I got carried on with this one, but I love it.
Warning: Canon divergence (what is canon anyway?), minor violence, character death, mention of blood, mention of torture, implied relationship
Art by 0de5mo (Twitter)
The Headband
For a long time, Six-eared Macaque and Sun Wukong had been together, working side by side to protect Fruit Flower Mountain long before the now-called Monkey King first confronted the Celestial Realm, even before meeting the other demons who were part of their Brotherhood. They had trained under the same Grand Master and sworn the same oath to look after each other, sharing so much together that they had practically become one. The hero and his shadow, two sides of the same coin perpetually spinning in a balance that few achieve. That's why it's so hard for him to understand why Sun Wukong accepted to be under the orders of the Jade Emperor after the crushing defeat in his attempt to overthrow him, only to practically vanish from the face of the earth.
He is ashamed to admit that he had to flee before receiving the same sentence given to the rest of his sworn brothers, but he doesn't regret what he did because otherwise, there would be no one left to save Wukong from the clutches of the Emperor, and since that day, he had been searching for the other monkey to free him. But finding him was proving to be much more difficult than he imagined when he began his search. He had spoken, or forced to speak, to every demon or human he came across in his travels, but all he got were screams or pleas claiming they knew nothing.
Finally, after more years than he could count, fortune smiled upon him when he heard word from some monks about the great feat that a certain Tang Sanzang was attempting alongside three demons, to travel to the West to retrieve who knows what for the Emperor, something unimportant compared to the information that one of those demons was Sun Wukong. Without hesitation, Macaque embarked on his journey in the same direction as quickly as possible to catch up with them, clinging to every small trace they might have left behind, stopping in every village where he suspected they had stopped to question the villagers and stay as focused as possible on his route.
For long, seemingly eternal days and nights, he kept walking, moving throguh shadows as much as he could, ignoring the fatigue slowly creeping into his body, weighing down his shoulders and whispering that taking a brief rest wouldn't make him lose his pace. On more than one occasion, his resolve was threatened by his muscles insisting on stopping, exhaustion sinking so deep into his bones that even breathing became difficult at times, but he refused to listen to his own body. He must find Wukong, he repeated to himself when his knees gave way, he had to find him and save him, he said to himself when his lungs burned from the effort and his vision blurred, preventing him from seeing the path beyond his nose. This continued until his body finally collapsed in the middle of a forest, surrounded by towering trees and small creatures watching him with curiosity.
After that first time, he had to reluctantly accept that if he kept pushing his body to the limit, he wouldn't have enough energy to carry Wukong with him when he found him. So, he devised a plan where he would push forward until his muscles couldn't take it anymore and then take short breaks to regain energy.
It is during one of these breaks that he finally hears it, a voice he would recognize with his eyes closed, accompanied by a sound he never thought he would hear in his life: a scream.
"Wukong," he whispers, standing up and focusing on his voice rather than what he is saying, locating where it is coming from before running in that direction.
The closer he gets, the more agitated Wukong's voice becomes, now accompanied by other voices that seem to be trying to calm him down or make him stop. He doesn't care at all, completely focused on his objective.
"Wukong!" He calls out upon reaching a small clearing in the middle of the forest where he sees the figure of the monkey, stopping dead in his tracks when his appearance causes the other occupants of the clearing to fall silent.
"Liu Er?" Wukong, who until that moment had his back turned to Macaque, slowly turns around, blinking with surprise. "Liu Er!" he repeats with more emotion than Macaque expected, rushing towards him with open arms and tears in his eyes. But before reaching him, his body freezes for a brief second before dropping to his knees with a stifled cry, quickly followed by a low sob that ruffles his fur.
Astounded, Macaque shifts his gaze from Wukong's trembling body to the other three members of the travel group. Just as he heard, there are two other demons besides Wukong, who dare not look at the monkey's body. And behind them, in the middle of both demons, a human dressed as a monk who can only be Tang Sanzang, observing Wukong intensely, the staff in his hand emitting a faint whitish aura.
"Liu... Er," Wukong calls, breathing heavily as he struggles to rise and slowly advances, narrowing the distance between them until he collapses into his arms.
Confused, Macaque holds him carefully, observing him from head to toe. The demon in his arms looks exhausted, his clothes more disheveled than usual, stained with dirt and blod, torn in some places, revealing both old and fairly recent wounds. He is the embodiment of disaster. And above his head, a shining golden headband that under other circumstances might resemble a crown on the proud demon now seems more like a mark of shame, an object that labels him as something belonging to the emperor rather than a living being. However, it is the terror mixed with pleading in Wukong's eyes that tightens his heart in sympathy and clenches his throat with ill-contained fury. Suppressing a growl, he helps him stand, gently stroking his back and emitting soft cooing sounds in an attempt to calm him, assuring him that he is there to help.
''Sun Wukong,'' the monk's voice interrupts their moment, cold and distant, accompanied by a reproachful gaze, "this behavior is unacceptable. Get rid of that... nuisance; we have a mission to complete."
In his arms, Sun Wukong tenses, holding onto him tightly, shaking his head and unable to utter any sound beyond the gurgles he had been making in response to Macaque's attempts to calm him. Upon his refusal, the monk sighs in disappointment, raising his staff.
"Master," one of the demons interjects, raising his hand as if trying to appease him, "it's not necessary. Sun Wukong just needs a minute, and..."
"Silence," the monk orders, looking disdainfully at the demon who spoke. "Wukong must obey. The Emperor said I must ensure he obeys all my orders, and now I am ordering him to get rid of this demon."
"No," Sun Wukong finally turns around, straightening himself to his full height as much as he can, his tail protectively coiling around Macaque's waist. "No, please, Master, ask me anything else... but not Liu Er," he pleads.
"Wukong," Macaque places a hand on his shoulder, concerned, but the monkey doesn't relent, holding his position as much as he can.
"You were warned, Sun Wukong," Tang, the monk, responds with indifference, raising his staff again and lightly striking the ground. Immediately, the staff begins to glow, and the headband on Wukong's head emits a similar aura.
To his horror, Sun Wukong once again freezes for a brief moment before falling to the ground, screaming. But contrary to moments before, neither the screams nor the glow of the headband ceases. Macaque kneels beside Wukong, bringing his hands to his head, attempting to remove the stupid headband. However, as he pulls at it, his fingers tangle in the monkey's fur, pulling out a few strands without budging the object even an inch.
"Stop!" he roars, looking at the monk with desperation, longing to launch himself at him but unwilling to leave Wukong lying on the ground, suffering.
"Bad behavior must be disciplined, or he will never learn to behave," the monk says, his gaze fixed on Wukong. After what feels like an eternity, he waves his staff, halting the flow of energy, and with it, Wukong's screams cease.
"You..." Macaque is about to rise when he feels Wukong's hand gripping his side, calling his attention.
"Liu... Er, ple⦠please," the monkey sobs, clutching the fabric of Macaque's clothing tightly. "I... I can't, please... I can't hurt you, but... I can't..." His other hand touches the headband, which seems to give him a small electric shock, causing him to quickly recoil.
In all the time they have known each other, Macaque has witnessed many facets of Wukong, but he has never seen him beg or plead for anything, always finding a way to get his way. Seeing him in this state, vulnerable and with no other choice but to obey absurd orders in exchange for avoiding punishment that borders on torture, shatters any reservations he may have had up to that point. Gently, he removes Wukong's hand from his clothing, turning towards the monk and the other two demons, growling fiercely as his shadow extends and multiple copies of himself emerge from it.
Without a word, he materializes his staff from within the shadows and launches himself at the three pilgrims along with his duplicates, aiming for the monk while the others target the two demons. To his complete disappointment, the fight lasts only a few seconds, as the two demons quickly surrender, likely tired of being under the monk's control or perhaps in a feeble attempt of solidarity with Wukong. As for the monk, he is so inept that he offers no real resistance to Macaque, merely moving his staff to create a small protective bubble around him that quickly yields to the powerful blows of his staff.
"Remove that stupid headband from him, now," he growls, gripping the monk's clothing and lifting him into the air.
"No, he must be disciplined or he never..."
"You're going to remove it, otherwise, whatever you're doing will be nothing compared to what I will do to you," his growl deepens and becomes more guttural, his eyes gleaming as his clones merge into his shadow, which slowly rises behind him.
"Do as you please," Tang Sanzang raises his face defiantly, "you can torture me as much as you want, but I won't disobey the Emperor. I won't remove it." And in an attempt to prove or demonstrate that he truly had some kind of control over the situation, he raises his staff and strikes the ground with it, eliciting a new cry of pain from Sun Wukong.
"No!" he roars, throwing the monk against one of the trees, quickly pouncing on him, wrapping his hand around his neck, his claws lightly tearing his skin. He clenches his jaw tightly, fighting the urge to go back to Wukong and try to comfort him, but if they didn't remove the headband, no matter what he did, he wouldn't...
His thoughts pause for a moment as his gaze shifts from the heavily breathing monk beneath him to the staff he still holds tightly. His eyes gleam with malice as he tightens the grip on his hand.
"If you won't remove it willingly, maybe getting rid of you will put an end to it," the monk's eyes widen in surprise, but before he can say anything or use the staff in any way to stop him, Macaque raises his hand, releasing his neck, and ruthlessly plunges his claws into the monk, cutting him.
Immediately, the monk's blood gushes out of the wound, causing his death almost instantly from rapid blood loss. With his last breath, the staff stops glowing, and the demon's screams stop. Without wasting any more time on the pathetic excuse for a human, Macaque stands up and runs towards Wukong, taking him in his arms as gently as possible, softly caressing his back, gurgling softly and rubbing his nose against his head.
"It's all over now," he whispers amidst coos, cradling the other against his chest, "you're safe. I won't let anyone ever hurt you again," he promises, sighing with relief when Wukong coos back, snuggling against him.
They remain like that for long minutes until Sun Wukong's breathing becomes soft, indicating that he has fallen asleep. Carefully, Macaque strokes his head, trying to slide his fingers under the headband to remove it, but he fails. He frowns, looking towards the monk's lifeless body, wondering why he couldn't do it. Unable to find a clear answer, he decides to leave it for now, lifting himself with Sun Wukong in his arms and opening a small portal of shadows to get away from there as quickly as possible.
The journey back to Fruit Flower Mountain is long, and with the monk dead, no one could harm his Sun. They would have time to find a way to remove the headband later.
For now, he will take his Sun back home.
