#peachpigshipping

[starsfic]

What’s a ship you’re into where you have a “what do you mean that’s not how they met” headcanon

Peachbun!

I know that, in canon, Pigsy and Wukong probably never met before Revenge of the Spider Queen and didn't actually speak until On the Run. But you cannot convince me that, for weeks, Pigsy's Noodles had a very pretty woman visit every so often (Wukong scouting out safe places to leave the future rock baby) and Pigsy formed a crush on her. And then suddenly he had a kid on his doorstep and he didn't notice the woman had suddenly stopped visiting.

It's not until Wukong shapeshifts into his pretty lady form, years later, that Pigsy connects the dots.

[vegalocity]

Not ready yet

Hey y'all want a Peachbun fic? No? Well here you go anyway

--

It's not that they were keeping it a secret so much as it was that... they didn't think the others were ready to find out yet.

Or rather, Pigsy wasn't ready to get mocked until the end of time and then asked a million extremely TMI questions by Tang when he found out he was dating (and had slept with) Sun Wukong. And Wukong wasn't ready to admit that he most certainly DID have a type to his little brother, as Wujing would be smug about it until the end of time.

So they were just... keeping it to themselves. It was fine. It was honestly kind of enjoyable. Like a game for a couple of old men way too old to be playing these sorts of games. Wukong darting downwards and hiding beneath the prep counter because he'd been 'bothering' Pigsy while he was doing morning prep and then Tang walked in. Or ducking behind a tree on Flower Fruit mountain because he'd closed up shop hours ago and Wukong wanted him to stay over at his tonight instead of the other way around but then Xiaotian came bursting in for Successor Business.

That said, there were some times where Pigsy's actual maturity stage was nipping at his heels and reminding him that this whole game was absolutely ridiculous and the only thing they were dodging was playful mocking and some uncomfortable questions. Was it really worth the secrecy?

Not really, but the excited playful grin that Wukong would shoot him from his hiding spot was really fucking adorable and he couldn't help himself. He was always weak to his romantic partners, something Tang had always mocked him over and doubtless would be part of the mocking when he found out about this one.

But of course, nothing is without its near misses.

Pigsy was just finishing up the lunch rush when Wukong popped in, first in disguise to check the restaurant for anyone else, before dropping it and plopping down right next to Tang. Tang of course jolting and focusing very hard on his bowl—once a fanboy always a fanboy after all.

“Hey Wukong.”

“Hey Pigsy.” quick and clipped. Nobody would notice the small grin Wukong snuck him when no one was looking, or the smirk Pigsy sent back just as he was turning away.

They all idly chatted for a time, Xiaotian running back and forth with deliveries and inevitably getting distracted every time he returned because of course he had to talk with his mentor about this or that thing while he was back. Sandy joining them all soon enough. It would still be a few more hours before Xiaojiao dropped in at her regular time when it happened.

“Ahhh I should probably get rollin' before I distract you too much, bud.” Wukong stood and stretched.

“Awww What? Monkey king I'm fine! I'm not distracted.”

Pssh.

Pigsy shoved another delivery into his kid's hand and made a shooing motion. “So prove it! And get the lead out while you're at it!”

Sure enough Xiaotian was out the door, and Wukong twisted his back until a few satisfying pops came out of his spine. “I'll head out before deliveries get TOO messed up. Seeya.” He leaned over the counter, and without thinking, Pigsy leaned in. a quick yet sweet little thing, something they'd had multiple times before as Pigsy was about to head off from his apartment to open up the shop. Something that felt almost natural at this point.

That neither of them realized was infront of Tang and Sandy until it was too late.

Pigsy felt a chill go down his spine and Wukong's eyes widened as he realized the same thing. Tang was stammering in shock less than a meter away, he could see Sandy from the corner of his eye stiffen, eyes wide.

“SSSSSANDY!” Wukong chirped, motions stiff and fake grin so clearly present on his face as he turned and strode over to his brother. “Glad to have you back!” He grabbed Sandy by the shoulder and took his shocked state to bend him down and-

And Wukong kissed him. The exact same way he'd just kissed Pigsy. And if his heart wasn't racing at the terror of being maybe found out before they were ready he would be debating with himself on whether he found that funny or if he should be jealous. Sandy didn't move, it seemed he wasn't able to pull together his brain in time before Wukong pulled away and-

“Tang!” He walked back over and did the same thing again. Tang made a high pitched squeaking noise, Absolutely not ready for his brain to react before Wukong was pulling away. And Pigsy decided he should be amused because this was... absolutely insane. “Always a pleasure.”

And then he darted out the door before anyone could say anything.

“Welp, Monkey King's gone insane.” Pigsy opted to speak first to avoid an awkward silence.

“I just got kissed by Sun Wukong.” Tang uttered, monotone and clipped.

“Do you think he's okay?” Leave it to Sandy for worry to overshadow shock. “I've never seen him like that before.”

“I just got kissed by Sun Wukong.” Tang repeated.

“I'll tell Xiaotian to keep an eye out for any like... magical aphrodisiacs or something, don't want my kid running around macking on anybody that moves.”

“I just got kissed by Sun Wukong.”

“How long do you think it'll take his brain to re-engage?” Pigsy jerked a thumb at Tang, to which Sandy shrugged.

Yeah, he was settling on 'Amused' because this was pretty fucking funny. And Tang was too busy reeling to snatch another bowl while he wasn't looking.

Maybe he should pretend to be upset later when Wukong returned after he closed up and everybody headed home. Might be fun to watch him squirm.

[tigerseye46]

Pigsy: mad at Sun Wukong for something. Holds his face. What do we say? Expecting an apology

SWK: lovestruck You’re pretty.

Pigsy: blushes That’s not- sighs Thanks. You too.

[simpalert]

I’m having to much fun

[vegalocity]

How about 19, 20 and 26 for peachbun, please?

Love Meme

19. “I am only going to say this once, so you better listen – I love you.”

20.“I can’t lose you again! Please, don’t make me lose you again.”

26. “You will never lose me. I will always be right here beside you.”

No Joke I rewrote this several times because the vibes kept feeling off until i finished it in a delirium at 4am last night

Also Season 3 spoilers

--

He maybe shouldn’t have been surprised about how messed up Sun Wukong actually was.

Sure he’d spent that first long period of time while they were on the journey to find the True Fire of Samdhi distant, detached, and for the most part put together, only a small glimpse of what was true coming out that day when he was delusional, emphasized by Ghost Pepper eccentricity and as lost in a memory as he had been. He was still angry at the time sure, he would still be angry at the monkey for a long while still at the point that it had happened, but maybe if he’d been paying a bit more attention it wouldn’t have taken him by such surprise. Especially when he came back to himself and shut down entirely.

But then through no better options everyone began to properly bond from close quarters (and after getting Xiaojiao back from that scare with the True Fire of course) and it became far easier to see a different, more candid side to the great sage that he’d seen only hints of when his grudge was still too great to see clearly. And Pigsy had realised just how much he’d wanted to see more of it.

That dumb snorty laugh that sounded so much different than one would expect out of him, the gentleness in his tone when he’d handle Xiaotian when he thought the others weren’t around, those awkward anxiety filled attempts at keeping everyone in the loop without closing up and insisting that whatever problem had arisen he could handle it on his own.

The difference in how he smiled was one of the things Pigsy had found himself really wanting to understand the most. When the Great Sage smiled with his teeth out he always seemed more tense, nervous and trying to hide it. A smile where Pigsy could see his fangs was to some degree fake. But there was this other, smaller grin, he’d seen in very brief passing, one of relaxed facial features, a closed mouth, and warm amber eyes. That was the real one. That was an expression it had taken another week or so of examination and fantasies (that he’d been internally denying were fantasies) to come to terms with how much he’d like to see it directed at him.

I mean, what better time for falling but when severe stress and fear lead one to the only other full blown ‘adult’ in the group that he didn’t spend his messy 20s thoroughly murdering any chances of romantic feelings for right? Totally not bad timing at all granted they were still essentially on the run with home still in the ghostly storm cloud that was the Lady Bone Demon's wrath.

So he didn’t say anything. Their friendship was already tentative and fearful, Sun Wukong was openly making jokes about how he’s only instrumental to the group and he’ll ‘stop bothering them’ once this all is done. He didn't seem to realize how little they actually sounded like jokes.

But that did mean he was paying more attention to the Great sage than he was before. It wasn't that he didn’t sleep, so much as he didn’t like to sleep. And also that that memory loss induced adventure of theirs had shaken loose quite a few other memories that he was prone to get lost in when the unconscious claims him.

Sandy was behind the wheel of the truck right now, Tang speaking quietly with him about… whatever the hell they talked about when they were alone. Xiaojiao, Xiaotian and Red Son were all piled up in a little stack (with Red Son at the bottom, something he’d loudly protested until everyone started nodding off) on the topmost bunk, and Pigsy had been trying to get some sleep but it just wasn’t fucking coming to him for hours.

So he’d taken to staring at the bottom of the bunk above him, trying to either bore a hole into it with his eyes or stubbornly force himself to sleep. Neither of which were working by the way, when he’d heard a thump and a clatter beneath him.

He peered to the bottom bunk to find Sun Wukong stumbling free from a tangle of bedsheets, looking around frantically.

“Wukong…?” He spoke quietly, and his strikingly golden eyes darted toward him.

“Baije?” Oh, they were doing this again. He huffed and massaged his temple, it was too damn early for this. The last time he’d been lost in memories had been way too stressful what with Tang kidnapped by the Scorpion demon.

“Oh boy…”

“Baije, where are we? Where’s Master? And Wujing? What’s this device we’re riding in?” even in the darkness he was sure the monkey was pale in his fright, breaths huffing and heavy, sweat staining his brow from likely a nightmare.

“Calm down…” he shuffled into a sitting position and hopped to the ground. “You’re lucky I already wasn’t sleeping.” He grumbled as he reached the Monkey King and helped him escape from the tangle of blankets without ripping any of them in his haste. “We’re in a truck… it’s like a wagon I guess?” Last time he wasn’t coming to his senses no matter what until Tang pushed that boulder onto him, so would it be a waste of time to try that again or should he play into it? “Sa-…Wujing is controlling it up there and...Master’s keeping him company.” he nodded to the cabin and strikingly Wukong accepted that. He nodded simply and then glanced upward. “Who are they?” he nodded toward the kids, and Pigsy tried not to groan.

“Uh… they’re traveling with us.”

“How come I don’t remember them?”

“You hit your head pretty hard…”

“Oh.”

By this point they were sitting beside eachother on the floor, leaned against the far wall. “Baije?”

“Y… Yeah?”

“I had a pretty rough nightmare while I was out, and if i got hit hard enough it knocked me out and messed with my memories then i might be a little loopy, but uh…” Sun Wukong turned to him, and when Pigsy looked back he smiled. It wasn’t the fake one, and it wasn’t the quiet one, it was something else entirely. It was crooked, accompanied by a raised eyebrow and a warmth that made Pigsy’s heart leap into his throat. “I am only going to say this once, so you better listen, okay?”

This wasn’t right, he wasn’t in his right mind, he thought he was Zhu Baije, and here Sun Wukong was about to entrust home with something that was probably extremely personal and he wasn’t at that level with Pigsy. Certainly not at the same level as he must have been with his fellow Pilgrims, so he should tell him to wait, to act like whatever it is it could wait until he’d slept off his ‘wound’ a little more.

But because Pigsy was apparently stupid, he nodded anyway.

“I love you.” His thoughts completely froze. For a moment he could only stare dumbly, feeling his face get steadily hotter and hotter at the simple, matter-of-fact declaration, and the memory of the exact context of this exchange absolutely dissolved before it could break through to his mind and stop the swelling in his chest and the fluttering in his stomach.

He couldn’t believe it, how could he? How on Earth would Sun Wukong, of all people, have just admitted that to HIM? He didn’t get this level of lucky. Ever. He was always notably very UN-Lucky, it made his successes feel far greater because he was doing them with fate itself rigged against him. Pigsy had never been this lucky in his life. But it was happening, it was real he wasn’t dreaming because that crick in his neck from sleeping on the road so much was still hurting and everyone knows you don’t feel real pain in a dream and-

“And not like a Brothers-in-arms kinda love either, Don’t tell Master I don’t even wanna think about the lecture that would come out of it if he knew. This is just for you and me, okay?”

And then the reality of the situation--as well as Pigsy’s heart--came crashing back into him, shattering upon impact as it did. Sun Wukong laughed in a sort of wry humorless way, as if he were making fun of himself. “I know right? I was shocked too. Couldn’t even say that I know why either. I know you’re exclusively interested in the fairer gender, It’s okay.” He sounded so… resigned. Like he knew the answer before it even occurred to him to ask the question.

His gut plummeted even further. Was this really how things had gone between him and Zhu Baije? The idea that anyone could spend enough time with someone like Sun Wukong and say no when he confessed to them felt almost absurd!

He’d done nothing but cause them problems on the Journey, why would boss ever-

“Don’t think this means I’ll start letting you get away with anything okay? You’re just as annoying as you’ve always been.” This wasn’t the first time he’d fancied himself in love with someone only to find out they had feelings for someone else.

This was just the first time to realize that person in question not only didn’t feel the same way (though how could he? Who wouldn’t? Did Wukong ever even tell him? If he did would Zhu Baije have surprised him? He would have what could have been ached in his chest like an open wound) but was also long dead. His heart hurt. He didn’t know Pigsy was Pigsy right now. He wasn’t in his right mind, he couldn’t say anything, he couldn’t take advantage of him like that. If he said anything, even if it was true, to Wukong it would be coming from the mouth of someone else. Someone he actually loved-

He was not tearing up at that internal admittance, his eyes just hurt because he’d been staying up for too long.

“But do you think… just this once… While Master and Wujing are busy…?” Wukong shuffled to the side until their shoulders brushed, and Pigsy felt the soft fur brush his neck as the monkey king rested his head on his shoulder. “Just so I can know what it feels like…?”

What a thought… to be able to have just a few short hours to curb the desire that lived so deep in his bones and that somehow had gotten so much worse in a few short minutes, To give in to the desire for affection, to let Wukong assume ‘Baije’ was just being kind to a friend as he attempted the same thing.

It’s not like Pigsy would be getting another chance to cuddle with the person he’d begun to yearn for like a plant yearning for the sun in the middle of the night, anyhow. It’s not like he was trying to make out with him or anything, he didn’t have to deny it for morality’s sake. He could just… let it happen.

He put his arm around Wukong’s shoulders and practically fucking felt the shiver crawl up his spine, making that soft fur stand on end. Wukong leaned further into the half-embrace and… it was really nice. Heaven help him it felt great and he didn’t want to let go.

For a moment that was far far too short in Pigsy’s opinion it was just silence. He’d wordlessly sent curses to Zhu Baije wherever his spirit had reincarnated to for daring to pass up someone as wonderful as Wukong was, and enjoying the warmth, the soft fur tickling his neck, and the faint affectionate monkey chirps that were coming out of the great sage seemingly without his knowledge.

“This is nice.” Wukong’s voice was barely over a whisper, but the puff of warm air on his shoulder sent goosebumps all up and down Pigsy’s arm.

“Yeah…” he responded without thinking. “You maybe wanna go back to bed?” Before he did something they’d both regret.

“The dream will change if I do. I’m not ready to go yet.”

He glanced down at Wukong, the monkey wasn’t looking back at him, reaching a hand up to play with the fabric of Pigsy’s sleeve.

“You think you’re dreaming?”

“Of course I’m dreaming. What else would make sense? I’ve been so in and out of dreams lately on the mountain that it only makes sense I’d eventually start getting lucid while I was here.” Pigsy tried to pull away but Wukong shifted his grip until he was hugging his arm close. “I’m not ready. Baije please; This is my dream. I want to stay here longer.”

“Wukong-”

“No! I don’t want to go back!” His grip didn’t hurt, and his voice wasn’t loud enough to alert Tang and Sandy, or wake any of the kids for that matter, but he may as well have been screaming at him for the pain in Pigsy’s chest at the sheer desperation of it. “I don’t want to go back to mourning you; morning everyone! I’m tired of it!”

“Wukong calm down, you’re freaking out over nothing-” He could barely get a word in edgewise before Wukong interrupted again, this time letting his arm go, but lightning fast wrapping both of his around Pigsy’s neck to force him into a hug. A choked sob cut off any struggle he was about to put up.

“I can’t lose you again! Please, don’t make me lose you again.” It was a deep, ancient, misery in Wukong’s voice. The kind where you’re so tired of being sad but you can’t find it in yourself to be anything else. He could feel the tears sliding down furry cheeks and dripping eventually onto his shirt and… Even if this whole Baije thing wasn’t happening, there’s only one thing Pigsy would have done anyway. He wrapped his arms around Wukong’s waist and crushed him against himself.

The great sage equal to heaven sobbed into his shoulder and nuzzled into his neck, as if to force himself to remember everything about this.

“You will never lose me, okay? I will always be right here beside you.” He still didn’t like this, playing the role to match the delusion, it felt skeezy, wrong. It felt like he was getting affection and attention that he hadn’t earned. But the person who had earned it long ago didn’t deserve it anyway for ever turning down someone as precious as this.

But Wukong pulled away from him and smiled that same sweet, warm smile at him again and Pigsy did his best to return it. Wukong settled against him again, but this time it was more comfortable, almost like hugging one of those giant stuffed animals.

And eventually he fell asleep against Pigsy once again. And to Pigsy’s credit, he didn’t cry. He comforted his friend until sleep finally claimed him again, put him back in the bottom bunk, climbed up to the one above him, and listened to his kids snore above him and his love chitter below. And he didn’t cry.

He wanted to, but he didn’t.

For a few hours he got to pretend, And he got to do it as a kindness to Sun Wukong too. So it was enough.

It had to be.

Because there was never going to be anything else.

--

Send me stuff

[tigerseye46]

Trust Is A Process

Chapter 13: City of Lanterns

Summary: The group arrives at a beautiful city. A city with no crime or strife, a peaceful place that seems to lure them in. They hum to the melody and look forward to their vacation. And with Pigsy having fallen for the king, he’s looking forward to spending time with him. The search for the weapon can wait awhile longer.

TW: Blood, Injury, Possession in a sense I guess? small mention of throw up

A/N: Belated Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I was going to release this on Christmas but I wasn’t finished with it by then. So here you go!

Word Count: 17,943

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AO3 Link

“I choose…” Among the axes, swords, bows and other assorted weapons, Xiaotian picked up a staff. The staff had water and star patterns on it. It was orange with gold at the ends, similar to the king’s staff. “This one.”

“Another staff? Are ya sure?”

He nodded confidently. “I’m a hundred percent certain. Having this staff represents that I’m your successor but it’s one that is completely my own. It’s meant to demonstrate that balance. And besides, I mostly know how to wield a staff.”

“Wonderful choice, bud,” Wukong complimented. It was the perfect choice. A way to show that Xiaotian was his own person, not some imitation of the king. He had the right to carve out his own path. “I think it suits you.”

Xiaotian set his new weapon aside and hugged the king. “Thanks, dad.” Wukong froze.

Dad?

The kid had just called him dad!

!!!!!

Xiaotian realized his slip up as he stared at the frozen king. “Sorry, Monkey King! I didn’t mean to call you that! Dadsy, I think I broke the Monkey King!”

Pigsy cackled loudly, and patted the king’s back. “Welcome to fatherhood.”

Wukong shook himself out of it. “I’m… I’m fine. And I was already a father and grandfather to my monkeys.”

“So you’ve mentioned.”

“I’m just a bit shocked.” The kid… kid called him dad. He had considered him somewhat his kid before their relationship was… broken, but he was never going to vocalize it out loud.

Xiaotian flushed crimson. “Sorry, daa… Monkey King.” Then he launched into panic mode. “Did you not like it? It’s fine! I understand! I shouldn’t have… I’ll stop. It’s just after what we’ve been through and us finally getting back on track. And you saved me. I…”

Wukong halted the kid. “No! No, no, kid. It’s just… thank you.”

The utter delight at being acknowledged as a father caused him to start weeping. It had been so long since someone had called him ‘dad.’ Not since he’d left the mountain. He wondered how his monkeys were doing. Were they safe on the mountain or had they been another victim of the spirit? The thought would cause him to sob more than he already had. He couldn’t take it if another tragedy like the burning happened to befall them.

The spirit was more focused on them so hopefully, she had left them alone.

“I broke the Monkey King!”

“I’m… I’m okay,” he said in between sniffles.

Pigsy leaned near him. “Are you always this emotional?”

“No…”

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

Xiaotian laughed, a nervous skip in his step. He pointed at the exit. “I’ll go show the others my new staff. Bye!” He ran off, his cheeks refusing to lose their color.

The Sage resumed his crying. Pigsy snorted. “Come here, crybaby. It’s okay.”

Pigsy encased him in a hug. Wukong nuzzled into his shoulder. “He- he called me dad!”

With a pinkish blush, he answered, “Yes, he did. Who knew the Great Sage was so emotional?”

“I’m not that emotional…”

“Says the guy cryin’ over bein’ called dad.”

“Okay… maybe I’ve always been a little emotional.”

“I can see that. I was shocked too when he first did that to me.”

It was rather adorable to see the Sage care about being named dad by the kid. And the fact that he accepted it so easily was nice.

In fact, he should be grateful the other cared about his kid so much despite the fact they made it so fucking difficult for him.

“Thank you,” he whispered against his back.

“Hm?”

“For you know… bein’ so nice to the kid. You could have pushed us away, you could have stayed angry but you chose to open your arms to us.” “You didn’t want to hurt me.”

“But we did. Time and time again. I was pissed at you for placing responsibility on the kid but you’ve shown you’re willing to be there for him. I’m glad you gave us a second chance. You’re amazing, Wukong.”

The king grinned, his tail flicking in that cute way. “Thanks, Pigsy. You’re not so bad yourself.”

It was a small compliment, but it made Pigsy’s face flare with color. “Yea. I know. Ya done cryin’?” The king hiccuped in response. “I guess not. You’re lucky you’re cute.”

“Huh?”

“Er…. Nothin’. Hey, remember how the kid said you were his dad?”

“He said I was his dad!” Another sniffle.

Pigsy grunted. “Oh boy. Why don’t ya help me make somethin’? We can cook peach pie.”

“That sounds nice…”

“Let’s do that, hero.”

“Wait, shouldn’t we see what the kid’s staff does?”

“Probably but you were too busy sobbing to let us see. That thing doesn’t come with an instruction manual, huh?”

“Nope. I guess he’ll just know how to use it.”

“Well, we should help him before he destroys the ship with whatever.”

“Good point.”

They ran to the living room where Xiaotian was showing off the staff.

“We should figure out what it does first, bud.”

“Oh, right.” He tapped it. “What does it do?” He shrugged. “I have no idea.” Then slung it over his shoulder. A bolt of lightning emitted from the weapon and hit the couch. The couch exploded and fuzz flew everywhere.

“..Oopsie.”

Pigsy spat out the fuzz that entered his mouth. “Bleh. Great. Lightning. That’s totally safe.”

“At least it didn’t hit us,” the Sage said.

“I guess that’s a positive,” he mumbled.

It extended then it shrunk. “Cool! It’s kinda like the Monkey King’s staff!”

Fire shot out of it.

Pigsy yelped and hid behind the king. The king smirked at him. “Wow! This is amazing!” He twirled it and one of the ends marked a white line on the ground. He hummed and drew more lines.

“Kid, maybe do whatever it is you’re doing outside.”

The kid stuck out his tongue and continued sketching. When it was finished, it was a drawing of a floating jeep with the monkey kid logo. It glowed and the others braced themselves. In a puff of air, the vehicle materialized and took up the room.

Xiaotian flapped his arms and stamped his feet. “Look at these new powers.”

“That’s great, bud. How are we supposed to move this out of the living room?”

“Uhhhh… Maybe I should poke it.” He poked it with the staff.

“Kid, that didn’t work the last time you tried it.” Pigsy was interrupted when it exploded into a puff of smoke. The pig coughed. “Never mind.”

Xiaojiao squealed. “Try it out more.”

“Not inside the ship,” the older adults yelled.

Xiaotian laughed. “Yea, maybe it wasn’t the greatest idea to use it here.”

“Ya think?”

He let out another laugh and stumbled outside. The others followed. Xiaotian utilized the staff. A bolt almost struck one of the engines. “I need practice…”

“No kiddin’.”

“Ignore Pigsy. That’s what I’m here for.” He pointed to himself.

“With you, this is surely goin’ to go great,” the pig drawled.

“I’m glad you agree. After all, my amazing cleverness is sure to teach Xiaotian how to properly wield their new staff.”

“Yea, you’re very clever. Just try not to explode the ship, kid. We still have to reach the City of Lanterns and all that other stuff.”

“That your only concern?”

“I deserve to relax after dealin’ with this bunch.”

“You mean we deserve to relax?”

“Nope. Just me.”

Wukong nudged him. “Sure, Pigsy. Xiaotian, let’s do some training.”

The group brought training dummies outside and allowed the kid to practice. He zapped one of the dummies with his lightning. He tapped his hand against the staff. “Maybe I shouldn’t use this unless necessary.”

“Would the spirit hold back?”

“No but that’s the only time I would use it. There has to be some other things.”

“Do you think you could create larger vehicles?” Xiaojiao pondered. “Sandy and I are almost done with the rocket ship but it would be easier if we didn’t have to wait awhile to go to the moon.”

“We don’t know how stable the kid’s creations are going to be and we won't waste your hard work.”

“Monkey King is right. I need more practice and your rocket ship is good enough.” Fire burst out of the weapon again. “Er… we’ll stick to the basic features.”

“You won’t get better if you don’t practice with your new weapon’s powers, bud.”

“I know! But the City of Lanterns is supposed to be the most peaceful place in all of China. Maybe we’ll be fine.”

“Don’t disregard practicing with it, bud. Usually places that claim to be the ‘most peaceful place’ turn out to be the most dangerous.”

“Yes, Monkey King!”

Xiaotian continued to practice with the staff until he could control the powers that came with it. And while there was a stray beam, it thankfully missed the others and any valuable part of the ship.

The kid felt as if there was more untapped potential in the staff. Hopefully, Xiaotian wouldn’t have this one ripped away from them. They wanted to utilize their natural monkey abilities rather than relying completely on the staff like last time.

He was only able to create small items like Wukong did when he was starting to regain his powers but it did show improvement.

Xiaojiao joined him in training to get him used to his new weapon. Although, Xiaotian only used the basic features of it as they called it to prevent themself from hurting their friend which was understandable. Wukong trusted him to unlock the most vicious parts of it when it was necessary.

He allowed his successor to take a break and sit with him as he and Xiaojiao played video games. A beautiful background and characters invaded the screen. “I’m pretty excellent at video games myself,” he bragged.

Xiaojiao mashed her fingers against the controller. “Oh, I’m sure, Monkey King. We saw the game you created by the way.”

“Which one?”

“That virtual reality one based on your journey.”

He winced. He hoped they didn’t sense his loneliness from his creation. The primary reason he created it was so he could rid himself of his emptiness. Even if they were on a screen and completely fictional, he felt as if they were beside him while he played the game. Now that he was united with his brothers, he didn’t necessarily need the game except to see Bajie and master.

If only he had the power to revive the dead then they would be able to be a family again. Not to say the others weren’t becoming his family but it was awful without his oldest companions. They wouldn’t be gone in the first place if he listened to his gut instincts. Ugh. It wasn’t his fault. And he could keep them in his heart.

Sometimes he thought Pigsy resembled Bajie but that was his imagination making connections when there weren’t any. There were lots of pigs with blue eyes, adorable bodi-... anyway, there were a lot of pig demons. And Bajie and Pigsy were different from each other. One was more responsible although Bajie could be when he put his mind to something. They were as different as night and day.

Then there was Tang, who was definitely the opposite of master. It was a wonder Wujing fell in love with someone different from his first love but people can’t control who they fall for. If only his brother would get it through his stupid head that Tang liked him back.

“I consider that one of the best video games I ever made,” he said.

Xiaotian perked up. “I don’t think I told you, Monkey King, but I learned how to fire punch from your video game.”

“Impressive, bud. You didn’t ruin my house, did you?”

Xiaojiao leaned her chin. “You mean that shack?”

“My house,” he corrected.

Xiaotian curled an arm around the girl’s shoulders and chuckled. “Of course not. I didn’t break your house.”

“...You broke my house.”

“There was a small hole as a result but we fixed it! Yay!”

“I suppose that’s acceptable. Is there a third controller? I want to play.”

The girl passed him a controller. “You suck at fighting, old man. Do you think you’re better at games?”

“As I said, I’m wonderful at games.”

They restarted the round and selected their characters. There were five lives each. Wukong wasn’t sure of the name of the game. All he knew was that he was going to win.

He used his monkey character to kick Xiaotian’s character then blasted it with a ray from his wrist. “Hey!”

“Sorry, bud.”

“You’re not sorry at all!”

“I’m not.”

“Are you losers going to keep talking? I can beat you two with both hands behind my back.”

“Let’s see about that.”

Xiaojiao resumed hitting Wukong’s character and her power bar rose until she was able to activate her special. Her figure shimmered green and a dragon surrounded it then struck the others.

She pumped her fist in the air when their figures disappeared from the screen then materialized in a flash within a few minutes.

Wukong gritted his teeth and blasted the other beings. While he tried, he wasn’t the greatest compared to the dragon girl and neither was his successor who was frantically battering the buttons without a plan of attack.

They lost swiftly. Xiaojiao yelled, “That’s right! I showed you who's boss.”

“Good job, Xiaojiao. I really have to get better at this game.”

“It doesn’t matter how good you get. I’ll still beat you.”

“Hmph. Maybe I’ll gain magical powers from this game too.”

“Then you’ll destroy the ship like you did Monkey King’s house.”

“I’m still sorry about that.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m glad you unlocked a new power.”

“Phew. Glad you’re not mad.”

“Why would I? Accidents happen.”

“Yea, they do. That game was kinda underwhelming. I mean it was difficult at the end but it wasn’t as expansive as it could have been.”

“Well, it was supposed to be a personal game.” A reminder. His shoulders sagged. A memory of loss. “Anyway, I should probably do… anything else.”

“You okay, Monkey King?”

“Fine. Fine. See you!”

He put down the controller and practically leapt from his spot.

The kids didn’t know the personal weight the game held for him. His family should tell them one day about what happened that caused them to split apart. He promised no secrets between them. No more likes. But what is it a lie if he never said anything in the first place?

They would say something eventually. It wasn’t necessarily the other’s business but they were friends now and it would be good to clue in the others about their lives more.

No more secrets. No more lies.

Was it a secret? He wasn’t comfortable talking about it but it wasn’t necessarily a secret. Just something he didn’t want to discuss.

The group was intelligent enough to figure out something must have happened to Tripitaka and Bajie. They should have figured it out.

It always bothered him that Bajie was killed by some lowly demon, as if the demon was given a boost, help of some sort. It was suspicious. The pig demon was the toughest out there, second to him and he was taken out by some vile yaoguai. There had to be some interference involved.

Did someone help that yaoguai kill Bajie? And what happened to his rake? Where had it been all these centuries? If they were lucky, they would find it and it would be helpful to them.

It would be a wonderful way to honor his greatest love by obtaining his precious weapon that was horrendously ripped away from his corpse.

He needed to halt his thoughts or he would become more saddened so he walked to the balcony.

He took his phone and played some upbeat music. He set his phone on the floor.

Wukong danced to the beat. His hips swayed and let himself get lost in the music. He tapped his feet and did whatever he could to keep his spirits up.

He prayed he would go interrupted but if his brothers joined then he could spend quality time with them and vent about his feelings.

The king closed his eyes and blocked out all around him except the beat. The breeze settled his nerves.

Unbeknownst to him, Pigsy wandered up there after baking peach cookies and checking on everyone else. It was his job.

He saw Wukong jive on the roof. The king was in his element. The guy really loved dancing and poetry from all those stories and that time he caught him reciting it in front of a mirror. His little actions were cute.

His head tilted against the doorway. He examined him with a grin. Heavens, was there a stronger word than ho- captivating? And it wasn’t just his mood, it was everything about him. He admired him for keeping the kid safe and if he could keep himself safe as well then that would be great.

He cared for others, he certainly wasn’t the selfish monkey he thought he was in the beginning.

The pig giggled when the Sage twirled. He should leave before he caught him staring but he was entranced by him so instead of exiting, he spoke up. “What are ya doin’?” Pigsy questioned.

The Sage’s tail fluffed when his ears caught the pig’s voice. He responded, “I’m dancing! Why don’t you join me?”

The pig declined. “I’m not a dancer. I’ve said this.” There were occasions he would dance but it was more in private. Tang was one of the few people who had seen it but his opinions didn’t matter.

Wukong held out a hand. A sincere smile on his face. “I can teach you. What’s the harm in having a little fun?”

Was this a good idea? The pig’s gaze drifted between him and his hand before reaching out delicately as if the king would break with a simple touch. “Alright.”

“Yes!” He spun Pigsy around. “This will be fun! You know what that is right?”

“Tch. I know what fun is. I have fun all the time.”

“If you call making noodles all the time ‘fun.’”

“It is. You know why I enjoy it. Messin’ with Tang is fun, hangin’ out with you is nice and all that other stuff.” He blushed when Wukong encased an arm around his waist and brought him close to his face.

His lips curled to create a smirk. “Awwww, you like me, don’t you?”

“Like you? You’re…” He coughed and pushed him away by putting a hand on his chest. “You’re okay. Nothing fantastic or anything. I’d give you a three out of ten on the alright level.”

“Wow. I should be ranked higher. I’m the handsomest-”

“Monkey on the planet.”

“Being on the planet,” he adjusted.

“You can’t be the handsomest being on the planet because I already occupy that spot.”

“You’re a two out of ten.”

“You have horrible opinions.”

“I think I have wonderful opinions. I’m great at choosing friends.”

“And enemies.”

“You’re so nice, Pigsy. Here I am trying to be my wonderful self and you’re being mean.”

The pig laughed. “I don’t see it.”

The monkey glanced at his phone when the tune died down. It switched to classical. “I’ll show you my charm. Ever slow dance?”

“Er… rarely.”

“You willing?”

“Sure.” Slow dance with the king? It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

Pigsy questioned where he should wrap his arms. “Here.” The king guided his hands to the Sage’s neck. He returned his arms to his waist. “Comfortable?”

“Uh, yea. I… ummm…”

“I’ll teach you. I promise.”

“Okay… thanks.” He ducked his head to cover his blush. Wukong tilted his chin up.

“You can’t focus if you’re looking at the ground. Do you trust me?”

“Yea, I do.”

He focused on his gorgeous golden eyes as they did circles around the balcony. Their bodies pressed close against each other. Their breaths mingled.

Pigsy could have leaned in and they would…

It was just a dance. A simple dance between friends. No matter how charming Wukong was with his kind, confident personality. He was rather easy on the eyes.

Twirling around, Pigsy felt butterflies. Wow.

Wukong dipped him. “You’re an amazing dancer.”

“Uh… you are too.”

“If the noodle business doesn’t work out, you could make a career out of this. Not that I expect it to not work out. You’re an excellent chef.”

His small compliment made him weak in the knees. “Thanks… I wouldn’t say I’m necessarily good at it. It’s more of your thing.” But it could be an us thing. Oh, he wanted to slap himself.

“You just need practice but you are amazing for someone who rarely slow dances. Want me to make a poem to describe it?”

A poem about him? That would be… awesome. “No thanks. You always like this?”

“Just with people I find interesting.” “You must find a lot of people interesting, given you spout poetry so much.” “Not what I mean.”

He spun him around more then separated from him while clutching onto his hand then brought him closer again.

Pigsy allowed his palm to travel to his bicep. The king was strong, gorgeous.

Heavens, he could stay like this forever and he wouldn’t mind. At that moment, the thought of the spirit left his mind. It was just them and nobody else.

His other hand drifted to his cheek, furry and soft. There was a tint of red on the king’s face. Only the sky above knew how pink the pig’s features were.

It was as if there was a magnet pulling him towards Wukong and he couldn’t find it in himself to break free. It was entrancing like a spell has taken its hold.

Something was blooming between him and the king. Oh fuck.

Nope. He would not get lost in those astonishing eyes that shone like the stars. That excellent well toned body that had been so greatly maintained despite the centuries of retirement. The attractive personality that reeled you in with humor and wisdom.

What would those lips feel like? Were they soft? What would they taste like?

As they continued to sway together, Pigsy’s face grew hot. His hands felt sweaty and his heartbeat rang in his ears. Could the king hear it?

And when Wukong shot him that amazing, beautiful grin, he instantly knew he was in trouble and he was okay with that… if only for the time being. His crushes only lasted a week anyway.

—-

Okay, maybe it wasn’t as easy as he’d expected. Being stuck on a ship didn’t cause the feelings to fade so easily or maybe he was making excuses for himself. He had been roommates with  Tang for forever and his crush only lasted a week with him.

Why did he fall so easily? Why was he such a lovestruck pig? Did Tu’er Shen decide to make him fall for the Great Sage?

He was thinking way too much about this. And there were a lot of things to love about the king. He should make a list.

The king was as sweet as sugar and as wonderful as the greatest crafted noodle recipe. He was ridiculously handsome. He definitely earned his title as the beautiful Monkey King. There was so much to his personality.

Pulling out a fresh batch of cookies, the king walked in. “Hey, Pigsy!”

He hastily placed the batch on the counter and waved then turned off the beeping oven. He greeted him with a grunt. “Uh, hey! What are you doin’ here?”

“Checking up on you.”

“Oh? You don’t need to do that.”

“I want to. You okay? Your face is red. You sick?” He touched his forehead.

“I’m fine. I’m only hot from baking or whatever.”

“You made more cookies? Great!”

As he was about to reach for one, Pigsy blocked him. “Don’t eat them! They’re a bad batch!”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You made them. They can’t be bad.” He resumed reaching, his arm hooking over Pigsy’s shoulder instead of maneuvering around him. He bit into one. “See. This is amazing.”

“Thanks… I… uhh… have to talk to Tang. See you…”

“Don’t forget your gloves.”

“Hm?” He noticed he still had them on. He settled them near the cookies. “Thanks. I’ll be back.”

The king winked. “I’ll be waiting.”

He would be waiting… A content sigh and a dreamy look crossed his features before he headed off to Tang frantically.

Arriving at the library, he spotted the scholar grumbling to himself. “Tang, we need to talk.”

“Wow, Pigsy. Not even a hello? You’re rude.”

“That’s great. We need to talk. Can we do it in my room?”

“Sure. Something wrong?”

“Maybe…” He pushed him to his room.

“Hey!”

“Move!”

They sat down on the pig’s bed. He rubbed his face. “I don’t know how to say this.

He patted his friend’s back. “Pigsy, you’re starting to scare me. What is it?”

“It’s not… not bad. Don’t worry. Well, for you, not for me. Ugh.”

“Take your time.”

“Okay, so.” Why was he nervous about this? It wasn’t like it would wreck their friendship. He should come right out and say it. Pigsy confessed, “So I might have fallen in love with Wukong…”

A beat. Then, Tang burst into hysterical laughter. Between giggles, he spoke. “Oh really? Wow. This is amazing- I knew you had fallen for him.”

“You’re so helpful, Tang,” he scowled. “And yes, I have. Unfortunately.”

“You fall so easily, Pigsy,” he teased. “What was it?”

A blush appeared. “… A lot of things. Like how he’s there for the kid, his determination, stuff like that.”

Tang’s lips pulled into a smirk. “Ooh, someone embarrassed to admit what he likes about his new crush?”

The pig threatened, “I can and will kick you out of my room. It’s just a tiny crush, okay?”

“So what made you realize?”

The pig’s gaze drifted to the wall. “We… Well, we danced together.”

Tang looked as if he was one second from breaking into another fit of laughter, but remained relatively serious. “You danced together? Cute. What kind of dance?”

“…The romantic kind. The waltz, I think…”

“Heavens. You have it bad, don’t you?”

“Who asked you?”

He raised his arms in defense. “You literally pulled me aside for this.”

“I can’t believe I fell for him of all people,” he groaned.

“What’s wrong with him? He’s shown us that he’s better than what you thought he was.”

“That’s the problem! Now I know he's actually a nice guy! A really great guy. This is going to fuck things up.”

“It doesn’t have to.”

“I fell for someone who is basically a celebrity, Tang! And we have the whole journey. Feelings will just get in the way.”

“I mean… I might be pissed at Sandy but I’m capable of working with him sometimes. My feelings don’t impede anything.”

“They do, ya idiot. You don’t see it. It’s worse for me. He’s… he’s cute and sweet and what am I supposed to do?”

“Tell him?”

“No way. Maybe it will go away. I hope.”

“How long?”

“What?”

“How long has it lasted? Your crushes last a week, don’t they?”

“…Three weeks.”

“Oh, shit. You’re in trouble.”

“I know that! Fuck. How do I hide this?”

“By doing your usual. Act like you don’t care when you actually do.”

“I definitely don’t care about you right now,” he growled.

He nudged him. “See, you’re doing it perfectly. Besides, I’m sure you’ll be fine. I could give you two some alone time when we reach the city.”

“Don’t… don’t do that. That’s a bad idea. I need to get over this.”

“You can’t erase your feelings. This isn’t a bad thing. You need time to become used to it. That’s all.”

“I suppose… thanks, Tang.”

“You’re welcome, old friend. I could be your wingman if you want.”

“Don’t know if I need that but thanks. Hm… maybe I will spend time with him in the city after all.”

“That’s the spirit. Your feelings are nothing to be ashamed of, Pigsy. At least, you have a shot.”

“Eh, I wouldn’t say that.”

“I would. You're friends with him and you get along with his brothers.” There appeared to be a foul taste in his mouth at the word. Obviously he was thinking of Sandy. “Adding those totally charming qualities and you’re golden.”

“Tch. I guess. This might turn out kinda nice. You ever going to talk to Sandy?”

“I did talk to him.”

“Civilly.”

“Jerks don’t deserve civility.”

“Let me guess. There’s another misunderstanding.”

“There’s no misunderstanding. He’s made it clear how he feels.”

“Uh huh. Whatever you think he thinks, I’m sure it ain’t true. Sandy is nice.”

“To everyone else…”

“For the love of… you are talking to him and clearing up whatever it is.”

“Or what?”

“Or I’ll kick your ass. You need to get along. We can’t do this if we have you two fighting. He’s not the same demon in those legends anymore. He’s changed.”

Tang’s gaze drifted to the pink carpet. “Yea, he has. And maybe I’ve been an asshole to him even if he hates me the least I can do is be friendlier. I’m not ready…”

“When are ya goin’ be?”

“Not sure. Wait. Hey! Weren’t we discussing your problems?”

“You have bigger problems than I do.”

“No, I don’t! I’m not the one in love with the Monkey King.”

“…I just think he’s cute.”

“Sure. That’s it. Hey. What would you do if he kissed you?”

“Ki-KISS?” His face flushed. “I…” He smacked his friend with a pillow when he saw his humongous grin. “Not funny!”

“I’m asking a genuine question. What would you do?”

“I… don’t know. Kiss back I guess. I wonder what it will be like.”

“You’re sappy.”

“Shut it! I’m not sappy! I wonder if Wukong knows.”

“I’m sure everyone knows except him. You haven’t been great at hiding it.”

“Fuck.”

“It’s fine. The others won’t tell.”

“Ugh.” He buried his chin in the scholar’s shoulder. Is that why Longma had been snickering at him from a distance?

“There, there, you poor soul.”

“I hate you.”

“There are boat rides in the city. You could-” Pigsy smacked him with the pillow again. “Rude! I have a Monkey King plush if you- Ow!”

He stomped out of the room. “Thanks for the help!”

The pig returned to the king and grinned. “You waited.”

“I said I would. Ready to go to the living room?”

“Absolutely.”

They strolled to the living room and sat down on the couch. They switched the television on and Pigsy felt himself being pressed to Wukong’s side.

“You think there are any good action movies on?”

“Uh, maybe. You like action movies, huh?”

“Yes, I do. Let me guess. You’re the romantic genre type.”

“I mean… they’re nice.”

“I won’t judge. A special person loved romantic plays a lot.”

“A special person like a lover?”

Wukong’s lips pressed tight and Pigsy wanted to kiss them. “No. A friend.”

“Er, sorry for assuming.”

“No harm done, Piggy. Can I call you that? I know Xiaojiao and Wujing do.”

“Sure… you can call me whatever you want.”

“Thanks.” His tail wagged. What would it feel like to have that curled up against him while cuddling? “There has to be something good.”

“Why don’t we watch those horrible Monkey Cop movies you like?”

“They’re great.”

“You starred in them so they’re awful.”

The king elbowed him playfully. “You’re so kind to me.”

“He’s right, big brother. I watched them during the trip. They’re awful.” Longma smirked down upon the two.

“Shut it, xiaolong. What do you know? You don’t have taste.”

“I’m a prince. Of course I do.”

“From my experience, other royals don’t have any.”

“That firmly applies to you, eldest brother. Now move over.” He pushed him and sat near them. His smirk grew at the position they were in, Wukong curled against the pig. “Hi, Pigsy.”

“Er, hi, Longma. What were ya doin’?”

“I was with Xiaojiao. We were trying to hone in on her dragon abilities further. It was incredibly fun.”

“That’s great. Her parents have always been so stuffy about her bein’ formal or whatever nonsense. It’s good she has someone whose allowing her to be herself. She’s lucky to have you.”

“Thank you but it’s quite the opposite actually. I’m lucky to have her and I’m not the only one.” He gestured to Wukong.

“Hm? What are you talking about, xiaolong?”

“Nothing, eldest brother. It’s good to see that you and Pigsy have become good friends.”

The Sage ran his fingers over the pig’s arm. “Yea, it is. He’s fun when he’s not behaving like a snob.”

“A snob? Hmph. I am not a snob.”

“Yes, you are! You act like I don’t know how to cook.”

“You don’t.” “Hmph. You’re rude. At least I have good looks and charm to make up for our duo.” Oh, so they were a duo now. “You have neither. You should pay me to look at your ugly mug all day.”

“I am handsome! Very handsome!”

The dragon chuckled as he examined their interaction. “I have to agree with my brother-in… I have to agree with Pigsy. You aren’t the most good looking person on the planet. That honor goes to my wife.”

Pigsy shot him a glare to tell him that he noticed what he was about to say. Wukong raised a brow over Longma’s cut off sentence but dismissed it in favor of focusing on the comment about his looks. “I have a title!”

“A title you gave yourself!”

“It’s still a title and everyone agrees.”

“Not everyone. I’m still here, ya know?”

“Oh, I could make you fall for my charm, Pigsy but I’m sure you would get distracted by my beauty.”

What an ironic statement. Pigsy had already fallen. He sputtered, “I’d like to see you try.” And he was sincerely hoping Wukong would attempt to charm him. The dragon huffed. Why was he always stuck between lovebirds? “Hey. Why don’t Pigsy and I prepare popcorn while you pick out a movie?”

“I don’t-”

Longma dragged him by the arm into the kitchen. He pressed a few buttons on his phone and soon Wujing appeared. He closed the door behind them and the pig felt fear run through his veins. “We need to talk to you.”

“Hey, Pigsy.” At least one of them was polite.

“Hey, Sandy. Talk about what?”

Longma bent down and whispered, “Your thing for our brother.”

“WHAT? WHAT THING?”

“You have strong feelings for him, don’t you? We’ve noticed.”

“Yea, we uhhh… danced with each other and I’ve learned he’s not a bad guy.”

Wujing pondered, “How long has it lasted?”

“Three weeks.”

Wujing whistled. “Okay so yea, you have it bad.”

“Why is the time of it significant?”

“See, Pigsy’s crushes usually last a week so if they last more than that then he’s really fallen.”

“I see… We’re here to tell you that while we’re okay with your feelings since you seem apologetic for the hurt you put him through, if you do anything like that again, we will make your life hell.”

“Longma! Be peaceful.”

“I don’t know peace.”

“Ignore him.”

“No, ignore him. Someone has to deliver the threats in this family. It’s not you and it certainly isn’t Mr. Oblivious. I’m serious if you hurt him, I will do anything in my power to make you regret it.”

“I won’t. I feel bad for what I did and it’s all repaired and stuff. I wouldn’t hurt him. Not on purpose. I do like him and he’s shown he’s a nice guy.”

“Yea. Once he shows he’s not an arrogant dick, he’s pleasant.”

Sandy glared at the dragon. “He’s changed.”

“I know. I’m just recalling that I found out he wasn’t so bad.”

“If anythin’, I was a dick. I refused to give him a second chance and allowed my feelings to get the best of me. I’m glad he’s explained everythin’ now.”

“Good. And once again, I’m warning you if you mistreat him again, possessed or not, I will kick your ass.” Sandy groaned and shook his head. “Don’t shake your head at me, middle brother! I joined when everyone was acting awry and against him so I have every right to dish out a threat.”

“You’re right. I promise I won’t break his heart.”

“Fantastic. Eldest brother hasn’t had the best experience with love in the best so I want to make sure.”

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing…” There was a frown on both the disciples’ faces before the dragon continued, “Now since we’re somewhat supportive of this, mostly Wujing. We recommend you go on a boat ride with him. Apparently they’re supposed to be romantic.”

“Heh. Funny. Tang said the same thing.” Sandy averted his eyes at Tang’s name. “Er… I don’t know if I should. Does Wukong even feel the same way? And be honest.”

“Not at this moment but he could. Regardless, we want our brother to be happy.”

“Isn’t it lyin’ to him?”

“He’ll probably want to go on a boat anyway.”

“Doesn’t he hate water?”

“He doesn’t hate it. He just can’t swim in deep waters without shapeshifting. As long as the boat doesn’t tip over, you’ll be fine.”

“It’s still lyin’.”

“It’s good for friends too I guess. Ask him to go with you. He’ll accept it.”

“I’m not sure.”

Sandy said, “Trust us. He’ll be cool with it.”

“Fine…”

“We would force you on there anyway.”

“Longma!”

“I’m kidding! Let me enjoy myself. We’re going on vacation.”

“Don’t forget about our mission.”

“I won’t, brother. The most fun would be us hooking our brother up with Pigsy.”

The pig growled, “I’m right here! I’m not entertainment, ya know.”

“Deal with it. If you become my brother-in-law, you’ll have to deal with my sense of humor forever.”

The pig blushed at the implications that it would involve him and Wukong getting married. “I have a feeling I’ll be stuck with it either way.”

Sandy tugged on Longma. “Okay. You’ve messed with him enough. You’ve been influenced by big brother too much.”

“Don’t compare me to him.”

Pigsy scoffed. “I’m going back to Wukong. You two make the popcorn.”

“Because you’re head over heels,” Longma yelled.

“Shut up! I am not!”

“We’re arriving at the city in twenty-four hours by the way.”

“Thanks!”

He stormed off to see the king again. The king waved. “Hey. Where’s the popcorn?”

“Longma’s got it. Also you’re a bad influence on him.”

“What makes you say that?”

“He likes to mess with me too.”

“You are easy to mess with. And I taught him well.”

“Whatever. Move over.”

Longma and Sandy arrived with the popcorn bowl while Pigsy tried to subtly flirt with the king. It was good that the king was getting used to affection again. “You know in this light, I might give you a five out of ten.”

Wukong snorted. “I might say the same about you.”

The dragon threw popcorn at them. “I’m watching the movie. Quiet!”

“Longma!”

“WHAT?”

—-

They inched closer to the city and as they saw it over the horizon, they began to feel a bit lightheaded then it stopped and an eerie calm washed over them. It was strange but they didn’t protest.

The city lured them in like a melody.

And while they appeared to snap out of it, there was something in the back of their minds.

They landed the ship and stepped off of it. There were robots sweeping the streets and helping visitors and citizens alike. It appeared that the only workers were robots.

The city had lanterns hung up almost everywhere which was befitting for a place named after the objects. There was a restaurant with a giant bowl of noodles in the middle. There was a panda store. A train shaped that had a face resembling a pig. Billboards were hung up. Far away laid that river where couples and some friends were enjoying the boat rides.

The place was shining, dazzling, gorgeous. The building that stood out the most was a hotel labeled ‘Lotus Hotel.’ In fact, there appeared to be a few lotuses around the city.

Citizens awed at the ship. Wukong snapped his fingers. “I still can’t shapeshift. I hope that won’t be a problem.”

Pigsy replied, “I’m sure it will be fine. Let’s pack our stuff and stay at the hotel.”

“What about the ship?”

“I’ll activate the forcefield when we pack everything.”

“You have a forcefield on that thing?”

“Of course I do, big brother.”

They slowly started packing their things in suitcases they had bought during one of their breaks.

When they exited and Wujing activated the shield, a panda, and an ermine greeted them. The panda was around Sandy’s height and the ermine was slightly shorter than Pigsy. The panda was in a black business suit with a green tie while the ermine was in a blue dress with vine patterns. The panda said, “Welcome. My name is Kāng Bōjié. I am the leader of this fair city. This is my assistant Wáng Yǔtíng. It is wonderful to meet you. Who might you be?”

Wukong bowed his head. “I am Sun Wukong. You’ve probably heard of me. It would be a surprise if you hadn’t. My group and I are on a journey. We heard about your city and decided to rest here.”

Something glistened in Bōjié’s green eyes at his name. He let out a mock gasp. “Wow. It is wonderful to meet you, Sun Wukong. You’re a legend. We’re lucky to have you here. How long will you be staying?”

“Only a day or so if that’s alright.”

“It’s more than alright. We’ll book you a room at the Lotus Hotel. We’re more than happy to help you heroes in anyway necessary. My assistant will show you around. If you need me, I’ll be in my office which is that giant blue building with the lotus roof.”

“Thank you.”

“My pleasure. I would also like to say it’s nice to meet Sun Wukong’s successor. You must be an incredibly special, young man.”

Xiaotian beamed. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Enjoy your stay and I’ll tell you this city is so excellent that you’ll never want to leave.”

And Wukong should have found that suspicious, something in his head was telling him to find it suspicious but instead he grinned and laughed. “We’ll see.” Bōjié nodded and strolled away with his hands behind his back, a bamboo stick in his mouth. Yǔtíng looked up from her ipad and adjusted her glasses. There was a bored and stern expression on her face. “Welcome. I will show you around. Allow the robots to take your luggage to the hotel while I show you around.” The ermine snapped her fingers and the bots grabbed their luggage and dragged it away. “Now follow me.”

She led them around and started gesturing to different buildings. “There’s the Lotus Hotel where you’ll be staying. It is the finest hotel you’ll ever meet. If you want I can provide you all with your own rooms.”

“Would that be allowed? We wouldn’t want to take up space.”

“It would be fine. Also the rooms will be paid for by our leaders because of your reputation and from the news of what happened to your city. My condolences by the way.”

“Er, thanks?”

Pigsy said, “So we could just room with each other if we wanted.”

“Of course. That would be acceptable.”

Tang nudged the pig. “What? Do you want to room with me?”

“I’ve roomed with you enough.”

“Oh. You want to room with…”

“Shut it,” he hissed.

Wukong asked, “Do you want to room with me, Pigsy?”

The pig blushed and his lips quivered to a grin. “I would love to.”

Yǔtíng nodded. “I’ll make sure of it. What about the rest of you?”

“I’ll room with Xiaojiao!”

“I’ll room with Xiaotian!”

“I’d rather not be with my brothers.”

Wujing gasped. “Hey! I’m an excellent roommate. Right, Mo?” The cat purred and rubbed against him.

“I’ve already dealt with you for two-thousand years. I don’t need a room with you but I’ll visit.”

Tang glanced at Sandy. “I’ll take my own room too…”

“Alright. Now there’s a lot of magnificent restaurants here. There is one sole karaoke place if you’re interested in that.” She pointed to the train. “This will give you a better view of the city.” They sat on the train and were given a clearer view. “We have a museum of our history. We had one prized possession although I regret to inform you that we had a break-in a few months back and it was stolen.”

“What was it?”

“A shadow lantern. Very special. Very powerful.”

The words ‘shadow lanterns’ itched Xiaotian’s brain. For some reason, that should have raised alarms and he was about to say something about it when the words were stuck on the tip of his tongue. His brain was muddled and he figured it wasn’t important so he let it go.

“We’re working on recovering it so there is nothing to worry about.”

Xiaojiao peeked her head out of the window and saw flashes of green and people resembling her parents. She blinked. “Huh?”

Longma tapped her. “Is something the matter?”

“No, grandpa. I think…”

“Alright. If you’re sure.”

Yǔtíng continued, “This place is absolutely wonderful and we’re sure you’ll love it. We have a panda store which was our leader’s idea. We also have boat rides which anyone can go on.”

Tang said, “I notice this place has mostly electronic assistants. Why is that?”

“We believe that every person has a right to relax and do whatever they see fit. That’s why we have those robots. Kāng Bōjié and I monitor them to make sure they’re working properly from time to time but other than that we relax.”

“Wow. That’s amazing of you.”

“It’s nothing.”

They stepped off the train and were led to the hotel. “I’ll show you your rooms.” Inside the hotel, there were lotus patterns everywhere. There were white curtains and cushions. People were in the lobby chatting. There was a robot at the counter.

Yǔtíng spoke to it. “There are important guests checking in.”

In its robotic voice, it said, “Yes. Keycards coming right in.”

It dispensed the keycards to the group. Wukong’s fingers grazed Pigsy’s bicep. “I’m glad we’re sharing a room.”

“Me… me too.”

“Now follow me again.”

They rode the elevator up to the fourth floor and she presented their rooms. “Here you are. If you require more assistance, here’s my number.” She passed the king her business card.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. See you.”

She boarded the elevator, her back turned to hide her smirk and the doors closed.

“Remember we will only spend two days here before we continue our search. Rest for an hour or two then we’ll find out what to do.”

Pigsy followed up with, “And don’t trash your rooms.”

Xiaotian and Xiaojiao laughed. “Got it!” And ran off to theirs.

Pigsy sighed. “Come on, Piggy. Let’s explore ours.”

“Ye-yea…”

They entered it. It was covered in purple with those familiar lotus patterns. There was a television in the center. Chargers, tables, a fridge, their luggage and other items were included. Wukong immediately jumped on his bed and closed his eyes. His hands grabbed at the covers. It was plush. “Wow. This is amazing. Lay down with me.”

“Wha-what? I have my own bed.”

“Lay with me.”

Pigsy hesitantly did as he asked. “Wow. You’re right. This is fantastic.” Wukong curled against him and rubbed his cheek against his. The pig’s face heated up. “This is going to be a great mini vacation. What do you want to do first?”

The mention of the boat ride popped in his head. “There are boat rides. Want to do those?”

“Sure. Excellent idea. Are the others going to join us?”

“Uh, maybe? But I was thinking of just one for us.”

“Oh! Sure. It would be nice.”

“Yea…”

The pig wasn’t sure how to continue but he stayed in the king’s gentle embrace. The stress of their adventure melted away.

A soft snore escaped from the king. The pig laughed and nuzzled into him. He could have easily gone to his own bed but it was better to be near him and he let himself drift to sleep.

Within the hour, they each met up in the lobby. Xiaotian and Xiaojiao were wearing the outfits they bought in the last place.

Xiaotian had the goggles secured over his face and staff safely tucked in his ear.

“Pigsy and I are going to hit the boat ride. What about the rest of you?”

Longma stated, “That’s a perfect idea! Right, everyone? I’m sure the rest of us can do something else but we’ll walk with you.”

There were murmurs of agreement before Xiaotian said, “I wanted to go on a boat ride too.”

Xiaojiao responded, “Maybe we can go on one but just with grandpa, Tang and Sandy.”

“Brilliant.”

They walked to the boat ride and purchased tickets for it.

Longma said, “I need to talk to my brothers before any of us hop on.”

He pulled them aside and said, “Wujing, I need you to go solo on a boat with Tang.”

“What? Why?”

“You need to talk about your issues.”

“He’s right.”

“Not now, eldest brother. We already tried to talk it out. He said he hated me.”

“He doesn’t hate you. He didn’t mean it.”

“Why would he say it if he doesn’t mean it?”

“Because that’s how people are. Think about the hundred jokes we’ve made about each other and we clearly don’t mean half of it.”

“Okay. Point taken but this is Tang. He hates me. I… I have really bad luck with love.”

“I’m certain it was another misunderstanding between you two.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Come on. Can’t you give it a try? We want you to be happy.”

“This will not make me happy and it certainly won’t make Tang happy.”

“Guys, the boats are here! Wukong,” Pigsy shouted. He was already sitting in a boat while Tang was in the second one.

“Coming, Pigsy,” the king yelled. “We better get over there.”

“We will. Wujing, talk to him. The best way to do it is there.”

“Usually, I like anything to do with water but not this time. My answer is no.”

“Please!”

“No. He hates me. Our relationship will never get repaired again.”

“Have you seen the way he looks at you?”

“The only way he looks at me is with disgust and annoyance.”

Longma gripped Wujing’s shoulders and stared at him with an angry glint in his eyes instead of a pleading look. “I swear to heaven, if you don’t stop being stupid, I will take a nerf gun and shoot you everytime your stupidity continues.”

“Why a nerf gun?”

“I don’t know! That’s the first thing that popped into my head!”

Wukong leaned in. “Because it doesn’t hurt but the darts are annoying and the suction cups will stick to your scales.”

“...Yea, that…” Longma gestured to the boat. “Now get on that fucking boat or else.”

“Longma, you can’t rush things.”

Longma’s eyes glowed a dark green. “Get on that boat, Wujing,” he growled.

Wujing laughed. “Okay. You’re the boss…” He nervously stepped onto it and sat down, glancing at them occasionally.

“Wow, you’re scary, little brother.”

“I learned from the best, big brother. Now go with your man.”

“What?”

“Just get on the damn boat.”

“Fine. Fine. Jeez, pushy.”

He went with Pigsy and it started up. “Wait, did Longma convince Sandy to go with Tang?”

“What can I say? He can be persuasive. The conversation was hilarious.”

“It looked hilarious.” Pigsy peeked at Tang and Sandy’s vessel. The two had their eyes averted away from each other. Occasionally their mouths would open before remaining silent. At least the kids and Longma appeared to have fun in the ship behind them. “They’re still not talking.”

“Oh, well. It’s only the start. We’ll see.”

“Yea. What should we talk about?”

“I don’t know. The weather? The pig laughed. A small snort escaped and he covered his snout. “You don’t have to cover it. I think it’s cute when you snort.”

“Really?”

“Of course I do. So what should we do after this?”

“Not sure. Whatever the hell we want. It’s our vacation.”

“Yea. Ours.”

“Ours… I usually don’t take vacations.”

“‘Cause you’re a workaholic, Pigsy. And I don’t either. Unless you count… you know…”

“I don’t. You were working to save us.”

“I clearly didn’t do a good job.”

“That’s in the past and we’re on this journey together. You’ve never really had a break, huh?”

“You neither and yea.”

“Well, you deserve one. After everythin’ you’ve done, you’ve earned it. Let’s enjoy our time here.” He needed a break. Wukong carried the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Wukong swallowed roughly. “Alright. Thanks.”

“No problem. What are friends for?”

Wukong’s tail wagged. “I’m lucky to have a friend like you.”

“I’m luckier. You gave me a second chance.”

“And you gave me one too.”

“Yea, guess so. You’re really fantastic.”

“You’re even more fantastic.”

“I’m not the Great Sage.”

“You don’t have to be the Great Sage to be amazing. I mean look at you. You’ve been there for the kids and you run a cool restaurant.”

Pigsy was still flattered that the Sage liked his shop. “Thanks. Suppose we’re both great. A lot of those recipes were passed down. I used to cook with my parents before they passed.”

Wukong frowned, his features becoming serious. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. I’ve gotten over it. Happened when I was young. My grandma raised me and I turned out good so it’s no big deal.”

The king squeezed his hand. “I like the way you are. You’re awesome.”

“Tha-thanks…” Pigsy ran a thumb over the back of his hand. It was so soft. “I’m glad we have the opportunity to relax together.”

“Me too.” Pigsy and Wukong allowed the stress to melt away, their backs laying against the wood of the boat. The king’s fingertips brushed against the water, separating from the pig momentarily. “What a wonderful place to relax, huh, Pigsy?” It reeled them in. He observed the smiles of the citizens. Their grins seemed unnaturally forced. Something… something isn’t… A hazy feeling swept over him. What was he thinking? This place was as normal as could be.

“It most certainly is. I could just stay in this city forever.”

“Me too. It’s so serene. No spirit to worry about, no other burdens. Just us.” The king grabbed the pig’s hand. “A duo. And well, the others. But if I’m being honest, if it was just you and me forever, I’d be happy.”

“Ummm…” His cheeks flushed their normal rosy red. “Yea, I would be too…”

Wukong was intrigued by Pigsy. Their friendship was growing and he enjoyed spending time with the pig. He was the happiest man in the whole world to have Pigsy as a friend.

Pig demons always ended up being part of his greatest companions.

They could watch this wonderful place during their ride. They had to enjoy their time as long as it lasted before they had to leave. If they didn’t have to save the world, he would have suggested they stay for longer.

Why did they have to deal with the spirit? She was so troublesome. Couldn’t they remain here and not have to worry about her? Let their cares be carried away by the wind.

“We should go to the karaoke place next. We could do a duet.”

“I would love that. Not much of a singer but I’m sure you’re nice.”

“Oh, I’m more than nice. You’ll learn that pretty quickly. I can be bad.” He shot him a wink.

Was Wukong flirting with him? “Uhhhh…”

“I’m kidding.”

“Heh, yea, of course. Of course ya are…”

On Sandy and Tang’s vessel, Sandy started with “Tang…”

“Yea?”

“Nothing… forget it. I’m glad my brothers are having fun.”

“Same…”

The kids and the dragon were splashing each other with water and laughing. Pigsy and Wukong’s hands were intertwined, faces close together as they talked. They were the only ones not having fun. You could cut the tension with a knife. Wujing twiddled his thumbs while Tang adjusted his glasses constantly.

They should discuss the matter but they didn’t want to. Would the other accept their apology? Or would it make everything worse? Maybe it was better that they didn't discuss the issue until after the vacation.

When the boats reached a full stop, they hopped off quickly. It felt as if they couldn’t get off fast enough.

Pigsy had his hand wrapped around Wukong’s arm. “Okay. Next stop is that karaoke place. Whose with me?”

They agreed with cheers. Xiaojiao fixed her pale green shirt as they trudged to the karaoke place.

When they showed up, it was almost packed but luckily, they were allowed to sit down. Xiaojiao asked, “Can we go first? Please!”

Pigsy chuckled and that laugh made Wukong briefly shoot him heart eyes. The monkey loved his laugh. It was just as great as Bajie’s laugh. It would still ring in his ears to this day.

Fuck. He missed Bajie and his mood started to sour.

There was a throbbing like a drum banged against his head before his eyes relaxed and he grinned as if his previous thought was nothing.

“Sure, kids. Go ahead.”

The two stood in line and agonized over which song to choose.

Then they sang in front of the whole place loudly and proudly. Xiaotian and Xiaojiao rocked out and screamed loudly into the microphones.

The older adults laughed. To see them having fun brought a smile to their faces.

Xiaotian had been through a tough time with all that pressure and the guilt but all that was left was a manic grin. The young adult twirled and sang confidently with his best friend.

They danced and spun around. Xiaojiao tapped her feet to the beat.

They giggled. “Best friends~”

Then the music died down and they bowed.

Wukong tugged on the pig’s hand. “Let’s go next!”

“What? I’m not good at this.”

“I’ll help you just like I do with dancing. I know the perfect song to play. It’s called ‘Champagne.’ It’s from a musical.”

“I don’t…”

“Trust me.”

“Fine but if I freeze up, I’m blamin’ you.”

“Deal.” He put on the song and the words popped onto the screen. The melody played. “You sing Vanessa’s parts, okay?”

“Uh, okay…” Wukong rubbed his back reassuringly. Pigsy raised the microphone to his lips and started singing, “S-so I got you a pres- present.” His voice was shaky. The king intertwined their fingers and gave him a supportive smile. “I went downtown to get it. Doing anything tonight?”

“Cleaning.”

“Done for the day?”

“No way.”

“‘Cuz we got a date.” This was actually fun.

“Okay.”

“Before you board that plane I owe you a bottle of champagne.”

“No…”

“Yeah, cold champagne.”

During the song, Wukong started dancing with him. It didn’t fit the tone of the song but he loved it and it felt as if the crowd faded away. It was only them.

“You’re leaving the country and we’re never gonna see you again.” He wondered what this musical was about. From that song alone, it seemed sad. Hopefully, his relationship with Wukong wouldn’t end like that with them parting ways.

“What are you trying to say?”

“You get everyone addicted to your coffee and off you go.”

“Vanessa, I don’t know why you’re mad at me.”

The king dipped him down. Pigsy held his cheek as he sang the last part, “I wish I was mad. I’m just too late.”

The crowd clapped, bringing him back to his senses.

Wukong brought him back up. Pigsy tucked an imaginary hair behind his hair. “That was amazing.”

“Yep. You’re an amazing partner.”

“Partner… uh… yea.”

It was so funny to him to fall for a man he had at one point hated but Wukong was different than what he expected and now he wanted to be next to him forever, loved…

“We should let someone else go.”

“Oh! Yea…”

They kept going up, only occasionally taking a break.

Wukong went up with his brothers, Pigsy went with the kids and they switched up. They laughed together and swayed everytime when they went on.

Xiaojiao stood beside her grandfather. She scanned the crowd. There looked to be people similar to her parents. No, they looked exactly like them. “Mom, dad?” The strangers stared at her, their eyes glowing. Those were her parents! “Mom, dad!”

She felt a hand on her shoulder and when she looked up, she saw Longma’s shocked expression. “Are you okay, Xiaojiao?”

“Huh? I thought I saw…” When she looked back, the figures had disappeared. “I…”

“What’s wrong?”

“I thought I saw my parents. I miss them.”

“I’m sorry they’re not here. We’ll save them.”

“I know. I wonder if they’re okay. I wonder what they think I’m doing. I used to think they were disappointed in me…”

“Oh?”

“I’m not like the rest of our family. I’m not formal or anything. I like racing and all that other stuff.”

“That’s okay. You don’t have to be perfect. I’m not. I know what it’s like to feel as if you’re a disappointment. You are most certainly not. You’re amazing. Your racing skills helped us with Nezha.”

“Thank you, grandpa. I’m glad they’re not actually disappointed in me… I want them back.”

“I’ll make sure we get them back. You have me if you ever need anything. You are so unique. You do not have to be anything you don’t want to be. You are a part of this family like me.”

“Thank you, grandpa.” She sniffled and hugged him.

“You’re welcome. You’re an amazing kid, Xiaojiao. It’s not everyday that the dragon sword picks a worthy wielder.”

“Yea…” She wiped her tears. “Want to go up?”

“Of course. I would love to.”

A rabbit walked in and observed the area. Her face morphed into a scowl. She peeked at the Long family then her eyes shifted to Wukong on the stage. Then she left as quickly as she came.

It was when the karaoke place closed that they finally left and made their way to the hotel room.

The starry night sky greeted them.

“This was a remarkable day,” Wukong said.

“Yea, it was. We should do more tomorrow.”

“Yep before we… before we…” What were they going to do after tomorrow?

“Wukong?”

“I’m fine. Just lost my train of thought but anyway, let’s have fun tomorrow.”

The lotus on top of the city glowed. Tang examined it, there was an unsteady feeling in his stomach.

“Somethin’ wrong, Tang?”

“No.” He smiled. “Not at all. I think…”

Wukong laid in their hotel room. He stretched. “Pigsy!”

“What?”

“Come here.”

“I have my own bed, ya know?”

“Oh, come on. Don’t be mean.”

Pigsy went beside him. The king was acting really touchy although he assumed it was because of the ‘getting used to affection’ portion.

“You’re really soft, Pigsy,” he remarked.

“Uhhh, thank you? You are too. What do ya want to do tomorrow?”

“Maybe check out that panda store. Apparently there’s also a theme park. Want to go to that?”

“I would love to. I should… uhh get back to my bed.” He curled up in his own bed. As he stared at the king, he saw a flash of the king in his journey uniform and quickly dismissed it as his imagination. “Uhh… night.”

Wukong smiled at him. And Pigsy wanted to run his hand over those perfect lips and give him all the kisses in the world. “Night!”

The next day, they showed up at the amusement park. It was covered in lanterns, lotuses and pandas. There were screams of joy and terror.

Xiaotian and Xiaojiao headed off to the first ride they saw. Tang said, “Maybe, I’ll just stay here.”

“I agree with Tang,” Pigsy responded. 

“Come on, dadsy! It will be fun!”

“I’ll join you,” Sandy stated.

Longma leaned near Wukong. “Bet you five yuan he throws up after the first ride.”

“I’ll bet you ten that he does it during the ride.”

“Ya two have so much faith in your brother, don’t you?”

“We’re not us if we’re not being snarky to each other. Part of our family.”

“Yea. The day I met him I was instantly picked on, I returned the favor.”

“You were trying to attack us!”

“So? That’s no excuse for you to be rude, big brother!”

“You were being rude!”

“I wasn’t!”

“I have to side with Wukong on this one. Attackin’ someone is more than rude.”

“Oh! Of course you would take his side, Pigsy!”

“Because it’s true!”

The Sage giggled. “I like you more and more each day.”

Pigsy stuttered, “I- I mean it’s obvious!”

“Dad, want to join us on the ride?”

Wukong’s tail swished. “I will, bud!”

He rushed off leaving Longma, Tang and Pigsy behind. Longma and Tang nudged Pigsy. “He’s sweet on you, huh?”

“My brother does appear to like you quite a bit.”

“It’s just as friends. Nothing more…”

“It could be something more.”

“You definitely want it to be.”

“Shut it. Both of ya.”

Bōjié waved to the three. “Hello. How are you enjoying your vacation?”

Longma replied, “Oh, it’s amazing. Thank you.”

“I’m glad to hear it. Have you thought about staying an extra day?”

“We would but we… we have to… wait, why can’t we stay again?”

Tang and Pigsy searched for the answer. Tang adjusted his glasses. The answer was in his mind but it was like he couldn’t pull it out. Pigsy shrugged. “No idea. We should just stay here forever.”

Tang hummed. “Yea… There's no reason we can’t stay. We might as well move here. There’s no stress here.”

Bōjié smirked. “It would be wonderful to have you here.” His eyes shined. “To have amazing people such as yourselves living here would be a joy.” Behind them, a red panda and the rabbit from yesterday exchanged nervous glances before jetting off.

“We’ll have to discuss it with the others but we would love to move here.”

“Let me know if you all need a house to live in. There are amazing houses. In this city, you’ll never feel sad or upset. There is nothing but pure happiness here. It is better than… what were you doing before you came here?”

“I”m not sure… Whatever it was, I’m certain it’s not important.”

His smirk grew bigger. “That’s what I love to hear.”

“How did you get to be the leader of this wonderful city?”

“I came from a far village where my family barely had anything. It was difficult for me to work so much at an early age and I had no friends because of it. I managed to build up and move here. I wanted to provide a place to rest for the weary so I worked to make this place the happiest spot out there. A place where people would forget their worries.”

“I’m sorry about that but you’ve managed amazingly well.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that.”

Yǔtíng tapped Bōjié on the shoulder. “Mayor Kāng, you have a meeting.”

“Looks like I must leave you lovely people but I hope we’ll get another chance to chat.” He chewed on his bamboo and followed his assistant.

Pigsy felt giddy. He could open a shop here and have the others help. It would be great. Wukong and him could move in together. They all could. They didn’t have to worry about anything. All they could focus on would be this amazing place.

The others stepped off the ride. Sandy wiped the corner of his mouth. “So when did he?” Ao Lie questioned and gestured to Sandy’s state.

“Middle of the ride.”

“Dang it!” He passed the eldest disciple the money.

“Did you two bet on me?”

“Yes we did and you disappointed me.”

“Longma!”

Tang stared at Sandy with adoration. There was a tinge of annoyance but why would he be annoyed with Sandy? He absolutely loved him.

“Let’s go on more rides,” Xiaotian suggested. “Before we… before we lea… huh?”

“We can go on as many rides as you want, bud.”

Pigsy followed up. “Today and tomorrow. We had a talk with the mayor. Why don’t we move here? There’s no crime, nothin’ to worry about.”

“It’s a big decision, Pigsy.”

Xiaojiao yelled, “I say yes!”

Longma asked, “But what about your… your…”

“My what?” Her family… “My parents! Shouldn’t we look for them?”

“Aren’t they at home?” Home… Why did the mention of home fill him with sadness?

“Yea… yea, they are… I… I think they’re fine. I’m sure they won’t mind if I want to live here.”

“Great. Longma and Tang already agreed. What about the rest of ya?”

Sandy nodded eagerly. “I agree! I like it here.”

Xiaotian shouted, “We should move here forever!” Even though something was telling them to leave.

Wukong tapped a finger on his chin. “It’s a big decision but if that’s what you all want then who am I to disagree? If we pick roommates, I choose Pigsy.”

“I choose you too… We should uhhh… look at houses in a few days or somethin’...”

“Perfect idea just like this city. Now onto more rides!”

They strolled through the park and discussed their moving options while having fun. Sometimes, the red panda and rabbit would stare at them and while they saw those two, they thought they were fans instead of concerned demons wondering how the group was practically captured by the city.

The group ate at a fancy restaurant and when Xiaojiao caught a glimpse of the people resembling her parents, she dismissed it. Her parents were at home, safe and sound like everyone else.

When they exited, the fake lotus pulsated. It enraptured them in its glow and pulled them like a gentle lullaby.

Pigsy recommended when he and Wukong were snuggled up in their room, “Why don’t we go on a mornin’ stroll together? Find more of what this place has to offer.”

“Just the two of us?”

“Just the two of us.”

And when the morning set in, Pigsy nuzzled into Wukong’s arm while they strolled around. “When we officially move here, we should go on mornin’ walks more often.”

“I would like the sound of that. It’s nice being with you and the others. Especially with you.”

“Yea… heh, you’re… amazing.”

“You are too. I’m glad we’re friends now.”

“Same… feels like there’s a huge weight off both our shoulders.”

“Well, not mine. I still have to carry this duo.”

“Oh? Really? ‘Cause I’m the one carrying us.”

“You wish! I’m the charming one out of the two of us.”

“Yea, you’re totally charmin’. Have you seen me?”

“Oh, I have. And I’m not that impressed but I could be if…”

“If?” They leaned in close.

“If… if you know… you… umm… maybe if you upped your looks.”

Pigsy gasped and shoved him. “I have beautiful looks!”

“I’m the beautiful one.”

“I can’t disagree with that.”

The king’s tail flickered with happiness. “So you admit you think I’m handsome?”

“Uh… I didn’t admit that exactly. We should probably go eat or something…”

“You think I’m handsome,” he bellowed, attracting attention from the citizens who had the same forced grins.

“I think you’re decent.”

“Uh huh… how would you rate me?”

Pigsy stuttered, “I wouldn’t rate you at all! The minimum you get is one out of ten!”

“You said you didn’t disagree with my statement.”

“Now I do! You are the absolute worst!”

Wukong waggled his fingers. “You won’t be saying that in a few seconds.”

“Don’t you dare tickle me!”

“Come here!”

Pigsy ran away from him. Wukong chased after the pig immediately. “I am not ticklish so don’t even try!”

“Then why are you running away?”

“Because you’re annoying!”

“I am not! You know it’s nice to see you smile. You’re usually scowling.”

“I deal with you! That’s why!”

“I am going to make you pay for saying that!”

As he was about to reach Pigsy, he was suddenly tugged into an alleyway.

Raising his hands to fight, he was halted by someone putting up her own in surrender.

There was this heavyset Manchurian hare standing in front of him. Her soft fur was splotches of black, brown and gray. The rabbit had black wavy hair with some pieces of it tied into a held back braid. There were spots on her ears and three spots on each of her cheeks. She looked to be in her mid-thirties to forties but she was way older than that.

On her green short-sleeved dress, there was a huge fake flower in the center. The dress was somewhat frilly and one part revealed another fabric underneath. There was a jagged scar on the small u-shaped portion of her dress. There was another on her left ankle and a third one on her right arm.

She looked like someone who had been touched a million times by the throes of battle.

Her green eyes shimmered, worry latent on her face. “Hello, Sun Wukong.”

Pigsy called, “Wukong! Who is this?”

“Hello.”

“That’s a good question. Who the fuck are you?” Wukong grumbled, annoyed that his time with Pigsy had been interrupted.

The rabbit gestured to herself with her thumb. “I am Huáng Xiàróng. It’s… not at all nice to meet you, Great Sage. I was hoping I’d never run into you for as long as I live.”

“Hey!”

“It’s not my fault you have a reputation for ending the life of any offending demon.”

“Well you haven’t done anything to offend me aside from pulling me and Pigsy away from our relaxing activity.”

She scoffed. “Yes, ‘relaxing’. That’s the problem here. And if we encountered each other during our early days, I’m sure I wouldn’t be here now. That’s why I told my warriors to never mess with your group and to avoid you at all costs.” She cleared her throat and rested a foot on a nearby stone. “I was a fantastic warlord back in the day. Humans used to tremble before my might when I attacked. I used to be feared, respected, admired by everyone around me but sadly those days have long past and now I’m reduced to adjusting to boring everyday life. But that’s not why I pulled you aside.”

“Yeah, we definitely would have had a problem if we met earlier. So why did you?”

“Why did I what?”

“Why did you pull me aside if you never wanted to encounter me?”

“Oh, that. Well… you’re trapped here. In this place.”

“Us? Trapped? You’re mistaken.”

“No, you are mistaken. Have you ever noticed the smiles of the citizens?”

“No? Why would we pay attention to that? When we saw them, they looked rather happy.”

“Too happy. Their smiles are forced and any other citizen is lost in a haze. Have you ever felt sad only to have it instantly washed away?”

“Because I tried not to think about it.”

“No. Because you were not allowed to think about it. I heard about what happened to your successor’s city and I assume you’re trying to fix everything.”

“What is there to fix? The world is perfect.”

“Nothing is perfect, especially not in this fragile, broken world. This city has stripped you of your goal. You have forgotten what you’re supposed to do.”

Pigsy asked, “Okay, Huáng Xiàróng, how come you weren’t affected?”

The bunny remarked, “I don’t feel joy so it didn’t affect me.”

“That sounds edgy,” Wukong said.

“Hush. It would have affected me if I hadn’t had some help.”

“What help?”

“You’ll meet them soon. You have to believe me. Do you remember the life you had before this?”

“Of course I do. I’m the amazing monkey king.”

“Amazing, my ass. Why did you come here?”

Pigsy answered, “We needed a vacation.”

“Why did you need a vacation?”

“Sometimes people don’t have a reason for why they should go on one.”

Xiàróng growled, “Think! Where were you before this? How did you get here? Remember the details.”

“I suggested we come here ‘cause… ‘cause we… we needed it.”

“Why?”

“We needed a break during…”

“During the search for the White Bone Spirit,” Wukong finished. Realization collided with him. “We’re trying to save the world and we forgot. How could we forget about such an important task?”

“There you are. You remember.”

“Shit, shit, shit…” He allowed them to be enraptured by the city. He should have noticed sooner. Was there a way he could have seen this sooner? “Okay so we’re trapped in some city that won’t let us leave and we’ve been influenced to stay here. Is that right?”

Xiàróng nodded. “Do you believe me?”

“Yes. I believe you. I knew this city was too good to be true.”

“Yet you still allowed yourself to fall for its tricks, Great Sage.”

“Shut it,” he growled.

“I’m only pointing out the truth. That you’re weak,” she whispered.

Pigsy said, “So, wait, this place has been influencing our thoughts and feelings? So we thought we enjoyed the activities here but we probably would have hated it?”

“I wouldn't necessarily say that last part. But it did influence your feelings to make it so you would never want to leave. It made your minds hazy and allowed you to be controlled like puppets. It forced you to enjoy everything so you would be trapped.”

Pigsy winced. Everything, huh? So there was a possibility that the boat ride between them was influenced by whatever magic was placed here rather than actual feelings of enjoyment. Wukong could have secretly despised the trip. His shoulders hunched as the rabbit and monkey bickered over the latter’s inability to detect the problems with the city.

Was their time together during this real? Or was it a product of magic?

“So what should we do?”

“First, I need you to gather your group together. I don’t want to have to explain this twice. Meet me here.” She passed them a paper with an address. “You’ll meet my associate as well. There we will discuss how to save everyone.”

“How do we know we can trust you?”

“I was the one who fucking snapped you out of it. I could have easily handled this without you but from what I’m aware, we need you. Besides, if anyone is going to conquer this world, it will be me.”

“What?”

“I’m joking. Partially. Meet me in two hours.”

She left the duo to talk it over. “Should we do this?”

“If it means freeing a lot of people then yea.” He rubbed his arms anxiously.

“What’s wrong?”

“I was the one who said we should come here and I ended up getting us trapped. This is my fault.”

“You couldn’t have known.”

“It is. Think about the world. The spirit could have destroyed everything by now.”

“I doubt she did. Huáng Xiàróng didn’t say anything about it so I’m sure we still have a chance. You were only looking out in our best interest and trying to get us to relax.”

“Like you always look in our best interest even if you go about it the wrong way.”

“Exactly. If we hadn’t come then we wouldn’t have known that people are in danger so you did a good thing. We need to round up the others.”

“You’re right. Thanks, Wukong. Ya know the right thing to say… for once.”

“I have some wisdom up my sleeves and for what it’s worth, I enjoyed our time together.”

“You sure you’re not just sayin’ that?”

“I’m positive. I love hanging out with you. Cursed place or not.”

Pigsy’s lips widened to a smile. The king actually had a nice time with him. Maybe not all of their feelings were influenced by this darned place. “I love hanging out with you too. We have a city to save!”

The others didn’t believe them when they said they were ensnared by the place but they allowed the duo to lead them to the address Xiàróng had given them.

It was a small warehouse sandwiched in between some beautiful buildings. It was gray and seemed misplaced with all the color.

The rabbit ushered them inside. “Quickly before someone sees you!”

There was a red panda in front of a blackboard. Boxes were over the building. There was stacks of books contained on the desk. The walls were black and had barely any furniture.

The red panda’s red orbs examined the blackboard filled with many plans. She fixed her red qipao which had pearl patterns on it. “I brought them!”

“Excellent, Huàng! It is so nice to meet you! I am a big fan. My name is Wén Ruòzhū. I am glad you agreed to meet us here.”

She shook the king’s hand. A barely contained grin on her face. “Nice to meet you too. How come you weren’t affected?”

“A strong will and prior knowledge of this city’s tricks. I had to save Ms. I think I can handle this matter by myself.”

The rabbit growled, “I could handle it!”

“Why are you assisting people if you’re mostly bloodthirsty?” The Sage pondered.

“As I said, if anyone is going to take over this world, it will be me! And… My son was almost enraptured by this place. It needs to go down.”

“You have a son?”

“Yes. They have a very bright young mind but anyway. Wén Ruòzhū has been helping me.”

“You’ve been helping me,” the red panda corrected. “It’s nice to have some extra help. We can’t do this alone.”

“We could but you insist on working with them.”

“The Great Sage could help us. You could take this place down in an instant, can’t you?”

The Sage rubbed his neck. “No…”

“What?”

“My powers are weakened at the moment. I’ve gotten some of them back but it’s not enough.”

Xiàróng yelled, “So you’re weak now? This is excellent!”

Ruòzhū scolded, “Huáng Xiàróng!”

“WHAT? This is great for me. I don’t have to be worried about getting attacked by him for saying something wrong. Does your successor even have your staff anymore?”

“No… we lost it.”

“This keeps getting better.”

“Not for us! So this might be slightly difficult but we can manage. There is strength in numbers.”

The Sage shook off the stinging comment about his lost powers. “Whatever. I might not be at full strength but I can still help.” Pigsy placed a soothing pat on his bicep and the monkey curled around him. Xiàróng took note of the small act and smirked. Her hands rested on her hip.

“I don’t doubt that, Great Sage. What can you do at the moment?”

“Make clones and small objects. Mostly it.”

“And I have a new staff,” Xiaotian brought up. “It can shoot lightning and a lot of other stuff.”

The red panda nodded. “Okay. That should work. So here’s what we know… the leader Kāng Bōjié and his assistant Wáng Yǔtíng are the people controlling this city. Why? I’m not sure. This place is also devoid of human workers, any worker is a robot which isn’t necessarily a terrible thing but could indicate he doesn’t want anyone knowing what’s happening behind the scenes. We found the source of what’s hypnotizing people.”

“And that would be?”

“The lotus perched on top of the city. It specifically lies on top of the mayor’s building. I don’t know how but it’s the thing controlling people.”

“Are you sure?”

“A hundred percent positive. The problem is it’s guarded by sentries. Loads of sentries. So we need to prepare accordingly. I will need to adjust my and Huáng’s plans to account for your group. You can stay here while I fix this.”

“Do you want help?” Tang questioned.

“That would be nice. Thank you. The rest of you are free to do whatever it is you want.”

Xiàróng stretched her back. “I’ll be up in the training room.”

Wukong said, “I’ll join you.”

“Hm… alright. Try to keep up, Great Sage.”

“Dad, do you need me to go with you?”

“No, it’s fine, bud. I can handle myself.”

When they showed at the training room, Xiàróng remarked, “So you have a lover and a child now?

Wukong narrowed his eyes. “What?”

“I’m referring to that pig demon and that successor of yours, your child.”

He choked on his spit. “Pigsy and I are only friends. Xiaotian is my kid, yes. Why did you bring that up?”

“Curiosity. Don’t get your tail all ruffled. I’m allowed to ask questions, especially if those questions push your buttons.”

He hissed. “Weren’t you afraid of me or something? You said you used to make sure your armies avoided me.”

“Well, now that I’ve learned your strength has diminished, I have no reason to be afraid. And it has been awhile since I’ve had a good fight.”

“We should be fighting the one who trapped us, not each other.”

She held up her qiang and jian. “It will be fun and as long as we make sure not to injure each other too severely, we should be fine.”

“Fine. But two weapons is a little unfair, don’t you think?”

“We’re entering into battle so I have to be prepared.”

“We’re not fighting right now. We’re only training so pick one.” “Ugh, alright since you’re weak.” “Hey! I’m not completely weak! Why don’t you be nice to your elders?” “I’m around the same age as you!”

“So you’re old too!” Her eyes switched to brown out of annoyance. “I am not old! Now pick up your weapon!”

Wukong grabbed a staff. “Okay. Let’s do this.” The rabbit summoned fire into her hands. “No fire!” “Fine…”

She let it extinguish then lunged at him with her qiang. The spear barely missed his arm as he sidestepped it.

He jabbed her with the staff when she blocked it with the middle of her weapon.

“You’re slow, Great Sage.”

“That’s because I’m not fighting with my full strength. Be lucky this is only practice.”

She sweeped his legs and he fell, then he returned the act. They brought themselves up and clashed their weapons.

Sun Wukong jabbed her side. “Hey!”

“You wanted a fight!”

The rabbit stuck out her tongue and pierced his side with the qiang. “Couldn’t you have used a less sharp weapon?”

“No,” she answered. “You’ll be fine.”

She front flipped, she went high in the sky and held out her foot. Her foot collided with his face.

Wukong grabbed his nose, blood dripped out of it. “Wow, you sure have a powerful kick.”

“Thank you. I know I’m absolutely amazing.”

“What the fuck are ya doin’?” Pigsy hissed and went to the king’s side. “I thought you were going to practice. Not hurt him.”

“I’m okay, Pigsy. It was only a little kick.”

“Little?”

He ignored Xiàróng. “I'm fine.”

Pigsy held his face. “I don’t think a kick in the nose is okay. We’re supposed to be fighting someone else. Not each other.”

“It was practice. Don’t get mad at me just because you’re in love with the Great Sage,” Xiàróng said.

Wukong raised his brow. “Huh?”

“Ignore her,” Pigsy commanded in a guttural tone. “We should get that cleaned up. Follow me.”

The rabbit made a clicking noise with her tongue. “There’s a first aid kit and bathroom downstairs. Go help your boyfriend.”

“Huh?”

“Oh, nothing. Ignore me.”

Pigsy guided the king downstairs and sat him on a stool. “Tilt your head forward. Is it broken?”

“No. My nose is fine. You overreacted, huh?”

“I did not overreact! It’s called being cautious. We’re about to fight a possibly dangerous villain. I don’t want you injured.”

“Aw, do you care about me?”

“Sadly.” He wiped the king’s nose with a tissue then dampened another one and placed it on his forehead. “That should help.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Try to be careful, please.”

“Wow. You’re saying ‘please.’ Am I in trouble?”

“You will be if you don’t shut it.”

“You’re just mad because you love me.”

He was right on the money with that. “I- quiet!”

“You do love me! I love you too.”

“Re-really?”

“Yea, you’re an amazing friend.”

“O-oh…” Of course he was only a friend. “Ye-yea…”

“Did I say something wrong?”

“No. You’re fine. How are ya feeling?”

“I’ll be okay. It’s dried now. We should see if the others have a plan.”

He removed the towel. “Okay.” He held his arm out. 

“I don’t need an escort, Pigsy.” But he accepted it anyway.

Ruòzhū marked something on a piece of paper. “Okay so I’ve accommodated all of us.”

Xiàróng questioned, “What have you got? I’m ready to fight.”

“You’re always ready to fight. So this city’s motifs are lanterns and lotuses. Lanterns are used to symbolize good luck and prosperity while lotuses symbolize purity, perfection and spiritual growth as well as a few other things.”

“Yea, we know that,” the rabbit cut her off.

“I’m just saying! This is how I think! You know that! A place built around two important symbols in our culture could have had a hand in luring people in which is why it’s our job to take it down. I don’t know what magic they put on that lotus but it is powerful. I had Huáng Xiàróng do some reconnaissance. As I said earlier, there are sentries guarding it which emphasizes its importance.”

“How long have you been here?”

“About two weeks. I didn’t have the means to do anything solo. We have to destroy it as quickly as possible before it reels anymore people in.”

“Why do you think Mayor Kāng is doing this?”

“Not sure. We can worry about motives later.”

Nezha whistled. “I’m here to help.”

Everyone’s eyes snapped to the god. “Li Nezha!” Xiaojiao and Ruòzhū ran up to him. “I didn’t expect you here!”

“Long Xiaojiao! It’s nice to see you… well I would say that in different circumstances but I’m here to assist you.”

The red panda held their face, her smile so wide that it began to hurt. “Li Nezha is here? That is wonderful! I already had the amazing Great Sage and his equally amazing fellow disciples here but you’ve decided to show up too! Wow! All these important figures in one place! I’ve wanted to meet you and ask you questions. Someone pinch me. I must be dreaming.”

The rabbit shrugged. “Okay” then pinched them.

“Ow! I didn't want you to actually do it!”

“You said it so don’t blame me!”

Nezha cleared his throat. “Yes. Well, I’m here. I heard about this city recently and as a deity of protection, it’s my job to help people. I want to assist and take it down for everyone. No one should use lotuses for evil.”

“How did you get here? You don’t have your fire wheels anymore.”

“I have other means of transport.”

Xiaojiao slapped a hand on his back. “At least we’ll have one of the best racers of all time here. Next to me of course.”

Ruòzhū scribbled on her strategic map. “I’ll have to accommodate for Li Nezha too.”

“Thank you for including me in your plan.”

“Hopefully, you’ll actually be useful, twelve-year-old,” Wukong teased.

“I was useful when it came to beating you.”

“You didn’t beat me!”

“I came close!”

“No, you didn’t!”

The red panda snickered. “As fun as this is, I have the plan.” She presented it to them. “Because of the amount of robots around and the possibility they’ll attack straight away, we’ll have to divide them which means dividing our forces. Long Xiaojiao, Bai Longma and Li Nezha, it would be best if you three go into the center of the city. You’re capable fighters and should be able to hold them off in case they make their way to the lotus.”

Bai Longma nodded. “That sounds like the best plan.”

“Tang, Pigsy and Sandy will be to the far right of the city to hold off more robots.”

Sandy said, “I don’t fight anymore. Can I really be any help?”

“Yes. I’m not much of a fighter myself but I have faith in you to stop them anyway you can. Qi Xiaotian, Sun Wukong, Huáng Xiàróng and I will be the ones to travel to the lotus. We will fight the main sentries and anyone else we encounter. With the lightning from Xiaotian’s staff, I’m sure we can destroy it. Does this sound good to everyone?”

Nods and murmurs of agreement rang in the air. They rolled up the plan. “Good. Now let’s put it into action.”

Pigsy tapped the king on the shoulder. “Be careful out there.”

“I will, Pigsy. You too.”

The first group reached the center of town. “We wait until the robots start,” Longma said.

“Of course, grandpa. Ready, twelve-year-old?”

“I’ll ignore that but yes, I am.”

The others made their way to their destinations. The building was pink and vibrant.

They crouched to the back of it. The back door had a keypad. “You didn’t mention it was locked.”

“I can handle it.” Ruòzhū cracked her knuckles. “I already figured out the code long before you came.” She typed in a five, zero, seven and one. Then the door swung open. “There.”

“Great job!”

The rabbit shrugged. “I could have done better.”

“You could just say ‘thank you.’”

“...Thank you.”

“No problem.”

“I could have smashed it. I was a-”

“A powerful warrior so you’ve told me. And we would have had a bunch of guards on our case if you did so. Let’s move forward.”

On the pink walls, there were pictures of the mayor standing proudly lined up. There were potted plants and “Is this guy a narcissist or what?” The manchurian hare mumbled.

Wukong laughed. “Look who’s talking.”

“I am not a narcissist! I just have a healthy sense of pride! What about you?” “I also have a healthy sense of pride.”

A robot turned their head. Xiaotian and Ruòzhū shushed them. The robot snapped its attention to a nearby photo. “We need a distraction.”

Xiàróng lit her hand on fire. “I got it. As soon as the bot turns around.”

When the machine walked the opposite direction, she threw a fireball past it. It attracted the attention of all the machines around. They went to check it out and the rabbit rolled to the nearest plant and gestured for the others to follow. She was surprisingly stealthy for someone who loved to show off.

She was the first to tiptoe past the guards. They pressed their backs against the wall. They shuffled near the mayor’s office and heard him conversing with his assistant. “It’s fascinating we managed to ensnare the Great Sage. I heard he and his successor are weak now. This will fuel the city… and me.”

“Are you sure they won’t break free of the trance? The monkey’s will is strong.”

“I’m certain. With all these happy faces, who wouldn’t want to stay?”

Xiàróng snarled, “I could wipe that smug smile off his face right now.”

She was about to lunge into the office when Wukong halted her by the arm.

“Not now. We won’t reach the lotus if you bust in.”

“You’re right. We need to keep moving.”

They continued to evade the guards and made their way up the stairs.

“Why didn’t we use the elevator?” Xiaotian huffed.

“Because it will be more noticeable that way. The mayor and his assistant are the only ones who work here.”

“I could make a vehicle for us to get up faster.”

“It would cause noise. Trust me. This is the better option.”

The hare gestured to Xiaotian’s staff. “Is there anyway you can turn us invisible, kid?”

“Sorry, Ms. Huáng. I don’t have the power to do that.”

“Welp… are there any keycards we could nab? I could use my super speed.”

“The only keycards are held by those two. Your super speed would attract attention.”

The rabbit sighed in response.

When they reached the second to last floor, there were more security than the previous floors. “How do we get past this?”

“You don’t,” a robotic voice said and grabbed the rabbit by the throat.

The rabbit thrashed against the iron hand. Her green orbs started to flutter, desperately gasping for air. Darkness started to cloud her vision. Xiaotian’s eyes widened and instantly shot a lightning bolt at the bot. The bot fizzled and dropped the bunny. She huffed and puffed. “Thank you, kid.” Her orbs shifted from green to red. She stomped on the machine. “Piece of shit.”

“Can you worry about the other bots?”

“Huh?” The remaining ones surrounded the group. “Of course I can!” She charged at the one in front and shot a barrage of fireballs at it. She activated her super speed and started jabbing them with both her weapons.

When the others blinked, she was huffing. Wires were sticking out of the destroyed automations. They struggled to get back up. One had their chest blinking red. “Intruder alert. Intruder alert. Intruder aler…” It shut off when the hare jabbed her sword, her jian into its wiring.

“Stupid thing!”

The stomps of the other automations were heard along the steps. “Move!”

They ran off to the rooftops with the bots following behind. Ruòzhū curled around one of the robots then stabbed it with an extra spear they were handed.

Xiaotian twirled his staff and shot fire at them.

They made their way to the top. The lotus glowed and so did the eyes of the sentries. From on top of the city, robots began to march towards their direction.

Longma, Xiaojiao and Nezha stood back to back as they started to interrupt the bots’ path to the others. Pigsy was the one swinging at the bots in his group while Sandy and Tang set up traps.

The automations guarding the lotus lunged at the four. The rabbit jumped to avoid a minion from grabbing her. She hissed as her foot collided with the metal. “Fucking robots.”

She gathered fire and punched them with it.

Xiaotian’s staff shimmered. The water and star patterns glowing as he struck the automations with more lightning.

The red panda hit the bots with a qiang. “We need to destroy the lotus!”

“A little busy!”

More machines marched up the stairs. Longma and Xiaojiao summoned their dragon forms and destroyed spare automations while Nezha stabbed them with his spear. All citizens had run inside, seemingly snapping out of their daze or maybe they were commanded to go inside.

Ruòzhū felt hands wrap around her waist and she was pulled upwards. She struggled against the bot. Then the remaining minions picked the other three as well. They kicked against the minions until they heard clapping.

Bōjiè had his hands clasped together. Yǔtíng stood right beside him with that same bored expression. “Look who we have here. Some intruders trying to destroy our lovely city and it’s happy residents. After all the hospitality I gave you, this is how you decide to treat me.”

Xiaotian yelled, “You’re imprisoning people!”

“I’m making their lives better.”

“By making them mindless?”

“Mindless is better than the world we live in. Look at what your mentor did. Don’t you want to forget all that pain and suffering?”

“I’ve already forgiven him! And your citizens aren’t truly happy. They can’t think for themselves.”

“They’re happy enough,” he bellowed. “I came from nothing and I want to make sure no one goes through the same thing.”

“We heard you in your office,” the rabbit said. “You don’t care about anyone here. You only care about power.”

“Wow, sounds like someone I know,” the red panda muttered.

“Hey! I care about other people!”

Bōjiè removed the bamboo from his mouth. “Well, power makes me happy and who am to deny my own happiness? Back home, I was weak and feeble and now here, I’m just as powerful as the Great Sage was. I’ll prove it.”

Beams of light surrounded Bōjiè. He grew fourteen times his size. His muscles became bigger and his teeth formed into fangs. Instead of his gentle face, it was scrunched up.

“I am powerful,” he yelled, his voice deeper than before. “I’ll kill you all then this city will be the same as it always was.”

Xiaotian hissed. He accidentally hit the bot holding him with fire and thunder. The bot flailed and dropped the kid.

The kid used the staff to free the others. “Give up, Kāng Bōjiè! You can’t win!”

“Oh, please. I’m stronger than your little group.”

Pigsy directed his attention to the top of the building. He saw the panda’s hulking figure glimmering blue.

He gripped his head and hissed. When he stared at the panda again, the panda had been replaced with a purple demon just as massive, three horns jutting from his head and a large tail, the demon was shining a similar blue and there was a flash of a skull smirking next to him before it disappeared. The demon had skull markings on his face.

There was another pang and he saw Wukong smiling at him. “Bajie. Come on, dear idiot.” His heart thumped but his name wasn’t Bajie. It was Pigsy.

He panted and the panda came back into his vision.

“Pigsy, are you okay?” Sandy asked.

“I’m fine! Just hold the bots as best as you can!” What was that vision?

Xiàróng and Sun Wukong stood back to back. Yǔtíng was in front of the rabbit and Bōjiè was in front of Sun Wukong.

“You ready to do this?” Wukong questioned.

“I am.”

“You don’t mind that you’re working with a weakling?”

“Hey, I’ve been working with you this whole time. I don’t mind. Besides, it’s better to work with you than against you.”

Wukong smiled and started attacking the panda. Yǔtíng bared her claws at the rabbit. The rabbit leaped into the air and attempted to kick her. Unexpectedly, Yǔtíng summoned vines to grab her by the leg. The rabbit burned it in an instant.

“Don’t bring flowers to a fire fight.”

She attacked her with her sword. The ermine growled and pounced on her. Xiàróng sent a barrage of punches. “So what about you? Do you have a sob story like your boss?”

“I like power.”

“That explains it.”

Bōjiè clawed at the king. He struck him in the arm, causing blood to leak out. Sun Wukong bared his teeth and summoned clones. The clones hit the panda before disappearing when they were swiped by his claws.

“Destroy the lotus, bud!”

“Yes, Monkey King!”

The machines enveloped the red panda and the kid. “I’ll buy you some time! Go!” Ruòzhū distracted the machines with her fighting. Xiaotian swung his staff at the ground. The roof started to show cracks in it. “Don’t destroy the building!”

“Sorry!”

He battered the fake flower with thunder. Bōjiè shouted, “Stop!” He lunged towards him.

Sun Wukong punted him with his foot. “Stay away from my kid!”

The panda scratched the king’s chest and tried to squeeze the life out of him before disregarding him when the king huffed to focus on the kid.

The flower splintered. He kept hitting with thunder. The lotus exploded to reveal a ring. “A ring is here too?”

“Grab it!”

Bōjiè tried to tear into the kid. Xiaotian flipped and grabbed the ring. The lotus’s shimmer began to wane and the panda shrunk. “NO!”

Wukong held his staff against his neck, still puffing. “We won.” The confused faces of the citizens peeked out.

“There is a lot to explain,” the rabbit said as she restrained the ermine’s hands.

They met the others and Ruòzhū explained what had happened with the promise to help. On the side, Pigsy examined the king’s wound. “We need to take care of you.”

“I’m fine, Pigsy.”

“This isn’t up for debate.” He picked him up bridal style. The king’s felt hot and he began stammering. For some reason, Pigsy picking him up made him feel flustered. “Take care of yourself, idiot.”

He started to disinfect his wounds. The king’s legs were swung over his lap. Pigsy wrapped his injuries in bandages. 

The group strolled up to them. Wukong asked the rabbit and red panda, “What are you going to do now?”

Ruòzhū answered, “I am going to stay here for awhile. These people need a leader. Maybe we can make it a prosperous place without all the brainwashing.”

Xiàróng said, “I’ll join you. You need a bodyguard.”

“Wow. How polite of you. I didn’t expect you to stay.”

“Well, I wouldn’t mind your company.” She held out her hand to the Great Sage. “It was nice to meet you, Great Sage. You were a worthy ally. I hope you get your powers back.”

“Thank you. You were a worthy ally as well.”

“What will you do now?”

“Find more pieces of the weapon. That’s all we can do.”

“I wish you luck. Defeat the White Bone Spirit and save the world.”

“We will. I hope we see you again. What happened to those other two?”

“They’re in a holding cell and will be monitored. Can’t risk them getting out,” the red panda respond. “That’s great. Good job.”

Nezha leaned against a wall. Xiaojiao slumped against the same one. “Xiaojiao, are you alright?”

“No. I can’t believe I forgot about my parents… I miss them.”

“You’ll find them. I believe in you.”

“Thanks… I hope they aren’t mad when they realize I’m gone.”

“Why would they be mad? I would be proud if I was them. You’re trying to save the world.”

“I’m still worried they’ll be…”

“Disappointed? I’m sure they aren’t.”

“I guess I’m getting used to them caring about me rather than putting pressure.”

“I know how you feel. I know what it’s like to have your family expect something from you even when you’re trying to do the right thing. All you can do is your best and learn to carve your own path. I’m sure they understand why you’re doing this.”

“Thank you, Nezha. You’re smarter than most kids your age,” she joked. “I’m older than you but whatever.”

“Really… thanks.” She pulled him into a hug. Nezha’s mouth went agape and he returned the hug.

“You’re welcome.”

“Xiaojiao! We have to go,” Wukong shouted. “Bye, Nezha! Maybe we can race in the future!”

“Looking forward to it! Goodbye!”

Wujing deactivated the forcefield. They stepped onto the ship. Wukong snarked, “Next time I say a place seems too good to be true, why don’t we skip past it?”

“We’ll do that next time,” Pigsy replied.

The engines roared and they began taking off. Nezha, Xiàróng and Ruòzhū waved to them.

The others separated. Pigsy placed a finger against his chin. “Pigsy?”

“I’m thinking. Want to help me cook?”

“Sure. I’ll meet you in the kitchen! Thanks for patching me up by the way,” he said then walked off.

“You’re welcome…”

A demon with skull markings, glowing blue…a face similar to the spirit showed up.

What was that vision? And why did he feel so uneasy?

---

For those curious:

Huáng Xiàróng = 煌 夏荣 (Brilliant Summer Glory), Kāng Bōjié (康 波杰 Abundant Outstanding Wave), Ermine= Wáng Yǔtíng (王 雨婷 Grand graceful rain), Red Panda= Wén Ruòzhū (文 珠若 Gentle, cultured like a pearl)

[tigerseye46]

Top Ten favorite ships! GO!!!! - Pixel Anon

Pffft. Looks at rarepairs which is mostly what my head is full of also these are the ships I can think of the top of my head

Peachpig/peachbun - Peachpig is a comfort ship and I am a massive Zhuhou shipper. It has my favorite tropes like bickering old married couple and enemies to lovers (I like being a content maker of this ship). It also a lot of longing in it if we go with the idea that Pigsy is Zhu Bajie’s reincarnation and I’m a sucker for pining. I like the idea of them gradually beginning to trust each other and be a sweet couple.

FreeNoodles - This is also a ship I really like because I’m a fan of bickering married couples. Also a lot of pining

MKsdadshipping is really cute because it’s three of my favorite characters in one big ship

Jasminetea - someone said it’s the underrated dynamic of feral small and calm tall and I completely agree with it. And I like the idea that if Sandy is Sha Wujing that he’s getting the love he deserves from someone.

Spicynoodles - enemies to lovers is one of my jams

Chimerashipping - I like the idea of Red being comfortable with how MK and Mei are a package deal and loving them both for it along with their many other traits. Also MK and Mei agreeing to share one guy with each other and being completely okay with it.

Cyberhunt - It’s like a jock x nerd trope. It’s just a shame we didn’t get to see more of the spider’s dynamics.

Peachtea - Tang would be that nerd who got with their celebrity crush. Ship also has pining in it. (Technically all the ships do in some form or another)

Silktea - I don’t actively think of this ship a lot but I do think the idea of Sandy helping Huntsman and helping him grow into a better person is nice. This is also feral small and calm tall.

For the last one, I guess Demon Bull King x Princess Iron Fan. I think it’s cute that they love each other and I like how PIF nuzzles her husband at the end of the S1 finale says smth along the lines of “You’ve come back to me.”

There are a lot of cute ships out there though.

Send me a ship question

[tigerseye46]

You made a fic about Red going to peachbun for permission to court MK. How about the reverse where Sun Wukong goes to MK for permission to court Pigsy and accidentally barges into Red and MK almost having a moment? With kisses 28, hugs 2 and 28, please.

Kisses 28. Neck Kisses Hugs 2. Hug around the waist Hugs 28. quick hugs

Red left a trail of kisses down Xiaotian’s neck. The human’s backside was pressed against his desk, his neck craned so Red could get better access. Arms were curled around his waist as he kept at it.

Xiaotian was about to melt right then and there if it wasn’t for the sound of the door slamming open. The two gasped and broke apart.

The Monkey King stood in the doorway. His palm rested on the oak wood. Eyes drifting between the couple, his widened and realization set in. “Oh. Was I interrupting something?”

“Yes,” Red answered followed by the stomp of her foot. Flames danced on her hair as she furrowed her brows and continued stomping.

The king shrugged, ignoring the fact he interrupted a pleasant moment. “Oh, well. Anyway, bud, I need your help.”

“What is it, Monkey King?” They questioned. It must have been important if the Monkey King of all people needed their help.

Wukong rubbed the back of his neck. “So it has to do with Pigsy.”

“Is dadsy okay? Did something happen?!”

He gestured for the kid to calm down. “No. He’s fine. You might have noticed that I like him?” The statement came out more as a question followed by a tinge of an awkward tone.

MK blinked then let out a laugh. Obviously he had noticed that the Monkey King had a crush on Pigsy. The hue of pink and lingering touches were hard to miss. “Yea, I noticed. What about it?”

“I want to court him and I was wondering if I could get your permission.”

“You want my permission?”

“You couldn’t have kidnapped him first?” Red pondered, making a ‘Tch’ in disappointment that he wasn’t following the old courtship ritual to kidnap his love interest.

The monkey deadpanned, “Red, you asked for permission.”

“I…. Yes, but…”

“I was going to do that after he says yes. I got something for him.” Pulling out a box slowly from his pocket, he took a shaky breath like he was worried about the others’ reactions.

The monkey opened it to reveal a gold bracelet with one red gem and another orange. It had oval patterns surrounding it. There was an engraving that read ‘My equal. My love.’

MK marveled at it. “Wow. Monkey King, this is beautiful. I’m sure Pigsy will love it.”

“So I have your permission?”

“Ye-”

“Wait, Noodle Boy,” his partner interrupted. “You need to add a couple threats first. Monkey King, if you hurt Pigsy, I’ll flay you alive. Got that?”

Wukong rolled his eyes. “Alright.”

Xiaotian giggled. “Yea, you have our permission. Pigsy loves you too and you two seem like you would be a great couple. I want dadsy to be happy.”

Suddenly, he was swept in a hug that lasted only a few seconds. He was put down with a “Thank you! Thank you, bud! I appreciate it! Just for that, no training tomorrow! See you!”

Wukong dashed off, yelling “PIGSY!” Then the sound of him tumbling the stairs followed by an “ow” resonated in the air.

“WUKONG” came Pigsy’s concerned tone.

“Monkey King! We should see if he’s al-”

He was cut off by a hand underneath his chin, it lifted his face to meet Red’s gaze. “He’ll be fine. Stairs can’t hurt him. Now back to it.”

Then warm lips met his.