This takes place a few days earlier, and in another place. The Three Horned Demon Lord, sitting on his throne, was in the middle of discussing strategy with his generals. Well, what was left of them anyway. Quite a few of them have died, and Red Boy (who will be quitting soon) left for an annual family event. That damn monkey was giving him more trouble than he originally expected. But he thought that it didn't matter, the weapon was almost complete now, all they needed was that one very essential component. The challenge was to get it, it was pretty tricky, and they seemed to be at an impasse.

Just then, out of nowhere, someone dropped down from the ceiling, did a front flip and landed on their hands, on the table with the large map of China, knocking off some of the little strategy figurines placed on it. Macaque smirked at the demon lord, and his smirk grew wider when everyone in the room pointed their weapons at him.
"Now now, that's no way of greeting someone that'll get you the win."
"Six-Eared Macaque." the demon lord spoke. "What do you want?"
Macaque hopped to be on his feet, he stayed on the table though.
"I actually go by just Macaque now. I like it a lot."
He waited for him to say something, but there was only silence. He placed his hands on his hips and deeply inhaled, looking around like he was in complete control of the place.

"Couldn't help but overhear what you were saying there."
"You clearly broke in!" one of the generals said.
Macaque stared at him, unimpressed. The general gulped and looked down, his stare making him uncomfortable.
"And so," he continued. "I decided to help myself out, by helping you guys out."
The lord's eyes narrowed, but he was still silent.
"You need one last ingredient right~? Something that belongs to him. But obviously you can't get it from him directly, you're *bound* to fail."
"Are *you* going to do it then?" another soldier asked, offended.
"Better." he said, though ignoring everyone's presence, he even turned his back on the demon lord. "I'll tell you where *else* you can find what you're looking for."
There was a moment of silence, confused glances were shared. Macaque's smile grew larger, showing his fangs.
"Why not go directly to the source?" he glanced back. "Why not pass by his house?"

Shocked whispers and gasps echoed throughout the room. He closed his eyes and chuckled, relishing in the panic he just created.
"I-Impossible! No one knows the true location of Flower Fruit Mountain."
"It's never the same on any maps. And most of the time, it's even nowhere to be found!"
"Legend has it that if you try to go there uninvited, or with ill intention, the island will eat you alive!"
"Plus, it's Sun Wukong's home. The people there must be as strong as he is!"
"Hah!" Macaque spoke again. "They may be strong, to some, but their brains are just as empty as his. I'll tell you how to get there undetected."
"H-how do you even know where it is?"
"Of course I know where it is, at all times. It's my home too. In theory anyway..." he whispered that last part with a graver expression. "With this plan comes a little warning however." he looked at the Three Horned Demon Lord with a piercing, unblinking stare. "If you hurt her, in any way shape or form, I will know, and I will kill you."

"Heh, too bad for you." he leaned back a little bit. "Eating Golden Cicada *is* our end goal."
"I'm not talking about (Y/n)."
This made him frown a bit in confusion.
"Although that goes without saying." Macaque shrugged, back to being casual. "As soon as you kill Wukong I'll swoop in and take her away to safety." his gaze wandered and his smile softened. "Once I'm rid of him, I could finally start anew, with her."
"Right, I did catch wind of your... infatuation, with her." he smiled. "Nevertheless, I'll accept this deal. But as soon as Sun Wukong is dead, we will be enemies." his smile grew into a smirk. "I look forward to destroy the monkey who thinks he can just break into my lair without consequences."
Just then, shadow clones appeared from the ground and dragged the generals into the floor with them. The three horned demon was about to stand but was stopped mid-way by other shadow clones, appearing from his throne and digging their claws into his arms and shoulders, threatening to rip his skin.

"Careful demon lord." Macaque calmly said, though he wasn't smiling anymore. "(Y/n) and Wukong aren't the only ones I kept an ear on. Also," he raised an eyebrow. "need to remind you that the only things keeping me from killing him myself are his five levels of immortality. And I myself have three of those. So back off."
He slowly leaned back in his seat. By the look on his face, it was clear that he was trying to look tough. But Macaque smiled when he noticed the drop of sweat on his forehead. The shadows disappeared and he rolled his head.
"Now, here's how you can get on Flower Fruit Mountain." he paused, then waved a hand. "And don't worry~, your generals are outside, I just wanted to scare them. Except that first one who interrupted me. That was rude. You will never see him again."
The Three Horned Demon Lord silently gulped. He'll make sure to ask his men to bring something that belongs to Macaque too. If they find it that is...

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(Y/n) ran as fast as her legs could take her. Eventually, she stopped at the edge of a cliff and her eyes widen. There was the ocean, a giant field of water stretching towards the horizon in a constant back-and-forth motion. The salty smell hit her nose, and she just admired the scenery for a moment. But then she shook her head and looked for a way to go down to the beach. She found one and quickly went for it, Monkey, who's been in a slow trot this whole time, stopped at the edge of the cliff and watched her go for a moment, frowning.
"Come on Monkey!" she called out from the bottom of the cliff. "Hurry up!"
He sighed and took his shoes off before taking a step forward, falling down and landing on the sandy beach like it was nothing. Some sand flew out due to the impact and (Y/n) dusted her clothes and her face to get it off, along with making puff sounds to make sure none of it got in her mouth.

"What are we even hurrying up for?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Did you not hear what Red said?!" she asked as she quickly walked away, following the shore. "The weapon's almost complete, we have to hurry and find Guan Yin's island already, before it's too late!"
Monkey wasn't listening, instead he watched her walking on wet sand for the first time. He found it very entertaining and much more fun. She'd sometimes stop walking because her shoes were sinking. He snickered and casually followed, admiring the scenery and looking for seashells and other neat things to find at the beach. He at some point came across a little crab and picked it up.

"Do you even know what her island looks like?" he said as he let the little animal crawl on the back of his hand, which was holding his staff.
"Stories say that it has an hallo of golden light, that no cloud is ever above it, and that the vegetation there is greener than green."
He rolled his eyes, exchanging a look with the crab. It rotated its eyes. He let out a little 'heh' before looking at back her.
"How do you even know it's that way? Who knows, it might be the other." he nodded behind him.
"Well if it was, I would've appreciated it if you've told me!"
Just then, a particularly big wave washed up to her feet, soaking her shoes. She gasped from the water's temperature, and because now her shoes were even more sunk into the sand. She groaned and finally took them off.
"I don't like the ocean!" she said as she shook them around to get the sand off.
"That's the beach."
"I hate the beach! Why is there so much sand?!"
"Cranky today, isn't she?" he whispered to the crab.

(Y/n) was stomping at this point. Suddenly she stopped and gasped, and pointed at an island far from the shore. On it was nothing but grass and a mountain, and on top of that mountain was a big palace. She looked at it in awe, just in time for Monkey to catch up and stand beside her. He looked unimpressed.
"Bit less green-ish since last time I was here."
"Who care! Come on!" she hurried on.
The little crab was now crawling along Monkey's staff, he slowly rotated it so that it could stand at the tip of it.
"Look at you," he said, extending his arm in the air. "tallest creature in this beach."
It seemed to be afraid of heights, as it quickly tried to get down, only to fall onto the sand. Monkey let out a little 'oof', wincing, but then he smiled when he saw that the crab was alright. It quickly crawled into the water. He followed it with his eyes, which then wandered to the horizon. Then he saw something that made him gasp and drop his staff, creating a small earth quack that's startled (Y/n).
"What's wrong?!" she looked around in a panic. "Are they here?! Are we too late?!"
"F..." he pointed, his face lighting up. "Flower Fruit Mountain! It's that time of year!"
"Huh?"

She followed his gaze and her eyes widen when she saw an even bigger island. Unlike Guan Yin's, it was more like a giant tuft of trees and mountains. Messy, but no less beautiful.
'That's weird,' she thought. 'I don't think I noticed it when I was on the cliff... I probably wasn't paying attention.'
"Oh man! My little monkeys will be so happy when they see me!" Monkey began to walk towards it.
"What? Hey!"
She rushed to him and grabbed the back of his collar, stopping him.
"We can't go, we don't have time!"
"Huh?!" he pushed her arm away and faced her. "Come on (Y/n), it's right there!" he excitedly gestured towards the island.
"Guan Yin's island is right there!" she gestured towards the other island.
"So? We'll just stop by after, it's fine. Come on, Peaches!"
She blushed, but this time, she resisted his persuasion.
"Monkey," she joined her hands together, trying to remain calm. "you're not understanding the gravity of the situation here."
He rolled his eyes.

"The Three Horned Demon Lord is creating a weapon that could actually *kill* you. And it's only a matter of time - which we apparently don't have much of - before they finish it and get to us!"
"They can't kill me." he waved a hand. "No one can."
"If they could seal your powers away, they could very well do that too! Plus, don't you want your powers back?!"
"'Course I do, and I will get them back. *After* I'll check on my monkeys. I haven't seen them in forever!"
"You won't get to ever see them if you're dead!"
"Stop saying I'm gonna die." he frowned and folded his arms. "What, you don't trust me? You think I'm weak?"
"Oh gods, not again with this." she rubbed her face then looked back at him. "This has nothing to do with that! I just-"
"We stopped by your home, how is mine any different?"
"Because my village was under attack Monkey! This is completely different! We can't make unnecessary detours anymore, not when our destination is right here!" she gestured to the island. "Not when you could be in mortal danger!"
He gasped at the word 'unnecessary'. He leaned closer, glaring, but she stood her ground.

"How dare you disrespect my homeland?!" he smirked, but he was clearly offended. "If you're soooo eager to go see that goddess, then why don't *you* go, level up your powers and then come back to me to remove the seal yourself. Go ahead and fill your pretty little head with useless worrying, I will be over there, having fun!" he stomped away, towards the water.
"Are you serious?! You're acting like a child!"
"And you're acting like you're the boss of me!" he turned around, the water now up to his waist. "I love you, but sometimes you can be a real pain in the ass!"
(Y/n)'s eyes widen, this hit her more than she expected. He kept walking.
"Monkey?! Monkey!"
She tried calling him out, but he ignored her. He kept walking, eventually his whole body went in the water. She clenched her fists.
"Fine! Go!" she waved an arm. "I hope you have a good time while I try and save your butt! Don't say you didn't see this coming when *you're* the one who dies this time!"

No response. She groaned and kicked the sand before walking towards Guan Yin's island again, grumbling and mumbling out her frustration. After a while she faced the island and stood there for a while in silence. Only now did she realize the true problem here.
"...I still don't know how to swim." she said with a grave expression.
'I bet Monkey remembered and he's laughing right now!' her frown deepened just picturing it.
She shook her head.
"Whatever, I'll figure out how to get there by myself!" she clenched a fist in determination. "I don't need him!"
She thought for a moment, then she remembered that they walked by an abandoned raft on the way here. She went back to it, it was pretty big and the oars were carefully crafted. She also noticed foot prints going towards a forest at the edge of the beach. A small group went there. She walked towards it but didn't want to venture into the forest. Instead, she found a tree and sat at the bottom of it.
'If the owners of the raft come back, I'll ask if they could give me a ride.' she thought, looking at the horizon.

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The monkeys were overjoyed to see their beloved King again, yet another reason to party! As everyone was working hard to prepare for the big celebration, Monkey settled on his stone throne in his stone castle. Of course, he was just as happy to see them, but as he sat there, he looked glum, and he sighed multiple times, his cheek resting on his knuckles.
"What's the matter my King?" the four monkey elders, of the Four Monkeys Elders Council, asked him. "You haven't even touched your fourth plate."
Monkey sighed.
"You see right through me old men." he leaned forward. "I got in an argument... with someone very dear to me."
The elders looked at each-other, perplexed. Having their King suffer from emotional problems wasn't something they were familiar with.
"Even though I know that I'm right and she's wrong-"
They looked at each-other again when he said 'she', their eyes even bigger. As far as they knew, this was the first time that their King was in love, not only that, that he had problems with his love life. They were not expecting this at all, especially not after a few century of absence.

"-It still sucks to separate on this note. You know what I mean?"
"Uuuuh-" one of them said, and another one nudged him. "Sure."
"And although I feel bad for leaving her alone on this beach, I need some Me-time."
"Good idea my King." an elder nodded. "Take some time to calm down, then when you come back to her, she'll see the error of her ways eventually and she'll apologize
"Right, right!" he leaned back, put his feet on the table, grabbed a plate and gobbled its content. "Another! And bring some more booze too!"
"Our King is back!!!" everyone cheered.
"Oh All Mighty Great Sage Sun Wukong, please!" a group of female monkeys surrounded him. "Tell us more about this bitc- uuuh, this woman you speak of! What did she do?!"
"Oh I'll tell you!" he said, not noticing the clear jealousy and loathing they were expressing. "It was completely uncalled for!"
"I'm sure it was!"

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(Y/n) waited in the shade for a little while. Just when she was about to take the raft for herself, she heard footsteps, accompanied by voices.
"Is it really the safest way to do this? 'Cause it really isn't the simplest. Couldn't we just sneak up on him while he's sleeping or something?"
"So that he could wake up and kill us three? No thank you!"
She frowned and decided to hide, peeking out from behind the trunk. Two demons were walking by, alongside each-other.
'Didn't she said 'us three'? Where's the third one?'
"I'm telling you," the second one continued. "the safest way is to infiltrate the island."
"It's very pretty." he stopped to look at it.
"Who cares, we're not here for tourism! This is a serious mission! This is the last piece we need and it's the most important one, without it, the weapon would be useless!" she huffed. "Now, we just wait for them to come back with it."

(Y/n) felt her heart drop. She pressed her back against the tree and looked down
'The last piece is on Flower Fruit Mountain?! And a demon's already there?!' she pursued her lips. 'Then, it's a good thing Monkey went there, but...' she glanced at the two demons as they left the beach, going up the cliff. 'He doesn't know.'
She looked back and forth at the two islands. Then shook her head.
'No, I have to go and warn him! Before it's too late!'
Luckily for her, just then she saw a small group of monkey people leaving the forest and hurrying back to the raft. She quickly went up to them.
"Wait! Excuse me!"
They jumped in surprise and looked at her, confused but curious. Once she caught up to them, they began to ask questions. But since they spoke monkey, she couldn't understand them.
"Uh..." she darted her eyes around, trying to think of a way to make herself understood. "Does any of you know my language?"
"I do." one of them said.
The others looked impressed. (Y/n) let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm very sorry, but I need to go to Flower Fruit Mountain." she pointed at said island. "Monk- uh, Sun Wukong is there and-"
At the mention of his name, the monkeys all nodded excitedly.
"Yeah, we know!" the monkey smiled. "The crab told us!"
Another monkey showed her his opened hand, a little crab was on his palm. She blinked twice, confused.
"Our King is back, and he suffered a heartbreak."
She felt her chest tightened.
"As soon as we heard, we stopped our yearly scouting and now we're hurrying back to cheer him up!" he then realized something and narrowed his eyes. "Wait, why do *you* want to go with us? Strangers aren't allowed!"
He quickly explained the situation to the others, and they all glared at her. She raised her hands.
"I don't mean any harm, on the contrary, I want to atone for what I did." she looked down. "I...I'm the one who broke his heart."
The monkeys gasped.

"But now, I have to warn him! There's a demon who infiltrated the island!"
"Pfff, don't be stupid." he waved his hands. "It's impossible for anyone besides us to access the island safely."
"Oh please! Please!" she joined her hands together. "Even if it's nothing, better safe than sorry right?"
The monkey narrowed their eyes before stepping back. They turned away from her and started whispering to each-other, glancing at her from time to time.
'I don't speak monkey. It doesn't matter if I can hear you or not.'
After a short while, they nodded in agreement and went back to her.
"Fine." the interpreter said. "We'll escort you to our King, but you have to promise not to do anything funny." he pointed at her. "For all we know, *you're* the infiltrator!"
"I promise I won't." she bowed her head. "Thank you so much!"

They all hopped on the raft, it was now a little crowded but it was still floating. (Y/n) wanted to sit in the middle, but when the only spot left was on the side, closest to the water, she didn't say anything. Still, she sometimes anxiously glanced at the water as they went out into the sea.
"You good?" the monkey who spoke her language asked.
"I'm okay, I just..." she sighed. "I've never been to the sea before, and I don't know how to swim."
He chuckled and told the others, who cackled as well. She frowned.
"Hey, Wukong doesn't know how to swim either!"
"Yeah but he's Sun Wukong. Any flaw he has he makes up for it by being a thousand time better than anyone at everything else."
One of the other monkeys spoke.
"Good point." he pointed at him, then at her. "Also he can breath underwater, humans can't. How embarrassing." he mumbled with a smug look.
Her frowned deepened and she just turned away.
'Will I have to deal with multiple Monkeys once I'm there? I don't think I could handle that.'

Slowly but surely, they approached the giant island, it looked even more beautiful up close. Something strange (Y/n) noticed was that there were no beaches, no sand. It was just land, then water. And the land part was slightly elevated. As she stood up to get a closer look, the monkey were getting very excited at the prospect of seeing their beloved King again. Suddenly, one of the monkeys bumped her and she fell in the water.
You would think that since they were close to the island, the water wouldn't be that deep. Well, it was as deep as the middle of the ocean. And it was way saltier than she thought it would be. She struggled to keep her head above the water, calling for the monkeys to help. But she could feel herself getting pushed away by the current. Even with salty water in her eyes, she could make out their silhouettes getting farther and farther. She tried calling out for Monkey, but water got in her mouth. She felt a strange force pushing her down, she only had time to spit out the water and take as much air in as she could before being submerged underwater.

She tried to get back up, waving her arms around, but to no avail. She thought about maybe creating a shield around her, but it was too late to do that. She kept going deeper and deeper underwater, slowly. She could make out the sunlight getting dimer by the second.
'I never told him sorry!' she held her throat, her face turning blue. 'I never told him thank you. I never told him I-'
Just then, she looked to the side and opened her mouth in terror when she saw a giant black mass approaching her. With the remaining air now out of her system, she began to pass out, but she could fell herself being pushed somewhere by something. Just as her consciousness began to fade, she got out of the water. She was laying on her back and she quickly turned around and stood on her hands and knees as she coughed up the water in her lungs. After that, she sat on her knees and took a few deep breaths.
'Oh, air!' she thought. 'Sweet precious air!'

She looked around. She was still near the island, but she was now on this big dark rocky-looking platform, which seemed to still continue underwater. (Y/n) was very confused, and she couldn't see the monkeys, nor their raft anywhere. Then, she turned around when another platform, slowly appeared above water, except this one kept growing up, just as slowly. It was less of a platform and more of a giant, weirdly-shaped rock. At some point, she noticed that that rock - and also probably the one she was standing on - was connected to the island.
"Wait..." she mumbled.
Before she could even theorize about what that meant. The giant rock opened its eye, a dark amber color, right in front of her, it was even bigger than her. Startled, (Y/n) stepped back. She took a general look at the 'rock' and finally realized: it was shaped like the head of a turtle. This was the head of a giant turtle. Flower Fruit Mountain was on the shell of a giant turtle. Her jaw dropped and her eyes opened wide as she pieced it together. A moment of silence passed, to take it all in, and she looked back at the eye, which was staring at her. By Buddha, the head was only halfway above the water!

"...H-hi." she said with a little voice before clearing her throat and stepping closer, speaking with a louder voice. "Hello! Thank you for saving me! I apologize for the intrusion but... Can I get on...you?"
Silence, the eye slowly blinked.
"Sun Wukong, someone very dear to me, could be in great danger, I have to go tell him about it before everyone on the island gets hurt! And also..." she looked down. "I have to apologize. We had an argument and... I disrespected you, I apologize for that." she bowed. "Would you please let me in?"
There was another moment of silence. Slowly, the turtle turned its head. (Y/n) became face-to-face with its nostrils, which to her looked like two big caves. Then, she yelped and flinched when the turtle exhaled air at her, it was a powerful wind that dried her up completely. She looked down at herself, her hair now all over the place, then back at the turtle as it turned its head back.
"Th-Thank you." she nodded.
Then, the head slowly went back in the water but the top of it stayed up. It brought its flipper (which was the platform (Y/n) was standing on) closer to it so she could hop on. She did, and realized that she now had access to the island. Her face lit up and she patted the head.
"Thank you so much!" she said before rushing away.

She went along the neck and climbed up the shell, a thick layer of dirt, moss and rocks covering it. She entered Flower Fruit Mountain, a dense forest full of bright colored plants and bugs. She admired her surroundings for a moment before looking back. The head had now disappeared and the mainland was slowly getting farther, the turtle had started to swim.
'Wait.' she thought as she brushed her hair back together. 'Was that turtle...*the* turtle?!'
She puffed a chuckle and inspected the ground. She would've never guessed she was on a shell. With a determined expression, (Y/n) went looking for Monkey.
'He must be in Water Curtain Cave, where the stone castle is.' she listened closely for the sound of running water. 'Come to think of it, I'll have to find those monkeys too, my bag is still on their raft.'

She came across a river and went to where it came from. She began to hear music in the distance, growing closer with each step. Eventually, she left the forest and came across the monkey population. Houses hanging from trees, with bridges connecting them. On the ground were stands for food and games (all free), a little arena for unfair but fun duels, a band playing music and a large space where monkeys were dancing, children running around and playing. There was a big celebration going on, but no indication as to what it was they were celebrating. Small colorful leaves and flower petals were thrown from the top of the tall trees, used as confettis, which only added to the sense of enchantement of the scene. A bit farther away, there was a tall waterfall. The falling water had a very strong current, but thankfully, a contraption at the top was separating the water into two, like a curtain. It allowed access inside the cave, in which there was the large stone castle. (Y/n)'s face lit up and she made her way to Water Curtain Cave.
Only three steps later, she was stopped by two tall and beefy apes soldiers, blocking her path. They glared and pointed their spears at her as they spoke in monkey.

"Oh no no no!" she raised her hands and shook her head. "I'm not an enemy I swear, I'm here to-"
She noticed they exchanged a confused glance. She sighed.
"You don't understand me. Um..." she thought for a moment. "Sun Wukong." she pointed at the castle. "My." she placed her hands on her chest. "Uh..." her eyes darted all around for a moment before hesitantly, and bashfully, making a heart with her hands.
The two apes' eyes widen as they leaned back. They began to whisper to each-other.
"Again," she mumbled. "there's no need to do that. I also can't understand what you're saying."
Finally, they nodded to each-other and gestured her to follow them. She let out a quiet sigh of relief and the three of them crossed the area to get to the waterfall. Other monkeys would stop and either glare or stare at her in shock. She awkwardly scratched her cheek.
'Words must travel fast here...'

Once at the edge of the river, one of the apes gestured her to wait while the other one jumped in the water and went inside the cave. He shook his body violently to dry himself up before walking over to a set of levers. He pulled one, and a stone bridge elevated out of the water. (Y/n) noticed how the shape of the bridge's edges fit perfectly with the stone floor, like a puzzle piece. Truth was: the bridge was originally attached to the ground but was ripped off and attached to this other contraption as a safety precaution.
"Thank you!" she nodded.
The ape next to her gestured to go ahead. She began to crossed the bridge. When she was mid-way through, the apes nodded at each-other and the one on the cave's side, pushed the lever back and pulled another one. The bridge quickly dropped back in the water and (Y/n) once again fell in.
"What gives?!" she glared as she struggled to stay afloat.
This time however, she quickly summoned a blue bubble around her, it was halfway filled with water but it was still floating. Before she could feel relieved, she noticed that the waterfall curtain was beginning to close, the strong current rapidly coming closer to her. Being in a bubble floating on water, she had no idea how she could maneuver her way around. She believed she'd most likely be pushed underwater for as long as the curtain remained closed. Panic overcoming her, feeling a tightness in her chest, she closed her eyes and shouted at the top of her lungs.

Before all that, around five minutes into the past, the monkeys were forming a line in front of the stone throne, to give their beloved King a present, to both celebrate his arrival and to cheer him up. He accepted them all with joy, no matter how expensive or cheap looking, no matter how big or small. Next ones in line were a small group of monkeys, he recognized them, as Monkey knows every single individual here.
"You guys are back already?" he asked.
"As soon as we heard that our King was back, we came back right away!" one of them excitedly said.
"Still," he folded his arms and closed his eyes, with a stern frown on his face and his back straight. "the yearly scouting of the mainland is an important mission. It's the one day of the year when the island's closest to the mainland and you guys can go and catch up with what's going on in the world while I'm gone. You shouldn't just drop it like that."
"No worried my King, no worries! We still found a bunch of cool stuff! Like...books! One of them even has your face on it!"
"Books?" he raised an eyebrow and looked at them.
He felt his heart drop when he saw that the monkeys were holding (Y/n)'s bag. He snatched it away, startling them, and looked inside to make sure he wasn't dreaming. He looked back at them, his sudden change of behavior making everyone the room silent.
"Where did you get that?" he slowly asked, his eyes unblinking.

Just as the monkeys were about to give a nervous, incoherent response, that's when he heard her.
"Monkey!!!"
He quickly turned his head towards the voice and put the bag down before jumping out the window and running to the waterfall, where the curtain was closing. In the middle of the river was (Y/n), inside one of her bubbles. He picked up the speed and just as the water began to push her down, he leaped into the air. As he went through the waterfall and above her, he reached inside the bubble, breaking it into pieces so he could grab her by the wrist. He pulled her close to him so the strong current wouldn't hurt her and he landed safely on the ground outside the cave. She looked up at him with big eyes.
"Are you okay?!" he asked, full of concern as he checked for any injuries.
She felt bad. She made him so mad a couple of hours ago, and now it was like he completely forgot about it. He gently put her down before turning towards the ape and speaking in monkey. He sounded really mad.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
The ape looked down in shame as everyone surrounded them, curious to see what was happening. The water curtain opened again and the second ape came back, along with the monkeys who were in the castle as well.
"She's just a human, and she can't swim! Don't you know you could've killed her?!"
The two apes looked down, like children being scolded by their father.
"Look at me!"
They glanced at him, their head still hung down.
"She broke your heart though..." one of them mumbled. "Everyone kinda agreed that she's the worst."
"Hey! Don't you dare disrespect (Y/n)! No one is allowed to talk bad about her except me! Just like no one is allowed to talk bad about you guys except me! And you guys are a bunch of dumbasses! Yes, what she said wasn't cool and it got me mad, but that *one* argument won't erase every awesome thing she's done for me in the past. I still love her with all my heart, and I will be damned if I allow anyone to harm her, even you guys!"

There was a moment of silence during which all the monkeys looked at each-other, admitting their fault and the fact that they may have over-reacted. He huffed.
"I do appreciate that you guys were willing to kill someone who did me wrong to cheer me up." he smiled. "But my heart isn't broken!" he hit his own chest. "It's as indestructible as an indestructible rock! Don't you forget it!"
Smiles reappeared on everyone's faces and they cheered for their King being so cool. He faced (Y/n).
"Sorry about them, they're stupid. Some of them don't even know how to count."
"Monkey... You were right. It was unfair of me to try and prevent you from seeing your family. I'm sorry." she bowed slightly.
He smiled and gently held her chin, moving her head up so he could look at her.
"It's okay (Y/n). I know you're just worrying about me. Means that you care."
She smiled.
"You can stay here as long as you like."
"Don't you mean 'we'?" he raised an eyebrow. "'Cause now that you're here, you can join the festivities!" he addressed everyone. "You guys better be nice to her now! Make up for your shitty welcome by making sure she has the time of her life here in Flower Fruit Mountain!"
They all cheered. She sighed, relieved that they weren't glaring at her anymore.

"By the way, Monkey," she said as the monkeys resumed what they were doing. "so... The island is actually a giant turtle?"
"Ah~! You met Feefee!"
"Feefee?"
"That's what we call her. For *F*lower *F*ruit Mountain, F.F, Feefee. She eats foreigners who swim too close to her."
"Really? But she let me climb on her shell."
"Seriously?! Huh. She must be a really good judge of character. She is an ancient being after all, she must be able to read people's soul or something."
"And..." she leaned closer with a smirk. "Is she your first heartbreak?"
He puffed a laugh and gently pushed her face away, averting eye contact as his cheeks were dusted with pink.
"Whatever. She probably didn't even understand what I said. And it was like six centuries ago!"
They both laughed.

"Ah! That's right!" she exclaimed. "I have something important to tell you!"
Before she could say what it was, a small group of monkeys hesitantly walked up to them, looking down and dragging their feet. (Y/n) recognized them and the bag they were holding. She gasped and pointed at them with a frown.
"You! You pushed me on purpose didn't you?!"
"You guys also tried to kill her?!" Monkey glared.
"We didn't know she would drown, just because she can't swim!" they handed her bag back. "We're sorry, we won't do it again."
(Y/n) figured that they were apologizing. She smiled and nodded.

"Huh, where's the other one?" she asked as she took her bag and put it on her shoulders.
"The other one?" Monkey asked.
"The one who spoke my language, I asked him if I could get on the raft with them to get her-."
She cut herself off when she saw the expression on Monkey's face. It was as if she told him his parents died. He leaned closer and spoke more quietly.
"He spoke to you?"
She nodded.
"Who did?"
"Why...?"
"The only people here who speak other languages are me and the elders."

Her heart sunk. She grunted in lament and rubbed her face.
"I heard a demon would infiltrate the island, that's what I came to warn you about." she said. "To think that demon was with me this whole time! I'm sorry Monkey."
"Hey," he pointed at her. "you didn't know. It's not your fault. These idiots however..." he faced the group. "You didn't realize there were another one of you?!" he whispered sharply between his teeth.
"What, the scouting mission always has five monkeys. And we counted ourselves before leaving the mainland. One, two, three, four."
He deeply exhaled, trying to remain calm.
"When counting the group, you're supposed to count yourself too."
"...Oh~." the monkeys looked at each-other in realization, they pointed at themselves. "Five! Got it! Uh-ho."

Monkey was ready to yell at them but he instead took a deep breath.
"I'll deal with you later." he pointed at them before facing (Y/n), leaning towards her while still looking around. "How did you hear about this?"
"While I was alone on the beach, two demons from the Three Horned lord's army passed by saying a third one was sent here. Apparently the last component they need for the weapon is somewhere on this island."
"What?" he frowned.
"Do you know anything about that?"
"No. What would that even be?" he clicked his tongue. "Dammit! He could be on the other side of the island for all we know- Oh nevermind he's right there."

He nodded towards a direction. She looked on and spotted the monkey from earlier, he was in a middle of the dance floor, in the arms of a female monkey, every time he tried to escape, she'd pull him back in her embrace. He looked panicked, and he freaked out when he noticed our two protagonists staring at him. He must've known that Monkey could spot demons despite their disguises.
"Oh boy, Sunny got herself a new toy." he raised his staff. "I almost feel bad, I'll have to apologize."
With his other hand, he raised his thumb and closed one eye to better aim. He waited to make sure he wouldn't hurt anyone else. Eventually, the demon pushed Sunny away and tried to run. Before she could pull him back, Monkey threw his staff like a spear. It hit him on the head and sent him flying towards one of the mountains where he crashed, making a crater into the stone. The monkeys looked on in horror.

"Oh Great Heavens!" one of them exclaimed. "Our King has gone mad with power once more!"
"No, don't worry guys, don't worry!" he raised his hands. "He was actually an enemy, look!"
He pointed at the now dead demon, who turned back into his original form, a horned demon. The female monkey looked heartbroken and Monkey went to place a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. With relief, everyone else kept partying, and soon, Sunny felt better too.
"He could never appreciate me for who I am anyway!"
"Preach sister." he patted her shoulder before going back to (Y/n).
He gently removed her bag and tossed it towards the elders for safe keeping.
"Now!" he held her hands with a big smile on his face. "I gotta introduce you to everyone!"

And so he did. It took hours, but (Y/n) never felt like it went on for too long, and she was delighted to finally meet Monkey's little monkeys. And she was surprised to see that they were monkeys of all sorts. Some had big noses, some had no noses (which was apparently normal); some looked intimidating, some looked cute; some were colorful, some were more neutral-toned; some fitted in the palm of her hand, and others...
"He says he's glad you're actually a good guy, 'cause he was ready to eat you." Monkey laughed as he translated what the giant ape said, he was as big as the Bull Demon King.
"...cool."
"A big softie like you!" he slapped him on the arm.
She nervously chuckled. In the end, the two of them went on and had fun.
"Now that I'm here, no one will dare to try and infiltrate the island!" Monkey said.
"Right," (Y/n) nodded. "and so the weapon won't be completed, whatever that last component is!"
"Party time~!" they both raised their hands in the air.

After playing every game available and dancing with everyone, they went to the stone castle, where the big banquet was. Despite being a king's castle, everyone was welcome to come in. At some points, one of the monkeys offered a small beetle to her, as a peace offering. Having been told about the significance of offering beetles in the monkey population, she accepted it. But she was a bit reluctant.
'Am I supposed to...eat that?'
"Dude," Monkey whispered to him. "humans normally don't eat insects."
"Oh shoot, I'm sorry. I thought they just ate smaller ones."
"However," one of the elders said, smiling. "she seems to be open-minded. That's good."
Monkey looked over and watched as (Y/n) carefully ripped off the beetle's colorful shell and put the dead insect in her mouth. He was in awe for a moment before chuckling at the expression she was making. The poor young woman was struggling to chew.

"You know that technically classifies as meat, right?" he told her.
"Mmmmh?!?!?!" she looked at him with big eyes.
He burst out laughing.
"Well it's too late now." she said, her mouth full.
"Don't worry, I can eat it for you." he offered a hand. "Come on, spit it out."
"Dude that's gross!" she covered her mouth. "I'm not gonna do that! Plus I'm sure the monks in my village would give me a pass for respecting local traditions."
It took her a while, but she managed to swallow.
"How was it?" he asked with a big smile.
She glared at him.
"As good as you think baked sweet potatoes are."
"Unlike me though, you ate it willingly."
She kept glaring, but ended up smiling as she rolled her eyes. He snickered and nudged her before they kept eating and chatting.

.
"A wedding?!" they both exclaimed with big eyes.
"Yes, that was the primary reason why we set up for a party today." one of the elders explained as he gestured to the soon-to-be married couple. "But then you came back my King, and we got side-tracked by more important things."
"Why didn't you tell me sonner?!" Monkey pulled the couple into a tight hug. "My little monkeys~! Congratulations!"
They laughed wholeheartedly. He let them go.
"If I had known, I would've stop this party from being about me! For once!"
"Ah man, we don't have a gift." (Y/n) said.
"That's right!" he looked back at them. "Sorry we didn't bring anything."
"My King," the bride smiled. "having you coming back home on the final day of our wedding is the greatest gift you could've ever gotten us."
He smiled. Then he jumped on the table, his hands on his hips.

"Alright everybody! Let's focus on the real festivities now! Get back to work! Let's get these two lovebirds the best marriage ever!"
"Yes sir!!!"
As every monkey quickly left, Monkey hopped down the table.
"You ever been to a wedding before?" he asked (Y/n).
"I have but..." she smiled. "I doubt it'll be anything like this one."
He let out a little 'heh'. The seamster monkeys offered them both an outfit for the wedding. She blushed just looking at it. Monkey clothes were a lot more...lighter than humans'. (It wasn't that bad, like a swimsuit level of showing skin, but by Ancient Chinese's standards, it was *indecent*!)
"E-even in the summer, I'm sure I'll catch a cold in this." she bashfully said.
"Oh is that why?" he smirked as he took his own outfit. "Shame, you'd look terrific in this."
She glared at him, her face even redder.
"I hate to be demanding but... If they could just add a couple more layers."
He chuckled.
"Don't worry, I got'cha." he leaned closer and whispered. "Are you sure you don't wanna keep it though? For later?"
"Wh-what's that supposed to mean?!" she pushed him away.

He cackled and asked the seamsters to make something more up to human standards. In the end, what she got was acceptable and comfy. Monkey looked as dashing as ever, with shiny ornaments and a long cape. Also he had no shirt on which made (Y/n) flustered. Sadly for him, he couldn't tease her about it as much as he wanted, as all the women and girls went to the bride's home to prepare her, and all the men and boys stayed at the castle to prepare the groom.
(Y/n) felt awkward, being surrounded by people she couldn't understand. She stayed in her corner and did her best to communicate whenever someone addressed her. Some of the kids stayed with her and checked her hair for fleas. She was content with this, but then she noticed how the bride was fidgeting and playing with her fingers, the ones on her hands and feet. Her friends and relatives tried to cheer her up, but their words didn't seem to do the trick. (Y/n) went up her and gently held her hand. With her other one, she gestured her to take a deep breath in, and then out. They repeated that pattern a couple of more times. She then tilted her head as a way to ask if she was okay. The bride nodded and they smiled at each-other.

Meanwhile, the groom came out to show his red outfit to Monkey and his best friends.
"How do I look?"
"You look awesome!" they all gave him thumbs up.
Despite being prepared, the groom wasn't ready emotionally, and he paced around the room for a while. His friends tried to calm him down and get him to go already, but he was too nervous to do so.
"I-It's not that I don't want to go!" he explained, thinking out loud. "I'm really happy - I've never been happier in fact - to marry her! It's just feels weird! Our lives aren't going to change that much after this, we'll keep living our lives the same way forever since we're immortal. And yet, it feels like nothing will ever be the same again, and it's really exciting but it's also really scary. You know what I mean?"
His best friends didn't really know what to say, but Monkey did.

"Well you know, just because we're immortal, that doesn't mean we are immune to the changes of life, or to life in general. And...love is a part of that." he walked up to him and held him firmly by the shoulders. "Let me tell you: yes. After today, life will never be the same, even if you do the same things you did everyday. Because now, she'll be here with you." he lightly tugged on his shoulders. "Everything will feel new, she'll make you see the world in a whole new way. It'll feel like a new life." he wrapped an arm around his neck as they both faced out the window, to the bright sunlight outside. "And I wish I could tell you that every day will be perfect from now on, but that just can't be the case, that's not how life works. But, after today, even if you are far appart from each-other, you'll never feel lost..." his smiled softened. "Because you know that she'll be there for you."
The groom's eyes became teary, and the other men looked on in awe.
"Just like you'll be there for her!" he tugged on his neck, choking him a little bit. "It goes both ways, never forget that!"
"I-I promise, I promise!"
"Now get outta here and go get your wife!" he pushed him forward.

The groom, and every male monkeys, went to the bride's home to take her back to the castle where the wedding will be held, however, they were stopped at the entrance.
"You gotta prove yourself worthy if you wanna marry her!" the bride's sister said.
"Okay, what do you want?" he asked with a determined look.
"Somewhere on the island, we've hidden her favorite brooch. Bring it back and we'll let you in! But be careful, cause we've set up deadly traps and obstacles!"
"I'll do it! I'll do it for you honey!" he shouted for his future wife to hear.

Inside the house, the girls giggled. The groom went searching for the brooch, the others wanted to go help him, but Monkey raised his arms, stopping them.
"He must do this alone."
They wanted for a long time, and sometimes, they could hear screaming in the distance. As the sun was beginning to set, they saw him walking over, using a long stick as a cane to stay up. He looked exhausted and his clothes were ripped and even burnt in some places. But when he went back to his bride's sister, he straightened his back and showed her the brooch, it was made out of flowers. She smiled and stepped aside. Everyone cheered and pushed him inside. Not everyone could enter, given the size of the house, but Monkey managed to squeeze his way in. He found (Y/n) and stood by her side as they watched the groom put the brooch in the bride's hair (who has been sitting on her bed this whole time). He then cleared his throat and began to make a declaration. Luckily for (Y/n), Monkey translated it all for her.

"My darling. You are so sweet, so beautiful, so divine." he softly whispered. "My heart is only beating for you."
He then noticed that she was crying her eyes out.
"Woah. You good?"
"Sorry," she said under her breath. "weddings are just so beautiful."
"Geez, are you gonna cry like this at our wedding too?"
"What?"
"I said are you gonna cry at your wedding too?"
"...Maybe."
He chuckled and kept translating.
"You are the sugar in my heart, the fruit of my life, the shiniest gem in the world."
He seemed to get really passionate about his declaration, upping the volume and moving his arms to illustrate his words. But Monkey kept the same tone.

"Your beauty makes the Sun rise, and the Sun set. And the power of our love make the ocean go wooshsh~ wooshsh~."
"Wait, is that really what he's saying?" (Y/n) quietly sobbed.
"I may paraphrase it a little bit." he shrugged with a smile.
Then the groom started screaming.
"Without you, I would die, be deceased, lifeless. I would..." he narrowed his eyes as he kept screaming. "I don't know how to translate *that*."
"This is...intense."
"It's supposed to be. The more intense the declaration, the purer the love."
"Are you going to give a similar speech at our wedding too?"
"What? Couldn't hear you with the screaming."
She sniffed.
"Are you going to give a similar speech at your wedding too?"
"...I'd use cooler lines."

Finally, the groom's declaration was approved and he picked up the bride. Everyone went back with them to the stone castle for the final ceremony. The couple's parents gave very emotional speeches, which didn't help (Y/n) crying, then the couple stepped in side by side, with the bride's head covered in a red cloth. Once they faced each-other, he removed the cloth and they each cut a piece of the other's hair, Monkey tangled them together and put the new piece inside a little red pouch. It was a way of saying that they were now connected. Then, the two of them held hands and made a pledge to their love. This part of the ceremony seemed to excite them the most. Finally, they kissed and everyone applauded and cheered. (Y/n) cried even harder, some of the kids hugged her and brought their faces close to hers but Monkey quickly pushed them away, like he's been doing the whole time.
"Stop trying to eat her tears!"
"But they're so salty and fresh!"
"Get outta here!" he kicked one of them in the butt.

As they ran away, he gave her a handkerchief. After the two of them gave their congratulations to the newly weds, Monkey went to chat with other monkeys. (Y/n) stayed with the elders, they were really nice. Some monkeys would come up to them and asked if they could learn a bit of human's language, and they happily did. This corner of the party gradually became like a small classroom.
"Could you teach me how to speak monkey too?" (Y/n) asked.
The elders chuckled.
"We could teach you very basic phrases, but being fluent is very difficult."
"How come?"
"You see, our language varies from person to person. Everyone has their own dialect and no one speaks the same way."
"Really? But there's so many of you, how do you understand each-other then?"
"We have a foundation from which we build our dialect, which is why I said you could only learn the most basic of phrases. And we do share similarities, the more you speak like someone, the closest the two of you are."

She thought for a moment.
"I remember, Monkey once tried to teach me. But he said I was doing it all wrong, despite just repeating what he was saying."
Their eyes widen and they laughed even louder.
"Uh...How close are you to someone when they speak the exact same way?"
"Haven't you notice that the newly weds spoke the same way when they pledged to their love? It's part of the ceremony: they combine their dialects together."
Her eyes slowly widen in realization and she blushed.
'That's why he was so flustered!' she cupped her face in her hands.
"It must've slipped his mind," another one said. "or maybe, he did it on purpose." he wiggled his eyebrows.
She looked down for a moment before looking back at them.
"Could you still teach me something?"
"Sure, what is it?"

.
The party kept going, at some point, after making sure everyone was having a good time, Monkey removed himself from the party and went to the top of the waterfall. It was evening by now, but even in the darkness he could still see the mainland on the horizon.
"Checking for other demons?"
He looked back and saw (Y/n) walking up to him. He glanced down, seeing how high she climbed to get here yet hardly broke a sweat. He let out a 'heh' and looked ahead again.
"Better safe than sorry. I'll tell the night guards to keep an eye out."
She stood beside him.
"In the end," he continued. "it we hadn't separated, we wouldn't have known that the last component for the weapon was here."
"And I'm glad I came here. It's beautiful." she looked at him. "I can see why you love your home so much."
He smiled at her.

"I'm happy you like it, despite, y'know, almost dying twice by the hands of my monkeys.
"It's okay, it shows how much they care about you."
"Right. They're dumb, but I wouldn't change a thing about them." he looked ahead again. "We'll leave for Guan Yin's island first thing in the morning, before we get too far from the mainland."
Her smile softened.
"I'm glad we made up, I don't like it when we argue."
"It's bound to happen. You are as stubborn as a mule."
"Hey!" she punched him in the arm.
They laughed.

"Monkey."
"Mmh?"
They faced each-other, (Y/n) hesitated for a moment before looking into his eyes. She said something in monkey, the exact same way he would say it.
"Thank you for staying with me all this way. I promise to be with you until the end."
His expression fell as he felt his heart explode. He grabbed her by the shoulders and hung his head down, hunching over a little bit. Seing how tense he was, she began to panic a little bit.
"Wh-what? Did I say it wrong?!"
"(Y/n)..."
He glanced up at her, despite the frown on his face, his face was all red.
"You're really testing me right now, you know that?"
She blushed too.

"Ah, the elders also told me to tell you this."
She then told him something in monkey, again in the same way he would say it. Whatever she said, it made him flinch.
"Th... Those old decrepit bastards!!!" he picked her up bridal style, his face still red. "I'm going to kill them!" he jumped down the waterfall.
"Why?!" she hanged on to him tight. "What does it mean?!"
"It means 'you're hot with no shirt on'!"
She couldn't help but burst out laughing at the whole situation. When they got back to the castle, the elders kicked his ass, given that they were even older than him and knew him since he was born, they knew all his weak points and blind spots.
"You'll *have* to teach me about that too!" (Y/n) told them.
"B...betrayal." Monkey grunted as he laid on the floor.
All the other monkeys laughed. Truly, a day to remember in Flower Fruit Mountain.