Retracted Memories //LMK//ShadowPeach//

Chapter 18

(For some reason parts of the chapter didn't publish, so here we are!)

Macaque nervously rubbed his scarred eye and wrapped himself tightly in his scarf. Mei peaked at him, "Uh, you good?" Macaque cleared his throat and nodded, "Yup. Now head up, feet apart, sword up." Mei fixed her stance, "Good. Now, drive the weapon forward and put your weight into it. Go!" Mei ran forward, swung, and hit the wooden doll as hard as she could. 

The doll's torso was split open and Mei had trouble pulling out her blade, "Uh, a little help here?" Macaque grabbed on and pulled with her, setting the weapon free. Mei huffed and plopped down just as MK flew by, crashlanding beside her, "Ow." Macaque face-palmed, "Why? Bud, you're not a bird-" MK transformed into one, "Caw caw." 

Mei bursted out laughing and Macaque snorted, "Yeah, okay, hilarious." Wukong jumped down and grinned, "Yay! The transformation training's working!" Macaque hesitantly patted his back, "Great job, Peaches. Okay, so training's done for the day. Mei, how have you been doing in Red's training?" Mei sat up straight, "Great! I won't burn the universe whenever I sneeze now." 

Everyone took a step back, "I was kidding, jeez!" Macaque suddenly clapped his hands together as Wukong started hopping on one foot, "Oh, MK did you bring the medicine?" MK nodded proudly, "Yeah, I even wrote it on my arm so I wouldn't forget!" He rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a crushed medicine container and grimaced, "Oops..."

Anxiety swirled in his stomach and Macaque forced a smile, "It's okay, bud, at least you didn't forget. Peaches, stop wandering off." Wukong immediately twirled back to Macaque, "Sorry, Mango. It's just that I saw this cricket and I wanted to take a closer look. Y'know, it reminded me of that movie the kids showed me, Mulan. Cause there was this cricket that-"

Mei grimaced, "Oh, he's the talkative type." MK sighed, "I just get distracted and forget stuff a lot." Macaque rubbed his arm nervously, "Yeah, well, I just get really worried when he acts up and- WUKONG WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE DOING?!" Everyone panicked and looked up, spotting Wukong.

On the roof.

Hopping on one foot.

While holding rocks.

Wukong grinned, "Wanted to see how long I can keep my balance while holding something heavy!" Macaque ran a hand down his face, "WUKONG GET DOWN!" The hyper active monkey nodded before suddenly slipping and tumbling towards the ground.

Dust flew up and Macaque hurried over to a dazed Wukong, "Ow." Macaque felt like crying, his anxiety spiked dramatically and he had no clue what to do. He simply plopped down and buried his face in his hands. MK and Mei looked at each other awkwardly and helped Wukong sit up. Wukong tapped his boyfriend nervously, "...Plum?" 

No reaction. Another poke, "Mango?" Macaque still sat still. Wukong scooted closer, "Macaque?" Macaque looked up wearily, "Yeah?" Wukong fidgeted nervously, "Are you mad at me? I'm sorry. I'll be good! Promise, then you won't have to worry or get mad, okay?" Macaque's heart sank, Wukong was a child at heart, and moments like these made the fact blantly clear.

Wukong fidgeted with a piece of grass while the other two sat nearby, also nervous. Macaque frowned, he wasn't that scary, was he? 

"No, I'm not mad. You are good, Peaches. I'm just anxious, how about the kids go hang out and we can go out together, yeah?" MK and Mei immediately agreed and stood up, already leaving as Wukong nervously looked up, "...really?" 

"Yeah."

---

So Macaque should've expected this. 

They'd gone out for ice cream, and Macaque was teasing Wukong, "Maaaac, I've got brain freeeeeeze!" Macaque had chuckled, "Imagine getting brain freeze." Wukong had punched him lightly and whined about how unfair it was, when a crowd of scared people rushed by and separated them.

And now Macaque was in front of a demon wielding a glowing leather-brown mace. Yipee.

"Ah, the Six-Eared Macaque! Y'know, I am curious about this weapon's abilities. Why don't we test it out!" Macaque narrowly dodged the weapon, diving behind a chunk of wall. He narrowed his eyes and peaked around the chunk, assessing the demon. 

She lazily spun the weapon, grinning, "Come out, come out wherever you are~!" Macaque just needed to get closer. He looked around before silently teleporting behind another chunk of debris. The demon snarled, "I said COME OUT!" She swung down the mace, causing a blast. Macaque grabbed on tightly, his tail uselessly flying behind him. 

What he wouldn't give for a properly functioning tail right now.

Macaque moved in, keeping out of sight. Then there was a sudden shout, "CANNONBALL!" A surge of power knocked him over, and he heard the demon shriek. Wukong!

Macaque scurried over just as Wukong bent over to dodge the mace, "Hah! Too slow!" He hopped up and kicked the demon's arm, "Kapow!" The demon yelped and swung again, and Wukong used his tail to swing out of the way, "Look, no hands needed!" Macaque grimaced, "Careful!"

Wukong scoffed, "I'm always care-" The mace swung down, aiming for his head, and there was a scream and thud.

"...Mac..?" Wukong got up from where he was shoved and activated his golden vision, taking in Macaque's condition. The shadow monkey was breathing shallowly, blood was running down his temple and his arm. The mace had landed near his leg, the weapon narrowly avoided landing on it. Wukong stared in shock before a wave of rage hit him.

He turned towards the demon, his face covered in shadows. A red eye peaked out, glaring at the attacker. The demon swallowed hard, "H-he's the one who jumped i-in the way! I-I was aiming at y-you, m-maybe if you'd been c-careful he wouldn't have-" The angry monkey suddenly appeared in front of her and snatched her throat, holding her high up.

She gasped for air and squirmed, but he still didn't do anything besides stare at her coldly. Next thing she knew, pain exploded throughout her entire body and she was on the ground, "Never come back." 

Wukong turned away from the now unconscious demon and stomped on the weapon, destroying it. He turned back towards his boyfriend, hot tears fell down his face and he dropped to his knees. The demon was right, if he hadn't been so careless and stupid-

No, that wasn't going to help Macaque. He needed to get help.

---

Macaque felt...drifted. Blurry.

Throbbing pain came from his head, arm, and chest, it stood out. Wind was blowing all around him, and he peeped open an eye. A blurry figure came into view, and Macaque realized water droplets were landing on his face, "'S rainin'..." 

Wukong choked out a sob and chuckled, "Yeah, grey clouds are above us. Stay awake, yeah?" Macaque blinked owlishly at the bright blue sky, "Sky's blue." His head hurt. 

Wukong swallowed hard, "You must be color blind." Macaque hummed, "No." The black monkey looked down at his arm, red fabric was wrapped tightly around it, "'Was that..?" Arms tightened around him, "Injury, I used my cape to stop the bleeding." Macaque gently touched his chest and hissed, "I think you broke something there, don't poke it. Don't worry we're almost at Pigsy's!"

Macaque hummed, "Why?" He couldn't think straight, he found it strange they weren't going home. Wukong frowned, looking down at the injured monkey, "To make the hurt go away." Yeah, that sounded like a good idea. 

They touched down, and Wukong held Macaque on his back piggyback style as he ran up to the door and barged in, "GUYS!" Macaque growled at the bright lights above him and screwed his eyes shut, "What happened? Monkey King?" MK examined Macaque as he was set down on the carpet, hissing when it sent a jolt of pain.

"We were fighting and he- he TOLD me to be careful! But I-I wasn't and he took a blow for me, and now he's hurt and I-I don't know what the weapon's ability is-" Mei gently untied the cape from around Macaque's arm and frowned, angry. Wukong looked away, feeling guilty. If he'd been careful...

Pigsy had Macaque patched up quickly and the shadow monkey slept. MK and Mei both weaved their fingers in his fur, which seemed to put him at ease. 

What worried them now was the fact they still didn't know the weapon's abilities.