Tripitaka was getting used to opening her eyes and finding herself standing in unfamiliar environments, only this time she was surrounded by a sense of dread. Whatever was about to happen wasn't going to end happily.

She was standing in a small valley surrounded by rocks, with a large mountain towering overhead. A short distance away was Monkey, his scarf covering his mouth and nose, fighting in the heat of battle. But his opponents weren't demons – they were Gods. Tripitaka guessed that this must have been after the murder of the Master, and the other Gods were sent out to capture the one they thought to be the culprit. The fact that Monkey was trying not to hurt them backed this up.

Another figure soon joined the fray. It was Cada, and with her sword she too fought off the other Gods with minimum force. With the two Gods working together, they were able to knock out their opponents and quickly retreated further into the valley. Tripitaka hurried to catch up with them, the magic of the Memory Space allowing her to move faster than she normally would.

When she found them again, they were having an argument.

"You shouldn't have come after me, Cada!" Monkey was yelling, his scarf pulled down. "If they catch you, too-"

"I don't care anymore!" she yelled back. "I know you didn't kill the Master. I know you didn't take the Scrolls for yourself. Where are they?"

"They're safe. Scattered." Monkey gently cupped her cheek. "Cada, my punishment will be yours too if you stay. You will lose everything."

She shook her head, tears in her eyes. "But I won't lose you. I don't care about everything else. I'd rather die than be without you."

Tripitaka watched as the emotions warred in Monkey's eyes; the desire to protect the one he loved against doing as she wished. Cada made the choice for him with a furious kiss, full of passion and desperation. She made it clear that she wasn't leaving his side, and Monkey couldn't deny her.

"Him?!"

The pair stopped kissing and turned. More soldiers from Jade Mountain had arrived, and leading them were Jin and Yin. The younger brother looked shocked by what had occurred, but the former was enraged.

Jin walked towards the pair slowly, shaking with anger. "You could have had the power and prestige that came with my status, but you chose him?! This betrayer?!"

Another God stepped forwards. Tripitaka recognised him as on of the Gods who had also been imprisoned under Davari at Jade Palace. Lior? "She will face the same punishment for helping him."

"No." Jin drew his sword. "She will be stripped of her title as a War Maiden, and I will take her as my bride."

Cada stepped in front of Monkey and drew her own sword. "It's too late. Monkey and I have been blessed by Yue Lao. He bound us together by the Red Thread of Fate, and it cannot be broken by anyone or anything. Not even you. I will never be yours, Jin."

The God charged her with his sword raised, yelling with rage. She met his sword with hers, and they exchanged blows. Monkey attempted to jump into the fight and help her, but he was distracted by the combined forces of Lior and Yin holding him off.

Tripitaka watched the battle between the Goddess and the larger God with the weight of knowing how it was going to end. She didn't know how she knew; she just did. And while Cada put up a good fight, Jin was larger and far stronger, and eventually overpowered her.

It took one misstep on her part, and Jin ran his sword through her gut.

"NO!" Monkey's cry was devastating.

Yin took advantage of the God's distraction and swung his sword at his head, but was suddenly hit by an arrow that came from higher up the mountain. He dropped dead, and Lior dispatched a few Gods to hunt down the archer. Tripitaka couldn't quite make out the retreating form high above them, but the familiarity of the person's movements told her that it was Padma.

And she wasn't the only one to kill the man who sought her as a trophy bride.

"You should have been mine when you had the chance," Jin hissed at Cada.

But he was too secure in his own triumph, and had dropped his guard. With the last ounce of her strength, Cada swung her sword and beheaded the God with one strike. His head landed several feet away, and the rest of his body dropped lifelessly to the ground.

Cada went to follow its example, but Monkey dropped his staff and rushed forwards, catching her before she hit the earth. He cradled her in his arms, tears in his eyes. Some of the Gods went to arrest him, but Lior held out his hand to stop them. Angry as he was at Monkey, he was honourable enough to allow him this moment.

"Cada… no…" Monkey pulled her tightly against him.

"It's OK," she said. "You will see me again. The Red Thread… of Fate… will always bind us. I will… find you… Whatever the Gods do to you, I will… come and… save you…"

Her eyes slid closed, and her life faded away.

Tripitaka wanted to go to Monkey and comfort him, but then the other Gods were surrounding him, and suddenly her eyes snapped open. She was lying on her sleeping matt in Padma's house, and everything was still. Pigsy and Sandy were close-by, also sleeping. There was no sign of either Monkey, Padma or Wolf.

Upon sitting upright, she saw Wolf standing guard outside by the window. It was likely that Monkey and Padma were somewhere else talking, probably catching up. But after what she'd just witnessed, Tripitaka felt the urgent need to find Monkey and comfort him. He hadn't been able to properly grieve Cada (or the Master, for that matter) before being imprisoned by his fellow Gods, and he certainly hadn't done so after being released. At least, not from her perspective.

Moving quietly so she wouldn't wake the others, Tripitaka got to her feet and left the room. There weren't many rooms to search, so it didn't take her long to find the pair.

They were standing around a table, Padma to the left while Monkey's back was to the door. From her position on the threshold, Tripitaka could see the Scroll of Love rolled out. She briefly wondered why they were looking at it, but pushed the question to the back of her mind.

"Monkey," she began, "I saw what happened to Cada. I'm so, so sorry. If you ever need to talk about it, I'm here."

For a moment, the whole world paused.

Then Monkey slowly turned to face her. And in his watery eyes, Tripitaka witnessed a storm of emotions. He looked at her like she was everything to him; like she could light up the sky or bring the rain after a dry summer.

He looked at her like he'd looked at Cada.

She frowned. "Monkey, are you OK?"

One moment he was still, and then the next he'd crossed over to her with one great stride. His arms encircled her and pulled her against him, tightly but gently. He clutched her like his life depended on it, and all Tripitaka could do was return his embrace. Not that she was complaining. Being in his arms felt… right.

Her shoulder was turning wet from his tears, and she felt him muttering something against her. She couldn't make out what he was saying until he adjusted his head.

"Cada… my Cada… You found me…"

Tripitaka frowned again. Why was he calling her…?

She looked over his shoulder at the Scroll of Love. From her position, she couldn't make out the words written on the page, so instead looked over to Padma.

The other woman – or Goddess in a woman's body – didn't say a word. Instead she stepped forwards and picked up the scroll, rolling it back up before she walked towards the embracing pair. She held out the scroll towards Tripitaka, and not understanding what Padma wanted her to do, Tripitaka reached out her hand and took the scroll.

And the second her fingers touched the paper, she was hit with an explosion of memories.

They moved backwards, rushing to be remembered. She'd had many human lives; living in fear of demons, running from them, fighting them. But always searching for… something. Something she didn't understand.

No. She was searching for someone.

Many men and some women took romantic interest in her, but she never returned their feelings. It never felt right. No one could match up to the one she sought. The one she could never find.

Then a new wave of memories hit her, and everything made sense.

Monkey. She'd been searching for Monkey.

Because he was her everything. She'd met him on Jade Mountain, and they'd become fast friends. Her duties meant that she couldn't see him as often as she wanted to, but they'd made it work. And it hadn't been long before they'd fallen in love. Secret meetings led to a secret binding, and they'd soldiered through a burdened existence of many days of longing and hurried nights of passion, until…

Until she'd died.

But the Red Thread of Fate had brought them together again.

Tripitaka's eyes widened when her memories slid into place.

She was Cada, the Golden Goddess.

And she had come home.