Chapter Text
The moment things seemed to be looking up—the Monkie Kids reunited and Monkey King's scroll piece retrieved—things seemed to only get worse.
All of a sudden, Nezha, Mk, and Macaque's eyes began to glow, this accompanied by a ringing in their ears. Then, as this occurs, the sky literally tears open! Ripping at the seams like a torn piece of cloth. At the end of this sequence of events, the three find themselves on their arms and knees. Mei, Pigsy, and Tang gather around Mk, Sandy looking over Nezha.
"Azure, he's..."
Mk says as he too gets back to his feet.
"Dethroned the Jade Emperor."
Nezha replies, back on his feet with some help from Sandy.
"So that means..."
Tang looks up at the sky, along with everyone else, and gulps.
"Oh, yeah, that's prreettty bad..."
Mei adds.
Pigsy remarks, "Ya think?!"
As the group below stares up into the fractured sky, Macaque watches them all from above, sitting atop a ledge. From what he's heard, they know he knows. Azure killed the Jade Emperor and took the throne, making the sky shatter like it is now, and BOOM, we have another apocalypse on their hands! But that wasn't what was really on his mind at the moment. No, what was really nagging at him was whether he'd stay or go.
Macaque had stuck around last time, but that was only because Mk asked him to, of course. Without him to fulfill his role in Mk's plan, the Monkie Kid would've been forced to face the Monkey King on his own. Which he's glad wasn't the case. He has enough trauma to deal with as it is.
Moreover, what did they need him for? The heroes have the Great Sage in the literal palm of their hands! Once he's out of the scroll, their changes against Azure, Yellowtusk, and Peng go up drastically.
Yet, Macaque had decided to help them anyway. He jumped off the ledge, creating a shadow portal midair; emerging out another one he had placed on the ground. Now ground level, he starts to approach the six in front of him.
From the corner of Pigsy's eye, he catches a glimpse of the shady simian heading their way and immediately shouts, "Ey, what're you think you're doing here?" Gaining everyone's attention.
All their skyward glances change direction, switching their attention to the ebony monkey before them.
"Uh guys..." Mk says, Mei stepping in front of him, gripping her sword tightly.
"You!"
Hiding behind Pigsy, Tang comments, "Oh, great, the world's coming to an end, and Macaque decides to show up again!"
Nezha simply glares at Macaque, which he does in turn.
Obversing the rising tension in the air, Sandy attempts to cut in half.
"Hey guys, what if Mr. Macquack isn't here to cause us trouble, but to offer us his help like last time? Maybe he has helpful insight into some of our enemy's weaknesses, or maybe he caught one of Azure's brothers, and they're here to cue us in themselves!"
Mei, Pigsy, Tang, and Nezha look to Sandy, then back to Macaque.
"Well, you come prepared with any of that, Mr. Macaque," Pigsy inquired sternly.
Unfazed by the pig's attempt to intimidate him, he answers plainly, "Nah, not this time, but..."
He falls through his shadow and reappears behind Mk, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"I did help this one out of his funk with a little lesson of mine. And based on what I could gleam from your fight with Azure below, you needed the backup."
Mk takes Macaque's hand off him and turns to face him.
"If what you mean by "helping me out of my funk" means making me play your stupid rigged video game before actually giving me some helpful life advice?"
He smiles at the older monkey, his voice softening.
"Then yeah, sure, I guess you helped me out."
Macaque smiles back at him, then turns his attention back to the rest of the group.
"See!"
Yet still, Mei, Pigsy, Tang, and Nezha remained skeptical. Seeing as the four continued to stare daggers at Macaque, Mk finally decides to add his cent in.
"Alright, look, I know Macaque is well... Macaque, but as of right now, we're gonna need all the help we can get if we're going to beat Azure, Yellowtusk, and Peng. So, if you guys could tone down your looks of resentment til we've saved the world, that would be reeeaally appreciated!"
The four look amongst one another, then nod in silent agreement.
"The child's right, we must put our grievances aside and focus on reappearing the damage Azure has inflicted on the world."
Nezha says, looking up at the sky.
"Fine...for now."
Mei replies, looking at Macaque, and puts her sword away.
"Can do, we trust ya, kiddo!"
Pigsy gives his son a thumbs up, glaring Macaque's way one last time, when Mk isn't looking.
"Great, now if that's all settled, Mk," Tang says, chiming in, "what exactly is our next move here?"
"Oh," Mk pulls Monkey King's scroll piece from out of his pocket, "that be putting Monkey King back together again!"
_______
The seven regroup in front of Monkey King's house, each settling themselves somewhere along his patio. Located closest to the house itself, Mei and Pigsy sat on the porch; to their left were Mk and Macaque. As for the rest of the group, Nezha sat by the steps leading up to the patio on a rock, while Sandy and Tang were to his right, hard at work fixing Monkey King's scroll.
"You can't be serious. There's no way that'll hold!" Nezha shouts after Sandy and Tang present him with the "fixed" scroll piece.
The duo had messily taped the two halves together with painter's tape, causing one end of it to arch backwards a little. Their spotty handiwork left the prince annoyed, to say the least.
"There ain't nothin' a bit of tape can't fix," the water demon lightheartedly adds.
Nezha looks at him, silently fuming. His irritation with the situation only grows as Mk pipes up, exclaiming, "Alrighty! Now to jump in there and find Monkey King!"
"Wait!" Mei shouts, pulling the eager monkey to the side.
"How do you know that Monkey King is still..."
He's surprised by what she's implying but reassures her nonetheless, "It's fine! It's Monkey King! That guy is indestructible."
Having calmed himself down a bit, Nezha remarks, "Be that as it may, we have no idea what you'll find once you're inside. Or if this magical tape will even hold!"
He points a hand in Sandy and Tang's direction.
Politely, Sandy adds, "Oh, it's not magical tape."
Tang frantically starts shushing him after the fact, which only frustrates Nezha further.
Mk pipes back up, stating, "Well, we have to try. He'd do the same for any of us."
Macaque's ears twitch at his closing sentence.
"Hmph."
Nezha considers Mk's claim, then sighs, "You're right. It's worth the attempt."
Macaque claps his hands together, catching everyone's attention.
"Alright, Tang, you're up!"
Then, just like that, Mei, Sandy, Mk, Pigsy, and Nezha's eyes are all drawn to the man in question. Nervous from all the attention, he clears his throat and gets into position when he notices Macaque is suddenly right beside him.
"Uh, Macaque, whatcha doing?"
Mk asks, more than a little confused by his behavior.
"Look, just work with me here, you two."
Both Tang and Mk respond in union, "O...kay?"
"Alright, now, Tang, draw a circle around yourself."
The scholar raises an eyebrow.
"Draw a circle around myself?"
"Yep."
Lacking any tool that would actually allow him to do that, he uses the next best thing, tape. He sticks multiple pieces of tape on the surrounding ground, forming a "circle". Macaque takes one short glance at Tang's misshapen circle and says, "Close enough."
The shadow monkey then drops to the patio floor and sits cross-legged, Tang wordlessly following suit.
"Good, now I gotta ask, you ever heard of astral projection?"
The scholar gasps, more than ready to go on a short tangent about his knowledge on the subject, when Mei abruptly sits up and points a finger in Macaque's direction.
"Hey, you were spying on me and Mk when we met Azure! Weren't you?!"
He puts his hands up.
"Hey, you got me there. But I didn't stick around for the whole thing. Only long enough."
"W-wait what?" Mk exclaims.
"So, you saw us with Azure and didn't think to clue us in on his whole deal?!"
"Didn't think it was my place."
Mk retorts, "Yet, you saw it as your place to teach me a lesson after the fact."
The older monkey shrugs and says, "Hey priorities, kiddo."
Tang cuts into their conversion, asking, "Not to interject, but how exactly does Mk and Mei meeting Azure have to do with astral projection?"
Macaque sighs, "Azure aided Mk and Mei from within the scroll through astral projection. So, I'll guide you through the astral projection process, and you and the kid can go on about your Monkey King business."
"Oh, alright, let's do this then! "
The monkey before him nods and says, "Okay, first things first, you've got to get him." He points over to Mk, "in that scroll piece."
"Right." Tang turns himself around to face Mk, asking him, "Mk, are you ready?"
More eager than ever, the Monkie Kid responds, "More than ready, Mr. Tang! Meet you inside. LE'GO!"
With that said, he sends him into the scroll piece. The fragile object hovered just above his left hand, covered in a golden glow.
"Now, on to the astral projection."
Tang pumps his free hand into the air.
"Woo!"
On the porch step, Pigsy covers his face, half embarrassed for even being his friend right now.
"Listen, all you have to do is shut your eyes, focus in on your mind's eye, and then think of who you want to project to."
"That...seems almost too easy."
"It should be."
"It should be?"
Tang thought to himself. Was Macaque doubting him? Well he'd show him!
"Well, I'm sure if the likes of the Great Sage, Azure, and Mk can do it, then it should be no trouble for Mr. Tang!"
He points to himself.
"Heh, right, good luck, Tang."
He nods, doing as the simian introduced. He closes his eyes, letting his mind's eye take focus, and thinks of nothing but Mk. All eyes were on Tang, each one of them waiting for some sign of his success or failure. Then suddenly, his body flashes gold, confirming the former.
Macaque sits up, hovering over Tang's form.
"Now, we wait."
_______
In the blink of an eye, Tang arrives within the scroll piece. He opens an eye and takes a peak at his surroundings. In front of him, he finds what looks like the entrance to Water Curtain Cave. He opens his other eye and immediately notices there's a giant glowing crack overtaking the waterfall.
The crack is familiar...he remembers seeing something similar in the sky of the memory scroll!
"Monkey King made these..."
Tang says to himself, then gasps. He turns around in a hurry and calls for Mk.
"Mk are you.."
Tang pauses, noticing Mk right in front of him. A monkey sat atop his head.
"Oh."
Mk finally sees him.
"Oh hey, Mr. Tang! Glad to see you made it in safe."
Tang walks towards him nonchalantly, stating, "Yes, yes, I'm just fine. So, there was never anything to worry about. Take that Macaque!"
"Uh, what was that about Macaque?"
"Um, nothing.. Have you found Monkey King yet?"
"Oh yeah, he's right over there."
Mk says, pointing over to his left.
Tang turns to his right and spots Monkey King. A much, much younger version of him.
"I... don't think this is our Monkey King. At least not for another thousand years or so, that is."
As he says this, he watches the younger Wukong jump away from him towards a group of monkeys from behind and disappear.
"Yeah, definitely not him.
"Aw," Mk says, getting up from where he sat. "Well, what're we doing now?"
Tang turns back to the waterfall and pulls up his glasses. "I suggest we test our bravery and jump through the waterfall, crowning us the kings of the monkeys!"
"Huh?"
Tang gives him a teasing look.
"Oh, come now, Mk. I know you know the story by now."
It takes the young monkey a second, but he instantly remembers.
"Oh yeah, all the way back in chapter 1."
"Mhm."
Before the scholar knows it, Mk has grabbed him by his hand and is already jumping through the big glowing crack in the waterfall.
"Wh-I wasn't ready yeeeetttt!"
"To find the Monkey King, we must become the Monkey King, ahahaha!"
Soon as Mk jumps through, his laughter quickly switches into screaming as both him and Tang being to fall.
"Ahhhh, turn into a bird or something and fly us down now!"
"Uh, on it!"
The Mk shapeshifts into an eagle and uses his talons to catch Tang midair, safely placing him on a rooftop below. Mk transforms back into a human and jumps on to the roof next to Tang.
"Phew, thank you, Mk! I can't imagine what would've happened to my body if I were to somehow die in here."
Mk boastfully replies, "Yeah, yeah, no need to thank me, Mr. Tang!"
Back on stable ground, the two scan their surroundings and search for Monkey King. As they do so, the monkey on Mk's head notices another monkey climb on to the roof and hops off the boy's head to greet the other.
"Hm, oh hey, looks like we found another one of you guys!"
"Oh!"
Tang exclaims, spotting "Wukong" below.
"I am the Monkey King! I'm speaking human! Don'tcha like it?"
"Oh, hey, look, you found him!"
"Nope. Definitely not him either."
"Hm, gonna guess like chapter 1 again? From the Journey to the West, I mean."
"Yep. Now on to the next memory.."
Tang turns to his left and sees that another big glowing crack has opened up beside him.
"Huh, convenient!"
The scholar, Mk, and the two other monkeys enter the crack. Once through, they find themselves inside the Temple of the Tilted Moon and Three Stars. In front of them, Tang and Mk see another Wukong. They watch him balance himself on a wooden staff before he transforms into a turtle. He then changes back and starts laughing.
"Oh, Monkey King was so cute and cheeky! I don't get it! I don't get how he ever made anyone mad or got so many enemies. He's just so hmphm!"
"Daww, I know, right? Wh-ow!"
Sat on Tang's noggin was a monkey, one that had just pulled at his hair, in fact. Tang lifts the monkey off of him and holds it up so they're eye to eye.
"Hey, what were you even doing up there, and what's with the hair pulling?!"
The monkey gives him a look, then points over to the side. The scholar glances over to where the simian is pointing and realizes that another crack has opened up to the left of Mk.
"Mk, another crack!"
The young man snaps out of his fixation on his younger mentor and glances over to his left.
"Huh, oh, come on, Mr. Tang, let's go!"
Tang nods and follows behind, carrying the monkey under his shoulder.
Through the cracks threshold, they (that being Tang, Mk, the two monkey's sitting on his shoulders, and the one Tang is currently holding) find themselves on a beach somewhere in Flower Fruit Mountain. Under a tree planted in the middle of the sand sits Macaque.
"Macaque," Wukong says.
A younger Wukong appears out from out of the treetop, and sits next to Macaque and tosses him a peach.
"You doin' okay, bud?"
Mk snickers, "Bud?!"
Tang arches an eyebrow.
"What's so funny about him calling Macaque bud?"
Mk dismissively waves his hand.
"Oh, its this whole thing with me, Monkey King, and Macaque. You wouldn't get it."
Tang blinks, "Okay...?
With a hint of sarcasm, Macaque greets Wukong, "Welcome back, your majesty."
Wukong replies.
"Aah, don't be like that! Eat some fruit, soak up the sun! That's why I've been training so hard."
"What, so you can be the strongest?"
"Nohohoho! Well, maybe a little bit... but that's not the point!"
Monkey King answers, getting to his point.
"It's so we don't have to worry about anything or anyone ever again!"
He leans back against the tree and waves a hand across the sky.
"Just live a lazy life, sittin' in the sun, eatin' fruit, and doing whatever we want!"
"Sounds pretty good, huh? Huh? Huh?" He says, playfully nudging Macaque with his elbow, then ruffles his hair.
Macaque weakly attempts to get him to stop and starts to laugh.
"Quit it! Eat your dang peach."
Wukong throws an arm over his shoulder, resting his hand on Macaque's other.
"You're a peach."
Mk stares sadly at the past Wukong and Macaque and turns to look at Tang.
"Why didn't he just stop right here? He was already so much stronger than anyone ever needed to be."
Tang grabs his chin. "Well, if we're using the Journey to the West for our frame of reference here, Monkey King had gained a fear of death. A fear so severe he spent years of his life finding ways to escape from it. He had even gone so far as to cross his name out of the Ledger of the Dead! But as you can see even that wasn't enough..."
Tang pulls up his glasses.
"Welp, on to the next memory, I suppose. Now where's that next crac—"
Out of nowhere, a crack opens underneath them. This time, though, the fall they experience is a short one. Recovering quickly from the fall, the two soon realize they're now in the Five Phases Mountain.
"Wait, are we actually in the Five Phases Mountain?! I can't believe I actually have the chance to see what it was like in person."
The overzealous fanboy looks to the center of the mountain and spots Monkey King trapped within the land mass's core, the only "free" parts of his body being a knee, an arm, and his head.
"Huh, that's a lot more bleak than I imagined it."
Without warning, Mk pulls Tang out of the way of the memory to the cover of a stalagmite nearby. From behind the stalagmite, they watch Macaque arrive. He exits out of a shadow portal and offer Monkey King a peach.
Monkey King gasps and sarcastically says, "What?! For me?! You're not serious; that whole peach is for me?! Bud, you shouldn't have."
Macaque slides down the mountain wall and takes a seat.
"Okay, you don't have to be so you about it."
Just as sarcastic as before, Wukong replies, "No, no! Honestly! This is exactly what I need right now. I'm trapped under a mountain, but the Six-Eared Macaque brought me a peach. Hurray."
"You know I'd help if I could."
"Oh, sure! 'Cause normally, you just rush to my rescue!"
Macaque gets up and starts walking away.
"Yeah, okay."
"Well, it was great seeing you, bud! Just run off like you always do."
"No, that's you!"
He turns back to face Wukong.
"You're the one who's always running off! Looking for more power, more sources of immortality! You're the one who wouldn't quit while we were ahead! Not the Great Sage; he's gotta drag everyone else into his mess!"
"You're not in this mess! You're still free! Everything I did was for us!"
"You did it for yourself. You became like this... obsessive demon! I told you going against the Jade Emperor was a bad idea, but no, Wukong doesn't listen to anyone. He just does whatever he wants!"
Macaque squishes the peach in his hand and tosses it to the ground.
"You put yourself here, not me."
He leaves through a shadow portal, leaving Wukong alone in the mountain once more.
Angered Wukong growls out, "Fine! Leave! I don't want to see your face here again, you big," He sighs, "I really wanted that peach."
Disheartened by the scene that just played out before him, Mk asks Tang, "So, Monkey King really was a bad guy?"
Tang gasps, "Ah—what? No, the Monkey King wasn't a 'bad guy!'"
"Then why did he end up hurting so many people? Macaque, Azure, I mean, look at what he's done to them. They're both so hurt."
Tang pulls Mk aside and puts his hands on his shoulders.
"Mk, do you know what makes all those old hero tales interesting?"
The Mk thinks about it for second and says, "Uh, the fighting? All those heroes' awesome powers?"
"Well, that's definitely part of it, but it's also because those heroes have depth. Like, take Monkey King, for example. Sure, he started as a power-hungry demon driven by a fear of death. But he grew, took a journey of self-improvement, and became the hero we know today!"
The scholar guides Mk away from the stalagmite and continues on, "So, to truly answer your question, no, Monkey King isn't a 'bad guy.' He's just someone with depth. With flaws. Just like you or me."
Mk smiles, his faith in his mentor restored, "Alright, let's go save our flawed monkey!"
"Yeah!"
Mk runs past Tang and into a crack he hadn't noticed until just now. Unsurprised by this happening again, he follows behind the young man without another word. Through the crack, Mk and Tang see Monkey King sitting on a cliff surrounded by flickers of his memories.
Wukong raises his bowed head, noticing Mk.
"Kid, you found me..."
He says, sounding defeated.
"I couldn't, I—I..."
Mk looks to Tang and nods. He nods back to him, staying behind with the four monkeys they found along the way. Mk walks over to Wukong's side and sits beside him.
"I just wanted to protect the people I cared about. To be strong enough. I lost sight of why I was doing any of it. I know I've made a few lifetimes' worth of mistakes, but living them over and over again like this, I..."
Mk pipes up and says, "Well, good thing you're immortal, right?"
"What?"
"There's plenty of time to do things over."
Wukong puts a hand on the back of his neck.
"Kid, I—"
His protégé places both hands on his mentor's shoulders and looks him dead in the eyes.
"You told me something that I thought was just a-a weird Monkey King thing, but... you were right. We can't fix everything. We just need to leave it a little better than we found it. As long as we stay true to that, we can deal with whatever comes next. Monkey King, I'm not ready to not have a mentor."
Mk lets go of him.
"Azure needs to be stopped, but... we need you. I need you..."
He sits up and summons the staff from his ear, holding it out.
"..to be the Monkey King."
The lost monkey looks up at Mk for a moment before spotting something from the corner of his eye.
"Master?"
Tang, who had been quietly listening to the two monkeys have their moment, freezes. He hadn't considered Monkey King would acknowledge his presence at all, especially considering he completely ignored him when he turned around and saw Mk. But he supposed this was inevitable. While his astral body did resemble the memory flickers, he definitely stood out amongst them.
He regains his composure and responds with the first words of inspiration that cross his mind.
"Uh, you've got this, Monkey!"
He gives him a thumbs up.
Monkey King smiles and sighs. He turns back to Mk and stands up, seizing the staff in front of him. The scroll begins to crack around them, bright golden light beaming from within. In seconds, the light engulfs the surrounding area, and they all exit the scroll.
_______
In a flash of light, Mk and Wukong arrive on the patio, Tang's spirit returning to his body. Surprised looks and relieved chatter are seen and heard. Tang stumbles to his feet, the smaller monkeys he and Mk were collecting along the way dispersing about the cave grounds.
Amidst the commotion, Macaque sparks up his usual banter with Monkey King, and says, "Huh, surprised you managed to get back safe and sound. Thought for sure that scroll piece getting sliced meant you were gone for good."
Wukong laughs.
"As if anybody can get rid of me that easy."
He steps past him and walks up to the top porch step.
A slight smile finds itself on Macaque's face just as Wukong beings to speak.
"Alright, everyone in the house. It's time to strategize! "