LOVE STORY

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Chapter Twenty
Familiar Tales
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❝Forever's a long time, bud. Trust me.❞

IT WAS ANOTHER peaceful day in Flower Fruit Mountain, it was suitable for relaxing. However, Mk decided to visit with a big bag that contained a lot of mystic stuff that he gained from his latest battle. You took those items to Shuilian Cave to keep them secure there.

Your successor was looking through a pile of stuff while you inspect a random item, "Wonderful, like I didn't have enough junk already." You sarcastically said before throwing the object in your hand away. You didn't waste time and went to see what other things Mk brought, "Ho ho, Ne Zha's gonna flip when he finds out I have this!" You exclaimed with excitement, holding up Ne Zha's Universal Ring and showing it to Mk. You then threw it away and looked for more cool stuff, ignoring the destruction the ring made, "Seriously though, this is a great haul." You added as you put on a brand new red cape.

"Yeah, I saved a bunch of people too." Mk spoke up with pride.

"Oh yeah, you're doing good out there, bud. Real good. It's actually amazing how quickly you're mastering your powers. When I was your age, I—"

You couldn't finish your sentence when Mk suddenly cut you off, "You were fighting the Celestial Armies and generally swinging your big, ol' tail around to get what you wanted?" He said as if he was predicting what you were going to say, but he was wrong. You sighed and raised an eyebrow at him, "Well, I was going to say making regrettable life choices but yeah, thanks for laying it out. I'm embarrassed to admit it but you actually might have already done more for this world than I ever have." You pointed out then scratched the back of your head.

For some reason, Mk was way better than you. Unlike him, you had always caused troubles and weren't that much liked. Even your ex-best friend/crush doesn't seem to be ready to be with you due to past grudge. Mk had a more greater potential of being a great hero and a savior... A future Monkey King and a better version of you. However, it seemed that Mk had some insecurities of himself.

"Yeah, well, I'm kind of the one always getting the world in trouble to begin with, so..." The boy said, looking at the gold plate he was holding. You chuckled at his statement before removing the cape, "Ah, I wouldn't say that." You uttered as a way to make him feel better about himself.

"Well, I let DBK take your staff and use it to destroy the city."

"Well, that's true."

"And it was my hair that somehow made Spider Queen super powerful, who also destroyed the city."

"Yeah, I still don't really get why that happened."

"And I practically gave Red Son the magic key that freed the Lady Bone Demon, who also destroyed the city!"

You quickly stopped him before he could sink more in self-doubt, "Ah, you gotta learn to let that stuff go, bud! Besides, literally every one of those guys were people I rubbed the wrong way to begin with. Believe it or not, I wasn't always the easiest to get along with." You confessed while scratching your cheek with a hint of embarrassment. Mk gasped in shock as if he didn't believe what you had just said, "What?! But you're always so cute and cheeky." He exclaimed to show his disbelief.

"I know! Anyway, the point is mistakes happen but so long as you leave the world in better shape than you found it, then it's all good, right?"

Mk looked at you for a few moments before nodding in understanding, "Honestly, I'm kind of liking the world how it is right now, so.. if it could just stay like this forever, that'd be awesome." He stated as he turned to organize the stuff he brought. You frowned sadly and turned away with your arms crossed.

"Yeah, well. Forever's a long time, bud. Trust me."

-TIME SKIP-

You and Mk spent the next few hours cleaning around the cave and organizing the things.

"Welp, think that's all of 'em." Mk spoke up and dusted his hands. Suddenly, his attention shifted when he saw the little monkeys gathering around something which perked his curiosity, "Hmm? Oop, this one nearly got away from us. Looks like some kind of uh magic bundle of sticks or something." He stated and held up a familiar black and blue scroll. Your eyes widened upon recognizing the object in your successor's hand, "MK, wait!" However, it was too late.

"Uh oh! Uh, I did a thing!"

The scroll opened and ink started to drip and seep from it. The monkeys on Mk's shoulders ran away and hid behind you when a hand emerged from the pool of ink and grabbed Mk's leg. More inky soldiers started to appear from the ink. They merged together, forming DBK. The inky version of Bull King was about to attack Mk, but you quickly saved the boy and that made DBK's fist collide with the ground.

"The Demon Bull King?! I-I thought we were cool!" Mk exclaimed with shock as you unwrapped your tail from around him. The ink then changed again and took the form of Princess Iron Fan then the Spider Queen then Macaque. Upon seeing Macaque, you froze in place and just watched the scene unfold. The ink shifted again and turned into Ne Zha that was about to use the spear to strike, "No!" You yelled loudly before you and Mk leaped away. The only victims of this attack were the little monkeys who were getting pulled into the ink.

Mk moved quickly to save them, but he was late as they got pulled into the ink. You forced yourself to stand up when the ink transformed into a very familiar bird demons. They were about to stab their ji into Mk, but you quickly blocked the attack with your back. A chuckle left your lips, "You know, you make a couple of mistakes in your life, no one ever lets you live it down. Looks like the ghosts of my past have finally caught up with me." The ink managed to seep onto your body, slowly dragging you in, "MK, you gotta seal that scroll, no matter... what." With that being said, you were pulled fully into the ink and sealed into the scroll.

Everything went dark after that and you were pushed deeper into this prison. You hoped that Mk would make it out safe and sound.