#Rocket’s Blast | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

googleitlol · 4 months ago

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Finally at the Red Boy arc! I'm so excited to release the gremlin child muahahahaha!

I may have taken some inspiration from my own younger siblings (I have like 6 or smt? idk) when it came to writing Red Boy, so I'm excited to finally have him in the fic!

Dove Masterlist:

Feetus Yeeted

A chill sends goosebumps up your arms, the cool autumn air a frosty reminder of the weather to come. Dew shines on the sparse patches of grass on the mountain road you travel, the trees lining the path few and far between. Their branches are bare, some still clinging to the few rust-coloured leaves they have left, those that had already fallen drift through the breeze.

Your group marches up the path, somewhat groggy from your early-morning hike. Wujing guides Ao lie with Tripitaka on his back, Wukong floating by his side on his cloud while you and Bajie bring up the rear.

Pigsy readjusts the group’s luggage in his hold, huffing a bit as he does. “Master, you really should have considered staying in that Black Rooster Kingdom. Think of the luxuries we could have now if we stayed there.”

Sandy looks back at the pig demon with a laugh. “Brother, you know Master would never think of accepting such an offer.”

“Wujing is right, I intend to see our pilgrimage through to the end. Nothing could defer me from that.” Tripitaka hums, keeping his attention on the road ahead.

“Besides, that demon had the entire royal court wrapped around his finger.” You look over to your friend to add to the conversation. “I don’t think I could live there either, not after what they went through.”

You glance up to see what Monkey has to contribute, only to notice his eyes practically glued to the sky. It’s hard not to give him a bit of a funny look. Is he lost in thought? There doesn’t seem to be anything interesting going on up there, what else could he be doing?

Before you can ask what is on the simian’s mind, he gives a shout. “Master, get down! Now!” He leaps off his cloud and tackles Tripitaka off the horse. At his warning, you quickly take your bow into your hands while Bajie equips his rake. Sandy stands in front of the group, ready to defend his master while you search the skies for the incoming threat.

…But there is no threat. Not that you can see.

Your confusion seems to be shared as Pigsy frowns, his head whipping back and forth in anticipation for an incoming strike that never arrives. “…Are we under attack?”

Silence stretches over your group before Wukong looks back up at the sky, frowning a bit as he sees what you all do, nothing. “Huh, looks like we scared them off. It’s okay now.” He shrugs, getting back onto his feet and dusting himself off.

Tripitaka looks up at him from the ground, his expression emitting the same level of confusion you feel. “What did you see?”

“It was like some big ball of fire!” The monkey answers, keeping his eyes on the sky as he helps his master up. “It was coming right for us, it’s a good thing I saw it when I did.”

You share a look with the rest of your friends, disbelief evident on all of you. There was no ball of fire that you could see, and from the looks on his brother’s faces, Sun Wukong seems to be the only one to have seen it. You know he has the best vision in your group, but you’re unsure how all of you could have missed something that would be so eye-catching.

Tripitaka clears his throat, his smile a little worried. “Thank you, Pilgrim Sun… but if it’s alright, can I get back on the horse now?”

“Of course! I’ll just keep an eye out for any more fireballs.” He helps the monk back onto his horse before jumping back onto his cloud.

The monk looks at his disciple from the side of his eye, chuckling with a bit of unease. “Okay, then.”

With the matter… somewhat resolved, your group carries on with the morning, hiking up the mountain while Sun Wukong keeps an eye out for whatever he saw.

Just when your mind is ready to put aside the oddity of the moment, a voice echoes through the mountain. It’s faint, but enough for Tripitaka to look up in response. “Do you hear that?” He asks, looking around in worry. You do the same, a focused frown taking over your features as you strain to hear it.

Pigsy shifts the weight of the luggage around as he joins you in your attempts to find the source. “Is someone calling for help?”

“I don’t hear anything.” Wukong frowns, his cloud slowing to a stop.

You hear it again, the voice almost shrill. “It sounds like someone might be in trouble.” You take a step, but before you can transform to take flight, Wukong grabs your arm.

“Why don’t I go check it out?” He smiles, taking you a bit off guard. The Monkey King, offering to help a stranger without Tripitaka asking him to? “You all keep moving, I’ll catch up in a bit.”

He leaves no room for argument, his cloud soaring up high and quickly out of sight. Once he does, you share a bit of a confused look with the rest of your friends. “I’m not the only one who thinks he’s being weird, right? Is letting him go off right now a good idea?” You ask the group, Tripitaka, Pigsy, and Sandy all mumbling their responses.

“I am too tired to bother thinking about it too hard.”

“It scares me when he acts strange like that.”

“As long as he comes back without any blood on his clothes, we should be fine.”

You sigh, looking back at where you had last seen the monkey, doing your best to put aside your concerns before continuing on the road.

Despite the slower pace you take to wait for your friend, the walk goes by in a bit of a blur. You stay behind the others, hoping to catch a glimpse of the sage as you walk. When you eventually do, he jumps down next to you and dismounts his cloud. The piece of sky dissipates as you take in the lack of blood stains on his person, a good sign.

He dusts himself off while everyone else turns back to hear of his findings. “I didn’t see anything, I couldn’t even make out whatever distress calls you were hearing.” Wukong explains, resting his hands on his sides.

Tripitaka frowns before looking up. You do the same, realising you too hear nothing now. Strange, you didn’t go too far. The monk hums as he realises the same thing you do. “Hm, I don’t either.”

You look back at Wukong, your eyes searching for any tells on his face. You’ve seen him put on acts before, and this didn’t feel like the great sage you’ve spent the last couple of years with. Though, he hasn’t quite been himself for some time now.

Since your time being temporarily engaged to Jian Yu, he’s been… what’s the word, jumpy? It’s the best description you can think of, maybe aside from ‘on edge’. Especially when it comes to strangers on the road. The monkey demon always became dismissive around newcomers, doing his best to end encounters as quickly as possible.

Originally, his behaviour led you to believe he was acting like this because those strangers were demons in disguise, but that was almost never the case. You would ask him after parting ways with these strangers, but he would say they were regular travellers without a single malicious bone in their body! Even after confirming these strangers were harmless, it didn’t stop him from acting– maybe the best word to describe it is protective.

You’ve mentioned your thoughts on the matter to Wujing before, thinking he would have some insightful words to share on the matter, but he seemed almost oblivious to the change in your friend.

You cast the monkey man with a careful look once the group resumes the journey, Wukong now hanging back with you behind the others. His expression seems focused, but on what, you cannot say. His gaze is still fixed to the sky “Are you alright?”

The question is enough to get him to turn his eyes over to you, his focus masked with a smile. “Just peachy, why do you ask?”

“I don’t know, I’m just hoping you didn’t find whoever was screaming and kill them.” You hum, looking ahead to the rest of your friends while you talk.

Wukong scoffs playfully. “Please, do you think I would be able to clean all the blood off myself so quickly?”

“I did take note of the lack of stains.” You smile, peeking at him from the side of your vision.

He returns the look to you, but it doesn’t stay long. “Just, uh, stay close to Master, will you? I don’t have a good feeling about this mountain and it will be easier for me if you’re together.”

The request is enough to make you chuckle, what does he mean by that? Does he really think he has to worry over both you and Tripitaka? “You don’t have to worry about me, Monkey-Man. Or, did you forget about how we fought the Yellow-Robe Demon together? Or what about the battle with the Gold and Silver-Horned brothers?” You remind him, watching carefully for his response.

He looks away at the reminders, scratching the back of his head as he does. “I know, but I would still feel better knowing I could protect you both.”

You can’t help but frown a bit. Does he not think you are capable of protecting yourself? His job is to tend to Tripitaka, not fret over you. This is the exact kind of thing he’s been doing recently, you wish you could know why he’s been acting like this.

Still, if staying near the monk would help him to focus on his actual job, then you could deal with his somewhat-offensive request. That way, you’ll also be closer to stop any threats yourself. “Alright, if it helps you relax a bit, I will.” You smile, moving up to catch up with the rest of the group.

Part of you wants to question your friend on his recent behaviour, but you suppose it would be better to wait. With how anxious he seems at the moment, any attempt to prod at him for information will be fruitless. Maybe after you all rest for a meal, or if you find a good place to set up camp later in the day.

It can be a little difficult to understand Sun Wukong. He is incredibly cunning, you actually admire his wit and strategic mind. However, he has this nasty habit of explaining his process of thought after he’s already started whatever course of action he believes is best. He tends to be right, but leaves the rest of you in the dark with little to no context for his actions. Now, with how he’s been acting, it’s been even more difficult to understand what has been going on in his mind.

Before you can delve any deeper into thought, Wukong’s voice snaps you back into reality. “Master, get down!” He shouts, jumping into action yet again and pulling the monk off Ao Lie by his leg. Everyone quickly jumps into position again, and you stand over the two on the ground protectively with Bajie and Wujing at your side. The arrow on your bowstring draws back, ready to fire at any incoming enemy.

But there is no enemy, not that you can see. Wukong looks up with a frown, scanning the skies for whatever he might have seen. “Huh, I guess it was another false alarm.”

Tripitaka pushes his disciple off of him, casting the demon with a sour look. “Wukong, do you have to knock me off the horse every time you think you see something?! I’d rather not taste any dirt in my mouth.”

“Sorry, Master, it was that fireball again!” Wukong explains while standing back up, offering his master a hand to help him up as well.

Pigsy leans over to you and Wujing as Wukong helps the man up. “It sounds like someone is losing it.”

Sandy shakes his head. “Brother Sun has the best sight out of all of us. Maybe he just thought something was closer than it really is.” The three of you look over to the oldest disciple as he looks up to the sky, his eyes narrowed.

“…Maybe.” You hum, hoping for the sake of your group that it must be the case.

You’re not given much time to think about the monkey any more before you hear a voice calling again. “Help, please!”

“I know I heard somebody that time.” You didn’t imagine it. Not only that, the voice sounds even closer now. Whoever this is, they sound young. Really young. With the life of who might possibly be a child on the line, you transform with a leap into the air to find the voice’s owner with an aerial view.

“Dove, wait!” Wukong calls for you, but you don’t bother to wait, not when a child could be in need of saving.

You fly up high, waiting to hear the voice again before flying towards it. Following the cries, you catch sight of a child tied and suspended from a tree. It’s a young boy, wailing for help as he dangles in the air. His dark hair is dishevelled, some of it obscuring his face. He doesn’t look much older than seven or eight years old, and he’s bruised and beaten all over.

Who could have hurt this poor boy?! You act quickly, landing atop his shoulder and alerting him to your presence. Before he can panic, you begin to use your gift to soothe him. His cries falter, the boy’s head turning to look up at you as you calm him down.

“Huh… what?” He sniffles, confusion evident on his face. “What is this?”

Once he is calm enough, you fly up onto the branch he is suspended from and return to your normal form. “It is alright, child. I will get you down from here.”

The boy looks up at you with his mouth agape, his eyes as wide as his open mouth. All he manages to do is stare for a moment. “Wha– what did you do to me? Are you a goddess under the guise of a bird?” He asks, and you can’t stop the smile that spreads on your face from the question.

“I am nothing of the sort, but that does not mean I can’t help a stranger in need.” You answer. Taking the rope in hand, you pull the boy up– he’s surprisingly light– until he is sitting on the branch with you.

Just as you begin to untie the boy, Wukong’s voice calls out in a panic. “Dove, what are you doing?!” You look up to find your friends rushing to the tree you rest on, the others sharing a look of confusion while Sun Wukong narrows his gaze up at you and the boy.

“What does it look like I’m doing?!” You shout back as they approach, working at the knots keeping the rope together before they begin to slacken around the boy.

Once your friends are close enough and you free the boy of his restraints, you’re able to hand the child to Sandy and get him down to the ground. The river demon is careful to set him down gently. “What happened to you, child?” He asks as you climb down from the tree.

The boy rubs his arms, which are covered in red marks from the rope. “My home was plundered by thieves and bandits.” He explains, looking between you and the rest of your friends. “They killed my father and took my mother with them! They wanted to kill me as well, but my mother convinced them to spare me. They are the ones who left me tied to this tree to die from starvation and exposure.”

You frown as he tells his story, your heart aching for the boy. Losing your family so suddenly is something you can understand. He doesn’t even look much younger than you were when your village was attacked. This poor boy has gone through so much.

You look up at Tripitaka, the man looking down at the child with a look of sympathy. When he catches your eye, he nods, almost reading your mind. With his agreement, you crouch down to the boy. “Tell us, what is your name?”

“I am called Red Boy, Miss.” He replies, and you offer him a kind smile.

You pat his shoulder lightly. “Alright, Red Boy, I’m sure we can help you.”

The boy’s face brightens, but before he can respond, Sun Wukong hums aloud. “Are we sure we believe him?”

Your head swivels back to face him, the others all sharing your look of bewilderment as he continues. “I mean, look at him. He’s just been made an orphan and he can’t even bother to cry about it.”

His reasoning earns him wide-eyed looks of shock from everyone. “I already used my gift to calm him down… why would you say something so–” You can’t even find the words, unsure of how to respond. How can you respond to that?!

Wukong’s tail flicks in annoyance as you rise to stand again. “What are we meant to do with him? He can’t join us, and it isn’t as though we can burden the next person we find with some boy.”

“I still have my maternal family!” Red Boy quickly speaks up. “My aunties are just north of this mountain, and I have cousins there as well. If you could take me to them, I am sure they can reward you for your services. They have plenty of food, and can give you jewellery a-and whatever you want!”

Wukong steps forward, crouching down to face the boy directly now. “How do we know what your saying is the truth? Or that your little fable is even real?”

“Wukong!” You shoot the monkey demon a glare, and he glances back with an irritated look.

“What? It doesn’t make much sense to me.” He shrugs. “His mother begs for his life, so they just leave him to suffer a slower death? I would have at least put him out of his misery–”

Even Pigsy steps in at this point. “Brother, why are you interrogating the boy? If he wants to take us to be fed by his family, I say we let him.”

“It is also the right thing to do.” Tripitaka adds on, giving his two disciples an unimpressed look.

Pigsy looks away to clear his throat. “Yes, it’s the right thing to do.”

Wukong rises to his feet with a scoff, and you can’t stop the look you give him. What is his problem? Yes, he’s been more excitable lately, but this is something else entirely.

Tripitaka rides up to the child. “Red Boy, why don’t you ride with me? You must be exhausted after everything you’ve had to endure.”

The boy looks a bit surprised at the offer, but quickly looks away. “Um, I don’t know. I have never ridden on horseback before.”

The monk nods with a smile. “That is alright, would you like one of my disciples to carry you?”

At his offer, the boy’s eyes brighten a bit. Surprisingly, so does Wukong’s. “Master, I can–”

“Can the woman carry me?” Red Boy asks, cutting off the sage before he can finish. “She was the one who found me, I like her.” He looks over to you with a wide smile, either unaware of or ignoring the glare Wukong gives him when he asks.

You give him a bit of a surprised look yourself, not expecting the request. Tripitaka lets out a bit of an awkward laugh. “She isn’t one of my disciples.”

Wukong huffs, very clearly annoyed. “Just let me carry you, boy, I am much stronger than my brothers. Besides, I can carry you for much longer than Dove could.” He offers, and you feel your brow twitch at his last comment.

His little, ‘stay close to Tripitaka for me’ request was one thing, but that hit a nerve. “I can carry you, Red Boy, I don’t mind.” You smile at the child, his eyes lighting up when you do.

You make eye contact with Sun Wukong as you kneel down for the boy to get onto your back. “I’m much stronger than I look.” Pigsy does his best to conceal a snort of laughter, Sandy doing a bit better than him while Wukong flares his nostrils in irritation.

Ignoring his huffing and puffing, you rise to your feet. With the boy now on your back, you continue your hike through the mountain with your friends, Wukong lagging behind while his brothers walk up front with Tripitaka and you just behind them. As you all walk, you find yourself in conversation with the very curious Red Boy.

“If you’re not a goddess, then what are you?” He asks, laying his head down on your shoulder as you walk.

“I am a human, the same as you.”

“What did you do to me in the tree?”

“I only did what I could to calm you down, it’s a gift I’ve been given by my master.”

“How long have you had it?”

“Since I was a little girl. About your age, I think.”

The boy’s wide-eyed look he gives you from over your shoulder warms your heart a bit. “Incredible! You know, Miss, I have never felt such a tranquil feeling in my life!”

“You speak quite well for a young boy.” You note, amused by his excitement.

“I have been told I am very mature for my age.” He beams, making you laugh.

“You sound like it.” You return the look before hearing Bajie chuckle from in front of you.

He nudges Sandy’s arm, and the two look back at you. “It looks as though our feathered friend has found herself a fan.” He muses, and you notice him look back at Sun Wukong. You hear the older disciple grumble something under his breath, and although you can’t make out the words, Red Boy looks back at him and snickers.

Your brow furrows a bit. “What’s so funny, Red Boy?”

“Your monkey friend amuses me.” He admits, and you look over your shoulder at him with some confusion. Despite all the aggression from him, Red Boy doesn’t seem all that frightened of Sun Wukong.

His answer only seems to aggravate the Monkey King even more. “Oh, yeah? What do you find so amusing about me?”

“Your face is very comical.” Red Boy’s blunt answer earns a snort of laughter from you, the response more out of how unexpected his words are. He really does not hold back from saying what he thinks. “I have never seen such a terrifyingly angry expression, it’s almost hilarious.”

Wukong doesn’t seem to find his words as amusing as you do. “Trust me, kid, I can make it scarier.”

“Okay, let’s not fight with the child.” You roll your eyes. Part of you wants to join in on teasing your friend to get a laugh out of the kid, but it’s clear Monkey wouldn’t take it well at the moment. This entire detour with the boy has him in a bad mood.

He grunts at your dismissal, his tail flicking once more. Red Boy watches him for a moment, eyes studying the monkey demon before his eyebrows shoot up in some sort of realisation. “Ohh, I understand. You are upset because you just want the woman to yourself.”

You trip over your own feet at his words, barely catching yourself to stop the both of you from crashing to the ground. Wujing hunches over into a coughing fit when he hears the boy, Pigsy choking back laughter while Tripitaka looks back at him in bewilderment, slack-jawed.

Despite the violent effect of his words on your friends and the violent shade of red on your face, he continues, now whispering into your ear. “My mother always told me that men want only one thing, especially demon men like him.” He looks back at Sun Wukong, who you can’t even turn to for the moment from the embarrassment alone.

Despite the shock of his words, you do your best to regain your composure. “I think you misunderstand, Red Boy.”

He puts his head back on your shoulder, with a face so innocent you can hardly believe such accusations are coming out of it. “You should be careful, Miss. You seem like such a caring person, it has to be a miracle that a demon like him hasn’t given into his evil urges–”

The boy doesn’t get a chance to continue before he’s ripped away from your back. You stumble onto the ground from the action, and before you have the chance to find your bearings, Sun Wukong lifts Red Boy into the air and throws him down the mountain.

“Good riddance.” Wukong snarls, the silence that follows his words are deafening. You stare up at him in shock, at a complete loss for words as he watches the boy fall, the wind howling after him.

When you finally let the moment sink in, you jump back to your feet, wind howling in your ears. “Wukong! What the hell have you done?!”

“Me?!” He looks back at you, clearly offended. “What were you all doing?! That child was a demon in disguise!”

“What?” You frown, the Monkey King grumbling with impatience.

“I would have taken care of him more gracefully, but that brat couldn’t help running his disgusting little mouth.” He rests his hands on his sides, his actions from today now making sense.

A few autumn leaves rush by in the wind as you let out a tired sigh and Sandy steps in. “Why didn’t you say anything before?!”

He scoffs. “Would you have believed me?”

“Yes!” His eyes widen a bit at your exasperated response. “We’ve come far enough on this journey that I trust your judgement, Wukong! If you say someone is a demon, we'll believe you, but you have to be clear and actually say something. Throwing what we think is a little boy off a mountain might give Tripitaka and I heart failure before we reach the scriptures!”

You step back to take a breath, Wukong quiet in response to your lecturing. So many things just happened, you need a minute to recollect your thoughts. You barely even processed what Red Boy was saying before he was ripped from your back. It was all so embarrassing, you can still feel the warmth in your cheeks. Demon or not, that was– gah!

“Uh, guys?” Pigsy pulls you from your thoughts, a frown set in his features. “Is it just me, or is it getting darker?”

The group joins him in observing the sky, the wind picking up even more. You have to shield your face from the gale that pushes past you, your heart sinking as you spot dark clouds circling from above. The sun disappears, shrouding everything in darkness just as more leaves start to pick up off the ground, obscuring your vision. You look to and fro wildly for sight of your friends as the winds grow more violent. It’s a struggle to keep your footing as the invisible force pushes you back.

The sound of Tripitaka’s screams make your heart race. Turning to the source of his cries, you are able to make out a vague silhouette of Ao Lie. Tripitaka is no longer on the horse, his hands barely hanging onto the reins as his body is pulled upwards to the dark clouds. “Tripitaka!”

“Master!” You hear Wukong somewhere to your right before he rushes past you. He seems to be the only one able to push through the wind, Sandy and Pigsy struggling to keep their footing as much as you are. You try your best to move towards the flying monk, fighting the wind at each step.

You’re hardly able to make any progress before ducking your head down to shield your face from loose pebbles and twigs, all flying through the wind haphazardly. Just as you go to take another step, you feel the wind push back against you rougher than before, shoving you off balance enough to make you tumble back.

A shout escapes from you as you fall, but you never make contact with the ground. Instead, you feel yourself lifting higher, twisting and turning with no control over where you go.

“Dove!” Wukong’s voice is faint, accompanied by the thunder of the wind carrying you into the air. You can just make out a figure rushing towards you, Sun Wukong’s hand outstretched. Your hand reaches out for his, so close you can almost touch. But he’s too far.

His fingers just brush your own before you’re thrusted up into the sky. Wukong’s silhouette grows smaller before vanishing completely, obscured by the hordes of debris flying amidst your now darkened world. You shield your face again to protect it before quickly peeking out for any sign of something stable to hold onto. With how much the wind is tossing you about, it’s difficult to maintain any sense of where the ground is.

In the midst of your tumbling through the air, you hear Tripitaka calling out for you and the others. You call out for him, reaching out blindly in the hopes that you are close enough to hold onto each other. Luckily enough, you find a hand to hold, it grabs you firmly the second you make contact. The wave of confidence is short-lived, though, when you realise the hand is too small to be Tripitaka.

It’s too late, you feel yourself being pulled sharply in one direction. In a flash, your surroundings morph, the wind suddenly dropping as you feel yourself roll onto the ground of a hard stone floor. The darkness and debris clouding your vision is replaced with the dim light of torches, the air in whatever cave you now appear to be in is dry and hot.

With a grunt, Tripitaka falls a little ways next to you, landing on his side. “Tripitaka!” You rush over to make sure he’s okay, looking for any injuries as he pushes himself to sit up. He looks at you, confused, and before either of you can say another word, you’re alerted to the presence of another by the sound of their cackling.

“He tried to throw me!” You act quickly, pulling out your dagger and putting a protective arm around the monk as you turn to face your unwanted company. Before you, the boy from before stands with his arms crossed, different than before. His dark hair is now a fiery red that reaches down his back, thick and wild. Bullish horns poke through the top of his head. His ears also now resemble that of a bull, with a thin tail whipping behind him to match. His tattered clothes are now replaced with a dark red kilt, a few scorch marks darkening the material in different spots.

The demon child barks out a laugh. “I knew that ape had to be brash, but trying to kill me before I even did anything?!” His grin stretches from ear to ear and you frown a bit as you look at the boy who stands several metres away from you and Tripitaka.

Yes, this is a demon… but he’s just some kid. What are you meant to do in this situation, fight a child? Put him on a time-out? You glance back at Tripitaka, the monk looking just as confused as you are. Child or not, you can’t imagine the boy has taken the two of you here without malicious intent. “I don’t think you have much room to talk, kid. Haven’t you heard it’s rude to play tricks on people?”

Red Boy snickers. “Not when it comes to food, Miss. Father says anything goes for food. He’ll love that I caught the Golden Cicada!” He beams, eyes practically sparkling as he stares down your friend.

The two of you rise to your feet with your dagger still in hand, Tripitaka frowning a bit at the boy while you scan the area for an exit. “You… you want to eat us?”

Whatever cave you seem to be in, you notice natural light pouring in from an opening just behind the demon boy. “You sound surprised.” He tilts his head a bit to the side. “I’ve had my underlings tell me all about you, Tang Monk. Word travels fast, and I have heard all about your travels on your pursuit to the Thunderclap Monastery. It’s too bad you’ll never make it.” He shrugs, uncaring for your situation.

“That’s enough.” You keep a hand over Tripitaka’s shoulder as you stare down the child. “If you’ve heard of our travels, you know we’ve taken care of plenty of other demons like you.”

The boy flashes a knowing smile. “Oh, I’m not like the demons you’ve already met.” He giggles, his laughter a bizarre mix of sinister and extremely gleeful. “Besides, you don’t have to worry, Miss. I won’t eat you if you don’t want me to.”

Huh. “What.”

“I just want you to do what you did before! I’ve never felt anything like it!” He exclaims, his eyes almost sparkling with a childish glee that confused your already-overworking head. The way he speaks seems so innocent, but his words are packed with evil intent.

Frowning a bit at the boy, you take a step closer and gesture to Tripitaka from behind your back to start moving towards what you assume is the cave entrance. “…Really?”

“Yes!” He smiles widely, and you take another look around the cave as Tripitaka starts to move.

You lower your dagger a bit and take another step towards the boy. “Where is your father?”

Red Boy’s smile drops a bit, his excitement reining in. “I will have my men send him an invitation once I’ve taken care of the monk’s disciples.”

“And your mother?” You press, and the boy looks away.

“She has business to attend to this time of year, so father and I will be dining on our own.” He explains, his posture is a bit straighter now as he smiles at you politely. “I would extend an invitation to you as well, but I assume you wouldn’t want any of the Tang Monk’s meat. You are vegetarian, aren’t you?”

…Also Tripitaka is your friend. Eating your friend is multiple layers of wrong. You glance over at the monk, now closer to the entrance and behind Red Boy’s line of sight. You intend to keep it that way, and crouch down to get onto the same eye-level as the demon child. “Are you saying you live on your own?”

The question seems to offend him, making the boy scoff. “Yes, and? I am plenty old enough to take care of myself! I’m the king of this mountain! I’ve been in command of my army since I took my first steps.”

“…I find that hard to believe.” You frown just before the sounds of Tripitaka screaming catch both your ears.

Red Boy quickly whips around to see the monk being dragged back into the cave by two demon guards, and you curse to yourself under your breath. The demon child frowns. “Where do you think you’re–”

Before he can finish, you drape the boy up into your arms, pressing the dagger to his throat. “Release the monk!” You shout to the demon guards, both of them freezing at your sudden action while you try not to think of how strange it feels to be threatening a little kid.

“Let go of me!” Red Boy shouts, squirming in an attempt to get out of your hold, his hands trying to pull at your arm.

You keep your grip on the boy firm. “I will put you down once your underlings let go of the Tang Monk.” You try to reassure him, glaring at the two demons. “Do it!”

The guards remain still, their eyes trained onto their child boss. You see Tripitaka’s face drop, and before you can react to the growing warmth emitting from Red Boy’s hand, scarlet flames shoot from his mouth. “I said, let go!” The fire shoots at your arm holding up the boy, making you shout out in pain before dropping him. Your dagger falls to the ground as you clutch your arm close to your person. The boy scrambles back over to his men, casting you with a look of betrayal.

“Ugh, that was rude!” He sneers before looking up at his men. “Lock them both up! We have to get ready for when the others arrive.” He orders them, the men quickly jumping into action. One grabs you by your uninjured arm, pulling you over before him and his fellow guard drag you further into the cave.

You wince, looking down at the burn on your arm. A little demon kid that breathes fire, huh? That is a first. You’re gonna have to be smart to get out of this one.

#kid went blasting off like team rocket #dove’s greatest weakness: children #little dove #jttw sun wukong #jttw tripitaka #jttw sandy #jttw pigsy #jttw red boy #sun wukong x reader

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