Chapter Text
"Bud? Is something wrong?"
MK and Monkey King sat on one of the many peaks of Flower Fruit Mountain after training, the sky quietly clear and peaches in their hands. MK looked down at his, still whole, but slightly squished from how tightly he was holding it. His grip loosened.
"I just...what if someone else comes along? Like the Lady Bone Demon, or even more powerful?"
A hand rested on MK's shoulder and he turned, finding Monkey King wearing a soft smile. "We'll all be right here to fight them, together."
"But what if that doesn't work? What if we're not enough? What if...?"
What if he wasn't enough?
Monkey King turned MK to face him. "Kid, what brought this on? You were so excited just a few days ago."
A sigh left MK, his shoulders shrugging. The words The Lady Bone Demon had left him with, all the destruction she left behind, had been repeating ever since the night of the celebration of her defeat, but he wasn't about to tell Monkey King that. "I can't let that happen again."
Monkey King let out a soft breath, pulling MK close. "Are you saying you wanna amp up your training?"
"No. I need more than training." His vision was suddenly painted gold, and he stared down at himself. That seal from the very beginning rested against his chest. Most of his power rested behind it. He blinked the gold away. "I want you to break the seal."
Monkey King's eyes grew wide with alarm. "Bud, are you sure? That much power all at once-"
"I'm sure." MK smiled despite everything in his head. "You'll be here to make sure nothing goes wrong, right?"
The smile he got in return was weak, unbelieving. "Yeah, I'll be right here."
A short ride on his cloud later, Monkey King and MK landed in the desert far outside of Megapolis. They both hopped off, and Monkey King took a breath. "Alright, this is going to be a lot of power. It's going to be overwhelming, and probably scary."
"Can't you unleash it in pieces?"
"I can certainly try, but there's always the possibility of a chain reaction letting all of it loose at once."
MK nodded in understanding. He took a deep breath, low in his middle. As he held it, he pictured his friends: Mei and her laughter, Pigsy and his steady presence, Mister Tang and his love of noodles, even Red Son and Macaque and their goodness. He let the breath out slowly, meeting Monkey King's golden eyes. "Alright. I'm ready."
Monkey King took a deep breath himself, then extended his hands. They rested on MK's chest and a pulse of power rushed through him. The chains around his power loosened...
...then screamed.
Power flickered through his muscles, his bones, his blood. It seeped into his every crevice, every pore. It didn't hurt, not quite, not yet, but it stretched, morphed his muscles, changed the bones beneath them. MK squeezed his eyes shut, pressing his hands to his head, falling to his knees. A tingling sheen flickered sharply across his skin. Something stretched from his tailbone, angry and lashing before curling around his arm. It was soft, furry, a modicum of comfort.
The tingling grew worse and worse, the magic building in a fiery crescendo from tingling, to pins and needles, to something almost like pain.
Then he lifted off the ground.
MK's eyes snapped open, and he found himself wrapped in a tall column off light, flying away from the Monkey King. He cried out, urging himself to go back down, but his body would not obey.
Monkey King hopped on his cloud, flying up to MK and prying his hands off his head and gripping them in his claws.
"Monkey King! What's happening?! Why am I-"
His hands were squeezed tightly, then pulled to Monkey King's chest. The monkey winced, his tail lashing, but he didn't let go. "Turns out there was a lot more power than I thought there would be. But don't worry. I said I'd be right here and I meant it."
MK grunted as a particularly violent surge ran through his muscles and bones, tearing them at the seams and reforming them. The tingling energy flared sharply before remaining just over his his skin. He felt warmer, and there was something soft all over. When he looked at at his arm, it seemed to be...fur.
Dark brown fur had appeared over his skin, golden energy flickering between the fibers. And the thing that had wrapped around him? It was a tail. A long, prehensile monkey's tail.
He had become a monkey, just like his idol and mentor.
The column of golden light slowly closed. Rather than letting gravity take over, Monkey King pulled him onto the cloud, arms curling around him.
The power in his body had stopped tearing him to pieces, but had settled in the cracks: the spaces between tendons, muscle and bone, and in all the empty spaces, filling him up with a low buzz. He took a deep breath. Let it out. Wondered how the air fit inside of him with all of the power inside him. "That...that was a lot."
Monkey King let out a startled laugh. "Yeah, I'd think so." His smile fell into something concerned, brows arcing upwards. "How are you feeling? Are you okay?"
MK took stock for a second. He was buzzing, like his whole body was vibrating with energy. He was warm. Too warm. He pulled away from Monkey King and slipped his jacket off his shoulders, revealing the fur on his arms in all its glory. "Okay, wow." He winced at his own voice, then reached out to touch his ears. They were bigger, rounder. He ran his palms along his soft fur. Same texture as the Monkey King and his subjects. He was gonna give such good hugs now. That thought made him smile despite everything.
"Should I take that as a yes?"
"Huh? Oh!" He had forgot that he had asked him questions. "Well, like I said, this is a lot, but...I think I'll be okay."
"Good. But you look like you could still use a hug." Without waiting for an answer, Monkey King pulled him close again. MK relaxed into it, closing his eyes as his tail wrapped around his mentor. There was a lot he was gonna need to deal with, but for now, he was just gonna enjoy this.