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Who doesn’t love IKEA? There’s something for everyone and so many things to see and it’s always soooooooo incredibly massive! So you can imagine the worry Pigsy had once he realized he’d lost both of the ADHD riddled young adults in his care, in the massive warehouse of the Swedish.
“It’s like the god damn Bermuda Triangle in ‘ere! Can’t get a signal in this mess!” squealed out Pigsy as he darted around the kitchen ware section with his phone pointed to the sky, trying to catch any bars. The group originally went to IKEA to get the newest crock pot the pig mans been dreaming of for months. When they all got there, Pigsy made a rule where they all would stick together as to not have to be in the building longer then they had too, knowing if they stayed at least an extra half hour, Pigsy would be walking out with the entire kitchen ware section.
Though as he should’ve expected, Mei and MK ignored his request and darted off to god knows where and due to the stores mass, a phone signal was nowhere in sight. “We gotta put them on a leash next time we go anywhere” Pigsy grumbled as he gave up his feeble attempts to call the lost pair, slumping over in defeat.
“I’m sure they’ll be fine Piggy, we just have to think as to where they went” came Tang, being the calm voice of reason. “My guess would be they went to the bedroom section where all the colourful and fluffy things are.”
Pigsy looked up at his husband and sighed as he straightened himself up from his hunched position. “Alright, but we have to be quick about it” he stated in his gruff voice. “I don’t know how much longer I can stay here. Feels like everyt’ngs looking at me.” His eyes darted around, trying to ignore the shiny iron utensil set begging for him to buy them.
“Then let’s head off! A Pigsy and Tangy adventure once more!” Tang cried out as he grabbed the chefs hand and darted off, following the arrows on the floor.
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While the actual adults were on a mission, the hyperactive minds of the Monkey Kings successor and the great great great thousand times great granddaughter of the White Horse Dragon of the West were in the lighting section, eyes just as bright as the bulbs of all colours around them.
“MK! MK! Look at this THING!” cried out Mei as she snagged the boy, who seemed to be mesmerized by a light with many little tentacles spinning on it. He was snapped out of his daze as he looked at the thing their friend was raving about.
“GGAAASSSSSPP, it’s so CUTE!” he cried out as they looked at the cat light which was a nice shade of turquoise. “What is iiitttt” they whispered out to their friend, not really sure what he was looking at.
“It’s called a Spoka!” the dragon barked out. “But wait wait, this is the best part.” As Mei’s smile grew larger, she hoovered her hand over the spokas head and bapped it aggressively. It turned off. “Wait wait!” Mei cried out again, somehow even more excited then before. She bapped it once more and it turned back on, this time green.
As MK watched the small cat ghost light in front of him, he noticed it changed from green to turquoise to deep blue then dark green. The Monkie Kid lost their mind. “WWWHHHHAAAATTTTTT!” they cried out. “THATS AMAZING!”
“I KNOW RIGHT!?” shrieked out Mei as she bounced on her heels excitedly and jostled her closed fists up and down. “There’s also a small one that’s pink and red and orange and stuff!” She pointed to the one a little ways from the blue spoka, the pink spoka being a bit more small and squished down then the first one the pair goggled over.
Without hesitation, MK bapped the squished pink spoka. Like the first, it turned off. He bapped it once again and it turned on to be red, then transformed over to a deep pink and then to bright orange. “This is the most adorable thing I think I’ve ever seen” he whispered out to the small spoka. As their mind wondered, so did MKs eyes as they looked slightly to the right and noticed a cloud shaped light. “Mei! Mei! Puffy cloud lights! Ove-over there!” he yelled out as he darted towards the fluffy dangling lights.
“It reminds me of Monkey Kings somersault cloud!” they gasped out to Mei who caught up to her friend. Quickly, the Monkie Kid dug into his sweater pocket and took out their wallet, only to find a gummy bear, 2 sad coins and a paper clip. A small whine left them as he realized he wouldn’t be able to get the dangling lights.
“Don’t worry monkey man” Mei scoffed as she pulled out her shiny credit card. “This one’s on the dragon house.” She raised the card up to the sky, as if it was some form of treasure newly discovered.
“Eeeeeeeee thank you Mei!!” cried out MK as they launched themselves onto the dragon girl. “You’re always the bestest! Thank you thank you thankyourhankyou!”
“Aww of course you dork!” she laughed as she ruffed their hair. “But just a heads up, this means you have to pay for this weekends arcade tickets.” MK nodded their head in agreement as he let go of his friend. Mei (somehow) summoned a cart into existence and quickly snagged a box containing the cloud lights, tossing them into the blue cart. As she did this, she noticed a familiar figure that seemed to be sneaking around nervously. “Noooooooo way” Mei whispered to herself as her mouth opened in small disbelief.
Swiftly, she snagged the Monkie Kid and tossed him into the cart before darting off after the figure who seemed to be heading towards the kids section. “Where are we going now!” yelled out MK in quite a bit of confusion as their friend took off.
“No time to explain, legooooo!!” was Meis response, picking up the speed, causing a bright green streak to follow them. Turning the corner Mei saw the figure once more, again looking sneaky. Locking her eyes on the target, Mei ran just a bit more before lifting her feet off the ground and placing them on the rim of the cart.
“WWWOOOOOOOOAAHH AH-AHAAAAAAHHHH!” was all the Monkie Kid could get out from the quick event accruing, their screams of joy turning over into terror. As the pair got closer to Meis target, MK finally realized what she was doing and gasped loudly once they realized who she was after.
“RED BOII!” cried out Mei as the cart got incredibly closer to the red coloured figure.
Hearing that wretched nickname, Redson turned their head in confusion, looking to where the noise came from. Without enough time to react, the poor demon was only able to make a small protest of “No!” before being rammed into by the cart.
༄
“I needa minute” wheezed out Pigsy as he held onto his knees, catching his breath from the running with Tang.
“Same here” whined out the professor who held onto his glasses in one hand while the other wiped sweat off his brow.
Not wanting to stand in the middle of the isles and block peoples path, Tang looked around trying to find somewhere to sit. His eyes finally located a bedroom set up which had many posters on the walls, a wheely chair, a desk with what felt like way to many pencils and empty notebooks on it, and a plush bed asking to be napped on. “Over here” Tang breathed out as he snagged Pigsys hand once more and led him to the set up.
Once in the little area, the pair fell face first onto the mattress, a relived sigh leaving both of them. “Why does this place have’ta be so damn big” Pigsy noted as he rolled onto his back. “We’ll never find the kids at this pace, guess we should just live here. Forever.” The pig man seemed to weep at the last word of the sentence as he rolled back over onto his stomach.
“We’ll find them, we just need a second” Tang added as he tried to sit himself up but noticed he became far to comfortable already in the lying position and couldn’t move. “We’ve faced down demons an-and celestial beings and rude customers at the restaurant, this isn’t nearly as intense.”
Pigsy let out a snorting laugh at Tangs comparisons from the pairs previous adventures to the current one they were on now. “Well when you say it like that, puts things into perspective don’t it” he chuckled, rolling onto his back once more and looking up at the fake rooms ceiling. He glanced over at Tang who was still lying face first into the mattress. “Gonna make yourself pass out if you keep laying like that” snorted Pigsy as he helped roll his husband over onto his back.
Once rolled over Tang let out an exaggerated gasp for air. “Everything was becoming darkness! You’ve saved my life great pig” mocked the scholar, reaching over and clinging to Pigsys shirt. “How could I ever repay you oh great one?” he asked batting his eyelashes.
“How ‘bout you start off by paying for your lunch’s” chuckled out Pigsy as he looked down at his dork.
“Hmm” Tang huffed with a deadpan expression, letting go of Pigsys shirt and rolling a bit away from him.
“Why you little-“ started Pigsy as he raised his fist in mock anger when suddenly they heard loud booming footsteps, causing the pair to topple off a bit on the mattress. Steadying himself, the chef stood up wobbly and looked through the fake rooms entrance into the main hallway, trying to see what could make such a ruckus. “The hell was that?” he mumbled out, though the feeling was familiar some how.
A few screams could be heard further down the hall as some people ran past the fake room in a panic. Looking from where they came from, Pigsy felt both fear and annoyance at the sight. “That’s why it feels so familiar” he whined out.
Down the hallway was non other then the Demon Bull King himself and his equally as terrifying wife, Princess Iron Fan. Pigsy darted back into the room and sat Tang up from his fallen place on the floor. “We gotta find the kids, now!” he whispered in a bit of a panic. Sure he knew that the DBK family was on decent terms with the Monkie Kid, but it still was a very fragile alliance, if you could even call it that.
Pigsy didn’t want to take that chance, knowing if something broke out, the IKEA would be reduced to rubble. “Why are they even here in the first place?” he thought to himself while trying to sneak past the intimidating couple with Tang.
༄
Being struck by the incredibly speedy blue cart, the fire demon was thrown a bit aways across the room, hitting a neatly organized stack of pillows, puffy feathers spilling everywhere with their collision. They groaned out as they rubbed the probably now bruised half of their head as they tried to sit up.
“Hhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey!~” came that annoyingly loud singsong voice from the other side of the kids section. “Hey Redboy! What’re you doing here?” came the voice once more but this time a bit closer.
“We had no idea you liked IKEA too!!” came the other annoying voice. “You should’ve told us you were coming, we could’ve hung out and had those massive pretzels!”
Finally getting their bearings and standing up with a wobble, Redson finally saw their attackers clearly. As usual, their hair sparked and roared to life, blisteringly hot as they stammered. “WHY IS IT THAT EVERYWHERE I GO, YOU IMBALANCES HAVE TO COME AND- AND GUNK IT ALL UP WITH YOUR ST-STUPIDITY!” they spit out while tossing an accusing finger at the pair in front of them.
“Aww we missed you too Red” cooed Mei at the usual display of rage they put out towards her and the Monkie Kid, MK nodding in agreement to his friends statement. The pair (mostly Mei cause she thought it was absolutely wicked) had no fear of this firework show since they’d dealt with it more then once, but everyone else in the surrounding area procured to flee for their lives.
Seeing their enemy’s joy in their escapades, Redson took a deep breath and calmed their fiery being to its regular amount of rage. “To answer the pony girls earlier question, the reasoning I have to be here is none of your pathetic business” they stated with a glare at the brightly smiling dragon while they brushed down their red trench coat, trying to get all the pillow feathers off as soon as possible.
“And to answer the noodle boys question, even if I had some form of mutual communication with you peasants, there is no possible way in any realm or life time I’d us it to make plans with the likes of you.” they stated with a snarl.
“Well since we’re all already here, why not hang out anyways?” MK pointed out as he toppled out of the cart, standing up quickly and wrapping an arm around Redsons shoulder, pulling them in with a slight half hug.
“Would yo- did ANYTHING I JUST SAID GO THROUGH THAT THICK SKULL OF YOURS?!” they cried in disbelief with flaming hair, shoving the monkey off of them.
“Loosen up Red” purred Mei as she snuck up beside the demon, also wrapping her arm around their shoulder. “Don’t need to put on that wannabe punk attitude on when you’re around us, just be yourself.”
Redson looked at the dragon, lightly offered at her words. “I am being myself!” they barked out, also shoving Mei off of them like they did MK. “Honestly, I don’t understand how you imbecil-“
Before Redson could finish their insult, an impatient finger was shoved over their mouth, followed by a symphony of shush’s.
“Shshshsssshshhshshshs wait!” came the loud hushing of MK. “What. Is. That”. They pointed to something across from the trio.
Catching the dragon and demons attention, they turned their heads to face what the monkey was raving about. Once she laid her eyes on them, Mei let out a gasp of excitement before darting off to the bin filled with blue fluff. “OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD!” she cried out, dipping her hands into the pile and pulling out a giant shark plushie. “ITSSOCUTEMKIMGONNALOSEIT!” she shrieked out as her friend darted up beside her, snagging a shark of his own.
“AWWOOOOOO LIL SHARKY!!” cried out MK as he snuggled the one he grabbed. “Oh you’re such a cute big little shark!”
“Ppft, shark? You don’t even know it’s official name?” came the snide remark of the demon behind the pair. MK and Mei looked up at Redson with small sparkles in their eyes. They sighed in annoyance, as though what they were about to say was common knowledge. “It’s officially called Blåhaj, though many just call him the ‘IKEA Shark’. Blåhaj is quite a popular stuffed animal that has taken over many spots of the inter webs, as he is seen as somewhat of an internet icon for transgender rights. This all came about around-“.
Redson kept rambling on about Blåhaj while Mei and MK just stared at them, still holding onto their squishy shark companions. They didn’t really understand anything the demon was saying, but they seemed passionate about it so the pair let them speak their mind. Though as the speech kept going, a question popped into both of their heads.
“Many have used Blåhaj to spread happiness and joy, as to why it is such a popular toy among children and adults a like” they finished off with their eyes closed. Once opened, they were somewhat surprised to see the pair in front listening so intently. Or at least they looked like they were listening intently. Now with the speech concluded, Mei asked the question both her and the Monkie Kid had on their minds.
“So Reddy, how do you know so much about this Blagaja?” she asked with the mispronunciation of the plush. “You know what it’s called, what it stands for, why people like it, but how do you know that?”
The fiery demons pointed ears prickled pink a bit and small sparks popped over their head. Finally it clicked for Mei as a smug smile grew across her face. Noticing this, Redson began stammering while more red seeped onto their tan face. MK on the other hand, hadn’t gotten the point yet, and stood there with mass confusion on his face. “Wait I don’t get it” he stated out with a blank stare.
Mei snorted at her friends remark and waited for Redson to answer MK. They cleared their throat and turned away slightly as to not look directly at the ones in front of them while telling what felt like a heavy secret.
“The reasoning as to why I know so much about this particular plush animal and it’s meaning and so on…is because I came here today to… acquire one” they stumbled out.
MKs eyes began to sparkle while they let out a large gasp of enthusiasm, Mei started to giggle lightly in the background, surprised that Redson even admitted it. They turned slightly to look at the pair. “Fo-for research purp-purposes of course!” they barked out in an attempt to save their ego. “So as to see if there was any form of scientific evidence as to…why uh they made people so enthralled. As to why it became such a sensation! Something like a simple stuffed shark couldn’t possibl-“
“Ooooohh just take it you big softy” cooed Mei as she shoved a massive shark into the demons clutches. “We can all get them together!”
“Yeh! Then we’ll all be matching!” chimed in MK as he raised his own shark in the air, tossing it around with joy. “GGGAAAAAASSSSSSPPPPP! Then when we have sleepovers, we can bring our Blågahas and they can have a play date!”
“MK that’s the best plan!” cried out Mei as she also tossed her shark around in the air. “Oh and we’ll watch shark movies! Or shark documentary’s. NO! SHARK WEEK!”
“YES! ONE MILLION TIMES YES!” howled out MK in excitement at the plans being made.
As the pair in front of them got louder and louder (which caused many passerby to look at the trio strangely) with excitement, the demon stayed silent as they looked upon the huggable shark in their sharp clutches. They turned the sharks head to face them, making eye contact with the plush. Small tears pricked the corners of their eyes as they were filled with pure unbridled joy, their tail flicking back and fourth to further show their happiness. Without hesitation, they wrapped their arms completely around the Blåhaj, hugging it with a lot of force.
“That sounds completely idiotic” Redson cleared their throat and announced to the dragon and monkey who were still making plans. MK turned and looked at them with a cocked head and furrowed brows while Mei seemed to have the slightest bit of annoyance at the demons comment. “However” they continued, “It does sound like it would be a pleasurable and relaxing event. So yes, I agree to these plans.”
“Aww thanks Redson!” chirped out MK as he threw himself at their friend, wrapping their arms and own Blåhaj around the demon in a snuggly hug.
“Eeeeee this is gonna be super fun!” Mei joined in on the hug with her own Blåhaj, squishing her two friends in the process.
The feeling of being hugged was very different from what Redson was used to, so automatically, they wiggled their way out of the snuggle pile while still holding onto their shark companion. “Now I would believe we are to check out these…little fellows?” they asked their friendly enemy’s.
“Yep! We just gotta…” Mei began but trailed off slightly as she remembered something. “Find out…where it is…and where Pigsy and Tang are.” She seemed to cringe at the fact that both her and MK completely left the couple behind with no notice, remembering that Pigsy wanted them all to stick together.
“WE FORGOT DADSY AND MR TANG!” cried out MK in the sudden realization. “THEY COULD BE ANYWHERE!? WHAT IF THEY LEFT! WHAT IF THEY FORGOT ABOUT UUUUSSSS!” The Monkie Kid clung onto Meis shirt as they dropped to their knees while weeping his worry’s.
“Pppffftttt nooooo I’-I’m sure they’re fine! And looking for us” Mei comforted her friend with a head pat, though she turned to Redson and whispered lightly “i do- i don’t know”.
The demon sighed as they rolled their eyes. “Very well, I will assist you in looking for the pig man and scholar” they stated in an irritated tone. “But once they are found, we check out our Blåhaj and begin our Shark Week marathon as soon as possible.”
The dragon helped scoop up her monkey friend and tossed them into the blue cart with his shark,her own and the demon princes shark as well, believing travel would be easier this way. “Operation: Let’s Find the Dads so We Can Go Home!” howled out Mei as she grabbed Redson by the waist and announced the missions title. The demon jumped slightly at the sudden snag of their figure before they were being dragged down the halls of IKEA by the dragon horse girl. Once again, a bright green race line followed the girl as she sped down the way she and her friend came.
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Marching down the massive halls, the bull king huffed in annoyance at the usual screams of terror. On any other occasion when he would be conquering the city, he would thrill in it, but today he just wanted to be a regular citizen and get his shopping done. Sometimes a world dominating demon just wants a calm evening with his wife and child, though said child ran off on some mission for research, they said.
“What else do we need for the lair dearest?” came the commanding voice of his wife who carried a small yellow basket on her arm with a few very nice and expensive cooking wear and plates.
“Not that I can think of at the moment” he responded as he looked around. “Possibly a new comforter for our bed? I find our current one is quite torn and not as warm as it once was.”
“Oh my love, I only need you to keep me warm in the night” she purred out slyly, causing the Bull King to snicker in response, though he felt his face warm up a bit at the comment. Even after all these centuries, he could still find himself flustered by her darling comments. “But, as you wish dear. What pattern are you looking for?” she asked while reading a small sign, finding where to go.
“We may get something as our old one. Something to match the palace” he nodded following her gaze, though he was quickly distracted by the image of someone falling a few feet away from him. Usually, he wouldn’t pay mind to such pitiful matters, though the ones in front of him he recognized. He let out a small huff as he recognized the fathers of the little thief.
“Come on Tang, nows not the time for flimsy ankles” whisper shouted Pigsy as he helped his husband up, though it was too late to try and hide. He had made eye contact with the Demon Bull King. He pulled Tang up to his feet and held the professor behind him a bit, choosing his words carefully. “Demon Bull King, Princess Iron Fan, what a-a delight to see you…both.” he stammered nervously.
“Hmm, wish we could say the same pig man” snickered Princess Iron Fan, noticing the clear sweat on the man’s brow. “If you and your foolish spouse are here, I am to assume the Monkey Kings successor and the Dragon of the West are here as well?”
Tugging at his collar, Pigsy hesitated his response while trying to find the best words to not piss off the couple in front of him. “You are correct princess” came the clear voice of Tang behind him. “And by your presence, I am also to assume the fiery demon bull prince is here as well?”
The Princess looked at the mortal with raised eyebrows, seemingly impressed with his retort. “Indeed they are” she answered while scrapping something out from under her nails. “Though as you can see, they are currently not present with us, having run off to do some foolish errand of their own no doubt.”
“Well, what a coincidence, as we have…also lost track of our children” Tang laughed out a little embarrassed. “Like yours, they definitely went to do something quite silly I’d assume.”
“Due to the track record you and your kin have, I would assume that RedSon has already met with the little thief and dragon child” chimed in the Bull King with a huff of annoyance. “That trio is most likely off causing unfathomable chaos within the building” he mumbled mostly to himself and his wife.
“Then uhh should we…I mean- we should probably go looking for them…then” stuttered out Pigsy, still quite anxious, even more so now knowing that Mei and MK were probably terrorizing the demon prince.
“I think they’ll find us first” came a mumble from Tang, nervousness causing his voice to wave up and down. Pigsy turned his head slightly, about to ask his husband what he meant by that, but he was too focused on what Tang was looking at. Or more so, listening to.
Down the hall way ahead of the small group seemed to be loud electro music coming closer and closer. As the music got louder, a bright neon green hue began to crawl up the walls, causing a few hidden bystanders to flee back towards the hallway the Bull King was standing in front of. The group knew what was coming their way, but at the same time, had no clue what would be coming out the massive hallway.
With a bellowing shout of excitement and the massive increase in the funky music, a blue cart carrying a screaming MK was being aggressively driven by a hyperactive and loudly laughing Mei, who was dragging a ragged and swearing Redson by the wrist. As the trio burst into the clearing, the green hue trailed after them while trying to skid to a halt.
Regaining his focus MK looked ahead and gasped loudly. “Dadsy! Mr Tang!” they cried out while readjusting himself in the cart to have his arms out reach to their parents, the cart getting increasingly closer.
Mei had shoved her feet to the ground, digging her heels into the polished floor while bending down slightly, trying to slow the cart. Following suit, Redson grappled onto the dragon girls shoulders and dug their hooves into the slippery floor. The pair leaned back, placing their whole body weight on their side of the cart, trying to slow it.
Pigsy and Tang cringed at the sight, believing they were about to become roadkill via the aggressively moving cart. Stepping back, the couple was about to make a run for it but just as the cart reached them, it slowly skidded to a stop causing a terrible squeaking noise to leave the damaged wheels. “Dads!” barked out MK once more now that their parents were in reach. With a swift movement, he snagged both father figures into their open arms and began profusely apologizing for leaving them behind.
With a sigh of relief, Mei let go of the cart handle, causing both her and the demon attached to her back to fall to the hard ground. On impact, Redson let out a small “ow!” before beginning to flame up at the dragon a top of them.
“Oops! Sorry about that Red!” Mei laughed out as she stood up and reached a clawed hand out to the fire demon upon the floor. “You alright?”
The prince took a deep breath before taking the dragons hand to help them stand up. “Fine thanks” they snorted out while brushing down their coat, actively avoiding eye contact with the one in front of them as they were quite embarrassed.
“So sorry for leaving you guys! We got distracted and wanted to see what else there was to look at!” MK weeped out apologies for leaving his dads behind. “I promise it’ll never ever ever ever happen again.”
“Mm, highly doubt that” Pigsy grumbled out in response with a shrug. “But non the less, apology accepted kid!” He reached down, hugging the Monkie Kid and the scholar right beside them into a big group hug. “What’d you even run off to get anyways?” asked the pig man with a intrigued look.
MK slipped out of the hug and dove into the IKEA cart full of sharks and a box of cloud like lights, showing off the Blåhaj he had acquired. “This! This is what I got! Isn’t she adorable!” they called out waving the shark around before being rudely interrupted by Redson who grabbed it out of the Monkie Kids hands. “Hey! What’s the dealio yo?” he snapped at the demon.
“This Blåhaj is actually mine thank you very much” scoffed the prince as they brushed the sharks fur.
“Wh- they all look the same?” MK retorted with an accusing finger. “How in the great sage are you able to tell the difference huh?”
“Simple really, mine had sharper teeth and a much more voracious appearance compared to your single brain celled Blåhaj” RedSon smirked while stating this, believing their shark plush was superior to the others. Strangely enough though, they were right?
MK and Mei took out their own sharks and glanced from their own to Redsons to find that indeed, the demons shark plush looked much more intimidating and it’s felt teeth were more pointed then their own sharks.
“So….this is the important artifact you deemed worthy of a visit into the city?” announced the Bull King as he took a step forward, shaking the room in the process. Redson looked up at their father with multiple sweat beads apparent on their brow.
“Uhm…ye-yes, indeed it is father” they announced with a small voice crack, trying to stifle their worry. “It may seem as a foolish request, however it was important to…me and my own personal studies.” While stating their reasoning, the prince looked down at their plush, a small smile peaking through their anxiety.
The Bull King and Iron Fanned Princess looked upon their child then to each other, ignoring the glances the other family was giving them. “Very well child. If it is deemed important and worthy of your time, then you may acquire it” nodded the bull.
The prince looked up at their parents with shimmering eyes of enthusiasm. “You will not regret this decision!” they announced their thanks to their parents who gave a small nod in response.
“Now thats settled, let’s head ov-” Pigsy began about to suggest the families head to the checkout of the IKEA, but was rudely interrupted buy the fiery prince.
“ONWARD TO THE CHECKOUT PEASANTS” they cackled out in victory as they ran down the hallways with their shark raised above their fiery head, people screaming and darting out of the demons way.
“Awwww we’re checking out already?” whined MK with hunched shoulders.
“Listen kid we gotta go or else I’m gonna end up buying this whole place out of kitchen supplies” Pigsy chimed in with worry. “And my back account can’t suffer another shopping spree.”
“Eh, chin up monkey man!” Mei wrapped an arm around her friend. “We can always come back another day! Plus, remember what’s at the check out?” The dragon asked with a sly smile and raised eyebrows, waiting for the realization to kick into the Monkie Kids mind. With a blank stare at their friend, MK gasped at what Mei was referring to.
“The pretzels!!” he cried out with a quick arm swivel before running off after Redson, the dragon girl whooping and wooing as she followed them, leaving the parents in silence.
“I guessss we should…get going then?” Tang suggested with a nervous chuckle to the demon couple who nodded in response before marching off with the husbands down the long hallways.
༄
After a lot of screaming and running for their lives, the poor IKEA cashiers were finally assured enough by Tang and Pigsy that they wouldn’t be absolutely murdered by the Demon Bull King and the Princess Iron Fan who were ready to cash out their small basket of regular house wear appliances.
Nearby the tense situation, the tricoloured group with sharks were eating their pretzels while waiting for their parents to finish up. “I don’t think I will ever get tired of these” MK joyfully spoke with pieces of pretzel stuffing his mouth causing Redson to cringe at the sight before them.
“It’s like they put the tears of angels in these things” responded Mei tearfully taking another bite. “They taste so HEAVENLLLYY!” She too also spoke with her mouth open, causing Redson to once again cringe at the very sight. They took a step back from the loud mouthed pair while they silently ate their own pretzel. Like their friends, they too enjoyed the pretzel to mass extent and thought about how it was one of the best things they’ve ever had, however they would rather die then sing out their praises.
“It is quite palatable” they stated with a covered mouth as to make sure no pretzel bits flew out.
“Hell yeah it is!” cried out Mei as she pumped her pretzel hand in the air. While doing this, she noticed a few crumbs fell onto her shark causing her to gasp dramatically. “Oooh so sorry little friend, lemme clean you up there” she cooed while whipping the salt off the plushies head. “Hmm what should I name you?”
“Oh right! I forgot to name my guy too!” MK stated while lifting their shark into the air much like Mei’s. “Mmmm…Sharky? Snarky? Bluey? Tooth…y?” He cocked their head with every name they said, trying to see what would fit the fluffy companion. “Damn, I’m really bad at this.”
Redson watched their frenemys shout out different words and became confused quickly at the strange ritual. “What are you pretzel heads doing?” they asked with a quizzical look.
“Uhhh naming our new friends? Keep up Red boy” Mei scoffed.
“Why does it need a name? It’s an inanimate object.” Redson stated with a huff of annoyance at Meis remark.
“Wait!” MK darted in front of the demon with a gaged expression. “You’ve never name any of your stuffed animals?!”
The demon backed away slightly at the sudden closeness and nodded slowly.
“But you name all of your inventions stuffs don’t you?” chimed in the dragon from behind her friend.
“Well…yes. But that’s because they are…they need names so I can uh….tell them apart?” Once confronted with the question, they realized that they didn’t real know why they named their vehicles and inventions. They kinda just did?
“Welllll that’s also kinds like stuffys” Mei butted in again. “Cause I have a looooottt in my room that look pretty similar, I’ve named them all so I can tell them apart! Plus, it’s fun” she shrugs with a small laugh at the end of the sentence.
“Yeh exactly! I’m really bad at the naming thing though cause most of my plushies are monkeys so I just name them after the monkeys on Flower Fruit Mountain” MK put in with an aggressive nod. “I usually need something to inspire me to name them you know? Eehh not very good at making it up on the spot.”
Seeing both powerful beings state similar things, Redson looked upon their own Blåhaj and cocked their head trying to find the perfect name for it.
“Alright kids, let’s head on outta here” called the pig demon from a bit of a ways away with a big reusable bag pulled over his shoulder and a scholar close beside him waving down to the trio.
Mei and MK turned to the dads and shouted a quick “coming!” in unison before turning back to Red to say goodbye.
“Great seeing you Redson! Text us next time you’re in town, we’ll meet up and go for Boba or something” MK smiled broadly as they patted the demon on the shoulder.
“Yeh! Don’t be shy!” Mei chirped in with a smirk.
“Bu-but we uh..” Redson fumbled over their words, feeling a bit embarrassed over their thoughts. “But we haven’t name our Blåhaj yet” they stated while looking away from the duo, expecting to be laughed at.
“Oh that! Yeh don’t worry! We can figure out their names when we have our shark week sleep over” laughed the dragon while slapping the demons back playfully.
“That’s actually happening?” they asked in confusion.
“Uh yeah? You were there during the conversation, of course you’re coming” MK stated like it was an already organized event. “But we’ll talk more about the details later, we gotta head out before dadsy starts complaining about traffic.”
“See you later Redson!” Mei yelled out as she ran down to the impatient Pigsy.
“Byyyyyeeeee!” MK called out as they too ran down to meet the small group.
With that, Redson was left alone with their thoughts and a strange feeling of warmth in their stomach at the idea of the trip hanging out, though they would never admit it.
“Come along child, we got what we came for” came the voice of their mother who was starting up a windy vortex which caused quite a bit of a commotion.
“Coming mother” they called back, snapping out of their day dream while running to meet their parents.
As the small family stood in the hurricane ready to be teleported to their volcanic home, there was a small silence. It was common but still uncomfortable at times.
“Did you have a good day?” The booming voice of their father broke the silence, causing the small fire demon to look up to the Bull King. They were surprised but didn’t waste a second answering.
“Yes father! It was quite an experience” they stated with a toothy grin and a tight hug around their shark.
The Bull King smiled softly at their kid. “As did I” he chuckled out lightly as the trio was ported back home.