DEMONIC LOTUS
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Chapter Thirty-Four
A Lifetime of Mistakes
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❝Let's look to the future. Let's do our best!❞
YOU WERE TAKING a nap in Wukong's house as your friends discussed what to do next. You needed rest to gather energy for the upcoming battle against Azure and friends.
You woke up and left the house just when Mk and Macaque where about to go get Wukong out of that piece of the scroll. Upon realizing what was going to happen, you rushed to them. You grabbed the closest one to you which was Macaque, pulling his scaf lightly, "I want to join." As you said that, Mk looked at you and Macaque pulled his scarf to hide his blushed face. Mk looked at you with puzzlement, "Y/N? Are you sure you want to join us? Aren't you in need for more rest?" He asked you, a hint of worry was evident in tone.
You shook your head with a look of determination, "No, I'm fine! I'm going." You insisted firmly, wanting stubbornly to go with them to get Wukong back.
"Just let her go if she wants." Macaque spoke up, keeping his face hidden from you. When your brother knew that you weren't going to refrain from changing your mind, he shrugged his shoulders and turned to Tang, "Alright, LE'GO!" Mk exclaimed with a small hop.
Tang used his powers and made the poorly fixed scroll piece glow. Ink raised from the ground, teleporting you three to the past. There was a moment of darkness before the ink disappear, revealing Flower Fruit Mountain but outside Shuilian Cave entrance that was mostly cracked with energy. You looked at the gold cracks with wide pink eyes, "Broken." You pointed out, earning a sigh from Macaque.
"Wukong, what have you done?" The shadow monkey asked with his arms crossed, making you pay attention to their conversation.
"Monkey King did this?"
"It looks like he's been tearing his way through his past. Trying to find his way to..."
"Me."
Macaque closed his eyes and sighed again, "We need to find him. Fast!" Whilst the two talked, you saw Wukong... but he looked different, younger. As the two were about to leave, you pointed at Wukong, "Look, there!" You exclaimed, making Mk stop and look at where you were pointing while Macaque fell down on the ground, "Oh, there he is! That was easy. Good job, Y/N." You brother praised you, petting your head which made you giggle with delight.
Macaque groaned and crossed his arms, "That ain't him. That's just a memory, and a pretty broken one too. I really wish they used magic tape. I'll know the real Wukong when we find him. I can smell him a mile away." He explained to you two while watching past Monkey King leaping at some monkeys, but the memory repeated again. However, one monkey appeared to be real and both you and Mk seem to recall that some monkeys were dragged into the scroll.
Mk approached the monkey and tried to be friendly with the little animal, but the monkey leaped to Macaque, hugging him tightly. Macaque was annoyed by the "unwanted affection" he was recovering from the small creature, "Alright. Let's get moving." He ordered then peeled the monkey off him. Macaque started to walk away while MK watched the monkey try to get their attention. You also noticed this and tried to figure out what the monkey was trying to tell you.
"Whatcha tryna tell us, lil' guy?"
"Kid, Y/N, come on, we got-"
Macaque couldn't finish when Mk shushed him, "I think he wants us to go in... that!" Your brother said and looked at the cracked entrance of the cave.
"Alright then. You ready to become King of the Monkeys?" Macaque sarcastically asked, but Mk didn't understand what he meant which made Macaque facepalm, "'Cause when Monkey King jumped through the waterfall, he became... You really should read the book, kid. Here we go." With that being said, he grabbed you and Mk, jumping into the crack of the cave entrance.
-TIME SKIP-
For what felt like hours, you three kept on wondering through Wukong's memories, seeing some good and unhappy memories like the one where Wukong was trapped under the mountain and fought with Macaque because he was the only one who got trapped.
You also understood that Wukong and Macaque were friends with Azure. They were planning on taking down the Jade Emperor, but it didn't end as they thought. Wukong made new friends after meeting the great monk Tang Sanzang and took down his old companions except for Macaque. Fun fact, you found more monkeys that immediately clung to Macaque.
There was one memory showed how both monkeys were best of friends, it warmed your heart.
Right now, you three made it to Camel Ridge. You looked around the gloomy and cracky desert in puzzlement, "This is Azure's utopia and this wasteland is the price he paid to build it. He stole the energy he needed from everything around it." Macaque explained with a frown on his face, the monkeys still holding into him. Your brother looked down at a skull of a dead animal, "I thought he wanted to help people. He said he wanted to be the hero." He spoke up with betrayal obvious in his tone.
"I'm sure he does. Everyone thinks they're the hero of their own story. Azure's always been good at convincing people he's the good guy. He's even fooled himself."
Suddenly, you flinched when you felt a crack forming behind you. Macaque gently put his hand on your shoulder, "Don't be worried. It's him." He told you assuringly before walking into the crack. You were taken to another place where Monkey King was sitting on an outcrop atop a cliff surrounded by memories flashing around him. Wukong lifted his head up and forced a smile when he saw you and Mk, "Kid, Y/N. You found me. I couldn't, I- I..." He turned around, looking down as if he was depressed. You and Mk slowly approached him to give him some comfort.
"I just wanted to protect the people I cared about. To be strong enough. I lost sight of why I was doing any of it. I know I've made a few lifetimes worth of mistakes but living them over and over again like this, I..."
"Don't think like that, still have time." You spoke up, sitting beside him and petting his head. Mk nodded in agreement to your sentence, "Yeah. There's plenty of times to do things over." He stated, making Monkey King look at the both of you.
"What?"
"There's plenty of times to do things over."
"Kid, I-"
"You told me something that I thought was just a-a weird Monkey King thing but... you were right. We can't fix everything. We just need to leave it a little better than we found it. As long as we stay true to that, we can deal with whatever comes next."
Macaque came and stood beside you, making Wukong look up at him. You held Wukong's hand as a way to assure him, "Monkey King, I'm not ready to not have a mentor. Azure needs to be stopped, but... we need you. I need you... to be the Monkey King." Your brother proceeded his speech, summoning his staff and slammed it on the ground.
Wukong looked at Macaque who gave him a small grin, smiling back at him. He then turned to you and petted your head, making you giggle in delight. And just like that, Wukong stood up and held the staff, taking you all out of the scroll.