Jade and Chen stood face to face, the snake demon brandishing one of his guandao's while his student wields another. The bull demon charges first, holding the guandao like Jade had taught him to as he goes in for a strike. The snake demon easily dodges, and thus the two begin to spar.

It didn't take long for Jade to overpower his student, forcing Chen to drop the guandao before sweeping his feet out from under him with his tail. The trick works as Chen falls to the ground with an "oomph!". "Hey! No fair!"
"You were the one who wanted to spar with myguandao's, even though the weapon clearly isn't for you." Jade states, pulling the young demon to his feet again. Chen huffs, brushing the dirt off his pants, but the grin gave way that he didn't really care. "So why did you want to practise with myguandao's?" Jade asks curiously as he puts both his weapons away. At his question his student shrugs. "You know, just for more experience and what not- hey, do you know anything about fire powers?" the bull demon asks suddenly as he puts on his work jacket.
The snake demon pauses, looking back at Chen. "Well, not really- I don't have pyrokinesis myself. Why do you ask?" he questions, thinking it has something to do with the bull demons biological brother. Chen hums, glancing down at his hand as he remembers the incident with the idiotic driver the other day. "No reason. Oh shoot! I better get going, I'm running late- see ya tomorrow Jade!" Chen calls out with a grin as he runs out the door, barely giving the snake demon enough time to say goodbye. "Oh- bye."

Chen rushes out the door, running down the street towards Pigsy's Noodles. He hadn't used the tuk-tuk that day since MK was using the only one the night prior. The second had to be repaired due to an... "incident" with the noodle shops new rivals. But thankfully he didn't have to pick upÉrzi that day, since apparently his father had a day free from work.

He finally makes it to the noodle shop, noticing that MK was inside sitting at the counter ranting about something while holding an ice-pack to his bruised head. The bull demon glances up at the clock, noticing how he was five minutes late. Pigsy wouldn't care, right-

"CHEN! You're late!"

Ah, nuts. Chen turns around to face the pig man, who gives him a disapproving look. "Where were you? You're almost never late!" he points out. "Was it those speedy panda punks again?"
The bull demon glances at MK and the bruises on his face. "...yes."
Pigsy growls, frustrated by this news as his hands clench into fists. "Those punks with their flashy frozen microwaved junk! Convenience can never replace a traditional, home cooked family recipe." He declares, gesturing to a picture board displaying photos of his family, specifically one of a young Pigsy and his mother smiling at the camera.
MK lowers the ice pack from his head as Chen starts putting his hair up into a bun to keep it out of the way of his work, careful not to get it caught up in his horns and ears. The bull demon stops and cringes as MK says his next words.
"Yeah, but they do do it quicker."

Pigsy spins around to face the boy with a glare, and MK laughs nervously as he realises his mistake. "All I'm saying is, maybe you could afford to pick up the pace?" he adds sheepishly. It didn't help his case, though. As Pigsy starts yelling at MK about how HE'S the delivery driver, Chen disappears into the kitchen to cook.
As Chen gets to work, he could hear his father go on a rant about how his noodles were carefully made from scratch with love and care. As he finishes his rant, Tang chuckles and pipes up. "Don't you worry about me, Pigsy!I'ma loyal customer!"
"More like a loyal freeloader."

Tang gasps, offended by the pig mans words. And Chen couldn't help but burst out laughing from the kitchen, making Tang even more offended. MK's voice rings out through the noodle shop before Tang could retort, causing Chen to peer around the corner with a raised brow and a smirk. "I'm telling you Pigsy! If something doesn't change, we're gonna be run out of business!" he exclaims. Chen scoffs, leaning on the doorway. "I think it'll take a little more than that to run Pigsy outta business. Like you not doing your job for one."
"You two just don't get it." Pigsy interrupts. "I poured my heart into this place! From the pots, to the utensils, even my grandmothers antique windows!" As he says this though, gesturing to the beautifully designed windows, a brick smashes through the window startling them.
Chen immediately gets up, rushing outside to find the culprit. As soon as he reaches the door a motor bike's engine could be heard revving up before speeding away, not giving the bull demon a chance to see who was responsible for the damage.
"There's a note?" MK points out, pointing to the brick on the kitchen floor, and sure enough he was right. Pigsy picks up the note and opens it, the others crowding around to take a closer look. Tang hums thoughtfully, reading it aloud. "Attention: Pigsy's Noodles. Prepare for your worst nightmare. We challenge you to "Food Wars", to determine which restaurant truly reigns supreme. Signed, Speedy Panda."
"Did they have to throw a brick through our dang window-"

"So, someone gonna tell me what the donk "Food Wars" is?" MK asks, to which Pigsy huffs and scrunches up the note. "Food Wars! The ultimate arena for chefs to duke it out, where the victors are hailed supreme above all others! Speedy Panda, I accept your challenge!" Pigsy declares.

Chen looks around the arena as the announcer talks over the speakers, noticing the crowds and crowds of people. Some were wearing Speedy Panda merch, while others were waving signs for Pigsy's Noodles. The bull demon glances to MK and Pigsy, the former looking around excitedly at the crowd.
"Introducing first for Pigsy's Noodle Shop: Pigsy and his assistants, MK and Chen!" the narrator introduces, gesturing to the trio. Chen looks around in surprise. They had all driven here with Tang, but now the older man was nowhere to be found. "Uh where's Tang-"
A bunch of dust kicking up distracts him, Mk and he coughing as they wave the dirt away. "And their opponents: Speedy Panda Convenience Mart! And it's owners: these guys!" the narrator says. As the dust clears, Chen could see that the Speedy Panda delivery drivers were standing opposite them, and behind them...
"Remember us, Monkie Kid?" A familiar voice calls out, and the bull demon whips his head up to face the duo standing behind the Speedy Panda's. "Ugh, not these idiots..."
"We're your worst enemies, Jin!"
"And Yin!" the two demons pose, cackling maniacally. "The Gold and Silver Demons!"
The crowds cheer, but Mk and Chen were left dumbfounded. "I'm sorry, who-" MK asks, genuinely confused about their identity. Chen face palms, turning to his brother. "How can you not remember these morons?" he says incredulously. He remembered the demons all too well from the calabash. How could he NOT? They practically dumped the largest lore drop on him in the worst way.
Pigsy steps between the two boys and the demons, also unamused by this turn of events. "I don't even know you guys! What do ya got against my restaurant?!" he demands, pointing an accusatory finger at the duo. Ying grins, speaking up first. "So here's the plan, right? We figure if we put your noodle shop out is business, then Noodle Boy is out of a job!"
Jin nods along. "And if he's out of a job, he'll starve! Which will make him weak and then-"

"We'll finally be able to destroy him!" They both laugh at their devious plan, which infuriated Pigsy even more. Chen was fully on board with the Pig man, he was NOT going to let this slide after what they've done to him.

Chen sat on his bike next to MK, who was in this tuk-tuk, waiting for the announcer to finish talking. The first competition was a race, where Pigsy would have to toss ingredients to the two boys for the next competition and they'd have to rush to the kitchen area of the arena. Once the announcer counted down from three Pigsy practically threw ingredients at the two boys, Chen catching them pretty easily due to working in the kitchen with Pigsy for so long. But of course the stray vegetable flew a little too far out of his reach.
Once they were done MK and Chen sped off, the bull demon now noticing that one of the Speedy Panda workers was already ahead of them.

Revving his bike, Chen speeds ahead of the worker which he didn't like, and clashed his own bike into him. Chen was able to throw him off easily, cackling like a madman. "So long loser!"
That was when he noticed a hissing sound. He looks down, realising his bike had a flat tire. "What the?! There's no way-" he looks up to see the worker speeding off, grinning from ear to ear as he went after MK. "CHEATER! THAT HAS TO BE AGAINST THE RULES!"

Chen glares at the Speedy Panda workers with a glare, still salty that they got to get away with that stupid cheater move. Pigsy pats his shoulder. "Don't worry, kid- we'll get the last laugh when we win the competition."
The bull demon growls in frustration as their opponents snicker, turning to instead put his focus on the announcer. "In Round 2, competitors will put their culinary prowess to the test in a cook-off with the winner being chosen by a panel of precariously selected judges!"

"They better not be hacked or something." Chen mutters to himself, turning to help Pigsy with the cooking part. The two rush around the kitchen, Chen helping Pigsy whenever he can while MK waited to serve the judges their meal. The young man glances between the duo then to the count down board, getting increasingly nervous as the seconds ticked by. "Pigsy we gotta move!" he claims. Pigsy scoffs, stirring the pot. "I told you, MK. Good food takes time-" he starts, only to be cutoff by the cranky bull demon. "WE KNOW MK! Don't rush us!" he turns back to the pig man. "Is this missing something? I feel like it's missing something."

"Exactly what I was thinking-" Just as Pigsy agrees, Jin "accidentally" drops a bottle into the soup, the twins giggling to themselves as Chen whips around to face them fast he almost got whiplash. "Oops! Clumsy us!" The two scurry off, steam practically blowing out of Chen's ears.
MK starts to freak out, and Chen very much understood why. They didn't have enough time to restart the meal, it was ruined-

"That was... that was actually what it was missing!" Pigsy declares, much to the boys relief. They finish setting up, before MK rushed off with the bowls of noodles just as the gong striked, signalling the timer finished.

Pigsy, MK and Chen stood in front of the judge's table with their prepared meal, Jin and Yin holding their own "meal" beside them. The spot lights turn on, facing the three chairs as the suspense builds. "Both the competitors must now present their culinary creations to our panel of judges." The announcer states as the first judge is revealed. "Introducing our first judge: Princess Iron Fan!"

Chen freezes in place, staring at the celestial princess in stunned silence. She sat at the judge's table, seemingly looking annoyed at just being here.How the hell did they get her here? WHY was she here?

MK stands protectively in front of the silent bull demon, pointing an accusatory finger at her. "Ah, you've come to tussle with the champ?!" he declares, ready to roll up his sleeve. But Princess Iron Fan rolls her eyes at his words. "Oh, please. Like I have energy to waste on you, Noodle Boy." she scoffs, gesturing to the two idiotic demons beside the heroes. "I'm here to settle a debt and that's all. Knew I shouldn't have made that blood-oath." she mutters the last part to herself.
Pigsy glances at Chen, noticing how silent he was during the exchange. The pig man could see that the young demons fur was bristled, his eyes glued to the princess.

His gaze was cold, full of hatred towards the princess. Even after the small reconciling with the Demon Bull King and Red Son, he hadn't forgiven her for everything. After all, Red Son had confirmed it was her idea to try and brainwash him. And she hasn't even tried apologising for it yet.
And when she glanced over to him, briefly making eye contact before looking away- that just made his blood boil with rage. It took all he had to not go marching up to her, to demand her reasoning.
But he had to focus on the competition right now. Hopefully she won't run away again after this circus show was over.

"Judge number two is none other than the Monkey King!" the announcer snaps the young bull out of his thoughts, looking towards the second chair in shock as a familiar face sat there. "Monkey King?!"
"MONKEY KING!"

"I, Monkey King, fully endorse this product or sports event." The crappily recorded voice of Monkey King speaks, and Chen realised with disappointment that the Great Sage hadn't returned from his vacation. It was merely a cardboard cut out.
What did surprise him, however, was the reveal of the third judge. For sitting in the last seat was none other than Tang, happily waving at the crowd of silent people. "And judge number 3, and apparently a fan favourite- this guy!"
"Thanks for having me! Great to be here!"

MK cheers and pumps his fist excitedly, and Chen couldn't help but feel relieved that Tang was one of the judges. He knew he'd never vote against Pigsy's food. However when he turned to his father, the pig man was anything but excited. In fact, he looked nervous as he held his food, knees shaking as Tang peers down at him from his high judgy throne. "Uh pops? Is something wrong?" he asks, but he doesn't answer. MK is the one to put two and two together. "Oh, he's probably worried Tang's gonna vote against him as some form of revenge for always treating him like garbage all the time. Right? Is that it?"
OH. Oh that'd be bad.There's no WAY Tang would be that petty, would he?

"Would you shush!" Pigsy shushes him, glancing back at Tang.

The announcer speaks up once more, interrupting any further conversation. "First up, is Speedy Panda with what looks like an assortment of mushy dim sum filled with..." he trails off as Jin and Yin reveals their food. "Mystery meat!"
"With a side of deep-fried spring rolls topped with whatever sauce was in this packet. It's edible... enough."
Princess Iron Fan looks at the meal in disgust, pushing it with her chopsticks, not even daring to try it. "I'll take your word for it..."

Even from his position Chen could see the flies hovering over the monstrous concoction of food. He gags at just the sight alone, he couldn't bring himself to think of what it tasted like. Lucky for them, Tang was the one who had to sacrifice his taste buds.
Tang takes a bite, his expression immediately scrunching up with repulsion before spitting out the abomination of a meal.
The Monkey King cardboard cutout doesn't move, just repeating the same lines it was programmed with. "Thank you for your interest in the Monkey King and the Monkey King branded items!"

Now came Pigsy's turn. As the announcer talks over the speaker, he steps forth with his own tray. He displays it to the judges, keeping his cool even as he gave his bowl to Tang. "This is a family recipe: Xinjiang pulled noodle soup! Qing man yong!"

Tang pushes up his glasses dramatically, taking a bite of his his dish. Chen glances away from his secondary father figure to stare at Princess Iron Fan. As she takes a bite of hers there's a split second where she pauses, savouring the delicious food as a single tear rolls down her cheek. However she quickly composes herself, crossing her arms. "There's no way I'm voting for your restaurant. My vote's for Speedy Panda." She states, making her choice. Chen scowls, catching the princess's attention but she makes a point to ignore him.

Tang stands up, gaining everyone's attention. "Well, well, well. i've been waiting a long time to say this to you, Pigsy." He says, pausing for dramatic effect. It works, the pig man left sweating as the suspense builds. "My vote goes to..."

C'mon Tang, don't do it-

"Pigsy's Noodles!" Chen and Pigsy both breathe a sigh of relief. "Of course it does! His food is a work of genius!" Jin and Yin weren't so pleased with this outcome, vocalising their disappointment.
"That's one vote for Speedy Panda and one vote for Pigsy's! It all comes down to judge number 3!" the announcer states, pointing to the cardboard cutout of Monkey King. Everyone looks towards the old cutout. For a moment it stands there, starting another one of it's prerecorded lines before it suddenly tilts, bending over before falling headfirst into Pigsy's dish. Everyone stands there in silence, confused for a second on what just happened, before MK quickly pipes up. "HE ENDORSED PIGSY'S! He endorsed it!"
Apparently it counts, for Pigsy's won the second round. Chen grins, elbowing MK. "Nice."

After losing the second round, Jin and Yin glance to each other, getting an idea. Jin turns to Pigsy, grinning. "Alright, Pigsy! What say we up the ante a bit? Let's make this final contest sudden death!"
"Yeah, loser has to close their restaurant forever!" Yin pipes up. While MK seemed a bit hesitant, Chen and Pigsy were quick to jump in. "Don't have to ask us twice! We'll mop the floor with you dorks!"
"Prepare to lose, cheaters!"

MK was about to speak up when the announcer interrupts him for round 3. "And now the final competition: Mascot combat!" The three heroes were left confused at the announcement, turning around to see Jin and Yin had brought out their mascot: a panda mech. MK scoffs at the sight. "Yeah, cool. Nice death machine! That ain't got nothing on our..." he pauses, grimacing as the trio turn to see their Food truck breaking down and falling apart. "Okay, so, we might have a little problem..."

Chen and Pigsy now realise their mistake. They got too cocky. Pigsy looks back at the panda mech, already giving up hope of winning this fight. "I can't believe it. I dedicated my life to that shop but now I'm gonna lose it to a couple of demons because I was too arrogant to stand down. You were right, MK. No one cares for tradition or centuries-old recipes. They're being forgotten and replaced by instant microwavable junk." He starts to break down at the realisation. Chen looks down at him, glancing at MK before the two nod in determination. They knew how much Pigsy's shop meant to him, and they damn well weren't gonna let these demons win. Chen places a hand on Pigsy's shoulder. "We're gonna stop you right there, pops. You're not gonna just give up after we've come so far are ya?"
"Yeah, there's no way we're gonna back down now! I may not understand your irrational love for noodles, or working hard, or being angry all the time, but you are always there when we need you. So it's time for us to return the favor!" MK asserts quite aggressively, summoning his staff. "BECAUSE PIGSY'S NOODLES ARE WORTH FIGHTING FOR!"

With that the young man throws Pigsy into the air, Chen jumping up to follow suit as MK says his catchphrase. "Here... comes... Monkie Pig!"
Well, kind of his catchphrase.

MK uses his staff to transform the broken down food truck into the Noodle Tank, stunning the demon brothers. MK, Pigsy and Chen stood a top it, ready to battle. "Us little guys are fighting back! Your tyrannical reign over the food sector in this city is over!" MK starts his hero speech, quickly backed up by Tang. "No amount of convenience will ever win the hearts of us food lovers!"
"Tang!"
"I was never gonna vote against you, old friend!"

Jin and Yin get in their mech, the two foes getting ready to fight- when all of a sudden another demon, Jin and Yin's accountant, steps in and breaks up the two before they could fight.
She holds up a clipboard toward Jin and Yin as they ask what the problem is, explaining how after they spent their money on the panda mech, they didn't have enough money to pay their drivers, claiming them bankrupt.
Pigsy had to cover MK's eyes as the Speedy Panda drivers, now enraged that they weren't going to be paid, attack Jin and Yin.

As they fought for their lives, Chen looks away from Jin and Yin to check the judges seats, which were empty. Princess Iron Fan was gone. Again.

Chen enters the back area of the judge's seats, seeing it empty. It infuriated that the princess had fled without a word, again-

"Child."

The bull demon freezes, turning toward the place he entered. Princess Iron Fan stood there, her usual unbothered and annoyed expression now unreadable. "I figured you wouldn't want to speak to me. But if that's the case, then why are you seeking me out?" She asks, getting straight to the point.
Chen pauses, now at a loss. He honestly never thought he'd get this far. Last time they saw each other was when they were fighting for that strange key.
Yet here she was, the Princess Iron Fan. His mother.

"I... I want answers. I want to know why you tried to brainwash me, how we even got in this mess at all- how was I seperated from you in the first place-" He looks at her, searching for something in her unreadable expression,anything. "I- I was kidnapped, wasn't I?"

There it was. As Chen said those words, a look of grief fell over her expression before she quickly composed herself. "When I saw you at the Great Wall Race... I wasn't thinking clearly when made that decision. For that I am sorry, child. As for how we were separated- that's also true. And I don't even know by whom." she explains, stepping closer. Chen's gaze lowers to the floor as she continues. "My friend and I searched all over the mortal realm for you, yet we couldn't find a trace of you or your kidnapper. After a century, we assumed you were killed."

Princess Iron Fan gently placed a hand under his chin, lifting the young bull demons head up to look him in the eyes. Chen could see the guilt and regret in her eyes as she looked him over. "You've grown so much... I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you, my son. But maybe it was for the best."

Chen was silent, confused by her words. But when he opened his mouth to speak he was interrupted by MK and Pigsy calling him from outside. The two of them turn to the entrance before Princess Iron Fan sighs, stepping back. "If you ever want to talk more, I'm sure that dragon girl has Red Son's phone number." she says simply, bringing out her fan.

"Goodbye, Chen."

With a gust of wind she was gone, leaving Chen alone. For a moment he stood there, his mind reeling as he thought over their small interaction.
"Chen? Oh! Chen! There you are!" MK says, opening the curtains. "What are you doing in here? We're about to head back to the shop- you coming?" he asks, tilting his head as he looks at his brother in mild confusion. Chen glances to the spot Princess Iron Fan had been standing moments before. "Yeah yeah, I'm coming..."

After winning the championship the heroes return to the Noodle Shop, where Pigsy, Tang and Chen sat at the counter while MK returned from the kitchen carrying a bowl of freshly made noodles. "Order up! I don't know if I got the broth right..." MK explains as he serves Pigsy his recipe. Pigsy chuckles, taking a bite. "It's alright, kid. You got plenty of time to learn. Hey, guys, thanks for having my back, back there..." he adds, and all three could tell how truly grateful he was. "You know it."
"Always!"
"We'd never let ya down pops."

Another voice pipes up, surprising them all. It came from the Monkey King cardboard cutout that MK had INSISTED should come back to the shop. It's voice came out glitchy. "Believe in yourself. Even a smidge makes all the difference."

MK gasps, pointing to it. "He- he kind of said the thing!" Pigsy and Tang laugh, Chen smiling to himself. But his mind was elsewhere, thinking about Princess Iron Fan and the Demon Bull family. And for once, he felt at peace.

Jade sat peacefully in the darkness of the dojo, engrossed in the book on his lap and the only source of light coming from a candle nearby.

All was quiet, until a familiar voice jolts the snake demon out of his concentration, causing him to quickly shove the book into his coat.
"Greetings,partner. Our Lady awaits." the voice hisses from behind him, cold and full of... glee?

Jade turns around, seeing the Chief of War- or, well, the mayor in this time, apparently- standing there, that same creepy smile on his face. But there was something different this time. He seemed almost a little too excited. "She what?"

"Our Lady wants to speak to you, Jade Warrior." the chief of war explains, opening a portal behind him before giving the snake demon a mocking bow. "Better not keep her waiting,friend."

Jade hesitantly gets to his feet, glancing at the smiling man before entering the portal.

The area was cold and dark, but by the smell Jade could tell he was underneath the city, within the Spider Queen's Silken Web Cave somewhere. Luckily for him, there was no sight of the Queen or her henchmen.
Using his heat vision he looks around, noticing a cave entrance ahead glowing a faint blue. He walks towards it, the chief of war following behind him eerily silently. The only reason he knew the man was there was by his heat vision.
Entering the cavern, Jade stops in his tracks at the sight before him. There in the center of the room was a large blueprint for the Bone mech. And in front of it, with her back turned to him, was the Lady Bone Demon, hidden by her hosts form.
Jade bows down before her to show his respect. "My Lady. You wanted to see me?"

The Bone Demon is silent for a moment, not even bothering to face him. "What do you think you're doing out there, Jade Warrior?" she asks, her voice quiet. Jade falls quiet, a sinking feeling in his gut.Uh oh."I don't understand my Lady-"
A gust of ice cold wind envelopes him, before a blue chain wraps itself around his neck and lifts him off his feet. It dangles him helplessly in the air, leaving Jade to fight for air and clutching at the blue chain in vain.
The Lady Bone Demon turns to face him, her expression cold and full of anger. "You know exactly what I'm talking about, Jade Warrior. Did you really think I wouldn't find out about your little adventures?" She hisses. The bone demon floats up to face him, not caring for the struggling demon. "You're straying away from the mission. This-" she summons the book from Jade's coat, looking down at it in disgust. "Is a distraction. You're getting too attached to those mortals.They're trying to trick you, to distract you from your true purpose. Remember why you're here in the first place?"

Jade drops to the ground, gasping for air as the chain disappears. But he barely had time to recover before his partner yanks him up by his hair, forcing him to look up at their Lady. She was back to standing in front of him. "You're here because I created you, remember? You're only purpose is to serve me. This nonsense, this "plan" to bring the Demon Bull King's offspring to our side stops now." She spat, the book in her hand being shredded to pieces by her powers. "From now on you'll stay within the walls of the Silken Web Cave, and you're not to go near the mortals. Do I make myself clear?"
The chief of war pulls again, causing Jade to wince and hiss in pain, his voice strained. "Y-yes my Lady-"

"Good."

With that he finally let go, leaving the snake demon alone. The Lady Bone Demon turns back to her plans, back to appearing like the sweet, innocent girl she currently possessed. "And make sure the Spider Queen doesn't catch sight of you. The last thing I need is having my creation eaten before he served his purpose."

"O-of course, my Lady..."
Jade gets to his feet, looking down at the shredded paper at his feet as he rubbed his sore neck. The Chief stood next to the bone demon, but from his place Jade could tell he found great enjoyment in what just transpired.

The snake demon could hear voices approaching from one of the tunnel entrances, most likely the Spider Queen and her henchmen returning. He steps into the shadows, going into hiding for as long as his Lady wishes...

A/N: Say bye to Jade everyone! Also isn't Yin actually younger or something. Also please tell me if Chen and Princess Iron Fans thing was weird or not lmao