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If questioned, Macaque wouldn't be able to explain why he had saved the Lady Bone Demon's host. His body had moved before he could consider anything else. It wasn't something he regretted necessarily but it bothered him that he'd acted without thinking.
Although perhaps he shouldn't be too surprised - MK had already proven to him he hadn't killed off the last traces of weakness from his heart.
So he'd saved the girl from falling to her death, no big deal, just a reflex from another life he hadn't realised he hadn't stomped out - it was done and that was the last of it.
Except, of course, it wasn't.
On a whim about a week later, he decided he would check in on the girl - ensure that no trace of the Lady Bone Demon had hidden away inside her and then he'd be on his merry way.
Well hidden within the shadows, he found her, shivering within her sweltering hot bedroom and swaddled in layers of clothing.
She had spent a significant time as the Lady Bone Demon's host - plenty of time for the cold to burrow into her bones. He felt a pang of sympathy, his debt had done much the same, but at least he'd had magic to lessen its effect. No amount of external heat would help her.
He retreated to sit on the roof of the house and thought of the pitiful girl shivering floors below him. You know what? From one prisoner of the Lady Bone Demon to another he could throw her a bone. It was no skin off his nose to draw up a talisman she could use to fight off the chill.
And because he was feeling particularly generous he created a handful of them, priming them with his own magic so they would actually activate at her touch. He wrote a short note explaining external fire wouldn't help, but the talismans would until she found a more permanent solution and explained how to use them.
He hinted that perhaps the Monkie Kid might be of some use in finding a more permanent solution in the form of an artefact and then left the note and talismans on the girls desk as she slept.
Alright, good deed done for the century. Pretty painless all things considered, but now back to other projects. He really was keen to get his shadow plays back on the road - this time however far away from anywhere or anything related to Wukong.
And so he dedicated himself to his craft, writing stories, re-familiarising himself with playing instruments, manipulating shadows and bringing them all together in a spectacular display.
The girl didn't cross his mind again until a couple weeks later when he stumbled upon the book he had used to help write up the talismans he had made for her. Idle curiosity and a lax schedule seemed reason enough to check to see if she had found a replacement for the talismans. By his calculations she should still have enough to last a few weeks more if she hadn't.
He wasn't surprised to see that the talismans had worked, within the shadows of her room he saw her sitting at her desk writing, a perfectly normal number of layers on and no shivering in sight.
And it was clear that it was the talisman that was at work and not a more permanent solution, she seemed to have fashioned a necklace that held a rolled up talisman. Clever but still only a temporary solution. He didn't doubt there must be something in Wukong's vault that could help - although given the state of it perhaps he was struggling to find something useful.
His musings were interrupted by the sound of a stomach rumbling but the girl ignored it, continuing to write. On closer inspection she didn't look good - face tired and gaunt, hair greasy and messy.
He supposed he shouldn't be surprised that she should seem in a bad way - hardly any time had passed since she had been a puppet to the Lady Bone Demon after all and that was a traumatic experience for anyone, let alone a child.
He knew a thing or two about traumatic experiences and not taking care of himself. And again it would take very little time out of his day to pass on some of his knowledge.
So when the girl was asleep he delivered a care package of sorts to her desk - wet wipes, chewable toothbrushes, dry shampoo and ration like foods such as oat bars and fruit pouches. The note he left this time simply explained that her talismans would only last another couple of weeks so she ought to get on another solution.
This time, he decided he would check back in a few days. That would hopefully have given the girl enough to get over any hurt pride or offense at his generosity. God knows it wouldn't be long enough for him but then for all she was traumatized, she had nothing on his millennia of baggage.
This time she was asleep when he visited and it looked like she had made use of the supplies he had left. Good, she'd be a fool to let pride impede her recovery. Curiously, there was a small open notebook laying open next to them and a glance revealed it was a note addressed to him:
"Thank you for the talismans - they've really helped a lot! Could you tell me where I can get some more? I don't want to bother Mr. MK. Please come visit me sometime! Bǎi Hé"
Cute. Nothing would convince him to stay and have a chat with her but he obligingly wrote a response beneath hers:
"You won't be able to get them easily in the city. MK has access to a small mountain worth of artefacts - just sitting there doing nothing. Just give him a talisman and tell him to give you something more permanent to replace it with."
MK would likely have no clue how to find a replacement for the talisman but Wukong should at the very least be competent enough to be able to help. And if not, MK was friendly with the Demon Bull King's son - no doubt he could offer a workable solution.
He cast a glance at the supplies. He supposed it wouldn't hurt to top up the food rations while he was here.
And with that he'd unwittingly created a connection with the girl. Curious enough to check back in occasionally to see how she was progressing and surprisingly willing to top up her supplies and her talismans as it became clear she was not going to approach MK. Each check in brought a new note to which he saw no harm in responding to.
Her notes to him were increasingly more detailed - sharing information of what she was up to. Clearly adding to it for every day he did not respond. He kept his answers short and to the point never indulging in answering personal questions directed at him.
Despite never explicitly stating his name she seemed confident that it was him that she was communicating with and she never failed to ask him to visit her.
A request he simply ignored, this little connection had progressed far beyond what he'd intended, he continued to check in and respond to notes because it amused him somewhat but he doubted it would continue to be so if they met face to face.
Life went on for a short while, he started performing one night only shows in little hollows across the country - using these to practice and to gather feedback so that he could make tweaks to improve - perhaps one day soon he would entertain the idea of a more extravagant venue but for now he was content.
There was a certain something to showmanship that was lost when you reached greater heights and he rather enjoyed these smaller, more personal shows.
Every few days he would check on Bǎi Hé and while he was in town he would quickly listen in on MK to make sure there were no world ending events he needed to be aware of. Of course, of all the world ending events that did eventually crop up - it had to involve Peng of all people.
His world had been ever so slightly better knowing that they were at least gone from it and now he had to live with the fact they were alive and as self-important and irritating as ever.
But the situation was as contained as it could be at the moment and after a surprising trip down memory lane and an even more surprising amicable moment with Wukong on the beach, Macaque was ready to get back to his new Monkey King free lifestyle.
A quick check in with Bǎi Hé provided some very anxious notes about the universe being torn apart and he decided that he would advise her that MK had the situation under control and that she shouldn't give it too much mind.
There was no point going into details or worrying her about yet to be identified threats - there was literally nothing she could do about it and she had enough to worry about without the end of the world looming over her.
He paused for a moment, thinking it was a shame she missed the beach party - she likely would have enjoyed it... And as far as he knew she still hadn't made any contact with MK about the talismans.
With little concern for the ethics of it all over the next day he learned MK's number, got access to Bǎi Hé's phone and messaged him with a picture of the talisman and explaining what she needed - imitating her not a difficult feat given a couple months of exchanged notes - and then he let nature take it's course.
He deserved some sort of reward for all these good deeds he'd been doing lately. Maybe he should treat himself to some well deserved R&R before he got back to his shows - a few days at a hot spring sounded like just the ticket.
When he came back, fully recharged and ready to go, he thought he'd check on Bǎi Hé before he set off and he was greeted by pages and pages of angry, upset, guilty, terrified notes.
She went back and forth between being angry and upset at him to guilty and apologetic for being angry and upset at him. This was quickly replaced by terror, because MK now contacted her regularly to check in and had invited her to a get together on the island to see what they could do about her situation.
Why she was terrified wasn't clear until the end where she practically begged him to come to the island with her so she wouldn't have to face the Monkey King alone.
... She was afraid of Wukong?
Not the normal response from a child as far as he knew but then again Wukong didn't threaten to kill most children to destroy the demon possessing them so he supposed he could understand. In fact, he could understand better than most what it was to be afraid of the Monkey King.
Apparently this little rendezvous was tomorrow. He weighed up his options, but he knew it was inevitable what he would do - all this time around "do-gooders" was really starting to get to him. So he scribbled down a response that he would be there and left it at that.
----
Macaque was a big fan of observing a situation before getting involved and he watched as Bǎi Hé did her best not to look absolutely terrified as Wukong tried to interact with her but given she seemed to have lost her voice and was tightly pressed up against Sandy's leg she wasn't doing a great job.
Wukong was doing a marginally better job at not appearing hurt by this but it was clear he had no idea what to do in the face of this upset child.
Never one to miss an opportunity to twist the knife in, he emerged from the shadows to lean against a nearby tree and spoke up, "Wow. And here I thought the Monkey King was adored by all. Good to see I'm not the only one not in the fan club."
Thankfully Bǎi Hé was immediately distracted from Wukong's responding glower, but his expression quickly morphed and matched everyone else's confusion at her seemingly unfettered delight as she made her way over to Macaque.
"Mr. Macaque! You made it!" She stood in front of him, clearly trying to restrain herself from hugging him, almost vibrating from the effort. He cleared his throat and awkwardly patted her head, "Well, couldn't let you face the big, bad Monkey King by yourself now, could I?"
He then leaned down to loudly stage whisper, "Although between you and me, he's a total loser, you could have taken him."
Wukong couldn't even respond to the insult so thrown off by the bizarre situation before him, the only one who seemed to not find this whole set-up strange was Sandy, "Ah, I didn't know you knew Mr. Macaque, Bǎi Hé!"
Bǎi Hé stuck close to his side as she turned around, she pointed proudly to her necklace, "He was the one that gave me the talismans! He's super nice!"
He felt his face heat up at the accusation and amongst disbelief at her bold statement, grins started to break out amongst the crowd. From all but Wukong of course who pointed at him, "You think he's super nice?"
She cowered a little at being addressed directly by him but she seemed to feel a little braver standing next to him, which was laughable given he wouldn't be able to protect either of them if Wukong attacked. Wukong's hand dropped, face full of regret, and Bǎi Hé seemed to find her voice, hands on her hips, as she declared, "Yes! Super Nice! The nicest!"
Ok, this was bad for his image but before he could defend himself MK and Mei started to tease, Mei leading, "Aw! We didn't know you had a sweet side, Macaque! Bǎi Hé tell us all about how nice he is!"
"Yeah, Bǎi Hé! What's Macaque been hiding from us all this time?"
Bǎi Hé glanced at him, before crossing her arms, "If you don't know then that means you've not earned Super Nice Macaque rights yet."
He was torn between embarrassment at all this "super nice" nonsense being associated with his name and laughing at how serious she looked apparently defending his honour? Well, better to lean into it than let the rabble know how embarrassed he was.
He copied her stance, nodding seriously, "That's right. You want Mr. Nice Macaque? You've got to earn it."
MK looked aghast, "Earn it!? If I've not earned it by now I never will! How did Bǎi Hé earn it?"
He shrugged, "Trade secret. I'd tell you but I'd have to kill you."
Bǎi Hé giggled beside him before trying to school her face into something more serious, "Yeah, trade secret!"
He ignored the way Mei seemed to be recording this entire interaction, a wide grin on her face as she did so.
Deciding he'd had enough of this he tried to move them along, "Alright, how about we get down to business. Wukong, did you find an artefact that will do the job?"
Mei piped up, "Nope! But Red Son had just the ticket! It's up at Monkey King's shack. But we thought Bǎi Hé might want to explore the island first! And then we've got a barbecue planned!"
MK smiled at Bǎi Hé, "You up for a tour?"
No one missed the wary look she sent towards Wukong before she turned and looked to him for guidance. She was lucky he lived for Wukong's suffering and thus was willing to fake his ability to handle her fear in this situation. He's pretty sure he'd been decent with kids once - he racked his brain for the right course of action and then tried to correct for the fact she wasn't a monkey.
He made sure his sigh was appropriately put upon and stood straight, "I guess, I'm up for a stroll around my old stomping grounds, if you're up for it, kid. I can show you all the best spots."
He could see how desperately Wukong wanted to argue that he, in fact, knew all the best spots but Bǎi Hé's clear wariness had truly sucker punched him. It was certainly a strange role reversal, Macaque was equally not used to someone being happy to see him but here they were.
Bǎi Hé smiled brightly at him, before bashfully asking, "Can we use one of your shadow portals? I really want to try it."
He didn't let his surprise show and instead summoned one beside them and gestured dramatically for her to enter. Her eyes held no fear, only excitement, and he raised an eyebrow as she took a deep breath and held it before stepping through. He turned to his enraptured audience and gave them a parody of a bow before following after her and closing the portal behind him.
She looked thrilled, "That was so cool! I thought it might be like walking through water or smoke but it was like I was totally flat for a second! Is that what it feels like when you're in the shadows? Can you take me into the shadows?"
He rubbed at the back of his head a little awkwardly, "Er, I guess flat is a way to describe it but actually being one with the shadows is a Macaque only special I'm afraid. Humans weren't made to be 2-D."
Still excited, she nodded matter of factly, before turning around and gesturing wildly at the empty room, "Where are we?"
He walked past her, "A step on the tour I'm sure you would have missed without me. It's in a sorry state right now but this is where we used to hold shows back in the day."
She immediately fell into step beside him, "Shows? What kind of shows?"
He let his shadows move around them, clearing dust and debris. She seemed fascinated by his powers and as she gazed around in wonder, he answered, "All sorts - musicals, period pieces, stand up... Sometimes visitors would put on big displays to show off, but usually we just put on whatever we felt like."
"Were you ever in the shows?"
He grinned and sunk into the shadows to appear on the dilapidated raised platform that acted as a stage in a flurry of shadows posing dramatically, "Kid, I was the star."
She looked suitably awed, even clapping, "What were you the star of? Did you act? Did you sing?"
"All of the above and more. Care for a demonstration?"
She nodded enthusiastically and despite not needing to move his body to control the shadows, he acted as an enthusiastic conductor as they transformed the room into a shadow of its former glory.
Rows of benches suddenly appeared before the stage, filled with shadow monkeys of varying ages and sizes, bar a spot just where Bǎi Hé was standing and she gleefully sat in between enthusiastic monkeys and watched as fake curtains adorned the stage and a band of shadow monkeys appeared, pulling real musical instruments from seemingly random spots.
Finally, his outfit changed to something akin to the outfit he'd worn for MK's own personal shadow play. The show for today however was nowhere near as personal.
He had put together a number of shorter plays in recent months and knowing what got the best response from kids Bǎi Hé's age, he picked one and let himself fall into the role.
A lighthearted story of Shí Yáng, a young woman trying to return home while facing increasingly outlandish obstacles - all of which she cleverly overcomes to the eventual joy of her family waiting for her.
A show he knew so well he could spare some attention for the monkeys he had conjured up around Bǎi Hé, and have them react to the show and interact with her.
When he took his final bow, it was to the quiet cacophony of shadows and the joyful shouts and applause of his single audience member. He made a show of having the band bowing and then of the audience rushing forward to shake his hand or get an autograph, Bǎi Hé pushing her way forward to get in on the fun.
He made the shadows part for her and she excitedly made her way on to the stage, "Mr. Macaque! That was amazing! How were you able to do all of that at once?"
He grinned, unabashedly soaking up the praise, "Ah, you do this for a couple thousand years you get the hang of it." He held a hand above his head and with a snap of his fingers, the shadows retreated and they were standing in the empty, run down hall once more.
"Not bad, huh?"
"Not bad? That was, like, the greatest thing I've ever seen! You have to put on another show sometime! Maybe we could even clean this place up and have more people come see it!"
He looked around the hall and for a moment, he could see it all in his former glory, vivid colours on every surface, monkeys scurrying about with props, seats full of excited faces, "That would be something..."
He shook himself out of it, "Ah, one can dream but this old place has had its day. I take my shows on the road now, maybe one day you can tag along."
She looked thrilled by the idea, "Yeah! I want to see all your shows! Ah! What's next on the tour? It's going to have to be pretty cool to top this!"
He brought a hand to his chin, "We should probably regroup with MK and others before they freak out trying to find you."
Her excitement diminished and she fidgeted, "Can't us two just go on the tour?"
He made his way to the edge of the stage and sat down, gesturing for her to do the same, "What's wrong with the rest of them?"
She played with the bottom of her skirt, "Nothing... They're all really nice. It's just..."
"Monkey King?"
She nodded, hesitating for a moment before almost shamefully admitting, "He's really scary..."
He huffed a small laugh, "That's what people usually say about me, not Monkey King."
"You're not scary! You're really nice! You saved me! And you helped me! And you don't look at me like-" She cut herself off and took a breath before quietly admitting, "You don't look at me like I'm her..."
Macaque had known the Lady Bone Demon for far longer than he cared for, and her time with Bǎi Hé as her host was comparatively short. He knew her true form intimately. Separating the two in his mind was easy but he could perhaps understand why someone like MK, for example, who had really only known her with Bǎi Hé's face might have some difficulty with that.
"You're really determined to destroy my image, huh, kid? Well poor understanding of my character aside, it's pretty obvious you're not the Lady Bone Demon. You don't look like her at all. Trust me, I knew that bag of bones for centuries."
"That's not what everyone else thinks..."
"Eh, I know a thing or two about mistaken identity. I've been mistaken for Monkey King countless times and sure it sucks but I'm quick to prove them wrong. Well, unless of course it benefits me to play along in which case I don't. I can tell you though it normally doesn't, that monkey has more enemies than the sky has stars."
She looked alarmed, "Have people attacked you thinking you were the Monkey King?"
He waved her off, "Not often and it's not happened in a while either. Thank god. I have plenty of my own enemies to deal with without adding his into the bargain."
This did not reassure her but she seemed to let it go, "It doesn't bother you when someone thinks you're him?"
"It bothered me more at the start, when it happened a lot but now it's just an occasional annoyance."
"So it gets better?"
"It gets better. Although you'll need to be tough in the meantime, not that that will be a problem for you."
Miserably she responded, "But I'm not tough though, I'm scared all the time."
He shrugged, "Being scared is part of being brave and being brave is a part of being tough. And I'd say you're pretty brave coming here even though you were afraid."
"But I was only brave enough because I knew you'd be here."
"So? There was only music in the show because I brought instruments. Sometimes you need something or someone else in order to get something done - that's just life."
He said it as if the very thought of needing someone else for anything didn't make him feel like he was breaking out in hives. He was an even better actor than he gave himself credit for. He'd never been big on improv but he was starting to think he might have missed his calling.
She looked a little stumped by his words, and honestly he was right there with her but he knew that his face gave nothing away.
She started playing with her necklace, clearly thinking over what he'd said before nodding decisively, "Yeah, I think I get it. Sometimes you do need some help but... What you need can change, right? Like these talismans help me with the cold but soon I won't need them. Or how the supplies you gave me help on bad days but I don't need them all the time. So... Today I need you to help me feel brave around Monkey King but that doesn't mean I always will. One day I might not be afraid at all but right now I've got you! And- and that's ok! Right...?"
He didn't let on how unsettled her declaration made him feel - for today she had his support and he didn't let him think of anything beyond that.
His grin was only a little strained, "Right. Helps that you're sharp. Sharp and tough."
She grinned brightly in return, "Like Shí Yáng in the play!"
His laughter was genuine, "Overcoming every obstacle in her way. I can see it. Maybe one day I'll have you star as her in one of my shows."
She looked equal parts excited and terrified by the idea. He laughed again, "Another day. You ready to go?"
She hesitated, "I... I still don't want to see the Monkey King."
He stood, "Well that should be easy enough to sort, we'll just tell him to get lost."
She nervously stood beside him, "Won't that make him mad? I don't want him to be mad."
"Eh, he might be mad at me but that's nothing new."
This upset her exceptionally, "I don't want him to be mad at you! What if he tries to hurt you again?"
Hurt him again? Did she mean when he'd been possessed? He wondered how clear her memory of those events were because, sure, technically it had been Wukong's body but he hadn't been the one in control. Not to say there weren't countless other times when Wukong had been in control and hurt him but Bǎi Hé didn't know that.
"He's not going to hurt me." Not while you're here anyway. "He's just going to be a big baby and sit in a huff because he's not the centre of attention."
She seemed to think on this for a moment before she took a deep breath and nodded, "I'm as tough and sharp as Shí Yáng."
He grinned and opened a portal, "You sure are, kid. Now let's go show Monkey King who's boss."