Chapter Text
The sky, uncovered by the few scattered clouds drifting by, brightened the metropolis below it as countless citizens hurried by through the streets in collective crowds.
Vehicles jumping into ignition and starting down the road, children gathering in the neighbourhood with soccer balls, clusters of college students lining up in the coffee shop with bags growing under their eyes like weeds; the city of Megapolis was known for its wide variety of citizens. Many saw it as the perfect location to label 'home', with its almost-always perfect weather, the ever-growing amount of modern infrastructure, celebratory events and carnivals for every holiday; who wouldn't want to live in this urban utopia?
Hundreds and hundreds of years had passed since the supposed tale of the 'Demon Bull King'. which stated that the legendary 'Monkey King' had imprisoned the demon under the mountain that the very city stood upon after he had begun to wreak havoc among innocent villagers, and the only thing that Megapolis's citizens had ever known since then was peace. Well, apart from the usual stress that came with living, but that was unavoidable.
Despite the majority of citizens taking their chances at enjoying the clear skies and sunny weather, an apartment in the midst of it all, on one of the several floors of a complex, lay a lump under the safety of multiple blankets.
Far from consciousness, you snuggled up close to the pillow in your arms, ignoring all the problems of the world that stood outside your building. School had been let out for the holidays, and it was the first day on break after gruelling months of assessment after assessment. Surely, you had no where else to be other than your own bed, right? It sure seemed the world thought you deserved it.
With the strangers next-door being at work leaving you in complete, peaceful silence, the curtains rejecting the sun's desperate attempts to illuminate the cramped room, and the clear mind of a child without any school work due for the next few months, you were left to live the absolute dream of anyone your age; having absolutely nothing to do, and no responsibilities.
However, the incessant ringing of your phone nearly vibrating itself off the edge of your bedside table said otherwise. Wrangling your arms throughout the tangled mess of blankets, a headache began to grow at the back of your head as you struggled to escape the confines of the ever-comfortable bed to answer that stupid phone that won't shut—
"Uh, hey kid. Was wondering if you'd even answer the phone!" A gruff voice chuckled.
You let out a simple noise of acknowledgment as you allowed yourself to collapse backwards onto the bed once again, attempting to rub the blurriness out of your eyes with your spare hand that wasn't holding your phone. You had to admit, you weren't thrilled in the slightest at the sudden wake-up, but you couldn't get yourself to have any hard feelings towards Pigsy for calling you.
"I'm assuming I woke you up, huh? Sorry 'bout that," Pigsy continued through the phone, not sounding sorry in the slightest, "But it is already 'noon, and you shouldn't just lay in bed all day—"
The pig-demon cut himself off with a sigh, clearly restraining himself from going on a tangent. Whether it was out of his own self-control, or if he received a hard glance from Tang that managed to close his mouth.
Either way, you appreciated it, building up the strength to give a proper response, ignoring the way your words slurred due to sleepiness, "Mhm, yeah, yeah. I got it Pigsy—uh, what's up anyways?"
Another sigh left the other side of the call, and you could almost imagine him shaking his head in disappointment because it was obvious you had, in fact, just woken up. Pigsy grumbled for a few moments, giving you time to lazily lower the phone from your ear as you slipped out from the cosiness of your bed. A shiver wracked through your body as the moment your feet touched the wooden floor, it felt as if it had seeped all the warmth from your body. You didn't hesitate to snatch one of the smaller blankets that lay on top of your mattress to wrap around your shoulders.
The phone was lifted back up in time for Pigsy to begin again, "I need you to work a shift here with MK. I know it's technically your day off, but we've had an influx of orders today and I don't trust the kid to get them all done. Are you able to get down here in half an hour?"
You held back an annoyed grumble. There goes your plan to stay in bed all day—right out the window, you can almost hear it hit the ground outside with an agonising thump. Then again, as bothersome as it was, the extra pay was not something to take lightly, much less complain about.
"Yeah, okay, sure. Uh-huh, I'll be down there as soon as possible. I'll see you soon, Pigsy." You mindlessly responded, rifling through the laundry basket tucked away in the furthermost corner of your room for proper clothes.
"Thanks kid, I mean it. I know this was supposed to be a relaxing day for you," Pigsy said, his surly exterior falling for a moment, "I'll owe 'ya, one bowl—"
He was promptly interrupted by an accusatory yelling in the background, assumedly from Tang due to his offering of a free bowl of noodles. The call was cut off, a low beeping echoing across the line before silence. Pigsy really was a nice guy, nicer than he likes to admit.
It didn't take long for you to gather your clothes, taking the most of five minutes after the phone call ended to properly stretch out your back, receiving a few cracks and pops in return. Not bothering to iron out the clothing, ensured that they were clean enough to get one last wear out of them before they had to be washed, you didn't hesitate to immediately prepare for a shower.
Simply standing underneath the shower-head for a moment, you took the time to enjoy the aches easing out of your body from awkward sleeping positions and the horrid posture you've been stuck with for the past few years with the warm embrace of the water that may have been a little too hot for it to be healthy. You ran your fingers through your hair, using conditioner to rid it of the several tangles that it had accumulated in your restless sleep during the night.
You didn't necessarily have trouble sleeping at night, but you did often find yourself staying up later than you should have. With your mind distracted on the calamity of thoughts clashing against your skull, and attempting to busy yourself away from said thoughts with an activity you found yourself doing on any particular night, it wasn't unusual for 9pm to suddenly turn to 4am. It may have led to some less-than-pretty bags appearing under your eyes, but surely it was better than succumbing to the depressing thoughts your mind enjoyed teasing you with.
You were knocked out of your daze from the once warm shower turned frigid. With a shallow gasp, knobs were twisted and the water was promptly shut off, a fuzzy towel collecting itself over your body. That is exactly why you shouldn't let yourself get distracted in the shower. It was a wonder that your water bill wasn't draining you of your money.
You allowed yourself to take the time necessary to get dressed and ready without haste, as you lived a short few minutes away from Pigsy's restaurant and you knew he wouldn't mind if you were a few minutes late due to the short notice. Despite the tiredness lingering and attempting to slow you down in the back of your mind, you powered through with the taste of free food in your mind as you remembered that bowl of noodles waiting for you.
It took all of 20 minutes of half-getting read and half-scrolling through your phone to step foot outside your door. Well, stumble outside your door, as you were still shoving your fingers down the sides of your shoes as you attempting to pull them on without undoing the laces. You probably shouldn't let yourself risk taking any more time than necessary in getting to Pigsy's, now. He may be a kind man, however, a restaurant-owner does have his limits; and his limits were not something you were willing to reach, yet.
The streets had cleared up since early morning, the only people left wandering them were children running around or strangers heading in their own directions without rush. It was certainly calmer and less chaotic. The walk to Pigsy's restaurant took no more than five minutes; a major perk of living all but a few blocks away from your job. Upon peering into the building, it appeared there were no customers inside except for the usual Tang and MK bothering Pigsy on the job.
This left a warm feeling to encapsulate your heart. As sappy as you felt for it, seeing several of your friends in one place always lifted your mood. A soft chime echoed through the restaurant as you entered, catching the three inhabitants attention.
Tang and MK didn't hesitate to wave you over. The older male was seated on a stool nearby to the front counter, sitting backwards as to lean back and rest his arms behind him. The younger male stood in front of him, excitable energy radiating off his form as he held a book in front of him with his body turned towards Tang.
"You're just in time—MK was just telling me about his autobiography on Monkey King here." Tang grinned in your direction, seemingly setting MK off on another one of his 'Monkey King' tangents. You didn't really understand the hype.
"Written by yours truly! I've got his whole life documented; like how he was born from a stone, and lived behind a waterfall with all of his sweet little baby monkey friends—and, and, oh!"
MK shoved the book into your hands, flipping to specific pages with pictures, that you assume he drew himself, that matched with the information he was dumping onto you. It was sweet, really, but pieces of paper were slipping out of his grasp and littering all over the ground. You gave a tight smile.
"It's nice to know there's someone who is taking all these stories... Pearls of wisdom dripping from my lips," Tang sighed happily, picking up a drawing off the floor and admiring it, before clearing his throat as he grew serious, "Well you know the deal... One story, one free bowl of jajangmyeon."
You rolled your eyes at his antics, helping MK collect the various papers drifted among the floor as he shoved them back between the pages, "I'm still not sure about all this... 'Monkey King' stuff, y'know? I mean—it seems pretty unreasonable that this monkey that just... Came to life from a stone managed to get all these powers and become so powerful..."
The energetic boy animatedly grinned back at you, undeterred by your doubt, "Yeah, that's just what makes him so cool! With his somersault cloud, the seventy-two transformations, everything!"
Tang, however, seemed a bit irked at your statement. This, however, wasn't anything new. MK always found a way around your statements to somehow admire the Monkey King even more, while Tang tried to prove you wrong and tell you why it wasn't as 'senseless' as you thought.
"It's not 'unreasonable'," He started with a short frown, making you inwardly grown for running your mouth around him despite knowing the consequences to your actions, "He gained his powers through the Taoist practices for many years—"
While Tang had began his unnecessary ranting, MK had prepared the a bowl of jajangmyeon that was requested, before a ladle was promptly thrown in the younger boy's direction. The bowl was tipped out of his arms, going airborne for a moment as you motionlessly stared at it. It, somehow, landed perfectly in your arms without spilling a drop. Thank gods, you did not want to be the one cleaning that mess up.
"Free noodles? No one gets a free meal at Pigsy's without working for it—I'm not running a charity here Tang!" Pigsy glared from behind the counter, face red hot and glowering.
MK and Tang cowered at the sight of the pig-demon's wrath, shaking in their shoes yet unable to move away. You simply nodded towards Pigsy and took a seat next to Tang with the bowl placed on the counter in front of you.
"Ah, but Pigsy... I was paying with wisdom." Tang began, gaining confidence before being immediately interrupted once again.
"Well, wisdom 'don't pay the rent, you freeloader; that bowl was for one of my staff, not you!" Pigsy nodded towards you passively, before turning to MK.
You focused on the noodles in front of you, deciding you'd rather not step between the provoked pig and troublesome boy. You got your food, and that's all you cared about. However, you took one glance towards Tang pouting next to you. You sighed, reaching over to grab a second pair of chopsticks and offering them to the older male. Nodding towards the bowl to signify you were willing to share, Tang gave a large grin in response, expression brightening as if you had given him a one-way ticket to meet the oh-so great Monkey King. You sighed amusedly, digging into the noodles alongside him.
Tuning back into the yelling from behind you, you realised Pigsy had begun scolding MK for 'slacking off' and not completing enough orders in time. MK caught your eye from over Pigsy's shoulder, a frown etched on his face, practically begging you to step in for him. Having done this routine countless times before, you simply offered him a shake of the head and a thumbs-down, his defeated expression catching Pigsy's attention.
"Now, don't you drag them into this! It's because of your laziness that they had to come in on their day off just to deliver the orders you couldn't do yourself!" You began sweating at this, looking away from the two of them in hopes to be left out of the conversation.
Pigsy had a habit of using you to guilt-trip MK into actually doing his job and... While it worked, you couldn't help but feel bad for the young boy. It was a matter of minutes before he finally kicked MK out of the restaurant to deliver some of the orders that you're sure have been sitting around for hours already. As sweet as the boy was, he really could not do his job without getting distracted.
You savoured a few more mouthfuls of the jajangmyeon before sliding the bowl over to Tang, letting him loudly slurp the last of it up, "Thank you for the noodles, Pigsy. I'm assuming you have more noodles for me to deliver?"
The aforementioned male nodded in your direction, regaining his cool as he handed you a basket of containers. Due to not being old enough to have a license, you were left to take the orders close by in walking distance while MK took the ones further out in the city. You didn't mind it, though, it was nice to wander around the city, delivering noodles while alone with your thoughts. It gave you time to think.
Between greeting customers with their orders and trying not to get lost through this maze of a city, your mind drifted back to Monkey King and the conversation from earlier in the restaurant. While it felt nice to believe there was a person with incredible strength and countless abilities, it just... Didn't feel realistic. Like some sort of fictional character to tell your children about as a last resort to finally get them to stop their whining and nagging and to go to bed.
You didn't like to think too deeply on it. Every point you brought up to Tang received an equal argument back. Despite never admitting it to his face, and never planning to, he did make you believe that... Perhaps there was a chance that he did exist; I mean, where else would that strange golden staff in the middle of the city have come from? Or those artefacts and murals the local museum had collected? None of it could have a proper explanation for existing other than that Monkey King was real.
It was all so confusing, but hey, it made MK the happiest guy you've ever met. And you'd hate to see his big ol' heart break if it was all found out to be some dumb fake story.
Speaking of the young boy, as you continued down the street following the GPS on your phone to the next house, out of the corner of your eye sat a familiar cart on the edge of the street. You recognised it as the noodle cart from the restaurant that Pigsy let MK use for his share of deliveries; albeit you doubted there was any reasonable explanation for his cart to be parked directly adjacent to the creepiest construction site you've ever seen. You assumed MK probably got distracted again.
With a sigh and another glance towards the abandoned noodle cart, you decided to go looking for him. You don't think either of you could survive any more scoldings from Pigsy, so for the sanity of his two staff members, you knew you had to drag MK back to work.
You placed the remaining noodles yet to be delivered beside the cart, and gave the area another once-over. A sign sat in front of the site, a clear 'do not enter!' warned by-passers of possible danger ahead. MK was such an idiot for ignoring this sign.
Construction equipment, including small vehicles, metal pipes, traffic cones, were all scattered on the ground as clear signs of old age began to break them down. Amongst it all stood an elevator; a rather odd sight as it was in better condition than the rest of the area. The metal building its walls were slightly rusted and chipped, and the light above flickered to life every few seconds before dying out again.
You inhaled a shaky breath, attempting to steel your nerves and the 'danger' your usually jumbled thoughts collectively yelled at you. Reaching a hand out to push down the lever, the door shut with a screeching clang, and with a few more than unpleasant noises that worried you about the stability of the elevator, it began its descent down the shaft.
With short openings on the walls, you peered out to furrow your eyebrows at the countless exposed wires and electrical machinery passing by. This really felt anything but safe.
A firm thud resounded through your body as the elevator hit the ground, catching yourself on the opposite wall as you lost your balance from the sudden standstill. The door opened up as you peeked out from the elevator, evaluating the environment outside.
It appeared in even worse condition that the area above, garbage littered over the ground and more machinery hooked up to various plugs going towards who-knows-where. Pieces of rock and asphalt were strewn below your shoes, attempting to trip you up at your every step. You ventured further into the abandoned construction site, following the muffled voices you strained your eyes to hear up ahead, despite the nagging in your mind to turn around and leave.
You finally reached an opening, crouching down behind a larger rock and peeking your head above it to stare at the figures conversing rather aggressively. Your eyes widened in shock and you felt your breath get caught in your throat, shivers began creeping up your spine as you unconsciously covered the palm of your hand over your mouth to muffle any noises of surprise leaking out.
There stood a rough and prickly demon, towering over the three other figures around him. His nose was pointed upwards in the air in a huff of frustration as he glowered down at the young boy in front of him—wait, is that MK?
The demon lifted his leg up, intending to squash MK as if he were an ant stealing breadcrumbs off of a blanket. You felt yourself pale, closing your eyes and turning your back against the rock. You took a few breaths, ignoring the fearful tears that welled up in your eyes before another voice interrupted the previous demon's monologuing.
A young man with fire-red hair chuckled at the larger demon, shoving his large hoofed-foot away from MK and talking him down from killing the poor boy. You turned back around, watching said boy attempting to crawl away whilst they were distracted. Your sudden movement caught his attention, his head shooting up as he recognised your face. A frown immediately took over his features, mouth hanging open in surprise and fear as he began to crawl faster in your direction.
Unfortunately, the red-haired boy turned back around to MK with a heinous laugh, blabbering on about how lucky he was that the 'Demon Bull King' had found him out. These words brought new-found fears to lurk into your mind, the whole story of him being imprisoned under the mountain racing through your thoughts as you noticed the infamous golden staff resting on the ground behind MK.
Fire erupted from the hostile boy in front of him, the violent warmth radiating from the blazing inferno reaching your face and tinting your cheeks red. He raised a metal-covered fist, throwing himself towards MK as you cowered behind your rocky wall of safety.
You expected some sort of horrifying noise, possibly yelling, but all that resonated throughout the site was the clanging of metal-against-metal. You squinted towards the two figures, the fires dissipating as the young boy held up the golden staff in front of him, successfully blocking the fatal punch thrown at him. The force of the two grew cracks in the concrete below them, a gust of wind blowing dust and rocks towards you as you struggled to breathe without coughing.
As the fire-red boy gasped, gawking at the sight in front of him as he began to yell obscenities in his shock. You stared in confusion, was it not just a stick? You assumed there must have been something 'great' about it, however, you weren't exactly the most educated on the tale about the Demon Bull King. You were knocked out of your thoughts by a feathery figure flying into your face.
You fell backwards, landing on your back with hands reaching up to your face to remove the offending figure. It back up for a moment, giving you a chance to examine it. A bird, perhaps a sparrow, stared down at you with an unknown expression. It was strangely coloured for a sparrow; orange, yellow, red, and blue feathers ruffling up the longer you looked at it. Dopily staring up at it, it finally grew impatient and spread its wings out further and began to crowd in your face again.
You crawled backwards, not unlike MK moments prior, as the bird seemingly shooed you out of the area. As strange as it was, and as bad as you felt for leaving the young boy alone in a moment like this [although, it's not as if a kid like you would've been able to do anything], you willingly took the opportunity to hastily get back into the elevator.
Before closing the doors and ascending up the shaft, you stared into the birds eyes, receiving an oddly-humanlike response as it nodded towards you and turned to fly back to the area you were previously in.
Once above ground, you wasted no time in gathering the now-cold noodles that weren't delivered, and focused on getting back to Pigsy's to achieve at least some normalcy after those events with the... Demon Bull King and the bird...
It all felt too surreal, and you had to second-guess yourself on whether you hadn't actually gotten out of bed this morning and if you were still dreaming. This did seem like the sort of dream you'd have, anyway; bizarre and slightly alarming.
You arrived back at Pigsy's restaurant in record time, unconsciously having had ran all the way back. Adrenaline was still coursing through your veins, your head felt light and fuzzy and you struggled to focus on anything other than the powerful events having just occurred. In your opinion, the best person to talk about this to was Tang, but you think you'd prefer to have your break before even mentioning that yet.
The door let out it's familiar soft chime as you shoved it open. Pigsy and Tang, having been in conversation before you entered, stared at your dishevelled appearance. Your hair was slightly windblown and sticking to your rosy skin from your previous running, and your eyes were stuck wide open.
"Uh, hey... Kid, you good there?" Pigsy was the first to speak up, eyebrows furrowed at his employee who he, daresay, cared for almost like a kid of his own. He couldn't help it, especially when they were still so young.
"Yeah, yeah—I, uh, couldn't finish delivering the noodles. Sorry Pigsy," You began, wincing at how you struggled to catch your breath with each word exiting your mouth, "Something, uh, weird happened... Can I just—can I sit down for a moment?"
The two adults wordlessly stared as you all but collapsed on the stool next to Tang. Your arms rested on the counter in front of you, and your head nested on top of them, closing your eyes as you accepted in your mind that you were safe here. You hated to admit it, but the demon and scholar next to you were the most consistent adults you had in your life, so God forbid if you couldn't at least feel a little safety around them.
Tang awkwardly rested his hand on your shoulder as Pigsy slid over a glass of water and a bowl of Lanzhou beef noodles that had probably been set aside for you and MK. You lifted your head, offering a weak grin towards the two of them and taking a sip of the offered water. The three of you sat in silence after you told them that MK would also probably be on his way back in a moment, and that everything would be explained then.
True to your word, a loud revving was heard outside of the restaurant. A quick glance confirmed that MK stood outside next to Mei, in which Pigsy didn't hesitate to hastily stomp outside.
"MK! You mind tellin' me what got the kid so unnerved?" He shoved a finger behind him, pointing to you still inside the restaurant, sipping your water as Tang eyes your bowl of untouched noodles with desire.
"So, uh—yeah, here's what uh, I think happened with—" MK began awkwardly stammering around his thoughts before Mei gasped.
"Are they okay? Wait, I'll go check on them!" The dragon-girl practically disappeared into the restaurant, dragging Pigsy's attention away from MK for long enough, as the pig demon turned back around to continue scolding him before realising he had disappeared, too.
Pigsy felt himself fuming, yelling out to MK before running into the restaurant after the two troublemakers.
It felt as if Mei had teleported beside you, placing both her hands on your shoulders and staring into your eyes as if she was analysing the inner depths of your soul, "Hey! You good? Ol' Pigsy was telling me you weren't doing so well—"
"Mei—, Mei, I'm okay! I just, uh, was a bit shaken up. Um... Where's MK—" You reassured Mei as much as you could with a shaky smile, turning around fully to find the mentioned boy.
In a similar style to his best friend, MK had practically teleported beside you and all but slapped his hands on the sides of your face, "Dude! You were there—you saw what happened, right? Where'd you go anyways..? One moment I saw you hiding behind that rock, and the next minute you were gone! Only that stupid bird was sitting where you were— Oh, Oh! Mr Tang!"
If you hadn't felt exhausted before, you certainly did now with MK's ramblings. Thankfully, he turned his attention to Tang, giving you freedom to return to resting your head on the counter—wait, no. Mei lifted you up in her arms, pulling a groan out of you as you rag-dolled against her chest. She hoisted you to one of the nearby booths and sat you both down with her back to the wall and her legs stretched out over the cushioned booth chair. You lay between her legs and relaxed, knowing how strong Mei was; there was slim chances of you slipping out of her grasp. Not that you wanted to, it felt... Safe, and very comfortable.
Not only were you tired from the adrenaline crash earlier, but the consequences of staying up late last night were starting to catch up to you. In your defence, you never expected to be called into work on your first day of school break.
Despite a major part of you wanting to fall asleep right then and there, with Mei slowly brushing her fingers through your hair definitely not helping, you kept an ear out to hear Tang's insight to MK's problem with the golden staff and Demon Bull King. That name just sends shivers down your spine, he was a lot more terrifying that you could have ever imagined in real life.
"R-Remember the story you told me this morning—about the Demon Bull King," MK cut himself off with a frustrated groan, "Where is it, where is it... Where—Ah! There it is."
He ripped his book from this morning out from under several dirty bowls in the sink, a loud clatter causing you to cringe, yet no one paying any mind to it in favour of focusing on the image MK was shoving in Tang's face, "The Demon Bull King is back!"
MK's tone of incredible urgency was lost on the older scholar, "Boy, relax. You're delusional."
This would have made you laugh, if it weren't for the fact that you knew MK's words were far from overdramatic. The boy reached behind him and somehow pulled the golden staff out from nowhere, holding it out for everyone to see.
"Delusional? Would you call this delusional?"
Silence fell over the room. Tang stared at it, unimpressed, while Pigsy just looked frustrated. Mei was the first to speak up, obviously just as confused as the others, "Wow, Mk—you found a stick!"
"No, no," The young boy whined, "It's not a stick! It's Monkey King's staff."
None of the three adults in the room hesitated to peal out in laughter, the movement from Mei causing you to grumbled and turn slightly. She took a moment to catch her breath, patting your head in apology while Pigsy and Tang continued to cackle at MK as if he were some sort of comedian.
"Guys—c'mon! Here, I'll prove it!" MK spoke with determination that was lost as soon as he got it. He stared at the staff in hopelessness, shaking it slightly before it lunged forwards and grew twenty-feet long.
The edge of the staff landed on the table of the booth you and Mei laid in, staring at MK with wide, horrified eyes as the wood was promptly cracked in half as if it were a piece of paper. It began to slowly slide off the table and back to its shortened length, silence filling the room in disbelief.
It wasn't long before Tang collected himself again, blubbering out a series on nonsensical noises, "It's Monkey King's staff! I knew it all along—the legendary weapon that only he could yield to seal away evil!" He took a breath, now standing next to MK with his hands on the staff, "Wait a minute, why do you have it?"
You felt Mei squeeze you a little closer to her, as you stared up at her face to see pure amazement in her expression, her eyes practically twinkled. You felt a smile creep up on your face, her excitement felt purely contagious. She took her phone out of her pocket, shooting you a smile back and began scrolling through who-knows-what sort of social media app.
Pigsy cleared his throat and took a step forward, "Alright, I'll bite—if the staff is here, where is the Demon Bull punk now?"
Mei giggled above you, capturing you attention, "He's at the shoe store," She held the phone in front of both of you, trapping her arms around your head as the others surrounded the booth, "Look what just started trending; hashtag Demon Bull King!"
The younger girl scrolled through the countless posts on her phone, showing various people taking photos of the said demon at different angles, standing in a hundred-long person line. An amused snort left you, while noises of confusion left the others.
Mei paused on a post with a linked video, showing the bull demon and fire-red guy from earlier that day wearing and stealing handfuls of the same pair of shoes. The five of you awkwardly made eye contact, a concerned expression matching each of your faces.
A sigh left Pigsy as he grabbed a pair of keys off of his belt, "Welp, we better get going if we wanna do something about this."
MK nodded at his words following after the pig demon with Tang following slowly behind. Mei lifted you off her lap, gently ensuring you were placed on the floor properly before standing up herself and ruffling your hair into a mess. You whined, running your hands through it as you rushed out the door to catch up with the others.
If you were being honest, one of the last things you were expecting was to be shoved into a two-seater truck with the four of them. MK was whining about the tight squeeze between them all, which, you couldn't blame him, you could barely breathe yourself and it was definitely anything but comfortable. Although, Mei didn't seem bothered. The dragon-girl had somehow found herself upside down, her head resting on the passenger seat of the truck while her feet were almost pushed out the window by MK's panicked waving.
Pigsy struggled to focus on driving, barely keeping one hand on the wheel as Tang pushed up against him. You were squished between the scholar and MK, the older man's arms wrapped snuggly around your torso as you attempted to keep your legs as close as possible to your chest to avoid accidentally kicking anyone.
The pig demons reckless driving threw the lot of you around the vehicle, Tang being thrown backwards and softening your landing, while MK held onto Mei's legs in an attempt to not bash his head against the roof.
"Pigsy! Watch where you're going, you're going to kill us!" Tang scolded.
"Yeah—we need to get to Flower-Fruit Mountain without getting smushed in a car crash." MK added, "All we need to do is drive through an entire ocean. Simple."
"Uh, how exactly are we supposed to do that? I doubt this car can just drive through an ocean..." You nervously stated, staring up at MK beside you.
"Pigsy said he knew someone who'd be able to get us there, I think it's—" Tang was cut off by another swerve, trying not to let you hit your head on the dashboard, "Just a matter of not crashing first!"
Tang's sour tone at the end of his sentence went unnoticed by Pigsy, or maybe he just didn't care, as he kept driving.
"Uh, guys! Demon Bull King has moved on to downtown, he's destroying the cheese tea stalls!" Mei spoke up, waving her phone in the air towards us with clear concern.
You felt yourself deadpan at her sentence. You couldn't really blame her for the cheese tea stalls, but you're sure there are other things to worry about more like, uh, I don't know... The citizens? You lurched forwards in the scholar's grasp as Pigsy stepped on the acceleration, taking a sharp turn onto the outer corner of the city's dock.
Everyone threw themselves out of the truck in a collective heap, falling on top of each other before MK, at the bottom of the pile, bounced up and rushed inside of the lone house on the dock. You each followed after him, legs shaking as Pigsy eventually led you all to get comfy on the couch. That felt near impossible, however, as you sat tense and twiddling you fingers nervously. A largely muscular man entered the room, throwing a knife onto the sink carelessly and facing you all. Pigsy had reassured you all earlier that he had sent the man a message outlining everything that had happened, and that he was willing to assist you all on the journey to Flower-Fruit Mountain.
His gruff voice spoke out, "That's a lot to take in. You know what I do to people who disrupt the peace?"
The brawny figure stared down at your figures on the couch, everyone trembling as you held your breath. He lifted his arms up menacingly, holding a wooden block in his hands.
He threw his arms down, "I serve them some tea! You guys want some?"
Mei let out a nervous laugh as he offered us all a cup of tea on top of the wooden tray, the room suddenly looking a lot brighter than before. You felt a soft nuzzling on your leg, looking down to notice an orange tabby cat rubbing himself against you. You reached down to let him sniff your fingers for a moment, before allowing you to run your fingers through his fur. This brought a smile to your face, easing your nerves even if it was just for a moment.
The others began to talk to the blue demon, now to be known as Sandy, about getting to Flower-Fruit Mountain in order to meet Monkey King. You had moved onto the floor, now surrounded by cats nuzzling against you and laying across your lap as you struggled to give them all the attention they craved. You supposed they could sense your stress and were trying to alleviate it, since Sandy had mentioned they were specifically therapy cats. If you could, you would stay here forever—
"All right, let's get moving." Sandy snapped you out of your pleasant daze, telling his cat, Mo, to activate the launch sequence, whatever that meant.
Not a second later, sirens began wailing and the floor beneath you shook. MK didn't hesitate to grab you by the arms and lift you to your feet as cats scattered out of the room. You could hear engines whirring, controls popping out from being hidden behind walls and the like. You stared on in amazement as Sandy's house suddenly became a large mechanical ship.
"Onwards, to Flower-Fruit Mountain." He announced, propellers starting up and dragging the ship onto the water. You could hear MK's excited yelling behind you as he ran to the edge of the ship, watching Megapolis grow smaller and smaller in the distance.
You lagged behind him, standing next to the others who had gathered at the bow of the ship. The sky was a dusty yellow, clouds covering every inch as the sun's rays struggled to reach through. The difference in the weather from this morning made your gut drop, but you held onto the hope that you were on your way to get the help you needed from Monkey King. Hopefully.
You sighed wistfully, realising you had dozed off while staring off into the sky for a while and everyone else had made themselves comfortable. Pigsy and Tang were lazed about on the couch, with the former fully slumped over and sleeping. Mei sat on the floor of the ship, adjacent to the couch as she busied herself with the handheld electronic in her hand. MK held his staff in front of him on the wider space, seemingly practicing using the golden staff as he spun and leaped about with it.
You made your way over to Mei, sitting down beside her and leaning your head against her shoulder as you stared at her screen. She was scrolling through some form of social media, occasionally double tapping a video of a dog to give it a thumbs up. This was comfortable. Despite feeling tired earlier, you were now wide awake from the onslaught of events that seemed to be never-ending. This was the most action you had experienced your entire life! And hopefully, it would stay that way. You don't think you could survive constant action and drama like this, you already wanted to go home and lie in bed for a while.
The two of you on the floor had your attention ripped from Mei's phone to the extended staff that had burst through the side of Sandy's ship next to you. MK frantically ran up to you two, apologising and picking up his staff. He struggled for a moment, unable to lift it, before it wobbled like a piece of laminated paper and bashed into the top of his head. The young boy collapsed backwards, groaning painfully as you cringed at his poor execution.
He laid there for a moment in a daze, before gasping, "We're here! At Flower-Fruit Mountain." He stood up enthusiastically, waving his hands towards the tall mountain in the near distance.
You paused to admire the view before you, greenery as far as you could see with the sun shining brightly onto the earth below it. Clouds circled the highest point of the mountain, waterfalls gracefully spilling into lakes below. It looked straight out of an online ad for vacations to a 'tropical paradise'; pure peace and relaxation.
This marvelling was cut short as a yell was ripped from your throat, the ship tipping upwards as a large geyser shot up the side of it. Mei grabbed your hand, pulling you closer to her body as she gripped onto the hole that MK had shot the golden staff through earlier, as a means to keep you both from falling overboard. A large splash caught your attention as one of the crates on top of Sandy's ship was thrown into the ocean, thankfully far enough away that no one got soaked.
You glanced over to MK at the side of the ship, before double-taking to notice the colossal mountains surrounding you. Molten lava spilled over the edges of them, dripping down the sides into goopy clumps of deadly orange pillows. The sudden change in temperature from the appearance of lava had you sweating, wiping your wet forehead with your hand. The clouds around this area were darker, dust-filled and smoky as they threatened to invade your lungs and choke you with the scent of charcoal.
"Here we are; the Flaming Mountains, gang. A volcanic ring surrounds the mountain, making it virtually impassible." Sandy explained as you gulped, "This path is the only safe way through, and this is as close as the boat can get."
He pointed down a path as four of you began to file out of the ship, staring down the slim natural walkway through the steamy mountains.
You nodded towards Sandy and Tang, offering a smile, "Will you be okay? Here, by yourselves?"
"We'll be perfectly fine, kid. Just... Be careful." The blue demon spoke to all of you as Mei offered you a hand to help you down off the ship. You took her offer gladly.
You couldn't help but feel as if your own body was melting against the head. You thought that fire-red man's burning was hot when you were hiding behind that rock, but you were starting to retract that thought. You stuck close between Mei and MK, as Pigsy lagged behind the three of you. You pulled at the collar of your shirt, feeling the sweat bunch up at your neck as a loud squeal was heard from behind you.
Pigsy flinched backwards, barely avoiding a geyser of lava shooting upwards as you stared with wide eyes; maybe you should've stayed back with Sandy and Tang...
Mei let out a gasp, capturing your attention as you snapped your head back in front of you, taking a step back in fear as MK kept blabbering on about Monkey King, unaware of his surroundings as the three of you behind him failed to utter a word of warning. The younger boy finally turned around at the sound of feminine laughter, trailing off the end of his sentence.
You felt your breath hitch as you stared up at the woman you remembered seeing behind the Demon Bull King back at the construction site. She hovered up in the sky, wielding a hefty fan in one hand as she stared down at all of you menacingly. Another geyser blew up, this time behind her, larger than the last as she reached behind her to light her fan on fire, not hesitating to send a bursting ball of pure flame to the ground you stood on.
Mei grasped your hand, dragging you away from the targeted spot in fear as you were all thrown back by the pure blast of it. The golden staff flew out from MK's hands, landing a few feet in front of him as Mei held onto you and landed onto of the younger boy. Pisgy rushed over in a panic, giving you all a once-over before returning his attention to the woman in front of you.
"I'll be taking that staff now—" She had barely gotten a word out before MK reached forward to return the golden staff to his hands, standing in front of his friends protectively.
"This belongs to the Monkey King. There's no way I'm letting you take it." He frowned up at her, defensively holding out the mentioned weapon.
His words didn't sway her advances, causing him to charge towards her, spinning the staff in his hands. She instantaneously held her hand out, the glove that red-fire man had on earlier appearing over her hand in the blink of an eye.
MK stood shocked, unable to move the staff at the singular finger she held out to stop him. She let out a peal of laughter, grinning up at him as she grasped onto the golden staff fully, sending him flying into the distance with the flick of her finger. A wall of lava from another geyser flew up after him, seemingly incinerating him at the immediate contact. Mei cried out as Pigsy held her back from running forwards into the lava, and you simply stood there, mouth agape as you tried to process the events that just took place.
Pigsy lifted Mei up onto his shoulder, turning towards you and lifting you onto the other without much of a sturggle. You weren't able to react much, still in shock as he booked it back to Sandy's ship as the dangerous woman's laughter faded into the distance.
You weren't sure how much time passed between watching MK get thrown into lava and being sat back down onto the ship, but you could feel the tense and grief-stricken atmosphere that took over the five of you. Mei stood at the bow of the ship, staring over the railing as Sandy comforted Pigsy. You could barely make out the pig demons frustrated yelling over your own thoughts.
You sat on the couch that laid on one side of the ship, knees tucked into you chest with your arms holding them in place. You stared down at the deck, leaning against Tang as he rubbed his hand against your back solemnly. Tears coated your eyes but you couldn't find it in yourself to let them out, still confused and understanding how to process everything. Tang stated that you were probably in shock. It was a lot to take in, especially when you'd never experienced grief before; especially not in such a tragic way.
A sniffle let you, probably the first audible noise you had made since getting back. Tang glanced back at you, pausing his movements for a moment before continuing, "I know it's... difficult. But there was nothing we could do."
Although his words didn't give you any comfort, the sound of his voice and knowing he was there, right next to you, gave you a sense of safety and security that you could appreciate. Pigsy didn't seem to share the same sentiment.
The pig demon marched up to Tang, dragging him away from the couch as he grasped onto the front of his scarf, lifting his face close to his. Tang didn't react, expression stoic except for the barely visible downwards tilt of his mouth.
"Nothing... Nothing? I could've done somethin'! I could've—I should've protected MK." He scoffed, "It's over..."
Tears glazed over Pigsy's eyes as he craned his neck downwards, keeping a solid hold on his scarf. You squeezed your legs closer, wanting to keep an eye on them but unable to stop yourself from looking away over the ocean. You couldn't bare to watch Pigsy cry.
"It's not over," Tang spoke up, "We can't help Mk, but we can make sure no more lives are lost. Make sure his sacrifice wasn't in vain."
"Someone has to fight." You heard Mei cut in, catching your full attention. She hadn't spoken a word since Pigsy had dragged you both away, clearly heartbroken at the loss of her best friend.
She furiously rubbed away at the tears in her eyes, turning back to the group with an emotional, yet determined, glint in her eyes, "That demon bully is going to pay."
It may have been a trick of the eye, yours were blurry from the tears, after all, but you could've sworn you saw a flash of green, and a powerful dragon twisting around her form with a sinister snarl upon its features. You blinked a few times and rubbed your eyes, brushing it off.
"Well then, what're we waiting for?" Sandy exclaimed, dragging you all into a tight hug and squeezing a short laugh out of you, "Let's go stop some bad guys!"
This positive noise had Tang looking down at you, smiling at the slightly happier expression taking over your face and ruffling your hair as Sandy removed his arms from around you. At this new challenge, Sandy got to work on preparing Pigsy's truck that had, accidentally, been taken with the ship when it was parked in front of Sandy's 'house'. He, somehow, added weaponised machinery to it and ensured it was all set and ready to use.
At his command, everyone filed into the cramped two-seater. You sighed, slightly annoyed that you had to deal with this squishy situation again, but pushing through it with the knowledge that you were on the way to avenge MK and his untimely demise. You blinked back tears again, shaking the thought out of your head. You didn't want to think about that, at the moment. You were still coming to terms that he was... gone.
You all took the places you had originally, with Pigsy taking the wheel despite his reckless driving, Tang next to him while holding you in his arms, and Sandy taking MK's spot next to Mei who was sitting in her seat correctly this time. Pigsy's driving had, you realised, not improved in the few hours since you left the city. In fact, you think it might be worse, but it sort of helped with dodging the several aimed attacks the Demon Bull King's weird bot-clones were sending out.
The five of you yelled out, a barrel sent out by a bull clone ramming straight in the front of the truck, causing a wide explosion that shot you all air-bound. Debris from the truck hit the clone in the head, knocking it out as you all landed on your feet. Well, you might've had Sandy catch you since you were struggling to stand yourself upright while in the air, but it still looked cool!
Suddenly, the fire-y red boy that you hadn't seen since the construction site appeared in front of you, an amused smirk gracing his face, "So, you wanna be heroes, huh?"
His eyes lit up with fire, the metal glove back on his hand as the rest of his body burst with flames, "Let me show you what happens to heroes."
His threats went by unnoticed, Pigsy walking forwards with a grumble under his breath before Mei stopped him, reaching an arm out in front of him, "I'll handle this one."
Her aura felt threatening, and you were sure the pig demon realised that as he made no move to stop her advances on the red boy in front of her. You cheered her on in your mind, this guy deserved to have the wrath of Mei unleashed on him.
She crouched down slightly, eyes turning white as the familiar flash of green appeared again. A great dragon flickered to life above her, twisting its body around her form and staring straight at red boy. A snarl was lit upon its features, staring down at him as it prepared to lunge.
A flash of green popped into existence again as the dragon disappeared, bursting out into a smokey layer of haze as a small aircraft above us began to crash to the ground. A familiar yelling echoed from it, hearing Mei respond with MK's name.
The nose of the jet was aimed straight for the red boy's face, smacking him square in the nose as he crumbled backwards to the dirt. Following the crash landing, the aircraft was reduced to debris, filling the air with smoke as the five of us carefully treaded over to it.
With a noisy groan, MK bounced out from under the scraps of metal, Mei immediately rushing over to him as everyone began to, once again, tear up at the sight of the boy who was assumed to be burnt to a crisp. He was pulled out from the rubble and into Mei's embrace, bombarded by questions from her before you climbed up to them. Already holding yourself back from outright sobbing at the sight of him, you pushed your head into his chest and gripped his shirt tightly in your fists.
The two older kids grew silent upon hearing your quiet sniffles, MK beginning to slowly rub your back with one hand, holding the back of your head with the other.
Mei was the first to speak up again, "We, uh... We thought you died, y'know. Back when you were thrown through that flamin' hot stuff."
MK stared back up at her, brows furrowed with a concerned smile. He hummed in acknowledgment, feeling you begin to pull away when your sniffles had died down. You knew this wasn't exactly the best moment for this.
"Did you, um... Find him? The Monkey King?" You asked in a hushed voice, staring up at him with a puffy red face.
"Yeah, I did!" MK paused, looking away for a moment, "He, uh, said it was up to me—to us."
Sandy, Tang, and Pigsy, who had all turned their attention back to MK after ensuring the red boy wasn't going to try attacking them again, deadpanned at his response.
"Well, that was anticlimactic." Mei began, before a thunderous thumping caught everyone's attention as the ground beneath their feet began to shake. One glance upwards had you gaping in shock at the colossal form of the Demon Bull King standing before them.
"And how are we meant to fight that?" Tang stuttered out, eyes wide in disbelief as he looked to MK for some sort of clue.
"We believe in ourselves," MK responded, nodded down towards everyone from his place on the pile of rubble, "You clean the streets, I'll stop the Demon Bull King."
Despite his determined exterior, MK faltered a little as the distant demon let out a loud explosion, pushing large gusts of dust out in all directions. You stared at him in distress, unsure how exactly he was supposed to fight, and defeat, the incredibly powerful demon that was more than ten times his size.
Bouncing onto the motorcycle that Mei found hidden inside the aircraft debris, MK drove off into the distance towards the enemy, leaving the rest of us to watch his furthering figure.
You couldn't help but stand there, mesmerised with concern and amazement as MK fought against the Demon Bull King, even without his staff in the beginning. As his body was thrown into the sky, you could see the gleaming light belonging to the golden staff rise to the young boy's grasp, extending downwards and covering him in mech that closely resembled the colours of Monkey King.
It didn't take long for the Demon Bull King to be crumpled to the ground and cornered in a crater alongside the red boy. However, just as MK was about to land his finishing blows on them, you could make out the swirling winds of the lady from earlier with her fan; the one who had sent MK flying to his, supposedly at the time, burning demise. You dug your heels into the ground, attempting to keep yourself from being dragged backwards by the incredible gusts blowing your way. Fortunately, Mei held onto your shoulders, having stood behind you this entire time since MK drove off, to keep herself steady and to keep you upright.
You couldn't quite understand what was happening over there, as you focused on the others around you also struggling against the wind. Tang's glasses were holding onto his face for dear life, while Sandy caught Pigsy's leg as the pig had begun to take flight. In just a few moments after it had started, the gusts had stopped, and you immediately noticed the looming figures of the Demon Bull King and the red boy had disappeared.
MK stood above the crater they had previously laid in, disbelief gracing his posture. This didn't last long, as Mei wasted no time in rushing over to MK after having had thrown you on top of her shoulders. You grasped onto the sides of her head, afraid of falling off at the speeds she was rushing towards him at.
"MK!" She called out, waving her hand up at his mech to grab his attention successfully as he opened the hatch to the inside of its chest, "You totally kicked DBK's butt—without us, the city'd be toast!"
While she was technically correct, you couldn't help but glance around at the city's condition. The buildings that hadn't been decimated from the Demon Bull King's raid, had been crushed in some form, leaving pieces of scrap metal and concrete scattered across the roads. Dust polluted the air, threatening to choke those left outside, and colouring the clouds a poorly shade of brown. It was starting to look a lot like that abandoned construction site from earlier.
"But, y'know," MK threw himself out of the mech, standing in front of you and Mei while bashfully rubbing the back of his head, "I couldn't have done it on my own."
The other three made their way up to you, completing the group as the question of what to do next was brought up. MK exclaimed that they needed to go 'beat up more bad guys', only graining groans and sweatdrops in response. A more agreeable suggestion, from Tang, offered that you all go back to Pigsy's for some noodles.
A sleepy smile grew on your face, both emotionally and physically drained from the past twenty-four hours. You all began to walk further into the city, Mei still holding you above her shoulders as you gladly let her. You figured, closing your eyes for a moment wouldn't hurt, would it?
But maybe you should ask that again later, when you're suddenly laying in one of the restaurants booth seats covered by a light blanket while MK and Mei unstoppably ramble on about their adventures. You groaned a little, sitting up while bringing a hand up to rub the sleep out of your eyes. You felt yourself flinch in surprise when Pigsy suddenly appeared in front of you, placing a bowl of noodles on the table.
"Ah, sorry kid," The pig demon chuckled, "Didn't mean to scare 'ya. Just thought you might be hungry, you've had a big day after all. You've also been sleeping for almost an hour."
He slid into the seat across front you, giving a nod of appreciation after you said your thanks. You hadn't realised you'd fallen asleep for that long, but you weren't surprised. You took a glance out of a nearby window, eyes widening when you realised how dark it had already gotten.
Pigsy seemed to notice your reaction, snickering passively, "It has gotten pretty late, you probably wouldn't wanna walk home tonight, kid. MK offered to let you take his couch for the night, earlier."
You sigh, not wanting to intrude but feeling as if you didn't really have any other choice. You nodded towards Pigsy, continuing to finish the bowl of noodles he had placed down for you while occasionally pausing to add a word or two in response to Pigsy's talking.
It didn't take long for the exhaustion to hit you again, yet this time you felt twice as heavy from the warm meal. The pig demon immediately picked up on this, calling MK over and conversing about something you could barely focus on. Your vision felt blurry, your eyelids becoming heavier than normal as they dragged down your eyes, and your head felt like cotton—barely able to pay attention to a single word being mentioned in front of you.
You felt someone lifting you up, recognising it as MK as you glanced upwards. He placed you on his shoulders as you squished your face against the top of his head, somehow avoiding any of his spiky hair poking your eyes. You managed to acknowledge the few people wishing you a goodnight, particularly Mei as she yelled out behind you. Each step MK took up the stairs to his apartment above the restaurant felt as if he were rocking you to sleep.
You didn't register him unlocking the front door and lazily kicking off his shoes before sliding you off his back and onto the cosy couch pressed against the wall of his lounge room. You were out like a light before MK even retrieved the pillow and blanket for you to shield you from the still cold air. All he could do was smile peacefully down at you, carefully placing the pillow beneath your head and tucking you in tightly.
As he laid down in his own bed, staring up at the ceiling, he couldn't stop his mind from wandering to the sound of your cries and the feeling of his shirt staining with your tears. Your reaction to realising he was alive earlier broke his heart. He felt bad for dragging you into his shenanigans today, after all—you were just a kid.
Sure, many people called him a kid, but at least he was finished with school and was grown up! Your brain was still developing, and he's sure such events as today would affect you differently than it affected him and the others. He figured, he would at least try to shield you from getting hurt in anyway. That was the least he could do, right?
Shaking his head to rid his mind of these thoughts, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift off into sleep.