(This is the song that Jiang sings and dances to. I want to give a shout out to DisneyDragonLoverXD for giving me the idea)

"Did you really think you had what it took to defeat me?" LBD asked with a light smirk as Jiang looked around in horror. They had failed. Jiang, had failed.

Her friends, no, her family laid, scattered across the ground, each one still and not moving in any way. Weapons lay broken and scattered, just like her mind. Fractured, and damaged.

"Oh Jiang. You should have let me taken over at the start. And now look. You've disappointed them too" LBD said as she tightened her grip on the girl's throat, cutting off her airway, before turning her around. Tears came to the young girl's ocean teal eyes as she spotted her family now standing in a semi-circle, blood still pouring from their wounds. And they weren't the only ones.

Jiang narrowed her eyes at two people in particular. Even though it had been so long, she still hated them with a burning passion. After everything they've done to her, even death didn't seem like the most painful option.

Then, everyone began to speak at once, but the words made it clear who was actually speaking them.

I never should have chosen you as my successor

How can you protect this city when you cant even protect us?!

You were never good enough to begin with

I cant believe I took in a mistake like you

You never stood a chance Jiang

You failed us!

Failure

Failure!

YOU FAILED US!

"Stop it! Please! I didn't mean for this to happen! Please, stop!" Jiang cried, tears flowing down her cheeks as she clawed at the hand around her throat.

"You didn't mean for thus to happen, and yet, it did"

Jiang struggled to get out of LBD's grasp, even more so when she saw her own knife being raised in the Demon's free hand. "You never should have tried to stop me in the first place" the demon hissed with a sickeningly sweet smile before bringing the knife down on the girl's eye.

...

...

...

Darkness. That's all that there was. No pain, no nothing, just her and an endless void.

Easy young one...

Jiang stiffened at the echoing female sounding voice. Quickly getting to her feet, she looked around. But she saw nothing.

Remember child... Power comes, through different things... Like the flame, it rises and falls... Spiraling out of control without anything to keep it in check...

In the darkness, Jiang saw a spark. A spark that quickly erupted into a fast growing flame. Soon enough, she was standing in the middle of a raging wildfire.

Yet, like the pheonix, it dies, and is reborn...

The wildfire dwindled down to a mere spark that quickly began to glow with a bright light.

It provides light and comfort for those who need it... Yet brings death and destruction to those who abuse it...

The glowing spark floated in circles before disappearing into Jiang's chest.

Guard it well...

Young Pheonix...

Jiang's eyes flew open with a light gasp, and she shot up from her body, then let out a sharp cry of pain as her head slammed against the ceiling. Right, she had taken a nap on the top bunk of the bunk beds. "You alright kid?" She heard Pigsy ask.

"Ask me again in five minutes, then I'll tell you" the girl replied as she rubbed the area that had been slammed up against the ceiling. Then she let out a sigh as she dropped back against the pillows. Nightmares had now become a common thing for her.

No matter what she did, or tried to do, they wouldn't stop. Always the same thing. Them failing, everyone dying, then having her eye stabbed by LBD.

Usually, that would be the point where she'd wake up, gasping for breath and hands shooting up to make sure her eye was still there. So she was very surprised by the ending of today's nightmare turned dream. Who even was that woman?

She had never heard a woman's voice like that before, so soft, sweet, elegant, in a way. And yet so powerful, so strong. And what really affected Jiang was the thought that she somehow felt connected to that voice.

Letting out another sigh, she rolled over onto her stomach, letting her arm dangle over the edge as she looked down on what was happening below. MK had gotten a hold of her sketchbook, and her crayons, so it would seem based on the sheer number of plain white sheets and splashes of color that littered the floor. Jiang shook her head in amusement.

Then, for some odd reason, her gaze drifted over to Wukong. He had managed to summon his cloud, and was now laying on his back. Head tilted back against his arm as he talked to MK while his other arm rested againt his stomach.

One leg crossed over the other, and tail curling and twitching every now and then. For some reason, Jiang couldn't help but find him, attractive, in that position. The heat rose to her cheeks, then, she spotted something beside him on the cloud.

Wait a sec. Oh please no. Admittedly, she had done a couple sketches of Wukong, and the others, on multiple occasions throughout their journey, but she never really showed those sketches to anyone.

Looking around, she realized everyone had some pieces of paper with them. Was it possible to die of embarrassment? But, she did have to come down.

Right as Wukong was praising MK on his artwork. While practically playing tug-of-war with Mei over some papers. "Oh, Jiang! Check these out!" MK called out as he gathered up some of the papers he had drawn on and holding them up.

Jiang took them, and smiled at the images of her and her little moments with her friends. "MK, this is insulting, the fact that your starting to become a better artist than me" she said with a smile. "Oh please. I'm nowhere near your level" MK said as he held up a different piece of paper from a separate pile.

It was one that Jiang had drawn during training sessions. The level of detail was pretty amazing, even though you could still see the guidelines underneath. "Oh, those? Those, were, unfinished projects, actually" Jiang said as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"Unfinished? Damn" Mei called out as she looked over Jiang's sketches of her. "I must say, your attention to detail is pretty good" Jiang shivered slightly at the feeling of Wukong's warm breath hitting her neck as he whispered in her ear. "Ugh, don't do that!" She muttered as she looked at him.

She instinctively took a step back due to how close he was. "Aw, why not?" The monkey demon dropped his tone as he pressed his face closer, a upside-down smirk growing on his face at the sight of her reddening cheeks. Jiang turned away with a soft groan as she rubbed her hands over her face.

There was something in Wukong's voice that told her the bastard knew exactly what he was doing. And the light chuckle from behind her confirmed it. Fucking bastard.

Thankfully, a distraction came in the form of Tang, who seemed disappointed that there weren't any good drawings of him. Jiang picked up a piece of paper and a stray pencil as she set to work. The scholar was holding still, so it made it even easier on her part.

And after five minutes of him conversating with everyone, she was done. "Tang, here. Fresh off the press" she called, handing over the paper. She could have sworn there were stars in the scholar's eyes as he looked over the drawing.

But, before he could say anything, "Hey guys! Land ho!" Sandy called from the driver's seat. Jiang looked over, and softly gasped at the beautiful city in front of them. There were building, of course, but there were so many beautiful lanterns.

Including a giant one that was right smack in the middle of the city. "My gods, it's beautiful" she said. Everyone else voiced their agreements.

"Heh, hasn't changed a bit" Wukong said as he leaned on the seat beside Jiang. "Pfft, I wouldn't count on it" she said. Seeing how they were up in the mountains, she pulled on her jacket and zipped it up.

They were up in the mountains, and there was snow, so it was going to be cold. Everyone else followed her lead and put on extra layers of clothing. Wukong simply did it to try and disguise himself, though there was no real way to hide his tail.

Then, after parking the van somewhere, they got onto the subway, and that was where Wukong changed his mind. "Okay, maybe its changed a little bit" he said, sounding a little disgusted. Jiang chuckled a bit, then slapped away a hand that was reaching for her thigh.

The owner of the hand then made their appearance. "Did you just slap me?" The guy asked, looking very offended. "Yeah, I did. I don't want your dirty crusty hands all over me" Jiang said in a casual manner.

"Why you little-" the guy started to say, though he paused when arms wrapped tightly around Jiang, and she was pulled against someone's chest. Hearing a familiar, low sounding growl vibrating from their chest, and feeling a prehensile tail curl around her thigh, it didn't really take a genius to figure out who it was. "Back. Off." Wukong said slowly in a low voice, venom dripping from his voice.

"Whoa, sorry man, I don't want to cause any trouble here" the guy said, putting his hands up in surrender before backing away. Jiang let out a quiet breath of relief, and began to pull away, but she was surprised when Wukong's grip tightened, keeping her against him. "Wukong, we're about to reach our stop. You gotta let go" Jiang told him.

All she got was a simple huff before feeling the Monkey rest his chin on the top of her head. She had her guesses that he was still glaring at the guy who tried to put his hands on her, though. O ine could tell due to the sunglasses the mo key was wearing. Jiang let out a soft sigh before she leaned slightly against the demon.

That seemed to appease him slightly, since his growling faded to silence. And with that, the female simply enjoyed the city lights as they flashed by the window. She, honestly liked this.

Being held by someone who, apparently, cared about her alot. It made her feel, safe. And knowing that it was Wukong of all people made her feel just a bit more happy.

It was only when they got to their stop did Wukong let go in favor of holding the hood of his hoodie over his head as they stepped out. Then, the group headed out into one of the streets. "Alright, I remember throwing the ring around here somewhere" he said as he closed the lid to a dumpster.

"I thought you hid it" Mei told him. "Yeah, by throwing it into the crust of the earth where no one could find it. Keep up dragon pony girl" Wukong told her. "Oh Wukong" Jiang sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose while closing her eyes and shaking her head a bit.

Why did she feel, amused? Had something like this happened earlier in their journey, she probably would have been very annoyed. "Is there some kind of festival going on?" MK asked as he looked around.

There was a lot of decorations around the place. "Looks like it" Pigsy said from where he was, which was at a small shop. Looked like a gift shop of sorts.

Jiang came over and addressed the owner. "Hello, so, uh, we're new here. And we were wondering, is there some kind of festival going on right now?" She asked. "Of course. It's the Ring of Light festival" the shop owner told her.

Seeing her confused look, the owner continued. "Legends say that Lantern City was once a desolate village. Until Monkey King theust the Ring of Light into the earth, transforming the city into the prosperous metropolis it is today. Every year, we hold the festival celebrating the Monkey King's gift of the great Ring of Light" he said. Jiang looked over her shoulder, giving Wukong a light side glare.

She wasn't the only one. "So much for the great rings being a secret" Pigsy said. Tang hummed in agreement, and Wukong gave a nervous chuckle as he slowly backed away.

"Soooooo, you gonna buy something?" The shop owner asked. MK ended up doing so, and everyone was decked out in the merchandise. "So what? We just gonna wander around until we stumble upon the ring, orrr?" Pigsy asked.

"Of course not Pigsy. I think I know exactly where the ring is. It's-" Tang started to say before Wukong cut him off. "It's in the giant lantern in the middle of the city" he called. "Hey! That's what I was going to say!" Tang cried, offended.

"How do you figure?" MK asked. "Somehow, the villagers find my super well hidden magic ring" Wukong said, making Jiang huff with laughter. She saw his pointed look, though it held no real spite, then he continued talking.

"There's a giant magic lantern in the middle of the city. I'm gonna say they put it in that. It's two plus two bud" he said as everyone got up to the viewing balcony where he was. MK jumped onto his shoulders, calling out, "And two plus two is three. The third Ring!" He cried. "Big brain boy coming through!" Mei said, high fiving him.

Jiang facepalmed. "MK, when this is all over, remind me to teach you basic math" she said, though she was trying to not let a smile take over. Wukong walked over to a wall and took off a paper.

"There you go blue guy. You haven't said anything in a while, read this" he said, handing the paper off to Sandy. MK leaned over a bit. "Can't read?" He asked, making Wukong tilt his head up as he put his hands on MK's legs to stabilize him.

"Uh, I get stage fright. Or something" he replied. Jiang couldn't help but smile at the scene. He may not realize it, but Wukong acted a lot more like a dad to MK than a mentor.

Then, everyone looked at Sandy as he began to speak. "Join the talented citizens of Lantern City as they try to win the covenant Ring of Light and bring the city to life" he said. Everyone somehow ended up backstage, where there were a lot of other people getting ready to perform.

"So, it's a talent show" Jiang said as she took off her jacket and tied it around her waist. It was rather warm in there. "A talent show?" Mei asked.

"So, if we win, we get the ring" Pigsy said. "But none of us have any talents!"l There's no way we can win!" MK cried. Jiang crossed her arms and looked away.

"Actually, Pigsy and Jaing-" Sandy started to say before Pigsy pulled on his scarf and Jiang sent him a death glare to try and shut him up. "Would you just-" Pigsy started to say before MK cut him off. "Pigsy, Jiang, do you guys have some secret talents that you guys aren't telling us about that might help us win the thing, maybe?" He asked.

"Uhhhhhh" Pigsy and Jiang chorused. "Pigsy is an amazing singer and Jiang is the best dancer I've ever seen I'm sorry guys I had to tell them!" Sandy said quickly. "His voice is like a choir of angels, and her moves are so hypnotic" he said in a dreamy voice. "Awesome! That's good enough for me! Pigsy will sing, I'll play the bang bangs, Sandy, your on bass, obviously" MK said.

"I mean, obviously" Sandy agreed. "Mei, you get this thing with way too many strings" MK said as he handed her the instrument. "Jiang, you can, uhh" MK started to say before trailing off. Jiang sighed as she crossed her arms.

"I'll do my own act" she said. "Huh?!" Everyone chorused. "Think about it. If you do my own act, there will be more of a chance for us to get that ring" Jiang explained, waving a hand around before recrossing it.

"That, actually sounds like a great idea" MK said after a moment of hesitation. "Alright, Jiang will do her own act and Monkey King can-" Her brother started to say before he was interrupted. "Uh, kid, can I talk to you for a moment?" Wukong said, looking nervous.

MK went over to him and Wukong put his arm over his shoulder, but Jiang was close enough to hear them. "Remember when I said the whole stage fright thing as kind of a joke?" Wukong told him. "Wasn't it a joke?" MK asked.

"Not even a little" came the reply. Jiang had to slap a hand over her mouth go prevent herself from laughing at the realization, that Wukong had stage fright. "Uh, Sun Wukong, self proclaimed Great Sage equal to Heaven, is scared to perform in front of a crowd?" MK asked.

"I know, I know, it doesn't make any sense" Wukong said quickly. MK sighed. "Okay" he breathed.

"Thanks for understanding bud" the oh so Great Sage said with a slightly relieved smile. Oh, you poor niave demon, Jiang thought with a knowing smile. "I can work with this" MK said.

"Wait, what?!" The monkey demon asked incredulously. "And Monkey King can play the gong!" MK said as he forced the instrument into Wukong's hands. "...Wonderful" he said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Jiang couldn't help. She burst out laughing at the expression on his face. He looked so ticked off yet so done with everything.

Jiang laughed even harder at the light glare sent in her direction. "That's MK for ya. He doesn't give up easily" she said, wiping away a tear. "Unfortunately" Wukong breathed.

"And what about me?" Tang asked. "Oh, Mr. Tang. For you, I've saved the most important role of all. There isn't a band on Earth that can have any hope to win the Ring of Light without the band manager" MK said as he pushed a clipboard and pen into the scholar's hands. "Wait, what? Your benching me?" He asked.

"Hmm, pretty much. Alright team! Let's go win ourselves that last Eing of Samadhi!" MK cried. Everyone let out their own whoops and cheers of agreement, except for Wukong, who honestly looked a little terrified, and Tang, who gave a half-hearted "Yay". After getting ready, Jiang took a last look at herself in the mirror before heading out to her friends.

"Welp, I'm up next, apparently, so, good luck to you guys" she said, making everyone look up at her. "Damn girl! Looking good!" Mei called from where she was putting on face paint. Jiang was wearing black leggings and a flowing red and gold detailed kimono that opened up at the waist.

She had done her hair like she usually did, but this time, long flowing feathers kept it up instead of her chopsticks. All in all, she looked good. Wukong had literally froze when he saw her, and now, his eyes were wide open, he was slightly slack-jawed, and a deep red blush was settling in on the parts of his cheeks that she could see.

She chuckled slightly at his expression, though she did blush slightly at the attention. "Don't let your jaw hit the floor" she told him. Wukong blinked, then closed his mouth.

Out of the corner of her eye, Jiang spotted MK and Mei talking in hushed whispers while continuously glancing at her and the Monkey King. Jiang shook her head at them, then looked over as a stage director came over. "Your up" they said before walking off.

Taking another small breath, Jiang gave a two figured salut to the others, and before walking out on stage, she attached a small microphone to herself. Then, she gave a playful bow to the crowd that was there, and everyone cheered. Then, walking to the middle of the stage, Jiang took up a pose, and the lights dimmed down, making the place go silent.

And when the music started, Jiang waited for the right moment before she began to sing, letting the music take over her body as she began to dance at the same time.

Lalalai

Lalalai

When our heartbeats collide

I won't mind

In a place we've never been before

I'm reaching out for the moon and stars beyond it

Lalalai

Lalalai

Is it you I will find

Though I feel left behind sometimes when you close the door

I wanna know who you are

I wanna know it all

Sandy was right, Jiang's moves really were hypnotic. The perfect combination between smooth and jerky as she swayed, spun, and twirled around on stage. Wukong wouldn't take his eyes off of her.

Even if he wanted to, he wasn't sure he would be able to. And her voice. Man.

Wukong would listen to her sing all day if he could. It drew him in, captivated him. He wasn't even aware of his own tail, which kept waving around, forming a heart here and there as he watched from behind the curtain.

MK and Mei exchanged smirks and knowing glances behind him.

Maybe it's a dream

I don't wanna wake up

Even if a light goes up

I don't wanna know reality

We didn't waste our time here

It's now or never

Jiang spun to a stop with her head tilted up and her hand stretched up towards the sky. The show lights went away, and she stood up straight, trying to get her breath back as the regular lights came on. With them came the cheers of the crowd, and Jiang went down in a performer's bow.

Then, she straightened up and waved at the crowd before heading back stage. Something barreled into her, and when her mind caught up, she realized she was being spun around, arms wrapped around her waist in a secure hold and her hands set on the person's shoulders. "My gods, that was amazing! You were so good out there!" Wuking cried with a bright smile.

Jiang couldn't help but laugh, and Wukong set her down, arms still around her waist. The two looked at each other, bright smiles still on their faces and hearts racing, but the moment was interrupted when someone cleared their throat. Looking over, Jiang realized that everyone had been watching, and both her brother and best friend had shit eating grins on their faces.

"Oh, um..." Jiang said, trailing off as she and Wukong stepped away from each other, him rubbing the back of his neck, and her with a dark blush on her face. "Oh, just get out there already!" Jiang said when MK raised an eye brow. "Good luck out there" she whispered as Wukong past by.

He gave her a grateful glance before stepping out onto the stage with the others. Jiang went and got changed into her normal clothes. Everybody was pretty good, and Jiang took a picture of Wukong leaning against the drums that MK was playing.

The two were sharing a smile in the photo. And at the end, when Wukong finally struck his gong, Jiang let out a shrill cheering whistle before slipping out onto the stage, seemingly unnoticed. "Nice job with confronting your stage fright" she said, making her target jump.

"Oh, well, uh, I try" Wukong said. The two shared a smile. "Okay, so there is no way we didn't just win this thing!" MK cried.

Someone yelling made everyone look up, and next thing Jiang knew, Tang was being held bridal style by Pigsy, and tightly clutching something in his hands with a panicked expression on his face. "The third ring!" MK cried at the sight of the object in the scholar's hands. "Way to go bench warmer" Pigsy praised.

"Tang, what's wrong?" Jiang asked. Tang gave a nervous laugh. "Uh, guys? Macaque is here. He's after the rings!" He cried.

At that information, everyone quickly changed into their usual clothes and took off to the subway, which quickly departed. MK was at the window. "If Macaque knows about the rings-!" He cried.

"He'll stop at nothing to get his hands on them" Wukong said. Jiang joined MK at the window, and watched as the city got smaller. Suddenly, ice began to take over, coming from the inside of the giant lantern itself.

And Jiang couldn't help but wonder if they were going to get away in time.