The Fire Prince and The Dragon Princess

Chapter 10: Sixth Sense

Red Son awoke in some kind of completely purple void, mixed with black colors. Dark as tar and shadows themselves. He hummed. This must've been a result of the lantern.

"RED SON?!?" A pair of familar voices exclaimed.

Red Son turned around and saw Pigsy, Tang...and Mei. He gasped. "Mei- I mean, what are all of you peasants doing here?!"

"Same thing as you." Tang said with a shrug. "I'm honestly trying to figure it out myself. One day, we're watching a Shadow Play and the next? We get sucked into a lantern."

Mei eventually rushed over and hugged Red Son almost out of nowhere, relieved he was safe. Red Son, completely forgetting Pigsy and Tang were there, did the same.

Pigsy blinked. "WHAT IN THE GODS' NAMES IS GOING ON!?!"

Red Son and Mei quickly let go of each other, with Mei giggling nervously. "So, uhhh...alright. No use in lying."

"My family and I have resigned from our villainy." Red Son finally said, crossing his arms. "Mei's been teaching me how to actually be a hero."

Tang blinked. "Wait, you WANT to be a hero?"

"If you were in my family's condition, you'd want too as well. Losing is like another excuse to get back up as a hero, but when you've lost as a villain one too many times, you'll HAVE to give up sometime." Red Son said.

Pigsy hummed. "You're serious? This ain't some kinda demon trick? I know you guys are famous for that." He then looked over his own words...was that racist?

Mei stepped or floated forward. "Believe me! He really does wanna go good! I've been training him after all, and I'm pretty sure he's not this good an actor."

"I can be a GREAT actor, thank you." Red Son said. "But she has a point."

Tang scratched his chin before shrugging. "Well, to be fair, if this was some sort of trick, you wouldn't be here with us...speaking of, you came here a little after. Why and how were you sucked in?"

"It was The Six Eared Macaque." Red Son said with a growl.

Mei blinked while Pigsy scratched his head. "The Six Eared who?"

Tang squealed and pushed up his glasses. "The Six Eared Macaque! He's one of, if not the most formidable demon Sun Wukong has ever faced! And also his possible brother...? He was only ever in one story."

"And that story is...?" Mei asked, tilting her head.

"The original Journey To The West, of course! But anyway, Macaque learned of the Monkey King and his fellow warriors journeying to the west for the Thunderclap Monastery! Fueled by greed and lust for the rewards of The Buddha, he took Wukong's place by shapeshifting as him after he was banished! Macaque was such a good actor that even Tripitaka believed him! However, Macaque knocked him out and took the Sacred Scripture, which caused Sha Wujing to find the REAL Monkey King! The impostor and the original began fighting in a battle that shook the Earth itself!"

The group nodded, with Red Son now understanding how he hadn't beaten Macaque. Someone just as powerful as his uncle.

"They were so equally matched that neither could win! And no one could tell them apart! Not even Guanyin, The Jade Emperor, Tripitaka, or even The Netherworld could tell the difference! That is, until The Buddha arrived!"

Pigsy's eyes widened. "THE Buddha? Macaque was causing such a problem that HE had to show up?"

"Only to tell the difference between the two!" Tang explained. "He explained that Macaque was one of Four Spiritual Primates! These beings were four of a kind, each of them with their own special abilities and features! The Monkey King-"

"Was one of them." Red Son and Mei said in unison.

Tang nodded. "Yup! He was the Intelligent Stone Monkey! Which honestly makes sense considering how intelligent he was at birth."

"For someone with the word 'intelligent' in his name, he's not very smart." Pigsy mumbled.

Tang continued. "Macaque was revealed by The Buddha to be The Six Eared Macaque! An ape who had the ability to hear from pretty much anywhere he wanted! Hence the six ears in the first place. The Buddha eventually trapped Macaque under a golden alms bowl and then The Monkey King killed him."

"Then how the hell is he still alive?!?!" Pigsy exclaimed.

"My guess is that he faked his death. Tricksters like him and Uncle tend to do that." Red Son said before looking around. "It's likely he wants revenge...is there anyway to get out of here?"

Mei sighed. "There's not a whole lot we can do. And we've tried EVERYTHING."

"Violence and Pacifism." Tang added. "Asking it nicely was Mei's idea."

Red Son narrowed his eyes and looked at Mei. "Seriously?"

"Hey! I said we tried everything!" Mei argued.

Pigsy sighed. "...guess we gotta hope MK or Sandy finds out about this and stops this six eared freak." He then turned to Tang. "Wait...you said there were FOUR magic monkeys."

"Yeah!" Tang said. "Why?"

"We know The Monkey King and Macaque...what about the other two?"

Tang was about to answer before blinking. "I...actually don't know. Despite this being SUCH a big reveal, the stories never even bothered to focus on the other two Spiritual Primates. No one even knows if they're around."

"Did The Buddha mention anything?" Mei asked, tilting her head.

"Just their titles and special abilities. Never where they were or WHO they were, even if they were even born." Tang said.

Red Son crossed his arms. "Well, there's not much ELSE to do other than talk, I suppose. Since you claim to have tried everything."

He then hummed and tried launching a fireball, but nothing happened. "Okay, I continue to stand by my statement."

Tang tried to remember. "Well, one is the Red Bottomed Horse Monkey."

Mei laughed at the name. "W-What?!"

Tang snorted. "I'm 100 percent serious. It's also called the Red Rumped Mandrill, which isn't any better. Anyway, their special feature is in the name, but their powers involve knowledge and skill. They know all about Yin and Yang, survival, and even love and affairs."

"Huh. Weird power." Pigsy mumbled. "And the other?"

Tang tapped his chin. "Oh! The Long Armed Ape or the Magic Armed Gibbon! This one is quite possibly the strongest. It is able to see what is auspicious and what isn't, and can pretty much defy the laws of Heaven and Earth! By that, it's a fancy way of saying they're incredibly strong and wise."

"Wise?" Mei asked, seeming somewhat amazed. So far, all the monkeys seemed to be impulsive.

Red Son sighed. "Why couldn't I have the smart one as my uncle?"