Pretty Peaches

Dreaming with Your Eyes Wide Open

DISCLAIMER: This may not also be accurate as I have NOT read JTTW

Li stopped on top of a nearby building next to the noodle shop where her replacement was residing. The last time she had checked the time it was one in the morning when she stopped chatting with that handsome devil of a monkey. She had stopped at a few alleyways to change her clothing to something more suitable for stopping by in the dead of night. She figured that the feeling of dread would only grow and she had to be more ready to face the danger that was growing out of sight. No more hiding and watching the poor young man trying to figure out the powers he was handed and left with by that horrible mentor of his, Sun Wukong. She would have to get involved if the Six-eared Macaque meant what he said about something coming. She needed to stay by him and protect him… she needed to protect him like she wished she had been.

MK must be so confused with the new power and obligations thrown at him, then have his greatest idol leave him alone to deal with the problems the five times immortal Monkey King wished not to deal with. Unlike Li, who was raised and knew nothing besides the overwhelming pressure of holding up the Monkey King legacy, the newest heir had been thrown into a role he wasn't ready to fill with no way of backing out even if he wanted to. Sure, she knew how much MK loved the Great Sage, but when dreams become reality, the dreams become more realistic and start losing their appeal. Everyone wished for the immense power of the Monkey King, but none of them wished for the enemy's desire to gain or smite such a power, and certainly none of the duties that Wukong was obligated to perform. Li felt like it was her responsibility to help him so that he could keep his sanity and become the successor of such a great being.

She checked around the building to see if MK was still out and about. Instead of being outside the building in alleyways or behind the store, he was on top of the building itself, grunting and yelling about how hard it was to transform like his mentor. Li remembered the first transformation she had been taught. It was the duplication transformation, then the transformation into a hawk. She had no idea why she chose a hawk, to be honest. MK had gotten a little out of hand with his clones the first time he tried, as she had seen and laughed her butt off at. Some of her clones also had different personalities deriving from the experiences they had appeared in. Sometimes being a bit reckless with your clones, unlike Wukong, could lead to some new surprises, good or bad.

Eventually, after two hours of Li watching the young man struggling to get the transformation powers to work, he finally got it. Sure, his left hand was now a pug and his other hand was a mop, but the monkey woman supervising him found this as a welcome baby step farther into the journey of filling the metaphorical shoes of the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven. Despite the pangs of jealousy, she found this even more reason to protect the new successor of the Monkey King.

MK had called everyone to see his new power, to which they all seemed underwhelmed. Well, all except for Mei who seemed way too excited for it to be considered normal. Sure, he now had a dog for a hand, but shouldn't they be a little more supportive? Li would go down there herself, but showing up looking like she did now would not put anyone at ease.

Suddenly there was a loud crackling noise coming from below. Only MK and his violent pug hand noticed it as well. Before she could jump into action, the young man did so himself. She couldn't just let him face what seemed to be the Spider Queen's lackeys alone, so she followed quickly, heading down a manhole instead. She found it was a much more controlled environment in a larger space. As she followed the sewers to where she had last explored, which coincidentally led to a lair that was filled with all kinds of freaky spider stuff. She wasn't a fan of spiders, but she dealt with them when necessary.