Chapter Text
Sandy had met them outside with the biggest first aid kit Pigsys ever seen. He opened it in front of him and handed a couple things to Tang for MK before turning to Pigsy.
The chef just continued to sit frozen in place with Wukong cradled in his arms.
He was so still...
Pigsy tried to convince himself that he was just sleeping but it didn't worked as well as he'd hoped, not with the blood trailing down his face from the deep cut on his forehead and shuddery breaths racking his small chest.
"Pigsy..." a voice called.
No, he's sleeping, he got into the peach chips and fell asleep on the couch again, he's just sleeping, he's sleep--
"Pigsy" a hand touched his and the chef looked up.
Sandy had placed his much larger hands over his own.
"You gotta put him down if I'm gonna patch him up" he encouraged softly as if Pigsy was the one hurt.
He did so without a word, placing the cub down gently--oh so gently, and sat nearby, waiting for further instructions.
Sandy began taking things out and setting them next to Wukong before turning to the chef.
"I'm gonna need help with this, I've never...I've never patched up someone this small before" he spoke quietly as if afraid of disturbing the unconscious cub.
Pigsy nodded in understanding and carefully propped up Wukong in his lap, he didn't know what was wrong with him. He'd never felt like this before, never felt so..frozen, before now. Not even when MK got hurt as a kid, he'd handled his scraped knees and elbows and even a broken arm just fine but this..
Sandy's hands hovered over Wukong.
Pigsy looked up at his old friend and could see the hesitation in his eyes before he began cutting away at Wukongs shirt, sniping the sleeves and up the middle to be peeled away. When they turned the cub over and got to his back Sandy froze at the sight of the road map of scars and open wounds.
Punctures, cuts, slashes, burns, both old and new and the amount of blood that connected them all.
"..Pigsy.." he said weakly, his large hands shook where they grasped the scissors and ruined shirt.
Pigsy just stared in silence, stock still, but his eyes showed no surprise like he already knew how bad it'd be..
Sandy stared in disbelief, swallowing hard as he tried to take a deep breath.
"I've patched up my fair share of cuts and wounds from fights and the like but this..I dont know where to start" he said at a loss.
Pigsy just continued to stare at the blood marring the kids body, he didn't know what to say, didn't have a direction to go. He was out of his jurisdiction with this, he couldn't even move, what was wrong with him?!
Wukong was the one hurt, not him but he felt like he'd been plunged into cold water--
"Pigsy" a hand touched his shoulder.
He startled as he followed the voice to see Mei kneeling next to him.
"Why don't you go help Tang with MK. I can handle this with Sandy" she offered, nodding in the direction of where Tang was trying to ice MKs cuts and put bandaids on his bruises. He looked down at small cub in his lap.
But Wukong needed him more right now--
Mei touched his arm to get his attention.
"It's ok, I can handle this. I've wiped out on my bike plenty of times, I know my way around a med kit" she encouraged.
Pigsy held onto Wukongs limp hand and gave a couple squeezes and sighed through his nose when there was no response.
And Mei knew how to help.
And Sandy was capable.
"..ok" he repeated out loud, barely above a whisper and even that caught in his throat, sounding choked.
He nodded to himself as he carefully lifted Wukong from his lap and gave him to Mei's awaiting arms.
"Go help your other kid, we'll do this one" Mei encouraged as Pigsy got up, almost robotically and went over to correct Tangs medical malpractice.
Mei turned to Sandy and then looked down at the work before them.
Lots of dried blood.
Lots of crusted over cuts, a few needing stitches and gauze, others just a bandaid.
The only thing that really concerned her was the hole punched in his shoulder and a couple deep gashes around his body that definitely will need stitches but for now..
"Grab the saline and let's clean him up, see what we're really working with" she nodded to the big guy who was still staring at the road map of scars and wounds that littered Wukongs body.
"Then we'll see what needs stitches, can you do stitches?" She asked.
She touched his hand and it seemed to snap him back.
He startled before nodding, turning back to his med kit and grabbed the saline bottle and a sterile pad.
"Thank you" Sandy said quietly as he began to flush out some of the deeper wounds on Wukongs arms.
"It's been a while since I've done this kind of thing and..for Pigsy"
Mei nodded in understanding before reaching over and grabbing another bottle and pad for herself and got to work.
---
Macaque stood on a cliff on the outskirts of the city, he looked out west at the far expanse of open sky.
He looked down at the compass in his hand, it was pointing straight ahead.
If he followed it, he would find his target.
And he would have to hand him over to the bone demon and every trace of them would be erased as the demon took over.
He looked down at his other arm, at the curse slowly swallowing him.
But if he didn't go...then he himself would die.
He hated this.
And he just kept replaying the whole thing in his head...
Macaque had stayed as far away as he could after he gave the mirror to the Lady Bone Demon. He stayed in the corner as he watched her add the mirror and some old bones to the bubbling concoction in front of her.
Was that the Trigram furnace? He thought to himself.
"And now for one of the more..temperamental, ingredients" the bone demons cool voice broke him from his thoughts.
He looked up to see the bone demon and her lacky looking at him and his blood ran cold. He stepped back until his back was against the jagged rock wall of the sewer lair.
The fake little girl chuckled at his alarm while the thrall's eyes glowed that haunting blue with his signature wide grin.
"Relax my dear monkey, I have other plans for you. This body has reached its limit in containing my growing powers" she explained, looking over her own "skin" and the ebony monkey could see the blue cracks along her hands and arms like a porcelain doll cracking under pressure.
That didn't make the shadow monkey feel any better and just made him more leary of her.
Suddenly the sound of struggling and grunting caught his attention. He looked over and saw the Spider Queen being brought forward, held above the ground with a sickening blue hue around her. She struggled and pulled at her limbs that were stretched out around her to no success.
"What are you are doing?! I-I got you ingredients, I gave you the help you needed. I'm-I'm the queen!" The spider begged. "You promised me my destiny!"
The bone demon smiled easily.
"A promise I did not break, my queen, this is your destiny, albeit a bit altered" the demon admitted.
"What?"
The bone demon lowered the Spider Queen to the ground, stripping her of her spider mech legs and crown with spears of ice.
"This body can no longer sustain me and you, my queen, are a perfect substitute for the time being" her voice echoed ominously around them.
The spider queen was forced to kneel before the girl as she walked up to her slowly, her eyes cold and calculated. She placed her hands on either side of the spiders and stared deep into her eyes before a blue aura grew from the girl.
It twisted and spread around the two as it *exited* the little girls body and twisted around the spiders before pouring into her mouth and plunging into her eyes as it overtook her.
Macaque watched in horror as the little girls body dropped like a dead weight and the bone spirit settled into her new home. The Spider queens body twisted and contorted unnaturally as the demon took control. The queens voice stuttered in and out in broken pleas that never left her lips.
Until she finally stopped struggling.
The spider queen rose to her feet, her eyes a cast over blue that glowed in the dim light of the lair. Her hair was a mess and her dress disheveled from where she struggled.
She looked over her hands as the thrall came over with a small pocket mirror and held it up for his lady to see her new face.
"Much better, I'll have to clean up later" she said quietly to her thrall as she looked herself over.
Her thrall merely knelt before her in loyalty.
"My lady.." he said quietly with a pleased smile on his face.
The Spider Quee--Bone Demon, walked over to the collapsed little girl on the ground and picked her up off the floor before tossing her into the cauldron before Macaque could even protest.
"She served her usefulness" the demon spoke with slight gratitude before turning to the shadow user. "Now..I have another mission for you" she crooned.
Macaque stood stock still at being perceived as she stalked over.
"I want you to bring me the monkey child.." she ordered.
Macaque felt sweat begin to run down his spine, chilling him further.
"Wha..what are you talking about?" He looked anywhere but her eyes.
"Lets skip the theatrics shall we? We both know that Sun Wukong is a mere child, a very powerful one at that. My current vessel will not last me long and I will need.." she smiled knowingly. "..a replacement"
Macaque felt his stomach drop to his knees.
No..nonono, she couldn't be serious.
"But--"
"Did I stutter?" She interupted. "Fetch me Sun Wukong, preferably alive but I'm sure you can get..creative"
Macaque stood there for a fraction in stunned silence.
She narrowed her eyes and a compass formed in her hand, she tossed it to him. "Use this to track them, now go" she commanded, her eyes flashing blue in warning.
That was all the incentive he needed as he sunk back into the shadows.
Pain in his arm brought him back to the present, he hissed as he watched the curse take more of his arm, now resting just above his elbow, the initial handprint was practically pulsing with the bone demons dark magic, like it was pumping the supply of ice into his veins and it made it hurt all the more.
"Alright, alright" he grit out and tucked the compass in his scarf.
He looked out at the wide skies and sighed, his mind made up.
"I'm sorry, Wukong, it's nothing personal" he said quietly.
---
The first thing he registered was how sore his body was.
And the closer he got to the surface of conscious the more it hurt, his left shoulder especially, it throbbed in time with his heart and it made him want to curl up and bawl.
He whimpered and twitched, wanting to go back to blissful sleep.
Why did everything hurt so much?
"Th'nk he's com'g t'.." a soft voice echoed.
What?...
"Wukong? C'n you h'r me?" A soft feminine voice faded in and out, they sounded close.
He scrunched up his face, trying to concentrate past the ache in his body.
He tried to reach out with his powers, trying to get a read on who was present, but found he was completely drained. There was nothing left for him to use.
He could hear a low humming sound of heavy machinery and a breeze on his face.
Was he outside?
"Wukong?" He heard again, much more clear this time like they were right in front of his face.
There was a gentle hand on his head, threading their fingers through his hair.
It felt nice, comforting..he tried to lean into the hand.
He whined at the effort it took to move at all and cracked his eyes open. He saw the sky dark and calm with stars, the barest wisps of clouds floating by.
Then a face came into focus, black hair with green highlights with matching makeup and a relieved face.
"Hey.." she greeted softly, her eyes looked a tad watery.
..Mei..?
His brain was slow to work, he looked down at himself and found he had been laying his head on her lap. There was a yellow jacket covering him up like a blanket.
Mmm, cozy, warm his brain registered distantly.
Mei turned her head and called out, he wasnt really paying attention until one by one the others blurry faces came into focus.
Tang, Sandy, Pigsy..where was--
MK!
Danger!
Heaven!
Bone Demon!
He gasped as the last memories of MK shot to the forefront of his mind and shot up from where he was laying in a panic only to fold in on himself when his body doubled over in pain, he hissed as the flashes of pain ran its course.
He breathed heavily as he looked around frantically, not seeing his successor anywhere. He tried to move again, to get up, he had to get up--
He nearly crumpled back down when a hot flash of pain shot through his body, his head pounded with a blinding headache. He felt gentle hands ease him back down to lean against something sturdy and warm as he caught his breath.
"Woah! Easy kid"
"Wukong!"
"Easy little fella" he heard a cacophony of voices speak at the same time, making his head throb even more as he squeezed his eyes shut.
When he opened them, he saw that he was leaned against Mei again
His eyes traveled around and spotted a giant first aid kit sitting open in front of her, there were rolls of bandages, disinfectant and other various tools strewed around it that the dragon girl had clearly been in the process of putting away before he woke up
"Wha..?" He looked at it in confusion, until he looked down at himself, the jacket that was tucked around him had fallen to his lap.
He was practically bandaged from head to toe, he was missing his shirt and instead was just sitting in just his pants. His ribs were wrapped along with his head and different spots on his arms with gauze underneath. His left shoulder was especially packed, he could feel a few stitches pulling taut underneath, and wrapped to the nines while his left arm rested in a hastily made sling.
How did...?
He looked back at the jacket in his lap, it was MKs, but where--
"I'm right here" MK answered his thought before he could even voice his question.
Wukong looked up to see MK coming around the other side of Mei before kneeling down next to him where Wukong began inspecting him with his good arm.
Other than a couple of scrapes here and there he looked just fine.
"You're ok.." he breathed out with relief.
"Yeah I'm fine, I'm more worried about you, you look like someone tossed you into a meat grinder" the delivery boy jabbed as he tried to wrap the yellow jacket around his shoulders.
"I've had worse" Wukong shrugged, well tried to anyway. His shoulder pulled when he tried and he nearly doubled over at the fresh wave of pain.
Pigsy butted in at that point, taking over for MK and fussed over the cub.
"What even happened to you? I tried to get it out of you earlier but you passed out pretty quick" Pigsy asked as he knelt down and began inspecting him for further injury and adjusting his sling.
"I got a visit from Erlang Shen, he ambushed me in the alley behind the shop and dragged me to heaven" he explained as he tried to fend off Pigsys fussing with his good arm.
"He had a few tricks up his sleeve, hence the..hole in my shoulder" he finished quietly.
"He skewered you?!" Pigsy squealed.
Wukong looked at the pig like he was making a big deal out of nothing.
"I'm fine, Pigsy, really" he tried to placate the chef.
"You've got a bloody hole through your shoulder!" Pigsy pressed angrily.
"Just a flesh wound"
Pigsy looked ready to throttle the monkey before taking a deep breath.
"How did you escape?" He asked in a much calmer voice.
"I..don't know" Wukong answered quietly.
"What do mean? What happened up there?" MK asked.
"I mean I don't. know. I sort of..blacked out at that part.." Wukong trailed off, he looked up to see their reactions. Some were curious while most of the others looked worried.
Why was everybody looking at him like that lately!?
"..When I came too, I was already moving toward Nezha's temple and I grabbed this map--"
He went to reach for the map in his shirt only to be reminded he wasn't wearing it and his fingers brushed against wrapped ribs.
Where was the map!?
He began looking around them, patting his person down with his good arm, even going as far as to try to move to see if he was sitting on it.
"Are you looking for this?" Tang asked.
Wukongs head whipped up to see the scholar holding a rolled up scroll, he practically sagged with relief when he saw the familiar emblem on the end of it.
"We found it on you when we were patching you up, what is it?" the scholar asked as he handed the scroll to the cub.
Wukong took it and smiled at the others.
"It's how we're going to beat the lady bone demon.." he answered as he rolled out the old parchment. "..It's called the Samad--"
Tang sprang to attention before he could even finish, the group could SEE the gears turning in his head as recognition clicked into place.
"The Samadhi Fire!!" He bursts out with barely contained excitement, almost exploding at the chance to info dump.
"Yes.." Wukong acknowledged before turning to the rest of the group. "..it's the most powerful force I've ever seen"
"Powerful enough to beat the lady bone demon?" MK asked.
"Mhm" Wukong nodded.
"But what is it?"
"The legend goes--"
Tang placed himself in front of the Sage, unable to take it anymore as he fixed his glasses with enough dramatic flare to give Macaque a run for his money.
"Legend says of a force so powerful nothing could put it out, not even the great sage himself.."
"That's right" Wukong butted in, pushing Tang back with an annoyed huffed. "The Samadhi Fire burned out of control, the only way to stop it was to separate it into pieces and scatter them across the world--"
MK looked up from the map.
"Soo..you just scattered around a bunch of little fires instead of a bug one?"
"--lemme finish!" Wukong cried indignantly, cheeks puffed out adorably.
MK put his hands up.
"Sorry, sorry.." he backed down.
Wukong snorted in annoyance.
"We scattered them across the world, inside three ring vessels, so they could cause no further harm" Wukong finished pointedly.
"And..you're sure this'll work? Isn't there another option?" Pigsy couldn't help but ask, something about this was making every hair on his body stand up and in his experience..it never meant anything good.
Wukong sighed.
"Look, now that the Lady Bone Demon has a new vessel, the staff and MKs powers, she's too much for us to handle, especially right now. If we can't stop her then she's going to destroy, well, everything. Starting with this realm she make her way through each one until there's nothing left" he explained with a grave tone. "I've seen it before"
A big thud vibrated through the deck, startling them all. They all looked to Sandy who had plopped down in the huddle, folding himself to be as compact as possible.
"So we find the rings, combine them, and then what? I thought you said the fire of some-what-sie was uncontrollable" he asked.
"Sa-mah-dhi" Wukong enunciated.
"Yes he did say that" Tang piped up in agreement.
"Yup, yup, I heard it too" Pigsy parroted quietly behind him.
MK stood up, his face full on conviction as he broke up the conversation.
"Hey, if Wukong says it'll work, then it'll work!" He declared. "Besides, who knows better about these things than someone who was actually there!"
Tang was about to say something when beam of light hit them and the whole carrier shook.
Everyone ended up falling in different directions, Mei managed to grab onto Wukong before rolling onto all fours for stability.
She kept the cub under her as the drone steadied itself in the air.
They all looked to the sky to see where the attack came from.
"The Lady bone demon?! How dis she catch up to is already?!" Pigsy cried out as everyone got to their feet.
"Oh Wuuukong!" A familiar voice called.
"Oh no" Wukong groaned as he got up from under Mei.
The ship shook with my laser fire and Mei grabbed onto him again as they rolled away from the fire.
"Macaque?!" MK exclaimed as he rolled out the way of a laser. He whipped around to find Sandy, seeing him getting up with Tang and Pigsy rolled on top of him.
"Guys! Get us out of here!" He called quickly.
Sandy nodded and rushed with the other two in his arms back to the control room. It wasn't long before the ship started moving out of the way of the blasts.
He looked around to see Mei and Wukong a little ways away, Mei helping Wukong to his feet before standing herself as they kept in time with the ships swaying.
"Wukong! Can't you do anything?!" MK screeched.
Wukong refused to look him in the eye.
"Yeah I would love to, buuuut I kind of- sort of used the last of my power to get this??" He replied with a sheepish grin as he held the map up with his tail.
The blasts stopped as Macaque faded into the shadows of thick clouds.
"Ooh, looking a little banged up there Monkey King~" Macaques voice echoed around them. "MK too, the lady bone demon really did a number on you guys"
Wukong walked the deck and looked around the clouds, trying to spot the ebony monkey.
"So what? You're her puppet now? I thought--I don't know, we were talking?" The cub called out.
"Look I wouldn't be doing this if I didnt have to, truly.." Macaques voice echoed before he shot out of the clouds and dove down at them.
His hover bike swooped down and shot up above them where Macaque jumped from the bike and aimed directly at Wukong.
The two rolled around and ended up in the middle of the platform with Macaque on top, he pinned the cubs arms to the floor, making the king cry out in pain with the strain to his shoulder.
Macaque at least had the decency to look remorseful at that.
"..But I don't have a choice in the matter" he said lowly.
Wukong could only hiss and growl as he struggled in the others hold. And then he caught a glimpse at Macaques wrist.
His eyes went wide as he focused on where Macaques sleeve had ridden up. His eyes shot to Macaque above him as understanding sunk in.
"You really don't, do you?" He said quietly.
Macaque just growled at the cub and tightened his grip before moving to flip Wukong over to pin his arms behind his back. Wukong tried to push down the whimper in the back of his throat when his left arm was bent backwards and a high-pitched pained chirp made its way out, sounding small and primal.
Macaque froze at the sound for just a second before shaking his head. Suddenly there was a shout behind him and he turned just in time to see MK launching himself through the air at him.
In one swift move, Macaque picked Wukong up and kicked him away before turning and catching MK midair by the throat.
"Not smart bud" Macaque said through grit teeth.
"MK!" Wukong called from behind.
The shadow monkey turned his head to see Wukong getting up from the ground, favoring his left arm as his right held it in place.
He snapped his fingers and his shadow clones grew out around Wukong and shoved him to the floor, pinning him down completely.
"You two are such a mess, can't understand why the bone demon wants me to bring you back.." Macaque said pointedly towards Wukong as he continued to struggle in his clones hold.
"..You're all used up" Macaque said quietly as he moved to throw MK when a blast of green energy whipped passed them and hit directly at his shadow clones.
He let go of MK as he fell to the ground to avoid the second ball of energy. Macaque back away as the blasts seemed to follow him.
He watched MK rush to Wukong and scoop him up before booking it in the direction the blasts were coming from before they stopped and Macaque could get a clear picture.
There MK stood with Wukong sitting on his shoulders behind Mei who had her sword aimed at him, following his every movement.
"Interesting" he said to himself.
"If you want to get to my monkeys, you're gonna go through *me*!" Mei declared angrily.
"So you're the dragon girl that I've heard so little about" Macaque taunted as he walked closer.
"I'm only here for one of you, nobody else needs to get hurt"
"What's the bone demon even want with MK? She already got his powers AND the staff!" Mei fumed.
"I never said she was after *MK*" Macaque said pointedly, starring directly at Wukong.
Mei followed his gaze and her eyes widened at the realization before looking back to him angrily.
"Not happening" she grit out and fired another blast at him with her sword.
Macaque dodged easily enough, an easy smile on his face.
"You can shoot at me all you want little girl, it won't do you any good!--" Macaque bent over as his arm spasmed uncontrollably, he pulled the sleeve up a bit more to see the frost creeping up further.
Macaques controlled demeanor disappeared completely as he doubled over.
Wukong got down from MKs shoulders and stood before the other two.
"Macaque we can help you, we have a plan!" He said, he wanted to go over and help him but MK held onto the back of his jacket.
This felt more intense than the last time, something else was coming through as it stopped rising at his shoulder and he breathed heavily
Macaque held onto his shaking limb and looked up at Wukong, he breathed heavily as he felt something crawling its way through him.
"Sorry Wukong, but I don't have that kind of time" he apologized quietly before he his eyes began to glitch between purple and that wicked blue.
His body seemed to go slack for a second before tensing and diving towards the cub.
But MK was quicker.
He picked up a piece of debris from the deck, pulled Wukong backwards into Meis arms and swung the stick like metal debris as hard as he could at the incoming shadow monkey.
Macaque went rolling away from them and skidded to a stop on all fours, there was a harsh bruise on his cheek with a small cut. The blue flickered out of the monkey's eyes as he got to his feet, holding his bruised cheek with a look of confusion.
Thinking fast, MK looked at the running engine behind Macaque and threw the metal stick as hard as he could.
It flew at Macaque but he just moved his head, now looking even more annoyed than confused before.
"That was your plan?!" He snarled mockingly.
"No" MK grinned when the stick hit its mark and lodged itself in the turbine.
The engine stalled and started to smoke from the effort of trying to spin the blades.
"That is!" MK pointed at the engine just as it blew and began to billow out smoke and fire.
The carrier jerked in the air and Macaque went flying off with a shout, disappearing into the clouds below.
The carrier continued to tilt until it went completely vertical. MK struggled and tried to scrabble at the metal floor panels before he lost his grip completely and began to fall too.
He yelped out when someone grabbed his arm, he looked up to see Mei with her sword stuck in the floor.
There was a cry above them and they both looked up in time to see Wukongs claws give out from holding onto the floor and he fell back.
MK grabbed onto Mei's legs, so she could use both arms to grip her sword as she swung them both in time for MK to catch Wukong by the tail.
They both sighed in relief as MK pulled the cub up. Wordlessly, Wukong climbed MK to latch onto the front of Mei like the baby monkeys from his mountain while still cradling his left arm to his chest as best he could.
Another engine above them blew and the ship began to descend before another caught fire and finally the fourth gave out and broke free of the carrier completely.
"Everyone brace yourselves! We're going down!" Sandy's voice echoed over the speakers around them.
They broke through the thick clouds and they could see the wide expanse of ocean below.
They stared wide eyed as they got closer and closer.
"It just had to be water!" Wukong chirped in alarm, his face going pale at the incoming impact.