The Silent King (Au)

Lack of Memory

Wukong glowed steadily, eyes closed as of he were asleep.

If he wasn't sitting up with a perfect posture, that is. MK drew next to him, humming a song. Mei poked the glowing monkey, "Uh, how's this supposed to help?" Red Son swatted her hand away, "Hands off, Dragon Girl! It is very important you do not mess up something as important as reaching into your soul." MK sat up in surprise, "Wait, what?"

"Of course you don't get it, Noodle Boy. He's recharging his soul for his powers, to be blunt with you morons. Disturbing this state is a terrible idea." Tang called out from the back in agreement, further cementing why Mei shouldn't mindlessly poke the king.

The van slowly came to a stop and Pigsy stretched, "Alrighty, c'mon, we need to go set up camp." Everyone clambered out, stretching idly. MK grabbed his mentor, carrying him toward the campsite.

A stick suddenly snapped, alerting everyone to danger.

Mei's eyes flashed slightly behind MK before yelling, "MK, LOOK OUT--" A hooked tail, like a scorpion's, hooked around his body, throwing him and Wukong away from Tang and Pigsy. The hero yelled out in panic as his mentor's glowing body left the safety of his arms, landing away from MK.

The hero ignored the chaos of fire and dragon magic in the background fighting off the threat, instead trying to find his mentor. Gold flickered from under messy brush, and he found his mentor's still body next to a collapsed tree. Panic set in, and MK picked up Wukong, noting how he wasn't glowing anymore. Red Son rushed over, equally concerned, "We chased off the demon. Noodle Boy, this is... Not good, but I think he's just asleep so we should... Damn it, let him sleep it off."

MK swallowed thickly, numbly following the fire demon as everyone gathered together, combining their tents to keep safe in case the demon from before returned.

MK groomed Wukong's fur, untangling his curls as the others slept anxiously around him. Rage filled his mind as he struggled to contain it, that demon better hope never to stumble in his path again.

If it wanted to live.

--

Wukong was the last to arise and was thoroughly confused by the soft and colorful fabrics sheltering him.

The monkey clambered out of the conjoined tents, even more frazzled. The Dragon Horse was missing, his companions looked...different, and there were three random kids with them. Wukong walked up to them slowly, letting the old sadness seep into his weary bones.

MK smiled, "Morning, Monkey King!" The king stared at him blankly with tired eyes etched with a sadness MK hadn't seen for a while, startling him. Tang looked over with worry, "Monkey King? Hey, if something's off--"

"No."

Everyone practically spontaneously combusted as the rough, unsteady voice answered them. Pigsy sputtered, "That... Sounded painful. Take it easy, monkey, you haven't spoken in a long time--" The king swallowed down the painful taste of metal creeping up his throat, speaking once more but it was clear he was losing his voice, "N-o." His voice cracked mid-way, lowering in volume at the end.

Sandy suddenly squatted down, holding a stick to Wukong and gesturing at the ground, "Monkey King, could you write our names?" The monkey stared in confusion but did so anyway, using the stick to scribble at the dirt.

Sandy read over the names carefully, kindly choosing not to point out his spelling errors. After all, it wasn't old news that Wukong was most likely dyslexic. "Just as I thought. He says I am Wujing, you are Tripitaka, and Baiji. He does not know who the others are, however. He is also wondering about our Dragon Horse, Ao Lie, better known as Bai Long Ma."