He had followed the light, and made it out of the water.

But once he broke to the surface, he found a nightmare.

MK was standing outside the noodle shop. The Lady Bone Demon had frozen everyone. Everyone he cared about, frozen, dead, right outside his home. He screamed their names, but their open eyes continued to stare skyward lifelessly, like they were still waiting for someone to save them.

They were waiting for him.

He was too late.

Pain...

MK screamed again, this time in anguish. His grief knew no limits. Everyone was gone.

And it was his fault.

Monkey King was about three blocks from the shop when he felt it. A massive wave of power was exploding from nearby. Seconds later, a column of gold light shot into the atmosphere.

"Kid!!"

Sun Wukong urged his Nimbus as fast as it would go. Something was terribly wrong with MK, and he needed to get there now.

As he rounded the last corner, he froze.

A handful of cars had been thrown down the block, and people were scrambling to get to safety. MK's friends were helping those closest out of overturned vehicles, their eyes hardly leaving the pillar of light at the epicenter of the damage.

Mei was the first to notice him, and waved him over.

"You have to help him! We can't get close, but maybe you can! We'll clear the street!"

Wukong nodded and took off.

Getting to MK was a lot more difficult than he imagined. The amount of power still pouring out of the kid was beyond dangerous. Not just to the bystanders, but MK himself. There was no way his body could handle that much. If Wukong didn't stop him soon, there wouldn't be a Monkie Kid to save.

"MK! Bud, can you hear me?! It's the Monkey King!"

MK, lost in his grief, thought he had imagined the voice at first. After a few moments, he realized it was real. Someone was calling his name.

Tears streamed unchecked from his eyes, but he hardly noticed as he looked up and saw him.

It was the Monkey King. Or at least, it used to be.

Sun Wukong stood before him, his eyes cold and blue in possession.

"You..." he whispered. He clenched his fists, the tears dripping down onto the hot flesh. "They trusted you to protect them," his voice grew louder with each word. "I trusted you to protect them!"

MK felt the anger burn through him. How could he?! "You killed them!"

Monkey King listened, too shocked at first to utter a response. MK was out of his mind, lost in some hallucination. He had to get through to him somehow.

"MK, I need you to listen to me! Whatever you're seeing isn't real! None of this is real!"

Monkey King was trying to trick him. He knew if he listened, even for a moment, that would be it. MK knew he couldn't beat the Monkey King on his own, and especially not when she was controlling him.

But he'd be damned if he didn't avenge his friends first.

He called his staff to his hands. Once the solid weight made contact, he swung.

Wukong barely dodged the first strike, unexpected as it was. The blow crashed into the upper level of the shop, decimating the front wall of MK's apartment. The building wouldn't survive another hit. He had to end this now.

The Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, had to take the kid down.

He called the staff back to his own hand.

MK knew he didn't have much time. He readied the staff for another blow, this one with everything he had left behind it. The staff swung back, and just as he poured all his strength into it, it flew out of his grasp.

"NO!"

He watched as Monkey King caught the weapon easily, and knew he was done for.

MK felt his power flicker, then disappear altogether. He fell to the ground in a heap.

"MK!"

Sun Wukong watched MK fall, but couldn't catch him in time. He rushed forward, dropping the staff as he grabbed MK and pulled him into his lap. The kid was hot to the touch.

"Kid! Are you all right? Say something!"

MK opened his eyes. They were glazed over, still lost in the illusion. "I... I failed them. I always failed them, and now they're all dead. Because of me."

Monkey King shook his head, fighting back tears of his own. The kid looked broken. "No, no bud. It's not real."

Hazy brown eyes stared up at him for a moment. The boy in Wukong's arms trembled terribly.

"Please... please just do it. Just kill me. I can't do it anymore. I can't..." A wrenching sob tore from MK's raw throat, and Wukong felt his heart shatter at the sound.

"Oh bud, I'm so sorry."

Wukong pulled a small blue stone from his pocket and touched it to MK's forehead. The effect was immediate. He felt the kid sag, his eyes sliding closed.

The others must have finished their task, because when Wukong looked up they were crowded around him. He felt his arms tighten protectivy around MK for a moment before he forced himself to relax.

Pigsy knelt down next to them, eyes wide. "Is he...?"

Monkey King shook his head. "No, but he's not in good shape either. He used too much power and he's got nothing left. I found something called a Holding Stone. He's basically in a coma until I remove it. It was the only way to stop him, I swear."

The pig demon nodded, his worry still evident. "I know. But what now? Won't that night hag just come after him again? If he's this weak, she might-"

Tang laid a hand on Pigsy's shoulder. "We won't let that happen."

Sandy and Mei both nodded, and Pigsy gave Tang's hand a grateful squeeze.

Monkey King stood, MK clutched in his arms. "I think I might have an idea that could end this, but I would need to take MK with me."

He explained his plan to the group. They were understandably hesitant, but aquiesed.

Pigsy patted MK's hand. "It's not like we have anything better, and this might be our only shot at savin' him. Just- just take care of my boy, ok?"

Wukong summoned his nimbus and took off as fast as he dared. Instead of heading toward Flower Fruit Mountain, he turned toward downtown and a certain simian's shadowy dojo.