Chapter Text
The atmosphere shrouded in red and gold, the sky lighting up with bursts of deep red and pink fire. Rings in three positions began to form in front of the hands of Nezha, Sun Wukong, and Demon Bull King. The monk Tang Sanzang holding steady as hot wind continued to burst from this ball of flame, threatening to burn everything they knew. A short look of surprise seemed to show on Sun Wukongs face, Nezha turning slightly to look at DBK and the bull king turning to look back at the fire. His son.
a small moment of hope and solace swiftly vanishing at a soft chuckle heard from Sun Wukong. That look of surprise that this was working was replaced by an arrogant smile, too confident and cocky for his own good. “You know, this is kind of easier than I thought it would be!—WOAH” a burst of flame shot towards Sun Wukong, blasting him back slightly and breaking the focus that was needed. Nezha and DBK could be heard scolding him though the fire seemed to grow louder and stronger by the minute. “Wukong!” — “Imbecile!”
Tang looked at the flame, it was growing much too strong. And with Wukongs slip up, it’d take a massive amount of luck to contain the fire by this rate! Wukong struggled to keep balance, his form slowly slipping before he fell to the ground in completion. A giggle of the child could be heard before erupting into full blown laughter, the fire spreading further and blasting upwards into the sky. Blasting at each ring as Sun Wukong failed to get back up onto his feet. A fourth flame threatened to pierce the monk, Ao Lie in his dragon form shoving his own head in the way to avoid Tang being hurt. Wukongs ring was knocked from the air and fell to the ground, the fire seemed ever so slightly less dangerous as a piece of it now resided inside Ao Lie but it wasn’t finished, hardly such.
Tang stayed hidden behind Ao Lie as the dragon shook his head with a hazy feel and look “My friend! Are you..” the monk stammered slightly. “I am... alright.” Ao Lie replied though his face seemed to say otherwise. However, they didn’t have time to make sure each other was alright, the rings had failed to contain the fire. It had grown to powerful by this point and with Wukongs slip up there was no chance to contain the fire safely. Nezha and DBK continued to hold their rings in place, perhaps in faint hope. The gold from the scene had faded, it was all red. A burning inferno threatening the very universe itself, unable to be put out.
Nezha spoke up, trying his hardest to make his voice louder than the burning flames ”Demon Bull King! We have no choice, we cannot remove the fire from him safely, Redson himself needs to be contained in order to keep this universe and any other universe out there from burning to a crisp!” Nezha spoke, DBK looked over with a look of anger and surprise. He couldn’t really be thinking of taking his son away…
“Redson shall stay my son, Nezha! I will not let you contain him like that!” DBK replied with a growl in his voice, his hands still struggling to hold the ring as his hooves barely managed to stay on the ground.
Nezha narrowed his eyes and activated the fire at the bottom of his feet so he could keep his balance against the red flames “I wasn’t asking your permission.”
“Nezha is right, I am sorry Bull King! The rings were made to contain the fire, meaning they are the one thing in this universe that will survive. If we can find a way to place Redson inside the rings, we shall prevail!” Tang spoke up, one hand on Ao Lie’s scales and the other holding his staff as it was pressed to the ground, trying to keep his balance. With Ao Lie’s help Tang managed to stand straight, tapping his staff onto the ground as his eyes glowed a yellow and the gold returned, the ground glowing in sigils and symbols of circles. Sun Wukong just barely managed to scramble back onto his feet and hoist the ring back into the air.
DBK knew he didn’t have a choice. I mean, really… what could he do? Let the universe burn? Let himself and Princess Iron Fan die alongside all his friends?… he loved his son, that much he knew. He’d do anything to keep him here but he couldn’t risk the lives of the others he also cared for! His eyes wide as they began to glow his usual purple, hiding the welling of water in his tear ducts. His hands trembled as he managed to take a step forward alongside the other two, Tang trying to make it easier for them to move so that they could close in on Redson and push the fire.
DBK kept his head low, shutting his eyes tightly as his brow furrowed and his teeth bared. The grief of what was going to happen appearing before it even happened, he couldn’t bear to lose his son and yet he had no other choice. Nezha and Sun Wukong closed in alongside DBK, struggling to push and the fire spurred further and further, shooting out of control into the air. The sky practically painted red with clouds formed above, the ground was hot, the air was hot, it was unbearably so! Their armour and clothing began to break off in little bits, burning up at the edges as Ao Lie shielded Tang from the same fate. They pushed as far as they could, Nezha yelling out “It’s too hot! Whatever we’re doing we need to do it now, any closer and we’ll burn alive!” His voice seemed to become hoarse the minute he opened his mouth, this heat was far too much for them let alone the child honing it, cackling as if nothing was wrong… if only the little demon knew what he was doing, knew the pain he was causing, maybe he’d be able to control it better.
”You must seperate your rings as if they were made to open! Push the fire in towards Redson until it consumes only him, the rings will contain the fire enough to shove Redson inside… It-“ Tang held steady but was pushed back, although his words were not stumped by the fire. It wasn’t going to be pleasant saying this to DBK. “It will split Redson in the most literal way possible, shoving him inside each ring equally, ensuring he is to never escape without help.” DBK’s eyes shot open and stayed wide, what a horrid way to contain his son, his heir, his pride and joy! This was genuinely worst case scenario. Nezha and Wukong nodded, pressing closer, as close as they could, as their rings split into two halves, turning to contain the fire. DBK lagged behind but again, he had no choice… doing the same he pressed forward.
slowly the fire began to push inwards to the child, Redsons cackling had stopped. While the fire was deeply imbedded within him by this point and was unable to be removed, the fire surrounding him… it seemed to burn so much more than he thought, suddenly he realised just how much his fire actually hurt as it was pushed onto himself. Instead his cackling was replaced by a sobbing sound, slowly growing louder as the monks plan was working. He began screaming. DBK faltered at the deathly scream, shutting his eyes as a shaky breath left his own mouth, a slight sob if you will. The others seemed disheartened by the screaming as well, it was… terrifying. Flames tried to burst through any opening but as the rings began to close back together to what they once were, a bright gold light shot through as the sounds stopped, the heat almost vanished in an instant. A loud bang could be heard acres from the mountain, the clouds being cleared to reveal the beautiful sky once more.
the rings fell to the ground, clanging as the monk breathed a sigh of relief, stepping forward and taking the rings into his own hand. “Nezha, you shall guard one of these rings, myself and Ao Lie will take the other two… I… don’t trust Wukong or Bull King to take them.” Tang spoke, his voice finally quiet, average in the sound of the birds chirping once again. Nezha lifted himself up from the ground since all three had fallen, dusting himself off as he sighed, clothes will need to be replaced. He took one of the rings into his hand as Sun Wukong stood to his own feet with a sigh
Nezha approached him and knocked him upside the head with the ring “Heyy!” Wukong complained, holding his head with a furrowed brow
”Great job Wukong! Way to almost get us all killed!” Nezha spat out, his voice loud and still a little hoarse though clearly better.
Wukong sighed “Jeez, Chill out Nezha! It all worked out in the end, Fire contained, no harm done. Haa? Haa?” No harm done, hm? Whilst Nezha and Sun Wukong bickered, DBK stayed firm on the ground, staring at the burn mark left, at what once was… every harm was done. If Wukong hadn’t messed up and lost his focus, if he hadn’t fallen or if he had managed to actually get back up, maybe Redson would have made it out, maybe DBK wouldn’t feel so angry or lost, unsure what to do, how to tell Princess Iron Fan that he had lost their only son.
What could have possibly been done to avoid such a fate?
is there another reality in which Redson wasn’t subjected to this fate? In which The bull king was not so overcome by grief?
This story had been told time and time again, when defeating the Lady Bone Demon they had heard it from DBK and Princess Iron Fan themselves although their grief was clear despite everything, oh how they wondered what Redson would’ve been like had he made it out. The story that was told to them was a feigned version, nothing about Redson even being trapped was mentioned! During the Lady Bone Demon fight, they never actually needed the rings whilst they did try to get their hands on them, what they needed instead was simply remnants of ancient history, weapons, scrolls, anything of that sort. When Mei ended up showing that she had a piece of the Samadhi fire deeply imbedded within her, it was quite the shock to everyone, even Wukong. It was a lot less dangerous compared to what he dealt with in the past, hardly even half of what the Samadhi fire really was. Still, it was lucky she could control such a dangerous fire and move on with such ease.
Azure Lion, The Heaven Pillar, all of it still happened. Simply without what could’ve been. Frankly, nobody even knew what the rings look like besides Nezha, Sun Wukong, and The Six-Eared Macaque. The universe was different… everything felt more powerful, more different, hardly in a way that MK the Monkie Kid, could handle. And yet here everyone was, just fine, adjusting to the change, even the Demon Bull family… they… moved on.
Within every spark of fire there was an eye, watching them, learning as best as it could. Learning how to invent despite never having moved a muscle, learning what being a hero meant to these peasants. Why chase something so fickle? Something that could vanish with a single snap, with a single ember. How many times was the world about to end and they somehow prevailed? How did the villains never know when they were beat? Why did they always keep going despite everything they had experienced and gone through, taking just to fight.
Just how much justice and hope did they have left to spare?
How long until they finally gave up.
What used to be strange had now become the ordinary, animals suddenly gaining small powers, certain humans or demons growing more powerful than what they used to be! It had become the norm, henceforth, ancient artefacts began appearing more often, families who used to hide these away for protection or out of shame started to show them off as a ‘Hah, I was powerful before you’ type of situation, it was really all about who was better than the other… but, one family continued to keep their artefacts safely kept inside their house… Mei’s, Long Xiaojiao! They kept their prized possessions close to their heart, and with how many they had it never ceased to amaze Mk!
Their entire house was filled to the brim with ancient history, anything people like Ao Lie owned, made, or anything of significance within their dragon bloodline was most likely to end up here. Despite what happened the first time Mk visited Mei’s house, he still managed to score another sleepover with the party girl herself! Waiting for Mei to grab snacks, games, and whatever else she was getting, Mk inside her terribly messy bedroom, sitting on the carpet at the foot of her bed as he sort of just kicked a few pieces of clothing away from himself to form a clean spot. Crossing his legs over each other and under each other, resting his hands in his lap, his eyes simply wandering in a dissociative state of mind, his gaze ended up landing on this sort of ring like object hanging off her wall just overhead her vanity.
A golden accessory to her poster filled walls, the symbols inside this ring following in three yin-yang type patterns, sort of fiery at the sides of this bulbs, it was honestly out of the ordinary for someone like Mei, her room was very rock-punk with a hint of pop, this elegant ring was certainly strange, at least in comparison to everything else hanging off her walls.
As Mei came back into the room with snacks and games practically overflowing in her arms, Mk had found himself staring distantly at this ring. “I’m backk!! I brought some of Monkey’s favourites, peach chips… uh we also got marshmallows, popcorn, and…” she plopped these items down onto her bed to look over at the foot of it and see Mk not at all paying attention to what she was saying. She scooted over and leaned down slowly, waving a hand in front of his face before Mk blinked and looked around frantically before gazing over at Mei with a dumbfounded look “You lookin’ at something monkey man?” Mei looked up over her vanity but wasn’t sure of what Mk was looking at.
“Oh! What’s up with that ring, Mei? It’s so different from the rest of your room.” Mk got straight to the point with what he was thinking, admirable. He pointed over at the ring and Mei stood up straight, staring at it for a hot-second… like her mind filled with something she wasn’t supposed to know. Lines drawing under her eyes as she stared onwards “Uh… Mei?” Mk stood up and poked her shoulder, Mei shook her head vigorously snapping back to reality
”Sorry! Sorry! Uhm, not sure actually. My parents weren’t sure what it was when they received it from my granddad and they couldn’t find anything in history books or scrolls about it, so they let me keep it in my room since I thought it looked cool.” Mei shrugged, her eyes lingering on it for a second longer before she turned back around and leapt onto her bed, a bag of chips falling onto the ground. Mk leaned down and picked it up, his brows furrowing a bit before he handed the chips back and turned Mei, putting on the best puppy-dog eyes he could do
”Can I have ittt?” He fluttered his eyes with a smile, clasping his hands together as he stared at Mei.
She looked dumbfounded for a moment before bursting out into laughter “Ha! I mean, if my parents are okay with it, sure! They aren’t even sure if it’s an actual ancient artefact so… you mightttt get lucky!” Mei smiled as she shifted herself to be beside her pillows. Mk jumped up with his hands above his head, landing before he crawled onto her bed
”Awesome! It looks really cool and I want something like that in my bedroom!” Mk chuckled, spreading out some of the foods across the bed and pulling out his phone as Mei did the same
”Yeah! I mean, that’s why I asked for it when I was a kid, yah feel? It’s pretty cool and I liked it a lot, for… some reason. Feel less attached nowadays but eeehhh, we all move on eventually!” Mei smiled, baring her teeth. Her canines were slightly longer compared to other peoples despite being a relatively human looking dragon compared to others.
”Yeah, definitely… ahm. So, do we play a game first or start our binge of Monkey King: the animated series?” His voice seemed a little disgruntled at the start of his sentence but he moved on, like she said. Mk leaned closer to Mei with his phone squishing into the blanket.
In any case, it didn’t really matter what they decided to do. At almost every point of silence during their time they felt disconnected from the ground, like the world had shifted, they felt warm but kept choosing to ignore it. That ring? What was so special about it? Deep down Mei wanted to keep it to herself, make sure it never left her palms but at the same time she’s so less attached than she used to be, less… drawn. So she knew she didn’t entirely care if it left her room, but now that Mk had actually brought it up, she never realised it was the one thing in her room she kept insane care of, she always thought because it was an artefact she should take care of it like her parents would want her too. But it was still strange, it always had been and she never realised until now.
And with Mk’s sort of ‘new found’ power, he began to grow interested in magical artefacts, like he was drawn to every single one of them. He never realised it however, he was sort of like some kind of bird, attracted to shiny objects with no real reason or idea why. This ring was no different, a strange urge to take it, see how it worked!… this sort of thing is exactly what lead to previous near world-ending disasters!
I mean, sometimes it’s worked out in his favour. But most of the time it unleashed some evil being who was hellbent on destroying the world!… however, this ring was inside Mei’s house. It’s been handled by multiple hands. And it’s just sitting up there on a wall, surely it can’t be too bad, can it? It’s just some ring anyway, maybe it’ll be like Aladdin and he’ll be able to make a wish!
Mk snapped his eyes open, one leg hanging off Mei’s bed and the rest of his body slinked down onto the floor, his hair was a mess and his bandana tied to the bedpost. A faint audio from Monkey King: the animated series seemed to still be playing from their binge marathon last night, seems Mei fell asleep with it still playing on her phone. No biggie! Mk flopped his leg off the bed and let out a terribly long yawn whilst stretching his arms upwards, sitting in complete silence and stillness for a minute or two as he contemplated his existence and why he woke up everyday. Blinking a few times as he shook his head and pulled down some tufts of his hair before pretty much shooting himself up onto his feet, struggling to gain balance for a moment before he reached over to Mei’s phone and paused the show
Mei blinked her eyes open, hooded and hardly staying open as she sluggishly twisted herself onto her stomach and tried to grab her phone “I was.. still watching…” her voice was quiet and very sleepy sounding, a yawn escaping her mouth as she gave up on trying to grab her phone and rested her head back down onto the blanket. Mk looked around for a moment with a slight chuckle. He grabbed his bandana from the bedpost and tied it around his head, yawning again as he grabbed his jacket and began getting ready for the day as Mei ended up falling back asleep.
By the time Mk was done getting himself ready Mei was only just waking up, rubbing her eyes as she sat on her knees. Falling onto her back with a groan “How do you get up so early every day, Mk!! I could neverr…” she flopped over onto her side and pretty much just rolled off the bed, a big thud as she landed on the floor.
”I hardly can, it’s not as easy as I make it seem” Mk looked to the side with squinted eyes as he leaned against the foot of the bed, watching as Mei sat back up with another yawn, pulling some hair strands away from her mouth. Using the bed to pull herself up she eventually managed to stand up and give a big stretch! She felt a bit more energised now.
Mk sat back onto the bed and watched Mei sit down at her vanity, pulling her hair back before rubbing her eyes like crazy and letting out a bubbly exhale. Mk’s eyes watched her for a moment, a comfortable silence between the two. Eventually, his gaze seemed to start shifting around the room, his attention unable to stay on one thing for more than five minutes. However, as his gaze landed on the ring above her vanity, he found himself sort of endlessly staring at it. Mei looked at Mk through her mirror and caught him staring at the ring again, she narrowed her eyes as this sort of darkening feeling seemed to eat away at her chest though she did her best to focus on getting ready.
As she tied her hair up like she usually does, she eventually looked back at Mk again, still staring… she coughed which made Mk blink a few times. “Why are you so interested in that thing anyway, Mk?” Mei spoke up finally, turning her chair to better look at Mk
Mk’s gaze faltered for a moment, staying stuck on the ring before landing back down at Mei “Don’t know really… it’s just pretty I guess? Kinda had this weird attachment to shiny objects since my monkey form started showing.” He replied with a bit of solace but still a clear sense of confusion in his own wants.
”Weird, is that even a monkey trait?” Mei tilted her head and squinted her eyes before turning her chair back to her mirror to continue getting herself ready.
Mk shrugged, his eyes shifting back up to the ring. “Are your parents actually gonna let me take it home though? Seems specific.” Mk narrowed his eyes and tilted his own head, trying to make sense of the pattern inside the ring. Mei thought about it and in truth she wasn’t really sure but had hope about it! It’d be nice for it to leave her room anyway, it was out of place and with the attention Mk brought it it last night and now, it felt weird to think about let alone look at. She simply made a sound of unsureness.
Mei finished getting herself ready and popped on her own jacket, rolling up the sleeves due to a strange warmth she was now feeling. She crawled up onto her vanity and reached up to grab the ring, pulling it off the wall as she tried to keep balance but ended up falling onto the ground, luckily landing on her feet not-so gracefully. “…nailed it.” She grinned before fixing her posture and looking down at the ring in her hands… a strange warmth radiating off it, her eyes went dark for a moment before Mk snatched it out of her hands and she let out a gasp
”Woaahh, it’s warm!” Mk blinked a few times as he now held it in his own hands. Mei nodded in agreement. Maybe it was just the temperature in the room but for something made of metal, gold, or whatever it was made of, it looks like it should be ice cold if anything. Either way, they moved out of Mei’s room, Mei keeping her hands in her pockets as her thoughts sort of scrambled together unable to form a coherent one. Mk kept the ring underneath his arm as he walked with his usual sway and smile, though every so often he’d switch which side the ring was on due to the warmth.
They ended up finding Mei’s parents out in the front garden, chatting away with no issue and no worry. Mk and Mei approached the two with puppy-dog looks and Mk holding the ring up, they seemed to recognise it at least. “Mom, Dad… do you think Mk could take home this artefact that was in my room?” She blinked a few times with a nervous smile and her hands clasped together. They looked at each other for a moment before her father spoke
”We told you this the first time Mei, we aren’t actually sure if that thing even is an artefact. It’s just some weird decoration if anything. If your friend wishes to have it, that’s up to you. It is your possession, not the family’s.” Her father coughed into his fist before shooing the two off as they pretty much leapt off with joy
”Thanks dad!” Mei yelled as Mk and her ran out the garden and off the property. She grinned happily at Mk, sort of shocked by the easiness of it… they sure did give in quickly about letting Mk take home something that might be some prized possession! “That was easier than I thought!” Mei chuckled nervously, actually feeling a bit weird about it. Maybe it was some weird first time joke and they were about to storm out here to snatch it back and laugh in Mk’s face?
”Yeah! Dunno what we were so nervous abouttt!” Mk held up the ring above his head “I can’t wait to hang this in my room! It’s gonna look so cool!” Mk jumped up and landed down, now holding the ring in front of his chest as he felt his own body temperature rise a bit, this thing surely had magical properties.
”Heck yeah it will! Can’t wait to visit and see it myself!” Mei replied, ignoring the negative feeling in her chest, it was mostly overshadowed by her good feelings so why worry about it? Mei summoned out her sword and then proceeded to summon her motorcycle, already on it in her usual riding outfit simply without the helmet on “I can give you a ride back but I can’t stay sadly, I gotta go do some stuff with Sandy.” She lent a hand to Mk
”Aww, bummer!” Mk blew out air through his mouth before grabbing Mei’s hand and hopping onto her motorcycle, Mei’s helmet popped on as the engine revved up and before he knew it they were taking off down the streets of Megapolis, Mk desperately trying to hold onto Mei and the ring at the same time though the struggle was damn clear! It wasn’t long before they reached the shop and Mei skid the motorcycle to a stop, just as it did Mk ended up falling right off it but picked himself up pretty quickly with the ring somehow still in his hands! Lucky him that he even survived, she goes way too fast for comfort.
”Have fun Mk! Snap me a pic once you’ve hung it up, it’s gonna look soooo sick!” Mei pretty much squealed out, her excitement for even the smallest things was such a hype! She waved Mk off and before Mk could even say anything she had already sped off.
”…Will do… yep.” Mk blinked a few times with a blank smile on his face before spinning around on his heel and marching into Pigsy’s! “Morning Pigsy, Morning Mr.Tang!” Mk tucked the ring under his arm again and waved at the two, Pigsy cleaning an empty bowl and Tang eating Dandan noodles from a seperate bowl… that always made Mk shiver, a dish with pork in it, served by a pig demon… Pigsy always said since he wasn’t an actual pig it didn’t matter but it still creeped Mk out.
”Morning Mk! Oooh, what’s that you’ve got there?” Tang slid off his seat and closer to Mk to take a look at the ring under his arm, the symbol seemed familiar but he couldn’t place where. He adjusted his glasses as he looked at it with curiosity
”Dunno! Mei had it at her house and she let me keep it” Mk grinned as he held it up for Tang to see better. Tang took the opportunity and looked at it in close detail, touching it for a moment before pulling his hand away and blowing on his fingers
”How are you holding that thing?! It’s burning!” Tang waved his hand around with a stunned look, his brows furrowing. Mk tilted his head and moved the ring around in his hands, it was warm but it wasn’t wave you hand around and blow on it type of hot!
”Huh… guess it’s my monkey powers?” Mk shrugged and looked at Tang who was calming himself down and coughed into his fist
Tang sighed and adjusted his glasses again “Guess it makes sense… it is from Mei’s house, she’s got all kinds of weird things in there!” Tang shook his head “In any case, very interesting find Mk! Got any plans for it?” Tang sat back down at the stool and wrapped his hands around his bowl of noodles as Pigsy placed the cleaned bowl with the others and leaned against the counter
“Not really, probably just hang it in my room for some cool decoration!” Mk beamed as he tucked it back under his arm… again.
Pigsy finally chimed it “You be careful! If that thing is hot, with the amount of mess in your room stuff could catch fire. And I don’t want you burning down my shop Kid!” Pigsy was louder by the end of his sentence, voice gruff per the usual.
Mk chuckled nervously and slowly backed out to make his way upstairs “Yep, yep! Heard!” He ran out holding the ring above his head and made his way upstairs, bursting into his own room with a kick as he looked around for a place to put it. He pushed the door shut with his whole body and looked above it, maybe up there would be good… but a bit too out of sight. Above his window? Bed? Bed! Yes, perfect.
Mk crawled onto his bed and placed the ring onto the wall above his pillow, with how many times this place has nearly been destroyed, there’s plenty of holes and nails. He stood off his bed and ran to the foot of it, staring at the ring neatly placed, it fit it pretty well with his brightly coloured room, but it did kind of make the room warm… his gaze stayed shifted onto the ring, his eyes narrowing as he thought about it more… if it was warm enough to burn Tang and despite their powers still feel warm for him and Mei, maybe it was magical? But what for, what kind of powers did this thing hold. Was it even safe to have inside his apartment? His thoughts began to scramble as he tugged at his shirt collar, wow it was warm…
He squinted his eyes slowly at he stared at it before snapping them wide, lines drawing under his eyes. He kind of panicked a bit since be didn’t wanna accidentally start some world ending event again! He hopped up onto his bed and snatched the ring off the wall, shooting out his room, down the stairs, and right past Pigsy’s entire shop. Skidding to a stop at the garage… should he take the car or… Mk blinked a few times, Flower Fruit Mountain was a fair ways away, he needed to be there now! Mk held the ring in his right hand while he put his left hand up to his ear, a glow formed as he grabbed hold of his staff as it grew to full size beside him. He planted it into the ground and it extended, shooting him off the ground. Summoning his own cloud he landed a lot more gracefully than usual, staff and ring in either hand, he rushed off to Flower Fruit Mountain to pay The Monkey King, Sun Wukong, a visit.
Mk landed in front of the cave and made his way past the waterfall with quite the haste, his staff now back into whatever hammer-space held it “Monkey King!!” Mk shouted as he rushed into the cave, holding the ring above his head, he was about rush up the hill to Wukong’s house but was stopped by the monkey himself plopping right in front of him, picking his ear as if Mk was super super loud or something.
”Cool it, Bud! What’s got you here in such a hurry.” Wukong sighed as he crossed his arms and opened his eyes, his tail swishing slowly behind him. His gaze was fixated on Mk for a moment before realising what he held above his head… not good. Why did he have that and just where did he get it?! Or… who gave it to him. “Where did you get that?!” Wukong yelled out in a clear panic and concern.
Mk was forced to move it in front of his chest as Wukong gripped his wrists. Mk’s brows furrowed, a clear worry flooding over him as he shouted back “Why!? What is it?!” Mk looked around nervously with a frown planted firmly on his face
”Where. Did. You. Get. It!” Wukong repeated, shoving his face closer with each full stop before pulling back and trying to snatch the ring out of Mk’s hands although Mk didn’t wanna seem to let go for whatever reason…
”I got it at Mei’s house!” Mk snatched the ring back and skittered back as he held it back above his head, blinking a few times
Wukong sighed heavily with a bit of a groan mixed it “Why was it at her house?!” He replied, confusion sweeping over him although the concern was much more present.
”It was an artefact! You know how Mei’s family is with their history…” Mk lowered the ring slowly back down to his chest
”Ahh.. that does make sense since it was entrusted to Ao Lie…” Wukong spoke quietly, crossing one arm over his body and the other cupping his cheek as he nodded with recognition.
”Why? Is it dangerous or something? Cause I don’t wanna accidentally start another world ending event Monkey King!!” Mk sort of bounced up and down nervously as his eyes shut tightly before snapping back open. He really didn’t wanna mess things up on accident, not for the millionth time.
Wukong seemed hesitant for a moment but not long enough for him to think before speaking. “Well… only if you have all three and you only have the one so it’s fine!” He waved a hand
”Three?”
Wukong looked around nervously with wide eyes and a sheepish chuckle “Wah—ha! I…” He paused, nothing got by Mk even if he were to lie. “Yes… Three.”
”How is there three? What do they do?” Mk blinked a couple times, moving a bit closer to Wukong. Even if he didn’t want to explain it, it’s not like he had much of a choice. The kid would only give it over if he explained and if he didn’t explain how then Mk would keep pestering until he did… certainly seemed to take a lot after his mentor.
Wukong sighed, wrapping a hand behind his own head. “Well, uh… so, you know how we needed the Samadhi fire to defeat the Lady Bone demon?” Wukong paused for a moment as Mk nodded. “And you know how we needed some of Ao Lie and DBK’s belongings to help complete the ritual?” Mk nodded again “Well…” Wukong put his hands together in a finger gun motion before moving his arms into a shrug position
”Before I found out you guys were fighting the Lady Bone demon already, I was trying to get my hands on one of those three rings so we could maybe find a way to bring out the Samadhi fire. But then I found out Mei had the fire so I didn’t need it anymore plus it’d be 100x safer if I didn’t use it…” Wukong paused, coughing into his fist.
”Those rings contain the Samadhi fire in whole. A lot more than what Mei has, she only had a fraction of it but a fraction was all we needed.” Wukong sighed, leaning against his own tail as it was firmly planted on the ground. He crossed his arms “They’re a powerful and dangerous weapon, the three rings cannot be put back together… I assume Mei had it in her house because Ao Lie was one of the three tasked with guarding the rings. The other two were Nezha and Tang Sanzang.”
”Whoof! I fought Nezha like crazy trying to get that ring! He put up one hell of a fight and still managed to lose.” Wukong laughed, propping himself back up onto his feet as he shook his head and waved his hands “in any caseee… I’m gonna need that ring, kid. Bit too dangerous to be in your hands even if it is only one. I’ll find a place to hide it” Wukong began to reach out to grab the ring, assuming it’d be easy now that he had explained the situation but seemed terribly confused as Mk reeled back.
Mk wasn’t sure why he did it… something felt wrong. The ring grew warmer by the second but Mk ignored the sensation as he turned his body away slightly but kept his gaze on the Monkey King. Something beckoning to Mk that Wukong shouldn’t have this ring… like he was the last person existence that should have this ring.
”Bud?… uh, hah… I said you need to hand over the ring.” Wukong stepped a bit closer which made Mk jumped back completely, Wukong blinked a few times “What are you doing…” he said with caution, something was amiss
”I… can give this ring up but not to you… I don’t know why, but I don’t really trust you to have it… sorry, Monkey King!” Mk sounded a lot more saddened and worried about his own actions when he was beginning his sentence but he’d sort of shoved it off by his sorry. He pulled the staff from his ear and shot out of the cave as Wukong called after him and began to give chase.
”Kid! You need to give me that ring! I just told you how dangerous it could be!!” Wukong hopped onto his cloud and went after Mk as the kid did the same and was rushing through the air with the ring tightly held in his right hand, the staff yet again in his left.
”You said it was only dangerous with all three!” Mk continued to ride through the air as Wukong began to catch up, he looked over to the monkey with a solemn look “I am sorry, really! I’ll try to keep the world from ending but this ring just can’t be in your hands!” Mk suddenly stopped his cloud and Wukong swung around to be in front of him before watching Mk’s cloud vanish from the air and him drop down “I’ll see you later!” The kid yelled out as he fell through the air
”KID!” Wukong reached a hand out and leaned against the cloud as he watched Mk fall. He knew the kid would be fine but it wasn’t good he had the ring at all! He groaned and sat defeated on his cloud “…Tang Sanzang would kill me for this.”
Mk fell through the air before transforming into his bird form, the ring held tightly in his claws. He panted heavily as he looked back to see Wukong staying still on the cloud, a breath of relief washing over him as he continued to soar through the sky and over the ocean. Swaying through pillars of rocks, he eventually came to the Megapolis dock where he just so happened to spot Mei and Sandy chatting away on Sandy’s brand new boat!
Mk popped back into his regular form albeit something was amiss again. He grabbed his staff from his ear and landed almost perfectly onto Sandy’s boat, leaving a dent on the metal. Mei and Sandy were blasted back before they gripped the railings with stunned looks, Sandy was first to get up “Oh, hello!” His body was a little shaken up but he seemed happy to see the kid. Mk did not mean to come down with such force but it was fine!
”Ohhh, Mei! Perfect of me to find you, We gotta talk, like… right now!” Mk ran over to Mei strangely fast and grabbed Mei’s wrist as he leapt off the boat with her “Sorry to interrupt whatever you guys were doing!!” He yelled back to Sandy before rushing off with Mei, Mei couldn’t even catch her breath to ask what was going on
”No worries, Mk!” Sandy waved bye and sort of just shrugged the situation off… this always happens to his vehicles. Mei managed to halt Mk to a stop before falling to the ground, her right hand still in the air since Mk never let go. Mk panted as he looked over to Mei who was face planted on the concrete
”Whoops, sorry Mei! I just really needed to talk to you!” Mk let go of her hand and sort of bounced up and down, a lot of excess energy being expelled right now. The ring was hardly warm to him anymore, felt a lot easier to hold!
Mei groaned as she lifted herself up slowly but surely, dusting herself off as she eventually came to her feet. “Bad enough to go monkey mode? What’s up man?” Mei sighed, raising a brow as she crossed her arms and faced Mk. He blinked in confusion… monkey mode? He wasn’t in—he paused as he felt something brush against his leg.
Mk looked down at his arms, sharper nails, fur fading onto the back of his hands… he felt his face with his free hand, more fur. “Ah… I uh… I didn’t realise I did that” Mk sighed as his tail swayed behind him swiftly, no wonder the ring felt less hot now, he was a lot more invincible in this form. He tightened his fist as he tried to switch back but found he was unable to! Maybe all that adrenaline of Monkey King being upset at him and chasing him got him stuck for a bit, no matter! “Whatever, I’m getting used to it anyway, maybe it’ll be for the best! Mei!!!”
”Mkkk!!” Mei echoed back, clenching her fists in front of her chest like Mk was doing. Mk grabbed Mei’s wrist again and they ran terribly fast back to Pigsy’s. The wind sweeping by causing the doors curtains to shoot inwards which did manage to make Pigsy and Tang look outside the shop though by the time they did Mk and Mei were already inside Mk’s apartment up-top. Mk shoved Mei into his room and made a groaning sound as he stammered and stumbled around his words trying to make a coherent sentence, the adrenaline seemed to be a bit much.
”Mk! Calm down dude Haaa!! Did something happen? Nearly die again?” Mei tried guessing but she wasn’t too far off I suppose… Mk took in a deep breath and tried to calm himself down, holding the ring up with two hands as he moved it in front of Mei’s face “What about it? Did it look bad in your room or something?…” Mei laughed it off for a minute before Mk shook his head vigorously.
”No! Mei, I went to Flower Fruit mountain to ask Monkey King if this thing had any like… magical properties!” Mk took in a breath like he had been holding it for a solid minute! Mei tilted her head slightly and squinted her eyes
”Why didn’t we do that when I still had it…” Mei blinked a couple times as she held her hand to her chin, Mk paused and looked around as if he was contemplating the same thing before shaking his head and waving one hand
”Doesn’t matter! Monkey King said this was one of the three rings of Samadhi, you know… the ones DBK and Princess Iron Fan told us about?!” Mk’s brows furrowed as he stepped closer to Mei holding the ring with one hand up to his own chest. The three rings of Samadhi… Mei’s eyes widened as lines drew under them, her brows going up as she slowly leaned back with her arms half-way up and her mouth agape, a terrible silence and pause between the two before Mei shouted
”THE WHAT!” Mei pressed her hands onto the sides of her head before shaking her head “Stop! Stop! You’re telling me I just had one of the three rings?! Just sitting in my house?!” Her voice went higher pitched with a slight crack “Ohhh… my godddd….” Mei drew out her words as she cupped her own face
Mk shrugged with his own look of shock and concern “I guess?! Whatever, Listen! Mei! Monkey King wants me to give him the ring but I kinda ran away when he tried to take it… something was weird… it was like he was the last person in existence who should have it” Mk looked around at the ring as he now gripped it with both his hands. For once he was actually more focused on something else other than his monkey form, more worried about the ring, more concerned about why he ran away from Wukong, and much less concerned about the hair on his arms.
”You ran away?!” Mei gasped. She was genuinely shocked, with such a dangerous type of artefact, how could Mk just run away like that?
Mk groaned and squatted down for a moment before bouncing himself back up “I know! It was wrong, but you gotta understand Mei. Something’s off…” Mk slowly handed her the ring, holding it out in front of her with a still stance although his hands seemed a bit shaky. She looked up at him for a moment before her gaze set endlessly on the ring, her hands propped up by her chest as if she was scared to grab it.
But she did. She reached out and wrapped her hands around the rim. It was warmer than before, almost… hot. Really hot. Mei let out an exhale with a slight seethe in as her grip tightened on reflex due to the heat of it, how he managed to hold it so easily is beyond her, even with her own fire powers it was still hot. She held it in front of her, her eyes darkening… no wonder she felt so attached to it in the past, it was a Samadhi ring, containing the rest of what was inside her. But why was her connection dwindling then? Why did she feel so okay with giving it up, why did she feel so uneasy holding it. Her thoughts began to scramble again, no coherent thought being able to make it’s way into the front of her head… was Mk talking? The ringing in her ears made it almost impossible to hear him but there was definitely words coming out of his mouth.
”What if we get all three.”
Mk blinked a few times as his gaze set on her eyes, foggy. “Uhm, what?” He chuckled nervously, holding one hand up to about his waistline “You can’t be serious, did you not hear anything I just said? Monkey King said it was only dangerous if we had all three, why would you suggest that?!” His voice pitched up slightly
Mei shook her head slightly before shooting her gaze back up to Mk with a confused look of her own as if she had no idea what she just said let alone why she said it in the first place. “Oh, uh… ha, I don’t know… I just…” Mei paused as her gaze fell back onto the ring, her words drawing out as she spoke slowly.
She cleared her throat, gaze still on the ring as she picked up the pace and started speaking again “You were right, Mk. Something is wrong. Something feels so… alive, about this ring. Like it needs help, from us.” Mei eventually looked back up at him with this solemn look, her worry about the situation clear although it seemed to slowly overshadow but her want for justice.
Mk looked at her with wide eyes and then down at the ring, his eyes slowly relaxing as he thought about it “I mean… No! We can’t, Mei! Monkey King said—“
Mei cut him off, her voice growing with urgency as she leaned closer “Who cares what Monkey King said! He always leaves out the important parts anyway, we’re feeling something about this ring, about the Samadhi fire, that he doesn’t! We’ve nearly ended the world by accident at least 5 times by now” Mei sighed, leaning back as she looked down at the ring with a face of sympathy “I think it’s worth the risk.”
Mk felt extremely hesitant but she was right. Something was calling out to them for help and they were nothing if they weren’t heroes! Mk breathed in deeply before letting a sigh with a groan mixed in, slouching down with his head facing the ground “I guess you’re right…” Mk paused, realising something. “And heyy… this is about the Samadhi fire, something deeply embedded within you! Maybe this is right. It’s calling to you because you have the Samadhi fire!” Mk fixed his posture and held his hands in front of his chest, clenching them with a growing smile
Mei gasped as she looked up at Mk “You’re right! I’m literally made for this type of adventure!” A smile grew on her face as well as she held the ring tightly, although her relief seemed to fade for a moment “But wait, Monkey King is after this ring now that he knows we have it, what d—“
Mk cut her off, waving finger in front of her face “Nuh Uh! He knows I have the ring. He doesn’t know you have it!” Mk kept a grin on his face as Mei slowly nodded
”Okay, you have a point! But, where are we going to find the other two rings? DBK and Princess Iron Fan never even told us who helped split it.” Mei let out a bubbly exhale again before watching Mk have this total shit-eating grin planted on his face. Seems he knew more!
”When I asked what the ring was, Monkey King explained it to me… three rings, separated by the monk Tang Sanzang, Monkey King, DBK, and Nezha! But, the rings were guarded by Tang Sanzang, Nezha, and Ao Lie which is how this one ended up in your house! It belonged to Ao Lie!” Mk jumped up and landed down with a strong thud, the apartment shook a little… he really needs to get out of this monkey form before he destroys the house.
”Ohhhh! Know what, that makes sense… Again though, where do we find the other two?” Mei tilted her head slightly, still holding the ring although the heat was getting a bit much and she hard started gripping them with her sleeves pulled over her hands.
Mk nodded “Right, Right! Monkey King said he fought Nezha for his ring back when we were fighting the Lady Bone demon! He didn’t say whether or not he got it… however, he said Nezha put up one hell of a fight and still managed to lose which leads me to believe that Monkey king has one of the rings!” Mk threw his hands up like it was some big discovery.
”I see, I see! Alright then, let’s go catch ourselves some rings!” Mei grinned before exhaling out and shoving the ring into Mk’s hands “You carry the ring though, it is really hot!” She exclaimed, waving her hands around now that they were free of the heat. Letting out a sigh before she cleared her throat with a nervous smile as she stood straight
Mk held the ring in both hands, it was warm but with his monkey form it was pretty bearable “Alrighty then! I say we sneak back to Flower Fruit Mountain and look around for it.” Mk held the ring in one hand now and clenched his fist dramatically with his free hand “Monkey King has never really cared to take care of his artefacts, I’m sure the ring he stole is no different.” Mk rushed past Mei and opened up his window, climbing out onto the metal of his balcony
”Great plan, not like we’ll have to spend all day looking or anything” Mei’s eye twitched for a moment as she followed Mk out with a slightly defeated stance
Mk pointed a finger at her “Hey! This was your idea, don’t blame me.” Mk furrowed his brows and kept his eyes hooded for a moment before snapping them back to normal and summoning his cloud, helping Mei onto it “Hold on!” Mk grinned, now she’ll know how it feels riding her motorcycle as the passenger!
”There’s nothing to—“ Mei was cut off by the cloud zooming into the sky with little to no warning! She erupted in a scream for a moment before gripping tightly at Mk’s jacket which kind of pulled him back a bit, his tail going stiff. “Give me a warning next time!” Mei groaned out as she adjusted her grip and held onto one of Mk’s shoulders instead which made him relax a bit more, they continued at the regular speed, flying over by different means to make sure Monkey King didn’t spot them, wherever he was…