Fire licked at the sky as Tripitaka had worked on setting a line between trees somewhat close to it, but not too close. She worked her wet clothes over it, wringing out soaked parts here and there.
"It's nice not having to start a fire for once." Pigsy was praising the demon for his fire abilities.

"So, who gets the first watch?" Sandy asked as she stood up from around the fire and stretched her arms upwards. She often would stay up and write on her watch, but she was feeling more tired than usual.
"I will." Monkey volunteered and the water God smiled at him before she ruffled his hair. He gave her a look that looked as though he were offended, but she smirked at him and he smirked back.

"Good night everyone, Tripitaka." Her eyes lingered on the human who sat by the Font Demon. Tripitaka had taken to explaining his life before this and the Font Demon listened closely, although it did seem to bother him a little. His face looked tightly wound and Sandy tried to smile at him, but he didn't return it. Since he had found out Monkey had killed him, his mood had dipped down. She turned towards Pigsy and gave him a warm look.

"Good Night Sands," Pigsy said as he started to get up.
"Sleep does sound good actually, long day ahead of us tomorrow," Pigsy added as he walked to his bedroll that was only a foot or two at most away from Sandy's. The water God smirked as she followed him towards their bedrolls.

It didn't take Sandy long to strip off her long overcoat and she settled herself under her blanket, facing Pigsy. Pigsy too laid down and looked Sandy in the eyes, his expression unreadable to her.
"Have good dreams," Sandy muttered before turning to the other side.
"And I hope you do as well." He replied. It made Sandy smile as she closed her eyes and it didn't take long for her to drift to sleep, Pigsy being near her made her feel a little more at ease than if she were to sleep completely by herself, near no one. It wasn't long until Tripitaka went to sleep too and Font stayed up with Monkey for a good while.

"You really should sleep while you can." Monkey muttered, but the demon said nothing.
"Do you dislike me?" The demon asked rather bluntly, which caught Monkey off guard.
"What?" Monkey questioned.
"You killed me, so do you still hold resent at me for the past?" The demon questioned. Monkey sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

"I mean, you're way different this time." Monkey said before sighing and bringing his hands together, fidgeting with his fingers.
"She didn't say, but you tried to hurt her more than once." Monkey admitted. The demon turned his head away with a frown.

"That girl yesterday told me I should fall on my own sword, what do you think?" He asked. He had decided he didn't want to die at that moment, but after his talk with Tripitaka he had never felt so out of place, at least, he thought that that must be so.

"Na, you're our friend now. I mean, I didn't even want to help at first." Monkey admitted.

"But she convinced me." He added but then he pointed to his crown.
"With this." He added. Font gave him a confused look. He never saw The Monkey King remove his crown, ever, did she give it to him? His confused eyes spurred Monkey to continue.
"You were literally the one to steal it apparently, but you don't have any idea about it anymore then?" Monkey asked. The demon shifted his eyes away and the shake of his head answered the god's question.

"I was tricked into putting it on originally. Tripitaka knows a chant that gives me a headache." Monkey admitted. The demon smirked at him.
"Are you to tell me you fell in line over a simple headache?" The demon asked. Monkey put his hands on his hips.

"It's anything but simple! It really hurts!" He let out and watched the demon chuckle at him.
"So, what about you, how does the god hair bind you to Tripitaka?" Monkey asked. The font demon's smile disappeared and his look became serious.
"I'm not sure, dark magic I think, but I don't know how it works." He admitted as his hands went to his chin and he pressed his fingers against where he knew letters were.

"What do they say?" Monkey finally asked and the demon gave him a look.
"They are more intricate than usual, I don't understand them myself," Font muttered as he thought of all the times he had stared at his own reflection.

"Oh..." Monkey looked away, feeling awkward as he wouldn't have known that.
"Wait a minute, can you not read?" The demon seemed to catch on quite quickly. Monkey crossed his arms over his chest. The others liked to tease him about it every now and again, it actually deeply affected him.

"You don't, do you?" Font question. Monkey finally nodded without looking at him.
"Why?" The demon questioned.
"I just never learned." Monkey answered, not wanting to go into specifics. The font demon softened his gaze, he had found a touchy subject with the god.

"Would you like to learn?" The demon questioned. Monkey shook his head.
"Everyone teases me for not knowing how, but I'm a fighter, not a thinker." Monkey stated. The demon shook his head.

"That will do you no good." He said and now Monkey looked at him through confused narrow eyes.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"To think like that. Is learning something new really so bad?" The demon asked. Monkey frowned, turning his eyes away again.

"I'm not good at it, okay?" He let out, trying to drop the topic.
"So what? Even if it takes you a while, you should learn." The demon responded. Monkey sighed.
"Sandy and Tripitaka make fun of me for it all the time. I can't ask them to teach me." He said and the font demon chuckled once more.

"I can read." He said. Monkey looked him over, trying to make sure he was understanding this right.
"You will teach me to read?" The god asked apprehensively. Font nodded, holding his hand out to strike the deal. Monkey slowly reached out and took his hand, they shook on it.
"Shall we start then?" He asked as he stood up and stretched his legs. Monkey was caught off guard and looked at him with wide eyes.

"Already?" Monkey questioned, feeling nervous.
"It is never not the time, right?" The demon questioned.

RR&R

After a couple of hours of Font showing Monkey the most basic of words and nothing really sticking, he had laid down, smoothing his bedroll at least five feet away from Tripitaka. He had felt the ominous presence lessen throughout the day, but he knew that meant nothing. It could merely be a ploy. After bidding that Monkey keep a good lookout when alone, he had decided it best to stay near Tripitaka, should anything happen, though not nearly as close as Monkey often dared.

He slipped his eyes closed and pondered whether he should join her in her dreams. He, however, opted not to for the sake of being more easily woken should something occur. He felt a chill settle in his bones, he was nowhere near the dying fire. Either way, he turned to face Tripitaka and pulled his blanket tightly around him. The cold didn't really bother him anyway. What bothered him was a feeling of dread that settled in his gut, he had a bad feeling.

RR&R

"Monkey!" The name being yelled woke them all up.
"Let her go!" Now Monkey's voice sounded. Font sat up quickly and took the scene in before his eyes. There were at least seven women. They wore strange-looking armor, plated long skirts, and leathery breastplates that cut-off and exposed their midriff. Over their heads, they wore long hoods and masks with eerily cheerful faces painted onto them. He looked to Monkey and then the other gods to see slips of paper with strange words written upon them placed all over the gods. Sandy and Pigsy simultaneously tried to rip them off to no avail.

The demon turned his head and found Tripitaka in the hold of two of the women, she tried to struggle but their grip must-have been hard. He was quick to his feet and he held out his hands to summon his twin blades, but nothing happened. He stared at his hands with confusion before realizing that slips of paper stuck onto his body too. He tried to rip one off, but just like Sandy and Pigsy's, they did not budge.

"Let her go!" Monkey said as he threw his hair back up. The demon frowned, if Monkey was putting his hair back up, it meant that his weapon wouldn't transform. The fool still ran at the two women, but a different one stepped forward and threw another slip of paper. She held two fingers under her chin and muttered strange sounding words and the slip she threw began to glow a yellow color and Monkey suddenly froze, as if a statue. Pigsy and Sandy held their weapons at the ready as they stepped forward. The demon too, started forward, holding his hands up, ready to engage in hand to hand.

"Tripitaka doesn't want to go with you, let her go..." Sandy tried to convince. One of the women scoffed from under her mask.
"Just find yourselves lucky we only came for the initiate. Do not let us ever see your faces again, we will end you, that is if Kimura doesn't." The one who threw the last slip at m=Monkey stated. Sandy tightened her grip on her weapon, inching forward. Tripitaka still struggled but one woman dug through a pack until she found what she was looking for. It was a little too close for comfort as the demon watched them blow a cloud of red dust into Tripitaka's face and her eyes closed and her body slumped over, out cold. The demon couldn't help letting out a growl as he stepped forward.

"Cowards, the lot of you!" He bit out, but they didn't seem to even notice him.
"They can't do anything, let's fall out, we can come back for them later." One girl said and the one who had previously spoken seemed to nod. The others turned around and began to run off with Tripitaka still in their stead. The leader backed away slowly before turning around and joining them.

"We have to catch them," Font muttered as he started chasing after them without waiting for Sandy or Pigsy's approval. The two gods went to Monkey's side and tried pulling the slip of paper that had paralyzed him, but it would not even loosen in the slightest.
"Why won't these come off!?" Sandy questioned, feeling annoyed and worried for Tripitaka. At the same time, they very well couldn't leave Monkey here.

"Look, they were right, there they are!" A voice let out and Sandy and Pigsy turned in unison. A man with black hair and an eye patch came forward.
"They stole the scroll from Davari, let's get them!" He added before he and his men charged. Pigsy stood in front of Sandy and held his weapon so tight that his knuckles turned white. Sandy tried even harder to strip the paper off of Monkey but it still wouldn't budge.

"Where are the scrolls!?" The demon with the eye patch asked. Pigsy gulped and Sandy's eyes flitted around as she looked back and forth at them all.
"We don't have them anymore!" Pigsy tried to lie. He was nervous, they were surrounded and their powers were void. The one-eyed demon gazed between the two before he took a step forward, at least five other demons stood behind him, waiting for their leader's signal.

"You mistake me for a fool god, but if you do not tell us what we want, I will be your undoing." The demon explained, looking at Pigsy.
"He's telling the truth! We don't have them." Sandy also lied, trying to convince them. The demon was not perplexed, he held a hand up and twirled his finger around before holding up two fingers. Two demons came forward at that. Pigsy and Sandy held their weapons tighter in their hands. The two started towards Pigsy and the one-eyed demon took a step towards Sandy.

"Don't come any closer!" Sandy warned as she jabbed her weapon out slightly. The demon grinned as he leaned to the side and brought a hand up quickly, catching just below her scythe's blade. Sandy widened her eyes. Her movements were more sluggish and her coordination slightly off. The demon pulled at her weapon, taking it right out of her hands.

"I don't understand..." Sandy muttered, confused why she was suddenly so weak.
"Oh, they didn't tell you?" The demon questioned as he took another step towards her.
"Yes, they met up with us after your little plot at the Jade Palace. They wanted the monk and we the scrolls, shook on a good deal." The demon said, his tone of voice mocking them.

"They've nullified your powers." The demon smirked as he took another step towards her.
He went forward, quicker than she expected and his free hand found her hair and he held her own staff to her throat. Sandy tried to struggle and pull away but she felt her strength failing her. True fear raced through her heart for the very first time in a long time. Never before had she felt so hopeless, terror at how much her godly powers truly gave her turned her blood cold.

"God, drop your weapon or I'll kill her!" The one-eyed demon turned to Pigsy who was still trading blows with the other two demons. It was obvious the other two were not as strong as their leader.
"Pigsy, don't listen to him! Kill them!" Sandy began, but the demon pricked the tip of her scythe into her neck, stopping her from speaking. Pigsy stood there for a moment, not moving as he assessed the situation. Pigsy looked at Sandy with somber eyes before he dropped his pitchfork and his face lowered. The demons he had been fighting with went to either side of him and grabbed him by the forearms, subduing him.

"Now tell me, where are you hiding the scrolls?" The demon questioned. Pigsy looked up at him, anger in his expression. He didn't speak at first. The demon pulled the scythe from Sandy's neck and threw her down with the hand he had held her hair with. He brought the scythe to her face and sliced at her cheek somewhat. Sandy immediately brought her hand to the cut as she tried to scramble up, but the demon stamped a booted foot against her stomach, so hard that it knocked the air out of her and she coughed as she gasped for air. He held her weapon to her neck again, pointing it downwards at her.

"Tell me now!" The demon bellowed and Pigsy looked at Sandy who had placed a hand on her chest and tried to sit up only to realize a weapon was back to her neck and sinking back down.
"There in that pack," Pigsy muttered as he nodded towards one by where Monkey had slept. The demon looked at one of the other demons who were just waiting for his command. His men checked through all of the bags until one held a scroll up.

"We've got it Captain Kimura" He exclaimed and Kimura now turned his one eye back to Pigsy. He pulled his weapon away and went to his man, taking the scroll. Sandy was rubbing her neck as she drew herself up. Kimura waved a hand right when she got to her feet.

"Kill them." He stated. Sandy narrowed her eyes as she turned her eyes to Pigsy. She heard a sickening noise and Pigsy's face twisted in pain as he let out a shout mixed with a growl. Then a snapping sound was heard as the other demon threw a kick at his knee, and the bone seemingly snapped if the unnatural bend of Pigsy's ankle was anything to go by.
"No! Stop, you'll regret this!" Sandy let out as she ran towards Pigsy, no weapon, no god strength, but she couldn't let them kill Pigsy... Or her or Monkey!

"Unhand him demon!" A voice sounded that made the demon captain turn around. He eyed what appeared to be a font demon.
"Demon? You're one to talk, traitor!" The demon snarled as he now stepped towards Font who threw punches and kicks at the other demons although it didn't do much.

"I've heard of you, how you serve a human. Pathetic. It's about time you died." The demon stated as he threw a knowing look to his men. The demons smirked as they drew their weapons and advanced.
"Move any closer and I'll kill us all!" The font demon said as he reached into a pocket. He pulled out an orb and slowly it began to open, energy starting to pulse out.

"You'll kill your companions too..." The demon captain stated as he took a step back.
"Better than having to deal with the likes of you." Font stated. The demon frowned at him, his eyes staring at the orb.

"Drop the scroll and the scythe and leave or I'll end all of us," Font ordered. It was with an angry look and furrowed brows and lips curled into a snarl that the demon captain nodded to the one that held the scroll. The scroll dropped to the ground as the captain threw down Sandy's scythe and rejoined his men. They slowly backed away, glaring at Font all the while. A few moments later, Font finally made the orb close up again, tucking it back into his pocket. As soon as they were out of eyesight, Sandy rushed to Pigsy's side.

"You idiot! Why did you do that?" Sandy asked as she looked his knee over and then at the stab wound in his stomach. She frowned with tears threatening to spill. Pigsy gave her a hard look.
"If you think I'm going to sit by and watch them hurt you..." His lips pressed together as a look of anger overcame his face.
"Don't ever tell me to stay down ever again, I would rather die." He muttered and Sandy's eyes widened at him.
"Pigsy..." She said his name gently, her heart fluttering although she wasn't sure why. The sound of Font clearing his throat reminded them of his existence.

"Font." Sandy turned her gaze at him.
"Thank you... For saving us." She said softly before turning her gaze back to Pigsy. Everything was starting to feel hopeless.

"Where's Tripitaka?" Pigsy asked as he tried to situate himself better, a hiss escaping his lips as pain shot through him.
"They opened a portal and went through, I couldn't follow and since my abilities are sealed, I cannot sense her." He started. Sandy widened her eyes at him.

"You can sense her?" She questioned, meaning in general. It made the demon more annoyed than anything.
"Not right now." He repeated himself.
"But normally you can?" She asked. His eyes softened as he realized what she was getting at. His lips turned downwards.

"Always." He stated. Pigsy stared at the demon along with Sandy.
"That orb... The Shaman had done the same thing to us." Pigsy muttered, wondering if it had been some sort of idea of his own or if it was something more than that. He also wondered how the demon had obtained it in the first place.

"It's protocol to always have one, should something like this situation arise." The font demon stated as he started towards Monkey, still unmoving.
"How did you get it?" Pigsy added.
"The Jade Palace." The demon muttered back as he studied the papers on Monkey.

"These slips of paper... The writing seems similar to the writing on my face." He muttered as he touched one and pinched an edge with his fingers. He attempted to pull it off and this time it did, quite easily. Monkey stumbled forward against the demon, but Font pushed him back up, helping to steady him. Monkey turned sad eyes to his friends before rushing to them.

"I'll kill that guy for almost hurting you Sandy! And breaking your leg Pigsy!" He stated quickly, anger starting to coil tightly within him.
"Wait, Monkey, Font pulled the paper off you," Sandy stated with widened eyes, only growing more confused. Monkey turned his head to the demon before standing back up and walking towards him.

"I don't know how you did it, but do it again?" Monkey questioned and Font nodded as he went took hold of another slip and tore it off. It came off with ease.
"How do you think it works?" Sandy questioned as she tugged at her own once again, but they wouldn't budge. She then tried pulling at Pigsy's but that didn't work either.

"I don't know, but they're coming off of Monkey." Font stated as he had pulled most of them off by now and worked at the last three. When Monkey was finally free of the enchanted paper, he pulled his staff from his hair and it easily transformed, his powers restored, or at least back to what they had been previously.

"Try to get Pigsy's off next," Sandy muttered the question softly, her voice sounding weak. The demon stalked over to them and crouched down. He stripped the papers off as Monkey went to pick up the scroll.
"You know, I didn't trust you before, but I was wrong." Monkey admitted as he turned back to them. He saw that Font was able to pull the paper from pigsy too.

"Maybe it's because you're a demon." Sandy finally said, referring to the stripping of the papers.
Font gave her a questioning look.
"If I can..." She grabbed a paper from Font and it tore off easily enough.

"The same race of beings can't pull them from each other," Sandy muttered her thoughts as she stripped another and then another. Find turned back to Pigsy, finishing before turning to Sandy. Once they had stripped all the papers off, they hovered around Pigsy.

Monkey held Pigsy down as Font set his leg and Sandy came over with bandages and two thick branches to make a splint. They were careful with their work, not rushing as Pigsy's broken leg was nothing to joke about. They also shoved cloth against his stab wound, unsure of what to do with it. At the very least it was no longer nearly as painful with his god abilities restored and he was sure it would heal quickly for the same reason too, or so they hoped.

Once they had finished, they sat there, despair on their faces for they knew now there was only one thing left to talk about.
"Can you sense her now?" Sandy asked, but Font frowned.
"There's something in the way of the connection, I don't understand it. I can sense her, but I cannot sense her location," He muttered, seeming to grow angry but trying to hold it back.

"Whatever those women want with her can't be good," Pigsy stated as he looked towards the treeline, trying to think of where they would take her.
"We have to find her... What if they hurt her?" Monkey let out, his worry obvious with his tone.
"What if they kill her..?" Sandy wondered, it was her greatest fear that repeated over and over in her mind.

"We won't let that happen. We will ask around, we will find a lead, we will find her." Font assured. Monkey looked towards him, his faced pained with a sort of grief.
"Who do we ask?" Monkey questioned, he was better at being a follower than a leader as much as he hated to admit it. Plans weren't really his strong suit, but if the demon had one, he was all ears.
"We start with the closest village we can find," Font stated with a nod. One by one they all nodded their agreement.

"I'll start taking down the camp," Font added finally as he began to stand up and went to Tripitaka's bedroll, rolling it up. Monkey stood up too.
"I'll help." He said as he too went to work, leaving Sandy and Pigsy there.

"Pigsy, I..." She didn't know what to say. He had done his best to fight for her and she felt guilty that he had gotten hurt.
"It's gonna be okay." The other god muttered as he grabbed Sandy's hand and gave it a hard squeeze. Whether he believed that or not, it didn't matter. What mattered was that Sandy believed it.

RR&R

Tripitaka woke up feeling cold, air seemed to crawl over the skin of her stomach and down her legs. When she opened her eyes, she immediately noticed that she was nude and placed on a bed. She sat up quickly, wrapping her arms around herself, but she noticed she was alone. Although she was still frightened, the thought eased her fear just a little.

She looked around to realize she was in a room the size of a closet with only the bed she laid on. At one end were clothes folded up nicely. She slowly stood up, when her feet touched the ground, the cold was too much and she pulled them back, becoming more fully awake. She fingered the clothes and noticed that they were definitely robes and not anything too feminine or revealing. She slipped them on while sitting and was thankful for the warmth that they provided at the very least.

She looked to the door and wondered if she should try it. After a few moments she decided to try her luck, but when she did, she found that it was locked. She backed up and sat back down on the bed, a shiver wracking through her. She wasn't sure if it was because of the cold or because she feared what might be on the other side, but she drew up her knees and wrapped her arms around them and rested her head atop. She remembered watching as her friends were powerless to stop them, the women had covered them in strange papers that seemed to seal their abilities.

"Please be okay..." She muttered. She couldn't shake her horrible thoughts of what may have happened after she'd been rendered unconscious.