Content Warning:
This chapter contains mention of drug & alcohol use, so...if you're sensitive to that sort of thing, continue at your own risk!
The distinct sound of creaking wood filled the air as a large, bendy tree was pulled back by two playful-spirited kung fu warriors. Masters Monkey and Panda were at it again down by the River of Radiant Funtimes, as Po had so delightfully taken to calling their most favored place of amusement. And with the tree held down, a rather ridiculous, albeit revered tradition resumed between the two silly friends.
"Ready!?"
"On three!"
"THREE-AAAAAAA!" they cried out together as Monkey pushed the tree up juuuuust enough to send it springing upward in its natural thrust, which in turn flung his weighty companion upward and soaring in an arched trail that ended with a loud sploosh! into the body of water below.
Remnants of the forceful impact rained down over the area, drenching the golden-furred ape who giggled with utmost childish glee from his station. With a joyful flick of his long tail, he then leapt to the riverbed to greet the one who resurfaced from his plunge a few seconds later.
Po burst up from the water gasping for breath after which he immediately went coughing his head off through rollicking laughter.
He exclaimed, "WOO-OOOHOHH! AhH, that was the best one yet! Monkey! One more time!"
Monkey picked up his own giggles again at the words, and as his sodden playmate waded his way to meet him at the river's edge, he replied. "No way! It's nearly dark already, we'll be freezing our butts off all the way home if we don't start drying off now."
"AAHHHWW, Monkeyyy!" The bear's loud groan of dissatisfaction caused the other to snort as he held in another laugh.
"C'monnnn, get out!"
"UuuHHHH," Po threw his head back with a sigh. Rather than keep arguing, the simian master grabbed onto his arm, and began to pull him out of the river. The next passing moment saw them standing side by side on the damp shore, as Po preferred not to inconvenience his friend too much; but rather, just enough to relish in their silly teasing.
Monkey said, "Alright, now get yourself dry."
Suddenly donning a rather mischievous mien, the Dragon Warrior dropped to all fours and proceeded with a vigorous shake off, flinging droplets of water every which way.
"Hey!" the splattered one voiced reprehension, but not without a giggle at his teammate's antics.
They finally settled down to bask in nature's remaining light as sunset approached. Though there wasn't nearly enough of it left to dry them completely, what little they could get would have to do. Po and Monkey had indeed had another glorious afternoon of fun at least, mixed with a bit of training, but they were both quite aware of the fact that their priorities were not exactly aligned as they often claimed them to be.
Especially not in very recent days.
For as long as Po had been tightly holding onto the deepest hidden feelings of his enamored heart, the truth was, he was no longer the only one with a secret.
"We should probably start heading back," Monkey suggested once dusk was upon them, despite every opposing emotion towards it. The lateness at which they'd been staying out together was at a steady increase - and honestly, neither master had stopped to pay it a second thought.
It was somewhat of an odd, unspoken form of dating at times, equipped with all the bashful blushing moments and oh so delicate flirting alike. The only difference being that one of them remained none the wiser to it. My, how the tables had turned.
"What are these?"
"H-Hey! Give those back!"
"Poems!? You write poems!? HOOHOOO!"
"aAAAAA Monkey c'mon!"
"AheHEM."
"Don't you DARE!"
"'Oh magical dumpling'..."
"STOPIT!"
"'Of yummy perfection'..."
"MONKEY!"
"pFGHHFTT! This is what you write about!?"
"HHHNNNN!"
"Well I guess it's not that surprising. Let's see what else you have!"
"ACTUALLY, LET'S NOT."
"Ohhh, Po, it's just a little fun!"
"For you, maybe! HIYAH!"
"WHOA-AHAA! Nice try!"
From the day it'd happened, the playful primate hadn't had a lick of luck getting the memories of the unforeseen little incident out of his head - the moment he'd discovered his best friend's nethermost love-smitten sentiments.
"Get back here!"
"Heehee! Catch me if you can, Panda!"
"I'm warning you, you're gonna regret it so much when I do!"
"OhoH, we'll see about that!- Wha!? oOuaFHHHGH! Urgh..."
"Ah! Monkey! Oh my gosh, are you okay!?"
"Ughh... Y-Yeah! I'm, fine!"
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, sure!"
"...Good. I'll take those! Thank you very much!"
"Aheh."
"Okay, so let's get going then!"
Monkey was suddenly plucked from his mind's reflections and returned to present reality. He blinked before turning towards the saccharine voice responsible to see a pudgy angel smiling expectantly back at him. A faint blush began its creeping trail over the simian master's cheeks, but he quickly fought against it with a cheery grin.
He then hopped to his feet. "Right."
The dusk had settled winsomely into a warm and clear night. As Monkey and Po started their journey home to the Jade Palace, the bright twinkling of starlight through the tree branches above could be seen, and a gentle summer breeze brought upon a soft rustling in the foliage. It was quiet and peaceful. A perfect night, thought the blithesome panda bear, for stargazing!
"Ahh! I know we have to get home and all, but man wouldn't it be awesome to lie under this sky for a bit!? It's so perfectly starry!" he exclaimed rather passionately.
His cunning companion came to an abrupt halt at the pseudo-suggestion, and considered it for a moment. It was true they needed to get home...but it was also true that missing out on a marvelous starry sky would be quite a shame. Not to mention it was a most legitimate excuse to enjoy each other's company for just a little while longer.
And it would make Po happy. Which, frankly, outshone all the other alternatives sensible and silly alike.
With a coltish glint in his eye, Monkey asked, "Is that what you wanna do?"
"Huh?" Po stopped as well to meet his friend face to face.
"Do you want to go stargazing?"
"I...yeah, I'd love to! But we're...aren't we..."
"Supposed to be at the palace? ...Yeah."
Po blinked. Rather than reply, he only narrowed his eyes at the words. Monkey's mouth then widened into a ridiculously persuasive grin. Not that it took much at all to convince Master Panda to choose fun times with the crush over sleeping at the barracks, mind you. His little frown slowly curled upward to accompany enchanted bright eyes and blushing cheeks.
Monkey excitedly added, "Follow me!"
And with that, they were off.
The two adventurers soon found themselves a comfortable ways off from the palace trails, on a lush and grassy hilltop with a gloriously awe-inspiring view of celestial expanse. Monkey did not hesitate to release a heavy sigh of satisfaction as he allowed himself to collapse atop a rather thick patch of greenery. Po, on the other hand, couldn't have contained his excitement even if he'd been offered a whole pantry of magical dumplings!
"WhoAHAHAOA! This! Is incredible!" he circled about with his nose in the air in what appeared to be attempts to view all corners of the vast sky at once; but within seconds, he stumbled down next to his friend with a muffled oof! and laughed it off just as well.
The ape giggled along with the other's antics before he replied. "It is, isn't it? I can't even remember the last time I went stargazing. Usually I'm asleep by now."
Po gasped. "That's terrible!"
"Being asleep?"
"No! Not stargazing!"
"Oh," Monkey snorted.
"My dad always used to take me out to see the Dragonstars so we could ask for good fortune to come upon the shop," the bear continued with a chuckle. "Pretty sure that was the only part he cared all that much about, but I loved everything about the night sky! It was the most awesome thing I could imagine as a kid! And it was always there for me."
Curiously, the primate asked, "Did it work?"
"Well, we've never had bad fortune."
Monkey considered this. He then gave a slight shrug and nodded in agreement. A few seconds brought them both gazing upward again in a peaceful silence, which lasted about a minute, until the Dragon Warrior turned to his date once more, mouth agape.
"Anyway, thanks a lot for bringing me out here!" he sighed into a bashful smile. "I dunno how I managed to find a best friend as totally awesome as you."
Now adrift in his own complicated reminiscing about fortune, feelings, life's mysteries, past, present, and future alike, Master Monkey was delayed a bit before he acknowledged the kind sentiments Po had given him. Hesitantly, he blinked himself back to earth, and then met the bear with a rather lost gaze. The pure admiration glistening in Po's emerald eyes was the icing on the cake.
And as the nerve to reconsider his next response somehow mysteriously escaped him, Monkey blurted out, "Y'know, I haven't...always been so great."
His comrade blinked in surprise, a little taken aback by the cryptic confession that came seemingly out of nowhere. Just as quickly, however, he softened into an air of comforting concern.
"Um, whaddaya mean?" he asked.
Monkey opened his mouth, but closed it with a sigh before he said anything else. He instead averted a conscience-stricken gaze and moved to push himself up from the ground and into a hunched-over seat, staring down at wrung hands in thought. Po did not hesitate to follow suit, eyes wide with what was growing fast into worry.
"Monkey?"
The ape shook his head in a quick attempt to clear it. "Sorry." He stifled a weak laugh. "It's just... It's kind of a long story."
Silence followed his reply for what seemed far too long. Until that sugar-sweet voice he'd grown to find so much comfort in broke through it with a compassionate sincerity that never failed to make his heart melt on the spot.
"Hey," Po softly assured him. "Whatever you need to say...I'm here for you."
With a gaze wide and almost child-like in trust, Monkey turned to look at his beloved friend again. The warm smile he was met with worked almost like a brightly burning paper lantern to the soul, effectively chasing every fleck of darkness away into nothingness. And he was certainly not the only one who could attest to the Dragon Warrior's seemingly otherworldly abilities to bless all who knew him.
Monkey found himself nearly breathtaken. Then with a newfound courage, and immense appreciation, he could do nothing but gently return the smile.
"Okay," he said. "Well... You see... Long before you or even Shifu and the others knew me... I was a very different person."
"Different...how?"
The ape braced himself with a deep inhale.
Three days.
A pair of oceanic hues stared wide and unblinking up into the shadowy ceiling of the Jade Palace's student barracks, their insomniatic owner no doubt the only one awake at such an unseemly hour. It had been three whole days. Master Comedian had barely slept a wink since his gracious invitation to stay as the founder of his very own style of kung fu, along with his four other comrades - the newly dubbed Furious Five.
Never before had he been so incredibly humbled by life's unexpected surprises. Nor so...utterly and miserably exhausted. But why, one might wonder. One would think that a young kung fu student would be out like a light even after a single day of training in a vigorous art form he'd only just begun. Alas, there was much about this young student that his new cohorts didn't know, and that would remain as such, if it were up to him.
The ape finally blinked a few times as a familiar tremor rippled throughout his restless body. A hitch of breath followed the shiver, before he licked his lips and swallowed in efforts to fight the almost painful dryness in his mouth, to no avail. How he'd even held on this long, he still hadn't a bloody clue, other than the beautiful distraction of actually having something worthwhile to focus on for once in his wretched life, perhaps. But even that one was steadily growing in insufficiency.
Tightly, Monkey shut his eyes for a moment, and breathed.
When he opened them up again, he silently thanked the universe that he was alone in the cradling darkness of his room, where no one could see the excruciatingly painful guilt that riddled his gaze. He then released a shaky sigh, and whispered into the air around him. "Mother...I'm sorry."
Hesitance lasted only another moment before the simian ever so quietly rolled from his place of rest and settled onto his feet. He took a deep inhale, and held his breath before tiptoeing across the floor of his room. Upon reaching the door, he gently pushed it ajar, and poked his head out to survey the area. Not a soul in sight, nor a single indication that anyone else was awake; perfect. Soundlessly, Monkey let his held breath go again.
He then stepped out into the corridor of the barracks, very careful to avoid the creakier boards as best he could, as he started his covert journey to the kitchen. For the past two nights, he had resisted every brutal urge to sneak down and scour each cupboard for even a small drop of the elixir he so desperately desired, even knowing full well that a drink alone would not satisfy all the cravings. But maybe...
Just maybe if I can have something...to help me get to sleep...for now.
It was a filthy excuse and he knew it, too. It also wouldn't do a thing to solve the real issue. Nor did either of these facts really matter, as the Jade Palace was not home to any alcoholic beverages, which Monkey would very soon come to find out.
Crestfallen and no less jittery than before, the ape now stood alone and defeated in the empty kitchen. I should have known, he berated himself. I'm such an idiot...what if I woke someone!? The sudden onset of paranoia caused him to pivot towards the doorway with a start, despite no real evidence of having caused a disturbance. Wide eyes darted around as another shiver rode up his spine, and Monkey finally shut them tight, shaking his head in futile attempts to stifle the worsening anxiety. I gotta get out of here.
He shortly crept his way to the exit of the kitchen, but instead of retreating back to the safety of his quarters, the comedian headed for a much more authentic freedom.
Out in the fresh air at last, he allowed himself a few deep, cleansing breaths without worry of being heard by his slumbering teammates. But where do I go now? he thought to himself as he lifted his head up to scan the palace grounds. Hesitantly, Monkey lowered down to his knuckles and carefully continued his way onward, until he came to rest at the top of the long trail of steps leading down to the Valley of Peace.
He stared down into the darkening descent in rather urgent confliction. Only a few days had he been a resident of this place, but he still needn't a soul's word to know that somewhere along the valley's dingiest backstreets lay exactly the fix his tormented body needed. His brow crinkled as shame washed over him again. There was still time to reconsider! He could head back now, return to the barracks like nothing happened, and resume all furious efforts to not claw his own face off amidst the withdrawal.
Or...he could fix it.
The simian took a deep breath, and weakly lifted a foot, ready to heed the cries of his disastrously impulsive nature; but just as he went to take that first step towards them, the mellifluous voice of a previously unnoticed bystander froze him dead in his tracks.
"Going somewhere?"
Monkey nearly jumped out of his fur at such an unexpected address. Gasping, he swerved around to face none other than the ever-fanciful Grand Master Oogway, but not without a balance lost and a ridiculous scramble to find his feet again. The shock left him in a rather violent shudder - as if he wasn't anxious enough already - as he quickly fought to regain composure.
He spluttered, "S-Sir!"
The old green one tilted his head curiously. When it was clear to him that the flustered ape was currently at a complete loss for any other words, he softened into a warm smile, after which a soft chuckle followed. "My sincere apologies, young warrior; I did not mean to frighten you!"
At the words, Monkey blinked in surprise, before directing his gaze down and away to hide the embarrassment that grew in color on his cheeks. With a moment of breathing, his shuddering gradually died down, though he still clung to himself nervously as he wracked his mind for how exactly he was going to explain his way out of this one. Or if that was even an option anymore.
"It's alright, Master," he finally whispered a new reply despite the situation. "I-I'm...okay."
An awkward gesture of respect followed the statement as Monkey fumbled to catch his fist in an open palm. His reptilian superior continued to watch him patiently before dipping his head in response. He gently said, "Mmmm. That is a nice thought. But something tells me you are not as 'okay' as you'd like to be."
The ape quickly rose up again, eyes wide with fear at the question of what exactly the other meant to imply with such a statement; but when he opened his mouth to speak, he only found his breath caught in the back of his throat. Whether it was the withdrawal, the prickling pangs of guilt, or the bitter truth behind an old master's words, Monkey knew not. Perhaps it was everything.
A tremble of his bottom lip brought his jaw to close. And as dark blue eyes shimmered in the moonlight, the miserable student suddenly collapsed in on himself with a stifled sob that, befitting him all too well, nearly sounded more like a laugh. But Oogway knew better.
"There, there," he cooed, stepping closer to comfort his aggrieved companion with a tender touch to the arm. He then moved to guide him gently back over the top of the stairs, as he continued with an encouraging proposition. "Why don't you come sit down with me for a bit?"
Against further unsuccessful attempts to suppress the evidence of his deplorable state, Monkey could only accept the offer with a weakened nod. He allowed himself to be led.
Po breathed, entranced.
"So...you were an addict."
With a pitifully ironic half-smirk, Monkey answered, "I was a lot of things."
Po hesitated.
"So...how did you get out of it?"
With due consideration, Monkey shifted a moon-kissed gaze back up to meet the panda's own. Then he continued his tale.
Over the course of their journey, Monkey gradually managed to find stability again; or at least, something akin to it. It had been quite some time since he'd last had a good cry. Much more naturally came the comedian's extraordinary gift of laughing in all faces of fear and tragedy alike. Which was one of the biggest reasons for the excruciating inner turmoil he dealt with. How could one with such a gift as his have such immense and recurring difficulty with such a contradicting pitfall? Answers escaped him always.
But perhaps, he simply hadn't been searching in the right places.
As the chosen location for the Grand Master's unrevealed plans came into view, his simian acquaintance blinked shining eyes wide with wonder. They had arrived at the arborian sanctuary he would soon know well as the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom.
Oogway chuckled at the young one's captivation. "I thought I would take us somewhere where we could find a little more tranquility. Beautiful, is it not?"
Monkey nodded before he replied with a soft sincerity. "Yes. It is."
The tortoise then went ahead to find a spot underneath the tree's sheltering canopy, into which he settled down and beckoned his doleful company to follow suit. Without question, the ape obliged. He continued gazing up from his new angle in shy admiration, until Oogway next spoke.
"Now," the scaled prophet carefully began with his true intention. "Tell me, child. What ails you?"
Fear once again took hold at the direct inquiry, leaving its victim stiff and wide-eyed. Hesitantly, Monkey inhaled, and opened his mouth to speak; but when nothing came of it, he instead lowered his troubled gaze to meet his master's, and fought to keep a second display of grief at bay. He swallowed, and tried again to respond.
"S-Sir," he breathed quietly. "You have no idea...how honored I am to be here. I can't thank you and Master Shifu enough for giving me an opportunity like this." Shakily, he sighed, and looked away as blue eyes began to shimmer. "But...sir, I have done nothing in my life worth honoring."
Oogway tilted his head thoughtfully. He asked, "What have you done, then?"
Shutting his eyes now, the simian kept his gaze averted. He lowered his head down to rest on a pair of laced hands, as if trying to hide away from the confessions he prepared to make. For a moment, he went silent. Then with a heavy heart, and a second of bated breath, he answered the question.
"Far too much to even account for. I've lived with thieves, bandits, been one of them. I've used people, hurt people who didn't deserve it, including my own mother. My time on the streets has left me in a mess of addictions I still struggle with." Monkey paused. "I've been worse. Much worse. But, even now, I'm...I don't deserve your favor."
Silence followed the short story, in which the old reptile considered the facts he'd just been given. One thing, if nothing else, was for certain: Master Comedian had a lot to learn about the nature of the universe, the importance of the present, and the glorious destiny that would await him once he accepted it.
With a nod, Oogway replied. "Hmmm. I see that you have many regrets, and much to conquer still." He paused. "But don't you see, my fearful friend, that that is exactly why you are here?"
Monkey froze at the words of his superior, before lifting his face back up, donned with a wrinkled brow of utter befuddlement. He faltered, "W-What?"
The green one smiled knowingly, and gave a soft chuckle.
He continued with sincerity. "Let me tell you something, Monkey..."
"And that's when he told me something I've never forgotten," Monkey inhaled with a wistful smile, before he went on to quote the grand master's classic words of wisdom. "Yesterday is history; tomorrow is a mystery-"
"BUT TODAY IS A GIFT! THAT'S WHY IT'S CALLED THE PRESENT!" Po suddenly interjected, much to his comrade's surprise.
The ape blinked, his face very quickly shifting into a brilliant reflection of the bear's blindingly transparent enthusiasm, with a small twist of wonderment. He concurred, "YEAH!"
As if Po had forgotten that they were too far away to be heard by anyone at the palace, he then lowered his voice back down a few notches, though his sprightly mien endured. "Oh my gosh! I can't believe Oogway said that to you! HE SAID THAT TO ME TOO!"
"Really!?" asked Monkey, still glowing back at him.
"Really!" Po squeaked a giddy reply. "It was the whole reason I stayed even after you guys, er, well, Tigress, told me not to...at first."
Now flicking his tail as he blushed from mild embarrassment and stifled an adorably awkward laugh at the memory, the simian master almost seemed to forget that he was not, in fact, a dazzled schoolkid hidden behind an unlikely crush. He paused for a short moment to find himself again. His excited companion, of course, beat him to it.
Po continued insightfully, "And you stayed too! So...so he helped you too! Right?"
Proudly, Monkey nodded, straightening his posture just a hair before he said, "He told me that if I was willing to put faith in my masters, and more importantly, to put faith in myself, they would help me find peace, and a path worthy of honor." He looked away for a few seconds. "Honestly, at that point, I wasn't certain if I believed they could help me or not. I'm not even sure why I felt so moved to open up to Master Oogway the way I did that night. But..."
The ape trailed off in a mumble suddenly, and seemed to freeze in his thoughts. For a moment, he was silenced. Then with an inhale, his eyes grew wide in an expression nothing short of amazement. Po subsequently blinked into his own version, though much more from confusion than...whatever Monkey's epiphany represented.
"But...what?" he asked when his friend remained in the rather uncanny state of shock a moment more. "You alright?"
Just as quickly as it had come over him, it was gone with Po's next words. For the most part, anyway. Monkey shook his head, still in a bit of a breathless daze, before he replied. "Ah, yeah! Yeah! I just...it's nothing, I'm fine." A slightly awkward pause followed. "Um. I was just saying that, even though I wasn't convinced that... Well...y'know that feeling when you just...know that you should trust someone?"
Blue eyes full of adoration met unwavering green ones again. And Po melted into a tender smile.
"Yeah," he softly agreed. "I know."
Notes:
Pre-KFP2.
Well THIS one sure took me long enough. I'm sure it's uh, pretty clear why.
"Dragonstars" in this chapter is actually referring to meteor showers! I didn't know if peoples in Ancient China knew what meteors were, so I researched into it & came to find that they actually thought meteors were sky dragons that brought blessings or omens upon the land. Which is totally awesome, so I rolled away with it, ahah.
Anywho... Just so y'all know, the frequency of my updates will probably stay at a slower pace for the next few months, as my long-distance partner has just arrived for an extended holiday with me. I'll try my best to write when I can, and as always, I thank you for reading & hope you enjoy this rather...darker turn of my inspiration. :')
If you're looking for more reading material in the meantime, I very highly recommend Tomas the Betrayer's story "Heart of a Croc". It's one of the best fics I've read in years & full of great fun in all genres! You will not regret it!