Chapter Text
MK POV:
BEEP BEEP BEEP.
MK groaned and rolled over. He fumbled with his phone before finally snoozing the alarm once more. How many times had it gone off again? Out of curiosity, he grabbed his phone again to check the time.
8:55 AM.
Suddenly in a panic, MK threw off his blanket and rushed to get ready. He was going to be late! (Again.) He hurriedly threw on a clean(ish) set of clothes, carefully threading his new tail through the tail hole in his pants. The whole actually “being a monkey” thing was taking some getting used to.
After pulling on a fresh pair of socks and shoving his feet into his shoes, MK grabbed his phone and ran downstairs. He slid into the restaurant just as the clock struck nine.
“Cuttin’ it real close, kid,” Pigsy grumbled as he turned on the shop sign.
“I know, I know,” MK muttered as he walked over to the sink and began to wash his hands.
“Did ya stay up too late with Mei again?” Pigsy asked him.
MK didn’t say anything. Pigsy sighed.
The store was quiet as it neared closing time. MK was clearing away the last of the dirty dishes when a certain dragon girl burst into the store.
“MK!” Mei shouted. “Are you ready to see the new Monkey Mech movie tonight?”
“Heck, yeah!” MK cheered, pumping his fist. “I can’t wait…oops.”
In his excitement, MK had forgotten about the dishes in his hands. At least until they decided to fall to the ground with a crash as a few bowls shattered on impact.
“Kid! Watch what yer doing!” Pigsy shouted. “Bowls don’t grow on trees, ya know!”
“I’m sorry, Pigsy! I’ll clean it up!” MK rushed to get the broom and dustpan.
“You’d better,” Pigsy grumbled. “That’s comin’ outta yer paycheck.”
MK grimaced at that, but it wasn’t like this hadn’t happened before. He quickly swept up the broken bowls and disposed of them. Mei picked up the non-broken bowls and put them in the sink. Then MK grabbed the mop and mopped up the spilt broth.
“Thanks, kids,” Pigsy grumbled.
“No problem, piggy!” Mei said before throwing an arm around MK. “Now, are you ready for the best cinematic experience in the world?”
“Yeah!” MK cheered again.
“I thought you were gonna wait for Red Son to get back from vacation before goin’ ta see the movie?” Pigsy asked as MK ran over to the time clock to clock out.
“We are gonna see the movie with him,” Mei assured. “But we just wanna make sure the movie is good first.”
“Yeah,” MK agreed. “We don’t wanna make Red Son sit through a boring movie.”
Pigsy raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. “That’s the excuse yer stickin’ with, huh?”
“Yep,” Mei and MK chorused.
Pigsy sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Go enjoy yer movie, then.” He waved his hand dismissively.
“Yes! Thank you, Dadsy!” MK hugged Pigsy.
Pigsy hugged him back for a moment before shoving him towards the door. “Get goin’, or yer gonna be late fer the movie.”
The two friends booked it out of the store without any further prompting. And they made it halfway down the block before running into trouble.
“So, how’d you get Monkey King to let you skip training today?” Mei asked as they walked down the sidewalk.
MK shrugged. “I don’t know. I just asked and he said ‘go for it’.”
“Huh, that’s weird,” Mei commented. “Normally he’s not so lenient when it comes to training.”
“I know, right?!” MK exclaimed, throwing his hands up for emphasis. “And the training we have been doing is just ‘how to interact with a monkey without threatening it’ or ‘how to gather fruit without squishing it’ or ‘how to groom other monkeys without pulling their fur’.” MK sighed and dropped his gaze to the ground, his tail swishing in agitation. “It’s…not the kind of training I’m used to doing with Monkey King.”
“I mean, I’m sure there’s a reason, right?” Mei suggested helpfully. “Monkey King…”
Whatever Mei was going to say about the Monkey King was interrupted by several people screaming. Without needing to look at each other, Mei and MK ran towards the sounds of danger. Rounding the street corner quickly revealed why people were screaming: a large gray yaoguai with long white hair tied back in a ponytail was towering over the people on the street, threatening them with a massive spear.
Its back was towards them so MK couldn’t see his face, but what he could see of it was plenty terrifying. It wore simple-looking robes that covered most of its body, but as it moved, MK could see its muscles rippling beneath the fabric. It easily stood as tall as Sandy, but without any of the gentle grace the river demon possessed.
And its giant spear certainly didn’t help it to look very calming, either.
MK gulped as he and Mei pulled out their weapons. This wasn’t gonna be one of their usual “demon of the week” fights that MK was used to. This was more than likely gonna be one of those really destructive fights where a good chunk of the city was destroyed. And if that was the case, then they needed to get the civilians out of here, quickly.
“Hey!” MK called out. “Leave them alone!”
The yaoguai turned, revealing a singular horn sprouting from its beastly nose. It grinned when its beady gaze landed on MK. (The civilians, thankfully, were able to make their escape.)
“Ah, Sun Wukong.” the yaoguai sneered. “I was wondering when you would finally show your cowardly face.”
MK frowned as his tail twitched in irritation. This wasn’t the first time MK had been confused for his mentor, but it had definitely gotten old over the past few weeks. Every new demon, and even some old ones, had been confusing him for Monkey King ever since he found out he was a monkey. Jin, Yin, and DBK were especially guilty of this.
It was beyond frustrating at this point.
“You’ve got the wrong monkey, guy.” MK corrected with a frown. “I’m MK, the Monkie Kid. Not the Monkey King, Sun Wukong. I’m just his successor.”
“Who else would have such a disgusting facial marking, then?” The yaoguai argued back.
“Okay, first of all, ouch, that’s just hurtful!” MK complained. “And second of all, most of the monkeys I know have this exact face marking.” He pointed to his face for emphasis. (He ignored the fact that he only knew three yaoguai monkeys in total, including himself. And that only two out of the three of them actually had said face mask—MK never said he was good at math.) “So, y’know, it’s probably normal, or… something.” MK waved his hand dismissively. “Monkey business, you wouldn’t get it.”
The yaoguai stared at him like he had grown a second head. “That…is the stupidest reason I have ever heard!” The yaoguai sighed loudly and dragged a hand down his face.
“Yeah, well you’re the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen!” Mei interjected, raising her sword. “Are we gonna fight or what?!”
The yaoguai looked at the young dragon with disinterest as he lowered his hand. “I do not know who you are. But regardless, you will fall under my blade.”
Then the yaoguai lowered his spear, and charged.
Mei and MK quickly jumped out of the way, barely dodging the swing of the yaoguai’s spear as he passed. MK paled when he saw his own reflection in the blade as it swung over his face, missing by mere centimeters.
Yikes, that was a little too close for comfort.
The two heroes quickly regrouped behind the attacking yaoguai. They readied their own weapons just as the yaoguai whipped around to face them once more.
“Hey!” Mei shouted. “You can’t just attack us without telling us who you are! That’s super uncool.” She pointed her sword threateningly at the yaoguai. “And what do you want with my monkey?!”
The yaoguai paused for a second as he seemed to ponder over Mei’s words. “Very well, child.” He bowed his head. “I am the Single-Horned Rhinoceros King. I am only seeking to right a wrong from long ago. And if I cannot find Sun Wukong-” MK barely brought his staff up in time to block the Rhino King’s spear. “Then his successor will have to do.”
Rhino King swung and twirled and thrust his spear in rapid succession as he viciously attacked the Monkie Kid. MK struggled to keep up, getting more than a few wounds that would most definitely need bandaging later.
A certain green sword sparked to life in the corner of MK’s vision. Thinking quickly, MK jumped backwards just as a blast of green energy hit Rhino King square in the chest, knocking him backwards into a building. A massive plume of smoke and dust billowed up from the building, quickly obscuring the yaoguai from view.
Mei and MK cheered and high-fived each other before eagerly pointing their weapons at the now-destroyed building. If they could get a few more solid hits like that in, then this battle would be over soon. And they would still be able to catch their movie afterwards.
But any thoughts of this battle being over quickly were swiftly dashed when they heard laughter emanating from behind the clouds of smoke and dust.
“Not bad, children,” Rhino King chuckled as he emerged from the smoke, red eyes glinting maliciously. “You’re not going to make it easy for me.” He smirked. “Good. I love a challenge.”
MK and Mei barely dodged out of the way in time as Rhino King charged at them again. The yaoguai turned around swiftly and swung his spear at them. The two friends quickly jumped backwards to avoid the deadly blade. In tandem, MK threw his staff and Mei swung her sword before the yaoguai had a chance to attack again.
Rhino King blocked both attacks effortlessly. He smirked and—using the pole of his spear—swung Mei into MK. They were both sent flying and crashed into the ground several feet away, both rolling to a painful stop in a pile of limbs.
Rhino King laughed at their predicament. “Is that seriously the best you’ve got?” He casually leaned on his spear, completely nonchalant. “I would’ve thought that the great Sun Wukong would have trained his successor better than this!”
This guy might be tougher than MK had originally thought, but that was fine. He has faced bigger baddies with the help of his friends. And with the new weapons Sandy, Pigsy, and Tang had gotten recently, the Rhino King would quickly be defeated.
They just needed to get here first.
“Where is everyone?” MK asked Mei as they untangled themselves and got to their feet.
“I don’t know,” Mei answered quickly. “But they should be here soon. It’s kinda hard to miss a fight this big going down.”
“Yeeeaaaah,” MK admitted as he looked sheepishly around the wrecked street.
In their short battle so far with Rhino King, one building had been destroyed, and most of the surrounding area was littered with gouges in the concrete and chunks missing from buildings.
Rhino King chuckled, drawing their attention.
“Hey, why are you laughing?” Mei shouted, pointing her sword at the yaoguai. “We’re totally going to kick your butt!”
“Yeah!” MK agreed. Though he wasn’t sure how they were going to kick his butt when they couldn't deal any real damage to the guy.
“You children are quite amusing,” Rhino King admitted as his chuckling subsided. He twirled his spear around before slamming its butt into the ground. “It’s almost a shame to cut your lives short.”
And with that, the Rhino King lowered his spear and charged.
MK leaned heavily on his staff, sweat dripping down his face. Rhino King was easily one of the toughest enemies he has faced to date, other than the Lady Bone Demon, who was in a different league altogether.
Mei leaned on MK, panting heavily. “What is this guy made of? Steel cable?”
Rhino King smirked at them as he casually twirled his spear, looking as if he hadn’t even broken a sweat. “Are you ready to give up, children?”
“Never!” MK shouted as he pushed himself back into a fighting stance. He could do this. He had to.
“Mei! MK!”
But he didn’t have to do it alone.
MK turned around and saw Pigsy, Tang, and Sandy running towards him and Mei with their weapons in tow.
“Pigsy!” MK shouted as the trio came to a stop next to him. “Glad you guys could make it. What took you so long?”
Pigsy scowled at Tang. “Someone misplaced his jangly stick.”
“Hey!” Tang whined indignantly.
Rhino King threw back his head and laughed. “Bring all the friends you want, Monkie Kid! It’s not going to save you.”
Pigsy glared at the boastful yaoguai as he gripped his rake. “Who is this guy?”
“He said he’s the Single-Horned Rhinoceros King,” MK answered. He turned to the group. “But that doesn’t matter, ‘cause now that everyone’s here, we can…”
“W-wait,” Tang interrupted. He looked at MK with fearful eyes. “Did you say the Single-Horned Rhinoceros King?”
MK nodded, though he was confused by the scholar’s reaction.
Tang chuckled nervously. “Oh boy, we’re in trouble.”
“Why’s that, Mr. Tang?” MK asked.
“Monkey King himself couldn’t beat this guy!” Tang quickly explained. “It took the combined forces of Nezha, his father Li Jing, and most, if not all, of the fire and water deities in the Celestial Realm to take him down!”
Mei cracked her knuckles. “Whatever. I still think we can take him.”
Tang gripped his golden staff tightly. “Y-yeah, we should be fine. As long as, ya know, he doesn’t have Lao Tzu’s Golden Jade Ring, like he did in Journey to the West.”
Rhino King chuckled darkly, drawing the attention of the group. “Is this what you’re talking about?” He reached into his robes and pulled out an ornate golden ring.
Tang gulped and chuckled nervously. “Y-yep, t-that’s the one.”
“Uh…” Mei squinted at the gold ring. “What does that thing do? Do you throw it like a Frisbee or what?”
Rhino King smirked. “I’ll show you.” He held the ring in the air and a bright green energy filled its center. It was kind of mesmerizing to watch, honestly. In MK’s opinion anyway.
At least, it was until everyone’s weapons were pulled out of their hands. There were cries of alarm and before anyone could do anything, their weapons flew into the golden ring and disappeared.
“My sword!” Mei shouted, reaching fruitlessly after it. She glared and shook her fist angrily at the Rhino King. “What did you do to it? Give it back, you jerk!”
“All in due time, dragonling,” Rhino King replied calmly as he tucked the ring back into his robes. “Just give me the Monkie Kid and you will get your weapons back.”
MK’s friends quickly surrounded him in a protective circle as they loudly voiced their displeasure at the Rhino King’s poor attempt at an “offer”.
“No way!” Mei shouted.
“Over my dead body,” Pigsy growled, rolling up his sleeves.
“You’ll have to go through us first.” Tang stated firmly.
“Yeah,” Sandy agreed. “Nothing’s getting MK while we’re around.”
Warmth filled MK’s chest. As long as he and his friends were together, nothing could stand in their way. Not the Demon Bull Family (though they were cool now), not the Lady Bone Demon, and definitely not the Single-Horned Rhinoceros King.
Rhino King snorted. “You really think pathetic mortals like yourselves can stop me?”
Mei cracked her knuckles. “We’ve stopped bigger baddies than you. What makes you think you’re so special?”
Rhino King threw back his head and laughed. “Not even Sun Wukong could best me! What makes you think you are more capable than him?”
A reverberating BOOM shook the surrounding buildings. Before anyone could blink, Rhino King was thrown into a building, collapsing it on top of himself and kicking up a bunch of dust that had MK and his friends coughing in the process.
As the dust settled, relief washed over MK when he saw his mentor, Sun Wukong, the Monkey King. The golden-furred monkey was standing in front of the now destroyed building, his tail lashing from side to side.
“Monkey King!” MK cried out, drawing his mentor’s attention.
Monkey King’s tail became still as he turned around. “Hey, bud,” he greeted with a tight smile. “Sorry I’m late.”
“Hey, you’re here now, that’s what matters,” MK said, assuring his mentor. “Now let’s kick some demon butt.”
Monkey King nodded in response and turned back towards Rhino King, who had just dug himself off the collapsed building.
“You little pests,” Rhino King grumbled. “You’re gonna… What…?” He trailed off when he saw the two monkeys before him.
Monkey King visibly tensed and clenched his fists under the yaoguai’s red rage-filled gaze. MK half expected his mentor to make some sort of joke or witty remark, but was quite surprised when, instead, the Monkey King remained silent.
“What is the meaning of this?” Rhino King snarled. “Why are there…?”
Monkey King cut the yaoguai off with a feral hiss. Before anyone could stop him, Monkey King leapt towards Rhino King, swinging his claws at the demon.
MK watched his mentor in vague horror as the Monkey King attacked the Rhino King with a ferocity he had never seen before. Not when they were fighting Macaque or Spider Queen. Not even when they were fighting the Lady Bone Demon.
There was clearly something going on with Monkey King. But MK would have to figure out what it was later. Right now, they had a fight to win.
“Woah!” MK exclaimed as he was pulled out of the way of Rhino King’s spear thrust by Monkey King. The spear tip narrowly missed MK’s stomach, but it did pierce a hole through MK’s jacket. Rude! Pigsy had given him this jacket as a birthday present!
MK expected Wukong to make a snarky remark or joke. A “Careful, there, bud!” or a “Woah! You trying to become a shish kabob, kiddo?”. But he didn’t.
He hadn’t said anything since the fight started. Then there was the unusual aggressiveness of Monkey King’s attacks. Every swing and kick was executed with deadly force and precision. Almost like the older monkey was actively trying to kill the Rhino King. And that was kind of unsettling. Even when facing off against Spider Queen and the Lady Bone Demon, Monkey King hadn’t shown this level of aggression towards them.
It was very concerning, to say the least.
“You can’t keep this up forever, Sun Wukong!” Rhino King roared as he whipped around to face them. “You’ll slip up eventually, and then I will kill either you or your successor!”
Monkey King only growled in response, his tail lashing angrily from side to side as he put an arm in front of MK. MK’s own tail lashed in annoyance at the gesture. All throughout this fight, Monkey King had not once left MK’s side. He was always pulling MK out of the way of an attack and taking it himself, to the point that MK was frustrated. He could take care of himself, thank you very much!
(Okay, so Monkey King had just saved MK from being impaled, but still! That wasn’t the point here!)
The Rhino King huffed and lowered his weapon. “You won’t be able to beat me without backup or your precious staff.” He darted forward and thrust his spear at Monkey King.
The Great Sage caught the blade like it was nothing, stopping it mere centimeters from his own chest.
“Just give up,” The Rhino King growled as he struggled against The Monkey King. “There's nothing you can do.”
Monkey King snarled and pushed MK away with his tail. MK landed hard on his butt just as his mentor leapt at Rhino King. The yaoguai brought up his spear just in time to deflect Monkey King’s attack. It did nothing to deter the monkey’s single-minded focus as he continued attacking Rhino King, forcing the demon away from MK.
“Kid!” Pigsy cried out, rushing to MK’s side. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” MK answered quickly as he got to his feet.
Pigsy glared at Monkey King, who was expertly dodging Rhino King’s spear while still drawing him away from the group. “What does that monkey think he’s doin’?”
“I don’t know,” MK answered, watching the fight for a second before turning to face the rest of the group. “But he’s buying us some time to figure out a plan.” At least that’s what MK hoped his mentor was doing. But with how the Monkey King was acting, that wasn’t exactly a guarantee.
“Soooo, what is the plan, MK?” Mei asked, leaning on MK’s shoulder.
MK frowned thoughtfully. Something about the Rhino King has been bothering MK this entire fight. But he couldn’t figure out why. He seemed… familiar. Maybe they had fought before? But then MK definitely would have remembered him.
“Hey, uh, MK?” Sandy said, drawing MK out of his thoughts. “You remember that game you played at Mr. Monkey King’s place? The one you played for 32 hours straight?”
Pigsy’s outburst of “32 what?” went unheard as a lightbulb switched on in MK’s head.
“The Rhino King was in the game!” MK gasped. He beamed up at the blue giant as his tail wagged in excitement. “Sandy, you’re a genius! We can beat this Rhino King like the Rhino King in the game!”
“You can take this guy out with that Flaming Fists of Fury move you learned from the game, MK!” Mei cheered, throwing an arm around MK’s shoulders.
“Yeah!” MK agreed. He just needed to get behind Rhino King and use Wukong’s Flaming Fists of Fury! Just like he did in the game!
“Uh, kids?” Mei and MK turned to look at Pigsy, who was pinching the bridge of his nose. “This is real life, not one of your video games!” Neither young adult flinched at Pigsy’s outburst.
“It’s not like we have many other options right now, Pigsy,” MK said, assuring his boss/adopted-father. He turned to the rest of the group. “What do you guys think?”
“I say let’s go for it, little man,” Sandy said, giving a thumbs up. “We’re behind ya all the way.”
Tang, Pigsy, Mei, and even Mo voiced (well, meowed in Mo’s case) their assent. MK smiled warmly at his friends. What had he done in a past life to deserve such amazing people in his current one?
“Alright!” MK turned back to the fight. “Now we just need…”
MK barely had time to dodge Monkey King as the other monkey careened right at him and crashed into a nearby building.
“Monkey King!” MK shouted, alarmed. He ran towards his mentor, sidestepping debris, and held out his hand to the dazed monkey. After taking a moment to regain his senses, Monkey King finally took it and MK helped him to his feet.
“We’ve got a plan to stop the Rhino King!” MK said eagerly.
Monkey King shook his head. “It’s not gonna work, bud. Not without ou… your weapons.”
MK frowned, confused. “How did you…?”
Pigsy huffed and crossed his arms. “And, uh, just how are we supposed to use said weapons if we don’t have them?!”
Monkey King folded his own arms and looked at the group, tail swishing in agitation. He opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by Tang gasping in realization.
“This is just like in Journey to the West!” Tang exclaimed excitedly. “You see, in the book, when the Rhino King used the Golden Jade Ring, the weapons were stored in a room in his lair!” Tang explained, practically vibrating with excitement. “That means our weapons should be nearby, too!”
“Exactly,” Wukong confirmed. His tail twitched anxiously as he continued. “But the Rhino King is smart. He won’t let us near our weapons, let alone find them.”
An idea popped into MK’s head. It was risky, but what wasn’t when it came to protecting the city?
“Then we keep him busy,” MK suggested, trying to sound confident even as his tail betrayed his inner turmoil.
At the sea of confused looks, MK explained. “We need our weapons, right? So some of us should keep The Rhino King busy while the others go and get our weapons.”
Understanding dawned on everyone’s faces.
Mei grinned and gave him a thumbs-up. “Awesome plan, Monkey Man!”
Everyone else nodded their agreement, except for Monkey King.
“Alright!” MK glanced back towards Rhino King, who was busy fighting some of Monkey King’s clones. “Since Rhino King is here for Monkey King and I, he’ll notice if we’re suddenly missing.” MK looked back at his friends. “So I’ll send a clone with the retrieval team so they can get the staff without me.”
“But what if the clone disappears before it can get to the staff, huh?” Pigsy pointed out. “Face it, kid. We’re gonna need either you or Monkey King to get that staff.”
“Pigsy’s right, MK,” Tang agreed, coming to stand by the pig demon. “We can’t risk a clone disappearing before it even reaches the staff.”
As much as he didn’t like it, MK knew they were right. He couldn’t risk sending a clone and having it be destroyed before it reached the staff. Especially if the Rhino King noticed them and destroyed the clone.
In the end, it was decided that Monkey King, Tang, and Mei would go to find the weapons while MK, Pigsy, and Sandy would keep the Rhino King busy. Monkey King, unsurprisingly, had been the most hesitant about splitting the group up. Or, more specifically, being away from MK, where he couldn’t help if something went wrong.
“Monkey King, you have to go with them,” MK said, feeling every bit like a parent talking to a stubborn child. “One of us has to go with them to get the staff.”
Monkey King crossed his arms and pouted. “Both of us could go.”
Why was Monkey King acting like this?! Like a child?! It was beyond frustrating at this point! MK wanted to scream.
But, MK thankfully kept his cool and continued speaking without snapping.
“Rhino King will notice if both of us leave,” MK explained as calmly as he could manage. “One of us needs to stay and keep him occupied, and the other needs to keep Mei and Tang safe.” MK smiled reassuringly at his distressed mentor. “And I’d rather you go with Mei and Tang to keep them safe.”
“But…” Monkey King began.
“I’ll be fine, Monkey King,” MK insisted, interrupting whatever objection Monkey King was going to raise. “Don’t worry.”
Monkey King stared at MK for a long moment before doing something MK never expected: he pulled MK into a hug. MK was stunned. Monkey King rarely initiated any of their hugs!
After taking a second to recover from his surprise, MK hugged his mentor back. It felt… nice. Almost like hugging a warm blanket, fresh out of the dryer.
But as quickly as it had begun, it was over. Monkey King let go and held MK out at arm’s length.
“Good luck, MK,” Monkey King said with a tight smile. “You’ll need it.”
“You too,” MK replied with a confident grin of his own.
Monkey King nodded, and with that, he left with Mei and Tang to go find all their weapons.
MK landed heavily on the ground and glared up at Rhino King as the horned demon threw Pigsy to the side. Thankfully, Sandy was able to catch Pigsy before he hit the ground as well.
“This is the best Sun Wukong could do? A washed-up warrior, a lowly swine, and a pitiful excuse for a successor?” Rhino King threw back his head and laughed. “I can see why that cowardly monkey ran away!”
MK growled at that. His mentor wasn’t a coward! “You take that back!”
The Monkie Kid launched himself at Rhino King, claws extended and ready to strike. He may not have had his staff, but he still had his powers. Just before reaching the Rhino King, MK transformed into a massive elephant and headbutted Rhino King in the chest. The yaoguai flew backwards into a building, completely demolishing it and burying himself in the debris in the process.
MK then quickly transformed into a tiger and charged at the downed yaoguai, intent on not letting up until Monkey King, Mei, and Tang returned with their weapons. They should be returning soon.
Right?
However, as soon as MK reached the pile of debris, a large gray hand shot out and grabbed him by the neck, lifting him into the air.
Startled, MK reverted back to his natural monkey form. He gasped and clawed at the hand that held him aloft, desperately trying to free himself as he struggled to breathe. Debris shifted and fell away as the Rhino King got to his feet.
“Now I’ve got you.” Rhino King smirked coldly.
“MK!” Pigsy and Sandy shouted in tandem. They started running closer, but stopped short when Rhino King swung his spear at them.
“One more step, and I’ll crush the Monkie Kid’s windpipe.” The Rhino King tightened his grip around MK’s throat for emphasis.
MK cried out in pain. His tail lashed as he clutched at the massive fingers around his throat, trying to pry them away.
“Kid!” Pigsy shouted.
MK heard Pigsy growl, and then debris shifting as the pig demon and Sandy moved away.
“There we go,” Rhino King smirked and loosened his grip on MK’s neck enough to allow him to breathe. “Now-” The horned demon returned his attention to MK. “How about we go and find that cowardly master of yours? I want to make him watch as I kill you slowly. Painfully. And to make sure you don’t escape-” Rhino King reached into his robes with his free hand and pulled out the Golden Jade Ring. “I’m going to tie you up all nice and pretty.”
MK’s eyes widened in fear and renewed his struggle to get free, but the Rhino King’s grip was strong; he couldn’t break free! The Rhino King cackled and raised the Jade Ring. MK recoiled; he had no idea what that thing would do to a body, but he had no desire to find out.
Before the Rhino King could activate the ring, there was a rumble and the next thing MK knew he was falling to the ground as the Rhino King was sent flying.
Mei caught MK before he could hit the ground. She set him on his feet before turning and pointing her sword at Rhino King. MK sucked in a desperate breath of air as he looked around at his friends, who were also pointing their newly reacquired weapons at Rhino King. MK just about cried in relief at the sight.
“You alright, MK?” She asked him without taking her eyes off of the yaoguai.
“Yeah, ‘m good,” MK answered unconvincingly as he rubbed at his throat. “Jus’ need a second.”
Rhino King chose that moment to roar and leap towards MK. MK flinched away just as Monkey King darted forward and swung his staff at the charging rhino. The staff grew in size just before impact and the Rhino King was sent flying once more, away from the group and—more importantly—away from MK.
“Get MK outta here!” Monkey King snapped as he summoned some hair clones.
MK didn’t get a chance to argue before he was scooped up in Sandy’s arms. As his friends raised their weapons and charged the Rhino King, Sandy ran away from the fight, with MK held securely in his arms.
“Wait! I can still fight!” MK insisted. He wriggled out of Sandy’s arms and immediately stumbled as soon as he hit the ground. His head was spinning and his legs felt like jelly. Thankfully, Sandy was there to catch him.
“You okay, MK?” The gentle giant asked.
“Yeah, just dizzy,” MK answered weakly.
Sandy hummed. “You’re looking a little pale there, MK. Are you sure you’re okay?”
MK went to answer but was interrupted by a loud roar. Turning around, MK and Sandy saw the Rhino King attacking Monkey King, completely ignoring the rest of the group.
“Where is it?! Where did you put it, you insolent monkey?!” The yaoguai shouted, swinging furiously at Monkey King.
“I don’t have it!” Monkey King shouted back as he expertly dodged the Rhino King’s flailing attacks. “Maybe you should check your oversized a—” Whatever Monkey King was going to say was cut off by the Rhino King backhanding him into a building.
MK winced as he watched his mentor crash into the building. Logically, he knew that Monkey King would be fine, but that didn’t stop him from worrying about his mentor.
Thankfully, he didn’t have to worry for long as Monkey King shot out of the building like a rocket and flew back at the Rhino King.
“We need to help them,” MK said. His knees shook at the thought of facing the Rhino King again, but he didn’t want to leave his friends to fight his battles for him.
Sandy shook his head, his eyes filled with worry. “I don’t know if that's a good idea, MK. You’re still hurt, and I’m supposed to keep you safe.”
“We can’t just let them fight this guy alone!” MK argued. “Mr. Tang said that it took a bunch of people to deal with the Rhino King last time. We need to help them.”
Sandy didn’t get a chance to respond as there was a loud roar that shook the street around them. The monkey and river demons returned their attention to the fight just in time to see Monkey King fly at the Rhino King’s back with his Flaming Fists of Fury.
The Monkey King’s attack connected. The Rhino King cried out in pain and there was a flash of blinding light as the ground shook.
A cloud of smoke obscured what was left of the street, making it impossible to see what was happening within its depths. Then the smoke was blown away by a golden breeze.
Tang lowered his staff as he turned to look at MK. He gave the young monkey a shaky smile before his knees promptly gave out. MK darted forward to catch Tang, but Pigsy was closer so he caught the human before he could faceplant into the ground. Mei stood a little further away from them, sword still drawn, as she carefully watched the hulking form of the felled Rhino King. The yaoguai still seemed to be breathing, but… MK didn’t see Monkey King.
The Monkie Kid frantically looked around the battlefield in search of his mentor, tail twitching anxiously when he didn’t immediately see him. Did the other monkey get pinned under Rhino King? How would they get him out from underneath the massive yaoguai?
MK’s worries greatly diminished when he saw Monkey King beside Rhino King. The golden monkey was kneeling beside the unconscious yaoguai, almost like he was praying.
Before MK could call out to Monkey King, there was a burst of pink light. It disappeared as just quickly as it had appeared, leaving the Third Lotus Prince, Nezha, in its place.
The prince looked around the battlefield with a surprised look on his face. “You defeated Azure Bull? All on your own?” He muttered in disbelief before turning to face the group. “How?”
“Well, it was all thanks to MK, actually,” Sandy began, clapping a large hand on MK’s small shoulder. “He…”
“Woah, woah. Back up,” Pigsy cut in as he and Tang joined MK, Sandy, and Nezha. “Azure Bull? Who’s that? Cuz we were only fightin’ the Rhino King over there.”
Nezha started to respond but was quickly interrupted by Tang’s excited gasp. “That’s right! The Single-Horned Rhinoceros King used to be Azure Bull. He worked for Lao Tzu before he stole the Golden Jade Ring and escaped the Celestial Realm to find worthy opponents in the Mortal Realm. He fought Monkey King at some point during the Journey to the West. And you know how well that turned out.” Tang chuckled nervously before continuing. “Anyway, after that fight, Azure Bull was taken back up to the Celestial Realm and… I… don’t know what happened next.”
“Azure Bull was punished for his actions in the Mortal Realm,” Nezha added, continuing Tang’s story. “Lao Tzu does not take kindly to thieves.” He gave the group a rather pointed look. Pigsy and Tang nervously looked at each other at the Lotus Prince’s words. “But the past is the past, and I am certain Lao Tzu will be thankful for the return of Azure Bull and the artifacts he stole. Speaking of which—” Nezha looked around again, as though he were searching for something. “I do not see either of the two artifacts that were taken.”
MK tilted his head in confusion. A glance at his friends showed that they were just as confused as he was (and that Mei had finally joined their group huddle). Two artifacts? Rhino King only had the…
“Is this what you’re looking for, Little Lotus Prince?” Sandy asked, holding up the Golden Jade Ring.
Nezha’s eyes lit up in surprise. “Yes, it is.” He held out a hand and Sandy carefully gave it to the Lotus Prince.
Tang gasped loudly. “You were the one who took it? Azure Bull was going crazy trying to find it! You really saved our butts out there, Sandy!”
Mei and Pigsy nodded in agreement.
“Aww, you guys.” Sandy smiled shyly as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I only picked it up when Mr. Rhino Bull had dropped it after you two and Mr. Monkey King came back with your weapons.”
“This is the only artifact Azure Bull used in his fight against you?” Nezha asked as he put away the ring with a spell circle.
“Yep.” MK nodded. “It was a little hard to miss when he used it to take our weapons away.” And when he was going to use it on me, MK added silently.
“Yeah!” Mei agreed, jumping over to MK and throwing an arm around his shoulders. “It got all glowy and then shwoop, our weapons were gone.”
MK and the others nodded in agreement. Nezha looked between them before glancing back at Rhino King with a frown.
“Is… something wrong?” Tang asked carefully.
“I… am not sure,” Nezha answered slowly. A pause. “There is something I must discuss with Sun Wukong. Excuse me.”
And with that, he skated over to the still kneeling Monkey King.
As soon as Nezha was gone, MK was immediately dogpiled by his friends. They all fell to the ground in a tangle of limbs and tears. MK laughed as his friends fretted over him, making sure he was okay. He was going to need to see a doctor for sure, but for now…
MK was just glad that everyone was okay.
“Guys, guys. I’m fine,” MK finally said, pushing himself up into a seated position.
Mei held out a hand; MK took it and she pulled him to his feet. MK wobbled a bit once he was upright, but other than that, he was feeling pretty good. MK glanced over at Monkey King and saw that he was standing and talking with Nezha a little ways away from Azure Bull. Or rather, Nezha seemed to be doing most of the talking; Monkey King himself appeared to be quite despondent as he stood there with his tail between his legs.
MK had never seen his mentor act this way before. Not when they were fighting the Spider Queen or even the Lady Bone Demon. The Monkey King had stood tall and proud through each fight. But not this one.
No, this fight seemed to have had a different effect on the older monkey. Now, the Great Sage did not appear all that great, with his head bowed and shoulders hunched. It was almost like someone had sucked the soul out of him, leaving behind an empty husk.
MK jumped as Mei threw her arm around his shoulders again.
“Soooo, now that we’ve dealt with the bad guy,” Mei began, casually examining her fingernails. “Do you wanna go see that Monkey Mech movie now?”
MK’s eyes lit up at the suggestion. “Heck yeah!” He cheered. He could deal with whatever was going on with Monkey King tomorrow. Although… His gaze wandered back over to Monkey King and Nezha. “Do you think Monkey King would like to join us?”
Mei followed his gaze. “He does seem like he could use a break,” she muttered before shrugging. “Sure, he can tag along. So long as he doesn’t spoil the movie, of course.”
MK laughed and shrugged off his friend’s arm. “Don’t worry, he won’t!” Then he frowned and muttered. “I think.”
“I heard that,” Mei teased, playfully shoving MK’s shoulder. MK smiled back as he rubbed the back of his neck.
Mei laughed before shoving MK toward the conversing immortals. “Well, go ask him then.”
MK grinned at her and started running towards his mentor and Nezha.
“Make sure yer back home by 11!” Pigsy shouted after him.
“I will!" MK called back before he continued running. “Monkey King!” he shouted as he got closer to his mentor.
Monkey King’s head whipped around. His gaze met MK’s. Then he looked over at Azure Bull. Monkey King’s eyes widened as he looked back at MK and shouted, “MK! STOP!”
“Huh?” MK followed Monkey King’s gaze. He stumbled as something hit him and shattered. Before MK could fully register what had hit him, he was quickly surrounded by a golden smoke.
“NO!”
MK’s gaze snapped back to Monkey King. There was a look of fear—of pure terror—on the king’s face as he rushed towards his successor.
MK reached out to Monkey King just as the smoke fully enveloped him. “Monkey King?”
Wind roared in MK’s ears as he was painfully yanked away from where he stood, and off to somewhere else. It tore at his clothes and fur with such ferocity that MK worried that his skin was going to peel off.
Thankfully, it was over before that happened. But when the smoke finally cleared, MK realized he was no longer in Megapolis.
He was on Flower Fruit Mountain!
Mei POV:
“Monkey King?” MK cried before he was enveloped in golden smoke.
Mei ran forward to pull her friend out of the smoke. The smoke cleared just as she reached it, revealing… nothing. Nothing. Not MK. Not even a single trace of him standing there. Almost like he had never been there in the first place.
Where did he go?
Mei was snapped out of her trance by loud, raucous laughter.
“You’ll never see the Monkie Kid again!” Rhino King—Azure Bull, whatever—crowed.
Fire danced across Mei’s skin as she stalked towards the cackling rhino. She wanted nothing more than to shut him up for good. How dare he laugh at whatever he did!
But before Mei even got close to the rhino, Monkey King dashed forward and hit Azure Bull over the head with the staff. Azure Bull promptly fell back to the ground, now truly unconscious.
Monkey King, with his tail unusually still, stared down at the bull like he was nothing but trash underfoot that needed to be cleaned up.
With Azure Bull down for the count, Mei turned her ire on the Monkey King. “Monkey King!”
Monkey King turned just in time to meet Mei’s fist in the face. The monkey didn’t flinch even as Mei’s hand throbbed with pain from the impact. He brushed her hand away like he was shooing away a pesky insect.
“What happened to MK? Why didn’t you do anything?” Mei demanded.
Monkey King scowled at her. “What do you think I could have done?”
“I don’t know!” Mei threw her hands up in the air. “Push him out of the way, take the hit for him, anything! He’s your successor!”
“I know he is!” Wukong snapped, bearing his fangs at the young dragon. “But there is nothing we can do for him now. He’s on his own.”
That wasn’t good enough for the White Horse Dragon Girl. “We can find him. We will find him. That’s what we can do. What we have to do.”
Monkey King crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. “And how are you going to find him then? Make a time machine?”
Mei paused. Make a time machine? Why would they need a time machine?
“Um, what do you mean, Monkey King?” Tang piped up timidly from behind Mei.
Monkey King turned his glare onto the scholar. “The bottle that hit m… MK was filled with a special smoke made by Lao Tzu to send whomever is enveloped by it into the past. Far into the past.”
“How far are we talking, Mr. Monkey King?” Sandy asked apprehensively. “Years? Decades?”
Monkey King looked at him with an unreadable expression. “Millenia.”
Something broke inside Mei as the Monkey King uttered that one, single word. Millenia? There was no way. There was no way MK was just… sent through time. That sort of thing happened in movies and video games! Not real life!
Mei shook her head. She refused to believe it. MK was just teleported to somewhere else, just like their weapons. He was out there somewhere. He had to be.
And Mei would find him. No matter the cost.
“There’s no way,” Pigsy muttered. Mei didn’t have to look to know the chef’s eyes were filled with tears. “There’s no way MK’s… gone… just like that…”
“I’m sorry,” Monkey King said dejectedly. “I’m so, so sorry.”
“No…” was all Pigsy managed to whisper. Tang rested a hand on his shoulder, just as distraught as his husband. Pigsy turned away with a look of despair as he pulled Tang into a hug, tears streaming down the normally stoic pig demon’s face.
Mei shook her head and clenched her fists as her own tears threatened to fall. MK wasn’t gone. He just couldn’t be.
“Maybe we could use another one of those smoke potion things to bring him back,” Sandy suggested hopefully, though even Mei could tell he was grasping at straws.
“If I may,” Nezha piped up, coming closer to the group. “That potion was the second artifact that Azure Bull had stolen. And it does have the ability to send someone into the past. From what I have been told, it is a one way trip only.” He looked at everyone solemnly. “Wherever the Monkie Kid was sent, he will not be returning.”
Mei wasn’t having it.
“NO!” Mei shouted. “There has to be something we can do!”
“Look, Mei.” Wukong snarled. “Unless you know how to change the past, my past, then you’d better just leave it alone.”
Anger bubbled within Mei as she glared at the golden monkey. “Your past? What do you have to do with anything that just happened?”
Monkey King blinked. Then he paled and stumbled backwards, nearly tripping over some leftover debris from the fight. His breathing quickened as he continued to back away, his gaze darting between everyone.
Sandy took a cautious step forward. “Monkey King? Are you alright?”
In lieu of an answer, Monkey King hopped on his stupid cloud and everyone watched as he flew away. Mei glared at the quickly retreating form of Monkey King as he became a speck on the horizon, running away from his problems. Like he always did.
The coward.
“It is curious,” Nezha hummed thoughtfully, drawing the attention of what was left of the Monkie Kid’s group.
“What’s curious?” Sandy asked quietly.
Nezha turned to the group. “How is it that Sun Wukong knew how the potion worked if I myself only learned of it recently? Unless…” He trailed off as a look of understanding dawned on his face. He cleared his throat and bowed to the group. “My apologies, but I need to return Azure Bull to the Celestial Realm.”
The god moved closer to Azure Bull and raised his spear, then paused. He raised his head and looked sorrowfully at the group. “I am sorry for your loss,” Nezha said before bringing his spear down and disappearing with Azure Bull in the same pinkish light that had signaled his arrival.
A mournful silence fell over the group. No one knew what to do next, now that the source of their answers had disappeared. Mei stared numbly at where Nezha once stood. Why couldn’t he have stayed and answered their questions? Why did he have to leave so suddenly?
Why didn’t she get a chance to say goodbye?
A broken cry escaped her as she fell to her knees. Hadn’t they suffered enough? With all of the good they had done for the world, didn’t they deserve a break? Why was MK the one who paid the price? Why wasn’t it her? It should’ve been her!
Mei didn’t register the footsteps approaching her until Pigsy, Tang, and Sandy all knelt down beside her and wrapped their arms around her. Their tears fell in tandem as they wept for their missing friend.
Mei didn’t know how long they stayed there, kneeling and crying together. It could’ve been hours. It could’ve been minutes. She didn’t care.
But eventually, someone had to break the silence.
“C’mon, guys,” Pigsy said, his voice cracking as he spoke. “We can’t stay out here forever.”
There were murmurs of agreement from Tang and Sandy, and the three of them got to their feet. Mei stayed where she was, staring out on the battlefield that had taken so much from them. Too much. The street and buildings could be repaired, but the lives that were lost were not as easily replaceable.
Though maybe they could be found again.
“He’s not gone,” Mei muttered as she watched the breeze kick up a dust cloud.
“Mei?” Pigsy said, sounding confused.
“He’s not gone,” Mei repeated firmly as she wiped the tears from her face. She got to her feet and faced her friends. “Look, I don’t care what Monkey King or Nezha say. I’m going to find MK. No matter what it takes.”