CW: Kidnapping

After escaping from The Eastern Dragon Palace, the team continued their journey for the next ring of the Samadhi. It was the middle of the night and by now everyone was fast asleep.

Well, almost everyone.

Liu Ér Mihou sat by the van window watching the world go by. He couldn't sleep not one wink. I mean how can he sleep when the world is practically ending and his little girl's been possessed by a genocidal psychopath.

Buddha, he felt like such a failure. It was like that...fateful night all over again.

His train of thoughts was cut short by a two on his shoulder. He sees MK staring at him waving her hand in front of his face. "Macaque. Hey, you okay'?"

"What? Oh, sorry. I was just thinking."

"You worried about Bai-He?" she asked in a soft voice.

"Of course I am!" The ebony furred simian practically shouted, scaring the young girl. "Sorry, sorry. It's just-" He looks down at his hand, it was a dirty faded pink hairband. "I don't know what I'll do if..." Macaque sighed solemnly as he gripped the hairband and stared at the window, the desert sands passing by.

"You know I've always wondered this but, how did she ended up with you guys?" MK asked, settling down next to him.

Macaque chuckled, sitting himself up. "It was long ago, I met her when I was searching for my magical lantern. I had got captured by some demon traffickers who I battled in the past.

MK gasped, placing a paw over her mouth. "That's...terrible. You mean they--" she trailed off.

"Hunting and trafficking children? Yep. And She just happened to be in the same cell as me."

The demons that held him laughed mockingly at the outrage monkey, one of them takes out a golden collar from its pocket before clipping it on him. Macaque grunts in pain as he was shoved into the ground the collar around his neck, blocking his abilities.

"Let me out of here, you F*#ING poachers!" Macaque snarled, Slamming and scratching against the cell bars with his claws. "You better be lucky I got this collar around my neck otherwise I'd kick your ASSES AGAIN!"

"Um... I don't think yelling is gonna get you out of here, mister." A voice made his ranting stop, the ebony furred monkey turning around to face a little girl sitting down behind him. She looked like she was about, eight, nine? She had loose and messy shoulder length black hair and bangs, there was a scar on her left cheek that had dried blood on it.

He also noticed the girl was dressed in a dirty, torn and ragged beige dress and was lacking shoes, so her feet were muddy and dirty.

What the...what the heck is a kid doing in a place like this?

"Oh, Uhh." Macaque sweat dropped, feeling a bit embarrassed by his foul mouth in front of a kid. "Sorry you had to hear all that."

The little girl shrugged, hugging her knees to her chest. "It's fine, I heard worse things." She sighed as she leaned back against the cold stone wall.

"What's a kid like you doing here? I'm sure your parents are worried about you." The monkey kneeled down in front of her, trying not to frighten her, although there seemed to be no fear whatsoever on her face.

"I...don't have parents, at least I don't think I do. I'm not sure how long I've been here exactly." The girl picked up a nearby rock before tossing it, clinking with the prison bars. "But I doubt that you're being saved for food."

Food?

FOOD?!

Macaque's tail lashed angrily at the thought. He knows fully well that demons eat humans--not just monks. Sometimes they go so far to kidnap people and even children.

He remember those awful times back when he was a warrior when he would find hundreds of human remains and leave nothing but bones.

It always sickened him.

"So...why are you here?" She asked, looking up curiously at Macaque. "If you don't mind me asking."

"Well, Um," Macaque gave a nervous laugh. "I got caught by these guys I've fought in the past, so, I'm here. But I'm not going to stay here long."

"Oh," The girl hummed, glancing away as she hugged her knees to her chest. "Well have fun trying to escape."

"You're...not gonna even try to leave?" He asked her.

She just shook her head, hanging her head low so her bangs covered her face. "No, I give up, I'm not going anywhere."

Macaque couldn't believe what his six ears are hearing. She's not even gonna try to escape? The kid's just gonna give up completely.

He felt like he wanted to throw up to say the least. She looked so pure, so innocent. Not only that but so sweet and kind to him as well. He couldn't imagine what kind of shit the kids been through.

The monkey demon remained quiet as his mind tried to processes everything that has been happening. The little girls noticed his tail was twitching aggressively and an angry look slowly spread to his face.

"Sir? Are you okay?" She looked up at him with a worried look on her face.

He had to-has to do something. And he'd know what to do.

"Hey listen, I understand. It's scary being all alone with no one. And I bet you've never had a nice home-cooked meal in your life," The elder smiled, his voice soft and soothing, he extended his paw out. "How about you and I get outta here, together."

She eyed the monkey wearily, unsure of what to make of him. "...How do i know you won't eat me?"

Macaque chuckled, rolling his eyes playfully. "Kid, Monkeys don't eat meat, we're vegetarian. I won't hurt you, I promise."

The little girl stared at the mysterious demon in front of her, unsure whether to trust him or not. She'd try to escape before but that ended badly for her, the damage of her face was proof of that.

But...for some reason, she felt she can trust this guy.

She smiled, reaching her hand out, taking his hand. She yelped when he stood up holding her in his arms. "By the way, what's your name?"

"I'm Bai-He."

"Cute. My name's Macaque."

"And so I brought her back to the mountains, Wukong spoiled her rotten and the rest is history." Shame filled Macaque's face and he closed his eyes, turning his head away from the brunette. His tail curled around his leg as the shadows around them started writhing.

"We'll get her back, Macaque." MK swore, rubbing small circles into the ebony simian's back. "I promise."

"Thanks kid." He said, the two sat there for a while until the youngster fell back asleep on his lap, Macaque brushed some strands of hair out her face.

"Happy birthday, kitten..." he muttered quietly.