MK was seeing another mentor.

Wukong knew it. He wasn't blind, he could see how the boy grew frustrated with each day of training and with every moment he'd have to converse with Wukong via Gold Vision. And Wukong knew, because he'd seen the interaction with his own eyes.

MK was training under Macaque, and Wukong had no idea whether to interfere or not.

On one hand, he isn't exactly... friends with Macaque. And he doesn't fully trust the shadow user. On the other hand, Mk would get actual on-hands training that helped him improve his fighting skills.

Maybe Wukong should've just...tried harder. He should've continued to push against his magic. He should've done more to keep himself present for his successor. But in the end, it didn't matter, he still failed MK.

So he let MK train with the warrior, and instead spent that bit of time looking over the Bull King family. It wasn't as intimate as before, but he still cared.

He still cleaned up messes for them. Still tucked Red Son into bed. Still restocked Princess Iron Fan's favorite perfumes. And he now tended to leave his brother blossoms that could survive flames.

Was the bull aware it was him? No. But did he find each blossom and secretly kept them?

Yes.

Wukong felt glad, deep down, that he wasn't completely useless. He was upset he'd let Mk down, of course, but it couldn't be helped. He was limited, it was bound to happen. Though the blatant rejection still hurt.

---

He should've interfered.

And now he was holding back a giant fist, standing in front of his successor as Macaque mocked him from above, "SHOW ME THE REAL SUN WUKONG!" The king grunted, gasping as his body flickered.

MK watched with wide eyes, and then the world was golden. The delivery boy gasped as he watched the flickers happen, as he witnessed the monkey's 'body' faze into the king's spirit form. The dots began to connect abruptly, causing MK to reel.

He's like a ghost.

Determination surged within the brunette's veins as the warrior above continued to taunt, "Aww, what's wrong? Trying to escape me, oh Great Sage?" Wukong's eye twitched in irritation. Did this jerk seriously think he was chickening out?!

The staff suddenly flung forward, ramming into the shadow kaiju. Wukong gasped, moving back as MK leaped forward to retrieve the staff.

Debris in the form of boulders flew out, and the king quickly engulfed the brunette, desperately keeping himself intact long enough to shield him. MK squeezed his eyes shut, feeling a strange nostalgia as his mentor's arms enveloped his body.

As if this wasn't the first time the spirit had shielded him.

---

"Monkey King, I'm...I'm sorry. I'm sorry for going behind your back. It was super not cool of me." He sighed, closing his eyes, "I just wanted to be good enough."

Wukong's golden hands moved through the boy's hair as he hummed, "It's fine, bud. I know it isn't fair for you to only see me like this. It must be frustrating." MK straightened up, golden eyes staring at his mentor with a hurt expression, "No, it must be frustrating for you! I should be more patient and understanding, not the other way around!"

"Kid, hey, it's fine. You didn't know, and your feelings are warranted, y'know. And just so you know, you aren't good enough. You're perfect. MK, you'll grow up to be greater than me! But you have to be patient and trust the process."

MK smiled softly, nodding slowly, "Alright, Monkey King."

---

The calabash was easy to decipher as a fake world.

Everything was too perfect. Pigsy lacked his temper, Tang wasn't teasing the hell out of him, and there was no traffic. It was strange, sure, but not exactly suspicious at first. And then when he was with Mei, she acted really weird.

She was less brash and witty, and became softer and more...well, the best way he could phrase it was 'more pick-me'. It was the way she tried being funny, how she complimented him, and how she insisted she was different.

It wasn't like Mei at all.

Even Sandy was off-putting. He'd converted his beloved boat into a romantic place. And then Mei confessed to him. Which, no offense to her, Mei's very cool, but that felt wrong. MK knew she loved him, platonically of course, so the fact she said it so hesitantly was...bad. Wrong.

The last piece of the puzzle was his mentor.

Wukong was on his cloud, and not as a soul. He was in his physical body. MK stared at him blankly, "...You have your body back?" The 'Monkey King' laughed, "Bud, I have no idea what you mean! I still look like me." MK nodded, a fake smile on his face, "Cool. Okay, well, y'know how I sealed DBK again? I think I'm gonna go stomp on his grave or something. Cool? Cool."

He ran before Wukong could do or say anything.

Then he was sprawled on the floor. MK reflexively activated his Gold Vision, gasping as he saw Wukong smirking at him. The king was hovering over an artifact as MK remembered what had happened.

Yin and Jin were barely acknowledged as the soul shoved them out of the theater, scaring the brothers so much they bolted away without a fight.

MK gasped, "Monkey King!" He grinned, and the king nodded along, "Hey, MK. Come on, the others are worried about you."

---

It came to a point where MK continuously used his Gold Vision to see if his mentor was around. He wanted to make sure Wukong never felt left out, especially since the sage jokingly confessed that MK was the first person to see him all the time in...well, ever since he'd lost his body.

Unfortunately, using your powers continuously has side effects.

Pigsy noticed it first, waving MK over, "Oi, what's wrong with your eyes, kid?" He examined MK closely, cupping his face. Mei leaned in, taking a picture and showing it to the boy, "Dude, look!" MK gasped in awe as he examined the picture.

His dark black irises held faded streaks of amber like always, but scattered around the natural browns were flecks of gold. They were like flakes, dotting and weaving in and about his eyes.

"Woah, that's--" Mei cut in, staring at her best friend hard, "Is Monkey King making you overdo stuff? Is that why your eyes are like that? Is it an illness? Why hasn't he done anything?" Pigsy nodded with each question, his eyebrows furrowed together.

His friends were worried for him, MK understood that. But there was no way he was going to let them diss his mentor.

"No! If anything, he'd lecture me for HOURS if he knew!" MK huffed, crossing his arms, "Last time I overdid it was with the clones, and he lectured me then turned the clones against me and made me take the day off, remember?" Tang nodded, humming as he ate, "MK's right. I'm sure Monkey king simply hasn't found out yet--"

Mei huffed, "Then why hasn't he?" MK flushed, rubbing the back of his neck, "Uh, well, I kinda...hid it from him." Wukong usually only saw his eyes when he was using Gold Vision, so he didn't know MK's natural browns were spotted with bright yellows.

Pigsy gave a small grunt, turning away, "That better be true, kid. Cause if he's not even payin' attention to you an' being a good mentor--" MK laughed nervously, "I know, I know! But don't worry, he's always keeping an eye on me."

---

Wukong walked along the city, tracking down a specific magic signature. Once he found it, the sage increased his speed, soaring as he grinned.

Soon, he stumbled through into a theater. People were watching in awe as shadow 'puppets' danced around on the stage. A man dressed in a black robe with red swirls spoke as they moved, and Wukong knew exactly who it was.

If he was being honest, he missed being friends with Macaque. But it hasn't been the same since their big fight while he was on his journey. It was bloody, and messy, and plenty of harsh words were thrown around. And then they hadn't seen each other in...well, in a long while.

As everyone clapped and stood once the show ended, Wukong floated above them and whooped. And interestingly enough...Macaque's head tilted towards his direction.

Golden-amber eyes snapped up, scanning the audience in search of the king.

Wukong gasped, moving in closer, "Holy shit, can you hear me?" Macaque's eyes twitched but then he suddenly grinned, bowing before the crowd. It was only once the theater was empty once again did the glamours drop, revealing the monkey.

Macaque snarled, "Where..?"

The king giggled, "I'm right here!" Macaque flinched, hands moving to his ears as he hissed, "Come out! Who--" The warrior knew this was not the king. There was no heartbeat, no bodily sounds, no breathing... Only the dead could avoid his ears like that.

The golden monkey yawned, "Man! That show was great, bud. Haven't seen one in a hot minute." He grinned in amusement as the warrior continued to twitch in irritation, "Psh, don't worry! You're not going crazy."

Macaque's face dropped into an expressionless pout.

"...I'm going crazy." He sighed, shaking his head, "Why is he always in my damn head-?" Wukong blinked in surprise, floating lower to the ground as he stared into the other's eyes. They never turned to meet his, and the king's frustration grew, "I'm real! I'm real, I'm real--"

Macaque slouched forward, grabbing at his ears, "Stop it, stop it, stop it-! You aren't HERE. Just stop it!" His knees gave out, and his head was bowed down. He screamed, trying to drown out the cruel voice weaving itself into his mind.

Warm hands grazed his hair.

The warrior inhaled sharply, looking up, but seeing no one. He began to laugh, unable to stop as he leaned back, "I'm going crazy! I fucking came out from the grave and went insane!" The same invisible hands caressed his face, silencing the ebony monkey.

"What grave? Yours? You died?"

Macaque closed his eyes, shuddering, "I'm the one who got killed, but I'm not the ghost. The irony is-- He left me. And then he killed me, and he's the ghost!" He laughed again, some-what hysterically. And the hands paused before disappearing.

"...I didn't kill you." Macaque snarled, covering his ears. He refused to listen, he refused to pretend this nonsense was true. He refused to believe that deep down, perhaps the king still cared about him.

Wukong stood back up, hovering still as he stared at the warrior. He turned away, numb and unsure of what to think as he moved away from the scene.

---

MK stared over at Wukong, eyebrows raised in panic as the king analyzed the camera footage. The monkey huffed, "Spider Queen."

The brunette gagged as Mei and Sandy prepared a plan, "Spiders! I hate spiders..." His magic sight flickered away as he boarded Sandy's vehicle, nervously fidgeting with the staff. Familiar hands rested on his arms, and a warbled voice floated softly into his ear, "Don't worry, bud. I'll be right here the whole time."

MK relaxed, smiling softly. He couldn't answer back outloud, but he knew it was true. The boy inhaled deeply, calming his nerves as he breathed out again.

He would make his mentor proud.

---

Pigsy and Tang both blinked in surprise as they somehow fell free from the web. The cocoon itself also fell apart, and it seemed as if someone did it, but nobody was around them.

Mei followed shortly along with Sandy, and the dragon girl frowned, "Uh...How did we..?" Sandy smiled to himself, well aware of the guardian angel that lingered around them.

He knew something was up from his days as a soldier, after all, too many coincidences happened for it to all not have been something unnatural. And then Mo would meow and churr about a golden soul. He'd seen the way his cats seemed to play with thin air, but soon he learned it was a soul.

But he didn't say anything. Instead, he stood up and gestured for the others to follow, "Come on! MK needs our help."

---

MK fell back into his bed, exhaling loudly.

"I'm gonna have nightmares for weeks." His eyes became golden as he glanced to his side. Wukong smiled softly from where he was floating, "I'm sorry that happened, bud. I wish I could've done more...But I'm kinda pushing it during training."

MK hummed, "I know. But you did more than enough! Seriously, you got me some backup!" Wukong laughed, nodding along, "No problem, kid." The boy sighed, "...Y'know, I had a ghost when I was younger. Last time I had 'em around was...Before we went to your mountain. Pigsy says they were just an imaginary friend, but...I dunno."

Wukong pretended to ponder, nodding along, "It sounds like a spirit not that different from me, bud. Welp! I better head off and leave you to your beauty sleep. G'night." MK smiled, closing his eyes.

"Night, Monkey king."

---

It was strange.

Sure, the DBK family were stealing powerful artifacts and stuff, but why a key? I mean, yeah, it could open any door...but they didn't do petty stealing. They went big and bold, everything was for a reason.

It made MK feel queasy.

But he didn't let Wukong know, how could he? The ginger was constantly stressed and sad, even if he seemed better around MK and the others, he was still sad. How could MK possibly burden him with these thoughts? Wukong would only blame himself.

So he didn't say a word and simply continued to train. And hoped for the best.

---

Wukong stretched, yawning loudly.

Macaque was preparing for another show, and the king was simply waiting until he was finished. He floated down, carefully peeking, "Woah, what's this play about?" Macaque didn't even acknowledge him.

The king frowned, "...Don't ignore me. Please don't ignore me." The warrior sighed, turning towards his voice, "What? What do you want?" Wukong smiled to himself, "To be your friend. So, what's the play about?"

"...A man and a dragon. Now shut up."

"Rude. But thank you for telling me." Wukong hadn't managed to convince the shadow user he was really Wukong just yet...But he was getting there! He was close!

Wukong just...needed to try harder.

"I'm sorry, for all of our fights. I should've been better than that." Macaque didn't respond, but his movements did pause. Wukong closed his eyes and exhaled, "I wish we could've met now instead of back then. I'm a better person now, I think. And you're stronger. Not physically, I mean. You've always been strong!"

Wukong laughed softly, glancing at the warrior, "But...But you know when lines are crossed. I'm proud of you, y'know that? ...Well, I miss you. A lot. So I wanted to--"

"To what? You think we can just forgive and forget-- hold hands-- and then just act like you didn't kill me?" Macaque glared at the ground, unable to tame his trembling fists. Wukong huffed, frustration seeping into his gut, "I didn't kill you! You were alive and everything! The most I did was scar your chest!"

The shadow user subconsciously felt the right side of his chest, right were a harsh, splatter-like scar laid.

He growled, glamours dropping as a jagged scar shaped like an 'x' appeared over his right eye, "YOU DID THIS, TOO. And then you--" His breath stuttered as hands touched his eye, "...That wasn't me. The chest, yeah. I mean, it looks like it came from a heavy strike. But I used my staff...It's too clean for it to have been my staff."

His thoughts halted, frozen still as the voice-- as Wukong-- continued to speak.

"You were alive when I fought with you. I hit your head a tad too hard, sure, but you disappeared into your shadows. They tendrilled and wrapped around your body... Wait..." Macaque's heart was too loud. It was screaming too loudly for him to truly comprehend what he was hearing.

"Macaque, the scar-- Your tendrils covered your eye! But I didn't do it, someone did it before we fought and something else happened! SHIT. Mac, it wasn't-- I didn't kill you! I didn't do it!"

Macaque's ears connected to static, and his vision blurred. Hot-cold shock washed over him, and invisible hands sat him down. Wukong's voice was far away, and all he could do was cry.

He cried because, yes, he missed Wukong, too. He cried because his anger was wrong. And he cried because he still didn't know whether to forgive his other half or not.

Arms wrapped around him, and a small whisper tried to soothe his whimpers. Macaque weakly and uselessly tried to fight back, but he so desperately craved the king's touch. The warmth suddenly shifted, and the sound of a heart beating steadily caught his attention.

He looked up and sobbed, for Wukong was there, eyes resigned and body flickering between his body and flashes of gold.