WARNING! This chapter has scenes of homophobia/transphobia, slight abuse (physical) and emotional manipulation (i think?), so this is your chance to skip this chapter all together (hasn't really got anything plot relevant, just a bit of backstory)

Seriously, this made me sick to write, so be careful if you do decide to read it.

– – –

Mei cackles maniacally, beating MK at Monkie Mech with ease and leaving the young man smashing frantically at the buttons. "Button smash all you want, MK! You'll never beat my Ancient Galloping Fury Power." Mei smirks.

Sandy, Chen and Rey stand behind the duo, watching them play. While Sandy and Rey try to give MK advice on how to win, Chen leans over Mei's shoulder with a wide grin. "Ha! Whoop his butt, Mei! Oh, you're gonna regret placing that bet, Rey!" Chen chuckles. Rey sweats, and Sandy tells MK to do an Up smash.

Mei cackles evilly. "No one can defeat me!" She claims, about to make the final blow when her phone vibrates in her pocket, and the young girl checks who it is. "Oh, boy." she mutters, as a picture of her mother covers the screen. She quickly steps away from the arcade game. "Hi, mom." she talks into the phone, leaving her character defenceless.

MK smirks, smashing the buttons once more. Chen's own grin drops, realising that MK was now winning the game without Mei there to stop him. He hurriedly runs to the open spot, pressing all sorts of buttons to try and beat MK. But alas, he wasn't the gamer of their group. MK beats his character easily, and the young man cheers in victory. "Take that!"

"Noooooo!" Chen groans, face planting the arcade game as Rey walks up to him. "What was that about MK not beating Mei?" they ask cheekily.
Chen groans again, digging his hands into his pocket and pulling out the betting money, placing the coins into Rey's open palm. They grin. "Aw, Chen, you shouldn't have!"
"Shut up."
MK smirks, but he quietly walks over to Mei when he hears the words "house sit".

"You know he wouldn't have won if Mei didn't get that phone call, right?" Chen states, crossing his arms. Rey shrugs. "He still won, though. So I still win the bet!"
"I want a rematch."
"Too bad cuz you ain't getting one!" they wink, sticking their tongue out at the young man. Chen scowls at his friend, when MK's next outburst catches their attention.

"Uh, did Mei say sleepover at her house?!" MK asks excitedly. At this, Mei waves her hands around wildly. "What? No! My parents wouldn't want-"
Chen perks up. "Wait, really?! A sleepover at Mei's place?!" he asks, joining MK. the young monkey man grins. "Yes! Sleepoveeer!"
"You know what this means, right?!" Chen shouts, grabbing onto MK's shoulders and shaking him about wildly. When he stops, MK nods with a grin. "We finally get to see inside Mei's secret Dragon House full of secret dragon stuff! Come on, please!?" MK begs, as Chen joins him. "Please, Mei?"
"Please, please, please, please, please?"

Mei huffs, sighing. "Sleepover it is…"
MK and Chen are ecstatic, when Sandy notices Rey off to the side. They didn't seem too thrilled about the idea of a sleepover at Mei's house, it seemed. The larger man walks over to them. "Uh…are you okay?"

Rey smiles, waving him off. "Pssh, I'm fine! Why-why wouldn't I be?" they laugh, crossing their arms. Sandy raises a brow. "Um…okay. So, are you coming to the sleepover too?"

Rey looks down the street, readjusting their glasses anxiously. "Well, I, uh, don't think I will." they state. At that news, MK gasps loudly, rushing over to their nonbinary pal. "Whaaaaat? Why not? C'mon, it'll be fun!" he promises. Rey shakes their head, waving their arms around. "Oh, no, it's fine! I'll be busy anyways, with getting my hearing aids fixed, stuff like that…." they trail off, sweating nervously.

Chen, watching the whole interaction, raises a brow. He knew Rey couldn't lie if their life depended on it. And this was one of those times. But he wasn't going to push it. MK, however, wasn't going to let them go that easily.
"Oh, c'mon, please? It'll be great! It'll be just us five, and we'll get to see cool dragon things! With no adults telling us it's bed time!" he promises, elbowing Rey.

They rub the back of their neck, thinking about it for a moment, before giving MK a small smile. "I mean, if it's okay with Mei, of course?" they glance over to the young woman in question, who shrugs. "Yeah, of course. As long as everyone does as I say." she shoots MK a look, who was oblivious to it.

From a nearby shop, a bull clone draped in a purple cloak listens to their conversations. He pulls up holograms of Mei's home, as another person listens in too.

From hers and her husband's secret hideout, Princess Ironfan listens to the transmission from General Ironclad. She herself was scrolling through holograms of legendary artefacts, landing on one of a dragon sword. "The Legendary Dragon Blade. That blade is amongst the most powerful artefacts in history. I do love powerful things." she chuckles. "Go, bring it to me." she orders the bull clone.

The clone gives a nod of understanding, following the group as they head to Mei's home.

– – –

The gang arrive at Mei's house, looking at the entrance of the house in awe. MK runs around, looking at all the fancy objects on the front lawn. "It's even better than I thought!" he squeals. Chen nods, looking around in amazement. "Yeah, growing up here must've been amazing!"

Mei chuckles nervously. "Yeah, I guess." she glances over to the large walls, remembering how they were her prison for years. "But…I don't know. When I was growing up, I just wanted to be rough and tumble. Break stuff, look at bugs. You know, have fun just like normal girl stuff." Mei explains. Rey listens quietly as Mei continues to rant, brows furrowing.
"But when your house is pretty much a museum and you come from a long line of ancient, noble dragons, that's kind of….frowned on."

Mei looks up, realising all eyes were on her. She puts on a smile. "Anyway, onwards to the definitely-not-going-to-be-terrible sleepover!" At that, everyone except for Rey dash off, not getting her message and leaving the two alone. Mei's shoulders slump, and she sighs. Rey places a hesitant hand on her shoulder. "H-hey, uh, if you need someone to talk to-"
Mei waves them off. "Thanks Rey, but I'm fine! I don't know what came over me." she chuckles.

Hearing a loud beeping noise, the two looked over to see the house's security system had been activated, and were about to shoot MK, Sandy and Chen. Mei rushes over, disarming the security system. "Yeah, my parents are a bit serious about the whole security thing."

A robotic voice greets them. "Welcome home, Mei. Welcome back, Mx. Rey."

MK, Sandy and Chen turn to Rey, who stands there awkwardly. MK is the first to speak, as he grabs Rey's shoulders, shaking them around wildly. "What?! You've been here before?! Why didn't you tell me!" he shouts. Rey pushes him off, rubbing their arm. "I, uh, haven't been here for a few years? Honestly, I'm surprised that the system still has me in it. And it doesn't have my dead name…" they mutter the last part, looking over to Mei expectantly. The girl shrugs. "Yeah, I did make some updates when the incident happened, so that if you DID come here, you knew you'd be welcome…" she trails off, as Rey looks away. Chen, MK, and Sandy glance between them, confused. "Uh, what now? What are you two talking about?"

"Forget we said anything." Mei says, seeing how uncomfortable Rey was getting.

The conversation was abruptly forgotten when the doors opened, and the guys were taken aback by the artefacts lining the room. There were statues, weapons, armour and more. "Whoa! This is amazing!"
"Holy moly…"
"What is all this stuff?" Sandy asks. Mei shrugs nonchalantly. "Ah, you know. Gifts, artefacts, offerings. Just stuff that's been in my family for-guys, wait!" she panics, seeing that MK was climbing all over things to get a better look, Sandy had picked up breakable objects and holding them up precariously, and Chen was touching some of the armour in amazement, just to see if it was authentic.

"If I had all this stuff, I don't even know what I'd do! Sell it, probably." MK exclaims, as the suit he'd been climbing on starts to topple over. Mei quickly catches it, setting it upright.
Chen grazes his hand over a sword, feeling the smooth, sharp metal under his finger tips. "This is amazing!" he whispers with a grin. Realising what he was doing, he stands up straight, coughing into his fist in embarrassment. "I mean-it's cool, or whatever."
Sandy picks up a pillar. "Wow, this looks great! Looks like a few good years, maybe centuries." he points out, as Rey runs over to him. "Sandy, you shouldn't do that- put it down! Please?"

"STOP!" Mei yells in anger, and everyone stops what they're doing. "Hand in pockets! NOW!" Mei demands, and Chen, MK and Sandy immediately obey.
Mei groans as she walks by them. "Follow me." She grumbles. The guys follow behind quietly, as Mei guides them to the next room. "You guys are such menaces you know that?"

Behind them, standing in the still open doors, General Ironclad watches the group leave. They step inside, looking for the Legendary Dragon Blade.

–

Mei is finishing off the tour, guiding her friends toward their sleepover destination. As they walk, the gang pass by another room. "And this is the Dragon Claw Chamber." the girl explains.

MK pauses in the doorway, his attention catching sight of a dragon statue holding a green blade. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold up!" he rushes inside to get a better look, while everyone follows behind too. The young man starts geeking out over it, running around the statue. "WHOA! Now this thing is cool! So, what's the dealio with this dealy, yo?"

"That's the sword of my great-great-great times a thousand great-grandfather, the Dragon of the West." Mei explains, pointing at a tapestry. "Legends say that my grandfather imbued it with unimaginable power so that our clan would always have the strength of the dragon to protect them. It's true power will only show itself to those deemed worthy. A true member of our clan who's proven themselves strong enough to protect our family from the forces of evil.
But I'm not allowed to touch it. Hey, anyone want to see the game room?"

The guys, who'd been listening intently on Mei's tale, get excited once more, and run ahead. Rey shouts out to them. "Guys! Slow down! You're in a museum, not a playground!"

They let out a frustrated sigh, as Mei walks up to them. "Meh, it's fine. If they break anything, they're gonna have to pay for it." she chuckles.
The two walk together in silence for a while, much slower than the others. The girl turns to her childhood friend. "So, it's been a while since you've last been here, huh?" she points out.

Rey nods. "Yeah, it feels so weird coming back. It's almost like nothing's changed." they point out. Mei chuckles. "It does feel that way, doesn't it?"

"….why didn't you come back?" Mei asks suddenly, and Rey turns to her. "What?"

"After the incident…why didn't you come to us? We would've taken you in." she says. Rey rubs the back of their neck. "I, uh….wasn't sure how your parents would react to me being…y'know. I didn't want to bother you." they say quietly. Mei tilts her head. "What do you mean? My parents would've understood your situation!" she insists. Rey shakes their head.

"It's…it's more complicated than that, Mei."

Mei raises a brow. But Rey doesn't even look in her direction, so she decided to just drop it. Maybe there was another reason for all of it. After all, in the time she knew the Lóng Fǎ family, they were very….controlling.

–

MK gasps as they reach the game room, noticing the pinball machine in the corner. "A pinball machine?! I've always wanted to try one of these!"
Chen shoves him aside. "Dibs! Move aside, Monkey boy!" he cackles, fiddling around with the knob. MK wasn't having it, as he tries to push Chen aside. "Hey, no fair!"

Mei shakes her head, resting her hands behind her head. "Now this place is home. Alright, you guys boot up the old TV. I will go get some sn-n-nacks!" she calls out, already at the doorway. "Don't break anything while I'm gone!"
She leaves the group alone, and MK, who held the pinball machine's plunger while he fought Chen for the machine, scoffs. "Ha! "Don't break anything while I'm gone!" Yeah, right." he pulls on the plunger. It breaks in his hand, and he looks down at it in horror. "Nooooo!"

Chen quickly takes a step back. "MK! How could you break Mei's pinball machine!"
"WHA- THIS IS YOUR FAULT TOO DON'T BE ALL "I'M INNOCENT" ABOUT IT!" MK yells, floundering about.

"So, uh…are we gonna fix it, or…?" Rey asks. Sandy pulls out a roll of tape from his pocket, holding it up. "Nothing a little tape won't fix!" he smiles kindly. MK quickly takes the tape, placing it on the plunger and pinball machine. Sandy watches him anxiously. "Careful, careful!"

He takes a step back, and he, Sandy and Chen all sigh in relief as it stays in place. Chen grins. "Well, now that that's fixed, why don't we go turn that TV on, eh?" he says, elbowing Rey. "So, where abouts is it, since you know where it is."
Before Rey could say anything, the entire pinball machine snaps in half.

"WHAT?!"
"We're gonna need more tape!" Sandy exclaims.

Chen groans, placing his head in his hands. Rey gives him a reassuring pat on the back, as Sandy and MK get to work lifting the two halves of the pinball machine. "Chen! Help us tape it together!" MK strains, pulling out tape from his pocket. Chen goes to help his friends, while Rey moves toward the door. "I'll just uh, make sure Mei doesn't come back before you're done." they chuckle, leaving.

Standing outside the room, they take a moment to look around. Roaming these familiar halls, they had a rush of nostalgia wash over them.
Running a hand through their dyed-pink hair, they let themselves relax, walking along the quiet halls of their childhood friend's home.

Everything was the same, as if they had time travelled to the past. Rey walks along the familiar halls, getting lost in their daydreams.

–

"Come on, Mei!" A young Rey giggles, pulling a young Mei through the long halls of Mei's home. The dragon pony girl follows behind, almost tripping on her long, fancy robes. "Wait up! These things are hard to run in!" she pouts, lifting up as much of the material as she could.
Young Rey sticks out their tongue. "Stop being a baby! I can run just fine!" they laugh.

Their laughter was interrupted when they run into a figure, almost knocking them off their feet. Mei stops in her tracks, looking up at Mr. Lóng Fǎ.
Rey hurriedly gets to their feet, standing straight up. "Sorry, father." they apologise, looking to the ground. Their father scowls at them. "What have you two been told about running in these halls? You could break something." he growls threateningly, eyes flashing gold. The two children dip their heads. "Sorry father."
"Sorry sir."

"I expected more from you, child." Mr. Lóng Fǎ sneers at Rey, moving past the two children. Rey flinches when he places a firm hand on their shoulder as he passes by. "Behave yourselves. We wouldn't want an accident."

With that, he leaves them be, and Rey and Mei walk much, much more slowly through the hall, all laughter now gone.

–

Rey's brows furrow. They and Mei hadn't had fun like that for so long now, especially after the incident. They wonder if Mei's family were still in touch with their parents?

They hoped not.

–

"APOLOGISE!"

The roar was dragon-like, as Mr. Lóng Fǎ squeezed Rey's wrist tightly. Rey tried ripping their arm away from the grip, face scrunched up in pain. "Stop! You're hurting me!" they yell out, trying to claw his hand off.

Mr. Lóng Fǎ snarls down at them. "You'll apologise to us now. You owe that to us for these disgusting lies!" he screeches. His grip tightens, and at long last, Rey had had enough. Bringing back their free arm, they punch their so-called father.
The man reels back, holding his nose, as his wife gasps loudly. Rey holds their wrist, as Mrs. Lóng Fǎ helps her husband to his feet, completely ignoring how he was treating her child. "How could you do this to us?! We're your parents!" she wails.

Rey growls, holding their injured wrist. ""How could I do this to you"!? You're both hypocrites! What about me?! How could you hurt your own child?! I don't owe you an apology for anything!" they yell back, tears streaming down their cheeks.

"I don't care what you think of me anymore! I know who I am, and I'm proud of myself! I'm not going to apologise for that!"

Mr. Lóng Fǎ gets to his feet, and his wife takes a step back in shock as the man walks toward Rey. Rey felt unsafe. He was quiet, expression unreadable. This man before them was dangerous and unpredictable.

"You're a disgrace." the man growls, walking past Rey and toward the door. "You'll never make it in this world without us. You know that, right?" he stands between the exit and them, and Rey tenses up, watching his every move. As the man starts walking back toward them, they quickly step back, keeping their distance.

"But if you apologise and forget about all this nonsense, maybe we could find it in our hearts to forgive you." he smiles, and Rey felt sick to their stomach at how innocent it looked. "You've hurt us, my child. But we can help fix you."

Rey had been backed into a corner now, and Rey realised too late until their back hit the wall. Looking back at Mr. Lóng Fǎ, the man reaches a hand toward them. "All you have to do is apologise. Is that too much to ask?" he gently places his hand on Rey's head, and they freeze.

He was too close.

He was touching them.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Rey screeches, shoving Mr. Lóng Fǎ as far away as possible. The man stumbles, but catches himself. He has a dangerous, dark look in his eye as he glares at Rey, all calmness gone.

Rey had already booked it toward the door, pushing it open as they run into the night. They were shaking, breathing heavily as they pushed on into the darkness. Their fathers angry yells could be heard behind them, but they didn't dare look back.

They had to leave. They had to get away.

And so Rey ran.

– – –

The true reason they didn't want to go to Mei's family was because they were scared. They were scared they'd contact Mr and Mrs. Lóng Fǎ, or that they'd be on THEIR side.
Mei was their friend, and they loved her. But back then they were scared.

But it was different now. Surely, Mei's parents would understand, right?

A boom disturbs them, and they pause, looking around. Nothing seemed out of place. Shaking their head, they continue walking, but are again interrupted by another boom.
"That can't be good."

–

Chen, Sandy and MK look at the broken pinball machine, desperately being held together by tape. It collapses, and Chen lets out a loud groan. "OH COME ON!"
Sandy places a hand on his shoulder. "Remember what we talked about? Deep breaths." he says. Chen takes in a deep breath and holds it, before letting it out in a heavy sigh. "It's fine, this is fine. This. Is. Fine." Chen closes his eyes, breathing again as he says, much more quietly in a deadpan voice. "I am sorry for getting angry."
Sandy smiles. "It's alright. But hey, you're getting better! You didn't start swearing, so I call that progress!"

Reaching into his pocket, Chen pulls out the roll of tape. "So are we gonna try again?"
MK shakes his head with a sigh. "No,no, I broke it. Part of being a hero is owning up to your mistakes." he says dramatically. "Wish me luck."

"Good luck!" Chen says. "Gee, I'm sure glad I didn't break it." he chuckles. Feeling someone place a hand on his shoulder, he looks up to see Sandy looking down at him with disappointment. Chen gulps, quickly looking away. But he could still see Sandy's staring at him. That judgmental gaze, full of disappointment….

"Ugh, fine! Fine. I'll "own up to my mistakes" too…" he grumbles, following MK while muttering nonsense under his breath. Sandy gives a nod of approval as he follows behind the two boys.

The boys move slowly through the halls, finding Mei in the room they had entered from. MK rubs his arm. "So, um, Mei, you know that really cool-"

'WHOA MEI WHAT HAPPENED?!" Chen asks, pointing at the hole in the wall where the doors were supposed to be, and the broken artefacts scattering the floor.
Rey enters the room too, finally finding the source of the noises they heard. They look around, speechless.

"Guys! Someone tried to steal the Dragon Sword. I stopped them with this! The Dragon Sword!" Mei exclaims, holding the sword up excitedly. MK gasps. "Whoa, the Dragon Sword! That's-" Sandy clears his throat, and MK, realising what they were there for, sighs. "Mei, I'm really glad you stopped them, but we have a confession to make." he says, gesturing to Chen and himself. "We accidentally…"

Mei looks at him expectantly. "Accidentally what?"

Chen and MK shoot each other a glance. They couldn't just drop the news they'd broken one of her machines after she just saved a precious family heirloom. Plus they didn't want to get in trouble, so….

"Accidentally….didn't realise what was happening!" Chen finishes with a chuckle. MK nods. "Yeah! Yeah! Wow, that thing's amazing!" he adds, taking a closer look at the sword.

"Ahem."

Everyone quickly turn to see two figures standing in the broken doorway, glaring at them. Mei gasps, quickly hiding the sword. "Mom! Dad! You're back." she smiles nervously. Her mother nods, looking around at the mess she made. We were on our way when we realised somebody forgot our luggage." she explains, shooting her husband a look.

MK leans over to Sandy. "Um, Sandy, were you kind of expecting Mei's parents to be literally two, big, scary dragons?" he asks.
"Um, no." Sandy looks away, clear to everyone that yes, he did.

As Mei explains to her parents and apologises, Rey steps out from behind the broken pillar, standing awkwardly beside Chen. The young man turns to them with a raised brow. "Where were you?" he asks. Rey shrugs. "Oh, just taking a stroll." they explain.
Mei's parents are now embracing her, and MK joins in the hug too. Chen flinches when he overhears that the pinball machine they broke was an irreplaceable object, and both he and MK share a nervous look.

When they part, Mei's parents turn to Rey, who tenses up under their gaze. They wave nervously as they approach. "U-um, hi, Mr and Mrs Dragon…" they greet. "Uh…long time no see?"
"Yes, it has been quite a while, uh…Rey, wasn't it?" Mr Dragon asks with a questionable look. Rey nods. "Y-yes, sir."

Mrs Dragon smiles warmly at them. "It's been too long, Rey. Welcome back. You must come back to visit while we're home next time." she insists. "But right now, my husband and I must get going. Have fun tonight, children." she says, as she and her husband grab their luggage and go*.

Mei playfully punches Rey's shoulder. "Alright! Welcome back, Rey!" she grins. Slinging her new sword over her shoulder, she lets out a sigh. "I think tonight is going to be awesome." she concludes. Sandy, Chen and MK share a glance, thinking about the still broken pinball machine in the game room, and they quietly retreat.

Rey smiles at Mei's words, cheeks warm. "Yeah, I think so too."

They are going to be okay. They are safe.

A/N: Oh what's this? Rey has traumatic backstory? Who would've guessed! (Literally anyone who's read my other stories lmao)
*the luggage: *appears out of thin air*
Yeah, this wasn't a fav chapter to write eufdyasj i have no clue what im doing. I hope it at least makes a LITTLE sense.

FOR CLARIFICATION NO I DON'T SHIP ANY OF MY CHARACTERS WITH CANON! Though, there will be one that WAS implied in the past, but nothing more than that unless I change my mind in the future.

By the time I update this, I'll have watched s4 of Monkie Kid and ya'll….YA'LL