||To Change a Destiny||

{~Chapter 5: Out of the Shadows~}

When DBK awoke, for a moment all he could process was his own headache.

Then he realized he was restrained by some sort of rope.

Instantly, the bull demon yanked and fought to free himself from the restraints, to no avail. It seemed that whoever set this up created the what DBK now recognized as spider webs to hold back specifically demons such as himself. He growled.

"What is this?! Who dares?" He demanded, eyes darting around for any sign of the fiend who trapped him.

Suddenly, the Spider Queen lowered herself down from the ceiling, so that she was hanging upside down and was eye-to-eye with the other demon. "Why, me, of course." She smirked, as if the answer was fairly obvious. Which, in a sense, it kind of was.

DBK growled again, anger filling him up at the very sight of the spider. "I have truly fallen if one such as you can best me..." He then had a smirk of his own, "...the would-be Queen of Spiders."

"Ain't nothing 'would-be' about it," Spider Queen said, turning herself and dropping to the ground in front of DBK. "I am the Spider Queen! And you? Nothing but a battery for my mech."

The Spider Queen then chuckled, throwing out her arms and gesturing to the giant, dark room they were in. "Look around, handsome. You're not the only prize I snatched up."

The bull demon turned his gaze to the high corners and ceiling of the room to find that she was correct. Around them, many more demons were strung up in the very same webs. Suddenly, he was hit with a frightening thought.

"Princess Iron Fan?!" He called out, praying he would receive no response. Spider Queen seemed to find this amusing.

"Aww, don't worry. Haven't found your wifey. Yet."

At that, DBK let out a secret sigh of relief. His wife was safe. His annoyance returned, however, when the spider demon approached him.

"I did manage to track down an old friend of yours, though." She used one of the spider legs on her mech to turn the bull demon's head to the left, revealing a certain simian with piercing gold eyes.

"Sup, Bull King?" Monkey King seemed to be fairly comfortable, despite the current situation. "You too, huh?"

At once, flashbacks of their last encounter filled DBK's head, consuming him with rage.

"MONKEY KING!!!" He roared, viciously thrashing against the webs binding him in his rage. At that moment, the door opened to reveal two other spider demons.

"My Queen," the more tech-looking one of the duo addressed the Spider Queen. "I have news regarding—"

He was interrupted when the second spider cleared his throat. He jumped in front of the tech spider, stealing the spotlight.

"My Queen. I have news regarding Red Son."

DBK stopped struggling at this sentence, rage replaced by annoyance. "Useless offspring." He muttered.

"Mhm. Go on." The Spider Queen pushed. The spider demon sweat dropped.

"He actually... Er, got away." He reported nervously. The Spider Queen was not pleased to hear that. DBK was, though.

"I didn't doubt him for a second!" He exclaimed, as if his previous comment didn't exist. "You will never catch them!" The demon burst into triumphant laughter. So the rest of his family was safe. That was good, at least. 

"Find him!" The angry queen shouted. "Now!"

"Yes, my Queen—!" The frustrated tech spider slammed the door, pushing the two out of the room and cutting the other demon off.

Suddenly, a cold chill filled the room. If one were to listen hard enough, they would hear many sinister but indistinct whispers.

"My Queen." A familiar voice rang out from the shadows. DBK froze at the sudden voice. Could it be-?

As if to answer the unspoken question, he stepped out of the shadows. The demon nearly choked on his own spit. Yes, he looked much different, with the more traditional outfit and the little bit of eyeshadow, but DBK could clearly identify who he was. And the red ribbon holding the short, low ponytail in place just confirmed it. He stole a glance at the Monkey King, and he could see that his old frenemy was visibly attempting to hold back at tearing at the webs himself. One could easily detect the rage coming off of the simian king.

MK, while he didn't even spare a glance the two immortals, smirked. He enjoyed their reactions. He once more addressed the queen. "What of the monkey boy's team? Some of them do possess  extraordinary abilities. Perhaps they should join your collection?" At this, the possessed boy glanced at DBK and Monkey King. The simian barred his teeth at the sight of his successor's state. How? When did this even happen? Who even—?

"Yes. And those pesky brats too! And while we're at it, throw that Monkie Kid in the mix!" Spider Queen exclaimed, unaware of the others' reaction. "I can't have these problematic children running around causing me problems!"

Both Monkey King and DBK became confused. Was she seriously unaware? How? It was very obvious. However, readers, the Spider Queen was still caught up in the rush of her plan in motion. She did not have the time to think about the boy. Yet.

The two left the room, Spider Queen exiting first. Before MK stepped out, he turned to look straight at DBK and the Monkey King. Smirking, he pressed a finger to his lips, silently telling them to be quiet about his identity. But that was not what shocked the two.

What really made their hearts sink and land hard in their stomachs was the very noticeable blue glow within the young man's eyes.

A very cold, familiar glow. One they had wished to never lay their eyes upon again.

Before either of them could even squirm, the Lady Bone Demon had already walked out and firmly shut the door.