#and wukong goes “yeah okay he's just having fun. hes not hurting anyone” | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

greatsagestonemonkey · 4 years ago

Text

A Game of Cat and Monkey (Part 2)

The last part is here! FINALLY...

It’s a bit longer than the first, but please enjoy!

“Any sign of him?” Wukong asked, hardly giving Sandy and Pigsy the time to catch their breath before demanding an answer.

“No, and I’m afraid there’s worse news!” Sandy said, frowning down at his captain.

“Ugh that’s just great…” Wukong rubbed his temples with his fingertips and shook his head. “I mean I knew the kid could be impulsive and all, but to go running off on his own like that without… wait, what worse news?”

“We spotted some of Macaque’s crew ashore, and it looks like they already know we’re here.” Sandy replied, still frowning.

“And MK?” Wukong asked, heckles raising visibly.

“We’re not sure… but yeah, it looks like they know he’s off on his own somewhere and are looking for him, too.”

Wukong swore something under his breath, punching a fist into his open palm. “Then we need to move fast. If we find and follow them, chances are they could lead us to MK!”

“That might be what Macaque is counting on,” Tang said calmly. “This whole thing could be a scheme he’s cooked up to use MK to get to you.”

“I know… but we can’t just do nothing.”

“That almost goes without saying…”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Mei said, drumming her fingers against the hilt of her sword like she was itching for a fight. “Let’s gear up and go!”

“Mei’s right, everyone grab your gear and be ready for anything!” Wukong said, grabbing his hat and putting it on firmly, his golden eyes glimmering under the shadow of it’s brim as if telling anyone who had seen it, that wherever MK had ended up, they were determined to find him and get him back safe.

~~~

MK, meanwhile, was still in the alcove on the beach, fingers rapping against his arm in anxiousness. He’d been waiting for what was possibly hours in that little crook in the rock for Sea Cat to return, if she actually planned to return it all. The sun was starting to sink in the sky, turning it a deep, blood orange color, and the first of the stars were already starting to appear. That alone was an indicator she had been gone a long time, and he couldn’t be sure but he must have dozed off at least once or twice while waiting for her to return, despite the gravity of the whole situation. And he couldn’t help but wonder if she was alright, or if something had happened to her…

He kept trying to tell himself that someone who could essentially disappear as if out of thin air like she could would be fine, but there was that nagging thought in the back of his head; what if?

What if Macaque’s men got the drop on her? What if they had her cornered before she could get back to where he was? Or what if she had just abandoned him all together? Again, she didn’t seem the type, especially after she actually came back to help him earlier, but he didn’t like the feeling of just having to sit here and wait. Still, what could he do?

He glanced down at the splint on his leg and he sighed, leaning his head back against the rock behind him and looking out over what he could see of the beach. The others were probably worried sick about him right now. Especially Mei… actually no, Mei wouldn’t be worrying… well, she would, in her own way. A way that kind of made her… aggressive wasn’t really the right word for it. It was more… vengeful, in a way? She would--if they let her--literally be willing to tear apart anyone who hurt or made her worry about someone she cared for. Wukong, maybe? The monkey definitely did have a calm and cool side to him, but there was always an air of concern about him when it came to MK’s well being, one that was a lot like Mei’s only… somehow scarier.

Well, it didn’t really matter who was worrying about him the most, since right now it didn’t matter.

He’d had it with waiting.

It was probably a stupid decision on his part, but he couldn’t do it anymore.

With a strained grunt, MK pulled himself to his feet, careful not to put too much weight on his wounded leg. Using the cliff wall for support, he limped out of the small alcove, glancing up carefully to make sure no one was going to spot him as he did, then limping onward. He happened past the same pile of driftwood that Sea Cat had gotten the materials for his splint from, and reached down for a particularly long piece that would serve as a makeshift walking stick for the time being. It was just long and stout enough to support him, and if he absolutely had to he could use it as a weapon, he could. He couldn’t help but just feel a little pathetic though; how helpless he must have looked like this, and he hated it! Sure, it couldn’t be helped, but he’d rather have Wukong’s gear with him, broken leg or no broken leg… at least then he might have the extra courage he needed to move faster.

He kept having to stop to look up at the top of the cliff, making sure no one from Macaque’s crew would see him. To his relief, everytime he looked, he saw exactly that. Maybe Sea Cat’s plan to lay a false trail really worked! And if it did then there was a good chance that he was home free, as soon as he made his way across the shore, that is.

He remembered Sea Cat had described the beach as one full of tidal pools and rocky outcrops, and given what he’d seen so far, he had to watch his step. It did cross his mind to stop and look for the astrolabe in any likely place he came across, but for the sake of not being spotted by unfriendly eyes, he decided against it. Especially since, having to walk as carefully as he did with his leg, his pace was already much slower and he was growing tired very quickly.

“Maybe I should have waited…” he mumbled to himself, stopping to seat himself against a large stone that stuck out of the sand. “Like she said to…”

That thought mulled through his mind slowly as he paused to nurse his splinted leg. She probably would have ended up back at the cave, seeing it empty and wondering if something had happened to him while she was gone, then probably go looking for him...

Damn.

No, he couldn’t think like that! She seemed like a smart girl, there was every chance she could track him down somehow just like she did before he fell from the cliff. And even if she chose not to, Macaque wasn’t after her or the astrolabe. There was every chance he would just let her go when he realized he was chasing the wrong pirate. Just as much as there was a chance she would sell out where he was to Macaque in exchange for her own life. Yeah, no. She didn’t seem like the type to do that…

MK looked up as the spray from the sea dusted his face. The tide was starting to get higher as the sun got lower. He was going to have to get moving and just hope that Sea Cat was able to get on alright. He sighed and hoisted himself back up, using the piece of driftwood to lessen the pressure on his broken leg. He took a few steps back in the direction of town, then stopped again. His conscience was doing that thing where it was eating at him again, telling him he should have stayed in the alcove and waited, but he shook it off, giving his own head a few, sharp whacks with his palm. There was no point in going back now, even if he really could trust this Sea Cat, and even if he could, what good would it do him to go back on his own?

So he made up his mind that the plan at the moment was to try to get to town, and get the others to help. If she was in trouble, he could repay her by getting the others to help in a possible rescue mission than do something stupid like go all by himself with a broken bloody leg!

“Come on, MK!” he grunted to himself as he attempted to pick up the pace of his very obvious limp. “You can make it! You’re Monkey King’s successor, this is nothing! You’ve faced a lot worse than this before!”

“Kind of makes you wonder just what Wukong is willing to let you go through, doesn’t it?”

MK froze in place, almost falling forward if not for clinging to his makeshift walking stick. He almost even braced himself on his bad leg in the wrong way, swallowing a yelp-like sound that threatened to crawl up and out of his throat. He didn’t have to turn around to know it was Macaque, he recognized the voice all too well.

Okay. Don’t panic. Remember to breathe.

MK swallowed again and sank to his knees slowly, minding his broken leg as carefully as he could while doing so and feigned dropping the walking stick to his side. His back was still to Macaque, but glancing to his side just slightly, he could see his reflection clear as day in a small tidal pool that sat beside him.

He had a sword drawn, not surprising, really, but MK could see it clearly in the reflection, which was all he needed. That, and for Macaque to take a step forward… like that!

Using the reflection as a reference point, MK snatched up the walking stick again and swung it behind him as hard as he could, hearing and feeling a thud as it impacted with Macaque’s shin. He heard the darkly dressed pirate yelp, saw him stagger in the reflection in the pool, giving him just enough time to spin around, stick still in hand and swung up to knock the sword from Macaque’s hand, catching it in his free one. His leg may have been broken, he may have been in a lot of pain, and tired, but he was by no means helpless! If he was going to be taken at all, he was going to be taken only after he put up a fight, at least.

“You’ve picked up a new trick or two since we last saw each other, huh?” Macaque growled at him, briefly nursing his sore shin as MK pulled himself up enough to stand on his own two feet.

“Worried that this would be too easy?” MK asked, unable to really help the bravado.

“Actually, yes.” Macaque replied as he stood to full height again. “Wouldn’t be any fun if it was too easy, after all.”

“Well I’m in no mood for games today! Especially one of your making!” MK growled, taking a careful step back; careful not to show how badly his leg was bothering him, and careful not to let it be bothered by stepping the wrong way on it.

Macaque clicked his tongue, tutting at MK, shaking his head as though in disappointment, and stepping forward as he spoke. “Well, that’s kind of rude… after I went to all this trouble, too! All that planning and preparation--”

He stopped when MK forced the gap between them to remain at arm’s length by holding the tip of his own sword up to his throat. After a pause, in which he looked like he was scrutinizing the scene before him, he opened his mouth to say more, but MK knew better than to let him speak again. He turned the blade so the edge was now pointed up and slightly--just very slightly--cut into Macaque’s chin, drawing only a trickle of blood.

“I think I quite literally see your point.” Macaque said, actually stepping back, to MK’s relief. The older pirate nursed his chin a little, raising an eyebrow at seeing the speckling of blood on his finger. MK took that opportunity to relax himself enough that he could take another few, tentative steps back, increasing the distance between the two of them.

“Still, I have to admit… I’m impressed.” Macaque said, staying rooted to his spot, watching MK inch further back away from him. “You’ve certainly evolved since we last met. A broken leg you’ve done a pretty decent job setting by yourself, and yet even with that injury you still managed to elude and disarm me! Really, lad, I am very impressed. Well done!”

MK ignored the praise for the most part, though he couldn’t deny the slightest twinge of pride hearing it, however what caught his attention most was Macaque’s remark about setting the leg himself. That brought him a slight sense of relief, because it meant that Sea Cat had managed to go undetected… where she was now was still a question, of course, but it made him feel a little better, at least.

“Thanks, but I don’t need praise from you. Nor want it!” MK said, taking another step back and keeping an eye on Macaque to make sure he didn’t step forward again. Macaque shook his head with a chuckle.

“Ah, well, that’s too bad. Wukong really made sure to teach you some choice stuff…”

MK adjusted his injured leg to take another step back, only to find himself bracing for a surprise attack from Macaque as the other suddenly lunged at him with speed he didn’t think was even possible. He tried to turn the blade in his hand so that it would catch Macaque right across the throat, but to his astonishment--no, to his horror--Macaque instead caught the blade between his teeth, jaws clamping down so hard on the metal that MK felt the vibration even through the hilt. He yelped in surprise, stumbling back against the side of the cliff as the blade then snapped in Macaque’s teeth, leaving him with nothing but a sharpened stump of metal and a hilt.

“But he didn’t teach you enough!” Macaque said after spitting out the broken blade and lunging for MK again.

MK lifted his driftwood walking stick, trying to swing it at Macaque, only for Macaque to swat it out of his path and sock MK in the jaw hard with his fist, causing the boy’s head to thump back against the side of the cliff as a result. Now stunned, MK could only slump down a little, falling unwillingly into Macaque’s grip; albeit for just a moment before the pirate let him fall forward, landing face first into one of the tidal pools that dotted the shoreline. MK briefly floundered, trying to pull himself up, but Macaque stamped his boot onto the back of his head, holding him under the shallow water for a few moments before dragging him back up. MK’s senses were left swimming, his vision darkening from the initial impact of bumping his head and the denial of air almost immediately after. He could only just register being forced to try and stand, held up limply by the collar of his shirt, with Macaque’s shadowy silhouette hovering over him before nearly blacking out all together.

He was still fading in and out of it as he was dragged off. He did his best to stay awake, but his head was spinning so much it was hard to tell if he was about to actually pass out or if he was about to snap out of it. He could only see flashes and blurs of shapes as he was dragged, still by his shirt collar most probably, somewhere along the same beach, and he was honestly thankful that he was so out of it, because he was sure from the way he was being dragged that Macaque was not taking care to mind his broken leg.

It was only when he was finally dropped to the ground, on his back, with the wind flying out of him as a result, did his senses completely start to return to him. He coughed and sputtered, groaning slightly as he felt himself turned onto his stomach, before being hoisted to his knees and his hands forced behind his back, where they were then secured firmly with rope. He winced in annoyance as Macaque smacked his cheeks in a way usually used to wake someone up from such a daze.

“You still with us, MK?” he asked, smirking at him.

“Really wish I wasn’t, but you can stop now.” MK growled in response. A quick glance around himself with his eyes told him that this was where Macaque and his crew had set up camp, largely thanks to the fire that burned only a few steps away from where he was. But it was one that was well placed; a section of the beach that was sheltered on both sides by tall crags of rock in addition to the cliffs surrounding it. Great. Just like Macaque to choose the perfect place to hide that would be almost impossible to find unless you were actively looking for it, or already knew where to find it.

He was beginning to wish he’d stayed in that alcove she left him in.

“What are you going to do with me?” he asked, looking up at Macaque with as brave a look as he could muster, and trying not to let his question sound hesitant. Then, with a burst of courage, he scoffed. “Wait, don’t tell me; you’re going to use me as bait? Why am I not surprised?”

Macaque grabbed his chin, squeezing hard and pulling him up almost to his feet again. “If you can stay on my good side long enough to keep yourself alive, that is,” he growled before releasing MK and letting him fall back to his knees, the boy biting back a wince as his leg suffered from the impact. He watched as Macaque turned back and walked towards the fire, and jerked himself away as one of the captain’s crew tried to take him by the arm and pull him up again.

“Why not just kill me and get it over with?” he hollered after Macaque. He didn’t really have a plan at this point, just to try and stall, and he remembered from what Wukong told him, the best way to keep Macaque distracted was to keep him talking. And while it may not have been the best line of conversation, it would have to do.

“You know that Monkey King knows you better than anyone,” he continued. “So chances of whatever trap you have planned won’t actually pan out well for you.”

“Who said anything about this being a trap?” Macaque asked him with a mere glance over the shoulder, stoking the fire with a stick he picked up.

MK raised an eyebrow. “I mean it’s kind of obvious. You said it yourself. I’m bait.”

“Bait, yes, but I’m not planning on setting any ambush or anything.” Macaque said, stirring the stick into the fire. “Too messy.”

MK’s eyebrow remained raised as he pondered Macaque’s words, watching as the monkey briefly paced around the fire, barking a few orders to some of his crew that appeared to be slacking in their guard duties. If Macaque wasn’t setting an ambush, then what was he planning? The spot chosen for their camp was essentially perfect for setting one up, especially if he wanted Wukong and the others to come storming in after sweating about not being able to find them after so long… and it wasn’t like Macaque to not want to get “down and dirty” in a fight, as it were. He wasn’t known for being neat about things… He’d want to make a big show of...

Wait.

Of course.

Oh… no. Oh no.

He wasn’t sure if he was right in this way of thinking, but if he was, it made his blood run cold. Macaque wasn’t planning an ambush for the others whenever they got here, he was planning a front row seat show for them.

The moment they got here, he was most likely going to be either tortured or killed right where they could see, and not get to him in time. It was twisted, but perfect for someone like Macaque, and he certainly wouldn’t put it past him. After all, since they’d met, and he realized that MK was Wukong’s successor, he had been obsessed with the idea of getting rid of his greatest rival’s inheritor, someone who was like a son to him. What better way to do it, what sweet revenge, than to do it where it could be seen by everyone he cared about?

MK’s face must have paled or contorted into a horrified look of realization, because Macaque was looking back at him now, smirking like the cat that just swallowed the canary; no, like the cat that could still feel the canary alive and trapped in it’s stomach.

“Something wrong, lad?” Macaque asked, voice laced in obviously fake concern. “You got quiet all of a sudden.” MK suppressed a shudder and scowled at him, teeth baring together in an effort to appear defiant.

“No,” he growled, unable to think of anything more witty at the moment. Macaque gave a dark chuckle, lifting and examining the burnt stick as though it held great interest for him.

“Looks to me like you figured things out pretty quick there,” he said. “That kind of spoils the whole point of the surprise you know.”

“Maybe you should be less obvious about your intentions next time then.” MK said flatly, body beginning to feel numb due to the sense of dread that he felt, though his heart started to pound when Macaque turned back to him, still holding the burning stick.

“Hm, maybe you’re right… still, it’s never too late to spice things up, right?”

He walked back over to MK, the burning stick still in hand, and the boy lurched back, ignoring his broken leg. Macaque’s crew didn’t let him though, holding him in place, even pushing him forward towards Macaque; one of them even grabbed him by the hair, nearly ripping it clean from his scalp and yanked his head back so he was looking up at the captain.

“And I think your friends arriving to see a few, fresh burns branded onto you would be just the thing!” Macaque sniggered with glee, raising the burning piece of wood up so close to MK’s face that even with his eyes squeezed shut, he felt as though the heat alone could burn him.

FFFFZZZZ--CRACK!

Relief couldn’t even express what he felt when he heard that sound! His eyes shot open and he watched as the stick Macaque was holding was sliced in half, the flaming end sent falling safely into the sand at his feet, snuffing out upon the impact. And startled, Macaque dropped the other half, staring down at both halves in shock for a moment before spinning around.

“What the blazes?!”

The sun had set by now, so the shadows in the small, sheltered section of beach had grown and were now dancing thanks to the light from the fire Macaque’s crew had built, so seeing where the whip had come from was next to impossible. That is, until a brief blur of a shadow was seen shrinking back behind one of the larger rocks nearby. Macaque scowled with his golden eyes at the shadow, growling with bared teeth and taking a spare sword from one of his crewmen.

“Come out of there!” he demanded. He growled again when he received no response. “I said come out of there!”

“You talkin’ t’ me?”

All heads darted to another shadow almost completely opposite the one Macaque had just been shouting out, and she stepped out of the shadows, hands raised slightly in front of her, as if to appear non-threatening. MK had to stifle a snicker, seeing the bewildered expression on Macaque’s face, and as his crew had to look twice between the two spots with a similar expression. Sea Cat herself was wearing something of an amused look, slowly lowering her hands as she stepped fully out into the open, but still keeping a good distance between herself and the members of Macaque’s crew that were present.

Macaque studied her briefly, though his good eye probably lingered in places longer than it should have, before clearing his throat and putting on as calm and charming a look as he could.

“You lost, young lady?”

“No, but I think considering the majority of this company, I would prefer to be lost, thank you very much.”

Macaque inhaled sharply, as though wincing at her remark, though the expression on his face was clearly an amused one. “Oho-ho! Not bad, not bad! You’ve got a tongue like a whip, girlie!”

“Wait until you see her real one up close…” MK murmured under his breath, shooting an unseen scowl up at Macaque.

“Still, for someone who claims to not be lost, girlie, you sure picked a bad place and a time to take an evening stroll.” Macaque said, crossing his arms, his expression changing to one of scrutiny as he watched her.

Sea Cat rolled her eyes. “Oi,” she sighed with annoyance. “What is it with you men and your need to banter? You have to turn everything into a dance with some imaginary Argentine music playing in the background! If you want to ask me what I’m doing here, just bloody do it, don’t make a production of it. But here, let me save you the trouble of even that; I’m here for the young lad.”

She pointed a somewhat slack finger at MK, causing Macaque to turn and look at him curiously, with his brows raising to emphasis that curiosity. MK said nothing, just shifted his gaze to one side with his eyes and tried to feel as small as possible as all eyes had now fallen on him, until he heard Macaque titter.

“Well, well, seems like Wukong’s been teaching you how to really lay on the charm too, huh?” he asked, looking back towards Sea Cat. “As partial as I am to romantic entanglements--if that’s what this is--I certainly hope you brought something other than your figure to bargain with.”

Sea Cat shot him a scowl, hand twitching towards her whip, which was tucked against her hip in a way that was mostly out of sight, but she resisted the urge to give him a matching scar over his other eye, and reached into a small pouch she wore on the opposite hip. After digging around for it, she slowly produced an object, which, after it had a chance to catch the light from the nearby fire, was revealed to be the astrolabe. She held it out in front of her for Macaque to see well, and MK shot her a confused look, which then shot up to Macaque as he hummed in a bored way, shaking his head at Sea Cat.

“I prefer, and already have a sextant myself, lass…”

Sea Cat said nothing in reply, but instead reached forward to one of the rings on the astrolabes surface, and gave it a slight turn.

The night around them seemed to become all the darker, then brighter all in one moment as the symbols and etchings on the astrolabe’s surface began to glow. Macaque let out a yelp of surprise, arm shooting up to cover his eyes as the glow became almost too bright to look at directly, and MK too had to turn his face away and shut his eyes; though when the light dimmed again, they both looked up, and except for the collective gasps of all present, you could have heard a pin hit the sand on that beach.

It was as though the stars themselves had descended from the skies above, the shapes of the constellations they formed with them, and had begun to dance around on the beach around them. Even the surrounding cliffs had become dusted with living, dancing figures of starlight; the beasts of the Zodiac moving like real, towering lifeforms walking the earth once more, Orion with his bow about to fire, and the Great Bear and the Little Bear tussling like playful cubs in the surf. MK couldn’t help but be enamored, mouth hanging open and his eyes wide with a child-like glee that usually was only present when he was listening to the Monkey King tell one of his adventure stories. Oh, if only the others could be here to see this! The astrolabe really was magic!

He let out an “eep” of shock as Pegasus charged over his head, in a way that he could feel it brush through his hair. Macaque too had to duck, almost too late as one of the stallion’s hooves nearly clocked right into his head, only to phase right through it, scattering briefly like the stardust it was before forming into the equine’s full leg again; and yet still he couldn’t help but feel relief at not having that hoof meet his skull, it was that real!

The light from the fire returned, and the stars seemed to return to the heavens, leaving in their wake naught but shock and amazement, save for Sea Cat, who had turned the astrolabe’s rings back to their original position.

The amazement didn’t fade from his expression, even as the astral illusion did, and it clearly bled into Macaque’s voice as he looked at her, as well as the astrolabe in her hand and asked, “What is it?”

“The first piece of a puzzle,” she replied, resetting the rings on the astrolabe. “Do you like puzzles?”

“What sort of a puzzle?”

“The kind that rewards those who solve it with true immortality.” Sea Cat replied again, shrugging her shoulders, and beginning to saunter forward in a way that made her seem like the most relaxed person on that shoreline. “I mean, think about it, what’s the better way to live forever? To risk passing on a name or title to someone else? Someone who could very well be forgotten themselves if fate permits it? Or to take the extra step beyond the horizon and actually become immortal yourself? To be recognized wherever you go as an immortal, or even with time, a god?”

“Hmm…” Macaque rubbed his chin in thought, his eyes more focused on the astrolabe rather than Sea Cat herself. “Impossible as it sounds… you do paint a pretty picture,” he said. “And if I’m to understand where you’re going with this--”

“--The boy for the toy.” Sea Cat confirmed with a nod. “You catch on fast.”

Macaque finally looked away from the astrolabe and back to MK, chuckling and all too roughly ruffling the boy’s hair with a false show of affection, to which MK growled at him in response. And after a pause, he replied.

“Alright, girlie, you’ve got yourself a trade,” he said, and extended his hand outward. Sea Cat shook her head.

“Nah, ah,” she said. “Send the boy my way first. Once he’s halfway here, I’ll bring you the astrolabe.”

“Good figure and brains…” Macaque muttered, sounding almost annoyed. “Alright fine,” he said, then turned to MK, pulling him up. “On your feet then!”

MK bit back a wince as he was forced up, trying not to put any unneeded pressure on his broken leg, especially as he hobbled forward at Macaque’s prodding. He shot Sea Cat a look, subtly shaking his head at her in warning, hoping she would pick up that in his mind he was screaming not to trust Macaque. She just raised her free hand towards him, ushering him to walk forward with a gesture made by her fingers. He groaned and winced as he limped forward, careful not to lose his footing in the sand, as he moved. His hands were still tied behind his back, Macaque of course didn’t have the courtesy to cut him loose, so he had to be careful of his balance too. He kept moving forward until Sea Cat held up her hand to signal him to stop, which he did, then she herself walked forward slowly. MK saw the knife she had with her in her hands, and she used it to cut his hands free.

“Stay put,” she said, loud enough for Macaque to hear, then whispered into MK’s ear. “But be ready to run on my signal…”

MK didn’t nod, but he was definitely ready. He turned, watching her slowly approach Macaque with the astrolabe while he nursed his wrists. She stopped an arm’s length away from Macaque and held the astrolabe out to him, almost by it’s edge so that it was stretched out as far out as she could allow. He seemed amused by her caution, taking only a single step forward, then reaching out and taking it, almost in the same manner as it was held out to him. Upon feeling his grip on it, Sea Cat released it and stepped back, making her way backward towards MK slowly, eyes not leaving Macaque or his crew, and her hand inching towards her whip with each step. Macaque was too busy studying the astrolabe itself to notice, which was obviously what she was waiting for.

With a fluid motion, her wrist flicked forward, taking the handle of the whip and letting the rest fly out forward; the way it moved was almost like watching a distant bolt of lightning, or an eel gliding through the water, and the sound it made this time was much softer, but it obviously hit it’s mark with ease. It wrapped around the astrolabe and yanked it from Macaque’s grip, sending it flying back through the air and into her own.

Sea Cat turned to MK, hands turning the rings on the astrolabe and crying out, “Now, run!”

MK did as bid, almost instinctively lifting his arm so that she could under it, letting it across her shoulders so she could help support him as they made a break for it. Behind him, he could hear Macaque’s confused crew hollering and shouting loudly in confusion, the moving constellations that roamed around them--though immaterial--seemed too real for them not to react as though they were.

“They’re not real, you blasted fools!” Macaque roared over the chaotic din. “Get after them!”

MK couldn’t help but laugh at hearing their panic as he and Sea Cat ran. “Thanks, looks like I owe you one!” he said.

“You owe me twice, but who’s counting?” she replied, also letting out a laugh. “But don’t thank me just yet, we still have to outrun them!”

MK nodded, doing his best to keep up with her pace, even trying to speed it up by limping faster despite his leg. It hurt, yeah, but he was willing to put up with it for the sake of escaping. He looked around them as they ran, particularly up at the cliffside as he saw a few of the constellation shapes move along it, becoming warped and wavy like mirages due to the way the cliffs themselves were cut out by nature. Some of the ways they moved seemed to make them glow even brighter, and almost flash like the sun glinting off of a shard of mirror.

And it gave him an idea!

“No, don’t!” MK says, reaching and grabbing Sea Cat’s other wrist with his hand as she started to tuck the astrolabe into her pouch again. “Leave it out!”

“What? If I do that they’ll be able to find us easily even if we don’t find a decent hiding spot before then!”

“They will, yeah, but so will my crew!” MK said. “We just have to keep moving!”

Sea Cat grunted in thought, hesitating and chewing her lip, but she finally held the astrolabe above her head. “You’d better be right about this or I’ll make sure to come back as a banshee and haunt your arse!”

MK laughed, looking up as the astrolabe’s effect seemed to dome over them, Pegasus in particular circling as though working in correlation with the impromptu plan. Now they just had to manage to keep ahead of Macaque and his crew long enough for Wukong and the others to--hopefully--figure out where they were!

A pistol or musket shot hit stone as they rounded a bend on the beach, stopping only long enough to climb up a small ridge that stood in their way, MK only making it thanks to Sea Cat’s help. While hoisting him up, she cracked her whip down at an unfortunate pirate that had managed to catch up with them, the tip catching him right square in the forehead, and from his cry of pain, MK was extremely grateful he had the reflexes to dodge it the first time he encountered it. Once that pirate fell back down, she helped him back to his feet and they continued running, stopped by another ridge; this whole section of the cliffside seemed to be like one giant set of stairs!

MK growled in frustration under his breath, looking up as Sea Cat hoisted him up and then climbed up herself, and his eyes fixed on a large boulder above them. He wasn’t sure if it could really be called a spark of inspiration, he was more thinking about how much it would really just… suck, if that thing decided to fall now. And that’s when he found himself laughing out loud as an idea struck him.

“Hey, just how much can that whip of yours cut through?” he asked. Sea Cat followed his gaze up to the boulder, and she smirked, helping him up again.

“Oh, that’ll be like cutting through a boiled potato!” she said. “We just gotta get up to it!”

“Not we, just you!” MK said. “If Macaque wants me as bait so bad, then I’ll be bait!”

“But… are you sure?”

“Just go, I’ll be fine!”

Sea Cat gave him a crooked smirk. “Damn, you really are…” she started to say, then shook her head. She shoved the astrolabe at him, then bolted to the cliff and jumped to grab onto a ledge within her reach. From there, she started to climb, soon almost vanishing out of his sight over the edge near the boulder. Good! This might just work after all! MK turned so that his back was against the wall of rock, and he made sure to hold the astrolabe in a way that the constellations would be too distracting for Sea Cat to be noticed on the top of the cliff.

He took a deep, controlled breath as the first members of Macaque’s crew started to appear over the edge of the ridge he was on, Macaque himself among them. MK smirked, moving himself a bit closer to the wall and inching along it carefully, trying to appear as cornered and helpless as he could.

“Stay back!” he warned in a mock threatening, mock frightened tone. “I’ve got a magical… start navigation thingy!”

Macaque held out an arm and stopped one of his crew from charging forward while looking at MK. “What happened to your little wench?”

“Whoa, hey, that’s kind of rude!” MK said. “Not all pirate girls have to be wenches! That’s just bad stereotyping!”

At the clifftop, Sea Cat took care to wrap her whip around the boulder, not wanting to crack it so as to avoid being heard by the pirates below. It would take a hearty tug to get all the way through, but it would get through nonetheless, and she just hoped MK knew to get out of the way when it started to come down, even with that broken leg of his. She leaned back, the handle of the whip held carefully in one hand and her legs braced for MK’s signal to come from below.

“Where is she, MK?” Macaque asked again with a growl, before smirking. “Or did she think better of the situation and decide to dump you?”

“She didn’t dump me!” MK scowled at Macaque as he continued to creep along the rock wall, then paused for a moment and blinked. “Not that she really could, we were never like… I mean, she’s pretty, don’t get me wrong, but not my type! I’m more of… um… wait, I shouldn’t even be telling you this…”

“Probably not, no.” Macaque said, snorting at MK in amusement. “Not that it matters, of course…”

MK smirked. “You’re right, it really doesn’t… Now, Sea Cat!”

MK turned the rings on the astrolabe, causing the illusions to fade and plunging the area into the blackness of night. His eyes had to adjust to see, just as much as he was sure their eyes did too, though he still looked up, and against the backdrop of the sky he could see the welcome sight of the boulder starting to come down. Sea Cat fell back somewhat as the full slack returned to her whip, though it sliced through the boulder just as planned and sent it plummeting down to the beach below.

With the dark and his eyes only adjusting a little too late, Macaque could only dive to one side, off the ridge he stood on as the boulder crashed down, crushing any of his idiot crew that were too slow to get out of the way. The boulder smashed to the ground hard, threatening to roll further down the natural steps as it almost bounced upon the impact.

Sea Cat watched from above as the pirates scattered to escape the boulder before it finally came to a stop, laughing quietly to herself, before looking down the cliff to where she last saw MK.

“You still with me, lad?” she hollered down, cupping a hand to her mouth.

A tense pause that she didn’t like, followed by a cough, which drew her attention to the side of the cliff. It seemed that MK, despite his broken leg, had somehow managed to make a leap up to the same ledge she had earlier to begin her climb up the cliff in an effort to get completely clear of the boulder as it fell. She shook her head in amusement as MK looked up at her.

“Yeah! I’m still here! Just barely…”

“Here,” Sea Cat lowered her whip down to him. “Grab on, I’ll pull you up!”

MK gratefully did as she asked and took hold of the whip, letting her pull him up to join her, using his good leg to help the ascent. He glanced down a few times at the beach below, bracing himself for the possible sight of Macaque climbing up after him, but thankfully, it appeared either the boulder got him, or he had been too busy getting clear and recovering to notice MK heading up the cliff.

He glanced back up and gasped at seeing the black monkey’s shadow looming over a completely unaware Sea Cat, just as he reached the top of the cliff.

“Behind you!” he managed to holler as he grabbed the edge of the cliff.

Sea Cat didn’t have time to turn around before Macaque grappled an arm around her throat, yanking her back and making her choke from the force. She dropped her whip in surprise, but thankfully MK had enough of a hold on the cliff’s edge to keep himself from falling, and to pull himself up to the relative safety of the clifftop. He grit his teeth, other hand clenching around the whip tightly, which made him blink in the realization that he was in fact holding--and had full control--of the unique weapon. Glaring at Macaque, he jerked his hand, in as similar a way as he could to the way he saw Sea Cat do it earlier, spinning the whip in the air above his head a few times.

“Hey, Macaque!” he shouted, getting the monkey’s attention just as he let the whip fly… but backwards.

The hefty handle of the whip, not it’s tip, flew at Macaque and hit him right in his good eye, causing the pirate to cry out in abrupt surprise and pain, his grip on Sea Cat loosening. She took the immediate opportunity to duck out of his grip all together, dropping to the ground and sweeping her leg out behind her to knock Macaque’s own out from under him. He stumbled back, and with a second, well placed kick, she sent him stumbling back further, right off the edge of the cliff itself.

MK winced as he heard the impact, leaning as much as he could safely to try and see where Macaque fell before Sea Cat helped him up. “Yeah, I hope that hurt!” he shouted down with a laugh. “I know it did when I fell…”

“Let’s go before he has a chance to recover!” Sea Cat said, picking up her whip before looping MK’s arm over her shoulders again. “And… thanks for that. You weren’t half bad for a beginner, even if you did end up using the wrong end.”

“Oh, that? I uh… I mean to do that!” MK said, blushing a little from her praise. Sea Cat laughed, shaking her head as they finally made it back into the shadows of the jungle. MK laughed too, reaching up and rubbing the back of his head with his free hand. He paused a moment, then looked back at Sea Cat.

“By the way, you were about to say something earlier, what was it?”

“Was I?”

“Yeah, right before you climbed up to take care of the boulder…”

“...Ah, right.” Sea Cat shook her head. “That was nothing, just saying that you reminded me of someone… my captain, actually.”

“Really?” MK asked, head tilting curiously.

“Aye… granted, you still have a long way to go before you really are on par with someone like him, but you’re well on your way, make no mistake about that.” Sea Cat replied.

“Oh yeah? Well, I’d sure like to meet him some time!”

“Heh, perhaps someday you will, lad. Perhaps someday, you will.”

“MK!”

Sea Cat and MK both stopped in their tracks, MK’s head spinning around as he heard Mei’s unmistakable voice calling out to him from somewhere close by in the jungle. Sea Cat helped him to brace himself on a nearby tree, reaching for her whip and looking like she was bracing for a fight again, but MK placed a hand on her shoulder.

“It’s okay, it’s okay!” he said. “They’re with me, this time!” He gave her a smile as she relaxed, then turned into the direction where he’d heard Mei’s voice come from. “I’m over here!” he called out loudly.

He paused, listening for a response, his smile growing when he heard the foliage rustling, the voices of his friends drawing closer, and could even see their familiar shapes starting to appear in the dark. He sighed in relief, leaning more of his weight against the tree as his body relaxed--well and truly relaxed--for what felt like the first time that day.

“You know, if you talk to my captain, I bet he can work something out where our crews split whatever treasure the astrolabe leads--” MK stopped mid sentence as he turned around and found himself quite alone in the jungle. He sighed. “And she’s gone again. How does she bloody do that anyway…?”

“MK!”

MK barely had a chance to turn back around when Mei flew at him in one of her tackle hugs, almost knocking them both back if not for the tree he was leaning against.

“MK, are you alright?! We’ve been looking for you everywhere! We were worried Macaque had gotten you! Then we couldn’t find you or him and there were all these weird lights in the distance and--”

“Ow, ow, ow! Mei!” he yelped. “Th-The leg, watch the leg!”

“What’s wrong with your leg?!” she demanded.

“It’s broken…” MK replied with a quiet whine as Pigsy came forward and helped to support him.

“Broken? What happened?” Wukong asked, walking forward and looking the boy over with concern written all over his face, even in the dark.

“Well… You know what, it’s a long story.” MK said with a heavy sigh, sagging onto Mei’s shoulder. “One I’d really rather tell when we’re all back safe on the ship!”

Wukong nodded, turning to lead the way back, but making sure to walk at the same pace that MK was with help from the others. He was a bit surprised to see how… content the boy looked, despite also looking like he’d been through borderline hell. MK caught his stare, glancing over at the Monkey King as they walked, frowning when he saw what appeared to be a stern look on his face. He sighed.

“I know, I know exactly what you’re going to say…” he said. “I know I shouldn’t have run off all on my own like that, but all I could think of was getting the astrolabe back and… making up for last night.”

“Kid, there’ll be other scores, other treasures we can get. But there’s only one you.” Wukong said. “And I think I speak for all of us when I say that we’d rather have you than some supposedly magic astrolabe!”

“Definitely!” Mei said, reaching up and pinching MK’s cheek, earning a chuckle from him.

His chuckle turned into a full, giddy grin as he thought more on Wukong’s remark, which made his mind flash back to the magic he’d seen the astrolabe perform earlier that night. He tugged his arm off of Pigsy’s shoulder, and stopped long enough to reach into his shirt, where he’d tugged the astrolabe earlier after jumping out of the boulder’s path.

“Supposedly magic, huh?” he asked, smirking. “Well wait till you see…”

He paused, freezing as he rooted around inside his shirt for the astrolabe, bafflement settling in as he tugged his hand back out and began to pat himself down furiously. Wukong raised an eyebrow at him.

“Uh, you okay kid?”

MK let out a frustrated cry and grabbed handfuls of his hair. “No! The astrolabe! Ugh, she got it away from me again!”

“She? She who?”

“...Like I said, it’s a long story…” MK groaned, running his fingers through his hair and ruffling it in frustration. He suddenly paused as he felt something sticking out of the back of his headband, something that didn’t belong.

He tugged it free and looked at it, eyes glinting with curiosity when he saw that it was a small, rolled up piece of paper, and unrolling it. His eyes scanned the contents, and then he couldn’t help but laugh, which made the others stare at him in confusion.

“Uh, kid?” Wukong asked, and MK handed him the piece of paper, which he looked over briefly before looking back at MK. “What exactly is this?”

“I promise, I’ll explain everything when we get back, but for now let’s just say that this is just the first piece of a pretty interesting puzzle!”

~~~

Elsewhere on the island, a lone ship sat anchored, safely out of sight, though not anchored for long as it’s last wayward crewmember came back aboard.

She walked to the captain’s cabin and knocked a few times on the door, waiting for a response before entering, smiling and giving her captain a small, and somewhat lazy salute as she approached his desk.

“Welcome back!” her captain greeted cheerfully. “I trust your little trip ashore was successful?”

“Most successful.” Sea Cat said, producing the astrolabe with a proud grin and sliding it across the desk towards him.

“Excellent! I never doubted you for a minute, Cat!” he said as he picked it up.

“There’s more.” Sea Cat said, sitting on the edge of the desk, smiling as he looked up at her, curiosity written on his face. “I found something that I think you’ll like far better than whatever that little trinket leads us to…”

“Oh? And what’s that?”

Sea Cat grinned, fiddling with the whip on her belt as she looked her captain in the eye. “New competition.”

Her grin widened as he set aside the astrolabe as though it were worth very little, and he leaned forward in his chair across the desk, glacier blue eyes sparking with a childish, almost impish look of glee in them as he looked at her.

“Tell me everything.”

THE END

#@ninja-knox-ur-sox-off #@neonross #@purble-turble #monkie kid pirate au #my writing #my pirate oc

13 notes · View notes