Wukong ducked down, avoiding the prince's spear. Nezha twisted his body, teeth bared as he blasted forward. The king huffed, deflecting each hit as quickly as he could, "Nezha, hey! You need to come back, bud!" This should've been me, Nezha should've had nothing to do with her magic!

Blue eyes narrowed, and the prince nearly head-butted the monkey, sending him back, "Hey! Rude! Nezha, please let's just--" He dived forward, ice formed over his fingertips like claws. He aimed towards his face, and Wukong pursed his lips and screwed his eyes shut.

Violet flames swept over the possessed prince's skin, causing him to flinch and the ice stretching across his hands to melt into cool vapor. Clawed hands pushed against Nezha, making him stumble. Wukong turned towards Macaque, smiling broadly, "Macaque!" The shadow user grinned in return, "Greetings, your majesty."

Nezha stumbled forward, lips turned into a stern frown. He lurched forward, and this time the king was accompanied by his warrior and his flames.

---

MK huffed, glaring down at the Thrall. He twirled his staff, content with himself as he glanced up at the mech.

Lady Bone Demon was above him, her eyes bright red and angry, "You CANNOT defeat destiny!" Her hair flowed against the icy win, her gaunt face twisted in rage. MK stood tall, a calm expression washing over his face, "You know what? I'm getting pretty tired of that word." Destiny.

Yeah, right.

So far everything in their lives had been unpredictable. Macaque shouldn't have had the fire. He shouldn't have survived the flames, yet he was fighting. MK shouldn't even be alive with how often he brushed up with death, but here he stood. Monkey King shouldn't have even existed, and yet he was training MK to live up to his full potential.

Destiny was nothing more than a wacky prediction with a wave of a hand. And honestly, MK wasn't going to listen to some ice queen over a king who's defied odds. The brunette smirked, closing his eyes as he summoned a large amount of his magic.

Bits of metal and debris suddenly merged together, building up steadily into a mech. It stood tall, gleaming in the blue light.

---

Mei and Red Son weaved along the mech, grinning to each other as the fire demon transported them into the Monkey Mech.

MK gasped, glancing at them both, "Guys! You're here!" The pair grinned, looking out the window, "Let's BLAST THAT WITCH!" The hero laughed, his Mech reacting by taking a step back and bracing itself.

"Is everyone ready?" Mei and Red Son hummed, and MK threw his staff down against the ground, enlarging it. Gold exploded out like a gentle breeze, washing over everyone.

---

Nezha gasped, the gold pushing out the cold. He stumbled, and familiar arms caught him. A freckled face came into view, and he smiled unconsciously, "Wukong..." The king beamed, "Greetings, Nezha." He then looked over at the warrior, a light glint in his tired eyes, "Go."

Macaque gave a feral grin as he dipped into the shadows, various flaming clones weaving out as they spread the message to the team as a whole.

---

Tang grounded himself, exhaling as a golden seal appeared beneath his feet. The shadow clones had made their message clear; Back up MK.

Magic poured from all around them, Sandy had even let go momentarily. They watched in awe as the mech glowed, increasing in size. Nezha roared, sending rings to boost the robot's feet. Savage flames moved down the mech's arms, the young hero's voice was loud and clear.

"There's bad, and there's good. This world hurts, but it also makes us laugh! This place is perfect, and as long as there's hope, it will always stand."

Wukong soared up with his cloud, sending beams of power over everyone. The Samadhi Flames increased in size as they encased themselves into the machine's hands, driving more force in the staff as the Monkey Mech swung it down.

Lady Bone Demon gasped, her whispered 'No' lost to the frigid winds.

---

A white void.

MK looked around, blinking in surprise as his mentor sat beside him, legs crossed beneath him. Wukong glanced up, and the brunette followed his blank gaze.

"Lady Bone Demon."

Her body was falling apart into wisps that made up the void. She sighed, "We are not so different. We fight for what we believe is right." Wukong slowly sat up onto his knees, reaching up. MK watched mutely as the monkey cupped her face, "And that leads to pain. We know."

The woman smiled, and it looked alive. Something she was not.

MK swallowed thickly, "So what now? Everything'll go back to normal, won't it?" Lady Bone Demon shook her head gently against the king's palms, "I'm afraid not, monkey. The future still holds much pain for you." Her eyes lingered on Wukong, "...You know that, don't you?"

Wukong nodded stiffly, "I'll make everything better."

She exhaled as she finally dissipated, blending into the bright white that made up the void. Small orbs of light slowly appeared, bobbing around aimlessly. MK watched in awe, grasping his mentor's arm as they faded from view.

---

Wukong stared ahead blankly.

They did it, and with less horrible damage. He did something good enough, and it was better than he'd assumed. Maybe this second chance truly was a gift.

A cool sensation of fur against him snapped him back into reality. He glanced over, smiling softly at Macaque, "Hi." The warrior hummed, examining his nails, "Hi yourself. The pig's wondering if you'll be joining us for dinner. He looks like he's about to drag you over." Wukong nodded nervously, sitting with the other's help. Seems he was more sore than he'd realized.

"...I could've been the one she possessed." He glanced over at Nezha, guilt slamming into him. He'd let the other down in that aspect.

Macaque stiffened, a frown firmly etched onto his face, "Stop that. We won, that's all that matters." Wukong nodded softly, "I'm sorry. I don't know why I... I didn't mean to upset you." The shadow user sighed softly, dragging the king towards the others, "Shut up. You should eat, and definitely sleep off whatever this is."

Wukong allowed himself to be dragged, mind blank as he ate. The world was buzzing in and out, exhaustion flooding his system. He vaguely registered MK and Mei sitting with him, chattering happily to each other.

The empty bowl was taken away, and a hooved hand nudged him. Wukong stood up slowly, and the same hand led him away gently towards some sleeping bags. Since when were they there? The thought came and went, and he barely noticed as Pigsy forced him to lay down.

How strange.

He seemed to care about him in this lifetime. Would he have cared in the first one? Will he still care in this one?

Wukong closed his eyes, exhaling deeply.

---

The water was cool as it swirled along his body. Wukong sighed, sinking into the deep end of the river.

"Enjoying yourself?" Wukong opened an eye, looking over at the ebony monkey on the shore. The king smiled, fully opening his eyes as he sat up, bare chest and fur gleaming beneath the early sun as droplets fell in unsteady patterns. "Macaque. I thought you'd sleep in for a few more hours."

The night owl huffed out a laugh, "Meh, I heard some splashing and was too curious to go back to sleep." Wukong hummed, stretching slowly as he waded closer to shore. Macaque flushed, looking away. The king laughed, "Oh, come on! Don't tell me you're sensitive to me having no clothes!"

They'd grown together, clothes had never once been a problem. And in all honesty, Wukong still didn't see the big deal. He'd actually walk around butt-naked if he could, why care when he had fur? People were pretty sensitive... Then again, clothes looked nice and felt oddly comforting from time to time.

"Psh, it's not that! I could care less if you were naked!" He suddenly buried his face in his scarf, arms crossed tightly over his chest, "...You just look really pretty right now." Wukong blinked, pausing as he reached for a towel, "Oh. Well, thank you."

He dried himself off, casually walking back to his hut. Macaque followed closely behind, his cheeks less flushed and he wasn't looking away anymore, simply treating the king the same way he always did. Wukong hung up the towel and turned towards a small dresser, bending down to rummage through it.

Contrary to popular belief, Wukong changed every day. He wasn't a fan of living with just wearing the same sweaty, stale fabric against his curls. Maybe when he was on the journey, sure, but not while on his beloved mountain.

"...I'm scared about the future."

Macaque blinked, snapping his neck to stare at the ginger. He frowned, watching as Wukong changed with an odd, somber expression. "Why? I'm sure we'll be fine." Wukong hesitated, "Well... Yeah, we can beat whatever's coming at us...but..."

"It'll hurt everyone. I don't want that."

Macaque pursed his lips, hands clenching and unclenching as he chose his next words with care. "Well, they chose to become heroes. They know it's risky." Wukong smiled, nodding softly, "I know. And they're strong." His smile dropped, his tired expression shining through painfully, "But I don't like it. I'm scared for the kid."

Macaque looked out the window, ears flicking, "Well, Mei and MK are here. Maybe voice your concerns."

---

"What're we learning today? How to explode stuff with my mind?!" Mei shoved her best friend aside, "OR BREATHE FIRE LIKE A DRAGON?!"

Wukong smiled hesitantly, taking a step back, "Well..." He thought to himself, thinking about MK's hesitance towards being a monkey. The king stood straight, shoulders pushed back, "We're going to embrace the part of you that isn't human." Mei grinned, nodding enthusiastically. MK was confused, "...But I'm human."

"Well, maybe. Bud, I don't think a human could literally inherit my powers. I think there could be some monkey or demon ancestry in you." MK blinked owlishly, lips parted in surprise, "...But I'm just me." Mei smacked him on the back in a large pat, grinning broadly, "Duh! You're MK, the Delivery Boy full of surprises and is a super cool hero! Monkey, human, unicorn... You're MK!"

Wukong nodded, clasping his hands together, "Exactly." MK gave his mentor a small smile before suddenly puffing out his chest, "Right! So how do I monkey?"

Training went surprisingly well.

---

"We know what you are trying to do, Sun Wukong."

The voices were amused, mocking him softly. The king hummed, staring down at the void below him before looking up at the stars above his head. They were beautiful, surrounding nebulas and blackholes. They were still, only a few moving little by little. Wukong's smile formed into a delighted grin as he spotted a binary star system, watching them slowly twirl each other around.

"What? Speeding up his monkey form? It should be fine. He'll uncover it sooner or later." The lights blocked his view of the stars, flashing a soft red for a few seconds. Wukong frowned, trying to strain his body to find the stars he'd been watching moments prior.

"We may not have an interest in rewinding time, Sun Wukong. But we are not the beings to let things slide without a price."

The ginger exhaled through his nose, "I know. Trust me, you've shown enough to prove that... But I can't let everything go on the same way it did. Azure and the others will come again soon. But I...I can help MK. I can help him in advance before I end up in the scroll." The orbs giggled, glaring down at him.

"Foolish one, the trade shall be as such; You may prepare your successor. But understand that your imprisonment in the scroll will play out differently. Are you willing to allow such a sacrifice?"

There wasn't a single drop of doubt or hesitation. Death be damned, he was willing to push bac against the fear of falling with other lost souls if it meant his beloved little family would prevail.

"Of course."

---

Macaque watched the other sleep, tired of the same view.

Not from watching Wukong, no. The king looked beautiful beneath the moonlight, shadows casting along his body and a warm blanket enveloping him sweetly. Soft curls splayed out against the pillows, and despite the darkness, his freckles still showed through.

No, Macaque was tired of watching him die as his body rested. It was disturbing, listening to his heart and lungs fall silent, followed by his veins. And his skin would pale, turning a small hue of blue and without a single twitch of his limbs in sight. If anything, his body was limp and muscles stiff.

It disturbed the warrior to no end.

Wukong suddenly stirred, wheezing softly for air and stretching before opening his eyes. Pools of gold glowed in the dark, red pupils marking out the depth of the king's irises. The ginger gazed up at Macaque, eyelashes shielding his stare, "...Couldn't sleep?"

Macaque layed back down, curling up against the king, "Something like that...Your curse. What exactly is it?" Wukong closed his eyes, cutting off the glow against the darkness, "I...I can't tell you right now." The warrior frowned, beginning to lean away.

"No, really. I can't tell you, even if I really want to...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make it seem as if I don't trust you." Warm arms wrapped around cool fur, and Macaque was placed against the other's chest, "I know everything between us isn't perfect, but I promise I am not the same person as before. I wouldn't lie to you...not anymore."

Macaque exhaled with a shudder, closing his eyes, "I know."

Wukong smiled, falling back to sleep as the same anxiety gripped his mind, whispering every doubt ever said aloud. Maybe...maybe this second chance wouldn't work. Maybe he would still fail.

---

Mei beamed, touching her horns in excitement, "Aw, yeah! Dragon features! Yo, MK, how about you?" The boy grinned, tapping his new facial markings, "Just this for now, but maybe I'll get a tail next! That would be super cool!"

Wukong laughed, patting his successor, "Keep it up, bud. And soon you'll get some cool canines." MK suddenly smirked, eyeing his best friend. Mei grinned as well, "Dude... When our fangs come in... WE SHOULD TRY TO BITE THROUGH STUFF!" MK laughed, clapping, "My thoughts EXACTLY!"

They continued to chatter, nudging playfully. Wukong's heart squeezed, thinking of his days with Ao Lie.

We'll be okay.

The thought brought a wave of comfort over him, cracking a smile out of him. He was tired, and scared. But maybe...no, they will be just fine. He just needed to play his part, hold on, and carry onward.

"Monkey King, come on! Pigsy says he wants you to try something with us." Wukong smiled, allowing his students to drag him along, "Sounds good."

We'll be okay.