finishing all of her marshmallows, the girl grew rather drowsy, changing into her pajamas Princess Iron Fan had packed for her and dragging her sleeping bag inside her tent. Mayor curled up at her feet in his usual spot, propping his head atop his fluffy tail.

Macaque didn’t really know what to think, watching him sleep so closely to her, but he couldn’t really remember the last time he saw the cat actually sleep . He’d look drowsy, lay under the sun peeking in through the dojo’s windows and sit around with his eyes squinted close, but he wasn’t asleep .

His ears pointed to every side, alert at all times, his heartbeat didn’t slow down like most beings’ hearts did, a tell-tale of slumber. Mayor was never really asleep. Macaque couldn’t remember the last time he ate or drank either, even if he did get a few licks and tiny bites off Bai He’s plate every once in a blue moon, but that wasn’t nearly enough.

He looked down at the cat, finding his icy blue eyes staring him down. The monkey gave a fake yawn, making sure to show his rows of sharp, pearly teeth, not taking his eyes off that mangy thing even for a second. He expected an angry snarl in return or a roll of eyes, but instead, Mayor simply blinked at him very slowly. A soft purring noise from him grew louder.

-He likes you now. -Bai He said in a whisper, her face buried in her pillow. Macaque tilted his head at that statement, raising one brow in confusion. -That was a slow-blink. When a cat does that, it means they like you, and that they want to be friends.

His ears perked up in shock. Looking down at Mayor, Macaque saw him blinking slowly again, his smile soft.

A big part of him was very freaked out. After everything that bastard had done, he had no right to try to make peace and “be friends”. The two of them had been silently aggressive towards each other the whole time ever since Bai He picked him up from that wardrobe, even if he did get along with Rumble and Savage with no trouble at all, Macaque was still very much not looking forward to a truce anytime soon.

But he didn’t argue against it, choosing to leave the cat alone. Just for now.

-Do you think we’ll find Chang’e’s husband while we’re down there…? -Bai He asked sheepishly.

Macaque’s ears pinned back, unsure of how to respond to a question so genuine.

-Kid… That’s not what we’re going there for. We’ll just gather more information about your powers and leave . -he told her in a serious tone. -We are not taking anything, certainly not a soul without a body to get back to.

-But then how did you get out?

His tail lashed in panic.

-W-what…?

Bai He hugged Mayor close to her chest, sitting up to look Macaque in the eyes.

-Red Son said you died , and then came back... -her voice trembled. -How did you die? Did someone kill you? Is that what made that scar? Is that why everybody keeps pointing it out?

“ Goddamnit, Red Son! ”, Macaque internally cursed.

He expected this to happen sooner or later, Bai He wasn’t dumb, she was bound to ask eventually. He just wished he had a little more time, Macaque didn’t want her to grow even more terrified of Sun Wukong than she already was, knowing he got her mentor killed.

Maybe he wouldn’t have to say it like that explicitly….

-It’s kind of a long story, you were basically a blink away from sleep, kiddo! We’re gonna wake up very early tomorrow, I don’t want to keep you awake!

-’M not sleepy…! -Bai He said, rubbing her eyes. -Please, I really need to know!

He sighed. The lantern floated above them again, casting dark purple shadows and bright yellow lights, two monkey puppets danced around each other in a circle.

“ The Sun asked the Moon’s

Hand in marriage, saying he’d

Loved him for so long:

Since the time of dinosaurs, of

Disasters, wars and so on…

…When the bicycle still

Hadn't been a thing, and humans

And demons would gather to sing!

But the Moon thought it to be so

Strange, some little ball of fire who

Didn’t even bathe !”

Bai He watched the show very closely, eyes squinted in concentration as her gaze darted back and forth between every single detail on the scene. Wukong’s puppet chased after Macaque’s, offering him a peach with a bright smile, and everytime, Macaque rejected him.

And answered:

“ For my heart can’t be only yours,

It belongs to artists and poets and

Plenty more!

You think I’d lower myself to your

Kind?!

(I would rather die!) ”

Savage and Rumble hummed their part in the chorus, noticing that Mayor hadn’t made a move to flinch at their singing or cover his ears, watching the two monkey puppets argue.

“ The Sun asked the Moon

To marry him, and the Moon said

‘I don’t know, don’t know,

Don’t know, give me some

Time to think…’

The Sun chose to

Freeze his broken heart…! ”

Wukong’s still chased after Macaque’s puppet for various turns, peach still in hand, and every time Macaque’s turned his nose in rejection. Finally, Wukong’s puppet grew angry, a circlet formed around his head, and with the silhouettes of the four other Pilgrims behind him, he raised the staff above his head.

The Monkey King dived, piercing through the other puppet’s right eye.

Bai He flinched, even if slightly, holding onto Macaque’s tail wrapped around her wrist as if he’d vanish if she let go. Watching the shadows fade away and the moon slowly lit up the clearing again, she turned to him.

-...Why? -was all she asked.

Macaque shrugged.

-Sun Wukong was so wrapped up in the idea of being immortal, of being the most powerful amongst all Celestial Beings that when the Jade Emperor punished him, he didn’t even stop to think he might have been in the wrong…! -he spoke with bitterness in his voice by accident, his inky mane of fur bristling as terrible memories of their innumerous fights came back in flashes. -And when I tried to talk him out of it, he wouldn’t listen!

Bai He still looked conflicted, but there was still a little spark of determination behind her confusion, and she scooted closer to hug Macaque tightly, burying her face in his chest.

-...We could tear his eye out… -she offered, an angry whisper.

Rumble and Savage laughed at the idea, jumping and whooping in agreement.

-Bossy Girl’s got a good idea!

-Chiefie’s got the right spirit!

Macaque rolled his eyes at their badly-timed joking, those two never knew when to take things seriously. His tail wrapped tightly around her wrist again, calling her attention to him.

-That was a long time ago, you don’t need to worry about it anymore. -he assured the girl.

Bai He didn’t seem really content with that, snuggling closer until she was fully sat on his lap, struggling to breathe against his fur. Macaque could feel a surging purr deep in his throat growing louder at an attempt to comfort her, gently rubbing her back.

Macaque couldn’t say how long they stayed like that for, he only recognized it might have been a long time when he noticed Bai He had fallen asleep. As did Savage and Rumble beside him when they were supposed to stand guard, except Mayor, ever the watchful one.

He laid them down in his sleeping bag, letting her sleep on his chest and covering them both with a blanket. His ears still darted back and forth in all directions to catch even the faintest sound of possible nearby danger, but there was nothing except the nocturnal sounds of the forest. So Macaque let his eyes close to sleep.

Until his phone vibrated in his pocket.

moonbun🌙🐇: Better not be telling lies about me!!!!😡😡

Macaque chuckled at Chang’e’s text.

shad0wm0nkey: who me? never

moonbun🌙🐇: Uh-huh, sure!!🙄🙄🙄

moonbun🌙🐇: But how’s the 🏕 trip going??❓️❓️

He angled his phone a bit higher, framing Bai he’s face tucked away under his

chin, hugging Mayor tightly while Rumble and Savage piled around his face, snoring away.

shad0wm0nkey: Sent 1 image

moonbun🌙🐇: 💙💙💙AAAHHH, MY HEART🤩🤩🥹🥹🥺!!!!

moonbun🌙🐇: I CAN’T!!!! THIS IS TOO ADORABLE 💙💙🥺🥺🥺🥺AAAAH!!!!

moonbun🌙🐇: You better bring her around again, I got loads of 🍬🍬🧁 goodies for her to try!!!😋😋

Macaque scoffed.

shad0wm0nkey: oh sure by all means give her a cavity

shad0wm0nkey: you’re not the one whos gonna have to deal with it

moonbun🌙🐇: You know you love meee!!😘😘😘

-You’re lucky I do…! -Macaque whispered to himself.

moonbun🌙🐇: And, hey, you found Rumble and Savage🐒🐒, that’s great!!! 🤩🤩💙I was wondering where those rascals got off to!!!

moonbun🌙🐇: And Bai He knows what happened, too.

moonbun🌙🐇: Are you okay?

Macaque paused as Chang’e’s text grew void of any emojis. It was rare for

her not to add anything to her conversations, but he recognized it was a heavy subject. For all of them.

shad0wm0nkey: yeah Im fine

shad0wm0nkey: couldnt really keep her in the dark for much longer

An annoying little guilty voice nagged at the back of his mind, remembering the stories he told.

shad0wm0nkey: sorry if that first story was kinda out of line

shad0wm0nkey: i dont know if it was my place to tell it

moonbun🌙🐇: Oh, nonsense!!😤😤 You’re an awesome storyteller!!!😘💙💙📖

moonbun🌙🐇: And I’m glad the mortals still get to hear it, even after such a long time. I’m glad they still want to keep his memory alive.

Macaque gave a pained smile, glancing at the bright full moon, still gracing the night sky, surrounded by stars. As he was about to type yet another response, one of his ears caught onto a very distant voice.

“ Are we absolutely sure where we’re going? ”, came the unmistakable voice of Wukong’s apprentice.

Macaque quickly brought a shadow clone to take his place, keeping Bai He close while he crawled and snuck around the shadows of the trees. Careful not to make a sound, he spotted Sun Wukong and MK sitting down at the edge of a cliff looking off the rest of the snowy valley.

-Sure we are! -Wukong patted MK’s shoulder. -We just gotta pin them down, before they cross into the Diyu!

MK crossed his arms, scrolling through his phone nervously.

-I still think we should have brought the rest of the gang… I barely got any signal, what if there’s an emergency?!

-Kid, believe me, the less people we bring to the Diyu, the better! The Ten Kings hate living stuff in their kingdom!

The young man looked up at his mentor with a concerned face.

-Monkey King, do you really think it’s a good idea to just… Walk into Hell?

-Sure, bud! The Ten Kings and I aren’t exactly… Friends, but they’ll be much easier to talk to than Nezha or Ao Guan! -Wukong had his tail laid around MK in an attempt to keep him close. It was obvious to Macaque that he wanted to wrap it around his student, but for some reason, he hesitated. -Besides, they wouldn’t dream about letting Bai He get hurt! I know you’re really worried about her!

Macaque would have thought of MK’s sense of responsibility over Bai He fondly, but right now, he and his nosy dumbass of a mentor were just about ready to soil their plans. The Ten Kings would never take his demands seriously if he arrived there with the Monkey King at his heels.

He needed to get rid of them and fast.

-If it’ll make you feel any better, I’ll do one more look around, see if they’re already by the mountain! How’s that sound?

MK smiled softly.

-Thanks, Monkey King!

Macaque sent a hurried signal to the shadow clone at the camp through their connection, to wake Bai He and hide their tracks. To not engage with Sun Wukong, no matter how close he got.

As the ginger monkey leapt onto his cloud and flew away, Macaque slowly surged out of the shadows, walking soundlessly to sit on a rock just behind MK’s spot.

He fused with the pocket of his jacket and brought out his phone again.

-I should’ve told Dadsy where I was really going… I promised Baba I wouldn’t keep stuff like this from them anymore… -he whispered to himself. -How does someone even walk into the Land of The Dead?

Macaque let escape a sinister laugh.

-You could always jump !

MK let out a terrified shriek, turning around to see Macaque sprawled atop the rock, smiling down at him with rows of sharp teeth.

-Easiest way down is to end it all. -he snarked bitterly. -They have a special place for Heroes like you down there, I’d bet they’d welcome you and Wukong with open arms…!

-Macaque! -he exclaimed. Like he did everytime the Warrior showed himself to him. -What are you doing here?! Where’s Bai He?!

-Sleeping. And as soon as she wakes up, we’re going so deep into the Earth, not even your golden vision will be able to help you. -he told MK strictly.

MK huffed angrily, clenching his hands in fists. Now this was the reaction he liked!

-I was kinda hoping you two would be louder… If you’d bothered Bai He enough, I could have come on over to smash your faces in to keep you quiet!

-Why are you doing this…? Why did you even take Bai He in, why didn’t you tell her to come to us?

Macaque’s tail lashed in irritation.

-I wouldn’t hope you would understand. You were gifted the Monkey King’s powers and received, what, fame and adoration? Your fathers still love you, your friends traveled to the ends of the world for you. -he said. -Bai He got possessed and what did she get in return? Prejudice and a target on her back labeled “demon”! None of you could have helped her.

-W-we could have tried ! You didn’t even give us a chance to understand what was going on! -MK argued back.

-Typical, selfish hero speech, thinking you can save everybody! Bai He couldn’t afford a “chance”. If it wasn’t for me teaching her to stand up for herself, she would have been lynched in that city.

-That’s not fair! You and DBK, PIF and Red Son have been encouraging her to walk around picking fights! That's not “standing up for yourself”! -Wukong’s student raised his voice. -She’s got powers, but she’s not a Celestial Being! Or a Demon! O-or anything like that, she’s human! And she’s not yours-

Macaque’s ears fanned out, a threatening light cast off of them as he stood up with a growl .

-You watch your mouth! -he snarled at MK. -Her parents left her behind after that witch took her because they were scared of what she could do! The whole city is terrified of her! You could barely stand your own against her thrall, none of you could have handled her!

MK looked away reluctantly. Thankfully, the young man was smarter than his mentor, he knew when to back down and admit he was wrong, but this time he stayed quiet.

-There has to be another way…! You can’t just bring a little kid to the Land of The Dead!

-Why do you think I’m taking her there?! The Ten Kings are the only ones who could give us any kind of information on her powers. If left unchecked, it could overpower and kill her. I’m not letting that happen.

The young man looked shocked, but underneath that, MK knew Macaque was right. Lady Bone Demon was born in the Diyu, if the Ten Kings couldn’t resolve this issue themselves, they would know who could.

-Macaque, please, we just want to help! This can’t be good for Bai He! -MK begged. -I-I could keep her company out here while you and Monkey King-

-I’m not leaving her with you lot, or did you already forget what happened last time ?

-Last time?! You mean the fight you started last time?!

Behind him, Wukong hovered above in his cloud, his tail thumping against it, raising puffs of golden steam while frowning down at Macaque disapprovingly. He could hear him coming from a mile away, and should have dipped at the first sign of the Monkey King’s presence, but Wukong needed to hear that conversation too.

-You talk shit about my teaching, but it wasn’t my idea to bring a little girl all the way out here! -he huffed. -Where is she, Macaque?!

-What’s the matter, Your Majesty? You couldn’t even find a lost child on your own, or do you still need your little apprentice to solve all your problems for you?

Wukong growled, his curly fur puffing up in anger. He would have whipped his staff out of his ear by now, so that meant MK still had it. That gave Macaque a devilishly good idea!

-You know, if you weren’t so concerned with someone else’s kid, you’d be able to afford paying more attention to yours !

Macaque pushed MK over the edge of the cliff. Wukong passed him in a rush, diving down to catch his successor, completely forgetting that MK could summon his own cloud now.

Leaping through a portal under his feet, he returned to their campsite in no time, watching Bai He, now dressed in her normal clothes again, let go of the clone to run up to Macaque for a big hug.

-Why did you leave?! -the hurt on her voice was a bit discredited by her absolutely adorable pout.

-We’ve got problems, kid! Pack up your stuff, we’re leaving!

She tilted her head at his hurriedness, but spotting the pair of fast-approaching clouds in the sky certainly got the girl to turn tail and sprint the other way.

Bai He wasn’t fast enough, so Macaque carried her on his back. Savage and Rumble snarled at Wukong and MK, a loud warning to keep away which was boldly ignored. The two of them circled their runaway enemies, blocking their way ahead and back.

-Freeze! -Wukong exclaimed in a poor attempt at humor.

-We don’t want to fight you guys! We just want to figure out another way to solve this!

Rumble and Savage had their staffs ready in hand.

-The two of you want to take on the five of us?

-Oooh, you’re aching for a royal beat up, aren’t ya?!

Macaque glanced up at Bai He peeking her head through his inky mane of fur, her eyes wide in a deadstare towards Wukong. He set her down beside Mayor, who already had his back arched and his fur puffed out in all directions.

-Stay hidden. Do not come out until they’re gone. -he whispered in her ear.

Before she could protest, he sent the girl through a portal to watch from the shadows, out and away from harm’s way, turning back to Wukong.

-You need to learn when to quit.

Macaque leapt at him.

Without his staff, Wukong had a lot of trouble blocking Macaque’s strikes, especially when he used his teeth and claws, ripping away at the king’s clothes. They did the same song and dance as always, throwing each other around, rolling through the forest floor like simple-minded beasts, lighting up the night sky with flashes of golden and purple light.

Angry roars, growls and whoops echoed through the snowy valley as the Celestial Monkeys tore each other apart for the millionth time.

Finally, Macaque summoned a horde of clones, descending down on Wukong, they bit and tore through his regal armor like a hungry pack of dogs. And while enjoying the brutalk view, Macaque raised a pair of ears to listen for MK.

He was struggling against his sidekicks. Savage and Rumble were merciless when it came to Monkey King, it was no surprise they would treat his successor any different. Something off caught his attention, though. An extra pair of little feet ran around their battle grounds, probably trying to keep up with the shadow monkeys to watch.

-Get ‘im! Get ‘im! -she laughed.

“ Bai He, why…! ”, Macaque groaned internally.

He almost turned around as he heard what could have only been the pair of monkeys get thrown against a tree and MK’s heavy breathing.

-B-Bai He, call ‘em off..! You shouldn't be here!

-Why? -by the sound of her voice, Macaque could practically visualize her head tilting to the side. -We just wanna know what’s down the dead people's place!

-Curiosity killed the cat! Out of everyone, I thought you’d known that by heart already!

-You mean this cat?

MMREEOOW- ROOOAAAR

-AAAH, NO, NO, NO!

The rougher and longer-paced footsteps on the ground along with highly descriptive cheering of what Mayor should do to MK’s dead body reassured him the lion was sicked on the young man already, and by the full-belly laughter coming from not very far behind proved that Bai He was thoroughly enjoying the show.

Unfortunately, focusing on his apprentice made him unattentive, and Wukong finally slipped from the clones’ hold, charging at him in his cloud. Luckily, Macaque caught his fists, holding his hands with their fingers intertwined.

-If you really think the Ten Kings will help you with Lady Bone Demon’s powers, you’re out of your mind!

-You think they can refuse me anything? -Macaque laughed a cruel sound. -I destroyed my way out of that purgatory once, I can do it a hundred times over again!

Grabbing Wukong by the torn sleeves of his shirt, Macaque brought him down, plunging towards the Earth, twisting around and digging the ginger monkey into a crater on the ground. The breathless, gurgling gasp that Wukong gave him was like music to his ears.

Dragging him along the ground by the scruff, Macaque watched Mayor chase MK down, clawing at his heels to get him to topple over. As soon as the mortal hit the ground, he tossed Wukong on top of him, knocking the air out of both of them.

Power surged through his veins, magic seeped out of his eyes and ears as smoke surrounded him from all sides and soon enough, Macaque found herself deep into Smokey’s chest, looking down at the Heroes.

-SMOKE ‘EM OUT ! SMOKE ‘EM OUT ! SMOKE ‘EM OUT ! -Rumble and Savage chanted, beating their staffs on the ground in a booming rhythm.

Smokey’s roar filled the whole valley, raising a clawed hand to strike them down. Wukong tried to stand up to block the swipe, but Macaque had done a damn good job at twisting his ankle. So MK stepped up instead, swinging the golden and red staff out of his ear.

Macaque flinched for a small second, remembering the last few times MK had used that cursed weapon to bring down his smoke monster.

- OW ! -he cried.

Little hands crawled at his fur and little feet tried to climb up his back as Bai He sat herself on Macaque’s shoulders. Before he could even ask her what she thought she was doing, an aching chill ran through Smokey and seeped into the skin under his fur.

Smokey felt solid . Smokey felt cold and heavy and difficult to move. Macaque looked up to see Bia He’s eyebrows in a deep, focused frown, as she brought all of her magic around them to conceal almost all of the dark kaiju in a thick armor made of bones. It wasn’t perfect, it kept forming, cracking and reforming again. In some parts, it would only form small patches, not being able to cover a whole limb, but it was strong.

-Here comes… -MK huffed. -MONKIE KID!

Monkey King’s staff swung at them, aiming straight for the chest. Macaque readied to catch the girl when Smokey eventually fell, but instead of cutting through the monster as it usually would, it ricocheted off the armor, falling far away from the battlefield, somewhere beyond the treeline.

Bai He let out a big breath, clapping her hands as she saw her trick had worked. Macaque smiled a wolfish smirk.

- Missed me! -his sickly sweet voice echoed off Smokey’s mouth.

The pair of Heroes could do little but embrace for impact as Smokey’s hand slapped them and half of the forest away, off into the night sky. Out of sight and out of mind.

Rumble and Savage howlered and jumped, yelling insults and mockings, even if knowing MK and Wukong couldn’t hear them. Macaque slowly disintegrated Smokey, floating them down gently.

Bai He jumped off his shoulders, still a little wobbly on her legs after using so much power, but excited enough to throw herself at the ecstatic monkeys and a fully grown lion rubbing his head the size of her whole body against her.

-I did it, I did it, did you see that?!

-You did awesome, Chiefie!

-You were glorious, Bossy Girl!

They danced around her in a circle, hyping up her performance alongside their master, only stopping once they turned around to see Macaque’s displeased face. Bai He was a bit more oblivious and ran up to hug him.

-Did you see what I did?! I threw off MK’s staff! I did it! I beat MK!

-I told you to hide in the shadows. -he scolded, a bit harsher than anticipated.

Her smile quickly faded.

-But I beat MK! -she argued. -The armor worked, we won!

-You deliberately disobeyed me when I told you to stay out of the fight! Just like you disobeyed me when I told you to wait for me at the park! How am I supposed to trust you with missions if you keep doing the opposite of what I tell you?!

-B-but you were gonna get hurt! -Bai He’s voice wavered, she hugged him tightly and hid her face against his belly. -MK’s staff is super strong! I didn’t want you to get hurt…!

Macaque sighed, wrapping his tail around her wrist to hold her closer.

-It’s my job to take care of you, not the other way around. -he said in a soft tone, but keeping the seriousness in his voice. -What if Monkey King had taken you away? What if you ’d gotten hurt? You think Red Son or Chang’e or your aunt and uncle would have been fine with it just because you were trying to protect me?

There was a moment of silence, before Bai He spoke again, in a whisper:

-I just wanted to help…

The hurt in her voice struck right into Macaque’s heart, and he didn’t have much other option than pick her up for a proper hug.

-I know, and you did help. I think that was the most power I’ve ever seen you use at once, and you handled Smokey like a champ! You did a great job, Bai He! -that seemed to get her excitement back, even if just for a second. -But when I give you a direct order, it’s for a good reason, and I need you to listen to me. So the next time I tell you to run or hide, you do it , no questions asked. Am I clear?

Rumble and Savage sat at his feet, looking up at the two of them while Mayor nuzzled her shoulder in encouragement. Still, she didn’t give him a response until Macaque bapped her face with his tail.

-Am I clear?! -he repeated himself.

-Yeah! -Bai he laughed, shooing his tail away like a fly in her soup.

Macaque carried her on his back the rest of the way, letting her fall asleep on his shoulders while they traveled. Bai He felt too light for his liking, maybe he should take up on Chang’e’s offer to take her for more visits.

They didn’t have to travel much farther, finding the crumbling ruins of a massive walled-in city nestled deep in the valley, surrounded by a thick fog. Mayor hastily stepped ahead of them, ears perked high in alert and a gleam in his eyes which clearly shone with memories and nostalgia.

Macaque sent him in ahead of them. Let the Ten Kings know they had arrived.

Chapter Text

It was eerily quiet inside the Diyu. Bai He wasn’t really sure what to expect out of the Land of The Dead, but this was certainly not the picture she painted in her mind whenever Macaque told her they were traveling to Hell.

She expected a cavern entrance spewing lava, hot steam rising from the breaking ground and demons running around, provoking and torturing souls of the damned in their eternal punishment. The Demon Realm where the Demon Bull Family lived came to mind, but the Diyu itself was very much different.

There were no souls flying about and wailing in pain and anguish, no cackling demons with arrow-pointed tails snarling at her, no hellhounds protecting the gates from intruders, there was just cold. A large, devastated ghost town. Buildings of wood and stone collapsed across the sidewalks, plant life was non-existence and there were no animals, not even birds or crickets.

Everything was covered in such a thick fog that Bai He could barely see the path in front of her. Fear picked at her racing heart, but the girl put up with it out of overwhelming curiosity. They hadn’t come across a single ghost, a haunt, a ghoul, not even a skeleton, and by the looks of the buildings, it seemed like the town had been brought to ruins due to a battle.

So where had all the fallen soldiers gone?

-Are we really going the right way?

-We are. -Macaque reassured her. -Unless that map you got us was a faulty copy!

Bai He frowned at his joke, tugging at his tail wrapped around her wrist. Rumble and Savage chuckled beside them while Mayor guided them through the fog with his tail held high.

-It looks empty, shouldn’t there be… I dunno, dead people?

-We’re only at the gateway, Bai He, be a little patient.

-Can we race until we get there?! -she questioned with excitement. -You can be the finish line if you don’t wanna run!

Macaque gave a loud and groaning sigh, dropping his head back dramatically, but gave in anyways, counting to tree so Bai He and the shadow monkeys could race properly. He didn’t stick around for long, stepping into a portal while the girl gave her everything to this little sprint.

Savage and Rumble leapt from the ruins to the dead trees and back to the ground, though Bai He knew they were holding back from their full speed just to let her win, it was still fun trying to beat them. The way ahead was all covered by fog and while she was very careful to not trip over a rock or hit her face against a low-hanging branch, there were a few very close calls she managed to avoid at the last second.

Thank goodness for Macaque’s blindfold training.

Speaking of Macaque, Bai He finally saw him at the end of the road, leaning against a marble pillar in front of an enormous palace. It seemed to be the tallest building around, rising amidst the fog and completely untouched by whatever disaster had brought the ruins to… Well, ruins.

It was built with sleek, black, stone bricks, illuminated by the blue light of the torches. Bai He had never seen blue flames like those before, except maybe from the stove.

-Finish line. -Macaque spoke, as if reading a sign outloud. He rudely removed his outstretched hand at the very last second so she couldn’t touch it. -Too slow!

-Hey!

His sidekicks giggled, perching atop his shoulders, but they chirped encouragements and praises even at her defeat.

All five of them turned to the large and very heavy-looking wooden doors, locked by a seal with a keyhole drawing on it, as well as writing which Bai He couldn’t read.

It was clearly Chinese, but she couldn’t make out what it was saying. It looked really old.

Macaque stepped forward and extended his hand, hovering it above the seal. His eyes glowed a purple hue and light came out of his ears, his fur bristling with magic as slowly but surely, his shadows overwhelmed the seal, breaking it with a loud SNAP .

The massive wooden doors slowly dragged along the marbled floors with a horrible, rasping squeal, opening up to show an incredibly lively party of ghosts. It was a ballroom, decorated with lanterns, low-hanging lights and paper kites of all kinds of different monsters and creatures. The partygoers were dancing to instruments that seemed to float overhead and play by themselves, all kinds of people from all ages ran around, talking, playing and dancing as if they weren’t all dead.

-How come nobody told me we were crashing a party?! -Savage whined. -I would have worn something fancy!

-With no food or drinks in sight?! I wouldn’t have bothered! -Rumble retorted.

And they were right, there was no food. The few tables that were set up around the ballroom had chairs for the ghosts to sit down, though very few of them had actually taken a seat. Bai He questioned whether or not the dead would actually grow tired of dancing or physical activity at all.

-Can we dance?! -Bai He asked, pointing at some of the pairs of souls twirling and slow-dancing to the soft music.

-Maybe another time, we have a job to do. -Macaque told them. -We’re going to rummage through every single room in this palace. I want no stone left unturned, no scroll or book unread!

All four of them nodded their heads at Macaque’s instructions, smiling excitedly at the idea of thoroughly exploring the place.

-We’ll cover more ground if we scatter, but if any weird or strange hooded guy tries to talk to you, run the other way . Bai He, I’m talking to you!

-Yeah, yeah, stranger danger, no talking to hooded men, got it! -she waved her hand nonchalantly. -What about MK and the Monkey King? Aren’t they gonna follow us down here?

Rumble and Savage chuckled mockingly to each other, as if she’d just told a mean joke. Macaque smiled a wolfish grin, bending down to speak at her level.

-Oh, you don’t have to worry about them anymore. -he said in a dark tone. -Sun Wukong is terrified of death. If he takes a single step into the Diyu, then that means he’s not all that immortal. There is nothing in the world that could convince him to walk into the Land of The Dead.

-Okay!

Mayor followed Bai He through the crowd as always, while the monkeys slithered in the shadows, cackling with an eagerness to shove their noses where they shouldn’t be. The girl couldn’t help but gasp in awe at all the dancing and celebratory souls all across the ballroom.

She wondered if Princess Iron Fan and Demon Bull King ever did balls like these, except for demons. They probably looked very different, it would have food and Red Son could walk around, greeting their guests with a pretty tuxedo, and they could set up a lava fountain instead of a chocolate one. Bai He wouldn’t be too opposed to attending a Demon ball, though Macaque probably wouldn’t like it.

They swerved and swayed to not bump into anybody, which luckily, Bai He was small enough to do, still. Once they gathered enough information on her powers, she’d be too big for sneaking around, though the girl figured the blunt force of her powers could make up for it. Mayor seemed to know where he was going, easily avoiding the floating souls and looking over his shoulder to make sure she was following him.

Finally, they stepped out of the ballroom, the quiet of the empty hall was a relief to Bai He’s ears. The corridor extended for a few meters, a large wooden door at the end of it, and as the girl pushed through them with some effort, she found another hallway, this time, with ten or so doors at each side.

-Do we have to check all of them?! There’s, like, a dozen rooms! -Bai He rested her hands on her hips. -How does Macaque expect us to find anything here?!

- I don’t believe we’ll find anything in these quarters, My Lady.

Bai He looked around frantically, trying to figure out who’d just said that. It sounded like an old man, but his tone wavered in an almost goofy way. Macaque had taught her how to find someone hidden in her surroundings, feel their magic to an almost exact pin-point, but she didn’t find anything. The only other being in the room with her was Mayor, looking up at her with his big, blue eyes and a stretched smile.

She looked around again, before settling her gaze on the cat again.

-Mayor?! -the girl asked, stunned. -You can talk ?!

The cat nodded, opening his mouth to speak:

- So it seems, I’m glad to be able to communicate properly again!

Her jaw was on the floor, Bai He had to smother the urge to let out a shrill squeal, picking up Mayor and holding him tightly for a hug.

-You can talk ! This is so cool! -she exclaimed happily. -Wait, how can you talk? Do you even have the right vocal cords for that…?

She brought him close against her ear, trying to listen to any strange sounds that could come out from the wrong internal organs, but all she could hear was loud purring .

- I can, if My Lady so wishes!

-But how come you didn’t talk before?

- It seems your powers have amplified quite a lot now that you’ve returned to it’s birthplace, My Lady. -the cat answered. - We better keep close to the ballroom and the souls, lest the Ten Kings recognize our powers.

Bai He tilted her head to the side. The Underworld had ten kings ruling it? At first, the girl was taken aback, that seemed like way too many people to rule a single place. Even Megapolis, as the large city that it was, only needed one mayor. But after considering that this place probably held every single dead person in China, she figured maybe there was a reason for ten rulers at the same time.

-But how are we gonna get information, though? Do you know where to look?

- Certainly!

Mayor smiled confidently, leaping out of her arms to guide the girl out of the hallway. They must have walked through at least five more halls which all looked exactly the same, if it wasn’t for the cat leading her through it, Bai He was sure she would have gotten pretty lost.

-Have you been here before?

- I was born here, raised to serve the old Emperor as his General of War for most of my life. -he told her. - Until My Lady came along and gave me the honor of fighting by her side for a better world!

Bai He smiled, glad to know Mayor was on the same page as them in regards to fighting alongside MK to keep the world safe. He seemed very taken aback by Mei and MK during their playdate, worried they’d try to hurt the girl in any way. But once she reached her full potential and showed the Monkie Kids she could fight bad guys as well, Mayor would grow used to their presence.

He and Macaque stopped quietly fighting, after all. He was a good kitty, he could get used to her other friends as well!

-What was being General of War like? -she asked curiously.

- Tiresomely dull!

Bai He let out a laugh at his stale tone, imagining little kitty Mayor sat beside an uncaring Emperor’s throne, holding a disproportionately large sword in his teeth.

-Is that why you left the Emperor?

- It is one of the many reasons! There was no point in serving a crumbling empire, especially due to the corruption running through it… Good thing we didn’t leave a trace of it behind!

And as they walked, she kept asking about more and more of his history, not noticing how far they must have walked or through how many halls they passed. Mayor seemed to know a lot about everything, giving her long and thorough answers to Bai He’s questions. It was a breath of fresh air, seeing as most people either refused to tell her about serious topics right away or gave cryptic responses.

Not this cat, no sir! He went on long monologues, and Bai He, personally speaking, could listen to him all day.

- The entrance we walked through is not the only one, there are many spread around China! -Mayor said. - Wherever hunger, disease, war and death are most prominent, a new gateway to the Diyu forms. Not even the Ten Kings can properly control it…

Bai He tilted her head.

-So… This place is like a living thing? It doesn’t stop growing? -she gasped in realization. -What happens if it doesn’t stop growing?!

They stopped in front of an enormous wooden door, decorated with the forms of snarling demons bound in chains, snapping their sharp teeth at each other and their bindings. Mayor looked up at her with a smug smile.

- If humanity and demonkind continue to live as they do today, My Lady, they will consume the Earth and each other until there are no mortals left. Once it happens, all the souls will be judged and sentenced to their appropriate ring, and the Celestial Heavens and the immortals inhabiting it will be the only living things left.

Bai He could feel her face grow pale, eyes wide with horror. She bent down at Mayor’s height to look him in the eyes.

-What happens to the immortals that don’t live in the Celestial Heavens…? -she asked in a terrified whisper.

Mayor’s grin seemed to grow wider, ears flat back against his head.

- If they do not ascend or win the Celestial Heavens’ graces, they’ll be forever forced to walk through a barren land.

Her head was spinning with worst-case scenarios, thinking back to the Demon Bull Family, Chang’e, Rumble and Savage, all of her mortal friends. Macaque. What were they supposed to do after all that happened? MK and his family would probably be dead by the time this dreadful doom’s day came, but mortals weren’t allowed into the Celestial Heavens. Would they just be stuck in Hell forever?!

The ghosts they found in the ballroom seemed satisfied and happy with their afterlife, dancing the night away, but what about the spirits that couldn’t pass away on their own, like the nice souls they met back at the cemetery?

-That’s awful! We can’t let that happen!

- Which is exactly why we are here!

Mayor, with his itty-bitty kitty strength, pushed the doors open with his front paws like they weighed nothing. The room inside was brightly lit with many torches, candles and fireplaces, the walls covered in shells filled with books and scrolls that looked so old, Bai He thought they’d turn into dust if she even dared breath in their direction.

Loose papers were scared all around the floor, the writing on them looked to be written by a brush with ink rather than with a pen or pencil. She couldn’t make out what it was saying, trying her best not to step on any of them or snag her jacket in any of the tapestries hanging in the stands. Mayor strutted around like he owned the place: knocking scrolls over the tables, smudging the still drying ink on the books, throwing brushes to the floor, ripping the papers with his claws… Standard cat behavior.

At the very center of the ancient archive, there was an enormous lectern, and what had to be the largest and heaviest book Bai He had ever seen in her life. The cat jumped in front of the pages, smiling encouragingly for her to step forward with a purr .

- As long as pride and hatred drive the mortals of this world, the more and more gateways into Hell open, and the closer we get to the final Judgment Day. -the cat explained, a small bitterness slipping through his voice. - The first step to fix it, it’s to make sure My Lady isn’t dragged down with the rest of the simple mortals!

Mayor turned the pages, finally finding the one he was looking for, leaping on top of them to point at a written line with his tail. Bai He jumped to the lectern, it was big enough that she could sit on it and still lean against the open book.

There were lines and lines of names organized in alphabetical order, written in very thin writing so they could all fit. She lifted one page, then another, all of the pages filled to the brim with lines of names. Was that all that was written in this book?! Was this some enormous classroom roll call?! One of the names in the “S” section was written over in permanent marker, erasing the name completely. The cat called her attention again to one of the lines.

It was her name. She wasn’t really sure of what Mayor meant, but some odd, instinctual feeling made her want to rip it out. Whatever this book was, she didn’t know who wrote it, didn’t know if whoever wrote it even knew her, and it ticked her off. Bai He grabbed the edge of the page, ready to pull it-

-I wouldn’t commit that mistake if I were you.

Turning around, they saw a hooded man standing in the open door, hands lazily held behind his back. Bai He let out a gasp, looking around, trying to find an escape route as Mayor leapt off the lectern with a loud YOWL , charging at him full speed. The familiar blue glow enveloped him halfway there, his body changing and growing until a lion jumped out, maw gaping open to swallow the strange figure at the door.

The man simply extended his hand forward, and as Mayor was about to gobble him up, he suddenly shrunk. No lights, no horrific sounds of bone cracking and molding back together, just a big lion turned into a small house cat.

He fell on all fours, looking up at the hooded figure with a confused tilt of his head though his fur still bristled and his back arched.

-I see you still haven’t learned your lesson. -the strange man said to him.

- I see they haven’t banished you for treason yet! -Mayor hissed.

Bai He slowly got down from the lectern, running up to them and picking up her cat close to her chest. She didn’t expect the hooded men to be able to manipulate Mayor like she could when Macaque said not to approach them, though he didn’t seem concerned with getting the girl out of the room or why she was here in the first place.

-Is the Six-Eared Macaque nearby? Or did you come all the way here on your own? -he didn’t sound angry or upset, but Bai He couldn’t see his expression due to his face being obscured by shadows from the hood.

-I’m big enough to be on my own! -she spoke in her best grown up, not-at-all-scared voice. -And I’m strong enough to kick your ass, too!

- My Lady, that is not very nice wording.

-Sorry…

The hooded stranger very slowly bent down to stand on one knee, as if Bai He would bolt at the first sudden move like a scared dog. He wasn’t exactly wrong in his assumption.

-Did anyone else see you getting in?

-I think just the ghosts in the ballro- I’M NOT SUPPOSED TO TELL YOU THAT! -Bai He quickly covered her mouth with both hands before she said anything worse.

He giggled.

-Anyone like me, I meant. -the stranger explained. -Though, I suppose if you did, you wouldn’t be here now, and I would have been alerted of your presence sooner.

Mayor hissed loudly, staring him down from between the girl’s arms.

- Our business here is of no interest to you! My Lady doesn’t have to explain herself!

-She doesn’t, but you and the Six-Eared Macaque do! -the stranger told Mayor in a sterner voice rather than the soft tone he’d talk to Bai He in. -It was a dangerous and reckless idea to bring her! You know what the other Kings are capable of, especially with Sun Wukong at your heels!

-But the Monkey King can’t get into Hell, he’s too scared of dying! -Bai He corrected.

-BAI HE! BAI HE, WHERE ARE YOU?! -MK’s voice echoed from the hallway outside the room, followed by hurried footsteps which grew closer and closer.

“ Uh-oh… ”, she thought in a panic.

Perhaps in his relief to be away from Sun Wukong, Macaque forgot to consider that maybe MK didn’t hold the same reservations his mentor did, and wouldn’t be that afraid to jump into the Land Of The Dead to chase them.

Knowing MK, it actually made perfect sense.

-You brought the Harbinger Of Chaos with you?! -the hooded man exclaimed in a hushed voice.

-I don’t even know what that means! -Bai He thought for a little bit. -I don’t think MK knows what that means!

The stranger waved his hand again, quickly shutting the door soundlessly and hurrying them through the room.

-Out to the right, hurry! -he whispered.

Bai He took Mayor and ran up to another door to the right of a bookshelf, the hooded man looked over his shoulders worryingly, making sure they weren’t followed. He opened the door just a little bit, so they could spy the hall outside to see if it was clear.

-Reach your father and get out of the Diyu as fast as you can! -the stranger told her. -If we’re lucky, the Harbinger will follow you out! Do not let anyone else who looks like me find you, they will not be as kind as I was!

Bai He tilted her head in confusion.

-Why? We didn’t do anything! Not yet, at least… We were just gonna read some stuff and some weirdo I don’t know wrote my name on that book! That I don’t even know what’s about!

Mayor moved up to her shoulders so her hands would have free movement to wave around indignantly.

-And everyone kept saying coming here was a bad idea, and now we’re in trouble for some reason, and MK is some chaotic thing everyone’s scared of, and nobody tells me anything!

There was a small pause from the hooded man, taking in her frustrated rant with a defeated sigh. He raised his head a bit, the shadows finally uncovering a glimpse of his face, from which Bai He saw a strange icy blue eye, much like hers, but instead of skin surrounding it, there was only pale bone.

-I’m so glad you don’t understand what’s going on… -he said in a sad voice.

That took Bai He by surprise. She wanted to ask more and check if he was okay, but the stranger simply rushed them out and closed the door behind him. Standing frozen in front of the door, the girl only really started running when she heard MK yelling from the other side.

-Where’s Bai He?! What do you freaks want with her?!

-Leave this realm, Harbinger, before you get hurt!

-STOP CALLING ME THAT!

There was heavy knocking and angry monkey whooping coming from the inside, finally convincing Bai He to start running the other way. They weren’t much further from the room before she heard the door bursting open from behind.

-Bai He!

She made her legs run faster, clouds forming from her mouth with each heavy breath she took. It didn’t take long, however, for MK to reach her and hold her arm in a tight grip, as much as she fought it.

-What are you doing down here, are you crazy?! -he said, exasperated. -I’m getting you out!

-No!

Bai He clawed at his now very furry arm, noticing MK had shifted into his monkey form, though thankfully, he wasn’t overwhelmed by that strange, golden glow.

-This was Macaque’s idea, wasn’t it?!

-Leave him alone!

-You can’t be here, don’t you understand?! -MK pulled her harshly, frustrated. -You could bring her back, Bai He, is that what you want?!

Her whole body froze at his question, her face twisted into offended anger, looking at the young man in his golden eyes.

- That’s what you’re worried about?! -Bai He growled. -You just don’t want Lady Bone Demon to come back, isn’t it?! You think I’m a demon, too!

She grabbed his wrist, shards of sharp bone grown all around it, digging into his skin and molding uncomfortably around the thick, brown fur, but MK held on.

Mayor leapt from the ground to Bai He’s shoulders, snarling at him.

- UNHAND HER! -the cat yowled.

MK gave a frightened yelp and finally let go. Bai He ran down the hall as fast as she could, Mayor now lagging behind to make sure the Hero didn’t grab her again.

She wasn’t sure where she was going, she just wanted to get away far enough from MK so she could teleport out of there in peace to warn Macaque. Maybe he was having better luck than she was.

Bursting through another door, Bai He tripped and rolled down a flight of stairs. Who puts a flight of stairs right behind a door?! They weren’t that long nor that painful, but it made her groan loudly as she picked herself off the floor.

Looking up, she came face-to-face with yet another hooded man. They stood frozen, staring at each other for what felt like a very long time, but was probably only a few seconds.

-I found the girl. -he said to, again, one more hooded stranger, who bent down to look at the child behind his coworker.

She looked them up and down, finding the only way to tell them apart was by their voices. Their faces were completely obscure and their clothes were exactly the same.

Mayor hissed and spat at them, his little claws marked the marbled floor as he tried to shield Bai He in any way he could. She extended her hand and sat it gently on his little head, trying to make him grow into a lion again, but nothing happened. There was no trace of that seamless magic connecting the both of them, and it made the girl start to panic.

- If any of you even dare to think about laying a finger on her, I will personally drag you to the lowest Ring myself! -the cat threatened.

One of them let out a groaning sigh of annoyance.

-I thought you said the thrall had been separated!

-He was. -the stranger closest to her replied. -I believe this is just another one of the Six-Eared Macaque’s terrific ideas…!

Bai He didn’t exactly know what that word meant, but she could sense the sarcasm in his voice and she didn’t like it!

A thunderous noise startled them, snapping their heads around to watch MK break the doors off their hinges and fall down the stairs with the same grace of a rock rolling down a hill.

-GET AWAY FROM HER! -he snarled.

The girl was taken aback by MK’s redirected anger towards the hooded men, standing in front of her like a monkey shield with his teeth bared and staff ready at hand.

The strangers put their hands up like it was a shoot-off, taking careful steps back to not anger him further, showing they meant no harm.

-Where are their mentors?

-Too busy tearing each other apart, what else is new?

As if choreographed, the walls shook with a muffled BOOM coming from outside. After so many interrupted field missions, Bai He had learned to recognise the distinct noises coming from Macaque and Sun Wukong’s fights.

MK took a step back, still glaring down at the strangers, as if he hadn’t tried to drag her back to the surface himself. He pointed his staff at them like it was a knife, though Bai He was sure he could tear them apart even with such a blunt weapon.

-We don’t mean you both any harm. -one of them said, trying to speak in a soothing voice. -But you are mingling with forces you don’t understand. If you stay here for much longer, you could get hurt.

-We just need you both to be patient while we talk to your mentors.

Bai He finally snapped out of her confused thoughts, grabbing onto MK’s jacket, she teleported them out of there. All three of them fell to the ground in another hallway which looked exactly the same as all the others they’ve been to before.

Why was this palace built like a maze?!

-Where are we now ?! -MK groaned in annoyance.

-I dunno, it all looks the same! Mayor, do you know where we are?

The cat hummed, his tail swaying softly as he perched on her head to get a better look of their surroundings.

- We are on the right track, just a stairway down to the right and we’ll reach the throne room! -he said. - We’ll have a better sense of direction from there!

“ Thank goodness! ”, Bai He thought in relief, picking herself up and dusting herself off.

-MK, let’s go to the throne room, we can find Macaque and Monkey King from there! -she chimed to the young man.

MK’s tail lashed in irritation, his big ears flattening against his head.

-Oh, sure ! Let me just follow the freak that’s been trying to kill me for the last few weeks, I’m confident he’ll lead me to safety and my very-much-not beat up mentor!

Bai He’s enthusiasm vanished at MK’s angrily sarcastic tone. His puffed up thumped against the floor in an irritated rhythm.

-If you didn’t want to follow us, you could’ve just said so… -Bai He mumbled.

-No, no, this is great ! -he snarled. -I’m stuck six feet underground, where no one in my family knows where I am, but I’m sure following you guys , which is the reason why I ended up here in the first place, is totally gonna help!

The harshness in his tone was completely abnormal. Bai He’s seen MK get annoyed before, but this … It was straight up anger. Towards her. Which was understandable, Bai He would also be angry if she lost that many fights to the same person in a row, but she figured it would be guided more towards herself than others.

This was a part of MK she’d never thought she’d see in her life.

- If you have any better suggestions, Monkie Kid, you are free to voice them! -Mayor said in a very mocking tone. - We would love to hear your input!

MK finally turned towards them, the fur on his hackles raised and his teeth bared.

-Like you care about what goes on with anybody else! This is what you wanted, isn’t it?! To get powerful?! Well, be my guest! Don’t bother with lil’ ol’ me, just walk over everybody else and stick your nose where you’re not meant to, like you’ve been doing anyways!

Bai He scoffed.

- You’re the one sticking your nose where it shouldn’t be! -she argued. -I just wanted to prove that I’m strong enough to be part of the team, but you still think I’m just a demon!

-You’re still acting like a demon! -MK boomed. -What am I supposed to do when you make a mess of everything, stand by and let you do it?!

Mayor growled , whispering into her ear.

- Leave him to his misery, My Lady, we have more important matters to tend to!

Her lip trembled, Bai He clenched her fists in her struggle to not let her tears stream down. MK had never spoken to her like that, he’d probably never spoken to anybody like that.

-Fine! -she spat. -Stay here and rot for all I care! You’re not my friend anymore!

Without giving him the time to respond, she grabbed Mayor from her shoulders and teleported them both out of there. She wasn’t sure where she landed, but wherever it was, the BANGS and RUMBLES from Macaque and Sun Wukong’s fighting were awfully close, making the dust high up on the walls fall down and the floor shake.

Bai He didn’t move at first, clutching Mayor painfully to her chest, trying to gather some small smidge of comfort as MK’s words replayed in her head over and over again. A few small tears escaped her eyes, but she didn’t let herself sob, or hiccup or curl up into a ball, as much as she wanted to.

The cat purred loudly, reaching up with his sandpaper tongue to kiss away her tears.

- He isn’t worth your tears and your sympathy. Leave the fool to his foolishness, the Harbinger’s brought this self-fulfilling prophecy onto himself.

She wanted to ask him what that meant, but after another loud CRASH came from a room not so far away, Bai He sat the cat down and ran to the door.

WHOOP!

A shrieking war cry echoed from the room behind them, the telltale of MK’s furious voice, accompanied by heavy footsteps growing closer and closer.

With a grunt of frustration, she put Mayor down.

-Go get Macaque and Rumble and Savage! -was all she told the cat before turning around to face the door MK was sure to burst through.

The pitter-patter of little paws reassured Bai He reinforcements would be coming soon. A sharp, cold and brittled piece of bone formed in her hand, long enough to hold like a staff.

“I’ve come too far to let you ruin everything again!”

Chapter Text

The heavy CRACKS and RUMBLE were nothing compared to the echoing gasps and grunts of pain as Macaque relentlessly tossed Wukong around over and over, hoping the next final blow would finally break his skull open.

He had no such luck, unfortunately.

One precise punch to the side of his face sent the King hurling against a wall, making him bounce back, leaving Wukong to slump to the dusty floor, disoriented.

-You couldn’t leave it alone, could you?! -he growled, deep in his throat. -Couldn’t have just walked away and not bothered, like always?! Nooo, you had to play the noble Hero! Rescue the helpless little girl from the Big Bad Villain just to bask in your praises!

Wukong took in a sharp breath, looking up at Macaque with a soiled face. His ears looked like they were made of paper from the way they flopped, his fur was a mess and his black eye was starting to swell.

-Y-you should’ve known better…! -he groaned. -She shouldn’t… B-be here…!

Macaque grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, raising his fist for another strike, stopped only by the sudden rush of pain through his arm. The shadow monkey gritted his teeth to muffle his cry. How long had they been fighting for? Ten, maybe fifteen minutes?

Rumble and Savage hadn’t answered his call, Bai He was nowhere to be seen and he couldn’t feel her powers properly, mixed with all the energy from the rest of the Diyu ghosts. He thought waiting for them in the main throne room would make himself easier to locate, but lo and behold , guess who was also waiting there?

He didn’t know how long they fought for, why they were fighting again, they just started throwing punches as soon as their eyes met. Now that he was really taking the situation in, Macaque’s legs trembled under his weight, his tail dragged limp along the ground.

But as soon as his eyes lifted to look at Wukong again… He was panting heavily, his gaze was hazy and glazed over as if he was struggling to make Macaque’s shape in front of him. Even with those difficulties, Wukong had an iron grip around his hand, the tip of his ginger tail swaying with annoyance.

Trying to ignore the ache, Macaque lifted his arm again, redying another punch.

Before an overwhelming force pulled them away from each other.

The sheer strength of it knocked the air out of his lungs. Finally giving into the throbbing of his bruised legs, Macaque fell to his knees. His vision was mudded and he felt lightheaded for a few seconds, before letting out a snarl , snapping his head up to stare at the Ten Kings.

Their once high thrones now crumbled in pieces from Wukong and Macaque’s fighting, though they still stood in front of them, each in their rightful seat on a platform above the two monkeys.

-...And what do we do with these two? -King Qin’guang asked mockingly. His foot tapped impatiently.

Macaque knew the question wasn’t aimed at him, but still bared his teeth as he felt his hackles rise. Most of them had their eyes on the Warrior, and for a damn good reason! He’d leveled this very throne room many times before, harassed leagues of spirits, cut through their fallen soldiers like a hot knife through butter during his… Time down in the Land of The Dead.

He could see it in their poorly-disguised body language and voices how much they just wanted him out .

-What are we supposed to do? They won’t listen! -King Chujiang responded impatiently. -Do we even know where the children are? They’re the ones I’m worried about!

-You’re right. Somebody should find those two before they find each other. -King Yanluo, sat at the throne in the very middle, rubbed his face. -The Harbinger has a mean right hook…!

Wukong growled beside Macaque, pulling himself up at that title. He pointed a very shaky finger at the rulers of Hell.

-I knew it! You lot know something about MK, don’t you?! What do you want with him?!

-We promise to explain everything in due time, but right now, we need to keep calm and handle the situation delicately! -King Songdi said in a hushed and almost frightened voice.

-Delicacy isn’t going to help us if we just stand around and let them run amuck through the Ten Rings! -King Wuguan chimed in. -I told you we shouldn’t have made that bet with the Serpent Goddess-

- Nüwa ?! -Macaque finally spoke. -What does she have to do with MK and Bai He?!

The Ten Kings hesitated, and Macaque couldn’t tell what they were planning just by their quiet glances towards each other. Damn the dead and their lack of a heartbeat!

-A long time ago, the Serpent Goddess offered us a bet: She’d incarnate Chaos and we’d incarnate Perfection. -King Yanluo answered hesitantly. -Those incarnations being Lady Bone Demon and-

-MK… -Wukong whispered harshly in realization. -So Nüwa made him?! You know what, that actually explains so much …!

That revelation weighed on both the monkeys as they connected the dots and all the little quirks and signs they missed. MK’s foolish optimism, his extroverted and inviting personality, his powers, even the way he walked, it had Nüwa written all over it !

While Macaque had never met her face-to-face, every immortal knew about Nüwa, the Serpent Goddess, mother of all humanity. She had a bit of a muddled reputation, while nowhere near as terrible as Sun Wukong’s, Nüwa was constantly isolated from the Celestial Heavens for causing so much trouble.

Accidental trouble, of course, but anything fun was considered “trouble” in the Jade Emperor’s eyes.

-The details of our bargain are none of your concern. -King Qin’guang spoke again with arrogance. -We wouldn’t have the need for this conversation in the first place, if you hadn’t brought them here!

Macaque growled.

- You created the Lady Bone Demon! If this is anybody’s fault, it’s yours! -he shouted.

-And we can assume responsibility for that! -King Zhuanlun interrupted, in his raspy voice. -What we won’t assume responsibility for is all the damage your apprentices are currently causing!

Wukong waved a dismissive hand.

-Ah, pfft, what “damage”?! -he snarked. -Sure, they had a few tussles, but what’s the worst a pair of mortals could do?!

THUD!

Macaque whirled his head around to see Rumble, Savage and Mayor bursting through the door, looking ragged and disheveled as if they’ve just been through a bad fight. His sidekicks immediately climbed up his arms, chirping and whooping in terror.

-SOMETHING’S WRONG WITH JUNIOR! -Savage yelled.

-CUBBO’S LOST HIS MIND! -Rumble shouted.

In a flash of golden and blue light, Bai He and MK fell into the room after them. The two twisted into each other, MK snarling and trying to bite the little girl with his teeth like a hound, while Bai He dodged his every attack with a precision and expertise Macaque knew for a fact he didn’t teach her.

MK didn’t even bother with his technique, swinging the staff like it was a bat, trying everything, anything to hit Bai He at all costs. It wasn’t working.

-See, this is what we were talking about! -King Taishan pointed out.

The monkeys weren’t worrying so much about the Ten Kings anymore, now focused on getting their two apprentices off each other.

-Bai He, what are you doing?! Stop it, get out of there!

-MK, no- Don’t!- You’re gonna hurt her, stop!

They didn’t listen.

Bai He had a chain clasped around MK’s wrist which she used to keep track of him while teleporting, sometimes when he would charge at her with too much force, she’d use it to toss him around or reel him back in so she could whack him in the head with her own staff.

That, of course, only made MK angrier.

As their weapons clashed, sending them hurling to the opposite sides of the room, Macaque and Wukong made quick work to grab both of their respective apprentices.

-Bai He! -Macaque reprimanded. -What are you doing?!

-I don’t know, I’m still angry at him! -the girl squirmed and trashed in his arms, and the damned cat walking back and forth between his feet, meowing loudly at him also didn’t help.

Wukong wasn’t having any better luck.

-O-okay, bud, calm down! Hey, look at m- HEY, whoa, whoa, whoa!

MK whooped, yelled, clawed and kicked, doing anything to escape Wukong’s hold. Macaque had never seen him like this, especially towards his beloved mentor. He could remember very vividly holding his friends hostage in the desert, hurting them, while the young man tried to talk him out of it in the softest voice he’d ever heard.

This animalistic anger… Macaque could swear his eyes were purposely deceiving him. This couldn’t be MK.

However much it frightened him, Macaque would worry about it later. Right now, he needed to find a way to get Bai He out of the Diyu entirely.

-Stop throwing a fit, you’ve had enough!

-No, I can fight, let me go!

-We are going home , Bai He!

-NOOO!

It was difficult to concentrate on summoning a portal with a child in your arms throwing a tantrum, but as he finally seemed to open one, Bai He grabbed his shoulder as hard as she could and let out a harsh stream of power to startle him.

Bone shards sprouted out through his fur, making Macaque lose his balance, clutching his arm as he felt the chilling cold seep into his skin. It didn’t hurt, but he was still taken aback that Bai He would actually go to these lengths just to get out of his grasp.

She’d never done that to him before! Not outside of training!

An enraged WHOOP snapped him out of his conflicted thoughts as he saw MK turn around, raise his hand and claw Sun Wukong across his face.

He knew for a fact Wukong barely felt it, it was like a paper cut to him, but the King let go of MK with a shocked face. His red eyes widened and he held his nose with a kicked-puppy look.

As soon as they were let go, the apprentices immediately lunged at each other again, rolling around the floor, causing a ruckus like animals fighting for a piece of meat. Their mentors were too stunned to speak.

Macaque turned to snarl at the Ten Kings.

-What have you done to them?!

-We haven’t done anything! -King Dushi protested. -The girl’s powers only grew because it’s returned to it’s homeland, you should’ve known that! The Harbinger is… We don’t know what he’s doing!

His tail lashed and puffed up in anger. Macaque knew Wukong was still just as angry, but he seemed too stunned to speak.

-You must understand, we never meant for this to happen. -King Yanluo tried to appease them. -We made that deal to ensure humanity would have a chance to withstand Judgement Day. Perfection and Chaos were meant to work together to create a better world.

Wukong finally stepped in.

-They’re not “working together”, they’re trying to tear each other apart!

-Gee, I wonder who they learnt that from!

The two monkeys froze in place, the hackles on Macaque’s neck rising as a chill realization dawned on him.

“Not the ‘Great Sage’, he’s gotta drag everyone else into his mess!”

“You’re not in this mess, you’re still free!”

Macaque stared at the two apprentices still going at it on the floor. He wanted desperately to pull them apart and talk some sense into their heads but his body wouldn’t move !

“Everything I did was for us!”

“You did it for yourself! You’ve become this… Obsessive demon!”

He looked at Wukong, desperate to call out to him to get MK under control, but Macaque’s voice seemed to die in his throat and suffocate him.

“I told you going against the Jade Emperor was a bad idea… But no, Sun Wukong doesn’t listen to anyone! He just does whatever he wants!”

Wukong was shaking in his spot, hands trembling at his sides and his red eyes stared wide at the horrible scene taking place in front of them. He looked like was about to start crying.

“You put yourself here! Not me.”

A set of little claws dug into his shoulder, snapping the Warrior out of his downwards spiral.

- Don’t freeze! -Mayor shouted into his ears.

Macaque wanted to snarl at him for a second, demanding to know when he decided to start talking again and what he’d said to Bai he, but that was not important right now. He smacked Wukong out of his trance with his tail and ran up to their apprentices.

With the help of two clones, he managed to tear both kids away from each other, quickly grabbing Bai He and running up to the other side of the throne room, putting himself in front of her so her vision of MK would be obscured.

-Bai He, stop that! -he tried his best to hold her little wrists with his tail without squeezing them so much that it would hurt her. -I told you not to confront anyone while we were down here, what’s gotten into you?!

Macaque didn’t get a response, Bai He would just squirm, whine and slap around trying to get out of his grasp.

Rumble and Savage rushed to their side, chirping soothingly to calm the girl down, though it wasn’t of much help. Mayor jumped to her shoulders and that seemed to work somewhat, but he could see tears building up at the corner of her eyes.

-Get the fuck away from him! -he heard Wukong shouting behind them, somewhere. -What do you think you’re doing?!

There were feral growling noises Macaque assumed came from MK. Sharp clothing ripping sounds made him assume the young man was still trying to escape Wukong’s grasp.

A yelp from the Monkey King and a THUD were heard, soft steps approached somewhere behind them.

-What we should have done a long time ago… -King Yanluo said, barely whispering.

Macaque turned around to snarl at him, seeing MK trying to get up from the floor and Wukong tossed aside beside them. The Hero’s brown tail lashed in anger, his fur stood on end, watching the hooded King reach out with an open palm in front of his face.

He hoped for a second MK would bite his fingers off. But alas, he had no such luck.

A faint blue light shone from the king’s palm, reflected in MK’s brown eyes. For a second, he froze, before a wave of golden magic enveloped him and the red bandana around his head SNAPPED .

MK doubled over, grasping at the hard floor beneath him for some sense of balance. A pained and griefful WHOOP escaped him, echoing through the throne room, making the walls shake. King Yanluo and Wukong took a step back as the young man trashed and clawed with aching roars at himself, waves and waves of shining, golden magic enveloped him in a horrific scene.

His lashing tail suddenly became two, then three, as more and more magic rushed through him, the sheer power of it cracked the marbled floor and shook the ceiling. The Ten Kings quietly made their way down from the thrones’ platform and out through a back door.

As another CRACKLE echoed out of MK, Macaque quickly teleported them out of the room as well. He wasn’t really sure where they landed, not being able to pay much attention to where he was going, but they were far away from that whole mess and that was enough.

They ended up in some kind of indoor pool area. Small, man-made creeks and brooks fell into large bodies of water, decorated to seem natural when it very much wasn’t. The First Ring wasn’t a place of punishment, so the innocent souls could enjoy themselves. It usually was packed with joyful spirits, but now it was eerily empty.

Macaque tried to think of some sort of plan to escape, but found himself having a hard time seeing as Bai He continued to struggle against him.  against him.

-Why were you fighting MK? I told you not to talk to anyone! -he hoped his tone didn’t come across as angry, but Macaque was still trying to process the awful image of the two apprentices fighting like that.

-He started it! -was the only response he got.

-Did he hurt you? What did the Kings tell you? Wukong didn’t find you, did he?

-No! Let go of me!

Macaque didn’t want to hold her prisoner or manhandle her around, but Bai He wasn’t acting like herself and it made him panic. He didn’t want her running straight back into another fight.

- Release her! -the damned cat had the audacity to hiss at him!

-You stay out of this, you maniac furball! -he growled. -I know for a fact this has to do with your damn influence!

-Not helping, Puppet!

-Since when can Marionette talk?!

Bai He kicked Macaque’s leg in response, startling him. It didn’t hurt, not in the way he knew she could have made it hurt, but the three monkeys still gasped in surprise.

-Bai he, stop making a fuss, what’s gotten into you?! -his grasp slipped and the girl finally managed to escape him, running as fast as her little legs could take her. -You’re not like this! Was it something the damned cat said?! Was it the Kings?!

She didn’t respond. Still being in Macaque’s line of sight, he wasn’t worried about chasing her down, especially since she stopped in front of a very heavy wooden door, kicking and pulling at it to open with little to no success.

-So the plan didn’t work, we’ll go home and brainstorm something else! We’ll work around it! -Macaque desperately tried to reason with her. -I’m not angry at you, you didn’t do anything wrong, Bai He! You’re a good kid -

-NO, I’M NOT !

Bai He finally turned around, yelling at the top of her lungs. Her shrill voice echoed through the room, hics and sobs made her words difficult to make out.

-N-no, ‘m not …! -she whimpered, roughly wiping the tears rolling down her face. - Good kids d-don’t pick fights! Good kids don’t steal a-and cheat and lie…!

Macaque cursed himself for freezing again for the second time today. The scene of her pained expression and trembling shoulders made his heart twist and shrivel inside his chest. It’s been ages since she’s cried like this!

He thought she was happy ! He thought he’d provided enough! She had powers beyond human comprehension, an aunt and uncle, a cousin, friends, a pet she loved more than anything and Macaque himself dotted and spoiled her rotten! What did he miss ?!

-Bai He…

Macaque took a step forward, but the girl turned around and finally managed to open the door by pushing it instead of pulling.

- This way! -the cat whispered to her.

Rumble and Savage gave chase, their master not further behind. He wanted to run faster, but knew if he rushed to hold her again, she would just fight back. Macaque wasn’t sure what exactly he was going to say that could confort Bai He, her words still rewinding and repeating in his mind, but he needed to go about this delicately.

All that was promptly thrown out the window once he saw where they’d run to. Both Bai He and Mayor were kneeled down and staring into the murky waters of the River of Souls.

Macaque had come across the River of Souls in his time in the Diyu. It was a never-ending stream of damned ghosts, thrown into the rushing waters to be taken down to the Rings below the first one so they could be properly punished. He also knew the waters hurt like a motherfucker should anyone else who wasn’t deserving of punishment touch them.

He learned that the hard way.

So when he saw Mayor whispering something to Bai He, nodding and then proceeding to jump in , his heart started hammering inside his chest in a panic.

-BAI HE!

If she heard him, she’d ignored him, leaning forward to try to find her cat in the middle of the dirty, rushing water muddled by wailing spirits. Her hand must have slipped in the pebbles, because next thing Macaque knew, Bai He had also fallen in.

He ran up to the riverbank, about to shove his hands in to drag her out, fuck the pain! But was interrupted by the sudden BURST of spirit energy and the now seemingly free souls shooting up and all around them.

Macaque wasn’t sure what was going on, but an enormous cloud of souls rose from the River, wailing and crying as they flew higher in a storm of noise. He couldn’t come closer and he couldn’t find Bai He anywhere!

SMASH!

The palace wall behind him shattered into a million pieces, revealing an even-worse-looking Monkey King amidst the rubble and an irate MK not far behind.

- WHO FILLED MY HEAD WITH DREAMS?! -he bellowed, striking with a clenched fist.

Wukong was lucky to move away as quickly as he did, for MK’s attack shattered the ground even further, the rumbling joining with the loud noises from the damned souls.

- WHO DROVE ME TO TRAIN UNTIL MY BONES CRACKED?!

MK was furious, all three tails lashing behind him like furious snakes, covered from head to toe in a pulsating, golden light. Wukong’s face was twisted in terror and something Macaque could mistake for guilt should he not know, after all this time, that the Great Sage Equal to Heaven was unable to feel guilt.

Right…?

But he wasn’t fighting back, he just crawled and ran away with his tail between his legs. He looked even more banged up than how Macaque had left him, was that all MK? No, it couldn’t have been, MK would never hurt his precious mentor like that!

Would he…?

- WHO DENIED ME MY DESTINY ?!

MK finally got his claws on Wukong’s cape, tugging on it to scream in his face. He’d throw them both against the ground, shattering it even more. Macaque couldn’t see them from his spot, hidden in all the rubble.

-EVERYTHING I DID, I DID IT TO MAKE YOU PROUD ! -MK’s voice boomed but it was strained, as if he were holding back tears. -TELL ME HOW PROUD YOU ARE, SUN WUKONG !

There was a distraught WHOOP which Macaque could distinctively recognise as Wukong’s, followed by feral growling and ripping noises.

Macaque shook his head, he’d have to deal with MK later. Right now, he needed a way to pass through all the escaped damn souls to get to Bai He, who was still in the River! But how ?!

-What do we do?! -Rumble and Savage yelled through the overwhelming noise.

Macaque’s mind swirled and twisted into itself to try to think up a solution, there was no way he could dive into the murky waters without getting absolutely torn apart by angry spirits or dissolved into the burning stream. He was horrified to imagine what Bai He might be feeling, and it made his brain panic even more which did not help !

His sidekicks growled menacingly at someone behind them and Macaque felt a cold hand rested gently on his shoulder. A voice whispered in his ears:

-Warrior, can you still save the child you love?

His mind went blank for a second, a chilling shiver ran up his spine, his long dark fur bristling in it’s wake as he felt a soothing spell cover his whole body. Macaque’s cuts, bruises and aching bones suddenly didn’t bother him anymore and he could see clearly, amongst the glowing souls of the dead the shape of a  little girl curled into herself tightly, hiding her face against her knees.

Macaque growled, lunging himself into the stream of wailing souls who tried to claw at him and throw him back out. He pushed his way through them, staff at hand and swinging wildly at any unfortunate spirit who dared get in his way.

Savage and Rumble joined in but a few seconds later, cutting through the crowd like a hot knife through butter. Macaque bared his teeth as he finally got his hands around Bai He again.

-GIVE ME BACK MY DAUGHTER, YOU DEMONS!

Once he actually had a good hold on her, the soothing spell started to wear off. Macaque shielded her little body with his, feeling the water burn through his armor and reach into his fur. Sharp points dug into his arm, trying to open and reach in for Bai He, large twin blue lights shone atop an enormous gaping smile with sharp rows of pearly white teeth and a feline growl , three times the size of what that damned furball should ever be.

Macaque growled back, pulling Bai He closer, he raised his staff above his head and bashed it into the cat’s left eye with all of his strength. It let out a bellowing YOOOWL , but it let go, the pushback of his magic shooting all four of them out of the River and away from the clout of runaway spirits.

They rolled and tumbled around on the ground, though once he realized he’d gotten her out of the water, Macaque sat up, looking down at Bai He still curled up in his arms. He quickly looked her over for any bruises, cuts or any signs of burns from the River, but she was untouched, if not a bit messy.

As Bai He looked up at him, though, not only did he notice she was crying, but her hair had turned back into it’s natural black and her eyes were a deep brown instead of their old icy blue.

-Fuck off, Qin’guang! -he heard Wukong shout somewhere beside them.

He sat down much like Macaque, holding MK, who’s golden glow had all but vanished in his lap, cradling him tightly against the golden, curly fur exposed due to the torn armor. MK’s shoulders gave sudden flexes, showing that he was also crying, curling onto Wukong like a lifeline.

Some of the Kings had gathered around, a spell circle burned into the dirt, though they kept their distance at the sight of the Monkey King’s bared teeth. King Yanluo approached Macaque very slowly, stopping in his tracks as he was also growled at.

Rumble and Savage, his poor boys, were strung across the ground covered in burn marks as well, too hurt to stand up and fight again.

Macaque’s attention was caught away again as Bai He stuffed her face against his scarf, wailing and crying her little eyes out while her shoulders trembled with uncontrollable hiccups and sobs.

-It’s okay, it’s over, I’m here… -he brushed her hair with his hand, shushing soothingly to no avail.

Wrapping his tail around her wrist, Macaque chirped, purred, nuzzled his nose against hers, even started to rock slightly to try to calm Bai He’s crying. It wasn’t really working, but at least he had the assurance she was safe and back in his arms.

Chapter Text

The drive back from the Land of The Dead was cloudy and missing parts in Bai He’s mind, she couldn’t remember it all in the proper order. She knew Macaque and the Monkey King probably carried her and MK back to the living world after she’d cried herself to sleep in her father’s arms.

Bai He was shaken out of her sleep by a panicked Red Son who rushed over to hold her so her Aunt and Uncle could take a look at Macaque, Rumble and Savage. Despite all of them having jumped into the weird screaming river, the girl was the only one to come out of it without being covered in third-degree burns.

Somewhere behind them, Pigsy seemed to be yelling at Sun Wukong, but Bai He couldn’t be bothered to pay attention, she only cared about her dad. Red Son had done his best to reassure her Macaque would be okay now that his parents were treating him, but he didn’t sound very convinced himself.

That must have been a few days ago by now, maybe more. Bai He couldn’t be bothered to really count. From all she could gather, Macaque was being difficult with Demon Bull King and Princess Iron Fan’s healers and used all his leftover magic to heal Savage and Rumble instead of himself, so now he has to stay in bed even longer than he usually would.

Her Uncle and Aunt tried their best to distract and reassure her that Macaque would be up and going in no time, he just needed to rest, but Bai He still felt an uneasiness and displaced pit of anxiety in her stomach. It had gotten worse when Red Son offered to watch Bee and PuppyCat with her one night and the girl started crying when the scene with Cardamon’s mom came up.

The fact that she had lost both Mayor and her powers in that stupid river also didn’t help. There was no way she could help Macaque now and she missed her kitty, these were trying times for Bai He…

She would sneak into Macaque’s room at night, pretending she had a nightmare, which he knew wasn’t true, just so he’d cuddle her to sleep. Perhaps he would still let her sleep in his bed even without an excuse, but Bai He didn’t want to seem weak. Especially now that her powers were gone.

Waking up so much earlier than Macaque was a bit boring, but the calm snoring and purring coming from him reassured her that he was okay. Though, the girl couldn’t really sit still for very long, always delicately shaking her father awake with a timid:

-...Dad?

His ears perked up in attention at her softest call, shifting under the covers lazily, Macaque stretched his arms up, rubbing his eyes before turning to her.

-Hey, kiddo…! -her father smiled at her even if the gauze in his face made it a bit difficult. -Is it breakfast time yet…?

-Mhmm. -Bai He nodded her head. She knew it hurt whenever he smiled, but he did it anyway.

Her worried frown must have been a bit too obvious, because Macaque proceeded to bap her face with his tail and ruffle her hair, laughing softly.

-What’s that sour face for? Don’t tell me you’ve already had enough of bringing dear ol’ dad his breakfast in bed, have you? -he joked.

-Yes, I have! -Bai He mumbled, shooing his hand away. -I want you to get better so you can get your own breakfast!

He let out a broken laugh, hissing as he tried to sit up against the pillows.

-Don’t worry, I’ll be fine in no time and feeling better than ever!

-How?! You won’t even let Auntie Iron Fan’s medics check you! -she pointed to his bedside table. -And you’re not taking your medicine!

Macaque shook his head dismissively.

-I’m immortal, kiddo! I’ve been in worse shape before…