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googleitlol · 7 months ago

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Whoooooooo's ready for depression???

Hehe, double upload to make up for not getting this out sooner. Anyway, here's some more grief and angst for you guys!

Dove Masterlist:

Banished

Once everyone finishes, your trek through the mountains continues. You find yourself looking between Wukong and Tripitaka on occasion, the tension from the fight still thick in the air between them. You still find yourself unable to comprehend the truth behind the dead girl, though the more you think about it, the less sense you’re able to find in the story.

Yes, Monkey King shouldn’t have killed a human, but you find yourself confused on what a young woman would be doing alone in the middle of nowhere with a bowl of rice in the first place. You flew over the mountain in search for the peach orchard, but didn’t see any signs of a settlement nearby. The entire situation is just odd to you.

You notice the twitch of Monkey’s ear, his body stiffening as his eyes narrow. “Someone is approaching down the path.” The others look ahead, you and Tripitaka squinting to see an elderly figure growing closer to your group.

“It looks like an old woman.” Pigsy grunts. “I only hope she isn’t looking for a young daughter, seeing as we all know what she would find.” “Shush, Idiot.” You hiss, though the possibility of the old woman knowing the girl Wukong murdered plants a seed of worry in your stomach. It is strange, though. You understand that you might have missed one traveller on your earlier flight, but did you miss this woman as well? Usually, you’re better at scoping out the land ahead of you.

Your confusion hardly matters, because in the blink of an eye, Sun Wukong is already at the old woman’s side. Your eyes widen as you watch the demon swing his staff down on the elderly lady in the flash of a moment, her body crumpling to the ground before Tripitaka can call out a warning to his disciple.

There’s hardly a moment for you to blink before Wukong’s body joins the limp woman’s on the ground, hands clenched around his circlet when you and the others manage to reach him. Tripitaka continues the spell for some time, your weight shifts from one foot to the next as you watch him scream out in agony. What can you say this time? His attack was unprovoked. She hadn’t even spoken a word to any of you before the King took her life. How could he have known she was a threat? She hardly looked able enough to be trekking through the mountain.

Even after the monk finishes reciting his spell, he gives Wukong little time to breathe. “Are you mad?! I scold you for killing that woman and you murder the next one you see?!”

“That was no woman, it was a monster!” The disciple shouts between heavy breaths. “The same as before.”

“The very same one you killed?” Tripitaka challenges, his demon disciple frowning at the question.

He looks down, his eyes flicking left and right as though he might find the answer there. “I, I don’t know how she survived my first strike.”

“Did that young woman not say she lived nearby with her family?” Pigsy intertwines himself in the conflict again, though his question makes you frown. “What if this elder was that girl’s mother?”

You snap at the demon. “Be quiet, Pig! I saw no homes when I flew over the mountain.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that Wukong has killed two innocents in less than a day.” He bites back with a smug grin, his arms crossed.

“Enough.” Tripitaka makes himself heard once more, his disciples looking back to see him pinching his nose. “Sun Wukong, I cannot keep looking the other way for you.”

He looks back down at the sage as he gets back onto his feet, his expression tired. “If you cannot help but give into your unruly nature, there is no place for you here.” The sage’s eyes widen at that, an uncertain frown overtaking his features at his master’s words.

The look is quickly masked by anger, and you take a step towards the monk as the demon marches up to the man. “Fine, if that’s how you feel, I’ll leave. But if I have no reason to be here, at least do me the courtesy of freeing me from this cursed leash!”

The monk opens his mouth as if to speak, but nothing comes out. His brows furrow while Wukong waits for a reply that doesn’t come. The monk turns to you, and though you understand his silent question, the answer eludes you as well. The monkey follows his master’s gaze to you, his voice expecting. “Well?”

“…I was only given the circlet and the tightening spell. I wasn’t told how to take it off.” You confess, the demon’s impatient expression giving way to anger.

“Neither of you know how to get this blasted thing off my head?!” He seethes, looking between the two of you as you each refuse to make eye contact.

Guilt bubbles at the sight of his vexation, seeing how much it hurt him and knowing none of you can free him of it. “I was never told how.”

“Gah!” He starts to pull at the circlet that refuses to budge, pivoting away to carry the sounds of his frustration into the sky.

You turn to Tripitaka, nodding in gesture to the chained disciple. His shoulders slump slightly, unable to hide how tired he felt. It’s clear how exhausted he is, how put up he is with the day, but he has to know as well as you he can’t just send him away with the false crown you tricked him into wearing.

The monk nods in reluctant agreement, letting out a sigh before addressing the sage. “I suppose it would be unfair to make you leave without cutting all ties properly… I’ll give you one more chance.” Wukong looks back at the monk as he speaks, his eyes narrowing in resentment. “But I mean it when I say this is the last time!” Sun Wukong lets out a huff of air at his words. Saying nothing, he gets up to stalk ahead, the others following with unease behind.

As you continue, you can’t help but ponder on the women murdered by your travelling companion. Wukong had called them the same person. Not just that, a monster. But how does he know? When Tripitaka asked how they were the same person, it seemed as though the monkey himself could not answer the question.

But how is it that you’ve encountered two people on the road when you saw none overhead? The entire situation feels off to you, it doesn’t add up. Not to mention that as impulsive as the Monkey King is, there’s always a sort of rhyme or reason for his actions. To attack without reason is too out of character for the dem0n.

Too caught up in your own head, you’re brought back to reality at the sound of Pigsy’s snort. “Another traveller up ahead?” A chill runs down your spine and your head snaps up to see a short man on the road opposite of your group. Another one? “Tell us, Monkey, are you going to insist this elderly fellow is a demon as well?”

Wukong perks up at the sight of the old man in the distance. “Yes! The same one!” You frown at that, unease growing in your stomach. How could it be the same person if he’s already killed them twice? Even then, something isn’t right. Whoever this traveller is, you don’t trust their sudden appearance.

“Wukong…” Tripitaka looks to his disciple, warning in his tone.

“Fine, look, it’s away.” The monkey obliges, rolling his eyes as his staff shrinks before tucking it away in his ear.

Something still doesn’t sit right with you. “I can go ahead to see whether or not this stranger is what they seem.” You offer, Tripitaka looking to you in surprise when you do.

“I’m sure that will be unnecessary.” He replies, but you shake your head.

“Call it a precaution. We shouldn’t take what Sun Wukong is saying lightly.” You step forward glancing over to the demon in question for only a moment.

You feel that this stranger should be investigated, just to be sure of any ill-intent, but The monkey frowns, standing a bit taller than before. “Let me go along too, then.”

“No.” You snap back, making him frown as you continue. “You can stay out of the way.” With how the day has been, you don’t want to risk giving the monk any more reason to be upset with his oldest disciple. Playing mediator between your friend and someone as hard to get along with as Sun Wukong has been tiring, and you’d rather not have to continue with the effort.

Tripitaka looks down, exhausted. “Very well, if it will put you at ease.”

With a final nod, you transform to fly ahead. It is a very short flight, but you take the moment to soar up ahead and gain another view of the mountain. Finding that there seems to be no other buildings or encampment nearby, you fly back down and waste no time in shifting back to your human state, startling the old man as you do. “Hello, there.” Your greeting is friendly enough. Though, in all honesty, you rather this be a quicker interaction. With how the day has gone, you want to get to the bottom of this as swiftly as you can.

“Oh! You startled me, young lady.” The elderly man gasps, laughing a bit as he regains his bearings. He seems harmless enough, even quite frail. He seems to be nothing but skin and bones, with hardly any muscle. It makes you wonder why he might be out here in the wilderness of the mountain on his own.

He also does not seem to be as fazed by your sudden transformation as much as any normal mortal would be. “I apologise for the scare. I am only scouting ahead of my companion, we’ve been on the road for several months now.”

“Really?” He smiles, seemingly enthused. “I can only imagine how exhausted you all must be. I myself can barely move too far from my home. Unfortunately, my wife and daughter have been gone for some time. I was growing worried they may become food for some wild beast on the path.” His concerns fall on deaf ears as you put on a look of disquiet.

He is obviously alluding to the two women Wukong killed, but he clearly isn’t telling the truth. “Oh? Do you happen to live in these mountains, then?”

He confirms your suspicions and Wukong’s claims with a nod. “Yes, our home resides not far from here.”

“How lovely.” You offer him a polite smile, careful to watch his every move as an idea begins to shape in your mind. “Say, I don’t suppose you could allow my companions and I to rest in your home for the night?”

“I beg your pardon?” The offer seems to crack a chip in the stranger’s mask, and you hold in your smirk.

With how far the others are, attacking who they think is an elderly man ‘unprompted’ will make you look as insane as the Monkey King. However, they’re close enough to be watching, even if they cannot hear what is being said. So if whoever this demon is tries to attack you, it would immediately incriminate itself in their eyes.“We’re used to moving across rougher terrain than what we have seen on this mountain, so we can help look for your daughter and wife. That way, you won’t need to push yourself by searching on your own.”

The demon laughs, almost nervously, and shakes his head. “Oh, that will not be necessary. I can search for my family on my own without inconveniencing you.” He replies, and you rest a hand on your hip, just over the sheathe where you keep your dagger-axe.

“Nonsense, I’ll go to enlist my companions to help you. If you could show my friend to your home, his disciples will gladly help you” You insist, turning as if to leave while watching the man from the corner of your eye, grip tightening on the hilt of your dagger. A smirk sprouts once the bait is taken.

As expected, the demon can’t resist the seemingly easy pickings. You hear a grunt and pivot to block an incoming attack, unsheathing your weapon but the assault never comes. Instead, wind howls past your ears followed by a heavy thud. Bones knock against one another as they fall to the ground, the only remaining trace of the man that was once standing on the path with Sun Wukong standing over them.

Your eyes go wide with panic as you see the sight before you. “What are you doing?! Do you want Tripitaka to skin you alive?!” You shout at the monkey, his face contorting in irritated confusion, looking at you as though you had grown a second head.

“What am I doing?! That demon was lunging for you! What, do you expect me to just stand back and let it grab you?” He frowns as you groan in frustration. It all happened too fast! Did the monk even have a chance to see the attack?

“I know what the demon was planning, I am no idiot!” You hold up your dagger to the impulsive sage, using it to point towards the pile of bones that now litter the ground before gesturing to yourself and sheathing the weapon.

The others, who ran the minute Wukong left their side, quickly arrive. The look on Tripitaka’s face is enough to answer whether or not they saw the demon try to attack. “Sun Wukong, have I not warned you enough?!”

“He was about to attack her!” The monkey defends himself. “I was only doing my duty to protect you mortals. Just look at the remains!”

“It’s true.” You step between master and disciple, gesturing down to the bones littering the path. “Look, there is no flesh on these bones. No human could decompose so instantaneously, Sun Wukong was right about the demon.”

Tripitaka’s brows furrow, the words sinking in as he looks upon the evidence himself. Unfortunately, before he’s given the chance to digest our words, Bajie interjects once more. “How do we know this isn’t some trick? Wukong could be deceiving all of us with another illusion.”

“Another?!” You whip your head to the pig demon, marching up to him and pushing your finger into his chest. “How imbecilic can you be? What, are you upset you couldn’t have the demon when it was a beautiful woman? Did you not learn your lesson with that house of women last month?”

Pigsy’s face goes red at the recollection, and he glares down at you. “We agreed not to bring that up–”

“Stop! I’m done” Tripitaka shouts, and you step away from the hog. The monk rubs his temples before looking to his eldest disciple. “I’ve given you far too many warnings, Sun Wukong.”

“But Master–” The sage goes to defend himself, but he’s not given the chance to.

“I cannot travel with one as impulsive as you.” He cuts the demon off, Wukong flinching as he does. “We’re in the wilderness now, but what will happen if you kill a human you assume to be a demon in a crowded city? How would you justify your murderous actions then? Would the civilians that watch you kill their own believe your words?”

Wukong frowns as his master speaks, irritation giving way to spite as he steps into the monk’s space. “How ungrateful! How many times have I saved your life? From robbers, demons– I brought you the oaf that’s been mumbling into your ear all day!” He throws an arm out in gesture to the pig demon. “After all I have done to serve you–”

“I don’t need you to serve me anymore!”

Everyone goes silent, holding their breath. The two stare each other down, Tripitaka frowning while Wukong looks at him in disbelief. After what feels like an eternity, the sage laughs. “Are you serious?”

“Leave, Monkey.” Tripitaka dismisses him, finally looking away as he turns his back on the demon.

Wukong lets out an exasperated breath. “Ha, why? So you can call me back with this thing on my head the second you run into trouble?” He laughs.

Tripitaka looks back over his shoulder with a scoff. “Never will I call on you ever again, I would never rely on the wicked for my troubles.”

“Oh, yeah? I’d like to see that in writing.” Wukong crosses his arms with a toothy grin.

Tripitaka refuses to back down from the challenge. “It would be my pleasure.”

He marches over to one of the bags carried by Ao Lie, digging for paper while you and Sandy share a panicked look. “Enough, both of you. This is ridiculous.” You look between the two, Wukong walking past you to watch the monk as he writes with passion that’s rare to ever see from him.

“Stay out of this, Dove. Tripitaka can speak for himself.” He snaps before stepping back once Tripitaka shoves his messily-drafted banishment into his chest.

He huffs, like the monk is out of breath. “Now it can be official.” Wukong looks down at the paper now in his hands, his eyes glancing over it before snapping back up to Tripitaka. There’s something in his eyes, something you can’t recognise, and it’s gone before you can identify it.

The Monkey King stands tall, grinning with an almost-sarcastic smile while his eyes remain indifferent. “Good to know.” And just like that, the Great Sage leaps into the air, taking off on his somersault cloud.

You look to Tripitaka with an incredulous look. “Where is your mind?!”

The man’s face scrunches into a defensive look. “You saw what he did–”

“Yes, I did!” You step forward. “But I can’t believe you would doubt him like that.”

“You’ve told me yourself how abrasive he is, how little he cares for others.” He counters, and you almost step back at the reply. “How long could we have gone before more of his actions got us into more trouble? How many times did he put us in danger because of his cockiness?”

“And how many times has he saved us?” You counter, finding the entire situation ridiculous. How bad has it become that you have to be the one defending Sun Wukong?

The monk goes to speak but you continue. “He was chosen as your disciple, Tripitaka. Banishing him won’t lead to anything good.”

“Besides assuring the safety of any other humans we come across.” Pigsy coughs into his sleeve, grabbing your attention as you glare daggers into him from the corner of your eye.

“You don’t have any room to speak, not when you want to sleep with every other woman we come across.” You point accusingly at the pig. “You’re the one who instigated this entire debacle!”

Pigsy frowns at that. “Me?! I’m not the one who killed an entire family within an afternoon.”

Before you can verbally assault the demon, Sandy steps in between the two of you. “Fighting over something that has already happened won’t solve anything.” He looks to the both of you pointedly, and it takes you a moment to breathe before stepping away with a scoff.

You can’t let everything fall apart like this. “I’ll be back.”

With no further elaboration, you take off into the sky, transformed and flying as fast as your wings can take you. Tripitaka calls after you, but his voice falls on deaf ears. You can’t let Sun Wukong leave without at least trying to stop him. Yes, things have gotten heated, but you can still try to get him to come back.

You go in the direction you saw him fly off in, but without knowing how fast he was going, he might already be long gone. He can jump from one horizon to the next in moments if he really wanted to, how quickly did he leave? How did everything dissolve so quickly?

You can’t help but feel the knot in your stomach twist. Yes, you may dislike the ape but he serves a purpose like all of you do on this pilgrimage. Petty feelings aside, there’s no denying his importance. Not to mention that he was starting to become more bearable to be around, aside from his occasional prying that became more frequent only as of late.

Gravity takes an unexpected hold on you as you’re tackled out of the sky, successfully pulling your mind back into the moment as you feel yourself hurdling to the ground. Transforming back mid-air, your assailant keeps hold of you and you both go soaring into a tree, tumbling through the leaves and branches before landing on the ground with a thud. It takes you a moment to regain your breath as you land on your back, the Monkey King hovering over you with a cold glare you’ve never seen on him before.

“What do you want?” His voice is seething with resentment, an anger that feels foreign coming from the sage. You’ve seen him upset, angry, but never this furious.

Determined not to let his ire deter you, you snap back. “What do you think? Get off me!” You push back, and he obliges, albeit in silence. He watches as you get back to your feet, surveying wearily like you might lash out at the drop of a hat. Despite the hostility, you tell yourself not to give into it yourself and take in a deep breath. You’re not here to fight, you have to convince him to come back.

After giving yourself a moment to breathe, you face the Great Sage. He has his arms crossed as you take a step towards him. “Listen, Wukong, I just think Tripitaka needs some time to collect his thoughts.” You reach out to rest a hand on his arm in an attempt to soothe him, and he quickly swats it away.

He looks almost offended. “Don’t try your tricks on me.”

“Excuse me for trying to help you!” You frown, dropping your hands to your side and stepping back. His brows shoot up at that, the demon leaning forward slightly before letting out a dry laugh.

He steps closer, his eyes narrowing as he does. “I’m sorry, maybe I wasn’t clear enough before, but I don’t need your help.” He moves even closer, forcing you to take a step back. “I’m the Monkey King, I don’t need some pompous human who thinks she’s above me to offer her sympathies.”

Your glare sharpens at that. “Above you? You’re one to talk, do you even hear yourself?”

“Not over your yelling, I can’t.” He growls, and before you go for a retort, you take another step back. Getting angry as well won’t make anything better, you have to remind yourself of that.

Closing your eyes, you take another breath before looking back to face the demon. “Look, this is a pointless argument. Just… please, come back with me. Maybe you and Tripitaka can try settling this like the adults you are, without yelling.”

“Why?” He challenges, moving into your space to look down on you. “Why should you care? As far as I am concerned, everyone is getting what they want out of this arrangement.”

He holds out the monk’s paper. “I can go back home for the first time in centuries, Tripitaka won’t have a ‘murderous disciple' on his conscience, and you get to be right.” You go to speak but freeze at that last bit, your confusion only lasting a brief second before you recall that night by the river. Your words then, you wanted them to irk him, to cause doubt in the demon that ruined everything in the palace.

Seeing him now, the hurt in his eyes as he laughs, creates this distressing blanket of dread over your person as you’re proven right. “You knew I wouldn’t last long on this pilgrimage.” His voice is quiet, his lips pull up to a small smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “I hope you enjoyed it.”

He watches you as you go to speak, but nothing comes out. You don’t know what to say, his expression leaving you in a shocked silence. Wukong waits, expecting a rebuttal that you cannot form. For just a moment, his face drops, almost in disappointment before he looks away. With a shake of his head, he turns and jumps into the sky even faster than before. Just like that, he’s gone.

Even with him no longer in front of you, the image of his face burns into your memory. You’ve seen many expressions from the sage, prideful and cocky, but never has he looked quite like that before. With his invincibility, his multiple immortalities, you thought he was incapable of looking that way.

You’ve never seen him look hurt.

#the girls are fighting #fr tho sorry guys this aint a happy one #there's nowhere to go but up now right?#…right?#little dove #jttw sun wukong #jttw tripitaka #sun wukong x reader

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