Chapter Text
MK watched in awe as the noises around him dulled, the performance in front of him taking priority.
"The Hero and the Warrior were like the Sun and the Moon. Their light, a protective glow, shining upon the world. Together, there was nothing that could stop the two of them. Either in the Celestial Realms or on Earth. As time went on, the Hero attained power beyond comprehension. As the Hero's light grew, so too did his shadow. And soon, the Warrior was cast in that shadow. In the darkness, the Warrior was forgotten by the Hero."
MK wasn't sure how many times he had seen the play; he'd been coming back all week since Tang, Pigsy and Mei dragged him to it. He didn't regret agreeing to come watch, or staying around. It was gorgeous. He had never seen such fine control of shadow magic before: the only times he had ever even seen shadow magic was with Macaque and a kitsune he'd encountered as a child. She'd created additional hands from the shadows beneath him when he tripped over in front of her market stall.
But both of those examples paled in comparison.
Such fine detail in the characters designs, the clean lines, the smooth motion!
MK didn't even noticed the figure approaching as he sketched what he could remember of the dragon scene into his sketchbook. If only he could animate that smoothly-
"You here again, bud?" MK jerked, dropping his pencil in surprise. He let out an eep when he realised it was the puppeteer. "You must be my biggest fan!" They sounded amused, so MK didn't feel bad for being a creep and showing up at all of their shows.
"Who wouldn't be? Your fine control of your shadow magic is amazing, I've never seen anything like it!" He exclaimed brightly, waving his arms around in delight. "And your story-telling! It's fabulous!" The puppeteer chuckled, sitting down on the step beside him. "Thank you, thank you," they joked, bowing mockingly. MK snickered internally, that was something another certain emo showman would do. Was it a requirement for being a shadow-user? "No one has ever shown such admiration for my work before," the puppeteer commented, leaning back casually. Even now, when the room was properly lit, MK couldn't see what was underneath their hood; only able to make out their beard. "I don't think I've met someone so young show such an interest in shadow magic."
"One of my mentors is really skilled in it!" MK exclaimed cheerfully, closing his sketchbook and hugging it tightly to his chest. "He makes portals, and clones, and weapons! He's so cool!" He did a happy little wiggle, making the puppeteer laugh. "Mhm?" "He's been teaching me how to use shadow weapons, and promised to show me to how make them when he gets back from his trip." "You sound eager." "Uh, yeah!? I get to learn cool shadow magic and get to be taught with one of the coolest people I know!" The puppeteer cocked their head back. "He sounds like a good mentor." They mused. "Oh, he is!" MK agreed. "He's kinda a drama queen, so when he gets back I'll make sure to bring him to watch!"
"I'm sure you could give him an accurate play-by-play from memory," the puppeteer joked. "And what do you mean by 'drama queen'?" "He's really theatrical, always making big entrances or sneaking up on people. He likes telling stories, and I think he'd really connect with this one."
"Really? How so?"
MK gestured to the empty stage. "From what I know, he was betrayed by his friends before, that they left him behind and hurt him. My other mentor says he has a history with him, and killed him? I'm not sure how that works considering he isn't, y'know, a corpse, but I don't know the full story. I feel like he'd really connect with the Warrior in the story, because he feels like he's been overshadowed?" The puppeteer was silent for a moment, before chuckling and standing up. "Your situational awareness is good, if you picked that up, bud."
MK frowned. That sounded familiar. Where had he heard that before?
Wait.
The star, sun and moon motifs...
"We were like the Sun and the Moon."
"We did everything together. He stood by my side, through thick and thin. He even helped with me fight against the Celestial Army, though I've noticed you mortals never wrote about him."
The shadow play.
"It's you... Macaque!"
The air around them shifted, and suddenly the puppeteer was gone, replaced with his second mentor.
"The one and only!"