Jiang was walking out of a shop, with an awesome breakfast burrito in hand, when she saw MK trying to do, something. "What, are you doing?" She asked, taking a bite of the burrito. "Trying to contact Monkey King like he did when he warned us about the giant dumpling that one time" MK told her.

"Oh, astro-projection? Well, in that case, I'll help you out. Imma just finish this first" Jiang said. She finished her burrito, and after a couple of set backs in the form of heavy nosebleeds, the two got through to him. "Monkey King! It worked!" MK cried, high-fiving Jiang.

"Hey guys! So you figured out astro-projection huh?" Wukong said. His voice was cheerful, but it seemed like he was straining with trying to hold something up. "Yeah, and it gave MK five nosebleeds" Jiang said, glancing at her brother with a smile and raised eyebrow as she crossed her arms.

"Hey, you had seven of them! So, how's your vacation, how are you, it's so good to see-" MK said. "Now's not the best time bud!" Wukong lightly snapped at him. Yeah, he was definitely straining with something.

"Okay, so, reason why we contacted you is cause we haven't heard from you in a bit, and we were a little curious about our training, so-" Jiang said. "Yeah, imma need the two of you to keep working on your own for a little while. Remember, you can do it. Trust your instincts! I don't know, maybe work on shrinking your staff?!" Wukong told them. "Oh, you mean like this?" MK said in a smart tone as he revealed the shrunken staff in his hands.

"Okay smart guy, shrink yourself then!" Wukong snapped. "Shrink ourselves? How the dog are me and Jiang meant to learn that?!" MK asked as Jiang grabbed the staff and put it away. "Ah, you two will figure it out, just think little! Gotta run!" Wukong said before he darted out of sight.

His projection faded from view, and so, Jiang and MK stopped their end. "Well, that was, interesting" She said. "Yeah, I don't think his vacation's going like he had planned" MK agreed, tapping his chin.

Jiang mentally rolled her eyes. She wouldn't admit that she was becoming a little suspicious. In fact, she was starting to wonder if Wukong was even on vacation at all.

Oh well, another matter for another time. Right now, Pigsy called and said he needed them both at the shop asap. Getting back, Pigsy shoved a mop in MK's hand and a duster in Jiang's, making it pretty clear on what they were supposed to do.

However, the astro-projection left them both a little more tired than they thought, MK showing the more obvious signs as he leaned against the mop. "Look alive kids. This place needs to be spick and span! I've got a very special guest coming" Pigsy told them. "Did someone say free noodles for a special guest?" Tang asked, leaning against the door way.

"Oo, fancy" he said, taking his usual seat. "Beat it Tang! There's only one guy eating for free today, and its-" Pigsy said before Tang interrupted him. "Would that be the food critic golden sekatie yum-yum?" He asked, raising his brows a bit.

He pulled out a computer and began typing, making everyone cried around behind him. Tang pulled up a photo of the guy, and Jiang had to admit, he was good-looking. "Wow, that's amazing! What a twist!" MK said as he began reaching for the computer to take a closer look.

His hands were a bit, on the dirty side. "Hmm, staff hygiene leaves something to be desired" Tang commented, moving the computer so that MK didn't touch it. Jiang glanced at her hands and saw all the dust that had collected in them.

Apparently, Pigsy noticed it too. "Oh, both of you, go wash your hands!" He lightly snapped at them, sounding a little more harsher than he usually did. Jiang winced and flinched a little, but she pushed MK to the bathroom before anyone could say anything.

MK sighed as she turned the water on, and both kids began to wash their hands with the two bars of soap that were there. "Go wash your hands MK. Look alive MK! Learn to shrink yourself MK!" MK said to himself, but with Jiang standing right next to him, she heard it all. "Maybe if someone were here to teach me" he said before doing a terrible impersonation of Wukong that Jiang couldn't help but quietly chuckle at.

Then, she noticed that the soap suds on MK's hand were being to glow gold. "Uh, MK?" Jiang said, but her brother was a little too lost in his rant to hear her. After calling his name to try and warn him a couple more times, Jiang was very much surprised when he suddenly grabbed her shoulders.

"I mean, how can he expect us to figure everything out on our own?!" MK cried, shaking Jiang a bit. He was glowing with a golden light, and the second he had touched Jiang, she began to glow too. "Whoa, what the-" he said before there was a mini explosion.

The two kids then held on to each other as they began to free fall, yelling their heads off. MK and Jiang fell through the drain pipe in the floor and went on a very painful roller coaster ride before landing on solid ground. "Oo, my back" Jiang groaned as she sat up.

"I did it! I littled myself! And apparently I littled you too" MK said as Jiang stood up and brushed off the dirt from her clothes. Then, she took in where they were. "Uh, MK? Take a look around" she said.

"Oh nononono! The Spider Queen's lair! How did we end up here if the lairs?! Come on!" He cried, grabbing his headband and tugging at it in fear. "MK, MK! It's okay. We're on the tiny side now, remember? There's no way she'll be able to see us, alright?" Jiang said, putting her hands on MK's shoulders, but he was too panicked. "It's finally gonna happen. A spider's gonna wrap me up, and it's gonna eat me!" He cried.

"MK! I'm not going to let a spider catch you and eat you, okay? Now try to calm down. It's okay. There aren't any spiders close by, alright?" Jiang told him. "Okay, okay. No. I am one of the Monkey Kids, and I'm not going to keep being terrified of spiders for my whole life. I can do this. To get out of here, I just need to be a big brave boy!" MK ranted. "There's my brother that I know" Jiang praised him, putting her hands on her waist with a cheerful smile.

She watched as MK calmed down, and focused. Then he began to glow, and with another little explosion, he was back to normal size. "Nice job MK!" Jiang called out, making him looked down at her.

Then he crouched down. "Awe, look at you, all tiny and cute. And your voice has gone all squeaky and adorable. Not to mention I'm taller than you" he said in a bit of a baby voice. Jiang crossed her arms and lightly glared at him, furrowing her eyebrows a bit.

Then, she closed her eyes and focused, and when she opened them up, she was back to her normal hight. "So, wanna say any of that again?" She asked. "No ma'am" MK quickly said.

Jiang gave an amused smile. "Good" she said. Then, MK looked terrified at the same time someone landed behind Jiang.

The girl quickly turned around, and all amusement was lost. "Ugh, you again?" She said. "So, come back for more, have you?" Spider Queen asked before lifting one of her legs and slamming it down.

Jiang grabbed MK and focused a bit, feeling the now familiar feeling that came when they shrunk or grew. MK summoned the staff and made it extend, which pushed a piece of rock off off them. Looking up, the Spider Queen now looked like a giant.

"Ha! I may be tiny, and I may be terrified, but I am not going to let you eat me! You can stand there and be scary all you want, but I'm not-!" MK's yelling finally attracted the Spider Queen's attention to them. "Ah! There you are" she said, bringing another leg down on them, which both siblings dodged.

"Run for it!" Jiang yelled as she began to run. MK quickly followed her. How Spider Queen was able to see them from far away was beyond Jiang, but right now, she was much more focused on getting away from the woman.

She was still a bit sour with what the Spider Queen put her and Wukong through when they were her prisoners. Suddenly spotting a crack in the rock that was letting light shine through, Jiang grabbed MK's wrist and pulled him with her. The crack was just wide enough, and Jiang stuffed her brother through it before pushing herself through.

MK grabbed her hands and pulled, and together, both kids escaped the Spider Queen. They both focused, and went back to their normal size. "Oh thank gods, that's over. I thought we were goners for a moment there" Jiang panted before the soft sounds of a woman's sobs echoed through the tunnel, which made her go quiet.

"Uh, hello?" MK called out, his voice echoing a bit. If there was one thing Jiang knew, it was to never trust anything that was happening in a dark place. And to never follow any strange sounds.

"MK, we should go. Pigsy's probably waiting for us!" She said. "But, there's someone-" MK said before Jiang cut him. "Don't you know to never follow any strange sounds and a strange and unfamiliar place?!" She said.

"Jiang, there's someone who's in trouble, and I'm going to help them. You can leave if you want, but I'm going" MK told her with a determined expression on his face. Then he turned around, and walked off. "Ugh, fine!" Jiang cried before she began to walk off towards the exit.

"Ugh, boys. Always thinking that they're in the right" she muttered to herself. "But, if I show up without MK..." She murmured. That made her turn around.

"But you should never..."

"But Pigsy will kill me if I don't come back with MK!" She argued with herself before letting out a groan. "Damn it MK, why do you always have to give me mixed feelings with the things you do!" She snapped, turning back and walking in the direction that MK went. Getting through, she came upon quite the sight.

MK flung himself at something that seemed to be projecting an image of a giant mech. And the thing projecting it, was a furnace.  Then, she spotted the woman, who had an evil grin on her face.

She was the same woman she had seen with the Spider Queen, and now, her gaze was on MK, hungry with anticipation. Suddenly, MK stopped. "Wait, this is the trigram furnace from the Celestial Realm!" He said.

Jiang immediately took the moment to say something. "MK!" She cried, making the woman spin around while MK turned around more slowly, realization dawning on his face. Jiang ran up to him, and turned to face the woman.

"You can't trust her MK. She was with the Spider Queen when me and Wukong were imprisoned. She's in their side!" She cried, keeping up a protective position in front of her brother. The woman in front was suddenly surrounded by a glowing blue tornado, and when it disappeared, the woman had changed. Her clothes had changed.

Her skin was a pale, almost white color, and her hair was the same color as freshly fallen snow. And her eyes were glowing a deep ruby red. Then, she switched back to her original form.

"It's you. Your-" MK said. And Jiang remembered him telling her about how he had spied on her and Wukong with the gold vision. "I, am the Lady Bone Demon" the woman revealed.

Suddenly, Jiang's vision changed. It was like the gold vision, but this time, everything was tinted and outlined in blue. And Jiang's head was pounding.

She held her head and let out a few pained cries from how much it hurt. And it didn't help that her vision kept switching back and forth from normal to blue-shift. "MK, Jiang, I apologize. But I need to take that staff" Lady Bone Demon said.

Jiang sucked up the pain and grabbed the staff, pulling MK with her, but the pounding in her head got worse, her vision switching back and forth even faster, and the poor girl was brought to her hand and knees, holding her head with the other as she screwed her eyes shut. "Calm yourself. It's pointless to deny me" Lady Bone Demon said. Her voice seemed to echo in Jiang's head, and she began to feel a sliver of cold that seemed to slowly creep up her spine.

"Get away from me!" Jiang snapped, standing up and swing the staff around as hard as she could. She felt absolutely terrified, and oh so ticked off. She opened her eyes, and this time, her vision was back to normal, and her eyes quickly landed in the Lady Bone Demon, who had one end of the staff pointed at her.

"I helped you. I thought you were-" MK said before he was cut off. "A helpless girl? Oh, yes, my disguises have fooled many. This body in particular is quite useful. For now" Lady Bone Demon said. "I'm not going to let you win" Jiang told her, eyes narrowing as she furrowed her brows.

"I'll tell Monkey King-" MK said, but the second the Great Sage's title slipped from his mouth, the blue vision came back. Jiang and MK both went down, and she gritted her teeth to keep her own cries of pain in, while her heart seemed to twist at the sound of MK's. Lady Bone Demon's giggle seemed to echo.

"Monkey King? Do you really think he doesn't already know all about me? Curious that he's not with you now, is he not? Ah, I see. You both have come to suspect what he already knows. That he made the wrong choice. Picked the wrong successors" she said. Every word she said seemed to tear deeper into the growing wound that she had made, the cold sliver growing more and more until it seemed to be taking over Jiang's body. And the more she spoke, the more it seemed that she was talking in Jiang's mind.

She fully collapsed, grunting in slight pain as she felt the staff go up against her ribs. "MK, your right, you know. It's scary being alone" Lady Bone Demon said, mimicking MK's voice as a terrified child before going back to normal. "I do pity you. Both of you" she said.

Jiang let out a couple pants and the pounding in her head got worse, then she struggled to breath as a hand closed in her throat, slowly tightening it's grip as she was slowly pushed off the ground. "Just a piece of the game you can not possibly comprehend" Lady Bone Demon said as Jiang's eyesight fully converted to blue vision. However, darkness was begining to crawl in on the outskirts of her eyesight, slowly creeping in more and more as Jiang began to go limp in Lady Bone Demon's hold. She could barely even hearing MK screaming her name at the tops of his lungs. However, right before she fully went unconscious, something exploded behind her, and the Lady Bone Demon let her go.

Jiang hit the floor and held her throat, coughing and gasping for air as the blue vision went away. She felt MK's hands holding on to her as the darkness slowly went away.

Jiang became more aware of things around her, and looked over a bit as Spider Queen addressed her and MK. "Monkey Kids. No more waiting. Oh, I'm going to enjoy this" Spider Queen said. Jiang tried to push herself up, but she merely collapsed onto her side, only able to watched with an exhausted expression as Spider Queen flung herself at her and MK, who let out a squeal of fright.

"Think little!" He cried before grabbing Jiang. She watched as everything suddenly grew much larger. Then, she did her best to get to her feet.

MK grabbed her arm and pulled over his shoulders, supporting her by acting as a crutch. "Jiang?" He asked, worry laced in his voice. "...Let's just get out of here" Jiang said softly, holding her head.

MK helped her bend down to pick up the staff, which she made disappear, before the two began to make their way out. "Run along. Destiny will find you soon enough" Lady Bone Demon's voice echoed in their heads. Even though their progress was hindered, both kids managed to get out of there.

Getting out through the sewer system, MK and Jiang appeared on the street right outside Pigsy's Noodles. The two went back to normal size, and made their way into the shop.

Pigsy and Tang were both surprised at the state the two were in. "Kids, where have you been?! And what's that smell?!" Pigsy snapped before both he and Tang gagged. "Hell and back is where we've been" Jiang told them tiredly.

"We're going to take a shower, and do we have any pain meds left? My head is killing me" she added before she and MK got to the stairs. There, she pulled her arms free, and held on to the railings. "I'll be alright MK" she said when the boy reached for her.

He had to have been just as exhausted as her from their recent ordeal. She forced MK to take a shower first, and after he got out, she went in. The feeling of the somewhat warm water almost felt like it was boiling hot, something that she relished in as it took away the cold that seemed to have rooted itself in her body.

Run along. Destiny will find you soon enough, Lady Bone Demon's words echoed almost painfully in her mind. Jiang held her head and let out a soft whimpering sound. Her head started pounding again, and in her mind's eye, she saw everything playing out again like a record player, over and over again.

All of her emotions, the fear, the sheer terror, and the helplessness kept themselves on repeat. She could even just barely hear MK screaming for her. She hated it, him seeing her like that in those situations.

She could practically feel the fear that took over her brother's voice, and she felt the helplessness that he must've felt as he watched her slowly suffocating. A loud bang at the bathroom door startled her, and she came back to the present, slightly surprised the find herself curled up in a ball on the shower floor, holding her head. "Jiang? You've been in there for a little while. Are you coming out anytime soon?" She heard MK call.

He was right. By now the water had turned ice cold, and didn't feel good at all. "Y-yeah. I'll be out soon" Jiang called back, slowly getting up.

She turned the shower off and got a hold of a towel, which she wrapped around her body. She went by the mirror, then saw something that made her pause and took a closer look at her reflection. Her neck now sported a red mark in the shape of a hand.

And the tips of the fingers had begun to bruise slightly. That, and the memories of today, would be the only symbol of everything that went down. Walking out of the bathroom, she found some sweatpants, female undergarments, and a simple white T-shirt laying on the bed.

She changed into the clothes, then went back downstairs to retrieve some pain pills. She watched as Pigsy chased Tang around with a rolling pin for a few seconds before she spotted MK sitting in one of the bar stools, his head buried in his arms. Dodging the two brawling adults, Jiang sat beside her brother, and after a second of silence between the two, she gave a him a hug and closed her eyes, gently resting her head against MK's back.

A tight hug that conveyed nothing but comfort and forgiveness. And after a couple moments with no response, Jiang felt his hand close on hers, giving a few gentle squeezes. Jiang smiled in spite of herself, and gently squeezed back.