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“You ready, bud?” Wukong shouted a few yards ahead, already recovered from their previous battle.
“Yep! Coming!” Mk replied, quickly dropping his bottle, wiping the water ring from his mouth, and jogging after Wukong.
The two were recently taking a break after a fighting session and training. Mk was tired, more tired than usual after the extended practice session(four hours?). But he refused to show it, maintaining the same pace while running. He could do this, one more hour was nothing. After all, he’s had worse.
“What’s next?” Mk asked when he reached Wukong outside the cave, in the middle of the cliff.
“We’re gonna do something a little different today.” Wukong promptly plopped down where he stood, legs crossed in a sitting position. “Sit down.”
“Uhh…weren’t we supposed to work on my stance?” Mk questioned, confused. He recalled the scolding he received when he accidentally stumbled in his form.
But why did Monkey King sit down? Was he tired? Did immortals even get tired?
Mk voiced his concern. “Are you feeling okay?”
“Sure I am, bud. We’re just doing something a little different today.”
“Okay…” Mk hesitantly sat across from Wukong. He wasn’t sure what kind of training required sitting…except meditation.
“Oh! We’re meditating!” He announced.
“Nope. Right now you’re gonna focus on your inner monkey, okay? The goal is to control it.”
Mk’s heart plummeted to his stomach. So that’s what this is. Controlling his uncontrollable power.
He’d spent nights reminiscing over his monkey form, how it destroyed everything in its path in the midst of defeating Azure. How he constantly switched to the form, not as a resort but as a sign he was losing control when battling Monkey King.
Losing control…that was Mk’s greatest fear.
He reluctantly sat down, following Monkey King’s orders because he couldn’t change his mind if he tried.
“Great! The first step is to focus on your breathing.”
Mk took deep breaths to slow his heightened heart rate.
“Thats it. Now remember the fight with Azure?”
Running, screaming, powerful, far too powerful, flung across the mountain, punch, tail whip, another punch, couldn’t contain it couldn’t contain it-
“Yeah,” Mk replied.
“I want you to think deeply about this, kid. Think about what you felt when you unlocked that form.”
“I…I was too strong,” Mk muttered. “I wasn’t myself, I felt like a different person. It was too much strength. It was too easy to defeat Azure.”
“Alright, good. You understand it was an overload of power, but we want to turn it into a form where that power is accessible whenever you need it. Not uncontrollable,” Wukong explained.
“But I don’t want to use it again,” Mk hastily replied. “It-It hurt. Really badly. I also harmed Azure, I caused so much destruction.” Mk’s form flickered before his very eyes, orangey with a tail, but he hardly noticed.
“I understand, but it’s a part of who you are. You won’t be able to get rid of it, not since you picked up my staff. You’ve just gotta think of the positives,” Wukong continued. “Like the power! As long as you manage it, which is what we’re working on, then you’ll be able to control it in no time.”
“No, I- this is all wrong!” Mk abruptly stood up, staring at Wukong’s surprised expression. “I can’t do this! I’m not strong enough!”
His mentor stood as well, placing a hand on his shoulder, retracting when Mk shrugged it off. “Take deep breaths, kid. You’re gonna-“
“Lose control?” Mk laughed bitterly. “That’s the whole point. I’m not built to handle this power.”
As he spoke, his body continued to flicker from monkey to Mk, monkey to Mk. He couldn’t handle this, he was doing the last thing he wanted: transforming into his monkey form.
When Mk peered at his hands again, he found they were coated in fur, completely indistinguishable from his skin. His body glowed with a yellow hue. He hated it, he absolutely resented it, he was turning into the being he despised.
Mk could feel his veins overloading with raw power. It was all too familiar, both thrilling and terrifying at the same time, knowing he had that much strength at his fingertips.
“Kid, you’ve got to calm down!” Wukong yelled, but Mk paid him no heed. His voice was muffled to his ears. His circular ears.
Mk didn’t know what to do, he didn’t know how to control this, he was spiraling, spiraling, spiraling.
He cried out for his mentor while slowly rising in the air. He was gaining power. “Monkey King, I can’t- I can’t control it!”
He clenched his fists; as soon as he did so, an orange wave exploded from his body, cracking rocks around the mountain and causing Wukong to skid back.
Mk stared at his hands. He did that, he caused even more destruction, he was a monster. How could he destroy their training area, let alone risk hurting his mentor? Mk needed control and he needed it now.
Flashbacks played in his mind on loop, the main one being his fight with Monkey King, protege versus mentor. It still stung Mk’s heart, remembering each clash and blow deflected as if it were nothing to the two of them, using the same techniques because they constantly trained together. And if they trained together, they were friends. If they were friends, then why did they fight?
His frantic thoughts were cut off by someone squeezing him. The person felt warm, fur fluffy. It must’ve been Monkey King, but why was he restraining him?
Mk desperately tried to break out of the hold by shoving the person away, but their grip remained firm around his back.
“Relax, kid,” A voice reached his ears, “It’s gonna be okay. I’ve got you.”
It was definitely Wukong. Mk realized he was being hugged, not restricted…
Wukong slowly lowered them to the ground. They sat on the cracked, rocky cliff, unmoving. Mk buried his head in the crook of Wukong’s neck.
His mentor sighed. “I’m so sorry, bud…I was wrong. I thought you could overcome this, but I should’ve known it was too soon. Every time you use your monkey form it puts a toll on you.”
Mk nodded slightly, too tired to respond. The transformation drained all his energy.
Wukong leaned back to look him in the eye. “Let’s just…take a break for today, yeah? We’ll continue tomorrow with some less intense stuff.”
“No more monkey form…?”
“No more monkey form.”
Mk smiled into Wukong’s shoulder. “Thanks, it’s…scary. Really scary when I lose control. I want to use it scarcely if I can help it.”
“I get that, bud. I’m sorry for pushing you. You should go home and rest.”
“Alright…” Mk agreed, due to his barely respondent limbs. He wasn’t sure he could continue normal training even if he wanted to.
Wukong slowly stood while supporting Mk, and the two trudged down the mountain, heading home.