Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There was once a time in our world, when the night was long and the shadows were great.

Bringing all kinds of evil from across the ancient lands.

For centuries demons ran the night,terrorizing and preying on the innocent  and people lived in great fear. So scared they couldn't even sleep.

Until one day, their prayers were answered in the form of powerful  sorcerers from the taoist faith. Priests and Priestess who dedicated their natural spiritual talents and the practice of their philosophy to protect others.

Using their abilities, they chased the demons back to where they came and the night was once again safe.

These men and women became known as our ancestors, the Great Cultivators.

Through strict religious and physical training mixed with mystic scholarly, Cultivators became the protectors of the once dark nights. 

Banishing evil and defending the vulnerable.

Cultivators became well renowned and respected by many. Even forming schools all across China to strengthen their numbers and pass their teachings to the next generation.

Yet, there was one who sought to snuff the light.

Yuandi.

The Great Demon King, said to be the first of his kind and father to all demons.

Outraged by the slaying of his children, Yuandi sought revenge.

Through his children and immense power, he ventured to slay all Cultivators from the earth. A silent war started between Demon kind and the Schools of Cultivators. This internal battle carried on for almost a century. Although Cultivators were powerful, Yuandi was an ancient and powerful source of dark qi and could not easily be defeated.So long as he acted as a power source for his dark army, the Cultivators defeat was assured.

One Cultivator from the school of Lin, sought help from the Jade Emperor. Praying for help in the failing  battle she sought a member of the Jade Emperor's ranks.

The Divine Jade Cultivator.

The most powerful among the Jade Emperor's own personal court of ascended cultivators. Said to be able to change winter to spring and bring forth mountains and fields from even the most barren of soil with only his pinky finger.

With his magic he entered into a fierce battle with Yuandi. Although the Demon Lord was powerful, the Divine Jade was his equal.

With a powerful spell the Divine Jade stole Yuandi’s heart and sealed it away. Then, in a finishing blow, Yuandi was sealed deep into the earth under seventeen holy seals under a great mountain under the sea.

With Yuandi dead, the demons scatter in chaos and the night was once again safe now that cultivators were spared.

The Divine Jade became a legend, a symbol of what a true cultivator should aspire to be. 

But one day, he vanished from the world.

Leaving behind a legacy of multiple tales and a heroic feat that allowed other cultivators to thrive.

.

As time passed, and demons became less powerful and  scarce, Cultivators soon became irrelevant to the world and the practice became a rare to lost art.

As civilization began to prosper and grow, we small few continued our work in protecting those from the dark nights. Even though we live in times of peace, there is always a monster lurking in the shadows.

T he City of Megapolis was one of the safest cities in the world.

A beautiful coastal city full of loving and gentle people, elegant cultures and of course the best restaurants in the city!

Hidden in a tiny corner of this great city, is where Taoxia loves to enjoy spending her evening. A nice hole in the wall restaurant where the best zha jiang mian is made and served with the freshest green tea. It is also the only place that has long enough noodles to fill you in just one bowl alone.

The young woman was enjoying her meal at the bar, listening to an old story told many times.

“Rising from the Netherworld, the Demon Bull King attacked. No one could stop him, no one could resist. No one except... the legendary Monkey King. The Monkey King used his magical staff to pick up a nearby mountain. He trapped the Demon Bull King underneath it. The Monkey King sealed the mountain with the staff that no other being could wield, trapping the Demon Bull King forever. With the battle won, the Monkey King vanished, never to be seen again. Legend says the staff still lies on top of that mountain, the one thing keeping our world from certain destruction. And with the Demon Bull King gone, civilization was able to advance into the amazing city we now live in.” the storyteller beamed “All thanks…To the Monkey king”.

Taoxia clapped in appreciation “So good Tang, as perusal you tell the best Monkey King stories. It's the natural narrator voice you have.”

Tang, an oddly dressed man, smiled her way with sparkles around his head as his ego was just boosted. “Why thank you, my dear Xia.”He gushed.

“Oh, that's so good! Monkey King's so cool!” Taoxia had to grab her noodles before ecstatic arms nearly knocked them off the counter. A young boy gushed and squirmed in his seat as he beamed in delight. “He's so strong and handsome-”

Tang chuckled , taking a sip of his own bowl of noodles. “Oh, MK. And you thought you knew all the Monkey King stories.”

“ Oh, but I do. I got his whole life documented extensively in this unauthorized autobiography of Monkey King.”MK beamed, spread out in front of him was a large red sketchbook along with crayons and pencils.

 The book was bright red with a scribble of himself and what many could see was the fabled Monkey King. MK opened up the book to reveal well made colorful illustrations.

“Written and illustrated by yours truly. Like I knew he was born from a stone, and lives behind a waterfall with his sweet little baby monkey friends! And- and- and oh!”

Taxoia placed a hand on MK’s back as he frantically began to flip through the pages.

“Easy, easy.” she giggled “Catch your breath and eat your food MK, it's already gone cold.” she nodded her head to the half eaten bowl of noodles she bought for him, as she said it had gone cold and the noodles were now soggy.

“Oh yeah! Sorry Xia, I got a little excited”. He began to stuff the noodles in his mouth, the broth flying everywhere. 

“ It's nice to know someone's taking in all these stories.” Tang boasted “Pearls of wisdom, dripping from my lips.”

“Pearls of wisdom?” On Tang’s left, a woman with an unamused expression. Unlike the others, she had only a cup of tea for her meal.

 “Tang the stories are basic common knowledge for everyone. Besides, I don't think telling the story of mythical legends counts as wisdom”. She smirked, placing air quotes around the words ‘wisdom’. 

Tang brushed her off, patting her leg.

“My dear Suyin, wisdom comes in all shapes and forms. Whether it be philosophical guidance, or retelling the basic mythical lores of our culture. Don't let your dislike for Monkey King cloud your judgment, my beloved Su-Su.”

“Yeah Suyin! Don't be a hater!” MK stuck out his tongue.

Suyin humphed, taking a sip of her tea with a smile. The silver bell in her hairpin softly rings with her graceful movements. 

“Just be sure to remember that The Monkey King was also many things other than a hero and King. You gotta take the good with the bad, kid.”

“Ugh!” MK sulked “yeah,yeah he might have been a trickster, but he is a cool trickster with flair and awesome powers!” 

His eyes sparkled with stars in his eyes as he heroically posed speaking of his idol.

Suyin could only stare unamused, going back to her drink.

 Tang cleared his throat, grabbing MK’s fleeting attention.

“Well, you know the deal” Tang tapped the brim of his empty bowl  “one story, one free bowl of Zha jiang mian. Hmm?”

“Huh? Oh right, free noodles! Yep, on it.” MK reaches over the counter, pouring the broth into a premade bowl 

“How heavy do you think a mountain is? Compared to like-AH!”

Before MK could complete the exchange, a wooden spoon came flying! Hitting MK’s hands making him drop the soup to the ground. 

The contents spilled onto the floor.

“Free… noodles?!”Emerging from the back, was none other than the owner himself, Pigsy. His usual stern expression on his face and eyes glaring at unpaying patron “No one gets a free meal at Pigsy's! I'm not running a charity here, Tang!”

“Ah, but Pigsy. I was paying with wisdom.” Tang smirked, "Besides, I wasn't going to just up and leave you with the bill." Tang opened his palm to Suyin.

Who took out her coin purse from her qipao pocket, giving Tang the right amount for his meals.

Pigsy’s snout flared at Tang who offered him the cash.

 “Tang! Suyin is not your cash cow, PAY FOR YOUR OWN MEALS DANG IT!” Pigsy whipped his head over to Suyin, his gaze softened

 “Babe, you gotta stop paying for this freeloader all the time. You work hard, don't waste your money on him.” he softly chided.

“What does it matter if the money comes from him or me? I just want you to get paid for what you cook.”

“Yeah but-”

“Besides, it's no harm to me. Whats a couple of  Zha jiang mian every now and then.”

“Yeah Pigsy.” Tang chimed in “What's the harm?”

“I don't wanna hear that from you!” Pigsy snarled, turning his attention to MK who was trying to sneak out of the line of fire. “And you!” Pigsy hopped over the counter, backing the young kid in a corner.“You've been slacking off all morning! I've got a dozen orders that need to go out.” he pointed to a neat stack of take out boxes that were resting by Taoxia. 

“So quit slacking and get PACKING!!!”

MK awkwardly chukeld. 

“Yeah. I was about to take my break. So…” just as he moved to take his seat, Piggsy stopped him in his tracks, gritting his teeth. 

“Break? Break?! There's no break in war! I need workers. Soldiers in the army of Pigsy's Noodles, home of the world's longest noodles. How else am I gonna expand my business into enemy territory?” He pointed his spoon across the alley, right at Gōng zhū noodles.

The owner, Gong the boar, glared right back from the take out window.

“Uh, do you mean across the street?” 

“I stand by my statement!” Piggsy huffed, forcing the takeout in MK’s hands and literally kicking him out of the shop. “Now, hurry up!” 

Taoxia had finished packing MK’s unfinished noodles in a takeaway box for later after finishing her own bowl during the exchange. “He's such a good kid.” 

“Is he? Is he really?” Pigsy lamented. Dragging his feet to take his place back of the counter, slamming his face on the bar table in exhaustion. 

“You would think that by now, he would have this all down pat. He would understand how all this works, and yet after three years he still has his head in the cloud most of the time.”

“Cut him some slack Pigsy, he is still a kid trying to find his own way.”

“Xia, sixteen is still a kid. Nineteen, not so much.Hes supposed to have his head down here on earth, striving to be a responsible adult”

“Ah, and what exactly were you doing at nineteen, Piggy-Pie?” Suyin challenged, Pigsy's pinkish color turned bright red as he bashfully looked away. 

“Definitely not striving to be a responsible adult. Su-Su and I can attest to that”. Tang teased, Pigsy growled grabbing the spoon he placed in the waistband of his apron. Sensing the danger, Tang grabbed his bowl and the two began a comedic of chase around the cramped shop.

“Pigsy no!”

“Come back here, I want my money!”

Tang screamed as he was chased out the establishment, Pigsy still following with the wooden spoon raised high and ready.

The two ladies left behind could only giggle and simile in amusement. Taoxia noticed the broken bowl and spilled soup still on the floor. She hopped off the stool and kneeled down next to the mess, digging in her jacket pocket she pulled a large stack of talisman paper bound by a band and a portable capped brush.

Popping the cap off and taking a piece of paper from its stack, she wrote in elegant brush strokes the symbol;

维修

(Repair)

The ink instantly dried. She then assembled the pieces closely together on top of the soup before sticking the talisman onto it. Not before using her finger tips to channel her qi into the Talisman in order to activate the properties.

Standing back she watched the paper give a tiny explosion, enveloping the broken dish in a sweet smelling smoke. Revealing a repaired bowl looking as it was before with the soup hot and toppings arranged as they were. Taoxia picked up the bowl and presented it to a patiently waiting Suyin. Who had been watching her complete the ritual.

“How's this, sis?” Taoxia asked. Her stomach giddy as her older sister inspected the bowl, even tasting the soup and a topping each.

“...Excellent, five stars, I have no notes.” Suyin praised. “As expected from one of the great senior cultivators.”

Taoxia blushed, fiddling with her fingers “Ah, thank you. I did have an amazing teacher though.”

“That you did.” Suyin cooly flipped her bangs, her bell at the end of her hairpin jingaling. 

Taoxia hummed as she shoulders her bag, and left the money for her meal on the table before reading to leave.

“I should hurry.”

“Tonight, you should go downtown. I've been hearing of some pretty wild stuff going on at the casino’s. The juniors won't be able to handle it, but you should have no problem. Especially with that new charm I taught you. You'll have fun, I promise.” 

You and I have different definitions of fun. Taoxia thought, but gave thanks properly before heading out of the restaurant.

The sun was setting, and it was now time for a Night Hunt.

The entertainment district wasn't far from the restaurant, only about ten minutes away by car.

Though because she didn't want to be bothered to find parking, she decided it was best to walk the extra five minutes. Perusal, the Entertainment district was already alive and bustling even though night had barely descended. Arcades were blaring, shops were full, food stands were smelling amazing, and the casinos were packed and lively. Taoxia adjusted her bag on her shoulder as she began to walk the strip.

Predatory brown eyes scanning for anything suspicious.

There were about twenty casinos in total, and Suyin did not specify which casino where the possible trouble was. Taoxia had a gut feeling she did that on purpose, never one to just hand her the lesson, or in this case target. She started with the one closest to her, it was wild and loud but nothing too ominous.

The next one was the same, nothing suspicious but she was worried about one guy who seemed to be there three days straight just on the smell of him alone.

The next three she almost considered, but her nerves were settled once she released the patrons howling was not demonic takeover but simply them losing their fortune to the slot machines.

By the time she was at the twelfth casino, Taoxia was scratching her head. Wondering if she should have simply waited for the sun to go completely down. 

Till a familiar shiver ran down her back like ice water, the hairs on her back raised, the qi immediately rushed to her eyes. Filtering her vision in a golden sheet, everyone turned into black silhouettes save only for a white core that burned in the center of each person.

Taoxia looked around, trying to spot the danger her instincts were sensing. Trying to not alert the patrons around, she casually moved about stalking for her target. Trained eyes scanning the crowd as if she was simply gazing at them instead of studying them.

Moving further into the casino, one silhouette stood out.

Among the black mass of moving shadows and white orbs, was a more distorted shadow of a more dark purple hue and a dark mass right in the center of it.

A demon.

Once her target was caught, Taoxia willed the qi to return to her belly. Seeing the demon in its disguise, a boisterous looking young man dressed kind of comically as a rich boy who flaunts his well. Dressed in designer brand clothes yet had those golden plated sunglasses with the bars on them. 

He looked like someone who never knew hardwork in his life.

The demon was surrounded by onlookers and coddled by the attractive waitresses as the money slot qimed, alerting that he received massive winnings after winnings.

“Oh wow, Yao you're so cool!” one of the waitresses sultrily praised.

“How do you keep winning?” Another asked, batting her eyelashes. 

Yao lifted her face towards him by the qin, giving her a cringey smug smile.

“I'm just…That lucky baby.~”

If the girls were swooning and the men were applauding him for that, Taoxia highly assumed that they were all faking it.

The machine spewed out massive piles of gold coins on the floor, the desperate patrons scrambling to put them in their barren torn pockets. Some were even beginning to start fist fights over the coins, security still manned their posts though.

This was definitely the trouble that Suyin was referring to.

Taoxia squeezed herself through the crowd, working her way up to the front.

She cleared her throat loudly, “Excuse me”.

The crowd turned their attention onto her, the boisterous man pulled down his glasses to reveal red flaming eyes. Looking her up and down.

“Hellooo~.”

Ew.

“I've been looking for you all night.”

“Really.” The demon pushed the two girls off him as he sauntered over to Taoxia. Pushing her face up to look directly into his shade covered eyes with the tilt of her chin. Revealing blue colored snake eyes.

 Taoxia pushed the nausea down into her belly.

“Mm-hmm, I was wondering if you and I could speak.”

“In…Private~.”

“No,no,no I just wanna ask… If you know what this is?” 

Taoxia dug into her jacket pocket, pulling out the fainted yellow talisman paper.

The demon's cocky demeanor vanished, his eyes comically went wide, the shades sliding off and his complexion went pale.

Taoxia didn't even finish her sentence before the man started taking off with such speed he was out the door in a blink of an eye. Disguising itself as a mysterious gust of wind, taking most of the patrons from their seats causing chaos all round. 

Taoxia took advantage and hurried out to begin the chase!

The demon was smart,despite its  sloppy state it seemed to be wise when the adrenaline kicked in. Merging in with the crowd and weaving in between them.

 Making them act as both his cover and his shield.

Taoxia followed after him, weaving in between the crowd, careful not to hurt them. Sending qi to her feet she easily glided through the streets in order to keep up with the supernatural speed she was against. They kept up this little chase for a good while.

The demon would try to throw her off, turning sharp corners, throwing random civilians her way and even threw a whole food cart at her.

Taoxia would always rebuttal, ambushing the demon on the other side of the corner, catching the civilians with an apology, and even dodging the food cart. Handing her contact information to the stunned vendor for repair compensation later as she passed him.

Eventually, the two found themselves in an alley far away from the district.

The demon’s true form was beginning to leak, his skin began to morph and melt into a thick magma like substance. Flames expelled from his orifices, his gooey body morphing into a solid  humanoid black mass of fire and lava.

He turned to face the unphased woman, literal flaming eyes glowing mad and a long tail lashing like a whip in excitement.

“Cultivator!” he screeched, transformation completed with clawed hands growing into four fingers. “I will not be sealed away by the likes of you!”

Taoxia hummed, flicking off the cap of her brush she began to frantically write as the demon began to charge!

Dodging a coming punch that landed in the rough cement below, cracking the ground. Taoxia took the opening, taking some pre-written talisman she placed three on the hand buried in the cement with the symbol;

冰

(Ice)

On impact, the talisman turned into thick cold blocks of ice. Spreading and connecting till they encased the demon's large forearm in ice. The demon hissed as he struggled to break free, but the ice would not budge. Sending qi to her feet, Taoxia used the extra strength in her legs to boost herself high in the air to reach the demon's brow. Before she could place another talisman on him, the demon morphed again, this time into a dozen mini versions of himself. 

Breaking himself, now themselves, free in the process.

One maniacally cackled as it and the other minis blared a stream of fire from its mouth at the still airborne Taoxia. Taoxia flicked an ice talisman in the air,  the paper shifting into a large floating block of ice blocking the weak flames. Another mini jumped in the air grabbing her foot, cackling as it climbed up from trying to reach the brush pen she placed behind her ears. He screamed in pain when Taoxia conjured a sheen of qi, her pure energy burning the demonic spawn till he released her. Falling and burnt, the mini demon poofed itself away.

Taoxia was starting to understand now.

 Using her qi to continue to float, she swiftly wrote up five talismans as a premade one was shoved in between her teeth.

In her hand was the talismans of;

水

(Water)

Summoning high pressure, gushing streams of water from each paper, directing them directly at the miniature demons. 

The extra spike of qi infused within the talisman gave it an extra punch of purification, exterminating the copies on the spot. The true demon, who had taken shelter in the alley corner, watched in alarm as his copies were quickly exterminated in seconds. Knowing when one is outmatched, the demon slinked in the shadows trying to make his escape.

Only for a large block of ice to be thrown in the way of the only viable exit.

The demon squeaked in fear as Taoxia hovered over him, her eyes flowing with qi as she lowered herself back down.

In her hand, a symbol very much familiar with demon kind;

純化

(Purification)

“H-Hang on a minute babe! I-I was just playing around ya know!” The demon babbled “I wasn't even doing anything malicious, just grabbing some money for tribute. I didn't even eat anybody!”

Taoxia flicked an ice talisman towards the fireborn, once it made contact the demon’s body was encased in a block of ice save for his head. Taoxia kneeled in front of the block.

“Tribute?”

“Y-Yeah.” the demon stuttered, either from the cold or nerves. “Y-you Cultivators are soo out of the loop. How did you not know that t-the great Demon Bull King…is to be revived!”

Revived? Demon Bull King?

“Impossible, the Demon Bull’s crimes against the mortal realm are highly severe. I doubt the Wheel of Reincarnation will be oh-so forgiving as you think.” 

“F-F-F-FOOL!” the Demon spat “He will not reincarnate, he will be freed! And I, the former lieutenant of his army, Fireborn Yao. Will rejoin him and wreak havoc u-upon the world once more! y-y-your days are numbered!”

What should have been a threatening message, didn't really come off as Yao turned blue and was a stuttering and shivering mess.

 Taoxia shook her head as she raised to her feet.

“The Demon Bull King has been sealed, and nothing can break that seal. I suggest you think of better telling your lies during your repenting.” 

Taoxia  flicked out the purification talisman. Yao began to panic as she moved to place it on him, squirming and struggling to break free.

“H-H-Hold on, hold on, hold on, HOLD ON!”

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

A piercing scream, a familiar scream, made Taoxia freeze in place. 

The ground trembled underneath her and the buildings rattled, looking up she saw the underneath of a familiar delivery cart. The one who screamed was none other than MK as he, somehow, soared above her. 

Pursued by a much larger monster of a jeep that dived after him. 

“MK!” she shrieked, immediately leaving Yao in his cube and rushing the chi to her legs she launched after the rooftop vehicles. The purification talisman was forgotten a few inches away from Yao.

“Wait!” Yao called. “So…are you done?A-Are you…you're just gonna leave me here?”  When he received no answer, Yao triumphley smiled.

“Yao the Fireborn…IS VICTORIOUS!”

Taoxia’s adrenaline skyrocketed as she chased after the two motor vehicles. Slicing through the wind as she flew towards the car pursuing MK.

She tapped on the frosty black window gently, flying with ease to keep up with the speeding. The window slowly rolled down to reveal a very shocked young man who looked to be MK’s age. Dressed in red, with luscious red hair to boot and small bifocals atop his nose bridge.

“Wh-A-wha-WHO ARE YOU?!”

“Excuse me, I apologize for approaching you like this. But can you stop chasing my boy please? This is really dangerous behavior.” Taoxia gently scolded, as if she was chastising the boy for simply doing something so minimal.

“Hah! You need an obsolete to come and save you?! Noodle Boy?” The redman taunted. 

But it didn't seem that MK heard him as he was too occupied trying to get away from him. Punching the gas to force the car faster, ramming MK off the roofs and onto the road below. Taoxia flicked an Ice Talisman  into the road so the delivery cart could skid safely.

 Then another at the red boys muffler, ice shards spurting from the engine pipe. Hoping to slow the pursuer down, as she chased after the runway cart.

The car skidded and spiraled into an alleyway, fully collapsing with the pipe sputtering. The noodles in the take out container spilled onto the ground. 

MK sprang up, panicking as he ran around and started hitting the cart to start up. 

“Come on! Come on, come on old girl, you got this!” He pleaded.

Taoxia landed a few inches behind the boy, whose eyes sparkled at the sight of her. 

‘Xia! Xia, Xia, Xia thank god! Hey, can you use one of your charms to fix my cart? Pretty please~. I don't want Pigsy to kill me.” he nervously chuckled. 

The light of the setting sun made something gleam in his hand, something Taoxia couldn't have missed even if she wanted to.

In MK’s hand, was some sort of staff.

A golden and red staff that looked like it could have come from one of Suyin’s collections.

It looked quite priceless, she couldn't help but wonder what MK of all people was doing with something like it. Perhaps it was why that red cladded young man was chasing him. Oh no, did MK get himself in trouble again?

“Mo-”

Before she could drop his government name, a loud revving interrupted her along with some overdramatic cackling. The two looked over their shoulder to see the massive car vrooming in their direction.

MK squealed as Taoxia grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and took off in the air, situating the panicking boy on her back.

There was no point in engaging in battle with both civilians and MK close, Taoxia thought it best to retreat.

Ignoring MK’s hands digging in her shoulders, she flew at full speed to get away from the deranged pursuer. 

“I'm coming to get you! Noodle Boy!”

Taoxia called back “MK, I'm not blaming you or anything…but what the HECK DID YOU DO?!”

“I-I-I don't know! First there was a delivery…then there was a pit…then I got this thing.” He held up the staff in his hands. “Now this guy is chasing me, ya get it?”

“No I don't!”  Taoxia screeched, looking over MK’s head to see that the vehicle was somehow following her! Using some kid of crimson smoke to levitate itself as Taoxia ran on windows and cement walls. As if it was chasing her whilst on the road.

MK tapped her shoulder to draw her attention to an opening in the alleyway. She gripped under his knees to secure him before bursting out!

 Both looked back to see that the car got stuck in the tight space.

MK snickers a ‘see ya’ as Taoxia flies off in any direction to get some distance. Making sure to stay high enough to avoid collision with other cars. As she turned a corner to hover above the highway, onto the Cloud Board and a bit away from an unfinished road. she could feel herself getting light headed and a little queasy.

She didn't plan to use this much life energy in such a close amount of time.

“Xia, we gotta get you to Pigsy’s. You can land somewhere and I'll take you.”

“It's alright, I still have enough juice to get us there on my own. Besides, now that we lost that guy we can go a little bit slower now.”

As if the Great Sage himself heard her words, the sound of an engine revving behind them made Taoxia mentally curse. Seemed that their little “friend” had a back up idea and was now pursuing them in an iron massive three wheel race car.

“Come on!” MK whined “Where did you get that?!”

“What? You think I drive anything that doesn't have at least one complex transformation?” the red boy bragged. Pushing hard on the engine that flames came from the pipes. 

Taoxia tried to send more qi to her feet, but a sharp shock of pain in her stomach made her yelp and fall atop of the car. MK tumbling off her back, gave a sigh of relief that they appeared to be alright for now.

Then he saw that the car was speeding towards a familiar sign reading “ROAD CLOSED”.

Both MK and Taoxia screeched and held each other as the car drove off the broken road, sending both flying in the air.

Taoxia struggled to send some qi out, but her energy was too low.

In the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a bright, zigzag of neon green light. As it approached them, Taoxia  eyes sparkled at the sight of a dragon head emerging from the light. Like a lightning bolt, the electrified energy soared off a ramp to reach the falling MK and Taoxia.

The energy dispersed revealing a figure dressed in a white motorcycle suit with gear to match. Atop of a white metal motorcycle with a front that resembled a horse. Taoxia grabbed onto MK’s middle as the driver grabbed onto his hand, pulling the both of them from midair and onto the bike.

The biker landed perfectly onto the ground, Taoxia sitting behind the rider as they sped off.

MK just dangled as the rider held his arm.

 In the faint distance, Taoxia could hear an enraged scream.

“Noodle Boy! When I find you, I'm gonna bust you into little bits! And your little obsolete cultivator too!”

Taoxia tried to keep her nausea down as the motorcycle jumped up and down on the road. All while trying to keep her grip on MK who’s lower body was skidding on the road.

She tried pulling him up but her body was just too sore and weak.

The motorcycle finally landed right outside of Pigsy’s Noodles. Taoxia immediately hopped off, scoping MK to stand upright as she looked around for any bruises or cuts.

She had to hand it to the boy for it to be durable.

The rider’s suit began to dissolve upwards in green cubed pixels, revealing a girl MK’s age with green dyed bangs and a similar jacket with a dragon on the back. She flicked out ehr white phone and gave a cute pose for her selfie.

“Nailed it!”

“Mei!” Both Taoxia and MK beamed.

Mei helped, or more forced, MK to his feet. Taoxia used the motorcycle to give herself some assistance as she stood on weak and heavy legs.

“That was an intense game of tag. You guys looked like you were having so much fun. I wanted to join in too!” 

Taoxia awkwardly smiled “Mei honey, you thought we were playing?”

“Yeah, uh…we almost died back there.”

“But you didn't. So let's celebrate with a round of Monkey Mech !” 

She pointed to a retro video arcade game, mostly listing hers and MK scores from their past games. Mei had the highest score of 9,999,999.

“ You should invite your new edgy friend, too.”

“Yeaaa, he was trying to kill us.”

“Well in that case…”

Mei’s cherry mood vanished, her eyes turned dark and menacing as she pulled out her phone. Her screen displayed a bright red button with a symbol of her head on it, eyes red and cross. Mei looked at MK and Taoxia darkly.

“Where does he live?”

“MK! Where are you, you punk!”

Pigsy came out of the shop, his snout snorting as he marched up to the three.

“You mind telling me why some bozo left a zero-star review on Pigsy's Noodles?” He shoved his phone in MK’s face. MK fidgeted where he stood.

“Oh! Uh, yeah. So, uh, here's what I think happened with that-”

“Woah, zero stars! Congrats!” Mei grinned, hands on her hips as she giddy suede back and forth on the balls of her feet “That's better than nothing, right?

“Um, sorry to interpret but-”

Taoxia was cut off by Pigsy.

“That's not how it works, Mei! And you! I-” Pigsy turned to see that MK had slipped from under him, already running into the shop. Taoxia noticed that he now had the weird staff placed on his back.

“Mr Tang! Su-Su!”

“Don't you run away when I'm trying to scold you! Get back-” The bamboo door covering fell back over the threshold of the restaurant, cutting Pigsy off from the boy he was trying to scold. He gave a vexed snort, his nostrils flaring.

“P-Pigsy”. Taoxia meekly called.

“What is it, Xia”? His response came about a bit sharper than he intended.

He whipped his head to see Taoxia draped over the back of Mei’s bike, who was rubbing her back with a knowing smile. a loud grumble came from her stomach.

“...Food…please.” she whined.

“Oh for the love of-” Pigsy smacked his forehead, taking a breath before lifting one of Taoxia’s arms and draping it over his shoulder. Mei did the same on her other side.

“See this is why I always tell ya, to eat at least another bowl if you're gonna go Night Huntin. Why? Cause you sometimes come back to me hungrier than ever.”

“Apologies”. Taoxia whispered.

Watching from across the scene, perched atop of the roof of the building.

A golden hawk with black beady eyes and blue and red trimmed feathers, watched the three enter the establishment. 

Its eyes solely focused on Taoxia.

Gaze locked and eyes shimmering as it followed her being helped into the restaurant. Never looking away until the entrance covering was pulled down and she disappeared from view.

Only then did it fly away.

In another part of the city, it seems that the tranquility of the evening was left undisturbed.People were now out and enjoying their own recreational time, five friends enjoyed themselves as two of them were playing a game of Xiangqi.

“Enjoy yourselves while you can, foolish mortals.” Yao seethed.

Hidden in the shadows, Yao limped away from the park. His form had been reduced to his small stature. 

Unable to revert to his human persona thanks to the cultivator who attacked him.

Not only did her purified ice leave him in excruciating pain for the last fifteen minutes, but it also absorbed a great deal of his demonic power. Leaving him reduced to only a quarter of his full power. 

Yao hissed as he dragged his offerings behind him, which were simply some casino tokens he had won earlier before.

He would have cashed them in, but there was no time.

As soon as the cultivator took off, he felt a massive sensation pass through him. The feeling of a dark and powerful life force that he remembered from the past.

The Demon Bull King had returned.

Following the trail, Yao found himself walking deep underground.

Past a construction sight, and to a large hill covered in blade grass and at the top a curved tree with vibrant orange leaves.

This…was the mountain that his King was sealed under for so long.

Yao instantly noticed that the staff, the very key to the mountain, was no longer there. 

He humphed, and continued on his way.

Arriving at the massive iron gates; he struggled to squeeze past through.

The Flaming Foundry.

A lair engraved within the underground magma and stone. The floor was hot to the touch as the magma oozed in great pools, the air was hot yet not stuffy, and the walls were merged with metal and rock.

Yao believed this a perfect lair for his King.

Across the far side of the room, he could see his King sitting on his throne. A faint blob of red moved around as he welded some armor onto him.

“And... that should about do it!” The blob spoke, as Yao got close to the throne room, he could see that the blob was a young man, who seemed very familiar to Yao somehow. 

The Demon Bull King staggered to stand, as he flexed his armor cladded arm. “It's... heavy.”

“That's because it isn't powered up, yet.” The Red Boy stammered “The suit absorbs energy to create energy. And what better source than the magic staff that kept you underground”?

“You mean the staff that you lost”? The Demon Bull King seethed.

“Uh, yeah- it was the Noodle Boy! I-”

“And a cultivator, no doubt.”

Both the Red Boy and The Demon Bull King turned to see Yao emerging from the shadow. The fire crown on his head illuminating his silhouette.

The Red Boy launched a stream of flames towards him, Yao easily dodged it. 

“Who are you! How dare you enter the sanctum of the Demon Bull family, you lowly peasant!!!”

Ah, it was all coming back to him now.

This welp was the grown Demon Bull King’s son, he had not seen him since he was an infant. How ‘shocking’ how little his manners had improved. He remembered how this annoying brat would chew on his horns with his gummy mouth.

Yao ignored the boy, instead walked up a few feet to the throne. Kowtowing before the Demon Bull King.

“My Lord, the stories of your return speak true. I have lived among the human wretch for so long, hoping and praying for your return. I have now come to offer you my loyalty and my aid once again.”

The Demon Bull King scowled at the little demon before him. His stature tall and arms crossed as he evaluated Yao.

“...Who are you?”

…

…

…

What?

“U-Uh…It's me, sire. Yao.”

…

“Y-You know, Yao the Fireborn. Your loyal general, your greatest fighter, the destroyer of kingdoms?”

…

“...I was your son’s teething toy for a moment.”

“AH! That Yao, yes I remember now!”

Not something he wanted to be known for but he was a little happy that his lord remembered something about him.

“Y-Yes, but I also keep in mind I was your greatest-”

“CHEWY?!”

Oh dear no.

Red Son picked up Yao by his middle, turning the unamused demon to face him. His sparkly eyes filled with tears as he wobbly smiled at Yao.

“Chewy? Is it really you After so long.”

Chewy, that damned name.

The name given to him by this weeping welp, who apparently couldn't say Yao so easily as an infant. So the babe took to calling him Chewy for now known reasons.

“...Yeah its me.”

“Oh Chewy!” Red Son brought Yao into a hard hug squishing the little thing that his eyes nearly popped from his sockets. Red Son pulled Yao back with a confused expression “What happened to you? You were definitely bigger than this.” 

“Oh um…”

He was hoping his size wouldn't get pointed out.

“I-I-I was trying to obtain more tribute for your great and mighty father, but I was approached and attacked a-and the battle was so great I nearly spent most of my power trying to defeat the one who dared challenge me!” Yao cackled.

“Lies”.

Both Yao and Red Son shrank in fear as the Demon Bull King towers over them. Eyes a glowing red.

“You reek of qi magic, what truly happened? Yao.” 

Yao shivered in Red Son’s hold, his claws grasping on the young man’s robe sleeve.

“W-Well…uh I uh…I ran into a…Cultivator.”

“A Cultivator, In this day and age?” a sultry voice spoke.

Princess Iron Fan, the wife of the Demon Bull King and the mother to Red Son, gracefully hovered above them.

“And you say this Cultivator is the one that did you in Yao? Could you not fight back against a relic?”

“I-I…”

“Mother!” Red Son dropped Yao to ball his fists, red eyes flaming “I know the Cultivator of whom he speaks. It was she who helped the Noodle Boy escape along with the staff!”

“Then we know where to look.” Princess Iron Fan landed softly on the ground. “We will get the staff back,I have Bull Clones scouring the city. It's only a matter of time.”

“And while we wait, the furnace can convert other things into energy.” Red boy threw his face shield into his father’s heart furnace. The flames of the furnace roared, the Demon Bull King roared as the energy coursed through him. “The more rare the item, the more powerful Father will become. And once we have that staff, he will be unstoppable!” Red Son threw  in Yao’s offerings, there was a lesser reaction.

Demon Bull King sat back on his throne, summoning several holographic promotional screens.

“Now to find something rare and expensive. Something to give me the power I deserve.” he roared.

Yao watched as his master reveled in the plethora of online shopping, his tail wagging at the feeling of familiarity.

Yes, he was where he needed to be.

Back in his Lord’s service, and soon the whole world will know the might of the Demon Bull family.

Including that Cultivator.

Back at Pigsy’s noodles, Tang and Suyin were casually dining on another cup of tea and bowl of noodles. 

Just enjoying the silence.

“Mr.Tang! Su-Su!”

MK popped up in between them, making them spit out their meals.

“Remember the story you told me this morning? About the Demon Bull King? Argh, where is it? Where is it? Where is it?” 

MK began to flip over bowls, throw around plates, and slam open cabinets as he looked around Pigsy’s kitchen. 

Taoxia was seated at one of the tables by Mei, chewing on an energy bar she got from the young girl.

MK, after tossing half the kitchen in disarray, finally found the object of his search underneath a pile of used bowls near the sink.

He grabbed his red book and held it high triumphantly.

Flipping to a heavily illustrated page of his rendition of the Demon Bull King “Ah, there it is. The Demon Bull King, see?” 

The stack of bowls that the book was supporting collapsed on the ground behind him. Pigsy growled, both Suyin and Mei had to hold him back to keep him from pummeling MK.

“Yeah,” Tang disinterestedly went back to slurping on his noodles “What about him?”

MK leaped onto Tang, pushing the poor man out of his seat.

“The Demon Bull King is back!” he yelled, spit flying everywhere “The legend is real! The Monkey King's staff is removed! We have to find him! It's the only way to save everyone before the world is destr-”

Tang pushed MK back with his chopsticks, turning his body to shield his bowl “Boy, relax. You're getting spittle in my soup. Besides, you're delusional. It's just a story.”

“Well, you are the one that riles him up.” Suyin added, pushing her plate of dumplings over to Taoxia who scarfed them down under a second.

“I tell the stories, what my audience does with the information or how it affects them is not my concern or fault.”

“Delusional, huh? Would you call this delusional?” MK revealed the golden staff, shoving into everyone’s unimpressed and confused faces. 

“Wow, MK. You found a stick!” Mei wryly smiled.

“Oh Mei don't be mean…you might hurt the golden stick's feelings~.” Suyin jeered, a hand over her mouth to hold back her laughter.

“No, it's not a stick or a golden stick! It's Monkey King's staff!” spluttered MK, twisting it around so the others could get a good look.

…The group busted out laughing, save for Taoxia who was still looking at the staff with worry.

 “You aren't listening!” MK desperately continued, arms feeling as he tried to grab everyone’s attention. “Demon Bull King is out there. We have to get the staff back to the Monkey King! It's the real deal. I'll prove it.”

“Oh yeah, how?” Pigsy challenged, brow raised and arms crossed. Taoxia looked up from her snack, an uneasy feeling settling in the pit of her stomach.

MK looks uncertainty down at the staff, not knowing how to back his claims. As if it coils sense the room, the end of the staff shrunk into itself before extending itself on its own!

Crushing the table that Suyin, Tao and Mei were sitting at.

All had shocked faces as it slowly dragged itself over the floor back into its normal position.

Tang’s eyes had bright stars in them as he blubbered incoherent nonsense before speaking clearly 

“Monkey King's staff! I knew it all along!”

“No you didn't!” Suyin snapped.

Tang walked over to MK, lifting the arm that held the staff. 

“The legendary weapon that only he could wield to seal away evil! Wait a minute. Why do you have it?” He asked MK.

“All right, I'll bite.” Pigsy groaned “If the staff is here, then where is the demon punk now?”

“He's at the shoe store.” Mei answered, attention deep in her phone.

“WHAT!!!!”

Everyone crowded around her to look over her shoulder to see the screen clearly.

“This is better not be another one of your puppy videos, Mei!” Pigsy chided.

Mei laughed, scrolling through her phone “There's always time for the puppy video, but no. Look what just started trending. Hashtag Demon Bull King!”

On her screen was a picture of what appeared to be a large shoulder and a dissatisfied customer saying that this person had cut the line.

Still, no doubt that it had to be the Demon Bull King.

“Then…what that demon said was true.” Taoxia shuddered, backing away clutching the collar of her jacket.

“What demon?” Suyin asked.

“During my hunt, a demon told me that the seal was broken, and that the Demon Bull King would return. I thought he was simply lying, but…it's true.” she breathed. She rushed over to MK, placing her hands on his shoulder. “We need to get rid of it.”

“What!” MK exclaimed “Why?!"

“MK, The Monkey King’s Staff is a powerful artifact. Matching the being that wielded it in the past. Throughout time, many have tried to get their hands on it. You have just made yourself a living target for all kinds of demons, and negative energy forces alike. Do you understand the amount of danger you're in?”

MK casted his eyes to the staff in his hands, the weight now truly settling. It was heavy.

“But…But…I-”

“Listen to me.” Taoxia gently placed her hand under his chin, softly urging him to look at her. MK could see the fear and worry in her eyes. 

“I'm not saying that we hand it over to Demon Bull King, that's the last thing I want to happen. I also don't want you to be in danger or have to carry consequences that you might not be ready for. Please, you know more about The Monkey King than Tang and I combined. Is there any place where we can take the staff and it can be safe?” 

MK remained silent, hesitant.

“Kid”. Pigsy approached the two “Xia has a point. We can't fight this thing, the best thing we can do at the moment is get that thing far away from where it can hurt anyone.”

MK reluctantly nodded. “We can…take it to Flower Fruit Mountain? Maybe, if we go there we can even find the Monkey King and ask for some help.”

“That's a wonderful idea. I'm sure he won't say no.” Taoxia tenderly bumped her forehead against MK’s. “Alright.” she turned to the group “How shall we proceed in the meantime, sis”?

“I think we should make the move at first light.” Suyin answered, looking out to the unsuspecting city. “You're too weak to do anything right now, and this city is scarce of anything too powerful for the Bull to use. I’ll also alert the school to tell the juniors to be on their guard and await further instruction.”

“Alright then, does anyone object?”

Suyin slapped Tang’s hand down.

“Then we move in the morning.”

Mei raised her hand “Um…Does anyone know how to get to Flower Fruit Mountain?”

An awkward and painful silence filled the room, till Pigsy cleared his throat.

“Actually…I think I might know a guy.”

The following morning, everyone met up outside of Pigsy’s noodles. The Demon Bull King’s rampage seemed to have remained throughout the night. Mei would send alerts via her phone as she updated where he was going and what he was taking.

Which seemed to be very expensive things or shrine trinkets.

Pigsy piled all six of them into his food truck and began to drive at full speed to the promised person that could take them to Flower Fruit Mountain.

“Pigsy! Watch out you're going to kill us!” Tang fretted. MK pushed him aside to show Pigsy an illustrated page of his book.

“Yeah we gotta get to Flower Fruit Mountain without getting smushed in a car crash. All we need to do is drive through an entire ocean. Simple.”

“Not really, but your enthusiasm is much appreciated.”Taoxia cooed. Struggling to reach over to pat his head when she was squished between Mei and Suyin.

“Guys!” Mei lifted her phone “Demon Bull King has moved onto downtown. He's destroying the cheese tea stalls!”

“All the more reason to get this staff back to Monkey King. Flower Fruit Mountain. It's the only place he could be. Right, Mr. Tang?”

Tang pushed his glasses higher on his nose bridge “Indeed. However, Flower Fruit Mountain is hidden away, deep in dangerous and unknown territory.” He shrugged “So I guess we better turn back!”

“WHAT!!!” The kids yelled.

“Tang” Suyin glared “You have two Cultivators with you right now, what could you possibly fear?!”

“About that, are you sure its okay for you and Xi to be away from the city right now? You guys are kind of the only qualified people  who can deal with DBK right now.” Mei stated.

“The juniors will be fine until we get back. Me and Xia also set up some seals at some of the city shrines should he decide to test his luck. If they really need us, Xia and I will fly back in time.” Suyin assured. “ If we can get to Flower Fruit Mountain in a short time that is.”

“Don't you worry about that babe.” Pigsy smirked “ I know a guy that can take us there. The most dangerous, deadly, raged-filled warrior I've ever known.”

Pigsy skidded the food truck to a stop right outside of the harbor.

“Sandy.”

Inside the boat, the gang all sat on the couch. All but Suyin shivering in fear with their bad nerves, as the watched a massive blue man flick a butcher's knife into the wall. 

 “That's a lot to take in.” His gruff voice broke the tense silence, the creature slowly sauntered over to the quivering guests “You know what I do to people who disrupt the peace?”

Taoxia crossed her arms over Mei and MK.

“ Serve them tea!”

 The mood suddenly shifted from terrifying to calming as the guy, whom Pigsy mentioned his name to be Sandy, pulled out a charcoal tea set. The pot being shaped like a cat.

Filled with an earthy smelling green tea. Sandy began to pass the tea set around offering some to every member on his couch. Suyin took a cup for herself and began to sip on it.

“Oh, yes! Don't mind if I do.” Tang grabbed a cup “Certain noodle shop owners could learn a lot from your hospitality, Sandy.”

“Oh, you're right piggy, this guy is dangerous. He'll kill us with cuteness!” Mei squeaked, placing one of the many cats in the room atop of Pigsy’s head.

One cat in particular bunted its head on Taoxia’s leg. It was blue with an orange mohawk, almost bearing the physical appearance of its owner. Taoxia couldn't help but find him to be a little adorable.

“Here you are.” Sandy offered Taoxia a different tea, this one was pink and smelled sweeter and fruity. “ It's my own blend of anti-stress fruits. It really brings the heart rate down.”

Was her heart beating that loud? Still she did take a cat shaped cup to be polite, if she couldn't finish Suyin could have it.

The poor girl nearly spat out her tea when Pigsy harshly slammed his hands on the coffee table.

“Sandy!” he gritted "What happened to you?”  He grabbed the man by his massive beaded necklace, face red and veins popping on his head “Where's the angry, glass-chewing, fist-throwing buddy I used to know?!!”

Sandy smiled, placing Pigsy down by his collar and giving him a few head pats.

“Oh well, my therapist said I really needed to calm down. That's why I started drinking tea. Doing yoga. Investing in therapy cats. Really helps. Oh, don't you, Mo.” The blue cat jumped in Sandy’s massive hand, the two rubbing their cheeks together affectionately.  

“Oh Mr. Sandy sir?” Mei snuck to Sandy’s side, on her knees in an innocent high pitched voice. “ We could really use your help. We've gotta get to Flower Fruit Mountain!” Her eyes filled with crocodile tears.

MK followed her lead. “Please, the fate of the world is at stake.”

As cute as it was, there was no way that crocodile eyes and baby talk was gonna.

“Okay.”

“Really?” Taoxia and MK asked.

“ Anything for Pigsy. I can get you there, but it ain't a pleasant trip.”

MK and Mei began to hop around and cheer, Taoxia bowed her head in thanks.

“Thank you Mr.Sandy, truly this helps.”

“Nothing doing, now let's get moving.” he turned to Pigsy “But I'm telling you, old friend. If things get hairy, I've changed. I don't go around picking fights no more.”

Pigsy sighed, reluctantly nodding his head.

“Mo, initiate the launch sequence!”

Mo jumped off his owner’s shoulder to pounce over to a table full of sea maps, and a large red button. He pressed his paw down on it, and a loud alarm ran through the boat, holographic screens appeared, and an alarm went off.

The boat harshly rocked, making everyone lose their footing, Taoxia was rocked towards the closet window. Outside, she could see the side of the boat  open to reveal massive and tech enhanced jet propellers. 

At the front of the boat, Sandy took the helm.

“Onwards to Flower Fruit Mountain!”

The propellers powered up, a sonic like energy surrounding them engines before launching off Skidding across the water into the open sea to the ancient Flower Fruit Mountain!

Unknown to the group, they were being watched.

The boat they were on reflected in the mirror of the binoculars of one of the Demon Bull King’s minions . 

General Ironclad.

The iron bull clone walked over to Red Son, next to him was Yao.

Still in his minor form.

Ironclad bowed to the two of them, speaking in low guttural noises. Nonsense to the untrained ear, but to Red Son, Ironclad might as well have written his death sentence.

His temper flared, as well as the flames he emitted, as he roared at the clone.

“WHAT!! YOU LET THEM GET AWAAAY!!!!!!”

Yao sighed, if demons could feel sympathy, he would shred a little for the clone. 

When the Demon Bull King reinstated him back into his service, the last thing he wanted was to become the welp’s personal chaperone.

It was very beneath him.

A gust of wind interrupted his melancholy thoughts.

“Aww, so your plan didn't go according to plan, huh?” Princess Iron Fan emerged from the wind tornado, forcing Red Son towards her with to grip his face in a tight grip. “Oh, don't worry, my sweet, useless boy. Mother will get the staff. I'm not about to let anyone stop us. Not this time, not even by ancient relics of the past. ”

A spiral of wind surrounded her until engulfing her into a wind tornado, coming and vanishing in an instant.

It was sad that such a beautiful day was wasted on a day that the end might be near.

The sun was out, the sea was a tranquil blue and the temperature was more than warm. Taoxia had taken off her jacket and tied it to her waist. She and the others had moved to sit atop of the roof of Sandy’s boat. 

The man actually made it quite nice and therapeutic.

There are some couches, a press bench, and lots and lots of plants.

Taoxia would definitely consider Sandy for plant-sitting for her long shifts, should her apartment complex still be standing.

She shook her head, shaking the bad thoughts away for the moment. This was not the time to think of things right now. She focused back to the task at hand, pre-writing some Talisman. As she started a new one, she looked up to see MK playing with the staff.

“Halt evil monster! I must thwart thee! For I am the Monkey Ki-ahhh” As he spun the staff,it unintentionally elongated, breaking the side of the  steel boat and nearly hitting Mei! 

…

…

“Wooo! That was awesome!” 

“Sorry,Mei !”

Taoxia patted her heart, blowing a sigh of relief. Honestly, the quicker they get that staff away from him the better.

“He looks like he's having fun.” Suyin smirked at the sight of MK trying to get the staff to regular size. Taoxia glared at her older sister.

“It looks like he's getting attached to it.”

“Maybe, he does look good with it though. Sloppy, but good.”

“The whole point of us going to the mountain is to hide the thing. The faster we do that the faster we can return and deal with the Bull King.” Taoxia huffed, cursing at messing up a character for a fire talisman. She crumbled it and tossed it over her shoulder, Suyin caught it before it could land elsewhere. 

Burning it in her palm.

“You're upset.”

“What gave it away?”

“Xia…Even if we wanted to, there was no way we could have prevented this.”

Taoxia stilled, the brush in her hand nearly snapped by her tight grip.

“The School isn't as influential nor powerful as it used to be, and our numbers have massively been reduced the past couple of years. There was no way we could have traced or tracked any news or knowledge of the Demon Bull King’s revival. It sucks, but all we can do is hope that what we have is enough. Dwelling on how things could have gone wont put the Bull King back…Nor prevent MK from being in danger.”

Suyin noticed her sister tense up, she stood as she pressed on.

“If  this plan doesn't work, and we can't hide or give up the staff, I need you to be prepared for that. Because we go straight into battle after this, and Mei was right. You and I are the only senior ranked cultivators in the city right now, I need you to have a clear head for everyone’s sake.” 

With that, she left Taoxia. Walking past Tang to get below deck.

“That was harsh.” Tang hummed, Pigsy snoring next to him on the couch. 

Suyin shrugged, “Necessary.” she  descended down the steps.

The brush in Taoxia’s hand remained on the page, an inkblot had formed underneath the brush bristles. 

Suyin’s abrasive words stung, but they always did.

And they were always right to.

She looked up to see MK still fooling around with the staff, Mei cheering him on. 

So innocent, so naive to the dangers of the world of demons and night creatures. Was it wrong for her to want to keep it that way?

Was it wrong for her to want the city they lived in to be peaceful?

What was the point of being a Cultivator if she couldn't even prevent the Demon Bull King from being unleashed?

Her  train of thought broke when a butterfly flapped in front of her eyes. Taoxia watched the oddly colored butterfly land atop of her brush handle.

The wings were white with red and yellow patterns that formed some kind of face.

Also, it looked like the butterfly was…staring at her.

Not out of wonder, but like it was really looking at her. Taoxia cocked her head to the side, the butterfly copied her movement.

When she tilted to the other side, the butterfly followed her.

She leaned back, it leaned back.

She moved to the right, it moved to the right.

Final test, she leaned forward, her nose nearly touching the butterfly’s head. Instead of copying her movements.

The butterfly rose on its hind legs, and placed its forefront feels on the underside of her jaw. She tried to shake it off, but couldn't.

It was like an actual person was keeping her still with a strong grip, rather than a teeny insect. The butterfly looked at her with beady black eyes, bearing into her black ones. She kind of felt a little intimidated.

Unexpectedly, the butterfly pressed its head to her lips! Taoxia nearly thought it was trying to shove its head in her mouth! She struggled to break free, blushing hard from embarrassment and slapped the back of her hand over her mouth.

The butterfly tilted its head…and smiled.

Can an insect even smile?

 She didn't have time to compute before the boat fiercely rocked and shook, forcing Taoxia to the steel ground. She looked between her legs to see that the butterfly had flown off. 

But, saw something even more beautiful.

In the distance, standing tall above the mist with lush peaks and mystic waterfalls.

Was Flower Fruit Mountain.

MK rushed over to glance at the view from the side of the boat, a bright and big smile on his face. She couldn't blame him, he had been dreaming about seeing this sight for a long time. Its not everyday one uncovers a legend after all.

Then, out of nowhere, a geyser shot up from the sea! Nearly hitting MK and tipping the boat. Taoxia hurried to collect her talisman before they could get wet, hanging on to the nearest thing for dear life or else she would plummet into the ocean.

Thankfully, the boat was able to stabilize, but a crate got flicked off and thrown to the sea with a massive splash. Taoxia could only hope nothing valuable was in there as she watched it float away.

Right towards a barrier of flaming lava covered rocks that stood in their path.

“Welcome to the Flaming Mountains, gang!” Sandy boomed  “A volcanic ring surrounds the mountain making it virtually impassable. This path is the only safe way through. That's as close as the boat can get. Just... be careful.” he cautiously warned.

Taoxia thought it best that some would stay with the boat while others ventured forth.

She, MK, Pigsy and Mei were the best option, while Sandy and Suyin stayed to take care of the boat and look out for any danger.

Tang chose to stay on the boat…for safety reasons.

The Flaming Mountains truly did live up to its namesake.

The ground was hot, gyres spewed from the lava filled cracks flowing from the rocks. A thin, ash-colored air hovered above, making it somewhat hard to see into the distance. Glady, MK had read enough mythological books to lead the group .

Mei and Taoxia walked behind, while Pigsy remained in the rear so no one could hear him grumbling.

“Stupid Sandy. Stupid Tang. Staying cozy in his stupid boat. What did I do to deserve this, Noodle Gods?!” 

Whether it was perfect timing or divine comedy, a geyser erupted right in front of Pigsy! One small step closer and he would have become Char Siu.

“Careful, piggy!” Mei grimaced  “You gotta wonder why Monkey King decided to live here of all places.”

“I dont know.” Taoxia leaped over a lava stream “If I had multiple people challenging me and Gods trying to kill me for simply existing, I would choose a place that would not be so easy to get to.”

MK, never not taking an opportunity to show off his knowledge, turned his towards his friends for a brief lesson “You know when Monkey King had to get through the Flaming Mountains he actually used Princess Iron Fan's fan to blow-”

A sinister yet seductive laugh could be heard coming from the smoke above.

Taoxia whipped out her talisman as she bid her qi to her eyes, scanning for the source of the sound. 

“Well, well, well. Aren't you a little Monkey King fan boy.”

There!

Taoxia flicked an ice talisman towards the shrouded figure, dozens of ice shards were blown away by a massive gust of wind. Mei and Pigsy clumsily dodged them while Taoxia’s qi formed a golden  protective bubble around her.

“And what's this~? A living antiquity in the flesh, a cultivator trying to stand up against me?” 

The figure floated forward with golden eyes glaring down at the four of them, her gold ornaments shining in the light of the fires.

“What a joke!” she bellowed.

 A burst of fire erupted behind her, the demon used the tip of her large fan to collect some of the flames. Hurling a fireball with a fan as if it were a baseball, watching it with a sadistic grin as it rained down like a comet.

Taoxia scurried to grab her friends, pulling them close to her to let her qi shield them. Blocking them from the heat of the blast but the aftershock nearly pushed them off the rock they stood on. Taoxia, Mei and MK tumbled into a heap of blocky arms and legs.

“Kids!” Pigsy slid on his knees over to them “Everyone okay?”

Unfortunately, they were not out of danger yet.

Princess Iron Fan glided above them, her clawed hand reaching out as she snickered mirthfully .

“I'll be taking that staff now.”

The three hurried to stand, talisman in Taoxia’s hands while both Mei and MK stood next to her in defensive stances.

“This belongs to the Monkey King. There's no way I'm letting you take it!”

“Oh you're just a little Noodle Boy playing at being a hero. Sorry to disappoint.” Princess Iron Fan readed her weapon, her glowing eyes filled with malice and the intent to kill . “Playtime is over.”

This wasn't good.

This woman was powerful, and deadly, not the best combination with three other civilians around. While Taoxia understood that her friend’s could hold their own, not against a monster like this. It would be best to create a distraction and hurry back to the boat.

At least with Suyin, Taoxia would have someone to back her up and assist in protecting the others.

Sadly, Taoxia had forgotten about the young boy at her side, the one who held the staff that started all this.

MK, without hesitation, sprinted at the demoness. 

“Kid, no!”

“MK, stop!”

The boy let out an enraged cry as he raised the staff over his head, desperate to strike at the unamused foe. 

His strike landed, so powerful that the earth shook at the contact of the blow!

From her position, Taoxia felt her heart sink when she heard the staff collide with something…hard. Not flesh, but something inorganic

She shifted her head, to see that Princess Iron Fan had summoned a massive gauntlet.

Holding the blow of the staff with only a finger.

Taoxia paled as she heard MK utter a simple shocked “what.” 

Watching in horror as Princess Iron Fan grabbed the staff,then a bright flash engulfed the terrain and MK was sent flying across the aisle. His screams echoing as he disappeared behind a geyser of lava.

“MK!!!!!” shrieked Taoxia. Her eyes tearing up as her eyes lost sight of him.

Her hands trembled as they reached out in the direction he was thrown, as if she was trying to grasp his silhouette. Her breath shuddered, a single tear dropped from her eyes.

She turned towards the bored figure in the air, staff in her hand.

“You.” she seethed, eyes narrowed and teeth gritted. “You…You MONSTER!!!”

Taoxia pushed herself off the ground and into the air, launching herself at a sonic speed at Princess Iron Fan.

 A fire talisman wrapped around her hand, immersing her fist in orb of red flames.

She thrusted her fist towards Princess Iron Fan’s face, yet the Demoness easily held her back with some wind. Trying to shake her off.

Taoxia used the qi in her legs to push herself forward, ignoring the pain of the wind cutting against her, forcing her muscles and mystical energy to push on.

She started the demoness in the eyes, enraged teary orbs meeting uninterested and irritated ones.

“Hmm…Such dull features.” insulted Princess Iron Fan “Get out of my sight.” With the wave of her fan, Princess Iron Fan violently pushed Taoxia back, knocking her into both Pigsy and Mei. 

Mei scrambled from under her, seeing the whole thing from behind Taoxia, she moved to run after MK.

“No Mei!” Pigsy grabbed her by the shoulder, stopping her from running into a geyser.  ‘We gotta go!”

“But MK-!”

“Xia needs help, come on!”

“No, we can't just-”

“Mei, we gots to go”! Pigsy forced the crying girl over her shoulder as he forced Taoxia to her feet. Throwing her arm over his other shoulder to give her support. There was no way he was going to let both of them kill themselves here.

He looked in the direction that MK was thrown.

“Sorry Kid,” he lamented before hurrying the two girls back to Sandy's boat to regroup.

In the distance they could hear the shrill laugh of  Princess Iron Fan “At last the full power of my beloved will be unleashed!” she boasted

The sound of the strong winds signaled her exit.

Ashen snow fell from dark orange and red skies as a light thunder rumbled. Gray clouds covered the once beautiful sky as the boat pulled away from the Flaming Mountains.

When Sandy saw his friends come back with one scratched up and one missing, he immediately understood that the group needed to leave.

Mei tried to get off the boat, only to be held back by both Pigsy and Tang. Once the Flaming Mountain was far enough, the girl broke down into tears and rushed to the far side of the boat away from others.

Suyin came from below with Sandy to see her sister crying over the railing, her shoulders shuddering and face buried in her arms. 

Scanning the boat with no sign of her nephew, she needn't ask what happened. 

Simply walking to stand next to Taoxia and lay a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“He can't be gone.” Pigsy lamented, voice nearly breaking and on the brink of tears as he stared back at his reflection in the ocean waters. “He can't .”

Sandy came up behind his friend, laying a solemn hand on his shoulder. “I'm sorry, Pigsy.”

“There was nothing we could do.” Tang whispered.

Pigsy shot up, angry and eyes furrowed.

“Nothing? Nothing?!” Pigsy marched over, teeth bared “I could have done something!” He grabbed Tang by his scarf, whose eyes were slanted down in sorrow.  

“I could have...I should have protected MK.” Pigsy gritted his teeth, eyes squeezed shut as he forced the tears back.

“It's over”.

“Its not over”.

Pigsy looked up, Tang meeting his eyes.

“We can't help MK. But we can make sure no more lives are lost. Make sure his sacrifice wasn't in vain.”

“He's right.” Suyin spoke up. “I grieve for MK, but now is not the time to mourn. Not when so many lives are at stake back at home. We must go back, and defend those who need it.”

Suyin’s bell melodically chimed as she walked over to the two, a mournful smile gracing her features. “It's…the least we can do.”

“Yeah.” Taoxia croaked, her voice sore and eyes red as she approached the group. “MK, would have wanted that.”

“...someone has to fight.”

Everyone looked to the small voice that spoke at the head of the ship.

“Mei?” Pigsy called.

Said girl wiped her tears in her sleeve jacket. “That demon bully is going to…” She turned around with a smile, eyes closed shut as an ominous and dangerous aurora protruded from the girl. “ Pay .”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Sandy beamed! Bringing everyone into a group hug as jumped atop of a large crate, heroically pointing back to the mainland  “Let's go stop some bad guys!”

ZZZZZ! ZZZZZ! ZZZZ!

The boat members jumped as Suyin pulled out her ringing phone.

“Sizhui Suyin”.

“...”

“I see.”

“...”

“Yes.”

“...”

“We are on our way.”

CLICK!

Suyin looked to the group with a hardened expression.

“Sandy, how long will it take to get to the mainland at full speed?”

“Uh…ten minutes at the earliest fifteen at the latest. Why?”

“That was one of the Juniors holding down one of the shrines. The Demon Bull has the staff now, and is heading deeper into the city.”

As Sandy promised, they made it back to the mainland in only five minutes. Full speed with both Sandy’s jets and Taoxia giving them a boost with her charms. Once the boat collided with the Harbor, the group immediately hopped into Pigsy’s food truck, Sandy on top since it was already crowded, and sped off into the city.

Passing crumbled buildings and streets infested with Bull clones. In the mix, there were individuals dressed in green shaded robes holding the same talisman paper that Taoxia used. 

“Pigsy!” Taoxia tapped her friend’s shoulder ‘Stop the car for a sec.”

“Now!”

“Please and Thank you!”

Pigsy skidded the car in front of two young adults, a boy and a girl in their late twenties. Taoxia rolled down the window, revealing herself and Suyin who was squished in next to her.

“Lady Taoxia, Lady Suyin!” The juniors clasped their hands to their front and bowed in respect.

Suyin pushed Taoxia’s head back in the seat to pop her head out the window.

“What's the situation?”

“Bull clones have been swarming the entertainment district and are trying to enter the downtown area. We have begun to evacuate some of the civilians to local shrines, but there are some juniors who need help by the city entrance.”

“We will head over then, keep doing what you need to do and remember to utilize but dont over do your qi. We need everyone out here, no fainting allowed.”

“Understood Lady Suyin, have a good hunt!”

Pigsy took that as the sign to bounce and head deeper into the city, punching the gas as the truck vroomed out leaving behind a trail of smoke. 

The group drove through the massive swarm of bull clones, Pigsy knocked them out like they were pinballs. Taoxia flicked some ice talisman at them to stick them to the wall and out the way.

Pigsy skidded the car to a stop in an alley to keep the car safe. Suyin and Taoxia hopped out of the car, the others following after.

"No." Taoxia held out her palm to those who followed "you guys go and seek the nearest shelter and stay there."

"What! No way kid,we're coming."

"It's too dangerous, and Suyin and I won't be able to protect you so closely while we fight."

"You don't have to worry about us Xi." Mei cryptidly assured. Her body hummed with a bright green energy. "We can handle ourselves."

"B-But-"

"Thier coming, get ready!" Suyin alerted.

On the horizon, a swarm of clones heading their way with red eyes glowing from the cloud of dust they picked up.

In the rear of their formation, was the Bull family themselves.

Taoxia tensed in fear at the mere sight of the Bull King. His massive body is bulky and covered in armor. 

Even without her qi, she could tell that this demonic figure was not something to scoff at.

With the gentle raise of her arms, Suyin levitated herself in the air. Taoxia following to over next to her.

Suyin’s hands glowed with a strong qi energy, swirling and changing into a massive toa alchemist sigil. 

Like Taoxia’s charms, in the middle was a symbol for each circle. On the left was fire, the right was earth.

“Alright,let's go!”

The cultivators flew into battle and their friends charged below.

Taoxia used a talisman marked with the symbol of:

植物

(Plant)

Flicking three to the ground, watching strong,thick vines emerge from the ground and wrapping around the bull clones. Squeezing them in a deadly vice till their heads popped off, ending them completely with a fire talisman. 

Suyin, whose silver bell glowed as it amplified her qi shield as the bull clones launched missiles and laser beams at her, flew across the battlefield. Spewing large streams of fire from her left hand at one hoard while using her right hand to summon magma from the earth to melt the bull clones from underneath them.

Pigsy and Mei worked together, Pigsy using his iron pan to knock the metal heads off the clones' shoulders. Mei, full of rage, charged through the clones with great speed, slicing through them and leaving a bright green trail behind her.

Sandy acted as a protector to Tang, who was assisting others who got caught in the crossfire and telling them how to get to safety. Sandy tried his best not to harm the clones, instead he offered them tea, which the gullibly took and short circuited as a result.

Despite the massive number of the bull clones, the group was able to dismantle the first wave with minor casualties. Regrouping towards the truck, they saw their work spread out across the ruined downtown area. 

Massive heaps of destroyed bull clones piled in great numbers, the survivors retreating back towards their master.

Suddenly, a spiral of hot fire appeared in front of them. Dispersing to reveal a boy in red with a metal gauntlet on his hand. His eyes glowing red, like the woman  from earlier.

“ So you wanna be heroes, huh?” he taunted, a villainous smirk on his face

 As his eyes blazed golden fire. “Let me show you what happens to heroes!” he cackled, waves of fire surrounding him.

Pigsy gritted his teeth in agitation, marching towards the demon boy with pan in hand. “I've had it up to here what these demon punk-” 

Mei stopped him, arm put out in front of him. 

“I'll handle this one.” she stated, eyes menacing as she marched forward towards the flames. Neither Suyin or Taoxia needed their qi eyes to see the bright dragon spirit that Mei embodied taking physical form.

Then a large hover jet spawned from nowhere and flew through Mei’s dragon familiar. The panicked yelling sounded so familiar…almost like-

“MK!” Mei and Taoxia gasped!

They watched in shock as the jet slammed into Red Son, then proceeded to run him over, launch Red Son into the sky, and slam him back into the ground with the nose of the jet. MK’s friends hurried to the now busted jet heap.

Their breaths baited as MK climbed out of the rumble disheveled and exhausted.

No words could express the amount of joy, elation nor relief Taoxia felt. Her eyes flowing with tears as both she and Mei glomped the poor boy to the ground.

“MK!”

“My Baby”!

“MK! Oh my goodness!” Mei gushed, rubbing her check to MK’s while Taoxia peppered his forehead with kisses. “We saw you blast into the fire. I thought you were all like "Phew, ahhh" but you're not. Where'd you get a jet? Way to trash it already.” she chuckled, now noticing the damage she sat upon. “Wait!” Her eyes lit up “Monkey King, did you find him?”

“Yeah…I did!”

Taoxia released MK “Yes! What did he say? Did he take the staff back?”

“He said… it's up to me.” He looked awkwardly at his friends  “to us.”

“That's anticlimactic.” Mei sighed.

A rumbling in the ground forced the friends' balance to quiver, all looking up to the intimidating Bull King standing in the distance near the city.

“And how are we meant to fight that?” worried Tang.

The fear that was there at the beginning of the battle returned, her palms become sweaty and her heart was picking up speed. 

Tang was right.

Bull clones were no problem, but to go against the Demon Bull King right now when she already used a good portion of her qi. 

A death wish.

“We believe in ourselves.”

Taoxia turned to see a determined MK jump from down from the jet “You guys clean the streets. I'll stop the Demon Bull King.”

A beam shone from the Demon Bull’s eyes, causing an explosion.

“Somehow.”

“Yeah this jet probably would have been really useful, hey?” Mei kicked the pile of rubble, Taoxia felt something shift underneath her and, as if by divine blessings, an orange and red speed bike rolled out from the rubble.

MK gasped “That'll work!”

Mei gave him a thumbs up and a look of approval “Go get'em, buddy!”

MK jumped onto the bike with newfound confidence and dare he say some excitement. Before he could pull away, a hand on his stopped him before he could rev the engine.

MK turned to see Taoxia, a forlorn look on her face as she clutched his hand.

“...Be safe. Okay?” She asked, a weak smile on her face.

MK tentatively smiled, giving her hand an assuring pat. He bumped his forehead to hers, feeling a warmth upon the contract before Taoxia made them part.

“Now, you send that bully back to where he belongs! You understand me?”

“Loud and clear!” MK saluted before speeding off towards the city.

Taoxia watched him disappear into the distance, her heart mildly aching the further he caught. Her sister’s touch on the shoulder brought her back.

“Proud moment?” Suyin asked, a cheeky smile on her face.

Taxoia tearfully nodded “ very proud moment.”

“Well, not to break up the family moment here, but we have more incoming!” Tang panicked, pointing to another horde of armed Bull clones coming their way. Taoxia grimace, feeling around in her jacket pocket.

She only had nine talismans left.

“Okay, stand back everyone.” Ordered Suyin, stepping forward to the upcoming army. 

Her hands twisting as they glowed with qi, forming two circles in her psalm while another formed on the ground. All spell circles bearing the symbol of water.

The silver bell in her hair chimed rhythmically as the spell circle beneath her feet glowed a pure white. Same colored droplets and streams of water began to cocoon itself around her and the others. Mei marveled at the sight, curiously brushing her hand over a floating droplet.

The water was cold  to the touch, but once she touched it her body pulsed with a warm feeling. The streams and droplets moved in the directions of the Bull Clones. One clone tried to smack a droplet away with his hand.

Soon as it made contact, the Bull Clone’s mechanical body suddenly felt heavy, its progarmed raged mind felt light headed and at peace. The same went for the other clones that touched the white water, whether they were wading in it or a droplet had fallen onto them. They all felt sluggish and tired, some even dropping to the ground.

Suyin clenched her hands in a tight fists, activating the spell circles in her hands. The two sigils glowed a bright blue trimmed with white as they launched white ice shards at the clones! The amount of shards were plentiful compared to the ones that Taoxia produced with her talisman. The shards impaled the unexpecting clones, nearly taking out at least ninety percent of the armory. The ones that stayed in the back were safe…Till Taoxia and Mei made the first move to charge with Pigsy and Sandy behind them.

Tang caught Suyin as soon as the last ice shard was fired.

The four used the last of their stamina to wipe out the remaining Bull Clones or to send them back to their master, who was probably in battle with MK.

Taoxia cursed as one Bull Clone decided to lock her in its sight. Shooting rapid fire at her nonstop, forcing her to hide behind some building rubble. 

The drone is still shooting at her with his hand gun, chipping the building cement. Taoxia cursed as she looked at the only two talismans she had left. Pigsy and Mei were too far and dealing with their own opponent, and it seemed that Suyin was helping Sandy protect Tang. 

Taoxia took a breath, looking at the water charm in her hands.

She curled her knees to her chest to avoid getting hit, waiting for an opening to strike!

The bull clone contented to fire blast after blast after BLAST!

Til suddenly…she heard the click but no energy beam coming behind it. 

He was all out of ammo.

Seeing her chance, Taoxia sprinted from behind the rubble, slapped the talisman onto the bull clone’s forehead. Running away to get out of the explosion range from the water short circuiting the mechanical being. She pushed herself to get into the air, flying over to and picking up Mei and Pigsy from the ground. Placing them next to Sandy who had flicked a Bull Clone out of the way.

“I…I think…That's the last of them.” Taoxia spluttered, out of breath and stomach growling.

“Xia! Ya went and used up too much qi!” Pigsy exclaimed. Mei reached into her pocket and unwrapped a granola bar with her teeth, shoving it in Taoxia’s mouth.

All of a sudden, the ground shook and harshly trembled. A large wave of boulders were launched in their direction followed by a gust of wind. Sandy rushed to land his massive body on top of the others. Shielding them from the rain of falling earth, the last thing Taoxia could hear was evil laughter and a sinister voice seething.

“Now this world is truly mine!”

Exhausted, Taoxia tried to shift her leg out from  under either Sandy or a piece of rubble. Whatever it was, it was strong enough to keep her pinned. She could still hear the other’s groans and whimpers, so they were still alive.

Trapped, but alive.

Taoxia coughed, trying to summon the qi to her eyes, but that only contracted the muscle in her stomach making her nauseous.

 She ceased, she needed food and needed to get out fast.

She was out of Talisman to even conjure up some light, and Suyin was busy healing based on the green light emitting from her hands.

She tried to find some sort of opening in the rubble, or some weak point for Sandy to push on to get them out.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Taoxia’s ears picked up the sound of light tapping on her right.

Tap! Tap! Tap! Plick.

A chunk of rock fell, nearly crushing her hand, revealing a stream of sunlight. A bronze-red colored hawk stuck its head in, chirping at the confused and hungry Taoxia. The hawk disappeared for a second, before repairing with a chip in its mouth.

 It flew in, placing the chip in front of Taoxia.

The confused woman stared blankly at the bird, a hawke really, who only pushed the chip closer to her with its beak. Its head tilted and tail feathers…wagging?

I'm just attracting all the weird animals today. Taoxia thought, scooping up the chip in her mouth with her tongue.

The chip was actually delicious…it was honestly the best chip she ever tasted. It was salty and sweet, and a hint of peach flavor. Her favorite.

With something in her stomach, Taoxia was able to gather a small bit of chi in her left leg and kick the rubble right off of Sandy!

The others groaned as she strained herself to climb out from under the pile, the hawk hopped after her with a bag of chips in its beak. 

Setting it beside her as she watched a giant monkey mech falling from the sky with the giant staff in his hand.

MK!

Taoxia screeched as the mech landed on the Demon Bull King, a bright red light engulfing them followed by a violent gust of wind and explosion. Taoxia yelped as she was suddenly surrounded by a feeling of warmth and a red cloth as the explosion came her way.

The wind was strong, the pressure hurt her ears and she could feel the heat of the explosion warming her skin. 

Still, the hold she was in kept her from being blown away. It hugged her tightly, bone crushing even as the blast washed over them. 

The heat soon died down, the winds turned into a breeze and the ground stopped shaking. It was then the hold that entrapped her relinquished its hold on her. When she looked back to see who it was, all she was was the hawk flying away in the air.

Taoxia looked back to see the Demon Bull King  kneeling on the ground in a massive crater, the extra armor he had surrounding him on the ground.

 The massive monkey mech standing over him. In the distance she could see a little speck of the Red Son growling up at the giant mech, his booming voice carrying as the little imp on his shoulder lung to him for dear life as he flailed his arms about.

“You think this is over? It isn't over, bozo. Why don't you just get out of that dorky mech and fight me, you COWARD!!!” he screeched, losing his footing and clumsily  tumbling into the crater with his father.

Before MK could grab the two, a large familiar tornado of wind appeared around Red Son and Demon Bull King.

Taoxia clenched her hands in a tight ball, teeth gritting as Princess Iron Fan revealed herself.

“ We know when we've been bested. But this won't be the last you see of us, Noodle Boy.” she seethed.

 Both her and her family disappeared from the battlefield.

With newfound strength, and grabbing the bag of chips at her side, Taoxia flew over to MK. The now freed Mei followed her on the ground below.

“MK”! She called, skidding to a stop in front of the mech “MK! You totally kick DBK's butt. Without us, the city'd be toast!” she beamed, gesturing to the large crater and the now ruined downtown area. Taoxia winced as she landed next to Mei.

“Yeah”. MK climbed out of the mech, hopping to the ground landing in font of the two. “But you know, I couldn't have done it on my own.”

A massive silhouette appeared behind MK, a meanincing Sandy loomed over the three. Laughing before engulfing all three of them in a tight hug. Taoxia could hear the bag of chips in her hand being crushed.

“You did, little man.” he praised.

Mei smiled “You're basically the new Monkey King now.”

“You sure have proven yourself MK. You did wonderful out there.” Taoxia gave MK a peck on the cheek “I'm very proud of you.” 

MK blushed, but a big grin spread across his face.

“ Haha! Monkie Kid, didn't you say?” Tang interjected, him, Pigsy and Suyin approached the three. 

“You did good, kid. You did real good.”

“I too am proud, MK.” Suyin smiled. 

Sandy looked down at his friends “But, er... what now?”

“Isn't it obvious?” Mei beamed.

MK eyes sparkled “Yeah! Bust up more bad guys!” he struck a pose alongside, staff over his shoulder as he pointed towards the distance. Tao raised a brow,unamused.

“Or we could go… eat some noodles?”

The whole group cheered and exclaimed in agreement. The Cultivators excited to get some food in their stomachs. 

Unknown to the celebratory friends, atop of the now forgotten monkey mech.

Was none other than the Monkey King, Sun Wukong, standing tall in his armor as he smiled at the gang of friends. 

His brown eyes softly gazed at Taoxia, who was handing the bag of crushed chips to Suyin. A dreamy smile on his lips as he watched her place her hands on Mei and MK’s shoulder to lead them away.

As much as he wanted to make himself known, to her, he knew it was not the right time.

After many years apart, he could wait a little more.

Hopping off the mech,Monkey King transformed into a hawke in a golden light. Flying over the Megapolis, knowing that the city would be safe in the new hands of its new protector.

His successor.