Misadventures of Monkey King and Lin

A Name?

Lin tilted her head with a frown. "Hey, Monkey? Why don't you give yourself a name?" 

"Your family gives you a name, remember? And I'm an original, Pebble!" The King boasted as he looked away from the girl, twirling his stick with a flourish. 

"Well... you did say we were family." The girl slowly spoke, slightly nervous. "You can have my family name. If you want." 

Monkey King stared at her with wide eyes before tearing his attention away from the child with a scoff. "I didn't call us family. Don't be silly. Lin would be a weird name for me anyway." 

Lin glared at him, unimpressed. "Lin is my given name. Sun is my family name." She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow as he started sputtering. 

"Pshhh. I knew that." The simian waved his hand over her face. "Anyway, I'm totally immortal now! Isn't that cool?" He shoved the human girl back, hoping she couldn't tell he was blushing. 

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Monkey King gave the girl a shy smile as the hole started to close. "Maybe Sun wouldn't be such a bad name after all." A small gasp and a bright grin was the last thing he saw of the girl he had come to consider his sister. "Live a good life, Sun Lin. You make your family proud." He murmured, placing his hand on the wall of the cavern. Stick hummed, nudging the stone monkey. "Don't tease me, Stick. She's mortal, remember? She'll probably be all grown up by the time I get out." Another hummed echoed through the cave. "You're right! I just have to figure out what 'Awakened to Emptiness' means. I can do that in no time!" Sun Monkey King grinned at his stick, confident he'll see his little sister again. 

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One Hundred Years Later. 

Monkey had curled around stick, sniffling as tears well up in his eyes. "She's probably gone by now, isn't she, Stick?" He had pressed himself into a small niche in one of the walls, tail wrapping around his legs. "I'm never going to see Lin again." Stick hummed mournfully. "I'm going to keep her name. So that way someone remembers her. The amazing little sister of the Monkey King." A proud hum was Stick's response. "Thanks, Stick." 

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Another Four Hundred Years Later.

"My name is Sun Wukong." The king proudly stated, smirking at the three shocked pilgrims. He jumped up to the hole and crawled out.  "What are we waiting for? You're heading West, right?" He stiffened when a familiar voice called out from behind the three men. 

"Monkey?"