Becoming Whole Once More (LostVesselAU)

Retrieve, Battle, And Give Second Chances

Azure Lion screamed, trying to keep his newfound powers stable. But the magic relented, following the orders of punishment Azure had brought upon himself. Cracks lined the universe itself, golden lines marking starry nights.

Yellow Tusk managed to stabilize the new emperor, waiting until he was settled down once more before speaking. "Azure...This power, and your unresolved deal, are tearing you and this world apart. Perhaps--"

The lion cut him off, flashing a pained smile, "It is fine, brother. I just...need to get accustomed to this newfound title. I am alright..." He let out a pained sigh. Yellow Tusk exhaled, "Alright. But what of Sun Wukong? His scroll was taken. They will want him released."

"...I know."

---

"At least the sky looks pretty..?" Mei smiled at the golden, starry rips across the sky. Pigsy huffed, "Sure, it's the end of the world, but at least it looks pretty." Mei shot the chef a look, "I am trying to be positive here!" Sandy walked over, nudging them gently, "C'mon, Tang needs some of our magic to power the symbol a bit."

They surrounded Tang, watching him draw a symbol on the ground. The scroll was placed down in the middle, innocently showing off a familiar name. MK and Macaque wordlessly stepped forward.

Subodhi spoke up as they got into position, "Be quick to find him, otherwise he will be lost to the memories and will not be able to come back to us." Gold flashed, blinding them all as warmth that could not be matched by the sun took the monkey duo away.

---

MK looked around.

Everything was barren, burned into ash. The sky was dark, and there wasn't a single sound in the air. He looked over to Macaque, examining the warrior's expression. The ebony monkey closed his eyes, taking in a few deep breaths, "This is the day Erlang Shen set the mountain ablaze."

"...Wukong burned, right? He said it happened once, and that he knew the mountain was burning, too." MK reached out, pressing his hand against charred bark. Macaque nodded softly, "Yeah. Come on, he shouldn't be too far away now."

They trudged through the soot and smoke-coated fog, stumbling upon another memory.

This one presented a mountain. Golden chains floated around, and a familiar russet-colored monkey was encased in the rock, head bowed. MK winced, looking over at Macaque, "Is this when he was..?" The warrior nodded, not looking away.

---

Wukong felt numb, his mind a haze. He wanted to think of his small family, but the pain it brought him made the king shut out his thoughts.

The ground beneath him was stone. The sky above him was dark, with golden streaks of lightning striking everything down. Wukong rolled over, sitting up. A rock was nearby, elevated and perfect for sitting.

He stumbled back onto his feet, not registering the harsh memories playing around him as he sat down heavily, closing his eyes. Maybe he'd forgotten to breathe.

---

MK watched their past selves fight, staffs hitting against each other with immense force.

Finally, the sage managed to knock back the shadow user, watching as the ebony took him away. The king's fists were trembling violently as the staff fell from his grasp, sinking slightly into the tumbled soil. Wukong fell to his knees, and screamed.

Macaque flinched, face scrunching with a tight frown. MK blinked owlishly, trying to understand, "But when you fought with him again, you wanted revenge. But..." Macaque nodded, "Foul play, bud. I thought he'd scarred me. I thought he'd killed me. Someone set us up, and used me as a pawn to further destroy him."