They were told that the demon lived in the pine forest beneath the mountains in the furthest corner of the Kingdom. Which made sense; it was where most of the demons came from, according to the locals.

The sun was already starting to lower in the sky by the time they set off, something that Pigsy annoyingly pointed out repeatedly, but Monkey was determined to kill this demon sooner rather than later. When the sky went dark and travelling became impossible, Monkey regretted his impulsiveness but refused to admit it aloud.

There were no trees or rocks, or anything that could provide shelter. Monkey kept sending Tripitaka worried glances; though she refused to show it, he knew she was all too aware of how vulnerable she was out in the open.

Luckily, they came upon an old abandoned barn where they could shelter for the night, and Monkey released the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding.

He knew Tripitaka could take care of herself. She was getting better at hand-to-hand combat (at an almost insanely fast pace, he realised), and was smarter than any human he'd ever met. But he still worried, because humans were just so fragile, and if anything ever happened to her…

His desperate need to protect her at any cost had always been there, but it had only grown after Shadow Monkey tried to kill her. And then even more so after the monastery fire. If he hadn't gotten there in time, she would have died. He rebelled against that very thought harder than he'd ever rebelled against anything – which was saying something, given his reputation.

Monkey refused to accept a world without her in it. Especially after his discovery in Heaven. He couldn't lose anyone else.

Tripitaka was eating the meal Pigsy had cooked for them, and Monkey couldn't help but watch her as she did. There was a warm familiarity about her that he couldn't name, but it comforted him whenever she was close. Her smile was like a light in the darkness.

She would soon stop smiling, he knew, when she eventually found out what happened to Cada. He wondered if telling her would stop her from witnessing what happened in the Memory Space, but the thought of even talking about it made his throat go dry. His only hope was that she would stop memory walking before she got that far; she'd already gone further than any human had before, without a God tethered to her.

Her gaze met his, and she said, "What do you think, Monkey?"

He blinked. "Mm?"

"The name of the Princess," said Pigsy. "Peony is a bit of an embarrassing name. Everyone would just think you're some kind of pink-wearing flower child for the rest of your life. She'd have to change her name if she wanted to toughen up."

"But she is the Princess of the Kingdom of a Hundred Flowers," said Sandy. "So she probably is a pink-wearing flower child."

"We can't help the names we were given." Tripitaka let out a breath, like she'd just made a decision. "Why do you think I prefer to go by Tripitaka?"

This caught Monkey's attention, because Tripitaka had never given them a real name. When they'd discovered her true gender and asked for one, by that point she had accepted her new name and didn't want to be called any different. Even when the original Tripitaka had made himself known, she hadn't told them her real name, preferring to be known simply as 'girl'. (Which Monkey now realised was belittling and hadn't helped her self-confidence at all. Guilt creeped up on him.)

"Ooh." Pigsy smirked. "Now you have to tell us."

She narrowed her eyes at them all. "Promise me you won't laugh."

Monkey raised his hands. "You have my word." The other two nodded.

Tripitaka put her empty bowl down. "The Scholar was great at many things, but naming babies wasn't one of them. He just pulled out an old book and gave me the first name he saw. Which was… Hortense."

Pigsy snorted unexpectedly, before immediately covering his mouth. "Sorry, I'm sorry…"

"What's wrong with that name?" Monkey frowned. It sounded like just an ordinary, human name to him.

"It's an old lady's name," said Pigsy. "No offence, Trip."

"Don't worry, I've heard it all before," she told him. "I've accepted that it's an embarrassing name, and I've moved on."

"But what you said doesn't make sense, Pigsy. Old ladies aren't born old," said Sandy. "I'm sure when Tripitaka grows old, the name will suit her just fine."

Tripitaka smiled at her. "Thanks, Sandy."

"I don't see what the fuss is about," said Monkey. "It's just a name. But I will take this time to… apologise for calling you 'girl' before. It was belittling and unacceptable."

"Wait…" Tripitaka smirked at him. "Is the infamous Monkey King actually apologising?"

"Sandy! Write that down!" said Pigsy. The Goddess hurriedly picked up her notebook.

Monkey rolled his eyes. "Don't get used to it. But I mean it."

"It's fine," she assured him. "I preferred to be called 'girl' than Hortense, anyway."

"How about I just call you Tripitaka from now on?"

She nodded. "Works for me."

And when she smiled at him, the rest of the world fell away.

When she opened her eyes, Tripitaka was surprised to discover that Monkey was nowhere in sight, which was odd. Wasn't she supposed to be viewing his memories?

But then she'd been without him before, when she'd witnessed the attack on Jade Mountain. Once again, she wondered why she kept entering the Memory Space. What was the universe trying to show her?

She looked around again. Jade Mountain towered above her, and people were going about their day in the small town below. Tripitaka wondered if she would see Davari, pretending to be a human. Unless this was before he started his "friendship" with Monkey? She couldn't tell how far back this was happening.

It wasn't long before she spotted a familiar face. Cada was sat on a low wall across the street, wearing the same sort of leather armour that Monkey typically wore, only this armour was green in colour. Next to her was another Goddess; another War Maiden, with black hair and pale skin. The two were talking and laughing together.

Tripitaka was about to step towards them, when two men crossed her path, heading in the same direction. Both were tall, and while one was heavily built and muscular, the other was lankier. The larger one had golden hair, while the other's hair was silver.

With a frown, Tripitaka realised they were Gods.

The silver-haired God walked up to the other Goddess and said, "Hey, Padma."

It was all he was able to say before the Goddess, Padma, leapt to her feet and pointed a dagger at his throat. "How many times have I told you to leave me alone, Yin?"

"But you're breaking my heart, Babe!" he cried out in an overdramatic tone. "I asked you to be mine, but you just had to be a bitch and deny me. It's your fault that I feel like I'm dying every day!"

"Pretty sure that's on you," said Padma. "I have a life of my own; I don't exist just to please you."

"You should be honoured to please me!"

"We are Gods of the highest order." The other God's voice was deeper; calmer. He turned to Cada. "But neither of you seem to appreciate that."

"Because you don't appreciate us, Jin," said Cada. "Neither do you respect us. If you were really as great as you claim to be, then you would understand the meaning of the word 'no' and back off. Now leave us be."

The two Gods walked away, both muttering under their breaths. When they were gone, Tripitaka moved closer to the two Goddesses.

"Those brothers are just…" Padma shook her head. "If it wasn't for Yin and his stupid entitled butt, I'd be living happily with Wolf right now."

Cada sighed. "We're both in so much trouble. And if we get kicked out, what's stopping those two from taking us?"

"That's what I was going to tell you." Padma looked around before moving closer and lowering her voice. "Wolf found Yue Lao."

The other Goddess's eyes widened. "The weaver of the Red Thread of Fate?"

Padma nodded. "He saw that our fates were tied, and united us in eternal love. Now, not even death can part us. Should we die, we will find each other again. I'm sure he can do the same for you and Monkey."

Tripitaka was pulled away before she could hear more, and she was once again lying back in the old barn with her friends around her.

Sandy was on watch, and she looked towards the girl with a concerned glance. "Are you OK, Tripitaka?"

"Yeah." Tripitaka turned towards Monkey, who was still sleeping. "I'm fine."