No One P.O.V Long, long, long time ago

The Demon Bull King was laughing out loud

"Ahahaha! Such foolishness! Now tell them what you did next" Demon Bull King asked excitedly, Wukong step on top of the table, and took a deep breath

"You dare insult me, you old cad!? I shall henceforth be known as the Great Sun Wukong Equal to Heaven! I will muck out your pony stalls no longer! Monkey King out!" Wukong said as he dropped a banana to the table, and everyone laughs

"Wukong, we're to believe you gave the Jade Emperor such lip?" Yellowtusk asked

"Well, I was paraphrasing, but you get the idea. They're calling it the Havoc in Heaven!" Wukong said

"What a insolent little chimp you are" Peng said

"You're really going with this?" Macaque asked

"Correction" Monkey King drinks from the gourd and burps "We're really going through with this. Like always! Monkey bros getting into some cheeky mischief" Monkey King said as he chuckles

"Look, Wukong. I get you're excited, I do. But crossing the Jade Emperor is gonna have some consequences and... you're not listening to me" Macaque sighed when he saw Wukong with a banana beard and pretending he's the Jade Emperor, and Demon Bull King is laughing

"You always were the most cowardly of the bunch, Macaque. Slinking around in the shadows like a rodent. Well, I for one am done squabbling for scraps" Peng said

"Indeed. The Jade Emperor and his followers have lorded long enough with no regard for those they rule" Yellowtusk said

"This realm is well overdue for a new leadership, and I think we all know the best man for the job" Demon Bull King said

"Aww, when did you become such a good sweetheart?" Wukong asked

"Not you!" Demon Bull King shouted, sending Monkey King flying "A true leader should be big, strong, and handsome like Azure Lion" Demon Bull King said, surprising Azure Lion

"Yes. Huh, Azure would look perfect on the throne" Peng said

"An ideal figure indeed" Yellowtusk said, and Azure Lion laughed

"I'm flattered, truly. But were it not for Sun Wukong bringing us together, right? Without you, none of us would be possible. Your courage and passion to stand up to the Celestial Host has inspired us to finally take a stand. To make a true difference in the world, and I could think of none other more suitable to lead us on our conquest than you, brother" Azure Lion said

"Yes!" Peng said as they all laugh

"Alright, if you insist" Then Wukong sat back down on his seat, and he glanced at Macaque who looks worried "Relax, bud! When this is over, we'll be back here, baking in the sun, getting fat on fruit for the rest of... well, forever! Like we always wanted" Monkey King said as he reassured his friend, and Macaque smiled

"Whatever you say, Wukong" Macaque said, and suddenly Wukong remembered something

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot to tell you guys something" Wukong said as he sprung back up

"What is it?" Azure Lion asked

"So, have any of you heard about a goddess visiting from a different land?" Wukong asked

"Of course we have. Who hasn't heard about the Cherry Blossom Goddess" Peng said

"What about the goddess?" Yellowtusk asked

"Well... I saw her" Wukong said, and a moment of silence developed, but was later loud again

"WHAT?!" They all shouted

"You actually saw the goddess?!" Demon Bull King asked, still shocked

"Yep! And boy were the rumors true. She is a beauty" Wukong said

"Really? What does she look like?" Macaque asked

"I do you one better, I'll show you what she looks like" Wukong said as he pulled out a beautiful drawn portrait of the goddess

Once they saw the portrait, Azure Lion, Peng and Macaque were in awe

"That's her?" Macaque asked, and Wukong nodded

"Yep! She's even a fighter too!" Wukong said excitedly with stars in his eyes

"I wonder if she would join our cause?" Azure wondered

"Who knows, she does look like the type to help make a change in the realm" Yellowtusk said

"She also looks like the type who gets flustered if someone flirts with her too" Peng said with a smirk

"You better not get any ideas, Peng. I have also heard that she's rarely seen or hasn't once left the Celestial Realm since she arrived" Demon Bull King said

"Hmmm... I know! How about we invite her to come here!" Wukong said

"Invite her? What do you mean?" Azure Lion asked

"Simple. One of us sneak into the Celestial Realm, look for her living quarters, and ask if she wants to come hang out here on Flower Fruit Mountain! What do you guys think?" Wukong asked

"Hmmm... I think it might work" Azure Lion said

"Yeah. But the question is... Who's going?" Macaque asked

Then everyone were silent in thought

"How about Macaque?" Peng suggested

"Me?" Macaque pointed at himself

"Of course, you can use your shadow ability to sneak around the palace to look for her" Peng said

"Yeah! That'll work! And I'll come with you just in case you need back up!" Wukong said

"Thanks, Wukong" Macaque said

Sakura P.O.V Present Time

We were on Flower Fruit Mountain, we were standing in what used to be a banquet room. The table was covered in dust, and creaked while the chairs were knocked over. I couldn't help but wonder why Monkey King stopped using this room, this is a perfect place for eating with close friends or family

"So, you're saying you unlocked a cursed scroll and were attacked by DBK, Iron Fan, Spider Queen, Nezha and all those other demons you've never seen before?" Uncle Tang asked MK

"No. I'm saying we were attacked by ink versions DBK, Iron Fan, Spider Queen, Nezha and those other demons you just said" MK corrected Uncle Tang

"And that Monkey King was sucked into an ancient scroll that you found in his room full of junk" Mei said

"And now you're thinking Mr. Tang's gonna use his newfound powers to free our Mystic Monkey, right?" Uncle Sandy asked

"And uh... if that amazing plan doesn't work?" Uncle Pigsy asked

"Hey!" Uncle Tang looked offended

Ahaha! Don't worry about it guys. I've figured this is just another cheeky little adventure. If fighting the Lady Bone Demon was a marathon, this is uh... a half marathon. A dearly less, you know. A short sprint" MK said, and I noticed him getting a bit sweaty from nervousness. I walked towards him

"MK... Are you okay? You don't seem well. You seem less chipper than usual" I asked

"Yep!" MK quickly answered as he ran towards Monkey King's junk room, he took a peek inside to see if the coast was clear "Okay! No ink demons!" MK let out a breath "When we get Monkey King out, we're gonna look back and laugh" Then MK started to laugh nervously again

"Whoa! Monkey King is... a hoarder" Mei said

"You think he would know how to be organized by now" I said while I sweat drop

"Hey, I think I found the scroll" Uncle Sandy said as he picked up the scroll, and MK's eyes widen in horror

"Sandy, wait!" MK shouted

Then the scroll rolled open, and everything turned dark. Uncle Sandy quickly dropped the scroll and backed away

"Uh..." Uncle Sandy was about to say something, but something emerges from the ink that spilled out from the scroll

"MK... Is this what you were talking about?" I asked and MK nodded

"Alright, Tangy, you're up!" Mei said as she tossed him

"Mei! Don't toss my uncle like that!" I shouted

"Sorry" Mei apologized

"Give our Mystic Monkey back! Or you're going to learn why they call me Mr. Tang!" Uncle Tang said as he tried to summon his powers, but nothing happened

"Anytime now!" Uncle Pigsy said

"Give it a minute!" Uncle Tang said, sounding scared. Then a giant ink version of the Great Monk Tang Sanzeng appeared. Uncle Tang jumped back from fear

"Your journey is not complete" The inky version of the Great Monk said

"The fool has no strength!" The inky version of Sha Wujing said

"Your fear makes you weak!" The inky version of Zhu Bajie said

"You are but a footnote" The inky version of Ao Lie's dragon form said

"Why did you leave me behind?! Aren't we sworn sisters?!" A inky version of a girl with fox ears and tail said as they surrounded us

"Um... I'm not sure my sweet magic moves did the trick" Uncle Tang said

"You think?" Uncle Pigsy said

The inky versions were about to strike us, I managed to push both MK and Mei out of the way, and next thing I knew was losing consciousness

MK P.O.V

When I saw everyone sinking into the ink like it did to Monkey King, I felt scared all over again. Usually Sakura would calm me down, but she sunk into the inky with Pigsy, Tang and Sandy. The giant inky versions of everyone including the fox girl were about to strike the scroll when suddenly they cut into pieces by sword strikes, and disappeared

"What the heck?" Mei looked confused, then a lion man and a fox girl with heterochromia like eyes walked past us

(Imagine her left eye is silver and her right eyes dark blue)

The lion man took out his sword and stabbed it into the ground, and Mei was admiring the sword

And the inky demon of a bird and elephant appeared from the ink

"Brother, we have fallen. You swore to save this world! You swore, brother!" The inky elephant and bird said

"Forgive me, brothers" The lion man said as he struck down the ink demons

After the lion man defeated the ink demons, he went towards the scroll, sealed it, and now the scroll is in his hands. He was looking at the scroll and then Mei and I decided to strike. Once we hit his back, he let go of the scroll and I grabbed it

"Hand over the scroll, children!" The lion man shouted

"No, you hand over the scroll, or-" Then Mei whispered

"We have the scroll" Mei said

"We have the scroll! Now free our friends, and we don't have to fight" I said

"You expect us to believe you were not responsible for stealing the scroll despite it being in your possession?" The lion man asked

"Yup!" Both Mei and I said

"We don't even know what this friend napper is, so there's that" Mei said

"Are you both that stupid? Just hand over the scroll and we'll-" The fox girl was cut off by the lion man's laughter

"He's laughing. Hey! Why are you laughing?!" Mei shouted

"Okay, okay. Let's start again" The lion man said as he put away his sword "You must be MK the Monkie Kid and Mei the White Horse Dragon Girl"

"Tell us who you guys are, before we mess you up!" Mei shouted

"I've gone by many names. Perhaps the one you are familiar with is... The Azure Lion!" The lion man, who introduced himself as the Azure Lion said, but we gave him blank expressions "Or not, okay. The best reaction I got was from the girl name Sakura"

"Wait! You know Sakura?! How?!" I asked

"I met her when she treated my wounds and served me the most delicious food I ever had. Speaking of her, where is she? I heard she went to help you with something, but I don't see her" Azure Lion said

"She... She was... sucked into the ink with our other friends" I said

"I see... I'm sorry" Azure Lion apologized

"But, who's she?!" Mei pointed at the fox girl

"It's rude to point, you know" The fox girl said

"Do forgive her, she's not always like this. But she'll warm up, eventually" Azure Lion said "Go on, introduce yourself"

"Sigh... Fine. I'm Iris" The fox girl introduced herself as Iris

"The reason were here is to help. The item that imprisoned your friends is a fragment of the Scroll of Memory, an ancient artifact stolen from the Underworld. If not by you, then presumably by your master, Sun Wukong" Azure Lion said

"You know Monkey King?" I asked

"Who hasn't heard of that idiot" Iris said

"Iris, watch your attitude" Azure Lion said and she turned her head to the side with a huff "Also, everyone knows the Monkey King. But yes, he was once my sworn brother" Azure Lion said

"Hmm, I see. Interesting. You know who else was a sworn brother of Monkey King? You might have heard of a little guy called Demon Bull King?!" I shouted

"Ah, well, the Sun Wukong isn't exactly the easiest person to get along with. He has quite a habit of keeping people at arm's length. We were young, mistakes were made... and some mistakes can't be undone" Azure Lion said, looking a bit sad. Then Mei gasped

"So, does that you MK's sworn uncle? MK, you didn't tell me you had an Uncy Lion" Mei said

"Hey, Mei, you do know Monkey King's not actually my dad, right?" I asked

"The only reason I can imagine why Monkey King would have borrowed the scroll is that he has become sentimental in his old age. After all, that scroll contains the memories of his Journey to the West" Azure Lion said and I became very excited

"You're telling me that I'm holding the Journey to the Went legend in my hands right now?!" I asked still sounding excited

"That, and the great many other tales, I'm sure. Everything that has ever happened, every deed, every word has been recorded in the Scroll of Memory. It's also a prison, designed to contain wicked souls, forcing them to relive their past misdeeds over and over again for all eternity. In order to contain its prisoners, a powerful protective curse was cast upon the scroll to prevent those imprisoned from escaping and ensare any who would seek to free those locked inside, trapping them forever. Left unchecked, that curse would have spread, consuming everything until nothing remained. I thought I arrived in time to contain the curse, but based on your expressions, I would hazard a guess that Sun Wukong has already been consumed, along with your friends" Azure Lion said

"But it's fine, right? We'll just pop this bad boy open and get them back!" I said

"It's too late to save them. We can't risk unleashing the curse into the world" Azure Lion said

"That's true" Iris said as she crossed her arms

"You don't know! We'd risk it for sure! I won't abandon them when they need us. If your friendship with Monkey King meant anything to you-!" Azure Lion cut me off

"It meant everything to me. If your friendship is as strong as you say it is, then... perhaps there is a way. But we need to move now" Azure Lion said

"Wait for real?" I asked

"What? You're actually gonna help?" Mei asked

"We're brothers. Nothing could ever change that" Azure Lion said as he sat down on the floor, legs crossed

"Yes, yes, yes! Yes! We'll just go in after them, find our boys and girl in a bunch of cheeky little adventures, beat the curse and bing-bam-boom, we're done!" I said

"I'll open the scroll long enough for you to get inside. But finding your friends, that'll be up to you" Azure Lion said

"We got this!/Let's go!" Both Mei and I said

"In order to escape the scroll, you'll need to defeat its protective curse, but it's going to take all of your strength combined. Now, hand me the scroll" Azure Lion stuck out his hand "If we're going to do this, we need to trust each other" I looked at Mei and we both nodded, I handed Azure Lion the scroll "Look out for one another. You can do this"

"Thank you, Uncy Lion!" I said and Azure Lion smiled and chuckled

"Alright, ready?" Azure Lion asked and we nodded "Good luck" With that said, Azure Lion opened the scroll, and the inky version of Mei's thousand times grandfather came out and hit us. We were surrounded in darkness, and next thing we know is that our scenary changed

To be continued in The Great Tang Man

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