"So, what up, Monkey King?" MK asked once they were out of the door to Tang's apartment's line of sight. "You got a plan for how we hunt down the bros?"

"Sorta," Sun Wukong said with a half a chuckle. His successor's excitement and eagerness to help his friends and family (and he knew very well who the younger considered family) was something that the sage found endearing about him. It was part of the reason why he picked him in the first place, part of what made him a fit for the role of Monkie Kid. "What do you remember about that fight the other day?"

"Nothing all that exciting," MK answered with a shrug. The two stopped at the bottom of the stairs, leaning against them as they talked. "Jin and Yin were following us around for a while. I think they thought we didn't notice... but it was kinda obvious. They attacked us once we were closer to home and gave some kind of speech about how they were gonna 'prove they could outsmart the Monkie Kid!' And then they actually tried to fight me. Put up a decent fight for once."

"What do you mean?" Sun Wukong asked with a raise of his brow, suddenly a little more intrigued.

"Most of their past schemes were basically a two-step plan they either didn't think through or thought too much about," MK said with a cringe, clearly remembering his past run-ins with the Metal Brothers. "It was weird though..."

"Weird how?" The Monkey King asked, interest piqued immediately at the confused tone of his successor.

"It was like they planned out the fight in advance," MK muttered as he scratched the back of his head in thought. "That's not really their thing, ya know? It was almost like—"

"They had help," Sun Wukong said simultaneously with MK. "Makes sense, with everything that happened a few months ago. A lot of the demons in the area have relocated and formed new alliances. I know I saw the Bull family welcoming a few people from the Lantern City whose homes were damaged, and now there's a lot more travel to their fortress on the regular from demons and humans alike who they've helped."

"Really!?" MK shouted in surprise, laughing once he processed the information. "That explains why Red has been so tired during our video calls and game streams! He still doesn't wanna look soft in front of us, he keeps saying he's working on robots but I bet he and his dad have been cooking for everyone."

Sun Wukong couldn't help but smile at the thought. From what he had seen flying over the area on his cloud? MK's guess was probably right on the money. His nose could always pick up the telltale smell of that spice the fire wielding demon liked to add to his cuisine.

Things had changed so much since the defeat of the Lady Bone Demon. Yet at the same time it was almost like they were back to the simpler times before the Lunar New Year. New friends, old foes, new allies. Sometimes old foes became new allies.

They hadn't had the chance to visit Chang'e again, though it wasn't exactly a secret that Pigsy and her had exchanged contact info to work on recipes together. Nezha visited from time to time now that his duty of guarding the map was no longer necessary. Sun Wukong still found it odd to see the Third Lotus Prince rolling around on roller skates, instead of his fire wheels. Nevertheless, the Great Sage was happy that Nezha was able to enjoy parts of modern life with MK, Mei, Red Son, and Bai He.

Speaking of Bai He...

He knew that wasn't her actual name, but no one would tell him what it was! It was almost like a running joke to keep him out of the loop, making it so he only knew her nicknames instead of her actual name. Bai He and Nezha made up the "Lily and Lotus duo" next to the "Traffic Light Trio" of the others. She was always ready and willing to get the Great Sage tongue-tied with wordplay or make him fall into a joke he didn't see coming.

To think that the Hostess of the Lady Bone Demon was such a joker... it made him happy. He was glad that they were able to save her and that he hadn't had to do what he feared he might. She was a smart kid—young but incredibly bright—and creative to boot. She adored Sandy's cats with all of her heart, loved helping Pigsy making noodles, listened to MK and Tang talk for hours, helped Mei and Red Son with their tech, was the key player in helping Nezha get used to things around the city, and played games with everyone. It turned out she was quite the tabletop roleplay enthusiast!

The more she hung out with MK's friend group the more she blossomed. "Uh, Monkey King? Earth to Sun Wukong! HEY!"

"AH!" Sun Wukong yelped in surprise, blinking and finding his vision filled with two angry eyes and a whole lot of pink. "Pigsy! Hi! W-When did you—?"

"When you were lost in whatever thinking you were doing," the chef answered as he straightened back up and walked down the rest of the few stairs he had stopped on. "So... what's the plan? I assume you two are cooking one up already."

The two powerful monkies looked at each other and then back at Pigsy with a simultaneous shrug.

"We're still workshopping it," MK said honestly. "We need to figure out where they are and, since they're probably working with someone, we need to figure out who that is too. And then... figure out the rest of the plan?"

If the enthusiastic smile the young man gave Pigsy was reassuring in any way? The chef didn't show it in the least.

"Please promise me you're actually gonna come back after you leave tomorrow?"

"Aaaactually..." MK chuckled nervously, glancing at Sun Wukong for a split second. "I was thinking we should start now? I mean, the sooner we start the better for Tang right?"

"Makes sense to me!" Sun Wukong agreed. "The sooner we start on recon, the sooner we can come back and make an actual game plan."

"Are you both sure you're ready to head out?" Pigsy asked with a raise of his brow. "Shouldn't you get some sleep or lunch first?"

Sun Wukong opened his mouth to protest, but he was beaten to the punch by his own stomach growling at him. "...Heh... I might have... been making myself something before MK picked me up."

"Yeah, you're not goin' anywhere," Pigsy said with a sigh and a shake of his head. "Let's get you fed, at the very least. And set up a time limit, I don't want either of you flyin' around when you're half awake!"

"Does that mean you'll buy us coffee on the way back to the shop!?" MK asked in excitement.

"Only because Bai He asked me to pick her up some cheese tea, but Monkey King is—"

"Still banned from caffeine, I know. Geeze, you punch a hole in a wall one time..."

"And that's the gist of it," Pigsy said as he finished his recounting of what happened before he came back with dinner. "They flew off right before I started working the lunch rush so they're probably still flying around as we speak."

Tang couldn't help but smile at this information. He knew that they would do anything to figure out what this was, of course they would, but the fact they wanted to do it immediately? That just... made him happy. To remember that everyone cared for him this much.

"You think they're going to find the brothers in time?" Tang asked softly as he rolled the fruit back and forth in his palms. It felt odd, if he were to be honest, to not quite feel the strawberry under his fur. Like feeling it through mittens.

"Even if they don't?" Pigsy said in return, grabbing a blueberry and popping it into his mouth. "You'll still be you. We'll figure out a way to make it work."

The words made Tang pause.

Pigsy was right, when he thought about it. As long as they figured out what the curse was and made sure he wouldn't turn into an actual rabbit after his demon transformation was done? It wouldn't be impossible for him to get used to it all. Sure, the fur would be difficult to get used to, and his ears would take time to work around. His increased hearing would take a long time to adjust to. But... he was still him, human or rabbit demon. And besides! Maybe some of whatever new abilities he had could come in handy in day to day life. He knew the hearing would make it a lot easier to hear and corral any unruly students in his classes at the very least.

It was just... scary. Knowing he had no control or consent over the changes, that they weren't even meant for him at all. The uncertainty of when they would stop, if they even would. And the reason...

If he was just turned immediately—poof and Bunny Him!—that would be one thing.

But why did he have to change when he thought of Pigsy? That was the worst part. Worse than even the pain of the transformations themselves. It felt like he couldn't even be honest with himself in his own head anymore, lest he change without meaning to. He wished it was easier to be honest. To just come out and tell Pigsy how he felt. Heck, he'd met his parents! His parents liked him! Tang had nothing to worry about except the cold harsh dose of rejection he was certain he was in for. But then again..

When one denied their feelings for over a decade... could they really be surprised it was hard to admit them at all?

Tang popped the strawberry in his mouth while he thought, smiling a bit at the sweet tartness of it. It tasted... better than he expected. "These are good!" he said with a chuckle. "I was never that big on strawberries but if this change means I like them more now? I could totally live with that."

"Heh, and here I thought I would never see the day you admit you disliked a food that wasn't carrots," Pigsy said with a soft chuckle and a smirk. Tang couldn't help himself.

Just... the way he smiled. The relief he seemed to have on his face.

It just slipped out of him.

"Stop being cute like that."

"You think I'm cute?" Pigsy asked in slow surprise, the smallest hint of an awkward smile forming on his face.

"N-NO!" Tang said without thinking, immediately regretting his knee jerk reaction and attempting to fix it. "I-I mean! You're more... uh, h-handsome?"

A blush might have formed on the other's face. Tang wouldn't know. He was too distracted by the urge to sneeze that took over.

Then the sneeze, the feeling like he'd been slapped in the face, and then the sound of his glasses hitting the table.

The two stared at each other for a moment. Tang was lucky that he was nearsighted and thus still able to see Pigsy even without his glasses on. The chef stared as Tang reached up and touched his nose. His very much no longer human nose.

"Uh... Y-You... Uh..." Pigsy started slowly, gesturing to Tang's face slowly.

"Oh, COME ON!" Tang yelled in frustration, holding his nose and squeezing it to make sure it was really a rabbit nose now. The pinch of pain confirmed it. "No, no, no, no, I wear glasses! Now how am I going to see? They were already barely staying on squashed onto my human nose! They're definitely not going to stay on like this!"

"Tang..."

"Is every part of me going to change!?" Tang groaned out in frustration. "Is every part of me going to be different at the end of this? I can't keep one thing? Are my eyes going to change? Do contacts work on rabbit eyes? What if my eyes get worse!?"

"Whoa, whoa, breathe Tang," Pigsy said softly. He reached up, putting his hands on either side of his face and...

Tang froze.

It was... nice.

He had never had his face held like this by anyone before. And Pigsy's hands were so warm, not too soft and just barely pressing against his fur.

He felt silly in that moment, for reacting as strongly as he did.

"Sorry..." Tang said softly, leaning into the touch without meaning to. "I'm..."

"Scared," Pigsy finished for him. "I get it. But we can figure something out in the meantime. You got any of those hair clips Mei bought you for your birthday lyin' around?"

"There," Pigsy said with a soft chuckle. "Shake your head and see if they stay on."

Tang frowned, slowly shaking his head from side to side to test out the solution. He could feel the hair clips pulling on his fur... but his glasses stayed mostly in place. Just to be sure, he decided to shake his head a little harder to test the limits of this solution.

Or he would have had he not immediately smacked himself in the face with his own ears and yelped in surprise. The sound of Pigsy's laugh made him freeze before he could even react further, moving his ears out of the way to look at the other through his crooked glasses.

"We probably should have factored those in," Pigsy chuckled. He reached up and righted Tang's glasses again.

And then booped his nose.

Just. Reached up. Poked his nose with a finger. With the same kind of little "boop" Tang had heard Mei do before.

Pigsy was redder than Tang had ever seen him once he realized what he had just done.

"I'M SORRY, THAT WAS WEIRD!" Pigsy yelled out before he realized what he was doing, immediately grimacing and turning away as he groaned out. "I'm sorry, really, just... just forget I did that! I can't believe I did that, so stupid, aaaaahhhhh—"

Pigsy continued to mutter to himself, embarrassed to a degree the scholar had rarely seen before. Tang was going to say it was okay, that he wasn't bothered by it so much as he was shocked. It didn't seem like something he would expect the chef to do! But then...

His ears picked up something just under Pigsy's muttering. Maybe it was because he was getting used to his hearing. Maybe it was because somehow all of his neighbors were out or quiet at just the right moment. There were fewer cars on the road for him to hear through the walls.

Whatever the reason, he heard it all the same as clear as day.

"Shhh," Tang said as he held up his hand for a moment. Without meaning to, he tilted his head, ears lifting softly as if on instinct to pick up the sound clearer.

"Uuuuuh Ta—"

"SHHHH!" Tang cut Pigsy off, tilting his head the other way. His eyes widened as he finally realized what the sound was. Smooth and rhythmic and relaxing to hear. "I... I think I can hear your... heartbeat?"

"OK, snack time is over!" MK announced as he shoved the last bite of the bun Pigsy had packed for them in his mouth. "TIME TO GO!"

"Hold on, bud," Sun Wukong said as he wrapped his tail around MK and pulled him to stand next to him. "I have an idea."

"Is this going to be a surprise lesson again? Right now?"

"Yes."

"Seriously?" MK groaned in mild frustration, though the Monkey King was not in the least bothered by that. Not this time. "We need to get moving, now, I—"

"I think it's about time you learn how to ride this thing properly," Sun Wukong said with a smile as he moved aside and gestured to his cloud. "Can't have you holding onto me forever, after all."

MK looked between his mentor and his somersault cloud, mouth agape in shock. "Wait... Seriously?"

"Seriously! I'll help you until you get the hang of it, then you'll call the shots. It'll be way faster than you guiding me around the city like we've been doing."

"I take back my complaining. This is the third best day of my entire liiiiiiiiiife," MK breathed, immediately falling face first onto the cloud and giggling as he sunk into it.

"What are the first two?"

"Day I met Mei and the day Pigsy taught me his noodle recipe."

"Fair enough!" Sun Wukong said with a laugh as he helped his successor jump onto the cloud and find his balance. He joined him quickly, hands on his shoulders and tail wrapped protectively around his waist like a lifeline. Just in case. "Alright, make your movements purposeful and light, the cloud will listen to your movements. A small press with your front foot will make it go, but a huge one will make it zip fast enough to knock us off."

"It's kinda like riding a hoverboard!" MK laughed out as he wobbled slightly on the cloud. "A poofy, not completely flat hoverboard."

"Never rode one of those myself so I wouldn't know," Sun Wukong said with a chuckle. "But if it is anything like this, the key to both is balance. Once you get that and you know how to convince it to listen to you, you're good."

"Wait, is your cloud sentient?"

"You know, it's really unclear."

The glance MK gave him was a mix of confused and concerned, but he listened intently as he was guided through the basics.

And then they were off. Soaring through the air, a little too fast at first at first but MK got the hang of it in no time. The yells of excitement as he somersaulted them through the sky made Sun Wukong almost forget why they were out and about flying.

Almost.

"Hey..." MK said almost so quietly that Sun Wukong could hardly hear him over the rushing wind around them. "Mr. Tang is going to be okay, right?"

There was a moment of quiet between them, the wind the only sound either could pick up as it rushed through their hair.

"I don't know," Sun Wukong said honestly. "But whatever happens, it would be without us doing our best to make sure he will be."